Author's Note:

I can't tell if it's just me, but the ending seems kinda rushed? Anyway, there's a very, very brief section (it's literally a single sentence) that alludes to past abuse. I wanted to mention it in case anyone is sensitive to that sort of stuff!

The three of them were piled into Elena's car, driving through the woods.

"Stop here," Stefan instructed. They all got out of the car. Elowen immediately sensed that there was a lot of history here. She felt connected to it, almost. When she turned to the old ruins littering the ground, she could perfectly picture the house that used to stand there. Her eyes trailed over the illusion, taking in the grounds in absolute wonder.

"Oh my god….. This used to be your home. It was beautiful."

It would explain why she felt a pull that was difficult to describe towards this area. However, what it didn't explain was how she was able to see the property that once stood there. Maybe it was a new advancement in her power?

She could vaguely hear Elena and Stefan talking, though they sounded far away, like a background noise. The present day trees and surroundings melted away as Elowen walked closer to the house, and soon Elena and Stefan were gone.

The front door to the Salvatore Estate opened and Stefan and Damon came running down the steps. Elowen's mouth was open in amazement at the sight of the two brothers, dressed in period clothing and much, much younger. She could tell by the way they held themselves and the brightness in their eyes.

"Where did you learn this game?" Human Stefan asked, going to one side of the yard while Damon stood a few feet away, a football in his hands.

"Camp outside Atlanta," Damon answered. "One of the officers picked it up at Harvard. Catch." Damon threw the football and Stefan caught it.

"Wait a minute. What are the rules?" Stefan asked, though a devious gleam flashed in Damon's eyes as he dashed forward to grab the ball from his little brother. Stefan caught on quickly and soon the two of them were playfully wrestling together.

Elowen felt like she was watching two strangers instead of Stefan and Damon. They were so…. different. No fighting, no malicious intent, no hatred. Just two normal brothers who loved each other play fighting one another. What happened?

Her answer came when a voice interrupted them.

"Who needs rules?" Katherine stepped out of the house, raising an eyebrow. Elowen's breath stopped for a second. Stefan wasn't kidding when he said Elena looked like her. Except….. Elowen could tell this wasn't Elena. Katherine's demeanor was much different. Confident, seductive, and when she looked deeper, Elowen saw darkness in her eyes. She hated that she couldn't find any other way to describe her other than sexy femme fatale.

"May I join you?"

"Well, uh, you could, uh…. You could get hurt. My brother likes to play rough." Stefan told her, looking down at Katherine as she came to stand in front of him.

"Somehow, I think you play rougher," Katherine flirted, distracting Stefan long enough for her the snatch the football from his hands and run off. Stefan watched longingly as she disappeared around the corner, laughing loudly.

"Why are you just standing there? That is a girl who clearly wants to be chased," Damon said. A thought dawned on him a second later. "If you won't do it, I will."

Damon took off, which seemed to wake Stefan up, who quickly darted after him. Together, they chased after Katherine.

"Elowen?" Someone shook her shoulder. At once, the memory faded away and Elowen was brought back to the real world. Stefan, vampire Stefan, had been the one trying to get her attention. "Are you okay? You zoned out for a few minutes, as if you were somewhere else."

"It felt so real…" she muttered, looking down at the ground.

"What felt real?"

"I don't know, it was like…. I was having a premonition, but I was living it instead of just seeing it." She looked up at Stefan, staring into his eyes. "You were so…. Human."

Stefan tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed. Slowly, his eyebrows raised up instead as he figured out what she was talking about. "You mean….?"

Elowen nodded. "Yeah." Her eyes wandered back to Elena, who was awkwardly standing there, out of place. "Just tend to her, alright? I'll be fine." Elowen walked off to a different part of the ruins, leaving Stefan to reluctantly return to Elena.

Elowen bit her lip, trying to picture the estate again. At first, nothing happened. She grew frustrated and kicked at a rock. She eventually paused in the middle of what would have been the lawn, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She tried her best to tune out Stefan and Elena, focusing solely on the sounds of nature around them. Birds chirping, the gentle whispers of the trees above her, a woodpecker pecking in the distance. She relaxed, and when she opened her eyes, the estate was back.

This time, she was in the backyard. Stefan was running after Katherine through a garden maze. It looked like he was letting her win. She reached the statue at the end of the maze.

"Ha! I win. What's my prize?"

"What would you like it to be?"

Stefan and Katherine turned and found Damon sitting off to the side. Stefan smiled widely and went to hug him.

"They extended your leave?" Stefan asked.

"I was simply having too much fun to return to battle," Damon replied.

"Your commitment to the confederacy is inspiring."

They stepped back from the embrace but kept their arms around each other's shoulders.

"Well, this works out wonderfully for me," said Katherine.

"How's that, miss Katherine?" Damon asked.

"Now I'll have both of you to keep me entertained. First and foremost, I'll need someone to escort me to the Founder's Ball."

"With pleasure."

"I would be honored."

Stefan and Damon offered in unison. They stopped and stared at each other afterwards.

"The smart and kind Salvatore brothers both coming to my rescue. How will I ever choose?" Katherine turned and walked away, smirking once her back was turned. Elowen wanted to jump forward and strangle her when she walked passed, but she knew that this was only some sort of premonition that wasn't real.

The scene changed. Elowen was now standing in a bedroom, facing the door. She turned and found Stefan and Katherine together, kissing on the bed.

"I will love you forever," Stefan said, beginning to trail kisses down her neck.

"Forever is a long time, y'know."

"Not long enough."

The farther down Stefan got, the harder it was for Katherine to control herself. Eventually she gave in. Her fangs extended and she grabbed a handful of Stefan's hair to yank his head to the side. Her teeth sang into his neck and the scene changed again.

It was morning now. Katherine was at the mirror while a woman Elowen recognized as Emily tied her corset. Stefan stirred in the bed and sat up slowly.

"Good morning," she greeted. "Clear the room please."

Emily stopped what she was doing and turned to leave the room. It might've been Elowen's imagination, but she could've sworn that Emily looked directly at her as she exited the room.

"Your face. It was like a demon," Stefan said fearfully.

"But you're not afraid." Katherine approached the bed. Stefan started to push himself backwards, trying to escape.

"Get away from me. Get away."

Before he could do anything else, Katherine began to compel him. "It doesn't change the way you feel about me. You will not tell anyone."

"I…" Stefan started to repeat her words, but she shushed him and put a finger to his lips.

"We will go on exactly as we have."

"Yes, we will go on," Stefan monotonously repeated.

"You have no idea of the future I have planned for us, Stefan. You, me and Damon. No rules."

This time, the scene vanished on its own. Elowen found herself several feet away from where she started. She followed the sound of Stefan's voice and found him and Elena near a piece of ruins. Stefan was holding Damon's daylight ring in his hand.

"... Keep it hidden," Elena was saying, her arms crossed.

"Elena, if I don't give it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way he knows he can hurt me."

"And how is that?"

Stefan spotted Elowen coming from behind Elena and sighed. "He'll either try to hurt Elowen or…"

"Or?" Elena prompted.

"He'll come after you."

"Me?" Elena questioned in confusion.

"You, um, look a lot like someone we used to know," Stefan awkwardly explained.

"And that's enough for him to want to kill me?"

Stefan merely shrugged. Elowen was silent, studying Stefan's face. Seeing him as a human like that, visions or not, was an experience she'd never forget.

"The mind control you said Katherine used," Elena started. "... Did you ever do that to me?"

"Remember the necklace I gave you?" Elowen asked. "It contains an herb called vervain. It protects you against compulsion."

"Then….. How come I can't take it off? When I try to I just… can't. Did you do something before I put it on?"

"There's a spell that mimics compulsion," Elowen explained. "I used it as a safety precaution to make sure you were never left vulnerable to Damon."

"So it can protect me against vampires, but not you," Elena stated with a haughty attitude. Elowen didn't appreciate being talked down to like a little kid, especially by someone who didn't even understand the weight of the situation.

"Excu-" Elowen stopped mid sentence and pulled her phone out seconds before it rang. She answered it without looking at the caller ID. Something told her that this call was important.

"Elowen?" Jeremy Gilbert's voice came through the other line, frantic and worried. "Something's wrong with Vicki. I think she might've relapsed, but she won't tell me what she took. She just keeps asking for you."

"Okay, where are you?"

"I'm at my house."

"Jeremy, listen," Elena stood up straighter and became more alert at the mention of her brother. "Call Josiah and tell him to meet me there. I'll get there as soon as I can."

"Please hurry. She's starting to scare me."

"I'll try."

Elowen hung up and started heading back to Elena's car without a word. Stefan was right behind her.

"Wait! What's going on? Why was Jeremy calling you?" Elena asked, running after them.

"Something's wrong with Vicki. I'm not sure what but it isn't good. We need to go."

Elowen jumped out of the car before it fully stopped. She stumbled, quickly caught herself, dashed up the steps, and blew through the front door.

"Jeremy? Josiah?" She called. The two of them, along with Matt, came around the corner. Judging from all of their faces, it was bad. "Where is she?"

"Elowen," Vicki weakly called from the kitchen floor. Elowen entered the kitchen and saw food all over the island. She crouched down to inspect Vicki, who was crying.

"Hey, Vic, what's-" Elowen placed her hands on Vicki's shoulders and was jolted into a vision.

Damon forcing Vicki to drink his blood. Another scene showed them dancing together, but the next second Damon snapped her neck.

"No." Elowen cupped Vicki's face in her hands as she shook her head. "No, no, no, no."

Vicki sobbed. "D-Damon, he s-said, he said-" She lifted her hand to her mouth and sobbed. "It's true, isn't it? You saw it, I know you did. I don't wanna die." She shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. "I can't leave Matty."

Elowen felt someone squat next to her. It was Stefan. They shared a look and she knew that he knew what was going on.

"Vicki, hey," Stefan lowered his voice. "I will explain everything later, when we're alone. Promise." When she nodded her head, Stefan helped her stand. "Take her upstairs and shut the blinds. She'll be fine."

Elena started to ask questions, but Elowen was too antsy to listen. Somehow, she felt like this was her fault. If she hadn't been so distracted, she might've had a premonition and then she could've prevented this from happening. Vicki would be fine.

She didn't get to dwell on this long, because Matt was yelling and chasing Vicki out the front door. By the time Elowen caught up, Vicki was gone.

"She was fine and then she just…. Flipped out," Jeremy explained.

"I'm gonna go look for her," Matt said, then jogged off towards his truck.

"I can track her," Stefan muttered to Elowen.

"Go. I'll stay here with Elena in case she comes back."

Stefan nodded. "Okay." He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and left.

Later, after the sun had gone down, Jeremy, Elena, Josiah and Elowen were cleaning up the mess Vicki had left. The doorbell rang and Elowen tossed her rag on the dining table to go answer it. When her hand touched door handle, a wave passed over her and she knew who was outside.

"It's not Vicki," she told Jeremy and Elena, glancing back at them. "Let me handle this."

Jeremy looked ready to protest, but Elena, now knowing the truth, shushed him and dragged him upstairs. Josiah took one last look at her before following them. Elowen opened the door and stepped outside. She closed it behind her, crossed her arms, and stared up at Damon.

"What do you want." She said it as a statement, trying her best to sound bored and uninterested. She's not sure how well her poker face would hold, though.

"Looking for my brother. Is he here?"

"Nope."

Damon narrowed his eyes at her, mimicking her stance. "Know where he might be?"

"If I did, I wouldn't tell you."

Before she could react, Damon had a vice grip on her arm, twisting it in an odd angle. She yelped out in pain, but Damon didn't seem to care. An old memory of her dad doing the same thing flashed through her head. She whimpered, feeling like a kid again, but Damon must've thought it was from the physical pain.

"Listen here, little witch. I've been stuck in that stupid boarding house for two days in a row because of Stefan. I want my ring back and I don't care what I have to do to get it." His eyes flickered up, listening in on the voices upstairs. "If you don't help me find my dearest baby brother, I'll kill yours instead."

Elowen's eyes flashed with fear for the first time since he'd met her and he knew he'd stuck a cord. Thinking he'd won, he started to smirk in triumph. However, her face contorted to one of determination as a profound feeling of protectiveness washed over her. It didn't take long to have Damon on his knees, groaning in pain. Elowen bent down to his level.

"Threaten my brother's life one more time, and I won't hesitate to stab you in the back. Literally. Understood?"

Damon managed a painful nod. Elowen stood and walked passed him, letting the spell go.

"Where the hell are you going?" Damon asked as he stood, watching as she walked down the patio steps.

"Taking you to Stefan. Let's go."

It was pretty easy to find Stefan. Elowen texted him asking if he'd found Vicki yet and he responded saying she was at the old cemetery. Damon had (just barely) agreed to let her ride on his back while he vamp sped there. When they arrived, Elowen jumped off and they resumed their journey in silence. At least, until she was once again struck with a vision.

Logan Fell shooting Stefan in the chest while Vicki watched hopelessly. He threw the gun to the side and crouched down, raising the hand that held the stake. It plunged into Stefan's chest and his skin slowly turned grey. Then he went limp.

Elowen gasped loudly when it was over. Her eyes immediately filled with tears and Damon knew something was wrong.

"What? What is it?"

"Stefan. He's…. They're…."

"Spit it out already!"

"They're gonna kill him!"

Damon took off the next minute, leaving Elowen in the dust. She quickly ran after him, trying her best not to trip over any of the tree roots in the dark. A couple of branches scraped against her face as she ran past them, but she didn't care. She showed up in time to see Vicki feeding off of Logan.

"Vicki!" She cried in relief, glad to see she was okay. However, Vicki looked up as if she were in trouble. She wiped some of the blood off of her face in shame.

"I'm sorry." She got up and ran off.

"Vicki, wait!" Elowen tried to go after her, but she was too tired from the running she had already done. Turning to the two brothers instead, Elowen was glad to see Stefan wasn't hurt.

"We need to find her before she kills somebody. Let's go."