Chapter 14: Remember Me?
The masquerade party at the Lockwoods manor was in full swing by the time Elena and I pulled up in front of the extravagant home. I followed after Elena as we made our way across the lawn and towards the back of the manor. It was clear to see that my sister and I were underdressed as we made our way past the party goers. Before we could make it any further onto the property, I caught sight of our younger brother in the crowd. I quickly grabbed Elenas forearm and pointed out our younger sibling.
"What the hell is going on?" Elena grabbed hold of Jeremy's arm. Our brother had the decency to look shocked at the sight of Elena before glancing over her head and spotting me. He sent me a look that I only answered back with a shrug of my shoulders.
"I warned Stefan that this was going to happen." Jeremy rolled his eyes at my explanation before taking a hold of Elena's arm and dragging her out of the crowd. I followed close behind and the three of us found Bonnie sitting at a table slightly secluded from the party. Elena stopped and crossed her arms as Bonnie stood up and Jeremy stood beside her. I took the space beside Elena and glanced between the three of them.
"What's going on?" Elena demanded. Jeremy and Bonnie shared a look. "And no more lies. I deserved to know."
"Katherines here. We have a plan to kill her. Tonight." Bonnie answered.
"You guys are trying to kill her here?" Elena questioned the witch with a look of disbelief before glancing over at me. I sheepishly shrugged my shoulders at her and hoped I wouldn't be getting an earful for not telling her the actual plan for tonight.
"We saw an opportunity and we knew we had to take it." Jeremy admitted and Bonnie nodded her head in agreement.
Elena un crossed her arms and shook her head. "Okay, stop with the 'we', are you guys crazy?" She now glanced between our brother and Bonnie. "You're gonna get yourselves killed."
"We know what we're doing, Elena." Bonnie spoke up to defend herself and our brother.
"She's right, Elena." I chimed in and Elena sent a glare my way, but that wasn't going to stop me from speaking my mind. "They're stronger than you think. And haven't we all suffered enough? If there's even a slight chance of them taking Katherine out, then we need to let them take it."
"How am I supposed to feel if one of them gets hurt because of me?" She argued back and I shook my head at her.
"It's not just about you, Elena." While my words sounded harsh, they rang true. "Katherine is a threat to all of us, trust me. She's not just here to ruin your life."
"Serena's right, it's not just you anymore, Elena. She's messed with all of us, she has to be stopped." Jeremy added and our sister found herself unable to argue back as she glanced between the three of us. She stood there for a moment as she took in the situation. I could see her shoulders fall slightly and I knew she was starting to give into our words. Her lips parted and I waited for her next words, but the only thing to leave her mouth was a pained scream as her face twisted and her body crumpled at the waist.
I was quick to reach out and grab a hold of her as she collapsed. If it hadn't been for Jeremy grabbing ahold of her other side, I was sure the two of us would have collapsed onto the ground. Jeremy and I carefully lowered Elena onto the bench of the table. I noticed blood starting to sweep through the fabric of her shirt and looked up at Jeremy in fear.
"Whats going on?" He looked to Bonnie as the witch stood staring at the three of us in shock.
"Jeremy, it's Katherine. She's linked to Katherine, get them to stop! Now!" Bonnie ordered. Jeremy leapt up from the bench and rushed away. Bonnie quickly took his place and spoke softly to Elena as my sister groaned in pain.
"Hold on Elena." I muttered as I kneeled in front of her. I took her hands in mine and let her clench at them as pain shot through her. "Bonnie, she's bleeding." I looked to the witch in desperation. Her eyes were full of shock and fear as she sat close beside my sister.
"I can't break the spell. I'm sorry." Bonnie shook her head and I looked at my sister.
"No, you can't break it, but you can heal her, right?" I looked back up at the witch. "Use me, like you did at the tomb. Take away her pain, Bonnie." I had to hope that Bonnie was capable of helping my sister.
"Are you sure?" She asked and I nodded my head. I couldn't have been more sure. "Okay. Okay. Hold on." Bonnie took a deep breath before letting it out and starting up a chant. "Ascinda, mulaf, hinto, ascinda…" She repeated the words and I felt a sudden spike of heat flash through my body. I let go of Elena's hands and gritted my teeth as I curled in on myself. The familiar feeling of my blood beginning to boil underneath my skin had tears filling my eyes as the witch chantched above me.
I had to do this. I had to bear the pain, for my sister. "Serena, are you okay?" The fire rushing through my blood slowly began to fade as Bonnie ended her chanting. I let out a shaky breath and looked up at the witches concerned eyes.
"Yeah, I'm okay." My eyes looked to Elena who was taking a deep breath and flexing her back and hand. "Elena, are you alright?"
She nodded her head and we both glanced up as Jeremy ran toward us. "Are you okay?" He asked and Elena once again nodded her head.
"Are they?" She asked. We all knew she was talking about Damon and Stefan.
"They're stuck in there with her." He answered. My shoulders sagged and I shook my head. This was the worst possible outcome. If Katherine got the upper hand, she was going to escape, or worse, hurt someone. Jeremy glanced over at Bonnie who sat still next to Elena. "You were right, Katherine had a witch link Elena to her."
"The girl I saw, the one inside!" Bonnie suddenly stood up. "Stay here with them. Keep an eye on Elena."
"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked the witch as she started to walk off.
"There's another witch here, I'm going to find her." She called back as she disappeared into the crowd. I took in deep breath and fell back onto my butt and pulled my knees up so I could rest my head on them. Being used as a magic source for Bonnie had taken a lot more out of me then I thought it would have. She had only used me for a short time, but it was still enough to knock the wind out of me.
"You alright, Serena?" Jeremy leaned down and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I just need a minute." I reassured him and squeezed my eyes shut as my muscles twitched. I took in another breath and tried to focus on my breathing and not on the soreness filling my limbs. I felt myself start to slip into a blissful sense of darkness when a voice sounded through my memories.
"Hello, love"
I let out a soft gasp and my eyes shot open as a voice echoed in my thoughts. My eyes shifted around the area, as if I would spot a familiar pair of sea blue eyes out in the crowd. His voice had sounded so real, like he was right beside me. While I knew it was only a figment of my imagination, a part of me wanted the comfort those in my memories offered me. I wanted them to be here, with me. But, that was an impossible wish, one that wasn't coming true.
"Take it." Jeremy's voice pulled me from my thoughts and I lifted my head up. He had taken off his ring and was trying to hand it over to Elena.
"No Jeremy." Elena shook her head and pushed his hand holding out the ring away.
"Elena, listen to me, you need this more than I do." Jeremy held out the ring and pushed it back toward Elena.
"No Jeremy. What I need is for you to be safe." Elena argued back. I winced a little as I shifted myself so I was sitting up on my knees.
"She's right." I spoke up and Jeremy's eyes glanced down at me. "Don't take that ring off for anyone. You keep it on, okay."
Jeremy nodded his head. He slipped the ring back on. With a deep breath I started to try and stand. Jeremy was quick to help lift me onto my feet. "Easy there." I swayed slightly and took a seat beside Elena and leaned back against the table.
"Can tonight be done yet?" I asked no in particular.
"Actually, it can be." Jeremy answered. I glanced over at the younger Gilbert who was looking at his phone. "Bonnie did it. She got the other witch to break the spell. Katherines gone."
Elena and I looked at eachother and I felt a weight lift itself off my shoulders. I let out a sigh and leaned against Elena as she did the same. Both of us were feeling lighter than we had in days. With Katherine gone, we no longer had to look over our shoulders. We were safe, all of us were.
Jeremy went off to find Bonnie and Elena helped me stand. I leaned into her as we slowly made our way across the lawn to where she had parked her car.
"Elena." We both came to a stop as Stefans voice called out to my sister. Elena glanced at me and I nodded my head. We turned and the vampire approached us and began to fuss over Elena and I.
"I'm okay. Bonnie and Serena healed me and took the pain away." Elena spoke up. "Serenas the one who took the brunt of the pain for me."
I shook my head. "It was nothing. I just need rest."
"You should still definitely see a doctor anyway." Stefan prodded at Elena and I rolled my eyes.
My sister could only nod in agreement knowing Stefan wasn't going to let it go. "I will. I heard about Katherine, is it true? Is she really gone?"
"Yeah, I was so worried about you." Stefan admitted. I suddenly felt like I was intruding on something I wasn't really meant to be a part of. Stefan took a step closer and Elena held up a hand to stop him.
"Stefan, I…" Elena paused and Stefan frowned at her.
"Katherine being gone doesn't change anything for you, does it?" He asked and Elena let out a sigh. I wanted to walk away and give them privacy, but that would have been hard to do when I could barely stand on my own.
"I want to be with you, Stefan." Elena started. "You know that but first, I need to wake up and know that the people that I love are safe. I need to feel safe. Do you understand?" I didn't. But I didn't dare say that aloud. I already feel safer knowing Katherine was gone. But Elena was different, she needed more reassurance before she made any life choices. I just couldn't help but feel sorry for Stefan. He really did love her.
"Yeah. Yeah, I understand." Stefan answered and Elena nodded her head.
"I'm going to get Serena home." We then turned away from the vampire and started walking back toward the car. I winced as we made it down to the gravel parking lot. "Here, are you alright to lean against the car for a minute."
"Yeah. I'm good." I replied and Elena turned to get her keys out and unlock the car. I glanced away from her to see the other party goers starting to leave. "Hey, do you think-" My words were cut off as a sudden sharp pain erupted from the side of my head. My body crumpled and I fell to the ground with a thump. My vision went dark and soon my mind followed and I found myself free falling into unconsciousness.
"Watch." I whispered as I placed my hands flat against the earth. Slowly, and with great care, I focused on the earth beneath me. As nature flowed through me and back into the dirt, a smile spread across my face as a green stem pushed its way through the soil. Then, with a beautiful flourish, the plant grew and twisted, stretching it's light pink petals as if fully bloomed.
"Beautiful." A voice whispered from beside me. "Truly breathtaking, Elskan."
The lily stood in solitude as it stretched up to meet the sunlight. I smiled and felt pride grow within me. I was happy here, truly and utterly happy as I sat beside this man. A stranger from the past. One I longed to remember.
Pain greeted me as I slowly awoke from the darkness. A groan escaped my lips and I put a hand to my aching head and forced my eyes open. "Serena, hey, take it easy, okay." Elena's voice pulled me from the pain as my eyes adjusted. The first thing I noticed was my sister kneeling beside my head. The next thing I noticed was the very unfamiliar location I found myself in.
"What the… Where are we?" I mumbled out as I did my best to sit up. "And what hit me?" I winced as my head throbbed.
"Shhhh." Elena held a finger to her lips. "Come on, can you stand?" She helped me up off the dirty couch I had been laying down on. I staggered a bit as Elena pulled me up, but my sister put an arm around my waist and helped me walk.
Elena helped me slowly up the set of old stairs that I thought were oddly placed in the sunken room. "How's the girl?" A female voice suddenly asked. I raised a brow and looked at Elena who simply shook her head. I used the railing for support as Elena and I quietly crept up the stairs to get closer to the voices.
"Still passed out, along with the other one." This time it was a males voice who spoke up. Neither of the voices sounded familiar and even through the hazy pain my head felt, I could feel the dark and dense energy the two were giving off. Vampires. But what did they want from us? It was obvious Elena and I had been kidnapped, from the unfamiliar voices and old house, to the aching headache pounding through my brain after being knocked unconscious.
"You didn't touch her, did you?" The woman asked.
"Give me some credit. I haven't even touched the spare one, granted, she smells strange, makes me wonder what she'll taste like." I swallowed the lump forming in my throat as the man spoke. "So, did you call him?"
"No, I called one of his contacts. You know how this works." The woman replied. Elena glanced back at me with a questioning look and I shrugged my shoulders at her. I had no clue as to what the two were talking about.
"Did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?" The man stressed. Who were they talking about? Who was Elijah? And why did the man sound so fearful when he said his name?
"They say he got it." The woman explained.
"Wonderful and now what?" The man asked. I tried to get Elena's attention as she turned away from me and started to walk further down the hall to hear them better. I sucked in a breath and glared after my sister as I reluctantly followed after her.
"So that's it Trevor. He either got it or he didn't." The woman answered back. "We just have to wait."
"Look, it's not too late." The man, Trevor I was assuming, started. "We can leave it here. We don't have to go through with this." Leave what here? Was he calling Elena and I the it? Or just Elena?
"I'm sick of running!" The woman suddenly shouted.
"Yeah? Well, running keeps us both from dying." Trevor argued. What could these two vampires possibly be running from?
"Elijah's old school." The woman started. "If he accepts our deal, we're free." I felt my heart stop as Elena took another step and the floor board under her foot let out a loud groan. "You!" The woman came around the coroner and glared at the two of us. "There's nothing around here for miles. If you think you're getting out of this house, you're tragically wrong. Understand?"
Elena didn't skip a beat as the woman stormed up to her. "Whos Elijah?" She asked.
"He's your worst nightmare." Now that hadn't been the answer I was expecting to hear. The woman pushed past us and I found myself staring down at the rotting floorboards. How were we going to get out of this one? I glanced up at Elena who stood still in thought before turning to look at me.
"Come on." She gently took my arm and I followed after her. My head was starting to feel better, but my limbs still felt somewhat weak as we walked back down the stairs to where I had woken up on the dingy couch. The woman from earlier was in there placing boards over the windows to keep the sun light out.
"Why are we here?" Elena asked.
"You keep asking me these questions like I'm going to answer them." The woman shot back as she stepped away from the window and looked at us.
"Why wont you?" Elena continued to question the woman.
"That's another one." The vampire commented as she walked over to a desk and started to go through the junk resting on its surface.
"You got me, okay?" Elena started and I nudged her. She really didn't need to be pushing her luck with the irritated looking vampire. "It's not like we can go anywhere. The least you can do is tell us what you want with us."
"I personally want nothing. And it's just you, the other one was a casualty of circumstances." The woman waved a hand in my direction and I felt my stomach clench. I had a feeling that that was the reason I was here with Elena in the first place. "I'm just a delivery service."
"Delivery to who? Elijah?" Elena questioned.
"Two points to the eavesdropper." The woman rolled her eyes and continued to shuffle through some books and papers resting on the desk.
"Who is he? Is he a vampire?" Elena pushed. The woman finally looked up from whatever it was she was doing to glance at the two of us.
"He's one of the vampires, the originals." Her answer sent a confusing tingle down my spine.
"The originals? What does that mean?" This time curiosity got the best of me and I was now asking my own questions.
The vampire raised a brow and crossed her arms. "Haven't the Salvatores been teaching you your vampire history?" She questioned.
"So you know Stefan and Damon?" Elena asked her.
"I know of them." The woman shrugged. "A hundred years back, a friend of mine tried to set me up with Stefan. She said he was one of the good ones." She explained. "I'm more of a sucker for the bad boys though, but I digress."
"The originals? What do you know about them?" I asked and the vampire's gaze focused on me.
"Trevor and I have been running for 500 years." She started to explain, not really answering my question. "We're tired, we want it over. We're using your friend here to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess."
"But why me?" Elena questioned.
"Because you're a Petrova Doppelgänger. You're the key to breaking the curse." My eyes widened at the woman's words and I glanced over at Elena before looking back at the vampire.
"The curse, you mean the curse of the sun and moon?" I brought up and the vampire nodded her head.
"Oh you do know your history." She commented.
"What do you mean I'm the key?" Elena started. "The moonstone is what breaks the curse."
"No, the moonstone is what binds the curse." The woman explained. "The sacrifice is what breaks it."
My blood turned cold and I placed a hand on Elena's shoulder. "What do you mean? What sacrifice?" I already knew the answer to my question, but I needed to hear her say it.
"The blood of the doppelgänger." She started and Elena went stiff as the woman's eyes pierced through her. "You're the doppelgänger. Which means, in order to break the curse, you're the one who has to die."
My hand slipped from Elena's shoulder and she grasped it within her own. That wasn't going to happen. I wasn't going to let that happen. Trevor, the other vampire holding Elena and I hostage, soon walked down the stairs and joined us. Elena kept her hand in mind as she straightened up and looked to the two vampires.
"Tell me more." She practically demanded. Trevor glanced back at us and smirked.
"Captivity has made her pushy, eh? What do you want to know doppelicious?" He asked. Elena took in breath before asking her question.
"Who were you running from?" I glanced between the two strangers as Elena spoke.
"The originals." Trevor answered.
"We know that. But who are they?" I asked and Trevor's eyes roamed over to me.
"They're the first family, the old world." He explained. "Rose and I pissed them off." The woman, Rose, let out a hum and Trevor back tacked slightly. "Correction, I pissed them off, Rose had my back and for over half a millennium, they wanted us dead."
Elenas brow furrowed in confusion. "What did you do?"
"He made the same mistake countless others did." Rose started to explain. "He trusted Katerina Petrova."
"Katherine." Elena muttered and I squeezed her hand. Of course this all had to lead back to that woman.
"The one and only. The first Petrova Doppelgänger." Rose continued.
"I helped her escape her fate and now I've." Trevor paused and motioned to Rose. "Sorry, we've been marked ever since."
"Which is why we're not going to make the same mistake again." Rose finished. I found myself frowning at the two vampires standing before my sister and I.
"My sister isn't Katherine." I spoke up and the two vampires looked at me. "She is nothing like that woman."
I turned away from them and pulled Elena along with me to the old couch where the two of us sat down. Elena curled up on one end while I took the other side. Our legs were tangled together in the middle. We took comfort in knowing we at least had each other. Rose and Trevor left us alone and wandered through the house. My mind was on an endless track as I thought over what we had just learned. To break the curse, the doppelgänger had to die. That ment Elena had to die.
My sister started to shift and I glanced over at her. Her face held a look of confusion as she suddenly sat up and pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of the couch. Her eyes went wide for a moment before she glanced around the room. She then turned the paper over and held it up for me to see. "Stefan and Damon are coming for you.-B"
I mouthed Bonnie's name and Elena nodded. I felt slightly more relieved knowing Damon and Stefan were coming to rescue us. But we had no idea how far away they were and when this Elijah person would arrive. One thing I did know, he wasn't taking my sister, not without a fight.
Elena and I had been sitting quietly for a while when Trevor suddenly stormed back into the room in a panic. "He's here. This was a mistake." He ranted as he paced the floor. I slowly stood from the couch and Elena followed my lead.
"No, I told you I would get us out of this." Rose reassured the man. "You have to trust me." I carefully approached Elena and placed myself in front of her while the two vampires spoke.
"No! He wants me dead, Rose!" Travor shouted in a panic.
"He wants her more." Rose reminded the man. I glared across the room at her and pushed Elena further back. Fear gripped my stomach. I was no match for a vampire, especially a supposed original vampire. But I couldn't just let him take her.
"I can't do this. You give her to him, he'll have mercy on you but I need to get out of here." Trevor was in a full blown panic now. He truly was afraid of this Elijah person. It made me wonder just how afraid of him I should be. Would this be it for me? Was my death only seconds away?
"Hey!" Rose took the fearful man by the shoulders and had him look her in the eyes. "What are we?"
"We're family." He answered her. "Forever."
Always and forever, echoed within my thoughts as Rose calmed the man down. I don't know where the words came from, but they sounded right. Rose then ordered him to stay with us and to not make a sound. This was it. Now we faced something stronger than we had ever faced before. I could only hope that we made it out alive, both of us.
I stood firmly in front of Elena as the sound of footsteps reached my ears. This was it. I braced myself in front of my sister as a figure emerged at the top of the stairs. Then everything froze as he appeared and it felt like the ground beneath me had opened up and I was being swallowed whole and dropped straight into the past. Those eyes, I knew those eyes.
The man's face fell from the indifferent look he had walked into the room with the second our eyes met. "Serena." My name was like a whisper on the wind as he looked down at me. Then, before I could even blink, he was standing in front me, causing Elena to take a step back out of fear. He was so close that I could clearly make out the details of his face. A strong sharp jaw and defined nose with a small amount of fringe falling across his forehead. But it was those eyes that had my full attention. Deep pools of brown that were dragging me down into their depths.
"I know you." My voice was only but a whisper. I was afraid that if I spoke too loudly this would all disappear. That he would disappear.
"How is this possible?" Slowly, as if afraid to frighten me, his hand lifted and with the back of his fingers he lightly creased my cheek. His skin gently grazed mine and I immediately felt what seemed like electric shocks shoot down my spine.
"Elijah?" His name came out sounding like a question, but I already knew the answer. This was really him. He was really here. Just as he had done earlier, I raised my hand slowly to touch him, but before I could reach his face, a pressure squeezing my other hand pulled me from the serene world we had created.
The bubble burst and I was suddenly reminded of where I was and who I was with. I took an involuntary step back as my thoughts rejoined the present. Elena tugged at my hand and I pulled my eyes away from the man from my past to glance back at my sister.
"Serena." Her eyes looked concerned and I did my best to send her a reassuring smile. It must not have worked because her frown only grew deeper as concern filled her eyes.
I turned away from my sister and looked back to the vampire standing in front of me. Where do I even begin? While my heart was singing in my chest, my mind was a whirlwind of fear and confusion as it tried to work out the emotions I was feeling wash through me. This man, no this vampire, was here to take my sister. I couldn't let that happen.
"I know you're here for my sister. But please, don't take her from me." It was the only thing I could think of to do, beg that this vampire standing in front of me wouldn't hurt Elena. That somehow he really was the same person from my past, that whoever he had been to me, would help me save Elena.
"Your sister?" His face twisted in confusion before his eyes left mine to glance back at Elena. He took in breath and narrowed his eyes. "She's human. Interesting." He muttered before looking back down at me. "This changes things." I could tell that he wasn't talking about Elena being human as he metnition that things had changed, because he was looking directly at me. "We have a long journey ahead of us. We should be going."
"Serena." I could hear the panic in Elena's voice and I turned to look at her. "Don't let him take me." She muttered in fear.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, I promise." I turned back around and once again placed myself in front of my sister. "What if you took me instead? Just me." I suggested. I could feel Elena tense up behind me. But I didn't dare give her the opportunity to argue. I could do this. I needed to do this. "I can break the curse without my sister having to die." Elijah's eyes went wide for a second before he put on a face of indifference.
"That's impossible." Rose muttered. "The curse can only be broken by the blood of a doppelgänger."
"Maybe." I spoke up. "But if something stronger came along, something like me. A Fae." I didn't know where I was going with this, but if what Bonnie had said was true, then if I could break a witch's spell, then maybe I could break a curse too.
"Impossible." Rose muttered from where she stood.
"Serena, don't do this, please." Elena begged me. I ignored her pleas and looked directly at Elijah.
"So, do we have a deal? You take me instead, and I promise I'll break the curse for you." I held out my hand for the vampire to take and we stood with our eyes locked.
"You have a deal." He reached out and gently grasped my hand in his own. The second our skin touched I felt what seemed like a thousand butterflies fill my stomach. My heart sang for joy and I wanted nothing more than to keep his hand in mine. "One last piece of business and we're done." Elijah dropped my hand and I felt the swarming insects cease there flying as he turned away to look at Trevor and Rose.
"I've waited so long for this day, Elijah." Trevor bowed his head at the older vampire. "I'm truly, very sorry."
"Oh no, your apology's not necessary." Elijah explained to the man.
Trevor lifted his head. "Yes, yes it is. You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you."
"Oh yes, you are the guilty one and Rose aided you because she was loyal to you and that now I honor." Elijah's gaze narrowed at the scared man. "Where was your loyalty?"
"I beg your forgiveness." Trevor pleaded.
"So granted." It happened fast, faster than I could even comprehend. With a strength I could not even fathom, Trevor's head was smacked straight off his body. I felt Elena jolt behind me and heard Roses screams for her friend. But I didn't move. I stayed rooted in my place and as Elijah's gaze found my own, we simply stared at one another. I could tell he was trying to gage my reaction, but I honestly didn't know how to feel at the moment. He was pure power.
While all the vampires I had met over the course of the last few months have all had similar energies about them, he was different. His energy was dark and dense like the others, but it was ten times stronger than any vampire I had met before. It would have been overwhelming to anyone else, but for some odd reason I couldn't explain, I found comfort knowing he was so powerful.
Why that was, I didn't know, maybe I was even afraid to know.
"You!" Rose shouted and looked about ready to attack Elijah, but he simply sent her a look.
"Don't, Rose, now that you are free." Elijah reminded her and the woman stood still in her spot. He turned around and reached out his hand toward me. "Come."
I hadn't even stopped to think about what I was doing before I was reaching out my hand to place in his. "Wait, stop, please." Elena grabbed hold of my arm before I could take a step forward. "What about the moonstone?"
"What do you know about the moonstone?" Elijah asked as his eyes left mine to look back at my sister.
"I know that you need it and I know where it is." She explained. I felt my breath get caught in my throat. While I appreciated her trying to protect me, I was also cursing her as she placed herself right back into the frying pan. "I can help you get it, just don't take Serena."
"Tell me where it is?" Elijah demanded as he took a threatening step toward us.
"It doesn't work that way." Elena informed him. I glared at my sister and shook my head at her. She needed to stop before my deal with the vampire went out the window.
"Are you negotiating with me?" Elijah glanced back at Rose who was clearly still reeling over the sudden death of her friend.
"It's the first I've heard of it." She spoke through her grief. Elijah then turned back to my sister and I. Before he could do anything to harm Elena I stood a large step forward.
"It's back in Mystic Falls. I can get it for you, but our deal has to still stand." I quickly answered.
"Serena." Elena hissed out my name and I glanced back at her.
"It's fine Elena, trust me." I pleaded with my sister and turned back the man.
"Interesting." He muttered. The sudden sound of glass breaking pulled us all from the conversion and I suddenly remembered the note Bonnie had gotten to Elena earlier. "What is that?" His gaze went to Rose who stood with a confused look on her face.
"I don't know." She told the vampire.
"Who else is in this house?" Elijah questioned her.
"I don't know." She answered back.
Elijah let out a huff before suddenly standing directly in front of me. His hands were gentle as they took hold of me and I suddenly found myself standing in what looked to be the front hall of the old house. I blinked and glanced around. I felt a sigh leave my lungs as I saw Rose beside us with Elena next to her.
"Rose." Elijah ground out as I was pushed behind him. My heart was pounding in my chest as if it wanted to break out of my rib cage. This man, this vampire, he was making me feel things I had never felt before, not in this lifetime at least.
"I don't know who it is." Rose admitted.
"Up here." My breath caught in my throat as a familiar voice echoed from above us. I knew right away that it was Stefan and fear gripped my stomach.
"Down here." This time it was Damon's voice. Elijah gently took hold of my wrist pulling me with him as he grabbed a coat stand that was near the large front door. One thing I noticed was that anytime he touched me, it was gentle. Without even trying he broke the wooden stand and was now armed with a stake. With a flash of movement, both Rose and Elena were no longer standing with us. I felt my gut clench as Elijah released me and walked toward the stairs.
"Excuse me. To whom it may concern, you're making a great mistake if you think you can beat me. You can't. Do you hear that?" His words sent a shiver down my spine and I knew that if my brothers weren't careful, they were going to die. "I repeat, you cannot beat me." He moved closer to the steps as he spoke. "So I'm going to leave with the girl and you're not going to stop me. Do we understand each other?"
"Wait-" I called out, but before I could stop him, Elena appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Wait, don't hurt my friends, they just wanted to help us out." Elena begged. Elijah moved fast and was suddenly standing a couple steps below where Elena stood.
"What game are you playing with me?" He growled out and Elena didn't even flinch before she showed her hands and threw what turned out to be a vervain bomb at Elijah's face.
I let out a gasp in shock as Elijah growled out in pain. I felt like I was losing a battle as I stood frozen to the floor. My sister and the vampires I once called brothers were in danger, and yet I felt more afraid for the vampire trying to hurt them. The realization made me slightly sick. I didn't know what to do. I was lost and there was no hope for me in that moment.
I found my heart breaking as Elijah took a threatening step towards Elena. I could do nothing but watch on in fear as Stefan suddenly appeared and shot at the older vampire with one of Alaric's compressed air weapons. The stakes barely even slowed Elijah down. Stefan gave up on the weapon and tackled the older, and stronger, vampire down the stairs. Elijah was quick to get up and before I could even blink Damon appeared and stabbed the makeshift stake Elijah had a hold of earlier, straight through his chest.
I felt my heart drop as pure panic set in and a scream escaped my lips. I didn't understand the torrent of emotions rushing through my entire body as Damon impaled Elijah to the door. The older vampire's face turned grey as the stake stabbed through his heart.
"Serena? Serena?!" I could barely make out my sister shouting my name as I stared at the dead vampire hanging against the door.
"I- I can't breathe." Were the only words I was able to get out as my body folded in on itself. I felt as if my heart was breaking, like I had just witnessed my own death happen before me. Why? Why did I feel this way? I barely knew Elijah and even if I had known him in the past, most of those memories were still lost to me. But the feelings, those lost feelings I felt from a life lived so long ago, they felt fresh and seared in pain as I fell to the ground.
"Hey, whoa there little sister." Damon was quick to cradle me in his arms as I tried to regain my breath. But that seemed impossible and soon my vision started to go black and I found myself falling into what seemed to be a never ending dark pit.
A/N: Oh boy, this chapter had me reeling all week. I've been so nervous to post it, but I'm proud with what I was able to do with it. A little explanation on my my part, this chapter was hard because while Serena can remember somethings from her past, including Elijah, hes still technically a stranger to her. But for Elijah, this meeting was different. This was seeing a ghost from his past he never imagined he'd see again. But I'll be getting more into that in the next two chapters. This is only the beginning for Serena.
Thank you all for reading! Please, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a review. Thank you for sticking with this story. Mondays are post days so see you all next Monday.
Stay safe everyone.