This is so not the part of the story that I enjoy – the supernatural bit but this story headed in this direction, hopefully I can do it justice.
"Hello, Elena. It's about time we met."
And that's the last thing I remember before everything went black. Who knows how much later, I wake up, assuming it's still the same day and making it the third time I've woken up today confused about what's going on. It doesn't feel like time much time has passed but then, I was knocked out so I'm really not the best one to be judging these things. The room around me is pitch black and I can feel something around my ankle. I reach down and my fingers hit a heavy metal ring secured around my leg, attached to a chain. I give it a tug and hear the chain clank but not give way. I'm stuck. I sit up, feeling around me, trying to get my bearings. The ground is rough and uneven; it feels more like stone than hard dirt.
I hear a groan off to my right and immediately tense up, hopeful whoever it is can't see me any more than I can see them. My heart is beating quick and loud; I press my hand against my chest, as if I could quiet it, as if anyone else but me can hear it.
"Elena, is that you?" Stefan's voice croaks from the same place I heard the groan. "Are you all right?"
"Stefan, how did you know…"
"I'd recognize your heartbeat anywhere, side effect of being a vampire," Stefan actually chuckles.
"So glad you can laugh about this. What's going on? Where are we?"
"I don't have any idea, last thing I remember was running into your room after I heard you scream and I suddenly got one of those witchy migraine things that Bonnie is so fond of," I can hear Stefan shifting around and the same metal clanging that I just made, only he gasps as if in pain. "Damn vervain. So, you didn't answer my question, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I guess," I reach up to feel around my head, thinking I must have a bump or something to indicate how I was knocked out. "I don't even have a headache. I was awake one minute, running to get you and then I was out and waking up here."
"What were you yelling about?"
"What… oh, Bonnie texted me, she said they got the coffin open but were knocked out and when they woke up the coffin was empty so they were coming to the house. I hope they're okay. And Ric, what about Ric, was he with you?"
"No, at least I don't think so, he had just run outside to grab something from his car when you yelled out. He should be okay, with his super ring and all. Even if he did put up a fight with whoever took us, I'm going to guess they were supernatural."
"Yeah, he likes to test it out." I concentrate on where I can hear Stefan's voice coming from but have no luck in seeing a damn thing. "Can you see anything?"
"No, not really, just kind of a darker blob in the midst of all the rest of the darkness."
"I take it I'm the darker blob?"
"Let's not get vain now, Elena, it doesn't suit you. Besides, we have more important things to do like figure out how to get out of here. Any thoughts?"
"Me? You're the plan-maker here, I'm just to run into danger person. Besides which, you're also the older and seemingly wiser one of us, this is your ballgame."
Before Stefan can answer, we hear a thumping sound, which I quickly determine to be footsteps coming from someplace outside of where we are. I can't be certain if it is above or next to us, just that it isn't in the same room. Instinctively I reach out in Stefan's direction, hitting the toe of his boots with my fingertips. It seems silly, but I cling to that bit of contact, silently praying the sound is coming to rescue us, but knowing we're not likely to be that lucky.
The sound stops suddenly and a door swings open behind Stefan, flooding the room with light. I hold my free hand up to block the light, squinting to try and see who is coming in.
"Elena… Stefan… my apologies for the way I've had to bring you here," It's a woman's voice, I realize it's the same as the one I heard before in my room so we're probably not getting rescued. "I'll explain it all to you in a minute but first I have to take care of two things."
From behind the woman, whose face I still can't see because of the light flowing in behind her and making her face dark, two bodies seem to float into the room. They are levitating in the air and the woman makes a motion with each of her arms as if to cast something into the room. The bodies follow her motions and glide onto the floor in front of her, opposite from where Stefan and I are chained up. Another flip of her wrists and metal rings fasten themselves to the ankles of our new cellmates. The woman chants a couple lines that sound similar to things I've heard Bonnie saying when she's casting a spell and suddenly countless candles around the room are alight with flames, illuminating the entire room.
I glance around me but don't recognize where we are as any place I've ever seen. My eyes lock with Stefan's and he shrugs, unsure of what to do next. I quickly shift my gaze to the two still bodies on the floor, one I recognize as one of Klaus' hybrids but the other isn't at all familiar. Lastly, I turn my attention to the unknown woman, though I'm now quite certain she's a witch and have a strong feeling she's the Original mommy.
Her next statement confirms it, "I'm very sorry for all the trouble my son has caused you, it would seem he's gotten a little out of control in the past thousand years, but then, he never was one to regulate himself. Always a boy, and never a man, that one. Not like Elijah who was an old soul from the moment he was born. My sons, they could not be more different and their two brothers were just as different yet. But then, you know a thing or two about family differences, don't you, Mr. Salvatore?"
The woman turns to face Stefan and I notice as the skirt of her dress twirls about her legs that her clothing is dated and old. I'm creeped out, thinking how the last time she was walking on this earth it was so very long ago; I can't help see her as a corpse raised from the dead, rather than awaken from an impossibly long sleep.
"You know a lot for a woman who has been dead for a thousand years," Stefan quips.
"Perhaps, but death is sometimes not really death, wouldn't you say. I mean, you're not really alive at the moment, are you and then again, you're not really dead either."
Our captor turns her attention to me. "You are quite lovely my dear, just like the first of your line, the beautiful Tatiana, who captured the attention of another set of brothers. My sons were equally in love with her and equally disappointed when she didn't choose just one of them. But her greed was her undoing, since she didn't want to pick, I made it possible for her to be with both of them for eternity and fed them her blood to make them into the beings they are now. Poetic, don't you think?"
I really don't have any idea what to say to her, this woman who has both the misfortune of being Klaus' mother and the responsibility of having created him. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you want me to say… ma'am?"
"Oh, we can do without those formalities, you can call me Esther if you wish to call me anything. As I was saying, it's poetic that her blood created them and now we come full circle because it will be your blood that destroys them. And theirs, too," Esther moves her hand in a circle around the room, motioning to Stefan, along with the other two bodies on the floor.
I'm stunned into silence, not sure if she's indicating that she intends to kill me or use my blood like her son has already done, either way I don't think we're walking out of here unharmed.
Esther walks back to the doorway, turning to look back at us, "I'll be back soon, the moon is nearing its apex and your companions will soon be awake and then we can begin the ritual so I can right the wrong I created and take my son apart piece by piece."
The door closes behind her with a solid thud, but thankfully the candles have remained lit.
"Well, wasn't she quite polite about all that, I can see where Elijah gets his propriety and certainly where Klaus gets his drive, she didn't waste any time getting down to business once she was out of that coffin. Piece by piece, she makes it sound like a lovely little puzzle that she's putting together." The dullness in Stefan's voice belies the confidence of his words.
"Stefan, what are we going to do? What do you think is going to happen to us?" Unlike Stefan, I sound as desperate as what I'm saying.
"I don't know." Stefan's words hang in the air as we stare at each other.
The momentary silence is broken up by moans coming simultaneously from the bodies lying on the floor in front of us. The hybrid sits up first, yanking wildly at the chain holding him to the ground.
"What the hell is going on?" He turns his deathly scowl on me, eyes wide with recognition. "What are you doing here? Where are we? Does Klaus know what's going on?"
"Probably not since our being together is meant to kill him somehow," Stefan speaks up, thankfully drawing the hybrid's chilling gaze away from me. "His mother brought you here."
"She's dead. You're lying, Klaus said not to trust you." He spits the words out, as loyal as any soldier to his cause.
"He's not lying, she's not dead anymore, she's back," I say, hoping my voice doesn't sound as frightened as I feel.
The unknown entity finally joins us in sitting up, rolling his shoulders to stretch them. "It sounds like you guys already know each other, but why don't you fill me in. I was…" he pauses, sounding unsure of how to continue. "I was… hiking in the forest and suddenly, bam, here I am, definitely not alone in the forest."
"You're the werewolf." Stefan states calmly.
"Don't know what you're talking about, dude," our new "friend" seems suddenly very uncomfortable with the topic of conversation. "I'm just a guy."
"Bullshit. You're a werewolf. I'm a vampire. He's a hybrid. And she's a doppelganger." Stefan sounds sad, "Together we make Klaus who he is, each piece of him."
"And together, you'll be his undoing," Esther's voice rings out from the doorway though I hadn't even realized that it opened again. "Very good, Stefan, you figured out the elements of my recipe. Though finding a plain old werewolf on short notice was more difficult than one might think, especially since my son was intent on building his army of hybrids, thankfully he hadn't found this one."
"Mike, my name's Mike, and give me a few more minutes and you won't be thinking of me as just a plain old werewolf."
"Easy there, dear, I think you'll find that I'm more than equipped to handle the likes of you, no matter how tough you think you are." Esther rubs her hands together every so lightly and sends Mike writhing on the floor in agony. "All right then, shall we begin?"
"Wait, please, are we going to die," my voice squeaks out. "Are you going to kill us?"
"Not all of you, my dear, it all depends on how much of each of you it takes to kill my dear son," Esther turns to the hybrid whose name I don't even know. "I'm sorry to say that you will be giving up your life tonight, darling, it must be done, he's you more than anyone else here, even me."
The hybrid seems uncharacteristically scared, reminding me that we all started out human at some point, afraid to die.
She turns her gaze on me, "I'm afraid you might not make it either, my dear, you're just not as strong as the rest of them."
"No!" Stefan leaps to his feet only to be knocked back down with the slightest of glances from Esther.
"Yes, it must be done this way, Stefan, it's the only way to get rid of my son, to ensure he dies tonight. It's in your benefit, I see he's having quite a time entertaining your brother, though I'm not sure your brother finds it very entertaining. Want to see?"
Esther walks between all of us to the wall opposite the door and grabs a candle from a nearby shelf. She starts chanting, as she speaks, the flame grows so that it's the same size as the wall she's standing in front of and with a flick of her wrist the flame covers the wall and seems to turn into something similar to a television screen, giving us a visual access into what appears to be Klaus' living room.
Damon is tied to a chair in the middle of the room, blood running from cuts on every exposed stretch of bare skin and bleeding through his clothing everywhere else. His head hangs down so his chin rests on his chest, he looks barely alive. Klaus is nearby, feeding on some poor girl, stopping only to shout in Damon's direction. Sadly, Esther's impressive magic show doesn't come with sound so we can't hear what he's saying.
"I know Klaus promised to keep Damon alive but remember, the morning comes sooner than you think and my son never was one to be patient for any longer than necessary and he certainly isn't one to deal honorably with anyone, just ask his brothers."
I choke back a sob but I can't take my eyes from the scene that's playing out in front of me like some twisted silent film. Klaus has finished with his "drink" and has turned his full attention back to Damon, taking a poker he'd had heating in the fireplace and jabbing it into Damon's upper thigh.
"Make him stop," I hear myself crying out. "Do it, do whatever you have to do. Just don't let him die."
"As you wish, Elena, it's time."
"Elena, Damon would never forgive himself if you died for him," Stefan's voice demands I look at him, pulling my eyes away from the man I love. "If she lets us go I can get there and save him. We'll get Klaus some other way."
"No, Stefan, this is it. I've waited too long for this and I know that the time is right. It's perfect because he's distracted, he probably won't even notice how weak he's getting until it's too late and then he'll be too far gone." Esther's voice is cool and collected as she describes her son's demise. "I will be as careful as I can, I'll use the hybrid up first to and then draw equally from each of you; it will give you three the best chance of survival but I make no promises, my priority is getting rid of Klaus, nothing else. Now, shall we begin?"
She doesn't wait for a response as she turn to stand in the middle of us, raising her hands in front of her as she begins the haunting chant of her spell. We're all brought to our feet at Esther's will, rising like her hands in front of her.
The tears are falling freely as I shift my eyes back and forth between Stefan's face and the scene still playing on the wall, watching as Damon's face twists in agony while Klaus almost prances around him, poking him with large splinters from a broken coffee table. Then I can see my name on his lips, calling out to me and the sobs take over my body.
It doesn't take long, within a few minutes, Klaus' hybrid has collapsed on the floor and I'm certain he's dead. The end could be coming sooner than I expect and I'm not ready, though I've never been more sure of anything in my life.
"Stefan," I feel like I'm shouting as the air around us seems to be swirling and Esther's voice is ringing in my ears. "Tell him that I love him, that I'll always love him."
"You'll tell him yourself, Elena," Stefan's eyes plead with me. "You're not going to die, I won't let you die."
"Even you can't stop death," I can feel myself getting weaker and my knees buckle underneath me.
As I start to fade out I hear Stefan's voice, but he's not talking to me, "Take me, take all of me and leave her, Esther. I don't need to live but she does. Don't make it equal, use me up and just leave her, please."
It takes all I have in me to open my eyes, I look first to see Stefan's lifeless body on the floor next to me and then at the wall where I see Klaus is also on the ground, lastly I look at Damon who, despite all his wounds, is still alive. My love. My life. And I know it now, I know that love is enough.