AN: SO, the internet is finally back up, and I'm SO HAPPY! I was dying for a while there. I brought Slater back because I think he's a quirky guy, and I thought his death was sad (he really minds his own business). There are a few more chapters in site still, so keep checking in!
Damon sat uneasily across from Elijah. The call last night with ticket information to England was less than appetizing, and he could have used another week – no, lifetime – planning Elena's survival...that's really what it would be; survival. Both of them were headed first-class to meet the oldest vampire in history, who wanted to stab or rip apart or maul the one, human person he'd ever cared about...and he was turning more and more helpless as the days went by.
"Don't look so reprehensive" Elijah said, calmly holding his untouched gin and tonic. Shameful, really.
Damon grinned, annoyed. "I'll wear whatever expression I feel like, while I can." Elijah chuckled sardonically.
"Don't act like he's going to kill you, Damon." He said, tracing a droplet of condensation along his glass.
"Isn't that the point?" Damon said. "Cower in fear and die from some miserable version of medieval torture? I'm sure he's built up some nasty tricks."
Elijah just shook his head, smiling and chuckling again. "I'm shocked by you, Damon." He said. "I really had you pegged as smart; the type of person who can connect the dots. Of course, there are certain dots you can't reach on your own." He was so close, and giving Damon the tiniest hint of the masterpiece which he'd created was satisfying. He watched the young vampire's expression changed, and he grinned maliciously.
"I'm not sure I follow" Damon said, curious.
Elijah looked at Elena's sleeping form, and Damon's gaze followed. "Too bad" Elijah said. "Watching her die will really tear you apart."
Damon felt a strong twinge of hate run through him, and he wanted to rip something apart, but he didn't. Elena was asleep and leaning on him, and the last thing he wanted to do was wake her now.
"Don't you have a fly or something to torture? Maybe pull the wings off of?" Damon said, accepting a Canadian whiskey from the flight attendant.
"That's the point" Elijah said. "You're the fly."
"They're on their way" Daphne said, looking out over the widespread creeks and trees that made up the view from the Swedish lodge.
"I know" Klaus said. They'd come much sooner than he'd thought, ad even though he was extremely close to accomplishing his goal, he didn't see the point of it anymore. To turn the curse one way or another would unleash a war that he didn't want Daphne to be a part of, and he knew that it would most certainly put her in danger from people who wanted him dead. People like Elijah.
The younger vampire was stupid. Yes, he was also an original, but he wasn't in the same bracket of power as Klaus, and he knew this. Elijah also knew that killing Klaus would give him the elder vampire's power, and Klaus had no intention of letting himself be killed. He'd sent a fledgling vamp to find information on the doppelganger and her escort, and he would arrive back at any minute.
"Father isn't going to believe me until he sees us, and even then he may not accept it." She said. Klaus eyed the dark puncture wounds of her neck tenderly, feeling like a vandal for marking her beautiful skin.
"Your father will have to realize that he doesn't have a say in this situation."
"What situation?" she said playfully
"I love you." He said. It was true, and he'd told her many times; words he never believed he was capable of saying.
"and I love you" she said.
Klaus heard the door to the lodge open, the scout was back. "Then nothing will happen to us" He moved to the large door to the massive room the two were in, and it gave far too easily for a door of its size.
"Slater" he said, looking down the hall. Daphne had spared the young vamp from his compelled suicide, raising him seemingly from the dead after his body had been shipped to the lodge. He was extremely useful, and Klaus liked what he'd decided to do with his immortality; education was a noble pursuit.
"Klaus"
"Did you get the information I needed?" he asked, walking towards him. Slater smiled, handing him a large file.
"I already had most of the information you asked for on the Salvatore Brothers, and I also added info about Katherine Pierce (Katerina Petrova, as you know her). You'll find information regarding Elena Gilbert in the back, she has her own folder. Quite the web of intricacies here!" Slater said, watching Klaus flip the large folder open.
"I'm sure that you'll find out, at my age, everything is intricate" It was true. There were a million reactions to any decision, and lifting the curse was possibly the most intricate of all. Killing Elijah on the other hand was fairly simple.
"Damon, where are we?" Elena asked, groggy. She was still half asleep, even though they had just gotten off the plane and were heading towards the train station on the other end.
"We're in Amsterdam" he said. He would have enjoyed it, had it been for any other circumstance. Amsterdam was definitely a place where one could live.
"What? I thought we were heading to London" she said, waking up a little more.
"We still are" he said, turning towards the train station "we're going by train"
"Ah." She'd noticed a change in Damon since they'd gotten the call to go to England. She hadn't heard more than two sarcastic comments, and even then they were weak or whispered. He was scared. She looked up at the pristine features of his face, her eyes tracing the worry in his brow. "Damon" he looked at her hesitantly. "It'll be ok."
His gaze shifted back to Elijah, Stefan and Jonas, who walked ahead of them, just out of ear shot.
"You're worried about your daughter, aren't you?" Stefan said, looking at Jonas.
"What father wouldn't be?" he replied, his gaze downcast.
"You realize that she'll have to perform the spell before Klaus can be killed, correct?" Elijah said, smirking.
"Of course. I just don't want her to be harmed in the process. It's a formidable spell, and even with my help, a witch of her strength could easily be hurt, even killed." It was true, and as much as he wanted to see Klaus suffer, he wasn't stupid enough to try to make his daughter push past her limits.
"Relax, Jonas" Elijah said. "being nervous won't help you at all" this was also true, and Jonas sighed. He looked back at Elena and Damon, and he could see the strained, angry expression across the semi-vamps' face. It was the same expression Jonas was wearing, one that said that the unthinkable was about to happen, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. He liked Elena (Damon, not so much..), she was a sweet girl, and he felt like an accessory to the most brutal kind of murder, but he'd do anything to get Daphne back; she was his daughter afterall. The idea of a vampire feeding on her repulsed him, and it made him want to steal the fangs that had so carelessly ripped through her skin. They approached the train station, trading in their flight passes for the tickets. They were so close.
"We're going to London" Klaus said.
"Why, hun?" Daphne asked, confused. "We could stay here, and they'd never find us; no one would have to be hurt."
"From what I've seen of the information that Mr. Slater passed to me, I've hurt enough people by staying hidden."
"But it isn't you she said" She was beautiful with her childlike optimism, but she was wrong.
"Right now, there's a girl barely younger than you being dragged here to die." He said. "I'm responsible, because the vampire dragging her here wants to use her to kill me, and to start a war."
"But—"
"Daphne she's in love, just like you and I. Could I really be charged with the cruelty of ripping her away from the one who loves her?"
"But won't my father tear us apart?" she said, head tilted.
"He will, but you'll still be safe. Death is a different kind of tear; it's permanent and cold. There's no remorse in death, no recovery." He cupped her face in his hands. "I couldn't have her die here anymore than I could let you go" It was possibly the truest thing he'd said all day.
Damon and Stefan sat in their own train compartment, Elena a few doors down with Elijah and Jonas. The train company was very strict about seating, and Damon had no choice but to sit across from the grinning form of his body.
"Stefan, why are you here?" Damon said, not entirely understanding.
"You need your body to switch back, don't you? That is your fee for bringing Elena, isn't it?" Stefan watched Damon's facial expression change, and he smirked. Damon lunged across the car. He pinned his brother down firmly, and he could feel one fang protruding from his jaw.
"I swear to god Stefan, I won't hesitate to rip my own body apart just to watch you die."
"And then die yourself?" Stefan asked coyly. Damon moved to look him in the eye, his one fang bared.
"I'd have the satisfaction of knowing you died first" Damon hissed. He would definitely consider it, once he had his body back. He could make all the empty threats he wanted, but until he was back in his own body, but he and Stefan knew he couldn't do anything. It was only a matter of time.
Elijah leaned against the side of the car, looking out the window listlessly. Travel was boring. Jonas sat across from Elena, who had been fairly talkative, despite her impending death.
"I'm sorry, Elena" Jonas said. It was true.
"I'm sure you have your reasons." She said, sighing. She wasn't enjoying this any more than she would have enjoyed a trip to the dentist.
"I do." Jonas reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. He pulled out a picture of Daphne in her graduation cap and handed it to Elena. Elena took the picture, looking it over with surprise. The girl (whom Elena assumed was his daughter) wasn't much older than her, and the only blanks that Elena could fill were that Klaus had Jonas' daughter.
"She's beautiful." Elena said. "What happened?"
"Elena, there are things you don't need to know. I understand you have a penchant for knowing useless facts and turning them into monumental problems. That'll be enough for the two of you" Elijah said. Elena huffed and sat back, bored. She stretched out a hand to give Jonas' picture back, and he touched her wrist. Suddenly, she saw the entire story of Daphne's (she knew her name now) disappearance! The scenes from Jonas' mind flashed before her eyes almost, and she found herself mesmerized. Daphne simply didn't come home one night, and Jonas had found a letter explaining that she'd left to help a vampire. She could feel the rage Jonas had felt, and she understood why he was here now. He wanted her back.
Elena looked at Elijah, and decided it was best to say nothing. She would definitely re-visit this, though. There were so many questions which had suddenly sprung up, and she wouldn't go without an answer. Jonas sent her a knowing glance, and she knew he'd want to speak to her later.