KATERINA

My phone rang, waking me up. Groaning, I rolled over in my bed, eyes still closed as I reached for the electronic device. I felt a cool surface, but as I went to grab it, my fingers pushed it off the nightstand, sending my phone to the hardwood floor.

Great.

Frustrated, I ripped the blankets off me, and with half-open eyes, picked up the phone, reading the caller ID.

Clearing my throat, I tapped the screen and placed the phone by my ear, "Hey, Stefan, what's up?"

"Hey," He answered distractedly, "I—um, I'm sorry for calling, did I wake you?"

"Oh, it's fine." I quickly assured him, "Actually, if you hadn't of called, I probably would've slept through school."

He gave a chuckle, but his tone remained serious, "Listen... something important has come up... it's probably better if you come to the boarding house to discuss it, instead of over the phone."

Worry ran through me, "Yeah...sure..."

"You can bring along Elena, too." Stefan added, "It doesn't really involve her, but I figured she'd want to know."

Okay. So... I was lost right now. I had no idea what he was talking about, though a gut feeling led me to believe that it was about the sacrifice.

"Okay, I—we'll be over in about ten minutes." I said.

"Good, see you." He said, his voice still a bit tense.

"See you."

After hanging up, I checked my clock on the table: 6:07 A.M. I had some time to kill. Walking into my huge closet, I picked out a cream top with black lace, a black detailed flower skirt, matching open-toe heels, diamond-studded bracelets, and a silver ring and hair clip.

My door suddenly opened with no warning, and my sister strolled in, wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans, her eyes widening when she found me. "I'm surprised you're awake." She stated, "It usually takes about fifty alarms to even make you twitch."

"Shut up." I rolled my eyes, smiling, "Anyways, how would you know whether or not I move?"

"It's called making an observation." She replied, "You know, the thing humans learn to do when they're babies." Then she looked up at me innocently, "Oh, wait, that's right, you aren't human."

Laughing, I threw a pillow from my bed at her. She jerked up her arm as a reflex reaction, and the pillow dropped to the floor. "You're so mean."

"Hey, I'm not the one throwing pillows at other people just because they stated the truth." She smirked, her palms facing me.

"Whatever." My tone then turned serious as I continued, "Um, Stefan called me. He said that he had something important to discuss with me at the boarding house... you can come if you want to."

All humor left her expression and her eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean 'important'?"

I shrugged, "He wouldn't tell me... but it probably has something to do with the curse and the sacrifice."

Elena nodded, "Okay, let's go."

I gave her a "you're coming?" look, and she rolled her eyes, giving me a "duh" look.

Knocking on the door to the Salvatore boarding house, Elena tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the door to open.

"I swear." She finally stated after a few seconds, "You'd think that with them being vampires they'd at least make an effort to answer the door."

"They have to act like humans to convince people they are." I said, "If people came around and knocked, they'd expect to wait a few moments."

She sighed, but before answering, the front door opened, and Damon stood on the other side. Something within me sparked at the sight of him, though I couldn't pinpoint what. He gazed at me softly, and greeted, "Hello, Ariana." His gaze shifted to Elena, and he smirked, "Ariana's sister."

She scoffed, "Is that what I'm called now?"

"More or less." He smirked, "Heard you two talking about me."

I knew he was kidding, and shook my head. We were talking about vampires in general, and though we all knew that, Elena narrowed her eyes at him, and agreed, "Yeah, we were each taking turns on naming something that's terrible about you. Actually, we started this game a few days ago, but it seems that it never ends because there is always something horrible about you."

Damon lost his smirk and glared at my sister. I internally groaned, nudging Elena with my elbow as I gave the Salvatore an "ignore her" look. I said, "Stefan called. He said it was important."

His eyes softened as he turned back to me, opening the door wider, "Right this way." He said quietly, allowing Elena and I to enter. We barely made it to the hallway before Stefan had already arrived, nodding to us.

"Hey."

"Hey, what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

He opened his mouth, but I caught sight of something behind him before he could speak. A woman slowly walked towards us, her gray eyes strangely wary and her lips pressed together in a thin line. I recognized the familiar spiky pixie-cut black hair.

"Rose." I whispered.

"You." Elena stated with anger, almost as if she was giving an insult. She narrowed her eyes at the vampire, looking like she wanted to jump her. I gently touched her arm, communicating without words not to do anything stupid.

Elena and I sat side by side on the couch in the living room, while Stefan, Damon, and Rose stood in front of us, keeping their distance. It was as if a line was drawn between us, separating the species. Well, actually, if that was the case, then I'd be in an entirely different category labeled "Doppelgangers".

Rose paced back and forth, looking a bit flustered, "Okay, you have to understand, I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true." She paused, and gave me a humorless smirk, "That's the problem with all this vampire crap, but Klaus: I know he's real."

Klaus... never heard of a name like that. "Who is he?" I questioned.

"He's one of the originals, he's a legend." Damon stated, kinda not believing what he was saying.

"From the first generation of vampires." Stefan added.

"Like Elijah?" I queried, remembering the handsome vampire... though, he was dead now.

"No." Rose answered sternly, "Elijah was the Easter bunny compared to Klaus. He was a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal."

"Klaus is known to be the oldest." Stefan said. Awesome... I have an old vampire even more deadly than Elijah who wants to sacrifice me to break the curse...

"Okay." Elena finally spoke up, "So, you guys are saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after my sister."

"Yes." Rose nodded.

"No." Stefan added at the same time.

"What they're saying is," Damon looked at me, glanced at Rose, then back to me, "I mean, if what she's saying is true..."

"Which it is." Rose stated.

"And you're not saying it so I don't kill you." He continued.

"Which I'm not."

"Then we're looking at a solid... maybe."

"Yeah, thanks." Elena muttered sarcastically, "That perfectly sums up everything. Totally cleared the haze."

Damon narrowed his eyes at her, "Who invited you, again?"

I went to speak, but Stefan beat me to it, "I did." His gaze turned to me as he changed the subject, "Look, Elijah's dead, right? So no one else even knows that you exist."

"Not that you know of." Rose stated.

"That's not helping." Damon rolled his eyes at her.

"Look, I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him." Stefan said, trying to reassure me. I was gonna get severe trauma disorder sooner or later. He shrugged, "I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know, he could just be some sort of stupid bed time story."

I hight doubted that... even though I wished it was true.

"He's real and he doesn't give up." Rose raised her voice, eyes darting around the rom, "If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot."

Damon rolled his eyes again, brushing off the topic by acting unconcerned, "Alright, we're shaking. You made your point." He gave her a hard stare.

Suddenly, someone pulled on my hand, and I glanced over at my sister who looked annoyed and bored, though underneath all that... I saw that she was really tense. Getting up, she dragged me along with her as we started to head towards the front entrance. I didn't fight her, too lost in my own muddled thoughts to make much sense of anything.

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked us, and we stopped to face him.

"School." Elena simply answered, "We're late."

Stefan looked over to me, and after a moment, nodded, "Let me grab my stuff, I'll go with you."

"It's okay." I told him. A plan formed in my head. I knew how I could find out more about Klaus... someone who'd been running from him for centuries. As much as I didn't want to, I needed to ask her. "I know where it is."

Stefan didn't bother hiding his hurt, but I hated seeing that expression on his face. I wasn't trying to hurt him, but I had to be separated from Stefan, or else I wouldn't be able to talk with... her. Stefan would never allow it.

Elena tugged at my arm again, and I followed her out. Right before stepping out of the house, I heard Damon's voice whisper, "She's in denial."

I sighed, knowing he was talking about me.

"Shut up, Damon." That was Stefan's angry voice.

Guilt flooded through me again.

After getting back into the car, my eyes wandered aimlessly, though I made sure to pay strict attention to where I was driving. I still wasn't over my fear.

Elena finally broke the silence, "I know what you're doing."

My footing faltered, and I accelerated accidentally before regaining control, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play innocent, Ariana." She stated, rolling her eyes, "Back there, your interaction with Stefan... you wouldn't have done that unless you needed to get away from him."

I took a deep breath, "Maybe I need some time to myself."

She turned to face me, "Or; you needed to make sure that you were alone so that you could go chat it up with Katherine."

Pressing my lips together, I remained silent.

"Am I right?"

I still didn't answer.

"I am, aren't I?" She continued, letting out a chuckle. "Good, 'cause I'm going to talk to her too."

"No, it's too dangerous." I stated.

"Oh god, don't play that card." Elena rolled her eyes at me again, "If it was all that dangerous, then I wouldn't be letting you go either. You can't stop me, by the way. I know where the tomb is, and I can just follow you."

A frustrated sigh escaped my lips and I jerked the car to the side, braking, parking along the sidewalk, almost running over a fire hydrant.

"Fuck! What the hell!" Elena shouted as she bounced back to her seat by the seatbelt. "What's wrong with you? Remember what happened last time someone did something this stupid?"

"Do you want to come with me to visit Katherine or not?" I questioned, my voice unusually calm.

Her anger dissipated, and she crossed her arms over her chest, remaining stubborn. "Yes." She bit out.

I reached into my back pocket, and pulled out my phone, showing it to Elena. The familiar numbers pressed onto the keyboard by my fingertips, and I placed it against my ear, waiting as patiently as I could.

"Hey, Ariana, what's up?" The shrill voice came through the speaker, "Where are you? School starts in..." A loud, continuous bell rang from the phone, "...now! Crap! You better get here soon!"

"Caroline..." Elena and I shared a look, and I took another deep breath, "We need your help."

The long argument seemed to drag on for hours, but Caroline—being the awesome friend she was—succumbed, and agreed to meet my sister and I in the woods.

The three of us walked through the woods, passing trees, vines, plants, and trying not to trip on roots and rocks. Sunlight streamed through the little holes between the leaves, giving off enough light for us to see. The strap of a black duffle bag hung from my shoulder, holding all the necessities that I though we'd need.

"Tell everyone that we weren't feeling well and decided not to attend school." I instructed Caroline, referring to Elena and I.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this." Caroline stated for the millionth time, "I'm a terrible liar."

"You'll do fine." I told her, "I thought you liked acting."

"Yeah... but that's different!" Caroline complained.

"Just keep Stefan busy." Elena stated, looking at me with a smirk, "You know how he is when it comes to Ariana; very clingy."

"I'm even worse at duplicity and you guys know this." My blonde friend continued before I could answer Elena's comment.

"You managed to keep me occupied when Katherine paid Stefan a visit." I gave her a look.

"And you know how much I regret that, which is why I don't want to have to lie again." Caroline sighed, frustrated, "Stefan's gonna see right through me."

"Caroline, please?" I asked, giving her my best puppy-dog eyes, "You're my best friend, and you know I'd do the same for you."

"You had to break out the girlfriend code," After a few seconds, she sighed and continued, "Okay, I'll distract him."

I smiled, "Good, thank you."

"Why don't you want Stefan to know?"

"Because he would never be okay with me doing this." I glanced at Elena, "You either."

She scoffed, a smile playing on her lips, "Please, you and I both know Stefan doesn't give a shit about me."

"What do you mean?" I furrowed my brows, "Of course he does."

"Only because I'm your sister." Elena stated, "And even then, he makes it pretty obvious that he rather I'd never been born."

"Why would he think that?" I questioned in disbelief, oblivious to the direction this conversation was heading. Stefan would never be that heartless, he cared for all people. Felt guilty for even the deaths of his enemies.

"Because I divert your attention from him to me." She said, smiling coyly.

"Well, yeah." I said, confused, "Your my sister. Of course I love you."

"And Stefan's jealous of the fact that you care for me more."

"No, he isn't."

"Yes, he is."

"No."

"Yes."

"Guys, you're being ridiculous." Caroline finally stated, exasperated. We stepped down the eroded, stone, staircase, and into the darkened tomb, where sunlight could barely reach it. Stopping outside of the door, she turned to Elena and I, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," I shared a look with Elena, "We're sure. She's the only one who knows the truth about Klaus. The only one who can tell us how to stop him."

"But you're asking for the truth from someone who's probably never giving it." Caroline gave me a concerned look, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah."

"We have to know, Caroline." Elena pushed.

"Please." I continued with a pleading tone.

Caroline sighed and reluctantly went towards the door. Placing her hands in the cracks, she easily removed the door from where it was locked in place before. The sound of splitting rock sliced through the air as she dropped the stone door back onto the ground, leaving a pitch-black entrance.

"Katherine?" I called into the darkness, turning back towards my best friend, "We'll be okay from here."

"Yeah, I can totally kick-ass." Elena stated.

Caroline rolled her eyes, but all three of us stilled when a noise came from the open doorway. At first, there was nothing. Then a ghostly figure staggered into the light, movements ragged and jerky, black dress ripped and slashed, skin translucent and grey... Shadows appeared under her eyes, her lips chapped and pale from not feeding for a long period of time.

Dang, for once in her life, Katherine looked less than perfect.

"Hello, Ariana." She greeted in a tired and raspy voice, "Elena. You two come to watch me wither away?" Her eyes shifted away from me, "Goodbye, Caroline."

I turned to my best friend, and stated, "As long as we stay on this side of the door, she can't hurt us." She refused to move. "Please."

Slowly, she started to inch away, moving back up to ground level, until she was out of sight. I knew that she had completely disappeared when Katherine continued, "Stefan know you're here, Ariana?"

I ignored her question, and took the duffle bag off of my shoulder, "I brought you some things."

"You came to bribe me?" She asked in surprise, "What is it that you want?"

"I want you to tell us about Klaus."

She smirked, "Hmm, you're been busy."

"I brought you this." Reaching into the black bag, I pulled out the worn, dirty book about Katherine's family. Petrova. "It says here that the family line ended with you. But obviously... that's not true."

Her eyes roamed across the cover of the heavy book in my hands, "You think that if you brought me some old, family keepsake that I'd open up?"

I figured she'd say something like that. "I also brought you this." My hands touched something plastic in the bag, and I grabbed it, pulling it out to show Katherine. Dark red liquid sloshed inside the water bottle while Katherine's eyes stayed transfixed on the blood like she was hypnotized. She automatically rushed towards me, but the tomb spell stopped her, though her hungry eyes continued to perceive me as food.

"You don't look so good." Elena mocked. "Definitely not pretty at all. How long before your body shuts down? Ten, twenty years? It must be painful to desiccate and mummify. I can't even imagine."

My doppelganger glared at her, sinking to the floor, giving up. I actually felt a twinge of guilt and sadness for her. She looked so helpless in this state. I poured some blood from the bottle and into a little plastic cup, passing it over to the other side of the tomb with a wooden stick.

Katherine immediately grabbed the cup and sucked the blood down like a savage. Some color returned to her cheeks, as she stated, looking directly at me, "You have the Petrova fire."

I gave her a confused look, saying, "You mean Elena."

"No, you." She rolled her eyes when I still didn't get it, and elaborated. "The only reason your sister acts like she knows everything is because deep down, she's weak. But you on the other hand... you're strong. You'd fight to protect the people you love. You have fire... and light, the latter of which I don't have unfortunately."

Elena gnashed her teeth together, her hands twitching as if they were itching to strangle Katherine.

"More blood?" I questioned my look-alike.

Her silence was an answer. Using the stick, I retrieved the cup, poured some more blood, and gave it back to her. "It's a long story." She started, finally, "Klaus and I. It goes way back to England, 1492, after I left Bulgaria or was thrown out."

"Thrown out?"

"My family, you and your sister's true ancestors, disowned me." Katherine stated bitterly, "My indiscretions were not tolerated at that time. I had a baby out of wedlock. The shame." She mocked.

"It was kept secret?" I deduced, feeling bad.

"Mhmm." She agreed. "My baby was given away. I was banished to England and I had to learn to adjust, so I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a noble man name Klaus. I was taking with him at first until I found out what he was and what he wanted from me. And then... I ran like hell."

"What did Klaus want?" Elena queried.

"The same thing he'll want from you." Katherine looked at me, "He wants to break the curse."

"By sacrificing the Petrova doppelganger." I said.

"He wanted to drain every single drop of blood from my body." Katherine stated unblinkingly while a shiver found its path down my spine.

3rd person POV:

"It's an observation." Rose stated, trying to figure Damon out as they stood in the dining room in the boarding house. "Being in love with your brother's girlfriend must be difficult."

"I'm not in love with anyone." Damon said unconvincingly.

Rose smirked, "You want to try that again."

Damon's eyes hardened and he sped right in front of Rose, staring her down. "Talking about Ariana's a great way to get on my bad side."

"You're unstable when it comes to her, which is why you should switch it off."

"I don't know if I can." Damon admitted.

"What do you mean?" Rose inquired, "The emotions running through you must be on the brink of crushing you, yet you still choose to let them?"

Damon didn't falter or blink, "It's what she wants. She believes that I can be a good person, and she wouldn't want me switching my humanity off." Rose stayed silent after that, and he continued, changing the subject, "Now, how do I find Klaus?"

Caroline caught sight of Stefan trying to walk off campus without being spotted. She rushed over to him quickly, remembering what she said to Ariana. "Stefan!"

He whipped his head around to look at her, but continued to walk briskly away, "Hey."

"Hey." Caroline furrowed her brows, "Uh, I need to talk to you. Where are you going?"

"Well, Ariana didn't show up at school today because she was sick." Stefan stated, "She was fine after leaving the boarding house, so I just want to check up on her."

"Ditch her." Caroline suggested as a distraction.

"I'm worried about her." He said, concerned.

"You know what?" Caroline ran out of ideas, "Of course you are. Go ahead," Suddenly, one popped up into her mind, "I'd... you know what? We can talk later."

"Uh, talk about what?" Stefan questioned, now curious.

Caroline looked guilty, half-pretending, half-actual. "I might have done something."

"What did you do?"

"Told Tyler I'm a vampire." She rushed out, wincing at Stefan's expression. At first, he was confused, then understanding, then pissed, and then worried. He gave her a look of exasperated disbelief, and stopped walking. Great... now he had to deal with this...

Ariana POV:

"What does the Petrova blood line have to do with Klaus?" I asked as Katherine gulped down more blood.

"It's really tedious, but..." She started, color returning to her body, "The curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood. Witches are crafty with their spells. The doppelgänger was created as a way to be able to undo the spell. Once the doppelgänger reappeared, the curse can be broken."

"So you ran before he killed you?" Elena stated obviously.

Katherine shrugged, "Something like that. Elijah and his men were tracking me when I escaped. Trevor led them astray and they proceeded in the wrong direction. He pointed me to a cottage where I met the oh-so lovely Rose-Marie." Sarcasm dripped from her voice, "Trevor said that he could help me, but Rose was clear on the fact that she would be taking me back to Klaus... Poor little thing... she was shaking like a leaf in Autumn." She laughed humorlessly.

"Rose never ended up taking you back to Klaus, did she?" I questioned.

"No, but not because she had a change of heart." Katherine muttered. "I had stabbed myself, waiting for all of it to end. Then Rose had to come back and ruin my peace. She fed me her blood, and as I healed, Trevor finally arrived. He said something about loving me, but I wasn't paying much attention. Because I found a rope by the bed. I tied it around my neck, strapped it to the ceiling lights, and hanged myself."

"You killed yourself?" I gasped out.

"Klaus needed a human doppelganger." She explained, "As a vampire, I was no longer any use to him."

"But it didn't work." I stated, "Not completely, you didn't really escape. You've been running from Klaus ever since."

"I underestimated his peered for vengeance, but living in a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over some silly little rock."

Suddenly, all the energy drained from me. I fell to the ground and sat up against the wall across from Katherine, making sure that I wasn't too close to her. Elena hovered above me, glaring at my doppelganger.

"What's wrong?" Katherine smirked at me, "Afraid I'm right? You don't want to die? There's another way out." With her nail, she cut a jagged line across her wrist, the blood pooling around her wound. "Better hurry."

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think about becoming a vampire. I could run, just like Katherine... but that was no way to live. No way to enjoy life. I couldn't run forever. I had to face my problems. I had to be strong.

"Your opportunity is going, going, going... and gone." Her wound healed, the blood disappearing. "I made the other choice. Trevor and Rose were both pissed when they learned of what I'd become. Rose tried to stake me, but I bit into the human who owned the cottage, completing the transformation. After that I escaped, leaving the two to fend for themselves."

"Rose and Trevor spent the past five hundred years running because you used them." I stated in disbelief. Sadness engulfed me, "Trevor just got killed."

"I never thought he would have lasted that long." She shrugged nonchalantly.

I was taken back by her indifference, "You don't even care that you ruined their lives."

Katherine stared at me, her eyes like steel, "I was looking out for myself, Ariana. I will always look out for myself. If you're smart, you'll do the same." She then decided to ignore me as she opened the "Petrova" book, reading the yellowed pages.

3rd person POV:

"Okay, now I'm leaving." Stefan got up from the table where Caroline sat across from him. They were in the Mystic Grill, after school, where Stefan finally realized that something wasn't adding up. Caroline's behavior was way too erratic.

"Wait...!" Caroline tried to stop him, and failed.

"No, no, no, Caroline, you have two seconds to come clean." Stefan stated, pissed, not kidding.

"What do you mean?" She played dumb.

"I'd believe the whole 'innocent act' a little better if I didn't know how good you were at providing a distraction." He said, serious, "Where is Ariana?"

Caroline sighed, "I can't tell you."

Stefan's hands opened at his sides in a "what the fuck" kinda way. "You can't tell me?" His eyes widened, "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm sorry... but I... I can't tell you." Caroline couldn't find a better answer. She was doing this for her best friend, and she wouldn't ever betray her. Never again.

"Caroline!" Stefan scolded, "Ariana was kidnapped, she could have been killed and you're seriously not gonna tell me where she is?"

"She's not in any danger." Caroline assured him, "I would not have let her put herself in danger."

"Put herself in danger where? What do you...?" Stefan's entire demeanor changed as a realization dawned on him. His mouth turned sour and he stared at the wooden table, lost in his own thoughts. Bitterness went through him, jealousy and rage running wild as he tried not to let all those emotions show. "She's with Damon, isn't she?"

"Ew, no!" Caroline shook her head, repulsed.

Stefan felt a moment of relief before it was once again clouded by worry, "Then where..." He scoffed, "Where is she? Listen, if you're my friend like you've been pretending to be all day, then you'll tell me where she is."

A battle waged inside of Caroline, but it lasted for no more than a fraction of a second. She knew who she'd choose. "Stefan, I am your friend... but Ariana's my best friend. And I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell you where she is."

Disappointed radiated off Stefan obviously. He stared at Caroline stonily before swiftly leaving, wasting no time as he searched for the girl he loved.

Ariana POV:

"So how much of your little story is true?" Elena questioned, narrowing her eyes at Katherine.

"I have no reason to lie." My doppelganger explained, not turning around from where she was still reading the book, "I have no reason to do anything but sit here and read and rot."

"Okay, assuming that what you're saying is even partially true, that's the reason why you came back, isn't it?" My sister queried, then gestured to me, "Because you wanted to be the one to hand her over to Klaus."

"Five hundred years on the run." Katherine shrugged, "I figured maybe he'd be willing to strike a deal."

"So you got Mason Lockwood to find you the moonstone." I caught on.

She smirked, "Exactly."

"What else do you need to break the curse?" I inquired.

"Hmm, look who is getting smarter." She faced me again, tilting her head to the side.

"It's not just me or the stone..." I racked my brain for ideas, trying to solve the puzzle. This whole ordeal was an enigma. "Otherwise there would be no reason to trigger Tyler Lockwood's werewolf curse." Yeah, thank Katherine for that too. She completely ruined his life... but there was something even more dangerous buried in her schemes.

"Witched and their spells: So many ingredients, so many people to sacrifice." Katherine continued to hum eerily.

"You need a werewolf." I stated.

"Believe it or not, they're hard to come by." She joked.

"What else?" Elena pushed.

"A witch to do the spell." Katherine rolled her eyes, "Mine bailed, but Bonnie will do just fine."

The rate of my heartbeat increased at the name of my best friend. No. It was bad enough somebody was gonna get sacrificed... now that person may be any of my friends: Tyler, Bonnie...

"What else?" I asked.

"A vampire."

No.

"Caroline..." I breathed out. She'd been through so much already... so much pain... she's been used by vampires and eventually died to become one. All of this was just for this sacrifice... Katherine set us up. She may not be the one to deliver the death blow, but she definitely sharpened the blade.

"It could have been anyone I suppose, but I like the poetry of Caroline."

Katherine chose her on purpose. She knew that Caroline was close to me, that I'd give my life to save her. She wanted me to suffer.

"So you were gonna just hand us all over to be killed?" I questioned, anger lacing my words.

"Better you die than I." She stated, about to retreat back into the darkness.

"You really are a worthless slut." Elena huffed, "When you die—and you will—no one's gonna care. You'll be alone for the rest of eternity until someone comes along and rips your head off. Or better yet, you'll probably just stake yourself because of your loneliness."

Katherine actually looked genuinely hurt for a moment before a glint appeared in her eyes. She smirked without humor. "Oh, dear, poor Elena. Does insulting me make you feel better about yourself? When are you going to realize that you'll never be your sister. That no one's going to love you like they worship her. That you're the one who's gonna be alone forever."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Elena beat me to it:

"Shut up." She growled.

"You should be happy about the sacrifice." Katherine continued, "After she dies, you'll have a chance to redeem yourself. You'd no longer be in her shadow."

"Shut. The fuck. Up!" Elena shouted through gritted teeth, rage shining in her eyes.

"People may start to love you." Katherine stated calmly with a smirk, "The only downside is that they'll only love you because of your relation to your sister. You'll just be her replacement. Boys will only go after you because—"

Before she could finish, Elena pounced forward, her hands thrashing wildly as she reached for Katherine, looking as if she wanted to rip her apart. She almost crossed over to the tomb, but I immediately reacted.

Sprinting forward, I grabbed her, and the momentum sent us tumbling to the side, the ground covering us in a mixture of dirt and dead plants. Elena pushed herself off the dirt floor, glaring at me.

"Elena—" I started.

"Don't talk to me." She ordered, "I don't care about what you have to say. I don't care about my own safety. I don't care about anything! Just leave me alone." She whipped around, her back to me as she briskly walked out of the underground tomb, and back to the world, leaving me alone with Katherine.

My heart plummeted and a foul taste settled in my mouth. How had things changed so drastically within just minutes? How was Katherine so easily able to turn Elena against me?

Breathing heavily, I turned to look at a satisfied Katherine.

"Oh, she amuses yet annoys me at the same time." She stated, "I'm still trying to decide whether or not I should kill her."

I narrowed my eyes, "It's not like your getting out anytime soon." I wouldn't allow her to be anywhere near Elena.

She shrugged, changing the subject, "Do you really think that she wants to save you? You're just an obstacle that she would gladly run over to get where she wants to go. She does care for you though, which is why she doesn't try anything. But I know how deeply she despises you."

"You don't know anything about us."

She smirked, "On the contrary, I know everything. If I were you, I wouldn't trust anyone, definitely not Elena. She'd backstab you the first chance she gets. Look after yourself, and no one else. Or it's gonna get you killed."

"Why do you care?" I questioned, still on edge. "Just a few days ago, you'd be happy to see me dead and sacrificed."

"I still would be." Katherine stated, "But I thought I'd at least give you a chance. They say ignorance is bliss... sometimes that's not the case." Finally, she stepped backwards, and the shadows hid her. No further noises were heard. Millions of thoughts swarmed my mind.

I was alone.

I waited... seconds, minutes, perhaps an hour. I lost track of time. When I was sure that Katherine wouldn't come back out into the light, I started to pack up, placing the bottle of blood back into the duffle bag. She had taken the book with her into the tomb, and that wasn't coming out any time.

Though I was still underground, I could tell from the fading light that it was probably already night.

"Ariana." A soft, concerned, familiar voice asked from beside me.

Startled, I whipped around, finding myself staring into worried leaf-green eyes. "Stefan, what are you doing here?" I'd been caught.

"I could ask you the same question." He stated, a bit angry.

"How did you find me?"

"Caroline was acting strange, and I finally caught on." He explained, "It didn't take long for me to figure out what was so important that you'd have to keep it from me."

"I knew that you'd stop me." I murmured, not keeping his gaze. My eyes focused on a speck of dust on the ground, tears threatening to spill.

"Hey, hey." Stefan's anger turned into deep concern as his hands caressed my face, forcing me to look up at him. "Listen to me, whatever she said to you is a lie." He referred to Katherine, continuing urgently, "Do not listen to her. She's a liar, Ariana."

"Maybe about some things, but not others." I stated, "You didn't hear what she said."

"You don't have to worry." Stefan quickly assured me, "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"That's the problem." I stated with a humorless smile, my eyes wet with more tears, "You won't, but you'll die trying. How's that any better?"

Another voice chimed in, "There's nothing you can do, Stefan." We turned our heads to look at Katherine who had reappeared. She was stronger now than before, because of the blood I gave her. "I haven't even told you the best part of the story. When I got back to Bulgaria after escaping, I found bodies strewn all over our family's manor. He killed them, my entire family, just to get back at me for running." Her eyes hardened, "Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance on your friends, your family, and anyone that you've ever loved."

I didn't bother holding back my tears anymore. They came freely, and I closed my eyes, trying to block out the image in front of me, trying to block out the truth.

"No, look at me." Stefan insisted, grabbing ahold of my shoulders. His eyes pleaded with me. "No, do not listen to her, okay?"

I didn't answer, nor did I have to.

Katherine spoke up again. "Always the protector, but even you must realize that she's doomed. There's nothing you could do to stop it... unless, of course... you have this." She held up something bright, and I had to squint through the water in my eyes to see what it was.

Oh, no. Great.

The moonstone.

"What?" I didn't believe this... no.

"Oh no, there it is." Stefan's head whipped to look at her, to me, then back to her again, "It's the ultimate lie, isn't it? You spun this whole thing so that we would have to get the stone from you, didn't you."

"I didn't spin anything, Stefan." Katherine stated, "It's the truth."

"No, let me guess." Stefan's hand fell from my shoulder, and I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling cold and alone. He continued towards Katherine in a threatening manner, anger, rage, and hatred pervading off of him. "You want to trade that stone for your freedom, you manipulative, selfish, psychotic bitch."

Woah... go Stefan?

No, actually, at this moment, I was too frustrated and scared to care about what really happened.

"My freedom?" Katherine scoffed, "That's where you're wrong, Stefan. I don't want my freedom because when Klaus shows up to kill us all—and he will—I'll be in the tomb, where no vampire will enter because they can't get out. I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town."

She looked at me, then walked backwards, getting swallowed by the pitch-black shadows. Stefan gave me a concerned look, and started to come towards me. But I backed away, not able to handle any of his comfort right now.

"Ariana." Stefan said my name again as we reached the porch of my house.

"I'm sorry, but... I can't talk about it right now." I stated, biting my lip to keep from crying out.

"You have to." Stefan said softly, taking ahold of my hands, "You'll feel better. Don't shut me out. Ariana, please." His eyes were shining with tears too, afraid that I'd push him away.

I tried to talk through my cries, "It's not just me that's in danger. It's not that simple. Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie... they're all at risk. They're all part of breaking the curse. I'm not going to blame anyone, because it's no one else's fault. It's not because you came into town, or because you and I fell in love. That's not why everyone that I love is in danger. All this... it's because of me, everything is because of me."

Stefan gave me a pained look as I continued to cry. He pulled me into a warm embrace, letting me wrap my arms around him tightly. My tears dripped onto his shirt freely, looking like a waterfall, thought at the moment, I couldn't see anything. I resorted to closing my eyes, and hugging him tighter.

He kissed the top of my head tenderly, telling me that he would never leave me, that he would fight anything to make sure I was safe.

And I hated that fact.

I hated how much he put me above himself and others. I wasn't worth it. I wasn't perfect, I wasn't a goddess... so it wasn't fair that he was treating me like I was. Like I was better than anyone else... because I wasn't.

My existence put the people I loved in danger... and if Klaus wanted to break me... all he'd have to do is go after one of them... I'd give myself willingly over to him before he killed anyone...

It took a while to convince Stefan that I'd be okay by myself. He eventually let me go, but I had a feeling that it was hurting him to do so.

Walking back into my house, I found Elena sitting on the high chair in the kitchen, sipping a mug of something. Tea, probably. Maybe it was alcohol... who knew?

"Katherine was right." Were the first words out of her mouth.

I raised my eyebrow at her.

She elaborated, "About everything. About me... everything."

"What do you mean?" I asked uncertainly.

Clearing her throat, Elena continued, "She's right. I am jealous of you. I envy you. In a way... I do despise you." She looked down, a bit ashamed, "You were always better at me in everything. In school, in social life, relationships... I always wished that I could be like you... but I'm not." She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not... and I've come to terms with that."

I didn't really know what to say to her confession. "Elena... you shouldn't try to be like me. You're amazing... you're caring in your own way... I'm not special."

"That's bullshit, and you know it." She took a deep breath, "But Katherine was right about something else too... I agree that you should always look after yourself." She looked at me, unblinkingly, "Don't look after Stefan, not Damon, not Jeremy, not me... look after yourself. Survive. You deserve to more than anyone else I know, and I'm not just saying that because you're my sister. I'll do whatever I can to help you defeat Klaus. I want you to live, even if it means that I die."

"Elena, I don't want you involved in all this." I said, sincerely.

She smirked, "Too late now."

"If you believe what Katherine said, then you'd look after yourself, too, and only yourself."

"I'm not the one who needs looking after." She stated, taking another sip of her drink.

A feeling of sickness washed over me, as my head started to pound. I needed to get out of here. Turning around, I walked back to the front door.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked, her voice echoing through the hallway.

"Out." I answered, shoving the door closed. I was losing it. My mind fought for its bearings, and lost.

What I was doing was stupid. If I slipped up once, I could blow everyone's cover, spill out all the secrets. And I couldn't do that.

I didn't know why I was here. Maybe I was lonely, and I needed someone familiar... someone who'd understand me, someone who'd be there for me.

I knocked on the familiar door I'd grown used to, feeling awkward, but... more sad, then anything. It opened, revealing the handsome guy with sea-blue eyes.

"Ariana?" He asked, surprised.

"Hey, Matt." I greeted.

"Hey, what are—oh my god, are you—are you crying?" He looked at me in shock, then grabbed my hand, ushering me into the house, "Come in, what happened? Are you okay? It's late."

He led me to the couch in his living room, turning on a lamp as we passed by for light. He set me down gently, as if afraid I'd break, and held onto my hand, looking concerned, "What happened?" He whispered.

I shook my head, more tears coming, "I really can't say."

"Why?" He questioned, "Why can't you tell me? You know I'm always here for you. Did something happen? Did someone hurt you?"

I shook my head again. I couldn't answer that question without lying. "You can't fix my problems."

"What problems?" Matt queried, a pained expression crossing his features. "Please, tell me."

I continued to shake my head, "I can't, just... just hold me, please." I wrapped my arms around his back and buried my face into his chest, taking in his musky scent. I'd forgotten how good it was to hug him, how at peace I felt. It was exactly what I needed right now.

After a bit of confused reluctance, Matt embraced me back, running his fingers through my hair. He knew how much I loved that. It calmed me.

"What is it?" He continued to inquire, "Did something go on between you and Stefan? Damon? Please, I want to know."

"Don't worry about it, Matt." I said. Matt was the only one who really had a chance at a normal life. He was human, and oblivious to the supernatural world. "They're my problems, my burdens."

"But you shouldn't have to go through them alone." He retorted, softening his voice, "Tell me."

Taking a deep breath, I stated, "I can't. Why don't you tell me about yours instead. Distract me."

Sighing at the change of subject, Matt didn't push for more. He knew that I wouldn't budge. That I wouldn't disclose any more. "Caroline and I are on the outs." He started.

"Why?"

"I—I don't really know." He admitted, "She just seems so distant lately, like she's not herself. We broke up, but... I don't know. I'm worried, she's hiding something from me."

The secret was that she's a vampire. That was why she broke up with Matt, she couldn't risk hurting him incase she lost control for a moment.

"Yeah, well, I guess we all have our secrets." I murmured, closing my eyes.

"Including you." Matt whispered sadly.

"Including me."

Okay, so I know that the story isn't changing that much, but I promise that it WILL in later chapters, especially once all the Originals come into the picture. Sorry that I couldn't update last week, but I'm currently extremely busy, and it's nearing the end of school, so I have to focus to turn in my projects.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing, I love you all!

Please review so that I know what to change or keep the same.

-Spiralcloud