A/N - Full Summary - Elena has never been normal; surrounded by vampires with a witch friend, discovering she's a doppelgänger is no shock. That her sacrifice is the key to a centuries old curse is a little more difficult to digest.

She deals.

When the dreams start however - blurry, nightmarish, bloody, she's not entirely certain they're dreams.

It's harder to deal when she starts suspecting she had a whole other life.

All the while, the threat of Klaus looms over her head. Despite not knowing much, she has a feeling she's more entangled with him than anyone believes.

She's not quite sure how to deal with that.

Or the Klena reincarnation AU no one asked for. Set in season 2 of TVD.

This story is darker than my usual stuff on this pairing and does deal with a lot of triggering content. Please be sure to check out the A/N for trigger warnings.

TW - Graphic Depictions of Violence, Kidnapping, Power Imbalance, Dubious Consent.

New Orleans

March, 1919

Elena tried to get her heart under control as she walked out of the forest and onto a back road. She could feel her legs aching, her bare feet bleeding and prayed, willed for it to stop. The people who were after her now, if they could even be called that, would be able to smell her blood and her fear, and they would use it to track her down.

She couldn't believe she'd finally found an opportunity to slip out of the house, all she had needed to do was open a curtain, and the vampire had quickly hidden. After that, it had been almost easy; she had left the compound swiftly, sneaking away before anyone else came back. As she traipsed through the back roads, the moon her only guide, she only had a singular thought; to get as far from there as possible.

She heard a creak behind her and turned around to see nothing but the empty road. She let out a sigh of relief, feeling her curls ruffle in the slight wind. She turned back, intending to run away again when her foot got caught on something, sending her tumbling down. She braced herself for an impact that never came, instead falling into a soft chest, wondering why there was a man lying in the middle of the road.

She tried to get her bearings, this could not be a coincidence, her hunters must be close to her now, and this might either be one of them or an obstacle. She pushed herself off the man, her hands bracing themselves on to his chest and let out a loud scream, all thoughts of staying silent leaving her mind, as she realised she was lying on top of a headless corpse. She felt her heart beat as she gave up on all thoughts to rise to her feet, sliding off the body instead and laying on her back instead.

She pulled herself up again, her palms digging into the dirt as she rose to her feet and looked around her, seeing nothing and no one. She started walking again, and when she didn't see or hear anyone around her, she ran as best as she could, her feet still bleeding, a sharp pain in her ankle where it had twisted. She spared a look behind her to see if she was being followed, eyes widening as she saw a familiar figure in the distance.

She knew all hopes of her escaping were now tarnished, he was around here somewhere and it was a futile effort. Just as the thought crossed her mind she ran into a solid chest, halting her progress.

She knew, even before she looked up, that it was him. She could feel it in the way he stood before her, the uncaring posture that could only be seen on a deadly predator like him. She shivered, less from the cold, and he dropped something, the head of the corpse that she had just passed. She gulped in an attempt to wet her parched throat, as she realised it was the head of the very vampire who she had tricked. She looked up slowly, his silhouette looming over her in the moonlight, making her heart clench painfully in her chest.

When she met his eyes, they were still wonderfully blue, the same blue she had fallen for far too quickly, but his face, his chin, his mouth were all splattered with blood, his lips more red than usual. Her heart stuttered as a slow smirk graced his handsome features, but his gaze on her was as predatory as always.

Perhaps it was instinct, but she took a step back, and then another, as he crowded her as only a monster could, as only he could. She continued her walk backwards, hoping to somehow draw out the inevitable, until he dashed her hopes, his sticky, bloody hand wrapping around her wrist tightly pulling her towards him. She felt a shiver go down her spine as he leaned closer to her, his fingers splaying across her chin and her neck, as though holding her head in place. His lips brushed the shell of her ear, his stubble rubbing roughly against her sensitive skin.

"Going somewhere, sweetheart?" His voice drawled in her ear as her heart dropped to her stomach. He sounded playful, as if he had caught her sneaking into the kitchen for a snack rather than running away from him. She felt his heat against her as his scent surrounded her, and she stepped away slightly, flinching away from his touch.

She didn't say anything, unsure of what he would do next. Fortunately, she did not have to wait long.

"This is the second time you've attempted to run from me Elena, what shall we do about this, hmm?" His hand slid to the back of her neck, his fingers sifting through her hair no doubt getting blood on them.

"You could let me go yourself." She knew it was worthless, and the only thing it did was to draw a light chuckle from him.

There was a dangerous edge to it.

"Oh, that's rich. You should know that I'm never letting you leave love," he gazed down at her as a lover would, but the danger in his eyes was real.

"Please, let me leave. I won't breathe a word to anyone."

"I believe I can't do that love. You need to understand," His tone had changed suddenly, on a dime as his hands came to rest on either of her arms, holding her tight enough to bruise her. "That I won't let you go. Your life is mine, just as your death shall be mine, and everything in between. There's no use in running, you will only leave when I allow you to."

"You don't own me." She said through ground teeth, seething at being reduced to an object, "even if you keep me prisoner."

"I do not keep you as a prisoner, you just keep trying to run. The moment you stop, so will I." His tone was meant to be soothing, but she knew his lies by now. "I have done nothing to earn your ire."

"What you did to my fiancé…" Her words trailed off as tortured brown eyes filled her vision.

"He intended to take that which was mine, he should consider himself lucky to still be breathing, and he will continue to do so only at my behest, so I'd suggest you watch that tongue love." His voice was harsh now and she felt anger rising within her.

"You killed my sister," she spat at him, the image of him sinking his fangs into her cousin still clear in her minds eye.

"I don't think that matters, do you?" A lilt was evident in his voice and she felt her hand sting as it connected with his cheek, feeling momentary relief as it did so.

It was gone the next moment when he had bunched her wrists in his, and started dragging her along with him towards the car she hadn't seen before. He only let her go once he had pushed her inside the back seat, pulling the door close after him.

His eyes became red rimmed as his fangs descended, and he bit into his own wrist, pulling her head forcefully to it, making her gag on his blood as it slid down her throat. He let her up a few moments later, and she felt the ache in her bones subside and resigned herself to captivity yet again, as they headed back to the compound.

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