Darkest Temptations

by Katrina-H-Creates

Caroline and Klaus must put their differences aside when they decide to flee Mystic Falls together the night the hunter arrives in town. Now free of her past and disapproval of her friends, will Caroline allow her growing attraction to Klaus to be explored? And what drastic measures will Klaus take to protect her when Tyler sets out to hunt them both down?

1. Chapter 1

Happy reading to all.

Remember that a new chapter can sometimes make someone's day a little brighter. So by the end I hope I've made a difference.

Take care, my devoted readers.

Katrina-H-Creates

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Darkest Temptations

Chapter One: Death

Caroline Forbes

There was a moment today when I wished you were with us in the church, you would have stopped the hunter before he could trap us like animals. You would have shown him that this town isn't big enough for two pompous alphas. I hated that in my moment of terror I had thought of you of all people and that I'm still thinking of you now...

There was a perpetual sense of paranoia and turmoil sweeping through Mystic Falls that night, of which the residents of this seemingly sleepy little town would never recover from. The memorial held to honour the lives lost in the dubious gas explosion at Pastor Young's farm had culminated in carnage and hysteria by this apparently invincible vampire hunter's second attempt on Tyler's life. Already theories were circulating from one house to the next, eyewitness testimonies were challenged, social media was blowing up and rumours that Mystic Falls was no longer safe for it's residents was spreading like a virus. All scheduled town festivities were immediately cancelled, and the Sheriff's department had mandated a ten p.m. curfew until the assailant responsible for the merciless attack on the mayor's son was apprehended.

I'd witnessed Tyler's shooting and the pandemonium among the masses as they rushed the church exits in a last-ditch effort for survival, each of them confident that he was dead and that they were next. I had gone to the memorial so full of myself, convinced that if the hunter appeared, we would stop him in his tracks, but he evaded our capable hands yet again without difficulty. This morning, a part of me died in the church, and I was able to let go of the notion that I still belonged in Mystic Falls, regardless of what villains came our way next. But, after witnessing the chaos and cleaning up yet another gory mess, a part of me longed to leave Mystic Falls and never return.

I arrived home from the memorial shortly after one o clock that afternoon, I tucked myself in for the night knowing that my mom was working night shift for the rest of the week. I moved grudgingly down the hallway towards my bedroom, bag and car keys in hand, my feet aching with each step. Once inside, I began to undress, discarding the clothes that I'd worn to the service into the laundry hamper and as for my awful heels they were sent crashing in a heap to the back of my closet out of sight where they belonged. I put on the pyjamas fresh out of the dryer that morning that I had laid out on my bed at the ready. I made my way to the bathroom I shared with my mom and proceeded to wash my hands and brush my teeth, not having the strength at the time to take a well-deserved bath, perhaps later, I wasn't planning on going out tonight and risk being caught breaking curfew, my mom had enough on her plate right now without adding me to the mix.

I would have cleaned the house for her if I had the stamina for it, I knew how much she appreciated coming home to a clean house. Instead I returned to my bedroom to retrieve my laptop from my dresser bringing it with me to the sitting room where I collapsed onto the couch in an exhausted mess. I could still smell the perfume I'd worn to the service lingering on my skin and in my hair. I was so tired that I could have taken a nap right then and there if I allowed myself. Only I couldn't do that, there was something I craved more desperately then sleep and that was insight to what my life could be if I were to leave Mystic Falls.

I wasted very little time powering up my laptop, before draping the beige blanket from behind the couch around my legs and torso. Before carefully adjusting the cushion at my back making myself comfortable as I connected to the wifi and began my search. Since the moment Carol Lockwood and my mom suggested that Tyler and I flee Mystic Falls for our own safety, I had been overwhelmed with this daily dread that one day that we might find ourselves in the exact same predicament.

However a lot had changed since then, I'd done a lot of growing up and became confident within myself about what I wanted from my future. The girl I was that night would have been content to run away with nothing more than some cash and her curling wand but that wasn't the case anymore. The reality was that for a long time I couldn't see myself doing anything without Tyler by my side and before him Matt. I'd never been single for more than a few months at a time, always chasing after the wrong guy whilst constantly feeling inferior to my friends, especially Elena who always had so much going for her love life, always smiling, always landing up with the dream guy every girl wanted.

The hunter showing up in town when he felt almost predestined, I'd been holding back the idea of leaving town for one reason or another and this new threat might just be reason enough. There would always be something keeping me here, an unwritten bond that I'd always be here for my friends as we battled the supernatural world while maintaining what little lives we had left in this town that we all felt so obligated to protect. However, even if the others didn't realise it, all of us were already heading in opposite directions, and the only thing standing in our way was each other. We'd all come through so much together that each of us had put our lives on hold, stopped dreaming, indeed stopped talking about our futures completely. We were stuck in this vicious cycle of school, battles, funerals and back to school again. We weren't living anymore we were merely surviving each day to the next and we had been stuck in this seemingly endless loop for years now.

The mere notion that I might leave my friends behind made me nauseous, it caused my blood to run cold and make me want to crawl up in a ball and never leave my bed again. They were my family and I loved them all unconditionally, if it wasn't for them I would have been gone by now never to be seen or heard from again. When I thought about not seeing them every day it ached inside and burned all the way down my throat, I knew if I did I would spend my days worrying for their wellbeing, wandering what new creatures had come into their lives since I left and if they were all still alive. They would hate me for leaving, some of them would never admit it out loud but I knew it would be the case. They'd think I was selfish, only thinking of myself and what I wanted, leaving them behind to face the hunter alone.

But it would be crueller of me to stay.

There was no way I could leave town without a supernatural aspect assisting in my escape. Regardless of where I was heading in life, I wanted to make sure that my past remained just that and had absolutely no impact on what would become of my new life. I'd require a protection spell, a barrier or some invisible shield that would prevent anyone from ever finding me after I left. If I were to merely pack up my bags and run then there's no telling how long it would take someone to track me down out there unprotected. Stefan and Damon weren't the only ones with enemies outside of town anymore, Katherine alone would hunt me down for sport and then there was Rebekah who wanted all of us dead for our actions against her family.

I needed to be astute, meticulous, and focused on my final objective. There were countless books at my disposal at Bonnie's place and the boarding house. However, each these spell contained in such books would require a fully practising witch to spell them, I however would have to do this next part alone, which meant tapping into spells that did not require a witch to spell but rather key fundamentals to bind them. After years of supernatural investigation there were more than a few bookmarked websites stored on my laptop. Some I discovered on my own, and others I learnt of through Damon. A multitude of spells had been preserved and catalogued on these websites from anonymous sources throughout the years. The websites were difficult to navigate, there wasn't exactly a map to barrier spells listed, you had to manoeuvre each site just right, ultimately all the spells that required the assistance of a witch and a sacrifice for them to be established.

There was a reason these particular websites such as these weren't widely known, some of the spells were capable of more than your typical vengeance or locater spell. Utilizing these particular websites just demonstrated how frantic I was to get out of here without leaving a trace. I would never injure or put anybody else in danger to get what I wanted, however I wasn't afraid of hard work, if it meant getting me out of here.

I hadn't even thought about texting Tyler that I arrived home safely, I had become so absurd in the idea that I might find answers to a greater unknown that everything else had been put on hold. After the paramedics Carol Lockwood insisted on for public relations reasons were compelled to believe Tyler was shot with nothing more than a rubber bullet from a manufactured gun most likely stolen from a nearby police academy training centre, there wasn't much else we could do but crowd control. Tyler didn't say much after he recovered except for his plans to take down the hunter, as if he were channelling his inner wolf, ravenous for the kill. Instead of discussion what he had just endured in the church. I wasn't exactly an innocent, before the memorial began, I had the same perspective, but now I could see the bigger picture ahead of me, and it didn't include any plans for vengeance.

I wasn't sure about the others, but I hadn't gone about locking up my house, I wasn't worried that the hunter would come after me, I wasn't even sure if he suspected I was a vampire or not. On my way home, the only person I checked in on was my mom. She was still on the scene, preoccupied but still finding the time to remind me to lock up before I went to bed and that there was still some lasagne in the fridge for when I became hungry later that night. If she could see what I was doing right now, she'd be disappointed over how exactly I planned to go about disappearing, however I'd like to believe that my vision of a new life would still be her dream, she despised what I was, but she hated what Mystic Falls was becoming even more. And that was a hot bed for supernatural activity for which neither she or I had any place in anymore.

Over the next hour, I continued to broaden my online search. I'd gone into the kitchen at some point to rustle up a portion of the lasagne for myself, which I microwaved and ate sitting on one of the counter surfaces with my laptop on my knees and a glass of orange juice before returning to my spot in the sitting room. Now that the initial shock of the memorial had worn off, I was starting to settle down, no longer cold to the touch, and finally able to keep my food down. But I remained focused on the task at hand, confident that unlike all the other times before, I wouldn't stop searching not until I came up with the perfect method of escape. Something that would transform me into a ghost of sorts to anyone who sought to find me, an elaborate plot so meticulously organized and flawlessly executed that it was as if I had never existed.

Klaus was the only person in town who possessed the necessary skill set for situations such as this. For years, he and his siblings eluded their father, a man so intent on murdering his own children that he would hunt them down like animals until they could no longer recognise the monstrous beings he'd turned them into. Klaus's ability to thieve in the darkest of underground networks was admired by a great many of his followers throughout the centuries. He had come to power trusting his instincts and harnessing the skills of those he surrounded himself with. If there was one person who could aid me in my disappearance it would be him. My friends didn't support my decision to delve into his psyche in order to uncover some deeper significance behind his actions, I found myself intrigued in the uncharted life of the original hybrid.

My friends forgot how quickly Elena had come to forgive Elijah for his involvement in introducing Klaus into our lives. She forgave him for the lives he had taken to get to where he is now, some of which she had witnessed him destroy right in front of her eyes. It was true that Klaus murdered Jenna for egotistical reasons, and Elena's unwillingness to forgive Klaus was justified. It stands to reason, though, that if Elena can forgive one original, why can't I forgive another? Elijah never claimed to be any different from his brother, he merely went about his murders more meditatively in tailored suits. But I believe the pathways they took to get here were just as corrupt and wicked as thee other.

No, I wouldn't go looking for Klaus to help me get out of town, for once, I had to figure it out on my own. For so long, I'd made decisions based on the well-being of those around me, even when it went against my better judgement. What I was attempting now was the most immoral thing I'd ever done in my life. And even if I succeeded, if I discovered a way of disappearing, it wouldn't change how I felt now, I'd despise myself for this selfish act for the rest of my existence. There would be no one to blame but myself, and I would have to learn to live with it. Even if it meant the prospect of spending the next few months or years alone while I came to grips with my guilt.

The spells that I came across thus far pertained only to erasing memories of humans or other supernatural beings from recognising you, others offered to safeguard against compelled humans entering your home upon the command of a vampire. I decided to dig deeper, broaden my search, and concentrate more on ancient spells throughout history that were performed to flee rather than hault, change, or adapt into society.

I'd been researching for almost an hour with little to show for it, with multiple tabs opened on my browser page but not a solitary spell that did not require the spilling of innocent blood or the possession of ancient artefacts. In scenarios such as these, I tended to give up, swallow my unendurable despair over the purpose and direction of my life for another day. Shut the laptop lid, hoping that dinner, a relaxing bath, and some Netflix would be enough to keep me going for another night. By morning, I always woke up to a new villain in our lives, and the supernatural distractions from my schoolwork and daily activities would commence all over again. And again I'd cover up whatever I was feeling with sex, believing that was what I needed rather than what I deserved. But tonight felt different, something within told me to keep going, and that's precisely what I did.

I repositioned myself on the couch and adjusted the cushions at my back along with the blanket bundled around my legs and started all over again, this time with all the spell archives dating back to the sixteenth century. Back then, there were many frightened witches seeking ways of safeguarding themselves from the locals in their villages looking to point the finger at them for their own hysteria. Again, most witches performed spells to defend themselves from harm rather than eluting their adversary and fleeing. For a time, it seemed impossible that I'd find what I was looking for, and the prospect of a hot bath was becoming more enticing by the minute. But then something finally struck a cord, journal entries of a witch by the name of Edith Walls, dating back over thirty plus years. The pages of the journals had become tarnished, stained, and discoloured through time, and the handwriting was rather incomprehensible in the earliest injuries. The journals were brimming with anecdotes about her life, her adventures and everyday activities and chores, as well as how she came to cast a spell that not only altered her life but also the lives of three others.

Her birth date was unknown, as was the date she and her family arrived in the States. Her father was a carpenter who Edith frequently wrote of, he had rough hands and many yellowish teeth, he expressed little regard for her and her sisters, preferring to focus on his trade and her only brother Joseph, who had always been the most beloved of his children. Edith wrote of her jealousy over what her brother learnt of in school, and how her father thought a woman's duty was at home when she wasn't asking for God's mercy for whatever fresh wrong she had done that day. Edith discovered her supernatural abilities at a very young age, focusing on candles and attempting to ignite a flame, oftentimes waking up in the middle of the night finding her bedroom fully aglow with candle light. Although she was aware of her own power, she refused to utilize it for fear of being apprehended and imprisoned for witchcraft. All her life, she witnessed noble ladies accused of witchcraft, and how quickly their lives came tumbling into ruin due to these accusations, how it devastated their households and the lives of their children.

Edith was the lone surviving child in her family when she reached nineteen, a plague had claimed the lives of her siblings and mother just a year before. Her father intended for her to marry a talented apprentice of his. Edith would learn that this young man had merely offered her father two chickens and five bottles of ale for her hand in marriage to which her father had graciously accepted. However, when this apprentice by the name Fredrick discovered her attempting to flee before their wedding, he forced himself on her. In her journal, Edith described how he groaned like an animal as he demanded that she submit to his will and bare him a son as a punishment for her transgressions against him. Edith would later write in her journal of the night she fled from him, how, before he could father a son from her, she seized a candle stick and punctured his eye socket, blinding him with the flame.

She had left him in riving in pain as she made her escape into the nearby forest with nothing but what she could carry on her back. Over the following five years, there were few entries in her journal, and anything she did write was primarily on the work she was doing at the time. She wouldn't remain in one village for very long, certain that Fredrick was after her. It would be ten years before she eventually settled down in a tiny hamlet by the sea as a house maid in one of the larger houses.

It was here that she met Emma Brooks, another non-practicing witch, and Heather Petersbay, her first vampire, who was also hiding out there. Over the following few years, she wrote about the lives of both of these girls, how they came to be here, the devastation that was their life before they became supernatural, and the calamity that came with it. When they had saved up enough money, they rented a modest home overlooking the sea, Edith wrote of the apple trees outside the south-facing windows and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below.

They couldn't go as far as living off the land, which only stretched for an acre at most, but they were able to grow their own herbs for medicines and balms to sell. This wasn't received well with the men of the village, believing women living alone set a bad example to the other women of the village. It would be less than a month before allegations of witchcraft began to circulate, Edith wrote a daily entry detailing how consumed they were by chaos. Even when Edith was set to marry Marcus Roberts, a wealthy nobleman from London, things didn't settle down.

Edith and Emma devised a variety of different charms to alleviate the threat of a trial, but none of them were fully satisfactory. Marcus proposed that they escape immediately following the wedding, but this was rejected. For if they ran, they'd be running for the rest of their lives, a fate none of them desired. Edith described how she awoke early one morning, dressed, and took her journal into the forest near their home, where she lay in the tall grass and gazed up at the gloomy sky, thinking about Marcus and her friends, and how she would do anything to protect them, even if it meant at the price of her own happiness and safety.

They were her family and the only constant in her life, there was nothing she wouldn't do for them after the long journey they had taken together. She then concocted her own enchantment, which she was planning on using to help them flee into the night and never return. A spell that would require a significant sacrifice on her behalf, but for which she would be willing to make if it meant ensuring the safety of the others.

She wrote the spell in her journal step by step, it was the only page in her whole journal that was in good shape all these centuries later, she took care when writing it, unlike the pages before and after it, every T was crossed and every I was dotted.

Edith, as well as the others, would have to participate for the spell to be successful. The spell she devised would be forged through trust and the bond of blood through a shared marriage, uniting all four of them and serving as an invisible barrier between them and their adversary. Step by step, she prepared the spell, what she would burn in the fire, the chant that would build the shield, and the link between her fiancée and them.

Although the others were hesitant to participate, they eventually agreed to the requirements. That night, they constructed a fire, sliced their palms, and sacrificed their blood to the flames before ultimately linking hands and beginning the chant. Edith was the first to take Marcus's hand thus was the first to marry him, becoming his first wife, followed by Emma, whom Edith characterised as the village beauty, and lastly Heather, becoming his third wife. The flames climbed higher above their heads as they chanted over the roar of the night's forest breezes and wildlife. When the flames receded, the shield formed, as Edith documented in her journal: It was as if someone had draped a cloak over my shoulders that had been warming by the fireplace for a great many time, and we knew in that moment that we were forever linked in our marriages to Marcus.

They fled the village that night, just a few hours after the spell had been cast, hoping to be gone for daybreak. Edith wrote how the first few hours were the most difficult for her, she'd question every glance between Marcus and his new wives, afraid he'd grow to love them more than her. She was soon at ease, feeling that the enchantment had helped her overcome the jealousy she had felt that night. They left the village with anything they could store onto their one and only cart. Marcus rode his own horse out of town into the woods, while she, Emma, and Heather journeyed in the horse and cart to their new life over a thousand miles from their old village.

Edith was the first to give Marcus a child, a little girl they named Mary. Emma would give Marcus his first son and three daughters. It would be over five years of herbs, prayer and exhaustive efforts before Heather was finally blessed with their first child.

I sat up on the couch and reread the final few sentences of her journal again, tipping the screen downward and enhancing the screen brightness then.

Edith was the first to give Marcus a child, a little girl they named Mary. Emma would give Marcus his first son and three daughters. It would be over five years of herbs, prayer and exhaustive efforts before Heather was finally blessed with their first child.

"Wait a minute, that can't be right." I theorised and started backtracking.

Heather couldn't have given birth to a child as she was a vampire, and vampires can't procreate. Stefan had informed me of this during my early days as a new vampire, he wanted me to be familiar with in what my body could and could no longer do. I remember him sitting with me in my bedroom after Bonnie had reluctantly spelled my daylight ring for me. I can still remember fighting back my tears until Stefan left that day, and then crying myself to sleep that night and the next. I felt like I was imprisoned in that nightmare when you're running and running and nothing you do is ever going to be enough.

Bonnie and the others like to joke about how big a bitch I was to them in the first few days after I was turned. But they had no idea it was a result of severe sleep deprivation on my part. I was lashing out due to the fact that couldn't sleep, I lay awake staring up at my bedroom ceiling, my hand covering my lower belly, knowing I'd never feel a kick or a little elbow, never have someone who looked like me or had anything of me within them.

I shook my head in complete disbelief, refusing to believe a word of it. I recovered my search history and went over everything again before narrowing my inquiry to Heather exclusively. Her history was undocumented, how she became a vampire was undetermined, and Edith never wrote about it in her journal. Heather had only been in the village for a handful of days before Edith arrived. Heather had to leave her hometown when when a new herb began to featured around in gardens and breads that burned her to the touch and made feeding discretely more difficult. This was no doubt one of the first of many versions of vervain throughout history.

Although little was known about Heather's past, Edith did write about her attempts to have a child, how she'd go to church and pray every day to be blessed. She'd tried new herbs, potions, and allegedly sexual positions to increase her chances all to no avail. Until one day she finally became pregnant with no complications throughout the pregnancy or the one that followed just two years later. Indeed Heather would go on to give Marcus a total of five children with no record of miscarriages or stillbirths. Edith would go on to write about how she did not hear of another vampire pregnancy until she was fifty two years old and nearing the end of her life. It was apparently such a rare occurrence that in time it became nothing more than a rumour, soon believed an impossibility.

So what exactly happened? Years of trying, all of those herbs and positions, and then one day it worked? From the perspective of a twenty-first-century woman, it's the equivalent of years of IVF, temperature monitoring, and hormone injections. It just didn't make sense, Damon and Stefan had both stated, vampires couldn't have children, was this true or was it just what they, like so many others before them, believed? Of course, Klaus sprang to mind, he was the oldest vampire I knew, and if this were true, he would be the one to confirm it.

But I couldn't ask him, not him of all people given our history, he'd read into it and I'd have to explain how I ended up reading about Edith Walls and her husband's wives. I instantly pushed the thought out of my mind and returned to my reading, anxious to discover what happened to Edith after they all escaped.

She hypothesised that every child born of their shared marriage strengthened the spell over time. She wrote: The cloak that I had not felt as close around me in the last few months has returned stronger than ever since Emma's son's arrival. Now we know that our lineage was always supposed to be brought together, that the spell is still in effect and will be for the rest of our lives, with the blessings of all the children still to come. Although there is very little information about Edith's death, it is believed that she died around 1698. Her husband perished just a year later, and Emma died a few months afterwards from plague. Nothing else was documented on Heather and the children that came from their marriages.

These women rescued themselves from the brink of death and married in order to keep each other safe. I felt moved by their journey, it resembled the same sensation you get at the final page of a good book, you're forever changed by it, never to be the same again now that this narrative has been captured in your memory. So much so that daily challenges are no longer as exhausting when you consider those who have suffered the greatest hardships to get to where they are now, and the blood that flows through your veins, of all the individuals who came before you to get you to where you are today. I cheer them on even in death, hoping that one day I will have the fortitude and resolve to step out into the world, fearless and committed to start over.

But, of course, I couldn't do what they did, there was no doubt in my mind about that. They came from a different era and under lived under quite different circumstances. I wouldn't die if I stayed in town, I'd just continue to live for my mom and friends rather than for myself. Which wasn't nearly as dire as it sounded, it just meant I wouldn't be freeing myself from the loop just yet.

However, it did not address why I felt compelled to learn about their lives after learning the key competent of the spell. After all, there was no way I could re-enact the original spell, and I couldn't imagine myself going into a shared marriage under any circumstances, even life and death. Even if I suspended reality for a second and pretend that I could, there weren't any other women I could think of who would agree to such an arrangement, even if it meant a ticket out of Mystic Falls for good. Plus, I didn't know any man who could bear the burden of three marriages and three women in his life at the same time. Such a man must be from another planet, a king of his own castle, an alpha of beasts...

Why am I thinking about you again?

Throughout the day, my mind kept returning to Klaus, whom I hadn't thought about in a while. Perhaps it was the threat of this new hunter coming to town or wanting his input on what our next move should be. Or in fact the possibility that I might leave town and never see him again. He wasn't a part of my life, I didn't see him every day or even run into him in town anymore, and when he wasn't around, Tyler was more attentive to me, when Klaus was snooping around, Tyler became distant, almost convinced that I was cheating with Klaus and his one-sided infatuation with me.

So why was I thinking of him now instead of Tyler? Could I picture Klaus in such an arrangement over Tyler? Maybe my heart couldn't picture Tyler with anyone else no matter what I tried. Or perhaps I was able to picture him in any circumstance for he tended to thieve no matter what came his way. I had to stop thinking about him now, it had been an emotional day, and I shouldn't have been considering leaving town, let alone thinking about the individual who was responsible for my boyfriend's suffering and his hybrid status. When it came to Klaus, my thoughts weren't always innocent, his gifts didn't make a lasting effect on me, but the time we spent together had left its mark over time.

Every time we were alone together, I saw a different side of him and what I come to learn about Klaus was that he is ambitious, intense, passionate, possessive, commanding, smart, cunning, spontaneous but above all of that he was centred. And any girl who could look past his murderous rage and unresolved father issues would find herself with someone who closely resembled the perfect guy. My friends had their own opinions on Klaus's feelings for me, labelling them as more of an obsession than a crush, and I had used it against him time after time, having to watch the anguish and betrayal in his eyes as he saw the lengths I would go to aid my friends, even if it meant going against my own convictions.

And despite all that he was no doubt the only person I could turn to right now who wouldn't judge me for wanting to start a new life. I'm not saying he'd hug me and make everything better, hardly, we both know what he'd do to me if given the opportunity. I couldn't tell Klaus about my plans, I wanted him to remember me the way I am now and not as the girl who betrayed her friends for her own selfish reasoning. Besides if I crossed paths with Klaus right now I wouldn't be able to stop myself from asking him about vampire reproduction and if Stefan and Damon were wrong.

Klaus would probably offer his personal input if he knew I wanted a baby. He'd probably cut down anyone who stood between him and I in seconds if it got me where he wanted me which was in his bed. I wasn't naive I could see it in his eyes whenever he looked at me, the longing, the desire to take what you wanted regardless its sacrifice, the instinct to take what you believed belonged to you and make it yours forever. That's what I saw in those blue eyes, I saw it the night we sat together alone in the town square after he followed me out of the Grill, or when his hand brushed down my dress to my lower back as we danced together the night of the Mikaelson ball.

All of our stolen moments together had remained exactly that. Klaus had never used them as a weapon against me, never even hinted that he might reveal them to Tyler if pushed hard enough. In my heart I had emotionally cheated on Tyler with him, perhaps that's why I refused to play pawn these days when it came to keeping secrets from Klaus, I knew I'd only be using it as an excuse to steal a few minutes away with the one person I didn't have to pretend around. I didn't have a connection with Klaus but rather an understanding, he didn't judge me for my weaknesses and I never judged him for his desires.

In my heart I knew he had thought about me, fantasised about taking me into his arms, kissing every inch of my body until I was moist and ready for him, before he pinned my arms above my head and slid himself between my legs and found that sweet spot that would bring me to my breaking point Then he'd hold me there in our shared ecstasy, torturing me, teasing me, until I thought I might just burst, only he wouldn't let me, not yet, not so easily, not until he tasted me first. Klaus wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted, he'd spread my legs eagerly, pleased to find I was already wet for him, he'd keep his eyes fixed on mine the entire time, he'd work his skilful tongue around my folds, as his formidable hands caressed and worshipped my breasts simultaneously as I moaned his name making him twitch in anticipation over what he would do to me next, what extremes he'd push my body to by the end of the night and what ferocious positions he'd bend me into until I cried out for more.

His imagination knew no bounds as he refused to conform to the same rules as the rest of us, especially when it came to violence and sex. This was probably why his name sprang to me when picturing a man who could handle three women in his life without breaking a sweat. Though I doubt a man such as Klaus would ever marry and submit to anyone else's expectations of him, he lived on his own merits and had done so since long before he was turned, and I doubt there was a woman alive who could persuade him to enter into such an elaborate marriage.

If I were to enter such an arrangement, I'd want the two other women involved to be my friends, people I knew and felt would willingly give up everything they had here for a life free of their ghosts and mistakes. I knew the horror that comes with being a new vampire, the overwhelming emotions, your skin like sandpaper night and day, the desire for blood and the hunt, no one goes through it without losing a piece of themselves in the process. I almost gave up when I discovered I'd never be a mom, and I imagined Elena was in the same situation now, mad at Rebekah for robbing her of her life as well as her womb. It was just too painful for words, at least in my experience.

Elena was having difficulty adjusting to her new life as a vampire, which was understandable. She was a lot stronger than she gave herself credit for, she had already been through so much grief in her life, and I just wished there was more I could do to help her figure out what she wanted from this next chapter of her life. But Stefan insisted on allowing her space to figure out what she wanted for herself rather than what she thought we wanted for her, which was a refreshing notion in theory but much more difficult to follow out when watching her struggle with each new day.

Elena was the last person who would ever contemplate leaving Mystic Falls, she had more ties here than the rest of us combined. This is where she grew up, where she went to school, where she fell in love for the first time, where her parents were buried, as were Jenna and John, where Stefan and her friends called home, and most importantly, where she looked after Jeremy, the only family she had left.

She'd never leave Mystic Falls, she was in love with the memory of how life used to be, long before the supernatural aspect entered our lives, she remembers holiday events, old stores and her father's practise right in the heart of town. That was all Mystic Falls was now, our shared memories, no new real estate, no commercial buildings or parks, it was frozen in time and one day, perhaps in a few decades, it would be a ghost town, a place for YouTube bloggers to come and explore all the supernatural activity it would be known for, and nothing more.

My heart broke at the thought of leaving her behind. She had almost lost control at the memorial today, almost succumbed to her hunger and lunged at a wounded April Young who had fallen prey to the hunter on the church balcony. The poor girl was used as bait to lure us into a trap like an animal. Elena would never hurt her or anyone else that wasn't the type of person she was, if she did, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. As much as a girl like April might jump at the idea of leaving town, Elena was a whole different story.

If Elena did agree for whatever reason to leave behind the town she loved so much, her guilt over leaving Jeremy, Stefan and our friends behind would cripple her instead. The only thing that would get Elena out of town would be the same thing driving me to escape, and that was the realisation that this life wasn't enough for us anymore, that the battles we won didn't justify the time we lost out on with our families and our goals in life.

The only way to know how Elena felt about her life in Mystic Falls was to ask her about it. That wasn't an easy issue to broach even under the best of circumstances, let alone with a new vampire. But Elena appreciated honesty above all else, and if she knew the extent to which I was hurting right now, she may be more receptive to expressing her own fears about her future here.

I understood better than anybody how easy it was to appear happy, to fake a smile, and continue moving forward regardless of how unhappy and dread you felt in the pit of your stomach and in your bones. And if there was even a remote chance that Elena was doing the same act as me, I owed it to her as a friend and as a woman to speak to her about the possibility of leaving town with me.

But before I could get any further, I needed a major reality check about what that discussion would entail. If I was considering telling Elena about my intentions to leave, it meant I had finally reached the point wherein there was no turning back. She could do anything with the information the moment she learnt of it, alert Tyler of my plans to leave him and the others behind, call my mom, assuming that all it would take was a heart to heart for me to change my mind.

No! I've not thought this through. And now I'm freaking out about a decision I haven't even made yet.

What did I want right here and now? The answer came to mind immediately of course as the truth always did in the end. I wanted to go, this decision was immediately followed with crippling guilt, picturing the reactions of my friends when they realized I gave up everything we had before for my own gain, for a future of which they had no part in.

I was yearning to rediscover myself, to reintegrate into a different society, to contribute and make a difference while possessing a genuinely happy demeanour. I knew I'd never find it here, that I'd be apprehensive about any new face in town, especially following the events of today, which hindered me. I envisioned myself going somewhere new, where no one would know about my chequered past or the supernatural side of me. I wanted to feel as close to human as possible again. But none of that would happen if I continued with this vicious cycle I called life.

I was going to break the cycle by being honest with myself about what I wanted out of life and what I didn't. I imagined compelling my mom to move, possibly to live with her sister in Texas or to finally buy a little house in Maine, something she'd always said she'd do once she retired. I couldn't leave her in Mystic Falls, today was the final nail in the coffin, the town was slipping through the hour glass, and it was time to get out.

But what did I want? What did I see when I pictured my new life. Full disclosure - no bullshit.

I didn't see Tyler in my future and that was the brutal truth. I loved him, and I believe he loved me too, but not in the manner I deserved. We'd been through a lot together, some of it particularly brutal, so it was only natural that we found our way to each other. He didn't understand he was compensating for our lack of common interests with sex, which demonstrated to me how little I thought of myself as a woman and as a person. I'd known this for weeks, and yet the wound still felt fresh and unfixable. It pained me inside to think about him discovering out I'd left him, but I knew in my gut that by the end of the day, he'd hook up with someone, claiming it was what he needed after what I'd done to him. Taking his place as the injured victim, to cover up for the weeks of drunken encounters that would follow, forever branding me the woman who destroyed his life and inability to love again.

I don't know what was broken within him, but he couldn't continue blaming Klaus for his emotional baggage, which had been ingrained in him since we were kids, he'd always been angry, ready to bounce and cause mayhem because he refused to deal with whatever unresolved trauma he'd had endured. I couldn't fix it as his friend or partner, if I felt I could, I would have tried by now, but I hadn't. Tyler had to sort it out for himself, and until he did, he'd be trapped in his own cycle of violence, sex, and abnormal testosterone levels. He could only play the blame game on his inner wolf for so long before people would begin to catch on.

Tyler would hate me for a long time, and I had to accept it. I couldn't go through life scared that someone might get upset with me, it was a foolish way to live. Let's face it, school had become rather obsolete at this time, it was tough to concentrate on calculus and economics one day and then fight for your life the next. No one wanted to go to school I mean that was a given. But not everyone had to make life-or-death decisions one second and then ask permission to go to the toilet the next. Following a timetable, attending cheer practice, homework and prank nights were all exhausting, and it was time to call it quits.

As for my friends, I couldn't see a day in the future where I might forgive myself for abandoning them. There were some wounds you know you just won't recover from, even with the gift of time, some are just too deep. However harsh it appeared, I knew already that none of them would be on board with my leaving, they'd think I was being irresponsible, egoistic and I'd return within a week or month with my tail between my legs begging for their forgiveness.

I loved my friends and was grateful to have them in my life, but I would be lying to myself if I claimed we still needed each other as much. We were growing up, school was almost out, and whether they liked it or not, life would carry on regardless of which villain came to town next, something they repeatedly refused to acknowledge. We weren't going to win every battle, always be youthful at heart, and forever attend Mystic Falls High, that wasn't how the real world worked. We'd all have to leave sooner or later since the people in this town weren't going to accept that a nutritious diet and a strict daily skin care regimen kept us looking this young. Despite everything they had been through there were many of my friends that remained as immature since the day I first met them.

Which is precisely why I was making the decision here and now of not saying goodbye to them nor Tyler knowing they would hate me for it. This wasn't an easy decision to make, my insides coiled and twisted just at the thought of it. I couldn't face their judgement, their thoughts on what should be of my life and what would become of them if I were to leave. Something deep inside told me they'd make it about them, and I hated myself for even thinking such a thing, but Bonnie had a way of twisting things, reminding everyone around her of every hardship she'd encountered in getting us here. I couldn't look her in the eyes knowing what was in my heart, I couldn't remain frozen in time, a statue of what they wanted rather then what I needed.

So much so that I may even consider leaving Mystic Falls this very night.

The only question remained was if I wanted to venture out there alone or dare to perform the spell.

Klaus was the only man I knew who could possibly enter into such a complicated agreement. No one else I knew could be in a relationship with three different women at the same time, such a responsibility belonged to a man, not a boy. He needed to be mature, wise beyond his years, a decision maker, a forward thinker, with the means of transforming not one but the lives of four very different people. He was a man of the world, an avid traveller, he'd done and seen it all, and no doubt he'd engaged in several relationships at once, threesomes, and all manner of arrangements with aristocratic and exceptionally beautiful women throughout the decades. There was a reason for his confident strut, a man doesn't get that arrogant without knowing how to make a girl wet.

Throughout the years, he had never married or been in a meaningful relationship. Unlike the Salvatores, there were no photographs of lost lovers locked away. Even Katherine Pierce couldn't break him, and we all knew what lengths she'd go to get exactly what she wanted. The only person who gained his attention since returning to Mystic Falls had indeed been me. He had lavished me with beautiful jewels, sketched me, and promised to show me this beautiful world if I would just accept his hand. He'd studied me extensively, he knew the curves of my body, he saw them every time he sketched me. Unlike other women of his past, he wanted to remember me, to carry a small piece of me with him whenever and if ever he chose to leave Mystic Falls forever.

But would he be willing to help me now?

It wouldn't be the first time I'd looked to him for help, he'd never turned me down before, but I wasn't asking for a typical favour. I was asking the most complex of men whether he'd consider entering into a shared marriage and fleeing Mystic Falls. This would mean ending his plans to find a way to create more hybrids to do his biding, that he would never see or speak to his family again, and that he would never seek retaliation for the actions we took against him over the past few months. I'd be asking him to basically reinvent himself, with nothing except his wealth and his wives as he bid farewell to Mystic Falls for good.

Klaus wouldn't do anything he did want and there was always a deeper underlining to all of his choices. He never did something without expecting something in return.

I'd be lying to myself if something didn't immediately come to mind over what that something might be. Besides his hybrid army, there was only one thing Klaus claimed to want most and that was me. Mind, body and soul there wasn't a single part of me that he didn't desire for himself. And the idea that he might be the one to take me from Tyler's arms was certainly an interesting prospect for him to consider.

I knew the truth in my heart as did all women faced with the same dilemma that came with having two different men in your life. One will sadly become inferior to the other sooner or later, even the one you loved most of all. I had never indicated to Klaus that I would give into his charms, never even discussed the possibility of breaking up with Tyler to give him a chance to prove himself. But in my heart I knew how I felt about him, I just never imagined acting upon it.

I was attracted to him, I had been for a very long time actually, it was a small insignificant moment of sorts between us that brought me to this realization. Tyler and I were slow dancing together when he showed up out of nowhere as usual, cut in and swept me away from him and into his arms faster than a hiccup. It was then he told me of his plans to leave town the very next day, I quickly forgot myself, all time and logic when I looked his way unable to mask my shock that he would no longer be part of my life, that come tomorrow his fixation on me would abruptly end and I would be free to return to the girl I was rather than the woman he saw beneath the surface. He was so livid with me for choosing to remain here instead of escaping with him.

That was the precise moment that I knew Klaus had a place in my heart, how he did it I wasn't sure, how long he'd been there I didn't know. But to this day, he remained, if he didn't I would have been as hell bent as my friends into destroying him before he took over our town.

I wanted to sleep with him, I would have slept with him if Tyler and I hadn't been together, that's the secret I kept locked inside my heart without a key. He was devilishly handsome, always groomed, he didn't settle for a little cologne and new t-shirt every few months like most guys, his clothes were tailored and he took pride in how he presented himself to the world, in the manner of his speaking and general behaviour. I saw the way the other guests watched as dancing at the Mikaelson ball, Klaus thought I was trying to look anywhere but him as we danced together that night, when in reality, I was watching all the women tormented by the sight of us together, some even took pictures.

Klaus assumed I had already made up my mind about him, but this was not the case. Every day he wasn't around, I'd find myself thinking of him, just like now, I'd think of all the questions I had longed to ask him, about his life, what he was like as a boy and how he came to be the man he was today. Of course, he didn't suspect anything from me, I had managed to deceive him, Tyler and my own best friends into believing he had a one-sided infatuation. If they knew the truth, they hate me, Tyler would break up with me and I'd be lucky if Elena and Jeremy ever spoke to me again.

If I needed him, truly needed him then I believe Klaus would help me. So all that remained were the two women as eager to escape Mystic Falls as I now stood.

Elena would never consider marrying Klaus for obvious reasons. There was no secret sexual tension between them, only resentment and death. And even if Elena were to get Jeremy to safety and accept the offer of marriage and her ticket out of here, I doubted very much a marriage between them would stand the test of time. They hated each other, tried to bring the other down time and time again until there was nothing left. Elena was a vampire now, her blood was no longer of use to Klaus and thus they no longer interacted at all. Klaus even possibly had plans of his own to leave town and devise a new way of creating hybrids.

Elena would never sleep with him even if it meant the possibility of becoming pregnant. She'd never want to have a child with Mikaelson blood, not after all the pain that bloodline had cost, in fact she'd sooner die then aid it.

However, this spell did not specify that the shared marriages had to formed out of love and attraction, but instead trust, trust that they would remain married and united by their surrendered blood. So if Elena and Klaus were to participate, all they'd have to agree upon was that they would remain married and nothing more.

All of this was inconsequential without talking to them about it first. Until I did then I was merely playing house in my head, imaging a future that might never come to be.

No Elena would never agree to this.

Besides the spell called for three women not two and who else would want to leave...

April

Suddenly I was brought back to the church balcony, witnessing Elena compel April Young into believing she would make it through her grief with Elena's help. April was an orphan now, she couldn't afford to attend boarding school now, we'd probably see her walking the halls at school come Monday, she had no friends here, no family, no relations of any kind to guide her through this. She had zero prospects, probably very little cash to support herself, she had absolutely nothing to fall back on.

And today she buried her father.

I knew what that felt like, vampire or human suddenly your just a little girl again and without her hero, nothing really feels the same again, no one is who they say they are and the only comfort you take from it is the knowledge that nothing will ever cut you this deep again. She was completely alone and it was heartbreaking, she was unknowingly living in town full of supernatural activity. Anything could happen to her, just like today on the balcony, that poor innocent girl was walking around with blinders on just like the rest of the town.

Asking her about the shared marriage meant confessing the truth behind all the animal attacks, Tyler's shooting and about all the monsters in the storybooks being real and right outside her front door. She could freak out and not just about the paranormal stuff but about the spell. She just like Elena could go running to my friends and tell them about my offer sending them my way in a fit of rage, demanding answers that I wouldn't know where to begin answering.

All of this was such a mess, I couldn't think straight anymore.

If I told Elena about the plans to leave town she would try and stop me, if she rejected the idea of the shared marriages she'd hate me forever for even suggesting such a thing in the first place. So I needed to come up with a plan B, a back up plan in place should that happen.

Wait did that mean I was truly considering asking all of them about a shared marriage?

I guess it did. That I like Edith all those centuries ago found peace in the idea of sharing a man with two other women if it meant escaping my town under a shield that protect us from being discovered by those who might seek to harm us.

But I needed a plan B.

I planned to ask Elena over to my house as soon as possible, I'd share my plans to leave Mystic Falls and present the information I had collected to her. If she rejected the idea then there was only one thing left that I could do after that. I would pack my things and be gone from Mystic Falls within that same hour never to be seen again. I'd send my mom to her sisters and I'd disappear somewhere and start from scratch like I originally planned. If she said no then there was no reason to stick around town, no need to speak to April Young or Klaus about the shared marriage possibility for without Elena then was no way I could go forward with the spell.

Elena was my best friend and as much as it would pain me to leave her behind as a new vampire I would if I had to. I couldn't face our friends, not if she turned down my idea, they'd look at me with disgust, Bonnie might even try and seal me into the house until I saw sense.

No I wouldn't allow myself to be a figure of ridicule. I'd already felt like a puppet for them time and time again, nicknamed the little blonde distraction one time too many.

I needed to think about how I was going to go about pitching the idea of this new life to Elena. I needed to show her how differently our lives could be if we were to move somewhere new, someplace we didn't have to worry about anyone coming after us, a place we could call home and grow some roots together. We couldn't just leave town and drive around looking for a for sale sign, I needed to construct a vision of what our lives could be if we performed the spell.

I didn't know about the others, but I couldn't imagine living in a house with two other women and a guy, especially since we were all married to him. The marriage itself was uncertain, and living under one roof with all of us would be a nightmare. But at the same time I don't think we'd want to live particularly far apart, we'd be in a new town, a different state and I for one didn't want to be that far away from any of them.

Okay, give me a second to think about this.

If Klaus agreed to be our husband, then each wife deserved their own individual home with him. If we could find all three properties adjacent to each other, we'd be able to live separate yet equal lives. We could even level the backyards and create one large garden. And so this way the neighbours wouldn't suspect anything was amiss because Klaus could move between the houses without notice. He could afford three homes, though his tastes fell towards mansions and seaside villas rather than all three bedroom colonials.

Elena, April, and I had grown up in a picture-perfect environment and this was all we ever knew. I didn't want us to go somewhere we wouldn't be comfortable, I wanted to move to a new suburb in an entirely different state. But if we were going to obtain three separate properties side by side, I'd have to look at new real estate developments. Newly constructed homes, a newly constructed street, untouched with every house on the market and ready for offers. Somewhere we could move in together on the exact same day without raising too many eyebrows from any neighbours.

We had to move somewhere no one would think to look at us. Klaus had most likely lived all across the United States, so I had to think of somewhere that wouldn't have the nightlife he'd grown costume too, somewhere trouble wouldn't follow, a place far away from Mystic Falls so our paths would never cross with anyone from home. I broadened my search from state to state, finding a few appealing regions but no homes that were directly adjacent, so I expanded my search towards the west coast states.

"Utah"

I began by looking at new property developments, if there wasn't a room for all of us, it made no sense to look at the state as a whole. Currently, there were five independent residential contracts underway in Utah, but only one was actively accepting offers on their new development. I found myself smiling ear to ear when at long last I finally secured three adjacent houses of equal space and size, with their own unique layout both inside and out with four bedrooms, two separate bathrooms and en suites for each of the master bedrooms, each house featured inside garages large enough for two cars.

Each property was so fresh and unspoilt that neither of them even container a lawn of their own, front of back. If we were to purchase them we'd have to lay fresh sod and start each home from scratch. Everything about these houses cried out with it's promise, that here everything could begin anew.

The first property cost five hundred thousand dollars. It was a lovely brown house with maroon shutters on the windows and a modest front porch. A large sitting room and dining room combined together as you entered from the hall, that led through an archway to the kitchen, which included connecting laundry and pantry areas, as well as a smaller sitting area immediately off the kitchen. This property, unlike the other two, had a basement, which would be ideal for shopping in bulk, necessitating fewer excursions to the grocery store for us, which meant less time the three of us would be seen together in public. Fewer times seen together meant less questions from the town residents.

I enlarged the photograph taken of the master bedroom to this property, studying it closely. If we performed the spell, this may be the room I'd share with Klaus one day soon, this is where we could possibly have sex for the very first time. I couldn't think that way, just the thought made me flush and heated around my ears. I was allowing my imagination to take over, which wasn't a good idea.

The middle property was painted dark green on the second floor with a light grey tone on the bottom, it had a similar-looking front porch, but the front entrance was farther to the right rather than in the centre of the structure. It featured its own driveway like the first one as well as a private pool area in the back. The kitchen was smaller, but the bedrooms were larger. It came to a total of four hundred and ninety-five thousand.

Part of me imagined April living in this house, situated in the midst of the properties between Elena and myself. If she participated in the spell, this may become her home with Klaus. April and Klaus didn't have the same history as Klaus did with Elena and me, and I honestly believed that if April could see past everything that he'd done and consent to be his wife, it wouldn't be long before the two of them were more familiar with one another.

April was full of life, gorgeous, and just the sort of girl Klaus would pursue in the real world. I knew that my attraction to Klaus however was very powerful, if we were to do this then it might not be very long before Klaus and I became physical with each other. Just thinking of what might be caused butterflies, I hadn't had butterflies since I was a little girl, full of hope and joy. Although I was quick to worry what Elena would think if I were to dive into something with him so quickly, the idea of her judging me turned my stomach. I doubted it would take Klaus long to become interested in April that way, I mean they'd be married so it was their business I suppose.

Was I seriously jealous of a relationship living only in my head?

Finally, the end house came in at a total of five hundred and twelve thousand dollars. It was a beautiful shade of light blue and gray together, and just like the other properties, there was no paint on the walls, no carpets, nothing. The kitchen was definitely larger than the middle house, and unlike the other two houses, each bedroom had greater closet space. This property featured a more open floor plan, yet it still felt cosy and welcoming. After examining the layout of the property, I decided that this one would be ideal for Elena. If she and Klaus weren't going to share a bed, the master bedroom was down the hall from the other three bedrooms, this property would be perfect for her. I knew I was terrible to make assumptions about a marriage that may never happen.

I couldn't imagine her having any interested in him now or in the future, she was utterly heels in love with Stefan, no matter what Damon tried to convince her of. Elena was stunning, effortlessly beautiful, she was the girl next door, the all American girl. But she was so much more than that, she had the biggest heart of anyone I'd ever known and Klaus knew it too. He saw the extent she had gone to keep her friends and family safe, even if it at the expense of her own life in the process.

I imagined him being tremendously drawn to her—perhaps even as much as he was about me at this point. Elena always wanted to be a mom, and now that I knew vampires possessed the potential to have children, I knew Elena wouldn't pass up the opportunity. Even if that meant the possibility of Klaus being the father. She'd lost so much it seemed right that she be gifted with this now.

What if Klaus had been attracted to Elena when they first met? But instead he had focused his attention on me once our paths crossed. Was I finally favoured over Elena Gilbert? Huh, that had never happened before...ever.

I was smiling again now, pressing my legs together as my skin radiated heat. Was I actually turned on over the idea of being Klaus's favourite obsession?

Seriously?

I took a deep breath before deciding to send all of the information I had acquired about the spell and the life of Edith Walls to the printer in my bedroom. This was shortly followed by all the details with regard to the property's in Utah, including house descriptions and pricing, blueprints, property taxes, insurance groups, and the contact details of the real estate agent who is currently selling ten homes on that one street alone. At least we wouldn't have neighbours for a while, well if we were to move there I mean.

To demonstrate my dedication to the spell, I had to provide Elena with as much information as possible. I needed to prove to her that if she was in this then so was I and a hundred percent dedicated to its outcome. She knew I was only relaxed when everything under my supervision was done accurately.

My next goal was to determine the fastest route from Mystic Falls to Sandy, Utah. We couldn't risk flying there since our flight records would lead the others right to us and ducking and diving out trains was just a hassle we didn't need. Our only alternative was to hit the open road, covering just under two thousand miles in total. I'd have to print out the entire route and all the listed directions, go a bit old school on this one, after all, we couldn't take our phones with us and use the GPS, they were traceable, and if we were going to do this, we were going to do it right.

I created a document that contained all of the journey details, highlighted every gas station along the route, listed all of the roads that were currently undergoing road work and the detours we would take to avoid them and every dirt path that would shed a few miles off our journey. Each page was colour coded according to its purpose, and of course cross referenced and indexed. The most crucial of these pages was the quickest route out of Mystic Falls, which I spent a long time collaborating as I wanted to get out of town swiftly without passing by the cemetery or any of our homes, nothing that would make any of us reconsider leaving.

I went to my bedroom and gathered all the printed pages, laying them out on my made bed before dividing and stapling them accordingly, then the spell itself, which I made copies of for everyone involved, then the house details, each properties details was divided up take care of. I gathered some A4 plastic wallets from the top drawer of my corner desk and used them to store each individual document. Making a point to use the light pink wallet to store all the information pertaining to the property I wanted for Elena as it was her favourite colour.

If it were up to me we'd do the spell tonight and be gone by morning before anyone had time to suspect anything was going on. It was then I came to realize that if all of this hard work should fail, if Elena were to refuse to participate in the spell then this would be my last night in Mystic Falls. It hit me out of nowhere that I'd never sleep in my bed again, never have a pathetic excuse for a coffee from the Grill, never buy flowers from old Mrs Doyle's flower shop on Mother's Day, or walk the hallways at school one last time. This was the conclusion of a very important chapter in my life, tomorrow, I may be on my way to Utah to start a new life.

If he could see me right now, what would he think?

I couldn't help but wander then if my over controlling nature did anything for Klaus. He knew I was Miss Mystic Falls, clearly he'd done his research on me, so he possibly knew of this side of me too. The girl who got results, no matter what the circumstance she found herself in. What was it about me that I liked so much? It had to be more than just physical, he would have made a move by now if it wasn't something deeper. And even if I alone occupied his thoughts, if I entered into a shared marriage with him, would I be remain there? Would our history shape the next chapter of our lives? Could I compete against a girl as funny and charismatic as April or a knock out like Elena?

Why can't I get you out of my head?

The reality was that if Elena and April agreed, then I might see him tonight.

What if he said no? What if he said yes?

I had to bite the bullet and not waste any more time, I had to call Elena and April, meet with them, and discuss things. If they weren't on board with the idea, there would be pointless to contact Klaus and inform him of the spell or my plans to leave town. Without the girls the spell was a non starter and I wouldn't be comfortable with anyone else taking their place. Bonnie and I could sometimes go days now without talking, we'd never truly reconnected after I became a vampire, and I knew that wasn't a failure on my part, for I knew the depths I had gone to keep our friendship intact. If I didn't have the girls with me then I'd be gone from Mystic Falls by tomorrow morning, nothing and no one could change my mind now.

But for the time being, I needed to convince everyone to get onboard with the spell. It would be a major transition in each of our lives, and I didn't just mean the move. If we executed this, all three of us would be married to Klaus, and for the spell to succeed if we needed to trust him and ourselves that these marriages were truly genuine and would withstand the test of time.

There was a reason behind my search for three houses and not four, if Klaus was going to be our husband in this, then he needed to have a life with each one of us which meant living in all three homes. I hadn't gone so far as to consider what that would entail just yet however I had a rough idea of a schedule of sorts. But that wasn't worth my time right now, I had to get us there first and that was going to be the biggest challenge of all.

If this is what they wanted too, then I wouldn't stop until I got us to Utah.

I couldn't let us get caught between here and there, every choice, timeline, and action had to be discussed and agreed upon. One wrong move and all of our friends and partners would be able to track us down. I had to be clever about this and uncover a whole new side of my controlling nature, for in situations like this, it was a blessing, not something to be mercilessly criticised. Tonight if need be it would become my superpower, with my ear to the ground, forward thinking and will of iron I would take us into our new life together.

I'd contact Elena first, if she were on board it would be easier for the both of us to speak with April together and reveal the supernatural world to her. But first everything had to be in place for her arrival. I had only one opportunity of getting this right and I had to cover my bases. The entire house had to exude an atmosphere of warmth, serenity and hospitality, it would make the whole situation that little bit easier. The conversation was going to be intense for both of us, she'd be uncomfortable as would I and the very subject of suggesting Klaus to help us may very be enough to destroy our friendship forever. I was growing anxious, the hair on my neck standing on end as I quietly pondered her possible reactions to the marriages and a new life in Utah. She might reject the idea immediately, laugh or scream in my face, not that she was the type of person to do such a thing of course, just that what I was asking her to do was undoubtedly challenging and out of my character. But I needed to know if she and I were in the same boat, tired of funerals and villains in our lives.

She had ties and responsibilities here that extended beyond the supernatural component of her life. She had Jeremy to consider, since Elena turned eighteen she had become his legal guardian. She was legally responsible for his welfare, education and development now. She'd never consider leaving town if it meant leaving her brother to face the hunter, especially after today's antics. Now that this villain had entered our lives no vampire, werewolf, witch or anybody affiliated with them were safe anymore. They were merely targets, names on his list to check off and bury. Jeremy would never abandon his friends, he was a lot like Elena in that way. The only possibility of getting him out of town was compulsion and that was a decision would be entirely in Elena's hands alone.

They had family here and there across the country that he could go to, but it would be easy for Stefan or Damon to track him down there and break him from it. Elena would have to be smart, send him somewhere just like us that no one would think to look for him. Somewhere he could paint, perhaps go to a community college and learn more about art and enhance his skills. She knew how to compel now, I'd seen her do it, she could convince him if she tried. Make him believe it was for his own good, that our friends were going to be alright without him and that it was in his best interest not to contact any of them after he left. Instead the only person he'd keep in contact with was Elena through letters, she could set up a PO box just outside of Utah, that way they could remain in touch without leading him straight to our front door. But like I said, this was up to Elena, I couldn't tell her what do do in this situation it wasn't my place.

Perhaps Klaus could help her set something up so they could stay in touch?

There was no questioning he had connections out there, he could figure out a solution for her. Maybe even help me get in contact with my mom somewhere down the line too. Although he might be more inclined to help me then Elena. I grew exhausted just thinking about the pair of them attempting to co-insist together.

There were a great many steps between here and Utah and unless I had Elena on board primarily then I couldn't waste any time imagining a future that may never be. Nor did I feel emotionally stable enough to consider all that I would be leaving behind such as my family home and the safety of numbers. For now all I could bring myself to focus on was the task in front of me, establishing a comforting oasis for the conversation that may change my life forever. I kept the curtains open but brought down the lace net curtain from their supports as I moved swiftly from one room to the next. I collected a lighter from one of the side tables in the hallway right above we keep our keys. I proceeded to light the orange scented pillar candles in the sitting room, bathroom and dining area which gave off the enticing glow I had hoped for. I emptied out the humidifier by the front door, cleaned it and replenished the water before adding a few drops of lavender oil to the fresh water and returning it to its place in the hall.

I returned to the bathroom finding it presentable but in need of a few touch ups. I scrubbed the toilet before applying a thick layering of bleach beneath the rim, I replaced the old the toilet freshener with a new pine scented one closing the lid as I finished up. I made the toilet paper into a point, replaced the bath matt so the colour matched the towels and placed a new bar of soap on the tray above the faucets. Afterwards I made my way into my bedroom to change my clothes, if she were to see me in my pyjamas in the middle of the day she would immediately be suspicious over whether or not I was serious about the spell or just in a slump. Like I said everything had to be made just right. I collected a fresh pair of blue jeans from my presser, a white blouse with a partially scooped neck line and a taupe toned cotton cardigan that buttoned low on my torso. I brushed out my hair and applied some rose lip palm before sliding on my beige slippers and leaving my bedroom closing the door behind me.

I shut all the other rooms in the house before turning on the heat so it would be toasty for her arrival, hoping she would feel perfectly at home. In the sitting room, I began fluffing and straightening all of the cushions, returning the throw I had used this afternoon to its proper place, it was important that the sitting room looked its best as this was where I envisioned we'd talk. I switched on the television then turning on Netflix and queuing up Father of the Bride 1 to play on mute in the background as we talked, this particular movie was a favourite of both of ours and may subconsciously show Elena the small efforts of which I had made for her greater comfort. I returned from the kitchen armed with a ceramic bowl of microwave popcorn, a smaller bowl of chocolate buttons along side it, two tall glasses of coca cola with crushed ice and black straws served on a tray with napkins at the ready. I positioned the tray on the coffee table in front of the couch. After that, I took a box of tissues from the hall and placed it beside the tray in case things became as emotional as I had predicted, before finishing by dimming the ceiling lights in both the sitting room and the hall.

I'd keep the folders containing the documents inside my bedroom for the time being, I didn't want to overwhelm her, we had a lot to talk about before the information became relevant to the conversation. I retrieved my phone from my room and returned to the sitting room, where I began to text her, my hands gripping the phone's edges in a bid to stop my shivering. I was a shambles about this, as I had anticipated I would be when this moment arrived. I knew there was no turning back after this, either way, I'd be gone by dawn and that was the end of it.

Was it wrong that I already felt free of Tyler? I didn't know how imprisoned I'd felt all this time until my shoulders unclenched and I was filled with a comforting warmth. I would never have to see him again after tonight.

I inhaled deeply before summing up the courage to finally hit the 'send' button.

[16:01]

Do you want to come over?

[16:05]

I'm just back from the woods with Stefan, I'll probably need twenty minutes to shower and change.

[16:06]

How is it going with the blood?

[16:11]

Not great.

[16:15]

We'll talk when you get here. See you soon.

I was a complete basket case over just a few texts, I knew I had to get it together before she arrived, for I couldn't appear the slightest bit uncertain about any of this. While waiting for her to arrive I had sprayed each room with a bit cinnamon air freshener we had left over from Christmas. I increased the heating a notch and and fluffed up the couches in the living room once more. I was watching from the sitting room window when Elena's car drew up in front of my house parking just a little behind my car before cutting the engine and stepping out onto the street. I brushed my hair around my shoulders making my way towards the front door to welcome her, wishing I had more time alone to think about how I was going to approach everything.

She was happy to see me, the blood she'd taken from Matt at the memorial had helped level out her completion, she didn't seem so worn out anymore, the dark circles from earlier had disappeared and she'd even put on some make-up. She, too, had changed out of her clothes from the memorial and was now wearing a midnight blue half-sleeve t-shirt over some blue boot cut jeans and sneakers. I opened the door and greeted her with a one-armed hug, she entered the sitting room as I closed the door behind us and joined her inside. Elena plopped down onto the couch after setting her converses and shoulder bag on the floor. She grinned as she took in the sight of the tray of food and drinks in front of her, meeting my gaze as I rounded the coffee table to join her on the other side of the couch.

"You're looking a lot better." I smiled from ear to ear.

"I'm feeling terrific. I was starting to feel exhausted."

"It's no surprise. I can't image how difficult these last few days must have been for you. Keeping it together like you have. You've done amazing."

"I haven't, not really," she hesitated before tucking her hair behind her ear and peering back at me "I've been lying to Stefan."

"You have, what about?"

"About the blood. I've been pretending that everything is fine, but it's been difficult for me to keep down."

I was taken aback since Elena and Stefan were typically an open book with each other, and Elena had a terrible time keeping things to herself, but she'd remained silent on this one.

"Are you planning on telling him?"

"I was, but Damon beat me to it, he told Stefan before the memorial started. I didn't find out till after we got home."

So she confined in Damon, but not Stefan.

"How did Damon know about it?"

"I told him I assumed it was the animal blood making its way through my system."

"And what exactly did he say?"

"What he's been repeating for days now, that I need to drink from the vein."

"And what do you think you need?"

"I don't know, to be honest, I don't even want to think about it right now, for so many days now all I've been able to think about is blood and now I feel like I can finally relax."

I wasn't going to confront her about her deception since, when it came to my own love life, I wasn't exactly an embodiment of honesty and integrity. She had a tough few of days as a new vampire, which is normal, admittedly, she could have told Stefan about it, but I understand why she didn't. Elena was all sunshine and rainbows when it came to those she cared about, she'd rather die than have them worry about her well-being as a human and a new vampire.

Which wasn't going to help me right now.

Elena lay back on the couch, then crossed her arms across her chest as she settled down and relaxed. I, on the other hand, grabbed a handful of popcorn and began to eat, needing energy for what was to come.

"Is your mum home?"

"No. She was still taking statements at the church the last time I heard from her. I'm sure she'll check in later tonight if she has time."

"I'm still reeling from what happened today. As if the victims' families haven't been through enough."

"I know. This hunter is far from discreet."

"Using April Young like that, he clearly doesn't care who he hurts to get what he wants."

I was glad that she had brought up what had happened to April. Clearly it was still fresh in her mind which was a good thing.

"You were great with her."

Elena shook her head then "I could have killed her."

"But you didn't. She's still alive and thanks to you she'll make it through this now."

"The last time I saw her was at my parent's funeral. I had Jenna and Jeremy at my side, she's got no one left, not even a cousin. It was just her and her dad."

"She's going to have a tough time of it. I've never felt the same since losing my dad. It's like they take a piece of you with them when they go."

"I know. I'll try and visit her tomorrow, I think I still remember where she lives. I'll ask Stefan to come with me so she knows we're all here to help."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that."

"I hated when people came over to visit after my parents funeral. I just wanted to curl up in my bed and barricade the doors."

"They mean well but casseroles and apple pies aren't the key to fixing grief."

"I hated getting flowers the most, I didn't see the point of giving a grieving person something that's going to die."

Sooner or later I'd have to start talking to her about the spell knowing that it might just send her running out the front door. If it did then I'd have to pack a bag, find my mom and be gone by the time Tyler and our friends could show up here to confront me about it. I just didn't want Elena to think any less of me for suggesting such a life together. I mean life should be about our own versions of beauty and love not someone else's. It was this type of small mindedness that trapped so many of us in life, not everything had to be normal for it to be beautiful.

I wanted so desperately to enter the next phase of my life, enter my adulthood explore what new life awaited in it. I wanted to dress a little more modestly, or at least stop dressing to impress Tyler instead of feeling comfortable and warm. I imagined Klaus envisioned me with a bit more class in regards to my wardrobe. Less sneakers, more ankle boots, a few inches add to the hem of some of my dresses, more high waist trousers then skinny jeans. I didn't see anything wrong with that, I wouldn't wake up tomorrow a completely different person after all, but small changes to my life might be nice after this one big one. None of which would take place if I didn't start talking.

Elena and I sat together for the next ten minutes tuning into Father of the Bride while helping ourselves to the drinks, chocolate buttons and popcorn. She was settling now, more at ease, she'd even gone as far as to bring the throw from around the couch over our joined laps as we enjoyed the film we'd seen a hundred times over by now.

I excused myself soon after making my way from the sitting room down to the bathroom to use the facilities. I'd never had to pee so hard in my life, the idea that she must judge me was literally making my stomach ache. I took a few minutes to gather myself, keep the faucet running as a white noise machine of sorts. She'd either say yes or no, that's all there was to it and it was time now to face it once and for all. I washed my hands with the new bar of soap before exiting the bathroom heading immediately for my bedroom to collect the necessary documents for when the moment came to show them to her. Staking them in the order that I would need them before I returned to the sitting room.

Seeing the wallets tucked between my arms Elena picked up the remote the placed the film onto mute, her eyes never leaving me as I returned to my seat placing the wallets in front of me on the coffee table. Turning in my seat to face her head on giving her a small smile as she studied me clearly curious.

"Is everything okay?" she was quick to ask me.

She's already worried.

"Everything is fine, but there is something I'd like to talk to you about."

There I'd gotten over the first stumbling block, yes one of many to come, not that it mattered, I was doing well. It was as if there was already a change in my tone of voice, deeper, more mature even, as if I were channelling the woman I wanted to be when all of this was finally over.

"But you're okay, right?"

"I'm okay now. I wasn't earlier. Today really got to me"

"Of course it did, I mean you saw Tyler being shot. No one would blame you being being a little shaken up." She paused reaching forward to place her hand over mine "Why didn't you call one of us?"

"I needed some time alone, I needed to figure some things out."

Her hand left mine then as she sat herself upright a bit.

"What kinds of things?"

Take a breath, don't blurt it out.

I followed my own advice then, Elena watching me closely as I held my breath for a moment before exhaling gently, feeling my shoulders loosen up, but my stomach muscles remained tight as ever.

The moment had finally arrived and I felt nowhere ready for it, but there was no turning back now. This would forever be the precise moment that I altered out friendship forever no matter what the outcome. If she agreed we might very well marry Klaus tonight and leave Mystic Falls forever to begin new lives. It's what I wanted, I knew that in my very tender gut.

"I'm planning on leaving Mystic Falls, for good."

I didn't take my eyes off her for a second as the news hit her like a truck, the blood completely drained from her face and for a split second I thought she might pass out right then and there. She tightened her eyes before she began shaking her head in disbelieve of it. If I let her have her reaction right now then I'd never be able to finish what I want to say.

"I'm leaving tonight." I announced to her sheer horror.

When she opened her mouth to object I leaned forward on the couch placing my hand over hers in comfort.

"Please before you say anything, please just hear me out for a second."

She was practically bursting at the seams to speak out and demand answers from me and if I were in her shoes I'd imagined I'd be the same. But instead of lashing out Elena surprised us both when she'd steadied herself and began to nod her head in agreement.

Wow.

She was worried about me that much was clear from her expression. She never did learn how to mask her emotions like the rest of us. Elena had always worn her heart on her sleeve and that's what made her the remarkable person she was today. I couldn't picture my life without her and now I just had to hope I didn't have to. All I could do now was be forthright and candid with her as she always had with me, speak from the heart and get everything out there that needed to be said.

"I don't feel that I belong here anymore. I know this is our home, it's where we grew up and where we become friends. But it's just not enough to keep me here another day. I'm sorry."

Elena opened her mouth to speak and I braced myself for the lecture of who and what I would be leaving behind if I took off. But seeing me press my lips together as my body tensed up she stopped herself. She knew I was about to give her the floor to let it out but she didn't, instead she said nothing, instead allowing me to continue.

"This isn't the result of a bad day of gore and carnage, its fair to say I've developed a thicker skin for such horrors, and before you ask it's not a delayed shock from witnessing Tyler being gunned down like some sort of animal either. As much as it hurts me to admit, seeing him being shot wasn't the worst thing I've seen just this year alone. Actually when I think about it, today doesn't even make the top ten of worst days for me."

Again Elena was able to keep composure. I on the other hand wanted to take her hand in mine in an effort to confront her but I too managed to hold strong and keep it together.

"I'm sorry to burden you with all of this. When I finally made the decision. You were the one person I wanted to tell. You're my best friend you know what you mean to me."

I began to get chocked up then at the sight of tears forming in Elena's eyes then. I always hated it when she cried, it took me right back to the day of her parents funeral, she was inconsolable. I had to keep it together the best I could, I was nowhere near done with what I had to say.

"Elena, what I'm about to you is going to be very difficult to hear. And I'm only asking that you let me explain myself before you judge me."

I could see the uncertainty in her eyes, and she was grasping the blanket around the two of us a little tighter now. I should have cranked up the heat a little more, because she was no doubt in shock. I was determined to see it through to the end. I looked away from her then to retrieve the first wallet from the pile on the table, placing it down on my lap before laying my palms down across it, feeling the cool crisp plastic of the wallet against my palms.

Keep it together.

"Regardless of whatever happens next, you need to know upfront that my decision has been made, that I'll be leaving no matter what. Again all I ask is that you hear me out and nothing more."

Elena, to my amazement, stayed silent, as tense as ever but mute nonetheless. I'd be ripping my hair out by now, wanting to know what was in all of these wallets.

"I didn't want to start a new life constantly looking over my shoulder so I realized I'd need more than just a passport to start again. So I began to look into spells that didn't require a practising witch to cast them, primarily protection spells, barrier spells whatever you want to call them. Most of the spells that I looked over called for a witch or an antique of sorts. So I expanded my search, looked into spells that instead of vital ingredients called for exact replications of the original spell. It took a while to find one that checked all the right boxes of course, but finally, I did. A spell that didn't risk the lives of those casting it or destroy any memories. But instead a sell that when cast correctly makes it impossible for other supernatural beings to track you from the place the spell was cast. This spell wraps around each individual involved like an invisible cloak, not even a spirit on the other side can break through it once cast."

I stopped then to take a much-needed and well-deserved breather. I hadn't blurted anything out, nor had I gone into considerable depth. I had the materials in front of me for Elena to look through if she wanted to, and if she didn't, that was fine with me.

Finally Elena couldn't keep silent a second longer.

"Maybe you just need a few days away from all of this. Bonnie and I could come up with a plan, and..."

She came to a stop as I reached out and placed my hand on hers, a tight smile on my lips as I shook my head back-and-forth. She was taken aback by the realisation. Even if the company was my two greatest pals, this wasn't going to be remedied by a few days in the sun. Nothing could persuade me otherwise, and she could see it in my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Elena. Believe me."

"We all get caught up in things, but we can't just walk out on our lives."

I let go of her hand, then my smile remained in check ever so slightly as I moved back from her.

"But this isn't the kind of life I want for myself. It's only my situation and the hindrances of my friends. And I can't do it anymore."

"And what about the people counting on us? I mean what about Bonnie? Why bring me here and not her?"

Say it, she deserves the truth.

"Because this next chapter of my life isn't going to involve Bonnie."

Elena was ashamed of me, barely able to look me in the eye as she asked.

"How can you even say that after everything she's done for us?"

"And there won't be a day now or in the future that I won't be grateful for everything that she's sacrificed. But I can't spend my life here repaying her by spending my days taking down whatever crosses our town lines next. She scarified for us so that we could live. And I've done plenty in return. It's time that I start living for myself again and not just for those around me."

"Did you bring me here to say goodbye?"

It's time

I took her hand in mine and placed them together across my lap to comfort her as I proceeded to reveal the reason of asking her to come here alone. I began by telling her about my journey into Edith Walls' intrepid life, her childhood, the horrific rape she endured before fleeing into the night, meeting the women who would become her soul mates, her relationship with Marcus, the imminent danger of witchcraft trials, the spell, their escape into the night, and finally the life and children that emerged from their shared marriages.

I began to explain about the children born from the marriages, how Edith and Emma, who were witches, conceived easily, while Heather, who was a vampire, struggled to conceive. Elena grasped my hand as I continued to share with her, watching as her eyes filled with fresh tears as a result of the news that vampires may very well be able to conceive children after all. As I told Heather's story and how she ultimately became pregnant, as well as all about the children she brought into the marriage, I saw the astonishment, relief, and finally joy cross Elena's face. Tears welled up in my eyes as I told her about how I felt while reading it and the relief in my heart when I realised I may still become a mom. I explained how they all went on to live a joyful life together, not always easy and at times exceedingly difficult, but always together for the remainder of their lives, as Edith wrote about the power of the spell increasing through time with the extension of their bloodlines.

I immediately retrieved the box of tissues from the coffee table, taking a couple and offering them to her, knowing that her excitement was going to fade quickly from here.

"The reason I told you all of this, is due to the fact that I've made a decision about what I want my future to be."

I told her that I thought this spell was the key to leaving Mystic Falls for good—to get away from the hunter, to assure we'd never be followed, and to finally say goodbye to all of the mistakes that had led us here. I stood in front of her and observed her reaction to the news that I intended to ask her, April Young, and Klaus to participate in this spell with me. Her body stiffened and rigidened instantly after hearing the news, she made no discernible effort to disguise her astonishment and terror, which I couldn't blame her for. I quickly followed up by promising her that if she didn't want to take part in it, then the spell was a non-starter, and that I was able and willing to leave Mystic Falls alone if I had to.

I went on, not defending my case to her, but rather explaining why I was making such an audacious and unusual plea. I told her my thoughts and feelings about asking her, how I believed my support would help her transition into a new phase of her life as both a woman and a vampire, and how I believed we could get Jeremy out of town tonight and towards his goal of painting and living life in a speedy city block. Afterwards I brought up April Young, and how today's attack had shown how vulnerable she was now that her father was gone, how she hadn't been in town long enough to make any new friends, and how, without her father's financial support, she'd have to stay here and attend school with us rather than her school abroad. Elena was still at a loss for words, but she made no attempt to run for the door either. She was a vampire now, and she was more than capable of fleeing without a fight—not that I would attempt to stop her.

Then the issue of Klaus came up, and I kept a careful eye on her as she continued to listen to me despite her evident discomfort. I clarified that his crush on me had nothing to do with my decision to involve him. It was merely the reality that Klaus was the only man that I knew who could deal with three relationships at the same time. That if I had asked Stefan or Tyler, both of our hearts would have broke seeing them try to lead such a life, battling with them on a daily basis because we couldn't bare not being their only priority any more, and that they had to give all three women the same levels of love and respect. Not that I believed Klaus would eventually grow to love any of us, he would however feel our loyalty through the spell, and that's all that mattered to him. I reminded her that this spell wasn't formed from true love but rather through trust.

I explained to her that I didn't anticipate spell would to transform Klaus into someone else, but at the same time, he'd never had the chance to become someone completely new, and out there he could live as near to a human existence as we could. I told Elena point blank that she did not have to be romantically involved with him should she agree to this. That I'd never dream of asking her to enter into such an arrangement that would demand such a thing. That if they participated in the spell, their marriage would be their own and no one else's concern. Klaus wouldn't be able to provide the same kind of emotional support as a spouse, but she'd have April and I for that. This wasn't a love affair for anybody involved, it was a spell and the promise of a better life that would remain our focus.

I advised her that starting this new life required being honest with April from the beginning to the end. She needed to know about our secret, the founding families, Katherine, werewolves, dopplegangers, and, most importantly, every detail we knew about Klaus. If this was to succeed, everyone had to be completely invested in it, otherwise it would fail. I explained that because April hadn't had the same history with Klaus as we had, April and Klaus may very well fall in love one day. I then reminded her of Edith's belief that having children and carrying on the bloodline of those who performed the initial spell seems to strengthen the spell over time.

I looked her in the eyes and told her that one day, whether that be ten or twenty years from now, that I may consider becoming a mom. Keeping my gazed fixed on her as I confirmed her horror that I maybe open to the idea of Klaus being the father to that baby too. And not just for the potential benefits of the spell, but to finally have something restored to me that I had believed was forever lost. I shared my longing to be a mom, to unconditionally love and nurture a child. If their birth reinforces the spell, it's a little benefit in the larger scale of things to come. I assured her I wasn't in love with Klaus, but I also wasn't ignorant to his attraction to me. I warned her that without complete disclosure, none of this would work.

Elena remained silent as I peeled open the seal to the wallet on my lap, watching her as I gathered the first batch of documentation related to the spell. I offered it across without hesitation, perhaps just a bit as I noted the tremble in Elena's hand as she accepted it. For the next thirty minutes or so, I didn't move a muscle. I watched as she studied page to page, absorbing everything from Edith's journal entries to the spell itself. I simply kept praying that her reading this was a positive omen the whole time I was watching her. At the same time, she may be reading it to learn everything she can about the spell in order to prevent it. There was no point in thinking that way, Elena was fully aware that if she refused to participate in the spell, I would go my own way without conducting it. So her reading about it now was surely a good sign.

When she came to the last page, I held out my hand to take the document from her, but she didn't pass it to me. Instead, she combed her fingers through her hair before taking a few eager sips of her drink. There was no use in delaying any longer, so I decided to be open about my plans for Utah next. Elena watched me pull additional documentation from the next wallet before offering them to her, along with the details I'd compiled on the fastest routes out of Mystic Falls and directions to Sandy, Utah. Explaining the colour codes, highlighted sections and labelled gas stations in each state we'd drive through.

"I wanted you to have all of the information I had gathered so you could see that this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. I wanted you to see the kind of life we might have together."

I watched her go through the house descriptions, looking over all of the photographs and blueprints I had acquired. When Elena came across the details relating to the house I had imagined for her, she took her time reading about it, unlike the prior two. Before turning the last page, she ran her fingertips across the picture of the front room.

"I don't understand," Elena admitted then.

She was right to be confused, the whole thing was cart before the horse, I hadn't taken the tip to explain the second stage of my idea. I picked up my drink from the table taking a few sips then before returning to my side of the couch believing it best to give her some space for what I was about to tell her next. Sitting the nearing empty glass back to the coffee table, I turned to Elena hoping with all my mighty that her still being here with me was a positive thing and not delayed shock.

"We did performed this spell, we'd need somewhere to live together far from Mystic Falls and the origin of where we cast it. So I began to look into other places for us to live. And I know it was wrong to just making assumptions about this frankly it's bordering on disgusting but I had to show you the lengths I was willing to go to if it meant us remaining together out there."

Elena said nothing in response, merely staring back at me.

"Utah seemed like the perfect fit, a new property development with three houses side by side. I mean you've red the details on each house, they've been on the market less than twenty four hours."

"Why three?"

"Why three houses?"

Elena nodded eagerly.

"Well the spell didn't specifically say how they lived afterwards only that they were together. I thought living in a house together, or even a mansion of Klaus's would be too much for us. If we were to move to an typical surban neighbourhood then we really were starting new lives. We'd be in our new houses, living our own lives however we wanted. And if we were side by side it would keep the neighbours at bay too. We could tell them whatever story we wanted about our pasts. Plus it seemed like the perfect method for thee uh, marriages."

"What do you mean by method?"

"I hadn't really gone so far as thinking about how it would work once we got there but. Like I said we'd have to keep up appearances for the neighbours and we couldn't have people asking questions about seeing Klaus moving between each house, I mean they'd make assumptions about that pretty quickly just like we would. So I figured if we, I don't know, levelled out the backyards completely as one then the neighbours wouldn't see him or us going between each others houses. So the marriages wouldn't be discovered."

"I thought you hadn't given it much thought."

"There were some things I just had to consider to fill in the blanks. This isn't exactly a comfortable subject for me either, Elena"

Elena sighed before running her hand down her face not able or perhaps just unwilling to look me in the eye.

"How did you even come up with all of this?"

"Honestly?"

"I figured us marrying the same guy would be a big enough adjustment, the idea of being under the same roof would feel forced and I didn't want that to be the case. Look, all this marriage requires is trust, that's it and if somewhere down the line feelings grew then I wouldn't want us falling apart over jealously."

"Well that wouldn't be the case if I were involved believe me." Elena was quick to point out the obvious then.

I joined my hands together in my lap "Plus when I move, I'm saying goodbye to this side of me, the eternal teen has got to go. I'm entering my adulthood Elena at long last. I'm not planning on finishing school."

"But-"

"No, listen to me, it's redundant to me now. We've faced life and death situations, seen ten times the mayhem in the past year then the kids in our class have seen in scary movies alone. I'm tired of pop quizzes, waving pom poms and above all I refuse to ask permission to go to the restroom even one more time."

To my surprise Elena caught herself nodding in agreement on that one at least, which was certainty a welcomed sight for me, I even felt my stomach muscles relax for a second or two.

"I want to move to Utah, Elena. And have a house of my own, I want to pay my own bills, hold down a job, pick up dry cleaning, go jogging, clip coupons, make coffee and hopefully have someone with me for the end of a bad day."

"And you think that person could be Klaus?" Elena practically screeched then.

"Elena. If you aren't part of this then he's not even going to find out I'm leaving town until I'm already gone. I told you without you there's no spell."

"What about Tyler?" she asked making sure to lock eyes with me as she did.

She wanted honesty and she was going to get it.

Say it

"I love him, but I'm not in love with him. We're not even a couple, not really. We fight some new evil together, we have sex afterwards, maybe a little bit of pillow talk depending on who we lost along the way of another fight but the train stops there."

"But you guys are still new to your relationship and-"

"We are, but technically when you think about it so are you and Stefan too. Are we really about to pretend that my relationship holds a candle to your end game with Stefan?" I challenged her.

She was about to protest but the reality hit hard instead as her eyes found mine again. She couldn't look at me and pretend, she wasn't that type of person and we both knew it.

"Okay, so things aren't great between you guys right now, but that's still no reason to do this spell."

"I wasn't planning to do the spell because I want out of my relationship. This spell has nothing to do with me and everything to do with what I want for me. When I think about doing this spell, of getting out of here I could just-" I stopped then feeling tears form in my eyes as I was confronted by my own truth.

Seeing me this way Elena collected a few tissues for me without hesitation, handing them to me before offering me my glass of juice which I refused, instead used the tissues to dry my eyes.

"Every day it's the same thing and I'm just so miserable."

"I'm starting to get that." I heard her say then over my sniffling.

Elena's jaw quivered as I met eyes with her, and she promoted forward on the couch towards me, and we hugged. We didn't look at each other as we came to terms with the notion that this may be the final time we saw one other. Elena made her way to the bathroom to splash some water on her face after we parted ways, while I headed to the kitchen. Immediately taking a painkiller for my impending headache before refilling both of our glasses and warming up a new bag of popcorn which I served in the same bowl. Elena had returned and was waiting for me when I got back. I placed our fresh drinks and bowl of popcorn down on the same place again before taking my seat.

"I'm sorry I asked this of you." I confessed before she was able to say anything first.

"You needed a friend. I get that. But it's far from borrowing a sweater or copying my homework."

I laughed trying to hide what a strain it put on my stomach to do so. I was physically stressed and my body hated me for it.

"I'm not mad at you, Caroline. But I need to understand. Why me of all people?"

"Well-"

"You can be honest. I'd rather you did." She explained

"Because you were the only person in this world I'd do this for if you were the one asking me too."

She wanted honesty, and I gave it. Elena grinned in reaction to my surprise. It was almost as though she had expected that to be my response.

"I know it's ridiculous of me to tell you about the spell while planning to leave town no matter what the outcome."

"It is a little."

"I know what I'm asking of you is the most selfish thing I've ever asked for in my entire life, and you know it, too. I'm asking you to give up your entire life, your relationship with Stefan, and the chance to see Jeremy grow into the amazing man we all know he's going to be."

Elena sighed and extended her legs along inside the couch, and I did the same, as we went top to toe like we did on sleepovers as little girls. For a moment neither of us saying a word.

"If we suspended reality for a second and pretended I agreed to do this, how did you imagine it all going down anyway?" she inquired

"To be honest, I hadn't gotten that far. I mean I thought of a way for you to get Jeremy to safety and routes for us to take out of town. All of which is useless without you, obviously"

"What did you have in mind for Jeremy?"

What does she care? I need to start packing, she's just trying to delay me now.

"It doesn't even matter, don't worry about it, you're not coming, and it's okay."

"Tell me," Elena urged as she picked up the wallet containing the details on the houses again her gaze fixed on the pages grasped in her hands.

What was she doing? Was she just curious? Was this some sophisticated plot to delay me further.

Wait, she went to the bathroom. Did she take her phone with her? I can't remember!

"Did you call or text anyone when you went to the toilet?" I questioned her

"No," she replied unfazed by my change of tone, keeping her eyes fixed on the pages as she turned from one to the next.

"It won't stop me from going even if you did."

"I left my phone out here." she told me before placing the paperwork in her hands back down onto the coffee table and finally looked my way.

"You're asking a lot of questions all of a sudden." I elaborated.

"...I know"

"Why?"

"Because the more you tell me, the less anxious I get about it."

"About what?"

When pressed, she admitted the truth.

"Utah."

I straightened up on the couch, and she studied closely, her gaze never leaving mine.

"Are you considering coming with me?" I pluckily inquired

She began to sob breaking my heart before answering, "I feel like a terrible person," her eyes welling with tears.

I reassured her, "No, you're not," and helped her by holding her drink while she cautiously sipped, then wiped her tears away.

"You already know how much Jeremy means to me, and that's why I'm asking you about him. He must be protected. And I don't know where to begin, I just really need to hear your ideas." she said only after pulling herself together

When I got back to my spot on the couch, I supported her ankle with my hand and started explaining my plan to ensure Jeremy's safety.

Elena listened attentively, but I could see the wheels turning behind her eyes, the fear and uncertainty crippling her by the second and felt my gut clench up at the doubt in her gaze.

"But what about the hunter? We can't just leave everyone behind to deal with him"

"We're not abandoning them."

"That's exactly what we're doing, Caroline. Exactly!"

"Let's be logical about this. The hunter isn't going to make it another day in this town with Damon after him."

"He got the jump on Damon out in the parking lot and got away."

"Damon had just spent that past half hour surrounded by humans and breathing in April's blood. The whole time he was watching you on stage, that you were going to completely lose it in front of everyone. The hunter took advantage of his diversion. Besides, nobody ever beats Damon and lives to tell the tale. Not in this town."

Then, I reached behind the couch, to activate on the air fan that we kept on the window frame with a few photographs and books. Angling it so that it would blow directly across at Elena, setting the speed to it's lowest mode so it wasn't too overwhelming for her.

Over the next few minutes Elena sat quietly with her eyes closed for some minutes, savouring the soothing effect of the air on her skin. I couldn't take my eyes off of me, so worried that one wrong move could cause her to change her mind completely.

I can't believe it! She's coming with me!

"Look, I know this is moving too fast for you. I wish you had more time to process it"

As she turned to me, Elena asked, "Why do you have to go tonight?"

I pressed my lips together for a moment for that my answer wasn't immediate.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear but it just feels like tonight is my last night in Mystic Falls."

"You say that and I feel like I might be sick."

"Think how I feel."

"I just can't imagine you not seeing you every day. What are you going to tell the others?"

"Nothing" I answered point-blank.

"Wait. No. What do you mean, nothing? You have to talk to them. At least give them a chance to say goodbye." She pleaded with me

"Elena, I want you to listen to me." I told them keeping my tone in check the best I could.

I straightened myself up a little before crossing my legs.

"I'm so grateful for them, I know I wouldn't have made it this far without them in my lives. But I don't want to say goodbye. Want I want is to just slip away in the night. And I know how selfish that is, but I've spent too long living my life worrying about the thoughts and feelings of those around me instead of my own. Placing their needs above mine is no way to live."

"It's been tough on all of us the past few months."

"Let's not pretend anymore, please. This has been going on for years now."

She bent her head in humility to the brutal reality she had to face. I appreciated the silence that we shared because it provided me an opportunity to daydream about what the next few days may hold for me. At last, I wasn't dreading tomorrow afraid of what villain could enter our lives next. We may be in a different state come tomorrow, on our way to Utah and our future together. This all depended on April and Klaus agreeing to the marriage too. I had to keep that in mind and not get ahead of myself too much.

"What about your mom?" Elena questioned.

"I've thought about it a lot, and there's no chance I'm going to start a new life and leave her in Mystic Falls." I told her

"So what are you going to do?"

My answer came after a brief pause as I composed myself: "I'm going to make up an excuse to get her home tonight—something she'll believe, like I'm locked out or my car won't start. After she's home I'm gonna cook us some dinner, spend some time with her and then finally when I'm read I'll compel her. I know it will hurt, but I have to do it for her own good. I'm going to convince her it's time to turn in her badge and gun. That she's served Mystic Falls proudly and that she would retire knowing the town is safe and in capable hands. While she packs I'll send an email from her to the board informing them of her immediate retirement without notice, explaining that this recent attack on the major's son has shown her that what the Sheriff's office needs now is new blood. After that I'll send another email to her work colleagues, informing them of the same along with her plans to move out to Iowa, where she plans to meet up with an old flame from college she's been writing over the past few weeks. All of which is a lie of course, I'm planning on compelling her to finally move out to Maine, she use to spend summers there as a kid, and it was always her dream to move out there and buy a house by the water. I'm going to compel her into believing not to contact anyone from Mystic Falls again, now or in the future."

"And you think they'll believe that?"

"Today was a lot for even the most experienced Sheriff to handle. They'll believe it, besides there are already one or two in the pipe line desperate replace her."

I paused brushing my hands down my thighs removing any crumbs from the popcorn then.

"She'll stop by the station on her way out of town, they'll be no one in the office by the time she's done packing up. Everyone will be out on patrol. She'll leave her badge and service gun in the top drawer of her desk, delete the CCTV footage of her entering the station and then after that, she'll leave for good. Then a few hours after that, I'll do the same."

"But how will you keep in touch with her?"

I attempted a smile in an effort to prevent threatening tears as I answered "I wont, not at first, I'll wait a few years before reaching out to her. Long enough until I'm sure there's no one keeping tabs on her from home."

"You know Tyler is never going to stop looking for you."

"He will, sooner or later, he will eventually stop. I don't know if it will be a drunken night with another girl, possibly even one from school but it will be enough for him to stop searching. I don't see it being easy for him, actually I think for a while he'll be in a great deal of pain but, I'd be lying to myself if I thought that our love would be enough for him. He's got a lot of demons, Elena. A lot more than I thought when we first got together, I thought he was just intense, and adjusting to life as a werewolf but sometimes, he'd just get so angry, and since Klaus came into our lives, he's just been a completely different person. And I'm tired of pretending that I can help him. Only he can help himself now."

"Why didn't you talk to me about all of this sooner?" Elena asked her voice soft.

"It wouldn't have made a difference. Like I said it's his problem to fix not mine. I know what I want my life to be and with time he'll figure out the same."

It was then that Elena retrieved the information on the houses from the coffee table again as I tucked into a few chocolate buttons. Feeling the chocolate melting against my tongue comforted me, it was the same joy that came for a child on Christmas morning with a belly full of chocolate and other treats. I studied her turning one page to the other as tears welled up in her eyes, seeing these beautiful houses and the possibility of what our lives might be should she agree to come with me.

Its time I finally concluded.

"Are you coming with me?" I finally asked the question that may change my life forever.

Elena's eyes never lifted from the pages on her lap but fresh tears escaped as she began to nod. We were still top to toe on the couch with Elena's legs on the inside, I took her of her ankle then under the blanket causing her to sniffle before she retrieved a tissue to dry her eyes. Everything within me relaxed then, she wanted to come with me, I couldn't believe it, we were going to leave Mystic Falls tonight.

"I love him." Elena sobbed her teary eyes meeting mine as she confessed.

"I know, I know" I repeated as softly as a lullaby.

"But it's just not enough anymore, it's not enough. Every day, I'm just waiting for the next funeral." She cried.

"It's not right."

"And, I'm trying so hard for Jeremy, being a vampire and trying to get everything right for him but, he doesn't need a guardian he just wants me to be his sister again and I just can't stop trying to make it all perfect, all the time."

"Just hearing you talk about it sounds exhausting."

"I just keep thinking that one day it'll get that little bit easier but it doesn't, and now with this hunter showing up, he doesn't care about our town, the lives we've build we're just animals to him and I'm so sick and tired of all of it. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."

"I get that. Trying to make it work here, when it's just doesn't feel like home anymore."

"No it doesn't" Elena cried before collecting a few more tissues from the box then.

"And things between you and Stefan, how have they been?"

"He's been amazing since I turned, you know how hard he's been trying to help me to stay on the animal blood, but since I turned I don't feel like the same girl anymore. And it's not just my emotions that are all over the place, it's facing the reality that this might be what my life will be forever, fighting monsters, looking over my shoulder and literally dodging bullets."

"Like today."

"Exactly, like today" Elena groaned before blowing her nose and gathering herself.

"It's not enough anymore. Is it?" I asked giving her ankle a reassuring squeeze.

"No" Elena mouthed to me.

Elena was a wreck once the truth was exposed. I held her in my arms for nearly twenty minutes as she mourned over the loss of her relationship with Stefan, about the friends we were leaving behind, about saying goodbye to her hometown, along with the life she would have had if she had stayed. By the time she was pulled herself together she was in no shape to see April and we both knew it. I needed to take care of her now, she needed me now more than she ever had before, so I took over from there.

I left the sitting room and made my way down the hall to the bathroom where I proceeded to run Elena a bubble bath despite her protests that she didn't need one. Her eyes were red and swollen and she was cold to the touch. There was no fighting me on this one, she needed a bubble bath, to sink below the warm water, close her eyes and take some time to herself as she came to grips with the reality of what we would be doing tonight.

I took care when arranging the bathroom for her, I collected the best towels we had from the linen cupboard and draped them over the sink edge. I cleared the tub edge of all our products and placed them with pale pink tea light candles which I lit one by one. I set out a hairbrush for her to use, along with a hair tie to keep her hair dry for I doubt she'd wash it while here. I added lavender scented bubble bath to the water, some oil and bath salts.

When Elena finally made her way to the bathroom I used the time alone to my advantage. First, I cleared away all the paperwork in the sitting room, returning each of them to their proper wallet before storing them in my room for later. I tided away the tray, empty glasses and unfinished snacks before wiping down the coffee table and discarding all the used tissues into the kitchen bin. I turned up the heat and shut off all of the ceiling lights, instead turning on the smaller lamps around the sitting room and hall before closing the curtains in each of the rooms.

I hung up Elena's bag on a hook in the hall before making my way to the kitchen to make us something to eat. I didn't know about Elena but the popcorn hadn't done much for me and I was never hungrier then after a good cry. So I went to work in the kitchen, I placed the remaining tray of lasagne into the oven along with some chips, while they cooked I made us up a side salad and a two portions of garlic bread to go with it. I collected a tray for each of our dinner plates to go on, I poured us some fresh orange juice and collected two painkillers for Elena's headache.

We ate together in solitude, savouring the delicious meal. We went through our drinks so quickly that I had to refill them twice before we'd finished out meal. After I returned the now-empty dishes to the kitchen, we remained on the couch for the next half hour or so, unwinding after our heart to heart. We were wise to take the time to refuel and not rush into what our plans would be now that the decision had been made. We had a long night ahead of us, and we needed this downtime right now.

To my surprise it was Elena who was the first to reach for the remote control and mute the movie. She turned to me and gave me a single nod, instructing me that she was ready as was I. Elena provided me with April's numbers which I scrupled down on a pad of paper to take with me into town. We had decided it would be best to contact her from a payphone in town rather than have a phone record showing that we had been in touch the night we disappeared. So while I disappeared into town to do that Elena stayed behind at the house washing up the dishes in an effort to keep herself distracted no doubt.

I just had to pray that we hadn't gone through all of this only to be turned down by either April or Klaus after this. Tonight was going to be eventful for all of us, especially April if she agreed to come over and visit us after what she went through today. It was important that we do this now, we couldn't hang about any further, time was marching on and we wanted to be away for daybreak if we could manage such a thing. The town wasn't busy but there were a few people outside the Grill when I drove by, probably there for gossip instead of drinks, most of the other places in town had closed for the night already, some featuring signs in their store windows indicating they were closed due to the town curfew. I imagined there were a lot of scared people out there tonight, unsure if they should even live here following the events of today. Since my mom had told me which roads would have road blocks up come ten o clock to remind people of the curfew in effect I already knew exactly which routes we would take out of town to avoid them. The more organised we were the better everyone would feel about this entire situation.

Like I said, it was going to be a very long night for everyone involved.

Right now Klaus and April were out there right now without a clue as to our plans for Utah. Just the idea that might turn us down was enough to put a dark light on my future. But then I imagined what might be should they agree and the tasks I would be faced with tonight in my bid to escape this prison that for so long felt like home.

Klaus

I just couldn't get him out of my head now that Elena had agreed. I had every chance of seeing him tonight, the idea that he might reject us however felt ten times worse than the idea of my friends discovering my intensions. However something deep inside my gut told me that he would agree to our offer, he was being offered a new life free of people wanting to stick a knife in his back, a life with not one but three incredible women, one of them in which had been thinking about him all day long.

I used the phone just along the corner from the bakery, far enough from the Grill that I couldn't see or hear any of the customers who were drinking outside of it. I called April who was pleased to hear from me so soon, she thanked me again for arranging for Matt to drive her home after what happened during the service. I explained that Tyler had been very lucky and that we were no further closer to finding out what had happened today. April was unaware of the fact that she had been a victim of the hunter, that she had indeed been stabbed and used as bait to lure us out as she bled.

April believed she had stayed upstairs on the balcony to grief alone, that people from the town had only the best things to say about her father and his dedication to the spiritual development of the people of Mystic Falls, along with his charity work and time spent couching the football team back in the day. The reality was instead that I had used my blood to heal her and Elena had compelled her to believe such a reality, along with the belief that she had spilled coffee down her dress and Matt took her home around the back of the church so no one would see her dress in such a mess. Her dress was ripped and soaked in blood, the hunter had left her to die like a stuffed pig. And if April agreed to help us tonight, we would spend the rest of our lives making up for what that monster had done to her.

She was happy to accept my invitation to come over knowing Elena was already there waiting, she claimed she could use some fresh air so she planned to walk to my place and meet us there in the next ten minutes or so. When I arrived home I was happy to find Elena was still there, part of me thought she might change her mind about the spell, but I was indeed grateful that she hadn't. With very little time to spare we worked carefully alongside one another in preparation for her arrival. Elena had cleaned up and put away all of the dishes used to make up our dinner and even straightened up the sitting room by the time I arrived home.

Together we made a large of cup of coffee, believing that if April were to join us she would be indeed of the caffeine later on that night. While Elena lit a few more candles I went around spraying each room with some more air freshener before rewinding Father of the Bride right back to the beginning, again only on mute so it didn't interrupt our discussion. While getting everything in place Elena and I had also put a plan into motion about how we would go about revealing the supernatural world to April before the spell itself. Together we agreed which of us would approach each subject, each of us in agreement that April be made aware of every single supernatural element to this world. Which meant vampires, hybrids, werewolves, dopplegangers, witches, the founding families, hunters, Katherine Pierce and every single tale of the originals.

April was quick to arrive, like us she had changed out of her clothes from the memorial, she had showered before coming here, I could smell the apple scented shampoo she'd used on her hair as I took her coat. She was now wearing a black tank top featuring a band I'd never heard of with a oversized grey cardigan and dark blue skinny jeans highlighting her petite figure. Her right arm featured a few bracelets that jingled together as she took her seat on the armchair across from the couch. Elena was quick to offer her a cup of coffee which she accepted eagerly, taking a sip as Elena and I took a seat on the couch together.

We're in this together now I thought as Elena and I exchanged a glance then.

After we discussed today's service and gave April ample time to discuss her feelings surrounding her father's death it was time to discuss the reason behind asking her here, but not before Elena poured her another cup of coffee. She was human she'd thank us later for caffeine when it kicked in at the right time. Given April and Elena's history together it seemed only right that she should be the one to reveal the truth to April now. To the truth behind all of Mystic Falls animal attacks and deep rooted secrets that stretched as far back as the eighteenth century.

Over the next two hours Elena revealed the truth as cautiously as she could to a very vulnerable April who took it all in bit by bit. How the founding families had discovered vampires within the town and attempted to eradicate them by burning them alive in the church that night in eighteen sixty four, how was of those vampires was Katherine Pierce and the path that brought her to Mystic Falls where she met Stefan and Damon, then the vampire attacks in town since then and how they had been disguised by the new founding families as mere animal attacks to cover up the truth behind it. The work that both Stefan and Damon had done to keep the town safe since they returned, how Elena came to discover she was a doppelganger and adopted, how we each became vampires, the truth behind Tyler's attack this morning and how he survived. Bonnie's part in protecting us since discovering she was a witch and how everything supernatural in this town and around the rest of the world was rooted back to the original family, the first vampires of all. Everyone of their pasts revealed in depth, Mikael, Esther, Finn, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol and finally Klaus himself, and all his actions against us to make him into the immortal hybrid he was today.

Elena explained how they were merely a handful of supernatural beings in town now but all of them were under the watchful eye of Klaus Mikaelson. April had been at boarding school all this time and had no idea that the obnoxious mansion she had passed on her way back to Mystic Falls belonged to Klaus. She recalls seeing the tall iron fence that surrounded the grounds, as well as the surveillance cameras mounted on each concrete pillar.

April was stunned, terrified even, as we predicted, she was mostly in denial, and at one point she believed we were playing a joke on her. She peered around the room for concealed cameras. But reality hit her hard when she realised her father's role and how the gas explosion could was not an accident after all, as she had been led to believe. We didn't blink an eye when a tearful April demanded proof that we were vampires, Elena and I had both demonstrated it to her hoping not to send her into a mess over it.

Elena and I then proceeded to reveal our true natures to her, so that she might finally believe the truth. I illustrated the black throbbing veins beneath my eyes along with my fangs as they pierced their way down through my gum lines to a stunned April. Elena on the other hand demonstrated how a quickly a small scratch on her skin could reveal its self when she used the glass corner of the coffee table to pierce her palm to draw blood.

April had a number of questions for us after she recovered from her initial shock, one of which was whether she was safe with us or not, which was natural. I continued to pour her cup after cup of coffee while April realised the reality about our supposedly tranquil Mystic Falls. She went through a lot of tissues, and it took Elena and me a long time to console her when she thought the extent her father had gone to in order to keep the founding families in power.

I was the one tasked with telling April of Edith's spell. And, like I did with Elena, I walked her through each stage step by step, answering any and all questions she had along the way. I provided her with all the paperwork I had obtained through my research and was patient with her as she went through the journal entries of Edith Walls beginning to end. Before I finally revealed the reason that Elena and I had asked her here tonight, of our plans to cast the same spell with her help and, ideally, Klaus's as well.

When questioned why we would ask her instead of all people we edged forward in our seats and as delicately as we could muster we revealed the truth behind what actually happened to her today in the church. What the new hunter had done to her on the balcony and how Elena and I had come to save her and bring her home. We explained the reason behind why she didn't remember it and how compulsion worked. Of course this led a doubtful April to believe that we had no intensions of compelling her into performing the spell with us.

Which is why the rest of the conversation following that reveal was conducted us in the hallway where April felt more secure by the front door. She was upset to learn that we had done this to her, but she was glad that we had not only admitted our wrongdoing but also healed her. She was relieved she didn't remember her attack, today had been traumatic enough. April continuously checked and rechecked her belly continuously for any inkling of a scar but of course there was nothing to be found. She had nothing to fear with us around but that was going to take a great deal of time and dedication on our part to prove if given the chance.

Of course April had more than a few questions to ask about our decision to involve Klaus in the spell given that both of us were dating other guys and the history between Klaus and us. It was then Elena and I worked together to explain his character more closely, that behind his rise to power as a hybrid Klaus had a network of underground connections that could aid us in our escape. But mostly, the man behind the beast, how Klaus was a deeply charismatic man, who had no doubt had a great many love affairs throughout his time, how we believed he was the only man we knew that could enter into such an arrangement and separate himself in each individual marriage.

Elena had gone into the kitchen when the time came to explain to April about my personal encounters with Klaus since he came into our lives. She was curious to learn of our time together, Klaus's measures to ensure Tyler's unhappiness, his desire to give me everything I wanted in life and his many flirtations that had caused so many problems for Tyler and I these past few months. When asked if I had encouraged or acted upon Klaus's flirtations I was quick to confirm that neither had come to be, that despite my current issues with Tyler, Klaus had played no role in any of it.

April then spent some time alone in my backyard, reading through the information and making sure she understood everything.

We hadn't kept anything at all from her about Klaus and his family, so she knew what kind of man she'd be marrying if she consented to participate in the spell. She was all the more relaxed to learn that this was my original idea to get us out of town, she thought for a moment that Klaus maybe responsible for bringing all of this together. Knowing that it was just us girls for now brought April a gentle peace as she proceeded forward with her reading.

We'd supplied her with all the information relating to Utah, the houses, the one we thought for her to live in, the routes out of town that would get us around the road blocks that would be put in place in the next four hours and the route we would take to get us to Utah, all planned out to perfection. Elena and I kept an eye on her through the kitchen window as we washed the coffee cups up at the sink, April sat for the next hour alone at the picnic table as she came to her decision.

When she returned inside she found us in the sitting room where we all came to sit down together once again. Above all April just wanted to be reassured that she would be safe with us, she needed to hear one more time how we fed and how often. She wanted it said that she gave neither neither of us including Klaus permission to feed on her, she wasn't sure if saying that aloud or not made a difference but she wanted it said anyway. Afterwards she wanted us to clarify that this shared marriage meant she did not have to engage in sex with Klaus or any other forms of intimacies to keep the spell strong which she was glad to hear she did not. She then asked us about our thoughts of children strengthen the spell through time and if either Elena and I were considering such a thing, Elena explained due to her history and personal feelings about Klaus, she would not be thinking of such a thing, at least not for a long time at least. She did however plan to become a mother one day in the future.

This was news to me as Elena had practically cringed over the idea of being married to Klaus before April arrived and now she was thinking how day in the future, whether that be ten or a hundred years from now, she might consider having a baby. Perhaps she meant through insemination, I doubted she'd thought about actually having sex with him, she wouldn't, that wasn't the type of person she was.

When asked if I planned to do the same, I agreed that I did, but all of which was redundant without Klaus's thoughts on the subject. For all we knew he would turn down the offer of the new life and we were just three girls all alone about to leave their hometown forever.

Why does my stomach hurt over the idea of him saying no to the marriages? Probably because it's an odd ball situation that deep down I know he'll reject in an instant!

I think deep down for now between us girls anyway was that we all need reassurance that this wasn't something we'll come to regret in a few days or weeks from now. We gave each other a word then that no matter what Klaus had to say that together the three of us would leave town that night. But if Klaus were to surprise us all and agree to the marriages then we had to ensure we knew where we go from that point forward.

And over the next hour, April, Elena and I would agree to more than a few key fundamentals for what our lives would like should we marry Klaus.

After everything was discussed there was work to be done, for the time had to finally come to meet with Klaus.

April was first to use the bathroom, by the time she came out she had brushed out her hair, applied some cupcake pink toned lipstick on and touched up her mascara for which I couldn't blame her. In the grand scheme of things despite everything she'd been told about him, April was going to meet for the very first time the guy she may very well marry. When you looked at it from her point of view you couldn't blame her for wanting to make a good first impression.

Elena, on the other hand, simply used the facilities and returned back to the sitting room from unaltered.

While April and Elena went around the rooms blowing out the candles and checking the doors I made my way to my bedroom where I divided all the information I had gathered into one leather binder so it was less flimsy. I was about to merely slip on my shoes and jacket to leave when I paused and instead made my way over to my dresser, I was already wearing make up so Elena wouldn't be able to note any change, but I would. I touched up my mascara before filling in my brows and applying a very thin lather of lip palm for a soft shimmer effect on my lips. I couldn't risk applying perfume, Elena would take note of that and suspect my attraction to Klaus which I couldn't allow to happen.

We put on our coats and each of the girls borrowed a scarf and hat from me given how much the temperature had dropped over the last few hours. Elena had the binder containing the information and April had the plastic bags we would need for when we arrived at our destination. It was dark when we stepped out onto the porch, I dis-alarmed my car so the girls could make them their way inside as I locked the door behind us. We'd all switched off our phones not wanting anymore footprints about where we were heading.

As soon as I got into the car I immediately started the engine and cranked up the heat. I could see my breath in front of my face and even had to wait for the front and back screen to clear before I could drive safely. I drove us into town finding it wasn't near as busy by the Grill as it was before, in fact half the cars were gone now from around the town square. I began to wonder about all the calls real estate agents around the town would get by morning, I imagined by tomorrow afternoon at least ten to twenty houses would be up for sale as a result of today's attack in the church.

I decided to use a different phone box in town this time, instead this time selecting the phone box just off the large car park behind the new butchers. I kept the engine running to keep the heat on for the girls, I parked as close as I could get to the actual phone box but I still had to trek a bit to get across to it. Luckily this also meant Elena would be unable to overhear my conversation with Klaus, not that I would have minded if she did, but just in case he switched on the charm like he always tended to do.

I fed a few coins into the machine and patched in his number wishing I had worn gloves as I tucked my cold hands into the pockets of my coat and balanced the phone between my ear and shoulder, waiting for him to answer.

Please answer

"Who is this?" He finally did, seeming fairly irritated.

I closed my eyes for a moment in relief that he hadn't sent my call to voicemail for I wouldn't have known what to say.

"It's Caroline"

Almost immediately I sensed him double checking the caller ID. I had apparently made his contact list, which right now was a small plus for me.

"I'm in town" I explained before he had a chance to ask me himself.

"Why the late-night phone call, love?"

Of course, he immediately interprets it incorrectly. What did he expect to hear? That I had dumped Tyler and now wanted to sleep with him?

No, it was far worse, I wanted to marry his god damn adversary.

"We need to talk, can you meet me?" I inquired.

Please don't say no, please...

"I don't know, love, it's nearing my bedtime," he said, his tone dripping with cynicism.

For a brief minute, I returned my gaze to the girls across the car park watching me before gazing forward and arching my brow.

"Seriously?" I hissed, my teeth clenched.

On the other end of the line, Klaus sighed loudly, "Alright, you win. When?"

"Right now, behind the old town church with the clock tower."

"Another one of elaborate schemes to trap me?" He enquired.

"I guess you'll find out sooner or later." I told him before slamming the phone shut, not giving him the opportunity to respond with another snarky remark.

Please show up, don't let me down.

I quickly turned around on my heels and made my way back across the car park keeping my eyes to the ground, feeling their gaze on me as I rounded the front of the car and climbed inside where the questions began immediately.

"What did he say?" Elena asked

"Did he agree to see us?"

I quickly switched on the function key for the heated screen to shift the new frost gathering around the edges creating blind spots in my line of vision, we wouldn't be able to move for a few minutes at least.

"He's coming, if he's at his place it should take him around twenty minutes or so to get there."

"Are you sure he meant it?" Elena was quick to ask

"As sure as I can be" I breathed

When the screen cleared I was quick to get us back on the road again, it would take us five minutes to get to the old church but there was a few things to get into place after we arrived.

"Alright so is everyone clear on what they're doing once they get there?"

"Yeah a hundred percent, I'll collect the cast iron pot, it's still there I saw it only yesterday on my drive home, they're using it as plant pot." April confirmed

"And that just leaves you and me on pick up detail" Elena replied.

Edith's spell was made up of fallen maple tree leaves, dirt, lavender, fire and the blood of everyone united in the shared marriage, which was brought to the flame in a cast iron pot.

This is the reason we choose the old town church, it was the only place we knew where we could find a pot dating back to that time period, we couldn't exactly go online for help on this one, not if we wanted to be out of town by morning.

I looked Elena's way as we pulled on the same street as the church, she was as tense as I'd ever seen her. So I put aside my own crippling anxiety to concentrate on her.

"Hey it's going to work out" I assured her causing her to look my way.

"And what if it doesn't? What if he calls Stefan or Tyler right in front of us and tells them what we tried to do."

"Then we get into my car and just drive out of town that very second." I told her.

"Elena you can't think like that, it won't help." April said from the backseat then.

"She's right. You're just going to get yourself into a state over it. We really need to focus right now. Get everything done so that when he arrives he can see the extend we have gone to, he'll see for himself that we're serious about this. It's not some scheme to get out of town, it's how we start our new lives." I explained.

Elena sighed "When does the town curfew begin?"

"At ten, we have just under an hour to convince him."

"You're kidding me?" April gasped

"If we can't do it in an hour we can't do it at all." I clarified.

When we pulled up at the church I parked my car way in the back out of sight, ensuring to point it in the direction of the forest behind the church to the area we were heading so that Klaus would have a vague idea as to where to find us, well me at least, he didn't know the others were with me obviously.

He's in for a surprise...

As I cut the engine we turned to each other before checking out our own individual windows for anyone who might have followed us or was merely passing by, but there was no one to be found, somehow we were pulling it off.

We took care getting out of the car being sure to shut the doors behind us as delicately as possible. April came alongside to me, handing me the plastic bag for the items we'd need, there was already lavender inside from a pot in my backyard, April was the one who spotted it, I would have forgotten it was even there. I joined Elena as we made our way behind the large stone wall of the church leaving April to collect the pot from the front of wall by the entry gate. We had barely rounded the corner when we heard her returning back to us, I checked over my right shoulder to find her coming towards us pot in hand.

We used the torch I had taken from home to pick out the fallen maple leafs from the ground before grabbing handfuls of dirt to add next. We didn't want to go too far back into the woods for Klaus needed to be able to find us. But we made sure to keep ourselves behind the stone wall and out of sight of anyone driving by the church, not that there would be many this close to the curfew now. We poured the collected leafs and dirt into the pot before discarding the bag out of sight, Elena handed me the wallet after that. We decided it would be best for me to be the one to explain the situation to Klaus given our history. They probably believed if I was the one asking then Klaus couldn't refuse.

It didn't matter who asked him, Klaus never did anything that he didn't want to do and that was the truth.

We were already cold, April crossed her arms together and pulled her hood on, as for Elena and I we just paced back and forth in an effort to keep warm.

"I don't even know what he looks like," April said softly, breaking our silence.

This is hardly the time!

"Oh just tell me" April begged before her teeth began to chatter.

"You guys told me about him." I know about all the pain he's caused and his personality, but come on, give me something." She begged before her teeth began to chatter.

I cleared my throat before responding, not bothering to look Elena in the eyes because I knew she'd rather die than describe him for he was good looking.

"He's about five eleven, has dark blonde hair, and sort of dark green eyes, he's attractive." I then looked at Elena, who didn't appear to want to kill me for the remark, as I had expected.

"You said he's over a thousand years old, but is he young-looking like you guys?"

"He appears to be in his late twenties," Elena said.

"But his personality goes beyond that, he's got the old soul thing going for him, if that helps."

"Is he well-built?" April inquired, drawing both Elena and my attention back to her.

Really not the time to be asking this!

"Yeah," I said as I continued my pacing.

"What happens if he doesn't show up?" Elena asked crossing her arms to keep herself warm against the cold.

"He'll show," I promised.

Klaus was not going to pass up the opportunity to meet with me alone. Besides, I suspected he knew I wouldn't be phoning if I hadn't gotten myself into a situation I couldn't possibly get out of without his help. We heard the distant sound of a car drawing up then. I made my way towards the corner of the stone wall to take a look for myself. A black Bentley was pulling into the spot right next to mine, Klaus exited the car and turned up the collar of his black coat feeling the bitter cold close around him. He turned around swiftly then sensing me in the shadows, his dark eyes meeting mine before I stepped backwards out of sight daring him to follow me deeper into the forest.

I turned my head towards Elena and April finding them as equally as nervous I was as we listened to the sound of him approaching then, the leafs on the ground now crisp from the cold rustled with every step he edged closer to us.

Klaus came to a halt when he realised we weren't alone as he had assumed. His gaze was drawn to mine first, then to Elena, and then to April, who tried to grin at him but was swiftly dismissed, refocusing his attention on me.

"Not exactly what I had in mind, love," he complained.

"It's not a trap," I assured him.

"Not exactly a party either, is it?" He smirked, taking a closer look at our surroundings.

"I really need your help."

"I just assumed you did."

Elena broke her silent when she finally told him, "Thank you for coming," but made minimal eye contact with him, which was normal for them.

"I'm April, by the way." April gleefully attempted to introduce herself to him.

I saw Klaus suppress his smile and, I'm sure, laughter at her blundering attempt to make a good first impression on him. With him, it was impossible, as she was now learning for herself. As she now attempted to look anywhere other than Klaus.

Crap she's realizing just how intense he is.

He returned his focus to me. "I'm listening, love," he stated.

I looked to the girls, Elena and April both nodded in answer, still shivering from the cold.

When my gaze focused on his, I announced to him, "We're leaving Mystic Falls."

Klaus' expression plummeted, and he made no effort to hide his distress at the prospect of us taking off. He shifted his gaze from me to Elena, who instinctively lowered her head down, unable to bear the intensity of his stare.

"I see. So, what brought you here? A final goodbye?" Klaus inquired.

Why do I feel like you're already missing me?

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Then I suggest you start making some sense, sweetheart." He requested

"We want you to come with us." I responded promptly before he became even more enraged.

Klaus glanced at each of us individually once again. "You're comedians," he pointed out.

"It's not a joke," Elena stated emphatically.

I stood there watching Klaus fall mute, unsure of what or who to believe.

April's heart was leaping out of her chest and it hadn't escaped the notice of Klaus who immediately turned to look her hadn't made the finest first impression, he was angry, and I hoped the proof inside the leather binder would persuade him otherwise. Since he arrived, my stomach had been in knots, and they weren't going away. I'd used the toilet twice before we left, and I needed to use it again. I couldn't decide whether I was excited or terrified. I did know, though, that I was relieved to have Elena and April here with me, almost as if we were already a team ourselves.

I inhaled deeply and turned to face him, holding the binder out for him to seize. I made certain that the first item he came across in the binder was entirely about Edith's life then the spell. The roads to Utah and the houses were all in the back, and he wouldn't come across them until he was fully versed with what we were asking him to aid us with.

"If we're going to get out of Mystic Falls together, we want to use this spell to ensure no one ever finds us again." I explained

"Who are you all running away from?" Klaus inquired

"No one," April answered.

Klaus glanced at her for a moment, and I observed April as she stared back at him, she was stronger than she appeared, and she was already wise to his ploy.

Klaus returned his gaze to me, and I looked down to the binder clasped in his hands encouraging him to trust us and finally open it.

"Fine." With anguished sigh, Klaus consented to read it.

As Klaus turned the first page, I stepped closer to Elena and April, who were relieved to see me edging closer they knew there was no turning back now. Klaus was unaware that we had positioned ourselves around the iron pot, marking our positions on the ground, just as the wives to be had done before they surrendered their blood to the flame that night. We were all looking at him as he finished reading the first page of the binder.

When a slight breeze brushed my hair from over my shoulder, I noticed Klaus stiffen slightly where he stood, but Elena and April were too preoccupied with keeping their eyes open against the deepening cold to notice. Klaus peered at me for a split second and we both understood why, he could smell my perfume and it did something for him.

Not long after that, Klaus took a fleeting glance away from the page and into the wilderness, clearing his throat before regretfully returning his gaze to the page. Klaus had just read the journal entry in which Edith described the night she was raped, when that horrible man sought to impregnate her for trying to leave him before they were married, I looked to both girls who seemed to be thinking the same thing I was. This giving us some insight as to Klaus's true nature, it was then I was reminded of his relationship with Rebekah and the extent he would have gone to in order to protect her from such horrors.

There you are

With each new page, Klaus moved closer to entry containing the spell, each of us anxiously glancing at the other, waiting for the realisation to hit him. Klaus's gaze flew to us, and we all instinctively reached for each other's hands as he did. He knew what we were asking now, his black gaze slashing through us like razors. I wanted to puke, I wanted to dig my own grave as I waited for him to speak. Elena and April both clasped my hands as Klaus studied them one after the other back and back.

Please don't laugh at us, please, it might just be enough to kill me if you did.

As Klaus slowly returned his focus to the paper, we all gazed at each other, unsure what we should think. Why didn't he say anything about what he'd read? Was it a good or bad thing that he kept reading?

"Klaus?" I asked, clearing my throat.

He raised his hand, signalling to me to stop and not interrupt his reading, his gaze never leaving the page.

"What should we do?" April mouthed to me when I looked her way, and I shook my head.

He's furious.

He didn't say anything or look up at us until he got to the very last page and snapped the binder shut causing poor April to flinch at the rapid sound. I wasn't sure whether I should speak first or allow one of the others speak up. I knew it would be difficult, but I didn't expect silence from Klaus, who was constantly saying something about everything. When I let go of the girl's hands, Klaus realised for the first time that we had been holding hands.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Elena inquired of him.

He gazed at her before responding, "I doubt you'd like to hear what I'm thinking right now, sweetheart."

"We know exactly what we're asking," I explained.

"No, I don't think you do, Caroline."

"It was completely my idea." I informed him.

"It was," Elena acknowledged, and April agreed with a nod.

"Why, of all people, would you want this?" Klaus inquired.

"It's more than just what I want. It concerns all of us."

"Why not simply run?"

"Everyone we've ever known who has left here has returned due to some supernatural occurrence or another. We do not want supernatural aspects in our lives. We'd like to start over. Klaus, we're tired of being here of living like this."

"You've fought me tooth and nail to keep your little town standing." He was quick to point out then.

"And look where it's led us. Living in a place where people are attacked at funerals? That's not the life we want or deserve." Elena replied

"I see, and which one of your little friends got hurt this time?"

"Me," April responded.

"And Tyler," I added.

Klaus meet my gaze then for a moment, he hated me even mentioning Tyler's name and we both knew it in that moment.

"There's a new hunter in town, we don't know what his end game is but he's already made it clear who he assumes is a supernatural creature, like he senses us or something." Elena elaborated

"He does, he'll practically smell the vampire in you the moment he steps into the room."

"Wait, do you know anything about hunters?" I confronted him.

"They've appeared throughout the centuries, never surviving long enough to catch up with me." He informed us.

"Well, today he stabbed me and left me to bleed to death at my own father's memorial." April spoke up at the time.

Klaus gazed at her but said nothing as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know how else to go about describing such a hideous scene but it was what she had endured and what she had survived. But Klaus was right to look at her the way he did then, she was human and to come through that at her own father's memorial and be standing here now, that was an incredible girl right there.

"He's never going to get near you again." I informed her.

"She's right, April," Elena said.

"Now, let's get back to business, sweethearts." Klaus murmured as our gazes connected once more.

"We need a spell to keep anyone in Mystic Falls from ever finding us again. This was the only spell I could uncover that would keep us from being followed and didn't require the casting of a witch."

"So the little witch isn't involved in all of this?"

"No, Bonnie knows nothing about it. Just us."

Klaus's gaze narrowed, a sneer forming on his full, robust lips.

Stop looking at them.

"Explain," he demanded.

I looked at Elena, who nodded in agreement with my telling Klaus the truth, before turning to face him.

"We're not going to tell anyone about the spell because it has nothing to do with them. We've discussed it, and we've determined that it's best for us to just disappear."

"Tonight?" He inquired.

In response, I nodded.

After that, Klaus just stared at us. It made me nervous when he didn't speak. I was curious about what he was thinking, and it always felt as if he was tormenting me by refusing to.

"You're all willing to pack up and leave the little town you adore without saying anything to Stefan or little Tyler about your destination or intimate intentions?"

"Our business is our own," I said, looking him in the eyes.

"This town is no longer where we belong. We have a place with you." I informed him and quickly seized Elena and April's hands by my sides.

Klaus looked at our hands as they linked before returning his gaze to me.

"You expect me to believe you?"

"You don't have to compel me to know the truth. You can see it in our eyes and know it."

"Don't tell me what I know."

"If you thought we were lying to you then you would have done something about it by now." I was quick to say next.

Klaus huffed before asking "Why are there descriptions of three properties in..." he paused then as he tried to recall the state they were based.

"Utah" all three of said in perfect sync to his surprise.

"Why did you add them to this?" Klaus asked holding up his hand that still contained the binder.

"Curious?" I asked

"You have me curious, but far from interested."

"We'd like to move there, we want to live in these houses."

"I gathered that much myself, sweetheart, shame you didn't look into a fourth house for this imaginary husband of yours, whom you all seem so certain you will secure for this brand new life."

"You already understand what we're asking of you in this. Let's not pretend."

"Says the girl who wants to play house," Klaus pointed out.

You can be such a jerk at times...

"We agree to keep our names off any official documents, all three houses will remain in your name making it a clean investment, if it doesn't work then we walk away with nothing."

"This is hardly a selfless act, love. You're asking me to spend over a million dollars."

When it became evident that Elena and April were not going to step up, Klaus turned to me for answers.

"We thought about that and we came up with a way that might even out the playing field a bit. Since we obviously can't offer anything at all in the way of finances we thought this would be the next best thing." I paused to gather my thoughts

How exactly do I tell him he's the boss if he agrees to help us? And how do I go about it without sounding like a pushover?

"We're not purposing to be dictated to however, we've all agreed that in return for your participation in the spell we..."

Both girls' squeezed my hands in response, pushing me to keep going when all I wanted to do was find the nearest toilet. I was a bundle of nerves, but I managed to keep it together in front of him. I didn't want him to believe for a second that I was uncertain about Utah. I couldn't believe I was presenting all of this to Klaus Mikaelson right now, asking him to be my husband and buy three properties in Utah for us. It was insane, but I wanted my new life so desperately that I could scream.

"As future...wives, we agreed on a couple of things before coming here tonight to meet you."

Klaus simply returned my stare, calling ourselves wives still didn't feel right, but it had to be said.

"We won't be the same girls we are now. We've all decided that when we pass that town line, all previous wrongdoings and faults will be forgotten. Some may be more difficult to forget than others, but we will start this new life without malice. We've all discussed and agreed that life will be difficult in Utah, and that at some point, we'll want to come back here and take back what we have now. We're going to squabble, yell, and even take a few days apart in an effort to stop ourselves from killing each other. However, as women, we have made a vow to each other that we will not allow petty jealousy to interfere with our marriages. That means you don't have to worry about us thinking you prefer one of us over the other.. We are not entering this marriage in love, but everyone of us, and I mean each of us, made a vow to be open to the possibility of love in future...in every sense of the word."

Klaus then looked at Elena, as I expected, and she looked back at him, without dipping her head or turning away, because this was real for her, too. It wouldn't be love at first, possibly not for decades, but one day she'd be open to something more, and that was enough.

I continued when Klaus looked at me again.

"The reason there are three houses rather than four is that each wife will have one house to share with you and, in time, any children who may follow." I said

Klaus suddenly averted his gaze.

"Why didn't you tell us about vampires being able to have children?" Elena inquired.

"It's been a rumour for centuries, and I hadn't even heard of a vampire giving birth until about fifty years ago. I'm guessing the chances of a vampire becoming pregnant by a hybrid are..."

"Are what?" I insisted that he finish.

Klaus riveted his gaze on mine and sighed, "A certainty."

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD!

"We weren't sure if that was something you might want or not," I paused

I cleared my throat. "But we wanted you to know that we're not ruling out the possibility."

"If you're just looking for a sperm, love,"

"We want a husband." April interrupted before he could make another idiotic joke.

"This isn't a game." Elena then stated

"Why would I agree to be a part of something like this?" he questioned.

"We don't want to be here any longer, it's not home. Does it feel like home for you?" I inquired about him.

Klaus, of course, did not respond, instead, he looked away from us before completely turning his back on us.

"You're asking the most powerful creature on the planet to abandon everything he has planned to move to the suburbs with not one, but three wives."

"Yes, we are." I verified

Please turn around

"At the end of the day, you're being offered sex with three pretty hot girls." April laughed,

"April," I cautioned, shaking my head.

Klaus returned his gaze to us before returning his hands to his pockets the binder tucked under his left arm.

"We're not claiming that life in Utah will be easy. But you have my word that we'll figure it out." I told him

"How are you suggesting we do that, love?"

"We agree to give you final say."

"Excuse me?"

I figured that would get your attention mister hot shot Alpha

"As I said before, we will not be dictated to. But if we're truly going to live by the spell then we have to have similar objectives to the people who originally cast it. Back then the man of the house would have had the final say. So we agreed before we came here that we'd live by that same way of life."

"And what do exactly do you mean in regarding to final say?"

"Any problems that arise, any major decisions. We'll come directly to you."

"Granted that we come to you for all things." April said then

"Right, I mean the day to day activates, basically the stuff that would bore you to tears probably that's up to us as wives. It's not like we're going to come to you and ask permission to go to the bathroom." I explained and wished I had stopped myself.

Why do you do this?

Thankfully Klaus didn't make a case out of it and I was too embarrassed to look Elena and April in the eye to see their reaction.

"We've uh, agreed to have wives meetings, possibly every day, during which we'll divide up the tasks such as utilities between the three of us evenly, another bonus for you is that you'll never be burdened with that type of stuff."

"You're talking about playing house again, love"

"I'm not sure what games you played as a kid, but a husband and three wives were never in any of my playground activities. Klaus, we're not going to start wearing aprons and getting the dinner on table by five. That's never going to be us. What we desire genuine life, it will be messy, but not for you. Not with the schedule in place." I informed him.

"What schedule?"

Crap I can't believe we've reached this stage already.

"The reason for three houses rather than four is the schedule," Elena explained.

"You will have a life with each of your wives in your separate houses, and every day when you come home from work or whatever it is you might do out there, you'll go into the house of the wife you're scheduled to be with that night." April informed him

"You're sharing me?" Klaus inquired, trying hard not to laugh.

"You're sharing us. We're sharing our lives and trying to make our marriages work," I informed him.

"You'll be the one sharing us and our lives, every single day you'll get to live out your life with one of us, a position some men would kill to find themselves in."

"I doubt it's the wedding you all envisioned, so why settle for it?"

Don't point out the reality right now, it's too cold and too awkward for this already.

"None of us are going to have a normal life, Klaus." I murmured softly, my gaze fixed on him, and began to shake my head.

"Not ever," I said.

Klaus took a time to pace before questioning us.

"Why ask me? Surely the noble Stefan would do anything for the young Elena and Tyler would surely marvel in the idea of sex with not just one incredible woman but three."

"Who else do we know who can handle three different marriages at the same time?" I posed a challenge.

Incredible woman? You have no idea...

He then looked at Elena.

"We're not going to pretend that you and I can get along, love." He interrogated her.

Elena gave him a long look before saying, "I'm not going to change my mind if that is your concern."

"I've been following your teen drama romance with the Salvatore brothers for months. I can't imagine a life in which you abandon both of them for the save your own neck" He informed her

"Then why am I standing here right now?"

Klaus looked at her blankly, cut off by her audacity. He was right to question her, everyone in town knew how much she adored Stefan. She loved him so much that she would have died for him if it meant giving him just one more second to live.

But, after Elena became a vampire, I believe she was reminded on a daily basis of the life she had before her parents died and what they wanted her life to be, she didn't participate in any community endeavours, she didn't talk about going off to college, and I can't even remember the last time I saw her writing in her diary. All of this had ceased when the supernatural element entered her life, and Klaus was now insuring that this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision for her.

Which in that moment just made him even sexier.

He resumed his pacing, nothing spectacular, just back and forth.

"Why choose houses right next door to the other? You don't imagine there's a limit to my finances. So why settle for such disposal properties?"

"I figured it was best. So your neighbours won't notice you walking into different houses every night. We could keep the backyards level, and you could easily walk between houses. And we uh, we sort of didn't want to be apart either so."

"What makes you think I'll agree to this?"

"Sex with three girls," April responded, drawing another frown from Elena and me.

"Who exactly are you?" Klaus questioned April as she came to a standoff with him.

"April Young"

Crap, just leave her alone.

He resumed his pacing, nothing spectacular, just back and forth.

"Why choose houses right next door to the other? You don't imagine there's a limit to my finances. So why settle for such disposal properties?"

"What exactly are you?"

"Ohhhh, you mean, uh, I'm human," she said back to him.

"But I certainly know what you are."

"I'm not an obvious sweetheart." Klaus claimed

"None of you are. I mean, when they told me they were vampires tonight, I swear I almost puked and ran at the same moment, and I was wearing my favourite top under this."

"What exactly does she mean tonight?" Klaus questioned Elena and me.

"Well, I didn't know that until..." April then came to a halt.

"You told her all of this in a single night, and she agreed?" Klaus inquired, then took a step towards April.

"She's not some spy, Klaus." I explained

His imagination knows no limit.

"What type of person agrees to such a thing in one night?"

"The sort that has just become an orphan."

April responded as he stood before her.

Klaus stared at me, and I mouthed, "It's true" before he returned his gaze to her.

"I don't have anything else in my life. Nothing actually."

"It's hardly a step up." Klaus informed her

"You have no idea what my life was like before tonight, so don't pretend we know each other."

A little smile formed on her lips as she shook her head.

The Klaus, we knew would have ripped her heart out of her chest, and shown it to her as she died. But instead, he merely turned his back on her and returned to where he had been before.

"They told me you were intense," April remarked, turning to face us.

"What else did they tell you?"

Klaus inquired, returning his gaze to Elena and me.

"That you knew recognised loyalty when you saw it."

We didn't say anything, just listened to the rustling of the tree branches overhead as a breeze blew over them. I didn't know it at the time, but this was the moment Klaus decided he wanted to marry us. And it wasn't my words or Elena's that accomplished it, but April's, she had shown him that, despite our prior offences against him, we had gotten to know him under the surface. We weren't asking for his affection, but rather a permanent allegiance in the form of blood and marriage, and that was all he needed to know in his heart.

"Do you agree with us?" I inquired about him.

Please say yes, I don't even know what saying yes will mean for us but, I just know that this can't be the last time we see each other, not under these circumstances.

"Your boyfriends will be nothing but suspicious if you all disappear on the same night," Klaus stated as he approached us.

"So, what do you recommend we do?" Elena questioned.

"Listen and learn," he said as he took another step towards us.

Klaus revealed that while fleeing Mikael, he had mastered numerous tactics for going off the grit and remaining hidden, and he had a plan for when our friends came looking for us. A scheme to convince them that neither of us made it out of Mystic Falls alive!

His intention was for us to frame the new hunter for our murder. Klaus knew our friends would be determined to find us, and the only way to stop them was to fabricate evidence that the hunter was responsible for not only our deaths and my mom and Jeremy's too. After Klaus honed the knowledge we had acquired thus far on the hunter, his weapons, and appearances in our lives, he formulated a strategy based on it.

Klaus instructed Elena to leave the forest tonight, text Stefan and tell him that she planned to sleep at my house with me, claim that she wanted to talk with me about adjusting to her cravings, it was critical that she mentioned her struggles with blood as it would benefit us later on. Elena looked like she might just fall apart for a moment, whether it was over following Klaus's instructions or the mere notion that she may lie to Stefan obey his desire was unclear.

Klaus ordered her to return home and immediately compel Jeremy to leave town as soon as possible since Elena, like April and I, would be confronted with a slew of duties that needed to be completed flawlessly if we were to make it out of town by dawn. She would compel him to destroy his phone, remove the plates from his or her car and drive it into the next state, abandon it where it was sure to be stolen, and finally take a city bus to wherever she wanted him to go, paying in cash only along the way, convinced that it was better for him never to contact anyone from home again.

Klaus then instructed me to do the same with my mom, compel her to leave town after turning in her service gun and badge so it appeared authentic, she would clear out her bank accounts and cancel all of her cards in the morning, abandon her car from there and journey the rest of the way by train. Klaus, to my astonishment, owned a five-bedroom property in Maine, he'd arrange for a contact of his to have the house ready for her arrival, as well as some money to get her started.

Elena's eyes were burning into the back of my head the entire time he was delivering this tiny titbit of knowledge. But she put an end to it when Klaus told us about his intentions to get Jeremy and my mom new identification so they wouldn't be tracked by anyone back here.

As painful as compelling our loved ones and saying goodbye for the foreseeable future would be. This was merely the first of many tasks to come tonight.

A task in which all three of us would have to approach as individuals.

He ordered us that as soon as we were finally alone at home to get our hands on whatever gloves we could find and to not take them off in an effort to prevent leaving behind our own finger prints. A lesson he had to learn the hard way after Mikael compelled law enforcement into assisting in his hunt.

After we were properly gloved, we were to physically scrubbed every inch of our homes with whatever peroxide or ammonia we could get our hands on. He then told us to put on gloves and clean every inch of our homes with whatever peroxide or ammonia she had on hand.

Every piece of furniture, counter surface, floor panel, doorknob, light switch even the ceilings were to be scrubbed, not just cleaned, not wiped but literally scrubbed. Anything that might contain our fingerprints or individual scent on it had to be sterilised.

Klaus compared cleaning our houses tonight with cleaning up a crime scene.

Every article of clothing we had, the bed linens, towels, face cloths, bath mats, rugs, curtains, blinds and cushion cover had to be laundered or emptied into our bathtubs and submerged in water and bleach for at least two hours to ensure all scents were properly destroyed.

After the cleaning side of the night was finally done we were to only then pack our bags taking only what mattered most. The trick into making someone believe you didn't leave of your own accord was to leave what mattered most to you behind. It was necessary for him to point this out to us, if we took our photos or precious items left to us by our parents or grandparents, it wouldn't take our friends long to note they were missing, if they did our plans to fake our own deaths were a non starter.

I made a mental note for myself right then and there to only take what mattered to me most, I'd ensure my mom took the photographs I knew she couldn't live without and all of her most precious items, for no one and I mean no one other than me knew of such things that mattered to her. I on the other hand would just have to learn to live without them in my life, even though it would have been nice to take the jewellery box I'd had since I was a little girl or the painting above my bed that my father bought me in Paris. I knew Bonnie would spot these items were gone in just a matter of moments, so they like so many others would remain here.

After the suitcases were packed, it would be time to destroy our phones. Klaus pretended not to be unimpressed when I informed him I was already intending to destroy my hard drive, which contained all of the information relating to the binder that was still tucked under his arm.

Destroying our phones entailed erasing their data, removing the sim card and hiding it one spot and the physical phone in another. We couldn't do anything about the phone records, again Klaus attempted to counsel his surprise when he discovered we'd already worked our way around that too. The only phone records from either of our phones tonight were my texts to Elena requesting her to come over to my place, which backed up our soon-to-be tale about our sleepover. My phone calls to April and to him were routed through two different phone boxes within the town.

Finally, how we would go about framing the hunter for our murder.

The plan was to make it seem as though the hunter had suspected Elena and I of being vampires from what he had witnessed at the church. The way Elena had come undone as April's blood's fragmented the air like perfume. And how eye witness testimonies suggest that I was the one to physically remove whatever object Tyler had been shot with, some believing they heard a gun but others swearing it was a crossbow and that I removed an arrow.

And because of these acts, the hunter had followed us back to our homes to find our where we lived, where we were vulnerable and where he would be returning that very same night.

Come tomorrow morning or late afternoon after our friends haven't heard from us in a while, one of them would come to check our houses to find nothing out of the ordinary. There were no traces of a struggle, no turned over furniture, and no missing valuables. What they would discover, though, was an oppressive spell smell of cleaning agents, the air dense with disinfectant and other bleach-rimmed chemicals, so poisonous that it stuck in their throat.

Finding nothing at Elena's house they would venture to mine, only to discover my house in the same condition, clean as a whistle but the air toxic and difficult to tolerate. But unlike Elena's house there would be something waiting for them at mine. A letter from Elena, written in handwriting they'd never seen before and definitely not her own. A letter explaining to them that she needs time to adjust to life as a vampire and has sought out my support to accomplish this, she'll apologise to Stefan for letting him down and all his efforts to keep happy and she'll promises that we will return once she gets a better handle on her bloodlust and honed her new abilities.

When they conclude that Elena did not indeed write the letter they will begin to search the houses more closely. Investigate the reason behind the houses being so clean and put together with the reek of bleach still lingering in the air. From there Bonnie will either perform a spell or a lab technician will be compelled and brought to the houses to investigate more closely. Only then will they find the blood...

Klaus instructed both Elena and I to search our blood bag supplies for our own blood type along with Jeremy's and my mom's, ten bags in total, five for each person.

His plan was for us to clean the houses, have our suitcases by the front door and at the ready. Then within the last few minutes before leaving the properties we decide locations in each of our houses to pour the blood out from the bags. This would suggest that the hunter came to our houses to kill us unaware of the fact that we lived with others.

We would take the gathered blood bags, pierce and empty five of them in one room of the house, then take the other five and dump them out somewhere else further away. We'd clean it up after leaving the blood to sink into the curves and lines of the floorboards. Making it appear like the hunter entered our homes thinking we were alone, but when he arrived to kill us in our beds, he not only killed us but also my mom and Jeremy to avoid being recognised as the killer.

Thus the hunter staged Elena and I running away, he wrote the letter himself, he stole some of Jeremy's clothes to make it appear he had run away and submitted the emails regarding mom's retirement to cover up for what he had done.

Considering that April had previously been attacked by the hunter, framing him for her murder made little sense. It would be tough enough for him to clean up two crime scenes in one night. Instead, Klaus suggested that April fake her own death and write a letter explaining that she had been wearing vervain and was aware of the existence of vampires for some time now, and that today, when we tried to compel her, she faked being taken under our influence, returned home, and became sickened by what we had attempted to erase from her memory.

When asked where she resided, Klaus remembered that the lone train track in Mystic Falls ran just behind April's neighbourhood. Klaus told her to get her hands on some alcohol, empty it before she got to the tracks, and then shatter the bottle on the ground they'd surely come to find and use the glass to prick her finger just enough to spill small drops of blood onto the physical tracks.

Klaus planned to return home and order his employees to clean the entire house from top to bottom before erasing their memory of ever working for him or knowing of him in the first place. He'd pack a few bags and nothing more, nothing that would suggest he'd be gone for more than a few days. It wasn't out of the ordinary for him to do such a thing, it wouldn't immediately tip off his hybrids or whatever sibling might have still be staying with him. We weren't certain if he was home alone anymore or not. Besides, when Stefan and the others came to question him about our disappearances, Stefan would be the only one that could assure the others that Klaus wouldn't dare leave town without his art, after all Stefan had been under his compulsion when he moved back to Mystic Falls, he knew the extent Klaus had gone to in order to preserve it. Therefore they'd rule Klaus out as a possible suspect.

Klaus intended to depart Mystic Falls in the next hour, travelling alone, while the three of us would make our own travel arrangements.

Back at my house, the three of us had discussed potential travel plans and had agreed not to take one of our own cars, but rather steal one that I already had in mind, a car that wouldn't attract attention to us, we'd sleep and drive in shifts along the way to ensure we arrived in Utah as soon as possible to begin our new lives together.

However, Klaus was quick to point out that stopping at numerous gas stations along the way meant we would be subjected to unnecessary surveillance. Instead, he suggested that we collect as many gas containers as we could from our first station, fill them up, and refill ourselves on the side of the road as needed.

After we covered the basics, Klaus walked back to his car to get a pen and paper. He intended to compose the falsified letter himself, so it wouldn't be in any of our handwriting. We took advantage of his absence by talking alone for the first time that night. April practically jumped up and down the second he was out of sight, ecstatic that he had agreed to participate in the spell.

Elena and I, on the other hand, were too preoccupied with what needed to be done to see the light at the end of the tunnel. At least, that's what I pretending, the fact was that I could barely keep it together, I had to remind myself repeatedly to stop staring at Klaus while Klaus he devised the plan to implicate the hunter. The way he seized command of what we were all going to do for the following several hours, his tone, even his facial expressions while outlining the extent we'd have to go to in order to disappear, had caused a tightening between my legs.

"He's really cute, you could have led with the guy we're asking you to marry is the sexiest guy in town!" April whispered to us

"Oh, he can't hear me from all the way over there-" she hesitated before continuing "Wait can he?" she asked, looking over her shoulder in the direction he had gone.

"April, wait just a second, you realise what we're doing, right?"

"No, I've been sticking my fingers in my ears for the past ten minutes. Yes, I am aware of the plan."

"Faking our deaths means we'll never be able to return again. You need to be certain about this" I informed her, my gaze riveted on hers.

April's smile faded as she realised her upbeat demeanour wasn't appropriate right now.

"I know." Her tone was suddenly more gentle.

I looked towards Elena then who looked to carrying a lot on her shoulders, she probably didn't even feel the cold anymore, just the strain of what was to come next.

"Talk to me." I encouraged Elena placing my hand on her arm

"As long as Jeremy is alright."

"He will be. You know you'll get him out."

"Just say it one more time." Elena said closing her eyes then.

I took a step towards her, and April turned aside, giving Elena some dignity even if her eyes were closed.

"You're going to do the spell, go home, spend some time with him, then say goodbye for now but not forever, you'll help him pack, and one one day, one day, you'll see him again and he will forgive you, no matter what you're telling yourself right now, he will forgive you."

Elena nodded, her eyes welling up with tears, and I was quick to get a tissue from my pocket and dab them dry for her in a small measure to comfort her when she needed it most.

"I just can't believe he agreed." Elena then spoke up.

"He certainly didn't make it easy." I said

"I swear for a second I thought he was going to turn us down. By the way, does he always scowl like that? Because, honestly, that could frighten people."

"Don't worry, he knows how to bring out the charm when he's around humans." I gave her my assurance.

"Well, it's kind of hot, he's got like this whole Dracula thing going for him." April cracked a joke.

"No, he doesn't." Elena stated

He kind of does...

April wasn't crushing on Klaus, she was just attempting to ease the tension. She had survived her first contact with the legend himself and lived to tell the tale, so she was already ahead of many others who had crossed paths with him over the years. Deep down, I believed she was terrified of faking her own death and fleeing town, but the possibility of staying here alone with no prospects or family was an even scarier scenario for her.

Faking our own deaths hadn't even occurred to me, and while it was the more horrifying option, it also meant a clean break for everyone involved. We could never return if we did this, bolstering our trust in one another and the spell. It also meant that we wouldn't have to spend the rest of our lives wandering if our friends kept searching for us or not. It was better if they thought we were dead, because we wouldn't be the girls they remembered when we left here tonight. We'd be leaving Mystic Falls as Mikaelsons...

Oh my god I'm actually marrying him...

"So let's just go over a few things before he gets back." I encouraged the others and we formed a tight circle to re-discuss what we had gone over earlier at my house.

"You guys arrive at my house for four, you can't be late."

"Four o clock." Elena agreed tucking her hands into the pockets of her coat.

"I'll be there" April promised.

"Wear black and wrap up warm, it's cold now it will be freezing come four."

"I've already got something ready in my head." April explained.

Elena merely nodded in response.

"And don't forget to dump your phones. It's too late for anyone to be texting us anyway so we don't need to worry about missing a notification anymore."

Again both nodded in agreement.

I looked past them to the direction Klaus had left in and found we were still alone, I edged closer to them before whispering.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Elena took my hand in agreement before April did, I wasn't sure which one of us was trembling the most it felt evenly balanced. We were all about to embark on a new adventure and say goodbye to everything and everyone we had ever known. We'd be married forever, to a man none of us were convinced would come to love us or value each marriage as much as we did.

But I still wanted to marry him. I couldn't explain why, whether it was merely physical or my belief that this magic could take me to the future I was always destined to have, but I knew what I wanted.

And who I wanted...

When Klaus returned to us he made his way towards me first, handing me the folded letter which I immediately proceeded to tuck into the back pocket of my jeans where it would be safe as we cast the spell.

"Put it somewhere they're bound to find it."

"They won't need a neon arrow pointed at it to notice it." I responded, unimpressed at his tone regarding my friend's competence.

"They're not as smart as you give them credit for, love"

"Don't talk about them that way. You don't know them as well as I do."

"And they don't know you as well as you think they do."

"What makes you so sure?"

"If they had, they would have sensed your unhappiness. Like I did." Klaus then whispered into my ear to avoid Elena hearing us.

I took a step back to create distance between us, his gaze wandering over my body, taking me in before I left him to return to the others.

Ok so Klaus just checked me out...

Klaus provided us with the binder claiming to have read through the spell alone and now possessed a thither understanding of its step and of the chant along with a pocket knife he kept on the key ring to his Bentley. While he proceeded to light the fire we studied the chant one last time until we were sure of it.

"Ok so, uh, as soon as we're ready, we cut and uh, and then we join him by the fire, and take each other's hands." I said reminding myself aloud of the steps as I clenched the handle of the small knife.

"Utah" April said aloud then reminding us of our focus.

I gave them a little nod of certainty before pressing the knife's blade against my palm, it was razor sharp and cut through my skin like butter. I didn't even flinch at the agony, my body was teaming with the adrenaline, and I couldn't think straight. I'm not sure who I passed the knife to before turning away from them and making my way to Klaus by the fire. When our gazes met, we locked on each other, the warm glow of the fire making him appear soft in the night.

As I drew closer to him, Klaus extended his hand for mine, and I took in the sight of his bloodied palm, he was dedicated to doing this, I could see that now. Klaus's jaw dropped slightly in delicious agony as I brought my bleeding hand to meet his, our warm blood coursing together as our scars met and mixed, our fingers dripping blood to the ground as they laced together in perfection unison, Klaus and I never taking our eyes off each other as we married.

When the hands of those marrying were held together, the shared marriages began.

Thus, I had just become Klaus Mikaelson's first wife.

We're married, you're staring at me, and we're married. Oh my god, seriously. We are married. You and me.

I was about to beg him to say something to me, anything, when I remembered we weren't alone.

"Caroline," Klaus mouthed my name and for a brief moment I glanced down at his lips, resenting myself as a result.

Elena was the next to arrive, and I wasn't disheartened when Klaus's gaze shifted from mine to hers. I instead smiled as she approached, she, on the other hand, wasn't smiling, nor was she upset or frowning, she was simply hesitant. She was marrying her enemy, and they both knew it would be the most difficult marriage of all to withstand. I stood there watching Elena as Klaus extended his hand for hers, she didn't accept it until she was standing next to us by the fire in her spot. Klaus kept his gaze fixed on her as the wind swept her hair away from her shoulders, she was staring right back at him as she became his second bride. This was their wedding, and they were doing everything they could to get through it without killing each other.

Elena just married Klaus, okay, this is real, this is freaking real, I can't believe we're doing this right now.

My heart was threatening to burst out of my chest, sooner or later I was going to crash hard and I still had so much ahead of me tonight. But come tomorrow morning, I'd be on my way to Utah

...wow this really is happening right now.

I wasn't concerned about anyone seeing us, we'd hear anyone approaching from a mile away, and besides, right now the way I was feeling, I'd happily cast the spell, get in the car, and drive away forever. I was so eager to leave town that if it hadn't been for our obligations to our family, I would have done so.

Klaus watched April approach us then, she was the only one of us who smiled at him as she extended her hand for ours. I smiled at her innocence, she was the best of us in that moment, she only lived for what could feel nothing beyond our nerves and the cold of the forest. Klaus stunned me when he contrived a grin only for her benefit. I turned away from them and let them have their time as they married.

We all locked our gazes as the flames began to turn a deep blue, just as the spell prophesied. Now that we knew for sure, everyone in the circle trusted their new marriage, even Elena, whom I had doubted and not felt guilty about it. We began the chant with a nod from Klaus, and it was surprisingly and stunningly flawless, with none of us missing a single beat.

The heat from the flames made each of us sweat and strain our eyes as we continued to chant above the crackling intensity of the ever rising flame, none of us submitting to its fury. And then the flames were gone, nothing more than a reminiscence, nothing more than a slow simmer about to extinguish forever back into the pot.

At that time, we all took a step forward and placed our hands together over the pot, spilling our blood into the residual flame to destroy it.

Surrendering our blood to the flame and completing the ritual.

I gasped sharply, tightening my grip on Klaus and April's hands as I was struck by an unseen force, feeling it wrap around my body as I witnessed the startled expressions of the others as they, too, were struck by the same power. It was the barrier assuming affect, sweeping around each of us and linking us together forever within its protection.

"Did you feel that, too?" April exclaimed.

"I did," Elena said, struggling to regain her breath.

Klaus and I simply nodded in return, still trying to catch our breath. Klaus tightened his grip on my hand daring me to look his way but I didn't, not that I wasn't tempted to.

We exchanged glances and finally releasing each other's hands, neither Elena or April noticing that Klaus held onto mine a few seconds longer after releasing theirs. I could feel him looking at me but I didn't dare look him in the eye, Elena and I moved in to assist April with the bandages we'd brought with us from my house for this precise reason. We bandaged up her hand together knotting it together so it would remain on the rest of the night. We'd get it cleaned up somewhere on the road before we reached Utah.

Why do I feel like he's watching me?

When we finished helping her April brought her arms around both Elena and I hugging us before we all turned around to Klaus who revealed the binder he'd tucked beneath his coat.

"I assume that this is now mine?"

He'd need to take it with him for the house details alone, the real estate agent's number was listed, I'd even highlighted it.

Are we really not going to talk about the fact that we all just got married to the same guy?

"How long do you think you'll need to secure the deeds?" Elena inquired.

"I'll leave town within the next hour, ditch my phone, pick up a burner by morning, and have the houses in my name by tomorrow afternoon."

Klaus was agreeing to spend over a million dollars to make our dreams come true, I could barely look him in the eye. How was everyone keeping it together right now expect me?

"So you'll probably get to Utah a couple hours before us." April said to him then.

"We'll probably arrive around the same time. I'll be stopping along the way to pick up a few items we'll need."

"Wait, what items are you referring to?" I questioned, concerned, what he might possibly mean.

Klaus immediately returned my attention and said "We'll all need new IDs, birth certificates, passports, medical records and so on. And I have a source that can provide such riches."

"So you know someone who can get you that kind of stuff?" April eagerly inquired "You're like a secret agent," she teased.

Klaus smiled at her adorable naivety "I know a lot of different sorts of individuals, sweetheart," he said.

Elena was making her way back to the cars and was out of our line of sight when April approached Klaus and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, leaving him astonished by her sudden and unnecessary admiration for him. Klaus, on the other hand, took advantage of the situation once more. With Elena out of sight and April's head pressed against his chest, he extended his hand out towards me before I could stop him, his thump delicately brushing beneath my chin while his blue eyes stayed fixated on mine, neither of us said a word, we couldn't. I swiftly withdrew myself from his contact before April became aware of his attempts to touch me without her knowledge.

What's happening right now? Why am I letting him do this?

We returned to the cars, and April repeatedly patted my hand when she observed Klaus unlocking the door to his Bentley. I assume she hadn't given any thought to the magnitude of his fortune until now. And now she could see how an original vampire lived. Rather than concentrating on more essential concerns, such as the fact that she was now married to him!

"So it's goodbye for now?"April enquired, prompting us all to freeze and look to one another.

I glanced to Klaus, who was staring at Elena and me together, he looked down at the ground for a second before returning his gaze to us.

He's leaving so quickly?

"You'll follow my instructions?"

I nodded and looked at Elena and April, who also nodded.

He was probably as taken aback by our new arrangement as we were.

Klaus, not one for saying goodbye, looked at us one final time, as if he were seeing us for the first time, we were his wives now, as bizarre as it was for each of us, it was our lives now. Over the next few hours, he would leave his hometown, set up our new identifications and spend over a million dollars on properties for us to establish our new lives. He had to think we were worth it...

"Darlings," Klaus said goodbye with a nod before getting into his Bentley and driving away.

As soon as he was out of sight I heard the sniffling begin behind me and I turned to find both Elena and April had began to tear up, the sight of them this way finally allowed me to give into my own sorrow and grief. I threw my arms around them, felt their arms hook around my back as we softly wept and finally let go, this was actually happening, there was no turning back, we were leaving tonight and never coming back.

"All right, all right, we need to stop." I cried, trying to gather myself so I could be strong for them.

"She's right." Elena consented, wiping her eyes with the tissue I had previously given her.

"Everyone remembers what they need to do, all that remains is to do it now." I elaborated.

"Are you such that you can get us a car?" April inquired, wiping her face with the sleeve of her coat.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem," I said, sniffling slightly.

We couldn't risk any neighbour's doorbell cameras or any other street surveillance recording me dropping the girls off at their houses, it was just too big a risk and we had to stick with our plan. There was a short path around the back of the church that took you into a neighbourhood just down from Elena's place and another five minute walk to Aprils. We couldn't even risk a text to one another that we'd arrived safely, proving to each of us that we were now responsible for our own future.

April had been through enough today that it was a blessing for her not to have to go home to anyone, all she had to do was the necessary clean down and the instructions Klaus had left her with in regard to the train tracks. As for Elena and I we would be in for a rough night, we'd have to say our goodbyes before we began any cleaning or packing.

While the others returned home, I made my way back to my car. I couldn't stop thinking about Klaus, he was on his way home right now, knowing we were his wives and that we may have children together one day. Had he thought about us since leaving the grounds? I guess we had plenty to think about. The night has only just begun. But, crazy as that may sound, one thing was certain: I already felt married.

When I got home, I discovered my mom's car parked outside the house. The sight of it brought tears to my eyes, and a small sob escaped as I turned off my car's engine. I didn't have to make up a reason to get her back to the house anymore, it was time for us to say our final goodbye. I took my time drying my tears and fixing my hair before going inside since I didn't want her to see me upset because it would just make things ten times worse for both of us, which I didn't want. I didn't have time to fall apart right now, every minute was precious.

We met in the hallway, she was about to walk out the door to finish her shift when I stopped her. I took off the vervain bracelet I had given her, scarcely noticing the pain as it burned and drew blood from my flesh. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I locked eyes with her before she realised what was going to happen. I grieved and sobbed as I compelled her to believe the tale I had created for her. I watched as she was captivated by my influence and grew to believe every single thing I said. I hated myself for it, I even had to make her believe we'd just finished watching a sad movie to explain my tears away. It was then she suggested we sit down to a comedy together, I agreed it was a good idea but before that I would cook us some dinner so we could eat something while we tuned into something more cheerful.

I'd immediately gone into the bathroom, locked myself inside, and balled my eyes out at the realisation that I wouldn't see her for a long time after tonight. So I had to make it a night to remember, something that would carry me through the following years without her.

My mom and I sat down to our final dinner together, as I had promised Elena, and I made her favourite meal from scratch. We spoke and laughed, and it was just what I needed for what followed next.

While we had been eating all of her clothes that she was taking with her were put on for a boil wash one load after the other. Every photograph and other precious artefacts were stored securely inside her suitcase, wrapped in bubble wrap and tape to perverse them during her journey. I had ensured she take all of her account details, come morning she would empty each of them before getting on her train to her new life. Afterwards I had gone out to her car and scrubbed it down inside and out before storing her suitcases into the trunk. I submitted the emails informing her superiors and co-workers of her retirement, she wouldn't see any of them again, the Sheriff's station was closed for the night and she had been compelled to take a route out of town that wouldn't take her through any road blocks for the town curfew.

We said our goodbyes in the house since I didn't want any of my neighbours to see us beside her car. She'd washed and changed her clothing, she wasn't wearing any of her regular products, so they wouldn't be detectable for anybody to track, and just like me it would be as if she vanished off the face of the earth. We kissed and hugged goodbye. I had stood by the sitting room window watching her drive away, my now-happy and retired mom waved to me like she was merely driving to work instead of leaving my life forever. I kept it together as she drove off, keeping a big old smile on my face right up until the very last second. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had let myself fall apart in front of her. After she was gone however, I collapsed onto the floor, unable to stop weeping, screaming into the couch cushions to block the noise from the neighbours.

I could have lay there all night, letting my heart break again and over until there was nothing left of it. I couldn't have picked myself up off the floor if I'd been leaving town alone with no one depending on me. But remembering Elena and April kept me going, knowing that they, too, were in pain and that I wasn't alone in my anguish helped me get up from the floor. I might not have had the courage to leave Mystic Falls if it hadn't been for them.

I picked myself up from the ground and proceeded to dry my eyes before managing to bring myself up to my feet again. I began looking around the sitting room, taking in all of our photographs, the curtains we had chosen when we repainted the sitting room last year, the space where we placed our Christmas tree everywhere, and the exact spot my mum told me I had taken my first steps. Everywhere I looked now, I was consumed by the memories I was leaving behind, one day, I'd see my mom again, but for the time being, I'd never felt more vulnerable and exposed to all the horrors that awaited me if I failed to make it to Utah.

I made my way down the hall into the bathroom, standing before the mirror I took in my reflection, my eyes were blood shot and swollen from all the crying, my skin particularly around my forehead had become dry and flaky, I picked up my hairbrush from the toilette bag I kept on the sink counter and ran it through my hair unknotting it before sweeping it up into a high bun out of the way, the way I often wore it when cleaning, only tonight was different, from under the sink counter I then retrieved my shower cap bringing it over my hair and ears and using the mirror to ensure to loss hairs were poking through the corners.

There's so much to do, so much, I won't get it done by the time they arrive.

The doubt set in hard as I was confronted with the tasks still in front of me, Klaus had been very clear about the extend it would take on each of us physically to clean our houses to the level required. It was easy for him he had an entire household staff to scrub down his mansion for him as he merely packed a bag and skipped town.

Seriously I'm pissed off and blaming the guy that just saved my life?

I turned off the bathroom light before entering the kitchen, where I grabbed a carton of orange juice from the fridge, a bag of chips from the cabinet and a bar of fruit and nut from the snack drawer before returning to the sitting room and taking a seat on the couch. I only needed five minutes to give myself a breather and eat junk, if I didn't take these pathetic little five minutes, I'd be pulling my own hair out in a matter of hours. So I turned on the TV to distract myself while I snacked, made myself comfortable on the couch, and dug into both the chocolate and chips, gulping the orange straight from the carton.

Sometimes a girl just needs five minutes...or ten.

By the time I finished, the bag of chips was empty, the bar of chocolate was just a wrapper, and the carton had only a few drops remaining. But I was satisfied I had done it because I was mentally exhausted, not just physically, and that can be just as damaging to a person. So much had happened in such a short period of time that I was still trying to make sense of it all. I believe I took the ten minutes not just to give myself a rest, but also because I knew it would take my mom five minutes to travel from our house to the station and another five minutes for her to be on her way out of town.

It's just me now.

I couldn't bear the thought of cleaning the home in silence, so I browsed through my Netflix library and created a playlist of movies to watch one after the other. My movie selection was very childish, since they were all childhood favourites of mine, but I did this on purpose, I needed to return to a place of innocence, to fill my mind with nostalgia, and to bring myself to a very zen state while I worked. To be honest, I didn't care how it looked, this was what I needed right now, I was leaving the house where I had grown up, and if I wanted some background noise, that was what I was going to do.

My playlist started with Edward Scissorhands, followed by Snow White, The Princess Diaries and Uncle Buck.

Besides the more innocence my mind set was the less likely I was to think about Klaus and his decision to marry us.

I turned on the movie and smiled warmly as the falling snow effect fell over the Twentieth Century Fox and the movie's exquisite score began to play. I played the movie loud enough for me to hear it in the other rooms. I made my way back into the kitchen and proceeded to the cabinets beneath the sink where we stored all of the cleaning products. I took out the plastic bucket we used for mopping the kitchen floor and proceeded to fill it with everything I planned to use tonight.

It was in here that my mom stored the large box of latex gloves, I quickly snapped on a set finding them to be a comfortable fit around my wrists and fingers.

"Ok here we go." I said to myself then.

Arming myself with a cloths, sponges, bleach, antibacterial spray, deodoriser, window cleaner, mildew spray, drain-o, drain foam, oven cleaner, stain remover, carpet shampoo, baking soda, stainless steel foam cleanser and polish. I'd need all of them if I were going to make the house as clean as could possibly be.

"I've got this." I quietly assured myself, thinking about all that would result from all of my hard work and determination.

The first task was of course taking care of everything that had to be laundered, which included all of my clothes, shoes, towels, bath mats, bed linens, pillow cases, mattress protectors, face cloths, area rugs, table covers, dish towels, and curtains. Each item went through a boil wash with bleach infused into the rinse cycle and double the amount of fabric softener required.

While this was going on in the utility room, I kept myself busy in the kitchen by retrieving every plate, cup, pot, pan, measuring cup, and glass from the cabinets and hand-washing each one in a basin of hot water and bleach. One after the other, only returning them to their place in the cabinet after each individual cabinet had been entirely scrubbed inside and out, with fresh liners introduced into each one to ensure there was no leftover oil or stains from before.

Our kitchen had never been this clean before, by the time I was done, you could literally eat off the floor. I'd lifted the fridge from the wall to dust the wall behind it and the crumbs and dust covered tiles beneath it. I'd staked all of the tins, sorted all of the dry goods, polished my grandmother's silver, and cleaned the ceiling with the mop. All the while constantly stocking and emptying out the washer and dryer.

The bathroom I planned to leave until the end as I hoped to have a bath before leaving tonight. I was already a sweaty mess and didn't want to go almost two thousand miles in the wearing the same clothing I was wearing now. If I maintained the same pace I would probably be finished for two o clock, allowing me two hours to take a bath and finish off any last-minute tasks.

After cleaning my bedroom I collected my suitcases and laid them out on my mattress which had been coated in baking soda, flipped and vacuumed. Everything had to be in place for when I came to start my packing, which I hoped to do as quickly as possible, for this would be one of many tasks tonight that would cause me the most grief. Deciding what I should and shouldn't take with me would break my heart, so I hoped to allow myself no more than ten minutes total to get everything folded, stored and ready by the front door to go.

It was nice to clean the hallway and sitting room as I was close enough to hear the songs from Snow White playing in the background as I worked. I didn't whistle while I worked, but at least I had slowed down and gained a hold on myself. I wasn't frantically cleaning and checking the time every two seconds, I was doing the required physical work and had become a sweaty mess as a result, but the aching in my knees, elbows, and wrists was all worth it since it meant I was putting in the effort it took to achieve my goal.

I had to clean my mother's room at vampire speed since the second I stepped inside, all I could smell was her perfume and I couldn't bear it. I vacuumed her mattress, flipped it over, replaced the bedding, cleaned her dresser, wiped down all of her products, fragrances, photo frames, and light switches and shades, and then organised the few items that remained in her closet. Her room couldn't appear as if she had never intended to return to town, it had to look as if she thought I was still living here and that she would be visiting me frequently.

You couldn't smell her perfume by the time I left her room, just disinfectant and bleach lingered in the air.

I set up the ironing board in the sitting room and ironed all of my clothes and the laundered linens while watching The Princess Diaries. There were some clothes I knew I would be leaving here in town without doubt, I was only bringing what I needed to get through my trip to Utah and the first week after my arrival. I already planned on creating a new wardrobe for myself and my new life, I planned to take better care of myself out there, dress more modestly, dare I even say more like a Mikaelson?

He'll be out town by now...

When I finished up with the ironing I returned everything to it's place around the house, hooking up the curtains and re-stocking the linen cupboard once again, nothing smelt like our stuff anymore, it stunk of bleach, and I mean really stunk.

I hummed along to a song playing in the movie as I packed up my suitcases, I couldn't risk taking anything of value that my friends would notice was missing, much like my mom's bedroom, it had to appear that I fully meant to return to town after guiding Elena in adjusting to her new life as a vampire. I packed jeans, t-shirts, a few jumpers, my toiletry bag, my favourite pair of pyjamas, boots, trainers, a few photos of my mom and me together that I kept in my nightstand, my favourite book and some CDs (yeah, I still had CDs, and there was nothing sad about that).

I wheeled my suitcases out into the hall, positioning them near the front door for when the time came to depart. Stopping to look at them all together made it all so real. I just hoped Elena and April were holding it together in their homes, that they, like me, were nearing the end of their cleaning and preparing for the primary task of the night - faking our deaths.

While I had been cleaning, a small chicken had been cooking in the oven, and when it was done, I portioned it up into bite-sized pieces. From the fridge, I collected some fresh lettuce, a red onion, and some red and yellow peppers. I slowed down my pace at long last and began to really pay attention to what I was doing—I was preparing food for the journey ahead of us. I hadn't told Elena or April of my intentions to do this, in fact, the subject of food hadn't really come up in discussion much that night. A small smile formed as I began to really take my time and lovingly prepare food for the two girls who had agreed to come with me to start a new life together. We were going to be in the car for a while, and I wanted to make sure it was as comfortable as possible for us.

I started with some chicken sandwiches, coating the chicken with spices and mayonnaise, slicing up the vegetables just right, and constructing them together. Next, I made some plain ham sandwiches along with some tuna sandwiches too. I used all the remaining vegetables in the fridge and cooked a mouthwatering pot of vegetable soup, which I poured into a large flask to keep it warm. As for the sandwiches, I wrapped them up individually in tin foil, keeping all the edges neat and crisp as I stacked them one at a time into the tupperware I had laid out. I took care in securing everything together just right, making sure nothing was crushed. I placed them all together in a large black holdall.

I then added some individual chilled bottles of orange juice, water, and a few cans of cola, red bull and sprite. Next came the chocolate bars, crackers, peanuts, large bags of chips, babybels, boxes of raisins, and a whole tub of fruit. It might seem like a lot, but the food was going to go to waste if it remained here. Besides, this meant we didn't have to pull in anywhere for food once, which meant we'd reach Utah quicker. I collected some plastic utensils, paper plates and plastic bowls, napkins, and face wipes. After all of this was packed, I collected three smaller individual flasks and made up hot chocolate for each of us.

It would be cold when we left town, and our nerves would probably be shot to hell, so it was best that we had plenty of things to help keep us warm. As the hot chocolate heated, I collected a packet of painkillers for the road too. None of us would have taken care of ourselves properly tonight, we were all rushing around trying to get out. Sooner or later, our bodies were going to catch up with us, and we were going to crash hard. After the hot chocolates were ready, I slipped some mini marshmallows into each flask before breaking up a fudge bar and adding some to each flask and finishing with some double cream. I placed the bag with my luggage on top so I would remember to put it in the backseat of the car for when we needed it.

I made a stop in the bathroom then and collected a bin liner from under the kitchen sink which I filled with four rolls of toilet paper, a box of tampons, feminine wipes, Dove hand cream and small tub of Vaseline. All the essential feminine products we would require while on route to Utah.

After retrieving a screwdriver from the one small excuse we had for a toolbox beneath the kitchen sink I returned to my laptop in the sitting room where I proceeded to unscrew it's case to retrieve my hard drive. Using my full strength I snapped the drive right down it's centre splitting it in two pieces in an effort to destroy the information I had gathered on the spell and the properties in Utah. I then returned the hard shell casing to the back of the laptop and returned it to my bedroom, it would be a while before my friends came to realize it was indeed missing, they'd merely assume it was broken or something when it refused to play along.

I took a quick glance around my street before stepping out, it was now one o'clock in the morning, the street was still, and the curtains in all of the adjacent houses were drawn, so I had no need to be concerned. I was armed with my trusted cleaning goods, I needed to clean out my car now, all three of us had been in it tonight, so cleaning it would require a lot of elbow grease on my part. I started by wiping down each chair with a bleach-soaked cloth to clean them and gather up any loose hairs. The dashboard was next, followed by the steering wheel, the mirrors, the seatbelts, the CD player, the glove box, the interiors of each door, the door handles, the windows, the interior roof, the exterior roof, and even the licence plates.

I also took this time to slid a copy of our directions to Utah into the glove box for later.

Then after the car was cleaned I made my way down the street with my now destroyed hard drive in hand, sending one half of it down one storm drain and the next half a few streets down. I circled around my street retrieving my phone from my pocket as I did, I downloaded an app to clean my phone completely of all my contacts, saved settings and files after which I removed the sim card, snapping it in half, dropping one half into a neighbours hedge, the next small half under a parked car, next came the phone which I purposely saved until I was walking by a house down from mine currently building a conservatory, I cut through their drive way at full vampire speed, dropping one half of the phone into their cement mixer and the other half I saved until I was walking by the small park area just down from my house, I held my breath and lifted the lid for the bin designated for dog mess, there I dropped the other half the bin and turned in the direction of my house.

There was one more pit stop I had to make along the way however.

I made my way to the Bakers' driveway, they were out of town for the winter since one of their children was involved in some snow activities that took them up into the mountains. When they were gone, mom kept an eye on the house, they kept an old maroon Ford station waggon in their garage, which I was going to steal for us to escape Mystic Falls in.

We needed a car to get us to Utah, we couldn't take our own. We needed something that would blend in, something older that you wouldn't expect us to drive. With one rapid movement, I shattered the huge padlock in my hand. Thankfully, there were a couple gasoline canisters inside the garage, they weren't as dusty and smelled damp as the rest of the garage, they must have used them often. They kept their key on the front wheel, they never drove this car around town, I believed they hadn't used it since when their kids were babies, the dad refused to give up his own car so she had to bus them around in this thing. The Bakers wouldn't be back for a few weeks, therefore it would be weeks before this car was reported stolen. We had a golden opportunity, and I was going to take it.

I returned the car to my house and parked it in front of mine. We were going to be confined in this car for a while, so I wanted to make sure everything was in order. I brought some cleaning supplies down from the house and used them to wipe down the leather seats and all around the dash board and windows. I'm not sure how many years of dust were layered inside, but I'd gone through four cloths by the time I was finished. I then went over everything with polish, buffing it up until it felt clean and respectable to my expectations.

I replaced the dried-out air freshener they had with a new lavender-scented one, one for the front and one for the back. I brought out all the freshly laundered pillows, placing two on the backs of each chair in front and across the combined backseat, along with a thick wooly blanket for each of us and a pair of fluffy socks. Again, I felt like I was overdoing it, but then I thought of the mess they'd both be in by the time they arrived back here. And if I could make things just that little bit better by providing such small creature comforts to ease their pain then that's exactly what I was going to do.

When I returned inside my house I locked the door behind me and immediately put all the cleaning supplies into my trash bag containing everything else I wished to get rid of that night. I used the backdoor and hopped the fence into my neighbour's yard, mixing my trash with theirs which blended easily enough.

When I returned back inside I locked the backdoor behind me and with my hands still gloved I went around the house shutting and locking every one of the windows.

The time had come take care of take care of the crime scene.

I put on a new set of gloves and went into my bedroom to gather the blood bags. For the sake of my mother, I kept them hidden.

I followed Klaus's instructions and created two pools of different blood types in two different rooms of the house one containing my blood type and one for my mom's. I used my hands to spread the blood around the floor to give the impression to any investigators that whoever was harmed here may never have gotten back up again given the amount of blood found.

After allowing the blood ampoule to sink into the floorboard grooves, I wiped it up with kitchen roll paper. As I cleaned one crime scene to the next, I dumped all the soiled and stained paper into the kitchen sink. I retrieved a lighter and proceeded to set fire to all of the bloodied sheets in the sink until they were nothing more than charred remains, which I immediately rinsed down the sink. Then a heavy application of drain-o to rinse off anything that remained.

Again following Klaus's instructions, I dipped a brush from my make-up stash into what little blood remained in the bags. I then used the brush to splatter the smallest blood splatters around the house, which were too small for the human eye to see, but a supernatural being would be able to smell it sooner or later. My blood type was on one dining room chair legs, another on a wire behind the television, and my mom's blood type was on the edge of floor lamp in the sitting room.

I cut the blood bags into small pieces with scissors before chucking them into the blender, which turned them into a fine pounder, which I then emptied down the drain, where it belonged. I let the faucet run for a few minutes before pouring in the appropriate amount of bleach.

I can't believe I got it all done, I mean seriously, I got it all done and with time to spare like I hoped for. That does not happen!

Finally, the time had arrived for me to soak my aching body in a well-deserved bath. I made my way to the bathroom, my feet becoming heavier with each step. This was going to be my last bubble bath in my house, so I was going to make it special, regardless of how exhausted I was. I started the bath by adding some lavender scented bubble bath to the hot water, then some Johnsons bedtime bubble bath, then a hefty quantity of Epsom salts to soothe my sore muscles, and finally some coconut scented bath salts. I lit the same tea light candles I had lighted earlier for Elena and arranged them along the sink counter and bath tub edge until the room was filled with a soft glow.

I stripped off and placed the clothes I was wearing into the washing machine.

You're almost there.

It wasn't just the sweat from all the housework that I wanted to wash off my skin, as strange as it sounded I wanted to leave my house tonight not only clean but cleansed. I wasn't ashamed of my love life or how many guys I had sex with in the past, there was nothing wrong with what I had done, I wanted them and they wanted me and for a brief time that was alright. It was my age and the time to explore, but that was then and this was now.

But with that said, there was something I wanted to cleanse my body of and that sadly was my relationship with Tyler. I wasn't still on a high from everything that happened tonight to make me think in such a way. I was level headed now and just looking at the steamy water just made me want to cleanse my body of my encounters with him. Not because what we had wasn't real for us at the time but rather due to the fact that I didn't like the person I was when I was with him.

That girl was so full of herself and sometimes deeply immature for her own good. And I wanted to get into that hot water right now and completely wash her away because the person I was now was much stronger than that girl. I was going to do this not only for me but in some way for Klaus, he married the girl who swore her blood to the flame and that girl would meet him in Utah. I just had to get rid of the oil in her hair and the smell off her skin first.

At the sink counter I began with applying whitening stripes to my top and lower teeth before wetting my nose and applying a nose strip to remove any small blackheads and clogged pores. While they went to work I went to work on giving myself a facial scrub marvelling at the grainy texture upon my skin as it shifted all the dirt and oil from it. I filled the sink with hot water and collected my razor and feminine shaving gel for sensitive skin.

I shaved my feet first, working my way up my legs and over my thighs, I had to adjust myself into a few questionable positions to rid me all of my pubic hair but somehow I pulled it off, it just took me a while longer than I thought, plus there was a moment where I was using the toilet roll holder to balance my foot on to really get everything fresh and tidy down there. After that I shaved my under arms and applied a waxing strip to my upper lip to remove any small peach fuzz.

I tweezed my brows and used my eyebrow microblading kit to fill in my brows a bit as they were looking a bit thinner these days. After removing all of the strips I went to work on brushing my teeth with the last of my toothpaste, another thing to add to the trash. After that I slid on my gel back facial mask that covered my entire face leaving only my eyes uncovered. I swept my hair up into a hairclip at the top of my head before at long last sliding down into my bath.

I knew I couldn't relax until I got myself properly cleaned up, I used the care and cashmere nivea body wash to get myself cleaned up. After that I collected my Aussie Mega shampoo and conditioner, my arms aching as I scrubbed my nails through my hair with the aid of the shampoo, making sure to remove as much dirt and grease as I possibly could. After that I somehow found the strength to double condition my hair, it was always so much bouncer when I made the effort to do so.

There was no chance that I'd see Klaus in the next two days and obviously we'd figure out a way to get to a shower before we arrived at the new houses, maybe find a public pool or hotel spa or something. There was no way Klaus got to see me after being stuck in a car for two thousand miles before I had showered.

After I was all cleaned up I finally slid myself down into the tub, allowing the bubbles to move across my body as I closed my eyes.

I had left the bathroom door open to keep an eye on the clock on the wall, seeing it was just ten minutes after three o clock I decided to let myself soak for another ten. I had crossed off almost everything on my list and needed to take this time now. Baths had always felt so spiritual for me as a woman, I wasn't sure why but every time I came out of them all fresh and clean I felt like I could do anything. Perhaps it was silly but that was just what I felt.

I began to think of April and Elena then and what they might be doing this very second, if they were smart like me they would have already ditched their phones and arranged the blood. We agreed to meet here at four while it was still dark, whatever cops were out circling the streets would have found a hard shoulder to pull into by now where they could cut the engine and grab an hour before shift change at six.

Where are you right now?

Klaus would be far gone from Mystic Falls by now, his compelled staff would leave the grounds and forget they ever worked there or the reason as to why they were so tired. They'd be no tracing of him in that house anymore, no finger prints or hair samples, it would be like our houses, as if he never even existed.

Besides even if our friends believed we were still alive they wouldn't be able to find us. Even now lying in the bathtub I could feel the barrier around me, Edith was right it felt like a welcomed cloak on a cold night. But the barrier wasn't our only protection out there, something deep within my core told me that even though I might not know how Klaus feels about these marriages, I did know that he would protect us, not just as a husband but as a man, he'd never let anyone find us out there and anything that did would be put down like an animal.

Our hard work would ultimately pay off in the end. We would be gone and our new chapter would begin.

I let myself air dry for I didn't want to leave my scent on any towels. By the time I was done with my bath my clothes from today were ready to be put into the dryer.

I returned to my bedroom after that and began to shift through the clothes in my closet to find something suitable for the road. We had all agreed to wear black on the road, or at least keep it on until we were out of the state. So from my wardrobe I selected a pair of black leggings and a black loose turtle neck jumper. Knowing I wouldn't see Klaus during my time on the road I decided to opt for comfort rather than fashion. I smiled as I retrieved my black briefs which I only wore while on my period, they were one size up from my typical dress size which made them all the more comfortable. Then I picked out a black non wired bra with thick straps, ugly as sin but supportive as hell, then my ugliest and most comfy pair of socks which were hidden beneath my black uggs.

I collected a pair of sunglasses and a black gatsy hat, my hair was almost completely dry by the time I finished up dressing so I slid my hat on right away after the rest. I looked at my reflection and smiled, no make up, no show for anyone, just me as I was and always should be.

I went around every bin in the house removing the trash bags from each of them before dumping them all into the large trash bag hanging from my kitchen door. I went into my backyard and jumped the fences of five houses at full vampire speed to the family with four kids, each week every other house put out a bin each, this family put out four. They had triplets, newborn triplets, there were no words to describe the smell from their trash cans, luckily for me it meant I could mix my bag in with theirs without anyone being any the wiser.

I looked at the clock in the kitchen as soon as I returned and it was now ten minutes to four. I was officially down to my last ten minutes. Just thinking about it made my heart pound against my chest. I was apprehensive about going, and every time I thought of tomorrow when our friends realised we were missing, I wanted to stay close to my toilet, feeling like I suddenly had a full bladder, over and over again. Faking our own deaths was beyond harsh and probably the worst way we could have handled it, but if they thought we were dead, they'd stop looking for us, and if they felt the hunter had merely taken us somewhere they'd never stop.

I went around the house one more time, wiping down the door handles, light switches and window locks with the sleeve of my jumper. From my bedroom I collected the letter Klaus had supplied us with explaining mine and Elena's decision to leave town for a few months. I placed this on the side table in the hallway, it was the first thing you saw when you walked through the front door, it there was a reason we stored the mail here.

I shut off the water to the house and was about to do the same with the power when I stopped myself. Instead, I went to the air conditioner monitor, which was just behind the kitchen door, and cranked it up. If the hunter killed us, he would have made the home frigid to assist with any residual odours of blood that he might have missed.

I made my way around the rooms with my hands covered my sleeves and shut off all of the lights, keeping the curtains open however, the house had to appear as it always was come morning.

I didn't have the strength to take one last walk around the house even in the dark, it was too heartbreaking for me. As the minutes crept on I found I couldn't hold a single thought in my head, my heart was racing in my chest and I was consumed by this dread that the girls might have changed their minds about the move.

I stood ready in the hallway by my luggage knowing that everything was off my check list. There was nothing more to do, nothing to re-check, everything was exactly as it should be, I'd made it on time with two minutes to spare. I remained there completely motionless staring out of the glass panel of my front door waiting for any signs of life entering the street. The keys to the station wagon were clasped in my hand now and also at the ready. I couldn't hear anything but the sound of my own heavy breathing as the weight of what we were about to do hit me hard.

When a small dark figure emerged on my street, my eyes welled up with tears. It was April, she had arrived, she hadn't changed her mind, and she was walking as fast as her legs would allow her, she was holding two enormous black luggage cases in each hand, the straps of two filled holdalls crossed over her chest which were bouncing off her lower back as she walked being sure to keep her head down as we discussed. She was here and on time, she had not let me or herself down, she was here for Utah and for us. She was determined to achieve her goal and get out of here.

She was dressed in a black oversized sweater with the hood up over black skinny jeans, a black beanie hat beneath the hood and wide frame sunglasses similar to the ones I was wearing. She'd even gone so far as to wear black boots too, she'd done everything right, followed every single instruction, the girl wasn't even risking the sound of wheeling her luggage down the street, she'd thought every step through and earned a lot of credit as well as my respect.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I slipped my sleeve around my hand and opened the front door as wide as I could to allow me to lift my suitcases out onto the front porch. Handling the bag containing all of our snacks and drinks with caution, making sure to keep it separate from the others so it went into the backseat rather than the trunk. I turned to the door, shutting and locking it behind me, telling myself not to look inside one more time because it would break my heart and if I fell apart right now, I wouldn't be able to stop.

I collected my heavier suitcases and lifted them up from the porch deck taking them with me down the stone pathway towards the station wagon as quickly as I could manage.

Lifting her head long enough to see me making my way down the walkway, cases in hand, April instantly picked up the pace, despite the evident weight of the luggage she was straining to keep within her grasp. By the time she reached me, I had made it down to the car and unlocked the trunk. I admired April's composure and determination when she didn't say anything to me, no smile or offer of a hug, in our minds there was just work, which April demonstrated she understood by swiftly loading her luggage into the trunk.

We're really doing it! We're leaving town! I thought as I quickly made my way back up the walkway for the remainder of my luggage still on the porch.

I paused beside the front door, closed my eyes and whispered, "Goodbye."

When I turned back around, I was relieved to discover that Elena had already arrived and was helping load up the trunk alongside April.

Elena was dressed similarly to April, wearing a black zipper with the hood up, a black beanie cap, black straight jeans, and black converses. Her sunglasses were not as large in frame as mine or April's, but she had at least made the effort to wear them as she made her way here tonight.

As Elena and April loaded up the remainder of the cases, I slid the holdall into the backseat. I quickly moved around the front of the car, sliding the prepared blankets and socks to one side so I could get into my seat and start the engine. I gasped as the door to the trunk closed and Elena quickly slid into the passenger seat alongside me, with April taking the seat directly behind her. I instantly adjusted my rear-view mirror to see April back there. I locked my car door for reasons I couldn't explain, and seeing me do it, April and Elena did the same with theirs, we were three women ready to go on a cross-country trip, and it was only normal that we felt vulnerable.

No one said a word as I pulled out onto the road and began to head down the street, all of us though were keeping our eyes peered for possible parole cars making their rounds after today. I doubted we would see any but still it was only smart that we did everything we could to keep us safe as we made our way out town.

I was grateful that we were all remaining silent as we made our way through the town, it helped me focus better on our surrounding as well as my driving. None of us wanted to be caught by the police being out after the town curfew. But I don't think the underlying issue here was the prospect of being arrested. As we edged closer to our dreams all of our friends were asleep in their beds unaware that we were about to disappear from their lives forever. I think deep down we were all taking a moment of silence to say goodbye to those we loved and to apologise for the pain we were about to cause them.

I didn't know the struggles either Elena or April had gone through to bring them here tonight, I hadn't even had the chance to ask Elena about how she coped with saying goodbye to Jeremy and compelling him. It just wasn't the right time, we needed to get out of here first. I had to remain focused, I couldn't fail after coming this far.

There were no other cars around the town square, no one coming home from night shift or heading off to an early shift, it was a ghost town to our relief.

Ten minutes later we remained silent, finally out of the town completely and now on the mountain back road out of town with nothing but tall pine tree lines on either side of the road making the road ahead all the darker for us. I had wanted to switch on the lights but thought it best that I didn't, not until I absolutely had to.

Almost there, almost there.

The only sound in the car was all of our heavy breathing as we edged closer to the town line. I didn't even look their way, I knew both of them was as focused on the road ahead as I was, April however continued to shift in her seat checking behind us which deep down I was very grateful for.

My lips parted slightly when a small light in the distance caught my attention, it was on a sign just off the right hand side of the road. Behind us I heard April unbuckle her seatbelt, she edged between Elena and I as we leaned forward in our chairs, all hepatised by the small LED light that as we edged closer to it revealed the sign 'Farewell from Mystic Falls'

It's the town line sign, we'd made it, we'd actually made it!

Tears welled up in my eyes the second we crossed it, for it was official, we were on our way to Utah.

I cleared my throat not being able to stop myself and immediately proceed to turn on the heater. I didn't know about the others but I was suddenly very cold and in need of a heat as soon as possible. I pressed my lips together trying to hold myself together as I finally glanced their way finding the pair trying also to keep it together the best they could, both fighting back their own tears. I used my knees to balance out the steering wheel as I began to adjust the pillows behind my back so that I might be more comfortable for the journey. I carefully draped the blanket I had packed for myself over my legs and all the way to the floor matt below to try and lock in the heat.

Beside me Elena and April followed suit, each of them despite their tears sent me a smile when they came to see for themselves the lengths I had gone to in order to secure their comfort.

"We'll be warm very soon," I promised, breaking the silence.

"Do you think he's already left town?" Elena inquired as she wrapped her blanket over her body and up around her shoulders looking quite cold indeed.

"Something tells me he has, he's no doubt hundreds of miles ahead of us now." I replied

"So now the journey begins." April said behind us

Yes, this is the point at which our trip actually begins. Three of us together on the open road, on our way to our new life with Klaus.

We were finally Utah bound.

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