A/N I am the worst person ever! First of all, thank you for your wonderful support. I am very sorry to not have updated for a while, but studying was a real bitch during the last months and I got kinda boisterous. Little piece of advice: don't try to learn two different new languages at the same time. It's not a good idea. Like, at all. But now I managed to finish another chapter and I hope you like it. I won't promise to update every week, but to do it more regularly.
They next few days were filled with a concentrated tension throughout the castle. Maisie was sitting over her books, trying desperately to find a solution for the transformation problem. Katerina and Nadia were going through list of names of Katerina's arch enemies to find someone fitting to kill her. People she had pissed off, people who had pissed off her. It was a rather long list, to be honest. Elijah made calls from the wee hours of the morning until the late evening, He did not spoke about the people he talked with, but every now and then even the calm Elijah would lose his temper so that his voice would grew louder and sound through the closed French Doors.
After lunch it was one of these moments again.
"I told you, Niklaus, I cannot return to New Orleans yet. I don't care if Marcel is rioting the streets, you are the goddamn original hybrid. It's not like back then when you needed an older brother." There was a short pause in which Elijah paced up and down outside of the French Doors. "Katerina is not forbidding me anything. I am here to solve this problem and I will not return before- Fine."
Katerina could him see pinching his nose and trying to calm himself before he came inside and joined her and Nadia at the coffee table. "Is everything alright?" she asked quietly just so that Klaus wouldn't hear her.
"He wants to talk to you", he simply said without answering, handing Katerina the phone.
Nadia and Katerina exchanged a quick glance before the latter took the phone, stood up and brought some distance between herself and the others to at least have the feeling of speaking in privacy. "What do you want from me?"
"Let's call it a favour, alright?" Klaus's voice sounded stressed as if he had had a hard time. Right now, Katerina couldn't care less. "I need Elijah to come back. Marcel has managed to build up a army of vampires and a witch works together with the wolves. I know you don't care about that, but that's not the worst thing right now. Somehow our mother managed to come back from the dead and even if I could fight both Marcel and the wolves, I alone have no chance against her."
"So why would that concern me?" Katerina asked, shifting her weight to one leg and frowning. "Elijah and I are perfectly save here and if Esther kills you, I would be one problem short, right? Give me one good reason, because my freedom is not enough in exchange to your life."
"You already have your goddamn freedom", Klaus growled through the phone. "Elijah blackmailed me so he could bring you with him after you solved your little aging problem. Besides, if Esther manages to kill Rebekah and me, who do you think she will hunt next. You cannot hide. Despite everything, I am an honest man; I wouldn't offer you something you already had. But what about your precious little daughter?"
Katerina froze and glanced over her shoulder to Nadia, who looked at her with a concern.
"You probably want to know how I know her. While I was looking for your village, I learned everything of you that was to learn. So I heard from your daughter. Of course I let her live, because after you had turned, your blood was useless. But if your bloodline carried on, there was a chance that another doppelgänger would be born. Well, like mother, like daughter, she also turned into a vampire, but again, I didn't kill her. She was almost as desperate to find you as I had been." Klaus paused for a while so Katerina could have time to process that information. "So, to return to the topic of question: I would grant you your daughter's freedom, if you'd send Elijah's noble ass right back to New Orleans. I'll await his call in one hour. A ticket for him will be lying at Heathrow. Good luck with your aging problem, Katerina." A beeping sound showed the disconnection.
Katerina stayed where she was, the phone still at her ear. Only gradually her hand sank.
"Katerina! What is wrong? What did Niklaus want of you?" Elijah gently seized her arm and shook her as if the bring her back. "Please, talk to me."
"You should go back to New Orleans", Katerina finally said, handing him the phone. "Klaus said something about your mother and he sounded serious. Go back and help him."
"I won't leave you alone", Elijah growled lowly. "Not if you're still not yourself. I swore to save you and that one time when I'm willing to put you over my family, you're sending me away!"
Katerina managed a little smile and gently laid her hand on his cheek. "I appreciate that. Really, I do. But if your supposedly dead mother starts making a mess, you need to stop her. For your siblings. For us. And he knows about Nadia. He grants me her freedom, too, if you're going. And the last reason, why you should go… I don't want to have you there, when I'm get killed to be a normal human again. I know you, Elijah. Could you stand idle while someone is snapping my neck? Or sucking me dry? I wouldn't want you to watch it." She kissed him reassuringly before taking a step back. "Look, Klaus wants you to call him the next hour. You go and play the good older brother while I'm taking care of letting myself get killed. If everything works just fine, I'll give you a call and follow you to New Orleans. If not… well, then you are free to kill the ass who killed me."
Elijah already opened his mouth in protest when Nadia barged in. "I'll take care of her. We're staying here a few days more so Maisie can find out some things more and then were getting rid of the remains of the cure. She'll be okay, I promise. "
The Original sighed. "I could try and reason with one stubborn Petrova, but two?" He shook his head and threw Katerina a concerned glance. "You are sure you do not need my help? Maybe it is only Niklaus's paranoia. Mother is dead, after all. But if Nadia can also gain her freedom with that… I'll go. But please call me as soon as possible."
It took Katerina and Nadia three more days. Firstly because they wanted to make sure that Maisie had found out as much as possible, and secondly because the wanted to enjoy two more days of mother-daughter-bonding. None of them was all too eager to see Katerina killed, but both of them knew that they had no other chance. Time was running short and before too long the potion Elijah had given her would cease to work any longer.
"You're not coming with me", Katerina said while they were driving past the sign that welcomed poor strangers in Mystic Falls. "Go fuck Matty Blue if you like but I don't want to see you somewhere near the Salvatore mansion. Got it?"
"I'm not your little puppy Elijah." Nadia crossed stubbornly her arms and kept staring out of the windscreen. "You don't have to worry that I would stop Damon. I know that it has to be done. I'll wait within earshot so Damon won't bury you before you are cold."
Katerina scoffed and made a face, but she was honestly glad that Nadia would be there. She already had faced Death more than once, but she didn't do it with a laughing heart. It was some kind of poetic justice to finally allow Damon of all people to kill her. Damon, who hated her since her return to Mystic Falls. It was kind of sad, really. Back in 1864 they had had fun together, they had been happy together. Somehow. Now she gave him one last gift before she would go to New Orleans and forget this Mystic Falls Gang once and for all.
"Don't you think he'd grow suspicious?" Nadia asked finally. "I mean, why should you return to be killed by him if not to save your life?"
Katerina laughed not very kindly. "It's Damon we're talking about. He wouldn't stop to ask me once I turn up on his doorstep. Trust me, he wants nothing so much as to kill me. Stefan on the other hand… Maybe it's no bad idea to let you stay nearby. Stefan could be someone to stop Damon. Too often he thinks he should save me."
"Just like your little stunt with the watch tower, right? By the way, I'm still mad at you."
"I was desperate." Katerina shrugged her shoulders. "I girl should be allowed to be desperate once in a time, especially when she's about to die. But I'm over that, alright? I'm just about to get me killed to live on."
"Do you really think you could have a life with Elijah? Klaus might have promised you your freedom, but do you think he's about to keep his word?" Mistrust was plainly to be seen on Nadia's face and she scrunched her nose. Elijah she almost trusted to keep Katerina safe; but Klaus? No way in hell!
Katerina shrugged once again and stalled the car just within spitting distance of the mansion, but still out of earshot. "I don't know. I never had the chance to have a life and now…"
"Now you're afraid", Nadia quietly finished.
"Well, yes. But it's not only a life with Elijah I want. I want you in there as well. Which is why I sent him home, when Klaus had called. He promised me your freedom and safety as well. You don't have to come to New Orleans if you don't want to. I won't force you. But I would be happy if we could spend more time with one another. And I would like you to get to know Elijah better. He's not as uptight as he seems. Not always, at least." Katerina was smiling softly while looking out of the window. She had fallen for Elijah when she had first met him and she hoped Nadia would realise that he was a good guy, an honest man. If the same could be applied to Klaus was doubtful at least, but even if Katerina would always be wary around him, she knew that he would never hurt his brother. And if so, then only temporary. Daggers could be removed, but if her head was separated from her body… That would probably cause a brotherly feud. "But first I have to give Damon a little present. Won't take me long. Look out for someone of the Mystic Falls Gang; I really don't want to have Elena around."
Katerina gulped down the centuries old potion, hopped out of the car, winked at Nadia so her daughter would not worry too much and strode away in direction of the Salvatore Mansion. If she was being honest, she didn't like at all where this little witch Maisie had taken her. She would probably haunt her, if her death was permanent.
Nadia stayed behind with a tight knot in her stomach. She wanted to protect her mother, to keep her safe and away from any harm; and to do so, she had to let her die. It was a crazy world, a cruel one. She refused to turn on the radio for being afraid of missing a possible intruder; she wouldn't forgive herself, if anything happened to Katerina due to her carelessness. Maybe she should have turned it on, anyway. Nadia could hear every word that was spoken, every breath that was taken. It took everything to keep her sitting in the car. Of course Katerina had to vex Damon, but was it necessary to make him angry?
Still, she had almost missed Stefan, as he sped towards the entrance. Nadia threw the door open and knocked him to the ground, pinning him there so he couldn't do anything besides snarling. It was useful to be most vampire's senior by some century or other. "Shut the hell up", Nadia hissed impatiently and banged Stefan's head against the ground.
"Nadia?" Stefan's voice sounded dopey, as he turned his head to look at her. "What're you doing? Can't you hear? Katherine is with Damon and if we don't go in there right now-"
"I know", she cut him off shortly. "I know she's in there. And she made it clear that no one should come in rescuing her."
"But she's human! I can hear her heartbeat. Does she want to get herself killed?" Stefan still couldn't grab the meaning of all of this.
Nadia rolled her eyes. Couldn't men simply trust a woman and do as they were told? "If you don't run in there once I let you go I might care to explain. Otherwise I'll shut you down my way, understand?" Right now the option to break his neck seemed somewhat tempting.
"Fine." Stefan sat up once Nadia let him go and rubbed his shoulder. "So, I guess you found a way of saving her which includes to get her killed. You're sure it's a good plan?"
"No", Nadia answered honestly. "But it is the only plan we have. Elijah had some potion that could return her from death and some British witch confirmed it. With lots and lots of maybes, but you know my mother: If she wants to have something, she'll die to get it one way or the other. But for that she has to be killed by someone, who doesn't want her to wake up ever again. Damon was the obvious choice."
"A potion? Elijah once brought a potion with him when Klaus tried to sacrifice Elena but it didn't work because of Damon's blood in her system. What about the Cure? Wouldn't that be a problem? And Katherine's not going to be sacrificed but simply killed."
"Those are two of the maybes. I don't know how magic works; I never bothered to learn it while I had the chance. This witch said that it should work but I guess she wasn't too sure. If it works – and there is a big if by the way – Katerina could even keep her young body and would age like any other normal human. It would by her some more years to find a way to turn her into a vampire again. Should that fail, she would at least gain some sixty years, give it or take. Although I think she cuts her throat when the first wrinkles appear." Nadia tried to sound like it wouldn't bother her but the truth was entirely different.
Stefan nodded in understanding. "I'll have my fingers crossed. Shall I get her body out once Damon has finished? He's grumpy with me anyway but he knows Caroline will kick his ass, if he snaps my neck. On the other hand, if you walk in there… It might not be a good idea."
Nadia simply nodded. She knew it wouldn't help Katerina if she got killed to; Damon could try to drive a stake through her heart or burn her, once she was unconscious. Who then would get Katerina out of there and to New Orleans?
"You have a place to stay? For, you know, afterwards? I still own an apartment in Chicago. I haven't been there for a while so it could be dusty but elsewise it's a nice place to stay. Beautiful city. Katherine was there at least once, as far as I know. Only recently. Saved my ass."
"Twice. She was there in the twenties, to keep an eye on you during your ripper period", Nadia corrected absentminded. In the mansion things had boiled up and loud voices could be heard without having supernatural hearing, even if a human wouldn't be able to make out any words. When Damon finally sank his teeth into Katerina's neck who then screamed out, Nadia's hair stood on end. Two minutes later, a sharp, snapping sound was to be heard, just like someone had stepped onto a dry twig.
"I'll get her out", Stefan said softly, trying to sooth the female vampire beside him. "Give me five minutes. Drive a little up the road, I'll bring her there. You can trust me."
"Okay." More reluctantly than not, Nadia strode back to the car and started the engine. It was a hard task to drive away from her dead mother, not knowing if she would ever wake up again. Just in front of the town sign she stopped, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. All she wanted was to get out of here as soon as possible and to never look back again. She would try to see the good in Elijah, to trust him, that he wouldn't hurt her mother in any way. She would even stay with her in New Orleans and build a live there. For the first time in forever she would be travelling around the globe, searching for a mother. Maybe she would even tell her why Nadia had abandoned her child all those years ago. Why she couldn't stand raising this little, fragile bundle.
A soft knock on the driver's side window brought her back to the present. Stefan. Katerina was in his arms, seemingly sleeping if not for the unnatural paleness of her skin. Hastily Nadia got out of the car and opened the door to the backseat.
"I washed the blood off her skin", Stefan explained, flinging a spade carelessly to the side and laying Katerina onto the black leather. "Damon was bored as soon as she was dead, it seemed. He was just pouring himself a glass of whiskey when I entered. I don't think he will come looking for the both of you, but you should be wary nevertheless. Guess I'm wasting my breath, you as well as Katherine know how to disappear. Still, I wish you all the luck. Take care she doesn't cause more trouble than necessary, alright?"
"Thank you, Stefan. Honestly. I'll tell her, what you did", Nadia promised and gently closed the door as to not disturb Katerina.
Stefan laughed quietly and rubbed the back of his head. "Better you don't. I know that Katherine Pierce can keep a secret and I guess Katerina Petrova is also able to. But I'd rather not have Damon somehow knowing. Might be he kills me regardless of Caroline's threats and Elena denying him sex."
"Then I'll make sure that nobody listens. She should know, that you are someone she can count on. If she likes it or not, my mother will need friends, as long as she is not again a vampire." Nadia shrugged her shoulders. She knew all too well, how stubborn her mother could be. Limberly she again took seat behind the steering wheel. "But for now I'll get her home."
"Go ahead. And maybe give me call, when she wakes hope. As I said, fingers are crossed."
"Mine too."
So, there it is. Let me know whether you still want to know how this story carries out. While you take your time, I'll probably start writing the next chapter, just in case.