Present.
Elena was bound to a chair—her mouth gagged and her hands held in chains behind her back. The room smelled musty and a dank atmosphere enveloped her. It was dark, but not so dark that her vampire senses kicked into night vision.
The room was large, bare. The floor was concrete riddled with cracks through the foundation. Above there was a large hole in the ceiling where vines spilled through like an octopus into a sunken ship. Moss glittered across the floor like a vast green expanse of carpet. Katherine sat behind her with her back against the wall, a black Russian cigarette was settled in between her fingers as it burned slowly towards the filter.
"He's crossed the pond," she said aloud.
Elena jerked in her chair and pulled at the chains, her screams muffled by the rag tied in her mouth.
"Shhh," Katherine, cooed. "No one can hear you."
She stood and flicked the cigarette across the room. It bounced onto the damp moss and hissed as the glow dimmed to nothing. She walked towards Elena and stood in front of her. She titled her head, staring at her for a long moment. She moved, straddling herself across Elena's lap and pulled the gag down to her throat.
Elena's teeth were bared and she lunged her mouth forward at Katherine. Katherine jerked back, paused, and then laughed.
"So much fire," she mused.
"What do you want with me," Elena cried.
"It's not what I want, mon amie, its what he wants…"
She ran her finger down the side of Elena's face.
"He who? What are you talking about?"
Katherine leaned into Elena's ear.
"You'll see…"
Elena lunged her mouth at Katherine's neck and clamped down as hard as she could. Katherine's dark blood filled her mouth. Elena couldn't describe the taste. She wanted to give her pain, to rip her neck apart but Katherine's blood was singing to her. Katherine was calm and did not cry out. Instead she reached around and grabbed Elena underneath her jaw and pulled her back. She slid off her lap and pushed Elena to the floor, her head banging against concrete, her body tilting into the chair. Elena laid still, dazed, blood dripping from her mouth. Her eyes fluttered, attempting to focus while Katherine stared down at her. She bent down and got on her knees and loomed over Elena.
"Don't you see? You're my failsafe…that's what you were created for."
Her finger smeared the blood over Elena's lips.
"You're not truly real, don't you understand? You were my protection. I just never knew when or where you'd rise from. I didn't know of your existence until Stefan-"
Elena eyes focused on Katherine.
"Stefan?"
"Yes. Our lovely Stefan."
And then she reached down and kissed her.
One year ago.
"…and so Klaus escaped…" Katherine asked, trying to keep the edge from her voice.
"It was so bizarre," Stefan said as he stared off in the distance. "He just…vanished."
Stefan turned on his side, watching Katherine's profile. They had laid in bed and talked for over an hour.
"You know…I started to tell myself that maybe you and Elena weren't so alike. That maybe your noses were different, or your mouth had less of a perfect pout than hers but…" He drifted off.
Katherine wrung her hands in her lap as she turned to Stefan.
"Tell me more about her."
"Elena?"
"Yes."
And so Stefan proceeded to tell her about how he met Elena. How full of life she was. Of how smart and charming she was.
"…I love her," he said finally.
Katherine turned towards Stefan, feeling jealousy course her veins.
"And what of Damon?"
"He's keeping an eye on things, I imagine."
"Does he…speak of me," she asked lightly.
And idea formed in her mind.
"Not anymore."
"I see," she paused, "When are you going back?"
"Not for a long time."
"And you're okay with leaving him with Elena?"
"Yes…" he started.
"You're okay with her leaning on him while vulnerable? Especially with your past?"
Stefan paused. "Of course."
That night he wrote a letter and every other day following. No response. Dread begin to fill him. He tried to stave it off but it was driving him mad. He and Katherine travelled to Spain on a whim. Even on hotel stationary he wrote his brother but not a word. One night he called Elena's house and Jenna answered.
"Hello?"
"Jenna, hey—its Stefan. Is Elena around?"
Silence.
"…hey look, maybe this is a bad time," he said suddenly.
"She doesn't live here anymore. She lives with Damon. You'd know that if you ever called. You have a lot of nerve looking for her now."
Click.
She lives with Damon. With Damon. Damon.
He wanted to tear his brother apart. It was déjà vu all over again. That night Katherine took Stefan to a bar. She listened as he purged his thoughts. She gave him drink after drink after drink until he could barely stand.
"Cmon, big boy," she put her arm around Stefan and guided him to their room.
"I would sell my soul to the devil to have her back," he muttered.
Katherine smiled.
Present.
"So that's it," Elena said softly.
"You helped Stefan in exchange for what? Damon?"
"Don't be foolish. Damon is a fringed benefit. A delicious fringed benefit. But no. Don't you see? Stefan isn't getting anything. The one I wanted was you. I just used Stefan to get Damon out of the way. He just doesn't know it. It's always been you. I've been waiting for you for 146 years for us to meet."
1864.
"Vervain," Katherine gasped, clutching at her throat.
"Katherine! Katherine!"
Stefan's face loomed over Katherine but he became a blur and his voice became hollow and far away.
"I'm dying," she thought. She stayed too long. Where was Pearl? Emily? Anna? Dear God…
Then darkness.
When she came to, it was the voices of both Stefan and Damon that caught her ear. The sound of leaves crunching underneath their feet filled her ears. A gunshot rang out and to Katherine's horror, Damon fell dead beside her. And then Stefan fell…their eyes connected until his closed. She was then put in the back of a paddy wagon and taken away. The barred wagon rocked back and forth through the forest. Katherine found a bit of strength as she laid motionless. She hadn't consumed much vervain, she realized. Soon she struggled to sit up. So when the guard swung open the door, she locked eyes with him and compelled him to free her. He was enchanted and did her bidding quickly. She killed him swiftly and viciously for his trouble. She had to find Emily and get away. Emily was the only one she could rely on to protect her above all. From there, she could find Pearl, Anna and the rest of her brood.
Katherine tore through the woods in the dead of night, weakened and pained with vervain still in her system. She smelled the fire before she saw it. A stake was erected in the center of a clearing. A large group of men carried torches and were talking excitedly. Katherine scanned the area quickly and gasped. There tied together beside a large French Mulberry was Emily and several members of her family. Her heart dropped. For years, Emily had searched for her family and had finally located them in Mystic Falls. And though it bored Katherine to come to Virginia when she'd been having such a lovely time in New York, she came because Emily was her best and most trusted friend. And here they were—torn out of bed and bound together all the while being jeered at and called "witches." The realization was tantamount to a heart attack. They were going to be burned. They were going to be burned and there was nothing that Katherine could do about it. She was one vampire against a legion of men w/ vervain, fire, and stakes. She had to try.
She stalked through the darkness and prayed that none of the men were alerted of her presence. She crouched behind the Mulberry bush. She called Emily's name softly, which got the attention of her kin. Emily leaned back, her eyes still on the crowd and spoke in a low tone.
"Get my family out of here."
"Yes. And you. Tell me what to do."
"I'll distract them. I'll tell you when," she paused and turned her face to the side, carefully looking back at Katherine. "I'm going to protect you."
"Yes, hurry…" Katherine whispered hurriedly.
"No. Listen."
"Emily, now is not the time…"
"You've done right by me for a long time, Katherine. We have been running for a long time—looking for my family and keeping a far from Klaus's extended reach. One day, he will escape. And when he does—you must be cautious. I have a gift to protect you. Find your kin."
"My kin?"
"Your brother carried your bloodline. The Pierce family thrives. Find them. Watch them. One day a baby will be born. This baby will have no soul as she has been conjured by magic. Its blood will be darkness. She will be your mirror image. She will protect you."
Just then, the sharp eye of one of the men caught sight of Katherine lurking in the brush and sounded the alarm. Katherine yanked the closest girl next to her as the bounds melted away with magic.
"Run!"
"Go!"
They ran. Thick brush cut their faces as they darted through the woods. Katherine smelled their blood but her fear was greater.
She heard a scream and turned back. She stopped in her tracks as she saw Emily surrounded, her hands outstretched. A man with a pitchfork thrust it into Emily's torso. She roared and her eyes turned black. The man burst into flames, as did several other men. The screams were horrifying, pitiful. Another man tackled Emily. Then another. And another. They carried her, struggling, to the stake. Two fell dead at her feet and the others bound her and struck her across the face. A boy brandishing a torch rushed forward from the group. He couldn't have been more than eight years old. She saw Emily's face turn slack as he came near. Her gaze turned into the woods. Could she see Katherine and her family lurking in the dark? She closed her eyes and raised her head heavenward as the boy pressed the torch into her hoop skirt. She did not scream as the flame licked across her body and held her in its fiery embrace. When her body went limp, Katherine knew she was gone. Dead. She stood there watching her burn for a long moment before the tug of one of her relatives averted her attention. She turned to their devastated faces and lifted her chin.
"It's over," she said softly. "We must go."
Present.
Elena blinked, saying nothing. Katherine had untied her from the chair and they were sitting on opposite sides of the room.
"…I have a soul," she offered up meekly. "This is ridiculous."
Katherine shrugged.
"What makes you think I'm going to protect you—and protect you from what," she asked tiredly.
"It doesn't matter who. And I know because I'll make sure of it."
She stood and walked towards Elena, who stood in kind. She waited until Elena looked at her before her eyes dilated.
"You will protect me, wont you," Katherine asked sweetly, taking her hand.
Elena's eyes dilated, compelled, and she spoke like a robot.
"I'd die for you."