I'm SO sorry it's been so long! Writer's block is completely awful. School will be out in like, a week, and then I'm going to Florida. So, I will try to get another chapter after this one, but if not then it will be about three or four weeks (but that gives me plenty of time to think about it so it will probably be great!)

BTW: The flashbacks in this chapter will just be italicized because they are around the same time as the last ones.

"In the wake of a disaster, the last thing you needed to do was set off another bomb; instead, you walked through the rubble and told yourself that it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked."

-Jodi Picoult, The Tenth Circle

Jasper carefully opened the door to the bedroom, afraid to wake up the girl who was tangled up in the sheets on the bed. The room was so dark that he couldn't even make out her form.

Slowly and taking small, quiet steps, he eased himself over to Emily's bed, and sat down on the floor next to where her head was fast asleep on the pillow. Jasper cocked his head to the side and brought his hand up to stroke it gently across her cheek.

Emily's face was warm and smooth, peaceful, Jasper would guess if he could even see her. Her breathing was even, quiet. If you hadn't known what had happened, you wouldn't expect anything from the way she was at this moment.

It had been two weeks since Emily and Jasper's parents had been murdered. Killed, brutally, by a man they had both once trusted with their very lives. Mikael had killed them, along with almost half the rest of the village. There was no longer laughing and playing by the children. The adults didn't wave anymore when they saw them. Now, there was only silence. Maybe, on bad days, weeping.

Jasper and Emily had been quite especially unlucky. Not only had they lost both parents, but they had to carry the burden that they had witnessed it happen before their very eyes. Jasper had mourned, by himself mostly, but sometimes his little sister would cry with him. And that little sister, it seemed, had gotten the worst of it.

The change in her eyes was gradual. At one time, the blue had been like the sky in summer; impossibly bright, twinkling, beautiful. Now, it seemed, they were turning grey, lifeless. Her smile was practically nonexistent. It almost seemed like she had never laughed.

Emily wasn't eating, either. Her arms were getting frighteningly skinny, along with the rest of her body. However, she slept like the dead. She didn't toss or turn, or wake up from bad dreams. She just lied there all night, every night.

And it hadn't taken a genius to know that she hadn't seen Klaus since the incident. He had come over, only to be told that she didn't want to see him or that she was busy. "Busy doing what?" he had asked one day. "Falling down," Jasper had answered and shut the door. He was sure that his Emily was slowly descending into madness, but he didn't want to tell her. She probably already knew.

Now with one last look at the sleeping form on the bed, Jasper got up from the floor. Walking to the door, Jasper felt a tear roll down his cheek. He just only hoped that his sister could pick herself back up.

For the first time in probably three weeks, Emily had trouble going to sleep. She flopped around, pulled off the covers, walked around, and finally admitted defeat. Tiptoeing outside, so quiet that Jasper wouldn't hear her exit, Emily headed straight for next door.

She hadn't been here in what seemed like forever, possibly considering the fact that she and Klaus had never gone a day without seeing each other since she was born before a couple weeks ago. The only person she had seen was her brother and sometimes the occasional person offering condolences, before stepping away to surly for mourn for the loved one they had most likely also lost.

Emily lifted her scrawny arms and cautiously knocked on the door of her second family. Please don't let Mikael be here. Don't open the door, she thought. And when the door finally opened, Emily let out a soft sigh and a loud sob.

"Oh, Elijah!" she cried, throwing her arms around the much taller man. "I'm so happy to see you." Her sentences were muffled as she buried her face into his shoulder. Elijah was a brother to her, and his embrace has as comforting as an old friend. Or a mother's hug. Not that she would get one of those anymore.

But then, Elijah pulled away and stared into Emily's eyes. Tears were forming. "Em," he whispered. His hands went back to cup her head and he used his thumbs to stroke her cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

Emily closed her eyes, letting the tears pour out. He didn't have to say what for. It was everything. "Thank you," she whispered back, eyes still closed. Suddenly, she remembered why she came here. Looking around wildly, Emily almost shouted with anxiety. "Where is Niklaus?" she asked. Elijah almost gasped. The hands that were once gently stroking her face were now rigid at his side.

"You don't know." It wasn't a question. Emily's eyebrows furrowed. "Know what?"

In a field miles away from any type of civilization, Esther began to chant. "Et nuncmevocaread dirigendosopusolimveneficashodie.Cumsacrificiohumanoobligantpuero hoc."

With Elijah behind her, Emily rushed the scene in front of her. In the middle of two ring of fires were Klaus and Tatia Petrova. Since Elijah filled her in on why Klaus was here, it was only a shock to see Tatia here.

"Ah, Emalina Harte," Esther called, using Emily's real name. "I thought my son might clue you in onto what I was planning."

Tears streamed down Emily's face. "Please, Esther!" she pleaded. "Do not do this. Neither one deserves this." The look Esther gave her was one of utter repulsion.

"You think that this boy," she began, gesturing at Klaus, "deserves to live freely in his state of being? My young girl, you are not wise enough to know this, but the man you claim to love so much is nothing but a monster. Nothing more. He will always be like this." Emily shook her head profusely.

"You forget, Esther," Emily countered, "that without your help, he would never have been like this in the very first place. You did this to him. You committed adultery, you lied about it, and you turned him into a vampire, along with the rest of your family. This was never to be Niklaus's own fault." Esther's proudly rose her head up and walked from where she was placed.

Esther moved closer to where Emily was standing. Emily did not budge. But instead of coming for her, Esther swerved to the burning ring next to her where Tatia was crying silently. Quickly, the ring's fire dwindled away and Esther held her hand out for the other girl. When Tatia did not even attempt to move, Esther struck forward and yanked her by her long, dark hair. Tatia gave a yelp and tried to fight back. Good for you, Emily thought. And almost as quickly as it had begun, it was over when Esther pulled out a knife and slit the eighteen year old girl's throat.

Emily made a noise in the back of her throat, knowing that her pleas earlier had done Tatia no good. "I am sorry," Emily silently whispered, hoping that Tatia could hear her wherever she now was.

Without looking at Emily, Esther walked back to Tatia, handy with a silver goblet, and let the blood flowing from her throat wash into it. When it was filled about half way, Esther walked up to a large cauldron, Filled with God knows what, Emily thought, and, while chanting for the last time poured the blood in. "Sanguisetadulescentularumhocnuncobligaremi."

Klaus looked over at Emily, as if noticing for the first time she was there. Suddenly, he looked away. "I love you," he said. Tears ran down Emily's cheeks, staining them. "I love you, too."

With a sickening snap, Klaus fell to the ground. Every bone in his body seemed to be breaking. He was yelling and kicking and screaming, and Emily just fell to the ground. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't get to him because of the fire and she couldn't comfort him because of all the screaming. Why is there so much screaming? Pulling her knees up to her chin, Emily snapped her hands up to cover her ears and she started to cry. "Please stop," she begged. "Please, please, please." Elijah ran up to her and pulled her into his arms.

"It's going to be alright, Em. He'll be fine."Elijah promised. And just as he said it, the yelling stopped. The fire went away, and Emily scrambled to her feet for Klaus. Bolting towards him, Emily fell to her feet to where he was lying and rushed into Klaus's arms this time. She was now sobbing uncontrollably. "I thought you were dead," she cried. "I thought she killed you."

Esther spoke for the first time in what seemed like a while. "Now," she began, "he is fixed."

When Emily started to shake again, Klaus took her face into his hands. "Look at me, sweetheart. Em?" When she locked eyes with him, Klaus actually smiled. "I won't leave you," he promised. And Emily believed him.