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Chapter 4

Elena sighed as she shoved the rest of her shopping bags into her Escape. She'd spent most of the morning shopping and now the exhaustion was creeping up on her. She looked around the Quarter, her eyes settling on a bar. Rousseau's.

She locked her car and walked towards the bar wondering why it seemed so familiar. She smirked as she sat down at the bar and waited to be served.

"Couldn't get enough of me, could you?"

Elena looked over and genuinely smiled at the blonde, "I knew this bar looked familiar."

"Bourbon? Neat?" Cami asked as she pulled a glass out from under the bar.

"Please."

The bartender handed the full glass to the vampire as she looked over her thoughtfully, "You know, Elijah was in here earlier. He seemed more rattled than usual."

"When is Elijah ever rattled? He's the beacon for self restraint."

"That's the point," Cami said pointedly, "He's always calm, cool, and collected. But suddenly you show up and he's acting different."

Elena played with her glass on the bar as she chose her words carefully, "Elijah and I have…history. Well, I have history with all of them. Klaus killed me and my aunt along with countless others in my hometown. Rebekah killed me and made me what I am now. Elijah's psychotic girlfriend, who looks just like me by the way, killed my brother. Kol threatened to kill my brother more times than I can count. And Finn is the only one who hasn't really done anything to me on purpose."

"Wow, that's a little more than I expected," the blonde mumbled as she tried to find words to make the vampire feel better, "So, you were human? Well, duh, I mean I know you were human before. But you were human recently?"

Elena looked down, "I've only been a vampire for about a year now. I used to be human, you know? I never wanted this," she gestured disgustedly to her new body, "I wanted to grow up and go to college and fall in love. Instead, I'm stuck at eighteen for the rest of my life and there's nothing I can do about it."

"I'm really sorry," Cami said, reaching across the bar and squeezing Elena's hand, "I can't imagine having that happen to me. I lost my brother, too. He was the only thing I had left besides my uncle. But it's not the same."

"You don't need to tell me twice," Elena mumbled, downing the rest of her drink haphazardly.

After a dozen too many drinks, Elena stumbled out of the bar at nearly one in the morning. She had to admit that Cami had some good points and she was easy to talk to. Maybe Elena had finally made another friend. She thanked her lucky stars for her newfound alcohol tolerance as she fished her keys out of her purse.

"Katherine?"

Elena sobered immediately as a scowl crept onto her face. She turned around and came face to face with a man in his twenties with green eyes and chestnut hair.

He reached out and tried to touch her cheek before she jerked away from him, "I've missed you so much. Where have you been?"

"I'm not Katherine," Elena spat as she swatted his hand away, "And I don't care who you are."

"Kathie, please," the man begged, "I haven't seen you in fifty years. Please tell me who still feel the same."

She snapped. She shoved the man away with every ounce of her strength making him fly into the brick wall of the bar behind him. She whooshed in front of him and held him up by his throat, his feet dangling above the pavement, "I'm not Katherine. We may look the same, but I'm not her. Understand?"

The man nodded quickly before Elena dropped him onto the cement. She turned haughtily away from him and started to walk back to her car.

She heard sudden movements behind her before a sharp pain radiated throughout her skull and she fell to the ground in a heap.

"These new recruits are pitiful," Elijah said as he and Klaus sat in the Compound observing the newest vampires that Marcel had brought to the city.

Klaus smiled before looking over at his brother, "You do realize they can hear you."

"You do realize I don't care," Elijah smirked, grabbing his drink from the table in front of him and taking a sip.

They watched in continued silence as Marcel introduced each of the recruits, looking over periodically at the Originals for their approval.

Elijah watched idly until a figure in the shadows caught his eye. A man was carrying a figure over his shoulder and heading for the Garden below. Elijah's eyes squinted slightly at the man before he called out, "You, against the veranda. Come here. Now."

The man stopped dead in his tracks as he turned to the Original. He walked over to him hesitantly and stopped a good five feet away from him. He held his chin up as he spoke, "Yes?"

"What's your name?" Klaus asked.

"Thierry Vanchure," he answered, moving the woman on his shoulders slightly, "What can I help you both with?"

"That girl on your shoulder, what has she done?" Elijah asked.

Thierry fidgeted, "She's a daywalker that's been abusing her power. I've been ordered by Marcel to put her in the Garden until she learns her lesson."

"Her name?" The elder prompted.

"Gia," Thierry said firmly as he answered with the first name that popped into his head.

"Very well, you may go," Elijah waved him away as he tried in vain to get a glimpse at the girl's face. Something felt off about the young vampire and Elijah made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

Elena awoke to her skull being slowly mended together. She let out a groan of pain as she looked around her. From what she could tell, she was underground and somehow locked in place. She struggled to move forward, but a wall kept her in place; only her face was uncovered.

"Finally, you're awake," the man said from the right of her.

"Who are you?" Elena gasped as she realized that she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

The man looked hurt for a second, "I'm Thierry, but you already know that, Kat. We were together since you turned me in the twenties. Then…you left. I haven't seen you in fifty years. Fifty years."

"I'm not Katherine!" She screamed, throwing her body against the thick brick wall that held her in place.

Thierry pursed his lips, "Stop struggling. You'll just grow weaker faster," he reached out and stroked her cheek, "As soon as you remember who you are, I'll take you home and we can pick up where we left off."

"Just let me go. Please," Elena begged.

"I'll be back in a couple days to check on you and see if you've had a change of heart," he said as he turned towards the door, "Don't get in too much trouble, Kat."

Elena groaned as she watched him leave her in this godforsaken hell.

Finn paced the living room of the plantation house. Elena hadn't been home in nearly a week and it was worrying him immensely. He had prowled around the Quarter and found her car; her shopping bags still nestled inside. He sighed, knowing he only had one alternative for help. He picked up his phone and dialed his brother's number.

Hello?

Finn took a deep breath, "Elijah, I need your help."

What's wrong? What's happened?

"It's Elena. She hasn't been home in almost a week. I-I found her car in the Quarter, but no one has seen her since Monday. The bartender at Rousseau's said she left early that morning, but she never returned here."

She's been missing for nearly a week and you're just now alerting me? Dammit, Finn! Meet me in the Quarter. Now.

Finn heard the line go dead and mentally cursed himself for his stupidity. How could he have let Elena go out by herself? She wasn't safe and it was his fault.

Elena had been alone for what seemed like weeks. Her throat was parched from lack of blood and her veins felt like sandpaper under her skin. She idly cracked her head against the stonewall behind her, hoping to induce another unconscious bout as she had been doing since Thierry left her. She smiled a small smile as she felt the familiar wetness of blood soak down the back of her neck to join the already dried blood that had matted her hair.

She had accepted the thought of death, knowing full well that Thierry would dispose of her as soon as he came to his senses and realized she wasn't Katherine. She cracked her head against the wall one more time before darkness bloomed in front of her vision and she slipped away.

"Where are we going?" Finn asked as he walked aside Elijah.

"We're going to the Compound to see if Marcel has noticed anything suspicious lately. Perhaps we'll even ask for a few vampires to assist in our search. Niklaus will be meeting us there as well."

They walked in silence and Finn could feel Elijah's rage radiating off of him. Finn couldn't believe he had let Elena slip away. She could be hurt right now, suffering and broken and it would've been his fault.

They walked into the Compound, joining Klaus and Marcel. The two looked deep in conversation and Klaus was on the verge of yelling before Elijah cut in.

"Have you found anything yet?"

Marcel shook his head, "No sign of her."

Another man walked in and looked at Marcel, "Am I on duty today?"

"No, Thierry. You can do what you want, but these nice gentlemen are searching for Miss Pierce's doppelganger. You haven't run across her, have you?"

Thierry fidgeted uncomfortably, "I haven't seen her. I'll keep an eye out." He flitted downstairs, ignoring the stars of the Originals behind him.

"Just find my doppelganger," Klaus snarled at his childe.

Elijah's jaw ticked, "You gave up that title when she was turned into a vampire. You have no claim to her, not anymore."

"I don't have time for Mikaelson family drama," Marcel said darkly, "You're my guest. Keep your doppelganger in line once you find her."

Klaus snorted, "I'd have a greater chance of draining the Mississippi with a straw."

Elena gained consciousness, much to her displeasure. She focused her hearing as much as she could, noting the subtle baritone voices that seemed to be above her head. She opened her mouth to scream when Thierry whooshed in front of her and held his hand over her mouth.

"I don't recommend screaming, Elena," he warned, his eyes turning black in anger, "There are three bloody Originals upstairs looking for you. And it's such a damned inconvenience." He wrapped his hand around her throat, "You'll be dead before they find you unless you tell me where Katherine is."

"She's dead," Elena rasped, "I killed her."

Thierry fangs elongated as he bashed her skull against the wall, "You're lying! She was over five hundred years old, you couldn't kill her!

Elena's eyes glinted in malice as she felt more blood pooling against her skull, "I did. I injected her with vervain and plunged a stake through her heart for killing my brother. Then I burned her worthless body to a crisp and threw her ashes away because she was garbage."

"SHUT UP!" He yelled, smacking her across the mouth as she tasted blood, "You're nothing! Katherine was everything to me and you took her from me!"

Thierry whirled away from her and Elena used it to her advantage. She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping and praying to any God that would listen that the people above her heard her screams.

"What in the world was that?" Klaus asked, bewildered.

Elijah's face paled as he heard the scream below his feet. If he would've had a heart, it would've stopped immediately, "Elena."

Finn whooshed downstairs, followed closely by Elijah. The sight before him nearly caused him to collapse. Elena was being held by her throat by Thierry, her face bloody from his blows.

"Let her go," Elijah commanded darkly as he glared at the younger vampire.

Thierry looked over his shoulder and scowled, "Why should I? She's worthless. She's not Katherine!"

Finn wasted no time. He was behind Thierry in an instant, thrusting his hand into his chest and ripping out his heart. Thierry fell to the ground as his skin turned gray and veins appeared all over his body. As Finn kicked the body out of the way, he walked to Elena and unceremoniously ripped the wall down that held her captive.

She collapsed onto him and his arms immediately went around her waist to hold her up. He pressed a kiss to her blood soaked hair, "You're okay. You're safe now."

Elena broke down into inconsolable sobs as she buried her face into Finn's chest, "Take me home…please…I can't be here anymore…"

Finn picked her up bridal style, honoring her wishes as she fell unconscious once more.

"She'll need to feed immediately," Elijah said softly as he looked at the broken woman in his brother's arms.

Finn nodded, "I realize that. I however have some unfinished business with Marcel. Would you mind taking her back to the plantation house?"

Elijah's eyes widened in disbelief, but he recovered quickly, "I can do that. I'll meet you there when you're finished." He took Elena from Finn's arms and carried her up the stairs.

The ride to the plantation house had been quiet because of Elena's state. He wasted no time getting her into the house and settled in his bed. He sat beside her and stroked the blood soaked hair away from her delicate face, "I will always protect you. You have my word on that."

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~Grace