The Salvatores aren't what you expect. They do trap you in the most suspicious looking cellar you've ever seen, but that's it. Stefan apologized for the inconvenience and dragged in an arm chair for you. (Damon had protested. "She is technically our prisoner, why are we catering to her?" Stefan just rolled his eyes. "It costs nothing to be polite," he had replied). You already like him more than his brother. Low bar.

They're not very good kidnappers. You've been alone down here for hours. They didn't even try to restrain you. Though, you think, it's probably a moot point given that they're vampires.

You wouldn't make it two feet.

You hear a door open above you and soft footsteps pad down the stone steps. Stefan's face pops into view through the iron bars of the cellar room door. You'd call it over dramatic if you didn't see the bloodstains on the walls.

You wonder what happened to them.

"I, uh, brought you something."

You don't answer. Stefan averts his gaze.

"Here." He rolls a bottle of water through the slot at the bottom of the door. The condensation leaves marks on the floor. You take it. "There's some more in the corner if you get thirsty."

Not likely. You don't want to use the rusty bucket near the door. "Thanks."

He makes an abortive twitch like he's about to leave and changes his mind.

"I know you don't trust us," Stefan starts carefully, "But we're not going to hurt you."

You stop yourself from snorting. Then you remember your conversation with Klaus. ("You're an innocent," he had said, "They wouldn't think to hurt you."). You hope that applies to the Salvatore brothers and not just their allies.

"If you wanted me to trust you, you probably should have started off with 'hello' and not kidnapping."

"My brother here may not be here to hurt you," Damon says brightly, "But I am." He brushes Stefan aside to unlock the cellar door. He's holding an unnecessarily large knife. You curl up in your chair.

"What do you mean?" You ask warily.

"We were going to compel you to tell the truth, but since you're on vervain we have to bleed it out of you."

You don't like the smile on his face.

"Uh," you interject, "I really don't do well with torture, can we skip that step if I tell you everything I know?"

Damon and Stefan share a glance. Eventually, Stefan shrugs.

"Worth a shot," he says, "What do you know about the Originals?"

"The who?"

"Oh my God," Damon marvels, "She's an idiot."

"The Originals," Stefan says carefully, "Are what people call the Mikaelson family."

"Why?"

"They're the first vampire family," Damon says blithely, "All vampire are descended from them."

Your mind stutters for a moment. You knew the Mikaelsons were old, but… You didn't expect this.

"If you don't know that, then what do you know?" Stefan questions.

Your mind draws a blank. You don't know what they're fishing for.

"Um, I know that they're a thousand years old and vervain is like poison to them. I also know that vampires die from a wooden stake to the heart. Well," you amend, "Regular vampires. I don't think they can die? That's at least what they've implied."

Damon and Stefan look horrifically unimpressed.

"… Do they really not tell you anything?" Stefan questions.

You shift uncomfortably in your chair.

"Not unless you count their favorite pastries."

"I'm not buying it," Damon interjects, "They might have just compelled her."

"—And then we won't be able to overcome the compulsion, even if we drain her of vervain." Stefan drawls. You don't like the way they're looking at you.

"They can't," you interrupt, "I've been drinking vervain tea since before I met them. They've never had the opportunity."

"They know you're on vervain? And they let you?" You turn to look at Stefan. These brothers, for all of the trouble they've caused you, are stupider than you expected.

"Yes…" You pronounce carefully.

"Fuck," Damon realizes, "This is worse than we imagined." You blink. "Not only have we kidnapped someone who doesn't know anything useful, but Klaus genuinely cares about her."

"Is it too late to fake our deaths?" Damon snorts.

"Doubtful."

"Or," you suggest, "You could just let me go?"

They look at you with unimpressed expressions.

"Klaus will kill us anyway."

"Maybe not if I ask nicely."

The brothers share a look.

"You have no idea what you've gotten into, do you?"

You like to think you do. You suspect you don't.

"Well," Damon announces, clapping Stefan on the shoulder, "Looks like we're back to plan A. No torture today, sorry."

Stefan sends you an apologetic look. The cellar is eerily silent when the upstairs door slams closed.

You breathe. They haven't hurt you yet. You don't think they will. A part of you is irritated at the fact you hid in your home for weeks from these people. The other part of you is sinking slowly into dread. Damon doesn't seem like the monster you thought he was. He seems more annoying than dangerous. It puts a new spin on things that you hadn't considered.

A chill runs down your spine. You take a sip from the water bottle.

Klaus's unpredictability means you have no idea what's going to happen after this. You're not worried about him saving you (as embarrassing as that is). You're afraid of what comes after. His protectiveness (possessiveness, your mind whispers) consumes him. It'll consume you too.

You suspect with a sinking feeling Kate will need to use that key sooner rather than later.

Stefan doesn't return for the rest of the day, but Damon does.

"How's our little prisoner doing?"

You send him an unimpressed look.

"Touchy," he comments, "I brought you dinner."

"How kind."

He rolls his eyes.

"Just take it."

You get up slowly to retrieve the to-go bag through the slot in the door. You wonder if all vampires like Chik-fil-a.

"Thanks."

Damon rolls his eyes again, but doesn't leave.

"Can I help you?"

"What is your relationship with the Mikaelsons?"

You blink.

"We're friends."

Damon's lips curl like he doesn't believe you anyway. "Why?"

"They really like my baking," you say dryly. He shakes his head.

"No, why on Earth would you willingly be friends with people like that?"

You don't have a good answer. "… I don't know."

Damon looks at you with something almost like pity. It makes your skin crawl.

"Do you know anything Klaus has done? How he even treats his own family?"

He must see something flash across your face.

"You don't know," Damon realizes.

"Don't know what?" You can't stop yourself from asking.

"The first time we met Elijah, we made a deal to help him kill Klaus."

You think of the Elijah you know, so protective of his brother that he accused you of plotting against him. So protective that he still doesn't trust you. The creeping dread that gathers in your stomach coils somewhere around your lower intestine.

Damon waits.

"Why?" You eventually ask.

He smiles. "Klaus had locked his siblings and their mother in coffins. He has these silver daggers that incapacitate an Original and sends them into a coma. He uses them on his siblings whenever they irritate him. Elijah believed they were sitting at the bottom of the ocean."

Oh God.

This is much, much worse than you imagined. Kol's bitterness towards Klaus, his decades long sleep, make a horrific sense.

Damon drinks in your pale expression.

"Klaus killed their mother," he continues casually, "And locked her corpse in a box for the past thousand years. When she escaped, the first thing she did was try to kill her abomination of a family."

"Stop."

Damon stops. Your fist clenches white around the bag.

"Get out."

Damon looks at you for a moment. You don't know what he sees. Eventually, he leaves.

Your mouth tastes like sand. You're suddenly not hungry anymore. You eat anyway.

Damon is much more transparent in his schemes than you're used to. You know he's trying to sway your opinion of Klaus. (If he was any more heavy-handed, he would have had to pop in a DVD of Klaus's Biggest Hits). He doesn't have to try that hard. You've known what Klaus is ever since he ripped open your neck. You knew the Mikaelsons were dangerous, attributed it to their vampire nature. How can one measure someone against a human scale when they aren't human?

But the Salvatores have not been cruel to you. If you weighed the harm you've suffered at their hands and the Mikaelsons, you know which side the scale would tip.

The piece of the puzzle you hadn't quite considered is that the Mikaelsons may be truly, genuinely wicked. (Evil doesn't exist, you know, but you also didn't think vampires existed). You've seen their cruelty first hand. Suspected them of much worse. You think you've started to forget what they're capable of. You're not forgetting anymore. But despite the knowledge of their cruelty, the difficulty lies in the fact that you like them. You can't help yourself. Maybe you've just been too lonely for too long, but you don't think you can give them up. Damon's revelation adds new dread onto your concern for Kol and Rebekah. It wasn't their fault you were kidnapped. You don't know what you'll do if Klaus hurts them.

Assuming, that is, that Klaus cares enough about you to dagger his siblings. You choke back something that might be a sob. Sometimes it seems like your only two options are Klaus not caring whether you live or die, or murdering for you.

Unfortunately, you think you've slipped onto the 'murdering' side of the spectrum.

You laugh bitterly and it echoes on the stone walls.

The Salvatores leave you alone for the rest of the day and into the next. You don't sleep. You're about to set a fire just to remind them you're here when Stefan returns. He brings more food with him.

"Oh boy," you say, "More Chik-fil-a."

Stefan rolls his eyes.

"Don't blame me, Damon's the one who got it."

"Of course he is."

"Why do you like them?"

You blink.

"Nice segue."

Stefan doesn't glance away, eyes examining you.

"You seem to appreciate bluntness."

You incline your head and pop a fry in your mouth. It tastes stale. You wish you had a toothbrush. Or a shower.

"You have a point."

"So?" He asks, "Why do you?"

You shift uncomfortably, not sure what he wants you to say. You're having a hard time coming up with anything.

"They're not bad to me."

"I never said they were."

You shoot him a look.

"Not trying to make this easy, are you?"

"Well," Stefan says dryly, "I did help kidnap you. It would be odd if I did."

It's your turn to roll your eyes. You eat another fry and realize he's still looking at you.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope."

"Why do you hate them this much? What did they do to you?"

Stefan, unexpectedly, bursts into laughter.

"It would be easier to quantify what they haven't done to me."

You hope he doesn't elaborate. You realize you don't want to know.

"… I'm sorry. I don't know what all they've done. I knew they probably weren't good people but," You trail off, "Part of me couldn't help liking them."

Stefan must recognize something in you because his gaze softens.

"I know the feeling."

"What do you mean?"

"Klaus and I used to be friends. Apparently."

"What does that even mean?"

Stefan huffs a laugh. "I met him in the twenties when I was… not doing well. Murder sprees up and down the country. We were friends for a few years and he wiped my memory to make me forget him."

Your eyes widen.

"They can do that?"

He nods solemnly. "It's a form of compulsion. Because they're Original vampires, they have the ability to compel vampires as well as humans."

"… Vervain protects from that, right? Even though they're Originals?"

He looks at you quietly.

"Yes," he eventually says, "It does."

You are never going to stop taking vervain.

"Good," you say unevenly. Stefan looks at you with sympathy. It makes your back itch.

"It's disconcerting, isn't it," he says, "Knowing they could change your memories."

"Is it your turn to try and turn me against Klaus or something?"

His brow furrows. "What do you mean?"

"Oh," Damon remarks, "She's talking about me."

You resist the urge to scowl at him when he appears in your view.

"What do you want?"

"Bold words from someone who depends on us for food."

"Starvation doesn't seem like your murder method."

Damon grins wickedly.

"You'd be correct," he says, "Now up! Sabrina the Teenage Witch is here."

You stay in your seat as Damon unlocks the door. He motions for you to get up.

"Don't be stubborn now, you were doing so well."

"I'm good, thanks."

He wrestles you to your feet faster than you can blink. A startled sound bursts out of you.

"It wasn't a question, actually."

"Asshole."

He grins. "Vampire, actually."

God, when is Klaus going to get you out of here? You can't take much more of this.

"You guys aren't going to let me go, are you?" You ask hopefully.

Damon laughs. "No can do," he says, "You are, no offense, entirely useless, but we need you as leverage. Our lovely little witch is here to help."

You don't think you've ever met a witch before. You're not sure you want to meet the one who's been scrying for your location for the past month.

"No need to look so scared," Stefan reassures, "Bonnie's a friend."

"You guys did kidnap me."

"Barely," Damon retorts.

"You guys are terrible criminals."

Damon smiles wickedly.

"You'll find I'm actually very good at it, but even I know when to give up."

"I didn't know that about you, Damon," Stefan murmurs and Damon bares his teeth.

"Are you guys done yet?" A new voice asks.

"Sorry, Bonnie dear," Damon calls, "Just some trouble with our newest guest." He drags you upstairs by your arm. You stop yourself from trying to rip it away.

"Nice house, did it come like this or was this just your decorating choice?"

Damon looks almost affronted.

"What's wrong with our living room?"

"Oh, you know," you say, "It's very Dracula."

Damon's frown deepens.

"So this is her, huh?" Bonnie says and your eyes finally land on her. She's shorter than you expected.

"Hi," you say awkwardly, "Nice to meet you."

She shoots an incredulous look at Damon behind you. He shrugs.

"Yeah, she's weird."

You stop yourself from glaring at him. You need to start being afraid of vampires again. Dangerous, you tell yourself, to not take them seriously.

"Alright then," Bonnie says carefully, "What did you call me down here for?"

"Can you do anything to see if she's been compelled? Or has any holes in her memory? I refuse to believe she knows this pathetically little."

Bonnie examines you. "Sure," she says eventually, "No problem. Is that it?"

Damon makes a noncommittal noise. "We'll see."

Bonnie sits you down and you can't even muster up the energy to protest. You don't think they'd listen to you anyway.

"Hi," Bonnie says with a forced smile, "I'm just going to do a small spell. Think of it like an x-ray, it won't be permanent and it won't hurt you."

She's being much nicer about this than you expected. You wonder if that will fade when she finds out you haven't been compelled. Or if that will fade when she discovers you're willingly friends with people who seem to have done a thousand years of cruelties.

"… Sure. Do you need anything from me?"

"I will need a drop of blood, if that's okay."

You don't really like the idea of that, but going off the look in Damon's eyes, you don't have a choice.

"Fine."

Bonnie pricks your finger and presses until a drop wells on your finger pad. She chants something in a low, even voice. You don't recognize the language. Eventually, she quiets and looks at you with a strange expression. Your unease rolls across your skin.

"What?" Damon asks before you can, "Did you see anything?"

"No," Bonnie answers with an odd inflection, "She's never been compelled."

You take your hand back. She doesn't want to let you.

"I told you guys that earlier. I've been drinking vervain tea for the past five years."

"We have got to get grocery stores to stop stocking that."

Stefan makes a noise of agreement and Bonnie freezes.

"Uh, guys?" She starts, "We have company."

"None of you were very smart bringing a kidnapping victim to a vampire-residence," Klaus says, "I can still get in."

"Here we go," Stefan mutters.

You sense Damon flash a grin before you feel his arms constrict around you. His mouth is too close to your neck for your tastes.

"It was a spur of the moment decision," he says. You try to pull away, but he keeps you held against him.

"Ah," Klaus says, cold eyes landing on you, "I would like my baker back, if you would."

"I'm sure you would, but I'm also sure you don't want her dead."

Klaus's gaze flattens into something low and deadly. It provokes an echo of your dormant fear response.

"Or," Klaus suggests, "I could rip you limb from limb and render you into pieces so small your brother wouldn't be able to put you back together."

"Not necessary! Damon's not going to hurt me, right?" You tilt your head back to look at Damon with widened eyes. He looks at you blankly.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," he murmurs into the crook of your neck. A shiver involuntarily runs down your spine. You don't believe him, not really. Despite having chance after chance, the Salvatore brothers haven't harmed you. They didn't even really put their full effort into kidnapping you. They only took you out of desperation. You know what it's like to be that desperate.

"I'm trying to save your life," you hiss.

"And why on Earth would you want to do that?" Klaus questions magnanimously. You can tell he doesn't care about what you're going to say. You say it anyway.

"Because they're dumb," you say blithely, "And they've made stupid choices. Because they haven't hurt me, even though they had the opportunity." You leave out the part where they were planning on torturing you. "They haven't done anything besides lock me in their cellar and feed me fast-food."

Klaus is unimpressed.

"They still kidnapped you, love. I don't take kindly to that."

"Well from what I've heard, you've done far worse."

Klaus looks mildly alarmed before his expression smooths over.

"And just what have they been telling you?" His tone indicates you should be very careful while answering that question.

"Just the basics," you evade, "The point is you've both harmed each other. You don't need to hurt them any further."

"That's nice and all," Damon interjects, "But we're still not giving her up just yet."

Klaus waves a hand.

"And what are your demands?" He asks and his grin sharpens. It reminds you of when you were scared of him. (Is this how he looks to his enemies, you wonder).

"Leave Mystic Falls and never come back."

"It was our homeland first."

"A thousand years ago," Stefan says, stepping in, "When it was a patch of grass. You've had a thousand homes in a thousand places since then. Go to one of them."

Klaus examines him. You feel the coldness radiating from his gaze and wonder how Stefan can stand to look him in the eye.

"Why would we obey the wishes of someone as insignificant as you?"

"Because if we continue to fight you, we will one day win. Or at least make your life very, very difficult," Stefan says mildly, "And if you can't be happy with your family intact, then you're more pathetic than I thought."

Klaus bares his teeth in a snarl.

"I don't think so."

He barely gets the chance to move before he crumples to the ground.

"Klaus!"

Bonnie barely spares you a look as she concentrates on Klaus. A low sound, caught halfway between a scream and a wail, escapes him. You watch in horror, split between thinking he deserves it and wanting to protect him.

"You've… gotten stronger, my dearest witch," Klaus manages to get out, "Is that Expression… I detect?"

Bonnie's lips curl into a smirk.

"Well spotted," she says, "I'm more than equipped to deal with you."

You don't even see him move. You blink and Bonnie is unconscious, Klaus standing over her body.

"Bonnie!" Damon shouts and it almost shatters your eardrum. His grip grows ever tighter on your arms.

"Must we go on with this charade?" Klaus says, slow grin creeping across his face, "A baker for a witch seems like a fair trade. It's even weighted in your favor."

"I'll kill her."

Klaus cocks his head. "And I'll kill the witch."

You feel the vibrations as Damon hisses. His arms are like iron around you. You feel bruises form under his fingertips as you struggle. He drags himself closer to your neck. You feel phantom pain, the echo of a memory. Your legs are jelly beneath you. Damon is the only thing supporting you.

"Damon," Stefan says and there's a moment of hesitation.

"Fine."

He lets you go and you fall to the ground. Despite arguing for his life, there's still a part of you that's surprised.

"Excellent," Klaus says. There's a cracking noise as he snaps both of their necks. You look at them, horrified.

"Oh my god!"

"You didn't really expect me to let them live, did you?" He asks.

You realize you had. You look up at his guilt-less eyes and realize you've been incredibly, stupidly naive.

"Are they dead?"

He shakes his head. "Not yet." He rips off part of an oak bookcase and stalks towards Damon's body with a mutinous expression. You push yourself off the ground to dart in between them.

"Klaus! Don't!"

He stops, stake clenched in hand. "Why shouldn't I? They aren't worth keeping alive."

"They haven't done anything! Not really," you argue, "Besides, it seems like you've done a lot more to them than they've done to you."

Klaus stares at you with that blank expression again. Adrenaline floods your veins.

"That's not good enough."

"They can't hurt you, or kill you. Isn't that enough?"

"It's not me I'm worried about."

"Didn't you hear them? They let me go. All they want is for you to move somewhere else. Those aren't the demands of unreasonable people." Your heart is pounding. Slowly, he lowers the stake.

"You're too kind to those who don't deserve it."

"What?" You say, "Like you?"

He falters and you see something flash in your eyes. You swallow as he saunters toward you. You have to crane your neck to meet his gaze. Dark eyes look back at you.

"On your own head, so be it."

You relax and your breath shudders.

"Thank you," you whisper. Klaus tilts his head.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again," he says calmly.

"I expected as much." Your voice hardly shakes.

He offers you his hand and you take it.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Despite Damon being kind of a dick in this fic, I do love him dearly.