A/N: And here is the newest chapter. I've had a lot of reviews on this story and I wanted to thank all of you taking the time to write them. Since a few of you were curious (for the lack of a better word) why I'm taking a certain road. One person wondered why Non-Elena was trying to desiccate Klaus, instead of making a deal with him. Which is why I want to explain her reasoning.

I think what people like to forget is that Non-Elena is, in almost every sense of the word, alone. She can't be herself with anyone and has to play a role. She wasn't reborn as Elena, but forcefully put inside her body and has to deal with, not only Klaus but also with the Salvatores, with the idea of Katherine coming to town, with Elijah (who she is still scared of) and with all.

Personally, I don't disagree with the notion that Klaus is not the evilest vampire on the show. Throughout the seasons, Stefan and Damon and even good characters like Caroline and Elena, do horrible things that ever so often are equal or even worse than what Klaus did. Still, right now Non-Elena's life is in danger because of Klaus. There's no guarantee Klaus would agree to her terms which is why she went to Elijah. Was she planning on desiccating Klaus when she went to him?

No, but it beats having him killed.

At this point, I like to think that Non-Elena doesn't really want anyone to get killed. I personally don't really understand the 'devil may care' attitude some characters in shows, books or even fanfictions have. Although I do often still like those stories, I don't think it's the usual way to take things in. Perhaps a weathered soldier or even someone who has been through trauma would be able to adequately deal with murder and psychopathic monsters (I slightly doubt it), which Non-Elena is not.

Anyway, I'm so sorry for the long rant. I hope I made my reasoning clear, but if not, feel free to ask.

Also, on a different note, since I'm a bit behind on update schedule, I'm sorry! I will try to get back to all of you who've reviewed the upcoming few days.

Enjoy the newest chapter^^

o.O.o

Chapter Twenty, A Walk to Remember

The sky was a cold, hard blue, devoid of clouds. A brisk wind kept the trees in a constant motion and the brown-blackened leaves crunched beneath my feet as I made my way to the overshadowed porch.

The boarding house looked much better in the pale summer sun and I peered at the tree-line. Larch and elm grew between the chestnuts tree and a crow was settled a large gnarled branch of a large, old oak tree.

It looked at me unblinkingly and I shuddered, quickening my step. Long shadows shivered on the flagstone porch, inch by inch lengthening across the stones. I had opted for a thick lilac sweater and a dark-blue pair of denim pants. Ringing the doorbell I winced at the shrill echo through the house. It took only a moment before the door clicked and the front door to swung open. An amused Damon Salvatore greeted me.

"Elena," Damon greeted, one side of his lips sliding up into an all-too-familiar smirk, "hello."

"Hello Damon," I retorted and crossed my arms beneath my breasts, "I heard we would meet?"

"And who told you that?"

"A little birdie?" I remarked dryly.

He snorted. "Wonderful, why don't you come in?"

"Thank you."

I moved past him, dodging Damon's hand when he turned towards me and tried grabbing my shoulder. I knew the way by now, moving through the entrance hall. The corridor appeared far less eerie by daylight and the polished wood clucked beneath my feet. I was about to move into the living room when Damon finally snatched my arm.

"Wait here," he grumbled.

"Why?" I tried, but Damon had already stepped past me. The door to the living room closed with a loud, resounding click, leaving me alone in the cold, empty corridor. Voices drifted from inside and my eyebrows furrowed. They were deciding my fate, cutting me out of all the plotting. Just as they'd done with the real Elena on numerous times.

I heard Damon's voice filter through the door and I wondered when the real Elena had acknowledged her attraction to him. When had it even started? When he saved her from the car crash in season one?

When she descended the staircase at Founders' Hall, dressed in a figure-hugging blue dress, dark curls tumbling over her shoulder-blades? Or was it when she woke up to his face after the sacrifice? Perhaps she did when Damon clasped her vervain necklace around her neck on her eighteenth birthday?

A floorboard moaned across the landing and I whirled around. Caroline Forbes stood behind me, looking like a deer caught in headlights. I took a cautious step forward. "Caroline?"

"Elena," she greeted.

"Can I go inside now?" I drawled, slightly irritated. "Or are you not done hiding things from me?"

"You said—"

"I don't care." I huffed. "It's about me. I should have a say in it."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Your choice of what to do with your life? You are willing to let yourself be sacrificed."

"No," I denied, "I was willing to make a deal. I made one with Elijah— Klaus can't die."

"Because you think we all die. Elijah says that's not a certainty and—"

"It is and even if it wasn't, are you willing to risk it?"

"Would you for me?"

"I'm not going to answer that. Elijah has a potion. I will live. Besides, I will have to be sacrificed anyway for the spells to work, won't I?"

"Yes," Elijah agreed, having moved behind me without me noticing and I flinched.

"Elijah," I breathed, taking a step back, curling my fingers into tight fists. "Good morning, I just—"

"Good morning," He smiled tightly. "I'm truly sorry you have to die for other's gain."

"Thank you." I frowned. "Just isn't the potion supposed to—?"

"The Martins are working on a way to verify the potion's accuracy."

"I see," I muttered and squared my shoulders, pushing into the living room. I felt the Original follow after me like a dark shadow and tried not to let his close presence distract me. The living room was messy. Not dirty, but the tables and even a large part of the couches were covered with papers and books.

Luka Martin sat cross-legged on one of the rugs closest to the large fireplace, pouring over a thick, leather-bound grimoire. He didn't even look up when I entered. His father was in one of the loveseats next to one cathedral window. He too was leaving through a grimoire but looked more poised. His eyes briefly flickered to me and he gave me a short nod.

"Elena."

"Mr Martin."

Damon was near the liquor cabinet, pouring himself a glass of bourbon and just looked too at ease. I knew he had hidden something for me. Of course, there was something I wasn't allowed to see and I let my eyes glide to Stefan, sitting on the edge of the coffee table, looking anywhere but at me.

Honestly, how had Elena ever not noticed Stefan's and Damon's lying before? Or perhaps she did but chose not to see it. I certainly didn't understand why they were trying so hard in the first place. I let my eyes glide through the living room again and wondered, almost absentmindedly, where Zach could be. Wasn't he supposed to be here as well?

"Well, will you just keep standing in the door opening?" Damon demanded, shattering me out of my thoughts, and I glared at him.

Caroline followed, brushing a lock of hair away from her eyes and tentatively smiled at me. "Come on, you can sit next to me." She told me, leading me back to the second love seat, which accommodated both of us just fine.

I wondered if Caroline offered because of Stefan. I didn't doubt he would want to sit back to me and I studiously avoided his gaze. He might have stopped actively pursuing me, he was still very much into me (or Elena's face, I couldn't say for sure). I crossed my legs at the ankles and intertwined my fingers.

"So what was this meeting about? This meeting I wasn't supposed to know about."

It was Damon who explained what they'd been up to. How they'd settled the board and had sent the pieces moving. How Elijah had found Klaus, had done his best bit of groveling to get into Klaus' good graces.

Which, I suppose, was smart. That way, Elijah could be more involved and wouldn't have to hide down the sidelines. Mr Martin continued, explaining how he and his son found the spell to desiccate Klaus and I smiled. A few strands of hair escaped from the messy bun I'd haphazardly gathered my hair in that morning.

"I honestly don't see why you all thought I shouldn't know about this."

"You've been acting a bit strange lately, Elena," Caroline responded evenly and I stared at her.

"I am?"

"Yes," she agreed, "for some time now, everything you do and say somehow seems forced."

"Well— with Bonnie—" I tried awkwardly. Caroline winced and I felt a stab of guilt shoot through me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that in a bad way."

"It's fine," she breathed out, running her tong along her upper lip, "but you were already acting a bit strange before Halloween."

I shifted uneasily, folding my arms tightly across my waist. "I've been stressed." Meeting Caroline's eyes, I pursed my lips. "Not suicidal."

"Good," She replied and got to her feet.

I watched her cross over to where Luka was sitting and plopped down next to him, peering at the page he was reading. I propped my feet up onto the coffee table, leaning my elbows on my knees. "So, when do you think Klaus will come?"

"He will have to find a werewolf and the moonstone first," Elijah told me.

I slowly turned to him. He was standing stiff-backed near one of the bookcases, eyeing everyone solemnly and I licked my lips. "Okay, but you have the moonstone."

"Which I will divulge when everyone is set correctly."

"What more do you want to set? Did he not agree with your terms?"

"He did." Elijah shrugged. "I've learned long ago not to trust his vulgar word alone."

I pushed a few loose strands of hair back from my face and nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose you have a point there." Biting my lip, I shifted to the edge of my seat. "How do you want to corner Klaus? I mean, after the sacrifice, obviously, but how do you plan to keep him from noticing two witches trying to take him down? What will you do to the other two witches?"

Elijah's face grew extremely severe and displeased. "Still a problem looking into."

"And how well that's going," Damon drawled sarcastically

"You young vampires—" Elijah mumbled coldly, taking a small step in Damon's direction, fingers twitching. I inhaled sharply, unsure what I should say and do to disperse this situation and struggled to remain seated.

I grasped my knees tightly before grounding out, "Aren't there spells? You could— I don't know, lock them up somewhere. Knock them out without really hurting them? That's possible, right?"

"It is." Mr Martin gravely agreed and closed the grimoire in his lap and reached for another one.

"Well, problem solved," I mumbled and I glanced at Elijah. He had stepped back, looking at me. He looked at me briefly and I thought he no longer seemed to be considering ripping Damon's heart out. With a measured step, he moved closer to Mr Martin, looking at his face as if one jerk of a facial muscle would somehow answer his unasked question.

I bit my lower lip between my front teeth, barely registering the way my fingernails dug into my flesh. When my cell phone vibrated in a somnambulate motion, I reached for it. An incoming text from Jeremy notified me of his latest escapades. Sometimes, messaging with a boy I only knew as an actor still felt surreal. It was surreal, however, I quickly dropped my phone on the coffee table and tried to tune in on the conversation again.

Their chatter was somewhat incoherent. I heard the words but did not understand the meaning from the often Latin names that fluttered by. I was glad.

The plan was good, thought out and no more people would have to die as long as Klaus— I pressed my lips together. If he would stick to the deal he would make with Elijah and me. I supposed it truly showed how naive I could be that I was feeling bad for being the one betraying a deal that had not even hatched.

However, Klaus might have been the asshole about to sacrifice me, he was also not the one who set the terms. The curse he carried needed the Doppelgänger's death to be broken. Still, I also knew he would take me hostage, once he figured out he needed my blood to make hybrids. I didn't want to be his puppet for the rest of my life.

My reasoning did little to quell the churning of disgust and self-consciousness and I tried swallowing down the lump that had settled in my throat. It made me feel the tiniest bit better that I knew Klaus was not much a man of his word either.

Hadn't he gone after Elena's loved ones, despite her willingness to work with him? With a kind of mental grimace, I shifted in my seat, dropping my feet from the coffee table and listened to Stefan voicing out a considerate version of the question of 'what if she dies?'.

"The potion will bring her back," Elijah remarked.

Damon snorted rudely. "No, you hope it will. Big difference there. However, you lot are putting all your fate into a magical potion with no expiration date. Elena, if you don't care to die, why not make sure you come back? A bit of vampire blood and kezeng, problem solved."

"I can't," I easily replied. "And I don't want to either."

Besides, when Klaus figured out he'd needed my blood when I was a human to turn hybrids, and I knew that, even as a vampire I wouldn't live very long. I considered my options again. I could tell Klaus what I knew.

Surely, he would have a powerful reason to make sure I'd survive if he knew he needed me. Bit of wishful thinking, and I even thought he could be persuaded to let me live a normal life, sans regular blood donations. Until a hybrid started a rebellion and Klaus grew sick of his little toy soldiers.

Besides, I knew about Mikael. Knew how to find out about his location. I bit my lip. My compliance and knowledge in exchange for his help to live—it was a good bargain. One Elena could profit from if we ever got to remedy the situation. No matter how small the chance, a bargain like that could safe a lot of lives.

I cleared my throat. "This plan of ours is not all that thought out is it?"

"It isn't," Luka huffed aghast.

"Just some minor problems to iron out," Mr Martin decided.

Damon snorted again and I sent him a thunderous glare. "Sure, a minor problem having a witch daughter who would sense you're coming from a mile away."

Elijah's expression darkened, obviously pushed as far as he could be pushed and a shiver ran down the length of my spine. The severe line of his brow creating deep furrows on his forehead and I shared a worried glance with Caroline.

Whatever semblance of a plan that was brewing, it would be over once Elijah finally lost his self-control and ripped Damon's larynx out and I stumbled to my feet.

"Guys!" I tried, but it was Caroline who figured out what to say first to disperse the hostility.

"Isn't there a spell to stop a witch knowing you're coming?"

"There is," Luka spoke up. It was the first time I heard him speak that morning and I met his gaze.

"How?"

"A cloaking spell to hide our presence, dad. With the power of a hundred witches, we should be able to fashion a cloaking spell so strong, people won't know what hit them."

I tucked a stray hair behind my ear and frowned. "The power of a hundred witches?"

"Yes," Luka agreed.

"You'd need that?" I asked doubtfully.

Abby Wilson hadn't needed it when taking down Mikael. Nor had Bonnie needed it when she stopped Klaus' heart in the third season's last episode. Mr Martin shrugged stony-faced and dread settled in my stomach. He looked hungry, his mouth stretching in a small, what I thought he might assume, fatherly smile. "Do you know the spot where hundredth witches were murdered is?"

For a moment everything around me fell still. Then my heart kicked back in, drumming blood through my veins and to my head with hard, painful beats. Mr Martin's comment ricocheted through my head and my hands became cold and numb. I found myself parroting Mr Martin's words awkwardly. "The spot where a hundred witches were murdered?"

"Yes," Mr Martin agreed, "you know where it is?" He asked casually.

The look he shot me sent a white, hot shiver down my spine. The need to bolt was almost all overpowering and I barely maintained my decorum, shaking my head. We had talked about this. I knew he could use the witches to overpower Klaus. But, that kind of power was not needed. Why use a power that could easily kill you when your own was enough? Unless—

"You were going to kill him," I whispered.

"You don't understand," Mr Martin said and I took a slow step back.

"After everything I told you, you were going to kill him anyway?" I whispered.

"Greta deserves to be free. Besides—"

"Freezing him would ensure that. Moreover, it wouldn't wipe out an entire line of vampires." I retorted irritably. If Klaus got killed, Caroline would die. Stefan would die. Even Damon (although the judge was still out on if he deserves it, or not) would die. I shook my head in— anger, hurt, irritation? I wasn't sure anymore. Elijah crossed the distance between us with the grace I'd come to associate with him. Invading my personal space past the point of politeness. I breathed hard.

"I admire your willingness to keep even your enemies unharmed but—"

"Everyone in this room, except you and the witches will die with Klaus if he dies."

"Sweetheart, there is no proof of that. The Martins didn't find anything to sustain your worries."

"Doesn't mean they aren't true. Was I wrong about anything I told you so far?" I asked grimly.

"Elena," he tried, with all the storming anger of a cloudless sky, but shook my head.

Clenching my jaw, I curled my fingers in tight fists. "I've got to go."

I left quickly. They didn't stop me, which surprised me and hurried down the flights of stairs and stumbled outside. There was no one around, but as I made my way to my car, I felt the burning of someone watching me.

A flitting glance towards the trees to my right told me what I'd already expected. I saw no one but the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My heart was starting to race and breathing in large gulps of air, I tried to calm my frazzled nerves. Gripping my car keys tightly, I quickened my step, forcing my gaze away from the shadowy woods.

The feeling of being watched crawled up my back, ricocheted down the notches of my spine and I started to run. My feet pounded on the gravel and I took a sharp turn towards the carpark, balance thrown off when I skidded on the loose gravel. Grayson's SUV gleamed in the late afternoon light and I'd almost made it.

The car beeped when I unlocked the doors and I reached out for the door handle when an arm wrapped around my waist.

"NO!" My scream tore through the still air, my feet kicking out as I felt the ground beneath them disappear. My eyes were already smarting with unshed tears and I tried yanking the arm off of me. I turned in his grasp, somehow hoping I could knock my elbow sharply into his face and I froze.

"Zach?"

Zachariah Salvatore stared back at me with a small smile and I felt my shoulders relax. "I'm sorry, Elena, I saw you tear out of the house in a panic. Are you all right?"

"I— yeah, jeez, you scared the shit out of me."

"My apologies."

I shrugged, trying to find my composure. "It's fine. What are you doing here? Why weren't you there during the meeting?"

"I constantly seem to work Damon on his nerves." He answered dismissively. "I was around."

"Damon should learn to control his temper." I retorted easily. "No one always gets what they want."

"Some do." He told me brightly, flashing me a toothy grin. "Would you like to take a walk?"

I raised a quizzical brow before the tenseness bled away from my face. He didn't mean anything with it and I smiled. "I would love to. Thank you."

Zach gave me a thin-lipped smile and waved his hand towards the forest. I easily fell in step with him. Strolling around the house, through the neat gardens, Zach waved his hand at the boardinghouse, explaining that it was built in 1914 and how it had been used as a place where visitors could stay.

"When did you stop having visitors?" I asked. I knew it was before Stefan and Damon came to stay.

A faint crease lined his face, "I'm not sure, Luv."

"Oh, well, before Stefan and Damon came, I assume?"

"Business became slow at some point." He explained. "But no, I'm not offering to house people with Stefan and Damon there. Damon would probably turn it into a dinner party."

"I suppose," I admitted wanly, licking my dry lips and looped my thumbs through the loops of my jeans. My breath stuttered to a halt and my eyes widened when something caught my attention.

"Love?" I mumbled. "Did you just call me love?"

"Why wouldn't I, Luv?"

"It— It's British…"

"It is," he agreed, regarding me with an open sort of amusement, eyes alive.

"Klaus?"

Zach smiled, but it wasn't the soft-hearted smile I'd come to expect from him and my skin itched. Like ants crawling over my bones, its venom searing through my blood. For a heartbeat, everything was silent, and nobody moved.

Then fear and self-preservation set in. I tried to run, perhaps it was the borrowed Petrova blood that made me react that way. His arm wrapped around my waist before I'd even managed to take two steps and yanked me back.

I felt the easy roll the chuckle that followed made through his chest and heat licked at my face like sunburn. Without much else to do, I went slack in his grip.

"There, got that out of your system, Sweetheart?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Can't guess?"

I growled. "Yes," I huffed, "but why are you here right now?"

"I don't trust Elijah when it comes to someone with your face?" He sneered, a shadow shifting over his face. The sneer, the tight line of his lips, it somehow made him look more inhuman. Somehow the expression he made didn't fit on Zach Salvatore's face and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

I was breathing too fast. I knew I was and it would only be a moment before I would start to hyperventilate. I had planned to deal with all of this in time, on my terms.

"How— I take it Elijah doesn't know you're here?" I grounded out and Zach's expression softened.

"Nope," he agreed, popping the 'p'.

"How did you know he was here? That I was here?" I tried. "Somehow I don't see Elijah telling you where I was. My location sounds like leverage."

His expression was oddly pleased then and I shut my eyes against the sight. I didn't need him to be impressed with me. I solely needed him to be willing to listen to me. I needed him agreeable enough to agree on letting me have a life. Even if I was doomed to donating blood for the time being— I wanted what the other me had wanted.

Go to college, get an education and make a life for me. New me, of course, wanted her parents and friends and family as well, but that would be difficult. However, once Elena Gilbert turned eighteen her body would be on the first plane home, just to make sure everyone was there. Even if I couldn't be a part of their lives, I wanted to see them. Desperately.

I turned my face to Zach's again, his arm now loosely draped along my waist. He was looking at me as if my deepest secrets were somehow etched in the tight line of my mouth of the shape of my eyes. I had no idea what he hoped to find, or if he found it for that matter, only that, after a tense minute, he smiled again. "You're right, Elena, Elijah didn't tell me where you were."

"Did a witch do locater's spell?"

"He has the means to not be found."

"I don't understand." I didn't like the confusion that tingled down my spine nor the intimate way his fingers drew circles over the skin of my lower back. Somehow he'd pushed my coat up, or perhaps it had ridden up. Either way, the lazy draw of his fingers had my spine stiffening ramrod straight.

"My brother hasn't adapted well to technology in this century."

"You traced his cellphone." I realized after a moment. I was sure with a little bit of compelling, he would have someone's phone records in seconds. It made sense he would resort to that. It was smart too. I hadn't even considered the option.

"Very good, but I didn't have to, Elena." He smiled. "You're bright. I quite enjoy the bright ones."

"You didn't have to?"

His fingers stopped drawing circles over my back and settled lazily against my side as the other hand disappeared behind the lapels of his coat. I heard something rustle before he pulled free a paper. A paper with my face printed on it. A 'have you seen this girl' poster and my mouth slacked open. The posters I'd assumed Elena's parents had been working on when I'd been kidnapped by Anna and her two toy-boys. God, had I been wrong about that.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" He smirked. "But you did figure out who I was."

"I did," I agreed, having no other choice than to play along.

He grinned again, although Zach's face lacked the dimples I'd grown used to on my television and he cocked his head to the side. "I've heard you're quite the negotiating strategist." He said and there was something dangerous in his tone.

I inhaled deeply. He wouldn't hurt me. He needed me. I was the Doppelgänger who would break Klaus' curse. I was the Doppelgänger that came willingly. That even contacted him — well, his brother — willingly. He had no reason to hurt me— yet. "If you've heard about my— interests, then I hope you would come to agree with my terms."

"Hm—" he smiled again, the branches of a nearby tree stirring in the wind, "—you had quite many."

"Yes," I admitted, "but they weren't unreasonable, were they?"

He made a face as if to say; 'perhaps not,' and I tried to swallow. "I do wonder what you would trade for all those— ah yes, interests, now, hm?"

"What do you mean?" I squeaked and Klaus leant forward, his warm breath fanning out over the delicate flesh of my throat. My sharp intake of breath had my chest expanding, pressing against his and my cheeks flushed with blood. If my heartbeat was erratic before it was thundering in my chest now. I opened and closed my mouth several times as his mouth moved up from the base of my neck to the under-sight of my jaw. "D—Do you mean sexual—" I tried, but I couldn't even say the words, my stomach reeling with the mere suggestion, but I had to, "—sexual favors?"

Warm air puffed along my skin as Klaus let out a laugh and he straightened again. "Oh my, you look absolutely terrified."

"Are you insane? Of course, I am," I blurted out and closed my mouth so fast my teeth clicked together. "I mean—"

"No, Elena, I don't mean sexual favors. I don't force myself on women."

His words reverberated around the great chasm in my mind before they finally registered and I felt my shoulders sag. "You don't?"

"I'm not entirely sure I shouldn't be insulted."

"I didn't mean to—" I mumbled helplessly.

His smile wavered and his eyes veered away from mine, sliding along the trees and down the path. I was about to ask what was wrong, but I got my answer a second later as his fingers turned to the clasp of my necklace and tore it off my throat.

The clip snapping against my delicate flesh send a dull thrill of pain up to the base of my skull and I winced. "We will have to continue this conversation somewhere more private."

I blinked in confusion and then—

We weren't in the woods anymore.

To be continued…

A/N: It does seem like Caroline to figure out there is something wrong with Elena without having magical assistance, doesn't it? Anyway, we all knew Klaus would appear, and here he is. Taken over Zach instead of Alaric… How many of you considered him to be the one to snatch Non-Elena? In honestly very curious how well I did with keeping this secret. Rewrote the last few chapters like three times because at first, it was too obvious…

Oh well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

Let me know what you think!

This story is beta-read by HPuni101