Chapter 9: "Pyre of Your Enemies"

Elena woke up in the forest at the end of the day with three ropes of vervain wrapped around her, tying her to a tree. She couldn't remember how she got there. The last thing she remembered was going out with Elijah, while she was wearing her Katherine costume, and both of them being taken by a small coven of witches led by a ginger witch.

Elena struggled against the ropes, but every time she moved, the vervain burned her skin.

"Don't bother, Katerina. "Said the ginger witch, showing up and walking up to the vampire. "You won't get away from these ropes, and even if you do, Elijah is going to kill you."

"He's not going to kill me," Elena said. "He loves me."

"That's exactly what he said before I put a curse on him, though." The witch got closer to Elena, looking at the vampire in the eyes. "He did say he loved Elena, but Elena Gilbert is dead."

"Of course my cheap copy is dead. Klaus saved me the trouble of doing it myself." The brunette said it with as much Katherinism as she could, given the fact that the vervain was cutting to her bones. "What did you do to Elijah?"

"I just showed him the truth. How you used him to get away from Klaus in England, how much you wanted him to give you his blood to save you from the sacrifice."

"Aren't you a witch? Why are you not after Klaus? He is the one who broke the curse."

"I can't get to Klaus the way I wanted. So I'll get to his brother instead. Klaus will have to decide to either let his brother kill his prisoner or let Elijah kill the little blonde he calls his queen."

Elena knew Klaus wouldn't let that witch touch a strand of hair on Caroline's head without killing her first, but she also knew that if the hybrid had to choose, he'd let his brother kill her and save Caroline.

"I'm eager to see which one of Mikaleson's pets will get killed!" The witch said, clasping her hands together. "Let the games begin."

What Elena didn't know was that she and Elijah had been missing for a couple of days. The day walkers told Klaus who had taken his brother and "Katherine", and Klaus immediately knew who it was. The ginger witch in question was Genevieve. He and the witch had a "relationship", but Klaus was ruthless when it came to his family. The only reason the hybrid didn't go after her was because Caroline had a plan.

"We need a witch." Said Caroline, at the compound, at Klaus's office.

"Love, we don't have one. Sophie is dead, Davina is dead, and my daughter is not born yet. Who do you suppose we call?" Klaus asked, getting next to her.

"Well, lucky for you, I've got one on speed dial," Caroline replied, kissing him gently on the lips. "She should be getting here right now."

Someone else got to the compound and got to the flight of stairs and Klaus's office.

"Bonnie Bennett," Klaus said, smiling. "The New Orleans witches might be strong, but dare I say they don't compare to the Bennett witches? "

"Don't flatter me, Klaus; it doesn't suit you. I'm not here for you; I'm here for my friends." Bonnie said, going to hug Caroline, who hugged her back.

"Can you do a locator spell to know where they are? " Caroline asked.

"Yes," Bonnie replied. "But I need something that belongs to them."

Caroline went to pick up something in Elijah and Elena's room. It was a picture of them from a photo booth that Elena convinced Elijah to take at a carnival that was happening near New Orleans. In the picture, Elijah was drinking Elena's blood from her neck, and her head was thrown back, enjoying the moment.

Caroline gave Bonnie the picture. The witch looked at the picture and turned to Klaus.

"You've been around them the longest. How many times have they shared blood? Drink from each other?" She asked.

"How many stars are there in the sky? " The hybrid replied. "They've been drinking each other's blood for as long as we've been here, maybe even more. Why is that relevant?"

"If this witch is an elder, like Caroline said, and she took Elijah and Elena, her plans might not go as smoothly as she wants. "

"Wait, what does that mean, Bonnie?" Caroline asked.

"If what Klaus is saying is true, and Elena and Elijah have been sharing blood for that long, their bond can't be broken by a witch. No matter how powerful the witch is or the spell. Their bond can't be broken. " Bonnie replied.

"What does that witch want, Klaus?" Caroline asked.

"She wants Elijah to kill Elena. She thinks Elena is Katherine, but if he doesn't kill her, he'll kill you instead, love, and I won't let that happen, not even if I have to dagger him myself." Klaus replied, caressing Caroline's face, who welcomed the touch.

"I'll do a locator spell so we can find them," Bonnie said. The witch recited the incantation over a New Orleans map that Klaus had gotten earlier, causing the picture Caroline gave her to burst into flames and then turn into ashes. The ashes moved to a region of hidden woods in New Orleans. Klaus knew that area very well.

"I know where they are. It's where me and my family first settled when we arrived in New Orleans. " Klaus said.

"You'll need to take these ashes." Said Bonnie, pouring the ashes into a crystal cup. "Throw them at Elijah; it will weaken him, and it will give you guys enough time to restrain him."

"Restrain him?" Asked Caroline.

"Elijah has to drink Elena's blood to break the spell." Replied Bonnie. "If he doesn't, he'll kill her, and he'll never forgive himself."

Klaus ran to his car, and before following him, Caroline hugged the witch.

"Thank you, Bonnie," the vampire said, grabbing the crystal cup.

"Bring Elena back, Care," the witch said.

"I will." said Caroline, running to meet Klaus.

Twenty minutes later, Klaus parked by the woods.

"Can you track her?" Asked Caroline.

"Yes, I can also smell vervain." Replied Klaus.

They walked into the woods with Klaus's hand on Caroline's back. She knew that he and Genevieve had had a relationship; he had told her that. What Caroline didn't know was how powerful that witch was, but Klaus was prepared to kill her if it meant protecting Caroline.

They were following Elena's scent when Genevieve stopped them.

"Came to watch your brother murder your prisoner? "Genevieve asked him. "Or did you come to watch him kill your so-called queen? Did you lower your standards after me?" She got closer to Klaus, and he held onto Caroline more firmly. "Tell me, is she any good compared to what we had?"

Caroline was ready to go full vampire mode on her; the only thing stopping her was Klaus's steady hand on her back.

"Oh, Genevieve." He said this, touching her face with his free hand while smiling lovingly. Caroline knew better; that was not Klaus who loved her and gave her an unimaginable amount of pleasure; that was Klaus the hybrid. His hand went to the witch's neck, and after two seconds, he began to clutch at it, cutting her breath. "My queen shall be respected by you and your little coven. She is exactly who I always needed for more than a thousand years, and you were nothing. We came here to save my prisoner and my brother, and if you stand in our way, we'll kill you too. I'll hide your body and make sure your coven never finds you, so even in death you can't rest because you dared to come after me and my family. " Klaus finally let go of her neck when the witch was turning purple.

"You'll never find them," Genevieve said.

"Oh, good thing we have a Bennett witch on our side." Caroline said, smiling in a mocking tone.

The ginger witch looked horrified at them.

"No, she wouldn't help Klaus, not him. " Said the witch. Klaus smiled.

"It seems like the tables have turned." Klaus said. "The only reason I'm sparing your life now is because my queen does not deserve to walk over your corpse. Leave, because I will not show you mercy again if you come after me or my family."

Klaus and Caroline continued to walk, following Elena's scent, while Genevieve left. Finally, they reached Elena, who had passed out against the tree the witches had tied her to. The ropes infused with vervain were still burning her skin.

"How are we going to get her out if we can't even touch the ropes? " Asked Caroline.

Klaus smirked, lifted his hand, and his nails turned into werewolf claws.

"Or you could do that. " Said Caroline.

"Perks of being a hybrid, love." He said this, ripping through the ropes.

Klaus held Elena up, stopping her from falling to the ground.

"Easy there, Elena." He said, sitting her down on the forest floor. He grabbed a blood bag from the inside of his jacket and gave it to her. "Drink this; you'll need your strength."

After drinking the blood, Elena appeared better.

"What happened?" she asked.

"What do you remember?" Caroline asked.

"Me and Elijah were on a date, and we were kidnapped by a ginger witch and her coven. I woke up here, and she said she made Elijah think that I'm Katherine, and she is making him come after me. She's making him relive the night Katherine first ran away from Klaus and he had to track her down." Elena replied.

"You're out of luck because Katerina did die that night," Klaus said. "She killed herself."

"We know that," said Caroline. "But why that particular night?"

"Elijah told me that he thought he was in love with Katherine before the ritual. That's how he found an elixir that would keep her alive. But he couldn't betray Klaus and give her his blood." Replied Elena.

"Geneviene wants him to kill you. She knows he'll find a way to blame me for it, just like he did five hundred years ago. " Klaus said.

"We found a way to break the spell."Said Caroline. "I know you didn't want to, but I brought Bonnie over. She made a spell, burned a picture of you and Elijah, and said we have to throw these ashes," the blonde said, pointing to the crystal cup she was holding. "On Elijah, restrain him. Then he has to drink your blood."

"My blood?" Elena asked.

"Yes. The blood-sharing made the bond between the two of you unbreakable; not even a witch can break it. But he needs your blood to break the spell Genevieve cast on him." Caroline replied.

"Katerina." They heard Elijah come to them. He was at least eight feet away from them. "Niklaus, get away from her; she is mine."

Elijah ran to them.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that, brother," said Klaus. Elijah's eyes were black; his veins had popped up, and his fangs had come down. Elijah tried to grab Elena but was stopped by Klaus, who held his arm and pinned him down, holding him.

"Love, I can't hold him down for long," the hybrid said.

Caroline got in action and threw the ashes at Elijah's face. Together, they held Elijah back, who was still struggling but weakened enough.

"Elena, now would be a good time to remind my brother who you are," Klaus said, holding his brother.

Elena sat on top of Elijah's body, which was lying on the ground. She bit her right wrist, just like he had done when they first shared blood, and put it in his mouth. At first, Elijah appeared repulsive by her taste, but the memories came flooding back to his mind.

"Katerina," said Elijah, smiling. He walked up to her, and one of his hands went to her waist while the other went to her face. "I missed you," he said sincerely, almost whispering. Then he kissed her so tenderly and so sweetly, like he was worshiping her. Elena kissed him back, her hands going to his hair, as if Katherine would do it, but mostly for herself.

"I know you might be afraid of history repeating itself because of what happened between me and Katerina, but I assure you, my lovely Elena, she is in the past. I want you."

And with that, he kissed her. He kissed her like she'd never been kissed before. (...) It was so much better, like she was in heaven, as if Elijah was perfectly made for her, or as if she was made for him.

"I want to taste your blood. May I?" She said, whispering in his ear and kissing just under that region, moving her hips against his, despite him holding her.

He had almost lost his voice. Breathing out, he said.

"You may, my lovely Elena. But I want to see you. Elena stopped kissing his neck and grabbed his right arm. Making sure he was looking, she let her eyes turn black, and the veins popped up under them, and she felt her fangs coming down. Her hair was now back to normal. It was Elena. His lovely Elena

She bit down on the inside of his wrist and started to drink his blood. It was the best and sweetest drink she'd ever drunk. And she had drunk vampire blood before, but nothing compared to his. Elijah was mesmerized by the sight. It was the most intense, and probably the hottest, vision he had ever seen. Drinking another vampire's blood was the most intimate thing in the vampire world. If the blood belonged to their partner, it means that the drinker has chosen to change their life. They chose to be with them, and it made their bond so much stronger that not even a witch was able to break it. It meant that Elena was choosing Elijah as hers.

Elijah smiled and brought her right hand to his mouth, letting her watch his eyes turn black, his veins pop out, and his fangs come down, then biting the inside of her wrist. Her blood was the most exquisite he had ever tasted. Elijah had drunk vampire blood before, but never had he felt like this. Elena chose him, and Elijah chose her.

Elena finished drinking and kissed his wrist. He drank until the vein was empty and kissed her wrist when he was done.

They looked at each other intensely. Elijah was the one who made the first move. He attacked her mouth with everything he had, tasting his blood in her mouth just like she could taste her blood on his.

"So beautiful, like you were made by Aphrodite herself," She might be physically like Katherine, but it was completely different when it came to how she liked to be pleased. Elijah begins to caress her body in a way that sets her ablaze. With every stroke of his hand, he evokes moans of pleasure from deep within her. He explores every inch of her, worshiping her body with a devotion that transcends time.

"You did so good, my lovely Elena. " He said this while kissing her neck. Elena was still trying to catch her breath. She didn't even know how he was able to do these things to her, but they were so much better than her previous boyfriend's.

"Oh, Elijah," she said, kissing him deeply. She was really falling hard for him, no matter what.

He kissed her deeply after they were done. She kissed him back, grabbing his hair.

"So I think we should take all of them? Elena asked, smiling

"I think we should," Elijah replied, laughing.

"We're going to find a way, my love. It's going to be okay."

"I failed her, just like I failed Jeremy. I couldn't protect either one of them!"

"Hey, I'll have none of that, Elena. You didn't fail Davina, and you certainly did not fail your brother. You couldn't control the circumstances, my love, and you shouldn't have to."

"Please don't let me fall again, Elijah," she said, holding his face.

"Never, my love. I love you. " He said that, looking at her. A warm feeling washed over her. Like she belonged, and she'd never be lost again, as she had finally been found.

"I love you. " She said this, kissing him briefly.

"Elena, this family has its fair share of enemies."

"I don't care," Elena said, looking at him. "I love you; I don't care who comes close to us. I'll protect you."

"And I'll protect you, my love. " He said this, kissing her deeply.

Their hearts raced as their lips met, and they stayed like that for what felt like a lifetime, their love enveloping them like a blanket and bringing a sense of peace to their souls. Their love only grew stronger and deeper with each kiss. They felt more in love than ever before and knew that together they could face any challenges that life threw their way.

(...)"After all, you didn't really get to see it, did you? " He smiled up at her.

"Technically, it's not my fault, you know; my boyfriend won't let me leave the bed! " Elena laughed as Elijah brought her to his lap.

"Oh yeah? Maybe I should speak to your boyfriend. He said this, spreading kisses down her neck. "Keeping a lady like you in bed? Doesn't he have manners? " Elena started to move her hips against his, and Elijah naturally followed her rhythm.

"Oh, he does, but when he has his way with me, it's just so good. She says this, whispering in his ear. (...)

Elijah sits down on the chair, bringing Elena with him, not breaking their connection.

"I love you so much. " She said this, hugging him close to her.

"I love you too, my love, more than you'll ever know."

Elena had convinced Elijah to take her to a carnival happening just outside of New Orleans. It had been a few days since the attack on Klaus, and that festival reminded her of Mystic Falls.

"It will be fun. " She watched him put on his usual tuxedo.

"I have been to so many carnivals, my love. What's different about this one? " He asked, holding her hand while they got out of their room to leave the compound.

"The difference is that you will be with me," she said, grabbing his face and kissing him briefly.

"If you didn't want to go out so much, I'd have my way with you right now. " He whispered in her ear.

"I have something in mind that you'll like," Elena said mysteriously.

They drove to the carnival, and they had fun. Elena found out Elijah loved ice cream while they shared a cup. They had won the activities, and he even got her a souvenir.

Elena found a photo booth and dragged him inside, and he had an idea.

Elijah leaned in close to Elena, pressing his lips against her neck and taking in her scent. His fangs extended as he held her close. Elena felt a shiver run down her spine, almost like excitement, as she felt the flashing of a camera taking their pictures. Elijah fed on her, drinking from her neck.

Although Elena was surprised at first, she soon felt a wave of pleasure sweep over her as she felt Elijah's fangs piercing her skin. Elena could feel the tingling sensation running through her entire body, and it felt amazing. She let herself get lost in the moment and let Elijah take as much as he wanted.

His craving for her was too strong. He had satiated his thirst. They looked into each other's eyes, and everything seemed to just fall into place. Their lips met, and they embraced, completely lost in one another. With their senses heightened and their passions boiling, they connected intimately and passionately. Their skins burned, and the night was filled with the scent of sweat and blood.

His mouth moved down her neck, and she closed her eyes with a little gasp as he licked her with the tip of his tongue. His hands wandered all over her body, cupping neglected areas and exploring curves. She felt her heart leap as he grabbed her ass; that's when she knew it was finally time. He entered her slowly and tenderly, pushing into her until he was buried deep within her. She let out a moan and wrapped her legs around his waist.

He began to thrust harder, pushing into her with all his might as she moaned with pleasure. Their bodies were clashing and creating an irresistible pull toward each other. Their passion was peaking as he thrust into her with all his might, and soon they both came together in ecstasy. The intensity of their lovemaking was unforgettable, and they both surrendered to each other in a way they never had before.

As they left the booth, still holding onto each other, they had taken their relationship to new heights. Elijah and Elena had experienced something powerful and intimate that night—something they would never forget. Elena grabbed the pictures and took them back home with them, putting them on the mirror of the vanity.

Elijah stopped drinking her blood.

"Elena?" He looked at her, with tears falling from his eyes. Klaus and Caroline let go of him, and Elijah took this opportunity to sit down, hugging Elena, who reciprocated the gesture. "I'm so incredibly sorry, my love. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay; it was not your fault," Elena said, holding him close and breathing in his scent. "We're okay now. "

Elena looked at Klaus and Caroline.

"Thank you." She mouthed.

Klaus and Caroline brought Elijah and Elena back to the compound. Bonnie was asleep in Rebekah's room, and Elena would talk to her in the morning. Elijah and Elena went to their room to take a shower and rest.

"Love?" Klaus said, finding Caroline on the balcony, looking over the quarter.

"Is this how it is always going to be, Klaus? Are we always going to get attacked? Because I was attacked, then Hayley, then you, and now Elijah and Elena."

"This is war, love, but I promise you, whoever comes for my queen will die."

"I don't want you to kill people for me, Klaus."

"Only if they threatened you, love. They know I have chosen you as my queen, and they know that to get to me, they only have two ways. Through you or my daughter. And I'm not letting anything happen to either of you. You're part of this family now, love."

"Somehow I always knew you were not the villain of my story," Caroline said, turning to face him. He held her waist and kissed her.

"So who am I in your story, love? " He asked,

"You are, as you so poetically put it once, my last love. " Klaus laughed and kissed her once more.

They won the battle today, but little did they know something worse was on its way.