[2x14; Crying Wolf]
"Up, like that," Alaric critiqued as Lucy rearranged her hand into a fist and aimed it toward his open palm. "Make sure your thumb is outside your fist. Okay, go again."
Lucy wheezed heavily and forced another punch to Alaric's hand, doing it the same way that he had taught her. Along with the punching lessons, Alaric forced her to run a mile at his side. Now she felt like she was going to die and she was possibly regretting the fact that she asked Alaric for help.
But she had to know how to defend herself. She couldn't just rely on magic all the time—magic that she didn't really have…
"Okay, let's take a break," Alaric suggested, noticing how red and sweaty her face was; Lucy slumped in relief and braced herself, resting her hands on her knees. "Not bad, Luce."
Lucy scoffed, disappointed in herself. Ever since the cheerleading squad was put on hold after Mr. Tanner died, she hadn't been exercising like she should have been. She was desperately out of shape for a cheerleader.
"I'm out of shape," she shook her head. "I used to be able to run a mile easily. Look at me now."
"Don't be hard on yourself. No one's perfect," Alaric patted her shoulder and handed her a bottle of water. "A little more work and you'll be back in shape."
"Hopefully."
"To be honest, I'm glad you came to me," Alaric admitted somewhat sheepishly. "Damon told me about what happened last night. I don't want to overstep, but…I want you to be more careful. I worry about you."
Lucy smiled at Alaric, unable to describe the way she was feeling. Ever since she found out that Alaric was her birth father, she had been worried that he was going to try to take her dad's place but that hadn't been the case. Alaric had always been respectful to the roles that Grayson and Miranda had in her life and Lucy really appreciated it.
Lucy was glad that Alaric was in her life because she knew how much he loved her, even if they had only known each other for a few months. He was beginning to be a parent to her just as much as Grayson, Miranda, and even Jenna.
"You're not overstepping. I appreciate you looking out for me," Lucy assured him as he returned her smile. "And I want to be more careful, too. That's why I want to learn to protect myself. I can't rely on magic I don't even have. I don't want to be the damsel in distress."
Alaric nodded, impressed. There weren't many people in her position who would ask for help and take charge of their own safety. It was important to both of them that Lucy could protect herself, so he would teach her.
"Then we won't stop practicing until you can throw a mean right hook," Alaric declared, laying an encouraging hand on Lucy's shoulder. "I used to get into bar fights in college, I know a little something about brawling."
Lucy rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Oh, my God, Ric!"
Lucy adjusted her blazer as she walked into the Grill, looking around for the table that Bonnie and Caroline got for them. Luckily, she spotted them quickly and grinned when she saw that they had already ordered her a cheeseburger and fries.
Truth be told, she was starving after her session with Alaric and she didn't want to eat the nasty finger sandwiches that one of the Fell women made for the Historical Society tea party that she was supposed to be at in half an hour. She loved the Historical Society, it was her mom's baby, but she didn't like tea unless it was ice-cold and loaded with sugar and just the thought of cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off made her feel nauseous.
Not enough to sway her from eating her cheeseburger, though…
"Hey!" Lucy greeted her friends with a bright smile, sitting down in the seat next to Bonnie. "Thanks for ordering for me."
"No problem," Bonnie hesitantly smiled at Lucy as she pushed the plate of food toward her. "So, Caroline and I were talking and…"
Bonnie paused and gave Caroline a nervous look. Caroline nodded, encouraging Bonnie to continue. Lucy, even though she was busy devouring her food, caught the exchange.
Her friends were up to something and since Elena had gone to their lake house with Stefan, now was probably the best time for Bonnie and Caroline to do whatever they were planning. Lucy didn't know exactly what the plan was, though, and that worried her.
"Tell me what your plan is," she demanded, shocking Bonnie and Caroline.
"What?"
"You have some big witchy plan, right?" Lucy raised her eyebrows as she looked between them. When they nodded in unison, she said, "So, tell me."
"Okay, so we still don't know the extent of what Elijah's up to," Bonnie stated.
"Elijah's going to use Elena and I to lure Klaus out of hiding so he can kill him," Lucy reminded them. "I told you that already."
"Yeah, but has he said anything about why he's going to kill Klaus?" Caroline asked.
"Well, no—"
"And has he said anything about how he's actually going to kill Klaus?"
Lucy pursed her lips, disliking the fact that she didn't know the answers to those questions. She was a nosy person and she didn't even think to ask Elijah about his motive and means for killing Klaus. She was so distracted about Stefan being stuck in the tomb and her memories of her previous life with Elijah that she threw all common sense out the window.
She had to get her priorities straight.
"Fine," she sighed. "We don't know everything that Elijah's up to."
"Exactly," Bonnie and Caroline exchanged a satisfied look before Bonnie continued, "So, I'm gonna ask Luka to tell me what he knows."
Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "But—"
"And since Luka probably won't tell Bonnie anything," Caroline said, practically reading Lucy's mind. "she's not going to ask."
Lucy raised her eyebrows at Bonnie, impressed. "Bonnie!"
The three of them fell into silly giggles, eventually stopping when Caroline's eyes darted behind Lucy and her smile fell into a frown.
"What?" Bonnie asked Caroline as she and Lucy turned around to see what ruined Caroline's mood.
Lucy saw Matt in his uniform, giving Caroline an equally angsty look. He turned away when he caught them staring and walked into the back of the restaurant.
"What was that about?" Lucy turned back to face Caroline.
Caroline bit her lip. "I don't know. I thought that we were…" she shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."
"Do you want me to talk to him?" Lucy asked her best friend, feeling sympathetic. "I can see what's going on."
"I appreciate it, but no," Caroline shook her head with a sad smile. "I'm going to talk to him. I'll be right back," she stood up and then faltered for a second, looking at Lucy. "Have fun at the tea."
"I'll try," Lucy promised. "Good luck."
As Caroline walked away from the table, Bonnie sighed. "I hope they'll be okay."
"Me too," Lucy agreed with a frown, watching as Caroline hesitantly approached Matt. "I mean, how is supposed to tell him she was tortured by a vengeful werewolf all night?"
"You don't."
"I wish we had normal lives."
"Me too," Bonnie nodded, turning her attention to Lucy. "So, what's this tea party for, anyway?"
"It's a fundraiser and a chance for Mrs. Lockwood to show off for Elijah," Lucy explained with a sigh. "He's sticking with his historical author persona and Mrs. Lockwood is eating it up."
"If you run into him, don't—"
"Of course I won't," Lucy interrupted Bonnie, knowing that she was asking Lucy to play it cool and not let Elijah know what they were up to. "Just let me know what you find out, okay?"
"I will."
Classical music wasn't Lucy's favorite genre but she had to admit it fit the tone of the event. The Founder's Hall was decorated nicely and everyone—mostly the ladies of Mystic Falls and the Founder's Council—were dressed casually yet elegantly. There were those cucumber sandwiches that Lucy wouldn't touch but the cookies and little cakes made up for it.
In all honesty, Lucy was sad to be at the party without her mom. When Miranda Gilbert wasn't planning town events or having meetings with the town council, she spent most of her time working on the Historical Society. It meant everything to Lucy's mom so it was very important that Lucy stepped up to honor her.
She cleared her throat, her eyes stinging slightly, and reached for a tea cake.
"Good afternoon, Luciana."
Lucy swiftly turned around, coming face-to-face with Elijah. She knew that she would probably run into him at the party but she hadn't expected him so soon. It threw her off her game a little.
"Lucy," she reminded him politely.
She didn't necessarily like being called Luciana but she understood that Elijah knew her by that name and had probably been calling her that for a thousand years. Old habits were hard to break.
"My apologies," Elijah said sincerely. "It's hard to remember that your name is something different."
"It's fine," she gave him a closed-lip smile. "I know it must be hard to separate me from Luciana…"
Lucy paused for a second, conflicted. She knew that Elijah probably had some ulterior motives for making a deal with her and Elena but she needed to know more about her previous life. She had a strong feeling that Elijah could clear up some of her questions.
She saw Elijah waiting patiently for her to continue speaking. "Um, do you think that you could tell me more about…uh…"
"I'd be more than happy to," Elijah said. "However, it would be better if we took our conversation to another room."
"Of course," Lucy agreed.
As Elijah led her to one of the offices just off the main party room, she saw Alaric giving her a worried look over his cup of tea. She gave him a slight nod, silently reassuring him that she'd be okay with Elijah.
"So, what would you like to know?" Elijah asked Lucy as soon as she shut the French doors behind her, separating them from the party.
"My main question is why I've been reincarnated," Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. "Katherine said I was needed to break the curse."
"She is correct," Elijah nodded, his face hardening at the mention of Katherine. "This may be hard for you to hear, Luciana—I'm sorry, Lucy," he grimaced at his mistake and Lucy just waved him off. "but the reason you are needed to break the curse is because you're the reason it exists."
Lucy gaped at him, bewildered. How on earth was she the reason that a curse was put on the whole of the vampire and werewolf species? She tried to think clearly but if she was the origin of the Sun and the Moon curse, did that mean she was responsible for putting Katherine and Elena in danger?
Elijah saw the conflict and confusion on her face and stared to explain, "First, you must understand that werewolves and witches were on this Earth far longer than vampires. Compared to them, we're a relatively new species."
Lucy nodded, intrigued. She hadn't known that and it was surprising; vampires generally acted like they were much better than witches and werewolves—the ones she had met, anyway.
"Over a thousand years ago, you and I lived with the rest of our siblings. There were seven of us in total," Elijah continued. "We lived among werewolves; they were our neighbors and we all lived peacefully. One full moon, one of our brothers took your twin brother, Henrik, out to peek at the werewolves. Unfortunately, Henrik was attacked and did not make it."
Lucy frowned, remembering one of the memories she had of Henrik. She hadn't realized that they were twins, but it should have been obvious. Despite being different genders, she and Henrik looked very much alike and had similar temperaments. The memory was sweet; she and Henrik had been young and were playing together in a field of flowers under the watch of a blonde woman she assumed was their mother.
"Our family was distraught, but our misfortune was not yet over. You see, our mother was a witch—one of the strongest I've seen in a thousand years—and she wanted to make our family indestructible. With that, the first vampires were born."
"So, our mother created vampires?" Lucy cocked her head.
"Correct, we all changed except you and our mother," Elijah confirmed. "The next full moon, when the werewolves were changed, you and our brother, Niklaus, were out. You were attacked and killed, much like Henrik," his jaw clenched and Lucy could tell that it was hard for him to remember such a moment. "Mother was devastated and furious with Niklaus for taking you out at night. She sought to get revenge against werewolves and vampires."
"She used what was left of your blood and the Petrova doppelganger's blood to cast the Sun and the Moon curse. She used a moonstone to lock it in place and split it," he pointed at the locket around Lucy's neck and she gasped in shock. "After the curse was finished, Mother cast a spell to make sure you'd be reincarnated into the Petrova line so that each time a doppelganger was born, you'd soon follow."
"So your first death was the reason for the Sun and the Moon curse?" Caroline asked Lucy as they wandered around her house, gathering candles for Bonnie. Lucy nodded with a frown. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know," Lucy answered honestly, grabbing the two candles sitting on Liz's piano. "How am I supposed to deal with the fact that I'm pretty much the reason that Katherine is a vampire and Elena's being hunted by some psychotic vampire?"
"Okay, you are definitely not the reason Elena's being stalked by Klaus," Caroline gave Lucy a firm you're-being-ridiculous look. "And don't you dare blame yourself for Katherine. She chose to turn into a vampire, not you."
"I know you're right," Lucy conceded. "It just feels like I'm somewhat responsible."
"Well, you're not. And I get that you feel guilty and that's okay because you're stupidly compassionate sometimes, but Luciana died hundreds of years ago," Caroline smiled comfortingly at her best friend. "and you may be her reincarnation but you're not her."
Lucy wanted to agree but she couldn't. She was Luciana that was what her friends and family didn't understand. They knew she had the same name, face, personality, and birthdate and they also knew she was having memories of her previous lives but they didn't know everything Lucy was going through.
There were moments when she sometimes didn't know what year she was in. When she was driving over to Caroline's house only moments earlier, she was shocked at how there were vehicles instead of horses and the modern clothing she wore. It was like she was back in the body of Lucia and she had to pull over to the side of the road to pull herself together. Sometimes, her memories were mixed up and she couldn't determine whether it was Luciana's, Lucia's, or her own.
Lucy was Lucia and Luciana and they were her. If someone asked Luciana a question, she would answer it the same way Lucy would now. They weren't separate people or personalities; they were all one.
"Come on," she sighed. "Let's get these candles to Bonnie."
While Lucy had been at the tea party, asking Elijah questions, Bonnie had drugged Luka with some kind of herb. Caroline, Bonnie, and Jeremy dragged him back to Caroline's house where Bonnie was going to perform a spell to get into his head and ask questions about Elijah and his intentions.
"Okay," Caroline said as she and Lucy walked into the living room where Bonnie and Jeremy waited with an unconscious Luka. "we only have an hour or two before my mom gets home."
"And these are all we could find," Lucy added, holding up the candles.
Jeremy took some of the candles from Lucy while Bonnie said, "Place these evenly around the room."
Lucy, Caroline, and Jeremy got to work, doing as Bonnie said. Once the ten candles were carefully placed, they turned back to Bonnie.
"How does this work?" Jeremy asked.
"I'll put him in a trance and ask him questions," Bonnie told them with a shrug. "It's like hypnosis."
Jeremy gave her a worried look. "Are you sure you're strong enough for this?"
"That's what the candles are for. I'll draw power from the flames."
"I'll get the matches," Caroline volunteered, the matches having slipped her mind.
"I got it," Bonnie closed her eyes and concentrated; Lucy and the others smiled when all the candles were lit, their flames flickering and casting shadows around the room.
Jeremy chuckled fondly. "I'm never gonna get used to that."
"Oh, come on," Caroline smirked suggestively at him. "That's pretty hot and you know it."
Jeremy raised his eyebrows cheekily and grinned, looking down at Bonnie. Lucy looked between her little brother and one of her best friends, seeing how bright Jeremy was when he looked at Bonnie. It was like she was his whole world.
It confused her—when had he and Bonnie become so close—but she didn't hate the idea of Jeremy and Bonnie. Bonnie was a great girl and Lucy loved her; she'd be good for Jeremy and Jeremy would be good for her.
Bonnie smiled awkwardly and asked Jeremy to get her a bowl of water. Jeremy nodded and left for the kitchen. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Bonnie gave Caroline a pointed look.
"Okay, what was that?" she asked. "It's hot?"
"He is so crushing on you," Caroline explained herself as she and Lucy took a seat on either side of Bonnie.
"So…?"
"So, what, you'd rather be with traitor warlock over here?" Caroline gestured to Luka.
"I'm not into Luka," Bonnie said firmly. "It's just, you know, he understood me and he was new and different."
"And you've known Jeremy since forever and you only see him as mine and Elena's brother," Lucy spoke up and watched with amusement as Bonnie gave her a nervous look. "It's all right, Bon, I'm cool with it. I can see he really likes you."
"Besides," Caroline added. "You're a witch, Lucy's a siphon, and I'm a vampire. You know, it's not like we're in any position—"
"To be picky?"
Caroline shook her head chuckled. "No, to judge."
Lucy nodded in agreement while Bonnie smiled, considering Caroline's words. Jeremy took the opportunity to walk into the room with the bowl of water, setting it down in front of Bonnie.
"Looks like he's waking up," Jeremy nodded at Luka, who was slowly opening his eyes.
Bonnie glanced at Luka and dipped her hands into the water before placing them against his head. Luka winced and when the candles flared around the room, he began to breathe heavily, as if in pain.
Bonnie cast the spell, whispering under her breath as she fought to get into Luka's mind. The flames of the candles were still high and bright and the candles themselves were burning down the longer Bonnie fought with Luka. Lucy, Caroline, and Jeremy watched on worriedly, not making any sound so they wouldn't disturb Bonnie.
Caroline glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing that nearly an hour had passed. "How long is this gonna take?" she asked Bonnie.
"I don't know," Bonnie answered, her voice calm and collected. "He's fighting me."
Luka jerked around in Bonnie's hold, his pleads panicked, "Please stop. Please."
Bonnie exhaled and Luka slumped, his eyes slowly closing.
"All right, there," Bonnie opened her eyes and looked down at Luka. "Why are you working with Elijah?"
"Klaus," Luka told her. "We both want him dead."
Lucy, Caroline, and Bonnie exchanged confused looks.
"You want to kill Klaus, too. Why?"
"Because he has her and we have to get her away from him."
"Who are you talking about?"
"My sister."
"Sister?" Jeremy spoke up, cocking his head.
"Why does he have her?" Bonnie asked Luka.
"He's searching for a way to undo the curse without the doppelganger," Luka answered. "He's forced generations of witches to help him for centuries."
"What has Elijah promised you?"
"If we help Elijah kill Klaus, he's promised to return her to us."
"And how do you kill Klaus?" Bonnie prompted. "How do you kill an original vampire?"
Luka winced and blinked heavily, trying to fight against the trance Bonnie put him under. "He'll kill me if I tell you," he protested. "Don't make me."
"It's okay, Bonnie," Lucy gave Luka a sad look, realizing that he was in as much trouble as the rest of them. He just wanted to help his sister; wasn't that what they were trying to do? "We can find another way."
"No," Bonnie said firmly before speaking to Luka, who was back in his trance, "How will you kill Klaus?"
Luka had no choice but to answer. "After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It's our only chance."
Lucy stiffened and shared a panicked look with Jeremy. If they could only kill Klaus after the sacrifice, that meant that Elena had to die.
"After the sacrifice?" Caroline spoke up, making sure she heard him correctly.
"What do you mean, after?" Bonnie tagged on.
"Klaus will be vulnerable," Luka repeated himself.
"But Elena will be dead."
"Yes," Luka confirmed. "Elena has to die."
Lucy clenched her eyes shut and grabbed Jeremy's hand, squeezing it tightly.
She hadn't known when she made that deal with Elijah that he wasn't going to protect Elena. If she had known, if she had known that Elijah was going to let Elena be sacrificed, she wouldn't have made the deal.
But know that they knew Elijah's intentions, they had to stop him. There was no way that Lucy or anyone else was going to let Elena die. They couldn't lose her.
They just couldn't.