(3/16/21) A/N: Hi everyone, thank you for reading!
Sorry for the grammar/ spelling issues.
Some of the words in italics were taken directly from the episodes.
I should be posting Black Dawn (Part 3) within the next week.
Hope everybody's staying safe and healthy!
*Warning for Vampire Diaries canon typical violence.
Season 3: Black Dawn (Part 2)
"I think… I think I should consider relieving my past life, Bonnie. Maybe it can give us some kind of leverage over him," Sophia said over the phone.
The next day, everyone was on their toes. Elena feared retribution from Klaus, who had yet to retaliate for the attempt on his life.
Even though Sophia was certain he would counteract with his usual horrific flair, she couldn't help but breathe easier with the knowledge that he was still alive. She felt awful.
Sophia opted to stay home that day while her siblings went out to ingratiate themselves with the world.
"Are you sure? That was our reasoning with Katherine, and- well doing this could turn out to be more of the same." Bonnie replied.
"I know, I just… I don't know what the right thing to do is."
"Look, I have to go right now, but we'll talk about this later," Bonnie assured her before hanging up.
Sophia frowned as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She should be alone.
"Who's here?" She called out, grabbing a kitchen knife unthinkingly.
"It's me," responded Jeremy as he stomped down the stairs.
Sophia deflated and put the knife away, then went to meet Jeremy by the front door.
"Shouldn't you be at work?" she questioned as he shrugged his jacket on.
"They let me go. It wasn't working out," he said, not meeting her eyes as he opened the door.
"Where are you going?"
" I'm gonna go meet up with Tyler."
"Are you that's a good idea?" Sophia tried, but Jeremy had shut the door before she finished her question.
Alaric and Elena had returned home not long after that, having learned that Jeremy was fired while at the Grill. Elena briefed her on her run-in with Klaus, and how he informed her that Stefan had stolen something from him.
While this was concerning, Elena made Jeremy their priority. They planned an intervention of sorts for their brother, disguised as an early dinner.
Jeremy had returned as Ric was prepping the food, and Elena confronted him on his job and hanging out with Tyler Lockwood.
Sophia watched from where she sat at the table, unsure of how to respond to Jeremy's attitude. He looked to her for support as Elena attempted to ban him from going back out with Tyler.
"I'm sorry, Jer. I also don't think it's a good idea," Sophia said in response.
As a last-ditch effort, Jeremy invited Tyler into their house.
Despite their uneasiness, Elena and Ric turned the situation into an opportunity to learn more about the intricacies of the sire bond, with disturbing results.
Sophia joined Elena and Ric at the kitchen island as they pondered Tyler's loyalty to Klaus, and they all turned too late to discover that Jeremy had left the dining table, his ring left on his plate.
"What is he doing?" Elena questioned at the sight of Jeremy standing in the middle of the road. He ignored their shouts for him to get out of the way as a car sped around the corner, intending to hit him.
Ric managed to push him out of the way on time, to his detriment.
Damon stopped by after Elena notified him of their hybrid run-in, and it was him who had noticed that Jeremy wasn't wearing his bracelet. It was also Damon who enlightened them on what Stefan stole from Klaus.
"Klaus is trying to send us a message. He wants us to find Stefan, who stole his coffins full of his dead family members," Damon shared.
"Coffins?" retorted Elena.
A part of her felt angry on Klaus's siblings' behalf for being regulated to coffins in the event of disappointing their brother and frustrated towards Niklaus.
Sophia's forehead scrunched in thought as Damon specified four coffins.
We have Rebekah, and Klaus had Elijah, thought Sophia. She was momentarily stumped as to who could be in the other two coffins.
You forget Kol and Fin, another voice provided. Hazy faces flashed in her mind, but she couldn't picture them clearly.
That made three of the four coffins Stefan had, Sophia thought. No answer was given to her of who was encased in the fourth coffin.
Jeremy snapped as Damon proposed they return the coffins to Klaus, saying they should leave Mystic Falls before this town became the death of them, storming out of the room soon after.
Sophia opted to stay at home to wait for Jeremy after Elena had put together that the coffins were connected to Bonnie's dreams. Bonnie had shared with Elena Stefan's location, and so her sister and Damon went to go suss him out.
Sophia anxiously paced around the house, waiting for Alaric to wake up. When he finally began to revive, Elena had also returned home. Alaric suddenly began to convulse and Elena called 911.
"Let's not and say we did. Why don't you two meet us at the hospital," said the hybrid who had been stalking Elena. The paramedics left without another word, leaving Ric to die.
Both Elena and Sophia crouched by a struggling Ric, Elena eyeing her nervously as the hybrid insisted on an invite into their home. Suddenly he was shot unconscious.
Elena and Sophia watched in mutual horror as their little brother hacked off the head of the hybrid, ensuring he wouldn't be a problem later.
"I have to give Rebekah to Klaus," said Elena, a determined look in her eye, as if she were expecting a rebuttal.
Sophia simply nodded in agreement.
"I'll try to bargain with Klaus for yours and Jeremy's safety in exchange for Rebekah," said Elena as she shrugged her coat back on, "Wait here for Jeremy and Ric."
"Elena wait, just bargain for Jeremy's safety. Not only would two for one not appeal to Klaus but…" Sophia paused, regretting not sharing this with Elena earlier," Klaus ordered Stefan to protect me too when he was still under his compulsion. I didn't say anything because Stefan told me not to and it seemed easier to go along with what he wanted. And I never mentioned it because it didn't seem important… until now."
Elena looked at her with contemplative eyes.
"He has to know you're an old soul by now," said Elena.
"And he's still curious on how my rebirth is connected to the doppelgangers," concluded Sophia, nodding at Elena meaningfully.
"Alright, just Jeremy. For now," affirmed Elena with a nod, walking out the door.
Why had she agreed to stay at the house? Sophia asked herself. She paced around, wanting to be useful, wanting to be helpful. She let Elena go out on her own to bargain with Klaus. It seemed like a good idea at the time since Klaus needed Elena alive, and her sister and the hybrid had an established rapport. Sophia had all but met him once in this lifetime.
Sophia gave Elena a lot of shit for the measures she took to protect their family, to protect Stefan, as reckless and ill-thought-out they may be. Meanwhile, Sophia stayed behind, not wanting to rock the boat. That had to change if she was going to ensure what was left of her family went on surviving. She grabbed some car keys and headed out.
Sophia noticed an unfamiliar car as she pulled up to the Salvatore's. Klaus must already be here. She parked closer to the large boarding house, got out of her car, and started walking to the front door.
She thought about how whenever Klaus made his presence known in Mystic Falls, they always just missed each other. Now, he was just on the other side of this door. She hesitated as she placed her hand on the doorknob, doubting the soundness of her plan.
What plan? This isn't a plan, she criticized herself. For a hot minute, she figured that confronting the root of her inner angst might do her some good, but how stupid was that, with how chaotic Klaus's actions were in the wake of his stolen family. If she was being honest with herself, there may never be a good time to try and sort things out with him, the psychopathic 1,000-year-old vampire.
Sophia started walking back to her car, her hand hesitating again before she could open the door. Was she really going to leave Elena alone again now that she was here? The itch to put distance between her and Klaus had her seriously considering the option when the choice was taken out of her hands.
She heard the front door to the boarding house open, and she turned to see Klaus carrying out a pale gray and unconscious Rebekah. The dagger was pulled out of her, and the look on Klaus's face was guarded when first he spotted Sophia.
Inexplicably, the deep-seated tension that filled her eased at once at the sight of him, alive and well. Relatively speaking.
Something in Klaus's expression shifted as her eyes swept his body up and down, eyebrows furrowed in concern as she looked for signs of injury. She hadn't noticed how she had taken the beginning steps to get closer to him, the need to touch him nearly overwhelming her.
She only just stopped herself at the last second, the sound of her phone ringing breaking her out of… whatever just happened. It was as if she had been in some sort of trance. For a second, Sofija had taken the wheel.
Sophia quickly looked down at her phone and saw that it was Jeremy who had been calling and sent it to voicemail.
She took a second to calm herself before lifting her head to meet his eyes again. Klaus had stayed, paused on the Salvatores porch as he studied her.
"Niklaus," Sophia greeted him without thinking, her tone matter of fact. Belatedly, she thought his full name seemed more appropriate than simply Klaus.
The sound of her voice seemed to have jolted him into action, as he took the necessary steps to walk to his car.
"The lovely Sophia, as elusive as ever," he said, momentarily meeting her eyes as he walked by her, before continuing on to go place Rebekah in his car.
After doing so, he moved to lean against the dashboard of his car, his arms folded casually over his chest.
"I missed your presence at the homecoming dance, and the time I was in town before that. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, his voice rich, his blue eyes focused and interminable.
Sophia audibly swallowed. Now that the safety of his wellbeing was no longer in question, she couldn't help but notice how good he looked.
He's always been beautiful, a voice shared.
Sophia pinched the inside of her forearm, trying to return to rational thought. She wanted to remark on how he had forgoed "Elena's" safety at the dance, and how he terrorized everyone at Senior prank night. She wanted to ask him what it would take for him to leave her family and loved ones alone. Instead…
"You know what I am, don't you? Who I am? Rebekah said as much." The sound of her voice was vulnerable and raw, even to her ears.
Ever careful to not give anything away, Klaus's expression seemed more muted than before, not quite as on the offensive.
"I hadn't quite bought into this old soul nonsense when it was first brought to my attention. I've since sought a second and third opinion. I believe a more appropriate question is, do you know who you are? Everyone I've talked to agreed that old soul's privy to their former lives are rather… fragile beings," Klaus bated.
Sophia winced. Fair enough.
Klaus's manner had taken on a cavalier quality, his mouth fixed in a smirk.
"I know who I am," was all she could manage to say. Being in his presence was throwing her off-kilter.
"And yet, I can't help but notice you chose to not relive your past life with me and my family, or this would be a very different conversation. It would have been to your advantage to do so. You've obviously relived your past life with Katerina, so you must have the means," he went on, his eyes curious.
Sophia stood straighter, and her chin jutted out proudly as she responded.
"Make no mistake, reliving a past life has proven to be a painful experience, one I don't want to go through again if I can help it. And it certainly didn't help that even your own sister thought it was best I leave the past in the past," Sophia's voice started strong, and grew progressively more confident as she responded to Klaus.
The shiver she felt as his eyes darkened in approval kept her from feeling too proud of herself.
"Ah, yes. Then there is the matter of my poor sister. I was worried about how she might respond to you, she is the most sentimental of my siblings. It must not have been an amicable reunion between you two if you agreed to her being daggered," Klaus asserted.
Sophia opened and closed her mouth as she struggled on what to say next before the words came to her.
"I sincerely regret that Rebekah had to be daggered, but ultimately, the risk that she would change her mind about the plot to kill you was too much, and Elena's personally been burned by a sibling of yours before," said Sophia, smiling humorlessly as she thought back to Elijah going back on his word. It seemed like so long ago.
Klaus stayed silent, his eyes searching hers. Now that the topic of Rebekah was brought up, she couldn't help thinking of how excited Bekah had been about the dance. At the disbelief she felt when she learned that Klaus daggered his family, and how he took out the anger he had on Stefan on her little brother.
"How can you just- You know, you wouldn't be in this situation if you didn't dagger your family in the first place. How did you change so much to where daggering is a viable option when your brother's and little sister want a bit of independence from you and your always and forever?! Rebekah was getting acclimated to technology and discovering high school dances when she was… still up and about. You robbed her of 90 years of her life, on top of finding out you've lied to her for nearly 1,000 about how your mom actually died." Sophia was breathing hard, and she realized too late that by the end of her rant, she had edged closer to Klaus, who was now only a few feet away from her.
She took note of how he had tensed up, his face defensive. He was now standing up straight as he stepped closer to her.
"Do not presume to know what you're talking about when it comes to my family, especially based on Rebekah and Elijah's accounts. Even with our history, I am not the man you knew. Do not overstep your bounds and surmise you mean more to me than you do. We are done here," Klaus nearly growled, standing less than a foot away from her.
Sophia wasn't much shorter than him, and in her boots, they nearly stood eye to eye.
It took a moment for her to realize she wasn't breathing.
"I should want you dead. After what you did to Jeremy today, to Ric, I should be at Stefan's side doing whatever I could to make sure your life is as much as the living hell you've made mine since you killed Jenna. But you must've done a number on me when I first met you because a part of me, and it's not a small part, wants you alive more than I want you dead." A tear fell from Sophia's right eye, all the way down her face before she realized she was crying. She tried to blink back the water gathering up in her eyes, but it was too late.
Ah, hell. She wasn't a pretty crier.
She sniffled and quickly wiped away the gathering tears.
She couldn't even enjoy how Klaus seemed to be out of his comfort zone, the anger on his face had melted away, and he seemed perplexed on what to do next. The hybrid raised a hand up to her face, and his eyes were cautious as he reached out to caress her. He ran his thumb across her now smooth cheek, reminiscent of when he had met Sofia Rakovsky.
"Don't touch me," snapped Sophia, batting away his hand.
For a millisecond, she could have sworn Klaus seemed regretful of her reaction, but soon, a wall seemed to set over his face. Any traces of vulnerability were now gone.
"Don't overstep and presume you mean more to be than you do," Sophia echoed, her voice thick, "I am Sophia Gilbert, first and foremost, not Sofija Dahlgaard. I don't know exactly what happened between you and me back then, and it's obviously a moot point now. I just wanted to see where we stood. I know Elena would have only been able to bargain for Jeremy's safety when she gave you Rebekah. If you need someone else to threaten, maim, or kill when you feel the need to motivate my sister, make it me. It's looking like dying young is on-brand for me, and better me than my family."
Tears had continued to stream down her face, and Sophia wiped the excess snot from her nose onto her sleeve. Lovely indeed.
Klaus's face wasn't kind, exactly, but it took on a gentle quality as he stepped into her personal space, bent his head, and angled his lips to her ear.
"Encourage your sister and her Salvatore suitors to do as I say, love, and I won't have to follow through on my threats," he said in a low voice.
Sophia froze. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as she met his, her hands twitched.
Acting on instinct, her body finally did what it had been aching to do since she'd first seen him. Before he could step away, her arms encircled his neck, and she pulled him in for a crushing hug. Klaus went still in her arms.
"I'm glad Mikael's dead, it was a thousand years overdue," she whispered.
These were magic words, evidently.
Klaus swiftly reciprocated her hug, wrapping his arms around her waist, and gave as good as he got. In the blink of an eye, he was out of her arms.
Before she could process what she had just done, Klaus was in his car with the keys in the ignition and didn't spare a glance in her direction as he sped away.
Sophia managed to calm herself down before Elena left the boarding house, surprised to see her sister there.
"Are you okay? What's wrong? Did you run into Klaus?" Elena rapidly asked as she walked over to Sophia, who sat in her car.
She had noticed that her eyes were still swollen and makeup was smeared when she looked into the mirror.
"I did- He didn't say much. Wanted me to encourage you to listen to him and help find his family," Sophia shared, rolling her eyes.
"Why are you cry-" Elena attempted to ask.
"It's nothing, I'm fine. Just, everything that happened today, it just got to me."
"Your sisters think we should have another one of our talks," said Damon as he walked into Jeremy's room.
Sophia abhorred the idea of taking away Jeremy's choice, and it was her immediate thought to turn down Elena's idea to get Jeremy out of town. But then she thought back to her 16-year-old brother decapitating a man, and she nodded her head in acceptance.
Jeremy would go on to live with some family friends, and one of the last living Gilbert's would hopefully manage to preserve some sort of normal, high school experience.
Sophia walked down the stairs, seeing that the front door was still open. She stopped halfway when she saw Elena and Damon kissing on the porch. She turned right around and walked back up to her room.
Elena was… aggressive the next morning. Not having the mental fortitude to console her sister with her ongoing love triangle, and knowing that Elena would bring it up herself when she was ready to talk about it, Sophia pretended she hadn't seen the kiss between her and Damon the night before. Elena left early to work out at Alaric's house. Sophia had opted out of her sister's self-defense lessons when Elena first brought them up, but she still tried to include Sophia whenever she went to go train with Ric.
Sophia met up with Elena at Caroline's locker to help set up for the blonde's birthday. They were mostly done when Bonnie showed up a bit late. Elena shared a concerned look with Sophia as she began to tell Bonnie how Jeremy was going to leave town for the time being.
"Jeremy wouldn't just leave you to deal with Klaus by yourselves," Bonnie asserted, her eyes going back and forth between Elena and Sophia.
"I know, I asked Damon to compel him," said Elena as she turned her gaze to the floor before meeting Bonnie's eyes again.
"You what?" Bonnie asked in disbelief.
"It's not safe for him here anymore. Me and Elena both thought carefully about this," Sophia added, looking regretfully at Bonnie.
Elena went on to say that the reason she brought this up to Bonnie is because she wanted the witch to have a chance to say goodbye before Jeremy left.
Sophia, Elena, Bonnie, and Matt all rendezvoused at Caroline's house when they realized the birthday girl skipped out on school.
"Surprise!" they all shouted when she got home.
Elena thought on her feet after Caroline shared how didn't feel up to their original plan to celebrate her 18th birthday with a campfire at the falls. Caroline was feeling the birthday blues over being perpetually 17, and so Elena proposed they commemorate Caroline's death in a mausoleum at the cemetery.
"Here lies Caroline Forbes," started Sophia.
"Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls," smiled Elena as she placed candles on the cake.
"Third-grade hopscotch champion," added Sophia.
"Friend, daughter… overachiever," said Bonnie.
"Mean girl, sometimes. No offense," said Matt with a smile.
"Ah, none taken," shrugged Caroline, owning it.
Bonnie blinked at the candles on the cake, which were then lit before their eyes as they remembered Caroline's former life and encouraged her to move forward.
"Don't bogart the tequila," quipped Sophia as she stole the bottle from Matt.
"Me next," said Elena after Sophia took a shot.
Tensions raised when Elena chided Caroline for reaching out to Tyler after a little too much quality time with the tequila.
"Oh, give her a break, you can't control what everyone does all this time," said Bonnie after Elena scolded Caroline.
"Wow," deadpanned Elena, keeping her eyes on Bonnie.
Sophia grabbed the bottle Elena had put down and took another drink, then handed it to Matt who was looking at her with questioning eyebrows.
"Ouch, Bon," said Matt as he got up from his seat.
"I'm sorry, I just feel it's really wrong that both of you compelled Jeremy to leave town," said Bonnie stubbornly.
"We did to protect him, Bonnie," said Sophia, who ultimately didn't regret her decision.
"We wanted to give him a chance at a halfway normal life," included Elena.
"You know, you guys are ruining a perfectly good funeral," Matt broke in as Bonnie and Elena went back and forth a little while longer.
Bonnie said sorry to the room and excused herself to go sleep off her mood. With the aid of alcohol, the four remaining teenagers managed to salvage the funeral, giggling the night away, when Tyler showed up.
"Sorry, didn't mean to crash the party," Tyler said as Matt stood up defensively. Elena and Sophia exchanged nervous glances as Caroline agreed to talk privately with Tyler.
"We've been abandoned," said Elena as Matt searched with his flashlight for Caroline through the dark woods. Her sister had proposed a search party to go look for the birthday girl to keep her from getting back with Tyler. Sophia trailed a few feet behind Elena and Matt, smiling to herself as they goofed off.
Then something came out of nowhere and pushed Matt, crashing him into the Masoluem's stone wall. It was Stefan, who used his hand to cover Elena's mouth as she struggled against him.
"Follow me if you don't want her to get hurt," Stefan ordered Sophia without taking his eyes off of Elena.
Stefan forced Elena and Sophia into his car, speeding down the road with Elena in the passenger seat and Sophia in the back.
He didn't respond to Elena, who tried to get him to explain what he was up to. They had a clue after Damon called Elena, and heard as Stefan hinted at a next move, at a plan to stop Klaus from making any more hybrids.
Sophia felt the blood drain from her face as she put two and two together. Elena looked at her fearfully.
"Stefan, let us out of the car!" demanded Elena, but her plea fell on deaf ears.
"Maybe I'll just turn you into a vampire," Stefan threatened as Elena kept asking what his next move was, "and that way, you'll have a chance of reuniting with Sophia when she's born again. Assuming she doesn't survive the crash, of course."
"Stop the car, Stefan!" Sophia and Elena yelled together. Sophia reached out to grasp Elena's hand as Stefan drove at a terrifying speed towards Wickery Bridge.
Stefan looked at them unsympathetically as he took out his phone to make another call.
He put this next one on speakerphone.
"Stefan, how nice to hear your voice," greeted Klaus genially.
"Tell your hybrids to get out of town, Klaus," Stefan ordered.
"Well, that's not gonna happen till I get my coffins back."
Stefan smiled to himself as he said, "Okay. Well, I'm going to drive your blood source and her sister off Wickery Bridge."
"I don't believe you, Stefan, you won't kill them."
Stefan bit his wrist. Sophia watched, paralyzed, as he forced his blood into Elena's mouth. It was what happened to Jenna all over again.
Elena choked on his blood.
"Don't do this Stefan, you know she doesn't want this," Sophia said, panicking.
"What are you doing?" asked Elena brokenly as Stefan somehow sped up even more.
"What's going on?" questioned Klaus.
"I just fed her my blood. No more hybrids if she's a vampire. As for Sophia, I don't know and I don't care who she is to you. I just know that you preferred her alive, so you'll just have to catch up with her in her next life," taunted Stefan.
"You won't do it," denied Klaus.
"Try me, because your coffins are next to go. Say goodbye to your family Klaus," said Stefan as he gunned it towards the fast approaching bridge
Elena and Sophia flew back into their seats.
"Stefan, please!" cried Sophia from the back seat as she grasped her seat belt.
"Stefan slow down! Stefan, stop it!" pleaded Elena.
"Fine. I'll send them away. You win," responded Klaus.
Elena continued to beg Stefan to stop as he kept driving.
"Stop the car Stefan!" demanded Klaus.
Elena and Sophia both cried out as the car, at last, came to a screeching halt halfway through the bridge.
Sophia caught her breath in the back seat as Elena unbuckled from her seat and stepped out.
Stefan got out to command Elena to get back in the car, while she just wanted him to stay away from her.
Body shaking, Sophia gingerly stepped out of the car and watched as Elena tore into Stefan for nearly killing them on the bridge where their parents died, where Elena had almost died once before.
Stefan doubled down on his decision, on how he got one over on Klaus.
"He has a weakness! If I know his weakness, I can destroy him!" exclaimed Stefan.
"And after everything, that's what mattered? Destroying Klaus?" sobbed Elena in disbelief.
As their fight continued, Sophia walked further away from the car, and remained on the fringe of Stefan and Elena's fight, feeling that her sister needed to hash this out.
"Is that what you're doing, trying to make me hate you?" guessed Elena, trying to find reason behind Stefan's madness.
"I don't really care what you think about me anymore, Elena," said Stefan.
He didn't spare Sophia a glance as he walked back to his car and drove away.
Sophia walked over to her sister.
"It's okay now, Elena," comforted Sophia as she tried to place her hand on Elena's shoulder, but the brunette stepped away, hugging herself as she looked over the bridge.
Klaus barely contained his rage after hanging up on Stefan, still simmering beneath the surface.
"Crazy or not, that kind of love never dies," Klaus had remarked towards Damon as the younger vampire made the case that he didn't know how far his younger brother was willing to go.
In a moment of self-preservation, Klaus gave in to Stefan's demands and had presumably stopped the inane ripper from killing a necessary component for making more hybrids. That's all there was to it.
Then he remembered her words. Her touch. Her scent. Her tears. Sofija.
"I'm glad Mikael's dead. It was a thousand years overdue."
But she had said so herself, she wasn't Sofija anymore, but Sophia. He had changed and evolved, and so had she. How was it possible that she had been out there all this time, and he was none the wiser? And now, her loyalties lied with the bloody doppelganger. In a cruel twist of fate, he had found her again, only to treat her as if she were the likes of Katerina.
He won't apologize for his actions and stands by them. No matter how they pained her.
The wolf in him, who had been dormant for as long as he had been without Sofija, burned within him and sought to go to her, declaring him a fool all the while. Was it a coincidence that when Niklaus found her again, he had the means to reawaken his wolf? The first time he had nearly broken his curse, Sofija had been unknowingly within his reach then too.
Klaus shook his head at his idiocy, he was starting to sound like her. He thought back to her naive belief in the law of surprise, her faith in their vows.
She had been a contrary and willful slip of a girl, and he had been in awe that someone as exceptional as her loved him. He almost couldn't reconcile how it was somehow his Sofija that Stefan had nearly driven off a bridge.
Then he remembered how she had eyed him in profound concern last she saw him. How she hadn't backed down from him and demanded he hear her out. Her loyalty to her family was unflinching even as she admitted she didn't entirely want him dead. No, he couldn't deny it any longer. Sofija and Sophia were one and the same.
It was agonizing how she somehow knew too much and not enough at once.
At the end of it all, she was not his Sofija.
"Are you going to kill me?" wondered Caroline as she laid in bed.
"On your birthday? Do you really think that low of me?" asked Klaus gently.
Perhaps he had been hasty when he ordered her to be bitten, and he had come to rectify that.
And yet...Klaus wanted the vampire coming into her own to decide to live if he was going to save her life. He described the eminence of being a vampire, a whole world of great cities, art, and music, and he saw that he was getting to her.
"You can have a thousand more birthdays, all you have to do is ask," he offered, his voice just above a whisper.
After declaring she didn't want to die, Klaus lifted her up so that she leaned against his lap, and presented his wrist towards her.
"There you go sweetheart, have at it."
Odd that such a forthright individual was with the likes of Tyler Lockwood. It made sense to him that Sofija would gravitate towards one as unequivocal as herself. Or, as she once had been, in another life.
Sophia was just so very human.
Perhaps he should focus his attentions on someone whose person was immortal.
"Miranda was my best friend," Abby stated matter of factly.
It was surreal. Sophia was sitting beside Elena at Bonnie's mother's house, since she was somehow needed to open the sealed coffin Stefan was concealing.
Bonnie was combative with the mother who abandoned her, for obvious reasons.
"My best friend is why I left," Abby went on.
She shared how a vampire, some fifteen years, went into town looking for the doppelganger. Elena. He couldn't be killed, and so Abby led him to the cemetery in Charlotte where she desiccated him, for lack of a better option. Abby physically recovered from the overpowerful spell, but her magic was gone. For some reason, Abby decided to never return to Mystic Falls.
Elena and Sophia excused themselves as Abby tried to explain herself to Bonnie.
"Why are you doing this?" Elena asked as Jaime, Abby's adopted son, tied her and Elena's hands together.
He wasn't forthcoming about his reasons.
As always, Klaus was one step ahead of them, and he had his hybrids threaten Abbie and Jaime for information on the coffin's whereabouts.
Sophia left Elena and Stefan alone after they had retrieved the wooden bullets Jaime shot before they could puncture his heart.
Sophia would later learn that Elena told Stefan that she kissed Damon.
As well as how Stefan apologized for kidnaping them and speeding the car over the bridge.
The sister's arrived home that night and walked in on Ric kissing the Fell doctor he was acquainted with, Meredith.
After Sophia fell asleep that night, she dreamed of a little girl lost in the woods, and the boy who found her and rescued her. Of the small mushroom knight, he had gifted her with, and how she treasured it so.
Of course, it was Elena's fingerprints found on the wooden stake that was used to murder the medical examiner.
Thank god Sherriff Forbes didn't think it was actually Elena who committed the murder.
Finding Caroline's dad stabbed in a medical supplies room.
The look on Caroline's face when her father refused to complete the transition.
Meredith Fell potentially picking off fellow founding family members.
Caroline trying to prepare for a life without her dad.
Finding Alaric stabbed and left for dead in their home, and Elena having to finish the job so that his ring would bring him back to life.
It never let up. Mystic Falls and all of its horrors. It never let up.
Sophia and Elena both stepped out of the car when it had felt like Elena bumped into something when backing out. Sophia walked over to the driver's side and shrugged at Elena. There was nothing there.
They had just exited the hospital where Ric was staying for observation, and Matt, who had been with them, had already left.
Then, Rebekah appeared out of thin air in front of Elena.
"Surprised? You drove a dagger through my back. It hurt." gritted Rebekah as she choked Elena, holding her against the car.
Sophia watched in shock. Everything happened so fast, she barely had time to react.
Just as sudden as his sister, Elijah appeared and pulled Rebekah off of Elena.
Rebekah seemed to be ignoring Sophia as she deemed both Elena and Elijah pathetic. Then she was gone.
Elijah was a sight for sore eyes. He informed Elena and Sophia how it was his mother who had been in the last coffin, and she had woken up.
Sleep now, sweetling. It'll be over soon, a foreign, maternal voice echoed in her head as Elijah explained what happened. Sophia felt a rush of hysteria. The name Esther made her want to throw up. The original mother's return could only mean trouble.
"Anyone else feeling a little used right now?" asked Damon after Elena shared Elijah's news.
Both he and Stefan were now stumped on how this affected their plan to end Klaus's existence.
Elijah had told them that Esther returned so she could live in peace with her family.
Elena believed Elijah, that he and his family would not hurt them.
Sophia recalled her past life's warning of Esther. This whole situation didn't sit well with her.
Then the doorbell rang. An invitation for the Gilbert family was found on their doorstep.
Damon was strongly opposed to Elena wanting to go to Esther's ball, and Sophia couldn't say she disagreed with him. Esther wrote a personal message to Elena on the invitation, saying it was time they finally met in person.
Between Esther not personalizing a message for Sophia and the Salvatore's not giving a fig if she happened to stop by the ball, Sophia wondered if she should feel snubbed.
Meanwhile, Stefan also thought there was more to this ball than what it appeared to be at first glance.
Sophia pondered what Klaus made of all this as Elena bickered with her boyfriends.
Esther had been screwing with him since he broke his curse and wanted to figure out how to sire hybrids. Did he really believe his mother just wanted to let bygones be bygones?
Damon stormed out of the house after declaring that Elena wouldn't go near the ball for her safety and that Stefan shouldn't either due to his penchant for antagonizing originals.
The blue-eyed vampire planned to go on his own.
Stefan left soon after Damon stormed out.
"What time is this stupid dance?" demanded Caroline after Rebekah, who still had yet to look at Sophia, had asked Matt to the ball.
Sophia and Elena had met with her for lunch at the Grill not long after the Salvatore brothers had left.
Caroline nervously tapped her fingers on the table after Elena got up to pay for their meal. Sophia could see out of the corner of her eye how Caroline kept no so subtly looking at her.
"Is there anything you want to talk about Caroline?" Sophia asked teasingly.
"Please don't tell Elena but… when Klaus personally invited me to the ball, he sent me a dress. A beautiful dress. I know I shouldn't wear it, cause that definitely would send him the wrong message, but -" Caroline looked at Sophia imploringly, "It's so pretty."
Holding her breath, Sofija lifted the lid off of the dressed-up box. Inside was one of the last gifts her parents had gotten for her during a trip to New York in an attempt to get her excited about the Founding Family's celebrations. Inside the box was a strapless, shimmering, lavender dress. Sophia stared at it sadly.
As much as Sophia didn't want to be in Esther's orbit, as well as wanting to keep her sister's all-powerful doppelganger blood well away from Esther, Elena was not to be talked down.
Sophia resolved to not let Elena present herself to the wicked witch without her.
"Mom had always had an eye for dresses, didn't she?" Elena said, smiling encouragingly as Sophia did her makeup.
Sophia paired the dress with complimenting silver heels that had once belonged to Jenna, and tried to recreate the thick waves her past life had worn, if slightly less wild looking.
Elena laughed good-naturedly as Sophia played with her hair before the mirror, unsure if she should leave it down.
"I know just the thing," said Elena as she grabbed a glittery, silver barrette from their mother's jewelry box. Elena pinned the left side of curls back, letting the right-side frame her face.
"Alright, I believe we're ready," said Elena as she and Sopha stood side by side in front of the mirror.
They entered the Michealsons residence together. Sophia immediately spotted the dumbstruck Salvatores as they took in the sight of Elena, while the girl in question surveyed the room. She shook her head, smiling.
"I'll leave you to it," said Sophia, nodding over at the brothers so that Elena finally spotted them. Elena nodded at her as she turned to take in the brother's questions. When Sophia was halfway across the huge, ritzy room, she snorted as saw Elena with a Salvatore on both arms.
"Looking good Donovan," grinned Sophia, having bumped into a comely-looking Matt in a tux.
He smiled back at her.
"You look great, Sophie," he said.
"She looks lovely," said a familiar voice at her side.
Sophia turned her gaze to see a sleekly dressed Rebekah, looking at her with haughty eyes.
"Matt, can you please get me a drink?" the blonde asked. Matt nodded, met Sophia's eyes again, and went to find a waiter.
"Rebekah," Sophia nodded her head and then turned to survey the room.
"Did you know-"
"I had no idea what Elena was planning on doing, and I was upset when I returned to the boarding house to find out you were daggered," Sophia said in a low voice.
"Your sister is a backstabbing-"
"Elena did what she thought was best. It was rash and impulsive, but she is my sister and you tried to kill her," hissed Sophia through gritted teeth as she met Rebekah's surprised eyes.
"I'm sorry for her actions, but I don't want her dead over them. I'm sure you can relate, given your own family's indiscretions," concluded Sophia, before walking away from the blonde vampire.
Her body was shaking. She hadn't realized how much anger she harbored over Rebekah's actions.
"...Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz. So if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom," announced Elijah as he stood with his family on their brightly lit staircase.
Sophia was petrified at the sight of Esther.
Sophia drifted towards the back of the crowd, slowing her pace as everyone made their way to the ballroom. Not only did she lack a partner, she was also a bit rusty on her waltzing given she hadn't brushed up on any of her dancing lessons after her mother passed away.
"Evening, darling. I take it you also find yourself without a partner," said a close voice.
Sophia looked up
Kol Mikaelson, a voice happily informed her.
He smiled at her roguishly.
Sophia smiled tentatively at him. The entire Michealson family made her feel acute deja vu. Despite being in enemy territory, in spite of him being one of the aforementioned enemies, she felt safe with him in close proximity.
Something to think over later.
Lacking any better options, Sophia accepted his arm. As they made their way to the ballroom, she tightened her grip when she saw that Klaus was Caroline's escort, and Caroline wearing the dress that the hybrid had gifted her.
"Still a jealous thing, aren't you sweetheart?" Kol teased as they began to dance. Her eyes had been concentrated on his older brother and her friend. What was wrong with her?
Kol's voice snapped her out of her fixation, and she looked at him, startled.
"I'm not a fan of how your family knows more about my past than I do, I find it tiresome," Sophia shared, doing her best to mimic his accent towards the end of her statement.
He was a good enough dancer for the both of them, his finesse covering up for her less than graceful footwork.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with my little sister earlier. You hurt dear Bekah's feelings, though admittedly, that's easily accomplished," he smirked.
Sophia frowned at him.
"However, she does know a thing or two of unruly siblings," he said with a devilish look in his eye as they spun.
After Kol, Sophia was passed on to a handsy member from the Fell family. She "accidentally" stepped on his feet before excusing herself from the dance.
She found herself at the top of the staircase, observing the various people spilled throughout the extravagant room.
Klaus had been so focused on Caroline earlier, in obvious admiration of her. And why wouldn't he be? Sophia thought to herself.
She downed a glass of champagne and contemplated what to do next. Perhaps she should find Elena.
"Evening, Sophia."
Sophia looked up, and her greeting became stuck on her lips. Fin Mikalson had decided to make her acquaintance, her poor manners doing little to deter him.
"I must say, I am surprised not to find Niklaus at your side. Why is that?"
Sophia's fingers tightened on the banister.
"Why would he be?" she countered, her manner taciturn.
"I would have thought that that would have been his first course of action once he realized you were still alive," he said with a faraway look in his eyes, then adding, " I suppose it speaks to how much he's changed that he puts his hybrids before you, and how is easily distracted he is by your blonde friend, for that matter."
Sophia gaped at the eldest Mikaelson sibling. He presented himself so innocuously, and it somehow added to the sting behind his words.
"Enjoy your evening, Sofija." And with that, he left.
"You're a bit of lush this time round."
Sophia held back a groan. Kol had found her. Unfortunately for him, his older brother had put her off from wanting to be friendly with any of his family.
Coming to this ball was a mistake. She saw that now.
"Y'know, at first I thought it overly cruel how Klaus could just stick his entire family in coffins. But after spending some quality time with the lot of you, I understand the urge now," Sophia countered, staring sadly at her now empty glass of champagne. It had been her fourth. And her last, if she wanted to be able to make it down the now deadly seeming staircase in one piece.
She spoke slowly and overly enunciated her words.
She was drunk. And she did a shit job of protecting Elena, having lost focus of her sister as soon as she had spotted Klaus.
Sophia had wandered around to one of the many… living rooms? Drawings room? She picked an empty one and promptly collapsed onto an absurdly comfortable loveseat.
The Mikaelsons sure were a posh, uppity bunch for a family who once deemed a bed made of wolf's fur the height of luxury.
"And here I remember you reprimanding me for daring to dagger my family."
Sophia's head snapped up, and right next to Kol, stood Klaus.
His guarded eyes stayed on her as he ordered Kol to leave the room.
"As you wish, Nik," said Kol with good humor, clapping his brother on the back. He winked at Sophia as he exited the room.
"Niklaus," Sophia greeted neutrally, focusing again on her wine glass.
"You shouldn't be alone with Kol. Or any of my family," said Klaus firmly.
Sophia raised a questioning eyebrow.
Don't you want to dance with me, Sofija?
Oh, I suppose you'll do.
A dance that took place centuries ago played out in her mind, a far cry from the refined, orderly waltz she had witnessed earlier.
"I have to say, I'm having a hard time pinning down who your type is. You were super infatuated with Tatia, who was a dead ringer for Elena. Or, it might be the other way around," Sophia furrowed her eyebrows, then shrugged the thought away, "And now, you have your sight set on Caroline. Then again, they are both ridiculously beautiful. I suppose that answers my question."
Klaus watched her, seemingly both amused and worried by her tangent.
"What do you know of Tatia?" Klaus asked calmly as he walked further into the room.
"Not much. I know she was a doppelganger, and both you and Elijah were in love with her. Is that, like, a requirement for doppelgangers? Having two brothers in love with them, I mean." Sophia said as Klaus sat directly across from her on the bigger couch.
Tatia and the Mikaelsons. Elena and the Salvatore brothers. And let's not forget Katherine.
"I'll admit to competing for her affections, but in truth, I loved another."
Sophia turned her head as she placed her wine glass down on a nearby table, trying to avoid his gaze.
She stood up from her seat, not wanting to be alone with him.
"You probably want to get back to Caroline," Sophia said, smoothing non-existent wrinkles on her dress, "You have an impeccable eye for dress sizes, by the way."
Sophia couldn't be sure if she actually saw regret flash in Klaus's eyes, or if it was the champagne talking. He studied her as he also stood up, his gaze traveling down her dress before meeting her eyes again.
"I admit, I thought Caroline would make a lovely date. And she does. As it turns out, she is spoken for. And rather fixated on her Lockwood suitor," Klaus stated matter of factly.
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
"How unfortunate for you. Although, I'm surprised that her commitment to her lowly, highschool boyfriend would deter you," Sophia scoffed. She winced internally at how overly enunciated her words were. She scolded herself for that last glass she drank.
"Careful love. One might think Kol is right. But you couldn't possibly be jealous on my account, could you?" Klaus smiled, a teasing lilt to his voice.
She let Klaus guide her down the staircase since even she had to admit she was too unbalanced to do so safely herself. He was far too smug for her liking.
Before she could make her exit, Esther decided to make her toast.
She reluctantly clinked glasses with Klaus after Esther spoke her peace, and gave in to her impulse to practically chug the wine. The matriarch's voice was reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard to Sophia.
Klaus's eyes were soft as he invited her to see some of the paintings he acquired over the years. She blamed the alcohol for making her helpless to his request.
She stared in awe at some of the artwork he created over the years, not finding it at all hard to believe that his work was in some of the most high-level museums.
"Actually, one of my landscapes is hanging at the Hermitage, not that anyone would ever notice," he said deprecatingly, then turning his full attention to her, "Have you ever been?"
"I've been as far as New York," Sophia smiled wistfully, "And that's about it. My- I think my parents were scared if I explored the world outside of Mystic Falls, I would never come back."
His response was instantaneous.
"Let me take you, anywhere you want to go."
Sophia laughed at his eagerness, and she could see from the look in his eyes he was all too serious.
The dangerous thing was, she couldn't entirely blame the alcohol for wanting to him up on his offer.
"Rome. Paris," He laughed as Sophia stared at him, amused and incredulous.
"Toyko," he went on.
For a second, he reminded her of the much the more boyish Klaus from her dreams. His face was sweet and open.
You have Damon to thank for this, he had said before force-feeding Jenna his blood.
Sophia felt as if ice-cold water was dropped on her, and she involuntarily stepped away from him.
In spite of his accumulating offenses against her family, she tried to be gentle with her following words.
"Running off to Rome with you isn't an option for me, Nik." She hadn't realized at that moment the intimate name that had rolled off her tongue.
The laughter on his face died.
"Nothing's changed since we last talked to each other. Just the other day you threatened Bonnie and her mother with death if they didn't do what you said. Tyler is in hiding because of what you'll do him if he shows up back in town. God knows what you have in store for Elena once you manage a workaround with your mother."
His face was closed off now.
"You know I'm right. It's too late to backtrack. Damon was one thing, and Katherine another. But you're the man-" She hesitated. So many ways to end that sentence.
"Whose made your life a living hell?" he finished bitterly.
She didn't know what to make of the look in his eyes.
"I can't let myself forgive and forget, Niklaus. I won't." Sophia vowed before she left.
Sophia closed her eyes as she stepped outside, finding relief from the cool air on her flushed skin.
"Want a ride home?" Offered a familiar voice.
Sophia opened her eyes to see a real-life Cinderella.
Caroline.
"Yes, please. Get me out of here," begged Sophia.
"So, I don't know if I should be offended or relieved that you stole my wannabe date," said Caroline as she began the drive home.
Sophia winced.
"The truth? I'm embarrassed by how jealous I was that Klaus personally invited you to the ball."
Caroline laughed.
"He talks a big game, but I saw how he looked at you when you were dancing with his brother. He invited the wrong girl to the ball."
I didn't see that, thought Sophia
"I'm sorry Caroline," Sophia burst, "I don't know what came over me. He- I can't pretend anymore that he means nothing to me."
Carolin pulled over in Sophia's driveway.
"It's okay, Sophie. I'm guessing there's a little more to your past life with him than you let on?" Caroline gently asked.
Sophia nodded helplessly.
"I'm here when you're ready to talk, no judgment." Sophia furrowed her eyebrows at Caroline's proclamation. "I promise," swore Caroline, crossing her heart.
When Sophia got home, she found a small, velvet box on her porch. She picked it up and waved bye to Caroline as she unlocked her door and entered her house.
She contemplated the box as she walked around her the living room, turning on the necessary lights, ensuring all the doors and windows were locked.
With a sigh, she opened the box.
Inside… was a sketch of her.
It was her at the top of the Mikaelson's staircase, staring down at the party.
Her smile was a touch rueful, her eyes far away.
You're meant for more than Mystic Falls,
-Niklaus
"Coffee?" greeted Elena as she entered the kitchen that morning, already dressed for the day.
"It's just finished brewing," said Sophia as she sipped her tea. She only had a hint of a hangover that morning.
Elena was tense as she poured her and Sophia a cup of coffee.
"I'm sorry about last night, I lost track of you-"
"No, it's okay," said Elena, "Stefan made sure I got home safely last night."
"That's… good?" Sophia asked.
Elena nodded, not meeting her eyes.
"I have something to catch you up on, about Esther."
Sophia nodded for Elena to continue.
So, Esther was planning on familicide, hoping to kill all her children in one fell swoop. When one died, they all would, thanks to her linking spell. Elena's blood had been an important component in making that happen.
As Tatia's had been, a voice reminded her.
And Elena was upset that she lied to Elijah about his mother's intentions, guilty about his impending death sentence.
Sophia said she understood where Elena was coming from, the rest of the Mikaelson siblings on her mind. She didn't want any of them to die. Elena wanted to spare Elijah's life, but he wouldn't want to go on living without his family. To just spare him would be cruel.
Sophia was by Elena's side as they opened the door to the Salvatore boarding house, finding an uncombed Rebekah beside a shirtless, disheveled Damon.
As predicted, Damon wasn't sympathetic to Elena's concerns.
Neither was Stefan, for that matter.
"He was gloating, like actual gloat. Like he was proud of himself for sleeping with her," Elena accounted for Bonnie, and incidentally Caroline, as Bonnie tried and failed to mimic Esther's privacy spell.
"It's not working, I can still hear everything you're saying about Damon, the vampire gigolo," Caroline said as she entered the room.
Sophia smiled to herself, momentarily distracted from the anguish eating away at her.
"Speaking of Esther, you should know that she came to see me and Abby this morning," mentioned Bonnie as she gave the spell another try.
Esther was channeling the entire Bennett bloodline for their power, Bonnie and her mother included.
Sophia stayed quiet as Bonnie and Caroline tried to talk down Elena from wanting to help Elijah since she felt in his debt for him trying to save her life during the initial sacrifice.
Caroline's eyes flashed towards Sophia's, likely remembering their conversation from the night before.
"He'll be dead by the end of the night," stated Bonnie in regards to Elijah.
Esther was channeling the power of a celestial event, the full moon, to do in her children, with the aid of Bonnie and her mother.
At that moment, Sophia didn't agonize over whether or not she was going to warn the original family. The decision wasn't up for debate.
When the sisters returned home, Sophia excused herself for a walk and reached out to an old friend on her phone.
Please still have your phone on you, Sophia pleaded as she sent her message.
Meet me in the town square.
Rebekah had gotten there before her.
She sat with perfect posture on a park bench, eyeing Sophia curiously.
"I assume this wasn't a social call."
Sophia sat beside her, and hesitantly grabbed Rebekah's hand.
"I'm sorry, but there's no time for me to be delicate about this. Your mother is planning on killing you, and all of your siblings, by the end of the night."
Rebekah pulled her hand away, and Sophia felt that the original vampire was seconds away from baring her fangs.
"First Elijah, now you. She's our mother, she loves us. She loves me. She wouldn't-"
Rebekah cut herself off as she angrily wiped the tears from her eyes before they could fall.
"I'm not saying this to hurt you. You know the magic she wields, what she's capable of. I'm out of my depth here. I'm trying to warn you, and with any luck, we'll be able to stop her," Sophia said urgently, wanting Rebekah to believe her.
At that moment Rebekah had gotten a call from Elijah. She stepped away from Sophia and paced back and forth as she talked to him.
"You walked here, yeah? Let me drop you off at home." Rebekah requested when she returned.
Sophia nodded, confused by her shift in mood.
"Elijah's figured out for himself. He knew something was off before I did. Perhaps I just didn't want to see it," Rebekah shared on the ride home.
"I really am sorry Bekah," Sophia said, unsure of what else there was to say.
"I suppose I'm sorry nearly killing your wretched sister," Rebekah said, her nosed scrunched distastefully as she parked before Sophia's house.
Sophia simply nodded her acceptance of the apology.
Before she knew it, Rebekah pulled her in for a hug. Sophia froze at first, then returned it.
"Just in case this is goodbye," Rebekah said before letting her go.
"Be safe, Bekah," Sophia said as she stepped out of the car.
Her house was empty when she returned home.
Where had Elena gone? Sophia pondered, looking at her phone for any missed calls or messages.
She didn't know how she felt about what she had just done.
Sophia was watching TV in the living room when she heard her front door unlock.
"Where've you been?" Sophia questioned as she sat up, turning around, expecting to see Elena.
"Change out of that and put this on," Caroline demanded, tossing a long-sleeved, velvety black shirt her way.
"Quickly," Caroline chided.
With wide eye's Sophia did as she was told and changed out Jenna's old tattered college sweatshirt right there in her living room. The blouse was form-fitting, and the low U curve did an admirable job of presenting her modest cleavage.
Caroline nodded to herself as Sophia stood up.
"Grab your red coat, we need to leave. Now." the blonde ordered.
Caroline explained the precarious situation Elena was in on the way to the Grill.
She was trapped in one of many tunnels that ran underneath Mystic Falls, being held hostage by Rebekah on Elijah's word.
He had kidnapped Elena to give the Salvatore brothers an incentive to stop Esther's plan.
God Dammit, Sophia thought to herself, shaking her head angrily. Guilt ate at her.
"Damon recruited me to go to the Grill to distract Klaus, but we both know you're more qualified for the job. I'll stay on the sidelines, I have your back," Caroline nodded to herself as she parked.
Sophia eyed Caroline with fond exasperation as her friend pulled strands of hair out of her bun to frame her face.
"Okay, you're good to go."
This is stupid, Klaus is too smart for this, Sophia thought as she walked into the Grill. She immediately spotted Klaus and Kol by the bar, drinks in hand.
She walked with purpose in their direction, hoping to give the illusion she was there to meet Caroline, who had entered the Grill a few minutes beforehand and had found a table adjacent to the original vampires.
"Sophia," Klaus greeted as turned to face her, "Join us for a drink."
Kol raised his glass.
They'll be dead by the end of tonight.
"I don't think so," Sophia responded cooley, her heart betraying her as it thundered in her chest.
She walked over to the sidewalk across from the Grill and took a seat on the bench that was there.
Elena, Sophia thought to herself. She was doing this for Elena.
The plan was for the others to subdue Kol, stake him, with the hope that thanks to the link, Elena would be able to make an escape from Rebekah.
Why did it have to be my sister, Sophia wondered mournfully to herself.
She saw a figure walking towards her out of the corner of her eye.
"Penny for your thoughts," Klaus asked as he sat down next to her, an easy smile on his face.
"I'm thinking that… you should probably get back to Kol before he burns down the Grill for running low on bourbon," Sophia said blandly.
Klaus tsked. "Well, that proves how well you don't know him. He's a scotch man."
"Ahh, my bad," Sophia nodded, a small laugh escaping her at the absurdity of her situation. "I should get back to Caroline," she said as she stood up.
"Sophia wait, give me another chance."
Sophia paused where she stood. "Haven't we already gone over this?"
"Take a chance, get to know me, Sophia. While I now find myself wondering if I was yours, I can say with certainty that you were my first love, and I know that you feel the same pull that I do. You've said as much yourself." His face was achingly earnest.
He wanted to bleed your sister dry.
Sophia made herself laugh at his words. It was ugly and caustic to her own ears. "Your words might have been more impactful had you not made a play for one of my best friends just yesterday."
Klaus reached out and grabbed her hand. He simply held it in his, but she could feel the ghost of a kiss on the back of her palm.
"I know I've squandered every opportunity thus far to know you again. You're just so frustratingly human," he smiled ruefully, "So fragile, you'd make an expedient weakness for any one of my enemies to exploit should the opportunity present itself."
Sophia stayed quiet, her eyes stuck on their adjoined hands.
"But I'm getting ahead of myself. Take a seat, and just talk to me. C'mon, get to know me" his eyes took on a playful glint. "I dare you."
She wanted to know him. She couldn't say if it was her or Sofija who was responsible for what she did next.
No, you can't excuse yourself like this anymore, she told herself. They were one and the same.
She tugged his hand with hers, encouraging him to stand up.
"Go find Kol. Now." Her face was solemn.
At first, he laughed. Before he could ask her what she meant, his smile fell as he brought his hand to his chest.
He looked at her with mistrust.
"What did you do?"
Sophia stayed silent.
He reached out and grabbed her arms, his grip somehow careful as he held her in place.
"What did you do?" he asked again more roughly.
"Nevermind me, you need to go find Kol," Sophia told him desperately.
A second later he was out of sight.
Sophia sat back down on the bench.
"What was that?" said Caroline, who was now in front of her, anger coloring her tone.
"He would have figured it out anyway, he knew the moment the dagger was plunged in Kol's chest," Sophia said placidly.
"Elena could die, Sophie, what were you thinking?"
Caroline had promised not to tell anyone what had happened between Sophia and Klaus after Sophia promised to explain her reasoning. Before Sophia could summon the words, they received a call from Stefan, who told them what had to be done to save Elena.
To stop Esther from channeling her magic, Damon killed Abby, but not before feeding her his blood. Caroline automatically took charge of helping Abby through her transition
"She doesn't want to see you," Caroline said gently as Elena begged to go see Bonnie.
"I'm sorry Elena," Caroline began, "I know that you want to help, but put yourself in her shoes. Everything that happened tonight was to save you."
Sophia wrapped her arms around herself.
Could she have changed Abby's fate had she made different choices?
Caroline went on.
"And that's okay because she loves you. But somehow, she is always the one who gets hurt."
Elena choked up as she nodded in understanding. "Just tell her that I love her, okay."
"Of course I will," Caroline smiled sadly.
"This is how I want my future home to look like," Sophia said appreciatively as she inhaled the sharp mint tea that Hannah placed before her.
She was in Hannah's sun-soaked living room. Between the shades of calm blue and the green plants that overfilled the huge bay window, her stress had been momentarily relieved.
"I know I come across New Age-y to people, but you have to admit, it works."Hannah smiled as she sat across from Sophia.
Elena spent her morning torturing poor Matt by inviting him to essentially run a marathon with her, as some sort of self-punishment for what happened to Bonnie's mom. The first thing that same morning, Sophia drove to Hannah's. She told the basics to Hannah of what she had gone through since they last saw each other but kept the intricate details of her conversation with Klaus to herself.
"What is it about Mystic Falls that causes other… beings to gravitate there. With all the things that go bump in the night within a 5-mile radius, it can't be a coincidence" Sophia vented, her mind turning.
First the Salvatores. The Bennett bloodline. Esther and the Mikaelsons, now and a thousand years ago. Why was it about some nothing town in Virginia that made it the premier destination for their destruction and horror?
"What your past life said, about how your 'death was a traumatic event on this land' and how magical blood was spilled got me thinking about Isobel's old research," said Hannah a she got up to go to her desk, where she grabbed a thin binder, "More specifically, ley lines."
"What are ley lines?" Sophia asked as Hannah sat back down.
"I think your death, and the spilled magical blood caused a ley line, which is what happens when a rare occurrence is created by a supernatural being. Esther turning her children into vampires definitely had to have caused another one. Isobel didn't have any concrete proof, but I think all things you've been through in the past month alone speaks for itself," Hannah said, her eyes incisive, "She hypothesized that with all the ley lines running through Mystic Falls, the town itself has to be the location of some sort of spiritual nexus, a point of tremendous energy. Kind of like how Bonnie drew power from her ancestors, various beings gravitate to Mystic Falls because the nexus means that it's inherently powerful in its own right."
Well, shit.
"Thank you for letting me drop by. I'm sure this isn't what you had in mind when we met last year," Sophia said, flooded with guilt for taking advantage of the blonde's kindness.
Hannah's gently squeezed Sophia's shoulder, her eyes kind.
"I told you I wanted to be here for you, and I meant it. And who knows, maybe one day you'll pay it forward," Hannah said hopefully.
Sophia arrived at home that evening not long after Alaric had.
All the information Hannah had shared with her left her with plenty to think about during the three-hour car ride back.
With all the rituals, deaths, and sacrifices that happened in Mystic Falls, it must be some sort of powder keg by now, if Isobel's hypothesis had any merit to it. No wonder they couldn't catch a break.
Sophia kept this information to herself as Elena caught her up on her day, from Alaric being arrested, her and Matt breaking into Meredith's apartment, and finally, Damon's questionable methods to acclimate Stefan's feeding habits.
Elena was in bed, still pouring over Samantha Gilbert's journal, as Sophia brushed her teeth.
"Also, according to her journal, Johnathon Gilbert's granddaughter went just as crazy as he was, so we have that to look forward-" suddenly, Elena paused, her expression shifting to concern.
"You wear a ring that lets you cheat death, Ric. How many times can you die before it changes you? I think you're sick, and I want to help you. This had happened before, almost a hundred years ago."
Elena and Sophia overheard Meredith Fell's voice from where they hovered outside the kitchen. After exchanging a disturbed look with Sophia, Elena made her entrance.
"Ric, I think she's right."
"I kinda think Damon has a point," said Sophia as Elena vented about her latest argument with Damon.
Sophia raised her hands in apology as Elena looked at her with frustrated disbelief.
"Don't get me wrong, you're probably right about Damon not being the ideal person to teach Stefan how to curb his cravings, but I agree that Stefan is past the point of relying purely on animal blood to feed."
"Maybe," Elena said as she parked the cars outside of the Salvatores.
"Aren't you coming in?" her sister asked, on her way to the front door.
"Nah, I think I'll wait out here," Sophia answered, leaning against the car.
Elena wanted to pick up the book Stefan had found about Samantha on their way home from the hospital. According to Meredith, there was nothing medically wrong with Ric. Ric resolved not to wear the Gilbert ring for the time being, since it seemed that it was the root cause for him targeting the towns founding families.
"Listen, I want you guys to have these. This is a list of my bank accounts, passwords, where to find my will and how to contact my family just in case this doesn't go my way."
Alaric was seated across from Sophia and Elena on the kitchen table, and he just presented a notepad with all of the previously mentioned information scrawled in his writing.
"No no, don't even think like that," Elena immediately countered. Sophia nodded in agreement.
"I need to know you two and Jeremy are going to be okay," Ric said grimly.
Not long after this, Elena got a call back from Caroline, confirming that Abby believes that Bonnie could reverse the damage caused by the ring.
Sophia went with Elena to Alaric's loft to get his wedding ring for Bonnie's spell, leaving Meredith to watch over him.
Stefan was there when they arrived.
"She was under suicide watch," he said in reference to Samantha Gilbert, "No personal effects, no jewelry."
"Wait, so you're saying that the violent behavior can still happen even if the person isn't wearing the ring?"
As the trio snooped through Ric's apartment, they found pictures of his victims, and what looked like a hit list primarily featuring founding family members. Elena found his ring soon after.
"We have to get back," Elena said to Sophia.
Ric's Mr. Hyde persona had made an appearance when they returned home, and he had nearly killed Meredith. Stefan subdued him and managed to feed her his blood without losing control.
Bonnie arrived not long after that and cast her spell on Ric, and Damon volunteered to watch over him for the next few days.
Bonnie slept over, and Sophia excused herself from the kitchen the next morning as Bonnie and Elena made amends. Sophia had been able to check-in with Bonnie over the past few days, as long she promised that she wouldn't try to force a reconciliation between the witch and Elena.
"And these are for you," Bonnie said with a smile as she sat next to Sophia on the porch.
It was similar to the jar of herbs she made for Alaric to help bind the spell.
"What are these for?" Sophia laughed.
"I remember how you brought up wanting to relive your past life-"
"Bonnie, that was so long ago, and I don't know anymore.." Sophia stared helplessly at her friend.
Bonnie smiled in understanding. "If you ever decide to, these will be here when you're ready. You only need to brew about a tablespoon, and you'll be good to go."
Sophia hugged her friend as she got up to leave.
"Please have someone there to watch over you, if you do decide to go through with it. I remember how it was- how you were last time."
"I promise."
"Hang on, white oak? You have a weapon that can kill Klaus?" Elena was nonplussed.
Sophia was to, for that matter.
"Nope, we all have a weapon," Stefan asserted as dumped a bag of white oak stakes on the dirt floor.
And this was the reason why Sophia found herself in the middle of the woods that morning, practicing killing drills with her friends and the Salvatores.
"Klaus has always been one step ahead of us, but now, we have the advantage. We're all armed, they are all linked, meaning we need to only kill one of them. We need to seize the best opportunity, which means we need to prepare for every opportunity."
Sophia took deep breaths as Stefan talked. She then coughed and winced at the acid reflux that made its way up her throat.
"Scenario number one," Damon continued and designated Elena to be a stand for Klaus, and Stefan elaborated that in this scenario, Rebekah was the target.
"Rebekah is our target, so we distract her, and catch her off guard. To do that, we need to keep Klaus separate and occupied. Sophia," Stefan said, looking towards her.
"Why am I the Klaus bait?" Sophia asked, clutching her stomach.
"According to Caroline, you're the woman for the job. He's obsessed with you," Damon said, before, before noting that Caroline would be the stand-in for Rebekah, and they ran through the play.
"No last-minute attacks of pity any of them," said Damon as he stared all of them down, and as everyone else assured him, Sophia clutched a tree, feeling light-headed.
"Is it weird that Bonnie isn't returning any of my calls?" Elena said she walked up to her, Caroline, and Matt.
"Is it weird that Klaus's brother is in the middle of the town square?" Matt retorted.
Sophia volunteered to go with Caroline to check in on Alaric while Elena and Stefan tried to figure out what to do next.
"So, how are you feeling about… well, everything?" Caroline asked as she drove to the Salvatores.
Sophia looked out the window, taking comfort in the blur of greens and browns that made up the expanse of woods.
How did she feel? The last time Rebekah and Klaus had been in danger, she warned Rebekah, not wanting them to die at Esther's hands. And not long after that, Rebekah went and held Elena hostage, contemplating killing her.
Did Sophia really want to try to spare their lives again?
"Sophia? Hellooo, what are you thinking?"
Sophia shook her head and turned towards Caroline.
"You don't have to worry about me. Not after what happened to Bonnie's mom, and not after the position Elijah and Rebekah put Elena in," Sophia said, looking confidently at Caroline.
The blonde didn't seem to be sure of Sophia's words.
"I saw how you were with Klaus, we both know what you risked when you warned him about his brother. I don't buy that you're okay as you say you are."
"Feel like talking about it yet?" Caroline asked as she examined the Salvatores bookshelf.
Caroline had made amends with Alaric when they first arrived, for him killing her dad, and Sophia was in awe at her friend's capacity to forgive.
Sure, it wasn't exactly Ric's fault, so to speak, but Sophia would understand if Caroline hadn't been in the right frame of mind to appreciate that nuance.
"Bonnie gave me the herbs I need to- so I can relive my life with them- with him- if I wanted to. But, there's not really any point in it, is there?" Sophia asked morosely.
"Hey, how's Alaric?" Elena asked as she and Stefan entered the study.
"He'll be okay. We gave him a bottle of Bonnie's herbs, and he went home," Caroline said, then exclaimed, "Oh! Did you kill Fin, did it work?"
Sophia walked over and stayed at Caroline's side.
"Nothing worked until I see Klaus's dead body myself," responded Stefan.
Caroline looked anxiously at Sophia when Elena's phone then ringed.
Klaus had Damon, and Fin was the only original who had died. Klaus had forced Bonnie to unlink him and his siblings, or Bonnie's mom and Jeremy would pay the price.
Caroline and Sophia trailed after Stefan and Elena. Elena was insisting on thinking of a better plan to go get Damon.
Not long after Stefan slammed the door shut, he was thrown back into his own house by Fin's paramour, Sage.
She slammed Caroline to the ground, asserting that she was here for Stefan.
Elena grabbed Sophia's hand and pulled her towards the front door, but a man blocked their exit.
Out of nowhere, Sage lost the upper hand and grew increasingly weak within seconds.
The vampire who was holding Elena and Sophia wasn't doing much better.
The two vampires began coughing up blood, and their skin turned grey and ashy as they fell to the floor.
"What is happening to me?" Sage asked.
The two vampires were dead not long after that.
"So Sage and this Troy guy die within an hour of Fin," Caroline observed.
Stefan put together it was the vampire bloodline that connected all three vampires, and Caroline was stunned as to what this meant. Elena finished their thought.
"If the originals die, so do all of you. The entire vampire species would just be dead."
As Stefan was finally able to go and get Damon, Elena and Caroline tried to sort out which of the originals to kill, which was dependent on who turned Rose, way back when. Dread filled Caroline's face.
"You guys, even if Klaus didn't create our bloodline, we know for a fact that he turned one of us."
"Tyler," Sophia said softly.
That night, instead of obsessing over vampire bloodlines as a relatively more well-adjusted person might have, given whose lives were at stake, Sophia instead thought of Sage.
Sage, who waited 900 years to be reunited with Fin again. And kamikaze Fin, who looked so content to walk around the town square with her on his arm, perhaps rethinking his loyalty to his mother.
"I would have thought that that would have been his first course of action once he realized you were still alive," Fin had observed the night of the ball, after wondering why Klaus wasn't at her side.
Some part of her had waited a thousand years to be reunited with Niklaus.
And what a mess he made of it.
While Elena and Damon drove to Jeremy in the hopes of having him get in touch with Rose to figure out who turned her, Sophia drove over to the Mikaelson's mansion that morning. She stopped her car just before the mansion's gates.
She turned off her car rested her head on the wheel. Wanting to talk to Klaus should not be on her list of priorities.
"Morning love," said the voice that haunted her, now just outside her window.
Sophia sat up quickly, looking at Klaus with wide eyes.
He eyed her curiously in return, not quite smiling.
Sophia unbuckled and slowly stepped out of the car.
"I wanted to offer my condolences for- for Fin," Sophia said softly.
Klaus laughed derisively.
"You had to have been in on the poorly executed plan to take advantage of my link to my siblings, and now you offer condolences?" he asked, his voice dark.
"I- I tried to help your family at one point, Niklaus, to the endangerment of my own. And all that got me was Rebekah going behind my back and holding Elena hostage. What was I supposed to do?" She asked, meeting his eyes, wanting an answer.
He held her gaze for a moment, then turned away.
"Don't bother feeling sorry for Fin, he was a lovesick fool. He's better off in death."
Sophia narrowed her eyes at him, taken aback at how pitiless he was towards his brother's death.
"I know he wasn't your favorite brother, but you can't be entirely unaffected by his death?" Sophia questioned, "And speaking of lovesick fools, is that how you felt about Sofija Dahhlgaard?"
Klaus turned to her sharply.
"Because as much as I want to deny her, she's always with me. She was practically awestruck by you when you found her 500 years ago, and she's doing her damndest to get me to remember how much she loved you."
"I thought you were one and the same," Klaus said, looking at her intently.
"Well, I dare you to live entirely different lives every other century or so and see how well adjusted you are when they come back to haunt you," Sophia said through gritted teeth. After taking a deep breath, she opened the door to her car and began to get in.
"If you think Fin a lovesick fool for being happy to be reunited with his Sage, you must not think very highly of her for waiting all this time for him." And with that Sophia attempted to slam the door shut. Klaus stopped her, standing in her way.
"Speaking of Fin's peasant lady love, where is she? She can't be too happy with your lot."
"She died," Sophia said tiredly as she stared up at him matter of factly, "From what I gather, all vampires sired from Fin's bloodline are dead."
She saw right before her eyes as Klaus filled in the blanks, realizing what this meant.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"You know why, more than I do. Whatever our connection in the past, it still has a hold on me. As it turns out, I'm no better than Sage."
His face was annoyingly inscrutable as he finally let Sophia shut the door, and she was finally able to drive away.
"It was in the dream he gave her. She's here."
Elena and Damon's gazes turned to the corner of the hotel where Jeremy stared. It was empty to them, but there he saw Rose.
She had described how Damon had transformed what should have been a painful and thankless death into one of reverence.
His sister and Damon had caught Jeremy up on the vampire bloodlines, and how they needed Rose to name who had turned her so they could figure out if their line came from Klaus.
Along with not knowing who sired Mary Porter, the woman who turned Rose, the ghost had also revealed Elena's attraction to Damon. The ghost soon left to figure out what had become of Mary.
"There's something you should know about your other sister. Sofija," Rose said with a rattled look in her eyes, "I felt guilt for the hand I played in her death, 500 years ago, and I meant to keep quiet about her affairs. But old soul or not, she's still very young in this life, and playing with fire."
Jeremy wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but he didn't want to give away her presence.
He sat in the back seat of the car as Damon drove him and Elena back to Mystic Falls.
Kol had gotten to Mary before they did, and the group was still left in the dark as to who sired Rose. Rose tagged along on the trip back, watching his sister and Damon with knowing eyes.
Then she brought up Sophia.
"I thought she seemed familiar when I saw her again, something about her eyes. Klaus must've seen it too, it's the only reason I could think of for why he spared her life back then if what I've heard about the pair of them is not made up entirely of rumors."
What are you talking about?! Jeremy wanted to scream.
He was aware of his oldest sister's past lives, and that she had known of the Mikaleson's tangentially during her life with them. According to Rose, it wasn't looking like that was the case.
"Ghost talk on the other side," Rose said urgently, "And they helped me realized I met Sophia 500 years ago. Or rather, I watched on from the sidelines as Trevor attacked and killed her. If the mess with Katerina hadn't been enough, I swear her death played a part in the execution order Klaus placed on me and Trevor."
Rose went on to describe how Sophia had warned Rebakah during one of the first attempts to kill the original vampires and had recently shared with Klaus just yesterday how an original's death affected the rest of the vampires that came after them. Sure, he would have figured it out on his own eventually, but for some reason his sister felt the need to speed up the process.
"Jeremy!" Sophia beamed that morning before she hugged him, "I missed you."
"Missed you too," he said, confusion and trepidation whirling in him. He couldn't find it in him to be angry with Sophia like he often was with Elena over her relationships with the Salvatore brothers.
Sophia, who was forever patient with him and rarely lorded her older sibling status against him, if ever. Against his better judgment, he found himself wanting to hide his oldest sister's own transgressions from everyone else.
At Caroline's urging, all the Gilberts met her at the high school to help prepare for the 20s themed dance. The brunt of the work should have been done by that day, but Rebekah had dropped the ball. Lights had to be strung and the stage still had to be set.
"Alright, enough is enough. I gave you time, I gave you space, but as it turns out, you are worse than Elena when it comes to living in denial."
Sophia kept her gaze on the string lights she was detangling as Caroline huffed beside her.
"Not now Care-"
"Enough with the withholding, Missy. You need to tell me what's going on in that head of yours." As Caroline grabbed Sophia's wrist, she overlooked the room. Elena was crossing the room to join Matt and Jeremy.
Confident that no one would miss them, Caroline pulled her outside the building.
"What's the deal with you and Klaus?" the blonde demanded, arms crossed and right hip jutted out.
Sophia resisted the urge to cross her arms, and not knowing what to do with her hands, settled with tucking them into her cardigan's pockets.
Her gaze focused on a bright green patch of grass just behind Caroline.
"It can't have taken a thousand years to find each other, just for him to die," Sophia whispered, mainly to herself.
She shook her head and met Caroline's startled eyes.
Raising her voice, Sophia went on.
"Every time it seems like he might actually die I- I lose my breath. All I want to do is go to him. Because it's Nik, and this is not how he is supposed to go out," Sophia said, her voice harsh.
Caroline shook her head.
"Why do you feel that way?"
"Yay! Why'd you decide to go to the dance? I thought you were iffy about it," Sophia asked excitedly when she spotted Jeremy exiting his room in a suit.
"Caroline and Matt talked me into it… While mentioning that Bonnie would be bringing a date." Jeremy said wryly.
Sophia smiled sympathetically. "I heard. We were all supposed to go stag, but along with Bonnie, Elena is going with Stefan, so now it's just me and Care."
Jeremy was eyeing her apprehensively and looked like he wanted to say something more.
"Is everything okay Jer?"
He shook his head. "It's nothing. I planned to meet Matt before the dance earlier, so I'll see you there," he smiled as he turned towards the staircase.
Sophia frowned at his back. He had been politely dismissive of her since he returned. She knew he was hiding something, but she didn't know how to ask him what was wrong. He was being guarded, and not just with her, but with Elena. What did he really want to ask her?
"Beautiful!. Ugh, as much as I hate to admit it, Rebekah might have had a point with going with a 'Roaring 20s' theme," Caroline said begrudgingly as she took pictures of Sofija outside the gymnasium. Sophia was wearing a black flappers dress with glittery accents and a corresponding headband around the pin curls Caroline had styled her hair in.
"Matt, get over here, and take pictures with Sophia," Caroline ordered.
Matt, who was already inside, walked over from the entrance where he had been standing with a pair of guys. He and Sophia laughed at Caroline's too specific instructions for their pictures. Soon, they entered the dance.
Sophia hovered at the edge of the dance floor, watching various couples slow dance. Tyler had surprised Caroline at the dance and was whisking her off her feet.
She smiled half-heartedly as Matt offered a hand, and asked for a dance.
They were swaying to one of the slower songs when Klaus cut in. Matt broke away from Sophia and stepped in front of her protectively.
"May I have a dance, Sophia," Klaus said, ignoring Matt.
Sophia placed a reassuring hand on Matt's shoulder before she walked to Klaus.
It was only a dance, and this way, Klaus wouldn't feel the need to antagonize Matt.
"I'll be fine," she smiled at him, which wilted when she turned back towards Klaus.
As they began to sway, she couldn't help but compare Matt's cornflower blue eyes to Klaus's cerulean, cataloging the differences in her mind.
She was startled when she met Klaus's eyes and saw that they were almost all pupil. Not wanting to overthink the admiring way he stared at her, she said the first thing that came to mind.
"It's one thing when Rebekah crashes a high school dance, but it's kind of sad when a 20 something guy feels the need to, appearance-wise," Sophia told him combatively.
Klaus laughed.
"You have yourself to thank for that, love. I only showed up since because I knew you would be here," he said as held her the slightest bit closer to him.
Sophia's arms tightened around his neck nervously and reminded herself to loosen them.
"If I'm not mistaken, you seemed… upset with me the last time we talked." Sophia forced herself not to look away as she talked to him.
"It's twice that you've gone against the wishes of your so-called friends to warn me against plots of my death. Why is that?" Klaus asked.
Sophia tried to answer, but no words came to her.
"I don't believe that we are as irreparable as you seem to think we are." Klaus proposed.
Sophia stared at him, perplexed.
"I'm leaving town tomorrow, and as much as I want to take you with me, I won't do so against your wishes."
"Lucky me," Sophia deadpanned. Her heart stuttered in her chest.
Go with him, a voice in her attempt to persuade.
They stopped dancing.
"Perhaps it is too late in this life, with you, Sophia Gilbert. But I can be a patient man, despite evidence to the contrary. I have no quarrel with waiting centuries, or however long it takes, to see you again." Klaus raised up her hand and pressed a kiss to it. "You were my wife, once. As our vows didn't include 'Till death do us part', you still are, in all fairness ."
Klaus laughed under his breath as Sophia widened her eyes incredulously at him.
Way to bury the lead Sofija, Sophie thought to herself, recalling the time she spent with her past life.
"Surprised?" Klaus asked with a smile.
"You don't seem the marrying type," Sophia muttered, her cheeks bright red. She knew he spoke the truth.
"I won't fight it next time, I'll be ready for you. You won't have reason to not run away with me" He swore solemnly as his hands grasped her shoulders. He bent down to press a lingering kiss on her hairline.
"Until then, Sophia."
And then he was gone.
Esther had lured Elena away from the dance.
The original witch had been the voice in Ric's ear when he died, encouraging his hate and ire towards vampires.
When given the choice between life and death, the price of living was too high, and Ric chose not to be her pawn.
Sophia got to the cemetery just in time to say goodbye.
"Mr. Saltzman," said Matt as he raised his glass in remembrance.
"Alaric" Sophia and Jeremy said in unison as they raised theirs.
She down her shot in one gulp, and the hard liquor burned her throat.
Matt was behind the bar at the Mystic Grill while Jeremy and Sophia sat across from him on steel stools, all of them sad over the loss of Ric.
"Just help me understand. Before anyone even knew about the sirelines, why would you go out of your way to rescue Klaus?" Jeremy asked, his voice defeated.
Sophia froze for a moment, met Matt's stunned eyes, and then turned towards Jeremy.
"I- how-"
"Rose told me. Ghosts gossip. I don't have in me to be mad, I just want to know why," Jeremy reiterated.
"What did you do Sophie?" Matt asked, looking back and forth between her and Jeremy.
"Are you sure you want to- is this really the best time for this?" Sophia asked, and winced at how high-pitched her voice was.
"The originals are still in town, and after tonight, our last chance of killing them died. So yes, I think we need to talk about this, when as far as I know, there is every chance of it happening again." Jeremy eyed her sternly. "If I can't convince you, maybe we should ask Elena what she thinks."
Shame flooded Sophia.
God, Elena.
Jeremy deflated as soon as the words left his mouth.
"I know you, Sophie. I know how much you love me and Elena. What were you thinking?"
Caught up in what her night had turned into, Alaric's death and a high school dance gone rogue, Klaus's reveal had fallen to the wayside. Now at the forefront of her mind, she supposed that what he had shared with her provided some context over her recent actions, but still… It wasn't good enough. Just another excuse.
Sophia cleared her throat.
"Klaus is - was- my husband."
Sophia overheard Stefan's voice the next morning from Ric's room.
"I- I was just checking up on you guys, seeing how you were doing. After, uh- After everything."
Sophia nodded at Stefan as she entered the room. Before she could say hi, Jeremy spoke up.
"We're fine. But, if you are trying to be the good guy again, why don't you do the right thing, and give us one day. Just one day without any vampires in it."
Jeremy walked up to Stefan, his irritation apparent. Elena eyed him reproachfully, and Sophia followed her brother out of the room.
"I really don't mean to pile on after- after all that." Sophia shook her head in exasperation as she followed Jeremy into the kitchen and took a seat. He had lost yet another parental figure. They all had. She was rethinking her plans for the day.
Jeremy looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"I wanted to relive my past life… today. Maybe the timing is bad, I just…"
She had been putting it off and putting it off. After her reveal to Matt and Jeremy the night before, she finally decided that she was going to do it. A sort of urgency overcame her once she made her decision. If she was going to go through with re-living this life, today was as good a day as any. If nothing else, it would provide a distraction from her current life.
"I think you should."
Jeremy's words took her back and she looked at him surprised.
"I saw how torn up you were last night, and I think you need to do it, to be honest. That way, at least me and Elena know where we stand," he tacked on, bitterly.
Sophia startled, and she stared at her brother, hurt.
He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, that wasn't fair. Your past life literally haunted you. Between my own ghost issues and vampire exes… I'll be around today to look out for you, and cover I'll you for Elena. Bonnie told me last time how bad the trip was."
Sophia smiled at Jeremy and nodded gratefully. His understanding was more than she deserved.
After this understanding, she began brewing the potion.
Elena eyed Sopha warily before she answered her ringing phone.
"Whoever this is, it isn't funny."
Sophia frowned at Elena's words. She had walked back up to the paint-fueled room, planning to tell his sister that a headache had gotten the best of her and she was planning to sleep it off. Then Elena's phone rang.
"Ric?" Elena asked hopefully.
Alaric's alter ego was holding Caroline hostage at the school and demanded that Elena bring Sophia to meet him there, or he would kill her.
It was when she was buckled into the car, on the way to the high school, that she remembered she was running on borrowed time. If she remembered correctly, the potion would take effect within the hour and she would pass out, unconscious, whether she liked it or not.
Sophia followed Elena's lead, who had instinctually begun to walk towards Ric's classroom. They jogged the rest of the way when they heard their friend moan in pain.
Alaric wanted Elena to be the one to stake Caroline. He threw their parents in her face, claiming they would be disappointed in all their children. That said, he determined Sophia to be a lost cause and told Elena of how she tried to warn Rebekah of impending death.
Elena looked at Sophia, bewildered, but she let this revelation slide for the time being.
Fatigue began to assault Sophia's senses, and she noticed that an hour had to have passed. She was managing to hold off the effects of the potion, but she should only stave it off for so long.
"Do you actually think that they would be proud of you?" Alaric asked Elena in reference to their parents.
In spite of the tenseness of the situation, Sophia began to nod off as if she were actually in history class.
"Am I boring you?" Alaric challenged her.
Sophia fought off a yawn, and Ric took this as a challenge.
He forced Elena out of her seat and tried to get her to stake Caroline.
Sophia stood up in spite of herself, as Elena attempted to stake Alaric instead of their friend.
Sophia felt light-headed as Elena smashed the glass of vervain-laced water against his head, untying Caroline in the process.
"Get Sophie out of here and get help," Elena ordered.
Before Sophia had a chance to process the words, Caroline had grabbed her and she found herself in the hallway as Caroline paused to regain her strength.
Sophia backed up into what she thought were lockers.
Arms encircled her, one hand covering her mouth before she could say anything.
"Sh, sh. It's okay, it's me. You're safe."
"Nik," Sophia whispered as she turned around, grabbing onto him as a necessity as her drowsiness overcame her.
She noticed how he eyed Caroline warningly, cutting off her voice.
"We'll save Elena. Take her straight home, and stay inside. Understand?" He said, allowing Caroline to grab a hold of her.
Fatigue overwhelmed Sophia as she fell unconscious in her friend's arms, Klaus's face being the last one she saw.