Bonnie walked with Freya around New Orleans. It had become clear pretty quickly that Freya had wanted to discuss something with her that she didn't want the others to hear, and she had been right about that. Freya had started explaining her plan as soon as they were far away from the house that no one could overhear. "So, the only way to save Elena and break the spell is for her to become a vampire again?"
"It's the only way I can guarantee her safety," Freya said.
"She didn't want to be a vampire. That's why she took the cure," Bonnie said sadly.
"I know, and that's why I'll be entering Elena's mind to get her permission before I do anything," Freya said.
"And if you turn her into a vampire, you think that will break the sleeping spell?" Bonnie asked.
"No. Vampires still sleep. There's no reason to believe the linking spell won't stay in effect. Turning her into a vampire is merely the way to ensure she survives the next spell," Freya explained.
"The spell you'll use to break Kai's," Bonnie surmised.
"Not exactly. I don't know how to break that spell. I want to shift it instead. I want to link Elena to Elijah. As a vampire, Elijah is technically dead. That means the spell should play itself out as soon as I link the two of them. The only thing is that because they both still exist, they may still technically be linked, and I'm not sure how that will affect them," Freya said.
"Why Elijah?" Bonnie asked. There were plenty of vampires in the house that would happily do this for Elena, and Bonnie would much prefer Damon, Stefan, or Caroline do it than an original.
"Because I don't think a normal vampire would survive the first spell, let alone an additional one. Elijah is an original, and while I don't love the idea of subjecting my brother to this, he will at least survive it," Freya told her.
"Damon's never going to agree to this," Bonnie said. Just the fact that Elijah would have to be the one to link to Elena would set him off.
"It's not up to Elena. Three people get a vote in this. Elijah, Elena, and you. Elijah had already agreed," Freya said.
"Why me?" Bonnie wondered. She understood needing consent from Elijah and Elena, since they were the ones that would have to go through this spell, but why her.
"Because I'm not sure I can save you. The spell I need to use to turn Elena will save her from the consequences of messing with Kai's spell, but I can't be sure about you. I hope that saving her saves you too, but I can't be sure, or even at all confident that it will. You could die," Freya warned her.
Bonnie stopped and considered what Freya told her. She'd been focused on saving Elena the whole time. She didn't think about her own life, not that it mattered. "Elena is in this mess because of me."
"No, Bonnie. She's in this mess because a psychotic witch wanted to cause pain," Freya said.
"Yes, to me. He did this because I locked him in a prison world, and I can't even say I did it merely to protect people. I did it out of revenge. I wanted to hurt him. That's why he came at me through Elena. I can't let this happen. Do the spell. I'll take the risk," Bonnie said.
"I still have to get Elena's consent before we do anything," she said.
Bonnie nodded. "Don't tell her about me possibly dying. She doesn't need to know that."
"Yes, she does. She's the one that has to live with all of this if something goes wrong. I will not do this without complete transparency," Freya said firmly.
"Then I want to go with you when you open your mind. I can convince her to do it," Bonnie said.
Freya nodded. "Alright, but first we need to get the others out of the house.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Bonnie had managed to get her friends to leave the mansion for a little while. She'd convinced them that they could use some air. Damon was hard to convince, but she'd assured him that she would stay by Elena's side while he was gone. She hadn't lied, but she certainly deceived him, and she felt bad about that.
Once her friends were gone, Bonnie and Freya entered Elena's mind. They found her sitting on a bench on the porch of her old house. Bonnie appeared next to her on the bench while Freya stood next to Bonnie.
"Elena," Bonnie said.
Elena looked next to her and saw Bonnie. "Bonnie? What are you doing here. Didn't we just do the goodbye thing?"
"I'm not here to say goodbye. I'm here because we have a way to help you. This is Freya Mikaelson. She's a witch," Bonnie said as she pointed to Freya.
"Hello, Elena. It's good to meet you," Freya said.
"Mikaelson? You're related to the originals?" Elena asked in surprise.
Freya nodded. "I'm their older sister. My brother, Elijah has asked me to help you."
"I thought their older sister died," Elena said.
"It's a long story, but suffice it to say my siblings were lied to. I spent most of my life as you are spending yours. I've been forced to sleep for the better part of a thousand years. That's another reason I want to help you," Freya said.
"I thought there was no way to save me from this," Elena said.
"I wasn't willing to accept that, so I called Elijah. I hoped he knew a witch that could break the spell," Bonnie told her friend.
Elena turned to Freya. "You can break the spell?"
"No, but I think I can outmaneuver it. However, doing so will have effects that you may not be willing to live with. That's why I wanted to talk to you before I did anything," Freya said. She then explained exactly what she'd have to do to wake Elena up.
Elena took a minute to digest what Freya was telling her before responding. "You wanna turn me back into a vampire. I didn't even think that was possible."
"With this spell, I believe it is," Freya said.
"Elena, I know it sucks, but this might be your only chance of waking up in the next sixty years.
Elena sighed. "Taking the cure was a mistake."
"You wanted to be human. It's my fault that's being taken from you," Bonnie said sadly.
"No, it's not. Yes, I wanted to be human, but I knew better. I live in Mystic Falls, where literally anyone could a vampire or a werewolf or a witch. The odds of me living a full life while human were slim. I knew that, but I let myself forget it because Damon kept going on about all the things I could have as a human. It's not his fault. I think he forgot what it means to be a human in Mystic Falls too. Something would've happened eventually. I made myself an easy target by becoming human again," Elena said.
"I'm sorry," Bonnie said.
"It's not your fault. I blame Kai and myself. I don't blame you, Bonnie. Kai was dangerous. You had to try to stop him," Elena said before turning to Freya. "How exactly will this work?"
"First, I will need to flood your body with Elijah's blood. I will do the spell while it pumps through your body. Once that's done, I will do the spell to link you to him instead of Bonnie. I have to warn you, I have never performed either of these spells before. I have no idea what kind of effects they will have. Linking you to Elijah to wake you up may cause you to be linked to him in other ways as well," Freya explained.
"Like maybe a sire bond?" Elena asked. That worried her the most. She didn't think she could go though that again. Damon meant well, but being sired to him almost destroyed her, and it had cost many lives.
"I don't know, but from what I understand that only happens when you have feelings for a vampire that created you, and even then, it's rare," Freya said.
"I know. That only makes me worry about it more," Elena said.
"You have feelings for Elijah?" Bonnie asked surprised. She never knew that. She knew Elena trusted and respected Elijah, but she never knew she had feelings for him.
Elena sighed. "I'm not in love with him or anything, but I was attracted to him, and I know that if I let myself, I could feel more for him. I ignored it because I already had Stefan and Damon chasing after me. I didn't need anyone else to complicate it further. Besides, I didn't think someone like me could fit into his world." That last part had changed. She'd done a lot of terrible things that would put her right in the middle of the kind of life Elijah and his siblings led. "If there is a sire bond, Elijah wouldn't take advantage of it. I guess I just have to trust that."
"Elena, there's one more thing you need to know before you make a decision. Turning you into a vampire should save you from the curse Kai put on the magic he used, but I don't know if it will save Bonnie."
Elena shook her head. "Then, no. I won't let Bonnie die to wake me up."
"Elena, it's okay. I'm willing to take the risk," Bonnie assured her.
"I'm not! I'm not going to die. I can live in this state until your death. Then I can continue my life," Elena said. Sure, it wasn't ideal. Everything she knew would be changed by then, which was why she was willing to let Freya and Elijah turn her, but not at the expense of Bonnie's life.
"And almost everyone you love will either be dead or near death. You won't get to see Jeremy succeed or have a family. Ric and Matt will likely be dead by then. I'll definitely be dead again. The world probably won't even be recognizable to you anymore," Bonnie said.
"At least I'll know you got to live your life," Elena said.
"What life? What kind of life will I lead knowing that I subjected my best friend to an entire lifetime in a coma?" Bonnie asked. Elena opened her mouth up to speak, but Bonnie cut her off before she had the chance. "I know you're going to say it's not my fault, but it will always feel like it is. Elena, if this is how you felt every time, I sacrificed something for you then I'm sorry. I thought I had it worse, but if you felt this kind of guilt, it must have been awful."
"Bonnieā¦" Elena started.
"I can't do it, Elena. I can't live with you losing everything for me," Bonnie said. She knew what she was about to do wasn't fair, but she didn't care. She would do whatever was necessary to get Elena to agree to the spells.
"Bonnie," Freya warned. She knew what the young witch was doing. She was trying to manipulate Elena into agreeing, which was not right. This was a huge decision, and it wasn't one that should be made based on manipulation.
"What are you saying?" Elena asked warily.
"I'm saying that if things continue the way they are, I don't know how much longer I will live. I just may end up killing myself to save you," Bonnie said.
Elena looked at her friend for several moments. She wasn't an idiot. She knew Bonnie was willing to say anything to get her to agree. That was probably what this was, but she couldn't risk it. The risk was greater than if she let Freya wake her up. "Alright. Do what you have to."
"Elena, she's manipulating you," Freya said as she glared at Bonnie. She seriously regretted bringing her with her. She should've spoken to Elena alone.
"I know, but that doesn't mean she's not serious. I can't risk that. Do it, please," Elena said. She couldn't say she was exactly happy about being manipulated, but it wouldn't be the first time one of her friends inhibited her choice. She was used to it by now.
"Are you sure?" Freya asked.
Elena nodded.
"Alright. I'll get started as soon as I leave here," she said.
"One more thing. Someone has to deal with Damon and possibly Stefan. Damon I know will never let this happen if he knows about it," Elena said.
"We'll take care of it," Freya assured her before taking herself and Bonnie out of Elena's mind.
