"Tonight is the full moon," Elijah stated the obvious to the Gilbert siblings and the younger Salvatore at the boarding house after only hours ago of the original making a quick stop in London, England and Seoul, South Korea to pick up the things that the human girl would need for the sacrifice. "We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse," Elijah added. If Elijah knew his brother as well as he did, he knew Klaus wouldn't wait for another full moon to come around after all the centuries of trying to free himself of his curse.
"We found out a while back that the Sun and the Moon curse was fake," Stefan told the original from what they had learned from Darina's journal before he stated as he hoped Elijah would tell them more about the whole sacrifice and why it was even happening, "that it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus."
Elijah silently nodded his head as he affirmed what they already thought before the original further explained about the curse, "Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting." Elijah glanced at the three faces around the room as he told the group the bad news, "but if he breaks it, he'll be a true hybrid."
The living room of the Salvatore boarding house grew silent after Elijah's words were spoken as Stefan and Elena both took a nervous glance at the human girl while Emily slowly exhaled as she stared at Elijah as she had already knew that this would happen. However, before anyone could say anymore, though, they were soon interrupted as the missing vampire stomped his way into the living room.
"Then why are we letting him break the curse?" The frustrated Damon Salvatore interrogated as he finally exited out of his bedroom after hearing the original go on and on. The blue eyed vampire released a loud huff as he took a seat on the couch beside his girlfriend before he tossed his arm over Elena's shoulder and muttered with a careless shrug, "we can kill him today - with Bonnie."
The two younger vampires in the living room, Stefan and Elena, both glared over at the older Salvatore's suggestion. While Stefan warned his brother as he uttered, "Damon," the Gilbert vampire hurriedly shook her head and exclaimed, "no. No way."
Emily rolled her green irises at the older Salvatore before she assured everyone in the room, "don't worry, guys. Bonnie isn't going to do that." The Gilbert girl shook her head before she also turned a hard glare over to Damon as she muttered, "I'm not gonna allow Bonnie to die for me."
Damon rose an eyebrow at the human doppelganger with an expression filled with half annoyance and half amusement. "But you're willing to die for us?" The older Salvatore interrogated in a hard voice, "how is that fair? How is that any better?"
The Gilbert girl released a heavy sigh as she realized, once again, she was getting nowhere with the blue eyed vampire. "This is my battle, Damon," the human doppelganger stated the obvious as she stared directly at the older Salvatore, "Klaus wants me and me only." Emily lightly shook her head before she added, "I'm not willing to let any of you guys die when you wouldn't be in this position if I wasn't the doppelganger."
Damon rolled his blue eyes at the human girl's explanation before he angrily began, "oh, give me a bre-"
However, before the older Salvatore could continue to argue with the human Petrova doppelganger, the younger brother interrupted Damon. The green eyed vampire couldn't even fathom the idea of his girlfriend dying as it made his insides turn in all of the wrong ways. "All right," Stefan mumbled as he subconsciously tightened the hand that he had on Emily's thigh before he asked the original, "how do we break this curse?"
"Well," Elijah began as he stood up from the leather chair that he had been sitting in before he explained how the sacrifice would work, "the ritual itself is relatively straightforward." The original moved his right hand in a circular motion as he pointed at each person in the room while he added, "the ingredients, so to speak, you already know."
Stefan nodded his head as they already knew that part. "The moonstone," the younger Salvatore mentioned the milky rock that they had spent weeks keeping out of Katherine's hand and weeks keeping it safe.
Elijah pointed over at the green eyed vampire as to tell Stefan that he was on the right track before he added what else his brother would need to break his curse, "a witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone." The original vampire released a small sigh before he also added, "after that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."
Emily furrowed her brows slightly as she listened to the original explain the process of the sacrifice. "And where do I fit into this equation?" The Gilbert girl inquired as she and Elijah didn't really talk about the aspect of how things were going to take place.
Elijah gave the human doppelganger a small but comforting smile before he stated, "the final part of the ritual." The original vampire then silently moved over to the grand piano - where he had laid the supplies down when he had first arrived at the Salvatore boarding house. Elijah picked up a small black box that was only big enough to fit in the palm of his hand before he headed back to the group of vampires and the human doppelganger.
"Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelganger," Elijah began as he stared down at the small box before he focused his brown irises back onto Emily with sadness swirling around his orbs from the memory of the last doppelganger he watched die as he softly finished his sentence, "to the point of your death."
The vampire couple of Elena and Damon immediately turned their blue and brown eyes over to the human girl with worry displayed all across their tense bodies from this piece of information. Meanwhile, Stefan had placed his temple onto Emily's brown pea coat covered shoulder as he released a shaky deep breath.
Emily couldn't help but release a small sigh when she could practically feel her boyfriend shaking against her body. It absolutely crushed the human girl as she hated seeing Stefan like this. Emily honestly didn't know how she was supposed to comfort the green eyed vampire when there was nothing they could do to stop the sacrifice. So, instead, Emily did the one thing that she could as she softly ran her fingers through Stefan's brunette hair while she whispered soothingly every few seconds, "it's going to be alright. I love you. I'm not going anywhere. I got you."
Once the Gilbert girl couldn't feel Stefan's body shaking against her own, she moved her hand to link their fingers together before she finally placed her attention back onto the original. Emily watched as the original opened up the small black box before he pulled out the way to her safety - a small, golden vial of Radkova powers.
"What's that?" The Gilbert vampire questioned in confusion as she stared at the small glass container in the original's hand that reminded her of pixie dust or the magic wishing dust from 13 Going On 30.
"This is Maria's - the last Radkova witch's - powers," the original vampire explained as he stared at the contents of the glass vial. "Maria made a promise to Darina to protect the next doppelganger," Elijah stated as he looked at each face around the living room before he added with a small smile playing on his lips, "I've waited centuries to finally be able to give this to the next Petrova doppelganger and now the time has come."
Elena's brown irises couldn't help but widened at this aspect. "Wait, wait, wait," the Gilbert girl exclaimed as she waved her hand in the air and anxiously moved to the edge of the leather couch. "So, you never done this before?" Elena questioned the original with her brows furrowed together. Elena didn't like the idea that her twin sister would be the first one to experience this since there wasn't any proof that this would even work.
"No, I haven't," Elijah muttered as he nodded his head once and affirmed what the youngest vampire thought. "Emily will be the first in existence to die with magic powers in her system before it will, essentially, resuscitate her within twenty-four to seven-two hours," the original vampire further explained what he had already told the human girl.
Elena thickly swallowed as she glanced over to her twin sister with anxiety swimming through her brown irises. "So," the Gilbert vampire nervously began before she timidly asked as if she was afraid to hear the words out loud, "she's going to be dead?"
Elijah, once again, nodded his head before he assured every nervous vampire in the living room of the Salvatore boarding house as he stared solely at the human girl with a soft expression to hopefully keep her nerves down like he did yesterday, "and then she won't."
The older Salvatore looked at the original vampire with a look of disgust and confusion displayed all across his face. "That's your plan?" Damon interrogated as he glared over at the vial, "a magical witch potion with no expiration date?" The blue eyed vampire shook his head with a humorless chuckle before he focused his eyes onto the human doppelganger. "If you want to come back to life, what about John's ring?" Damon suggested as at least they would know that it would actually work.
The original immediately shook his head and shot down Damon's idea before the human girl could even say anything as Elijah stated, "those rings only work on humans." Elijah pointed over to Emily as he continued, "the doppelganger's a supernatural occurrence, so odds are, the ring won't work on her."
Damon carelessly shrugged his shoulders as he glanced between his girlfriend, his brother, and the human girl in question. "I'll take those odds over your supposedly voodoo magic," the older Salvatore exclaimed as he glared his bright blue irises over to the original before he focused back onto the Gilbert girl. "What if it doesn't work, Emily? What if you actually die?" Damon questioned as he stared at the girl, who he saw as his little, annoying sister.
Emily exhaled a small sigh before she calmly told her protective bodyguards, "I already accepted what could happen to me." It was the truth, too. Emily had previously been afraid of the idea of dying in the sacrifice but now, she was at peace with it if that became her fate. "Besides," Emily continued after a short pause, "I trust Elijah and Maria - and if they say this is going to work, then I believe them." The Gilbert girl glanced at each anxious and nervous face before she stated, "we just gotta trust that I'll come back to life when this is all over with."
The older Salvatore looked at Emily like she had completely gone batshit crazy. Damon knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with the human girl, so he moved his blue irises over to his girlfriend as he hoped she would be able to talk some sense into the doppelganger. "Lena?" The older Salvatore called out to his girlfriend, who was anxiously staring at her twin, before Damon questioned with a raise of his eyebrow, "you got anything you wanna tell your sister? Maybe how stupid she is being?"
Elena released a small sigh and briefly closed her brown eyes as she just tried to just understand this all. It was scary to imagine if her sister did actually die in the sacrifice. Elena trusted her twin sister completely and she would be on board with whatever Emily decided but the young vampire just had to make sure this was what her sister wanted.
"What if you do die, Emily? What if this magic doesn't bring you back?" The Gilbert vampire questioned as she stared at her twin sister with her brows pulled together. Elena hated the idea of trusting Elijah's plan - that had never been done before - but she would if this was really what Emily wanted to do. Elena would gladly follow her sister to the ends of the Earth but she wanted this to be Emily's decision and not because an original and a dead witch was pushing it on her.
Emily shot her worried sister a small smile as she assured Elena as she knew what was running through her sibling's mind, "this is what I want to do." The Gilbert girl glanced between the three worried vampires before she told all of them, "this is our best option, you guys. This is the only way that one else will get hurt." Emily shot the older Salvatore a pointed look as she furthered her point, "Bonnie won't have to use up all her magic and die in process and you guys will be safe as well."
The human Petrova doppelganger took a deep breath as she prepared herself for what she was about to say. "But," Emily began after a moment of silence, "if for some God awful reason that this doesn't work out like we wanted, then I will be dead. Forever." The Gilbert girl gave each vampire a small smile before she told them the brutal truth, "you guys will just have to accept that it's my fate."
Stefan couldn't stand this. He couldn't stand to hear anymore about the love of his life dying, so he didn't. The younger Salvatore didn't give anyone a chance to say anything else on the matter as he shot up from the leather couch and from his spot from beside Emily before he vamped his way up the wooden staircase and away from this Earth-shattering topic.
The Gilbert girl released a heavy sigh once her very human mind connected the dots after she heard the swoosh of her boyfriend leaving and the sounds of his heavy footsteps on the second floor of the boarding house. Emily didn't want the younger Salvatore to feel sad or angry when this could possibly be her last day as a normal person, so the brunette girl moved her gaze over to the original with a small smile before she uttered, "I'll be right back."
Elijah gave the human doppelganger a small nod before he told the Gilbert with a small smile of his own, "take your time." The original knew exactly what the younger Salvatore brother was feeling right now from his own experience of loving and caring for the girl with the same face as Emily Gilbert, so he knew it wasn't easy for Stefan to listen to everything he was saying.
"Thank you," Emily quickly muttered out and gave the original a large smile that showed her praise before she hurriedly jogged her way up the wooden staircase to find her boyfriend. The human doppelganger had immediately went to Stefan's bedroom but when she couldn't find him, Emily began opening random doors as she searched for the brunette vampire.
It took Emily a few tries but after a solid five minutes of opening and shutting doors, the Gilbert girl finally spotted her boyfriend standing in her second bedroom while he held a photo of them together in front of her dresser. Emily felt stupid that this wasn't the second room she looked into, but she didn't comment on it.
Instead, Emily silently walked into her bedroom and stood a few steps behind her boyfriend to see if he would say or do anything. However, though, when Stefan only continued to gaze down at the framed photo in his hands, the Gilbert girl took a deep breath before she mumbled out, "I thought you understood why I needed to do this after last night." Emily had thought that there wouldn't be anymore fighting with Stefan after he had said he was on board with hers and Elijah's plan.
"I did," Stefan quietly mumbled as he gazed down at his and Emily's smiling faces in the photo before he placed it back onto the tall dresser and slowly faced the human girl. "I do," the younger Salvatore corrected himself before he released a heavy sigh as he anxiously ran his fingers through his messy brunette hair. Stefan shook his head as he stared into the human girl's green irises before he continued, "but I just can't and you can't expect me to be okay after hearing over and over again that you will be dead, Emily. I literally can't stomach that thought."
Emily's heart practically broke from the sight of her boyfriend. "Hey, hey, hey," the human girl cooed as she quickly walked closer to the anxiety-ridden vampire before she tightly wrapped her arms around Stefan's waist as she tried to offer him some comfort. "I know it's hard to accept it but I'll come right back," Emily tried to assure her boyfriend, "I'll just be gone for three days or even less before I'll wake back up." The Gilbert girl pulled away slightly from Stefan's embrace before she lightly joked to ease the tension, "you won't even notice that I'm gone."
However, Emily didn't get the reaction that she was hoping for as the Salvatore vampire immediately pushed himself out of the human girl's arms before he questioned with a hint of disgust and anger in his voice, "how can you even joke around right now?" Stefan shook his head as he began to pace the length of Emily's bedroom before he practically screeched, "there's a chance that you won't come back, Emily!" Stefan then briefly closed his eyes as he slowly came to a stop before he mumbled, "and that thought absolutely scares the hell out of me."
The human Petrova doppelganger crossed her arms over her long brown coat as if she was trying to hold all of her cracked and broken pieces together while she watched Stefan with sadness swimming through her green irises. "I know," Emily softly whispered as she knew there was a slim possibility that she wouldn't come back to life after the sacrifice - and she had already accepted that.
The Gilbert girl slowly and cautiously walked closer to Stefan before she quickly pulled him back into her embrace before he had the chance to start his pacing again. Emily gently placed her head onto the vampire's cool chest - something she had come to love about him - before she whispered as she tried to get Stefan along with everyone else to realize that this was their best and only option, "we don't have a choice."
This time, Stefan finally accepted the human girl's embrace as he wrapped his arms around Emily's shoulders and the back of her head. The human and vampire couple stood like that for a few minutes filled with a relaxed silence as they took in the comfort from the other before Stefan slowly pulled back and stared into Emily's green eyes when he thought of a different plan. "What about vampirism?" Stefan timidly questioned as he knew that was always an option that would absolutely work.
Emily's green irises immediately widened at her boyfriend's suggestion before she gaped out, "what?" The Gilbert girl knew how much Stefan disliked being a vampire and how much he hated Damon for turning him into one, so Emily was definitely shocked that Stefan was even suggesting that. And in total honesty, that thought never even crossed Emily's mind. The Gilbert girl figured that had something to do with the fact that she had witchy magic already running through her veins.
"I-If I feed you my blood then we'll know for sure that you'll come back to us, to me," Stefan explained himself with his green eyes slightly widened from wanting to help keep his girlfriend alive while he ran his fingers down the length of Emily's brown coat covered arm. Stefan, even though he hated his vampirism, would gladly turn Emily if that was what she wanted to keep her here with him - and Stefan would gladly stand by her side and do everything in his power to make her happy each and every day of her immortality.
Emily silently stared into her boyfriend's green eyes for a short moment of silence as she thought about becoming a vampire before she finally shook her head. "I-I never thought about the idea of turning into a vampire," the Gilbert girl confessed, "and I don't think I could do it." Emily honestly didn't think she could make it out as a vampire. She didn't know if it was because of the magic already inside of her or because it was her 'destiny' to become the next Radkova witch but Emily just felt deep inside her that she wouldn't be happy as a vampire.
A deep frown immediately pulled onto the Salvatore vampire's face that was filled with nothing but obvious sadness. However, Stefan didn't fight the human girl on the matter. Instead, he slowly nodded his head before he quietly murmured, "it's okay. I understand." Stefan shot his girlfriend a tight smile before he placed a feather-like kiss onto Emily's forehead. Stefan may be upset that the human girl didn't agree to his idea but he would never force Emily into vampirism - even thought it would mean that he knew she would still be alive after the sacrifice.
"I'm sorry, Stef," the Gilbert girl apologized as she stared up into her boyfriend's forest green eyes with unshed tears in her own. Emily couldn't help but feel bad that she completely shut down Stefan's idea when he was only giving her way to survive the sacrifice but Emily just knew that she wouldn't be happy as a vampire.
"No, no," Stefan quickly muttered out before he grabbed both sides of the human girl's face and stared deeply into her green irises. "It's okay, baby," the Salvatore vampire assured his girlfriend before he told Emily, "it was a stupid idea but just know I would never force you into vampirism if it wasn't something you wanted." Stefan shot the Gilbert girl a soft smile before he uttered, "it was just an option that you could have."
Emily couldn't help but to release a heavy sigh before she silently nodded her head with a small smile playing on her lips from the fact that Stefan wasn't forcing her into being a vampire nor was he too upset that she wasn't willing to go through with the transition. The human Petrova doppelganger grabbed one of Stefan's hands on her cheek before she brought it to her chest and gave it a tight squeeze as she tried to assure her boyfriend, "I really do think Elijah's plan is going to work."
Stefan placed his lips against the human girl's temple before he quietly mumbled, "I know you do." The Salvatore vampire kept his lips pressed against Emily's warm skin as he absorbed the comfort that he always felt with the human girl before he muttered with a heavy sigh, "I believe in it, too, but I just needed a moment. There's just so many times that I can hear about you dying before I have to leave."
"I understand," Emily gently murmured as she squeezed her boyfriend's cold hand. "I know it's hard, so take all the time you need," the Gilbert girl told the Salvatore vampire before Emily placed both of her hands on either side of Stefan's neck and brought him down to her level. Emily placed a gentle kiss onto her boyfriend's lips before she rubbed her thumb along his cheek. "I love you and I'm not going anywhere," the Gilbert girl softly promised.
"I love you, too," Stefan whispered as he slowly closed his green eyes and leaned his head down onto Emily's neck as he absorbed her comfort. The Salvatore vampire then opened up his eyes after a solid three minutes of silence had passed between them before he pulled Emily into a passionate kiss that showed his fears along with his love for her.
"I'll be down in a few minutes," the Salvatore vampire promised once he finally pulled his lips away from the human girl's warm ones. Stefan honestly just needed to step back from all things sacrifice for a moment. It made Stefan wanna kidnap the doppelganger and take her to some far away country if it would keep her alive. It was just a lot to handle when his girlfriend was going to die tonight.
The Gilbert girl nodded her head in understanding before she quietly murmured, "okay." Emily gave her boyfriend a small smile before she pulled him into one last kiss that was filled with her emotions of love and confidence in what is going to happen. The human girl leaned her head against Stefan's chest for a moment before she slowly pulled away. "Everything's going to work out," Emily uttered one last comforting sentence before she silently turned around and headed back downstairs as she gave her boyfriend the space and time he needed.
The Gilbert vampire was the first one to turn her head towards the entrance of the living room when she heard her sister's soft footsteps. "You doing okay?" Elena worriedly questioned as she could see Emily's slumped shoulders and, of course, the missing presence of her twin's boyfriend.
Emily released a small sigh before she silently nodded her head and gave her sister a tight smile. "I'm fine," the Gilbert girl told her twin before she made her way over to the original vampire. Emily picked up the small vial of magic powers before she mumbled as she stared down at what would ultimately save her life, "I just wish you guys would understand why I need to do this."
The blue eyed vampire in the living room of the Salvatore boarding house released a loud scoff before he told the human girl, "fat chance, Princess." Damon rolled his bright but annoyed irises as he muttered before he gulped down his bourbon, "you're in the wrong universe if you think any of us will be okay with you dying."
The Gilbert vampire frowned as she looked over to her twin sister. "Why do you have to do this?" Elena questioned as she wanted to understand why Emily needed to do this - even though she absolutely hated the idea of her other half going through all of it.
"I'm the reason that Klaus is even here in Mystic Falls," the human girl stated the obvious, "Klaus is here because of me." Emily lightly shook her head before she stated with that Petrova fire soaring through her voice, "and I will be damned if I let him hurt any person I love and care about because he wants me."
Elena shook her head as she argued with what her twin sister thought, "but it's not. It could of been either of us." The Gilbert vampire pointed at herself as she made her point while she tried to ease this burden that her other half obviously felt, "if Katherine didn't turn me, Klaus could have been here for me."
Emily lightly shrugged her shoulders and muttered, "maybe so." The Gilbert girl then lifted up her point finger as she made her argument, "or maybe it would still be me." Emily handed the vial back over to the silent original as she stated, "I've had the Radkova witch blood in my system since the moment I was born, so maybe this is like destiny that it was always going to be me sacrificed."
Damon released another scoff at the human girl before he exclaimed, "that's horse shit if I ever heard any." The Salvatore vampire rolled his blue eyes as he muttered, "there is no destiny or fate. This is just a shitty situation no matter how you look at it."
"It is," the original vampire agreed with the older Salvatore with a small nod of his head about how this wasn't an ideal situation. Elijah silently rolled the golden vial around his right hand for a quiet moment before he also agreed with the human girl as he shot Emily a small smile, "but I do believe this is your destiny." The original placed the vial down onto the grand piano beside him before he moved to stand directly in front of the human Petrova doppelganger. "This is who you were meant to be," Elijah softly murmured after he gently placed his hand onto Emily's cheek before he rubbed his thumb across her warm skin.
The Gilbert and Salvatore vampire couple couldn't help but glance at one another along with the original and the human girl with their brows furrowed together. "Uh, you do realize she's dating my brother, right?" Damon questioned as he could see how soft Elijah was looking at his brother's girlfriend along with the gentle touches that he definitely shouldn't be showing the Gilbert girl.
However, before anyone else could comment on the moment or Emily could tell Damon and her sister about the connection and that Elijah meant it in a friendly way, they were all too soon interrupted when they all heard the front door of Salvatore boarding house being slammed along with a series of yelling.
Emily glanced over to her twin sister with a confused expression since everyone was in the living room and the younger Salvatore was upstairs. But when the Gilbert girl recognized her aunt's voice, she quickly jogged her way towards the foyer with the three other vampires following closely behind.
What the Gilbert twins, Damon, and Elijah saw surprised them greatly as Jenna, the newly involved resident of Mystic Falls into the hectic supernatural world, held a black crossbow at Alaric, who recently shared a body with the feared hybrid. "Get out!" The Sommers woman continued to shout as she shakily pointed the weapon at the man, who had ruined her innocence about what actually happens in her hometown.
"Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay?" Alaric desperately begged as he kept his hand in front of him to show the strawberry blonde woman that he wasn't going to hurt her. "It's me," the Saltzman man continued as he patted his chest with his right hand as he tried to get through to Jenna that he wasn't who she thought he was.
"Stay away from me," the strawberry blonde woman ordered in a quiet voice as she slowly backed away from the history teacher while she kept the deadly weapon locked onto Alaric's forehead.
The human Petrova doppelganger glanced at the three vampires behind her with her brows pulled together in confusion to what was going on before she took a small step towards Jenna and, supposedly, Alaric. However, Emily only had the chance to take one full step before the newly arrived Stefan wrapped his arm around the human girl's waist while he glared at Alaric - who he thought was still Klaus.
The Gilbert girl glanced back at her boyfriend with a small smile and a small nod of her head as she silently told him that she wouldn't get too close. Emily then focused back onto her aunt and history teacher when Stefan relaxed his arm before she questioned, "Jenna, what's going on?" The human doppelganger glanced at the two adults as she tried to figure out what the hell was going on, "what happened?"
"It's me! It's me, Emily!" The Saltzman man hurriedly exclaimed as he stared at the human girl. "You know me, Emily," the history teacher continued as he tried to get through to at least someone. "I swear, okay?" Alaric promised as he kept his hands raised for everyone to see that he meant no harm before he explained, "he let me go. Klaus let me go."
The two humans and the four vampires all cautiously glanced at one another to see what they were thinking since they didn't know what to believe when Klaus had been tricking them for so long while he hid in the vampire hunter's body. They didn't know if he was lying or not but the older Salvatore was the one to see if Alaric was who he said he is. "Prove it," Damon commanded as he crossed his arms over his black long sleeved shirt as he glared at the human man.
Alaric stared across at the Salvatore vampire for a moment before he released a heavy sigh when he realized that Damon was being serious. "I'm so going to regret this," Alaric mumbled, mostly to himself, before he faced the strawberry blonde woman to prove himself. "Okay, uh, the first night you and I spent together," the Saltzman man began one his embarrassing moments to his girlfriend, her nieces, the Salvatore brothers, and to an original, "Jeremy walked in right when I was about to-"
However, thankfully, before the vampire hunter could put his shame out into the world, the strawberry blonde quickly interrupted Alaric as Jenna practically shouted as she slowly lowered the crossbow down to her side, "okay, okay! It's him!"
The Gilbert twins couldn't help but look at one another with an expression filled with disgust and happiness that Alaric didn't get to finish that sentence as they did not want to be scarred for life from hearing about their aunt and history teacher's sex life.
A little awkward moment of silence settled into the foyer of the Salvatore boarding house for about a solid two minutes after Alaric's almost intimate tale before, thankfully, someone changed the topic. "Why did he let you go?" Stefan inquired as he furrowed his brows at the vampire hunter while he still had his arm protectively wrapped around his girlfriend's slim waist.
"He wanted me to deliver a message," Alaric stated as he stared over at the younger Salvatore before he slowly moved his blue eyes over to the human Petrova doppelganger. The Saltzman man released a heavy sigh before he passed on the message with sorrow leaking throughout his voice, "the sacrifice happens tonight."
Damon, once again, released another scoff for what seemed for the thousandth time before he muttered with a roll his blue eyes, "tell us something we didn't already know." The Salvatore vampire didn't wait for anyone to say anything more before he stomped his way back into the living room to grab another tumbler of bourbon.
The Gilbert girl released a heavy sigh as she watched Damon walk away from them before Emily focused back onto her shaken aunt. Emily gently pried the crossbow from Jenna and handed it off to her boyfriend before she told her aunt, "come on, Jenna." The human Petrova doppelganger looped her arm through the strawberry blonde woman's before she silently pulled Jenna into the living room with everyone else following closely behind. Emily then silently placed Jenna onto one of the couches before she linked their fingers together as to offer her aunt some comfort.
The Salvatore boarding house was silent as everyone got situated around the room before the Gilbert vampire anxiously asked her aunt as she stood in front of the couch that her twin and aunt were sitting on, "d-do you mind if I sit here, Jenna?" The Gilbert vampire had been doing what Emily told her to do by giving Jenna the space and time that she needed to accept that she was a vampire, so Elena wasn't exactly sure where they stood at the moment.
The Sommers woman slowly glanced over to her human niece, who gave her a small encouraging smile, before Jenna focused her hazel eyes back onto her vampire niece. "It's okay," Jenna softly whispered as she patted the seat next to her.
Elena couldn't help but feel this weight that immediately felt lifted from her shoulders at the fact that her aunt was even looking and speaking to her. The Gilbert vampire shot Jenna a small smile before she timidly took a seat on the far end of the couch as she tried to not get too close to her aunt as Elena didn't want to frighten Jenna even more than she already was at this point.
However, Jenna did something that surprised the youngest vampire as the strawberry blonde woman reached over the couch and grabbed ahold of Elena's hand. Jenna gave her vampire niece a small smile as she squeezed Elena's hand to show that she was okay with who she is. The Sommers woman could see, like Emily said she would, that Elena was still that same girl, who she watched grow up. Jenna just knew that she had to get used to the fact that her niece would be drinking blood instead of eating her crappy lasagnas.
The younger Salvatore lightly cleared his throat once everyone was situated in the living room - with him sitting on the arm rest beside Emily, Jenna sitting between her nieces, Damon standing by Elena's head with, of course, his bourbon in hand, Alaric sitting across from them, and, finally, Elijah standing right behind Emily, something Stefan didn't exactly like. "So, you don't remember anything that happened?" Stefan questioned the vampire hunter as they tried to understand what Alaric knew and remembered when Klaus was in his body.
The Saltzman man shook his head as he released a heavy sigh. "No," Alaric mumbled in disappointment before he explained how he felt while the hybrid was in his body, "it's like I blacked out and woke up three days later." The vampire hunter tiredly ran his fingers through his short hair as he was bent over with his elbows resting on his knees before he quickly looked up at everyone as he remembered something. "Katherine was there, too," Alaric mentioned as he remembered seeing the doppelganger at his apartment.
Stefan nodded his head as they already knew about that aspect. "She's under compulsion," the younger Salvatore told the vampire hunter before he informed the history teacher, "Damon snuck her some vervain but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can."
Emily's green eyes immediately widened as she looked over to her boyfriend at this new piece of information. The Gilbert girl couldn't help but to feel relieved and happy that Katherine wasn't dead like they all thought she would be after Klaus took her. Emily truly cared for her doppelganger's sister, so she was quite glad that Katherine was still breathing. She just hoped that the vervain would work and she can escape from Klaus' grasp.
The living room of the Salvatore boarding house slowly lulled down to a calm silence as everyone in the room were too wrapped in their thoughts before the silence was broken by the previous body bag for the dangerous hybrid. "So, what else did I do?" Alaric curiously wondered as he tried to understand what he had done and what has been going on for the last three days.
"Oh, you know," the older Salvatore began with a careless shrug of his shoulders before he sarcastically told one half of his drinking buddies before he took another large gulp of his bourbon, "just terrorizing a small village, almost killing our witch, just the usual."
The Saltzman man's blue irises instantly widened at the mention of the local witch. "Jesus," Alaric mumbled as he briefly closed his bright eyes before he worriedly and timidly asked, "is Bonnie alright?"
"Bonnie's one hundred percent fine," Elena quickly assured the vampire hunter before she stated after she slapped her boyfriend's chest and shot Damon a glare, "she's safe with Jeremy." The Gilbert vampire knew Damon was feeling annoyed and irritated with her twin's decisions but that didn't mean he could take it out on Alaric and make him feel bad when he didn't even know what he was doing to begin with. It wasn't Alaric's fault that the hybrid chose his body.
Alaric released a breath of relief from the fact that he didn't actually hurt the young witch. The Saltzman man then slowly moved his blue irises around the living room before he questioned since he's basically been in the dark for the past couple of days, "is there anything else I should know?"
The Sommers woman timidly raised her arm in the air before she meekly informed her boyfriend, "well, uh, you did uncover the supernatural world to me and now I'm having constant nightmares."
Alaric's blue eyes instantly widened in shock and disbelief at what the hybrid did in his body. "Oh, Jenna, I am so so sorry," the Saltzman man hurriedly apologized as he moved his body to the edge of the leather chair that he was sitting in. "I never meant to hurt you," Alaric continued to apologize, "or even keep things from you. I just wanted to keep you safe."
Jenna shot her boyfriend a small smile as she softly murmured, "I know." The Sommers woman glanced between her two nieces on either side of her before she added, "I understand that now." Jenna had honestly been pissed and sad that no one told her about what was going on in Mystic Falls but she was slowly realizing that they were just trying to keep her protected - even though that should be her job.
"C-Can we talk?" The Saltzman man anxiously questioned before he added as he could feel all of the eyes on him, "In private, I mean." Alaric rubbed his palms against his knees as he told Jenna, "I don't want this to ruin us. I want to tell you everything and answer any question you may have."
The Sommers woman smiled softly across at the vampire hunter before she nodded her head and murmured in agreement, "I'd like that."
The vampires and the human doppelganger all silently watched as Alaric and Jenna walked towards the kitchen to talk in private before the older Salvatore sarcastically exclaimed, "well, that was fun." Damon then silently stood up from his stance beside his girlfriend before he went to pour himself another glass of bourbon to help cope with the hell that they were in right now.
No one even reacted or flinched to Damon's comment like it was his usual thing or if he was that annoying drunk uncle that only came around during the holidays. No one reacted because they all knew this was just how Damon was dealing with the fact that someone, who he saw as his little sister, was supposed to die then come back to life as some strong witch. It was very nerve wrecking to even think about for the older Salvatore.
The next voice to break the silence happened to be the original standing behind the human doppelganger as Elijah lightly cleared his throat before he stated, "I should be going." Elijah gently placed his hand onto Emily's coat covered shoulder and gave it a small squeeze before he moved to stand in front of the vampires and the human girl. "I have some last minute errands to run before tonight," Elijah explained as he stared into Emily's green irises.
The Gilbert girl nodded her head in understanding before she slowly stood up from the couch. "I'll walk you out," Emily stated before she turned to her boyfriend and gave Stefan's hand a small squeeze to tell him that she was going to be okay since he had squeezed her thigh when she mentioned that she was going to walk Elijah out.
It took a few seconds of Stefan staring into his girlfriend's eyes before he released a tense sigh and gave Emily a small nod as he trusted that she would be okay. Emily gave the Salvatore vampire along with her also worried twin sister a small, assuring smile before she followed after Elijah as they exited out of the living room and headed towards the foyer in a comfortable silence.
Once they reached the front door, the original opened the large piece of wood but he didn't exit. Instead, Elijah turned around and faced the human girl with a soft smile playing on his lips. "How are you doing?" The original gently inquired as he could only imagine how Emily was feeling after having to listen to what is going to happen to her after how anxious she was yesterday when she heard it for the first time. It had to be a lot for the human doppelganger to handle.
Emily lightly shrugged her shoulders as if she wasn't bothered by anything in the world before she confessed how she truly felt with a small chuckle escaping through her lips, "nervous."
Elijah shot the Gilbert girl a small smile before he gave her shoulder a light squeeze as he silently offered her some much needed comfort. "We're going to finish this once and for all," the original vampire promised the human Petrova doppelganger, "this ends and begins with you, the newest witch of Mystic Falls."
The Gilbert girl couldn't help the warm blush that lifted onto her tan cheeks from the fact that she was going to be a witch. Emily released a small chuckle before she told the original as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I guess I'll have to get used to that." The human doppelganger still felt nervous and anxious about becoming the next Radkova witch but it wasn't like she had much of a choice when it was going to save her life and everyone believed that she was supposed to become this strong witch.
"You'll be fine," Elijah promised, once more, as he gave the human girl's shoulder another squeeze before he slowly settled his arm down by his side. "We'll defeat Klaus then you'll become the strongest witch in existence," the original vampire stated before he assured the doppelganger, "this is what you were meant for, Emily Gilbert."
The human Petrova doppelganger silently nodded her head as she swallowed down the large lump in her throat. Emily felt absolutely anxious about having all of this weighing down on her shoulders as she felt like it would be her fault if people died if their plan didn't work or it would be her fault if she didn't live up to her potential and couldn't be the this great witch that Maria wanted her to be.
The original vampire could see that Emily was mentally going through the ringer by the way her green eyes weren't focusing on anything in particular and the way her body was completely tense. "It's going to work out. Everything's going to be okay," Elijah assured the Gilbert girl with a soft smile shining across his lips.
"You should rest, though," the original vampire told the human doppelganger after a moment of silence had settled between them. Elijah rose his hand and grazed his thumb against Emily's cheek before he gently told her, "and I advise you to drink the vial as soon as you can with the sacrifice taking place by the end of tonight."
The Gilbert girl silently nodded her head understanding with a tiny and relaxed smile playing on her lips before she walked into Elijah's arms and surprised the original as she tightly wrapped her arms around Elijah's waist. "Thank you," Emily quietly whispered as she showed her praise for basically everything that Elijah had done for her since he arrived in Mystic Falls.
The original vampire couldn't help but to be shocked and frozen for a few seconds before he released a content sigh as he slowly wrapped his arms around the human girl's shoulders and the back of her head. "You don't have to thank me," Elijah murmured after a moment of silence before he stated, "this is your fate, Emily."
The Gilbert girl lightly shrugged her shoulders once she pulled herself out of the original's embrace before she mumbled with a small chuckle, "well, thank you, anyway."
Elijah released his own chuckle before he uttered with an amused smile playing on his lips, "well, then, you're welcome." The original stared across at the human girl for a moment as he took in her familiar features before he uttered his farewell with a simple nod of his head, "I'll see you soon, enchantress."
Emily bit down on her bottom lip for a moment she quietly whispered, mostly to herself, as she watched as the original slowly closed the large wooden door behind him, "bye." The Gilbert girl then immediately released a heavy sigh once she was all alone - and she absolutely hated it. Emily, now that she was alone, was lost her thoughts about what was going to happen.
The whole witchy aspect still frightened the human girl. Emily wasn't afraid of dying - she already accepted that it might happen - nor was she afraid of becoming witch. The Gilbert girl just felt afraid that she was going to fail. There was just so much pressure on her - pressure from over six hundred years ago - from everyone expecting her to be this great and powerful witch but Emily didn't even know if she would be able to live up to Elijah, Katherine, Darina, and Maria's expectations.
"Hey," the soft voice of the younger Salvatore called out as he stood right in front of his girlfriend, who hadn't heard his footsteps nor did she hear the first three times that he had called to her. "Are you alright?" Stefan worriedly questioned as he gently placed his hand onto Emily's shoulder.
The Gilbert girl instantly tensed at the touch on her shoulder and jumped at the sound of the Salvatore vampire's voice - which finally knocked her out of her running thoughts - before she gave her boyfriend a tight smile. "I'm fine," Emily lied as she was far from okay right now when she was supposed to die and become a witch in a span of a few hours.
"Hey," the Salvatore vampire gently cooed before he told Emily, "you know you can tell me anything, right?" Stefan could obviously tell by his girlfriend's tense figure that she wasn't fine. Hell, he wasn't fine himself and Stefan wasn't even the one involved in the sacrifice.
Emily stared into her boyfriend's soft green eyes before she finally released a heavy sigh - which also released all the tension in her body - as she knew Stefan was right and that she didn't have to keep everything bottled up. The Gilbert girl gave the Salvatore vampire a small smile - instead of the fake one she had gave to hide her fears - before she mumbled out how she really felt with a small chuckle, "I feel like I'm going to puke every time I open my mouth."
The human Petrova doppelganger soon grew serious when Stefan didn't laugh at her horrible way of avoiding her feelings as she mumbled so quietly that if Stefan didn't have enhanced hearing, he wouldn't have been able to hear her, "I'm scared."
Emily had never been one of those people to admit she was scared. In fact, Emily, all through her life, had never admitted that she was scared of anything. Not when she afraid that there were monsters underneath her bed or in her closet when she was a child. Not when she broke her arm as a young teenager. Not when she was introduced to vampires. Not when she was kidnapped by Rose and Trevor. Not when she found out that she's a doppelganger. And not even when she found out the biggest vampire in the world was after her.
However, as of right now, Emily Gilbert was scared out of her mind. She was scared of what was going to happen. No, Emily wasn't scared of the whole sacrifice and dying but she was scared of what came after it.
"Talk to me," the Salvatore vampire practically begged as he could see the turmoil running throughout Emily's green eyes with sorrow filled in his own. "Why are you scared?" Stefan gently questioned as he rubbed his hands comfortingly down the human girl's as if he was trying to keep her warm through her heavy coat.
Emily stared into the Salvatore vampire's green irises for a moment before the Gilbert girl briefly closed her own as she took a deep breath. "I'm scared I won't be me anymore," the human Petrova doppelganger finally confessed once she looked back up to her boyfriend with tears clouding her usually bright eyes.
"Oh, babe," the Salvatore vampire cooed as his heart practically split in half from hearing Emily's sadness and seeing her teary eyes. "Everything's going to be okay," Stefan softly murmured as he brought the human girl into his chest and squeezed her body into his for dear life.
Stefan held his girlfriend in his arms for a few minutes of silence as he comforted the human girl before he pulled back a bit to bring his hand to Emily's cheek. The Salvatore vampire stared deeply into the Gilbert girl's green eyes before he made a promise, "I won't let you lose yourself. You're going to get throu-"
However, before Stefan could finish what he wanted to say to help make his girlfriend feel better, the human Petrova doppelganger interrupted him as she exclaimed, "you can't promise that, though." Emily released a heavy sigh before she explained her fears, "you don't know what being a witch will do to me."
Stefan lightly shrugged his shoulders as he rubbed his thumb from underneath the human girl's brown coat on her bare hips. "Maybe I don't," the Salvatore vampire muttered.
Emily rolled her green eyes as she huffed out, "that's not very helpful."
The Salvatore vampire released a small chuckle before he questioned with an amused grin shining across his lips and an amused tint to his green eyes, "will you let me finish?"
The Gilbert girl pouted out her bottom lip for the way that her boyfriend had basically scolded her but she ended up nodding her head in agreement, anyway. The action of the human doppelganger made the Salvatore vampire chuckle before he placed a quick kiss to her cute and pouty lips.
"If anything happens, I promise you I will pull back no matter what happens and no matter the cost," Stefan stated once he grew serious and stared deeply into the human girl's green irises. "I'm going to be by your side all the way through, you know, your witchy transition," the Salvatore vampire swore, "you will not be alone, ever."
Emily immediately felt her body finally relax as she released a small sigh. The Gilbert girl felt safe and actually comforted by Stefan's words. It gave her the strength that maybe she would survive this and actually become that strong witch that everyone wanted her to be with Stefan standing by her side. "Okay," Emily softly whispered in agreement before she laid her head onto the Salvatore vampire's chest as she absorbed the strength and comfort that Stefan's body gave her.
The human and the vampire couple stayed in that position for a few comfortable minutes with Stefan softly running his fingers through Emily's brunette hair before he spoke. "Go put your shoes on," the Salvatore vampire gently commanded before he stated, "I wanna take you somewhere."
Emily couldn't help but furrow her brows in confusion as she pulled her head away from the vampire's chest. "Go where?" The Gilbert girl wondered before she joked, "you do I know I have a date with a hybrid soon."
"Yeah, I know," Stefan mumbled with sadness trailing throughout his voice from the thought of what was going to happen tonight. "And it's a surprise," the Salvatore vampire told the human girl as he pushed away any and all thoughts of the sacrifice before he promised, "I'll have you back before the full moon arrives."
The Gilbert girl stared into Stefan's green eyes for a moment as she tried to see if he was going to try to ruin the sacrifice by taking her away but when she only found honesty, Emily nodded her head in agreement before she placed her head back onto Stefan's cool chest.
However, though, as they stood there in each other's arms, Emily realized that she should do something before the sacrifice took place. So with her idea in mind, the Gilbert girl tilted her head up and looked into her boyfriend's green eyes before she requested, "can we push it back a few hours, though?"
The Salvatore vampire was now the confused one. "Why?" Stefan wondered as he knew the human girl didn't exactly have any plans anytime soon with the whole being a witch thing happening tonight.
"I-I think I should say goodbye to everyone," Emily confessed to what she wanted to do.
Stefan's green eyes immediately widened before he hurriedly exclaimed, "woah. Hey, hey, hey." The Salvatore vampire slid his hands up to grab Emily's face before he stated, "you aren't dying tonight - well, you are, but you'll be coming back." Stefan shook his head as he got rid of his jumbled thoughts before he assured his girlfriend, "I believe in the plan and you'll come back to us. You're going to be just fine, babe."
The Gilbert girl couldn't help the amused chuckle that slipped through her lips from the fact that her boyfriend was beginning to panic. "I'm sorry," Emily giggled before she grew serious as she stated, "No, I know. I believe in the plan, too." The human Petrova doppelganger lightly shrugged her shoulders before she explained herself, "I just want to say goodbye to everyone encase something does happen - either I don't wake up or this witch thing ends up making me crazy." Emily shot her boyfriend a small smile before she stated, "I just want to be at peace before I go into the sacrifice."
The Salvatore vampire didn't say anything. Instead, Stefan leaned his head onto the human girl's shoulder before he simply nodded his head in agreement to meeting in a few hours. Stefan didn't think he had any words at the moment when he absolutely hated the idea of watching his girlfriend say goodbye to her loved ones as if she wasn't coming back.
Emily let the green eyed vampire stay against her shoulder for a moment as she gave her boyfriend all the time that he needed to calm down before the human doppelganger lifted Stefan's head with her point finger on his chin. The Gilbert girl shot Stefan a small smile and a quick peck onto his lips before she promised, "I'll meet you at the Grill at twelve then you can show me your surprise."
"Deal," the Salvatore vampire agreed as he knew that this was just something that Emily needed to do for herself and her peace of mind. Stefan leaned down and placed a soft kiss into the human girl's lips as he gently rubbed the back of his hand across her cheek. The Salvatore vampire stared deep into Emily's green eyes before he whispered, "I love you so much."
A soft smile immediately rose onto Emily's lips at her boyfriend's honest words before she whispered right back, "I love you, too." The Gilbert girl placed another kiss onto Stefan's soft lips before she promised him a moment later, "I'm not going anywhere. You are stuck with me forever, Mr. Salvatore."
Stefan grinned right back at his girlfriend before he murmured and pulled the Gilbert girl into another kiss that was filled with so much love and passion, "I wouldn't have it any other way, Ms. Gilbert."
Emily's green eyes practically shined as she stared into the Salvatore vampire's forest green ones that always made her feel at home no matter what was going on around them. Emily knew that today was going to be a long and tiring one but with Stefan by her side, the Gilbert girl felt it in her soul that everything was going to be okay.
