Once Jonas had taken down the barrier spell on the tomb, Elijah led the way towards the entrance of the tomb. "Stay behind me at all times. Katerina is dangerous, and I imagine she's quite hungry by now."
"Yeah, I know how dangerous she is. Elijah, why are you helping me?" Elena asked. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful. She was very grateful, but she wondered why a vampire she'd only met once would want to help her.
"Curiosity, I suppose. I thought I knew everything about the supernatural world. You are something new to me," Elijah said. That wasn't the only reason. He also felt a strong urge to help this young girl. He didn't know where it came from, but it was there.
Elena shuddered at his words. She was something new. She was something strange, even to the strange world she had just become a part of. At the moment, she felt like an outcast.
"Do not take that to mean anything bad. Everything was new to this world at one point. It's nothing negative about you," Elijah told her.
"At least one witch would disagree with you," Elena said as she thought about Jonas. He'd been very clear about what he thought of her. He looked at her and spoke like she was some sort of perversion.
"Witches can be very judgmental. They believe in the natural order. People like you and me flout that. For what it's worth, most witches have the same opinion about me," Elijah said.
Elena nodded. She remembered Damon saying something similar about witches. It didn't make her feel any better about what was happening with her though. She was a creature that wasn't supposed to exist, and she didn't even know what that was. That terrified her. In fact, she wasn't sure what was more terrifying. The fact that she had no idea what she was or the prospect of finding out.
Elijah approached the entrance. He and Elena barely stepped inside when he saw Katerina appear.
Upon seeing Elijah, Katherine gasped and took several steps back.
Elijah smiled slightly at her fear. "Hello, Katerina. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"
"I… You have another doppelganger now. I intended to hand her over myself. I collected everything Klaus needs. Just let me go," Kathrine pleaded.
"That was your plan the whole time. You wanted to hand me over to Elijah and Klaus to be sacrificed. That's the entire reason you came here," Elena realized.
"Obviously. It was your life or mine. Mine will always win. Don't expect an apology," Kathrine said with a sneer.
"I don't. I don't need one. You failed anyway. I'm not a doppelganger," Elena said.
Katherine laughed at her. "Don't be stupid. Looking at you is like looking in a mirror. Of course, you're a doppelganger. Or maybe you think lying about it will save you. Good luck with that," she said before turning to Elijah. "I'll give you the moonstone. You can take it and her and break the curse."
"That won't be necessary, Katerina. It's of no use to me. Elena is right, she's not a doppelganger. I checked," Elijah said.
"What? That's not possible," Katherine said in disbelief.
Elena snorted. "You have no idea how many times I've heard that today. "Wait, Elijah, I think Jonas must have been wrong. If she thinks I'm a doppelganger, she can't know what's happening to me."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Katherine asked confused.
"It turns out that Elena here isn't completely human. That's why we're here. I have been led to believe you can provide some insight into her origins. Tell me why it is that a powerful witch seems to believe that a girl from your line is both a vampire and a witch, as well as human," Elijah instructed.
Katherine's eyes widened in horror and she backed up several paces. "No! It's impossible! She was supposed to be dead! I made sure of it!"
Elijah narrowed his eyes. "Explain."
Katherine remained silent. No matter what she said, it would end up getting her killed. Saying nothing seemed like the best option.
Elijah flashed over to her and grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to make eye contact with him. "I said, speak. You will tell me everything you know about Elena's origins. You will answer any questions from either of us honestly."
Once Elijah let her go, Katherine started speaking. "You may have had your agenda when we met, but so did I. I was alone and pretty much destitute. Meeting two Lords was biggest break I'd had since I left home. I wanted the fame and riches that came with marrying a Lord, but I knew that Klaus wasn't really interested in making me his bride, so I came up with a way to force him to. I knew a witch, a strong one. She used a spell that would allow me to conceive with the first person I slept with. I guess witches used it with partners that were sterile."
"And you used this spell on Niklaus?" Elijah asked in shock. That meant Elena was a part of his family, and that was something he hadn't considered. It explained why he felt some protectiveness over her though. It also explained both her witch power and vampirism. There were still many unanswered questions though. And it still threw him that one of them could conceive a child, even through a spell. Then again, witches probably thought the same about vampirism when his mother first created them.
"I was going to, but he took no real interest in me. He wouldn't sleep with me. He barely kissed me once and while. I knew that you would though. You wanted me. I was drunk one night and I figured one Lord was just as good as the other," Katherine told him.
Elijah was even more shocked now, though he supposed he shouldn't be. He had slept with Katerina. "You became pregnant with my child."
"Yes. Before I could tell you, I found out what you were and what you planned for me. I fled, and then I killed myself. I thought that thing had died with me at first, but soon after my transition, I felt it moving around inside of me," Katherine said in disgusted tone.
"What did you do?" Elijah asked in a dangerous tone.
"There was nothing I could do while it was inside of me, other than kill myself, and I had too much self-preservation for that. I had to wait nine months to get rid of it. I had to feel that thing grow inside me the whole time. Once I was close to delivering, I risked going back to England to find the witch responsible for the whole thing. I told her what she'd done and told her she needed to fix it. She helped me deliver and then said she would take care of the problem. She was supposed to get rid of it!" Katherine exclaimed.
"By that you mean murder the child?" Elena asked in horror. By now, she figured that Katherine's child was one of her ancestors. That's how she was somehow a witch and a vampire. It had been passed down to her through the generations. It sickened her that one of her ancestors had been handed off to be murdered, and by her own mother at that.
"Put it down! It shouldn't exist! I can't believe I found the one witch who cared more about her conscience than the laws of nature," Katherine said.
Elijah was furious as he listened to Katerina speak about his own child, and he listened to her speak of her as though she was some sort of creature. He wanted to rip her heart out then and there, but he had to be certain he had all the information before he did anything. He was pretty certain she was the only one that could give him any information. Everyone else involved would be dead.
"So, that's why I'm like this? You had a child born to a vampire and that child's entire line inherited it. I inherited it," Elena surmised.
Katherine chuckled. "That's what you think? You're more stupid than I thought."
"What are you talking about?" Elena asked as she went to take a step forward.
Elijah placed his arm in front of Elena to stop her from moving any closer to Katerina. "Elena, I don't think that vampirism and witchcraft would be so potent in you if you were merely a descendent. Most of you would be human. Plus, there are the blocks on your magic that had to be placed by a witch.
"What are you saying?" Elena asked.
"You didn't descend from his spawn. You are his spawn," Katherine said bluntly.
Elena immediately shook her head. "No, that isn't possible. My biological parents were Isobel Flemming and John Gilbert."
"Isobel's child was stillborn. She told me right before I came to Mystic Falls. I thought she was lying to protect you from Klaus. You looked exactly like me. I thought it was certain that you were the doppelganger," Katherine told her.
Elena shook her head wildly. This couldn't be happening. She felt like she was in a crazy nightmare that she couldn't seem to wake up from. First, she found out that she wasn't completely human and was actually both a vampire and a witch. Now she was being told that her parents weren't who she thought they were, for the second time. She had just gotten used to the fact that she was adopted and that her biological parents were John and Isobel. Now Katherine was saying that she and Elijah were her parents. But, no, it wasn't possible. It wasn't even physically possible. This had all happened when Katherine was pregnant, which was hundreds of years ago. "You're lying. I would have to be hundreds of years old for that to be true."
"I can't lie. Elijah compelled me to be honest. As for the time, the witch I involved was known for having an affinity for time travel spells. I guess rather than killing you, she decided to send you hundreds of years into the future, maybe to make you someone else's problem," Katherine said.
"You… You're really my mother?" Elena asked in utter disbelief.
"Unfortunately. I guess this is why they tell you to know the person you're with before you sleep with him. I didn't know I was getting into bed with a vampire, or creating something that didn't belong in the world. I shouldn't have trusted that witch to get rid of you. I should've done it myself," Katherine said with hatred in her voice. She didn't even bother trying to hide what she thought of Elena. She was dead no matter what. She could see it in Elijah's eyes. He was going to kill her for this. She might as well get to say what she wanted one last time.
Elena let out a strangled sound. She hated Katherine, and it never bothered her what the woman said, but she'd just found out that she was her mother. It was different. She was also preying on all Elena's fears since she found out she wasn't human.
"Enough!" Elijah snapped loudly before gently taking Elena's arm and leading her towards the exit. "Come. I will not allow you to listen to another word of this drivel!"
"Elijah," Elena cried as he pulled her out of the tomb.
"It's all right, sweetheart. Go wait in my car. I will be along shortly," Elijah said. He wouldn't let her hear anymore of Katerina's cruelty. He also didn't want her to see what he was about to do to Katerina. He wouldn't hide it from her, but she didn't need to see it.
Elena nodded and walked away. She didn't need to be told twice. She wanted to get as far away from Katherine as she could.
Once Elena was gone, Elijah flashed back inside and took Katerina by the throat. He pressed her against the wall and lifted her off the ground. "I thought I knew the depth of a parent's cruelty, but you've taken it to a level not even my father would have. Even he would not seek to murder his own infant child!"
"It wasn't a child. It was an abomination," Katherine said between choked groans. "What else should I have done?"
"You should've given her to me! I would've gladly taken my child! Not only did you take my child away, you left her fate to a witch that could've easily killed her. Worse, that was your intent! You won't live to regret that! You don't need to worry about Niklaus any longer. I will end you before he even discovers your whereabouts," Elijah said. He wanted to make her suffer for what she did to his daughter. He wanted to torture her to the brink before he killed her, but Elena was his priority now. Making sure that Katerina no longer disappeared from his daughter's world was more important than causing her pain.
Katherine shuddered, but said nothing.
"There's something I want you to think about in the moments it takes me to rip out your heart. Your plan would've worked. Had you told me you were carrying my child, I would've made sure you both wanted for nothing. I wouldn't have let Niklaus touch you. Even if you had given her to me with no desire to be a part of her life, I would've kept you safe, if only because you were Elena's mother. However, when you planned to have her murdered, you stopped being anything resembling a mother. You are nothing more than a monster that I must protect my daughter from," Elijah said. He let his words sink in before releasing his grip from her thought. Then he reached into her chest and tore her heart from her body.
Katherine's body fell to the ground. Her body lost all color and appeared lifeless.
Elijah dropped Katerina's heart before pulling out a handkerchief and cleaning the blood from his hand. He then headed out of the tomb. He would deal with the body later. Right now, his daughter was his priority.