Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
A/N: Don't expect the updates to keep coming this quickly haha this chapter was surprisingly easy to write and flowed quite nicely. I just hope that it makes sense! I realised that I had written myself into a bit of a hole so I hope I managed to fill it up in a creative and logical way!
XXX
I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel of Damon's car as I waited for the helpful gas station attendant to finish filling up the car. After searching three different cities, and making our way to the forth, we were running close to empty. Rebekah had wanted to ditch the car and just steal another. But I refused to do that. Damon had trusted me with his precious car and I refused to betray that trust. So, despite the Original's grumbling, I stopped at a gas station to fill it up.
Of course, while we waited and the blonde was distracted by looking at the directions to the next dead-end city, because yay for pessimism, I texted my boyfriend to update him on our search. I was also letting him know that I was taking good care of his car. Because my paranoid babe was definitely worrying about it. And I decided to be a good girlfriend and reassure him. It was the least that I could do, considering he was probably spending a lot of his time being berated by Stefan for 'losing' me. Pfft, as if I would willingly leave Damon's side. He was the only one that I wanted to be around right now.
"This is such a waste of time," Rebekah rolled her eyes at me, reaching out to change the music station. I just smacked her hand away before continuing to tap out a random pattern on the steering wheel. "We should have just stolen another car."
"You've already said that," I muttered, wondering if I should tip the helpful man or eat him. I was leaning towards eating him, but I knew that it would take time. And the blonde's bitching would just ruin the experience. I wasn't quite hungry enough yet to deal with that. So I just grabbed some money from the glove compartment before giving the man a nice smile. He happily took the tip and I drove off. "We're moving again, so are you going to shut up now?"
Rebekah gave me a look, "You know, you used to be a lot nicer."
"Yeah, that's when I cared about hurting people's feelings," I sighed dramatically, feeling my phone buzz against my thigh. "But now? I really don't give a fuck if I make you cry. So, do you feel like shutting up so that we can listen to the shitty radio and I can pretend that I don't want to eat someone?"
"You can't be hungry again," the Original complained, shaking her head. "You ate half a bar before we left the last town."
"I have a big appetite," I shrugged, reading the message that I had sent. Apparently, Stefan had asked Sheriff Forbes to track the car. Which was incredibly unhelpful as it meant that it would be easier for him to find us. Fortunately, Damon was still with him, slowly him down. But I might just have to ditch the car at the next town that we pass through. Maybe I would get a bite to eat when I did so. "It made being a baby vampire so much fun."
"Well, can't you deal with it? I don't want to stop again until we reach the next city."
"I deal with a lot better when I don't have people pissing me off," I gave the other vampire a look. "So here's a thought, why don't you go to sleep or something? That way, I might be able to tolerate my hunger for a bit longer."
"Maybe I should have insisted on Damon coming with us," the blonde rolled her eyes. "That way, he could distract you because you are getting to be pretty unpleasant right now."
I scoffed, "As if you would let us have sex in the car."
"Is that the only way that he could distract you?" Rebekah asked, her voice filled with disgust. It just confirmed my theory that she was jealous that I was getting regular sex and she wasn't. Which was her fault, if I was being brutally honest. There were multiple boys back in Mystic Falls who would happily have sex with the hot blonde. She just chose to pine over the two boys who didn't want her.
"What do you want me to do, talk about my feelings?" I rolled my eyes, turning off the highway when I saw a sign for a nearby town. Fortunately, the other vampire was too busy being an annoying bitch to notice that I was no longer speeding towards the next city on the list. "Newsflash, sweetheart, I don't really care about feelings right now. Cos of my lack of humanity, you know, kind of invalidates feelings."
"You could talk about all of your revenge fantasies. That fact that you pulled the shock of the decade in bringing Alaric back to life. Or even your plan to bring Elena back to life. There are a lot of things that you could discuss."
"Yes, but not all of them are appropriate for your ears. Because, Bekah, darling, you are easily manipulated into spilling secrets. All a blue-eyed cutie has to do is give you a smile and you'll sell out your family."
"That's not true!" Rebekah snapped, looking annoyed. Ah, perfect, now she was feeling as frustrated as I did. I would have preferred a silent car journey, but apparently the blonde was just incapable of shutting up. I had briefly considered snapping her neck. But knowing my luck, she would still be in her timeout when we stumbled across Katherine. And I kind of needed her Original strength to get the doppelganger bitch to do what I wanted.
"Rebekah, we nearly got you to take part in the plan to kill Klaus. The only reason why you weren't there was because my sister shoved a dagger in your back. You stopped enabling Kol in his mischief at that ridiculous ball because Matt was being a cutie towards you. The evidence adds up."
The Original was silent after that. And my god, I enjoyed it.
XXX
I pulled up to the curb in the first town that we had passed since I stopped to fill up for gas. It was approaching lunchtime and I was done with driving for the time being. I got out of the car, stretching my arms above my head, before I was followed by a very indignant blonde, "Why are we stopping?"
"Because I want to take a break from driving and just stretch my legs without having to worry about searching for the most annoying woman on the planet."
"We need to keep going to the next city."
I rolled my eyes before slipping on my sunglasses, "Oh relax. We've done three in the past 24 hours. Taking a break isn't going to kill anyone. The damned city isn't going to disappear."
"No, but Katherine could," Rebekah argued, following me as I began to walk away from the car. I had tucked the keys into the pocket of my shorts, so that the blonde couldn't get any funny ideas and try to steal my boyfriend's car. Because I wouldn't put it past her. "And I won't lose the cure because you and Damon found some bad information."
"We did caveat it with the fact that the information was a bit old and full of PO boxes. Don't get huffy with me because you got your hopes up," I shook my head, pausing to look back at her. "Now, it's lunchtime. I'm hungry. And I just need you to shut up for, like, five minutes, before I really lose my patience."
"We're not here for a pub crawl, Alexa," the blonde hissed as I went to walk away. She grabbed my arm before I could. I glanced down at her hand with an unimpressed look. Honestly, the worst thing about being a vampire was the fact that I couldn't stick a fucking dagger in her when she was pissing me off. "I want the cure, Katherine has it. We don't stop until we find her."
Before I could snap back a response, since my patience was virtually gone by this point, a voice interrupted us, "Oh, Katherine, are you okay? Is that woman bothering you?"
What the fuck?
Katherine?
I glanced to the side to see a young woman standing by us. Her brown hair was pulled away from her face as she glanced between us. Did she just call me Katherine?
I exchanged a glance with Rebekah, who had let go of my arm in shock, before slowly asking, "Uh, are you talking to me?"
"Of course I am, silly," the woman laughed, shaking her head. But I noticed the slight glazed look in her eyes. Had she been compelled? That would be… that would be pretty impressive of Katherine to have done that. "You look hungry, have you been feeding okay?" She pulled back her sleeve, revealing two puncture marks on her skin and my confusion just increased. Had she been compelled to feed Katherine? "Here you go. I'm sorry, I know that you prefer to feed from the neck and that most of the people around here will let you, but I just prefer the wrist, you know?"
The girl's words startled a laugh out of Rebekah. I glanced over at the blonde to see her rolling her eyes, "The conniving bitch compelled the whole town."
"See, aren't you glad that I stopped off here," I gave the Original a toothy grin. "Otherwise we would never have found the craftly bitch." I turned to face the human, placing my hands on her shoulders, "Right, friendship test. What's my name?"
"Katherine Pierce," the woman smiled back, looking completely relaxed. "I love the new 'do, by the way."
Huh, I mean, I knew that I looked enough like my sister and Katherine, but I figured that there were enough difference between us. But maybe, with my different coloured eyes covered by the sunglasses, those differences became a bit blurred. And when you factored in a mass compulsion, which probably got a bit messy, it might be enough to get what I needed from the people in the town.
"So how do you know Katherine?" Rebekah asked, even more determined to get answers now that she knew that Katherine was around. I wondered if the bitch was hiding in one of the houses or whether she was walking around. I didn't know which option would be easier for us to track her down.
The moment that the woman turned to look at Rebekah, that glazed look disappeared from her eyes, and she frowned, "How do I know how?"
I took my glasses off for a moment, drawing her attention back to me, "Katherine. How do you know her?"
"I don't know any Katherine," the woman looked slightly nervous as she took a step away from us. Ah, now that was interesting. Did she only remember Katherine when she looked at her? Well, someone that looked like her. Thank you, genetics. I replaced my glasses as she glanced over at Rebekah. Time to test my theory.
"How do you know me, hon?" I smiled widely as the girl looked back in my direction. And that slightly glazed look appeared again.
"Small town," the woman shrugged, looking relaxed and friendly again. "Everybody knows everybody."
"So everyone here knows Katherine?" the Original asked, still working out the compulsion trick in her head.
"I'm sorry, I don't know who you're talking about," the human frowned again and Rebekah laughed.
"She compelled people to forget all about her unless she's talking to them herself," there was a reluctant admiration in her voice as the blonde laughed. "Clever girl."
"Well, she has survived 500 years on the run, she had to have learned some tricks along the way," I shrugged before turning back to the girl. "So, when did we first meet?"
"Oh, it's… it's been a while," the woman stuttered slightly, a small frown on her face. "I can't remember exactly when."
"Interesting," I muttered, before throwing a few more questions here way, hoping that at least one of them would get me an answer. "Tell me stuff about my life. What is my address? What is my job? Who are my friends? Ugh, assuming that I have any. Where do I like to hang out?"
"Well, uh, I don't know the other answers," the girl stared at me with wide eyes before smiling brightly. "But you said that we could all be friends with you, as long as we kept your secret."
Huh, it seemed as though Katherine had compelled the townsfolk to not remember anything about her life. I mean, it was craftly and made sense. A bit on the paranoid side, since the only person that looked like her was dead. But it fit her personality.
"And, pray tell, what secret would that be?"
If I was hoping for an answer, then I was a fool. Because it would never be that easy. Because the girl just frowned in confusion, "I… I don't know."
XXX
Apparently, the first place that Rebekah wanted to search was the post office. She had a theory that Katherine would stop by to collect her post. I didn't care either way. If the Original sister wanted to start there, then we would start there. Either way, I wouldn't leave this town until I had the doppelganger's head in a box.
The most annoying thing was the fact that I couldn't take off the sunglasses. I had to keep them on just in case someone 'recognised' me and give me a clue as to Katherine's hiding spot. It was very tedious but what could I do? I valued my revenge more than a bit of irritation.
"Hey, doll," I gave the postal worker one of my more charming smiles as we approached him. The man glanced between us before his gaze settled on me. He relaxed slightly, giving me a small smile. "Don't suppose I have any mail to collect today?"
"Miss Pierce," the sweet man greeted me with a friendly nod. "What happened to your hair?"
I ran my fingers through my hair before shrugging, "I decided to do something different. Why? Do you not like it?"
I gave the worker a wink and he laughed, "It looks good. I'm just surprised that you got it cut so quickly. It's only been a couple of minutes since I last saw you. And I'm sure that you didn't have short hair then."
A smirk formed on my lips at his words. A couple of minutes? Oh Katherine, honey, she was getting far too predictable. Going to the post office? She was practically handing herself to me on a plate. What happened to the girl who used to have minions on top of minions. Honestly. It was far too easy.
"Oh really now," I purred, before looking at Rebekah, who looked delighted by the news. "Now that is interesting. Have a nice day, darling."
The man wished me the same before heading inside. I turned to face the blonde next to me, but my gaze scanned the carpark. I could sense Rebekah doing the same as I muttered, "Alright, the bitch has to be close by. How do you want to do this? I can take outside if you want to check out inside."
The Original nodded, sounding excited at the thought of being so close to getting her precious cure, "Try not to let her get the upper hand."
"Oh, don't you worry," my eyes narrowed behind my sunglasses, the vicious edge to then hidden. "She won't know what hit her."
I was positive that the blonde wasn't convinced but she went inside regardless. She had to trust that Katherine wouldn't defeat me in a fight. On one hand, her concerns were valid. The doppelganger was older than me. But I would also be taking her by surprise. In theory, I should be able to snap her neck and whisk her away without any issues. And if she did manage to fight back, well, she would underestimate my rage at her peril.
I walked further into the carpark, glancing between the cars. But there wasn't any sign of the bitch so far. I mean, it might have been a bitch of a stretch to think that she was still in the area. But Katherine also wasn't rushing. She could be sat somewhere, reading whatever post a woman like her got. What post would a woman like Katherine get? A magazine from Evil Monthly?
I paused as I saw someone in a car. It was a girl with the right amount of curls in her hair. But I could hear her heartbeat. And since the bitch that I was hunting didn't have a heart, it couldn't possibly be her. So I quickly moved on.
I had done a loop of the carpark before returning to the van in the middle. Leaning against the side, I removed my sunglasses, tucking them into my pocket, before shaking my head. Could the bitch really have given me the slip? That would be very tedious. I really didn't want to search the entire town to find her.
Fortunately, she found me.
A strong hand grabbed my arm, yanking me between the two vans. The bony hand pushed me against the van behind me, as another wrapped around my neck. I just gave the woman in front of me an unimpressed look, not looking bothered in the slightest.
Katherine had a snarl on her face as she spat, "I'm impressed. I never thought that you would find me here."
"I almost didn't," I smirked back, just relaxing against the van. I knew that Rebekah would be along soon. After all, it didn't take that long to search one small building. So why waste the effort? Because it would be so much sweeter letting the bitch think that she had the upper hand before ripping it away from her. "But your desperate need to have someone like you gave the game away. Loser."
"You don't know what you're talking about," the doppelganger spat, tightening her grip on my neck. "And now, you're going to die here."
"That's what you think," I glanced to the side, just in time for Rebekah to grab Katherine and pull her away from me. The bitch staggered back in shock and I sped forward, pushing her against the van behind her, mimicking our positions from before. I pressed my body against hers, before purring in her ear, "Oh, I am going to enjoy this so much."
I started to press down on Katherine's neck but I was quickly interrupted by Rebekah. The blonde was smirking at the doppelganger, who was staring at her with narrowed eyes, "Come now, Alexa. You don't want to end it too quickly. Besides, we still need something from her."
"Hm, you are right," I agreed, leaning back to look Katherine in the eye. "Bitcherine, it's been far too long. Why don't we go somewhere and catchup? After all, we have so much to talk about."
And for the first time, I saw a brief flash of fear in Katherine Pierce's eyes.
XXX
We took Katherine to a nearby diner. It was public enough that she wouldn't try pulling any dirty tricks and since we didn't know where her lair was, it was the best that we could do at such short notice.
"So, bitch, here's the deal," I rested my elbows on the table as I leant forward. The doppelganger was sitting in front of me, Rebekah next to her, to make sure that she didn't try running away. "Rebekah wants the cure before I can kill you. So why don't you be a dear and hand it over?"
"What makes you think that I will hand over the one thing keeping me safe from you getting your revenge for your annoying twin sister?" the woman scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I assume you have a speech planned."
"A speech? Nah, that isn't really my style," I shrugged, tapping my fingers against the table. I could see Katherine's eyebrow twitch with the noise but she didn't say anything. "I would rather rip out your nerves, one at a time."
"You're a lot more confident and bloodthirsty than you used to be," the bitch leant forward, looking me in the eye. She studied my face, looking for any hint of the fear that I used to feel. The unease, the nerves. But there were none. I wasn't scared of Katherine, I just wanted to rip her heart out and use it as a centrepiece. I knew the moment that Katherine realised what happened, because her eyes widened slightly and she nodded, a reluctantly impressed edge in her voice. "Because you turned it off. I have to say, I never thought that you would do it."
"Well, sometimes your humanity can just get in the way when you have a plan to carry out," I smirked, leaning back in my seat. "For example, when one wants to massacre twelve people. Now the only thing bothering me is Stefan Salvatore bleating on about how I can't kill people."
The mention of the younger Salvatore had the doppelganger's eyes gleaming, "It must have been so sad for Damon, when you turned it off. His precious little Alexa, lost forever. Whatever will he do?"
I laughed as she sighed dramatically. Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes, "Oh hon, he loves me like this. Just like he loved me before. You'll have to do a lot better than that to sink your claws back into him."
That clearly irked the older vampire, but she hid it well. It was only the slight tightening of her jaw that gave it away. With a forced smile, the bitch went to stand up, "Well, if we're gonna be herea while, I'm gonna go grab some menus."
She was stopped when Rebekah slammed a fork into her hand, pinning it to the table. I was impressed, I didn't even need to ask the blonde to do so. Honestly, her desire for the cure was convenient at times.
Katherine let out a small moan of pain as she settled back into her seat. She glared at the Original through narrowed eyes as Rebekah smirked, "You're not going anywhere."
"I forgot how charming you were," the doppelganger spat out through gritted teeth, her fingers twitching as they itched to pull out the fork sticking out of her hand.
"I'm surprised you remember me at all," the blonde shot back, her hand resting on the table near her knife. "Seeing as though you were so busy wedging yourself between my brothers."
Katherine would have said more. But before she could, the young, blonde waitress walked past our table. Only to pause and gasp in shock as she saw the fork in Katherine's hand and small pool of blood that was starting to form, "Oh my god. What happened?"
We all stared up at the waitress. But no one said anything. Which was very annoying as the girl just started to get panicky. When the doppelganger in front of me continued to stay silent, I rolled my eyes and asked through gritted teeth, "Yes, Katherine, what happened?"
When the bitch looked at me, I raised an eyebrow and nodded my head towards the panicking blonde. It wasn't until Rebekah's hand twitched towards the knife that Katherine sighed, "I'm fine, Jolene." She made eye contact with the girl and compelled her, "You didn't see anything."
Jolene instantly relaxed and nodded, a sweet smile on her face. One that annoyed me more than it should. But at least she walked away without causing any trouble.
Once I was sure that she was out of earshot, I looked back at the vampires opposite me, "Now, can we hurry this along? Because I really want to rip out Bitcherine's spine and each second that I am denied that, I will get grumpier."
Rebekah looked at me and shrugged, before using her enhanced speed to grab the doppelganger's chin and force her to meet her gaze. Using her neat little compulsion trick, the Original asked, "Where's the cure?"
And she wasn't impressed when Katherine smiled sharply, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm on vervain."
"Probably should have expected that," I laughed, picking up my own fork, twirling it in my hand. I saw the bitch glance down at it once Rebekah released her grip on her.
"Oh, we get to torture it out of you," the blonde looked happy at the thought. "See, Alexa, you get to have your fun too."
"That I do," I gave her a wink before reaching forward and flicking the fork sticking out of Katherine's hand. She flinched before glaring at me.
"Why do you two want it, anyway?" she spat, narrowing her eyes at me.
"The question is, why do you want it?" Rebekah countered, raising an eyebrow. "Let me guess, to kill Niklaus?"
Katherine curled her lip, "I've spent the last five hundred years running form your big brother. I have no intention of being within sniffing distance of him. But since it can be used against him, I'm sure that he's just itching to get his hands on it. I give him the cure; he gives me my freedom."
"Oh wow, you are so predictable," I rolled my eyes. "So tell me, who is going to be the shmuck who goes to negotiate on your behalf? Because that poor person will end up with their heart getting ripped out."
"Just someone that I trust," the bitch tried to avoid answering, looking away from me. I just raised an eyebrow and gestured towards Rebekah. She took the hint and used her strength to search Katherine's pockets. The younger vampire put up a decent struggle but the Original still managed to grab her phone from her pocket.
The blonde passed it to me while the doppelganger grumbled, "I don't have the cure on me."
"I didn't think that you did," Rebekah shrugged as I unlocked the phone. "But I'm sure that there's something in that, that can help us find it."
I started with the message history, ignoring Katherine's worried gaze. There was definitely something to find in here. I just needed to find it. The message history was empty, which an interesting discovery. Clearly she had something that needed to be hidden. The same for the call history. It wasn't until I search the calendar that I found something. Slotted in at 2pm, was a meeting with 'EM'. That was it. No other details.
"Who is this 'EM' person that you are meeting at later?" I asked, showing Katherine the phone. The doppelganger cleared her throat, looking away. For the first time, I saw that the woman was struggling to find something to say. And that was a big clue.
"A… friend…" she eventually replied, stuttering over her words. "It's nothing."
"Oh, it's clearly not nothing," I purred, tucking her phone into my pocket. "But since you aren't going to tell me, I guess I'll have to go and find out for myself."
XXX
I took a break from Rebekah and Katherine's bickering to update Damon on what was happening. I needed to know how much time I had before Stefan came to interfere in my plan. Because I wanted to find out who this 'EM' person was before I dissected Katherine. And I knew that it would also be in my best interest to make sure that Rebekah got the cure. She would protect it fiercely, thus ensuring that no goody-goodies would try and force it down my throat.
I cursed when my boyfriend told me that he and his brother were close to our location. I couldn't say that I was too surprised. It was bound to happen when we stopped. Damn Sheriff Forbes for tracking the car. The only good thing was that, if we had to leave town, I could steal another car and leave Damon's behind. Since he would be close enough to collect it without any issues. I asked him to try and slow Stefan down as much as possible before tucking my phone back into my pocket. I glance in the bathroom mirror, running my fingers through my hair before pausing.
I was asking Damon to help me with his brother, because I didn't want the younger Salvatore to interfere. Because I knew that Stefan wouldn't hurt his brother to get his way. Would it be beyond belief to think that Katherine would do the same? She needed someone to negotiate for her. Someone that Klaus wouldn't just rip apart. She was due to meet an 'EM' later. Fuck me. Katherine was using Elijah to get her freedom. That clever little bitch. She had played the honourable Original before. It wouldn't be beyond her to do it again. Especially since she knew that Klaus wouldn't hurt Elijah. The most that he would do is dagger him. But if the cure was on the line, he would want that more.
I had to admit. I was impressed. Katherine had played a clever game. And now I was going to ruin all of it. Ugh, I couldn't wait to see the look on the bitch's face when I trampled all over her plans. I just had to work out the best way to do that. Did Elijah know the truth as to how the doppelganger got her slimy hands on the cure? I knew that he had always had a soft spot for my sister. And Katherine got her killed. All I needed was for Rebekah to get the cure from her and Katherine would be royally fucked. Which was a delicious thought.
I gave myself a nod in the mirror before returning to the other two vampires. Who were busy glaring at each other. I rolled my eyes as I sat down, drawing their attention. Rebekah's knife was missing from the table and one of her hands was out of view. There was a pained edge to the doppelganger's glare, her fist clenched on the table.
"Rebekah, I thought we agreed no torturing without me," I gave her an unimpressed look. The blonde winced apologetically and I waved it away. I couldn't be mad over a little bit of stabbing. The bitch probably did something to deserve it. Apparently Katherine played dirty when trapped in a corner. Which was hilarious, since she was always a bitch. But the fact that she was resorting to insults meant that she was worried. And that meant that I was on the right path to ruining everything for her. "Right, I'm going to go meet this 'EM'. You two stay here. Rebekah, see if you can get the location of the cure out of the bitch. Or least where her manky little lair is. Play dirty if you need to. I don't mind missing a little bit of torture if my little venture is successful. Once I'm done, I'll come find you."
"You know that they will be expecting me, don't you," Katherine sneered, looking at my clothes. But I could hear the faint level of panic in her voice. She almost definitely didn't expect me to go to her meeting without her. Which was stupid because why would I take someone who would stab me in the back. "And you definitely do not look as good as me, even with your little sunglasses trick."
"Oh hon, I look better," I rolled my eyes before turning my body to face Rebekah, completely ignoring the bitch opposite me. "Now, if this goes down how I expect it to, I may not get back here before the Salvatore brothers arrive in town. If you haven't found the bitch's lair before they arrive, just try and stall them. Damon will do his best to help but he needs to keep Stefan's trust. And right now, that is probably more of a priority, since this bitch will definitely play hard to get."
"You're playing the brothers against each other?" the blonde asked, her eyebrows rising in surprise. Despite my lack of humanity, the older vampire always acted surprised when I did something that wasn't in the good guys playbook. Which was hilarious, considering I had left a trail of bodies on our way here.
"Oh course not," I scoffed, shaking my head. "Stefan has no idea that he is being played. Damon is just fulfilling his part of the deal and giving us as much time as he can to get the cure and get revenge."
"You know," Bitcherine spoke up, unable to deal with being ignored. "If you go to that meeting, you will die."
"I know that that's what you want," I gave her a sharp smile. "But it isn't what is going to happen. Because, darling, I've worked you out. I know what game you are playing. And that is why you aren't going to win. Now, I'm going to head to this gazebo place, just in case 'EM' decides to show up early."
I couldn't help but enjoy the look of shock and worry in Katherine's eyes. She clearly didn't expect anyone to work out who 'EM' was. And I probably wouldn't have, if my boyfriend wasn't lying to his brother for me. It helped me work out the clues that her big mouth had dropped earlier. Ah, it was so perfect. I had worked out the amazing Katherine Pierce's plan. And now, I was going to ruin everything for her.
XXX
I didn't rush on my way to the gazebo. Elijah, if I was right and it was indeed the honour Original brother, was big on punctuality. He would get there at two on the dot. So I had time to spare to get a snack on route. Despite my initial desire, I hadn't actually eaten anyone since we got here. The revelation that Katherine was hiding here had disrupted my plan to munch on the locals. It wasn't as though I was actually properly hungry. I just didn't like the thought of being hungry and I wanted to stop it from getting that far.
I lurked in one of the alleys along the main road, wondering who would be fun to eat, when I saw the Salvatore brothers arrive in town. They pulled up behind Damon's Camaro and the first thing that my boyfriend did was rush over to his car. As I stepped further into the shadows of the alley, I couldn't help but shake my head. Damon knew that I wouldn't let his car get damaged. But I also knew that he still worried about it. Honestly, he had an unhealthy attachment to that car at times. Even if it was kind of adorable.
Once he was happy that his precious car was scratch free, Damon turned to face his brother and frowned, "Something's not right. Katherine Pierce does not hole up in Hickstown, PA."
"I don't know what to tell you, Damon," Stefan sighed, shaking his head. He sounded thoroughly fed up with the older Salvatore and I couldn't help but smirk. At least my boyfriend was driving him insane during their time together. Hopefully that meant that Stefan didn't lecture him too much over 'letting us get away'. Because it would be something that the pious asshole did. He didn't respect that the fact that Damon was respecting me and my choices. Just Stefan had done, much to my detriment, during the sacrifice. He wouldn't wrap his head around the fact that you could respect someone's choices if it went against your morals. "This is your car. Which means that we're in the right place." When his brother reluctantly agreed with a grumble, putting on the performance of the century, the younger vampire asked, "So let me ask you something. What happens when we find Alexa? How do we get her back to Mystic Falls? I mean, she won't go home without getting her revenge on Katherine, and she has an Original vampire as her bodyguard. Even if we do get her home, what will stop her from lowering the veil now that the expression triangle has been completed?"
Bonnie completed the triangle? Clever girl. And she didn't even need my help. Although I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to do the killing for her. I was looking forward to taking my rage out on someone people who needed to die. I did wonder who had done the killing for her, since I knew that the witch didn't have the stomach for it. Guess I would find out when I returned to Mystic Falls with Katherine's head and a cured Original.
"You'll let me talk to her," Damon rolled his eyes, giving his brother a look. "Right now, I'm the only person that she will listen to. I'll find the right words to persuade her to go back to Mystic Falls, even if I have to tie Katherine up and bring her back too."
"You're really going to indulge her revenge fantasies?" the younger brother scoffed, shaking his head. And a bit hypocritical. Clearly he had forgotten all about his revenge fantasies last year. He had put some much time and effort into trying to kill the Original Hybrid. And now he was judging others for wanting to kill someone who had hurt them.
"Are you telling me that you don't want to get revenge on Katherine for Elena's death?" my boyfriend shot back. "Look, it's the one death that definitely won't impact Alexa when she turns it back on. So get off your high horse and let her rip the bitch apart."
"Even if it is Katherine, I can't let Alexa kill anyone. Look, I promised Elena that I wouldn't let Alexa become a monster, someone who took lives because she was bored or vengeful. I've been down that route, I don't want Alexa to either."
"Good thing that it isn't any of your business then," Damon shook his head before turning to walk away. "If Alexa wants revenge, then I will hold Katherine down for her to get it. What you want or promised is none of my concern."
I had to admit, I was impressed with my boyfriend's words. Even though I wasn't around, he was still defending me. A part of me, one that I didn't like to acknowledge, was concerned that he would betray me the moment that he left my side. It was a foolish thought. Damon had done nothing but support me and I knew that he would continue to support me. But now I had the proof to support that.
Content that I wouldn't be screwed over by my boyfriend, I turned around and made my way through the allies to the gazebo. It took slightly longer than I had desired, due to the need to stay off the main street. The last thing that I needed was to get caught by Stefan before I had the chance to confront Elijah. Especially because I couldn't guarantee that I would be able to snap his neck before he could snap mine. It was all very tedious.
Fortunately, I got to the gazebo with time to spare. I took a seat on the bench and replaced my sunglasses. Just because I didn't intend to pretend to be Katherine during this conversation, didn't mean that I couldn't have my fun. I wanted to see the surprise on Elijah's face when he saw that it was me and not Bitcherine.
XXX
During my wait, I had moved so that I was resting against the railing of the gazebo, looking out upon the park below it. For a small town with an unfortunate population, it was a pretty place to be. I could see why Katherine chose this place, even if I did judge her for her choices.
It wasn't until a voice spoke from behind me that I turned around, "Katerina."
I adjusted my sunglasses, making sure that they properly covered my eyes, before turning around, "Elijah." I rested my hands against the railing behind me as I continued to lean against it, looking up at the Original. He hadn't changed since I last saw him after the Mikaelson ball. When he was threatening to kill my sister if we didn't stop Esther's plan to kill her children. He even had the same haircut. His charcoal suit was impeccable styled, as always, with a black and navy stripped tie to complete the look. He was still as handsome as he was before. "And what time do you call this?"
"My apologies," Elijah inclined his head before stepping forward. His hands rested against the railing, his thumbs on the back of my hands, slowly brushing my skin, as he leant forward. With each breath, my chest brushed against his. I was forced to tilt my head back to look him in the eye, revealing my neck to him. The only time that I had been this close to him was when he had been threatening me. It was a weird feeling, but if this was how he wanted to play it, I wasn't going to say anything. Especially since I seemed to have him fooled for the time being. Which was a bit of a miracle. I wasn't expecting my flimsy disguise to work. But it probably helped that Elijah wasn't expecting anyone to try and trick him. "You've cut your hair." His fingers moved to brush against the shell of my ear, tucking my hair behind it before cupping my face. "I like it."
This was a lot more touchy feely than I was expecting from the Original. I knew that he had a history with Katherine, a physical one too, but I wasn't expecting him to act like this. I definitely wanted to see how it played out. If the two were renewing their relationship, then I could hurt Katherine by ruining it. Oh, I loved that thought. She deserved to hurt. And the thought taking not only Elijah but her only chance for freedom away from her made me tingle all over.
"I fancied a change," I shrugged, resting my hand on his shoulder. "Keeping the same hairstyle for such a long time can get a bit boring."
"And we both know just how much you hate being bored," Elijah's lips curled up into a smile as his thumb brushed my jaw, his touch leaving goosebumps on my skin. "I missed you, Katerina."
Honestly, I always thought that Elijah was smart. But apparently he was controlled by his horniness just as much as the rest of us were. It was a bit disappointing, really, but it benefitted me. I could use this to find out if my assumption about Katherine's plan was accurate.
"And I missed you," I played along perfectly, giving him a smile. One that Elijah returned before glancing around.
"This is an interesting little town that you've chosen to settle down in," he remarked, taking in our surroundings before looking down at me. His finger nudged the edge of my sunglasses, almost as though he wanted me to take them off. But I wouldn't do so just yet. I wanted to see how long I could get away with this before my true identity was revealed.
"It does what I need it to," I replied, looking past him. The fact that non one had interrupted us meant that either the Salvatores hadn't found the others at the diner or they were doing a good job in distracting them. It was one of the benefits of Katherine and Rebekah sharing a dislike of the brothers. They wouldn't make it easy for them. And Damon would be doing his part. I just needed them to keep it going for a little longer. "And no one will think to look for me here."
"Indeed," Elijah hummed, his eyes examining my face. There was a slight hint of suspicion in his gaze. Was he finally realising that I was playing him? While I would be disappointed that I wouldn't get to make a big reveal, I would respect him more if he actually figured it out for himself. "So, do you have it with you?"
"Come now, Elijah, do you really think that I would give it up that easy?" I laughed, shaking my head. His gaze followed the movement and there was a flash of recognition in his eyes. "I have it tucked away somewhere safe. And before I give it to you, I want to discuss the terms of the deal."
"You know," the Original's grip on me tightened slightly, his thumb pressing just under my jaw as he tilted my head back. "I remember you telling me, Katerina, about the scar behind your ear. How you got it when you let your sister cut your hair when you were kids." His fingers pressed against the skin behind my ear, where there was no scar. And I knew that the game was up. "Tell me, Elena, where is Katerina?"
Okay, not completely up. He knew that I wasn't Katherine. But he didn't know that it was me. I was a bit offended, really. Elena wouldn't have the balls to pretend to be Katherine and keep it going. Elijah should know that, since he had spent enough time with my sister to get to know her on quite an intimate level.
I reached up to take off my sunglasses, placing them to the side before smirking up at Elijah, giving him a wink, "Wrong twin, darling."
XXX
The look of shock on Elijah's face was one of perfection. He took a step back, releasing his grip on me, before frowning, "Alexandria?"
"The one and only," I winked, lifting myself up so that I was sitting on the railing. "Quite literally."
"Where is Katerina, Alexandria?" the Original asked, his voice stern as he stepped forward again. He wasn't quite touching me, but it did mean that I wouldn't be able to run away. Not that I was interested in running away just yet. I still had more games that I wanted to play. And I knew that Elijah wouldn't hurt me. See, that was the problem with honourable people, they wouldn't get their hands dirty and hurt those that they deemed to be innocent. And if I could take advantage of that, then I would.
"She's around," I shrugged, tucking my sunglasses into my hair. They were proving to be very useful, which was nice considering I had found them in the glove compartment of Damon's car, and I didn't want to lose them just yet. "She's like a bad penny, see, cos you can never quite get rid of her. It's as annoying as it is admirable."
"I am not playing," Elijah's voice lowered, stern quickly turning to frustration. "Where is she? I will not let you go until I find out."
"Oh, so you're, like, going to keep me hostage?" I dramatically widened my eyes and held a hand to my mouth. "Like, omg, that is such a distressing thought. I must spill my guts and tell you everything." I kept the act up for a few more seconds before laughing. "Or not. I'm not a fool, Elijah, I know that you won't hurt me. You're too honourable. It's a weakness as much as it is a strength."
"Honour is never a weakness, Alexandria," the Original shook his head at me, glancing around. "It is what separates us from the degenerates of society."
"Oh, like your brother," I smirked, tapping my fingers against the wood as I swung my legs back and forth. "Cos he wouldn't know what honour was if it bit him in the ass."
"You are pushing buttons, Alexandria, I suggest that you stop."
"Eh, it's a talent of mine," I shrugged, before Elijah grabbed my arm. He pulled me off the railing and forced me to talk behind him. I didn't even bother putting up a fight. I was curious as to what he would do next. He hadn't tried threatening me yet. Whether that was because he thought that I was the only one who knew Katherine's location, I didn't know. But I wasn't going to complain. Besides, I wanted to know what Bitcherine had told him about the cure. Including how she got it. "So do I get to know where we are going? Or is it a surprise?"
"Since I am sure that the Salvatore brothers are with you, we are going to go somewhere where we can't be interrupted."
"Oooh kinky," I wiggled my eyebrows, receiving a stern look in return. "Glad to see that you are still a stick in the mud, hon. I had worried that you had developed a sense of humour since you left town. Which would be so offensive if you had done that without me. I mean, I am definitely the funniest person that you know."
"I've always had a sense of humour, Alexandria. You were just too busy trying to dagger me to realise."
"Ooh, the claws are coming out," I laughed before pointing out. "And I would just like to inform you that I did actually dagger you one time. The fact that it didn't stick because no one told me to keep the dagger in is not my fault."
"I concede the point," Elijah sighed, pulling me into an alleyway. It was quite some distance from the gazebo, so if anyone tried looking for me, they wouldn't find me there. "Now, if I let you go, will you promise not to run away?"
"Haven't tried so far," I shrugged, tucking my hands into my shorts pockets as I glanced around. I had to say, this was a weirdly clean town. A part of me wondered if Katherine was responsible for that. I mean, this alley was one of the cleanest allies that I had ever seen. I could literally sit on the ground and not get dirty. The Original paused to consider the point before slowly letting me go. When he did, I stayed where I was for a second before turning to talk over to one of the steps. I settled down on it, leaning back against the door before pulling out my phone and Katherine's. "Oh, you might want these, just in case someone tries to call. It will just save me the bother of giving it to you then."
Elijah watched me with dark eyes, before slowly stepping forward and taking the phones. He tucked them into his inner pocket as he stared down at me. I could feel his eyes examining me as I studied my nails but I made a point of not looking up. I wouldn't make this easy for him. I didn't know how much Katherine had told him. But he was willing to make a deal with her, even if he wasn't working with her. And even though I did respect the honourable Original, I wouldn't make any of this eas for him. Eventually, he crouched down in front of me and reached out to grab my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze, "Why aren't you running?"
"Because it would just be a waste of effort considering you could easily catch me?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes. When the Original spoke my name with a stern edge to his voice, I just sighed dramatically. "Maybe I'm just curious as to how this will go down. Katherine was very nervous about me coming to meet you instead of her. I want to know why."
XXX
It was the ringing of a phone that broke the silence. Elijah glanced down at me and I shrugged, "You have the phones, you deal with it."
The Original didn't look impressed by my words but he pulled out the phones. It was Katherine's phone that was ringing. He passed mine back to me as he answered the ringing one, "Katerina?"
"Hello Elijah," Stefan replied and I rolled my eyes at the voice of my least favourite Salvatore. I mean, honestly, why was he the one calling? Surely it was obvious that I would rather stay with Elijah than go with Stefan and get lectured. They should have sent Damon as the rescue party. I would be a lot happier to play along then.
"Where is Katherine?" Elijah asked, his voice painfully level. I had to admit, I was impressed with his ability to keep calm. Even when his girl, or the girl he wants, was in trouble. Maybe it was because he was so old, he had learnt patience and the ability to be calm over the years. Or he was just that type of person. Either way, it was probably a useful ability.
"Where's Alexa?" the younger vampire immediately countered as I shifted, crossing my legs beneath me. I ignored the way the stone bit into my bare legs. It was a momentary discomfort, one that I could put up with to find out the information that I needed.
"Safe," the Original's gaze flickered over to me as he slowly paced back and forth. "How long she remains so depends upon you."
I knew that I could have spoken up, that I could have shouted for help. But it would be against my goal. I wanted to know that Elijah knew. And I wouldn't be able to learn that if I was with Stefan. No, all I would get would be lectures. And if he had discovered the bodies that I had left behind, it would be even worse. He would try and give me that disappointed look. The one that made me want to rip his spine out and beat him with it.
"Well, I guess the same goes for Katherine," Stefan countered, sounding confident. Aww, so he did care about my wellbeing still. I did think for a moment that he wouldn't care if Elijah hurt me. But that was a foolish thought. Stefan was too noble for his own good, he would care what happened to me, even if it led me to ripping out his spine. Damn, I had a lot of fantasies about ripping out his spine.
"Oh, Katherine can take care of herself against the two of you," Elijah dismissed the younger vampire's threat. If they were talking in person, he would have waved it away with his hand. I mean, he did have a point. Katherine would be able to deal with the brothers on her own. It was a shame that they weren't on their own. Well, a shame for her.
"Oh, you mean the three of us. Cos your little sister decided to join Team Good Guys for the time being. And right now, she would do anything for Alexa, including breaking Katherine into little pieces."
Elijah's body tensed slightly at Stefan's words. It didn't take a genius to see that he wasn't impressed with what he just heard. I would even go as far as to say that he was angry. Which was quite pathetic really. Katherine had betrayed him multiple times, and yet, he still got angry at the thought of her getting hurt. I was definitely judging him for that. But his voice remained calm and even as he requested, "Put her on the phone."
"Well, she's not here right now. I left her with Damon and Katherine."
Did that mean that Stefan had gone after me? I hoped that the others were forcing Katherine to give up the cure. Otherwise I would not be impressed. And I would make my displeasure known to them. I just had to trust that Rebekah's obsession with the cure, and my boyfriend's desire for it not to be shoved down my throat, was enough for them to force Katherine to hand it over. Maybe Stefan was just the distraction, keeping the Original's mind occupied, while they found it. That would make sense.
"Tell me where they are."
"Relax. No one's gonna get hurt as long as Katherine hands over the cure."
"Do you understand how much my sister despises Katherine? I assure you; Rebekah will end her the moment that she ceases to be of use."
Oh Elijah. It must be so hard being so out of the loop. He didn't know that Rebekah wouldn't lay a finger on Katherine without running it past me. Even if she did despise the doppelganger. She wanted to be my friend, just as much as she wanted the cure. And she knew how important my revenge was to me. But hey, I wasn't going to tell Elijah that. He could work out that little gem for himself.
"Well, just tell me where you are, and we can talk through this."
Lol as if that was ever going to work. Oh poor naïve Stefan. Elijah was never going to hand me over to him. Not until he had Katherine and the cure. Even I knew that.
"You listen to me very carefully, Stefan. If anything whatsoever happens to Katherine, I will descend upon Alexandria," Elijah threatened, his voice sharp, before he hung up the call. His body was tense as he tucked Katherine's phone into his pocket before tugging sharply on his suit. Honestly, his pining over Katherine was getting pathetic. The bitch definitely didn't care about him. She was just using him to get what she wanted. And I really wanted to be there when he realised that.
And I couldn't help but purr, "Descend upon me? Oh Elijah, you're getting me all hot and bothered."
I got a very unimpressed look in return.
XXX
"Sooo, that was kind of pathetic," I snorted after a respectable length of silence, pushing myself to my feet to approach the Original vampire. He turned around to face me, eyebrow raised, clearly unimpressed with my words. Not that I particularly cared. If I hurt his feelings with my words, so what? He deserved it for siding with Katherine fucking Pierce.
"Excuse me?"
"That. Was. Kind. Of. Pathetic," I repeated, slowly pronouncing my words, a mocking edge to my voice. I could tell that it annoyed the older vampire from the way his jaw clenched. But hey, it was his own fault for asking a stupid question. And for being involved with Katherine. I was not going to play nice. Not yet, anyway. I wanted to know how much he knew before I pulled the mean girl bitch card. "I mean, you're getting all emotional over Katherine Pierce of all people? Yuck. I mean, you claim to be oh so honourable. And yet, you're fucking the most despicable person on the planet." I paused before adding, "Okay, there may be an argument for her being the second most despicable. But still, why?"
Elijah sighed, walking towards me as he shook his head, "Well, I supposed that this man of honour always shared a connection with Katherine. She contacted me when she learned about the cure. We thought that we could be of mutual use to one another."
Lol of mutual use. She knew that she could manipulate him into getting her freedom. Honestly, Elijah was far too easy to play. I always thought that he was the smarter brother, but clearly he was just as stupid as the rest of them. I didn't know why I thought differently. The fact that he fucked Katherine in the first place, all those years ago, showed just how foolish he was. And now, several hundred years later, he was falling for the same tricks.
"Aw hon," I cooed mockingly, rolling my eyes as I moved to lean against the wall behind me. I crossed my arms, lifting one foot to rest against the wall. My bangs fell into my eyes when I shook my head. "The only people that Katherine has use for are those who can be manipulated. Especially those that she can fuck into doing what she wants. It's one of her favourite tricks. And I do have to admit that it works. If I wasn't so dedicated to Damon, I would be tempted to try it. But I respect our relationship too much."
"You underestimate me, Alexandria," the Original had a tolerant look on his face as he spoke. Although he did have a relieved look in his eyes that there were limits to my actions. Like not cheating on my boyfriend to fuck people into doing what I wanted them to do. The fact that he admired my limits meant that he knew that Katherine didn't have any. The bitch. "I know who she is. I know what she's done."
"Oh you don't know everything that she's done," I snorted, shrugging off my jacket and throwing it onto the step that I had been sitting on. I adjusted my bra under my top, rolling my eyes when the man in front of me glanced away. He could be such a prude. It wasn't like I was revealing anything. Yeah, the top that I wore showed quite a bit of cleavage, but I wasn't like I was revealing my nipples. And that was my rule. No nipples, no complaining. "You're being played, hon. That woman is lying to you and you, Elijah, my sweet, are falling for it, hook, line and sinker. Katherine is unable to change and, hey, I'm not judging her for it. She became what she needed to in order to survive. But because of that, she will never change who she is. Not even for you."
"She didn't lie to me about your transformation," Elijah stepped closer, standing right in front of me. I tilted my head back so I could look him in the eye. He stared at me for a moment, a curious look in his eyes as he stared deep into mine. "You're not just a vampire though, are you?" I remained silent. I did wonder if he would be able to work it out. Or if he would just think that my human flaws had just been enhanced. Let's see just how intelligent Elijah Mikaelson really was. "There's something else. You… you're not yourself. You've abandoned your humanity." His tone suddenly became demanding. "Why?"
"Oh, no reason," I shrugged, my voice sounding far too casual and I saw the Original's jaw twitch at my tone. "Unless you count Elena's death as a reason, of course. Katherine killed her while we were all on the island, looking for the cure. I'm willing to be that she didn't mention that part."
The Original took a step back, a shocked look on his face as he murmured, "She lied."
"Shocker," I rolled my eyes, moving to sit down on the step again, placing my leather jacket to the side. It was crazy to think that I had once respected Elijah for his morals. And yet here he was, fucking the woman who had murdered my twin. Oh how life changed things. And not usually for the better. The Original tried to catch my eye but I ignored him to look at my hands. The mere thought of Elena had only reminded me of my desire for revenge. But with Elijah around, I didn't know if I would get it. And that really frustrated me. Even though the Original had claimed to care for my sister, he obviously cared for her murderer more. I guess my only option was to get more creative with my revenge fantasies. Or just snap her neck and take her somewhere else, where I could torture her until I was content that she had learned the consequences of her actions. If that was even possible for her.
XXX
Elijah paced in front of me, his movements slow, a regretful look on his face, "I know what it feels like to lose a sibling. Although I must confess that I do not have the knowledge of losing a twin. I'm sorry for your pain, Alexandria. I… I only hope that you can find your way back to yourself someday."
"One day it will happen," I shrugged, resting my elbows on my knees as I looked up at the pacing vampire. "Maybe once I've brought Elena back to life. Even if it means killing quite a few people to do so. But we'll see. I quite like being like this, it's freeing. I don't need to care what people think of me or worry about what happens if I fail to control my hunger."
"It won't stay like this forever," the Original cautioned me, a wary look in his eyes at my words. I knew that most people thought that I was crazy for believing that I could bring my sister back to life. But they didn't know about the ability to drop the veil. Or my desire to do so.
"Eh, you're probably right," I conceded, tapping my foot against the floor. "But I will enjoy it while it does. Just like your darling Katerina does. Tell me, does she have her humanity off or is she just naturally a bitch?"
Elijah sighed, probably debating whether it was worth dealing with me while I was like this. But his honour, fuelled by his weird need to defend Bitcherine, had him saying, "She has her humanity."
"Oh goodie, so she is just naturally a bitch, glad I got that right," I rolled my eyes, shifting so that I was leaning back against the door behind me. "Tell me, do you think that Katherine is capable of change? Of regretting her actions and magically becoming the girl that you met all those centuries ago? The one that you wanted to save from Klaus before she stabbed you in the back."
The Original ignored my final barbed words in favour of murmuring, "I'd like to think so, yes."
"Wow, and people call me naïve," I rolled my eyes. "She's never going to change, Elijah. The girl that you cared for is gone and will never come back. And she probably doesn't want to. Once you become a monster, you don't really want to look back."
"I'm not a fool, Alexandria," Elijah sighed wearily, moving so that he was sitting down next to me. I shifted my legs so that he could fit on the step, staring at the back of his head. "Of course this has occurred to me, but what kind of man would I be if I didn't try to find my Katerina beneath this Katherine façade?"
"A sensible man?" I suggested, only to be given a stern look. "Okay fine. If it helps, maybe you're going about this wrong way. And ugh, why am I giving you relationship advise that will benefit fucking Katherine."
The Original turned around to face me, resting a strong hand on my knee to stop my leg from bouncing, "What do you mean? Going about it the wrong way?"
"Well, even when I turned it off, Damon accepted me for who I was. He didn't try to change me or find the girl that I was before. He just accepted me for who I was now. Maybe, if you are really serious about loving Katherine, you should do the same."
"Even after everything that she has done?"
"Well, it's not like I've been a perfect angel. My hands are covered in blood… a lot of blood… but Damon hasn't judged me. He has just helped me hide the bodies and avoid being lectured by a former ripper."
Elijah nodded before frowning, "Why are you giving me advise that will benefit someone that you hate?"
"Because the thought of Katherine finally getting what she wants before I rip it all away fills me with me. It will only sweeten my revenge and that is a wonderful thought."
"You shouldn't live for revenge, Alexandria," the older vampire shook his head, forcing me to look at him. "It isn't a healthy way of living and you will regret it in the end."
"Oh, don't you worry, it's just something for me to do until Bonnie's spell works and Elena is back in the land of the living. And besides, you won't regret living for revenge if actually manage to get it."
"You're putting a lot of hope into this spell."
"Because I know that it works," I shrugged. "This isn't some baseless hope, like your hope that Katherine will grow a conscience and become a decent person again, this spell will work. We've been reassured by a very powerful witch. One that knows the spell on a very intimate level."
"Earlier, you mentioned that there are deaths involved in completing this spell."
"Oh yeah, quite a few. But it's worth it and the reason why I turned my humanity off. I needed to be able to get my hands dirty and the pesky thing would just get in the way. So I turned it off and things just became so much easier. I was even able to bring Alaric back to life."
Elijah's eyebrow hit an impressive height, "You found a way to bring Alaric Saltzman back to life?"
"Oh yeah, that was actually quite easy. And it provided the perfect distraction for those annoying people back in Mystic Falls. It's the reason why on the Salvatore brothers have followed us here. And not anyone else."
Before I could be scolded for my words, which I could tell the Original was building up to, there was the sound of vampire speed before someone appeared in front of us. I glanced up only to roll my eyes. Katherine smirked down at me before saying to Elijah, "Sorry I'm late, I got held up."
"Oh goody, now you're here," I muttered, rolling my eyes and ignoring the poisonous look that I got from the bitch in front of me.
XXX
Katherine had wanted to snap my neck to punish me for what I did to her and to get me out of the way. But Elijah refused to let her hurt me. So instead, the doppelganger gave me a dirty look each time she walked past me. I just looked back at her, trying and failing to hide the smirk on my lips. Not that Elijah could see it. He had continued to sit in front of me, hand resting on my knee, as he watched his Katerina.
After listening to Katherine mutter about the fact that she couldn't put me on a snapped neck time-out, Elijah raised his voice to say, "You killed Elena Gilbert."
The doppelganger let out a long sigh, "Yes, Elijah, I killed Elena Gilbert, a bombshell I'm sure she just couldn't wait to drop on you. Ironic, since she turned off her humanity and shouldn't really care about it."
Huh, so she couldn't snap my neck. So she'll talk about me like I'm not here. An interesting approach. But I'll take it. After all, I could find out quite a bit of interesting information by just sitting here.
The Original gave my knee a gentle squeeze before pushing himself to his feet. He looked down at the bitch, a hard look in his eyes, "Well, I care. Do you honestly feel nothing for this girl, a girl fated to live the same life that you've endured? And now you've just taken away the most important person in her life, her twin sister, just as yours was taken away from you."
Katherine had a twin sister? I knew that she mentioned a sister before. But she never said that it was a twin sister. That changed everything. She knew what the bond between twins was like and she dared to take mine from me. There would be nothing to save her after this. I would rip her apart and she would suffer.
"Uh, why are you looking at me like I enjoyed it?" Katherine tried to force a smile on her face, but it clashed horribly with the defensive edge to her voice. Elijah just looked at her before shaking his head and turning around, moving to walk away. The doppelganger stared at him in shock before chasing after him. "Elena was collateral damage, despite my feelings towards her, I didn't deliberately kill her. I was just doing what I needed to do to survive."
"Is that what I am to you?" the Original spun around to face her, a desperate look in his eyes as he tried to convince himself that the woman in front of him actually care for him. And not what he could do for her. "A means of survival?"
Katherine went to reach out to him, looking to rest her hand on his cheek, but he stepped back. Her hand hovered in the air for a moment before falling back down to her side, where she clenched it into a fist.
"Don't let sweet little Alexa get to you," the doppelganger shook her head sharply. "She hates me. She wants you to turn against me and convince you that I can't be trusted."
Not exactly hard to do, hon. I didn't even have to put much effort into it. Katherine's own actions and attitude did all the work for me. And yet, she didn't even realise that. It was quite pathetic really. She was so oblivious to how her own actions looked, especially to a noble man like Elijah. He didn't like being lied to. especially about people he cared about. And despite everything, he seemed to care about my sister.
"I asked you a question," Elijah's voice was even and it had a cold edge to it. One that had Katherine wincing.
"No, of course you're not a means of survival," the woman's voice was soft, in a way that I had never heard it. It didn't take a fool to see that she did actually care for Elijah, in her own way. But was it enough for the Original, that was the real question. "You looked out for me when I had no one. You're giving me a second chance now when no one else will. I love you." She went to place her hand on his cheek again. This time, Elijah let her. "Elijah." For a moment, anyway. He shook his head as he stepped away. "You don't believe me."
I could actually hear the hurt in her voice. And it did actually surprise me. Katherine Pierce didn't do vulnerable. But here she was, bearing her heart for the noble Original. And with me sitting right next to them. I was surprised that she let me hear it. But I guess she was just desperate. She wasn't used to being rejected by Elijah, she normally betrayed him first.
"I want to," Elijah admitted, his voice quiet. "It's my disease. I just keep wanting to believe you, but how can I, when at every turn, you give me a reason to doubt you? I don't know you." He chuckled softly and shook his head. "I don't know that I ever will."
With that said, the Original turned around and started to walk away. I continued sitting where I was, my legs stretched out in front of me as I let the drama play out. Katherine stared at Elijah's back for a second before chasing after him, grabbing his arm. He stopped out of courtesy to her, because there was no way that she was strong enough to stop him.
"Wait, you gave me your word that you would talk to Klaus," she was desperate in a way that I had never heard before. It was quite amusing to hear. "I… I can't make a deal without you."
I leant forward to see Elijah stare down at the girl he once loved before quietly saying, "Goodbye, Katherine."
The doppelganger let go of his arm in shock before watching as he walked away from her, not once looking back.
XXX
"Ooh, now that was painful to watch," I sniggered, pushing myself to my feet. The moment that I was standing up, Katherine sped over. There was an enraged look on her face as her hand wrapped around my neck, pushing me against the wall.
I just let her manhandle me, relaxing against the bricks as she spat out curses. I had never seen her lose control like this. And damn, I loved it. She deserved every second of this misery and pain. Karma really was a bitch.
"This is all your fault," the doppelganger hissed, tightening her grip on me. "You caused this. He was perfectly willing to help me until you came along and opened your big mouth."
"Katherine, darling, all I did was tell him the truth," I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. I could tell that my lack of fighting, the fact that I was just relaxing, was annoying her. The bitch clearly wanted me to fight back, to struggle, to give some kind of sign that this was bothering me. I was almost tempted to put on an act, but it was far too much effort. Because I knew that she wouldn't kill me. Oh, she hated me enough, that was for sure. But Katherine knew that if she had any chance of winning Elijah back, she had to keep me alive. "It's not my fault that your own awful actions fucked you over."
"Why did you have to track me down?!" the bitch snapped, her free hand clenching into a fist. She was probably itching to hit me, but she managed to keep her composure. It was quite disappointing really. Because if she hit me, I would have hit her back. And I was looking forward to just smacking the shit out of her.
"Because you killed Elena," I shrugged, reaching up to grab the woman's wrist. I squeezed tightly and, surprisingly, she let go. Katherine stepped back, looking at me with hard eyes. "If you had just taken the cure, I would have let it go. Even with my humanity still on, I would have let it go. But you killed my twin. You must have known that I would track you down for that."
"Precious Elena," Katherine sneered, shaking her head. "Even when she's dead, she's ruining my life."
"Oh good lord," I scoffed, flicking her in the forehead. Bitcherine stared at me in shock. She wasn't used to me not being afraid of her, especially when she got all threatening and rageful. But why would I be scared of her? I had just seen how pathetic she truly was. Hell, she had to compel an entire town into being her friend. This was the woman who had terrified me for so long? She was nothing. "You're ruining your own life. You want Elijah to make that deal for you? Then show you are worth his time. He values honesty. I haven't even known him for that long, especially compared to you, and I know that."
The doppelganger watched me as I stepped closer, brushing her hair from her face. There was a sharp smile on my face as I cupped her cheeks. It would be so easy to break her neck right in that second and take her somewhere for my revenge. But it would be too easy. She was too damaged right now. She had just lost her chance at freedom. Again. The only torture that I could do would be physical. And that wasn't enough. I wanted her to hurt.
"If you really want Elijah back, then you need to bare your soul to him. Prove that you are worth his trust. Hell, apologise if you can force the words out. Just make yourself worth it."
"Why are you helping me?" the other vampire asked quietly, her eyes examining my face. She had made no move to step away from me. And there was a vulnerability about her. She was actually listening to my words, wanting to hear what I had to say.
"Because I want you to be happy," I whispered, leaning in close to speak into her ear. "Because then, when you have what you want and you are truly happy, I can rip it all away from you. I make you suffer, like you made me suffer, like you made my twin suffer. I will be able to rip you apart, physically and emotionally. And it will feel so good." Katherine let out a gasp as I shoved my hand into her chest, gripping her heart. I wasn't going to kill her, not yet. "And I want you to remember that. Each time you feel happy, each time you think that you have the life that you deserve, remember my words. Watch out for me. Because one day, I will be there. And you can say goodbye to everything."
"You wouldn't dare," the doppelganger choked out, her hand gripping the arm that was in her chest. My free hand stroked her cheek as I smirked. I enjoyed the fear in her eyes. Fear that was caused by me. For the first time, our positions were reversed. I was no long the one who was terrified. No, this time, it was Katherine. And I loved it.
"Oh Katerina," I cooed, my fingers tangling themselves in her hair before I yanked her head back, delighting in her hiss of pain. "You murdered my twin sister. There is nothing that I wouldn't do to you."
I ripped my hand out of her chest and let her body fall to the floor. As she coughed out her pain, I stared down at her, "Give Elijah my best."
She glared up at me through wet eyes as I gave her a wink. Then I turned around and walked away. I knew that she wouldn't chase after me. Even after she healed, she wouldn't go after me. She wasn't brave enough to take me on right now. Because she knew the truth. That I would kill her for what she did to Elena. And I had just proven that.
XXX
I returned to the diner, using the bathroom to wash the blood from my hand. It was quite hilarious. Most people would panic if they saw someone walking around with a bloody hand. But because I had put the sunglasses back on, they just accepted it. I was impressed with the hold that Katherine had over this town. Even if it was pathetic that she had compel these people into liking her.
I slipped into one of the booths at the back, accepting a coffee from Jolene. She gave me a smile and told me what had happened after I had left the diner earlier. I knew that Damon and Rebekah had failed to get the cure, as Katherine was far too calm earlier. How she had managed to trick them, I didn't know. But either way, the cure was still on the table.
It was likely that she would give it to Elijah, to negotiate her freedom from Klaus. What the hybrid would do when he got it, I did not know. I just had to hope that he wouldn't shove it down my throat in his bid to get more hybrids again. Although he had given up on the idea. Maybe he would do the decent thing and give it to his sister, for her to become human like she wanted. Or he would find a way to destroy it, so it couldn't be used against him. Either way, I just had to make sure that he didn't try to use it on me.
I flicked through my phone for a while, ignoring the messages from Jenna and Jeremy and Alaric. Caroline had tried calling me once but I let it go to voicemail. She had apparently left one but I deleted it without listening to it. There was nothing from Bonnie, which was annoying since she had apparently completed the expression triangle without telling me. Which was rather rude, in my opinion.
I continued to sit at the back of the diner as it turned dark outside. As the hours ticked by, the diner became emptier and emptier. Apparently people actually ate dinner at home in this town. Not that that was a bad thing. Because it meant that I could finally eat myself.
With a crook of my finger, I called over Jolene. She had a small smile on her face as she walked over, coffee pot in hand. She filled up my mug before looking down at me, "What can I do for you, Katherine?"
"Well, sweetheart, I'm hungry," I purred, reaching forward to grab her wrist, tugging her closer. "And you're going to fix that." I pulled the girl down onto the seat before quickly moving to sit on her lap. I leant in close, breathing in her floral perfume, before sitting back, taking off my sunglasses. I let my face change before smirking, "Oh, and I'm not Katherine."
Jolene's eyes grew wide in terror at the sight of my face before she opened her mouth to scream. I quickly covered it with my hand, cooing at her not to scream, before I ripped into her neck. The girl struggled, trying to force me off as I gulped down her blood. Her chest heaved with sobs and panic as her heartbeat slowly faded. There was something intoxicating about the struggle, about the fear. Feeding off a willing human just wasn't the same. It was the thrill of the catch. Even if I didn't hunt her, I was still able to indulge those vampire instincts that I normally tried to control.
I kept feeding until the girl died in my arms. Even then, I didn't stop until I had drained her dry. It wasn't until I was content that I had taken everything that I could, that I pushed her body to the side. It slumped against the seat, Jolene's eyes wide and staring up at me. I just rolled my eyes and shifted her head so that it was no longer looking at me. I grabbed a tissue from the table to wipe my mouth before looking around. The diner was empty and there was no one else for me to eat. Which was incredibly disappointing. Because I was still hungry. Feeding from Jolene had only reminded me of how hungry I was.
Which was why, when the chef came out to investigate the sudden silence in the room, I let out a pleased hum before speeding over to him. The man let out a shout of shock before I grabbed his shoulders, forcing him against the counter. He shouted curses at me, his heart racing in his chest with fear, before I let my face change. The heart stopping terror that he felt as I grabbed his hair, yanking his head back to expose his neck, had my instincts singing happily. This was what I was made to do. This was how a vampire acted. And fuck me, I was enjoying it.
I toyed with the man more than I had Jolene. I scrapped my fangs against his neck, letting them dig into his skin, as he begged for mercy. But he didn't know that there was no mercy to be found in me. Only a monster.
But I played along, I let him go, giving him a chance to escape. His heart pounded in his chest as he ran for the door. It was quite adorable, how he thought that he would survive. I let the man get a hand on the door before I sped forward, grabbing his shoulder and ripping him away from freedom.
He fell to the floor and I sped forward again, laughing at his babbling pleas for help. But there was no one around to help him, to save him from me. I grabbed him by the beck and lifted him onto the table next to us. I slammed him down before crouching over him. And this time, I went for the kill. My fangs sank into his neck and I started to drink. My hand covered his mouth and I could feel his tears against my skin. And I continued to drink until he was dead.
XXX
I was sat on the table at the back when the Salvatore brothers entered the diner. My legs swung back and forth as I leant back on the table, watching their reactions with careful eyes. Damon just glanced at the bodies decorating the room before rolling his eyes and strolling over. He grabbed a clean tissue on the way and handed it to me. I gave him a wink before cleaning my bloody face.
Stefan looked around with a disappointed look on his face. His forehead creased with worry and guilt, a stricken look in his eyes. I was surprised that he hadn't said anything about it yet. He shook his head before slowly approaching me, a cautious look on his face.
My boyfriend took sat down on the bench, looking up at me, "So, since you summoned us here and apparently not for dinner since you have already eaten, what do you want?"
"Hmm, what do I want?" I pondered dramatically, crossing my legs. "Well, since Elijah almost definitely has the cure now, courtesy of Katherine, I want everyone to accept that this is me now. My humanity is not coming back until I am ready for it to. The cure is off the table, my revenge against Katherine is ticking away perfectly, and now all I have to do is bring Elena back to life. Do you accept those terms?"
"Always have, baby," Damon shrugged, resting his hand on mine before his gaze turned to his brother. I knew that my boyfriend would support me. It was all that he had done. But it was nice to hear it. Especially since he had been around Stefan all day, and that boy would not let things go.
"Alexa, this isn't you," the younger brother sighed, shaking his head. "Listen, I was in the exact same situation that you're in right now. My humanity was gone. I wasn't me. But your sister refuse to accept that. She didn't give up on me, she didn't stop until she pulled me back. And now, for her, I'm going to do the same for you. I won't stop until your humanity is back."
"Yeah, that's what I expected," I nodded before pushing myself off the table. I gestured around the room. "You see these bodies; this is what happens when I'm bored and hungry. If you continue to push me and force me to do stuff that I don't want to do, then there will be a lot more bodies. I will rip apart each town that you find me until you learn to back the fuck off. Of course, if you let me bring Elena back to life, then there won't be any issues. Now, I'll head back to Mystic Falls with you, because I want to check in on Bonnie's attempts to lower the veil. But this is your final warning, Stefan Salvatore. There won't be another. Just bodies."
XXX
A/N: Humanityless Alexa is fun to write! Thank you for the reviews, please keep them coming and I promise that the next chapter will have smut ;) they really do help me break through my writer's block, especially since the next chapter is proving more troublesome than I had originally anticipated! Friendly reminder that the poll is still up :) Until next time, I hope you enjoyed xoxo
