The day before the wedding - 23rd December.

The next day, Elena awoke in her bed with Elijah beside her, she hadn't fully remembered how she got there, her last memory was die hard and an insurmountable indulgence of junk food.

She pressed a kiss on his forehead and proceeded in her usual morning routine, hygiene, shower and getting ready for the day ahead; there was much planned and a lot to get through, she was set to marry Elijah tomorrow and every small detail had to be arranged and confirmed.

She dressed in a long-sleeved navy blue jumper and black skinny jeans, with a pair of her furry ankle-boot wedges to match; she grabbed her purse and exited the bedroom, hastily walking across the hallway and descending the staircase.

The living room had been straightened out to its normal and perfect state, the television had been moved and she smiled at the decorated tree, her mind flashing to the night before. It was a perfect family day.

She entered into the kitchen and saw the coffee brewing, she took the mug that was placed beside it and poured herself a coffee, "good morning, Nik," she said with a head shake and a smile.

"Good morning, little warrior," he appeared beside her instead of his usual perch in the doorway, she was taken aback slightly by his sudden proximity and she grinned amusingly.

"You're in a good mood," she observed, before taking a sip of her coffee and sitting at the kitchen table.

"Is there any reason I shouldn't be?" A smirk graced his lips as he poured himself a mug of coffee and joined her at the table, "it's the eve of yours and my brothers wedding, we have days worth of parties and festivities planned and we're enemy free, for now."

"Don't say that, the days only just starting," they shared in a look of amusement at his hopeful expectations for the next few days but Elena knew better, she would hope for the best but prepare for the worst. As far as she was concerned, anything could happen.

"You're worried about an attack?"

"Always," she spoke truthfully, there was no shortage of enemies in the world and a part of her was always on high-alert, "but I'm not letting it ruin the wedding or the Christmas party, besides we are well prepared if anything does happen."

"Klara did say you wouldn't be attacked during your wedding if you agreed to meet with them in one year, which you foolishly did agree too."

"Okay, it's time, you have to tell me everything you know about her and this coven that Quetsiyah is controlling," she let it all go for the sake of their family day yesterday but she grew tired of being at a disadvantage in knowledge.

"There isn't much to tell, she was a witch when we met in our early days of being vampires, I took quite the liking to her and Rebekah turned her to spite me; in a fit of rage, I destroyed the village and her loved ones, what I didn't realise at the time is that she was a siphoner, I thought her magic to be her own but apparently not," he spoke with a haste in his voice, unwilling to relive his past torments longer than need be.

"Ever the gentleman," she smirked on the rim of her mug before taking a sip and setting it down on the table.

"I was young," he was filled with amusement at her words and he shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"So, she had family? Sisters?" She returned to the conversation and pushed all the joking aside, she had to know everything she possibly could before the wedding.

"Correct."

"Could any of them have survived your attack?"

"There's a slim chance but unlikely, it burnt to the ground and then Mikael caught wind of our location, so we fled the country and returned to America."

"So, she's British, an extremely powerful siphoner and her family has a connection to Quetsiyah, roughly around the same time she created the prophecy," she wasn't liking the sound of this, if this was true, then she wouldn't have the power to match them.

"it would appear so," even Klaus couldn't deny the concern that grew within him.

"I definitely don't think she was the last of her family we have to worry about," a small sigh escaped her lips as she saw a flash of the image from the prophecy sear across her mind from the revelation spell Ivy performed on her, "I saw three witches, extremely powerful ones at the head of the ritual to return Quetsiyah to life, the ball of light that the coven where channelling is what gave them power but it also came from them and now we know they're siphoners, I worry they had my magic in the vision."

Klaus let her revelation ponder in his mind for a long moment, trying his best to recollect any information from his past memories that may relate to this coven but he saw none, "have you told Elijah of this?"

"No, I haven't told anybody, there's a lot in that vision I can't make sense of and I'm guessing only time will tell," she responded, her voice filled with seriousness, "Bonnie performed the spell of revelations with Ivy as well, I need to find out what she learnt but she doesn't seem to want to share."

"After the wedding, we will get on top of this, I'll see what we can learn about the coven and the find out if Klara's sisters survived," Klaus suggested, trying to put an end to her internal suffering, "for now, try and focus on your wedding, it will bring you happiness instead of the internal suffering you are now facing. You haven't seemed like yourself lately."

"I guess it's all just taking its toll on me, it's been a trying couple of months but I'm sure it'll all pass after the wedding," she tried to sound hopeful but her demeanour came off as more pessimistic, something her loved ones would worry about if it persisted, it wasn't like her to feel that way.

"Is there anything I can do to help you through this?" His vulnerability shone through as he hesitantly reached for her hand and took it in his, if only to bring her comfort and reassurance.

She looked at their now joined hands and for the first time in a while, her Empath gift had returned to her and she felt his emotions; a small gasp escaped her lips as his comfort washed through her and took her by surprise, she felt the air around them encompass them and Klaus looked at her with concern.

"What was that?" He asked, his eyebrow raised and his defence up.

"My Empath gift," she held free hand against her chest and took a deep breath, collecting herself and dropping the hold it had of her, "I haven't felt it since the poisoning."

"Why didn't you tell us?" His face softened and his lips parted, the true extent of her suffering and her vulnerability now apparent to him, especially since it affected her power.

"I didn't want to worry anybody," a small grin appeared on her lips as she felt the calm her gift brought her radiate around them and he couldn't help but feel relieved she was smiling.

"How did that just happen?" He said with a look of confusion

"You, Nik, I felt your comfort," she looked at their hands together, feeling the comfort wash over her again, "I guess you're the only one I haven't been completely closed off too lately, everyone seems to just want to save me instead of helping me in this battle, except you."

"I, erm-" he cut his sentence short and released her hand, his gaze flickering from her and onto the coffee cup on the table in front of him, quickly bringing it to his lips and taking a sip. He couldn't let her channel him, not with the way he had been feeling, it could compromise their relationship.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," she lowered her gaze, remembering how much her Empath gift actually troubled her and those around her and she was somewhat saddened by its return.

"You could never," his voice was soft and his line of sight returned to her, he saw the concern etched in her features and the discomfort her gift brought her and he wanted nothing but to see her troubles eased, he took a small breath and chose his next words carefully, he wasn't sure if it was the gift having an affect on his emotions and his willingness to talk but he felt oddly drawn to her all over again, "I just can't let you fe-"

"Good morning," Rebekah interrupted as she walked into the kitchen and instantly felt the tension in the room, an awkwardness filled the air and she was taken aback by it; she looked at Klaus, her brow furrowing as she saw the same look of anguish she had seen the previous night in him and Elena seemed blank, "what are you two talking about?"

"My Empath gift, it's returned," Elena broke the tension in the room by standing from her chair and ending the channelling from her gift, leaving Klaus in an emotional state.

"I wondered where that got too, it's been awfully erratic around her lately and I missed the calm it brought," she said with a light shrug of her shoulders and went to the coffee machine.

"You missed the invasion of privacy? I can feel you all again," she spoke as she walked to the machine and stood beside the Original vampire, holding her cup out towards her and she refilled it.

"A small downside to the peace it brought us," she said with a smile before ending the conversation and starting a new one concerning the events of the day; they sat down at the table together and removed their phones from their purses.

"So, what's on the agenda for the day?" Elena asked, as she looked at the calendar on her phone and readying the list of things she needed to do today.

"Firstly, we must ensure the venue is ready, they've started preparing for the ceremony and confirm final numbers," Rebekah said as Elena typed it into her phone, "Bonnie and Davina will ready the ritual tonight after it closes and we know everyone involved has been compelled not to ask any questions."

"Got it, next?"

"You and Elijah have to see Bonnie to go over the pre-requisites of the ritual and see to any preparations you may have to do," Elena simply nodded her head and typed it in; Klaus watched them with an amused smirk as they conversed in a very formal and organised manner.

"Dress fitting next, we have to ensure the alterations are to your size and it fits perfectly, then to meet with the caterer, finalise the details and meet with the girls for manicures and facials."

"Perfect."

"Although, Bonnie asked me to free a few hours of your schedule tonight for, as she put it, 'bonding time', and the same is also pencilled in for Kol and Nik to meet here with Elijah," her brow furrowed and they both slowly turned to look at Klaus, an amused smirk spread on his lips that made them both uneasy.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, feeling his amusement and excitement within him, on some level she was happy with the return of her gift, at least she knew he couldn't keep things from her anymore.

"Nothing I can divulge, sweetheart," he remained firm in his secrets and offered only a curled lip and a slightly raised eyebrow. The look of twisted amusement she was so familiar with that meant he had something particularly distasteful planned.

"Okay, I'm nervous," she said with a flat smile as she turned to look at Rebekah with a shrug of her shoulders; Klaus instantly vanished from his chair and exited the plantation, much to the dismay of the girls and she was left with unanswered questions.

"We don't have time to argue, we need to leave for the venue now or we'll be delayed all day and I refuse to miss the treat that is facials and manicures at the end of it," Rebekah stood from her chair and scurried Elena out the kitchen, leading her through the house and out onto the driveway.

As she slid into the car, her phone was still clutched in her hand and she opened Elijah's messages, quickly attaching the calendar and sending him to it, just so he was aware of her location at all times today, just to relieve his panic.

They had arrived at the venue a short while later and soon as she walked into the main reception, she was met with a panicked haste from the coordinator, who she hadn't met before as she only ever went through Rebekah.

"This is Cynthia, she has been nothing short of a miracle worker the past few weeks," Rebekah said with a kind and welcoming smile as she introduced her, "And this is Elena, the bride-to-be."

"Lovely to finally meet you," she spoke in response, shaking her hand quickly as they walked through the main corridor that lead to the outside ceremony area, "I usually meet with the bride months in advance to the wedding date, I was initially quite surprised to have only been conversing with Rebekah but she's been an angel, I didn't quite mind after our first meeting."

Elena shot the original vampire a look of distaste as she realised she had been compelled, Rebekah simply shrugged her shoulders and pulled her beside her and speaking in a hushed tone, "everyone here is compelled, 'Lena, how else where we supposed to plan a wedding and mirroring ritual within a month?"

She couldn't argue with that, not even a little bit.

"So, literally everyone here is compelled?" She reiterated.

"Even the janitor," Rebekah said with a malicious smirk and air of amusement in her tone of voice, "it was extremely hard work, you should be thankful."

Elena simply rolled her eyes and chuckled along with Rebekah as they neared the exit to the outdoor ceremony area; Cynthia pushed open the double door exit and they all walked over the threshold, Elena's lips parted when she seen the venue before her and she was completely surprised.

"Oh my god," she said with a quiet and astonished voice, her eyes glancing around the entire area and taking it all in, "Rebekah showed me the pictures but it doesn't compare."

There was several steps she had to walk down as she walked onto the aisle, it was a stone path that lead straight to the altar in the middle of a large field; the whole reason she chose this venue was because it had the bayou attached to it at the top of the field and it channelled every essence of nature. Perfect for the mirroring ritual.

"As you can see, we have most of the chairs laid out on the grassed area as requested, we had to order more from the supplier considering the size of the guest list but they will arrive by the afternoon and the rest of the flowers are due to be brought in this morning," Elena listened to Cynthia list the features and the requests that she and Rebekah had put forth and it was brought together beautifully.

She continued to slowly walk down it, looking at the chairs that had been laid out in rows, they had dark oak seats and where encased in black metal to match the rustic feel, there was hundreds of candles on the inside of the rows that followed the path to the altar that would look beautiful once lit.

There was small stone pillars placed between the candles at every other row that held a vase for the floral arrangements and added to the elegance of the aisle; on the far side of the rows, there was fully grown trees with branches that grew over where the chairs had been placed and they had been decorated with hanging lanterns, delicate lace runners and ethereal draping's.

"Obviously there had to be some adjustments made, particularly to the main altar to cater to your individual needs, shall we say?" Cynthia flashed them a small smile and the two girls looked at each other with an all knowing glance that signalled the needs of the ritual, "but once we added the archway, draped it in the lace runners and added the warm glow of the fairy lights, we where able to maintain the rustic elegance."

She reached the end of the aisle, walking up the few stone steps that lead to the altar and she smoothed her hand across it; there was seven separate slabs of stone that had been strategically piled upon each other, the bottom had the largest and thickest pieces that only decreased in size until it reached the top where a jagged edge, circular slab of stone had been placed on top of it to look like a table.

There was an archway that was placed over it and it was made from spiralling wood that met at the point at the top, it was covered in flowers and had the delicate lace draped on either side that joined at the top point.

"It's perfect," she said with a grin that stretched from ear-to-ear and a glow about her that could only come from being only a day before her wedding; there was still a few more decorations and details that needed tending to but it seemed it would all be complete on time, "I don't know how to thank you, Bekah, you took my ideas and made them better than I could ever imagine."

"You really like it?" Her voice was soft yet filled with excitement as they joined in a tight embrace.

"I love it," she squeezed Rebekah that touch more before she released her and they walked back down to the centre aisle and rejoined with Cynthia to go over the final details.

"Now that you've approved the venue, we need to go over the guest list, the ceremony and how you would like it to take place," Cynthia spoke as they started walking slowly towards the main reception building once again, "do you have the final numbers?"

Elena looked to Rebekah, the one who had handled all the details and she was already calculating, "so, we have four of the nine covens attending, the five packs and their families except children, Marcel's inner circle and trusted nightwalkers, Elijah's guest list and some of Klaus' hybrids, the rest will be on the security detail."

"Oh my god," Elena murmured, she knew they had a large guest list but she hadn't realised just how big until now.

"I'd say roughly 300, give or take a few," Rebekah answered, turning her attention to the now overwhelmed Elena and offering her a reassuring smile, "this union is huge, Elena, everyone wants to be a part of it, you're an Elder and Queen who is marrying an Original, deal with it."

"Fair enough," she said defeatedly and stretched her lips into a flat smile, allowing Rebekah to continue in the planning and solidifying of their wedding proceedings.

"We'll start with the processional, followed by the welcome and the reading, the actual ceremony will begin after and then the exchanging of rings-"

"Elijah's ring," Elena said with a shocked expression as she realised she completely forgot to order it, she turned to Rebekah who had a look of reassurance spread across her features.

"I knew you would forget so I handled it. Trust me, Elena, I am on top of this wedding, it will go without a hitch,"

"The Cartier D'amour?" She raised her eyebrow, awaiting the confirmation.

"Yes," they grinned in sync and continued on with the confirmation of the ceremony order.

"Who is ordaining? I have it here that you didn't request an official minister," Cynthia looked through the pages within her folder and started to become panicked.

"My brother Kol will handle the ceremony and Elena's best friend will conduct the ritual after," Rebekah answered, much to the confusion of Elena.

"Kol's officiating?" She nodded her head slightly to shake the confusion from her mind as she thought more into it and finding no reason to doubt this decision, "I love this idea, it makes sense someone from the family marry us."

"That and I didn't particularly fancy compelling a patron of God to perform a ceremony filled with supernatural creatures and before a blood ritual is set to take place, I'm not exactly a believer but even if I find that to be too sacrilegious."

"Good point."

Once they had concluded the business with the venue, Elena had returned to the plantation to meet with Elijah and Bonnie; the siblings had all left to give them privacy during their ritual discussions and she was nervous, she didn't know what to expect.

The happy couple had been sat on the sofa awaiting her arrival, their hands where interlocked and she nestled her forehead onto his, "are you still certain you want to go through with this?"

"Of course," Elijah responded without hesitation, bringing his free hand to her face and caressing her cheek, "are you?"

"More than anything, yes, an eternity with you is exactly what I want for my life," she admitted, breathing a small sigh of relief when she heard him feel the same way, "I guess I'm just nervous, this spell has only ever been performed once and all the effects weren't recorded."

"It's a peaceful spell, I can't imagine their to be any negative side effects from it," he reassured her and she felt his calm flow through her, enough to settle her doubts and fully accept it.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Bonnie said hastily as she scurried through the corridor and into the living room; she instantly placed the spell and the grimoire Ayana gave her flat on the table and collected herself, "hectic morning."

"Do I even want to know?" Elena spoke with an amused smirk, she knew her and Caroline had something planned, she just didn't know what yet.

"Nope," she responded innocently as she swung open the grimoire and quickly changed the subject, much to the amusement of the pair, "so anyway, we have a few steps to do before I can perform the ritual, it's pretty basic stuff."

She reached into her bag and started pulling out a few items, there was a small brass bowl, several herbs and salt, a dagger and a crystal; she placed the bowl beside the grimoire and began picking at the herbs and throwing them inside, "there is a blood elixir you both have to drink, i will combine these ingredients and a small amount of blood from each of you and it will mystically prepare your blood for the ritual, once you have it, no more blood can enter your system and Elijah, you can't feed or heal another or the spell won't work, it symbolises the start of the mirroring ritual."

"Got it," she was in full concentration mode, watching as Bonnie prepared the concoction and continued to read through the steps.

"Drinking the blood of another or healing someone else would be seen as a betrayal during this time, and it is also the loophole that prevents Elena from mirroring the thirst for blood a vampire possesses."

"I understand," Elijah responded.

"Also, no, erm-" Bonnie widened her eyes slightly, trying to speak with her eyes instead of her words but seeming to fail, "you and Elijah can't..."

"Right," Elena said abruptly with an awkward and amused expression on her face, "no fun stuff, got it."

Elijah looked to Elena with a small smirk curled up on his lip at the awkwardness between the two girls and finding their behaviour to be quite sweet.

"It's so you both remain pure during the full length of the ritual, from now until tomorrow night. It allows your bodies to be ready for the changes their going to go through and it confirms your intentions to be honourable and filled only with the love you have for each other," Bonnie explained as she read from the grimoire and relayed the information, "Ayana put in this step after the events of the last time ritual to ensure the spell couldn't be used for ill purposes, it could only work if the couple are completely in love and not looking for a power boost."

"Whilst you drink the elixir, I'm going to start a small chant and then a blessing, signalling the preparations are complete and the ritual is beginning," Bonnie's eyes never the left grimoire as she continued to read through the information within the pages of the grimoire, "Before the blessing ends, I will draw an eternity symbol in salt and you will both have to bleed into the centre of it, merging your blood as one and allowing yourselves to be mirrored during the ceremony. This will grant the immortality."

Elena looked to Elijah once again, looking for any modicum of doubt within him or even a flash of a second thought but he just nodded his head with a small smile curled up on his lip, "I'm ready."

"Elena?"

"Ready," she said without hesitation and upon hearing them words, she handed Elena the dagger and she took it.

Slicing it across her palm, she held her hand over the bowl and watched as her blood dripped in; she handed Elijah the dagger and he repeated the same process, allowing his blood to mix with Elena's before his wound healed moments later.

Bonnie hovered her hand over the bowl and focused, allowing a spell to stir it properly into a mixture and letting the ingredients melt together as one, "Elijah, once you take the first sip, I'll start the spell."

He nodded his head and looked to the bowl, he grasped it in his hands and brought it to his lips and just as he took the first sip, Bonnie began chanting in the background, the candles around the room all lit as the intensity heightened and Elijah passed the bowl to Elena for drinking.

She brought it to her lips and drank, Bonnie held her hands out beside her and chanted to the sky above; as the spell progressed, Elena felt a warm sensation radiate around her and she could feel the elixir coursing through her veins; she saw a white light emit from her arms and into her hands, turning to look at Elijah, the same process happened to him and it was starting the mirroring process.

Bonnie drew the eternity symbol in salt and they had to slice their palms once again to allow their blood to simultaneously drip onto the centre point where the symbol collided.

The salt started to melt and the room became a mess of the elements, the breeze was encircling them, the flames soaring, the elixir started to bubble away and their was a pressure building in their chests as the spell was coming to a close.

Elijah took her hand in his and watched as the wound began to heal, her breathing was heavy and her heart pounded against her chest; she could feel the magic wash over her and Bonnie finished the blessing, the room silenced and she took a deep breath.

Bonnie steadied her breathing and returned herself to the moment, allowing the intense magic to drain away from her and clear her mind.

"It's done."

After the dress fitting went perfectly and they confirmed the details with the caterer for the wedding day with, Elena and Rebekah met with Bonnie, Caroline, Davina and Cami at the Omni Royal hotel for their spa session, they had been looking forward to it all day.

They where offered a glass of champagne upon arrival and this was quickly becoming Elena's favourite place in the entire of New Orleans; they where sat in the pedicure chairs with a mud mask on their faces and the beauty technicians where in the process of doing their manicures.

"How are you feeling, 'Lena?" Bonnie asked, her head relaxed onto the headrest and her feet were bubbling away within the foot spa.

"Good, stronger somehow," she spoke honestly as she thought more into the residual effects the spell had on her body; she felt more connected to her power than she ever did before and she could feel Elijah more intensely, all she had to do was think about him and she knew he was safe.

"The elixir has heightened your senses and the blessing has connected you both on a mystical level, there will probably be a few more little side effects you'll notice before the wedding tomorrow, it's all normal," the Bennett witch reassured, bringing an air of comfort to Elena and allowing her to relax further.

"I can't believe I'm going to a wedding with a blood ritual attached to it," Cami said with astonishment and each of them started to chuckle, "so, are you gonna be a full vampire?"

"No, still human and a witch but with some of the extra perks of being a vampire, like the immortality, speed, strength and without the downside of fangs and bloodlust," she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders and an amused grin.

"I think it's soo romantic, I'm actually jealous," Caroline was in a state of pure relaxation and she hadn't realised she'd even spoken, her eyes popped open and they all laughed, "well, can you blame me? Have you seen the way you look at each other? And how protective he is of you? He would do literally anything for you and it merits jealously."

"She's not wrong," Cami agreed with a slight head tilt and a confused expression spread across her features, "I can't believe I'm jealous."

Both girls slumped back into their chairs and covered their eyes with cucumber slices, bringing amusement to the friends around them at their confessions.

"So, what will happen to Elijah? Obviously he can't be a witch," Davina asked after a short silence filled the air, her curiosity about the spell came from her witch side and she had to know.

"I'm not sure, all the ritual states is that he will have heightened abilities but there was nothing recorded after the actual ceremony, Bonnie's ancestor didn't get the chance," Elena said with a sad tone of voice.

"Why? What happened?" Cami sat up and removed the cucumber slices, followed by the other girls or turning to face her.

"Well, he murdered her when he learnt he didn't get access to her power, that's all he wanted, so when the coven learnt of his betrayal, they killed him before they could see the full effects of the ritual and hid the spell and the grimoire where no one thought to look for it," she told the story with a melancholic air to her and turned to face Bonnie.

"Ayana's tomb, when she was resurrected, she gave the grimoire to me and I found the mirroring spell within it, she likely didn't even know it was in there."

"That's definitely on my top 10 list of sad stories," Caroline said sadly as she lay back in her chair and returned the cucumber slices to her eyes, trying to push the negative feelings aside if only for Elena's sake.

"Agreed," Davina repeated the same process as Caroline and returned to a state of relaxation.

"We're supposed to be relaxing, girls," Rebekah sat up and turned to look at the group of friends and loved ones beside her with a disapproving look, "not reliving past treachery, we should be celebrating."

"She's right," Bonnie quickly agreed and turned to look at her best friend, holding up her champagne glass towards her and offering her kind words, "all I've ever wanted is to see you happy and get everything you've ever wanted, I can see now that you have that and I'm incredibly happy for you."

Elena smiled softly at her words and clinked her glass against hers, both of them taking a small sip before they brought each other into a tight embrace, "thank you, Bon, I love you."

"I love you too, 'Lena."

"We all love you both," Caroline said as she sped from her chair and joined in with the hug, followed by the others all encompassing around them and basking in their tender embrace.

A/N: These are the links for the websites where I drew inspiration from for the wedding scene, I don't own any of its content and it's used for entertainment purposes only.

The ceremony: a sparkly life for me . com/creating-a-magical-forest-wedding-and-reception-with-midjourney-part-2/ (use without spaces)

The altar: www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/483644447457982503/

The archway: www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/167759154862429940/