Elena got into the car with Elijah. They were going on a 'field trip' to the art museum. It had been a few weeks since she managed to get Esther to lose faith in Finn. Her life had gotten a lot better since then. She'd gotten a lot of trust for herself and for her other siblings. She was now trusted to leave the house with Elijah, with Esther's permission. She was even allowed to walk around the property whenever she wanted without anyone with her. She wasn't allowed to leave the property alone though. She still felt like she was in prison, but it was more a minimum instead of a maximum-security prison.
Elijah got in and started driving. Once they were a good distance away, he handed her a pamphlet. "You'll need to read about a few of these exhibits before we get back, in case Mother asks."
Elena frowned as she took the pamphlet. "We're not really going to the art museum?"
"No," he said.
"Where are we going then?" Elena asked curiously.
"You'll see," Elijah said.
Elena sat back and looked out the window as Elijah drove. She was more than a little curious about where they were going. Then they turned onto the block of her old house. He was taking her home, most likely to fulfill his promise.
Elijah pulled into the driveway. "You'll have three hours at the most. We can't risk any more time than that."
Elena nodded. "Jeremy's inside, isn't he?"
"Yes. This is what you wanted," Elijah reminded her.
"It is. It's just that this is going to be the last time, isn't it?" Elena asked. She wasn't sure she was ready for it to be the last time she ever saw her brother. However, if she didn't see him now, she probably never would.
"For quite a while at least," Elijah told her. They were nearly ready. Niklaus and Caroline were procuring a witch to help them disappear from their mother's radar, and they had already procured the means to physically disappear. If all went well, they would be gone in two weeks' time, maybe less. After that, he didn't know when or if it would ever be safe for Elena to see Jeremy.
Elena nodded before stepping out of the car. She approached the front door and let them both inside. Alaric was by the door when they walked inside. "Hey, Ric."
"Hi, Elena," Alaric said before hugging the girl. "How have you been?"
"It's been tough, but I'm okay," Elena said before pulling away from him. She then saw Jeremy in the doorway to the living room. She immediately ran to him and hugged him. "Jer, I missed you so much."
"I missed you too," Jeremy said as he hugged her. He pulled away after several moments. "Are you okay? They haven't hurt you or anything, right? Klaus hasn't hurt you?"
"No. Klaus isn't even the problem. He would never hurt me. Esther is the problem. She hasn't hurt me physically either," Elena said.
"I've been really worried about you. I tried to call you several times," Jeremy said.
"I know. I didn't have my phone for a while, and when I got it back, I was only allowed to talk to Caroline," Elena said. She had received several calls from Jeremy. It broke her heart, but she had to ignore them all. If she'd answered, she would've lost her phone entirely, and possibly the rest of the little freedom she had.
"Caroline told me. I guess I'd hoped that maybe you could get away for a second and talk to me," Jeremy said.
"I couldn't risk it. Every word I said was being reported to Esther until recently," Elena said.
"I get it. I just wanted to know you were okay. Sorry if I made it worse for you," Jeremy said.
Elena took his arm and led him into the living room so that they could talk semi-privately. They both sat down on the couch. "How have you been with this? It can't have been easy when Ric told you."
"I thought he was crazy at first. I thought maybe the bourbon finally got to him," Jeremy joked.
Elena laughed.
"I mean, I know we've seen some crazy things, but bringing a kid back from the dead and putting her into another body? That was pretty out there," Jeremy said.
"I didn't believe it at first either. I thought Esther was insane. I didn't accept it until Elijah confirmed it. Jeremy, I know this is all really weird. I was never supposed to be your sister. The girl that was supposed to be your sister died," Elena said. She wondered how he felt about that. Did he feel like she'd somehow stolen her life? She couldn't blame him if he did. In a way, she had stolen that other baby's life, even if it was unintentional on her part.
Jeremy shrugged. "I've never known another sister. I can't miss somebody that never existed to me. Maybe it makes me heartless, but I'm glad that it happened. I can't imagine growing up without you."
"I'm glad too. I wouldn't want to live without having known you. At the same time, I have more family now, and I can't wish them away either. I love them," Elena said. Well, except for Esther and Finn. She definitely wished them away quite often.
"Even Klaus?" Jeremy asked.
"Yes. I know that he killed Jenna. I won't ever forget that. But I can't bring myself to hate him anymore. He's my brother, and he's been nothing but supportive to me. I can't spend my life hating him, so while I don't know if I'll ever entirely forgive him, I have been trying to move on," Elena explained.
"I can't say I understand because I can't possibly understand the position you're in. Jenna was your family, but so is Klaus. I can't understand that kind of dilemma, which is why I also won't judge you for choosing to move on," Jeremy said.
Elena smiled at her little brother. "Thank you."
"You know, when Ric told me that Elijah had arranged a meeting with you, he made it seem like this was goodbye. Tell me I'm reading too much into it," Jeremy pleaded.
Elena sighed sadly. "I can't. This may be the last time we see each other."
Jeremy shook his head, refusing to accept it. "This woman can't hold you prisoner forever. We can find a way to stop her. Bonnie said she's been trying to figure out ways to save you. Actually, she said that she, Stefan, and Damon did find a way, but that you stopped them."
Elena rolled her eyes. "Their way of 'saving' me was to kidnap me and hope Esther didn't come after me. It was always going to fail, and I'm the one Esther would've punished for it. I don't trust any of them anymore. Their stupid plan is what led to this situation. My other siblings will find a way, but either way you look at it, I'm not going to be able to see you for a long time, if ever."
"I'm just supposed to trust a bunch of original vampires?" Jeremy asked in disbelief.
"They're not just original vampires anymore. They're my family, as much as you are. I trust them. I'll be okay, Jer. I'll be okay as long as I know you are. I want you to go back to Denver, Jeremy," Elena said.
Jeremy immediately shook his head. "No. I'm not just leaving you here."
"Yes, you are. Something is going to happen soon, and Esther is going to be pissed. I don't want her thinking you had anything to do with it. Go back to Denver and live a normal life. You deserve that," she said.
"I'm just supposed to leave and accept that I'm never going to see my sister again?" Jeremy asked with tears in his eyes.
Elena nodded. "Accept that I'm going to be okay. Accept that in some form or another, I'll always be with you. You're always going to be my brother, Jeremy, blood or not. I just want you to be happy and safe. Promise me you'll go back."
"I promise," Jeremy said reluctantly before pulling his sister into his arms.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Caroline sat down at a table at the Grill across from Lucy Bennett. Klaus was sitting in a corner waiting. He was no doubt waiting to pounce in case this went south. "Thank you for meeting me, and for not discussing it with Bonnie."
"Sure. This is your meeting. If you don't want anyone knowing, it's your business. Although, I was surprised by your call. What could you need from me, Caroline? If you needed a witch, you have one at your disposal anytime you want," Lucy said.
"For right now, I need this conversation to be hypothetical," Caroline said.
Lucy nodded.
"Say I know someone who is in a pretty rough position right now. Her mother is controlling her every move and will punish her at slightest infraction. The problem is that she can't leave because her mother is a witch with the power to force her to stay. Her siblings would like to make her disappear, but…"
"But in this hypothetical, her mother has the power to cast locator spells. This hypothetical young woman would need a cloaking spell," Lucy finished for her.
Caroline nodded.
"Continuing with this hypothetical, you have a witch who could cast such a spell," she said.
"This witch is very powerful. Have you ever heard of the Original Witch?" Caroline asked.
"Any witch worth a damn has. If we're going to discuss the Original Witch, we're going to have to stop talking in hypotheticals. And your vampire friend in the back should join us since he's not fooling anyone," Lucy said.
Klaus scowled as he made his way over. He grabbed a chair from one of the other tables and sat down.
"Lucy, this is Klaus Mikaelson," Caroline said.
"In what world do think I'm going to help this man with anything?" Lucy asked. She knew all about Klaus Mikaelson, including the fact that he'd tried to kill her cousin more than once.
"In the world that you owe Elena. You're linking spell could've gotten her killed. You owe her this much," Caroline said a bit coolly.
"So, Elena is the person in need of disappearing," Lucy surmised.
Caroline nodded. "Along with her siblings, the Originals."
Lucy raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I've gotta start talking to Bonnie more often."
"Not about this you won't," Klaus said dangerously.
"Bonnie can't know about this conversation, Lucy. She's made life very difficult for Elena lately. Magic has given her a bit of an ego. She seems to think that she can do whatever she wants without consequence. It usually fails and comes back to bite someone else," Caroline explained.
"Mainly my sister," Klaus said.
Lucy sighed in disappointment. "Unfortunately, that can happen sometimes with new witches. It's why witches should be taught from childhood. When they find out later in life, they think they're all powerful. A lot of times it ends up getting them killed."
"Can you help us?" Caroline asked.
"Before I answer that, I'd like to talk to Elena," Lucy said.
"No," Klaus snapped.
"What Klaus means to say is that getting a meeting with Elena is too dangerous for her. She's barely allowed to leave the house, and if Esther found out, it could jeopardize everything. Look, you don't have to trust Klaus, but please trust me. This situation is slowly going to kill Elena. She can't live like this," Caroline said.
Lucy sighed. She didn't like it. She would like to at least get confirmation from Elena that she was on board with this, but she understood that that might be too dangerous. She was at the mercy of a powerful witch that was abusing her power. "Say, I was to agree to this, I would have to link the cloaking spell to a person instead of a place, or in this case, a group of people. I would need blood."
Klaus smiled. He was suddenly very pleased that he had yet to dispose of the leftover blood he'd taken from Elena before they knew the truth about her. "I can get you a full pint of her blood if you need it."
"A few drops will do. I'll also need blood from the rest of you," Lucy said.
"And this will hide them from Esther?" Caroline asked.
"It's the most powerful cloaking spell I know. If it won't work, nothing will," Lucy said.
"How will we know if it works against our mother's magic?" Klaus asked.
"You won't. If she finds you, you'll know it failed," Lucy said bluntly.
Klaus didn't like that answer, but he supposed it was the best he was going to get. Elijah hadn't found another witch powerful enough to make this happen. A Bennett witch was their best advantage.
"Will you do it?" Caroline asked.
Lucy reluctantly nodded after a minute. Caroline was right. She did owe Elena. "Give me about a week to get everything I need, and I'll call you."
"Thank you," she said.
Lucy turned to Klaus. "Once the spell is cast, you'll need to leave immediately. Your mother will be able to sense the magic on all of you."
Klaus nodded.
"I'll call when I'm ready," Lucy said.
Klaus took out a pen and grabbed a napkin before writing down his number. "Call me directly."
Lucy took the number before getting up and walking away.
"Caroline, love, are you on vervain?" Klaus asked.
Caroline gave him a suspicious look. "Why?"
"I need that witch's name out of your mind. My mother can never know that she's the one that helped us disappear, which means you can't know either." Klaus said.
"That's the only thing you'll take? You won't make me forget that my best friend is leaving or why?" Caroline asked. She couldn't have that go away. She needed the piece of mind of knowing Elena was okay.
"No," Klaus promised.
"Give me a couple of days to get off the vervain," Caroline said before standing up and heading for the door.