Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.

Elena stepped out of the carriage in the center of town. Looking around at the festival, she was reminded of the night the council used the vampire device in 2010. The night Anna and Mr. Lockwood died. She steeled herself. She already knew how everything would turn out. What was done, was done, she reminded herself again.

Damon introduced her to several people before she asked to sit down on one of the benches. Damon sat beside her for a few minutes before someone began to wave at him to come speak to them. She insisted he go. She would be fine here. Her thoughts were all consuming and she was having trouble carrying a conversation anyway.

The luncheon with the Gilberts at certainly been interesting. Her great-grandfather was a very suspicious, but gracious man. After the luncheon, though, was the most unsettling part of her day. She had taken a walk with Damon. She had been brooding about what was to come tonight when she she realized they had come to a stop inside a gazebo on the property. Damon had brought his fingers to her cheek and the next thing she knew, she had been tipping forward and kissing him.

Elena shook herself from the memory and looked into the sky. The sun was dipping below the horizon. Those with children were leaving to go home. The atmosphere was getting rowdier. It was almost time. She went in search of Damon and Stefan. She caught sight of them near the edge of the crowd. As she drew near, she heard Damon tell Stefan, "If you want her that badly, fine. But I am telling you, brother, we both deserve better. Better than this, this... game. She plays us like we are dancing in a very intricate game that is for her own personal enjoyment. I admit, I have feelings for her. She has an ability to pull you in so you never want to leave. But..." he cut off as he noticed Elena, who had stopped some distance from them.

Before Elena could decide whether Damon was serious or just trying to get his brother out of his way, she heard a scream behind her. She turned and saw a woman clutch her head and fall to her knees. Stefan and Damon both rushed forward to help the woman. Elena turned, staring but not moving.

It had begun.

She didn't know how long she stood like that, watching the scene unfold. When she came out of her daze it was due to Damon, standing in front of her and shaking her by the shoulders. "Elena!" She shook her head and looked up at him. She saw the concern on his face. She looked over his shoulder and watched as people ran every which way, not knowing what was going on. People that were on the ground screaming in pain were being carried off by thugs in black. Elena snapped her eyes back to Damon. He was trying to tell her something. "...just don't know, but I need to get you out of here."

At that moment, Stefan ran up. "They've got her, Damon. They took her."

"What? Who took who?"

"The people. The people took Katherine. She was on the ground like some of the others. I was running towards her when two guys picked her up and carried her off. I just couldn't get through the crowd. I lost sight of her and..."

Damon swore. Looking around, he saw two people carrying a man. "Lets follow them. See where they are taking them." He turned back to her, hesitating while Stefan took off after the man.

"I will be fine," she stated firmly. "They are only taking the people on the ground." Damon held still a moment longer, uncertainty clear in his face. She gave him a light shove and he went after his brother. Elena ran after them, but at a distance. She couldn't interfere. She said it to herself, over and over.

There were several carriages with bars in the windows lined up on the street. Men were picking prone bodies from the street and putting them in the carriages. It was obvious that all of the vampires had been injected with vervain. Elena saw Katherine being picked up and put in a carriage. Damon and Stefan rushed over. Stefan launched himself into the box at the front of the carriage, punching the driver in the jaw and shoving him off of the carriage. The man hit the ground and then lurched to his feet. Damon punched him and the man slumped to the ground. Damon then pulled himself up into the box next to his brother.

"Where do you think you are going?" Stefan and Damon looked down to see their father standing by the carriage.

"Please tell me you are not involved in this," Stefan said.

"Of course I am. I was instrumental in planning it," his father boasted. "Now get down from there and let the council handle this. I do not want you involved."

"They took Katherine, father. They hurt her!" Stefan cried.

"Of course they did," Giuseppe spat. "She is a demon, a filthy.."

"No!" Stefan cut him off. "Do not talk about her like that. I love her. And I will save her." With that, he snapped the reins. The horses began to move forward.

That was when the shots rang out. Elena's heart stopped for a moment and then began to race. She ran forward, careful to stay out of Giuseppe's sight. Someone called his name and he turned. The man that had been loading the vampire's into the back of the carriage approached him. Suddenly, he hit Giuseppe over the head with something. Giuseppe slumped to the ground. Katherine walked around the carriage. "Thank you, George."

"We should leave," George responded. "Your carriage awaits."

"Of course," Katherine said. "Now, remember, if you betray me, I will come and kill you."

"We will take each others' secrets to the grave," George responded.

Katherine handed him the moonstone. She then pulled both of the brothers out of the carriage and carried them into the forest that lined the road, just barely past the edge of the trees. Elena crept closer to the trees. She saw Katherine lay them side by side. She knelt next to Stefan.

"I love you, Stefan. We will be together again. I promise." She kissed him, then got up and walked away with George.

Elena moved towards them and sat down by their heads to wait for them to wake up, hoping they would not be discovered before then.

It was several hours before she saw any sign of life. Then she saw Damon's eyelids flickering. They opened. "Katherine?"

"It's Elena," she said quietly, her heart constricting.

"Elena? What... what happened?" Suddenly, his eyes widened and his hands went to his chest. He could feel the blood dried in his clothes, sticky on his skin. "No. No. This shouldn't be happening. Earlier today, I told her no. She said, she said I needed to drink her blood. For protection. Said that she was afraid something might happen. But I said no. You were right. I was letting myself be played with."

Elena cut off his ramble with a finger to his lips. "Shh." He kept getting louder and she was afraid he would attract someone's attention. "Vampire's are rather good at convincing you to do things you don't want to do."

"Wait, you know about vampires?"

"Please, don't ask me how because I cannot tell you, but I know a lot more about what is going on in Mystic Falls then I want to know. I promise you that I am just here to help."

Damon sat up and stared into her eyes. It reminded her of the look he had given her as he helped her down from the carriage. It was like he was trying to read her soul. He nodded. "I do not know why, but I trust you."

There was a pause, then he asked, "So, am I... am I a vampire?"

"No, not until you drink human blood."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you die." Elena's voice stuttered on the last word. Her mind shied away from the thought of him dying.

Damon reached out to touch his brother. "He is going to wake up too, right?"

"Yes," Elena responded.

Damon nodded, then lapsed into silence. Elena reached out and took his hand. He gave her a small smile of thanks and his fingers tightened around hers. They stayed just like that, waiting for Stefan to wake up.