"Elena," Davina breathed, abruptly pulling Elena to a stop as she spoke, "they're gone. They're all gone."
"Gone? How can they all be gone?" Elena denied, her voice catching. "They're Original vampires for godsake!"
"I don't know, I-" Davina broke off, forcing herself to stop babbling for a moment. "Marcel's gone too, Elena, I don't know what to do!"
"Davina," Elena said firmly, turning to face the younger girl as best as she could, "calm down, we'll figure this out. Call Caroline and Bonnie, we need more eyes, and Bonnie can help you guide your magic, she knows how to deal with this sort of stuff. They're going to be okay, Davina."
"Caroline." Elena snapped, her voice firm. "You're scaring Davina," she whispered, dropping her voice so Davina couldn't hear her fully, "I need you to do what you do best right now, Caroline, please, I really need you."
Taking her friends hands, Caroline nodded solemnly, letting out a calming breath. Glancing at Bonnie and Davina only hardened her resolve, the youngest of the group looked calm enough, if not for her wide eyes and racing heart; for Caroline, the fear was palpable, and she didn't like it.
"Okay." She breathed, letting a short huff of breath. "Okay," she repeated, louder this time, "it doesn't look like there was much of a struggle at all, so they were either blitzed or left by their own choice. Bonnie, Davina, is there anything you can do to detect if any sort of magic or magical sedative was used on them?"
Bonnie nodded, taking Davina's hand and leading her a few feet away while Caroline continued to assess the area around them.
"What is it?" Elena whispered, allowing Caroline to take her hands back, the blonde disappearing for a second before returning to Elena's side.
"I'm not sure." Caroline admitted softly, taking Elena's hand and turning it palm up, gently depositing it in her hand.
Running it between her fingers, Elena face dropped into a soft frown. "A leather chain. Has it got two tags? One round and one rectangle?" She asked softly, running the charms through her hands.
"Yeah." Caroline whispered, shaking her head at the witches when they looked about to talk. "You know it?"
"I think it's Elijah's," Elena murmured, absently wrapping the leather around her hand, "he never takes it off." Letting out a soft breath, she brought her hands together, cradling the necklace in her hand and bringing it to her mouth. "We need to get to the plantation house and figure out the best way to find everyone. If we don't find Klaus soon…" She trailed off, letting out a breathy scoff. "Well, we all know."
"What happened? Where is everyone? Why are they here?"
Elena let out a frustrated breath at Hayley's barrage of questions, rubbing her brow with her hand. "It was a trap. Celeste did something to them, but we don't know what. Caroline," she said softly, turning away from the sound of Hayley, "go and get stuff for Bonnie to do the locator spells, I doubt they'll work but it's the best we've got right now."
Caroline nodded, not at all used to Elena not being able to see her, and disappeared, collecting the pieces required.
"What do we do about Marcel?" Davina asked, turning to Elena. "He doesn't have anything here."
Elena smiled softly, vaguely turning in the direction she knew Davina to be in. "The locator spells probably won't work, D, but, if they do, I promise we'll get something of Marcel's too, we won't leave him, D."
Nodding, Davina let out a relieved breath, squeezing Elena's hand gently. "Thank you."
"I've got everything." Caroline breathed, reappearing with a group of items held in her hands, a satin handkerchief for Elijah, a paintbrush for Klaus, and a hairbrush for Rebekah. "Where do we start?"
"Klaus." Bonnie said firmly, taking the paintbrush from Caroline and striding into the kitchen before Elena or Hayley could argue.
"Bon-"
"No, Elena, I know you're worried about Elijah, but if we don't find Klaus you could die, we have to prioritise here." Bonnie said firmly, quickly gathering and placing the things she needed for the spell across the island in the kitchen. "I'm sorry, but there isn't any debate to be had here."
Letting out a soft breath, Elena nodded, bringing her hand to her mouth and nibbling her nail. "We need to find them, Bon, all of them."
"I know," Bonnie said softly, closing her eyes for a brief second to light the candles around her, "we will."
"Elena? Elena?"
"She's not here. It's just you, Elijah." A soft voice answered, seemingly disembodied as Elijah span, searching for the source of the sound. "There's no one here to help you."
"Who are you?" Elijah hissed, spinning in slow circles as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, unusually slowly for him. "Where am I?"
"Does it matter?" The voice replied, lacking any sort of snark one might have expected. "You are alone, Elijah. Your family are scattered and your love is dying."
"How dare you?" Elijah said, his voice hard and not one to be trifled with. "Who are you to say such things?"
"I'm not the one who's lost and afraid."
"I am neither of those things." The retort was swift from Elijah, accompanied by narrowed eyes and pursed lips. "And you are nothing but a voice hiding behind a shroud of darkness!"
"Then why are you so insulted by my words?" The voice laughed. "You have such a low opinion of who I am and yet my words cut you so."
Letting out a sharp scoff, Elijah shook his head. "I have no opinion of you; you're merely a figment designed to keep me here and away from the people who need me." A soft huff of breath escaped him as he set his sights on a tunnel leading out of the cavern he found himself in; his eyes having now adjusted to the darkness around him.
"If that is what you chose to believe, then so be it, but, remember this, Elijah, things are not what they seem, regardless of what you chose to see."
Muscle in his jaw twitching, Elijah chose not to respond, sensing that he wouldn't get an answer and allowing his worry for Elena and his siblings to win out as he began to search for a way out.
"Caroline." A soft whisper was all it took for the blonde to appear by Elena's side, the doppelganger having drawn away from the witches and Hayley a short time ago. "I need blood, I can feel it coming back, I can't hurt any of them, Care."
"You won't," Caroline assured her quickly, a soft hand feeling Elena's brow, "I promise. It's not even an option, okay?"
Elena nodded, letting out a low breath; offering Caroline a soft smile when she felt a bag of blood pressed into her hand a moment later.
"The locator spells didn't work." Caroline sighed, sitting beside Elena as she guzzled the blood. "They're searching through the grimoires for any new ideas, but we're a bit lost."
"Elijah would know what to do." Elena whispered, allowing Caroline to take the empty bag form her. "I feel useless."
Caroline scoffed, handing Elena another bag. "Are you crazy? You've grown so much since moving here, Elena; if any of us can figure out what to do, it's you."
Elena scoffed. "No pressure or anything."
"You just need to believe in yourself as much as everyone else does, Elena; as much as Elijah does."
Elena laughed again. "He told us not to go and see Celeste, and I ignored him; now they're all gone, because of me, Caroline."
"Because of Celeste." Caroline interjected quickly. "She is responsible for all of this, Elena, not you."
Sighing, Elena again allowed Caroline to take the empty bag from her hand, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on them.
"You and Elijah are meant to be together, Elena, some stupid, old witch can't take that away from you." Caroline said, shaking her head and reaching out to Elena, taking hold of the necklace around her neck. "This is proof of that."
"What are you talking about?" Elena frowned, shaking her head slightly as she felt Caroline fingering the pendants around her neck. "It's just a necklace."
"It's glowing, Elena, literally glowing. It has been ever since you touched it." Caroline whispered, dropping the pendant back against Elena's chest. "If that isn't a sign that this is all going to be okay then I don't know what it."
Elena let out a soft breath, drawing her lip in between her teeth. "I'm not cut out for this right now, Care." She sighed again. "I'm sick, I'm probably going to die if we don't find Klaus, how am I supposed to be the one to look out for them all? They're hundreds of years older than me."
"And?" Caroline scoffed. "A few centuries has got nothing on the bond between you and Elijah! Not to mention you've got two kick-ass witches in your corner."
"And the queen of planning." Elena chuckled, shaking her head. "What could go wrong?"
"Exactly!" Caroline crowed, giggling when Elena rolled her eyes.
"Caroline," Elena breathed, her smile falling from her face, "our bond. There has to be something we can do with the Ligatus Animarum, there must be. Celeste can't have the power to block something like that, surely."
"Bonnie," Caroline called instantly, pulling Elena to her feet and across the room, "new plan! Right the hell now!"
"Oh, Elijah, my lost love, so troubled and alone."
"What have you done?" Elijah gasped, leaning against the wall as he looked up at Celeste, the little breath he had catching in his throat. "Where's Elena? What have you done to her?"
Celeste let out a soft laugh, false pity gleaming in her eyes. "It's a simple enchantment, you needn't worry; I'm not here to kill you, Elijah. I'm here to teach you the error of your ways. 'Always and forever' was the greatest mistake of your life."
A sharp, cynical laugh escaped Elijah and he shook his head.
"I'm going to cure you of your greatest flaw; this absurd devotion to your lunatic family." Celeste sighed, smiling at the Original who was barely managing to keep himself upright against the side wall of a random building in the centre of New Orleans.
"Your anger is with me. If you have come here seeking revenge-"
"I will have my revenge." Celeste interrupted easily, her face hardening. "Starting with Klaus. I died because of him and his vindictive lies about witches; he is going to know pain and torment like he's never felt before. Unless you choose to save him, of course. But then that leaves Rebekah, your tragic sister. She's about to find herself in quite the predicament. You could save her. But then that leaves Elena in jeopardy…"
Elijah shook his head, realisation dawning on him. "No, no, no."
"Poor girl. She has no idea just how dangerous it is to be loved by you. Oh well, with your body weakened by my spell you won't be able to save them all. You'll have just enough time to choose one. Who will it be? I can't wait to find out."
"Celeste!" Elijah called, stumbling after the witch; his confusion growing when she disappeared before his eyes. His attempt to call out for her again turned into a gargle bout of coughing as he fell back against a wall, sliding to the floor as all energy leached from his legs.
"Elena?"
"What is it?"
So in sync were Bonnie and Caroline, the words tumbling from their mouths at nearly the same time, that Elena had no idea who to respond to first. She didn't really have any idea how to respond at all, not sure herself of what was happening to her.
"I don't know." She muttered eventually. "I can see, but, it's not right."
"Not right how?"
Elena laughed. "It's definitely not the plantation house, but, it's like I can see two different spaces in front of me, I really don't know how else to describe it. It's like, if I close one eye I can see a completely different area than the other."
"That's just weird." Caroline frowned, interjecting for Bonnie, clearly thrown by Elena's description. "It should've helped you find Elijah, not give you some weird double vision."
"I think it did." Elena breathed, confusion turning to awe. "I think I'm seeing what he is, I don't know what this other place is about, but I'm sure I just saw Elijah's hand."
"Do you know where he is?" Hayley asked quickly, pretty much the first words she'd spoken since the rest of the girls had arrived at the plantation house.
Elena shook her head softly. "I don't recognise the area, but it's like I feel drawn to it, I can almost just feel what direction I need to go to find him."
"Then let's go!" Hayley scoffed. "What are you waiting for?"
"You're not coming, Hayley."
"Why the hell not?" Hayley snapped, narrowing her eyes at Elena; furious at the gall the brunette had to tell her what she could and couldn't do.
"There's clearly something bigger at play here than any of us realise." Elena sighed. "We can't risk anything happening to you." She said pointedly, turning her head in the vague direction of Hayley. "it's out of the question and not up for debate. You and Davina can stay here, while we figure out what's happening."
"Elena…" Davina protested softly, knowing that she would understand her concerns, even unable to see.
Elena offered a soft smile in Davina's direction, nodding slightly. "I know, D, I promise, we'll find Marcel too; we won't leave him behind."
"There's two different places," Elena muttered, frustrated at the sensations of walking in circles, "I don't understand why, or how to separate them, they're both so vague."
Bonnie and Caroline exchanged glances, the blonde chewing on her thumb nail.
"What?" Elena sighed. "I know you're both thinking something."
"What if it's just Celeste?" Bonnie offered, shaking her head. "She could just be leading us on a wild goose chase."
"We don't have anything else, Bon!" Elena huffed, her brain struggling to keep up with and understand the two scenes playing out behind her eyes. "Whatever I'm seeing, Elijah, and whatever this other scene is, they're not well. Elijah is stumbling around and the other one, nothing's changing, they're stuck wherever they are; they need our help. I can't just stand around and do nothing!"
"I know, Elena," Caroline said softly, interjecting to try and calm any tension between her two best friends, "we just need to be careful. None of us are any help if we're out of commission too."
Frowning, Elena watched as the scene on her right began to change, another person coming into view, a redheaded woman, smiling at whoever was watching her. Her lips were moving, but Elena heard no sound.
"There's someone new." Elena said softly, sensing her friend's unasked questions. "I don't recognise her. Elijah's still moving, but I don't recognise the area yet; I don't know what he's doing."
"If he's stumbling then maybe he doesn't know either?" Caroline offered. "Originals can survive all sorts, so Celeste could've had him injected with werewolf venom or something like that."
Sighing, Elena ran a hand through her hair, frustration bubbling more and more as she realised she was only managing to find more dead ends than answers.
HisSecretLover18: Thank you, I'm getting there! Thank you so much! Oooh, interesting question, one I only figured out the answer to no long ago...
lauramorgenstern: Yay I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much!
midnight-writer97: Hi! Awh that's okay! I'm just glad to hear from you again! Thank you so much! I'm wondering too, there's a lot still to learn and figure out... you're so welcome! I'll try my best ;D
Guest: Awhhh I know! They'll get there eventually! There's a lot left to find out, hopefully we'll all get some answers soon.
94HarleyQuinn25: Awhhh thank you so, so much! That makes me so happy!
Guest: Thank you! I love some Elejah bonding! Writing their scenes is so much fun! And I love lending Elena some snark and wit that she seemed to lose towards the end of the show. Loving the chefs kisses, thank you so, so much!
Insidious1604: Oh wow, thank you much! That's such an incredible review and I'm so glad you're enjoying this so much! Thank you!
HSMTMTSFanFicker: I'm back! Thank you so much!
I'm back! Sorry again for the delay, this month has just absolute sucked balls! I had my rabbit of 9 years put down last week, and this cold just will not shift so I've been pretty out of it. But I'm here now, and with a new update!
Things are starting to get more and more interesting in New Orleans, the Originals and Marcel have all disappeared and it's down to the girls to try and find them! How on earth will they manage it?
Review, let me know what you think! Hopefully I'll be able to get past this block and be back soon! Until next time
~ I x