Several weeks passed, and Elena and Jeremy found themselves roaming the hallways of Mystic Falls for the last time. It was their last day of school before moving to New Orleans. They'd spent a week or two talking it through as a family before the decision was finally made. Elena still wasn't wild about it. Mystic Falls was the only place she'd ever been able to call home. Until she'd been put into her current body, she'd spent her life not staying in one place for more than a month. She was also going to miss her friends a lot. But she did take solace in the fact that she still had her family and no longer would have to pretend to be someone she wasn't.

Elena and Jeremy approached Caroline and Matt. Caroline immediately pulled Elena into her arms. "I can't believe this is the last time we're going to be at school together," Caroline said.

Elena hugged her back. "I know. This totally sucks. I'm going to miss you so much."

Caroline pulled away. "We're still going to talk all the time. I'm going to call you like every day, and you'd better answer."

Elena chuckled. "Of course I'm going to answer."

"And I'm going to come visit at least once a month," she said.

"You'd better. It's not going to be the same though," Elena said sadly.

"I know, but it's going to be okay. You get to start off fresh and meet new friends. You can finally be yourself. I think it's going to be really good for you," Caroline said.

"Thanks for being my friend, both of you. I couldn't have blamed you if you'd decided you couldn't' after everything you found out," Elena said.

"None of that is your fault, Elena," Matt said. The awkwardness between the two of them had finally gone away about a month or so ago. He still felt like a part of him had taken advantage of her, but they'd gotten past it.

"Matt's right. We'll always be your friends, no matter what happens," Caroline said.

Elena hugged them both.

Once the three parted, Matt shook Jeremy's hand. "Good luck, man. We'll miss you."

"Same here. You should come to New Orleans once and while when Caroline does," Jeremy said.

"I definitely will," Matt said.

"Alright, well, we're going to be late for first period if we don't hurry," Jeremy said.

Matt laughed. "What are they going to do? Give you detention."

"Dude, Elijah's strict. I'm not taking any chances," Jeremy joked before heading to his locker.

"Jeremy," a voice called out.

Jeremy turned and sighed when he saw who was approaching him. "Bonnie, I can't talk to you."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I don't give a damn what Elijah says, and you shouldn't either."

"He's my guardian and I respect his rules, mostly. Besides, I don't' really want to talk to you," Jeremy said bluntly. It was his last day in this school. He didn't want to ruin it by talking to someone who had no respect for him or his sister.

"I heard a rumor that you're leaving. It's not true, is it?" Bonnie asked.

Jeremy sighed. He knew that was going to get out to Bonnie eventually. He'd asked the people they'd told to keep it under wraps because he didn't want to deal with her, but he should've known she'd find out. It was an exceptionally small town. Well, at least they'd made it until the last day. "Yeah, it's true. The Mikaelsons want to give us a normal life somewhere else."

Bonnie scoffed. "Like that's possible. They're vampires."

"Maybe we can't completely have a normal life, but it will be more normal than it is here. At least where we're going, we won't have the same baggage," Jeremy said.

"No, they can't do this! They can't take you away! They can't take Elena's body!" Bonnie exclaimed. She had been working with Stefan and Damon to try to find a way to return the Mikaelson girl back to her own body so that Elena would be free. They hadn't figured out how yet. First, they needed to find the girl's original body. However, it wouldn't work at all if Elena's body was gone.

Jeremy huffed in annoyance. Bonnie was speaking of his sister like she wasn't a real person at the moment. "This is why I don't talk to you. I have to go."

"Wait, when are you leaving and where are you going?" Bonnie asked. She had to figure something out before they left, so she needed a timetable, and if that failed, she needed to know where they'd be.

"A couple of days. We'll be gone Sunday night," Jeremy lied. They were actually leaving tonight, but something inside of him told him to lie, so he did. "As for where we're going, you don't need to know that."

"Jeremy…"

"I'm done, Bonnie. Goodbye," Jeremy said before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jeremy made his way to Ric's classroom at the end of the day. They weren't on the best of terms, but he didn't want to leave things unsettled. When he got to the classroom, he found Elena there as well.

"Hey, Jeremy. I'm glad you came," Alaric said. He was not sure the boy would come. Things had been very strained between the two of them, and Alaric knew that was his fault.

"Well, I figured I should say goodbye," Jeremy said.

"I'm going to miss you both so much. I wasn't expecting this to happen," Alaric said.

"Would it have changed your mind about me living with the Mikaelsons?" Jeremy wondered.

Alaric shook his head. "I don't think so. I wanted you to be happy, and you are. I know I didn't handle things well. I hope you can forgive me."

Jeremy sighed. "No, you didn't handle it well. You handled it really badly. I…I do forgive you, Ric, but I'm not sorry I decided to go with the Mikaelsons. I forgive you, but I don't' trust you."

Alaric nodded. It was better than he expected. "I understand. Thank you for your forgiveness."

Jeremy held his hand out and shook the older man's hand. "No matter what else, I'm grateful for all that you did for us when Aunt Jenna died. I'm grateful for how good you were to her."

"I failed her," Alaric said sadly.

"No, you didn't. You looked out for us the best you could, even if it didn't work out. You gave Jeremy the life he deserved in the end. She'd be grateful," Elena said before hugging him.

Alaric hugged her back. "I want you to be happy, Elena. I hope that you get your mom back one day."

"Thanks," Elena said before pulling away. "We should go. We have to get home. We only have a few hours before we leave."

"Okay. I hope you guys will keep in touch once and a while," Alaric said.

"We will," Jeremy promised.

"Bye, Ric," Elena said before they headed out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Freya's eyes popped open, and she bolted up from the old couch she was asleep on. When she returned to New Orleans after securing her daughter's safety, she'd found an abandoned house to spend the last several years of her slumber. She'd placed several spells on the house to keep anyone from entering and anyone from even seeing that it existed. She certainly couldn't leave herself vulnerable while she was sleeping, unable to defend herself.

Freya sighed before pulling herself to her feet. She was awake now, but her problems were just beginning. She had to make sure her daughter remained safe from Dahlia. She was safe for the moment. She was in Mystic Falls in another body. That should keep her safe for now, but Freya couldn't leave things to chance. She needed to find another solution. She couldn't risk the possibility of Dahlia finding out the truth despite Freya's extraordinary measures to hide it.

First, Freya decided to get some air. She'd been stuck in that old house for years. She also needed to find better accommodations. She could tell by the darkness outside that it was late, but she didn't have any time to waste, and she certainly didn't feel like sleeping anymore. She had exactly one year to try to safeguard her child permanently.

Freya walked the Quarter aimlessly for a while. She just took in sites. She had loved this city from the moment she stepped into it a hundred years ago. She would love to bring her daughter here one day and show her the city she was born in. Hopefully, she'd get that chance one day. Not until Dahlia was neutralized though. She couldn't even risk seeing her little girl until then.

Freya eventually found herself in part. She walked by a waste basket, where she saw a paper sticking out. She took it out hoping to find a date. She should know the exact date.

"No!" Freya exclaimed when she finally found what she was looking for. "It was 2011, at least a couple of years before she should wake up. That could only mean one thing. The reason she'd woken up the last time before it was time was because of the magical bond she had with her daughter. It kept her from going back to sleep. It wasn't until they'd been apart that Freya went back into her slumber. If she was awake now, it meant that her daughter was in New Orleans. She didn't know how it had happened, but it meant that her little girl was in extreme danger. She had to find her and safeguard her immediately. She could only pray it wasn't too late.