Elena was in the bathroom next to her bedroom cleaning the blood off her face. It had been a week since Klaus took her and Tyler from Mystic Falls. Since that day, she'd been forced to kill many in order to feed. At some point in the future, she was sure she would be forced to kill even when she wasn't feeding. After all, Klaus wanted an army for something.

Elena soon heard footsteps and felt a pair of eyes on her. She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. "What, Stefan?"

Stefan was standing in the doorway, leaned against the doorframe. "Your not even fighting him anymore."

It was true, she wasn't. Elena had stopped fighting Klaus the day they'd made that tentative agreement for Klaus to release Stefan. She did everything he asked, no matter how much she hated herself for it. She hated the things he made her do and she hated the fact that she had given in. However, she would do it to get Stefan out of there. She was still fighting, but she decided to fight for Stefan than against Klaus. The latter was actually a possibility. The former wasn't. "And what would be the point of fighting him? I won't win. I don't see you fighting him either."

"I can't. I'm compelled to do what he says," Stefan said.

Elena finally turned to him. "Don't give me that. You were doing what he wanted before he compelled you."

"He forced me to drink to save Damon. After that, I was screwed. I'm a ripper, Elena," Stefan said.

"So what? You think that somehow gives you the right to lecture me?" Elena asked before pushing past him and going into her bedroom.

Stefan followed her. "I'm not trying to lecture you, but this is going to destroy you."

Elena turned and glared at him. "You think I don't know that? There's not exactly anything I can do about it. My fate was sealed when your brother shoved his blood down my throat!" Sure, Damon wasn't the only reason she was a hybrid. That ritual had changed her, but if she didn't have vampire blood inside of her, she wouldn't have become a vampire.

Stefan shook his head sadly. "You shouldn't have fought me at that school. You should've just let him keep thinking you were human."

Elena scoffed at him. "You're delusional if you thought I was walking out of that incident without Klaus finding out the truth. Let's forget the fact that you were compelled to kill two people and that I would've lost control the minute you bit one of them. Tyler would've died without my blood, and I never would've let that happen. And even if by some miracle, I did manage to walk away from it all, Klaus would've found out eventually."

"Smart girl," a new voice said.

Elena turned to see Klaus in the doorway. She immediately tensed. It was a reflex whenever she was forced into the same room with him, which was unfortunately quite often.

"And then I would've had to kill everyone you loved once I learned the truth. I'd say it's better this way," Klaus said.

Elena said nothing in response, but she grudgingly agreed with him. At least this way, her loved ones got to move on with their lives and she had a chance of getting Stefan out of there.

"And, Stefan, if you ever try to guilt her for being what she is again, I'll rip out your tongue," Klaus warned. Elena was finally accepting her place with him. True, it was only to save Stefan, but it was a start. He wouldn't have Stefan's morality ruining that.

"What do you need, Klaus?" Elena asked.

Klaus smirked. He did love how she'd accepted her place. He liked her fight as well, but he liked her obedience even more. "Pack a bag. We're going on a little trip."

"Where are we going?" Stefan asked.

"Not you, Stefan. Just Elena and myself," Klaus said before turning to his hybrid. "There's a werewolf pack in Georgia. It's time to add to this little army of ours."

"I should go. I can help," Stefan said. He didn't want Elena going off alone with Klaus. He was already destroying who she was. There was no telling what he'd do or what he'd make her do if they were alone together.

"This doesn't require a ripper, Stefan, just my blood and Klaus'," Elena said. She didn't want Stefan there. Frankly, while she didn't want to turn a bunch of werewolves against their will, she was looking forward to getting away from Stefan for a bit. It was harder to be around him than Klaus.

"That's my girl. Get ready. We leave at dawn," Klaus said before walking away.

"Why don't you want me there? Why don't you seem to want me around at all?" Stefan asked. Elena avoided him as much as possible. Many times, when he walked into a room, she'd walk away. Anytime he tried to talk to her, she'd shut him down. This was the most she'd spoken to him in a week.

Elena turned and glared at him. "Because every time you look at me, I see the pity in your eyes. I see the disappointment. And every time I kill, I see the judgement, despite the fact that it's fine when you do it."

"It's not fine, but…"

"But you're a ripper, and you think somehow that give you a better excuse than it does me. It doesn't seem to matter to you that if I don't kill, Klaus will force my hand anyway. It's easier to do what he wants," Elena said. She wasn't going to tell him about her deal with Klaus. He'd probably try to stop her and make things worse.

Stefan was quiet for a few moments. "We're done, aren't we?"

Elena knew Stefan was not referring to this conversation. "We were done the minute you found out I was a hybrid. You couldn't accept me this way, and I can't accept the pity in your eyes every time I look at you."

"That's not true. I love you no matter what you are?" Stefan said.

"No, you don't. You may not realize it, but you don't, and you're going to love me less and less as things go on with Klaus. I won't live like that," Elena said.

Stefan started to walk away sadly, but he turned back around when he reached the door. "Maybe you should turn it off. Maybe that would help you deal with what Klaus is doing to you." Honestly, he was considering that himself. He couldn't bear to watch as Elena was destroyed by Klaus.

Elena turned and looked at him in disbelief. "No. That's the coward's way out. It's like saying that if you turn off your humanity, you're not responsible for what you do. I don't believe that. I don't want to feel nothing when I kill. The least I can do for those people is care about what I'm doing to them."

Stefan didn't say anything else as he walked out of the room.

Elena walked out a few minutes later and headed downstairs. She needed a drink. She headed down to the living room. She heard Klaus and Rebekah arguing long before she made it there. Hell, she heard them before she left the room. Rebekah was pissed that he was leaving her behind tomorrow. But if she let Rebekah's whining deter her from entering a room, she'd never leave her bedroom.

Elena walked into the living room as the two siblings continued to fight.

"I can't believe you're leaving me here while you go off with the stupid doppelganger," Rebekah said.

"That's stupid hybrid now, and you're just never happy, are you?" Elena asked as she made a beeline for the table with the liquor.

Klaus chuckled. "No, she never is?"

"Stay out of this, you little bitch," Rebekah snarled.

"I would, but your brother has forced me to be a part of it by inflicting both you and himself on me," Elena said before pouring herself a Scotch. She'd taken to it over the last week. She was used to beer or Bourbon, but this was pretty good. "Do you even know what you want anymore, Rebekah? First your pissed because I'm around while you're trying to throw yourself on Stefan. Now you're pissed that I'm leaving? Make up your mind."

"She has a point. In fact, Stefan may be ripe for the picking. It sounded like my hybrid just broke up with him," Klaus said. He'd heard most of her conversation with Stefan. He paid close attention to it whenever Elena spoke to someone. He didn't trust her yet.

Rebekah smirked. "Good point. Maybe I'll comfort him. Although, I doubt he'll need much comfort. It's not like there's anything special about what he's just lost. In fact, he's probably secretly grateful to be rid of you."

Elena balled her fists up as the rage set in. She wished she could say that controlling her rage had gotten easier, but it hadn't, and she'd literally just broken up with Stefan. "Klaus, if I were to bite your sister, would the venom kill her?"

"Oh, just try it, you little bitch!" Rebekah snarled as she got into a fighting stance.

Klaus laughed. "I'm afraid not, love. It would still create the same side effects. She'd hallucinate and be in excruciating pain. The next few days would be torturous, but she'd be fine once the venom left her body.

"Days of torture. Good enough for me," Elena said before baring her teeth at Rebekah and lunging towards her.

Klaus chuckled before getting between them. "Now, now, no need for that. I need you at your full strength for tomorrow, my dear."

"Are you kidding me? That's why you're stopping her?" Rebekah asked in disbelief.

"Well, to be fair, sister. You did have it coming," Klaus said.

"Then at least let me go for a walk, or I'm going to hurt somebody, preferably her," Elena said. She couldn't leave without Klaus' permission or he would find out she wasn't compelled. Then what little freedom she had would go away.

"Very well," Klaus agreed after a minute. He then took her by the chin to make her look at him. His initial compulsion wasn't quite good enough for what she was asking to do. "You may leave the house. You will not leave the city limits and you will not contact anyone. Return in one hour or less."

Elena nodded before pulling away from him and walking out of the room. She ran into Tyler on her way out.

"Can I come with you, Elena?" Tyler asked.

Elena's first instinct was to say no. She had wanted to be alone, but maybe talking to someone who understood a little might help. "Sure."

Tyler went to the door and slipped his shoes on. Elena did the same and they headed out the door. "I'm really sorry about you and Stefan."

"I guess everyone heard. The price of being in a house with all vampires, I suppose. It was always going to happen. He couldn't accept what I was, and the life I have to lead now was never going to let it work out," Elena said as they started walking up the street.

"You really hate it hear, don't you?" Tyler asked.

"It's different for me than it is for you," Elena said.

"Because of the sire bond. You know, I don't feel like I'm bound to anybody. I just feel grateful to Klaus. It doesn't feel any different to how grateful I am to you," Tyler said.

"Yeah, I don't know how it works. I'm grateful for that. God help me if I was bound to either Klaus or Damon," Elena said.

"Well, we know you're not bound to Damon. You can't stand him," Tyler said.

"Yeah. Although soon I'll be no better than him. I'm going to have to turn people tomorrow, whether they want it or not," Elena said.

"I think you'll be surprised by how many do want it. Most of them will be grateful that they don't have to shift anymore. You should ask Klaus to let you talk to the werewolves. You can tell them how good it is for you," Tyler said.

"You mean I should lie? I hate being a hybrid, Tyler. I understand why you love it. You don't have to shift anymore. It's not the same for me. I turned into both at once. I was never supposed to be either. But I guess I understand what you're trying to say. I guess I could tell them how different it would be for them. They'll be sire bound, so they'll feel the same way you do about Klaus."

"So, what do you think is going to happen when Klaus gets the numbers he wants. Are we all just going to live here with like a hundred hybrids? This place is big, but it's not that big," Tyler said.

"I haven't thought to ask. It doesn't really matter. No matter what happens, we have no say in it," Elena said.

"Maybe you could get a say, once Klaus trusts you more. I mean, I think Klaus likes you. You're definitely his favorite out of the two of us. Maybe you could work your way up to being his partner," Tyler said.

Elena started to scoff, but then she thought about it. It was an interesting idea. Nothing could change her situation. She was stuck with Klaus for eternity, but maybe she could make things slightly more tolerable. She could possibly gain Klaus' trust enough for him to take her opinion into consideration. Maybe she could at least save some lives. "Maybe. Come on, let's keep walking. I still need to clear my head."

Tyler nodded and followed her.