Ardent | Elijah Mikaelson

Chapter 3

No one was pleased to hear it.

A long time ago, Evangeliya had come to terms with the idea that some people lived and some people died. She never stopped feeling that aching twist in her belly whenever she learned of someone dying, but she knew to quickly suck it up and move on. She'd had to. She hadn't been able to afford a moment of grief, lest it delay her or put her in harm's way.

She hadn't wanted Caroline or Tyler to die. But without alternatives, the realistic thing was to accept it and move on to kill Klaus as planned. They all should have anticipated those two might be chosen and taken measures to prevent it. If they wanted to control the outcomes, they should have provided other options Klaus, making peace with the fact the ritual would happen, regardless, and doing their best to minimize the damage it left behind.

Perhaps if Evangeliya would have arrived sooner, she could have posed the idea. Elena could have delivered a wolf and a vampire they didn't care about, under the premise she was going into the ritual willingly to save the lives of all her friends. Maybe Klaus would have simply accepted it, and Elena would have been the only one at risk.

Maybe, then, Caroline and Tyler would not have been in danger that day. Damon wouldn't have needed to rescue them (though she knew that he was only doing it to save Elena, not because he cared for the vampire and the wolf), and perhaps Jenna wouldn't have been taken.

Or she still might have been, no matter what they did. That was something Evangeliya had learned to accept, too. Sometimes you did everything right, planned far ahead, and even then things did not go as intended. It wasn't pleasant, but it was useless to sulk and remain bitter when life would go on.

She closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer for Jenna's soul, so that she might find peace after her death. She deserved it.

On the other line, she heard Damon say, "He got Kath to lure her out of the house. He's going to use her as the vampire in the ritual."

"What's going on?" asked Alaric fearfully, not liking the way that Stefan was looking into the distance, face pale as a sheet.

"Damon tried to rescue Caroline and Tyler," said Stefan when he hung up. "Well, he did, but... Alaric... Klaus turned Jenna for the ritual."

"Excuse me," said Alaric, trying not to panic, "I need to speak with Jeremy."

Elijah clicked his tongue, observing as Stefan stepped aside, running his hand through his hair nervously. "We ought to have restrained him for the day," said Evangeliya to the Original. "Left him trapped somewhere that he could not escape, allow us to handle it. I might have been able to find a suitable replacement werewolf and vampire on short notice to spare Caroline and Tyler without Jenna being hurt."

"We did not plan for it," admitted Elijah. "Nothing can be done now."

"There has to be something we can do," insisted Stefan. "We can't lose Jenna."

Bonnie emerged, approaching them to give Alaric and Jeremy privacy. "What happened?" she asked. "Why does Alaric look so worried?"

"Klaus took Jenna," revealed Stefan. "He turned her, and he'll be using her for the sacrifice."

The witch sighed sadly. "Oh, no... why would he do it? Why take Jenna?"

"A punishment for meddling," said Elijah with a shrug.

Stefan nodded, "Klaus was going to use Tyler and Caroline. But Damon rescued them."

"Then we need to go," urged Bonnie. "Now. Before Jenna's been sacrificed. I can kill Klaus myself."

"You cannot," said Evangeliya realistically. "The ritual guarantees he is weak enough and that your magic is strong enough to handle the spell. Prior to it, you will be overexerting yourself. You would die. The plan would fall apart."