Fall

Chapter 72: The Sacrifice

I feel the mattress dip next to me and I struggle, in my half awake half dreaming state, to recognize if it's a threat or not. But the lack of that slightly itchy feeling under my skin lets me know that I don't have anything to worry about. "Kara, are you awake?" My sister whispers to me, the rustling of blankets much louder than her voice. 

"Mmmm." I hum to her, not fully aware of my surroundings or her. The images of my dreams and nightmares still danced in hazy colors on the back of my eyelids. 

Her long hair brushes against my elbow and I pull it back, not liking how it tickles. "Kara, I need to talk to you about something." She says a little louder, hand on my shoulder and shaking lightly. Groaning, I turn over onto my other side and face her in annoyance. 

"What?" I breathe out, very annoyed at having been woken up when I had just fallen asleep not too long ago. I struggle to get my eyes open, squinting them in the dark. 

She presses her lips into a thin line. "I don't want Klaus coming after our family, or retaliating because we tried to stop all this." Her voice is wobbly, like she's been thinking on this for a while and has just been afraid to say it out loud. 

And it might be a testament to who we are, how we know each other so well, that I was just thinking along the same lines before I finally willed myself to sleep. 

"I know." I respond to her, not even needing her to finish her thought through. To get to the end of the line and tell me she wants us to walk to our deaths together.

My eyes are wider now, fully awake, and I can see the tears gathering in her eyes. "They don't deserve this, Kara. Any of it." Her chin quivers and it sets something in me that wants to acquiesce to her in any way, any way to comfort her. I'd do anything for my family. 

"Neither do you." My throat feels dry and I feel almost ashamed at how the tears won't come. Stefan must not be here, for her to tell me all this now. 

Her eyes take on that wide and doe-like quality, so so watery like any word that comes out of my mouth could leave her devastated. "I wish I could shield you from this. I'm your older sister, I'm supposed to protect you. I hate that it's almost always the other way around." She's pulled the covers up to her neck and I wonder how she can find any comfort in it. I also wonder why she never fights like I do, never uses the dagger I made for her, never asked me to teach her to defend herself. 

"I know. But I'm just a dead girl walking, Lena." They're harsh words, I know, but I don't mean it harshly. I don't say it with any emotional inflection. It's the cold hard truth. "If there was a way to do this where Klaus didn't kill you, didn't kill our family, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I hope you know that." I reach out my hand to grab hers, giving it a squeeze. 

She squeezes it back. "So we're in agreement?" 

"Yes. I think our best bet is Rose. She found Elijah, she should have a contact that can get us to Klaus. I could probably grab the moonstone from Katherine too, use it as a bargaining chip if we need it." I collude with her, hunching my shoulders forward as if being watched. Considering what we're planning, it's better to be as secretive as possible from Elena's vampire bodyguards. 

She purses her lips and bites the inside of her cheek. "No, no I think we leave it with Katherine. Klaus hates her, right? So we have Klaus use her as the vampire sacrifice, she's got the moonstone, it's all there for him. Wrapped up perfectly with a bow." 

I'm not used to her venom but I enjoy it. It takes me off guard, but maybe I'm rubbing off on my sister. More likely, this life has warped our moralities and will continue to do so for as long as we live. However long we have. "I don't know whether to look at you in horror or praise you for that." I admit.