An Understanding (Damon and Elena)

Chapter One

Damon and I have been wandering through the woods for what feels like forever. I can feel something shift in the air and I'm concerned. I still haven't been told of what's going on.

"Elena, oh my god you're okay!" Caroline shrieks as she sees me. She hugs me.

I greet Bonnie, Jeremy, and Stefan.

"Elena there's something really bad happening right now."

"Bonnie, what is it?"

"Right now, the witches are on the brink of extinction. We're dying from a plague."

"What kind of plague?"

Bonnie takes a shaky breath and looks at Damon for some kind of reassurance.

"No, Bonnie don't tell me it's happening again. This will be the death of us all, if it's true." Damon says, his eyes growing wide.

"You've got to be kidding me." Stefan mutters. "It's the Craftford plague."

"What the hell is that?" Caroline asks. "It sounds like some cheap clothing brand."

"It's depression. An extreme depression. Not the normal kind the humans catch. But one where you actually start to die when you want to die. Your body gets sick and turns rigid and cold. And the worse your physical symptoms get, the more your mind symptoms get until you're dead." Stefan says. "Sometimes you'll even commit suicide." He rubs his temples.

"For centuries, the witches thought vampire blood was the cure, but that wasn't quite it." Damon says.

"Dead dopplegänger blood was the cure. Vampire doppelgänger blood was the cure. The started to easily track down doppelgänger and turn them into vampires." Stefan says.

"And that is when they'd drain all of their blood to save the witch race." Damon finishes. "One sacrifice to spear thousands of witches. Plus, they hated vampires anyhow."

"So this is happening now? Again?" I ask.

"Basically." Damon says.

"Why can't we just turn in Katherine or something?" Caroline asks bluntly.

"It's not like that. I've tried to track her but I can't see anything. Katherine probably knows of this and has gone into hiding." Bonnie says.

"So do I go into hiding now too?" I ask.

"It would be the safest thing, but we need to figure out a way to fix this. You'll go into hiding until we can all figure out something." Bonnie says. "There's an old cabin house in these woods that my great great grandmother used to live in. I can easily put a protection spell on the house so the witches won't be able to track you."

"What about now, can't they be tracking me right now?"

"No, I've linked myself to you, so when they try to find a dopplegänger they'll only see me, a witch."

"So your witchiness masks over her doppelgängerness?" Damon asks.

"Yes." Bonnie says. She turns back to me. "As long as I'm near you, or you're in the house you'll be safe from any tracker spells."

"Okay." I let out a breath. "Wait but don't some of the witches know that you all are close to me? Wouldn't they be smart enough to know that if they find you then they find me?"

"Good point." Caroline says. "But Bonnie you actually are a witch, so wouldn't you be able to talk to them somehow, and convince them that you don't know an Elena Gilbert?"

"I guess I could talk to one of my cousins and convince her that we aren't associated with Elena. Word travels fast with witches. That's how I knew about the plague."