𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 | 𝐭𝐯𝐝

40

After a while, Elena returned. Relief spread across Elijah's face. She kept her promise to return. "Welcome back." Elijah greeted. "Tell me. What is Klaus's curse?" Elena asked. "Please." I added for her. He gestured for my sister to sit. "My family was quite close, but Klaus and my father did not get on too well. When we became vampires, we discovered the truth. Klaus was not my father's son. My mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darkest secret. Klaus is from a different bloodline. Of course, when my father discovered this, he hunted down and he killed my mother's lover and his entire family. Not realizing, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day. A war between the vampires...and the werewolves."

"So Klaus' real father was from a werewolf bloodline? What does that make Klaus? A werewolf? Or a vampire?" Elena asked. "He's both. A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power. Therefore the witches, the servants of nature, saw to it that my brother's werewolf side would become dormant. He wants to trigger that part of him that's a werewolf. If allowed, Klaus would sire his own bloodline. He'd build his own race. Endangering not just vampires, but everyone." Elijah explained. "Wait. You helped him?" I frowned. "I helped him because I loved him. That's changed, now he must die."

"We have the dagger now. We can stop him." Elena convinced. "When a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals. An Original can't be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger. So you see the conundrum. The dagger does not work. However, there's one way to kill any supernatural species...at the hands of the servants of nature themselves." Elijah said. I followed along. "Witches. But they'll die if they can harness that much power. It'd take, what, four witches? Four witches and we only have one." I sighed. Bonnie dying is not an option. "The curse must be broken during the full moon. When Klaus is in transition. That's when he'll be at his most vulnerable. A witch with enough power...can kill Klaus." He revealed. "What if I told you that I knew a witch that could channel that much power? Trust her, Sundance." Elena begged. "Any death is on your hands, Elena. This is going to kill her." I replied. "I would like to tell you there's one more thing that you should know." The man in front of us interrupted.

FLASHBACK

Klaus was standing by a burning fireplace in a room of the mansion. Elijah entered the room.

"The full moon is tomorrow, brother. After all these centuries, it is finally time." Klaus said in delight. "I have been to see the witches. They believe they may have found a way to spare the doppelgänger." Elijah spoke, hope lingering on his tongue.
"What does it matter if she lives or not? She's a means to an end that is all." Klaus shrugged. Katrina was never important. She was an escape. "What, she should die for your gain?" Elijah questioned, upset. "She is human. Her life means nothing." Klaus hissed. "I beg you to consider this. What about Claire?" His brother frowned. "Are you so foolish as to care for her?" Klaus scoffed. "Of course not." Elijah denied.
Klaus strutted close to him.

"Love is a vampire's greatest weakness, and we are not weak, Elijah. We do not feel, and we do not care." He strained. "We did once." Elijah whispered. "Too many lifetimes ago to matter. Tell the witches not to bother. The sacrifice will happen as planned."

NOW

"You found a way to save the life of the doppelgänger? Er, doppelgängers." I corrected. "Yes, Sundance. I did. But unfortunately, Katerina took matters into her own hands first. I believe you already know how that played out." Elijah responded. "You cared about her, didn't you?" Elena asked. "It's a common mistake, I'm told. And it's one I won't make again."

He handed Elena her jacket and left. My sister and I exchanged looks and followed. We took him to the Salvatore home to my dismay.

I walked in and left Elena. I heard Stefan and Damon in the room beside us.

Stefan; "Thank you for being in love with my girlfriend."
Damon: "And there it is."
Stefan: "There it is. You know, you can be in love with Elena all you want...If it means that you'll protect her. But I have the one thing that you never will."
Damon: "Oh, yeah? What's that?"
Stefan: "Her respect. Hell, I even have Sundance's and you lost that months ago."

The sound of punching came from the library. I ran in. "Hey!" I bellowed. Stefan and Damon crawled off of one another. I glared at them, almost like a mom scolding their kin after they stole a cookie. Elena and Elijah appeared next to me. "Now you've invited him in?" Damon said in disbelief.

"Elijah and I have renewed the terms of our deal." Elena explained. "The two of you will come to no harm at my hands. I only ask for one thing in return. An apology." Elijah looked upon the boys. "A what?!" Damon scowled. "I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Elena. I will always protect Elena." Stefan apologized. He turned around and Damon immediately gave him a dirty look. "I understand." Elijah accepted. "The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon. Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you I'd find another way. And I did." Elena pleaded. "I know Damon. He's upset and acting like a toddler. He won't do it." I rolled my eyes. "You're trusting him?" Damon asked my sister. "I am, Damon." She agreed. "You can all go to hell." Damon spat. "Bingo. Told you." I shook my head as he walked away. "He's angry with me right now. But he'll come around." Stefan frowned. "Perhaps." Elijah said.

I walked upstairs and passed Damon's room. He stood half naked and deep in thought. He looked at me. I scoffed and kept walking to my room.

He wants Elena alive but won't protect her. He loves her but won't keep her alive. Damon needs to get his priorities straight.

The next morning, I joined Elijah, Stefan, and Elena in the dining room. I made breakfast and listened to them. "Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse." Elena said. She looked at me. Damon walked downstairs. "Sundance said that the Sun and the Moon curse is fake? That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus." Stefan frowned. "Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it he'll be a true hybrid." I explained. "Then why are we letting him break the curse? We can kill him today. With Bonnie." Damon spoke. "Not an option, lover boy." I hissed. "I'll write her a great eulogy." Damon smirked. "It's not an option, Damon." Elena sighed. "All right, how do we break this curse?" Stefan asked. "Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know." Elijah shrugged. "The moonstone." Stefan mumbled. "A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each. That's where Sundance comes in. You, Elena, are a part of the final part of the ritual." He looked at my sister and I. He grabbed a wooden box. "Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelgänger...to the point of your death. This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation." Elijah explained. "So I'll be dead?" Elena asked. "And then you'll become a zombie." I teased. "That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date? You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?" Damon shook his head. "Those rings only work on humans. The doppelgänger's a supernatural occurrence. Odds are, the ring won't work." My sister said.

"I'll take those odds over your elixir. What if it doesn't work, Elena?" Damon asked. "Then I guess I'll just be dead." She replied. "What's gonna happen to me? No offense, but Elena has three roads ahead and I have no clue what the plan is for the vampire in this." I asked. "You could be replaced, Sundance. But Klaus wouldn't be that naive. The thought of the two doppelgängers dying in the same night is something he enjoys. Your best bet would to try and outrun him. Even then you'll fail. I'll come up with something." Elijah explained. "Okay so I'm definitely dying." I nodded and paced.

It seems as if I'm fated to be gone completely.

Stefan shook his head. "No. No, not an option." He argued. "It's okay, Stefan." I whispered. He glanced at me. "It's okay." I assured again. Damon scoffed at us and walked away. "Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?" I asked. "Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years. If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will." Elijah nodded.