Sincerely Yours [Stefan Salvatore]

[35. Klaus' Curse]

[2x19; Klaus]

Luciana sat patiently on the stone floor of her family's hut, watching as her older brother mixed together red berries and some other ingredients—he had explained to her what they were but she hadn't paid much attention—into a thin paste. Once Niklaus was finished with his creation, he sat back in satisfaction.

"And that, my dear Luciana, is how you make a lighter red," he told her with a gentle smile.

Luciana grinned and leaned forward, dipping the tip of her finger into the red paste. She smeared it on the piece of fabric Niklaus had pulled out, admiring the beautiful color it left behind.

"I like red," she decided happily. "Can you teach me to mix blue next, Nik?"

Niklaus smiled fondly. "You and blue," he shook his head and pulled a nearby bowl in front of him. There were blueberries already in the bowl, along with yellow dandelions and green leaves.

Niklaus set to work, grinding the ingredients together while Luciana watched curiously, memorizing every step he followed. When he was finally finished, Luciana was delighted with the darker blue paint that he produced.

"It is beautiful, Nik!" she exclaimed as Niklaus brushed some of the paint on the same strip of fabric. "Will you paint me a picture?"

"Even better, love," Niklaus straightened the fabric so it was centered between them. "I will teach you to paint."

Luciana beamed at her older brother and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much, Niklaus!"

"There is nothing I would not do for you, Luciana."

"Lucy!" Lucy heard someone hiss through the memory she was having of Luciana and Klaus. "Lucy, wake up!"

Lucy grunted and rolled over, burying her face into her pillow. She yelped as she was forcefully pulled away from it and her blanket was ripped out of her grasp. She popped her eyes open to see Elena hovering over her.

"Lena, what are you doing?" she groaned.

"Shh!" Elena hissed quietly. "Get dressed. Elijah's downstairs waiting for us."

The weariness left Lucy's brain as she sat up and gave Elena a wide-eyed look. "Elijah?" she whispered. "Lena, what did you do?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what Elena did; she obviously undaggered Elijah but the question was why. Elena was all for daggering Elijah a few weeks ago—but that answer was kind of obvious, too. No one—other than Katherine, who was missing or dead—knew how to deal with Klaus. Elijah was their only option.

Still, did Stefan and Damon know about this?

"Get dressed," Elena urged her. "Hurry and meet me in the car."