Work Text:
She was seething in the back seat, she knew she had broken the rules, going out when she wasn’t supposed to, but she had to. She knew Caroline would never let her live it down if she didn’t go, besides, the entire school had been there. Her dad been angry when he came to pick her up, and she had somehow convinced her mom to come as well. She leaned her head against the window, trying to forget the fact that she had just been treated like a child, a feeling of serenity coming over her as they were crossing Wickery Bridge. She had always felt as if the water was calling to her, making her think of herself -
She woke with a gasp, her eyes moving to the clock on her bedside table, showing her that it was three in the morning. She got out of bed, feeling the cold seep into her pores as she threw on an old sweater over her pyjamas and went downstairs. She knew Jeremy was still sleeping, and thankfully Alaric had taken Jenna’s old room, she thought as she slipped her feet into her shoes, closing the door silently behind her as she walked out into the night.
If her younger self could see her now she would’ve scoffed at these actions, she’d been a fun girl but she still had a sense of safety. But this Elena, the one who had been plunged into deep waters and then pulled out of them, the one who had died and come back to life, this girl knew that she’d already faced the scariest monster of them all.
That she’d already survived him.
And while there had been a time when wanting to kill her had been number one on his priority list, it was different now. He needed her safe now. And he made sure of it too. She reached the bridge and turned around to see the familiar wolf trotting after her, and sat down at the edge, moonlight reflecting off the water.
She was aware of the wolf behind her, but in an accepting way, he was always there on these nights with her. The first night she’d seen him, she’d been scared, thinking that Klaus would come out of the woodwork at any moment to take her, and had only relaxed when nothing happened. The wolf just kept an eye on her, making sure that no harm came to her.
She leaned against the railing, knowing how dangerous it was, but honestly, she didn’t care. A small part of her hoped, in fact, that the bridge would give way so she’d be plunged into the water again. A part of her wanted to feel the helplessness, the breathlessness, until all she could see was the nothingness again. She knew it was pathetic, and she had never wanted to die, had never wanted to kill herself, because it had never been an option for her. Not even when Klaus had first come to town, not wanting her friends and family to pay the price for her actions. In the end, it hadn’t mattered, Jenna had paid the price anyway, so had John and Isobel. If there was anything that would’ve pushed her over the edge, it was that. Even when Stefan had left, even when Stefan had come back, without his humanity, she still didn’t want to do it.
But now, she could remember deaths embrace, the calm and the peace she had felt that had only lasted for twelve hours, and then back to normal, back to everything else, because in the time she had gone, life hadn’t magically gotten better. She stiffened as she felt the hybrid next to her, still in wolf form, sitting next to her.
Well, that was new.
She looked into it’s - his eyes, feeling a sense of calm settling over her shoulders. She looked back down at the water, wondering if drowning would be as easy for her as it had been for her parents the night they had died.
The night that she had died.
She sat there till she saw the first rays of sun peeking out from behind the clouds, taking her cue to pull herself onto her feet, to go home before Jeremy and Alaric got up.
Even though she couldn’t see it, she knew the wolf had walked alongside her until she reached the relative safety of her home.
She steeled herself as she knocked on the door. Klaus’ house had recently finished furnishing and she was glad for it because she didn’t want to give her blood in a hospital again. With any luck, he’d be gone and she’d have to deal with one of his hybrids, maybe even the one who kept following her at night.
The door opened and she bit her lip.
Great, just her luck.
“There you are sweetheart, I was just beginning to wonder if you had driven off the road.” His voice was cheery, like he wasn’t taunting her, like he wasn’t opening up her biggest, oldest wound just to rub salt all over it again. She didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction, seeing something almost dangerous in his gaze, and stepped around him to walk inside his giant house.
“I’m here now. Where do you want to do this?” He led her into a parlour room where a compelled nurse was setting up everything, and she took the seat that was clearly hers. She fought a wince when the needle pierced her skin, her blood flowing into the bag just a few moments later.
“How have you been love?” She didn’t respond to his question and he looked perturbed, but only for a moment, before the look was gone, replaced by a mask of indifference. She looked around the room, the Italian marble, the custom columns, he’d really outdone himself. She hated that she admired his taste, his gaudy, ostentatious place that looked like it belonged more in a horror novel than a small town.
He didn’t attempt to talk to her again, leaving her alone to give, to ‘donate’ her blood.
She stopped at the Grill on the way back, the smell of food making her stomach grumble after her little donation. Not that it was little. When she got there, she saw Stefan drinking at the bar, he’d finally gotten his freedom from Klaus when he had helped him kill Mikael, and he hadn’t talked to her since. She wondered if his humanity was still gone, but decided it wasn’t the best time to ask about it. She picked a table in Matt’s section, ordering a burger, fries and coke. She was alone for just a few moments, until she felt a presence in front of her.
“Stefan-”
“Sorry to disappoint love,” it was a disappointment, she thought as her eyes locked with Klaus’ blue ones and she resisted the urge to shrink back in her seat, leaning forward instead, her chin raised just slightly.
“What are you doing here? I already gave you what you wanted.” She saw Matt throwing worried looks at them, and a moment later, Jeremy was striding towards them, sliding in next to Elena.
“Oh, look, it’s the reinforcements.” Klaus seemed amused more than threatened and she knew it was because of his knowledge that he could kill everyone in the place within moments. Except her, well, at least she thought so.
“What do you want?” Jeremy asked and Elena placed a hand over his arm.
“It’s fine Jer, we’re just talking, you can get back to work.” Her brothers eyes held a reluctance in them, but she squeezed his arm in reassurance and he got up, but kept hovering around their table.
“Well?” She asked once Jeremy left and Klaus leaned back in his seat like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“This is the only place that I can visit in this small town, so yes, I’m here.”
“And you’d rather sit with me than have a drink with your good friend Stefan? Or is it because Stefan can’t tolerate you anymore?” She knew she’d hit a nerve when his eye twitched and there was a small change in his posture. It was minuscule, and she wouldn’t have noticed it if she hadn’t been trying to read his expressions. Klaus had made it clear that he would always need her blood which meant dealing with him till who knew when, so she had decided to learn his reactions.
“It’s almost as if you want me to leave love.”
“I do,” she said as her food was placed by Matt. She gave him a warning look, she didn’t want the original to snap and kill either Matt or Jeremy and they needed to be more discreet. But by the time she looked up, Klaus was gone and she exchanged a confused look with Matt.
She wasn’t sure when looking at the surface of the water had turned into being surrounded by the water. She looked around desperately, her mom was unconscious and she could see a small trail of blood at her temple, her dad on the other hand was looking at her, mouthing to her that everything would be okay. She didn’t want to be here anymore, she wanted to go home, she wanted her mom to be okay, she wanted her dad to be okay -
She groaned as she felt the cold, hard surface below her back, getting up and sitting against her bed. She knew it wouldn’t do her any good, so she got up, pulling on the same worn sweater she always did, the same shoes and spotted the same yellow eyes in between the trees. She walked the same road she did every night, sat in the same spot she did every night, and once again, the wolf came and sat in front of her.
She sat in silence for a while, the cold air chilling her, the sweater not doing much to protect her.
She didn’t want it to.
She saw the waves below, soft but with an undercurrent, a promise of more hidden beneath their surface.
She wanted to feel them around her body again, crashing into her as they had done that night.
She wanted that feeling of breathlessness to surround her again as her lungs filled up with the water.
She wanted to feel the weight of the water again.
She wondered, briefly, if she would ever find peace or if she would be stuck on the Other Side. Her thoughts drifted to Jenna, Jenna with her kind heart, her snark, Jenna who couldn’t cook, Jenna with grey skin and her lifeless eyes. She was probably on the Other Side.
In her minds eye, she saw Isobel, Isobel who made cutting remarks, her eyes cold and distant, her mouth set into a thin line, her voice emotionless. Isobel who set herself on fire.
She thought about John, his arrogance, his hate, and in the end, his desperation and his love for her.
But as always, her mind was overtaken by images of her mother. Her mother with her closed eyes, her mother whose chest didn’t move any longer.
Her father whose eyes held determination till the very last moment, determination to save her even though she’d been difficult, even as he was dying.
She closed her eyes, the barrage of all the dead assaulting her senses.
She tried to think about her mother before she had gone into the water, laughing on a Sunday morning as her dad made pancakes, Jeremy and her wrestling for the remote as her parents tried to intervene, but secretly having just as much fun as the siblings.
All she had left now were her memories.
Because no one laughed inside her house anymore, they barely even smiled. Her house went from a family home to ‘how to kill the tomb vampires’ and then ‘how to kill Katherine’ and now ‘how to kill Klaus.’ All they ever did in that house anymore was plot the death of their enemies, or think of strategies to use against them.
The thought made her yearn for the water, to feel it gliding over her skin, until it weighed her down, until it pushed her to the bottom, until -
“How did Klaus find you?” She asked the hybrid who was in his wolf form, wanting desperately to be free of the faces of the dead. She knew he couldn’t answer her, not until she changed his form, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to see dead faces anymore, didn’t want to see lifeless eyes anymore. “I know you’re technically the enemy but I’ve seen how Klaus treats you all, I’m pretty sure you have no choice.”
It was only when she spoke that she realised that her tears had glided down her neck, her eyes still stinging with them.
She was surprised she could even cry anymore.
“How does it feel?” She asked him as she stared at the water beneath them, “when you’re like this? As a wolf? You must be really powerful right, to fight and kill your enemies any time you want.” She saw something in those yellow eyes, amber Caroline would call them, she thinks they’re golden, almost. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to kill anyone, I just want a way to protect my family, my friends. I can’t lose anyone else, not again.” She thought of the gaping hole inside her heart, each death punctuated by a stake going through the organ, until she could do nothing but constantly bleed.
She thought of the river, thought of its endless void, mirroring her heart perfectly, and felt a desire to merge with it.
The next day passed by in a blur, she had lunch with Bonnie and Caroline playing the part of best friend, smiling and laughing and joking. She sat with Matt in Biology, their practical reminding her eerily of the one Twilight scene, and then she thought of Stefan and his uncontrollable bloodlust, how he looked at her these days, cold and unfeeling. At home, she played the doting and nagging sister to perfection, a responsible…step-daughter, if that was what she was to Alaric, until the bell rang.
When she opened it, there was no one in sight, save for the parcel that sat upon her doorstep. She picked it up, groaning at how heavy it was and brought it inside.
Ric and Jeremy looked at it curiously and she opened it, letting out a gasp. A mason jar full of vervain, another one with wolfsbane, guns, more than five with rounds and rounds of wooden bullets, several different types of stakes, vervain bombs, wolfsbane bombs, jewellery filled with vervain and a lot of other weapons. There was even some jewellery that didn’t have vervain in it, but there was a page along with them, a spell, and she didn’t wait a moment before taking a picture and sending it to Bonnie.
“Isn’t this all a bit much Ric?” Jeremy asked and Elena looked towards Ric, who shook his head, looking as confused as she felt.
“This wasn’t me. I make my own weapons, I can’t just order them.”
“Then where did they come from?” She thought back to the previous night, tuning the two of them out as she remembered the comment she’d made in the dark, about wanting to protect herself. Bonnie came over after a while, telling her the jewellery was enchanted with a protection spell, similar to the Gilbert rings, only stronger. When she walked out to the bridge that night, two fifteen this time, she was glad she saw the hybrid again, his grey fur looking soft. She sat down at the usual spot, this time leaning her back against the rails.
“Did you send me the box today?” She asked softly and saw the vulnerability in those golden eyes. “You have to be careful, if Klaus finds out you’re helping me, he’ll kill you. Where’d you get a witch to do the spell from anyway?” She half expected him to turn human, but he didn’t, instead, he continued to stare at her. She sighed after a while, her mind still racing, never really quieting down since her life had become a series of problems.
“My parents died going over this bridge,” she said after a while, feeling her heart clench in her chest as she felt the breathlessness once again. But she needed someone to know, to understand. “They weren’t even supposed to be here, I just got stupidly drunk. They died and Stefan saved me. I should’ve died,” her voice broke as thought back to that night, “I should’ve died that night and nobody else would have.” She recognised a guardedness in the wolf, “even you would’ve been able to live your life, instead of being enslaved to Klaus.” She felt her lower lip tremble, but she had finally run out of tears. “I wish my parents were still here, so that we could all have breakfast together again, dad cooking, mom doing her crossword, Jeremy sketching, now all my brother does is try to become a vampire hunter.” She said bitterly, her eyes on the wolf.
She talked more after that, more than she ever had, about how scared she was at the way everything was changing, her concerns for Stefan, her weird dynamic with Damon, her grief over Jenna, over John until the sun peeked through the clouds.
It helped a little, talking till her voice was hoarse, but when she walked back to her house, the wolf alongside her, she felt the same pain that she alway did. Only that it was more bearable than it had been last time.
The next day went as usual, Stefan making a move against Klaus, Damon being his usual self, Caroline taking back the reins of the cheerleading squad. When she got home that day, there was another box in front of her door, this time smaller, about the size of a photograph. She picked it up, opening it as she went inside, looking around but not seeing anyone. She looked down at the picture once she was inside and felt her breathe getting caught in her throat.
It wasn’t a picture but a sketch, of her reading a journal, Jeremy sketching, his eyebrows drawn in concentration, her mom doing the crossword and her dad cooking. It was the last picture of their family together before they passed away and she was only broken out of her concentration when a teardrop hit the glass frame. She swallowed her sob, looking all over the frame for a name or any indication of who had given it to her. She didn’t have to though, she knew who had sketched this, the hybrid who followed her at night. A teary smile split her face in two and she found a place for the frame on her wall, where the pictures of all her family members were.
She knew it was the right decision when Jeremy looked at it with unshed tears, the two of them embracing in front of it.
That night, she didn’t sleep, and rushed out the door at one, knowing the wolf would follow her. She was proved right when he hesitatingly sat a few paces away from her on the bridge. She scooted towards him, closing the distance between them.
“Thank you,” her voice sounded hoarse, a sad smile on her face. “You don’t know how much that meant to me. Did you get the picture from Tyler?” The wolf jerked his head in what she thought was a nod and she raised her hand hovering it over his head. When he didn’t make any indication to move, she slid her hand in his neck, feeling the warm, soft fur against her fingers as she messaged it. “Can I know who you are?” He didn’t answer her, but didn’t pull away from her either. That night she talked about everything, her worries about her friends, her concern over Jeremy, his waning interest in art, her loss of inspiration for journaling, it was just easy to talk to him.
When she walked home that morning, she felt a little lighter.
As the days passed by, she started getting more gifts at her doorstep. First, there was another sketch, this one of Jenna and her mom, then another of her, Jenna and Jeremy, many of just her, sitting by the side of the bridge (those she kept for herself). There were also art supplies for Jeremy, which were obviously really good because he started his sketching soon, a leather bound journal with handmade paper for her, and books, just so many of them, some of them new, some old, some even first editions.
And they kept talking every night, well, she talked, but no one ever listened to her like that, with genuine curiosity and interest. Being near him made her look away from the water, brought her away from her thoughts, and things did began to get better.
Until Caroline’s birthday.
Tyler and Caroline had a fight, one they took away from the cemetery, and then Stefan took her. Telling Elena that this was his next move to stop Klaus from making more hybrids.
“Stefan, what are you doing?” Her heart started accelerating just as the car did, his face cold and stoic and all Elena can remember is her dad scolding her, looking similarly stoic. “Let me out of this car.” She wanted out, remembering how trapped she had been just a little over a year ago. “Do you hear me? Let me out of the car.” When she had no response from him, she let out a sigh, shaking her head to try and clear her mind.
In her mind, she wasn’t sitting next to Stefan, she was in the back seat of her car with her parents. She felt guilt wash over her as they got close to the bridge, this was the patch where she had argued with her dad. As they drove towards the bridge, she could see her mom, giving her a stern but reassuring look, no doubt ready to ground her, but also ready to listen. Her heart raced in her chest as the car sped up even more, a pressure in her gut pushing her back against the seat, and she could hear, distantly, Stefan’s voice and then Klaus’, seemingly angry but with a hint of fear.
“Stop the car!” She yelled as they were almost on the bridge, this couldn’t happen, she couldn’t let her parents die, she still needed them.
She turned and saw Stefan next to her, and was pulled away from her parents, that was a year ago, she was with Stefan now, and he was going to kill her.
“Okay, well then, I’m gonna drive your blood source off Wickery Bridge.” She looked at him, unable to believe what she had heard, but maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing. The worst thing was that it was Stefan who was saying all of this. She heard Klaus’ voice again, calling his bluff but she wasn’t paying attention to it, seized with terror.
“Say goodbye to your family Klaus.” He sped up, pushing the car to its limit as they came upon the spot where her parents car had gone over.
“Stefan, slow down!” She could hear her voice just as Klaus spoke too, “fine, I’ll send them away. You win.” It didn’t stop Stefan though, they kept going.
“Stefan!” It was only after more requests from both her and Klaus that he stopped the car. For a moment, she was able to get her breathing under control, before she started hyperventilating again, and pushed the door open to amble out of the car. She walked over to the railing, her legs shaking and she gripped it, her knuckles going white. She heard Stefan talking to her, to get in the car, and shook her head, waiting till she heard his car leave.
She looked down at the water, now that her fear had abated, only a deep sense of betrayal remained within her. Stefan was her first love, her soulmate, she had thought not a long while ago, and he had tried to kill her. He tried to kill her. The thought repeated itself over and over again in her head, wondering how he could do such a thing.
She looked down at the ground, realising that she was at the exact spot she would sit at every night.
The exact spot her parents had died.
But she was alone this time.
And, she realised suddenly, because of Stefan, he was gone. The wolf that followed her, and tried to help her with his thoughtful gifts, he was gone. And she was going to be alone again.
Well, not alone.
Lonely.
Because there was no one like her. There were humans, and witches, and vampires and werewolves, and hybrids, and fucking zombies given her luck, but they weren’t alone. They had people who could understand them, went through the same things as each other. No one understood what it was like to be a blood bag for a new species.
Because that was all she was at this point, a glorified blood bag. An object to be kept safe, to be used as leverage when the time was right, to either lock behind glass doors or to…to murder.
And really, life would be so much better without her for everyone. No more death, no more misery, Stefan still had an advantage on Klaus he could use.
It would so easy.
All that pain, all that misery would be gone. Just over.
Nothing but darkness.
No more heartbreak.
She didn’t know how it had happened, but by the time she had that thought, she had already swung one leg over the railing. She swung the other one, her heart beating fast, her hands holding on to the railing as she looked down at the welcoming water.
At a respite.
She let go of the railing, free falling into the river. When she hit the surface, it was like hitting a brick wall, but soon she had submerged, her lungs aching as she deliberately took a breathe, filling her insides with water.
This was it.
She could see her mom again. Just close her eyes, and her parents would be right there. People who would take care of her, instead of her taking care of everyone else.
Suddenly she felt a strong arm wrap around her mid section, pulling her up, and her lungs were thankful as they filled with air again. The next moment, she was standing on the bridge, before falling to her knees and coughing up water. She could feel rage building up inside her as she looked up to see Klaus looking down at her with something resembling concern and she got to her feet.
“What the hell?” She heard her voice echo around the empty street and tried to push him away, her hands hitting his chest. “What is the matter with you!”
“The-what the bloody hell were you doing? Do you want to die - no, don’t answer that.” He sounded serious, almost scared for a moment, and she looked away. She had missed her chance, now Klaus would probably lock her up and put her under fucking suicide watch. She’d never get the opportunity again, she’d never-
“Why won’t anyone just let me fucking die?” She could feel her anger like a live thing inside her chest, a beast that was going to suck at every inch of her heart. “Why?” She pushed at his shoulders, and this time, he allowed himself to be moved. “Why, just please, I can’t do this anymore.”
“Love…”
“Stefan tried to kill me,” Her voice broke, giant sobs wracking through her body as he came closer to her, and she kept punching his chest, her fists were aching, but she didn’t care anymore. “You did this! This is all your fault, why did you ruin him? Why do you ruin everything?” She felt his arms around her, his clothes wet and cold just as hers were when her cheek hit the rough fabric of his shirt. She wasn’t sure when she stopped screaming or crying, but once she did, he moved them, and they were inside his house.
She flinched away from him, feeling the cold seep into her bones, her breathing heavy.
“Why-” he was going to make her his prisoner, she was sure of it.
“You know,” he started, and he seemed somehow normal again, his voice slightly amused, she didn’t pay attention to how shaky it sounded underneath it. “I didn’t think you’d be suicidal, given how much effort you took to make sure you’re still alive.”
“I didn’t want to-” her voice broke off as he turned away to pour a himself a drink and she looked at the sketch on the table.
It was her.
No.
It was him.
He was the wolf who was with her at nights, she’d received enough sketches to know that. She strode up to him as he held a glass out for her, and took it from him, throwing it at the fireplace, watching in satisfaction as the flames burned brighter for a while.
“Bloody hell, what are you-”
“You’re the wolf. The hybrid that keeps an eye on me at night.” She accused and his lips parted as he stared at her. “Why? Why the hell would you manipulate me-” she broke off as she thought about all the secrets she had divulged, everything she had told him, about her parents, her family, all the memories she had, and she had told them to the man responsible for the mess that her life had become. “You’re pathetic,” she spat, venom lacing her voice, “you’re fucking pathetic, you bastard.” The glass in his hand broke, shards falling everywhere as he gripped her, his eyes desperate.
“You don’t understand,” he sounded desperate too, looking everywhere but at her, a tortured look flitting across his face, before he looked away, a frown marring his features.
“I don’t care, get the hell away from me.” He dropped her arms as though she had burned him, putting distance between them as he turned away from her.
That was odd.
Klaus never listened to her, of course he didn’t-
Except he did.
For the last few weeks, unbeknownst to her, that was all he had been doing.
He had been listening to her.
The gears in her head turned, all that time on the bridge, his sudden appearances and disappearances, the way he-
She looked at the sketch.
“Klaus?” Her voice was still hoarse, but she wasn’t shouting anymore. “Please look at me.” It took him a few minutes, his shoulders a straight line, tensed and poised as if he was ready to attack, and her heart had stopped. Unsure what he would do next. After what seemed like an eternity, he turned around to face her, and she felt her breathe catch. “Oh God, you’re sired to me, aren’t you? Just like the hybrids are sired to you.” She said realisation settling around her, and she didn’t even care that she was soaked, this was-
He didn’t need to say anything, the truth was clear in his eyes, the vulnerability and some fear. She looked at him, speechless, feeling the same emotions warring within her.
Klaus was sired to her.