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Her long hair was wavy, with a red streak that caught the eye of passersby.
Willoughby certainly wasn't the city she would have chosen, but Katherine had done her a great favor by compelling the entire town to be faithful to her, thus making them faithful to Elena as well.
Useful for the conversation she was about to have.
The black leather jacket and low-cut red blouse were her armor. She could understand what had driven Katherine to make her style her armor.
"Elena," Damon's voice was too full of relief, as if Damon had been searching for her for a long time, as if Elena had been hiding from her own parent, or her owner.
"Damon." Elena raised an eyebrow, looking at the vampire blankly.
She looked at him and felt absolutely nothing.
Damon Salvatore was nobody to her.
Finally.
Damon was talking, trying to convince her to return to Mystic Falls, filling her with lies, like not trying to flip her switch, controlling that decision, on top of everything else.
And then, the sentence Damon should never have even said.
“And then, we could get back together, like you wanted, like we want!”
“Like you, and only you, want.” Elena interrupted coldly, her voice hollow yet striking Damon rather satisfyingly, where he was most vulnerable. “I never loved you, Damon. There may have been some trace of affection beneath all the compulsions you did, but there was no love.”
“You’ve become sired to me, Elena,” Damon said, his voice rising to a possessive growl, the controller taking over.
“It certainly doesn’t come from love, Damon.” Elena rolled her eyes, wondering why no one had ever noticed that little detail. Lexi had sired a vampire from her boyfriend, and he wasn't sired bonded to her. And there had been many cases of lovers becoming immortal for each other, yet not many cases of vampire sired bonded. "It comes from control. And from the frankly incredible amount of compulsions you've placed on me." Elena frowned, thinking back. "I guess Stefan should consider himself lucky Katherine wasn't around after his transition, otherwise he would have been her plaything for eternity."
"You love me." Damon almost growled. "You chose me!"
"I never chose you, Damon." Elena replied, speaking calmly, stepping away from him. "And, in case it wasn't clear, there will never, ever be anything between you and me. You're nothing to me, Damon." With a smirk, Elena said. "Neither of you are anymore."
Before Damon could recover from the pain of denial and rejection, Elena vanished at vampire speed, to avoid being taken against her will back to what had become her family's graveyard.
They were all dead, except her.
The moment you cease to be of use to me, you're dead, so you should do what I say. Keep Elena safe.
The call was going through, Elena holding the phone to her cheek as she waited for the caller to answer.
Her phone and number were new, the phone left in some alley for fear of being tracked down by her old friends, the bunch of hypocrites who couldn't be worse.
Jenna had died saving Caroline and Tyler, and Elena hadn't blamed any of them.
John had died because of Bonnie's idea, because she couldn't stand having another vampire friend, and Elena hadn't blamed her.
Jeremy had died because of their shared decision not to tolerate a vampire Elena Gilbert, and Elena hadn't blamed them yet.
They chose to interfere even when they were told to stay out, and Elena was blamed.
Being a doppelganger had taken away Elena's entire family, her entire human life, and they believed they had some claim on her.
"Hello?" The answer finally came from the other end of the phone.
“Elijah.” Elena said, feeling no relief just because she couldn’t hear anything.
“Elena.” Elijah looked surprised, but in an almost pleasant way, as if Christmas had come early. “I wasn’t expecting you to call so soon.”
“I want to make a deal,” Elena said, ignoring Elijah’s words, unimportant at the moment.
“A deal.” Elijah murmured. “I didn’t think you’d be interested in the cure, and I don’t have anything else you’d be interested in right now, do I?”
Elena almost growled at the mention of the cure—another way to keep her under control—but she said anyway. “Actually, it’s a way to remind you of a promise you made.”
“To you?” Elijah asked. “I don’t remember what promise we’re discussing, lovely Elena.”
“Damon and Stefan.” Elena swallowed the names, not out of emotion but out of anticipation of her own freedom. “You said you’d kill them when their purpose was complete,” Elena insisted. “You promised.”
A pause came from the other end of the line, before Elijah’s voice, a danger waiting to be unleashed, reached Elena’s ears. “And they did? Completed their purpose, I mean?”
“Yes,” Elena said.
Elijah responded, not with acceptance, but with something that seemed to precede it. “If I accept, there’ll be no going back.”
Elena nodded, answering anyway. “I know.”
Elijah didn’t speak, a contemplative silence, for a moment before saying, “You might hate me when you regain your humanity.” And, after a moment’s pause, he added, “Because that’s what I’d ask of you. To come with me to deal with the return of your emotions.”
“And I’d accept that,” Elena replied. “But I can't afford to be around either of them when the emotions return, because Damon told me he wanted my feelings to be real, and the sire bond is still there.” Elena swallowed before saying, “You promised, Elijah.”
“And I will keep my promise,” Elijah said. “I swear to you, Elena, you will be free.”
Elena hung up, taking her first easy breath since the Salvatores had come into her life.
She was free.