Amelia Salvatore

Dealing With Strays

"Well, isn't this place just charming?"

In all honesty, it really wasn't. It probably had something to do with the rotting staircases and the charred walls that were likely to collapse at any moment. It also smelled funny. I hated places that smelt funny.

I hadn't expected to ever have a reason to come back here, but apparently fate had other ideas. I had to admit, it was a good hiding place. Even I had to give points to that. I'd probably be in an underground network of caves or something.

"Comfort wasn't the first priority," Stefan replied.

We were in the basement of what I liked to call the Witch House, where Bonnie had channelled the power of like a hundred dead witches or something. I'd been hesitant when first coming here, because I knew I wasn't exactly the witch spirit's favourite person, but seeing how I was helping Stefan, they hadn't randomly set me on fire, which was nice.

"So?" I asked. "Where are the coffins?"

Stefan gestured to the completely empty space in front of us.

"Right there."

"You feeling okay, Stef?" I asked him, concerned for his state of mind.

"Look again," he told me.

So I did. What hadn't been there before, suddenly appeared. Four coffins lay before me, and I had to say that the witch spirit's did a good job at disguising them. I walked up to one of them and opened the lid. Elijah looked as if he were sleeping, save for the desiccated skin and the dagger sticking from his heart. It was tempting to pull it out, but it was too early for that.

"I gotta say Stef, I'm impressed," I said with a smile as I turned to him. "You should seek revenge more often."

"You still haven't answered my question," he said.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific," I told him.

"What are you getting out of this?" Stefan asked. "Why do you want to go up against Klaus?"

I shrugged. "Because it's fun." Stefan gave me a flat look. "You're not the only one that's been wronged by Klaus, Stefan. It's about time I moved against him. He's had it coming for a long time."

Stefan regarded me with suspicious eyes.

"Mmm, no. That's not why you're doing this," he stated. "I know you, Amelia. You're planning something bigger."

"Am I?" I asked.

"What is it?" Stefan asked.

"Sorry Stef, I only let people I trust in on my plans," I told him. "And well, I don't trust you that much."

Stefan sighed and crossed his arms, and for a moment, I was reminded of brooding Stefan. If anything described Stefan, it was the two motions he just did.

"Aren't we past that yet?" he asked.

I laughed. "You should know better than anyone that I don't take betrayal lightly."

"We didn't want to risk you letting your feelings for Klaus getting in the way," Stefan said.

"What feelings?" I asked. "The fact that you automatically assumed that shows just how much faith you have in me."

"I called you in the end, didn't I?"

"Only because Damon's life was at stake," I replied. "Your plan was foolish, anyway. The fact that you didn't think Klaus would have a back up plan proves as much. It's Klaus. He's always two steps ahead of everyone. And trusting Mikael? Seriously? He would have killed you all as soon as Klaus was dead."