All I Need (Vampire Diaries/Captain America Fanfic)

51. Always Have, Always Will

"My life is mine," I reminded him. "If I have to sacrifice it for the people I love, then that's exactly what I'll do." Bonnie glanced back and forth between us.

"Serena, take a deep breath," she told me. I did what she asked, breathing in as I felt my consciousness slipping away. She started saying the foreign words that were becoming more and more familiar to me, but soon, I couldn't hear her. All I could feel was Klaus's hand in mine.

...

From what I could tell, I was in some kind of forest. I didn't know what I expected the Other Side to look like, but I certainly didn't think it would look like it was based in the center of the darkest, scariest part of Mystic Falls.

"Emily?" I called, looking around. There were people here, most of them taking no notice of me. It made me envy humans, who allegedly went straight from their deaths to either heaven/hell or nothingness. Supernatural creatures who hadn't found peace had to stay here, looking down on the rest of the world for all eternity, or until their peace eventually came to them.

"Emily Bennett?" I called again, louder this time.

I worried that I wouldn't find her on time, when I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

"You're as gorgeous as ever," the voice said. "21st century life suits you."

I turned to face my aunt, and it took everything within me not to burst into tears.

"Aunty Em?" I asked, even though it was clearly her.

"You don't have long," she said.

"You know why I'm here?" I asked her.

"I've been watching you," she said. "The one benefit of being stuck here, I've always been with you."

"I'm sorry," I said. "About what I did to you. I never meant to kill you."

"I know you didn't, honey," she said. "I'm still here because of you. I need you to know that I forgive you."

"You do?" I asked.

"Of course I do," she said. "You didn't choose this. And even if you did, I support your decisions, all of them."

"This feels too easy," I confessed. "All I had to do was apologize, and now I can do magic?"

"Serena, you've risked your life to get here," she said. "You didn't know if you would make it back, but you came anyway. The witches appreciate sacrifice." She smiled. "And the fact that you've managed to find a way to be a witch, makes me so proud."

"How can you be proud of me?" I asked. "I'm a vampire."

"You're my niece first. And you know what? You're reminding me more and more of your mother every day."

"My mom?" I asked, feeling myself becoming emotional. "Is she... here?"

"No," Emily shook her head. "She found peace."

"Good," I nodded. As amazing as it would have been to see her, to talk to her for the first time, I was glad that she was in a better place.

"Your demon can't defeat you," she said abruptly. "Every supernatural creature has a weakness. Find it, and you'll be free of her."

"What if I can't?" I asked, worriedly.

"You will. I have faith in you," she said. Then she turned away from me, as if she could hear something that I couldn't. "Your friend is trying to pull you back," she said. "But before you go, I have to say one more thing."

"What?" I asked.

"Klaus Mikaelson," she said. "He's done some horrendous things in his time, and if I was still around, I'd probably try and keep you as far away as possible from him. But honey, you mean the world to him. And no matter how much he pretends that he only cares about himself, you're one of his priorities. And friends like that don't come along very often. Stick with him."

"I will," I promised. Especially now that we were connected, I'd never give up on Klaus.

"Good," she said, her hand reaching out for mine. "You're doing amazing sweetie. Go back to your life, as a witch-vampire Hybrid."

"What about you?" I asked. "Where will you go now?"

She smiled to herself. "I've forgiven you," she said. "I'm free now. As soon as you leave here, I'll find peace."

We hugged, and when we pulled apart, we both had tears in our eyes.

"I love you," I told her.

"I love you too," she said, as I felt myself being pulled back to the land of the living. "Always have, always will."

...

I gasped and opened my eyes, thankfully seeing that I was back in Bonnie's living room, my hand still in Klaus's. I wiped a tear from my eye and pulled him in for a bone crushing hug. He leaned his cheek against the top of my head, stroking my hair.

"Did you get what you needed?" Bonnie asked me.

I sniffed. "Yeah," I said. "She forgave me."

"Want to try the feathers again?" she asked.

I nodded, breathing deeply and holding a hand above the feathers. Nothing happened, but this time I was determined.

I closed my eyes, the way Aunt Emily taught me. And suddenly, I felt it. I could feel nature, I could feel light and warmth course through my fingertips.

When I opened my eyes, there were no feathers on the floor. Instead, they were dancing around the room. I laughed out of surprise, the unshed tears from seeing Emily finally beginning to fall.

"You did it," Bonnie said, smiling at me, before taking my hand. The dancing feathers flew higher, the candles in the room once again lit up.

I looked at Klaus. "I'm a witch!" I said, a smile etched on my face.

He kissed my temple softly. "Congratulations, love."

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So, Serena is a witch! What do you think will happen next?

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