𝟐• 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 | 𝐓𝐕𝐃

FIFTEEN

"But he just had the Ascendant." Elena said. "Why do we have to find another?"

"The Ascendant can't travel between worlds." Aurelia explained. "Every prison world has two of them, one in the world, and one that binds it in the real world."

"Yeah, and we just have to find the mirror image here in 1903." Kai said.

"Page 10 of the world-jumping-rulebook." Damon said sarcastically. "Shall we?" He began to walk away, when Aurelia walked towards Kai as Elena talked to Bonnie.

"Kai." She said. The siphon looked at her.

"Hey." He said. "What's up?"

"Um, since Bonnie and you are left with each other, please, just don't hurt her, okay?" She asked. "She's been through a lot."

"I'm turning over a new leaf." Kai said. "I won't hurt her." Aurelia smiled and nodded. "Um, just, thanks again for saving me the other day."

"It's fine." She said, before turning around to leave. When she glanced back, he was catching snowflakes with his tongue. She chuckled, before catching up with Damon.

!

Aurelia smiled, looking around at the familiar surroundings of the Veritas Estate. "I sort of missed this place." She said, walking past a small table. She looked at the pictures as Elena walked next to her.

The memories passed through her mind as she took a deep breath, when Elena took a mantle with a picture of one of the Salvatore boys as children with Lillian. "Aw, Damon, you were so adorable!" She cooed, making Aurelia laugh. Damon turned around.

"Thanks... except that's Stefan." Elena frowned, looking at the picture, as Damon took another mantle. "This is me." He handed the picture to Elena.

"See, here's how you differentiate." Aurelia said. "Stefan was blonde in his early childhood. Damon always had dark hair."

"Ah, that makes things easier." Elena said, making her chuckle as the two looked back at the pictures. "Wait, is that you? And Stefan?" She asked, picking up a mantle. Aurelia looked at it, before smiling softly.

"Stefan, my dress is hardly appropriate."

"So, what if it isn't?"

"January of 1864." She said. "Huh, he framed it and kept it here." She let out a breath. "I'm taking some of these." She said.

"Oh look, here's another one of you." Elena pointed out, taking another picture of her with an umbrella atop her head. "You were so beautiful."

"Thank you." Aurelia said sweetly, before she looked at more pictures, before taking a few and keeping it in her bag. She smiled at one of Damon and Stefan in 1864, one that she had pleaded the photographer to let her take.

"Hey, we're not here to socialize." Damon said. "We get the Ascendant, find my mother, get Stefan's switch flipped, and then we figure out what to do with her." Elena looked at a baby picture of Damon before quickly shoving it in Aurelia's bag, as they took more pictures. Damon then turned around, catching them. "Guys, really?"

"Hey, cherish the moments." Aurelia defended.

"Can you give her another chance?" Elena asked, referring to his mother, changing the subject.

"Chance to what?" He asked. "Disarray another literal boatload of people?"

"Stefan was a Ripper, too." Elena said. "You never gave up on him."

"And where was Lily from 1858 to 1903? She was blood-binging through Europe while Stefan and I carried the loss. Not exactly maternal, Elena. Far as I'm concerned, my mother died when we buried her empty coffin. What we're looking for is a tool to get my mother back." He said, before looking over to Aurelia. "What happened to you? You look like you've seen a ghost."