Hilda awoke on the couch of the Gilbert residence.
Holding her head, she groaned and sat up, seeing Elijah sitting in the chair beside her. "Sister, you've awakened," he said. "How do you feel?"
Looking around, she saw Elena Gilbert, Matt Donovan, and Stefan Salvatore surrounding her. "I feel fine... but what happened?" she asked a bit groggily. "I was... was I dreaming? Alaric..."
"Held you hostage," said Elijah. "Yes, we determined this after Niklaus was desiccated."
Hilda flinched. "He was what?"
She jumped when she heard Damon's voice from the phone laid out on the table. Apparently, they'd been on call with him. "He's desiccated," he said pleasantly. "And you got all kinky with your crush."
"Damon," said Stefan sternly. "That's not funny."
"It's a little funny. I mean, she's pining for the guy and he pulls out the ropes and vervain and the choking on the first date."
Elena groaned loudly. "Damon, leave her alone." She looked up at Hilda. "I am so sorry- I feel terrible. When we realized you weren't accounted for... I'm sorry. Elijah found you."
Elijah nodded. "Now, the matter at hand. My sister was held captive. We must deal with Alaric. Niklaus can remain desiccated- it won't do him any harm."
Stefan pursed his lips as Elijah offered Hilda a glass of blood to drink. "What do you propose?"
"All we need is to take that stake away from him," said Elijah. "Once he's been disarmed, the weapon's in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the Earth and Alaric will follow us."
"And you'll just run?" asked Stefan.
Hilda gulped down the blood. "Wouldn't be the first time. Klaus and Rebekah specifically have been running from my father for the better part of a thousand years."
"It would ensure Elena is able to live out the rest of her natural life," said Elijah. "My siblings and I will not come in contact with you again. The twins are quite good at moving about and hiding, with their witch connections. Rebekah and I are nearly as good at being discreet. All I would ask is to take Niklaus's coffin with me."
Elena blinked, as if she didn't hear him right. "We've finally stopped him, Elijah. After everything that he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back."
Elijah leaned forward. "I give you my word, Elena. I will not revive Klaus within yours nor even within your children's lifetimes. Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners."
"Why should she trust you?" asked Matt coldly. "All you've done is screw her over."
Elijah pursed his lips. "And for that, I am deeply ashamed. But know this- she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight, so Elena, I leave it to you to make the decision whether to trust me or not."
"Not!" said Damon loudly through the phone. "Hello? Did that concussion give you brain damage?! His lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get!"
Hilda gritted her teeth. "I ended up getting tortured because I helped her. We honor our word, and I can keep Kol in control while Elijah does the same to Rebekah."
Elijah nodded. "If you return Klaus' body to us, Elena will come to no harm."
Elena looked at Stefan as Elijah inquired, "Do we have a deal?"
"No!" exclaimed Damon. "No, no, no, no! Did I mention no?"
Stefan sighed. "Elena, it's up to you."
"Oh, come on!" Damon cried.
Elena looked up at the two Originals. "Why do you want Klaus's body?"
Hilda slumped back on the couch. "Well, he kept Kol and I daggered for centuries, I'd rather like to taunt him every chance I get. I can get any witch to help reinforce the spell as time passes, according to what Elijah said about leaving Elena and her children out of harm's way."
"He is our brother," added Elijah. "We remain together."
Elena looked around before sighing. "We have a deal."
Matt nodded, and then looked down at his phone. "I'll be back. Jeremy wants to see me." He walked off and Elijah came to sit beside Hilda. "You're certain you're alright?"
She cast him a weak smile. "Still feel light headed but I'll be okay. I really was more sensitive to the vervain than I expected."
"On behalf of Alaric, I'm so sorry," Elena reiterated, looking guilty. "I had no idea he'd try to hurt you like that."
Hilda had to admire how caring the doppelganger could be. Very different from Katerina. Much more like Tatia. "You couldn't have known. It's not the real him, either way."
Matt returned with Jeremy in tow. "Alaric wants me to help him retrieve Klaus's body," Jeremy announced. "Any brilliant ideas?"
Elijah and Hilda shared a look. "We could set a trap," suggested the elder Original. "You, my sister, and Rebekah could retrieve Klaus's body before Alaric can get to it. The rest of you can subdue him. Give us time to run, and we'll lead him away from you."
Elena nodded. "I think that's a good idea. Damon- where are you?"
"Are we really going to just tell Ric's crazy torturing alter-ego where to find me and where to find Klaus?"
Elena sighed. "I think we should. Elijah can wait for Rebekah and Hilda to get the body. They'll leave, and he'll follow them."
Damon groaned. "Fine. Tell him I'm on my way to bury him in the woods off Route Twelve."
Jeremy nodded and picked up his phone, dialing Alaric's number.
"Yes?"
"I know where Klaus's body is," said Jeremy.
"Good. Tell me."
"Damon's on his way to bury him in the woods off Route Twelve. I'll text you with the specifics."
"Thank you, Jeremy. You're doing the right thing for your sister."
"I know." He hung up, and nodded. "He bought it."
"Let us not waste time," said Elijah. "Hilda, you and I may switch duties if you do not feel ready to go retrieve the body."
"I can do it," said Hilda. "I'll get Bex."
"Come to a storage unit off Route Twelve," said Damon.
Hilda sped off.
It hadn't taken long for her to gather Rebekah and explained everything, brushing off her sister's incessant questioning about the fact that she was tortured.
"Just keep quiet, Bex," said Hilda impatiently as they rode the elevator to the storage unit. For some reason, Rebekah had Damon's number, but it'd come on handy.
The elevator bell dinged, and both vampires came out of the elevator. It was completely silent, which struck them as odd.
"Damon!" said Rebekah loudly. "Damon, where are you?"
"Quiet," Hilda prompted, beginning to walk through the aisle of containers.
Rebekah, of course, didn't listen. "Damon, this isn't funny."
Hilda groaned and yanked her sister down to another line. So far, they were seeing nothing. On to the next row, and this time, some of the containers were open.
Suddenly, both were grabbed from behind, their mouths covered.
"Hilda, Rebekah," whispered Damon. "Shh..." he grabbed their arms and sped them down to one of the further rows, to a container marked 1020, which was open. Inside was a coffin, and Rebekah and Hilda quickly undid the locks of the wheels before bringing it out of the container. Damon closed it as quietly as possible and urged them to follow him out the back entrance, where a car was waiting.
Suddenly, Hilda's feet where knocked out from under her, and she watched Rebekah be slammed headfirst into the car. Damon lunged, but Alaric was too quick, and he tossed Rebekah and Damon onto Hilda. With incredible speed, he threw open the coffin lid and pulled out the White Oak stake.
"No!" cried Hilda as they tried to scramble to their feet.
Too late. Alaric stabbed the stake into Klaus's heart, making both sisters scream out and begin to sob. They both got up, but Damon held them back as Klaus's body burst into flames.
Alaric turned to face them. "Next, Hilda," he said. "You're supposed to be in my classroom, drowning in vervain."
"Run," Damon whispered, and both sisters did so immediately, speeding off side by side until they landed in the nearby woods.
Hilda was the first to collapse in shock. "He fucking killed Nik," she croaked, holding her head in her hands. "He killed him.."
Rebekah pulled her in for a tight hug. Hilda had never felt her younger sister shake so much. She was trembling from head to toe, her body wracked with repeated sobs. Her hands clawed at her older sister's back, looking for some comfort, some proper hold that could latch her to this world. But for Rebekah, there could be no world- not a happy one, at least- if Klaus wasn't in it with her. Hilda felt more pained now than when Finn died, and that was considering Klaus hadn't been the best brother ever.
She wasn't sure how much time passed when they realized they absolutely had to get up. Wiping their eyes, they sped toward where Elijah was, looking grim. He knew.
"There was nothing we could to do stop it," said Rebekah shakily as they walked over to him.
Elijah pulled her into a hug, and tugged Hilda into it. Though she was no longer crying, she looked crestfallen.
"Tyler Lockwood is dead," said Elijah. "Yet somehow, the rest survived."
"That's impossible," whispered Hilda. "Nik turned their bloodline."
Elijah pulled away from his sisters and looked at them intently. "Then how are they still alive?"
_
Their question wasn't answered until the next day.
Hilda and Rebekah gave themselves free reign to tear apart the house. They threw vases and smashed through windows. They could just compel servants to fix things. They fed and drank, thankfully without Elijah's supervision. He had no intention to babysit his sisters. Instead, he let them grieve in the way he knew they would. Being impulsive.
But soon after, the door opened. Rebekah had gone to another room, and Hilda went to see who it was. "Damon," she muttered. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to give your sister a very important message. Or are you two not talking at the moment?"
Hilda made a face. "What are you talking about?"
He furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm sorry- what the hell happened after you two ran?"
"I came back. Drank. Rebekah and Elijah went off to do who knows what. Rebekah arrived later and we drank together. Started being destructive. Why?"
He had an almost pained look on his face. Rebekah chose that moment to come in. "Tragic about Elena," she said loudly. "Not to make a grey cloud even greyer, but does Matt even have automobile insurance?"
Hilda slammed Rebekah into the wall before Damon could answer. "What did you do?" she sneered lowly.
Rebekah scoffed. "I got rid of Alaric. You should be thanking me. He tortured you."
Hilda staggered back. "That wasn't the real him, Rebekah," she said, her voice cracking. For the first time in a century, her eyes welled up with tears. "How could you do that?"
"When have you ever been opposed to murdering the enemy? That doppelganger bitch had it coming and we're safe! You can always find another man- he would have never treated you right, the way he was."
Hilda's hands shook, and Rebekah knew immediately she'd made a mistake. "Hilly," she said, holding her hands up. "Listen, I was thinking about protecting the rest of us after Nik-"
The scream of rage that Hilda let out was so loud that the sound of glass shattering sounded around the house. Damon decided it was most definitely not the time to be inside the Mikaelson Mansion. Rebekah tried to run, but Hilda tackled her down, slamming her sister's head into the tile.
"Hilda- Hilda stop it-!" screamed Rebekah, her eyes wide with fear. "Please-"
But once she unhinged, there was no listening to reason. She had no morals. She had no control. All she could hear was her own raging heartbeat in her ears. And all she could feel was murderous anger. It was times like these that the Original siblings made note that Hilda and Kol, when separated, were perhaps even more problematic than when together. They could keep each other from losing it, even thought it'd mean wreaking havoc as a unit. Still, it was preferable to have them causing mayhem together than watching them slip into their psychotic temper tantrums.
"I lose Finn," Hilda snarled, hitting her sister anywhere her fists could land. It wouldn't kill Rebekah, but it sure as hell would bring her pain, and Hilda wanted her to feel the same pain. "I lose Nik. Kol's off in another state. Mother corrupts the first man I'm interested in after a thousand years, and you kill him! IT'S NOT BLOODY FAIR!"
"Hilda- I'm sorry!" screamed Rebekah, trying to throw her off. But when she flew off the handle, Rebekah proved to be no match for her strength. Not even Klaus would be able to handle her. Her episodes were terrible and though they didn't happen often, they left lasting damages of animosity.
"YOU'RE NOT SORRY!" Hilda screeched, beating her fist right into the tile. "ALL OF YOU! YOU TREATED KOL AND I LIKE ALIENS! AS IF WE WEREN'T YOUR SIBLINGS! YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR WHAT WE DO OR WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH! NO ONE GIVES A DAMN ABOUT WHETHER WE'RE SUFFERING! WE ALWAYS HAVE TO FEND FOR OURSELVES! YOU-"
But suddenly, she stopped. Rebekah had thought that perhaps Elijah had arrived. Instead, she looked up and saw three wooden stakes had been launched through the broken window behind them, and were lodged in Hilda's chest. She began to desiccate, and before Rebekah could run, she met the same fate.
They awoke bloodied, dazed, and with vervain ropes on their wrists. They were sitting next to Caroline Forbes, in the back of a van.
"Vervain ropes," murmured Caroline when Hilda opened her eyes and began to struggle. "Looks like Alaric outed us all to the Council."
Rebekah opened her mouth to speak, but chose not to say anything. She'd narrowly escaped the worst of Hilda's tantrum. "What do they think that can do with us?"
Caroline could not reply. The wheels of the van screeched and next thing, it flipped over, the three vampires being knocked about amidst glass and debris. The van landed on its side, and Hilda felt her head slam back painfully.
"What the hell happened?" groaned Rebekah, trying to sit up unsuccessfully.
The back door of the van was broken off, and none other than Tyler Lockwood showed his face.
"Tyler?" cried Caroline in shock.
He smirked. "I'm harder to kill than you think."
Caroline began to cry as he tore off the vervain ropes from her arms. "You're alive? How are you alive?"
"No time. Come on, we've got to go."
"Wait, what about us?" demanded Rebekah as Tyler helped Caroline out. He looked down at her and Hilda and winked. "Keep them busy, little sisters."
He sped off, and the sisters shared a look, but quickly looked away. Hilda was still pissed.
"At least we know how they didn't die," she muttered. "Klaus body jumped. That swine, keeping it a secret from us."
They were taken to a ranch, once the men outside managed to pull the girls into the cop cars that were escorting the van to begin with. Shoved into neighboring cells, they looked across and saw that Stefan was trapped, along with an unconscious Elena.
It felt like hours before the doppelganger finally woke up. The three vampires were coughing instead of conversing, since vervain was being ventilated through into the cages they were being kept in.
"I thought I killed you," said Rebekah.
"Where am I?" asked Elena groggily.
"They must have thought you were a vampire, so they stuck you in here with us," muttered Hilda.
"Where's Stefan?"
He patted the wall that separated them. "Elena, I'm right here. Are you okay?"
She whimpered and leaned onto the wall. "Stefan... I didn't feed."
Hilda immediately put the dots together. "You're in transition," she murmured.
"Locked in here without a drop of human blood in sight," mused Rebekah. "That is a problem."
"Ignore her," Stefan said.
Rebekah continued, "Has anyone done the math or shall I? I'd say you've got less than three hours to feed before I get to watch you die all over again. My day just got a whole lot better."
Hilda growled. "Shut up, Rebekah. It's miserable enough hearing your voice."
It was even worse to see Elena slowly dying. Hilda was too weak to attempt anything. She was drained from how much anger she'd let out. She felt empty. She wasn't sure why Alaric's death had hit her so hard. Maybe she was sick and tired of never getting anything good for herself. She had wanted to get to know him and would now never have that chance.
"Stefan," Elena croaked after darkness had fallen.
"What happened?" He whispered.
"I'm out of time... I need blood. I'm dying." She was breathing heavily, and she looked so pale.
"Hey!" Stefan yelled, forcing himself to his feet. "Anyone, hey!"
Rebekah groaned. "Will you shut up?"
"You think we're afraid of you?" Stefan called out.
The barn door opened, admitting one of the officers that'd brought them in. "You want more vervain?" He snapped. "Keep it down."
Stefan leaned onto the bars. "Listen to me. Elena's gonna die if you don't let her out of here."
The officer glanced at her. "Sorry, not my problem."
"She's innocent. Let her out."
The officer ignored him and began to walk away, so Stefan rushed to the other side of the cage. "LET HER OUT!"
The man whirled around, firing wooden bullets into Stefan's stomach. Hilda winced as Elena cried out for the man to stop, but when Stefan persisted, he was shot again. The officer then walked out.
Stefan dragged himself to the wall that divided him and Elena, shakily pulling the bullets from his body.
Hilda couldn't bear to pay attention to the exchange of words that ensued. It was so painfully obvious that they loved each other, but there were things in the way of a perfect romance. It made Hilda feel more isolated. Rejected. Repulsive. She didn't think she'd ever fallen in love. Had she loved Tristan? She didn't think so. She cared for him, but he had abandoned her rather than run with her.
She wanted what they had. Hell, she wouldn't mind having two men fighting over her. She wanted to be loved. To be seen. Appreciated, despite her flaws.
It was later in the evening that the officer returned.
"Excuse me?" said Rebekah loudly. "Hello? Sir?" She coughed, and the officer came over.
"I thought I told you to shut up."
"Here's the thing," she panted. "My family. We- we have money, castles, apartments, jewelry- just name your price and let my sister and I out."
He leaned closer to the cage. "I'd much rather watch you die."
Rebekah sped to the bars, slamming him forward and shoving him to where Hilda had been leaning over to see what was happening. She caught him and bashed his head against the bars of her cage a good three times, feeling that it at least let her anger out, before tossing the body right against Elena's cage, the blood spilling where she could reach it. Somehow, Hilda had known that this was what her sister had intended. Rebekah was a sucker for love. After seeing Stefan and Elena being cute, she didn't want her to die after all.
The instant she fed, they were basically free. The color flooded back into the girl's face and she reached the keys, freeing herself before releasing Stefan, Rebekah, and Hilda. Rebekah sped off immediately, but Hilda stopped to bite into the officer's neck as Elena sped out of the barn.
"I'm sorry about Alaric," said Stefan quietly when she stood up. "I can tell it's hitting you hard."
She stared at him blankly, not in the mood to say thank you. "I'm sorry that my sister left Elena to become a vampire."
When she returned home, she found Rebekah on the floor, with blood bags spilling onto the tile. Hilda didn't bother to ask, especially not when she heard Klaus snarling about something upstairs.
Over the next few days, it became difficult for Hilda to want to stay in Mystic Falls. By the fourth day that she had questioned her purpose, she decided she no longer felt like staying. She hadn't spoken a single word to each other. Either way, her sister wanted to be a high school student, which Hilda found boring. Additionally, Klaus could only think of his hybrids.
It was time for her to return to Kol's side. Without leaving a note, Hilda packed the few possessions she wanted to take with her. As darkness rose that night, she made only one stop- the Mystic Falls Cemetery.
It was easy to find the headstone. In all capital letters, it read, 'Alaric J. Saltzman. He was loved. February 4th, 1976 - 2010.'
"Alaric J. Saltzman," muttered Hilda as she sat down on the ground. "Wonder what the J stands for. John. Jakob. Jonathan. Jerome."
She cleared her throat. "I'm leaving," she said quietly. "I'm going to join Kol again. There's nothing for me here."
There was a crunching of leaves. She turned back to see Damon, walking with a bottle of bourbon.
"You won't believe what their little friend group is doing," he muttered as he sat next to her. "They're floating lanterns in the sky, can you believe that? A Japanese lantern is the symbol of letting go of the past. Well, here's a news flash: we're not Japanese!"
Hilda snorted. Damon took a swig of bourbon before offering her a sip. She took it, and leaned back. "They're like little kids."
"Exactly," Damon said, speaking to both her and Alaric, apparently, as if he could be listening to them. "Children. Like lighting a candle is going to make everything okay or even saying a prayer or pretending Elena is not going to end up just like the rest of us murderous vampires. Stupid, delusional, exasperating, little children. I know what you're going to say: 'It makes them feel better, Damon.' So what?"
He stood, speaking as if an audience was hearing him. Clearly, he'd needed to rant. "For how long? A minute, a day? What differences does it make? Because in the end, when you lose somebody; every candle, every prayer is not going to make up for the fact that the only thing that you have left is a hole in your life where that somebody that you cared about used to be."
Hilda felt his words hitting home. Loss. She despised it. She watched as Damon came forward and looked over at the headstone. "And a rock with a birthday carved into it that I'm pretty sure is wrong," he muttered, offering Hilda another swig. "So, thanks, friend. Thanks for leaving me here to babysit, because I should have been long gone by now. I didn't get the girl, remember? I'm just stuck here fighting with my brother and taking care of the kids. You owe me big."
He sat back down beside her. "Alright. Your turn to rant, Hilly Billy."
"Don't call me that."
"We had the same idea in mind for a comfort person. I'll call you whatever I want."
She tried to ignore him. "They say 'Always and Forever' and yet, Kol and I are always excluded. I hate the idea of friends. Of relationships. Of being vulnerable. Of losing people. Someone always stabs you in the back. I'm a terrible person. I've done terrible things. But when it wasn't being used as a coping mechanism, it was for safety. I protected myself. If you push people away, they can't hurt you.
"Rebekah likes to make fun of me. I literally haven't gotten laid since the year 1002. But I just can't fucking open up. With most people it takes so much effort. With Alaric... I just felt at ease. He knows history. He knows what kind of shit has gone on in the past. He knows loss. And... that fascinated me. That he could understand, if I gave him a chance. I guess I wanted a friend. But now he's gone and we never got to be friends.
"I struggle to be vulnerable because I keep losing things. I lost the good relationship I had with my father because he didn't respect magic. He's dead now, and we'll never get along, ever. I lost the older sister I wish I had for guidance. The baby brother who I loved so much. Normally, I hate kids. Fucking hate them. But Henrik was an angel. A blessing that I didn't appreciate until it was gone. He was sweet and innocent. He was just starting to be interested in magic. Kol and I would have taught him. Then I lost my magic. My mother, who wanted to kill me. Finn. I was the only one who even bothered to try to be close to him. He made me laugh sometimes. He loved to criticize but besides Kol, he understood me most. And he was a good person to talk to.
"I want so much more out of life and I've let myself be stuck here. I can't find a purpose here. So... I'm leaving. I have no reason to stay. I have no friends. I don't even play well with others. I can't even try to be civil more often because my default is to hurt others before they hurt me. If I'm feared instead of loved, I never have to worry about losing that love. I only have to be concerned with feeling better about myself. It makes me fucking lose my mind."
She took the bourbon and downed the rest of it. "I honestly hate myself. I've wasted my life. Or parts of it have been taken from me. If it weren't for Kol, I would have just lost it completely already. If I died, no one would suffer. No vampires would follow suit."
She handed the empty bottle back to Damon and stood up. "If you tell anyone about that Hamlet-worthy monologue, I'll kill you, and I mean it this time."
Damon half-smiled, watching her leave. "Wouldn't expect any less."