08. Rose
Brayden groaned in annoyance when his phone started ringing, disturbing his sleep, without opening his eyes, Brayden answered his phone.
"What?" Brayden snapped, annoyed at whoever was calling him.
"Brayden" Liz greeted.
Hearing Liz's voice, Brayden's eyes shot open, and he quickly sat up, "Liz, hey" he greeted, confused as to why Liz was calling him, "Is everything okay?".
"Is Caroline with you?" Liz asked.
"Caroline?" Brayden asked confused.
"Yeah, last night when I came home she wasn't home and this morning when I woke up I didn't see her, and from the looks of it, her bed looks like it hasn't been slept in" Liz replied, worrying Brayden, "So I was wondering if she has spent the night at yours?".
"Liz, Caroline isn't at mine" Brayden said, quickly getting out of bed.
"Where is she then Brayden?" Liz asked worried.
"I don't know" Brayden replied, equally as worried, "Look Liz, don't worry, I'll find her, you should call Elena and Bonnie, ask them if she's for some reason with them".
"I'll call them" Liz said, "But please find her Brayden, find my daughter".
"I will" Brayden promised, "I won't let anything bad happen to her".
After hanging up on Liz, Brayden dialed Kaitlynn, knowing that she was the one who was supposed to drop Caroline home last night.
"Hello?".
"Tyler?" Brayden said confused, when Tyler Lockwood answered Kaitlynn's phone, "Why do you have Kaitlynn's phone?".
"I don't know who Kaitlynn is, but this phone was lying in the carpark at my house" Tyler replied.
"Is Caroline still at yours?" Brayden asked.
"No" Tyler replied confused, "Why?".
"Never mind" Brayden replied, "But if you do hear from Caroline, let me know?".
"Yeah, sure" Tyler replied.
"We have a problem" Damon stated, walking into Brayden's room, after he hanged up on Tyler.
"Caroline's missing" Brayden said, before Damon could speak.
"Wait, Caroline's missing too?" Damon asked shocked.
"Too?" Brayden asked confused, "Who else is missing?".
"Fae just called saying Kaitlynn didn't come back to the hotel last night, and she won't answer her phone or any of her text messages" Damon replied, "And Stefan just called saying Elena is missing as well, she never reached home after the Lockwood's party".
"What the hell is happening?!" Brayden yelled, running his hand through his hair in frustration, "Where the hell did Caroline and Kaitlynn disappear to?".
"I don't know" Damon replied, also worried, "We have to meet up with Stefan at the school, and figure out where the girls are and how to get them back".
***
Caroline groaned and slowly opened her eyes, she felt really weak because of the lack of blood and the vervain her kidnapper kept injecting her and Kaitlynn with, opening her eyes, Caroline looked at her surroundings in confusion, she realised she was at a very old and rusty mansion, and she was chained to a chair, with Kaitlynn next to her, unconscious.
"Kaitlynn" Caroline called out, trying to get out of the chains, but failing, "Kaitlynn, wake up!".
After a moment, Kaitlynn slowly started waking, "Ugh" Kaitlynn complained, "Who the hell pumped me with vervain?".
"I don't know" Caroline replied, just as a vampire walked into the room, with an unconscious Elena in his arms.
"What do you want?" Elena cried, as the vampire placed her on the couch.
"Who the hell are you?!" Kaitlynn snapped, trying to get out of the chains, but failing due to the vervain.
"You don't remember me?".
"Am I supposed to?" Kaitlynn asked.
"I'm Trevor, Kait, you and I met when you and your sister were humans" Trevor reminded.
"Yeah, I don't remember" Kaitlynn said, "Amnesia and all".
Suddenly realisation crossed over his face, "The son of a bitch compelled you" he whispered.
"Vampire's can't be compelled, genius" Kaitlynn reminded.
Before Trevor could say anything, Elena interrupted them, "Please, I'm hurt" she cried.
"I know" Trevor said, as veins started appearing under his eyes, "Just a taste".
"No!" Elena cried.
"Trevor, control yourself" A girl said, entering the room and stopping Trevor from biting Elena.
"Buzzkill" Trevor mumbled, walking away from Elena.
The mysterious vampire looked at Kaitlynn and smiled, "So the rumors are true, you've been alive this whole time".
"Don't bother Rose, she doesn't remember us" Trevor said.
"Let me guess, you know me as well?" Kaitlynn asked.
"A lot more then you know" Rose replied.
"Why have you kidnapped us?" Caroline asked.
"What do you want with us?" Elena asked confused.
"My God, you look just like her" Rose said, looking at Elena in slight fascination.
"But I'm not, please, whatever you--".
"Be quiet" Rose demanded Elena.
"But I'm not Katherine" Elena snapped, "My name is Elena Gilbert, you don't have to do this".
"I know who you are, I said, be quiet" Rose snapped back.
"Elena, sit your ass down!" Kaitlynn yelled, wondering if everything was okay with the doppelganger's brain, not listening to someone who was clearly much more powerful then her.
"What do you want?" Elena asked Rose, ignoring Kaitlynn.
Having enough of Elena, Rose back handed her, causing her to fall back on to the couch, unconscious.
"I want you to be quiet" Rose stated.
Caroline and Kaitlynn looked at each other in concern, they had no idea why they were here, and how the hell they were going to get out of this situation.
***
"This has Katherine written all over it" Stefan said.
"This can't be Katherine" Brayden said, pacing up and down, he hated not knowing where Caroline was, he hated not knowing if she was okay or not
"Katherine's in the tomb, trust me, Brayden and I shut her in" Damon stated.
"Did you?" Stefan asked Damon.
"Did I what, Stefan?" Damon asked.
"Well, I know the hold Katherine has on you" Stefan replied.
"I was there Stefan" Brayden reminded, "Katherine's in that damn tomb, I made sure of it".
"Bray, there was something Katherine said to us right before we shut her in" Damon reminded, making Stefan look at the twins in confusion, "We thought she was lying".
"What did she say?" Stefan asked curiously.
"About Caroline and Kaitlynn being in danger" Brayden replied.
"And Elena" Damon added.
"I don't care about her" Brayden snapped, "I just want to find Caroline, and maybe Kaitlynn".
"And you two didn't think to ask her to elaborate?" Stefan asked, glaring at his brothers.
"We did" Brayden snapped, "All she said was that Elena was the bloody stupid ass doppelganger, Caroline is the current female soulmate and that Kaitlynn was the old soulmate".
"What does that even mean?" Stefan asked confused.
"We don't know!" Brayden yelled, "The bitch wouldn't say anything else so we just assumed she was lying to save her sorry ass".
"Everything she says is a lie, how were we supposed to know that she's going to start sprouting out the truth?" Damon asked.
"We have to go talk to her" Stefan stated.
"No, no, let me tell you how that's going to go" Damon snapped, "We're gonna ask for help, she's gonna negotiate a release which you're gonna be dumb enough to give her, and then she's gonna get out and kill us, that's exactly what she wants", Damon looked Brayden, "Tell him, Bray", Brayden stayed quiet, lost in his thoughts, "Bray?".
Brayden looked at Damon, "It's Caroline, Damon" he said, "I don't know where she is, how she is, I don't even know if she's alive, and the not knowing is killing me, I have to find her, and if to find her I have to release Katherine from the tomb, then I'll gladly do that".
"She will kill you" Damon snapped.
"I've been dead before, I got over it" Brayden said, walking away to find Fae.
"It's a bad idea!" Damon yelled, as Stefan followed Brayden.
"I'm ready to take the risk if it means finding Caroline!" Brayden yelled back.
***
"How are the girls?" Rose asked Trevor.
"One of them is passed out, the other two are weak from the vervain" Trevor replied, as Elena slowly started waking up.
"You didn't touch anyone of them, did you?" Rose asked.
"Give me some credit" Trevor replied, almost offended, "So you called him?".
"No, I called one of his contacts" Rose clarified, "You know how this works".
"Did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?" Trevor repeated.
Hearing the name Elijah, suddenly caused a weird sensation to shoot through Kaitlynn's body, "Elijah" she whispered.
"Do you know who that is?" Caroline asked curiously.
"I-I don't know" Kaitlynn replied, confused with everything that was happening.
"They say he got it" Rose told Trevor, as Elena slowly stood up, and started walking towards the two vampires.
"Elena!" Caroline whisper-yelled, really hoping Trevor and Rose don't hear her, "What are you doing?".
"If I can get out of here, I can get us some help" Elena whispered to Caroline.
"You're delusional if you think you're getting pass two vampires" Kaitlynn said.
"I have to try" Elena snapped, starting to walk towards the front door.
"Your friend is going to get herself killed" Kaitlynn told Caroline.
"Wonderful, and what?" Trevor asked Rose.
"So that's it, Trevor, he either got it or he didn't, we just have to wait" Rose replied.
"Look, it's not too late, we can leave the girls here, we don't have to go through with this" Trevor said, scared of whoever who was coming for the three girls.
"I'm sick of running" Rose snapped.
"Yeah?" Trevor asked, "Well, running keeps us from dying".
"Elijah's old-school, if he accepts our deal, we're free" Rose assured.
As Elena was slowly walking towards the front door, she stepped on an uneven floorboard which let out a sound, alerting the two vampires.
"You" Rose said, walking over to Elena, "There's nothing around here for miles, if you think you're getting out of this house, you are tragically wrong, understand?".
"Who's Elijah?" Elena asked, curious about the man who was coming for her, Caroline and Kaitlynn.
"He's your worst nightmare" Rose replied, worrying not only Elena but also Caroline and Kaitlynn.
"Where are you Brayden?" Caroline whispered.
***
"Guys, that tomb spell can't be undone just like that" Fae told Stefan and Brayden, "It's a huge spell, and for me to do it I need an celestial event, like a comet or full moon, something I don't have currently".
"Alright, but we can open the door, right?" Stefan asked, "We could talk to her?".
"Yeah, but Katherine isn't telling you two anything unless you give her something in return" Fae replied, "Damon's right guys, for the first time, maybe you two should listen to him".
"You and Damon keep saying that, but I don't see either of you coming up with another solution" Brayden snapped, "I'm losing my mind here Fae, I have no idea where Caroline is, who the hell took her, and why? So if you have another solution, then be my guest, but if not, then talking to Katherine is the only way left".
"I do have another way" Fae said, an idea coming into her head.
***
"How does this work?" Jeremy asked, laying a map on the table, while Fae lit a candle.
"Brayden and Caroline are soulmates" Fae replied, "They have a connection to each other, by using Brayden's blood, I should be able to track Caroline down".
"Should?" Brayden asked, "I don't like that word, Fae".
"I will" Fae corrected, "I will find them Brayden, I need you to trust me".
"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be in this stupid classroom with you" Brayden snapped, extremely on edge.
"Brayden, calm down" Jeremy said, "We'll find them".
"Alright, Alaric said we gotta clear out within ten minutes, I got weapons, he stocked me up" Stefan informed, entering the classroom.
"Hand" Fae told Brayden.
Brayden forwarded his hand towards Fae, who made a small cut on it and let Brayden's blood fall on to the map, she then started chanting and the three guys watched Brayden's blood start to move, eventually it stopped at Reidsville.
"Found them" Fae said, pointing on the map, "That's where Caroline is, and I'm going on a limb here and say Kaitlynn and Elena are also with her".
"That's 300 miles away" Jeremy said.
"No, Fae, we need a more exact location than that" Stefan said.
"We need to know exactly where in Reidsville they are" Brayden said.
"Well, you got me a shitty map" Fae said, "Not my fault".
"We can map it, aerial view" Jeremy suggested, "It'll show us what's around, help us narrow the area".
"Prefect, call us with whatever you find" Stefan said, as he and Brayden started walking towards the door.
"No, no, I'm coming with you guys" Jeremy stated, running over to the brothers.
"No, you're not" Brayden said.
"No, I'm not gonna sit here" Jeremy snapped, "What if Elena's hurt or worse? What if--?".
"She's not" Stefan assured.
"Go home Jeremy, and Fae keep on eye on him and make sure he doesn't do any suicidal" Brayden said.
"I'm gonna call you the minute I find Elena" Stefan assured Jeremy.
"You two can't do this alone" Jeremy argued.
"Jeremy, no offense buddy, but you can't help us, we're very old vampires, you're just a teenager" Brayden reminded.
"And they're not alone" Damon said, entering the classroom, "Let's go".
"You're coming with us?" Stefan asked, slightly confused.
"Of course he is, it's Kaitlynn" Brayden replied.
Damon rolled his eyes at his twin, "I'm not coming with you two because of Kaitlynn, I'm making sure that you two don't get yourself killed".
"Sure brother, whatever you say" Brayden said sarcastically, walking out the classroom door with his two brothers.
***
"I still don't get why I can't drive" Brayden complained, sitting in passenger seat, while Damon drove and Stefan sat in the back.
"I don't know Brayden maybe cause within the week you got your car back, you managed to somehow crash it, again" Damon reminded.
"That crash wasn't my fault" Brayden defended, "It's not my fault the roads can't take my driving".
"I don't think that's how it works, Bray" Stefan said.
"Whatever" Brayden said, "I don't want to drive your shit car anyways".
"Sure Bray, whatever you say" Damon said, giving his twin a sarcastic smile, he then looked at his younger brother, who was messing around with the weapons Alaric gave them, "Alaric sure likes his weapons, what the hell is that?".
"It's a vervain bomb or a grenade launcher, something like that" Stefan replied.
"Weird" Damon commented.
"Okay, how much further is this damn place?" Brayden asked.
"We have about 80 miles left" Damon replied.
Brayden groaned in annoyance, "This is torture".
"What is?" Damon asked, "Being in the car with your brothers, or being away from Caroline?".
"Both" Brayden replied simply.
"Who do you both think took the girls?" Stefan asked curiously.
"Someone from Katherine's past, she said she was running from someone" Damon replied.
"Or someone from our past" Brayden interjected, "All three of us have pissed off a lot of people in the time we've been alive, obviously me and Damon more then you Stefan, but in your ripper days, you were brutal, and doesn't it make sense for someone we know to kidnap the girls we love, or in Stefan's case, pretended to love?".
"I don't love her Brayden" Damon said, "Not anymore".
Brayden looked at Damon, "Caroline thinks you and Kaitlynn have a weird chemistry between you two".
"Clearly, she's delusional" Damon said.
"Denial isn't going to get you anywhere" Brayden said, looking out at the window.
"All three of us know that you being in this car has absolutely nothing to do with me and Brayden" Stefan added.
"What is this?" Damon asked, "Team up against me day?".
"Come on Damon, let's talk about this, we have nothing better to do" Brayden said.
"There's nothing to talk about" Damon said, refusing to talk about his feelings.
"That's not true, sure, there is" Stefan said.
"Let me ask you this, me and Stefan are on this trip to rescue Caroline and Elena, though I don't understand why anyone would want to recuse Elena" Brayden said, looking at his younger brother.
"Didn't you hear?" Stefan asked, a slight bitter tone in his voice, "Fae told me to give mine and Elena's relationship another chance".
Brayden and Damon exchanged a confused look, "Please don't tell me you're actually thinking of doing that" Brayden said.
"No" Stefan said, "I'm not, but I can't just abandon Elena".
"I would" Brayden said.
"Yeah, well, not all of us can be you, can we Brayden?" Stefan said.
"No, you can't, I have the guts to be honest, without caring about someone getting hurt, you care too much about people getting hurt, that you keep your feelings in, and instead hurt yourself" Brayden said.
"Weren't you saying something to Damon?" Stefan reminded, wanting to change the topic.
"No, he wasn't" Damon said, glaring at Stefan for reminding Brayden about their previous conversation.
"Oh, yeah" Brayden remembered, "As I was saying, me and Stefan are rescuing Caroline and Elena, and I might, depending on my mood, also rescue Kaitlynn, now are you in this car to help me and Stefan out, like you said, or are you here to rescue the girl you still have feelings for?".
"I mean, come on, express yourself, I happen to like road-trip bonding" Stefan said.
"Same" Brayden said.
"Keep it up you two, I can step out of helping as easily as I stepped in" Damon threatened.
"I call bullshit" Brayden said, "That's the beauty of love brother, you can't walk away from it, I would know, I tried, failed miserably".
"I can't believe you of all people is pushing me towards Kaitlynn" Damon said.
"If Katherine told me about you loving Kaitlynn before I met Caroline, I would have been beyond pissed" Brayden admitted, "But now I'm over Kaitlynn, I'm in love with someone else, me stopping you from pursing her doesn't make any sense".
"And that my brother is called maturing" Stefan said, patting Brayden's shoulder, making him give him the middle finger, "Nevermind".
"You can say whatever you want Brayden, but I'm not going to purse Kaitlynn" Damon stated.
"Fine, stay single for the rest of eternity" Brayden said, "What do I care?".
***
Fae and Jeremy sat in the Salvatore's living room.
"Look, I pulled this up based on the stop on the map" Jeremy informed Fae, showing her a photo, "There's nothing for miles except this old house".
"You should sent that to the brothers" Fae said.
"I sent it to Brayden" Jeremy said, putting his phone away, "I hate sitting here waiting like this".
Fae put her hand on Jeremey's shoulder and gave him a small smile, "Your sister is going to be okay, when the three brothers team up together, they can defeat anyone".
"Brayden hates Elena" Jeremy reminded.
"Yeah, but he cares about you" Fae said, "He will save Elena, for you".
"You know, I'm surprised you're okay with Stefan saving my sister" Jeremy said.
"What?" Fae asked confused.
"Brayden might have mentioned the history you and Stefan share" Jeremy replied.
"Of course he did" Fae mumbled, "Look Jeremy, I love Stefan, but I can't be with him, Elena and him are a much better match then us".
"And why's that?" Jeremy asked curiously.
"At times, I think I'm cursed" Fae admitted, "People who I love die on me, my mother, my father, when I was with Stefan, him and his brothers nearly died, whenever I let myself feel happy, something bad happens, and I don't want my curse to effect Stefan".
"I don't think your cursed Fae" Jeremy said, giving the Bennett heretic a sympathetic look.
"You don't know me" Fae said.
"You're right" Jeremy said, "I don't know you, but I still don't think you're cursed, I just think you've had a bit of a shitty life, and I can relate to that, if you're cursed, then what am I?".
Fae looked at Jeremy, "You still have family Jeremy".
"And you still have Stefan" Jeremy said, "I think you're just scared, last time Katherine threatened to hurt Stefan and kill Damon and Brayden, you're scared something like that is going to happen again".
"What are you a therapist?" Fae teased.
"No, I'm just a guy who knows how you feel" Jeremy said.
Fae gave Jeremy a small smile, "Do you want Elena to know that help is coming?" she asked suddenly.
"How can we do that?" Jeremy asked confused.
Fae smiled, she grabbed a notebook and pen, and started writing; the brothers are coming for you three - Fae.
Fae scrunched the paper up and held it in her hand and started chanting, eventually the paper caught on fire and disappeared.
Fae opened her eyes and looked at Jeremy, "The message is sent".
"That was so cool" Jeremy whispered in fascination.
Fae smiled, "Thank you".
***
"You know, you've injected us with vervain, we can't run away, the least you two can do is free us from these stupid chains, they're hurting my very sensitive skin" Kaitlynn complained.
"Would that stop your complaining?" Rose asked.
"Okay, don't say it like I've been constantly complaining" Kaitlynn snapped.
"Kaitlynn, can you not argue with someone who has kidnapped us" Caroline said.
"So these chains are not pissing you off?" Kaitlynn asked.
"They are, but I don't want to die" Caroline replied.
Kaitlynn looked at Rose, who was looking at Kaitlynn and Caroline in amusement.
"If you kill her, then the vampire whose coming for us, will be the least of your problems, because then Brayden Salvatore will come for you, and he's a psychopath when it comes to her safety" Kaitlynn said.
"Hey!" Caroline said, "Don't call him a psychopath".
"Did I lie?" Kaitlynn asked.
"Well, no" Caroline replied, "But still, they don't need to know that".
"Why are we here?" Elena asked, getting fed up of Kaitlynn and Caroline.
"You keep asking me these questions like I'm gonna answer them" Rose said, dodging Elena's question.
"Why won't you?" Elena asked.
"That's another one" Rose said.
"Oh come on, it's not like we can go anywhere" Caroline said, "I'd really like to know what I did for you to kidnap me".
"I personally want nothing with you three, I'm just a delivery service" Rose informed.
"Delivery to who?" Elena asked confused, "Elijah?".
Rose chuckled, "Two points to the eavesdropper".
"Who is he?" Elena asked, "Is he a vampire?".
"He's one of the vampires, the originals" Rose replied, "And he's Kaitlynn's soulmate, well old soulmate, their soulmate bond broke after Caroline and Brayden became soulmates".
"Excuse me?!" Kaitlynn yelled shocked, "My what now?!".
"Right, amnesia" Rose whispered, "Just wait for Elijah, he'll answer all your questions Kaitlynn".
"No, you answer my questions" Kaitlynn snapped, "What do you mean he's my soulmate? And how the hell did our bond break?".
"After soulmates meet, they have to be together" Rose replied, "But if they're away from each other for too long, their bond breaks, and two other soulmates are born, in your case, you and Elijah have been away from each for five hundred years, which is why the bond was then passed over to Caroline and Brayden".
Caroline looked at Kaitlynn, to see her looking at Rose in shock, she didn't know if she should believe what she was saying or not, specially since she doesn't even remember Elijah.
"What do you mean by the originals?" Elena asked confused.
"Again with the questions" Rose said, "Haven't the Salvatores been teaching you vampire history?".
"Okay, you clearly know who the brothers are" Caroline realised, "Have you met them?".
"No, but I know of them" Rose replied, "A few years back, a friend of mine tried to set me up with Brayden, but he said no because he at the time had a boyfriend".
"Boyfriend?" Elena asked shocked, she looked at Caroline, "Did you know that about Brayden?".
"Of course I did" Caroline replied.
Elena turned back to Rose, "Who are the originals?" she asked.
"Trevor and I have been running for 500 years" Rose replied, "We're tired, we want it over, we're using you three to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess".
"But why us?" Elena asked confused.
"Well, Kaitlynn, because she's Elijah's soulmate who he thought died" Rose replied, shocking Kaitlynn, "And you and your friend because you're the Petrova doppelganger, and she is the current female soulmate, you two are the key to breaking the curse".
"What curse?" Caroline asked confused.
"Wait, the sun and the moon curse?" Elena asked.
"You do know your history" Rose said.
"What do you mean me and Caroline are the key?" Elena asked, "The moonstone is what breaks the curse".
"No, the moonstone is what binds the curse" Rose replied, "Sacrifice is what breaks it".
"Whose sacrifice?" Caroline asked, fear rising in her heart.
"The doppelganger and the female soulmate" Rose replied, "Elena's the doppelganger, you're the soulmate, which means, in order to break the curse, you two are the ones that have to die".
***
"Tell us more" Elena demanded.
"Captivity's made her pushy, eh?" Trevor asked, entering the room, "What do you wanna know, doppelicious?".
"Who are you running from?" Elena asked.
"The originals" Trevor replied.
"Yeah, she said that" Elena said, "What does that mean?".
"The first family, the old world" Trevor replied, "Rose and I pissed them off".
"Mm-mm" Rose disagreed.
"Correction, I pissed them off" Trevor corrected, "Rose had my back, and for over half a millennium, they've wanted us dead".
"What the hell did you do?" Kaitlynn asked.
"He made the same mistake countless others did, he trusted Katherine Pierce" Rose replied.
"Been there, done that, got over it, you should to" Kaitlynn said.
"Well, we can't get over it Kaitlynn" Rose snapped, "Because of her the originals want us dead, because of her you died".
"What?" Kaitlynn asked.
"I helped Katherine escape her fate, and now I've--sorry, we've been marked ever since" Trevor replied, "And one of the originals ended up killing you Kaitlynn, because you encouraged her to run, after you found out what was going to happen to you two, you risked your life so your sister could live, kind of stupid if you ask me".
"Well, five hundred years ago, we might have been normal, loving sisters" Kaitlynn snapped.
***
After realising Trevor and Rose weren't going to tell her anything else, Elena sat back on the couch, she was confused seeing a paper that wasn't there before, opening it, she read the message Fae had sent the three girls.
Not wanting Trevor and Rose to hear her, Elena didn't say anything, she just held the note up so Caroline and Kaitlynn could read it as well.
Caroline smiled reading the note, she knew Brayden was going to come for her, he always did.
***
"According to Little Gilbert, there should be an access rode just past the mile marker six" Brayden said, opening the dashboard and taking out a blood bag.
"Well, haven't you come stocked" Damon commented.
"I'm getting my strength up" Brayden said, while Stefan stared at the blood bag, "If you want some Stefan, then you have to use your words, I'm not a mind reader".
"I want some" Stefan said.
Damon and Brayden exchanged a look, "Aw, that's so sweet" Damon said sarcastically, "You wanna be all big and strong and save your ex-girl, well don't worry, we've got your back, you'll be fine".
"I'm not joking, I've been drinking a little every day" Stefan informed, "Been slowly increasing my intake and building up my strength".
"Well, then, have at it" Brayden said, handing Stefan the blood bag, "But tell me something, whose blood have you been drinking? Because none of our blood bags have been missing".
"You keep count of our blood bags?" Damon asked amused.
"Well, last time we didn't, our brother secretly kept stealing our supply" Brayden replied.
"I've been drinking Fae's" Stefan revealed.
"I beg your pardon?" Brayden asked, amusement shown clearly on his face.
"Fae has been helping me control my bloodlust" Stefan said.
"By feeding you her blood?" Brayden asked.
"Yes, Brayden, she's helping me by feeding me her blood" Stefan replied.
"Oh, how I can not wait, to throw that on Elena's face" Brayden said excitedly.
"I shouldn't have told you anything" Stefan mumbled, making both Damon and Brayden laugh.
***
"He's here, this was a mistake" A panicked Trevor said, entering the room.
"No, I told you I would get us out of this, you have to trust me" Rose said.
"No, he wants me dead, Rose" Trevor snapped.
"He wants them more" Rose retorted.
"I can't, you give them to him, he'll have mercy on you" Trevor said, "But I need to get out of here".
"Hey!" Rose yelled, walking over to Trevor, "What are we?".
Trevor took a deep breath, "We're family" he replied, "Forever".
Rose nodded, just as there was knock on the front door.
"You're scared" Elena noticed.
"Stay here with them, and don't make a sound" Rose instructed Trevor, and walked over to greet Elijah.
"Rose-Marie" Elijah greeted, as Rose slowly walked over to Elijah, "Is there somewhere we can talk?".
"Yes, in here" Rose replied, pointing towards a room, "You have to forgive the house".
"Oh, no, what's a little dirt?" Elijah asked, walking into the room, "I completely understand, so tell me, what is it that gives you the courage to call me?".
"I wanted my freedom, I'm tired of running" Rose replied, "Are you in a position to grant me that?".
"I have complete authority to grant pardon to you and your little pet--What is his name these days?" Elijah asked, "Trevor--If I so see fit".
"Katerina Petrova" Rose said, gaining Elijah's attention.
"I'm listening" Elijah said.
"She didn't burn in the church in 1864" Rose informed, as Elijah sat down.
"Continue" Elijah said.
"She survived" Rose said.
"Where is she?" Elijah asked.
"You don't seem surprised by this" Rose noticed.
"Oh, when you called and invited me into this armpit of civilisation, which is a mere three hours from the town we know as Mystic Falls, I surmised it had everything to do with Katerina" Elijah said, "Do you have her in your possession?".
"No, but I have better" Rose replied, "I have her doppelganger".
"That's impossible" Elijah stated, "Her family line ended with her, I know that for a fact".
"Then the facts are wrong" Rose said, "But that's not all I have".
"Who else do you have?" Elijah asked curiously.
"The current female soulmate, Caroline Forbes" Rose replied, "And your old soulmate, Katalina Petrova".
"Don't" Elijah warned, standing up, "I will not tolerate you lying to me about Katalina".
"I'm not lying Elijah, Katalina has been alive this whole time" Rose said.
"I saw her body" Elijah snapped.
"You saw her when she was in transition" Rose corrected, "Me and Trevor think, he turned Katalina and made you think that she's dead, and then he compelled her to forget all about you, because Elijah, she has no memory of you or the bond you two used to share".
"Where is she?" Elijah asked, "I need to see her".
"Elijah, you're a man of honor, you're to be trusted, but I wanna hear you say it again" Rose said.
"You have my word that I will pardon you" Elijah said, "Now take me to her, now".
"Follow me" Rose said, leading Elijah towards the three girls.
Elijah entered the room, and immediately his eyes went towards Kaitlynn, who was standing next to Caroline and Elena, Trevor having removed the chains from the two vampires.
Elijah speeded over to Kaitlynn, "Katalina" he whispered, putting his hand on her cheek, "You're alive, you've been alive this whole time".
Kaitlynn looked at Elijah, and suddenly black and white pictures started appearing infront of her eyes, overwhelming her, causing her vision to go black, but before she could fall, Elijah grabbed her.
Caroline tried to run to Kaitlynn, but Rose held her back.
Elijah picked Kaitlynn up in her arms, and very carefully placed her on the couch, he knew this was the result of the compulsion and their broken soulmate bond, he removed the the hair from her face, and for a moment just took in the fact, that she has been alive this whole time, "This time, I'm not going to let anyone separate us" Elijah promised to an unconscious Kaitlynn.
Elijah then turned to Caroline and Elena, who were looking at him in confusion, he speeded over to Elena, and smelled her blood, "Human" he realised, "It's impossible", Elijah then turned to Caroline, "And you must be the current soulmate of a vampire".
Caroline and Elena both looked at Elijah, fear shown in both their eyes, as they had no idea what was going to happen to them now.
***
"House should be just beyond those trees" Damon informed, as the brothers got out of the car, he then turned to Stefan, who was already walking away, alongside Brayden, "Wait now, me and Brayden have more experience than you do with this sort of thing".
"So, what's your point?" Stefan asked.
"My point is, whoever has the girls could be the person who was after Katherine in 1864 and before that" Damon replied.
"Hurry up and get to the damn point" Brayden snapped, getting impatient.
"And it puts them at 500 years old and strong" Damon said, "You both sure you wanna do this?".
"How can you ask me that?" Brayden asked, "This is Caroline, Damon, of course I wanna do this".
"Brayden, if we go in, we may not come back out" Damon said.
"I'm ready to die for her" Brayden said, "She's my responsibly, I'm not going back to Mystic Falls without her, I'm not facing Liz and telling her that I couldn't save her daughter, but if you wanna stay back, then be my guest, I won't be mad".
"Caroline isn't important just to you" Damon said, following Brayden and Stefan, "I was just making sure you two know what we're walking into".
***
"We have a long journey ahead of us, perhaps we should be going" Elijah said.
Elena turned to Rose, "Please, don't let him take us" she cried.
"One last piece of business" Elijah said, ignoring Elena's cries, "Then we're done" he said, walking over to Trevor.
"I've waited so long for this day, Elijah" Trevor said, "I'm truly very sorry".
"Oh, no, your apology is not necessary" Elijah assured.
"Yes, yes, it is" Trevor said, "You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you".
"Well, yes, you are the guilty one" Elijah said, "And Rose aided you because she was loyal to you, that I honor, where was your loyalty?".
"I beg your forgiveness" Trevor pleaded.
"So granted" Elijah said, making a small smile form on Trevor face, but before he could say anything, Elijah used his hand to rip Trevor's head off, causing Rose to let out a painful cry.
"You--".
"Don't, Rose" Elijah interrupted, "Now that you're free", he started walking over to Kaitlynn.
"What about the moonstone?" Elena asked suddenly, hoping to give the Salvatore brothers more time.
"Oh god" Caroline mumbled, face palming.
Elijah turned to Elena, "What do you know about the moonstone?" he asked.
"I know that you need it, and I know where it is" Elena replied, making Caroline shake her head, realising the one advantage they had over Elijah was about to be lost as well.
"Yes?" Elijah asked, urging Elena to continue.
"I can help you get it" Elena replied.
"Tell me where it is" Elijah demanded.
"It doesn't work that way" Elena argued.
"Are you negotiating with me?" Elijah asked, looking at Rose for an answer.
"It's the first I've heard of it" Rose replied, glaring at Elijah.
Elijah looked into Elena's eyes, trying to compel her, but then his eyes fell on the necklace around her neck, "What is this vervain doing around your neck?" he asked, ripping the necklace from Elena's neck, and throwing it on the floor, he then grabbed Elena's head, and started compelling her, "Tell me where the moonstone is".
"In the tomb underneath the church ruins" Elena replied.
"What is it doing there?" Elijah asked.
"It's with Katherine" Elena replied.
"Interesting" Elijah commented, just as the four heard glass breaking, "What is that?" he asked Rose.
"I don't know" Rose replied, while Caroline tried her best not to smile, even with him not being infront of her, Caroline could already feel Brayden's presence.
"Who else is in this house?" Elijah asked.
"I don't know" Rose repeated.
Elijah grabbed both Caroline and Elena, "Stay with Katalina" Elijah ordered Rose, while taking the two girls with him, "Move" he demanded.
Suddenly, a vampire ran behind Elijah, causing him to let go of the girls and look behind him but not seeing anyone, then two more vampires ran infront of them, gaining Elijah's attention.
"Hey dickhead", Elijah looked on top of the stairs where he heard the voice, he quickly speeded up, but saw no one.
"Down here" Elena and Caroline heard Damon say, before Elijah could speed down, a stake was thrown into his hand, he easily took the stake out, but when he looked up, Elena and Caroline were missing, he looked into the room in which he left Rose and Kaitlynn, only to see Kaitlynn gone, and Rose laying on the floor unconscious from getting her neck snapped.
"Excuse me!" Elijah called out.
Brayden put his hand over Caroline and placed her against the wall, he put a finger on his lips, telling her not to make a sound.
"To whom it may concern" Elijah said, "You're making a grave mistake if you think you can beat me, you can't, you hear that?", Elijah grabbed a coat hanger, "I repeat, you cannot beat me, so I want the three girls on the count of three", Elijah ripped the top of the coat hanger, "Or heads will roll, do we understand each other?".
"Yeah, sorry, I can't let you take her" Brayden stated, coming on top of the stairs.
Elijah turned around and looked at Brayden in shock, "Brayden?".
Brayden looked at Elijah in confusion, "You know me?".
"He's compelled you too" Elijah whispered, rage filling his heart.
"Okay, clearly you've lost your mind, vampires can't be compelled" Brayden stated, "Now, let's get back to the topic, Caroline, she's the love of my life, so I can't let you take her away, separation issues and all, I hope you understand".
Before Elijah could say anything, Brayden threw a vervain grenade at him, which exploded right on his face, making him yell in pain, but it didn't take him long to recover, he looked back up at the stairs, to see Stefan there instead of Brayden, who started to shoot multiple wooden bullets at him, which didn't seem to effect Elijah that much, so Stefan grabbed him and both of them fell down the stairs, Elijah quickly stood up and tried to attack Stefan, but before he could, Damon grabbed the coat hanger, and staked Elijah in the chest, sticking him to the wall, and killing him.
"Brayden!" Caroline yelled, running into her boyfriend's arms.
"Hey" Brayden whispered, hugging Caroline back.
"You came" Caroline whispered.
"Of course I did" Brayden said, kissing Caroline's head.
Damon ran over to where he left an unconscious Kaitlynn, he looked at her in concern, he had checked and realised her neck wasn't broken, and she was still breathing, so he had no idea as to why she was unconscious.
"I'm taking her to the car" Damon informed, picking Kaitlynn up in his arms, and taking her outside.
Brayden and Stefan looked at each other, both of them having seen the look of concern on his face, they both realised that even a hundred and forty five years later, Damon still loved Kaitlynn, but he was just too scared to admit it.
***
Brayden entered his room, to see Caroline standing there, staring out the window, wearing nothing but Brayden's t-shirt, Brayden stood near the doorframe and stared at the girl he loved with everything he had.
"I can feel you staring" Caroline said, not looking towards Brayden.
"And I can feel your fear" Brayden said.
Caroline faced Brayden, "I called my mom" she said, "I told her everything, she said to say thanks to you".
"Tell her she doesn't have to say thanks to me" Brayden said, walking over to Caroline, "I saved her daughter because of a selfish reason".
"Which is what?" Caroline asked.
Brayden wrapped his arms around Caroline's waist, and pulled her closer to him, "I can't live without her" he admitted.
Caroline gave Brayden a small smile, causing him to frown, "Princess--".
"Is Kaitlynn awake?" Caroline interrupted.
"Yeah" Brayden replied, "Fae and Damon are with her, trying to figure out what if what Rose told her was true or not".
Caroline looked at Brayden, tears welling in her eyes, "Brayden, I'm going to die".
"Hey, none of that" Brayden snapped, "You're not going to die, I won't let you".
Caroline hugged Brayden and started crying, "I don't want to die Brayden" she cried.
Brayden wrapped his arms around Caroline, "You're not dying Caroline, I promise you".
"What if you can't save me?" Caroline whispered.
"I will" Brayden stated, not even wanting to think about Caroline dying, "I'm a stubborn person Caroline, I don't let the people I love leave me, now come on, let's get you to bed".
Caroline shook her head, "I don't want to sleep" she mumbled, still hugging Brayden.
"Then what do you want to do?" Brayden asked, ready to do anything Caroline wanted.
"Talk" Caroline replied, "Please keep talking to me, if I sleep, I'm scared I'm going have a nightmare of me dying or something".
Brayden sighed, without saying anything, he picked Caroline up in his arms.
"Brayden!" Caroline yelled startled.
"Shh" Brayden whispered, laying Caroline down on his bed.
"Brayden--".
"We're not sleeping" Brayden assured, putting the comforters over Caroline.
"Then what are we doing?" Caroline asked confused.
Brayden turned the lights off, taking his shirt off, he laid next to Caroline, "Talking" he replied, bringing Caroline into his arms.
"Did you know, back in the day a friend of yours tried to set you up with Rose?" Caroline said, putting her head on Brayden's chest, while he ran his hand through her hair.
"Wait, really?" Brayden asked, "I don't even remember meeting her".
"That's cause you said no, claiming you had a boyfriend" Caroline replied.
"I had a boyfriend?" Brayden asked confused.
"According to Rose, that's what you said" Caroline replied, looking at Brayden, "Who was the lucky guy?".
"Caroline, I slept with a lot of guys, but I don't remember being in a relationship with one" Brayden replied.
"So you lied to your friend?" Caroline asked.
"I'm guessing the friend Rose is talking about is Lexi" Brayden replied, "She is the only one who tried setting me up with people, and I probably had enough of her stupid blind dates and ended up lying, I don't really remember though".
"You know, this isn't fair" Caroline said suddenly, "You just have to fight guys off, I have to fight girls and guys off".
Brayden chuckled, "You don't have to fight anyone off princess, I'm all yours".
"Pinky?" Caroline asked, holding out a her pinky.
Brayden intertwined their pinkies together, "Pinky" he promised.
"Oh, I forgot" Caroline said, suddenly, "Did you know Kaitlynn called you a psychopath?".
And with that Brayden and Caroline stayed up all night, talking about everything and anything, Brayden having managed to distract Caroline from thinking about the sacrifice, but even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop think about it, the possibility of Caroline dying, scared Brayden to his very core.
***
Presenting 2x08 of The Vampire Diaries . . .
How was the chapter? Due to it being late, it's an extra long one for you guys as an apology for being a lazy shit >.<
Thoughts on the three Salvatore brothers teaming up together to save the three girls?
Thoughts on Elijah being Kaitlynn's soulmate?
Thoughts on Elijah knowing Brayden?
Thoughts on Rose claiming that Brayden had a boyfriend, but Brayden not remembering?
Next chapter: Katherine and Kaitlynn's past with Klaus and Elijah 👀