"ARE YOU ON DRUGS?" Indigo squinted at Rose as she watched the vampire absentmindedly flip through the pages of a book. "I'm not married."
Aside from the fact that she had literally only been eighteen for a month, there was also the glaring issue of witches being weird about marriage. They couldn't just marry and live life together like normal people did — marriages for witches literally required binding your life to someone else's, which was less than ideal. Her Grams never married, and neither did her aunt Abby. Irene Bennett was the only one who'd actually made that step, and while she considered it being the ultimate form of love, Indigo considered it being stupid.
"Not yet." Rose uttered matter-of-factly.
"Not ever," Indigo corrected with an annoyed huff. "And even if I were to get married, what does that have to do with you kidnapping me?"
Rose dug through the pile for a moment, pulling out two books that were hidden in the chaos. Indigo's breath hitched at the pull she felt towards them. She'd never seen them before, but as she stood there, hungry and exhausted, she found herself fighting the urge to reach out and touch them.
"Do you recognize these?" Rose dangled them in the air.
"No."
"They belonged to your ancestor, Editha. Things were different back then, you see — in between vampires and werewolves terrorizing the earth, disease, and war, it was hard for witches to survive. They tried their best, but there was only so much they could do..."
"Bennett witches have always had power. My Grams said that we're one of the most powerful bloodlines."
"There's a reason for that," Rose gave her a pointed look. "Research goes a long way, Indigo Bennett. Your family has power at their fingertips because of the deal your ancestor made."
Indigo narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the vampire. "What deal? What are you talking about?"
"Editha made a deal — one of her descendants would have to marry one of the original vampires in order for the Bennett family to keep their power. You're the lucky one."
"Bullshit." Indigo instantly denied. It didn't make sense to her why Editha — whoever that was — would have her tied to an original vampire. Were any of the original vampires even still alive?
"I have no reason to lie to you," the spiky-haired woman insisted. "Haven't you noticed something different about your magic?"
Indigo bristled at the question. As much as she hated to admit it, she was an anomaly. She couldn't think of any other witch in her bloodline — or in any bloodline — whose magic depended on the emotions of other people rather than nature itself. It made her much more destructive and unpredictable than anyone on the Other Side could've anticipated. It was unnatural, as her Grams always told her, and she needed to use it wisely. If she didn't, the Spirits would have it out for her.
But if what Rose was saying was true, they already did have it out for her.
Rose walked over to Indigo, handing it to her solemnly. "I suggest you read through these."
Rose disappeared, leaving Elena and Indigo alone. Indigo stared down at the grimoires, familiarity filling her chest. Fuck this, she thought as she ripped a tiny piece of paper off of one of the pages. She couldn't waste time deciphering whether or not Rose was being honest about her captivity or not. They needed to get out of there, and they needed to do it quickly. Indigo wasn't about to sit around and wait for them to be shipped off to their death (and potentially her future husband).
"What are you doing?" Elena whispered, nosily peeking over Indigo's shoulder.
Indi ignored her, standing up to search for something to write with in the messy pile of books that were scattered across the floor. "Looking for something."
"Looking for what?"
"Have you always been this nosy?"
"I'm not nosy," Elena sounded offended. "I just want to know what's going on. I kind of need to be in the loop."
Indigo let out a triumphant noise as she found a pen tucked in between the pages of one of the books. "That's literally the definition of being nosy, Elena. But you're right — you do need to know what's going on. I need you to distract them so that I can contact Bonnie."
The brown-haired girl let out a quiet breath, chewing her bottom lip anxiously. "Distract them. Okay. How am I supposed to do that?"
"I dunno," Indigo eyed the ballpoint pen. "Go ask them questions or something. Or say you have to pee...you do have to pee, right?"
Indigo leaned forward, sniffing the doppelgänger to make sure she hadn't peed on herself amongst the day's chaos.
Elena swatted her away with a frown. "I don't know. I'm too scared to focus on my bodily functions right now. I just found out that I'm going to have to die in some sacrifice."
Indigo tapped the pen on her hand as she stared at the girl sympathetically. "Hey, Dumb and Dumber aren't going to let you die," she rolled her eyes as she thought about the Salvatore brothers. "And neither is Bonnie. Right now, we just need to focus on getting out of here."
Elena shot her appreciative grin. "Thanks. Do you think she was telling the truth? About the marriage thing?"
"Maybe." Indi grunted. She didn't want to think about it. "Just go find them. Ask them a bunch of questions...I'm sure you have plenty. We need to get out of here."
Elena nodded and scurried up the staircase. Indi turned her attention towards the slip of paper, quickly scribbling a message to send to Bonnie.
Elena and I have been kidnapped. Hurry up. They're going to send us somewhere else - Indi she wrote. Then, after bracing herself, she stabbed the palm of her hand with the pen, a small spout of blood spilling. She let the blood drop onto the paper as she closed her eyes, willing an image of Bonnie in her mind. Slowly, she felt the paper in her hands disappear.
Indigo walked back over to the couch, sinking onto the uncomfortable cushions with furrowed eyebrows. She'd done her part; it was up to Bonnie, Damon, and Stefan to finish the job.
A few minutes later, Elena was being tugged downstairs by Rose and Trevor, struggling to keep up with their quick pace. The doppelgänger was shoved into the seat next to Indigo. Rose began organizing the books as Trevor leaned against the staircase.
"Tell us more about the originals." Elena crossed her arms across her chest.
"Captivity's made you pushy, eh?" Trevor quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "What do you want to know, dopplelicious?"
Indigo cringed at the horrendous nickname as Elena let out an annoyed noise. "Who are they?"
Trevor's eyes slid over to her, the amusement in his eyes slowly dying. "They are the first family from the old world. Rose and I pissed—" Rose shot him an icy look. "Correction, I pissed them off. Rose just had my back. And for over half a millennium, they've wanted us dead."
"That's a mighty long time to hold a grudge," Indi lazily drawled. "What did you do?"
"Well, when you're immortal, you have all the time in the world. It's hard to forget betrayal, especially as big as what I did." Trevor sighed.
"Wow. And I thought I was petty." The witch's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "What did you do?"
"He made the dire mistake of Katerina Petrova." Rose bitterly spat. "And we've been running ever since."
"Katherine. Of course." Elena breathed out.
Indigo didn't know much about Katherine other than the fact that she was Stefan (and Damon's?) psychotic ex-girlfriend that they believed was trapped in a tomb. Grams lost her life after trying to open it for them, only to find out that she wasn't even there. The thought alone sent a static shock of anger throughout her body. The books that Rose had been neatly stacking toppled over, causing the vampires to look at her with raised eyebrows.
"I see you two are familiar with her."
"Unfortunately." Elena muttered darkly.
"I helped her escape her fate," Trevor sneered. "And now I've...we've...been marked ever since."
"Which is why we're not going to make the same mistake by trusting another Petrova doppelgänger." Rose added on as she glanced at Elena.
Indigo rolled her eyes, leaning her head back to rest it on the couch. For the sake of her well-being, she decided on tuning the rest of their conversation out. Rose was an idiot in her opinion. Call her selfish, but spending an eternity on the run over something she had nothing to do with sounded like a miserable existence. They didn't even have daylight rings, which meant they weren't enjoying life the way it was meant to be enjoyed. How much history and culture had they missed out on by hiding in the shadows?
The small crinkle of paper caught Indigo's attention. She instinctively reached into her pocket, pulling out a small piece of paper that she definitely didn't remember placing in her sweatpants. Indigo glanced up, making sure the two vampires were distracted before opening the paper.
Stefan and Damon are coming for you. - B
Indigo could barely contain the relieved noise that threatened to escape her lips. She subtly slid the note over to Elena, whose turbulent emotions significantly calmed once she read it over. The two girls exchanged small smiles, happy that it was almost over. Somewhere in between listening to Rose and Trevor mumble amongst themselves and trying not to think about how hungry she was, she fell asleep.
┏━━━ ━━━┓
Coldness.
It was all Indigo could feel as she suddenly awoken from the slumber she'd accidentally fallen into. It was overriding her senses, making her stomach turn into knots. There was something going on, she realized as she slowly sat up, although she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The coldness multiplied with every passing moment, and she shivered, glancing around the disastrous living space. Something was wrong — that much was evident by the way Rose and Trevor were pacing back and forth, visibly terrified as they anxiously moved around.
Indigo's eyes flickered over to Elena, who was watching the vampires with just as much curiosity as she was.
"What's going on?" Indi asked her, folding her arms across her stomach.
"He's here," Trevor nervously ran his hands through his hair, interrupting whatever Elena was about to respond with. "This was a mistake."
"A little too late for that, don't you think?" Indigo scoffed.
"I told you I would get you out of this," Rose kept her voice calm, trying to get him to stop panicking although she was clearly feeling the same as him. "You have to trust me."
"No! He wants me dead, Rose."
Rose gestured to the girls on the couch. "He wants them more."
Elena grabbed Indigo's hand, squeezing for dear life as they spoke. Despite Elena's poker face, Indigo could feel the fear rising in the human girl with every breath she took.
"I — I can't do this," Trevor mumbled lowly, shaking his head. "You give them to him. He'll have mercy on you but I need to get out of here."
Indigo stood up, her magic pulsing through her veins as the windows in the house shattered. If it weren't for the thick curtains and boarded up pieces of wood covering them, they would've burned to death — not that she cared much. It wasn't her intention to kill them, but the chilling feeling still hadn't gone away, and that combined with everyone Elena's tense emotions was putting her on edge. Trevor and Rose looked at her with wide eyes as she approached them.
"You kidnapped us — two teenaged girls who knew nothing about the betrayal you committed centuries ago, and brought us to the middle of nowhere. My neck hurts, I'm starving, and I'm dirty. You're going to wait for Elijah guy just like everyone else has to."
Trevor growled, his veins poking out from underneath his eyes as he lunged at her. Indigo raised her hand, stopping him in his tracks with an aneurysm spell. She watched as he dropped to his knees, his body contorting in inhuman ways as the witch assaulted his senses.
"Knock it off!" Rose snapped, rushing to his side. "He's going through a lot right now."
"I let him get away with trying to bite me once, but that was his first and last time." Indigo's voice was monotonous as she watched Trevor writhe in pain. Her surroundings became a blur; all she could focus on, all she wanted to focus on, was making him suffer.
"Wait, Indigo, stop." Elena's hand shaking her shoulder brought her out of the trance. "Let's just...let Elijah handle it."
Indigo mumbled in disagreement under her breath but stopped the spell nonetheless. She just hoped this Elijah person was going to deal with him accordingly whenever he decided to show his face.
"I won't let you do this alone. What are we?" Rose rubbed his back comfortingly.
"We're family," Trevor croaked out as he healed. "Forever."
Three loud, purposeful knocks turned everyone's attention towards the door. Indigo sucked in a breath at the sheer power she felt radiating. Although she'd been in contact with vampires prior to moving to Mystic Falls (New York was practically flooding with them), it had never quite felt like this before. Indigo clenched her jaw, willing her own jittery nerves to disappear. Someone had to be brave, and judging by the faces of everyone else in the room, it seemed like it was going to have to be her.
"You're afraid." Elena's breath quickened as she stared at the vampires.
"Stay with them and don't make a sound." Rose hissed at her companion, shooting the girls a quick glance before disappearing.
Indigo anxiously tapped her foot on the floorboards as she waited for impending doom. How long would it take the Salvatore's to show up? With her magic, she had at least a fighting chance against this guy until they arrived to save the day. She could distract him long enough for Elena to make a run for it and try to get help — that is, if they were anywhere near civilization. Indigo wasn't even sure if they were still in Virginia.
For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Indigo found herself cursing Trevor and Rose. An evil, secret part of Indigo hoped this Elijah guy killed them.
Two pairs of footsteps drew closer to the living room, bringing her out of her thoughts. Indigo didn't know what she was expecting Elijah to look like. Short, bald, and ugly is what automatically came to mind. It would be just her luck to be trapped in a marriage with a hideous looking man for the rest of her life.
But when he came into view, her jaw nearly dropped. He was...handsome, as much as she hated to admit it. Elijah was tall, with short, brown hair and a defined jawline. His dark brown eyes settled on the two girls, his hands resting carefully in the pockets of his crisp navy blue suit. He looked lean, but Indi could tell that he was muscular underneath the expensive garments. The sheer amount of power that emitted from him sent chills down the witch's spine. He was very, very old, and it unnerved her.
Elena jumped as Elijah appeared in front of her suddenly, grabbing her arm. Slowly, he buried his face in her neck, taking in a deep breath. Another spike of fear rose in Elena, causing Indigo to pull her away from the man.
"Hey, don't be creepy," Indigo spoke shakily. "You can smell her just fine from, you know, a normal distance. She's scared."
Elijah turned his attention to her with a bored expression. "And who might you be?"
Indigo's eyes flickered back and forth between Elijah and Rose as she shifted on her feet. The kidnapper had obviously failed to inform Rose of who she was, which made her bloodline-marriage story even more unbelievable. Bitch, she thought as she folded her arms across her stomach. "I'm Indigo."
He raised a sharp eyebrow, addressing Rose while keeping his eyes on her. "Why is she here?"
"She's a Bennett witch. The Bennett witch." Rose explained.
Elijah's eyes trailed over her, inspecting every inch,
causing her to frown. "Not his usual type." He commented curtly.
Indigo's mouth dropped open in shock. Was he implying that she was unattractive? Her ears warmed in embarrassment, and she bit her lip to stop herself from saying something she would probably end up regretting. Sure, she looked a little crusty — being held captive by two desperate vampires would leave anyone looking rough — but she was far from ugly. "I'm sure I'm out of his league."
An amused smile slowly spread across his face as he straightened his back, breaking their eye contact to glance at Rose. "This is quite interesting," he spoke aloud. "Well, we must get going. We have a long journey ahead of us."
Elijah swiftly grabbed both Indigo and Elena's arms, headed towards the front door. Indigo narrowed her eyes, attempting to use the aneurysm spell, but he kept moving as if it wasn't effecting him. Her eyes widened as she turned to Elena in panic. Was he so old that he'd become immune to the spell, or was she just weak?
"Would you mind...knocking it off?" Elijah spoke carefully, as if testing the words out on his tongue. Indigo's heart dropped — he must've heard Rose tell her that earlier. How long had he been out there, listening and waiting? "That doesn't hurt me. It's more of a nuisance than anything else, really."
Oh, hell no Indigo thought as she tried her hardest to wriggle out of his grasp. Indi felt Elena dig her feet into the ground, clearly scrambling to find a way to stop this from happening.
"You don't have to do this," Elena pleaded, turning towards Rose. "Please don't let him take us."
Rose looked away, causing Indigo to scowl at them. "You're both cowards!"
Elijah paused in his movements. "That reminds me," he let let them go. "Just one last piece of business."
Trevor, who had been quiet during the whole ordeal, nervously stepped towards Elijah. "I've waited so long for this, Elijah. I'm truly very sorry."
Elijah circled Trevor slowly, much like a predator waiting to pounce on its prey. "Your apology isn't necessary."
"It is," Trevor insisted, his voice shaking. "You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you."
Indigo watched with inquisitive eyes as Elijah hummed in agreement, still walking in circles around him. He was deadly calm as he assessed the man in front of him, which made Indi nervous. She didn't know what to expect.
"Ah, yes. You are the guilty one. Rose aided you because she was loyal to you — and that, I honor." Elijah nodded at Rose as he stopped directly in front of Trevor. "Where was your loyalty?"
"I — I beg your forgiveness." Trevor stammered.
"And so granted."
The brief, flicker of happiness and relief that passed through Trevor's eyes quickly faded away as Elijah raised his hand, chopping his head off with a fluid swing. Indigo's eyes widened as Trevor's head rolled to the ground, his body falling soon after.
Indigo had seen some pretty messed up things in her eighteen years of life, but this was by far the worst. She gagged, hunching over as her body tried to expel something from her stomach at the grotesque sight of a decapitated body. Indi was suddenly grateful that she hadn't had anything to eat — if they had fed her, she would've thrown up all over the floor.
"You—" Rose let out a cry of agony as she stared at her dead companion.
"Don't, Rose," Elijah warned her as he cleaned his hand with the handkerchief that rested in his breast pocket. "You're free now. And as for you two," he smoothly moved in front of them. "Come now."
He kindly helped Indigo rise to her full height, placing a hand on her back as he extended his free hand to Elena. Indigo wanted to protest, but her stomach was still turning, and Elijah's grip was tighter than she was sure he meant it to be.
"No!" Elena cried. "What about the moonstone?"
"What do you know about the moonstone?" Elijah tilted his head.
"I know that you need it. And I know where it is. I can take you to it." She told him.
"Where is it?" Elijah demanded, any trace of kindness disappearing as he peered at the doppelgänger.
"It doesn't work that way." Elena shook her head. Indigo let out a low groan — Elena had to be the biggest dumbass in the world to try to make a deal with a man who just decapitated someone with one hand.
"Are you...negotiating with me?" Elijah seemed to find humor in Elena's bravery, looking over at Rose. "Did you know about this?"
"This is the first I've heard of it." Rose sniffed as she wiped her teary eyes.
"Hmm," Elijah's thunderous gaze fell on Indigo. "Where is the moonstone?"
Indigo helplessly shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He stared into her eyes for a moment, searching to see if she was telling the truth or not. Indigo stared back defiantly, refusing to cower underneath his gaze (even though she was scared shitless). "Very interesting indeed." His lips quirked slightly before turning his attention towards Elena.
Elijah glanced at the necklace that sat on her neck with a frown. "What is this vervain doing around your neck?" He snatched it away before Indigo could even blink. "Where is the moonstone?" His pupils dilated as he looked into her eyes.
"Inside of the tomb." Elena answered monotonously.
"What is it doing there?"
"It's with Katherine."
Indigo tensed as she felt the presence of two vampires — Damon and Stefan, presumably. So they had gotten the message. A relieved grunt escaped her lips as she rubbed her temples. She was beyond ready to be back in the comfort of her own home.
A loud noise came from upstairs just then, causing Elijah to divert his attention. "Who else is in this house?"
"I...I don't know." Rose denied, confusion evident in her tone.
Elijah let out a deep, annoyed sigh as he looked back at Indigo. "I apologize."
"What are you—"
Without warning, using his super speed, Elijah grabbed Indigo and banged her head against the wall, rendering her unconscious.