CHAPTER THIRTEEN | THE LAST DAY
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EDEN WAS MEANT FOR THE SACRIFICE. She hadn't told anyone, but somehow all those nightmares had finally made sense. Eden had gone over the plan several times with Elijah, she believed that she was meant to be sacrificed so that her sister— her twin sister— could live. It made sense, there had never been twin doppelgängers until now, perhaps nature had finally given up on trying to stop Klaus from breaking his curse and created a second doppelgänger— one to sacrifice, one to live happily ever after.
"Tonight is a full moon." Elijah informed as he stood in front of Eden, Elena and Stefan. "We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse."
Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Eden said that the Sun and Moon curse is fake. That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus."
"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it, he'll be a true Hybrid." Elijah explained for the benefit of Stefan and Elena, who seemed baffled by the information.
Finally, Damon strolled into the room with a pointed glare on his face. "Then, why are we letting him break the curse? We can kill him today." His gaze flickered toward the twins. "With Bonnie."
"No. Bonnie can't use that much power without dying." Elena was quick to snap back, cutting Damon's plan off before it even begun. "It's not an option, Damon."
"Alright. How do we break this curse?"
"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know. A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the moonstone. After that, Klaus being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."
Elena looked up toward Elijah with knitted brows. "And, where do we fit into it?"
The Original looked to Eden, who gave him a glare. "Uh— the final part of the ritual. Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelgänger to the point of your death. Given there's two of you, nature will only adapt, he'll drink from both of you."
Eden watched as their faces fell. She could see the hurt in their faces at the thought of losing Elena. Stefan comfortingly gripped Elena's hand, while Damon looked uneasy at the thought of loss.
"And, then you swoop in with your fancy potion." Eden changed the subject to a slightly lighter note as Elijah opened a chest to reveal a small bottle.
"This is an elixir that I acquired some five-hundred years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation."
"So, we'll be dead?" Elena asked, motioning between herself and her sister.
"And, then you won't." Elijah smiled in return.
A scoff left the eldest Salvatore's lips. "That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date? What if it doesn't work?"
"It'll work, Damon." Eden gave him a comforting smile. Of course, she knew it would work for Elena. Elena would return back to them as if nothing happened, and that is the way it needed to be.
As Damon irritably left the room, Elena turned her attention to Elijah. "Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?"
"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a hundred years. If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is that by tonight we will."
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"Are you sure about this?" Elijah asked quietly once he had finally found a moment alone with Eden. "Perhaps you should inform the others of your plan."
"Nope." Eden simply stated with a shrug. "This is the way it needs to be. She needs to live her life, grow old and have a family. I've had these dreams of this damn sacrifice for month. Calling me like a moth to a flame— literally."
"You know there is a possibility this elixir won't work." He tilted his head as his eyes met hers. "I don't want to mislead you."
"Then at least Elena will be safe." Eden smiled innocently as she took off, around the corner of the hallway and into her bedroom. A few moments later, Damon appeared behind her. "Done sulking?"
"You're lying." He snapped. His blue eyes met hers, but there was something else in them— a rage. Eden had never quite seen him like that before. "God. Why the hell are you lying?"
"I don't know what you—"
"—Cut the crap. You're sacrificing yourself for Elena." Damon interrupted Eden's feeble attempt to play dumb against his suspicions. "I have supernatural hearing Eden, plus I'm not a dumbass. I saw your guilty little eyes earlier."
"So, what? It's not like it matters. Be honest, you'd rather it was me sacrificed on an altar of fire than Elena, because then it means you could still be in with a chance of making her feel the same way as you!" The Gilbert girl viciously spat back as Damon remained silent. "I've come to terms with it. I am what needs to happen. Me. I've been having dreams of this sacrifice for weeks, almost like it's calling me there. And, if you tell Elena I swear to god, I'll—"
"You'll what? Stake me?" A vile, vicious chuckle left Damon's lips as he glared at her. "If I let you die— if I let you sacrifice yourself, then you may as well stake me. Because Elena would never forgive me, and you know that. Damn it, she'd never forgive herself. You're her twin, Eden!"
"This is nobody's choice but mine."
"Like Hell it is." The veins underneath Damon's eyes grew as he bit in to his wrist. Before Eden could do anything, he had forced it up to her mouth and forced his blood into her system. "You'll thank me for this."
Within a second, Stefan sped into the room and threw Damon away from Eden. The doppelgänger dropped to the floor just as Elena ran in. She dropped to her knees and cradled her sister.
"What did you do, huh?" Stefan yelled aloud, enraged at his older brother's actions. "What did you do!"
"I saved her life." Damon shrugged. "She's planning on sacrificing herself instead of Elena. She's so bent on dying, at least this way she'll come back."
"As a vampire!" Stefan yelled as he glanced back, watching the twins grip onto each other for dear life. "She'll come back a vampire."
"It's better than nothing else."
"How could you, of all people, take that choice away from her?" Stefan spat as soon as Damon sped out of the room, leaving the three behind.
"Is he— was he telling the truth?" Elena brushed her sister's hair away from her face as Eden nodded slowly. "Why? Why would you do this?"
"You're my sister."
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Eden had taken herself off for a walk after Damon force-fed her his blood. The thought of coming back to life was not something she was bothered about, but something back as a vampire? That scared her completely.
"Nice day for it, isn't it?" A British voice echoed a short distance behind her. As she turned around to locate the source of the voice, nobody was there. She cautiously turned back the way she was walking, and was met with a man. He was taller than her, dirty-blonde hair and a devilish grin. "Eden Gilbert."
"Klaus, I'm guessing." Eden raised an eyebrow as the man nodded in confirmation. "At least you're running around in your own body now, and not Alaric's. He doesn't suit the whole evil-mastermind-vibe."
Klaus seemed almost amused by her lack of fear, and how caviller she was. "Was that intended to be a compliment?"
"I'm inclined to say no, considering you're planning on sacrificing either me or my sister on an altar of fire." The Gilbert girl shrugged again. "But, I'm sure a vampire with an ego as big as yours will probably take that in any direction you want."
"Hm. Speaking of the sacrifice, I hear you are intent on sacrificing yourself for the life of your sister. An admirable choice, though foolish. Elena's attendance is required. Non-negotiable."
Eden was not scared of Klaus. Not really. It was almost like staring death in the face when she looked at him. "I'm not afraid of you. I know most people are, but you don't scare me. I'm ready to die— so use me."
Klaus' lips slowly turned into a smirk as his tongue ran against the inside of his cheek. "No." And with that, Klaus had disappeared.
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Night had began to fall, and Eden ran back to the Salvatore house. Stefan and Damon weren't answering their phones, which was no surprise to the girl. But, she needed to make sure Elena was inside the house. She burst through the doors, only to see Alaric and Stefan staring at her. "Where's Elena?"
"Gone." Stefan simply stated in a cold tone. "Klaus. He took her."
"And you let her go?!" Eden scoffed in complete disbelief. "Are you stupid?!"
"She wanted to. She's determined to keep you safe. I— I had to let her make her own choice, Eden."
"Well, her own choice is gonna get her killed. I saw Klaus in the woods earlier, he said he was going to sacrifice Elena. He won't sacrifice me." Eden stressfully ran her hand through her hair.
"Because he knows you have vampire blood in your system." Alaric revealed immediately as all eyes averted to him. He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Damon and I were in the Grill, he must've overheard. I'm sorry, Eden."
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