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The Red Door was right infront of me. The one I'd been told about, the place that held dark thoughts and I could only pray Elijah wasn't in there. I suddenly heard a scream, instantly recognising it belonged to Hayley. I yanked the door open and rushed inside.
I came to a halt to familiarise myself with the surroundings. I was in some woods, the sky was on the brink of darkness. As I turned to the right, a figure stopped, her head facing the opposite direction and her long hair covering her face.
I glanced down at her clothes. She wore a long tatty blue and white dress, it looked far before my time. The bottom had been trailing in all of the mud. As I looked back up, her head whipped around and I gasped in shock, feeling my stomach sink. I stared at her face, my face.
"Arabella?" I said, my voice at a whisper, knowing she couldn't hear me anyway. She looked scared, terrified. And she was out of breath, as though she'd be running from something.
I heard a male voice call out, "Arabella?"
She gasped before she ran straight past me and further into the woods. As my head whipped back in the direction of the voice, a figure was stood infront of me. It was Elijah. His hair was long, he had blood smeared on his chin and his clothes were dirty. His eyes locked with mine causing mine to widened. Could he see me?
"Elijah?" I said, continuing to stare at him.
He lunged forward, grabbing my arm tightly in his hand, "Arabella, please. Let me explain!"
"Elijah? No, no. It's not Arabella -- "
I cut myself off as I noticed his focus was on my exposed neck. And I knew exactly what he wanted. And now I knew exactly what memory this was. This was the day he killed Arabella.
I squirmed in his grasp, pulling my arm but his grip remained. He bared his teeth, "Let me explain."
"You're hurting me." I whimpered before kicking at his ankle causing him to let go. I watched as his face changed. The veins crawled down his face and his teeth grew sharp. I didn't hesitate, I ran as fast as I could in the same direction as Arabella.
My feet pounded against the ground and I whipped my head back to see him running after me, "Elijah! It's me, it's Cassie. Listen to me!"
But his face remained the same. It was like he could see me, but couldn't hear me. So that meant it was him but I had to find a way to break through the darkness and pull the real Elijah back out.
I vamp ran further into the woods, pressing my back against a tree. My chest rose and fell, calming my heart-beat down. I stayed there for a minute or two, trying to think of a plan. But first, I had to find Elijah again, considering I just lost him.
A scream shuddered through my ears. It was female. The screams died quickly and my feet began to stomp against the ground again as I ran in the direction. Then I heard a voice, a familiar one, "Cassie? Cassie? No!"
A body came into view, it was Hayley. She was crouched beside another body. As I moved closer, I saw Arabella on the floor. Her neck drained of blood.
"That's not me, Hayley." I said, causing her head to turn.
She stood up, her breathing shallow. I noticed blood all over her neck as though she'd been fed on, "I -- I just saw the face and thought -- God, I'm glad you're here."
"Where did he go?" I questioned, scanning around. But she didn't need to answer because I was pinned against a tree at full speed. I scrunched my eyes shut as I groaned in pain.
As I opened them, Elijah was infront of me, his strength keeping me locked in place. I tried to wriggle free but it was no use. So, I focused on him. Staring him straight in the eyes, "Elijah, it's Cassie. It's Cassandra Fell. Come on, you know me. And you know this isn't you."
"It's not working." Hayley whined, "I've tried and he didn't even see me."
He bared his fangs and thrust them into my neck. I screamed in pain before gritting my teeth. I grabbed his wrist in my hand, quickly siphoning off of him, "Elijah, listen to me!"
I felt his fangs leave my neck and he moved his head back up. The wound on my neck healed itself as his expression dropped and his fangs retracted. His eyes locked onto mine as I felt his grip loosen on my arms.
"Cassie?" He questioned, his voice low as though he was in disbelief.
I nodded, "It's me, Elijah. You have to get out of here. Please."
I could see his eyes film over with tears before his head whipped to the left to see Hayley. He took a step towards her, "Hayley..."
She didn't say a word, she just stared at him. I couldn't register what she was thinking but she suddenly stormed towards the door that was close by, as though I'd gone in one huge circle.
I glanced at Elijah, knowing he was in control and that it was him. I quickly ran after Hayley because the only way she could leave was via me. The woods suddenly turned into a white hallway as I passed the threshold. Hayley stood, staring into the doorway with fear across her face.
"Are you okay?" I asked, seeing the blood stains on her neck had disappeared.
She nodded once, still staring in the doorway. I turned as I felt Elijah's presence. He stepped through the threshold, his clothes and hair turning into what he wore the day he died. The Red Door shut behind him.
"Hayley..." Elijah said once again, taking a step towards her.
She took a step back in silence. I knew she hated what she'd seen, after all she'd never seen the darkest parts of him. I faced her, "Hayley, let me send you back. Tell Freya it's safe to fix the pendant."
Her eyes shifted to mine, "Okay."
I held up my hand towards her and created an 's' shaped waving motion infront of her. The lights in the hallway flickered until her figure disappeared into thin air. I licked my bottom lip anxiously before turning back to Elijah.
His eyes were once again filmed with tears, his expression woeful, "Cassie, forgive me."
"Please." I swallowed the lump in my throat, "Please, just stay out of there, Elijah."
"I know you saw her." He said, referring to Arabella causing me to drop my gaze, "I'm sorry. I am so sorry."
"I need to go." I told him. I could feel the magic from the other end tugging on my body. Elijah's voice called out my name before I was pulled back into the real world. I gasped as my body jolted upwards.
"Mommy!" A voice called and I instantly whipped my head around. Theo came running round the table and launched himself into my lap, his arms wrapping around me.
I pulled him close to me, running my hand down his back, "You did amazing, baby."
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I sat on the sofa in the courtyard in thought. Seeing Arabella was strange. I mean, her features were exactly like mine, and she was part of my family. And then seeing her lifeless body on the floor after being attacked by Elijah, it was heartbreaking.
"From what I hear, you saved the day." A voice said, pulling me out of my thoughts. I glanced up to see Klaus walking towards me. I let out a sigh causing his face to turn into concern, "You okay?"
"I'll give you one guess." I replied, downing the rest of my bourbon from the glass in my hand. I put the glass on the table infront.
"So, you ventured inside my brothers shattered mind and it wasn't all unicorns and rainbows." Klaus joked.
"I saw him compel me, Klaus." I told him, anxiously picking at my nails, "To hate you. To think the worst of you. How could he?"
Klaus took a seat in the chair beside me. He let out a sigh, "I don't know. But that was in the past, and we know he wasn't in his right state of mind."
"I went through the Red Door." I rushed, catching his eyes as they widened, "I saw... her."
"Arabella?" He questioned, and I nodded in response, "Did you see him -- "
" -- kill her?" I interupted. I shook my head, "Not exactly. I saw her alive, and then she ran. I heard her scream, then Hayley's. I rushed to them and saw her dead on the floor. Bite marks in her neck. You know, I really thought I'd find him in a good place but he chose the darkest part of himself."
"You know what we are." Klaus said lowly, "We're, all of us, monsters. We've commited countless atrosities over the years."
"I know." I sighed, "But having to stand and watch it all happen without being able to change any of it, it's just... difficult."
"Why don't you try take your mind off of it?" He suggested, "It's been a long day."
I nodded in agreement, "I just wanna take a walk."
As I stood up he did too, "I'll make sure Theo's sound asleep."
A small smile spread on my lips, "Thank you."
"For what?" He asked.
"For coming to see if I was okay." I replied.
The corners of his lips tugged outwards, "Always."
I stared at him for a brief moment before leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to his left cheek. I lingered for a moment before pulling back. I began to walk in the direction of the exit but before I could take a second step, my arm was being pulled backwards.
I spun around, catching a quick glimspe of Klaus' face before his lips crashed hard against mine and his hands grabbed my waist. My eyes instinctivly fluttered shut as our lips began to move in sync. After a few seconds, a smile instantly took up half my face as we pulled back from each other. He certainly knew how to make me feel better.
▂▂▂▂
After placing a flower in the small holder, I pressed my hand against Davina's tombstone, "I hope you're having a better day than I am. I miss you."
I deeply sighed, letting my hand fall back down by my side. I twirled another flower in my left hand as I began to head towards Cami's grave. I came to a halt as my phone began to ring. I pulled it from my pocket, seeing it was Kol.
I answered it, "Hey."
"Heard what you did today." He said on the other end, "Suppose everyone's celebrating Elijah's rescue? One big happy family."
"I wouldn't know." I replied, "I'm at the cemetery."
"Funny." Kol said, "I was just on my way there."
"Nothing beats mourning the dead, after a day inside a dead person's mind." I replied sarcastically, "It's been a rough day."
"Well... I thought we could -- "
A sudden sharp feeling rushed through my head and I yelled in pain, clutching my head in my hands, my phone dropping to the floor. I didn't even get chance to turn around because my chin connected with my shoulder and everything went dark.
A gasp escaped my lips as my eyes flew open. I groaned, pressing my hand against my head to relieve the pain. I rolled over onto my side, pushing myself into a sitting position. I scanned my surroundings, seeing I was inside a tomb.
My face scrunched up and I let out a yelp as another pain shot through my hand. I looked at my palm, seeing a large bleeding cut in it. My eyes widened in shock, "What the hell."
"Cassie!" A voice yelled.
My eyes shot upwards, seeing Kol run through the opening, "Kol?"
I stood up, going to walk forward but I was pushed backwards by an invisible barrier. I frowned as I hit my fist against it, "What's happening?"
"Some would go to the ends of the earth to protect their love." Someone behind Kol said.
Kol turned, the female coming into view. She was a young girl. I stared at her, confused, "And who the hell are you?"
"You know exactly who I am." She replied with a small smirk.
I pushed my hands against the barrier to siphon the magic away but I couldn't. Instead I felt the feeling of the magic and if felt like what had been inside of me for fifty years, she was the Hollow.
Kol lunged towards her, "You let her go or I will rip you apart."
"I wouldn't do that. She and I are now linked." She said.
She held her hand facing us, her other lifting a piece of glass. She stabbed it into her hand, dragging it down to create a cut. I bared my teeth as a wound appeared on my hand, identical to hers, "So, if you want to keep her safe. Then you belong to me."
Kol glanced back towards me, a worried expression across his entire face. And I'm pretty sure mine was the same. I was terrified. If she could kill Elijah, a strong, powerful Original, she could do the same to me, but far easier and quicker.