This chapter was super fun to write, so enjoy this action packed chapter! A detail brought up at the beginning of the book is revealed in this chapter as well.
One month later, 3rd person
Stefan gathers his brother, girlfriend, and closest allies in a clearing. Bonnie asks him, "Why are we out here in the middle of the woods?"
A triumphant smile appears on Stefan's face, "We don't have to fear about the Originals anymore. Elena, want to tell them about your talk with Esther at their ball?"
The secret she had kept hidden in order to protect Esther is revealed, "We knew that whatever was in that casket could kill Klaus and that's her plan. They are all linked so if we kill one, we kill all."
Jeremy worries for his friend that he has grown close to the past few weeks, "But what about Alexia?"
Elena sighs, "I know you guys are friends, but she's a Mikaelson. I feel bad about Elijah, he doesn't deserve this."
Jeremy pleads, "There has to be another way." Elena shakes her head and Damon looks away, displeased about his Original one night stand having to die.
Caroline asks Stefan, "How would we even kill them? They destroyed the white oak tree a thousand years ago."
Stefan throws a giant duffel on the ground and it lands with a clank. "There was another tree and now we all have a weapon again the Originals." He unzips the duffel to reveal numerous white oak stakes.
Damon picks one up and tosses it in the air, "Who do we target?"
Elena pipes in, "Alexia would be an easy target, especially if she has her guard down around Jeremy and Damon."
Jeremy immediately begins protesting this and Damon actually agrees with him, "Little Gilbert is right. There's more to her than what meets the eye."
They all decide to target Finn, who seems distant from the others and unwilling to fight. A plan comes into action as they plot the end to the Original family.
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Alexia's POV
I stare at the stack of letters that has collected in the pocket of my jacket. There are already 15 letters, most of which from the twins. I have yet to respond to any of my friends. I had opened the first five or so, one from each of my Gryffindor friends, wondering if I was still alive and well. My heart hurts not being able to let them know I'm alright, but I can't waver, not now.
Jeremy and Damon both have been acting unusual around me with Elena seeming overly confident. I look up from my pocket to see Jeremy checking his phone for the seventh time in the past few minutes. "Are you alright?"
His eyes snap up as he responds too fast, "I'm fine."
My eyebrows raise, "I know when you're lying." His figure shifts uncomfortably, not wanting to answer me. "Jeremy, tell me what's going on." My tone comes out a bit harsh, but the unnerving feeling in the pit of my stomach is growing.
He lets out a deep breath, unable to contain the secret any longer. "Elena met with Esther at the ball."
"I am already aware of this, but she told Elijah that we have nothing to worry about." Jeremy's brown eyes look away in an attempt to hide the guilt. "We have nothing to worry about, right?"
Jeremy shakes his head, making his long hair fall onto his face. "You have to understand that we learned that she would help us defeat Klaus."
"She's been trying to fix the balance of nature for a long time. I want revenge against Niklaus as well but there's something else, is there not?"
He nods at my words, "We all know he can't be killed or put down with a dagger now that he is a hybrid, but she found a loophole." I grow excited at the thought of Niklaus finally meeting his overdue end but know it's too good to be true. "She performed a spell that night...linking you all together. If one dies, you all do."
My eyes widen and my breath catches in my throat, "But there's no white oak and the dagger can't put him down..." Esther must have spelled a dagger to be able to put Niklaus down as well or there has to be some other fatal weapon out there in play.
I jump to my feet, furious at Mother and then Niklaus for dragging us into his mess yet again. "I have to go fix this."
"Alexia, it's too dangerous." Jeremy reaches out to grab my hand, but I pull it away immediately.
"Either way I'm in danger. I'm going to find that weapon and destroy it, thanks for the info Jeremy." With that, I run off to the Salvatore boarding house where I assume Elena is.
I open the door to see everyone minus Caroline, Matt, and Tyler in the living room. Elena is the first to spot me and questions it, "Alexia?"
I walk towards them with confidence radiating from me and stand before them without saying a word. They stare at me while I challenge them all, "Give me the weapon and no one gets killed today."
Stefan ushers the humans into the kitchen but no one moves. Stefan shares a look with Bonnie before reaching into the inside of his jacket to grip onto something. Suddenly, he runs at me with a stake in his hand. As he reaches me, I kick the hand with the stake in it, creating a sickening crack of his bones.
I capture him in a headlock easily since I am much stronger than him. Bonnie then holds her hand out, chanting until I feel an indescribable pain in my head, making me releasing Stefan to grab my head as I let out a scream.
Stefan moves to grab the stake, but I push through the pain to throw him to the ground in one swift movement. He jumps up to flip me over, but I kick him down again.
We both get up. I hear Elena's voice from behind me, "Welcome to the end, Alexia." A makeshift mini grenade is thrown at me and vervain soaks my skin, burning it. I groan out in pain as Alaric attempts to shoot at mini stake at me, but I catch it in my hand to throw it at Stefan's leg. He falters but pulls it out quickly.
I chuckle, "Is that all you got? A couple of stakes that can't kill me for good and some vervain?" I raise my arms in victory and raise my eyebrows as Stefan approaches me again. As Alaric manages to lodge a small stake in my stomach, soaking my shirt red, Bonnie releases the pain in my head, allowing me to pull the stake out.
Soon after she chants, "Incendia." A ring of fire forms around me and Stefan as Alaric lodges another stake into my leg, forcing me to one knee again.
Stefan reaches back into his jacket and pulls out a stake lighter than the rest. I recognize the coloring and gasp as he smirks, "That's right, white oak."
I don't waste time questioning how he managed to find white oak, considering we burned the tree to the ground right after we were turned into vampires. I lower my voice, "You're making the wrong move."
"How?"
A smirk appears on my lips, "You kill an Original and their whole sire line dies with it."
"She's bluffing." Elena warns him but I have to chuckle since I'm actually trying to help them by saving their lives.
I see confusion appear on Stefan's face, so I say, "Kill me and see what happens." He takes this as a motive to pin me down. I'm weak from the stakes and vervain but allow him to keep me there.
He raises his arm to pierce the stake through my heart, but a voice stops Stefan, allowing me to grab onto his wrist, preventing the white oak from breaking skin. "Stop!"
Elena looks at the doorway, "Jeremy, you should leave."
A pissed look appears on his face, "No. You agreed she wasn't the target."
Stefan looks at him, "We have to do this, I'm sorry." He pushes the stake closer to me as I struggle due to Bonnie adding pain to my head again.
As the stake lodges itself into me, centimeters away from me heart, I know I have to take action as I forcefully say, "Stupefy!" Stefan is thrown over the fire against the wall. I use aquamenti to put out the fire with my hand. Stefan rises in a daze, taken aback as to what just transpired. I glance at Bonnie, "Imperio." I make her stop using magic against me, so she lowers her hand.
Fear is evident in Elena's tone as she urges Bonnie to continue. "Bonnie, keep going."
I turn to look at Elena, "She can't." Alaric raises his gun and shoots a few more bullets, but I raise my hand, "Protego." The bullets hit the barrier and fall to the ground in a pile.
Jeremy yells for my to watch out, and I look behind me to see Stefan throw the white oak stake to Alaric, but I use accio. They all widen their eyes as the stake comes flying towards my outstretched hand, catching it, and casting incendio to burn it to a dust.
Because of this, I say, "Crucio." Stefan falls to his hands and knees, withering in pain and screaming for the entire world to hear.
I intensify the curse as Elena begs me, "Please stop! You're hurting him!" I let it go and keep my head up, ceasing all spells. No one tries anything as they all stare, completely and utterly confused.
Damon, who sat in the corner drinking Bourbon this entire time, is the first to speak, "What are you?"
A smile appears on my face as I look at the dust of the weapon intended to kill me. "You know, you should have used me as an ally. I told you not to mess with me."
Stefan coldly demands, "Answer the question."
"My brother isn't the only hybrid." His eyebrows raise and I playfully say, "I'm a witch of course!"
Bonnie steps forward, "Those were not spells I have heard of before. You are not like me, I can sense it. Now tell us the truth."
I roll my eyes at this, "I already did. There are other types of magic you know." She starts questioning this, leading me to scoff. "You guys really need to know all the information before making irrational decisions. Anyways, after I was turned I discovered I could perform a new type of magic, one no one had ever seen before. I created all these spells to pass down to every witch and wizard who uses a wand."
Stefan questions this, "You created those spells? What does that make you then?"
"The Original Witch."
Damon mutters out, "Well I'll be damned."
"That must make you as strong as Klaus."
My eyes meet Elena's, "I can rival him, yes. I also know a way to kill him that won't lead to any of you dying, or me for that matter."
Bonnie chimes in, "How?"
I stand stubbornly, "Why should I tell you? You all just tried to kill me and the entire vampire race." Stefan looks deep in thought, now understanding that I was telling the truth about the sire lines. "If you had killed me, every vampire on Earth would cease the exist since we are all linked. I don't think anyone would fancy that too much."
All of their eyes widen in fear as Damon looks at Alaric, "We have to stop the others. Bonnie, go unlink them." She runs out with Damond deciding to drive her to the Mikaelson residence.
I look at their worried faces, confused. Jeremy speaks up, "The others are after Finn."
I scream out, "You are all bloody idiots!"
Elena has the audacity to ask, "Can you tell us how to kill Klaus?"
I glare at the doppelgänger, "I already told you guys enough. You can fend for yourselves against the wrath of my brother. You are all dead the moment he gets wind of this."
Jeremy pipes in, "We all have the same goal to kill him." I acknowledge this but don't back down. "Alexia, I'm sorry for them but can you please help us?"
I let out a sigh, "Fine but this stays in this room considering I haven't told anyone this." They all nod at this. "In my world of magic, there is a tale of three brothers and their exchange with death. I won't bore you with all the details, but there is an invisibility cloak, resurrection stone, and the elder wand, which is the most powerful wand in the world."
Stefan asks, "But how are they relevant?"
"Well, every witch and wizard knows this story but what they don't know is that when combined with a spell, the three objects can be transformed into a weapon wielded by death himself, rendering it fatal to whoever it is used on."
He thinks this over, "Do you have these items?"
I shift my weight to my other foot, becoming impatient while we wait for Bonnie. "No, but I know where two of them are."
Elena glances at me, "If you know where they are then why don't you have them?"
My eyes roll at her question, becoming annoyed with her even more so. "That's why I haven't been here. I've been at a school to befriend the person who has one and is destined to have them all. I left to come here but plan to return when he has them all." I think of Harry and how he already has the cloak. It's just a matter of time now.
I then think about how they only sent Alaric to deliver the message about not killing Finn, "We should all go help stop the extinction of vampires."
We nod and take off towards the Mystic Grill to find Finn before the others can get to him. Of course their phones are muted, so we have to beat the clock. We rush in to find Caroline by the bar and Stefan asks, "Where are the others?"
"Out back." Caroline glances at me and is on edge, "Why is she here?"
I step forward, "Trying to save everyone from your idiotic plan!" I run out back through the service exit. With all of them behind me, I open the door quickly to see Tyler and Matt. Matt towers a recently fired cross bow while Tyler raises the white oak stake over a crippled Finn.
I yell out for him to stop, but it's too late. The stake goes through Finn's heart and he lets out a gasp.
My feet rush over to his side to see my eldest brother dying. A few tears escape my eyes as he reaches up to rest a hand on my cheek. We share a look for a moment that alleviates any bad blood between us, but the moment is gone in an instant as he desiccates and catches on fire.
Jeremy rushes to my side to hug me, yet I pull away to glance at the ashes on the ground and realize I'm still alive. I let out a sigh of relief, "Bonnie unlinked us." I then look to Stefan, "Well, you are all saved, thanks to me."
He nods and offers a hand to help me stand up. I grab it as he apologizes, "I'm sorry we didn't listen to you at first."
"At least you finally did, but I didn't give you all much of a choice once I showed my true powers." I still feel angry at them for attempting to kill me, but I understand they were desperate to rid the world of Niklaus.
Elena thinks for a moment before bringing something up, "Wait, who is the sire to their line?"
I smirk, "Wouldn't you like to know?" With that I flash back to the house to find my siblings.