It didn't take the Gilbert girl very long to figure out where her sister was taking her after they left the Salvatore boarding house for their, what Elena liked to call it, 'sister to sister time.' Emily had quickly realized it when she noticed the familiar woods after driving around Mystic Falls for about ten minutes. Emily guessed she should of known Elena would be taking her to the one person that has actually met Klaus and was still alive; Katherine Pierce.
Emily had tried to ask her sister about what they were going to do once they were face to face with Katherine, but Elena only told her that they needed answers and to also tell Caroline to meet them in the woods. The human girl knew Elena wasn't going to tell her anything else as she was dead set on her plan, so Emily just did what her sister said as she silently pulled out her cell phone and dialed the blonde vampire's number.
It was another fifteen minutes before the two Gilbert sisters were finally standing in front of the old Fell's church after Elena had caught a deer and filled an empty water bottle with the dark red blood of the animal. Emily figured it was to bribe Katherine to answer their questions as she must be pretty hungry after being stuck in the tomb over the weekend.
Emily wasn't empty handed either as Elena had pushed the Petrova book that she kept in her bag into Emily's arms once they were standing in the middle of the woods. Emily was surprised as her sister had actually thought out her plan instead of playing it by ear like she usually did when she was still human.
"I'm here! I'm here!" The loud voice of the blonde vampire called out after a few more silent minutes had passed between the Gilbert sisters as they waited for the aforementioned vampire. Caroline vamp sped over to the human girl and her vampire sister before she looked between them with her blonde brows furrowed as she curiously asked, "so, why did you want to meet in the woods?"
Elena took a quick glance over to her twin sister as she looked for any sign of disagreement to her plan before she focused her brown eyes on the blonde vampire. "I need your help opening the door," Elena explained to Caroline.
The blonde vampire's blue eyes widened in shock before she hurriedly whispered, "are you crazy!?" She then glanced over to Emily for anything that said Elena was joking before she shook her head when she couldn't find anything. "Damon and Stefan aren't going to like this," Caroline mumbled.
"And that is why you are going to keep Stefan busy today," Emily finally spoke up while she ignored her sister's stunned expression. The human girl knew that they needed to talk with Katherine without the Salvatore brothers jumping in every couple of seconds.
Emily wasn't stupid. She wasn't avoiding that she is suppose to die because of the sacrifice like everyone thought she was. Emily just wasn't confident that they would find a way when Darina couldn't even be saved. However, Emily was going to follow with her sister's plan as she wanted to know everything she could about Klaus. Emily didn't care what happened to her as she already knew the outcome, but she did plan on using the information she finds to keep her friends and family safe.
"How the hell am I suppose to do that?" Caroline screeched while she nervously played with the bottom of her blue flowing tank top. She quickly shook her head and muttered, "I'm horrible at lying. He'll see right through me."
Emily sighed at her blonde friend before a thought suddenly popped into her head. "You just need to tell Stef that Elena and I wanted to have a whole day to ourselves," Emily told Caroline before she added, "tell him we went shopping or something." Stefan already knew that she and Elena were going to talk before first period, so Emily thought it was the perfect excuse.
Caroline stared at the brunette girl with a frown on her face before she huffed out a groan. "Fine," she mumbled before the blonde vampire sluggishly followed after the determined Gilbert sisters. The woods was then overcome by silence as they slowly made their way down to the tomb before Caroline suddenly questioned in confusion, "wait, why didn't you want Stefan to know?"
Elena glanced over to the blonde vampire once they were inside of the tomb and told her, "because he would never be okay with us doing this." The Gilbert vampire didn't even have to say anything else as all three of them knew that Stefan would lock the human girl into a room before letting Katherine anywhere near Emily again after what happened at the Masquerade Ball.
Caroline only gave Elena a small nod before she stood frozen in her spot when she caught sight of the tomb door as an uneasiness feeling began to run up her chest. The blonde vampire always felt uneasy whenever she was in Katherine's presence, so this was definitely not what she wanted to spend her morning doing. "Um... are you sure about this?" Caroline questioned the two sisters once she finally took her eyes off of the door that held Katherine Pierce caged in.
Emily placed her empty hand that wasn't holding the large Petrova book onto Caroline's lower arm and gave her a small smile. "We're sure," she told the blonde vampire before she explained, "Katherine is the only one who knows the truth about Klaus."
"But you're asking for the truth from someone who's probably never even given it," Caroline quickly uttered as she tried to convince the human girl to just turn back now and get away from here. The blonde vampire didn't like the idea of Emily talking to Katherine when she could harm her. However, when Emily still wouldn't budge, Caroline sighed before she stared directly into Emily's green eyes and asked once more, "are you sure about this?"
Emily silently nodded her head as she held eye contact with her worried best friend. This was just something she and Elena needed to do. "Katherine has never lied to me before," Emily added as she tried to get Caroline to understand her reasoning for doing this, "and she won't even be able to touch us."
"Fine," Caroline mumbled as she gave Emily one last concerned look before she walked over to the right side of the tomb door while Elena grabbed onto the left side. The blonde vampire then stared directly at Elena as she began to count, "one. Two. Three," before they both pulled with all their might until the door finally slid off of the seal that locked Katherine in the tomb.
Emily grabbed the small flashlight out of her purse while Elena and Caroline were busy moving the heavy door out of the way before she pointed the light towards the familiar dark tunnel. However, when Emily couldn't see or hear anything, she took a small step closer before she called out, which instantly caused her voice to bounce off of the narrow walls, "Katherine?"
The Gilbert vampire dusted off the dirt from her hands once the tomb door was leaning against the wall before she glanced over to Caroline and noticed that she watching Emily like a hawk. "We'll be okay from here," Elena announced over to the blonde vampire. "I won't let anything happen to her," she added as she also moved her eyes to Emily, who was getting quite close to the edge of the entrance.
It took a couple more minutes of the two vampires and the human girl nervously staring at the dark tunnel before they finally heard movement from inside. The only thing they did hear was the sound of Katherine dragging her bare feet against the rough pavement of the ground along with the sound of her sharp finger nails sliding against the stone walls.
Finally, after another minute or so, the ill body of Katherine Pierce came into view as her sore and tired body slammed against the spelled barrier that was placed by the Bennett witch to keep the older vampire stuck inside of the tomb.
"Hello, Elena," Katherine snarled in a deep and hungry voice before she sarcastically questioned, "you come to watch me wither away?" However, when her doppelganger didn't respond, Katherine rolled her brown eyes before she moved them to the left and smiled slightly when she saw the human girl. "Ah, it's my favorite sister," Katherine whispered before she moved her eyes to the right and snarled once more, "goodbye, Caroline."
Emily quickly glanced behind her when she heard Katherine utter her best friend's name. The Gilbert girl didn't even know the blonde was still here as she was so focused on getting information about Klaus from Katherine. Emily then shot Elena and her doppelganger a quick smile before she handed her sister the Petrova book and stated, "I'll walk her out." The human girl knew Katherine wouldn't give them any answers if she didn't want Caroline here, which she obviously didn't. Emily then linked her arm with Caroline's before she forcefully pulled the blonde vampire with her as she moved up and out of the tomb.
"Emmie, just please come to school with me," Caroline begged once they were out of the tomb and was standing in the middle of the woods. She couldn't find it in herself to just leave the human girl with the vampire that turned her. Caroline knew something bad would end up happening.
Emily sighed softly as she shook her head. "I can't, Care," she told the blonde vampire before she added, "anyways, you don't have to worry. Elena will make sure nothing happens to me."
Caroline knew that was true as everyone had noticed how protective Elena has gotten about Emily ever since she transitioned. "I hate when you're right," Caroline grumbled while she stomped her white and blue sneakers against the leaf-covered ground.
The Gilbert girl gave her best friend a charming smile before a thought suddenly popped into her head, which immediately turned Emily's facial expression upside down. "Tyler told me what happened at the Masquerade Ball," Emily whispered to the blonde vampire as she remembered Caroline knew about Tyler's turning.
Caroline's blue eyes widened at Emily's words before she quickly took a step closer to the brunette girl. "So, you know?" The blonde vampire questioned in a whisper as quietly as she could as she didn't know who would be listening, "you know he's a werewolf?"
Emily nodded her head as she nervously ran her fingers through her messy brown hair. The topic of Tyler's turning was beginning to make the brunette girl stress out every time it was brought up, Emily soon realized as if she didn't have enough to worry about. "He told me a couple of hours ago," Emily explained to her best friend before a serious look made its way onto her face.
"No matter what, Caroline, you cannot tell Tyler about what happened to Mason," Emily quickly warned the blonde, "and you cannot let Tyler find out about the existence of vampires." The Gilbert girl knew Caroline wouldn't just out herself to the Lockwood teenager, but she needed to make sure Tyler didn't find out. Emily knew Tyler would hate her if he ever found out that she lied and kept a secret from him, but Emily made a promise to Mason and she wasn't going to break it.
Caroline bit down on her bottom lip as she avoided Emily's green eyes. "Yeah, I know," she mumbled, "I just hate lying to him." The blonde vampire knew she should of told Emily about how she did tell Tyler about her being a vampire, but knew she had enough on her plate. Instead, Caroline decided she would talk to Stefan about it as Emily had Klaus and Katherine to worry about.
The Gilbert girl sighed as she also felt bad about lying to Tyler but she knew it was something she had to do. "It's for the best," Emily told the blonde vampire as she tried to console her and also release the guilt she was feeling, "we're doing this to protect him from this life." She gave Caroline a small smile as she added, "you just need to remember that we're helping Tyler by not telling him."
"Yeah, okay," Caroline mumbled while she ran her fingers through her blonde hair as she felt nervous lying to Emily about what she told Tyler. The vampire then glanced down at the silver watch on her wrist before she let out a sigh. "I should get going," Caroline told her best friend before she added humorously, "I got Stefan duty."
Emily smiled softly at the blonde vampire before she pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Care," the brunette girl praised before she pulled away and stared into Caroline's blue eyes. "I owe you one," Emily told the blonde vampire as she gave Caroline one last smile before she quickly turned around. She then headed back down the stairs to her twin sister and Katherine as she hoped she didn't miss anything important.
"You're back just in time!" Katherine called out as loudly as she could with the new blood in her system from her spot on the dirty ground of her personal hell while she watched her favorite Gilbert move around the tomb. "I met Klaus back in England; 1492," Katherine began the story of her life once Emily was standing next to Elena, "I left with my sister, Darina, and her witch friend, Maria." The older vampire chuckled humorlessly before she corrected herself, "or the actual term; thrown out."
Elena poured a small amount of deer blood into a plastic shot glass before she passed it over to the hungry Katherine with a wooden stick as she didn't want to get sucked into the tomb. "Thrown out?" The Gilbert vampire confusingly questioned while Katherine drank her fix of blood.
Katherine gently leaned her head against the hard wall as she savored the blood running down her throat that her doppelganger thankfully kept handing her. "My family, your true ancestors," the older vampire explained, "they disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at the time." Katherine rolled her eyes as she added, "I had a baby out of wedlock," before she whispered sarcastically, "oh, the shame."
Emily silently took a seat across from the older vampire onto the dirty ground as she fell into the tale of Katherine's history. "The baby was kept a secret?" The Gilbert girl questioned as she tried to imagine the time period of Katherine's human life.
"Mhmm," Katherine mumbled as she moved her brown eyes over to her favorite Gilbert once she finally spoke, "my baby was given away." She then looked back to Elena as she continued, "I was banished to England, where my sister quickly followed along with Maria. I had to learn to adjust, so I became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus." Katherine rolled her eyes as she remembered her foolishness of falling for men as a human. "I was completely taken with him at first," Katherine spoke softly, "but then I found out what he really wanted from me." The older vampire's body then went straight as a board as she was pulled into that very memory while she muttered, "and then I ran like hell."
***
ENGLAND 1492
Katerina Petrova held her large grey dress up to her knees as she ran as quickly as she could move through the dark and quiet woods of England. She tried to push her tears away from her brown eyes but knew it was no use when she was running for her life. Katerina knew the vampires were searching for her right now, so the human girl ignored the tears and pain she felt as she continued to push her body further through the woods as she could not allow Klaus to catch her.
Katerina was so lost in her thoughts of finally reaching safety while trying to see through her warm tears that she didn't even notice the thick branch sticking up from the ground. The brunette girl soon let out a quiet groan when she landed face first into the dirt and leaves before she quickly pushed away the pain and crawled behind a large tree. Katerina knew they were close as she could hear their voices as if they were right next to her.
"She's here," the voice of Elijah told his two fellow vampires while he used his enhanced hearing. "Katerina!" He shouted into the woods," I know you are near! I can smell your blood!" Elijah then slowly moved around the woods as he waited for any sign of movement before he continued to shout at the scared girl, "it is pointless to run. Klaus will find you wherever you are."
However, before Elijah could spot the Petrova doppelganger on the ground of the woods, his search was soon abruptly stopped by another one of his men. "This way," the vampire, Trevor, exclaimed as he pointed towards the opposite direction, "there is more blood over there."
Elijah didn't even bother questioning the young vampire as he trusted his judgement. He only cared about finding Katerina, so he gave his men a quick nod before they all took off towards the direction Trevor had pointed out.
Katerina didn't understand why a vampire was helping her when they all work for Klaus and Elijah, but the human girl didn't think too much about it as she just wanted to escape. She then listened for any movement, but when she didn't hear the swooshing of the vampires anymore, Katerina carefully stood up from the ground as she had noticed her left foot had began to throb in pain and she didn't want to hurt it more. The young girl softly sighed once she was fully standing before she went to turn around but was soon shocked when she saw another one of the vampires.
The vampire, Trevor, hurriedly placed his finger onto the human girl's lips along with pushing her against the large tree before she could even open her mouth. Trevor didn't want Elijah to think he found her if he heard Katerina's voice. The brunette vampire then stared into Katerina's brown eyes and waited until she recognized him in the dark night before he whispered against her ear, "head east. I can not lead them astray for much longer."
Katerina shook her head with tears clouding her brown eyes before she pushed Trevor's finger away from her lips. "I can not run anymore," she uttered barely above a whisper as she was afraid they would find her.
Trevor ignored Katerina's disagreement as he only cared about getting her to safety. He then, once again, placed his hand over her mouth as he glanced around the woods as he tried to locate something familiar in his surroundings. It took less than a minute before the vampire's blue eyes widened as he realized a way he could help Katerina. "There's a cottage," he hurriedly whispered, "you'll be safe there." Trevor then pulled his hand away from the young girl and took a step back before he quietly shouted, "go now. Go!"
Katerina stared up at Trevor for a moment before she quickly nodded her head. She then pushed the pain that was bothering her foot away and took off in a fast sprint. She headed east like Trevor had told her as she ran for her life. Now that she had a certain and safe location in mind, Katerina pushed herself even further as she was so close to escaping Klaus and his wrath.
***
The Gilbert vampire poured more blood into the small shot glass before she pushed it to her doppelganger as Katherine had paused in the middle of her story. It was silent for a moment as Katherine drank the red liquid while Elena glanced over to her sister, who was obviously lost in thought as she was staring down at her fingers. The brunette was worried about her sister as she knew Emily was thinking about the future which was what Elena was also concerned about after hearing a small part of Katherine's story. The Gilbert vampire then looked back to Katherine as she wanted to know more about how she was suppose to save her twin sister before she wondered, "so, what did Klaus want?"
Katherine didn't answer her doppelganger right away as she moved her tired brown eyes over to the human girl that looks exactly like her sister. "The same thing that he'll want from Emily," the older vampire whispered in a glum voice as she hated thinking about how the Gilbert girl would soon go through what she and Darina had both experienced. "He wants to break the curse," Katherine clarified once she finally moved her brown eyes off of Emily and onto the human girl's sister.
Emily silently stared at Katherine's slumped figure against the wall before she let out a heavy sigh. She knew exactly what her doppelganger's sister was talking about. Emily felt like she had been hearing the same sentence over and over again that it almost felt not real. The human girl then moved her green eyes off of Katherine and over to her sister before she told her in a soft voice as she didn't want Elena to start freaking out, "to break the curse, Klaus needs to sacrifice the Petrova doppelganger; me."
Katherine slowly nodded her head as she watched the shocked and saddened expression on Elena's face and the calm and neutral one on Emily's. "He wanted to drain every single drop of blood from my body," Katherine further explained in a low whisper as her mind was overcome by the terrifying flashbacks of her past life.
The Petrova descendants then went dead silent as Katherine relaxed back onto the rough wall as she let the small piece of information about Klaus sink into the Gilbert sisters. Each girl was feeling a different emotion. The Gilbert vampire was feeling sick to her stomach with knowing that her sister was going to be sacrificed while Emily was just exhausted. She was tired of hearing the same thing. She already knew Klaus was coming. She already knew she was going to be used in the sacrifice. She already knew he wanted to be a hybrid. Emily wanted answers that aren't recycled and she wasn't going to stop until she knew a way to protect her family and friends from Klaus.
"What does the Petrova bloodline have to do with Klaus?" Emily questioned once she stood up from the dirty ground and began to slowly pace up and down the small space. She couldn't just sit there. Emily needed to move around or she would explode as her mind was running a mile a minute as she tried to think of a way that she could keep everyone safe as she absorbed Katherine's history of running from Klaus.
The older vampire grabbed the fresh blood that Elena pushed over to her like it was routine. She brought the small cup to her cracked lips as she began, "it's really tedious, but..." Katherine then slurped down the animal blood before she crushed the cup in her hands as she was finally gaining her strength back. "The curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood," she uttered before she moved her gaze over to the pacing human, "witches are crafty with their spells." She then tossed the empty cup to the dirty ground before continuing, "the doppelganger was created as a way to be able to undo the spell. Once the doppelganger reappeared, the curse can be broken."
Emily nodded her head in understanding and stopped pacing as she was finally getting some real answers. Now we're getting somewhere, the Gilbert girl thought as Katherine told her and Elena new information that she never knew about. "Klaus killed Darina because she was the doppelganger but when he couldn't use her, he went to you as you were the next doppelganger in line," Emily thought out loud before she looked over to Katherine and wondered, "did you escape before he found you?"
Katherine leaned her head back against the hard wall as she stared at a random spot in the darkness before she mumbled, "something like that," as she was pulled into a memory she wished she could forget.
***
ENGLAND 1492
Katerina Petrova continued to run through the dark woods as fast as her bare feet would move. The young girl soon got used to her surroundings and realized exactly where Trevor had sent her after a couple of minutes of running. Katerina remembered when she first arrived in England, her sister had quickly befriended the person who was staying in the small cottage. However, Katerina never bothered to learn the girl's name as they didn't like each other very much.
The Petrova girl was so close to reaching the cottage that she could practically taste it as she could see the small building in her sights. But before Katerina could make it to the small white cottage, she was soon caught off guard as a body ran right into her. Katerina instantly thought it was Klaus or one of his men, so the brunette girl quickly went into fight mode as she pushed and kicked the unknown person as she tried to escape their tight grasp.
"Katerina!" The voice of Maria Radkova cried out as she tried to get the young girl to calm down. "It's me! Maria!" The witch yelled in a whisper as she didn't want Klaus to recognize her voice if he was around.
Katerina's brown eyes immediately widened when she recognized the familiar voice. She couldn't be anymore thankful to see Maria even though she never liked the woman. However, when Katerina glanced around, she soon noticed that her sister was nowhere in sight. "Where's Dari? Did you hide her?" Katerina quickly interrogated the witch. The whole time Katerina had been running from Klaus, she had been wondering if her sister got word of what had happened and got to safety as she didn't have time to grab her before Katerina made her escape.
The Radkova witch squeezed her eyes shut and let out a painful sigh as she slowly shook her head. The brunette woman then quickly glanced around the woods when she heard movement through the trees before she grabbed ahold of Katerina's wrist. "We must go," Maria hurriedly exclaimed in a whisper instead of answering the young girl's question about Darina before she pulled Katerina with her as she began to run through the dark forest.
Once they were standing in front of the small cottage, Maria instantly knocked onto the door while she tried to keep Katerina hidden from any watchful eyes. Maria hated being in the open like this, especially at the time when everyone was looking for the Petrova doppelganger.Thankfully, it only took about ten seconds before the door was thrown open by a very confused Rose-Marie. The vampire found it strange that Katerina and Maria were both standing in front of her door as they didn't really like her. They only tolerated her because of sweet and loving Darina.
Rose-Marie ignored the soft cries and whimpers coming from Katerina, instead she focused onto the uneasy looking Maria Radkova. It was odd for the witch to not be in control of her emotions as she was always so straight-faced. "What is it?" Rose-Marie wondered as her dark brows furrowed, "why are you here?"
Maria glanced left, right, and behind her as she looked for anyone spying on them before she took a step closer to the vampire and whispered, "it's Klaus." The Radkova witch knew that Darina told Rose-Marie about the feared one - even though she had told the Petrova girl not to as it was dangerous for anyone to know about the sacrifice and Darina's roll.
Once the words were out of Maria's mouth, Rose-Marie's green eyes quickly widened before she stepped to the side and let the witch and the human girl into the cottage. Rose-Marie definitely didn't want any of Klaus' men to know she was hiding Katerina but Rose-Marie was also worried to where her best friend, Darina, was located. She knew Maria wouldn't just leave her alone when Klaus is coming for her, so it made Rose-Marie quite nervous.
"Where is my sister?" Katerina growled exactly what Rose-Marie was thinking once the door was closed and the Petrova girl pulled her hand away from the witch. Katerina was extremely worried about her sister. She felt raddled with Klaus coming for her and not seeing her sister's soft face made it that much worse.
Maria avoided the anxious expressions on Katerina and Rose-Marie's faces for a moment as she knew they were looking for answers she couldn't provide. She instead began to pace the small room while she wiped the warm tears from her eyes as she tried to pull her thoughts together. Everything that happened in the last few hours had went by so quickly that Maria barely even had time to grieve before she was on the run to find Katerina. Finally, after a couple of tense minutes had passed by, Maria faced the vampire and the human girl and whispered heart-brokenly, "K-Klaus got to her."
Katerina's bottom lip instantly began to tremble as soon as she heard the words rush out of the Radkova witch's mouth. "W-What do you mean?" The Petrova girl whispered as she feared for the worse.
Maria silently moved across the room and sat down into an old wooden chair as she couldn't look Katerina in the eye. "H-He came for her," she began to explain with tears clouding her vision as she felt like she was reliving the death of her adopted daughter all over again, "he somehow found out that I helped her by infusing her blood with the Protector blood. Klaus knew he couldn't use her anymore, so he killed her and said he would come for the next doppelganger." Maria then finally looked over at the Petrova girl once the cottage was overcome by only silence and sobs from everyone in the room before she whispered, "I am so sorry, Katerina. I couldn't save her."
"No, no, no," Katerina cried out as she felt like her heart was just ripped from her chest. She quickly shook her head in denial and exclaimed, "she can not be dead!" Katerina then began to pace as she incoherently mumbled to herself before she quickly came to a stop and faced the two crying supernatural beings. "She was suppose to be safe!" Katerina yelled as she pulled out the one thing Klaus would need; the moonstone, before she showed it to the witch and the vampire. "You were suppose to protect her!" Katerina shouted as she glared over at the witch, who promised to always keep her sister safe.
Rose-Marie quickly wiped the tears from her green eyes when she saw what Katerina was holding. "Y-You stole that from Klaus?" She interrogated in a nervous voice as she stared directly at the white stone. Rose-Marie knew she was definitely dead now as not only was Klaus looking for Katerina but he was also missing the moonstone and it was all thanks to her companion, Trevor, for making promises on her behalf.
Katerina innocently nodded her head like it was the simplest thing in the world and stated, "it was to be part of the sacrifice ritual, so I grabbed it and made my escape." She then glared over at Maria, once again, before she growled, "I thought I was keeping myself and my sister safe by taking this but you couldn't even keep her alive long enough for us to leave England!"
Maria shook her head with a loud sigh while she played with her bloody fingers to calm her nerves but, of course, it wasn't working as her adopted daughter's blood was all over them. Maria glanced away from the blood with a shaky breath before she told the Petrova girl, "she was already dead before you found out that they wanted you for the sacrifice, Katerina." Maria then finally looked back into Katerina's brown eyes and explained when she noticed the confused expression on the human girl's face, "they originally planned on using Darina but when Klaus found out the truth to what I did to help her, he killed Darina before deciding to use you for the sacrifice."
"You must leave now," Rose-Marie hurriedly exclaimed after she listened to Maria's tale of the death of her best friend. She would be joining Darina before she could even open her mouth if Klaus found Katerina here. Rose-Marie didn't care for Katerina nor like her, so she definitely didn't care if she was to be sacrificed as the vampire wanted to continue to live her undead life.
"I beg of you," Maria quickly pleaded as she walked towards the vampire. "I made a promise to Darina before she died to keep her sister alive. We cannot fail her, Rose-Marie," the Radkova witch exclaimed as she tried to convince the vampire to help her. She couldn't keep Darina alive, so Maria was at least going to fulfill one of her last wishes.
Rose-Marie glanced over to the crying Katerina for a few short seconds before she quickly shook her head and looked back to Maria. "I am taking her back to Klaus and we shall beg him to show us mercy," the vampire told the witch before she swiftly walked away as she needed to be alone. Rose-Marie couldn't help them as the only person she tried to help was now dead. She would not be responsible for Katerina any longer.
***
The Gilbert girl tightly squeezed her green eyes shut after she heard Katherine retell the story of finding out about her twin sister's death. Emily couldn't even imagine finding out that Elena or Jeremy had died. She didn't even know Elena was dead when she transitioned into a vampire, so she never really had to experience what Katherine had except, of course, for the couple of hours when her sister wouldn't wake up from the car crash that killed their parents.
The story had Emily's heart pounding crazily in her chest. However, it wasn't from the horrible way Katherine found out about the death of Darina. Instead, it was the fact that she now knew just how bad Klaus really is. It was different hearing it come from someone's mouth instead of reading it like she did when she got Maria's letter. It now made Emily even more determined to protect her family and friends from Klaus' wrath.
"So, did Maria end up convincing Rose to not take you back to Klaus?" Emily wondered as she remembered Rose telling them how Katherine turned herself this morning at the Salvatore boarding house. Emily figured it had to be because Rose either changed her mind or Katherine turned herself in the short time before Rose took her back to Klaus as she would of died from the sacrifice as a human.
Katherine chuckled humorlessly before she mumbled, "nope." She then moved her brown eyes over to the human girl she wants to help as she explained while she was pulled further into her memories, "but it wasn't like she had much of a choice."
***
ENGLAND 1492
Maria Radkova followed closely behind Rose-Marie as she charged into the small room that they had left Katerina in. The witch had been trying to convince Rose-Marie to change her mind about taking Katerina back to Klaus for hours. However, the vampire wouldn't even budge.
Rose-Marie was dead set on sending Katerina back to the feared one as the vampire felt like it was Katerina's fault that her best friend was now dead because the younger Petrova twin just had to catch the eye of Klaus when the sisters first arrived in England. Rose-Marie wanted nothing to do with Katerina Petrova anymore. She was just trouble and Rose-Marie knew she would be the cause of her death if she kept the human girl any longer.
"Get up," Rose-Marie commanded as she made her way over to the young girl, who was sitting on top of a small bed. "It is time to go," the vampire uttered emotionlessly as she held a thick rope in front of her white and tan dress. It was time for Rose-Marie to get rid of Katerina once and for all as daylight was finally breaking through the dark sky.
However, when Rose-Marie was only a foot away from the human girl, she noticed that Katerina was gasping in pain. She then quickly moved the wool blanket off of the brunette before her green eyes instantly widened at what she saw. "When did this happen?" Rose-Marie hurriedly questioned as she stared down at the bloody wound.
The Radkova witch quickly walked up to the other side of the small bed when she saw the fresh blood on the human's skin before she lightly placed her hand on top of the wound as she tried to take away Katerina's pain with her Protector Of The Innocence abilities. "What were you thinking, Katerina?" The witch mumbled as she noticed the human girl's wound was very deep as Katerina's pain entered her body.
Katerina let out a small groan as she slowly felt the pain leave her body - thanks to the Radkova witch. She then glanced over to the squinting Rose-Marie before she easily lied in a whisper, "in the woods. I tripped."
"That is a lie," Rose-Marie growled, "I would have smelled it." The vampire then swiftly moved her angry green eyes to Maria with a hard glare before she interrogated, "was your condolence about Darina just a way for you to distract me?"
Maria slowly stood up from the bed as she couldn't take much more of Katerina's pain without falling down from exhaustion. "Of course not!" The Radkova witch shouted as she couldn't believe the vampire would blame her for Katerina harming herself. Maria was just trying to help Rose-Marie grieve over Darina as much as she was trying to help herself do the same.
"I'd rather die than go back to Klaus," Katerina uttered as she interrupted the arguing while she tried to breath regularly. Now that Maria wasn't taking her pain anymore, the human girl could feel her wound getting worse as the blood continued to seep through her dress. Katerina then glanced between the silent witch and vampire before she pleaded desperately, "please, just let me die."
"If you die then Trevor dies with you," Rose-Marie growled as she glared down at the human girl. She was not just going to allow this girl to end not only Darina's but also her companion, Trevor's life. Rose-Marie quickly placed her wrist inside of her mouth and took a bite out of her skin until she felt her blood flowing down her arm. She then pushed her bloody wound against Katerina's mouth as she forced the human girl to drink. This was the only way Rose-Marie knew to save Trevor's life as she watched the Petrova doppelganger's wound heal.
"No! No!" Katerina cried out once she wiped the blood from her lips and began to feel the long wound across her cheek heal along with the pain in her stomach stop altogether.
The room was then overcome by silence as everyone was breathing hard after what had just took place. Rose-Marie was angry that Katerina was trying to fool her, Maria was disappointed that Katerina would try to kill herself when she was trying to help save her like Darina wanted, and the doppelganger was just scared and saddened that she didn't succeed in ending her life as she didn't want to have to face Klaus again.
"Where is she?" The loud vampire, Trevor, exclaimed as he rushed into the small room and interrupted the very tense silence. However, before Trevor could make his way to the crying human girl, he was soon stopped by the strong arm of his companion pushing him against the far left wall.
"You have set us both on the path of death!" Rose-Marie growled as she squeezed the idiotic Trevor's throat, "I only hope Klaus sees the honor in returning that girl to him."
The Radkova witch quickly moved over to the two arguing vampires as she hoped she and Trevor could change Rose-Marie's mind about turning Katerina over to Klaus. 'I cannot fail her,' Maria kept chanting in her head as she made her way to the vampires as she couldn't continue to carry the guilt of disappointing Darina. "Please, Rose-Marie, we need to protect Katerina," Maria begged before she quickly added to help convince the vampire, "I will help you escape! I have done it with Katerina and Darina before we arrived here!"
"And look where that got you!" Rose-Marie snarled at the witch as she continued to tightly hold her companion's throat as she was still so angry, "now Darina is dead and we are on Klaus' list!"
"Please, Rose," Trevor begged as he stared directly into Rose-Marie's green eyes with tears clouding his blue ones, "you must understand." The vampire then paused as he swallowed thickly before he whispered as he was afraid of losing the Petrova girl, "I love her."
However, while the two vampires and the witch continued to yell and argue with one another in the corner of the room, the human doppelganger was quietly unwrapping the thick rope Rose-Marie had left on her lap as Katerina had her own plan in mind. She then stood straight up onto a wooden chair as she could now move better after Rose-Marie healed all of her wounds. Katerina took a deep breath as she wrapped the noose around her neck that was connected to the ceiling and whispered, "I love you, Dari," before she took a leap off of the chair and ended her human life.
***
"You killed yourself," Emily mumbled as she stared across at her doppelganger's sister, who was staring right at her with saddened eyes. The human girl already knew that Katherine killed herself since Rose told them, however Emily just didn't know what happened during that time until now. Emily could understand why Katherine killed herself, unlike her twin sister, who was looking at Katherine in disgust. Emily understood Katherine's reasoning as she didn't want to face Klaus after he already killed her sister.
Katherine slowly nodded her head against the hard wall before she explained why she ended her life, "Klaus needed a human doppelganger and as a vampire, I was no longer any use to him."
"But it didn't work," Elena mumbled as she tried to keep up with the story of Katherine's life. "You didn't really escape," the Gilbert vampire figured out as she slowly placed everything she knew about her doppelganger together. Elena pieced together everything from Klaus to when Damon thought Katherine was under the church back in 1864. "You've been running from Klaus ever since," the young vampire concluded once she got her thoughts together.
Katherine huffed out a sigh in agreement to Elena's assumption before she uttered in annoyance, "I underestimated his spirit for vengeance." She then shrugged her left shoulder as she added, "but living in a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over some silly rock."
The Gilbert vampire's eyes instantly went over to her twin sister, who was going to be sacrificed, at Katherine's words before she quickly shook her head. "I'm not going to let Emily go through what you and your sister did," Elena told her doppelganger in a strong voice. There was no way Elena would just stand by and watch her sister die while she continued to live her immortal life. There was just no way.
Katherine closed her brown eyes as she leaned her head back against the wall as she mumbled while imagining her beautiful sister's smile and her cheerful laugh, "I thought I was saving my sister too, but you know how that turned out." The older vampire then opened her eyes after a couple of silent seconds and stared directly at her sister's doppelganger as if she wanted to tell her something. However, Katherine gently shook her head as she changed her mind, which went unnoticed by the Gilbert sisters. "I knew Maria wasn't going to be able to help me, so I made the other choice," Katherine uttered instead of telling Emily what she really wanted to say before she was pulled back into her memories.
***
ENGLAND 1492
In the silent and tense cottage, the three supernatural beings took turns pacing back and forth through the small area before they all heard the loud gasp that alerted them to the awakened girl. "Katerina!" Trevor exclaimed as he was the first one to rush to her side when she began to panic from seeing her surroundings in a new light. The male vampire shook his head in disappointment before he shouted, "I would have helped you live!"
The Petrova doppelganger silently and slowly stood up from the uncomfortable bed while she rubbed her extremely sore neck after she broke it from hanging herself a couple of hours ago. The transitioning vampire then finally faced the worried Trevor with an eye roll before she corrected him, "you would have helped me run." She shook her head and mumbled, "that was never going to be enough."
Trevor shook his head in disbelief at Katerina before he hurriedly walked around her. He couldn't believe she would do this. The male vampire would have done anything for her. "It was enough for me," Trevor uttered once he finally faced Katerina with sadness displayed through his blue eyes. He never wanted Katerina to be cursed with this life. Trevor always wanted for her to be human and happy - and with him.
Rose-Marie huffed out a groan as she and the Radkova witch listened to the back and forth conversation between her companion and Katerina before she had enough. "Do you not see, Trevor?" Rose-Marie asked her friend before she glared at the Petrova girl, "she used you to help her escape and me to turn her." She turned her glare to Maria and muttered just as angrily, "and she was just as involved with Katerina's plan." Rose-Marie then looked at each face around the room before she whispered frighteningly, "Klaus will see our role in this."
"Please, Rose-Marie," the Radkova witch begged as they were still not safe from the wrath of Klaus along with the fact that they didn't have time to argue. She knew they needed to focus as they needed to leave England now before Klaus realized what they all did.
However, the two vampires and the transitioning one ignored the witch's pleading as Katerina spoke directly to Rose-Marie, "and for that, I am sorry."
"As am I..." Rose-Marie uttered as she stared at the Petrova doppelganger with a slight smile before she whispered sinisterly, "for this." She then rushed towards the new vampire with a wooden stake in hand. However, before Rose-Marie could end Katerina once and for all, the doppelganger quickly grabbed ahold of Maria, which caused Rose-Marie to stab the witch in her right shoulder.
Rose-Marie gasped in shock as she didn't mean to stab the Radkova witch. She then quickly stepped back into Trevor's arms frighteningly when she watched Katerina pull the stake out of Maria's shoulder before she quickly stuck her new fangs into the side of the witch's neck, which caused Katerina to complete her transition.
Katerina glanced down at the sobbing and hurting Maria in her arms before she whispered, "please understand." The Petrova doppelganger knew the witch was never going to be able to get her to safety. Katerina knew she had to take this in her own hands if she wanted to escape from Klaus.
"You have just signed our death sentence," Rose-Marie cried into Trevor's arms as she knew they were all dead. Now that Katerina was officially a vampire, Klaus could not use her anymore and that only meant he would kill them all for ruining the sacrifice.
"Better you die than I," Katerina told the vampires before she tossed the pained Maria Radkova into Trevor and Rose-Marie's arms. She took one last look at the witch that tried to help her sister and her before she shook her head and took off with her newly found speed as she needed to get as far away as possible from England and from Klaus.
***
The Gilbert vampire crossed her arms across her long blue sleeved sweater while she stared at her doppelganger once she grew silent after explaining her past. "So, how much of your little story is true?" Elena wondered as she twitched her head to the side.
Katherine rose an eyebrow at the annoying vampire before she told her, "I have no reason to lie, Elena." She then glanced down at the book that belonged to the three girl's ancestors; the Petrova's, before she added, "I have no reason to do anything but sit here and read and rot."
Elena rolled her brown eyes before she interrogated, "okay, assuming it's even partially true, that's the reason you came back, isn't it?" She then glanced over to her twin sister, who was silently listening to their conversation, before Elena guessed in a soft and disbelief voice, "it's because you wanted to be the one to hand Emily over to Klaus."
Katherine instantly shook her head at Elena's assumption and stated strongly, "no, I want to-" The older vampire then closed her mouth before she could complete her sentence. Katherine knew that it wasn't a good idea to tell them of the plan - even though she really wanted to assure Emily that she would be okay. "I am only looking after myself," Katherine uttered as she changed her answer, "if you were both smart, you'd do the same."
Katherine wanted to tell Emily about the plan that would be set in motion shortly, but she made a promise to Maria a few years into her vampire life to not tell anyone. The vampire wasn't even sure how the Radkova witch's plan was going to follow through but she made a promise as it was her sister's last dying wish. Katherine wanted to at least succeed in doing one of Darina's wishes after she had disappointed her twin sister over the years.
Emily's brows furrowed in confusion as she knew Katherine wanted to say something else. She could see it like it was on the tip of the vampire's tongue. It also confused Emily as she remembered the letter she got from Maria and the short note Katherine wrote. It was like Katherine wanted to help but now Emily wasn't so sure. "So, what is your plan then?" Emily interrogated before she stated, "you've had your chance to grab me and take me to Klaus for weeks."
Katherine shrugged her shoulders carelessly and uttered with a smirk, "I'm just getting all my ducks in a row." She then looked into Emily's green eyes with a look the human girl couldn't decipher before Katherine added once she looked over to her doppelganger, "I figured Klaus would be willing to strike a deal."
The Gilbert vampire frowned as she slowly nodded her head while she thought through everything that she knew about the sacrifice and Klaus. "You got Mason Lockwood to find the moonstone," Elena stated as she began to connect the dots. It was all starting to make more sense to the Gilbert vampire as to why Katherine enlisted the help of the now deceased werewolf.
"Correct," Katherine uttered as she slowly and tiredly stood up from the hard pavement of the ground and leaned against the spelled barrier. The conversation was finally getting interesting, Katherine concluded as she stared at the thinking Elena.
"What else do you need to break the curse?" Elena wondered as she stared directly at her doppelganger while she tried to figure out all of the things that Katherine was trying to find so Klaus could give Katherine her freedom back.
"Hmm," Katherine mumbled in amusement before she taunted the young vampire, "look who is getting smarter."
Emily quickly jumped up from the ground once she realized what her twin sister was trying to do. She racked her brain for a moment before she remembered what she learned early this morning about her best friend. "You had Tyler trigger his werewolf curse," Emily stated as she thought out loud before she asked Katherine, "does Klaus need a werewolf?"
"Witches and their spells," Katherine commented with a smirk as she watched the wheels turn inside of the Gilbert sisters' heads. She lightly shook her head as she teasingly muttered, "so many ingredients, so many people to sacrifice."
"So you do need a werewolf?" Emily questioned as she wanted to make sure she was right. However, that thought quickly saddened the human girl as she realized Klaus needed to kill her best friend to break his hybrid curse. She knew right then and there that she was going to stop that from happening. Emily didn't care if it cost her her life.
Katherine nodded her head as she looked over at the human girl with a sad expression before she quickly looked away. Katherine, once again, wanted to tell Emily that everything would be okay, but knew she couldn't. "Believe it or not," the vampire uttered as she spoke about werewolves, "they're hard to come by."
"What else?" Elena questioned barely a second after the last word was out of her doppelganger's mouth. Now that they were getting all of this information out of Katherine, the Gilbert vampire didn't want to stop until she had the answers to save her twin sister.
"A witch to do the spell," Katherine answered before she took another quick glance over at Emily with a guilty look as her memories from the Masquerade Ball came into mind. Katherine had been feeling bad ever since that night as she never wanted to hurt the human girl. "Mine bailed but Bonnie will do just fine," Katherine told Elena in a bored tone as she ignored the part of her that wanted to hide her sister's doppelganger from all this mess that is the sacrifice.
The Gilbert vampire crossed her arms over her chest as she took another step closer to the spelled barrier before she questioned, once more, in a much stronger voice, "what else?"
Katherine smirked at Elena's determination before she uttered slowly as she wanted to enjoy the response along with the expression her doppelganger would make, "a vampire."
Elena quickly looked over to her frowning sister with her own frown as she finally realized why Katherine turned her into a vampire all that time ago. "Me," the Gilbert vampire mumbled once she turned around and faced her doppelganger once again.
Katherine shrugged her shoulders as she uttered, "it could be you or Caroline." She then took a quick glance over to Emily with an unreadable expression before she added carelessly once she looked back to Elena, "I suppose I like the poetry of handing over the two Petrova doppelgangers."
Elena shook her head in disbelief before she whispered, "so, you were just gonna hand us all over to be killed?"
Katherine gave her doppelganger a large smirk before she repeated the words that she told Rose all those years ago, "better you die than I." The older vampire then moved her brown eyes over to Emily one last time and gave her a soft look. Katherine wished she could ease the human girl's mind but knew it would mess everything up if Maria's plan was really going to happen. Katherine then turned her back to the two sisters and made her way back into her dark tunnel without another word.
Emily placed her hand on her twin sister's upper arm when Elena began to pace up and down when Katherine left them. "Hey, hey, hey," the Gilbert girl uttered softly as she tried to calm her sister down, "we'll figure this out. I won't let any of our friends or you die." Emily wasn't just trying to relax Elena. She was telling the truth. Emily's mind was already running with ideas to keep her family and friends safe from Klaus' wrath. She wasn't going to allow them to be killed because she was the human Petrova doppelganger. Emily was going to protect them no matter what.
Elena chuckled humorlessly as she wiped the warm tears from her brown eyes. "I'm the one that is suppose to be saying that," the Gilbert vampire mumbled once she pulled her twin sister into a bone crushing hug. Elena was the one that was suppose to be finding a way to protect her sister, but the fact that Elena was going to be also delivered to Klaus had totally caught her off guard.
The human girl ignored her sister's statement as she continued to hold her close. "I'm the older sister and I'm going to always protect you," Emily told Elena. She didn't care that she was only human. Emily was going to find a way to where none of her friends and family had to feel Klaus' wrath and nothing was going to stop her. I'll find a way, Emily kept repeating in her head as she would rather die than let harm come to them.
The Gilbert sisters continued to silently stand in the middle of the tomb as they held each other close while they were both thinking the same thing. They both wanted to protect one another, however, only one sister would come out on top in the end.
The sweet and caring moment the twin sisters were sharing was soon interrupted a couple of seconds later before either girl could make anymore promises to each other. "Emily!" The loud voice of Stefan Salvatore called out as he rushed down the stairs to the tomb. He had been worrying about the human girl ever since he guessed to where Emily was after Caroline wouldn't tell him anything.
The Gilbert girl's green eyes instantly widened once she pulled away from her sister's embrace and saw the worried Salvatore vampire. Dammit, Caroline, Emily thought as she awkwardly moved to stand in front of the concerned supernatural being.
"Hey, Stefan!" The equally awkward Elena Gilbert called out as she swung her left arm over her twin sister's shoulder. The younger vampire furrowed her brows in fake confusion as she questioned, "what are you doing here?"
The Salvatore vampire shot his ex girlfriend and now close friend a hard glare. He then glued his green eyes to Emily's as he mumbled, "I could ask you the same question."
Emily huffed out a sigh as she was the first one to crack. She didn't have time for any childish games so she just blurted out, "I'm guessing Caroline told you." Emily knew there was no point to lie when Stefan would just somehow find out the truth.
Stefan shook his head as his brows slowly began to furrow while he stared down at the human girl. "No, she kept your secret," the Salvatore vampire explained, "but it didn't take long for me to figure out what you were both doing when Caroline told me you were skipping school." Stefan then moved his eyes over to Elena as he scolded her, "what were you thinking? Katherine could of harmed her!"
Elena rolled her brown eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I wouldn't let anyone hurt Emily and you know that!" The Gilbert vampire growled as the thought of her sister being harmed angered her. Elena would always protect Emily no matter what and she hated when people didn't trust her with her own sister.
"Okay, stop," Emily commanded as she placed her hand on top of Stefan's grey Henley. "We all knew you would of stopped us if we told you we were coming to see Katherine," Emily explained to Stefan why they didn't tell him that they were going to the tomb this morning, even though Emily didn't even know until they arrived.
The Salvatore vampire shook his head with a small sigh as he fell under Emily's soft charm. He then lightly grabbed ahold of the human girl's face and whispered, "listen to me, Emmie, whatever Katherine said to you is a lie." Stefan rubbed the side of Emily's face with the pad of his thumb before he added, "do not listen to a word she says. We'll figure this out ourselves."
"What if she isn't?" Elena questioned as she interrupted the moment her sister and ex boyfriend was having. The Gilbert vampire shook her head before she glanced over to her twin sister and stated, "you didn't hear what she said."
"She's lying, Elena!" Stefan exclaimed angrily, "that is all she does!" The Salvatore vampire didn't want Emily nor Elena to fall for Katherine's games like everyone else does. It's Emily's life that is in danger and he isn't just going to let the older vampire play with her life. Stefan then moved his gaze over to Emily with a soft look before he whispered, "you don't need to worry. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
Emily gave Stefan a small smile and placed her hand over his that was settled on her cheek. "I know," the human girl whispered before she brought her lips onto his for a sweet kiss. Once she pulled away Emily shook her head and told him in a strong voice that said there was no arguing, "I'm not going to allow anyone to die because of me."
The Salvatore vampire's green eyes widened along with his brows furrowed in confusion as to what Emily was saying. Stefan opened his mouth to argue with the choice that Emily had made, but was quickly interrupted by the aforementioned girl's descendant.
"There's nothing you can do, Stefan," Katherine uttered as she slowly and tiredly made her way back up to the spelled barrier of the dark tunnel. She glanced over to her doppelganger and Emily before she whispered, "I haven't even told you the best part of the story," as she was pulled back into another horrible memory that she wished she could forget.
***
BULGARIA 1492
Katerina slowly rode through the familiar dark woods of her hometown in Bulgaria. It took the new vampire over two weeks of traveling by horseback while avoiding sunlight from England before she finally arrived back in her home. Katerina decided once she left England and Klaus behind her that she needed to see her family. The young vampire didn't know if her father and his wife would accept her back into their lives after they banished her but Katerina knew her father deserved to know what happened to Darina.
Katerina figured that she was safe from Klaus as he was probably still searching all over England for her, so she enjoyed the weather and the familiar sights of the place she grew up in. It was nice for the Petrova vampire to feel something other than hunger and anger.
However, when Katerina came to a stop and roped her brown horse with a skinny tree, she soon noticed just how quiet the town was with her new vampire hearing. Katerina slowly moved through the woods in confusion before a loud gasp escaped her mouth at what she saw.
The first thing Katerina noticed was that there was three dead bodies lying on a bed of leaves along with a tipped over wooden carriage. Katerina feared for the worse as every step she took she saw new dead bodies. The Petrova vampire then swiftly picked up her large white dress as she realized she couldn't hear the loud sounds that usually come with living in her hometown and hurriedly ran up to her old home which instantly caused the vampire to have the feeling of deja vu of losing Darina.
The young vampire ran as quickly as her legs wound move through her home and rushed into the main room before another loud gasp escaped her lips. Katerina saw instantly was that her father was dead against the wall with a long Viking sword etched in his chest. "No," Katerina gasped as tears began to pool around her brown eyes. The vampire then moved her eyes to the left and that is when she noticed her step mother; Eve, and the dead body of her step brother; Alexander. "No, no, no," Katerina continued to cry as she knew exactly who done this to her family. 'There is no escaping him,' Katerina thought as she hugged the young Alexander's bleeding body while she sobbed for the lost of her family.
***
"He killed them," Katherine uttered once she finished explaining how she found out just how bad Klaus' vengeance really was, "my entire family; my sister before this, my father, my step mother, and my step brother. He killed them all just to get back at me for running." Katherine then moved her teary eyes over to the human girl and whispered, "he will get his vengeance on your friends, your family and anyone that you've ever loved."
Stefan hurriedly grabbed ahold of Emily's face when he noticed that Katherine's brown eyes were glued on her and the silence the human girl gave. "Hey, no," Stefan uttered softly, "look at me." Once Emily finally locked her eyes with his, Stefan continued, "do not listen to her, okay? I won't let anything happen to you or anyone else."
Katherine chuckled at the younger Salvatore before she uttered amusingly, "always the protector." She then moved her brown eyes to the human girl and her doppelganger before she uttered as she spoke to Stefan, "but even you must realize that she's doomed." Katherine knew she was lying through her teeth but she needed for the two vampires to not notice the soft actions she kept showing for the human girl. She needed to draw them away from the real plan. "There's nothing you can do to stop it," Katherine told the two vampires before she held an item in the air and added, "unless, of course, you have this."
"What?" Elena gasped in shock as she had thought Katherine told them everything there was to know. The Gilbert vampire took a step closer to the spelled barrier with her brows furrowed before she asked, "what do you mean?"
However, before Elena could get an answer, even though Katherine didn't plan on responding, she was interrupted by the Salvatore vampire humorlessly chuckling. "There it is," Stefan mumbled before he shook his head and questioned, "it's the ultimate lie, isn't it?" He then slowly moved towards the spelled barrier while pointing at Katherine as he concluded, "you spun this whole thing so that we would have to get the stone from you, didn't you?"
Katherine stared right at her ex lover before she whispered, "I didn't spin anything, Stefan." She then moved her gaze over to Emily as she added, "it's the truth." Katherine knew the human girl was thinking of possibilities to protect everyone as it was just who she is - thanks to the protector blood and Katherine knew that Emily believed every word that she had said, which Katherine was glad for. She didn't care if Elena or even Stefan believed her. If Emily believed her then she knew the plan was going like it should.
Stefan shook his head in disagreement as he began, "no, let me guess." The Salvatore vampire then stood at the edge of the dark tunnel before he continued with a snarl, "you want to trade that stone for your freedom, you manipulative, psychotic bitch."
Katherine chuckled, "my freedom?" She rolled her brown eyes before she corrected the young vampire, "that's where you're wrong, Stefan. I don't want my freedom because when Klaus shows up to kill us all and he will, I'll be in the tomb, where no vampire will enter because they can't get out." Katherine shot the Salvatore vampire a smirk as she repeated his insult, "I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town."
Katherine then turned her body, so only Emily could see her face, and gave her a soft expression. It was the only thing Katherine could actually do to help ease Emily's mind, even though she knew it wouldn't exactly ease anyone. Katherine just had to continue to remember the promise she and Maria had made to her twin sister. I won't fail you, Dari, Katherine thought as she slowly made her way back into her personal hell.
***
The human girl's bedroom in the Gilbert house was dead silent once Emily came home after leaving the tomb and after finding out the real truth from Katherine. Emily had said goodbye to her twin sister in the middle of the woods as Elena was heading to the Salvatore boarding house before she and Stefan went back to the Gilbert house like they did last night.
Stefan had tried to speak to Emily about what happened today, but instead she just pulled him into a deep kiss once they were in her bedroom. Emily didn't want to talk. She just wanted to feel safe and she could only feel like that when Stefan's body is against hers. So the human girl and Salvatore vampire made sweet and passionate love until they both came to a stop and cuddled with each other.
The couple still didn't say anything to each other except for small 'I love you's' every now and again. However, when Stefan felt a warm tear fall onto his chest, he finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He needed to know what was going through Emily's mind.
"Emmie," Stefan whispered once he placed a light kiss onto the human girl's sweaty forehead, "please talk to me."
The human girl swiftly wiped the tears from her green eyes as she had thought Stefan fell asleep since they had been lying there for over two hours. Emily honestly forgot where she was as she was letting her emotions take over her. "I'm scared," Emily finally confessed in a soft whisper as she looked into Stefan's worried green eyes.
Stefan's face softened at what Emily admitted before he grazed the side of her face with his hand. "I won't let anything happen to you," Stefan promised once again. The vampire didn't care, he would utter it every single second if it helped Emily feel better. He just wanted her to feel safe.
Emily shook her head against Stefan's bare chest as she told him, "I'm not scared for me. I'm scared for everyone else." The human girl couldn't help but let out more tears as she explained, "it's not just me. It's Caroline, it's my sister, it's Tyler, and it's Bonnie. They're all in danger because of me. A-And I'm afraid I won't be able to save them all."
"Hey, hey," Stefan softly uttered before he laid a light kiss to her forehead. "It's not your fault," he consoled the human girl. Stefan then began to kiss away Emily's tears as he listened to her soft cries. "I won't let anyone touch you," the Salvatore vampire whispered while he listened to Emily's soft heartbeat slow down as she fell asleep. Stefan made a promise right there as he held the girl of his dreams in his arms that he wasn't going to allow anything to happen to her. He planned on fighting to the end and he wasn't going to stop until she was safe again.