[2x10; The Sacrifice]
Luciana knelt down on the ground, the long grass prickling at her shins through the thin fabric of her dress. She dutifully watched her older sister, Rebekah, ground up some stalks of wheat into a stone bowl so that their mother could use it to bake bread over the fire later on that night. Rebekah didn't look happy to be doing the task, she'd rather be with their brothers, hunting for the family's dinner.
"Why are you so down, Rebekah?" Luciana asked, grabbing a stalk and rolling it between her fingers.
"Father forbid me to join the others for the hunt," Rebekah grumbled, her blue eyes narrowing.
"Why?"
Rebekah looked at her eight-year-old sister, knowing that she didn't see how women were treated differently by men because of her young age. Even if Luciana wasn't allowed the same privileges of Henrik, her twin brother, she didn't yet notice.
"Because I am a woman," Rebekah explained with a sigh. "As are you. As women, we will not have the same freedoms that our brothers may have. We are to be wives, mothers, and maids. Nothing more."
Luciana frowned. "That does not sound fair."
Rebekah scoffed and stood, picking up the bowl of ground wheat. "Life is not fair, Luciana." She grabbed her sister's hand, pulling her into a standing position. "We live in a man's world. Come now, Mother will be expecting us."
Lucy shifted restlessly, trying to find a comfortable spot on the old quilt she had laid on the ground. It was almost six in the morning when she had woken up from a dream where a younger version of herself was talking with a beautiful blonde teenage girl named Rebekah and she decided to take some time to herself for the day. Her decision led her to Steven's Quarry.
Peace and quiet allowed her to think about the newest memory added to her collection. This memory was added to the Luciana section, her first life. She didn't know exactly when she lived as Luciana, but she could tell it was a long, long time ago. Years before her life as Lucia Petrova. This memory also happened to be in the same time period as her memory with Elijah took place, so Lucy concluded that this had to be another one of her siblings.
She wondered just how many siblings she had in her first life—Rebekah had mentioned their brothers—and if they were vampires like Elijah.
"You know, people carry phones for a reason."
Lucy lazily turned her head toward the sky, staring straight up at Stefan's face as he stood over her. His expression was stern and disapproving, his forest-green eyes worried, and his hands clamped down on his hips.
"I left my phone at home," Lucy sighed; she leaned on her elbows to stare at Stefan as he walked around her and sat down on the other end of the quilt. "I figured that people would take a hint, but..."
Stefan's lips dipped into a slight frown. "How often do you come here?"
"Not in a while," Lucy admitted, fully sitting up and resting her arms on her knees. "The last time I came here was September—when Joel told me about vampires. We used to come a lot more often to just sit in the peace and quiet and think."
"Well, what's on your mind?" Stefan asked, watching her carefully. He knew that the information Katherine gave her and Elena about the sacrifice was intense, maybe she needed to think about that?
Stefan could tell Lucy was hesitating to spill and he hated that she didn't want to talk to him like before. When had Lucy ever been hesitant to tell him anything?
"You can talk to me, Luce," he gave her an assuring smile. "I'm here for you."
Lucy sighed. "I'm just having some more memories."
"Of your life with Katherine?"
"No," Lucy shook her head. "the one I had this morning was with one of my siblings from my first life, Rebekah."
Stefan raised his eyebrows. "One of?"
"Yeah, Rebekah mentioned something about brothers, so I figured I had more than one."
Lucy didn't want to say anything about Elijah being one of those siblings. She didn't know how Stefan would react or if he would tell Damon—and who knows what Damon would do? From what they knew, Elijah was a bad guy and he was connected to Klaus—the ancient vampire who wanted to sacrifice her sister—somehow. Lucy didn't want to be grouped with them.
Besides, Elijah was dead. What was the harm in keeping this to herself?
Stefan nodded in understanding. "Did you want to see if you could find out anything? I can help you," he offered. "I just feel like we haven't spent any time together."
Lucy smiled and reached over, squeezing his wrist affectionately. "Thanks, Broody, but I doubt there's much more information about me being reincarnated that Katherine didn't tell me."
"Are you sure you can trust her, though?"
Lucy nodded. "With this, yeah." She saw the doubtful look on his face. "I know what she did to you, Damon, Caroline, and Jenna—"
"And you," Stefan interjected.
"And me," Lucy nodded. "But with all the things I'm remembering from my life with her, it's hard to distinguish between how Lucia felt and how I felt."
Stefan gently slipped his wrist out of her grip and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers. "I'm sorry this is hard for you," he smiled sadly. "But I want you to be careful."
Lucy smiled back, ignoring the extreme set of butterflies making her stomach flip. "I will be, I promise." She nodded determinately. "Why were you looking for me?"
"Rose's friend, Slater—"
"The one Damon went to see with Rose the other day?"
"Yes," Stefan nodded, moving on. "He called Rose and told her that there's a way to release the curse from the moonstone."
Lucy perked up; if they could somehow release the curse from the moonstone, the sacrifice was useless. Elena could live and hopefully Klaus would never find out. But if he did...Lucy didn't want to think about it.
What was the likeliness that Klaus would find out anyway? The world was a big place.
"How are we gonna do that?" Lucy asked, hopeful that it was something plausible. "Katherine has the moonstone."
"Well, Damon and I are gonna go talk to Katherine," Stefan informed her. "But we were hoping you'd be able to siphon the curse once we get the moonstone."
Lucy could have slapped herself for being so stupid. Of course, her siphoning the curse would be the best option. How she hadn't thought of it herself was beyond her.
"Of course, I will," Lucy agreed. "If I do it in increments, the magic shouldn't overpower me."
Stefan's gaze turned worried. "Are you sure?"
"Anything to help Elena."
-
"You don't believe her, do you?" Elena asked Stefan and Damon as she and Lucy stood in the kitchen with them.
The Salvatore brothers had gone to visit Katherine in the tomb like Stefan told Lucy earlier and made a little deal with Katherine. The moonstone for the older vampire's freedom. Of course, the brothers weren't planning on going through with that, but Katherine didn't need to know that.
"No, of course not," Damon rolled his eyes, stealing one of Lucy's orange slices from her plate. "We just want the moonstone."
"According to Rose's friend, Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break," Stefan informed Elena.
"No spell, no doppelganger sacrifice," Damon stated simply. "Ergo, you live."
Elena pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. "How do you destroy it?"
Stefan leaned forward, resting his weight against the kitchen island. "By releasing it from the moonstone."
"How do you guys even know this is going to work?" Elena huffed, walking closer to the brothers and Lucy.
"'Cause we have a super talented siphon on our side," Damon quipped, smirking down at Lucy.
Elena immediately turned to Lucy, a disapproving look on her face. "They talked to you about this?"
"Yep," Lucy confirmed. "And Bonnie's gonna be on standby. We're gonna do everything we can to help."
"It's Katherine who has the moonstone," Elena pointed out. "She's not gonna give it to you."
"We're gonna get it from her—"
"Well, what he means to say is that we will pry it from her cold, dead hands if we have to," Damon cut Stefan off.
"Bonnie and I just need to find a way to release the seal long enough for Stefan and Damon to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for us to return it," Lucy stated, shrugging her shoulders.
"Wow," Elena scoffed quietly. "I mean, it sounds like you guys already have it all planned out."
"Yep, we're awesome," Damon bragged, throwing an arm around Lucy's shoulders; she promptly shoved him off.
"Except for one thing," Elena commented, frowning. "I don't want you to do it."
Lucy groaned quietly and lowered her head, wishing that her sister wouldn't play the martyr. There were a lot more things involved other than her—including Caroline and Tyler's lives.
"What are you talking about?" Stefan gave his girlfriend a bewildered look. "Elena, we don't have a choice."
"What about Klaus?" Elena replied pointedly.
"How is he even gonna figure out about it?" Lucy asked. "He doesn't even know we exist."
"And we can find him right after we get the moonstone just in case," Stefan added.
"Is that before or after he kills everyone that I care about, including the three of you?" Elena retorted, a frustrated bite in her tone.
Lucy felt Damon stiffen beside her but didn't pay it much attention.
"Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life," Stefan said, becoming as frustrated as Elena. He didn't understand why she was protesting their plan so much.
"I know. Everyone keeps saying that," Elena huffed before turning around and walking out of the kitchen.
Lucy, Stefan, and Damon all exchanged looks—they were going to do it whether they had Elena's approval or not.
-
"If Lucy can help me out, I might be able to lower the tomb spell long enough for you to get in there and grab the moonstone from Katherine," Bonnie said to Stefan and Damon, a serious look on her face.
Damon lifted his chin, curious, while Stefan stood next to Lucy, arms crossed over his chest. The Salvatore brothers and Lucy had contacted Bonnie during her lunch period—yes, Lucy was skipping another day of school—so they could talk about Katherine's offer. Bonnie soon arrived at the Boarding House, Jeremy trailing after her.
"How?" Jeremy spoke up, concerned. "It took you, Lucy, and your grams last time and look what happened to her."
Lucy frowned at the mention of Grams—she knew how much Bonnie missed her.
"I'm well aware of what happened," Bonnie said flatly—she didn't need any reminders that her grams was dead. "I've learned a few new things."
Jeremy gave her a warning look. "Bonnie..."
Lucy looked between her little brother and Bonnie, wondering when the two of them had gotten so close. Did she sense feelings brewing?
Bonnie ignored him, turning back to Stefan and Damon. "How will you get it?"
"She hasn't been feeding," Stefan declared. "She's weaker, we're not."
Damon tilted the glass of blood in his hand for emphasis.
"You can't underestimate her," Lucy shook her head.
"It's a plan. Is it perfect?" Damon scoffed. "What plan is?"
"Let me do it," Jeremy suggested. "I've got my ring. I could get in, get out—no spells necessary."
Before Lucy could protest, Damon spoke up, "Gee, thanks, you fifteen-year-old child," he sneered. "Why didn't we think of about that? Why are you even here?"
"Damon," Lucy scolded him harshly before turning to Jeremy. "No way, Jeremy. If Katherine gets a hold of you..."
She shook her head, not wanting to think about Katherine and Jeremy within five feet of each other.
"Maybe I can help better the plan," Bonnie said thoughtfully, turning to Stefan and Damon. "Do you have anything that belongs to Katherine?"
Damon slowly smirked and looked at Stefan, causing his little brother to inhale sharply.
"I do," Stefan simply said before disappearing in a blur.
Within three minutes Stefan walked back into the library, holding an old picture.
"This belonged to Katherine," he explained, holding the picture out to Bonnie. Lucy moved closer to the table where the witch was standing to look at the photograph; Katherine was pictured in old clothing with a date from 1864 on the bottom. "I found it with her things after I thought she was dead but it's hers."
Bonnie took the photo and placed it in a bowl that Damon provided her along with the other things she had requested while Stefan was getting the picture. Next, she put her fingers in a glass of water and sprinkled the droplets onto the photograph. It caught fire as Bonnie closed her eyes and started chanting, casting a spell.
"What will this do?" Damon asked her.
"I can turn the metal to ash," Bonnie looked at the burning picture. "Blow the ashes on her and it will incapacitate her for a minute or two. Long enough for you to get the stone and get out."
Lucy looked at her, impressed. Not for the first time, she wished that she had her own magic.
-
Lucy paced behind Damon and Stefan by the ruins of the church, impatiently waiting for Bonnie and Jeremy to arrive. She hadn't even been waiting long, but she wanted to get the moonstone and siphon the curse from it. The sooner Elena was saved from being sacrificed, the better.
"Calm down, Twitch, here she comes," Damon muttered to her—annoyed with her pacing—and pointed out Bonnie.
"Sorry, I'm late," Bonnie said to them, clutching her grimoire close to her chest. "I had to grab the grimoire from home."
"It's fine," Lucy waved her off. "Where's Jeremy?"
"Couldn't take the pressure, huh?" Damon smirked at the girls.
Bonnie glared at him and went straight for the steps that would lead them to the underground chamber just outside the tomb. "He said he'd be here."
Lucy and Stefan followed her down the steps. "We haven't seen him," Lucy said worriedly.
"I'm sure he's fine," Stefan comforted her.
The three of them entered the chamber and Stefan threw the bag of torches he brought for the spell down on the ground. He crouched down to unzip the bag and paused, smelling the scent of fresh blood.
Something from the corner of his eye took his attention away from the blood. The moonstone was laying on the ground in the middle of the chamber.
"What the hell?"
Lucy looked at the stone with wide eyes. "Is that the moonstone?"
"What?" Bonnie hissed as Stefan picked it up.
"I hate to interrupt," Katherine's voice caught their attention. "but today's been full of surprises."
Lucy turned to the tomb and gasped as Katherine pulled Jeremy away from where he was hidden. There was a gruesome bit mark on his neck, his shirt soaked in his own blood.
She ran toward him, furious, but Stefan caught her around the waist before she could step one toe into the tomb.
"I'm sorry," Jeremy apologized, weak from blood loss. "I took some powder."
"Katherine, let him go," Lucy demanded angrily.
"Mmm, not yet," Katherine hummed. "Don't worry, I know that he's wearing his ring, so no matter how many times I kill him, he'll just be coming back for more," she smirked. "So, I'm gonna be in the back playing with my new little toy. You guys just give me a holler when you've got the tomb open."
Lucy clenched her jaw and brushed Stefan's hold off of her, intending to walk straight into the tomb, siphon some magic from her locket, give Katherine an anger-fueled aneurysm, and get her brother out of harm's way. However, she didn't even get another step before Stefan grabbed her again, holding her back.
"Stefan, let go," Lucy huffed, trying to pull her arm out of his firm grasp. "I'm gonna fry her brain!"
"No, you're not." Stefan tightened his grip. He noticed her wince but didn't let go in fear that she would actually waltz right into the tomb and potentially get killed from her need to hurt Katherine. He didn't exactly believe Katherine when she said she wouldn't hurt Lucy.
"Stefan!"
"No," he said firmly, forcefully pulling her away from the tomb to stand behind Bonnie.
"Come on," Bonnie spoke up, getting Lucy's attention. Though she was really worried about Jeremy, they couldn't have Lucy running into the tomb, either. "Help me set up the torches."
Lucy inhaled deeply and tried to calm down, focusing on what Bonnie said. She needed to help her set up for the spell—the faster they started, the quicker they could get to Jeremy. She nodded and the three of them went to work on placing the torches into a circle in the middle of the chamber, just like it was when they opened the tomb months earlier.
As Bonnie lit the last tomb, Stefan grew impatient, wondering where his brother was. He couldn't take down Katherine by himself. "Where the fuck is Damon?" he asked, annoyed. "He was right behind us."
"We can't wait, we have to get him out of there," Bonnie stated, concerned about Jeremy's condition.
"She's fed," Stefan sighed. "She has her strength back."
"We still have some of the ash," Bonnie said as she grabbed the envelope of ash and handed it to Stefan.
"I can go with you for some backup," Lucy offered.
"Absolutely not," Stefan argued prompting Lucy to roll her eyes at his overprotectiveness.
"Fine," she grumpily gave in, not wanting to start an argument. "Do you think you can get close enough?"
Stefan looked at the tomb warily. "I don't have a choice."
"It's gonna take us some time," Bonnie warned Stefan, glancing quickly at Lucy.
Lucy knew what she had to do—she'd done it before.
"How long?"
"I don't know, a while," Bonnie guessed for Stefan's sake.
Stefan nodded. "Just get me in there as soon as you can."
Bonnie picked up her grimoire and turned it to the page that held the tomb spell, quickly reading it over one last time. Once finished, she nodded at Lucy, ready to get started.
Lucy dropped to her knees just outside the tomb seal, pressing her palms flat against the ground.
"Ready when you are, Lucy," Bonnie called to her.
At once, Lucy started siphoning the seal away from the tomb. Now that she had more experience, she started out slower, knowing that the magic wouldn't overwhelm her as easily as if she was siphoning quicker. Her red palms started to tingle from the spell and from the corner of her eye she saw Katherine and Jeremy come closer to the door, looking on curiously.
Bonnie started chanting, the torches flaring up around her. Katherine smirked, commenting, "Ooh, something's happening."
"Bonnie, no!" Jeremy breathed, worried about her using too much magic.
Stefan switched his gaze between Lucy and Bonnie periodically, worried for both of them. Lucy seemed to be wearing herself out and Bonnie didn't look any better.
"You have to stop her, she's not strong enough!" Jeremy shouted at Stefan, urging him to do something.
As if wanting to prove him wrong, the torches flared again, the flames almost touched the ceiling.
Katherine looked on, impressed. "Maybe she is."
Feeling overwhelmed and tired, Lucy pulled her hands away from the seal. She knew that she had siphoned off enough that Bonnie could get the seal down for a few seconds for Stefan. When she glanced at Bonnie, however, she grew worried.
A stream of blood dripped from Bonnie's nose, covering her lips as she kept on chanting.
"Bonnie," Stefan saw the same thing and walked over to the witch.
"You got to stop her!" Jeremy pleaded with his sister and Stefan.
Lucy scrambled to her feet and joined Stefan in trying to stop Bonnie, not noticing when Katherine elbowed Jeremy in the face to keep him quiet.
"Bonnie, stop!" Lucy told Bonnie, her voice shaking from nerves.
When Bonnie didn't listen, Stefan grabbed her arms and shook her. "You need to stop, Bonnie!"
Bonnie fought against Stefan's grip for a few seconds, wanting to keep going, but fainted to the ground. Lucy gasped and knelt by her side, checking her pulse. Luckily, her pulse was strong.
"Bonnie," Lucy pleaded, patting Bonnie's cheek to wake her up. "Bonnie, wake up, please."
"Yes, please!" Katherine called from the tomb, aggravated. "Because I'm still in here!"
"Shut up!" Lucy snapped at the older vampire, turning her head to glower at her.
"Bonnie," Stefan saw Bonnie's eyes open. "Are you all right?"
Lucy whipped back around and helped Stefan get Bonnie to her feet, holding her steady as she sway slightly, exhausted.
"Are you okay, Bon?" Lucy asked worriedly.
"It didn't work," Bonnie cried, staring at Jeremy and Katherine with tears in her eyes. "I'm not strong enough. Even with help I can't do it."
"Oh, that's too bad," Katherine purred, gripping Jeremy's shirt and pulling him up to her level. She forcefully pressed him against the stone wall. "I'm still hungry."
As Katherine hissed and bared her teeth, about to sink them into Jeremy's neck, Stefan let go of Bonnie and blurred into the tomb. He pushed Katherine away from Jeremy and threw him across the seal into Lucy and Bonnie's arms.
"Stefan, what did you do?" Lucy almost shouted from the shock of seeing him in the tomb. She passed Jeremy safely into Bonnie's grasp and stormed over to the tomb door. "Why did you do that?! I could have got him! You're so stupid sometimes!"
Her eyesight blurred as angry tears started dripping down her cheeks. She was so angry at Stefan that it covered up her gratitude that he saved her brother. And she was thankful that Jeremy was safe from Katherine but now Stefan was stuck in the tomb for who knows how long because Bonnie couldn't lift the seal and Lucy couldn't exactly help her.
Stefan looked at her sadly, knowing that she didn't really mean to call him stupid. She was just angry and sad that he was stuck in the tomb without a way out. He wished that he could comfort her so badly, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to touch her.
"Dammit," Lucy cursed under her breath and wiped her tears. She took a moment to calm down, slowly breathing in and out and transferring the magic she siphoned over to her locket. Then, she looked at Bonnie and Jeremy. "Take him home," she ordered Bonnie. "I'll stay here until Damon comes."
Bonnie looked reluctant to leave her; she knew how reckless Lucy could get when someone she cared about was in a tough spot. "Don't do anything stupid," she warned Lucy. "I mean it, Luce. Don't siphon that seal by yourself."
"I won't," Lucy promised halfheartedly; Stefan picked up her tone and stiffened next to Katherine. "Go get cleaned up, Jere."
Jeremy nodded and spared Stefan a guilty look. "I'm sorry."
Stefan nodded, forgiving him. He was just a kid who wanted to help out his crush and sisters.
Once Bonnie and Jeremy left up the stairs, Lucy tiredly turned back to the tomb. Despite how weak she felt, she wanted to at least try to get the seal lifted. Stefan, however, stopped her before she could.
"Don't even think about it, Lucy," he said sternly. "You'll hurt yourself."
"I gotta agree with Stefan, here," Katherine spoke up, wiping the blood from her lips and trying not to explicably show her concern for her sister.
"You don't get to talk, Katherine," Lucy snapped, becoming frustrated again. "This is your fault."
"It's not personal—"
"That's what you don't get," Lucy shook her head furiously. "It is personal. Jeremy is my family just as much as you are—or claim to be. We're not blood related but he is my brother and you hurt him. So, yes, it's personal."
Lucy plopped down on the ground and rested her head against the wall. She knew she couldn't siphon the seal—she wasn't strong enough and she didn't feel like getting lectured at by Stefan—but she was going to stay until Elena got there. She knew her sister was going to freak out, so she'd be here for comfort.
Katherine, thoroughly chastised by Lucy—which surprised Stefan—slithered away, further into the tomb, leaving Stefan and Lucy by themselves.
Stefan hesitated before speaking up, "I don't want you to worry about getting me out, Lucy," he was quiet, not wanting Katherine to eavesdrop. "Just focus on the moonstone."
"I can do two things at once, Stefan," Lucy sighed, looking over at him. "I'm gonna find you a way out of there."
"I'm not worried."
"Well, I am. How am I—what am I—" Lucy struggled to find her words.
"—do you not know how important you are to me? I'm gonna get you out because I need you, Stefan, okay? And my sister needs you, your brother needs you. Can't you see how important you are?"
Stefan was silent at her outburst and Lucy wanted to die from how embarrassed she was. Her face and the back of her neck heated up and she pulled her phone out to distract herself.
"I'm calling Damon," she muttered, not looking at Stefan. If she had, she would have seen his glazed eyes and small smile. "You might want to go to the back. Seeing you in there will make it harder for Elena."
"Okay," Stefan cleared his throat, pulling himself together. "Just..."
Lucy looked at him expectantly.
He shook his head. "Goodbye, Lucy."
Lucy's throat went dry at the thought of saying goodbye to Stefan so she didn't reply. She busied herself, dialing Damon's number and informing him of what went down.
It was an hour later that Elena came rushing into the chamber, sobbing Stefan's name. Lucy jumped to her feet and grabbed her before she could run into the tomb, a sharp reversal from when she was wanting to go in herself.
"Stefan!" Elena shouted, fighting against Lucy's grip. "Stefan!"
Somehow, Elena was stronger than Lucy—she was able to push her little sister away from her. Luckily, Damon was there to stop her again. He pushed her against the wall, easily blocking her strikes.
"Don't you dare," Damon warned her as Lucy straightened herself, looking at her sister with pity.
"Stefan's in there, Damon!" Elena spat. "How could you guys let this happen?"
Lucy kept her temper in check, knowing that Elena didn't really mean to pin the blame on her and Damon. Like Lucy, she said things she didn't mean when she was angry.
"What are you talking about?" Damon retorted. "I was too busy saving you from your crazy kamikaze mission."
"You didn't even have to go after the moonstone in the first place!"
"It was the right call, Elena!"
"Right call? How is any of this the right call?" Elena shouted, starting to struggle against Damon's grip once again. "Damon, let go of me! Let go of me!"
Lucy stepped in, placing one of her hands on Elena's shoulder to comfort her. It hurt her to see her sister in such distress, especially when it was added to her own.
"Elena," she said softly. "Come on."
"No, Lucy," Elena's eyes glazed over with tears. "Stefan..."
"I know. It's gonna be okay," Lucy consoled her. "Come on, let's go home."
Elena let herself be pulled away from the tomb by Lucy, not looking back because she knew Stefan wasn't going to be there. As they reached the stairs, Lucy looked back at Damon and gestured with her head toward the tomb.
Damon nodded back at her, knowing that she was asking him to talk to Stefan. Relieved, Lucy led Elena up the stairs, her heart clenching at the mess they had gotten themselves into.