Audrey reforming the deal with Elijah didn't go down well with the Salvatore brothers. Especially Damon, who told them all to go to hell before storming off in anger. In the end, both Stefan and Elena agreed to work with the original again, and apologized for the parts they played in his death. It was a step in the right direction, and once Audrey had the pair up to speed with what the truth about the sacrifice, Elena told Audrey what happened while she was gone for the day.
Audrey didn't think she'd ever seen Jenna so shaken up, but finding out the truth in the way that she had, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to come to terms with quickly. Comfort came in the fact that now she knew the truth, as it would make protecting her easier, especially now they didn't have to worry about Klaus posing as Alaric to her again.
The next morning, the sisters and Stefan sat with Elijah in the living room, as they went over the details of the plan. "Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse." Elijah informed the three.
"Audrey said that the Sun and the Moon curse is fake?" Stefan asked. "That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus."
"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline." Elijah explained, looking at him and Elena. "The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it...He'll be a true hybrid."
"Then why are we letting him break the curse?" Damon asked as he joined them. "We can kill him today. With Bonnie."
The eldest twin frowned, shaking her head at the thought. "No. Bonnie can't use that much power without dying."
Damon shrugged carelessly. "I'll write her a great eulogy."
Elena gave him a firm look. "It's not an option, Damon."
"Alright, how do we break this curse?" Stefan cut in, before their arguing could go any further.
"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward." Elijah began to explain. "The ingredients, so to speak, you already know."
"The moonstone." Audrey nodded.
Elijah nodded at her. "A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."
"And where do I fit in?" Elena rose a brow.
"The final part of the ritual." Elijah takes a wooden box from the shelf. "Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelganger...to the point of your death."
Elena's hand quickly entwined with Stefan's, a unreadable look on her face as that sunk in. Audrey looked at her sister in concern, and Elena gave her a small nod, trying to assure her she was okay. It was almost believable, but Audrey knew her sister better than most. "And that's where you come in."
Elijah placed the box down on the table, opening it to reveal a old glass jar. "This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation."
"So I'll be dead."
"And then you won't." He informed her.
"That's your plan?" Damon scoffed in disbelief. "A magical witch potion with no expiration date?" He looked toward Elena. "You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?"
"Those rings only work on humans." Elijah told them, not looking bothered by the scathing look Damon shot him. "The doppelgangers a supernatural occurrence. Odds are, the ring won't work."
"I'll take those odds over your elixir." The eldest Salvatore shot back. "What if it doesn't work, Elena?"
Elena looked at him as if it was simple. "Then I guess I'll just be dead."
Damon looked at his brother, who looked down for a moment and shrugged. His gaze then flickered to Audrey, who just looked down. With a scoff, Damon stormed out of the room, leaving the four alone once again. When Elijah told Audrey he had a way to save the doppelganger, she hadn't considered the thought that it might not work. The only thing on her mind was everything else she found out, which she had yet to share with anybody else. With how comfortable she was talking about it, it was clear her sister had. Elena had been so willing to sacrifice herself from the start of all this, she knew it shouldn't come as a surprise.
But the thought of losing another family member still brought a sick feeling to her stomach.
"Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this?" Elena asked after a moment. "Does he have a werewolf?"
"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years." He told them. "If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will."
* * * * * * * * * *
"You're quiet."
Audrey glanced up from the book resting in her lap, to see Elijah stood in front of her. She'd hid herself away in the library after the conversation that morning, leaving Elena to talk things through with the brothers. With the way Stefan and Damon were taking the latest alliance with Elijah, it wouldn't be long till another fight broke out, and Audrey knew it was best to stay out of the way when it did.
"Just thinking." She shrugged with a small smile.
He rose a brow. "If this is about--"
"I haven't told them yet." Audrey quickly cut him off, shaking her head. "I don't think it's a good idea, given everything..."
"I'm inclined to agree." Elijah nodded in understanding. "Though you know as well as I that there are things we need to discuss."
"And we will." She nodded, looking at him honestly. "Really, Elijah, we will. But right now, I can't. Right now, I need to focus on my sister, because Damon isn't wrong. There's a chance this elixir won't work."
"No, there's a possibility it won't." He admitted. "I don't want to mislead you."
"No, I know." The Gilbert girl nodded. "You've been the most honest person in my life in a long time."
Elijah looked at her for a moment, before taking a seat beside her, reaching out and taking the book from her lap. Careful not to lose her page, he closed it slightly to look at the title, giving her a small smile as he did. Audrey's lips twitched up in a matching smile, an old and familiar feeling bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She'd grown so used to it by now, that she barely noticed it when it happened, like how she got so accustomed to the nose bleeds and chest pains. As she watched him, she had so many questions building up inside her head, along with so many other thoughts.
Feeling her eyes on him, Elijah turned and locked eyes with her once again, the pair both unknowingly leaning closer together. Maybe it was the bond drawing them together like this, or maybe it was something else, but neither of them thought much of it in that moment. In that moment, it was like nothing else around existed.
"Get out!"
Hearing Jenna's shouting, Audrey snapped out of the daze she was in, and quickly followed the sound of her aunts voice. It didn't take long for Elijah to follow after her, Elena, Stefan, and Damon appearing in the hallway at the same time. They found Jenna stood with a crossbow in her hands, pointing it directly at Alaric, who stood with his hands in the air.
"What's going on?" Elena asked, looking the Saltzman man warily.
"It's me, Elena, I swear, okay?" He told the group calmly. "He let me go. Klaus let me go."
Damon crossed his arms over his chest. "Prove it."
Alaric slowly nodded, looking over toward Jenna. "Okay, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to..."
Jenna lowered the crossbow, quickly cut him off. "Okay, it's him." She stated, looking away from everyone awkwardly.
Stefan rose a brow at the history teacher. "Why did he let you go?"
"He wanted to me deliver a message." Alaric informed them. "The sacrifice happens tonight." They moved into the living to talk after that, the eldest Salvatore disappearing once again. No one worried about that though, and listened as Alaric explained to them what had happened to him, with no memory of anything that happened while Klaus had control of him. "It's like I blacked out and woke up three days later. Katherine was there."
"She's under compulsion." Stefan explained with a nod. "Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can."
Elena rose a brow, noticing the man in question was missing. "Where is Damon?"
"I saw him go upstairs." Jenna answered.
"So what else did I do?" Alaric asked, as Elena left to go upstairs.
"Yeah, it's a long story..." Audrey said, giving him a sympathetic look.
Some panic appeared on his face, which none of them could blame him for. He'd just lost three days of his life, and was now having to deal with the aftermath of it. So, Jenna began to tell him what had happened, and there were hints of guilt on his face. Honestly, Audrey had some guilt in her eyes as she looked at Jenna. They'd been keeping her out of it to keep her safe, but in the end, all it did was put her in more danger.
Suddenly, Stefan sped out of the room upstairs, and they soon heard shouting and crashes. Exchanging a look, Audrey and Alaric ran upstairs to where it was coming from, with Jenna following quickly behind both of them. They saw Stefan doubled over on the ground, with a wooden pole sticking out of his abdomen, Elena holding him with blood around her mouth and tears in her eyes.
"What the hell is going on?" Alaric asked in disbelief.
Elena glared tearfully in Damon's direction. "Get him out of here!"
"What did you do?" Audrey looked at Damon, who looked at Elena and Stefan with a unreadable look. Her eyes glanced down to his wrist, were specks of blood remained, and it didn't take her long to put the pieces together. Especially as she looked back at her sister again. "You fed her?!" Anger appeared on her face. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Damon said nothing, pushing Alaric off him as he tries to user him out of the room, and storms out in silence. Damon had just ensured Elena would come back to life, only she wouldn't come back human. She'd become a vampire.
* * * * * * * * * *
"I screwed up."
"Yeah. Yeah, you did." Alaric said bluntly, as he stood the other side of Damon at the bar.
After what he did, Elena wanted Damon nowhere near her, so Alaric and Audrey forced him out of the house. They ended up the Grill, where Damon had instantly ordered himself a glass of bourbon, trying to drown the guilt that had hit him. At first, Audrey had wanted to stay with her sister, but Stefan told her he'd look after Elena. If today was going to be her last day as a human, he wanted to help her make the most of it. Plus, Audrey knew she needed some space from Elijah, especially as it sunk what had almost happened between them.
"Big time." Audrey shot him a look, as she stood the other side of him.
"Gentlemen. Audrey." The three froze as a British voice addressed them. The Gilbert turned her head to the right, so see an unfamiliar man now stood beside her, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Why so glum?"
"Ugh." Damon groaned, lifting his his off the bar to look at him. "Klaus, I presume."
"In the flesh." Klaus glanced at Alaric. "Thanks for the loner, mate."
Damon glared at him angrily. "Any reason you stopped by to say hi?"
"I'm told you and your brother fancy my doppelganger." He began, his eyes flickering back to Audrey, his smirk growing. He knew, she thought. He had to know the truth. "Just thought I'd remind you not to do anything you'll regret."
A bitter smile appeared on the Salvatore's lips. "Ha. Thanks for the advice. I don't suppose I could talk you into a postponement, by any chance, huh?"
"You are kidding." Klaus looks between Alaric and Audrey. "He is kidding, right?"
Alaric sighs. "No, not really."
"He's never been more serious." Audrey admitted quietly.
Klaus stared at the three in disbelief, a look of warning appearing on his face. "Let me be clear...I have my vampire. I have my werewolf. I have everything I need. The ritual will happen tonight. So if you want to live to see tomorrow, don't screw it up." His eyes then settled back on Audrey. "As for you, love." His hand wrapped around her wrist, tugging her to his side before she could process what was happening. "You're coming with me."
"What?" Her eyes widened. "Why?"
"You'll understand soon enough."
"N--"
Audrey didn't hear Damon or Alaric's protests, as the Grill disappeared in front of her, the whole world around her going black.
It's been so long and I'm sorry, and this chapter is short, but the next two updates will be either later today or tomorrow. I've had a bit of break from writing lately, but I'm ready to dive back in, and finally finish season 2 of TVD for Audrey. There was some Audrey and Elijah in this chapter, Audrey and Klaus too, and you'll get a lot more of them soon. Next chapter, it's the sacrifice!
I hope you all enjoyed!