"Easy. Grab the door Jer." Nat tells her brother. They were coming home from the hospital with Jenna, who was already healing from the stab wound. Matt and Jeremy were helping her walk, Elena was holding a suitcase full of clothes and Nat was holding some flowers.
"Hey, stop fussing. I'm fine." Jenna scoffed playfully, leaning on Matt.
"The doctors said that you have to take it easy." Elena told her.
"Yeah, you don't want to rip your stitches, hemorrhage and die, alright?" Jeremy says.
"Yeah, the only thing I'm gonna die from is embarrassment." They all laugh and Matt leads her to the couch.
"No." Matt says chuckling.
"I walked into a knife. How does somebody do that?" Nat, Elena and Jeremy looked at each other.
"It was a freak accident." Elena said, Nat nodding from beside her.
"It happens." Jeremy adds.
"Yeah, I mean, I've done it like twenty times at the Grill." Jenna laughs but immediately winces. "Okay, I'm being nice."
"Careful." Jeremy says.
"Easy. Easy." Carefully they lay her down on the couch. Matt looks up to the twins and gestures to the bag of food. "What should I do with this?"
"I got it." Nat says before taking the bag and following Elena to the kitchen, Jeremy right behind them, leaving Jenna with Matt. Her phone goes off and she checks it, seeing Caroline had texted her to come to the Boarding House as soon as she could. She told her she would leave in a few.
"So, what are we gonna do?" Jeremy asks Elena eagerly.
"Make lunch." She says dryly.
"No, about Katherine."
"We're not gonna do anything, Jeremy." She told him with a pointed glare.
"She tried to kill Jenna. We can't let her get away with that." Nat tells her.
"Yes we can." She looks at Nat and then at Jeremy. "If it keeps us safe, then we can."
"And what if she tries something else?"
"She won't. Katherine hurt Jenna because I didn't do what she said. I'm doing it now, me and Stefan are over. She wins, the end." She says with finality in her tone.
"You are being naïve and you know it." He looks at her before turning around and grabbing his jacket.
"Where are you going?" Elena asks confused.
"Out. I'll be back."
"Wait! I'll come with." Nat says, grabbing her jacket too and following him.
"You're leaving too?" Elena asks from behind.
"Uh, yeah. I'm meeting Care. I'll see you later." With that, Jeremy and Nat leave the house. They get in the car and drive off.
"Where do you want me to drop you off?"
"The Boarding House, please." Jeremy looks at her from the corner of her eye.
"Huh, I'm heading there too. Alaric called earlier." Nat looked at him confused. What was going on? A few minutes later they got there and quickly got out of the car. As soon as they entered they saw Ric with bags of weapons. Caroline was on a couch just staring at him, while Damon and Stefan talked on the side. Caroline looked to the door and saw Nat. She got up and went towards her quickly
"Nat, hey. How are you?" She knew her friend was referring to the breakdown of one of the previous nights. She looked to the guys and saw Damon already looking at her suspiciously.
"Uh, good, good. We'll talk later." She told her before turning to the others. "What's all this about?" She walked towards them and gestured to the weapons now laid out on the table.
"I ran into Katherine today." Caroline said. Nat frowned and turned around, wanting to know more. "She said she wanted the moonstone, tonight at the Masquerade Ball."
"So... what does this have to do with the moonstone?" She asked, still confused.
"We're going to kill her tonight." Damon said taking a stake into his hands. She widened her eyes and looked around at everyone. She saw everyone was completely serious and sighed.
"Okay, so, what's the plan?" Damon smirked at her and turned to Ric.
"Ric here is gonna show us how to kill a vampire." Before they could continue talking they heard a knock on the door.
"It's Bonnie." Caroline told her before going to the door.
"So Ric, show us then how to kill the bitch." Nat said to him. He smiled and started explaining how his weapons worked. Stefan joins them after explaining to Bonnie what was going on.
"This works with compressed air. The trigger mechanism is up here. I have two of these in a different size." He turns to Stefan. "For you I recommend this. It fits nicely under the jacket sleeve. You use the trigger when you're ready." He then fakes killing a vampire and Damon and Stefan look at each other. "You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire." Ric said before shrugging.
"Stefan, can I talk to you for a second?" Bonnie asks. He looks up from the weapons and nods. They walk away until they're out of earshot and Caroline turns to Nat. She signals with her eyes to follow her and Nat obliges. But not before stealing a glance at Damon and seeing him look at them knowingly. She follows Caroline until they get to the kitchen and looks at her.
"Okay, you need to tell them now."
"Caroline, now's not the time. We need to focus on Katherine."
"Yeah, but this is important too. They deserve to know."
"Yeah but-" She's cut off by Bonnie walking inside and looking at them suspiciously.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing! We were talking about the whole Masquerade thing." Nat chuckles nervously. "I was just telling Care that I don't have a dress and she was telling me I could borrow one from her." Bonnie looked at them and nodded.
"Well, come on, we're gonna discuss details." The three of them left the kitchen and entered the living room.
"Are you sure you guys don't want me here tonight?" Alaric asks.
"No, I need you to stay with Elena. I don't want her to know about this."
"Okay. Well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight." He nods.
"Alright, if anybody wants to back out, I'll understand." Stefan said, looking around the room.
"Yeah. Cold feet speak now. I don't want this going wrong if someone chickens out." He turned to her best friend. "Caroline."
"I won't. Look, she killed me. Fair's fair. As long as there's no werewolf running around."
"Oh, I took care of Mason." Damon told her smirking.
"As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn." Jeremy told Caroline.
"Nat?" Damon looked at her.
"She messed with Jenna." He nodded and turned to Bonnie.
"Bonnie? Are you with us?" Stefan asked her. She paused for a second and took a step forward.
"But no one gets hurt."
"Except Katherine. Tonight Katherine gets a stake through her heart." Damon said. They nodded and Alaric left to tend to Jenna. Nat was about to leave too but was stopped by Damon's voice.
"So, Nat." She turned around and saw everyone looking at her. "What did blondie want you to tell us?" Shit.
"Nothing, it's nothing important."
"Nat!" Caroline exclaimed. "She's been having weird dreams." She said to the others.
Bonnie, Stefan, Damon and Jeremy looked at her shocked and confused.
"Wait, is this about the Katherine dream?" Bonnie asked.
"You dreamt about Katherine too?" Caroline asked.
"Were the dreams the reason you haven't been sleeping?" Damon asked.
She could see they had more questions but she couldn't focus with everyone talking at once. She closed her eyes and exhaled.
"Okay, I'll explain everything, just- just calm down, okay?"
She sat on the couch and everyone followed. After explaining the dreams about Tatia and Katherine, and the two guys, she told them about her episode from a few days ago.
"So, you didn't know you were you?" She shook her head at Stefan's question.
"Out of everyone in this town I wouldn't have expected you to be the one going crazy." Damon said jokingly.
"Hey!" Jeremy exclaimed, getting defensive.
"Shut up, Damon." He shrugged and drank from his bourbon. She actually appreciated someone trying to make the situation a bit lighter, but she didn't want her brother to get into a fight, especially not with Damon.
"I'm going to figure it out, okay? But right now we need to focus on Katherine."
"Nat, this doesn't sound good. It sounds serious." Stefan tells her. "Look, we'll focus on Katherine today, but tomorrow we'll start looking into this, okay?" She nodded and exhaled in relief. Even though at first she didn't want to worry anyone, she felt like a weight had come off her shoulders.
"Okay, tomorrow then. Tonight is all about Katherine." They nodded and stood up, each going a different direction. Bonnie walked towards her and gave her a smile.
"I'm going to find those herbs tomorrow Nat, I promise."
"Thanks Bonnie, really." She said grinning now at her. Bonnie nodded and took off, probably to get everything ready. Jeremy told her that he would be waiting on the car for her and left the house. Before Caroline could leave Nat stopped her.
"I was serious about the dress, I don't really have anything." She said shyly.
"Of course, I'll drop it off later, okay?" She nodded and smiled at her thankfully. As soon as Caroline left she turned to Damon.
"Would you have told me if she hadn't made you?" He asked, not looking at her.
"Of course I would have Damon, I just didn't feel it was the right time. There were a lot of things going on." She said, leaning next to him on the table. He left his glass on the side and stood up, coming up in front of her.
"I just want you to be okay, Nat." He stepped closer to her, making her heart skip a beat at their closeness. She only needed to lean a bit and their lips would touch. But they stayed where they were, only staring at each other. "So as soon as the bitch is dead, we're going to focus on you and finding out what the hell is going on." She nodded. He leaned towards her and kissed her cheek before speaking again. "I won't let anything happen to you Nat, I promise." She looked at him before he pulled back and left upstairs. She stared ahead for a few minutes, her heart still beating loudly, before composing herself and leaving the house.
She was almost ready when she heard a knock on her door before Elena came in.
"Hey. So you're going to Masquerade?" Nat looked at her and nodded, coming up with an excuse quickly.
"Yeah, uh, Caroline asked me to. You know she's still upset about Matt and didn't want to be alone today." Elena nodded and sat down on the bed, Nat sitting next to her.
"Are you finally going to tell me what's been going on with you?" Elena asked turning to her.
"I'm sorry Lena, it's just- I wanted to tell you, I swear. But then Katherine arrived and then Caroline became a vampire and now Jenna." She sighed. "It just didn't seem like a good moment." She shrugged.
"Well, now is as good as ever." Nat looked at her for a moment before nodding.
"Okay, here I go." She exhaled and looked at Elena. "It all started a few weeks ago. I started dreaming about this guy. We were in an old village and he seemed to be in love with me. Don't ask how, but I just knew it. Anyways, he called me Iliana? I know, weird." She said when Elena furrowed her brows in confusion. "But it didn't end there. I also dreamt of this other guy who asked me to marry him and practically asked me to run away with him. We seemed to be in the same village as the first dream and he called me Iliana too. But that wasn't what freaked me out the most." Elena took her hand, knowing she was getting scared. "I had a sister in this dream. Her name was Tatia and she looked just like you and Katherine. Same face, same voice, it was you, just- just a different name and different clothes."
"Okay..." Elena looked surprised and confused at the same time by that information.
"The thing is: the day of the volunteering at the Lockwood's? When I woke up that day I didn't know who I was or where I was. And when you came in I thought you were Tatia. It took me a few seconds before I remembered who I was, but- but it was the worst, Lena." She said, a lump forming in her throat. Elena rubbed circles on her hand trying to soothe her. "Oh, I also had a dream with Katherine."
"You did?"
"Mhm. But she looked different, younger, you know? It was before she became a vampire."
"Did she call you Iliana too?"
"She called me Emiliya." She said while shaking her head.
"Wow, okay." Elena said. "Tomorrow we'll talk to Bonnie, see if she can find anything on Emily's Grimoire." Nat nodded, not telling her that she had already tried that but to no avail. "Okay, you should go, you're gonna be late."
"Right, Caroline will be here any min-" They heard a car horn and looked at each other before laughing. "Speak of the devil." They stood up and Nat looked one last time in the mirror. She paired the grey short dress with black peep toe heels and long silver earrings. She had her hair down and light makeup. She grabbed her purse and mask and quickly went down with Elena.
"If anything happens call me." Nat told her once they got down.
"Nat? You leaving for the party?" She heard Jenna ask from the living room. She popped her head up.
"Yeah, I'll see you later guys." She waved at Jenna and Elena and looked at Ric knowingly, him nodding at her. She went towards the car and Caroline drove off as soon as she was seated.
Nat and Caroline arrived at the party and saw it was already packed with people. Outside, there were many attractions and everyone was wearing their masks. She put the mask on with the help of Caroline and walked inside.
"I'm going to check that everything's okay with Bonnie, okay?" Caroline told her. She nodded and started walking around, impressed by the different masks and outfits. Out of nowhere she felt a presence next to her, walking by her side. When she turned her head, she saw Katherine and rolled her eyes.
"Nat, good to see you."
"Katherine, wish I could say the same." She kept walking, not paying attention to her. "What do you want?"
"Just checking in. I know you're angry about Aunt Jenna, but-" A waiter passed and she took two flutes of champagne, handing her one. She didn't want it, so she just held it, not drinking from it. "She was collateral damage. I can get really jealous, you know?" Before Nat could say anything Tyler bumped into them.
"Oh, hey Elena, Nat." He smiled slightly at them. Katherine put on a fake smile.
"Tyler, hi. Place looks amazing." He nodded in thanks and Katherine nudged Nat. "Isn't that right, sister?" Nat grunted and put on a fake smile too.
"Yes, looks really cool Ty. If you'll excuse us, we need to use the bathroom." With that she grabbed Katherine's arm and led her away from Tyler.
"Pretending to be Elena is getting really entertaining." She said with a smirk when they went outside. "Don't you think so, sister?"
"Stop it. I don't know why you're playing nice with me, but just leave me alone. I don't want to play any part in your games." She turned around and started walking away.
"Believe me, you'll want to hear what I have to say soon enough."
"If you're not gonna give me straight answers then I don't want to hear anything from you, Katerina ."
"Have it your way." Katherine turned around and walked down the stairs. She sighed and went inside the house again. She walked around for a while before she spotted Bonnie and Jeremy coming down the stairs. She walked towards them and waved.
"Hey."
"Hi, Nat. You look really nice." Bonnie said with a smile.
"You look amazing too Bonnie." She smiled back before looking around. "Is the room ready?" Jeremy nodded at her and gestured for them to go outside.
"We just need to wait for the signal." Jeremy tells her. She nods and they sit at a table until they receive the message. Nat puts her chin on her hand and looks around the place, seeing everyone having fun.
"So, can you do like a hocus pocus to ace a test?" Nat heard Bonnie chuckle.
"I don't know that spell."
"It'd be like the first one I'd learn or maybe like a sex spell or something." She widened her eyes and glared at him. He looked at her and shook his head. "I don't know." Bonnie laughed. "Do you want to dance or something while we're waiting?" Nat snorted quietly at her brother's lame attempt to subtly flirt with Bonnie.
"No!" Bonnie exclaimed, still laughing. She saw Jeremy look down before mumbling a quiet okay. "I mean, no thank you." Suddenly his phone went off and the three of them looked at Damon's message which read "Now."
"Let's go." Nat said. Jeremy and her stood up and left to find Katherine. After walking around for a bit they spotted her with another woman. They went towards them and Jeremy spoke first.
"Elena." Katherine and the woman turn to them. Both Jeremy and her remove their masks and stare at them.
"Hey, sorry. Could we talk to our sister?" Nat tells her. She looks at them and nods, leaving them alone.
"What is it guys?" She asks in her fake Elena voice.
"We have a message from Stefan." She looks at Nat surprised.
"Oh?"
"He and Damon want you to meet them at the edge of the lake by the woods. They brought the moonstone." Jeremy told her.
"And why are you their little messenger?" She dropped the Elena charade completely.
"Because they know we're not afraid of you."
"Hmm, you Gilbert men, so courageous. How's John by the way? Were they able to sew his fingers back on?" She asked, clearly amused at his reaction. She stroked his tie before turning around and leaving. They start walking back while Jeremy texts Damon, but someone grabs their arms and drags them to a bush.
"What the hell is going on?" They come face to face with Elena and Nat sighs.
"One job, Ric." She mutters under her breath. Suddenly Bonnie arrives and looks at Elena in surprise.
"Elena, what are you doing here?!"
"I could ask you the same question! What are you doing here? What's going on?"
"We're going to kill Katherine." Nat tells her.
"You guys are trying to kill her here?" She asks while pacing.
"We saw an opportunity and we knew we had to take it." Jeremy answers.
"Okay, stop with the "we". Are you guys crazy?" She asked them. "You're gonna get yourselves killed."
"We know what we're doing, Elena." Bonnie tells her reassuringly.
"And how am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because of me?"
"It's not just you anymore, Lena. She's messed with all of us, she has to be stopped." Elena looks at Nat and opens her mouth, but instead of any words, only a scream comes out. She topples down the floor and keeps screaming. They see blood coming out of her shirt, but no wound.
"What's going on?!" Jeremy yells. Elena grabs her arm and screams again, seeing blood forming there too.
"Oh, God!" Nat cries out. Bonnie looks up and then at Elena again.
"Jeremy, it's Katherine. She's linked to Katherine, get them to stop! Now!" He takes off quickly to the house while Bonnie and Nat stay with Elena. She was starting to calm down but suddenly a cut appears on her hand, making her cry out in pain.
"Bonnie, it hurts." Elena whimpers. Nat takes her hand, not knowing what else to do.
"I can't break the spell, Elena, I'm sorry. But I can try to take some of the pain away, okay?" Elena nods and Bonnie takes Elena's other hand. She starts mumbling in latin and Elena starts breathing a bit normal again. Suddenly Jeremy arrives and kneels down.
"Are you okay?" He asks her.
"Are they?"
"They're stuck in there with her." He looks at Bonnie. "You were right. Katherine had a witch link Elena to her." Bonnie widens her eyes and realizes something, standing up quickly.
"The girl I saw, the one inside!" She looked at Nat. "Stay with her, keep pressure on her shoulder!" She started walking to the house.
"Where are you going?" Nat asked her confused.
"There's another witch here, I'm gonna find her!" And with that she ran off.
Elena kept whimpering while Jeremy applied pressure on her shoulder. She rubbed her back. hoping this would end soon.
"It's okay, Bonnie already went inside to find the other witch." Elena moaned in pain but nodded. After a few minutes Bonnie came back smiling.
"She's lifting the spell right now." She told Elena. Soon enough Elena stopped whimpering and breathed normally again. Jeremy helped her stand up and walk towards one of the tables. They sat down and Elena exhaled. Bonnie stood up and looked at them.
"I'm going to find Lucy, to thank her."
"I'll go with you." Bonnie nodded at Jeremy surprised, but accepted his offer nonetheless.
"Are you still in pain?" Nat asked Elena worried about her.
"Only a bit, I think Bonnie's spell is working." She tried to stand up and Nat helped her. They walk towards the lake and stand there, just staring ahead, trying to process what just happened.
"Elena." They heard Stefan's voice from behind. Nat looked between them and started walking away.
"I'll give you guys some time." Walking to the parking lot she saw Damon standing by his car, ready to get in, but he saw her coming towards him. She got to his car and leaned on it.
"How is Elena?" He asked.
"She's okay, healing."
"I didn't get to tell you earlier, but you look beautiful." She looked at him and a smile crept up on her lips.
"Thanks Damon." He nodded at her. "So, what are you gonna do with her?" She asked, referring to Katherine.
"There's a special place down a church with her name on it."
"The tomb." She realized.
"Yup. Gonna let the bitch desiccate."
"Serves her right." She saw Stefan coming towards the car and stood up right. "Well, that's my cue. Good luck with her. Bye Damon." With that she left to find Elena. She was standing in the same spot she left her, clearly having been crying. She turns around and sees her.
"Hey, what's up? How did things with Stefan go?"
"I told him that I just needed to know you guys were safe." Nat just hugs her, knowing that was sad about the break up. "I love him Nat, so much. But right now it's not safe. Even with Katherine out of the picture."
"It's fine, I'm sure he understands. And he'll wait for you, because he loves you too." Elena nods at her and pulls back. "We should go home. You need to rest." Nat said. Elena agreed and they walked towards the parking lot. On their way there Jeremy called Elena's phone and she answered.
"Yeah, Jeremy. I've got my car. Tell Bonnie that whatever she did, I'm starting to feel better. Yeah, you can drive her home. We're just gonna go straight to bed. Okay." She hangs up and looks at Nat. Suddenly she stops, feeling someone behind her. They turn around and see a masked man getting closer. He covers Elena's mouth and before Nat has a chance to scream she's hit in the head by a rock and falls to the ground unconscious.