02. Memorial

"So Caroline asked me to ask you if you killed the council?" Lily asked Klaus, entering the Mikaelson's living room where the original hybrid stood, "There were too many asks in that sentence for my liking".

"Who?" a confused Klaus asked, a small smile forming on his face seeing Lily.

"The council" Lily repeated, walking over to Klaus, "The people who Alaric outed us to, the people who tried to kill us a few days ago, they were all recently blown up and naturally everyone's first suspect is you".

"Well I'm honored little luna that they think that, but I didn't kill them" Klaus said, wrapping his arms around Lily's waist and pulling her towards him, "Though if they weren't dead, I would have definitely killed them for the stunt they pulled with you".

"Yeah, I know" Lily smiled, wrapping her arms around Klaus's neck, his words making her heart flutter, "Just so you know, I didn't doubt you for even a second, I just asked to satisfy Caroline".

"Hmm" Klaus mumbled, before leaning down and placing his lips on to the Forbes werewolf.

Lily smiled into the kiss but nonetheless kissed the original hybrid back, once they broke the kiss, Lily placed her forehead on Klaus's chest, "Oh this is bad".

"What is?" a curious Klaus asked, placing a kiss on top of Lily's head.

"A bunch people just died and I'm here kissing you" Lily said, lifting her head up and looking at Klaus.

"That bunch of people tried to kill you, no one would blame you if you decide to dance on their grave" Klaus retorted.

"No, you wouldn't blame me, everyone else will" Lily stated.

"And you really care about everyone else's opinion?" Klaus asked, already knowing the answer to that question, both him and Lily knew, if Lily really cared about the opinion of everyone else in this town then right now she wouldn't be with Klaus.

"You already know the answer to that question" Lily laughed, "But I still have to be sensitive to the towns loss and attend the memorial tonight, otherwise I will hear a never ending lecture from both Caroline and mom and honestly I'm really not in the mood for that".

"Will I see you after the memorial?" an hopeful Klaus asked.

Lily smiled, "Where else will I go?" she asked.

Klaus smiled at the werewolf infront of him, he then bent down and pulled Lily into another kiss, not wanting to let go of her just yet.

***

While Lily was spending time with Klaus, Caroline called her about a hunter attacking Tyler and asked her to come to the Salvatore's, Lily had no desire to be near Stefan or Tyler, but Klaus made her realise that if there really was hunter in town that was out to get them, they needed all the information on him they could get, the only reason Lily was currently stood in the Salvatore's library, next to her sister, watching Stefan take out the bullets from Tyler's chest.

"Please tell me that's the last one" a worried Caroline said, flinching hearing her boyfriend scream in pain as Stefan took out a bullet from his chest.

Stefan rinsed the bullet in a glass of bourbon and then started investigating it, "These were specially carved, the length, the width, if you were a normal vampire, you'd be dead".

"This guy knew what he was doing" Tyler informed, "His gloves must have been steeped in vervain, he was looking for a vampire and didn't hesitate for a second when he found one".

"Here's a question for you three, is he here just for vampires, or all supernatural creatures?" Lily wondered.

"God knows, Lils" Caroline whispered, worried for the safety of her sister and friends.

"These etchings" Stefan said, he tried to grab the bullet but his fingers got burned.

"Are the bullets spelled?" a curious Caroline asked.

"I don't know" Stefan admitted.

"Or are they just soaked in vervain" Lily suggested, holding her hand out towards Stefan, "Let's test it".

Stefan placed the bullet in Lily's hand and immediately the werewolf's hand started burning, causing Stefan to quickly grabbing it with the tool he was using it to take them out of Tyler.

"Yeah, no, I don't know if they're spelled or soaked in both vervain and wolfsbane, but I can tell you this much, the purpose of these bullets are to kill however this hunter shoots at" Lily pointed out, shaking her hand, while Stefan, Caroline and Tyler exchanged a worried look between them.

***

Wearing a simple black dress, Lily met up with her sister at the church, the two sisters looped their arms together and walked into the church that was holding the memorial for all the lost council members, the two sat together in the back row and were eventually joined by Tyler.

"What are you doing here, Tyler?" Stefan asked, standing by the trio.

"Being sensitive to the community's loss" Tyler replied, a small smile forming on Caroline's face hearing her boyfriend.

"With a hunter out to get you?" Stefan reminded.

"I'm not letting a hunter stop me from where I'm supposed to be" Tyler stated.

"Also, if he shows his face, I'm going to kick his ass" Caroline threatened.

As Stefan went ahead to sit in the row Elena, Matt and Jeremy were sitting, Lily sat next to her sister, shaking her head.

"It's like everyone in this town has a death wish" Lily mumbled, if a hunter was after her, you would never see Lily in a place where he could easily get her, but clearly people like Tyler had no will to live, or maybe he didn't have a brain, either way, Lily thought currently Tyler was taking a huge risk that he really didn't need to take.

"Before we begin mass, we'd like to open the floor to anyone who would like to share a memory about our late friends on the town council" Carol Lockwood said into the microphone, "I know that April Young wanted to say a few words about her dad, uh April?", everyone looked around but there was no sign of April Young anywhere, "April, are you still here, honey? Is there anyone else who like to share a recollection or a memory about Pastor Young?".

"Does trying to murder us count as a memory?" Lily whispered to her sister who in return simply elbowed her in the stomach, "Ow!".

Both the sisters looked towards the doppelganger, seeing her stand up, "Come on up, Elena" Carol said.

"She doesn't look so good" Lily commented, as Elena started walking towards the stage.

"What's wrong with her?" a confused Tyler asked.

"I have no idea" an equally confused Caroline admitted.

As Elena was walking up the stage, the church door opened and in came Damon, who dipped his hand into the water and did a cross sign, "Don't know why that always makes me smile" he mumbled, before taking his seat next to his brother, "She doesn't look so good".

"Maybe you should have told me she was rejecting all food sources" Stefan snapped, angry at his brother for hiding Elena's condition from him.

"Jealousy is beneath you, brother" Damon taunted.

"Oh, bite me" Stefan retorted.

"I, um, when I talked to April earlier, she was kind of nervous about coming up to speak and now I'm up here, I'm kind of nervous too" Elena admitted, addressing everyone who came to the memorial, a shaky Elena took a deep breath, "The worst day of loving someone is the day that you lose them".

Suddenly all the supernatural creatures present in the room started smelling something.

"Do you smell that?" Caroline asked, trying her best not to move and look around, knowing this was a trap.

"Smells like blood" Lily whispered.

"Nobody move" Damon instructed, "Don't turn around, it's a trap".

Elena stood on the stage, having trouble keeping control, she could see where the blood was dripping from, "I, um--", the longer Elena stared at the blood dripping from the ceiling, the more she felt herself lose control, just as veins started appearing under her eyes and she was about to fully lose control and expose herself to the hunter, Stefan rushed on stage and grabbed her.

"It's okay, it's okay" Stefan whispered, helping Elena back to her seat, "I got you, I got you".

"Please turn to page 42 in your hymn book, let us join together in song".

Everyone stood up from their seats just as the choir started singing.

As they reached their seat, Elena turned and held on to Stefan as tightly as she could, "The blood, Stefan, the blood, I can smell it, there's so much".

"It's all right, just remember what we talked about" Stefan reminded, "Focus, push back, come on, you can do it".

"What's wrong with her?" a concerned Matt asked, standing next to the couple.

"She's hungry, she hasn't fed" Stefan informed.

"So get her out of here" Matt suggested.

"We can't , there's somebody watching us" Stefan revealed.

"I'm gonna go rip his head off now" Damon stated.

"You're girlfriend is already about to expose us all Damon, don't add to our problems" Lily snapped.

"Don't call Elena, Damon's girlfriend!" Caroline whisper-yelled to her sister, not wanting Stefan to get hurt, in return Lily simply rolled her eyes.

"I think the risk will be slightly diminished when I, you know, rip his head off" Damon retorted.

"Stefan, I'm losing it" a panicked Elena warned.

"You have ten seconds before I go old fashioned on the new guy" Damon informed, not wanting Elena to expose herself.

"Don't do it, Damon, please" Stefan pleaded, not wanting the hunter to know any of their identity.

"Three, two, one, bye" Damon counted down, ignoring his brother.

"Wait, wait, wait" Matt said, stopping Damon from walking out, "Elena, feed from him".

"Has Donovan lost his mind?" Lily whispered to her sister.

"Seems like it" Tyler said, as Caroline shook her head at Matt.

"It's okay, everyone will think you're upset, just feed on me" Matt said.

Elena looked at Stefan, who nodded his head in agreement, Matt grabbed Elena and hid her face in his neck.

"It's okay, you're okay, I'm here" Matt whispered to the doppelganger, just as she bit into his neck and started drinking his blood.

Once her hunger was satisfied, Elena separated herself from Matt, but not before whispering into his ear, "Thank you", meanwhile Tyler looked towards the blood, and suddenly an idea popped in his head, causing him to walk towards the stage, confusing both the Forbes sister.

"What is he up to?" Lily asked, surly Tyler knew that going up to the stage put him right in the hunter's view.

"I have no idea" a worried Caroline admitted.

"The blood, I can still smell it" Elena told Stefan, "It's gotta be April, we have to help her".

Stefan stopped Elena from walking out the aisle, "Elena, we can't risk it".

"Then I'm gonna do it" Elena snapped, trying to walk out but Stefan once again stopped her, before she could argue anymore, Tyler caught everyone's attention.

"Excuse me" Tyler said, standing on stage and addressing everyone, "I just wanted to say a few words about Pastor Young".

"What do we do?" a confused Elena asked, as everyone started sitting back down.

"Back in first grade, I was a brat who couldn't be bothered with team sports" Tyler said, "Didn't care much about anything that didn't affect me, but he was the one who made me understand how important it is to be part of a team, a community, giving yourself up for the sake of--", Tyler's speech was cut short when the hunter shot him in the chest, causing the hybrid to fall to the ground and everyone in the church to start yelling and running out in a panic.

"Tyler!" a panicked Carol yelled, rushing over to her son and kneeling by his body, "Oh, my god".

Caroline, Lily, Stefan and Elena also rushed up the stage to check on the Lockwood hybrid, Caroline turned Tyler around and pulled the stake out of his chest, immediately Tyler woke up with a cough, he groaned in pain, "I'm gonna kill that bastard".

"Damon is way ahead of you" Stefan said, before turning to Elena, "Stay here, I have to help him".

"Woah, what about April?" a worried Elena asked, stopping Stefan from walking away.

"We got it, go" Caroline told Stefan, gesturing between her and Lily.

Stefan looked towards Lily who simply gave him a small nod.

"I have to call an ambulance" Carol realised.

"No, he's fine" Caroline assured, as Elena walked away.

"Caroline, the whole freaking town watched Tyler get shot, we need to call an ambulance otherwise I sure hope you have a good story as to why Tyler is okay without going to the hospital" Lily said.

Caroline sighed but the nonetheless realised her sister was right, but suddenly a panicked expression formed on her face once she realised the doppelganger was missing, "Elena?".

Lily looked around and saw no sign of Elena anywhere, "Oh come on" she complained, before rushing to find the very out of it Gilbert before she ends up hurting someone.

***

Elena followed the scent of blood and it led her right towards a tied up April Young, "April", Elena took a step towards the hurt girl but quickly stopped once she saw all the blood surrounding her, immediately causing veins to appear under her eyes, she rushed forward and tried to bite her, when Lily rushed over and shoved Elena away from the hurt girl.

"Elena stop!" Lily yelled, holding Elena away from April, "You can save April right now, but if you bite her, there's no saving her after that, she'll be dead, because of you".

"Let go of me!" Elena yelled, struggling in Lily's grip.

"Dammit Elena, get in control!" Lily snapped, "Look at her, she's an innocent girl who has no idea about our world, you cannot drag her into this, you can't be the reason she dies on her own father's funeral", Elena listened to Lily's words and eventually managed to gain control of herself, just as Caroline rushed over to the two, having heard everything.

"She's an orphan, just like you" Caroline reminded, biting into her wrist and walking over to April, "And she's scared, just like you were", Caroline removed the cloth from April's mouth and fed her blood, after drinking Caroline's blood, April opened her eyes with a gasp.

"Please, don't hurt me, please" a panicked April cried.

"No one is gonna hurt you" Caroline assured, "No one is gonna hurt you".

Lily looked at April, then at Elena, "Elena, help her" she said, knowing this was the only way Elena was going to learn, "Help her forget what happened today".

"Why did he do this?" April cried.

"No, I can't, Lily, Caroline has to do it" Elena protested.

Caroline stood up and faced her best friend, "No, the only way you're gonna learn is if you do it yourself".

"I can't" Elena stated, shaking her head rapidly.

"At least try" Lily said, "If something goes wrong, me and Caroline are right here".

Caroline nodded her head, "You just need to believe what you're telling her, okay?".

A panicked Elena looked between the two sisters, both of them gave her an encouraging nod, after taking a deep breath, Elena slowly made her over to April and kneeled by her.

"April, listen to me" Elena said, starting her compulsion, "Everything's going to be okay, you're gonna get through this, just like I got through it, I'm going to help you, I promise".

"I'm gonna be okay, you're gonna help" a dazed April repeated.

A smiling Elena looked back at the sisters, Caroline smiled back at her, while Lily gave her a small nod.

Elena turned back to April, "You watched the funeral from up here so that you could grieve alone" she continued, "It was a beautiful service, people said really nice things".

A smile formed on April's face hearing that.

***

Lily was going back to the Mikaelson mansion when Stefan called her, pleading her to come to the school, at first Lily refused, she didn't want to be in the company of anyone but Klaus right now, but after much insisting from Stefan, Lily finally decided to go see what Stefan had in plan.

"Stefan, what are we doing?" a confused Damon asked, walking over to the benches everyone sat on.

"We're finishing the memorial we didn't get to have earlier" Stefan informed, handing everyone paper lanterns, "We need to start healing Damon, we've all lost so much, especially recently, we think we're numb to it, we push it away, we make a joke out of it, ignore how we feel, never just let ourselves grieve".

"So you're lighting lanterns?" Damon asked, clearly not happy with Stefan's idea.

"Yeah" Stefan confirmed, "Yeah, we need to do this".

"What we need to do is find out who this hunter is and what he knows about the death of the council" Damon retorted, "We've more important things to being doing right now then, this".

"Not tonight, we don't" Stefan stated, Damon let out an annoyed scoff, ignoring him, Stefan proceeded to light his lantern up, "This is for my uncle Zach, my friend Lexi, for Alaric".

Stefan handed the lighter over to Matt, "This is for Vicki" Matt said, lighting his lantern before passing the lighter over to Caroline.

"This is for my dad, and Tyler's" Caroline said.

Once Caroline had lit her lantern, she forwarded the lighter towards her sister, who hesitated for a second, she then looked at Stefan who gave her a small nod, so after taking a deep breath, Lily finally took the lighter from her sister and proceeded to light her lantern up, "This is for my biological parents, Aarav and Bani Singh", Lily glanced at Caroline, "And for Bill Forbes".

Lily handed the lighter over to Jeremy, who looked at his sister, "This is for our parents, for Vicki, Anna, Jenna and Alaric", Jeremy tried to hand the lighter over to Damon but he immediately took a step back.

"No way, I'm not doing that" Damon stated, before walking away from the group.

Jeremy then handed the lighter over to Bonnie, who stood up from the bench and stood next to Lily, "This is for my grams" she said, lighting her lantern and then passing the lighter over to Elena.

Elena took the lighter from her best friend and stood in between Stefan and Jeremy, "This is for my mom, my dad and Jenna, everyone that you've all lost, everyone that this town has lost, and for me, I guess".

One by one the group let go of their respective lanterns and watched as they floated up in the sky.

"I miss you mom and dad" Lily whispered, watching as her lantern got further and further away from her.

***

Presenting 3x02 of Fire & Flame!

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Klaus and Lily's little moment in the beginning of the chapter?

Thoughts on Lily helping Elena with April?

Thoughts on everyone lighting lanterns in memory of everyone they've lost?