"Are you going to kill me?"

Elijah had pulled her back into the house, pushing her into a nearby chair. "No, I'm not going to kill you," he said, leaning over her and holding onto the armrests so that she couldn't escape. Not that she would have tried. She was paralyzed with fear, wondering how the hell he was alive.

He could see her shaking, and he tutted. "Shh, shh, you don't have to be scared. I give you my word I won't kill you. I need you to do something for me."

He stood up, and started to pace the room. "I sense that you're going to be far more cooperative than your brothers. And yes," he noted the stunned look on her face, "I do know they're your brothers. In fact, in this short time, I've learned all about you, Madeleine Salvatore. Turned in 1864, with your brothers having fallen victim to Katerina. I was rather appalled to learn the details of that."

"How do you know that?" she asked incredulously. "How could you have found out—?"

"I had a few of my associates research the current state of Mystic Falls when Rose contacted me. I heard all about your family. And then, of course, that adorable attempt to asphyxiate me yesterday left me a chance to grab you and see into your mind. You obviously didn't realize it. Us Originals have all sorts of special tricks. One of which is being able to compel other vampires."

She tensed. "That's what you're gonna do to me, isn't it?" she whispered. "You're going to compel me to... to spy for you?"

"Clever girl," he said. "Yes, in fact, I do require a spy that's a bit... closer to the action. And who better than you? The one with personal ties to practically everyone of relevance?"

He leaned over her, looking into her eyes. She tried to close them, but found herself unable to. It was like she had to keep them open, had to find out what he wanted.

"Tell me about Katherine Pierce," he said. "Don't leave anything out."

And so she went on, telling him everything she knew about Katherine, and what they'd had to endure so far.

"... so now she's in the tomb," Maddy finished, "with the moonstone because Damon for some reason thought it best to leave it with her. We're trying to find out what Katherine needs a werewolf, a vampire, and a moonstone for. But we're sidetracked now after yesterday's events. Now we're more concerned about the Originals. Katherine is getting cast into the shadows at this point."

"Good girl," said Elijah. "I think you've earned a reward. I'm certain there's something you want to know. Go ahead, ask, and I'll tell you. After all, you won't be able to reveal anything to your brothers."

"Tell me more about Klaus," she said. "Please."

Elijah's lip twitched. "Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals, but those that fear him are desperate for his approval. If word gets out that the doppelgänger exists, there'll be a line of vampires eager to take you to him and I can't have that."

"So... Klaus doesn't yet know about Elena?"

"No. And I would like to keep it that way, for now. Klaus's obsession has made him paranoid. He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle, something I am not a part of anymore."

"I'm assuming Klaus wants to break the Curse of the Sun and the Moon."

Elijah seemed to want to laugh. "Let's say yes to that."

"And do you want to break it?"

"Yes, however, that's not my main goal. I want to kill Klaus."

Maddy frowned. "Why? I would think the Original vampires would all be friends."

"That... friendship... ended quite awhile ago. It's nothing you need to be concerned with. The point is, I have a mission, and I don't wish for you and your siblings to be interfering. Unfortunately, your brothers' desire to protect Elena is going to cloud their judgment, and they will likely not listen to reason. They will never trust me. So, I will require you to get me everything I need to break this curse."

"But to break the curse, Elena has to die," she murmured. "I can't let that happen. I may not like her, but..."

"And why don't you like her?"

"I see her and I see the woman who abused my brothers. The woman who tore my family apart. The one who left us on this path of... misery."

"Elaborate."

"For decades now, I'm the middleman between Damon and Stefan's conflict. I always have to pick sides if I don't want to stay alone. From time to time I practically jump between them, sometimes spending time with one brother, sometimes spending time with another. I've had to make difficult choices. Keep secrets. But you know that, don't you? You already saw into my mind. You know everything about me. And I'm not comfortable with that."

"Your secrets will stay secrets, don't worry," he said. "I would never tell Stefan what he does not need to know, just as I would never tell Damon what he does not need to know. It's a very noble thing, what you and Stefan have done for Sarah."

She gulped. "Please don't hurt her. I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt her..."

"I would never lay a finger on her," said Elijah. "But that's besides the point. You're already going to do whatever I want. You don't have a choice. Vervain might have kept me from compelling you, but you don't have any of that in your system."

He drummed his fingers against the back of the chair. "I believe that is all. I don't wish to hurt any of you. But you really ought to find a way to keep your brothers under control. Elena will be alright if you comply. We'll be in touch." He stopped in front of her, compelling her again. "You are to do everything I say, without question. You cannot tell anyone about this. You will make up the best excuses you possibly can to keep from arising suspicion. I give you my word that no one will be hurt if you just obey. Your first task will be to acquire the moonstone. In a subtle way, mind you."

She nodded, unable to resist. Her phone chimed, and Elijah took it from her. "It's Damon," he said, reading the message. "It appears he and Rosemarie are going to Richmond to speak to someone named Slater to obtain information about the Originals. Hmm. I happen to know someone by the name of Slater. Not personally, but... I think I ought to pay them a visit."

"Wait," she said, as he typed his contact information into her phone. "How... how old are you, Elijah?"

"Around one thousand thirty... something. I forget. One loses count quite easily after so many centuries."

Maddy's stomach did a flip. "And how old is Klaus?"

"Younger than me. It's a common misconception that he's the oldest. Regardless—" he handed her phone to her. "I cannot be killed, so do not try anything. I'll take my leave now. Get home."

She blinked, and he was gone.

She couldn't even remember him once she was driving back. She thought she hadn't found Elijah, even after searching the whole house. She hummed, making the drive back calmly, finding that she was no longer worrying about the Originals.

"What did you find?" asked Damon once she came back. Maddy could see that his hair was messed up, and when she looked into the living room, she saw Rose in a similar condition, sitting over a blanket on the floor.

"Ew," she said. "I'm gone for the day and you two hooked up?" She shook her head. "It was a bust. Elijah wasn't there. I combed the entire house and there was no trace of him. I was so sure there would be something. Even a fragment of fabric from the suit he was wearing. I could have tracked it to a tailor and gotten information that way. Looks like Klaus or one of the other Originals came for him."

"Damn it," said Damon. "Well, we can't focus on that anymore... Stefan says Elena went to see Katherine. Learned more about breaking the curse. Kind of what you were already theorizing. We need to get the moonstone."

"Why?" she asked. "Isn't it safer in the tomb with Katherine? I assumed that was why you left it there."

"Nah, we need to get our hands on it. Tomorrow, we're going to see her. You, me, and Stefan. You up for it?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'm gonna go to sleep early, then. Please don't start screwing again, the walls here are thin."

She walked past Damon and Rose, who suspected nothing about what she'd told them. She got to her room, taking a relaxing bath before she curled up and went to bed.

The next morning, she received a text. As his contact was already saved, Elijah's message was labeled with an 'E.M.' on her screen.

"Hello Madeleine. What do you have to report?"

Instantly, she remembered their conversation, and couldn't stop herself from typing, "We're going to get the moonstone from Katherine today."

"Good," he replied after a few seconds. "Let me know if you run into any trouble. Tuck it somewhere safe when you get it. When the time comes, I will send you information for a meeting place where you can make your delivery. That is all, make sure no one sees this."

Obediently, she deleted the conversation.

"Let's do it," said Damon, once the three of them were at the tomb. Together, they lifted the stone door that covered the entrance of the tomb, finding an empty tunnel. There was a scuffling sound, before Katherine walked up to them, covered in dirt.

"Please, come on in," she said in a raspy voice. "There's plenty of room for all of us."

"I'd rather poke my eyes out," said Damon with a fake smile.

Katherine pouted. "Mmm, they're such pretty eyes."

"We're here for the moonstone," said Stefan.

"Hand it over," said Maddy. "Otherwise, this won't go well for you."

"Tell you what," replied Katherine, "you get your little witch to hocus pocus me out of here, you can have whatever you want."

"I thought you liked it in here," said Stefan. "Nice and safe where Klaus can't get to you."

Katherine maintained her composure. "I've had time to reconsider."

Damon smirked. "Meaning you're hungry."

The older vampire gritted her teeth. "I'm starving, Damon. And dirty. But above all, I'm bored. At least running from Klaus wasn't boring— so here's the deal: you get me out of here, you get the moonstone and I'll disappear from Mystic Falls forever." She started to walk away.
"Let me know what you decide."

She turned the corner, disappearing from their view.

Stefan decided that they ought to go speak to Elena. So, the other two Salvatores followed after their little brother as he led them to the Gilbert House.

"According to Rose's friend Slater," said Stefan, updating the girl on what they'd learned the day before, "there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break."

"No spell, no doppelgänger sacrifice," said Damon. "Ergo, you live."

"To do that," said Maddy, playing her role, "the power has to be released from the moonstone. Which means we need Bonnie's help. But first, we'd have to get the moonstone from Katherine."

"We'll pry it from her cold, dead hand if we have to," said Damon.

Stefan added, "Bonnie just needs to find a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for her to return it."

Elena pursed her lips. "Wow. I mean, it sounds like you guys already have it all planned out."

"Yep," said Damon. "We're awesome."

"Except for one thing," said Elena. "I don't want you to do it."

Maddy raised a brow. "Come again?"

"Klaus will kill everyone that I care about if you do this," said Elena. "Including the three of you."

Maddy was touched to find herself included in that. "Elena," said Stefan, trying to convince her to drop this silly idea, "if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life."

"I know," mumbled Elena dejectedly. "Everyone keeps saying that."

She left them alone. The Salvatores all shared a look. "I think you two should go and convince Bonnie to help us," Maddy told her brothers. "I'm going to gather more weapons. Assuming Bonnie is willing to drop the spell long enough for us to get in, we need to have stuff handy to keep Katherine down."

They nodded, and went to do just that. Maddy did go to get weapons, that part wasn't a lie, but in between, she'd called Elijah, telling him about what Elena had said, and what their plan was.

"That does change the circumstances, ever so slightly," said Elijah. "I want you to make sure the moonstone ends up in Bonnie's possession. A witch of mine is already in contact with her. If she has the moonstone, she will seek out his help to 'de-spell' it. That will ensure the moonstone is in my possession while raising the least amount of suspicion on your end."

"Wow," said Maddy sarcastically. "It's so nice to have you care about the part I'm playing in this, against my will."

Elijah chuckled. "You are an asset to me. I can't let you get hurt now, can I? Continue to gather your weapons. Assist your brothers in any way necessary. Keep me updated."

He hung up, and she forgot the conversation immediately, going back to getting all the weapons they had at the Salvatore House.

She went to the old church ruins once her brothers let her know that the plan was in motion. Bonnie had created some ashes that could incapacitate Katherine long enough for them to get in and get the moonstone while Bonnie temporarily dropped the spell.

"Sorry I'm late," said Bonnie once she met them there, finding they'd already distributed the weapons amongst each other. "I had to grab the grimoire from home."

"I thought you said Jeremy would be here," said Maddy. "Where is he?"

"Guess he couldn't take the pressure," said Damon as they all started to walk to the tomb.

They made their way down, and found the moonstone already waiting for them outside of the tomb. "What the hell?" whispered Stefan.

"Is that the moonstone?" asked Bonnie, confused.

They rushed over to it. Maddy took it in her hands, finding it was indeed the actual moonstone. They looked up as Katherine appeared in the entrance of the tomb, lips drenched in blood as she held onto Jeremy, who had an oozing bite on his shoulder.

"I hate to interrupt," said Katherine, "but today has just been full of surprises."

"I'm sorry," said Jeremy weakly. "I took some powder."

"Don't worry," said Katherine, as if that would wipe the panicked expressions off their faces. "I know that he's wearing his ring, so no matter how many times I kill him, he'll just keep coming back for more. So, I'm going to be in the back playing with my new little toy. And you guys just give me a holler when you've got the tomb open."

She pulled Jeremy into the depths of the tomb. Maddy looked at Stefan, then turned to where she thought Damon was standing, finding that he wasn't actually there.

"Wait, where's Damon?" she asked.

"We can't wait," said Bonnie, rushing around and starting to set up the torches that were apparently left over from the last time the tomb had been opened. "We have to get Jeremy out of there."

"Katherine's at full strength again," said Maddy worriedly. "She has blood in her system. Will the ash—?"

"If we can get close enough, maybe," said Stefan. "Bonnie..."

She winced. "It's gonna take me some time."

"How long?"

"I don't know... a while."

"Just get me in there as soon as you can."

While Bonnie chanted, both Maddy and Stefan took turns calling Damon, who was either refusing to answer, or actually unavailable. Once Katherine realized that the spell were underway, she appeared again, holding onto Jeremy.

"Ohh, something's happening," said Katherine happily.

"Bonnie, no," pleaded Jeremy, looking quite alarmed when he saw Bonnie chanting. He glanced between the two Salvatores. "You have to stop her, she's not strong enough!"

The flames on the torches flared up, and Katherine raised a brow. "Maybe she is."

It didn't seem so. Maddy could see that Bonnie's nose was bleeding. "Bonnie!" she said, rushing over to her. "Bonnie— hey, you need to stop!"

The Bennett witch ignored her, chanting faster and faster until she suddenly crumpled to the ground. "No!" cried Maddy, instantly biting into her wrist and pressing it into the Bennett witch's mouth. "No, wake up, you can't die, come on—"

"Yes, please, because I'm still in here!" said Katherine impatiently.

Maddy growled. "Just shut up for once, will you?" She drew back as Bonnie sat up. "Are you okay? Bonnie, talk to me."

"It didn't work," she said weakly. "I'm not strong enough. Even with help, I can't do it."

Maddy had no idea what she meant by 'help,' but there was no room to question it.

"Ahh, that's too bad," sighed the vampire in the tomb. "I'm still hungry."

She was just about to bite into Jeremy when Stefan sped into the tomb, throwing Jeremy out of it. Maddy only just managed to catch him before he slammed his head into the wall.

"No!" Maddy cried, setting Jeremy down. "Stefan, no, what are you doing?!"

"Get Jeremy home safely," he pleaded. "Bonnie, take the moonstone. Relax, give yourself some time to replenish, then please..."

The witch nodded. "I-I'll try to de-spell it, I will..."

"We'll get you out of there, Stefan," said Maddy as she hoisted Jeremy up. "I'll be back as soon as I find Damon, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, alright..."

It broke her heart, having to leave him behind. But her compulsion wouldn't let her stay. One, she needed to get Jeremy home. Two, she knew she had to call Elijah immediately to tell him what happened.

As soon as she made sure that Jeremy was fine, she dialed Elijah's number, and blurted out everything that'd happened, despite having tried to resist.

"I will ensure Stefan leaves the tomb, don't worry," he said calmly, almost as if he'd been expecting this. "As long as the moonstone is in the Bennett witch's possession, everything can be handled smoothly. You've done well. Oh... I saw Damon today."

"You what? So... so he knows you're alive?"

"Yes. I've made it clear that Elena is to be kept safe. Whether he understands that or not is entirely up to him. Elena tried to sacrifice herself to Klaus today. You cannot, under any circumstances, allow that to happen. Protect her. Confine her in her house if you must. Goodbye for now."

The call ended, and as if it hadn't happened at all, she called Damon, asking him to meet her at the tomb.

He'd brought Elena, who left soon after, having been distraught that Stefan was stuck in there with Katherine. Maddy figured she was emotionally exhausted after that day's events.

"Of all the idiot plans, Stefan," said Damon as he and Maddy approached the entrance of the tomb. "We'll find a way to get you out."

"Ah, it's alright," said Stefan. "I'll handle myself. Bonnie has the moonstone. Work with her. Try to figure out how to de-spell it. Mads, keep him from murdering her."

She half-smiled. "I will. Any other requests?"

"Keep Elena away from here. Promise me, no matter what happens, that the two of you will protect her."

"Promise," said Damon quietly. He gestured for Maddy to follow him, and the two walked out.

From there, Maddy was practically just following Elijah's orders. She subtly suggested to Bonnie the next morning that perhaps she ought to consult a more experienced witch about their little dilemma. She'd taken the suggestion without suspecting anything.

Then, she'd gotten Bonnie to spell her into the house, after she and Jeremy determined that Elena still wanted to sacrifice herself. Stefan hadn't been happy to hear it, but he'd accepted the care package Damon and Maddy brought for him without questioning it.

She was honestly miserable. The day of the full moon was her birthday, and Stefan wasn't there to celebrate it with her. Damon remembered to give her a hug and some bourbon as per usual, but it didn't make her feel happy in the slightest. She was more concerned about what would happen to Tyler now that he was going to turn for the first time. According to Caroline, she'd handle it, but Maddy wasn't sure that made her feel better. Elijah had instructed her to stay inside and not leave the house, just so that she wouldn't run into any wolves. She'd had no choice but to obey, making an excuse that she was too depressed to go anywhere. Everyone believed her, and honestly, that made it so much worse. She would have rather been with Damon and Alaric, getting to know the mystery woman who came asking around about Mason.

"I want to go," she said, like a child throwing a tantrum. "I want to meet this lady and see what the fuss is about."

"You will do no such thing," said Elijah. "I wish to keep you safe."

"Why the hell does my safety matter so much to you? I'm a spy, I'm disposable. And don't say it's because you can't get a better spy than me. I don't like this. I don't like being used against my family..."

"All will be well once Klaus is dead. Besides, I wish for you to be in one piece when we next meet in person. I'm going to be in town today to speak with Elena. My witch is meeting with Bonnie Bennett, and the moonstone will be de-spelled by tonight."

"If my brother gets killed because he's dealing with a werewolf alone..."

"Damon will be fine. I give you my word."

Damon had had a pretty close shave that night. The mystery woman, in wolf form, had burst through the window downstairs, and had bitten Rose. Maddy had been worried until the bite healed, which gave her a chance to exhale. Not long after, Elijah texted her, letting her know that the moonstone was in his possession now. As a reward, he'd released Stefan from the tomb, but left Katherine inside.

Maddy had waited for him to come home before celebrating. She'd given him a tight hug, and he'd apologized for missing her birthday. For a moment, Maddy had a wild hope that everything would be alright, even if she had to be a spy against her will for a little while.

"Elijah," she said on call that night, with the shower running at the highest pressure so that her brothers wouldn't hear. "Why do you really care about protecting me so much? This all seems so easy. I don't think villains are this lenient and protective over their minions. Did we... know each other?"

"No."

"You're sure? We didn't have some secret relationship in the past?"

Elijah chuckled. "I assure you, we did not. Why," he teased, "are you interested?"

"No," she said sharply. "I don't like you and I sure as hell don't trust you."

"A wise choice. Just one more thing. I compelled Katherine to stay in the tomb. Stefan witnessed it. I imagine he'll wish for you and Damon to take vervain, to build up a tolerance so that you cannot be compelled by me. You cannot take it, do you understand me?"

"Okay," she said wearily. "Is that all?"

"It is. Goodnight, Madeleine."

"Goodnight, Elijah." She flipped him off, even if he wasn't there to see it.

The call ended, and she was left staring at her hand, unsure why her middle finger was sticking up.