CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN    /    ACT TWO

Heart To Heart

**disclaimer;
this chapter can be labeled as somewhat unimportant but still needed to be done with, i was going to completely time skip over it but for certain reasons i can't actually do that so here you go!!

if you want to skip this chapter, you can! it's mainly just a bunch of dialogue with some back and forth banter between katherine and ang.

please read the authors note!

Angelina and Stefan ventured together through the woods, a determined look in their eyes. The walk from the estate into the woods was quiet, tense even. On Stefan's end, he was at a loss for words, as for her, she simply had nothing left to say.

The fresh air did little to calm Angelina's racing thoughts. She hadn't felt at ease since she arrived in Mystic Falls. She longed for peace and clarity, but knew she wouldn't find it by sitting around, brooding, while waiting for Elijah and eventually Klaus to return.

No, she needed someone to talk to. A shoulder to lean on. Sure, she had Stefan, but he could never truly understand what she felt right now. Katherine knew her better than anyone as much as she hated to admit it. They were two of a kind, sort of.

As they searched for the tombs entrance to speak to Katherine, Damon, Rose, and Elena were far off on the outskirts of town to speak to Rose's friend, Slater, to find out more information about Klaus or figure out a way to contact him. She knew their plan was stupid. Ignorant, even. However, she wasn't interested in arguing with Damon about something he would never understand.

They finally reached the ruins of Fell's Church and stepped into the cave that led to the tomb. It was just as she remembered—dark, dusty, and reeking. Angelina wrinkled her nose and glanced at Stefan, who offered her a reassuring smile. But it wasn't reassurance she needed. She needed her sister's comforting presence, her voice, her understanding. The cave's oppressive atmosphere only made her miss her sister more.

They came across the large stone door that sealed the tomb. Angelina bit her lip cautiously and turned to Stefan.

"You ready?" he asked, noticing her hesitation.

Angelina balled her fists, her uncertainty growing. Did she really want to see her? "Yes... I'm ready."

Stefan nodded and pushed the stone door aside, revealing a dark, empty space. Dust billowed into the air, causing both of them to cough and wave away the particles. The musty scent and eerie silence made Angelina's heart race, but she took a deep breath and stepped forward, ready to face whatever lay ahead.

"Katherine?" she called out, her voice trembling slightly.

Silence followed, sending a chill through her body.

"Katherine?"

Hesitant footsteps echoed through the tomb. A shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, revealing her sister. Angelina tilted her head, eyeing Katherine's pale, fragile body as she stumbled to the front of the tomb, clinging to the walls with every step.

"You look a mess," Angelina laughed softly, noticing the dirt in her hair and the pallor of her face.

Katherine scoffed, pushing herself off the walls. "Well, spending my time here trapped in a cold dark cave isn't exactly glamorous." Her voice was raspy, rough.

"Must suck." Her sister shrugged. "Ironic though. I'm sure the tomb vampires would die to see you rot in here."

The vampire rolled her eyes, glancing towards Stefan. "And what brings you two here?"

Angelina stiffened, swallowing hard as she reached into her bag and gently pulled out a bottle full of blood. "We're here to talk." She said,

"About?" Katherine muttered, eyeing the bottle with a hint of hunger in her eyes.

Angelina swallowed hard. "Klaus."

Katherine's attention shifted, a faint smirk appearing on her lips as she glanced at Stefan. "So she's finally told you?" she teased before turning back to Angelina. "Wow. I didn't think you had the guts."

Stefan licked his lips, clearly annoyed.

Angelina's grip on the bottle tightened. "Well, I did. And now we have a bigger problem."

Katherine crossed her arms, intrigued. "Yeah, like what?"

"Elijah. He's back."

Katherine's face fell, her arms dropping to her sides. "What do you mean, back?"

"Well, to be more specific... Rose is back. She and her buddy, Trevor, kidnapped Elena and me, trying to hand us over to Elijah. They almost succeeded."

Angelina stepped closer, reaching the edge of the tomb's entrance. "I saw him, Katherine. I talked to him."

Katherine licked her lips anxiously. "Then why are you here? Shouldn't you be somewhere... packing?" she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm to mask her fear.

"No, I'm here because I want to talk to you." Angelina's teeth ground together. Stefan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, sensing her frustration.

"And to talk more about Klaus." He said, turning to Katherine. "I want to know everything about what happened between you all."

"And I assume that bottle of blood is your peace offering?" She replied hoarsely.

Angelina nodded and tossed the bottle into the tomb. Katherine reached down, her movements cautious but eager. She twisted the cap off and began to drink, her skin gradually returning to its usual hue, strength visibly seeping back into her.

"All better?" Stefan asked, raising an eyebrow as the three of them settled on the ground.

Katherine sighed deeply. "It's a long story," she began. "It goes all the way back to England, 1492, after we left Bulgaria—or, rather, were thrown out."

"Thrown out?"

"Our family disowned us," Angelina chimed in. "Well, they disowned her." She corrected, flashing a snide grin towards her sister. "My loyalty to her was simply unwavering and I followed suit."

"I had a baby out of wedlock." Katherine interrupted. "Shame."

Stefan's eyebrows raised before tightening together. "It was kept secret?"

She hummed in response, taking another sip of blood. "My baby was given away. We were banished to England and had to learn to adjust. So we quickly became English."

"It was there we caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus." Angelina cleared her throat, eyeing Stefan. "He took us in at first. Sheltered us, clothed us, fed us. Until we found out what he was and what he wanted from us."

Katherine smirked, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Ah, but you're leaving out a key detail."

"You mean the most insignificant detail?" Angelina shot back, trying to downplay it.

"I don't see it that way."

"What are you talking about?" Stefan interjected.

"Sorry to break it to you, Stef, but you're far off from Ang's first love." The Pierce chuckled, taking another sip of blood. "It was Klaus."

Stefan's eyes widened in shock as he turned to Angelina. Her face flushed bright red, and she shifted uncomfortably, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. Stefan's confusion grew, and he looked between the two sisters with a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. "Why didn't you say so?"

"Like I said, insignificant."

"So..." Stefan's brow furrowed in confusion, his eyes darting between Katherine and Angelina. "What exactly did Klaus want?"

Katherine's smirk grew mischievous. "The same thing he'll want from your dear, precious Elena," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Her sister shot her a sharp look, but Katherine seemed unfazed. "He wants to break the curse."

Stefan's expression hardened. "By sacrificing the Petrova doppelganger?"

Katherine gave a slow nod, taking another sip from the bottle. "Exactly. He needed us. He planned to turn one of us into a vampire for his ritual and use the other as the doppelganger."

Stefan's confusion only deepened. "But what does the Petrova bloodline have to do with Klaus?"

Angelina stepped in to clarify, her voice steady but tinged with frustration. "The curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood. The witches who cast it were clever—they created the doppelganger as a way to undo the spell. Once the doppelganger reappeared, it meant the curse could be broken."

"So you ran before he could kill you?" Stefan asked, still trying to piece together the story.

"Something like that," Angelina replied with a scoff. "Trevor, Rose's friend, offered us a safe passage into her home. He was an odd guy, honestly. Seemed pretty infatuated with my sister—poor guy. That's why he helped us. But Rose wasn't thrilled about harboring Klaus' fugitives. She was scared of facing his wrath. She planned to hand us back over, but my sister had other plans."

Katherine smirked, her eyes drifting away. "I did what I do best. Manipulated Rose by faking an injury, got some of her blood, and made sure Angelina got some too."

Stefan's eyes widened as Angelina continued. "Then Katherine took a knife and stabbed me in the heart, killing me before she killed herself."

Katherine bit her lip, turning her head away. Stefan's mouth hung open in shock as he looked between the two sisters. "So you were turned by Rose's blood and Katherine... killed you?"

"Exactly," Angelina confirmed, her voice steady despite the weight of her words. "But I underestimated Klaus' need for vengeance. For the last 500 years, he's been hunting us—along with Rose and Trevor."

Katherine nodded, her expression solemn. "As humans, we could never outrun him forever. That's why we're still dealing with the fallout."

Angelina played with her fingers, staring down into her lap. "Klaus still wants revenge, but he wants to break the curse more. That's the reason why we came back in the first place. I came to stop Damon from opening the tomb and unleashing a bunch of bloodthirsty tomb vampires who were more than willing to hand us over to Klaus."

"Which you failed." Katherine huffed.

"Yes, how could I forget?" She rolled her eyes. "However, Katherine had a plan of her own which involved Elena and the moonstone. She wanted to be the one to hand them over to Elijah in exchange for our freedom. Except Rose and Trevor beat her to it."

Katherine shrugged nonchalantly. "After 500 years on the run, I thought maybe Klaus would be willing to negotiate."

Stefan leaned in, his curiosity piqued. "So you got Mason Lockwood to find you the moonstone?"

"Mhm," Angelina confirmed with a nod.

"What else is needed to break the curse?" Stefan asked, piecing things together. "It's not just Elena or the moonstone, right? Otherwise, there'd be no reason to trigger Tyler Lockwood's werewolf curse."

Katherine's voice dropped to a whisper. "Witches and their spells. So many ingredients, so many sacrifices."

"So you needed a werewolf?"

Katherine nodded. "Believe it or not, they're hard to come by. Mason would have sufficed, but thanks to your girlfriend's little incident, Tyler's the backup."

"What else?"

Angelina chimed in, "A witch to perform the spell. I'm guessing that's where Bonnie comes in. And as Katherine mentioned, a vampire. All the pieces for his sacrifice are right here in Mystic Falls. I'd wager that means Klaus or his sidekick Elijah are already gearing up for it."

Stefan bit his lip, clearly lost in thought as he tried to piece together the fragments of the story. His face was a mix of confusion and concern.

Katherine, noticing his frustration, smirked slightly. "There's still something you don't know, Stefan. She hasn't even told you the best part."

Both Stefan and Katherine turned their attention to Angelina, who shifted uncomfortably. She wanted to act like she didn't know what Katherine was hinting at, but she couldn't deny it. She took a deep breath, and the silence between them grew heavy.

"Klaus' need for revenge didn't stop at chasing us for the next 500 years," Angelina began, her voice steady but pained. "He knew we'd eventually return to Bulgaria to seek refuge with our family. And when we did... we found our home in ruins. Our family was slaughtered. A sword through my father's stomach, our siblings' bloodied bodies scattered across the floor, and our mother's heart ripped out from her chest."

Stefan's eyes widened in horror, struggling to grasp the enormity of what Angelina had revealed. The anguish in Angelina's voice was evident. Her eyes, usually so resolute, shimmered with unshed tears. It was clear that the memory was as fresh and painful as if it had happened yesterday. The sorrow she felt was not just in her words, but in the way her body seemed to shrink from the weight of her grief.

"He killed them," Katherine said coldly, her voice carrying the weight of their shared past. "Our entire family. Just to get back at us for running. Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance. On your friends. Your family. And everyone you've ever loved."

Angelina's fists clenched at her sides, her knuckles white as she fought to keep her emotions in check. "He gets it, Kat," she snapped, rising abruptly from the ground. "We're doomed. I don't think you need to go into further explanation."

"We aren't doomed." Stefan stood up, his eyes filled with determination. He placed a gentle hand on Angelina's shoulder, trying to offer comfort. "We will find a way to stop all of this. We will survive."

"Did you not hear a word we said?" She scoffed, brushing his hands off her shoulder. "Klaus will complete his ritual even if it means he has to kill all of Mystic Falls to do it."

"No, nothing will happen to you. Nothing will happen to any of us."

"Always the protector." Katherine grinned. "But even you must realize that you are all doomed. There's nothing you can do to stop it." She said, reaching into the pockets of her dress. "Unless, of course, you have this."

Suddenly, she pulled out the moonstone. The Petrova's eyes widened at the sight of it, darting over to her sister. "Why am I not surprised?" Angelina seethed. Katherine Pierce survives at the expense of everyone else's suffering."

"Let me guess," The youngest vampire stepped forward. "You want to trade that stone for your freedom, hm? You manipulative, psychotic bitch."

"My freedom?" Katherine laughed, the sound cold and hollow. "You're mistaken. I don't want my freedom. When Klaus shows up to kill us all—and he will—I'll be in the tomb where no vampire can enter because they can't get out."

"I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town."

Angelina's anger surged, threatening to boil over. She lunged at her sister, but Stefan's arms wrapped around her, restraining her. "You bitch!" Angelina screamed, struggling against his hold. "I swear, I'm going to kill you before Klaus ever gets the chance!"

"Angelina, calm down!" Stefan urged, gently but firmly turning her away from the tomb. "We will find a way to stop Klaus, okay?"

"I've been running from him for 500 years, Stefan," Angelina whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "I was lucky to make it this long and now there's nothing we can do to stop it."

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and took one last, pained look at her sister. "At least she's got it all figured out. Have fun rotting, Katherine," she murmured before speeding away, her form blurring out of the tomb.

AUTHORS NOTE

IMPORTANT — PLEASE READ!!

this book was initially supposed to go up until season 4 but i feel like this can be shorted down to go to just season 3 as the plot doesn't have any real reason to go so far into the show. don't worry, i won't be cutting down any major plot points now that the book will be shorter, but i will be speeding up the process in stefan and angelina's relationship arc and all the other drama

i find a lot of episodes in season 2 to be boring and doesn't help with the main point of my fic in general so don't be surprised if i time skip some episodes. honestly after this chapter i'll most likely times skip a week later

i feel like this book has been pretty slow burn in terms of what else i have planned for it and im ready to speed things up because despite the fact that stefan and angelina are together now, it's not nearly close to the other things that are supposed to happen in the book

thank you! <3 love you all