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Cordelia Forbes lay unconscious on the couch, her chest rose and fell at a steady pace and it was the only thing keeping Stefan calm. Stefan had been chained to a chair and left with a metal collar around his neck, the vervain had burned mostly from his system by this point. In front of him stood Stevie who held a smirk on his face as he spoke, "Morning, Sunshine. See, we wanted Damon as he's responsible for Mason but... it'll hurt more being you." Jules watched from a small distance and two of the wolves stood guard by Cordelia ready in case she woke before they could finish up. "I saw this in a movie once, some torture porn flick," Stevie said in reference to the collar, "Anyway, they had this collar device that was really cool, so I just modified it with some wooden nails, and when I pull..."

Stevie pulled the ends of the chain forward causing the wooden spikes to insert themselves into Stefan's neck, he groaned from the pain while Cordelia, unknowingly to the wolves, seemed to flinch in pain. "So I hear you have the moonstone," Jules said as she stepped forward. "You can try and torture me but you won't get your answers," Stefan warned them, he kept glancing at Cordelia hoping she'll be okay. "Maybe not, but we could always torture her," Jules warned before nodding at Stevie who pulled on the chain again. During this time, Brady had shown up at the Gilbert cabin with the intention of kidnapping Elena and killing Damon. However, Tyler and Samuel were quick to get there and stop Brady and the other wolves that were present.

"You wanna know the great thing about a buckshot is? It scatters through the body. Maximum damage," Jules explained to Stefan as she lifts the shotgun and aims it at him asking, "Where's the moonstone?" Stefan rolled his eyes at the question he had been asked a few times, he had told them that he didn't know. "You're looking for this?" Elijah interrupted from where he stood up on the second floor, leaning against the bannister with the moonstone in his hands. The wolves turn their attention to him as he walks down the stairs and places the moonstone on an end table, backing away in the process. "Go ahead. Take it," Elijah challenged them.

One of the werewolves uses his wolf speed to rush towards the moonstone however, Elijah moved quicker and plunged his hand into the wolf's chest, ripping his heart from his chest; the wolf falls down to the ground dead. Two more wolves rushed the Vampire and without any real effort, Elijah plunges his hands into their chests, ripping out their hearts as well. Jules takes off out of the house before she is killed, unaware that her lover was dead. Elijah then approaches Stevie who is fearfully crouched down covering his face with his jacket. Elijah pulls Stevie from the the ground, "What about you, sweetheart, hm? You want to take a shot? Yes? No? Yes? Where's the girl?" His onslaught of questions were unanswered by the wolf who was cowering in Elijah's grip.

"She took off," Stefan told Elijah who then punches Stevie in the face, the man fell to the floor. Elijah removed the chains that had kept Stefan strapped to the chair before saying, "So you realise this is the third time I've had to save one of your lives now?" Stefan didn't respond to Elijah, he removed the collar from himself as Elijah grabbed the moonstone and left the home. Stefan rushed over to Cordelia, he noticed the fading marks on her neck which made him frown. Stefan brushed her hair from her face, leaning down to kiss her forehead before moving to clean up the mess made. Stefan's phone rang as he settled with Cordelia's head in his lap, waiting for her to wake up.

Bonnie explained to Stefan what she had learned from her spell over Luka, the younger Salvatore was angry by what he had been told. "So he planned to kill Elena all along and weaken Cordelia to cage her up," Stefan expressed, the only reason he remained calm was due to Cordelia's presence. "Yeah. The sacrifice is part of Elijah's plan. He knows that Klaus would put Cordelia above himself, he needs her out of the picture so he wanted Jonas to link them. Luka's not sure he has or not," Bonnie replied with a frown, Caroline with her listening with a glare. "Thanks Bonnie," Stefan said as Cordelia started blinking her eyes open, "We'll talk tomorrow." He hung up and focused on the blonde.

"Cori? Darling?" Stefan cooed as he brushed his fingers on her cheek. "Wha─ What happened?" Cordelia asked, her head was pounding and her throat felt dry. "Jules showed up but Elijah saved the day, don't worry about it," Stefan reassured her as she sat up with a whimper, holding her head. After some aspirin and water, Stefan told Cordelia everything they had learned from Bonnie before he called Damon, learning about Brady's attack and attempt at getting Elena. It angered Cordelia but she knew that Elijah had plans of his own, she didn't trust him from the beginning. With his plan known and his deal with Elena, Cordelia knew she needed to get Elijah out of the picture to allow her to speak with Klaus herself. And as she cuddled with Stefan that night, she knew just what to do.

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"Miss Forbes," Elijah greeted as the blonde opened the door to the Salvatore Home, she had invited him over for lunch to discuss things. "Elijah, thank you for coming," Cordelia replied with a sweet smile, she stepped aside allowing him inside. The two made their way into the dining room where Stefan, John, Alaric, Jenna, Rose, Trevor and Damon sat talking. Cordelia shared a look with Rose who nodded with a steady breath before she held Trevor's hand in her own on the table. "I understand that we've had troubles but it's time for a new start," Rose expressed to Elijah whose eyes had focused on Trevor, Cordelia cleared her throat as she sat down next to Stefan leaving the chair at the head of the table for Elijah.

"Trevor is under my protection, Elijah. Should he be harmed, you'll be facing me," Cordelia warned without looking at him, Elijah raised an amused brow but took her warning to heart, taking a seat on his assigned chair. "I would like to take a moment to say that should anyone have less than honourable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider," Elijah stated elegantly, he adjusted his cufflinks as he spoke and Stefan seemed to appear uncertain as he shared a look with Alaric. However, Damon and Cordelia ─ ever the sneaky partners-in-crime ─ simply smiled politely at Elijah showing no hints of dishonesty. "Not at all, Elijah," Cordelia remarked with a subtle look shared with Alaric.

Elijah raised his gaze to look at the blonde who was looking at him with an innocent smile yet swirling in her green eyes was anger, distrust and most of all, malicious intent that left him feeling uneased. It was one thing to upset a Starlight ─ especially one who has fully accepted their potential ─ but it was a stupid man's act to anger one to the point of them planning your demise. "I hate to break it to you, Damon, Stefan, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a Founder of this town," Jenna spoke up to change the topic, their plan to keep it casual to steer Elijah from any suspicion. "Oh really? Do tell," Damon mused. Cordelia placed her hand on Stefan's thigh, he immediately took her hand in his and squeezed it to calm himself.

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution," Elijah expressed. "Is that so?" Cordelia asked as she sipped her wine, raising a challenging brow. "Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighbouring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire," Elijah added as he kept his gaze locked with Cordelia, the blonde furrowed her brows and lowered her head remembering the stories that Sheila Bennett would tell her.

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society," Jenna remarked lightly to keep the tension light. "It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me," John added bringing Cordelia from her thoughts as she looked up at Elijah, the Vampire already looking at her like he was waiting for her to realise something. "So, why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?" Damon asked but before Elijah could answer him, Cordelia spoke, "Because a place of mass murder leaves behind ancestral magic." Elijah stayed silent at that while Cordelia leaned back in her seat and finished her wine. Stefan kept his gaze on Cordelia, he had picked up on her uneasy emotions. Alaric also took notice and was worried about the blonde he viewed as his own daughter, ignoring the others he motioned for Cordelia to step out with him.

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"Are you okay?" Alaric asked once the two had stepped into the library, Cordelia held her hand up to silence him before she picked up some sage and chanted a soft spell that caused any outsiders to hear a buzz but no words. "If Jonas can't link my power to him and Luka without consent, then they will need power from somewhere else to beat Klaus and weaken him for Elijah to kill him," Cordelia expressed to Alaric, she paced the floor and ignored the clench of her heart thinking about Klaus dying. "So he wants these grounds in order to use the magic?" Alaric questioned despite knowing the answer to that question. "We need to find those grounds before Elijah does," Cordelia told him, "And as much as I respect Elena's view, we are doing this my way now."

After lunch, the men made their way into the parlour while Cordelia, Rose and Jenna stepped into the kitchen. "Are you alright, Cori?" Rose asked noticing the exhaustion in Cordelia's expression. "Uh, yeah... just wondering if there will ever be a day we aren't fighting to live a normal life," Cordelia expressed before shaking her head, "Anyways... we know what to do next, right?" Jenna nodded before placing the dagger down in front of the blonde, she grabbed the handle and the bottle of white oak ash, dipping it while Rose and Jenna stepped out with the intentions of serving dessert. "I got this..." Cordelia breathed out as she felt a hand rest on her waist, she immediately noticed the familiar tingle of her nerves whenever Stefan touched her.

"Ready?" Stefan whispered as he brushed her hair aside, placing a gentle kiss on her jaw. "Let's do this," Cordelia replied softly, the two made their way into the dining room and the blonde kept the dagger concealed. "What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how do you intend on killing Klaus?" John questioned the older Vampire. "Gentlemen," Elijah began, directing his words to Damon, Stefan and John who were concerned for Elena and Cordelia ─ though John could care less about the Forbes Starlight. "There's a few things we should probably get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Elena and Cordelia. I allow both girls to remain in their homes living with their friends as they do as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take them both away from you and you'll never see them again," Elijah threatened.

Stefan's glare darkened in a way that was familiar to Damon, the manic look in his eyes reminding him of the days when Stefan was a Ripper. Cordelia, enraged by Elijah's threat, stepped up behind him and reaches around to stab the dagger into his heart. Elijah hadn't been expecting the quick move, he screams out in pain before his skin turns ashen and his eyes fall shut appearing as though he was dead. "So does that mean it worked?" Jenna asked. "Well, I'm not removing the dagger cause I don't trust John," Cordelia expressed, her dark glare set on the man who cowered away from it. "Let's move him to the cellar," Damon suggested, he and Stefan got up and worked to move Elijah's now dead body into the cellar. Cordelia followed behind them, she waited for the brothers to step out.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked Cordelia as she placed her hands on the door, chanting softly as the mark of Saturn appeared burning into the door. "It's a spell similar to what I did on the tomb. Only I can allow people to enter or exit," Cordelia told them with a smile, both boys looked at her with proud smiles on their faces. "If you two will excuse me, I owe an explanation to a soon to be upset Elena Gilbert," Damon told the couple before moving to walk upstairs. "Damon," Cordelia called out, "If Elena gets upset, tell her it was a part of my plan. No one will get hurt." Damon nodded at his best friend before heading off to the Gilbert residence, ignoring John who was clearly unhappy with the days outcome. Stefan cupped Cordelia's face in his hands, "What's next, darling?" She smirked, "We await Klaus' arrival."

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Rosemary Speaks. . .

Many changes made for my plot,
What did you think of them?

And yes... Klaus arrives next chapter!!!!
But he won't be the only new arrival ;)

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