CHAPTER ELEVEN | BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON

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RILEY WANTED TO LIVE UP TO HER PROMISE TO STEFAN ABOUT KEEPING ELENA SAFE, SO SHE AND BONNIE CAME UP WITH A PLAN. They had placed a spell on the Gilbert residence so that Elena was unable to leave and either attempt to hand herself over to Klaus again or enter the tomb to see Stefan. However, at this moment in time, Elena knew nothing about the spell placed on her home.

"Now that you've got this back, what are you guys gonna do with it?" Elena asked the two witches that laid draped across her bed whilst she examined the moonstone in her palm.

"Right now, it's what's binding the Sun and Moon Curse. If Riley and I can figure out a way to remove the spell from the stone, the stone becomes useless." Bonnie explained to the doppelganger who tilted her head.

"And, according to Katherine, Klaus becomes vengeful."

"Uh, Klaus can only become vengeful if he finds out. And, I'm not gonna tell him. Are you?" Riley raised an inquisitive eyebrow toward the Gilbert girl, who rolled her eyes.

"Guys, can't this wait? Stefan is stuck in the tomb with Katherine. We've gotta get him out."

Bonnie shook her head in protest. "Stefan wants us to work on this."

"Well, don't listen to him. He thinks he's protecting me, but he's wrong." Elena sighed heavily once more.

"He's not wrong for wanting to protect the woman he loves, Elena." The Evans girl scoffed in disbelief. "You can't change our minds. We're not letting this sacrifice happen."

Bonnie yanked the moonstone from Elena's grip, just as Jeremy wandered into the bedroom. "What're you guys arguing about?"

"Not arguing about anything." Bonnie simply shrugged with an innocent smile. She turned to her left and slipped the moonstone inside her handbag, then glanced at Riley. "I need a coffee. You coming?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." Riley nodded. She followed the Bennett witch down the staircase, shortly after Jeremy left the room too. "So, you really think she'll take it?"

Bonnie poured the expresso into two cups, then shrugged toward Riley. "There's only one way to find out. She definitely watched me put the damn thing in my bag, though."

At the sound of Elena moving down the staircase, Riley scoffed. "Unbelievable." She and Bonnie moved into the hallway just as Elena reached the bottom of the stairs. "Where you off to?"

"Um—" Elena hesitated for a moment as she twirled her car keys in her hand. "To see Stefan."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and tilted her head. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Oh, come on, Elena." Riley chuckled softly but the doppelganger continued to edge toward the door.

"She took the moonstone," Jeremy yelled out as he wandered down the staircase after Elena with Bonnie's handbag in his grasp.

Elena's brows knitted together with confusion as she glanced from her brother, toward her best friends. "It was a test, Elena." Riley shrugged. "You failed."

"Klaus killed Katherine's entire family just because she crossed him. I can't let that happen." Elena told the witches, who eventually stepped out of her way. As Elena approached the front door to leave, she was suddenly stopped by a boundary spell. "What did you do?"

"It's for the best, Elena."

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"You should really lock your door," Damon Salvatore's voice carried as he wandered into the living room. He looked at Riley, gave her a small smile before he glanced at Elena. "Oh, come on, pouty. At least give me two points for ingenuity."

Elena's eyes narrowed viciously toward the Salvatore vampire. "Do you think this is funny?" She folded her arms across her chest.

"Yes, Elena. I find hilarity in the lengths that I have to go to to repeatedly save your life." Damon rolled his eyes as he dropped down in the seat beside Riley. "You good, little witch?"

"I'm fine." Riley smiled at the vampire, then raised an eyebrow. "How was Stefan?"

"Oh, he's great. We had a good laugh about Elena being sealed into the building, you know, all that good stuff. Humor really keeps a man going." Damon sarcastically answered whilst Elena rolled her eyes.

"And, what did he say about Elijah still being alive?" The Gilbert girl asked him, though Damon paused for a moment.

"Huh." Riley hummed with an unreadable expression on her face, then she turned to Elena. "He didn't tell him. Did you, Damon?"

As Damon shook her head, an irritated look appeared on Elena's face. "Why not?"

"Well, A—he can't do anything about it, and B— What I just said." Damon rolled his eyes after he answered. Jeremy wandered back into the room, but Damon furrowed his brows at the missing Bennett witch. "Uh, where's Bonnie?"

"I thought she was meeting you," Jeremy answered as he stepped into view.

"No. She's on moonstone duty with Riley and I'm on Elena patrol."

"And who's on Tyler Lockwood and the full moon?" Jeremy pointed out once more, considering the minor fact that it was a full moon and Tyler had unfortunately triggered his curse.

"Vampire Barbie asked me if she could handle it, and I said why not?" Damon shrugged. "I figured if she screwed up, he'd bite her, and then I'll be rid of two of my problems."

"What? Caroline is helping Tyler, a werewolf, on a full moon? Are you dense?" Riley glared harshly toward the Salvatore with an irritated look on her face.

"Ouch," Damon smirked back.

"Hold on a second. Tonight's a full moon?" Elena repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep. But, you're too absorbed with all your suicidal tendencies to notice." Damon pulled his ringing phone and moved away from the group. "What? Okay. I'm on my way." After a moment, Damon stepped back into the room. "Change of plans. Riley, you're on Elena-watch since Bonnie is God knows where."

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At the request of Jenna's yelling, Elena had Riley hurried down the staircase to assist in whatever she was doing. Once they entered the hallway, Jenna was in the cupboard underneath the stairs with a dozen boxes at her feet. The minute that Jenna noticed the girls' presence, she shoved one box in Elena's hands, and another in Riley's.

"Woah. What is this stuff?" Elena furrowed her brows toward her Aunt.

"Your Mom's files from the Historical Society. I got riped into helping Mrs. Lockwood." Jenna sighed, grabbed the final one from the floor just as a faux smile drifted across her lips. "And by roped, I mean very excited to participate."

Once she shut the cupboard door behind her, Elena and Riley came back to face with Elijah. Riley had never met or seen the man in person, but once she saw the startled look on Elena's face, she guessed that it was Elijah himself.

"Hey. I'm Elijah." He tilted his head to one side with an innocent smile on his face. His eyes lingered on Elena, then he moved his gaze to Riley.

"Elijah's in town doing research on Mystic Falls." Elena's aunt explained as grabbed the box from Elena's hand and took it into the kitchen.

Once Jenna stepped away, Elijah took a step closer to the doppelganger. "It's a pleasure." The simple act of being inside her home showed Elena that Elijah had the upper-hand.

Elena's Aunt took the last box from Riley's hand and took it to the kitchen. "So, you know, you're welcome to stay here and rummage through this stuff, or Elena, Riley, and I can help you load it into your car."

"Yeah, or I can get someone to pick it up tomorrow." Elijah chuckled softly. "Thank you so much for inviting me into your home, Jenna. And, Elena, I hope to see you again sometime soon."

"Upstairs," Riley whispered to Elena, just as Elijah headed out of the front door. "Upstairs. Now."

Acting on instinct, the two girls ran up the staircase as quickly as humanly possible. They ran into Elena's bedroom and slammed the door shut just as Riley pulled her phone from her pocket in an attempt to call Damon, but Elijah appeared in front of them.

"Miss. Evans. Please put the phone away." Elijah gave Riley a pointed look as he watched her slide her phone back into the pocket in her jacket. "Oh, forgive the intrusion. I mean your family no harm."

Elena exchanged an anxious look with Riley, then turned her gaze back to the Original, whose eyes lingered around her bedroom. "Why did you kill those vampires when they tried to take me?"

"Because I didn't want you to be taken." Elijah simply answered once more as he sat down at the window seat just beside Elena's bedroom window. "Klaus is the most feared of the Originals, but those that fear him are desperate for his approval. If word gets out that the doppelganger exists, there'll be a line of vampires eager to take you to him, and I can't have that."

"But, that's your whole stake in this, right? You're trying to break the curse, too." Riley tilted her head toward the Original vampire, who simply pursed his lips. "Aren't you?"

"Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse."

"So, what is your goal?" Elena asked, a dumbfounded look on her face. If Elijah didn't want to break the curse, why was he so hell-bent on finding her.

"Klaus' obsession has made him paranoid. He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle." Elijah answered once more.

Elena nodded slowly. "Like you?"

Elijah remained silent for a moment as he slowly shook his head with a look of guilt in his eyes. "Not anymore."

"Which must mean that you have absolutely no idea where Klaus is, right?" Riley tilted her head toward the Original vampire, who simply smirked at her understanding of the situation. "That's why you want Elena— to draw him out."

Elijah chuckled softly. "Well, to do that, I need Elena to stay put and stop trying to get herself killed."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Elena furrowed her brows and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, if I wasn't being truthful, all your family would be dead and I'd be taking you to Klaus right now. Instead, I'm here and I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

"What kind of a deal?"

"Do nothing," Elijah told her as he lifted himself up from the window seat. "Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting. And then, when the time is right, you and I shall draw out Klaus together. And I shall make certain that your friends remain unharmed. Then, I kill him." The Original vampire finished.

"Just like that?" Elena scoffed in disbelief.

"Just like that." Elijah's eyes finally turned back to the two females once he looked around Elena's dressing table. "I'm a man of my word. I make a deal, I keep a deal."

"Okay. So, this whole pledge about keeping Elena's loved ones safe. How exactly are you gonna do that? Especially, if Klaus is as vengeful and determined as all the whispers suggest that he is." The Evans witch folded her arms across her chest as Elijah stepped closer to her.

"It's Riley, isn't it?" He asked with a hum as he tilted his head to the side. "You seem to possess the gift of magic, as does your friend Bonnie. I have friends with similar gifts. Together we can protect everybody." Elijah turned to Elena. "So, do we have a deal?"

Elena's sole intention was to keep everybody safe. She felt like the sacrifice was her responsibility just as much as the danger that was placed on everybody. "I need you to do one more thing for me."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "We're negotiating?"

"Stefan Salvatore is trapped in the tomb underneath the church." As soon as the words fell from Elena's lips, Riley knew what she was going to ask. "I want him released."

"Consider it done."

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