CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: Kidnapped... again
WARNINGS: blood, mentioned/implied torture, threats, murder, violence, stefan, john

ATHENA'S EYES ARE BLURRY WHEN they finally open. She's sitting up, she can tell that much from the pain in both her butt and her back. Gods, she hated sitting on uncomfortable chairs for long periods of time. She groans a bit, rolling her head along her shoulders.

She hisses when something stabs her neck. Freezing, her eyes flick down. She frowns a bit at the glint of metal shining around her neck and slowly tilts her head to get a better view.

A thick metal collar is around her neck with a circle of chain—that seems to be drenched in vervain—pushed into the middle of it. There are spikes on different parts of the chain that dig into her skin every time she moves. A circle of dried blood is around her neck, probably from her moving in her unconscious state and being impaled.

She's sitting on a metal chair that seems to be some sort of torture device. She's never seen it before, unfortunately, so she has no idea what it does or how much pain she's about to endure.

There are clamps on the arms of the chair that hold her wrists, giving her very little breathing room. She can feel spikes digging into her skin every time she moves even the slightest bit. Blood has dripped down her fingers and onto the floor from old wounds.

There are two ropes tied around her torso, holding her against the chair. Those are drenched vervain and she can feel the blisters under her clothes. Her shirt is stained red from the blood that must've come from the burn wounds.

She sighed and dropped her head a little. She was exhausted and annoyed. Of course, she does something nice and gets fucked over for it.

She just hopes Niklaus knows she's in trouble.

Her ears prick up when she hears boots clacking against the ground. She knows who it is before they come into view. Her eyes flick up, meeting pale green eyes.

Claire smiles at her wickedly and wiggles her fingers in a wave. "Hello, lover," she greets.

Athena says nothing, merely staring at her. She didn't want to play any games. She was tired of games.

Claire pouts mockingly. "What? No 'hello'? Come on, I thought you had manners beaten into you," she said, stepping closer to the bars.

Athena raises an eyebrow. "I did, but Mikael taught me to only use them for people worthy of it," she drawled.

Claire frowns a bit, rolling her eyes. She looks around the cage, a smug glint in her eyes. "You know, I was a little disappointed that you didn't put up a fight. I was waiting to kick your ass."

"You wanna let me out of here and try?" Athena asked, smirking arrogantly at Claire. They both knew that even at her lowest, Athena would still hand Claire her ass on a silver platter.

"You do realize I barely even hit you and you crumbled, right?" Claire drawled, looking unimpressed with the threat.

Athena raised an eyebrow. "You caught me at a bad time. I assure you it won't happen again," she smiled patronizingly.

Claire's jaw clenched. Then she relaxed, an easy smile flitting across her face. "Ask me why you're here."

Athena stared at her dryly.

Silence enveloped them. Athena wasn't going to bite. She knew Claire was an impatient woman.

Like clockwork, Claire ignored the fact that Athena hadn't asked and told her anyway. "I brought you to my... headquarters of sorts. Well, one of them, anyway," she said, looking around the place.

It was mostly concrete and rock. A long hallway with what Athena could see was four cells. A concrete wall separated the cells side-by-side so you couldn't see your neighbor.

"I've grown tired of our little back-and-forth," Claire continued, beginning to pace leisurely as if taunting Athena with the fact that she was the one free. "Especially after the little stunt you pulled at your dear brother's house."

Athena smirked at that. "Mm, yes, I do believe I, what's the term..." Athena hummed, moving her head around a little bit mockingly to draw out the suspension. Her eyes lit up, her smirk deepening as she met Claire's eyes, "ahh, yes. I beat you at your own game."

Claire scoffed, narrowing her eyes at her. She continued her monologue as if Athena had never spoken. "So, I've decided that it was time to make the big move. Now, you're here. All I have to do is kill that little doppelganger of yours and you'll be dead. Miserably having to live another life before you can return to your..." Claire's nose scrunched slightly at the thought of Athena's family, "ugly lot of misfits."

Athena rolled her eyes a bit. "How teenager of you. Unable to come up with any real insult and having to settle for the words 'ugly' and 'misfits'. We both know that they're not ugly," she said.

Claire stared her down for a moment. Athena smirked, winking at the woman.

"You do realize I am not scared of you, right?" Athena mused, raising an eyebrow as her smirk turned lazy.

Claire chuckled a little. It was hollow and dark, twisted. "I knew you'd say that. You Mikaelsons' and Castillos', always so smug and filled with pride," she drawled, holding her hand out. A young woman appeared, handing the white-haired vampire a tablet.

Claire tapped the screen once before turning it, pressing it against the bars so Athena could see the screen. There, she saw a video of a young girl picking flowers, seemingly to continue the flower crown she was making.

The girl's brown hair was tied up and out of her face. She turned slightly and Athena made out the light green eyes of her daughter.

Athena's eyes flicked up to meet Claire. The young woman standing beside Claire shuddered, shrinking away and disappearing back out of the room at the black irises.

Dark orange, almost red, flames danced in her eyes promising a painful and gruesome death.

Claire smirked a bit, even as her heartbeat quickened in fear, her fear response wanting her to run and put as much distance between the two of them as she could. "Ah. Now are you afraid of me?" She asked, pulling the tablet back toward her and clicking off the video.

Athena's fists clenched her wounds on her wrist reopening and blood flooding out of them, down her hands and onto the floor. She pulled against her restraints, veins appearing underneath her eyes.

She registered no pain, just pure, unchecked anger.

The metal of the chair creaked, and the ropes snapped.

Claire's eyes widened.

Athena shot out of the chair, the metal collar the only thing staying on since the chain attached to it was long. She had Claire's throat in her hand, reaching through the metal bars.

Athena ripped her throat out and Claire's body crumbled to the floor.

Heavy footsteps sounded, but Athena paid them no mind.

Exhaustion caught up with her, darkness filling the corners of her eyes until she passed out once more.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

CAROLINE WOKE UP still feeling exhausted from last night's events. Matt had freaked out on her when she had tried to explain to him what happened. She hadn't meant to freak him out. She hadn't meant to drag him into this at all.

Maybe she should've let him die.

After he freaked out and Hayley had pinned him down since he had been scaring Caroline a bit (the werewolf also wasn't very happy with him accusing Caroline of killing Vicki or him touching her), they had managed to calm him a bit.

Caroline had tried to take his memories away, but unfortunately, he seemed to have vervain in his system. They couldn't get ahold of Athena who most likely had passed out from exhaustion after bringing Jonas back from the dead (Athena had explained to them what she was going to do and what could happen after).

Matt had promised he wouldn't tell anyone (mostly because Hayley threatened him with bodily harm) and that Caroline would explain everything. Later.

Which most likely meant Athena wiping his memory instead of any of them actually telling him what was going on. Caroline and Hayley had both been big fans of that idea.

Caroline slipped out of bed, throwing on a sweater before heading out of her room. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail as she entered the kitchen.

Hayley was standing behind the counter, watching the TV as she cooked breakfast. Her eyes flicked toward her blonde girlfriend when the woman entered the room. A small smile came to her lips.

"Hi, baby. How are you feeling?" Hayley asked her.

Caroline gave her a small smile back, coming around the counter and burying herself in her girlfriend's arms. "Tired. I thought after becoming a vampire, exhaustion wouldn't hit me as much. Or at all," she frowned.

Hayley hummed, rubbing the girl's back. "I'm tired too. I think, because of everything that has happened the last couple of weeks, we're just finally running out," she sighed, kissing the side of Caroline's head.

Caroline huffed a bit, nodding. "I'm worried about Athena," she murmured.

"Me too."

"Has she texted you or called you yet?" Caroline asked as she left Hayley's arms to sit at the counter. Hayley checked on the bacon, sausage, and pancakes.

Hayley frowned, shaking her head. "No. Bringing someone back from the dead has to take a lot out of a person, even someone as powerful as Athena. Especially if she's..." Hayley trailed off, unable to bring herself to say 'dying'.

Caroline understood and nodded in agreement. "We'll go check on her after breakfast. Then, we'll talk with her about what to do with Matt. Then, hopefully, we can just relax."

Hayley winced a bit but said nothing.

Caroline eyed her suspiciously. "What?" She demanded.

Hayley sighed, setting a plate of pancakes in front of the blonde. "Jenna texted me last night. I didn't see it till this morning, but Isobel stopped by last night. She wanted to talk to Elena and it sounded urgent."

Caroline's eyes widened in worry. "She didn't let her in, right? We really don't need Isobel having access to them."

"No, she didn't. Jenna slammed the door in her face. She also said that Elena nor Lorelei know..."

Caroline sighed, stabbing her pancake hard enough to break the plate underneath it. She winced as Hayley chuckled a little. The werewolf was quick to toss the broken plate and replace it.

"So much for relaxing," the blonde grumbled.

Suddenly, both of them tensed, a voice in the back of their minds screaming 'FIND ATHENA.'

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

LORELEI STEPPED DOWNSTAIRS feeling lighter than she has in a while. She was happy. Giddy.

Jenna was in the kitchen when Lorelei entered to get her and Elena a bottle of water and maybe some coffee. Bianca was sitting in the living room, reading a newspaper.

Jenna raised an eyebrow at the glowing girl, her hands cradling a mug of coffee. "Sleep good?" She drawled, bringing the cup to her lips.

Lorelei, who had opened the fridge and grabbed two water bottles, turned toward her sister-in-law. "Very," she smiled, kicking the fridge door shut.

Jenna chuckled a little, scrunching her nose. "I don't want any details. Just, you know, use protection. Our lives are way too wild right now for an accidental pregnancy," she said, moving toward the living room to sit with her wife.

Lorelei almost dropped the water bottles, her cheeks flushing. "We didn't have sex!" She argued, her voice squeaking a little at how high it got. Jenna hummed, plopping onto the couch with Bianca who absentmindedly wrapped her arm around her. "We didn't! We just kissed and talked and then we fell asleep."

Bianca paused in her reading and slowly turned her head toward her sister. She eyed her curiously for a moment. Then she nodded, turning back around. "She's not lying."

Jenna grunted, leaning into her wife. "Thank the Gods," she muttered.

Lorelei made a noise, heading for the cupboard above the coffee machine. She grabbed a mug and set it in the coffee machine, pressing a button to make the coffee fill up.

Elena climbed down the stairs, appearing in the kitchen a moment later. She greeted Bianca and Jenna with a kiss and a "good morning."

Bianca hummed, watching the doppelganger with her peripheral vision. "They're way too happy after a 'kiss'," she muttered to her wife.

Jenna nodded. "That's what I'm sayin'," she muttered back.

Elena bounced over to Lorelei, leaning against the counter. "Why are you blushing?" The older girl asked when she saw Lorelei's red cheeks.

"I'm not—" Lorelei cleared her throat to get rid of the high pitch, "I'm not blushing." She frowned, not looking at Elena.

Elena raised an eyebrow. She set her hand on Lorelei's jaw, brushing her thumb over the warm skin of her cheek. "Your face is red. Why are you blushing, hmm?"

Lorelei shot her a look, handing her the cup of coffee.

"Thank you," Elena smiled, kissing the hybrid's cheek. She took a sip, sighing at the warmth that spread through her.

Lorelei smiled back, setting a hand on Elena's waist and slowly pulling her in. The doppelganger went willingly, her smile widening as she set her cup on the counter. Elena wrapped her arms around Lorelei's neck, kissing her quickly because she could do that now.

Lorelei chased after her, kissing her firmly. Elena giggled into the kiss, pulling the younger girl closer.

"Oh!"

They pulled away, their eyes going to Caroline who was staring at them with wide, blinking eyes. Hayley was hovering behind her, an eyebrow raised and a smirk pulling at her lips.

"Caroline!" Lorelei said, her voice high-pitched again. She winced, clearing her throat.

The blonde blinked once more, sighing. She turned to Hayley who looked away from the two to meet her girlfriend's eyes. "Now we owe Katherine, like, 30 bucks."

Elena and Lorelei glanced at each other.

"Shit! I forgot about that," Jenna groaned, "I owe her 50."

"It's not as bad as Ma's. I don't know how much, but it's a lot," Bianca added, not looking up from her book.

"Wait, wait. Pause," Lorelei said, raising her hands up, "you guys bet on us?!"

Caroline shrugged, turning back toward the two girls. "We had to make it interesting. We didn't know how long you two would dance around each other," the blonde drawled, waving her hand around as she walked over to Bianca.

Elena blinked a couple of times, bewildered. "What?! Caroline!" She admonished.

Caroline just smiled at them as she set her hand on Bianca's shoulder. "Can we speak to you for a moment?" She asked quietly when the hybrid looked up at her.

Bianca saw the look in her eyes and nodded immediately. She got up and guided Caroline and Hayley into the other room, putting up a silencing spell.

"What's wrong?" Bianca asked, crossing her arms and looking at the two curiously.

Caroline and Hayley glanced at each other.

"Have you seen your mom since last night?" Hayley asked, revealing nothing.

Bianca tilted her head a bit, brows furrowing. "No. I thought she was with you two. She said she had to go take care of something," she replied.

Caroline sighed, running a hand through her hair. "And she hasn't contacted you? At all?"

Bianca shook her head. "What's going on?"

"We think Athena might be in trouble," Hayley replied, running a hand through her hair, "she didn't come to Caroline's last night. We checked her house. Nobody has seen her since earlier yesterday." She sighed frustratedly, "and she hasn't responded to any of our texts."

"So, what... you think she was kidnapped again?" Bianca inquired.

Caroline hesitated then nodded. "I just... we have a bad feeling. Like Athena's in trouble. And we're so, so tired, like our energy is being drained. I don't know, I'm just worried. Maybe she's off doing something secretive again or something." She rubbed her forehead, face scrunched a bit.

"No, no. If Ma was going somewhere, she would tell someone. Maybe... Maybe not you two but at least me. I'll get in touch with my uncles, and see if Ma told them anything," Bianca reassured, placing a hand on Caroline's shoulder, "I'm sure everything is gonna be okay."

Neither of them seemed to buy that, but that's the best Bianca could offer.

The hybrid took down the spell and walked out into the living room. "Rory, I need you to call Uncle Nik, see if Ma's with him or if he knows where she is," she told her younger sister who had migrated back to Elena who was drinking her coffee. Bianca picked up her phone, already dialing Finn's number.

Lorelei frowned a bit, confused, but did as she was told.

"Hello?" Finn's voice came through Bianca's phone.

"Hi, Uncle Finn. Have you seen Ma? Or heard from her?" She asked curiously.

"No. I'll look for her, okay? Based on what she did last night, I'm sure she blacked out again."

Bianca's brows furrowed, "what do you mean 'what she did last night'?" She demanded, looking over at Caroline and Hayley.

"Athena didn't tell you? She brought back someone from the dead. It exhausts her when she's on the brink like this."

Bianca frowned at the two women. "Thanks, Uncle Finn. Call me if you find something," she said before ending the call. She shoved her phone into her pocket. "You let my mother bring someone back from the dead?" She scoffed, staring at the two incredulously and through narrowed eyes.

"We didn't 'let' her do anything," Caroline argued, giving Bianca a sharp look, "she is her own person."

"We expressed our concerns. We told her our opinions on it. She said she would be fine and we believed her—" Hayley added, but Bianca cut her off.

"And now look where we are!"

"Stop it," Jenna snapped, grabbing Bianca's arm and forcing her wife to look at her, "enough. Ma is a grown-ass woman. She is very capable of handling herself. Do not get mad at them. Don't take your anger out on Ma on them. At least they came to you and told you anything about Athena. They could've gone to Luciana or Katerina and had them help. Instead, they came to you. Get your head out of your ass and just fucking work together." She let go of her wife's arm and stormed out of the room.

"Jen—" Bianca sighed, rubbing a hand through her hair. She closed her eyes breathing deeply.

Caroline looked over at Lorelei who was frowning down at her phone. "Anything, honey?" She asked.

Lorelei shook her head. "He's either sending me to voicemail or his phone's off."

Elena rubbed Lorelei's back, "maybe he and Athena are together then."

Lorelei's frown deepened, "no... I have a bad feeling about this."

Hayley met Caroline's eyes. Both of them were beyond worried.

Bianca clicked her tongue, "alright. Lorelei, let's go."

Lorelei nodded in agreement, kissing Elena's cheek and moving to leave.

"Wait, wait," Caroline argued, appearing in front of Lorelei and placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her in place, "no way. She's staying here with Elena and Jenna. Hayley and I will help you."

"I don't need a vampire or a werewolf's help," Bianca dismissed, getting frustrated, "I need a witch. Lorelei is the only person I have that can help me find my mom, so, let her go and we're going to leave."

"Bianca," Hayley sighed, not wanting to fight with the girl at all, "Athena isn't here right now, but we are. We're not sending Lorelei into a potentially dangerous place."

Lorelei's eyes flicked between Caroline and Hayley, warmth filling her chest. They truly did care about her.

Bianca growled a bit, eyes flashing gold. "Lorelei is my little sister. My family. You two don't get to make decisions for her. You barely know her. You barely know my mom. Stop trying to act like Rory's parents."

Caroline's face dropped a little, her hand slowly retracting from its place on Lorelei's shoulder. Hayley glanced away from Bianca, shifting uncomfortably.

"Bianca, cut it out," Lorelei snapped, "I understand that we're all stressed, right now, but that doesn't give you the right to take your frustrations on Ma out on them—"

"Lorelei," Caroline cut in and the hybrid glowing eyes met the blonde's. Caroline shook her head a bit. Lorelei deflated a little, frowning. "You two go do what you gotta do. Just keep us updated, okay?" She asked quietly.

Lorelei nodded.

Hayley walked over, brushing some of Lorelei's hair away from her face. "She's serious. Keep us updated."

Lorelei smiled slightly, nodding. "I will. Promise," she said.

Hayley and Caroline both smiled slightly at the girl. Caroline kissed the girl's temple while Hayley squeezed her arm.

"Be safe," Hayley muttered.

Lorelei nodded again. She turned to Elena who kissed her quickly, muttering a 'be safe' under her breath. Then Lorelei and Bianca left the house. 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"WOAH, WHAT DO you mean, Isobel was here last night?" Elena demanded, staring at Jenna, Hayley, and Caroline incredulously.

"I mean, she showed up on our doorstep, introduced herself, said she needed to speak with you, and said it was important. I told her 'fuck no' and slammed the door in her face," Jenna replied, shrugging her shoulders and leaning back in the head chair of the dining table.

Caroline and Hayley were sitting on either side of her watching Elena pace near the back doors. John was standing in the kitchen behind the counter.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" Elena exclaimed, running a hand through her hair.

"Well," Hayley drawled, "just to... guess, I think she believed you were busy." She smirked at the younger brunette whose face instantly lit up in a bright blush.

Elena huffed a bit, crossing her arms. "Fine," she muttered, "I guess you're right."

"What were you busy with last night?" John asked confused from the different expressions the four women were wearing. Jenna was amused, snickering under her breath. Caroline was smiling a little, looking like a kid who got an early Christmas present. Hayley just looked smug, smirking teasingly.

Elena blinked and side-eyed John. She ignored his question and turned back toward the three women. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Caroline sighed, rubbing her temple, "I still have to deal with Matt—"

"Deal with Matt? What happened with Matt?" Elena questioned, frowning.

"He saw me, fed him some blood. Thought I killed his sister," Caroline mused, clicking her tongue and looking exhausted. She was paler than she usually is and so was Hayley now that Elena looked closer.

"Are you two okay?" Elena asked worriedly as Jenna passed the two some water.

"We will be when Athena is," Hayley replied, taking the water and downing it in two sips.

Elena nodded. She hoped Athena was okay too and that Lorelei wasn't going to be put in unnecessary danger.

"We gotta go. Have to deal with the Matt situation," Caroline sighed, getting up.

"Maybe I should come with you," Elena said anxiously, "act as, like, a buffer or something," she said.

"No, no," Caroline shook her head, "I've got Hayley. You stay here and away from Isobel."

Elena huffed a bit, scratching her hand through her hair. She felt useless. Helpless. She couldn't help find Athena, she couldn't help deal with Matt. She couldn't do anything but sit around and hope none of her family got hurt.

"Everything will be fine," Hayley assured, kissing the side of Elena's head. Caroline did the same before they said goodbye to Jenna and left the house.

"Seriously, what were you doing last night?" John asked.

Elena groaned and walked away, heading back up to her room.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

ATHENA WATCHED THE young witch who was putting new charms and enchantments on the chair and bindings to keep Athena from getting out again. Claire was recovering somewhere in the place not that Athena cared.

"So," Athena drawled causing the witch to jump slightly and take a small step away from her. "What did my family do to you that had you joining Claire?"

The witch eyed her for a moment then went back to her spells when she realized Athena wasn't trying to get away.

"Not a chatty one?" Athena asked, tapping her fingers along the cool metal.

"I can't speak to you," the witch muttered.

"Ah, of course not. Though, I'm quite bored and there's nobody around. I'm sure you could indulge me. Just a bit," Athena said, watching the witch come around her left side through her peripheral vision.

The witch huffed a bit but decided there really was no harm. "Your brother, Klaus. He killed my entire family. Left me and my older brother alive to witness and mourn. I'd rather him had killed us both," she said spitefully, tugging a little harder on Athena's restraints than necessary.

Athena grimaced internally, shifting just a little to relieve the pain. "Mm, so, you decided to join Claire and go after the Mikaelson who did you no harm instead of the Mikaelson who did. How original," she mused, closing her eyes with a sigh, "it's never my brothers being taken, did you know that? They don't endure the torture or the consequences of their actions. It's always me and my little sister. Nobody ever wants to hurt the big bad man."

"So, you're saying you'd rather have your brothers facing this treatment? I thought you loved your siblings," the witch said, rolling her eyes slightly though she understood that. Being the one to face your brothers' consequences for things they had done.

"Of course not," Athena sighed, "I'm just sick and tired of me facing their punishments. If you had told me that I had done something to hurt you, to hurt your family, I wouldn't do a thing. I'd sit, take everything you have to offer, and probably kill you after—but at least I would've been facing my own consequences, you know?" She shrugged a tiny bit, careful not to irritate the chains and ropes around her.

They had doubled everything now, added more vervain, more spikes. It hurt like a bitch, but Athena was slowly growing numb to it.

The witch didn't say anything.

"How old are you?" Athena asked, opening one eye.

"20," the witch replied.

Athena frowned a little, that wasn't very old. "How old were you when my brother murdered your parents?"

The witch paused her movements for a moment, her hand loosely holding one of the ropes. "I was 15. My brother was 17," she said finally, continuing her work.

"Oh," Athena murmured, "what were their names?" Five years ago. That sounded familiar. Too familiar.

"Tara and Brooklyn Kernal," the witch said, "sound familiar?" She asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Unfortunately," Athena muttered. The witch said nothing, standing up and wiping her hands on her jeans. She was finished. "Thomas. Is he here with you?"

The witch froze at the prison door. "What did you just say?"

Athena tilted her head. "Thomas. That's your older brother's name. Thomas Kernal. 22 years old. Born 1987."

The witch slowly turned toward her. She didn't know whether to feel angry or terrified.

"Your name is Isabella. 20 years old. Born 1989 in, what your parents told you, Massachusetts," Athena continued, her expression growing dimmer.

"How—"

"Your parents, I had been looking for them for 15 years till that very day my brother found them. They were sneaky and slippery. Had very loyal people ready to die at the hands of an Original to keep their whereabouts safe. They weren't sneaky enough though," Athena sighed, opening her eyes and meeting the witches, "found 'em. Well, Nik did."

Isabella stared at her, breathing hard. Panicked. "Why—why would you be... why were you looking for them?" She asked, her voice a whisper.

Athena's ears twitched as she heard Claire coming closer to the room. "Shhh," she whispered and turned to stare straight out, closing her eyes. Claire entered the room and Isabella quickly unlocked the prison door, stepping out.

"You alright?" Claire asked and Athena shifted at the false kindness in her voice. She had been around the woman enough to pick it out. Claire used that tone with Finn, Sage, Rebekah, and Nik whenever she could. Usually to mock them.

"I'm fine," Isabella muttered, "she won't be getting out anymore." She bowed her head toward the woman and disappeared out the door. 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Lorelei asked once she and Bianca got settled into the library. The silencing spell was active and a map laid out on the table in front of them, a knife sitting beside it. Bianca was getting ready for a location spell.

"What was what?" Bianca asked, distracted.

"With Hayley and Caroline," Lorelei said, not looking at her sister. She was upset and frustrated.

Bianca sighed a bit, already exhausted. "Don't worry about it, Lorelei."

Lorelei's expression hardened. "Stop treating me like I'm five. You were being an asshole. I get that you're over 900 years old and such and that they are young, but that doesn't mean you get to treat them like shit. They've taken care of me, been there for me. They're... They're like my parents. And it felt good to have them worrying about me because I am young. I'm a kid." She shrugged her shoulders, "I know everything with Mom is stressing you out, but it's stressing them out too."

"Lorelei," Bianca sighed heavily, turning toward the girl.

"No. Hayley and Caroline are trying. A lot. They don't have to put up with you, with me. They could ignore us and just be focused on Ma, but they don't. They care about us. You're acting like a fucking child."

"Cassidy ruined Ma!" Bianca shouted and Lorelei flinched a little, "she absolutely ruined my mom. She bent over backward to give Cassidy everything she wanted and all she got in return was a loveless marriage, two kids, and her brother fucking her wife. So I apologize if I'm not eager to let two young, random women into my life just because Ma believes they're her person."

Lorelei stared at her, unable to say anything. Then she turned away, taking the knife. She sliced her palm and dripped her blood onto the map. She did the spell.

Bianca winced when she realized what she said. She hadn't meant to say that, she hadn't meant to insult Lorelei. She loved Lorelei. She loved Davina. There was not a day that went by that she didn't love or think about them.

Lorelei snatched the map off the table, tossed the blade onto the table, and stormed out of the room. She went downstairs, grabbed a bag of blood from the fridges, and then went to the cell that Athena pleaded with her to stay away from.

Too bad she wasn't a very good listener.

She yanked open the door and walked in. She knelt down beside the desiccated body of her uncle. She yanked the dagger out, stuffing it in her pocket and stepping away.

"Lorelei!" Bianca gasped, sliding to a stop in front of the entrance.

Elijah's eyes blinked and he slowly sat up. His eyes met Lorelei's, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Lorelei, give me the dagger," Bianca muttered, grabbing her little sister's arm.

Lorelei yanked her arm away without looking, staring into her uncle's eyes. "I need your help," she said, tossing him the bag of blood.

He caught it, slowly standing up. He eyed it for a moment then looked at Lorelei. "Where is your mother?" He asked, his voice raspy and breathy. Tired.

"That's what I need help with."

Elijah frowned a little and drank the blood, determination settling onto his features.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

ELENA AND JENNA had taken to hiding in the younger girls' room. They were lying on the bed in silence.

Stefan walked into the room a second later and Elena picked her head up, frowning in confusion at her ex-boyfriend. "What do you want?" She asked, not very thrilled at him being in her house.

"I just came to check on you. Damon said Isobel showed up last night," Stefan said, giving Elena a sympathetic smile.

Elena stared at him dryly. "I didn't even see her, so I'm doing great. Goodbye," she said, laying her head back down.

"Elena, come on," Stefan sighed heavily, "can we at least talk? We haven't really talked since we broke up—"

"You insulted Lorelei last night. In front of me. I don't want to speak to you," Elena snapped, interrupting him and rolling her eyes.

Jenna picked her head up a bit, frowning. "What? When did this happen?" She asked.

"Like right before you two got home," Elena shrugged, closing her eyes and resting her hands on her stomach, "I punched him in the face."

Jenna gasped, delighted. "Nice!" She grinned, high-fiving her niece.

Stefan shifted a bit.

John saved him from the awkward atmosphere, peeking into the room and looking at his daughter. "Elena, can you come downstairs, please? I need to talk to you."

"I've got nothing to say to you," Elena drawled, not opening her eyes or moving from her position.

"Please. It's important," John sighed, "you too, Stefan."

"Oh, well, definitely not going now," Elena muttered.

Jenna shifted a bit, staring at John silently for a moment. She clenched her jaw, knowing what he did. "Come on," she said, pulling Elena off the bed.

Elena groaned.

Jenna knocked her shoulder against John's making the man stumble and almost flip over the banister. She and Elena walked down the stairs with Stefan and John trailing behind them.

Elena paused when she saw Isobel standing in the kitchen. Jenna came up behind her, placing a hand on Elena's shoulder to help comfort her while she glared at the vampire. Stefan raised his eyebrows.

"I asked John for a do-over," Isobel said.

Elena turned to John incredulously. "You invited her in?!" She exclaimed.

"What the fuck, John?" Jenna added, "this is my house—"

"That still has my name under it," John interrupted, stuffing his hand in his pockets acting like the entitled prick he is. "Besides, she has information about Klaus." He looked at Elena, "please, just listen to her, okay?"

Elena looked at Jenna, hoping she'd do something. The strawberry blonde met her niece's eyes, the two having a silent conversation.

"I think—"

"Nobody cares," Elena interrupted Stefan without breaking her stare with Jenna. The vampire sighed quietly.

Jenna rubbed Elena's back and looked at Isobel. "Alright. What do you know?" She asked and Elena turned toward her too.

Isobel slinked back into the kitchen and the other four were forced to follow. She got herself situated in a chair while John sat on the table much to Jenna's dismay. Jenna hovered around her pacing niece, watching Isobel closely.

"Since I was last here, I've been doing everything possible to find Klaus," Isobel said, "we knew our best chance was to find him before he could find you."

"Best chance at what?" Stefan asked, leaning against the counter.

"Keeping Elena alive," John replied.

"You don't get to talk, okay?" Elena snapped, waving her hands around as she gave John a sharp look, "not after everything you've done. I know the shit you pulled with Jenna and Bianca. You're an ass."

Jenna snickered under her breath, smirking a bit as she crossed her arms.

"Were you able to find Klaus?" Stefan asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"No. Nobody knows where he is," Isobel replied. Elena and Jenna shot each other a look. They both knew where he was or at least the vicinity. He was hovering around Virginia and the states beside it. "But there are these rumors that are flying around that a doppelganger exists."

"Which means any vampire that wants to get in favor with Klaus will be lining up to capture you," John said.

Stefan slowly turned to look at Elena, worried now.

Elena raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I have an army of people who would rather die than let me be taken. I'm not afraid nor am I buying any of this shit. You," she pointed to Isobel, "made it clear that you don't give two flying fucks about me. And you," she pointed to John, "are full of absolute shit. Now I'm all of a sudden supposed to believe that you want to help?" Elena scoffed, staring her biological mother down.

"Isobel's been helping all along," John said and Elena gave him an incredulous look, not buying that for a second. "Klaus has been obsessed with finding Katherine for centuries." Elena rolled her eyes at this, Athena had already told her that if Klaus wanted to find Katherine, he would've. "All it would take was any one of those 1864 tomb vampires to spread the word around that Katherine was still alive and it would bring him straight here to Mystic Falls where you were bound to be discovered. So we killed them."

"While also almost killing Athena and Hayley. Along with Pearl and Anna, who just wanted to live their lives together. They didn't care that Katherine was still alive. Also, Athena—who you know has been working with Klaus—knew Katherine was alive. So, I'm pretty sure Klaus knows I'm here and is in no hurry to get me. You also almost made me lose my best friend forever because Tyler Lockwood happened to be able to hear it. You almost caused pain that you could never fix," Elena snapped.

Jenna grabbed her arm, gently pulling the doppelganger back.

Isobel stood up. "I have a safe house that I can take you to. The deed is in your name. No vampires can get in without your permission. Not even me."

Elena blinked, surprised and thrown off.

"Let me help you."

Elena tilted her head, "you wanna help? Then get the hell out of my house." She shrugged, unapologetic and tired of her biological parents.

Isobel's head tilted slightly to the side, her eyes finding the door. She zipped to it, grabbing the intruder by the neck and catching them by surprise.

"NO!" Elena shouted, panicked when she saw Lorelei pinned to the wall, choking.

Lorelei's eyes glowed, her clenched fist coming down hard on Isobel's arm and snapping it. Isobel cried out, momentarily distracted and allowing Lorelei to grab her by the head and smash it into the wall. Isobel crumbled to the ground as Lorelei stumbled away.

Elena rushed toward her, grabbing her arm and checking her over. Lorelei coughed a bit, rubbing her throat as she stared down at Isobel's groaning figure.

"Are you okay?" Elena whispered, setting a hand on Lorelei's cheek.

Lorelei nodded, leaning into Elena's hand.

Elena guided her into the kitchen and toward Jenna who checked her over as well. "I'm fine, I'm fine," Lorelei muttered.

Isobel came back into the kitchen, her head bloody from the hit. She stopped next to John who was watching Lorelei with slightly narrowed eyes. "Who is this?" Isobel demanded, looking at the hybrid with disdain.

Elena glared at Isobel, her hand tightening on Lorelei's arm. "I told you to leave, so leave."

"I'm not leaving you alone with a werewolf," Isobel argued.

Lorelei caught Elena by the waist when the girl went to lunge at the woman. "Relax," Lorelei muttered into her ear, chuckling a little. She loved that the girl got so protective over her. It was hot and cute and meant so much.

Elena huffed, leaning into Lorelei.

The hybrid smiled slightly and glanced over at Stefan when he shifted uncomfortably. The smile instantly dropped from Lorelei's face, a scowl replacing it. "What the hell are you doing here?" She demanded.

Stefan scowled right back at her, crossing his arms. "I'm here to help. Moral support for talking to those two," he nodded toward Isobel and John.

"Moral support?" Elena muttered, scrunching her nose.

Lorelei glared at Stefan. "I'm pretty sure Elena nor Jenna want you here," she said, stepping closer to the vampire, "you know, in case that wasn't clear last night when she sucker-punched you in the face for insulting me." She smirked a little as he frowned.

Maybe it was low, rubbing the fact that Elena cared for her and didn't give a damn about Stefan anymore in his face, but he had killed her birth mom.

Potato-potahto.

Elena loved seeing Lorelei get protective over her. It caused a warmth to spread through her. She craved Lorelei in a way she never craved anyone.

Stefan stood up a little taller, glaring down at Lorelei since he towered over her. She didn't look intimidated in the slightest, just staring up at him with that cocky, smug smirk.

"Want me to throw you out on your ass or do you want to use your big boy legs?" Lorelei asked.

Stefan stepped back slightly at the look in her eyes. He's seen it on Athena enough times to know not to push. To stand down.

Lorelei hummed, spinning on her heel and looking at the two. "I need to speak with you both for a moment," she said.

Elena nodded immediately, following Lorelei out of the room. Jenna shot Isobel and John a dark look. "Get out of my house," she said, moving to follow.

John grabbed Jenna's arm, "wait—"

Jenna whirled on him, her fist connecting with his nose. It cracked under her fist and he crumbled to the ground, crying out. Jenna spun on her heel and walked after her niece. 

AN: some more lorena for you guys. also poor athena, always getting kidnapped. she, caroline, and hayley never catch a break. don't be too mad at bianca (if you are), she's just going through it right now and she's not the best at processing her emotions (sounds like someone *cough cough*). hope you enjoyed! thank you for reading. 

edited:
finished: 02/25/24
wc: 7054