CHAPTER 39.3: Finding Athena
WARNINGS: murder, implied/referenced torture, blood, mentioned past kidnapping, mentions/references to a cult, mentioned/referenced past murder, implied kidnapping (people need to STOP being kidnapped 🙄), violence, stefan, damon, elijah??, john

"YOU LET HIM WAKE UP?" Jenna asked sharply, staring at Lorelei incredulously.

"I needed help," Lorelei sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Elena tilted her head, confused. "You have Bianca. Isn't she help enough?"

Lorelei frowned, clenching her jaw. "No," she said, her voice tight.

Jenna sighed, she shouldn't've let her wife go out when she was so agitated. "I'm sorry for whatever she said. I'm sure she didn't mean it," Jenna murmured, brushing a hand over Lorelei's hair, "not that I am dismissing her words or what you're feeling."

Lorelei shot her a small smile and nodded. Elena wrapped her arms around Lorelei. "Just be careful with him. Athena said not to trust his word," she muttered, burying her face into Lorelei's neck.

The hybrid hugged her back, nodding. "I'll be alright. I'm gonna come back to you and we're gonna talk," she smiled.

Elena grinned a little, "deal."

They pulled away.

"You have the dagger, right?" Jenna asked and Lorelei nodded. "Good. If you need to, use it. Don't let him trick you or anything."

"I won't," she said, determination setting her features.

"Good." 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

ATHENA'S EYES FLUTTERED just a bit when she felt someone trying to make her drink something. As soon as the first drop of blood touched her tongue, she opened her mouth and let the blood flow through her throat.

Energy returned to her, her eyes opening and meeting Isabella's. "I need you to tell me about my family," the witch said shakily, pale and trembling. Her eyes were wide and her eyes were dull. "I need you to tell me why you were after them."

Athena hummed. "Tara and Brooklyn were a part of a cult that kidnapped young children. They were trying to create a Heretic like Katerina Petrova so their witches didn't need to be siphoned. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. I've been trying to understand it for centuries," she muttered, blinking a couple of times.

Isabella's shaking grew worse, her breathing rapid.

"Niklaus and I knew your real parents. They were a part of his inner circle of witches. They... they're dead. They died in that very attack that killed your pseudo-parents. I'm sorry," she continued. Tears sprung to Isabella's eyes, clutching onto her shirt as a way to ground herself. "Niklaus has been trying to find you since that night. He had tried to take you, but Thomas hid you and forced Niklaus away with a spell his parents were going to use on us. Your real parents, Xander and Patrica, were two of his favorite witches. He feels indebted to them."

"But I still have no one," Isabella whispered, staring over Athena's shoulder blankly.

Athena groaned a little when she heard people coming. "You must go. Now. Go invisible, silence your steps, get rid of your scent," she ordered quietly. Isabella didn't move, seemingly in her own world. "Isabella. Now," she snapped.

The witch shook her head, blinking. Then she was gone. Athena sighed and fell back against the chair, wincing as the spikes ran into her back. She looked up at Claire and two men.

"Hello, lover. Time for round 3," Claire smirked, eyes alight.

Athena smirked back at her. "Do your worst," she muttered. 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

KATHERINE APPEARED IN Elena's room making the girl jump a little.

"Isobel was invited in?" Katherine asked.

"Yeah," Elena sighed, lying down.

Katherine eyed her for a second. "You don't believe her, right?"

Elena scoffed, "of course not! The last time she was here, she hurt Athena, threatened Jeremy, and was just overall a bitch."

Katherine chuckled a little and nodded. "Alright. Good. Don't trust a word she says. She's lying to John."

Elena tilted her head, looking over at Katherine with a confused little frown. "What do you mean? How do you know that?"

Katherine shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Isobel and I... I guess you could say we're old friends. I helped her when she turned, not that I wanted to. Though, I wanted to keep her away from you so I suppose I did. Anyway," she waved her hand around, "she feels indebted to me. Got close to one of Klaus' inner circle witches. Said that he was willing to make a deal for my freedom or some bullshit."

Elena raised an eyebrow at that. "I thought... well, actually, I don't know what I thought," she muttered, running a hand through her hair, sighing.

Katherine shrugged a bit. "Just, don't believe a word she says, alright?"

Elena salutes her, "yes ma'am."

Katherine stared at her dryly then disappeared. 

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LORELEI WAS A tiny bit surprised with how easy it was to get Elijah to comply and how willing he was to save her mother even though he had been planning on murdering her.

Bianca had a tight grip on the wheel, knuckles white and face pale. Elijah sat in the back, silent as he looked at the map, trying to figure out why Claire would have taken Athena to the middle of nowhere. He had been past here a couple of times and there was nothing.

Lorelei was sitting in the passenger seat, not having said anything to either of them and just staring out in front of herself. She was worried, terrified. What if her mother was hurt so bad that she couldn't recover enough to even go through the ritual? What if her mother was already dead and she wouldn't see her for another fifty years? What if—

"You're thinking very loudly," Elijah said, not looking up from the map.

Bianca flinched a bit at his voice, shrank a little and her gaze grew even more intense than before. Lorelei didn't respond to him, tapping her fingers against the door.

"Your mother is alive," Elijah continued despite not being answered.

Lorelei's eyes flicked up toward the mirror, meeting Elijah's eyes. "And how do you know that?" She asked with a sigh. She didn't trust a word that came out of his mouth. He was only here for brute strength and, if necessary, a distraction.

"The same way I knew Rebekah and Kol had been daggered. We're all connected despite our differences," he replied, looking back down at the map, "it's how Athena communicates with all of us when she doesn't have a phone on her. To let us know that she remembers."

"Oh," Lorelei muttered, her brows furrowing.

Bianca swallowed.

"You don't need to be afraid of me, Bianca," Elijah said and the hybrid flinched again. "I'm not here to hurt you. Not either of you. I'm here to help get your mother back then I will be on my mary way. I learned my lesson."

"Did you?" Lorelei retorted, scoffing. Bianca's eyes shot over to her in a panic, pleading with her to shut up.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "I know not to come after Athena directly," he chuckled. Bianca's grip tightened on the wheel if that was even possible. "I'll have plenty of time to harass my siblings just like they will me."

"Such a lovely family we have," Lorelei muttered, closing her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Indeed," Elijah hummed.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

ATHENA GROANED AS her body was shoved into the ground. She easily wrapped her legs around her attacker's neck, throwing him over and landing on his chest while his back hit the ground. She snapped his neck and stood up, shrugging off the dirt.

Another body came at her, cheers erupting from the stands above her. She evades, swiping her arm and taking off the attacker's head. His body crumbles to the ground, his head rolling toward the entrance.

Cheers and applause erupted around her, causing black spots to enter her vision. Everything was so loud and bright. She was exhausted and she could feel her energy continuing to just drain. She wasn't getting better even with the blood she drank. She only gets worse.

At this rate, she would die in a matter of days.

Two vampires grab at her arms as her knees give out. They haul her up, dragging her out of the arena and back toward her cell where she'll endure another bout of torture.

Apparently, Claire's 'headquarters' was actually just a secret fight club. She had been gathering powerful supernatural creatures to try and finish Athena off without having to have the ruby dagger or a white oak stake. Unfortunately for her, Athena wouldn't give up without a fight even if she was on the brink of death.

Athena hated it. Seeing the looks in some of her opponent's eyes. They weren't looking to win, only for a way out. Athena had given it to them in the least painful way she could while still having to give the crowd a show.

Athena killed for necessity, out of defense most of the time. Out of protection. She rarely killed just to kill. That's what many didn't understand about her. They were afraid of her because they believed she'd kill them if they stepped even a toe out of line.

Putting on a show is something she's used to. Hiding her emotions, acting like a ruthless monster. It comes with her last name. Weakness can't be shown, not when you're the most powerful creature on the planet. People will use that weakness to stab you in the back... or the front.

Athena is placed back in the chair that's in her cell, the vampires taking extra time to make it all hurt. She doesn't give them the satisfaction of a response.

Once everything is back in place and she's in the most pain possible, the vampires flee, leaving her alone to her thoughts.

She closes her eyes, breathing in deeply. She hopes her family is safe. She hopes that her brother will notice her absence and come find her. She hopes she's still alive to return to all of them.

Her eyes open when she hears footsteps growing closer. Claire appears in front of the cell once more, grinning impishly at Athena.

"What do you want?" Athena sighed.

Claire giggles a bit, sounding deranged. She stepped closer to the prison cell. "To ruin your life," she said, "and you won't be able to do anything about it."

Athena scoffed through her nose. "Okay, darling," she drawled, closing her eyes again.

Claire smirked as Athena's body sagged as her witch cast a spell. There was a reason Claire had been draining Athena's energy all day. 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

CAROLINE AND HAYLEY enter Carol's house. The blonde had remembered that Matt was working the luncheon today so they decided to check there when Matt didn't answer his phone.

Caroline quickly located Carol and dragged her girlfriend toward her. They found the Mayor talking with Liz.

The Sheriff turned slightly to acknowledge her daughter, smiling at seeing her. Caroline smiled back slightly before looking at the mayor. "Mrs. Lockwood, uh, have you seen Matt?" She asked, "I thought he was working a catering shift to today's luncheon."

Carol shook her head after a moment of thinking about it. "No, I haven't, honey. Sorry," she said apologetically. Caroline sighed and turned to leave because she and Hayley needed to find that boy. Now. "But if you see him, could you ask if he's heard from Tyler?"

Caroline paused and turned back toward the woman. "Yeah. Yeah, of course," she shook her head a bit, letting Hayley grip her fingers since the werewolf knew she was getting worked up, "um, still no word from him?"

"No," Carol sighed, "the note he left said he needed time to figure some things out, but I wish I knew where he was." Caroline gave her a sympathetic smile, rubbing her arm.

"Elena?" Hayley muttered when she saw the girl talking with some random girl with Jenna beside her.

Caroline's eyes flicked toward her best friend. "What the fuck," she said with a groan, "I tell her to do one freaking thing." Hayley hit the back of her head a little, snickering under her breath at the startled looks on Carol and Liz's faces. "Oh, uh, sorry," Caroline gave them both an apologetic smile, "excuse us."

She and Hayley both walked over to Elena and Jenna. The strawberry blonde-haired woman saw them first, smiling at the two of them. "Hello. Any luck finding Matt?" She asked.

"None," Caroline replied, running a hand through her hair, "what if he tells somebody? What if he tells everybody?"

"No, hey," Hayley said, grabbing her girlfriend's hands and squeezing them to ground the blonde, "we just gotta find him and make sure that doesn't happen." She turned toward Elena, "you have any idea where he'd be?"

Elena shrugged, shaking her head. "I wish I did, but he wasn't really one to run," she said.

Caroline sighed heavily, "and of fucking course it has to happen when Athena's not here."

"Hey," Elena hugged Caroline quickly and the blonde sighed, hugging her back, "Jenna and I will help you find him. She just needs to accept this thing."

Caroline nodded, breathing deeply. "Right. Call us when you two are done. We'll be out looking for him," she said, grabbing Hayley's hand and tugging her away.

"Babe, it's going to be fine," Hayley said as she slid into the driver's seat.

"You don't know that," Caroline argued, pulling her phone out and trying to call Matt again. "I just—I want to be able to do things without Athena around. I always feel so helpless without her. I want to be able to figure out this type of shit and not have to rely on anybody else."

Hayley nodded in understanding. "I get it, I do. You are amazing, okay? You don't need me or Athena to make you that. You're not helpless. I mean, you got yourself and Leah out of a very bad kidnapping situation, right? That was all you. Athena didn't help and nor did I. It's fantastic when we have Athena in these types of situations because she knows what to do a lot of the time, but that doesn't mean we can't figure it out," she said, reaching for her girlfriend's hand and giving it a squeeze as she pulled out of the spot. "We'll figure it out."

Caroline sighed and nodded. 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

BIANCA STOPS WHEN Elijah tells her to. She pulls off the road, hiding the car in the trees and away from view.

All three of them get out of the car. Elijah fixes the cuffs of his suit, staring at the empty field in front of them. Athena was said to be in there, but there wasn't anything.

Lorelei tilts her head a bit, pointing to the field. "You see that?" She asked her sister who nodded.

Elijah frowned a bit. "See what?" He inquired, confused.

"The shimmering," Lorelei replied, "it means there's magic surrounding that field. I'm guessing it's hiding something. The place where they're holding mom."

Bianca sighed, grabbing some gear out of the back.

"We should be careful. If they stole Athena, they obviously have a death wish," Elijah told his nieces, glancing at them.

Bianca shut the trunk, coming around the car and to her sister's side. "Can you stay close to me?" Bianca asked quietly. She knew her sister was upset with her and vice versa, but they were about to walk into something very dangerous.

Lorelei seemed to understand that, nodding. "If you stay close to me," she agreed. Bianca smiled slightly at her and Lorelei smiled back.

The three walked over to the edge of the shimmering field. Bianca reached her hand forward, her wrist and hand disappearing while the spell rippled around her, showing just how far it went left, right, and up.

"Magic," Lorelei grinned, stepping through despite Bianca's protest. The older hybrid was quick to follow her younger sister and Elijah trailed them, keeping a close eye on their surroundings. He didn't need someone sneaking up behind them and giving away that they were there.

As soon as they were inside the cloak, they saw a large warehouse-looking building. Elijah could hear shouts and clapping and cheers coming from inside along with at least three hundred different heartbeats.

This was going to be rough.

"It's a fight club," Elijah said causing both girls to pause and glance back at him. He was listening, his eyes clouded a bit. "We are not going to get in like this. Claire was always one for pretentious gatherings."

Bianca and Lorelei glanced at each other before waving their hands. Suddenly, their normal jeans, t-shirts, and jackets were replaced by fancy clothing.

Lorelei had on black dress shoes, black slacks, a pressed white button-up, and a black suit vest.

Bianca had on a navy blue off-the-shoulder, open-back dress that stopped right below her ankles where her heels began.

Elijah had a new suit on considering Bianca nor Lorelei had let him change out of his burnt and bloodied suit. He had on an all-black suit, his golden cufflinks standing out against his clothes.

"Hey," Elijah complained as he frowned a little, looking down at his suit, "this is mine. I knew she took it." Bianca snorted a little before smoothing out her features. She hated him.

Elijah felt someone coming up behind him in a burst of speed and spun around, grabbing his attacker by the neck.

Lorelei gawked at the vampire who her uncle held in his hand. "Damon?" She blanched, staring at him incredulously, "what the fuck are you doing here?"

Damon pointed at Elijah's hand, not being able to breathe. The Original let him go, Damon crumbling to the ground and coughing, trying to get air into his lungs.

Bianca walked over to the man, hauling him up and patting his back. Damon coughed once more. "I'm here because I stopped by to try and find another way to permanently kill this guy," he jerked a thumb toward the Original who smirked at him, "only to find him gone. So, I tried to call Athena, but she didn't answer. I asked Katherine what the fuck was going on. She had no idea and she refused to leave Elena with him allegedly running around. I tracked you guys down, found the car, and went through the... magic."

He blinked at Lorelei who just stared at him.

"Gods, Ma was right. You are stupid," she muttered, rolling her eyes. She waved her hand toward him and suddenly, his jacket, jeans, and t-shirt were now a white suit with a black undershirt.

Damon's brows furrowed a bit, "I think I've seen Athena wear this before. Am I wearing—did you put me in Athena's clothes?!"

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Yes, 'cause that's what we should focus on. Not why we're here or anything," she drawled.

"Why are we here?" Damon asked.

"To get Athena back," Elijah replied.

"You tried to kill Athena," Damon argued, glaring at him.

Elijah shrugged, "we're like that." Damon stared at him incredulously.

"Let's go," Lorelei said.

The four of them made their way to the warehouse. A witch and a werewolf stood outside the doors, watching them stoically.

"Names?" The werewolf asked, stepping in front of them when Elijah went to just walk in.

"Elijah," the Original replied, eyeing the werewolf with disdain.

The werewolf's eyes widened slightly before he turned his head toward the witch. The woman nodded and the werewolf stepped to the side, opening the door for them.

The four entered, Elijah at the front and Damon trailing at the back.

The younger two both winced at the increase in noise. It reeked of blood and dead bodies, alcohol, food, and poison. People were dressed to the nines, mingling with each other or cheering on the entertainment in the middle of the room.

The floor had been carved out in the middle, making an arena-type thing. They were on the upper level where you could buy drinks and snacks or place bets. There were three other levels each with different seating.

It was kind of a colosseum but it wasn't outside and it was built under a warehouse.

"This is insane," Lorelei muttered, slipping her arm through Damon's just as Bianca did.

"Stick close to me," Elijah murmured to them, on edge. He had heard about this place. It had been one of the few things to escape Athena and Klaus' radar. Claire started it many centuries ago, her plan has been something long awaited.

They moved through the crowd, Lorelei keeping a grip on Elijah's elbow so they didn't lose him. When they got to a free opening, showing them the entertainment, they took a moment to survey the room.

The arena was oval-shaped, maybe about twenty feet deep with another four feet of metal fencing. A shimmering dome appeared above the arena whenever the ground shook too hard, revealing why nobody just jumped out.

They were trapped down there.

At the moment, there was a woman and man in the arena, face-to-face. They were attacking each other with different weapons, with their hands and legs.

Everybody watches as the woman kicks the man's legs out from underneath him and stabs the sword through his neck as he falls to his knees.

The room suddenly becomes even louder than before; clapping, cheering, whistling, and yelling.

"FINISH HIM!" The rows begin to chant, stomping their feet on the ground.

The woman, heading the peoples' pleas, pulls the sword from what could only be a vampire's neck since he wasn't dead yet, and swipes it to the side, taking the man's head with her.

"YEAH!" People cheer.

"Dear Gods," Lorelei said, hiding her face just a little. She was used to death, but the amount of dead corpses in that arena made her feel ill. Damon tucked her underneath his arm when she swayed a little.

"That's..." Damon muttered. Even he was disgusted. He had done some terrible things, very terrible things, he's not saying he was any better, but this was inhumane.

What appears to be guards walk into the arena, two dragging the woman out and the remaining one tossing the body remains into the growing pile.

"That was quite a fight, don't you think?" The announcer, who was standing on a pedestal toward the north side of the arena where a box rests, shouted. There are three chairs, clearly meant for people of high status.

Everyone cried out about their agreements or their disagreements.

The announcer smirked. "Now... for the fight, we've all been waiting for... please welcome our newest fighter... ATHENA MIKAELSON!"

It was an uproar as Athena walked out from the south gate, across from the announcer's box. A man walked out from the north gate underneath the announcer's box, the two meeting in the middle.

"Ma," Lorelei whispered, her eyes widening at her mother. Her clothes were ripped and were drenched in blood. She looked exhausted and extremely pale. It was a terrifying sight.

Bianca stared at her mother in horror, her hand digging into Damon's arm.

"Miss Mikaelson remains undefeated... can Frostbite finally be the one to beat her?"

"Mikaelson?" Damon repeated, looking toward Elijah in confusion.

The Original didn't respond, stepping forward, his brows furrowed as he watched his sister pick up a sword and twirl it expertly. It wasn't her sword. The sword she was given when she turned seventeen a millennia ago.

That weapon was terrifying especially if you were on the other end of it.

The man in the arena grabbed a mace, glowering at the redhead in front of him with hatred.

"Begin!" The announcer yelled, sitting back down in the middle chair. The only one occupied.

Athena launched toward the man, swinging. The man's eyes widened and he just barely blocked the strike, stumbling backward from the force of her hit.

He catches his balance quickly, lifting his hand toward the top of the dome. Ice begins to form, sharp icicles clinging to the roof. Athena looks up, curious. The man drops his hand causing the icicles to follow him, plunging toward Athena.

The Heretic bats them away easily with her magic without even looking, her gaze now focused back on the man.

"What do we do?" Damon asked worriedly. Athena looked like she could drop at any moment and he was terrified he'd lose her before he could apologize to her. Before he could make things right.

The man lunges at Athena, the two clashing. The redhead seems to be putting on a show, letting the man land a few hits on her as she in turn lands some of her own. Then, when the crowd starts to get rowdier, she finishes the job.

She raises her sword, driving it through the kneeling man's head. She twists it and then yanks it out, the man's body falling to the floor.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Lorelei muttered under her breath.

Elijah glances back at her, apologetic. He knew what Athena was doing. Giving Claire a show, just like she wanted.

"And Athena Mikaelson wins once again!" The announcer says loudly over the cheers as he stands once more, "because of this. We will now like to ask you, the audience if you'd like to give it a go against Miss Mikaelson." A hush falls over the arena. "Anyone?" He smirks.

Elijah unbuttons his jacket, shrugging it off and handing it to Damon. "I would," he said, his voice echoing in the silence as he slowly maneuvered down the steps.

"Elijah," Damon muttered, trying and failing to grab the Original before Bianca tugged the young vampire back.

"Ah! Elijah Mikaelson! What a lovely surprise," the announcer grins manically, spreading his hands wide as he bows slightly, "now this will be fun." 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

JOHN TUMBLES DOWN the stairs and Jenna turns to look at him as he lands with a heavy thud on the ground. Her eyes widen slightly at the sight.

She had asked Elena to be the one to accept the award since she spent more time with Miranda when she was doing this stuff.

She rushed over to John as everyone began to get up and come to see what was happening. She knelt down beside the man, tilting his head just enough to see the blood on his neck. Stefan rushed to her side as well, having just come in.

Carol comes up behind her, seeing the wound. Her eyes widen slightly and she quickly turns to the civilians. "Let's let the Sheriff do her job! Please!" She exclaims as she tries to force everybody backward as Liz pushes through.

Jenna looks up at the stairs, trying to figure out what the hell happened. Katherine wouldn't do it, she had no reason to. Stefan wouldn't do it and neither would Damon—well, maybe Damon, but he had no reason to right now.

Isobel.

"Uh, he's, uh, he's bleeding. Is he okay?" Stefan asked, pretending that he had no idea what was going on.

Liz kneels beside John, pushing Jenna and Stefan away. "Yeah, I–I–I got it. I got it," she assured, setting a hand on John's chest.

Jenna quickly got up, rushing back toward the room where Elena was in. Stefan followed her, having noticed Elena wasn't anywhere he could see.

"Elena," Jenna called, "Elena!"

Stefan looked around, taking a couple of steps in front of her.

Jenna jumped a little when 'Elena' suddenly appeared in front of her, on the phone. She gave Katherine a confused look.

Stefan turned around, his brows furrowing in confusion when he saw the girl, wondering how Elena got behind him.

"You okay?" Stefan asked.

'Elena' rolled her eyes, "I'm fine," she grumbled, holding onto Jenna's arm. "I'm calling Damon."

"Let's get out of here," Jenna said, guiding 'Elena' out of there with Stefan following close behind them.

'Elena' frowns in mock confusion when Damon doesn't answer, the three of them walking to Stefan's car since Jenna and 'Elena' told him that they had walked. In heels.

Idiot, both of them had thought.

"Damon's not answering," 'Elena' huffed in frustration, shoving her phone into her trench coat as she walked slightly in front of the two.

Stefan instantly shoved her into the car and Katherine spun around, annoyed. "Where the hell is she, huh?" He demanded, grabbing her arms and getting in her face.

Katherine shoved a syringe filled with vervain into his stomach, releasing the poison into his bloodstream. She put on a mocking pout, "I'm sorry, Stef, but I can't have you following me." She smirked and snapped his neck, throwing him into the bushes.

She turned to Jenna who was waiting impatiently. "Where's my niece?" The phoenix demanded, "where's Damon?"

"Damon went after Elijah who I'm guessing you know is out," Katherine said and the strawberry blonde huffed a little, nodding. "Elena is safe. Klaus called me earlier and told me about Isobel's 'true' deal or whatever. I'm going to meet him and she's just—just apologizing."

"Apologizing?" Jenna repeated, staring at the woman incredulously.

Katherine shrugged, opening the driver's side door. "I don't get it either, but I wouldn't put Elena's life in her hands if I didn't believe she'd be alright," she said seriously.

Jenna huffed a bit, running a hand through her hair. She knew that was true. Katherine would rather die than let Elena.

"For now, I need you to take Athena and Damon's place on the council," Katherine continued and Jenna stared at her in shock, "I know, but you're our best bet right now. Liz knows you're a close friend of Athena and you're also Miranda's 'sister'."

"The founding families aren't exactly welcoming," Jenna argued.

Katherine gave her a slight pleading look as she slipped into the driver's seat.

Jenna huffed. "Fine," she said, "I'll see you later."

Katherine nodded and drove off. 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

JENNA SLID INTO the Lockwood's living room where Carol was ushering all the guests out. Liz and Carol both looked at her confused. "I called Athena—she's not available right now and neither is Damon. They're out of town dealing with family things. They told me to help," she said apologetically.

Liz and Carol shared a look, wide-eyed.

"I understand the whole secret thing. I plan on keeping it that way. I'm just here as a favor for my friend. And... you know, he's my niece's uncle," Jenna explained, walking closer to John's body, "how is he?"

Liz huffed for a moment then resigned herself. "He's dead," she admitted.

Jenna squatted beside his body, taking a closer look at the bite mark on his neck. She lifted his arm up, checking his ring finger and finding the stupid Gilbert ring. She sighed heavily, letting his limp arm fall.

"He'll be fine in a couple of hours," she said.

"What are you talking about?" Carol scoffed, staring at her incredulously, "Jenna, he's dead."

Jenna grimaced a little, slowly standing up. "Well," she drawled, turning toward the two women, "here's the thing. John's ring... it's an old Gilbert family heirloom that protects its owner from death by a supernatural entity." She gave them an awkward smile.

"But he's not breathing. He has no pulse," Carol argued.

Jenna sighed heavily, looking down at the man with sad eyes. "He will be. Trust me," she said. She leaned down and grabbed his leg, dragging him along. "We're gonna need a cover story. Epileptic fit, alcohol binge, banana peel, whatever works. But right now, I just have to get him out of here." She dragged him out of the room, saluting the two women.

The two stared after her in astonishment. 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"HEY, MATT, IF you're listening to this that means you've listened to the last 25 messages I've left you which all say the same thing, so..." Caroline sighed, defeated and exhausted, "call me."

She ends the call, letting Hayley take her keys from her to open the door. Caroline stuffs her phone in her pocket, rubbing her face.

When she didn't hear Hayley twisting the lock, she looked up and saw her girlfriend staring into the house at something. Caroline looks over her shoulder, her eyes widening when she sees Matt.

Hayley opens the door when Matt looks at them. Caroline goes in first, staring at him warily, but also in relief.

"We've been looking for you all day," the blonde said softly, hoping she wouldn't spook him. She really didn't want to have to keep him here by force.

"Your mom brought me here," Matt responded, his voice quiet.

Hayley tensed a little at the mention of the sheriff. Caroline seemed to follow her line of thinking, repeating, "my mom?"

They were both terrified that he had outed Caroline to the older blonde.

"I accused her of covering up Vicki's death and she threatened to arrest me," Matt explained, blinking slowly.

Caroline swallowed a bit, taking Hayley's hand to comfort herself. "Did you tell her anything else?" The werewolf asked, keeping her voice just as soft as Caroline's. She didn't like being nice to the boy but if that's what it took to keep her family safe, she'd do it.

"Nothing about you," Matt assured though his voice held a tinge of spite as he looked at Caroline. The blonde released a deep breath, leaning into Hayley. "I had the feeling she wasn't gonna believe anything I said, so I shut up. Then she brought me here to cool down and then she got called away."

Caroline nodded, running a hand through her hair. She took a step closer and Matt instantly backed up. The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you stick around if you're still scared of me?"

"Because I need to know more... about Vicki and... about you. Both of you," Matt said, his eyes slightly teary as he looked between the two, "no more love confessions. No more anything. I just wanna know."

"We can't do that, Matt," Hayley sighed, "and I do not believe you when you say no more. You tried to force yourself on my girlfriend multiple times even when she's told you she's not interested."

Matt nodded in understanding, "I get that, but I swear, I don't... I don't feel that way anymore. Not since I found out about what—what you are."

Caroline scratched her eyebrow. "You promise?" She asked.

Hayley stared at the back of her girlfriend's head incredulously.

Matt nodded firmly, "I promise."

Caroline nodded. "I'll tell you anything you wanna know."

She was always too trusting.

AN: sorry for the short chapter. i've been very busy and haven't been able to write as much as i would like! the schedule might change to mondays, sometimes wednesdays, and fridays if my schedule doesn't lighten up. i'm sorry guys! thank you so much for reading!! hope you enjoyed!

edited:
finished: 02/27/24
wc: 5888