XXIX - 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔦𝔞𝔫 𝔟𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔥

(edited)

SHE HAD NEVER SEEN HANDS MORE SICKLY AND WHITE.

Silence. Unabridged and complete silence settled among the three people scattered across the eerie tomb. No one dared to say a word. No one dared to breathe.

And then feebly, from the corner behind the tomb, the Siren coughed.

"What have you done?" She said.

Her hands were shaking. She couldn't tell if it was just the reflection of the moonlight, but she swore her hands had drained themselves or any color. The golden blood that leaked out of her pores was also gone, evaporated into thin air. Her head felt heavy and her eyes fluttered with the strain to keep them open.

The mirror lay discarded at her side, trapped in her fingers. A slight turn of Lilura's head and she could see it all.

Monster. Bloodless monster.

Cold anger and bile rising. "What have you done, Esther?"

The witch laughed. She cackled.

"Yes, yes!"

Alaric crept closer to the Siren, "I think you shouldn't -" He gestured to her clamping fist. His intentions could have been innocent, but Lilura paid no mind.

Instead, she clenched her fingers and the mirror broke.

Alaric retreated without another word. "Ok," He said. "Never mind."

Esther placed a soft hand on the enchantress' shoulder.

"Don't be ashamed, Siren," She hissed. "After all, you were born looking this way."

And to Esther's proclamation, two empty and pupil-less white eyes stared back at her.

---- Δ ----

"Hey there, Captain!"

Judas halted at the gym doors. He spun around, rubbing his neck self-consciously.

"Is it really that bad?" He asked Bonnie with a childish pout.

"No. No. It's not bad at all," Bonnie stifled her giggles. "You just were born to embody sexy pirate."

"Haha," He held up a finger and pointed to the girl, recognizing the sarcasm in her voice. "This was the only thing in my closet, ok?" The young hunter grumbled. "Who are you here with tonight, B?"

There it was again, Bonnie thought. Damn you, Judas Mikaelson.

She had forgotten about him. She really had, but then he had wiggled himself back into the crevices of her consciousness. And no matter how hard she tried to shake him off, Judas Mikaelson would still be there in her heart.

She felt herself give a quick shake of her head. "His name is James."

"Give me the 411," said Judas.

Bonnie laughed again, "I'd love to but...we need to talk."

"Oh?" He followed her. "What about? Or did you just want a taste of m-"

"Actually, all of us need to talk," chimed in Elena Gilbert. The doppelganger, per usual, was flanked by the Salvatore brothers. "It concerns Alaric and Lilura."

Judas nodded solemnly as if he had seen this coming all along.

"Hang tight," He said. "Let me go fetch the alcohol first. Better yet, I'll go and drink a bottle of bleach. That would be more entertaining than the discussion we're about to have, I reckon."

"Maybe we should stop with the sarcasm and get back to the problem," sighed Stefan. "If Alaric is sick then we need to find a cure."

"We tried medicine, we tried magic," The raven haired vampire listed, agitation painted in his expression.

"Why don't we get him off vervain, compel him?" mused Stefan.

"What? To pretend to be Alaric?" Damon scoffed. "The guy that we know is gone. We're talking about someone who not only hates vampires, but vampire sympathizers. Which makes one of his most obvious targets: I don't know, Elena!"

Bonnie bit her lip, "What you think he'd go after Elena?"

"So wait, what are you suggesting we do?" Elena inquired.

"I'm suggesting that we put him out of his misery."

"What?!" The brunette shrieked. Beside her Judas cracked his knuckles.

"Why don't I put you out of your misery, mate?"

Another voice joined Elena and Judas in their obvious displeasure. "No, no way in hell!"

"Oh come on, It's what he would want," reasoned Damon. "It's a mercy killing."

"You are out of your mind!" insisted Jeremy Gilbert, brown eyes alight with fire.

Elena stared at her brother with an indescribable look, "Jeremy..."

The boy turned around abruptly and pushed his way out the doors, leaving Damon, Bonnie, Stefan, Elena, and Judas standing.

With another glance to her friends, Elena ran after her brother.

Judas pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now can I get a fücking drink?"

---- Δ ----

Outside the school, the doppelganger was running as fast as her heels would let her.

"Jer, stop..."

He turned around with his hands in the air. "This is Alaric we're talking about! He looked out for us, now we need to do the same for him."

Elena nodded. "I know. No one is gonna hurt him."

Jeremy shook her arm off and started walking in the opposite direction.

"Hey," Elena called again. When Jeremy faced her, Elena smiled gravely. "Hey...Look at me. I promise."

"Elena!"

The two Gilbert's jumped. Esther had appeared out of the blue, and Jeremy had to put a hand to his racing heart to ground himself in reality.

"If you wish to help your friend Alaric, I suggest you come with me."

Silence.

"Jeremy go inside and get Stefan and Damon, now!" Elena hissed.

With a nod, he disappeared back into the school.

"Follow me," said Esther.

---- Δ ----

The siren could feel the power running through her viens. The molecules in her body buzzed with new found strength, unparalleled to anything she had felt before. Lilura could uproot an entire tree and not break a sweat. She could push mountains and move seas.

Kill him.

She looked around the clearing, itching to do everything.

Kill.

"You'll forgive me for taking you from the dance this evening. That's the burden of being the doppelgänger, I'm afraid. Your blood is a potent binding agent for a witch's spell," Esther commented lightly.

Kill. Kill. Kill. KILL. KILL.

With her, the Siren sensed a pitter patter of footsteps. The two women descended into the tomb where both the Siren and Alaric were kept.

"Just please don't hurt Alaric," The doppelganger whispered. Her eyes grew wide at the ominous setting and Esther's cruel smirk.

Alaric smiled, but it wasn't the same kind of smile he gave Elena. No, this one was bathed in appetite. It was impatiently basking in the moonlight.

Alaric Saltzman was nowhere to be found.

"She's not hurting me," He said.

"Ric!" She cried, throwing her arms wide and recoiling them when the hunter did not reciprocate. Despite his strange demeanor, Elena hopped she would be able to find the old Alaric hidden in the depths of this one's famished eyes.

He had become a true hunter, and tonight, he was more than hungry.

"What's going on? What are you doing with him?" She fired question after question.

Esther's eyes gleamed, "I'm going to remake him."

"Remake him?"

"Make him strong, fast, like my children. Indestructible. For one final time I'm going to tap into the dark magic I used a thousand years ago. Like my husband Mikael before him I will make Alaric into a true hunter, a vampire to end all vampires. And with a weapon as rakish as the Siren by his side, he will never fail."

"Lilura's here?" Elena asked, eyebrows laced in concern,"Where is she?"

"She won't answer to that anymore, Elena. Lilura is gone. This is the Draconi."

The draconi showed itself, creeping out of the shadows with stark white feet.

Elena gasped. "Oh my-I." She stepped forward, but the Siren flashed her a wicked and jagged sneer and the doppelganger stopped dead in her tracks.

"Your teeth..." Elena choked back sobs, looking at the razor sharp instruments and cringing. "Lilura, I'm so sorry."

"What?" answered the Siren. "Do I look pretty, Elena Gilbert?"

Pretty, would be a severe exaggeration.

Although Elena wanted to look the other way, to be rid of the Siren's jagged teeth protruding from her lips and soulless white eyes that seem to have been punched in with dark purple rings around them, the doppelganger found that she could not.

For no matter how hideous, Sirens were still delicate in their craft. Their beauty, however contorted and deformed, was one of a kind. And so were their powers of persuasion. They could make you believe that dirt was gold or the sky pink. In the end, they could make you do anything, even give up your life.

"I do," Elena answered honestly. "You are still beautiful, Lilura."

"LILURA!" roared the Siren. Her paper-white arms that looked like they had no ounce of blood runnning through them clutched her sides, face scrunching up in what one could call a repulsive smile. Her skin, thinner and duller than Elena had ever seen, stretch across her sharp cheekbones. Her pupil-less eyes rolled back in to her head.

The Draconi was laughing.

"Lilura," She spat. "What a weakling. What a disgrace."

"No," Elena shook her head. "You're not a disgrace. You're not a weakling. The Lilura I know is a lot of things, but she's never one to give up."

The Draconi stared at her.

"I know you're in there somewhere, and I'm probably the last person you'll answer to but...you're my friend, Lilura. I'm not going to leave you behind."

"That's rich," wheezed the monster, saliva having from her widly mismatched teeth.

"Hurry up and get on with it," She said when a beat of silence passed. "I'm tired of its incessant whining."

Elena blew out a small breath of frustration before returning to Esther, "You can't create another Original. What if he turns out to be an even bigger monster than your children?"

Esther sighed, exasperated. "He won't now that he has embraced his darkest aspect his hatred for them will become more pure and uncompromising. In death that hatred will be magnified."

"You don't know that," She said indignantly. "You don't know anything about him."

"That is where you're wrong. Each time he died with that ring during his brief journey into death I was there on The Other Side. I spoke to him, I nurtured him knowing that every death brought him closer to his true self. Vampires took everything from him. Now he's getting his vengeance."

---- Δ ----

If one of these pimply adolescents ever so slightly bumped into him, Klaus would be out the door in two seconds flat.

At least, that was what he was thinking.

But he had nothing to worry about. Lilura and Alaric were locked up in the Manor's cells, Rebekah had planned a successful dance, and Judas Mikaelson was dominating the dance floor with his alluring smirk and decent moves.

And then Klaus'gaze zeroed in on his underperforming minion, and he felt himself slowly boil over at his stupid smile.

"Where've you been mate?"

Tyler avoided his gaze. Caroline sent Klaus a look which screamed go away!

"I just got back in town."

"That's funny, I don't recall giving you permission to leave in the first place," Klaus hummed.

His eyes settled on Caroline's blue ones. "You don't mind if I cut in, do you?"

The blonde vampire had her mouth open, dramatically appalled. "Yes! Actually we do."

"No, it's fine," Tyler said. He stopped dancing with Caroline.

When he was out of earshot, the young vampire rolled her eyes. "Why do you always have to prove you're the alpha male?"

"Please, I wasn't doing it for you,"

He grabbed her hand and swung her forcefully to look at a jamming Judas. "I was going to ask you about Elena and my son."

"Oh no," Caroline scrunched her nose in distaste at the subject. "I'll be going now."

"Not so fast, love!" Klaus insisted, trapping Caroline in his dancing embrace.

Defeated and slightly embarrassed, Caroline huffed. "Ok. Ask away."

"How long?"

"I don't know. It's not official."

"How so?"

"Well," She made an odd sound. "They haven't put a label on it."

Klaus squinted at Caroline's face. "Is the doppelganger delusional? Judas has been avoiding her for weeks. How could they possibly be..." He shivered. "dating."

"Technically, they aren't. He's afraid that if he actually admits he likes her, she'll leave him for one of the Salvatore brothers."

"Which is most likely to happen," concluded the Hybrid snidely.

"Hey! That's my friend you're talking about."

"Yes. You're skank of a friend."

Caroline stomped her foot. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

"That's a nice sentiment," Klaus mumbled. "But none of this clownery matters in the slightest, because tomorrow I am taking Judas and Lilura, and we are leaving."

Caroline blinked.

"So pass the message on to your friend," Klaus grinned. "I've just had about enough with this town."

He excused himself and left a stunned Caroline on the dance floor.

Klaus grabbed his phone from his pocket and pressed the speed dial. "Rebekah, call me back immediately! I only came to this ridiculous dance because you begged me to and now you're nowhere to be found."

As he swung open the school doors, Klaus stopped in from of a salt line.

"What is this?" He quiered to himself, attempting to cross it.

"Your mother is back," Stefan said, coming to a stop by Klaus' side.

Klaus hung his head. It seemed he could never have a peaceful day.

"Where's the witch?"

"Follow me."

---- Δ ----

"Ric, Lilura this isn't what you want. It's not who you are," Elena declared.

"You don't know who we are, Elena," the Draconi said.

Alaric nodded. "You only know the weakest parts of us, the man who lost his way befriending vampires instead of killing them and the siren who loved the most dangerous family of vampires in history instead of exterminating them like she was destined."

"You don't mean that."

"They're all monsters. The blood of their victims is on my hands. Jenna's blood is on my hands," Alaric said.

"When you are ready," the Original witch called.

"No Ric, please don't. Don't do this. I won't help you, I'm not gonna give you my blood, you're gonna have to kill me!" Elena screamed.

"That won't be necessary," Esther said. "Draconi, you know what to do."

"About time," She sneered. "Why don't you try running, Elena Gilbert?"

Elena stumbled backward involuntarily, "Lilura...don't." She didn't try to escape.

"How idiotic. Somehow you still trust me!"

Elena put her arms up to protect her face in vain.

"Don't worry, you won't die just yet."

And then the Siren let her sharp teeth find their way to Elena's flesh. With a feverish flourish, she bit down.

"Ah!" Elena yelped. "You're hurting me."

The blood dripped down her arm and landed in the bowl which the Siren had placed strategically.

"Boohoo," The Siren hissed.

Esther took the bowl and handed it to Alaric. "Drink. And let it be done."

"No Ric please, don't."

Alaric didn't listen. "Is it finished?" He said through a mouth full of Elena's blood.

"Not just yet," answered the Original Witch.

When she turned back around, the white oak stake was in her hands.

"No!" Elena protested loudly.

Esther pushed it into Alaric's chest.

The vampire hunter's body disintegrated with the flames.

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