chapter eight
know thy enemy, the last dance
season two, episode seventeen and eighteen

Arabella Mikealson waited until she was sure Bonnie, Jeremy, and Damon had left the site of the witch massacre before she went there. The door swung open, wind pushing her inside.

She realized with a start the witches wanted her there.

"I know I'm not beloved by the witches," Arabella spoke, slinking onto the floor of the room. "But I have to take my brother down, and I'm scared my magic won't be enough. Is there any magic left for you to give me?"

The witches started mumbling angrily, but they were going to give her some power. Luckily for Arabella, witches hated Klaus more than they hated her.

Ara laid her hands on the floorboards, letting the witches put their power inside of her. She let out a soft whimper of pain, feeling their magic rush into her before it stopped.

"I only have a day until my body expels the magic," Ara spoke. She felt crazy talking to air. "If you have any magic at all outside of this house, can you drawl my brother here? He believes I am dead and that is my biggest advantage right now."

The witches whispered to her again. They wanted her to take Klaus down no matter the cost. They wanted her to reveal her identity so she and Bonnie could channel eachother.

"They think I am a ruthless killer who does Klaus's bidding," Arabella argued. "They won't believe me. If I have to, I will. "

The witches accepted this, the front door swinging open as a silent way of telling her to leave. Arabella nodded, standing up and slinking out the front door. She could feel more magic pulsing inside of her than before.

"Stefan?" Arabella spoke after finally calling the boy back. "What is it?"

"Ari," Stefan replied with a sigh. "God, you missed all the action. Isabel took Elena but now Isabel is dead. We're putting our house in Elena's name so Klaus can't get in."

Arabella closed her eyes with a suck of breath. If they signed that, Arabella couldn't enter their house anymore and they would know she wasn't a human.

She needed Klaus to come and get all of this over with.

•••

Arabella straightened out her dress, pushing down her hair as she looked at herself in the mirror. She only had a few more hours until her body would expel the magic.

Klaus had shown his first sign of attack. He compelled Dana to ask Elena to save him the last dance tonight.

Knowing Klaus was here made the reality of the situation all the more real. Arabella was betraying her own blood, her older brother. But Klaus had betrayed their blood first. Three of his siblings were lost, forever.

Arabella turned around to see Theodore behind her, standing in a suit. Ara smiled softly at him, walking towards the boy. "You look dashing. My sister is a lucky woman."

"Stefan Salvatore is a lucky man," Theodore replied, linking his arm with Arabella's. He sobered quickly. "Are you ready for tonight?"

"Not really," Arabella spoke. "But I have to do this. For Finn, Kol, and Rebekah."

Theodore nodded in understanding. He wrapped his arm around Ara's waist, vamp-speeding them to the high school. Arabella stumbled slightly as he stopped.

"Arianna," Elena smiled. "You look so pretty."

"Thank you," Arabella smiled, wrapping the doppleganger in a hug. Her voice dropped quickly. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Elena chuckled weakly.

Arabella followed the rest of the group into the dance, glancing at Theodore as they searched for her older brother.

Jeremy Gilbert walked up to her, offering his hand for a dance. Arabella chuckled, hesitating before putting his hand in hers. The boy led her onto the dance floor, his hands resting on her waist.

Ara, for one minute, allowed herself to relax slightly, laying her head on his chest. She could feel Jeremy smile, making her sigh.

Jeremy pulled back slightly, making Ara look up. He leaned down, gently brushing his lips against Arabella's. The blonde's breath hitched as she hesitated, before cautiously kissing him back.

Arabella leaned backwards, putting her finger to her lip. She felt awful. Jeremy was sweet, and he would be good for her, but Ara's heart yearned for Stefan. He was the only one she would ever truly love.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, eyes going down to the floor. "I can't, I'm sorry."

Ara watched Jeremy nod, clearly embarrassed, and leave the room. Arabella put her hands on her hips, sighing and looking up at the ceiling.

She narrowed her eyes as she felt Alaric Saltzman staring at her, but she brushed it off. Alaric had been dating Jenna, so he probably saw Elena and Jeremy as his kids. Ara had just rejected Jeremy.

Alaric left the room a minute later, presumably following Jeremy.  It was only five minutes later when Arabella heard Alaric's voice shout loudly.

"Arabella Mikealson!" He shouted. Arabella's body tensed. He knew her name. He had been acting weird.  Ara's eyes closed as she came to the realization Klaus used his favorite trick. He took over Alaric's body.

Arabella sighed in dismay as Alaric's voice continued to shout. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, little sister!" Klaus yelled. "I grow tired of your games, Arabella! Don't be a coward."

Arabella knew she had to reveal her secret. She didn't have a choice. She stepped into the cafeteria to see Alaric, or Klaus, standing there, Bonnie a couple feet away and glaring daggers.  "You always were so dramatic, big brother." She chuckled.

Klaus chuckled softly. "Why am I not surprised you hid here disguised as a human?" He spoke.

"Why am I not surprised you took over another body?" Arabella retorted.

Klaus chuckled softly, but Arabella narrowed her eyes, starting to make his blood boil. Klaus let out a cry of pain before raising up with a snicker. "Party tricks. Come on, little sister, you have more power than that."

The blonde looked over to Bonnie, offering her hand. "We have to channel eachother. I'll explain everything later, I promise."

Bonnie hesitated before nodding, giving Arabella her hand. The two witches started to channel each other, glaring at Klaus. Their eyes narrowed, making Klaus's leg snap. The Mikealson fell over with a cry of a pain.

The lights flickered as the witches continued, trying to make Klaus as in as much pain as possible. Ara turned to see Stefan, Theodore, and Elena at the doorway, raising her head slightly and making the door slam shut.

"Ara, no!"

"Bonnie, no!"

Ara only turned her attention back to Klaus narrowing her eyes as Bonnie threw her hand out, making Klaus suffer one last time.

The Bennet witch dropped Ara's hand, looking back at Elena before dropping to the ground. Ara gasped, before looking back towards Klaus and makimg his body go flying backwards. She leaned over Bonnie and bit into her wrist to heal the witch, but it was too late. There was no pulse.

In her moments of hesitation, Klaus stalked forward, grabbing Arabella's shoulder and twisting her body to face him. It was only a second later he stabbed a wooden stake through her heart, making her eyes droop close and body collapse.

•••

"Good morning, Sunshine." Damon smirked down at her as soon as her eyes opened. Ara grunted, raising herself up onto her elbows and looking around. Elena, Stefan, Damon, and Jeremy were all glaring at her. Her head was by Theodore's leg, who was leaned against the couch.

"I need blood," Arabella mumbled in defeat. They all knew. Theodore nodded, patting her shoulder and walking towards the blood bin the Salvatore's have.

Arabella weakly pushed herself against the couch as Damon glared at her. "Yeah so you're going to have to answer a few questions unless you want this dagger in your heart."

Arabella blinked. John must have gave them two, which means he knew her identity. "The dagger won't work on me," She replied. "I'm a siphon witch, my body will suck the magic out of the dagger and I'll be awake in an hour."

Noticing their hesitant looks, Ara shook her head. "Go on, test it. But you'll lose your only weapon against an original." Ara sighed. "I've been lying to you all. My name isn't Arianna Cooper, it's Arabella Mikealson." She paused. "I was never a threat to you, Elena. I just wanted to live a normal life for a bit. Carrying the name Mikealson comes with heavy burdens."

The others sighed, and Ara knew they believed her. She stretched her hand out, taking the bloodbag from Theodore and attaching her lips to it. She immediately felt better. She forgot how hard it was to die. "I won't answer any questions until Elijah is awake." She demanded.

The others looked between themselves, seeming to not be able to decide on an answer until Damon shook his head with a scowl. "No way. Not happening."

"You don't want to cross me, Damon." Arabella scoffed. "There is a reason my name is the most feared of the Originals. It was all for my siblings."

Theodore grabbed Arabella's hand, hauling her to her feet. "You have two days to return Elijah or I will make your lives living hells." Arabella threatened.

The fact she was no longer forced to play nice with them was a relief. They were her friends, but her family would always come first. She would do anything for them.

Damon and Stefan scoffed, but Elena seemed to actually believe it. Ara prayed Elena would wake her brother, so she wouldn't be forced to hurt them.

"Two days." Arabella repeated, retreating out the door with Theodore on her heels.

rys rambles

this chapter was a hot mess...whew. also short bc i didnt rly know how to expand this more without jumping to other scenes