๑۩๑

"Volunteering as tribute? Giving yourself off to Klaus? What the fuck were you talking about Ellie? And who's Klaus? Or Elijah for that matter." Damon asks as soon as we arrive at the Boarding House and I sigh sitting on the couch...

"Look Day, I have everything under control. You don't need to worry about it." I tell him and he scoffs.

"Don't need to worry about it?" He asks, "What the fuck is going to happen Ellie?"

"What's going on here?" We hear Stefanie ask and as we turn to the door we can see him, Caroline, Jeremy, Enzo, and Tyler. Well, I'm officially fucked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Damon mumbles hotly as he pours himself a bourbon – I could use one by now too...

"Where were you guys?" Caroline asks, "We figured you just needed time alone but apparently not."

Damon scoffs, "We were kidnapped."

"WHAT?!"

"Guys, it's no big deal," I say loudly.

"Being kidnapped is a big deal, gorgeous" Enzo disagrees with me.

"No, it wasn't. I knew it was going to happen, I just didn't need you to worry about it." I say.

"Were you ever gonna tell us? Or about the 'volunteering as tribute' thing?" Damon asks upset, and I just look away and he scoffs, "Right."

"What is he talking about El?" Remy asks.

"Volunteering as tribute?" Care-bear asks.

"Isn't that from Hunger Games?" Ty questions, "Are you in some kind of 'till death thing?"

"Technically, yes..." I sigh.

"And you weren't gonna tell us?" Stefanie asks worriedly.

"You were just going to die and expect us to not know about it?" Damon asks. I can feel disappointment and annoyance and concern coming off of him in waves.

"I just... I didn't want you to worry about it." I mutter.

"And what? We would just let you die?" Ty asks bewildered.

"I was trying to figure something out." I say, "Look, I want to do this. Klaus deserves it."

"What exactly do you want to do?" Enzo asks.

"Is Klaus the big bad wolf from the story?" Jeremy says putting the pieces together, "From the one the princess was about to be sacrificed but ran away?"

"You want to be sacrificed?" Stefan asks.

"Yeah..." I mumble and they're all looking at me like I just took a bite off ice cream.

"You got a lot of shit to explain," Ty says hotly as he sits down on a couch. I nod as they all sit down and wait for me to start the story – except Damon... He's just standing and looking at the fireplace with his glass in hand. When everyone is seated (Ty, Care, Enzo, Remy, and Steffy) I begin.

"A thousand years ago there was this family. Two girls, sisters. Dahlia and Esther were witches. Both of them were captured by Vikings but kept alive for their witchy mojo. Esther fell in love with a Viking. Mikael. They loved each other so they married. But Esther couldn't have children. So... she turned to her sister and asked for help. Dahlia conceded and gave Esther fertility. Sometime later Esther is pregnant. They were really happy – I guess – Anyway she gave birth to a girl who they called Freya. And Mikael loved his little girl. After Freya, came a son, Finn. And when Esther was pregnant again with another boy, and Mikael was away, Dahlia came to collect her prize. Every firstborn child of every generation."

"That's fucked up," Tyler says and I nod,

"Yeah, it is. The worst part is that Esther knew that from the beginning. She let Dahlia take Freya and when Mikael the girl died with the plague and that she burned the body to stop it from going all 'Europe in the fourteenth century"

"That's – urgh – that's horrible," Caroline says horrified.

"Yups. And not wanting to lose more children, Esther, the bitch, convinced Mikael that they should move to the Americas, the Viking colonies. So they came here, to Mystic Falls, that wasn't called that in the time. Mikael, Esther, Fin the unborn boy, and Esther's friend and mentor Ayana. The village they were in were neighbors to werewolf warriors who were part of the society. Mikael joined the werewolves and became a warrior, Ayana became a healer and taught Esther how to use her magic. During that time she gave birth to a boy named Elijah." That detail made Damon stiffen, "She eventually became a powerful witch. Some would say the most powerful of her time. But Freya's death took a toll on Mikael who grew apart from Esther. Being the whore she was she had an affair with a werewolf and got pregnant."

"Bitch." Jeremy muttered and I breathed out a laugh.

"After realizing she was pregnant she returned home *wink*wink* to her husband and after some while told him she was pregnant. The birth of their third boy renewed Mikael's hope for the family. The boy's name was Klaus or Nicklaus."

"The big bad wolf?" Jeremy asks as everyone gapes in realization.

"Yup. The big bad wolf. After his birth, three more kids were born. Kol, Henrik, and the only girl, Rebekah. Well, Mikael became harsher with the kids, afraid they would die like Freya, so he trained them to become warriors. The kids were even afraid of him. But... Klaus was a werewolf."

"He could've killed someone and triggered the curse, right?" Ty asks and I nod.

"That's why Esther gave him a pendant that weakened him, which wasn't good in Mikael's eyes. Having a weak son I mean. So he became abusive. But even so, the family was happy. Until the day Henrik died. Klaus and he were really curious about the werewolves and snuck to the caves to see them turn in the full-moon."

"No shit that wasn't going to turn well." Caroline scoffed and I smiled at her.

"Henrik was killed by them. And in desperation, for their remaining kids to stay safe, Mikael and Esther used magic to prevent them to get hurt. Mikael had Esther turn them into things faster than werewolves, stronger, their own fangs to attack, heightened senses, and unable to truly be killed."

"Vampires!" Caroline gasps.

"Shhh, I'm trying to listen to the story." Enzo scolds her.

"Anyway, Esther did as she was told. She called upon the power of the sun for life and the ancient white oak tree for immortality to make the kids stronger and immortal while also using the magically spelled blood of a doppelganger to allow them to be reborn as a powerful new species. But for every strength nature found a weakness. The sun ould burn them, vervain that grew on the white oak tree could burn and prevent mind compulsion, the white oak wood could kill them, their neighbors who once invited them into their homes could keep them out. But once they turned they had to feed on blood. And Klaus killed a girl, therefore, triggering the curse. That was how the hybrid was created. That was how Mikael found out about his wife's infidelity. He slaughtered half the village and killed Ansel, the werewolf. Then he forced his wife to suppress Klaus's werewolf side by using the blood of the doppelganger. Which she did. Mikael then realized how he made a mistake and made it his mission to kill his children. They spent their eternity running from him, the siblings."

"How do you fit into this?" Jeremy asks.

"To release Klaus' wolfy side there's a ritual. A vampire, werewolf, and doppelganger have to be sacrificed. The moonstone is what links the curse."

"So you need to die?" Enzo asks.

"Yeah. That's what it means. But I'll figure it out. You guys don't need to be involved."

"But we can kill him." Damon finally speaks up, "You said white oak wood kills him. Kills them. The originals."

"No, we can't." I shake my head.

"Why not? Do you feel pity for the guy? You like him?" He asks bitterly, "He's going to kill you, Ellie."

"I told you I would take care of it." I tell him strongly, "Besides if you kill an original their whole bloodline dies with them."

"What does that mean?" Care asks.

"It means that all vampires would die."

"But you will die, Ellie." Damon almost shouts.

"I'll take care of it." I shout back, "Fuck's sake leave it alone."

"How can I leave it alone if I know you're going to be sacrificed."

"Go figure. I already said I'm working on it. It's not like I want to die." I scoff and then storm out of the house. I don't even know where I was walking to, but I found myself in the woods. In a middle of a clearing. So I decided to just sit there on the floor, feeling nature running through my body, relaxing my nerves. I ran my hand along the soil making flowers grow underneath my touch and then I heard nature whisper about someone approaching and sighed.

"What happened the last time?" I hear a voice asked and when I turned I see Caroline standing there and then she smiles, her cute Caroline smile.

"What?"

"What happened in the show? How did Elena survive?" She asks as she sits down next to me.

"I won't do it," I tell her.

"How?"

"A life for a life." I sigh and rub my temple. "And I'm not doing that. If I have to die, I'll die. I'm not using another person as a sacrifice."

"But Ellie how are you going to live?" Caroline asks with teary eyes.

"Care you know if you cry I'll cry. Please don't." I tell her and she laughs.

"You're my sister Ellie, I can't let you die." She whispers.

"I'll find a way. But I'm not going to be Elena. I won't think everything is about me, cause it's not. Klaus deserves this. How would you feel if half of yourself was locked for over a thousand years?"

"I guess I understand. But asking for help isn't making everything about you Ellie."

"Yes, it is. I hate asking for help. I won't. I'll figure it out, but I won't sacrifice anyone just for the sake of me living. I'm already living my second time. If I die, I die." I shrug.

"Fine." She sighs, "But please try."

"I will." I nod, "What happened after I left?"

"Damon threw a fit and broke his glass then left. The others were still shocked but Jeremy was kind of pale so Ty had to make sure he wouldn't faint. Enzo just sat there in silence which was kind of awkward and Stefan went after Damon." She tells me.

"See? This is why I didn't want to tell you guys." I mutter.

"And what, Ellie?"

"I don't know. Find a way. I'll find a way. But first I have to call Klaus over." I tell her.

"You're going to call a big bad wolf hybrid to Mystic Falls?"

"Yeah. I am." I say.

"Ok. What about the rest of the ritual?"

"What about it?"

"Seriously? About the werewolf and vampire."

"What about them?"

"Who's going to be the sacrifice? Who was it the last time?"

"Oh, right. The last time, the werewolf was Jules some whore, I think I'll just choose her again. But the vampire was Jenna. And I won't let that happen. I'll just ask one of the vamps to turn a rapist or something."

"Have you thought about being a vampire?" Caroline asks me out of the blue.

"Not really. Only because of eternity. But I don't know..." I shrug, "Have you thought about it?"

"I have been. I guess... I don't know."

"You were a great vampire on the show Care. Badass, really. And if that's what you want I'm here for you." I tell her.

"Well, I don't know..." She shrugs, "But I do have to tell you something."

"What?" I ask her.

"During your kidnapped time I... I broke things off with Matt." She sighed.

"You did?" I ask and she nods, "Well, eh. Are you happy with it?"

"I am. And we're fine. We're still friends."

"Also Matt said Vicky is thinking of moving away and he says he wants to go with her," Caroline says.

"Why?"

"They say they need to restart. That this town never brought them anything good besides our Scooby gang."

"I can't blame them." I sigh.

"I'm happy for them. They need this." Caroline smiled.

"Well, then that's fucking great. Everything is fine." I smile happily.

Everything will be fine. I just need to call Santa Klaus.

๑۩๑