❝𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴❞

STEFAN GRUNTED, SLUMPING AGAINST THE DOORWAY OF THE BOARDING HOUSE AND CLUTCHING HIS ARM IN PAIN.

It took only a moment for someone to come to the door, most likely hearing his painful breaths as he approached. His heart stuttered when he saw Rosemary standing in the doorway, her eyes wide with concern.

"Stefan? What happened to you?"

He shook his head, forcing a breath between clenched teeth. "Where's Damon?"

She narrows her eyes at him. "He's out. What happened?"

"Tyler," He stuttered, eyes going wide as a shot of pain went up his arm. "Tyler bit me."

Rosemary immediately reached for his arm, yanking back his shirt sleeve unforgivingly. Her eyes widened and she cursed him silently under her breath. "You're an idiot, Stefan. What were you even doing to get yourself bit by a werewolf?"

He shakes his head stubbornly. "Elena,"

Uncaring of his current deadly predicament, she hit him upside the head. He groaned, eyeing her wildly. "What the hell was that for, Rosemary?"

"Are you stupid?" She grit the words out through her irritation. "Look what's happened to you, Stefan. You got attacked by a werewolf trying to pull a back up plan out of your ass to save Elena. Why can't you accept it?"

"Because I love her," Stefan stubbornly shakes his head, his eyes sad as he looks at his once-best friend. "Ro, you can't tell me you wouldn't die to save Damon."

"I already have once, Stefan," Her voice hardened, and he winced apologetically. "I did everything I could to save my husband from the woman you brought in our home, and all three of us ended up dead. Why don't you understand, Stefan? Why can't you see that you're in the exact same place you were in 1864?"

"Elena isn't Katherine. You know that, Rosemary."

"It has nothing to do with her at this point, and everything to do with how far you've fallen. It's just like it was in 1864, and you know it," She grabs his arm again, her manicured fingernails digging into his marred skin. "At this point, this is your one chance at redemption."

"I know you know about the cure, Ro, you saved Rose."

She gives him a disappointed look that makes his heart drop. "There's no point, Stefan. You're already dead."

He lets out a shaky sigh, looking at her hopelessly. "Ro, please. I'll do anything, just help me. Please."

"You're not getting it, Stefan," She bites out, her irritation flaring. "It's not me you'll owe, it's Klaus, and I don't think he's going to be very giving if you stop this ritual from happening."

Stefan bites cheek, blinking back the tears fogging his green eyes. "Fine."

Rosemary looks at him confusedly.

He inhales sharply as the bite on his arm throbs. "I'll do anything, just get the cure from Klaus, please."

She eyes him warily, but nods. "Alright. But on one condition."

"What? What is it?"

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Rosemary narrowed her eyes as she appeared before the doppelgänger, watching the fear drown out her pupils. "Hello, Elena,"

Elena swallows harshly, tearing her eyes away from Rosemary to her aunt. "Did you do this?"

"Technically, Kol did this," She quirks her lips into a smirk. "But it was Rose's idea."

Her eyes well with tears and she flicks them to Rosemary again, before landing on the approaching Original behind her. "You lied to me,"

Elijah raises an eyebrow at her, giving Rosemary a slight nod in greeting before looking back to Elena. "How so?"

"You promised me you'd keep my family safe, even if I died in the sacrifice."

"No," He drawls out, giving her a pointed look. "I promised I'd keep your friends safe, and in that sense, I've fulfilled every bit of my word. Bonnie is safe with your brother, spare a few broken bones, and Caroline is perfectly safe with my family. Although, I don't think she's your friend anymore."

Elena shakes her head, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "Jenna had nothing to do with this, she didn't even know about this world!"

"What would your aunt have done had she known? You think she wouldn't have fought for your life, and ended up dead a month ago?" Rosemary scoffs at her. "Or would you rather have Stefan lie to her about how her poor niece ended up dead because of some mysterious animal attack?"

Elena says nothing, and Rosemary gives her a smug nod. "Elena, no matter what you tried to do, it would've ended like this no matter what. This has been a thousand years in the making, and this time, no human is going to ruin it."

Elijah rests a hand on her shoulder, making Rosemary turn to face him. "Kol and Rebekah are on their way with the werewolf. I believe your husband is on his way, as well."

"Good. I'm ready to get this over with."

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"God, make it shut up!"

Rosemary and Elijah turned around, seeing Rebekah and Kol approaching. Kol had a disgusted look on his face as he threw Jules to the ground, letting her collapse weakly near a disgruntled and transitioned Jenna.

Rebekah rolled her eyes as she came to stand by Rosemary, her hands cocked on her hips. "That wretched mutt wouldn't shut up the whole way here."

Kol huffed, adjusting his jacket as he advanced to them. "It was all, No, don't kill me, and, Please, I'll do anything!" He scoffed dubiously. "As if I care."

Elijah sighs exasperatedly. "Well, you've never been one for subtlety, Kol."

The vampire smirks smugly. "Of course not. Why would I be subtle when I can just kill people? Speaking of, it's a shame that the cute aunt is a vampire now. She would've been a lovely snack."

Rosemary huffs a laugh. "I know that Klaus threatened you not to kill her,"

The man rolls his eyes. "He's a stick in the mud. So prissy about his precious sacrifice."

"Thank you, Kol,"

The familiar voice comes from behind them, and they all turn to face Klaus as he nears Greta.

Elena glares at the hybrid, her eyes darting to her terrified aunt, and the trembling werewolf. "You don't have to kill them, Klaus, they didn't do anything!"

He smirks at Elena, walking towards the fire she's surrounded by. "Would you rather I use your friend– Tyler, is it?" At the wide-eyed look he gets in response, he chuckles knowingly. "Yes, your friend has been quite the troublemaker today. Running around all willy nilly, biting people. Although, I did find it quite useful, actually."

The teen's eyebrows furrow and she gives him a confused, and hesitantly curious look. Without looking behind him, he calls out into the darkness, "Come on out, Stefan. Your girl is getting worried."

From the tree line, Stefan emerges, with Damon and Caroline strolling beside him. Katherine and Rose emerge a few feet behind, sporting solemn glares on their faces.

Elena's eyes widen impossibly when she sees her boyfriend flanked by his brother, and the blonde that betrayed her. "Stefan? What are you doing with them?"

Klaus chuckles again. "You see, your werewolf friend bit your boyfriend. And as we all know, a werewolf bite is fatal to a vampire. What you probably don't know is my blood is the only cure to the fatal bite– funny how these things work out, isn't it?"

Elena eyes her boyfriend fearfully, before she sets a glare on Klaus. "What did you do to him? He wouldn't leave me just because of a bite."

"Ooh, cocky, are we?" He gives Stefan a wide, evil grin that he turns onto Elena a moment later. "Damon is a dear friend of mine, and I simply couldn't let his little brother die. I'm a sucker for family, what can I say?"

He holds his arms out to the side, shrugging his evildoings off. "And my lovely friend Rosemary came to me with the wonderful idea to revisit the past, and get a taste of Stefan in his purest form."

Elena's throat dries suddenly, and she matches the empty look in her boyfriend's eye with a sad one. "A ripper,"

"Exactly! See, you do know some things," Klaus cheers excitedly, a sick glee on his face as he takes in his surroundings. "While he's not fully emotionless, he's pumped full of human blood and I reckon the only thing holding him back from attacking you at the moment is this lovely fire that Greta's made."

His attention darts to the patient witch. "Hello, dear. Are we ready?"

She nods dutifully and he smiles, wide and genuine. "Well, then. Let's do this."

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author's note; i love writing villain monologues, like none of y'all can stop me from dragging this out as long as it means i get to write more evil characters

edited and published; 12.4.23.

- liz