. Evangeline Salvatore had been right about what would happen if an Original was killed. Elena hated admitting that to herself as she watched the Salvatore brothers remove the bodies of Rose and Troy from the Boardinghouse after the two had planned on attacking Stefan, only die right on spot.

Elena hated that Evangeline had told the truth because that meant that she told the truth about her being in love and the truth that she was meant to better Klaus instead of making him worst. Elena just couldn't understand why. Why, after all of the hell that the man put them through did Klaus get to have someone who loved him so intensely and unconditionally like Evangeline? Why did he deserve to be with his soul mate? Why couldn't she have something like that?

As she sat beside Damon on their way to Denver to meet Jeremy, all she could think about was his sister. Klaus continuously had the upper hand over her. From using her to become a hybrid to having a mate that meant so much to the men she loved that she couldn't possibly ever get rid of her.

Elena witnessed the destruction firsthand that came with the Salvatore brothers witnessing their sister with their worst enemy. They were so hurt and distraught that they pretended to hate her but Elena knew that they loved her more than anything.

They also deserved to know the truth. By then, they were too far from home to turn around and be rash so Elena decided to let it slip.

"Klaus is her mate"

Elena confessed so abruptly that she utterly confused Damon who lost his concentration on the road but managed to keep the car straight.

"What are you talking about?" Damon questioned, thinking that Elena had awoken from a dream and just blurted the first thing that came to mind.

The brunette doppelganger sighed, "Evangeline is Klaus's mate"

Damon went completely silent after that just staring straight at the road. Elena's heartbeat sped up with each moment of silence. He wasn't reacting and she had no idea what that meant. Was he mad? Sad? Had he already known?

Finally, as she was about to tell him to say something, Damon muttered loud enough for her to hear, "That doesn't make sense, she's not even a werewolf and mates rarely exist among them"

Bracing herself, Elena continued, "That's the thing, they're rare and literally meant to be together. Esther told me that she made them mates because they're both original hybrids of a specie, bastard children, and so on. She was going to kill Evangeline too...I'm sorry I know I should have told you but—"

Elena couldn't continue because the car jerked to a stop on the side of the road and Damon clenched the steering wheel with a grip that threatened to break it. He didn't know what to think or what to feel about the news. He felt sick, disgusted with the thought of his sister being attached to slime like a Mikaelson for the rest of eternity and disgusted with himself for never allowing his little sister to explain. He looked her in the eyes as she cried and publicly disowned her then watched her run away.

And to make it worst Klaus went after her. Klaus was there for her. Klaus had her.

"She's in love with him Damon..." Elena murmured, looking at him softly as his gripped "And she's—"Once again Elena was cut off but more aggressively by Damon.

"Stop! Just shut the hell up I don't want to hear this!" If Damon was as emotional as he once was, he probably would have had tears in his eyes he was so frustrated.

"No! Damon you need to hear this" The urgency in Elena's voice made him turn to her, "I-If we are able to kill him...she's going to die with him"

She's going to die with him.

It repeated in Damon's head over and over as every sense of resolve he felt dissolved into pure agony. Why. Why the hell was he faced with something so frustratingly difficult? Why did Klaus still ultimately have the god damn upper hand?! Why the hell did he get to have his sister of all people?

Damon wanted to scream he was so angry. Everything about their drive was pointless now. They were going to see Jeremy so that he could contact Rose about the bloodlines but why now? Could he really be the one responsible for the death of his little sister because of some stupid rivalry he had? Even Stefan was going to flip his shit when he found out.

Shit, it was bad enough dealing with Alaric in the state he was in, now this?!

He kept asking himself why. Why did Klaus get to win? What made him so deserving of Evangeline? Why did he get a mate?

"There's something else" Elena butted in, interrupting Damon's angry/distraught thoughts.

The raven haired man sighed and buried his face in his hands, "What now Elena? What else have you failed to tell us?"

Elena sighed, dreading it but telling him about the ritual that needed to happen and what her role was in it.

By the end of her spiel, Damon felt like exploding.

"I wish Nana was here" I told Anastasia with a sigh as we walked through the secluded clearing in the woods she deemed worthy of surviving the possible damage I could do to it.

Klaus was off with his business involving the last White Oak stake that apparently Alaric's dark side knew of so Anastasia whisked me away from the mansion in hopes of being able to possibly work on my power. I didn't know exactly what that meant because I had no idea what I was capable of whatsoever but I liked the thought of it.

Ana looked at me with sympathy and grabbed my hand, "Do you want to visit her?"

I felt a childish excitement wash over me at the thought of being able to see my grandmother again, "Would she and I be able to speak?"

Ana nodded, "Yes but remember you'll be somewhat ghost like"

Nodding, I grabbed her hands immediately and prepared for the spiritual transport from the United States to Spain. I felt the familiar whirl in my core as Ana chanted incantations to herself and I felt the air shifting and the industrial nature smell of the US change to the pure smell of nature in the unus village. Before I even was fully there I had already felt like I was home. The only warmth and security that could compete with being back in the village would be the nights in the arms of my mate.

"My lovely Lina" The thick accent of my grandmother completely made me feel serene as I opened my eyes and set sight on Emiliana Cristo.

She wore the brown curly hair that I inherited and the brown skin that was a few shades darker as well as a smile. I was just as happy to see her as she seemed to see me.

"Nana I missed you" I said, feeling the tears almost spill from my eyes, "I wish I was actually there with you"

My grandmother just smiled at me and shook her head, "Don't look at the negative baby, at least you have a strong witch friend like Anastasia to allow you to have visits like this"

I smiled at that, "You're right but Nana how have you been? How is everyone?"

She smiled once again, her crow's feet becoming more prominent, "Everything is fine here dear, the young ones are growing smoothly and transitioning to their power and there are plenty of stories to tell during the bonfires. What I want to hear about is you. You have found your mate my love, how does it feel?"

"Like I am complete" I gushed to my elder, "At first we had rough times but I'm in love Nana, I really am, I could not see myself without him"

My Nana smiled with pride at my words, "Good, good, and what about that witch?"

The glare did not look like it belonged on the angelic face of my grandmother and it made me uneasy.

I sighed, "For now, she is gone. I learned that she is the one responsible for my mate, her and the other older witches"

Nana shook her head, "Those witches, always wanting to believe they are gods and messing with things in nature"

"Well, I kind of owe them, because without them, I would have never met Niklaus" I said, feeling like a blushing school girl as I spoke about my mate causing my grandmother to smile again.

"Oh, you are deep in love, Lina" Nana chuckled teasingly, "Many things must have changed since we last spoke"

"They have" I said, feeling a bit more of the seriousness, "It's still a bit chaotic. My brother's won't speak to me because of who my mate is, Niklaus doesn't exactly have a spotless past"

"Oh I am aware" Nana said, "Niklaus Mikaelson and his family are known everywhere dear but I am not worried. I know you and the impact that your love has on people. Lina you could turn the Devil to an angel if you set your mind to it, you have always been like that"

I smiled at my grandmother feeling a great urge to hug her and just feel her presence. She looked so happy with her life and secure. She had her hair out freely and was wearing a traditional summer dress with the unus ignis insignia all over it and vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows. Her brown skin was aged but still smooth, she just looked utterly gorgeous. I had to see her after everything was over.

Being in my grandmother's presence always made me feel serene. If I had a mate that was purely unus I would live with them in the village in a heartbeat. It was such a beautiful, free willed, empowering environment, I absolutely loved it. If he would be willing to, I would definitely drag Nik to Spain to visit the village so he could see inside of the life I could have had.

"I will visit you soon, Nana" I finally said, knowing I had to get back to Anastasia soon.

She smiled, "Good, you are always welcome my love, and I expect to meet that mate of yours too"

I laughed at the stern look on her face and nodded, "Of course"

"My Angel, I love you"

"I love you too Nana" I said, "Always and forever"

And then I was back in the clearing in the woods with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. My grandmother and my brothers were my only family left, they meant the world to me. Sure, I had Nik now and Elijah and Anastasia and Rebekah but I shared blood with Stefan, Damon, and my Nana, it was different, it always would be.

"Still up for seeing what your made of?" Ana asked with a taunting look on her face.

"Of course" I smirked back, "Bring it"

"The first thing I'm going to do is see how far you transform when you feel like you are in danger"

I nodded and braced myself for whatever she threw at me. Literally, she threw a small tree at me, leading for me to act on reflex and catch it before throwing it back with more force. The witch easily deflected the tree and went for a different angle using wind to throw me towards a larger tree. I quickly tensed my body and flipped around so that I was headed towards the tree foot first and when I collided, I kicked off, flipped and landed back onto my feet. The entire time I didn't transition, my body didn't even heat up.

Anastasia paused studying me before I felt the excruciating pain in my skull as she gave me an aneurysm. I fell to my knees and felt my skin beginning to heat up as I growled and my eyes began to sting. My nails elongated to claws and canines stretched to saber like fangs as I fell onto my hands and knees in pain, growling and crying out until finally the pain was gone.

"Partial transformation" Ana noted to herself as she took my hand and helped me back on to my feet, "I seem to have better results when I attack you mentally"

All I could do was nod seeing as I was still panting. Before I could ask what she was going to do next, I felt her long nails pressed against my temples as she chanted and I gasped as I was surrounded by nothing but white light.

At first it seemed like I was in the middle of some type of middle earth. I was surrounded by nothing but whiteness. Just me, existing typically nowhere. Then, I blinked, and I was standing before my mate in the backyard of the mansion but he was in his wolf form. His fur was the same shade of blonde as his hair and his eyes were the stormy icy blue orbs that I loved and he bared his teeth at me. He wasn't threatening me though, it seemed as though he was smiling.

Then, out of nowhere, the scene flipped and he was in his human form in our bed, climbing on top of me. He wore nothing but his tattoo and his boxer briefs and I was in his t-shirt, the one I always had worn to bed. My skin was heating up by the look in his eyes as they turned from cool blue to infused with gold and yellow like they had only once before. I heard it again. This time I felt it too as I put my hand on his chest but his flesh began burning immediately and instead of withstanding it like he usually did, he growled and bared his fangs before going straight in for my neck.

And of course, the scene changed once more but that time I was looking at my mate from nearly two centuries ago. He stood in front of me dressed like a nobleman with long hair and a smile. I looked down and saw I was dressed in a corset beneath a midnight blue dress with 18th century detailing. Just he began to speak, he paused. His jaw slacked and his eyes bulged as he began to make breathless noises before he fell to his knees. Behind him, I saw my father with a menacing smirk as he held the heart of my mate. I screamed fire and went to lunge for him but then the scene changed.

I was brought back to the scene with Klaus's wolf his golden blonde fur shimmered before but it went pale as a shot echoed through the forestry and he dropped dead with scarlet covering his fur. Before I could react, I was back in the bedroom and Klaus had pierced my neck with his fangs but that time there was no pleasure, only pain. I was screaming and crying but I never pushed him away because he drew away screaming himself. His lips looked like they had been melted off from my blood and his own gushed from his mouth and eyes before he fell before me, dead.

Finally, I was back into the white, nonexistent space completely shocked with tears rushing down my eyes. In reality, I knew my mate was not dead but in that moment, I was completely convinced he was. I wanted revenge, I wanted to revive him. Anger and pain rushed through my veins and I felt the familiar smoke rising from my gut, ready to release the flames. Also, for the first time, my hands began to burn and my brain felt heavy. I opened my mouth and released a roar laced with flames and the next thing I did, I had never done before.

Unconsciously, I took the flames I had unleashed from my jaws and caught them with my hands, welding them into something bigger and more deadly. They went from yellow-orange to red to blue as I spun them in hands and wound my arms before shooting them fifty feet away tinging the white with a black streak. Then, with one thought, the entire room was inflamed.

As if I had control of my body again, my jaw dropped as I watched the image before me and realized that I had created it. But how?

"Evan! Evangeline! Come back to me" My best friend's voice burst into my ears causing me to cringe and slam my eyes shut at the sound pounding against my brain.

Suddenly, I opened my eyes and I was back in the clearing in the woods with Ana. She looked at me with a satisfied expression and I realized that I was completely transformed.

My skin was covered in deep red, rough looking skin, my eyes were burning which meant they were the color of fire, my hair whipped past my face in the wind and it was then infused with scarlet, my fangs were poking against my lower lip, my talons had extended out of my fingertips, and I heard and felt my wings flapping behind me.

"I knew those images would do the job" She said laughing a little, "You nearly killed me by the way" she added, gesturing over to the rows of burnt trees behind her.

If I were in my human form, I would've blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry" I said, only to pause and notice the change in my voice. It sounded otherworldly but natural. It was the voice of my inner dragon, I knew it immediately. "Did I only breathe it? Nothing else?"

Ana raised an eyebrow and nodded, "Yes, why?"

"I just—it doesn't matter right now. Am I going to be puking blood again when I transform back?"

The witch bit her lip again and nodded wryly, "Yes, because, well...you're still dying"

Great I thought, Thanks for the reminder.

(*~*)

Anastasia and I went back to her loft apartment to discuss the upcoming ritual further. It was less than a month and I was going insane thinking about it. I probably freaked out more about the ritual than my impending doom without it. Ana was very determined to have the ritual complete within the month so I had no doubt that I would not be slowly dying for much longer. Plus, the fact that I was "dying" wasn't some big deal at that point. The worst that happened was that I occasionally threw up blood and because of that I needed to drink blood more than I usually would. Nik, of course, loved that fact and tried to get me to feed with him as much as possible though I rarely did because feeding from a human—even one that was okay with it—was still a bit traumatizing to me.

"So we need a human, vampire, and unus" I said to Ana taking a sip of my glass of O positive.

The witch nodded. "Yes, the only difficult part may be the unus but I have someone in mind"

"Who?" I questioned. "You'll see"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, well do you think that Rebekah would be the vampire we need?"

"I don't think she'll deny it if you asked, I think she'd enjoy seeing her brother die for a bit"

Chuckling, I nodded in agreement. "That is probably true sadly. But what about the human?"

"Compulsion, easy" I nodded in realization, "Yeah, duh, of course. I almost forgot we were capable of that. I'll just make sure it's no one Elena and her gang cares about"

"Yeah, I'd hate to have to kill them for trying to interfere with my ritual" Ana was dead serious. That amused me and worried me simultaneously but I still chuckled at her protectiveness towards the ceremony.

"We should still have a backup of each, just in case" Anastasia nodded in agreement.

"In terms of the deaths of the both of you, the prophecy says you must kill each other" The nonchalant voice of my best friend made me wonder if I should've been as worried as I felt in that moment.

"Kill each other how?" I questioned, feeling sick, could I really kill my mate?

Ana shrugged. "There wasn't a specific way, though I don't suggest anything too gruesome because you will be coming back in the same bodies"

I nodded, feeling my heartbeat skyrocketing, "Okay well...I'll talk to Nik about how that will be later"

"Do you have any questions?" Ana asked. "Only one: do you know what it'll be like when we die?"

My best friend shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. This is the first time that something like this has ever occurred as far as I know of"

Sighing, I nodded in defeat and stood to my feet. "Alright, well I'm going to head back to the mansion and hope that Rebekah is back"

Ana nodded and we said our goodbyes before I went out to my car.