Chapter Text
(Once upon a time there was a girl who promised to never run.
Then the girl was turned into a monster and all her promises died with her).
.
Elena awakes with fire burning under her eyelids and the flames licking her skin; with troath pulsing with hunger and aching gums; with the feeling of Klaus' teeth on her troath and her body slipping into oblivion.
Elena awakes in transition and wants to be selfish and choose to die.
(Jeremy takes her hand and whispers that she's all he has left. Jenna died in the sacrifice. John died in a useless attempt to preserve her humanity).
Caroline holds the blood bag and Elena doesn't betray any emotion while she drinks it, satisfying her hunger only to have it surge stronger than before.
(Jeremy's neck is so close, his veins pulsing so tempting).
Caroline slips a ring on her finger and Elena realizes Bonnie's not here. Caroline's lower gaze is answer enough: her oldest friend despises her very existence, but loves her enough to help her live.
.
Damon says he's sorry and comes begging for forgiveness, saying that he hates himself (Elena knows he means nothing of what he's saying. That he prefers her a vampire than a corpse in a tomb and what he's saying is what she expects of him, what he thinks is needed to repair his mistake. No one told him that sorry means nothing without regret.
Maybe, if she has woken up human or hasn't woken up at all, she would have forgiven him).
Stefan takes her hand in his, kneeling on the floor to be at her height and tells her he will help her, that he will be there, with her and for her (Elena knows he means it, every single word, just as he did with Caroline. She also knows what he loves most about her was that she was human, that she made him forget he's a monster. She can't shoulder his regrets, too).
She stands up and tells them to leave her alone. She signs the house away to Alaric and tells him he can't invite them, that she doesn't want to see them for a very long time.
.
(She promised to stay and not run, but that was before dying, when there was a monster to fight, one who would have killed her brother and her friends because she chose herself over his selfish needs.
The monster won. She has no reason to stay).
.
"I want to go away".
Caroline and Jeremy don't try to change her mind, just sit silently and share a long glance.
"Where to?"
"To find someone who can really teach me about being a vampire, away from the Salvatores and this town"
"Who-"
"You want to find Katherine".
People always give Caroline too little credit.
"When do we leave?"
"The sooner the better".
.
She spends two hours assuring herself her brother and her friend are comfortable with finding and spending time and living with the woman who killed one of them and fed on the other.
They put her concerns to rest.
Jeremy kisses her cheek and starts packing. Caroline takes her to bed and holds her until she falls asleep.
.
Caroline says goodbye to her mother and she doesn't know what to expect, because they've never been closed and her being a vampire doesn't help the situation.
Liz hugs her and tells her she's proud, that it's the right choice, that Mystic Falls would end up killing her.
Liz says she loves her daughter and Caroline thinks it's the best day of her life.
.
They don't say anything to the brothers. Elena leaves them a letter.
She leaves one for Bonnie, too, but decides her friend deserves to be informed face to face.
Bonnie doesn't invite her inside and tries to stay away from her. Elena doesn't show the hurt. She thanks her for the ring and tells her she, Jeremy and Caroline are going away, that they don't know when (if) they will return.
Bonnie wishes them good luck.
.
"How do we find Katherine?".
Elena doesn't answer: it would be too complicated.
.
There is a string connecting doppëlgangers, for they are different beings who are parts of a whole and need to be linked in some way.
The string is red, like the magical blood flowing trought their veins.
The string is longer than history and times.
.
"We'll just do" she answers.
She turns on the radio to avoid other questions.
She follows the string.