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saiilorstars · 18 days ago

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Chapter 3: At Whatever Cost

TVD || Enzo x OFC

Story Masterlist | Rosalie’s Masterlist

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag@arrthurpendragon @transformerfan97 @stareyedplanet @foxesandmagic@kmc1989 @caplanbuckybarnes

‿︵‿︵‿୨🥀 ୧‿︵‿︵🥀 ୧‿︵‿‿︵‿୨🥀 ୧‿︵‿︵‿

Rosalie was like a child walking through a candy store in the Salvatore boarding house. The place was huge — unnecessarily huge if you asked her. Where she came from, a hut was about as good as a home would get. The boarding house seemed endless.

"Don't touch anything," Damon startled her just as her finger grazed a vintage-looking vase.

She quickly fixated a glare on him. "Someone should put a bell on you."

"Lots have tried," Damon said and gestured for her to follow him. "The cavalry's waiting for you."

"The cavalry?" Rosalie repeated, confused, especially when she saw Jeremy Gilbert sitting on the couch in the living room. "I know you. You're the one who can talk to ghosts…and you're also the ghost that's not a ghost anymore. Congratulations, by the way."

"Great, friends already," Damon said, clapping a hand on Rosalie's shoulder a tad stronger than he intended. She glared at him after regaining her balance.

"Uh, who the hell is this?" Jeremy stood up from the couch, eyes fixated on Rosalie suspiciously.

"This is my new friend, Rosalie," Damon introduced.

"I would go easy on that label," Rosalie muttered. She wasn't all that sure about him but he was about the only one who seemed to align with her interests at the moment since Stefan had no memories.

"And she is here to help us with our little problem — problems," Damon finished with a wide smile.

"Problems?" Both Rosalie and Jeremy gave Damon the same puzzled stare.

"So, as we know, in a psychotic lapse of judgment, Bonnie brought you" — Damon pointed at Jeremy — "back to life and died in the process. May she rest in peace."

"She's actually right over there," Jeremy nodded over at an empty chair across from them.

"Wait, Bonnie Bennett?" Rosalie blinked with understanding and began to look around. "She's here?"

"You know her?" Jeremy asked, although he sounded doubtful already.

"I don't know her personally but I know of her," Rosalie chuckled. "She's got a lot of family on the Other Side and she's Tessa's descendant."

Unseen (except from Jeremy of course), Bonnie Bennett got up from her comfy spot and walked over to Rosalie for a closer look. "I can't actually argue that point…"

"And she's pretty much known for the things she's done," Rosalie finished, "It's not every day that a witch switches one dead life for a live one."

"Funny you should mention that," Damon pointed at her, drawing everyone's attention over to him again. "Because I just happen to know a supernatural being who just so happens to want to die, and in the spirit of nature needing balance and life for a life and all that stuff, I just think it would be a huge waste of a perfectly good death."

Rosalie stared at him for a long minute. Next to her, Bonnie was doing the same thing.

"What are you talking about?" Jeremy broke the silence.

"Something Elena doesn't need to know about until it works."

"Oh my God, you want to use Silas," Rosalie frowned. "You want to work with him?"

"Hey, dial back the incredulity. I'm working with you, aren't I?" Damon retorted.

"Yeah, but I'm not evil like Silas!"

"From the beginning, Silas' whole bad-guy plan was to kill himself, pass on to wherever he was gonna pass on to, and reunite with his dead girlfriend, Amara. I want to use his death to bring Bonnie back to life."

"You're forgetting the part where if he dies as a witch, he's stuck on the Other Side forever," Rosalie said, crossing her arms. "Which would serve him right for everything he did."

"He already tried to bring down the veil to the Other Side," reminded Jeremy. "And he failed."

"Maybe he has a plan B. Maybe he wants to do more than just drop the veil and let all the ghosts out," Bonnie spoke to him.

Damon sensed that Bonnie had spoken to Jeremy because the hunter was glancing in the open direction. "She knows we can't hear her, right?"

"She thinks Silas wants to destroy the Other Side completely," Jeremy said.

"Powerful spells are bound by something even more powerful — the moon, a comet, a doppelgänger," Bonnie explained to him. "The Other Side was made 2,000 years ago, and it still exists. That means Qetsiyah and this girl must have bound it to something that could exist just as long."

"He can't do that," Rosalie remarked much too confidently for everyone's taste. "He can't destroy the Other Side. He wouldn't."

"How do you know?" Jeremy then asked the woman.

Rosalie gave him a certain look, her lips slowly spreading into a smile. "Because I know."

Jeremy then looked at Damon with a 'Now what?' expression on his face.

"Rose," Damon came around the witch's side and put an arm around her shoulders, "Rosie-kins — can I call you Rosie?"

"No," Rosalie said flatly, not that it made much of a difference as Damon went on regardless.

"Since you know what and where this mystical object might be, now would be a good time to tell the group and show your honest intentions."

"First of all," Rosalie pushed his arm off her, "it's called an Anchor. Second of all, while I know what it was tied to, I don't actually know where it is anymore. I've sort of been dead for 2000 years, in case you forgot. But in the spirit of me feeling sympathy for Bonnie Bennett, I will tell you all — especially Bonnie — that if you are banking on Silas destroying that Anchor, you're gonna be very disappointed when he doesn't do it."

"Silas is all powerful — at least that's the rumor," Damon remarked. "You're so sure he can't break that Anchor?"

"It's not that he can't…it's that he won't," Rosalie corrected, smiling quite smugly. "We made sure of that. It was Qetsiyah's idea, of course, but in solidarity I followed. Plus, it was plain genius."

"Okay, I'm gonna file that under 'deal with later' and go back to my original question," Damon resolved. "Let's say Silas does destroy the Other Side, cures himself, becomes a witch. Is it supernaturally possible that he can do a spell that swaps her life for his life once he-pfft-kills himself?"

"Yeah, it's possible," Rosalie shrugged. She didn't think they could actually do it but she would keep that to herself.

"This is the same Silas who murdered my father," Bonnie said to Jeremy. "He's ruthless, and whatever spell he could do, there'll be some consequences. There always is. So no. My answer is, definitely not."

Damon watched Jeremy seemingly pay attention to what Bonnie was no doubt saying. "What'd she say? Tell me?"

"…she's in!" Jeremy said after a moment, ignoring the outraged Bonnie beside him.

~0~

When Damom returned home from his short encounter with Silas, he found Rosalie sifting through the books on the bookshelves.

"You know, most people who get left behind in a huge house with an even bigger stock of alcohol, usually go for that instead of old dusty books," he made the comment and walked straight for the stock of bourbon.

"Never been much for that stuff," Rosalie said distractedly. She had a book in her arms and was skimming through a page. "I do want to try one of those iced coffee things I see everyone pass by with. They look pretty good."

"I take it there were no Starbucks in the ancient times?" Damon raised his bourbon glass to her in a mock salute then drank.

"No," Rosalie said, snapping the book shut. "So, how'd it go with Silas? Did he buy it?"

"Absolutely," nodded Damon. "He also told me that Tessa is going to be at the Whitmore party. Something you know about?"

Rosalie smiled in the face of his suspicions. "Maybe. She doesn't exactly know that I'm here and for all our sakes, let's keep it that way. She's not exactly the forgiving type, as you know."

"Yeah, I think we all got that." Damon refilled his empty glass and started making his way towards Rosalie. "And just so we're all on the same page, Silas wants to get into her head tonight. Find the location of that damn anchor so for the last time, do you know where it is?"

"I don't," Rosalie said without missing a beat. It still wasn't enough for Damon.

He grabbed her by the chin and raised her head up. "Tell me where the anchor is," he ordered her through compulsion.

Rosalie scowled at him and shoved his hand off her. "Nice try. Doesn't work on me."

Damon seemed disappointed with the news but not surprised. She wasn't the first he came across that couldn't be compelled. He just wondered where the ability came from. "What kind of witch are you again?"

Rosalie's lips spread into a smile. "Wouldn't you like to know…"

"I would, actually, considering it could put a big dent into my plans."

Rosakie scoffed. "So even after I swore to you that I was on your side, you were still planning on compelling me to do everything you want?"

Damon shrugged. "Don't take it personally. You're not the first enemy who swears the same thing and then betrays me at the first chance."

"Mm, sounds like you took that personally then," Rosalie said, crossing her arms. "Rest assured that the only way I would betray you is if you tried anything to put me down. I told you that I don't want to go back there. The Other Side is not all that it's cracked up to be. All I want is to stay alive until I die of natural causes that will hopefully be at a very old age. Simple as that."

"Alright, then here's your first test," Damom said, "Silas wants to get into Tessa's head at this college party and find out where the Anchor is."

"He can't do that," frowned Rosalie. "She and I fried—"

"My brother's brain — not cool by the way," Damon pointed at her like he was reprimanding a child. "Anyways, Apparently he can sever the connection to Stefan if we snap his neck and he dies for a bit. That true?"

"Unfortunately yes," Rosalie muttered. "If Stefan is out cold — dead — then Silas would temporarily get his powers back. But I hardly see Stefan agreeing to that plan."

"Aw, you're so naive," Damon smiled innocently, "I can see why you were murdered."

Rosalie full on scowled at him and demanded what the hell she was meant to do about this plan.

"Simple, just play nice with Tessa," Damon shrugged.

"Play nice?" Rosalie said incredulously. "I'm not five — I'm a lot older than you if we're getting technical."

"Not really since you've been dead more than you've been alive. Now tonight, you're going to pretend to be Tessa's friend and act like nothing is wrong. Got it?"

"I am friends with her," Rosalie said flatly. "We just don't agree on what our endings should be."

"You mean you want to not die and she does?" Damon did very little to hide his thoughts on the matter.

"Our relationship is just more complicated," Rosalie said. "I wouldn't expect you to understand it."

"Nor do I want to," Damon was happy to retort. "All I want is to get what we need from her and find the stupid mystical anchor. So you better not ruin it. Silas has a plan and that includes you."

"I'm sure it does," said Rosalie grimly.

~0~

On the night of the supposed college party, Rosalie had already returned to Tessa at the cabin. She was surprised to find that not only had Tessa purchased a Cleopatra costume for herself but a costume for Rosalie as well.

"I'm supposed to be Queen Mary?" Rosalie did not hide her disgust for the costume.

"Bloody Mary if we're being exact," Tessa said, grinning from ear to ear. " What's the issue? I thought this is what you wanted?"

"I want to live in this world, not pay homage to a queen ridiculed by history."

"It's a party, Rose," Tessa took the costume from Rosalie's arms and laid it down on the latter's bed. "A college party and that in itself is life. So get ready. We also have a job to do."

"Yeah, what is this job anyways?" Rosalie stopped her by the doorway of her room.

"One of my old talismans is being held there and we need to retrieve it."

"Got it. So we're not actually partying. This is just one of those errands that we have to run in order to continue this ludicrous plan of yours."

"Ours," Tessa reminded the woman. "You want as much revenge as I do."

"Yes, and to live, in case you forgot."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "How can I forget when that's all you say these days. Get dressed." She closed the door on her way out.

Rosalie turned to her queen-ly dress and gazed at it with disdain. Suddenly, she wasn't all that against Damon Salvatore's stupid plan.

~0~

Rosalie and Tessa arrived at the party about halfway through the night. It was crowded with college students, none the wiser about who either one of them was.

"You need to go look for the pendant," Tessa instructed as soon as they were inside.

"Right now?" Rosalie blinked. "We literally just got here."

"And we have a job to do," Tessa said, though she seemed to be gazing at something ahead of them.

"Then let's both go do it!"

"Go," Tessa reiterated and walked off before Rosalie could say another word.

"Ouch…" Damon Salvatore appeared less than a minute afterwards, "That's your bestie?" He came to stand beside her, watching Tessa approach none other than Stefan Salvatore at the bar. "Gotta say that's cold even for me."

Rosalie barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Lucky for me, I don't exactly care about the weight of your words." She looked at him up and down in what she thought was a horrible costume. "What the hell are you supposed to be anyways?"

"Isn't it obvious? Henry?"

"Ah, what a coincidence. I'm Queen Mary, the cast aside daughter. Once again, lucky for me, you're not my father."

"And this is getting boring. Shall we?" Damon made a gesture towards the bar.

"Go ahead. I have to go find something for Tessa, otherwise I won't hear the end of it."

"You're supposed to help," frowned Damon. "Silas—"

"Wants me to help find the Anchor and that's what I'm doing. Tessa needs the pendant for that exact reason, so…" Rosalie gave a light pat on Damon's shoulder, "I'll see you in a bit."

~0~

Rosalie wouldn't lie. It was absolutely irritating that while she was stuck with the boring duty of searching unknown rooms for a stupid pendant, her best friend got to be downstairs, drinking and dancing…even if it was with the lowlife of Silas.

She had already gone through several rooms when she bumped into Tessa herself. "What are you doing here?" she asked, "Weren't you partying or something?"

"Don't sound so bitter, Rose, it's unbecoming," Tessa said and walked right past her into the room. "You were taking too long."

"There's like a gazillion rooms in this place," Rosalie said with a frown. "Not to mention various people coming in and out of them. Are you sure it's even here?"

"Yes, I can feel it," Tessa said certainly. "It's a magical talisman that enhances my power so you best believe I have a connection to it."

"Then you should have been the one looking for it, not me."

"You know, I'm getting tired of your little moods lately," Tessa remarked distractedly. She'd gone up to a display case across the room. "It's like you don't want to be here. Makes me wonder if I made a wrong choice by pulling you out of the Other Side with me."

"I am grateful to be alive again, make no mistake about that," sighed Rosalie. "I just wish you would give me the choice to choose how I am to die."

"But nobody rarely gets to pick how they die," Tessa reminded her. "That's the hard truth about life."

"Well I'm not picky. I just don't want to be murdered by your crazy ex or die by your hands. Simple as that."

Tessa threw her an unamused glance over her shoulder. Rosalie smiled widely and, of course, innocently, then began to help with the search for the pendant. It was Tessa who finally found it lying on a display closest to the window overlooking the campus.

Rosalie felt a new presence and looked back just as Stefan walked in. She knew better.

"Stefan," Tessa turned around, lips curving upwards, "Come to see the show?

'Stefan' briefly exchanged glances with Rosalie and half smiled. "What are you doing?" He said oh-so innocently.

"I'm using this pendant to find something I'm looking for, and I found it."

"Good," Silas said, his smile full this time. He took one step towards the witches only to feel a huge pain in his head.

Rosalie started as he fell to his feet crying out in pain. Stefan must have woken up already.

"Stefan...Stefan, are you okay?" Tessa actually forgot about the pendant and left it in Rosalie's hands when she hurried to Stefan's side.

Rosalie was genuinely surprised by such an urgency. She really can't let go.

"Tessa, that's Silas!" The real Stefan strode into the room, wasting no time in reaching Silas to punch him. He grabbed his daylight ring from Silas and slid it over his finger. "He's working with my brother. Everything he said to you was a lie." And with that, Stefan left the room.

Rosalie was baffled by him but, upon reviewing the facts including that Stefan held none of his memories, things made more sense. She gazed down at Silas still wallowing in pain and smirked. A change in plans wasn't at all undesirable at the moment.

"Well, well, now, what are we going to do with this oh-so special prize?" She was practically beaming at the opportunities, while Tessa was raging.

"He knows where the anchor is," Tessa said, her voice shaking with ire.

"Well then maybe we should make sure he doesn't get to find it and I am very happy to assist with that…" Rosalie gripped the pendant in her hand and smirked down at Silas.

Tessa recognized the spell as one of her own and so she easily joined. The two changed together and a whirl of wind burst through the windows, shattering the glass.

"You can't kill me!" Silas exclaimed, still grinning despite the situation.

"We don't have to kill you yet!" Tessa said in-between chants.

"You love me. You know you love me!"

"I did love you…" Tessa nodded, "And then you broke my heart…"

"And then you killed me…" Rosalie scowled. "So now we're gonna stop your rotten heart."

Tessa walked forward and plunged her hand through Silas' chest. "Stopping your heart from working will make it so that your blood can't flow and your veins dry up and you rot from the inside out so the world can see you exactly as you are — a cold, gray, hideous monster."

"We'll send our regards to dear ole Amara," Rosalie said wickedly.

Silas' veins became visible until he was all gray like a staked vampire.

"That felt good," Rosalie said, letting the chain of Tessa's pendant slip through her fingers so that it dangled under her hand. "Let's just find a way to kill him and get it over with."

"No," Tessa said sternly. She Rose to her feet, wiping her bloody hand on the side of her dress. "We have a plan and we're gonna follow it." She snatched her pendant back from Rosalie and headed out the room. "Now let's go, we have work to do."

~ 0 ~

Stefan woke up to a familiar face who very quickly warned him with a finger on her mouth to stay quiet. Rosalie sat on the coffee table and watched him sit up on the couch.

"Where are…?" Stefan's question died as Rosalie quietly shushed him and pointed at one of the closed doors behind them. He heard the distinct noise of someone showering. He rubbed his face then noticed the bottles of alcohol on the table Rosalie was sitting on. "Did we…?"

Rosalie shook her head. "You and Tessa. I don't like the drinks. You, uh, bonded over your mutual misery. I'm sorry about your brother."

At the reminder of Damon and his atrocious brotherly self, Stefan glowered.

"But I must say, he did have good intentions," Rosalie said, and Stefan soon understood that she had been in the loop about Damon's doings. Before he could ask her about it, she spoke again. "Listen, we only have a few minutes before Tessa comes out. You should know that Silas took the cure so he's mortal now and we can kill him."

"Great," Stefan said, suddenly feeling the last of the grogginess disappear from his head. He was ready to start his day well. "Let's go."

"Problem," Rosalie stopped him from getting up. "You're brother and friends aren't gonna let us do that until Silas raises Bonnie Bennett from the dead."

"And how do you know this?"

Rosalie glanced at Tessa's shut door before answering. "Because I was there when Damon made the deal with Silas. He dies and uses his power to bring back Bonnie. Now to do that, they have to find the Anchor first and destroy it."

"Another problem is, I imagine, that Tessa doesn't know you were there for that deal?" Stefan saw the answer clear as day on Rosalie's nervous face.

"You don't understand, I don't want to die. It's not fair!" she broke into rambles, "All Tessa wants is to kill Silas and reunite with him on the Other Side. But what about me? I'm just collateral damage — again. Silas killed me as vengeance for what he thinks we did to Amara. I owe everything to Tessa but I don't want to die for either of them again, Stefan. I just want a chance to live. I want a chance to live my full life and when I'm all old and senile, I will cross back to the Other Side as a fulfilled woman. Please, I don't want my life taken from me again."

"Like collateral damage…" Stefan said with a sour smile. He was no stranger to that. He looked at Rosalie with sympathy.

"I know you have no reason to trust me and I don't blame you but I also made a deal with your brother about you. I can try to give you your memories back."

"Yeah?"

"I can do it. Tonight, even. You just have to play along for today. Please."

"Why?" Stefan's brows furrowed.

"Because the others are going to find the anchor today and my part is already in play," Rosalie said, eyes flickering to Tessa's door. The water had stopped running. "So as far as Tessa knows, you and I never had this conversation. In fact, we never even crossed a word."

Stefan didn't really know who to trust but at the moment, Rosalie seemed the least harmful. He gave her a nod and watched her visibly relax.

"Breakfast?" She said before getting up. "I'm still practicing with the cooking stuff but I'm not burning things as much anymore!" She hurried around the couch towards the kitchen.

Stefan watched her curiously as she started raiding the cabinets for ingredients. Five minutes later, Tessa came into the living room, freshly showered.

"Good morning sleepy head," she greeted him with a wide smile.

"Morning…" Stefan said, subtly glancing at Rosalie who had quieted down in the kitchen, her movements more slow and cautious like she was waiting to see if he was going to keep his word.

"I trust that Rosalie told you the spectacular news?" Tessa stopped by the kitchen table for a bowl of berries.

"Yeah," nodded Stefan.

A promising smile spread across Tessa's face as she popped a berry into her mouth. "Get up gorgeous, your doppelgänger dies today."

~0~

After breakfast, the three sat down to discuss the matters of the day.

"Silas is looking for the anchor. It's the object we used to bind the spell when we created the Other Side," Tessa explained. "Destroy it - the spell is broken. No more supernatural limbo and Silas can die and find peace. I would rather his lying, cheating ass not have that."

Stefan shrugged. "Great. Fine. I approve. Where is it?"

"New Jersey."

Rosalie sent a narrow-eyed look at her friend. "You found out and you didn't tell me?"

"I had to make sure Silas couldn't get it out of your head," Tessa said plainly. Stefan noted the irritated glint in Rosalie's dark eyes.

"Okay, so now what?" He asked to keep the conversation going.

"You know that old, ancient story I told you about the Travelers? Oh, wait. You don't," Tessa chuckled as if she'd made a joke. "We fried your brain and took your memories. Sorry. Well, the Travelers...you know how Silas wants to destroy the other side, so he can be at peace with that slut Amara that he calls his one true love? The Travelers don't want that."

"Why not?"

"Not important. Scratch that. Very important. I'm just not going to answer it."

Rosalie rolled her eyes in secret. Of course they both knew why the Travelers were hell bent on keeping the Other Side together, at least for the moment.

"Um, you know what? I...think I still need to be drunk to understand this story…" Stefan reached for the closest tequila bottle and poured himself a shot.

"The Travelers have been in possession of the anchor for two thousand years," Tessa continued. "They constantly move it so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands and they're not going to let Silas get near it. At least not before I kill him."

"Yeah? Well, what if they fail?"

"He won't destroy it," Rosalie said confidently. "He won't be able to."

"Why not?"

Tessa was about to open her mouth when Rosalie cut her off. "We basically made it so that he would have to choose one thing out of his wishlist."

"Well, the one good thing about having amnesia is that I don't remember how I got in the middle of all this," Stefan said before taking another shot.

Tessa laughed. "Rest easy, sweet pea. Don't you worry about the details. Silas is going to die today, and he will spend eternity on the Other Side as far away from Amara, and peace, as possible." She started making her way towards the door. "We have it all covered. You don't scheme as long as I have without considering every possibility."

And yet when she opened the door and tried stepping out, she crashed face first into an invisible force field. At the third try, she realized what happened.

"What's wrong?" Rosalie frowned as she rose up to her feet.

Tessa growled and turned away from the door. "Silas put a spell on this cabin. We're stuck here until sundown."

"How do you know that?" Stefan asked, getting up to go see for himself. Like Tessa, he crashed into the barrier.

"Because I taught him the damn spell," Tessa gritted her teeth together. "Rosalie, how could you not have noticed?"

"What?" Rosalie startled. "How did I — how is this my fault!?"

"You were on look-out!"

"And you were busy doing body shots so who's the real irresponsible witch in this cabin!?"

"Uuh, I don't think it really matters," Stefan intervened, making both witches turn to him. "I mean" — he cleared his throat — "we're trapped. Doesn't matter what happened, we're all trapped in here."

Tessa still huffed at Rosalie. Meanwhile, Rosalie looked away, disgruntled.

~0~

It wasn't until late in the afternoon that Rosalie emerged from her room again. And she only did it because she heard a new voice, although not of a stranger's. She had seen Elena Gilbert at the party but hadn't spoken to her. It was truly a strange thing seeing Amara in front of her but knowing it wasn't Amara. It didn't help that they also had the same exact voice.

"What are you doing here?" Rosalie looked at Elena with confusion.

"Who are you?" Elena gave Rosalie the same look. Rosalie was actually thankful that Damon had not talked about her with Elena because it meant Tessa would be none the wiser about their secret plans.

"I'm Rosalie, friend of, uh, Tessa over there…" Rosalie gave a nod towards Tessa. "Who invited you here?"

Elena seemed unsure who to address next considering she was in the middle of the cabin and Tessa had already worked her last nerve. "I'm really sorry, Stefan. I wouldn't have let Damon do what he did to you."

"Sure you would've," Stefan said, his confidence in his words making Elena pause. "You have this annoying tendency to do anything he tells you to do."

"I'm no shrink, but I think it's called co-dependence," Tessa remarked.

"I'm no shrink, but I think this is none of our business," Rosalie muttered to her. She noticed Tessa holding Stefan's phone in her hands and instantly knew why the hell Elena Gilbert got here in the first place.

"Stefan, look," Elena walked over to Stefan, "I get that you're upset with us for pretty much everything, but do you really think that sleeping with Tessa is gonna solve anything?"

Stefan made a face, as did Rosalie. "Who said I was sleeping with Tessa?"

One by one, they all ended up looking at Tessa who began to laugh. "I'm so bad with messages. Oh, look!" She waved Stefan's phone in her hands. "Elena called. She's wondering why you're here. I may have embellished for effect."

Rosalie rubbed her forehead; sometimes Tessa acted like the younger of the two when she wasn't by a longshot.

Elena decided she had enough for the day. "Okay. I just came by to make sure that she hadn't done some, like, fatal attraction spell on you," she said to Stefan. "Now that I know you're good, I'm gonna go."

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Rosalie sighed as Elena made to stride out of the cabin.

Elena crashed into the barrier and stumbled back a step, rubbing her nose.

"Yeah…you really shouldn't have come inside…" Stefan said, leaving Elena to realize she was now also trapped with them.

"Who-who put that up there?" Elena pressed her palms on the barrier, putting all her strength into breaking out.

"Who do you think?" Tessa crossed the cabin sourly, tossing Stefan's phone to the couch. "Silas."

Elena turned around, her expression in disbelief. "Well — can't either of you take it down?" She looked between Tessa and Rosalie.

"Silas thought of that," Rosalie said glumly. "We're stuck until sundown. Do you want some coffee?"

~ 0 ~

Things couldn't be more awkward in the cabin. Rosalie had busied herself in the kitchen to try and keep an eye on everybody. One wrong move and everyone would suffer. She couldn't wait for things to just be over.

"What are you making?" Tessa came over and eyed the different ingredients on the counter.

"Something to ease everyone's nerves," Rosalie said, then side-glanced Tessa. "Since you fucking lured one of the doppelgangers in here."

"Oof," Tessa chuckled, "I see you've been learning the new lingo of this world."

"Get out of here, Qetsiyah," Rosalie basically snapped and turned to face the woman. Her brows were furrowed, lips pursed.

Tessa chuckling didn't help either. "You're mad? You're really mad about the doppelganger? We hate them, Rosalie."

"I hate Amara," Rosalie corrected. She subtly glanced at Elena who had kept herself in a corner of the cabin looking out the window. "I don't know who the hell this girl is and neither do you. There was no need to bring her in here."

"Oh, Rose," Tessa patted the woman on her arm, "That's where you're wrong. Watch and learn."

"Watch and learn?" Rosalie repeated, confused as she watched Tessa make her way to the living room. "What are you—?"

Tessa grabbed Stefan's phone from the couch and dialed somebody. At this, Elena turned around. Tessa put the call on speaker-phone and soon, they heard Damon Salvatore on the other end.

"Well. Isn't this a pleasant surprise!"

"Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet," Tessa said with a chuckle. "Since I'm occupied at the moment, I need you to go ahead and kill Silas for me."

"Gladly, but he's such a control freak, he wants to off himself."

"You mean, after he destroys the Other Side? Yeah, that's not gonna happen, plus I want him dead before he has the pleasure of finding the anchor."

"Yeah. I'm not following."

"Kill him. Now," Tessa ordered.

Elena panicked and called to Damon.

"Did I mention I lured your girlfriend here to me? I used the oldest trick in the book — jealousy of Stefan! Thought you should know."

Rosalie closed her eyes and shook her head.

Tessa suddenly thrust a hand towards Elena and caused her an aneurysm. Elena shrieked in pain and fell to the ground.

"Tessa!" Stefan rushed over to Elena.

"Tessa, stop this!" Rosalie exclaimed. "You kill her, Damon's not gonna do anything for you!"

"I have a vision, Rosalie!" Tessa exclaimed, though the big grin on her face implied Elena's misery wasn't all in the name of this so-called vision.

"Stop it!" Damon barked from the other end. "I can't kill him yet. He has to do something for me first."

"Mm, is that something more important than Elena?" taunted Tessa. "Because Silas put a spell on this house and bound it to the sun, which means we're trapped here until sundown, which means you have until then to kill Silas or I kill Elena. With a face like Amara's, it might be cathartic. Bye now." She hung up and tossed the phone to the couch again.

Elena's pain stopped but when she looked up, Tessa was gone.

"Here," Stefan helped her stand up.

"She's-she's crazy!" Elena exclaimed. She reached the couch and sank down to settle herself after the pain. "How the hell did she even get here in the first place! She shouldn't be here!" She met Rosalie's gaze and grew even angrier. "None of you should be here!"

Rosalie pursed her lips together. "Well, you're a vampire so technically speaking you shouldn't be here either. The dead don't seem to stay dead like they used to, huh?"

Elena glared at the girl, unable to say another word. Stefan asked her if she was alright and although she was bitter, she said she was okay. Stefan then left her side and walked over to Rosalie, lowering his voice when he spoke to her.

"You said 'play along'…" He watched her nod slowly, "When exactly does this end?"

Rosalie was very guarded and so although she was gazing at Tessa's shut bedroom door, she still hesitated to answer. Stefan followed her gaze then looked at her face.

"Are you always afraid of her?" he then asked.

Her dark eyes widened and flickered to him. "Afraid?"

He gave her a knowing look. "My memories are gone but I can still read faces. You're afraid of her. Why?"

Rosalie shook her head lightly. "I'm not afraid of her."

"At the very least, you're wary. Exactly how deep does your relationship with her go?"

"Very deep," Rosalie whispered, "She taught me everything I know."

"So that means she gets to treat you like that?"

"It wasn't always like that," Rosalie sighed to herself. "She was a good teacher, a good friend; she was a bright witch — she still is, but she's been blinded by rage and heartbreak."

"Tragic, but it's still not an excuse to treat you like this."

Rosalie didn't want to keep talking about it, especially when they had an audience. "You should be careful of how close you stand to me."

"Why?" Stefan raised an eyebrow at her. "Going to hurt me like Tessa did to Elena?"

"No," Rosalie said, her gaze flickering ahead of them, "Because Elena is looking for any excuse to grab me by the throat. Isn't that right?"

Elena turned her head to see them both now looking at her. She rolled her eyes, clearly still angry.

"I didn't attack you," Rosalie pointed out. "And I'm not the one threatening Damon to kill Silas off either."

"But you still want him dead," Elena said.

"Absolutely," Rosalie said immediately, "he killed me. But I know what's at stake so cool it with me, alright? I have nothing against Bonnie Bennett."

"How the hell are you two even here?" Elena asked, or rather demanded from her. "I mean — you were dead for a millenia! Two!"

"We were," Rosalie nodded, "And then your friend Bonnie got really distracted bringing your brother back to life. Tessa literally walked through the door and dragged me with her." She glanced at Stefan and thought of his question. "It's not fear," she reiterated, "My family — we fled from our own coven and we met the Travelers. They took us in and helped us stay hidden. Out of every other child in our little mini-coven, Qetsiyah chose me to mentor and trust me when I say I made big mistakes growing up. But she still chose me. She taught me everything she knew, made me believe in my power. It's not fear. It's gratitude. I owe her everything."

Stefan nodded, acknowledging her words. It made perfect sense. He still, however, thought that Tessa definitely took advantage of that gratitude to treat Rosalie the way she did.

Elena had also stopped when she heard Rosalie. It was easier to be angry at two complete strangers, but Rosalie didn't sound like Tessa…

~ 0 ~

Tessa made the announcement that Damon had not yet called back with the news that Silas was dead, which meant Elena had only about an hour left before the sun went down.

"Rosalie, how about some dinner?" she asked the girl. "You've been so busy in the kitchen, there must be something done by now?" Before anyone said anything, Tessa heard Elena's scoff from the couch. "Still angry?"

"Well today, Silas was going to bring my friend Bonnie back to life from the Other Side after he got the anchor, but you told my boyfriend, who has never put anyone's life before mine, including his own, to kill Silas before he could do that. So yeah, I'm a little bit angry."

Tessa smirked. "Oh, well…we can't win them all, right?"

Elena rolled her eyes heavily.

"Why don't you just call Damon, Tessa?" Rosalie suggested instead, even going to retrieve Stefan's phone to help out. "See if he did it already?" She walked over to Tessa and handed her the phone. "C'mon, we're both anxious, right?"

Tessa took the phone from Rosalie and made the call. "Why isn't he picking up for—"

"What?" came Damon's snappish voice.

"Is he dead yet?"

"No! He's not dead yet. I was just ambushed by some of your inbred cousins. Any idea why Travelers, who hate Silas, would want to stop me from killing him?"

"They probably want his blood," Tessa said dismissively.

"For what?"

"Silas drank the cure from Katherine. Now his blood is the cure."

"But they're not immortal, so who do they want it for?"

"Think about it, Damon. The Travelers aren't fans of immortality. I had to bind the Other Side to something, something that would last forever, something that Silas couldn't destroy."

"What? His favorite childhood sled?"

Tessa began to smirk so wide that Stefan and Elena noticed it. "Something a little closer to his heart. Two thousand years old, immortal, indestructible. You're a quick boy, Damon. Figure it out."

Rosalie subtly met Stefan's eye, her expression becoming just as prideful as Tessa's. She had told him the same thing and he had yet to figure out the answer.

"He won't do it," she promised Stefan. "Not a chance in the world."

"What is the anchor, Rosalie?" Stefan began to ask and behind them, Elena started getting up from the couch.

"The one thing that Silas would never be able to bring himself to destroy. Sometimes death really is too easy, you know?"

"Absolutely," Tessa said as she hung up the phone. "Now then, what about that dinner?" She handed Rosalie the cellphone and strode towards the kitchen.

Rosalie checked the time on the phone then gave it to Stefan. "Still 50 more minutes to go…"

"And counting," Tessa said distractedly as she sifted through the things that Rosalie had left on the counter.

Rosalie thrust a hand towards Tessa and knocked her headfirst into the cabinets. She fell back, unconscious.

"What did you do!?" Elena freaked out.

Rosalie ignored her and turned towards the door, using her power to fling it open. She muttered a few words then lowered her hand. "You're free to go."

"Wait, what?" Elena sped up to the door and reached a hand forwards. She was stunned that it went through and so she stepped out. "How did you do that?"

"Silas didn't put the barrier up, I did." Rosalie felt Stefan's hand come down on her shoulder. She then revealed Tessa's talisman sitting around her wrist like a bracelet. It had been her job to keep Tessa away long enough for Damon to get Silas to swap places with Bonnie.

Stefan lowered his head to look her directly in her eyes. "Thank you," he said earnestly. She had unknowingly earned his trust.

Rosalie nodded at him. "Go. Hurry."

"Stefan, let's go!" Elena called from outside.

Stefan made to leave but was halfway out when he realized something. He stopped at the doorway and looked back at Rosalie. "Come with us."

"What?" Rosalie blinked a few times, dumbfounded.

Behind Stefan, Elena was incredulous. "What!? Stefan, what are you doing?" She rushed back to pull him with her, but Stefan wasn't budging.

"We both know Tessa's not going to take this lightly, Rosalie," he insisted. "Silas is still paying for that mistake."

"I can put the blame on you," Rosalie said with a halfhearted smile. "Unlike Silas, you actually care. I'm sure I can get away with this somehow."

"Yeah," Stefan smiled lightly, "but something tells me you won't be able to uphold the lie for very long. Come with us, Rosalie. You can trust me."

Rosalie swallowed hard and Stefan could hear her nervous heartbeat. She glanced over her shoulder to where Tessa had fallen unconscious. When she woke up, Tessa would be furious.

"Come on," Stefan held his hand out to her. "I can be your first real friend in this world. No gratitude needed."

Rosalie's lips twitched, wanting to smile again. She walked to Stefan and reached for his hand. The moment she touched him, he swept her out of the cabin.

~ 0 ~

Returning to the boarding house wasn't exactly what Rosalie wanted, but her options of where to stay were very limited, almost nonexistent.

"Nu-uh, what is she doing here?" Damon Salvatore was the first to make noise when Rosalie followed Stefan and Elena inside.

"Easy," warned Stefan. "She's on our side."

Jeremy scoffed. "Right."

"Forgive our doubt," Damon said, bringing a hand to his chest, "But our day has been quite horrible. Fun fact, did you know that the mystical anchor turned out to be none other than Amara herself? Silas' long lost love?" His eyes were set directly on Rosalie who didn't seem very phased.

"You want me to be sorry?" She said flatly. "She got what she deserved."

"A little heads up would've been nice," Damon said with a wide forced smile, his arms open on either side of him.

"And have Silas find out about it by reading your mind?" Rosalie scoffed. "Only thing I'm sorry about is missing his reaction. It must have been priceless!"

"She's on our side?" Jeremy asked his sister, his voice severely doubtful.

Elena shrugged and made a gesture towards Stefan, washing her hands free of the problem. "He brought her."

"She saved us," Stefan reminded her.

"By putting a barrier imprisoning you in a cabin," argued Elena. "She wouldn't have had to save you if she hadn't put up the barrier in the first place."

Rosalie moved past Stefan to stand up for herself and give Elena a little reality check. "The only reason I put up that barrier was because Silas and Damon," — she pointed a finger at the vampire in question "told me I had to keep Tessa away. Everything would've been fine if you hadn't shown up!"

"What?" Elena's sights set on Damon, eyes wide and mighty confused. "You told her to do that!?" It certainly changed a few things!

"Yes, he did!" Rosalie was happy to clarify.

Damon gave a casual shrug to confirm her words. "Best if we kept it on a need to know basis."

"So I did exactly what your side wanted," Rosalie flashed a sarcastic smile at Elena. "Happy?"

"Not until Bonnie is here, actually," Elena retorted. "Any clue how to do that?"

"Not without exchanging her life for his, no," Rosalie said, glancing at Damon. "Where is this murderer anyways? On a date?"

"Silas is M.I.A. and out and about, which is pretty bad, truthfully," he admitted. "And Amara's been cured, which is even worse because now she's easy to kill, so the fate of the Other Side, where Bonnie currently resides, rests on a living, breathing human being that we now need to protect."

"We need to protect?" Elena repeated, confused.

Rosalie, however, rolled her eyes. "Of course. Let me know when we can kill her off already. Got any coffee?"

Stefan nodded and motioned her to follow him. "She's staying, by the way," he made the announcement just before disappearing in the hallway.

~0~

The steaming hot coffee in front of Rosalie had slowly turned into a cold cup of coffee. She had mindlessly stirred her spoon in the cup, lost in thoughts that were too much even for her 2000 lifespan.

"Did I not make that decaf or something?"

Rosalie's eyes shifted up to Stefan, who was sitting opposite of her. She mustered a small smile for his effort of cheering her up. "It's fine, thank you."

"But you haven't even tasted it yet. I swear my memories don't interfere with my cooking."

Rosalie chuckled. "I'm sure they didn't. Unfortunately, my life cannot be fixed with a good cup of coffee and that's unfortunate because your world's coffee has quickly turned into my favorite thing of this time period. Iced coffees, warm coffees, flavored coffees — iced lattes? I love them all."

It was Stefan's turn to chuckle. Of all the things to like, she settled for something so common. "We could go get some right now, if you want. There are places that stay open late."

"Starbucks?" Rosalie said immediately, then flushed. "I haven't been there yet." She lowered her head and stared at her cup. "Tessa says there's no time. It's silly, you know. In the grand scheme of things…it's silly."

"That's because she hasn't had the taste of a good cup of coffee — and life."

Rosalie hummed. "You have no idea." She took her spoon out of her cup and placed it on the table. "But I told you, she wasn't like this before...all this Silas stuff. I mean, I know that's what people must say all the time about people who make bad decisions but it's true for this situation. Before Silas, Qetsiyah was just another witch. She was happy, helpful, kind…"

"So she never treated you like her maid?" Stefan asked bluntly. Rosalie ducked her head and reached for her coffee cup. Stefan got the answer. "Maybe it wasn't all Silas, then."

"Wow, you're defending the guy now?" Rosalie said with genuine curiosity. She would think Stefan would hate Silas almost as much as she and Qetsiyah.

"Oh, never," Stefan shook his head, "but maybe he wasn't completely responsible for how Tessa turned out."

"She was a friend—"

"Whom you owed gratitude for by serving her?"

Rosalie sighed. "No, I — I'm just used to the role, not so much from Tessa but by the rest of her people."

"The Travelers?"

She nodded and took refuge in her cold cup of coffee.

"Help me out here," Stefan placed his arms on the table and leaned forward, "What exactly do you owe Tessa and the Travelers for? You said your family was hiding from someone? And that you made big mistakes? I'm trying to think of a mistake that's so big it would require so much gratitude from you."

Rosalie appreciated his gentleness even when he was being serious. "When I was young, my family and a few other families broke away from our coven because me and, uh, my friends, became a target for them. We ran and met the Travelers. They were kind and took us in, despite our situation. They helped keep us hidden and in return, we got to live a peaceful life with other witches."

"Yeah, but, how peaceful was it really if you traded away your liberty for it?"

"A few extra spells and work was nothing in exchange for a better life," Rosalie countered. "At least at that moment, it was. Tessa was by far the most powerful Traveler and to have her pick me to train was…an incredible honor. As far as my mistakes went, I'm not quite ready to talk about them just yet…"

"Well, I know we just met and all but it looks like you may have been taken advantage of," Stefan said, giving her a sharp look in hopes that she would understand the fact. "I mean, you said you helped create the immortality elixir and the Other Side?"

Rosalie nodded at that. "I did. I'm a low level psychic so it was this ability that helped solidify the Other Side."

"But you don't really get credit for that work like Qetsiyah did, right?"

A small smile came to Rosalie then, and quickly soured. "It's better to be forgotten than villainized like Qetsiyah. When people learn about the story, they feel sorry for Silas because the vindictive witch screwed him over and his true love. If they knew what Silas had really done, they would understand that Qetsiyah had every right to be angry and heartbroken. But they don't see that, nobody does…so I would much rather be forgotten than to have her story be mine."

"Alright, that's fair," Stefan conceded, "But it's a new time period. You shouldn't be serving anyone, much less under the disguise of friendship because let me tell you, that's not being friends. What about your family? Your lineage must have continued, didn't it?"

Rosalie bobbed her head. "Yeah, it did…but I have no idea where they could be today. And even then, what am I supposed to do? Show up on their front door step and announce I'm their 2000 year old great aunt or something?"

Stefan smiled wryly. "Okay, so not that easy but not impossible either. I could help you with that if you'd like. No gratitude needed, of course " He raised his hands in front of him to show that he was completely innocent.

Rosalie laughed. "Of course. I'll consider it, thank you."

"No problem," Stefan nodded. He started getting up from the table. "Pick any room you want, okay? It's yours."

"Are you sure it's okay to stay?" Rosalie raised a brow at him. "Elena's not very fond of me…"

"She'll get over it once she realizes you're not trying to kill us. Besides, if she and my brother want to gain some points with me, they're gonna let my new friend stay here too."

Rosalie smiled at him. "Thank you, Stefan. Really. It's sad but you really are my first real friend after 2000 years. Wow, it's sadder when I hear myself say it. It's not my fault, you know…I did have friends besides Tessa but they're all dead now."

Stefan only laughed slightly to not fully offend her. Luckily, she thought it was funny too.

The two headed up the stairs together and parted to their bedrooms, Rosalie taking the very first empty one she saw. It was there that she realized she had absolutely nothing to change into.

Actually, she had nothing.

She had no toothbrush, no pajamas, no slippers, not even one sad scrunchie to tie her hair. Talk about real sadness.

She stepped in front of the mirror over the dresser and gazed at herself. I guess I'll have to sleep like this, she thought to herself. She doubted Elena Gilbert would want to let her borrow anything.

"So sad…" A voice made her flinch and spin away from the mirror.

"Tessa…" Rosalie gulped at the woman who freely walked into her room. "I know you're mad…" She saw the angry red blood from Tessa's forehead and genuinely felt guilt.

"You put the barrier up…" Tessa accused angrily, "You betrayed me. You're working with Silas! Silas! How could you!?"

"It's not what you think, I hate that guy! He killed me! But unlike him and you, I don't want to die! I don't know how many times I have to say that before you get it! I don't want to go back to the Other Side!" Rosalie shouted. "It's an endless lifetime of misery there!"

"That is where we belong!" Tessa exclaimed.

"That is where you decided we all belonged!" Rosalie snapped. "I want to live a full life and when it's over, when Time decides that my life is done, I will move onto the Other Side like every supernatural creature does. Hell, I might even find peace then and move on! Because at the end of a lifetime, that is what I deserve!"

"Mm, really?" Tessa raised an eyebrow. She walked towards Rosalie, leaving the girl to backtrack until her back hit the dresser. "You and I created the Other Side, don't forget."

"To help you!" Rosalie exclaimed. "Because I thought you deserved some retribution for everything that happened! But I never intended on going there so early! Why is it such a crime to want to live? I am owed that and more, and you know it! I didn't work with Silas, I worked with Damon Salvatore and his friends because we all wanted the same things!"

"Don't you think we've caused enough harm as it is to go and break another rule?"

"…perhaps," Rosalie said, swallowing hard, "But if everyone else gets to break them, why can't I? I'm not here to be a menace to the world. I just want to live."

"And die," said Tessa sharply, "So let me help you get there." Without hesitation, she plunged something into Rosalie's stomach.

Rosalie's breath caught in her throat, her hands shaking as she clapped them over the foreign object stuck in her abdomen. Looking down, she found a silver kitchen knife embedded in her. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up to Tessa in disbelief.

The older witch stared on stoically as Rosalie inevitably fell to the ground, choking on her own blood. "I'm very sorry, Rose, but I hate betrayal."

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saiilorstars · 12 days ago

Text

Chapter 4: It All Ends

TVD || Enzo x OFC Story Masterlist | Rosalie’s Masterlist Taglist: @ocappreciationtag@arrthurpendragon @transformerfan97 @stareyedplanet @foxesandmagic@kmc1989 @caplanbuckybarnes

‿︵‿︵‿୨🥀 ୧‿︵‿︵🥀 ୧‿︵‿‿︵‿୨🥀 ୧‿︵‿︵‿

It was Elena who smelled the fresh blood in the boarding house. Following the scent into the room, she found Rosalie on the ground in a pool of her own blood.

"Oh my god!" Elena zipped beside Rosalie. She saw the knife in Rosalie's stomach and yanked it out. She bit into her wrist and offered Rosalie blood. "Please drink! Rosalie, c'mon!"

Rosalie's eyes were closed but she managed to latch onto Elena's wrist. Elena cradled her head while she took enough blood to heal. Soon enough, Rosalie started coughing as her strength returned to her.

"Rosalie, what happened!?" Elena helped the woman sit up. Gazing around the bedroom, there was no sign of a fight.

Rosalie was in a fit of panic now that her mind was back together and she remembered what happened. "Q-Qetsiyah!" Her hands flung to her stomach and lifted her shirt to see the wound all healed up now.

"What, she was here?" Elena looked around again as if the witch herself was still lurking.

"Stefan!" Rosalie realized that he had to be next on Tessa's hit list. "She-she — go to Stefan, please! She was so angry and — Stefan!" She scrambled to get up but her feet were still wobbly. Elena caught her as she fell back again. "Go to him! NOW!"

Elena didn't understand a single thing but she followed Rosalie's direction and sped away.

~0~

The morning was a rough one between Rosalie's near death experience and Stefan getting his memories back. After her visit to Rosalie, Tessa ambushed Stefan with all of his memories at one time and basically fried his brain all over again. The experience was pretty traumatic for both of them.

Rosalie sat on the couch, nursing a warm cup of coffee, now dressed in Elena's clothing. Across her were Stefan and Damon, the latter testing Stefan to see if he really remembered everything.

"I can't believe that woman just walked in here and did all this," Elena said, shaking her head. How they didn't hear her was beyond her and downright offensive.

"I can," Rosalie said, although the fact killed her. As angry as Tessa had ever been, Rosalie never thought she would react like this. "I betrayed her so she got even. Suppose I got off easy in comparison to Amara."

"I thought you were besties," remarked Damon, eyeing her with an amusement that Rosalie just hated.

"Clearly, I may have messed up in her eyes so I expect my stay here to be fully accepted now that I also might have to watch my back from her."

"Well we have to be quick then because Silas is coming back and I'm sure it's to kill all of us now," Damon said, rising from the couch. "He no longer cares about Amara and we still need her alive if we want to keep Bonnie from going away forever."

"Why wouldn't he care about Amara?" Rosalie scoffed. "We're only in this mess because of his cheating ass."

"Seems like he reconsidered his priorities now that Amara went crazy pants."

"Crazy pants?"

"She's crazy. Loco. Talks to herself and is constantly trying to off herself. Big package if you ask me."

"Well, 2000 years living her kind of life, I'd expect nothing less," Rosalie said with another scoff, although this time there was a smug smile plastered on her face.

Stefan eyed said smugness and wondered what she wasn't telling them. "Rosalie, something you want to share?"

"Hm?" She took a calm sip of her coffee.

Stefan's gaze became sharp until he willed her to come clean.

"C'mon, she's the anchor!" she exclaimed, nearly laughing. "What do you think that entails?" Nobody could answer her. She definitely laughed louder that time. "Amara is the being that holds the Other Side together. That being said, every supernatural being that has ever died has gone through her. And when I say 'gone through her', I mean through her. She's a mystical being who sees the dead and the living. Yeah, she's definitely gone a little crazy pants."

"What? She can see the dead?" Elena made a face. "How does…how does that work? I thought she just held the Other Side together."

"Yeah, but she's got a foot in our world and another in the Other Side."

"She's been talking to herself…" Damon said slowly, his mind working to fit the pieces together.

"Yeah, she's not talking to herself…" Rosalie clarified, "She's talking to the ghosts from the Other Side."

"So not entirely crazy pants…"

"Technically…"

"This is crazy," declared Elena, shaking her head.

Rosalie acknowledged her with a pointed finger. "Not wrong."

"The problem now is that Amara took the cure from Silas," Damon revealed and didn't necessarily wait for Stefan's and Rosalie's proper reactions, "Which makes her nuts and mortal."

"If you plan on getting Bonnie back, I sure hope you have that bitch tied up. Amara, not Bonnie." Rosalie sipped from her cup. "And of course keep her away from Silas."

"We need to buy some more time, protect Amara," Elena decided quickly. "Maybe we should move her somewhere else."

"Silas is a witch. He's a living, breathing, GPS tracking device. He'll track her wherever we take her," Damon said, "Unless somebody — say a newly allied witch friend of ours would do one of those lovely cloaking spells?"

Rosalie smirked as all eyes landed on hers. "So now my position is cemented?" She drank from her cup and set it on her lap. "There's still the fact that Amara is trying to kill herself anyways. You move her, you might just give her the keys to end her annoying-ass life once and for all."

"We can't let Silas anywhere near her until he brings Bonnie back…" Elena said helplessly, which led Stefan towards an angry path.

"Weren't you listening to anything? He's not gonna bring her back." Rosalie suspected the anger Stefan spoke with wasn't all for Silas. Memories back meant so were his previous feelings towards Elena and Damon and if she remembered correctly, they weren't good at all.

"So, what, I should just give up?" Elena said incredulously. "Come on, Stefan. You got your memory back. You know me probably better than anyone else. Do you really think that I'm gonna give up?"

"You know what? You're right. I do know you." Stefan pushed himself up from the couch. "You put your hope in all the wrong places and sometimes in the wrong people." He sent a brief glance at Damon to make his point. "Silas needs to die and put us all out of our misery."

"So long as he's alive, I'm holding out hope that he can still help us!"

"Well, as someone who just spent the last 3 months at the bottom of a quarry because of the guy, I wouldn't hold your breath, pun intended. Silas needs to die, and I need to be the one to kill him, end of story!" Stefan walked out of the living room without another word.

"You should know there's no way that Silas is going to help you," Rosalie said a moment later. Elena sighed, frustrated, and turned towards the witch. "Silas is as vindictive as Tessa and because of what happened to Amara, he's not lifting a damn finger for anyone anymore. You want to save Bonnie, you're gonna have to explore a different avenue."

And as if on cue, Jeremy Gilbert strode into the room with purpose. He and Bonnie had been down with Amara and were both surprised that Amara could see and hear Bonnie.

"Amara could see Bonnie, and Bonnie could touch her. They made physical contact. It's like Amara's got a foot on each side or something!"

"Yeah, kind of just said that 2 minutes ago," Rosalie muttered.

"If Silas isn't gonna help us, what if Bonnie could be the same thing?" asked Jeremy. "What if she existed on both sides at once? What if she became the anchor?"

Elena's eyes widened. "You're right. Jeremy, you're right! So, all we would need is someone who could do that spell."

Once again, all eyes landed on Rosalie who was finishing up her cup of coffee. Her brows furrowed once she understood what was happening. "What — I just got stabbed!"

"And you're healed," Damon reminded her. "Thanks to Elena, by the way."

"Could you do it?" Elena hurried to Rosalie's side and sat down with her on the couch. "Please?"

"Technically speaking…yeah…" Rosalie shrugged slowly, "But that would take an immense power source. I'm talking immensely huge. And another thing…"

"What is it?" Elena was eager to get the ingredient list, but Rosalie did not share the sentiment.

"I didn't create the spell on my own, remember…?"

Damon let out a heavy sigh. "Oh no…" Because he knew exactly where Rosalie was going. "I guess I'll go talk to Tessa…"

~0~

Rosalie wandered into Stefan's bedroom when things got too much for her liking. Everyone downstairs was buzzing with anticipation about the spell that would save Bonnie Bennett's life. Rosalie wanted to avoid seeing Tessa for as long as possible which meant she was secluding herself upstairs.

Stefan was staring out his window rather broodingly. After storming out earlier, no one had heard a peep from him.

"What's the saying — penny for your thoughts?" She managed to get a little smile out of him and beamed proudly.

"How are things downstairs?" Stefan turned away from the windows.

"Oh, you know, busy. Your brother has gone off to persuade Tessa to work with me and do the spell and Elena called your other friend — Caroline? — to bring in the other doppelganger, Katherine."

Stefan nodded. "And you?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. How are you?" Stefan wouldn't say it but she looked out of place in Elena's clothing. She had yet to get her own clothes back.

"I'm fine," Rosalie said casually. Stefan raised a brow at her, his gaze sharpening as the seconds went by. She frowned. "Is this how you get people to tell you things? By staring at them?"

"Sometimes."

"Does it work?"

"Usually."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "What do you want me to say? The one person — the only person — that I have known my whole life tried killing me in cold blood last night. Not much to say after that, honestly."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, Rosalie," Stefan apologized.

Rosalie smiled, confused. "You didn't plot my death, Stefan. That was Tessa…as much as it pains me to think about it."

"I brought you here to be safe and away from her and I didn't help you when you needed it. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Rosalie shrugged. "I know Tessa better than anyone else — hell, even more than Silas. The worst part is that I know she was hurting too. In her eyes, the last person in her corner betrayed her in the end too. And that's not what I wanted."

Stefan wouldn't say it out loud but it definitely sounded like Rosalie had already forgiven Tessa for what she did. She was a better person than he was because right now, he couldn't forgive his own brother for not coming to find him in the quarry sooner.

"Rosalie, you were the ones trying to reach me telepathically when I was down in the quarry, right?"

Rosalie nodded.

"And Tessa got angry about that too?"

Rosalie nodded again, albeit slower. "I wasn't supposed to do it but…"

"Why did you do it?" Stefan practically blurted. He'd been thinking about ever since he got his memories back. It didn't make any sense. "I mean, I got the face of the man who killed you, right? Why would you want to help me?"

"Because you are not like Silas?" Rosalie said, confused that he wouldn't see that right away.

"But I killed people. A lot. I'm not Silas but I'm not very different either."

"Silas gave you a punishment worse than death. The Other Side is forever for most creatures but there's never any pain either. You didn't have any consolation down there. I told Tessa that we had to get you out but she was sure that your friends would find you…"

Stefan looked away bitterly. He had once thought that too.

"But when nothing happened and Tessa wouldn't listen to me, I took matters into my own hands. If I couldn't get you out, then I would at least give you some peace. I reached out to you, helped you create whatever comfort world you wanted. Over and over…"

"Over and over," Stefan nodded. "For months…"

"I'm sorry," Rosalie said guiltily, lowering her head. "I should have done more, especially when what I was doing stopped working."

"You know," Stefan sighed lightly, "I think out of everyone here, you are probably the least culpable person. And it wasn't your fault the fantasies stopped working. It was the pain. There were these moments in that safe, a stillness in time when I was dead right before I was about to come back to life, I would think about things in the past that made me happy, things that gave me hope. All these things kept me sane. They pushed me to hang on when all I wanted to do was give up and turn off my humanity, but eventually, the pain took those moments away from me, too. It was hard hanging onto hope. It wasn't your fault."

"I'm so sorry," Rosalie said sympathetically. "Silas has caused so much pain and it irks me that he can get away with it."

"He won't," Stefan said confidently. "Because I'm gonna kill him."

"But what if he kills you first? Witches aren't exactly easy to take down, trust me."

"Every time I close my eyes, I can see Silas stabbing me, I can feel myself drowning, and I need to make it stop. If I don't kill him, I'm gonna lose my mind, or I'm gonna turn off my humanity...Or both."

Rosalie understood. It was just something he had to do for his sake.

~0~

Rosalie opened the door of the basement where Amara was being held. This was the first time in 2000 years that they would stand face to face (or one of them would be standing, anyways). Amara was tied to her chair for her own safety but seeing Rosalie in the flesh was more than enough to stir some fear in her.

"Hello, Amara. Long time no see…" Rosalie closed the door behind her and gazed at the woman. She was nothing but a shell of the girl she used to be. "What? Giving me the silent treatment now? You don't think you should say something?"

"Why?" Amara's gaze was stuck on the ground, but even from where Rosalie stood she could see the girl shaking. "You want to hear how I have suffered? I have. Are you happy?"

"I was dead, I was miserable too," Rosalie said flatly. "Your lover did that to me. He stuck a knife in me and killed me. You think I've been oh-so merry ever since?"

Amara raised her head enough to see Rosalie's dark glare. "I am sorry," she said with a shaky voice. "I fell in love. I understand my mistake now, okay? I learned the lesson."

"Ha," Rosalie laughed dryly. "You think the mistake you made was falling in love? I would have thought that 2000 years would've been enough time to understand where you messed up." She walked up to Amara and squatted down in front of the woman. "Help me out here and answer one thing for me, the one thing that I never understood. You knew that Tessa - Qetsiyah - would catch you. She would know what really happened. Why didn't you two run? Why did you stay?"

Amara looked at Rosalie like she was waiting for the witch to do something else, something harmful or at the very least scare her someway. Rosalie was perfectly patient waiting for her answer. Once Amara understood all she had to do was answer, she readied her words. "We thought…we thought Time would…help her heal…"

Rosalie let out a harsh scoff. "With her elixir? The one you stole from her? I didn't think you and Silas would be that kind of stupid. The worst part is that Tessa believed Silas loved her. She loved him for real and you two betrayed her. On some level, I understand her thirst for vengeance. I don't know what I would do if someone broke my heart the way you two broke hers."

"Why thank you," Tessa's voice made both women flinch in their spots. Rosalie quickly straightened on her feet and turned around as the door opened and Tessa herself walked in. Elena was a few inches behind her. "I should apologize for last night…" Tessa said, tilting her head enough to see Amara cowering behind Rosalie.

Rosalie's face hardened. "I mean it would be a great start, don't you think?"

Tessa pursed her lips together and looked at Rosalie.

"I'll be upstairs getting the spell ready. After this fiasco, I'm excited to meet a witch who won't try to kill me..." Rosalie walked around Tessa and then Elena, preferring not to look back on her way out.

~ 0 ~

Rosalie was gentle with Bonnie's grimoire when Elena handed it to her. She couldn't see her but Bonnie was in the room.

"You sure this can work?" Elena watched as Rosalie worked at the circular table.

"Truthfully, we're all going to find out," Rosalie replied. "But I think it can. Tessa and I made this spell so theoretically, together, we should be able to modify it. But I do have to make one thing very clear here…" She looked around the room, hoping that Bonnie would listen and trust her. "Being the anchor is no joke, Bonnie. I have to be completely honest with you because this is going to become your life now. Being the anchor means that you will feel every death from every supernatural being that crosses to the Other Side. I don't know how painful it could be but…I'm sure that it will be. If this is something you don't want to do, tell Jeremy to pass the message. You have about fifteen minutes before we do the spell."

Elena started to get nervous again. "Exactly how…how harmful are we talking?"

"Well, obviously she can't die…but I'm assuming a decent level…"

"And there's nothing we can do to lessen it?"

Rosalie could only shrug. This was all new territory for her. "The Other Side is a huge spell and tinkering with it is beyond dangerous."

"The cute one's here," someone burst through the door and Rosalie found yet another Amara doppelganger in front of her.

"Katherine…"

Katherine Pierce tossed one of her curls behind her shoulder and gave a wiggle of her fingers. "The one and only."

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna go get Amara." She didn't quite trust Tessa not to harm the girl before the spell.

Katherine waved Elena as the latter left the room then promptly turned to Rosalie, her smile dramatically wide. "You must be little Rosie?"

"No," Rosalie said grimly. "I'm Rosalie, nice to meet you...I think."

"Let's be clear," the smile on Katherine's face had vanished, "I don't care about Bonnie Bennett or the Other Side going away or Elena getting her best friend back."

"Honesty…can't say that I don't respect that…" Rosalie said, leaning on the table, "Let me guess, you want something?"

"Bingo," Katherine pointed at her. "I had the cure you and your friend created running through my veins, and when Silas sucked it out of me, I started aging faster than normal. So basically, I'm dying, and I need you to fix me. You made the cure. Now, make something that stops the aging. Otherwise, no blood for you."

Well this had to be the most pretentious doppelganger. Rosalie laughed lightly. "Very honest. I like it. Sure, why not. When the ritual's finished and Bonnie is the anchor, we'll find a way to stop you from dying."

"And I like you very much," Katherine said giddily. Rosalie wasn't sure what to feel about her.

A short while later, Elena brought Amara upstairs along with Tessa. The latter came to stand beside Rosalie, smiling smugly despite Rosalie making it clear that she was ignoring her.

"You're gonna need this." Tessa held out her necklace to Rosalie. With a roll of her eyes, Rosalie took it and clasped it around her neck.

"What is that?" Amara noticed the grimoire resting in the middle of the table.

"It's Bonnie's grimoire," replied Elena.

"A grim-what?"

"It's a magic spell book," Katherine rolled her eyes, muttering "Idiot" afterwards.

"It's a talisman," said Tessa. "Since Bonnie can't be here, her grimoire will have to do. Hands in, palms up." Between her and Rosalie, they cut the doppelganger's palms with a blade and let their collective blood fall on the grimoire.

"Ina pran khos suptheia jhem ai pada khey rasattan. Ina pran khos suptheia jhem ai pada khey ra sattam, ina pran khos suptheia jhem ai prada khey rassattan!" As the witches cast the spell, the doppelgangers' blood formed the symbol for a trinity. The candles around the room lit up to a bright glow but just like that, everything went out.

"Is it done?" Katherine presumed.

"No…" Rosalie started feeling her stomach churning as a strong wind blew into the room and then the lights went out with explosions from the bulbs.

"What is happening!?" Elena exclaimed.

"Silas is happening!" Tessa said angrily. "Show yourself, bastard!"

But the room went entirely dark, as did the rest of the house.

Damon swept into the room with a flashlight a few moments later. "Electricity's out in the whole house. What happened?"

"Silas is here," Elena said.

"Well, Silas owes me a fuse box. Hang on…" Damon paused and waved his finger between Elena and Katherine, "I only count two doppelgängers. Where's crazy pants?"

Rosalie then realized that Tessa had also gone missing. "We need to find Amara because if she dies before we finish the spell, the Other Side goes with her."

"Can't you finish the spell on your own?" Elena exclaimed.

"I can try but it's a big spell…we need to find Tessa like now."

And so they went in search of Tessa before something else happened. They eventually found the woman in the library with an iron poker stuck to her shoulder.

"Let me guess, you found Silas?" Rosalie said sourly when she bent down in front of Tessa. "Ever thought that maybe giving it a rest might be easier?"

Tessa matched Rosalie's sour smile with her own. "Harder than it looks to be honest."

"Just think about it, Tessa, how different our lives would've been if you hadn't become so obsessed with vengeance…" Rosalie reached for the poker, warning her that it would sting, then pulled it out of her shoulder. "Maybe you would have found someone who actually deserved you."

Tessa's expression became surprised and at her face, Rosalie asked her what the problem was. "I almost killed you and you still think I deserved someone else's love?"

Rosalie shrugged, smiling as she herself was unsure about how she felt. "I looked up to you my whole life. I saw the pain that Silas caused you. I'm sorry that I played a part in it yesterday but I don't regret my actions."

"Hey!" Elena called from the entry. "We have to hurry! Stefan and Amara are not inside! Damon went to go find him but Silas is gonna kill him first chance he gets."

"Let's just do it," Rosalie glanced at Tessa, "Finished what we started once and for all, don't you think?"

Tessa could fully agree with that and so they returned to the drawing room. They gathered around the table and held hands before chanting the spell.

"Ina-pran-khos-suptheia-jhen-ai-pada-khey-rassattan…Ai pada say Ra sattam…"

Elena was posted right behind them to make sure nothing else happened. The wind howled in the room again but this time the witches' chants only grew stronger and stronger. Finally, they stopped. Elena was cautious for a moment, holding her breath until both witches looked at her.

Rosalie's lips spread into a wide smile. "It's done."

Elena's face lit up entirely and without a second though sped out of the room. Rosalie and Tessa looked at each other, neither one knowing what to do next. They didn't know if Silas and Amara were dead, if they lived…

Rosalie pulled her hands out of Tessa's and stepped back, eyes flickering to the darkness outside the windows. She needed to know what happened out there. Without saying a word, she hurried out of the room, heading straight to the stairs.

She walked into the commotion in the living room where Elena and Caroline were hugging Bonnie, each one over the moon. Sensing Rosalie's presence, the two vampires looked back at her and inadvertently revealed Bonnie behind them.

"Thank you," Bonnie broke the silence with a genuine heartfelt smile. She seemed close to tears.

Rosalie gave her a formal nod. "Silas and Amara...Stefan…?"

"Dead," Elena replied, sounding cautious like Rosalie would take the news hard.

In truth, Rosalie didn't know how to take it at all. For as long as she remembered, the names Silas and Amara were her existence. They're gone. Her chest felt lighter the more she processed the implications of those two words. They're gone. They're gone.

"Rosalie, are you…are you alright?" Elena asked gently. Rosalie had stayed quiet for too long with no indication of how she was reacting.

"I…I think so, yeah…" Rosalie drew in a deep breath, "It's just…after 2000 years…it's over. It's finally over. Silas killed me and now…now he's the one stuck in that place." And just thinking about it some more brought a huge grin to her face, and happy tears. She was free. "He's the one trapped there..." Her happiness lasted for all of 5 minutes before she thought of Tessa upstairs. "I'm free of Silas…but now…bow Tessa, she's…the plan was…"

"For you two to die again," Bonnie said, having heard it during her time on the Other Side. "But you don't want to."

"Then don't," Caroline said all too easily and shrugged. She eyed Rosalie, having only just met her for the first time. She seemed okay, why should she have to die for someone else's plans?

"I-I have to go see her…make her…make her change her mind…" Rosalie backtracked towards the stairs, "Where's Stefan? Is he okay?"

Elena nodded. "I think so." She hoped so. "Are you — do you want us to come with you?"

Rosalie gazed up at the ceiling. "I think…I think I can handle it. Who knows, maybe we could even mend our weird relationship…" She headed up the stairs and went to the drawing room, only to find it empty. "Tessa?" There was no one there so Rosalie went to check in the other rooms.

She heard Katherine's voice coming from the library, followed by Tessa's.

"I won. Amara's gone, and Silas is waiting for me on the Other Side…"

Rosalie's entire heart almost stopped when she ran in and saw Tessa's sliced wrists. "What did you do!?" She rushed past Katherine, accidentally pushing her out of the way, and caught Tessa as she fell.

"I won, Rosalie, I won…" Tessa smiled dazedly, "Silas is trapped and he'll be trapped with me for all of an eternity."

Tears welled in Rosalie's eyes. "No, no, no! Why did you — why!? Tessa!" The blood wouldn't stop oozing from Tessa's wrists. "Let them heal you! Let them — Elena! Go get her!" She yelled at Katherine who actually left to go do that.

"No…!" Tessa shook her head, tears rolling down from the corners of her eyes. "I want this. This was the plan, remember?"

Rosalie sniffled. "But…I thought we could…that we would…live…I wanted us to live here in this world…we could have done so much..."

"You still can," Tessa nodded at her. "I owe you that much. Always have."

"But I don't know what to do…I'm all alone here…" Rosalie's tears were dropping on Tessa's chest, "I don't want you to go…"

"You'll make better friends…than me…" Tessa's breathing began to slow, "You were a friend. I was just a lousy one in return. I'm sorry. I'll look after you from the Other Side…just live your life, okay? You deserve that freedom. And you find someone who will deserve your love." She breathed in for the last time and closed her eyes.

"Qetsiyah, please don't leave!" Rosalie was full blown sobbing, holding her friend's body in her arms. "Come back!"

By the time Elena, Bonnie and Caroline arrived, Qetsiyah was long gone.

‿︵‿︵‿୨ ୧‿︵‿︵‿

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