The Vampire Diaries: Elizabeth Returns

Chapter 12

'Elizabeth!' Elena called out, walking through the trees. 'Elizabeth!'

Suddenly, Elena was looking into a mirror. The reflection of herself had appeared as if out of nowhere, falling from a tree.

'I'm surprised that you came to find me,' said Elizabeth, raising her eyebrows skeptically, 'of all people.'

'Why?' Said Elena.

'Yesterday, I told you that I'd been in love with your boyfriend, I kissed him, and your ex, right in front of you, and then I told you that I had the chance to kill somebody that has undoubtedly caused you a lot of pain, mostly emotionally, I guess, and I didn't take it, because she's my sister and I let sentiment get in the way, even after she killed my only other friend, and the world would be a hell of a lot safer without her in it.'

'Yesterday, Stefan and Damon told me that you were one of the most trustworthy, loyal people they knew,' Elena said, unfazed.

'They also told you that I was more deceptive and manipulating.'

'True,' said Elena, 'tell me why.'

'You really want to know?'

'Somebody more deceptive, manipulating and smart than Katherine shouldn't be loyal and trustworthy, but Stefan and Damon think you are,' said Elena. 'And I trust their judgement. I just want to know more about you.'

Elizabeth sighed. 'Once, Katherine and I were living in a village - just a small one. Everybody there was very superstitious, which meant everyone drank vervain water, vervain was kept in every house, things like that. Katherine and I were desperately hiding from Klaus - it was only a few months after we'd started running. So I convinced everybody in the village to burn all of the vervain, and to stop putting vervain in the water supply. I couldn't compel them, I just had to convince them by lying to them over and over, suggesting small things subtly until somebody thought it was their idea to get rid of the vervain. Katherine and I had to hide from them as they burnt the vervain, but once the fumes were gone, we had a village full of edible people, who absolutely adored us. But there was this one time when Katherine wanted to drink the blood of these two sisters and heir parents, so she compelled them to stay still, and to watch her feed on the others, and then fed on them. She thought she was proving her cleverness now, as I'd taken the main role in manipulating the town to dance to our music. She thought it was clever to compel people to do her bidding. But somebody saw her, so she took a leap of faith and decided that the guy must've been crazy over a beautiful woman like her, and chose to risk everything, and use no compulsion or anything, but try to manipulate him into thinking she loved him, even though they'd never met before. Katherine likes manipulating people's feelings, and she couldn't resist it. He told the entire town that we were vampires, and they restarted the vervain thing. But Katherine wanted me to prove myself to her, I don't know why, because she always thought of herself as more superior. She told me to go to the leaders, and convince them that Katherine was a vampire, but I wasn't. And I did it.'

'How did you convince him?' Said Elena.

'I drank a glass of water.'

Elena raised her eyebrows, asking me how something so simple could convince a skeptical man that I wasn't the demon that he had solid evidence to prove that I was.

'It was vervain water, of course.'

'You're immune to vervain?' Elena asked.

'Yeah,' I said. 'And I can see people's auras without having to try. That means I could tell you who's kind, who's evil, and even what people are.'

'Why did you do it?' Elena asked. 'Deceive the entire village, I mean. You could've just gone somewhere else.'

'To prove it.'

'To prove what?' Elena asked, although she probably knew the answer already.

'To prove that I could.'