Don't Forget To Think Of Me- Chapter Eleven

"You can tell Cade to call off the hounds." Stefan joked over the phone to Katherine, hours before they had left to track down, Naida.

"Why's that?" She questioned with a curious tone. Stefan cleared his throat, dropping the blood bag from his hands as Damon watched him confess in a soft tone. "Naida's in Mystic Falls. She's at a warehouse downtown and apparently, she just wants to speak with you. No one else."

"Only me?" She asked. They didn't tell her, of Cade's sinister plan or the fact that she was walking into her own death trap.

He should of said something though. To her…To Elena…To everyone they cared about and loved before making such a life changing deal.

Damon and him were never going to be the same after this and he knew it.

Stefan knew that there was no coming back from this deal and from here on out, things were going to be completely different than he had ever imagined them to be. After this, he nor his brother could ever set foot in Mystic Falls again. So, the guilt of not saying goodbye was eating away at him and so was the fact that he didn't tell her of his deal.

He should had told her. He should have explained his deal to Elena before he made one and now, a small part of him that still had a flicker of humanity left felt bad about not saying anything at all. So, here they were now, doing Cade's bidding and everyone will forever wonder where they were going.

He needed to write it down. He needed to leave something because until they found Naida and in case they never did. Stefan wanted everyone and Elena to know that he and Damon didn't really have a choice in the matter and they became Cade's servants for the rest of their eternal lives to save the ones they loved.

"What are you doing! We don't have time for journaling, Stefan!" Damon spat out, rolling his eyes as his little brother shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes. He was trying to bring a spark of it back- his humanity.

Ignoring his older brother's comments, Stefan wrote down words on paper while Damon sped down the freeway.

Dear Elena,

I know that you've got a million questions and you deserve to know some answers. However, I don't have any of them really.

The only thing I know is that I'm thankful for the time we had together and that as sad as you might be about this. I want you to know that you're never going to see me again. I've become Cade's servant for life and unfortunately, being a slave to him puts everyone I care about and love in danger. I can't risk you getting hurt. So, I won't be coming back home to Mystic Falls. It's to protect you, Elena. It's to protect everyone that I love and everything there that I care about. So, please understand me.

Maybe one day, you and I will meet again. When I've got my life back on track and you're settled into your new life.

Be happy, Elena. And never forget that I love you.

Love always,

Stefan.

The car came to a stretching halt as Stefan lurched forward and gave Damon a dirty look. "Are we all done, brother? Switching your emotions on and off like your life didn't depend on it and like it didn't matter if we live or die…Stefan, he needs to believe us. That we are 100 % forever going to be his servants! So, I suggest you send whatever little birdy you plan on having deliver that to Elena and prepare to kiss that old pretend human life goodbye!"

Stefan scoffed, staring out the window as he popped his neck from side to side. He was annoyed by Damon already and the first leg of their killing spree hadn't even started yet.

"We can't go back there, Stefan. If we do, every single person. Including you and I will be dead. So, to survive, we need to make a clean break from it all." Damon explained, watching as his brother shrugged his shoulders and exhaled heavily.

"Turn it off, Stefan. Turn it off completely and I promise you that you'll be freeing yourself from all of the pain. You need to remember why we're doing this." Damon urged, watching as his younger brother whom had claimed that he had turned off his humanity was still beating himself up and struggling with his choices.

"I don't know that I can." Stefan said, explaining that part of him didn't want to become the ripper again and he knew that if he didn't have anyone to pull him back from his bloodlust that he would go down a dark path that no one could save him from.

"Yes, you can." Damon stated, confidence in his tone as he patted his younger brother's shoulder and gripped him a little tighter with his hand. "You have no other choice, Stefan. Unless you want us both to end up dead. Besides, I'll be there for you, Stefan. To bring you break from the edge. Like I always have been." Damon replied, knowing that if they didn't fully turn their lives upside down for Cade, that they'd both have hell to pay.

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"Oh, Nadia! Where are you?" Caroline screamed out in the woods as the evening turned into a darkened night sky and she wandered around with a stake in her hands, ready to kill whatever Naida had become and whomever she was with. It didn't matter to Caroline anymore, after news spread that Katherine was dead. Caroline knew that they were all in trouble and hiding away wasn't going to help her situation one bit.

"Using Elena as bate?" Klaus asked jokingly, chuckling a little at the fact that once again, Elena Gilbert's life was in danger. Caroline shook her head. "No, I'd never do that to her. Instead, we're all teaming up as one to find Naida and kill her. Before she kills us." Caroline explained as Klaus arched his eyebrows at her. It made sense in some strange way. That the hunter was now becoming the hunted.

"Where's your witch? Davina?" Caroline asked him, placing her hand on her hip as Klaus smiled at her. He wasn't receiving any messages back from Davina. But, he knew that Freya could help them instead. So, his sister was quietly tagging along, lurking in the shadows until she was needed by them.

"Oh, she's here. So, is a back up team, love. Just in case- things get a little messy." Klaus winked at her, walking side by side with Caroline until the young vampire suddenly shoved him against a tree, telling him to keep still and quiet. "I hear her." She whispered, narrowing her eyes as she looked past Klaus and saw a frightened Naida, running through the woods.

It happened so quickly that Caroline felt her head spin. One moment, Naida was miles away and suddenly she had Caroline by the throat, shoved up against an old brick abandoned house in the middle of the Mystic Falls woods. "I could kill her with just one snap of my fingers, if you take one step closer." She warned, noticing the group of people who were now teaming up behind, Klaus. Bonnie was chatting loudly, Elena was holding a crossbow with a wooden stake and Freya stood near Bonnie, grabbing her hands as they chanted a spell which would attempt to strip Naida of the evilness that Cade had bestowed on her.

"Do it! Do it now!" Klaus screamed, trying to pull Naida off of Caroline. But, the more he tried, the stronger she became and he flew across the clearing, landing into a large pile of cut up branches and wood. As Klaus lay there, closing his eyes, he could hear the commotion that was going on. Caroline, pleading for her life. Bonnie and Freya chanting and hoping they could find a cure as Elena tried to lure Naida away from her best friend and towards herself. It was then that Klaus heard them, the familiar voices of the two men that he was sure no one would ever see again in Mystic Falls.

"Not this again!" Stefan groaned, helping Klaus up as he rolled his eyes and watched the chaos unfold in front of him. "Whose life is in danger now?" he asked, glancing over at his older brother who looked particularly annoyed that Elena was being thrown to the ground and that Bonnie was way too close to Naida.

"I might not give a shit. But, I swear to god. If you touch one hair on that witch's head, Naida. I will rip your limbs out of their sockets myself!" He shouted, rushing over to pull Naida away from Bonnie as the two witches chants became louder and the vampire hunter was seemingly becoming weakened by their words.

"It's working!" Freya yelled, feeling Bonnie's hands slip into her own as they chanted even louder and suddenly a ring of fire formed around Naida. At this point, she was screaming and starting to look a bit terrified herself.

"I'm not the one you want!" She shouted out, trying to get the witches to stop their assault on her. However, they were determined to get her as weak as possible. Because, Caroline and Klaus had other plans- putting an end to it all.

"Where is he!" Bonnie shouted out, referring to Cade. They all knew that he had to be somewhere, lured in by the darkness around them and smiling happily at the destruction his actions were causing.

"I don't know!" She shouted out. Damon waited for the fire to die down, observing Caroline and Klaus who were ready to make their move. Yet, they hadn't anticipated Damon rushing over to her first.

"Well, let me help send him a message, then. Goodbye, Naida!" He yelled out into the darkness as Caroline and Klaus lunged at him to stop. But, it was too late. Damon's teeth sunk into her neck while he ripped out a piece of her flesh and they all watched when her lifeless body dropped to the ground.

"Damon! What did you do?" Caroline yelled at him, the fire ring that was made around Naida had extinguished as she ran over to him and he wiped his mouth of her blood. "I sent a message. I got our point across. If Cade keeps hiding. I'll kill whoever else tries to come after any of you."

Elena took a step forward as Bonnie forced her arm out in front of her best friend, reminding her that she was once again a fragile human and the Salvatore brothers were both fairly emotionless as it seemed. That was until one of them made a stunning revelation. "You're playing both sides?" Elena questioned the brothers as they both looked at one another, exhaling deeply.

Stefan took a step forward, clearing his throat. He and Damon did partly have their humanity stripped from themselves. However, it was all a ruse to keep up with their appearance's of being loyal to Cade. He nodded, pulling Elena close to him as she gasped and attempted to pull away. But, Stefan's grasp was too strong for her to escape. She could feel his hand slide down her neck and into her hair. He held her body close to his as he whispered softly into her ear. "It's okay. I'm still me. Elena, I'm doing this all to protect you and everyone that we love. We both are. Now, you're not going to see us again for a long time. But, I want you to listen to me. I love you, Elena. I'm risking my life right now just being here. Although, I couldn't leave town completely without seeing you one last time." Stefan told her, pulling back from her as he noticed tears in her eyes and he leaned in to kiss her lips.

Bonnie let go of Freya's hand, tears streaming down her face while she ran over to Damon and he opened his arms up to her, embracing her tightly. "You're risking everything just with being here right now." She told him as he gently caressed her face and then leaned forward and kissed her lips. "I know. But, I'd do it over again, just to see you one last time. I love you, Bonnie." He told her, hearing as she told him that she loved him too. However, the fact was that before Cade could catch on, the brother's needed to leave town for good this time.

"Don't forget to think of me." Stefan told Elena, kissing her forehead one last time as she felt her hands slipping away from his and she went to go stand next to Caroline and Bonnie. They all stood in silence, watching as the brother's looked back at them and promised them all that they would be lurking in the shadows, doing everything they could to keep them all safe.

-The End!-

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