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"I'm here to help for my reasons," Cordelia spoke the moment she approached Bonnie, Sheila, Stefan, Damon and Elena at the entrance of the Tomb, "So keep that in mind." Sheila looked up at Cordelia with interest, "You've gotten stronger." Cordelia smirked at the woman's words and they all watched in surprise as the wind around them picked up and Cordelia's eyes went white. "A lot stronger," Cordelia told her as Jeremy stood with Cordelia. "What are you doing here?" Elena asked her brother. "I'm here to support Cordelia," Jeremy told her with a shrug, Cordelia smiled genuinely at her best friend's words.

"Let's get this over with," Cordelia told them before grabbing Jeremy's hand and pulling him along with her, she was mostly ensuring that Anna wouldn't get her claws into him knowing the girl's intentions were impure. Stefan looked at Elena as Damon followed behind Cordelia and Jeremy, "Everything okay?" Elena frowned with a shrug, "I just want to get this over with. Are we ready?" Bonnie sighed at her friend knowing she wasn't happy with Cordelia's presence nor Jeremy knowing and participating in this stuff. "I guess so," Bonnie replied to Elena before they all headed into the tomb where Jeremy leaned back against the far wall and Cordelia stood by Sheila who was telling her what she needed to do.

Sheila is lighting the torches of the tomb as Bonnie and Cordelia stand on either side of her as Stefan, Damon and Elena watch from the entrance. "Air. Earth. Fire," Sheila spoke before Bonnie added, "Water." She held up a water bottle and Sheila took it, sprinkling the water on the floor. "That's it? Just water from the tap?" Elena asked making Cordelia roll her eyes. "As opposed to what?" Sheila asked Elena who replied, "I just figured maybe it would have to be blessed or mystical or something." Cordelia raised a brow at the brunette before shaking her head, "You watch too much TV." Cordelia held her hand out to Sheila who pulled out a sharp knife, the others looked in confusion.

"Whoa, hold on," Stefan interrupted as he stepped forward ignoring the look on Elena's face while Damon smirked as Stefan continued, "Is that needed?" Sheila cut through Cordelia's palm allowing the blood to drop from it onto the floor between the two Bennett witches. "It'd be too dangerous to channel directly from Cordelia herself but we can channel a dose of her magic from her blood. The same blood that holds no temptation to you or your brother," Sheila expressed to Stefan who lowered his gaze while Bonnie and Elena were wide eyed at that information. "They don't thirst for her?" Bonnie asked. "They care for her, love her or have bonded with her. Her blood is nothing they desire," Sheila added, her eyes on Stefan when she said 'love'.

Damon pulled out a blood bag and unravels it catching Stefan's attention, "What's that?" Damon turned to Stefan with a slight smirk, "It's for Katherine. Gotta have something to get her going. Unless your girl's offering a vein to tap." Damon looks at Elena who looks back at him, unamused. Stefan sighs and Damon whisper directly to his brother, "Admit it -- you can't wait to get rid of me." Stefan chuckled at that, "I can't wait to get rid of you." Damon hummed but Cordelia saw the pain flicker in the older Salvatore's eyes, she frowned and sent him a look but he waved her off playing cool. "We're ready," Bonnie informed them.

Cordelia stepped back from the witches and nodded her head at Jeremy before standing by Damon, she watched as Sheila and Bonnie began reciting a spell with their eyes shut and hands interlocked. "What are they saying?" Damon asked Cordelia but Stefan replied before she could, "Sounds Latin." Cordelia rolled her eyes and smirked as Elena spoke, "I don't think it's Latin." After a few more seconds of the witches reciting the spell, the torches flare up and Elena grabbed Stefan's arm. "What's happening?" Elena asked. "They're opening the tomb," Cordelia replied to Elena as the door to the tomb opened causing Sheila and Bonnie to stop chanting and look up.

"It worked!" Bonnie cheered with a smile. "Of course it worked," Sheila replied to her granddaughter, she felt a strange tingle of strength within her and locked eyes with Cordelia who smiled at her; she wouldn't lose Grams. "We have some fires to build," Damon said to Stefan who nodded, he turned to Elena, "I'm gonna go get the gasoline, I'll be right back." Elena nods and Stefan ascends the stairs out of the tomb. Damon looks from Bonnie and Sheila before his eyes landed on Cordelia, "You ready?" The blonde nodded her head, "Yeah, let's do it." Bonnie, Elena and Sheila looked towards the two as Elena spoke, "Wait, what?" Cordelia turned to Elena, "You broke his trust and frankly, I know you plan to lock him in so I'm his protection."

Damon grabs a torch from the circle, "May I?" Cordelia sent Sheila a reassuring smile before following Damon into the tomb. She could practically feel the pain of the vampires inside, their thirst and their desires to escape. Whispers echoed through the tomb making Damon turn to Cordelia with a smirk, "They can sense you." Cordelia rolled her eyes before feeling something that was different, almost like a calming light shining on her in the midst of darkness; she had been so distracted that she didn't notice Damon walking away from her in his search for Katherine. Cordelia follows the feeling, her heartbeat was steady and so was her breath as she reached a glass coffin that sat in the middle of a room.

Rose vines surrounded the coffin and inside was the same ancestor that Cordelia had dreamed about: Clara Forbes. Her skin was pale but her hair still had a golden hue to it, she seemed to be preserved perfectly with no signs of decomposition nor any signs of such happening to her. Cordelia walked closer to the coffin, a soft melody echoed through her ears as she looked at the golden plate; "Clara Forbes. Gone but never forgotten. Our hero." Cordelia frowned reading that, she had no idea that this was the fate of her ancestor, the Starlight of 1864 who trusted the wrong people. Seeing this only fortified the distance that Cordelia wished to have with Elena Gilbert, the girl clearly connected to Katerina Petrova.

Cordelia rested her hand on the coffin, she bowed her head and whispered a prayer for Clara Forbes before she was suddenly pulled away and shoved against the wall. "You'll be useful," Anna spoke as she held Cordelia's arm tight, "And if you fight against me, I'll kill Jeremy." Cordelia glared at the vampire and allowed her to pull her along towards the body of a woman who was leaning back against the wall. "Mother! Mother," Anna exclaimed as she knelt down by her mother, Cordelia watched with pity realising that Anna just wanted her mother. "Your boyfriend did this, you know," Anna snapped out at Cordelia. "Not my boyfriend and last I heard, it was his father," Cordelia snarked back.

"And Johnathan Gilbert. I had made a choice a long time ago that it would be Gilbert blood that brought her back to life, had Jeremy all ready to go but..." Anna trailed off as she grabbed Cordelia's wrist, biting down into the vein causing a pained scream to leave her lips. Outside the tomb where Stefan stood with Elena, he turned and instantly dashed into the tomb ignoring Elena's call for him; Bonnie grabbing Elena so she couldn't follow him. "You can't leave him in there!" Elena cried to the Bennett witches, the brunette was beyond angered at the fact that Stefan so carelessly and willingly went chasing after the Forbes girl.

"He made his choice!" Sheila replied to her. "No. Here. Just show me what to do. I'll do it," Bonnie pleaded for the sake of her best friend, the Grimoire in her hands. "We are not strong enough without Cordelia. Even if we were able to bring the seal down, there's no guarantee that we could get it back up again," Sheila expressed, she knew that Cordelia's initial offer of blood was to protect them but if they were to continue without Cordelia as a channel of magic, it could kill the Bennett witches. "You said it yourself, many things can fuel a witches power. Help me or I'll do it alone," Bonnie told her Grams. "Please don't leave Stefan in there," Elena begged. "It could kill you! Overuse of magic is too dangerous," Jeremy told the witches but was ignored for Elena's tears.

Anna pushed Cordelia down to the ground and she held the blonde's wrist to Pearl's mouth. Cordelia struggles but Pearl smelt the blood, she moved forward and began to drink from her vein making Cordelia feel dizzy, she whimpered softly knowing her blood would be sweeter than normal which would make Pearl drink till she couldn't anymore. Thankfully, Stefan ran in and the sight in front of him caused a rage he had never felt before, he sped over and pushed Anna to the side before prying Pearl's teeth from Cordelia's wrist; pulling the blonde into his arms and away from the vampires. Cordelia stumbled as Stefan pushed her towards the exit, "Go. Go. I'm right behind you." Cordelia was hesitant but her dazed mind pushed her to listen.

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Damon had not found Katherine within the tomb and the Bennett witches had managed to break the seal long enough for Stefan and Damon to escape however, Anna and Pearl had also escaped the tomb. Cordelia had been weakened by blood loss and Damon had been the one to carry her back to the Salvatore Boarding house with Jeremy in tow, he ignored his sister wanting to make sure that Cordelia was okay. But the thing that broke Cordelia Forbes that night was the feeling of Sheila Bennett taking her last final breath, the blonde cried in Jeremy's arms as he did his best to comfort her; Cordelia had looked up to Sheila and the woman had been the one to teach her how to control magic and now she was gone.

Damon sat in the parlour staring blankly at the fire as Stefan walked in, he sat down next to his brother and the two sat in silence. Damon had learned from Anna and Pearl that Katherine was never in the tomb and he couldn't find the other person he was searching for, his best friend; Clara Forbes. But maybe that was for the best, she could be at peace and it'd be all the woman had wanted. Stefan's mind was a stormy sea of chaos, his heart torn in two as he thought about his girlfriend and the blonde who was always on his mind no matter what. They knew the answers, Elena was connected to Katherine by blood and he found himself losing the spark he held for Elena with that knowledge.

And as they all mourned their personal losses, the tomb vampires found the blood bag that Damon had thrown against the wall; consuming what they could before finding their way out of the tomb due to the broken seal. One of the vampires smirked as he approached the glass coffin, a sadistic glow in his eyes as he stared down at Clara. "Oh, my dove... I heard her voice, felt her presence and smelt her blood. She's sweeter than you and I cannot wait to get my teeth in her," He spoke tauntingly to the dead preserved body of Clara. "And no one will stop me this time," He added before he turned and walked out of the tomb ready to claim what was his.

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Rosemary Speaks

And the tomb is done and opened...
Plus, Cordelia's in danger... ruh roh!

Thoughts, Suggestions or Questions?

See you in the next chapter!