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Cordelia and Elena walked through the woods on a mission with Caroline trailing behind them, it was clear to the older Forbes twin that the friendship between the two was permanent and not going anywhere. "Tell everyone that I wasn't feeling well and Cordelia drove me home," Elena instructed Caroline while Cordelia carried the bag she had helped Elena stock with what they needed. "I cannot believe that I'm agreeing to this. I'm a terrible liar," Caroline replied to Elena sending her twin a look when the girl laughed. "Oh, we know," Cordelia added before sighing at her sister's panic, "You just need to keep Stefan busy while Alaric distracts Damon."

"They can't know what we're up too," Elena continued with a firm tone as Cordelia stopped her from tripping. "I'm even worse at duplicity and you know this!" Caroline argued but both girls ignored it in favour for their plan; Caroline always underestimated herself but Cordelia knew she could do it. "Ask Tyler for help," Cordelia told the blonde who sighed heavily at that. "Caroline, as my friend, do you promise or not?" Elena asked as the three stopped walking through the woods. "You had to break out the girlfriend code," Caroline said with a glare. "Could always bring in the twin code," Cordelia taunted.

"Okay! I promise," Caroline exclaimed quickly making Cordelia and Elena share a small laugh. "Why don't you want Stefan or Damon to know?" Caroline asked the two girls who shared a look as they continued walking towards the church ruins where the tomb lay underneath. "Because they would never be okay with either of us doing this," Elena answered truthfully. The three of them walked down the stairs and stopped in front of the tombs stone door, the reason they bought Caroline was so she would move it out of the way for the two. "Are you sure you two want to do this?" Caroline asked and Cordelia looked at Elena, she was there mostly as moral support.

"Yes, I'm sure. She's the only one who knows the truth about Klaus. The only one who can tell us how to stop him," Elena expressed as a response, Cordelia nodded her head in agreement with that. "But you're asking for the truth from someone who's probably never given it. Are you sure about this?" Caroline doubled down hoping the girls would back out. "Yes, Care. We can't just sit back and wait. Elena and I have to know everything we can learn, Caroline," Cordelia said as she felt impatient with her older twin sister. Caroline sighed and moved to push the large stone door to the side allowing them to look inside the tomb.

"Katherine?" Elena called out as Cordelia moved to sit on a rock a little behind Elena, she was going to let Elena handle it while practising her magic. "We'll handle it from here, Caroline," Cordelia assured her twin as they heard a noise followed by Katherine stumbling her way towards them, using the wall to hold herself up. "Hello Elena, you've come to watch me wither away?" Katherine asked before looking at the twins, "Goodbye girls." Cordelia smirked, "I'm not going anywhere." Caroline looked between the three of them before she left them alone, heading off to find Tyler and distract Stefan long enough for the two to get their answers from Katherine.

"Stefan know you're here?" Katherine asked Elena with the intention to taunt her about who she assumed was her boyfriend. "He's busy," Cordelia answered as she passed Elena the bag with a smile. "You two are friends now?" Katherine asked in disbelief but both ignored her question. "We brought you some things," Elena told Katherine as she opened the bag. "You came to bribe me? What is it that you want?" Katherine asked the two girls, she was intrigued by the worry burning in the back of their eyes. "I want you to tell us about Klaus," Elena answered the older woman who smirked smugly at the mention of the Original.

"Hmm, you two have been busy," Katherine taunted the two of them. "We also brought you this," Elena held up the book that Damon had given her, the old thing contained the bloodline of Petrova's up until Katherine and her sister. "It's your family history. It says in here that the family line ended with you. Obviously, that's not true," Elena explained as she held the book out to Katherine who took it. "You think that if you brought me some family keepsake that I'd open up?" Katherine asked with a raised brow, it was clear that she found their attempt to be ridiculous. But Cordelia knew better, this would get Katherine talking; she was certain of that.

"We also bought you this," Elena held up a bottle of blood from the bag for Katherine to see. Katherine rushes over towards Elena but the spell on the tomb prevents her from moving closer. "You don't look so good. How long before your body shuts down? 10, 20 years? It must be painful to desiccate and mummify. I can't even imagine," Elena taunted Katherine making Cordelia look at the brunette impressed. Katherine sat down on the floor knowing she wasn't getting any blood without her cooperation. Elena poured some blood in a small cup before pushing it towards Katherine with a stick. Katherine took the glass and drinks it quickly, her skin immediately regained some colour again just from that small dose.

"You have the Petrova fire," Katherine complimented however, it was directed at herself as well. "More blood?" Elena offered and Katherine put the glass back down for Elena to refill. "It's a long story, Klaus and I. It goes all the way back to England, 1492, after I left Bulgaria. Or was thrown out," Katherine expressed with a dry tone while Elena passed back the cup. "Thrown out?" Elena questioned, Cordelia tilted her head in interest hearing that. "My family, your true ancestors, they disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at that time," Katherine answered causing Cordelia to understand. "You had a baby out of wedlock?" Cordelia questioned as she moved closer to the two lookalikes.

"It was kept secret?" Elena asked as she handed Cordelia a Kit Kat bar that had been packed, the blonde smiled softly as she took it and unwrapped it. "My baby was given away. I was banished to England and I had to learn to adjust. So I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus. I was taken with his brother at first, 'til I found out what Klaus was and what he wanted from me. And then I ran like hell," Katherine explained to the two of them, Cordelia knew the brother had to of been Elijah which meant that Klaus had to of known about the prophecy, even then.

"I was running in the woods from the brothers when Trevor found me," Katherine continued with a sigh, "He hid me from them and helped me when I thought he'd show them loyalty." Cordelia furrowed her brows, she saw the way Rose-Marie looked at Trevor but it was clear that Trevor's heart was with Katherine at that time; perhaps that had changed in Rose-Marie's loyalty to him. "So what did Klaus want?" Elena asked Katherine curiously. "The same thing that he'll want from you. He wants to break the curse," Katherine responded to her question. "By sacrificing the Petrova doppelgänger," Elena stated with fear in her eyes, Cordelia frowned deeply at Katherine's next words, "He wanted to drain every single drop of blood from my body."

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With Damon distracted by Rose and Trevor's help searching for a guy, Caroline worked with Tyler to keep Stefan distracted as well. Even Alaric had changed his task to distract Jeremy who had been on the search for Cordelia only to be stopped by Alaric. Cordelia and Elena sat comfortably in front of Katherine listening carefully to her words, the former was slowly devising a plan to ensure that no one would be harmed by whatever storm that followed due to this curse. "What does the Petrova bloodline have to do with Klaus?" Elena asked Katherine as finished drinking from her water bottle. "It's really tedious but..." Katherine trailed off to drink from her cup, crushing it in the palm of her hand.

"...The curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood. Witches are crafty with their spells. The doppelgänger was created as a way to be able to undo the spell. Once the doppelgänger reappeared, the curse can be broken," Katherine finished off explaining to the two teenagers. "So you ran before he killed you?" Cordelia asked with a raised brow. "Something like that," Katherine remarked as she moved to lean against the wall, "I went to the cottage and found Rose there. She wanted to take me back to Klaus but Trevor stopped her and begged for her to help hide me." Cordelia sighed and looked down, Trevor was kind but it was clear that Katherine took his kindness for weakness.

"But Rose-Marie didn't wish to be on the bad side of Klaus, rightfully so, I guess," Katherine snarked as she stared off in a daze as if reliving her past. "But Rose didn't end up taking you back to Klaus, did she?" Cordelia asked as she moved to sit closer to Elena, reaching into the bag for another Kit Kat bar. "No, but not because she had a change of heart," Katherine replied, "I pleaded with her to let me die rather than going back to Klaus. She fed me blood knowing Trevor would die with me and so, I took that into my own hands." Cordelia was wide eyed as she looked at Katherine with shock, "You killed yourself?!" Katherine shrugged though the pain behind her eyes betrayed her nonchalance.

"Klaus needed a human doppelgänger. As a vampire, I was no longer any use to him," Katherine told the two of them before looking directly at Elena. "But it didn't work. You didn't really escape, you've been running from Klaus ever since," Elena reminded Katherine who sighed. "I underestimated his spirit for vengeance but living in a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over some silly little rock," Katherine remarked with certainty in her voice, Elena was visibly pale hearing those words. "What's wrong? Afraid I'm right? You don't want to die? There's another way out," Katherine cuts her wrist and holds it towards Elena, "Better hurry. Your opportunity is going, going, going and gone."

Cordelia glared at Katherine while Elena lowered her gaze as Katherine spoke up, "I made the other choice." Cordelia shook her head, "Rose and Trevor spend the last five hundred years running because of you. Trevor almost got killed." Katherine perked up surprised by that, "I never thought he'd last this long." Elena scowled at her older doppelgänger, "You don't even care that you ruined their lives." Katherine smirked. "I was looking out for myself, Elena. I will always look out for myself. If you're smart, you'll do the same," Katherine advised as she turned away and opened the Petrova book. Cordelia placed her hand on Elena's, the brunette looked to the blonde who was sending her a reassuring look with determination in her eyes.

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Samuel Winters looked up from the bar to see Caroline walking in with Stefan and Tyler in tow. He frowned as he watched Caroline pull Tyler to sit next to her, Stefan taking the spot across from the two. "Man, that's gotta suck," Scott Martin stated as he sat on the stool, "You've been crushing on Caroline Forbes for years... First Matty and now, Tyler Lockwood." Samuel rolled his eyes at the boy's taunting words, "They aren't dating, Scott." Scott smirked as he grabbed a fry from the basket, "Yet, Sammy boy. They ain't dating yet." Scott shook his head while Samuel bit back a frown. "Anyway, I was wondering if you knew where sweet Cori is?" Scott pondered with a smirk on his face.

"You know she isn't interested in you, right?" Samuel remarked as he sent Scott a pointed look. "Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that one, Sammy boy. She just needs a reminder of what's good for her," Scott replied before placing a few bills on the bar, "Besides... we both know how truly powerful those two beautiful Forbes girls are, don't we, Sammy?" Samuel lowered his eyes as Scott got up and made his way out, winking at a couple of girls who swooned at the sight of it. Samuel knew the truth, of course he did; the town of Mystic Falls was full of secrets and the Winters' siblings were cousins to the Fell family. He was worried, Scott was acting strange and his intentions with Cordelia was cause for alarm; he had to warn Stefan.

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"So how much of your little story is true?" Cordelia questioned Katherine as she paced behind Elena, her arms crossed tight against her chest. "I have no reason to lie, Starlight. I have no reason to do anything but sit here and read and rot," Katherine answered Cordelia with her truth. "Okay, assuming it's even partially true, that's the reason why you came back, isn't it? Because you wanted to be the one to hand me over to Klaus," Elena questioned Katherine. "Five hundred years on the run, I figured maybe he'd be willing to strike a deal," Katherine told the two girls. "So you got Mason Lockwood to find the moonstone," Cordelia stated as she stopped pacing, Katherine nodding.

"What else do you need to break the curse?" Elena asked Katherine. "Hmm, look who is getting smarter," Katherine taunted with her classic smirk. "It's not just me or the stone, is it? Otherwise there would be no reason to trigger Tyler Lockwood's werewolf curse," Elena expressed causing Cordelia to begin putting the pieces together, her mind racing as her eyes flickered around the room linking all of Katherine's moves on the chess board. "Witches and their spells... so many ingredients, so many people to sacrifice," Katherine remarked as she noticed the look of realisation on Cordelia's face, the way her green eyes faded to pure white in hot white rage.

"A werewolf, a vampire, a witch the stone and the doppelgänger," Cordelia muttered out as she turned her sneer to Katherine, "Tyler, Caroline, Bonnie and Elena." The older vampire was good at putting on a stoic facade but underneath, fear shivered through her body as the rock in the room began to crack at the sheer presence of Cordelia's anger. "You were just going to hand them all over to die?" Cordelia seethed out as she stood protectively in front of Elena, Katherine moved to stand up facing Cordelia head on with only the magic barrier between them. "Better you die than I," Katherine bravely told her. "No, Katerina," Cordelia growled, "I won't let any of them die. We won't give up and run like you did. We aren't cowards who don't trust others or manipulate them. We aren't you."

Katherine was silent as she slowly backed into the shadows of the tomb, unshed tears in her eyes at the truth of Cordelia's words. Elena gently reached out and placed her hand on Cordelia's shoulder, the blonde turned to her and saw the worry in Elena's eyes. "I promise, Elena," Cordelia spoke sternly before Elena embraced the blonde deciding to trust her promise. The two pulled apart at the sound of footsteps coming down, they looked over to see Stefan standing there with Damon just behind him. To everyone's surprise, Elena moved forward and hugged Damon in desire for comfort; and he immediately held her with a soft smile on his face.

"Everything okay?" Damon softly asked Elena who turned her head enough to lock eyes with Cordelia's softened gaze. "It will be," Elena replied enjoying the warmth coming from Damon. "You seem so certain," Katherine's voice echoed as she stumbled back to the door, "I haven't even told you the best part of the story." Stefan reached out and pulled Cordelia closer as Katherine told them about her family, about Klaus murdering all of them as a consequence of Katherine's actions. Fear seared through Elena hearing the story but Cordelia simply scoffed catching Katherine's attention as the Starlight spoke, "If Klaus wants a challenge, I'll give him one."

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Rosemary Speaks. . .

Please read but its important to understand something; this book will be written to completion. I've had some people asking if its discontinued and such... obviously its not. If I discontinue a book, I unpublish it from my account.

So as long as this stays posted, it will be updated. I have other projects, a job, a life outside wattpad and mental health that is more important than words on a screen. Be patient with my updates please. I am grateful for the support and love towards my book but you need to be more patient.

Anyway!!

Cordelia's made a promise to Elena, can she keep it?

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Thoughts, Suggestions or Questions

See you in the next chapter!