"Well, don't you look era-appropriate?"

Audraya rolled her eyes as she turned around. Stefan smirked and looked her over. His eyes roamed over her sparkly dress and mysterious makeup. It was the perfect attire for the Decade Dance that the Mystic Falls student council was throwing.

"The twenties were one of my more fashionable periods," she shrugged, "Although you were a lot more handsome back then."

"So you knew me back then?" he questioned, "You were with Klaus and Rebekah at the time?"

"I knew the ripper back then," she corrected, pulling him closer by the tie. She barely allowed her lips to graze his ear, lowering her voice to a whisper, "And he was a lot more fun."

Stefan scoffed as Audraya let go and shoved past him. She set her eyes on Damon's distant figure, watching as the Salvatore pulled Elena out of the gym.

She went to follow them, pushing past the couples on the dance floor. But before she could get any further, a hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her in the opposite direction.

She let out a quiet sound of surprise as her body collided with another. She glanced up and caught Jeremy Gilbert's eyes staring down at her.

He grasped her hand and brought it to the side. He swayed them to the slow sound of the music, trapping her with his elegant moves.

"Do you need something?" she asked in annoyance.

He shrugged, "I just saw that you had this murderous look in your eyes and figured I should stop you."

"Darling, if I wanted to murder someone then they'd already be dead."

"Either way, it's probably best if you just took a minute to cool off," he advised, "Have a little dance break."

She narrowed her eyes. Her grip on Jeremy's hand tightened as her anger rose. He winced slightly but kept himself composed.

"My brother died," she said fiercely, "I have every right to be angry and on edge."

"You're right," he conceded, "I just thought you could use a break from the grief. I know a little bit about the process."

She scoffed, "I've lost plenty of people in my life. I know how to cope."

She looked away from his face in frustration. He shrugged and kept dancing. He released her hand and twirled her out, quickly pulling her back in. She smoothly followed his lead and fell back into his arms again.

"I think Kol copes with anger," he stated, pushing aside the quizzical look on her face, "He was pissed back in Denver."

"He has a short temper."

"But I noticed that whenever he got angry, he would start talking about you."

She glanced back up at him. Her eyes softened in curiosity and he smiled.

"Yeah, he would start telling stories about how his older sister taught him most of what he knows. And he'd randomly start naming constellations on late nights," he remembered, "He really looks up to you."

He smiled in victory, watching as her face melted into a soft nostalgic expression. But when she caught him, she grit her teeth and looked away. Jeremy chuckled and swayed them again but Audraya pulled out of his grasp.

"Thank you for the dance," she mumbled, "But I need some air."

He released her hand and waist. She left in a hurry, weaving through the pairs of people still dancing. She made her way to the emergency exit, pushing the door open hurriedly.

She walked a little ways away from the door, finding a spot of peace. When she stopped, she deeply inhaled. Her breath trembled and tears threatened to build in her eyes.

She shuffled and fumbled for the phone in her purse. As she scrolled through her contacts for Kol's number, a voice spoke from behind her.

"Hello, Audraya."

The girl froze. Every limb locked in its place. Her mind tried to interpret how the voice was present, but it could think of no other reason than the obvious.

She slowly turned around, her eyes widening at the sight, "Mother..."

Esther smiled politely and folded her hands in front of her. She walked closer to her daughter and sighed, "I see you're still alive."

"No thanks to you."

"I only wanted to balance the scales of nature," she defended, "And you, my dear, are not natural. Therefore...you must be extinct."

Esther stuck her hand out, inflicting a magical pain on her daughter. Audraya shouted in anguish as she felt her brain melt.

She fell to her knees, clutching her head tightly. Blood began to trickle out of her nose and eyes, streaming down her face.

Esther clenched her hand shut, increasing the intensity with every gap she closed. Audraya's blood curdling scream couldn't be heard over the loud music within the building.

She glanced back up at her mother one last time before her head hit the ground and she passed out.

-

"The only reason Audraya and I came to this dance was for Rebekah. And now my mother is out causing havoc while Rebekah and my and twin are nowhere to be found," Klaus said in frustration. His voice rose to an angered level, "Find them!"

Damon rolled his eyes and walked out of the room. Jeremy told him that he last saw Audraya leave through the gym's back door. Damon followed that lead and walked down the small alley until he rounded a corner.

Audraya's unconscious figure laid on the ground. Blood dripped down her dress. The red liquid smeared on his hands as he rolled her onto her back and shook her awake.

She groaned as her eyes opened. Damon's face hovered above her, being the first thing she saw as she woke.

Once she was conscious, he tried to pull her up to her feet. But her body was overwhelmed and she couldn't stand.

"Just give me a minute!" she snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry I woke you up from your nap, but we need to regroup with the others."

"She didn't just put me to sleep, she messed with my mind."

"Oh yeah," he sighed, gesturing to his head, "That witchy brain melty thing. I've felt that before; hurt like hell. Esther's a real bitch for doing that."

"Oh, I've got plenty of other reasons why she's one."

Damon nodded and took her arm. He led her back inside the building and to the room where the others were gathered.

As the door opened, Klaus turned and spotted his sister. He became concerned as he saw the blood that smeared her face.

She saw him instantly and smiled in relief. She pulled him in for a brief hug before he examined her face, trying to wipe the crimson away.

"Did she hurt you?" he whispered.

"Not any more than I've already dealt with."

He grit his teeth in frustration and let go, turning around to threaten Bonnie into performing the spell faster.

Stefan handed Audraya a handkerchief from his pocket. She hesitantly looked at it before accepting the offer.

"Just so you know, this doesn't mean I forgive you for what you did to Finn," she reminded, "I still have a very strong urge to kill you all."

He smiled,

"Good, then everything is back to normal."

-

Audraya had gone to the bathroom to clean up her face as the others waited on Bonnie. But almost twenty minutes later, the girl burst through the doors.

She glared at the Mikaelson and stayed a fair distance away, adjusting her hair in the mirror.

"I broke the spell," she informed, "Everyone already left."

"Without me?" Audraya asked angrily, hurrying to rush out.

"They don't need help," Bonnie called out, "Esther is dead. And Alaric..."

"He's what?"

The Bennett sighed, "He's transitioning. And he doesn't want to be a vampire so instead of feeding-"

"He chose to die."

She nodded and bowed her head. Audraya softened and carefully approached the witch, "I'm sorry to hear about that."

"I just feel bad for Jeremy and Elena. He's really their only parental figure."

"Where are the Gilberts now?"

"I think Matt said Jeremy was at the grill."

Audraya nodded and left the restroom. She marched out to her car, carefully stepping over the salt line. Seeing as the dance was long over, only her car and Bonnie's remained.

She quickly hopped in and began her drive to the grill. She was there in under ten minutes, and instantly found Jeremy sitting at the bar.

She silently walked up and sat next to him. He glance at her in mild annoyance as she reached over to snatch a glass from behind the counter.

"I'm really not in the mood to deal with whatever threats your family wants to throw at me," he scowled.

She chuckled, "No threats, I promise. Only peace offerings."

She refilled Jeremy's glass and poured herself a drink. She took a quick sip before turning to Jeremy with an empathetic expression, "I heard about Alaric. It's always a shame to lose someone you care about."

He scoffed, "I just don't get it! Being a vampire would suck but at least he'd be alive. He wouldn't leave us all alone like everyone else."

"Being a vampire isn't an easy choice."

"Neither is dying."

"But sometimes being supernatural comes with consequences we would be better off without," she reminded, "We wouldn't shut off our humanity and do terrible things. We wouldn't kill just to survive. Being a vampire requires you to make tough decisions and to be willing to compromise your integrity...and Alaric didn't want that."

His grip on his glass tightened. She placed a warm hand on his shoulder and sighed,

"Sometimes, in order to end the evil in our world, we have to end the evil in our life."

---