❝May your reign fall❞
•

I jolt up from my bed once again for the fifth time this night. My head throbs and sweat glistened on my face. It's really happening.

The other side is falling apart. And my friends are going down with it.

I huffed, yanking the covers off my body to rest my feet on the floor. My hands gripped tightly onto the end of the bed as I endure another horrific headache, however this one made me scream out in pain. I whimper softly to myself as I get hit with another death. That's what this all was; deaths of my friends. First Stefan, then Tyler and now I'm scared of who's next.

Quickly, I stand from my bed and slip into my slippers before rushing out my dorm room and downstairs. I rub my temple as it throbs painfully, though pain has surrounded me as I walked to the main entrance, only to find Stefan on the couch, and Caroline sobbing.

"Oh no." I whimper, walking up to his body. He lays stiff as his body was covered in gray with heavy dark veins, as any vampire would when dead. I knelt down to Caroline, resting my hand on her shoulder. Tears weld up in my eyes, only letting a few escape and roll down my face, "Care.." My voice is shaky and low, but she was able to hear me. I engulf her in a hug and she gives into it, crying on my shoulder.

The cold breeze of the room hits my body and I shiver, seeing as I'm only in shorts and a tee. After a few minutes I hear fast paced footsteps coming towards us, and instantly I notice that it's Elena and Damon.

Elena's heel click against the wooden floor as she comes toward us. "Oh my god, Stefan." Elena gasp and Caroline breaks from my hug to speak.

"I didn't know where to bring him, and I just couldn't leave him outside." Caroline chokes on her tears. I glance at Damon, to see him staring at his brother's body, disconcerted. "Bonnie has a plan, right? She--she said that she could bring people back. Tell me that she can bring him back!"

I look at Damon and Elena to see them give each other looks. Bonnie can't bring him back. Or any of them back without. Damon let's out a huff, still looking down at her brother, "We'll bring him back. Come on. Let's get away from prying eyes." Without another word, Damon places a blanket over Stefan and picks him up bridal style before carrying him to Elena's room.

Quietly, I stand up, "I have to go get changed." I mumbled, and walk back to my room. I couldn't handle this. Not only is the other side crumbling to pieces, but my friends are dying. I make it to my room and close it behind me before tossing on some jeans. I put on a bra before my white floral top, and my blue cardigan.

When I tried to put on my flats, I stumbled slightly, getting a massive heartache. I glance up seeing, two people in my room, chanting. Travelers. I try and stand, only for them to chant louder. I cry out as my headache becomes unbearable, before I completely collapse onto the floor.

My vision blurred as I saw them stand over me, before my surroundings turned dark.

•
•

My head pounds as I stirred awake. I groaned heavily as I raise my head, feeling pain shoot up my back. Before I get to process where I am, I'm blinding by a bright light. My arm is gripped tightly before I felt myself being dragged.

"Rowan! Tyler!" My eyes squint open and I raise up my hand to block the sun. When my eyes adjust, I realize that I'm by the Mystic Falls boarder. I look around and see a bunch of travelers moving around, but my eyes focus on Sheriff Forbes and a guy with dark hair who stand in front of me. I stare down the guy, taking in his features and how he holds himself before realizing that he's the infamous Markos that everyone now talks about.

"Oh, that's not Tyler anymore. That's Julian, the Traveler who betrayed his people when he killed the doppelganger and stopped the spell." Markos states, and I raise my eyebrows in confusion, "A big, scary werewolf-vampire hybrid, and yet a little vervain, a touch of wolfsbane, and here you are -- weak and all mine." 

You think you're some great leader because you pillage a helpless town? That makes you king now? Sorry, your highness, but I don't buy it." A voice I instantly recognized as Tyler's and I turn to see him, chained up and held up by travelers as well. But then I remembered, he has a traveler taking over his body.

"That's because you haven't set foot inside my kingdom." Me and the traveler, who took over Tyler, look at him, lost, "The spell the Travelers cast across Mystic Falls eliminates spirit magic, so while my people continue to have access to the Earth's purest magic."

"So what does that mean?" I asked, my voice dry and scratchy.

Markos smiles at my words, "It means your friend Tyler will be stripped of everything the witches did to him, first his hybrid side, then his vampirism, and with no vampirism to keep him alive, he'll just be a boy with a werewolf gene, who happened to break his neck."

"What?" I asked, watching Tyler's body be dragged towards the borderline.

"No, no! No!" Tyler's voice cries out, "Don't do this! No! No! Stop." He pleads as they force Tyler to cross the city limit. In an instant, loses his vampirism, and his eyes change to his werewolf eyes befofe they turn back to normal.

I wince as he screams out and as his fangs come out and then disappear. Tyler gasps in pain as his skin starts to burn. I couldn't get a chance to blink before his head moves in a quick motion, snapping his neck. I look away as I hear his body thuds when it hits the ground.

I was lost for words at this point, but I held back my tears. Bonnie needs bring them back. She has to find a way.

"Oh, my God." Sheriff Forbes. "So, why is Rowan here?" I turn to them slowly as my name was mentioned.

"Well, because she is the only supernatural being beside us and witches that can live when passing this line." Markos explained. "And she's leverage. Just in case."

"In case of what?" I ask and he turns to me with a smirk. "What do you need me for?"

"In case things don't go my way."

•
•

I grunt in frustration after trying to escape from the ropes they tied me with. This is the fifth time I tried to break free, and the fifth time I failed.
Markos didn't want me in the main room, so he kept me in the storage closet.

As they cheer and dance to very loud music, I stare at the clock hung on the wall, seeing it's 6:25pm already. Time sped up, though wearing myself out seemed to distract me. And the fact that my friends have a plan to save everyone from the other side.

That's another thing exhausting me. All these voices, just screaming at me. It wasn't as bad earlier, but when I stepped into the Grill, that's when the voices got louder. I whimper as I struggle free once again.

After a few minutes, I rest my back against the beam I was tied to, my insides boiling as I want scream but, my mouth was taped shut, so all that came out was muffled cries. Though, I relaxed after awhile, hoping to regain my strength because my friends can't cross the border.

They can't help me.

Times like this, I wish I had my dagger or some sort of pocket knife invisible to the world. I look at the clock again, 6:39pm. I sigh softly, though it comes out muffled. I'm forever going to be in here, or be their prisoner as they hide behind this borderline with my friends on the other side dying. This is just great.

6:41pm

I grunt into the tape, watching as the clock ticks before I become dizzy. The whiff of gas engulfs me and I began to cough furiously. It wasn't later until Markos and Sheriff Forbes walks in.

"I think there's a leak coming from the hatch." Liz says and glances down at me. I watch as Markos removes a vent panel from behind a shelf he moved to take a look at it, and immediately Liz punches him to the ground. When he tried to fight her, she pistol whips him unconscious before pulling out her phone to text and coming towards me. She rips off the tape, before untying the ropes. "Now go. Fast."

"What about you?" I wonder tiredly, hugging my wrist. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll be fine." She assured.

"They have a plan?" I pestered, and she nodded.

"Yeah, and you need to get out of here." She warned me, "Now, Rowan." I nod hesitantly, walking away slightly, only to look back at her, "I'll be fine, just go now."

I turn away from and weakly walk away, having to stop now and then as screaming erupts in my head. I groan, rubbing my head as I continue walking, but I'm knocked down when a car runs into the front entrance and not even a second later, I let out a wailing scream, before all of us were taken by flames.

[At this part, you will see italics meaning she is on the other side]

It felt like forever before I could open my eyes again. So when I did, I felt like I was in a different place, though, I was still in Mystic Falls. I look around and see I'm in the cemetery, and everything is normal, but it wasn't, because it was more quiet than usual. I  had dreams like this. I was in a lake being dragged down by some heavy force, causing me to drown, though I'd wake up a second later.

But right now, I'm not drowning. I'm on solid ground, in the clothes I put on, trying to figure out what I'm doing here. Am I dreaming again?

In the distance, I see people, barely, so I slowly walk towards them. Leaves and twigs crunch under my feet as I start to realize the people where Bonnie, Elena and Damon.

"Guys?" I speak up and they all look up at me, "What the hell is going on?"

"You were in the Grill?" Bonnie asked and I looked at her lost, before remembering being tied to the beam.

"Yeah, Markos held me hostage." I respond, "Why?" They all kept silent, and then I realized what was happening because it shouldn't take a whole army to, "I'm dead.. aren't I?"

Bonnie nods, "Yes, and you're going to pass through me so you can find your body, so I can bring you back, okay?"

"Sure, what else can I do." I chuckled dryly, seeing as Bonnie touch Elena and Damon, before they disappeared into thin air, "I always hoped to go to heaven. Not a supernatural afterlife that's crumbling to pieces. But I guess we'll make due." Bonnie smiled at me softly, before resting a hand on my shoulder and I'm instantly taken to the Grill. Everything is burnt and around is me is bodies. The scenery is a  blue hue, with broken lights and beams hanging from the ceiling.  

I walk towards the car that crashed into the Grill and realize it's Damon's, even when burnt to a crisp. In the passenger seat, was a person who was in the same condition as the  car, assuming that that was Elena. I continue on, walking  over the rubbish and dead bodies. I have to remember where I was. Storage room? 

I walk in that direction and quickly recognize a body. As gruesome as it already sounds, my body was bundled up like a cocoon, though my mouth was open. That makes me remember that I wailed before I was blown up. I cringe visibly at my corpse, before laying my hand on it and being sent back to the cemetery. 

"Bonnie!"  A voice shouted and I turn to see Damon and Alaric walking turns Bonnie, so I run up to catch up with them. We all make it to Bonnie and she smiles.

"That's all of us?" I ask her and she nodded, before sending Ric away.

"And Elena?" Damon wondered.

"Yeah, she made it." Bonnie responded and he nodded slightly, before Bonnie's hands were on his shoulders. It took us all a moment to realize he didn't disappear like Ric.

"What's wrong?'" I question and she  came over to me and touched my shoulder. 

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion, "Well would you look at that." Damon states and my eyes widen. We're stuck on the other side. 

"No. This can't be happening." I say, shock overwhelming me. "We have to try again. We can try again, can't we?"

"Nope, that was only shot, Ro." Damon sighed and my breathing become uncontrollable.

"But my mom- my mom, she doesn't know-" I begin to choke on my words,  not able to process this. I slowly back away from the two of them.

"Ro-" Bonnie tries to calms me, but I turn away from her and walk away, needing to be alone. But, I couldn't even make it far before breaking down in tears. I'm dead. That's all that invades my mind as wind picks up around me and all I could do was scream. As loud as I could, though the only ones who heard me was Bonnie who covered their ears in fear. "Rowan!"

Slowly, my scream subsided and soon enough, I was able to stand.  I see Damon walking back towards Bonnie, so I go as well. I wipe away my tears forcefully, looking back at all my friends. Jeremy came running, screaming Bonnie's name so everyone is gathered together, confused. I take a good look at them because this is the only time I could. I won't see them again.

"This place is going down isn't it?" Damon asked and I turn to look at him. 

"It is." Bonnie replied, "And I'm sure there are million of other people we'd rather be with right now, but.." Bonnie trailed off, grabbing both my hand and Damon's.

"Couple thousand at the most." Damon jokes and I smiled, realizing that I did stuff that I didn't think was possible; I was able to keep my friends safe. Well, most of them. 

"We'll find a way back to them." I say positively and they smile. "There's always a loop hole."

"Do you think it'll hurt?" Bonnie asked as we looked at the bright light ahead.

"Maybe." I shrug.

"I don't kn-" Damon barely got to finish his sentence before the light ahead took us all and we were sent to a place we didn't think was possible; a personal hell.