( dress for
dance above )

— i'm skipping over a few episodes because they're irrelevant

𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔶 𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔰
onze. — dance monkey!

The next few weeks were uneventful, Letha was glad to say. She knew supernatural things were going on around town, but she made it her mission to avoid all things Salvatore and co. But, instead of involving herself in the drama she moved out of her house with the help of Jenna, and into a small one bedroom flat — the money her parents had left her and her job helping pay for it.

She finally got back to dancing, feeing so much lighter when she lost herself to the music. And her new job was working at the dance studio, teaching the younger classes a few days a week after school and Saturdays.

Though when she was packing her things, Letha found something strange, nestled in the back of her wardrobe.

Letha reached towards the large, plain almost unnoticeable box that sat at the back of her wardrobe, she couldn't remember ever putting it there. Opening the lid hesitantly, she found a pristine envelope sat atop some wrapping that was concealing what ever else was inside. Tearing open the letter her eyes became glossy as she read the familiar scrawl.

Letha,
If you're reading this I hope and pray that you know of the going ons of the world around you now — you always were the smart one in this family.

However if you are reading this it means I am dead.

You're father would be so proud of the woman you have become, all he wanted was for you and your siblings to be safe. It's why he pushed you so hard with your sports and archery, he hoped you would never have to use those skills, but it is time. Mystic Falls is no longer safe from monsters that lurk in both the shadows and broad daylight — I hope this letter finds you well. I love you all so much.
Goodbye, John.

She clutched the letter close to her chest, when Jenna had told her that uncle John had died to save Elena the reality of it hadn't really sunk in. Uncle John who used to take her fishing and to the arcade when she was young — purposefully losing every time they would play racing games together — he had been far from perfect but he was family.

Her shaking hands reached forward and pulled the covering off the box, her teeth sinking harshly into her lip as she took in the objects before her; knives, wooden stakes, a bow and arrow set, and a large amount of vervain.

"You're really moving out then?" Jeremy's voice came from behind her and she hastily snapped the lid on the box, her heart beating out of her chest.

Letha cleared her throat as she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. She'd been avoiding her brother, knowing she had a tendency to forgive him for every little thing, "Seems that way."

"Why are you leaving me? Again?" His voice cracked as the words came out.

"I can't live in this house Jeremy, or I'm always going to be looking over my shoulder," he nodded in defeat, turning to walk away, "why did you let them do this to me?"

He fiddled with the Gilbert ring on his finger, Letha had adamantly refused to take it back when Jenna had suggested it. If she had learnt anything from watching Once Upon a Time it was that all magic comes with a price and she wasn't prepared to pay some unknown price. Truth be told she was uncomfortable watching Jeremy wear it, "I wanted you to live," she frowned and went to interrupt him, only for Jeremy to start talking again, "you are the most selfless person I have ever met. And I can't even count the amount of situations you would have gotten yourself killed in just to help other people. I wanted you to live, to leave for college, and never come back to this crap town. This town is cursed."

Letha had a few tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared at her little brother who seemed to have aged several years in the span of a few months, "Well you don't have to worry anymore, I don't plan on dying for anyone in this town."

"Except Jenna, I would take a thousand bullets for her."

Letha shook her head, her thoughts having run away from her for a little while there, "Shit!" She had been mid-curling her hair and had left the steaming hot curlers on her desk, a very obvious scorch mark forming.

She turned the heat down and frowned at her phone. Rebekah had pestered her relentlessly with gifts and affection until the Gilbert girl had forgiven her for snapping her neck in Chicago. She'd alongside Alyssa — the two made for a scary pair — had bugged her until she agreed to going to this dance, but now Rebekah had gone AWOL.

Letha finished her hair and make-up, before slipping on her yellow, silky dress. It was perfect for her, her favourite colour and it had pockets. It was all she needed in life. Letha glanced at the box of weapons her uncle had gifted her, she probably wouldn't be needing weapons it was only a dance. She rushed out of her room, stumbling a few times in her heels as she made her way to her front door only to find a fist raised in the air ready to knock, "Hello, love."

"Nik," Letha subtly leaned against the doorframe to block his view of her new flat, though she had lived their for a few weeks now she still hadn't unpacked half her stuff and she was ashamed to say she was quite a messy person, "I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Well I heard there was a dance tonight, and I thought you might need a date." Damn him and his sparkly blue eyes and blonde curls.

And damn those dimples. "Ok."

__________

Homecoming had been moved to the Lockwood's, Klaus mumbling something about a burst pipe with a smirk on his lips that indicated that he had something to do with it, "I've been waiting for this day for over a century."

Klaus muttered out from next to her as the two stood in the garden surrounded by drunken teens, "Homecoming?"

"This isn't a dance," he told her, the gleeful look in his eye a new and wonderful sight for her, "it's a wake, for my father."

"Mikael?" The details he had given her about that man were few, but what she heard made her sick to her stomach. The man sounded like a true monster, "good riddance."

"My sentiments exactly." The two clinked glasses, the moonlight overhead glaring down on Letha's face, her whiskey coloured eyes shining up at him. One of his new hybrids came over to the two, it was time for his announcement.

"Knock 'em dead," she told him when he looked at her hesitantly, not wanting to leave her alone, "I'm going to look for Rebekah and Alyssa."

She walked off, rolling her eyes when she noticed Alyssa was already passed out drunk next to a bush with a bottle in her arms. Luckily she'd gotten to know some hybrids and they agreed to move her to a sofa and get her sobered up and warm, while Letha continued her worried search for Rebekah.

"Letha, what are you doing here?" Elena's voice was strained and worried, her curly hair blowing in the wind.

"It's homecoming," she paused for a moment, "what are you doing here, Katherine?"

"How the hell did you know?" The doppelgänger almost stomped her foot in frustration, before groaning, "Just get out of here."

"Somethings going down isn't it?" She whined, "Why is it always the dances?" She muttered a quick thanks to Katherine before walking away to find Klaus.

Spotting him stood around drinking, she speed walked to him as inconspicuously as possible, "Nik, something's happening here. Someone is planning something."

He'd been around her long enough to trust her instincts when something was wrong. Besides he'd almost expected the idiots of this one-pony town to stage an uprising, "Get out of here. I'll deal with this."

"Be careful." She knew she was useless in this situation, having left her weapons and home and no longer wearing the ring she was completely vulnerable. Letha was just human.

Letha wandered around to their front of the house, shivering slightly in her short dress as the night air suddenly seemed to drop in temperature, whilst she was waiting for her Uber. Then everything around her faded to black, a pain registering in her head for only a moment.

—————

She awoke to muffled sounds of shouting, her ears ringing as her eyes struggled to open, "If she dies, this lot will be last of your abominations."

"I don't need them. I just need to be rid of you."

At Klaus' words she was suddenly tossed into the arms of an older man with a disgusted sneer, who she could only assume to be Mikael, "And what of her, Niklaus? What if I killed your little pet?"

Katherine struggled in the arms of the hybrid holding her with a knife against her back. This wasn't a part of the plan, "You're bluffing."

"Are you willing to bet her life on that?" His grip was like a boa constrictors, relentlessly crushing her lungs as she gasped for air. "You'll truly have no one without your, little human friend. Nobody to care about you — you'll lose your hybrids too when I kill her sister. Step outside!"

Letha desperately shook her head as she stared into his teary blue eyes, don't do it — it's what he wants!

"I'm calling your bluff, father. Kill them." The words sounded chocked, and Letha breathed out as much of a sigh of relief as she could as he stayed inside.

"Come outside and face me, you little coward. And I won't have to."

"My whole life you've underestimated me. If you kill them you lose your leverage. So go ahead. Go on. Kill them. Come on, old man. Kill them. Kill them!" His voice was scratchy as he screamed at the man, his anger taking over.

He was chilled to his core when Mikael simply laughed.

"Your impulse, Niklaus. It has and will forever be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great." The hybrid besides them stabbed Katherine in the back letting the doppelgänger fall to the floor, as Mikael spun her around so he could look her in the eyes as he drove his blade into her stomach. Klaus watched on in shock and horror as did Katherine, the older man smirking evilly at the young girl as he continued to hold her up.

Letha really couldn't breath now, her breaths coming out raspy, she heard a commotion behind her but focused on the overwhelming hatred for Mikael. She only had a few seconds to pull this off. As fast and painlessly as possible, she pulled the blade from her stomach - much to Mikael's bafflement and stuck it in his chest.

He let her go, her body hitting the floor with a deafening thump, her eyes lazily focusing on the stars above. The man simply laughed as he removed the dagger, "You have a warriors heart—," he was interrupted as a bunch of what she assumed to be wolfsbane grenades went off.

Her hand felt wet and sticky when she placed it against her wound, the cold ground beneath her not nearly as cold as her body. Maybe she should have worn the ring after all.

Letha wasn't sure how long she was lying on that cold hard ground for, bleeding out, it could have been seconds, minutes, hours, everything seemed to bleed into nothingness as her heart beat slowed in her chest. "Letha, can you hear me?"

His face was blurry above her, his hands holding her face in his hands, her body resting in his lap. His blonde curls and blue eyes made him look like an angel and for a moment Letha thought she had finally died. And then he bit into his wrist and fed her his blood, the metallic liquid feeling heavy in her throat. She coughed loudly, cringing at the pain that lingered in her stomach, "Well that was a disaster."

AUTHORS NOTE!
I absolutely love updating this story because of all the positive feedback you guys are giving, and I just want to say thank you for all your votes and comment — and for over 20k reads!!

Also this was an extra long chapter to make up for all the short ones I've been doing how did you guys like it?

Some people were asking how my birthday went, it was lovely my mum bought me some new swishy skirts, we had lamb and wine. And I finally watched IT Chapter Two. Thank you guys for all the birthday wishes, your all so lovely!

Stay safe! Remember to vote, comment and or share! Also follow me if you don't already lovelies!

Unedited
-summer