"NIKLAUS? IS T-THAT YOU?" At the sound of the frail, quiet and scared voice, Klaus' head perked up and shot towards the woman underneath the blankets, her white nightgown's sleeves rolled up to her elbows. "I just had the w-worst dream!" She forced a small smile that struggled to stay up due to her drowsiness. "I dreamt that I had a horrible fall that—" Her hands went down to her stomach as she spoke, and she suddenly frowned midsentence. "What?" She slowly and tiredly raised her head to look at where her hands had been resting.

"Aurelia, y-you're awake!" Klaus spoke up, trying hard to cover the tremble in his voice. "There is something you must know." He chose his words carefully; the last thing he wanted in that moment was to stress the young girl out more than required. "But I don't think I should reveal it to you right now. You're much too weak to retain and take this well." Aurelia used her hands to push her torso upwards so she could sit up comfortably, and Klaus quickly aided her by flattening his hand out on her back to support her.

"Tell me, Niklaus..." She insisted kindly. "There's no good in delaying the inevitable." With her words, he couldn't help but smile at her thought-process, especially considering how young she was. "It would do nothing but worsen things." Despite her attempt to keep a calm demeanor, Klaus could tell she was nervous and anxious to hear what he had to say. "Please tell me."

"I've always admired how maturely you see matters." He remarked sweetly, a fond smile making its way onto his lips. "You'll live on to be one of the most stunning women any man would know. And I don't just mean it physically." Finally sighing, he looked away from her quietly, as if in conflict about what he was going to say. "You..." Aurelia tilted her head to get a closer view so that she could listen to him intently. "Do you remember what happened? After your fall?"

"I..." He could see her expression falter slightly, but he didn't find that surprising; the amount of pain she was in before she was given his blood. "So it was reality, not from my strange imagination?" Her big, stormy blue eyes looked up at him, glistening slightly with tears. "What about Adam and Karissa?" She asked. "I had named them that, hadn't I?"

"They're well and healthy, Aurelia." He replied softly, taking her smaller, dainty hands in his. "However, what I'm worried about is you." After a small nod of understanding from the young girl, he continued to speak. "Even after the blood I had given you...everything happened much too quickly for us to do anything."

"You had given me your blood?" She blinked a few times in shock when she looked at him. "Hadn't Rebekah said that it was dangerous?" He nodded twice in response, and began to caress her hand to ease the evident stress in her features.

"It was after..." He insinuated, watching her carefully as she sighed in slight relief. "But you had passed out when I gave you my blood. There was no way to tell if you were going to wake up at all. I had even checked your breathing. It had stopped e-entirely. You were..." He trailed off, his words catching themselves in his throat as he found it too hard to speak.

"Dead." He looked at her, trying hard not to shed any tears in front of her. "I was dead." She repeated his statement, lips trembling. "So, my heart had stopped entirely?" She continued to ask questions for which she knew she would receive unbearable answers. "Did you hear it stop, Nik?" The question turned out to be more of a plea as she reached out for his face with both of her hands and forced him to look at her. "Did you hear it stop?"

"I did." His answer was like a key that opened the gates for her tears, which began rolling down her cheeks as soon as realization hit her harder than ever; realization of the fact that her worst nightmare had proven to be more than a mere nightmare. "You're now in transition, Aurelia. You have to drink human blood to remain alive."

"S-so, I'll die if I don't drink human b-blood?"

"You will." She burst into helpless sobs as she buried her face into her hands, making Klaus look at her with sorrow and guilt etched on his visage. Following the wave of regret that had hit him, he pulled her into his arms, letting her rest her head in the crook of his neck. "Aurelia..."

"I d-don't want to be a vampire!" She cried, her chest unevenly heaving up and down as her tears continued to fall freely. "I can't possibly live with slaughtering and butchering innocent beings for my own survival! I-I'd be a monster!" Klaus only remained quiet at her outburst, figuring that the only way he could comfort her was by listening to her and rubbing her back soothingly. "I don't want to live for a thousand years!"

When she pulled away, eyes red and swollen from her endless crying, cheeks stained completely with tears, she shook her head over and over again, mumbling the same thing repeatedly as Klaus' heart only shattered more and more.

"I don't want to be someone's worst nightmare."

"CAROLINE, ARE YOU HOME?" STEFAN PEEKED through the glass window on the door of Caroline's cozy home as he called his friend's name out. "We have to talk, it's important!" He continuously knocked on the wooden surface, hoping that she would come to the door.

When the door was opened, he hadn't expected to see Elizabeth Forbes stand there with a warm and welcoming smile dancing on her lips. "Stefan..." She tilted her head slightly to look at the man behind him. "Damon, you're here too." At the mention of his name, Damon's eyes flickered from the ground to the mother, and he forced a weak smile to greet her. "Caroline's in her room right now; she just got back from Elena's place. Is something wrong?"

"We gotta talk to her, Liz." Damon answered, desperation lacing his tone as he looked at Elizabeth intently. "About Elena; she told us that Caroline was asking about Aurelia at the celebration." He explained slowly, referring to the mini-party that the Mystic Falls gang—excluding himself and Stefan—had to celebrate Klaus' desiccation.

Stefan, while listening to his brother's words, was taken back to how eventful their day had been. After he carried Aurelia's body back to their own house, they looked for Elena immediately; they found her at Klaus' mansion, tied up to a chair while tubes were attached to her in order to empty out her blood into multiple blood bags that surrounded her. They weren't surprised at the sight, though; Klaus' desire for her blood to make hybrids was a popular topic among the supernatural beings of Mystic Falls.

While attempting to release the half-conscious brunette, they had been caught by the Original Hybrid himself—who understandably tried to disrupt their rescue attempt by attacking their brothers. With the aid of Tyler Lockwood, they had been able to hold the Mikaelson down and perform the desiccation spell on him instead of Alaric, figuring that the latter was another problem, and that Klaus would forever be after Elena if he were out and about. The celebration was for the eradication of all problems involving the hybrid; a huge weight lifted off the gang's shoulders for the moment.

It was supposed to be a win for them, but Stefan was anything but happy. He hadn't won enough; he had lost someone in the process, and he wasn't getting her back any time soon—or ever again, for that matter.

"Actually," Damon pulled him out of his thoughts. "Since you're home, Liz, I think you'd want to hear this with Caroline. Let us in?" He asked—or pleaded, even—while Liz looked at him with confusion. "This is important." After an eventual nod and a half-smile, Liz stepped to the side and let them in, calling Caroline once right afterward.

Soon enough, the blonde slowly walked into the hallway with her sweet and pleasant smile, her eyes darting between the brothers as she looked for a familiar blonde.

"Where's Aurelia?"

"MUST YOU BE SO STUBBORN, AURELIA?" Aurelia looked away from the bowl of food without an answer, silently expressing her disinterest in eating anything at the moment. Rebekah pressed her lips together to form a thin line as she held the spoon out for the younger to eat her food. "It's beef stew, sweetie; your favorite." She tried—unsuccessfully—to convince the transitioning vampire to eat at least a small meal.

Aurelia only shook her head a little bit, looking down at her hands as they fiddled with each other on her lap. She didn't move once from her slouched position, not even when she heard the door open and close.

However, as Rebekah turned her head a little bit—as Aurelia could make out from the corner of her eye—and stated, "Kol?" With a perplexed and defeated tone, the youngest in the room whipped her head towards the brown-haired man who was walking towards her bed from the door.

"I heard." He simply stated, taking a seat on the mattress next to Aurelia. "I also heard how persistent you've been with Rebekah." When his tone changed to match the pointedly look he gave her, Aurelia only frowned. "Darling, you've got to eat. There are only a few..." He trailed off to his own surprise, diverting his gaze towards Rebekah. "Uh—h-hours left."

"Aurelia," Rebekah began to say in a gentle manner. "There's still some time... for you to drink some blood—" Aurelia wasted no time or hesitation in shaking her head to sign a sharp 'no' that only made the two vampires sigh in disappointment.

"I can't live forever, 'Bekah." Her voice came out cracked and weak when she finally spoke—a result of her constant crying just hours ago. "I'd have to hurt other people to survive; killing them can't be my fate. It simply can't." When she finally looked the woman in the eye, her own orbs were filled with despair and sorrow.

"Well—" Kol cleared his throat as he spoke. "If you aren't going to turn, then you might as well let us treat you well, darling. It's the least we can do before we lose you..." He glanced at the bowl of meat in Rebekah's hands.

As Aurelia followed his gaze to the food, she bit her lip a little bit—a small habit she'd picked up since before she had met the Mikaelsons. Slowly and hesitantly, but surely, she parted her dry lips so that Rebekah could feed her. "There you go." The sister-figure said with a sweet and glad smile as she slipped the bowl of the spoon into Aurelia's mouth, pulling it out and watching fondly as the storm-eyed blonde quietly chewed on her favorite food.

When the two vampires watched the transitioning vampire's mouth twitch and contort into a small frown as she scrunched her nose up, they could only laugh. "It doesn't taste the same..." She said disappointedly, although she continued to chew until she could swallow the meat.

"That's because as a transitioning vampire, nothing tastes the same." All three heads looked at Klaus when his distinct, accented voice seemed to come out of nowhere—when it was really coming from behind Rebekah.

"Nik." Kol said, earning a small bow from the Original Hybrid. "When did you come in? I recall Elijah saying that you wouldn't visit for a while." That was when Aurelia's eyes landed on a pretty silver goblet in his right hand.

"Our Aurelia hasn't much time left," The man justified. "It would be nice to spend her last hours together. Elijah's expected to walk in any moment now." With a satisfied nod from Kol, Klaus walked towards the youngest in the room. "Would you two mind if I requested a few moments alone with her? I'd like to have a word with her."

The other two nodded and stood up, not yet noticing how Aurelia continued to stare at the glass, as if it had something that piqued her interest. As they walked towards the door, Rebekah eyes diverted to the contents of the goblet in Klaus' grip; she hadn't given it a second thought when she saw water, but Kol remained with a small and suspicious squint in his eyes, even as they walked out and closed the doors behind them.

"What does he have to say to her that could be so personal?" He suddenly asked, coming to a stop to follow his instinct. "I doubt that he'd say something we have no knowledge about to her. All of us know each other's matters well, don't we?" Rebekah hummed softly and looked at him.

"Well, we aren't eavesdropping on them, Kol." She said assertively. "We're both better than that."

"I could've sworn there was something off about that glass." Kol continued to pursue the topic in question, making Rebekah look at him as if he'd grown two heads.

"It was water." She stated confidently. "You could get a clear view of it. The glass didn't seem to be off either—" As she made more points to justify that absolutely nothing was wrong, Kol cut her off.

"It didn't smell like water, Rebekah." He said. "It was almost..." He trailed off, shaking his head slight disbelief. "Niklaus wouldn't." He pursed his lips slightly as his eyes were unfocused, his mind buzzing with numerous thoughts and theories.

"Almost what?" Rebekah asked. "And what wouldn't our brother do?" She looked at Kol with more confusion that she had before. "You're a strange man. Finish your sentences or you'll make my mind go elsewhere."

"Like—" A horrified and agonizing scream from Aurelia's chamber made the both of them exchange shocked expressions before bolting straight towards the closed door and pushing it open with much more strength than required.

As they opened it with the worst assumptions, the first thing they saw was the large bed they were at just moments ago; the goblet with the transparent liquid had been turned over to spill its contents over onto the bed, while Aurelia was on her palms and knees on the floor, figure visibly trembling. Their eyes then shifted to Klaus who stood just feet away from the collapsed blonde, hands in his pockets and face blank. His gaze was emotionless and fixed on her as Kol and Rebekah sped towards Aurelia with anxious stares and concerned exclamations.

"What've you done to her?" Elijah bellowed from the doorway, announcing his planned arrival as he looked at the scene before him. "Niklaus, answer me!" He roared, sharply appearing next to the man in question with his hands on Klaus' collar.

"What I had to do, Elijah." His voice was almost silent, but rang loudly in the vampires' ears as they realized the worst. Elijah's stare fell on the overturned goblet and the stain on the bed; he could clearly see the apparent 'water' slowly turn a familiar and deep shade of red, a shade that unmistakably belonged to a certain drink.

When he looked back at Klaus, his chocolate brown eyes were full of fury. "You spelled the blood to look like water? What has gotten into that mind of yours?! This is the one thing Aurelia did not want!" He yelled, frustration growing as Klaus seemed to show no regret for the crime he had committed.

"This is what is good for her, brother." He said, his own stare boring into Elijah's skull. "She is a part of our family, and family is Always and Forever. I refused to idly sit by and act as if there is nothing I can do to keep that promise."

"And so you simply feed her human blood?!" Rebekah screeched at him, her hands trying hard to push and help Aurelia up. "Against her wishes? She's never asked anything of us! You were incapable of fulfilling her last and only request, and for what?! Your own selfish desires?!" She spat with no care for how loud she was; she was enraged and he needed to know that. "You lowly bastard!"

"Humble words, Rebekah!" Klaus fired back. "Were you not the one who cried only two hours ago in your chambers, praying for a miracle to occur so that Aurelia wouldn't have to leave you?!" Rebekah clenched her teeth, looking away from him. "And you, Kol! Don't you dare think I can't tell what you feel right now. Your lovesick desires could not have been happier that I've given her this new life to live!" He continued to yell back at the two, before turning his attention back to Elijah. "I can't even get started on you, Elijah. She's the one person who gave you a clear view of what purity and innocence was—"

"And by turning her," Elijah cut in. "You've robbed her of it all! What innocence and purity will she have left when she's gone and killed half this town?! What will Adam and Karissa think of her when they realize that the woman who went through death for them so lovingly and selflessly is a monster?!" He pushed Klaus back into the mirror, shattering the glass entirely and sending the large shards into the air as it flew and fell near the trio next to them. "And what of when she inevitably turns her emotions off?! Do you realize what she could do, and her feelings when she finally turns them back on to feel all of the guilt that she put away?!" Klaus fell silent at his words. "WHAT OF HER PURITY AND INNOCENCE THEN, NIKLAUS?!"

An audible and alarming gasp made the four siblings look at Aurelia, who had finally sat up and thrown her head back, her lips widely parted to reveal bloodstained teeth and a bloodstained tongue from the spelled drink. "Aurelia, look at me, look at—" Kol's eyes widened in horror when he saw her canines begin to sharpen and elongate themselves considerably—turning into the oh-so-familiar fangs that every vampire possessed. "No..." He held the sides of her face with complete desperation, forcing her to lower her head and look at him. "Aurelia, my love, please! I beg of you, look at me!" He pleaded repeatedly, relaxing slightly when she obliged and opened her eyes.

The white sclera that he had seen for two, almost three years almost instantly turned a violently deep shade of red, making her grey-blue iris glow in comparison. Veins that pumped blood at a magnified rate swelled up underneath the skin below her eyes, becoming clear and visible to all.

It was a nightmarish sight—one he was too familiar with.

"Oh, heavens," Rebekah gently placed her hand beneath Aurelia's chin for a better look at the newly turned vampire. "This can't be happening." Aurelia then emitted a small growl, her head snapping to her left and stopping to stare angrily at Klaus, who could only look at her with tears prickling at his eyes.

The next few moments followed in a flash as Kol was thrown to the floor, losing his grip on Aurelia as she stood up in a hurry and sped towards Klaus and Elijah. The latter found himself getting pushed back harshly and Klaus was once again pinned to the shattered mirror with a hard grip on his throat. He found himself making eye contact with the once-familiar and innocent eyes of Aurelia, but instead saw fury and hate as she finally thundered at him.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!"

"Y-YOU'RE LYING TO ME." CAROLINE'S VOICE shook when she spoke after moments of an eerie and dread-filled silence in the Forbes household. "Stefan, you are lying to me right now. Stop it. This has to be a joke of some sort." She insisted, her hands flailing slightly. "How the hell did Alaric kill Aurelia when she clearly had her ring on her?! I know she's alive. There's no way she's gone!" She only grew louder and louder, ignoring the cracks in her voice.

"T-That's the thing." Stefan was close to the verge of tears yet again, but tried his hardest to conceal them for her sake. "He was able to think fast and