Klena

Klena is the het ship between Elena Gilbert and Klaus Mikaelson from the The Vampire Diaries fandom.

Season 2
After being rescued by Stefan and Damon from Elijah, an Original vampire, Elena discovered that Klaus Mikaelson, the oldest vampire in the history of time, was after her to break The Curse of The Sun and Moon. In Katerina, Elena arrived at the Salvatore Boarding House and learned more about Klaus from Rose. Later, Elena went to Katherine to gain more information to try and stop him. Stefan assured her that he would protect her, but Katherine replied that no matter what he'd try to do, there was no stopping Klaus. She told them how he killed her entire family just to get back at her for running, and this made Elena feel even more terrified of the Original.

Elena found out more about Klaus from his brother, Elijah, who she had become allies with. Elijah revealed that The Curse of The Sun and Moon was fake, and the real curse was a curse placed on Klaus. A vampire born from a werewolf bloodline. A confused Elena then asked what that made Klaus, a werewolf or a vampire, and Elijah answered that he was both, making him not only an Original but the first Hybrid. The curse placed on him by Mikael and Esther suppressed Klaus' werewolf side and kept it dormant, denying him any connection to his true self. And for centuries, Klaus had been determined to break it. Elijah explained that for him to break the spell, he needed a vampire, a werewolf and the blood of the Petrova doppelgänger. Elijah had planned to save Katherine (the previous doppelgänger) from her fate by giving her an elixir that would bring her back to life, but she had already taken matters into her own hands. Elena however decided to take Elijah's deal and put her trust in him, and he gave her his word that he'd kill Klaus when the time would come.

Elena first "met" Klaus when he possessed Alaric Saltzman's body and pretended to be him at the decade dance. He lead Elena and Bonnie into a trap and planned to kill Bonnie. Maddox (Klaus' Warlock) had informed him that while Bonnie was a threat to him, anyone who used the power of a hundred witches would easily die if provoked enough. Elena witnessed Bonnie's "death" as she fought Klaus, but it was later revealed by Damon that she had placed a spell on herself that would prevent her from dying, thus Klaus wouldn't realize that Bonnie would be the one to stop him during the ritual.

After a day with Stefan, Elena returned to the Boarding House where she first met the real Klaus. He said to her “Are you ready, my dear?” and threatened Stefan when he refused to let Elena go. Eventually after an emotional goodbye, Elena separated from Stefan and went with Klaus. Because of Damon's interference in his plan, Klaus kidnapped Elena's aunt, Jenna, and used her as the vampire for the ritual. After Klaus injured Stefan when he tried to save Jenna, he thanked Elena, making her look him in the eye, but she told him to go to hell. Klaus then drained Elena of her blood, killing her, though she was revived by Bonnie in the finale.

Season 3
"There's my girl. You were supposed to be dead, what are we gonna do about that?"

- Klaus upon seeing Elena

In Season 3, when Klaus tried to turn a werewolf into a hybrid, they would die during transition. Because of of this, he suspected that Elena may have been alive and came back to Mystic Falls in search of her. He arrived at the school and took Elena and forced Bonnie to find a way to fix his plan after he'd fed Tyler his blood and snapped his neck. At the end of The Reckoning, Klaus had planned to take Elena with him however Damon and Katherine got him to leave without her, instead leaving Stefan to protect her. Klaus later met Elena at the Grill with Damon, and said that he needed to find Stefan as he stole something from him. But Elena, with an irritated expression, responded, “That sounds like a Klaus and Stefan problem.” to which Klaus replied “Well, this is me broadening the scopes, sweetheart.”

In 3x10, Elena bargained Rebekah's life for her brother Jeremy's. Klaus spared Jeremy and prepared to take Rebekah but Elena warned him that if he awakened her, he needed to know that Rebekah wanted her dead. Klaus assured her that he'd be able to control Rebekah since he still needed Elena to find Stefan. Upset, Elena said that Stefan didn't care about her anymore, and he had made sure of that since he was the one who turned him into a monster. She added that she wasn't the only one who Rebekah wanted to kill as she knew what Klaus did to Esther. This caused Klaus to fall silent, seemingly upset. In 3x21 he arrived at Elena's house to take her with him, but discovered that Alaric had taken her and Caroline to kill them unless he turned himself over. Arriving at the school, he overpowered Alaric and saved Elena. When she woke up in chains, Klaus was by her, and explained that he was draining her of her blood so that he could create an army and still kill Alaric. Tyler, Damon and Stefan helped Elena escape and subdued Klaus.

Season 4
"What's wrong, love?"

- Klaus to Elena

In Season 4, Stefan called Klaus to heal vampire Elena as she had werewolf venom in her system. Klaus almost seemed to show somewhat worry upon discovering that she was ill because of werewolf venom. He realized that he still needed Elena alive and cured her willingly with his hybrid blood. Klaus became allies with Stefan when he admitted there may have been a way for Elena to become human again. After Elena killed Connor, she began to hallucinate. Klaus reacted instantly and grabbed Elena to keep her safe in a closed room in his big house. They talked about the Hunter's Curse and how Klaus had killed all Five Original Hunters. Consequently, he was tormented just like Elena, the difference being that Klaus was a hybrid.

After Caroline told Klaus that Stefan had freed Elena, Klaus was not amused at all and told her to shut up. To stop the Hunter's Curse and Elena's tormenting, he sacrificed his hybrid so that Jeremy could kill him and become the new Hunter.

In the end, Klaus eventually left Mystic Falls.

Novels
"YOU NEED HELP HE'S OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE UNBELIEVABLY STRONG-- NOW LISTEN AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS YOU HAVE TO DO A SUMMONING SPELL AND THE FIRST INGREDIENT IS H- (...) BONNIE GET OUT RUN HE'S HERE RUN RUN RU-"

- Elena to Bonnie

In The Dark Reunion, Chapter 1, Bonnie dreamt about Elena giving her a warning about a man. Elena's voice was distorting and fading away, and before Bonnie could make out what she was fully saying, she woke up. In Chapter 2, Bonnie communicated with Elena through a planchette and Elena warned her, Vicki and Caroline that the entire town was in danger and they needed help. At the very end, Elena began panicking and frantically telling Bonnie to run as the man she had warned her about had arrived.

In Chapter 5, Bonnie fell asleep and dreamt about Elena again. This time, Elena warned Bonnie to "not let the man in". Before long, Stefan arrived to help Bonnie after hearing about Elena, and him, Damon, Bonnie, Matt and Meredith all investigated to find out the identity of the vampire terrorizing Fell's Church. They visited Vicki Bennett, who had seen him face to face, and as Stefan tried to calm her down, he asked her what he looked like. She screamed in fear, “He looks like the Devil!” before the lights in her room went off. Eventually, they captured Tyler Smallwood. The one who had killed Sue Carson under the vampire's bidding, and he informed them that the man was "an Old One" and he was incapable of being killed. In Chapter 11, Bonnie made contact with Elena to let her see Stefan, but Elena teared up and said she couldn't.

"Tears were shining in Elena's eyes now, and her lips were trembling. "What if things start to change? What if he comes, and..." She put a hand to her mouth and Bonnie remembered the last dream, with teeth falling like rain. Bonnie met Elena's eyes with understanding horror."

Unbeknownst to the danger he was putting himself in, Stefan reunited with Elena. When he thought that nothing would get him to give up on her now, he heard a voice say behind him, “Wrong, sport! Surprise!”. Stefan turned around and saw a tall, Nordic looking man who smiled and guessed his name, "Salvatore", and said to him about Elena: “And of course the beautiful Elena. The beautiful dead Elena. Come to join her, Stefan? You two were just meant to be together.” Elena told Stefan to leave as he was too dangerous, but the man laughed and said that they needed proper introduction. He introduced himself as Klaus, an Old One, one of the Originals. Klaus then toyed around with Stefan, distorting the dream-vision and letting Elena's body decompose and turn into bones in front of his eyes. Stefan bravely fought back against Klaus' abilities and used Power to "revive" Elena, causing Klaus to go berserk, enraged that he could defy him.

During the final battle, Klaus about almost killed Stefan and nearly killed Damon as well until there was an intervention from Elena's spirit. She lead an army of Civil War ghosts who carried a screaming Klaus away.

The Hunters: Destiny Rising
"As the smoke began to clear, a tall, golden-skinned figure took shape and stepped out of the flames. Elena knew him. She thought, as she had the first time she saw him, that he looked like the devil, if the devil were handsome. He was naked as he came out of the fire, his body lithe and well muscled, and he held his head up proudly. His hair was white, his eyes blue. His smile was joyous and insane, and every move held the promise of destruction. Lightning cracked overhead, and he threw back his head and laughed with what sounded like sheer malevolent pleasure. Klaus had risen."

In The Hunters: Destiny Rising Chapter 8, much to Elena's horror, Klaus was brought back to life by Ethan Crane. At first, Klaus relished in returning to life and killed Ethan, having no care for him. He then noticed Elena and beckoned her to come to him. Elena went to Klaus out of fear of what he might do to her friends, but Stefan, Meredith and Zander intervened, preparing themselves to to fight Klaus. Despite their efforts, Klaus easily defeated them all and swatted Stefan away when he tried to get to Elena. Klaus held Elena's face and said that he "owed her a death", but would not kill her yet. Shockingly, Klaus softly kissed Elena before leaving.

After some brief scenes between them throughout the rest of the book, in the final battle, Klaus eagerly drank Elena's blood. Not realizing it would kill him in the process for Elena was a Principal Guardian.

Quotes
"If you had told me a few hours ago, I wouldn't have cared a lick about her dying. But, as it turns out... You may be of use to me after all."

- Klaus to Stefan about Elena

Novels
"As the smoke began to clear, a tall, golden-skinned figure took shape and stepped out of the flames. Elena knew him. She thought, as she had the first time she saw him, that he looked like the devil, if the devil were handsome."

- Elena about Klaus

"Then, across the firelit clearing, his eyes locked on Elena's, and his head went up like a dog catching a scent, his face changing from indifference to alertness. Elena swallowed, her throat dry, her heart still beating like a small, frantic bird trapped in her chest. His eyes were so blue, but not the kind light blue of Matt's or Zander's tropical sky blue. Klaus's eyes were like thin ice over dark water."

"“You,” Klaus said to her, almost gently. “I've wanted to see you again,” and he smiled and opened his hands. “And here you are at my rebirth to welcome me. Come to me, little one.”"

- Klaus to Elena

"Elena didn't want to move, but she staggered forward toward Klaus anyway, her feet shuffling forward without her consent, as if they were being operated by someone else. She heard Matt's panicked whisper behind her - “Elena!” - and he gripped her arm, bringing her to a grateful halt. There was no time to thank him, though: Klaus was closing in. “Should I kill you now?” he asked her, his tone as intimate as a lover's. “You don't seem to have your army of angry ghosts around you this time, Elena. I could finish you in seconds.”" "Still inspiring devotion, are you, girl?"

- Klaus to Elena

"I owe you a death, pretty one."

- Klaus to Elena

"Klaus ignored him (Matt), his eyes fixed on Elena's. They stared at each other, and Elena tried to make her own eyes as defiant as possible. If Klaus was going to kill her now, she wouldn't go down weeping and begging for mercy. She wouldn't. She bit the inside of her cheek hard, trying to focus on the physical pain instead of her fear. Then Stefan was suddenly there, wrenching at Klaus's arm with all his strength, but it didn't make any difference. Klaus's hand was as firm on her jaw as ever, his eyes steady on hers. The moment seemed to stretch out into years."

"I will kill you. But not yet. I want you to be waiting for me, to think of me coming for you. You won't know when, but it will be soon."

- Klaus to Elena

"Quickly, shockingly, he pulled her toward him and planted a soft, cold kiss on her mouth. His breath was rank, and the taste of Ethan's blood on his lips made her gag."

- Klaus kisses Elena

"“Your magician and witch have found a way to protect you, have they?” Klaus sneered. He glowered at Bonnie and Alaric, who both took an automatic step backward, their faces white with fear, and then he turned back to Elena. “Don't worry, pretty one, it won't stop me from having you.” His voice dropped to an insinuating whisper and he reached out with one finger to trace the line of Elena's upper lip. He smiled, but his eyes were furious. “I'll figure out a way around whatever they've done, believe me.”"

- Klaus to Elena

"Then a tile from the elevator roof was kicked in, and the blackness was all around her. Flinching, Elena looked up, straining to see something. “Hello, my pretty one.” Klaus's voice came from above. “You've been waiting for me, haven't you?” His voice was as casual as if he'd just come by to chat. “Hello, Klaus,” Elena said, trying to keep her voice steady. She pressed herself against Andres. She felt like she was falling."

"“No,” she whispered hoarsely. She felt Klaus's hand stroking her hair back, and she shuddered with repulsion at the gentle touch in the dark. She struggled weakly, but his Power was holding her in place. “I could have let the fire kill you,” he whispered, his voice intimate and almost tender, “but what's poetic in that? My bite may not hurt you, but I want a taste of the girl that fascinates vampires so much. I've never tasted a Guardian before. Is your blood especially sweet?”"

- Klaus and Elena, Chapter 37

"The steady thump of Klaus's footsteps stopped, but Elena was still sliding forward. With a shock, she realized that he was pulling her to him and she flailed desperately, trying to jerk herself away. She was so tired, though. She'd used more of her Power than she ever had before, and she felt drained and helpless. Elena could do no more than struggle weakly as Klaus picked her up, gathering her in his arms as gently as if she was a baby."

- Elena and Klaus, Chapter 37

Official
This Is Dedicated To The One I Love | The Mamas and Papas

Behind The Scenes
"Now Elena's a vampire so I think shag Elena."

- Joseph Morgan playing "Shag, Marry, Stake"

Fanon
Klena is a rare-pair ship in the fandom that has controversy surrounding it because of Klaus and Elena's antagonistic relationship. Some fans ship them because of the chemistry betwen Joseph Morgan (Klaus) and Nina Dobrev (Elena), and some think that Klaus and Elena could have had interesting development for a romantic relationship. It is Elena's fourth most popular ship and Klaus' fifth. Fans who also ship Klefan also ship the two which results in the poly ship Klefelena, the ship between Elena, Stefan and Klaus (though it is mostly shipped as a joke because of Klaus' interest in Stefan and Elena).

In the novels, Klaus is irredeemable and fans find it hard to ship him with Elena because of their antagonistic relationship. In the show, some fans ship the ship because they believe under different circumstances Elena would try and understand Klaus.

On AO3, Klena is Elena's fourth most written ship and Klaus' sixth.

Fandom
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Trivia

 * In the TV-Series, Klaus often referred to Elena as "My Girl." In the novel series, he referred to Elena as "Pretty One."
 * Klaus was in love with Tatia, the doppelgänger that was most alike to Elena.
 * Joseph Morgan (Klaus) and Nina Dobrev (Elena) are close friends in real life and enjoy working with each other.
 * Joseph Morgan said that if things didn't work out between Caroline and Klaus in Season 4, he wanted Klaus to search for someone else and suggested Elena.
 * In the novel series of The Vampire Diaries, Elena's blood is the only thing that can kill Klaus besides a white oak stake/white oak ash.
 * In the novel series, Klaus kissed Elena and was described to speak gently, affectionately and "like a lover" to her. Though this could be the same emotional manipulation he used on Katherine.
 * Klaus' attraction towards Elena in the novel series could be the same form of emotional manipulation he had used on her half-sister, Katherine.
 * Joseph Morgan was interested in making Elena Klaus' love interest.