Chapter 2

"Bonnie are you sure you can do this?"

After a lengthy phone call to my best friend, explaining every inch of the events from the past 24 hours, Bonnie was more than happy to help as much as she could. My dear friend Bonnie - I could always count on her. Thankfully, with Bonnie being in the convenes of the Salvatore home, I was no longer alone with Damon. A god send from the heavens.

"More than sure, trust me.", and I did trust her.

Laid out on the floor was the battered, stained, aged portrait of Katherine from 1864, a spell book and a map, amongst the collection of scented candles lit across the room. The extremes of magic Bonnie was capable of, always sent a shiver down my spine. Bonnie began by adding a single splotch of ink onto the centre of the map. Katherine's image was then grasped in her hand, as the chanting commenced;

"Ah gus tra ben. Ah gus tra ben. Ah gus tra ben."

A cascade of wind entered the room with a bitter chill. Every candle flickered. Bonnie's face terrified me. Her whole body was shaking frantically, and the pupils of her eyes were no longer apparent, sealed in the back of her skull. She was transfixed.

Immediately the splotch of ink began its journey across the map. Travelling far and wide it felt as though the ink had crossed a lifetime of cities, until-

Kryley.

Stefan was in Kryley.

Darting over to Bonnie, I released her from her trance with an almighty hug. Bonnie had given me hope. Bonnie had given me Stefan.

"Oh thank you. Thank you so much. Bonnie are you okay?", I cried.

"I'm fine Elena, just glad i could help.", returning the hug with an emotional smile. True friendship.

"Damon we have to go. Now!", I exclaimed.

"What about Isobel?", Damon queried.

"Yes, we'll make a stop on the way. Hopefully Isabel will give us a more specific area where he may be. If not I am determined to visit every building within the whole of Kryley if I have to. I just have to find Stefan"

"Very well then.", and with that Damon fled from the room - defeated.

Imprisoned in the depths of the satan, Stefan was chained from head to toe. Deprived of breath from the endless struggles to break free, he finally observed his surroundings. The air held a damp, musky aura to it, and the concrete floor was encased in dust and broken glass. Each corner of the cellar envisaged a pyramid of dead bodies. Blood trickled down the drains, and the temptation was increased tremendously than normal. He was suffocated with the smell of it.

His ears were filled with the once innocent, tender, musical laughter of Katherine. Now the sheer sound disgusted him. Katherine was a monster. Clothed in only a velvet black dress (which 145 years ago would have mesmerised him), Katherine was the image of poison. Oh, how he detested her.

Every hour now she would make her way down to the basement to relish in her master plan and tease her prisoner Stefan with sadistic future plots concerning Elena. Every time her name was mentioned, Stefan roared with rage.

"If you hurt Elena I swear to god I will rip out your heart, burn your body and scatter your ashes in hell!"

Katherine was amused by this. Draping herself over Stefan body's, she nibbled gently at his ear and whispered seductively,

"Oh Stefan my love, but this is all far too easy. Elena will be on her way now and once she's killed we can be together."

Stefan now severely weak, used all the strength he could to throw Katherine from his body. The monstrous female landed with a thunder, as her bare back scraped down the railing of the locked gate and the skin on her bare legs was pierced by the scattered glass. Frustrated Katherine let out a snarl and pounded towards Stefan once again.

"Even if you were the last person on this earth we would never be together.", Stefan spat with a vile tone, head to head with Katherine.

"You love me just admit it! How could you not" Katherine growled.

"Love you? I HATE you!"

"Stefan, Stefan, Stefan, you really shouldn't have said that because now unfortunately that gorgeous little face of yours is going to have to pay"

Instantaneously, Katherine unleashed a ball of powder from the clasp of her hand and smothered it along the skin of Stefan's face.

Vervain.

Howls of pain echoed through the cellar. Screeches of fury escaped Stefan's mouth as the vervain sizzled upon his skin. Blotches of blisters were imminent the second after the powder had delivered its purpose - torture. Punishment.

Katherine watched in honour. She had won. Once again. A wicked grin spread across her ghastly beauty.

"You will not get away with this! The second I'm free I will end you!"

"Oh but Stefan you'll never be free. You and me forever baby.", Katherine slipped out of the cellar and bolted the gate with that same ear piercing laughter.

The giggles of horror were left ringing in Stefan's damaged ears. The pain he felt wasn't due to array of scars covering his face, but for Elena. He needed her. His heart was empty. The gaping whole within it, made every single nerve in his body ache for the one he loved.

He missed her. So much.

"So why would Katherine come to Kryley? It's a little vacant for vampires right? I mean isn't the entire population less than 30 at the most?", I was once again confused by Katherine's intentions.

"I don't know Elena, it's Katherine. She could be anywhere, and i still would be a world away from understanding her mentality", Damon replied.

"True", I laughed.

Damon turned with surprise at my reaction. A smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and his blue eyes wide.

"A laugh? Wow our relationship must be improving"

"Yeah well don't get used to it Damon.", I sneered.

Again for the second time today, the rest of the car journey carried out in silence. Acres of country zoomed by the window, and I was frustrated at Damon even more as I couldn't take in the beauty of the landscapes with his speed of driving. Each time a sigh escaped my lips, Damon snickered at the effect he was having on me. If his affections are true, he sure has a funny way of showing it. I decided to turn on the radio in hope to drown out the presence of him. However, this dampened my mood further as every cheesy, American love song reminded me of him. Stefan.

120 miles into our journey, i picked up my phone to call Isobel. We were about 5 miles away from her present address, which was also written on the note Rick had given me. I made a mental note to thank him again. Dialling the number, my stomach was in somersaults. My biological mother was nothing other than a name on a birth certificate as far as I was concerned. I closed my eyes and swallowed a large intake of oxygen. Damon squeezed my hand and gave a smile of reassurance, as I hit 'call'.

"Hello. Who is this?"

"Hi, Isobel. It's your daughter. Elena."