Chapter Seven
When Darkness Falls
Elena's screams echoed throughout Elijah's home for what felt like years. The first few days had been the worst, to the point where he could smell the blood forming in her throat, only to heal slowly. Without any blood in her system, he was torturing the young vampire and in a way it killed him to do so, but he had to convince himself Elena was hidden deep and this would be the only thing to bring her out.
The Original couldn't understand why it was so difficult for her to turn away from the ripper. He had assumed that once the blood was completely out of her system she should have reverted back to normal.
Instead, now one week later, she was still threatening to tear him apart, and even though he fought to remain confident, he was beginning to lose hope.
Each day, Elijah would sit with Elena spending hours in the dark room reading, his vampire sight being the only thing allowing him to see the pages.
"Whatcha reading?" she would ask each day trying to look forward. The two had played this game daily now, she would try and pretend to care of what he was doing, so he would have some shred of hope that Elena was coming back. Then she would laugh at him, and tell him the 'hopeful and sad' look doesn't suit him as much as he thinks it may.
Elijah was beginning to hate her, she was ruining the image he held dearly of Elena.
One day however, she surprised him.
"It's nothing important" he responded when she inquired about his book. "How are you feeling?"
She laughed, and he could see her eyes darting around the room, but without any blood in her system, she was practically blinded by the hunger.
"I still want to rip someone's throat out, but I'm managing."
Elijah sighed, pretending not to react to the words that she just uttered, afraid she would take them back.
It had taken an entire week of starving the young vampire to get to the point where she 'could manage'.
Why are you doing this?
Elena hadn't moved from her chair for now over an entire week. She tried, she tried like hell to break free. She had a goal in the back of her mind. It was the only thing that had kept her from going completely nuts. A part of her was fighting it though, wanting to break free and run, but the part of her that was seething inside of her wanted her to kill the man who was doing this to her.
Elijah.
I can't hurt him. He is trying to help.
"I don't need help. I was doing just fine."
No. He'll kill me for sure.
"He's killing me now."
The innocence in her mind began to scream, fighting everything it could to break free. She wasn't about to allow herself to harm Elijah, he was going to help her.
She hadn't realized she had been screaming the Original's name for an entire hour, she was too busy fighting her own turmoil, when he came down the stairs, looking unusually flustered.
"What happened?" his eyes took in her appearance, making sure she wasn't hurt.
"I…need…to…feed." She snarled, lunging at him. "Where the HELL have you been?"
She could smell the blood on him, the scent made her feel as if he had cheated on her.
"I was looking for any information on who did this to you." He responded quietly.
"Why?" Elena's voice changed now as she began to fight against her need for blood. This was something she had been getting much better at over the course of the week, and after a couple of days of "managing" her problem, she was beginning to learn how to push the blood lust away, which only made it angrier when it resurfaced, hence the threatening of killing Elijah.
He wanted to tell her that he wanted to rip the vampire apart piece by piece, but chose not to.
"I just need to find out why he would do this."
"Not everyone is like you Elijah. Not everyone thinks everything through." She argued, feeling as if she was defending an abusive parent.
Elijah could have argued her notion, he didn't think anything through when he took her out of the motel room to his own home to help her, even after she had brutally murdered almost a dozen people.
He watched her carefully as she began to sniff around the room again, she hadn't noticed he had a bag with him.
"What's that?" she pointed to him, still only partially being able to see. Elijah checked the bag carelessly and she sat to the edge of her chair.
"Oh. Pig's blood." He could see her grimace and rest back into her seat again. "If you don't like it, then you can starve. I need you to regain your control." He stated bluntly as he approached her.
Loosening the chains that bound her, he placed the blood bag in her hands, holding them, supporting the bag in her weakness. Slowly he guided her hands with his to her mouth so she was able to drink. He kept his features hard, keeping a close eye on her own while she drank in the first few drops, the veins around her eyes blackening rapidly.
He could hear her begin to pant, a low growl forming in her throat causing him to remove the bag from her hands, which even after only a few drops of blood, were beginning to regain their strength.
"Slow down." he directed her pushing her hand away as she tried to snatch the bag from him. "You need to breathe." She closed her eyes, obliging his request and took deep, useless breaths to calm her nerves. When she opened them she nodded, telling him she was all right to continue.
She knew this was an act of trust, and she did not want to break it, even if it was ripping at her from the inside out to do so.
"Why are you so adamant about helping me Elijah?" she questioned, tossing the now empty bag to him.
He paused for a while, directing his gaze back to the ground, he knew that now her strength was returning, she was able to see him clearly now in the darkness.
"I feel like I screwed up somewhere." He whispered in response, low enough so he hoped she wouldn't hear, but naturally she did.
"What do you mean?"
Elijah smiled now, realizing he was dealing with the much calmer Elena.
His Elena, as he wished he could call her. He had lost hope for a minute, but a rash decision on his end of giving her the animal blood had pulled through so far, allowing her to keep her control.
The ripper side fed more off of the kill, rather than the blood itself, and now he was able to see the light in her eyes again.
"I will explain it to you another time." He replied, "Once I have you back." He paused for a moment again, "to normal…I mean."
Elena shook her head in frustration, but she understood. Her outside seems all right for now, but she was sure even the Original knew the inner turmoil going on inside of her. Her brain was screaming and thrashing about in pain. She could hear the ripper in her mind fighting her, calling her worthless, weak.
You won't survive this. No matter how much he cares for you, you will both suffer in the end. Knowing the things you have done disgusts him. You aren't even Elena anymore.
The vampire held her image by biting the inside of her cheek to prevent her from screaming.
I will owe Elijah my life once you are gone. She thought angrily as the Original began to walk upstairs. She was pleased, however, when she realized the voice was no longer saying "I" it was "you".
She could be free soon after all.
The first week had been painful, but once Elena was able to think straight again, she was able to hold onto control of herself. She was able to dip back into her memories once more, which since she had begun to starve, had become lost to her. She was able to remember the last time she saw Elijah now, instead of just remembering the instinctual fear of him, that even though she never felt, the young ripper vampire in her had.
She recalled how Elijah gave his word to keep Klaus away for as long as she lived. A softness in her heart reminded her how much she admired the Original. He had always been deathly loyal to his family, and even though he had betrayed her for them twice, she had been equally as dishonest. Yet for some reason, they always seemed to end up back together, truly needing each other's help. It was as if someone guided her to Georgia, as if something pulled her to him and she couldn't explain the feeling. That was the only way she could reason running into him. She knew it wasn't orchestrated, and it was too good to be a coincidence. It was something much more powerful than that.
His sister was why you nearly died.
Elena knew that she was involved, the Salvatores reminded her of that the entire time she was awake in the hospital, noticeably avoiding the subject of Elijah in it's entirety even though she continued to ask. As far as the brothers were concerned, He left her in shame of his sister's actions and "took care of the problem."
She left the day of graduation, shutting off her phone, ignoring the Salvatores. Nothing could get her to talk to them after what Jeremy had told her. She reasoned that was why she never held a grudge against Elijah for his actions, she knew nothing else of the matter and her anger towards the brothers was far too strong.
They were going to selfishly let me die.
There was something though, something powerful now between her and the Original. Her heightened vampire senses, no longer starved from blood, could sense it now. She cared for him, she always had. She had just been too blind to see it then…she had two of her own issues that she could hardly handle at that point.
She remembered how the first time he left her, the letter that he left which she could never erase from her memory. She even kept it in her apartment in California. Corey had found it once, and demanded to know who this "Elijah" was, but she couldn't find the words to describe him to her boyfriend at the time.
"He was an old friend. He helped me through a few things." She had told him. The description was dry, she had known Elijah was much more than that, even before she was turned she knew. She just never had the courage to admit the truth.
She remembered how she felt when he had returned, the night that she nearly died. She had felt relieved. She knew he would have been able to get her through this, and nothing would stop them now.
Why do we keep finding each other? She wondered, and was shocked to realize the voice in her head, that had been telling her to kill the Original, regardless of it's consequences, was much weaker now. Recalling her fond human memories, and even some of the bad ones…seemed to make it possible to keep it at bay.
"Elijah!" she called, not in a panic since she knew he was in the house. He was before her in only a second, a bag of blood already in his hand.
"Yes? Are you all right?"
His voice is even soothing, had it always been this way?
She wondered what else the ripper in her had ruined, but not only the ripper, no. She also blamed the Salvatores for holding her back.
Stop worrying about it and take the damn blood.
The voice was still there, stronger now with blood so close, she realized as she snatched the bag from his hands.
Nope, not gone yet.
"I-I'm sorry. I just…I think I figured it all out."
Elijah wasn't surprised when Elena snatched the bag out of his hands. She had been doing so well, but he couldn't expect perfection. He watched her as she drank the blood carefully, practicing her breathing at the same time. The Original was amazed at her current self-control, she had come such a long way in such little time.
After she finished the blood, she had seemed so deep in thought he wondered if she even realized he was kneeling in front of her, even though she had called for him and snatched the blood, he felt like it was something else. She was beginning to remind him of the Elena he always knew, the one he found to love.
The Original was surprised when she snapped back to reality, quickly explaining her proclamation of knowing how she became this way. He had only voiced his concerns about what made her like this once out loud.
Had she remembered?
He wasn't sure if she was even lucid at the time.
"Okay. Please, go into more detail." He sat down in the chair across from her, motioning for her to continue.
"Well…I spent the past six years running away from my own life. In a way, my humanity, the things that kept me tied to Mystic Falls? They were my friends. Maybe by the time I had been turned, I had nothing to hold on to?"
Elijah was amazed at Elena's realization. Her own self awareness, even in such a dangerous situation, was astounding. He had always thought that she was still there, under the harsh exterior but he didn't expect her to be so aware of what was happening around her. Not yet anyway.
The next day, Elijah took Elena upstairs for the first time since she had arrived at his home, a memory they both held onto with care. Elijah, recalling her screams as he had to rip the bathroom door off to get to her, and Elena recalling the last words she said to Elijah, begging for him to kill her, then threatening his life as well.
Once the sun hit her skin, she burned slightly, shying away into the shadows, but still watched in awe. Every image was popping out at her now, her heightened senses were going crazy after being locked in a dark basement for a week.
"It's not much, I know." Elijah apologized, standing before her, shielding her from the sun. "We need to build up your tolerance each day." He took her hand, cupping it in his, while Elena could feel his skin, which she had always expected to be so cold, yet felt so warm to her. She could feel each miniscule crease in his palm even, and then she felt him place something carefully in hers. The vampire opened her palm to see a beautifully crafted pendant, in it's center was a red stone, a ruby, surrounded by small lapis lazuli stones.
A daylight necklace.
Elena looked to him in surprise her eyes glistening over in happiness at it's beauty ,which she could appreciate more now than ever since she can see every single detail.
Now we are unstoppable.
"Are you sure I am ready for this?" she asked nervously, preparing to give it back.
Elijah only nodded.
"Only one way to find out. Baby steps, right?"
Elena smiled while the ripper side of her was laughing in her mind.
All in due time.
Each day, Elijah took Elena out even though she insisted on keeping herself locked in the basement whenever he wasn't around. She could still feel the presence of the ripper, so she couldn't trust herself alone.
The first time he took her outdoors, he took her to sit on the grass of the property during the daytime where they both would sit and enjoy the quiet solitude. At night, once she was a bit more ready, he would take her out to the streets to walk around, that way she would be able to handle being off of the property and being around much smaller amounts of people, while not having to deal with sensory overload at the same time. He had promised her he would take every precaution, so he did.
On their mornings sitting outside they would exchange stories, more Elena than Elijah. He had much more to say, but he found that keeping her talking was the best way to keep her under control.
She told him of her experiences the past six years, what college life was like and how wonderful her life was once she left Mystic Falls. The stories helped the Original as well, who had still held onto the thought that had he just allowed her to turn, she would have been safer. Knowing what he did now, he wasn't so sure. She got to live at least six more years of a completely normal life, getting rid of the Salvatores had been the best step for her.
He could see it all over her eyes though, even while a vampire, sitting outside in the sun, enjoying the serenity made up for it all.
After more time, he would drive her around in the car during busier parts of the day, it helped her to adjust. She was doing so well, but taking it slow was the best method.
It had been another week now, nearly three weeks since he had taken her in, and she was able to sit in an empty coffee shop with him, actually drinking coffee.
"Does it help?" he asked as he took a sip of his tea.
Elena nodded, she had not expected the simplicity of it all. She remembered Caroline telling her alcohol helped her through the urges, but up until not long ago, she didn't believe she needed help with them in the first place.
She smiled, avoiding looking up from their booth table. There was an empty seat in front of her, since Elijah found it safer for now to sit next to her, boxing her against the wall just as an extra precaution.
"You know I hate surprises" he reminded her, and she laughed in agreement. Anybody walking past them may have found it strange however, with Elena being huddled into the corner of the booth, as close to the wall as possible, if her eyes were not on the cup of coffee they were dead set into the man next to her, Elijah, who was sitting protectively to her left.
As they left, Elena walked closely next to him, catching herself linking her arm with his for support if a human got too close, the contact, though seemingly casual was much more than that to the young vampire. She began to feel drawn to him even more now than before, like letting go would cause her to lose her one lifeline, the one person that she could trust now that she was alone.
She needed him, and even if he didn't feel the same, she cared for him.
He opened the door for her, reminding her how much of a gentleman he always was when she knew him years ago, as she sat in the car, finally able to take a deep breath.
"You did fine." He consoled her, sensing her distress when he joined her in the driver's seat. "You are beyond amazing at this you know." She nodded, her lungs fluttering at the way he said she was amazing, which was with the same tone one would use if he just called her beautiful.
"Elijah?" Elena began nervously after a long moment of silence as they drove back to his home.
"Yes Elena?" He was finally able to call her by her name now, she noticed.
"Last week, you told me you were helping me because you felt like you messed up somewhere…what did you mean?" Everything about the Original froze for moments time, and then he finally took a deep breath to prepare himself, which worried the younger vampire.
What did he do?
He knew he promised that he would tell her the truth, so he did. In one long breath, Elijah retold the memory of the night at the bridge, his fight with Rebekah and then the Salvatores, he apologized profusely, his tone begging for her forgiveness for giving her his blood. He told her he knew she didn't want to be a vampire and how when he first found her, he thought it was by his blood that she turned. He also managed to apology for the really issue dragging at his soul.
"Had I just allowed the brothers to turn you, you wouldn't have been alone in your path of transition. You never would have been lost."
Elena stared at him, partially in shock, but also in gratitude.
"Elijah, if they had allowed me to turn, would I have been living a normal life? Would I have been able to go to college, experience that it's not just vampires that are jerks?" Elijah laughed at that, "I actually got to experience my life and if I had turned into a vampire, I never would have been able to shake Stefan and Damon, I would have been stuck with them for eternity. I don't want that. I never did." She smiled at him and then whispered as she stared into his eyes,
"And besides, I am not alone."
"You still were though, for what? Close to two months before you managed to bump into me." His features became solid again as he remembered the condition she, and the body on the bed were in.
"That could have continued had you not helped me." Elena lightly, and impulsively placed her hand over his, the touch was just slight enough for him to feel her remove it, and frowning as she did so.
Damon and Stefan had remained in Georgia for two weeks, and both brothers were beginning to get anxious. There had been no sign of Katherine anywhere since they had showed up. It was as if she disappeared off the face of the earth.
"Maybe our dapper Original Georgia resident killed her for us." Damon offered, but Stefan didn't think so. He was sure if Elijah had killed her, maybe he would have sent her head on a platter just to mess with them.
"Maybe she left town and is lying low after running into him." He countered.
"Maybe one of us should ask around town." Damon offered, out of any other ideas and getting stir-crazy.
Stefan grabbed his coat, leading his older brother out the door, they were both going to find her. He didn't quite trust Damon to do the deed if they had to kill her, which he was planning on doing anyway.
Their first stop was out to the only coffee shop in the small town, knowing from their experiences in Mystic Falls, people always talk.
"Maybe someone saw her at the bar and would recognize her again. Maybe they know where she is staying." Stefan tried, walking inside.
"You didn't tell Bonnie about any of this did you? We can't tell her about Katherine until we find her." Damon queried. Stefan nodded in agreement as they walked to the counter. They both knew telling the witch now could only cause problems for them, considering Elena was at Mystic Falls last.
It didn't take long for the brothers to get the girl at the counter talking, they didn't even have to compel her to do so.
"Yeah I saw that girl" the bouncy red head pointed to Stefan's sketch of the vampire that turned them. "She was here. This morning actually." She looked up at the brothers with pride.
"Here?" Damon jumped.
She nodded, pointing to a booth in the far corner.
"Yeah, she was sitting over there with some guy." She spaced out for a moment, looking dreamily, "He was nice." She smiled.
The brothers exchanged questionable glances as Stefan mouthed
"Elijah?"
Damon shrugged.
"Only one way to find out."
They thanked the barista, leaving her a decent tip, and left the coffee shop with a new goal in mind.
Find Elijah.
Bonnie was catching up with the Salvatore brothers when the doorbell rang at her house.
"Let me know what happens." She told Damon, who called to tell her that the vampire hadn't yet left town.
The witch opened the door to see a young man standing before her.
"Uh…can I help you?" she eyes the young man suspiciously. He was very tan with long sandy blonde hair that fell over his face. She could tell he wasn't from around here, since it had been raining for the past couple of days and his beige cargo shorts, sandals and white t shirt didn't fit the scenario.
"Hi, I'm really sorry about barging in on you like this, I was told to come here." He responded smiling, extending his hand to shake hers. "My name is Corey Tanner. I'm a friend of Elena Gilbert's?"
Bonnie remembered him, this was Elena's ex-boyfriend. The one that she recently broke up with for cheating on her with a college freshman. Also, he was the reason she came to Mystic Falls for her birthday this year, usually the three girls would do a group Skype chat instead.
Why is he here? Better not be to get me to talk to her for him.
"A friend? Yeah I know who you are." She crossed her arms, setting herself against the doorframe. "What do you want?"
Corey paused, realizing Bonnie's aggressive approach to his appearance at her door and placed his hand on the opposite side of the door frame.
"I am here about Elena?" he raised his eyebrows, anticipating a reaction.
"I figured as much." Remarked the witch quickly.
Why else would he be here?
"Uhm….okay. Well, have you spoken to her lately? She told us she was coming here to visit for the weekend."
Bonnie shook her head, she has been so caught up in the vampire problem she hadn't even spoken to Caroline.
"Why? Has something happened?" she was starting to get nervous.
Corey shrugged, not entirely confident when Bonnie closed the front door and joined him on the porch.
"She never came back to school." He told her, sitting on the steps. "I went to the police, but they said she may have freaked out and dropped out or something." He put his arms in the air, in defeat. "They won't do anything!"
Bonnie eyed him, confused. She knew what he had done to Elena, so she couldn't understand why he cared.
"So…you get dumped for cheating, and then fly here to find her? Why?"
"I still care about her. She deserved better than me, but she could have been hurt. Besides, I am the only one in our group of friends who has relatives in Virginia."
Bonnie laughed slightly, but deep down she was worried.
What if the ripper got to Elena?
She needed to call the Salvatores, after all, it was likely she was dead.
Holy crap that was long!
I didn't want to drag the Elijah/Elena ripper interactions for too long since this is only mapped out to be a twelve maybe thirteen chapter story and there is still the *story* of it all yet to come ha ha
I appreciate all of the reviews, you guys are so amazing I cannot begin to explain :)
I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, it's definitely a long one with a lot that happened, but as I said I needed to push forward a bit ;)
Please keep reviewing let me know what you think! I hope you are not disappointed!
