Chapter Thirty-Seven: I Gave You All
I never meant you any harm but your tears feel warm as they fall on my forearms
But close my eyes for a while and force from the world a patient smile
And how can you say that your truth is better than ours?
Shoulder to shoulder, now brother, we carry no arms
And the blind man sleeps in the doorway his home
If only I had an enemy bigger than my apathy I could have won
But I gave you all, I gave you all.
And you rip it from my hands and you swear it's all gone
And you rip out all I had just to say that you've won
~Mumford & Sons
Nilly shakily made her way through the darkness. The tomb was tight, cold and had dripping stone walls on either side of her. She followed Damon through it, the musty earthy smell filling her nostrils. He was walking quickly and Nilly was struggling to keep up with him. Then they both stopped.
"What is that?" Nilly asked panicked, gripping her flashlight. All around them was whispering, hushed moans and faint voices.
"They sense you." Damon said starting to walk again. "Now, where is she?" Nilly was looking around her when suddenly everything got darker. She turned back to Damon, but he was gone. She gasped, her breath quickening
"Damon?!" she called in a startled gasp. She held her flashlight in front of her with shaking hands. It illuminated the floor but that was it. Nilin was blind. She slowly made her way forward over the crumbled stone ground, vines and creepers stretching across and up the walls. The tomb opened up slightly and she was no longer being suffocated by the damp cold walls.
"Damon?" she hissed his name louder. Again she heard the whispering around her. It sent chills running down her spine. All of a sudden Nilly was going down, her foot caught on something as she fell to the ground. Nilin's miniscule amount of coordination allowed her to catch herself on her one hand and she fell painfully on it. The flashlight rolled out of her grasp, its beam landing on something.
Nilly choked back a scream as the light showed a mummified body. Graying skin, dirt filled clothes, it laid against the wall with its head cocked to the side. Nilly fidgeted to get a hold of her flashlight. Grasping it, she stood back up, sweeping the light along the walls, more bodies. All holding that gray skinned look and slumped against the wall. So this is what two hundred years can do to a vampire.
Her eyes widened in horror as she looked at the faces. Not paying attention to the ground, she tripped over something again. Nilly was pretty sure it was a leg as she went tumbling forward.
Her landing wasn't as hard because, this time, she had fallen on one of the mummified vampires. Nilin's breaths were coming out in quick gasps as she tired to stand back up. As she scurried off the body, the vampire's eye flashed open, staring at her. Nilly nearly shrieked as she fell backwards and scrambled up on to her feet. Keeping her eyes on the mummified vampire, Nilin backed up slowly away from it.
Suddenly her body backed into something hard. Not a something, a someone. Nilly sharply inhaled as she spun, flashlight shining on a smirking Anna with her eyebrow raised in surprise. "You must be as love struck as him. Huh? Helping him search for her, now that's a martyrdom heart if I've ever seen one." Anna said, stepping towards her.
Nilin backed away from Anna, flashlight shaking. Nilly took another step back when her foot hit into something again. She took her attention off of Anna as she spun to see what it was. The light shown on another body, this one in a 19th century dress. It was a woman, with dull black hair.
The light went off the woman as Anna pushed Nilin out of the way, causing her to hit into the wall. "Mother! Mother." Anna gasped as she got to her knees next to the woman. Nilly watched as Anna shook her, while at the same time stroking her face. She turned back to Nilly, daggers in her watering eyes. "Your little boyfriend did this you know?"
Nilly shook her head, ignoring the b-word. "His father did," she defended, pressing her back up against the wall.
"And Jonathan Gilbert," Ana said standing up. "I made the choice a long time ago that it would be Gilbert blood that would bring her back to life." She took a step towards Nilly. "I had Jeremy all ready to go but…" Her eyes sharpened as she reached for Nilly.
Elena and Stefan made their way back down into the tomb to find Bonnie standing alone. Her brown eyes were locked on the entrance.
"Where's Nilin?" Elena asked, panic building inside her.
Bonnie's eyes never moved from the tomb. "Damon took her inside," she said.
"What?" Elena and Stefan shouted simultaneously. Stefan started for the door of the tomb, but Bonnie grabbed his arm.
"Stefan! If you go in there, you won't come out." Bonnie urged.
The room went still for a moment as Elena let out a slow breath. "What did you do?" she asked.
Bonnie released her hold on Stefan's arm and looked at Elena. "Opening the door didn't remove the seal," she said. "It just opened the door."
"What's the seal?" Stefan asked urgently.
"Some seals keep vampires from entering. This one keeps them from leaving." Bonnie explained. "Nilly's human. She can leave. But Katherine can't, Damon can't."
Elena's hand went to her mouth as Stefan closed his eyes and released a low defeated sigh. "You were never planning to lift the spell, were you?" he asked.
Bonnie shook her head. "I told Elena when I agreed to this, I will protect my own. Nilly can get out, and that's all that matters," she answered.
Suddenly a piercing scream echoed from deep inside the tomb. "Nilly!" Elena yelled, running instinctively to the entrance, but Stefan was quicker.
Bonnie grabbed Elena's arm stopping her as she watched Stefan disappear into the darkness. Tears sprang to her eyes. "Stefan!" she called after him, slightly struggling against Bonnie's grip.
"He made his choice!" Bonnie yelled, holding the frantic Elena in her arms.
"No, no! There has to be a way," she yelled back. "Bonnie, there has to be a way!"
Bonnie went still. "There might be, just stop thrashing around and let me look," she urged.
Elena stopped fighting, but the tears still came. Bonnie knelt down, picking up Emily's grimoire. She flicked through a few pages before she spoke. "I'll do it," she said. "But even if I'm able to bring seal down, there's no guarantee that I can get it back up again." Bonnie warned.
Elena just nodded. "It's Stefan, Bonnie," was all she could choke out. That determined look came over Bonnie's face, the one Elena's seen may times before.
She grabbed Elena's hand. "My Grams said it herself, many things can fuel a witch's power. Like love, Elena." Bonnie explained. "I'm going to need you help."
"Anything," she nodded, wiping the wetness off her cheeks.
"I'll need to channel your inner power, your essence. Everyone has it, and if I can tap into yours I'll be able to do it." Bonnie explained.
"What do you need me to do?" Elena asked.
"Stand here, hold onto my hands. Close your eyes and channel your emotions." Bonnie instructed, standing in the middle of the floor again, hands linked between them. "What ever you do, don't break the connection," she warned. Elena nodded again, and shut her eyes.
Anna's dark stare glared at Nilly as the veins creped from under her eyes. She held Nilly's arm in a painful grip as blood from the bite wound began pool out of her wrist. In one motion Anna pulled Nilly down to her mother, shoving Nilly next to her. The mummified body stirred as its lips went to Nilly's wrist.
"No, don't!" Nilly cried, fight against Anna, who just tightened her grip on Nilly's arm, causing her to shout out in pain. The pain grew worst as the Anna's mother began to drink feverishly.
"I'm going to get you out." Anna said to her mother, completely ignoring Nilly's struggle. Just as she was starting to feel light headed, Nilly heard someone yelling.
"Let her go!" Stefan yelled and the hands on Nilin vanished as he pulled her away.
"Stefan?" she asked confuse, clutching her wrist to her chest.
"Go. Go, I'm right behind you," he urged.
Nilly turned when she heard a new voice.
"Anna. Annabelle," came a horsed weak sound from the women on the ground. Stefan pushed Nilly forward as her eyes ripped from the once lifeless body and she began running, stumbling through the tomb. Finally she saw the light of the torches as she slipped out of the tomb. She was breathing heavily, her wrist still to her chest.
Once her eyesight focused again, Nilin saw Bonnie and Elena standing there.
"Nilly," Elena said, her eyes bloodshot. "Stefan…"
Nilly shook her head, and pointed over her shoulder. "He's right behind me," she assured Elena. Bonnie just shook her head, both girls wearing a sad look on there faces. Nilly turned around to see Stefan at the entrance, not moving. His head down.
"Stefan, what are you doing?" she asked. He looked at her, his eyes sweeping behind Nilly to Elena.
"It's going to be okay." Bonnie said. "We'll fix it."
Nilly turned back to Bonnie. "What is it?" Nilly shook her head. "Someone explain to me what the hell is going on?"
"He can't." Elena said, her voice breaking on the last word.
"Can't? Can't what?" Nilly asked, her voice getting frantic.
"The spell's still up. We can't get them out yet." Bonnie explained. Nilly heart dropped her hands going to her mouth.
She turned back to Stefan slowly. "Oh Stefan," she whispered. "You went in there not knowing if you could come back out?" Nilly heard Elena let out a shudder behind her.
"I heard you scream," was all he said.
"No, not for me," Nilly shook her head. "You're not getting stuck in there for me."
"Nilly—"
"No Stefan, were getting you out. You have Elena out here, and you are not going to be separated from her because of me," she said.
"Even if I'm able to break through the seal, we won't be able to hold it for long." Bonnie informed them.
Nilin looked to Stefan and Elena. "We can't leave him in there. We promised him, I promised him." Nilly said, her eyes landing on Stefan.
"I know," he nodded, understanding, and quickly retreated back into the tomb.
Nilly looked at Elena. "We're gonna get him out of there, got it?" she reassured her sister. Elena nodded and Nilin watched as she joined hands with Bonnie.
"You ready?" Bonnie asked and again Elena nodded Bonnie began reciting something, saying it over and over again. Her lips moving quickly as she gripped Elena's hands. The torches suddenly blazed around them.
"I think its working," Nilly said as she turned to the entrance of the tomb. Just then Nilly saw Anna's face as she came out of the tomb. Supporting her mother, an arm draped around her neck, Anna held up the hand that wasn't grasping her mother's waist.
"I just wanted my mother back, you understand," she said, inching around Nilly. "Jeremy's fine, I swear I won't touch him." Nilly nodded, her lips in a tight line as Anna back out of the tomb.
"Bonnie, keep going! They better hurry," Elena said, eyes still closed but she sounded out of breath. Nilly rocked back on her feet as the torches began to falter. Stefan saved her, it was her chance to repay the favor.
Without a second thought, Nilin ran back into the tomb, hearing Elena's shouting behind her. She carelessly stumbled through the tomb, desperately tiring to find the brothers. But she was determined to keep moving, she need to fine them. Heading deeper in the tomb, Nilly heard someone shouting.
"She's not here!" Nilly heard Damon yell as she turned around a stone wall. Nilly saw something go flying across the room, and hit the wall hard with a splat. Red dripped down the wall as Nilly gasped.
"Damon, we need to get out of here." Stefan urged, reaching for his brother. Damon ripped himself from Stefan's grasp.
"It doesn't make sense! They locked her inside," he yelled, his face contorted with anger.
"If we don't leave now, we're not getting out." Stefan yelled back. Damon wasn't listening though, he had plunged too far down in his pain to be paying attention to Stefan's words.
"How could she not be in here?" he asked, his eyes filled with emotion.
"It's not worth spending all of eternity down here!" Stefan pushed, taking hold of Damon's shirt. "She's not worth it."
"No!" Damon yelled throwing Stefan back.
Nilin shot forward, away from the wall. "Damon!" she yelled, his eyes locking on hers. "Please," she said softly. "Please, let's get out of here. We'll figure this out, we always do," her voice pleaded. He stared at her for a moment, then nodded once.
Both he and Stefan went to follow after her. Nilly pushed Stefan in front of her this time, as they turned to make their way back out. Suddenly strong arms wrapped around Nilin's waist and she felt the air swoosh around her. Next thing she knew, Damon was placing Nilly back on the floor outside of the tomb doors. The ground began shaking as Damon released Nilin.
There was a scrapping sound and then a sharp thud as the tomb door closed, resealing itself. The sound of Bonnie's voice faded out. Her eyes were shut and her knees began to wobble. The torches burnt out as a gasp passed Bonnie's lips and she collapsed into Elena's arms. Nilly ran over there as Bonnie opened her eyes.
"I'm okay, I'm okay. That was just a tough one," she reassured, trying to catcher her breath.
"Stefan, help me get her outside." Elena called and Nilly back out of the way as he came over. As they got a fading Bonnie outside, Nilly realized her hands were shaking. She squeezed them into fist, and made her way out of there too.
Above ground Bonnie was leaning under a tree. Stefan and Elena were just pulling out of a hug as they smiled at each other and Damon… Nilly looked around for him. She caught sight of him heading towards the tree line.
"Damon!" she called and he stopped walking. He kept his back towards her as she started towards him across the clearing.. The others were watching Nilly apprehensively.
"Damon," she said his name again, softer now. He turned towards her. She could tell he was trying to keep his face blank, but that dark wall he put up was shattering Nilin saw that, he knew she saw that.
"I'm sorry," she said tenderly. Then she reached up on her tippy-toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. He didn't respond at first, his body rigid. Then slowly Nilly could feel him melting as his arms wrapped around her. She rested her chin on his shoulder as they stood there. "I forgive you," she whispered.
He squeezed her to him once more, before she backed up. A sad smile on her face as he nodded at her, then turned and disappeared into the forest.
Author's Notes:
Here it is guys, the last part I'm giving up before I go on by little hiatus. Remember, its only for a week! I will be back next Monday continuing the story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I'm so thankful for all of you :)
Bigger news I've reached 10,000 views! Now, that's probably not that impressive but this being my first fanfiction, it's absolutely amazing. Thank you all so much. I'm truly astounded.
I will see you all in a week! Keep on reading, let's turn that 10,000 into a 20,000!
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