A/N: Sorry y'all for the late update. Not gonna lie I really struggled with this chapter because of how important it is to the story. This chapter is the turning point in the story and all the character's arcs. This scene here was what I was picturing when I first started this story. Again so sorry about the late update but better late than never right?

Enjoy!

When You Love Someone

Chapter 34: Kingdom Come

"I grow tired of your insolence!" Stefan roared as my back hit the wall hard and I shivered from the impact. "Even the bitches of dogs prove useful eventually, but your time is quickly running out. Tell me what you know!" He yelled as I balled my fists and looked away. A hard slap to my cheek soon followed.

"You know a search party was spotted! You know that they came from the Volturi! You know why they came! So, tell me what you know!" He shouted he held his knife up to my neck and I squirmed under the scrutiny but still, I never said a word.

"You are proving that your usefulness is dwindling." He said carefully, slowly and I gulped. "You may have defied death, admittedly the first to do so…but I am a patient man. If you could do it once, another could do it as well." He glared, his black eyes glinting as he grasped my neck and pulled the knife to my side, and slide it across my torso.

I screamed but his grasp was too tight, the choked air gave away to chokes and I closed my eyes as a furious ripping sound echoed and fire tore at my stomach. It felt as if I was consumed by it.

"You will serve me well, but only you can decide for how long." He whispered in my ear as I felt myself being dragged along the rough stones and Stefan kicked me down the long hole until my body fell in a heap and I heard Diana's shocked gasp followed by another dull thud.

"Diana" I whispered, my throat rough and soon I felt Diana's hands on my cheeks before she started spreading a cooling substance on my stomach and my legs and I moaned as the stinging started. It was always so strange, it soothed, and then it burned. I didn't care though as long as it worked.

"Don't worry Bella, just relax. It will bring you back together. It will sting though, be prepared for the pain." She whispered as a sharp sting started and I felt my skin start to stretch and I yelled before Diana shushed me.

"Try not to scream Bella. I know it's hard but try to resist…Stefan he – he tore you in half." She whispered horrified as my breath hitched, and I moved my hands to my stomach where I didn't feel my lower half and I gasped. My hands started to shake, and Diana grasped them tightly.

"Don't panic. I brought your lower half closer, and the balm will increase the healing process. It will take a day's time with the injury." She said as she sighed, and I felt her hand on my cheek as she softly whispered "I'm concerned Bella. Stefan is getting more violent with you."

I steadied my breathing and lowered my head to the ground. As much as I hated to admit it but she was right. Stefan was proving that his threats were not empty. I've lost count of how many times he's demanded me to give up information and each time I've refused. He said so himself…he was a patient man. I proved that with the right resources that one could defy death. How long would he have to wait for another to find what I had? Years? Decodes? I hid them well, but I was immortal and Jacob…. What I had given him could only be hidden for so long. I had proven that with Didyme's journal. As time was as elusive to an immortal, ironically, I was running out of it.

"My days are getting numbered. Aren't they?" I asked as Diana gripped my hand and refused to answer. That was all the answer I needed. "We can try to escape…but my shield isn't ready. It would be a huge gamble to do so now. I can hold on for a few days longer. Stefan still needs me."

"But for how long?" Diana asked lowly as I turned my head and tried to think to distract myself from the pain.

"He is getting impatient, but I don't think too impatient to kill me. At least not yet. I still have time. We still have time." I whispered

"That isn't a guarantee Bella!" Diana snapped and I turned my head as she sighed. "My apologies but…I am worried. Stefan and Vladimir are cruel and tactical. They don't waste time with liabilities. Maybe…. Maybe you should give them something Bella? To buy yourself more time?" She asked softly as I gasped and shook my head.

"No. That's way too risky. If I give them anything, they could still figure it out. I've spent so long, sacrificed so much to not give them anything!" I argued as I felt Diana lie beside me.

"It doesn't have to be anything useful to them but maybe to us. I've been thinking…. Bella, you say you need a few more days but it doesn't have to be. I've seen you already, your so strong that you can escape Bella." She said quietly and I raised my eyebrow in question.

"What are you getting at?"

"I can give you the recipe that caused the explosion when Didyme was found out and had to go underground. I know it. I was working on improving it. If you give it to Stefan he will try it and when the explosion hits they will be distracted for you to run. They won't risk having you thrown down here. You'll be above ground and can run with your shield." She rushed out as I stilled.

"Leaving you here," I stated as she sighed.

"I've been here so long already. They can't kill me. They have no reason to kill me, I'm valuable to them because I've made potions for them already. They won't release me because I know too much. I'm safer than you are Bella." She reasoned before her voice lowered "and you've seen the outside world. You've experienced it. You have someone waiting for you. I – I don't have anyone left alive that is waiting for me."

"That doesn't mean your expendable!" I hissed, appalled at her plan. "I'm not leaving you behind!"

"But it makes sense!" She argued as she pushed away and I tried to sit up and hissed at the pain. "Bella, listen to me! You sacrificed yourself for capture so your friend could get away. I am doing the same. You can get away! Lead them back if you must but you can escape!" She hissed as I shook my head.

"No." I declared as she groaned.

"Bella see reason, I beg of you. Take the recipe and use it to your advantage; use the explosion to escape."

"Or they kill me after I give them it. Diana, it's too risky…even a fake recipe is too much of a gamble." I explained, quickly growing frustrated as Diana groaned.

"They are going to kill you either way! Don't be foolish!" She yelled as I glared and sat up ignoring the pain as Diana guided me to look at her.

"Leaving anyone behind to deal with the Romanians is foolish. They would kill you too. If I escape and you are left behind, who do you think they will blame? Diana, they will kill you. I'll think about the recipe but I'm not leaving you behind." I glared as I balled my fists.

"Thank you" She whispered as I lied back down and looked over to her voice.

"For what?" I gasped out as the pain increased tenfold and I gritted my teeth and Diana put more paste on the spot where it was burning the most.

"For listening to me but also….for not wanting to leave me behind." She whispered as I closed my eyes and let my body sink into the ground. "I know sacrifices must be made in war but….no one wants to be left behind. No one wants to be expendable." She whispered as I nodded.

"No one wants to be left behind. I know how that feels." I admitted as I remembered screaming at Felix, that elation that he got away but knowing what was in store for me…. "sacrifices must be made. That doesn't mean we have to like them. I was happy that Felix got away but that didn't mean I was any less scared. I'm scared every day." I admitted softly mainly to myself until I heard Diana chuckle.

"That makes you brave. Doing something in spite of being afraid." She said as I smiled sadly.

"It makes us brave…. But what does bravery get you in the end?" I asked for myself, the empty darkness limitless as I heard Diana shrug.

"Happiness for others hopefully, maybe even some happiness for us too. Knowing we did everything in our power to protect. To defend. To do what we had to protect the ones we loved." She said as I nodded my head.

"Yeah…. I think your right." I mumbled as I let the balm do its work as my body slowly healed. "But that makes the desire to go home that much stronger," I whispered as we remained quiet all throughout the night, thinking of our own loved ones and the life we would lead once we were free.

I wasn't sure how long I had stayed there, but it was long enough for my body to heal with the balm. Diana and I didn't speak much in the hours alone, she only whispered the recipe to me but ever since we remained on guard.

Stefan's violence was growing and from the murmurs of the guard; Vladimir had left leaving Stefan the only one remaining of the Romanians and Maria as a guard. There was no more word of the search party or who was in it. My only hope was that it was someone from the guard. I never told Diana this but I had secretly hoped for Alec or Jane to be among them. Really anyone from the top guard to be among them, but no luck.

Every so often memories of Maria's mind trick would creep, but I always tried to shut them out. It was just false hope and more proof of the cruelty the Romanians were known for. All the talk that Maria spewed at me was probably bullshit too.

Days and nights flew by until I didn't know which was which anymore, but the time did come when the chains rattled and Diana grasped my hand to let me know that she was still with me and she squeezed my hand twice, a gentle reminder of the recipe she gave me.

I didn't even try to fight the guards that roughly grabbed my arms and slowly pulled me up as I heard the creaking of the door and they half carried me through the halls until I felt a bottle was thrown at me and soon, bright rays of sunlight filtered my eyelids and I quickly shut them before I was thrown carelessly into an empty room.

I groaned as the newly healed scars burned from the concrete floor and I inhaled deeply before scrunching my nose at the sharp smell of detergent and alcohol. The room had metal walls and was suspiciously clean. There were no scents here and no furnishings except one lone chair in the middle of the room.

"Hello again Bella" Maria's voice echoed, and I growled and turned only to see no one there. "My apologies for my absence today, as you will see my physical presence would be a hindrance on today's activities but as you know, I am always here in some way, shape, or form." She spoke as I bared my teeth and saw the speakers built into the wall and glared.

"I really don't care how you choose to present yourself. At least this way I don't have to look at your face." I muttered before her delicate laugh bounced off the walls and I covered my ears.

"Oh Bella, you are amusing! No wonder Stefan has chosen to let you live this long!" She said surprised as I glared at the floor. "And besides, I remember quite fondly that you enjoyed looking at my face as I pleasured you." The satisfaction in her voice was sickening and I winced at the reminder.

"That was a trick! You tricked my heart and you poisoned me with something!" I yelled as she chuckled.

"And yet you feel the need to defend yourself. Defend yourself from what Bella? Me…or you?" She chuckled as I winced back as I looked away from the speakers. "There's nothing wrong with enjoying it."

"But it was with the wrong person" I whispered as her laugher echoed off the walls and I closed my eyes, trying my best to drown out the noise. "Relax Bella. I'm not going to hurt you, the opposite in fact." She led on as the walls started to shift and I looked wildly around as one wall moved up and five humans were shoved in, all naked and screaming.

It happened so fast I didn't know what was happening until it was too late.

My throat burned and the aromas were so delicious and I was so thirsty…I pounced. Their screams didn't register until my hands were soaked in their blood and I was holding a woman's lifeless body in my arms, my toothmarks on her throat as her flesh was torn.

Her eyes held terror as the light slowly faded from her eyes and I gasped as I dropped her dead body to the ground and screamed. My hands went to my throat as I felt the burn be soothed only for it to erupt in shooting pain and I collapsed onto my knees as I scratched at my throat as Maria's laughter mixed with Stefan's as I faintly heard a door open and I turned to see Stefan swoop in and he had me by the neck as he pushed me towards the wall and squeezed.

"My, my" He whispered as he slowly looked around the room as my eyes followed his and I saw the bodies on the floor one by one and I felt tears in my eyes. "Aren't we a messy eater? Did we enjoy our snack?" He asked as I hissed but the action was met with a sharp sting and I tried to grasp my throat but Stefan's hand gripped my wrist and forced it down as he leaned in close.

"An ejection of the venom, just enough of a dose for the food to bring it in." He chuckled as I stared, horrified at the bodies on the ground, one of which looked no older than me. "Burns doesn't it?" He asked as he squeezed my throat tighter and I squeaked in response.

"Werewolf blood would do that, children of the moon are so volatile you see, just one drop could cause immense pain, I couldn't imagine the agony of one of our kind ingested it." He smirked as I gasped and he dropped me to my knees as I tried to crawl my way to my feet but his foot forced me on my stomach and my eyes only saw the floor.

"I've grown tired of these games Miss Bella; you've proven that your willfulness has outlived your usefulness. If you won't help me, then I will find one who will." He said softly as he snapped his fingers and his foot loosened his hold just enough for me to glance up and I saw Maria walk toward him carrying a syringe and I felt the panic grow when I realized it was the elixir of execution.

"Wait!" I gasped out weakly as Stefan slowly turned and a cruel smile came upon his face. "Please" I begged, and closed my eyes, ignoring my tears and the sinking of my stomach. "I'll help you" I whispered quietly as Stefan raised his eyebrow.

"What was that Miss Bella?" He asked confidently and I bit my lip as I bowed my head, and I balled my fists. The stare of the dead woman looking right at me as I hastily looked away and said, only slightly above a whisper. "I will give you what you need."

"I see. It seems death is the only way to loosen your tongue." Stefan said as he lifted his foot entirely and after a moment, I saw his hand in my face, a silent invitation as I glared and with all the strength I could muster I lifted myself off the ground and ignored Stefan's smug expression, Maria's own amusement at my predicament another stab to the heart as I sighed.

"Follow me, Miss Bella, the information you have is pivotal towards our cause. Maria, your cape!" He ordered as Maria nodded her head and unclasped her velvet cape as Stefan draped the material around my naked body and I shivered at having him so close and he only smirked. "Miss Bella, if you would?" He asked, his eyes gleaming as I swallowed venom against the burning of my throat. Heeding Diana's warning I closed my eyes and gripped the ends of the cape tightly as I looked away.

If I did this, I would not only be gambling my life but Diana's. Our freedom, our futures, any future I had with my family, with Alec. When I opened them Stefan still stood, his vibrant red eyes on me as he only stared. "I'll give you the recipe if it means my life," I whispered as Stefan smiled and he waved his hand, Maria putting away the syringe.

"There we are; out of sight, out of mind as humans say. A deal is struck. I will not kill you as long as you give me everything I need." He said gently as I shuddered.

"Yeah," I whispered as I took a deep breath. "You'll need wolfsbane. With a mix of other plants and strands of a moon child's hair along with dust of their teeth. That will have starved off the effects of the fire's heat and won't make your insides burn." I recited from Diana's instructions as I kept my eyes on the floor.

"I see" Stefan murmured as he scratched his chin and he cocked his head "and how do we suppose we get these ingredients, Miss Bella? Moonchildren are…so rare these days." He smiled as I huffed and shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know. When I discovered the recipe Didyme had these ingredients already when I found them." I lied as I locked eyes with his. Not wanting to give away my lies, I kept my face emotionless except for the winces of pain from the constant stinging in my throat.

"And how do we make this exliar of life? This elusive potion if we gather the more elusive ingredients?" He asked slowly as he started to circle me and I stood stiff as a rod.

"You first grind the teeth into dust and mix it with the venom and blood. Then you add the extract of wolfsbane and boil it until the color changes." I said shakily as I stared straight ahead.

"Hmmm, well I supposed that will do. You agreed to give me the recipe, not exactly the instructions on how to do so but that will do." He came to a stop in front of me as I held my ground, even against a wave of nausea. "I will hold up my end of the bargain Miss Bella. You gave me what I needed…. but not what I wanted." He said softly as he smiled and I looked up sharply.

"What!?" I shouted before I saw Maria appear beside me and I saw the glint of the steel before I felt it enter my side and I screamed in pain and terror as I collapsed and I saw the black spider webbing appeared on my skin. I gasped out as I covered my wound, the burning appearing instantly and I screamed as Stefan simply smiled from above me. "You would be wise to gamble on information that I don't mind getting wrong Miss Bella." He sneered as I screamed. The liquid was coursing through my veins and I felt in my body, the heat so intense that it burned from the inside.

"They all break eventually, even the most stubborn of roses always lose their thrones." Stefan smiled as I screamed before he splashed the bottle on me and my vision darkened. Stefan only laughed as I screamed and launched myself in his direction only to be caught as I squirmed out in the cold arms and yelled and hissed.

This couldn't be happening, not again. I couldn't be this foolish! To be tricked twice! "Ahhhhh!" I screamed as whoever caught me dragged my body to the ground and I thrashed and kicked as more hands gripped my arms and I shrieked, both from pain and panic as my body was thrown down the hole and when I landed, I gasped and…I couldn't get back up. Stefan's voice rang down "Enjoy a second death, Miss Bella."

"Bella!" Diana yelled as I called out her name. "What happened! Bella! Your…. your side!?" She yelled as her hands floated over my wound and I shrieked once more, her hands causing instant pain and I thrashed around, trying to stop the blazing heat but nothing relieved it. "Bella….I – don't know how to fix this!" Diana yelled as I shook my head and gasped out "No!"

"No? Bella what do you mean 'no?' No what?!" Diana panicked and I felt my hands shake as Diana gasped and I heard her fall. "Bella….stay calm. I will help you. I will not let you die!" She declared as I heard digging and her nails scraping against a soft substance before I heard the faint sound swishing of water and stirring before a soft stinging paste was pressed against my side and I hissed.

"Try not to bite me Bella" Diana whispered and before I could question it she stuffed my mouth with a fist full of bitter-tasting herbs and I tried to spit it out a but she had her hand covered my mouth. "Chew and suck on the plant Bella." She commanded and I glared as I tried to talk but she pressed her hand harder and I nearly choked until, for the briefest of moments….I saw light.

"What the – " I mumbled around her hand as Diana urged me to keep chewing. I struggled but with the intensity of the pain I had no choice but to trust her but as I kept chewing the more of my sight I regained.

Groaning and turning my head against the sudden brightness I blinked as I saw the opening of the hole that I only saw once before.

"I….I can….s-see" I mumbled and whispered out through the pain as I heard Diana give a strained chuckle as I struggled to move and I felt the stickiness of a green- yellowish paste on my side as the webbing moved to my stomach and spread almost to my underarm but with the paste, it seemed to have stopped.

"H-how did…you g-get that" I gasped out as she wiped more hair and her hands were moist and I wiped my own hand along my side again to see glistening substance and Diana quickly pushed my hand down.

"Venom; it's leaking from your wound mixed with the blood that was drunk," Diana whispered, answering my unspoken question. "Your dying, albeit slower than you were." She said as she rubbed more paste on my wound and I hissed, steam rising followed by more dampness.

"It's sage," Diana whispered and I locked my jaw as I tried to move my head. "I found it. When Diego was giving me blood, I smelled it. It was so faint…but Diego wore the plant as a pin on his shirt. I persuaded him for me to have it because it was dead. That didn't mean it still couldn't help. I was saving it if we needed it." Diana explained softly as I simply nodded my head slowly as it was harder to move.

"Don't try to move too fast." Diana cautioned as I felt her hands move my hair away from my face. "The paste prevented the poison from spreading but it still did damage internally."

"H-how l-long" I stuttered, my lips chapped and the shakiness of my hands becoming more intense.

"You have some time," Diana whispered as I heard her voice shake. "I stopped it from being too quick. It will be slow…painful." She admitted as I closed my eyes and the flare of pain had me gasp.

"Used t-to it" I joked, half smiling as Diana scoffed.

Now of all times to joke." Diana scolded although I could hear the smile in her voice and then it occurred to me. "I-I've ne-never seen y-you. Wh-where are you?" I joked as Diana chuckled sadly and I heard her shift in the dirt.

"I'm right here Bella." She whispered as she slowly came into my line of sight and the first thing I noticed was her dark black hair and when I saw her face I gasped, not believing my own eyes.

"Bella?" She asked alarmed as I felt my mouth drop and the only word that slipped past my lips was "Didyme?"

Run, run, run away

Buy yourself another day

A cold wind's whispering secrets in your ear

So low only you can hear

Run, run, run and hide

Somewhere no one else can find

Tall trees bend and lean pointing where to go

Where you will still be all alone

Kingdom Come – The Civil Wars

A/N: See you all Monday!