Hey guys... sorry for the delay. I've been ill, lost inspiration for a short while, etc. etc. And I didn't want to just throw this chapter together, since it's quite an important one (I don't really want to throw any chapter together, but you know). Anyways, without further ado – enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries


I think that I was continuously slipping in and out of consciousness, because I wasn't aware of ever really waking up. I couldn't feel my body, and I couldn't move it – but my mind was awake enough to register things from my surroundings. I could hear people talking... I think they were two. A man and a woman.

''Why did they take her?'' someone hissed.

''I guess she saw everything...''

''So? He should've just knocked her out. We can't risk this.''

Who where they talking about? Me? Everything went dark again. I wasn't sure for how long I was out this time. The next time I came to it, I realised that the voices I was hearing were probably the same as before.

''How's the girl?''

''Still passed out.''

''You didn't touch her, did you?''

''Give me some credit.''

I was beginning to lose all sense of time when I came to it the third time. I had no idea how much time had passed between the conversations I... at least I think, I was hearing.

''So you called him?''

''No, I called one of his contacts. You know how this works.''

''Did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?''

''They say he got it.''

''Wonderful. And what?''

''So that's it, Trevor. He either got it or he didn't- We just have to wait.''


I don't know how long it had been when I finally woke up. The first thing my mind registered was how cold I was – how the hairs on my arms were standing and how I was uncomfortably stiff, and my limbs were trembling.

Clicking my tongue up against my pallet, it stuck. My mouth was dry. When I brought my hand to it I realised that I had dried saliva all around it. Lovely. I tried to wipe it off best I could to get rid of the icky feeling I had in my mouth.

When I opened my eyes, at first I could see nothing but darkness. Eventually, though, yellow spots started to appear and glimmer, splattered all around me. It took me a while to realise that the splatters where lights, and that the room around me was otherwise dark.

God, my head hurt. Like I'd hit it real hard on something. It hurt so bad that I felt like throwing up, like someone was stabbing me repeatedly in the head with tiny, tiny, knives.

I didn't know if I could move. I squinted and looked down at myself – I was still wearing my dress from the party. The party... the last thing I remembered was going off to wait for my mother. What... what had happened? And were on earth was I?

I had to find out where I was. Trying to take in my surroundings, I sat up slowly, painfully. Everything spun before me a few seconds, before my head adjusted and I didn't feel sick from moving.

''Ow,'' I groaned and brought my hand up to somehow support my head. This was even worse than migraines. My hair was a mess, I noticed – the delicate french braid my mum had done was all loose and some of the hair pins were painfully pricking my scalp. I stretched my legs in front of me, hoping that the only part of me drenched in pain was my head. Thankfully, I was only very, very stiff.

I turned my head away from my body and tried to take in what was around me. The run-down room was dimly lit by stray lights scattered all over. I was on a couch in the middle of the room, facing what looked like a swirly staircase. Everything was still very foggy, and I had trouble making out contours of things.

''Miss Moreau?''

Up until now, I hadn't even considered the thought that I wasn't alone. Looking to the right, I noticed a familiar figure on the opposite edge of the couch I was on.

My eyes widened. ''Elena?'' I coughed. My throat was so dry that speaking was difficult.

Elena looked at me, her brown eyes wide as saucers. ''What are you doing here?'' She hissed in pain as she sat up in the rugged couch and I still couldn't focus my eyes, but I could tell she was injured.

''Are you hurt?'' I pressed anxiously, my voice ragged. ''Where are we? And what are you doing here?''

Elena hushed me and turned her head in another direction, looking distressed.

''A-are we...'' I began, but Elena shook her head and brought her finger in front of her mouth to silence me again.

She moved in closer to me but gasped as she did. My eyes, slowly regaining their focus, couldn't see properly in this dim room, but I did see a large dark spot on her sweater.

''We need to be quiet,'' she whispered, her voice barely a breath. She moved her hand up, gesturing towards her ear. ''They can hear.''

I frowned. ''Who...''

''I thought I told you to be quiet,'' a voice called harshly from the doorway.

My head immediately snapped in the direction of the voice. I knew that voice, it was the woman talking before. She was alone, though.

''You finally awake? Took a real beating,'' she stated and walked up to us with her arms crossed.

''Who are you?'' I managed to get out, my voice raspy.

The woman before me had brown, short and spiky, almost to the shoulder hair that looked like she'd cut it with a couple of shears. She seemed to be around thirty or so, and was wearing a leather jacket and pants. She looked like she meant business, and her emotions were calm so I couldn't even get an insight into her that way.

''None of your business,'' she snapped and looked at me angrily. ''You're not even supposed to be here.''

''Her name is Rose,'' Elena muttered next to me, causing the woman to quickly walk up to her and smack her over the head.

''Be quiet,'' she demanded.

That was when I realised that Elena and I, we were in real trouble. Looking to Elena, I saw that somehow she didn't seem too faced by all of this. I couldn't feel any fear from her, either. Maybe she was in shock. But still, there was something off, I just couldn't put my finger on what it was.

The woman – Rose – then turned to me, her nostrils flaring in anger. ''And you too. Stay quiet. You've been enough of a nuisance as it is.''

Then she stormed off, her heels clicking on the floor. She only came in to tell us to be quiet? Why?

''Are you okay?'' I asked Elena, my voice barely a whisper. It was all I could muster, honestly.

She nodded, clenching her fists. She didn't look scared. If anything, she looked determined. She stood up and started walking around the room, careful not to stomp in case it would bring Rose back.

''Who was that, Elena?'' I asked.

She threw me a quick glance through a curtain of long, dark hair. ''I don't really know.''

''But you've talked to her,'' I pressed, desperate for any kind of answer. She knew something – at least she knew more than me.

''I'm not supposed to be here,'' I repeated what Rose had said before she left. ''What about you?''

Elena stopped in her tracks and locked her eyes on mine. ''I...'' For a moment, I thought she was going to tell me, but she must've changed her mind at the last second, because she shut her mouth and started pacing again.

''Come on... Elena,'' I pleaded, ''you've got to understand how weird this is? Why on earth are we here? Do you know?''

She bit her lip, looking down at her moving feet. ''I don't.''

Yeah, that was a lie. I could sense that even without touching her. I could tell she was trying to keep her distance, and if she wanted to keep everything to herself, then I guess she could.

That's what we did for I don't know how long – I sat on the couch thinking and Elena walked back and forth around the room in silence – until Elena finally stopped her pacing and collapsed on the couch next to me. ''We have to get out of here.'' I nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, I noticed her forehead crease. ''What's wrong?''

She didn't answer, but fidgeted with something under her leg. I looked closer, and when she opened her hand she had a crumbled piece of paper in it.

''Oh my god,'' she breathed, rubbing off her relief on me, finally letting me know that she actually had been worried. ''It's going to be okay.''

''What is it?'' I inquired, leaning in to see what the note said.

''It's okay,'' she repeated. ''Stefan and Damon are coming.''

I frowned. ''How...?

She shook her head rapidly. ''I'll explain everything, okay? Just not right now.''

I wanted to protest, I really did – especially since she shut me out again – but my gut told me to trust her. So I did, and kept my mouth shut.

We sat in silence. Small talk felt like the furthest thing from what I wanted to do right now, and I think that we were both fine with that. Instead, my mind was on overdrive working through every possible scenario it could come up with.

Why was I here? And why on earth was Elena here? I still couldn't remember anything past going to the cars at the Lockwood's for my mum to pick me up. God, I didn't even know if that was last night. How long had I been gone for? Sure, I was wearing the dress, but that didn't mean that only one night had passed. Was my mother looking for me? Was she worried? Or had she not even made it to pick me up yet? Maybe it hadn't been several hours, as I first thought...

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. I wanted to scream. I wanted to kick something, to smash something. A part of me asked what good all this wondering would do, since it wasn't giving me any answers, only more questions – and the other part kept on wanting to know though I knew I probably wasn't going to get any.


''What if we smash one of those windows?'' I suggested, breaking our record-long silence, and pointed to one of the draped windows on the far end of the room. Someone didn't seem to want any sun to shine throw, because all of the windows were covered in the same way.

Elena shook her head. ''We're in... I think we're in the middle of no where.''

''So? At least we'll get away from her.''

''Them.''

I gave her a puzzled look. ''Huh?''

''Them,'' she corrected me. ''There's two. There's a guy too. His name's Trevor.''

Right, I forgot. When I'd been slipping in and out of consciousness, I'd heard a man, too. But I hadn't seen him yet, only Rose.

''And we can't get away,'' she continued, focusing intently on picking some dirt from her fingernails.

''But if we just...''

''We can't,'' she interrupted. Her brown eyes were solemn.

''Just a while ago you wanted to find a way out of here,'' I pointed out, slowly starting to grow frustrated with her.

''Stefan and Damon are coming.''

I sighed heavily. This wasn't going to get us anywhere. She seemed so sure of it though, that help was on the way. And even if I wanted to try and break the window, my chance had already passed – because seconds later, Rose's heels could be heard echoing closer and then she was in the room with us again.

I subconsciously pressed myself closer to the back of the couch, but she didn't pay me any attention. She started throwing stuff in her bag, a jacket on a table and a book that was next to it.

Suddenly, I heard urgent steps scurrying towards us. A man hurried down the stairs on the other side of the room, approaching Rose with wide eyes. He was practically surrounded by a cloud of fear. He had brown hair reaching the nape of his neck, stubble on his chin and dark eyes. I recognised his voice, it was the same one as the man before. He was obviously the other half of this pair. What was his name... Trevor.

''He's here,'' he announced. He started pacing back and forth, pulling at his hair frantically. ''This was a mistake.''

Who's here? And why is he so scared? I looked from Trevor to Rose, and then to Elena. She shook her head, letting me know that she didn't know any more than I did. That was a first.

Rose looked at him, a glimpse of desperation in her eyes. ''No, I told you I would get us out of this. You have to trust me.''

''No,'' Trevor exclaimed. ''Elijah wants me dead, Rose.''

I noticed Rose's eyes drifting towards Elena. ''He wants her more.''

What did this unknown ''he'' - Elijah - want Elena for? Was she in trouble? I mentally slapped myself. Of course she's in trouble, genius. I was too, and in way in over my head.

''I-I can't do this,'' he was breathing heavily by now, practically hyperventilating. ''You give her to him, he'll have mercy on you, but I need to get out of here.''

Rose walked up to him and grabbed both his arms. I couldn't see her face but somehow, she kept him still. They obviously trusted each other.

''Hey...'' she said slowly, her voice softer than I thought it could be. ''What are we?''

He let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. ''We're family. Forever.''

In the corner of my eye, I noticed Elena watching them just as carefully as I was. It was strange, watching our... our captors being so casual and caring. I had no idea how Trevor was, but from what I'd seen from Rose, she didn't give me the impression to be a sensitive person.

This obviously meant something to the two of them – no, not something... it meant a lot. A whole lot. I got the feeling that somehow, their lives were dependent on whatever they had planned. A plan which apparently involved Elena.

There were sounds echoing throughout the house. Someone else was coming.

Whoever this person was, Rose and her partner were terrified. I hadn't sensed Rose's fear before, but now I felt it sipper through the air spreading out like a spiders web filling up the whole room. As if my own fear wasn't enough, now I had these two to deal with as well. Closing my eyes, I tried to take as slow and steady breaths as I could as not to pass out. It was overwhelming.

Elena picked up on it too, even without supernatural powers. ''You're scared,'' she breathed, like she couldn't believe it.

Rose looked over at us, before turning back to her friend. ''Stay her with her. And don't make a sound.'' She scurried up the stairs, her heels echoing against the floor. And she told him to keep quiet...

''Hey, wait!'' I exclaimed. ''Who's... who's Elijah?''

Rose turned around and looked at me sternly. She was nervous, though. She couldn't cover that up. Even from this distance, I could see her bottom lip tremble as she said:

''He's your worst nightmare.''


I'm sorry, I had to :P I know you were excited to finally meet Elijah – but at least now I can say that you most DEFINITELY will in the next chapter (and I promise to not take two weeks this time). Stay hyped!