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The Other

No sooner than our feet had touched the gravel did the door burst open, revealing an angry Luka and a furious Jonas.

I flinched at the look in Jonas's eyes, unconsciously clinging to Elijah's arm. In my peripheral vision, I noticed Elijah's eyebrows rise, no doubt finding it odd that a human would clutch so willingly to a vampire.

There was a sort of familiarity in being near a vampire, despite his less than honorable intentions. I knew vampires—even if this one obviously had a few new tricks up his sleeve. I knew what drove them and in that knowledge, there was comfort.

Jonas and Luka, however, were witches. Until yesterday, I hadn't even known they existed, let alone what they could possibly want.

"Would either of you care to explain how she managed to escape?" Elijah asked calmly, without a trace of anything but mild curiosity.

"I let her use the bathroom and she sprayed me in the eyes with this," Luka glared through red eyes, waving the can of air freshener.

Elijah's eyebrows rose even higher at my weapon of choice.

"Resourceful," he murmured.

Elijah maintained a cool exterior, but there was a subtle flicker of emotion in his gaze that suggested he was slightly impressed by my actions. Jonas noticed it too and I watched his anger at me grow.

"Why didn't you stop her with a spell?" Elijah asked, his tone once more betraying nothing but curiosity.

Jonas glanced at Luka, who during the commotion, must not have told him the full story.

"I did," Luka glared at me.

My eyes widened at that and I wondered what spells he could've cast in order to stop me. Something told me his efforts hadn't been kind and yet, I couldn't remember feeling anything but my desperation to escape.

They remained silent after that revelation, their gazes assessing, as if they only had to look at me in just the right light to find the reason.

"I trust you verified that she is not under the protection of another witch?

Jonas finally averted his gaze from me to Elijah in order to answer his question. While I didn't feel anything more than self-conscious at their staring, I thought Jonas must have been trying to do what Luka had failed to, despite my current captivity. The realization made my stomach churn.

"Yes. Apart from the Cold Ones and the wolves, no other supernatural being resides there," Jonas answered.

"The Cold Ones?" I blurted the question out in my moment of shock.

Did they know about the Cullens? Were they the reason I was here?

My chest tightened at the thought. If they had kidnapped me to annoy the Cullens, they were in for a surprise.

Wait.

"Wolves?" My eyebrows furrowed at the animal's inclusion in 'supernatural beings' until it finally clicked. "You mean, werewolves? There are werewolves?"

Clearly not in the mood to humor my inquiries, Jonas continued as if I hadn't spoken.

"After the Cold One left, I was able to get close enough to cast the spell. The plan worked perfectly."

"Perhaps you should try a spell now?" Elijah suggested, although his tone left no room for argument.

A small smirk lifted the corner of Jonas's mouth as he leveled his gaze on me. I tried not to flinch at the anticipation of pain, despite being fairly confident that if it hadn't worked before, it wouldn't now.

I breathed a sigh of relief at Jonas's frown, glad that I was immune to whatever pain he was attempting to inflict on me.

"This time," Elijah paused, his gaze flitting to me. "Try the spell whilst maintaining physical contact."

The relief quickly dissipated as Jonas grabbed my arm and I braced myself for the pain.

No amount of preparation could have helped though, as the sheer agony screamed through my head, causing me to collapse.

"Enough," Elijah finally declared after what felt like too long a time for a mere demonstration.

I gasped, rolling onto my back, barely acknowledging the gravel that dug into my back.

"So it would seem that magic only affects her after establishing physical contact," Elijah deduced in a bored tone.

I wondered if anything ever broke through that stony exterior of his as I tried to recover from Jonas's onslaught.

...

"What is Elijah?" I asked, hoping that he would be willing to talk now that we were alone.

Luka continued to look through the cupboards without so much as a glance in my direction.

"Please—"

"Sharing time is over," he snapped, cutting me off.

He pressed his hand along one of the drawers, using magic to unlock it. Despite Elijah's assurance that I wouldn't try to escape, they were too cautious to leave the silverware out for me to find.

I deserved his anger, but then again, he had deserved mine. I wasn't the one who kept him locked in a dungeon for days.

Did they really expect me to just stay here and embrace my fate—whatever it happens to be?

I thought Elijah might have understood, but his apathy over Jonas's torture spoke otherwise.

Even so, Elijah was merciful enough to change his restriction to never leaving the house, rather than the room. I was still being watched, but at least now I didn't have to stay in that cramped space.

Luka took little care in preparing my meal and I couldn't help being annoyed that they wouldn't let me make my own food. If they were really worried about their safety, why didn't they just get rid of the knives altogether? It wouldn't be difficult to prepare my food without them and Luka would be free to completely ignore me.

I sighed at the sloppy sandwich he slid over to me with more force than necessary. Trying to keep myself relatively clean—it had been days since I last showered and I felt disgusting—I quickly licked all of the jelly squishing out of the sides.

Suddenly ravenous, I gulped down the rest of the sandwich as quickly as I could swallow. I had eaten very little since I had arrived here and although the sandwich didn't satisfy my appetite, I was feeling marginally better.

Luka was now sitting at the table with his back to me, leaning over what I presumed to be a textbook for one of his classes. I found it odd that he could still attend school like a normal kid, despite his nightly watch of the girl he had helped kidnap.

While his attention was otherwise occupied, I decided to look around the room for something I could use.

There were old books and candles stacked on nearly every surface, but apart from that, the room was relatively empty. Since my attempted escape, Jonas had kept his eye on me. The subtle glare he wore seemed to be begging me to try something, if only to give him a reason to hurt me again.

Luka however, was not quite as vigilant. Despite his injury, he seemed determined to ignore my existence, almost like a child using the silent treatment . Although I couldn't say I had liked him before, I definitely missed his more accommodating attitude toward my imprisonment.

I knew I shouldn't feel guilty over my actions, but there was a small part of me that did. Although I recognized that the feeling was there, I knew that I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

...

The door stood only a few feet away, mocking me. It would be so easy to grab that doorknob and run. Elijah hadn't been around in days, so there was a good chance that I could actually make it.

It was difficult to simply walk passed, rejecting an opportunity to escape.

There was something wrong about the timing—I also had a feeling that Luka was hovering nearby, just waiting for me to try something.

They didn't know that Elijah's compulsion hadn't worked on me, and that was really the only advantage I had. Well, that and their inability to use spells on me without physical contact.

I had a theory as to why neither of those abilities had worked on me.

So far from what I've gathered, compulsion is all about mental perception and manipulation. Since Edward couldn't read my mind, it wasn't terribly surprising that Elijah hadn't been able to get inside my head either.

As for the witchcraft, I wasn't sure how that really worked. Despite my lack of physical injury after Jonas's spell, I didn't think it could entirely be mental. After all, if that had been the case, then why did the spell work once he was touching me? Could the physical contact have made such a difference?

Heaving a sigh, I continued on my way to the bathroom, relieved that Luka wasn't angry enough to begrudge me this. I had been surprised when he agreed to allow me access to the shower, but I didn't comment.

Apparently now that I was being compelled, I was allowed such amenities.

My hands methodically stripped me of my clothes, even as my nerves kicked in. Luka could walk in at any moment and although I didn't think he seemed like the type of guy to take advantage, I didn't really know.

Maybe he was.

I slid under the stream of hot water anyway, determined to scrub the days of filth off my body quickly enough to prevent unwanted company.

Yet, as my hands grew harsher, I found myself buckling under a sudden wave of sobs.

The kidnapping and my subsequent attempt at escape had kept my mind occupied, but now, in this moment of vulnerability, I began to crumble.

I cried over the circumstances, the memory of that night, and the acknowledgement that I was on my own in this.

They had left and they weren't coming back. They didn't want me and now...

There was no one left to save me.

I don't know how long I spent curled up in that shower, body heaving with the force of my cries. Although I was sure it had been quite a while, no one disturbed me.

By the end, after the water had long since ran cold and my skin had wrinkled, a hollow feeling spread through my chest along with the realization of what I would have to do.

There was no one left to save me, so I would have to save myself.

...

Hate me for not delivering the goods?
(Damon)
Don't fret.
We'll see him soon enough. =)