Hey guys! I know it is a little late, but I made it longer xD Thanks to all that left a review and I really hope you'll like this chapter, too. Thank you Elena Rain for looking over it! So... Enjoy!
Elena's POV: (back at the Boarding House)
I pulled out my phone and when I saw the caller ID I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.
"Damon? Where are you?" I was getting mad at him and wanted nothing more than to shout at him when a voice interrupted my outburst.
"Elena! It's Elijah. Klaus has Damon. I don't have mush time, but know this: he won't let him go until he tells him where the coffin is, so I suggest that you hurry up and open it if you want to see Damon again." And he hung up. I was absolutely shocked. Only the thought of Damon made my heart ache. I couldn't think straight, but I knew Bonnie had to hurry up and open that damn coffin.
"Bonnie… we have to go! Elijah called. He told me that Klaus has Damon. We have to open that coffin now!" I was shouting at her and pulling her towards the door. She was stunned.
"Okay. I'll go back there and keep looking for a spell, but you have to call Stefan." I knew that. I had my phone in my hand already calling his number. He didn't pick up and I was furious. I knew I had to do something and fast… I called Caroline.
"Caroline… come pick me up at the Boarding House, now!" I didn't waste any time with explanations and I looked over at Bonnie who was now climbing into her car and I nodded. She smiled reassuringly at me.
"It will be okay, Elena! We'll find a way to get Damon back." I just nodded again, not sure that my voice wouldn't break. Bonnie wasn't Damon's biggest fan, but I could see that she meant it, and I knew she'll do her best to try and help.
I watched Bonnie leave as I stood in the driveway, waiting for Caroline. The thought of what Klaus could be doing to Damon overwhelmed me. I knew someday it will come to this. That Klaus will lose his patience and come after one of my friends. But now that it really happened I felt useless and stupid. This day was one of the worst days of my life. I had to go save Damon… but where the hell was Stefan? I had to call him again, maybe he could help… I mean he is his brother. So I dialled Stefan's number again. This time he picked up.
"Stefan…where are you? Klaus has Damon… you need to come here and we can talk about what to do…" I stopped talking so that he could say something.
"I know. I was there. And no, Elena, you can't do anything… we can't go there. Klaus almost barbequed me today, so I assume he's in a bad mood. Damon can take care of himself. All we can do is find a spell to open the coffin then we'll figure out from there. If you go there you're gonna make things worse for Damon." I was listening to him and the more he talked the angrier I got. How could he have left Damon there and why the hell didn't he at least tell us that Klaus had Damon. I thought about what he said for a minute… he was right about making things worse if he went there… but Klaus wouldn't kill me! That idea alone made my decision clear.
"You can't go, but I can… Klaus needs me so he won't kill me, therefore I can go and help Damon." It all made sense in my mind and I knew that Stefan would think I'm crazy, but I couldn't care less… He left his brother to suffer alone for a stupid coffin! I'm not making that mistake.
"No, Elena… you have to understand that Klaus doesn't have to kill you to make you suffer. You can't go there!" I knew he was right, but I just had to do something. And then I saw Caroline's car pull up and I rushed over to her.
"Look, Stefan… please help Bonnie with the coffin. I'll be with Caroline. We'll go talk to Klaus… tell him we have a deal. I'll be fine, Elijah will be there… you just work on opening the coffin and we'll figure out the rest afterwards." I climbed into the car and Caroline took off. I ended the call before Stefan could say anything else and turned towards Caroline.
"You know… he's right about one thing Elena… Damon can take care of himself. You don't have to go there. But I know you will go anyway so I'm coming with you!" I looked over at Caroline and smiled. She is one of my best friends and I knew she'd never let me go by myself so I just nodded.
"Ok, Care, but you have to promise that you won't do anything stupid. You'll wait outside, okay? I don't want anything bad to happen to you!" She turned her face towards me and I could see in her blue eyes that she was hiding something.
"Elena… I have to tell you something. You know that Tyler showed up at my funeral, right?"
"Yes, Caroline, what happened? Did you guys get back together? Or did you have another fight?" I was confused. I couldn't read her expression, and if they were back together Caroline would be jumping up and down, so I guess this time… there were bad news.
"Tyler bit me!" I knew my mouth fell open and my eyes definitely were wider than usual. That really was something I didn't expect. She looked fine. I couldn't see the bite anywhere.
"Um… Caroline? I…we can get Klaus' blood and heal you…" I didn't finish my sentence before she started laughing.
"Well… that might not be a problem. I…I mean this is the funny part… Klaus came over that night and he gave me his blood." I was really shocked. I couldn't imagine Klaus giving his blood willingly to save Caroline.
"And…um… promise me you won't tell this to Bonnie or the others, but Klaus left me a present too. A diamond bracelet actually…" I was looking at her in disbelief… what does that mean? If Klaus gave her blood, does that mean she was now sired too?
"Care…don't get mad, but are you sired to him too, now?" Caroline turned to look at me.
"What? No! I mean… could that even be possible?" she sounded terrified at the thought and I just shrugged. I didn't know if that was possible.
"I don't think so, Care. Don't worry…we'll figure this out, but right now we just have to focus on getting Damon back, ok?" She nodded and I felt bad for not being able to help my friend, but I couldn't think about anything other than Damon.
Damon's POV:
I opened my eyes slowly. I still felt some pain especially in my arms and legs from the vervain on the chains. I looked down at my body and I saw that my shirt was now in shreds on the floor, the wounds on my chest were still not healed, my own blood covering my skin. I leaned my head on the cold wall behind me and that's when I saw Klaus still standing by that table. He didn't even turn as he spoke to me.
"Damon… can't sleep, can't you? The vervain is wearing off pretty fast. That's good. I won't get bored after all…" He was looking over the things that were on the table. I couldn't see clearly what they were so I just stood there – what else could I do?
My thoughts drifted to Elena… this morning she sounded so pissed and the things she said… they hurt more than any of Klaus' torture. I knew I shouldn't think about that now, it only made things worse.
Klaus made his way back to me and I saw he had a knife in his hand… Great! Now Klaus will get all romantic and carve his name on my chest… In the next moment he was standing in front of me, pointing the knife at my face. I could feel the knife cutting slowly into my flesh. He drew a line with it from my cheek down to my neck and I felt him press the tip of the knife into my skin even harder. I winced as a sharp pain shot through my body. Blood was now running down my neck and he was enjoying every freaking minute of it. I knew the wound wasn't going to heal because I was too weak.
I looked at Klaus as he drew another line across my face. The pain was unbearable and I groaned, but I had to stay as strong as I could. I could see the smile on that bastard's face and I knew that he was enjoying this very much. He stepped away and made his way over to a chair, sitting in front of me. That's when I saw Elijah for the first time since I woke up. He entered the room with a glass of bourbon in his hand. He looked briefly at me and then he went over to Klaus.
"Ah, brother! Come to watch the show? Or would you care to join my little game?" Klaus was now smirking at me and I looked over at Elijah to see if he was going to take part in this.
"Neither. I just came by to see if he was still alive." Elijah's tone was distant as he moved a few steps back, but didn't leave. I could tell that he was still pissed at his brother, but surely they had made a deal to get the coffin back and then fight with each other.
"Do you think Elena knows you're here, Damon? Maybe I should call and invite her to the party." I growled at him and I could see Elijah had a weird look on his face. Oh no! He didn't do that, right? I shot him a look and I saw him silently nod and I knew he had called Elena. Klaus stood up and went over to pick up a glove. He then grabbed some vervain from the table and came in front of me again. When the vervain touched my skin it burned like hell… I let out a groan and I was struggling to keep from screaming out, but the pain was excruciating and I couldn't help the sounds that escaped my mouth.
"So I have a question for you, Damon… How is it to be in love with the one woman you could never have? Does it hurt to see her fighting for him? What do you feel when all she talks about is saving your brother? How does it feel to know it will always be Stefan?" His words were cutting deep into my undead heart and they hurt far more than any torture. I couldn't respond to that, the only thing I could do was accept the truth…
"Oh, Damon… I'm really sorry for you, mate! You really tried to be a better person for her, protect and love her, but that's not enough for her. Even as the ripper, Stefan has her love. You only have her pitty." He punched me in the face and then he punched me again, this time in the guts and I started coughing blood. I didn't care about that… his words were more painful and even though I wanted to ignore them, I couldn't. Not right now. Then all changed. I saw Elijah step forward and I could tell something was happening. Klaus stepped back and I could see an evil smirk play at his lips.
"Looks like you have a visitor… Please, come in, Elena!" He shouted over his shoulder and I could see Elijah turn towards the door. And there she was. The moment she stepped in I saw her warm brown gaze linger on my bloody, messed up body. I could see her eyes following the trail of slashes that laced my chest and then her eyes finally met mine. I had to stay strong for her, she couldn't see how weak I really was or she'd do something stupid!
"Damon! Oh my God! What the hell have you done to him?" She was shouting at Klaus and stepped closer to me, but Elijah grabbed her hand and stopped her. She tried to escape his grip, but to no use. I was grateful for that. If she came closer to me, the blood lust would have taken over. I was too weak to fight against my need for blood-her blood.
"Join the party, Elena. We were just talking about you. Right, Damon? Let's show Elena how much fun we are having, but, first… Caroline, love, would you just come inside? We don't bite… hard." He smiled at his little joke and I could see Blondie walking in and her shocked face when she saw my body full of whiplashes and blood.
Author's POV:
Caroline entered the room and looked around at all of them before settling her eyes on Damon's bloody body chained to the wall. She actually let out a gasp and then she looked at Klaus' smug expression. She was disgusted by what he had done. She remembered the night when she was tortured by those wolves and it was just too much for her so she looked away.
Elijah let go of Elena's hand and she ran over to Caroline while Klaus was stepping closer to Damon. He looked back at the girls and spoke:
"So Damon… would you tell me where the coffin is, yes or no?" He was now in front of Damon and Elena was about to run to them when Care grabbed her hand. Damon looked over at where Elena was, but never meeting her gaze. He took a deep, unnecessary breath and answered.
"No." Klaus' expression changed and his eyes darkened, his fangs elongated and then he hissed. Elena jumped a little at the sight of him and darted towards them.
"Let him go, Klaus!" she ran over to him and grabbed his arm, his vampire features disappearing and his smirk widened. Damon was surprised by Elena's actions, but he didn't want her here. He didn't want her to see him like this, or Klaus to use her to get information out of him. And before Klaus could speak, Damon's voice caught their attention.
"Elena… get out of here!" He was trying so hard to hide his pain and sound strong so she would just go. Elena looked up at him, their bodies only 2 feet away and the sight of him up close made her heart ache. He had slashes everywhere… his beautiful face was covered in blood, with slashes on each side, his lips bloody and partly open. She shuddered and closed the gap between them. Klaus just stood there watching them closely and so were Caroline and Elijah.
"Damon…" Her voice was just a whisper as she reached her hand to caress his cheek. He couldn't move…he didn't know what to do. He just stared into her eyes. When her fingertips touched his face he tried not to wince at the pain, but enjoy the feel of her skin against his. Elena's eyes found his and she could see all the pain he was experiencing. She lowered her eyes for a moment to look at his naked torso, a tear rolling down her cheek. How could she have let this happen? Damon's voice startled her. It was just a whisper, a shadow of his deep, velvety voice.
"Elena… you have to go." His words echoed through her head, but she couldn't believe that he was actually asking her to go… All she wanted was to get him out of here. She was about to say that to him when Klaus spoke:
"How touching… You know, you could tell me where the coffin is and continue this (he gestured between Damon and Elena) at home or I could try a different approach." He smiled at them and Damon clenched his teeth, knowing that Klaus was far from done with him. Elena looked over at Caroline and she texted Bonnie to hurry up and open that coffin.
"I don't want to interrupt you from your moment, but I'm running out of patience…" Klaus' voice was getting menacing as he walked over to Damon. He raised his hand and without hesitation he plunged it into Damon's chest, grabbing his heart and making him growl in pain. Elena screamed as he saw Damon's face contorted with pain. She panicked and started yelling at Klaus.
"KLAUS! Don't kill him! Just let him go!" He turned to face her, but never moved his hand out of his chest. Damon swallowed hard and looked into Elena's eyes. They were full of terror. He clenched his teeth together, trying not to scream. Klaus looked over at Elena when he said:
"Tell me where my coffin is… and I'll leave Damon's heart where it is." He squeezed a little and Damon closed his eyes, wincing in pain. Elena yelped at the sight of Damon's face.
"She doesn't know! Nobody knows but me! And if you want your coffin back, you'll pull your hand out of my chest!" Damon's voice was laced with hate and his eyes were still closed.
"Let's say I believe you… you know how I can get that out of you, right?" He pulled his hand out and looked at Elena, who was now caressing Damon's cheek.
"It's okay, you're okay…" she whispered into his ear, her now bloody hands soothing his pain. Klaus went over to where Elijah was standing and he turned back towards the pair. Caroline was frozen in shock and she was looking at Damon and Elena, too, when she got a text from Bonnie saying that they found the spell to open the coffin and that they only needed a little more time. She raised her gaze and looked over at Klaus who was now sipping at a glass of bourbon. She didn't know how to tell Elena that they almost got the coffin open so she ran to where they stood, looking into Elena's eyes, she tried to make her understand that they didn't have to wait for long. Caroline touched Damon's chest, but winced in pain at the feel of vervain on her skin. Damon smirked at her… yes, he smirked even in his condition he had an ego the size of a black hole. Typical Damon Salvatore -bragging about the fact that he was covered in vervain and still standing. He was always hiding behind his cocky attitude and putting on a mask- completed with a smirk.
Elena knew she was the only one to see the soft side of Damon and she was grateful that he trusted her and loved her enough to open up. Damon's blue eyes were now clouded with pain and as he looked into Elena's brown teary eyes he swallowed hard, thinking that this moment will be over soon and God knows what Klaus will do next.
"Brother… I think I could use a drink. Care to join?" Elijah looked at Klaus and then at their guests before Klaus continued.
"Oh, I bet Damon would love a drink, wouldn't you? Well good thing Elena is not offering. Caroline, my dear, come join us for a drink!" She turned her head towards the 2 men and then back to look at Elena. She didn't know what was going on and why would they leave Damon alone with Elena…
"We need a drink, girls!" Klaus raised his voice and then 2 girls walked through the door. They each carried a tray with glasses filled with what Elena knew had to be blood. Klaus gestured for Caroline to come closer and then Elijah took a glass, also. When Klaus had his in his hand, he came closer to Damon. He smirked when he saw Damon's eyes darken, veins becoming prominent and his fangs elongate. It was clear that he needed blood to heal and he wanted it so badly! But he had to control his bloodlust around Elena. She was standing right in front of him and he could smell her blood, hear her heart pounding in her chest and it was so appealing that it made his mouth water.
"What's the matter, Damon? You want some blood?" His voice was low and dangerous as he was sipping the blood slowly. Elena could tell he was doing it on porpoise. She mentally slapped herself for being so stupid as to not offer Damon some of her blood. So she placed a hand on Damon's now bloody face and he leaned into her touch, not knowing what she was about to do. She raised her other hand so that her wrist was in front of his mouth. She looked up into his gorgeous eyes that were now darkened by his need for blood and she smiled at him, reassuringly. Realisation hit him at the same time Klaus figured out what was Elena doing and he rushed over and pulled her away from Damon. She gasped at the sudden movement and was furious for not being faster.
"What the hell are you doing Klaus? He needs blood and if you don't give him any then I will do it!" she was yelling at him and struggling to get back to Damon who was now staring at them in disbelief.
"No, Elena… you see you can't pop open a vein when Damon clearly hasn't got enough strength to stay in control. But you might be right… if I want to play a little more…" He didn't finish the sentence because he zoomed to Damon, grabbing his neck, making Elena yelp again.
He took the glass and poured the remaining blood into Damon's mouth, giving him enough power to keep him awake, but not to heal his wounds. Damon's face vamped out and he swallowed the blood, enjoying the feel of the rich liquid pouring down his dried throat, but it wasn't enough to regain his strength. As Klaus stepped back Damon could see that Elena wanted to come closer again, but Klaus grabbed her hand and pulled her with him towards the couch. He gestured for her to sit down and she glanced over at Damon, seeing him staring back, nodding once. She complied with a sigh and sat down while Klaus moved over to the table again.
"Now I can torture Elena so you can talk faster or… I can keep playing with Damon…" As the words sank in, Damon's eyes were wide open and concern washed over his face. Caroline ran over to Elena's side and held her hand, trying to calm her down Elena squeezed it hard then gave her a small smile, telling Caroline she's ok.
"Leave her out of this, Klaus!" Damon practically snarled at him and Klaus raised an eyebrow.
Then, out of nowhere Elijah moved closer to Caroline and spoke.
"I think we should give them a moment of privacy. Come, Caroline." All eyes were now fixed on Elijah and Klaus smirked, then Caroline stood up and exited the room, glancing at Elena.
"Well… I guess I can resume my game, now, right? Should I use the whip again, Elena? I rather like the screams of the big bad vampire." He chuckled and looked over at Elena, who was clenching her fists, her eyes filled with anger.
"Or…how about the old fashioned stake?" He was now pacing in front of the couch and Elena was looking at Damon, who was avoiding her gaze at all costs. She wanted to go to him, but Klaus was now darting towards the table then walked over towards Damon with a stake in his hand. Elena stood up as quickly as she could and Klaus stopped. He turned to face her and smiled at her. Damon didn't know what to do… he knew that he was screwed, but he didn't want Elena to see anymore of this.
"Klaus just let her go and you can torture me afterwards…" Klaus turned towards him abruptly and the evil gleam in his eyes scared Damon. Elena was now standing next to the couch, not daring to come closer.
"Or I can torture you now!" Klaus put the stake into his back pocket and then went to the table and picked up a pistol. Elena's eyes widened and before she had the chance to say anything Klaus pulled the trigger and a wooden bullet shot straight at Damon. He didn't have time to react therefore the bullet hit him in the forehead. Damon's head fell backwards and his groan was muffled by Elena's screams. She ran towards him and as he was still growling low in his chest she tried to soothe him, but she was terrified… she never saw him like this and now she didn't know what to do.
"Elena… get the bullet out! Please…" The last word was more of a groan and she struggled to get it together and help him. Damon writhed in pain and Elena was watching him, unable to catch her breath as tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. She cupped Damon's face and didn't know how to take that damn bullet out.
"Just take it out, Elena…" Blood was dripping down his face and his voice was hoarse, his eyes shut as she stood on her tip toes and got the bullet out. He let out another growl as she threw the wooden bullet on the floor. He was panting, struggling to recover from the hit, again the pain was excruciating and when he finally looked down at Elena her eyes were red and tears were flowing down her cheeks. She looked into his blue eyes and she saw the weakness in them. He could barely keep them open. Elena was really worried about him and then she heard Klaus behind her laughing. He was fucking LAUGHING! She wanted to kill him! He called one of his 'girls' and started drinking from her. Elena knew that she had to take advantage of the fact that Klaus was distracted and she quickly raised her wrist to Damon's mouth and locked eyes with him.
Damon looked at her with such hurt and love in his eyes that her heart ached, but he kissed her wrist and bit gently into it. The taste of her blood was amazing. It was like the finest wine mixed with the sweetest chocolate. Damon was sucking deeply from her wrist, making it pleasurable for Elena, too. She was taken aback by the intensity of the moment. She had no idea that a vampire bite could be so good. He heard a soft moan leave her lips and he felt she was enjoying it, so he sucked deeper, the animal inside of him wanting more. It felt like hours, but in fact it lasted only a minute. Two strong hands were pulling her away and Elena found herself thrown onto the couch. Klaus was furious. He hissed at Damon and then ran back to Elena, ripping her vervain necklace from her neck.
"Are you fucking insane?" Klaus was screaming at Elena as he grabbed her arms tightly in his hands and shook her. Damon was yelling at him to let her go, but Klaus wouldn't budge. He looked over his shoulder at Damon who was struggling against the chains that held him in place. Klaus was gripping Elena's shoulders, his words making Damon flinch.
"If you think that was torture… Let's see what you think of this" He turned back to face Elena, his grip tightening on her small frame, his eyes looking deep into hers. Klaus smirked at her as Elena's eyes were flooded with tears, she knew he was going to compel her and without her necklace she couldn't resist it. His pupils dilated and he spoke loud and clear:
"Elena, I need you to drive this stake through Damon's chest!"
Well... what do you think will happen? I would really love to hear your thoughts... I love feedback! I'm open to suggestions if you have any... I hope you are not too mad at me for torturing Damon;)) Stay tuned to see what will happen!
XOXO Rose