Chapter Fourteen

Ella stared opened mouthed at her friends. She couldn't believe what Caroline had just said and the fact that the others accepted the solution so readily. Shaking her head, Ella turned away from her friends and went back to the kitchen. Her friends followed her.

"Are you all right Ella?" Caroline asked.

"No," Ella sighed. She began pouring hot cocoa into the mugs that she had set out, her back still to her friends so that they couldn't see how upset she was. "Of course I'm not all right. You're talking about killing like it's something that you do every day. Is it really that easy for you?"

"We're not talking about killing a human being here Ella; we're talking about a vampire, a monster who won't stop until he's killed you, unless we stop him first."

"How do you know it's a Vampire? What if he's just a sick and twisted human, will you still kill him?"

"Yes," Caroline answered without hesitating. "If it means keeping you safe then I'll kill him without a second thought."

Ella sighed then turned to face Caroline. She was touched that her friend would do anything to keep her safe, but she still wasn't comfortable discussing murder. "I appreciate that, I really do and if whoever is trying to torment me is a Vampire then I won't stop you. If he's human though, I'd prefer that we find him then hand him over to your mother. I can't live with the murder of another human being on my conscious."

Caroline shook her head, but it was Bonnie who agreed with her. "She's right Caroline," Bonnie explained. "A Fae is the essence of pure and good magic; she literally couldn't bear it to take another life. A Vampire or Werewolf is different, killing them will protect others, but she can't kill a human, or allow one to die without stopping it. The affect that would have on her could be catastrophic."

"All right," Caroline relented. "If he's human we'll hand him over to my mom. It doesn't really matter anyway, because he's not human. He's a vampire, and if I get my hands on him I'll tear him apart."

As Caroline spoke, Ella felt a wave of anger was over her, so powerful that she had to grip the counter behind her to stop from falling. The room around her spun and she could taste copper on her tongue, it was like a flash fire was roaring through her veins, the flames licking her skin. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her fingers around someone's throat and squeeze until the light faded from their eyes.

Sinking to her knees, Ella crossed her arms and curled her clenched fists into her body to keep from hurting someone. The anger, the thirst for blood and pain was overwhelming, she wanted to rip and tear and kill, she wanted to hurt the person hunting her. Someone reached out and touched her shoulder but she jerked violently away from their grasp.

"Don't touch me," she growled, her voice full of venom.

"Ella? What's wrong? What's happening?" Jeremy asked, he sounded worried and scared.

"You!" Ella screamed, suddenly getting to her feet. The move was so sudden and fast that it startled the four friends standing in the kitchen. Ella had moved with a speed that shouldn't have been possible for anyone other than a Vampire or Werewolf, but she was too angry and scared to realise what she'd done. Instead she kept screaming at her friends. "You happened! All of you, all I can feel is anger and fear and it's driving me crazy. Don't you get it? What you feel I feel, Caroline's anger and thirst for violence is overwhelming and I can't control it. I want to rip your head off right now! I want to hurt all of you, I want to rip each and every one of you apart and the scary thing is, I think I'd enjoy it."

"Ella," Jeremy began in a soothing tone, but Ella could still feel his fear. The others were scared too, but the anger still burned in her veins.

"I want you to leave," Ella snapped at them, not letting Jeremy continue.

"Don't be ridiculous," Caroline shook her head. "We're not leaving you alone."

"GET OUT!" Ella roared making the others jump. "I want you out of here right now or I won't be held responsible for my actions. Please leave, I can take care of myself."

"Ella...please," Elena pleaded.

"I can't," Ella shook her head, tears of anger springing to her eyes. "You have to go Elena, for your own sake. All of you just please leave."

Without saying another word the four of them filed out of the kitchen. A few seconds later Ella heard them leaving through the front door. Still she stood frozen in the kitchen, it took several minutes for her to calm down. She felt bad for what had happened, but she didn't cry. She wouldn't cry anymore, if she truly was a Fae there was no way to fight it. All she could do was learn to live with it and control it, there was no point crying over it.

Feeling suddenly exhausted and drained, Ella emptied the mugs of cocoa into the sink and walked up to her bedroom. She was standing by her bed and she realised that she wasn't alone.

"You know just because I invited you in once, it doesn't give you a free pass to come and go as you please," Ella sighed as she turned to face her visitor.

"Someone needs to keep you alive," Damon shrugged. He was sitting in the armchair in the corner of her room.

"And you've taken it upon yourself to be that person?" Ella asked incredulously.

"Well you seem to have driven everyone else away, that doesn't leave you with a lot of options now does it?"

"You heard that?"

"I think the whole street heard that," Damon grinned.

Ella sighed and sank onto the edge of the bed, burying her face in her hands. "It's just so hard," she whispered.

"I know," Damon responded, getting to his feet he walked over and sat next to her.

"I've always felt it," the tired girl explained. "I feel everyone, but usually it's just in the background, barely noticeable. I usually only vaguely pick up on something if it's relating to me, but now everything is so much more intense. It's like the closer I am to someone the more I can feel them and I can't shut it off. I feel everything and I feel like I'm drowning in it."

"You just have to learn to control it," Damon told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know if I can," Ella admitted. "I'm scared Damon, I don't know what I'll become or if I can handle it and it terrifies me. What I fear the most is that I might lose myself in everyone else."

"I'll help you," Damon said, his tone soft and Ella could feel his sincerity. "We'll figure out how to deal with this and anything else that comes along. I won't let you lose yourself."

"Really?" Ella asked hopefully. She lifted her head to look up at Damon with wide eyes. When he nodded she smiled brightly at him. "Thank you Damon."

"You're welcome," Damon smiled back at her, the sudden happiness was contagious. "You should get some sleep then we can get started."

The joy in Ella's eyes faded and her gaze darted to the window. Damon knew immediately what she was thinking of. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll be right here," he promised her. "You'll be safe."

"You won't leave?" Ella asked, her voice full of vulnerability.

"I won't leave," he assured her.

Accepting his promise, Ella got to her feet then climbed in to her bed. She pulled the quilt up to her chin and glanced at Damon where he had resumed sitting on the armchair. Ella gave him a small smile then lay her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. It was only a matter of moments before the exhausted girl fell asleep and her soft snores filled the room.

Damon kept his promise and stayed with her until she woke up, keeping watch and making sure she stayed safe.

TBC...