Hey guys :)

I have got a new chapter for you and I really like how it turned out. Let me know what you thought of it by leaving a review if you can, since I really like to read all your theories and thoughts on the story and characters. I will leave you to read now…. Hope you like it. :)

Much love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream


This line … means we are at the same place as we were before but are reading through different POV as before, or that we are still accompanying the same person but there was a time jump in between their story telling.

The parts of the story that are written like this are flashbacks.


Chapter 25

»So that's where we are going? Europe? « Damon asked her after managing to break himself from the gaze they got lost in, forcing her back to the calmness of her bedroom immediately when she nodded.

"We had a meeting earlier… Ethan said that I am like a safe and the power I am believed to be holding is hidden deep inside me, that my whole being is designed to protect it; and so the only way of letting it loose is using a key. It is a spell," she looked at him. "A Bennet spell. Jonas must be one of the male descendants of their bloodline, who hasn't left. He has this book…"

"A grimoire?" The surprise was still evident in his voice.

"That would be the word for it. They showed it to me… it was beautiful, full of colours and stories, instructions and potions, full of spells. There is only one page of it missing. The story about creatures like me is there, but the instructions to the key spell? All gone. Ripped out, the whole of it. Ethan believes that the witches have it. They managed to track the coven down. And like you said, they fled to Europe. When you said you knew them… I kept thinking if they knew. If they left the book here on purpose, to guide us to them…"

"Emily." He interrupted her, his heart racing. "If they knew to do so it was because of her. They took her sayings to heart even after her death, writing them down, promising her spirit they would hold on to them…"

"But that would mean-"

"She knew." Damon brought his head against the wall, the pain of the collision causing the same effect as icy weather, freezing the rush of unnecessary thoughts in an instant. "She knew everything, knew all this would happen, knew what I would do, knew she had to save me." He tightened his grip on his hair, his teeth hurting from the pressure he put on them, Elena's voice his only anchor to the reality. It was all outlined, his every reaction predicted, everything he did in his life was bringing him to her.

He tried to get his head around that information now, as he plunged himself onto the living room couch, his side feeling strange from the lack of her weight, his heart torn between his chest and the bedroom she was trying to sleep in. It hurt her to not be with him too, he learned from the way she slipped her hands out of his hesitantly as the night fell, like the feeling was alien to her. She hated falling asleep alone, he knew, but it seemed like the reality of their stories has finally drowned on both of them. They needed this evening, needed its' time, its' darkness and its' comfort before they could return to how things were before. And they respected than.

Damon's thoughts fled back to his theory again. Could it really be true? When he first saw Elena in the centre, he was sure she was his last chance to redeem himself. That she was a sign for him that after everything he has done in his darkest period could still be irrigated; and yet it seemed now that he could be wrong. Was all that death he sowed always meant to happen? It seemed too harsh to be only a step in someone's plan, but if he didn't have all that guilt following him around... would he even care to help her, even talk to her, get to know her?

He shook his head to clear it a bit again. No, he refused to believe that. He refused to believe that he had no real choice, that he was just a puppet created so that he would make the right decisions for this grand plan to succeed. Maybe Emily really helped him out of pure gratefulness only. She might have not said anything about the spell after all; and one of the witches only remembered that it wouldn't be good for it if the vampires found it in a hurry, tearing it out and leaving the grimoire there due to the limitation in baggage allowance. Maybe all he did was his after all. He couldn't let the guilt slide away from him so easily. He did those things on his own, he wanted to do them and he did. It was his hands that were bloody. Not some imaginary spirit's ones.

Sudden footsteps brought him back to awareness, the armchair in front of him creaking under the weight of Alaric Saltzman. Damon had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"Let me guess... Ethan sent you?"

"Nope." The teacher replied, a small smile on his face. "I came myself, figured the others would sleep better if I they knew I had an eye on you."

"Yeah, like that's going to help them if I flip out." Damon snorted into his glass of bourbon, before gulping down its content.

Alaric shrugged, unaffected. "It is worth a chance."

Damon narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe you just came here because you are curious... Tell me. What is it that you want exactly?"

"Well, I guess first you could tell me what are you up to."

Damon threw him a look, before glancing at the stairs behind him. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Elena." The vampire didn't like hearing the name on the man's lips. "What do you think we would do? Tie her up and throw her on a boat to Europe without your knowledge?"

"If the world was falling apart today, wouldn't you? You don't really care about what she thinks. If she wouldn't agree with your plan, would you just let her go?" He seemed to have successfully shut the man's mouth for a minute. "She stays safe, she goes only where she wants to go and I will ensure that."

Alaric smiled at that. "This thing you two have… It's pretty strong, huh?"

Damon sent him a glare. "That's none of your business."

The man's smile hadn't fallen. "But it is. Her aunt is pretty worried- you know that, right?"

"She has no reason to be."

"But we all are. Nobody really knows what happened to the girl while she was in the centre."

"And you won't ask her." Damon's face grew even more serious now, sensing how his voice softened before the next sentence left his lips. "She has been through enough."

"And you did talk to her about it when she needed to?"

The vampire nodded. "Every time."

The man thought a little, then changed his approach. "She seems to trust you enough-"

"I try to give her reasons to."

"And you never hurt her, when she was in there?"

"Not when I wasn't forced to, no."

Alaric's gaze has turned black, his body tensing. "What does that mean?"

"They… They wanted me to cut her open. I did. She was on anaesthetics, but something went wrong at the end. I tried to get them to let her have enough time to recover. They didn't. We didn't really stick to the procedures after that. We talked a lot more. I brought her stuff." Damon felt like he needed his co-speaker to understand. "We grew closer. But then Elijah Michelson came to visit. He figured it out. They reassigned me off her case… I got her out soon after that."

"And you did that why exactly? You lost everything when you did so."

"That didn't matter to me. She needed to get out of the centre in order to stay alive." He looked Alaric straight in the eye. "I would do it again."

"For her or for yourself?"

Damon could almost see his words crushing every notion of who they thought he was in the man's mind, stating them firmly, certainly, with the weight they deserved.

"For both of us."

"Shit!" His friend's voice suddenly changing its volume almost caused Alaric to jump. They were in the room which has been successfully turned into their groups' base a day ago. The curtains were drawn tight, the light on the device sitting amongst countless papers and Jonas's books green. The table was a mess, the chairs scattered and the sofa complained about Ethan's fist colliding with one of its seats with a loud creek.

Alaric hasn't seen the man get so angry in years, observing him carefully as he slowly ran his hand over his face trying to collect himself, knowing him well enough to understand that he will tell him what is wrong as soon as he gains control again and not ending up disappointed.

"They learned who they will actually be smuggling."

Alaric could see how that could be a problem. No one would want to spend weeks being stuck on a ship with a vampire. "And?"

"They calculated their profit. Said that if we don't deliver more money for the girl and the vampire than the award money from the government for them is, they will sell us out." One of Ethan's hands was now wrinkling his forehead.

Agarics chest grew heavy. "How much?"

"More than a million, just for the two of them to be taken to Europe… Plus five thousand dollars for anyone else."

"A million?! What did you say?"

"That we would deliver?" The teacher could almost feel his eyebrows preparing to jump out of his skull; his friend lifting his hands in defeat. "What! I didn't really have a choice, did I?"

"And what are we going to do now, just mislead them into thinking that we can actually afford this? What happens when they figure out that we can't? The government could get to our location in less than fifteen minutes with nothing else but our blocked number!"

"That's not our only problem right now, though. The vampires are enhancing their search, heightening their security on every gas station, every border with every day without success. The guys that we are in contact with… They don't want to wait anymore, saying that we are dragging them deeper and deeper by waiting, making them more vulnerable…They are increasing the cost by the hour. "

Alaric's hands grew shaky now, the fear on his face a complete copy of those on Ethan's, cooling his soul as he asked the most important of questions: "What are we going to do?"

"We are leaving tonight." Alaric's words caused Jenna to freeze, her heart clenching even more after she was able to take in the expressions of her wards, Jeremy's full of shock while Elena's was filled with dread, her hand finding the vampire's and squeezing it like a vice. "Tonight?" She managed to squeak out, her voice barely hearable and shaky.

Ethan nodded. "Unfortunately the smugglers are more interested in money than in their country's future… And they are lifting the cost every hour. They said we only have today to decide what to do."

"How much?" The vampire was the first to understand what the man actually told them, his furious eyes focused on Alaric. "How much do they want?"

"A million and a half, for both of you and five thousand for each of the others." The teacher responded, causing Jenna to suck in a breath.

"And still they could hand us over and get another million as soon as we arrive to the harbour? Are you crazy?"

"It's the risk that we are bound to take."

"Well you shouldn't be. You said you will get her to Europe safely!"

"And we will." Alaric involved himself in Ethan's and Damon's conversation again. "We worked with the guys we are currently in contact with for many years and they never once broke our deal. Sure they might be a bit money driven, but I don't believe that they would sell us out. And besides… We really have no choice. The security is increasing with every passing day that the government doesn't find Elena and I am afraid that if we wait we won't have a chance to get out of the country at all."

"So you… have the money?" Jeremy asked, his voice small.

Ethan sighed. "Not exactly… But we are sure we will be able to strike a deal with them after you actually arrive. I don't think they are actually expecting us to deliver the whole sum."

Jenna's nephew's eyebrows creased. "You are not coming?"

The man wagged his head. "Alaric's ticket will be expensive enough."

"I can get you the money." The vampire broke the momentarily silence. "For Elena and me. If anything might insure that they don't betray us, it will be a raise."

Jenna saw Elena's gaze turn to the vampire in wonder, but he brushed it off with a shrug. "I didn't really have the need to spend much in the last two centuries." Then as she started to complain "Really it is not even a problem."

Jenna grew stiff as she watched them, watched Elena so relaxed a small smile appearing on his lips as she thanked him. Was there really something there? Did he really love her? Surely not, right? The teacher told her all about his conversation with the creature, his side of the story, his answers and she couldn't have been more worried. She didn't even have a real conversation with her niece since their reunion, starting to believe that the teen was avoiding it but knew that wasn't Elena's fault. She still didn't know how to act around her, how to speak to her. Should she ask her what happened? She didn't even know if the vampire told Ric the truth. Sure, he looked intrigued enough in the girl, but what if it was only for his own benefits? Jenna wasn't stupid; she knew that the group would never help them if there wasn't for Elena's change. Why wouldn't this be true for the vampire too?

Anyway, they looked even closer than before. Calmer, more at peace. She didn't know how this could result out of their yesterday's argument, but it did, leaving her more confused than ever.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Elena's voice again, so close and yet as far away from her as she imagined their once almost sisterly relationship to be. Her tone was stronger now, determined.

"So…. What's the plan?"

Elena's movements were rapid as she turned from her dresser and back to her bed, another one of her shirts ending up in a used, black and red backpack. It seemed to her like her hands were purposely trying to distract her from her thoughts as she foundered the few clothes she will be able to take with her; and yet the images in her head still held her captive. From moment Ethan told them the news, through the arguments and disagreements they stayed with her, separating her from this world, dragging her down and placing her into the darkest of scenarios. She shuddered. She couldn't go back to the centre, she couldn't; and yet she knew she had to do this. She knew that even thought their lack a plan she should go. She had to do this and she hated feeling so lost. Lost because she didn't know what to expect at all, what to feel about their sudden departure. She was scared, that something would go wrong, of course, but that didn't quite cover it. There was this strange feeling inside of her, its sparkles igniting an urge to leave, telling her that things needed to move, that this house was trapping her, holding her back; and yet she didn't want to leave, not really. Elena stopped momentarily, sighing as she looked across her room. This place has become her home, and she would miss it.

A soft knocking echoed from the door, causing her to smile, recognizing the pattern immediately, her predictions confirmed when the vampire joined her after her come in, his shoulder brushing against hers as he picked one of her t-shirts and started to help her without saying a word. He always seemed to know what she needed, the comfortable silence between them more outspoken than a thousand words. He will wait until she will be ready to speak, Elena knew, but right now all she needed was his presence. It seemed to her that they were even closer now than they were before, that telling each other their stories freed them, tied them together. And none of them minded.

It didn't take them more than a few minutes to finish packing and they threw themselves on the bed when they did, their hands intertwined as they stared at the dust dancing in the afternoon sunrays, before Elena let her thought spill into his ears.

"I wish that we wouldn't have to go. That we could stay here."

"This house is nice," Damon nodded, one of his hands running over the wood of the nightstand as his mind seemed to drift somewhere else, before he spoke to her again. "You still can change your mind, you know?"

"Damon…"

He squeezed her hand gently, to stop her words, now present, composed, his serious facade breaking into a cheeky smile, causing her to roll her eyes. "Seriously?"

He winked at her. "It was worth a try."

She slapped his chest lightly, turning away so that he wouldn't be able to see her face, staying silent until the fear that was filling her heart again became too strong, her tone quiet then, worried.

"I just hope that everything will turn out okay. Our trip to the harbour wasn't supposed to be improvisational like this, they said that it would be cautious,…" her voice broke a little and she had to take a breath before continuing, hoping that the vampire didn't see the water that started to gather in her eyes. "said it will be safe."

She didn't fight Damon when he reached for her and bathed in the feeling as she collided with his chest, holding herself tightly to him by grabbing on to his shirt. Of course he figured her out anyway. He never failed to.

"It will be safe." He sounded confident when he spoke again, his eyes dark as she looked at them, stern. "You will be safe."

She ran her hand down his cheek in a silent thank you, before she continued. "I know you will be there, Damon…. But it is not just me that I am worried about. Jeremy, Jenna and Alaric… Their lives are just as important."

She could feel him smile sadly against her hair, one of his fingers trailing the edges of her snow-white wings and she knew what he did no say exactly, not to me echoing in his actions, growing louder and louder in their silence, causing her to groan.

"I don't even know what I am doing, Damon. This power that they say is inside me… I don't even feel it. They keep telling me that I can help and I would like nothing more than to make a change, but I am not an angel. Wings or no wings, I am just me." She raised her head to look at his expression. "I am sorry, but I am not what you think I am and whatever you think I can do for you… I just can't."

"But you already did do it, Elena. You showed me that I could really be happy again, showed me how beautiful the world is, trusted me even when I didn't trust myself, believed that I wouldn't hurt you, believed that I would do the right thing until doing that by you was all that mattered, you gave me your friendship, your forgiveness and I needed all that, I really did. It is not because of what you became after the accident that I need you. It is because of you. Because of who you are as a person. You are kind and sweet and loving and precious, so precious to me I don't think I could live if something happened to you and that makes you way more important than the others. I will do what I can to help them if something happens tomorrow…. But I need to keep you safe."

All Elena could do was look at him when he spoke, his eyes drawing her in with the love they held as gratefulness flowed through her. Gratefulness for his words, for always being there, for knowing what to say at all times, knowing what to make all things seem better. Gratefulness for being nice to her in the centre, for talking to her, freeing her… Even if all he saw in her than was a broken angel. She was so thankful for his belief, thankful for his acceptance, for his understanding, for showing her his vulnerability, his tenderness, his humanity.

His hands fell to her sides as she turned in their embrace, the pull towards him growing stronger when their eyes locked, their souls meeting and their hearts sang as her lips brushed softly against his.


I want to thank sloksingh45, jairem, gaudeamusigitur, vladelena and delenalu for brightening my days with their thought on the last chapter. You are awesome!