AN: Hi everyone :) I'm in a good mood since chapter 9 was the first chapter to get 4 reviews. So thanks, Sammie en Yeah, you're awesome :).
Chapter 9 had a lot more visitors than just 4, so everyone else: shame on you! But I still love you for reading my story :)
Mona and VampGirl4ever, you're both amazing and thanks for reviewing every single time :) Danielle Salvatore: you're the best beta ever.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or The Vampire Diaries, it all belongs to L.J. Smith and Stephenie Meyer.
Elena POV
Bonnie opened the door before Elena had even knocked and Elena could see she hadn't calmed down. She practically dragged Elena to the living room, where the coffee table was filled with things.
"Okay, sit down, I want to show you something."
"What is all this? What did your cousin say?"
"Right, I'll explain first." Bonnie said, plopping down on the couch. "So, this morning a package arrived. It's from my cousin, Amy, and it's our family's spell book, which I didn't even know existed. Apparently, there's history of witches in my family, and I have the gene. So Amy sent me this book, it can help me develop my powers." Bonnie was beaming up at Elena.
"Bonnie, are you sure this is real? I'm not saying you're lying, of course not, but I don't think you should believe all this witch-stuff." Elena said, careful not to insult Bonnie.
Bonnie kept smiling. "I knew you would say something like that, and Meredith will, too. So I called Amy first and I read a part of the book and I practised before you came."
"What did you practise?"
"That's what I wanted to show you! Okay, now wait a minute…"
Bonnie started to clear the table and put a candle on it, some feathers and the book she had been talking about. Elena was watching her in confusion, she didn't know what to expect.
Bonnie opened the book and flipped through the pages, looking for something.
"Found it! Okay, now watch." She told Elena, her eyes were big and excited. She held her hands on both sides of the candle and quietly murmured something she read in the book. Her brow furrowed and Elena watched as the candle's fuse began to glow.
"Bonnie…" Elena started to say, but she stopped when Bonnie shook her head. After a few more seconds, the candle flickered to life and a bright flame danced between Bonnie's hands.
Bonnie looked op at Elena and bit her lip. "what do you think?"
"I… I don't know what to say." Elena said.
"Wait, I can do something else, too." Bonnie said.
She held one hand above the feathers and slowly moved it up and down. Not ten seconds later, the first feather began follow the movements of her hand. Elena gasped and leaned closer. Now all the feathers were swirling around Bonnie's hands and Bonnie was smiling brightly. Elena was stunned, this was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. This moment is magical, she thought.
"So… what do you think?" Bonnie whispered, having noticed the change in atmosphere and realising that excited shouting would ruin it.
"It's… beautiful. I can't believe it." Elena couldn't find the right words.
Bonnie blushed. "It's just something that helps you build up your powers, and if you can do this, you're ready to try the real thing."
Bonnie told Elena more about witchcraft and spells, and Elena was fascinated. They talked until Elena had to go home, and Bonnie couldn't wait to let Meredith know all about it.
Eleazar POV
Eleazar was standing behind the trees, watching the girls hug goodbye. He'd felt something when he passed the house and he'd been waiting for the girls to come outside. His talent worked better when there were no walls between him and his target and now he could feel that the small girl was a witch by heritage. He wanted to leave, but when he moved closer to the other girl he had to keep himself from gasping. He couldn't believe it! Could this girl be the one he was looking for? After making sure he was right, he ran to the house they were staying in, as fast as he could.
When he knew he was within Alec's earshot, he said: "Alec, get the car, I found someone."
A few seconds later he arrived at the house and got in the car. The scent inside hit him as he opened the door.
"Can you please ask Carmen to never give a human a ride again?" Alec asked, irritated.
Eleazar nodded, the blood he could smell in the car was the girl's blood, which meant Carmen had already met this girl. But he couldn't think about that now, he just had to find her and he would ask Carmen about it later.
They didn't say anything until he found the street where he'd last seen the girl. When he recognized the house he'd been watching, he rolled down his window and followed the girl's scent. It didn't take long before they could see her in the distance.
"It's her?" Alec asked.
"Yes, we'll get out of the car now. When I'm close enough to catch her, you can do your thing. Then we'll put her in the car and get out of here."
Alec nodded.
Eleazar moved closer to the girl. It was dark enough so even if she turned around, she wouldn't see him. She was walking fast and her steps sounded loud in the empty street. He looked at Alec and gave him a quick nod. Not even a second later, the girl stumbled. Eleazar caught her before she hit the ground and took her in his arms. He laid her down in the backseat while Alec went to get the purse she'd dropped on the pavement.
Eleazar was driving and Alec was looking at the wallet he'd found inside of the purse.
"Her name is Elena." Alec said, having found her ID. "Elena Gilbert."
"Good to know. What do we do now? Lock her in the bathroom?" Eleazar said sarcastically.
"I guess so. It's the only room without a window." Alec said dryly.
"Are you serious?" Eleazar lifted his eyebrows.
"Sure. It won't be for long, you can call Volterra when we're at the house and when Carmen comes back we can leave. Where is she, anyway?"
"She went shopping in a bigger town close by, but it's getting dark so she'll be back soon"
"She won't like this." Alec mused.
"She won't, especially not since she already gave the girl a ride."
"I noticed that, too. Why would she even do that?"
Eleazar shrugged. "That's just the way she is. She likes to help people."
Alec snorted. "I begin to see why she wanted to leave us so badly. How long do I have to keep the human like this?"
"Just wait until we're inside and I've put her down."
Eleazar hesitated when he stood inside. He hadn't done this before. Usually, he told Aro when he found someone and the rest of the guard took care of it. He'd ask Carmen. She had even less experience with this kind of thing, but she somehow knew how to deal with humans. But for now the bathroom would have to be enough. She'd have a toilet, at least. The bedroom didn't have a mattress or covers anyway. He opened the door and set her down on the closed toilet. Then he locked the door and wished for Carmen to come home soon.
"You can give her her senses back, Alec." Eleazar said while he sank down in the couch. A few seconds later he could hear the girl gasp and her heart rate picking up. After some stumbling, the doorknob moved. The girl tried a few more times and the door shook, but she gave up when it wouldn't open. He heard a sigh and he could tell she sat down on the floor.
After some time, Eleazar stood up from the couch and walked over to the bathroom door. When he opened it, he saw the girl –Elena, he corrected himself –sitting on the closed toilet seat, her head in her hands. She looked up quickly when she heard the door open. Her eyes were big but he could see that she was tired. She hastily stood up and pressed her back against the wall, her hands were tight fists by her side and her whole body was tense. He felt bad for her and raised his hands to show her he didn't mean her any harm.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you. I'm Eleazar." He said, is his most reassuring voice. It didn't change anything about Elena's rigid stance. He truly wished Carmen was here now, he couldn't even imagine how disorienting this had to be for Elena. How scared she had to be.
"I don't want to hurt you, I promise. We'll tell you more about everything later, but for now just have to know that we need you. And… don't try to escape. It won't work." He didn't know what to say next, so he closed the door.
He hung his head as he leaned against the wall. He was horrible. What they were doing was horrible. He hadn't thought about how it would be once he found someone. He knew that Carmen had, and he didn't even want know how she would react to finding someone locked up in the bathroom. Someone she'd met.
He looked up when he heard someone running in the woods behind the house. He recognized the footsteps and ran outside to see Carmen. She just entered the back of the garden and he could see her anxious expression.
In less than a second she was in his arms, crying dry sobs.
"Tell me it's not true. Tell me it's not Elena." She said desperately.
Carmen POV
"I'm sorry." Eleazar said, pressing her to him.
Carmen shook her head, this wasn't his fault. She could see the pain in his eyes, this hurt him, too. She'd smelled Elena's scent not long before she arrived at the house.
"How long ago did you find her?" She asked.
"In the early evening, a few hours ago. I was hoping you would talk to her, I tried but… I don't think it did much good." He murmured.
She nodded and entered the house, she heard Elena's steady heartbeat form behind the bathroom door. Had she been in there for a few hours? It was barely big enough to be called a room! Carmen opened the door and saw Elena sitting in the corner. Leaning against a wall, curled up in a tight ball and asleep. Tears had left black lines of mascara on her cheeks.
Carmen's heart broke. She turned to face Eleazar and Alec, who was still sitting in the couch.
"You and you!" She said, pointing at the two men, "How could you leave her in that horribly small and cold room for hours! What were you thinking?"
Eleazar and Alec looked at her with wide eyes, perplexed.
"Alec, instead of just sitting there, go find her a blanket and a mattress."
It took Alec a few seconds to answer. "Where?" he finally said.
"I don't care! Just do it."
He hesitated, but left after a glare from Carmen. She could be very convincing when she was mad. She heard Elena's heart rate pick up and saw her staring with wide eyes.
"Are you hungry?" Carmen asked gently, and Elena slowly nodded.
"I'll go find some food." Eleazar said, and he was gone before Carmen could get even angrier.
Carmen heard Elena gasp at the sight of Eleazar's blurring speed.
From the moment Alec and Eleazar were gone, Carmen's anger disappeared and she had to keep herself from crying again.
"I'm so sorry you had to be in that stupid room the whole time. I should have gotten home earlier." She held out her hand to help Elena up. Elena slowly took it and stood up, her legs a bit shaky from sitting down.
Carmen waved at the sink, "you can clean up a bit, if you want. I'll be in the living room."
She headed over to the backdoor, where she'd dropped her shopping bag when she got home. She'd forgotten all about it, but now she was glad she'd bought some things. Elena came out of the bathroom and took a few uncertain steps in the direction of the couch.
"Can I sit down?" She asked, keeping her distance from Carmen.
"Of course you can." Carmen said soothingly. "You can do anything you want, as long as you stay inside. They'd kill me if I let you out."
Elena sat down and closed her eyes again. Carmen thought she probably hadn't slept well on the cold bathroom floor and wished she could just bring Elena home. She decided to give Elena some time to rest and quietly started unpacking the things she'd bought. After a few minutes, Elena's breathing slowed. She was curled up on the couch, her hands were folded underneath her head. Carmen was putting her new sketchbook away when she saw Elena shiver. She remembered the quilt she'd bought, she'd meant to cover the old couch with it, and gently draped it over Elena's body. Sighing, she sat down on the other side of the couch without ruffling the fabric, careful not to wake Elena. She was content to sit there, it gave her time to think about what they would do next. She knew that at least Alec would not be back until the next evening. He would be careful to stay out of her way. Of course he knew she wouldn't attack him, but he was smart enough to give her some time. Eleazar would probably be back around the morning, she was glad about that, she missed him already.
When she'd been sitting there for almost two hours, Elena began to move. She started muttering in her sleep and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Carmen couldn't stand the sight of it, she quickly wiped the tear away and softly padded Elena's shoulder to wake her up. Carmen thought that if she was having a bad dream, it would be better to stop it. But what would she see when she woke up? It would just be another nightmare.
Elena's eyes began to flutter and before she was really awake, she cried out Stefan's name.
"Shhh," Carmen tried to calm her. "You're okay."
Elena looked around, dazed, and took a few deep breaths. She pulled the quilt tighter around her body and laid her head back down on the couch.
Elena POV
Elena was in Stefan's arms, his lips brushing over the top of her head. She felt his chest lift with every breath he took and she sighed in contentment. Everything was perfect as it was when she suddenly felt a cold wind swirl around them. She looked up in confusion and saw Stefan's panicked face, his eyes were fixed on something in the distance.
"What's wrong, Stefan?" She asked. She tried to follow his gaze, but she couldn't see anything through the dark, cold mist that was suddenly everywhere.
"I don't know," He muttered, still looking over her head. Then he looked into her eyes and said: "Promise me you won't leave me." She barely heard his last words, a thundering noise had been building and now it sounded as if they were standing in the middle of a rainstorm.
"Of course I won't leave you!" She yelled over the noise. But then she felt it, a pull that made it hard for her to keep holding on to Stefan. She grabbed Stefan's arms and desperately tried to stay with him. It didn't help, she was pulled loose and she began to lose sight of Stefan's face.
"Stefan what's happening?" She yelled, but no answer came.
"Stefan!" She yelled as hard as she could.
Then she awakened with a start.
"Shhh, you're okay." She heard a voice say, and she took in her surroundings. When she saw Carmen sitting beside her, she realized where she was and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself and then laid down again. Her head was only inches away from Carmen's leg, but she didn't think Carmen would hurt her. She wasn't at all so sure about the men.
"Is everything alright?" She heard Carmen say, sounding worried.
"Apart from the fact that I was kidnapped and I'm now being held captive, I'm perfect." She said, shooting a dark glance at Carmen. She regretted saying it almost immediately afterwards.
"I'm so incredibly sorry." Carmen whispered. "You can't imagine how sorry I am."
"I don't think the others feel so sorry." Elena said, angry at them for keeping her locked up in the bathroom.
"Eleazar feels as bad as I do, but he can deal with it better. Most of all, we both want you safe at your own home."
Elena was confused. She didn't know why she was here, she didn't know what they would do with her, and she didn't understand why they took her if they felt so sorry. The taller man, Eleazar, had said they needed her.
"What do you need me for? Why am I here?" She asked quietly, afraid to hear the answer.
Carmen frowned. "I don't know everything, but I will tell you as much as I can." She turned to face Elena and crossed her legs. Elena sat up a bit straighter, it was hard to talk while lying down.
"First, you must have noticed that we are different. I mean Alec, Eleazar and myself."
Elena nodded, she had noticed it. Aside from the pale skin and the dizzyingly fast movements she'd seen Eleazar make, there was something else, something she couldn't put her finger on. It was a creeping feeling which told her that they were different and dangerous. When she'd tested her aura on Eleazar and Alec, it had been the same as with Carmen: first she felt nothing, and when she tried harder, she only felt a vague impression of what she normally felt. Eleazar was calm and loyal, and he was good at observing people. Alec had made her feel very uneasy. He was smaller and younger than she was, but his aura told her he was a private person and incredibly dangerous. But aside from that there had been a weird, numb feeling when she'd tried his aura and it scared her.
"You can move very fast." Elena said, pointing out the most obvious thing.
"True. We're fast. And cold. Can I?" Carmen asked while bringing her hand to Elena's face.
Elena nodded and Carmen cupped Elena's cheek. It was true, Carmen's hand was ice-cold. Elena took it from where it rested on her cheek and held it between them. It was as pale as Carmen's face, and very smooth.
"What are you?" Elena asked in wonder. She realized Carmen wasn't a normal human. Normally, she wouldn't have thought something like that, but after she learned about Stefan, Bonnie and her own talent, it seemed only natural for Carmen to be something special, too.
"I'm a vampire." Carmen said.
Elena's mouth opened and closed again. She closed her eyes and shook her head. This wasn't true, they were nothing like Stefan.
"What did you just say?" She asked Carmen.
"I'm a vampire." Carmen repeated with patient eyes.
"That's not true." Elena said, feeling as if she were defending Stefan.
"You don't have to believe me, I know you think vampires don't exist, but soon you won't have a choice but to believe it." Carmen said gravely.
"What do you mean?"
"As I told you before, I will tell you everything I know. But you have to believe that vampires exist while I'm explaining everything, after that you can go back to saying it's not true. Can you do that? Can you pretend to believe that I'm a vampire while I do my best to explain all this?"
Elena nodded.
"Good. First you have to know about the Volturi. As vampires, we can't expose ourselves to humans, that's the one rule we have to follow. The Volturi enforce the law, they make sure everyone stays inconspicuous and they punish the ones who don't. Some of us have special powers."
"Do you have one?" Elena asked, finding Carmen to be a good storyteller.
"I don't, but Eleazar and Alec do. Eleazar can tell what kind of talent another vampire has and Alec can cut off your senses. Among the Volturi, there are lots of vampires with special talents. Aro, one of the three leaders, he kind of collects talents and they make the Volturi guard nearly invincible."
"That doesn't sound fair." Elena said, frowning.
"You're right about that. You can't even try to stand up against them. I never said I liked the Volturi. Some of them are fun to hang out with, but most just want power.
When our kind falls in love, there's no way back. We have one partner we are meant to be with. Me and Eleazar met, and we fell in love. I stayed with him for a while, but I hated living with the Volturi. We wanted a life of our own, away from them. This wasn't as easy as we thought it would be. Apparently Eleazar is one of Aro's most valuable guard members, and Aro wouldn't let us leave just like that. He told Eleazar to find someone to replace him. And that's where you fit in the story. Eleazar thinks you have a talent similar to his own, but you'll have to ask him about that, I don't know much about it." Carmen finished, her eyes sad.
"I'm supposed to replace him?" Elena asked incredulously. "But what if I don't want to?"
"You wouldn't believe how much I've been thinking of ways to get you out of this, but I'm afraid you have no choice." Carmen whispered.
Elena was furious. Did they think they could just grab her and make her do what they wanted?
"I don't want to talk about this anymore." She said firmly, this was insane.
Carmen nodded. "I understand."
Elena was already making plans. She would have to learn as much as she could about them. Were they really vampires? Just a completely different kind? She had to think about this when she was alone, which is why she told Carmen she wouldn't talk about it anymore. She thought about Stefan and her friends and Aunt Judith. Aunt Judith would be really worried by now, it was a few hours after midnight. Stefan would hear about this when he came back in the morning and he would find a way to get her out of here. But where was she? She didn't even know if she was still in the in the neighbourhood of Fell's Church.
"Who's Stefan?" Carmen asked suddenly.
Elena panicked, could she read thoughts? Was that a basic talent of these vampires?
"Where did you get his name?" Elena asked, narrowing her eyes.
"You called for him in your dream." Carmen said, smiling sadly.
Elena felt a sharp pain when she thought about her nightmare and she longed for Stefan.
"He's… Elena didn't know what to call him. 'Boyfriend' wasn't the right word at all. And she didn't know why, but she wanted Carmen to know just how much he meant to her.
"He's everything." She said, but it still didn't feel right.
"You love him." Carmen said, smiling. "Sometimes it's as simple as that. I could go on for hours about Eleazar, but what it comes down to is that I love him. And it may sound like too small a word, but you shouldn't underestimate it."
For the first time, Elena could think about Eleazar as someone different than the man who captured her. Carmen was practically glowing with love when she talked about him, and Elena somehow felt a connection. She thought that if someone understood how deep her love for Stefan went, it was Carmen. God, she missed Stefan, she needed him. Before she could stop herself, she felt tears run down her face. She looked at Carmen, feeling a bit ashamed, this was the third time Carmen saw her cry.
"Oh, sweetheart." Carmen said softly. She wrapped her arms around Elena's shaking body. Elena didn't care if Carmen was a stranger, a mythical creature or a captor, she just needed someone who would comfort her now. So she let Carmen hold her and cried. She didn't cry for a long time, but it left her exhausted, it was the middle of the night after all. When her tears dried, she stayed where she was, leaned against Carmen.
"You can sleep if you're tired." Carmen said.
"Will you stay with me?" Elena asked, she'd felt incredibly alone for the last few hours, and it felt good to have someone care for her.
"I will, if you want me to." Carmen said.
Elena nodded and made herself more comfortable. She grabbed one of the pillows which were part of the couch and placed it on Carmen's lap. She twisted until her head was placed on the pillow and she pulled the quilt up to her chin.
"Are you comfortable?" Carmen asked, stroking Elena's hair.
Elena nodded. "You?"
Carmen laughed. "Don't worry about me, you can't hurt me."
Elena mumbled something in reply, but her eyes were already closed. She hadn't had much sleep up until now, so she decided to make the best of it while she could.
AN: That was chapter 10, I hope you liked it :) Don't forget to review, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I probably won't update for at least two weeks, because my exams start next week. I'm sorry :s. Anyone else who's exams start soon: good luck!