AN: I had some trouble putting this chapter together, because the Volturi timeline and the Bonnie timeline are different. So I'll try to clear it out: This chapter begins where the last chapter ended: Elena fell asleep sometime during the night. Then, the Bonnie POV starts of at the moment Elena left Bonnie's house, right before she was kidnapped by Alec and Eleazar. I hope it's a bit clearer now.

Longest chapter yet :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own twilight or the vampire diaries, it all belongs to Stephenie Meyer and LJ Smith.

Carmen POV

Carmen felt so peaceful, sitting there while Elena slept, she never wanted this moment to end. She didn't want to think about handing her over to Aro or never seeing her again, but she would have to when Eleazar and Alec came home. She gently combed her finger's through Elena's hair.

That was how Eleazar found her when he came home the next morning. He stood frozen in de doorway, his eyes wide. Carmen smiled at him and held her finger in front of her lips, indicating that he had to be quiet.

"She's very tired." She whispered.

"Why is her head lying in you lap?" Eleazar whispered back, confusion clear on his face.

"Don't you remember anything about being human? She was scared and lonely, she needed company."

"But why isn't she afraid of you? Shouldn't we tell her what we are?"

"I already did. And maybe she's not afraid of me because I didn't lock her up in the bathroom." Carmen said teasingly, to make it clear she wasn't mad anymore.

"You know I'm sorry about that. Alec told me that was best and I never did this before so…"

"So you listened to the guy who barely remembers what it's like to be human." She snorted.

"Did you bring her some food?" she added, remembering that Elena had to eat when she woke up.

"I did, though I don't know if it's any good. And Alec dropped a mattress and some covers not far from the house, I have no idea where he got it, but I guess he didn't want to come in."

"I hope he's not mad at me… Did you bring the mattress? We should give Elena the bedroom to stay in. She knows how fast we are, she wouldn't try to escape."

"If you say so…" Eleazar said, hesitating, but when he saw Carmen lift one eyebrow, he placed the mattress together with the covers on the bed.

Carmen carefully slipped out from under Elena and gently carried her to the bedroom. She wrote a note to lay beside her for when she woke up, and then quietly closed the door.

When she entered the living room she sat down next to Eleazar on the couch and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." She muttered.

"I'm sorry for being an idiot." He muttered back, and she turned her head to softly kiss the smooth skin under his ear.

"The sweetest idiot I know." She answered.

Bonnie POV

After she and Elena had hugged goodbye, Bonnie started to clean up the mess in the living room. She took the spell book with her to her room, wanting to learn as much as possible. She practised the whole evening and she surprised herself by actually making progress already. She didn't have to read the words in the book anymore, looking at the candle and concentrating on the fuse would make the candle burn. She was afraid to try spells that were more difficult. She'd read that when you became more involved with witchcraft, and when your powers became stronger, you wouldn't be able to ignore other powers.

And it was true, she could feel it now, after training her powers all day long. She could feel traces of Damon's power lingering in her room, she could hear a low hum coming form the woods behind her house, and she felt more anxious every minute. She didn't know what, but something was very wrong. The buzz coming from her phone startled her and for some reason she was afraid to answer it. Who would call her this late? It was almost midnight and every other night, she would have already gone to bed. A chill ran down her spine when she saw that it was Elena's aunt who called.

When she picked up, she could hear Aunt Judith's worried voice asking if maybe Elena was with Bonnie. Bonnie frowned at this and told Aunt Judith that Elena had already left a few hours ago. Aunt Judith had come home really late and had assumed Elena had already gone to bed, but when she'd gone to look just now, she'd found her room empty. Bonnie felt awful, she knew there was something wrong with Elena, and she knew it was irresponsible for her to lie about it, but she did.

"I think she went to sleep at Meredith's. She mentioned something about a sleepover earlier today." Bonnie said, her stomach turning.

"She is? I was so worried! It's nothing like her not to leave a note, I immediately thought something was wrong. I hope I didn't wake you, I'm really sorry for calling this late." Aunt Judith said, sounding relieved.

When Bonnie hung up, she immediately dialled Meredith's number.

"Meredith? It's Bonnie, something's wrong." Bonnie began, and she heard a noise on the other end of the phone.

"I'm sorry, wait a minute, I just knocked over my nightlight trying to get my phone." Meredith said and it was quiet for a few seconds. "Now calm down and tell me what happened. Is it serious? I was sleeping."

"I'm not joking, Meredith! Elena left my house a few hours ago and she went home, but I just got a call from Aunt Judith, who said that Elena hasn't been home at all! And she's not with Stefan because he will only be back in the morning." Bonnie was talking fast, growing more frantic with each word.

"What did you say to Aunt Judith?" Meredith asked, realizing Bonnie hadn't told her the truth.

"I told her she was with you." Bonnie answered.

"Why? If you really think something happened, don't you think Aunt Judith has a right to know? She could call the police–"

"That's just it!" Bonnie interrupted Meredith, "I've been working on spells en witchcraft all day –I'm serious about this, you have to believe me –and now my senses are heightened. I can feel that this has something to do with magic, or something of the sort. The police won't be able to do anything."

"And you will?" Meredith asked sceptically, but Bonnie could tell she was worried, too.

"I have to. Can you come over tomorrow morning? I think we should talk about this as soon as Stefan is back. I will look for something that could help us."

"Okay… do you need me to do anything?" Meredith asked.

"Just tell Aunt Judith that Elena is with you, if she calls. But I don't think she will."

"I'll come over first thing in the morning. Good night, Bonnie."

"Good night."

Bonnie immediately began looking for a spell she could use to help Elena. It took her all night and a lot of trying, but she finally managed to find something that could be useful. She was exhausted and after leaving Stefan an urgent voicemail, she fell asleep on the couch.

The next morning, Bonnie was already wide awake and completely prepared for what she was about to do when Meredith and Stefan showed up at her door. It was still early – they'd decided to do this before school – and the air was still cold.

"Aren't we getting inside?" Meredith asked when she saw Bonnie opening the door while carrying a backpack and wearing a coat.

"No, we're not. I have to be outside if I want this to really work. Stefan, do you know why you are here?" Bonnie asked. They started walking towards the woods while Stefan answered.

"Meredith explained to me." He said, his forehead creased with worry. "You think something took Elena."

Bonnie felt extremely relieved when he said something, and not someone. It meant that he at least believed it was not something human.

She nodded. "I'd been building up my powers all day and I could feel it last night, something was wrong, and then Aunt Judith called."

"So you're going to use witchcraft to save Elena?"

Bonnie could see that he was not mocking her, he took this– and witchcraft –seriously.

"Do you think that will help?" Meredith asked Stefan, probably trusting his opinion more because he was, after all, something mythical himself.

"It depends on Bonnie's powers. But if she knows what do to, it could be a great help." He said, nodding fervently.

Bonnie felt the weight of the responsibility on her shoulders. It all depended on what she could do.

"Okay, so I looked up some things yesterday. The first thing that came to my mind was a locating spell, but I need Elena's blood for that, which I don't have." She couldn't help but glance at Stefan questioningly. He shook his head and Bonnie felt a bit stupid for assuming he would have Elena's blood stored away somewhere.

"After trying some other things, I found a spell which would make it possible for us to communicate with her, wherever she is."

"So we would know who took her, what they are and where they are." Meredith said.

"Right. I think I could do it."

"What do you need?" Stefan asked.

"I only need a candle, which is why this is one of the only spells I could do." Bonnie said, while taking a candle and matches from her backpack. They'd arrived at a open space between the trees and Bonnie sat down and placed the candle in front of her.

"Do we have to do anything?" Meredith asked, intrigued by how much Bonnie seemed to know about all this.

"Nope, just be quiet and picture me in your head."

Bonnie had memorized the whole page about communicating telepathically, and she knew exactly what to do, but she felt nerves as she lit the candle and closed her eyes. She had to concentrate on everyone she wanted to link minds with. She looked directly at the flame and felt herself getting into a trance-like state. First, she concentrate on Meredith's face, it got clearer as she stared at it and she moved on to Elena. She could see Elena as if she were really there, the bright flame she was staring at shimmered around Elena's hair. Then she tried to visualize Stefan, she thought about his slightly curled hair and his green eyes, and she couldn't help but notice how much he looked like Damon. Damon's hair was straight, but it looked just as soft and it fell just as perfectly around his face. She was pulled back from her daydream as the candle suddenly went out, and she looked up at Meredith and Stefan, feeling a bit dazed.

Did it work? Bonnie gasped as she heard Meredith's voice inside her own head, Meredith's lips hadn't moved. She wanted to answer, but she didn't know how this worked. Could they hear everything she thought? How could she think something to them?

"I heard you! How did you do that?" Bonnie said, feeling excited. She did it!

"I don't know, it's different from just thinking, though. It's as if you think it louder than your other thoughts, purposefully." Meredith said.

Like this? Bonnie tried.

Yes, I heard you. Stefan answered, startling Bonnie.

"It feels so strange! Do you think Elena can hear us, too? She must think she's going mad if she's hearing our voices." Bonnie said aloud.

Elena? Can you hear us? Try to say something, please. Stefan said, sounding really worried.

I can hear you, why is that? Who did this? Elena's voice sounded, and Bonnie could hear both Stefan and Meredith's relieved sigh.

I did! Bonnie said enthusiastically. I linked our minds together so we would know where you were and if you were okay. She knew Elena wasn't saved yet, but this felt like a step in the right direction and she was proud of herself.

Tell me what happened. Stefan said, and Bonnie could hear in that one sentence how worried he had been, how desperate he was to have her with him.

Oh, you won't believe me, I don't even believe it myself! Oh, Stefan, I need you so much right now!

Bonnie couldn't tell for sure, but she was almost certain that Elena was crying while thinking this. And she couldn't say anything to Stefan alone, Bonnie and Meredith couldn't help but hear every word.

They say they're vampires, but they're nothing like you, Stefan. And I think they're just a different kind. And they need me, they say I have to join them.Elena was talking very fast now.

Did they hurt you? Stefan asked quietly, and Bonnie thought he was probably thinking about things a vampire could do to humans.

No, there's three of them, and Carmen is actually very sweet, she wouldn't hurt me.

What are we going to do now? Meredith said

What do you know about them? Are they strong? Where are they taking you? Bonnie asked, trying to be helpful instead of just listening to everything they said.

I don't know, they never said anything about that. Elena answered, sounding miserable.

Try to learn as much as possible about them. And try to figure out where you are. You'll be able to talk to the three of us like this from now on, I won't break the spell. Tell us when you know something that could help. Bonnie said. Then she looked at Stefan and Meredith.

"We don't have to stay together, we'll hear when Elena has something that could help."

Stefan nodded, obviously having a hard time with not being able to do more.

Stefan? They heard Elena say quietly.

Don't worry we'll get you out of there. He answered.

I love you.

I love you, too. Stefan said.

Bonnie and Meredith awkwardly looked at the ground, feeling a bit out of place.

Bonnie put away the candle and they started to leave when she suddenly heard someone in her head, and it wasn't one of her friends.

Hello, little bird.

Damon? Bonnie and Stefan said together, Bonnie sounding breathless and Stefan sounding furious.

What are you doing? He almost growled.

Bonnie could see Meredith flinch at the noise in her head. Meredith frowned and pointed to her head while mouthing 'Damon?' at Bonnie.

Bonnie did something that looked like a shrug and avoided Meredith's eyes.

"I may have been thinking about Damon a little when I pictured Stefan." Bonnie muttered.

"So now he's linked to our minds, too?" Meredith asked in horror.

Bonnie didn't have time to answer because Stefan's eyes widened and he said: "How do you know what Damon looks like?" he continued talking in his head, his words directed to Damon. What did you do?

Ha! She didn't tell you, now did she? The little witch and I already met. Damon said, and Bonnie could almost hear the smirk on his face.

Did you ever wonder why you felt perfectly fine after falling down those stairs?

Bonnie's skin tingled and she slowly realized what must have happened after she fell asleep. She brought her fingers up to her lips, as if his blood would still stick there.

"I don't think I'm following. Can someone explain, please?" Meredith said, looking at Bonnie pointedly.

So Bonnie told them, while blushing brightly, about the night Damon tricked his way into her bedroom. When she finished, Meredith and Stefan just stood there, staring at her.

"That's very stupid. He could've killed you, you saw what he did to Stefan!" Meredith said.

"You didn't have any vervain, and I did. What was I supposed to do? Let him go to your house?" Bonnie said, and she saw Meredith's involuntary tremble.

"We can't blame Bonnie, Damon made her let him in." Stefan said.

"So what do we do now?" Bonnie asked, eager to change the topic.

"I think we should wait until Elena tells us more about those other vampires." Meredith said and Stefan nodded.

"I'll go home and see if there's anything else I can do." Bonnie said, already turning

"Wait," Meredith said. "Does Damon being included in the mind-link change anything?" she asked, looking at Stefan questioningly.

"I don't know… I don't think he's very interested in Elena. Let's just ignore him." He answered, shooting a meaningful look at Bonnie.

Bonnie avoided his eyes and said: "I think we should get going, or we'll be late for school."

When Bonnie got home from school, she immediately went up to her room to get the spell book. It felt as if she hadn't done enough to save Elena, and she wanted to change that. When she opened her door, she was shocked to see Damon lounging casually on her bed.

"Yes, let's just ignore me. That'll help." He said, flashing a smile that made Bonnie's heart forget to thud.

Bonnie was a bit proud of herself because she hadn't screamed. But her heart was hammering inside her chest, and she couldn't bring herself to move.

"Because it seems to me like you need some help." He said, standing up. When she didn't react he went on. "Which is good because I need something, too." He looked at her, waiting for her to say something.

"What do you need?" Bonnie asked, trying to sound confident. It didn't work, he laughed quietly at her squeaking voice and moved closer.

"I need you to do something for me, but not yet. Stefan is getting on my nerves and I'm going to have to wait until he rescued his damsel. I'm pretty sure he doesn't have the faintest idea of how to do that, and even if he does, he'll probably screw things up. So I'm going to help."

Bonnie tried to take in everything he said, but he was talking fast and it seemed as if he were talking to himself.

"You didn't understand a thing of what I just said." He stated.

Bonnie shook her head, not trusting her voice to sound normal.

"It doesn't matter. You only have to remember one thing: I'll help, if you promise to help me after Stefan has Elena back. You won't tell anyone about this." He said.

Bonnie was wearing vervain, and she came to the conclusion that he didn't even need his power. He could make her do anything just by looking into her eyes the way he did now.

"I'll help you." Bonnie said.

He nodded, and without saying anything else, he disappeared through her window.

Elena POV (earlier that day, around noon.)

Elena sat cross-legged on the bed and thought about what to do. It had been disorienting to wake up in the bedroom, and when she'd first heard Meredith's voice inside her head, she'd thought she was either dreaming or going crazy.

Hearing Stefan's voice again had been like finally breathing after being under water for too long. She was still confused about the part at the end. They'd stopped talking through thoughts, so now all Elena knew was that Damon and Bonnie had already met and that for some reason, Damon was part of the mind-link. And now she was supposed to learn as much as she could about the situation she was in.

She fumbled with the note she'd found next to her when she woke up, trying to decide whether to go to the living room or to stay where she was. The note was from Carmen, telling her that she could come out of her room whenever she wanted and that Eleazar had brought her breakfast. She wanted to stay alone, but her stomach complained as she thought about the food that was waiting for her in the living room. And her friends wouldn't be able to get her out of here if she couldn't give them anything useful. So she made her way to the door, opening it just a bit, so she could see who was there.

Carmen was sitting on the couch, Eleazar had his arms around her. They didn't look as if they'd seen her, but Carmen pointed at a bag lying on the table.

"If you're hungry, Eleazar brought you a sandwich." She said, turning around to smile at Elena.

Eleazar nodded at her. "Good morning."

Elena hesitantly returned his greeting and took the bag. She sat down on an old chair that stood in a corner and began unpacking her breakfast. She recognized the logo on the paper, it was from a sandwich shop in Fell's Church, which meant they weren't far from town. She would let her friends know when she was alone, and when she knew a bit more.

"Is it okay? I just picked something from the list." Eleazar asked when he saw her taking a bite of the sandwich.

Elena looked up at him and nodded.

"Don't you need anything?" She asked them.

"We can't digest it. And I wouldn't even want to try, it smells awful." Carmen answered, wrinkling her nose.

Elena thought about this. Stefan could eat normal food. She wondered how different they were from him and looked at them curiously.

Seeing them like this, sitting next to each other, it was obvious that they weren't human. She hadn't really noticed before, because thinking of him only brought back how scared she had been when he opened the bathroom door, but Eleazar was just as beautiful as Carmen. He had thick black hair and looked younger than she remembered. His eyes were kind and he was gently rubbing Carmen's back. She thought that maybe she had overreacted a bit when she'd thought of him as a monster.

"So you can only drink blood?" she asked, thinking about what Carmen just said. She had to start somewhere if she wanted to know more about them. They both looked a bit shocked at her question.

"Ah… Yes." Eleazar said, and she could see that he didn't want to scare her off by saying too much.

"How often?"

"Once every two weeks. But new ones need more." Eleazar was answering her questions as brief as she was asking them.

"How do you become a vampire?"

"You have to be bitten by one."

"And that's it?" Elena was surprised. Stefan had explained how it worked for his kind, and this was a lot easier.

Eleazar grimaced. "It's not as easy as it sounds. It takes three days to complete the change, during which the victim is in excruciating pain. And most of the time, the vampire doesn't have the strength to stop. Once we smell or taste blood, there's almost no going back."

"If it's so hard to stop, then how do you feed?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Eleazar frowned.

"You kill people!" Elena realized. She'd thought they fed like Damon, taking a bit, but leaving the human alive.

Carmen turned her head away and looked at the ground, as if in shame. Elena had mixed feelings about what she'd said. She knew how much Stefan hated what he was, and he didn't even feed on humans. She tried to imagine how hard it had to be for Carmen, who, if Elena understood it right, had no choice but to kill people. But couldn't they find away around it?

"So why not hunt animals?" She said. It worked for Stefan.

Carmen lifted her head. "Could it work?" She asked Eleazar.

"I have no idea, I never heard about anyone doing that…" He said.

Elena could see that they were both thinking about it. How was it possible that hadn't ever thought about this themselves?

"We should try it." Carmen said suddenly, "It's not as if it could kill us." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes… but they don't smell like something edible…" Eleazar hesitated, but Elena could see the hope in his eyes.

"Fine. Be a coward. I'm going to try it right now, you stay with Elena." Carmen said, getting up from the couch.

"What, now?"

"Yes, now. I'll tell you what it's like." Carmen said, and turned to the backdoor. Elena saw that she fumbled with her eyes, and it looked as if she took out contact lenses. After a few seconds she was gone, leaving Elena and Eleazar in stunned silence.

"Does Carmen wear contact lenses?" Elena asked, trying to figure out why a vampire would need that.

"Yes. We have an…unusual eye colour." He said. When he saw Elena looking at his eyes, he shook his head. "I'm wearing them, too. We didn't want to scare you."

Elena thought about that. Would it matter to her if their eyes were weird?

"What colour are they?"

"Red."

Elena had suspected that much so the answer didn't scare her.

"Can I see it?" She asked.

Eleazar looked at her as if she was crazy and took his lenses out. It did shock Elena to see the bright red eyes, he looked a lot scarier. But for some reason, she was fascinated. She leaned forward on her chair, trying to see it better.

Eleazar frowned. "You're not reacting to this like I thought you would."

"What did you think I would do?"

"I don't know. I didn't think you'd sit in the same room as me for a start. Or sleep with your head in Carmen's lap! You really are one strange human." He shook his head. "You really don't mind the red eyes? It's a relief to finally take these things out, they interfere with our vision."

"Carmen said that if I wanted to know things, I should ask you. Why do you know so much more than her?" Elena asked.

"I know more about the Volturi because I worked with them for a long time. Apart from that, Carmen knows as much about vampires as I do, she just doesn't like to talk about it."

"Tell me more about it."

"You're so demanding." Eleazar complained. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"How are you different from humans." Elena asked, this would be important to Stefan.

"We're stronger and faster. Nothing but another vampire can hurt us, it's like we're made out of stone. We don't sleep. And we don't eat human food, of course."

That was a lot of information and Elena thought about it for a moment. If only vampires could hurt them, where did that leave Stefan? And how strong exactly were they? Stefan was stronger than humans, too.

"I already saw you move really fast, but how strong are you?" She wondered.

Eleazar didn't say anything, but he bend down and laid his hand on the floor. Elena came closer to have a better look, and she saw him press his hand down. It didn't look as if he were pressing hard, but when he took his hand away, there was a dent in the floor in its exact shape. Elena was impressed. She didn't think even Stefan could do that. Then Eleazar rubbed his foot over the hand-shape and it turned to a uneven hollow.

Elena traced the sides of the broken stone and looked up at Eleazar. His face was close to hers, gauging her reaction, but when she looked up at him his jaw tensed and he turned his head away. She quickly went back to her chair, guessing what his problem was.

"Is it hard for you?" She asked.

He understood what she meant. "Yes. I don't know how Carmen manages it, sitting next to you. My control is good, but being in the house you slept in makes it harder, I'm not used to it. It's been a while since I last fed."

"If Carmen finds that animal blood works, too, would you try it?"

"I would. It would all be so much easier and better." He said, leaning his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands.

Elena felt sorry for him. She didn't know him, but she knew that he was a good man, that he wouldn't kill if there was another choice. She thought that maybe it was her sense that was telling her this.

Looking at him, she noticed that he wasn't wearing a ring. Could he walk in the sun without it? Or did he stay inside during the day? She realized she'd seen them leave only at night.

"What about the myths?" Elena asked, she'd started this conversation because Stefan, Bonnie and Meredith needed the information, but now she was getting interested, too.

"Well, I already told you that we don't sleep, so the coffin story isn't true. Crosses don't do anything. And we don't burn in the sun, but we… reflect it." He said, struggling to find the last word.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, she didn't know how to picture it.

"With human eyes, it could be described as 'sparkling'. But we have better vision, and we can see that the sunlight reflects form our skin."

"Huh." Was the only answer Elena had to that. She still had no idea about how that would look.

"We've been able to go outside a lot in this town, there's something weird about the weather here. I can't figure it out. But it's convenient, so I don't mind." He shrugged.

Elena had to hold back a shudder. She knew that it was Damon who controlled the weather in Fell's Church the last few days, but she'd hoped that he'd left. Thinking about Damon made her think about the conversation she'd had in her head that morning. Was there anything else they'd wanted to know?

"Where are you taking me?" She asked suddenly. How could she forget about that?

Eleazar sighed. "It took a long time before we got to this part of the conversation. First of all, you have to know that Carmen and I are incredibly sorry for doing this, we don't really have a choice." Eleazar said, and Elena could see that he meant it. "We're taking you to Italy."

"What? When? Elena was shocked. How would Stefan find her? Did they have enough time?

"I don't know when. Alec contacted Volterra, they have a privet jet for this kind of thing, and it seems that there were some problems back in Italy. I haven't heard much from him since Carmen told him to go, but he'll be here this evening.

Elena didn't know what to think. There were problems, that was good, it meant that maybe they would have to stay a bit longer.

"A privet jet? Do they do this often, then?" She asked.

"No, it has other uses, too. There really isn't any other way. We have to get you to Volterra alive and human. Swimming the ocean isn't possible and a normal plane would cause a lot of problems." He explained.

"And what will happen to me once I'm in Volterra?" She asked, sounding scared for the first time since talking to Eleazar. What if there wasn't anything Bonnie could do? What if Stefan's plan failed? She wouldn't think about that. Stefan would do anything to get her out of this, and he would succeed. But she was still afraid to hear the answer on her question.

"They'll change you." Eleazar said quietly.

"But why me?" She couldn't hide the fear in her voice.

"That's what it's all about. You're supposed to take my place." Eleazar grimaced. "Elena, have you never felt something when you stood close to someone?" He asked, leaning towards her.

Elena's eyes widened, how would he know that? She hadn't told anyone but Bonnie, Meredith and Stefan. She wasn't sure about what she'd told Carmen when she was crying, but she knew that she never talked about her extra sense.

"Maybe Carmen told you about vampires with extra talents. I have a talent which makes it possible for me to know what another vampire's talent is. When it's a powerful talent, it works with humans, too. You're talented, Elena. You can do the same things I can. Maybe that's not exactly what your talent does now, but when you change, it magnifies."

"So they change me because you say that I'm talented? Can't you just…not tell them? They would never know! You could say you didn't find anyone with your talent!"

"I wish it were that simple. Aro is talented, too. He knows every thought you ever had with one touch of his hand. He'd know I was lying and he'd send the guard to get you." Eleazar sighed.

Elena felt like she was going to be sick. She didn't know if Stefan even had a plan, and the more she learned about the Volturi, the harder it would be for his plan to work. Even if they freed her, the guard was still coming after her.

"So this… Aro, he's the leader right? Is he the one who's going to… change me?"

"I'm not sure. It takes a lot of control to change someone, I think he'd make the one who's the most controlled do it."

"So there's a chance they'd just…drink until I'm dead?" Her voice wavered at the end and there was a hysterical edge to it. Before this conversation, she hadn't thought about what would happen if Stefan's plan failed. Now that was all she could think about.

Just when Eleazar said "That's possible.", the backdoor swung open and Carmen ran inside at an incredible speed. She rushed to Elena's side and looked at Eleazar.

"I cannot believe how insensitive and tactless you are!" She said exasperated.

Elena looked up at her with eyes that were filling with tears, and Carmen wrapped her arms around her. Elena was surprised at the spontaneous gesture, but it was comforting so she hugged Carmen back. Then she remembered the way Eleazar had looked when she came too close and pulled away.

"You don't have to do this if it's hard for you. You know, with the smell." Elena said uncomfortably. She didn't really want Carmen to stop mothering her. She'd been feeling very emotional since she'd been here, and it felt good to have Carmen who was so caring. She wondered what it would've been like if Carmen hadn't come with Alec and Eleazar. She'd probably still be locked up in that bathroom, drowning in her own tears.

"Don't be silly." Carmen interrupted her thoughts, and hugged her again. Elena didn't even know why she was crying, it seemed to be her body's natural reaction to everything when Carmen was around. She clung to Carmen and her breathing hitched when she felt Carmen lift her of the ground. Carmen brought her back to the bedroom and laid her down.

"You look tired." She said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I am tired. How is that even possible?" Elena said. It seemed like all she did was sleep and be miserable.

"You've been talking to Eleazar longer than you think. I went to get you another sandwich after I hunted, I'm not sure how often humans eat, but I'm sure it's more than once a day."

"How late is it?" Elena asked, when she looked out the window, it did seem later than she'd thought at first.

"It's almost seven. You slept until noon, remember?" Carmen laughed, gently wiping away the last of Elena's tears.

"How did it go? Hunting on animals?" Elena asked, she hadn't been sure it would work, since Stefan was so different.

"They smell awful, that's for sure. But it works, if I can manage to feed only on them, it's perfect." Carmen said. "I don't know what it will do to my eyes, though. They changed a bit, see?" Carmen pointed to her eye.

At first, Elena didn't see what meant, but when she looked closer, she could see little golden flecks between the red.

"It doesn't affect my vision, so far." Carmen shrugged.

"I'll leave you alone now, I think you need that after today." Carmen smiled sadly. "Don't worry about being close to me, I've become a bit used to it since last night. Just be careful not bleed when we're around. And don't be mad at Eleazar, he didn't mean to sound so harsh, he hasn't been around humans like this for a long time." She said.

"It's okay. There's no kind way to tell someone their life will become a nightmare."

Carmen didn't answer, she just squeezed Elena's hand, and Elena knew that she was apologizing.

"I think I'll just try to sleep now." Elena said. Carmen left her alone after bringing her the sandwich and wishing her goodnight.

Elena wasn't going to sleep. She was going to think. And she was going to tell her friends everything she could.

AN: I have this story planned out, sort of, and I won't write about Bonnie helping Damon in this story. I've been thinking about writing a oneshot in which Damon explains what he wants from Bonnie, and how she helps him. Just tell me in a review if you want to read about that, and I promise I will work on it. I won't write it if there's only one or two of you who would read it. I'm figuring out how to set up a poll on my profile, so check it out and vote :)

So: Review, so I know what your thoughts are about this chapter and about the oneshot. ( If I manage to set up a poll: please vote so I have a clear view on how many of you would want to read the oneshot. )

I hope you liked it!