It's all a game, avoiding failure when true colors will bleed
All in the name of misbehavior and the things we don't need
I lust for after no disaster can touch, touch us anymore and more than ever
I hope to never fall, where enough is not the same it was before

Poets Of The Fall – Carnival Of Rust

Chapter 56

Precious

Two days. I had been chained to a damn chair for two days. The vervain had weakened me so badly that I had trouble to stay awake. And I was hungry, the small sip of blood yesterday hadn't been nearly enough, not with the vervain. One thing I definitely knew, I was angry as hell. Stefan and Caroline kept treating me like a child and Damon was acting like an arrogant brat who deserved a spanking.

I would definitely teach him some manners as soon as I would be free, no child of mine would disrespect a much older vampire like this. Granted, he didn't remember me and technically I wasn't his maker, but I had taken him in, fed and clothed him, taught him how to be a vampire and even how to approach women, so I did consider myself as some sort of surrogate maker.

I gritted my teeth and tried to listen, but all I heard was the TV upstairs, it was on all the time, apparently someone was always awake. If I had counted correctly, there were at least eight people in this house, including Damon, Stefan, Caroline and the brunette. People kept coming and going, I had heard them mentioning Klaus and papa, but what I hadn't managed to figure out was what the hell was going on here. Papa definitely had some explaining to do.

My senses sharpened when I heard the quiet footsteps, someone was approaching my cell. I picked up the brunette's scent before she opened the door. She placed her finger on her lips, signaling me to stay quiet. Interesting. After taking a quick look to the hallway, she walked over to me and kneeled.

"I need to talk to you," she whispered.

"Go ahead," I replied coolly, I had no patience left to play any games.

She hesitated for a moment, apparently trying to decide how to continue.

"This feels weird, but Damon said that you're not really a child, so… I want to make a deal with you."

Well, this I had to hear. I placed a sweet smile on my face.

"Yes?"

"You're important to Elijah, right? He listens to you?"

"Maybe."

She bit her bottom lip.

"If I let you go, could you talk to him for me? Ask him to hear me out?"

"Why would he do that?" I asked sharply. "You daggered him."

I hadn't known for sure if she had done the actual daggering, but judging by her expression, I had guessed right. The brunette looked desperate.

"Because I really need his help. Everything is a mess and I need to protect the people I care about. Please, all I'm asking you to do is talk to him."

I didn't have time to reply when Caroline zoomed in, she looked pale as a ghost.

"Care…" the brunette started and stood up. "I…"

"She's coming with me," Caroline cut in, her voice was shaking.

"What?"

Caroline's eyes were filling with tears.

"I'm warning you, Elena, don't try to stop me. Elijah has my mom."

The brunette's eyes widened.

"How… She was in Pennsylvania visiting your aunt, right?"

Caroline let out a hysterical laugh.

"Somehow he found her and his friend is torturing her, I heard her screams."

"I can't believe Elijah would do something like that…"

"I don't have time to talk about this; I need to take her to him right now or my mom dies."

I looked at her calmly when she zoomed in front of me and started to unchain my legs.

"No, Care wait…"

"Didn't you hear me, there's no time," she snapped. "His friend said that he'll break one of mom's bones every minute it takes me to bring the girl to them."

I suppressed a smile; I could guess who papa's friend was.

"Thank you," I said politely after Caroline had freed me. No more than a second later I was biting the brunette's neck, I was damn hungry.

"No!" Caroline shouted.

"Don't worry," I hummed and jumped to the floor. The brunette seemed shocked; she was shaking and pressing her neck. "I'm not going to kill her. Perhaps you should have fed me properly."

Caroline looked just as shocked as the brunette, she was staring at me disbelievingly. I tilted my head when I heard Damon and Stefan coming, probably alarmed my Caroline's scream. They didn't have time to react when I broke their necks; I had always been very fast.

"We'll talk about your behavior later, mister," I muttered at Damon and looked at the two women; they were staring at me with their mouth open.

"Now, let's make something clear, shall we," I started firmly. "I'm older than all of you combined and I'm not in a good mood after being chained for two days, so I would advice you not to test my patience."

They were both speechless for few seconds, but Caroline managed to find her voice first.

"Please… my mom…"

"Yes, yes," I huffed. "I have nothing against you, so I'll make sure you'll have her back. You on the other hand…" I added and looked at the brunette. "You are coming with us; I don't know what have happened here exactly, so it's my father's right to decide what to do with you."

"Your…father?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Elijah. Obviously. Now my only question is are you going to walk or do I have to knock you out and carry you?"

"Oh dear…" Kol hummed grinning while looking at his Rolex. "There goes another minute."

Sheriff Forbes pressed her lips together although she was shaking. Elijah had to admit that he admired the woman's courage, she hadn't pleaded or begged. He certainly didn't enjoy this, but he didn't try to stop Kol when he broke her finger. Surely the Forbes girl had understood their message already, but Kol thought that a promise was a promise. One bone per minute.

"Is this really necessary?" Jonas muttered, he was standing next to Elijah.

"Yes, it is," Kol replied cheerfully. "I'm a man of my word."

Sheriff Forbes was breathing heavily; she leaned against Kol's car.

"Would you mind not to bleed on the hood, darling?" Kol asked politely. "I just had this beauty waxed."

The woman gave him a murderous glare and sat down on the ground, clearly she was in a lot of pain. Kol ran his fingers almost lovingly over the hood and started to hum.

"Tick tock goes the clock, hanging on the wall. Tick tock goes the clock, telling the time to all…"

"Honestly, Elijah," Jonas protested.

Elijah didn't say anything; he crossed his arms and observed the boarding house. Kol had parked his car few hundred feet away and it was dark, but that didn't affect Elijah eyesight.

"Oh no, another minute…"

"Wait," Elijah interrupted him. The front door had just opened and Eva stepped outside hand in hand with the doppelganger who seemed very nervous. Caroline was right behind them. Elijah was relieved to notice that Eva seemed unharmed. She looked so tiny walking between the two girls, especially since she was wearing the My Little Pony shirt. She smiled when she spotted him.

"Hi, papa," she said when she reached him. "I brought you a gift."

"I can see that," Elijah replied warmly. "Thank you, sweetheart."

He noticed the small bite marks on the doppelganger's neck, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Mom!" Caroline gasped and zoomed in front of Sheriff Forbes.

"Elijah, please…" Elena pleaded.

"Silence," Elijah ordered firmly and opened his arms. "Come here, sweetheart."

Eva jumped in his arms without hesitation and kissed his cheek. He hugged her tightly and cradled her for a moment.

"Hi, darling," Kol's voice said from behind his back. "Nice shirt. You still like ponies I see."

"Bite me," Eva replied, but Elijah could hear how happy she was to see Kol. He pulled away and looked at her closely.

"Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head.

"They kept me chained to a chair, but otherwise no."

"Good."

Elijah was still planning to make Damon pay for breaking Eva's neck, perhaps the others as well, he wasn't sure yet. Elena was looking at him pleadingly; he had seen the look before. Both Tatia and Katerina had looked at him like that, but this time it didn't affect him. If there was something he didn't tolerate, it was treacherousness.

"Please, just hear me out…"

"You and I will have a chat later," Elijah cut in. "Right now I suggest you stay quiet."

"But…"

She gasped when Kol zoomed in front of her.

"Didn't you hear what my brother said? Hush. And just so you know, if it would be up to me, you would be dead already for taking Eva, you all would be. This whole doppelganger thing… I couldn't care less about that; I didn't even like the original one, she was an arrogant little tramp."

Elena swallowed; she was smart enough to stay quiet. Kol gave her a charming smile before taking a step back.

"I did what you asked," Caroline said tensely, she was just helping her mother on her feet. "Let us leave."

"Yes," Eva said. "She was nice to me."

Elijah nodded.

"Fine, you are free to go."

"What about Elena?"

"She stays," Elijah replied.

"Go, Care," Elena said. "You need to look after your mom."

The blonde looked desperate, but she lifted her mother into her arms.

"I'm sorry, Elena."

"It's not your fault, go."

No more than a second later she was gone.

"What's going on, papa?" Eva asked. "I heard that Klaus is here."

Elijah pressed his lips together; he couldn't have this conversation with her.

"Jonas," he said quietly.

Eva looked confused, but she didn't suspect anything when Jonas approached them. He touched her head with both hands and cast a quick spell.

"Papa…" Eva muttered before she lost consciousness.

Elijah felt a sting in his heart when he held her small body gently in his arms.

"Please forgive me," he muttered and kissed her forehead.

He needed a moment before he managed to turn to Kol who carefully took Eva from him.

"You have her suitcase?"

"Already in the trunk."

Elijah felt terrible when he touched Eva's cheek; it was possible that she would hate him after this.

"Are you sure about this?" Kol asked. "If you need my…"

"I need you to take Eva away from here and keep her safe; she certainly won't be safe here. I trust you with what's most precious to me," he said tensely.

Kol nodded.

"I won't let you down, brother, you have my word. She'll be safe."