Your Saviour | Stefan Salvatore

16: The Murder Of One

Present Day

Eleanor shifted in her bed uncomfortably, as soon as Damon finished telling the story of how they all met - she disappeared into thin air. They both decided to tell Stefan that Mara was alive in the morning, otherwise he would try and hunt her down at midnight and it would never be safe in the dark - even for a vampire.

She sat up finally, peering out the window to see the sun slowly rising. It was still shadowy, but she decided to throw on a robe and head to her window. As she peered outside, she noticed all the little things that she didn't before, the way the trees looked like a ball of leaves that covered paths, the small hole that you could see Wickery Bridge through and the view of Mystic Falls, where everybody carried on their lives.

"Couldn't sleep?" Eleanor flicked her head to the direction where the voice came from and saw Stefan Salvatore leaning out of his window. She nodded, meeting his lime eyes with confidence, "Come up to the roof with me."

He hauled himself up onto the tiny roof that their two bedrooms' shared, shuffling to keep himself comfortable as she stood on the ledge of her window. Stefan offered her his hand, pulling her up onto the roof safely before peering off at the sunrise.

"Can I ask you something?" She questioned him, not daring to take a look at him as she stared at the sky that almost looked unreal. Eleanor had never taken in the beauty of the world as much as she had in this moment. The sky was like fresh art, but everybody took it for granted.

"Of course, go ahead." Stefan said, glancing at her smoothly. She kept facing towards the sun, testing herself if she really wanted to ask the question. Was it really worth it? Did he really have to know?

"When I was at the airport and I asked you if you loved me... You said you couldn't, I just want to know why, why can't you love me, Stefan?" Eleanor felt tears in her eyes, but she wiped them away furiously. She knew by now, her love for this one younger Salvatore had always been her weakness, but it wasn't something she could shake. He cleared his throat awkwardly,

"You know why." He muttered, turning his head back to the sunrise. Now it was her turn to look at him, and so she did.

Eleanor smiled weakly, "Do you think Elena is the girl you're destined to be with? The girl you want to be standing with, staring into her eyes at the alter?"

"Yeah- Maybe, I don't know. But I know that I love her and I know I love you... It's just I don't know what our love is, but with Elena it's like we're soulmates." Her eyes were glassy and she felt a tear drop on her cheekbone. She thought he was her soulmate, but she guessed she thought wrong. Swiftly, he wiped her tear away and her heart decided not to skip a beat this time, knowing that he didn't love her the way she loved him.

"Mara's back," She cleared her throat and looked away, "She came to me and Damon yesterday."

"And you both didn't tell me?" Stefan questioned her, making her return silent as he faced her. She licked her lower lip,

"You didn't tell me you had the weapons to kill the Originals. When we got home, I saw your bag - open. I could tell they weren't ordinary stakes, they were white oak." She smartly replied, kicking her feet in front of her and leaning back, pretending as if their previous conversation was never spoken or it never mattered.

"Okay, fair point. But how is she? Is she okay?" The youngest Salvatore asked, genuinely interested. Eleanor suppressed a laugh.

"Well, let's just say she's not exactly sane. So Mara vervained me, technically kidnapped me and got inside my mind. She then made me tie up a room full of innocent victims and then I couldn't remember doing it, so I woke up and she explained to me that she was 'death' and-" Stefan interrupted her,