Ruins || The Vampire Diaries [2]

35: Counting Down The Days

   The cellar was timeless, a little spot in the world where time seemed to stand still. Day and night were combined into one, a simple opening and closing of doors and inconsequential conversations. There were times when someone would come to the cellar, try to pry my humanity from somewhere deep inside of my chest, then leave after their attempt was futile. The floor around my feet was covered in dried blood, stained from the times Damon bled me out so I would starve faster. The chains that held me down to the chair were also red, burning into my skin with the bit of vervain they sprayed on me.

   I swallowed hard as the veins beneath my eyes appeared and my canines extended into fangs. Elena stood a few feet from me, a small shot glass in her hand filled with blood. My face stayed true to my appearance as she walked in, my red eyes focusing on the blood. "Are we going to have a girl talk?" I asked as a sarcastic smile formed around my lips. "Is today about Stefan or Damon?"

   She rolled her eyes. "I have to feed you so you won't desiccate," she said with annoyance. She stepped in front of me and pushed the shot glass to my mouth. 

   When the small drop of blood touched my lips, I quickly grabbed the glass with my teeth and craned my neck back. The blood moved slowly to my mouth, cold, but a sweet taste that I only had once a week. I almost licked the glass clean, but Elena quickly pulled it away. A small chuckle escaped as I licked between my lips, catching whatever blood was left. "You got Caroline's humanity back, why are you all so sure you're going to get mine?"

   "Because you're still Clara Forbes," she said, crossing her arms and shrugging her shoulders. "You wanted to take Aunt Jenna's place when she was going to be sacrificed, you cared about how I felt when I turned, and you were there for me when Damon was in that Prison World." She leaned against the wall and watched me carefully. "Your humanity is part of you, and it makes you Clara. The person standing in front of me is someone strange."

   A breathy laugh escaped my throat as I leaned back in my chair. My hair was matted with dried blood, sticking to the bit of sweat around my face. "It's been at least three months since I turned it off," I said, softly so she would understand,  "three months since I've been in this cell. Every plan that you all have made has failed miserably. By now, you should know that there's nothing that can bring my back my humanity, because there's nothing left for me here." I blew on a stand of hair on my face, then smiled. "How about letting me go? I won't stay in Mystic Falls."

   "Where would you go?" She wasn't curious, but she asked because she wanted to amuse me, to see if there was anything that could help her.

   "New Orleans," I said. "Maybe I'll run into our dear old friend Klaus Mikaelson. He's a hell of a lover."

   Disgust filled her face as she shook her head. "You're disgusting."

   "Klaus was fun," I continued with a smile, "rough, and liked to bite. Ask Caroline, she'll tell you." A small smirk formed around my lips, the blood taking an effect on me. It had been days since I was last given blood, days since I felt something that wasn't Damon cutting into my skin or Stefan getting into my mind. It was the small taste of power, small but strong enough to stop the burning ache from the vervain in the chains that wrapped around me.

   "That's enough," Damon said as he walked in, eyes hard and anger clear in the way he moved. 

   I tilted my head to the side and licked my lips. "I'm just having fun," I teased, "but I could have a lot more fun if you let me go."

   "Not gonna happen," he said as he circled me. 

   "Not even if I say I'll leave Mystic Falls?" I arched a brow and followed him with my eyes. "You let me go and I'll leave, somewhere far away where I won't be a problem to you all."