{1} VOID [ELENA GILBERT ]

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Chapter 7 ➤ Plan B

" Don't wanna let you down. But I am, hell bound. Though this is all for you, don't wanna hide the truth."

★★★

Knock, knock.

Hela's irritation flared as she set her drinks down and made her way to the door. Expecting an unwanted intruder, she swung it open, only to freeze in surprise as she recognized the familiar face before her.

Her eyes widened momentarily before narrowing into a suspicious glare. "Stefan isn't here," she snapped, her tone sharp with annoyance.

"I wasn't looking for him," Elena responded nervously, her voice wavering slightly.

Hela took a deep breath, trying to compose herself before fixing Elena with narrowed eyes. "Fine, what do you want?"

Elena met Hela's gaze, her expression pleading. "Hela, we need to talk about what happened."

"Elena," Hela said, her voice laced with a mix of frustration and weariness. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly in the best mood right now."

"Hela, I saw what happened," Elena insisted, her determination evident. "And I'm not leaving until we talk about it."

★★★★★★

Hela reluctantly gestured for Elena to follow her inside the boarding house. The tension between them was palpable as they entered the dimly lit living room. Hela's back faced Elena as she began to speak, her voice tinged with a touch of vulnerability.

"Your features," Elena started, crossing her arms over her chest, her hesitation evident. "They make you look like you're not a normal vampire."

"Because I'm not," Hela replied, turning around to face Elena fully. Her gaze held a mix of resignation and guardedness. "I'm a culebra."

Confusion furrowed Elena's eyebrows as she tried to comprehend. "Culebra? What does that mean?"

Hela took a moment, gathering her thoughts before she began to explain. "A culebra is a being that is half vampire and half snake."

Elena's confusion deepened, her eyes searching Hela's face for answers. "But how is that possible? Why are you different from Stefan and Damon?"

Hela's expression grew darker, a haunted look crossing her face as she delved into her painful past. "When my brothers left me, I ended up in Mexico. There, I was captured by a group of men who worshipped ancient gods."

Her voice quivered slightly as she continued, recounting the horrors she had faced. "They starved me, tortured me, and forced me to do their bidding. Eventually, they threw me into a pit of snakes, hoping to break me."

Elena's eyes widened in shock and horror as she listened intently. Hela's voice grew softer, filled with a bitter mixture of anger and sorrow.

"I refused to spill any more blood for their rituals. I managed to escape once, but they recaptured me and threw me back into that pit," Hela admitted, her gaze clouded with pain. "But this time, I found an ally, someone who helped me escape. I owe him a debt."