Redamancy | Elena Gilbert

Chapter 40

The blonde was silent, averting her gaze. "Next lamest will probably be anything Matt and Jeremy could come up with," continued Rosalind. "Reminding me of the times I gave them rides, back when I cared if they got home safely or not. They're children, immature and just so whiny. If they come anywhere near me, I'll feel no remorse when I feed from them until I'm strong enough to murder all of you in one fell swoop."

"Don't worry," said Damon simply, "they weren't going to be anywhere in the main act. And neither's Stef cause we all know you'd rather be tortured on repeat than hear a single word come out of his mouth."

Rosalind's eyes shone maliciously. "Wow, Damon, not as dumb as you look, huh? Finally started to have original ideas. Only took you a century to start thinking for yourself instead of being a pretty boy with anger issues and leaving yourself with no real friends who would ever give a shit about you. You act all bad and pretend your good side is something people have to earn but the reality is you're a coward and a manipulator and liar and you think you're hilarious but you're actually the most unfunny person I've ever met, and it's really pathetic that you have to try and compensate for the brains you lack using humor that nobody enjoys. You're obsessive and it's the whole reason why all these problems started piling up in the first place so actually, Damon, my predicament is your fault."

Damon glanced at Tyler. "What do you say? We bring in the big guns right away?"

He pursed his lips. "Start with Kol. Work your way up to the big guns. We need to soften her first. Otherwise she'll kill them."

Rosalind was left alone, bathed again in wolfsbane, to wait for Kol's arrival. He walked in with a chair for himself. "Rosalind," he said calmly. "You've looked better on other days."

She tilted her head, a maniacal glint in her eyes. "At least I look good sometimes. You'll never have that, because you'll always be in Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah's shadows. A pathetic little boy pining for attention of any kind."

Kol pretended this didn't bother him. "You recall why we started to get to know each other more, right? You wanted so badly to care for your Pack, to be strong for them. You came to love them so much you fought tooth and nail, putting your blood, sweat, and tears into training to protect them even if time and time again, Nik and I broke you and left you shivering on the floor. You cared so much you were willing to succumb to pain if it would only mean that you'd be able to help them protect themselves."

"And then your brother killed all of them," said Rosalind. "Your brother murdered them and left me with nothing. Added twelve names to an already long list of loved ones I lost. If this is your attempt to reconnect me with my humanity, it's not going to work. And before you suggest a hands-on demonstration, just know that I don't care about what pain I feel. You aren't going to get me to feel anything by reminding me about why I trained or why I fought so hard for equal power with Klaus."

"No?" Kol seized her head, forcing his own memories into her head. Forcing her to see visions of herself, teaching the hybrids the same things he'd shown her. How she guided them, cared for them, laughed and cooked for them. She couldn't shove his hands aside with her own, given they were bound.

"STOP!" she yelled at last, shoving him out of her mind. "They are dead, do you hear me? They are dead and they're not coming back. There is nobody to care about so I am done caring. Get out of here." When he didn't move, she spat, "GET OUT OF HERE!"

He decided to leave. She was alone for several moments before Tyler came in, alongside his mother.

"Oh, god," whispered Carol, nearly bursting into tears at the sight of Rosalind restrained so tightly. "She's in pain, Tyler..."