An Elemental Difference - FIRE - Book 2 (Stefan Salvatore)

Chapter 44 - Guardian to the Rescue, b$tches

A/N: Hello, all! I hope you read my profile updates, or you'll be hella confused right now. I've been doing a big readthrough of my MANY TVD notes and realized I missed quite a few things on the latest chapters, which I forgot to add. So, I have added more to chapter 44 and renamed the chapter, so please read it. I've also updated a new chapter that may have some parts of the previous chapter in it. Hope that all makes sense. xoxo

GILBERT HOUSEHOLD

Aella had an uncomfortable sleep that night; without Stefan holding her, her rest was rough. The words of Jenna, Stefan, and Elijah shattered her dreams. Jenna's sadness, Stefan's frustration, Elijah's matter-of-fact attitude;

"I hope it was worth it."

"I can't do this."

"Elena must die."

"Build his own race."

She saw the destruction of the natural order and the chaos that followed it. And death. So much death.

With a gasp, Aella shot up from the bed. Instantly her hand reached out for Stefan, for comfort, but he wasn't there. The sheets were cold.

"-I'm here."

Aella jumped; her green eyes darted to Stefan's corner, where her boyfriend sat, a book in his lap, closed. His attention was entirely on her. She wiped the sleep from her eyes, "I thought you were angry with me?"

Stefan placed his book on the table next to him. He was quiet as if he was choosing how to phrase his following sentence, "I was angry at first. Now, I'm confused... and a little hurt, to be honest."

As she sat up, the covers fell to Aella's waist revealing she was sleeping in one of Stefan's tees. Stefan could see the hurt in her emerald eyes from his words, "I'm sorry."

"Then tell me what happened with Elijah," Stefan shifted to the end of his chair. "We've never kept secrets from one another."

Crawling from her spot to the end of the bed so their faces were inches apart. Aella stared into Stefan's hurt eyes as she earnestly told him, "Then know, I would only do this because it's the only way." Tears formed, "I don't think we can win this one, Stefan, not without Elijah's help."

"I don't believe that," Stefan firmly shook his head, falling back into his chair. "What we've faced so far-"

"-is nothing compared to Klaus," Aella cut him off, tone unwavering. She got off the bed and knelt before Stefan, lowering her face to rest upon his tense hands. "Everything we've faced so far; Katherine, Damon, the tomb vampires, Frederick, the Council... They are nothing compared to Klaus." She kissed his hand, "Klaus is older, stronger, and more powerful than anything we've faced, Stefan. And Elijah is the only one that knows Klaus's one weakness. Please trust me."

Stefan sighed heavily, hating that this was happening to them. He lovingly moved his hands to encircle her face and gently pulled her face upwards so they were close again. The tears had spilled from her eyes, and his thumbs wiped them away, "I can't believe that." The trust he had in her - in them - was unwavering, "We can face anything when we face it together."

Once her face was clear of tears, Stefan pulled away, "Do you remember that day in the hospital when Caroline had recovered from Damon's blood, and Bonnie disagreed with our decision?" Perplexed, Aella nodded, and he continued, "You told her, 'We worked together. We did everything together. Because we are stronger when we are together than we are on our own.' Where is that Aella now?"

Aella's head fell, and the tears began to fall again. She remembered that afternoon so clearly, the afternoon the final cracks started to appear in her relationship with her cousin. She hoped Stefan bringing it up wasn't some kind of omen. But then she remembered the nightmare she'd awoken from, the death and destruction; she just knew that couldn't be allowed.