After another terribly painful spell, one completed closed wound, and a three hour long nap, Adelaide was ready to learn magic. The spell had put her through hell, and soon after Stefan finished, she fell asleep on his bed. They let her sleep for a couple hours before waking her up and making her eat something.
Once she woke up, Adelaide forced down a turkey sandwich, and Stefan and Christoph started to teach her some basic spells. She practiced lighting some more candles, moving objects from one spot to another, and turning on lights in the apartment.
Most things, like lighting a candle, didn't require a spell with words. If it was simple enough, you could just picture it and wave your hand and it would happen. Other more complicated things required spells or rituals that needed to be recited in certain ways - like the healing spells that Stefan did.
They told her that powerful witches could speak spells in their mind, and that was enough. That's part of what made fighting Gisela and Morgen so hard. With other witches, you could follow their movements and anticipate their attacks. With the Ellora siblings, you were at the unpredictable liberty of their mind.
"Okay, I think I get the basic spells," Adelaide announced after several hours of turning lights on and off and moving every object in existence around Stefan's apartment, "I want to learn how to fight."
She liked to think she was a quick learner, and magic seemed to be no different. Once Stefan helped her figure out what motivated her magic, everything else made more sense. The more she used it the easier it was to recall emotions and use them to her advantage.
She found that more negative emotions were more powerful, but also more unpredictable. Adelaide learned this the hard way, after sending a coffee cup hurtling toward Lorenzo's head. But she knew these negative emotions are also what powered her magic when she saved James or Stefan, and that's what she was going to need to fight Gisela and Morgen.
"Slow down," Christoph laughed, throwing an arm over her shoulder as they stood in the living room. They had moved the furniture out to give them a more open space to practice, "I don't think you're quite ready for that."
Adelaide rolled her eyes, pushing his arm off of her and putting her hands on her hips. She raised her eyebrows, daring him to doubt her again.
"I'm ready," She challenged, taking a step away from him, "come on, let's fight."
"I'm not going to fight you, Adelaide." Christoph scoffed, looking at her like she was crazy. He crossed his arms stubbornly and chuckled at her fighting stance. Adelaide rolled her eyes at his unwillingness.
"I have to learn somehow, and this is the fastest way."
Before he could respond, Adelaide heard the rustling of pages to her left. She whipped her head around, just in time to see three, large leather-back books flying towards her in the air. She had no time to think or focus on an emotion, but she threw her hand in the air instinctually. The books stopped dead in their tracks and fell to the floor.
Her heart was racing in her chest, but she smiled at her accomplishment. Adelaide looked up in the direction the books came from and saw Stefan, leaning up against the wall and watching her.
"You've got good instincts." He told her with his typical indifferent stare. Adelaide was sure she made it up, but she could've sworn she saw an impressed look in his eyes. She couldn't help but grin.
"Are you mad? You could've killed her?" Christoph protested, his face turning a slight shade of red as he yelled at Stefan.
"I knew she was going to stop it," Stefan shrugged, taking a couple of steps towards them, "she's right. The only way to learn how to protect herself quickly is to challenge her magic so she can get comfortable using it. That can't happen it we just keep learning theory."
"My way might take a little longer, but it's better than risking her safety." Christoph narrowed his eyes. He was taller than Stefan by an inch or two, but Stefan did not seem intimidated by Christoph's large stature. He kept his composure, giving him another little shrug of his shoulders.
Adelaide looked between them, rolling her eyes at their constant bickering. She knew that Stefan had nothing to do with Christoph's mother's death, and she knew that deep down Christoph knew that as well. But he wasn't willing to give up on the image he had painted Stefan in, and so they continued to bicker.
"Well I, for one, want to learn how to fight." She stepped in between them, raising a hand in the air and offering a small laugh. Stefan's expression didn't change, though she thought she saw his lips twitch slightly. Christoph, however, looked at her as if she said something offensive. When she didn't amend her statement or say anything, he frowned and crossed his arms.
"Fine, you guys try it your way. But I'm not going to participate in berating Adelaide." Christoph stated, taking a step away from them and towards the kitchen.
"Great, then you and Lorenzo can make dinner." Stefan offered with a polite smile before quickly turning his back to Christoph, leaving no room for argument. He started talking Adelaide through his idea, leaving Christoph and Lorenzo to head into the kitchen. Adelaide sent Christoph an apologetic look as he pouted, but she was eager to start training with Stefan and quickly turned her attention back to him.
"Before you learn offensive fighting, you need to be able to defend yourself against incoming attacks," Stefan explained. Adelaide nodded along eagerly, "if you can use it right, your magic can heighten your senses. You'll move quicker, hear better, see more clearly, be more aware of your surroundings."
"Okay..." Adelaide thought back to when she first got all of her magic, after the ritual. She remembered hearing everything around her, so much so that it became overwhelming. But that was one time, she wasn't sure how to do it on command, "how do I do that?"
"Close your eyes," Stefan instructed, putting his hands on either of her shoulders. She listened, squaring her feet beneath her and squeezing her eyes shut. She felt his hands disappear, and when he spoke his voice moved farther from her, "follow the sound of my voice. Picture where I am in the room."
Adelaide listened, recalling the layout of the room. With her eyes closed, she felt her other senses heighten to compensate. She heard the faint sound of Christoph moving around in the kitchen, and the sound of Stefan's footsteps as he moved around the room. As he spoke, she heard his voice moving away from her and towards the direction of the TV.
"You're over there." Adelaide told him, point a finger behind her where she'd heard him. Stefan didn't respond, but the sound of his footsteps disappeared. Adelaide almost opened her eyes in confusion when she couldn't hear him anymore, but suddenly she heard him across the room.
"What about now?"
Stefan's voice was in front of her and to the left, but she hadn't heard him move across the room. Adelaide scrunched her eyebrows as she focused harder, sure that she had missed his movements. She heard his shoulder brush against a photograph hanging on the wall, and she pointed in the direction she knew the photographs were.
"There."
His footsteps and voice disappeared again, and for a moment all she could hear was Christoph and Lorenzo in the kitchen. Then she heard the subtle sound of pages rustling again, and her head whipped around in the direction of the noise. With her eyes still shut, Adelaide threw her hands in the air to deflect the incoming books. She couldn't see, but her hearing was so clear she could imagine it perfectly. This time, instead of stopping them, she tried deflecting the books in the direction she thought Stefan had been standing. She heard them hit the wall and thud to the ground in defeat.
"Missed me." Stefan mocked, suddenly back on the right side of the room. Adelaide spun in place, searching for the sounds of his footsteps. He was moving quickly and silently, and she wasn't sure how.
She focused harder, tuning out the sounds of the kitchen so she could hone in one Stefan. His voice and footsteps were gone, but as she listened closer, she heard the faint sound of his breath, going in and out slowly. Adelaide listened again until she was sure she'd found him. She remembered the books sitting behind her on the ground, and with a flick of her wrist, she sent them flying towards Stefan's location.
Adelaide's eyes flew open as the books flew through the air, and she saw Stefan deflect them with ease before they hit him. A small smile formed on his lips when he looked up at her, but it disappeared quickly. Adelaide, on the other hand, was beaming.
"Not bad," Stefan praised, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets as he crossed the room towards her, "let's go again."
They spent the next hour or so doing the same exercise. After a couple of rounds, Adelaide could find him easily. So they switched, and he showed her some more offensive moves. He taught her how to maneuver quietly and move quickly, and she learned how to use her environment as a weapon against her opponent. They talked through other offensive moves that were more dangerous, but they didn't test anything else out.
Adelaide felt like her magic was a performance enhancing drug. Everything she did was heightened, and it made her feel powerful and alive. She felt it come naturally to her, and every time she mastered something knew she felt a burst of pride.
They started to take turns, and it was Adelaide's turn to close her eyes. Stefan promised not to take it easy on her, and she had all of her senses ready on high alert. She'd just barely shut her eyes when she heard movement to her right, and reacted just quick enough to deflect an incoming book. She had no idea where Stefan was, so she just let the book drop to the floor in front of her.
She searched for the sound of his breathing, which was his biggest tell. Stefan was quick, but she could always hear his shallow breathing. Adelaide thought she heard him towards the kitchen, and as she turned towards him another object came flying towards her. She deflected the coffee cup away from her face, sending it towards the kitchen where she was sure Stefan was standing.
"Not quite." His voice appeared next to her right ear, his breath hot on her face. Adelaide spun around, her hands reaching out but only finding air. She heard Stefan chuckle a few feet away now, but she didn't bother attacking. He was even quicker now, and she was sure he'd already moved.
After deflecting a few more attacks and failing to find him, Adelaide was growing frustrated. She focused all of her effort, trying to move blindly and quickly at the same time so she could match his movements. Every time she thought she'd found him, he disappeared and was suddenly across the room. His attacks were sudden and quick, and by the time she deflected them, he was gone.
"Come on, Adelaide," Stefan urged her, his voice near the TV behind her. She didn't even think before flicking her wrist in that direction, but the TV remote just crashed to the floor. His voice was across the room again, near the front door, "you can do better than that."
Adelaide frowned, determined to not let Stefan beat her. She tuned everything else out, focusing all of her energy on the sounds of Stefan. She knew she wouldn't hear his footsteps anymore, and he'd gotten better at controlling his breathing. Suddenly, Adelaide heard a faint thumping sound behind her. Stefan's heartbeat was faint, but it was there, and it was close. She didn't hesitate, spinning around to face him and her hand moving in the air towards him.
Before she could finish a spell to send an attack, she felt his hand grab her wrist out of the air. Adelaide's eyes flew open at the contact, and she realized he was a lot closer than she'd anticipated. Neither of them made a move, with his hand firmly grasping her wrist. His breath was hot on her face, and Adelaide's heart was racing in her chest. She was sure he could hear it, but he made no movements.
Her green eyes met his stormy, grey ones and she tried to read his expression. She could never tell was he was thinking or feeling - not like she could with Christoph, who kept his heart on his sleeve. Stefan was a mystery, always putting up a mask of some sort. In that moment, his face showed too many emotions at once. He looked at her with confusion and curiosity, like he couldn't understand her. There were so many other emotions in his eyes that she couldn't read, but their intensity made her breath catch in her throat.
After they heard loud movements in the kitchen, they quickly moved away from each other. They looked anywhere but at each other, and Adelaide was sure that was the first time she'd Stefan look uncomfortable.
"That was, uh, good," He cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head, "you're a quick learner."
"Thanks." Adelaide responded, biting her lip anxiously as she avoided making eye contact. Christoph burst into the room then, eagerly bounding over to Adelaide and wrapping his arms around her. Her senses were still on high alert, and she resisted the instinct to send a book flying towards him when he touched her.
"Hey." Christoph smiled down at her, keeping his arms around her waist. He leaned down to kiss her lightly, and Adelaide kissed him back.
She felt guilt creep up in her stomach as she kissed him, but she wasn't sure where it came from. She and Stefan hadn't done anything, and she wasn't even sure how he felt about her in general, let alone romantically. But she couldn't help feeling guilty for feeling more at ease around Stefan. She couldn't explain why she felt safe around him, and why she couldn't get fully comfortable with the man who had been so kind to her and cared about her so deeply.
"Hey Christoph?" Adelaide suddenly asked, her guilt eating away at her. He looked at her with raised eyebrows, his arms still wrapped around her waist.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you." She told him with a genuine smile. She recounted when she'd first met him. Though it was only several days earlier, she felt like a whole new version of herself since then. She had been so afraid of the uncertainty then, and she liked to think Christoph helped her grow to be okay with it.
"What for?" He laughed at her, and Adelaide shrugged. She stood on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"For helping James and I, and keeping us safe. For being so kind to me. For being so honest and open with me." Adelaide smiled at him, finding that she had many thinks to be grateful for, "I just really appreciate you."
Christoph grinned back at her, leaning his head down to kiss her again. She felt the butterflies she felt when they first kissed, and she smiled into it. His hands travelled up her back and got tangled in her hair. Adelaide felt his hands on the back of her head and felt his body move closer to her as he tried to deepen the kiss. A part of her panicked, and she quickly stopped it from intensifying.
"Is the food ready?" Adelaide asked, clearing her throat as she pulled away. Both of their faces were red with embarrassment, but their smiles didn't disappear. She smelled the air, her stomach suddenly grumbling at the thought of food. She'd been so busy, she hadn't even stopped to think about food.
"Of course," Christoph laughed, lacing his fingers with hers as he guided her into the kitchen. Stefan had slipped away once Christoph entered the living room, and he was already sitting down at the kitchen table when they entered, "Lorenzo helped make some some pasta."
Adelaide grinned at the sight of the pasta and garlic bread on the table. After the day she had, it was the perfect meal. The four of them sat down to eat, instantly digging in to scarf down the meal.
Three out of the four weren't big on small talk, so that left Christoph to fill up the conversation. He chattered away about making the pasta, and something he saw on the weather channel. He held her hand under the table, squeezing it every now and then turning to smile at her. Adelaide did her best to respond and engage in the conversation, but her mind was elsewhere.
It had been almost twenty four hours her brother had been with the Ellora clan, and they still hadn't tried to contact her. She was beginning to grow worried that Christoph had been right initially, and they should have just gone to the train station. But the idea of showing up there just sounded like a great way to get trapped. Plus, if they wanted her to come alone, there would be no stopping Christoph and Stefan from tagging along to the station.
Adelaide's biggest fear was that by the time she got to James, they'd already killed him. They really just needed her to come to them, and they could decide trap her again and take her magic. They didn't have to keep James or her alive. They just needed to get her by herself and over power her.
"Adelaide?"
She was pulled away from her thoughts by a hand in front of her face. She blinked her eyes, looking at Christoph next to her. He raised his eyebrows at her, laughing slightly.
"I've been talking to you for the past five minutes. Did you hear any of it?" He asked as he chuckled. Adelaide felt her cheeks heat up, and she shook her head sheepishly.
"No, I'm sorry, I'm a little out of it," She admitted, embarrassed for being rude. She put her fork down on her empty plate of pasta, "thank you for dinner, though, it was delicious."
"My pleasure." Christoph smiled, picking up her empty plate and stacking his on top as he carried them to the sink. Lorenzo got up from the table as well to help him start cleaning up, which left Adelaide and Stefan to sit in silence.
"Do you want to take a shower?" Stefan asked suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence between them. Adelaide looked at him in confusion, so he continued, "I just thought you might want a shower. You know, now that you can stand on your own and you're not bleeding through all of my t-shirts."
Adelaide rolled her eyes at his comment, but she couldn't help but laugh. After he mentioned it, she realized how nice a shower sounded. As much as James and Stefan had done a good job of keeping her wounds clean, she definitely still had dried blood across her arms and stomach.
"That sounds amazing, actually." She told him with a smile. Stefan nodded his head, standing up from the table abruptly. He motioned for her to follow him, and they left Christoph and Lorenzo to do the dishes.
Stefan led her into his room and through the door on the wall of bookshelves. The bathroom was even nicer than she had expected - with marble countertops and a large, standing shower with glass doors. Everything was new and squeaky clean, minus a small pile of dirty clothes in the corner.
He walked over to the small linen closet and pulled out a fluffy, white towel before passing it to her. He turned on the water to start heating the water up for her.
"Oh, one second," Stefan told her, before disappearing into his room briefly. He appeared again seconds later, holding some clothes in his hand. He showed them to her before plopping them down on the bathroom counter, "thought you'd want some pajamas."
Adelaide smiled gratefully, sending a small wave as he left the bathroom and shut the door behind him. She gently pulled off the flannel she was wearing, folding it neatly on the counter next to the pajamas. Her jeans and t-shirt followed suit. She caught sight of herself in the large mirrors on the wall, and couldn't help but grimace at her reflection.
Her pale skin was covered in angry, pink lines. Most of her wounds were closed up and healing now, with only some minor tenderness. But they were never fully going to go away. They would fade to scars, just like Stefan's, and remind her of how much pain they caused. Adelaide pulled herself away from the mirror with a shiver, before stepping under the warm stream of water.
She sat in the shower for ages. She scrubbed at her hair with Stefan's soap, recognizing the familiar amber smell. She used a washcloth to scrub every inch of her body clean, and then scrubbed at it again. At some point, she realized she wasn't going to be able to scrub away all of her problems. Instead, she stood with her head under the warm water, enjoying the feeling on her face.
Eventually, Adelaide figured she'd wasted enough water, and turned it off before stepping out onto the tile floor. The bathroom was covered in steam from her long, hot shower, and she quickly wrapped the towel around her body as a chill ran through her. She did the best should could to dry her hair, but eventually gave up and tied it into a messy bun to get it out of the way.
She grabbed the pajamas Stefan left her, pulling on the fleece pajama pants and tying them as tight as they would go. They fell loosely on her hips, but she was grateful for the warmth on her skin. She threw on the t-shirt as well, grabbing her pile of clothes before leaving the bathroom.
Stefan glanced up at her briefly when she entered the room, but turned back to his book. He had changed into a pair of sweatpants, his t-shirt lazily discarded on the floor next to his bed. He lounged in bed, leaning up against the headboard as he flipped through one of his many books.
Adelaide put her pile of clothes on the nightstand next to her shoes, letting out a sigh as she plopped down on the bed next to him. She mirrored his movements, leaning her back against the headboard, but she just stared up at the ceiling instead of a book. She pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging them close to her body.
She hadn't been able to turn her brain off since dinner, as her anxiety went through every possible thing they could have done to James by now. She was so far down the list that the scenarios were just plain ridiculous, but she couldn't get them to stop. The more she tried to fight it, the more intrusive they became.
"Your thinking is very distracting." Stefan said suddenly, closing his book with a sigh and setting it down on his lap. Adelaide looked away from the ceiling, her cheeks turning pink when she looked at him. She offered an apologetic smile, but he didn't smile back. He looked at her seriously, raising his eyebrows.
"What are you thinking about?"
"James," Adelaide told him without hesitation. She took in a deep breath, running her hands over her face, "I just can't stop wondering if he's actually alive."
Stefan didn't say anything. He stayed quiet and unmoving, his gaze unfocused on the wall of bookshelves in front of the bed. Adelaide began to wonder if she should leave him alone to read. Just as she was about to pull herself off of the bed, he finally spoke.
"Did I ever tell you about my sister?" Stefan said, sitting up in the bed. He glanced at her briefly, but didn't meet her eyes. Adelaide shook her head, looking at him curiously. She realized neither of them really knew that much about each other, but she was curious to learn more about his family.
"Tereza was a couple years older than me, but we grew up really close. My mother died when I was very young, and my father spent most of his time working. We sort of raised each other." Stefan started explaining. Adelaide listened intently to every word, and patiently waited when he paused.
"When I was around 13, she was 17, and Tereza started to sneak out at night and go into town. She'd come back and tell me stories about all the amazing things she saw, and the humans she met. She told me about the wonderful art they created or music they made. We both knew it wasn't allowed, but once she got a taste of life outside of Ellora, she needed more."
"She would sneak out almost every night, and she'd be back by morning to fill me in on her adventures. One morning, Tereza came home and told me out of the blue that she was getting married. She said she'd met a man and fallen in love, and she finally admitted to him what she was. He proposed on the spot, and told her they were run away together. He didn't care what she was or where she came from, he loved her."
"I was happy for Tereza, but I was so angry at her for leaving me behind. I was young, but I was old enough to start noticing the faults of Ellora. I was terrified that she would get caught and get punished, and I was terrified of never seeing her again if she ran away. We got in a huge fight about it, and I said some things I didn't mean."
"She started crying and left, and when I got home that night, she wasn't there. I figured she'd gone into town, so I went to sleep, and waited for her the next morning. When she never showed up, I feared that she ran away without saying goodbye. I searched everywhere for her. I even snuck into town and asked around about her, but no one knew where she was. I stayed up for two nights straight, hoping she was going to come back and explain where she'd been."
"After five days, I'd driven myself crazy with worry. I was on my way to ask the Ellora council for help, a desperate attempt to find her, when I ran across a crowd in the train station. The whole coven seemed to have gathered there, and by the time I pushed to the front, I found Tereza in the middle." Stefan recounted the story to her as if it had happened only days before. He still wouldn't meet her eyes, but Adelaide could tell how hard it was for him to share. She could sense how his story was going to end, and she didn't like it either.
"Frederick stood next to her, holding her up by her hair as he shouted lies about her. He told everyone how she had been sneaking out and giving the humans information about us. That she was colluding with them and planning an attack. He claimed that she had fallen in love with a human, and chosen them over her own kind. He shouted that was she was a whore, a traitor, and so many foul things - and the people agreed with him."
"I, of course, knew the truth, and I knew Tereza had just wanted to live her life peacefully away from the coven with the man she had fallen in love with. The crowd believed all of Frederick's words, and they yelled slurs at her and threw things. I tried to intervene, but people in the crowd held me back. I can still picture her face so vividly as she sat there and cried, her body frail and weak. Even in that state, she spotted me in the crowd and smiled at me. Trying to comfort me and stay positive until the very end." Stefan shook his head angrily as he spoke, his fists clenching at the memory. Adelaide felt her heart break at the pain in his voice, and she instinctively reached out and put a hand over his. He didn't acknowledge her movements, but took a deep breath before continuing.
"I found out later that they had her in a cave for those five days, giving her one last chance to repent. They told her she would be allowed to live on the condition that the human she'd shared their secrets would be killed. She refused to tell them who he was and risk his life, so they decided to make a public display of her 'betrayal'."
"They slit Tereza's throat, right in front of me and a crowd of other witches that had known her their entire lives. I watched the life leave her eyes before they tossed her aside like a piece of trash. And a part of me died with her that day. I knew who the people I had considered family really were, and I couldn't ever forget how they treated her." Stefan glared across the room at the bookshelf as he recounted the memories. Adelaide felt tears well in her eyes at the idea of his sister dying like that in front of him. If that had been James, she's not sure how she would have handled it.
"Stefan...that's so terrible," Adelaide wasn't sure how to respond. She went to move her hand from his, but he stopped her.
"Look, I'm not telling you this so you can feel pity for me, Adelaide," Stefan told her, gripping her hand tightly and turning his head towards her to finally look her in the eyes, "I'm telling you this so you believe me when I say that I will not let them do the same to James, okay?"
He said the words quietly, but with a confidence that made Adelaide believe every word. His grip on her hand was tight but comforting, and his eyes bore into her, waiting for her to answer him.
"Okay. " She nodded to him, searching his face to determine what he was feeling. For the first time she felt like she could read him clearly. She saw the sadness and anger in his eyes for his sister, but she also saw the determination to help James.
"Tell me more about your sister," Adelaide urged, hoping to learn more about Stefan, "what was she like?"
Stefan's expression changed, and she was happy to see a small smile appear as he thought about his sister.
"You remind me of her a lot, actually. Though you're far more stubborn than she was," Stefan laughed. Adelaide watched it dance across his face, and when his eyes met hers they flashed with admiration. She felt her stomach jump a little when he looked at her.
"She was so passionate, about everything she did. When we were little she used to love cooking, and she would go around to every witch in the coven and take turns helping them make dinner."
"She loved helping people, which is why she wanted to see more of the world. We're given such a beautiful gift as witches, but in Ellora, we were taught to hoard it all for ourselves. She wanted to go out and help people with her magic, but she never got the chance." Stefan frowned slightly, but Adelaide squeezed his hand, offering a comforting smile.
"It's a good thing she has a good brother to carry on her legacy." Adelaide offered with a laugh, gesturing to the multitude of wounds he'd healed for her. Stefan chuckled, relaxing slightly as he leaned back against the headboard again.
Adelaide sunk down in the bed as she listened to his stories. As he continued to tell her about his sister, she found herself fully laying down on the pillow. Their hands were still intertwined, and Stefan looked down at her as he recounted memories of his childhood with Tereza. Adelaide listened intently, admiring the way his face lit up when he talked about her.
Eventually, the events of the day caught up to her, and she felt herself starting to drift. She fought against the sleepiness in her eyes, wanting to hear more of Stefan's stories. But his voice was so calming, and his presence so warm, she couldn't help but drift off to sleep.
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I know I haven't uploaded in FOREVER but here is a long chapter to make up for it!!