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chapter forty ━ you can't save her
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❝ what if he can't save her from herself? ❞
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fifty votes and fifty comments for the next chapter!
MELODY WASN'T SURE if she heard correctly the second time around when Klaus had told her the latest Mystic Falls news while they were away finding Alexandar's sword to find the cure. They had stayed at a gorgeous hotel that left her in awe, being reminded of the castle in the Enchanted Forest. Believe it or not, they had shared a bedroom and a bed, growing closer and closer by the day. Nothing had happened besides them falling asleep side by side. Not a single kiss was exchanged because Klaus didn't want to give her the wrong message. Though he wanted to, he would wait until she was ready.
But the news she had been given by him was that Elena had killed the hunter who they had found out got free from their captivity. When she heard word that Elena had, she was pissed, going on a long rant that he let her go on. Then she found herself stopping once she caught his smirk. He explained to her that when someone killed a hunter, they suffered from hallucinations and it was excruciatingly painful. He had killed the original hunters so he knew how it worked.
She had given him a wicked smirk, her anger now turning to amusement, thrilled that she would get a chance to see Elena's misery before the brunette actually got to her and showed her what true suffering was. Klaus didn't stop her from daydreaming on the private jet ride back to Mystic Falls, the female wallowing in her immense joy. She was loving every second of it and couldn't wait to see it for herself.
And so Klaus was more than happy to let her go off on her own to speak to the Salvatore brothers and see Elena's state. Which is exactly what she was doing, walking through the Gilbert girl's neighborhood because she needed time to clear her head, rid of her doubts, push away her guilt of making the darkness in her heart grow.
Her journey was coming to an end so she got out her phone and called Stefan, knowing right where he was and knew fairly well that he told Damon about the cure because it was inevitable. Not that it mattered if the eldest brother knew anyway. The phone rang a few times and she figured that he was debating on whether to answer or not. Yet he did anyway.
"I don't want to talk about it," he told her with no emotion in his tone.
Melody smirked widely, shaking her head with a laugh. "Aw, and why is that? Is it because you are ruining Klaus's plan to create more hybrids. Come on Stefan, you and I both know you told Damon as soon as you could about the cure. And I bet, he is standing next to you right now." The silence was all the answer she needed. "That's what I thought."
"Well, nothing would have happened, if you and Klaus hadn't sworn me to secrecy." He was dodging her words, another indication that she was indeed right.
She nodded to herself, walking down the sidewalk with confidence. "Well, life's full of ifs, Stefan. I know that better than anyone. But let's accentuate the positives, shall we?" She paused for dramatic effect. "The hunter was one of five; we'll find another. It may take centuries, but we are all immortal so we got time right?"
There wasn't an answer for a little while, making her observe her nails in boredom. "You're using your calm voice today. Who's getting killed?"
Melody laughed again, tossing her head back as she let herself bask in the irony of his words. If only he knew. "No one you should be worried about and why would I tell you if I planned on killing someone, hm?" Then she gasped fakely. "Oh dear, the hallucinations have started to plague your beloved, haven't they?"
Silence again. Her smirk came back instantly as she playfully jumped over the crack in the sidewalk, almost to the house, just a few more paces. Stefan didn't sound very surprised when he did reply. "What do you know about that?"
"I'll tell you if you are nice to me. I don't want my feelings to get hurt." She turned and walked up to her door. "Where are you?"
"I'm at her house."
She gasped again, placing a hand on her chest. "Wow, so am I! We must be soulmates, the world is bringing us together, Stefan." Then she hung up the phone, knocking on the door as she pocketed her device, arms crossed over her chest. Stefan opened the front door and walked outside, past her. Melody rose an eyebrow but turned around, following him to the walkway that led to the stairs to get onto the porch.
"Aren't you going to invite me into Elena's beautiful home? I mean, I don't need an invitation but I assume that with the recent havoc I caused that you have found some way to keep me out." He stared and the corners of her lip quirked up. She was right again.
Stefan once again dodged her words, wanting to know what she did. "It's bad enough I'm out here talking to you. What do you know?"
The fairytale woman rolled her eyes, looking annoyed that she couldn't mess with him some more. And she had been doing that a lot lately too, teasing her enemies like her father did all the time. It was another thing that was brought to the surface thanks to her heart becoming darker. "Klaus killed the original five hunters, remember? When one kills a hunter, there's a consequence naturally."
"What kind of consequence?" he asked, his eyes wide with concern for the newly turned vampire.
She felt her irritation flare up because she felt pressured to give away information. But she took a deep breath and thought about what she came here for: to see Elena suffering. "The witches who created the hunters made a spell where if someone was to prevent one of the hunters from fulfilling his destiny, that he would go down swinging per say. Meaning whoever killed the hunter goes down with him."
He didn't seem to be following what she was trying to say. "What do you mean? Connor is dead."
That time she couldn't help a sarcastic remark. "Yeah, I noticed. What I mean is that Connor's death isn't preventing him from killing one last vampire like he was created to do in the first place. In this equation, the vampire is Elena. Let her come with me, I'll lock her up and keep her away from sharp wooden objects."
"Like I am going to believe that. You hate her." She didn't argue that statement. "Elena is not going anywhere with you."
Melody rolled her eyes again, placing her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed. "Well if we leave her alone, she will take her own life before the precious sun sets and then you will lose your love. So what's it going to be huh?"
Stefan shook his head, standing his ground which she expected would happen. "She's stronger than that."
"Is she?" She challenged, her voice quieter than usual as she took a step towards him. "You may not trust me and I sure as hell don't trust you. But what other choice do you have? We are on the same side here. Klaus needs Elena alive until we can give her the cure. You want Elena human again. None of that can happen if she is dead. We have to keep her safe as much as I despise saying that."
There was a long stretch of silence as Stefan thought it over in his head. He thought that Klaus was manipulating her to do what he wanted. Which wasn't true because he didn't know their plan. Nor did he suspect a single thing. While they continued to stand there, Melody heard the front door opened and turned her head to see Elena.
Once the Gilbert girl saw her, she stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide. The brunette smirked at her and then waved her hand, making them both vanish into thin air. She vaguely heard Stefan yelling for Elena, arm outstretched but he wasn't fast enough. And soon enough, Damon stepped out onto the porch, seeing his brother standing in the yard alone.
———
Melody brought Elena to the room they had prepared for her already, confident that they would obtain her and they did as planned. The doppelganger wouldn't stop squirming, trying to fight her but even with her heighten strength, the fairytale woman holding her was somehow stronger. She must have been using a spell.
"Let go of me," Elena hissed, trying to yank her arm from her grip still.
"With pleasure," the brunette replied, her British accent strong as she tossed the new vampire onto the floor roughly, making the said girl wince and yelped in shock of the shove. "I sincerely apologize for the lack of windows, we couldn't take any chances of you taking off your daylight ring and burning yourself to death in the sun even though saying that brings me immense joy."
She scoffed, staying on the floor as she sat up to face Melody. "I'm not gonna kill myself. I would never do that."
Her lips curved up into a wicked grin, tilting her head to the side as she saw the fear in Elena's eyes. "You'll want to. Klaus did." She had purposely let that bit of information slide, not bothering to hide her smugness because there was no need to. There wasn't an ounce of shame in her body.
"He went through this?"
Melody leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, nodding slowly. "He did. For fifty-two years, four months, and nine days if he told me correctly. From what he said, he was tormented, in his dreams, every waking moment, relentless, never-ending torture. It makes a person question everything because her mind is plagued with things you don't know are real or not." Her smirk was gone for the time being as she told the tale, making sure the pain on her face couldn't be seen. She hated that he went through that alone for so long.
Elena took a moment, thinking it through. "So, you two knew that this would happen if Connor died?" Then she seemed to think she understood what was going on. Oh, how wrong she was. "That's why you two got involved. Did Stefan know too?"
She pushed herself off the wall, making a face. "All Stefan knew was what he is supposed to know which was that the hunter had to stay alive. He said he had it covered but your stubborn, idiotic ass decided not to listen as per usual." Her words came out as a low growl of annoyance, making the other female force away a shiver of fear.
"What else does Stefan know?"
Melody then laughed without humor, pushing herself off the wall as she moved towards her. She gripped her chin, making sure Elena stayed sitting so she knew her place. The fairytale woman was stronger, faster, smarter than her, she was above her. Elena was a nobody compared to her, bowing before her. "Life is just full of mysteries isn't it?"
Then she shoved her backward again, walking to the door. "Why did you betray Rebekah like that?" Melody stopped in her tracks and turned her head slightly to look at her. "I thought you two were close?"
A silence stretched out again as the brunette took a measured breath to keep herself from burning Elena alive on the spot. That wasn't a good enough punishment for all she had done in her short life. "Rebekah hasn't got anything to do with this. This is all about you and getting you back to your human self. I can't afford to care about anyone else but Klaus and myself."
It was a lie and if the doppelganger sensed it, she didn't say anything. Elena was slowly going insane anyway so it wasn't like it mattered. Melody moved towards the door, calling over her shoulder as she moved with grace and precision. "Have fun, Miss Gilbert." Then with a flick of her wrist, the door closed behind her, locking.
———
Her finger skimmed around the rim of the glass, laying her head on her hand. She hadn't drunk her bourbon yet, thinking too much to care about it despite the fact that she ordered it with her own money. If anyone looked her way they would think she had a bad date and came to the bar to drink her sorrows away. When in reality, she had something up her sleeve. And as expected, a familiar face came rolling into the Mystic Grill, sitting right beside her.
"Got to say, for the place being blown up just days ago, I didn't expect the Grill to be open," she spoke to the raven-haired vampire to her left casually.
Damon shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. He made a gesture to the bartender, jabbing towards the full glass of bourbon Melody had with her. "Well, you'd be surprised by how quickly the citizens here work to repair blown up builds."
She snorted at that, the sound not lady-like at all but she didn't care in the slightest. "Cut to the chase, Damon. You didn't come here to talk with me about things exploding." Her head hadn't turned in his direction yet, her fingers still running around the rim of the glass like she was trying to make the cup withering in her touch.
"I want you to give Elena back. Safely."
The added word made her smirk, finally turning to look at him as she tilted her head up slightly. A sign of who was boss. And it was her in this situation. Because she held the one thing he wanted. He just kept underestimating her though, which amused her and irritated her. "Give her back?" She crossed her legs, pressing a finger to the corner of her lips. "And why would I do that?"
"Out of the goodness of your heart," he replied sarcastically, offering a tight-lipped smile that made her refrain from punching it right off his place.
Melody smiled fakely at him. "You really don't believe it is that easy to convince me, do you?" She sighed and waved her hand as if she were shooing him off but he didn't move. "It's exactly quite sad that you waste your time with her you know? Because contrary to popular belief, Elena Gilbert may be bringing out emotions in you that have long since been buried, she will be the death of you or Stefan or both one day. Believe it or not, I'm actually looking out for you."
He scoffed, downing half of his bourbon. "Well, I'm honored but I don't really care for some advice from the person who is working for the devil in disguise."
"Oh, he isn't wearing a disguise. The devil walks proudly among you but he isn't the one running the show or pulling the strings." All of his smugness faded quickly as he stared at her, watching as a wicked smirk appeared on her face. "There is a fallen angel who walked into Hell and the second the devil took one glance at her and stumbled off his throne to make way for her. She is the one who is in control. She is the one who is going to burn anyone who stops her." She leaned into his ear. "I am the fallen angel."
Damon refrained from shivering with fear because of her tone, her words, they flowed so perfectly together like honey in his ears. But her breath was cold against his skin, making his knuckle twitch. She saw it and smirked wider, pulling back to sit normally in her chair.
Melody recrossed her legs, looking over at him with a sense of pride in her eyes. "I'm not stupid Damon, nor am I a force to be reckoned with. I know you came here to distract me so your brother and your little friends could sneak into the Mikaelson Manor to rescue Elena. Which is exactly why I told Klaus to go somewhere away from me so you could approach me and pretend like your plan worked. When in reality it was my plan the entire time. You see, I started thinking about your little somewhat-girlfriend's problem and thought to myself: well what if another hunter would come to light? Would the nightmares go away?"
The color drained from his face as he couldn't move a muscle. She continued on, enjoying the fear that she saw on his face. He couldn't hide it this time. "I knew that you wouldn't try a rescue mission unless you had a reason to. That reason was that you and your friends found a way to help Elena. Now let's look back on that dinner I had with your brother. Jeremy was there and could see the tattoo. Why was that? Oh, that's right, because he is in line to be the next hunter. So you distract me, make sure Klaus isn't around, rescue Elena, have Jeremy kill a vampire, and boom, problem solved."
She still went on, not done with her story just yet. "And now you must be asking yourself why would I be sitting here if I knew your plan. Simple. The hunter has the map to find the cure. We all want the cure for Elena. The reason I didn't just hand her back was that I wanted to make it looked like you guys were actually succeeding in a plan when you really weren't. Also because I want you all to know that I am the one holding the reigns here. Not Klaus. Me."
Melody drained her glass of bourbon in one swig, not even wincing from the burning sensation that went down her throat. She smacked a twenty on the counter and got off the seat, turning to look at him. The smirk didn't go away. "Have a nice day, Damon. I sincerely hope this. . .advice was useful to you."
Her boots clicked against the wooden floor as she walked away from him. And for once, Damon could not push away the shocked look on his face. Her words were seared into his brain. One thing was for sure: nothing was going to get past Melody Mills, so they might as well not even bother keeping information that she already knew. Because they were all screwed anyway. Someone was going to end up dead soon. The only question was...
Who was it going to be?
———
Melody had gotten out of her car, turning it off as she exited it and shut the door behind her. She locked it with her key as she started to walk towards the Mikaelson Manor. But she only got three steps into her journey before she felt the presence of someone lurking around in the shadows. Her feet stopped moving as she rolled her eyes and turned her head. "Well it must be my lucky day, I've talked to two members of the Scooby Gang today. What can I do for you, Caroline?"
The blonde stepped into the moonlight, arms in front of her, unshed tears in her eyes. Melody's face fell, becoming concerned yet she held herself back from going towards her. Caroline sniffled. "It's Tyler. He. . .I saw him with Hayley. He was kissing her but she shoved him back and then slapped him. Tyler saw me standing there and he got mad, throwing a bottle at the wall because Chris is dead because Jeremy killed him. He tried to apologize for kissing Hayley. I left and I don't know where to go. I thought that I could stay with you tonight? Because we're friends—"
Her story was all jumbled, trying to fit pieces together as she rambled on. Melody understood well enough to know the full story. And so she sighed, cutting her off. "So that means I should trust you?" From the heartbroken look on the vampire's face, the fairytale woman knew that she wasn't making any of it up. Her shoulders relaxed. "Fine, only for tonight because I am feeling generous."
Caroline gave her a grateful but tired smile. Melody led her inside, going up the stairs and gesturing to one of the guest bedrooms silently before turning around to leave. She was stopped, the female grabbing her arm which made her spin back to see what she wanted. "I know that you aren't planning on giving Elena the cure. But don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Just promise me one thing?" Though she was hesitant, she nodded once. "When it's all said and done, kill Elena."
The shock on Melody's face wasn't hidden. "And why would you want her dead? I thought she was your friend too?"
"Because Elena isn't the same anymore. She is pulling on the Salvatores and pushing them apart day after day. All she keeps doing is causing problems. Everyone is sacrificing their lives for her and I don't want to see my friends dying because of her. And I know it sounds like an awful thing and a non-Caroline thing to say but I'm telling the truth. We have lost people already because of her. Stefan is hurting because of her. Don't keep letting her do this."
Melody took a deep breath, listening patiently but sensed no lie once again. "I promise, Elena isn't making it out of this alive. She isn't getting that cure. You tell anyone about this, and I'll kill you too."
Despite the relief of hearing the promise, Caroline felt fear soon follow because she knew fairly well if anyone got in the brunette's way, they'd be killed too, she said so herself. She nodded, not verbally replying as she let go of her arm. Then she opened the door, lingering in the doorway as she heard the fading footsteps. "Melody?" She stopped, looking at her. "Thank you. You aren't as bad as everyone makes you out to be."
Without waiting for an answer, Caroline closed the door, leaving the said woman alone in the hallway. A surprised but happy smile appeared on her face as she turned on her heel and started to go back to her bedroom to get some rest after the long day she had. It was nice to hear that her worries about being a bad person weren't true to some people. Because in truth, she didn't mean to be how she was now. It was the darkness shifting her, bringing out her bad personality traits. She wouldn't admit the truth though.
Klaus was waiting for her when she got to her bedroom, sitting on her head. He smiled. "I see you took in a stray without asking first." He was clearly teasing which was why she grinned, shaking her head.
Melody stood in front of him, arms crossed over her chest. "Caroline isn't a stray. She and Tyler broke up because he cheated on her and then proceed to throw a glass at a wall before apologizing. She doesn't want to be anywhere else and besides, I think she likes my company because she knows I won't give her crap or a lecture or something. I heard her mom was out of town too so." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "But she knows about our plan."
He hummed, shrugging because they both knew the blonde wouldn't tell anyone about it. She wouldn't dare because of the fear that Melody influenced. "Doesn't matter." Then he tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes slightly but looked concerned for her. "Are you alright, love?"
She offered him a forceful smile, shaking her head again. "I'm perfectly fine." Her head lowered as she pressed a soft and quick kiss to his lips. "Don't worry about me."
And so he smiled again, nodding his head. He let her go get dressed in her pajamas. Once she came back, he wrapped his arms around her, though his actions were still hesitant at times, ever so paranoid that this was all a joke and she didn't actually have feelings for him. Yet she fell asleep in his arms with him looking up at the ceiling, finally letting the worry seep through his features.
What if he couldn't save her from herself?
———
Wow, this chapter was heavy with conflicting emotions. I feel like with every chapter I write, I fall in love with Melody's character even more. I never truly realized just how complex she is because I portray her in a way that seems straightforward and simple when it's the opposite. She is slowly turning darker and yet she is having a battle in her head with her darkness and her light. I don't know if any of that made sense but it did to me, lol.
Anyway, I know the part with Caroline may have been a bit random but the reason I included it was to show how Melody ( in a way ) is making everyone realize just how much Elena is making them all suffer. And in case you didn't know already, I am writing my own plot in a way in regards to the Cure. So, that means, be prepared for this book to be coming to a close in maybe more than ten chapters? I am not too sure honestly.
I think it's official guys. Melody is the fallen angel. And please do let me know your thoughts on that little bit as well as the end portion because I am curious to know if anyone of you can figure out what battle Melody is having in her head. Hint: it does have to do with her darkness
I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!
( credit : @pepperronys )