Other (Prison) Dimension
Elira's POV
Being stuck in this other dimension isn't as bad as I thought it would be. However, I do wish I was stuck here with someone else. Bonnie Bennet isn't exactly my best friend and I can feel her disgust towards vampires' role off her like tidal waves. Ironic enough, all of her best friends are vampires and her protecting them is the reason we're both here.
I scoffed out loud at my own remark.
Some part of me wishes that Matt was here with me instead but I also know it to be a lie I tell myself to excuse these deceiving feelings I have towards him. Whatever it is I feel towards him I know it not to be the deep form of love I have once felt for others. Whatever these unknown feelings are... they're helping me understand the person I am becoming.
If staying with Matt is what I have to do to ground myself and change for the better... It's a choice I am willing to make. However, I do know that I care for him. Therefore, having him trapped here with me would be to wish death upon him, and that I cannot do.
Either way...
back to our current problem... Bonnie.
She may think she's hiding from me but I can read her like a book. I understand her hatred towards us, I do. In a lot of ways, it is justified by the gossip Caroline has told me.
But... She's a witch... a supernatural creature just like me. I've met many witches more brutal and bloodthirsty than most vampires. Just because we need blood to live doesn't mean we're any worse or better than witches. Due to the contrary belief of many witches, I have come across, there are humans who are vampire fanatics that gladly would be blood donors. Therefore, killing does not have to be a part of the vampire package anymore. A vampire can live off a donor for a long time if he or she can control herself.
My point is, that in the grand scheme of things (especially to humans), we're all in the same boat here. I was hunting vampires for a sport, so I should understand her point of view better than anyone.
When it comes down to it I'm fine with her not liking me, but for the sake of our group, I have to at least pretend that we get along. I need to get her safely out of here... or else they would never ... I would never ... forgive me.
From what I've learned Bonnie is the type to sacrifice everything for everyone but herself. She's a good person and good people don't deserve this... To constantly be dragged into a mess that was not theirs, to begin with, sucks enough as is. But to get the bad end of the bargain every time... Now that's beyond bad luck. It's simply idiocy.
I can't believe she hasn't stopped helping these idiot friends of hers already. And this time I had to be dragged into it too. I came to Mystic Falls for Damon for the most part, but also for Stefan. Not to babysit their three little bratty, helpless girlfriends.
I sighed heavily.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when a cold hand was placed on my back. I was wearing a top that left my back exposed. I felt a chill go through my whole body and the feeling of wanting to hurl shortly followed. I quickly stepped forward and placed my pancake batter on the counter. I've been making food for Bonnie trying to break the ice. I was a bit rusty though so the first few attempts failed but I think I've gotten the hang of it, however that's beside the point.
"You've got tattoos?" Bonnie stated, more like a question than a discovery.
She jumped back a little as I moved away from her. I turned to face trying to contain myself. We made eye contact and suddenly she froze, staring into nothingness with a blank expression on her face. I looked at her confused and waved a hand in front of her face.
"Hello? Bennet?" I said and snapped my fingers in front of her eyes.
Suddenly she shook her head and looked back at me with an analyzing gaze.
"Has no one ever told you not to touch people without their permission?" I asked sternly hiding my annoyance and anger.
No one has ever been allowed to touch my tattoos, especially the one on my back without permission. It was as if she couldn't even hear me. She opened her mouth to speak and it was as if the whole world slowed down.
"Who's Dean?" She asked studying me closely.
I hadn't heard that name in a long while and every time I did it brought up memories I would like to forget. I wanted to move on but bringing up Dean, not only brought up Jacob, Ben, and Darius...
Like a train ramming into my head, the name 'Niklaus' started slithering around in my head. Ripping up feelings and memories I did not need and wanted to throw into the deepest sea. stabbing at my heart, exposing something deep in me I wanted to keep hidden from my new acquaintances in Mystic Falls.
I understood what had happened. I had seen it before. Witches sometimes have visions when they touch someone and that was what happened here. She must have gotten a vision of Him when she touched something infused with His magic. I had no way of knowing what or how much she saw.
My face expressed no feelings but I felt a deep rage bubble inside me. I could feel my fangs extend and sharpen, the veins under my eyes twist and slither like snakes, hungry for blood, for death. I kept my mouth and eyes shut, trying to not look at Bonnie and further push my anger.
I could feel the determination in Bonnie's stare as she watched me but I could also sense the fear. I leaned back and grabbed the kitchen counter behind me trying to calm down, opening my eyes but keeping my gaze on the floor without prevailing. The more I focused on trying to center myself the angrier I got. My breathing came out in heavy pants.
I've worked hard to make her trust me and now it may crumble because of this.
She stepped over a line. She breached my privacy and stole memories that didn't belong to her. Suddenly a loud crashing sound echoed through the room as the wooden counter splintered beneath my fingers. I felt the blood start to slide down my hands but I ignored it and the pain.
Bonnie must have understood the situation as she stepped away from me. I glanced up at her and she gasped. I expected my eyes were blood red and my face was twisted into something monstrous. I stared at her as if she was prey because that was exactly what my brain was telling me she was. She had information no one should have, especially a blabbermouthed, teenage child.
I caught myself before it all boiled over. I was quick and got out of the Salvatore mansion and ran into the woods. I stopped in the middle of the forest and started swinging. I hit the first tree and my fist went straight through it. I heard a creaking sound as it crashed to the ground with a loud thud. But that didn't stop me because who would ever hear it? Bonnie and I were the only ones here. I continued throwing punches until the suppressed rage was out of my body and I had tired myself out.
When I snapped back to reality I glanced around myself and it was as if something had exploded... and I was standing in the center of it. The trees around me were smithereens, what was left of them formed a perfect circle around me.
"Great... Conspiracy theorists would have loved to find this..." I mumbled as I started walking towards town.
I was still not ready to go back to Bonnie. I had to be ready for her constant questioning without losing it again.
I've been burying who I was ever since I came to Mystic Falls and that must be almost over a year now. It used to be easy, hiding my inner ripper. I could easily stay emotionless, but I could kill and maim as much as I liked back then. It was a release. I can't do that here, not anymore. It's not "accepted" by the ones I surround myself with nowadays.
Matt... If he ever knew about this he would never look at me the same way again...
He's waiting for my return... Elira's return, not Scarlett's.
I have to stay on the right path... I simply have to.
I was walking down the towns main street going through the park when I heard a sound from behind me.
"That's impossible..." I mumbled to myself.
"We're the only ones here." I scanned the surrounding area on high alert, I knew there was something off about this place. I had the feeling that someone was watching us but I decided to ignore it on Bonnies orders.
Then I heard the sound again.
"There!" I stated, turned around, and ran in the direction of the sound.
I ended up on the other side of the park looking down on a man sitting, leaning back on one of the garden benches. He didn't acknowledge me as he spoke with a clever smile on his face;
"Took you long enough."
"I'm Malachai but you can call me Kai." He said turning his gaze to me with a clever smile on his face.
I felt a deep distrust towards him the second he looked at me. I decided to remain quiet as his gaze caught mine, letting him continue his... monologue. He studied me closely, gazing deep into my eyes as if he was searching for something.
"There's something ancient about you. I can see it in your eyes..." He smiled but it was no normal smile, I could see the mischief in his eyes, in his smile, clear as day. I was in no mood for childish games, so I was quick to interrupt him.
"What do you want?" I asked in a deep monotone voice.
"Getting straight to the point, huh? No 'who are you?', 'Why are you here?', 'Why reveal yourself now?'?" He asked humorously but I could see the annoyance in his eyes. I had ruined his game.
"Why would I? You have obviously been watching us. I've felt it. You must already know our names, but I doubt that it tells you much about who I am. You have been keeping a low profile to check us out... See how much of a threat we are, and since you have not attacked, and instead decided to reveal yourself like this probably means you need something." I paused studying him for a quick second before I finished.
"Now, what is it?" I stated coldly.
Kai was keeping a straight face but the annoyance and deep anger were clear in his eyes.
"You're smart, I'll give you that, Elira." he paused taking a deep breath as he rose from the chair.
"I would say that I was going to kill you. However, I saw what you did in the woods just now, and as you said decided against it." He started taking a dramatic break as he rose from the bench.
"I need something from you and you need something from me... because I know how to get us out of here." He said turning towards me, standing there calmly and confidently. I knew deep down that whatever came next would end badly but I decided to listen to what he had to say...
----------After Kai betrays them and temporary steals Bonnies powers-------
I stood protectively in front of Bonnie as I watched Kai reveal his true self. I knew it, he was playing us all along. He looked at us with sadism clear in his eyes.
"Bonnie... get out of here," I commanded. She was bleeding and it was overwhelming my senses. Kai had shot her with a crossbow just as she finished the spell to unlock his siphoning powers again. He had tricked us into believing the spell would open a portal back home.
I bit my wrist and held it behind me for Bonnie to reach.
"Drink," I said sternly keeping a close eye on Kai. She didn't protest as her mouth covered my wrist and drank deeply. Why isn't he attacking us?
"Why are you just standing there?" I growled at him.
A humourous smirk appeared on his face.
"There's no fun in killing you already, now is there? We are after all stuck here for all eternity together." He stated the twisted rage inside his eyes shining bright. That's when I realized something important.
"Look at you," I started rising to my full height.
"An abandoned child throwing a tantrum because mommy and daddy didn't love him enough. How pathetic." He loved games... childish games.
The games only a person with deeply rooted issues would like. I did follow the evolution of the subject of psychology in the 1800-1900s. I found it fascinating.
"Go on, Bennet. Leave. He won't stop you. Will you, Kai?" I asked him tauntingly. Kai's angry gaze burned into my eyes. His focus was on me. I hurt his pride. He will not let the game end now, he needs at least one of us alive.
"Leave," Kai stated without looking at Bonnie. I felt Bonnie take a step closer to me and place something in my hand. I kept my gaze on Kai, not letting my eyes falter. It was a bag filled with a liquid. I instantly knew what it was, a blood bag with human blood.
"Drink this... I know you don't want to. But just one more time, you have to." She said as I heard her turn and leave.
She eventually discovered that I wasn't feeding. I had to explain that I drank from vampires and she had connected the dots. The only other vampire she knew of that did that was Mikael. Who she had met. She knew his mannerisms and connected them to me. Finally realizing he was my sire... or maker if you'd like. I also believe something in the vision she had of Dean revealed helped too. She is a smart one. She had forced me to drink human blood over the past few weeks to make me ready in case something like this happened. However, I didn't tell her what really happens to me when I forget myself and drink too much. Her footsteps grew faint in my vampire's ears before I moved.
"Aren't you going to drink it, vampire?" Kai asked looking me up and down threateningly.
"You heard what she said. I don't drink human blood..." I started lifting the bag into my line of vision.
"A vegan vampire? Interesting. So you live off animals then." I smiled cleverly and shook my head in response.
I could see confusion in his gaze as he stood there looking arrogant.
"Guess again, little witch." I chuckled lowly. I could see his brain working overtime, trying to figure out what I was saying. I ignored him and continued my monologue.
"Bonnie gave me this bag because she knows that in the weeks? months? we've been here I haven't feed once." Kai raised his shoulder suddenly being on guard of my statement.
"I can go without feeding for ages. It's one of the perks of living for a long time, you learn many interesting tricks." I smirked evilly and took a step closer to him.
Parts of my statement were a lie but he didn't have to know that. I had after all gone a month or two while we were here without any sustenance.
"Maybe she's right. Maybe I'd like a little boost." I chuckled humourlessly as I lifted the bag in front of my eyes and squeezed it until it exploded. The blood running down my hand. I lifted the back to my mouth, biting it and sucking in some of the blood. I felt the warm feeling of it fill my senses when I felt a pain in my head.
I grabbed my head leaning forward in pain, smearing blood all over my face. It took me a moment to gather myself resisting his weak stolen powers. He had simply caught me off guard.
"Is that all you've got, buddy? You must be really out of training." I laughed as I licked the blood off my hand feeling the human blood surging through my veins once again. I could feel my heartbeat quicken in excitement for a hunt.
Kai had pure rage burning in his eyes.
"Haven't you figured it out yet, Malachai? Who am I? " I teased taking a step closer.
"I can give you a hint? I'm one of the oldest vampires in the world. You should have heard of me... or are you really that uneducated?" I smirked walking around studying the forest we were standing in.
Kai remained quiet.
"Need another one?" I asked turning to him.
"Elira' is not my real name," I said and stepped into his personal bubble as I smiled sweetly at him.
My fangs on full display. I hadn't had this much fun in a long while. The old me was scratching the surface, she wanted to come out and play. Ground yourself, Elira. Remember who you are. Remember Matt. Remember how human he is, hold on to that.
"Another one? really, Kai?" I said lifting my hand close enough to almost touch his face.
He could snap my neck if he wanted but that would be a great hit to his ego. I knew people like him... I was 'people like him'.
"Fine. They called me a myth, they called me a legend-" Then he finally interrupted me.
"When the day goes dark.
She has left her mark
You should get to bed,
because the streets will soon turn red.
You better hide,
because the scarlet night has arrived."
Kai said the children's rhyme almost like a chant ... a mantra.
"The humans always referred to the scarlet night as a dangerous time of the night, to teach children to not stay out too late. Us witches, however... we knew better. You're 'her', aren't you? You're The Scarlett Night." Kai laughed as I nodded at him.
"I don't believe it! My childhood inspiration and my favorite fairytale are standing right in front of me! How extraordinarily... disappointing." Kai laughed humourlessly and manically, but I could see him trying to hide the flash of fear in his eyes.
"You must have grown weak and soft for hanging with children like Bonnie! I don't believe you. You can be 'her'..." He trailed of licking his lips, a mere half a meter separating us.
"...prove it." he finished like a command.
I laughed a humorless laugh back at him loudly in response.
"Dance monkey, dance. Is that how we're doing this?" I asked tilting my head to the side. Staring him dead in the eye.
"You can always share something with me, a memory. Something Scarlett Night would be known for doing" Kai smiled cleverly gesturing elegantly with his hand at hour heads. Me being in no mood to fight him huffed and closed the little space that was left between us.
"... you know what? Fine." I said as I placed both my hands on each side of his head.
"No tricks." he warned me with seriousness in his eyes.
"No tricks," I repeated.
I took a deep breath as I felt him let down his guard so I enter his head. I decided to show him images of me murdering the entire Sleepy Hollow coven and a lot of citizens of Sleepy Hollow. However, I altered my appearance, hiding my suicide attempt, and left the Hollow brothers out of it.
As I had him distracted by the violent images I slithered myself into his memories. I could feel him enjoying me murdering them and I soon realized why. In his memories I found him murdering his family and getting locked up in this world as punishment. However, there was one very important part of the memory that caught my attention, a familiar face. Joe... Alaric's girlfriend, only much younger.
When both he and I had seen enough I released his head. I knew his stolen powers from Bonnie were weakening. He needed to stay connected to her to be able to keep his powers strong since he was a siphoner. Now that she's not here and he is no longer in any physical contact with her, it would be like dealing with any normal human being.
"It is you..." he trailed off taking a short step away from me.
His face remains emotionless. I saw it coming before he did it but I didn't stop it. I needed him to know who he was dealing with. He grabbed a stake from his back pocket and jammed it into my chest, piercing my heart. I felt a pinch of pain but after all these years of torture, this was like being tickled.
Honestly, it's getting boring, people trying to kill me like this.
"...which means you're a threat to my mission." He said with a smirk as he let go of the stake in my chest. His smirk quickly faltered falters as I pulled the stake out of my chest with ease.
"You truly believe I survived for so long by being a normal vampire," I growled lowly with a hint of threatening humor in my voice. I took a quick inhale of breath as I fiddled the stake between my fingers and my wound completely healed in a manner of seconds.
"You know, Malachai. I've wished to die for such a long time. Therefore if you want to kill me I highly encourage you to do so..." I paused taking a deep breath before I continued.
"However, I do not know how high your chances are since people have tried so many God-forsaken times throughout my lifetime, in every way you might be able to imagine. Still, here I am." I smiled as I saw a worried look on Kai's face appear for a few seconds only for it to disappear and be replaced by his usual emotionless, yet sadistic expression.
"I might say that we are in the same boat, aren't we, Kai? You're stuck here as a punishment for killing your family, and endless loop of the same day and I can never die. The perfect pairing I must say" I smirked as surprise appeared on his face by my knowledge of his past.
"So you read my mind... I said no tricks!" He growled like a child throwing a tantrum. I decided to ignore him and continue my monologue.
"Now, we can continue this fun game. I'm all for it but know I was you before you even existed. I have over 800 years' worth of experience and pain tolerance." I smiled wide-eyed and sadistically at him as I stepped close enough for our lips to almost brush up against each other. I knew that he couldn't hurt me. His power had definitely disappeared by now. There would be no point in killing him since this is a prison. He would just respawn as the day repeated itself, as I am sure he knew.
"Also, I should remind you that I am every possible manner of Immortal, and you are oh so very mortal," I said leaning close to his ear and licking my lips.
"Which means I can actually kill you, over and over, and over again." I could feel him smirk playfully at the challenge. His whole body language appeared less tense at my suggestion and somewhat excited.
I could feel Scarlett lurking behind my eyes, wanting to control our next steps.
Donovan is waiting for you. Control yourself...
Keep yourself human, you can't switch it off now.
human, human, human... human!
The presence of Matt's humanity echoed through my head like a sweet song. However, I felt another presence too, Scarlett. And her song was dark and alluring in nature. The two songs playing in my head like a competition between two teenagers who has vastly different music taste, and trying to drown each other out.
My focus on my internal battle was distracted when a heartbeat reached my ears, a third heartbeat... Bonnie. Bonnies's presence was much more physical than the two in my head, and therefore a bigger concern. She must have left only long enough for her wounds to heal and then returned, which means she must have heard everything. She knows too much about me now... and that's a real problem...
End of Chapter 40
I hope you guys enjoyed this little snip of what Elira and Bonnie experienced in the prison dimension with Kai. I'd love to hear from you in the comments! And if you really liked it please leave a vote... or don't. Either way, have a super day, and stay safe in these COVID-19 times!
Until Next Time
~Eldriel