[𝐈] 𝕽𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖚𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 | 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞-𝕺𝖓𝖊: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀

Chapter Thirty-One
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The Devil Returns

??, 2010
Hardy arms jostled me about as the continuous sound of harsh gravel crunched under the hefty perpetrator's feet. Although I could not see in my incapacitated state, sometimes I was able to hear, to sense the magic that flowed through the entities who visited me. Damon was the least constant visitor, right next to Jeremy who had spoken to me as most people did to coma patients. Bonnie had visited, trying to use magic to revive me, but to no avail. Giving up as quickly as she had started. Alaric would sit beside my bedside, pouring out both a glass of alcohol for himself and a shallow glass for me, knowing that in the end, it was he who would have to drink it anyway. Elena would often talk to me about her day, even if they were uneventful, these long conversations often faded in between the lines, my conscious ears could only listen for so long. Stefan would speak to me every day, every chance he could he would arrive at my bedside, holding my hand as he apologised for deceiving me, for lying to me, or conversing about my knowledge of Klaus. And finally, Caroline. She had been there often, rivalling Stefan as she read books to me in my sleep, rummaged through my drawings, hummed and sang as she did something as simple as watching TV.

From what I could recollect, I'd been left at Sheila's old house, laying in what Bonnie considered to be my room. The town believed that I was facing an untimely sickness, something my family were concerned I'd never be able to recover from. Mystic Falls Hospital had issued a statement to the school of my ability to attend, my whereabouts and condition - courtesy of Damon.

However, now my position had changed, ripped away from the comfort of my bed to the uncertainty of the cold, unfamiliar feelings around me. Since the party, Elena and Caroline had changed my clothes, washed my hair and cleaned my bedroom for my return. But, these surroundings were not my home, for my witch's garden was nowhere in reaching distance, the totem of its power yonders away from my current position.
  "Did you find it? It will be in her workings," a distant voice both inquired and notified, a certain hint of desperation behind the distantly familiar tone. Something about my workings, most likely the cure. The two only doses were concealed in my bedroom by a spell and in the currently occupied possession of Elijah Mikaelson.
  "Indeed it was. A complicated spell, this one must be important," another voice, whom I assumed the first person directed their questions to, answered in a courteous tone.
  "That she is. Be on your way." the first man said to the second, their voices becoming clearer as the first neared closer to me. His calloused hand's trail across my face, his hands human and warm but a slice of dark magic sat within, alerting me to the malice in his presence.

Bitter droplets of what I assumed to be my cure trailed down my tongue to the back of my throat, causing my body to reawaken before completely shutting down. Much like reviving after desiccation, my body would need to return to it's fixed state. Depending on how long I had been resting, my powers could return to me within seconds, reigniting my strength that had previously been lost. Footsteps trail away as my body begins to slip into darkness before it reawakens, my eyes fluttering open, the berating brightness of the dawning sun. New clothes adorned my body, as I had suspected. Checking myself in the nearby bedroom mirror, this wasn't the dress I had worn last night, even the necklace regifted to me by Elijah had disappeared. A velvet crepe shirt which strikingly resembled the dark green of winter's spiny pine trees, the deep emerald-ish colour combined with plain black straight-legged trousers, short heels which matched my new shirt, all of these belongings freshly bought. My necklace had been replaced by an emerald-looking gem which was a rectangle about two inches long and one inch wide, towards the sides a gem, a bar of diamonds encompassed the stone which led to the chain that completed the piece, dangling the gemstone directly in the centre of my chest. Hasty fingers search for my other belongings, such as my phone or, more importantly, my original necklace.