you'll find me here forever ➳ kol mikaelson [ the vampire diaries ]

☆ 4.27 ~ my eyes

trigger warning: mentions of past abuse (jace), mentions of torture (trying to get her humanity back on), neglectful parents (grayson and miranda)

oh, the devil's inside
you opened the door you gave him a ride
too young to know, too old to admit
that you couldn't see how it ends
~ the lumineers, my eyes

Elena knew that Lydia wasn't a child anymore. She was a grown woman, nearing twenty years of age. Everything that she had been through had aged her though. She seemed much older than she actually was, but whenever Elena looked at Lydia, all she saw was her younger sister. That's what she saw now as she gazed at her, which was why it was so hard. Her sister looked so helpless and innocent in this very moment. Elena wanted nothing more than to untie her from the chair that she was chained to, but Elena knew better than to do that. It took Klaus, Kol, and a decent amount of vervain to keep her down.

They were keeping her in the cellar of the Mikaelson Manor for now as they tried to help her turn her switch back on completely. It was difficult since none of them knew which was closest to her humanity. The obvious choice was Kol, but seeing him could do one of two things for Lydia. Either they would be successful and Kol would be able to help Lydia, or seeing him would push her further away and she would shut it off.

Elena was the first to see her along with Stefan since Lydia was the least hurt by the two of them. That's why she was now standing by his side, waiting for her to wake up.

"You know that this isn't your fault, right?" Stefan asked gently from her side."There is nothing that you could've done to stop this. Lydia has dealt with a lot of pain over the years. I'm honestly surprised that this didn't happen sooner."

"And I contributed to that pain," Elena reminded him."She could've died today. She should've died today. If she was just a regular vampire. . ."

Stefan frowned and tilted his head to get a better look at Lydia."What are you talking about?"

Elena bit down on her bottom lip, turning to face Stefan. She hadn't told anyone what happened yet and Kol was the only other person who knew, unless he had told his family."When Lydia almost killed me, she stopped because Damon staked her. It went right through her heart and she should've been dead, but it didn't kill her."

Stefan's eyes widened upon hearing this. He didn't know what shocked him more. That Damon would actually try to kill Lydia or that Lydia couldn't be killed by a regular stake. He was angered by his brother's actions, of course. He knew that Damon and Lydia didn't get along once she started dating Kol and that nothing had changed, but Lydia was important to both Elena and Stefan, that should've meant something to him. It took every ounce of self control that Stefan had to stay where he was and not immediately go find Damon.

"He said that he wanted to save my life," Elena continued, rubbing at her left arm with her hand."I understand that. But he didn't need to hurt Lydia to do that. He knows that I would rather it be me if one of us had to go. And I know that it wasn't my fault, but this isn't the first time that Damon hurt Lydia. She said she was fine with it, when I asked her. She said she no longer cared, but I do. I don't think that I can be with someone who doesn't at least respect my family."