An Elemental Difference - FIRE - Book 2 (Stefan Salvatore)

Chapter 36 - Is it physically possible for her to flood us with her tears?

AN: Sorry for the dealy, I've been a little (read: a lot!) frustrated by a particular scene a few episodes ahead, so I took a little break. I can see the scene so vividly, but writing it down has become a bit of a challenge. Hopefully I can get past this soon, I'm hoping your amazing thoughts on this new chapter will inspire xoxo 

SLATER'S RESIDENCE

Aella swallowed nervously as Elena knocked on the door Rose had identified as Slater's; her eyes darted around. Something did not feel right. However, no matter how much Elena knew of her connection to her magic, Aella knew at that moment Elena was too focused to care. When Elena was this intent, she was as stubborn as a mule; it was a trait Aella saw as a positive and a negative. Now? As her magic bubbled within her, Aella hated this trait.

"Slater? Slater, it's Rose. Open up!"

After a few minutes of knocking, Aella clapped her hands happily when no one came to the door, "Looks like Slater skipped town. Shall we forget this endeavor and actually go shopping?"

Elena ignored Aella's suggestion, "We didn't come all the way out here for nothing."

Rose forced the door open. As she and Elena entered, Aella glanced up at the sky, "Is this penance for being such a pain in the ass?" When no one answered, she groaned and followed the girls in, only to freeze as Rose let out a sharp gasp. Going against everything her magic was telling her, Aella ran further into the apartment, stumbling as she saw Rose looking down on Slater's dead - well - dead-dead body.

Rose couldn't look away from her friend's body, "I don't think he's gonna be much help."

"Elijah," Aella concluded, stepping next to Rose. She looked at Rose, "I'm sorry."

Rose merely shrugged. Slater was a friend; however, after the death of Trevor, Rose wasn't sure she'd feel a death more agonizing than his.

Elena was already rifling through the papers on Slater's desk, "Elijah must have been looking for something here."

"He's obviously taken anything of importance, E," Aella told her best friend. If Elijah had killed Slater, why leave anything to help them.

"But why kill Slater?" Elena asked the two.

Rose glanced at Slater's work, "Slater was a vampire almanac. Knowing too much information just bit him in the ass."

Aella walked over to the window, suspiciously looking out for Elijah. She knocked on the window as Rose approached her, "Is this what I think it is?"

Rose nodded and pulled open the curtains. Elena frowned at Aella's unanswered question, "What is it?"

"Tempered glass," Rose answered, glancing down at her new ring. "U.V. rays can't penetrate. I used to just come here and watch the day."

Aella watched Rose; the vampire stared out of the window intensely. "It must have been so hard." Rose looked at her with a raised brow, and Aella continued, "So close to normality, yet...."

"Yet, a million miles away too," Rose added sadly. "The price of immortality."

Aella moved back to Elena, leaving Rose alone with her own thoughts. Elena was standing at one of the computers, "Anything?"

The doppelganger shook her head with frustration, "It's password protected. I can't get in."

Suddenly they heard the noise of a doorknob rattling. To Aella's displeasure, the noise was inside the apartment. Rose was immediately at their side, "Stay here."

Rose was gone for a few seconds, enough time for Aella to feel unsure. Moving to follow where Rose had gone, Elena grabbed Aella's arm and hissed, "Rose said stay here."