VIENNA--••--DS&SS

•• Chapter Fifty Six ••

      Vivian sat beside Stefan on the sofa. With a glass in her hand, She thought to herself as Stefan talked to Damon on the other end of the phone about the situation. She's starting to think that maybe her life is never going to be normal. With things constantly happening, and with their immoral lives always hanging on by a thread, it's a wonder how they're still here.

There's a threat at every corner; a relative back from the dead at the end of every street, a ghost with vengeance at every stop sign. Vivian doesn't know if there's anymore she can take.

Despite her own feelings, she knows she can't leave. She doesn't want to leave, not necessarily. She just wants things to stop being crazy, and draining. She wants peace and quiet, but she knows that's a lot to ask.
After chatting with Damon, Stefan told her that apparently, Damon and Elena ran into Kol on their little endeavour, meaning Klaus probably already knows where they are, regaining his title of "annoying know-it-all." 

"Come on." Stefan says, after a small while of silence. "Let's go check on Alaric." Vivian sighed and stood from her seat and followed Stefan towards the cell.  Alaric was still passed out in the ground, with a small groan of annoyance Vivian sat against the wall.

"Moby Dick. Ever read it?" Stefan said, as he grabbed the book from inside the cell and sat beside her. Vivian rolled her eyes.

"Of course. What do you think I did once I got free? Every book, every movie—I found ways to  see it all."

"Hmm. Well, how far do you think I can get before Alaric wakes up?"

Vivian smirked and for a while, she sat in silence while Stefan read quietly. It wasn't until a few hours later did Alaric groan awake.

"Welcome back." Stefan mused, as he turned his head towards the open cell.

"What happened?" He questioned.

"Bad cop." Vivian jokes to herself.

"Did I—"

"No." Stefan says, "No, you pretty much, uh, laid there dead for half the night. But on the, uh, plus side...I did almost finish reading Moby-Dick." Stefan says, as he helps Vivian stand up from her spot.

"This is stupid." Alaric chides. As he stands before the two. "Evil me, or whatever you wanna call it, he's not gonna make an appearance. Why would he? I mean, the best hiding place...is the one where you can't find the person who hit it."

"I know." Stefan agrees.

"So how do you want to do this?"

"I don't want to do any this." Stefan responded.

"That makes two of us." Vivian looked between them. Her arms crossed over her chest as stood her ground. The tension in the air almost suffocating. Her eyes watched between Stefan and Alaric, watching every move. Her eyes squinted as Alaric takes off his ring. "I don't think we have much choice in the matter."

"What are you doing? You need that ring."

"No, what I need is hope...that my alter ego doesn't have a death wish." He says, as he tosses his ring to the side. "So I'm taking bets that my dark side has a sense of self-preservation. So let's see if he defends himself against death."

Stefan scoffed in disbelief. "Look, Alaric, I'm not going to kill you."

"If we have any chance at this, Stefan...you're gonna have to try. If not you, her." He says, nodding to Vivian.

"I'll step in when I need to."

"And they say chivalry is dead." Alaric smirked. Vivian rolled her eyes.