Bad Blood || The Vampire Diaries [1]

26: The Murder of One

   Rebekah once told me the story of how her family was turned into vampires and how even as Originals they had weaknesses. One of their weaknesses was the white oak tree, the tree they burned so long ago and suddenly reappeared. That tree, the new one that had sprung from the old ones ashes, had been cut down when the Salvatore's ran the logging mill. That sign was turned into the Wickery Bride sign, the one that we had driven by so many times and took little notice to.

   Stefan, Damon, and I had taken the sign down and brought it over to Alaric's apartment early in the morning. He chopped the sign into little pieces with a saw, and Damon whittled each piece into stake, sometimes spending more time in one since Stefan wanted it to be sharper. It was then that I knew that we'd be able to kill the Originals. They were linked together by Elena's blood due to some spell Esther created, which meant if one was killed the rest would follow.

   As I watched Damon and Stefan demonstrate how they would kill any of the Originals, I bit my bottom lip and thought; could I go on with murdering the family that took care of me when I was a rabid vampire? Could I go through with killing Elijah, Rebekah, or even Klaus? Deep inside, I knew that I couldn't. There was no way that I could plunge a stake through their hearts, no way that I could kill them. The three of them had been such dear friends, especially Rebekah and Elijah. 

   Rebekah had been like my sister, with care and laughter and merry enjoyment since the day I met her. Although she didn't like me at first, we became good friends with passing time. She told me her story, about the many times she fell in and out of love. She told me that it would happen to me, that I would soon fall out of love with Damon. And maybe, she was right. My feelings for him weren't as strong as they were before, but they were still there. Feelings could not be erased so simply, there had to be patience and time, but I was impatient and stuck in time.

   Elijah. My dear Elijah was the sweetest thing I'd ever met. Ever since he first found me, he had treated me like a friend. He spoke dearly, acted dearly, took me all over the world and allowed me to explore who I was. He taught me how to live, how to accept the fact that I was a vampire and could no longer return as a human no matter how much I desired. In a way, I could even say that he was my teacher, my mentor. Like Professor Remus Lupin being Harry Potter's mentor, or even Hagrid or Dumbledore. There was no doubt in my mind that I would not be able to kill Elijah. Especially, not Elijah.

  And then there was Klaus, the most infamous vampire in the history of vampires that one could even call him Lucifer. He had done so many horrible things, yet I couldn't find it in myself to kill him. Of course, he had compelled away so many memories that were filled with good and bad moments, and I would still not remember them if it weren't for Rebekah, but... Each moment that I thought of driving a stake through his chest, there would be a but, a pause. I had kissed that man, treated him like a lover and a friend, and I couldn't find it in myself to kill him. So, how could I be included in the Save Elena Squad?

   "Clara?" The soft voice made me shake my head and return to reality. Stefan stood in front of me, his hands on my shoulders and eyes filled with curiosity. "Are you okay?"

   I swallowed and nodded. "Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was–I was just thinking."

   "About?"

   "So many things," I answered, crossing my arms and turning away. "I'm thinking about so many things..."

   Stefan kept his eyes on me for several seconds, but then nodded and turned. He moved back to the circle where Damon, Caroline, Elena, and Matt stood. "We have thirteen stakes, thirteen shots at killing one Original. We can do this." He looked at each person, grabbed a crossbow from besides a tree, and handed it to Elena. "Elena, grab a crossbow. Matt, you play Klaus."