Timeless

Chapter 32

Klaus threw open the heavy door and dragged her inside of the room. "Let go of me," the doppelganger-recently turned vampire- protested.

"Certainly," he said releasing her once they were both inside, with the door shut safely behind them. "I apologize for the lack of windows, it's to preserve the art. And of course to prevent you from taking off your daylight ring and burning yourself to death in the sun."

The brunette scoffed, as if it was the most ridiculous suggestion she had ever heard.. "I'm not going to kill myself. I would never do that."

It was just another example of this lot's foolishness. Always rushing into things, always thinking that they had all the answers. They were like children compared to him, little children who needed constant supervision so they didn't end up drinking bleach or burning the house down while their parents were away. Their lives would be a whole lot easier if they would let bygones be bygones and just listen to him once in a while.

"Oh but you'll want to," he told her, "I did. The problem is I'm immortal." Elena's head turned up toward him. Now he had her attention. Her irritated scowl melted into one of curiosity and concern—not for him of course, but over what was about to happen to her. She had killed a Hunter and as he had said to her beloved Stefan, when a vampire kills a Hunter, there are consequences.

"You went through this?"

"Yes I did," he replied ominously, "for 52 years, 4 months and 9 days. I was tormented...my dreams...my every waking moment, relentless, never-ending torture. It's the only period of my life when I actually felt time."

He watched her staunch bravery falter, the fear of the unknown causing her to shiver. Yes it was always easy to fight the flesh and blood demons, but one's inner ghosts...now there was a true and unstoppable enemy. "So you knew this would happen if Connor died? That's why you got involved?" Did Stefan know too? Caroline?"

"Caroline knows nothing. She's tucked away in a Villa outside of Tuscany where no Hunter can touch her," Klaus said, "as for Stefan, all that he knew was that the Hunter needed to be kept alive." Klaus stepped back toward her, staring down at her, making sure she felt the true gravity of the situation, "you should have listened when he said he had it covered love."

"What else does Stefan know?"

Klaus smirked. As if he would pull up a chair and tell the doppelganger about all the secrets her vampire love was keeping from her. They both had their secrets, him and the Ripper, that they kept from the women they loved. It was mutual understanding that had renewed their tainted friendship—for the time being at least. "Well," he said, "that's one of life's little mysteries isn't it?"

"What's in this for you?" She countered. "Why do you care if I kill myself or not? Is it because of Caroline?"

He smiled. Yes, he would let her think that. He would let them all think it. Klaus had his motivations, his reasons, his own personal agenda. It was better for them to assume that, than let them discover his real reasons for needing the Hunter and Elena kept alive. He had told the Salvatores that he no longer desired to make hybrids, however Elena served him better as an insurance policy when she was human. Klaus turned from her, crossing to the door and knocking twice to signal his hybrid outside to let him out, his knuckles making a loud thumping noise against the heavy metal door.

"Well how did you make it stop?" She called after him.

Klaus stepped out into the hall and turned back, letting out a heavy sigh. A sigh that held half a century of memory and misery. "I didn't," he admitted. This time he didn't have the answers. "Eventually it just stopped."

Elena's lip quivered giving away how truly terrified she felt. Klaus could have that effect. But he saw no reason to sugarcoat what she was in for. He had no inkling as to what had finally caused his own torment to cease, so unless her friends came up with something, she was in for a very long and wretched existence inside that room.