𝟏• 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂 | 𝐓𝐕𝐃 ✓

TWENTY-SIX [UNEDITED]

Aurelia turned around to sleep on her side, adjusting the covers a little in order for them to actually cover her.

Just as she was about to fall asleep again, she heard the loud sound of metal hitting metal. She shot up, gasping in shock. She blinked a few times, got out of bed and went to the washroom to wash her face. When she came out, she immediately sped down the stairs and into the living room. "Stefan?" She called. "Damon?"

She walked downstairs to the cellar, spotting the Younger Salvatore. "Stefan, what on earth- oh." She said, looking at the giant safe Damon had moved to the cellar. "Elena's in there, isn't she?"

"Yup." Stefan answered, pressing his lips into a straight line. She looked at her. "Good Morning, by the way."

"It's 10:00 am." She said. "I don't wake up by 8:00 tomorrow, pour cold water on my face." Stefan close-mouthed his laugh, as Aurelia smiled.

"Come on." He said. "Let's make you some breakfast."

"It's all about the coffee, Stef." She said, walking up the stairs with him. They walked to the kitchen in silence, and Aurelia took a seat at the counter as Stefan went to the other side, going to the fridge. "I know I had 10 hours of sleep, but a loud noise is not the right way to wake up." She said. "I realize that now." She rested her cheek on the counter, waiting for the coffee to be ready.

Soon enough, a coffee mug was placed in front of her face, as she sat up, holding the handle. "Drink." He said. She looked at him, and smiled.

He frowned as he saw her face in the light. She was unnaturally pale, and there were dark circles underneath her eyes. She had become thinner overall, and he was slightly alarmed.

This had been happening for days, but it was significantly worse now. Stefan and Damon had been talking about it when Aurelia was out of earshot, just to prevent her from knowing about it. She somehow didn't notice it herself.

"What's wrong?" She asked. He shook his head, smiling.

"Nothing." He said. "So, how are you feeling, in terms of health and all?"

"I feel okay, but my bones feel heavier for some reason." Stefan didn't let his expression falter.

"I think you need some blood." He said, as she took another sip of the coffee. "Yeah, a little blood should help."

!

"Where is she?" Caroline asked. "I wanna see her."

"We're not letting anyone see her." Stefan said. "That's the whole point. Isolation leads to misery leads to emotion."

"Well, she hasn't improved at all." Aurelia said.

"She doesn't want to." Stefan stated. "Not yet. She's devastated, she lost her brother, she attacked her friend and she killed someone."

"You said that you know how to help her." Caroline said.

"We do." Aurelia cut in. "And we are."

"What, how? By torturing her?" Caroline asked.

"Yes." Aurelia said.

"No." Stefan said at the same time. Aurelia looked at him.

"Okay, so we haven't been successful in generating any positive emotion, so from my experience... we make her life absolutely miserable." She said.

"No, we're not doing that." Stefan said.

"I thought we were." Aurelia said, lowering her voice. "We haven't made any progress the other way around."