"Are we out of the woods yet? Are we in the clear yet?..."
Elena Gilbert thought she knew pain, she was not even close. Eudora- a powerful elemental witch- knew pain, she knew loss, mourning and grief better than any other. Her sisters were parts of...
Stefan Salvatore allowed his brilliant apple green eyes to flicker down at the stunning blonde girl on his arm as they slowly progressed down the stairs into the backyard of the Lockwood mansion. It had been a week and a half since Eudora had returned to the Salvatore Boarding House with a solemn expression and his worry had not shifted. In the time since then, a civil war was occurring between the vampires and the Hunter. Elena had recently killed said hunter and overtaken the hunter's curse... Through all of it, despite how much they needed her, Eudora had stayed far away from the drama.
And Stefan knew how wildly out of character that was for her, but he had not managed to get a single response from her on the topic of her recent move shift. He had internally taken it upon himself to stay with her, and help her no matter what, even if he did not know why she was acting that way.
"Brother... Witchy" Damon's voice clipped and they turned to him, taking in his pursed smile and glittering blue eyes. The man winked at the short girl, knowing from his stressing brother that she was not okay. She just nodded and turned her gaze quickly away to assess the garden as Damon and Stefan engaged in a conversation about some man named Shane. It went unnoticed to the men but was abundantly clear to the observing witch when Caroline came marching over.
"And where have you been?" the female vampire demanded, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she stared deeply at the little blonde in front of her. Stefan's eyes whipped around when he heard the accusing tone and he sighed at the expression on Caroline's face.
"Caroline" he warned but she was having none of it.
"No Stefan! Someone needs to say it. What the hell is going on with you, Dora? Now is not the time to be having a mid-life crisis! So either snap out of it and get to helping or tell us what is wrong so we can help you!" Caroline persisted, crossing her arms angrily over her chest and Eudora blinked at her for a long moment, blue eyes blinking before she made Caroline even angrier. The blonde witch turned on her heel and walked away in the opposite direction as if she hadn't heard the Mystic Falls queen at all. "Sort her out, Stefan. We need her." Caroline huffed and stormed off just as the other blonde had.
Stefan and Damon exchanged glances, sighing together before they separated and Stefan went chasing after his girlfriend. She didn't stop when he called her, and they soon found themselves in an empty part of the garden. The man skidded in front of her, holding her shoulders to keep her in place as his eyes glazed over in concern.
"What is wrong, Dora? Just tell me. Please, I just want to help you."
"I don't want to hurt you." her voice was hollow but her eyes held a million emotions her face refused to make. He stared into the whirlpool of her cerulean blue eyes for the longest moment before he spoke again, in a controlled, thoughtful manner.
"Dora, please. Whatever it is, it will be okay? Nothing you say is going to hurt me as much as it pains me to see you ripping yourself apart over it." his tone was soft and she looked down at their hands, a tear falling as she spoke again.
"I need you to keep an open mind Stefan." he nodded hastily when she said that. "Soulmates... They are complicated things. I didn't even know it was possible until it was too late."
"What is it, Dora?" Stefan breathed out, taking her cheeks softly in his.
"I was pregnant" she returned, voice shuddering with only the three words and he blinked at her, frozen like a statue in his spot.
"Was?" with the hollow tone of his voice, and the emotions in his eyes, she sobbed and his eyes closed tightly because he realised the truth.
"When Connor stabbed me-- He... It... I'm so sorry Stefan" she sobbed brokenly and he pulled her instantly into his chest, cradling her tightly even as his face remained stony. That was the first time Stefan and Eudora mourned over what had happened. Because even though they never got to fully appreciate the prospect of a child, it was agonising to have lost it.
Somewhere, deep within the sadness as Stefan held her together in the green garden of the Lockwood property... There was hope. Because they knew then that they could. Having a child was a possibility.
