Chapter 24

Elizabeth Davenport stared longingly outside the French windows to the garden of the Bed and Breakfast, thinking of only one word. One word that kept returning to her mind.

Freedom.

She wanted to be free of Danae. She wanted to be free of the Vampire Council. She wanted to be free so that she can go outside without feeling eyes on her, without seeing glimpses of a red-headed woman, bent on killing her, everywhere. She wanted to be free of everything and just return back to her old place.

Elizabeth glowered at the frayed cuffs of her old laced nightgown. Right now, she would trade anything just to be back to the year 1869. If she could return back, everyone would win. Elizabeth would be back to her beloved hometown, the Vampire Council would have an easier job of just tracking down one Danae, not Danae and Elizabeth. And Danae's problem about Elizabeth having her powers would be...gone.

Angrily, she pulled at a loose thread of the frayed left cuff. It broke free of the cuff and floated slowly to the floor.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the garden. Elizabeth blinked slowly and saw that it was Elena, slowly approaching a small chipmunk. Her cupped hands held a handful of small nuts. Elizabeth smiled when the chipmunk got close to Elena and then darted away, causing the nuts to scatter across the grass.

Then, Elizabeth felt her smile slowly fade when another figure appeared behind Elena, a figure with vivid red hair.

' Elena!' Elizabeth screamed, banging the the window furiously, causing a small crack to appear. ' Elena!' she screamed again, trying the lock on the window. When they didn't open, Elizabeth ran for the door and found that it also wouldn't open. Picking up the chair from the dresser, Elizabeth threw it at the window and the glass shattered easily.

Leaping through the broken window, she landed lightly amidst the broken glass and felt some cut her bare feet and hands but she didn't care. Her vision was clouded with fury.

No one must die over me, she thought over and over again as she ran towards Elena.

Elena's look of relief at Elizabeth's arrival didn't last long. Her eyes widened at something behind Elizabeth and she reacted a little too late. A pair of big and very muscly hands clamped around her slim wrists, holding her back.

Danae watched as Elizabeth tried to free herself in genuine amusement. ' Don't try to fight him, Lizzie, or I shall have to use Elena to feed my army.'

Elizabeth froze and glared at Danae with so much hatred that Danae's composure broke a little and even Elena's face paled. ' Let her go,' she snarled.

Danae looked at her with a mock disapproving look on her face. ' Tsk, tsk, tsk. What would your mother think of you right now, Lady Elizabeth Davenport? Not behaving ladylike at all.'

' I don't know what my mother would think,' Elizabeth began slowly,' but I know what I'm thinking.'

Danae raised one eyebrow and looked at her. ' All right. I'll humor you. What are you thinking?'

Elizabeth smiled sweetly. ' I'm thinking that you should just go to he-' Her words were cut short when Elena screamed.

' I don't think I like how you're behaving, Lizzie. I came here to discuss a...proposal.'

' Proposal?' Elizabeth repeatedly blankly.

' Yes, proposal. I need you to come to the Arc de Triomphe to help me open the door. In return for helping me, I will give you Elena. It's quite simple actually and it's a win-win situation. You get to save Elena and I get my body.'

' The door?' Elizabeth asked again, feeling slightly woozy.

Danae sighed and when she spoke again, she spoke slowly, as if talking to an incompetent child. ' Yes, Lizzie, door. The thing that opens when you want to go to another room or place. My body lies beyond that door and I need your blood to do open it.'

Elizabeth looked up at her. ' What makes you think I will comply?'

Danae blinked, then looked vaguely annoyed. ' Well, I was under the impression that you didn't want anymore people to die because of you, but I guess I was wrong.' Quick as a flash of lightning, she took her dagger from her belt and pressed the tip of the blade to Elena's throat. Elizabeth saw a bead of blood appear.

Then, Danae released the dagger from Elena's throat and stared at Elizabeth icily. ' You see, Elizabeth, I still have some compassion in me, so I will give you one night to think about it.'

' One night?!'

' Yes. Which means I expect you to either arrive at the Arc tomorrow and help me or don't show up and Elena...becomes breakfast.'

The hands around the wrists loosened and Elizabeth felt painful prickles as the blood rushed hurriedly.

Feigning surrender, Elizabeth looked at the ground. ' Fine, I'll come tomorrow.'

Danae laughed. ' I thought so. I know you, Lizzie, and you hate to let people down. Shall we shake on it?' She offered her free hand out.

Elizabeth looked at it and started forwards. When she was close enough to Danae, she offered a hand as of to shake hers but instead knocked the knife out of her hands. Elizabeth was about to do more damage to the redhead when another pair of hands locked around her wrists.

' Let me go,' she yelled and punched the man who was holding her. Searing pain shot through her hand but Elizabeth felt relieved because the man was actually hurt.

When she turned around, she found the garden completely empty except for Danae's dagger on the ground, with a drop of Elena's blood still on it.


Stefan slowly opened his eyes when he felt something cold touch his face. His vision slowly cleared and he saw Elizabeth standing right in front of him, holding a large empty bucket.

' Why am I wet?' he asked her, confused when he felt water drip down his hair.

' I tried to wake you up,' she said and began untying the black velvet ropes that bound him tightly.

' Why am I tied up?' he asked her again.

' Danae was here,' Elizabeth whispered.

' Danae?' Suddenly Stefan's blank look cleared. ' Where's Elena?'

' She took her.' Elizabeth looked up at him pleadingly. ' I'm so sorry! I tried to save her...but Danae had her people with her. But, I will get her. I just have to go to the Carc, i mean Arc tomorrow and that's all. But, I have to help Danae and-Oh God.' Elizabeth stopped her pointless ranting.

' What?' Stefan looked at her in alarm. ' Did she do something to Elena?'

' No. The other people. I don't know what happened to them.' Elizabeth dropped the black ropes and ran towards the stairs.

The hallway of the Bed and Breakfast was absolutely damaged. The wallpapers were stripped off the walls, the paintings torn and the frames broken. The huge vase usually situated at the centre of the hallway lay on the carpet, broken, its pieces scattered haphazardly around the room.

Thelia, the owner of the Bed and Breakfast stood at the centre of the hallway, surveying the mess. She looked up when Elizabeth and Stefan came down the stairs.

' Oh my!' she gasped when she saw the purple bruise on Stefan's forehead and the cuts on Elizabeth hands and feet. ' They got you too!'

' What do you mean?'

' The thieves, of course.' Thelia began to pick up the broken pieces of vases. ' But you know the strangest thing? They only got away with 3 Francs.'

Elizabeth hesitated for a split second and then helped Thelia clean the mess up. While she helped the with the cleaning, she felt something deep inside her heart, something that told her that Danae's proposal wasn't a simple one, wasn't a win-win situation.

It was just a win situation and that Danae might be the winner.