CHAPTER THREE | AGE OF INNOCENCE

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EVEN THOUGH THE HERETICS HAD STOPPED TORTURING HER, KLARA STILL WAS IN PAIN. She clutched Stefan's journal within her grasp as she read all about the history between Stefan and Valerie. Once he had written about meeting her at the county fair, he never stopped writing about her. Part of Klara wondered whether or not he wrote about her in the same depth as he did Valerie— she couldn't help but feel a little envious.

A phone vibrating against the floorboards caused Klara to glance upwards as she tried to find the direction in which the sound came from. Eventually, she reached the phone that was laid on the floor and answered it. "Hello?"

"Klara?" Stefan's dumbfounded voice echoed through the phone as Klara sighed in relief. "How are you on my phone right now?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say you probably dropped it yesterday when you were trying to carry me out of here." Klara chuckled anxiously.

"How are you?" He abruptly asked, concern in his voice. "Are you okay?"

"Apart from the fact that I'm spelled into our room by the mean girls, I'm doing okay." Klara sighed. She didn't want to admit that she was reading Stefan's journal— she couldn't.

"I know. I'm still trying to figure out a way to get into the house."

"It's okay. It'll be fine, just make sure Damon doesn't kill any more Heretics, alright?" 

"I will," Stefan promised. "Lily's only keeping you there to turn me against Damon. I'll convince her that I hate his guys and she'll have made her point."

Klara nodded as she listened to his voice. The way he cared about her lit a fire in her heart, though she couldn't help but think back to his journal— about her. "Who's Valerie Tulle? You wrote about her in your journal from 1863. Apparently, she found a copy of it in the prison world."

Silence befell the line before Stefan took a breath. "Are you talking about one of the Heretics?"

"Yeah. Dirty-blonde hair, blue eyes, psycho? Seems you have a type, Stefan Salvatore." The blonde chuckled softly but suddenly, Klara felt a hand grasp hers and her skin started to sizzle. "Oh, my God!"

"Dirty-blonde hair, blue eyes, psycho?" Valerie repeated as she watched Klara gasp in pain below her once she had taken Stefan's phone away. "Summeraized me to a T." She then kicked Klara in the face. "How do you have this?"

"Uh. That would be Nora." Klara exhaled deeply. "What happened between you and Stefan?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Valerie snickered as she clutched the dark brown journal. 

"Whatever. You know, what? I really couldn't care less about a girl that batted her eyelashes at Stefan, I don't know, nearly one-hundred and fifty years ago." Klara gave Valerie a vicious glare.

"Some girl?" The Heretic scoffed. "I wasn't just some girl to him, Klara. I was the first love of Stefan's life." She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head. "When I met Stefan, I wasn't prepared for how taken I was with him. He was gorgeous and sweet."

"Oh, right. So, that's exactly when you compelled him to write about you. You know, I've already heard this story before." Klara folded her arms across her chest. "A sweet little orphan girl named Katherine Pierce stumbled across him."

"I suppose that would have been easier, had I actually had the ability to compel people," Valerie revealed with a shrug. "I was just a witch, rejected from her coven for being an abomination of nature because I had no power of my own. The only magic I had was contained in an amulet, to be siphoned in times of need. That day, at the fair, Stefan and I wanted to elude Julian and so I spelled us to be invisible."

"And then—" Klara fearfully trailed off.

"None of your business," Valerie smirked. She knew what Klara's mind had assumed, and she enjoyed it.

"Right, okay. So, that's why you pulled the vervain-skin spell on me. It wasn't to protect me from Mary-Louise and Nora. It was so Stefan couldn't touch me." Klara chuckled softly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Kinda sad."

"Well, since you're so curious, please allow me to continue," Valerie smirked. "Stefan and I headed out into the woods and had our first kiss. The moment was perfect. Preserved by the lanterns around and that was when I found out— it was his first time. I'm sure you've been someone's first. So you know what it's like to have a completely unforgettable place in someone else's mind."

Klara exhaled deeply. "Of course. Yeah." 

"That's what I thought." Valerie chuckled as she leaned back in her chair. "Afterwards, he showed me to his mother's grave and we spoke of her death. I consoled him and told him that even though he believed it was, Lily's death was not his fault. But, then Julian arrived. He forced me to leave Stefan behind, though I promised that one day I would return."

"Little bit late, aren't you? He's moved on." Klara snapped defensively.

"With you?" Valerie chuckled softly. "Julian was in a hurry to get back to Europe. He convinced me to lie to Lily, to tell her that Stefan was happy. Believe me, Julian had a way of convincing anyone to do anything. But, I sent him a telegram telling him to meet me at noon. He waited and waited for me. With every passing footstep, he would turn, expecting to see me. Eventually, he accepted that he'd been abandoned all over again and then he walked home, under the cold and distant stars."

As Valerie dropped Stefan's journal onto the table in front of Klara, the blonde glared up at her. "How the hell could you do that to him? He loved you."

"There was a change of plan. I'm done talking to you about this." Valerie snapped and immediately left the room.

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Curiosity had gotten the better of Klara, and she continued to flip through Stefan's journal. As she read all the passages about Stefan and Valerie together, she felt her stomach begin to turn. She knew that Stefan was a vampire and had over a hundred years more life experience than her, but she truly felt like she was made for Stefan, and he for her. 

The noise of approaching footsteps caused Klara's eyes to lift up from the notebook just as Lily Salvatore stepped into Stefan's bedroom. She folded her arms across her chest and looked toward the blonde."Is Valerie here?" 

"Uh, I think she left. Thank god." The blonde rolled her eyes and let her cheek rest against her hand as she turned her attention back to the journal. "I've had quite enough of her for one day."

"I apologize. You being tortured by Nora and Mary-Louise isn't—" Lily began, but Klara's immediate chuckle cut her off.

"Look, Lily. I just spent the day listening to the story of how Stefan lost his virginity. So, I really don't feel like listening to you justify your actions, okay?" A sigh of frustration left the blonde vampire's lips. "I just— I just wanna go home, to be honest."

The Salvatore woman nodded in understanding. Her attention was taken by the journal that Klara was reading and immediately recognized it as Stefan's. "Stefan's journal. I assume reading that gives you great comfort." She tilted her head while her eyes were fixed on the blonde. "You really care about my son, don't you?"

"As it happens, yes. I love him." Klara nodded slowly and then glanced back to the journal. "He loves you, too, you know?"

"Oh, I sincerely doubt that." Lily softly spoke with a look of sadness on her face. "My sons and I don't seem to see eye-to-eye anymore."

"I mean, I can't exactly speak for Damon, but perhaps you should take a look at Stefan's journal and read what he's written about you. Here." The blonde grabbed hold of the journal and held it out for Lily to take. Lily carefully took the book and scanned the page. "He loved you. He missed you. Even though he wouldn't dare tell you— he did. And, I know that you might think that he hates you, but give it time. That's all any of us have, given we're immortal."

Lily's eyes remained fixed on the pages of her son's journal. An unreadable expression swept across her face before she moved over toward the door. "Nora. Remove the barrier spell, please?" Lily shouted in the direction of the doorway before she then turned back to Klara. "As of this moment, Miss. Adams is no longer a prisoner."

Klara warily furrowed her brows toward the Salvatore. "I— I don't understand?"

"It's a reward for Stefan's honesty. Go, before I change my mind."

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Klara wandered into the Grill where saw Stefan sitting with a glass of whisky in hand. The moment he noticed the woman he loved enter, he jumped up to his feet. "Klara!" He sighed in relief and attempted to grab her hand, though his skin burned when he touched her.

"That damn spell." Klara sighed as she heard him immediately hiss in pain. All she desperately wanted was to throw her arms around Stefan— to hug him, but she couldn't. "God. I'm sorry." 

"No. No, it's not your fault, Klara." A sigh of frustration left the Salvatore's lips once his hand healed. He furrowed his brows toward the woman he loved. "How did you escape?" 

"Oh, I didn't. Your Mom actually let me go." Klara chuckled softly, though she noticed the confusion on Stefan's face. "I know, crazy, right? I guess today is just one big Valerie-surprise after another."

Klara exhaled deeply and grabbed hold of a bottle of whisky. She took a sip out of frustration while Stefan scoffed. "Look, I was just a kid when I met her. Just a troubled boy mourning his dead Mom. I was young and human."

"Yeah. And, so was I." The blonde vampire nodded slowly. "I was young and human when I met you, too. I remember exactly how I felt when I met you— my best friend. I remember exactly how I felt when I first fell for you, too. In fact, I remember all of our firsts. God. I just, I feel stupid, and—"

"—You are far some stupid, Klara." Stefan immediately cut her off in an attempt to calm her ramblings.

"I just have to ask." She inhaled hesitantly while her eyes finally met his. The question had been eating her up for the entire day and she feared the answer, but she knew that she needed to say it. "Valerie being back— does that change anything for you? For us?"

"Of course not," Stefan responded without hesitation or fault. "I don't care about the past. All I care about is that you're here, and you're safe. You're with me. Valerie being back doesn't change a damn thing because she isn't the person that I'm in love with. That's all you, Klara."

A smile left Klara's lips as she attempted to hold his hand, but the moment she tried, she heard the sizzling of flesh. A groan of frustration left her lips as she watched the skin on Stefan's hand heal once more. "This spell will be the death of me. All I wanna do is hold your hand and it's killing me that I can't touch you right now."

Stefan nodded with understanding. "Believe me, I know the feeling. But, trust me. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

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