Chapter 1


Elena slowed down as she reached the boarder of a small town, she had been driving for hours and was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

"Mystic Falls." She read the proud little sign, buried in the hedge at the side of the road.

She knew that being here was silly and irrational, but she didn't know what else to do. She had followed her mom's whims and fancies her whole life and now the thought of not following this final one, was heartbreaking. She didn't have anything left. As pathetic and cliche as that sounded.

Her eyes were beginning to drift shut and her stomach was growling. She couldn't even remember the last time she had had anything to eat. She peered out of the windscreen as she drove into Mystic Falls, taking in the old-fashioned buildings and little Memorial Square. It was a pretty place, quiet and sort of calm; she could see why her mom had loved it so much.

She watched as a couple stopped in the street and kissed, and found herself smiling at the scene. The people here looked happy.

She kept her eyes open for somewhere she could stay but her stomach growled again, reminding her of what her priorities were. Food first, sleep later. She parked her car, going through the usual routine of making sure all the lock buttons were pushed down on each door. As much as she would love to have enough money for a nice car with central locking, it was not a realistic dream any time soon.

She pulled her jacket tighter around her as she began to walk; the February Virginia air was quite a change from her Florida roots. She spotted a sign boasting a Bar and Grill on the other side of the road and quickly crossed to investigate. The place looked nice, vibrant and warm. The smell of food made the decision for her and she ducked inside, getting herself a booth and rubbing her hands together, trying to get some feeling back into her frozen fingertips.

A pretty blonde girl bounced up to her and grinned.

"You ready to order?" She asked in a chipper tone.

Elena found herself compelled to smile back, the girl's sunny personality seemed to radiate to everyone around her.

"Just burger and fries please. Hold the pickles." She said quickly.

"No problem." The girl scribbled on a little note pad before glancing up at her curiously.

"I haven't seen you around before… Are you new to town?" She asked.

Elena sighed, that was the problem with small towns. Everyone wanted to know everybody's business. She had always thought to avoid them up until now.

"Yeah I just arrived." She said quietly.

"Oh, well welcome to Mystic Falls. I'm Caroline." The blonde held her hand out and offered another ear-to-ear grin.

"Elena." She shook her hand and smiled back. "It's nice to meet you."

Her stomach growled loudly and she blushed.

"Right, burger and fries coming right up." Caroline giggled before bouncing off into the kitchen.

Elena watched her retreating back with a wistful expression. It had been a long time since she'd had anything resembling a friend. The past few years had been nothing but a struggle, there hadn't been much time for socializing.

She stared out of the window as she waited for her food to arrive, it was just beginning to get dark and a few iron street lamps were starting to flicker on. She knew that her mom had told her to go there because this town represented some of the happiest moments in her life, but she had to wander what she had envisaged her finding. It was a beautiful place to say the least and so far her first taste of southern hospitality had been nice, but she didn't know anyone, she didn't have enough money to properly settle down. She couldn't really see this working out.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Caroline placed a huge plate of food in front of her.

"Thank you. This is great." She almost moaned as she took her first bite.

It was by far the best burger she had ever had. Or maybe she was just hungrier than she realized.

"So how long are you staying?" Caroline asked.

Elena shrugged. "It depends really… You don't know of anywhere I could stay… just until I figure some things out?"

Caroline thought for a second.

"The Salvatore boarding house. It's pretty much the only place in town that rents out rooms. The Salvatore's are great though, you'll love them." She said.

Elena nodded.

"Thank you. You've been really kind."

Caroline smiled and left her to eat, dancing off to attend to the other customers, all of whom seemed to know her. Some she chatted with, a couple of others glared at her but she just rolled her eyes and moved on.

There was one other waitress, a girl with lanky brown hair and a self assured swagger. She was monosyllabic to the customers and seemed to spend every spare second she had, on her phone. Elena internally rolled her eyes; she had learned long ago to steer clear of bitchy girls.

She was very aware of quite a few people glancing at her as she ate; she figured the town didn't get many newcomers. From the age of fifteen Elena had concentrated on working hard and keeping under the radar, attention wasn't something she handled well. She ducked her head and quickly finished her food. She paid the bill and left Caroline as generous a tip as she could afford, before slipping back out into the cold evening.

Caroline had given her instructions to The Salvatore boarding house and she drove up there straight away. It was beautiful, it was large and rambling, the sort of place that you read about in fairy tales. Elena sat outside in her car for a few moments, just taking in the sight. She doubted she would be able to afford this place, it really was unbelievable. Summoning up her courage she went and rang the bell.

She was ushered inside by a woman who introduced herself as Agnès Salvatore. She had a motherly feel about her, her slightly graying hair was pulled into a loose bun and her long flowing skirt was elegant on her small figure. She had smile lines around her eyes and a soft, open expression on her face. She was beautiful. She waved away the money issue, explaining that this was a privately owned business and money didn't matter to them. She gave Elena the room for half of what it was worth and Elena resisted the urge to throw her arms around her and burst into tears. People helping her out just because they could, was not something she was used to.

Agnès invited her to dinner later in the evening, she told her that they only had two other full time guests, and since it was only her and her husband Giuseppe, they always all ate together. Elena accepted happily, unable to resist her caring smile.

Elena settled her stuff into her room; she didn't have much with her, just a bag with a few clothes and a couple of photo albums.

She lay back on the big bed when she was done unpacking and closed her eyes, breathing a deep sigh of melancholy contentment. This place was, just as her mother had told her it would be, beautiful and homely, but she still wasn't sure what she was doing here. She wanted nothing more than to forget everything and just create a life for herself in this sweet little town, become the rural southern girl she was born to be. But she knew there was more to life than that. She had seen and felt too much to think that everything could just work out if you wanted it bad enough. It wasn't that easy.

She shook herself out of her musings and sat up, undressing quickly and jumping into the shower. She took her time, washing away the long drive and confusing thoughts and by the time she was done, it was time for dinner.

She threw on a fitted t-shirt and a pair of jeans and quickly dried her hair before hurrying downstairs.

Agnès was just carrying a large bowl of something that smelled absolutely delicious into the dining room. Elena smiled and followed, her eyes widening as she took in the amazing spread on the table. She wished she hadn't eaten at the grill earlier.

"I'm French. We like to cook." Agnès shrugged.

"Just wait until Damon gets back. She won't stop cooking for a week." A man with a pleasant face walked in chuckling. "I'm Alaric by the way." He held out a hand.

"Elena." She shook it with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you Elena." Alaric nodded. He was tall and handsome in a sort of rugged way, but despite his joviality he had a slightly tired look about him.

"Damon's my son." Agnès explained, setting yet another dish on the already laden table. "He's been overseas, he's getting back the day after tomorrow."

"You must be exited." Elena said, glancing at her, she really didn't look like she had had any children.

A tall, slightly austere looking man entered. He sat down quickly and looked at Elena appraisingly.

"Exited about what?" He asked.

Elena shifted under his gaze, looking quickly to Agnès.

"Damon coming home." Agnès explained with a little eye roll. "Excuse my husband Elena. He has no manners."

Giuseppe grunted and nodded at her in acknowledgement.

"Where's that girlfriend of yours Saltzman?" He asked Alaric.

"She'll be here any minute."

Sure enough a second later a pretty, mousy looking woman bounced in with a smile. She pecked Alaric on the cheek and settled into a chair. It wasn't until she had sat down that she noticed Elena.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't see you… I'm Jenna." She jumped up again and Elena smiled.

"I'm Elena." She said softly, wondering how she had managed to find a place where everyone seemed so nice.

"Elena's going to be staying with us for a while." Agnès said, settling one final dish on the table and sitting down herself, waving for everyone to join her.

"Dig in, this food isn't going to eat itself, and I shall be offended if it's not finished." She joked.

Everyone sat down and helped themselves, the formality seemed to disappear and, with the exception of Giuseppe, everyone chatted comfortably.

"So Elena, tell us about yourself. What's a young girl like you doing by yourself in a town like this?" Alaric asked, glancing her way curiously.

Elena shrugged and shifted awkwardly.

"My mother used to live here when she was little… I figured I'd come back and look around…trace my roots and all." She said. It was true that her mom had lived here, but she decided to leave out the real reason for her being back. It posed too many questions.

"Oh really? What's your mother's name?" Agnès said, looking up with interest.

"Miranda. And her maiden name was Gray." Elena replied honestly. She didn't see the point in lying about that either.

Jenna's head snapped up and her eyes flickered to Elena's with something resembling shock, but she kept quiet.

"Miranda Gray… It definitely rings a bell. When did she leave?" Agnès asked.

"A long time ago, she was just a child."

Alaric was watching Jenna curiously. She had gone frighteningly pale and was staring blankly at the table.

"Oh well, it's lovely to have you here Elena. I'm sure you'll love Mystic Falls."

Elena nodded her thanks at Agnès and tucked back into her food, trying to avoid answering any other questions.

"So why did she leave?" Alaric asked, oblivious to her thoughts.

Jenna stood up abruptly, her face going from sheet white to bright red in a matter of seconds.

"If you'll excuse me, I don't feel very well." She stammered, almost stumbling in her haste to get out of the room.

Alaric looked confused but quickly raced after her, leaving Elena alone with Giuseppe and Agnès.

She sighed, she wasn't stupid, Jenna knew something about her mother. This was the exact reason she hadn't wanted to come here, it was like opening Pandora's box, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for the consequences.


The next day dawned bright and early. Elena hadn't even bothered to set an alarm, knowing that the morning sun streaming in through her bay window would wake her in time. The room she had been given was beautiful. It was old fashioned and ornate, with powder blue walls and furniture that reminded her of her childhood love of Jane Austen novels.

She dressed quickly in her usual jeans and t-shirt, adding a thick jacket on account of the weather. She still wasn't used to being cold all the time. She had spent the majority of her life in one of the hottest states in the country, she was used to humidity and sunburn, not sweaters and numb toes. She made a mental note to go shopping for more warm clothes when she had the chance. She left her hair hanging straight down her back as she always did. Her mother used to tell her that she had the most beautiful hair she had ever seen. She hadn't been allowed to cut it until she was thirteen, and by then she hadn't wanted to.

She set off for town as soon as she was ready. She needed a job if she was going to stay here for a while. She had about $200 dollars to her name, and that and more belonged to the bank. She had learned from a young age how important money was for survival, but she had never had enough. It was a constant struggle and the concept of not having to worry about how she was going to pay for her next meal was completely foreign to her.

She had noticed a help wanted sign at the Grill the night before, so she went there first, her sneakers crunched against the tarmac and her breath made clouds in the ice-cold air as she walked briskly down the road towards the restaurant.

The town was just waking up, shopkeepers were putting out their signs and opening their shutters, and a couple of people were struggling to scrape the frost off their windscreens.

She smiled to herself, as much as she had her doubts about being here, she wanted to escape the darkness that life had to offer and enjoy the light. Just for a bit anyway. And she had a feeling that this was the perfect place to do so.

Now all she had to do was get a job, earn some money, dodge questions she couldn't answer and try to figure out who she was and what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.


Please review and tell me what you think! I know this chapter doesn't have any delena in it, or give away much about what this story is going to be like, but it's just to set the scene!

Also, just a little note; I know that the Salvatores are Italian, but in the books their mother is mentioned as being French so I thought I would keep that little detail!

Let me know if you think I should continue or not :)

Serena xoxo