This story is a little different! Please review…because this story is so different I will be updating based off of reviews because I don't want to waste my time on something no one will read. Thank you!
Introduction:
There are three life lessons a Romani mother teaches her young Romani daughter by the time she reaches "marrying" age. Number one, maintain your virginity. The process wasn't that hard when a male chaperone constantly breathes down her neck. Number two, when you get married be the best wife you can be. That entails taking care of the children, doing the housework while helping your family in any way possible. Some Romani's believe the woman shouldn't work, but luckily Elena's family was softer in their culture than most. Lastly, number three- never bring dishonor to your family.
Elena could remember each instance where she learned the lesson from Miranda. The first time Miranda mentioned being a clean, virginal girl was the night of her 8th grade dance. Elena was going with Caroline and Bonnie because Matt was too shy to ask her out on a date, not that Elena would have accepted. It was against the Romanipen to be on a date without a male figure from the family being there. Miranda pulled her aside and whispered, "Romani girls don't kiss boys unless it is in front of the altar. Do you understand?" Elena nodded her head, even if she didn't take the words to heart. But when the time came, and the opportunity presented itself to kiss Matt 9th grade year, after the first football game of the season, her mother's words echoed loud and clear and she declined.
The second lesson was more of an observation. Miranda was an amazing wife to Grayson and Elena longed for something like that when she became old enough to marry. Miranda and Grayson rarely fought, but when they did it was always about the traditions of the Romani. Grayson was raised in a loose culture of modern Romani's whereas Miranda clung tightly to her heritage despite Jenna's obvious rebellions towards it. Elena would watch her mother struggle with the acceptance of letting the children decide their own paths when they reached a certain age but because Grayson wanted it, she supported it like a loyal wife.
The third lesson didn't sink in until the funeral service for her beloved mother. As black mascara tears ran down her face, she knew that she had to follow her mother's wishes and accept the Romani culture fully. She immediately stopped commencing in the gadjo, non-Romani, lifestyle. She thought there was something there with Matt but how could she be with him when it would break her mother's heart from the grave? She never once pressed her lips against his, even when he tried desperately for the smallest kiss. For that, she was quite proud.
She was a clean, good Romani girl and she planned to stay that way. She wished her brother would have made the same choice. Although, Elena's understanding was that he wasn't breaking any Romani rules for the men. He could bed as many gadjis as he wanted and he could still be part of the Romani culture. Jeremy stated the culture was a joke and he didn't need to be made fun of because mom wanted him to marry "good Romani girl." Elena didn't appreciate his attitude towards the subject and often found it insulting. She hoped he would come around before he turned 19 and started aging past the marrying prime for Romani men.
It didn't help that she was surrounded by her family that rejected the culture either. She tried to do everything by the book. She tried to keep a clean reputation with the Romani boys (that were no where near Mystic Falls) and she tried to keep her head down when it came to temptation.
She met Stefan, they talked, it was epic but in the end she knew it would never last. She didn't even care that Stefan was a vampire- she couldn't love him because he wasn't Romani. Sure, she had bubbly feelings for him and she wished she could be like Caroline or Bonnie sometimes but it wasn't reasonable for her to dishonor her family for a man that would live forever while she grew old.
They stumbled around each other for months while she battled vampire problem after vampire problem and concealed more and more secrets from her family. Elena respected Stefan just like she respected Damon. She knew it was wrong to hang out with them the way she did because it was almost like teasing them but she needed them in her life. They would protect her from the supernatural things she couldn't control. She felt guilty because they'd made their feelings known and she'd rejected them openly but still haunted them with her presence. Elena suspected Stefan was still in love with Katherine though- who wouldn't be? Katherine was a seductive woman that was beautiful and available.
Despite Elena's secretive life, Jeremy found out about the vampires and hated her for a while but he came around soon enough. Caroline became a vampire, her best friend was a witch, Tyler was a werewolf, and a vampire that wanted to sacrifice her was in town just in time for the summer. She'd made a plan to be engaged by this summer when her mother died, but it looked like she would never reach her goal if Klaus had anything to do with it.