A/N: Hola fam bam! My first TVD fanfic. I'm super excited for you guys to read it! I've had an idea like this cooking around in my head for a while after the episodes where Stefan spent the summer in the safe. Poor guy… Anywho, I really hope you all enjoy the story! I'm hoping to make this a multi-chapter story, but only if you guys like it. The idea of the brother's playing Marco/Polo came from the amazing talented Arikae who agreed to let me use the game for this story. Arikae used the game in the story "No Longer A Hero" which you guys should all go check out! Much love to you all!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! I make no profit off of this. This is solely for my enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of others! ;)
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There was a legend about the well in the garden. To some, it was known as the Devil's Well. To others it was called the Waterless Hollow. Whichever was the well's true name isn't relevant. The truly relevant fact is how the well became a legend. No one knows who built the well or how long it had been standing. But what everyone did know was that the well held no water… and that it was responsible for the deaths of over fifty people.
Whether the people went into the well of their own volition or if they were forced into it or if it was all by accident is up for discussion. However the people ended up in there, the one things everyone knew is that they were never going to be seen again. The bodies of the victims of the well were never discover for no one ever thought to search the bottom of the well for fear of never emerging back into the sunlight.
Where is the well, you ask? Well that's easy. It's in the garden of the Veritas Estate.
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"Damon?"
The elder Salvatore brother looked up from the book he had been reading when he heard the tentative voice of his seven year old brother. Stefan peeked around the doorframe at his brother. Damon set down his book to give Stefan his full attention. "What is it, little brother?" Damon asked.
Stefan took a step to his left so that he was now fully visible in the doorway. He opened his mouth to answer Damon's question but no words came forth. He closed his mouth, took a shallow breath, and spit out an answer. "What are you doing, Damon?"
Damon blinked twice but didn't respond. He was familiar with this tactic. Whenever Stefan was afraid to ask for something he truly wanted he would beat around the bush by asking other pointless questions. The way to get the little Salvatore to say exactly what he had intended to say was to ignore the pointless questions. So ignore, Damon did.
He watched Stefan shift uncomfortably for a moment or two before, finally, the little Salvatore came out with his intended question. "Damon, will you play with me?" He asked quietly.
As soon as the question was out of his brother's mouth, Damon couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Damon had been ladened with quite of bit of schoolwork that he had been required to bring home from school everyday. The reason he felt guilty was because he had been spending more time on his schoolwork than he had spending with his brother.
Damon pushed his chair back from his desk and stood up. He smiled and paced across the room until he was right in front of his brother and knelt down to his level. "What shall we play today, Stefan?"
Stefan's eyes lit up and a smile stretched across his face. "Hide and go seek!" He piped excitedly as he bounced on the tip of his toes. Damon's own smile grew. "Hide and go seek it is! Do you want to count or shall I?"
"You count, I'll hide," Stefan replied without missing a beat. Damon nodded dutifully before quickly shutting his eyes and covering them with his hands.
"One, two, three, four, five, si–"
"No, no!"
Damon uncovered one eye and peeked at his brother who was still standing in front of him. "You know, Stefan, I don't think you entirely understand this game," he joked. Stefan giggled. "Do it in French, Damon!"
Damon sighed dramatically, but re-covered his eyes nonetheless. "Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit…"
Damon smiled through his counting as he heard his brother take off down the hallway and blaze down the stairs. His smile disappeared though when he heard the unmistakable sound of shattering glass followed immediately by a small voice saying "I'm sorry, father! It was an accident!"
Damon stopped counting and quickly got to his feet, ready to rush down the stairs to his brother's aid. He stopped when he heard the gentle sound of his mother's voice. "I'm sure it was an accident, Stefan. How about you and your brother take your game outside? Hm? Damon!"
Damon was out of his room and down the stairs in an instant. He found his family standing in the foyer gathered around a broken vase. "Yes, mother?" He asked even though he already knew what her request would be.
"Would you take your brother outside to play, please?" Lily Salvatore asked with her ever present serene smile. Damon nodded and grabbed hold of Stefan's hand, guiding him out into the garden behind the Veritas Estate.
"It was an accident, Damon. Honest," Stefan pleaded guiltily. Damon released his hold on his brother. "I know it was an accident, Stef. Now," Damon paused to flash a mischievous smirk, "are we going to finish our game or not?"
A small smile slowly appeared on the little Salvatore's face. Damon took that as a yes and assumed his counting position from earlier. "Treize, quatorze, quinze, seize…" Damon listened as his brother dashed away to find a hiding spot. He would give Stefan to the count of one hundred before he began his search. "… quatre-vingt-seize, quatre-vingt-dix-sept, quatre-vingt-dix-huit, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf, cent. Ready or not, here I come!" He bellowed as he reached one hundred. He scanned the vast garden quickly with his eyes and, once he determined that Stefan was no where in the immediate vicinity, he decided to search the east side of the garden first.
"Stefan!" Damon called as he walked. "Where are you?" He looked up as he walked beneath one of Stefan's favorite climbing trees, but there was no giggling seven year old to be found. Damon continued on his path, all the while calling out Stefan's name. Once the entire East side of the garden had been searched, Damon moved onto the West side. No Stefan there either. Damon twisted his lips and furrowed his brow. This was strange. It didn't normally take this long for Damon to find Stefan.
Normally, Stefan was discovered within the first five minutes of the game. Damon had been searching for nearly fifteen minutes. Perhaps Stefan had gone back inside the house to hide? No, he wouldn't do that, especially not after he had broken that vase.
Damon exhaled sharply. Where was his brother? "All right, Stefan!" He yelled as loud as loud as his lungs permitted. "You win! I can't find you! You can come out now!"
Damon waited a beat before turning on the spot to see if his brother was approaching him from behind, trying to scare him. He wasn't there. Damon's frown deepened. "Stefan!" He shouted again. "I give up! Where are you?"
He closed his eyes and listened for the sound of his brother's voice. Nothing. A few seconds passed. Still nothing. Damon felt the first twinge of worry strike his gut. 'Maybe he didn't hear me,' he thought to himself. Damon took of running though the garden, shouting "Stefan! Come out! Where are you? Stefan!"
Damon panted and slowed to a stop. He had re-searched every inch of the garden and still hadn't found his brother. The twinge of worry had grown into full blown panic. Damon turned and ran into the house. He knew his parents despised when their children ran in the house but Damon didn't care at the moment. "Mother!" He shouted as he burst through the back door. His parents also despised shouting in the house but, again, Damon didn't care. "Mother!" He threw open the sitting room doors and was taken aback to not only find his father there instead of his mother but also the company that his father was entertaining.
There was murder in Giuseppe's eyes as he witnessed his eldest son rudely burst through the doors looking like some kind of wild animal. Damon's eyes met his father's and, out of habit, he stood as upright and rigid as a board and straightened his shirt. "Father. Gentlemen," he addressed, "I extend my deepest apologies for interrupting. It shan't happen again."
"See to it that it doesn't," came Giuseppe's terse response. Damon bowed stiffly before quickly backing out of the room and closing the doors. He spun on his heel and resumed his search for his mother. After what seemed like forever, he found her in the library. "Mother!" He exclaimed with relief. Lily looked away from the shelf she was scanning. Her visage assumed a worried expression upon seeing her son's distress. "Damon, what's wrong?"
Damon heaved a breath. "Have you seen Stefan?"
Lily frowned. "Your brother? I thought you two were playing outside. I trusted that you were keeping an eye on him."
Damon's panic was now laced with hints of guilt. "I was keeping an eye on him. I swear it! We were playing hide and go seek in the garden. You know that Stefan's not very good at that game. I searched everywhere in the garden but," Damon paused to inhale quickly, "I can't find him. He hasn't come inside, has he?"
Lily shook her head. "If he has, I have not seen him. You're sure you searched the entire garden?"
Damon nodded forcefully. "I searched the whole place twice. I'm sorry. I know I was supposed to keep on eye on him." He hung his head in shame. How could he lose his brother?
His head shot up as he felt a delicate hand on his cheek. "You didn't lose him, Damon," Lily said as she stared into the bright blue eyes of her eldest son. "Stefan has simply picked up on few new hide and go seek tricks."
His mother's reassurance lifted some of the panic in Damon's stomach.
"We'll find him before it gets dark," Lily soothed. "Come, let's go inform your father."
Damon took a step to the side and allowed Lily to breeze by him and exit the room. Damon was quick to follow.
Lily knocked sharply on the doors that lead to the sitting room. A faint "Enter," was heard from within the room. Lily pulled open one of the heavy glass doors and stepped inside the room.
"Gentlemen, I am sorry to interrupt."
There were choruses of "No trouble at all, Mrs. Salvatore," and "Not at all, ma'am," from the men in the room. Lily turned to face her husband who stood lounging against the fireplace with a cigar between his fingers. "What can I do for you, my dear?" Giuseppe said as he raised the cigar to his lips.
"Giuseppe, we must speak with you. If you don't mind us taking you from your company momentarily?" Lily spoke with an undertone that brokered no argument. Giuseppe must have picked up on the tone for he was quick to snuff out his cigar and excuse himself from the room.
"What is it, Lily? Make it quick," Mr. Salvatore said with his ever present sense of urgency and impatience. Lily looked at Damon to answer the question.
"I can't find Stefan, father. We were playing hide and go seek in the garden and I couldn't find him. He wasn't responding to my calls for him to come out of hiding so I came to see if perhaps he had ventured inside to hide," Damon stated in a rush.
"I take it this was the reason for your unacceptable entrance earlier?"Giuseppe snipped.
Lily reached out and laid a hand on her son's shoulder. She gave him an encouraging nod then turn and scorned her husband with a single look. Giuseppe huffed but gestured for Damon to go on.
"He's not out in the garden and he's not in the house… I fear he may be in the well," Damon voiced the concern that had been nagging at him. He heard Lily's sharp intake of breath.
"Stefan knows better than to go near that well. He wouldn't," she protested but the fear was clear in her eyes and her voice.
"If he's gone into that well, then I say good riddance," Giuseppe spat. Damon stared at his father in shock.
"Giuseppe!" Lily cried with horror. "You don't mean that!"
"Of course I do! That rascal knows better. If he's ended up at the bottom of that forsaken well then he probably deserves it!" With that, Giuseppe forcefully opened the sitting room doors and rejoined his company, closing the doors just as forcefully behind him.
Lily set her jaw. "Let's go find your brother, Damon." With a swish of her skirt, Lily disappeared down the hall. "Go find some rope," she called behind her as she opened the door to the garden. Without hesitation, Damon went and retrieved the rope that they kept in the closet under the stairs at all times. Hoping it would be long enough to reach the bottom of the well, Damon headed to the back door, snagging a lamp and a set of matches on his way out.
He raced to the well that sat alone in the far western corner of the garden and found his mother already there. To his horror, the wooden covering of the well had been set aside and a rope was already descending into the well. "Mother…," Damon whispered. Lily looked up quickly.
"You're sure you searched everywhere else?" She asked worriedly. Damon nodded mutely. He stepped forward and set his collection of items down beside the well. He braced his hands against the sides and looked down into the well. Even with the sun high overhead, the bottom of the well was not visible. "Stefan!" He yelled. He listened to his voice echo and it carried down the shaft. There was no reply.
"Oh, this is all my fault," Damon said under his breath as he began to haul up the dangling rope. It took a moment but eventually Damon was able to bring the end of the rope into view. There was nothing attached. "Stefan!" The elder Salvatore shouted down the well again. As before, echoes were the only response he received.
Damon turned to see what Stefan had tied the other end of the rope around: a tree. Damon sighed. Stefan may have be stupid enough to go down into the well but at least he was smart enough to make sure he had a strong anchor. Damon walked over to the tree and tugged at the knot Stefan had created. He wrapped both hands around the rope and leaned backward, trusting the rope to support his entire weight. The rope pulled taught but didn't give.
Damon couldn't help but be impressed with his brother's handiwork.
"I'm going down to find him," Damon stated as he retraced his steps back to the well where his mother was anxiously waiting. He threw the free end of Stefan's rope back into the well and watched as it disappeared into the blackness. Bracing his weight against the rope, Damon stepped up onto the lip of the well.
"Here," Lily proffered up the lamp and set of matches. Damon stared at his mother's concern riddled face for a moment. He was surprised at the lack of protest from Lily. He had half expected her to offer to go down into the well herself or at least try to stop him from descending into the well. She must have been more worried and anxious than Damon realized.
Damon took the matches and stuffed them in his pants pocket and hooked the lantern's handle around his wrist. Just as he was preparing to walk down the well's inner wall, he felt a hand on elbow. Bright blue eyes met equally blue eyes.
"Bring him back safely, Damon," Lily pleaded softly. "And please, for the love of God, be careful."
Damon offered the most reassuring smile he could muster. "I'll bring him back. I promise."
Lily sighed and released her son's arm. "If you're not back within the hour I will be sending someone down after you."
The dark haired teen nodded resolutely and began his descent into the Devil's Well.
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Damon's feet hit the soft earth with a muted thud. "Stefan?" He half whispered. He dipped his hand into his pocket and retrieved the matches. He managed to light the lamp in the thick black by sheer muscle memory alone. In the low light, Damon looked around at his surroundings. The well wasn't very big at all. Maybe nine feet in diameter. Damon looked up to see if he could see the opening of the well. He could; but the light coming from the noonday sun didn't seem to reach all the way to the bottom of the well.
Damon refocused his attention on finding his brother who, alarmingly, didn't appear to be at the bottom of the well. Damon lowered his lantern and scanned the entire floor of the well. the ground was full of white rocks protruding from the dirt. Upon closer inspection, he gasped as he realized that those were not rocks as he had first thought; they were bones – human bones.
Damon blinked rapidly, trying to clear the image from his mind. He shook his head and returned to his task of finding his brother. He scrutinized the perimeter and found nothing of note. Except – was that a hole? The elder Salvatore brother quirked his head to the side and crouched slightly, walking over to an opening in the wall that he hadn't noticed previously.
That was definitely a hole. The hole was almost four feet high and about the same in width: a perfect space for a seven year old boy to hide in. Damon brought the lamp closer to the hole and was shocked to find that it was in fact a tunnel, not a hole.
Damon dropped down onto his knees and braced his free hand against the floor. Looks like he had some crawling to do. Damon held the light in front of him as he inched into the tunnel.
He hadn't made it very far in when he was confronted with a diverging pathway that lead five different ways.
Damon huffed slightly. He bit his lip. Which path would Stefan have took? Damon guessed and settled for going down the middle path.
"Stefan? You down here, brother? It's me; it's Damon."
Every couple of feet, Damon would call out his brother's name, hoping and praying for a response. It wasn't long before he came to another diverging pathway. He sighed and paused his shuffling and listened for any sounds that would indicate which direction his brother had gone. He closed his eyes and strained his ears, listening for any sound other than that of his own breathing.
His concentration was suddenly broken as he felt something scurry of the back of calf. He jumped and dropped the lantern which caused the flame to snuff out. Damon froze in the complete blackness. Realizing he had to relight the lamp, he quickly fumbled for the matches in his pocket.
His heart jumped as he realized his pocket was empty. Had he put the matches in his other pocket? A quick search revealed that he had, in fact, not put the matches in his other pocket. They must have slipped out of his pocket somewhere along the way.
"Journey in the dark it is," Damon muttered to himself. "Stefan!" He shouted at a louder pitch. He shuffled forward on all fours, hyperaware of where he was placing his hands and feet.
He pressed onward, calling out for his brother and hesitating whenever he heard a sound, for what seemed like eternity. Who knew that these little tunnels existed? Just as he was beginning to doubt that Stefan was even in the tunnels, he heard a faint yelp.
Damon felt his heart begin to race. "Stefan?" He called down the tunnel.
He covered his nose and mouth to mute the sound of his breathing, straining his ears to catch the sound of what he hope was his brother's voice.
"Damon?"
Damon would have jumped for joy had he not been confined by the small crawlspace. "Stefan, where are you?"
Damon swore he heard a sob come from somewhere far ahead of him. "I'm here, Damon… I'm scared. It's dark."
Damon started to move forward. "Stefan, where are you?" He repeated.
Another sob. "I'm scared, Damon," Stefan wailed. Damon's heart went out to his brother. Ever since Stefan was little he wasn't fond of the dark. More often than not, Stefan would find his way into his big brother's bed and snuggle up next to Damon, waiting for the sun to crest the horizon.
"I know you're scared, Stef. I'm coming to find you."
"Damon!"
"I'm coming, Stefan. Calm down." Damon dared to move faster.
"Damon, where are you?"
Damon could sense that his brother was getting restless. He needed to switch tactics and fast.
"Marco!" He called down the tunnel. There was no response. "Come on, Stefan. I need you to help me find you. Marco!"
"…Polo."
"That's it, little brother. Marco!"
"Polo!"
"Marco!"
Damon followed the sound of his brother's shuddering voice. He seemed to be somewhere ahead and to the left of Damon. The game went on until Damon knew that his brother was nothing more than a few feet ahead of him.
The elder Salvatore was stopped abruptly as his head collided with solid stone. He reversed quickly while reaching up to rub at his throbbing forehead. The tunnel seemed to have narrowed suddenly.
"Stefan?" He called.
"Damon?"
"I'm right here, little brother, but I can't go any farther. You'll have to come to me. Can you do that, Stefan? It's not far."
"But where are you?"
"I'm right here, Stefan," He said softly. "Marco."
"Polo," came Stefan's shaky reply. Damon was encourage by the shuffling sounds coming from ahead of him.
"Marco," he repeated. He was alarmed when a small head collided with his shoulder.
"Polo," Stefan giggled. Damon smiled and stretched out an arm to wrap around his brother.
"Found you."
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Thanks for reading! Drop me a review and let me know what you thought! All the love and cherry pie!