In the Veins
*This story was written years ago back when I just started writing fanfics. I thought I would come back with a revised version. I am open to bringing back old fanfics so comment any recs!*
"Penny for your thoughts?" The smooth voice had garnered her attention. Bella glanced at him. He was standing right beside her in ancient attire. She was usually good about sensing him but she hadn't even noticed his presence today. He was a man without a name and a face unrecognizable. She had been curious about the man. Maybe she had met him at some point in her life or she had been driven to absolute lunacy. She couldn't tell anymore. His green eyes illuminated in the moonlight and his beauty rivaled Edward's. He settled near her without a word. Bella wondered why she looked forward to her dreams. The man was fictitious at best. A hallucination of her loneliness at worst. But, He intrigued her in a way that no one else did. Her escape from isolation.
"You're always in such deep thought, Amara." He said, softly. Bella wanted to roll her eyes at the infuriating "nickname" he had bestowed her despite numerous times being told it was Bella. Hell, she would have preferred Isabella if he would stop calling her Amara.
"Because I do, indeed, have a brain." She said. He raised an eyebrow and smirked. As soft and kind as he appeared to be, there was an underlying mixture of mischief and wickedness just beneath the surface. She could be kind and he would be tolerable. If she acted nasty, he had no problems returning the favor.
"I would hope you would have a brain." He came closer to Bella only causing her to scoot away. She pushed buttons and he pushed boundaries. If this man was a pure work of her imagination, she chose an odd combination of adoration and assholery. He leaned back and gave out an annoyed sigh. "Why torture me so?"
"Why annoy me so?" She shot back. His eyes gazed into hers. A playful smirk appeared on his lips and knew his intentions. Teasing her to get her riled up.
"It's as if we haven't changed at all." He chuckled. "Well, maybe a little bit." She got up and walked on the coolness of the sand. They were always on the same Island in every dream. Location and him never changed. The man laid back onto the sand and closed his eyes. Bella gazed around at the woods that laid ahead. She had never ventured into the woods simply because she did not trust her mind. Nightmares awaited in the dark forest and she did not want to tempt her mind to create gory imagery like it had been doing before she had dreamed of the man.
"Amara." He called out. She damned herself to Hell and back for turning back to him and answering to that name.
"What?"
"Don't be afraid of me." He whispered. "When that day comes." Bella's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Before she could ask anything of the nameless man that had overtaken her dreams, she was swiftly awoken from her slumber.
-X-
Normalcy was welcomed into Bella's life after all that had happened between her and the Cullens but normalcy wasn't exhilarating. It didn't evoke emotions and she was mainly passive. The routine she had maintained within Mystic Falls may have contributed to her disconnect with reality. She wasn't excited or happy to keep going. To stay human. She didn't think she was ever meant to live this kind of mundane life. She doubted if she was meant to stay human. Fate seemed to think she was meant to be among the Immortals.
"Bella!" Bonnie rushed over to her as Bella was putting her textbooks into her locker. Bonnie handed over Bella's notes. "Thanks so much for letting me borrow your notes. I don't know how I could pass any class without you." Bella had made friends during her time at Mystic Falls' high school. Caroline reminded her of Jessica (somehow a better and worse version of her) and Bonnie's sweetness reminded her of Angela. She had been welcomed at their table which included Matt, Jeremy, and Tyler. She couldn't say she knew much about the guys or Elena who was the talk of the town apparently. She did enjoy her time with the two girls though even if she felt out of the loop at times or seem to talk in code between one another.
"No problem. My advice is to try and come to class. I think the calculus teacher thinks you cheat off me."
"I have been busy lately… Things will blow over soon though." Bonnie said sheepishly. "Besides, if I did cheat on you hypothetically... how mad would you be?" Bella just shook her head laughing.
"As mad as Caroline having a bad hair day."
"Then I didn't cheat off you." She replied with a cheeky smile. "I was thinking next week we all could go out to eat. Maybe pizza?" She had no foreseeable plans so she agreed.
"Sounds great." They chatted about miscellaneous things such as classes and homework. Bella had thoroughly enjoyed the break from the usual silence when she went home and hadn't noticed several people had already left the halls to head to their vehicles.
"Bennett," A blonde girl walked up to them. Bella eyed her suspiciously but made no comments. Rebekah had been new to the school as well and Bella had no real opinion of her. She had only heard rants about her from Caroline. Rebekah glanced at Bella. "I need to talk to you, alone." Bonnie sighed before waving Bella bye. Both girls disappeared into the halls leaving Bella alone.
Bella zipped her backpack and headed to her car. She had left school relatively late because she had decided to finish up a project in the library on top of chatting with Bon. As she was in eyesight of her car in the mostly abandoned parking lot, a man approached her.
"Bella," The man said. It took Bella a moment to realize it was Professor Shane. She briefly remembered him doing a presentation about his Occult courses at the high school to encourage the students to take some college classes especially with him. She knew Bonnie had taken one of his courses and had talked endlessly about how inspirational he was. She had thought about it but she didn't like the nervous energy that was around him. Off-putting was the best way to describe her feelings towards him. "How are your classes going?"
"Good." She replied. He smiled at the answer.
"That's great. I still wish I could have convinced you to take one of my classes."
"Maybe during the summer?" She then said. "I would love to keep talking but I have to head home. Nice seeing you Professor."
"Oh, goodbye Bella." He held out his hand to shake and Bella wasn't one to be blatantly rude. She firmly shook his hand.
"Have a good day." She went to remove her hand but he had suddenly a tight grip and refused to let go. She was terrified. She was alone in a parking lot with no one to call for help. She tried to yank it and after three attempts he had let go. Because he had let go as she was yanking, Bella was knocked to the ground by the force. She looked up at the morphed expression of Shane.
"Interesting." Was all he could say. Bella got up and made a run for it. Before she could get much further, a fire had suddenly appeared in front of her causing a shriek to escape her lips.
"Good timing Massak." Shane complimented a man she had never seen before appearing beside him. "Take her." Bella tried to scream but her voice suddenly mute. She felt some odd force contorting her body before she fell onto her knees and she could feel her eyes rolling back into her head.
-X-
"Well," A feminine voice reaching her from the darkness. "Did you check what's in that bag Shane brought with him?"
"Not yet," A male voice said. Bella could feel herself slowly but surely gaining consciousness. She was squished into something and it was pitch black. Her head ached and her body was sore. Where was she? She reflected on the traumatic event prior and wondered what the fuck had happened. Suddenly, a dim light shined into her eyes. "Holy shit, Bella?!" Jeremy was leaning over her and rushed to unzip the bag completely.
"What's… going on?" She glanced around and saw she had been shoved into a small duffel bag. Jeremy helped her up and held onto her.
"What happened to you?" She took a few deep breaths before analyzing where she was. She was in some dim dark cave. Somewhere.
"Shane kidnapped me. He just…" Bella was woozy. A headache coming upon her. "Where are we?" Even her voice weak. How long had she been in the bag? How long had she been knocked out cold? Why were they in a cave? Why was Jeremy here?
"Somewhere you shouldn't be." He bit his lip. "Elena, can you take her to—"
"I'm done playing games." Elena sighed. "We are this close to the Cure. I'll just use this bitch instead."
"Katherine!" Jeremy was suddenly thrown to the other side of the cave, hitting his head. His body slumped to the floor and Bella knew he was knocked out cold. The woman was in front of Bella in the blink of an eye and had the face of a monster. Veins were under her eyes and her fangs descended. Vampire. Bella had been grabbed by her hair and pulled deeper into the caves. She was then pushed onto a mummified body. Her arm was grabbed and a sharp pain came from her wrist. Bella watched horrified at the bloodied knife the woman was holding.
"Time to feed." Bella screamed as Katherine had shoved her bleeding wrist into the mummy's mouth. She felt the jaw lock onto it and sharp teeth piercing her flesh. Tears streamed down her face and she continued to cry out.
"What a big baby." The sadistic woman sighed. "If this doesn't work, I am going to have to use your neck."
"WHAT… THE FUCK… IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" She yelled. The woman shrugged and only watched. The intensity of the pain only increase. She could tell whatever she was feeding that it was drinking.
"Too slow." The woman sighed. She is grabbed again and she looks definatly into the devil-woman's eyes.
"Did anyone tell you we look alike?" She smirked, amused. Before the woman could do anything, Bella kicked her knee with the strength she had left. Bella is dropped and she is desperately searching for something to fight with. Katherine's bloody knife had been knocked out of her hand and Bella latched onto it. The grip so tight that her knuckles turned pale. She steadily got up and saw Katherine eyeing her. "Cunning as well. Maybe you are from my bloodline."
"Get the fuck away from me." Katherine then glanced behind her. Before she could react, Katherine had gone to the mummy and grabbed a vial of some sort.
"The Cure," She said. Katherine had zoomed in front of Bella and she was so close to stab her but the speed was uncomprehensible to Bella's eyes. She was thrown onto the ground.
"I won't kill ya." She smirked. "I'll let him do it." Katherine's foot impacted Bella's face and she was out cold again.
-X-
Bella was awakened to the disgusting smell of decay and blood as well as to the throbbing pain from her head. Her eyes slowly processed the scene and found herself in the same place but elevated. She yelped when she saw the overflowing mountains of bodies around her. She looked down and realized she was where the mummy had been. Where he was supposed to be. She had to run but to where? Where the hell was she? She knew she had to escape and get out of this nightmare. Before she could get up, a shadowy figure came within sight. FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She screeched. The person had abruptly stopped and Bella could feel her heart pounding against her chest. She was defenseless against it.
"I was hoping you'd stay asleep longer." The voice' familiarity made Bella freeze. "I didn't want you to see this. Do not be afraid." The same voice of the man that had been haunting her dreams for weeks.
"Who are you?" Bella whispered. The figure approached slowly as if not to frighten her further, when he was within reach, she was left breathless. The man from her dreams. He was the same except for his blood-soaked clothes.
"Silas," He answered. "I doubt you want to stay here much longer. We can leave now. I'm… done feeding."
"I can see that." She was at her mental breaking point. If she survived, she would be sent to a mental hospital. She took deep breaths and tried to stop herself from crying or screaming. Silas's hands reached out.
"Do you want me to carry you?"
"No." She got off the elevated tomb and began to walk across the sea of bodies. Silas sighed, leading the way.
-X-
Bella was soaking in a hot bath, unable to comprehend the events that had just happened. Silas had been spoon feeding her information since their arrival at a house they had taken residence. She felt terrible for the couple Silas had essentially mind controlled to let them stay but she knew she couldn't keep walking around with no energy and an Immortal coated with blood from his head to his toes. Bella pulled her knees to her chest as Silas had walked into the bathroom. He was in different clothing and had obviously taken a shower.
"They have booked us a flight to Mystic Falls." He kneeled near the bathtub. "For tomorrow. How do you feel, Amara?"
"Stop calling me that. My name is Bella." She sighed. "It's not like I call you Silouanos." She frowned at the name that had escaped her lips unsure where it had come from. Silas's expression became unreadable but she could see a glimpse of hope in his eyes.
"I do dread the use of my full name." He smirked. "Fine, Bella." She shook her head and gazed away. She didn't know how to handle the situation she was thrown into. Supernatural beings trying to murder and kidnap her and being called the reincarnation of Amara left Bella drained.
"Even if I am Amara, I don't remember anything."
"You will just as you did now. It will be slow but I am willing to wait." He then leaned over the bath and looked down. Bella's felt her face heat up and she instinctively splashed water in his face.
"Hey!" She growled.
"I am not looking at you." He tsked. His hand went into the water and retrieved her wrist. "I am looking at that." The imprint of the cold one's bite mark had yet to fade away as well as the new bite mark she was sporting. She sighed as he inspected it. "You've been bitten? By who?
"By some Cold One." She replied. "And by you."
"What?"
"Katherine offered me up as bait to awaken you." She murmured. "Thankfully she took the Cure and just left me to bleed on the ground." Bella jolted when Silas's face had morphed and bit into his own wrist.
"My blood will help." Silas placed his wrist at Bella's lips. She nearly gagged at the smell of the rustic blood and when she wrinkled her nose, Silas rolled his eyes. His other hand grabbed her jaw open and had shoved the wrist into her mouth. After he was satisfied with a few swallows, he retrieved his wrist and let go of her jaw. Bella leaned back and let the water in the tub reach her mouth to wash out the aftertaste.
"And the other mark?"
"A Cold One." Bella said, quietly. Silas tilted his head. "A vampire but different from you."
"I am not a vampire," He corrected. She nearly rolled her eyes.
"You drink blood. Thus, you are one." She nearly laughed at the annoyance from his expression. As if being pegged as a vampire offended him.
"I may drink blood but that is where the differences end." She began to tune out the exact reasons why he was so "different" from a vampire and examined her wrist. She watched in awe as both markings gradually healed. It was an odd sensation watching your body heal in front of you but Bella couldn't turn away. She brushed her thumb against the now scar-free skin.
"Are you listening?" Silas's voice made her jolt because she had completely forgot he was there.
"No." Bella said. "Did I need to?" She glanced up at Silas's irritated expression.
"Perhaps." He rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist. "It healed slower than I expected." His fingers brushed against her skin. A chill ran down her spine as he continued to softly grazed her flesh.
"Are you really coming to Mystic Falls?" She didn't know why she was asking. He obviously meant the both of them.
"Yes," He replied. "Unless you wish not to return?"
"No, I have to go back." She didn't know how she was going to talk to the others or Charlie for the matter. "Oh god, Charlie!" She was moments away from freaking out.
"Who's Charlie?" She splashed water at him again.
"Don't get jealous. It's my dad." She leaned back. How was she going to explain herself this time? When she had fled to Phoenix, it has severely damaged their relationship. She doubted this time would be excusable. After a few moments of silence, Silas spoke,
"I have told you a little about your group of friends and the supernatural." Silas laid his chin on the bathtub rim. "Your story now." Bella glanced at him and sighed.
-X-
Arriving to Mystic Falls with Silas in town was nerve wracking at best. After feeding her some more information about the situation and Amara, Bella didn't know how to move forward. Mystic Falls, despite appearances, is a hotbed for supernatural. She wanted to laugh at the irony of her situation. She had fled to go a mundane town when in fact she has gone to a town riddled with magic and paranormals.
Silas hadn't eased up on his idea that she was in fact Amara, the first Petrova doppelganger. She wanted to refute everything he claimed she was but she knew she couldn't disprove what he was saying. The dreams of them and other oddities in her earlier life pointed toward his story. Bella Swan,the old soul that loved ancient Greek history. She had dressed up as one of the Greek Goddesses every year for Halloween when she was young not mentioning the fact she begged her mother to read old literature. For now, she simply had to roll with it until one side or the other could be proven without doubt. Either she was Amara or she wasn't but she had no idea how to prove it with evidence. So far, she was taking Silas's story with a grain of salt.
When they arrived at her house, Silas had agreed to have Charlie's memory distorted. Instead of Bella having disappeared, she simply was over at a friend's for a sleepover. Silas did (unfortunately) add he was allowed in the house and his presence never makes Charlie suspicious. She nearly hit him for that. Once that was said and done, Silas had followed her upstairs to her bedroom. Silas scanned the room and walked around curious.
"So, what now?" Bella laid back on her bed and had never missed it so much. After being knocked out and sleeping in a duffel bag and on the ground, she was such more appreciative.
"I find Katherine and kill her." Silas shrugged. "Then we give the Cure over to someone else."
"Let me guess, Elena?"
"Maybe not her." He chuckled. "Shane had limited experience with the new vampire but she is a bit of a bitch."
"Considering all the doppelgangers are, I wouldn't think she was an exception." Bella murmured. "Which is a point against your story."
"You don't believe me still?" She was about to fall asleep when Silas abruptly got onto her bed. Her eyes flew open and Silas was inches away from her face.
"I need more proof than just your word." A nervous laughter broke from her lips as her face became heated. "Or am I supposed to believe every word you've said despite knowing you for two days?"
"I don't expect you to trust me in a blink of an eye." Silas's forehead was pressed against hers. "You've never been one to go into anything blindly anyway. Always so skeptical." He chuckled. "I will just have to help trigger your memories. One way or another."
"Based on your story, Amara should be dead. Qetsiyah killed her."
"I believed that for sometime as I rotted away in that cave. However, one day in what is the usual darkness and pain I was subjected to," He paused. "I was suddenly in your dream. I have only been able to do that with Amara. Share each other's mind. I had no intention of getting into your head and even if I did, you would have had to come to the Island beforehand. Besides that, I have an inkling Qetsiyah had some sort of trick up her sleeve after being with you."
"Shane's help also brought me to this conclusion. I hadn't known about her Other Side creation until he had filled me in. How perfect would it be for her to punish me by drinking the Cure after centuries of torture to then be subjected to her on the Other Side? And then realizing that you were not in fact dead, but reincarnated. It is possible considering she was a powerful witch. The closest witch that would rival my power." His explanation made sense but he was still leaving out something. Avoiding Qetsiyah's part in the story.
"From your story, you said she was jealous of your love with Amara. Is there more to that?"
"We were meant to get married and by meant she was forcing my hand. I never insinuated I wanted her but she got our families involved. What better marriage that two if the most powerful witches?" He laughed bitterly. "I denied her but she thought I could fall in love with her. She knew I loved Amara but she still tried. After I found out about Qetsiyah's mistreatment of Amara due to being her handmaiden, I knew I had to act fast."
"So you agreed to marry her?"
"Yes... I convinced her to create the Immortal Spell so we were could become Immortals. She didn't suspect I would give it to Amara until the wedding happened. I became Immortal but I was too late for Amara." Silas's eyes became cloudy. "Now I can exact my revenge on the demoness from Hell." Bella felt an odd emotion overtake her. Her fingers brushed against his face. She couldn't imagine what he had been through. Pain and darkness for a millennia seemed like Hell in itself. Even if she wasn't Amara, she knew she had to help him in some way.
Silas closed his eyes as if savoring the moment. She couldn't admit herself but she didn't want the moment to end. She wanted to keep touching him and being this close. It was as if the void Edward had left in her had finally been closed. The sense of longing had subsided.
"I'm sorry," She didn't know what she was apologizing for but she meant it wholeheartedly. "I couldn't imagine being that alone."
"It was maddening but I was able to recover." He whispered. "Besides, at the end of those days, I was with you. I was never alone then." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Uncertain what was going to become of them or even what would occur tomorrow.