Author's note:
Here is the next installment guys I hope you enjoy this one as well. The story is almost coming to an end. Only two or may be three installments are left excluding this one. I think it's the best time to thank all those people who had supported my work. Thanks to each and everyone. Love you all ^-^
fyreangel5: Wait and see I think you will like the reveal :P
livesmilefangirl: I think you will like this installment and once that are to come ^-^
Disclaimer: Vampire Dairies belong to L J Smith.
Mrs. Flower sighed and looked up at the age-old vampire sitting by her. Damon's face was rigid, his look distant, lips pressed firmly together. The fluid grace that defined the elder Salvatore was lacking from this distraught man.
"It still does not explain why do you blame me for Bonnie's death?" Damon said turning towards the eccentric witch.
"What I did was to protect Elena or else Bonnie would had killed her." Damon added trying to explain himself.
"You still think you were protecting Elena?" Mrs. Flowers laughed bitterly.
"I always thought Bonnie was special to you Damon, maybe not as much as Elena but special none the less." She said standing up.
"Bonnie always spoke highly of you. Even when Elena doubted you she stood be your side….sh..e…..s…..she believed in you…an…and…" Mrs. Flowers' voice with broke with agony.
"All those time you cheated her…..mocked her emotions…..broke her trust…how could your conscience allow that Damon, how?" She flung her hands up at the sky.
"I don't know…." Damon whispered back.
"Leave please leave…." Mrs. Flowers suddenly felt very tired; the grief was too much to bear. The elder Salvatore left without another word.
Today was the night of the new moon. The night reflected Damon's mood like a mirror. It was dark and desolate, not even an animal in sight. His heart was in turmoil. Before he could even realize, his feet had brought him to the cemetery. This part of the cemetery was much older than the rest, almost dating back to the time of Honoria Fell. It was separated from the new one by Wickery Bridge. With its array of gravestones being scattered around the overgrown grounds and the thick canopy of the forest guarding its boundaries the surroundings felt almost mysterious to him. He felt a strange power swirling though the ground as if the magical labyrinth that lay just under his feet was calling to him, trying to tell him answers. Answers that he terribly wanted to hear.
"Red Bird…." He whispered to the wind and let himself be consumed by the memories.
Flashback
Bonnie took another sip of her coffee; a dose of caffeine was what she needed at that moment. The bitter taste that was left after her vision needed to wash off as quickly as possible and coffee was the best remedy. Furthermore, it also helped to clear out the haze that seemed to settle on her senses after such happenings. According to Elena and Damon all she said was a date that Elena had written down, but the worried look on her best friend's face stated otherwise. 'Its not that I didn't believe Elena,' Bonnie thought to herself, 'but when Damon was concerned…..' Bonnie shook her head dismissing any such thought. She had absolute trust on her friend.
"Good evening Red Bird." A sinful voice whispered against Bonnie's neck. It sent shivers down her spine.
Her heartbeat quickened, color rushed to her cheeks as her conscience commanded her to move away from this predator but she was frozen to the ground. She waited for appendages to nick her skin. But instead of the fangs she expected, she felt a soft pair of lips brushing against her already sensitive skin. Bonnie sighed. "Damon…." She whispered moving away from the elder Salvatore.
"Its quite late you know….long past your bed time." He smirked gliding towards the cabinet that had the secrete stash of Black magic wine.
"What's the occasion?" Bonnie asked in a mocking tone, crossing her hands in an attempt of appearing confident and unaffected. Damon's presence had always intimidated her especially now that she had accepted that she was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. He was dressed in his usual black on black attire, his raven locks beautifully framing his sculpted face. The little moonlight coming from the kitchen window illuminated his pale skin adding an angelic glow to his features. Internally she swooned at his appearance. 'Nobody is allowed to look that good.' She pouted.
"Occasion you ask…..You see Redbird I am finally free." He said pouring both of them a drink.
"Free?" Bonnie took the glass he offered trying to catch a glimpse of those obsidian orbs that were winds to his soul.
"Yes free from being chained to a woman who will never return my affection. You know what she told me…" Damon said looking at her.
"What?" Bonnie said barely hiding her disbelief.
"I quote…..Girls have fun with bad boys they don't take them home." Damon smiled with bitterness.
"I am sorry." It left her lips before she could check herself. This surprised Damon. 'Isn't she supposed to be happy…..ecstatic even?' Damon mused, '….but she looked so sad and sympathetic….no not sympathetic, understanding….Yes she looked sad and understanding.'
"Don't be….I am free now….free from her…..free from risking my life for her and her friends….. free to leave." Damon eyed her and clinked his second glass of wine with her untouched one.
"You are leaving…" Bonnie stared at him with disbelief. 'He is leaving.' Bonnie repeated in her mind. As the truth sunk in, her heart constricted with intense agony, her face lost its color, her eyes widened with shock and she tried to contain the sobs that threatened to leave her.
"Yes….." Damon paused reading the girl that stood in front of him. She appeared to be sinking in an ocean of despair. 'It seems Elena was right.' He thought. Damon saw a reflection of himself in her and suddenly he didn't wanted to carry this on anymore. Bonnie's pain had always affected in a way that he never wanted to think about. The intense connection he felt with this witch was indefinable.
"….until you gave me a reason to stay…." He smoothly added enacting the last of the lines that he and Elena had planned in spite of his inner turmoil. Now he just waited for Bonnie to take the bait.
"Give you a reason?" Bonnie asked confused.
"Don't play innocent Redbird." He snickered. "Rumor has it that a certain witch cannot resist me." He smirked twirling the crimson liquid in his glass.
Realization hit her hard. Bonnie's fist connected with Damon's check knocking him off. "How dare you!?" She spat. Her hand tingled with power as she stood there, checks red with rage and eyes full of hurt. She hastily left leaving a vampire with a bruised cheek and perplexed mind.
Bonnie ran up to her room, shutting the door she flung herself on her bed. Tears trickled down her cheeks. She was not only hurt but also offended by Damon's comment. 'What kind of girl Damon thought her to be? Was she really a second choice to him…..nothing more from the petty substitute.' A million thoughts crossed Bonnie's mind. 'Did she love Damon? Yes she did.' But that did not mean that she would jump into his arms as soon as Elena left his heart. Her biggest fear had never been rejection, it had always been becoming a replacement of Elena in Damon's life. Never being able to trust his confessions, his love and always questioning his antics, that's what, scared her the most. And with these thoughts in mind the young witch cried herself to sleep.
Bonnie sat up straight in bed, blinking her eyes rapidly trying to escape the gruesome images that plagued her dreams. An impending aura of doom gripped Bonnie as she still recalled the images. She held up her left wrist, the same wrist that was cut and bloodied in her nightmare, it was as pale as her rest of the skin. She ran her finger on the pulse point slowly tracing the veins under the pale surface. It was fine she was fine.
She needed to clear of her mind and she definitely needed some fresh air. Wrapping herself in her nightgown, she ran a hand over her face to wipe out any trace of her silent tears. She opened and jumped of her window landing effortless on the balls of her feet. She smiled up at the second floor window that she had escaped from and mentally patted herself. A few months back while speaking to the older witch Bonnie came to know that over time with the increase in powers witches also develop reflexes that are superior to human beings, some of them even become capable of flight. At that time Bonnie had obviously not believed it but after Matt told her about the face off between Inari and Theo she not only believed it but also started to train her reflexes.
She soundlessly followed the path that she had travelled so many times for the last couple of years. Sometimes she would stop to hear a particular sound or look at a nocturne animal.
Usually it took her about fifteen minutes or so to reach the old cemetery and tonight was no different. Just like every night the thick canopy faded to reveal a clear obsidian sky decorated by millions of stars, the headstones lay scattered just like she remembered. Her eyes fell on her destination, Honoria Fell's tomb. She never knew why she found peace in this place especially after the happenings that took place here,
Katherine's attack, Damon and Stefan almost killing each other and Elena's death. But in spite of it all she kept coming back, whether in hopes of finding answers or to hear Honoria's voice once again, she didn't know.
But now she finally understood the responsibilities that Honoria was talking about on that day and literally it scared her. Foreshadowing your own death is not something anyone wants to do after all.
"Hey I am back again." Bonnie said descending the stairs to the main chamber.
"You must think I am pathetic…..coming here and bothering you." She sat by her sarcophagus.
"Ohhh….you know the nightmares about my death have become more frequent and I also had a vision….it was nothing…..just a date." She added frowning.
"Do think it's when I am going to kill myself." She gave a melancholy smile.
"Two years ago I would probably have had a heart attack if someone told I was going to die…..now it's just so…." She trailed off. 'Easy to accept.' She added in her mind.
"Do you think Damon would care if I died or disappeared…never to come back?" She looked up at the sarcophagus.
"Whom am I kidding?" She added sullenly.
"But things he said tonight…..If I am dying in two weeks time will it be wrong if I enjoy this for a little bit?" Bonnie said surprising herself.
"What do you think about that?" She asked again.
All of a sudden she heard the fluttering of wings and then quick but soft footsteps. If she were human she would have completely missed it but the psychic genes helped her to pick it up.
"Are you giving me a sign?" Bonnie looked quizzically at the sarcophagus.
Even before she could decide to start walking Damon glided into the chamber. "Careful baby bird people might think you have gone bonkers…talking to yourself is not quite appreciated even among people like us."
"I am not like you…..don't you know being witch is al it takes to act like a maniac and still be taken seriously." She retorted back. Damon felt a little surprised that she did not blush or fluster in his presence. He had always liked playing with his innocent Little Red Bird, her innocence had been so refreshing to his ragged life but he never thought she would change. What he forgot that she had been through the same things Elena had, death, misery, loss, she had seen the real face of life while carrying the burden of being a witch. Things like that made people grow up faster than expected. Even she didn't show this side of her to her friends, she was comfortable to let her emotions run bare in front of him.
She had been growing in front of his eyes but he had been too blind to see her change, too blind to see her stance becoming confident, her eyes loosing innocence but gaining knowledge and her aura slowly becoming stronger day by day. Hell even he had missed her gaining the courage and agility to escape the Boarding House from a second floor window.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Bonnie asked breaking the silence that had settled in the chamber.
"You see Elena found out you are missing and asked me to look for you…..so here I am." He lied smoothly. He had seen her escape and had thought of confronting her in a place where she would not feel as confident as she felt in the house.
"Ohh.." Even though Bonnie had expected nothing more hearing it from him hurt Bonnie. Damon saw a flash of pain in her red-rimmed eyes. 'She had been crying again or may be another nightmare.' Damon thought to himself.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Damon asked leaning against one of the walls.
"I talk to her…..Honoria I mean…tell her about my day and stuff." Bonnie replied looking at the white sarcophagus.
"You do have friends you know…..Elena, Meredith, Matt even Stefan." Damon said. His voice taking on a serious tone.
"They won't understand." Bonnie sighed.
"What about the old bat?" Damon offered.
"Don't call her that and Mrs. Flowers have her own demons, demons that are scarier than mine, I don't want to burden her." Bonnie said sitting down. 'She is too considerate for her own good.' Damon thought.
"So you come here and talk to old bones and dust?" Damon said raising his eyebrow.
"Yes, it is easy…knowing she will never judge…never freak out…..no matter what crazy stuff I may tell her." Bonnie looked at the candle that she had lit when she came in.
"So you are afraid to share your thoughts because it may scare the listener…..are you insane?" Damon straightened up.
"You are the one to tell me…you have been with us for two years now and yet even does not know you properly Damon." Bonnie stood up.
"You and Elena were in my fucking mind…..what more do you expect?" Damon said moving towards her.
"How about going inside the rock that little Damon guarded?" Bonnie was now face to face with the elder Salvatore.
"You don't know what you are asking for." Damon replied in a cold whisper. They were inches apart. Bonnie could feel his breath on her lips; a strong smell of Black Magic wine mixed with a scent that was purely Damon invaded her senses luring her into a trace, telling her to take the leap.
"But I want to know." She whispered before pressing her lips to Damon's. This was the first kiss that Bonnie had initiated since he met her. Damon was expecting it to be sweet and clam yet when their lips met both of theirs aura flared, forming a luminescent glow around them. She burned his senses, more he got the more he craved. Her felt her hands slipping into his hair massaging the roots while his roamed over her satin covered back.
Bonnie was lost to the intense attraction that she felt for this vampire. She found herself wanting more and more. As soon as she let her instincts take over she caught herself sucking on one of his fangs. It elongated, nicking her lips in the process, a spiral of blood landed on Damon's tongue. The taste was divine and Damon could taste her vibrant life force. They met and re-met in this forbidden dance. She was the pure innocent light while he was the sinful destructive darkness yet this opposite nature of them made the moment so perfect.
'Fammi entrare.' ('Let me in.') Damon heard Bonnie's voice echo through his mind and her aura reaching for his, it was warm and comforting, it reminded him of his mother's embrace from his childhood. He let his guards down allowing Bonnie into his mind.
Bonnie stood in front of the little boy with obsidian locks and onyx eyes. His legs were shackled to the huge rock that held all of Damon's secrets. Bonnie smiled at him and thought, 'This is how Damon had looked when he was young.'
"Hi I am Bonnie." Bonnie said sinking down to his level.
The child looked up, he had puffy eyes and said softly "I am Damon…." He stared at her for a moment and added, "….. I like your Red hair….it's pretty." He smiled.
Damon saw his little self interacting with Bonnie then he started looking around with hope in his eyes as if expecting someone other than Bonnie, then heard him saying, "Where is Elena?" Elena's face flashed in front his eyes as he suddenly realized the situation he was in. He forced Bonnie out of his mind and pulled back from the kiss.
He looked up at Bonnie, eyes closed, lips swollen and parted, hair tousled and a pale blush tinting her pale skin, her bosom rising and falling with each breath; she was the epitome of a true maiden. And when she opened her soulful eyes to look at him, just like that Damon was lost in those molten orbs, thoughts of Elena escaped his mind, for that moment the only thing that existed was his exquisite Red Bird and nothing else mattered. Seeing the glazed look that took over Damon's eyes Bonnie asked with a little hope, "Is this reason enough?" Daman jolted back. He smirked getting back into character, "We will see Baby bird." He saw her smile at that as she exited the chamber.
Bonnie walked all the way to the Boarding House with a smile on her lips, that's when she noticed Elena standing by the front door, she seemed quite surprised by seeing her for someone who asked Damon to look for her.
"Bonnie I didn't know you went out as well…I am actually waiting for Damon." She fidgeted with her fingers.
'So he was the one looking for me, not Elena.' She chuckled to herself. A little hope blossomed in her heart that maybe Damon is not lying this time.
After the red haired witch had retreated to her bedroom a black bird landed on the front yard of the Boarding House and transformed back to it's real form. He saw his princess waiting at the door and smiled at her, "The first step is completed Princess." Elena smiled and to keep her end of the bargain she began to lean towards Damon for a kiss. As soon as their lips met a weird and uncomfortable feeling settled in his gut, as if conscience telling him to pull back and that his what exactly he did. He looked at Elena who had a frown on her face and quickly vanished into the night. But one thought kept spiraling in his mind, the fierce protectiveness and possessiveness he felt for his Red Bird could slowly be evolving into something else and that's what frightened him.
Once Damon was back to his private cottage, he finally sat down to sort out his chaotic emotions. He had always been a seductively charming and a cold-hearted, compelling character. He was the forbidden fallen angel that every woman wanted and the cruel, ruthless death that every man feared. He was the sadistic, remorseless predator who fed on the fear of his preys. He was darkness personified. He was unkind, uncaring and unsympathetic towards others especially towards human. Yet that night when he heard the wolves surrounding the library he could not stop himself from rushing to her rescue. Even if she was an unknown face her innocent warm aura had called to his darkness and he was not able to stop.
And that was not the only time, again and again he had rushed to her rescue be it the time when those trees had poisoned her to the time when he had forced her out of the harms way to embrace death himself. Before that he would have never pictured himself dying for another human.
Bonnie to him had been a vulnerable, dainty and delicate. Her small features and her cheerful attitude reminded him of a child rather than a woman. Thus, it was easy to disregard his growing affection towards this woman child in favor of his attraction towards the gorgeous Elena. But now the equations were changing, Bonnie was changing, her powers were growing, and the delicate bud that had survived the harsh winters was finally blooming into a beautiful flower, a little girl blooming into a fair maiden.
End of Flashback
Damon straightened up. 'Did he just call Bonnie a fair maiden!?' He remembered the how he had been drawn to those labyrinth of blues under her porcelain skin, throbbing with her life force, how many times he had noticed how color rose to those pale cheeks as she was embarrassed or angry. The Fair Maiden of the Prophecy was never Elena it was Bonnie. His knees buckled as he dropped on the ground, his barriers shattering, his heart constricted with guilt and his eyes glazed with unshed tears as the realization dawned on him, 'It was Bonnie.'
To be continued…..
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