Awoken by hushed whispers, Bonnie Bennett arose from her laid down position. Her surroundings were foreign to her, and she didn't recognize either of the two individuals to which the hushed whispers belonged to. The last thing she remembered before waking up was fear of her unknown fate after being stuck on the other side with Damon Salvatore.
"It was all a lie. There was never a way for me to stop being the anchor. When the other side goes, I go."
The disappointment in her boyfriend's voice brought tears to her eyes as she tried to defend her decision of lying to him about her imminent doom.
"If I would have told you the truth, it would've changed our last days together, and I didn't want it to change. We were happy."
Of course, this wasn't good enough for Jeremy Gilbert and so he implored for his girlfriend to stay on the phone with him, at least until he could get to her. Bonnie didn't want to cause any more pain for herself or for Jeremy than what they were already experiencing, so without saying goodbye, she hung up the phone and attempted to mentally prepare for what was to come.
Once Bonnie had fully propped herself into a sitting position, the whispers halted and there were now two sets of eyes pointed towards her. One belonged to a six foot tall young man with skin the hue of copper and hair that likened to the wool of a sheep. He also had hair above his lip that mirrored peach fuzz rather than a full mustache. Nonetheless, he was a handsome fellow no older than Bonnie herself. The other figure, while much smaller, shared the same age and complexion as her male counterpart, with sleek long hair a few inches past her shoulders.
The woman spoke first, a little hesitant.
"How are you feeling?"
There were a million thoughts running through Bonnie's head as she continued to take in her surroundings along with the question that was just posed to her. Some of those thoughts spilled out as she adjusted to the foreign territory.
"Where am I? Who are you?"
"I'm Leigh-Anne." She took a step towards Bonnie and looked back at the guy who hadn't moved a muscle since Bonnie had arose. Pointing to him, she stated, "That's Julian."
A meek smile crossed Leigh-Anne's face as she continued traipsing towards Bonnie and finally taking a seat next to her. Her eyes remained transfixed to Bonnie's features, so much so that it made her uncomfortable. It was a stare merely out of fascination rather than anything sinister, but still it was enough to compel Bonnie to stand up and create some distance between the two.
Something had gone wrong. Something had gone terribly wrong for Bonnie to be where she was, because as far as she could tell, this was neither Heaven nor Hell. Where was it though? And where the hell was Damon? She began to finally take in the walls that surrounded her and noticed the varying shades of green that colored the brick walls. On some parts, instead of green, there were tints of brown that indicated the building's old age. There were a couple of bookcases that lined the walls, accompanied by some that stood behind the couch and chairs in the room. Aside from that, the room was fairly bare. Brilliant rays of sunshine burned through the large industrial windows, indicating the time of day.
"I almost can't believe this is happening... I was never a believer of the Harvest prophecy, but I guess it's really true."
At this point, Bonnie's confusion was at an all-time high. She was scared, her defenses were up, and she was beginning to become frustrated.
"What prophecy?! What the hell is going on?!" The shrill in Bonnie's voice was enough to finally elicit movement from Julian. He went to pull back Leigh-Anne as she walked towards Bonnie, in an attempt to close in on the distance between them. Leigh-Anne pushed Julian back in his attempts to halt her actions.
"Stop!"
"She obviously doesn't know or understand what's happening right now! Give her some room.." Bonnie was grateful that he had called Leigh-Anne off, but still stood in wait for an explanation.
"Fine!" Leigh-Anne relented. She gestured for Bonnie to once again take a seat on the couch that she was just lying on. Bonnie refused to acquiesce, however. She wasn't going to do anything until she was informed of her current predicament and whatever the hell this "prophecy" was. This was made clear in her stance, so Leigh-Anne sighed, but began explaining their current circumstance.
"The Harvest prophecy states that the continual existence of our Ancestral magic is ensured by four young witches being sacrificed and consecrated into our sacred grounds, a ritual that is to be carried out by a Bennett witch. ...That's you."
Leigh-Anne took Bonnie's silence as a queue to continue. Really though, Bonnie was just trying to wrap her head around what she was just told. Still, Leigh-Anne kept on.
"That Bennett witch is one from the future. And one from another dimension. She also has to have some link to the other side, so she can resurrect the Harvest girls. Maybe, you didn't sign up for the job, but you fit all the criteria. You're our prophecy."
"Future? Dimension? How is that even possible?" Leigh-Anne sighs at the bewildered Bennett witch's response. It was both annoying and frightening that their supposed prophetic hero was so clueless. Especially, considering their entire coven's fate rested in the hands of said witch.
"Yes, future. And yes, dimension. There are actually several dimensions in the universe that take place in parallel with each other. You're in ours. Now, what other questions do you have? You weren't given some grimoire or lessons on this shit?"
At this brassy remark, Bonnie scoffs. She didn't die, get supposedly sent to another dimension with Damon Salvatore of all people, and be coerced into doing some ominous sounding ritual, just to be insulted.
"No I wasn't because as of a day ago, I had a semi-normal life!" Internally, Bonnie scoffs once again, this time at herself. From the time that vampires, werewolves, and her own magical powers infiltrated her life, there was never a time when it was normal. Still though, she was trying to make a point.
"I didn't know anything about dimensions, Harvest rituals, or any of that stuff before now! I still don't! All I know is that one minute I thought I was dying, come to find out that I'm not, but apparently the lives of multiple witches lies in my hands!"
When Bonnie's outburst ends, Leigh-Anne takes a step back and inhales deeply.
After a pause, Leigh-Anne starts, "Look, I'm sorry. This is all very scary. My little sister is one of those witches that has to be sacrificed for the Harvest. I never believed in any of this stuff until recently and I'm still skeptical, so you can imagine my apprehension about all this. ...Still, I shouldn't take it out on you. S'my bad."
Bonnie nods her head as a sign of acceptance. She, herself, had never had siblings, but she had best friends, and she knew she would hold the same feelings of despair and anxiety if they found themselves in the same predicament.
"Okay.." Trusting strangers was easier said than done. And Bonnie still wasn't completely sold on whether she should trust what she being told. This could easily be some sort of sinister feint and even if it wasn't and she did what was asked, there was no guarantee that she could ever be able to return back to her home in Mystic Falls. Still though, it's not like she had much of a choice.
"Okay?" Leigh-Anne inquired, wanting more.
"Okay, I'll do it. The ritual, I'll do it. I just want to get back home. Would you guys be able to help me?"
"Eh bien, ce suceur de sang est encore endormi. Je pense que j-" An older Black woman had emerged from what Bonnie assumed was a hallway. She had halted her words once she noticed Bonnie's presence.
"La sorcière Bennett?"
"Yeah, Bastiana. She's up." Although it was awfully subtle, the animosity between Leigh-Anne and this Bastiana character did not go unnoticed by Bonnie. She noticed the edge in Leigh-Anne's voice and how she took a few steps back as Bastiana strolled into the room.
"Some prophecy... The girl has never even heard of a Harvest, much less knows how to do one!"
Bonnie tries not to feel offended at Leigh-Anne's obvious frustration, but she still can't help but roll her eyes. It sucked being in a situation she didn't ask for and getting flack for it on top of that.
"Mais vous lui avez tout expliqué, oui?" Bonnie was doing her darndest to pull out the few years of French she had taken in high school. The only words, so far, she had been able to understand were sleep, witch, and explain. She absentmindedly took a closer step to hear better.
"Le rituel? Le moisson? Le mariage?" Ritual... Something else... Marriage?
"Excuse me? Would you mind...?" Bonnie was going to ask the woman if she could speak in English at her convenience, but paused and pondered as to whether she could speak English in the first place.
"Ah! Pardon, madame! I was just tryin' to make sure that you were up to date on everything." Her voice was accented by a mesh of Southern drawl and Creole inflection.
"Yeah.. Yeah, I guess. You said something about marriage?"
"Yes." Bastiana replies in a matter of fact tone. She doesn't elaborate, however. Bonnie raises her eyebrow and waits in anticipation for further explanation, but no one in the room obliges.
Leigh-Anne looks down to the floor, Julian hands fidget as he peers out the window, and Bastiana stares blankly. The former two had very obviously left out this slice of info while explaining the riutal.
"Well?" If it was being physically measured, Bonnie's impatience level, at this point, would be all the way up to the ceiling in this loft.
"Well, what? It's part of the ritual. The Bennett witch, that's you, marries the oldest granchild of the oldest living Elders. I'm the oldest Elder and Julian is my oldest grandchild. This is all to spiritually connect the Bennett and New Orleans coven." The French speaking and Creole accent were big hints, but Bastiana had just confirmed to Bonnie that she was currently in Louisiana.
Bonnie turns to Julian and she reads the tender yet remorseful look in his eyes. His hands are in his pockets, but they're still visibly fidgeting. A few seconds ago, Bonnie had made it up in her mind that she needed to any and everything possible to get back home. That still held true, but marriage? She had only ever imagined herself being married to a man that she loved and adored with all her heart. It was hard to fathom the possibility of marrying someone for any other reason, much less for some type of alliance.
Bastiana persists, "Obviously, this is only for the ritual, so no need to panic. None of that voulez vous coucher avec moi mess because I'm way too young to be somebody's great grandmother!" The lively tone in her voice might've confused one to think that she was being humorous, but her dead pan expression revealed her legitimate stance.
"I'm sorry, that expression means something completely different in English!" Bonnie appealed.
The older woman huffs slightly in response. "Be that as it may, in accordance with the prophecy, you and the boy are now betrothed."
