Saddles and Sunsets: A Delena FanFiction

Howdy, everyone! Yes, cheesy I know. But, alas! This is my very first Vampire Diaries FanFiction, and it happens to feature my very favorite couple, Delena, with various other characters from the series. I'm going to try and make this as interesting as possible, with different characters interacting with each other as they might on the show but in a totally different setting. Which, essentially, is what a FanFic is supposed to be, right?

But before I get started, I will just say a few things. First of all, there will not be a Bonnie in this story. My next words may offend you, and I'm sorry about that. But I can't stand her. Sorry – her character just bugs me, is all, and I know that if I tried to write her into the story, she would just end up turning into a meanie face and I don't want to sacrifice the integrity of her character just because I don't like her. Second, these characters belong to L.J. Smith and the television adaptation producers Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec and all other unmentioned writers. Enjoy the prologue of Saddles and Sunsets!

Prologue

Running. Elena just had to keep running.

Darkness stretched out before her as she dashed for the stables, fear being her only fuel that kept her feet moving though her legs were screaming in protest, her heart was about to burst, and her dress had been torn at least a dozen times in the past hour. She had shed her shoes about a quarter of a mile back, deciding that they were just a hindrance that would keep her from getting out of this godforsaken town and away from him.

The stables loomed before her, a great structure piercing the dark sky, that offered her horses, at least a dozen to choose from, that would aid her on her journey.

It pained her heart to know that in a few minutes, she would be committing a crime, one of the highest crimes in the West other than murder and cattle wrangling. Horse thieving. But Elena had to accept that in order to get out of this town fast enough, she would have to steal. Or, to be more specific, she knew that she would have to steal a horse. Though she had already stolen a good deal of the money her father kept stashed under the floorboard in the stairwell. Those coins and bills also weighed heavily in her pocket.

He would probably return to her room and realize she was gone any second now. Then he would rouse her father and her brother, tell them of my disappearance, and within an hour the entire town would be out in search for her.

Elena had to be long gone before then.

She shoved open the door to the town stables, and within seconds over a dozen horse heads poked out from their stalls, all curious to the human that had entered their home.

There was only one horse that Elena wanted. She was going to take his horse. The beautiful black filly, imported from Arabia, the one he called Black Sara. She stood there in her stall at the end of the row, her saddle hanging up next to her stall door, with her ears perked and her eyes alert. She was a gorgeous horse, and Elena had been envious of her owner the second she'd laid eyes on the mare.

Within moments the saddle was on. Elena had been around her father and brother enough to know how to properly put on a saddle and reins, and how to mount a horse. She climbed onto the black filly's back, and without even bothering with horse riding etiquette, dug her heels into the mare's sides and shot out from the stall itself, down the aisle, and out of the stables.

If she could reach Monitor's Rock by sunrise, she would be safe. And that was how Elena Gilbert's journey began.

One Year Earlier

"Damon, come on. We don't have much time."

Damon Salvatore looked up from his corner in the prison cell, his icy blue eyes honing in on the one person who believed him in this entire hole of a city. It was ironic, really, he mused, that the one person convinced of his innocence was the very fiancé of the woman that he had supposedly murdered, and his brother. He smirked that smirk of his and raised an eyebrow.

"What's this? Coming to my rescue like my knight in shining armor, brother?"

The look that Stefan Salvatore gave his brother was one of impatience. He was far too used to dealing with his brother's snarky comments. "You're lucky I even managed to convince the sheriff that there were cattle wranglers stealing from our ranch. We don't have much time to get you out of here, now come on."

"I think I actually wouldn't mind staying in here. Any plan that you came up with is bound to screw itself over at some point or another."

"Would you rather sit here and wait to be killed for my fiancé's murder or would you rather at least make an attempt at escaping?"

Damon appeared to consider this for a moment. "Good point." He pushed himself to his feet almost effortlessly and stretched as Stefan hurriedly used a key to unlock the door (he must have swiped it off the sheriff at some point, Damon was surprised to notice).

"Any reason why you've suddenly decided I'm worth saving, brother?"

"I know you didn't kill Katherine," Stefan replied without looking at him, closing the door and locking it behind Damon once his brother had exited. "And either way, I couldn't put my brother to death. I can't let them kill you for something you didn't do."

Stefan's elder brother, tall with raven-black hair, raised an eyebrow. "So you don't believe I'd have it in me to kill the lovely Katherine Pierce? I am, after all, a rebellious monster."

"I know you wouldn't have it in you to kill Katherine. I mean, you're originally the one who-" Stefan stopped himself short, not wanting to bring up a subject that would be painfully awkward for both of them. He looked away towards the door, and went to go open it. He looked back at Damon expectantly.

"Do you want out? Come on."

Without hesitation this time, Damon strode out the back door of the jail and followed his brother out into the fading sunlight of the western desert. Waiting for him was his favorite horse from their family ranch, a great blood bay colt they'd bought off the horse traders only two years before. He raised an eyebrow. A saddle was strapped to the horse's back, with provisions practically spilling out from the saddlebags.

"Taking care of me, now, are you? What is all this?" Damon asked nonchalantly.

"There's enough food to last you a week, and hopefully you'll be long gone by then. Just do me a favor and stay out of trouble," Stefan told him, giving him a warning look. "They're going to be looking for you for a while. Stay clear of here."

Damon mounted on to his horse and realized that this very well could be the last time he ever saw his brother. He took the sight of him, the lean brother with sandy brown hair and hazel-green eyes, the brother that had always looked out for him despite his younger age. Stefan was smiling sadly, as if the same exact thought had occurred to him. Damon cleared his throat.

"You… you take care, brother. Thanks."

Stefan dipped his head and tipped his hat to Damon. "You too, Damon. Be careful. I hope we see each other again some time soon."

Without another word, the raven-haired young man who'd been accused of the murder of Katherine Pierce turned around on his horse and raced off into the sunset, leaving his brother standing there outside the back of the jail, staring after his older brother that he had no idea if he would ever see again. Briefly, the thought crossed Stefan's mind that the image of watching Damon ride off into the sunset would have been perfect if there had been a beautiful girl to ride into the bloody red horizon alongside him.

And there you have it, the prologue for Saddles and Sunsets. Hope you enjoyed! Please note that updates for this FanFiction may be slow for the time being, as I'm a senior in high school and am in the middle of the college application process (let me tell you, hectic and intimidating and time-consuming!), and a number of difficult classes. If you'd like to leave a review, please do though! It's much appreciated. ;)