This piece was inspired by a Youtube video of the trailer of the Amma Asante film Belle with Bonnie Bennett as the protagonist. I thought it was a brilliant premise for a story and tried finding one. As far as I know, one does not exist and so I thought I'd try writing it myself. A massive thanks for inspiration to sunshinedesi, the creator of this video, without whom this story would not exist. I hope they do not mind. This story will not follow the events of the film, since the setting, the locations, the timings are all different. I just thought the basic premise of a white girl and a black girl being brought up as sisters would lend itself well to the characters of this show. I do not own either Belle or The Vampire Diaries. All credits go to the writers and producers.

Chapter 1

She was born on the night of the worst storm Barbados had seen in ten years. The world first viewed her in a flash of lightning that lit up the inside of the little hut and her strong, lusty wails competed with the roar of thunder. Nature raged and shrieked outside the fragile walls as the exhausted young mother took her trembling, screaming infant into her arms. Old Maria, standing beside her as Abigail took her first look at her daughter, hastily crossed herself and muttered to herself, taking in the child's unusually pale skin. Thus, did Bonnie Elizabeth Bennett arrive into the world, accompanied by the crash of thunder and murmurs of Devil and child of sin.

She spent the first few years of her life following behind her mother as she worked in the fields and hiding behind her skirts to escape the cruel taunts of half-breed and devil-spawn. She faced her very first experience of loss and abandonment at the tender age of four, cuddled into the side of a dying Abby, hearing for the first time why she was different and strange and alien, that every child had a father and so did she but hers was white, and it was he that would take her away and care for her now. And as Abby closed her eyes for the last time four hours later and slipped quietly away, the other women gazed in puzzlement at this strange, silent child that neither wept nor screamed but lay without words on her mother's bed, clasping the rapidly cooling body with her little hands and ignored every effort at comfort.

X

"What is your name, child?"

She curls her fingers tighter around the skirts of her ragged dress and blinks at the man in front of her. He smiles at her, and the action causes slight crinkles around eyes the same shade of bright green as hers. She backs away.

"It's Bonnie, sir", Agatha informs the smartly dressed young soldier, as Bonnie still refuses to speak.

"Bonnie, you need not fear me. I will take care of you. I have come to take you away to a better life, where you will be comfortable and happy and have everything you want."

"I want Mamma." The words are barely a whisper in a raw, hoarse voice. The tiny bottom lip trembles and she would have cried had she any more tears left to cry. But she is tired of crying. She is just so tired and something hurts inside her chest and she wants her Mamma to open her eyes again and kiss the pain away like she always did. She rubs at her chest, hoping it will feel better but all that happens is that it makes Agatha turn away and wipe her eyes on her apron. Her hand falls away again at her side and twists the grey fabric of her dress.

"Bonnie, your mamma had to go away. She could not stay anymore. But this nice man will take care of you. He is your papa, see?"Agatha tries to explain. But Bonnie does not see. Bonnie does not know what a papa is. She has never had a papa. And this man with his fine clothes and pale skin seems like he is from another world. How could he understand her, look after her, love her? His voice brings her attention to him once again.

"Bonnie, I know it hurts. I lost my mamma too when I was a little older than you. I want to make it better. Will you allow me to try? I know you have never seen me before, you have no reason to trust me but I just want to make sure you are safe and happy. Let me do that for you, my daughter," Captain Finn Bennett smiles again and holds out a hand towards her. And Bonnie closes her eyes and takes a leap of faith, stepping forward to put a small hand inside her father's big, rough one.

X

Asleep against her father's arm, Bonnie is jerked awake when the carriage rolls to a stop in front of a massive mansion, painted a warm, clean, pale yellow. She looks around in bewilderment and awe at the many man servants bustling around the carriage and front doors, busy with large trunks and boxes. She shrinks closer to her father's side once he lifts her out and clutches her little shawl and rag-doll closer. Noticing the looks in the servants' eyes as they look at her, she lifts her chin higher in a desperate show of bravery.

It is a show that falters, when standing before the lord and lady of the manner. Elijah Bennett, her father's elder brother, seems stern and forbidding and while Jennifer Bennett, known to all as Jenna, is a kind woman, at sight of Bonnie her welcoming smile shrinks and is replaced by a worried countenance. Bonnie simply wants to hidehidehide, to run back to her tiny, familiar home and back into her mother's arms, to be embraced by that warm, comforting scent that she misses so dearly. Her eyes burn and she drops her gaze to the rich, embroidered carpet as she makes a determined effort not to cry in front of these people. Her heart screams as it protests that her father lied, that he will break his promise to take care of her, that she will not be happy or safe in this echoing mansion.

"You did not find it necessary to inform us of the colour of the girl's skin, Finn?" Mr. Bennett's tone is no less stern than his face. "Had we known, we might have saved you this journey."

"Brother, I ask only that you give her what is due to her as my daughter and your niece. If I were at liberty to look after her myself, I would not ask this. But, I am to be called away for service again soon and I cannot keep her. It is simply impossible."

"What you ask of us is no less impossible, Captain," interjected Jenna. "I sympathise with your plight and that of the girl, but you must keep in mind the position of your brother and the family."

"We must also take into consideration our other niece. Caroline can ill-afford a companion such as this child," Elijah added.

"What would you have me do, Elijah? Will you not help me? Will you condemn my daughter to a life of servitude for the misfortune of her skin colour? You know all I am asking is that you do the right thing."

Jenna looks down at the little girl in her faded old dress and shawl. She observes the sweet heart-shaped face, the large emerald eyes, the full lips tilted upwards at the ends and the thick, tight curls. She takes in the young shoulders slumping under sorrow and loss, the thin small frame tightly curled around itself as if protecting itself from the world, the head drooping in a submissive bow and suddenly surprises herself and everybody else by holding out her hands.

"Come here, dear," her voice is soft, as if speaking to a frightened animal. She accompanies the gentle words with a smile.

Bonnie raises her head, apprehension and hope chasing each other across her face. The sound of a gentle, motherly voice soothes the pain in her aching chest for a while. She peers at Mrs. Bennett and looks up at her father. Taking his encouraging nod as a sign, she creeps across the floor to the beautiful lady and hesitantly comes to a stop in front of her. As Jenna raises her hand to brush a few strands of hair away from the child's forehead, Bonnie is almost swamped by homesickness and longing. She closes her eyes, tilting forwards towards the touch and Jenna melts. She looks up towards the Captain.

"What is she to be called then?"

"Her name is Bonnie. It is fitting, is it not? So, she shall be called Bonnie Elizabeth Bennett. She shall take my name and everyone will know she is a daughter of the house."

X

The new child is a silent presence in the house. Once Mrs. Bennett has the housekeeper take her up to the nursery, she curls up near the foot of her bed and refuses to speak or eat. The inhabitants of the house are yet to hear the sound of her voice. Caroline Forbes, Jenna's sister's daughter, who also lives at the Bennett House is away on a visit to her grandmother and thus, there is nobody to draw Bonnie out. On the occasion of her father's departure, she leaves the nursery to bid farewell to him. She stands in front of the large double doors of the mansion and watches his carriage drive away until it is out of sight, with tearless eyes, before returning to her room. When Jenna goes up to her room, later that evening, she sits up to face the lady of the house but utters not a word. Her little rag-doll, made by her mother for her second birthday is clutched tightly in her hands. At intervals she rubs the woollen thing over her face, it still holds remnants of the scents of her home, the rough material a memory of her mother's work-worn hands.

"Do you think perhaps the child cannot speak?" Jenna questions her husband, anxiously.

Elijah shakes his head. "She can speak well enough. Bonnie is mourning. Within a few days, she has lost all that she knew, her mother, friends, home. I trust once she has had time to settle down here, she will grow comfortable with us. Caroline's presence will help perhaps."

"Now we have two girls to care for, where once we lost hope of any," Jenna gives a rather tremulous smile. "It is true Caroline was in sore need of a companion. Perhaps that is what we can say when people ask questions." Even as she says this, she frowns, the idea not sitting well with her. The thought of the poor, mourning child upstairs breaks her heart. She is such a defenceless little thing. To pass her off as no more than a lady's companion seems treachery of the highest order. And yet what is there to do? The situation is an impossible one. Anxieties about rumours, gossip, ill-hearted mockery and derision float around her head.

"No. Her father has made it quite clear. She is a daughter of the house and shall be brought up as such, with every comfort and respect her birth accords her. People will talk and much of it will be ill-natured. It cannot be helped. However, she is family and we must help her weather all storms. Bonnie is a Bennett.

x-x

That's really all I have till now. I have no idea where this story is going or even if it is going anywhere. If anyone would like to read more, please let me know if you think it's worth continuing. Thank you so much for reading. If you leave a review it would be most appreciated. Hope you enjoyed it.