"Eibhlín NicBranagáin, She's just over there." I heard my Ma's tone through the quiet conversations between people. A sigh left my lips. She was doing it again. She was trying to arrange a marriage for me. If only it was easy to find some handsome young man to sweep me off my feet. And at a funeral, no less!
I wanted to scream at her…yell…anything. For years she had been like that, and now being 22, I was already past my prime. She would throw me to the wolves if she could. I scowled at the woman as I stood quietly by myself.
"Evelyn?" I heard a soft voice raise my attention. I turned to see Marianna Lockwood walking towards me and Samantha Gilbert stepping out of step with Marianna. I tried to get the thought of her butchering my name out of my head. Those were not my thoughts, but the thoughts of my Ma. It was all in the accent. She pronounced it right, it just sounded strange. "Evelyn?" I heard Marianna's voice break me of my thoughts again.
"Hello, Ms. Lockwood." I gave her a small smile as she stood in front of me.
"Please, call me Marianna." She gave a soft smile. "We are practically neighbors." She cooed.
"Yes, Ms. Lockwood...er...Marianna." I corrected myself.
"I saw you without the company of your mother or father. No one should be alone in these dark times, Evelyn." She said quietly. I only smiled at her.
"It's not like someone is going to try and kill me in cold blood." I muttered lowly. Her eyes widened.
"How did you know that Zachariah..." She trailed off quickly.
"We weren't supposed to know?" I questioned. She shook her head. "Why would we not. My Da is in the council. Zachariah was not the first and I do not believe he will be the last. Should we not have the right to know?" I cocked my head, letting my burnt orange bangs fall across my face. Her eyes narrowed.
"Yes, you should know, but you should not speak so bluntly about it." She hissed before letting out a sigh and shaking her head. "I must say that I'm glad your family moved here before all of the 'accidents' happened." She said in a hushed voice, changing the subject.
"Wouldn't that be the way?" I stated quietly. "A mysterious family moves to Mystic Falls. The town's council members start dying. What an awful novel that would make." I said quietly.
"It would sound more interesting if people weren't actually dying here." She hissed again in a low voice. "This is not a book, Evelyn; do not treat this situation as a novel, this is reality. This is real." She continued, folding her arms.
"I know that this is not a novel." I spat back at her. "I was trying to lighten the mood." I growled lowly
"You are not your mother. She is the only light in these dark times." She muttered. "The brighter you become, the larger your shadow becomes compared to hers." She growled back at me. I blinked at her harsh words before rolling my emerald colored eyes. My eyes darted anywhere to avoid Marianna's intense gaze. Samantha Gilbert's eyes caught mine. She turned her gaze quickly.
Something about her seemed off. She was involved in the council's 'accidents'…somehow, but I wasn't about to blurt out that she had done anything. I had no evidence. It was only a hunch…just a feeling. And who would people believe; an Irish outcast without a husband or a highly sophisticated woman whose family was part of the Founding Family?
"Evelyn." I blinked and looked back at Marianna.
"Hmm?" I trailed off as my mind tried to stay focused on one thing.
"What are you looking at?" She questioned.
"My Ma; she's trying to find a suitor for me." I said; glad to see that ma was still talking to the younger man in the direction I had been looking.
"Now, a beautiful young women like yourself?" I twirled around quickly to see a man with dirty blonde hair and dark green eyes staring at me with a small smile. "I would have assumed you would have more than a dozen suitors lining up to try and take your hand." He continued. My cheeks warmed to his words.
"Oh, but you find the best suitors at a funeral, didn't you know?" I asked with a small smile. The man's sternum moved as he let out a silent laugh.
"Oh, Mr. Salvatore, I did not see you walking up to us." Marianna's softened voice rose up.
"Hello again, Ms. Lockwood." He nodded at her. "And hello Ms..." He trailed off expecting a name. I blinked.
"Eibhlín NicBranagáin." I said as my accent flew through my name.
"Irish? I never would have guessed. The accent was hidden until just now." He smiled with the sarcasm slicing his words. I laughed quietly.
"Yes, Mr. Salvatore is Zachariah's nephew." Marianna spoke again. I froze, feeling the blood rush from my face.
"Oh...I-I'm so-sorry. I didn't...If I had known...I apologize for making such a crude joke pertaining to my personal affairs, while you grieve..." I stuttered. He shook his head with a light smile as I tried to dissolve into nothing.
"No need for apologizes. To be honest, the mood needs to lighten, and what better way to do that than by a pretty woman like you telling funny jokes." I raised an eyebrow at him as I saw Marianna start to slink away in the corner of my eye.
"What better way to start my career as a joking Irish girl than to start by giggling at a funeral." I snapped at him playfully. He chuckled. My ears perked up suddenly as his green eyes slide over to the sound. A crow sat on a headstone, squawking. His attention was now fully on the crow. "Do I need to leave you and the crow alone?" I questioned him sarcastically, which only brought his eyes towards me. He shook his head with a small smile.
"No, Ms. Eibhlín." He smiled. "Crows are said to be a sign of death. Do you really wish for me to leave you alone with one perched so near?" He asked. I rolled my eyes at him.
"It's just a crow, Mr. Salvatore." I smiled. "Now, once they start bringing people along with them, then we shall be worried." I shook my head. He raised an eyebrow at me with a small chuckle. Behind that smile, his whole body was tense. Perhaps he had a fear of crows.
"Eibhlín?" I heard my Ma's voice calling. I turned to see her giving me a very disapproving look.
"Now, we shall be worried, Mr. Salvatore." I muttered to him, glancing back at my mother. His chest shook again with silent laughter. "I must go now, or else a crow is the least of my worries. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Salvatore." I smiled at him and curtsied in an almost sarcastic way.
"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. NicBranagáin." I smiled as I turned away from him. No one even bothered to try and say my last name, let alone say it right…The warm feeling wrapped around me as I walked over to my ma quickly.
"Hello, Ma." I greeted the aging woman. She scowled at my response before folding her arms.
"Do you know what your Da would think about this?" She hissed lowly. I raised my eyebrow at the woman.
"Think about what? There's nothing to think about!" I protested. "I was talking. What is the harm in that?" I questioned. She grumbled lowly, checking behind her shoulder suspiciously.
"Because I love you, I'm going to tell you this…Don't." She stated flatly. "Do not speak with that…man." She whispered. I cocked my head, out of habit. "He is dangerous." She whispered again.
"What?" I questioned, unbelieving of her words. "Dangerous? He seems very charming!" I muttered back to her quietly. She only glared before grabbing my long black coat sleeve.
"Listen to me, girl," She growled. "Stefan Salvatore is a dangerous man, and so is his brother. Stay away from them at all costs, and if you do not heed my warnings, you will regret it for the rest of your life." She finished and pushed me away. I stumbled before catching myself to see her sauntering away like nothing had happened. I breathed out, only then realizing that I had been holding my breath.
~*~
The quiet of the night was killing me. I heard the low sounds of my older brother's breathing from the room next to mine, and the sounds of crickets outside. There were no loud noises to lull me to sleep like usual. The Lockwood's weren't having any gatherings, and my da wasn't yelling drunken words. So I tossed around in my bed again, looking out my window. Grumbling, I sat up and walked over to the large window to look at the stars.
My window opened with ease as I stuck my upper body out the opening. Looking up, I breathed out a sigh. A large tree branch blocked my view of the stars. Another grumble left my lips before I ran my fingers through the mess of my ginger curls. I needed something. I needed noise. I needed lights. I needed people. My breathing caught as I saw my da stumble out of the house. I pulled my body back into my room and peaked over the windowsill. His large body swayed back and forth as he started heading towards the road.
"What makes him so intimidating?" I questioned myself. "What gives him any right to be the way he is?" Anger began to bubble into my veins. "Why want a family if all you do is treat them like rubbish?" The thoughts slammed into my head. I closed the window quickly and walked over to my closet. "He will not control my life." I hissed to myself. Before I even realized what I was doing, I began to look through my dresses.
Suddenly, a pale violet color caught my eye. I ran my hand over the soft lace before I took out the petticoat. I glanced over the features; a boned bodice and a two-tiered crinoline skirt. I pulled it out quickly and laid it on my bed. I grabbed a light beige shoe with a matching pale violet bow with a design across the front. My nightgown came off as I pulled the dress on as quickly as I could before pulling on my shoes. I walked over to my vanity and pulled on a pearl necklace and bracelet.
"What are you doing, Eibhlín?" I questioned myself in the mirror. I saw the red curls fall against my shoulders and my bangs sweep across my face. "You have no plan." I said to myself as I begin to sneak out of my room. As I left, I looked down the hallway, seeing one single window open, letting in the night breeze. Taking one more glance down the hallway, I ran towards the stairs. Light footsteps began to patter behind me.
Without thinking, I sat on the edge of the railing and slide. I quickly ran to the door as I heard the footsteps upstairs getting closer to the squeaky stairs. I took a breath in as I slipped out of the front door. I glanced at the door behind me before I started to rush towards the shadowing of the trees. I was not going to get caught.
"Just keep telling yourself that, Eibhlín." I muttered to myself as I reached the cool shade before starting my walk towards the town.
~*~
As I walked out of the tree line, I looked at a large tent in the center of a clearing. The clearing was a spot near the town, but nothing usually took place here, due to it being so isolated. People chatted to each other outside the tent with a cigar sticking out of their mouth. I scoffed quietly as I walked past them. Why would anyone partake in such a harmful habit? Did they not know the side effects?
Ignoring the smell of the smoke, I walked through the loud tent's opening. I heard the ding of a bell before I heard the punching. I felt my breath catch before I heard cheering. I looked towards the cheering to see a ring with a woman and a man boxing. Red curly hair bounced around as I saw that the woman was actually winning! A smile spread across my face subconsciously. The bell dinged again. I saw the man lying on the floor of the boxing ring. My eyes widen.
"That didn't take long at all!" I thought to myself as I looked at the woman bouncing about with a smile. She had very little clothes on, but I suppose that if you were boxing, you could not wear a dress. Her eyes meet mine and she smiled, winking at me. "Why did she just wink at me?" I thought to myself with a little laughter.
"Come then! You've all heard my bet!" She announced. "Do you wish to go home and say you didn't want to fight a girl?" She mocked the men in attendance. I smiled at her harsh words and so did some of the men. They must have been watching before as well. I saw one man standing up on the opposite edge of the ring. She smiled at him and waited for him to take off his shirt. My feet were planted as I watched the woman. What made her so strong anyways?
The bell dings once and the woman is punching the man. I blink, trying to believe my eyes. I look around at everyone as they talk to their friend beside them and cheer the woman on. Her punches are quick, and before too long, the man falls on his back. My body swayed back and forth as she drank in the cheering.