Hello everyone!
This is the debut of the sequel to Piercing Blue Eyes!
It was, admittedly, very hard to write this. I know you're probably wanting more Damon/Taylor interaction. Don't worry! It'll come soon!
Also, Disclaimer time:
I do not own Vampire Diaries in any way, shape, or form. Nor do I own the song Beauty of the Dark, which is the title of this story.
Enjoy the story and let me know what you think!
Chapter 1:
Hope and Magic
There are a lot of things that can happen when all hope is seemingly lost. Nothing seems to matter – nothing regains its relevance. Crazy things are done.
But those crazy things always come back to haunt you. Sometimes it only takes a few hours.
Taylor Gilbert sat frozen in a pile of blood unmoving like she had been for the past six hours. The blood was not her own. It was the blood of Jace, the boy – the witch – she had loved, though that seemed like a fairytale from long ago. But it was not just his. His blood was mixed with blood she had spilled from Klaus' neck – the ominous vampire who had captured her and killed Jace.
The blood had begun to dry, though it clung to Taylor for dear life. She made no move to clean herself. The guilt of what she'd done – though it had been warranted by Klaus' actions – clung to her more powerfully. The young vampire knew she had done what anyone else would have done – attacking the person that meant her harm. Yet, somehow, it didn't feel right.
It didn't feel right because Klaus had wanted her to do that.
He wanted her to feel so powerless that she succumbed to the vampire instinct within her that made her a monster.
And he had succeeded in doing just that.
Klaus was so sure of what he had done – so satisfied with things – that he had left the house hours ago, without so much as a word of warning to the young vampire. At any other time she would have ran for the door. She would have tried to find someway to get out, even though the compulsion would prevent her from doing so. The vampire would have at least tried. But she couldn't.
Even as the sound of the front door swinging open and the struggling of a young person reached her ears, she did not move.
Soon enough Klaus came into view, a boy held in his hands, thrashing and fighting to get free, though it was to no avail. Not even Taylor could fight him and win and she was a vampire. What surprised her most was who the boy was.
It wasn't that she knew the boy – who looked to be in his late teens – at least not exactly. It was that he was the first boy she had fed on in Mystic Falls. There may have been no correlation between the two situations, but it was enough to snap Taylor out of her thoughts as she sprang into a standing position.
The boy – Alex, if she remembered his name right – looked terrified. His black hair was a disheveled mess and his green eyes were filled with tears. It probably didn't help that there was blood dripping from Taylor's clothes and body. And her mouth.
"What is this?" She forced out, keeping the confusion she felt to herself.
Klaus simply smiled, tossing the boy at her feet. He looked up at her with the most horrified look on his face.
"I thought you might be hungry."
"Well I'm not, so let him go."
She was hungry, actually. The irritating itch at the back of her throat from the lack of blood was starting up and it would have felt so incredible to sink her teeth into the boy's neck, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction this time around.
"No use in wasting," he said nonchalantly, kneeling by the boy in an instant.
"Stop!"
His expectant eyes met hers.
"Well?"
Taylor bent down until her eyes met Alex's. She'd never felt bad about wanting to feed off a human, but she had never fed off a human to kill in a long time. Yet, something told her that leaving him to Klaus would be a far more terrifying punishment.
Alex gulped – she could hear it, feel it. It was always like this when she was hungry. All the instincts kicked in and she could feel everything about her victim. Taylor could feel just how scared the boy was and she knew that he was going over every moment of his life in his head. That he was reliving the moments he would never get again – seeing the people he would never see. And she was the monster that was going to end his life.
The bloody and frightening monster.
A feeling of nausea rushed over her as she thought of Elena and what she would do if it were her in this situation. Her sisterly instinct took over, overpowering the vampire instinct to kill.
"I won't kill him," she hissed, scooping the boy into her arms, bringing his frightened body to her chest. He thrashed around, unsure of everything around him, but he relaxed at her words and the soothing hand motions she made against his rigid back.
Klaus spoke as if it were a simple situation.
"Then I will."
"I won't let you."
"You have no choice."
"If you kill him, I'll make your life a living hell."
"You don't have that kind of power, my dear."
Taylor hissed at his words, causing the boy to jump in surprise in her arms. Her eyes narrowed in a glare, though it only caused the vampire standing in front of her to smirk.
"You plan on keeping me by your side forever. That is a long time to try."
It was almost an empty threat. There was no way she would get enough power to do anything of harm to him. And he knew that. As she would grow stronger, so would he. It would forever be an unchanging cycle. But the need to try was there.
"Suck him dry or I will. And I will not be gentle about it," He threatened.
Taylor's eyes were wide – there was nothing she could do. She understood that, but Alex didn't and he wouldn't, either. Who would listen to reasoning when their life hung by a thread?
After one last, stupidly hopeful look toward Klaus, she knew it had to be done. Taylor forced Alex to look into her eyes, ready to do something that made her feel sick.
"Alex," she murmured, catching his attention.
"How do you know my name?"
"We met before."
"R-really?"
"You don't remember, it was a while ago. At the grill in the parking lot."
"Oh," he said, but he didn't remember. He had been compelled not to.
Klaus watched the interaction between the vampire and the human with interest riddled in his eyes. He hadn't expected the situation to go like this. He'd expected her to rip his throat out in the hunger she was suffering from. Taylor had lost quite a bit of blood from the amount of times he had stabbed her and the length of time the stake had been in her back. Yet she somehow found a way to keep from becoming the savage Klaus wanted her to be.
"I need to kill you," she whispered and the boy immediately started thrashing, screaming that he didn't want to die.
"Shhh," Taylor muttered, once again forcing his eyes to hers. She needed to compel him. "Stop this. You are going to be perfectly fine, do you understand? You are going to die but it will be over quickly. Nothing else matters."
Alex nodded his head. That was it.
Taylor tiled his neck to the side, plunging her lips to his throat, her fangs piercing through his soft skin causing a surprised and pain filled gasp to escape his lips. As soon as the blood hit the back of her throat, she realized how hungry she was. It wasn't hard to get lost in the warmth that it brought and the satisfaction it made her feel. Soon she was greedily sucking, wanting more and more with each drop that entered her mouth and slid down her throat.
This was what Klaus wanted and he watched in satisfaction as she transformed before him. The emotion he often noticed was devoid from her features. In its place was the vampire instinct to feed and kill.
When the last drop of blood had been sucked from the boy, who lay limp in her arms, Taylor released her grip. His body fell to floor in a loud thump, snapping her out of her daze. What she had done came rushing back with such a force it caused her to gasp.
It had been so easy to push it all aside and to focus on the blood.
It was so easy for her to kill that it scared her.
Damon Salvatore could only take so many things happening at once in stride before he began to loose it.
After Taylor had rushed off the night before the founder's day celebration and what actually happened at the celebration, with the Gilbert device being activated and almost getting killed, the realization that Katherine was most definitely not dead set him on edge. He'd left the hospital the second he found out, half expecting Katherine to be waiting on the steps of the boarding house to torment it. He hoped he'd find Taylor waiting there instead.
All that was waiting for him was an empty house.
Something about Taylor running off made him uneasy. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before – she had and he'd followed her. This time felt different for whatever reason he couldn't grasp. It didn't help that he felt guilty – yes, Damon Salvatore felt guilty – for what he had said before she left.
Annoyed with all the emotions running through him, Damon picked up a glass filled with some kind of alcohol (he didn't care what kind it was) and gulped it down. There was a warm sensation as the liquid poured down his throat, but it brought him no comfort.
And just when things couldn't get any worse, Stefan called.
"Damon."
"Yes, brother? To what do I owe this wonderful call?"
"Stop playing games," Stefan sighed. He could tell his brother was upset and he would deal with it later. To him, there were more important things to focus on at the moment. "Katherine's not dead."
Damon's answer was plain and simple. "I know."
It seemed to surprise his brother.
"What do you mean you know?"
"I figured it out."
"Why didn't you tell me? Or Elena? This is important, Damon! This isn't some kind of game –"
"Well you know now, brother, so what do you want?"
"Come to Elena's house. We need to talk about this."
"Do we really?"
Annoyance was clearly laced in Damon's voice. He had his own problems to worry about. He didn't need to be dragged deeper into other problems. Stefan could handle Katherine for one day, couldn't he? But Katherine did know Taylor and it had been Taylor who'd said she hadn't died. If there was the slightest possibility the vampire would show up and give him a clue, he'd go, because Taylor had managed to get so deep into his skin that she made him feel.
"Damon just come here. We don't have time to argue –"
"I'm on my way."
Damon snapped his phone shut, pushing it into his back pocket before he left the house in a blur. With his speed it didn't take long to get to Elena's. He knew he'd probably end up with a headache by the time he left, but he hoped it would be worth it.
"What do we need to talk about now," He called into the house, finding Elena and Stefan sitting in the living room, mirrored looks of worry on their faces.
"Taylor was right," Stefan answered, the guilt he felt plastered on his face. "Katherine is alive and we need to do something about it."
"And what exactly can we do?" Damon asked, plopping down on the couch, his arms folded across his chest and an emotionless look on his face. "She survived being burned to death, I don't think we can just up and kill her."
It was Elena that spoke next, shocking Damon out of his emotionless reserve. "How did you know Katherine was alive?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Yes it does," she argued.
"How did you know, Damon?" Stefan asked. "You were so sure the other day that Katherine was dead."
"I knew because Elena told me Taylor hadn't come back yet."
The two were confused. "That makes no sense."
The Salvatore being questioned sighed, knowing he would have to tell them or he'd be pestered by their questions until they found out.
"I came here last night."
"After the celebration?"
Damon nodded his head.
"Why?"
"I wanted to see Taylor."
"You wanted to apologize," Elena muttered, loud enough for the two vampires to hear. "And she was here. Then you asked me at the hospital if Taylor was coming and when I told you she hadn't come back yet, you realized it was Katherine you had seen, not Taylor."
Once again the Salvatore nodded his head. He was standing and ready to go in an instant.
"Now I've got some business to take care of."
"You're not going to make her come back any sooner or find out where she is by doing things alone, Damon."
"And what makes you think that's the business I need to take care of?"
The challenge was there. Damon stared down at the young girl, wondering what she would say next.
"You can try to hide it, but you care for her."
It wasn't the accusation that shocked him – he knew that he cared for Taylor, he knew it in the way she made him feel – it was the way that Elena said it. She spoke in such a blatant and certain way like she knew she was right and no one would change that. It was the same way Taylor talked whenever she argued with him.
God.
Everything seemed to find its way back to the girl who hadn't come back.
Taylor managed to get under his skin and into his brain even when she wasn't around. Damon Salvatore knew he needed to find her. Her being away was going to drive him insane.
Taylor Gilbert looked down at the piece of scrap paper she'd managed to find lying around the empty room. Her handwriting had been rushed, sprawling across the page in a desperate manner. It read:
Damon,
I'm trapped and I don't know where I am.
Someone named Klaus has me. He killed Jace. He made me kill someone.
I need you.
Taylor.
If Damon got the letter, surely he would try to find her and save her. But there was one major problem with her plan: she had no way of getting it to him. She was trapped in Klaus' house in God knows where with no means of contacting anyone.
Taylor's eyes fluttered to the pool of dry blood to her right. The spot where Jace had died. If he were still alive, he would have been able to use his powers to get the letter to Damon – that is, if he had wanted to. But there was no hope in that, either. Jace was dead.
Believe in the power I gave you.
Jace's words stung her ears, confusion flooding her. What had Jace been talking about? What power had he given her? The power he had as witch? Taylor shook her head, unsure if that was even possible. How could someone transfer their power to another person? She wasn't even a witch – she was a vampire.
Still, the possibility filled her with hope.
"I don't know how this works," she muttered, softly.
Once the words left her lips, her eyes widened. Klaus was still in the house. She'd made a stupid, stupid mistake! If he wasn't listening before, he was listening now. She had very little time to figure out how to do what she wanted to do.
Hoping it would come easily, she held her hand out over the folded piece of paper, palm down. She closed her eyes, wishing the paper would disappear and appear at wherever Damon was. When she opened her eyes, disappointment fluttered. The letter was still there.
Taylor tried again, this time leaving her eyes open.
"Disappear," she hissed.
Slowly, the paper began to lift from the bed, toppling over itself in the air. It wasn't disappearing yet, but it was doing something. Hope filled Taylor with such a force that she had to keep herself from screaming.
It just needed a little more power to make it happen.
Taylor renewed her focus and let out an excited scream as it began to disappear right before her eyes. Just as the last of the letter was fading, the door to her room swung open violently, a now outraged Klaus filling its space. His eyes widened as he watched the last of the paper disappear and a smile rise on Taylor's face.
"What did you just do," he asked, his voice low and threatening.
The young vampire's eyes widened. She'd been caught. Though hope flooded her at the thought of Damon saving her, a deeper laced fear filled her: Klaus knew she could somehow do magic. If he wasn't going to loose her before, he definitely wasn't going to let her go now. Not without a fight.
