Hi! This has been floating around in my head for quite some time now and I finally took the time to sit down and write it. The story will be about both Damon and Elena and my OC, Louisa. I really hope you like both her and the story. Please leave a review! They make me happy. Lastly, thanks to my new Beta, StrangenessandCharm-Heartlines! Love you, girl.
Anywho, happy reading!
Prologue
Mystic Falls – 1864
Damon could hear her. Every sound, every move. He could hear her. Of course, the little giggles and rustling leaves helped a bit. Narrowing his eyes, Damon pin pointed her position hiding in the bushes and attacked.
Louisa erupted into another fit of giggles as Damon tackled her to the ground with a playful growl. "Damon! Get off of me," she cried as he tickled her. The oldest Salvatore looked down at is fifteen-year-old sister with affection. He sat up and pulled her up alongside of him, planting a kiss on her temple.
"So, Miss Louisa, how are you? It's been a while since we talked last."
"Yes, well you have been otherwise engaged as of recent, brother. You and our dear Stefan both." Damon gave her a scathing look, knowing just to what she was referring.
"What do you think of her? Really, Louisa, are you taken to her?" he asked hopefully.
Louisa hesitated some before answering. The pause was not lost to Damon. "Miss Katherine is very beautiful, that is for certain."
"Indeed she is. But, that wasn't what I asked." He gave her another look.
"Of course, brother. But, my opinion doesn't truly matter. As long as you're happy, I'm happy for you." She gave him a small smile before looking away from his strong gaze, sensing that he could tell she was unsure.
With a heavy sigh, Damon took Louisa's hand. "Sister, you know that I love you, yes?"
"Yes, of course. Perhaps, Miss Katherine," she struggled to get the words out. "Intimidates me a bit."
Damon laughed. "Well yes, perhaps she is a bit forward. But there is no reason to fear her, Louisa. You and me against the world, remember?" The young girl smile and the pair fell into a comfortable silence. They lay back on the grass and looked up at the clouds. No words were necessary.
"I love her, you know."
Louisa flinched slightly at the thought of her beloved brother properly courting and eventually marrying Miss Katherine Pierce.
"I know you do, brother." And they fell back into silence.
A while later, Damon had fallen into a quiet slumber in the sun while Louisa stared up at the sky. What would it be like to have Katherine as a sister-in-law? She wondered. The woman she was secretly terrified of. The woman who made her life miserable. She didn't know, nor did she care to find out.
Then, to the young girl's misfortune, the woman of her quandaries appear behind her without so much as a ruffle of the leaves or snapping twig. Katherine looked at Louisa, gave her that look. The look she gave her often. The look that said "I love to make you miserable, Louisa." That smirk haunted her every nightmare.
"Well, well, well," she cooed, snapping Damon out of his sleep. "What do we have here? Two thirds of the Salvatore trio. What are you two up to?" she asked with her sugary-sweet voice.
"Nothing, my dear," Damon said, hopping up from the grass and pulling his sister up beside him. "Just spending some quality sibling bonding time. And how are you this fine day Miss Katherine? Louisa, say hello."
"How do you do, Miss Katherine?" The older woman didn't answer, simply smiled that terrible smirk again and turned her focus back to Damon.
"Damon, I was hoping to take a long stroll through the trails. Care to accompany me?" she questioned with her pristine smile perfectly in place.
"Yes, miss. Would you mind if Louisa came with us?"
The carefully placed smile slipped ever so slightly from Katherine's pretty face and Louisa shuttered at the thought of enduring a stroll of any length with Miss Katherine Pierce. "Actually, I had something to discuss with you, in private, if I may. Why doesn't miss Louisa go and find dear Stefan?"
"Sure, you don't mind, do you Louisa?" Damon asked, boyish grin in place.
"Of course not, you two have an enjoyable time."
Damon kissed her temple before allowing Katherine to take up his arm and lead him to the wooded trail. Katherine looked back over her shoulder as the pair walked away, winking at the young girl, smirking all the way.
Louisa broke eye contact and shuddered before running as fast as she could to find Stefan.
Louisa called out Stephan's name as she entered the Boarding House. She found him in the den with his nose in a book. "Hello sister."
"What are you reading?" she asked sitting on the arm of his chair.
"A book," he replied with a smirk.
"Really, I had no idea." She snatched the book out of his hands and studied the cover. "First Love by Ivan Turgenev. Really, Stefan? You've read this fifty times at least," she groaned.
"I'll have you know, Miss Louisa, that it has not been nearly that many times. And, even if it had been, it is still a very good book." She rolled her eyes and placed the book on the tea table. "What are you doing back so soon anyway, sister? I thought you were with Damon?"
"Miss Katherine came and asked for his company," she murmured quietly. Louisa's discomfort at the topic of Katherine did not go unnoticed by her brother.
Stefan gathered his sister into a hug and held her there against his chest. "What's wrong, sister?"
"She scares me Stefan. I'm terrified of her."
"Why is that?"
"I'm not sure." She searched for the right words. "There's just something about her that isn't alright. And" she hesitated. "I don't think she likes me, Stefan."
"Nonsense. Why would you ever think that?"
A few stray tears leaked from the corners of Louisa's eyes as she recalled she and Katherine's encounter just a few days prior. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Now you look here, Miss Louisa Jean." He pulled her away from his chest so as to look her right in the eye. "Miss Katherine likes you just fine. I'm sure it's not easy for her to come into a home and feel so out of place. Now I know it's been a bit since she's been here but, give her a while longer. We don't want her to feel uncomfortable, do we?" Louisa shook her head no. "Good."
Stefan picked his book back up off of the tea table and began to read again. He made it a few paragraph as Louisa studied the oil painting on the wall above the mantle before he spoke again. "I love you, you know."
Louisa sighed. "I know you do, brother. I know you do."
"Miss Louisa?"
The young girl looked up from the silver mirror she had been tinkering with to see a servant, Ellie, standing in her doorway. "Yes?"
"Madam Salvatore wishes me to inform you that supper will begin shortly." Ellie remained in the doorway, eyes downcast as if she was afraid of the small girl before her.
"Thank you, Ellie." And, with that, the servant left.
Louisa sighed. She fixed the bow on the back of her dress, washed her hands in the washroom, and smoothed the tiny curls that had escaped her braid. Her mother would surely have a fit over her unruly curls but attempting to tame them was hopeless.
When she reached the dining room, it was bustling with servant preparing the fine silver and dishware for the meal. Eventually, the noise quieted down and Mrs. Salvatore clapped her hands, signaling everyone to take a seat. Mr. Salvatore sat at the head of the table with Mrs. Salvatore at the opposite end. Damon and Stefan each sat on one of their father's sides while Louisa sat to her mother's right, next to Damon. There was an empty seat that Miss Katherine was supposed to be occupying.
"Where is Miss Katherine?" Louisa asked timidly.
"I believe she is just washing up after her outing with your brother, dear. She won't be but a moment," explained Mrs. Salvatore.
"I'm here," announced Katherine as she came around the corner. "I'm so sorry to keep you all waiting," her perfect smile in place as always.
"Not a problem, dear," comforted Mr. Salvatore as Stefan rose from his chair to pull Katherine's out for her. She smiled up at him before taking a sip from her glass.
"Louisa, what in God's name is happening with your hair?" her mother fretted as she attempted to smooth the wild curls escaping her braid. "Honestly, I don't know where you get this crazy hair from. Why couldn't you have come with hair more like Miss Katherine's?"
Katherine gave Louisa that evil smirk as the younger girl pretended to become entranced with the pattern on her dishware, attempting to ignore both her mother's frantic hands and the burn of Katherine's death smirk.
"Mary, leave her alone. She's fine," Mr. Salvatore smiled warmly at his daughter.
"Yeah," Damon agreed. "She's kind of cute this way, right mother?"
"Not at the table, Damon," his father growled at him. He was tough on Damon and Stefan. This, everyone knew. He wasn't very kind to them at all. But, Louisa, he had a soft spot for.
"Of course Damon, dear. Your sister is always cute."
The family fell into a silence after that, the only sound being that of their silver hitting their dishware.
Eventually, Mr. Salvatore broke the silence again. "And where were you two off to all this afternoon?" he asked.
"We were just in the field, father," Louisa began. "Looking at the cloud-"
"I believe he was talking about Damon and I, Louisa," she said in her sugar-sweet voice. The glare she sent to the youngest Salvatore was menacing, none the less. "We just went on a stroll through the trails, Mr. Salvatore."
"You didn't get yourselves into any trouble did you?" he asked darkly. "I won't have our family name tarnished because my son doesn't know how to contain himself." He glared at Damon.
Damon opened his mouth to reply but, his mother cut him off before the situation could get out of hand. "That's enough, dear," she shushed her husband and took a sip from her glass. "So, Louisa, dear. Are you excited for your birthday?"
"Yes, mother."
"Oh," Katherine exclaimed, making Louisa jump. "I wasn't aware your birthday was coming up. When is it?"
"June the eleventh," her father answered for her with a wink.
"And how old will you be?"
"Sixteen, Miss Katherine." She studied her plate.
"And what gifts are you hoping to receive? Books and sewing supplies, yes? You'll need it if you don't hurry and find a husband soon. You'll end up an old maid!" She said it in such a way that Louisa's family thought she was joking, but the youngest Salvatore knew otherwise. As the table filled with laughter, Louisa avoided eye contact with Katherine.
"She's right you know, dear," her mother replied, trying once more to smooth her daughter's curls.
"Nonsense. My baby sister doesn't need to get married any time soon," Damon exclaimed, putting his arm around her. "She's much too young to leave me."
"After all, Miss Katherine," Louisa said, working up all of the nerve she had in her body, "you're how old and still unmarried?"
Katherine's face hardened to stone. She frowned for a moment before that evil smirk appeared on her lips and she got a terrible gleam in her eye. "Well, if I have my way, I'll be marrying one of your brother's soon enough, dear. No need to fret."
Damon and Stefan shared a look, both worried and competitive over the beautiful woman. Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore shared a hopeful look at the prospect of Katherine joining the family. And suddenly, it was all too much for Louisa. The possibility of one of her brother's being married to that woman for his entire life was terrifying to her.
She started to panic.
Pushing her dish away, she looked nervously to her mother, then to her father, wiping her sweaty palms on the skirt of her dress. "I don't feel well. May I please be excused?" Her father nodded once and inclined his cheek in her direction. Louisa rose from her seat and kissed her father then her mother. "I'll be up to check on you in a bit, dear," her mother cooed.
As quickly as she could without suspicion, Louisa walked from the dining room, feeling that evil, evil glare burning into the back of her head.
When Louisa returned to her room she changed into her night robes, splashed water on her face, and brushed the tangles from her braid out of her hair. Ellie worked behind her, folding down her bed sheets and dimming the light on Louisa's lamp.
The youngest Salvatore climbed into bed and Ellie placed a glass of water on the bedside table. She then made her way to the door. "Will that be all, Miss Louisa?" Ellie asked, hands clasped by her waist.
"I'm fine, thank you Ellie." With that the servant girl closed the door and made her way.
Lying in bed, Louisa stared up at the ceiling. Her head pounded from burn of the low lamp and the ever-rising probability of Miss Katherine Pierce becoming Mrs. Katherine Salvatore. Louisa didn't care which of her brothers Katherine took a fondness too. She knew that the beautiful woman was stringing not just one, but both of her brothers along. She would lie and manipulate and flirt until she had them eating out of the palm of her hand. She would do anything to get her way. And, that included threatening Louisa.
A knock at her door awoke her from her musings. With a sigh she called out quietly, "Come in, mother." The door opened and in walked not her mother, but Katherine.
Louisa's eyes widened in fear as she sat up and pushed her lower back into her feather pillows. "W-what are you doing here?"
Katherine approached the bed with a bowl of water and rag in hand. Her smile was in place, as always. "Your mother was right tired, Louisa. I offered to come up and check on you; have a few words with you." The smile melted off of her pretty face and the evil sneer replaced it.
If anything scared Louisa, it was that very look.
Katherine sat on the edge of Louisa's bed, dipped the rag in the bowl of water before wringing it out and dabbing it at the young girl's temples. "How are you feeling, Louisa? Has your headache resolved yet?" she asked with fake concern. The young girl only nodded. "Good." She threw the rag in the bowl splashing water onto the floor. She glared at Louisa. "Now, you listen here, Miss Louisa. I know you haven't forgotten our prior conversation. Have you forgotten our prior conversation, Louisa? Because if need be, we can revisit that occurrence. Do you remember what I said?" Louisa nodded. "I told you that if you ever got in the way of my plans with your brothers that I would kill you, yes? Do you recall that?" She nodded again.
Tears leaked from Louisa's eyes as Katherine reached for her neck, placing a finger over the pulse point. "Do you feel that, Louisa? Can you feel your heartbeat against my finger?" More tears streamed down Louisa's face. "Do you know how easy it would be for me to sever that bloodline?" The older woman dragged her sharp nails against Louisa's pulse. The younger of the pair felt the familiar sting and jerked herself away from Katherine, hand clutching her neck to feel the blood of the small scratch.
Fast as lightening, Katherine was around the bed, holding Louisa to the wall with a firm hand to her neck. She let out a sob. "What do you want from me?"
"You know what I want. Stay away from Damon and Stefan." Her voice was vicious.
"But they're my brothers!" Louisa cried out.
"They belong to me now. Both of them. And, I won't hesitate to kill you and make it look like an accident if you get in my way." Katherine admired her neat handiwork on Louisa's neck. She watched the little beads of blood drip down her neck.
Louisa had seen it before. The thinning of the skin around her eyes, the veins popping out, and the elongation of her teeth. She didn't know what it was but, it terrified her to no end. It was as if evil, the Devil himself was housed inside of the beautiful woman.
"Do you understand me? I will kill you, Miss Louisa Salvatore. Do. You. Understand?" The young girl nodded frantically, sobbing hysterically. "Good. So, stay out of my way." With one final shove to the girl, Katherine's face returned to its normal beauty, and she made her exit.
Some might call Damon Salvatore a night owl. He himself, however, knows that it was just a strong case of both curiosity and fear. Curiosity of what was out there roaming the night, other than himself, of course. And, fear that his love, his Katherine was with his little brother.
The Salvatore siblings shared a wing in the Boarding House. Damon and Stefan had rooms near the steps while little Louisa had a room at the end of the hall. Creeping around the corner to Stefan's room, he could hear quiet voices. His heart dropped in his stomach. Katherine was with him. The door wasn't cracked but it didn't need to be. Damon knew what they were up to. He sank to the floor, head in his hands.
He loved his brother. He really did. Of course, they had their arguments and disagreements but, they were brothers none the less. But, Damon was in love with Katherine. He loved how she was beautiful and independent and playful and fierce. He loved everything about her. Even so, he knew that she was stringing both he and Stefan along. It didn't matter though. He loved her.
He was brought out of his thoughts by piercing screams from down the hallway; Louisa's room. Without second thought he was up and through her bedroom door, without bothering to knock.
She was sitting up in bed, staring into nothingness. "Louisa!" Damon called for her, hurrying over to the bed. He took her in his arms and shook her lightly. "What is it, sister? Wake up!" Hearing his calls, Stefan and Katherine appeared at the door.
Louisa snapped out of her sleep, tears instantly running down her cheeks. Catching Damon's eye, she clung to him hopelessly, bawling into his shoulder. Stefan rushed over to the bedside and attempted to help comfort his sister.
The brothers were so occupied with Louisa that they didn't notice the satisfied smirk on Katherine's lips.
Katherine was more than just a little bit proud of herself.
She sat in her chamber, relaxed and focused. Young Louisa was asleep just down the hall. Katherine closed her eyes and pictured the girl: wild, unruly black curls like Damon's and her mother's, piercing hazel eyes like Stefan's and her father's, button nose, and petit frame. Next, she pictured the girl sleeping. She made her way through the haze of the young girl's dreams before inflicting horrific images to play behind her eyelids. Death and dying and murder and blood and slaughter and fear and disgust played in Louisa's mind over and over.
Yes, Katherine was proud of herself. After all, if her plan for the Salvatore boys was going to work, she needed the little brat out of her way.
Death, dying, murder, blood, slaughter, fear, disgust. Over and over in young Louisa's mind.
From somewhere down the hall, Katherine could hear Louisa's horrified screams and her brothers' futile attempts to console her.
It had been two months. Stefan was stressed. Louisa was barely sleeping, and Damon had taken up sleeping on his sister's floor in order to comfort her in the middle of the night. The scratches Katherine had left on Louisa's neck were slowly starting to fade. The doctor whom Mr. Salvatore had hired to check up on her daily had inquired about them but, Louisa wasn't talking much these days. In fact, Louisa wasn't doing much of anything these days.
She would often be found in the rocking chair on the porch staring into the distance. She slept little and talked even less. Her birthday endeavors had been canceled due to her unknown condition. She would quickly make her exit whenever Miss Katherine was near and she worried her mother and father to no end. Damon kept constant vigil by her side most of the day. When the doctor would come, she would remain lull.
"Doctor, it has been two months. Can't you do something?" Damon begged.
"Do you have any idea as to what could be wrong with her?" asked Mr. Salvatore, hovering in the corner while his wife smoothed down the young girl's wild curls.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Salvatore. Physically, she's completely fine. She is not bodily ill in any way."
"Well then what is wrong with her?" questioned Stefan from his place at the foot of her bed.
"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore, boys but, I believe Louisa to be mad." The doctor spoke solemnly.
"Excuse me!" Damon's outburst was loud and rage-filled. His mother burst into tears and his father rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"The night terrors, hysteria, intense fear, paranoia, and states of semi-unconsciousness, yes. I do believe that the young Miss Salvatore is in need of the institution. Elmwood is the institution nearest to here. It is just outside of Mystic Falls. "
"Is there anything else we could possibly do?" begged Mrs. Salvatore through tears. "I won't send my darling to that place. I won't."
"Mary, if it is what the doctor suggests-"
"I won't!" she cried, hysterical.
Mr. Salvatore gave the doctor a tired look before adding, "We'll discuss it, doctor, and let you know."
"I will fill out the necessary paperwork in the meantime. I do, however, highly suggest that she be admitted." With one final nod, the doctor showed himself out.
Four Salvatores sat around the Dining Room table while the final remained upstairs, resting in her bed.
"I won't send her there, Giuseppe. I won't!" Mrs. Salvatore slammed her fist down on the table in rage. Her hair was falling out of its pristine bun and framing her face. Her eyes were red and puffy.
"But, mother, if it's what is best for her-"Stefan began.
"Oh, so now you just want to get rid of her too, Stefan?" The oldest Salvatore sibling's anger was apparent.
"But they will help her there!"
"Lies! You know what they do to people in places like those, brother. Don't be naïve. They will try and force the madness out of her. They will cut her open and lobotomize her and change the entire fabric of who she is! If we send her to Elmwood, we will never get our baby sister back!"
"Enough!" Mr. Salvatore roared at the notice of his wife's frenzied sobs. "Damon, lower you voice in my home!" The young man cast his eyes down, though still full of wrath. "Now," the head of house continued. "Our Louisa is not well. She requires help that none of us nor Doctor Welsh can provide her with. She will go to Elmwood. She will regain who she once was. And then, and only then, will she return to us. Understood?" Mrs. Salvatore wiped her tears, Stefan nodded solemnly. Damon rose in fury, knocking his chair backwards in the means, and stalked off to resume his post at his sister's bedside.
Louisa sat in the dirt of the garden, her hands sifting aimlessly through the soil.
Today was the day.
"Louisa?" Damon's came from behind her. The girl was startled by most voices these days but, not Damon's. Never Damon's. "Louisa, you know what today it, right?" She nodded, observing the soil. "You know that father is sending you to an institution today, yes?" Another nod. Damon sighed and fell to his knees in the dirt beside her. "You need to snap out of it, Lu. You're my baby sister and I love you and I don't want to have to live without you there to go on adventures with me. Please, Louisa, just come back to me."
The young girl looked up at her brother, her eyes blank and far off. "I can't," she murmured, almost too quiet for Damon to hear. "I can't, Damon. I can't." She threw her arms around her brother's neck and started to hyperventilate into his shoulder. "I can't, I can't, I can't."
"It's okay, Lu. Just breathe. It'll all be alright." He said the words, even though both siblings knew they weren't true. "I love you," he whispered into her hair. She didn't reply, only hugged him tighter and let out a small sob.
From behind, Damon could hear the click-clacking of horse hooves. He took Louisa's hands and pulled her up, straightening her hair and skirts, and taking her hand to lead her to the carriage now pulling up in the yard, Elmwood Asylum painted on the side. Stefan, Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore came out onto the porch with Katherine just behind them. The three Salvatores met the other two halfway. No one said anything. They each just took turns kissing Louisa on the cheek and stepping away. Mrs. Salvatore was tear-stricken. Mr. Salvatore and Stefan were stone-faced. When Louisa once again reached Damon he hugged her, kissed her temple, and told her he loved her. "It's going to be okay, Louisa. You're going to be okay." He knew it was a lie.
Louisa stared off over her brother's shoulder and caught Katherine's eye. She began to hyperventilate once again. "I can't, I can't, I can't." Silent tears ran down Damon's cheeks as an employee of Elmwood took Louisa's hand from his and lead her toward the carriage. His sister looked back at him one last time before climbing into the carriage.
"You and me against the world, kid," he whispered to no one.
More tears leaked from Damon's eyes, as he knew that this would be the last time he would see his baby sister.
Damon was confused. He felt strange. He could feel, hear, see, and smell everything. The colors seemed brighter and clearer. The smells were more pronounced. Every sound was amplified. Stefan no longer stood beside him, his parents were dead, and Katherine was nowhere to be found. That had all been a month ago now.
Vampire. The word seemed foreign to Damon. That is what he was now? Stefan too? He simply could not wrap his head around it. He figured that there should only be one thought on his mind: blood. But, that wasn't the case. He thought of one person: his baby sister, Louisa.
He and Stefan parted ways not long after the Vampire Hunting and Katherine's disappearance. Stefan went to who knows where while Damon had only one location in mind: Elmwood.
Damon had never been to Elmwood Asylum before. He had wanted to go when Louisa had first been admitted but, apparently, and much to his anger, visitors were not allowed at Elmwood due to their potential to interfere with the therapeutic mind retransformation process. Whatever that meant.
And, even having never been there, Damon knew exactly where he was going. He arrived at the institution to find it surrounded by rubble. There were a few fallen trees and one wall was completely destroyed but, there was still and overly cheery woman there to greet him. "Welcome to Elmwood! How may I help you?" The thought of being greeted so cheerfully at an asylum confused the oldest Salvatore.
"I'm here for my sister, Louisa Salvatore. I'll be having her discharged today. The services provided here are no longer necessary." Damon had never been in favor of sending Louisa to this place. He could help Louisa recover from her "madness" without nearly killing her, even with his newly-attained bloodlust. Already, he could be in the presence of this woman and not rip her throat out. All he wanted was his sister back, killing the woman would only serve to be counterproductive.
The eerie smile slid off of the woman's face. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Salvatore. But, I'm afraid your sister has passed away. She was killed during the hunting only a month ago. She has already been laid to rest with a few others who have perished. Would you like to visit her grave?"
Damon wanted to cry. First he lost Louisa, then his parents, then Katherine, Stefan, and now he had lost his sister all over again. His chest ached at the thought of being truly alone for the rest of eternity. Damon looked at the kind woman standing before him, trying to conceal his anger and grief. He simply nodded.
The woman, Margaret, as she introduced herself as, lead the way to a small field behind the building. There stood four head stones. The stones held no epitaphs or dates of birth, simply names and the date of death.
Damon stood over his baby sister's grave for what felt like hours. Margaret had left him be and now there was no one here to see him shed tears.
A while later Damon pressed his lips gently to the grave stone and whispered softly. "I love you, Lu. And, I miss you already, sister."
He took one last look at his sister's final resting place before wiping his tears and setting off on his way, seemingly alone for the rest of eternity.