a/n: it took me all day to come up with a beginning, but I finally got it and then I couldn't stop...so here it is. I would like to give everyone fair warning that Damon won't be in this one for a little while. Not the WHOLE thing, but for a little bit. I already have the next two parts ready to go. I hope you like it :) Enjoy!
ONE
The small clearing in the middle of the forest was illuminated by the light of the full moon, bathing it in a silver-blue light. The snow on the ground only reflected the light, seeming to brighten the surroundings, casting ghostly shadows from the trees all around. The branches rustling in the wind gave off an eerie noise due to the dead leaves. I stood there, not breathing, with the only movement being the wind teasing strands of my hair. Snowflakes fell softly, landing without any noise. For being so far away from the city in the middle of night in the dead of winter, I didn't feel the biting cold that I should have. The coat draped around me was for show to the humans that would find it odd that I was wearing a shirt and jeans. The wolf at my feet was lounging on the snow, burying its nose in its front paws. Where the hell is he? Tyler's thoughts sounded clear in my mind.
Be patient.
You're the one that's dead, I'm freezing, he returned flatly and let out a little whine.
The sound of light, delicate footsteps over the untouched snow raised my level alertness. I listened and heard two pairs of feet. They would be here soon. Tyler got to his feet, still in wolf form, and gently shook the snowflakes from his fur. He was alert as well, though his job was to protect me. I didn't even blink as two men of roughly the same height broke through the trees. One stopped at the sight of me, the other took his place a few feet behind me. Stefan inclined his head as he passed and I returned with a nod of my own. I kept my eyes on the other man who was maybe a yard or so in front of me. "Your name?" I asked, keeping my hard and emotionless.
"G-Gaston," he stuttered.
I smirked at that. Little did he know thisbeauty was also the beast. I took a few steps forward and he fell backwards, landing on his rear end. He wanted to run away, but he was enthralled. My eyes had that effect on people. I closed the distance between myself and the blundering form of a man in front of me and extended my hand to him. I pulled him gently to his feet and before he could run, I made sure he was returning my stare. "Tell me what you know of Klaus," I demanded in a silky voice that I used when I compelled someone.
His body relaxed and his eyes went blank for a moment. He let out a deep breath that I could see in the tight space between us. "He has not been around in years. The last time he was seen was ten years ago," he answered calmly. He swallowed out of a nervous habit. It was what allowed me to notice the chain around his neck.
I pulled it up and noticed the medallion at the end of it that had been tucked behind his shirt. I ripped the chain off of him and touched the medallion. My eyes closed as I saw a woman in her mid-twenties. She had chest length blonde hair that was styled as if she had just stepped off the catwalk. Her eyes were blue; like the pure blue of an unspoiled ocean on the perfect day. Her skin was creamy with a glow to it that could only be explained by something supernatural. Her body was that perfect hourglass shape that girls around the world would kill for and I was instantly jealous. She had the medallion into her hand and her mouth moved but I couldn't hear anything as she handed it to Gaston. My eyes opened and I looked at him. I held up the medallion in front of him so he could see it. "Who gave this to you?"
"I don't-"
"The blonde woman. What is her name? How can I find her?" I asked, putting a little more aggression in my voice. He was breathing hard and he closed his eyes. He began muttering something in French and after a few seconds it began to sound like a prayer. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the front of his shirt with one hand, pocketing the necklace with the other. "I'm not going to ask you again," I hissed. My canines were beginning to slide down to full length even though I was trying to hold back.
"I don't remember!" he yelled in the best English he could manage as he struggled against me.
"I was trying to do this the easy way," I told him and then cupped his face in my hands, closed my eyes, and pushed myself into his mind. I had some intense practice searching minds and the elaborate labyrinth that I encountered wasn't as intimidating as it once was. There was a dark spot in the back of his mind, indicating a compulsion and erased memories. It took a bit more concentration, but I was able to see what Gaston was supposed to have forgotten. Her name flashed through my mind at the image of the blonde woman in his mind and I let go of him. He crumpled to the ground and curled into the fetal position while crying like a baby. I knew what I had done caused him permanent mental damage, but I was beyond caring. I looked over my shoulder at Tyler and Stefan. "The person we're looking for is Anya Sorkinov."
I had left the boys to take care of Gaston while I returned to the city. I walked along the city streets, trying to ignore the fact that it was Christmas Eve. Everywhere I looked, there were happy couples that seemed determined to make my bad mood even worse. I knew I should just return to the hotel and wait for one of the others to get back, but I was hungry. I saw a bar and headed towards it. I stopped myself at the edge of the sidewalk and just stared at the sign above the establishment. I sighed and just went back to the hotel like I should have done in the first place. When we had arrived a week ago, the only room had been the penthouse suite. Out in the lesser populated cities, it wasn't as spectacular as we had expected, but it had two separate rooms and roof access. I headed to the roof and leaned against the railing, taking in the lights of the city.
It had been six months since Klaus had disappeared with Damon. I closed my eyes and could still remember it as if it happened a few minutes ago. I would never forget the look on Damon's face the moment he realized what was happening. I thought for sure he would have taken me, but he had surprised us both. The night was a disaster through and through. The only good thing was that Roarke was dead. Bonnie had cast a spell that killed him from the inside out. There wasn't much of a fight, but there had been casualties. Two werewolves, and three vampires had died from Klaus' blood. The legend had been that it would allow the vampire an eternity of sunlight without rings, but it turned out to be wrong. Original blood was poison. It killed within seconds. It was not lethal to humans he turned and the werewolves had died slowly from the taste of it.
I had spent two weeks wallowing in the fact that Damon was not with me; that I would never see him again. Then I realized I had wasted those two weeks when I could have been using that time looking for him. My plan was to do it alone, but Stefan and Tyler followed me and had been with me ever since. Stefan gave Bonnie regular updates on our progress, but I spoke to no one.
Stefan and Tyler were very aware of my personality change, but I tried not to lash out at them if possible. When they first found me, I had given into my hunter's instincts and went on a major killing spree. Stefan compared me to Katherine that night and I had made damn sure that it never happened again. Instead, I settled for acting like Damon had when he first arrived in Mystic Falls; a cold-blooded hunter who attacked when it suited him and showed no mercy. If it hadn't been for Tyler's constant tension breaking humor, I'm fairly certain I would have killed Stefan at least a dozen times.
While I had yet to discover anything useful about where Klaus might be, I had the feeling like that had changed tonight. We had been almost everywhere you could think of to search for him. The only thing we had discovered was that there was an underground society of vampires that even Stefan had been unaware of. It consisted of something right out of a movie with older, powerful vampires running cities like mobsters. Humans like Gaston were their pets or errand runners who were insignificant but useful because the vampire in charge didn't want to do something themselves.
I fished the necklace out of my jacket pocket and inspected it. It was about the size of a silver dollar and very thick. It looked like a piece of iron with something carved into it; a design I had never seen before. As I was looking at it, my mind wandered, thinking of all the things I had done in the past few months. The old Elena would never do such a thing and that scared me more than anything. If Damon were the one searching for me, he would have done the same thing, but it would have seemed more natural. I had to keep flipping that inner switch when I did things and it was getting harder and harder to flip it back so I could be normal again.
I put the necklace back inside the jacket and put the jacket on the ground. I hoisted myself up on the ledge and pulled myself to my feet. There was a spot on the roof to my left that went a little higher up and could only be reached by standing on the ledge. I pulled myself onto that piece and sat down, my back resting against the metal post that held the sign with the name of the hotel on it. Up here, the wind was blowing a little faster and it whipped at my hair. Had I been human, my nose would have frozen already. I simply sat there, casting my thoughts out to the world hoping that I picked up on any sign of Damon as I watched the horizon until I saw the beginnings of the sun rise.
I knew Tyler was on the roof the moment he came out of the hatch and made his way over to where I was sitting. "Are you coming inside anytime soon?" he asked, from the actual roof.
I sat there for a few more moments before I gave in and jumped to land beside him. I made no other movement indicating that I was ready to go inside. "Stefan in there?"
He shook his head. "No, he said he needed to feed, but that was hours ago." He reached out and took one of my hands in his. "Hey, we got a lead. I thought that was good news?"
I stared at him, knowing full well my eyes were unsettling. Even to him. Ever since I had taken his blood, they had changed color and now they were permanently yellow-green instead of the brown they used to be. When I was in blood lust, instead of going dark without any whites, they just simply glowed. That seemed to be the only effect from drinking his blood. Along with the extra dose of restlessness on the full moon and an almost overwhelmingly constant thirst for fresh blood. "Good news is when I have him back and Klaus is dead," I said in a cold voice and walked to the hatch before letting myself jump into the room rather than using the small ladder.
He closed the hatch behind him and set my jacket down on the chair by the window. "Do you need anything?" he asked as he watched me walk to my room.
"No," I said and shut the door, trying not to slam it as I felt tears filling my eyes. My hands flew up to my throat where my locket and Katherine's old ring always hung. I had taken Katherine's old ring from Damon when mine was missing and hadn't given it back to him. Every time I looked at it, it reminded me that if I hadn't taken it, I would be able to find him right now. On the verge of break down, I flipped the switch so I wouldn't have to feel the pain of losing him. I straightened and rolled my shoulders before shedding my clothes and stepping into the bathroom for a shower.
