Chapter 2:

They arrived in Mystic Falls earlier that Isabelle had planned, around 9 in the morning.

The house was pretty big and isolated, surrounded by woods. It was obvious it was a very old house that had been upgraded with the years. Bella could see herself being happy there… it felt more like home than any of the other places she stayed at. For a moment, she though of Esmee and how much she would like this house but shook her head quickly and looked around. It was peaceful… She would be able to heal her heart here, she knew it.

Isabelle showed her granddaughter the big garden with all kind of herbs she might need for potions. She told her she stocked some for later when she didn't use them right away.

Then she showed her the basement with a holding cell (for bad supernatural creatures) and stocked wines, herbs and vegetables. After that she showed her the upstairs, with all the bedrooms and bathrooms. Beside the basement and the first floor, there were two other floors and an attic which was stocked with old clothes, pictures and memories of the Swan family over the centuries.

"On the shelf over there you'll find the collection of journals of our family… Reading them will inform you on the family and town history." Isabelle said as she pointed to a side of the attic where a huge book shelf was full of journals.

"Isn't reading them violating people's privacy?" Bella asked, worried.

"Not if they were written for that purpose Bella. They wrote them so their descendent could know our version of history, not the official one…" The old woman explained.

"Because history is written by rich people and people in power…and by men…" Bella guessed with a smile.

"Exactly Sweet, you understand it well."

"All of this is since 1864?" Bella asked.

"Yes, on the shelf they go up to 1864. If you want to read before that you have those boxes… I think it goes back to the 10th century… Some of them are quite hard to read but with a little spell it's always easier…" She explained.

"I might take to reading those at night instead of the classics I know by heart…" Bella said as they left the attic.

Belle promised herself she would come back soon to snoop around and pick some of the journals as she followed her grandmother down the stairs. She also couldn't wait to watch the old photo albums.

"I thought you'd like to have this room, you have a small balcony, your own bathroom and some independence… I set the room right next door so you can do anything magic in it, even potions… it's locked so only you or I can open it." Isabelle said as she showed Bella the third floor. Her own room was on the second floor but she wanted Bella to have some independence.

"Thank you grandma…" Bella said, grateful for the privacy her grandmother was giving her… She had a whole floor to herself!

"You take your time to unpack. I'll get some lunch ready later and call you then." She said before she left the room.

The rest of the morning went by pretty fast. Bella took a small nap before she got to put her things away. When she was called for lunch, she ate a couple of sandwiches with her grandmother and went back in her room to put the rest of her things away.


When she saw that it was 5 pm, she took a shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt she liked and went down to help her grandmother make dinner for them and their vampire guests.

"Will they come alone or with someone?" Bella asked as she set the table.

"They will come alone. Stefan wanted to bring Elena but I told him not to… not today." She said.

"You look relieved…" Bella observed.

"Yes, Elena Gilbert might not be evil yet but I can't help but feel uneasy around her…"

"Do you think it's some kind of magical warning?"

"I don't know… It's possible…" Isabelle said as she opened a bottle of wine for her, Damon and Stefan.

"What is it you really think?" Bella asked her grandmother.

"I think that it doesn't matter what she is like now or what she wants to be like… She will end up playing two brothers against each other just like other doppelgangers of the Petrova line have done before her… Tatia played the original vampire Elijah and Klaus, Katherine played both original vampire brothers and Salvatore brothers… Elena is already with Stefan and somehow tries to have attention for Damon… I think it's in her nature…"

"Wow… I never heard you not liking someone so strongly before Grandma'… I'll try to give her a chance though… Everyone can change…even a Petrova doppelganger." Bella smiled as she finished setting the table.

A few minutes later, Isabelle decided it would be best to warn Bella right away:

"Remember Bella, Damon can be charming and a perfect gentleman but he can also be an ass…" Isabella warned her granddaughter one last time.

"Don't worry Grandma', I'll be careful." Bella said with a smile. Hearing her grandmother call Damon and "Ass" was quite funny for her.

Bella turned around and went back to the dinning room to check if everything was done and Isabelle went to the cupboard on top of the fridge and grabbed a pill bottle. After making sure Bella couldn't see her, she swallowed a couple of them and put them back in place before grabbing a second bottle from which she took 1 pill. Closing the cupboard, she sighted… She would have to talk with Bella sometime soon but she didn't know how to do it… This kind of things was never easy.


When the doorbell rang, everything was ready and Bella was excited to finally meet the two vampire brothers who had been such good friends of her family ever since the foundation of the town.

"Damon, Stefan, come on in." Isabelle said as soon as she opened the door.

"How are you doing Is?" Stefan asked as he kissed the old woman's cheek.

"I'm fine. Hello Damon." She answered as she turned to the other brother.

"Hello Is. Now, where is your granddaughter?" Damon asked with his trademark smirk.

Just then, Bella shyly came in the hall to great the two men.

"Bella, I'd like you to meet Damon and Stefan Salvatore. Stefan, Damon, this is Isabella, but she likes to be called Bella." Isabella introduced them.

"Nice to meet you Bella." Stefan said nicely as he shook her hand.

"Bella indeed…You have a very fitting name sweet Bella… I'm charmed." Damon said as he kissed her hand softly with a flirting smile in place.

"Nice to meet you." Bella said to Stefan before she turned toward Damon: "Nice to meet you Damon…. Does this flirty smile of yours usually work?" Isabelle and Stefan smirked. Damon looked taken back for a while but caught himself and said with a smirk:

"It does… Are you feeling my charm working its way into your heart?"

"Oh is that what it was? Your charm? Sorry, I didn't recognize it!" Bella said with a sorry smile as she led the way to the dinning room, followed by a chuckling Stefan and Isabelle.

"So Bella, won't you miss Forks?" Stefan asked. Bella looked down and replied:

"No, not really… I'm more of a sun person…"

"It's not the whole truth though…" Damon guessed.

"It's a long story…" Bella said.

"We have time!" Damon replied.

"It's just… you know…heartbreak… realising one day that the person you love more than your own life was just using you and never really loved you…" Bella said softly, trying to keep the pain in.

"Yes… I believe I know how that feels…" Damon said softly as they all took their seats.

They spent the next few hours talking about everything, getting to know each other and Bella was starting to really like the two brothers. Damon was being perfectly charming and Bella was amused by his constant flirting. Stefan promised Bella to pick her up the next morning for school and to show her around. They even exchanged phone numbers and Damon, not wanting to be left out, gave her his also.

"Oh, Damon, I think I should warn you… I've put a shielding spell on Bella's bedroom… You won't be able to enter it until she invites you." Isabelle told the vampire as he helped her put the left over away. Bella was in the dinning room with Stefan, talking about the next day of school.

"It's not like I do this kind of things all the time…" Damon said but when he saw Isabelle's doubtful eyes, he sighted: "Fine, I'll behave myself…" He promised.

"She's been really hurt by the Cullen's… Don't rush her into anything…" She said before they both went back to the dinning table with the deserts.

"What have we missed?" Damon asked as he took his seat next to Bella.

"Stefan was telling me of Lexi and how you killed her to get the council off your back." Bella replied with a small glare.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" Damon exclaimed.

"It's not enough… You killed his best friend! She was the only person who helped him through his dark periods!" Bella exclaimed back.

"It's not true, I could have helped! And your ancestors have helped him too!" Damon said smartly as Stefan and Isabelle sat back and enjoyed the show they were provided.

"It's not a reason… You can't just kill someone important to your only brother and expect to let it go with a simple 'hey, I'm sorry, let's go have a drink!' It's just not done!" Bella replied with a raised voice.

"Well, what was I supposed to say?" Damon said with a raised voice, just like Bella.

"What would you have expected to hear from Stefan if he had been the one to kill YOUR best friend?" Bella shouted.

"Okay, I think it's time for me to break this screaming match!" Isabelle said as she handed both Bella and Damon their deserts.

"As I was saying before, Stefan, I think I can do a spell and try to contact Lexi's spirit so you can say your goodbyes." Bella said.

"Right, I forgot about that spell!" Isabelle said.

"Thank you Bella, I would love that!" Stefan answered.

"Hey Is, why don't you do magic anymore?" Damon asked, bringing all the attention to the old witch.

"Oh, I still do magic, just not as much as I was used to." It was the subject the woman would have liked to avoid for as long as possible, both with Bella or the Salvatore brothers…

"Why is that?" Bella asked.

"Because I was cursed by an evil warlock a few years ago… I managed to destroy him and usually that breaks the spells they cast but it didn't break this curse… If I use too heavy spells I get tired… It could end up killing me so… I've learned to live without magic." She explained, hoping they bought this shortened version of the story.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Bella asked, feeling there was more to it than what her grandmother just told them.

"Because you have enough on your mind Sweet Bell…Don't worry, I'm fine about it!" She replied with a soft smile.

"Is there anything I can do? Can I break the curse?" Bella asked with her eyes full with worry.

"No, there isn't Bells, but don't worry… I'm fine with it." She said softly.

"Does it mean you're going to die soon?" Stefan asked, worried for his Godchild. Bella's head went right up and she looked really worried. Isabelle looked down.

"Eventually we all die…" The old witch replied.

"Don't play around with us Is. Tell us the truth!" Damon asked in a hard voice. He would never admit it but he liked the swan women a lot, and not only because they're women but because they all ended up being his friends.

"Yes… I will live a little less time than I should have… It's mainly why I wanted you to come here Bella… I wanted to make sure I had enough time to train you and tell you everything you needed to know before it was to late… I wanted to make sure you knew Stefan and Damon so they could protect you and take care of you after I'm gone…" She said and when she noticed Bella tearing up she said "Don't cry Bella, I'm fine with it and I will never leave you completely… I'll only be a small spell away from you anytime you need me!" Isabelle said as she hugged Bella.

"I don't buy that crap Is!" Damon said.

"Damon!" Stefan scolded him and both women turned toward him.

"What? If I've learn anything from you Swan's is that if magic did it, it can also undo it." Damon said as understanding dawned on both Stefan and Bella.

"Grandma'?" Bella asked. Isabelle looked guilty and stood up.

"I didn't mean to lie… The spell story is true…. But it got lifted…Only I kept being tired and sick afterwards…So I talked with Meredith Fell, the doctor and she did some tests… I have a heart condition… Not curable, not operable… All she could give me was some pills to calm the pain and help me hold on as long as I can…" She said.

"Why didn't you ask me for some blood?" Damon and Stefan asked in one voice.

"Because Meredith had some and gave me some… It didn't change anything… There is only so much vampire blood can do…" she said.

"How is it possible? Why doesn't it cure you?" Stefan asked, curious and worried.

"Because I'm old, and maybe because it's not meant to be… or maybe I've been cursed so vampire blood didn't cure me…" Isabelle named her ideas.

"If it's a spell there is something that can be done about it!" Damon said.

"I tried with a few friends of mine… I even tried calling an healing angel…since it's not a supernatural injury, there was nothing he could do for me… I've accepted it…" Isabelle said calmly.

"So you're dying and there is nothing we can do to help?" Bella asked in a tearful voice.

"The only thing you can do for me is live your life the way you want to, be happy and be fair… I'm already proud of whom you've become Sweet Bell… Nothing could make me happier than knowing you'll be happy once I leave this world." Isabelle hugged her granddaughter and Stefan said:

"You talk about it like it's a big trip!"

"It's how I see it… Another big travel to a land where I'll rejoin with my ancestors and friends who passed away…" She replied as she hugged a sobbing Bella close to her sick heart.

When Bella had calmed down and they had finished eating their deserts, everyone was a little cheerful, thanks to Damon who had let out a few jokes to make Bella smile. He didn't know why but he really didn't like to see her cry… If he always had the urge to protect the Swan women, he never felt like this for any of them. He knew it wasn't love, that much was sure for him because he knew love and how it felt like… But what was it?

"Well, why don't we all go upstairs, I'll call Lexi." Bella said as Stefan, Isabelle and Damon followed her up the stairs and into the room where the Book of shadows was set up along with a stock of candles and other witchy things.

Bella walked to the book and turned the pages until she found the right one. While she did that Isabelle grabbed the necessary 9 big white candles and placed them in circles. Bella stood in front of the book and recited:

"Hear this words, hear my cry; spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, cross now the great divide."

Bella didn't know what to expect but as soon as she was done saying the words, thinking of Lexi, a beautiful blond girl appeared inside the circle of candles.

"Lexi!" Stefan said.

"Hello Stefan, I'm glad to know you're doing okay…" The blond girl replied with a soft friendly smile before she looked around the room. When she spotted Damon, he stepped up.

"Lexi… I'm sorry for…you know… killing you!" Damon said.

"I know you are… It's okay…" she said softly before she turned back to Stefan.

"Maybe we should leave you two together for a while… You have a lot of catching up to do!" Bella said as everyone left the room and went back downstairs.

They all went in the living room where Damon was telling stories of his childhood and it's only an hour later that Stefan came down. He kissed Bella on the cheek before seating down next to Isabelle.

"Everything went okay?" Bella asked him.

"Yes, thank you so much! She said you could call her anytime, especially if I go back to human blood crazy Stefan!" He said before they went back to talking some more.

Around 11 pm, Isabelle looked at the clock and said:

"It's getting late and Bella has school tomorrow…"

"You're right Is, we should go… Bella, I'll be there on time to pick you up tomorrow." Stefan said as he rose from his seat.

"Thank you Stefan." Bella replied as she shook his hand. Damon rose as well from his seat and walked toward Bella:

"Pretty Bella, I'll wait for you after school tomorrow and I'll show you around town."

"I didn't know we were supposed to meet tomorrow…" Bella said.

"Well, someone has to show you around town and Saint Stefan is too boring for you to enjoy it!" Damon said, making Isabelle and Bella chuckle as Stefan rolled his eyes.

"Okay then." Bella said.

"Damon, remember to bring Bella with you at the Founder's council meeting… I told them I would introduce her to them." The old woman said.

"Of course I will." Damon promised as they all walked to the door.

They exchanged goodbyes and after saying goodnight to her grandmother, Bella went in her room to get some sleep.


First of all, thank you for all the love you gave me on the first chapter! It gave me great joy to know you liked it so much!

I hope you liked this one just as much...

So, what did you wonderful readers think of this?

A little REVIEW please? They are like candy to me, only better!

Keep reading me!

Lorelei Candice Black