I'm sorry for the long wait. I did not expect that finishing this chapter would take me such a long time.
Anyway, I published a chapter of my newest story today. If you like the anime Inuyasha you should check it out. And yes, I'm totally promoting one of my other stories here.
Now that all was said I can only hope that you will like this chapter.
Enjoy.
''Talking''
'Thinking'
Flashback, Memory, Dream
Deliverance
Chapter 2
The Slipping Mask
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Where Sisters Lie
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
― Abraham Lincoln
April 5th, 2008
She stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself. Her blonde her and dark chocolate eyes. Skin as light as snow. Some might call her beautiful, just like her sister. Perhaps she was. Despite only being fourteen years old and still possessing some round features which indicated her young age, there was just this glow around her, it was otherworldly.
By now it was a part of her morning routine; looking into the mirror and waiting for something(The girl liked telling herself that she had no idea what that something was, but deep down she knew.).
A knock against the door broke her out of her musings. She moved her gaze towards it and sighted a little. ''I'm almost ready, Caroline.''
''We don't have much time left, Arianna.'' Her sister's voice was muffled because of the door. ''It's my first day as a freshman! I can't be late.''
A small smile bloomed on Arianna's face as she started to brush her hair. ''I know, sister, I know.''
This did not seem to reassure her sister. Only two minutes later she heard the familiar sound of the door being opened forcefully from the outside with a knife. It was a trick both sister's learned when they were younger and now used to annoy each other in the mornings. ''I told you that I was almost ready. You could have waited a few minutes longer.''
Caroline, her older sister, waved her hand in dismissal. ''It's not like your doing anything special. Even if you were bathing or something, let's be honest, there's nothing I haven't already seen of you.''
The younger one of the girls blinked once and then for a second time. Following that action she started to braid her hair without delay. ''Still, that doesn't mean that you should barge in here every time I use the bathroom. We're sisters, yes. But I do appreciate some privacy.''
The other blonde just rolled her eyes and continued applying her make-up. In a show of sibling love she pushed her younger sister away from the mirror and out of the bathroom. ''You're right. Privacy is a beautiful thing. I'm sure you won't mind me having some in the bathroom?''
Arianna snorted and swatted her sister's hands away. ''Of course not.'' Before Caroline closed the door, she quickly stuck her tongue out at her. Her sister copied the action and closed the door loudly.
The blonde girl walked downstairs and into the kitchen. There she read the note her mother left on the refrigerator.
'I'll be late today. Don't wait for me. There is some money for lunch and dinner on the counter.' Arianna could still remember those days where her mother's constant absence bothered her, but it ceased doing so after a few years. By now she was used to it. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to have a normal family, however, she always stopped those thought before they could develop into something ugly.
Arianna started walking towards the door, taking half of the money from the counter and an apple from the kitchen table on her way there. While she opened the door and draped her backpack over her shoulder, the girl turned around and shouted, ''I'll be on my way, Caroline! Bye!''
''Wait!'' Came her sisters voice from upstairs. ''Let's meet later at the Grill.''
Arianna raised her eyebrows as her sister appeared at the top of the stairs. ''For dinner?''
Caroline descended down the stairs and walked straight into the kitchen. ''Yeah. Anyway, you should be going or you'll be late.''
''And whose fault will that be?'' Arianna muttered and shook her head. ''Bye, Caroline.''
Her sister poked her head out of the kitchen. ''See you later.''
The Mystic Falls Middle School wasn't far away from their home. Only about fifteen minutes. Having been there so many times before, Arianna already new the way perfectly. She could have found her way there blind if she had to. And so she did not watch out as she walked down the streets and payed the price by bumping into someone. A stranger, which might not sound weird, but considering that in Mystic Falls everyone knew almost everyone, well, it certainly was weird.
The blonde fell down on her behind and the phone she had been holding flew out of her hand. The stranger fared far better and only stumbled a few paces. Pulling one of her headphones out of her ear and picking up her phone, Arianna looked up.
The boy did not seem much older than she was, but she knew that looks could be deceiving. He was regarding her with worry which made her instantly distrust him even more.
''I'm sorry. Are you alright?'' He asked and stretched out one of his hands to help her stand up.
The girl regarded the offered appendage with slight apprehension as she noticed the old ring on his finger. Not wanting to seem suspicious, she took the offered hand and let the boy haul her to her feet. ''I'm fine. Besides I should be the one apologizing. I wasn't paying attention to what was happening around me.''
The boy rubbed his head sheepishly. ''No, that's alright. It's my fault as well. Anyway, I'm Stefan Salvatore.''
''It's nice to meet you, Stefan. I'm Arianna Forbes.'' She gave him a smile, a fake one. He never noticed. ''I'd like to chat a little longer, but I'm already late for school.''
He shook his head a little. ''No, no, that's alright. I'm late myself. I guess, see you later.''
Arianna was already moving forward. ''Yeah, I guess.''
Internally, she hoped that she would never have to see him again. He was a vampire after all and she did not want to end up as his midnight snack.
Arianna liked to think that she was normal, just like every other person her age. Most times she even managed to not only convince herself of that, but all the other people around her as well. This could be considered as quiet the achievement, an achievement she was proud of.
And yet, not even two days ago her whole facade slipped, leaving a chain of reactions in its wake. The girl knew that what she did was wrong. At least by other peoples standards, but she just couldn't stop herself from laughing hysterically as she watched Elijah freaking Mikaelson being impaled by a wooden coat hanger. At the hands of a baby vampire nonetheless. It was the most amusing thing she had ever witnessed. This lead to her laughing like a madwoman in front of the Salvatore brothers and Elena Gilbert. This laughter did not cease till they arrived in their home town and continued in small episodes for the next few days. In her defense, after the initial burst of laughter she only giggled from time to time. It wasn't her fault that some of those times might have been a little inappropriate.
Nope, not her fault at all.
Besides, Arianna did not really get the other people's problem. What was wrong with enjoying seeing someone being stabbed by a wooden coat hanger? Would they have preferred it if she had cried? Moreover, it wasn't as if the the Forbes was some kind of psychopath or sociopath, who planned to murder them all in their sleep.
Arianna was just a normal girl with slight sociopathic and sadistic tendencies. That's all she was.
''Ms. Forbes, could you please answer the question?'' The teachers voice ripped the blonde girl out of her thoughts. The man was standing at the front of the classroom, regarding her with a vicious look. He was one of the worst teachers the school had, always trying to humiliate his students.
Shacking her head slightly and pursing her lips, Arianna answered, ''No Mr. Pocky, I can't.''
No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't take someone with such a ridiculous name seriously. The teacher must have seen the amusement in her eyes, Arianna concluded as she watched a small frown appear on his face. ''And why is that, Ms. Forbes?''
The blonde girl had a hard time stopping herself from rolling her eyes. ''Because I haven't been listening.''
The teacher grinned widely. ''Detention.'' And then he continued his lesson as if nothing happened.
At that moment Arianna knew that of all the people she would enjoy murdering, Mr. Pocky was highest on the list. There were so many things the girl would like to do to him that she couldn't decide which would be the best. Maybe she would ask Kol sometime?
That sounded like a good idea. Kol Mikaelson was a master at those things. He would certainly be capable of helping her.
The bell rang a short time later, signaling the end of the lesson. Arianna wasted no precious seconds by waiting for anyone and bolted out of the classroom. As she passed Mr. Pocky, she couldn't help the glare that appeared on her face. The old teacher was sitting behind his desk and looking at her with thinly veiled satisfaction. God, the girl really hated that man.
After the blonde left the classroom, she started to make her way towards her locker. None of the students graced her with a glance as Arianna passed by them, all trapped in their own little worlds and friends. She had no real friends at school, or anywhere at all. Mere acquaintances? Yes. True friends? No.
Arianna was already halfway towards her locker when she heard a voice calling out to her from behind. ''Arianna! Wait!''
It was her sister, Caroline, with her small group of friends. Or as she liked to call them 'the unwanted supernatural freaks of Mystic Falls', her sister excluded of course. Arianna had a slight dislike for her sister's friends. It was only minimal. ''What is it, Caroline?'' Arianna asked her sister as the elder girl arrived in front of her, pointedly ignoring the other people.
Caroline gave her a wide smile. ''You have a free lesson now, don't you? I thought you might like eating some lunch with us.''
Arianna had to stop herself from grimacing, she really didn't want to spend any time with the Scooby-Doo gang.''I d...''Caroline interrupted her before she finished her sentence. ''Come, come, sister. It'll be fun.''
The younger Forbes knew that this experience would be anything but fun, yet the exited expression on her sister's face stopped her from declining. ''I can't stay for long. I have already planned...something.''
The older girl clapped her hands in excitement and proceeded to link one of them through Arianna's. ''Great.''
Out of all of her sister's friends, Arianna disliked Elena Gilbert the most. But it was Bonnie Bennett of whom she needed to be the most cautious of. Since she was a small child, she made sure to never touch the witch with her bare skin. It wouldn't do her any good if the last Bennett found out about her little secret.
While they walked outside, the younger Forbes stayed as far away from the witch as she could. She was thankful about the fact that no one ever seemed to notice her avoidance of the elder girl.
They sat down on a bench and Caroline took a box out of her bag. ''Here. It's a sandwich.'' She said while handing it to her younger sibling. It was probably meant to be some sort of bribe.
''Klaus hasn't made a move yet.'' Bonnie begun. ''How long do you think it will take till he comes?''
Everyone around the table froze. Even Arianna did. Rose must have informed them about Niklaus.
The youngest person at the table forced herself to ask the one thing which was expected of her. ''Who's Klaus?''
Caroline's head snapped in her direction, a lie already forming on her lips. ''Klaus is...''
''Don't lie to me Caroline. I'm not a little kid who needs you to sugarcoat everything.'' The blonde snapped, clearly showing her irritation. She felt guilty even before the words left her lips, but her sister needed to hear this. Arianna wasn't some little kid who needed to be taken care of. Besides knowing that Klaus was already coming to Mystic Falls made the girl incredibly nervous. In fact, the blond felt like hiding in some kind of hole and never coming out of it.
Her sister looked ready to say something else but stopped after she saw Arianna's stern scowl. Later Caroline would be grateful for Bonnie interfering. She did not like fighting with her baby sister.
''Klaus is one of the oldest or maybe even the oldest vampire to ever exist and he is coming after Elena.'' The young witch said. ''We're not sure how much of the information we have can be trusted, but he wants to most likely break an ancient Sun and Moon curse.''
Well, Arianna thought, at least one of them seems to be smart enough to not just believe in some rumors.
''So, what you're saying is that because of Elena the first vampire to ever exist is coming to Mystic Falls and will probably kill us all.'' The young girl stated drily.
Some eyes widened at that. Caroline even decided to punch her arm. ''Arianna, that was uncalled for!''
Arianna decided to ignore her sister and looked down on her wrist at the watch that wasn't there. ''Oh, look at the time. It's getting late. I need to hurry or I'll get a detention from Mrs. Brunner.''
She stood up and packed her things, then she started to make her way towards her next class, leaving a gaping Caroline behind. She did not miss the way her sister apologized in her behalf.
On a plane between life and death childish shrieks could be heard. They were coming from a little girl, no older than three years old. She was running as fast as her small feet could carry her, trying to escape from the young looking man who was chasing her. Both of them looked beautiful, there was an otherworldly glow around them.
That sight might have been worrisome if it hadn't been for the loud giggles escaping the girl's lips in between her shrieks. The man had a small, almost unnoticeable smile on his face. It was a rare sight that not many were privileged to witness.
Flowers rustled around their feet as they moved around a magnificent meadow. They seemed to change their color whenever one of the meadow's occupants touched them. Red, a bloody red color.
In a burst of speed the man appeared behind the little girl and caught her around her waist. He spun her around in fast circles in the air and proceeded to carefully put her down on the ground. Then he used his long fingers to tickle her ribs.
The girl's shrieking laughter intensified. ''No, Kol, no.''
The man ignored the child's pleas and continued tickling her. It was only when he noticed her face getting red from the lack of air that he stopped.''Tired, darling?''
The child shook her head in denial, but the small yawn that escaped her lips betrayed her lie. ''No, no.''
The man, Kol, chuckled. ''Of course not.'' He then picked her small body up and put it on his chest. The girl was a sleep before he finished his motions.
He started whistling a tune long forgotten.
