[In The Vampire Diaries chronology this chapter takes place at the end of Episode 18 of Season 1]
Third Person's Point of View
She had not stepped foot on the soil of Mystic Falls in more than one hundred forty years, and it was more different than she had expected.
Bella Salvatore had watched the world change, abandoning hoop skirts for mini skirts and messengers for cell phones. But somehow she had expected this place to stay the same. To arrive and see cars rather than horse drawn carriages was disconcerting, and as she made her way to the town square - her eyes flitting over the familiar apothecary on the corner - she saw someone she hadn't expected to see so soon.
Her brother, tall and just as imposing as ever, sauntering towards the 'Mystic Grill'. She smiled briefly, only to recognize the tension in his shoulders. He was not happy.
Without giving herself time to prepare for what would likely be the most awkward reunion ever, she followed after him. Inside the sound of music and chatter filled her senses, dizzying her for a moment. It had been a long while since she'd been in such a crowded space; Forks was a small town with small places and a small population.
Damon sat on a stool at the bar, already throwing back a shot of something sure to get him drunk. Her fingers twitched against her leg and she bit her lip, scanning the crowd uncertainly. She wasn't quite ready to say hello yet.
Two young men jumped out at her, both holding a pool stick in their hands. Sparing her brother a quick glance she strode towards them, interrupting the lull in their game.
The one of them was dark haired and muscular, though slightly shorter than his blonde friend. "Mind if I join?" She purred, batting her lashes as the dark one turned towards her.
"Sure." he smiled invitingly. "I'm Tyler. This is Matt."
"Bella." she reached for the pool stick against the wall.
"Here. You can have mine." Matt offered her his own, smiling apologetically. "I have to go, I'm meeting Caroline at her place." He shrugged his jacket on as Tyler nodded, the two exchanging a quick goodbye. The game began quietly, flirting glances shot across the table as they aimed for their shots.
He took the first step.
"So, I haven't seen you around here before..." he trailed off, shooting a solid into the corner pocket. "Where are you from?"
"Here, there. I'm a bit of a wanderer. I was born here though." she smiled.
"Really?"
"Yeah. When my parents died I left town. Now I'm back. Don't know where I'll be staying though." she said, mostly as an afterthought.
"There's a bed & breakfast down the street. You can rent a room, the place is nearly always empty."
She grinned, "That sounds ideal. Thank you." She leaned across the table, a decent amount of cleavage peering up at him.
He looked away, a slight blush blooming across his face. Bella smirked and made the pocket, standing slowly.
"I think I need some air. Join me?" she nodded towards the side exit.
"Gladly." He took her hand and lead them out into the alley.
They collided against the wall, his wide palm grasping the back of her neck, his fingers threaded through her hair as his lips pressed against hers. She opened her mouth wider, accepting his tongue as he leaned up against her. Her breasts heaved with every breath she took as he moved down her neck, her eyes growing darker with the hunger she felt.
As he returned to her lips she smiled, easing the veins from her beneath her eyes. Her hands came up to hold his face. "This won't hurt at all." She turned so his back was against the wall and pulled his head aside, teeth elongating in one smooth motion.
"I promise."
With a click Bella pushed the door to Tyler's car shut, effectively locking the sleeping boy inside. Come morning he'd find himself with a hangover, but no memories of the woman who'd bitten him.
"Sweet dreams." she murmured, smiling sweetly at him through the window. She peered at her reflection and wiped a smudge of blood from the corner of her mouth, catching sight of something behind her.
As Damon grabbed for her throat she grabbed for his, sending him on his back in the middle of the empty parking lot.
"Hello brother."
He gaped up at her, his blue eyes wide. "Isabella."
"I tend to go by Bella nowadays."
She straightened, offering her brother her hand. For a moment he only stared, still seemingly shocked into silence, then took it.
"You don't seem surprised to see me." he murmured.
She shrugged. "Emily Bennett told me of your survival."
"And you never looked for me?" He was angry.
"Why would I?" she scoffed. "The last time we spoke we fought and I swore never to speak with you again."
"I thought death would have changed that for you."
"When I make a promise I keep it." He looked away, scratching nervously at his jaw.
"If you're going to stay in town you need to be more careful."
She cocked her head, "Why?"
"That's Tyler Lockwood. Founding families always take vervain remember?"
Bella barked a laugh, crossing her arms over her chest. "Vervain doesn't do much for me anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Taking it on purpose helps build up an immunity. You should try it sometime, loads of fun." she sneered, sarcasm thick in her voice. He rolled his eyes. "So where's Stefan? I'm assuming of course that it was you who followed him here, not vice verse." She strode past him onto the sidewalk pausing momentarily as he came to her side.
"At the Boarding House."
"The Boarding House? Papa's endeavor paid off then."
"That it did. There's plenty of room for you." he murmured hesitantly.
Isabella Salvatore was the oldest of the three of them, and the only person ever capable of making him nervous. Their mother had died when he was only four, in the child-bed delivering Stefan. Isabella had been seven and from then on had adopted the role of his caregiver. As a child he'd followed her everywhere and moments of him holding her trailing skirts and being held in her arms predominated most of his memories.
"I'll keep that in mind. So, have you and baby brother made amends yet? This fight over Katherine is getting a little old." she sneered.
"Well we've got new things to fight over now." he muttered.
"Such as?"
Damon sighed, already regretting his words. "The new Katherine of course." Bella stopped and spun around, knocking him back with a hand to the chest.
"You're joking."
"Why would I joke?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't fuck with me Damon."
"Her name's Elena Gilbert. She's Katherine's literal doppelganger. Ironic huh?"
"No, not ironic. Stupid." she spat.
Flashback
The screams of the other vampires permeated the air as Bella jumped down the porch steps of Pearl's home, dashing into the adjoining forest. She held the heavy skirts of her dress up above her ankles, brambles catching in her hair as she knocked through bushes.
Pearl was gone, Anna and Emily were God knows where; she had to find her brothers. Or Katherine. Wherever she was they inevitably followed. She stopped for a moment, turning to gaze at the group approaching her house.
They gave no care as they marched through the gardens, crushing the roses she and her mother had planted together. A part of her wanted to run to them and tear out their throats, expose herself just to see the fear in their eyes as their lives were taken from them.
Bella shook her head, her eyes widening as Katherine was dragged through the front door, muzzled. She gasped, a shaky hand covering her mouth.
By no means was she friends with Katherine, but watching such a strong vampire be so easily subdued and thrown into a cage like an animal terrified her. Katherine's dazed eyes found hers, and she floundered for a moment. She found herself following as the cage was pulled away by horses, rambling through the streets, the desperate moans of the captured ringing in her ears.
Suddenly Stefan was there, pointing out another vampire, leading the way, charging through the woods like a vigilante. She ducked out of sight, watching with tangible dismay as Damon appeared and knocked the look-out to the ground with the butt of his gun. Stefan reappeared from the shadows as her brother managed to open the door, helping Katherine from it's depths.
"Hurry." Stefan urged. Bella moved to go to them, to help them; regardless of her feelings towards Katherine she knew her brothers would be killed should they be caught.
The barrel of a gun pushed up against her back stopped her. She wasn't sure how she hadn't noticed him sneak up behind her, she'd never known he could be so quiet.
"Don't move." her father's voice was cold, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She shivered, watching as her brothers struggled to untie the rope binding Katherine's wrists. He aimed past her.
"No!" she screamed as Damon's body froze, then fell.
Stefan ran to him, yelling her brother's name. He pressed his hand to the wound, then his face, watching as the light died in his Damon's blue eyes.
He picked up the forgotten rifle, aiming into the woods. Their father shot him before he could move his finger towards the trigger.
"No." she whimpered.
As he gulped in his last breaths the men returned and redid Katherine's wrists, hauling her back into the cage.
"Why?" she cried. "They were your sons."
"They loved a monster."
"And I am a monster." she turned. "What will you do to me?"
Perhaps it was her likeness to her mother, the woman he'd loved so much he'd nearly died when she had, or perhaps it was because she was his daughter, not a son.
"Go." he said, lifting the gun to aim at her. "Before I change my mind." She looked back to her brothers, dead on the dirt road, and ran.
End Flashback
"It wasn't too long ago you died for Katherine. I'm not willing to stick around and watch the same thing happen again."
"Well don't you worry, I don't love this one." he said. She could see past the lie too easily.
Bella touched a hand to his face, affectionately rubbing her thumb down his cheek. "You poor thing."
He swatted her away, sneering angrily. "I don't." he snapped.
"Of course."
She pitied her brothers, constantly caught in their tangled web of love. Being an ancestor of Katherine's it wasn't likely Elena would be any different than her predecessor, but she desperately hoped she was. If not for her brother's sake, than for her own. Getting between the Salvatore's would wreak only havoc and destruction upon herself.
"I'm going to stay at the inn tonight. Perhaps I'll visit in the morning." she murmured, growing tired of the tension lingering between them.
He nodded, his gaze dropping to his shoes. "All right." She leaned forward, bidding him goodnight with a kiss to the cheek.
As they went their separate ways she brushed a tear from her eye, retrieving her bag from the bushes across the street from the grill. When she reached the inn the owner, Mrs. Flower's, was kind enough to rent her a room even at the late hour. Her quarters were sizable and charming, with a grand canopy bed and vintage dresser and desk set.
It almost felt like home. Almost.
As she lay beneath the silk sheets, her hair fanning across the feather down pillow, she managed to sleep better than she had in nearly one hundred forty years.