~ 2 ~
Nagging birdsong from right outside her bedroom window was what finally pulled Elena Gilbert out of the last vestiges of sleep. It had been a long night of fitful slumber with fractured dreams that still haunted. Images of darkest night broken by circles fire played through her mind, and the face of the monster who had created another jagged hole within her.
Elena gave her head a quick shake to bring herself back to reality, as forever altered as it now was, and pushed herself up to her feet, forcing herself to head downstairs to start her day.
"Good morning, Sunshine," she called to her brother when he came into view in the living room.
Jeremy Gilbert yawned widely as he shuffled into the kitchen. "Please tell me there's more coffee over there."
Elena put down her own mug and poured a cup for her brother. "Rough night?" she asked as she handed the coffee over.
"Research," he muttered before taking his first mouthful of black coffee. The brew was incredibly strong and his eyes widened as the bitter liquid washed over his tongue and went down his throat.
"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention when I was making it." Elena pushed the sugar bowl toward her brother and watched as he added three heaping spoonfuls to his drink. "Research?"
"Trying to find a way to help Bonnie."
Elena's expression slipped a bit at the mention of her best friend. It had been over three weeks since they had last spoken for any real length of time. Right after Bonnie had risked her life, using every bit of power she had to try to destroy Klaus and save all her friends. Elena had gone to see Bonnie the following day to thank her for doing everything she could, even though in the end things had not gone exactly as planned. But Bonnie didn't invite her in. She didn't even open the door all the way. She just smiled weakly, told Elena she appreciated her stopping by, but she'd really like some space for the time being.
"How is she?"
"Very…quiet. She won't talk about it at all and she hasn't used any magic since that night. I think maybe….maybe she can't, but there's no way I'm going to ask her."
"That's awful, Jer."
"That's why I'm trying to research it. Maybe I can find a way to help her."
"Yeah, yeah. That's really sweet of you. I'm glad she has someone looking out for her."
"Hey, Elena, it's…its not you, you know? It was the whole ordeal and…"
Elena shook her head and cut him off, "No, Jeremy, it's okay. You don't have to explain. We'll work things out in our own time." She really hoped that was true, but she couldn't bring herself to trust in it completely.
Jeremy could see the doubt and hurt on his sister's face. He knew how much she missed her best friend, how guilty she felt about needing Bonnie's help and putting her in danger. He had also seen the pain and fear in Bonnie's eyes the few times she had allowed him to hang out and there was no way he was going to push her into discussing the issue.
The soft jangle of keys came from the entry, followed by the sound of the front door opening and then the thud of something hitting the floor. Brother and sister shared a quick quizzical glance before pushing away from the kitchen island and going to investigate.
They found Alaric squatting down in the entry hall, shoving papers into a satchel that was lying open on the floor. His hair was a complete mess and his clothes were wrinkled. Elena mentally noted that they were the same clothes he had had on the night before when he had left the house.
"Hey guys," Alaric drawled awkwardly.
Jeremy stopped over to pick up the last loose paper. "Pretty early morning, aye, Teach?" he teased.
Alaric groaned but accepted the good-natured ribbing. It was a very early morning and his head hurt. He felt very positive that it should have hurt a whole hell of a lot more, but he was not going to start complaining.
"You and Damon must have tied one on pretty good last night."
"Yeah, uh, I wasn't with Damon last night." Elena's eyes went wide and Alaric rushed on, "It wasn't anything like that."
Jenna's death was still pretty fresh for all three of them. Alaric knew that Elena hadn't meant to insult him with her surprise, but the insinuation stung all the same. And while Damon assured him that spending an evening in the company of a lovely lady or two would be the best way to start healing, Alaric knew he could never go that route. His love for Jenna was still real, his heart was still raw. He was going to remain haunted by her for a while yet, and that was okay.
"I had an appointment that started late because of the weather. I just crashed at the apartment."
Elena covered her face with her hands for a second to recover from the embarrassment of her unintentional indictment. "I'm sorry, Ric. That was so rude of me."
"Don't worry, Elena. Is there any coffee?"
"For your own safety you should just make a new pot. Ow! Geez, Elena!"
"Play nice, kids," Alaric called to them from over his shoulder. "Don't make me ground you."
Childishly, Jeremy stuck his tongue out at his sister before bounding off up the stairs. The sound of the bathroom door opening and closing shortly followed after.
Elena returned to the kitchen island and watched as Alaric puttered with the coffee maker. "I take it there's still not much luck in renting out the apartment?"
"Actually, I had very good luck. I rented it out last night."
"But you said…"
"Yeah, I crashed there. We were supposed to meet at the Grill. She was late. I was…drunk. I agreed to rent her the apartment and she agreed I was too drunk to drive. I crashed in my apartment for the last time. I guess you and Jeremy are stuck with me now."
"You know we're happy to have you. What's your renter like?"
"She's, uh, I don't know. Reddish hair, blue eyes, kind enough to put up with my drunk ass. Her name is Seren. Seren Lancaster."
"New to Mystic Falls? Do we need to prepare for more supernatural evil?"
Alaric laughed, but something tickled in the back of his mind. "I hope not. She didn't seem particularly evil. I think she said she was in town to help her sister."
Elena thought on that for a few seconds but then let it go. She got to her feet and began pulling out bowls and spoons so she and Alaric could have some cereal.
Mystic Falls was not the smallest town that Seren had ever visited. Small and old, but obviously loved and well maintained. She had stopped to grab a coffee near the town square and stood for a while to watch as people came and went about their business. The parade of people who strolled past made Seren feel like she were lost in a Ralph Lauren photoshoot. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem on the sleeve of her jacket. Small town, old money. Lots and lots of old money.
After she got back to her car and started toward her destination she took note of the neighborhoods she drove through. Affluent and upper middle class, all lawns were nicely sculpted and manicured. The grass was emeral green in every yard. The perfection was eerie.
The house she finally stopped in front of was smaller than the ones around it, but it was still well-kempt and seemed inviting. The boards on the front porch creaked a little as she approached the door. She could hear the doorbell's little tune echo cheerily through the house after she pressed the small, lighted button. Charming.
The door finally opened a crack after a minute and two chocolate brown eyes looked out at her. "Can I help you?" the girl asked.
"I'm looking for Bonnie Bennett."
The door opened wider and Seren could really see the girl now. "I'm Bonnie."
"I'm Seren," She introduced herself and held out her hand. Bonnie reached out hesitantly with her own hand. Instead of shaking it like a normal person, Seren let her hand slip past Bonnie's and gently gripped the girl's forearm instead. Invisible power exploded between them on contact, creating an unnatural burst of wind that whipped out their hair and set the porch swing to swaying. "It's nice to finally meet you, Sister."
