Caroline stormed off, slamming the front door behind her, and swiftly crossed the driveway. She needed some time to rein in her emotions. Better yet, she needed to blow off steam, ASAP.
She knew fully well that Damon was following close behind, but he didn't dare approach her then. He could be reckless, but not devoid of self-preservation instincts.
He saw when she stopped short on the sidewalk. Then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.
She broke into a run, past his parked car, far away from him. She hurtled along the streets like a streak, a sense of desperate exhilaration overflowing within her. Her heels were no obstacle for her supernatural speed.
One hour earlier (Flashback) -
Time stood still as Caroline stared into the glazed golden eyes of a man - unmistakably a vampire - with dark hair and a calculating edge that did little to put her at ease. As the song goes, people are strange when you're a stranger.
Around her, hungry, sharp looking vampires and high society raging cokeheads easily socialized. The undead watched as their prey drank and snorted to oblivion while sipping their blood fix concealed in dark wine glasses. It seemed half the people in the place was dead, the other half was doped.
Admittedly, the whole thing looked very civilized. The vampires were sated and in their best behavior. Damon himself was in his element among them. Apparently, she was the only one having a hard time ignoring the dead bodies hanging from the ceiling while some of the guests gorged on the blood.
"Their bodies are still warm," the man assured her, though he wrinkled his nose in disdain. "I hear it doesn't taste half bad."
"Yeah, that was my concern," she deadpanned.
The corner of his thin lips lifted with the hint of a smile and Caroline took in his appearance. Much like herself, he had been imprisoned in a young body, no older than 25, but he had the airs of an aristocrat.
"It doesn't tempt me either, but don't worry about them," he said, nodding to the grotesque room. "They're only murderers who met their fate."
Takes one to know one, she thought. Eyes still glued to the scene, she guessed the position sent a blood rush to the head and gave better access to the jugular veins, but the functionality didn't make it any less macabre. What was this place, a butchers' ballroom? Never had she ever set foot in a creepier place, though she supposed death was just as mundane where she came from.
"I think I prefer something with a little more kick," she said, letting her gaze wander until it fell on Damon and the brunette girl all over him. Vampire on vampire action must really be something, she thought with annoyance.
He grinned and turned to leave. "I hope you enjoy yourself tonight, Caroline."
She frowned at his retreating back. What was he playing at?
"Wait," she called, trying to keep pace with him. "How did you know-"
"I see you're not familiar with the workings of our society." He slowed his pace. "You'll soon understand that territorial boundaries are the cornerstone of our world. My name is Ethan Crane and this city is somewhat under my jurisdiction."
The long gallery was partially visible from the main salon and she felt Damon's eyes follow them until the two disappeared from view. They walked in a large study with bookshelves covering two walls from top to bottom. She noticed two men smoking in a corner by the window, working an old turntable. Ethan paid them little attention, taking off his jacket and tossing it on an armchair. On the center table, there was a tray with a few glasses and bottles of whiskey and brandy.
"So, what is your poison?" He asked conversationally, pouring himself a glass of cognac.
She ignored the trivial question. "Why do you seem to be expecting me?"
He sat on the chair and sipped his drink before offering her another congenial smile, like he was pleased with something she wasn't privy to. It was getting on her nerves really fast.
"I told you, I have a certain authority in this city and a responsibility to protect it."
He placed his glass on the table and leaned back, briefly glancing at the doorway. She continued to glare at his pompous face.
"You see, new vampires are usually embraced among us, though it's not rare that individuals come seeking permission to be a part of our sect. Damon here is on a trial period and he was well aware he couldn't make vamps in the meantime. Yet here you are."
Ethan paused again, crossing his legs languorously. She followed his gaze this time and found Damon leaning against the door frame, in a stoic position mastered after years of training. Caroline stared at her statuesque ex-boyfriend with a look of evident confusion, which he refused to acknowledge.
"Although I am within my right to grant or deny the privilege of siring, my permission was never sought at all in your case. Damon should know that the laws that bind our society can't be ignored; the laws that are the fabric of our existence."
"So what, you're wait-listing him?" she asked, bemused. Apparently siring was a big deal for these people and Crane seemed to think Damon should know better.
Ethan's face gave nothing away as he stood up and walked towards her. "It's not him I'm concerned with right now."
He was looming over her now and she stiffened. When she opened her mouth to speak, he raised a finger to silence her.
"What's your poison?" he asked again. His gaze was intense and his voice, raspy. "Your favorite blood type."
"B positive," she revealed warily, thinking of the few plasma bags she had sneaked from Damon's stash back home. She hadn't been so lucky as to try it straight out of the source yet.
He flashed a wide white grin. "Fun trivia for you. It's generally agreed upon that no type of blood provides nourishment quite like the fresh, vile liquid that courses through a vampire's veins."
His words made her chill, the idea that they could feed on other vampires having never crossed her mind.
He lifted her chin with his index finger and leaned closer. "There's no richer delicacy, and it is greatly sought after."
- [End Flashback]
She went back to the hotel later that night, feeling exhausted. She might not need to watch her weight these days, but she still enjoyed exercising. It was always helpful to take her mind off of things she wasn't ready to deal with, proving effective even when her body was practically shaking with rage, like tonight.
Following a long shower, she slipped a robe on and pulled the clips that kept her hair from getting wet. Stopping before the mirror, she studied her face devoid of makeup. The changes were subtle – the permanently plump lips, the more prominent cheekbones -, but she looked better than she ever had when she was alive.
Everything about her immortal coil was better. She was faster, stronger, prettier. There are some perks, after all, she noted bitterly, leaning towards her reflexion. She jumped back when she heard the bedroom door handle squeak, followed by a heavy knock.
She used vampire speed to put on some clothes and, within seconds, threw the door open none too gently.
"About time," Damon said, stepping into the room and pushing the door closed behind him. "We have to discuss a plan of action."
Caroline did a double take. The conceited bastard.
"I thought we called it a day," she said dryly. "You know, after you made me walk into the heart of danger to curry favor with the resident psycho."
Damon saw her irises dilate and her eyes turn bloodshot, and he was reminded that the bossy cheerleader he once met was now undead, volatile and capable of great destruction.
[Flashback] -
Caroline was in terrible need of a blood thinner. Every sentence that man proclaimed caused a new throbbing pain in her forehead, as though his power reverberated in the room. The two men in the corner were now watching them with mild interest, behind them the turntable's needle gently touched the spinning record and the song drifted very faintly to her ears.
Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
Whiplash girlchild in the dark
Ethan circled her slowly, like a predator, his footsteps echoing hollowly in the nearly empty room.
"There's still so much life in you," he mused. "I wonder what it would taste like."
Damon hadn't left his place in the doorway, but he furrowed his brow when the other vampire voiced his own thoughts from earlier. He wasn't liking the undisguised lust in Crane's eyes.
"You want my blood, is that it?" Caroline cut to the chase, forcing down the panic threatening to take over. "We can arrange that."
He stepped forward, forcing her to stumble back a little.
"Yeah, well, I'm afraid I'll be taking a little more blood than you can spare," he said with a chilling grin.
"I think a glass of Barbie's blood was a generous enough offer," Damon interrupted.
The other man raised his eyes to him and tsked. "Damon, your reputation precedes you, but I can't play favorites. You want to be accepted in our circle, but you went behind my back and turned a girl who's too young to be trusted with our immortal gift, the town sheriff's daughter no less. Her making was a violation of our Traditions and it's only right that you turn her over, to us."
"Excuse me, but I'm the one in control of my own body," she snapped. "Damon never even meant to turn me and he definitely doesn't make decisions for me." And that was the truth. Damon had only given his blood to save her, no doubt at Elena's request or maybe because of her mother, and he had been very vocal against allowing her to fully transition.
Ethan looked at her curiously, but Damon just waved off her remark impatiently.
"It was a one-time thing," he said. "I'm sure we can work this out. What would you possibly avoid with her sacrifice? Tornados, volcanoes, dogs and cats living together- mass hysteria?"
"It's the Law," the other vampire stressed. "Exceptions can become liabilities, and one vampire's weakness endangers all of our blood."
"Blondie here understands the need for secrecy, you don't have to worry about her," Damon said, though he knew he wasn't getting to him like this. To the other man, Caroline was his reckless mistake, a walking bottle of vampire blood begging to be emptied.
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Ethan said. "She may be a little too fiery for you to control."
He turned his attention back to Caroline. "But your sacrifice will complete your sire's initiation. I'm sure that'll set your heart to rest."
He reached to play with a loose strand of her hair and she swatted his hand away. "Hey!"
In a split second, Damon was standing in the middle of the room, his stance less passive.
"How about you let her go and we can both apply for membership?"
The other vampire responded by baring his fangs and grabbing her shoulders. Caroline struggled as he lunged for her neck. Suddenly, a force collided with her captor, throwing him off balance a few feet behind and slamming his head up against the wall. Quickly recovering, Ethan sent his opponent flying across the room and Damon found himself flat on his back.
"You have authority problems," their host hissed, his eyes pitch black now. "But this isn't your hometown. You can't count on luck and witchcraft to defeat me here, while I have the power to call a Blood Hunt on you. You'd never leave this town."
"Is that a challenge?" Damon asked, his eyes sparkling in defiance.
Back on his feet, he noticed that the two other guys didn't bother to interfere. He knew that meant they didn't think he stood a chance against Crane.
Ethan regarded him for a moment and then laughed without a trace of humor. He raised his hand in the air like a claw, ready to inflict more pain on Damon, when Caroline's high pitched scream cut the air.
"Ugh! Stop it! Just- Just fucking stop this madness."
"Understand my predicament," Ethan said with a sneer and took a step back, fixing his tie and regaining his composure. "There's a strict code of conduct that we must adhere to if we wish to survive."
"Let's just hold off on the sacrificial feast and find some other way to fix this," she said, shooting the blue-eyed vampire a dark look. "Damon might not be very dependable, but he's handy. Maybe he can make this up to you some other way."
Crane seemed to consider her words for a moment, his calculating eyes regarding them both.
"The sire bond between you two must be strong if she's still in your corner," he told Damon, before conceding, "but the fledgling makes a good point. I may have another deal to offer."
Damon stood very still, his jaw clenched, waiting for Ethan's next move. Something told him this was all a display of power and only now the other man was getting down to business.
"If you do this one thing for me," said the older vampire, "you will both be welcome in our ranks and your status in our society will be recognized and respected wherever you go."
- [End Flashback]
"You put me in this position again," she shouted, anger flashing brightly in her eyes. "I trusted you and you sent me to die!"
"Well, I had to negotiate the system-"
"No!" She cut him off, using vampire speed to get to him.
She pushed him against the wall and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "You don't get to talk. I'm too tired to double as a pawn and a punching bag!"
"It's not like I threw you to the wolves-" He tried to grasp her shoulders to push her off of him, but her fangs came out ferociously and he felt his face burn as the flesh opened in shaky lines where fingernails slashed it.
She froze, gaping at him as the blood dripped down his cheeks before it began to heal. He took advantage of her distraction to shift their positions, pinning her against the wall, and cleaned his face with his right sleeve.
"I didn't lie to you. I told you we were going to meet with vampires, not fairies. I don't know what exactly you were expecting."
"I was not expecting to be offered in the cannibal buffet. At least now I know where I stand, right there with the crostinis." She was furious for so many reasons, that was as good a place to start as any.
"I had it under control," he said impatiently. "You should be thanking me."
"Under control, is that what you call it?" she repeated incredulous, trying to fight him off to no avail. He had a good hold of her wrists even though he didn't appear to be putting much effort into it. "He was going to drink my blood, every last drop of it. He wanted to kill me."
"He wanted me to do his bidding," he clarified through gritted teeth, instantly regretting the implicit admission that Crane could get to him by threatening her life.
"I'm sorry if I don't believe your good intentions when you act like you'd walk over my corpse for free booze," she spat.
He cursed under his breath, but relaxed his grip, pressing his palms against the wall to each side of her head. He looked like he wanted to resort to a remedy very popular in his day and slap some sense into her, help her see things his way, but wisely decided that wasn't the best course of action.
"You really think that I had a whole blonde heroine sacrifice all planned out and just changed my mind in the last minute to save your life?"
"Save my life? Like hell you did-"
"Because. You. Were. Never. Really. In. Danger," he argued, letting his arms drop to his sides and clenching his hands into fists. He knew she'd need to be accepted by their kind when she eventually left Mystic Falls and thought that a pint of blood wasn't an unreasonable price to pay, but what did he know.
"You want to be a part of that special kind of creep, and that's fine, it suits you well," she said slowly. "But now I'm stuck here with you running errands for the big bad vampire of the week and what's in it for me, besides avoiding another premature death?
"Look, sometimes I do things I don't actually have to," he recited an overused half-assed apology, then stopped, thinking better of it. "This time I did what I had to do. You know the old saying, 'if you can't beat them join them'? Well, you might never get another shot. Sorry I didn't check with you first, but it was necessary."
His murky apology brought her up short, mostly because it obviously pained him to have to explain himself to someone else. Good.
Deep down, she knew Damon hadn't meant to harm her. And, when push came to shove, he at least seemed to care whether she lived or died. But he'd still led her there operating blindly, and she wondered what was plan B in case Crane couldn't be persuaded to let her go. She was not going to be pushed around.
"Never again," she warned him quietly, but with so much force he didn't dare retort or look away.
After a few seconds ticked by, she finally ended their staring match and slipped past him. Without a word, she pushed the bathroom door open and turned on the tap, letting the water trickle out and wash away the skin and blood under her nails. Looking up at her reflection she saw her own skin was not as smooth as before, the veins around her eyes faintly sticking out as the sight of the few drops of his blood made her thirsty.
Across the silent room, Damon narrowed his eyes. It felt suspiciously like she was dismissing him, but that couldn't be right. Vampire Barbie didn't get to decide when they were done. He glanced at the blood stains in his shirt and scowled, rolling up the sleeves.
Like he would have let that dickhead drain her. He was almost a little offended that she could think he would have let another vampire have her blood, when he hadn't tried it himself.
- [Flashback] -
"I have urgent matters to discuss with somebody whose whereabouts are unknown," Ethan was saying. "I've heard he's hiding because of a feud with Therese Voermann. I'd appreciate it if you went down to Durham to meet her and convince her to call off the feud."
"And you can't do it yourself because...?" Damon dragged the last word, quirking an eyebrow.
"I don't want to," the other man replied with finality. "She's not a conversationalist, personality like a stone, and her sister's as crazy as a rabid fox."
"What's the name of this associate of yours?"
"Max."
"Just Max?"
The elder vampire flashed a fangy grin. "Do what you have to do, just don't stir any havoc. I'll be here, expecting to hear from Max."
- [End Flashback]
"You wanted to talk, so talk," she said. After their heated argument, she wasn't sure they could have a civil conversation.
It was past three in the morning and it started raining. Caroline sat on the edge of the bed, one leg folded under herself, facing him - although her eyes drifted around the room, avoiding his, and eventually settled on the wall he was leaning against. She pulled her hair to the side, exposing her long, wan neck, strands of hair glowing like silk by the lampshade.
There was no risk of eye contact, as he too averted his gaze and started telling the headboard behind her about the sparse information on Therese Voermann he'd come across earlier that night. "She and her sister run a club downtown. We just have to go there, talk some sense into them and get this over with faster than you can say 'Sun and Moon curse bullshit'."
"Despite popular belief, you really can't beat the truth out of someone, Damon," she muttered, giving the wallpaper an unimpressed look.
"Like every great general, I have contingency plans."
Her eyes finally gave in and strayed towards his face. A pale eyebrow rose slightly. "Such as?"
His eyes finally found hers and she fought a shiver because nobody could do intense like him.
"My irresistible charm, of course," he informed her, with just a hint of sarcasm, before pushing off the wall and heading toward the door.
References:
VTM: Bloodlines: though the Voermann sisters retained the same names, personalities and most lines from the game, I toyed with the Camarilla prince's motives, name and antics. Ethan Crane is depicted as the leader of a secret society, who's obsessed with the Originals (Old Ones in the books).
Direct quotes from TVD, one from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, just don't remember which, and Gossip Girl (Blair was a great general)
Mention of The Doors' People are Strange and lyrics from Velvet Underground's Venus in Furs
Interview with the Vampire, a scene where Claudia confronts Lestat
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (what could you possibly avoid with her sacrifice?)