Sorry I meant to get this out sooner but I've been diagnosed with carpal tunnel and the splint I have to wear plus getting used to the new ergo keyboard has been a challenge to get used to. I'm hoping it will get better and won't limit me too much.

Anyways here's the third chapter. I swear I should be at chapter 10 by now these chapters are so long but this how I like them so I hope you don't mind too much the large gaps in between my posts.

Please please review. They make me happy.

Happy New Year everyone!

Three

A Witch Tale

I went to Bonnie's house early the next day. If what Damon had said about Bonnie was true, then Bonnie probably wasn't doing very well right now. I couldn't believe this week, no actually I couldn't believe all that has happened since my parent's died. I found out that vampires actually do exist and they have frequented Mystic Falls, vampires or at least one that I know of, can walk in the sun, and my best friend that I have known my entire life is a witch and comes from a long and powerful line of witches.

No, life wasn't complicated at all.

It was a difficult burden to bear, but now that I knew all of this I knew there was no going back. And as much as I missed my parents, I was glad in a way to have the truth out.

I knocked on the door of the Bennett home but no one answered. The curtains were drawn which was unusual but I knew Bonnie was home because I saw her car in the driveway as I drove in so I knocked again, louder this time, and I noticed movement inside but still no one answered the door.

"Bonnie open up, it's me Elena." I said knocking again, "Come on Bonnie I know you're in there open up."

"Go away Elena." Bonnie yelled. "I…I'm really sick. I don't want you to catch it."

"Bonnie I know you're not sick." I say loudly, "In fact I think I can explain what's happening to you." I said hoping she would believe me. I was met with silence but a minute later the door opened slightly, revealing a visibly pale and scared looking Bonnie. "Oh Bonnie." I reached out to give her a hug but she moved away before I could even touch her.

"No don't, I could hurt you." She says moving back and out of my reach, "I…I….I don't know what's happening to me Elena. I'm so scared."

"I know. Let's just go inside and I'll tell you what I know." I say and she nods her head after a moment and moves aside for me to enter. We got to her room and I immediately notice that there are things missing and broken around her room. "What happened in here Bonnie?"

"I don't know. I keep making things break. I don't understand how it's happening." She says and I can see the wild panic in her eyes. "I would just think it and then…"

I grab her hand and pull her down to sit next to me on her bed, "Bonnie its ok, it's not your fault."

"How can you say that?" she says incredulous, "I'm doing things Elena that I can't explain. How…you said earlier that you can explain what's happening to me."

I nod my head unsure of how to start or how much to even tell her, "Bonnie the reason that you're doing all of this is because you're a witch."

"What? A witch? How is that even possible? No that can't be possible."

"Believe me I couldn't quite believe it either but it's true especially if what you've been telling me has been happening." I explain. "Apparently you come from a long and powerful line of witches."

"I'm a witch." She said quietly seemingly completely dumbfounded by my revelation before raising her hands to inspect them. "Elena how do you even know this? Did you learn this from that Founder's Council?"

"Well um…" I hesitate, not sure of how much I should reveal. According to the council the existence of vampires was not to be revealed to anyone outside of the council and my agreement with Damon was that I would not tell anyone on the council only. I didn't want to lie to Bonnie but how exactly was I suppose to tell her what I knew without revealing the fact that vampires existed and Damon's involvement in her family's history. Plus I'm sure she had questions if she did see something when she touched Damon.

"Elena you can tell me." She said seeing my hesitation. "I won't tell anyone. I mean how am I exactly supposed to tell anyone that I'm a witch? That's a secret I may have to keep to myself."

I looked at her hesitantly but I knew I could trust Bonnie. "Look what I'm going to tell you is absolutely unbelievable, more unbelievable than you being a witch, but I can't tell you if you don't promise me and I mean promise me that you won't tell anyone." I say seriously.

"Yeah ok I swear I won't tell anyone Elena." She says nodding her head. "Just tell me."

"I've learned a lot about this town and its secrets since I joined the council, but I didn't learn that you were a witch from them." I start and she looks at me surprised. "When you…when you met Damon Salvatore and shook his hand you saw you saw something didn't you, something horrible, something Damon did?"

"How…how did you know that?" she asks surprised and I can also see the fear of what she saw in her eyes.

"I know because Damon told me. He's…he's the one that told me about you being a witch."

"Elena you have to stay away from him. He's…what I saw…Elena he's evil." She says shaking.

"I know what you saw was ugly but there's a reason for it." I say before taking a breath. "Bonnie Damon Salvatore is a vampire."

She didn't say anything and I could tell from her initial reaction that she didn't believe me but the look on my face must have told her otherwise and then realization seemed to suddenly hit her. "Elena he's dangerous…what I saw, he...he killed people."

I sighed knowing she was right. "I'm sure he has in the past which is what you saw, but Alaric assures me that Damon doesn't feed on people anymore." I say cringing. The idea of Damon feeding on people sends shivers down my body. "He's a vampire, I know he's dangerous don't get me wrong, but I know he's not going to hurt anyone while he's here."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I don't…I just…"

She seemed to think about it, "That explains the clothes." She says under her breath, "I was so freaked out by what I saw when I touched him but I didn't know how to tell anyone without sounding crazy. How do you explain having a vision? Is this apart of being a witch? Having visions?"

"I honestly don't know. Damon didn't really explain the whole witch thing to me, just that you came from a long line of witches." I explain and then I remember what Damon told me. "Apparently he promised an ancestor of yours that he knew when he turned that he would protect you family line."

"Wait you're telling me that a vampire is sworn to protect me?"

"Apparently so."

Bonnie just looks at me with a look I can't quite make out. "This is insane Elena. I'm a witch, vampires exist and one is sworn to protect me. Next you're going to tell me that fairies and werewolves and Santa Clause really do exist."

"Well you never know." I say jokingly but inside I did wonder what other far out thing really did exist.

I ended up spending the rest of the morning with Bonnie and she seemed a bit calmer since finding out she was a witch. It was almost like a peace had fallen over her. I managed to convince her to come to the Grille with me for lunch after I told her about my break up with Matt and sure enough Matt was working. I gave him an awkward wave and he just nodded his head in acknowledgement then turned away to bus another table.

Nope this wasn't going to be awkward at all.

After we placed our order, Damon and Caroline walked in together. She clearly looked ecstatic and Damon on the other hand looked bored. She said something to Damon who glanced in our direction then nodded his head and Caroline practically ran over to us with Damon trailing slowly behind looking right at me with a strange expression on his face.

"Hey guys are you having lunch? Bonnie I haven't seen you in forever." Caroline said talking fast. "We're here for lunch too…me and Damon. I was at the mall and ran into Damon and convinced him to have lunch with me."

"You know Caroline if your friends don't mind, maybe we can just join them for lunch. It will be festive. My treat." He says cheerfully but his eyes never leave my face.

Caroline looked at Bonnie and I, pleading with her eyes. Bonnie looked unsure but nodded her head and I finally relented. "Uh yeah sure…that's uh fine." I say.

Damon pulled out Caroline's chair and she absolutely beamed then proceeded to talk a mile minute about what I'm not sure. I tried to pay attention but it was difficult when I could feel Damon's gaze on me. At some point when Caroline picked up her glass to take a drink, Damon "accidentally" bumped into her and she spilled it all over herself. She screamed out and ran to the bathroom in embarrassment.

"Sit down." Damon said as Bonnie started to get up to help her. She looked at me warily but sat back down.

I glared at him and he glared right back. "Why did you do that to Caroline?"

"Well how else was I supposed to get some alone time with my secret keeper and the witch." He said taking a sip of his scotch and I glance at Bonnie. "I see you told the witch everything including about my vampire status. Didn't we agree that you weren't going to tell anyone or I would start killing the people of this little town?"

"No we agreed that I wouldn't tell anyone on the council and Bonnie isn't on the council." I responded trying to sound confident. "And how exactly was I supposed to tell her that she was a witch without telling her everything?"

"Eh…" he says seemingly thinking over my question then he suddenly leans close to me. "Don't tell anyone else. Too many people know already."

"Fine."

"I need you to tell me what you know about me and my family." Bonnie said suddenly and Damon finally took his eyes off of me and turned his gaze towards Bonnie.

"And why do you think I'd want to help you?"

"You are sworn to protect me right?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I have to be your own personal history book." He said.

"Damon." I warned and he looked at me and shrugged.

"Well it's true. I don't."

Bonnie and I looked at eachother and I just shrugged. I wasn't sure what to do here. "But if you could I would really appreciate it." Bonnie said looking straight at Damon. "You know more about what I can do and what I am more than I do. You're the only one that can help me."

Damon seemed to consider her words for a moment then he glanced at me and I pleaded with him with my eyes. He sighed and leaned forward on the table, "Look you come from a line of witches, can't you talk to your mother or grandmother about this?"

"No my…my mother is…well gone and my grandmother lives in L.A. now." She replied.

"Well that's just great." He muttered and I just gave him another pointed look and he gave a low growl. "Fine come by the boarding house tomorrow and I'll give you history lesson, you two Elena since you seem so curious to know things." He said looking into my eyes, "Now change the subject Barbie is headed back."

I looked up and sure enough a smiling Caroline was headed back towards our table. I looked over at Bonnie and she looked hopeful in a way she hadn't earlier. Our waiter came with our food and I could feel Damon's eyes on me again an I brought my eyes up to meet his and momentarily got lost in the depth of the his crystal blue eyes until the waiter put my food in front of me. I shook my head and reached for the ketchup at the same time Damon did and I felt a small jolt again when our fingers touched. I took my hand away quickly and met his eyes again then looked away quickly but then I was met with Matt's upset glare. He looked at me for another moment then shook his head and turned away.

Ugh just great.

When I got home later after a long lunch with Bonnie, Caroline and Damon and then from hanging out at Bonnie's house, I found Aunt Jenna and Alaric in the kitchen making dinner. When I came back downstairs a little while later, Alaric mouthed for me to join him in the dining room.

"Hey Elena I just wanted to talk to you about what you may have heard when you overheard Damon and I talking." He said nervously.

I put my hand up to stop him. "Don't worry Ric I won't say anything to Aunt Jenna." I said and sighed, "And for the record I'm glad that you're asking her. The two of you are really good together even though you have horrible taste in friends.

He chuckled lightly, "Speaking of Damon…he called me before I got here and he asked that I bring you and Bonnie to the boarding house tomorrow."

"I don't understand…"

"I'm not sure either. He didn't give me any specifics, just requested that I bring the two of you over because it wouldn't be seemly for two teenage girls to be seen entering the home of two bachelors unchaperoned."

"Wait, is Damon worried about our reputation?" I ask completely flabbergasted.

"Well he does come from the 19th century where men were required to be a gentleman at all times. Hard to believe, I know, especially with his activity with women these days, but it's true." Alaric explained.

"So he's concerned about our reputation but he's fine openly going on a date with Caroline, who is the same age as I am and whose mother also happens to be the sheriff." I comment.

"Hey I never said it was completely logical." Alaric said shrugging.

"So Damon is from the 19th century" I ask curiously.

"Uh yeah. I told you his father was one of the founding members." He said. "Damon was turned in 1864 – Mystic Fall's magic year as we know."

"Wow I can't imagine being alive for that long."

"Yeah neither can I." Alaric says, "So you are you going to tell me why I need to play chaperone for you and Bonnie tomorrow at Damon's?"

"Well Damon has some information on Bonnie's family that he agreed to share." I started to explain then smiled getting an idea in my head, "Ric did you ever consider the fact that you bringing us to Damon's house would look worse than two teenage girls going by themselves opposed to our History teacher bringing us to the home of two single men. I don't know Alaric, you may be dating my aunt but I think the latter is going to seem a lot more suspect to the outside world."

Alaric visibly paled and I left the room smiling.

The old Salvatore Boarding House was on the edge of the town limits near the woods so I don't know why Damon would be concerned that someone would see us going there. This place was fairly isolated which now that I thought about it could be the reason why Damon had wanted Alaric to come with us – in case he felt the need to kill us. Oh crap what have I done?

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked looking at me curiously as I pulled into the driveway of the Boarding House.

"Nothing. I just had a thought I'm sure I'm wrong about." I say trying to sound convincing before glancing at Bonnie's apprehensive expression. "Are you nervous? I mean about hearing about your family's history?

"Yeah I am. You know I always thought there was something different about my gram and her sisters but I never could put my finger on it." Bonnie said. "I almost called her last night but how do you just say to someone over the phone that you haven't seen in years that you know about your family's secrets."

"It'll be ok Bonnie." I say putting my hand on top of hers and squeezing it. "Come on we'd better go in."

Before I could even knock on the door Damon opened it. He was wearing his usual black button down and black slacks. "Ladies." He said casually before moving aside, "Please come in and make yourselves comfortable."

As I followed Bonnie in and was about to pass Damon he gently grabbed my arm. I looked up t find him looking at me smirking. "Are you sure it was a good idea to leave the teacher at home. I mean you are still on the edge of town, alone, with a vampire. No one will be able to hear you scream."

I kept his gaze for a moment. I knew what he was doing. "You won't hurt me." I said confidently looking right at him, "or Bonnie."

He released his loose hold on my arm and looked at me surprised, "How can you be so certain?" he asked and I just shrugged and walked towards the den. "It was clever though, threatening Ric with a naughty teacher scandal."

"I was just telling the truth." I said turning back around to face him, "It just takes one person to see him alone with two female students heading towards the edge of town. People's minds go to the dirtiest places."

"Don't I know it." He said and took a few steps towards me. "I said it was clever but lesson #1 of dealing with vampires. Don't ever forget that we can kill you in an instant. Just because I haven't hurt you yet doesn't mean that I still couldn't."

"Maybe but it won't be today." I say confidently before walking into the parlor to find Zach and Bonnie sitting down. "Hi Zach."

"Hello Elena. Can I get you anything?"

"No I'm fine. Thank you." I said sitting next to a nervous looking Bonnie."

"Zach why don't you make yourself scarce while I tell these girls their story." Damon says as he walks into the room.

"I'm not sure that's a good…" Zach started to say but stopped when Damon gave him a pointed look. "Sure Uncle Damon. Let me know if you need anything."

"You didn't have to make him leave." I say watching Zach depart.

"Maybe not but just because he's aware of our family's secret, it doesn't mean he knows the secrets other family's and trust me, if the past is any indicator, this is a secret your family would like to keep hidden." He says pouring himself a glass of Scotch before raising his glass to Bonnie. "Just looking out for your Bennett."

"Thanks, I think." Bonnie says, "So what can you tell me about my family? How exactly am I connected to you?"

He sighed and glanced at me before turning his attention to Bonnie, "While I was human your great, great, great whatever grandmother Emily was the handmaiden for the vampire that turned me. She and Emily were staying with us, I don't remember why because when they first arrived I was off at war, but when I returned they were there. I knew Emily was very important to her mistress but I didn't find out until after I had turned why exactly." He said pausing to take another sip and sitting on one of the club chairs. "When I was in the process of turning and the vampire that had turned me and the one in which Emily worked for had been…killed, she made sure I was safe and she offered me the protection of the Lapiz Lazul ring. I am able to walk in the sun because of a spell that Emily put on this ring. In exchange she asked that I look after her bloodline and make sure that they survive. She told me that she had had enough of working and being used by vampires and wanted to live a quiet life but knew that I would still be here so she wanted me to look out for any future Bennett's especially those with powers. That's it, the end."

"That can't be it!" Bonnie cried out. "There's so much more I need to know. How am I supposed to control it?"

"Look I don't know how your hocus pocus works. I know Emily had this book – the Grimoire that had all kinds of spells and stuff it. I've seen it a few times over the years but I couldn't tell you which one of your witchy relatives has it now."

"So that's it, that's all you've got?" Bonnie said angrily and the lights started flickering. I looked at Bonnie who was now standing and advancing on Damon and I could see the slight worry on his face.

"Look that's all I know. I didn't even know what Emily was until after I turned and the book it's been passed down." He said with his hands up. "You need to get in contact with your relatives. You said you had a grandmother. What's her name, maybe I know her?"

"Sheila." Bonnie said and recognition seemed to wash over Damon's face.

"Sheila. Of course it is. I remember her, met her when she was your age. She helped me with something." He said with a far away look in here eyes. "Told me she didn't need me to protect her after that. Hmmm…but she was pretty powerful but she said she wanted to lead a quiet life, no witchy stuff."

"She did I think. I've been trying to rack my brain and I can't remember anything, but she moved to L.A. a few years ago after my father and her got into a fight after my mom left."

Damon seemed to think about this for awhile then got up and poured himself another glass of Scotch. "Well it looks like it's time for granny to visit Mystic Falls and I'm gonna go get her."