Precisely at 10 o'clock in the morning there was a knock on the door. The brothers were sitting in the big room that circled most of the front of the house. Stefan was holding a magazine that he had been flipping through over and over again. Damon wasn't even pretending to do anything. There was a feeling of anticipation in the air. They had been expecting a visit, and it seemed it was happening now. They looked at each other, knowing immediately who was calling. Stefan, shaking his head in resignation, got up and went out to the hall, Damon following several steps behind. Stefan opened the door with a flourish, leaning against it without speaking. Standing there completely at ease was Sage. She brushed past him as if he didn't exist.
Still facing the outdoors Stefan said sarcastically, "So nice to see you. Yes, please do come in? Oh, you're already in." He turned and closed the door with a backward kick.
"Damon." Sage walked towards him with hands outstretched.
"Sage, my love. It's been too long." Damon moved forward to kiss her. Theirs had been a passionate relationship, and they had parted amicably. He was thrown off kilter when she turned to give him her cheek instead of her lips. He recovered quickly and stepped back after brushing it with his lips.
"That was nice of you to knock," he observed.
She raised her carefully shaped eyebrows. "The niceties must be observed. It would be rude to walk in unannounced when the master is home." She walked past Damon to enter the large parlor.
Damon followed her, pausing to quirk his eyebrows at his brother, and mouth, "The Master."
Stefan scowled at his brother but didn't say anything. He followed the two of them, pausing to lean against the entranceway to the living area, arms folded, looking anything but happy.
Sage looked briefly around the large front parlor, noting the elaborate stained glass windows, the huge fireplace, and the formal furniture. "So, this is the ancestral Salvatore home." She seemed pleased with the room.
Damon blinked and looked questioningly at Stefan who merely shrugged. Damon blithely quipped, "Why thank you. We do like our little mansion."
It was not the first time Sage had done or said something that reminded him that she was from a different generation. She was young in appearance and even back in 1912 was always at the leading edge of fashion. Today, she wore jeans that were all the rage in Italy, but hadn't yet made it to New York, extremely high Manolo Blahnik heels, a blouse from an Italian couture house, and carried a pocketbook that cost thousands. Yet for all that she seemed current she still used phrases like ancestral home. She, of all the vampires he knew, gave the impression that she was born in another age.
She turned to Damon. "We need to talk. Privately. Do I have your permission to tell your brother to leave your house?"
"Actually, it's our house." Stefan was still leaning against the woodwork leading into the room. "And I don't care to leave."
She spoke in the tone one would use to explain something to a child. "Damon is the eldest of your family, therefore he is patriarch and the house is his. You are here under his protection and control." She asked again, "Damon?"
Damon, smirking, raised an eyebrow. "Take a hike, Stefan."
Stefan glared at both of them, his nerves on edge. His uncertainly over Elena, his blood cravings as he tried to switch back to animal blood, and concern over the Originals left him on the verge of cracking. Lately, even at the best of times, he barely felt in control. Sage's dismissive attitude set his back up, and he felt the veins under his eyes engorge and his fangs bump against his lips.
Sage was outraged. She sped over to him and lifted him by his neck, feet dangling an inch off the floor, and threw him into the hallway. "How dare you show disrespect to a guest in your brother's home!"
Stefan scrambled up off the floor ready to fight. She shifted her stance, arms outspread and hands at the ready, legs spread, balancing on the balls of her feet, prepared for battle. Damon, alarmed now at the tension crackling in the air, pleaded, "Stefan, please."
Stefan trembled, fighting for control. He was finally able to rein in his emotions and decided discretion was the wisest choice in this situation. He spun on his heels and left, slamming the door so hard the house rattled.
Sage turned to Damon. "He needs discipline."
Damon was surprised at the violence of her reaction to Stefan's minor show of defiance. He watched her warily, unsure of her temper.
She spoke calmly but seriously. "We need to talk."
Damon walked deliberately towards her, a swagger in his hips, exuding sexuality. He smiled his most confident, cocky, smile and teasingly asked, "Are you sure you just want to talk?" His half closed eyes flirted as he moved in so close their bodies were separated by inches only.
"Sit down," she commanded. "Don't try to distract me, Damon. I taught you everything you know."
The coldness of her words disconcerted him. He looked at her uncertainly and then sat where she pointed.
She didn't sit, just sighed deeply and paced back and forth, arms folded, her heels making no sound on the Oriental carpet. From time to time she glanced at Damon. She finally stopped in front of him, tapping her foot. "I've kept tabs on you and your brother over the years. I knew when you returned to Mystic Falls. I know what happened with Klaus and the curse and Elijah."
She forestalled the question Damon's half parted lips foreshadowed. "I have my sources." She stopped in front of him, hands on hips, frowning at him. "I've heard things that disturb me. What I don't know is what you think you're doing."
Damon made an ambiguous gesture and keeping his voice and face noncommittal, said, "What do you mean?"
She frowned. "Is it true? Did you really fall in love with a human girl? Stoop to fighting with your brother over this girl? Challenged Klaus for this girl?" Her voice expressed her disbelief. "Have you nothing to say to me?"
Damon's face was grim, and he hung his head down for a moment before lifting his chin defiantly. "Yes, it's true."
She looked at him like he was crazy and started pacing again, one hand fisted around her chin, the other clasping her elbow. She stopped once more to face him. "And Katerina or Katherine or whatever name the wench calls herself. Did you work with her against Klaus and Elijah? Katherine? Really?" Her voice was incredulous.
Damon took a swig of liquor from a glass he had poured previously and raised his face to her again, his attitude insolent. "Yes, we joined forces to protect Elena."
She threw her hands up in the air in total disgust. "What is wrong with you?" she demanded. "Did you learn nothing from me other than how to seduce and enjoy women? All of the knowledge I tried to give you and you do this?" She grimly berated him.
He got up to argue, and she pushed him down with such force the sofa moved back four inches. "I said sit." Her eyes and voice were so fierce he knew he would be pushing it to move. "So you came back, opened a tomb of how many vampires and let them loose on the town, endangering the doppelganger for your Katherine. Did Katherine love you as you hoped she would?" Her voice mocked him.
He scowled. "I can tell from your tone you know she didn't want me."
"No, she loved your brother, and you were jealous. Plus she had her own agenda. She used you! Used you and you fell for it again. I sent you away when I did because I knew you were infatuated with her. I had hoped time would give you some perspective. That you would finally divert the blood flow from your lower organ up to your brain, but obviously THAT was a false hope. You let her make a fool out of you. AGAIN!'"
He was taken aback for a moment and then briskly tried to defend himself. "Katherine is stronger than me. There was nothing I could do."
"Have you no pride?"
Damon hung his head sullenly. He hated being scolded by anyone, but especially by Sage. She was his mentor, and he was both embarrassed and upset that he had so obviously disappointed her.
"When you found out she didn't love you, did you refuse her your brother?" She had started pacing again.
He frowned. "No, I tried to kill her."
She half snorted. "Well, maybe there's hope for you after all. But you still should have told her she would never get Stefan. You are head of your family. You decide what your dependents do. And that human girl." She spoke with such disdain that Damon winced. "Does she love you?" She looked at Damon when he didn't answer her, but continued to pace. "Does she love you, Damon? Have the courage to answer me."
"She likes me, loves Stefan." Damon's reply was sulky.
This was too much for Sage. She stopped in front of him, hands on her hips. "You are pathetic. You do not compel and take this human, and then you allow your younger brother, Your Younger Brother, to take what is yours by right of first choice. Have you no dignity? And if that's not enough, you're stupid. You fight an Original, not just an Original, but the Hybrid for this human girl who doesn't love you." She stared at him.
He met her eyes, any defiance he had gone. He shrugged, ashamed now. "It's true."
"It's true. It's true." She mimicked his shrug and his answer. She was so upset she couldn't say anything else. She turned her back on him and tapped her foot. She breathed heavily through her nose for a few moments and then seemed to get control of herself.
She sat in an overstuffed armchair across from him and threw her head back against the chair, her hands grasping the chair arms.
Damon sat silently, watching her.
Her voice was sad when she finally spoke again. "What am I going to do with you, Damon?" Suddenly she sat up straight. "I need a drink."
Damon silently rose and went over to the credenza where he stashed his private stock. He knelt, reaching deep into the cabinet, pushing several other bottles aside. He first wiped the dust off and then broke the seal on the ornate bottle, filling a glass for her and topping his off.
She delicately sipped the amber colored liquor, pausing to swirl it around her tongue and giving a little moue of appreciation. "Excellent." She held the drink in both hands and said, "I taught you so many things." Her voice and face hardened imperceptibly. She tilted her head and stared at him in a way that made him uncomfortable. "Can it be that the only thing you remembered of everything I told you was that women were not just for feeding?"
He hesitated to drink. "Does it matter?" he asked cautiously.
"It matters," she replied. "Did you feel nothing when you were with me?" Her brow wrinkled in puzzlement. "I thought there was something between us. I was sure there was. Why do you think I spent so much time teaching you? I had such hopes for you, for us," she said sadly.
Damon hopeful now, offered anxiously. "I am over Elena and Katherine. I've had enough of women who don't want me. We can be together again."
Her mouth twisted, and she shook her head pityingly. "You don't get it, do you? You are dead."
Damon looked at her for a moment. He gave a little laugh. "Klaus!" He ran his hand through his hair. "You think Klaus will kill me."
"No, I don't think. I know Klaus or another vampire seeking his approval will kill you," she said solemnly. As he started to speak, she held up her hand. "Listen to me, please." She thought for a moment. "The Salvatore brothers are a byword in vampire society for their looks, charm, and craziness."
Damon's brow wrinkled. There she went again throwing in strange words. "What's byword?" he asked puzzled.
She blew out a breath impatiently and thought for a moment. "You're trending with hashtag Crazy Salvatore Brothers. Does that make sense to you? Both of you are known everywhere."
Damon started to protest and then for some reason his meeting with Slater popped into his mind. Slater had known his name and vital statistics immediately.
"No one has messed with you for a long time now. Do you know why?"
Damon lifted his hand in an elegant hand gesture. "You're dying to tell me, so go ahead."
"Because of your brother."
"Stefan? Because of Stefan? Now, who's crazy?" Damon scoffed at her.
Her look told him she thought he was an idiot. "Yes, your brother, who is known to be friend, almost brother to the Lord Niklaus, and acknowledged favorite of the Lady Rebekah. None of the older vampires would go near him, and since everyone knows for all that you two fight each other every time you meet; if you fight one Salvatore then you're fighting two, you've been off limits. Think, Damon. Since the 1920's who's come after you? You've insulted and fought with how many vampires, and everyone avoids you except the fledglings or those on the run who aren't in the know."
He thought about it and conceded her the point. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, yeah I see what you're saying."
"Some parts of human behavior do not change with time. The first thing those who are attacked do is destroy any opponents with any real power. They then appear conciliatory, even talk openly about peace. Once they lull everyone in to a false sense of security, they take their vengeance on anyone who has opposed them, setting an example so that no one will rise up against them again.
"The Originals have stopped running. They had not taken their rightful places as the rulers of the vampire world because they were afraid for their lives. That fear no longer exists. They've wiped out anything or anyone that can hurt them. They will take their vengeance on everyone who has ever opposed or slighted them. Let me tell you the witches are trembling."
"How long do you think you have, Damon? I've made it my business to know and see as much as I can. I hunted down Lucy and compelled her to tell me everything she knew about Katerina. I saw Mikael die, Damon. I know you tried to stab Klaus with a white oak stake. I know you snapped Kol's neck. I know Esther and Finn are dead." She compressed her lips in a thin line, displeased. "You are such a fool."
Damon was quiet. Sage, of all the vampires and people he had ever known, had never lied to him. He had seen her use cunning and deceit when dealing with other vampires, but for some reason her treatment of him was always brutally direct and honest.
He looked at her eyes, and his gut told him she wasn't lying. He swallowed and said simply, "So I run for it?"
She shook her head in disbelief. "Run, Damon? Run where? Every vampire will turn against you once the word spreads that the Originals want you dead. If you're lucky someone will just kill you and bring the body in as proof."
Damon gave a brave little laugh. "Well then, maybe I'll just go try to kill one of them first."
She ignored him his futile show of bravado. "Do you know why I'm here, Damon?"
"To tell me how stupid I am?" He hazarded a guess.
"I'm here because the Originals are the strongest of our kind and the Royal family of our world. They are the top of our food chain, and I want to be there with them at the top. Let me tell you, the word will spread that Mikael is dead, and the Originals have come out of hiding. The older ones, those that survived Mikael's genocide, will flock to this town, to pay their respects to the family. I intend to get there first."
Damon raised an eyebrow at that bald statement.
"I can do it." Her voice rang with confidence. "I'm in favor with them. But I also came back for you. I wanted you there with me."
Damon looked at her. "Is that wise considering my current lack of popularity with the family?" he said pessimistically.
"If anyone can do it, Damon, it's me. I was born to the nobility. I was conniving and scheming at court at an age when you were still tied to your mother's apron strings. It's in my blood."
Damon's attempt to lighten the atmosphere by saying, "Oh, I don't know about that, my mother died when I was a boy."
Sage, ignoring his comment, pointed a finger at him to emphasize her point. "But understand this. By championing you, I am putting my reputation, my status, and it could even be my life on the line for you. If you do not want this then you owe it to me to say so now. You have to be honest with me, and you have to be willing to follow my rules. You are a babe in the woods when it comes to scheming." She frowned. "By the way, I've followed a lot of your plans, and both of you Salvatores are incompetent asses."
Damon chuckled at that. "Our schemes do get a little hare brained." He sobered up and said, "Why? Why are you doing this for me?"
She looked at him. "I wanted you from the first time I met you. I knew the time wasn't right back in 1912, but that doesn't mean I didn't plan for the future. What's a hundred or two hundred years to us? But, Damon I am serious. To do this you will need to stop trying to pretend you're human. You need to think like a vampire, act like a vampire. You need to follow the rules of our world."
Damon ran his finger around the edge of his glass, his expression hard. He met Sage's eyes. "I'm done trying to be something that I'm not, for someone who doesn't want me. Someone that pretends that they'll love me if I just change a little bit. But trust? I don't think I can trust anyone again."
She smiled. "And that is a good thing, but what I am proposing is an alliance. If one goes down we both go down. We become a family, and family is sacred above all else."
He nodded and raised his glass. "To our new family."
She repeated his toast and then said, "Now pour us some more of that excellent liquor and fill me in on every single detail, every nuance, every word that you can remember. I need to know everything if you're going to survive."
Damon reached for the bottle and filled both glasses. He looked at her as he poured, and a smile lit his face. For the first time in a long, long time he felt good. Sage had taken him under her wing back in 1912 when he was so lost, so unsure of himself. She was always talking to him about the importance of family, of one's place in the order of things. She was right, he had chosen to take away only her lessons in love, but she had given him so much more.
He realized again how beautiful she was, but it was more than that. It was the way she carried herself, her confidence, the way she flaunted that mane of shining red hair. He had been too obsessed with his love for Katherine to think about a future with her, and she had understood, never pressing him for future plans, leaving him when she thought he was ready to face the world on his own. For the first time he thought about a future with her, and it filled him with hope. He was done with Katherine, done with Elena. He sat down and started talking.