Chapter 2


When Bella arrived in Mystic Fall's, it was already mid-afternoon and she only had 3 days left before the full moon and, inevitably, the ritual to break Klaus' curse. She had feared having trouble on the road and being late but thankfully, she was a bit early. She would probably be able to see Klaus that very evening.

She parked in front of the address John had given her and saw that he was already waiting for her. She had seen him a few times over the years, always with Isobel. She didn't particularly like the man, she thought that he was too arrogant for his own good and that he could do with a serious therapy but she was grateful for his willingness to sell her this building. In a town like Mystic Fall's, she would be able to make a living out of both her hobbies: being a therapist and studying supernatural beings.

"You're early." He told her after greeting her.

"I got lucky on the road. Did the moving truck already arrive?" She asked him.

"Yes, around noon like it was planned. Everything in inside, in the rooms labeled on the boxes and the furniture is built and placed where you placed them on the plans Isobel gave me. You'll just have to sort through the boxes." He replied with a nod.

"Thanks. So, do you want me to give you the potion for Elena or do I give it to her directly?" Bella asked him.

"You can give it to me. I already told her about it and if she doesn't trust me much, she's agreed to take it. I showed Elijah the copy of the ingredients you sent me and he agreed that it would probably work. The Salvatore brothers have agreed to use it as well, especially since I told them that I had another option to make sure Elena would survive in case the potion failed. I told them about it, checked with the Bennett witch and she said she would be able to do it." John replied as he showed her everything inside.

"So you're really willing to trade your life with Elena's if my potion doesn't work?" Bella asks him.

"Of course. I've failed her so far and I became to my daughter the uncle she hates. I need to do everything I can to make it up to her and make sure she can live her life the way she wants to." John explained.

"If you're sure… But I'm confident that this potion will work, I've seen it in action before." Bella smiled at him.

"Let's hope it does. Now, is there anything special to do with this potion until she drinks it?" John asked Bella after she handed it to him.

"No, nothing. By the way, what did you tell them about me?" She asked him.

"I only told Elena and Jeremy about you. I told them that you were a good friend of Isobel, that you were human and the kind of practice you were opening here. I also told Elena about your personal history." He informed her.

"By personal history you mean about my relationship with Edward?" Bella asked him.

"Yes. I'm hoping it'll get her to at least come and see you once because of her similar situation with Stefan Salvatore."

"I'm sure she will. If not I'll go to her. Don't worry. I made a promise to Isobel, I'll keep it. I always keep my promises." Bella replied and he nodded.

"So, is there anything else I should know?" John asked Bella.

"Yes, good of you to remind me. The reason I know I can get Klaus to allow Elena to come back to life is because he'll need her blood to turn werewolves into hybrids. We can make some sort of agreement, like you start stocking bag of her blood, putting one or two aside every few weeks. This way he won't go after her." Bella explained and John frowned.

"If he doesn't know, why tell him?" John asked.

"Because he'll find out eventually and when he does, he'll get angry and kidnap Elena. If we tell him and offer her blood willingly, he'll agree to let her live her life, without terrorizing her." Bella replied.

"You might be right… Okay, I'll tell Elena and try to convince her. We'll have a couple of blood bags ready when the full moon comes." He nodded.

"Okay, I'll talk to him about it." Bella smiled.

"Do you need help with anything else before I leave?" He offered.

"No, I'll be fine, Thanks. I'll just sort through the most important things right now and I'll go and seek out Klaus. I'm guessing he'll be living at Alaric's place and Isobel gave me the address. I have to try and convince him to let Elena survive the ritual and use Katherine as the vampire sacrifice." Bella told John who nodded and left her after handing her the keys and the last papers.

.

After John left, Bella spent a couple of hours looking around her new place and sorting through the most urgent boxes like the kitchen, the bathroom and her bedroom, at least what she would need for the next day, until she managed to sort through everything else.

Around 7 pm, she decided that it was enough for one day and left everything to go and get something to eat at the Mystic Grill, a place Isobel told her she'd be most likely to cross path with everyone important.

On the way, Bella called her father to reassure him that everything was fine so that he didn't worry. It didn't matter how old she was, he still wanted to know that she was doing fine, that she hadn't been into a big accident or anything of the sort.

Bella tried not to draw too much attention as she looked around, eating her burger. Isobel had sent her pictures of the people she had heard about and Bella could see a few of them around the room. Caroline Forbes was there with her mother, Matt Donovan was working and was the one who served her, Damon was drinking at the bar and Elijah was talking with the mayor.

As the suit wearing Original turned his head in her direction, Bella hurried to look back at her food. If she was ready to speak with Klaus and willing to do it as soon as she was done eating, there was no way she was speaking with Elijah now. She was too mad at him and knowing her temper, she'd end up slapping or punch the powerful original. It wouldn't be good for her at all.

Bella had never met Elijah, she had only heard stories about him. He was supposed to be moral, the nicest of his siblings, the moderator as well. All she knew at the moment was that he had recently compelled her good friend Slater to kill himself and she was mad at him for this.

Bella had met Slater in college. He was already a vampire and when he realized just how serious she was about her researches, he had told her what he was and helped her whenever he could. It had started a long and strong friendship between them. He was always ready to learn more, to help her find information about anything. He had been a good friend of hers and the last time she tried to reach him, to tell him that she was moving to Mystic Fall's and that they'd be able to see each other more often, his girlfriend Alice (a name Bella didn't particularly like hearing) told her that Elijah, one of the Original, had compelled him to stake himself because he knew too much about Klaus and the curse. It had made Bella very sad but also very angry at the Original.

"Can I get you anything else Miss?" Matt Donovan asked Bella.

"No, thanks. I'll just pay now." She replied and he smiled, showing her to the cash register.

Bella went to pay, trying to act normal as she walked by her friend's murderer to stand next to Damon Salvatore.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes. You're new in town?" Damon asked her.

"I am. I just bought the old Gilbert Building to set my practice in." She replied.

"John finally sold the thing? Who knew! What kind of practice is a beautiful girl like you opening?" He asked, obviously flirting.

"I'm a therapist. Here, take my card. I have a feeling you could use my services Mister Salvatore." Bella replied after having paid, giving him one of her brand new business card.

"How do you know my name?" He asked her, his smile gone immediately.

She knew that her reply had him suspicious of her but she kept her calm, deciding to reply in a flirty tone to see how he would react to that.

"Isobel told me about you. Why did you think John agreed to sell to me? I'm… I mean, I was her friend." Bella replied.

"When's the last time you saw her?" He asked Bella.

"Why don't you ask me the question you really want to ask: Did I know she was a vampire? Do I know that you are one? Don't worry, I can keep a secret. I've been doing so for over 10 years. My office will open next week Mister Salvatore, I'll be expecting you to make an appointment. Don't make me come and get you, now we both know that you could use some therapy. I also do family therapy if you and your brother want to come together and please don't do me the offence of trying to compel me. I can't be compelled." Bella replied with a smile before she turned around and left, knowing that Elijah and Caroline Forbes had heard what she had said and that it had probably made them curious.

If she could handle some flirting with Damon Salvatore, she wouldn't be able to handle Elijah, not tonight, not this week, probably not this month. She needed time to grieve for her friend's death before she could even consider forgiving the man who had killed him in some power struggle with his brother.


So? What do you think?

Review please?

Lorelei Candice Black