Chapter Three
I own no rights to TVD. All that's mine is Arianna / Nikki and the plot line.
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This chapter, I want to show a little bit of the twins past. Maybe why Vicki turned out the way she did.
Nikki fell into darkness. The sounds of the machines and the panicked voices of the nurses faded away until all was still.
Darkness swirled about her… as the words kept repeating in her mind.
The bad man is coming…
All she heard was Vicki's frantic voice and it took her back. She fell through the silvery mists of time and Nikki remembered.
She had always been different. Even as a little girl, Nikki could see past people's faces and into their real reflections. She called it their true faces. When they drove by the bus stop, Nikki would press her face against the glass of the car window and look at the people. Outwardly they all looked fine but she could see their reflections shimmering under their everyday masks. It scared her and when she had tried to tell Kelly about it, her mother had told her to hush.
Kelly didn't want to think that her children were different. She had smoked and consumed alcohol freely throughout her pregnancies so she did not want to be blamed for any problems that her kids might have. She made sure that they had the basics, like clothes and food so she was doing fine by them. Kelly had been raised the same way.
Nikki would hush when told to do so because she saw the other mother behind Kelly. The good mother as Nikki liked to call her. The lady with the kind face and long blond hair with eyes the color of the sky. When the other mother smiled at Nikki, it was strange because she was like a memory but the child could hear her voice sometimes like a faded whisper. The pretty lady stood behind Kelly and her smile always calmed Nikki down even drowning out Kelly's screaming voice as her mother chastised her.
Vicki couldn't see the other faces or the other mother but Vicki believed her. Nikki was sad because she wished that Vicki could see how the other mother actually loved them both.
Their daddy was a strange man. When Mattie was born and Nikki looked at his pale face she was confused by his sadness. "Another mouth to feed."
This confused Nikki because Matt drank milk all the time and he wasn't much trouble. The twins liked Matt because he was like a little cherub with blond hair and blue eyes. He was a good baby.
When the twins were seven their father came home one night and he gave them presents. The girls received baby dolls that cried and Matt got a bright red fire truck. They all sat on the living room carpet and Vicki ran off to throw away the empty boxes.
Nikki sat on the floor beside her father's chair and he stroked her head. She was distracted as she inhaled the smell of a brand new doll. It had its own distinct smell and it would soon be gone. Her father stroked her long hair and told her, "Look after Vicki, you hear? I can tell she's going to be a handful."
The little girl nodded as she frowned. Yes, she would always look after Vicki. It was her job even though Vicki was older by two minutes.
"Matt you look after your sisters." Daddy said, his voice gruff as he looked at the little boy. Matt didn't pay much attention because he was busy make sound effects for his truck.
That night when they were all asleep, Nikki heard the creaky step on the stair case groan in protest as someone walked down it. She heard the muffled click of the front door as it closed shut. He was gone, the man that they called father had just upped and left.
The next day Nikki had taken her doll out back and thrown it into the garbage. She could hear the muffled sounds of Kelly's weeping as her mother sat in the kitchen nursing a bottle of vodka. The children were left to fend for themselves that day.
Nikki stood outside in the shade of the garage and she wanted some peace. The house was too full of emotion and memories. Matt's teary questions were trying. Vicki came up behind her.
"You threw your doll away?" Vicki asked, her voice soft.
"Yeah, I didn't want it anymore," Nikki replied. Her voice felt strange to her. It was slightly surreal, their father had just left them and how were they supposed to go on? Kelly would never manage.
"I don't want mine anymore either," Vicki said firmly. She lowered her head as she scuffed her sneakers on the ground. "I think mine is broken. Like me. That's why daddy left us because maybe we're broken."
Nikki was shaken by the pain in her sister's voice. She turned to face Vicki, whose long copper brunette hair fell over her face. Nikki brushed the long, soft strands off her sister's pale face. Vicki's face was hard, a frown marring her young features. Most people thought that Vicki was difficult because she frowned all the time but that was just a young girl's defense mechanism. The twins needed their walls up when the other girls jeered at them. Pretty, dainty creatures like Caroline Forbes who made fun of their clothes or their hair that wasn't cut in the latest style.
"You aren't broken Vicki and neither am I." Nikki kept her voice firm but her tiny hand trembled as she smoothed her sister's hair. "Daddy was the one who was broken. We don't need him."
Vicki lifted her head, "But we do Nikki. Little girls need their dads and Matt needs his dad."
Nikki breathed out, "Daddy is gone and it's just you and me now. We have to take care of Mattie and each other."
"I don't want to have to look after anyone!" Vicki replied her face heating up.
"We can do it," Nikki urged, "because we are special." It was what she always said to Vicki. They were both special in their own way. Nikki could see things and she was tied to her sister. They shared the same emotions and when one of them was hurt, the other would feel it. It was an almost scary bond. Sometimes it freaked Kelly out when both the twins would bleed from a single cut. It was yet another anomaly that Kelly chose to ignore.
Vicki sniffed, "We're magic." The little girl straightened her shoulders. That was their secret. Their connection to each other bound them. "Our twin magic makes us strong."
"We can fight off anything together," Nikki said. She hoped that her sister would believe her because she knew that believing was a part of the magic.
In the bright light of day, the two small girls held hands and they believed.
But trouble had a way of finding the innocent. There were men out in Mystic Falls who saw Kelly as an easy target. A young mother, who if you filled her up with beer enough would take you home and some of these men liked little girls.
Nikki's abilities protected them for a while. She would see the men's other faces and she would tug her on her sister's hand when Kelly brought these strange men home. "He's one of them. He's a bad man."
Vicki would look at her twin and they would take Matt upstairs to their room and they would look themselves in. Kelly would spend hours downstairs with the stranger until they lurched upstairs to her bedroom. When the door locked, the twins would look at each other with mirrored relief. It was terrifying because sometimes in the dark of night, the twins would hear someone trying to turn the handle on their room door. They held their breaths until the rattling on the locked door would stop and they would watch the shadowy figure under the door retreating in defeat.
One day though, Vicki didn't listen. Kelly brought home a man who she had been seeing for a few weeks. It was a causal relationship but the twins could see the quiet desperation in their mother's eyes. Kelly was already imagining herself married to David Neil.
On the outside he was an average, steady kind of guy. He had his own house and a great job. He was friendly towards the kids without being too touchy. But Nikki saw his real face and it scared her. His other face was a mask of pure evil.
Nikki warned Vicki but throughout the weeks, David Neil was winning the little girl over. Until the day that Kelly took Matt over to the Gilbert's house.
Miranda Gilbert had been best friends with Kelly since high school and she was one of the few people who didn't look down on the family. Matt was the same age as Miranda's little girl, Elena and the two had become firm friends. Vicki was not allowed at the Gilbert's or at any of the other founding families houses. The ladies would get cross because Vicki wanted to touch everything in their big houses and she would speed through the rooms. Nikki was sad because her sister did not want to steal or break anything. Vicki just liked to touch pretty things. But the mothers thought that Vicki was too hyper active and a bad influence on their children. Even Sheriff Forbes would stare at Vicki and shake her head.
It was only Carol Lockwood who could tolerate them being over at her house and that was when she left the children to their own devices and had her afternoon drinks. Tyler was Matt's best friend and he liked playing with the two pretty girls. Carol was glad that Tyler was kept busy while she drank and the girls loved the beautiful house.
Nikki was always asked to the play dates because she was calm and polite. But she would go no where without her sister. They were sad when they were apart and Nikki needed Vicki as much as her sister needed her.
"Are you sure that you can look after the girls Dave?" Kelly asked as she grabbed a bag filled with Matt's stuff.
Matt stood in the open door way, ready to see his friend Elena who had charmed him from the moment he had laid eyes on her. His blond hair shone in the light as he shifted impatiently from foot to foot.
David Neil settled in front of the tv with the remote. "We'll be fine Kelly. You won't be long anyway." His eyes were fixed on the screen already.
Nikki stood up, ready to go upstairs and lock the room door. Her palms were sweaty from the tension that licked up her spine.
"Bye girls, be good." With that Kelly was gone and the house seemed suddenly darker. Every corner filled with dark shadows. Portents of things to come.
David leaned back on the couch, "I brought you something." He pulled out bags of sweets from the inside pocket of his jacket. He acted casual and completely at ease.
Vicki's eyes met with her sisters.
Nikki shook her head, her fear almost a tangible presence in the room now. "The bad man." She whispered.
But Vicki was stubborn, the lure of candy too much for her. "I want candy."
"No Vicki please," Nikki's voice stuck painfully in her throat. She turned her face towards David. He watched them with a dark glint in his eyes. He was waiting to see how it played out. "Thank you Mr. Neil, but we don't want any candy. We have homework." Nikki tried to keep her voice level as she lied.
He chuckled, "I thought that I told you to call me Dave," his smile was wide. It reminded Nikki of the Cheshire cat in the story books. It wasn't a real smile. "Besides, Vicki here wants candy." His voice was filled with smug satisfaction. His trap had been laid and the prey was falling into it.
"Mr. Neil," Nikki replied quickly, "we aren't allowed candy before dinner." Maybe he would believe her and leave them alone. Her eyes drifted to the door, how much longer would Kelly be?
Vicki went to the man and sat on the couch. She folded her hands and leaned into him.
"Go and get us a bowl," David Neil instructed, "then you can share it out."
Nikki hesitated. He was getting cross now, his mask of civility slipping away. "Your mother left me in charge." He reminded her.
Nikki went slowly into the kitchen and she grabbed the nearest bowl. It did not even register in her mind which one it was that she carried.
Vicki's scream of pure terror cut through the afternoon quiet and the bowl fell from Nikki's hands. Her sisters fear cutting her to the core. She raced to the portable house phone and grabbed it. Nikki ran, her knee slamming against the kitchen wall but she didn't register the pain. Vicki's panic cut through the bond, her raw fear raging like a wild beast.
Vicki sat cowering away from the bad man. Her peasant blouse pulled off her slim shoulder.
That's when Nikki felt the mirroring pain on her shoulder.
"He… he bit me!" Vicki screamed through the tears. Nikki could see her sister's shoulder slick with traces of spittle. "He bit me Nikki. The bad man bit me!" Her small body was wracked with sobs.
"She's fine," David said. "Nothing happened." His voice was cold as he looked at the phone. He bargained on the mere fact that he was an adult and his word was believable over the words of two children.
"Mr. you better leave right now. Or I'm calling the Sheriff," Nikki held the phone up. Her finger was already on the nine button. "I know who to call and when the Sheriff sees my sister's shoulder she'll arrest you."
The man stood up as he realized that the little girl wasn't bluffing. "Look I don't want any trouble." He pulled out his wallet and he threw a fifty dollar bill down on the table. "Here you girls take this and we'll forget this ever happened."
Nikki looked at the money, she could use it to get something to protect them. She looked at the bad man and he left quickly. He was genuinely scared now. He was used to kids who were damaged and didn't talk back.
Nikki sat beside her sister, "I'm sorry Vicki." She didn't know what else to say. Why did they have the misfortune to be victims of adult's bad decisions?
"It's my fault," Vicki hiccupped. "I should have listened to you."
"No it was not your fault. He was a bad man and he wanted to hurt us. We got rid of him now." Nikki looked at the money on the table. She held onto her sister, trying to share her strength and warmth. "You go and shower. I need to go somewhere real quick." She picked up the money and stuffed it into her pocket. It felt unclean to touch and she felt revolted.
Vicki was torn, she didn't want to be alone but she saw that her twin was up to something. She nodded and trudged up the stairs. Her small figure bent and worn down by pain. It was both emotional and physical.
Nikki took one final look at her sister and went out the back door. She quickly got her bicycle and pedaled for all she was worth. Time was of the essence. Kelly would be back soon. She would sit for a cup of coffee and some gossip but she wouldn't be gone for long.
Pedestrians stared at the little girl who flew down the streets. Her long hair trailing behind her as her legs worked harder. Her cheeks were pink from her heavy breathing but still she went faster. She got to the second hand shop and she stood her bicycle on the side wall. Mystic Falls was a small safe town where you could leave your bike outside without a chain.
Nikki straightened her blouse. She was wearing a matching peasant blouse. Identical to Vicki's. It was white with pink flowers stitched on it. Her jeans were a little dusty but she would do.
The little girl opened the door and walked inside. The store was empty for this time of the afternoon. The old man behind the counter leaned on the glass top as he poured over a newspaper. Nikki wasn't afraid, she could see that he wasn't a bad man. His silver hair and old worn face held no malice.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" He smiled.
Nikki walked forward, closer to the counter and looked through the glass. She searched all the shelves until she saw what she wanted. "I want that. I want two please?" She kept her voice strong. She didn't want to show him that she was nervous. A little kid trying to buy two Swiss Army knives. If she acted brave enough then he wouldn't ask questions.
"You want the pocket knives?" he asked curiously.
"Yes, I don't know how much they are but I have this." She took out the money and laid it out on the counter.
He looked at her over the rims of his glasses. Nikki could see that he was torn. He wanted to ask questions or to say no. But the one reliable human trait won out. His greed.
The old man made the money disappear very quickly. Nikki felt a little guilty at using his emotions against him. It was a second hand shop and he needed the money. But Nikki needed protection for her sister and herself.
She watched holding onto her breath as he opened the glass cabinet doors. Ever so slowly, his old fingers turned the key and he took out two pocket knives. They were still new at least. He kept a good supply of knives. The old man's breath misted the glass top as he stooped a little to get to the box.
Then he laid the two cherry red pocket knives down. They lay in their plastic protective casings still. Nikki took them before he could change his mind. "Thanks mister." She turned and walked out quickly. Not too fast, that would draw attention.
He said nothing as he watched her leave. He wanted to forget this transaction and that suited her fine.
Nikki slid the knives into her jean pocket and hiked herself onto her bike. She pedaled as fast as she could. Her leg muscles clenched in protestation at the exertion but she ignored her pain because Vicki's pain was still fresh in her mind. Nikki could feel the numb ache on her shoulder and she knew that she was sporting an identical wound to her sisters.
The streets were a blur as she tried to race time. Panting, she trailed into their back yard. She stowed her bike against the side of the garage and raced inside the house. Her sneakers striking the wooden floors.
Vicki sat up in the bath tub as her sister opened the door.
Nikki sunk down, her knees touching the cool porcelain side of the tub. She sighed from the blessed relief it gave her. She paused, trying to get her breath back.
Vicki was patient, surrounded by bubbles as she tried to scrub herself. The bite mark raw on her pale skin. It looked red and angry.
Nikki raised herself off her knees as she took the knives out of her pocket. "This is for us. It will protect us from all the bad men." She watched as her sister hesitantly took the proffered gift. She knew that it was bought with the fifty dollars.
Vicki peeled off the wrapping and she held the knife. It seemed so big in her tiny hand but she also felt the security it gave her. She hefted it in her hand, playing with it and enjoying the feel. She felt stronger with the knife and she saw her sister had the twin knife in her hand. "It's magic, like us." Vicki's soft voice echoed in the room.
"Yes, it's exactly like us Vicki and as long as you have this knife then no one will be able to hurt you," Nikki vowed.
But she had been wrong, the talisman had not kept Vicki safe in the end. The bad man in the woods had snapped the blade and Vicki was defenseless.
Nikki heard the doctor's voice in her hospital room as she was pulled back into her mind and body.
Damon Salvatore stood in the cemetery. He felt much better after feeding. He was actually starting to feel like his good old bad self again.
He took out his cellphone and scrolled through his contacts. He needed to make a very important call.
"Hello?" Stefan's voice was panicked.
"I want my ring." Damon's jaw was clenched as he tried to control his anger.
"Where are you?" the younger Salvatore asked.
Damon smirked, looking around him, "I'm at the sizzler. I had the buffet. Where's my ring?" He really hated to repeat himself but he knew that Stefan was fighting his own guilt.
"I don't have it. Where are you? What have you done?" Stefan was too afraid to find out the truth. He had come into town and these animal attacks had followed.
"No, what have you done?" Damon growled. "You're the one that locked me in the basement and starved me, so whatever I've done, whoever I've sucked dry is on you, buddy."
Stefan tried to hide his fear. "You're being careless. How many more animal attacks is this town gonna believe, huh?"
"I know how to cover my tracks, Stefan. Where's my ring?" He wanted to kill his brother at that moment.
"I gave it to Zach to hide. Probably shouldn't have killed him." Stefan answered. He could not lie easily.
Damon grinned, his face dark and sinister in the shadows. "Ah, you almost got me. Where is it?"
"I'll get it back, but I need time." Stefan wasn't a fool and he knew that his older brother would turn the town upside down in an attempt to find his ring.
"What, did you FedEx it to Rome?!" Damon scoffed. "Where is it? I want my ring, Stefan, or my next stop's Elena's."
"I already want you dead. Don't give me another reason to make it happen." Stefan's voice was lethal.
"Don't give me another reason to rip you apart." Damon was dying for a chance to hurt his brother and the Elena was a new toy in their power struggle. He couldn't wait to take her away from his brother.
"Yeah? Is that gonna be before or after you get your ring back?" the younger brother taunted.
"Just get it." Damon hung up. He was tired of his little brother's games.
He looked around, he needed to clean his mess. He put his phone away and poured alcohol around the bodies. He got to Vicki Donovan. He had fed off her and she lay prone on the grass. Damon lifted the bottle and poured some of the liquid on the human. She stirred, not giving in to death. "You just don't wanna die, do you?" Damon was amazed at the way she fought for her worthless life.
At the Salvatore's House, Vicki lay on the sofa as Damon left a message on Stefan's phone.
"Where are you, Stefan? I'm trapped at the house, and I'm getting really bored and really impatient, and I don't do bored and impatient. Bring me my ring. Damn it."
He put his phone away and looked at the human. She was bleeding out. The rich crimson liquid trailing out of her neck.
"Aw, don't get blood on the couch!" Damon chastised. He hated the furniture being ruined. Blood stains never washed out easily. He walked over to her. "Please?" He tried asking nicely but she wasn't moving or answering him. "I got you good, didn't I?" he flinched as he saw the wounds on her. He had been rough in his haste to feed.
Vicki Donovan lay still. She knew that she was dying, she could feel her soul wanting to leave her body as her life's blood left her. She could smell her blood in the air but she would not whimper or beg for her life. She would lie still until she knew what he wanted from her. Vicki knew that she would get answers with patience. Damon was a beast but perhaps she could appeal to the man in him. She didn't make a move, she would let him decide her fate but now she knew his secret. Knowing his secret gave her power.
"Well, you're not gonna be any fun today. I'm so gonna regret this." Damon bit his wrist and put it to her mouth. Vicki struggled at first. It was disgusting, this monster was feeding her his blood.
She almost gagged at the thick fluid as it reached her throat. But then she felt her wounds heal and she felt powerful. She gave in as his blood filled her mouth.
"Drink up. Drink it up. Don't drip. There you go. Good girl. That's it." He smiled as he encouraged her.
Vicki went into the bathroom. She had told him that she needed to shower, to wash the blood off. What she needed however, was a chance to think. To do that she needed to get away from Damon.
Vicki stood in front of the mirror. Her hair looked wild, there were leaves stuck in there and blood. The blood was everywhere. On her mouth, on her clothes. She lifted a hand and wiped at her lips.
It made sense now. She knew what he was but she would not say it out loud for fear that he would hear her. He was a vampire and that meant his brother had to be a vampire too. The Salvatore brothers were vampires. Vicki smirked as she thought it out. Little Elena was in love with a vampire. Talk about being low on the food chain. Vicki was quiet as her thoughts unraveled, this vampire was feeding her blood willingly. She went to the tub and turned the taps on. Damon did think that she was showering.
Nikki fell asleep as the doctor left her room. She felt weak and drained as she fell into an uneasy sleep. She had almost died after all. Nikki opened her eyes to see that she stood in an unfamiliar bath room. She was still in her pajamas but she had no shoes on. She flexed her toes, it wasn't so bad. She couldn't feel cold.
She looked up as she realized that her sister was in the room.
Vicki whipped her head about as she felt someone stand behind her. "Nikki?" she asked.
The slender girl stepped closer as she saw the blood on her sister. "I think this is twin magic. Like astral projection." Vicki looked confused so Nikki explained. "You needed my help and I felt your fear. So I willed myself to come to you."
Vicki smiled as the tears slipped down her face, "Yes, I need you. The bad man in the woods." Her memories were coming back now. "He killed Tony, Summer and Jared. He wanted to kill me."
"But you fought? I saw that, I was there Vicki," Nikki replied. Her voice was hushed as she looked at her twin. Why did she have to be so far away? Why did she have to get sick?
"Why does all the bad stuff keep happening to me?" Vicki sniffed, "I told you that I was broken long ago."
"You aren't broken," Nikki said firmly, "We aren't broken. We're just the lost girls, that's all." Girls who people forgot to love or worry about. People looked past them, they were lost in the background of other people's perfect lives.
Vicki was quiet as the words sank in, "Your hair." she took in her sister's appearance. "Your pretty hair is gone."
Nikki held a hand up to her head, her fingers touching the short shorn hair. "They had to cut it to operate and I lost some because of the treatments."
"You still look pretty though," Vicki replied. She was trying to make her twin feel better. Nikki was always so pretty with her hair that fell around her shoulders. Now it was brutally short. "But does that mean that you'll be better now?" She asked eagerly. They received updates sporadically from Carol.
Nikki smiled, biting her lip and trying to lie. "Yes, I'll be fine." She was not going to last much longer. The doctors knew that. She saw by the looks on their faces. The tumor was stubborn, it didn't want to let go of her. It was now completely inoperable. The surgeons had tried. The chemo and radiation treatments were taking its toll on her. She had lost her hair first and then she had lost weight.
"Don't worry," Vicki leaned closer. "The bad man is a vampire."
"A vampire?" her twin asked. What had Vicki been taking?
"He fed me his blood. I have a plan Nikki. I'll go along with him and get him to make me a vampire too then I'm coming for you. I can make you one and you won't be sick ever again. We can live together forever," Vicki's face lit up.
"What's his name Vicki?" the pale twin asked. She wanted to know what a vampire name could be.
"Damon Salvatore. He's going to be the answer to all our problems," Vicki was full of hope now. Nikki never needed to be sick again. When Damon made her a vampire, Vicki would go to the hospital and get her sister. It seemed so easy.
"Be careful Vicki, I'll wait for you." Nikki was scared but her sister seemed convinced that this would work.
"Do you believe me?" Vicki had to ask.
"Yes, I believe you. We're twins remember." Nikki replied. There was no hint of lies in the bond. Her sister was telling the truth and if Nikki could see beyond people's real faces and they had their own magic, then maybe vampires were real. "I saw him too and I can see the blood."
Vicki heard movement outside the door, "I have to hurry. Damon is waiting for me."
Nikki stood back, "I'll see you soon."
"Everything will be okay, I promise." Vicki was pretty even with the blood that marred her face.
Nikki nodded. It would all work out. They just needed to believe. Their pain and suffering did not have to be in vain. They deserved to be happy.
