Chapter 3

Bonnie slinks into her ratty motel room. Tired, sticky and in need of a serious refresh, she ruminates on what's left to do. She can't blame anyone except herself, for her obsessive duty as a magical protector. Her Grams, once protector of the town of Mystic Falls, died because of her inexperience. From then she tries to make amends for her unending violations. Yet it never hints at being enough. What else could explain the disturbing violence pummeling her reality. Something or someone wants her gone permanently. And it's not like she didn't try hard at dying. Whispers of awe regarding the reappearing witch, with salivating power, gave her no elation. She could feel the true finality nearing, inscribing her with one message: You are nothing. So the furtherance of her happiness, instead of her friends, left her feeling less hollow. She was travelling and doing a lot of self reflection, seeking the nuisances of her grey matter. That's why her pairing to Enzo was causing her to waver of late. And she sucks at picking a suitable partner.

Bonnie is trying to make things with Enzo work. He wants to be with her always, wants to know every detail. And she couldn't echo the traits he was looking for. What would happen when the distractions were gone? Bonnie wants less chaos, but not to necessarily slow down. Go to Paris or even a year sojourn through Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo and all the hidden bits between. She was stuck here because it was easier to manage her current battle on home ground. Enzo saw it as an opportunity for them to try nesting. He wants to set her up in a cozy house, with a garden in the back and there she would stay safe and tucked away. He would come home at the end of the day, professing 'Honey, I'm home'. He excuses his narrow mindedness because he has wisdom of age. Hence, the distance between them of late. Bonnie tugs at the cool ring upon her index, as the memory of its gifting surfaces.

A cabin crafted in a cavity under Blood Mountain along the Appalachian trail, Enzo strums a guitar. Wine and a little downtime. He admonishes she deserves this, as he tongues and kisses her bottom lip. Passionate about her existence, he wants her to know he's genuine. Bonnie is moved by his concern and investment in her, as she's by the hardness in his crotch she's grinding against. Her hips stop rotating, as she clearly states her intentions, to be light and flirty. She will be still and not relieve herself of anymore clothing till he acknowledges this pact. When he finally nods his head in agreement, she slips off her camisole, presenting him with erect nipples for play. He grasps a breast in each hand, pressing them together so both nipples could be suckled into his mouth. She arches her back in acceptance of his lavish offerings. She wants to be cherished, but what he's offering reeks of gilded cage at times. She needs to be free. However, for the time being, she relents to more lustful urges, as Enzo's finger lazily traces her lower lips. As her lacy bottoms hit the floor, she tries to assure herself Enzo will be reasonable. Later in the afterglow of her climax, Enzo had been nibbling on her fingers. She takes no notice till she had pulls back her tickled hand, and views a ring. She looks at Enzo, questioning the intent. He indicates it's a trinket, on her index and she may like. She was suspicious but thanks him in lieu of being rude. No alarms bells go off. The ring was a token of affection and nothing more.

Enzo's bubble wrapping intentions could be jarring, but it's an essential difference. Most people and supernaturals expect her to save the day and the cost to her rarely discussed. Enzo, for whatever his faults, had taken an active role in her survival and making her happier. But his doubts about how she holds her own is overshadowing any of his virtues. He has corrections of late, coupled with opinions and suggestions, bordering on telling her essentially what's best for her. He's making her anxious, hence, she was calling him when necessary, not second before. Bonnie is no damsel. She owns her shitty choices, as shown by her enormous burdens. She also knows those sacrifices made her a wiser witch. She has reclaimed her magic more than once and manipulate Expressionism. When she defeated the Bennett prison, it was all by herself. No one had postponed days, weeks or months to rescue her. No one. Except...

Damon! Argh! An asshole in one form or another since tearing out her throat seven years ago, their alliance was uneasy. Then Silas entered their lives, proceeding to change everything between them. She still had gaps from the time on the island, off the coast of Nova Scotia, and before with Shane. There's a hug with Damon, on the island, she couldn't recall, but she trusts the feeling that remains there. Leading to Nineteen ninety-four sealing their bond to the potent entanglement it is, was... till he left. She thought she had all the time in the world with Damon, as ridiculous as it sounds for sixty years. She knew Lily, the heretic family, and Rayna had been pushing Damon's patient, but her slights at death endlessly teasing of Elena's awakening had proven to be too much. He left her, with a letter no less. The envelope remains tucked into her grimoire, a reminder she's forsaken. However, when she sleeps, her subconscious betrays her and lets him into her reveries.

Bonnie would pull up fragments and linger in the faint recollection of the island. She could only go so far in her memory of her time there, till Damon joins her, making the image unblurr. They would hold each other, watching of the roaring black sea, as the perpetual waves crashes onto the shore. He braces her against the whipping wind of the coast, making sure she's not swept away in the frenzy. It's unbearable at times to be so intimate with Damon, as hardly a word is spoken, every look and touch visceral. He is colder than any of the elements around them but his touch is the only thing keeping her warm. She sinks further into him, embracing the guilt. She couldn't recognize how deep her love for him went before uncertainty overwhelms her. Was her fantasy a weakness? Possibly, but it worked until it didn't.

And that's where things with Enzo were beginning to hit a wall. He wants a formal pledge to their hook-up, but she not aligned to his path. She can't even discuss dream Damon or other secrets she retains. Enzo was kept on the outside on instinct, but it's time to investigate how his status didn't change even when dating. She felt him trying pin her to one path. All she saw was alternatives. She wasn't ready for the next level or step in Enzo's vision. She would hate to hurt him, but relationships should not be about desperation. It was nice to be coupled, but fear of missing out could not be the motivator. She had to be free even if it was going to be alone.

A missed the chance to kill the druid pair, who likely got to Bonnie, had Enzo seething. She didn't need the interferences. It may sound presumptuous, but he was doing this for her own good. He started to fall in love with her when she looped off his hand. He had sat there with a partial hard-on, wondering how sadistic he had become. It was a hard fought two-and-a-half-year battle to get with Bonnie Bennett. She was a lonely temptress, who didn't fathom the rogue to tame her was him. There had only been failures on his quest for inclusion. Enzo's unrequited love for Lily was proof of his ill-advised pursuits. With Bonnie, there was an opportunity to correct his misdirection and steer himself to profoundly more. As his new beacon to all he craves, Bonnie would be part of his set, by his side, his happy loving wife.

Regrettably, Bonnie is slow playing it of late. She could be safe at his side, being worshiped, but time and time again, she lands in the middle of an apocalypse. He knew she was solemn about her heart, but she didn't understand he was the solution to all the pain. They were struggling back and forth on their relationship goals. He wants to possess the cagey Ms. Bennett. That's why he gave her the family heirloom ring; he didn't tell her that, not wanting to spook her. It was nice to see it on her, warming the matching masked ring hanging on a chain, beside his cold dead heart. It belongs to a past married pair of St. Johns. Every time he saw it gleam off her index, his obsession with her deepens. He had to make sure Bonnie could receive her full reward. It was going to be tricky uniting her with the Armory.

The institution has spooked her and Rayna is an unforeseen complication. Despite all this, The Armory would be the haven Bonnie has searched for. Alex St. John had shown him the way, as current leader of The Armory. He found out she was a distant cousin on his father's side. She testified Dalton St. John had died after he conquered the land upon the Armory stronghold had been built. A great man unlike his wishy-washy brother, Enzo's father. Alex recounted how there was an ancient power held within a vault only accessible to Bennett magic, so bringing Bonnie into the St. John fold was critical.

Despite him being a vampire, Enzo could repair his family legacy and make Bonnie perfect. She was destined for exceedingly more than what she was doing. He didn't need her to be magical fix to anything. No, she would be helping to wield a great power, their centerpiece. The running, the worry would stop, and she would look to him as her knight. She just needs a chance to see things his way and he was sure he could sway her. Thanks to her friends' carelessness, he had been given an in. He wasn't manipulating her, he was guiding her since her usual allies guided her to the grave. He would make Bonnie see the truth of her reality and accept the comforts he was offering. Bonnie was going to be his.

Nori drives north towards a notion, neither sister is sure what, but the trails renders them onward. They got her name, 'Bonnie' and the first couple of letters of her last name, B, E, N. Ben? All the guessing for a last name and what's exactly is going on with this potential little sister subsides for the time, as guessing plays its course hours ago. Esha restlessness is increasing. She wants to drive but Nori was not having it. She loves Esha, but her driving had never taken, as staying between the lines proves challenging. Even Esha's sense of guidance was off because they were all unfinished puzzles. Their powers were strong, but dysfunctional, until the trio was made intergal. Part of Nori's ability intertwines in the anchoring power of the sisterhood, leaving her constantly breathless if she pushes too hard. Or worse, on rare occasions, she would not be able to pull back and Nori would fall into the darkness for a time. Esha was the key to bringing her back from the dark with less blow-back.

Esha's musicality easily connects her with mystical vibes, and her kindness is offered to anyone who was in need. Voices invades every crevice of her mind, appeasing to be heard, didn't discourage her. So, when the pragmatist Nori finally got Esha, she was shown to be a poor imitation of a human. Middle sister brought the hope of family to the light. A sister who could soften the edges made sharp by hate and disinterest. Nori was an obsessive-compulsive warrior, great in the battlefield but horrid for the rest of the life's dealings. She had been set on survival mode for centuries. It was a quarrel in the beginning to be more connected as she knew only disconnection. The deep wounds of being unlovable and the lessons of distrust, were replaced with compassion and patience, as they both learned their new roles in a sisterhood of two.

Nori knew she could be harsh in her words and her execution. That ferocity also made her love Esha with all her soul, making her confront a vulnerability she never wanted. She also finds a strength in loving Esha, she did not think was possible for one as brutal as her. But with Esha's help, Nori becomes a halfway respectable big sister, just not of late. Not taking more enjoyment in their life, had made everything a struggle for her and that's how she ended up in a tomb. Nori had neglected the practice of 'savoring the moment'. If they were to have a better chance at defeating evil and retrieve their baby sis, she needs to lighten up when she could. So, Nori turns up the tunes, harmonizing a blessing to guide them, breaking the solitude Esha has politely endured. Esha takes a breath and starts to sing along, at the top of her voice. They are singing and wailing along the ash fault, not a care in the world. Just two sisters, road tripping while haphazardly vocalizing. This is a moment and it's not bad at all.