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The Last Year: An Original Story

"Into the Darkness, Part 1"

"Wake me up?" Lyn asked in confusion. Lyn knew the potion had worked. She was in an eternal sleep just as she wanted. It was the only way she could protect Elena Gilbert, the current Petrova doppelganger. Lyn had run away from her settled life in Clarendon, Virginia and hid in her safe house in Louisiana. The house had been in her possession ever since she became free of her captor – Klaus, an Original vampire.

"You know deep down that taking the potion was a mistake, Lyn," the other woman told Lyn. Lyn tilted her head in confusion. "Do I know you? How do you know my name?" Lyn asked the woman. The elder woman's eyes looked familiar, but Lyn could swear she had never met her before.

"My name is Esther, and I am a witch just like you," the woman answered. Lyn's eyes got wide. "Not his Esther…," Lyn whispered. Esther nodded. "Yes, I am his mother," the elder witch confirmed. "Even so, it would take a very powerful witch to enter someone's mind like this," Lyn told her. "I've got the witches on the Other Side aiding me," Esther clarified.

"Why!? Why can't you all just let me go?" Lyn cried out. Hadn't she suffered enough all these years? Lyn was angry, sad and frustrated at how the world would not let her die – to be free.

Esther walked over to Lyn and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you're angry and tired, Lyn. But you have been kept alive to serve a purpose that is unfolding slowly. A master plan, if you will," Esther eased the younger witch. "Slowly, huh," Lyn mumbled.

"And here I thought I would be able to be at peace by reliving my memories of my human days," Lyn said hopelessly. "Surely you realize that this isn't like your past? It's only a poor reconstruction from your fading memories," Esther retorted. "No, of course it's the same. This is the same house. The same view of the market on any busy day. The people having fun by the park near the butcher's shop. Look, even my room is the same. The same messy bed. The same dents on my wooden chair. And –" Lyn stopped describing the location when her eyes noticed something askew. It was the wall where her bed was – something was there that shouldn't be.

"No, this painting…it shouldn't be here. Why is this here? Get this thing out!" Lyn shouted. Despite being upset by its present, Lyn couldn't stop looking at it. The horrible painting which was a representation of the person she loathed the most. The one who took everything away from her. "Yes, the painting…"

o.o.o

"Yes, the painting, Ms. Ambrose. We've found another one and it's authenticated to be made by the artist Niklaus," said Amanda, Lyn's assistant from the office. Lyn was on the phone in her little cottage in Clarendon, Virginia. Lyn had finally settled on a permanent home, but its protection had to be boosted and she needed another Niklaus painting to do so.

"Well, Amanda, that's great! So when can I expect it here?" Lyn asked eagerly with excitement. "…That's the thing, ma'am. The experts had trouble identifying the painting so it wasn't authenticated until yesterday. The painting is listed to be auctioned off tomorrow afternoon in Boston and it's a public auction house, so we weren't able to make a private offer," Amanda responded shamefully. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Ambrose," Amanda added.

Lyn sighed. She couldn't risk being seen in public. But on the other hand, Lyn had to have that painting! A Niklaus painting was hard to come by, especially now that she was living in the late 80s. "Alright, I guess I'll be going myself to check it out," Lyn replied. "A-Are you sure? I'm sure Reeve will be more than happy to go get it himself," Amanda responded. "It's okay. I don't think Reeve is comfortable with auctions anyways," Lyn assured. Amanda passed on the details regarding the location of the auction house and before long they exchanged goodbyes before hanging up the phone.

o.o.o

Lyn ran down the sidewalk as fast as she could without arousing suspicion. Darn this traffic! Lyn thought to herself. She had arrived 3 hours early at the airport in Boston, but the extra time was wasted on the taxi ride and the traffic going into the city. Lyn wished she could cast a teleporting spell, but that would catch the attention of any witches on alert for her magic.

Just one more block! were the words screaming in her head as she recognized the name of the street before the one the auction house was located on. She kept sprinting until a white Victorian house came into view. Lyn didn't stop for anyone in the building and furiously made her way into the packed room.

"And the necklace goes to the man in the brown hat, #42!" the auctioneer announced. Lyn had registered just in time to participate in the next auction. Two assistants set up an easel and went back again to the back of the stage to bring out a painting. Lyn knew it was the painting she needed.

"The following painting is a rococo-style done by the painter named Niklaus. He is famous for having many paintings and artworks created throughout his lifetime, but he had never achieved fame for them. Now, we'll start the bidding at $2,000. Anyone?"

A hand was raised.

"Okay, we have two thousand! What about $2,200?"

Another hand rose up.

"Alright! The lady has placed a bid. Anyone for $2,400?"

The first bidder raised his hand again.

"Back to the gentleman. Now how about for $2,600?"

The female hand rose again. "I'll bid ten thousand dollars," were the words slipping out of the mouth of one Lyn Ambrose. She had to get that painting at all costs.

Many gasps were heard. Lyn smiled and knew that she had won the bid. She looked over to her competition. It was a young man who appeared similar to her age. He continued to not raise his hand as the auctioneer called out for bids. Their eyes met and she gave him a small nod.

In mere seconds, the auction had ended and the painting was officially Lyn's. Lyn's small flirtation with the man had to come to a bittersweet end as her time in the outside world was becoming longer than she would have liked. Without giving the man another glance, Lyn quickly made her way to the registration table to pay for her purchase and get out of there as soon as possible.

"That was a beautiful painting," a woman spoke to Lyn as she was filling out the check. "Yes, it was," Lyn replied curtly. "It won't protect you from him forever, you know," the woman told her. Lyn's writing became slow until it dawned on her what words were spoken to her just now. Lyn stopped writing and turned around. It was her again. Esther. "W-What…W-Why…H-How are you here?" Lyn was flabbergasted. "This isn't real, Evelyn," Esther told her. Lyn looked back into the auction room.

"Dean. This was where I first met Dean," Lyn whispered. Still now, she could see Dean looking at her from the room. He was wearing the same smile of adoration on his face, the one she had gotten used to for decades. It would have been a while until he found out that she was a vampire and revealed his secret as well.

"Focus, Evelyn," Esther interrupted Lyn's thoughts. Lyn blinked. "What?" she asked.

"You have to realize that only you can defeat Klaus…"

Klaus…

Lyn lost her train of thought and began to drift away to a new memory.

o.o.o

It was midday.

Lyn snapped her eyes open. She gasped heavily and dramatically as she took in her breath as if she hadn't breathed in a long time.

"Whoa! It's alright, sweetheart. Everything is fine! Just breathe slowly," a woman's voice told Lyn. Lyn nodded slowly as she sat up and held onto the woman's hands. "What happened, Mom?" Lyn asked confusedly. Her mother gently soothed her daughter by taking Lyn's hands into hers.

All the senses were bombarding itself unto Lyn. The smell of the freshly washed laundry, the rich brown hues of her mother's hair, the soft and frailty of her mother's hands and the sounds of the vendors down the street. Wait, what?

"Mom…I don't feel like myself," Lyn quietly informed her mother. She immediately saw the sad frown on her mother's face. "That's because you aren't yourself, Senna, my dear," Lyn's mother cried softly. Nothing was making sense, only the fact that Lyn was craving something suddenly. It didn't help that her mother was holding her closer to a hug. "Mom…"Lyn quietly said.

Her mother couldn't hear her daughter through her own cries as she hugged Lyn more tightly. All this ended as soon as Lyn took a nip at her own mother.

"AHH!"

"AHHH!"

The mother cried out first, with Lyn crying out soon after. Her own mother had to use magic against Lyn to stop the newly-turned vampire from draining all of her blood. "M-Mom! I am so sorry!" Lyn cried as she looked at her blood-covered hands in confusion. "What am I!?"

Her mother finished healing herself before answering, "Senna, my daughter, someone has made you a vampire!" Lyn was confused. A vampire? How could those possibly exist? They were only a legend!

"Senna, who did this to you?" her mother demanded to know. "A vampire? I didn't even know those were real!" was all Lyn could say. "Sweetheart, focus. What is the last thing you remember? Who killed you?" her mother reminded her. Lyn concentrated deeply on the night before. She had save Lady Rebekah from scoundrels in the streets. She then woke up in the gardens during sundown. A man appeared. The lord of the house who was hardly ever home!

Lyn looked at her mother in horror. "It was Lord Niklaus! He was the one who did this to me!"

o.o.o

To Be Continued…

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