A/N: Hey ya'll! So here it is. The last of the introductory chapters. We hope you've enjoyed this story so far. Stick with us, guys. We promise that this is going somewhere.
Enjoy!
Happy Reading!
And as always, REVIEWS = LOVE!
Disclaimer: We do NOT own: The Vampire Diaries, any characters, places, words or phrases from the books or television show, The Originals, any characters, places, words or phrases from the television show, New Orleans, Shreveport, Skype, Tumblr, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport or anything else you can find outside of fandom.
THIS FANFICTION IS UNBETA'D BUT PROOFREAD. ANY REMAINING MISTAKES ARE UNINTENTIONAL. APOLOGIES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.
Zavrina Bennett was a normal sixteen year old. She had parents who loved her even though they had been divorced since she was a baby. She had long black hair, smooth dark brown skin and dark brown almond shaped eyes. She was a talented artist so she loved it when she would got to New Orleans to visit her grandmother, Amelia. It gave Zavrina the opportunity to paint in the Quarter.
Zavrina had known she was a witch from a young age. Her grandmother didn't see any reason for her not to know; although she wasn't allowed to practice any until she was twelve. Her cousin Emily, was a very gifted witch and Zavrina loved that Amelia let Emily stay with her while she attended Tulane. Emily had been training Zavrina via Skype and she helped her start her very own grimoire.
While painting the setting sun one evening in her backyard Zavrina felt a surge of magic course through her and then settle into a pulse. Mystic Falls, Virginia crossed her mind for whatever reason and she just knew she had to go there. She packed up her supplies and ran into the house.
"Where's the fire, chere?" her father Robert asked as she ran through the kitchen.
"I have to go, Daddy," she said.
"Where?"
"Mystic Falls, Virginia."
"Why?"
"I don't know," Zavrina told him, "but it something magical."
"Alright, I'll rent a car for you. Do you want me to come along?" Robert asked as he pulled out his tablet.
"I've got this, Daddy. I've flown unaccompanied before and I'm a witch. I can handle it," she said with a smile, patting her concerned father's arm.
"Well, get packed up, Z. I'll make the arrangements," Robert said as she ran from the kitchen.
Zavrina hurried around her room collecting anything and everything she might need for this trip. Excitement was the only emotion she could muster. She had thought that her grandmother and Emily were the only two Bennett witches in the world but this pulse, it must mean something different.
She packed her clothes, a few small canvases, her electronics, her grimoire and lastly her art box. It was a gift from the very handsome and kind, Klaus Mikaelson. He had brought it to her last summer when she was visiting her grandmother in New Orleans.
"Hello," Zavrina said as she stepped out on to her grandmother's porch.
"Hello, Zavrina," Klaus said with a crooked grin, showcasing his dimple. "thank you for meeting with me."
"Of course," she said smiling. She loved the formal nature of the Mikaelson brothers..
"This is for you," he said handing her a thin, medium size wooden box that was tied with a red ribbon.
"What is this, Mr. Mikaelson?" she asked with a smile as she opened it.
"It's an art box," Klaus had answered with a smirk. "Any artist worth their salt has a good art box."
"How do you know I'm a good artist?" Zavrina asked puzzled. As far as she knew, Klaus had never seen her work.
"I've seen you painting in the Quarter and that portrait of your grandmother in the living room is beautiful."
"How'd you see that?"
"From the porch swing, love," he chuckled.
"Oh...right," Zavrina said, heat rushing to her cheeks. "Thank you again, Mr. Mikaelson. I love it," she said happily, wrapping her arms around him. She felt Klaus hesitate for a moment before he put his arms around her.
"You're welcome, Zavrina," he said, his cheek on the top of her head. Zavrina decided in that moment that Klaus Mikaelson was one of the best people she knew. He didn't have to gift her with anything but he had gone out of his way to bring her the art box.
Zavrina took a shower and went to bed. Tomorrow she would embark on a journey to whatever the pulse meant and hopefully more Bennetts. The next morning, Robert helped her bring her bags downstairs and he drove her to the airport in Shreveport. He explained about her connector in New Orleans and she told him that she knew the drill. Robert kissed his daughter as she headed out.
Zavrina got on her connector at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport excited about what was awaiting her in Virginia. She silently thanked her dad for booking her on a flight with a wifi connection. She didn't know what'd she do for two hours without Tumblr. While she was going in on someone who had just dissed her favorite pairing in her favorite fandom, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Emily.
"Hey Z, where are you?"
"Plane," Zavrina text back. "Dad got me a connector and a flight to Mystic Falls."
"Good. We're headed that way," Emily text.
"See ya soon!"
"Bye, Zavrina. Be safe."
"Stop being a worrier, Em. Bye," Zavrina text back before she put her phone down.
She finished her rant and settled in to read some fanfiction. Zavrina reread some of her favorites; keeping her face plain while reading the dirty ones that her father would kill her over if he knew she read them and crying over the particularly sad, gut-wrenching ones. When the seatbelt light came on she put her tablet away and prepared to land. She was finally in Richmond.
As she got off the plane, grabbed her bags and headed to the rental counter, she realized that she had no idea where Mystic Falls was located. She asked the nice lady at the desk and she told her it was an hour drive, straight shot. She smiled and loaded her things into the SUV that Robert had rented her before getting behind the wheel. She turned the car on, touched the GPS and watched it come to life.
"Mystic Falls," Zavrina said to it.
"Calculating directions to Mystic Falls, Virginia," the robotic lady said as the GPS beeped. Suddenly, the screen showed a map and she was off. While she was waiting, she had hooked up her iPod. She jammed to her favorite songs as she cruised the highway. The GPS was guiding her but she didn't really need it. The pulse she felt beckoning her toward her destination was so great.
As Zavrina crossed Wickery Bridge, she spotted a lithe black woman on the side of the road with the hood of her car up. There was smoke everywhere. She pulled over and got out.
"Hi. Is everything ok?" she asked the woman.
"Uh, no. I was driving and then suddenly...smoke," the woman said with a grimace. "I don't know what to do."
"I can take a look," Zavrina offered. "My dad taught me all about cars," she said stepping up to the car. She examined it closely and realized that she had a broken fanbelt. She ran back to her car and grabbed a pair of her least favorite leggings and began to do some make-shift repairs.
"Thank you so much," the woman said as she watched the teenage girl. "I'm Jessica Bennett, by the way."
"Bennett?" Zavrina said, standing to look her in the eyes; a large grin on her face. "I'm a Bennett, too. Zavrina." Jessica smiled wide as Zavrina went back to her repairs. When she was finished she wiped her hands off on one of her paint t-shirts and stood to look Jessica in the eyes again. "Are you as excited as I am about whatever is..." she started but was interrupted by a large, meaty hand covering her mouth and shoving some kind of herbs down her throat. She saw a devilish grin, stretch across Jessica's face right before everything faded to black.
When Zavrina awoke she was tied to a chair in the center of an anti-magic symbol on the floor of an old but quaint house. She took a quick look around and studied her surroundings. Her abilities as an artist came in handy in this situation. As long as she could keep her eyes sweeping the room, she could memorize it. Every window, every exit, every detail on every petal of every flower in the room.
"Ahh, you must be Zavrina Bennett," an elderly woman said as she entered the room; a tall graying man beside her. "I am Anna Kirkland and this is my brother Andrew. We are the Leaders of the Gemini Coven."
"So?" Zavrina questioned. She was afraid and confused but she refused to let them know it.
"Don't be rude, child," Andrew said sternly. "We have taken you as collateral. When Bonnie Bennett returns what she took, you will be returned safely to your family and father."
"I don't even know who that is," Zavrina told them honestly.
"Do not lie," Anna hissed.
"Just let me go," she said. "I don't know who Bonnie is and I don't know what you're talking about." Anna and Andrew shared a glance before turning their attention back on the young girl.
"This is, Jessica and Jesse Klein," Andrew said as the lady from the side of the road and a tall black man with striking features entered the room. They will care for you until this is over," he informed her before he and Anna left. Jessica and Jesse followed them out and Zavrina was alone. She let the tears that she was fighting fall. She didn't understand what the Gemini Coven wanted with her; she didn't know who Bonnie was and she didn't know why she couldn't feel the pulse anymore. She hoped that it was just the anti-magic ward and not that she had been cut off from this Bonnie girl and the rest of her family.
