Chapter 10
"Fire"

Evelyn was a late bloomer, like Darcy. She didn't come into her powers until she turned eighteen. It was a relief to see that she wasn't an ordinary human; she could stand with her 5 siblings as an equal part of the Domino Coven.

However, Evelyn was special, not only in timing but magnitude. Her father, Gerard Joseph Aronson, quickly realized that she was strong, stronger than him and potentially stronger than the entire coven.

"Why?!" She cried out in front of her mother. Her siblings were surely eavesdropping from the halls of the castle, never bold enough to laugh at her misfortune in front of their parents.

"It's not punishment my dear," Mary, her mother, tried to reassure her. Evelyn pressed her face against her mother's chest. "You have a wonderful gift. However..."

"Your power cannot be contained by this coven!" Gerard shouted. Evelyn felt her mother's rapid heart beating under her cheek. Her father was never especially nice. He was the leader of Domino coven; everything he did was in its name. Not once had he expressed any kindness. However, Evelyn couldn't miss what she'd never experienced.

The rest of the Domino coven was convinced by Gerard that a power like hers wasn't natural. It tipped the balance of nature. Evelyn wouldn't think it at the time but later realized that Joseph had no plans on stepping down as leader.

Again, she was ostracized. Her mother went on as if her misery wasn't clear as day. Her siblings, all of which she hated, only smirked in her direction after her magic was taken away and put inside a necklace she wore frequently.

It was then that she met Laurent, an inhumanly beautiful man, who would visit often. He was arranged to marry her eldest sister, Jane. He was also a witch, a part of a neighboring coven as well as next in line to rule.

Laurent would spend afternoons in their castle, courting the beautiful Jane Aronson, while she cried over her magic and lost identity. She was forbidden to roam outside the kingdom and rarely stepped foot outside from depression.

It struck Evelyn quickly, what an escape from her coven looked like. She would be a prisoner no more. Gerard's only fault was underestimating her, not realizing he created a beast without a conscious, sealing his fate.

"Are you a ghost?" Laurent asked with an easy smile on his lips. There was something odd about the youngest Aronson daughter, a peculiar light inside her shone brightly.

"Ghost?" She asked, surprised that she was even noticed in the reading room of the castle.

"You've never been the center of attention have you? I only see a glimmer of you before you fade away. Is this where you go?" His eyes quickly scanned the room before returning to focus on her.

Laurent found himself interested in the small woman. She never spoke a word before this. If Laurent wasn't so sure he was sober, he'd have taken her for an illusion.

"I'm... not allowed to draw attention. I'm a disgrace to this coven," she replied evenly. If her siblings weren't taunting with those exact words, she was yelling it to herself in the mirror.

"A disgrace?" Laurent wouldn't believe it. "How is that? You're far too young to understand such a word."

"I don't feel young. I don't feel alive," she confessed, Laurent was touched.

His coven leader and father had arranged for him to marry her sister, an order for his kingdom and his future coven. Her sweet face had charmed him though, even if he would marry Jane, it would be Evelyn who had his heart.

Quietly, not to raise suspicious eyes, they fell in love. Evelyn put Lauren's love to proper use. She was shameful without her magic, she cried to him to retrieve it.

"Anything for you," he said as he stroked her wild hair. "A witch without her magic is indeed a miserable tale."

The night she got her magic back was the night her entire coven was murdered. Laurent spent no time mourning the Domino coven. With her family gone, she was the last member of her coven and therefore its leader.

Laurent was the sole witness to Evelyn's metamorphosis. She was no longer the self-deprecating woman who cried woefully in his arms. She wasn't a woman who felt remorse. The girl he fell in love with had certainly become a ghost but the new Evelyn had captured his heart still.

Laurent later assumed the role of his coven leader. The Vygotsky coven had thrived; they were renowned for the power. However, Laurent wasn't satisfied just yet.

He taught her everything she knew. Her taste in the finer life came from Laurent as well as her distaste for vampires. She followed him wherever he went and would only want true freedom when wanted to take it away.

"Eve, my beautiful Eve," he hummed against her throat. It was 80 years of being with only her and he wasn't bored yet. The times were changing, slaves were breaking free, empires were falling, and magic had quietly fallen behind. The masses had long since dismissed their existence, like the vampire, and the werewolf.

She laughed and tried to roll away from him on their king sized bed. Evelyn didn't care about the rest of the world. She had her magic and her riches and Laurent.

"Why don't you marry me?"

She stopped laughing and gave him a fierce look. "If you're proposing, this is a lame attempt. Where's the finesse?"

He pulled gently on one of her soft red curls and as it bounced back, he kissed her. There wasn't a thing she could have done to upset him. She was bratty, selfish, and terribly cute.

"Marry me," he said again, finally able to wrap an arm around her waist. He wasn't sure there had ever been a woman more petite than her.

"Buy me a ring," she said in a haughty tone although Laurent had gotten her at least a thousand priceless rings over the 8 decades they'd been together.

"I'll get you a ring," he replied easily. He came from a legacy of fortune and wealth, money wouldn't deter him.

"I want a golden wedding. A brass cathedral, flower petals everywhere, and violins! I want them to play for me."

He kissed her bare shoulder. "Whatever you want."

It was the very first time she'd ever been in love, there was nothing like the swell in her chest whenever she set her eyes in him. Falling in love with Laurent was painless and easy. There was never a doubt that they'd live forever young and enamored with each other. Until he spoke the unforgivable.

"What?" She muttered, the flowery haze that surrounded them suddenly cleared. "Repeat it, so that I know I haven't gone mad."

Laurent sat up and looked her square in the eye. "Bond with me. We will be the leaders of a coven so powerful the earth will shudder at the mention of our name."

Evelyn, naked all this time, gathered the silk sheets to cover her lithe body as she stood. "Is that why you asked me to marry you?"

"I think the 80 years we've spent together is a testament to how wrong that is. You are the last of your coven, the strongest witch I've ever met! Do this, and we'd be unstoppable." There were stars in his eyes.

Evelyn took a step back. "You wish to take away my freedom, as my father did."

"Your father was a fool!" He roared, Evelyn flinched at the sound. "To think his brilliant plan was to lock you away when you could have been his secret weapon! You have the power to bring the world to its knees!"

Tears slipped from her eyes. "I don't care to be the leader of my coven. I just... wanted to get out. And now you're trying to force me back in." She shook her head desperately. "I don't need any more than this. So please..." Her miserable expression was one Laurent hadn't seen in nearly a century. "Don't ask this of me. Don't try to convince me. I won't be moved."

"You, who had immense power but no direction, no poise, not a shred of knowledge of the world around her should be grateful!"

"I... I am," she was, up until that moment. Her heart raced and she suddenly remembered her mother. She was the only member of her family to offer her a bit of kindness, but standing by her terrible father's side, got her killed. If only she stood up for herself. Of only she stood up for her daughter. She hadn't realized until then that she learned a lesson 80 years ago when she cried in her mother's arms and felt her heart beating through her satin dress.

Her freedom meant more than being in love, it meant more than being the strongest, and it certainly meant more than loyalty to anyone who wasn't her.

"Then do this for us, for me, my dearest Evelyn," he kissed her forehead. "There is no one in the world more suited for this feat than us. Our children will be heirs to everything the sun shines on. We will be gods."

Evelyn nodded. She let the sheets fall to the floor and allowed Laurent to take her back to bed.

The next morning, Evelyn wrote him a goodbye letter. She wouldn't marry him, be his stepping stone to wherever he tried to reach, and not some mindless puppet.

Wherever she went, Laurent would go, leading to a chase lasting for over a century.

Evelyn opened her eyes. It's was midnight and she was still in the Salvatore house.

"Oh... Right. It's been a hundred years." She never been in one place for this long, she didn't get the chance to think about what had become of her. She used to be happy or so she used to think. Now that she had time to think, even the good memories of Laurent made her stomach ache.

"Bonnie," Evelyn's called but got no response. Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Must you be so impolite?"

'I don't owe you the courtesy of responding.'

"Of course," Evelyn hummed in agreement, as she got from bed. She felt that Laurent was even closer now; it was only a matter of time. Although he was partial to humans, Evelyn knew that he was pushed he'd take out an entire town like Mystic Falls. He was behind at least a dozen mysterious disasters in the name if his undying love for her.

"I should call Darcy." For the first time in a century, she felt lonely.

'Why are you dragging more people into this? Isn't my body and my friends enough for you?'

"No!" She used her magic to throw around objects in the room. "I want more!" She'd be damned if she had to settle for less than she wanted.

Evelyn hijacked Stefan's car and took a drive to Matt's house. She liked Darcy but she had to see Matt.

"What are you doing here?" Matt had purposely been low key since finding out that he'd been dating Evelyn and not Bonnie for over a month. He'd heard from Caroline what her list of demands were before she'd give up on Bonnie's body and understood that he was out of his league. There was nothing he could do for her. He was just a human.

"Laurent's going to be here any day now; he's going destroy this town and everyone in it when he doesn't get what he wants."

"So you're going to let go of my friend and finally surrender?" Matt asked, irritated. "If not, then get off my property."

Evelyn glared at him. "I can kill you..." For everything he made her feel, he deserved a cruel death. It was his fault that she stayed even though she knew she was being chased and he still had the nerve to reject her.

"Yeah? Well why don't you?" He was tired of seeing Bonnie's face if it meant it was Evelyn he was speaking to.

A moment of silence passed before Evelyn slapped him clear across his face. Matt hadn't even flinched so she slapped him again. She kept hitting him until he got tired of it and went to hold both of her arms still.

"You're garbage! I could've given you the whole world!" She screamed.

She struggled against him until he shook her so hard she tried out, breathing heavily; she stared angrily up at him.

"What did you think? That I would have gone with whatever you wanted?" He shook her shoulders as he spoke, intent on getting his point across. "You think because you've got a crush on me and you've got my friends body that things would naturally fall the way you want them to. Is that what Laurent taught you?!"

"Let go of me or else," Evelyn hissed.

"Or else you'll level this town instead huh? You're so spoiled that if you can't have something no one will huh? That's you, nothing but a greedy brat!"

She spit on his shirt at those words. "You're a pathetic human being! Trash!"

Matt finally let go of her. "I just might be. But you always be alone and miserable."

Her eyes widened. Alone and miserable, is that what she was? She took a step back.

"That body, Bonnie's friends, and even this town, none of it belongs to you."

"As if I want this body, this run down town or Bonnie's pathetic friends! Bonnie Bennett, who died for love, for this town, was repaid with indifference. She'd live longer without any of it. I'd live longer without it."

"Then why the hell are you right here?"

"Because..!" Evelyn started before she understood what had happened to her. So this was unrequited love? This was wanting someone with your entire heart and none of that mattering to anyone but you. Evelyn pulled her bottom lip into her mouth for a moment. However much she loved Matt, she couldn't tie herself to him, even with Bonnie's face.

"Laurent's coming any day now. Even if... even if you don't want me, please leave town while you can," her voice trembled, she was on the brink of tears. "I would hate it if you died."

Matt snorted. "Thanks for the sentiment," he said dryly and slammed his door shut.

'Matt has been through enough supernatural bullshit. He would have never accepted you.' Bonnie's voice was almost tender. Evelyn's love for Matt was pitiful after all.

"I understand," Evelyn whispered. She took in the view of Mystic falls from Matt's doorstep, a quiet town with a talent for attracting people like her and especially people like Laurent.

'If you really want to make sure Matt is safe you have to take responsibility. Something's gotta give first.' Bonnie said and Evelyn was quiet for a moment. Bonnie actually thought that love had changed Evelyn somehow and that she understood what doing everything you could to save the person you love meant.

"As if I'd accept advice from someone who's died as many times as you have." She flipped her hair. "Time to go back to the Salvatore house."

Caroline cleaned when she was stressed. And if everything was clean, she threw herself into her work. She was the producer of the locally syndicated "Morning Mystic Falls" a morning talk show that was as dull as dirt when she first started. She's won some recognition but Mystic Falls was a small town and she started to think that maybe she outgrew it.

She knew it wasn't his fault for the way his life played out and how much his perfect life was the exact opposite of what his reality was. She was just a band aid.

"Excuse me, Ms. Forbes?" Brandon, her assistant entered her office tentatively. "Stefan is here again today."

Caroline looked up from her computer. She shook her head. Stefan could easily compel her subordinates to take him to her and he was taking the hard road anyway.

"Let him in then," she said.

It was another few minutes before Stefan entered her office. "Sorry to bother you at work. I just wanted to apologize again about Evelyn."

"I don't care about that. Not anymore." Caroline tried to smile but wasn't sure her face showed that. Stefan, her ideal since high school, was never meant for her. "Stefan, I don't want you to settle. You can't have a human life anymore but you can still live a life that's close to it. It just can't be with me."

Stefan nodded. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be granted that kind of peace though. It was hard enough getting over Elena, and getting into a relationship with Caroline but maybe he had to stop trying so hard. Was happiness possible without Elena, even though she chose Damon in the end?

"So," Stefan paused. He and Caroline were just friends now and he suddenly didn't know how to speak to her. "I'll call you then..."

Caroline cracked a smile, one that didn't feel so uncomfortable. "You can call me anytime. But stop coming here, there's enough gossip flowing around already."

"Right," he chuckled. "See you, Caroline." Stefan said and it felt final. They were never going to be the same again and Stefan decided that it was ok. He'll let Caroline go and let himself breathe.

Just then, Damon called. "Where are you?" Stefan asked.

"Back in town with my second favorite Bennett witch." Damon said and Stefan could hear Lucy behind him scoffing at the idea that she'd be his favorite anything. "Are you home now?"

"No, I'm about to head back though, why?"

"I've got a plan set in motion baby bro. I wanted you to be there to watch me save the day for once in my life."

"Are you sure you're plan is going to work? Wait for me and don't do anything stupid."

"Too late brother, I'm four steps ahead of you, and I'm going to get my best friend back. It'll all be over by the time you get here!" Damon said brightly before hanging up.

Damon turned to Lucy and gave her a smile. "You ready doll face?"

"That's a step up from the last dozen names you had for me."

Damon shrugged. "Bonnie likes my nick names. Except for that one time, I called her Bonita Magica. She was pretty close to slicing my nipple off."

"Gross," Lucy gagged.

"It was pretty hot actually," Damon admitted with a short chuckle.

They quietly approached the Salvatore house. Damon listened carefully and heard Evelyn's heartbeat move from the kitchen to the living room. She was talking to herself. No. She was talking to Bonnie inside of her. Damon gritted his teeth.

"She's in the living room. Through that window," Damon pointed. "Can you do it?"

"This is coming from the guy who boasted to his brother about saving the day before he gets home? Don't doubt now. Just go in and distract her. Keep her near the window so I can see."

Damon nodded and made his way to his front door. This was going to work. He felt it. He seriously missed her. There was nothing else he thought about other than getting her back. This was what really losing his mind felt like. And she was the only one who'd understand that.

"Hello Damon," Evelyn smiled as he got closer to her. "It's been a long time. Not up to no good I hope."

"Well you know me Ev, can't help but scheme."

He could her Lucy inching closer to the window. Damon cursed in his head; he wanted to get this over with.

"In any case, Bonnie is happy to see you. It would be nice if you played along with me, at least Bonnie won't have to wonder where you are all the time."

"Bonnie doesn't like being played with. I know. I've tried."

Evelyn laughed. "I can almost see what she likes about you. Using jokes and sarcasm to hide you're true emotions. And despite how truly selfish and impulsive you are... There's a decent heart in there."

"Nope, sold that decades ago."

Evelyn laughed. "There it is again! But on a more serious note..." Evelyn's voice faded out, her eyes shifted to the side before refocusing on Damon's.

'What happening?!' Bonnie screamed. Suddenly there was a blaring pain throughout her entire body. Unless Evelyn gave her control of her body, Bonnie wasn't supposed I be able to feel anything!

Evelyn was trying to catch a steady breath when she noticed Damon watching her expectedly. Her head felt like it was spilling in two and she finally understood what was happening to her.

"You think... I'm easy... Huh?" Evelyn could barely form words once her body started to feel as if ants were crawling under her skin.

'Please make it stop!' Bonnie cried out.

"I'm doing what I have to." Damon's stared intensely at her. How long would it take?

"I will not be moved!" Evelyn screamed and every glass window in the mansion shattered.

Lucy kept on with the spell from outside despite the screaming from inside.

"Give her back!" Damon shouted back.

"I would rather die with the both of you!" She hissed and made the mansion light up in flames.

It was only then that Lucy stopped her chanting. Bonnie couldn't come back if her body was damaged beyond repair.

Evelyn never topped screaming. Intent on destroying everyone in the house. Bonnie could feel the flames more with every second. She was sure she was going to die.

"Bonnie!" Damon grabbed her and Evelyn tried to free herself from his hold. "I'm not losing you!" He had to get out of the mansion before it collapsed on top of them. He pulled Bonnie into his arms and moved lightning fast to escape his burning home.

Bonnie coughed when she finally got to breathe fresh air. As Lucy ran up to them, she watched half of the mansion fall into itself. She cursed under her breath.

Bonnie clung to Damon's body, too afraid to let go right away. "Bonnie?" Damon muttered, unsure if this was another one of Evelyn's tricks.

"Did it work?" Lucy asked, anxious.

Bonnie frowned, guessing what happened just a moment ago and why. "No," she answered, still catching her breath.

Lucy frowned. "I tried to separate you two," Lucy started, watching her cousin be gently kneeled down to the ground.

"She's knows that now..." Damon said. It was their only shot really. He underestimated Evelyn's will to live or die. Now that she knows he went so far as to force them apart, he wasn't sure what she'd do.

"What do we do now?" Lucy asked, she was exhausted. Evelyn is stronger than she imagined. She didn't expect so much resistance.

"Now we do nothing," Bonnie whispered. She couldn't let Lucy put her through that kind of pain again. It was unbearable. "It was too much," tears fell from her green eyes. "It felt like death."

Damon cursed aloud. "It wasn't supposed to end this way!"

As Damon continued to curse and yell, Bonnie closed her eyes and tried to cam her heart. In the back of her head though, she could hear Evelyn's voice telling her that she's earned 24 hours.

"She's tired. She's giving me a day."

"I'm so sorry Bonnie." Lucy's voice was low and wrecked.

"Can we get out of here?" Bonnie asked as she raised her head to look at Damon. He gritted his teeth before he picked her up again, starling Bonnie at first. If Lucy's spell didn't kill her, Evelyn would have, and Damon hated feeling this hopeless. Part of him wished he didn't care so much. But then Bonnie's hold on him tightened and he regretted wishing his life was different. Bonnie occupied too much of his heart now.

She was trembling in his arms. Damon caught himself wondering if he could have protected her if he hadn't left her alone that night of the party or if Caroline hadn't made it seem as if they were too close. They were happy once...

They travelled by foot to Bonnie's home.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me," Lucy said to Damon as he carried Bonnie up to her room.

He eased her into the bed. "There you go. Considering we just escaped from a burning building, I'm going to get you some water," Damon said with a tiny smile.

"Don't," she held onto his hand. "Stay right here."

Damon nodded, not only did he stay; he climbed into bed next to her. Bonnie rested her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you... For trying," Bonnie whispered.

"I tried and failed. I don't deserve a thank you. I don't... Know what else to do. I'm tired of looking at you and seeing Evelyn."

Bonnie nodded. "Me too," she said, moving so that her face rested in the crock of Damon's neck. It's been too long she could use her own senses. The feel of muscle under Damon's black cotton shirt, the softest hint of cologne, seeing the blue of his eyes, all things she took for granted before.

Now the stirring in her stomach was clear as day which made her whole ordeal even worse. She didn't even have the time to herself to figure out what she wanted to do about her unwanted feelings.

"Damon…" She pressed her body against him and reached to touch his face.

"Bonnie?" Damon asked, alarmed. His body stiffened.

"I know... This is weird. I just..."

Damon carefully moved from Bonnie. "Bonnie?" He had to ask again.

"Yes Bonnie," she confirmed with a sigh.

He touched her cheek and watched her closely. "You're not losing your mind are you?" He pressed his palm against her forehead.

"Damon, I'm fine!" She tried to shake off the cool hand. She felt silly.

"No you're not. Bonnie, you're burning up." He bit his hand and offers her his blood. "Take it and go to bed." Bonnie rolled her eyes but drank the blood anyway. She hated drinking blood, his blood; it was hot and left the taste of metal on her tongue.

"I really was fine."

Damon smirked. "Admit it, Bennett, sometimes I'm right."

Bonnie laughed and then in grew quiet. Bonnie wasn't sure she'd ever get a chance to look at him the way she does now. "Damon, if I somehow don't make it out of here..."

"What do you mean if? I'm not giving up."

She shook her head. "There's no way you can try another stunt like that and get away with it."

Damon stood, the rage in his eyes, Bonnie knew them well. He was going to fight her on this.

"So you're giving up?!"

"I'm not... I'm just..."

"So she broke you huh? You're this person now? The Bonnie I know would have died trying!"

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "Why is it always me? To die trying, it's my legacy isn't it? Why does it... Have to be me?"

Damon felt like punching a wall. It wasn't enough that he tries; he had to get her out of this. "Bonnie..." He held her face with the both of his hands. "Bon," he brushed her hair from her face. Bonnie remained silent. "I'm gonna get you out of this and I don't care if Evelyn knows this. You're my best friend and I'm not gonna lose you to anyone. But I don't want a Bonnie Bennett that lies down and takes it."

Bonnie nodded reluctantly. "Ok."

"Ok? What else?!"

Finally, the tear she'd been fighting had slipped from her eye and ran down her cheek. "I wanna fight."

"I can't hear you!"

"I wanna fight!" she screamed.

"That's the Bonnie I know!" He pressed his forehead against hers, "if you forget again, who you really are, I'll remind you."

Bonnie allowed her fears to melt away. Even If she died trying, she would have given it her all. They would have tried their hardest and there would be nothing they'd regret about it.

"It's a deal then..." Bonnie lulled forward and quickly fell asleep.

Damon chuckled. "I knew you were tired." He picked her up and gently placed her back in bed. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

"Well?" Lucy asked. She'd seen and heard Damon's declaration. To die trying, it wasn't something she'd ever encourage.

Damon was about to speak when his phone rang. It was Stefan and Damon answered the call.

"What the hell happen to my house?!" Stefan yelled.

"Long story brother. Long story."