The Crow and the butterfly.
Chapter 10.
The night of the Masquerade Ball at the Lockwood's Mansion had finally arrived. With no luck, Katherine had not retrieved the moonstone from the Lockwood's. Only Mason knew the exact location of the stone, but he was dead.
Stefan, Damon, Tyler and Jeremy wore black Italian tuxedos, as each of the girls wore beautiful dresses.
o0o
Tyler had given the group blueprints of the mansion so no one would get lost. But for key code locked doors, only Tyler was allowed to search for the moonstone in those rooms. They came up with a plan, to avoid anyone from realizing that eight persons were sneaking around the house, so the group took turns at different times.
The Masquerade Ball was one of the best events the Lockwood's ever held. From the rich to the poor, everyone came in their finest tuxedos and gowns. Masks were handed out to hide part of their identity as people interacted with their friends and sometimes their enemies.
It was Damon and Isabella's turn to search a few rooms. The first one was Richard Lockwood's Office. It was strange that the former mayor's office had no security measures. Maybe he had nothing to hide, but each room had to be thoroughly checked.
As for the rest of the crew, at the moment, Tyler and Caroline interacted with the guests to keep them occupied. Whenever someone asked for Damon of Bella, Caroline would tell a lie, so perfect it seemed like the truth. Bonnie kept her eyes and mind open for any supernatural presence as she spoke a light conversation with Matt. A half glass of champagne in one hand as Jeremy held her other hand. She would squeeze his hand with a certain amount of pressure whenever she felt something wrong.
Because he was a vampire, he was able to detect others. Stefan and Elena slowly danced around a set of dancers. Although most of his attention was on Elena, there was a good amount as he silently viewed his surroundings.
When the song ended in a soft note, she decided to freshen up. "I won't stay too long, Stefan." Elena smiled against his lips as he kissed her. Now she wished that she did not have to urgently use the washroom.
"I'll be waiting over there by Bonnie and Jeremy." He pointed at the couple by the open bar.
Bonnie felt a strain on her powers, like someone was trying to suppress it. As Stefan walked closer to them, she squeezed her Jeremy's hand. He looked forward only seeing Stefan without Elena. He knew something was wrong when Bonnie added pressure to his fingers. Before Stefan could reach them, Jeremy quickly whispered to him to check on Elena at once.
On hearing the serious tone in his voice, Stefan immediately changed directions towards the washrooms.
o0o
As Bella searched the office, Damon kept an eye outside the door. He did not stand directly by the door. Too obvious.
She had explored most of the shelves, between crevices and inside a few books. A certain book on the bookshelf stood out from the rest. "The Year of the Dinosaur. This should be the one."
Just as she imagined it, when she opened the book, the large gemstone was in the middle.
What are you doing?" Whoever the person was, her voice was nasally. Bella thought as she turned around. She had covered the book with another book on the table but the moonstone was hidden in her palm behind her back.
"Uhh…" Bella quickly racked her brains for a reasonable answer. "I'm looking for something for Tyler. It's a gift for his mother… and he left it somewhere in this room."
While the annoying girl questioned her more, Bella used her magic to disguise the stone into a moonstone and silver ring that she slid onto her right forefinger
And where was Damon! He was supposed to be guarding the door.
As if they were mentally connected, Damon appeared by the doorway. "Did you find it?"
Bella tilted her head towards the other girl and showed him the moonstone ring on her finger. "No. I did not find Tyler's gift."
Damon took hold of Bella's hand ready to pull her out of the room. "He told me not to bother."
They had almost forgotten about the third person in the room. When they were both out of the office, Bella stopped him. Damon understood her silence. He turned around to look at other girl directly in her eyes. "You were here, alone. You never saw us." He compelled her with ease.
"I was here, alone. I never saw you." she said in a monotonous voice.
Damon was in a hurry to leave the place.
"Where's the war, soldier?" Bella asked as they weaved their way out of the crowd. When they reached outside, she saw the rest of the group who had ditched the ball. Almost all of them except for one.
"Where's Elena?"
Stefan was the one who answered her. "Klaus… he took her."