Chapter 10

Speakeasy, Speak Truly, Speak Freely

I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

-Collide, Howie Day

"Ahh didn't pass out this time around. That's good, you must be getting used to it. Where are you coming from?" My vision was blurring and the girl in front of me was swimming in and out of focus but I can't mistake that voice anywhere. Only two people had that voice, but the tone was all her own.

"Katherine?" Her face finally focused and I caught both her smile and her nod. "Where am I?" The room was still spinning and I wished I had passed out like before, even that was preferable to this.

"You're in Chicago…sort of. Right now, what you're seeing is South Wabash, the Moulin Rouge and it is about half past nine. It's January, 23rd, 1922. I'll explain in a minute. Where are you coming from?" I took in her flapper dress and short bob, wow that was quite a different look.

"The Titanic, Well the Carpathian really, Damon and I were just fished out of the water when I left." Her eyes gained an odd kind of sparkle at the mention of the older Salvatore brother's name and her smile grew wider.

"You were on the Titanic! I knew Stefan and Damon were, but you too, how terribly romantic. I am absolutely envious." I rolled my eyes at her antics; she was sounded a lot like Caroline. "Now, first things first, let's change you out of that stifling dress. Taking hold of my arm she led me up the stairs and into a room that reminded me a lot like the one she had stayed in at the Salvatore mansion. Raising my eyebrows at her she knew what I was getting at.

"What can I say? I'm reminiscent, Stefan was quite the catch." Maybe she was telling the truth about loving him in the future.

"Do you love Damon as well?" She spun around and stared at me with wide eyes.

"I never said I loved Stefan," I kept eye contact and in a moment she seemed to deflate slightly. "You could always read me better than any of the others, even better than Pearl." Her eyes may have misted over slightly at her best friend's name. But then again it could have just been a trick of the light. "But no, I don't love Damon; he definitely belongs to someone else." She sent me a wink while I sent her a confused look back. I decided to keep quiet while she opened a bureau and retrieved a dress for me. Classic flapper, lovely. I eyed the dress a bit skeptically, it wouldn't suit me well, I knew it. The red tassel filled dress was just not meant for me. To make matter worse she held out a red feathery boa as well.

"Change into it, or you can't leave this room." I grudgingly took the outfit, completed with the shoes she had handed me, and changed. The dress hung on me in, what I thought was, an unflattering way but Katherine looked at me in approval. I guess this style wasn't exactly the most flattering to anyone, but at least I wouldn't stick out.

"Why am I here Katherine? And not just here, but why did I go to the Titanic, or the theater, or that town out west? Why didn't the spell just take me home? What's going on?" I had flopped down on the bed during my question bombardment. Katherine sighed before gracefully seating herself on the edge of the bed at my feet.

"Do you remember the exact wording of the spell that got you to 1864?" I nodded, how do you forget something like that? "The reason Emily created the spell was because of me. I came up with the wording and she put together the actual magic, and bound the spell to the bloodstone. I wanted the spell so I could go back in time and save my family. Klaus, the oldest vampire in the history of the world, killed them after I ran away, that's a story for another time. But when you translate the spell it means 'I am going back to move forwards'. I thought that would be perfect considering I wanted to save my family and move on from my grief. But the spell rejected me." I didn't understand her, how did a spell rejects you?

"The spell took on some kind of test. Not a conscience, but something that prevented the spell from being used by those who don't need it. The spell allowed you to use it because it believed you needed it, but it took you to 1864 because it believed that is where you needed to be, not wherever you were planning on going."

"But magic, it's not alive. It can't work on its own, how could a spell have a conscience?" Katherine leaned back so we were now lying on the bed side by side, if I didn't know she was in love with Stefan I would be majorly weirded out.

"I think that somewhere out there, there's a council or something like that. Maybe that's how it was decided." I shrugged, even this odd council sounded more plausible than a spell taking on a conscience.

"So the council, or the spell, is the reason I've been sent to all these odd places instead of just going home?" Katherine shook here head.

"The second spell means 'Back to the future I will go, to live my life and find my home.'" She didn't say anything else so I sat up before turning to look at her.

"And?"

"Home is where the heart is." Her crypticness was really starting to get one my nerves.

"What the hell are you talking about Katherine? Just tell me!" My outburst seemed to surprise me more than it did her. I was not usually a yeller, but the situation called for some anger at least.

"The ring I wear that allows me to walk in the sun has another spell on it. It allows me to summon you; I guess that would be the word, once. I wouldn't carry you through time, but it would bring me to wherever you are at that time."

"So where am I supposed to be?"

"But that is the beauty of it, you're there too. Right not you're asleep somewhere out in the world while you're here as well. Amazing right?"

"So, I'm asleep out there somewhere? What if something happens to my body? And how can I be in two places at once?"

"Don't worry, your body is being protected. I know where you are , I know who you're with and I know that you're safe. I also know that there is a time limit on this spell and you will be forced back into one place soon. I called you here because I am selfish and wanted to see you, I do consider you one of my closest friends, but I also summoned you because I know you must be horribly bewildered. So if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask."

"You said you know where my body, well other body or whatever, is. So, where is it?" Katherine smiled and for a minute she did not look like Katherine, she looked like Elena. But not Elena from before the accident, and not the Elena that Stefan knew. It was the Elena directly after the accident; it was the smile that Elena smiled at Caroline and I when I tried to cheer her up. It was a real smile.

"You're with Damon. He's in Verona right now. He's probably writing a letter in that silly wall. I heard that Stefan did that a few years ago. Isn't that so cute?" I nodded along with her last words, trying to picture either of the Salvatore brothers writing a letter to Juliet like those heartbroken girls in that Amanda Seyfried movie.

"Why am I always ending up where Damon is?"

"I already answered that question today, and I don't repeat myself, even for you." I rolled my eyes but decided not to object her statement. I did not want to fight with a five hundred year old vampire.

"Do you know where anyone else is?" It was unspoken, was she keeping track of Stefan? Or Anna?

"Stefan just left Chicago; he's heading for New York." I gave her a questioning look. She told me we were in Chicago, does that mean she…

"I've been following him. He's hitting up all the major cities in the world first. He can never stay long though; he has that special diet you know." I nodded along absentmindedly. This meant that Stefan had started drinking animal blood and was back to his normal self, thank goodness.

"Katherine, if you love him, why don't you tell him that. Why do you stay away?"She gave a sharp intake of breath and shot me a pained look. I had always wondered though, so I didn't regret asking her.

"Katherine, tell me. Why? Do you not really love him?" To my shock Katherine, Katherine Peirce the evil vampire that is out to kill everyone, actually let out a sob. A couple of tears ran down her face and it took me thirty seconds to recover from my shock and pull her into a hug. Who knew Katherine had the capacity to cry?

"It's part of the spell." What was she talking about? My spell? "My real name is Katarina Petrova. I have been seventeen years old for four hundred and thirty years. I had never loved someone before 1864, and I had thought I never would. But I did care deeply for my family, both of them, human and vampire. The tomb is sealed with magic to keep vampires in, but there are other enchantments as well. Emily knew that the only thing that could last even longer than any gem stone she could come up with was me. So Emily decided to punish me for my actions while punishing Stefan, Damon, and everyone else as well. There's a spell on the tomb, if I so much as speak to Stefan or Damon the whole tomb goes up in flames. No matter how much I love Stefan, I couldn't kill my whole family. That's already happened to me once." I hugged her close. No matter what she had done, and the people she had killed, her life had totally sucked and I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

"It's going to be okay, when everyone is out of the tomb you'll be able to come back. Than you'll be able to talk to Stefan again." But he'll already have moved on. I didn't mention that to Katherine, she was hurting enough as it already is. Sniffling, she gathered her self again.

"Enough about me, where have you gone? What did Damon do?" She looked eager enough to know so I humored her.

"Well, the first place I went was Ford's Theater, the night of President Lincoln's assassination…" Katherine gasped before settling into the bed pillows. She looked like a child waiting for a bed time story. Was I mentally disturbed for comparing a blood thirsty (literally) murderer to a small innocent child? I think I might be.

"Everyone was staring at us, and he's kneeling in front of me with the ring, I couldn't say no. It already looked like some of the girls wanted to rip out my hair. I doubt it's real or anything, but the ring is beautiful."She held my hand up to examine the ring on my finger while nodding to my story.

"It is beautiful, and I am envious. It seems that you have managed to pack almost the same amount of adventure into your short life as I have into my long one. I bet back home, in whatever time you are from, you are the one. You know that girl that everyone wants to be?" I almost laughed it off and considered telling her about Elena but her words triggered another memory. I memory of yesterday…

You are Bonnie; you cause the end, you are the one.

Katherine when I first landed on the Titanic I woke up in Stefan's room. He wasn't there, but a maid came in to tidy up. Her name was Katherine Bennett." Katherine smiled at the thought of one of the Bennetts naming their child after her. "She told me that I was the end, that I was the one. Do you have any idea what she meant?" Katherine gave me a look before opening her mouth to answer, and almost guilty look.

"Bonnie, Emily did not like me, quite the opposite in fact." She paused to take a breath.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Katherine held up her hand and her lips curved upwards into a small smile.

"Just hear me out; you'll understand more by the end of my story." I nodded for her to continue while settling back onto the bed. I could already feel that I was going have to process a lot of information.

"As I was saying, Emily Bennett strongly disliked me; it was not in her own choosing to be my companion. When I first met Emily she was fifteen. She was both engaged in love, just not to the same man. She had been promised by her father to the man who would one day be her future husband, and she cared about him, she truly did. He loved her more than anything in the world and he would make a good husband. As you know Emily was a witch, she knew that and her husband knew that, he came from a long line of magical blood himself, and like many witched still do, Emily hated vampires. But she loved a vampire, his name was Orion I believe, and he loved her, in his own sick way. But some people like to hurt the people that they claim to love, and this vampire was one of those people. He had nearly killed her when I came across them and I saved her life after recognizing she was a witch and could be of use to me. I killed him and she hated me for it, but she was in my debt. She repaid that by accompanying me and casting any spells and enchantments I required." Though her story did offer an explanation to a few things I had wondered I was confused as to why she was telling me any of this.

"I don't understand, what does this have to do with what Katherine Bennett said?"

"Bonnie, Emily did not want to be my companion because she hated vampires. It was against her will to fall in love with Orion, him being a vampire was only one of them. But there was a curse that had been cast on the Bennett line during the seventeenth century. The castor had a twisted mind and happened to be a fan of both Shakespeare and irony. Therefore the curse allowed the Bennett's female decedents to only love one other being in their entire lives, a love for their soul mate. It would have seemed like a blessing right, no searching for Mr. Right? But then they added a sick twist, they changed those girls' fates; they changed each and every one of their soul mates. So that the Bennetts' would only ever love vampires. Their only love sprung from their only hate."

"I don't understand, are you saying my soul mate is some vampire? What did we even do to get cursed?"

"You have to remember that a vampire is a person too, Bonnie. No need to be racist. And I'm pretty sure the Bennetts were cursed because your ancestor had an affair with anther witch's husband. The details have been lost in time. But Bonnie, vampires can't have children." I almost refuted her statement. I almost said something about Renesmee Cullen, before I realized that Twilight was completely ridicules and unrealistic. What vampire would be able to live being aware that they sparkled in the sun without being suicidal?

"Witches are a dying breed, marriage contracts and parental planned conceptions have been considered. Every time a Bennett witch finds her soul mate there is a risk that she will choose love over family. That's she will choose to live her life with a vampire lover, not producing any children and therefore ending the line. Of course there are branches of the Bennett family out there, but if one chooses love it might inspire more to follow. But Katherine Bennett knew you; she told you that you were the one that caused the end. Now she could mean the end of the world, the end of all witches, the end of supernatural secrecy, and a whole lot of other things. But she could also mean the end of the Bennett line, which I think may be the case." Wow way to tell me I may end the world.

"Umm…why do you think that I'm the end of the line?" It didn't make sense to me why she would jump to that conclusion.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you the most important part. A few years after the curse was bestowed on her, the Bennett witch spoke a prophecy and her husband wrote it down in her grimoire. It's been written in every Bennett grimoire since, to make sure it isn't lost in time." I looked at her expectantly, wondering if she was going to tell me the prophecy or not.

"I copied it out of Emily's grimoire so I could tell you if I needed to." She took a deep breath before reading the prophecy off the paper in her hand, her voice gaining a quality that it hadn't before, the words of age old magic lacing themselves into her voice.

"One lone witch will be the end of it all

Through her heart the line will fall

She will surrender our continuation

In favor of betrayal and damnation"

"So I'm going to die of a heart attack after betraying my family and before I have any babies. And what makes you so sure I'm the 'lone witch' they're talking about?"

"You denial never ceases to amazed me Bonnie, and that was only the prophecy spoken by her. Her daughter spoke another and added it to her grimoire." She took another breath before continuing.

"Five of the chosen shall answer the calls

Two old souls, a witch, a clone, and Miss Mystic Falls

But beware Bonnie, there will be a price

Thirteen drops of blood may suffice

Good luck or good riddance only time will tell

Once you knock on the doors of hell"

"That's it?" I was still trying to process, my name had definitely been in this prophecy, and they had mentioned a witch. Caroline was probably the Miss Mystic Falls that they were talking about. I guess the clone was the doppelganger, Katherine or Elena I didn't know.

"There have been a few more prophecies over the years, some speaking of a timeless journey while others just talk about you being thrown back in time. The overall theme is that your trip through time is necessary for whatever you have to do after you answer the call. Most of those weren't written down." I nodded and tried to articulate a thank you, but I couldn't seem to get the words out of my mouth. Katherine didn't seem bother by the lack of words coming out of me though. She pulled me into a one sided hug before rubbing my back in an attempt at comfort. She wasn't very good at it, but then again, I doubt she did this often.

"I know it's a lot to process, but everything is going to be fine in the end." I knew the words were untruthful. She's read the prophecy herself, betrayal and damnation. What a lovely future I have going on for me.

"Come on, let's forget this. There is a party raging downstairs and we're up here moping." She pulled me up off the bed, fixed her hair and than mine, before leading me out the door and down the stairs.

Katherine had been telling the truth, there was a party raging downstairs. A crowd of people who were at least years older than me. But at the same time, they were all only a few years my senior. Time is a funny thing.

"Al, this is my good friend Bonnie Abella. Bonnie, this is Al, Al Capone." My eyebrows shot up when Katherine spoke the mobsters name and I took in his appearance. Blue pinstripe suit, fedora, and a cigar. He looked just like anyone would imagine him.

"A pleasure to meet you Bonnie." He held my hand and placed a chaste kiss on my skin. My hand was just kissed by the most famous mobster in American history! This is like meeting the president…except not really. Meeting Lincoln was totally different.

"I do work for him sometimes, he's really quite nice. He donates a lot of his profits to charity." I smiled and nodded while Al Capone took his leave to go and greet other patrons of the club. I already knew he donated his money, it had said it in our textbook. Tanner had still said stuff about how horrible he was, but then again, Tanner often talked about how horrible of a person I was. I guess I shouldn't speak ill of the dead, though technically he hasn't died yet.

I was pulled through the crowd by Katherine, meeting and greeting people who I hoped, as bad as it sounded, did not live to meet me again in my time. That would be awkward. The music resonated through the room as I forgot how many drinks had been placed in my hand. It was hot and I was thirsty, so I drank. I don't pay enough attention in Mr. Saltzman's class to know if this is during the prohibition, but prohibition or not the drinks were definitely alcoholic. I vaguely wondered if I would wake up in twenty years with a hangover. God, I hope not.

It was probably due to my drunken state that I didn't notice the feeling immediately. It wasn't like the times that I traveled through time. It was more like, Christmas morning. You wake up with a bolt because you know you want to run downstairs and open present. Except this was along, drawn out shock. It was still buzzing in my brain while I motioned for Katherine. I quickly managed to get in a hug and farewell before the buzzing stopped, and I opened my eyes that had closed without me being aware.

"Bonnie, are you alright?" Swimming into focus was Damon Salvatore's face. I groaned aloud before flopping back down. I realized a second too late that I could have bashed my head into the floor or something else equally painful, but I didn't have to bother anyway. The back of my head collided with a soft pillow. I looked up again to take in the scene of Damon leaning over my bed with a worried expression. Well, at least he isn't, you know, in the bed with me. I wonder if finding a vampire attractive is considered necrophilia. Not that I find him attractive! I'm just confused right now okay? Besides, I was thinking about… Stefan. He's hot, right?

"Bonnie?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Where am I though?" He leaned away once more. Apparently during this time he respects others personal space.

"Verona, Italy. I'm renting this room." I nodded once to show that I was listening. Katherine had been right about Verona after all. Once again the images of Damon or Stefan sobbing next to a wall while writing a letter frantically to the dead heroine popped up inside my mind. A poorly stifled laugh bubbled out of my mouth. That would never get old.

"Are you sure you're alright?' I rolled my eyes before sitting up in the bed. The room spun and the thumping in my head got infinitely worse.

"Get me an Advil." I groaned out. God, I hated hangovers.

"Advil?" The only thing worse that a hangover? A hangover before good pain medicines had been invented.

"Fuck, I hate this. Stupid spell journey." Damon was looking on confused. "Just get me some water."He nodded before leaving the room, giving me only a few mere seconds of solitude before he was back at my side with a pitcher of water and a glass.

"Is there anything else you need Bonnie?" I saw him glance down at the ring on my finger (I really needed to take that thing off) before back to my face. I looked away from his eyes quickly. They were beautiful and penetrating, and in a few years they would be completely in love with my best friend.

It wasn't until my need to avoid looking at any spot other than his face that I took in the room. Well, not really the room. Just the corner, or rather what occupied it.

"Who is she?" My voice was hard and cold. For a moment I had forgotten just who I was with, and now that the realization was back…I was not going to let my guard slip again.

"Bonnie, you have to understand. I need to eat. Just like you do." I scoffed, he was disgusted. The girl did not say a word; she did not even look at us. She continued to stare at the opposite wall as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. She was compelled of course.

"Get away from me." He immediately reeled backwards a few feet, as though he had been burned. The sheets were smoking, I had burned him.

"You are going to compel her to forget about you, and then you will wake her up from whatever stupor you have put her in. You will take her home and then you will get out of this city. Run all the way to Rome for all I care, just get away from here. Do you understand?" He gave a short nod.

"I understand." It was almost as if I had compelled him. I watched as he kneeled in front of the beautiful young girl and stare into her eyes while murmuring orders. I took in her long brown hair, pale skin, and heart shaped face. My eyes burned as I turned away. There are some things, that even going back eighty years in time cannot get you away from.

I listened as he led her to the door, I heard it open and close behind them. My eyes brimmed over. It would awhile before time took me once more but I did not move. My shoulders sagged in defeat though I'm not sure what I had lost.

I didn't hear him come in. I did not hear him cross the room. I did feel the bed shift as he sat down next to me.

"I'll find you again Bonnie." I already knew that. Some weird council feels the need to keep dropping me in whatever city you are in.

"Is that a threat?" He had told me I would rue the day once upon a time.

"No, it's a promise." He didn't wait for my response before standing.

"Farewell cara." He bent and placed a soft kiss on my forehead before opening the window and quietly leaving me in the room alone.

"Good bye Damon." He was long gone and there was no one to hear but I said it anyway. Just to be polite. Sighing I laid back in the bed. While I had the time I might as well attempt to sleep off this hangover.