Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).
So far the chapters have either been from Damon or Elena's POV. As we are now nearing the end, we are branching out a little more.
I'd like to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews so far. They genuinely do help keep me motivated to get the chapters written and published sooner. As promised, any questions asked from the previous chapter will be answered.
Reader
All will be revealed in this chapter.
After the meeting with Giuseppe to announce Damon and Isobel's engagement, Katherine decided to take a walk through the gardens with Stefan. She had not been surprised by his outburst against the marriage during the earlier conversation. She knew Stefan absolutely adored his older brother and would do almost anything for him, which, when she overheard Damon and Giuseppe discussing the matter before she met Isobel, she had compelled Stefan to argue against it, knowing nobody would suspect compulsion. Katherine was going to need to use his disapproval of the marriage for her next move.
Katherine also desired some time alone away from Emily as she suspected the witch was a little too close to Isobel and was feeding her doppelganger information. Not that it mattered. The spell she'd requested Emily to do suited all of them, although admittedly Katherine had different ideas of how Isobel should be dealt with should she not return to 2010. Therefore Katherine had suggested Emily tell Isobel all about the specifics of the spell, ensuring her doppelganger didn't run until she decided as she had a very special use for her. If Klaus wanted Katerina Petrova, he would get a dead vampire Katerina Petrova delivered to him in New Orleans while the unfortunate doppelganger would perish in the fire in the tomb. Damon and Stefan would forget of Eleanor Pierce's existence, meaning Katherine would be able to settle down for a little while longer without the worry of Klaus Mikaelson finding her, looming over her shoulder.
For now Katherine needed a little spy who had appeared to find out if Isobel and Damon were plotting something behind her back. She trusted nobody, including those closest to her, which is why all of the vampires in Mystic Falls were going to have to perish in the fire, including her friends. The job of handing over the body to Klaus would have to fall to someone who could not be compelled by the Original, such as a witch or a werewolf. Katherine didn't trust Emily to hand Isobel over to Klaus, however Isobel had told her she would meet a werewolf soon, although she wouldn't reveal who it was until the time was right. However Katherine wasn't stupid, there had been no werewolf attacks during the last full moon and according to Isobel, the roundup would take place in exactly five weeks. With one full moon in between those dates, the werewolf would be arriving before then. All Katherine had to do was keep an eye out on newcomers to town over the next three weeks, especially those who in all likelihood would have blood on their hands.
Until then, Katherine needed to ensure she had as much information as possible, should there be any need to change her plans. Unlike Stefan, whom she'd compelled to question the reasons behind the marriage, she knew Isobel and Damon's relationship was genuine. She had lived long enough to recognize the way two people looked at each other and the way they moved together, to know when they were genuinely in love. Katherine had frequently used love as a motivator to force people to do her bidding when compulsion had not been an option, therefore she had taken extreme care to know the exact signs to look for. It wasn't just the way they looked at each other. That could be faked by a good enough actor or actress, instead it was something else, something natural and could not be forced. The two would be in complete synchronization with each other. Their body movements and reactions would be in harmony with one another. Hence she knew with absolute confidence, Damon and Isobel's love was genuine and nothing would tear them apart, only magical interference. However they believed Stefan was unconvinced, which made him the perfect little spy.
Katherine was now confident Isobel wouldn't be interested in Stefan, which meant she was prepared to allow him to get to know her doppelganger. Of course Isobel would be careful what she told Stefan as she was aware he was to some extent under compulsion. But something which may appear insignificant to Isobel, could be of a lot of use to Katherine. Therefore she decided it was high time Stefan got to know his future sister-in-law, which was the real purpose of their walk.
"Could I be so bold as to ask a question?" Katherine asked as she and Stefan wandered through the maze.
"Certainly." Stefan replied thoughtfully.
"Why are you so against the marriage and your brother's possible future happiness?" she asked, wanting to make sure her compulsion was practically loophole proof.
Stefan sighed. "I know my brother." he told her. "He has a habit of making rash decisions only to find he regrets the greatly only a short time later. They have known each other for only four short weeks. How can one be sure of finding the person who will be their one true love for the rest of their lives after such a short period of time?" he asked. "It makes little sense. I do not believe it is about love."
"Eleanor is my sister. I do worry about her heart being broken." Katherine shook her head. "What possible motives do you believe your brother may have for this marriage?" she asked.
"There are many possibilities." Stefan sighed. "He and father do not get on. Damon hates living here with him. If it is true and father had offered Damon an inheritance if he left, my brother would want to ensure he had a wife available to him. He knows you would not be an option due to your affections for me, therefore your sister, who looks exactly like you, would be the next best thing." he explained. "However, if that is his motive, then I do believe he would have been thorough in discovering if she were suitable wife material." he told her.
"Suitable wife material?" Katherine frowned.
"Damon would not even consider this desperate path unless he was sure your sister was capable of satisfying all of his needs." Stefan explained.
Katherine drew a deep breath and put her hand to her mouth in an attempt to look shocked by this revelation. "Are you suggesting Master Damon may have stolen my sister's virtue?" she asked.
"I would be surprised if it were any other way." Stefan told her. "Has your sister said anything to you which might point you in that direction?" he asked.
"I am aware she visited him in his room last night." Katherine told him. "However she said this was when he proposed to her."
"And do you know when she left his room?" Stefan asked as Katherine shook her head. "I hear it was this morning." he told her. "I do not believe it takes an entire night to propose to someone. Do you?" he asked.
Katherine sighed. "Oh my poor sister." she said. "Many a suitor has tried to win her heart, yet failed. Yet one night in the bed of your brother has her agreeing to marriage already. Are you sure? I cannot allow my sister to marry your brother if it is for an inheritance." she said sadly.
"I have no proof." Stefan shook his head. "As I say, that is one of many possibilities. It appears they, in all likelihood are engaging in carnal activities. We know not of how long this has been going on. She may already be with child, which would explain why they wish to marry so quickly." he said.
"You believe your brother would marry her if she were carrying his child?" Katherine raised an eyebrow.
"My brother is many things. He is impulsive, stubborn, wayward, in most regards he lacks a sense of duty and often has a tendency to lash out. He is also known to use people to forward his own agenda." Stefan told her. "However he does have a sense of moral right and wrong when it comes to certain matters. He would be completely aware the reputation of the entire family would be sullied if he were to get a lady of high social standing like your sister, in the family way and then leave her." he explained. "No woman of credibility would entertain his fancies again. Instead, if he were to marry your sister and she were not sufficient to meet his needs, he would always take a mistress."
"I cannot believe either of these of your brother or my sister." Katherine shook her head.
"They are possibilities, however I suspect the true motive behind Damon's proposal is you." Stefan lowered his eyes sadly.
"Me?" Katherine frowned as Stefan nodded.
"My brother has become exceedingly jealous of our blossoming friendship." Stefan replied. "Only a fortnight ago he was declaring his undying love for you." he said. Although Katherine knew different. Within a day of Isobel's arrival, Damon's attention had been immediately drawn to her doppelganger, even though Katherine and Damon had continued having sex for a little longer. However it suited Katherine's purpose for Stefan to not know that snippet of information. Instead she simply nodded in agreement. "I believe he is trying to make you jealous." Stefan continued. "He is dallying with the woman closest to you. And he knows from experience, sibling rivalry is greater than any other. The best way to make you jealous would be to take a fancy to your sister. As his plan failed to move you due to our own relationship, he would have to make the stakes a little higher. Proposing to her under false pretenses would, I believe, in Damon's mind, achieve that goal."
"Oh my." Katherine fanned herself quickly. "I now fear greatly for my sister's heart. But I know not what to do. She will not listen to me. She will suspect I am jealous of her due to my previous friendship with Master Damon." she sighed thoughtfully before smiling at Stefan. "Do you think you could befriend her?" she asked. "I do not mean for you to get too close to her. Only enough to find out more about her and Master Damon." she said.
Questioning Stefan's motives behind his hesitancy towards Damon and Isobel's marriage had needed to be intense from Katherine's perspective. Under normal circumstances she would have compelled Stefan's reasons for him. However it appeared Isobel knew the Salvatore brothers possibly even more than she did, which meant any argument Stefan had against the marriage had to be forged from his own knowledge of Damon. Katherine could not risk Stefan acting out of character as Isobel would know right away he was being compelled to be against the marriage. Instead she had compelled him to be suspicious of Damon's motivations and think of reasons why the marriage would be risky. In this case, compulsion would work best if Stefan used his own initiative instead of a direct order. This way she only had to ask and she knew Stefan would find out exactly what she needed to know, that was if there was anything to find out.
"I believe getting to know Miss Eleanor would be an excellent idea." Stefan smiled. "She knows she needs to convince me of her and my brother's love. I believe I am uniquely qualified to question her." he said.
"Then that is the matter of discussion over, until we find out more." Katherine smiled. "Come, walk with me some more." she said as they carried on exploring the gardens.
For Elena the next three weeks passed in a blur. Her period had come and gone, confirming her suspicion she and Damon had started too late in the month to have been trying to get pregnant. However her emotions were a mixture of sadness and relief when monthly came. Her fate had still yet to be decided, which on one hand meant she could still potentially go back to 2010, to her family and friends, yet the possibility of her remaining in 1864 and becoming a mother was still there. Elena was unsure which option she preferred and her only choice was still to let fate decide for itself.
There had been one other issue which had been bothering Elena. What to do with her journal. She wasn't sure if the witches would allow her to take it back with her, and she didn't want to lose a record of her time in 1864 if she were to return. The journal would also provide a record of an alternate future which she could share with her friends and explain her decision to be with Damon as opposed to Stefan. After much consideration, Elena's initial idea was to hide it in the boarding house while it was being built. But as soon as she saw the plans for their house, much to her dismay, they looked nothing like the boarding house. Instead her potential new home looked almost identical to the existing Salvatore house. So instead, she decided to bury it near the pond of hers and Damon's first picnic together, in the hope no bodies were buried there in the meantime.
Elena was also concerned the new house did not reflect the boarding house she knew. Stefan had told her the house she knew was around a hundred years old, and she knew it wasn't built to replace another property. All of that was about to change, which meant the boarding house in the form Elena knew, may now never exist. She just hoped it wouldn't be enough of a change to prevent her from going home, should fate decide that to be her course.
After the announcement, Elena's life had changed dramatically. She no longer had as much free time to do as she pleased, although much of that was coincidence due to the fast approaching Founders Ball combined with her and Damon's engagement party. This had given her a glance into what life would have been like had she stayed there and Damon had inherited the businesses, and it was not one she would have wanted to have lived. There was always much to do. Helping to organize the engagement side of the party had been part of her role. The belief was she would have to run a household after she were married, therefore she would need to know how to provide the entertainment, which she loathed. A thought did make her smile when it occurred to her, Caroline would have been having the time of her life had she been the one sent back to 1864.
The one thing which had kept Elena happy all throughout the last few weeks was Damon. Every day they would go visit the building site where their future home was being built, on the premise of wishing to see every step of the construction. This however was just an excuse. They would stay for no more than an hour before returning to the estate with a detour on the way back. Stopping of at their barn to spend time alone together where they could talk freely and make love without the worries of vampire hearing listening in on their activities. To Elena these moments were precious. And although them making love was under the excuse of letting nature take its course, it didn't affect Damon's insistence on fulfilling Elena's needs. In fact considering this was a time where women were not expected to enjoy sex, Elena was surprised of how incredible a lover Damon already was. This had made her wonder exactly how good he would become when you threw in a hundred and fifty years experience and the added sexual prowess which came with vampirism into the mix. Which, on the day of the next full moon, while lying together in the hay after a particularly pleasurable afternoon of making love, led to an interesting conversation between them.
Elena's head rested on Damon's chest while she drew circles tracing the hairs around his nipples, while deciding how to approach the delicate subject of his future infidelity.
"It's the full moon tonight." Elena started. "Emily may learn more from the witches about the path our futures will lead us to. We don't know if I'm pregnant and we wont find out for a few days." she said. "But if I'm not, and I go back to my own time, you will forget about me until we meet again, and our memories of our time, including this conversation we are having right now."
"I know." Damon said sadly.
"Which means I need you to promise me something." Elena said, raising her head to look at him. The next few words she was going to say would hurt her, but they were extremely important for any future relationship they were to have.
"Anything." Damon frowned.
"Do not feel guilty about being unfaithful." she said.
"I'm going to be unfaithful?" Damon asked, looking horrified by the suggestion, which warmed Elena's heart greatly.
"The Damon Salvatore I know from the future has a reputation with women and is known to be rather...promiscuous." she said sadly.
"But I thought I were in love with you." he frowned.
"You are." Elena nodded. "But vampires have a heightened sexual appetite. Being in love with me without any physical relationship, means you have to find other ways to satisfy you. Or should I say, find other women to satisfy your sexual needs." she said. "Not only that, but you were in love with Katherine and she was missing for almost a hundred and forty six years. No vampire can go that long without sex. And if you end up as a vampire, I don't want you to have to endure that too." she swallowed a lump in her throat. "A celibate vampire is a grumpy vampire, which makes for a very dangerous vampire. So just don't feel guilty if we have to revisit this conversation in the future." she smiled trying unsuccessfully to hide how much it was affecting her.
"It wont take away the guilt Elena." he whispered, shaking his head and stroking her on the cheek as an idea occurred to her, one which made her feel more positive about the entire situation.
"Just think of it as an education." Elena joked. "Over time, people will become more sexually liberated and experimental. Being a twenty first century lover might be a little different. You need to learn to move with the times." she said.
"So, you are having my mind magically altered to love another woman. Then when I do finally remember who I really am in love with, I find I will have cheated on you with dozens of women." Damon frowned. "It seems a little strange you are fine with it."
"More likely thousands of women." Elena corrected him as he looked at her, stunned by this revelation.
"I sound like a..." he started.
"A vampire who enjoys the perks of being a vampire." Elena stopped him. "So just promise me, if you turn and I'm not able to be there for you, I need you to continue to enjoy the perks of being a vampire. I will after all, benefit from it." she smirked.
"You want me to have sexual relations with lots of women?" Damon frowned.
"If I go back, I will want a twenty first century version of you. So unless you are planning on joining a monastery..." she winked. "As long as you don't fall in love with someone else I won't mind. You'll be able to show me everything you learned over the years by making it up to me." she kissed him.
"I can't believe you're willing to accept that." he sighed.
"But when we first meet, I'm dating Stefan. When you realize who I am, that will change, but you're going to have the same problem about me having slept with someone else." she said.
"Fine." Damon smiled tucking Elena's hair behind her ear. "But I think you need a reminder of who you will be sharing your bed with for the rest of your life." he smirked as he rolled them over until he was on top. "Just because I won't remember you, doesn't mean I will lose my love for you." he whispered as his lips made their way down Elena's neck, his signature move for initiating foreplay.
The next morning Elena was eager to hear what Emily had to tell her of the previous night's contact with the witches after the full moon. Instead after breakfast Stefan had asked her to take a walk around the gardens with him. Ever since Damon and Elena had announced their intention to marry, Stefan had continued questioning their relationship. However she suspected his apprehensiveness was likely to be due to being under Katherine's compulsion. Therefore when he asked to meet her, Elena suspected he was spying for Katherine, although she had no idea what information he was being compelled to get from her, so she decided to discuss the most basics of topics, trying to avoid letting Stefan get to know her. Especially as he would also be made to forget her. Unfortunately for Stefan, his memories of Elena in 1864 would be permanently wiped from him, which made her feel guilty as she at some point may have to face him in the future and explain why she was no longer in love with him and was preparing to marry Damon.
Stefan met Elena on the seat near the statue situated at the far end of the maze. It was a sweltering hot September day and Elena had brought a parasol and fan with her to keep cool. The seat was under a tree and Elena decided she wanted to sit through this conversation with Stefan as it was too hot to walk. Therefore when he approached he, she instructed him to sit down.
"I thought you would have wished to speak alone with me sooner." Elena said to Stefan.
"I would have dearly loved for us to speak at an earlier opportunity, however it appears you have been too busy with other...activities." he replied. "Are you sure you do not care to walk?" he asked.
"It is a little too warm for me today." Elena fanned herself hard. "I fear should I get any hotter, I would feel quite faint." she smiled, although she was telling the truth. She was feeling very lightheaded.
"You are not sick I hope." Stefan frowned with genuine concern. "After all, you visit the site of where your house is to be built every day, and you are planning the party. It is a lot of work to take on." he offered.
Elena smiled. "I fear should I leave everything to Master Damon, the house will lack a feminine touch." she said.
"You do not trust him?" Stefan asked as Elena realized the question was potentially aimed at her expectations towards Damon in general rather than just the house.
"I trust him implicitly." she said. "But we want to build a home together, and create a family, god willing. As the building work goes on, we may have ideas to improve upon the original concept. By working together, we can help design our own piece of perfection. After all, if we are to spend the rest of our lives there together, we may as well ensure it is large enough to support our future family. Would you not agree Mr Salvatore?" she asked.
"Do you wish to have a large family?" Stefan asked, changing the subject.
"I do not believe children are a commodity Mr Salvatore." Elena said. "They should be borne out of love, to be loved. The reward for bearing children is the unconditional love you receive back. If the amount of children Master Damon and I were to have would be a reflection of our love, then the number of children would be infinitive." she sighed. "However, that number is impossible, therefore we will have however many children god grants us."
Stefan frowned at her. "Are you sure you are feeling well Miss Pierce. You look a little pale." he asked.
With every passing moment, Elena was feeling worse. Not only was she getting hotter, but her corset was feeling too tight and she had developed a pounding headache and was beginning to see white spots in front of her eyes. Although she'd never had one before, Elena suspected she was about to experience a migraine.
"I'm...I'm..." Elena struggled to breathe before everything went dark.
When she woke, Elena opened her eyes to find herself in her bed, Damon sat at her bedside holding her hand, his face full of concern. She smiled at him weakly as she saw what appeared to be the weight of the world lift from his shoulders.
"Be careful." Damon warned her. "You fainted."
"It was the heat." Elena whispered. "I was too hot. I suddenly got a headache and that is all I remember." she told him as she noticed Emily in the background approach her.
"Miss Katherine would like you to take some more of her blood." Emily told her, handing her a vial of red liquid. "She believes it should serve to heal you quicker of your ailment." she smiled.
"And what do you think?" Elena asked, pushing herself into a sitting position before taking the small bottle from Emily's hand.
Emily looked around to make sure nobody was within earshot. "I believe Miss Katherine is right, it will help you feel better for now. However I do not recommend you take it as a long term solution." she lowered her eyes to Elena's abdomen, which was all she needed for the witch to tell her she was pregnant. "It appears not only was the sun a little much for you, but your corset was too tight. You probably have a bruised or broken rib." Emily lied. "I have spoken to Lizzie about ensuring you are not to wear your corset too tight for the time being. Especially not until you are feeling completely well again."
"How long will that be?" Damon asked, clearly not understanding the full nature of the conversation.
"These things take time to heal Master Damon." Emily replied. "Although Miss Katherine has provided Miss Eleanor with her healing medicine, she will still need bed rest for the next couple of days. Even if it is only for appearances sake." she said quietly. "To ensure no questions are asked, I will procure some herbs which would help ease any symptoms you would endure under normal circumstances."
"Does Katherine know what you are doing?" Elena whispered.
"It was her idea." Emily replied. "After all, it wouldn't appear natural if you were to recover from your injury too soon. She did not wish you to be in any discomfort, so the blood will heal you, however you must rest for the next couple of days until the herbs I use to relieve the pain begin to take effect. Then you will be able to continue as you were with no side effects whatsoever. However I must immediately take my leave as I need to quickly gather the ingredients." she said. "I should return in an hour or so, and I will need to treat her...alone." Emily turned and looked at Damon.
"Am I allowed to stay with her until then?" he asked looking worried.
"As long as you make sure she rests." Emily told him. "And ensure she takes Katherine's medicine." she said as she left the room.
Elena wasn't sure what to say. She knew she should tell Damon what Emily was really telling her, but she didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation, which meant she'd have to wait until they next rode out to the barn, if she could still ride. Elena also wanted to know more from Emily regarding how the witch could be so certain she was pregnant. Elena hadn't missed a period and her next one wasn't due for another few days. Her fainting could be attributed to a number of things, including heat stroke. In fact, Elena wasn't even sure pregnancy symptoms would start so soon. This was why she needed to have the talk with Emily before she told Damon, because she knew he would be ecstatic at the news.
The other side to this was Elena now knew her fate lie in 1864. She would never see Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt or Ric again. Even Stefan would be lost to her after the vampire roundup, and if anything went awry, there was a small possibility Damon could be too, whether it be to memory loss, or becoming a vampire. The thought of which was too overwhelming for her. She desperately wanted to cry, but Elena knew she would have to withhold the tears until Damon left because he couldn't be allowed to understand just yet. Instead, for the time being, she just needed him to hold her. But not until he believed her injury was healed.
Elena opened the vial of blood and gulped it down, grimacing at the coppery taste. Surprisingly, after a minute she began to physically feel much better, unfortunately it did nothing to heal her internal conflict.
"You gave us all quite a scare." Damon told her, kissing her knuckles. "I could not bear the thought of anything happening to you." he whispered.
"And I couldn't live without you." Elena said tearfully. "The pain has gone. Will you please hold me?" she asked.
Damon climbed on the bed beside her and wrapped Elena loosely in his arms while she held on to his chest, burying her head into his waistcoat and taking in his scent. As the seconds ticked by, she began to feel somewhat calmer. Damon had a knack of either being able to wind her up, or soothe her more than anyone else. The heady combination of his touch and scent made her feel like she was home, where she belonged. Maybe that was why she was destined to stay in 1864 and not return because human Damon was her true home. The last thought which ran through her mind as her eyelids became heavy was she hoped their baby would inherit Damon's eyes. After that, she fell asleep.
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