A/N: I do not The Vampire Diaries
Ryssa glanced at Stefan who had picked up a book and was reading, paying her no mind. "Where'd Damon go?"
"We know a witch, he went to see if she could come and talk to you," Stefan replied. "To convince you that we don't want to hurt you, we just need information."
"Says you," she grumbled. "You're not the one who attacked me," she counted in her head, "three times!"
"I know and I'll try to talk to Damon. You just got off on the wrong foot."
Ryssa felt a crackle of electricity in her skin and looked at the door, the witch was here. She'd come in contact with other witches in her research and as she got older but never felt like joining any covens. Her upbringing had left her a bit of a loner, preferring her own company to other's. And if the witch was here, that meant so was—
"How's the head kitten? Mine's just awesome," Damon snarked as he entered the room with a dark skinned girl with wavy black hair.
"Great, want another one?" she tossed back and Stefan cleared his throat to make them stop. "You must be the witch," she said to the girl.
"Bonnie Bennett. What's your name?" she asked with a friendly smile.
"Ryssa Jackson," Ryssa didn't return the smile, being around Damon put her in a bad mood and the only person so far that she didn't mind was Stefan.
"Jackson, a Matthias witch?" Bonnie's eyes widened and she turned to Stefan. "You brought a Matthias witch here?"
"Why, what's so special about a Matthias witch?" Damon's brows furrowed as he scowled at the brunette who gave him a glare in return.
"Only that the Matthias witches were the strongest in the world," Bonnie replied. "Your ancestors were from Athens, right?"
"Yes," Ryssa answered. "I'm the last one." Technically it was true since Emma wouldn't get her powers until she was a teen. She was surprised that Bonnie had recognized her name though and looked at her a little differently.
"I'm not having this conversation here with you two," Bonnie told the brothers who opened their mouths to protest. "I'm taking her to the Grill, I'm sure neither of you remembered to feed her." The guilty look on Stefan's face said it all and she looked at Damon. "Take the compulsion off."
"He compelled me?" Ryssa screeched and tried to use her powers to throw Damon against the wall but found that she couldn't and whirled on Stefan. "What did you do to me?"
"Calm down Ryssa," Stefan said and all the light bulbs in the room broke at once with the force of her anger and Damon looked worried for a second before he was back to smirking at her. "Damon, take it off."
Damon rolled his eyes and held up his hands, catching her furious gaze. "You can leave the house now," he said but didn't take off the compulsion on her powers. No way was he handing a loaded weapon to a girl who'd easily thrown him across the room or performed Bonnie's aneurism trick.
Ryssa narrowed her eyes at him as she followed Bonnie out of the room and to her car outside, not the least bit interested in the house's decor. Where was Elijah? He should have come for her by now…She was a little worried at what the brothers might have done to him but wasn't going to stoop to asking. Bonnie chattered to her, pointing stores out as they passed but she wasn't listening. She wondered what happened to her things, she'd left her phone in Elijah's car so she couldn't use it to call and check on Emma. And how much could she trust this Bonnie girl? She didn't want to betray Elijah but she also didn't want to be a hostage.
"Welcome to the Mystic Falls Grill," Bonnie said as they pulled into a parking spot in front of a restaurant. The two girls climbed out and she looked around the place, taking in the bar and pool tables. Her eyes scanned the faces but she didn't see the Original until she felt a prickle on her skin and caught a familiar scent. Discreetly she glanced over to the darkened corner it had come from to see Elijah looking straight at her, and she fought down the gasp of surprise. He looked angrier than she'd ever seen him.
Bonnie took a seat at one of the tables and Ryssa tore her eyes away from Elijah's, she couldn't let on that he was there. Inside she wanted nothing more than to run over to him and hug him, maybe touch his cheek to reassure herself that he was alright. She hoped that her relief shone through as he watched them and took a chance.
"I was scared something happened to you," she told him telepathically. "The doppelganger's friends grabbed me and are holding me prisoner; they think I have information on you like why you wanted Elena. I told them nothing about Klaus or the ritual. Just that we didn't know Elena existed and you only came on business to see Rose and Trevor."
Elijah nodded in approval, pleased that she'd been loyal to him. He almost envied her ability to send thoughts because he couldn't reply, but listened as the girl with her talked to the waiter, a blond haired boy. When he'd seen her body gone it added to his growing rage and his first priority had been to make sure the vampires hadn't touched her. Once he left he had some business to tend to but since she seemed in one piece, it could wait. Right now he wanted to hear what the girl who'd entered with her had to say.
"Ryssa, do you want something?" Bonnie's voice broke her concentration and she gave the boy a fake smile.
"Just some fries and a soda will do, thanks." He walked away and Bonnie looked at her with an open, friendly smile.
"I can't believe that I'm meeting a Matthias witch," Bonnie gushed.
"On that note, how'd you know who I am?" Ryssa asked and cocked her head to one side the way she did when something puzzled her.
"My grams told me about other witch families and she mentioned the Matthias line, she said the last was named Jackson now, I put two and two together." Matt returned with their drinks and she studied the older woman. "Damon said you're a friend of the vampire they staked, Elijah?"
"I am," Ryssa confirmed and sipped her drink. If only the girl knew that the Original was in the very same room. "I suppose you're friends with the doppelganger?"
"Elena? Yeah, she's my best friend," Bonnie agreed. "How did you meet Elijah?"
"I thought you were supposed to be asking me what he wants with Elena?" Ryssa dodged, arching a brow.
"I am, but I'd rather get to know you first if that's okay," Bonnie shrugged and smiled again. Ryssa regarded her carefully, the witch was smart, probably playing the 'let's be friends' card. It wouldn't hurt anything to tell how the two had met though and she smiled at the memory.
"I broke into his house."
