Author's note: Obviously I am terrible at sticking to one point of view, but since the series also follow several persons I am taking the liberty of not caring :P As always please review if you like or dislike.
"I just got an interesting text," Jeremy said and handed the phone to Damon.
"That is interesting," Damon scratched his chin and Stefan leaned over to read. "And I thought we were all out of questions."
"You three are worse than a bad detective novel," Elijah sighed and massaged his temples. "Just speak plainly before I reconsider my civil approach to your visit."
"We were just thinking, that since there's Green Blood involved you and your family have a special interest in our quest." Elijah froze.
"I guess this is where I decide whether to put my cards on the table or simply dispose of the other gambler. This is a part of my family's story we have never shared with anyone, and I don't make a habit of betraying old secrets."
"You can't possibly have any more family issues," Damon spoke cockily and Stefan pushed him gently backwards.
"Elijah, from one vampire in love with a human to another, please help us. Any information can give us an edge. For Elena?" Elijah looked to Damon.
"Yeah, for… Elena," Damon repeated. Elijah seemed to contemplate his options. Then he shrugged in surrender.
"You will keep this secret if I share it with you?" he wondered out loud. "Probably not. Very well. Shedu is a pup, but he is an old pup. Older than me I fear."
"Older than you? How can that be when you're an Original?"
"My family are Originals, just not the Originals."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Stefan enquired.
"We are Originals. We weren't created by other vampires. We were made through a curse."
"Yes yes, we know all this," Damon complained and Elijah nearly sneered at him.
"The point being, that if we could be created, so could others. You know how we transformed; our mother made a ritual, a ritual that involved the blood of the doppelgänger. An important ingredient indeed, a real power boost giving us speed and strength, but the key, the reason we were able to rise from the grave was the gift of Green Blood." They listened in shocked silence.
"We never got that part of the story," Stefan brooded.
"No you did not. We don't run around sharing the recipe with just anyone."
"But Shedu had the recipe, since he's older than you?"
"Shedu is no Original, but Arawn is, and he is the very first one."
"You have got to be kidding me. You aren't the Original Originals? Seriously? But he can't be worse than your family," Damon sighed with a smile, but Elijah's facial expression wiped the grin off his face.
"Actually Arawn is not like us, he is stronger, more powerful."
"Because he's older?"
"No. Because he was born a vampire. Not much is known about him. Unlike my family he never liked promoting himself as a prime. He is laying low, at least since my family was made."
"How can someone birth a vampire?" Jeremy asked.
"I am not sure even Arawn knows. There are stories though; the most popular is that a goddess planted him inside a woman. The goddess was angry with mankind and birthed Arawn to punish them, but she lost control of her child and it spread its decease throughout the earth."
"Okay, so in case we bump into this legend, how do we kill him?" Damon asked, seemingly unaffected by the dooming picture Elijah was painting.
"You don't kill him, you run. Even though he feels pain, no weapon I have ever heard of can actually kill him." Elijah looked into a distant memory.
"Have you ever met him?" Stefan enquired.
"Twice. The first time was before my mother turned us. I didn't know who or what he was at the time and I reckon he played some part in our curse. The second time was when my family attempted to kill him, which did not work out so well. And that, I'm afraid, is all the information I can offer."
"Thank you for your time, it'll do for now," Jeremy said and bowed mechanically. Stefan moved to hurry back to the car and Jeremy followed. Damon made a lazy salute and Elijah turned towards the house.
"Oh and Damon?"
"Yes?"
"Give my best to Elena when you talk to her and a kiss for that other girl you're all trying to safe. If you get the chance that is."
...
"I'll never question Caroline's title as Queen of Shopping," Elena stated solemnly on the phone and Bonnie giggled in the background.
"She found Shedu already?" Stefan asked surprised. He was sitting in the Ferrari with Damon beside him who was moping over some nagging thought.
"Yep, and she has proclaimed herself Miss Cute and Clever of Mystic Falls for the remainder of the day. I reckon she earned it," Elena sighed.
"I am sure she did. So where should we drive from here then?"
"Blue Ridge Mountains, I'll text you the address." Caroline snatched the phone from Elena's hand full of energy.
"Hi Stef, you should really hear the tale of my brilliance. I made a profile claiming to sell a flock of prized bulls, and got an offer after only a few minutes, by a guy with the way too obvious name BiteMe7000. I accepted his offer and got an address for delivery."
"You sound like you are really confident that it's Shedu."
"I am sure it's him. My vampire senses are tingling," she assured him.
"Great, we'll talk later." Stefan disconnected and left Caroline with a sour expression.
"Your boyfriend is totally rude," she seethed and dropped the phone on the table. Elena sat thinking for a while. Bonnie noticed her brooding.
"No. I have seen that face before Elena. Let the boys handle this," the witch said, reading her mind.
"We can get there faster than they can, and we don't know how much time Lea has."
"If she's not already dead," Caroline added and was immediately met with eye rolling.
"Jeremy texted me and told me what Elijah had to say. It sounds like this Arawn is bad piece of work Elena. I don't think we should go alone," Bonnie shook her head.
"I have a witch and a vampire with me. We aren't exactly defenseless." Elena argued and put on her jacket.
"She is right Bonnie. Besides, I am dying to meet this Lea we are busting our buts for."
"Then it's settled. If we go now we can get there before midnight."
...
Lea gained consciousness a few hours after Arawn used her as a juice box and although the room continued to spin, she was determined not to give him a chance like that again. Her neck had been cleaned of blood, but the two lacerations from his teeth were throbbing painfully. Lea was furious. Being raised in a family who had nurtured a notion of self-worth the degrading way he had forced his lips upon her, made her want to neuter him slowly with a blunt blade. I am not staying another second.
Arawn had brought her back to the same bedroom from before and the only thing that had changed was a slender dress form placed near the bed, covered in a new gown. It was green with multiple ruffles draped down the skirt. A parrot costume, was the first thought that came to her mind. Fastened on the chest was a note written in neat red letters.
Wear this dress when you decide to commit. Then the ritual of power and freedom will commence.
In sheer spite and anger she ripped the heavy sleeves off it and considered fetching a candle to set the rest on fire. When she noticed the door was slightly gaping the thoughts of escape overruled her desire to destroy and she ran to check the hallway. Arawn was apparently so confident in his fortress that he hadn't even bothered guarding her room. She wondered if it would be safer to wait until daytime, but the impatience in her convinced her otherwise. Truth be told Lea wasn't particularly ninja quiet sneaking through the house in the blue gown. It rustled like tin foil with every step and she was certain she was calling a lot of attention to herself. In spite of this, no one came to stop her and the building seemed empty. She almost had a heart attack when she entered through a room and a man was mopping the floor for blood. Several seconds passed while Lea stood frozen, waiting to be spotted, but the man never lifted his head. Not even when she rustled on.
Fortunately she remembered the way to the big stairs and the entrance hall. She kept expecting someone to call her name harshly but most of the walk there was only silence. A distant sound of music and merriment echoed as she reached the big marble stairs and she hoped the vampires were all occupied with dancing in the Hall of Mirrors.
The huge doors to the garden were open, and she wondered briefly if this had been too easy and Arawn was setting some sort of trap for her, or if he was simply mocking her, thinking there was no way she could get down the mountain. A blessed unclouded moon lit the way for her through the garden as she made her way to where the mountain continued upwards.
Lea had never been a fan of heights and the sight of the towering peak made her stomach protest. The fact that she hadn't really slept much the last 24 hours didn't encourage mountain climbing but she didn't want to waste time. She began shredding the blue skirt she was wearing into long pieces that could be tied together as rope. Besides it wasn't practical clothing, even if she felt naked with only a pair of hipsters and the top of the dress. She decided to not use all of the fabric, so it at least looked like she had a little skirt to cover her.
It took her longer than she expected to find a place that didn't look too steep and when she finally began climbing her bare feet and hands quickly started aching. She had climbed a small mountain once on a holiday with her parents in Ireland, but that was for fun and never so steep that they needed any equipment. And it was fun. This wasn't. Traitorous loose rocks kept falling when she supported a foot on them and more than once she stopped, clinging on for her life and trying to build up the courage to go on. Her heart galloped in her chest and drummed so loudly she was sure that someone would hear it. Once in a while she glared at the windows of the house, praying that no one would want to enjoy the view, instead noticing her white legs and arms in the dark, fighting to hang on.
A tiny voice inside of her started growing as she got higher and higher. It was singing a rebellious tune, enjoying the danger, reveling in the challenge. But every time she nearly tripped or her sweaty hands almost lost their grip it cowered and sang a prayerful song instead. Lea worked on through the dark hours.
...
Elena, Caroline and Bonnie arrived at a big lonely farmstead at the foot of one of the taller mountains. It looked deserted, although the call of a bull from one of the stables told them it wasn't.
"They can't be holding her here," Caroline dismissed.
"Why not? She could be in the main building over there," Bonnie suggested whispering.
"The boys told you we are looking for another Original right?" The other two nodded. "Remember the last ones we fought? They would never settle for a home this shabby. They are champagne and chandelier people."
"I suppose," Elena admitted, "but this is the only clue we've got. So spread out and see if you can find anything interesting."
The stables lay in four rows with a single main house at the end. There was no light anywhere and the house looked like it had been abandoned for decades. Bonnie mumbled small incoherent spells to force new clues to reveal themselves and Caroline was busy avoiding droppings whilst looking through the long stables.
Elena had a sudden hunch and walked towards the forest behind the farm. She squinted and thought she saw a flickering light high up on the mountain, barely the size of a speck of dust. The sound of the uneasy cattle in their boxes was a creepy soundtrack and she wondered if it would be wiser to walk together after all. Then she noticed a path leading inbetween the trees and instinctively started following it.
Bonnie hadn't moved much when the black Ferrari came up the road and parked beside Caroline's Ford.
"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, barely masking his anger. "I guess you brought Caroline and Elena too?" Bonnie snapped out of her trance.
"Of course Elena came. You don't know her very well if you think she would just sit and at home and wait." Bonnie wasn't happy with his scolding and turned to Jeremy instead with a shy smile.
"Right, because saving Lea isn't enough, now Elena has to endanger herself. Are you sure you're giving her enough attention Stefan?" Damon smirked and slammed the car door smoothly. Caroline came running, having heard the unmistakable sound of Damon's car.
"Guys, can you save it for later? I can feel that we're close, but I don't think Lea is here," Bonnie said.
"Then where do we go?"
"I think Stefan should go find Elena, and we'll go find Lea. Then we search the mountain. If nothing else, the view from up there might reveal something."
"That sounds like plan. Give a call if you find anything," Jeremy ordered and Stefan ran after Elena's trail of scent. Damon was assessing the view of the mountain thoughtfully and fiddling with his ring.
"Jeremy and I will go around and up from the other side. You girls keep searching this place; see if you can find anything useful." Caroline nodded determined and dragged Bonnie back towards the main building. "Try and keep up Jer Jer," Damon smiled and started running in human pace.
The forest was thick and old. The trees and plants had been allowed to grow and rot free of human influence, resulting in a jungle like wilderness. Jeremy and Damon rushed through the rugged undergrowth. They had somehow achieved an adult understanding, but the tense situation required concentration and they pressed on in silent search for tracks. Vampires were hunters and considered themselves above humans in the food chain. Therefore they rarely concerned themselves with the traces they left behind. Neither did these fellows. Jeremy had become an excellent tracker in his time away and he snorted at the incompetence of the ones they were after.
"There's plenty of foot prints," he stated with a furrowed brow. "We can rule out the sneaker prints, like those there." He pointed to the ground but Damon barely glanced in his direction.
"Why not the sneakers?"
"Let's assume they belong to regular hikers. Vampires care more for style and less for comfort." Damon looked to his own Italian handcrafted shoes and sneered, slightly irritated that the pup was right. The darkness made it hard to see much though and the moon had little power beneath the shady trees. Damon allowed his instincts to take over. The prowler-like animal inside of him shook its shoulders and growled, preparing to leap forward. There was a familiar faint smell of chill in the air that he associated with Lea's neck, but it could merely be the air from the mountain tops. Closing his eyes he focused on sounds and smells guiding his senses. Something was off. Forest by night time usually sounded like an orchestra of insects and shifting leaves. The black woods were an abandoned concert hall. There was no warm scent of beasts or bunnies either.
"Screw tracking. Let's go straight for the top," he commanded and Jeremy shrugged, recognizing the stern impatient tone.
The temperature dropped as they ascended quickly, but the steep trip kept Jeremy warm. Damon contemplated their chances to get in, grab Lea and get out without calling attention to their presence. Some bit of him told him this was the place. Shedu had taken something from them that was not for the taking, and if there was one thing Damon excelled at it was acts of vengeance. Lea was a nuisance. After their last conversation he wasn't eager to see her. But that did not mean he wished her an uncertain fate as the prisoner or meal of an Original. Not at all. In fact the world might become a much less interesting place if that death-defying woman took her leave from it.
...
The sweat from her exertion left her skin cold and she was shivering, exhausted. Not really sure how she had made it this far up and managed to edge herself halfway round the peak. Fingers crossed, she thought and found a loose rock. Throwing it downwards she hoped that Arawn had only spelled the edge of his garden and not the entire mountain. Lea held her breath and gasped relieved when the rock passed the line without exploding.
It wouldn't be long before someone noticed she was missing and she prayed that morning would come soon, hindering their pursuit. Her fingers were nearly numb, but she suddenly felt confident she could make it. She could escape. Strength and stubborn resistance pumped through her body and her legs felt like they could run a marathon. Climbing down went faster and soon Lea felt level ground under her feet.
Briefly she was tempted to simply cry out victorious. The adrenalin, however, denied her the pleasure and carried her straight on down the mountain, tripping, falling and getting back on her feet. Lea was accustomed to running from her problems and every step felt liberating, mocking Arawn and his vicious plans. Thorns and twigs bruised her feet. She ignored it. Tears of stress rolled down her cheeks. She ignored them, only concerned with getting a good head start, before an inevitable chase began.
A deep rumbling behind her likened that of a man's roar. He knows.
...
Damon stopped in his tracks listening to the new sounds that barged towards him. The swishing of branches could be mistaken for the doings of a playful wind, but it came from many directions at once. Jeremy had heard it too and lowered himself to the ground to listen.
"We are not alone, something is happening."
"Have we been discovered?" Jeremy asked, quickly reaching for the weapons in his belt. The muffled noise of running feet sounded like it came from everywhere around them, but Damon dismissed it by shaking his head.
"We haven't, but the others might have been seen. There's only one heading in our direction, the rest is running east."
"What now?"
"We do what we came for. Let's kill the one heading for us and then get Lea while they are distracted. The others can handle themselves." He jumped up into a tree and Jeremy found cover behind a boulder, preparing his crossbow. The woods had changed from quiet and ominous to a vibrant tense arena. Damon had a distinct smile on his face. This is what I do best. Murder and mayhem. The complexity of people and feelings were challenges he would rather leave to the living. The perfect kill was where he could feel at home.
The oblivious victim was slow, though it headed straight for them. He prepared his muscles for the charge enjoying the few moments to consider whether to go for a clean decapitation or a messy heart extraction.
A shadow ran in between them and Jeremy fired the crossbow too late, the arrow missing by an inch. Cursing he fumbled for a new dart. Damon jumped down knocking the stranger to the ground and pinned him down by sitting on top. He wrapped his hands around the reluctant head and was just about to rip it clean off when a defiant pair of green eyes were exposed under the golden mass of hair. Lea kicked and twisted, not willing to surrender, until she realized the vampire on top of her wasn't restraining her.
"I am having a sort of deja-vu here. Haven't I tried to kill you before?" he grinned with warmth in his eyes. She looked up at him with a mixture of gratitude and anger, her hair and clothes looking like Arawn had had his way with her. The hands were blistered and her knees dirty and bloody.
"You came for me…" she croaked and looked like she wanted to hug him.
"The others insisted we try to save you."
"Oh."
"Great to meet you, Lea," Jeremy said popping into view. "I am all for the big reunion, but I think right now we should get out of here. Can you run?" She nodded but when she got back on her feet all the weariness from the climb rushed over her and she quickly fell behind as they broke into a sprint. Damon eyed her and stopped.
"We didn't come here to get captured, Lea." Without further argument he swept her off her feet and ran on. Involuntarily she surrendered to her fatigue and leaned her cheek against his leather jacket. The blessed adrenaline that had kept her going in the last hours evaporated when she saw Damon and Jeremy, like their presence equaled a safe haven where she could trust them to carry her home. Her body was a rather limp cargo and her breathing decreased, going from heavy to minimum requirement. The vampire and hunter allowed no break for themselves and Jeremy never tore his eyes from their surroundings, not even when he texted the others to meet them by the cars, because Lea was found. Not even when they made it out of the forest, did she stir. Damon gently placed her in the Ferrari and the comforting smell of leather finally got her to focus.
"The others aren't here yet," she heard Jeremy call. "You just get going back to Mystic Falls. I'll find the others and we'll meet you there." Damon mumbled a reply and she felt his hands on her shoulders.
"Are you hurt?" She blinked at him and shook her head. Numbly she sat still, as he searched her to confirm the statement. When he was satisfied, he made sure she was sitting comfortably.
"Good. Now let's get you home."
The car moved smoothly on the road and for a while she simply enjoyed being swept through the landscape. It was liberating knowing she was moving further and further away from Arawn and with an odd appreciation of falling asleep without being knocked out she devoted herself to a soothing dream.
Damon was looking uncharacteristically severe when she woke up. They were still driving and he was staring at the road with intensity, his hands choking the steering wheel. Without letting him know she was awake she studied him from under half closed eyelids. He was such a complex person.
Lea knew that this kind act of his was no evidence of a pure heart. Damon was capable of evil, without any moral scruples. Worse than an animal, because he did not only kill to survive, he liked it, reveled in it. Still, when they last saw each other she had called him a monster, a claim she couldn't fully justify at the moment. He might be a vampire, but he wasn't rotten to the core. His attempt to dismiss his involvement in her rescue with his comment that it was the others who insisted didn't quite fit with the warmth in his eyes when he recognized her. Lea praised her ability to see through pretenses and was certain Damon cared on some level. The murder written on his face had been replaced with cold indifference towards her, and she reckoned that was all the progress she could ask for from a guy like him.
Her thoughts wandered away from his character traits and on to more physical aspects. This was something she had only briefly allowed herself earlier, but in the shelter of the dark car, covered in his leather jacket that she only just noticed had been tucked around her, she felt safe enough to let her eyes linger.
Damon was the definition of a tall, dark, stranger. The black locks of hair curled gently and looked as fine as raven feathers. A jar of particularly manly shape gave her the morbid idea that he would be a handsome skeleton. Not exactly a sexy thought, but Lea had often seen very mannish skulls and joked about how hot they would have looked in flesh and skin.
The shade covering his chin told her he had forgotten to shave and she liked the look of it. A beard made him look older and considering his actual age, it was a bit more appropriate. Arawn's face briefly crossed her mind, making her shudder. His features were reminiscent of Damon's, but Damon's cruelty slightly paled in comparison to the King of Sickos. What happened between her, Damon and Sean was not forgotten, however. Lea still hated him for what he did to Sean. It never occurred to her that those actions could have been motivated by something else other than evil, something more humane. But surely the circumstances had changed now that he had saved her. Damon almost seemed human... Even attractive… perhaps. Her annoying inner voice started bitch slapping her ferociously. Are you kidding?! Just because he happened to be the one who found you, you suddenly ascribed him a freakin' hero status. Don't make me remind you why we avoid men, good and bad! It would be darn idiotic to trust (and potentially flirt with) someone who has already proven to you that he is nasty and acts on every impulse. Without meaning to, the sight of his tightly pursed lips propelled her mind back to a certain bathtub scene, while the little voice in her head raged on, stomping on her brain and declaring Damon Salvatore the biggest dick the universe had ever seen - in the negative sense of the word, of course.
His sudden turn of the head in her direction silenced all her chaotic thinking. She must have looked utterly confused and ruffled, because his glance was gleaming, amused. The gleam soon vanished though, and he turned his eyes back on the road. The lack of a sly comment made her look everywhere but at Damon. Finally it dawned on her that she owed him some gratitude.
"Thank you for coming to get me." He sighed almost reluctantly.
"An apparently unnecessary endeavor. You were doing pretty well on your own." The implied comment surprised her.
"I guess so, but thanks anyway."
"I didn't figure you would be feeling grateful. After all, my little stunt left you vulnerable in the first place. I thought we agreed I am the monster whose every action is self-beneficial." His strained voice told her he was still bitter about their fight. So was she, but frankly Damon seemed like a wronged child in comparison to Arawn - the lesser of two evils. Right now she was so damn relieved she couldn't match his bitterness.
"Of course you are. You're still an egocentric self-serving, immature old man who worships that mirror God every morning and justifies using your powers for evil." She made a super villain theme noise and then laughed as if she found the whole thing marvelously funny.
"And you are still a mood-swingy puny, not to mention silly girl, with a very gutsy approach to a monster who mostly thinks of you as that extra rare steak." He flipped his eyebrows up and down, the amused gleam returning.
"Glad we established that. The balance is restored. We don't like each other and as long as you aren't overcome with a sudden desire for steak, that shall be the end of it."
Damon glanced at her shabby but happy charisma and felt an unnatural urge to pat her comradely on the shoulder. Whatever Arawn had done to her it certainly hadn't killed her spirit. A pity, he smirked, but with more amusement than cruelty. He was surprised that she had managed to get away herself after everything Elijah had told them. She was as resourceful in her actions as in her mouth. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to start the conversation about what she had been through, and she in turn did not appear eager to blab about it. By the weird mini dress she was wearing, he would have guessed Arawn had taken her to a Japanese Manga convention, which she had been wildly opposed to. Even in spite of the fierceness in her posture, she looked torn and tired. A memory drifted over her face leaving her eyes glossy. A strange sting in his stomach, that had bothered him since they last parted, hadn't left and was amplified by her sadness. Was he feeling guilty? Damon rejected the idea and decided to devote his concentration to the road.
"How did you find me?" Lea asked, out of the blue.
"Has Elena told you of the Originals yet?"
"Yes?"
"We had help from them."
"I see." Lea drummed her fingers against her thigh. "You're not really your usual chatty Kathy self," she concluded after another moment of silence.
"I wouldn't say you know me well enough to comment on what is usual for me."
"Okay, so maybe I don't know the entire range of facets that are the Damon Diamond, but I do know that you can't stop cracking jokes, whether you are mad or.. not unhappy."
"It's great I have you to supply the comical attributions to this talk then," he bit with dry sarcasm.
"You didn't have to come all this way to help rescue me," she said like she had his bad mood figured.
Damon chose not to answer, ignoring that pesky ache in his belly as well. She was giving him ulcers. If he had known she would affect him like this, he would probably never have hunted her to begin with. (Although she still smelled vexing, a fact he was made very aware of sitting this close.)
"What is going to happen now?" she wondered out loud.
"That depends; why did they take you?" Lea flushed.
"He wanted me to breed vampire babies."
"What?" Damon almost steered the car off the road. "Did he... did you?"
"No, God no. But apparently that is my special power, why my blood is different. And I am guessing that means he will chase me to the end of the earth. The second we get back to my bike I'm out of here. I won't have you guys caught in the line of fire, when he is coming for me."
"You're leaving?" Damon asked.
"Yes I am. Frankly I'm tired of dealing with men who try to take advantage of me." Damon pursed his lips; sure her comment was meant for him as well.
"It's probably for the best," he murmured. The idea of her leaving did not awake the expected pleasure in him.
Lea sat looking out the window. The relief and happiness she had felt from being rescued was slowly diminishing. She had to run again. It had been the easiest choice in the world when she chose to leave for the US. But now, in spite of everything, Mystic Falls had grown on her. For a person used to running, it was the strangest thing, feeling a desire to settle. She wanted to stay and fight, but she knew it would have consequences for herself - and worse - for her friends. How could she hope to beat Arawn? She couldn't ask Elena and the others to risk any more on her behalf. No, she had to run.
The sky changed color as they crossed the city line and Damon drove up the driveway to the boarding house.
"I thought we were supposed to hide?" Lea wondered.
"We're done hiding, especially if you're leaving." He got out and headed for the door which he tore open. Lea's feet were still naked and sore as she limped after him across the gravel. Refusing to complain, she grimaced silently and found her way to the big living room. Damon noticed her wobbly walk from the corner of his eye while he was reuniting with his favorite bourbon.
"Sit down," he ordered harshly and she only pouted for a moment before submitting to the cloud-like softness of the huge armchair. Without a word he seized her by the heels and crouched down. The soles of her feet were back with dirt and several thorns were buried there. An unfamiliar expression ran over his face when he lifted his chin and displayed an accusing blackness in his eyes.
"You said you weren't hurt." He went into the kitchen cursing her pride. For a human she did not take good care of her decaying body. She acted as if she had vampire quick heal skills. Her indifference towards death would leave her very scarred in fifty years. He filled a small tub with hot water and soap, found a cloth and tweezers too.
Lea's eyes nearly popped out of her head when the dark vampire returned with his remedies and kneeled before her, stripped of sarcasm. She took in the sight with reverence, knowing that a gesture such as this was probably unprecedented, even if it didn't mean anything. His movements were irascible, but the touch gentle as he guided her feet into the water and began washing them.
Damon ignored her shock. She obviously battled her thoughts of what a man, who openly disliked her, was doing washing her feet. He wasn't sure himself. He was a man of impulse and right now he felt the overwhelming need to restore her to her state prior to captivity. Rather like an old piece of furniture, he told himself.
The strong hands rubbed her and though she was ticklish, a disturbing warmth and tingling sensation stirred in other areas of her body. From where she was sitting the smell of his hair lingered under her nose and Lea fought the desire to comb her fingers through it. Getting the thorns extracted was painful, but Damon worked quickly and efficiently. Then he soothed the stinging by dabbing them with the soaked cloth carefully.
Every hair on her rose straight up like she had touched an electric wire. Lea fought the impulse to slap his hand, as if he was touching her inappropriately. Very aware that her pulse and blush exposed her arousal, she attempted to undermine the nerves below her feet, but Damon's strokes almost caused her to whimper. Her senses heightened and she could even feel the brittle bubbles of soap as they glide down her ankles.
Damon did notice her reaction, continuing his work without hesitation. Truth be told, he had been doubtful whether he even affected her in that way or if the kiss in the tub had only been one-sided. There was satisfaction in making her tremble so obviously. It seemed an appropriate punishment for her insolence and intervention in his life. The fact that his own breath grew ragged too, he chose to disregard. The exposed fine skin under his fingertips was so vulnerable and sensitive. Even the warmth generated by simple proximity of skin against skin was electrifying. He let the cloth trace her sole, then slide up her ankle. There he hesitated before running it up further, behind her knee.
Lea flew up from the chair, almost knocking him backwards.
"Where are the others? Shouldn't they be here by now? I should really call them." Without waiting for an answer she wobbled by him spraying water all over the carpet. Damon disguised a victory smile. He knew he had made certain she wouldn't remember him solely for his cruelty. Briefly he considered pinning her to the wall and turning her mind to the memory of their first encounter, confusing her even more, but Jeremy, Bonnie and Caroline chose that exact moment to strut through the door.
"Where's Elena and Stefan?"
"Probably making a pit stop – nothing like danger to get the libido up and running," Jeremy grinned and Lea blushed.
"I wouldn't know anything about that," she rejected quickly. Jeremy did not see her perplexed behavior.
"Stefan texted back when I wrote we had found Lea that they would be following soon after."
"So this is Lea?" Caroline smiled and eyed the soapy feet and shabby clothing.
"Yeah hello," Lea replied, shaking hands and refusing to be embarrassed by her appearance.
"I am Caroline, vampire, in case you wonder," she said painting her words with eager hands.
"Good to meet you both."
"Did you run into any of Arawn's monkeys?" Damon broke in, already tired with the trivial politeness.
"No, but we heard them," Bonnie explained, walking to Lea and hugging her. Lea received the gesture with mutual fondness. "Are you okay?"
"I am now, but I won't be staying long." The witch looked at her sadly.
"Why not?"
"Arawn won't let me go. I have to move on before he decides to use you guys as leverage." Jeremy and Caroline's features remained blank, but Damon and Bonnie both reacted awkwardly.
"Will you at least wait for Elena and Stefan to come back and tell us what happened to you?" Lea smiled agreeably.
"Of course and thank you, all of you, for getting me off that Mount Doom." Caroline tsk'd, like it was no biggie and Jeremy smiled genuinely happy at her.
…
Jeremy and Bonnie whipped together, what Jeremy referred to as hunter's breakfast, which simply consisted of lots of bacon and eggs while they waited for Elena and Stefan to return. Lea threw herself at the meal like a starving animal. Damon watched her gluttony with interest as she swallowed her tenth piece of bacon.
"So what happened?" Bonnie asked, impatient to hear the story. After the warning Elijah had issued they had all expected dungeons, torture and chains. Instead Lea looked relatively unharmed.
"Shedu knocked me out last night after Sean left – that's my boss from the excavation –"she explained to Jeremy and Caroline. "I woke up in this palace, dressed in this…" she gestured the remainder of the dress and hastily added; "I had to rip off some of the skirt to escape," when they all looked at her as if she was Arawn's sex toy. "I was taken to Arawn in the gardens."
As her story progressed the audience displayed various emotions. Bonnie was proud of the way Lea had handled herself, while Caroline felt bad for her. Jeremy had a justifying that's-why-I-kill-these-sons-of-bitches stare and Damon pretended not to listen, even though he marched noisily around the room when she told them Arawn had bitten her.
"So you see why I have to leave? I don't want him to kill all of you because I am too attached to this place. If he knows I left, he will follow."
"You say Arawn believes you have powers to give birth to living dead babies?" Bonnie asked, her mind clearly working full speed. "I think I read about that somewhere, but I skipped it because it didn't mention the Green Blood. Just a sec." She scurried to her backpack and fished up a book. Lea smiled, realizing she was going to miss the witch. She draped her hands sadly on her hips in a finalizing manner and moved to pack up the few things she had brought.
Damon picked up his phone, wanting to do some damage and called Stefan, his eternal go-to-victim. A clicking sound indicated the call was answered.
"Hi bro, we're all waiting for you. Lea decided to flee you and Elena's charity, so you have been re-elevated to the position of my favorite nuisance," Damon said cheery.
"In that case I guess you won't care if I rid the world of your… nuisance?" Arawn's steel voice sounded, making Damon freeze instantly. He didn't have to ask who he was talking to.
"Do you have both my brother and Elena?" Damon's voice was arctic.
"Yes lovely human, the girl, I almost wish she was my future mate." There was a dry sarcasm in his tone.
"If you harm them,"
"Oh don't pretend to make threats. You're of NO consequence to me. Where did you take my bride?"
"She left on her own accord."
"I know. You and your friends are too inelegant to break through my defenses. I had forgotten how her kind is always capable of making a path where there is none. Never mind, convince Lea to meet me by the excavation in your little town at sunset three days from now. I don't have to tell you what it means that I have two of her friends." With a bib they got disconnected. Damon turned to look at Lea who had stopped when she heard his words, her face twisted knowingly.
"What does he want?"
I know I am toying with the entire mythology of vampire diaries by interfering with the story of the Originals. I hope you can accept this creative whimsy. :)