Hello all! Here's the next chapter and I am happy to say that *drum roll please* I have a beta! Special thanks to HarleyQuinn88 for being my new beta :)
Thanks so much for all the love for this story!
I own nothing of TVD's, only Cassandra and my story.
Bright and early the following morning, Cassandra, Alaric, and Elena made their way down the cavern tunnels to the very place Damon and Cassandra were last night. Since Damon argued the point that vampires are nocturnal creatures, he stayed sleeping when Cassandra tried to wake him up. The group decided to take the path Mason instructed them to go down in the first place, bypassing the one with the vervain soaked stakes.
"Careful where you shine that thing." Alaric said pointing to the flashlight in Cassandra's hand. "Bats hate the light." He added and Elena froze in her spot.
"Wait, what?" The teen asked fearfully. Out of nowhere someone pinched Cassandra's behind and she squealed, making the flashlight in her hand shake. The sudden movement of light made some bats from inside the cave screech and fly out; the entire group crouched down low trying to avoid them.
"Scaredy cat." Damon chuckled from behind them and Cassandra whipped around to see him with a smug look on his face.
"You moron!" Cassandra yelped and shoved Damon hard. "Was that necessary?"
"No, but it was so worth it." He smirked. "I thought I'd surprise you. Aren't you happy to see me?" He cooed and pouted his lips.
"Just ignore him." Alaric cut in. "That's what I do." Damon led the group down further until he couldn't pass the barrier so he leaned against the wall, making himself comfortable. Alaric and Elena went in first with Cassandra holding up the rear.
"I think it would be so much more fun to wait out here with me." Damon sang from his spot and Cassandra turned to face him.
"No, I think I'll have a look for myself." She smirked and walked into the cavern while swaying her hips more than necessary. Damon's eyes gobbled up her form and he admired what those jeans did to her perky behind.
"Tease." Damon called and Cassandra flipped her hair over her shoulder and winked at him. She shined her flashlight up at the writings on the wall and shifted her weight so one hip jutted out in a seductive way. She sent a smoldering smirked to Damon before turning her attention back to the wall. "You're killing me, babe." He groaned.
"What is all this?" Elena asked while looking at the carvings.
"As far as I can tell, it's a story. In simple archeological terms it's a really, really old story." Alaric explained.
"Wow, this is incredible." Cassandra said in absolute awe.
"That, right there is a moon cycle." Alaric showed her the markings of the moon's different phases. "A man." He shined his light on another simple drawing of a person. "And a wolf." He showed her the last symbol.
"A werewolf." Elena put the pieces together.
"Yeah, it's the Lockwood Diaries. Pictionary style." Damon quipped.
"Wait, didn't the Lockwood's come with the original Founder's in the 1860's." Cassandra mused as she continued to look up at the wall.
"Maybe the Lockwood's did but according to this wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that." Alaric said.
"How long?" Elena asked.
"Long." Damon accentuated. "It gets better. Show 'em, Ric." The history teacher walked over to where Cassandra was shining her flashlight he turned his on to join hers.
"Names." He stated. "And they're not native. They're written in Viking script." He explained.
"Vikings?" Elena asked in awe.
"I guess you learn something new every day." Cassandra mused as her flashlight passed over the names. "This one translates to Niklaus." She continued and Elena's eyes widened. Cassandra shined the light over another name, "Elijah…and here's Rebekah." She added.
"You sure you weren't an archaeologist in your one hundred and some odd years of life?" Alaric quipped and Damon rolled his eyes in the lame attempt to make conversation with his girlfriend.
"I've always loved languages." Cassandra answered with a smile. "I'm pretty sure I've learned each one at least twice."
"Then you've gotta come into my class for a lecture." Ric suggested.
"Careful, Ric. The last time you flirted with my girlfriend, a freaky hybrid possessed your body." Damon smirked and Cassandra gave him a look.
"Gelozia nu este o culoare frumoasa pe tine, Damon." [Jealousy is not a nice color on you, Damon] She spoke fluently and Alaric chuckled lightly while Damon and Elena were trying to figure out what she just said.
"I have no idea what you just said but it sounded incredibly sexy." The vampire purred.
"This just doesn't make sense. How can this cave be here with the exact names of the Original family? That would mean that they would have been here long before the New World." Elena said. "This has got to be one of Klaus's fakes."
"That's what I said." Damon added.
"That could be true but the last name up here made us think otherwise." Alaric said and clicked his flashlight on to light up the name in question. "Wanna take a swing at it, Cassandra?"
The female hybrid stepped closer and quickly matched up the letters with the names they already knew. She wasn't fluent in Viking so it helped to have the other names up on the wall. "No way…"
"What? What is it?" Elena asked.
"Mikael." Cassandra spoke.
"Mikael?" Elena's eyes widened and the group nodded. "Mikael as in the vampire who knows how to kill Klaus!" The teen repeated.
"Yep. I now like to call him 'Papa Original'." Damon smirked.
Back at Alaric's apartment, Damon and the history teacher were sorting out pictures of the cave writings. Each symbol had to be carefully labeled and translated – not to mention they had to be put together in order to get the pieces of the story right. Cassandra and Elena were working on all sorts of locks and other drills that the hybrid had taught her. Elena stumbled slightly and Cassandra disabled the teen, holding the stake to her throat. "You're technique is there, but it's sloppy."
"I'm new at this." Elena muttered before Cassandra handed the stake back to her and they started again.
"So the ghost of Christmas past, Mason Lockwood, said that the cave would lead us to a weapon that would kill Klaus."
"Yeah but doesn't Mikael have a weapon?" Cassandra asked, momentarily breaking her train of thought from her and Elena's practice. Elena jabbed at the hybrid but Cassandra caught her wrist.
"Yes, which probably means that the wall will lead us to Mikael." Damon said watching them fight. "Who we've already found and lost." He finished and Elena knocked the stake out of Cassandra's hand and bent down to pull one from a wrap around her ankle. Elena pointed the stake at Cassandra and the female hybrid put her hands up in surrender.
"Much better." Cassandra smiled and Elena's heart swelled with pride as she twirled the stake in her hands. Damon blurred behind Cassandra, picking up the discarded stake from the floor and pulling her body against his.
"Bang, you're dead." He whispered huskily in her ear before he nibbled the skin on her neck. Cassandra giggled a little, her skin was especially ticklish in that area and she wrestled out of Damon's grip. "Have I ever told you how sexy you are?" He smirked and gave her lips a chaste kiss.
"Ti ho mai detto come insaziabile stai?" [Have I ever told you how insatiable you are?] She quipped, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Ooh!" Damon wiggled his eyebrows and twirled Cassandra back into him. "I love it when you speak Italian. It's so sexy." He purred in her ear. "I understood that one." He winked and Cassandra gave him a sensual laugh.
"Good boy." She purred and kissed him.
"Il mio amante, avete il culo piu bello. Non vedo l'ora di mordere piu tardi quando siamo soli." [My lover, you have the most beautiful ass. I can't wait to bite it when we are alone.] Damon growled in her ear and Cassandra's eyes widened, understanding fully what he said, while Alaric turned to the couple.
"Can we keep it PG?" He asked. "There are young ears in here." The history teacher jerked his head to Elena.
"Yeah Damon. That mind of yours is always in the gutter." Cassandra scoffed but she winked back at Damon before stalking over to the table to steal a peek at the photos on the table.
"Well these images at the very least might tell us what that weapon is." Alaric mused.
"Then all we have to do is find out what they mean." Elena said simply.
"And how exactly will you do that?" Cassandra prompted.
"I'm going to go right to the source." The teen replied.
"Just please be careful with Rebekah." The female hybrid pleaded. "She might be worse than Klaus."
Cassandra was swishing around the tequila in her glass as she waited for Damon to come with Stefan. She knew that they were all going behind Elena's back again but Damon did say he had a plan. Damon couldn't stand the thought of Stefan being kept in the cell and starved of blood so he cut him loose. The plan was to take him to a bar – not the Mystic Grill – and give Stefan his sense of freedom back.
"Hey beautiful." Damon's voice purred in her ear as he hopped up on the stool next to her and Stefan sat next to his brother.
"It's about time." She winked and kissed him. Her tongue darted past his lips and he was able to taste the tequila she was drinking. A loud throat clearing from the bartender broke their exchange.
"Hello, Callie." Damon smirked at the young blonde after reading her name tag. "My girlfriend and I would like a shot of your best whiskey and my brother here would love a shot of you." He compelled and took Callie's wrist, offering it to Stefan.
"What's the catch, Damon?" Stefan asked as he eyed Callie's wrist.
"No catch, brother. Drink up, it's on me." Damon smiled and Stefan looked over his shoulder before letting himself vamp out and bit into the blonde's wrist. She whimpered slightly but made no attempts to stop him. "You compelled everyone?" The eldest Salvatore asked Cassandra.
"Yep, but that doesn't stop other people from coming in." She replied so the two of them leaned on the bar to make sure no one saw what Stefan was doing. Once the vampire was finished feeding, Damon compelled Callie to get the drinks and bandage her wound.
"Is there anything else I can get you?" The blonde bartender asked.
"Just keep em coming, blondie." Cassandra compelled and caught Damon taking a couple glances at her. "What? You never said that I couldn't have fun tonight." She smirked.
The trio participated in different drinking games which finally resulted in a very drunk Cassandra dancing on the bar. She swiveled her hips in all the right ways and Damon felt hungry enough to take her right there. The men at the bar hooted and whistled and some girls even jumped up on the bar with the hybrid. She grinded against them sensually and that only made her pride swell more. Cassandra was in the middle of a blonde and redhead sandwich when she felt the alcohol really making her bold. Damon was watching the entire time, enticed by her essence and aura. She held out her hand to him and Damon helped a stumbling Cassandra down off the bar as she fell into his arms. She giggled like a little school girl and Damon wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"Such fast reflexes Mr. Salvatore." She purred while running her hands over his shirt.
"Not one for modesty, are you?" He quipped.
"Aww come on! I'm just a little drunk." She slurred. "Besides, I will never see any of these people again."
"Thank God because I think if we did this at the Grill, then we would never be allowed back in." Damon chuckled. Cassandra giggled, hiccupping and tripping over her own feet. Damon steadied her before hoisting her up to sit on the bar while he stood between her legs. "C'mon drunky we gotta get you home soon."
"But I'm having so much fun." Cassandra pouted, wrapping her arms around his neck and sensually kissed him in front of everyone at the bar. This was definitely the alcohol talking but neither of them had a care in the world. Her thumb rubbed over his jaw line and she locked her legs around his waist. Damon probed her mouth with his tongue and moaned audibly at the taste of liquor on her tongue. Cassandra growled and nipped at Damon's lip with her fangs, only drawing a little bit of blood. She lapped at the tiny puncture holes and the flavor of his blood lit her entire body on fire. "Per favore, dammi quello che voglio." [Please, give me what I want.] She moaned and Damon blurred them to lean her against a wooden column in the bar. He ground his body into hers, their lips still moving wildly over one another's. Damon broke the kiss and gave Cassandra one long lick up her neck and she shivered beneath him.
"I want you..." She moaned in his ear. "I want you so bad."
"Someone's very eager tonight." Damon smirked.
"How could I not? You're the eternal stud." Cassandra breathed and snaked her hand down his body to rest over his hardening cock. She tantalizingly rubbed him through his jeans and purred in his ear. "Something tells me you want me too."
"How could I not? You rock my world." Damon said huskily. Cassandra winked slyly as she wrapped her thigh around his waist. "You're making it difficult for me not to fuck you right here." Damon moaned.
"Well then what are you waiting for?" Cassandra raised a challenging eyebrow at him.
"You're certainly feeling adventurous." He smirked at her.
"Everyone in the bar is compelled to just 'go with the flow'." She whispered in his ear before growling playfully.
"You bad, bad girl." Damon tisked but her little confession turned him on even more. He forcefully kissed her and Cassandra moaned into his mouth, finally getting what she wanted from him. She tangled her arms around his neck and lightly pulled at the hair at the base of his neck. Their kisses became more aggressive as Damon moved his lips over her jaw line and onto her neck. His fangs brushed over the skin in a teasing manner and Cassandra whimpered, pleading for him to bite her. Damon chuckled against her skin before biting down and Cassandra's back arched like an archer's bow. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head feeling his sharp fangs penetrate her neck. It had been a little while since he bit her and him doing it in public made it all the more erotic. Her blood made Damon bite harder and suck hungrily at the sweet taste sliding down his throat. He held her tightly against him, his arms circling her waist. To some patrons in the bar it looked like these two were getting lucky, but it was so much more than that. It was the most intimate of gestures between two vampires.
"Miss Emerson, I presume?" A strong male voice interrupted them. Damon growled low in his chest against her skin before sliding his fangs out. The two of them looked at the man now standing before them. He was tall, about Damon's height with slightly graying hair, but neither vampire would challenge his strength. Cassandra immediately sobered up, getting the feeling that this guy was in no mood to mess around. "I have heard that you're looking for me." He added and the both of them knew exactly who this was.
"Mikael." Cassandra acknowledged him respectfully. She'd never met him before but she heard the stories, what vampire hadn't heard them? Mikael nodded, stealing a glance at her already healed neck where Damon had bitten her.
"You may not have seen me but I saw you in the twenties. You were certainly a little more reserved in your actions." He regarded and Cassandra stiffened hearing that Mikael kept a close watch on her.
"Well she is my girlfriend." Damon defended and Mikael just looked at him. The younger vampire seemed to deflate and Stefan had come over to join them.
"I understand you need a way to kill Klaus." Mikael prompted and the trio nodded. "Is Klaus out of the country?" He asked Stefan.
"Can't tell you." The youngest Salvatore answered.
"Has he spoken to you since he left?" Mikael asked.
"I can't tell you." Stefan repeated. "I have been compelled to do what he says and he says 'to keep my damn mouth shut'." He added snidely.
"I really hope this game of 20 questions isn't your secret weapon." Damon smirked and Mikael cocked his head to the side a little.
"You see, Damon…" Mikael then put his hand on the eldest Salvatore's shoulder and Cassandra couldn't help but get a weird feeling in her stomach. "I've been a vampire hunter longer than you've been alive. It's why I found you here. It's why I'm going to find Niklaus."
"Well, Klaus has been running for a thousand years so if you think you're gonna get a work around here –" Damon's speech was suddenly cut off as Mikael plunged his hand into the vampire's chest. Both Stefan and Cassandra made a motion to move but Mikael's words stopped them.
"Careful, one move and his heart's gone." He threatened and twisted Damon's heart just so to make him whimper in pain. "It would be such a shame to lose your boyfriend so soon." He added with a smirk and Cassandra set her jaw and glared at the hunter. Her fists clenched at her side, unable to do anything but watch. "Now, where is Niklaus?" Mikael turned his attention back to Stefan. The youngest Salvatore remained silent, unable to answer. "What's the trick question, Stefan?"
"Don't you understand? He can't answer you!" Cassandra said angrily and Mikael jerked at Damon's heart, making him cry out.
"Your rudeness will just kill him faster. I suggest you don't test me." Mikael sneered at the hybrid and she shut her mouth as quickly as she opened it. Her tears stung her eyes as she stood completely useless. "One twist and he's dead." He threatened to both of them. "Unless you don't care of course." That comment was directed to Stefan and Cassandra could see the vampire's face twist in anger.
"His emotions have been shut off. He can't care." Damon rasped out.
"Really? His link to Klaus is so strong that he would let his own brother die?" Mikael asked to the group. "No ideas? Think, Stefan!" He challenged and Stefan's eyes darted between Mikael, Damon and Cassandra. He still remained completely speechless. "I guess you're right. He's a dead end." Mikael said and Cassandra's breath caught in her throat. Stefan would really let Damon die over someone like Klaus? "And so are you, Damon." Mikael hissed and tugged at his heart for the final pull. Cassandra moved to lunge but Stefan hooked his arms with hers, effectively holding her back against his chest.
"Wait!" Stefan interceded and Mikael halted, allowing Damon to get a couple more breaths into his lungs. "I can bring him back. I can lure Klaus back to Mystic Falls." Stefan said desperately. This was his last hope in saving his brother and he needed it to work. Mikael stared Stefan down before roughly pulling his hand from Damon's chest. Damon groaned out and fell against the bar for support as Cassandra removed herself from Stefan's grip to check on him.
"And there is our loophole." Mikael said happily while taking a cloth from the bar and wiping his hands clean of Damon's blood. She looked at the gaping hole in his chest to see that it was closing up fairly quickly. "Get Klaus back to Mystic Falls and I will gladly drive a stake through his heart. Fail…I'll drive it through yours." He demanded and Stefan knew that this entire operation was riding on his shoulders.
"Well I'll give you ten points for flair." Damon spat sarcastically as the three of them walked through the dimly lit streets.
"Now we know where Klaus and Elijah learned their tricks from." Cassandra said, still a little shaken up from their encounter with Mikael.
"I don't think you had to wait till the last second to have your breakthrough though." Damon added.
"I couldn't agree more!" Cassandra cut in angrily.
"I didn't have a breakthrough." Stefan stressed.
"Ooh, ooh, my brother's about to die and I have to save his life for the bajilionth time!" Damon quipped. "Careful Stefan, your humanity's showing."
"Ya know what, Damon? You're right. You reminded me what my freedom felt like and when we kill Klaus…I'll be free. Free to leave." Stefan said. "I didn't do this for either of you. I did it for myself."
"Sure Stefan. Whatever you say." Damon smirked, taking Cassandra's hand and turned to leave but Stefan stopped him.
"Why are you doing this, huh? What do you want from me? Why is everybody trying to save me?"
"Because I have to, Stefan!" Damon snapped. "Because you're in this mess with Klaus because you saved my life! Because I owe you and I can't just leave you in a cell to rot." He finished and Cassandra brushed her thumb over the back of his hand which was still in hers.
"Aww, better be careful brother. You're humanity's showing." Stefan smirked. Suddenly Damon drew his fist back and punched Stefan across the face. The youngest brother tumbled to the ground and smirked up at Damon before charging at him. Damon quickly tackled his brother back to the hard cement again and Stefan groaned.
"Want a shot?" Damon cocked his head at Cassandra and she shrugged.
"Ehh, why not." She mused and kicked Stefan hard in the stomach, sending him skidding across the ground and into a parked car. "Thanks for that. I've been dying to kick the shit outta your brother."
"Hey! Vanessa, it's me. Please call me when you get this." Cassandra recited into the phone speaker as she paced Damon's bedroom. She was on edge after their meeting with Mikael. It irked her that Vanessa was in the same tomb with a man so ruthless. Damon watched her pace and wanted nothing more than to take away her anxiety. She ran her shaky fingers through her hair and sat on the edge of the bed, cradling her head in her hands.
"Listen to me, you need to calm down." Damon comforted, crouching in front of her.
"I can't, Damon. I haven't heard from her in weeks and you can't tell me that Mikael would've let her and Katherine go." She stressed and wrung her hands in her lap. Her lover took her hands in his and held them tightly. "What if he killed her?" She hushed as tears ran down her cheeks.
"Please don't think like that." He whispered. "Right now we just have to hope for the best."
"I'm trying, I really am. I just…losing her would be like losing one of my own." Cassandra cried softly and Damon stood up to kiss her forehead.
"I know, baby." He whispered against her skin. "I'm here for you. You know that, right?" He pulled back to look in her eyes and Cassandra sniffled. She nodded mutely and leaned her head to rest on Damon's chest. He enveloped her sobbing form in his arms and whispered words of comfort in her ear.
"I'm scared, Damon. I'm so scared for her." Cassandra mumbled, her tears wetting his shirt. She wrapped her arms around his back and fisted his shirt in her hands, trying to take her mind off of the worry that was suffocating her.
"Come on." He said, pulling back from her. "I hate it when you cry." His thumbs gently brushed her wet cheeks but more kept sliding down from her eyes. It was true; Damon couldn't handle it when any woman cried – especially Cassandra. "Unless it's tears of joy, then it's okay to cry." He joked.
Cassandra gave him a short laugh and Damon smiled a little, happy that he could temporarily relieve her of some stress. "Thank you." She whispered and kissed him softly. "I'm an emotional wreck." She quipped as she wiped more of her tears.
"But you're my emotional wreck." He winked at her.
"I've just been on edge lately with everything that's gone on. First Klaus tries to kill you not once but twice and tonight Mikael almost killed you." She blabbed.
"What can I say? I'm Mr. Popularity." He smirked and kissed her forehead. "You don't have to worry about me. You wouldn't wanna end up like Stefan; all those worry lines on his brooding forehead." Cassandra laughed again and cradled his face in her hands. Her eyes traced every dip and curve on his handsome face.
"What did I do…to deserve you?" She asked aloud even though the question was more rhetorical than requiring an answer.
"You didn't have to do anything." He answered and placed his hands over hers. "You've always had me." He said in the sincerest manner. For the two of them, this was the strongest relationship either of them had known. Damon was never one to settle down since he would 'snatch, eat, erase' his prey. Cassandra always knew that she had a special place in her heart for Damon but she suppressed those feelings for years. Now everything was out on the table. They exposed their innermost fears and desires to each other and both of them could say that the connection between them ran extremely deep. They now understood that this connection was something that could never be broken even though so many trying times have done their worst damage, but in the end they rose from the flames.
Their pull to each other was unexplainable. Her absence brought his despair and vice versa. Being together brought them such a feeling of comfort that they felt with no one else. They'd seen each other through the good, the bad and the ugly but neither of them would trade all of that in for anything else in the world.
Perhaps it was time for the both of them to take the next step.
Things are getting pretty serious between Cassandra and Damon ;) Review and lemme know what you think! I'm a little upset that they are having a mid season finale because my Thursdays will be drearier but it will give me time to work on 'Love Like This', 'Kaleidoscope Heart' and 'Wet Eyelashes and Eyes the Color of Water' (yes I had a little bit of writer's block with the later story). I am happy to announce that some inspirations hit me and I am taking them and running with them.
Please review and lemme know what you think! (Anyone else super excited for the Homecoming episode? I know I am!)