If Only Time Stood Still
A/n: Well, well, well… Here we are once again for a very special update on my fast-growing popular story… I don't even think my other stories have this amount of reviews!
Also a huge thank you to Fawkes Deavue for the lovely ideas, honestly where would my story be without you and your ideas?
I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you, know you, know you
Cause all I know is we said hello
And your eyes look like coming home
All I know is a simple name, everything has changed
All I know is you held the door
You'll be mine and I'll be yours
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed
Song Tittle: Everything's changed
Artist: Taylor Swift
Chapter 28: Everything's changed
Weeks flew by without any more sudden attacks or break-ins from Frederick, but that didn't stop the Mikaelsons (mainly Elijah) worry every now and then about Bella being in danger; even if she was in their presence.
Angela, Mandy, Bonnie and Esther all teamed up to place protective charms around the Mikaelson Manor, Gilbert household, Salvatore boarding house and the House of the Witch Spirits, though that house didn't much protecting since the witches were on their side in protecting both Elena and Bella from crazed Cold One.
But that still didn't stop Elijah from being worried about Bella, he agreed into having Klaus ordering every single Hybrid-apart from Tyler- (no knew where he or Katherine was) watch over the protected houses.
So here, Bella found herself in the Gilbert's kitchen watching with great interest as Elena and Damon fought against how much garlic goes into the Gilbert's famous pasta sauce.
"I think I know how much goes in Damon!" Elena snapped, taking the measuring spoon and minced garlic from the elder Salvatore brother. "It's my family's recipe!"
"Yes, but who here is a vampire?" Damon replied, swapping the measuring tablespoon for a teaspoon. "It is that much."
"No it is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is so!"
"How do you know?"
"Vampire instincts."
"Well," Elena grumbled, dropping a tablespoon of minced garlic into the already, bubbling red sauce. "Your so called vampire instincts suck."
Damon was about to reply, when Elena taking the chance to shove a spoonful of garlic into his mouth and laughed with Bella at the look and his face; Damon grumbled and turned to grab a glass of water.
"You two would make a lovely couple." Bella blurted out, earning a surprised look from both Damon and Elena. "What? It is true… Don't you think?"
"I…"
"Um…"
"I know that you, Elena are going out with Stefan." Bella replied, picking up a wedge-sliced cherry tomato from the salad and popped it into her mouth. "I was informed on the whole thing before moving here, remember?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Speaking of lovers…" Damon said, dragging out the 'lovers' part. "What's with you and Elijah? I mean, how did you two end up together?"
"Well, it's very complicated." Bella replied, sighing as Elena and Damon looked at her with confusion. "I was to be married to another man, William Grayson."
It was, Isabel Petrova thought almost close to twilight when she turned to the reddening face of her latest fiancée; this was the fault of her damn temper yet again.
"Are you telling me that you wish to jilt me for Elijah?" William Grayson demanded incredulously. The landowner's son was of average height, with slightly stocky built that Isabel suspected it will run into fat once he reached middle age. But now, age of twenty-six was enough to ensure that he was a handsome man by those of the fairer sex- apart from Isabel Petrova.
"I am not jilting you for another man, William." Isabel replied in a short, calm and collected tone. "I am simply telling you that we do not suit well together."
"You cannot be serious. My mother traveled here!" William was practically quivering with outrage. Lady Grayson was one of the neighboring town's highest sticklers and over the last two seasons of her visits, had made no secret of her opinions towards Isabel and the Petrova family.
"I am really, truly very sorry." Isabel replied as she looked up at him with remorse.
The idea that the youngest Grayson son standing up to his formidable family for her made her feel even guiltier.
She was sorry.
She should have told him immediately after accepting his offer, but he was such an eligible prize, while she was no longer in her first blush of youth and well past the age that most village girls would marry.
Having brought William mostly up to scratch- she admitted to herself and to God, despite William's acid-tongued mother and sisters- she thought, hoped, wished and prayed that things will be different this time.
They were not.
She had tried her best and still her stubborn heart refused to cooperate with her mind.
Isabel well enough liked William. She did not, however, love him and she knew she never could.
She could not marry without love being there.
"I spoke to your father not an hour since." William was breathing hard and his hands were closed into fists by his sides. "I told him then that I had hoped to announce our engagement at the town's feast tonight, he had made no objection."
"Which is why I am telling you now," Isabel said. The timing was less ideal, she knew and blamed herself for delaying until circumstances forced her hand. William had every right to be angry, while she, on the other hand remained cool and composed. "Before the announcement was to be made; that way, neither of us need the slightest degree of embarrassment."
"Embarrassment?" William's eyes bulged and his face went from red to purple. "My god! The village men already betting on it! The odds are five to one against me getting you to the altar and ten to one against you going through with it and becoming my wife."
"How dreadful." Isabel was truly shocked; her lips pursed as she shook her head in disbelief and dropped her hand away from his arm. "Men will truly bet on anything."
William sucked in some air as his eyes narrowed. "Is that all you wish to say?"
"I'm sorry." She offered again, the strains of the first notes of the music reached their ears; the feast was about to begin.
She had pounced on William as soon as she spotted him in the market square, but he was more passing fond of his own voice that it took some time to detach him away from the small group of hunters as he had been boasting details of his role in some shortly past hunt.
It was time to end this.
"When you have some time to reflect on this, I am sure you'll agree that we truly do not suit well."
"But…"
Isabel turned away, adding. "Pray excuse me. I must return home now."
"Wait," William said, catching Isabel by the arm; above the elbow, his fingers gripping a little too hard for comfort. Isabel turned back to him with her eyebrows raised. "It is too late to draw back from this wedding now, I had already paid the village's speaker; all of the town will know by midnight."
"Oh dear." Isabel replied, then the thought of the torrents of gossip that would sweep over her, her family, William and the Grayson family, and she then inwardly winced.
There was already so much notoriety attached to the Petrova's family name, and now thanks to her- this scandal would be like adding wood to a smoldering fire. The resulting blaze would be most intense upon her shoulders. "You should not have done so."
"You mean I should have been aware that you would do this to me like your scarlet woman of a sister did to Klaus and Frederick?"
Isabel didn't like the tone of that, but she had to admit from William's point of view, she deserved it.
"Well," Isabel said keeping her anger in check. "You may as well take comfort in the fact that no one would at least blame you."
"You are correct, no one would blame me." From William's expression, it was present that fact did not please him at all. "But this scandal will besmirch us all."
Catching her other arm, William jerked her towards him, taken by sudden surprise; Isabel found herself almost in line with his hard chest.
"William, you are starting to hurt me." Isabel said, trying ineffectively to release herself from his grip. "Unhand me, now."
"Are you not going to scream?" William sneered, as he took the front of her cotton dress and sneered again. "I'll bet half the town's men will come running to your rescue."
In one hand movement, the front of Isabel's dress was all ripped away; gasping Isabel moved her free hand to cover what she could with the scraps of ripped material.
"What on earth are you doing?" Isabel yelled as she fought against William's efforts in removing the rest of her dress.
"I will take you now, and then you will have no other choice but to marry me."
"I shall never marry you!" Isabel spat at him, then quickly gasped as William's hand struck her cheek. "You disgust me!"
"I'll show you disgust after you become my wife."
William pushed Isabel's light body up against one of the trees, away from the village's bonfire and prying eyes; Isabel slapped, scratched, punched and bit her way out of the entrapment but it made no effort.
"You are a little, wild thing…" William laughed mockingly at her. "Let's see if I can compare you to Tatiana, shall I?"
"You've lain with my sister?"
"Once or twice, why did you think I offered you my hand in marriage?" William whispered as he kissed Isabel's neck. "Why should I have one Petrova sister when I can have them both?"
"My father will never let this happen!"
"Your father had no idea it was I who took Tatiana's purity away before Frederick," William growled as he pulled Isabel's dress away and looked at her bare chest. "Now I get to have you both."
"Unhand me, I say!" Isabel demanded, she then kneed him in the stomach and bolted towards the village, picking up her traveling cloak along the way.
She heard William snarled and race after her, she weaved in between the empty houses; looking for the one that she knew will give her shelter.
The Mikaelsons.
Isabel seen Klaus, Kol and Finn all exit their home; she was about to yell out when William's hand came over her mouth and a knife was at her throat.
"What are you going to do now?" William mocked, laughing in her ear that made Isabel's eyes water.
"It is not what she is going to do," Elijah's voice called; making both Isabel and William turn to face him, he had his sword pointed directly at William's face. "It is what I am going to do to you if you do not release her now."
"Wait so Elijah saved you?"
"Yes," Bella replied, picking up another tomato and popped it into her mouth. "Um, what's burning?"
"Oh!" Elena said whirling around to see the pasta sauce was now a blacken-red color. "The sauce…"
"Told you, you should've let me take over." Damon said, putting his hands up in defense as both Bella and Elena look at him with annoyance and anger.
Bella, taking the wooden spoon from Elena took one look at the sauce and smiled reassuringly towards the human doppelgänger. "It still can be saved."
"How?" Damon asked with raised eyebrows.
"With a little Petrova magic." Bella replied, taking a medium sized glass bowl and started to spoon some of the red sauce into it.
Damon and Elena watched with curiosity as Bella chopped, sliced, diced herbs, garlic and onions and mixed it along with the sauce and then added some tomatoes from the salad.
"There, that should do it." Bella said, handing a small teaspoon to Elena to taste. "Not too much and not too little- Just right… Am I correct?"
Elena, taking the spoon and placed in her mouth was surprised at the flavors spinning in her mouth. "Oh my… That is amazing."
"Shall we take this to the dining room?" Bella said, handing Damon the newly-created sauce; he grunted in annoyance at her. "Oh come on now Damon, you didn't think you'll get away without helping now did you?"
"I… No."
"That's what I thought." Bella replied, as they followed Elena to the dining room; where Jeremy, Bonnie, Alaric and Stefan were seated.
"Are we feeding a small army, Bella?" Alaric replied, helping Bella by taking the garlic bread and placed it beside the pasta, sauce and salad.
Bella giggled as she took the seat between Elena and Stefan, pushing Elena to sit next to Damon, who sat across from Alaric and Bonnie.
"Now shall we say some prayers and then eat?" Bella replied, as she took Elena's and Stefan's hands and bowed her head. "Oh lord, we asked you to bless this lovely meal and we thank you for letting us see another tomorrow, amen."
"Amen." Everyone replied as the sound of cutlery banging against the table, plates and bowls filled the air when the doorbell to the Gilbert's house rang.
Elena got to her feet to answer the door, when she answers it. There were seven pale, very pale people with strange golden topaz eyes staring back at her, the youngest looking boy-with strange bronze colored hair looked as if he seen a ghost as he stared at her.
"Can I help you?" Elena asked as she started to get creped out by the stares she was getting from the bronzed haired boy.
"Yes, we're looking for Bella Swan." The pixie-like girl replied. "We were told she was here."
"Elena?" Bella's voice called out, making Elena turned to face her. "Are you alright-Who's at the door?"
"Um, they're looking for you."
"Looking for me…" Bella replied, coming into view and froze. "Edward."
"Hello Bella."
