Careful What You Wish For
DG32173

Sarah: Welcome to Chapter 12 of Careful What You Wish For. As I warned last chapter, there will be some major time skips between Chapters as the end of this story is actually getting close. Once more, we're in the past with Damon and Elena, about six months after the last chapter took place. This chapter starts with Damon again. On with the review replies and then the chapter. Also the information about 'heart horses' was found on Google so anyone can look it up.

REVIEW REPLIES

TVD-DELENA1786: thank you. Glad you think so. I'll get around to posting them eventually.

amazing Aisha: I write where there is inspiration. Unfortunately, most of my in-progress stories haven't had inspiration in quite some time and if I try to work on them, I will be too ashamed of the results to share. I'm glad you think I should make companion stories to this one and I'm glad you have enjoyed what has been written so far.

Leann Nickerson: I'm glad you like the last chapter so much. You'll find out if you're right or not next chapter. I hope you continue to enjoy what I write.

Chapter 12
Setting Out Again

I look down at Elena sleeping next to me in the bed in our rental house in Los Angeles. In the past year and a half since she came to me at eighteen, she has matured physically and changed to look a lot less like my sire, which I'm glad for. It's now December once more, just a few days before New Years Eve, 1866.

Though we've both been trying to figure out just what she was sent to the past to do, I have a sinking feeling that we will have to return to Mystic Falls to do it. We actually bumped into Stefan and Lexi a few weeks ago and they met Elena for the very first time. Given that she had been wearing the clothes from her time, they knew instantly that she didn't belong in this era. Stefan had momentarily mistaken her for Katherine before seeing all the differences her maturing human body had made over the past year and a half.

He was obviously attracted to her but Lexi sensed the mark on Elena and warned him just what would happen to him if he did anything to her I didn't approve of. I'll admit, I was shocked at what that mark would do to an interloper. I sensed immediately when it appeared on her as her memories were altering that it would protect her, but I didn't realize just how harsh the defenses built into it were.

I took Lexi to the side, out of Elena's earshot, and asked for more information on precisely what my future self had done by marking her like that. She gave me a brief rundown on just what it meant that she was marked like that and told me she will explain more in-depth at another time. I got another shock when I realized that my future self had literally tied himself to her in such a way he would literally die without outside help if she were to die and not be in transition. Lexi told me there was more to it than that, but neither of us had the time right then to go into it.

Even though I didn't place the mark on her, my future self did, I still feel the side-effects from the human who bears my mark being in my presence. And it's damned disconcerting to know that ever since she gained the memory of that mark and it appeared on her while she slept, I had been bound to her from this era until the end of time. I hadn't yet been ready to fully commit to her, but any other option was taken out of my hands as soon as the mark appeared.

I gently stroke Elena's hair, smiling softly as she snuggles closer in her sleep with a contented sigh. I glance towards the window of our room and note that it's barely dawn right now. I had decided in the past few days that we'll have to set out soon to make it back to Mystic Falls by the time the two-year anniversary of her arrival in this era arrives. Sure, the trip through the Rocky Mountains in the winter will be hard on both us and the horses, but we're all tough enough to survive it so long as we don't push ourselves too hard. The hardest part will be finding enough food for the horses with all that snow on the ground.

In the past year and half of Elena being her rider, Shadow Light has completely abandoned her affection for me as they developed a bond almost as deep as my bond with Elena. Shadow Light is Elena's 'heart horse', her horse soulmate, as it were. I can't even ride Shadow Light anymore and she barely tolerates my attention when Elena's around. She's still affectionate when Elena's elsewhere, but not to the same depth as before Elena showed up in our lives.

I blame it on all the apples Elena stuffs her with despite my constant scolding that apples are treats for horses, not meals. Shadow Light adores apples and never refuses one when offered, even if her stomach is full from whatever meal she just ate. As soon as Elena found out how much Shadow Light adores apples, she made damn sure we have a good supply with us at all times. I doubt I can count high enough to count all the apples Elena has given that horse.

Every time Shadow Light gets an apple from Elena, I find myself getting the evil eye from Black Star because I don't allow him nearly so many treats. Ever since I had unofficially gifted Shadow Light to Elena her first day in this era, the mare and the human have become far more than merely rider and mount. I have never seen a bond between someone and their horse like those two have developed. It's almost as if they can actually communicate in a language only they know. Sure, Elena and I have developed a similar form of communication, but at least I was once human and now am even smarter than a human. No matter how smart Shadow Light is, she's still a damn horse. Horses and their riders should not be able to communicate like that. So Shadow Light has to be Elena's horse soulmate, her 'heart horse' as it's called in by horse lovers.

I sigh as the sun coming in the window becomes even brighter. I fear what could happen to Shadow Light after Elena goes back to her own time. Shadow Light isn't immortal, she's just an ordinary horse. She won't be able to live long enough to see Elena again and I fear what will happen when she realizes that. Sure, she's pretty much abandoned me in favor of Elena, but I still love that mare. I pretty much raised her myself after her dam, a first-time mother, had refused her pretty much at birth. She's only a few weeks over six years old now. Much too young for the fate I fear she will face when Elena goes back to her own time. As the offspring of an Arabian stallion and a Thoroughbred mare, she can live at least twenty-five years, or possibly up to thirty if she inherited her sire's potential lifespan.

But I can't keep Elena here in a time she isn't meant to be in just because I fear what will happen to Shadow Light, not to mention myself, after she's gone. That's why I've decided that after we've had breakfast, we'll pack up our few belongings, return the key to this rental, and start heading back to Mystic Falls. As much as I don't like it, I feel that we'll only find the answer to what Elena's mission is when we return. I'd like for us to be back no later than the two year anniversary of her arrival in the past.

We have to leave early because the horses don't do well travelling in the dark and I'd like to at least make it to a valley in the mountains before nightfall. It will take a little while to gather our scattered belongings and return the key to this rental. And Elena will need breakfast before we start. So, as much as I like laying here with Elena sleeping in my arms, I have to wake her.

I gently shake her arm. "Elena, sweetheart, time to wake up. We've got a lot to do today," I say.

It takes a bit, but she finally opens her eyes a little. "What time is it?" she asks groggily.

"Shortly after sunrise," I reply. She tries to close her eyes again but I shake her until she opens them once more. "C'mon, sleepyhead. We're leaving Los Angeles today and we've got a lot to do before we can," I tell her.

That startles her more awake. "Why are we leaving?" she asks in surprise. "We've only been here for about eight months."

"Because I have a feeling that whatever mission you're on will only be completed by returning to Mystic Falls. And if that's the case, I want to be there by the two year anniversary of your arrival in this era. Which means leaving today," I tell her. "C'mon, get up and get dressed. After breakfast, we have to pack and return the key on this rental before we can hit the road."

She sighs and obediently crawls out of bed and starts getting dressed in some boy's clothes from this era. People of the West are a lot more lax than people of the South about what women should and shouldn't wear. Women out here go about in boy's clothes as often as they do dresses and petticoats. But Elena still can't be caught wearing the clothes she came here in, as the outfit is from another era and outlandish enough to draw unwanted attention. The only reason she was wearing those clothes when we stumbled into Lexi and Stefan was because I had taken her out into the hill country before dawn to give our horses some much needed exercise and she had taken a change of boy's clothes to put on before our return. I take a moment to once more admire her glorious body before getting out of bed to get dressed myself.

Late afternoon, somewhere in the Rocky Mountains east of LA

Elena

I smile as I slip an apple to Shadow Light as the four of us pause for a break somewhere in the Rockies after climbing a really steep trail. "Elena!" Damon protests when he notices Shadow Light munching on it.

"I haven't given her one yet today, Damon. We just climbed that really steep trail and she did really well. She deserves a treat," I retort, knowing he's about to start chastising me again about giving Shadow Light too many treats.

He lets out a heavy sigh. "You spoil her," he says.

"Don't act like you didn't just slip Black Star a sugar cube for the same damn reason because I saw you do it. If you can give Black Star a treat, then I can give Shadow Light one, too," I say.

He has the good sense to look sheepish. "I was hoping you hadn't seen that," he admits.

"I'm riding slightly behind you. I am able to watch your every action from here, especially when you use the hand on the side of Black Star that Shadow Light and I are on," I point out.

He turns in his saddle so I can get a good view of him rolling his eyes. "If this map is correct, we should be able to find a cave system we might be able to shelter in tonight a few more miles down the trail. But you know how maps are," he replies, changing the subject and turning back around in his saddle.

"Well, I don't like the look of those clouds coming in from the east, so I hope this one is correct," I say, pointing to the dark, roiling clouds coming into view a few mountains over. We're about three-quarters the way up the tallest mountain in the area, with all of the surrounding mountains below us and the cloud-level just short ways above us.

He studies the horizon for a few moments as well as sniffs the air. "Yeah, I don't like them either. I can smell snow on the wind, which isn't good news if we don't find that cave system. I hope there's a cave big enough for us and the horses as well. We can't leave them out in what that says is coming," he says, gently kicking Black Star's sides to get him started down the trail. Shadow Light immediately falls into step slightly behind and to the right of the stallion.

Three hours and nearly five miles later, we are damned grateful to come across the cave system the map had promised us. In fact, the very first cave we come across Damon decides is perfect after a short exploration while I wait with the horses. At first, the two horses balk at going into the narrow opening of the cave, but with enough coaxing and treats, we manage to get them inside, where I'm surprised to find a small cave almost like an antechamber before another narrow opening leads to a much larger cave with a crack in the exact center of the ceiling Damon says leads all the way up and will work as a perfect chimney for our fire.

We take care of the horses first, laying out straw we had purchased before leaving Los Angeles for them to lay on and giving them plenty of oats and hay. While I groom the horses and get them settled, Damon starts a fire and begins melting snow from outside in a large pot over it for the horses to have drinking water. It takes several pots of melted snow to satisfy the horses.

Only after the horses are taken care of does Damon start melting snow for us to get cleaned up with. We don't dally because even with the narrow openings and the 'antechamber' and the fire, there is still a bit of a chill in the cave. Unfortunately, we can't make love tonight because Damon's natural coolness will only give me a chill. After we get dressed, me in a couple layers of flannel, Damon finally begins work on dinner for us, which seems to be some sort of stew, while I lay out our dirty clothes and what blankets we were able to pack, knowing the nights would be cold, in a makeshift bed for us.

Just the other day, I had been thinking it was so nice to have an actual bed to sleep with Damon in rather than sleeping on the hard ground outside and now we're back to that. Sure, we're not out in the elements tonight thanks to this cave, but we can't trust that we'll always find a nice cave to pass the night in. I am not looking forward to crossing the Great Plains again. There aren't even very many trees to break up the monotony of the rolling grasslands, much less places to take shelter for the night. I know Damon will do his damnedest to take care of me and the horses, but I also know I have a lot of nights sleeping under the stars ahead of me once more.

"I'm going to stay up and keep the fire going tonight," Damon tells me as he stirs the stew. "Without it, even this cave will get too damn cold for you and the horses. I don't know if you can hear it or not, but that's a blizzard raging out there right now. We are damn lucky to have found this particular cave when we did."

I strain my ears and just make out the sound of howling wind over the crackling of the fire and the sleepy nickering of the horses. I shudder at the thought of being caught out in that with no shelter or even in a cave without the quaint 'antechamber' this one features. That 'antechamber', as Damon explained to me as we were getting the horses through it, will help further stabilize the temperature of the interior cave as it will keep the wind from drawing nearly as much heat from within as it would in a cave without one.

There's nothing blocking the entrances to either the 'antechamber' or the main cave, so there will be some heat loss over time, which explains why Damon wants to maintain the fire throughout the night, but not nearly as much if that 'antechamber' weren't there. "Yeah, that was some real good luck, coming across this one first before we settled on something less suitable," I say softly. "The weather outside sounds absolutely dreadful."

"Let's just hope it blows itself out before too long or we may be trapped here for a while," he replies. "As fierce as it is right now, it might blow itself out quickly or it might last several days."

I shudder again at the thought of being trapped in this cave for days while a blizzard rages outside. It would be a different story if we were in an actual house that completely separated us from the elements of nature, but a cave? No, thank you, not even one as nice as this one. I pray to whatever divine force that will listen that this blizzard blows itself out quickly.

Damon soon brings me a bowl of stew and a chunk of trail bread. I make a face at the bread as I take it. It's the same hard, nearly flavorless bread that we had eaten on the meandering journey to Los Angeles. In the past eight months of living in Los Angeles with Damon, I had once more grown used to eating soft, flavorful breads.

"Hey, I know it's not the best tasting bread, but it keeps well while travelling long distances, much better than other breads," he says softly, taking a seat near me with his own bowl of stew and chunk of trail bread.

I sigh. "I know," I tell him. "I'm just not looking forward to living on it while we travel back across the country."

He nods. "I understand. Neither am I. But we have to make do with food that will keep well," he replies.

"Waste not, want not," I quote.

He raises an eyebrow at me. "What's that mean?" he asks, scooping up a spoonful of his stew.

"It's an old phrase that basically means if you aren't wasteful with what you have, you end up wanting for less. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, considering how old it is," I explain. "From what I remember, it was first recorded as being used late last century, though I can't remember precisely when or where."

"I guess I haven't been around people who would use the phrase," he says. "Makes a good bit of sense, though."

I scoop up a spoonful of stew and notice small chunks of meat in it. "Where'd the meat come from?" I ask in surprise.

He chuckles. "When we stopped for lunch, I managed to catch a couple of stupid rabbits while you were tending the horses," he explains. "They were old enough to know better than to be frolicking where predators could see them so I decided that if they were too stupid to stay hidden or at least stay cautious, they would make a good stew tonight. If I hadn't caught them, some other predator would have. At least I made sure their deaths were quick and painless. They didn't even have time to realize they were caught before I snapped their necks. Another predator might have toyed with them for a while before killing them."

I think it over as I eat the stew. "You're right. If they were old enough to know better, then they deserve to be eaten," I decide as I finish my stew. "Besides, the stew was much better for the meat."

Damon takes my dishes and adds them to his own before taking them to the pot of melted snow he had put over the fire while we ate so he can clean the dishes. "It was pretty good, if I do say so myself," he admits as he washes them.

As Damon cleans the dishes, I make myself comfortable in our little nest of blankets and dirty clothes. Regretful on losing out on our lovemaking tonight, I close my eyes and listen to Damon hum a song I don't recognize as he takes care of the last of the evening chores. Thankfully, he settles down next to me to keep watch over the fire, though on top of the blanket I had covered myself with. I rest my head on his chest and relax even further. He chuckles and kisses the top of my head. I don't remember anything more until Damon wakes me up sometime in the morning. "Elena, sweetheart, time to get up," he says, shaking me gently.

I open my eyes and see that no light is making it into the cave from the outside, although the fire is still burning, albeit a little lower than when I went to sleep. "What time is it?" I ask groggily.

"A good deal later than I would have liked to get started, but I'm only now certain that the storm isn't going to kick back up again. It finally died down just over an hour ago," he replies. "You got a few hours of extra sleep thanks to the storm, so be grateful for that."

I sigh but relent. Considering that during our travels west, Damon always woke me with the sun, I did get a good deal. However, I still don't like waking up so early in the morning. While we were staying in Los Angeles, I had once more gotten used to getting up when I woke up on my own. Sadly, that's behind us now.

I obediently roll off of Damon and sit up. I know I woke up a little each time he got up to tend the fire or check on the horses, but only enough to see what he was doing before falling back asleep. Damon immediately gets up and starts on his part of the morning chores while I take a few extra minutes to knock the sleep out of my eyes.

As soon as I get out from beneath the heaviest blanket we have, I shiver. Even in spite of the fire going all night, there is a definite chill in the air. I rush to get through my morning routine and dress in multiple layers of warm clothes. Thankfully, Damon and I had stocked up on cold weather gear before leaving LA. Being so near the mountains, the 'city' has a good supply of them all year round.

Damon splits the last of the stew from last night between a couple of bowls and brings me one as well as another chunk of trail bread. The piping hot stew will help warm me up a little more so I dig in, nearly scalding my tongue in my haste. I ignore the pain and continue to eat.

As soon as we're done, Damon takes over cleaning the dishes while I ready the horses for the ride ahead and pack what we're taking with us into the saddlebags. Damon has us travelling as light as possible, only carrying things we absolutely need and cannot get easily in our saddlebags. Unfortunately, that means each of us has a good sized bag of grain fastened behind our saddles because we're traveling through the mountains in the middle of winter.

We used what little straw and hay we could bring with us last night as neither item travels well in saddlebags. Damon informed me the horses can survive for a while on just the grain and be none-the-worse for wear but I made damn sure to slip two bags of apples into my saddlebags, one for each horse. The apples will keep for quite a long while in the cold we'll be travelling through.

I also made sure to add a couple pouches of sugar cubes into Damon's bags because Black Star loves them and they could be useful for us at times as well. Shadow Light doesn't seem to care much for sugar cubes, particularly not when there are apples to be had.

As I finish readying the horses, Damon brings me a canteen and I obediently drink the water he had put in it. Despite obviously having snow added to cool it, it's still a little on the warm side. But it's better than nothing to drink. Damon goes through the process of refilling the canteen with hot water. This time, he gives it to me without adding snow. "For later," he tells me.

I nod and drape the strap attached to the canteen across my body. Once we leave the cave, the water will start to cool as we travel. I just have to remember not to let it freeze solid. Finally, Damon douses the low-burning fire with the last of the water in the pot before adding the pot to his saddlebags, leaving us in a gloomy, late twilight because of how little light is making it to this part of the cave.

We get the horses outside and the view spread out before us takes my breath away. "Amazing," I whisper, taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of the valley below us and the mountains around us hidden under a thick layer of untouched snow, peppered by the bright green of evergreens and the dark browns of leafless trees.

"Nature at her finest," Damon says softly, mounting up.

I follow his example, grateful that Shadow Light knows to stick close to Black Star. If I had been in charge, we wouldn't be going anywhere for a while because I'd be too distracted by the spectacular view to risk moving. Damon guides Black Star onto the trail and Shadow Light falls into step slightly behind and to the right while I just sit in my saddle and marvel at the gorgeous vista around me.

Sarah: well, I'm going to end it there because I don't feel like making a thirty-plus-page chapter detailing their travelling back east. I'm thinking there's going to be just one more chapter for this story before we're through. There might be two, but I highly doubt it. How have you guys enjoyed this story so far? What is your opinion on the questions I asked in the last chapter, about possibly writing a 'prequel' in the alternate timeline and maybe a sequel as well? Let me know in a review.