Hi there.
Sadly, some racist troll decided to post their thoughts as a "review" for this fic, and for the first time since writing fanfiction, I've had to delete a review - well, it wasn't one anyways. But it made me quite sad. Usually I look so forward to getting feedback and for the first time, it was no fun.
Racists have no place here.
Anyways. This is for you kind people who do leave actual feedback. You guys are amazing!
Let's make this world a happier place by being nice to each other. :)
…
The throne room isn't large enough anymore - not when it has to contain Guiseppe Salvatore, King of the Realm, and his anger.
Taking off a wide pearl-adorned wristband, he storms through the room, tossing the precious piece of jewelry halfway across it, where it shatters with an explosive sound.
"Where is your brother?!" he yells, his voice both in- and outside of Stefan's head, and he grimaces as he watches his father do his rounds. He can't be certain, but something tells him that there's only one place where Damon could have gone to.
"Can't even locate the no-good sailor he likes to fraternize with! What is this?! Does everyone think they can just hide from me?!"
Pressing his lips together, Stefan stifles a scoff. Now he knows for sure. They must be at the old cave. Too close to the trench, the place is hard to get to, dangerous, so Guiseppe has never been there. The man has always been a coward after all… - and cruel.
"You know where they are? Eh? The girl vanished off the face of the planet, too. He better not have taken her down here. He better…"
Another loud banging noise, another heirloom broken and lost, but Stefan doesn't mind. It's not like he could ever see himself wearing any of them anyways - besides, at this rate, Guiseppe is probably going to live forever.
Before he has a chance to think much about it, he finds himself getting slammed against the harsh walls of the throne room, the uncut rock digging into his back.
"You do know where they are. Tell me."
Gritting his teeth, Stefan tries to clear his mind of any traitorous thoughts, but already his father is in his head, probing, hurting, pressing on until Stefan can't help but yell out in pain. It's like torture, having your thoughts invaded like that, and he knows he won't be able to withstand it for long. And then…
He can't let the man find Damon, or the girl.
"Leave the boy alone!"
Lily's shrill voice ricochets off the walls, and Guiseppe let's go of his younger son to glare at her. Stefan hasn't been this happy to see his mother in a long time.
"He's not a boy anymore, dear Lily, and he's helping a traitor of the realm."
She walks over with the air of someone used to grandeur, patting Stefan on the head like one would a much smaller child, a soft smile on her face. Then she turns to her husband.
"Traitor of the realm? You're talking about Damon, Guiseppe. He's hardly a traitor. A romantic idiot, perhaps, but not a traitor."
"He's going against my orders. He's bringing a stranger into our world. Need I remind you that we do not need more Turned down here? Need I remind you what happened last time?"
A flicker crosses Lily's features, something unreadable, but Stefan knows his father is getting to her. Something about her and Lorenzo and the way she brought him with her all those years ago still doesn't seem to sit right with Guiseppe, is still treated like a dirty secret…
"No," Lily allows, turning away, walking over to where shards of shells and pearls lie strewn on the ground. Bending down, she begins to pick them up, and for some reason Stefan finds himself going over to her to help. Hunching down beside her, he shoots her a glance, a question unspoken between them, something neither of them dares to even think.
"Damon will come out when he knows it's safe, not earlier. You know him," she continues, addressing her husband, her dark gaze telling Stefan that she knows.
She knows, more than him.
"And your sailor is with him, I take it."
Her smile is genuine, and a little aloof. She's never as pretty as when she goes against the king.
"What do you think?"
With an angry roar, Guiseppe keeps storming through the room, then abruptly stops, turning toward his son and wife still kneeling on the ground.
When Stefan gazes up, an eerie calm has spread, his father's face a mask with an almost threatening grin, and it makes his throat tighten, a feeling of doom coming over him.
"I think I know how to draw them out," his father says, and Stefan feels that feeling worsen.
…
They emerge out of the water finally, dripping wet and out of breath - well, the latter seems to be just Bonnie and Caroline, but that is not the point. With both her hands, Bonnie pushes herself up a weird rocky underwater beach of sorts, glaring at Damon when he tries to help her.
"Don't touch me," she hisses, pulling up until she can stand, hugging herself in her drenched clothes as if it's cold. But to her surprise, it really isn't. It's actually… quite warm. Frowning, she forces herself not to look at him too openly, because she doesn't want to see the triumph in his face, and she just knows it's there.
See, I brought you to a cozy place, he'll say and expect her to be grateful for saving her from from from… From what exactly? Is she honestly supposed to believe there's a mad king out to get her? Really?
With a sigh, she shakes her head, looking up eventually to search for Caroline, who is now sitting on a large rock, dazed and exhausted as she's staring over at Bonnie.
"What was that?"
The sudden touch against her arm, rather harsh and too tight, startles her, making her whirl around to glare at Damon. It's his question, and his hand that's holding her, squeezing her, and she doesn't like it.
"Let go," she says, pulling at her arm, and their gazes lock for one long quiet moment, a flicker going through his eyes, something she can't quite read, and then the moment is over, and he lets go abruptly, still staring at her.
"What was that?" he repeats, and she has no idea what he means. But apparently her shrug is not good enough for him, and when she starts walking over to her friend, he steps in her path, shaking his head.
"That thing you did?"
"What 'thing'? - I didn't do anything. You, on the other hand…" She pushes against his chest, trying to get past him, but he's not giving up so easily. Rolling her eyes when he keeps stepping in her way, she stops, crossing her arms in defiance.
"Fine. What exactly is it you think I did? Is it something along the lines of me telling you I'm a mermaid and can just so breathe underwater with no problems and that my evil father is now out to kill you because I may have managed to turn you into a mermaid as well? - No? I think in that case-"
"Okay, BonBon, shut up a moment, will you. I did not mean to get you in any trouble. It just kinda happened. It's not my fault you drove into the ocean and almost got yourself killed."
He looks at her with such a nonchalant smile that she catches herself almost slipping into a smile. Almost!
"Excuse me? I did not just drive into the freaking ocean, it was an accident!"
"I didn't say it wasn't."
"Yes you did."
"I did not." For a moment it looks like they're just going to go back and forth like this, but then he runs a hand over his eyes, sighing so wearily that her annoyance begins to dissipate. "Listen, Bonnie… I'm sorry, okay? I know this is a lot to process, and I wouldn't believe myself either if I were you. I get it. It sounds like the caricature of a fairytale."
"I hope it's at least the Disney version and not H.C. Andersen's original," she grumbles, earning herself a smile.
"You don't want to end up as seafoam?"
"Not particularly…"
Their gazes stay locked until it becomes awkward, and still she can't look away. Those clear eyes of his do something to her and she can't quite put her finger on what that is…
"Well, in that case: congratulations, you're not gonna turn into a mermaid. At least your involuntary bath did clear that up for us."
"You're sure about that?"
"Absolutely. - Although I still want to know how you can communicate telepathically when you're not like me."
Her brain rattles to a stop.
"I did not…" She chuckles,trailing off, her face turning into a frown. "I didn't. You're… - What are you even talking about?"
Arching an eyebrow, Damon tilts his head, a strange half-grin on his face now.
"So you don't know what you are, either."
"What I am?" An unladylike snort escapes her, just as Caroline appears by her side again.
"Everything alright over here? Bonnie? - Well." Care chuckles softly, looking uncomfortable as she glances from Bonnie to Damon, then over her shoulder to where Enzo is still standing in the shadows, then back to Bonnie, gripping her arm. "As alright as it can be under the circumstances, right?"
Bonnie licks her lips, unsure of how to answer Caroline. So she decides to focus back on Damon.
"What I am? I'm a girl, from Mystic Falls, Virginia." When she sees the way he tilts his head, she feels the need to add, "I'm a normal human being. Like you should be, but somehow aren't, at least not quite - if I am to believe any of this ridiculousness."
"Sweetheart." When she glares at him he raises his arms appeasingly, grinning a bright grin. "BonBon. You are many things. But you're not just a girl from Mystic Falls, Virginia, certainly not just a 'normal human being'... You talked to me down in the water, with your mind." He taps the side of his head, still grinning, and all she can do is… stare at him.
Because he's clearly mentally unstable.
His grin widens.
"I feel like you're trying to insult me," she says and scoffs, rolling her eyes.
"I'm just stating a fact."
Yup, definitely unstable. If he could at least stop smiling like that.
~ What's wrong with smiling, grumpy? ~
Grumpy?
The wheels in her brain come to a stuttering halt.
~ Trying to prove a point… ~
He's beaming at her, a touch of - sympathy? - in his features now and she tries to open her mouth, tries to say something, but it's impossible.
~ You really don't know what you are, do you? Have you never used telepathy before? Bonnie? ~
"Bonnie. Hey…"
She blinks, trying to comprehend. This can't be happening. Did she honestly just converse with this guy in her mind? Really?
Can her life get any weirder?
…
Sheila is humming a song, going about her business as if on autopilot. There's a soup cooking on the stove, a small fire burning away in the fireplace while she's sipping a glass of kitchen wine. Red. A bit heavy on the tannins. But it'll do.
Smiling, she looks out the window, where fall is in full progress, turning the leaves into a display of fiery colors, and she thinks of Bonnie. She misses her granddaughter but she knows the girl is-
Abruptly, she jolts out of her musings, spilling her drink as she does. Making a face, she puts the glass down, dabbing at a dark stain that has spread on her apron. This won't come out easily.
But that is not the real issue here, is it? No, she feels like she just woke from a strange slumber, images dissipating as she realizes Bonnie isn't where she's supposed to be. Someone made Sheila forget - or, they tried to. And now Bonnie is somewhere away, and something has triggered her powers.
This is not good. The poor child doesn't even know…
Time to remedy that.
…
The whole thing is bizarre. Shaking her head to herself, Caroline is trying to make sense of this, and failing.
"What is this here? Am I the only one who's not some enhanced type of being? What happened to just being plain old human?" she says, half addressing the other three, half just trying to sort her crazy racing thoughts. Is she seriously supposed to believe that the two guys are mermaids - mermen, merpeople, whatever the hell the appropriate term even is? And now Bonnie is apparently also able to speak with them telepathically?
Feeling suboptimal has never been something she struggled with before. Heck, she was a cheerleader, always popular, and she's smart! But now… Suddenly she's lacking certain special skills, and that's not even the worst. She's in a freaking underwater cave, with two strangers and her poor best friend who looks utterly confused now, more than Caroline herself.
"Hey, Bonnie," she says, gently putting an arm around the girl. "You okay?"
Bonnie turns to look at her with a lost expression, shrugging.
"I don't know, Care. I don't know what's going on anymore."
"You really…" Caroline leans in a bit, her voice a conspiratorial whisper. "You really spoke with him, in here?" She taps her head, not very inconspicuous at all, but what does it matter. These boys probably see and hear everything anyways.
Shooting covert glances, she sees the one called Damon smile at Bonnie, then meeting Caroline's gaze and winking. Her cheeks flush red almost immediately, and she looks away, staring straight into Enzo's dark eyes.
So much for being covert… Pressing her lips together, she forces herself to not look away this time.
He's sitting on a rocky ledge, arms crossed, an indifferent, almost bored expression on his face before it turns into the beginnings of a smile.
Her lips moving, as if a part of her already knows what to say while her mind hasn't quite caught up, she feels a sound making its way out of her, an "If you don't stop looking-" that gets cut off abruptly when Bonnie finally answers.
"I think I'm going crazy, Care. I'm talking in my head, with Damon - the merman that saved me from drowning, and now saved me again, from his homicidal father. Tell me I'm in a coma or something. This can't be real."
Caroline is quick to return her full attention to her friend, not without glaring at Enzo first, who's smirking rather smugly at her.
"You're not going crazy, Bonnie. Or… maybe we both are." A desperate chuckle makes its way out of her, and she wraps her arms around her friend briefly. "I know this all sounds insane."
"Yah," Bonnie scoffs. "To put it mildly… - Here I thought the whole mermaid thing was the crazy part, or the tsunami that almost caught us in the middle of town, or… or, hell, even the fact that someone out there apparently wants to kill me! And then it turns out that's not even the worst. No, I am a telepath now?"
"I'm sure there's an explanation for it. You were oxygen deprived, you were panicking-"
"No, Care. I wasn't. Not right now. Not two minutes ago. I was perfectly alright in this… this way too fancy little cave with its too nice temperature, when I should feel way more uncomfortable!"
Bonnie keeps going on, her anger making her step away from Caroline and over to Damon.
"What the hell did you do to me?"
"This wasn't me, BonBon, I swear," he tells her, and Caroline doesn't even know where to look because it's so clear that these two have chemistry whether they can see it or not. The cave is on fire around them.
Shaking her head, she tries to stay out of it, tries to stay calm, flinching away when she suddenly feels a whiff of warm breath against the side of her neck.
"So you see it too, huh?" He smirks, his arms moving up and out, his fingers together then suddenly opening wide as he mimes. "Sparks exploding. It's a real fireworks show."
"What?"
"Come on, gorgeous, don't play dumb. Your friend Bonnie, and Damon, their obvious attraction for each other..."
That accent of his, she doesn't know whether to be annoyed by it or… attracted. No. She scoffs, rolling her eyes - whether at herself or Enzo's words, she doesn't know. She does want to argue, she wants to tell him how ridiculous of an assumption that is, but she can't. Because he's right. There are sparks in the air, the atmosphere tense with a weird current emanating from her best friend and that… merprince.
"Damon really is the king's son?" she deflects, because it's probably best if she doesn't admit that she thinks he's right about them. He's the type whose smirk would grow too big…
"Indeed, he is."
"So, he's a prince."
"I guess you could call it that. Though the world down here works a bit differently."
"Clearly…" She rolls her eyes, again, but he doesn't seem to notice or care.
"You don't want to be here."
A genuine laugh escapes her at his statement, then she shoots him a glance, her brow creasing, and she sighs.
"I don't blame you," he continues, surprising her with the sudden sincerity in his tone, his whole stance. He's changed so abruptly from one second to the next that she doesn't quite know how to react. "I don't want to be here, either. Not that that is any consolation."
The smile is back, not in his eyes, however, just playing around his mouth.
"Let me ask Damon how he thinks this is going to go from here…"
With that he nudges her shoulder, and walks past her, just like that, leaving her standing there, flustered.
"Yeah, you do that! Tell him he can flirt with my best friend above ground. Where it's dry! And not so dark," she blurts out, because she has to say something, although she's already feeling silly before the words are completely out.
Then, when he turns around, just briefly, a real smile lighting up his eyes in the dimness of the cave, her legs grow strangely wobbly. Silly, she reminds herself, this is all very silly and why Bonnie even gives Damon the time of day is a mystery to her. These boys in their ridiculous old people clothes and ridiculous stories of…
Her thoughts fade away when she realizes Enzo is coming back to her, grabbing her hand while all she can do is stare and frown at him.
"Here," he says, placing something on her palm, and when she looks, it's that button again, the one she still doesn't quite remember having gotten before. It was just there…
"It's yours. You seemed to be quite fond of it."
"I wasn't! I…" Exasperated, she swallows, unable to come up with anything else to say, so she resumes staring at him instead, trying hard not to let his smile affect her.
"Alright," is all he says, then he walks away again, this time for real, making his way over to Damon, whispering something in the other man's ear, his gaze locking on Caroline's, making her bite down on the inside of her lower lip.
What is it with these merpeople and their effect on Bonnie and her?
It's got to be some kind of magic.
…
~ Bonnie. Child. Can you hear me? ~
Bonnie is shaking her head. She has begun pacing the rocky ground of this underwater cavern, looking left, then right, up, then down, then doing it all over again.
It's a neat place down here, she has to admit that. There's a sheen coming from the roof, something Damon explained to her is due to bioluminescent bacteria, a side effect of being so close to some thermal vents that are surrounding this place - and that are apparently the reason why it's also rather balmy warm in here.
Still, she'd like some dry clothes, and maybe a place to sit that's not covered in rock, and besides, she's also getting rather hungry.
~ We can remedy that. There's fish-
~ I do not want fish! ~
It doesn't help that there's constantly another one's voice in her head and she hasn't quite figured out the intricacies of this new skill of hers. What should be just thoughts sometimes end up being transferred over to Damon, even though she's not actively trying to communicate - and it makes her paranoid. What if she communicates something rather inappropriate at some point?
~ Bonnie. It's going to be okay… ~
She's hearing all kinds of voices now, not just his. It's almost as if her Grams is there too…
"Come on, BonBon. Let me at least show you the little corner my brother and I set up ages ago to be our chill-out-zone. You'll love it, I promise. - This is not gonna be for long, anyways. Just until I get a chance to talk some sense into my old man - and I intend to do that straight away."
"So, what is that supposed to mean, exactly? How long are we talking here?"
She flips her hair to the side, pushing her fists into her sides as she glares at Damon. Trying hard not to show him that she's glad he didn't use his inner voice this time, she tenses her whole body, waiting for his reply.
He tilts his head, showing his too perfect teeth, his eyes taking on an even brighter gleam in the strange light from above, and her hands grow sweaty.
He's just so…
~ Bonnie Sheila Bennett! Channel your thoughts! Focus. ~
Frowning, she looks over at Damon, half expecting him to shrug and say something about this other voice. Instead, he's still just smiling.
"A day. Tops. - Maybe two. Just to make sure I don't lead anyone down here. I'll send Enzo back with some food ahead of time. Okay?"
"I don't have much of a choice, do I? It's not like I'll be able to swim back up without you."
"Aw, BonBon." He clutches his chest above his heart as if she hurt him. "You're not my prisoner, if that's what you think. I'm doing this to keep you safe. And I even brought you your friend, made sure she's safe too."
"You expect me to thank you now?"
"Nothing wrong with a bit of gratitude."
Scoffing, she suppresses a grin at his audacity. She wants to be annoyed with him, but somehow he's getting under her skin in ways that she can't explain away like that. Does she… like him?
~ You need to stay away from him, Bonnie. Listen to me. Listen inside of you. You can hear me, I know you can. ~
~ Grams? ~
Her eyes widen, a soft gasp escaping her. This can't be real…
~ Child. You need to stay away from him. ~
~ I can't. It's a long story. ~
~ I know, Bonnie. I remember everything now. He's of the sea. And you- ~
~ And I? What the hell am I, Grams? What are you? I thought mermaids were fairytales and now it turns out I'm a freak too? ~
~ No. Babygirl. I'm sorry. I thought we still had time. You were not supposed to come into your powers just yet, but something triggered it. ~
~ My powers. ~
~ You're Faerie folk, Bonnie. A child of the land. - And you can't - under any circumstances - mingle with the ones of the sea. ~
...
