Riots Part One.
Author's Notes.
The characters do not belong to me, the only plot is mine.
Thanks to Scarlett 2112, Starlight So, Happy Gilmore, Tia Salvatore, Lyddy P, Damonfangirl, Riley 38 and my guest reviewers for your wonderful reviews.
Thank you so much to mandzipop who beta this chapter for me and gave me a few tips in this chapter.
It had been two weeks since Senator's son and future daughter-in-law had been thrust into the limelight as a couple; and from then on, there hadn't been a moment when a news channel wasn't mentioning them in some capacity, and at every major event since, they had been seen attending together.
Elena could have sworn, that in all of her eight years in her job, nothing compared to the effort and detail she had put in for her new clients. She did her best and worked tirelessly to gather as much positive publicity for them as possible, but no matter what she did, each day came with its own challenges. Surprisingly it was the Baratheon's who created all sorts of mess for her to fix and not Sansa, the one who she was initially warned against. In fact, her opinion was that the girl was one of the calmest, collected and most helpful client's she had ever come across. It hurt her to see how Sansa was mistreated by the Baratheon family. The way Joffrey and Cersei bullied her, to make it seem that they had rescued her from slavery and risen her to the status of a future daughter-in-law to the next potential President.
Elena reflected upon how their treatment towards Sansa changed whenever they were out in public. She shuddered to think of Sansa's future with these vile people. However, whenever she tried to discuss something, Sansa assured her that it wasn't anything she couldn't handle and reassured Elena that she loved her fiancé and his family regardless of their flaws.
"I have accepted my fate and trust me there are worse things out there in this world then few taunting and insulting words." Sansa had once told her, forcing Elena to ponder upon what kind of ugliness the young girl had seen in her life to make her feel content to surrender herself to this kind of humiliating future?
Closing her laptop, she stood up and made her way out of her office. Elena knew it was late again, but in truth, she preferred getting her work done at the office, rather than taking it home with her, where her husband would do his best to help her out no matter how much underserving she felt of his kind gesture.
Elena remembered the promise he made her on her birthday, and she also knew that Damon was trying his best to help her out in the hope of getting noticed. What he didn't know was that she always noticed him, she noticed his actions, she noticed his love and that's why it pained her every time she treated him with indifference, because she knew that the day she acknowledged him, would be the day she had to acknowledge the possibility of failing him, which was something she wasn't ready to face.
By the time she had gotten home, she saw it was already two am in the morning. Elena groaned internally at thought of only getting a few hours of sleep before the arrival of the next day's event to drive her crazy.
Stepping inside she walked towards the kitchen to grab a quick bite. Upon opening the refrigerator, she saw a plate of lasagne and salad waiting for her with a note stuck to its side. 'Enjoy your dinner sweetness and try to finish it so you can have a good night sleep on full stomach ;) love Damon.' It said.
Elena couldn't help but smile at her husband thoughtfulness. She picked up a fork and headed towards her living room to enjoy her dinner while watching something on tv. However, when she walked into the living room, instead of finding it quiet and empty, she was surprised to see Sansa occupying the couch at this late hour.
"Oh! I didn't think anyone would be awake at this hour." Elena frowned.
"I couldn't sleep so I thought to watch a movie." Sansa smiled sheepishly at her from the couch.
By this time, Elena had almost recovered from her shock, however, that was only temporary, as when her eyes fell to the television screen, she realised it was not some movie but her own wedding video that Sansa was watching.
"Where did you get this video?" She asked, settling down beside Sansa on the couch.
"Your husband was watching it earlier while waiting for you," Sansa told her. "When I came down twenty minutes ago, he was falling asleep. When I disturbed him, he probably realized how late it was and said goodnight and left." She added.
A new wave of remorse hit Elena upon finding out that he had waited for her, which made her wonder how many sleepless nights he had spent waiting for her to come home.
"Damon get out! It's bad luck to see the bride!" Caroline's voice screamed through the screen and Sansa laughed as they saw how Damon was trying to duck past Caroline so he could get inside Elena's room to see her.
"Let me go blondie! I miss my girl a lot!" Damon complained, while still trying to find a way in but Caroline was standing firm as a wall.
"Seriously Damon! You saw her this morning, just before I came to kick you out of her bed! I mean can't you wait for a few more hours!" Caroline retorted with folded arms.
"No!" Damon screamed from the screen and this time Elena joined in with the laughter when she saw how Stefan, Ric, Enzo, Elijah and Klaus arrived and lifted Damon on their shoulders dragging him away while he kept yelling. "Put me down! I won't forget this blondie! Mark my words! I will dye your wedding gown black! I will shave Stefan's head!
The rest of his threats were drowned by Caroline, who was screaming at the camera. "Get lost Jer!"
"She is married to your brother-in-law, right?" Sansa asked as they watched Caroline and Bonnie walking one by one down the aisle with best man Stefan, and another one of the groomsmen, Enzo escorting them. Her friends looked absolutely gorgeous, in their pink bridesmaid dresses.
"Yeah, the following June they got married," Elena told her. "Bonnie and Enzo were married on Valentine's Day of the same year. It was a happy time for all three of us because we were born few months apart, start dating few months apart and then a married man of our dreams in the same order, all within a year of each other." She started to explain but stopped when Sansa gasped when she saw Elena walking down the aisle, bringing tears to both of their eyes.
"You looked so beautiful!" Sansa gushed. "I mean, I never saw a bride glow so radiantly, with so much happiness on her face, even your husband seems like he will burst with joy at any moment." She said.
It's true, Elena reflected, they both looked wonderful and ecstatic on their wedding day. Her white gown was beautiful but simple not like some of them over the top gowns that girls like to wear which were covered with lace, embroidery or crystals. Instead, her gown only had a small amount of floral lace on the shoulder and above the waist, with white silk flowing down from the waist.
Damon was beaming with joy and looking sinfully sexy, dressed in a stylish black tuxedo, causing Elena's heart to flutter as she saw that look in his beautiful blue eyes, conveying all his feelings towards her.
"That joy is inevitable to feel when a girl is lucky enough to marry the guy she loves more than her life," Elena explained. "The hopes and expectations of spending the rest of your life with the person you love." She shook her head dreamily. "The happiness that comes along with it is impossible to describe in mere words." She stared as they kissed each other for the first time as husband and wife. "That moment can only be experienced, and I wish that every girl in this world would get to have the kind of happiness that I was fortunate enough to experience on my wedding day." She smiled, however, her smile turned to a frown when she heard sniffing noise, and to her surprise, Sansa was crying, her eyes were fixed on screen but somehow, she had a feeling that Sansa's mind was elsewhere.
At that moment all she wanted to do was to embrace her, just to provide some kind of comfort but then hesitated because she didn't want to cross professional boundaries. Instead, they continued to watch the rest of the movie while Elena finished her dinner. She noticed how it was the little moments of joy which brought tears in both their eyes, especially when she saw herself dancing with her husband. The happy memories bringing more tears, as Sansa wordlessly offered her a tissue before taking one for herself.
"Why did you change your dress?" Sansa asked after a while as they saw her throwing the bouquet in her white short dress that was covered with a thick white coat.
"Oh! We were leaving for the honeymoon." Elena told her. "Damon wanted to leave early because he was excited to start our Alaskan honeymoon adventure, but I have to toss bouquet first." Elena chuckled while watching how fast he ushered her into the car and drove them away before everyone had finished saying their goodbyes.
"You went to Alaska for your honeymoon?" Sansa asked, sounding surprised. "That was seven years ago, right?" she asked, noting the date at the top of the screen, as Elena finally switched the television off before turning to answer her. However, the way Sansa was staring at her with such an intense look made her feel a little uneasy.
"Um, yeah. In two weeks, it will be our wedding anniversary." Elena told her.
Sansa nodded still lost in deep thought. "How long were you there for?" she asked, her voice sounding a little not only a little hoarse, but her questioning was making Elena feel more than a little uncomfortable, especially as she didn't like to reveal too much about her and Damon's private life.
"A month," Elena told her. "We managed to visit a lot of places in that short space of time, but not as many as we'd have hoped. Alaska has so many beautiful places and Damon knew the month wasn't going to be long enough, and he was right, but we had to return back to join Firm again." She stopped talking when she realized, Sansa wasn't paying her attention anymore. "Sansa? Are you alright?" she asked.
Sansa seemed startled by the sound of Elena's voice as if she had been lost in thought.
"I... I'm fine. I better go and get some sleep. Need to be fresh for the evening award ceremony." Sansa nodded, and with a shaky smile, she stood up and wished Elena goodnight before walking away leaving her still sat on the couch, feeling a little dumbfounded.
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The next morning Elena was hoping some kind of explanation or reaction regarding the previous night's encounter, but when Sansa appeared at the table, she politely greeted everyone with her usual good morning and started to eat her breakfast, without giving any indication about last night's odd behaviour. Elena couldn't help but frown upon seeing Sansa act so normal, especially after how she reacted last night.
"Let it go, Elena! It's must be pre-wedding jitters affecting her." Elena thought before deciding it was for the best that she continued eating her breakfast and pretend as nothing had happened.
Suddenly the door burst open, and Caroline Salvatore marched inside followed by her husband, Bonnie and Matt. "Thank God you guys haven't left yet!" she sighed.
"We have a problem," Bonnie announced, prompting a sarcastic laugh from Caroline.
"It's not problem Bon! It's a conspiracy!" Caroline raised an eyebrow.
"What are you girls yammering about?" Damon asks as his brother Stefan joined them at the table and handed Damon his iPad.
"Read the headlines that broke twenty minutes ago," Stefan said, pointing to the screen.
Damon glanced up at his wife uncomfortably, before starting to read the headlines out loud.
"Corruption rumours prior Elections!" he read out to the rest of the group. "Senator Baratheon is using his son's wedding to cover up the real news about one billion dollars' worth of corruption through his father in law." He added, registering the shocked faces of those who were hearing this news for the first time.
Unable to believe her ears, Elena turned her phone on, and to her horror, the news was already the headline news all over the media.
"I? I don't understand?" Elena shook her head. "I thought we were meant to be honouring Tywin Lannister this evening!"
Bonnie gently touched her shoulder. "Elena, the function hasn't cancelled. We have talked to organizer's, and everything is going as planned because first it's rumours and they are awarding a few other people too, but…" Bonnie grimaced.
Her hesitation made Elena more worried than ever. "But what?" she asked.
"My mother used to say that everything after but is horseshit!" Jon said absentmindedly but was quickly embarrassed by his words once he realised that he had said them out loud. "I'm sorry." He apologised, however, Caroline cut him off.
"No, No, don't apologize because that's what exactly this is! Complete horseshit!" she slapped her hand down the table in anger, making everyone around her jump.
"Okay, things are bad if Mrs Prim & Proper are freaked out." Damon surmised, before turning to Matt, who had a very nervous look on his face. "Tell me, Donavan, what else is there about this news that is stressing her out so much?" he asked.
Matt was clearly uncomfortable, however, he turned to address the group. "A crowd is gathering outside the hall where award ceremony is taking place." He told them. "There will be a huge protest against both the Baratheon's and the Lannister's," he said.
Everyone was quiet for a moment afterwards as they tried to digest this news until Elena clutched her head in frustration and broke the silence.
"Shit! We're screwed!" She cried out.
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Damon and Elena arrived at the award ceremony prior to everyone else, to survey the situation. The protests had already started. Damon and Elena watched on as crude, life-size piñata of their clients, were being hit by sticks & baseball bats by the protesters.
"This is not good." Elena shook her head, as they continued to observe an angry mob from afar.
"Its politics babe, one day crowd is cheering for you next day they are ready to beat you up." Damon sighed ruefully, as they went inside to assess the security situation. It was at that moment they must have been noticed by three men.
"If it isn't Salvatore's!" a voice called out, prompting Damon and Elena to turn around to find out who its owner was. Fortunately, it was a friendly face of the Commissioner of the police department, and their uncle, Mikael Mikaelson along with his sons Elijah and Klaus, who all walked over to greet them.
"Uncle Mikael or we should address you as Commissioner Mikaelson?" Damon asked, making Mikael laugh as Damon patted his back.
"If addressing me as commissioner keeps you boys in check then you must address me as commissioner." He said. "However, I'm only ever going to be called uncle by this sweet child of mine." He told Elena who beamed and went to hug her uncle.
"It's so great to see you uncle, how his aunt Esther?" she asked as she pulled away.
"Your aunt is fine and she will be happy to hear from you." Mikael smiled.
They continued to chat pleasantly for a few minutes before Damon decided to raise the issue regarding the security issues surrounding the award ceremony.
"Uncle Mikael is this event safe enough for our clients?" he frowned.
Mikael looked around and then motioned for them to follow him. Once they found an empty room his uncle didn't waste time as he warned them.
"This place is secure but not secure enough for your clients," Mikael told them. "It's been circling around that his opponents are the reason behind those rumours and this protest that is going on outside."
"Dammit!" Damon stroked his wife's shoulder to calm her down.
"We need to double the security." She started to tell Damon but they were interrupted by Elijah.
"I'm sorry, but the function of security has been already arranged." He told them.
"Let me guess, by the opposition party?" Damon asked, rolling his eyes, as Klaus gave him an apologetic nod before going on to explain a little further.
"We are instructed to not harm protestors, even if riots break out," Klaus told them. "Clearly they are protecting their own supporters, and at the same time hoping to hurt your client's reputation." He added.
"This is set up!" Elena exclaimed as she started pacing the room. "I know the Senator; he won't back out from this event." She shook her head.
Damon racked his brain for a solution. "Uncle if we can't secure this place then what's our options?" he asked.
Mikael watched as Damon and Elena stared at him with hopeful eyes. Sighing he offered them what he could.
"I can get permission for them to have their personal guards with them at all times, but make sure they are best." He warned them.
"Thank you, uncle!" Elena smiled gratefully gave him a quick hug before leaving to call Bonnie and give her some good news.
"Damon, make sure they leave the ceremony as soon as possible because if riots break out, I can't help and a bunch of guards are not enough to protect your clients," Mikael said solemnly.
With this warning, they went their separate ways and as Damon watched the protesters, he had a sinking feeling that the small number of guards they had, would not be enough to protect the senator and his family.
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Author's Notes.
Here you go, another chapter of this story, part two will be action-packed and I will update it in the first week of November ;). So please send me your reviews and motivate me to write more and more.
