And here is chapter Eleven. Much sooner than expected. I'm trying to hold onto a quicker updating schedule. As for the magic-wielding part in this chapter, I decided to cut it short, because right now it wasn't the most important part.
Anyway, enjoy! I would love to hear what you all think of it. This story was mostly a plot bunny that wouldn't go away and I'm just going with the flow.
o.O.o
Chapter Eleven, An original
It had started as a balmy day and the air felt humid, clammy on my skin. The birds twittered loudly and the tomb still smelled of mildew. It was still early, I'd sneaked out of the house before dawn, after spending the entire evening and the first part of the night researching the spell I was using now. I'd had tried it once, mostly to feel the magic pumping and it had sent little tremors running through the glass windows before they shattered.
I was certain I would be able to do it, even though Jeremy had inquired if we shouldn't ask for Bonnie's help. I'd certainly declined. If Bonnie knew then Elena would know and the whole idea had been for Elena to be kept in the dark. Besides, if this wouldn't work, asking Bonnie for help was still an option. The fires around me fluttered and spluttered, and I started to chant louder: "Phasmatos Salves Nas Ex Malon, Terra Mora Vantis Quo Incandis, Et Vasa Quo Ero Signos."
Standing in the middle of the drawn pentagram, surrounded by torches and candles to draw power from, I tried to keep my breathing even. The spell was working, if slowly and sweat was beading on my forehead, sliding down the nape of my neck. The spell was draining and I tried to concentrate on all of the senses around me, tried to concentrate on the words that started to blur on the page before me. Something lukewarm and sticky ran from my nose. The iron tang that followed when it hit my lips made identifying it easy. Blood, rolling down my mouth until it stuck to my bottom lip and dripped down my chin. I felt dizzy, extremely so but I realised too that I was close. It buzzed through my blood, fizzled around my fingertips and I knew instinctively that the magic around the tomb was flickering, failing. I repeated the words of the spell once again, my fingers gripping the grimoire hard.
"Stop it, Samantha!" Jeremy's vampire girlfriend snapped, "You're not strong enough on your own."
"No—" Katherine hissed, "she is!"
And I was. I felt it when the magic around the tomb fell away just as my knees buckled, my body became heavy and I toppled backwards in a dead faint. A pair of slender arms caught me before I'd even hit the ground and I tried to fight against the exhaustion that pulled at me. My head felt foggy but after several moments, I counted ten of my heartbeats, I managed to blink the blurriness only away.
"My, my," Katherine stated, her face only a few inches away from me. "How well you've done."
"Y—you sound surprised." I managed groggily and she grinned, Anna hovering over her shoulder with a furious expression, as if she would like nothing more than to wrench me out of my sister's look-a-like's arms and wring my neck. I chocked back a semi-hysterical laugh and tried to gain back some balance, my feet uselessly scraping against the dusty ground.
"You can't stand," Anna told me and Katherine nodded in agreement.
"Is this the moment you're going to rip my throat out?" I asked dizzily and Katherine smirked. I had expected to run away from her when I was done, talking to her over the phone the next evening to discuss some new terms but— She tapped my cheek in a way that did not convey murderous intentions.
"Don't worry, Little Ally. You just showed me how useful you can be." She whispered, her arms curling around my knees and lower back, before picking me up as if I were a little child. I'd probably have been embarrassed at normal circumstances, but now my body felt too drained of energy to care. As she carried me up the dusty stone stairs, she didn't even jostle me, so in the end, it wasn't even mightily unpleasant.
"Katherine!"
"Oh stop your whining, Annabelle—" Katherine remarked grossly, we'd just ventured out into the woods and I blinked up at the sea of green above me, "—I honestly don't see the problem. We're both out of the tomb— you can visit Lover-boy."
"That is his sister, Jeremy—" she snarled back before she made some sort of choking sound. Suddenly, I found myself on the forest floor, leaves and branches getting stuck in my frizzy wayward curls and I grunted. When I managed to open my eyes and rolled over on my stomach, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Katherine was frozen in place, her face paling rapidly and Anna looked rather sick to her stomach, her dark eyes wide and her mouth agape. I barely managed to heave myself on my elbows, my frown deepening. A man was standing at the edge of the forest, only a few metres from my car. He was not overly tall, had short brown hair, an angular face with high cheekbones and a strong jaw. He was dressed in an immaculate suit and I could think of no reason why both vampires had frozen.
"Elijah," Katherine gasped, much like a drowning fish. Elijah the original? The original vampire that had had a hand in the preparations of Katherine's sacrifice? He certainly didn't look like the psychopath I'd expected, but instead was rather handsome. With an amused smile, he flashed forward just as Katherine flashed backwards.
"Katerina, thank you, for having the good sense of being frightened." He whispered and he moved forward again. I rolled helplessly to the side and Anna disappeared in a whoosh. Katherine attempted to do the same, but Elijah intercepted her and it looked as if it was easy for him too.
It took several attempts, but finally, I managed to push myself up on my feet with a fit of pure will. I wasn't feeling well— not well enough to run, that didn't stop me from trying. My vision shifted dangerously before me and I struggled to keep my balance. When I dared a look behind me, my mouth forming a shocked 'o', I watched Katherine pounce, letting out a yell as she plunged a large branch through Elijah's chest. He sent her sailing in return, even as he staggered back in surprise. My legs tangled, my balance shifted violently forward and I fell firmly on my chin, right next to my car, my breathing fast and coming in shallow breaths.
Katherine had taken down two trees in her descent and I watched in amazement as the man pulled the branch from his abdomen and sent it sailing through the air in a smooth swipe as if it was nothing. His blouse was covered blood but he didn't seem to care and carelessly straightened his jacket. "That was a stupid move, Katerina. I'm an original. You are no match for me."
Nor was I and I jerked my chin at her, hoping to send the message across to run. I didn't doubt she would, but at least this way I could pretend she wouldn't have abandoned me otherwise. I felt so weak, I didn't know where my car keys were and slowly I crawled forward, and under my car. The gravel underneath me felt painful and a lock of hair got caught at whatever it was that made up the belly of a car. I was quite sure Elijah hadn't seen me crawl under it, but I didn't dare to move. This vampire felt a tad bit different than any other I'd been in contact with. His angry gaze locked on Katherine's trembling frame and he was oozing with power. I was terrified.
Katherine turned on her heel and again Elijah intercepted her, but she had anticipated it and another tree was felled. It hit the ground, forcing Elijah to jump back but it bought her enough time to disappear, leaving me laying frozen underneath a car. My luck certainly had taken a turn for the worse. The rough stones beneath my body dug painfully into my flesh and I watched enthralled as the dark-haired man dusted his jacket off, closing the buttons to hide his bloodstained white blouse.
I almost audibly thanked every God I could think of when he whooshed away and slowly, I turned my head and tried to tug my hair free. Just as it gave and my hair curled around my cheek once more a hand wrapped tightly around my ankle and yanked me out from under my car. I shrieked and in a matter of seconds, I found myself pressed beneath one of the world's oldest vampires. My eyes widened and my lower-lip started to tremble. A hand wrapped tightly around my throat and I squeaked, struggling futilely and limply against his grip. My body refused to cooperate orderly and after a few seconds, I ceased my struggles and lay limply beneath him.
"Who may you be?"
He loosened his grip slightly when I couldn't form any words and Oxygen flooded my system once more. I forced my bruised throat to swallow so my next words would come out clear: "Sam," I mumbled and his mouth fell open in recognition.
"Sam?"
"Samantha Gilbert," I mumbled and blinked against the blurriness. "Are you going to kill me now?"
"Elena's sister."
"Uhu," I agreed, darkness bursting before my eyes and fractured my vision in a blurry mess. I could tell he was nodding, his finger moving across my chin and cheek, probably tracing the crusted remains of my blood. He cocked his head to the side, his eyes flitting to my neck.
"You're on her list," he stated and he yanked me up.
"I don't understand," I said, my head rolling back, "Katherine said you and Klaus killed her family."
"I will not hurt you, you have my word."
I groaned pathetically, winching when he pulled me from the ground. I hardly thought someone's word amounted to anything but I was too tired to argue, too tired to worry. I should have and even though I fought against the darkness curling around me, I couldn't win from it.
When I awoke again I was curled up in the passenger seat of a car, my cheek pressed against the cold leather. The comforting purr of the engine almost lulled me right back to sleep and I blinked several times. Elijah was in the seat next to me and outside the night darkened landscape flashed by. According to the glowing digital clock displayed on the dashboard, it was nine-thirty and I sluggishly stretched my legs and spied at his face. He didn't look all that horrible. Certainly not the kind of man who slaughtered entire families, but then again, nor did Damon Salvatore look like the type who would tear out Mister Tanner's throat without ground either.
"Good evening, Miss Gilbert."
My face flushed slightly and I averted my eyes: "Where are we?"
"On our way back to Mystic Falls."
"Back? You've been driving me around all day?" I asked surprised and realised he'd draped his suit jacket over me. It was a nice gesture and I stared at his face again. "Why?"
"Miss Gilbert, I may be an original vampire, but if I were to storm into your home with your unconscious body, I'd say I would be blamed for it."
I sniggered at that. Knowing my judgemental sister and my worrywart of an aunt, I had to agree with him. "Elena would certainly be judging you if you did."
He gave me a curious smile, one that was neither kind nor malicious, but quirked his lips up and he gave me an unreadable look: "She doesn't look like the judging type to me."
"You certainly don't know her all that well then," I answered before remembering I shouldn't feel too save in his company. He was still looking at me with a soft sort of composed amusement. "Are you taking me home?"
"Hm," he agreed as he changed gears, "I doubt holding on to a baby-witch would do me any good."
"Baby-witch?" I spluttered and I glared at him.
"Making a deal with Katerina…"
"Are you going to hurt her?" I asked slowly. I might not be her biggest fan, but in the end, I didn't really want her to get hurt either. She'd looked so young when facing off against a vampire that obviously terrified her. And did anyone deserve to lose their family the way she did? I didn't think so.
"It seems compassion is a family thing."
"I'm not sure about that," I answered softly. I cared. There was no need in pretending I didn't. I had been telling myself over and over again that the vampires who ran around Mystic Falls (mainly Damon) were horrible and deserved Uncle John's contempt, but in the end, I really didn't want them to be hurt either. My father had said I was a soft-hearted girl, which certainly had been in conflict with my tomboyish ways, but hadn't been untrue either. I might have had (perhaps still have) a reputation of being one of the boys I still slightly cried when Colin Firth delivered his lines of War in The King's Speech and had my heart beat faster when seeing the chase in Disturbia. Of course, this man, who amounted to a God among vampires, didn't need to know that. "Wait, you're fast and really strong right?"
"Yes," he agreed and I puckered my lips in thought.
"Why not drop me off through my window?" I asked. I was quite sure that was how Edward Cullen broke into Bella Swan's bedroom every single time.
The look he gave me was best described as aghast. "You expect me to sneak into a teenage girl's bedroom?"
The mental description of businessman looking Elijah, climbing the fir tree next to my window before wriggling it open with me thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes was amusing and I wore my grin for many more minutes. He had his eyes on the road again and I straightened in my seat. Over the past few months my fear of cars, or being in a car had eased in only a slight remnant of uneasiness and I peered outside, watching the scenery flash by.
"Shouldn't you be afraid?" He asked finally, probably surprised I was compliantly sitting next to him and hadn't tried stabbing him with a pencil or anything else that was sharp.
"I was," I agreed, but fear made me babble stupidly so it was better to push it aside, "but you haven't really done anything to hurt me." He gave me a look as if he thought I was stupid. Perhaps I was. "Why are you helping Klaus, when you don't really seem like doing the killing-spree thing?"
"What makes you think I don't like that?"
"Because you haven't harmed me. Because I can tell when someone is lying to me."
He snorted: "Miss Gilbert, I assure you, after a thousand years, you wouldn't be able to tell if I lie or not."
"Are you that old?" I asked before I could stop myself and his lips quirked.
"No filter," He mused and we passed along the riverbank of the Wickery River and Wickery Bridge was pale white in the waning moonlight. I could never really look at it without remembering the car, ramming the guardrail, the water rushing in and I inhaled sharply, averting my eyes.
"I babble when I'm slightly frightened."
"Then at least you have a slight good sense of being frightened." He dryly remarked and my eyes flitted over his form. There was still blood staining his shirt where the branch had pierced his abdomen but it didn't seem to give him any discomfort.
"Why do you want to break the curse so much?" I asked, crossing my ankles. I knew I held his attention from the way his eyes flitted to me in acknowledgement and I cocked my head to the side. "It seems weird. Why would you want some super-vampire-werewolf creature to roam the earth?"
"I don't."
I stared at him with wide, curious eyes: "What? Then why do you want 'Lena to sacrifice herself if you don't even really want to help Klaus?"
"My brother will be weakened after the sacrifice. It will be easier to kill him then."
"To kill him after the sacrifice?" I echoed. I ignored the comment about his brother, filed it away for later and snorted: "It might be easier than, but my sister will be death."
He looked at me, eyes flitting over my face, lingering on the deviant set of my jaw and cocked his head to the side. "You look like her."
"We're related," I snarked back and he smirked again.
"Babbles when scared, hm?"
"I could try the 'gives-migraines-when-scared' if you prefer?"
"You could try that," he agreed, so obviously amused I felt rather insulted and turned to me, "but then I might lose control over the vehicle. And while I am durable, you're not."
I glared at him. I didn't think I felt well enough to try using an aneurism on him, anyway (if I could even do that without setting the car on fire that was). Crossing my arms over my chest, I slouched back in my seat. When we turned into my street and I pursed my lips. "If Klaus is your brother, again, why do you want his death?"
"Because he took our family."
"Took?" I asked, "As in killed?"
He gave me a sort of half-nod and I pressed my lips tightly together. I could understand for vengeance better now, but, "But— if you want him dead… Then why did you fight with Katherine?"
"I have my reasons to want Katherine to pay," he told me evasively.
I stared hard at his face as if the answers would be written on the tight line of his mouth, the glimmer in his eyes and the tight tendons in his neck. Somehow it did and I gasped in understanding. "You— liked her!"
"Do people often tell you that you talk a bit too much?"
"No," I answered dryly before mulling over my next words. "Say that I get why you want to kill Klaus— whose your brother— why would my sister have to pay for that? Elena, she doesn't really deserve to die—"
"I've got that covered."
"How?"
"It's really a pity a witch can't be compelled," he muttered, although I was under the impression he said it solely for my benefit, and he killed the engine. I made no move to get out of the car and he made a face. It was a face I'd seen my father make when he thought I was particularly difficult and I felt my cheeks flush. "Miss Gilbert, I've made a deal with your sister—" and he held his hand up when I opened my mouth to say something, "—to keep friends and family safe. I'll uphold my end of this bargain and I've got something that will help your sister survive the ritual. Are you satisfied now?"
"What will help her?"
"Out Samantha, or I get you out myself."
"I could still give you a headache when you're acting like that." I muttered under my breath, but did clamber out of the car. He was already at the other side, offering me his arm and my eyebrows rose in surprise. "What?"
"I'm escorting you to your home. Lest chance you run into Katerina and work up another one of your foolish schemes."
I opened and closed my mouth: "They can't know that!"
"Can't they?"
"No," I whispered hurriedly, "Elena doesn't know I'm a witch! Please, they can't know— they—"
"Katerina knows," he remarked and we stopped in front of the door.
"Yes," I agreed, "but my sister has enough on her plate. Me being a witch will not make any of this any better! She'll worry about me and probably beat herself up because instead of protecting me, I now are a part of the supernatural world as well, and I don't need that."
Elijah didn't answer me and suddenly the front door slammed open and Aunt Jenna appeared. Her strawberry blonde hair was pushed up in a messy bun and she looked as if she had been crying. When noticing me, her eyebrows furrowed together in her you're-in-so much-trouble-now look, before her eyes widened: "What happened?"
"She fainted," Elijah answered smoothly and I peered at him with wide eyes, "Whereas the blood on her chin. I'm sorry Miss Sommers, I wish I could have called you, but I had no idea who she was at first."
"You fainted?" Jenna asked and she pressed her hand to my forehead. "You don't feel warm?"
"I'm feeling a lot better," I admitted, not entirely untruthful either and smiled. "Still a bit tired."
"Hm, you do look pale." She agreed and pointed at the stairs. "Upstairs with you. I'll come up to check on you in a minute."
"Okay," I agreed and childishly saluted Elijah before shouldering my way past Jenna and up the stairs. I didn't even bother to change into my pyjamas and just threw myself onto my bed, resembling more of a nest right now, with several colourful quilts piled atop of each other. My bedroom door opened almost immediately after and in came Jeremy, looking frazzled, red-faced and happy and he flopped backwards, dropping his head on my knees. Looking at me like a cat who needs his ears to be scratched. I probably was a bit of a sucker that I fell for it (every single time) and I ran my fingers soothingly through his hair.
"You do that the same way as mom did," he whispered and for a moment my fingers froze. And then I smiled, blinking back tears and we curled up together in a way we'd done when we were little and both scared of storms and lightning.
"How's Anna?"
"She's good," Jeremy admitted. "Thanks, Sis."
My eyelids were finally drooping and I nodded: "You're welcome!"
To be continued…
A/N: Next chapter some magic practicing hopefully^^
