Sheila Bennet was a recluse. She wouldn't like it any other way too. She believed she's lived her life. Life had it's ups and downs, her share of moments that fuel her existence, her share of darkness. She was content, at peace even. The only thing that still tied her to the land of living was her granddaughter.
Bonnie was special, she didn't just think so because she was her grandmother. No, Bonnie was extraordinary even in the existence of extraordinary. And Sheila would know, how could she not, she dealt with extraordinary for most of her life.
Even today, when she had retired from what was a different life altogether, Sheila's life wasn't very mundane. She taught mythology and occult for a living. People around her thought her crazy, but that never bothered her. It was the perfect life for what she was and where she lived. It was Mystic Falls after all.
The sleepy, small town looked nothing out of ordinary at first glance. But beneath the it's never ending celebration and quaint charm was a world of its own. A world that beyond explanations, a world that bent everything people think they knew about the world.
One filled with darkness and magic.
Like every other thing that comes in life, it had it's good, it brought its bad. But when magic was involved, the stakes were always higher. Mistakes magnify, errors pile up. It was deep waters and it needed to be tread carefully. That's why she needed to be there for Bonnie, she needed to help her line and pass on her knowledge before she could pass on.
Besides, Bonnie was one of the strongest of her line as far as Sheila knew. She shuddered to think what would happen to the child if she didn't have the guidance she didn't yet know she needed. She was a stubborn little thing though, refusing to believe in magic, unaware of the power that coursed through her veins.
She couldn't blame the child for it though, ignorance was bliss. So she let her live in her bubble for a little longer till the bubble she clung to bursts. As much as Sheila tried to ease her into it, it was going to unhinge her world permanently.
She was shaken from her musings by a knock at the door. A thick blanket of power and warmth clung through the place and she wondered how she didn't notice it before. For a second, she wondered if Bonnie had been through an upheaval, but the magic was unfamiliar, friendly and caring it might have been. It was the strongest aura she had ever encountered and it unnerved her. If it wasn't for the lull of calm that the aura permeated, she would have attempted to run away.
She opened the door slightly and peeped through the lock chain, a force of habit. She realized how useless the chain would be in protecting her if what was on the other side of the door truly wanted to hurt her.
The sight she met wasn't what she might have expected. The girl, if you could call her that, at the door was only slightly older than Bonnie. Her aura was visibly blinding, a vortex of bright colors, of light and darkness, swirling around her like a tight coil. The overwhelming sense of power that had Sheila trembling was just the residual of the power the witch in front of her wouldn't or couldn't hold together.
Sheila prided herself for her understanding of magic even if she was not gifted with the sheer volume of power like her Bonnie had been. If it wasn't for her knowledge, she could have sworn that the creature in front of her was of a higher world. She might as well be, Sheila could without a doubt say that there couldn't be more of what her eyes, now that she dimmed her awareness were adjusting to catch sight of.
The way she held herself screamed confidence in her powers and in her skin, it commanded respect and loyalty, it demanded her to bow down and she caught herself before she subconsciously bent to the witch's will. The smirk on the face told her she registered what the older witch was about to do, a glance of amusement she spared the chain lock told her she wouldn't any chance if it really came down to it.
She nonetheless contemplated again for a split second if she could run for her life and make it out, but the slight tilt of her visitor's head in what is supposed to be a reassurance told her that she wouldn't want the girl in front of her as an opponent. She drew a long breath bracing herself and opened the door.
"Ms. Bennet. I assure you I mean you no harm. May I come in?" the visitor asked politely even if it was redundant, Sheila appreciated the gesture nonetheless at it's face value.
"Of course. Come in, this way. Would you like some tea?" She returned the politeness.
"I'd love some but I wouldn't want for you to waste your time and hospitality if I what I have to offer isn't of interest to you Ms. Bennet."
"Let's get seated then, this way." She led them to the couch.
"I'm Cassiopeia Black."
"For real?!" Sheila burst out uncharacteristically shocking herself and her visitor.
"I didn't know I was known around here Ms. Bennet."
"The spirits talk." She whispered, still reeling.
"Of course," she nodded like she just realized it was possible. "I guess that makes introductions easy."
"That would be one way to put it. What could a witch of creation want from a witch of nature?"
"I don't want anything from you Ms. Bennet. Quite the opposite really, I want to help you, should you choose to accept it. I can help train your granddaughter."
"Why?"
"Not a no, then. I guess I will take the tea, whatever you're having works."
"I might need a strong drink."
"I wouldn't be opposed to it."
"Long story short, your granddaughter is powerful, I ran into her in town and I could sense her potential. She's not come into her power yet from the looks of it," Sheila nodded in affirmation, "I can help harness her power so she doesn't lose control."
"What's in it for you?"
"Nothing at all. I wouldn't want to see a witch dragged around into a world she isn't ready for. Even if she was ready for it, the sheer raw power she has is more than something you can nurture or handle alone. The Bennet line owes a friend of mine a favor and I came here to support him in his pursuit. I didn't expect to stumble upon a witch of your granddaughter's caliber, but I'm here for a couple of weeks and I wanted to offer my hand."
"This friend the Bennet line owes-"
"My offer has nothing to do with that, how you go about your house business isn't my business."
"And if we refuse your friend?"
"Then that is your choice to make, I won't stand in your way, you owe me nothing."
"I hope you give me some time to think about it, Ms. Black."
"Of course, Ms. Bennet, you can reach out to me at this number."
Cassie lounged in her room and poured over some old tomes all day. Damon and Stefan had both vanished before she got woke up. She fixed herself some breakfast, paying no attention to Zach who seemed to be dedicated to staying out of her way.
The research was interesting, but it was nothing she hadn't covered before. her mind wandered back to the encounter the evening before. Bonnie was a witch, she was certain. There was something about the other girl, Elena, that felt off. The girl didn't gives out the vibes of a magical being, but she had a pull that was not mundane. She didn't think she was the only one who felt it either, Stefan definitely seemed interested, the witch was loyal to the girl too, Damon for all his broadcasting indifference, also gravitated towards the girl.
That stood out though, was a dark undertone to the pull, a shadow of malice, it almost felt like a promise of pain. She told herself she was overthinking this. That all the time she spent with Luna had her brain muddled permanently. But she couldn't shake off the feeling.
Seeing how her work was going nowhere, she decided to go visit the young witch's guardian to have a chat. She just had to ask Zach about Bonnie and five minutes later, she had an address. There might have been slight compulsion involved and she also 'borrowed' Zach's car, but no one had to care about that.
Her talk with the older witch went better than she expected. She had expected wiccans to have problems with witches like her. Wiccans hated every type of being but their own, not unlike the wizarding world. But for species that lived in close proximity to each other and in secret in the muggle world, they didn't want to learn to get along.
Either the girl was more powerful than the older witch expected or the older witch herself was weaker than she'd like to admit. She then wandered around the town for a few hours familiarizing herself with the common roads and buildings. She stopped by an open outlet on the way back and decided to pick up some dinner.
She saw Bonnie and Caroline and decided to greet them.
"Why do guys always go for her? Why don't they like me? She doesn't even try and she does everything right. And I try so hard, but it's never good enough. Why don't they go for me, Bonnie?" Caroline moaned to her friend.
"Umm, is this a bad time?" she waved at them.
"Cassie!" Bonnie pulled her into a seat. "It's a great time, let me just get some coffee for her to sober up."
"Are you okay, Caroline?"
"No, Stefan doesn't like me. He said he will never go for me."
"Well, Stefan is an idiot, no one likes him, it's not a loss."
"He likes Elena better." Bonnie came back with two mugs of coffee and handed one to her.
"Thanks, Bonnie," she said to which Bonnie mouthed back a 'no, thank you' pointing to her drunk friend.
"Believe it or not a lot of guys are intimidated by great girls, not that they will admit or acknowledge it." The girl perked up and lifted her head up. Bonnie used the opportunity to slide a mug of coffee into her hands.
"You think I'm great? You think that's why?"
"Of course, Caroline. Bonnie is beautiful and badass, we don't see Stefan mooning over her either, do we?" Bonnie looked at her with wide eyes, unsure if she should be flattered or scared to be the attention of Caroline's focus.
"Yeah, Bonnie's the best!" Caroline exclaimed, "Stefan sucks!"
"So, how are you guys out this late?" She asked Bonnie.
"Sobering up Caroline before I can get her home, then I have to get myself home." Bonnie told her.
"I can stay with Caroline and drop her home if it's getting late for you, Bonnie," she offered.
"I wouldn't want to bother you.." Bonnie started.
"It's no problem at all, Bonnie," Cassie told her, "I'll give you my number, I can get Caroline's parents to call you after we drop her at her place. We wouldn't want you to stay out too late either."
"If it isn't an imposition.."
"It's not, I got this," Cassie reassured her.
"Thank you, Cassie! Ring me when you drop her?"
"I will."
She came back late and heard loud crashes coming from the upper floor. She rushed to what she assumed was Stefan's room to see Damon pulling out a knife from his chest.
She couldn't help but let out a gasp at the sight of it. Both the brothers turned, where Damon relaxed, Stefan seemed to panic.
"Cassie, you should go to your room," Stefan moved towards here in an attempt to shield her from Damon.
"Now why would she do that, brother. If you're allowed to play human with your Elena, I'm allowed my games too." His walk towards them was nothing if not predatory. "You should even be thankful to her presence, I'd have long drained Elena if it weren't for Cassie's lovely presence distracting me."
"Humans are not for you play with, Damon." Stefan tensed as Damon got closer.
"I don't know why you even try brother, we both know the closest you get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it," he hissed in Stefan's ear.
He looked over Stefan's shoulder and met her gaze, almost questioning, waiting for a reaction from her. She stood calmly as she observed the two brothers, Damon's questions evident in his eyes. 'Was she scared? Was she repulsed? More importantly, was she on his side?'
What was he looking for, she wondered. Confirmation? Validation? It was a choice, a test, he wasn't fully aware of, he wanted her to pick a side.
The realization came two her two seconds too late, she realized, when Damon's eyes turned hard. He stabbed Stefan with the same knife he plucked out from his chest. He looked back to her in challenge, almost daring her. This time though, she was ready.
"I'm beginning to feel like antagonizing your brother is all you do," she stepped further into the room. "Coffee?" she asked him, like she just did not see the brothers stabbing each other.
"Aww, you have to give me more credit," Damon told her fake offended as he took the coffee from her.
"Hello, Stefan," she patted him on the back. "How was your first day in school? she asked him casually.
"Are you compelling her?" Stefan asked Damon as his wound slowly healed.
"Try again, Stefan. Let's go, darling. Stefan is a bore." Damon declared as he sauntered away, pleased.
She ignored Stefan looking at her as an attempt to avoid a conversation was soon coming her away. The brothers had issues, mildly put. She could try to stay out of it, but she doubted it would work. She wanted to put it off as much as she could though. This was a transaction, her and Damon had a deal. What he does beyond that was really not her business. The last thing she wanted was to get sucked into their family drama.
She followed Damon to his room to catch up with him. "Guess who made friends with the sheriff."
"I knew you were the witch for the job," he told her with mock conviction. He was upset, she realized, dealing with a moody vampire was so not her ideal vacation.
"Whatever, you have to hold up your end of the bargain, Damon." She told him, no longer in the mood to indulge him.
"I keep my word." He told her with conviction as she walked away. She turned back just in time to catch him earnest and sincere before he turned away.
Hello people! Another chapter out, the longest one yet. There's officially a new witch in town. The reveal was pretty low-key though. What did you think of Sheila's POV?
Next up: Elena!
I'm still on the fence about being pro or anti Elena. Let me know your thoughts!
PS: I write for reviews.