Title: Inner Turmoil Part 9/?
Author: Lady Grimms
Email: ladygrimms@hotmail.com
Chapter Nine:
Bonnie fell in and out of consciousness for the next few days. Some scenes were etched in shadows, images of faces and movements blurring to form dreams or realities that she could not place. And nothing coalesced into anything that made sense.
Her mind felt tired, body weak but finally, three days after the incident at the school, Bonnie opened her eyes to a white room. She flinched at the sharp pain in her arm and looked down to see an IV. She brushed her fingers against the tube and her eyes followed it to the bag filled with clear liquid.
There were distorted voices from the hallway, none that she recognized.
Soft artificial lights lighted the room. To her right was a room with a bathroom, and to her left was a single shelf covered in medical syringes, gauze and bottles labelled with varying medical jargon.
The room started to spin again until a soft touch brought her back into reality. She slowly turned her head to meet night dark eyes that watched her curiously.
"Feeling better?"
She stared at him a moment before answering. "I-I don't know. What happened?"
Damon smirked and said, "Nothing I couldn't handle."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, confused.
"Keeping a promise to a friend," he said engagingly. "I must say that this place isn't exactly where I had imagined to spend a Friday evening."
Bonnie laughed, but it fizzled and died. "Is everyone okay?"
Damon raised an eyebrow and propped his feet up onto the bed, leaning back into his chair. "You mean the two lamia you were speaking to?" His voice was filled with distain. "I must say that, I don't understand why you would want to affiliate yourself with any of their kind."
"Excuse me? One of their kind is my cousin and-" Bonnie did a double take. "Did you fall on your head, or something? You are a vampire."
Damon's gaze darkened. "It would be wise not to affiliate me or anyone of my order to night world society."
"What the hell is the night world?"
He spoke without emotion. "Apparently, it is a place where werewolves, lamia and witches live together in hopes of ruling the world as we know it."
"Damon-"
"Listen, for I will only say this once. As in any species, there are different breeds of vampires. Personally, I believe it an insult that lamia would ever be considered in the same sentence as vampires."
"James mentioned something about being born a vampire."
Damon's lips curled. "Lamia were made by magic, thus can be undone by it. The first true vampires are the originals like Klaus. My brother and I are true vampires, while James and your cousin are not. If anyone would take the time to actually research the spell that made lamia and reverse it, then all the made lamia would die and all born lamia would return human. Lamia can walk in sunlight and can have children. In all, they are human but simply live off of blood."
Bonnie noticed that not once had Damon said Poppy's name. It appeared that her sprightly cousin had found herself in the same category as Stefan. "Why were they afraid of you?"
"The blood of the originals is terribly potent. Our kind can be incredibly powerful. Everyone except for my pathetic little brother, of course. As with any true power, we have limitations. Sunlight is our greatest threat, hence the use of the stone lapis-lazuli."
Bonnie was terribly intrigued. "Then if any of you wanted, you could eliminate the threat of the night world."
He shrugged. "If we wanted but it would be beneath us, and extremely boring."
"But Damon-"
He raised a hand for silence. "Enough of this. We have something else to discuss."
Her eyes narrowed. "Like what?"
"You are dying, my dear witch."
"No shit."
Exasperation flashed across his features. "I have an offer for you."
"Like?"
"I can save your life. We both know the real reason I'm here. You can lie all you want but your intensions were very clear when you contacted me. Your thoughts were open for my perusal. And still are, I might add."
Bonnie felt completely and utterly cornered. She wished hopelessly to crawl into her stomach and hide.
"Bonnie, you didn't actually pass out. In all honesty, you died."
A trickle of fear found its way up her spine. "What?"
"You were revived but have been in a coma for the last three days. The doctors don't believe you will last through the week. I've done all I can to keep your irritating cousin Poppy from trying to change you. Her blood would not have saved you. Mine can. Do you want my help or not?"
"Not exactly very subtle are you?"
"A waste of time and effort."
"How much of my thoughts can you read?"
Damon smiled. "Enough."
Bonnie fought hopelessly with her pride and finally found a shred of courage. "And?"
He didn't drop his eyes from hers. "I can't answer that."
Dismay and pain flooded her soul, and she fought back tears. "I see."
"I have wondered the earth for centuries and in that time, I have never found anyone worth an eternity. The principle of a soulmate is intriguing but you have to understand that it is a night world term."
A flare of hope simmered. "And what of your brother and Elena?"
He shook his head, obviously annoyed. "Fair enough. They may belong together but there has been no evidence that we do. I care for you as a friend. We both know that there have been moments where we have both crossed that line but that doesn't necessarily mean anything."
Bonnie watched Damon intently and considered something. "Does that mean you might be willing to explore the possibility?"
"As long as you don't will it to be more than I am capable of giving."
"Always up for a good time?"
He smiled again. "Pleasure is a much-maligned feeling."
Bonnie extended her hand and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up when he linked their fingers. He stared at their entwined hands for a moment before raising his eyes to hers.
"Then we have an understanding?"
"Yes."
TBC
Chapter Nine:
Bonnie fell in and out of consciousness for the next few days. Some scenes were etched in shadows, images of faces and movements blurring to form dreams or realities that she could not place. And nothing coalesced into anything that made sense.
Her mind felt tired, body weak but finally, three days after the incident at the school, Bonnie opened her eyes to a white room. She flinched at the sharp pain in her arm and looked down to see an IV. She brushed her fingers against the tube and her eyes followed it to the bag filled with clear liquid.
There were distorted voices from the hallway, none that she recognized.
Soft artificial lights lighted the room. To her right was a room with a bathroom, and to her left was a single shelf covered in medical syringes, gauze and bottles labelled with varying medical jargon.
The room started to spin again until a soft touch brought her back into reality. She slowly turned her head to meet night dark eyes that watched her curiously.
"Feeling better?"
She stared at him a moment before answering. "I-I don't know. What happened?"
Damon smirked and said, "Nothing I couldn't handle."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, confused.
"Keeping a promise to a friend," he said engagingly. "I must say that this place isn't exactly where I had imagined to spend a Friday evening."
Bonnie laughed, but it fizzled and died. "Is everyone okay?"
Damon raised an eyebrow and propped his feet up onto the bed, leaning back into his chair. "You mean the two lamia you were speaking to?" His voice was filled with distain. "I must say that, I don't understand why you would want to affiliate yourself with any of their kind."
"Excuse me? One of their kind is my cousin and-" Bonnie did a double take. "Did you fall on your head, or something? You are a vampire."
Damon's gaze darkened. "It would be wise not to affiliate me or anyone of my order to night world society."
"What the hell is the night world?"
He spoke without emotion. "Apparently, it is a place where werewolves, lamia and witches live together in hopes of ruling the world as we know it."
"Damon-"
"Listen, for I will only say this once. As in any species, there are different breeds of vampires. Personally, I believe it an insult that lamia would ever be considered in the same sentence as vampires."
"James mentioned something about being born a vampire."
Damon's lips curled. "Lamia were made by magic, thus can be undone by it. The first true vampires are the originals like Klaus. My brother and I are true vampires, while James and your cousin are not. If anyone would take the time to actually research the spell that made lamia and reverse it, then all the made lamia would die and all born lamia would return human. Lamia can walk in sunlight and can have children. In all, they are human but simply live off of blood."
Bonnie noticed that not once had Damon said Poppy's name. It appeared that her sprightly cousin had found herself in the same category as Stefan. "Why were they afraid of you?"
"The blood of the originals is terribly potent. Our kind can be incredibly powerful. Everyone except for my pathetic little brother, of course. As with any true power, we have limitations. Sunlight is our greatest threat, hence the use of the stone lapis-lazuli."
Bonnie was terribly intrigued. "Then if any of you wanted, you could eliminate the threat of the night world."
He shrugged. "If we wanted but it would be beneath us, and extremely boring."
"But Damon-"
He raised a hand for silence. "Enough of this. We have something else to discuss."
Her eyes narrowed. "Like what?"
"You are dying, my dear witch."
"No shit."
Exasperation flashed across his features. "I have an offer for you."
"Like?"
"I can save your life. We both know the real reason I'm here. You can lie all you want but your intensions were very clear when you contacted me. Your thoughts were open for my perusal. And still are, I might add."
Bonnie felt completely and utterly cornered. She wished hopelessly to crawl into her stomach and hide.
"Bonnie, you didn't actually pass out. In all honesty, you died."
A trickle of fear found its way up her spine. "What?"
"You were revived but have been in a coma for the last three days. The doctors don't believe you will last through the week. I've done all I can to keep your irritating cousin Poppy from trying to change you. Her blood would not have saved you. Mine can. Do you want my help or not?"
"Not exactly very subtle are you?"
"A waste of time and effort."
"How much of my thoughts can you read?"
Damon smiled. "Enough."
Bonnie fought hopelessly with her pride and finally found a shred of courage. "And?"
He didn't drop his eyes from hers. "I can't answer that."
Dismay and pain flooded her soul, and she fought back tears. "I see."
"I have wondered the earth for centuries and in that time, I have never found anyone worth an eternity. The principle of a soulmate is intriguing but you have to understand that it is a night world term."
A flare of hope simmered. "And what of your brother and Elena?"
He shook his head, obviously annoyed. "Fair enough. They may belong together but there has been no evidence that we do. I care for you as a friend. We both know that there have been moments where we have both crossed that line but that doesn't necessarily mean anything."
Bonnie watched Damon intently and considered something. "Does that mean you might be willing to explore the possibility?"
"As long as you don't will it to be more than I am capable of giving."
"Always up for a good time?"
He smiled again. "Pleasure is a much-maligned feeling."
Bonnie extended her hand and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up when he linked their fingers. He stared at their entwined hands for a moment before raising his eyes to hers.
"Then we have an understanding?"
"Yes."
TBC