See first chapter

March 14, 1994

Caro diary,

I cannot describe what I felt after seeing James again. Relief, shock, anger, and still more. But I couldn't say anything to him. Instead, I stalked towards Katherine, and pushed her hard against the wall of my bedroom. It was so satisfying to hear various bones in her body rattle and shake. Her eyes became large as saucers, and all the color drained from her face. I wanted to kill her, but first, she had to hear me talk.

"Maledizione del dio esso, voi inseguite, perchè non potete giusto ottenere il vostro proprio marito maledetto!" I screamed. (Or for you speakers of English: God damn it, you bitch, why can't you find your own damn husband!)

Then, I remembered that she didn't speak Italian. More angry then before, I shook her incredibly hard, and said it again in German, the first German I'd spoken in awhile.

"Gottfluch es, Sie, warum können nicht verfolgen Sie gerecht Ihren eigenen verfluchten Ehemann erhalten!"

She seemed to get the message, and quavered under my grip, her blue lips gabbling soundless pleas for me to release her. Her eyes were watering too. I dropped her, and she ran quickly to James's side, hiding behind his back. I turned to face everyone else in the room. They were all staring at me.

I walked towards Damon, and looked up at him.

"Get me a drink. Some Genazzano or Trasimeno if we've got any around."

Normally, he would have given me a very stern lecture about my drinking habits, and reminded me about how when we were younger, I drank as much as he did, and was worse when I was hung over, but I knew that now, he would leave and get me what I wanted. I can be dangerous if mistreated while angry.

When I was younger, Damon taught me the ways of the sword. His talents were known all around Florence. He taught me what he knew, and eventually, I became so good, I could amputate all four limbs and decapitate the head in 30 seconds or less.

So he left to get me my drink, and came back with a shot glass full to the top. I took it from him, and downed it in seconds. Then, I stood up and went after Katherine again.

"Becauase von Ihnen, verlor ich alles. Meine Familie, meine Freunde, meine Zicklein und die Liebe meines Lebens. Und Sie interessierten nie sich. Papa pflegte, zu erklären mir, daß Geschichten über Großmutter und ihn sagten, daß, als sie jünger war, sie wie Sie gerecht war. Wir sind Vetter und Familie Mitglieder tun nicht das miteinander."

I was beginning to get really worked up. I had Katherine by her hair, and I could feel both Stefan and Damon trying to hold me back. But Katherine would pay for all that she had done to me, for everything that she had cost me in the last five hundred years. I would make sure of that.

I tore out of Stefan and Damon's astonished grips. Katherine's hair was long, and it dragged along the carpet as I ran, fury propelling me, to Damon's bedroom. There was an oak tree right outside his window.

When we arrived, I threw Katherine down on the floor. She was crying and screaming with all her might. Hail pelted the windows, and lightning and thunder permeated the ink-black sky outside. I found some rope and tied Katherine to the bed so she couldn't get away while I climbed outside to break a branch off the tree.

When I reentered the room, I was soaking wet. I broke the top off the branch so it was splintered, and then I untied my cousin and dragged her back to my room.

By that time, everyone was looking. As I prepared to plunge the splintered branch into Katherine's little black heart, she got up, and with a cry, ran to James's side.

"James, she's crazy. Please don't let her kill me. You love me, don't you?" she let her eyes get really big, one of her biggest tricks. But, to my surprise, James didn't have any of it. Instead, he looked at her stony-faced.

"You lied to me." He said softly, quietly, dangerously. "You didn't tell me anything about her being your cousin, or about her being a vampire. You didn't even tell me that you knew her. You've done enough to her in her life. I will not allow her to continue suffering at your hands. You can go see the devil for all I care." He turned away from her.

Then, she looked at me with a sickeningly sly, almost evil expression.

"You care a lot about your family, don't you, James?"

He turned around. "Yes."

"Well, do you remember the story about your ancestor Wilhelm and how he got jilted by his fiancée?"

"Yes Katherine. That's the story most commonly told. My older relatives always say that if they could've gotten their hands on the girl who did it, they would make her miserable until the day she died."

"Well," she grinned, letting out an evil little giggle. "Selina was that girl James. Selina jilted your ancestor for no reason other then the fact that she hated him."

That was it. I felt my control and my sanity leave my body. At that point, alcohol mixed with adrenaline, and I charged at Katherine, my oak sword held out in front of me as if I were in a joust. The force of it threw Katherine and myself down to the floor, and I heard her scream mightily as the branch penetrated her body. Pretty soon, all that was left of my cousin was a pile of dust.

Feeling emotionally and physically drained, I flopped onto the bed. James was looking at me, and Damon was too.

James spoke first. "Did you really do that? Since it's you, I can understand. You aren't like other girls, and from all the descriptions of Wilhelm, I can see why you left him."

I nodded. "Thanks. It wasn't that I didn't like Wilhelm, but our marriage was something that my grandmother wanted more then I did. Plus, he treated me like I was five.

"There was this one time when I was eleven, and he was fifteen, and he caught me practicing with one of his swords. Even though I knew how to use it, he took it away from me, and said "Am liebsten, ist das nicht ein Spielzeug. Ich werde dieses weg setzen, bevor Sie sich verletzen. Ich möchte nicht Sie mit ihm wieder sehen."

Damon looked at me. "What does that mean, Bella?"

"It means 'Dearest that's not a toy. I'm going to put it away so you don't hurt yourself, and I don't want to see you with it again.'"

Both my husbands knew me well and laughed hysterically at this.

"Was he kidding?" Damon asked me between gasps. "Did he see any marks on you when he came in?"

I shook my head. "No. He didn't even notice that I had proper form. I guess he thought all girls were incapable of sword fighting."

James finally got enough air for a decent breath. "Well, I guess he didn't know you very well then."

I motioned for Damon to sit next to me on the bed, and he sat. I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Listen, Selina," James was looking seriously at me now. "Katherine and I didn't come here for a fight. We brought a few friends with us to show them around the city. I'll be right back."

James left, leaving all of us in the room to stare at each other. Stefan looked at me keenly, his deep green eyes penetrating into my soul.

"Selina, what happened with Katherine? Why did you stake her?"

"Stefan," I said slowly, "when I was a little girl, Grossmutter told me that everyone has demons in them, and that at one point or another in your life, your demons are going to assert themselves. I think mine did tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, all my life, I've had the sheer hatred of Grossmutter. And Katherine too, because she was like a younger version. That hatred made me rebellious, disobedient, and angry. It's kind of like what Honoria told you guys about the Other Power: 'no one is safe until the thing that controls the creatures is destroyed.' Basically, until I got rid of both Katherine and Grossmutter, I wouldn't be all right. But now, since they're both gone, I am."

Just then, James came back with his friends. "Selina, everyone, these two people are Andria and Dante DeMarco. They're from Manhatten. Dante is transferring to Duke, and Andria is thinking about going there as well after she graduates."

Then he stepped aside, and I got a good look at the pair. They looked familiar to me. Dante was handsome. Tall, with straight black hair, high cheekbones, and green eyes, he was wearing jeans with holes in the knees, sleek black boots, and a dark blue muscle shirt.

Andria was small. She too had black hair, but hers was curly, framing a sweet face with wide blue eyes. She was dressed neater then her brother in a knee-length pink skirt, a white lace top, and white stiletto heels.

When they looked at Damon and me, I expected polite, neutral expressions. Not the looks of shock and surprise that they wore as they both reached out to shake our hands.

James grinned at all of us. "Well, now that those two are all settled, I think I'll go."

I motioned to Damon. "You're okay with all of this?"

He looked at me. "Selina, in the two and a half years we were married, you acted like there was a part of you that was missing. And I know that Damon was that part. You weren't truly yourself when we were married, and I want you to be happy. Besides, those who come first should stay first."

And before I could reply, he jumped out the window and disappeared into the night.

Life now starts anew, I guess.

Fino a che non veniamo a contatto di ancora,

Selina

Medusa Descouedres- Thanks so much for the compliments. After I read "Belladonna," it kind of inspired me to let Selina show a little bit of attitude. Hope you like this chapter!

incarnated-soul- I'm glad I surprised you. I had it planned from the beginning. I was dropping hints with the owl and the falcon in earlier chapters. Thanks for the review!

Angel- Thanks! Hope you like this chapter!