Ch. 8 – Unpleasantville and Children of the Damned 1x12-13
A/N (old): New Alliana scene. I know little about Viking/Scandinavian culture so forgive any inaccuracies in her scenes.
Edit: 11/23/2021
Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any else you may recognize. I only own my OCs Emilia and Alliana.
With the bracelet firmly around her wrist, Alliana set out into the village with confidence. With a token from the Mikaleson family on her arm, the knowledge of her status in the village changes. While not a full elevation to the level of the Mikaelson's, Rebekah's gesture of affection, and her well-known friendship with the other members of the affluent family, gave Alliana a few more freedoms, including some benefits at the markets. She was taking full advantage when a familiar face came up to her at a cloth stall.
"Looking for something in particular," Elijah asked.
Alliana jumped and smiled in relief when she realized who was standing next to her. Rather close she realized as well as she smirked. "Rebekah gave me a gift. I want to give her something in return."
Elijah nodded, "I had heard about your gift. It has become the word in the village. A new member of our family."
Alliana narrowed her eyes slightly, "Your sister declared me so. I wanted to spread the sentiment to her."
"By telling everyone?"
"I wanted to show my pride in our friendship. I talked about it while shopping for a gift for her and everyone spread the message. I am not ashamed to speak about my friend and my love for her and for your family."
Elijah paused before changing the subject, "Yes, well, what were you thinking of for a gift?"
Alliana turned and picked up a lovely dark blue silk fabric, "I don't have your siblings' skills in crafting art of jewelry, by I can make a dress. Or attempt to at least" Elijah grabbed the fabric from her hands. "I had thought to start with a lovely fabric." She leaned closer to him to peer at the details of the fabric together. "Maybe it will make up for my lack of crafting skills."
Elijah chuckled at her comment, "I'm not sure a fabric could do all that."
Alliana laughed and hit him on the arm, "Hey! I am not that awful."
Elijah looked at her and smiled, "No, you are not."
Alliana noticed his looks and looked down demurely and fixed a strand of her hair. "Yes, well, I figure this means that you are helping me with this now."
Elijah faced her again, "When did I agree to this."
"When you made a mockery of my skills."
"Ah," he answered. He looked between Alliana, the fabric he was carrying, and the rest of the fabrics on the cart. "Well, if we are going to work together on this, we better get started."
Alliana gifted him with one of her brightest smiles and she grabbed his arm in a hug, "Thank you, Elijah!"
"You should not thank me," he said. "I do not know how much help I will be."
Alliana grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "You are helping me and that is enough." He put the blue fabric down to clasp her hand tighter. "But to start, we need the best fabric." She led him back to the stall and to the most expensive fabrics.
Elijah bargained a great price for a royal purple silk fabric with elaborate lace and beading details. They spent the rest of this day and a few others creating a lovely dress for Rebekah, who loved her new dress and promised to wear it at the next festival. Alliana treasured her time spent with Elijah and planned for new ways to get his attention.
The next days pass in silent tension within our house. Elena chooses to spend time with Stefan rather than in the house. Jeremy stays in his room or in the library (YAY!) working on his project. Jenna tries to make conversation, but I am never in the mood. I stay in my room as much as I can, distracting myself with drawing and music and plenty of my own research. To the point, that we have to order pizza one night because Jenna took to stalking the kitchen to force a conversation. But to no avail.
After some dead ends in the adoption research (mainly about who our father is), I spend most of my time communicating with my supernatural contacts, getting vervain and information. With vampires officially part of the town, as I discovered was done by Damon's move against Lexi, I need all kinds of backup and protection for my friends and family. I also tried to find more information about Lexi and her life. I figure it is a good way to remember her, something more than just Stefan's friend who died as part of Damon's plan to ingratiate himself in town.
With a new delivery of vervain, I give Caroline a nice necklace for protection. I can't believe it took me so long.
"It's so pretty," Caroline says when I hand her the necklace. We are walking in the courtyard at school during lunch. "Thank you."
"Here. Let me help you put it on," I suggest. She giggles and turns around. She holds her hair up while I clasp the necklace around her neck. "There." She smiles and turns back around, releasing her hair over the necklace. "Gorgeous."
"Thanks again. God, it'll go with, like, everything." We continue walking to an empty picnic table. "What's the occasion?"
"No occasion. Just a little friend gift," I answer. And a great excuse of us to hang. I need to spend time with people who are not part of family drama or supernatural drama. My blonde bestie just happens to fit the need perfectly.
We get to the picnic table and sit down. "A Lesbian friend Necklace? Cause we're freaky like that?" She winks at me as she says this.
I start laughing. "Oh, always," I say in a fake seductive voice with wink back and we start laughing more. "No. Just, your friendship is very important to me."
"Why are you being so mushy?" Caroline asks as she opens her lunch bag and grabs her sandwich.
"Because you have been avoiding Elena which means avoiding me by default. I don't want you to forget that you are important to me, because of your avoidance of some issue you think might arise because of whatever is going on between you and Matt. And besides, Elena is happy for you and Matt, and she said it is totally okay if you want to date him," I reply. I give her a sly look at the last part. She sees the look but avoids my gaze as she blushes slightly.
"I was gonna talk to Elena about that. I am going to talk to Elena about that, but there just isn't much to say."
I rest my chin on my hand. "Well, there's gotta be something or else you wouldn't be worrying over what to say to Elena." I raise my eyebrows at her, daring her to argue with my point.
"We've hung out a couple of times."
"Good. Give me some details." I could use some mundane drama. And Caroline could use a good man. "Are you guys just friends or … friendlier?" I say with another wink and a little shimmy.
"I just feel like we've peaked as friends." I nod at her with a big smile and do the childish "oooh" thing. Caroline laughs. Then she turns serious for a second. "I shouldn't be talking to you about this. I need to talk to Elena first. It's weird. It's gonna be weird. It's gonna be weird, right?"
"If it's what you and Matt want, then I speak for both myself and my twin, that it's not about us."
"But it's all about Elena. Matt's not over her, and we all know it. "
"She's with Stefan. Matt knows that. He knows he has to move on. If not, I will sit him down and have a serious conversation with him." I unwrap my sandwich. I notice Caroline has this weird look on her face. "Onto a less serious and less slightly awkward topic… What are you wearing for the dance and how are we getting ready for it?" Caroline's face brightens to a large smile. Perfect.
"I can't believe you two are adopted," Bonnie says at dinner. She is sitting with Elena and I at the Grille for dinner. I don't even remember how we got onto this topic. We have practically finished eating. Bonnie is playing with her leftover food, Elena is finishing her fries, and I am alternating between stealing fries from my sister and drawing. I don't want to deal with this.
"We never saw it coming," Elena replies. Ugh, so we are doing this.
"Yeah, and it gets weirder," I add. They turn to focus on me. "I checked and our birth certificates list Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as our birthparents."
"You saw our birth certificates?" Elena asks a little bit surprised.
"Of course," I shrug and turn back to my drawing.
Elena focuses back on the topic at hand, "None of it makes any sense," she comments.
"Which is why you should talk to Jenna," Bonnie suggests. Elena and I both groan at the same time. "First of all, the Gilbert twins I know would always want the truth, good or bad." We know the truth, just not the details of it. And frankly, I want to keep my parents as my parents. I know that they are even if we are adopted; it doesn't technically change the fact that they raised us, but I always thought there was that genetic link between us and Jeremy. The Gilbert stubbornness and whatnot but having that not there is like having the rug pulled from under us and now I don't have stable ground.
"And second of all?" I ask.
"Elena, you just found out your boyfriend is a vampire," Bonnie replies. And one of our best friends is a witch. None of this was the same level of shocking. "So unless your birthparents are aliens…how bad could it be?" Elena chuckles at that, but I don't. They are a lot of bad things out there and a lot of potential for disappointment with this.
"Okay, look, we have to go to the store," Elena says, getting up.
I follow her. "Our outfits for the dance are severely lacking accessories."
"Okay, I'll pay the bill," Bonne says. I go over and give her a quick hug before I grab my purse. We say our goodbyes and we leave.
We are leaving Sephora in the next town over when Elena gets a phone call. I am looking over my purchase of this new supposedly better concealer by the car when Elena's body freezes. She starts looking around when I notice a figure in black behind her, staring at her with a cellphone up to his ear.
"Elena, behind you!" I whisper. She turns around and then she unlocks the car, we get in and quickly drive away. Elena starts hyperventilating slightly, so I try to calm her down. "It's okay. He didn't get you. You're fine. We are both fine." It calms her down enough, so I ask her, "Who was that?"
"That was the vampire I hit with my car."
"The one that got really close and ran away?"
"Yeah."
I should ask how she could tell it was him, but she seems really shaken so I leave it be and we switch seats. I start driving silently. I will take the purchases and she can go to Stefan's.
The next night, I am packing some necessities for the dance into a bag. Elena walks in after hanging out with Stefan almost all day. Jenna is cleaning up the living room, wasting time before the dance, seeing as she is completely dressed and ready to go.
"I talked to the insurance company. Car's totaled. You can keep using mine for now," Jenna says, folding a blanket.
"You're coming to the dance?" I ask. Elena looks at me like 'why would you continue this conversation?'
Jenna turns around to face us. "Alaric asked me to help chaperone." Both aww and eww. Go Jenna, but it is my aunt and my teacher. Would parent-teacher conferences be dates or even worse, would all their dates be parent-teacher conferences? My ponderings distract from the awkward tension of the room.
Elena almost bits into an apple, but then she turns her back to Jenna to put it down on the counter. "Why didn't you tell us, Jenna?" she finally asks, turning back to face Jenna. Well, hello there, elephant.
"Your mom was going to do it eventually," Jenna replies as she crosses her arms across her chest. "I never thought I'd have to."
"If our mom was here right now, and we asked, she'd tell us the truth," I quietly say, looking down.
Jenna uncrosses her arms and takes a breath before she starts her story. "Your dad was about to leave the office one night, when this girl showed. She was 16, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her two babies, and gave her a place to stay, but a few days later, she disappeared." Jenna walks towards us. "And there you two were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby. It just wasn't happening. All Miranda wanted was to be a mom."
"Well, why were our parents' names on our birth certificates?" Elena asks.
"Your dad was a doctor. They didn't want to lose you two, so they kept it quiet, told as few people as possible, but if anyone wanted proof, they had documentation," Jenna replies. That's a bit sketchy.
"Do you know anything else about her?" I ask.
"Just her name. Isobel." Jenna gives us both a warm hug and leaves us to process everything. Elena silently goes to get ready in her room, while I grab my bag and head to Caroline's, but not before I grab my laptop.
Caroline and I get ready at her house. We have a great time doing makeup, laughing, and dancing to music while getting ready. I helped Caroline with her fancy up-do. She helped me to curl my hair and do a quick victory roll.
The only thing that ruins the fun is the call from Elena about a vampire in the house. A vampire somehow got invited in. I wave off Caroline's concerned glance with a polite smile.
Good thing I came prepared.
We meet Bonnie at the dance. All three of us started to dance together. Bonnie's hair is curled, with her bangs curled and pinned into a true 50's look. She is wearing an off-white spaghetti strap dress with large blue and brown flower outline designs. Caroline is wearing a puffy yellow skirt and a matching yellow sweater with white flowers on her shoulders. I am wearing a white dress with a square neckline, short sleeves, patterned with green polka dots. My hair is held back with a green scarf that matches the polka dots. While taking a break with some punch, we watch as Elena walks in (wearing a blue shirt with a red belt and a matching scarf around her neck and leather pants and her hair in bouffant) with both of the Salvatore brothers.
We walk over to Elena at a table by herself. "Having fun?" Elena asks us.
"No, but this," Caroline says, motioning to her entire body. "took about two hours, so I'm at least staying half of that." We all smile at that.
"What's Damon doing here?" Bonnie asks.
Elena turns around to look at Stefan and Damon chatting. "He wanted to come." Really? Damon and high school dances don't mix, both because he's a douchey vampire and also because he looks so much older than everyone but the chaperones, which means something else is going on. Elena gives me a look, so I know he's here for additional protection. "I promise that he'll behave," she continues. He will. I glance at Caroline. I'll make sure of it.
"So, what is this, like, a threesome now, you and the Salvatore brothers?" Caroline asks. Oh, eww.
"No, but if I'm gonna be with Stefan, then I have to learn to tolerate Damon," Elena says. Ugh, that means I have to learn to tolerate him. "It's not like I can kill him."
"There's a thought," Bonnie comments as she raises her glass of punch.
"I'll help," both Caroline and I agree. Bonnie, Caroline, and I clink our cups of punch together as we look at Damon, plotting his death.
Elena goes to dance with Stefan as Caroline, Bonnie and I head to the dance floor for another couple of songs. Trouble arrives when we head back to our table.
"Hi, Bonnie," Damon says. Hello trouble. "Wanna dance?"
"I'm outta here," Bonnie replies as she starts to walk away. You go, girl. Ugh, I wish I could be that cool.
Damon stops her. "Please give me another chance." Ugh. Bonnie has the same reaction as she rolls her eyes and walks away.
Caroline steps up to him. "Back off, Damon." Then she follows Bonnie and walks away. Elena and Stefan walk up behind him, saving me from having to deal with him.
"Where did they go?" Elena asks.
Damon turns around to face them. "I don't know," he replies.
"What'd you say to them?" Stefan asks.
"I was perfectly polite," Damon answers. He was, actually, but nobody wants to deal with him even with manners. "Elena…" Oh no. "Would you like to dance?"
"I would love to," she replies. Damon gets a smug look on his face. That's almost worse than his fake manners. Elena turns to Stefan, "May I have this dance?" she asks.
Oh god, that was too perfect. Damon's face falls as Elena and Stefan walk onto the dance floor. I can't keep it in anymore. I start cracking up. Damon turns to me.
"Oh, that was brutal," I comment. Damon gives me an annoyed face, but I keep laughing. He looks to me and he looks like he is about to ask. I stop laughing and make my face go blank.
He opens his mouth, but before a word gets out, I narrow my eyes, and he shuts his mouth with a snap. I keep staring and he also takes a step away.
We stand and watch the crowd in silence for a few moments.
I get curious so I ask, "Do we have a description of this guy except for creepy, stalker, and vampire?"
Damon shakes his head, "No. But keep a lookout. I'm sure he'll stand out in the crowd."
I roll my eyes, and add dryly, "Oh, but how will I tell the difference between the many men who match that description?"
Damon looks over at me and gives me a quizzical look.
I roll my eyes. "Creepy, stalker, vampire," I repeat slowly, listing the characteristics on my fingers. Then I wave to the man standing next to me with a fake shocked look.
Damon then rolls his eyes, "Just tell me or Stefan if you see something fishy and we'll handle it."
"I can handle him," I state. He looks down at me for a second. I stare at him, daring him to challenge me. He just walks to a different part of the room.
As the dance continues, I dance with only a few other people. I dance with my friends, - both Bonnie and Caroline before they head out and some of my other Brainiac friends from my AP classes for one dance - I dance with Stefan for a couple songs, and I got Jeremy to dance. Getting Jeremy to dance was an interesting experience. He copped a plea with Mr. Williams, the English teacher for punch duty at the dance in exchange for extra credit. I am on great terms with Mr. Williams, so he let me drag my brother away for a few minutes. But I had to drag him away from someone else. He was with this girl Anna. Some girl who helped him with his history paper, apparently. I don't know her, but with one unknown on the loose and definitely a threat, all I can do right now is thank her and comment something about bringing him back. I wish I could keep my eye on him for longer, but he wears down and heads back to his station.
The rest of the time I spend on the sidelines, as usual, watching the crowd and trying to focus on finding the stalker vampire and not getting lost in memories of previous dances as I watch a happy Elena dance with a partner who is utterly in love with her.
I get tired of prowling the darkened corners of the gym by myself and join my sister and her boyfriend who are standing at a table.
I walk over in time to see Damon dancing with one of our classmates.
Elena laughs, "You really can't take him anywhere, can you?"
Stefan shakes his head, "Uh no."
I stare as Damon passes through the crowd with another big dance move. "No one going to point out how weird it is that a chaperone is dancing with a likely underage girl?"
Stefan and Elena chuckle, but before I can turn a rebuke them. Elena stiffens. "Stefan," she turns to him and lowers her voice, "back corner."
He rushes off through the crowd as Elena turns to me worried. I pull out my phone and start to scroll through my contacts.
I'm about to inform Elena that I don't actually have Damon's number when she gets a call.
I lean in to hear a male voice talking to her. "Hello, Elena." That must be the creepy stalker vampire. "Here's what you are going to do." Elena and I start looking around for the vampire. "There's an exit door behind you." We both stare at the open door. "You have 5 seconds." My twin refuses him. "Or your brother dies." As soon as we hear that, we turn to Jeremy and there the creepy vampire is. He is standing next to an oblivious Jeremy, who is passing out punch. "I can snap his neck so fast I bet there's not even a witness. Start walking." He threatened my family. He just signed his death warrant.
"Don't you dare touch him," Elena says. Who says twins can't be psychic? I was thinking the same thing.
"Keep walking," he says.
I try to tell Elena that everything will be okay, but she runs off and the vampire follows her. I get out my phone and call Stefan. I quickly tell him (and I assume Damon as well) what is going on, while rushing off after my sister and the vampire.
I find them in the cafeteria. He blocks her from stabbing him with a stake made out of a broken mop. He throws it behind him. I quickly rush behind him. He goes to bite Elena, but I get to him first. I kick his left side, knocking him away and to the ground. Luckily, I wore shorts under this dress or that could've been awkward. The vampire stands up and rushes to attack me with his arms out. I drop to the ground to avoid his grip, but I leave my leg out to trip him up. It works and he's sent to the ground. But this vampire did learn and this time he is up faster. I notice Elena has backed away. I try to perform a roundhouse kick to his chest but he catches my foot at the last second. He pushes my foot away, which knocks me off balance, but I fight it and remain on my feet. He goes to attack me again.
I am preparing for another attack, but Stefan throws him away, across tables and almost to the other side of the room. Thank god they are finally here. It gives me a chance to regroup.
I run to Elena and pull her close to me and slightly behind. Stefan stands in front of the two of us.
The vampire gets up, but Damon calls out to him, "Hey, Dickhead." When the vampire turns around Damon holds up his hands, one carrying a stake. "No one wants to kill you, we just want to talk."
The vampire turns around and rushes to attack us again. Damon throws his stake to Stefan who stabs the vampire in the stomach when he is about to land from leaping off one of the tables. The vampire falls to his knees.
I let go of Elena so she can stand closer to Stefan. I move to stand next to him so Elena is between and behind us. Damon walks over to the other side of Stefan, so the three of us are in a line standing between Elena and the unknown vampire.
"Feel like talking now?" Damon asks.
"Screw you," the vampire replies. Damon nods to Stefan and Stefan pushes the stake further into the vampire's body.
"Wrong answer," Stefan says.
"Wait." I call out. Damon and Stefan turn to me. "I've got a few things that might work better." I pull out a spray canister and a few smaller stakes from inside my skirt. Again, grateful for the shorts and for the layers on the skirt. Who knew 50's skirts were so good for hiding weapons? Damon and Stefan give me and each other confused looks, but I just step up and spray the solution from the canister into the vampire's face. His hands come up to his eyes and he starts groaning loudly almost to the point of screaming. The pain leaves the vampire weak, so I am able to pull each of his hands from his face and force them to his sides, one after the other. I stab his both of his hands with the smaller stakes, through the center and into his thighs, which pins each hand to that side.
I stand up for a moment to appreciate my handiwork for a second. He's a bleeding, crying screaming mess already and he seems stuck in place. So, I lean down again as I hold up the canister in front of the vampire's face. "This is a mix of pepper spray and high concentration of vervain. I will keep spraying this in your face until you give us the answers we want. And trust me I have a lot more toys to play with, each one of them just as bad" I get closer to his face, which is full of vervain-soaked tears, burning his face as they fall, and speak to him calmly and quietly, "You threatened my family, there is nothing stopping me from having my fun with you." I see Damon and Stefan shiver out of the corner of my eye, both staring at the cannister and the damage done to this guy's face. I take the chance to finish with, "So those boys over there are only going to ask once. If you don't answer, I spray you. If you answer with something I don't like, I spray you. Let's see how much damage I can do to you with this one tiny can. I bet it's a lot." I step back a bit and motion for Stefan to step in.
Stefan gets up close and asks, "Why are you doing this?"
"Because it's fun," the idiot replies. I roll my eyes and spray some solution in his face. The vampire groans very loudly, and more tears stream down his face from the solution. I guess I should grab a few more things from inside my skirt. I came prepared for this.
Stefan pushes on the stake in the vampire's stomach as he asks "What do you want with Elena?"
The vampire looks at Elena and says, "She looks like Katherine." I stab him in the liver with another stake. He groans, but not as loud as with the vervain solution. He's not technically wrong, just annoying and giving stupid answers.
Stefan backs up. Damon asks, "You knew Katherine?"
"Oh. You thought you were the only ones." The idiot replies. He gives this gasping laugh. "You don't even remember me." He's not wrong.
I don't want to disparage other women, but I am seriously holding back a Caroline Forbes favorite, the slut cough.
Damon crouches down to make himself eye level with the idiot vampire. "Tell me how to get in the tomb."
"No," the stupid vampire says. Damon looks to me and I debate for a second. Damon stares at me as I look between the cannister in my left hand or the stakes in my right.
I look over quickly to Damon and mutter, "See what I can do when I'm prepared," as I pull out a small tube of vervain-infused water. I pour it over the vampire's wounds.
The vampire screams and Damon takes a small step back.
He groans loudly. "The Grimoire."
"Where is it?" Damon asks as he comes back to leaning in the guy's face. He stares at Damon not answering. Damon gives me another look, this one is more hesitant though and I roll my eyes before I spray some the cannister solution in the vampire's face. The vampire gives the loudest scream yet. I guess we're at the point of giving up on the stoic angle.
He groans out, "Check the journal. The Journal. Jonathan's journal. Jonathan Gilbert." Damon stands up and the vampire gives out gasping breaths.
Stefan asks, "Who else is working with you?"
The vampire refuses to answer. Damon asks again, "Who else is there?"
"No. You are going to have to kill me." I move to do exactly that when Stefan grabs my arm. He gestures to Elena, who is shaking behand him and I roll my eyes before moving to her. I motion to him meaning 'He's all yours.' He nods to Damon who then removes the stake from the vampire's stomach and stabs him in the chest, desiccating him.
I can hear Elena gasping behind me. "What do we- How are we going to find the others now?" she asks.
Damon replies, "He had to die." I don't disagree with him on that thought. Wow, shocking. I actually agree with Damon on something.
"But…" Elena tries to stutter out.
"Elena, he's been invited in," Stefan says. There is a moment of silence and we hear a clunk outside. We look to the window and see the shape of Mr. Saltzman outside. Stefan nods to Damon. "Go, I've got this." Stefan pulls Elena to his chest. I start to clean up my stuff. I replace all of my equipment in my skirt.
After almost a minute, Stefan releases Elena and looks to me.
"I'll take her home. You deal with idiot's body over there," I say. Stefan nods to me. I grab Elena's hand and I lead her to the car.
When we get home, she sits on the couch, while I start the tea kettle. Elena looks over at me. I am almost scared to know what she is going to ask, almost. She takes a breath before saying, "It was scary to see you like that in there."
I walk over to sit with her on the couch. "I did it to protect you." I can't look her in the eye. I don't want to see any condemnation for what I did, what I did for her, for Jeremy.
"I know. But how- how did you know how to do all that?" she asks.
I shift and play with my skirt for a second as I think of a way to answer, "I might have known about vampires before Stefan came to town."
Elena sits up, "What?"
I shrug my shoulders in defense, "Look, I wasn't sure it was real and then when I realized it was, it was so big and scary and wild and I didn't know how to talk about it."
"How? I mean, how did you find out about this stuff?"
"Like Stefan said, vampires have been part of this town for a while. And guess who really likes learning about town history?"
Elena falls back into the couch in shock, "So you learned about all this from town stuff?"
I nod hesitantly, "Plus, some additional research. I talked to some witches. Learned a little bit about the ways of the world. Vervain, compulsion, how to whittle a stake, how vampires are created. All that kind of stuff."
"Witches? So, you knew…"
"About Bonnie? Yeah."
"And you didn't tell her?" Elena gasps.
I widen my eyes and shrug incredulously, "What was I supposed to do?! Go up to her and tell her directly. She would've thought I was crazy. Look what happened when we tried to tell Caroline before the whole Emily-Bennett-séance. And after that, she doesn't even believe us."
Elena sighs, "Yeah, I guess…I still can't believe you didn't say anything."
I sigh and lean my head on my propped right hand, "I…I just wanted to protect you. From all of this. I thought if I learned enough. If I prepared enough, then maybe…" I let my mind wander for a second and shudder as I realize where it's gone. "The maybe you would be safe." And I wouldn't feel like such a failure. I realize that I still failed. Someone was in the house. Someone was threatening Jeremy. I rub my left hand across my face in defeat.
Elena must notice my distress as she grabs that hand and pulls it down to be clasped in both of hers, "I know. Which is why I forgive you. It scared me, but Stefan and Damon were going to do the same." Yeah, I just got there faster and more effectively. Elena continues, "You were all just doing it to protect me. And to get information that could protect me in the future."
I look her directly in the eye, "He threatened both you and Jeremy. There was nothing I wouldn't do to protect you guys. I will always protect you; I promise."
Elena smiles and we hug. "Isn't it funny that you are the younger twin and you are the one who protects me?"
I laugh. "You are only older because I pushed you out. I'm sure I knew it was time." My sister smiles wider and chuckles. We release from the hug and relax on the couch for a few more minutes before Stefan walks in. The tea kettle starts to whistle and Stefan goes to get it. I turn back to Elena. "I will leave you two. If you are going to spend the night at Stefan's, text me." Elena smiles at me again and I head upstairs to my room.
The next day, I am knocking on the Salvatore Boarding House's door with a bag of clothes that Elena forgot and a coffee mug in hand.
Damon opens the door. "What?" He asks a little harshly.
I just give him an annoyed look. "Let me in. I've got clothes and coffee for my sister." Damon reluctantly opens the door.
I walk inside and start to head to Stefan's bedroom. "Can you use your super vampire hearing to let me know if I'm about to walk into something I really don't want to see?" I ask.
"Sure, but first, I have to talk to you," Damon says.
I roll my eyes. "Fine," I say. I turn around to face him with a huff. "What is it?"
"About last night…" Damon begins. I know he is talking about what I did to the idiot vampire last night.
I lift my head to stare him in the eye, unbothered, "I told you I could handle him."
"That was more than handling him," Damon comments. I smirk. You bet your ass it is.
But that's not what I'm going to tell him. I think for a second before I answer, "I am a human girl in a world with the supernatural. Statistically, I am always at risk with some kind of major disadvantage. I decided to screw that, and I researched the crap out of everything supernatural and learned to fight to protect my family. That is what I was doing last night. Protecting my family."
Damon nods, thinking over what I said and accepting it. Then he gets a look on his face, like a weird glint in his eyes. "You are a brainiac," he declares. Like that's any kind of news.
"It took you that long?" I sarcastically ask.
"This is good. You are going to help," he responds, walking off towards Stefan's room.
"What? What am I now helping with?" I ask, following him. He quickly runs up into Stefan's room. I stay outside, for obvious reasons.
The door is open, so I can hear the conversation that is going on inside. "Damon!" I hear Stefan and Elena cry out in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Stefan asks.
"Oh, stop being smutty," Damon says in his smarmy, snarky asshole voice.
"Seriously, get out," Stefan replies.
"If I see something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a dollar at it," Damon says. Ugh seems to be my most popular reaction to Damon. "Now listen, we have some very important business to discuss." Damon then calls me in. "Emilia, get in here."
I walk in, still holding the clothes bag and coffee. I walk over and hand Elena the coffee, then I walk back over to the window. Elena places the coffee on the bedside table. I am not liking being a part of this. One because I have to see my sister with a guy; no matter how much I love her, that's a lot. Two, because I don't know why I am part of whatever this is. Three, because it is Damon's plan.
"Does it have to be right now?" Elena asks.
"Yeah, Damon. Can't we just do this later? Particularly a time when my sister and Stefan are not in bed together?" I say. Elena and Stefan awkwardly look down at themselves.
"Well, we have lots to do," Damon says. "Now that we are all friends and working towards a common goal." Stefan, Elena and I all share a look, as Damon gets off the bed. "So, in order to open the tomb, we need to find the journal, to get the grimoire, to undo the spells. First things first, since you are Elena Gilbert," Damon says stressing our last name. Seriously, does he know about the adoption thing? How? "You're on journal duty."
"Since when am I helping?" Elena asks.
"Well, Stefan's helping, and you've taken up residence in Stefan's bed, ergo…" Damon says. Stefan leans back in annoyance. I just roll my eyes.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do," Stefan says.
Elena lies back down in the bed. "I'll look for it today."
"Good," Damon replies.
"That still doesn't explain why I am here," I say.
Damon turns to me. "You are our resident brainiac, I'm sure we will need you at some point." He turns back to Elena and Stefan, waving me off as inconsequential. I roll my eyes at his explanation and his behavior.
"How do we know that this journal will hold the location of the grimoire?" Stefan asks. "We're really going to take the word of this vampire? He seemed like a bit of a dimwit." I give a short chuckle at the truth of that statement.
"In lieu of any other options," Damon says.
"Okay, what exactly is a grimoire, anyway?" Elena asks, sitting up.
"It's a witch's cookbook," Damon replies.
"Every spell that a witch creates is pretty unique unto itself. So, witches document their work in their own grimoire, which is passed down the family line," I explain.
Damon looks at me for a second then turns back to Elena. "Yeah. Cookbook."
"What about this mystery vampire?" Stefan asks.
"Yeah, Dimwit obviously wasn't working alone." I add. "So, whoever is out there, knows who you are."
"And I don't like that disadvantage, so…" Damon says. He claps twice. "Chop, chop." He starts to walk away. "You know, I really like this whole ménage a threesome/foursome team thing. It's got a bit of a kink to it," he says still walking away, but facing us. He chuckles and I roll my eyes again. "Don't screw it up," he says walking out of the room.
I turn and throw the bag of clothes at Elena. She catches it. "I'll see you later." I start to walk away, but then I remember. "Jeremy used the journal for a history paper. I don't know what he did with it but check some of dad's old stuff to see if he put it back." After saying that, I leave the room. I am about to leave the Boarding House before I call out to Damon super sarcastically, "Bye, Damon. Call me if you want to waste my time again." I quickly leave after that.
It feels like a painting day, so I am listening to music and splashing paint on a canvas and myself by the looks of my shirt and skin. I get hungry, so I go downstairs to get a snack and find Stefan and Elena looking through a box of stuff. They must be looking at some of the old stuff Dad kept.
I pull off my headphones to hear Elena say, "I really think Damon believes that everything he's done, every move that he's made, he's done for love. It's twisted but kind of sad."
I roll my eyes, "Well, there's a crap ton of other ways to show off your love and devotion. And only a selfish person would want someone else to hurt people for their 'love', so what does it say about Katherine and Damon that this is their relationship?"
Stefan nods and adds, "There are other ways to get what you want besides killing people. Damon has no regard for human life. He enjoys inflicting pain on others."
"Is that why he enjoys wasting my time?" I comment cynically as I walk in, "He enjoys inflicting pain on me by having to deal with his presence." Elena and Stefan smile at that. I wrap my headphones around my iPod and I put it in my pocket.
Stefan continues, "For 145 years, every single time that I have let my guard down and let Damon back into my life, he's done something to make me regret that. I'm not going to make that same mistake again." Big words from a guy that can't seem to contain or control his brother, the source of his misery.
"Oh, good. For a second there, I thought we were actually helping Damon," I add.
"So, what do think will happen if Damon opens the tomb and gets Katherine back?" Elena asks. That's a rather obvious answer. Death. And is that why he wants the tomb open? For Katherine? Oh whoops.
"I think no matter what Damon promises, a lot of people will die," Stefan replies.
"That is exactly what I was thinking," I state. Elena looks at me and nods, agreeing with me. Elena then exhales and keeps looking through the box. She picks up a picture. I notice who it is. "That's Jonathan Gilbert."
All three of us look at the picture. Elena picks up a box and asks, "What is this?" as she opens it. Stefan stands up from looking over Elena's shoulder. I can tell from his face he knows exactly what it is and that it is not pleasant. It's the vampire headgear. The same that was used to round up the vampires from 1864. It looks pretty good for an invention from 145 years ago.
Jeremy then walks up to us. "What are you guys doing?'
"Hey. Just going through some old stuff. Feeling sentimental," Elena starts to say.
"Hey Jer, where is that old journal you were using for your history extra credit essay?" I cut in and ask.
"I gave it to Mr. Saltzman. He wanted to see it," Jeremy says. Stefan, Elena, and I look at each other. Stefan is going to go after him and he leaves. I thank Jeremy who grabs a snack and goes back into his room.
I turn to Elena. "I am going to go after your boyfriend. I need to stop him from hurting the only good history teacher we have ever had." Elena just nods and I walk off, following Stefan very quickly.
I am so glad this town is small and I know it well. I know all the shortcuts that allow me to make it to school within a matter of minutes. I get there right as Stefan intimidates Mr. Saltzman into sitting down. Good. Not dead yet.
But clearly something has started because the desks are out of array and Mr. Saltzman is sitting in one of the student desks.
I see Stefan holding a stake shooter of some kind. I walk in and grab it from Stefan's hands. Both of the guys turn to look at me in surprise. "Don't mind me. I am just here to keep the peace." I look at the shooter again and then at Mr. Saltzman. "Is this yours?" He nods. "Is it compressed air? You must have made it yourself." Oh wait. Mr. Saltzman has a secret side. Cool.
"Who are you?" Stefan asks. Mr. Saltzman doesn't reply. "I'm not going to hurt you…unless you try that again."
"No, you won't," I say to Stefan. "He's like the only good history teacher we have ever had." Mr. Saltzman gives me a small smile. I turn to Mr. Saltzman. "Unless my grade is a B. Then I'll let him do what he wants."
Mr. Saltzman gulps. Wait. Not what I meant to do. Well, not entirely.
"I'm joking," I add after a moment. Stefan looks at me in confusion. "I never get B's." Stefan stares at me dumbfounded so I turn back to our teacher, "Just answer his questions. He is not as bad as his intimidating stature might make you believe."
I then get a text from Elena. "Damon at house." Then a second later she sends another, "Talking with Jenna. He is cooking."
I groan before I turn back to Stefan and Mr. Saltzman. "I've got to go." I turn to Stefan. "I have to deal with your brother. So, if you would like to finish this quickly, so you can deal with your brother, that would be great." I drop the stake shooter onto Mr. Saltzman's desk. "Bye, Mr. Saltzman. See you in class."
When I get home, I hear Damon and Jenna talking about Logan Fell. Elena is listening in on their conversation. Suddenly I hear, "Hello, Elena and Emilia." Well, there goes eavesdropping and wondering about element of surprise. We walk in to see Damon chopping vegetables on the island with a towel over his left shoulder and Jenna sitting on the side counter drinking wine.
"Hey, where have you two been?" Jenna asks. "We're cooking dinner." I give a look to Jenna. She shrugs and says, "Damon is cooking while I watch."
"Is Stefan with you?" Damon asks.
"He'll be here soon," Elena says. I walk over to help Damon with cooking. Mainly because it forces Jenna to move away from him and because until Stefan gets here, I can at least pretend to be civil. Also, I don't trust Damon to not do something weird with the food. Ok, I just don't trust Damon.
I send Elena to watch over Jeremy, but he is just playing video games, so she sets the table. We eat quickly and afterwards Jeremy goes back to playing video games. Only this time, I join while Elena watches Damon. But, Damon joins us, surprisingly. I give up my controller to let him play. Damon says he has never played before, but he starts to win very early into the game. Stupid vampire reflexes.
I go back to help Elena and Jenna clear up the kitchen.
"He is ridiculously hot," Jenna whispers to us. Elena shushes her. I know Damon heard her, because I can feel him smirking all the way over here.
"He's an ass," Elena and I say at the same time. Elena starts to causally search through some more of Dad's old things.
"What are you doing with all this stuff?" Jenna asks.
"I thought there might be something about our birth parents," Elena replies. There's nothing in there. I already checked.
"Have you told Jeremy?" Jenna asks.
I look up at her. "We will, when the time is right." I mean that's bullshit on my part. I can barely get through imagining the conversation, let alone actually having it. The doorbell rings. It must be Stefan because Elena and Damon both go to get it. Damon leaves his controller behind, so I quickly run over and grab the controller. I shove Jeremy away while I grab the controller and we both start laughing. After a minute, Damon walks over and sits down on the arm of the sofa. Elena and Stefan are behind him in the archway.
Damon starts talking to Jeremy. This can't be good. "So, I heard you found a cool journal from back in the day." Is he seriously going with that? Way to show your old-fashioned age. Jeremy nods, still staring at the game. I am still playing, but I am keeping a close ear on the conversation. "Who'd you show it to?" What happened to it being with Mr. Saltzman?
"So?" Jeremy asks.
"Don't ask questions, just spill," Damon interrupts.
Jeremy pauses the game. He chuckles and asks, "You're kidding me, right?"
I look to Elena and ask her with my eyes what is going on. She ignores me. She turns to Jeremy. "Jer, did you tell anyone other than Mr. Saltzman about Jonathan Gilbert's journal?"
"Why is everybody so obsessed with that thing?" Jeremy asks.
"Who else did you tell?" Elena asks.
"Just that girl, Anna," Jeremy answers.
"The hot, weird one," Damon realizes. Jeremy nods. They talked about Anna? That's the one from the dance, right? Why would Jeremy talk to Damon about her?
"Wait, who is Anna?" Stefan asks.
Damon turns to Stefan. "That's what I want to find out." Elena phone rings, and she goes to get it. Damon turns back to Jeremy. "How do you know her?"
"I just know her," Jeremy replies. "She wants me to meet her at the Grille tonight."
"Perfect. I'll drive," Damon says. "C'mon," he says as he grabs my brother's arm and drags him. This is bizarre.
I turn to Stefan. "Deal with your brother, please." He nods and follows.
Elena motions me over, still on the phone. We rush upstairs to Elena's room. "Ok, we're alone." She says on the phone. She puts the phone on speaker. "Bon, you are on speaker. Emmy is here."
Oh, Bonnie had her date tonight! With the new bartender. Who is of age. While Bonnie isn't. Yikes, we have a problem in this town. "Give us all the details, Bonnie. Was he nice? Were you safe?" I ask her.
Elena jumps in, "Yeah, we're dying here?" Dying for something that is not Damon and my brother's mystery girl, maybe.
"It's going great," Bonnie says. "He is a perfect gentleman."
"Gentleman, huh?" I ask. Oooh, I love a good gentleman. Plus, that at least means he's not being creepy.
"I know!" Bonnie exclaims. "Boring, huh? I just want to grab him and lay one on him."
"Why don't you?" Elena asks.
"'Cause I'm a chicken," Bonnie replies.
"You are a powerful witch goddess," I tell her.
Elena and Bonnie laugh. "Yeah, seize the day, Brunhilda," Elena adds.
Bonnie laughs again. "Okay," she says. "I'm gonna text you both later with more details."
"You better," Elena and I say at the same time. Elena hangs up and Stefan walks over to us. "Where's Damon?" We both ask.
"He left to track down Jeremy's friend, Anna," Stefan replies. "See if there was anything there."
"Why are you not there with him?" I ask.
"If he gets to the journal before we do…" Elena starts. I give her a look. That's what she is worried about. Not the fact that our little brother is alone with a homicidal vampire.
"Doesn't matter," Stefan says. He pulls out a folded stack of papers from his back pocket.
"Is that a copy of the journal?" I ask.
"Yes. Mr. Saltzman made a copy and he was kind enough to loan it to me," Stefan answers.
"He did?" I ask skeptically. I mean, I was there for only a minute, but it's clear that Mr. Saltzman is some kind of vampire hunter (or just has enough knowledge of how to kill them), so why would he trust Stefan?
"Not exactly, but I got it," Stefan replies. I give him a look. "He's fine." He better be.
We start to read through it. I give Stefan crap about leaving Damon alone with my brother, but he promises to make it up to me. We go back to reading with me trying to remember any part about Emily Bennett, but I can't off the top of my head. I read a lot of things and haven't read this in a while. So, I am stuck rereading parts of it.
Elena is the one that finds the answer. She finds the paragraph with a reference to Giuseppe Salvatore bringing the 'secret of the spell book to his grave'. Giuseppe Salvatore, being Stefan's father, so he knows where the grave is, so, of course we go to dig it up. And even better, Giuseppe was buried before the Salvatore family tomb was built so it's dark and dirt for us.
"Are you sure the grimoire is in there with him?" I ask as we set up torches around the grave. I don't want to be on some useless endeavor. Especially as it's literal grave digging.
"As sure as I could be," Stefan replies.
"Great," Elena comments.
Stefan points out, "I can do this on my own."
"I said I would do whatever I can to help," Elena replies.
I add, "And I … don't want to be here. I don't know why I came with." I don't want Damon to open the tomb. Why am I helping uncover the book that will allow him to do so?
"This town is our home," Elena cuts in and continues to Stefan, "Our friends and family are here. You are here. I don't want that tomb opened any more than you do." I guess I have to agree with that. I can't stand aside and not do anything. I have to help protect my town and my family. So, I guess I have to be part of this officially now.
Stefan nods and we start digging.
It seems like hours of digging. Eventually, Elena and I have to stop. Stefan keeps digging until he hits something hard. There is a loud clang and it's clear we have hit it. Stefan opens the casket to find his father's skeleton and a book. Emily Bennett's grimoire.
He grabs the grimoire and we start to look through it when we hear, "well what do you know?" Elena and I stand up and turn around, and there we see Damon. "This is an interesting turn of events."
Stefan gets out of the grave and stands in between Damon and us sisters. "I'm sorry," Stefan says.
"So am I," Damon replies. "For even thinking for a second that I could trust you."
"You are not capable of trust," Stefan responds. "The fact that you are here means that you read the journal and were planning on doing this by yourself."
"Of course I was going to do it by myself," Damon exclaims. "Because the only one I can count on is me! You made sure of that many years ago, Stefan." Damon looks to Elena. "But you… You had me fooled." Elena looks guiltily at Damon. Really? Is something…no. Nope, nothing happening there. Ever! There is an intense silence for a minute before Damon says to Stefan, "So what are you going to do now? Because if you try and destroy that, I'll rip her heart out." Nodding to Elena.
"You won't kill her," Stefan states. Damon raises his eyebrows. Stefan shakes his head. Damon rushes and grabs me, holding me tightly to his chest. Elena gasps.
"I can do one better," Damon says. He holds me so tightly I can barely move. I try to shake him off, but he is too strong. I can feel the panic rising up inside me. Memories are pushing to the front of my mind, but I hold them back, trying to focus on fighting off Damon. He holds my back to his chest with one arm, so tightly it puts enough pressure on my chest to make it hard to breathe. I gasp trying to catch my breath. He bites into his wrist and holds it to my open mouth. His coppery blood floods into my mouth. NO, no no! I try to keep from swallowing, but he keeps his wrist against my mouth, so I can't spit out his blood. I try to pull his arm off, but he is too strong. "Give me the book, Stefan. Or I'm snapping her neck and you and I will have a new vampire running around. And we have just seen how dangerous she can be as a human. Imagine her as a vampire." I can feel the blood start to flow down my throat. Stop! No. Elena is crying, holding onto Stefan begging him to give Damon the grimoire. I am trying to keep strong for her, for me, but the memories and panic are making it hard.
"Let her go first," Stefan demands.
Damon removes his wrist from my mouth. I cough up some blood, but I know too much has already passed into my system. I can feel the last of the bruises from when I fell in that pit onto those rocks healing completely. I squirm more. No. Get it out. Get it out. "Drop it," he declares.
"I am not going to give this to you until she is standing next to me," Stefan replies, staring at Damon. I can tell Stefan is seeing Elena's tears and that is why he is so adamant about saving me.
"Problem is, I no longer trust that you will give it to me," Damon answers. It has become really hard to breathe. Damon's arm has moved from against my chest and diaphragm to across my neck, choking me. Tears have filled my eyes to the brim, but I keep them from rushing out. It's all I can do with all the memories flowing through me like his blood is now. My life has again become leverage. It's barely worth the book of some witch that has been dead for 145 years.
"You just did one of the few things that ensures that I will," Stefan says.
Damon nods and Stefan adds, "Okay."
Stefan holds up the grimoire. He gently drops it on the ground in between himself and Damon. Damon turns his head so his nose is on top of my head. He sniffs my hair before beginning to release me, slowly. As soon as I have enough room, I swing my leg behind me to give him a good hard kick. He takes a swift intake of air, releasing me completely. I immediately run over to Elena and she pulls me tightly to her. I break down as soon as I became enveloped in her arms, shaking uncontrollably. Stefan holds us both to his chest. I can see Damon looking at the grimoire and then looking at us. He makes eye contact with me wrapped in my sister's and his brother's arms and I give him my best glare. The power of it may be weakened slightly by the tears in my eyes and the few that have escaped and rushed down my face, but it is enough to make him immediately look away. I hope the guilt burns him. Stefan and Elena quickly drag me off, still keeping me enveloped in their arms. That is probably a good thing, or Damon may not have been standing for much longer.
Elena quickly drives us all home. I run quickly to my bathroom to wash the blood off of my face. I can't even look at the mirror. I can't see that again. I can't believe I let him do that to me. I grab a towel, wet it, and then start to wipe my face. I got to get it out. The headache hits as I see Stefan leaning against the door frame. Elena must be downstairs making tea.
"You'll be fine," he replies. "It was just a small amount of blood."
"I know. It'll be out of my system by tomorrow." I'll make sure of that. Change the subject, Emilia. I finish cleaning my face, then turn to face him directly. "Thank you. I know that you did it for Elena, but you saved my life, so thank you."
He nods. "I didn't do it just for Elena. You are my friend, Emilia." I nod. It feels good to be acknowledged as his friend. I'm surprised. I honestly didn't think we'd get here. It's nice. Not enough to wipe away the night, or the fact that his brother did this to me, but good.
We sit in silence for a bit before Stefan speaks up. "Damon was right… when he said this is my fault." Elena walks in with tea for me as he start to tell the story of how it was his fault that Katherine was put in the tomb. "I put my faith in my father, but Damon put his faith in me and I destroyed that. This is my fault."
He looks down, but I grab his arm, so he looks at me. "You didn't do anything wrong. Don't forget that." I wince when another shoot of pain goes through my head. Fuck, I hate this feeling. Elena rushes over to me and starts to rub my back. I lean into her and she pulls me close.
"I will get you some aspirin," Stefan says. I smile in gratitude. He leaves and heads downstairs. Elena and I move over to the bed and sit down. We stay seated with her holding me for a few seconds more before she releases me.
I then notice someone in the doorway.
"Anna?" I call.
Then everything goes black.
A/N (new): Alright, so our first new scene! I added this scene between Elena and Emilia after the dance, because I realized that the twins never have a moment that explains why Emilia knows the things she knows.
Feel free to review!