Lockwood Manor was large, imposing, and absolutely gorgeous, all lit up and covered in flowers for the celebration. It felt sometimes as if Mystic Falls' social calendar didn't have a season, just a perpetual stream of Founder this, Founding that—less about history than excuses to show off for the wealthy descendants of the founding families. But the part of Elena that was just a girl who loved pretty things and an excuse to dress up had to admit that this particular party was one of her favorites, as it was for her mother. And, she thought smugly, she had the two prettiest girls in town on her arms, so she was definitely winning the night.
Bonnie was stunning in a floral patterned white dress and Caroline shone in a pastel blue and grey strapless number. Elena also went strapless, a red and orange and gold dress her mom had helped her pick out before she died. It was a perfect, if bittersweet, moment of personal history in the midst of a celebration of family and town history.
After greeting the Lockwoods, Elena offering another deeply insincere apology for being unable to find the pocket watch, she and her friends wandered through the historical display to see the other contributions. Carefully framed in a display of the town charter and other historical documents, Elena pointed out the original guest list from 1864, Salvatore brothers included, and Caroline shivered.
"Obviously I believe you about everything and we've seen Bonnie's magic, but that is so creepy," she whispered, leaning closer to Elena and Bonnie. "I mean immortal hotties sound great in theory, but also, like, is Stefan just perpetually trapped in puberty? Because that has to suck."
Bonnie snickered and Elena nodded her agreement. Katherine was also perpetually stuck in adolescence and nothing about her ancestor's memories made Elena wish for the same.
"Plus the whole, Twilight vamp thing of just repeating high school all the time? That sounds miserable. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love that we are the queens of the school and I intend to continue socially and academically dominating until we graduate, but then I never want to go back."
"Except at reunions, to make sure they know you're still the queen," Bonnie added with a teasing smirk when Caroline wound down. The blonde grinned, wrapping her arm around the shorter girl's shoulders and squeezing.
"To make sure they know we're still the queens, Bonnie. I could never reunion without you two."
"Definitely no reunions for people who don't age," Elena agreed. "And given how terrifyingly capable teenage Caroline is at event planning, I can't wait to see what adult you will do for ours."
Bonnie laughed, nodding her agreement, and Caroline flushed at the praise. "Well, that's future Caroline's problem. Now Caroline needs to help you slay a vampire and get the Founder's Council into the 21st century."
Elena grinned, ignoring the fear that tugged at her stomach. She wouldn't doubt her friends abilities. Teenage girls were terrifying. Scratch the surface of even the most sweet, feminine appearing high schooler and you'd find bone-deep rage, endless determination, and a fierce desperation to fight and claw a place for themselves in the world, to find an agency in their identity that society denied them. In any confrontation between a group of teenaged girls and some vampires, Elena's bet would be on the girls. And her friends? Brilliant, capable, unstoppable. The Salvatore brothers didn't stand a chance.
Bonnie tugged Caroline over to another display, looking for evidence of Emily Bennett, and Elena scanned the room for the vampire duo.
They were here, lurking somewhere. She'd only caught sight of Stefan so far, standing in the entrance hall and trying to look like he wasn't watching her, but she doubted Damon was absent. She still didn't know why he was in Mystic Falls, but given his comment about what the town was capable of, and the vampire purge she knew her ancestor had been a part of, it was highly likely he had a grudge against the founding families. All of them in one place, along with the remnants of his life as a human, would be an irresistible lure.
"Looking for me?" Damon asked, as if he'd read her mind. His voice was low, close enough that she could feel his breath on her bare shoulder, and Elena fought a shudder. Of course he found her the moment she was alone, she should have expected it. She shot a glance at her friends to make sure they hadn't noticed and then turned to face him, ready for whatever confrontation he was looking to provoke.
He was handsome in a cold, sharp way. But the perfect fit of his suit couldn't hide the feral intensity of his gaze and Elena found herself unable to see the attraction he'd held for Katherine. The Damon in her memories was far from a saint, clues to his capacity for obsession evident even then, but he'd also been kind, showing genuine care for others beyond himself. She could see nothing of that in him now and she couldn't hide a shiver, a gesture that drew a satisfied smile from the man looming over her.
Were all who became vampires destined to lose themselves? Would Katerina, even if she hadn't been pursued by a monster like Klaus, have become as ruthless and detached as Katherine?
Were the other Mikaelson siblings as cruel and brutal as their brother?
Damon took her hand and pulled her toward the dance floor, overpowering her instinctive resistance to his movements. "Let's continue this conversation in style, shall we, lovely Elena?"
Elena was a founder's daughter, she had power here. If she made a scene, said he touched her without consent, he would be thrown out. But he could kill and compel and if she involved anyone but herself she was just adding to his target list. So she ignored the way her skin crawled at his touch and her desire to flee back to Bonnie and Caroline's side and let him take her. Placing her free hand on his shoulder with the barest amount of contact possible, she followed his lead in the dance, only letting her rage shine in her eyes.
"Not going to talk? Tell me what a monster I am, threaten me to get out of your town again," Damon asked, his tone light and his smile malicious.
Not bothering with words, Elena let out a dismissive scoffing noise.
"Definitely nothing like Katherine. She'd never pass up an opportunity to get someone on her side or deliver the perfect insult," he mused, blue eyes poring over her face. "How do you have her face and nothing else?"
Bait, and laughably untrue. But he would never understand the links that bound her to Katherine, or to those who came before. Curving her lips into a pleasant if vacant smile, Elena ignored him, fixing her gaze at the empty space above his left shoulder.
She was no Bennet witch, didn't even have the power of most witches who weren't of such a powerful family line. But she had centuries of experience to draw on and if there was one thing Traveller magic was good at, it was getting into people's heads.
Some part of her mind remained aware and observant of the dance, the couples swirling around them, the way Damon's fingers on her waist were just tight enough that she'd be bruised tomorrow, his voice detailing all the ways she was inferior to her doppelganger. The rest pushed, digging into the thoughts behind the icy blue eyes still cataloging her features. It wasn't cold there, but hot with chaotic fury, endless impulses flickering in and out—flashes of herself underneath his fangs, of the ballroom painted in blood, of Stefan's face broken beneath his fists. Lurking behind it all was Katherine, her face contorted in fear as she was dragged away to the church.
Twirling out in a spin, she struggled to stay inside his mind, to not let her reactions show on her face or slow her movement. There was something there—determination, anger deeper and colder than the constant flickering burn, and just a glimpse of a woman who could only be Emily Bennett.
Then it was gone and she was clasped against his chest, head aching as his hands dug into her sides with cruel strength.
"Stay out of my head, little girl," he hissed, his face so close to hers their lips brushed against each other. "Or I'll kill a founding family member for every year she's spent trapped here, starting with your friends."
The seconds stretched to the breaking point, her pulse pounding in terror as his breath mingled with hers, veins visible beneath his eyes and his expression contorted into merciless fury. Then he was gone, only the bruises on her hips and right hand to show that she hadn't been dancing alone. Shaking with adrenaline and praying she hadn't just gotten someone else killed, Elena closed her eyes, uncaring of the spectacle she was making.
What the fuck did you do, Katherine.
If only her doppelganger could hear her, if only the memories went both ways. But they couldn't, and no matter what Damon Salvatore thought, Katherine had left Mystic Falls behind long ago. How many people would kill before he figured that out?
How many people would he kill when he figured that out?
"Thank you for staying so late." Carol smiled, the need to project a hostess' warmth concealing her fear and discomfort with the whole situation. The Sheriff, unsurprisingly, didn't seem to appreciate her niceties, getting directly to the point.
"Did you get the Gilbert watch?"
Carol shook her head, allowing the tiniest fraction of her frustration to leak into her voice. "She claims it's packed away in her parent's things." She was sure the girl was lying, but those wide doe eyes had been entirely innocent, and she could hardly apply stiffer pressure to the town's darling victim of the biggest tragedy in years.
"I can get it. Jenna may have avoided me tonight, but she's easy to persuade. I'll go to the Gilberts' tomorrow," Logan assured them, cocky bravado evident in his posture and his voice, and Carol hid a frown. The Fells might be a founding family, but Logan was not someone she would associate with by choice. If this went on, the council might need some updated membership requirements.
Liz Forbes was again oblivious to the undercurrents and Carol found herself wishing the other woman wasn't quite so good at her job. "Good. We're going to need it."
"Are you sure?" she couldn't help but ask, still hoping that this was all a false alarm, that the more esoteric parts of their town's history were still, in fact, history.
The Sheriff dashed her hopes with a firm head shake. "Five bodies all drained of blood? I'm certain."
Carol's stomach sank as Logan nodded, his smugness fading into something more serious.
"They've come back."