October 31st.
Grams' Residence.
"Hey Grams, was our family burned in the witch trials?"
Bonnie asked her grandmother who scoffed as she put on some candles in her living room that morning.
"No child, the girls that were persecuted in Salem were sadly entirely innocent. You'd have to have more than ignorance to trap a real witch."
Sheila Bennett scoffed as she sat next to Bonnie, shaking her head.
"How did we end up in Mystic Falls then?"
Bonnie asked curiously.
"Our family fled Salem in 1692 and relocated here. Our ancestors lived in secrecy for over a hundred years. It's important that we still do."
She warned Bonnie, looking her right in the eye and Bonnie stared at her confused.
"But Grams, everyone already knows you're a witch."
Sheila scoffed, amused.
"They also know it's absurd, can't be true. I'm just a kooky lady that teaches occult at the university."
She joked, before looking at Bonnie seriously.
"No ones really believes that child. They just poke fun. And let 'em. Don't let 'em know the truth."
Bonnie nodded solemnly before she got super excited again, looking at her Grams expectantly.
"Okay Grams, so where's the witchcraft? I mean, you've been talking history for 2 days. I wanna get to the fun part."
She said hurriedly and Sheila stared at her grandchild unimpressed.
"Let me tell you something Bonnie Bennett, witchcraft is not meant to be fun. It's real and it's serious, and you must understand it before you practice it."
Bonnie nodded seriously, expecting her Grams to suddenly do or say something when she spoke up again.
"Aren't you late for school?"
Bonnie gave her Grams a looked which Sheila ignored and Bonnie sighed, grabbing her bag and leaving for school.
Mystic Falls High.
It had been a while since Vicki went MIA.
Cherith honestly felt bad for Matt.
He was a good guy.
A good brother.
But it seemed he didn't have the best of luck with family.
Cherith had heard about the kind of person his mother was, and now his elder sister was giving him even more troubles.
She was in awe of how he seemed to be okay, even if she knew he wasn't.
And that was why she'd made him a delicious pie and was presently walking over to him where he stood by his locker, a small but friendly smile on her face.
"Hey Matt!"
She chirped as she reached him and he looked up, giving her a small grin.
"Hey Cherry. It's been a while."
Cherith nodded with a sigh.
"Yeah! It's really been a rough couple of months, hunh?"
Matt chuckled, nodding with her.
"Tell me about it. What's that?"
He gestured at the dessert in her hand and she suddenly remembered why she was here.
"Oh! Yeah, I almost forgot. I made this pie for you. I remember how you used to love mum's pie and used her recipe to make this for you."
His eyes brightened up as he took the dessert from her hand with a grin.
"Wow, really?"
She nodded, grinning at him.
"Gee, thanks Cherith!"
Just then, Tyler walked up to the both of them and Cherith's happy mood fled.
"Hey man!"
He greeted Matt who forced a smile on his face as he put the dessert in his backpack.
"Hey!"
"Hi, Cherith."
Cherith raised a hand to wave and dropped it immediately, not wanting to have anymore direct contact with him.
She quickly turned to Matt before Tyler could start talking.
"Well, I'll see you around Matt. Call me if you need anything."
She said, backing away from him slowly and he nodded.
"Sure Cherry! And thanks for the pie."
She waved him off, turning and walking away.
Mystic Grill.
Mayor Lockwood walked into the Grill, greeting a police officer and walking towards a booth his wife was already at, sitting and sighing.
"We never should have trusted that Logan."
He grouched.
"Weasel with the watch."
"How many are we dealing with here?"
Carol asked her husband looking slightly scared and worried and the Mayor sighed, frustrated.
"Well, the coroner thinks it's just one. Something about the wound radius and jaw pattern."
Carol sighed.
"Are we in danger? I mean, if it found the watch, then it knows we know, and could it come after us? Come after our children?? A-and should I even be saying "it"? Or...or is it a he or a she?"
She rambles, a lot of thoughts going through her mind.
"If it has any historical knowledge of the town, then it'll know where the watch came from, so yes, we could very much be in danger."
"So what do we do?"
Carol whispered fearfully to her husband who sighed before he answered.
"For now, we just have to… lay low. Keep it quiet. We can't have the whole town aware of this. And we find it before it finds us."
By the bar, Damon sips a drink, having listened to every single thing the Mayor and his wife had discussed.
Mystic Falls High.
"Seriously?"
Bonnie said dryly to Caroline as she brought out a witch costume out of the bag Caroline had handed her and Caroline huffed, crossing her arms.
"Come on! Can someone at least be excited about this Halloween party?? I just wanna… fun, you know? Silly, fluffy, Damon free fun!"
She added, sighing exasperatedly.
She spotted Cherith about to pass them by when she walked over to her and dragged the disgruntled 15 year old over to where Bonnie was currently looking at the witch hat.
"You! What are you wearing for the Halloween party?"
Cherith opened her mouth to talk and Caroline cut in again, raising a warning finger.
"And don't you dare tell me you won't be making it."
Cherith stared cross-eyed at Caroline's offending finger before pushing it out of her face as Bonnie grinned, dipping her hand into the bag to see what else was in it.
"Geez, chill Caroline. It's just a party."
Caroline's warning glare told her to shut up.
"Okay fine! I'm dressing up as Cleopatra."
Caroline looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.
"Hm, okay that's not bad."
"Hey, isn't this the stuff you got from Damon?"
Bonnie suddenly spoke up, raising a simple looking necklace from the bag and staring at it.
Cherith looked at it interestedly after hearing Damon had given it to Caroline.
She sneered, looking at it.
He really had no taste hm?
"Yep. Wear it. Toss it. I don't care. I just want it gone. Hey, have you seen Elena? Do we know what she's wearing?"
Cherith nodded at Caroline.
"I can understand why you don't want it Caroline. It's an ugly piece of jewelry."
Caroline winked at her and Bonnie answered her question.
"I was with Grams all weekend. Maybe she's with Stefan? Do you know where she is Cherith?"
Cherith shrugged, taking the necklace from Bonnie to look at it with the reflection of light, holding it by it's chain.
"Maybe with Stefan."
She mumbled and Caroline huffed.
"Ugh. Riding to his castle on his white horse."
Bonnie chuckled, giving Caroline a look.
"Don't be bitter. It provokes wrinkles."
Caroline suddenly looked to a quiet Cherith and rolled her eyes.
"Ugh! Cherry! What's so special about that tacky piece of jewelry anyways?!"
Cherith shrugged, grabbing the crystal when her body suddenly goes numb.
She suddenly felt something stir up in her, like a snake finally uncurling free after a long time, or a door unlocking.
It made her feel queasy as she closed her eyes and hunched over, Caroline and Bonnie holding her concerned.
"Cherry! Are you okay??"
Caroline asked desperately as Bonnie patted the girls hair.
"Oh my God…"
She muttered and Cherith took in deep breaths, dry heaving, some teens in the hallway staring curiously.
A moment after, she suddenly felt better, opening her eyes and taking in a gasp of air as she stood back upright.
"Cherry are you okay?"
Bonnie asked her concerned and Cherith nodded her head, waving their concerns off.
"It's okay. I must have found the jewelry an offense to my eyes or something."
She tried to joke and Caroline and Bonnie huffed, smiles playing on their lips.
"You have us a scare there. Better not fall sick! I have to see you at the party tonight!"
Caroline gushed and Cherith rolled her eyes before checking the time on her watch and handing the necklace back to Bonnie, not wanting anything to do with it.
"Sure, sure. I have to go now though… I have classes this morning."
They waved each other and Cherith left, a small frown on her face as she massaged her chest lightly, the uncurling feeling in her chest not going away and slightly uncomfortable.
Evening.
Gilbert Residence.
Cherith sat in the kitchen, eating a slice of pizza, her siblings in the kitchen too as Jeremy walked in.
It was quiet for a moment before Elena broke it.
"So uh… do you wanna hangout tonight?"
She asked, looking mainly at Jeremy but including Cherith too.
"We could go for the Halloween party. It'll be fun."
She said and Jeremy shrugged, pressing his phone.
"Cool… sounds fun. Can't wait."
Elena grinned and turned to Cherith who was stuffing her face up.
"What about you, Cherith?"
"Don't worry, I was already going in the first place."
Elena nodded before turning to look back at Jeremy who still had his phone with him, checking it a lot.
She cleared her throat.
"I know you're upset about Vicki. I heard she called Matt. But you can't be with her. She needs to get better. The best thing you can do for her is let her go."
She spoke and Jeremy looked at her aghast. Even Cherith looked at her like she'd grown another head.
Jeremy scoffed.
"What does that even mean, "let her go"?"
He shook his head.
"Oh, okay, sure. Since we're such experts on letting people go, right?"
He glared at Elena and Cherith stopped eating, looking at her siblings with mixed feelings as they argued.
"I know you may not see it, but please, trust me Jer. It's for the best."
Elena said, trying to make Jeremy see her way but she only shook his head, unable to believe the nonsense she was spouting.
"Look, for months after mom and dad died, I felt like crap, like 'nothing really even mattered' crap. Now all of a sudden, I get these moments and things started to feel just a little bit better, and Vicki was in every single of 'em. So you may not see it, but trust me. Keeping me away from her is not for the best."
He finished, before turning to walk away, Elena sighing.
Cherith looked at her sister from where she sat.
She looked like she knew something but had no idea how to say it.
Cherith finally spoke up.
"I don't know what your deal is, Elena. And I won't pretend to understand, but really… you can't just tell Jeremy to stop seeing Vicki. After everything he's been through, you can't expect him to do just that. Even if I'm not a fan of Vicki Donovan either."
Elena sighed, drawing her hand through her hair, not looking at her sister.
"Cherry, you wouldn't understand. It's dangerous."
Cherith crossed her arms, slightly offended.
"Oh I wouldn't understand? Well okay then. Tell me, why is it dangerous? Because she does drugs, because she off her rocker? Tell me something I don't know."
Elena sighed, shaking her head.
"I can't say Cherry. It's just… don't worry about it."
With that she left the room, leaving a slightly hurt Cherith who pondered the words her sister had said.
The 3 siblings had usually been super close, but now… it would seem secrets were going to start drawing them apart, because she knew Elena was hiding something. She'd never been that good at lying.
Cherith only hoped everything would turn out okay.
And as much as she hated choosing sides, from the viewpoint of herself and Jeremy, she'd choose Jeremy's side as Vicki wasn't exactly dangerous and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she'd brought her brother out of his funk.
Cherith looked at herself in the mirror as she was dressed as Cleopatra.
It was rather simple too.
She'd borrowed a black wig from Leslie that fell to her jawline and had front bangs. She wore a white silk like v necked gown that was right at the bust but slightly loose to her ankles. She wore a pair of black sandals and did a cat style eyeliner and wore some gold Bangles and a simple gold headpiece.
After looking herself in the mirror, she grabbed a black miniature purse and went down the stairs, joining her siblings as they all entered Elena's car and we're off to school.
Mystic Grill.
Mayor Lockwood and his wife sat at a booth, drinks in hand and Carol looking just a bit tipsy as she drank a glass or martini and the Mayor looked at her, exasperated.
"Just how many glasses of martinis have you had this evening?"
He wondered and Carol rolled her eyes.
"Oh please. Don't start with me."
The Mayor sighed before checking his watch and sitting up.
"Can we go now? We're already quite late for the Halloween party."
But Carol waved him off, still sipping her Martini.
"Then go. I'll meet you at the party."
She said and the Mayor just gave her a look and stood up, walking out of the Grill.
Damon who had been watching them both and looking for an opening, gave a devilish smirk as she turned to stare at him and they both raised their glasses.
Mystic Falls High.
The 3 siblings walked into the school, everywhere filled with children, teens and adults.
As they passed by a group of children, Jeremy shouts, scaring them and making them scream in fright.
Cherith laughed while Elena smacked him as they entered the building.
Just then, they ran into Matt who was in a bloody doctor outfit, like Elena's whose own was a bloody nurse outfit though.
The 2 grinned at each other.
"You went with last year's costume too huh?"
He said, greeting Elena and she shrugged, a smile playing on her lips.
"Yeah. I wasn't planning on coming. Only Cherith was."
Cherith, at the sound of her name, turned back to the conversation, waving Matt and them going back to looking around in the hopes that she'd spot her friend somewhere around.
"Me neither. So… Cherry is Cleopatra and… you're… what, you?"
He joked as he chuckled and Jeremy only gave him a look before walking away.
Cherith decided to find her way too as she turned to her sister.
"Hey sis, I'm going to go find Leslie or something. I'll see you later."
With that, she walked away from the two as the black eyed peas' 'I gotta feeling' began playing and she began bopping to it.
She saw people with different costumes, some authentic looking and some just plain boring and uninspiring.
She spotted 3 other Cleopatra girls though and they smiled at each other whenever they passed each other.
As she got outside, behind the school, she then spotted Bonnie in front of a low fire, and Damon in front of her.
Cherith frowned as she noticed how scared Bonnie looked and slowly began walking towards them.
She might not be super strong but she knew could leave a damage or two if push came to shove.
Before she got to them though, Bonnie turned on her heels and sprinted away from him, making Cherith's eyes widen and wonder just what he had said to her.
Her gaze hardened as she walked up to him.
"Oh you are just positively dreadful."
She began, arms folded and Damon turned to her in surprise before a smirk appeared on his face.
"Cherry Berry! It's really good to see you again!"
He grinned and Cherith huffed, looking at him face full of dislike.
"Yeah, no. I told you to stop calling me that atrocious name. I just might stab you in the eye of you don't."
Damon grinned at her, amused.
"Oh? And what strength would you have to do just that?"
He jested her and Cherith glared at him.
"You're as cocky as a 3rd grader. Until they get a time out. Just watch your back."
Damon sighed, looking very curious.
"You know, Cherry Berry, I get the feeling that you don't like me."
He pondered, whispering with a grin and she looked at him, not impressed by what she saw and spoke again.
"Oh I don't. I really don't. You know why? See, I practically dislike a lot of people, but when I look at you, all I see is an arrogant asshole who keeps creeping up around everyone I know."
He grinned at her, uncaring and she scoffed before she suddenly remembered something and glared at him once again.
"Oh, and I have no idea what you and Caroline were up to during the founder's ball in that room but, one thing I do know is that no one tells me what to do."
She finished, turning away from him about to walk away as Damon frowned at first, confused on what she was on about when he suddenly remembered that she had run into him taking the crystal necklace and he'd compelled her to forget that.
But… how could she remember?
His eyes widened, moving after her and holding her wrist firmly and Cherith suddenly buckled as she felt absolute coldness and darkness emanate from just that one hand and she shivered, turning to a hard faced Damon with panic in her eyes.
"Let go of me asshole!"
She shouted at him, yanking her hand away as people turned to stare at them and she looked at him weirdly, her heart rate fast.
"Stay away from me, weirdo."
With that, she turned on her heels and walked away rather hurriedly as she tried to distance herself from him and the horribly wrong feeling she'd felt from just his hand alone.
Damon though, stared as she walked away, a peculiar look on his face as he wondered whether or not Stefan had slipped her some vervain too.
He groaned, internally cussing out Stefan and was about hunting his brother down when his phone rang with a message.
A message from Stefan about Vicki Donovan trouble.
As he walked away, the last thing on his mind suddenly was Cherith and it would be a while before he'd find out the real reason his compulsion hadn't worked on her.
Cherith finally ran into her friend, Leslie and ended up staying with her instead, as she was a whole lot more fun than the drama ridden people she knew.
She was even able to sneak in a drink or two and as it was super late when the Halloween party finally ended, Cherith decided to go home with Leslie and sleep over.
All in all, it wasn't too bad a day for Cherith.
Of course she had no idea about the death of Vicki Donovan.
It'll be a while before she finds out that piece of information, and how she came to that sticky end.
Hi guys!
So this chapter is pretty short yeah, but I assure you from the next chapters, Cherith starts to notice things involving herself and her now developing powers especially now that she came in contact with a magical item.
Please read and comment!
And tell me what you all think!
Don't forget to recommend too!
