"You're one of them. You're a vampire!"
She snarled at him with furious, tearful eyes and Stefan stood a few feet away, apprehensive of her energy glowing hands and the way she stared at him… with so much anger.
There was a moment of silence between them and Stefan broke it, a look in his eyes as he stared in hers.
"How did you find out?"
He asked quietly and she glared at him.
"Take a wild guess!"
She gritted out, tears in her eyes and the energy around her hands omitting a bright red glow that it seemed to make the room smaller and more stuffy for Stefan as he stared at them, cautious.
"Where's my sister, Salvatore?"
She asked, looking deadly calm, her voice cold and emotionless as she tilted her head sideways, looking at Stefan.
"And your answer better be the right one."
She warned him and he looked at her pleadingly.
"I don't know where she is—"
"LIAR!!"
She shouted angrily which startled Stefan and he turned, listening whether Jenna or Jeremy would walk into Elena's room but they thankfully didn't.
Stefan turned back to her, noticing the lights flickering and the air in the room picking up and he raised his hands to show he meant no harm.
"I'm telling you the truth, Cherith. I didn't even know about Anna until this evening. I had no idea she was a vampire. Please, Cherith… I'd never harm Elena. I'd rather die."
He looked at her desperately and she scoffed, not wanting to believe him.
"Please, Cherith. I swear on everything I've got. I had absolutely nothing, to do with this."
He spoke sincerely, slowly taking a step towards her and she gave him a warning glare and he stopped.
Sighing, she closed her eyes shut, thinking about the pros and cons of believing him.
Pros, he was Elena's boyfriend, cons, he's a freaking vampire!
There have been people, drained of blood for months now, and the more she thought about it, it was around the timeline Stefan showed up… but then again, his more reckless brother seemed more of the type to do things like this… but you know what they say about the innocent looking ones…
She looked at him, not knowing what to think, but she knew she had to find Elena.
Fast.
Before she became vampire food.
She sighed, nodding slightly.
"Fine."
And just like that, the air stopped and the lights stabled, but her hands still glowed.
She didn't trust him.
Stefan sighed, at least he'd made some progress.
"What exactly is going on? Who's this… Anna person, and why did she take Elena?? In fact, why has she been hanging around Jeremy. More importantly, where is she, so I can have a cordial one on one talk with her."
She asked Stefan, a rather… animalistic and chaotic look in her former amethyst eyes which now glowed red with her anger.
"I'd love to explain a lot to you, Cherith but I don't really know what's going on. Only one person I can think of right now, and with Elena missing, I have to go find her quick."
Cherith narrowed her eyes at him.
"How can I trust you? Because believe me I don't."
Stefan nodded.
"I understand. But please, give me tonight. Just tonight, to find a clue. Any clue."
Cherith nodded, looking at him icily.
"Tonight then. But you better find me my sister, or there will be hell to pay."
She threatened and he nodded, blurring out of the room through the window.
As soon as he left, Cherith slid to the ground, the energy balls in her hands gone as she put her chin on knees, wrapping her hands around her legs as tears of worry filled her face, waiting through the night for any news on her sister.
And for the first time since she found out about her powers, she realized, she'd never felt so… useless.
Motel Room.
Elena groans slightly as she woke up, her head hurting slightly, opening her eyes slightly and finding herself in an unfamiliar room, on an unfamiliar bed.
She sat up, suddenly more awake and alert and just immediately, she gasped as she caught sight of someone sitting on a chair at the edge of her bed.
Ben Mckittrick dozed off, snoring slightly and Elena's heart beat quickened as she suddenly remembered being ambushed in her room by the girl Jeremy had invited home.
She stares at the front door, calculating the possibility of escaping and her mind jumps to her sister who'd chide her for not taking her math seriously and a small smile appeared on her face before it vanished as she stood up, making the decision and moving as slowly and quietly as she could.
She slides off the bed and steps over Ben's outstretched leg and backs over to the door so she could spot Ben in case he moved.
Her heart beat quickened as she got more closer to the door, hoping her escape was as easy as it seemed.
Elena then unlocks the deadbolt on the door, turning back to spot Ben who still hadn't moved an inch.
She quickly turns the lock on the door, preparing to open it when she heard a voice.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Elena Gilbert."
Elena gasps, spinning back at Ben who was on his feet, a menacing glare on his face as he blurs over to her and she whimpers, pressing her back to the door and he smirked arrogantly.
"I've never been able into instill this much fear into anyone as a human. It's… rather refreshing."
He smirks, before it falls off his face, looking Elena deep in her eyes so as to compel her.
"Don't try to escape. Don't even move. Do you understand?"
In a split second decision, Elena decided to pretend to be compelled, hoping that would give her another chance and she stares back at him, dull.
"I understand."
Ben scoffs with a grin, shaking his head at how easy that was.
"Humans…"
He mocked as he turned around to grab a bottle of blood from the mini fridge.
In that moment, Elena yanked the door wide open, startling Ben but running into an unimpressed Anna who drags her back in by the hair and Elena grunts at the pain as she was thrown back on one of the beds.
"Seriously??"
She looked at Ben like he was an idiot and he tried to justify himself.
" I told her not to move! I did that… eye thing that you taught me!"
Anna rolled her eyes as she closed the door, giving him a frustrated look.
"And forgot the lesson about vervain! She dates a vampire, Ben. Duh!"
Anna walks over to Elena, grabbing her roughly by the neck and pushes her up against a wall, opening the bathroom door.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
She forced out, feeling her airways cutting off even more.
"Does it matter?"
Anna asked before forcefully pushing Elena into the bathroom and shuts the door.
Elena bangs the door but no one opens and she sighs, flipping the light switch and calmly searching the room for another exit.
She looks over towards the bathtub and spots Bonnie lying in it, unconscious.
She gasps, rushing over to her.
"Bonnie??"
She lifts Bonnie's head up, worried as she stayed unconscious.
"Oh my god!"
Salvatore Boarding House.
Stefan sighed as he searched his brother out in their home early that morning.
He had found absolutely nothing… no trail, on how he could find Elena and he was getting even more worried as the hours went by.
He knew that the possibility of her being kidnapped for a reason apart from her looking like Katherine Pierce was high as his brother now held Emily Bennett's grimoire and so was the only one with the clue to open it, and that was why he entered the study, walking over to his brother who was going through said grimoire.
"Anna took Elena."
Was the first thing he said as he walked in.
"Yeah I got that from your 600 mails"
Damon replied, his eyes still on the grimoire, going through the pages and looking completely calm as Stefan sat down close to him.
"Damon please, all night long, every single street in town, I've been searching. What if your blood hasn't passed out of her system?"
"Well, then at least you know you'll see her again."
Damon answered, turning a page and internally enjoying the pain his brother was going through, just like he did all those years ago.
Oh how the tables had turned.
"Please."
Stefan begged again.
"What do you know? You were with Anna, you must know where's she living. Just tell me where I can find her."
Damon looks up at Stefan, pretending like he was about to tell him before looking away.
"Nope. You can go now. I'm busy. Really."
He shooed Stefan away but Stefan wouldn't budge.
"You know, all I can remember is hating you. There might have been a time when that was different, but your choices have erased anything good about you."
Damon suddenly lays the grimoire down and gives his full attention to Stefan.
"But see, I also know you have just as much reason to hate me. This all began with me. Katherine got taken away from you because of me. And I'm sorry."
Damon looked at his brother for a moment before nodding.
"Apology accepted."
"So please, just tell me what you know."
He begged, hoping he had finally gotten to his brother.
"Huh."
"It's Elena, Damon. If you know something, tell me."
Damon stands up, closing the grimoire and Stefan mimics him, looking at Damon with anxiety in his eyes.
"I mean this sincerely."
He looks his brother in the eye and Stefan nods, anticipating his answer.
"I hope Elena dies."
With that, Damon walks past Stefan, leaving the room, Stefan back at square one again while also wondering what he could tell Cherith.
Gilbert Residence.
Cherith groaned as she woke up that morning on the floor of her sister's room, body in pain as she sat up.
Suddenly, she remembered what happens the previous night and quickly got to her feet, looking at her sister's bed but no one was in it.
It was the same as last night.
She rushed out, running into the bathroom.
"Elena?!"
She called out desperately but still no answer.
She rushed down the stairs, calling out her sister's name anxiously as she walks into the kitchen but only Jenna was there.
"Hey, Jenna… have you seen Elena?"
She asked, trying to act nonchalant so as not to scare her aunt. Mostly because she had no idea how to break it to Jenna that her sister had been kidnapped by a freaking… vampire!
"Stefan said something about the both of them heading out?... It's cute. Young love and all."
Jenna grinned and Cherith sighed, her fear building up again as she turned and ran up the stairs, entering her room and grabbing her phone to make a call.
She'd once stolen Stefan's number from her sister's phone in case her sister went off the grid again and she needed to find out where she was.
It rang twice before he picked.
"Hello?"
He answered, confused and she immediately cut to the chase.
"Where is my sister, Stefan?"
She frowned and he sighed.
"I haven't been able to find her, Cherith—"
Cherith let out air through her nose so as not to scream.
"So you're telling me my sister has been gone all night?!"
"Cherith, I—"
"No."
She shook her head, not wanting to listen anymore.
"I'm done listening to you. Obviously my fucking mistake! Your few hours are up Stefan. I'll look for her myself."
She cut the phone, not waiting for him to even speak, rushing to clean up and walks out of the house and to the bus stop.
She had to pay Sheila Bennett a visit.
The Motel.
Ben pushes Elena out of the bathroom and locks the door, leaving her with Anna who stares at her up and down with a smirk.
"Wow… You really do look like her, don't you?"
She scoffs.
"The very doppelganger of Katherine Pierce."
She sneered.
"I am not impressed. At all."
Elena gulps, looking at the girl I'm front of her.
"Who are you?"
Anna smirks.
"Oh, I'm Anna. Your brother might have mentioned me once or twice. I mean, we're practically dating."
She said with a girlish sarcasm and Elena's blood ran cold at the thought of the girl near her brother.
Grams' Residence.
Cherith knocked on the door rather desperately and waited to be let in, her mind only on her sister's wellbeing.
What else would she be thinking of??
She should be mad at Jeremy for bringing someone like her into their house, but it really wasn't his fault.
He had absolutely no idea what she was.
She promised herself that she'd protect him after all this was said and done.
She couldn't lose another family member again.
She just couldn't.
"Who is it?"
Sheila's voice sounded from behind the door and Cherith frowned slightly.
"It's Cherith."
She called out and the door unlocked, Sheila looking slightly apprehensive and she sighed.
"At least you're not one of them, quick… get in."
She motioned to Cherith who rushed in.
"One of who?"
She asked and Sheila turned to her, looking serious.
"Damon Salvatore's kind."
Cherith's blood ran cold as she realized he must have been here.
"Why was he here? Was he the one who took my sister?!"
She suddenly questioned and Sheila frowned.
"Your sister?"
"Someone… a vampire, she took my sister. She took Elena!"
Cherith said, looking worried again and Sheila closed her eyes, now more worried than before.
The Motel.
"Bonnie's not gonna open the tomb"
Elena said, rather confident and Anna scoffed, peering through the curtains to look outside.
"Oh but I think she will. If not… well, there's another witch who'd do practically anything for you."
She smirked, turning to Elena and folding her arms together and Elena frowned, confused. The only other which she knew was Bonnie's Grams.
"Sheila Bennett would never do that, I assure you."
Elena said, shaking her head and Anna frowned at her, looking her in the eyes before realizing she had no idea about her own sister.
She let out a short laugh.
"Oh wow! You really don't know, do you?"
Elena looked at her, confused and Anna basked in the feeling of amusement.
"This is hilarious. You have an obviously powerful and different witch, practically in your presence, everywhere and you never realized it. Not even your witchy friend did either. How rich! Well… it's definitely not my secret to tell. You'll figure it out on your own if your dearest best friend doesn't give me what I want."
She said, sounding rather ominous.
Grams' Residence.
"What can I do? How can I get her back?"
Cherith rushed out, looking concerned and Sheila stood up.
"I'll be right back child, just give me a minute."
As she left the room, Cherith couldn't sit and do nothing.
Now, more than ever she could definitely feel the weight of having powers on her shoulders.
Powers she knew practically nothing about.
Powers she couldn't control fully yet.
Powers that were still sipping into her body, as she could feel herself practically radiate like a power source. A power source she had no idea how to use yet.
It frustrated her so much.
And it angered her that she was worried over something.
She hated being worried, especially about family.
It was always better when they were safe so she could be her usual snarky and uncaring side.
"Damn you Elena…"
She grunted rather halfheartedly before Sheila walked in with a book in her hands, light and slightly old.
"What's that?"
She asked as Sheila sat down, her eyes intent on a page.
"A spell book. A Bennett one to be precise."
"Ahh…"
Cherith nodded.
"One of those 'you can't read if you're not a Bennett' book hm?"
She muttered and Sheila gave her a look.
Cherith sighed as she flopped on a sofa, her hands lighting up as she stared at it.
They really were beautiful…
They formed an energy sort of bolt in her hands… just more witchy.
Maybe she'd call them hex bolts, she joked and chuckled.
Just then, there was a knock on the door which startled both and Sheila stood up, walking towards the door cautiously while Cherith vanished the energy from her hands, looking at the door curiously.
When Sheila opened it, Stefan was at the door, looking super worried.
He hadn't seen her yet and she rolled her eyes.
"Sheila."
He greeted and she nodded back.
"Stefan. I know why you're here."
She said and Stefan looked at her surprised.
"How—"
"You're not the only one worried about Elena Gilbert, you know?"
She told him, motioning behind her and he looked to see Cherith on a chair, studying her fingers and not bothering to say anything to him.
She was still slightly mad that she'd had no idea he was a vampire in the first place, but then again, she had no need to suspect that in the first place now.
Stefan nodded understandingly, though a curious look still appeared on his face.
"Sheila… Elena's not the only one missing."
He told her, sounding serious and Cherith turned to their conversation, much more interested.
"Bonnie. Bonnie's missing too."
It didn't take long for Sheila to invite Stefan in and search through for a more powerful locator spell, and when it was found, Stefan stood up.
"I'll get them back. I promise."
He said resolutely, looking at Cherith and Sheila and Cherith scoffed disbelievingly at Stefan before looking at Sheila.
"Is he being serious?"
She turned back to him.
"I'm coming with you Stefan."
"No, Cherith it could be dangerous."
"I assure you I can be even more dangerous!"
She gritted in anger, red mist surrounding her and her eyes flickering red.
Stefan nodded.
"Yes, I see that… but the more time we waste the more they could be in trouble. I didn't drive here, I'm faster with my speed."
"Well I can drive and meet you there!"
She said rather petulantly and Sheila rolled her eyes.
"Sit down child. It's better this way. Faster and more efficient. You're just getting into your powers, and as powerful as you seem to be, all that power without practice is nothing when faced with strength and speed."
She turned to Stefan.
"Go. And bring them back here. Safe and not a single hair on their bodies harmed."
She gave him a warning look and with a nod, and a look of concern towards a still steaming Cherith, he rushed out of the house, Cherith turning to Sheila.
"Really, Sheila?? I could have helped!"
Sheila sighed.
"This Is why I didn't tell Bonnie about her powers till she was way past 16. You're still a child, no matter how brilliant and mature you are. Some mentalities you have will still work like a young teenager. Jumping into a situation filled with vampires is not as simple as you think. It takes patience, practice and focus."
"Well how am I supposed to have that! When I know practically nothing about this powers?!"
She sighed out, sitting down.
"It's not like I even know why I'm seemingly different from normal witches as you put it… I'm just worried. And I hate being worried. I'd rather be the bad guy in this situation!"
She grumbled, looking worried and even Sheila who stared at her, couldn't say she wasn't as worried too.
The Motel.
Elena and Bonnie are seated on the beds, frowns on both their faces as they wonder how they would escape again after their first botched up attempt had failed with the fire Bonnie had set earlier.
Said vampire, Ben, paces in front of them, a smirk on his face like they were the most amusing things in the world.
"So, witches don't have eternal life, right? You guys can die, easily."
"Yep. We can die."
Bonnie looked up at him with a glare and he grinned at her.
"Ah. That sucks… Just a little twist of my hands… and I can snap your puny neck hunh?"
He joked and Elena looked at him with disgust in her eyes.
All of a sudden, the door is slammed open and sunlight is let into the room, reflecting on Ben who screams as it starts to burn his skin.
Stefan then moves to rip the curtains open, allowing more sunlight to pour in and Ben hides in the dark between the two beds.
"Stefan!"
Elena called out with relief, a smile on her face as she moves to run, Bonnie doing the same as they dash out the door.
As soon as they leave, Stefan walks over to Ben, looking down at him with stony eyes.
"When the sun goes down, leave town. If I ever see you again, I will kill you."
And then he leaves, Ben hiding in the shadows and fear I his eyes at what would happen to him once Anna found out about the mess they were now in.
Grams' Residence.
As soon as the front door slammed open, Cherith jumped to her feet, Sheila not far behind as they took in the exhausted faces of Elena and Bonnie.
Cherith sighed with relief, rushing to her sister.
"Elena! You're okay!"
She beamed, hugging her sister in a tight hug, startling Elena who pulled back slightly.
"Wh—Cherith?? What are you doing here?"
She stuttered out.
"I tried to stop that vampire bitch from taking you but I was too late. She startled me with how hideous she looked at first glance!"
She ranted and Bonnie's eyes widened while Elena stepped away from her fully, turning to look at Stefan accusingly.
"You told her??"
Stefan shook his head, stepping forward.
"No, she's actually saying the truth. She saw Anna take you while you were unconscious and tried to step in."
Elena gasped, moving to look at her sister in concern.
"Oh my God! Are you okay? Were you hurt?"
Cherith slapped her hand away while Sheila scoffed.
"Child, your sister is quite possibly the most powerful being in this house right now, even if she's inexperienced."
Bonnie looked at her Grams confused.
"What do you mean?"
Cherith sighs, knowing her secret would finally come out now, even if it was slightly a weird way of it happening.
"Well! I did plan on telling you, Jenna and Jeremy some time soon but well, there's no time like the present."
With that, an hex bolt, as she now called it in her head amusedly, appeared on both her hands and she lifts the coffee table up, making Bonnie and Elena gasp in wonder and shock, Stefan staring in awe even though he had seen her with her hands lit up before.
It was different when you're not being faced with something as… dangerous looking.
"So yeah. I'm a witch."
She says nonchalantly, a side smirk on her face as she vanished the hex bolts, looking at her crowd.
"What…??"
Bonnie whispered out, still slightly out of it with all that had happened to her the night before and up until now.
"Bu—But how?? I mean…"
Elena stuttered out, not sure what to say at the revelation in front of her.
It didn't help that Cherith was also staring at her like it wasn't a big deal.
It was!!
"Why didn't you tell me?"
She asked, looking betrayed and angry and Cherith scoffed.
"Oh that's real! Coming from you!"
She fired back and Elena looks at her puzzled.
"What? What did I do?"
"What did you do? Did you by any chance mention you were dating a vampire? And how his brother is some kind of raging psychopath with girlfriend issues and maybe even mummy and daddy issues too?"
She glared at her sister.
"Cher—"
"Look, Elena. Now's not the time to be arguing or pointing accusing fingers… as much as I want to point them at you"
She added dryly and Sheila rolled her eyes.
"Right now, I heard there's some sort of tomb thing and some Katerina chick is buried underneath."
"Katherine."
"Exactly what I said."
Cherith glared at Stefan for interrupting her.
"Now, let's just deal with all that before we tear each other's hair off and I stomp on your face."
With that, she turns to Sheila with an innocent look.
"Where's your bathroom Sheila?"
"How did you know where we were? And how did you find out about Cherith too?"
Bonnie asked her Grams as they sat at a table, conversing after the 2 girls cleaned up, Cherith currently going through Sheila's occult studies textbooks a few bookcases away.
"Many things can fuel a witch's power. Worry. Anger. After Stefan told me they had taken you, I had a lot of both. Simple locater spell was easy after that."
"I'm sorry. About all of this."
Bonnie said regretfully and Sheila smirked.
"Not as sorry as they're gonna be."
Bonnie grinned.
"And about Cherith. I have always known she'd be a witch. Her mother was a powerful one. I just didn't know she'd turn out this powerful herself."
Bonnie opened her mouth to talk but Stefan and Elena enter the room.
"So what do we do now?"
Elena asked for suggestions and Cherith walked back into the room, sitting down next to Bonnie.
"Well, for now, you need to stay here."
Stefan started and Cherith frowned. Not because she wanted to jump head first into something she had no idea about. Sheila's speech had gotten to her, but because she was super curious about the tomb itself. She was a history buff, so sue her.
"A prisoner, in my own home? I don't think so."
Sheila scoffed and Cherith nodded agreeing, ignoring Elena's look which was directed at her.
"I can't protect you if you leave the house."
"We'll protect ourselves."
She said back to him and Cherith was sure she was also included in the 'we'. It honestly made her feel good about knowing some witches too, even if she wasn't related to them at all.
"We need to let him have Katherine back. He's not going to stop until he gets her. If we help him, maybe that ends it."
Bonnie turned to her friend, aghast at what she was suggesting, but still, Cherith found no problem with letting him get what he wanted in the first place.
"No! He doesn't deserve to get what he wants."
"What other choice do we have?"
Elena looks at Stefan.
"It's not a bad idea anyways."
Cherith chirped in.
"It's his ancient sugar mama. Let him just have her. It's not like he'd stop trying no matter what anyone does."
She shrugged, patting her belly and grumbling about how hungry she was.
Sheila though, sighed.
"Witches being pulled down by vampire problems. As much as we tried to do to stay out of it."
She looked at her granddaughter and the younger Gilbert girl, feeling pity for the two for being dragged into such a world that would try to control them into doing what they wanted. She sighed, looking back at Stefan.
"I'll open the tomb. You get your brother's girl and destroy the rest with fire. Then this will be all over."
Stefan nodded but he still wasn't sure about his brother.
"We still have to get Damon to agree."
"He already agreed once."
"Yeah, and then we double crossed him. So now he's angry."
"He's hurt."
Elena corrected Stefan and Cherith snorted under her breath. Damon Salvatore hurt, but the boo boo was a lady.
"There's a difference. I think I know what I have to do."
Elena and Stefan exchange looks.
Cherith looked at the two of them suspiciously.
She wasn't sure she wanted to know what the plan was but at the same time she needed to know what was going through their minds.
It'd be a bad idea anyways.
Stefan climbs up from the tomb with a shovel in hand.
"Already cleared the debris away. Set the torches like you asked. We can get down now."
Stefan said as he places the shovel against a rock, cans of gasoline lie nearby and Bonnie looks at them.
"What is that?"
She asked curiously and Stefan looks where she was staring.
"It's everything I need to destroy the other vampires after Damon gets Katherine out of the tomb."
Stefan ends, handing Sheila a flashlight.
Sheila looks around the dark forest, before turning to Stefan with a slight look of concern.
"Are you sure that Damon will come back with her?"
At the question, Stefan looks down, not sure how to reply.
Just then, Damon whistles as he walks into the clearing, Elena by his side and they turn and look at him.
"Brother. Witches."
Damon greeted them, looking around with a rather excited look on his face he tried to cover.
He strides past them with the grimoire, Elena trudging along behind him, and descends the stairs into the tomb.
Elena walks over to Stefan.
"Everything okay?"
He asked her and she sighs, waving her hand.
"I just want to get this over with. Are we ready?"
She turned to Bonnie and her grandmother and Bonnie nods reluctantly.
"I guess so."
"Ah! Guess we're all here then!"
The four turn to Cherith as she walked through the woods and towards them and Elena frowned, walking over to her sister.
"Cherry?? What are you doing here?? I thought I told you to—"
"To stay away from here, yeah I heard and no I didn't listen."
Elena gave her a look, about to open her mouth when Cherith cut her off.
"Besides, there's a party nearby and Leslie invited me anyways. She's somewhere here and I can't tell her not to attend. Ergo, I'm here to make sure no zombies crawl back into the real world, looking for blood not brains."
She gave her sister a straight smile and walked past her to Sheila, Elena looking frustrated.
"So! That's the grimoire hunh?... Looks, ancient…"
She finished and Bonnie chuckled while Sheila gave her a look.
"You wouldn't know ancient unless it hits you in the face child."
Cherith grinned impishly, waving her off.
"Yeah, yeah… I can do whatever I want, especially since I can't join you two in this ritual thingy."
And how much of a burst was that??
Because she wasn't a Bennett, she just couldn't be invited in on the end of the 145 year party for the Katerina chick.
"What's taking so long?"
Damon asked as he walked back up and spotted Cherith.
"Ahhh… it's the Gilbert witch."
He grinned.
"How odd, don't you think? There's never been one before."
Cherith sneered at him.
Really, his face provoked anger at all times. Thankfully he didn't make her as mad as that Scumfell fellow.
"I'm not a Gilbert witch asshat, I'm a Cadwallader witch."
Damon playfully waves his hand in the air in surrender, turning back and entering the tomb.
Cherith turned to Sheila.
"Can I just burn his eyebrows off?"
She begged and Sheila smirked.
"Go for it… But I'm not the one you should be asking."
She gestured at Elena and Stefan and Cherith scoffed.
"I'd ask them if their opinions weren't based on 'He's my brother' or 'He's Stefan's brother' you know…"
Church Ruins.
Sheila is busy lighting the torches at the tomb while Bonnie stands next to her and Stefan, Damon, Cherith and Elena watch from the entrance.
Damon though, was busy telling Cherith all about the reason why his Katherine was stuck in the tomb, enjoying badmouthing Stefan in the process who tried to ignore his brother.
"Air. Earth. Fire."
Sheila began, lighting different torches and Bonnie held out a water bottle for Sheila.
"Water."
Sheila takes it, sprinkling the water on the floor and Elena stared, unimpressed.
"Wait… That's it? Just water from the tap?"
Grams smiled, amused.
"As opposed to what?"
Elena shrugged, not sure what to say.
"I don't know… I just figured maybe it would have to be blessed or mystical or something."
Sheila smirks at Elena.
"So, let me get this straight."
Cherith began when Damon finished his sob story.
"Stefan pretended to help you -along with Elena- get Katherine out of the tomb, but he lied and tricked you on another lead and then went behind your back, exhumed your father's grave and took out the grimoire, possibly to destroy it, when he could have just let you have your sugar mama and live happily in the first place. Especially when he was the one who caused all the trouble all those years ago by apparently trusting your asshole of a father?"
She revised, looking incredulously and Damon nodded with a smirk and Cherith turned to Stefan, an odd look in her eyes.
"You know… I dislike your brother and all. He's an ass, should never be pitied, but damn Stefan, you are one selfish little blondie."
Damon grinned, amused that Stefan was the one on the other side of judgmental eyes and not him this time.
"And you, Elena… I hope for your sake you don't end up in this idiots position cause I assure you, I wouldn't even help you rescue Stefan. I mean… I don't even like the 2 of them! They bring so much drama here!"
She ranted and Elena rolled her eyes.
"Finally! Someone who understands me"
Damon smirked, pulling out a blood bag and unraveling it.
Cherith rolled her eyes, not bothering to even say a word. She'd rather burn his eyebrows off than be on the same team as he was.
Stefan looked at his brother and the blood bag.
"What's that?"
"It's for Katherine."
He answered.
"Gotta have something to get her going. Unless your girl's offering a vein to tap."
He looks back at Elena, who looks at him, unamused and Stefan sighs as Damon whispers his next sentence to him.
"Admit it – you can't wait to get rid of me."
Stefan chuckles dryly.
"I can't wait to get rid of you."
"Hmm."
Cherith stared around, looking at the markings on the wall and sighed.
"Well, I'm just glad all this drama is over, so I can finally start focusing on College applications."
Elena whipped back towards her, a look of shock and anger on her face.
"What?? You mean you haven't—"
Thankfully for Cherith, In that moment, Bonnie looks up at them from the ground.
"We're ready."
Woods.
"This place is wild."
Anna said, looking around as the music boomed around the dark forest and the wind blew rather ominously like it knew something was about to take place.
"You kinda like dead people, huh?"
Jeremy scoffed, a grin on his face as he rested against a dead tree, staring at Anna who stood in front of him and she smiled.
"I'm strange, remember?"
Jeremy chuckled, before looking around, a rather wistful look on his face as he went down memory lane in his head.
"You okay?"
Anna asked and he nodded.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah. This place makes me think about someone."
"A dead someone?"
She asked curiously and he shook his head.
"No, no, just…someone I used to know. So, uh, hey, we made it all of what, 37 minutes, in that party?"
They both laugh and Anna teased him.
"Not your scene?"
Jeremy sighs, pushing himself into a standing position.
"I'm not really sure what my scene is anymore. So what do you say? You, uh, you wanna be part of my non-scene?"
He joked and Anna smiled slightly.
"I would happily be a part of your non-scene, except, uh, I'm leaving."
"Wait, what?"
He said, startled, a frown forming on his face.
"Yeah. My mom and I are moving away."
She said reluctantly and Jeremy's face shifted to slight disappointment.
"Oh. Uh- that's—that's a bummer."
"Yeah?"
"Well, yeah."
"So, guess this is goodbye."
She said, feeling slightly disappointed though trying not to show it and he nodded.
"I guess it is."
There was a moment of silence between them as both Jeremy and Anna lean into each other and kiss.
Just then, Anna pulls away with a frown, her face transforming which Jeremy noticed as he looks at her, alarmed.
"Anna, your face!"
She quickly turns around, blinking repeatedly.
"It's nothing."
She assured him but Jeremy wasn't buying it.
"It didn't look like nothing."
Before he could say another thing though, Ben blurred right behind him and hits Jeremy hard on the head and he falls to the ground, unconscious.
Anna whipped back to see him on the ground, sighing as she turned to an unrepentant Ben.
"You didn't have to hit him that hard."
He rewards her with an incredulous look back.
"Yes, I did."
"Just grab him and lets go. I'm taking him to meet my mother."
She said, a small smile growing on her lips and vanishing immediately.
Church Ruins.
Bonnie and Sheila were currently standing, hands interlocked as they chanted in an ancient language and Damon frowned.
"What's that language? What are they saying?"
Stefan shrugged.
"Sounds like Latin."
Elena looks unconvinced.
"I don't think it's Latin."
Cherith rolled her eyes at their argument.
"It's not Latin… sheesh! And you're the older ones…"
She gave them side looks.
"That includes you, Elena."
Elena sighed before jumping slightly when the torches suddenly flared up, holding on to Stefan's arm.
Cherith stood at alert, her heartbeat quickening as well, from excitement and fear.
"What's happening?"
Elena whispered to Stefan but in that moment, the huge tomb door creaked open and Sheila and Bonnie stopped chanting, opening their eyes.
Cherith's eyes widened in awe as she stared at the opened door.
She had earlier asked them why they didn't just bomb it open and everyone had looked at her crazily before Sheila explained that it was a door fortified by magic. Nothing but magic would have penetrated it. Magic of the Bennett line.
Cherith idly wondered if she'd be able to overpower it if she was since apparently she was quite powerful.
"We have some fires to build."
Damon said to Stefan who nodded and turned to Elena.
"I'm gonna go get the gasoline. I'll be right back."
With a kiss to her forehead, he left and Damon looked at everyone before focusing on Elena.
"Well then! You ready?"
He asked her and both Elena and Cherith frowned.
"What?"
Elena asked confused and Damon scoffed, turning to Sheila and Bonnie.
"You really think I'm gonna go in there by myself so you can seal me in?"
He moves to grab Elena but Cherith moved in front of her, eyes a crimson and he stepped back warily.
"Don't even think about it old timer… People might fear you and all but touch another hair on my sister's head and I'll burn all the vampires in there myself."
Damon's eyes darkened, looking like he wanted to attack Cherith when Sheila broke in.
"Don't take her in. I'll bring the walls down."
Damon scoffed, turning to her.
"You'll bring the walls down if I don't. You think I trust you?"
"As much as I trust you."
"Enough!"
Elena finally cut in, getting between the two, or rather the 3.
"Look, he needs leverage. He needs to know that you're not going to shut the door when he gets inside. I get it. I'll go."
Cherith shook her head.
"No way Elena. You might love jumping in to help people, especially megalomaniacs like him…"
She gestured to Damon who scoffed as he moves to grab a torch from the circle.
"But I'm going in if you are."
"No." Elena.
"No." Sheila.
Cherith turned to the two of them exasperatedly.
"I can't just leave you alone with this idiot! He's drunk on love and obsession right now! He wouldn't care if you turn up missing in there!"
Elena sighed, holding her sister's shoulders comfortingly but they did nothing to stop her worry.
"I'll be fine, Cherry. Really. I'd never forgive myself if I let you go in there with me. You might be a witch but like Sheila explained, you're still a relatively new one without much tricks yet."
Cherith scoffed, crossing her arms.
"Besides…"
Sheila cut in this time.
"If you go in there, your power alone will attract all of them to you like bees to honey. They'd know power walks amongst them, and it's already enough that a human is going in there already."
She motioned to Elena and Cherith gritted her teeth, glaring at a smirking Damon who grabbed Elena by her bicep and dragged her towards the door, walking in.
Cherith scowled, pointing a finger at his retreating back.
"Oh you just might not like what you find, asshole."
She hissed grumpily at him before pausing, feeling a slight tingle and shaking her head at the feeling.
A few minutes later…
Cherith paces to and fro, not feeling at ease in any way.
Bonnie walks up to her, squeezing her shoulder.
"Hey, it's Elena… She'll be fine. Nothing'll happen to her."
Cherith snorted.
"Yeah sure, is that before she stumbles and falls right unto a desecrated carcass of a vampire who ends up sucking her blood dry?"
Bonnie gave a look before tweaking her nose.
"You're way too negative for your age."
Cherith huffed, slapping her hand away. Just then, Anna walks down and into the tomb, a smirk on her face and Cherith's eyes narrowed at her, imagining doing a number of things to her.
"You're not going in there!"
Bonnie shouted at her, looking at her as if preparing for a fight and Anna scoffed.
"You think you can stop me?"
"Bonnie…"
Sheila gave her granddaughter a look and she stepped away, half heartedly.
Cherith though, stood in front of the tomb door, hex bolts appearing on both her hands and she smirked at Anna who stopped apprehensively.
"You just might not be able to stop me, Anna Banana… and believe me, I've been wanting to tear you apart for a while now."
Her eyes turned crimson red and a look of fear passed through the vampire's eyes, and Cherith basked in the fear before it vanished from Anna's face and a contemplative look was on her face.
"Do you really want to kill little old me when there's a vampire loose at the party?"
She smiled innocently and Cherith faltered.
"What?"
Anna grinned.
"Last I saw… I kind of left him with an unconscious Jeremy… maybe if you get there fast…"
She left the sentence incomplete and Cherith glared at her with such hatred it seemed to manifest as Anna suddenly felt mortal for a second, looking at the original predator in front of her.
A predator who didn't know what she was capable of yet but would soon.
Cherith sighed before giving the other two witches a look and rushing out of the tomb, after her brother.
She'd never forgive herself if anything happened to him.
Anna sighed with relief as soon as she left and grabbed a flashlight from the ground, looking at Sheila and Bonnie before running into the tomb.
Bonnie turns to her Grams, angry.
"Why did you let her go in?"
Sheila turned to her, staring resolutely.
"Because she isn't coming out, baby. None of them are."
Cherith ran out into the forest, not sure of her destination but her legs kept moving.
She saw a moving body of fire from afar and her heart beat quickened as she hoped with all her strength that it wasn't someone she knew.
She stopped short once the body fell to the ground and she saw Stefan holding a hose connected to gasoline and she breathed out, turning to him alarmingly.
"Who's that? Where's Jeremy??"
Stefan nodded a bit further off and she jogged over to his unconscious form, pressing a hand to his pulse point and sighing when she felt him.
"He's okay. Just unconscious."
Stefan told her and she nodded, moving her body weight to rest his back against a tree.
She stood up back and groaned.
"That Anna bitch… I really need to pay her a visit after all of this and show her just how much she means to me."
A small smile appeared on Stefan's face before he frowns.
"Is Elena alright?"
Cherith scoffed.
"She went in the tomb with Damon."
Stefan's eyes widened and suddenly his head snapped towards the old church ruins.
"Elena…"
He whispers, having heard her screams and blurred away, Cherith running after him when she heard her sister's name.
When she got into the tomb, she saw Stefan there, Bonnie trying to stop him from entering the tomb.
"What's going on? What's wrong with Elena?"
She asked all of them and Bonnie turned to Cherith urgently.
"You've got to talk to Stefan Cherith. If he walks through that door… he won't be able to walk out anymore."
Cherith's eyes widened, looking from Bonnie to Sheila who didn't look unrepentant.
Cherith could understand where the older lady was coming from.
Letting loose 27 deadly vampires is like setting a death sentence for the people of Mystic Falls, but at the same time… her sister was in there.
"Elena's human. She can leave. Anna and Katherine can't. Damon can't. You were never planning on breaking the spell, were you?"
Stefan looked right at Sheila who stood tall, chin high.
"I told you. I will protect my own. Elena can get out. That's all that matters."
Cherith grabbed at her hair, not sure what to do.
Inside the tomb…
Anna steps towards Elena, shining her flashlight on her, a smirk on her face.
"My, my… you must have a taste for it. You scream and shriek and even bother to escape, but then you just come right back to it."
She mocked Elena, walking towards her and Elena walks backwards and bumps into a desecrated and unmoving Pearl.
Anna gasps when she sees her mother and kneels down next to her, caressing her arm, a look of joy and pain on her face.
"Mother! Mother. Your boyfriend did this, you know."
She glared accusingly at Elena who gulped, shaking her head.
"No. His father did."
Anna scoffs standing up and facing Elena.
"And Johnathan Gilbert."
She spat the name out, looking intensely at Elena before smirking.
"I made a choice a long time ago that it would be Gilbert blood that brought her back to life. Your sister was a curious one but I think we all know what would happen if I tried to touch her. I had Jeremy all ready to go but…"
She smirks devilishly at Elena who gasps and turns around, bolting from the room, but Anna blurs runs in front of her.
"By the time anyone comes for you, I assure you it'll already be late."
She then grabs Elena by the wrist, and bites down.
Elena screams loudly.
In the ante-chamber, everyone hears Elena's screams echo through the tomb.
Stefan doesn't wait a moment and dashes into the tomb. Bonnie chases after him.
"Stefan!"
She cries out but Sheila blocks Bonnie from entering the tomb.
Cherith ignored the two, dashing in and after Stefan who would lead her to her sister.
"You can't just leave him in there, Grams!"
"He made his choice!"
Sheila said resolutely and Bonnie shook her head, not wanting to believe there was no other way.
"No. Here."
She picks up the grimoire and looks desperately at her Grams.
"Just show me what to do. I'll do it."
Sheila shook her head.
"We are not strong enough. Even if we were able to bring the seal down, there's no guarantee that we could get it back up again. Maybe if Cherith were here, we would have been able to borrow some magic from her but she's also in the tomb. I'm sorry Bonnie."
Bonnie shook her head, still not wanting to believe that.
"You said it yourself, many things can fuel a witches power. Help me or I'll do it alone."
Sheila looked into her granddaughter's firm face and knew she really would do it alone.
But she could never let her do it as it could end up killing her.
No, she'd just have to pour even more power than Bonnie would and live with the consequences of her actions.
In the tomb…
Anna pushes Elena down on the ground, across Pearl's lap, and holds Elena's wrist up to her mouth. Elena struggles, but Pearl, smelling the blood, begins to drink.
"No, please don't!"
She begs but Anna ignores her and Pearl, suddenly gaining some strength, held the wrist to herself.
Anna then smiles at her mother softly.
"I'm gonna get you out."
Suddenly, Stefan runs in, Cherith behind him and her eyes darkened with anger when she saw some filthy vampire sucking her sister's blood.
"Let her go!"
Stefan shouts at Anna but Cherith was in no mood to negotiate as energy bolts appeared on her hands and she walks around Stefan, firing red energy at Anna who flew and hit her head dangerously on the wall with a pained grunt.
Stefan then moves to grab Elena from the less desecrated Pearl.
"No!"
Anna grunts out in pain and anger and Cherith's eyes narrowed.
Stefan pulls Elena towards the exit.
"Go. Go. I'm right behind you."
Elena moves, rushing to the exit and Anna stands up, moving towards Elena and Cherith got even mad.
"Are you shitting me?!"
She growled out and stretched a hand towards Anna, a red glow encasing the girl.
"Annabelle."
A soft moan resonated around the room and they all turn to the greyed out vampire, looking at her daughter with fear in her eyes as she floated up in the air.
"Mother!"
Cherith didn't care as she threw said girl at a wall again and controlled a bunch of broken large stones encased in red energy to float up in the air at Pearl.
Anna rushes to her mother's side, caressing her face in her hands and looking at Cherith with fearful and pleading eyes.
"Please… I just wanted my mother."
"Well congrats, you got her and my ire."
She moves the stones but Elena called to her sister.
"Cherry… just… let's go. Please."
She looked at Elena and noticed how tired and weak she looked and turned to glare at the mother-daughter duo one last time.
"You just marked your mother and yourself. If you come near me and mine again, I might not kill you, but I have a lot to practice… I'll make you pay."
She drops the stones and walks off with Stefan and Elena.
"Where's your brother?"
Cherith asked Stefan who shook his head, unsure.
"If he doesn't leave soon, it could get taxing on Sheila and Bonnie. They're using so much power."
She said, concerned and grabbed the torch in Elena's hand.
"I'll go find the ass and drag him back with his sugar mama."
Elena shook her head.
"No. We have to go, I can't leave you here alone."
"I can protect myself sis, this tomb needs to be closed as fast as possible and if we can get him out and leave that Anna girl in here then all the more reason to find him!"
With that, she walked off, Stefan looking slightly concerned and torn between following Elena to be sure she was safe and going after Cherith so she wouldn't do anything stupid.
Some moments later, Cherith found Damon, his expression not a good one.
"Look man, have you found her? We need to leave now."
Damon ignored her, yanking another desiccated body up and throwing it back down in anger.
"She's not here…"
He breathed out, moving to another body and kicking it in anger as Cherith watched, feeling slightly bad for the slowly unraveling man.
She heard a blur and Stefan came right behind her.
"Damon… we have to go…"
"She's… she's not here…"
"What?"
Stefan frowned, confused, looking at Cherith who shrugged.
Damon brought out the blood bag from his jacket and slammed it on the wall in anger.
"SHE'S NOT HERE!!"
He shouted out, devastated.
The blood dripping on the wall and down.
"Look, we have to go Damon. She's not here that means she's never been here!"
Damon shook his head, not listening.
"There must be a mistake. I saw them lock her inside."
"Damon! If we don't get out of here now we're not getting out!"
"How could she not be here!"
"Damon! She's not worth it!"
Stefan dragged his brother but Damon pushed him away.
"No!"
Cherith prepared to step in when her sister ran in.
"Damon!"
She looked at him pleadingly and Cherith sighed, hating the whole situation.
"Please."
The moment the four of them ran out of the tomb, Cherith sat down with a sigh, the tomb door closing behind them.
She held her head, glad that it was finally over.
All the drama that had happened, she was certainly over it.
With what she'd seen, she could definitely understand why having powers might be slightly overrated.
It comes with a lot of responsibilities and takes a lot of your time and effort.
Cherith wasn't sure she was cut off for something like this.
Especially when the people you knew would try to put you in situations where you'd have to do something you didn't want to.
Cherith wasn't like that, and she didn't think she wanted to ever be.
Without so much as waiting, she stood up and went out the tomb, everyone seemingly doing the same.
She saw Jeremy still unconscious and went over to him, checking if he was still okay.
A bit behind, she saw Elena hug a sad Damon and looked away.
She really wanted to distance herself from the trouble the Salvatore brothers had brought, and even though her sister had put herself in it, she wasn't confident she was interested in the life threatening problems it laid down.
Grams' Residence.
Sheila walked with stuttered breath as she walked towards her room, her legs shaking slightly which Bonnie noticed with a frown as she walked over to Sheila.
"Hey, let me help you."
"I'm fine honey… you don't need to coddle me baby."
"It was a big spell Grams… I could tell it took a lot out of you… Will you be okay?"
Bonnie asked, scared and Sheila smiled at her.
"I'll be fine, child… and before I forget… I should tell you, Cherith is still realizing her powers… it's going to be a wondrous thing to behold in the future, I do hope you two keep your friendship going dearie… She'll be a force to be reckoned with."
Bonnie frowned.
"Why didn't you tell me about her before?"
Sheila smiled as she slowly walked towards her room.
"It wasn't my secret to tell in the first place child."
Bonnie watched her go with a look of worry outlining her face as Sheila basically dragged herself into her room.
Sheila knew she didn't have much time left.
She felt the energy… the magic, in her body waning.
But she had one last message she needed to pass across to Cherith, about what she was.
And what she was capable of.
If only she could be there to help the child so she wouldn't end up being consumed by her powers itself.
She had that fear. The fear that something would happen and it could end up triggering Cherith into destroying herself and the world in the process.
She truly hoped she was wrong.
She was a nice girl. Strong too. She might be able to control her growing powers.
At the same time too, there was fear. Fear of those who would sort to control that power.
To even take it from her.
She knew one Clan that would want to… that could be capable of it if and when they found out.
If they hadn't, that is.
They had sort the stone from the Cadwallader family for centuries, according to Iola. So what's to say those that were left wouldn't do the same.
She had to do something.
Gilbert Residence.
Later that night, Cherith entered her room after taking a much needed shower and sat on her bed.
A lot had happened since she woke up this morning.
Apart from being smacked on the face with the evidence of bloodsuckers literally devilish looking unlike the shining marbled angels of the Twilight books, she felt totally inept in some way about her capabilities.
Oh she knew she could stand her own against them, but they were stronger, faster, much more versatile in their powers while she hadn't realized much about her powers yet.
She knew she really had to.
There was a possibility of her being able to access the mind and influence it with her run in with Chad. Her ability to basically levitate a number of things, she should be able to levitate herself of possible.
Her powers were… odd but an adventure in the first place. She just needed to have fun with it and believe she was capable of anything.
A knock on her door cut her out of her thoughts.
Jeremy watched as Elena left his room and moved closer to his computer, typing in just one word.
Vampire.
"Come in"
Cherith called out and Elena came in, Cherith's mood going down a bit.
"Hey…"
Elena greeted, walking into the room, looking at her sister with concern.
"How're you feeling?"
Cherith shrugged.
"As good as can be. You?"
Elena smiled a bit.
"Well, I've sort of been dealing with this much longer than you have…"
Cherith scoffed on her bed, drying her hair with a small towel.
"Yeah? And whose fault is that?"
Elena sighed, rolling her eyes.
"I'm going over to Bonnie's for a bit, just to make sure they're both okay."
"Sure. Oh, and I'm going to tell Jeremy about my abilities."
Elena's eyes widened in alarm, shaking her head in denial.
"No. Cherry, you can't do that."
She said urgently and Cherith frowned at her sister.
"Oh? And why not?"
Elena sighed.
"You can't, Cherith… it could, change things…"
Cherith scoffed, growing slowly angry as she stood up.
"This isn't about you, Elena. This is my secret, so if you're worried about your precious boyfriend well don't be! I won't talk about the existence of vampires with him or even how Bonnie's also a witch."
"Cherry! This is a huge secret! You can't…. You should keep it to yourself."
She pleaded and Cherith shook her head.
"Elena! This is family we're talking about! Our brother! For Christ's sake, stop acting righteous! I'm not going to hide things from the people that matter to me, not like you do!"
"It's dangerous Cherry, it's better they don't know anything… We're protecting them!"
"Protecting them how?? Elena keeping them, especially Jeremy in the dark will only bring bad decisions to his doorstep! He was befriended by a vampire who wanted him to be a human blood bag for her mum because of some stupid generational feud with our ancestor! You told me yourself that a vampire was once invited in by mistake! How is that protecting our family?!"
She said exasperatedly and Elena looked at her, slightly speechless and Cherith sighed, bringing her fingers to massage her forehead.
"Just go, Elena. Your explanations are not as convincing enough to stop me from doing what I want. You're my sister and all but you can be pushy when you want your way, but you forget I stand my ground when I want to do what is right. Stefan might have told you to keep it from us, but what would have happened if we ended up dead because of your secret?"
Elena opened her mouth to talk but Cherith just shooed her out of the room.
"We'll talk some other time when this has died down, but believe me, I'm not changing my mind."
Elena sighed, giving a reluctant nod.
"If that's what you want, but I'm not sure it's a great idea. We'll talk later Cherry."
She gave her sister a tired smile and walked out of the room.
There was a rather stilted air between the two and they might not have noticed, but there was a slight strain slowly beginning to take a tow on their relationship.
Cherith groaned, moving to her computer.
"Times like this, I'm not guilty about what I'm about to do."
She put on her computer and types in 3 words.
University of Oxford.
Salvatore Boarding House.
Stefan walks into the parlor, spotting his brother sitting down and staring blankly at the fire in front of him, a devastated and betrayed look on his face.
After all the years he wasted, looking for a way to get Katherine back and out of the tomb. All the pain he went through… everything he did for her.
Stefan looks at his brother, his heart aching for him, mixed with the guilt of having caused all this in the first place. He sits down next to Damon and they stay together in silence, a strange camaraderie between them.
Gilbert Residence.
About an hour later, Cherith knocks on Jeremy's door.
"Hey Jemmie! You awake?"
There was a slight ruffle and he answered.
"Uh… yeah. Yeah, come in!"
Cherith walks in, seeing him sorted by the desk, his sketch pad in his hands and she sighed, her decision made as she closed his door behind her and moves to sit cross legged on his bed.
"Hey."
"What's up?"
"So! There's something I need to talk to you about. Something really important that it must be kept a secret for the sake of your health."
She threatened and he snorted and placed the sketch book on his table, crossing his arms.
"Are you pregnant??"
Cherith raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged unrepentant.
"What? I always thought you'd be the reckless one. I'm still waiting to hear about you ending up in prison or something."
Cherith scoffed, a smile on her face before she shook her head.
"This is serious asshole. Really serious. I'm apparently not supposed to be telling you, but I do what I want whenever I want to."
Jeremy grinned, sitting up and she smirked at him.
"So! Jeremy, what do you know about magic?"
As soon as she said that, hex bolts appeared on both her hands and her eyes became crimson glowing orbs and Jeremy's eyes widened in shock and awe at the picture his sister presented before him.
She looked like power incarnate.
Grams' Residence.
Bonnie leaves Elena in the living room, carrying a cup of hot tea on a tray to her Grams.
"Here you go Grams."
She must have been tired because as entered the room, Sheila was peacefully asleep.
Bonnie smiled, putting the tray on the bedside table and moving to cover her up with her blanket.
As she sat down, she looked at Sheila, pausing and feeling something was off. Something was… wrong.
And so she prodded at her.
"Grams?"
She didn't wake up.
Bonnie's eyes watered as she shook her awake to no avail.
"Grams?? Grams! Please wake up!"
Bonnie let out a loud sob.
"Elena!!!"
She shook Sheila awake but nothing changed.
Elena ran into the room and stopped short as she saw the unmoving Sheila Bennett on the bed.
"She's not breathing!"
Bonnie cried out, running to grab the spell book on a nearby chair while Elena ran to grab a phone and call 911.
"I'm gonna fix it! It's okay, I can fix this!"
She cried to herself, opening the book desperately though she had no idea which page to turn too as her vision got too blurry with tears of anguish.
"Yes, I need an ambulance to Oak Street. It's an emergency, quick."
Elena spoke to the phone and Bonnie cried out as she flips through the pages, trying to find a spell to bring her Grams back.
Elena walks back into the room and gently grabs Bonnie's shoulders, tears also streaming down her face.
"Bonnie….Bonnie."
"No! No! I can fix it! Grams, I can fix this!"
She continued saying, shaking her head in denial.
"Bonnie! Please, Bonnie."
Bonnie let's out a loud heart wrenching sob as Elena wraps her arms around her, trying to comfort her as she realized there was absolutely nothing she could do to save her Grams.
Sheila Bennett was dead.
On the bed, slightly underneath a pillow, was a brown envelope addressed to Cherith Gilbert, a slim book wrapped in another brown paper beneath it.
Church Ruins.
Down in the tomb, the blood bag that Damon threw drips down from the wall directly where a mocha skinned vampire sits, dripping down towards him.
He weakly grabs the busted blood bag and brings it to his mouth, drinking all that remained and getting a little energy in him.
The vampire soon gets up, opening the door of the tomb with some strain, and is able to walk out.
He looks up at the ceiling of the church ruins, finally free.
Dear Cherith,
I'm sorry I couldn't help you as much as I thought I would.
I knew that spell had taken a toll on me, and so I decided to write you this letter, telling you all I know.
When you told me about the strangeness of your powers, I'd had a hunch that I'd heard something similar before.
My hunch was right.
There is a Myth amongst our kind.
In fact, not just our kind.
Made by a seer centuries and centuries ago.
A Myth about a Nexus being.
A being with an ending well of magic. A most powerful entity.
Born of the legendary chaos stone itself.
A Scarlet Witch.
And I believe you to be her.
It's no secret amongst the both of us about you being different from the rest of us.
You are very powerful Cherith, and with much practice, you'd be the most powerful being in the world.
You don't need spells to learn what takes a coven of powerful witches years to master. You're capable of bending reality itself to your will, if you so wish.
You are much more powerful than you think.
I hope you use it well.
And that's where another concern for you comes in.
There are things you should know, about the night your birth parents died.
I don't know much, but I do know your clan protected something that had been coveted by many others for centuries.
I don't know if they still do, but there has been one family, connected to yours and not in a good way.
I haven't heard about them in years, but they have always been the black sheep in our community.
Your journey is just beginning, Cherith.
You have quite a long way to go.
And you will face challenges on the way as well, no doubt about that.
You need to learn about your mother and her family, and what really happened the day your parents died.
And finally, remember not to trust as easily as possible.
Not everyone is as kind and friendly as you think.
Stay away from the HARKNESS bloodline.
They are not people you should open your arms to.
Take care, and read the book I gave you on what little is known about what you are.
Sheila Bennett.
Hi guys!!!!
So what did you all think??
So this happened... RIP Sheila...
She sadly had to go for Bonnie and Cherith to come into their respective powers, and for Cherith to have more information on what she was.
If you caught the finger pointing when Damon grabbed Elena into the tomb, it's called probability manipulation, a power the Scarlet Witch has. Basically changes the possibility or impossibility of something happening, just with waggling or pointing her fingers at the offending side.
So maybe in this universe, Damon might have found Katherine in the tomb but there was a possibility and an impossibility of that happening because he angered Cherith and she indirectly affected the flow of time.
The world may never know. *Evil smirk*
*Fun Fact*I had initially thought up 'The Scarlet Witch of Beacon Hills' before deciding to go with TVD.
