January 7th.
It had been a bit over 2 weeks since the incident and some time after the funeral of Sheila Bennett.
The whole thing had brought back memories for the Gilbert family and Christmas was treated as normal as possible in order to avoid anyone getting too sentimental and depressive in the process.
Bonnie had traveled out of Mystic Falls and Cherith had read the letter given to her by Bonnie from Sheila.
At first, she had been absolutely emotional, finding out the woman whom she'd grown to see as a mentor was gone.
And she felt anger at not just Damon, but the woman he'd gone in for, Anna and also her mother, for the woman's untimely death.
And then Sheila had gone and dropped a bomb about her birth parent's deaths.
She'd grown up believing they had died in a car accident, like Grayson and Miranda had said. But now, deep down, she was beginning to doubt that everything was as normal as it seemed to be.
After she'd revealed her powers to her brother, he had been so stunned by the existence of something as wondrous as magic, he'd asked about the existence of other beings.
As promised, she didn't tell him anything, but that didn't mean she refuted and denied the existence of other things out there.
He was brilliant, he just might figure it out on his own.
And then there was the thing with the Harkness family as well.
She'd never heard of them before and so had decided to research on them.
There wasn't much.
Just a bunch of Harkness surnames around but there was one in the United Kingdom who apparently monopolized the name though they were mostly dead, so that was a bummer on it's part.
If they had been somehow involved in the death of her parents, she wanted… no, needed, to know more about it.
About them.
Cherith's 16th birthday was a month away and she would willingly admit that she was looking forward to it.
Mostly because she'd be able to have a driver's license and even get a car of her own!
She was an avid speed lover and although that could be a bad thing in Mystic Falls, she wanted to get herself a birthday/graduation present of sorts.
Jenna had said it was a phase between teenage hood and adulthood, when you suddenly realize there are now privileges you could now enjoy.
Leslie had mentioned throwing Cherith a party but she'd been trying to convince her there was no need for it.
There would be lots of things going on in Mystic Falls' this year alone, from the parade to Miss Mystic Falls itself, there was no need to add something like this to the mix.
But anyways!
That didn't matter for now.
Ever since the tomb incident, Cherith had ignored the Salvatore brothers as best as she could.
Stefan was more difficult given that he was dating her sister, and Damon was much easier since he was probably heartbroken somewhere in town.
She felt slightly bad for him.
Slightly.
Cause he'd been a pain in the ass for a long time now and practically killed a bunch of people she'd known in this town right from when she was a child, so if he was feeling any pain and heartache, she didn't mind.
As long as he didn't cause any chaos while in this phase.
Chaos was her thing and her thing alone.
Speaking of, she'd been rather engrossed in the little book Sheila had given her.
It wasn't a book mainly on what a 'Scarlet Witch' was, it had just held a page and half about the myth that it was.
Cherith still had trouble believing she was some sort of 'Nexus being'.
The book had little information about what being a Scarlet Witch entailed.
A being forged of Chaos itself.
Capable of powers unthinkable.
Reality warping. Probability manipulation. Ability to tap into chaos itself… basically chaos incarnate.
She really didn't want to believe it was her.
If she did, it would definitely scare the crap out of her, knowing she had… godlike powers roaming about in her body.
She wasn't so sure she wanted it, but at the same time, did she want to keep practicing her powers?
Yes. Yes she did.
The sound of her phone ringing brought her out of her reverie as she picked it and checked the caller ID.
Leslie.
"Hey!"
"Hey Cherry, are you going to be at the charity event?"
Cherith snorted as she opened her wardrobe door, going through some clothes.
"You mean go to an event where a bunch of young and good-looking men are auctioned off to the desperate women of Mystic Falls who'd then try to get in their pants?"
She questioned, ignoring Leslie's giggles in the background and she grinned.
"Sure! Sounds like fun! A scandal might even come out of it!"
Leslie snorted.
"You're probably right though. Damn, it's been a while since we hung out!"
Cherith nodded.
After Sheila's funeral, she'd mostly gone back into a similar stasis she'd been in when her parents had died.
She hated it when people she knew died. She had no idea how to deal with it.
And she didn't like that feeling.
Not one bit.
"Yeah, sorry Les… we'll talk more later at the Grill, okay?"
"Sure girlie. Bye!"
Cherith cut the call, walking out of her room after levitating her father's guitar down on her bed with a smile, bringing it out of it's case and caressing it, holding it in her hands and strumming it, enjoying the melody it brought.
The guitar looked relatively new, showing her father was good at keeping things.
It was rather an antique, if she thought about the years he'd owned it before she got it.
She then remembered a song she'd been obsessed with late last year and cleared her throat.
"I'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly…"
She began singing the chorus of Fireflies by Owl City, playing the melody with the guitar.
When she stopped, she dropped the guitar back in it's case, grinning proudly.
"Yep! I still got it!"
She grinned, standing up and leaving her room.
She was no Beyoncé, but she could still carry a tune though and that was all that mattered to her.
She jogged down the stairs and moved to enter the kitchen for a bottle of water when she spotted Jenna and Elena at the dining, Jenna going through something on her laptop while Elena bent by her side, looking at it too.
"Hey you two"
She greeted them as she walked over and they looked up.
"Hey… we heard your guitar… thinking of busting it out again?"
Elena asked, a smile on her face and Cherith shrugged.
"Was just… Reminiscing is all. What are you two up to?"
She asked, turning to the laptop and seeing a picture of two teenage cheerleaders.
"Who're those?"
She asked and Elena stood up straight and grinned.
"That… is my birth mother. Isobel."
Cherith's eyes widened as she bent closer to the screen, staring at the girl while Elena discussed with Jenna.
She had similar colorings to Elena.
The chocolate brown hair and eyes. The olive skin, even the smile.
They were quite similar looking but distinct as well.
It was rather peculiar, and it made Cherith suddenly remember her own mother, wondering where she was in the afterlife and if she was with her father.
Here was Elena who'd just found out about her adoption, going through thick and thin to know more about her mother and Cherith was practically doing nothing about getting to know Iola Cadwallader.
Back in Wales, she must have had acquaintances at least… maybe even a close friend, or just, someone who knew her.
She couldn't possibly have been alone all those years before she met her father.
But if she had been… Cherith felt a sliver of pity in her heart at that. As much as she loved her comfort space, she probably would have gone mad if she had not a soul she was close to.
Probably one of the reasons she was drawn to Christian Gilbert.
Grayson had told her that of the 3 brothers, Christian was the most charming of them and most of her character she'd gotten from him.
And if he'd had as great a character as her, she didn't wonder why people were drawn to him.
A smug smile appeared on her face as she chuckled.
"Great genes always triumph after all"
She muffled a rather maniacal laugh behind her palm before noticing Jenna was the only one present and was currently staring at her with a look of concern.
"What??"
Cherith asked, exasperated and Jenna sighed, shaking her head.
"You know… sometimes I worry about you."
Cherith waved her off before looking at her pretty seriously.
"Hey, speaking of mothers… do you know if my mother ever talked about friends back in Wales or something?"
Jenna frowned in thought for a moment before giving her an apologetic look.
"Sorry kiddo. I can't remember much from all those years ago. I was what? 13? 14?"
Cherith sighed dejectedly.
"Fine… fine, whatever."
She grouched disappointedly and Jenna patted her back as she stood up.
"There are other ways to find out about that, you do know right?"
Cherith blinked at her, surprised.
"Your dad… adoptive that is, mentioned your mum being from a rather aristocratic background or something and when her parents died they'd left her deeds to a small manor somewhere in Wales."
Cherith nodded, having known that already.
"Yeah, dad already told me. The manor is in my name now, I remember him suggesting to rent it out or something."
"Well yeah, but that means she lived there. Maybe she grew up with some people… or maybe the people there remember her and might point you in the direction of those she knew."
Cherith's eyes gradually widened at the suggestion and slapped her palm on her forehead.
"Why didn't I think of that??"
Jenna smiled with a self important grin as she walked away.
"Sometimes, you don't need a big brain to give you simple answers… your IQ overcomplicates everything for you."
Cherith huffed, walking into the kitchen to grab a bottle water, untwisting the cap and taking a gulp, taking what Jenna had said into consideration.
But, to even do something like that, she'd need to actually be physically present in Wales, which was another country away.
She sighed, walking towards the staircase.
"The UK looks more and more appealing as the time goes by. Maybe it's time for me to have an accent."
She pondered with a smirk when there was a knock on the door.
A sigh of annoyance escaped her as she moved to open the door, seeing Stefan there who gave her a small smile.
"Oh, it's you…"
She grouched, turning and walking up he stairs and Stefan looked at her amused as he walked in and closed the door.
"You must be in a bad mood."
He said as he also trudged up the stairs behind her and she scoffed.
"Yes. Enough to want to tear something to shreds so leave me alone Stefanie!"
She put sarcasm in her words as she walked towards her room.
"Honestly! He's like a female psychiatrist. Always prodding to know what's wrong with everything… or rather he's like a male Elena. Disgusting."
She sighed, closing her room door and Stefan grinned, entering Elena's room.
Mystic Grill.
Alaric and Jenna are hanging up a banner, outside, for the Founder's Fundraiser while having a discussion.
"I don't know. It's just kind of weird, you know, me being raffled off like a Disney Cruise."
Alaric said, still not sure he wanted to do it and Jenna snorted.
"In this town, fundraising is like indentured servitude. You don't have a choice. Besides, you're a bachelor, and you're eligible, so there you go."
Alaric moves to the side of the banner that Jenna is attempting to hang up.
"Here. Let me help you with this."
Alaric helps her hang up the banner and Jenna smiles up at him. Suddenly, Alaric leans down and kisses Jenna who reciprocates. When they both pull away, a windswept Jenna sighs, closing her eyes and opening it.
"Oh, god. I can't believe I'm gonna do this."
"What?"
Alaric asked and Jenna internally hoped that what she was about to bring up wouldn't spoil whatever it was between them.
"I am totally going to ruin this moment, but I—I have to tell you. Elena recently found out she was adopted, and she's been looking for her birth mother…whose name was Isobel."
She finished hesitantly and Alaric frowned.
"Isobel? Like my wife?"
Jenna nods and Alaric shook his head.
"Isobel never had a baby."
He told her, sure of himself and Jenna questioned him again.
"Are you sure? Not before you were together?"
"Nope. No way."
Jenna suddenly takes out her phone and hands it to Alaric, a picture of a teenage Isobel and her friend on the screen.
"This is Elena's birth mother."
As soon as Alaric saw it, his eyes widened as he could definitely recognize his wife, no matter how young she looked in the picture.
He looked back up at Jenna who was quiet and slowly handed her the phone back.
"Ah, she, uh—she never told me. I, uh—I'm gonna go. Yeah, I'm gonna—gonna go."
Alaric awkwardly walks off and Jenna sighs heavily.
"Well! There goes a great guy…"
She turned to walk off.
"Just hope I haven't chased him off."
She mumbled.
Gilbert Residence.
Cherith sat in her room, bored out of her mind, wondering what she could do.
There was basically no one around for her to put all her boredom on.
Lately, Jeremy had been busy. Probably up to some boyish problem of his.
He'd been really curious about her powers after he found out and Cherith remembered levitating him off his chair that night and she chuckled.
Compared to the different ways her siblings found out, Cherith preferred how things went with her brother.
At least once he got over his mini tirade on how she should have told him but one glare was enough to lead him to another conversation.
Standing up, she walked out of her room, thinking about her college applications which she'd finally completed and sent to the various schools she'd chosen.
Chosen as in Whitmore, UCLA and the University of Oxford.
3 very different colleges and although she hadn't told her siblings yet about the possibility of her moving across the pond, she hoped they'd understand her reasoning behind it if she ended up going there.
But also, moving across the pond was something that also scared her too.
She'd be practically alone in a new place with no friends and obviously no family either.
She shook her head, ridding herself of the slightly depressive thoughts.
She hadn't even been accepted yet, she should just take her time and try to enjoy the last months of her high school career.
The front door opened as she walked down the stairs and in came a slightly moody Jenna.
"Hey Jens… what's with the unattractive face? Did you fight with your boyfriend?"
Cherith asked as she ended into the kitchen for some cereal and Jenna flopped on a chair, groaning.
"He's not my boyfriend, Cherry…"
"Hm.."
"It's just… turns out he's Elena's sort of… step father."
Cherith's eyes widened at the declaration.
"Oh wow! Really?? How the heck did that even happen?! What a weird freaking coincidence!"
"I know, right?!"
Jenna groaned and Cherith felt slightly bad for her. A lot of drama really revolved around the Gilbert family.
"Sooo…"
An evil glint appeared on Cherith's face, her grin suddenly growing across her face.
"Does this mean that, you're Elena's sort of step mom?"
Jenna's eyes widened open at that notion and turned to Cherith who was grinning like a cheshire cat.
"Ooh, you just like to overcomplicate my life, don't you? You brat!"
She grabbed a pillow, throwing it at her offending niece who dodged it and ran back to the kitchen with a laugh, grabbing her cereal to eat.
"When's the charity thing anyway?"
"You could just head there by 7 at least. I can take you, if you want?"
Cherith shrugged.
"Yeah okay. I'll meet Leslie there. She's super excited for it. Don't understand why…"
"Hot guys being raffled to needy women. What's not to be excited about?"
Jenna asked, an eyebrow up and Cherith snorted.
"I mean, when you put it that way…"
Cherith dressed in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a long sleeved cotton white cardigan and brown calf length boots that evening as she prepared to head to the Grill with her aunt.
She had to admit she was quite curious about the whole raffle thing.
Mainly because it would help take her mind off the multitude of things she was preparing herself for.
College, Magic… being a… Scarlet Witch, or whatever that was.
"Hey brat, you ready?"
Jenna called from the front door and Cherith quickly grabbed her purse and ran out the room, down the stairs.
"Yup! Sorry I'm late. Hair troubles."
And wasn't that something.
As beautiful as her ruby red hair was, it was rather voluminous and wavy.
She was pretty sure before the night went out she'd look like a surfer who'd just surfed through a giant wave, especially as she hadn't packed it.
Jenna snorted as they walked out the front door.
"I think it rather justifies the nickname 'Hobo' the people of Mystic Falls have given you."
Cherith sneered in remembrance, entering her aunt's car.
"Ugh! That was when I was twelve Jenna! Not my fault that girl thought I looked like an homeless leering leprechaun. I mean, it was Christmas! We were acting the 3 wise men for the church play!"
Jenna scoffed.
"And your idea for fun was to wear a tattered robe and synthetic beard while demanding entrance into the church??"
Cherith shrugged, unapologetic.
"I apologize for nothing. Christmas would have been boring that year if it hadn't been for me putting the town on high alert that night."
Jenna sighed, shaking her head, not bothering to answer Cherith who gave her a smug look.
"You know I'm right."
"Hush brat."
Mystic Grill.
"Hey Leslie!"
Cherith greeted her friend as she sat down by an available sit next to her.
The Grill was packed with the residents of Mystic Falls whom had come out just to watch and have fun.
Leslie grinned.
"Hey! It's been a while!"
Cherith nodded with a sigh as she say down.
"It definitely has! This year needs to move really fast. I mean it."
Leslie snorted.
"What? Already tired of high school?"
Cherith gave her a dry look.
"When have I never not been?"
Leslie shrugged.
"I don't know. You're a straight A student."
"You're ridiculous."
Cherith sighed out.
"So, who's caught your eyes in the raffle draw?"
Leslie perked up.
"Ooh! Professor Saltzman is one of the contestants. Then there's that hot plumber guy. And I heard Stefan Salvatore's brother might be participating."
That definitely surprised Cherith.
She had thought he'd still be up in his feels about his sugar mama having deceived him, but it seems he bounces back fast.
"He doesn't seem to be here though…"
Cherith added, looking around and Leslie shrugged.
"I'm not sure how true it is… Maybe it's just a rumor. A rumor I hope comes true. He's so good looking!"
She gushed and Cherith tutted, giving her a pitying look.
"It's really sad… Your clear infatuation with Chad Davis, driving you up against the wall to gushing about an old man."
Leslie scoffed.
"He's not old! He's what, 23? 24?"
"Oh you have no idea…"
Cherith muttered under her breath.
"Tickets for the raffle are now on sale. All proceeds benefit the annual Founder's Day celebration."
Carol Lockwood spoke into the microphone, gaining everyone's attention as females of all shapes and sizes began moving to a table being manned by Caroline.
Cherith's eyes travelled around the room, spotting her sister and she stood up.
"Hey, I'll be right back Les, just gotta talk to my sister."
Cherith walked over to the ticket booth where Elena was talking to Caroline and Matt.
"Hey losers."
She greeted them, a bored smile on her face and Elena snorted.
"I was wondering why I hadn't heard that in a while. Thought you were becoming an adult finally or something."
Cherith shrugged.
"I'm still 15. Maybe when I turn 16 I'll think about being all responsible. Like…"
She looked at her sister before passing her over and turning to Matt with a grin.
"Like Matt."
"Oh, Ha. Ha."
Elena said sarcastically, though a small smile was on her lips as Matt and Cherith gave each other high fives.
"So Care Bear, tell me, will there be any cat fights tonight?"
Cherith asked Caroline who looked at her exasperatedly.
"Really? Why is it that you thrive on chaos?"
Cherith chuckled.
"Because I'm Chaos incarnate."
She joked and the other 3 sighed.
Just then, Matt's mother walked up to them.
"Hi Mrs. Donovan!"
Caroline greeted her brightly and Cherith turned to stare at the woman who looked at Caroline with distaste.
Yep.
Still didn't like her.
Not even one bit.
How long had it been since she saw her anyways??
Kelly turned to Elena with a smile.
"Elena, honey."
"Hi Mrs. Donovan."
She grinned, hugging the woman and Cherith just watched, blank faced.
"It's been a while."
Kelly smirked.
"How've you been?"
Elena asked her and she waved it off.
"Oh, same old you know? By the way, Mattie tells me you broke his heart."
"Mom…"
Matt sighed, embarrassed and Cherith's lip moved upward a bit.
"Just kidding. Sheesh, calm down. Besides, he found his rebound girl."
She said, side eyeing Caroline who's smile dropped even more and Cherith frowned.
She really didn't like this woman.
"Kelly. Didn't know you were in town again."
Cherith blurted out and they turned to her. Elena sighing exasperatedly.
Kelly turned to Cherith with an amused grin.
"Oh wow… Little Cherry, is that you? You're not so little anymore."
She grinned.
"Are you still that quiet and lonely redhead?"
Cherith's smile sharpened.
"Are you still that walking male detector?"
"Cherry!"
Elena gasped out, scandalized as Matt and Caroline's eyes widened.
Cherith though, didn't pay them heed, only crossed her arms, daring the woman to pick on her one more time.
She never backed away from people like her.
Kelly Donovan though chuckled, shaking her head.
"Man! Always loved your sarcastic tongue. Gave your mother a lot of trouble for that hm?"
She then turned to Caroline, ruffling through her bag and handing her some dollar bills.
"Here you go, sweetheart. However many that'll buy."
She smiled and Caroline took the money with a small smile.
"I just hope I don't get Bachelor 3. I dated him in high school. Not impressive that one."
She then leaned in.
"In any way."
Matt shakes his head, embarrassed while Caroline hands Kelly her tickets and she takes them.
"Very exciting!"
She grins, walking off and Cherith turns to Matt.
"I know I always said this while we were growing up, but I still don't like your mother. No offense."
Matt sighed.
"None taken."
"Oh my God! Remember the time she tried to flirt with your dad and Cherith let the hose on her during that garden party?"
Caroline gushed out and Elena and Matt chuckled, remembering the memory.
"Oh yeah! I believe we were 13 then?"
Matt laughed, and Cherith grinned, remembering the wet cat look Kelly had spotted and the wink Miranda had given to her youngest before grounding her for 2 days.
Cherith noticed her sister stare into the distance and turned in time to see her making eye contact with Alaric who turned away and she looked put out.
Oh yeah…
Her step father.
He didn't seem like he wanted to talk to her, which was totally understandable.
Finding out you practically had a step daughter of some sort and your wife had once had a child she gave up for adoption when she was 16.
She playfully pushed Elena.
"We should probably go back to our seats now. The show might start soon."
Elena nodded, seeing Stefan walk into the Grill at that moment and saying goodbye to Caroline and Matt, walked back to her seat by Leslie who had been chatting it up with a female friend of hers.
"Hey, it's starting! I ordered us some fries and burgers if you don't mind?"
Leslie spoke and Cherith beamed at her.
"You know me too well!"
Leslie scoffed.
"I got it so that you wouldn't bemoan the utter 'boringness' of the situation after a few minutes pass."
Cherith grinned.
"And what do you do, Bachelor Number 3?"
Carol asked the tall and blonde haired man, dressed in a suit like the rest of the contestants.
"Yeah, I'm a plumber."
He said into the microphone with a grin and Carol gasped dramatically.
"Well, isn't that wonderful? We could always use more plumbers."
She gushed and Cherith rolled her eyes, turning to her friend.
"You could always buy me another burger if you don't want me to flip this table over. This is boring!"
She whined and Leslie shushed her, watching the stage attentively like an housewife starving for drama.
Cherith rolled her eyes.
"Moving on. Number 4, 'Alaric Saltzman.' Wow. That's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?"
"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High."
He answered, looking slightly uncomfortable at the attention being given to him and Cherith snickered.
"Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This one's a keeper."
Cherith whistled out discreetly and Alaric turned slightly red as some women murmured interestedly amongst themselves.
Oh how she loved the little drama.
"What do you teach?"
"History."
"History! Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy."
Alaric looks over at Damon who places his hand up to his ear, sarcastically anticipating a response and even if Cherith wasn't such a huge fan of him, she had to admit he looked hilarious and that in turn made Alaric out of it.
"Uh, well…
It seemed like he wasn't going to say anything any time soon and so Carol pulled the microphone away from him, smiling brightly.
"He's probably saving the best stories for his date."
She then moves down the line to where Damon stood confidently.
"And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."
Damon smirked lasciviously.
"Well, I'm tough to fit on a card."
At the different places they were, Cherith, Stefan, Elena and Caroline scoffed.
"Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?"
Carol asked him and he brightened, wheels seemingly turning in his head.
"Oh, yeah. L.A., New York. Couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus, actually. I think—I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric?"
He turned to look at Alaric, who does the same, staring at him with a tight face while trying to look as normal as possible.
"Yeah, 'cause I—I know your wife did."
Stefan becomes alert and looks over at Elena whose face starts to falter as revelations began to unravel.
In order to avoid anything, Stefan makes his way over to her.
"You know, I had a drink with her once. She was—she was a great girl. I ever tell you that?"
Damon smirked provokingly at Alaric who was using all his strength not to fight Damon.
"Cause she was – Delicious. Mmm! Mmm mmm mmm."
He moaned and Elena's mouth hangs open. Her eyes filled with tears as she stares at Damon, suddenly realizing what he had been saying.
Jenna turned to her, concerned.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"I just need some air."
Was all she said as she walked out.
Cherith stared at her sister who walked away, looking distressed and teary eyes and frowned, wondering what that was all about.
As much of a dick as he was acting, he hadn't exactly said anything to warrant anger from Elena.
Quite on the contrary, it was Alaric that should have been mad.
It was his wife Damon was talking about like—
Cherith's eyes suddenly widened as she realized something.
Alaric's wife was Elena's mother…
A soft groan escaped her lips as she looked out the front door, not sure what to do.
If she stayed, she just might end up throwing something at Damon.
In fact—
She squeezed a sheet of paper containing the names of the contestants in Leslie's hand and tossed it across the table and on the stage, which hit Damon on the head, startling a bunch of people.
"Boooo!!"
She cried out, making a bunch of people turn to her as she put a thumbs down for him.
Jenna a few tables away sighed dejectedly, slapping a hand to her forehead and Damon smirked at her, looking playfully hurt.
"Ah! Looks like you aren't as impressive to Miss Gilbert."
Carol feigned a laugh, before moving to another question.
"Way to go Cherry, turning another hot guy away."
Leslie whispered to her and Cherith grinned, standing up.
"I'll be right back Les."
She squeezed past and walked out the Grill but as she was about to, she ran into Elena and Stefan walking back in.
"Hey sis, you okay?"
Elena nodded as Stefan closed the door, looking outside, both slightly unsettled.
"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. Just…"
Cherith nodded, understanding the lack of words her sister was stringing up.
"It's okay. Damon's an asshole. I'll help you get back at him."
Elena gave her sister a smile before walking back to her sit, Cherith doing the same.
After the raffle draw was over, with some women 'winning' their prices, Cherith sighed, glad it was over and done.
Lucky Jenna, she grinned, glad her aunt had been able to get Alaric's number.
What a coincidence that was.
A nice coincidence, mind you.
Now though, Cherith wanted to go back home and bury herself in her cover.
Leslie was staying behind at the Grill to hangout with some friends and since Jenna was going to be with Alaric, Cherith decided to ask her sister for a ride and so, she ran outside the Grill where Elena had just left from with Stefan and saw them talking with some seedy looking man with a blank face.
"You need to stop looking. Do you understand?"
"She's alive? Does that mean she's a—"
Elena questioned the man, inching forward when Stefan stops her.
"Elena, he's under compulsion."
"Compulsion?"
Cherith asked, walking over to them and looking at the man curiously who looked blankly at her.
Stefan and Elena turn to her surprised.
"Do you understand?"
He repeated again and Elena swallowed, nodding albeit hesitantly.
"Yes. I do."
"Good."
He nods, looking down the street.
"If that's not creepy, I don't know what it."
Cherith mumbled, feeling the whole situation was slightly off.
The man turned back to them.
"I'm done now."
With a step backwards, the man walks into a large truck which blared its horn at the man but it was too late as it ends up killing him.
Cherith and Elena gasp in shock at what had just happened.
Cherith moving back slowly, stumbling, closing her eyes tightly as people gasped at what had just happened.
When she opened it, Elena and Stefan were by the man's… body.
Cherith breathed in and out, heartbeat quickened.
"Not again… not another fucking body!"
She whispered harshly to herself, her fists tightening.
As much as it had been a while since she'd stumbled on Tanner's body, it didn't dull down the feeling of watching a man be smashed to the ground.
"Cherry… you okay?"
Elena walked over to her and Cherith nodded stiffly.
"Just… let's go home. This day just kept getting worse."
She mumbled and Elena guided her away from the scene.
Salvatore Boarding House.
Damon takes a swig from his glass as he looks at Alaric's dead body which lay on the ground by the fireplace.
Stefan walks in the room and sees the body, rushing over with apprehension as he knelt down, checking for a pulse.
Feeling none, he looked up at his brother, accusation in his eyes
"What happened? What did you do?"
Damon scoffed, playing with his drink.
"Do what? He attacked me!"
Stefan sits up and looks at Damon.
"Really Damon."
"All I did was tell him the truth. His wife didn't want him anymore. It's not my fault he couldn't handle it."
"Like you've been handling Katherine?"
Damon glared at his brother.
"I'm handling it fine. You know what? Isobel came to me. She found me. And if she's related to Elena, that means she's related to Katherine. Maybe Katherine sent her to me."
Stefan groaned, feeling an headache forming at his brother's still clear obsession with the vampire.
"Stop it. You don't have to keep looking."
Damon shook his head, trying to make Stefan see reason.
"Can't be a coincidence Isobel sought me out. Uh-uh. Can't."
He smirked before pointing to Alaric.
"Well then brother. I'm assuming you'll take care of this."
With that, he gets up and leaves the room.
Stefan, exhausted by Damon's actions, sits down next to Alaric's body, staring and not knowing what to do. Not knowing what he'd tell Elena, that her last like to her mother was dead.
Suddenly, Stefan sees Alaric's fingers move. He furrows his brow and leans over the body and Alaric gasps back to life, panting heavily, sitting up confused as Stefan's eyes widened in shock and trepidation.
"What happened? What's going on?"
He breathed out, grabbing at his chest heavily.
Stefan though, was speechless as he stared at him.
"You were just…Did Damon turn you?"
Alaric shook his head.
"No. I – I went for him and then he, uh—he stabbed me."
"No, no, no. You must have vampire blood in your system. Somebody slipped it to you."
Alaric flexes his fingers, staring at the bogus ring on his hand.
"No. It's, uh, it's something else."
"Then how?"
Stefan asked, still flabbergasted as he stared at the perfectly healthy history teacher.
"I, uh…"
Alaric looks down at the ring again on his right hand.
"Isobel."
Gilbert Household.
Cherith toweled her hair dry as she walked into her room, wearing a pair of jammies shorts and a white tank top.
After that whole drama at the Grill, she could definitely see herself avoiding all the situations Elena seemed to find herself in.
It was getting too much.
She wasn't even that capable of controlling her powers yet.
It seemed everyone had their drama filled lives to endure.
Cherith sighed as she sat on her bed, wondering about what Sheila had said about her powers…
If she were really that powerful, she should be able to do quite a lot of things.
She should even be able to fly!
Mid you, she definitely hadn't forgotten about that.
She was so going to practice that one way or another.
Gilbert Residence.
Elena is on her bed, looking at a picture in a frame from her bedside.
Her parents were in the picture, with her, all 3 smiling and looking happy, not knowing that something was going to ruin that happiness in a short while.
She swallowed, trying to ignore the sting in her eyes, dropping the picture and grabbing the cell phone she'd taken from the man after he was run over.
She then opens the flip phone and finds the last number that was dialed.
She idly wondered if what she was about to do was a good idea or not.
If she were here, Cherith would tell her to 'take the damn phone and call whoever it was!' and If Stefan were here he'd probably tell her to think rationally and not jump into things.
She sighed, hands running through the phone and before she could stop herself, Elena dials the number and places the phone to her ear. After a few rings, a woman picks up on the other end.
"Was there a problem? Did you find her?"
Elena's throat caught at the sound of her mother… her birth mother on the phone.
She couldn't believe it.
"What's going on?"
Isobel asked again, her soft voice curious and Elena finally spoke.
"Isobel?"
There was a moment of silence as no one said anything, no breathing was heard as Elena eagerly anticipated something… anything, but Isobel hangs up without another word, leaving Elena looking tearful.
Miss Gibbons Residence.
Harper is walking down a path through the misty woods when he approaches a rather secluded house and knocks on the door.
The woman that Harper saw in the Town Square earlier walks over and answers the door with a smirk, exchanging a nod with harper before turning to look in.
"Pearl, it's Harper."
She excuses herself and Pearl and Anna walk to the front door, Miss Gibbons behind them both.
"I'm glad you found us. Ms. Gibbons, this gentleman is a friend of mine. May he come in?"
"Any friend of Pearl's is a friend of mine. Please do. Come in."
She smiles blankly at Harper before walking away like an obedient little servant whose independence had been stripped away.
"Annabelle, close the door, please."
Pearl told her daughter as Harper enters the house and walks off with Pearl.
Anna looks at into the woods as she shuts the door, wondering who else was going to join them soon enough.
Gilbert Residence.
That night, as Cherith sleeps, she finds herself in a landscape of absolute darkness and crimson.
There she was, her hair billowing in non existent wind, her eyes crimson and glowing as she floated, and right in front of her was a book. It had looked like a grimoire of sort.
And she stared at the closed book, bringing her glowing hand to it and opening the first page.
As soon as it opened, absolute darkness filtered out and attacked her with such sudden strength, completely encasing her whole body and vanishing back into the book, no sign of her there.
In the real world, a sliver of sweat ran down her forehead.
Hi guys!And this is the latest chapter!Looks like Cherith's dreams are becoming more detailed huh?Please leave comments about your thoughts! Thank you!!!
