April 1st.
Cherith jogs back towards her home with a lot on her mind.
One. Her admission to Oxford had gone as she'd expected, even better with a scholarship. And while she wasn't schooling fully, mainly Online and probably with the occasional school visit, she had gotten into her preferred program.
Archeology and Anthropology.
Oxford's distinctive combination of archaeology and anthropology which Cherith would study for three years, offers an unusually broad perspective on human societies from earliest prehistory to the present.
The cool part was that, even though her courses would be mostly online, there would be fieldworks involved as well.
As part of her course, she must undertake a minimum of four weeks of fieldwork, subject to approval by her tutors, which is normally completed in the summer vacation at the end of her first year.
Best part was that the fieldwork could take place in field settings, or in a laboratory or museum and involve anthropological as well as archaeological projects.
From South Africa to Egypt to Peru and so on. What interested her was the opportunity to travel out the country. Having lived in Mystic Falls all her life, it was something she'd always dreamt of doing.
But of course, the main purpose for her choice of university was not just that, but finding out more on her Cadwallader roots.
Even though Sheila Bennett had told her the family line had dwindled over the course of a decade, there was still other ways to find out about her line.
The idea of her family not having a grimoire sounded weird to her, in fact the Cadwallader home must have at least something to help out or even give her a clue, as well as finding out who her family was friendly with as well.
As much as she liked her Gilbert root, it brought way too much drama to her doorstep. Literally!
Cherith sighed as she pushed her front door open and walked in, slight sweat on her as she walked into the kitchen for a chilled bottle of water, hearing a conversation already taking place in there.
"I'll tell you more when I'm convinced I can trust you."
John says to Elena who's back was turned away from Cherith as she walked towards the fridge. His eyes lit up when he saw her.
"Ah, Cherry…"
Elena immediately turned to her sister who had locked the door on her the previous night.
"Congrats on your admission. I can assure you that not only would Grayson and Miranda be proud, but Christian and Iola especially, would."
Cherith turned to him with a grin, giving him a thumbs up before opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle.
"Thanks Uncle J."
Elena immediately opens her mouth.
"Cherry, we need to talk. Now."
She glared slightly at her little sister.
Where was the young and innocent little girl who listened to—oh right, she had always been like this.
Elena folded her arms as Cherith gulped down her water, sighed with relish before turning her attention back to the fuming brunette.
"Look, Elena… it's really not your business."
She tried to break it softly to the girl whose face hardened.
"But it is!"
She sighed, turning to her sister with a soft face.
"Cherry, after mum and dad died—"
"No way!"
Cherith glared at Elena, slamming the bottle on the kitchen island and Elena jumped startled.
"None of that guilt tripping shit! I have always… always! Been interested in going to Oxford! Mum and Dad especially knew!"
Elena's eyes widened at that.
"B-but what about Jenna? Or even Jeremy… how would he feel when he finds out you're—"
Cherith scoffed.
"If that's where you're headed, sad for you cause they already knew except you!"
Elena's mouth dropped open in surprise at that and the room fell silent with the only noise coming from John trying to act all incognito as he took a noisy sip of coffee, looking for a way to sneak off before a fight begins and a claw mark ended up across his face.
Elena looked at her sister with betrayal in her eyes.
"They knew?!"
She shouted out.
"They knew and I didn't?! How could you keep this from me! I am your sister!"
She ranted and Cherith sighs, running a hand on the bridge of her nose.
How did she know this was going to happen?
"Look Elena…"
She gestured towards the brunette.
"This… was exactly why I didn't tell you."
Elena moved to open her mouth but Cherith continued her sentence.
"This higher than life attitude you have. You seem to think only you can decide how everyone lives. You're not the only one with issues, you're not the only one with a working brain, heck, my brain is SO much better than yours but we don't need to go there just yet. That's another can of worms to be opened later on in the future."
A small snort escaped John but the two teenage girls didn't hear it as Elena sighed, puppy eyes on her face.
"I was just… I was just trying to help."
Cherith scoffed, grabbing her water bottle again.
"You just keep talking nonsense Elena."
Before anyone could speak up again, footsteps were heard.
"Oh my gosh, you two! I could hear your arguing from a mile away—what are you doing here?"
Jenna's sunny smile wiped off as she walked in and spotted a face she never wanted to see again, leisurely sipping coffee while resting against a counter, Alaric behind her.
John raised his cup in greeting.
"Good morning to you Jenna, Alaric."
Alaric gave him a glare as Jenna held her head, blinking in confusion.
"It's okay that I'm confused, right? Because I assure you, we weren't expecting to see you again. Ever."
She emphasized and John shrugged.
"I came in late last night, Cherry let me in."
Cherith frowned as Jenna gave her a 'really?!' look while throwing her hands up in the air.
"Uh… I don't remember ever doing that, but I guess we're going with it then."
Cherith shrugged to herself as Jenna glared at the man a few feet away from her.
Alaric clears his throat.
"You know, I'm uh… I should probably leave now…"
He said softly, patting Jenna on the hand and turning to leave as Cherith shouted out at him.
"Bye Ric-man!"
He sighed dejectedly as he walked off and Jenna's face immediately took on a battle look.
"Why the fuck are you here?!"
John huffed.
"Using bad words in the presence of an impressionable kid, Jenna?"
He points at Cherith who wrinkled her nose at the mention of 'kid' and she snorted.
"Me… kid…"
She chuckled.
"I am definitely not one."
She said, remembering some of the crazy things she'd done and the three in the kitchen turned to her and she immediately cleared her throat, raising her bottle to her mouth and waving towards them.
"Sorry… carry on."
John turns back to Jenna as Elena sighed, not expecting this conversation so soon this morning as she massaged her forehead.
"I decided to come back and stay for a while."
Jenna scoffed.
"Uh-uh… Not here you're not!"
She glared and John rolled his eyes.
"You can't stop me from living here Jenna."
"Actually I can, as legal guardian."
She tells him smugly and Cherith cheered her aunt in her head.
You go Jenna!
"Yeah… about that"
John turned to Elena who immediately felt the hairs on her body raise.
"Um, Elena, you want me to explain the situation, or would you like to do the honors?"
Elena looked at him and hesitated and Cherith leaned in, wondering what this was all about.
"Okay, what's going on?"
Jenna shouted out and Cherith nodded interestedly as Elena sighed, not sure how to break it to her.
"I'm sorry, Jenna. I should have told you earlier, but—"
"I'm Elena's biological father. There, now you know."
Cherith's eyes bulged out at that.
"Wait, what?!"
She let out as she stared at the two while Jenna's jaw dropped.
John walked away after dropping the bomb, patting Cherith on the shoulder, leaving Elena alone to deal with the confusion that had settled in the kitchen.
"What?!"
Jenna spat out in confusion, turning to the only other person she felt could explain it as Cherith wrinkled her nose confused.
"Wait… did I even know about this?... I don't think I knew about this… look who's keeping secrets now… You freaking hoarder!"
She huffed, amusement growing in her eyes as she realized Elena's parents were Isobel and John. Two assholes.
"Wow!... No wonder you have a punch-able face!"
She snickers as she walks off, Jenna's face looking like she was about to pounce on her brunette haired niece.
Cherith grinned maniacally as she shouted out.
"By the way Jenna! I got accepted into Oxford and Vampires exist!"
"WHAT?!"
The confused voice of Jenna and the enraged one of Elena resonated around the house and Cherith snickered to herself, cleaning a tear from her eyes.
"Ohhh chaos… how beautiful you are."
Mystic Grill.
"Wow! You made it! Congrats Cherry!"
She cheers though it sounds slightly false as Cherith beams, still feeling jolly at her plans being set in motion now more than ever.
"But… are you sure you want to go there?"
Cherith nods.
"Yeah! It's got a great Archeology and Anthropology program and even if my schooling is more online-ish, it gives me the opportunity to do a lot of other things I couldn't while here in Mystic Falls."
"It's just…"
Leslie sighs.
"It's a new country, you know?... Way over the pond!"
Cherith smirked.
"Is the great Leslie Greene worried about me?"
She gasped rather dramatically before shaking her head.
"Kinda…"
Leslie mumbled slightly and Cherith sighed.
"Don't worry about it Les, besides… I'll be fine. I know I'm just 16 and all, but it's okay… I'm not exactly your normal 16 years old brat. Don't worry!"
After patting Leslie on the shoulder, Cherith stood up.
"I'll be right back."
As Cherith headed straight for the bathroom, Leslie brings her phone out of her jean pocket, staring at the contacts, particularly a name in the contact, and as her thumb moved to click on it, she shook slightly, an hesitant feeling clouding her mind, before she turned her phone down, putting it on the table and letting out a small, pained sigh.
Lockwood Mansion.
"I was right, wasn't I?"
Jules said in a smug tone as Tyler walked in.
"About your little vampire friend. She was lying... wasn't she?"
Tyler sighed, anger feeling his very mind.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to understand that a vampire will never be your friend. It's our nature to be enemies."
Tyler scoffs.
"Do you even hear yourself?? Do you know how stupid that sounds??"
Jules shrugs.
"It might sound stupid to you now, but it's the truth. You need to leave this town. It's not safe for you, not at all."
Tyler shakes his head.
"I can't just… run off! My life is in this town. My friends… family. My mum would freak!"
He huffed as he stood up, prancing slightly.
"Tyler, as much as I don't want to say it… this is your old life. You're a werewolf now. Your new life is just beginning, and you have no idea how much you've got to learn. Being a werewolf doesn't just mean changing into a wolf every full moon, it has to do with pack. With real family. Family who wouldn't leave you at just a small slight. Pack. You definitely have a lot to learn."
She tried to enthuse him and something shined in his eyes.
"What exactly do I have to learn?"
Jules smiles, glad that she was slowly getting to him.
"How to survive. You've triggered the curse, Tyler. It's important you learn what it means to be a lycanthrope. We live by a code of loyalty, we take care of each other. It's my duty and honor to help you. Please let me."
Tyler looked away, hesitation in his eyes.
Mystic Grill.
Cherith snickered at something Matt said as he walked away from their table that afternoon. Nearby, she watched as Jenna walked in with Alaric and contemplated going over to see how her aunt was doing after what was dropped on her that morning.
It definitely wasn't easy finding out your niece's dad was your brother in law's asshole brother who you slept with and who impregnated your boyfriend's dead wife… well, undead wife, that is…
Lately, she'd been playing with the notion of revealing her powers to her aunt.
Jenna deserved to at least know the things going on and Cherith felt everyone trying to 'protect' her were idiots because it was inevitable. Jenna would find out one day.
Cherith knew Jenna was an unbeliever of the supernatural world. She wasn't even a fan of watching them except perhaps the actors were eye catching or she was being forced to watch it.
She had never even been a fan of twilight and always had a lot against Bella Swan mainly because as a psychology major, she could see a lot of red flags in the relationships the girl kept.
Heck, if Bella Swan was real, Cherith probably would have wiped the girl from existence or given her more brain and tact to walk away from both Edward Cullen and Jacob Black.
She pouted a bit.
If only she'd had her powers right from the start, she would have chased the Salvatore brothers far away from town or probably have killed them since she'd have seen them as vampires that meant to hurt her and her family and nothing else.
"What's with the pouting?"
Leslie chuckled as she turned to her and Cherith sighed as she brought out her phone from her bag.
"Just imagining if I hadn't met some people so early in life… they'd probably be dead by now."
Leslie snorted.
"Normally, I'd be concerned for you over the things you say… but now, I'm just super used to it."
"How nice."
Cherith drawled before frowning when she saw a number of messages from Caroline.
911 NOW!!--Care Bear.
That was over an hour ago.
She checked her notifications and realized she'd turned down the volume earlier, not wanting to be disturbed by the Scooby gang.
"Oops…"
She opened the second message.
Cherry, Tyler knows about Mason! Need help. NOW!!!--Care Bear.
That was about 45 minutes ago.
A feeling crept into Cherith as she read that message.
Tyler knew one part of the story.
He thought Mason was dead.
And honestly he should be, if not for Cherith anyways… how to go about with this… because she couldn't exactly tell him the truth, what with him gallivanting around with that other wolf lady.
She opened another message.
Cherry where the hell are you?! Stefan went to talking to him a while back but I'm super worried! Did Tyler confront you on the truth?! Are you okay?!Just call me, okay?!--Care Bear.
Cherith sighed as she saw the message was about 30 minutes ago, and Caroline had called her about 3 times.
She turned to Leslie, standing up.
"Hey Les, I'll be right back okay?"
Leslie waved her off as the ruby haired girl walked into the bathroom, glad no one was in at the moment and quickly dialed Tyler's number.
It rang but he didn't pick up.
"Shit… come on…"
She mumbled as she dialed it again and brought it to her ear but he didn't pick.
She sighed disgruntledly before calling Caroline who picked on the first ring and her anxious voice sounded over the phone.
"Oh my God! Cherry! I've been trying to get you for a long time now!"
She ranted and Cherith waved her off.
"Not the time Caroline, what the fuck is going on?"
"It's that Jules bitch!"
She spat out frustrated over the phone.
"She told Tyler about Mason and now… well, he came to my house this morning and actually confronted me on it! He thinks I had something to do with it! And he thinks you knew as well but didn't tell him!"
Cherith shrugged.
"Well he's kind of right."
"Cherry!"
"Well it is true!"
Cherith rolled her eyes, not in a sympathetic mood.
"You kind of did have a hand in Mason's death… just not directly. And I also knew about his death as well so…"
Well… talks of his death have been greatly exaggerated anyways…
Caroline sighed over the phone.
"I know… fuck, I know all that! But, what do we do now?"
Cherith sighed.
"Well, the memorial for all those people that died is starting in a few minutes, maybe come over to the Grill or something while I go check on Stefan and Tyler. As much as Stefan has his peace keeping moments, it doesn't change the fact that he's a vampire, his emotions aren't exactly human. Also, he's the brother of the idiot who killed Mason."
"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll get ready and come grab a bite at the Grill then even join you guys at Tyler's… just so I can be sure nothing's going wrong."
Cherith cut the call, shaking her head and patting her outfit as she looked at herself with the mirror in the bathroom.
She had on black skinny leather high waist pants, a red high neck long sleeve crop top and a black mid calf length leather heeled boots with lace up military buckle.
Good enough to fight in… in case the night turned into that. And she was honestly counting on it happening, especially with idiots like Damon Salvatore walking up and down like he had a stick high up his arse.
"Bastard."
She cussed him silently as she walked out and towards her table where she saw said idiot in the Grill with John, Elena nearby.
"Hey Leslie… sorry I have to go."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, Caroline called… she has some 'fashion' emergency, you know how she is."
Cherith joked as she grabbed her bag and Leslie snorted.
"Well greet the barbie for me, yeah?"
Cherith nods as she walks out the door of the Grill, walking into someone she really didn't have the time for.
"Miss Gilbert-Cadwallader…"
Cherith breathed in through her nose as she stared at Jonas Martin.
Lockwood Mansion.
"Look Tyler…"
Stefan stares down the boy seated on a couch in his dad's office.
"About Caroline, no matter what her flaws are, when push comes to shove, you're gonna want that girl on your side. She's your friend, stop being a dick to her."
Tyler scoffed.
"I thought vampires hated werewolves."
Stefan shrugged.
"That's some sort of leftover idea from another time. It doesn't have to be that way anymore. We go to the same school, we have the same friends. we keep the same secrets. This can work, Tyler. I mean, it's your home, it's my home too. I want this to work."
Tyler looks at him for a moment before looking away, his muscles stiff just at being in the presence of Stefan. It didn't help that he was keeping him hostage in his own home.
"And Cherith?"
Stefan frowned, confused.
"Cherith is a witch, I know… how is she even involved in all of this?... She doesn't talk about it much, only that she got her powers from her mother's side. Why is she even helping you guys? She doesn't seem to like you after all."
Tyler scoffed and a small smile appeared on Stefan's face at the thought of the ruby haired girl.
"Cherith doesn't seem to like a lot of people, that much is true. Rather, she just does whatever it is she wants. But believe me Tyler, she had absolutely nothing to do with your uncle."
Tyler scoffed, a slight feeling of anger rising in him at not just Caroline, but also Cherith too, but Stefan gave him a look.
"I'm serious, Tyler. She's not someone you want to confront or go after. Believe me… even I would be an idiot to go after her."
Especially with what he was slowly finding out about her.
Suddenly, Tyler's phone buzzes. The 2 stare at each other for a moment, before Tyler slips past Stefan and answers it.
"Help, help!"
But before he could continue talking, Stefan grabs the phone and hangs up, glaring at the teen wolf.
"Who's number was that?"
Tyler looks away and a frustrated Stefan throws the phone on the desk in the office.
"Damn it Tyler! I'm trying to save your life, can't you see that?!"
Tyler ignores him and Stefan sighs, dragging his hand through his hair.
Woods.
Jules stares at her phone, a feeling building in her chest as she quickly rushes over to Brady.
He looks up when she spots her.
"We have a problem."
Outside The Mystic Grill.
Cherith folds her arms as she stares at Jonas who stares back at her.
The sky was getting dark out already and honestly, Cherith didn't have the time to waste.
"Look, if you have absolutely nothing to say, then move out of my way."
She sniped at him as she walks away and Jonas turns to her.
"I know you're the Scarlet Witch, Miss Gilbert-Cadwallader."
Cherith paused, sighing slightly as she turned back to face him and shrugged.
"Congrats. You know about it. And so what? Did you expect me to shake in my boots like a little hatchling?"
She snarled at him and he chuckles a bit before slowly walking up to her.
"On the contrary, I came here to offer a sort of… olive branch, if you will."
Cherith narrowed her eyes at him.
"Did the vampire 2.0 order you to do that?"
"If you mean Elijah, then no. Rather, I've come of my own free will. I'm a warlock just as you're a witch. We are connected by our magics, and while Luka didn't do a great job with befriending you, I have come here myself."
Cherith looked at him blankly.
"What do you want?"
Jonas smiled, now that they were seemingly getting somewhere.
"You're the Scarlet Witch, that much is true… but I get the feeling that you don't know much about what that entails."
Cherith internally gritted her teeth.
While that was true, she wasn't going to let him know… but the knowing look in his eyes… the bastard probably knew something.
"I can help you. We can reach a sort of agreement. I'm not here to hurt you, rather it would indeed be wonderful to be able to help out a nexus being however I can. There are many things you don't know. The origin of your powers… why you are so different from everyone of us. Even the strongest witches and warlocks out there cannot hold a candle to your flame. I can guide you. Teach you about what you are… the prophecy."
Cherith scoffed.
"No. No way. I don't believe what you're saying. You're just trying to reel me in, knowing Luka couldn't do the same. I don't like strangers Martin. And you look like someone who wants to study me for their own interests. Let's not lie to each other."
Jonas stared down at her.
He already knew she wasn't Bonnie Bennett.
She wouldn't be so easily swayed.
"Perhaps I do want to study you. But I am a scholar. I have traveled all around the world in different searches for knowledge of all kinds. I have learnt things about witch kind that even the most powerful of our kinds never knew… and I have heard and seen a lot pertaining to what you are. I have the information you need."
Cherith narrowed her eyes.
"And what makes you think I can't just take it from your mind?"
Jonas smirked.
"Easy. Because if you could, you already would have."
Cherith felt her fists shaking at the audacity of this man.
How dare he!
She breathed through her nose before plastering a fake smile on her face.
"You know what?... I don't have time for this."
She turned and matched off and Jonas turned to walk away after a moment.
He knew she would have to seek him out.
There was no other option for her.
Lockwood Mansion.
Cherith stops her car, walking out and marching straight for the house.
It was already dark out.
Her mind was still on her little conversation with Jonas Martin.
The man had an ego the size of the great canyon.
How dare he use knowledge to try and control her.
Of course, she indeed needed that knowledge, but how would she even get it when she didn't have full control of her powers.
And prophecies.
What the fuck was he even talking about?!
What prophecy concerned her.
As much as she didn't want to believe it, he'd seemed so sure of himself.
And the time she'd broken into their house, she'd seen the number of grimoires and old texts that had been scattered around the whole place.
He really was a scholar, there was no doubt about that.
But why exactly was he helping someone like Vampire 2.0 anyways?
What could the original be holding over him to be able to relocate him to this backwards part of the globe that was Mystic Falls?
There was a lot of things to think about, a lot of things hanging on the balance and Cherith had no idea what to do.
As she made to knock on the door though, the front door opened and Stefan walked out, dragging Tyler.
The two stopped, startled at seeing her there and she shrugged.
"Caroline said to meet you here. Apparently Tyler found out about Mason."
Tyler's eyes tighten as he scoffs.
"Yeah well thanks for not telling Cherith."
Cherith's eyes narrowed.
"Don't take that tone with me you idiot!"
Before she could attack him though, Stefan stopped her, turning to glare at Tyler.
"You really shouldn't be saying anything, given the situation we're now in thanks to you!"
Cherith blinked at the urgent tone coming from Stefan.
"Situation? What situation?"
Stefan frowned, turning away from Tyler and giving Cherith a serious face.
"It's Caroline. Jules has her."
The Woods.
Caroline is in a cage in Brady's RV.
Her forehead bloody but healed after removing the wooden bullet that Jules had fired in.
Brady sat on the other side, staring at the vampire who writhed slightly in pain, and as much as he looked, he found no sympathy for the thing.
Especially since one of it's kind had killed a pack member.
"So, How many vampires are there in this town anyway?"
Caroline doesn't answer, and he sighs, shooting her with a squirt gun filled with vervain and she lets out a scream of pain as it burns through her skin, making him grin.
"No?"
"Why are you doing this to me?! Why are you doing this? Why?!?!"
Brady shrugs.
"You're a vampire. An unholy creature of the dark. Your kind only knows destruction and nothing else. But look at you, all weak and spineless."
He grabs a blowgun and shoots wooden darts in her neck and Caroline cries out in pain as the enter mid way deep into the skin of her collarbone.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
He cups a hand to his ears as if he couldn't hear her screams already and Caroline screams out.
"Let me out!"
"Excuse me? What was that? I can't hear you over there."
"Let me out!"
She screams, hitting at the cage angrily, making it rattle and Brady snorts as he stands up and leaves the RV, joining Jules outside who gives him a look.
"Get it out of your system yet?"
He shook his head.
"No, I'm just getting started."
Jules sighs, turning to him.
"Brady, let's be smart about this. I just want the boy. It's our duty to help him, it's who we are. We can't afford any mistakes or ending up under the radar of someone bad."
Brady gives her a look.
"You want to talk duty and honor? These are vampires. They cross one of us, they cross all of us. That's who we are."
He walks back into the RV, ready to inflict more pain on his new play thing.
Woods.
Cherith sighs frustrated as she follows Stefan in the woods while levitating Tyler to a stop and floating down herself.
"Now what?"
She turned to Stefan who held into Tyler tightly so he wouldn't even think of running off.
At the moment, she was ignoring the boy who caused this whole mess. Then again, she could understand why this escalated so much.
If a group of people were involved rather directly or indirectly with the death of someone dear to Cherith and they kept it from her while actively being 'friends', she wouldn't believe them one bit.
Cherith just hoped for his sake that Caroline was okay, because there was a large number of people who preferred her to him at the moment.
"Over there."
He points to the RV a few feet away where Jules stood like she was guarding.
"I know you're out there!"
She called out, looking around.
"Come on out."
Stefan wastes no time, dragging Tyler with him and Cherith walking behind them, her magic slightly going haywire, making her wary as she looked around the dark forest.
They weren't alone.
"Where's Caroline?"
Stefan demanded and Jules gestured to the RV behind her.
"Locked up tight. What is she doing here?"
She pointed at Cherith.
"I know she's not a vampire. A pet, perhaps?"
Cherith gave her a fake, huge grin.
"I'd talk to you, but I don't talk to dogs and lower breeds so…"
She shrugged and Jules glared at her, looking like she was about to attack her and so Stefan decided to talk again.
"Let her go, and I'll release Tyler. It doesn't have to get any messier than it already has. I'm not your enemy, Jules."
Jules scoffed, amused.
"It's a little late to be waving the white flag, don't you think?"
"You need to leave town. No one else has to get hurt."
"I'm not leaving without Tyler."
She glared at him.
"Tyler is free to make his own decisions, as soon as you release Caroline."
Jules and Stefan glare at each other slightly, hoping one would give up, but it was for naught, as a blur sounded by Cherith and she immediately turned in time to see Damon arrive and Cherith stifled a sigh.
Of all the people.
"My brother the peacemaker. Hello Cherry Berry."
He wriggled his hand in greeting at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Now!"
Damon grinned.
"Since Stefan got here before me I'm gonna let him try it his way before I resort to my way, which is a little bloodier. So give us Caroline."
"Let go of Tyler."
"Give us Caroline. Without a full moon it's not an even fight and you know it. We will take you."
Cherith rolled her eyes and cleared her throat.
"Look bitch, give us Caroline and we'll give you Tyler! I don't care if you can turn into a wolf without the full moon or not, some of us have to go home to their beds! You whiny ass bitch!"
She sniped at the wolf, irritation building up in her and Jules glared at the girl.
How dare she!
Well, she'd pay… what with being in league with vampires in the first place.
"I'm not so sure you understand… give me Tyler first."
She glared, before whistling, and suddenly, the rest of her pack walks out of their hiding places, all holding weapons from stakes to cross-bows, and the occasional flame-thrower.
"Ah crap."
Cherith whispered under her breath.
"Let's try this again. Give us Tyler."
Jules smirks and Damon turns to Tyler.
"You heard her. Go. Get over there."
He shooed him off and Tyler immediately walks over to Jules, giving Cherith an unsure look and receiving a blank one in return.
Brady then steps forward, looking at the two vampires, eyes going over the ruby haired girl with them.
"Now then! Which one of you killed Mason?"
Damon smirks, lazily waving a hand.
"Uh, that'd be me."
Cherith sighed.
"You just don't know when to stop being an idiot, do you?"
Brady though, glares at the dark haired vampire before shouting out.
"Boys, make sure that one suffers."
"What about the girl?"
One of the calls out and Brady shrugs.
"Do whatever you want with her."
Immediately he said that, Cherith could feel some leering looks coming from some of them and her anger grew.
Hell. To. The. No.
Damon turns to Stefan.
"We can take them."
"I don't know about that."
An unsure Stefan says as he looks around.
"Well then..."
As soon as Damon rushes over to Jules, Cherith lit up her hand and took to the skies, shocking quite a number of them.
Two pack members holding crossbows immediately fired up after her and Cherith raised a force field to block it and they ricocheted, one impaling into a tree and another one into a stray members throat and he fell to the ground, dead.
Cherith wrinkled her nose before her eyes spot the RV, ignoring the Salvatore brothers who were still going against the others.
Immediately there was an opening as Damon rips out the heart of one of the members and she dove down, twirling past some of the pack members and throwing a blast at one as he flies against a broken tree branch which impaled him from the stomach out front and he died with blood pouring out his mouth.
As she lands in the RV, she sees Tyler standing in front of the cage where Caroline was held and she felt sorry for her friend who looked like she had been thoroughly tortured, even for a vampire.
"Tyler, please! Tyler?!"
Cherith moves but Tyler snaps out of it, opening the cage for her and Cherith's eyes narrow at the boy's head.
"Good decision."
Tyler's head snaps to her as Caroline stumbles out of the cage, almost falling but he holds onto her.
"Get her out of here."
She warns him and he swallows as her crimson eyes glare at him as he helps Caroline.
Cherith stared at the mini cage and raises a hand, focusing on the bars and red energy gathers around the bars and as she twists her hand, the bars bend into different shapes and fall off the handle and she grinned.
"Aah!"
She rushes out the RV at the sound of Caroline's panicked about to see Jules holding Caroline, face first against the RV, a gun placed against her head with Tyler nearby and not doing anything.
Jules immediately spots Cherith with crimson hands and her face clouds slightly with fear before disappearing.
"Take a step and I'll blow her head off. And don't think I'm joking… wooden bullets."
She expanded and Cherith gritted her teeth, knowing she couldn't do anything.
Even if she tries to gain control of the gun with her magic, just a click and Caroline's head might be blown off.
Not something she wanted to take a chance with.
Suddenly, all of the werewolves except Tyler begin to scream in pain, covering their ears with their hands as they fall to their knees and Cherith's eyes narrow as she looks into the woods.
Why hadn't she thought about the migraine thing?
Of course it would affect werewolves too!
"What's happening?"
Caroline called out as she moves to Cherith's side, feeling more safe next to her.
Tyler looks at the two, his heart beating fast.
"What the hell is going on?"
Suddenly, Jonas Martin appears. Walking with his hands held out while casting a spell on the werewolves.
Damon and Stefan get up off the ground quickly and watch as the pack are all rendered unconscious.
Jonas then turns to Stefan and Damon.
"Elijah made a promise to Elena. I'm here to see it's upheld. You need to go. Get out of here. Now."
Caroline immediately grabs Cherith's hand as Stefan and Damon cautiously walk off, and as Cherith makes eye contact with Jonas, he speaks again.
"You know where to find me."
He looks at her meaningfully and Caroline drags her to move faster, making her stumble slightly as the run off.
Jonas look at Tyler with a straight face.
"When your friends awaken, give them a message. They need to get the hell out of this town. They have no idea what they're trifling with. Believe me, they'll only end up dead."
With that, he looks around before walking off, leaving a slightly confused Tyler suddenly feeling a high level of guilt and sadness as he stares around.
How did Mason even deal with all of this?
Forbes Residence.
Cherith hugs Caroline before she closes her door and she turns to walk off, towards her car, about opening it when Stefan walked up to her.
"Can I get a ride?"
Cherith raises an eyebrow as she turns to him.
"We don't exactly live in the same area Stefanie."
He chuckles.
"No, uh, I want to see Elena before heading home."
"And you can't use your super speed because…?"
She folds her arms and he shrugs, looking unconcerned by her attitude, already used to it.
"I'm not gonna talk. Cross my heart."
He playfully crossed his heart and Cherith rolled her eyes before opening her car.
"Fine. Get in."
He grinned as he walked around and she gives him a glare.
"Better treat Pietro nicely vamp boy or I'll leave your ass stranded in the next town."
She threatened as he sat down and she turned on the ignition.
"Of course."
He nods as she drives off.
It's quiet for a minute before he speaks up.
"So…"
"Ugh!"
She groans.
"I knew you wanted to talk."
She grumbles as she turns on the radio to a station playing rock music and Stefan chuckles, lowering it.
"I just want to talk, that's all."
"Well I don't like to talk."
"Your powers…"
"Ugh!"
"I have a theory…"
Cherith rolled her eyes.
"What, everyone's suddenly watched Twilight now?... If you mention radio active spiders or some shit, I really will throw you into the moon Stefano."
He smiled.
"When Damon, Alaric and Elena went to Duke and came back, they discussed some things about werewolves, but with that, they explained some mythologies about the supernatural world as well."
Cherith's hands tightened around the wheels of her car which Stefan notices, deciding not too push her too far while broaching the subject.
"One was a particular myth… a myth that stuck, especially the night you helped me out of the tomb. What I saw… was not just normal, Cherith…"
He turned to her slightly but she says nothing and he continues.
"You were, glowing… like red and gold mystical energy… and on your head, there was an headpiece. Alaric called my description, the myth of the Scarlet Witch."
Cherith's eyes narrowed.
What was it with everyone suddenly realizing what the fuck she was?!
"So?"
She grunted and Stefan smiled.
"Your reaction tells me something."
Suddenly, Cherith slams her foot on the brake, bringing their travel to an abrupt stop and startling Stefan who turns to the girl whose eyes were currently crimson.
"And what exactly are you going to do with the information?? Because believe me Stefan, it is MY secret to keep. My secret to tell!"
Her voice shook slightly and Stefan felt his heart pang slightly.
"I won't tell anyone Cherry."
Cherith scoffed.
"Not even your precious Elena?"
Stefan grinned and nods.
"Not even Elena."
Cherith looks right at him, and he felt like she was reading his very soul, before she turned back to her wheel, turning on the ignition and driving once again.
"Good."
"So, you're the Scarlet Witch hunh?"
"Don't push it vamp boy… And my name is still Cherith to you."
She threatened and Stefan grinned.
Deep down though, he knew that as a Scarlet Witch, the title wouldn't just be useless.
With the powers he had seen from her, he knew that being the Scarlet Witch must mean something. Must be a role.
He had no idea what it was and he wasn't so sure when he'd find out, but he knew… just by looking at her, she was not to be trifled with.
Gilbert Residence.
Cherith walked into her room and pounced on her bed, letting out a relived groan.
She was finally back home.
And with that, her mind went to Jonas Martin.
As much as Cherith herself was a powerful being, as she was usually told, she didn't exactly feel that way, compared to what Jonas had done that evening.
Cherith knew, she was brains, but on the battle field, when confronted immediately, she became just brawns.
It was like she was incapable thinking straight without chaos and destruction plaguing her very mind and soul.
She could always feel it, festering… building up in the face of a fight.
Jonas Martin seemed like he knew more than she did, which wouldn't be surprising what with the man having traveled all around the world.
Something she'd always wanted to do.
He was the only one that could give her at least some answers.
Maybe even help her with the anger she always felt.
Oh she didn't trust him. Not one bit.
He wanted something, he and the original.
But she just had to play a bit to his whim and learn as much as she could, especially why everyone seemingly knew about the Scarlet Witch.
Why it was a myth, who had known she would exist so far into the future.
She wanted to know… everything.
Fell's Church Tomb.
Katherine looks around the dark tomb, mind numb as the quiet seemed to drive her mad, but she gets up when she hears a noise.
Slowly walking to the entrance as she sure as hell didn't want to see Elijah at this time, a torch light is pointed directly into her eyes and she winces, hoping it was Isobel but her hope goes down at the sight of an unexpected person.
"I know you were expecting someone else."
He says as he stands at the entrance and she glares slightly.
"I sent Stefan to find Isobel."
John nods.
"She got your message. She was busy, so she sent me instead."
Katherine hums.
"Does Stefan know that you're here right now?"
He shakes his head.
"No. No one does. This is between you, me, and Isobel."
Katherine finally relaxes a bit as hope begins to build up in her at the opportunity to leave this place was getting closer and closer to fruition.
"I want out of this tomb, John."
"I'm already on it."
He promises her and Katherine smirks slightly.
Finally.
I think we can all agree that Cherith is on autopilot at the moment with her powers. Until she takes control of it, she won't be able to do as much as she should.
Take our dearly beloved Wanda Maximoff for an example. Using the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she could only access the base level of her powers, telepathy and using hex bolts, but later on, we see as she grows into it and then embraces who she is to become, the Scarlet Witch.
Phew! Being a Scarlet Witch really is harder than most think. Imagine loosing control and destroying the world or wiping someone out!
And yes, Jonas Martin knows that... I wonder what he will reveal to the poor girl in the next chapter, after all she thinks she's already settling into her powers. What will she do when she finds out she's not?!
Cherith will be finding out something about herself that'll creep her out for a while. Think she'll have some internal crisis?
Idk.
Being a Scarlet Witch is fucking hard!
Hope you guys check out my new Harry Potter fanfiction called 'Little Red and the Wizarding World' I'd really appreciate it! Thank you!
And I've been rather interested in the Kal-el/Superman being born in the Marvel universe. Maybe I'll do some kind of one-shot on it... lol.
