***Sorry it took me so long to update. I'll try to get the new chapters out more quickly next time. Please review and let me know there is still interest in this story.***
The music was played loudly through the intercoms of every room in the Manor. I absentmindedly wondered how the loud music didn't hurt Damon's heightened hearing but shrugged it off.
Vicki's hair bounced as she swayed dangerously close to the edge of the table I had just vacated. I watched her from my position on the couch, needing to cool off for a moment. I, after all, didn't have Damon's blood giving me an extra boost of energy.
It had been two hours, Stefan was still MIA, and I was beginning to lose my patience — he should know better than to goad Damon like this.
I made my way to the window and slowly pulled the heavy drapes back just enough to peek outside. The sky was still blue, the sun still shining. I glanced at the tree line, hoping to see Stefan, but saw nothing. I bit the inside of my cheek and grumbled in frustration. I turned around and put my hands on my hips as I watched Damon dance with Vicki, his body pressed against hers, and shook my head. This was not my idea of fun.
"Oh man, what did you give me?" Vicki murmured, her face inches from Damon's.
His answering smile was vicious and calculating. "Some blood. You loved it," he said.
I scoffed lightly and walked over to the bookshelves on the right side of the room. I ran my fingers across the spines of the first few books. I was reading the titles when Vicki spoke next.
"I did? Wait. I'm confused," She asked, stepping back one step, "How did we get here?"
I looked over my shoulder and watched a shocked and confused expression flitter across her face as she moved her head from left to right, taking in her surroundings. I pitied her and hoped Damon kept his cool. The books in front of me caught my attention again as Damon chuckled darkly.
"We met in the woods. You were drunk. I attacked you. Then I killed all your friends and brought you here, and gave you some blood. You loved it," Damon said, pulling her closer. "And now we are going to play until the sun goes down,"
I sneered in his direction and took a black leather-bound book from the shelf and glanced at the cover; Dracula, how perfect. I giggled and shook my head at the image of one of the Salvatore brothers buying this specific book. The absurdity of the situation had to have been very amusing. I made my way back to the couch and sat down. I lifted my legs up and crossed them underneath me, snuggling down with the book in my lap.
"Find something to pique your interest, El?" Damon called from across the room.
I peeked over the top of the book and eyed him warily. He was still pressed against Vickie, his hands on her hips.
"It's better than watching you fondle a zombified version of Vickie. Does it even bother you that she isn't really aware of what's going on?" I asked, with real interest. "The idea of messing around with someone you've tricked into wanting you turns my stomach."
He smirked before taking Vicki's wrist in his mouth and biting sharply. I scrunched up my face and grimaced as she took his wrist into her own, biting down and then drinking heavily.
"That answer your question? Believe me El, she knows exactly what she is doing,"
His lips were stained crimson from her blood. I ignored him and looked back down at my book, hoping it gave me the escape I needed. The music faded into the background, and I barely noticed what was happening around me as I sunk myself deeper and deeper into the pages of the book. I didn't look up again until I heard a loud thump as something fell to the ground. I closed the book and found Vicki on the floor a few feet away from me. Damon stood beside her, his expression was bored and carefree. I flew from the couch and looked down at her body, noticing the unhealthy angle of her neck.
"Dammit, Damon! You knew what she meant to Mattie and Jer," I said in exasperation, kneeling down beside her.
I knew that she wouldn't be dead for long but waking up as a vampire wasn't much better, not for her, at least. She wasn't the kind of person that could survive immortality. She was an addict for a reason — she had a rough life, and I was damn sure she didn't want an eternity of it. I leaned back onto my feet with a sigh and looked up at Damon, who was leaning comfortably against the bar looking at the clock on the table beside me. He looked completely at ease, and it irritated me to no end. How could he be so cavalier about ending someone's life? I stood and pulled my shirt down, this whole ordeal was becoming more than I could calmly handle. I was about to blow up on someone, and the closest person was a vampire hell-bent on destroying his brother and, in turn, my family. I stomped over to the cocky vampire in question, and with one swift motion, slapped him firmly across the face.
"This is your mess Damon, and you can deal with it on your own," I spat, my shaking hands balled up into fists. "But so help me, if someone I care about gets hurt in the process, I will make you pay!"
I turned on my heel and walked swiftly to my car. I'd officially had all I could take of Damon Salvatore.
I drove back home with one thought on my mind. What do I tell Jeremy? Deep down, I knew Vicki wouldn't make it, and it would break Jeremy's heart. I slipped out of the car and slammed the door shut as hard as I could. The car creaked and groaned with my effort, and a significant dent was clearly visible. I swore under my breath; how was I going to explain that to Jenna?
I placed my hand on my forehead in frustration. I couldn't help but think how much easier things would be when I started over. I grimaced at my thoughts and felt terrible. I headed into the house, pulling out my cell and dialing Elena's number. Where the hell were they, anyhow? As I was walking up the stairs, I reached her voicemail once again.
"Listen, Lena, I don't know what you and Stefan are planning, and frankly I don't want to. But you should both know that whatever it is won't end well — for anyone. Call me back," I said in one breath. "please."
This day just kept getting worse and worse, and I had yet to live through the hardest part — my conversation with Elena and Jeremy. I made my way to my room and threw open my closet door. I grabbed a change of clothes, something I wouldn't mind being ruined. Once I was redressed, I pulled on my black biker boots and refastened my hair into a braid; I had a feeling things were about to get dirty.
I checked my hidden black backpack of supplies, the one that I hoped I would never need. I loaded the bag with a few extra items, a pocket knife, a few tangles of nylon rope, and a couple of stakes coated in vervain — these I really hoped I didn't need to use. When I had first found out that the Salvatores had returned to Mystic Falls, I had started putting together supplies, things I thought might come in handy: wooden stakes, vervain, baggies of human and animal blood. Anything that I thought might help when shit inevitably hit the fan. I ran the bag to the closet under the stairs and hid it away, still hoping that I wouldn't need to drag it out later.
Returning to my room, I sat down at my vanity and quickly reapplied some facial moisturizer as the doorbell rang. I closed my eyes and visualized the front porch, my brow furrowing when I sensed Vicki. I stood up and ran out my door and down the stairs just as Jeremy opened the front door. I flew in front of him and gently pushed him away from a slightly hungover looking Vicki.
"Hey. The sun is killing me. My eyes are on fire," she moaned, placing her fingers on the bridge of her nose.
Jeremy fought his way in front of me, and I struggled to stay between the newly minted Vamp and my very human brother.
"Where have you been?" he asked, his voice rushed.
I chewed my bottom lip between my teeth and looked at the two. What was I supposed to do? She probably had no clue what she had become.
"Hey Vicki, how are you feeling?" I finally asked, defeated.
She walked past us into the house and headed straight for the kitchen. "It's good. Everything is good," she said, waving her hand dismissively.
Jeremy and I followed her into the kitchen, and she took hold of the back of Jeremy's neck, pulling him into a swift kiss. I raised my hand ready to knock her through a wall if necessary. As their kiss deepened, I looked away, feeling awkward and intrusive. I cleared my throat and tapped my foot, thanking every God in the book when they finally pulled apart.
"Did something happen?" Jer asked when she pulled away from him, heading for the fridge.
She ignored his question as she pulled open the door, peering inside our fridge for something to help satisfy her ravenous hunger. I felt terrible that she wouldn't be able to find anything — at least not in our fridge.
"I'm hungry, what do you got to eat?" she asked, leaning into the fridge.
Jeremy looked at me, and I tried to keep my face from showing the regret I felt.
"You're high?" Jeremy said, inching closer to her. "Vicki, its the middle of the day,"
I pulled him away and shook my head. Where the hell was Elena and Stefan? I pulled out my phone and send a quick text to Matt. When this all went bad, I didn't want my family to be implicated in her disappearance. As she raided our fridge eating anything she could get her hands on, we patiently waited for Matt. About twenty minutes later he burst through our door, his face bunched up with worry. I greeted him in the living room and pulled him to the side.
"Something is wrong with her Matty," I said softly.
His blue eyes widened, and he rushed past me into the kitchen. I stayed back in the living room, giving them some space but keeping my ears open. I was pacing in front of the T.V. when they brought Vicki into the living room. She had her hands hovering near her ears, pain marring her features. Matt and Jeremy babbled over Vicki's moaning. I continued pacing back and forth, trying to remain calm. It wasn't until Jeremy mentioned the police that things turned sideways.
"No!" Vicki screamed, shoving Jeremy away from her "Don't call the cops, you can't call the cops! Get away from me! DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Her screams were shrill, desperate, almost out of control. She grew violent, throwing silverware at Matt and Jeremy and knocking the dining room chairs into their path as they tried to restrain her. I was about to restrain Vicki with magic when thankfully Elena and Stefan arrived,
"What's going on?" Elena said, moving beside me and placing her hand on my shoulder.
I stepped away and leaned towards Stefan. "A gift from Damon," I whispered so only he would hear.
His head snapped towards me and then back to Vicki in a nanosecond. He slowly looked her over and closed his eyes in anger.
"I told you this wouldn't end well," I accused, again for his ears only.
Logically I knew it wasn't really his fault, but I still held a grudge. He knew what provoking Damon would do and yet here we were.
"She's really messed up," Matt worried.
He stood next to where Vicki had sat on the floor. Her body curled into itself. Elena walked towards her, hands outstretched.
"Elena, back up," Stefan said.
I took Elena's wrist and pulled her away as Stefan took her place in front of Vicki. "Vicki, look at me. Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine. Take her up to bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be ok," he said, directing his last few sentences to Jeremy and Matt.
They lifted her, taking most of her weight as they helped her up the stairs. When I knew they could no longer hear us, I lashed out, not caring who could see. I flung my hand outwards, using my magic to knock the lamps from the tables beside me. They landed on the floor with a crash, the glass flying across the room. I could feel the air sparking around me, but didn't care. I was so angry, at Damon for his stupid grudge against Stefan, at Stefan for antagonizing his brother, and at Katherine for creating their feud in the first place. A tiny intake of breath caught my attention, and I slowed my ragged breathing long enough to remember my surroundings. I clenched my fists and fought back the rush of magic that was crackling around me. Elena was standing behind Stefan, who had felt the need to shield her from me. As if I'd ever hurt her. The ridiculousness of his action snapped me out of it, and I ran a hand over my face.
"Ellie?" Elena whispered.
She was peering out from around Stefan's shoulder, her big brown eyes surprised and frightened. I cracked a half-smile and shrugged.
"Well, this was not how I wanted things to go. But it's too late now, I guess."
Stefan snorted and stepped away from Elena walking towards me. "You in control, Elandra?" he asked slowly.
I nodded and looked at the damage I had caused, with a flick of my wrist the broken lamps lifted into the air, the glass reforming. Once the work was finished, they lowered back onto their respective tables. Elena was still standing on the other side of the room, completely shell-shocked. She shook herself out of it; literally, her brown hair flinging around her.
"Can someone please tell me what is going on," she squeaked.
I fiddled with my braid, trying to come up with a way to explain. "I'm a witch, Lena. I was born this way. There is a lot more to it, but for right now that's the easiest part to explain," I said.
Stefan stayed beside me, making sure I wasn't going to lash out again. I felt a bit put out by his behavior. He was acting like I was a danger to Elena. When I inched towards her, he flinched and started following behind me, right on my heels.
I swung around and used my magic to push him away a few feet. "Come on, Stefan. You and Vicki are the most dangerous people here. Back off," I spat.
His face fell, and I immediately felt like crap for reminding him of what he was. I started to apologize, but Elena's strangled groan interrupted me. "What?" she said.
Both Stefan and I turned towards her. "Vicki is in transition, Lena," I explained. Her face paled, her doe eyes frantically flittering to the stairs where our brother and Matt had disappeared. I put my hands up and tried to reassure her.
"They are ok. Stefan and I are both keeping an eye on the situation," I said.
She looked at me in confusion. "How can you be keeping an eye on them?" she asked.
I stood beside her and brushed her hair off her shoulder. "I can't hear them but if I focus I can sense where they are in the room and what they are doing," I said.
Stefan joined us and watched me intently. He was just as curious about what I could do as she was. I sighed and folded my arms. I had never tried to explain this to someone before.
"It's kinda like X-ray vision. If I focus on their auras, I can almost see them." I closed my eyes and inhaled. "Like right now, Jeremy is sitting on the edge of his bed, Vicki lying beside him,"
I focused on Matt's blue aura. It was almost the same color as his eyes. I could see him standing by Jeremy's door speaking to him. His lips moved, but no sound came. That was one thing I couldn't do, hearing distant speech wasn't in my repertoire.
"Matty is standing in the doorway speaking to Jer. I can't tell what he is saying," I finished, opening my eyes.
Stefan titled his head slightly and listened. "He is worried. He's never seen her like this before," he said.
Elena looked between us and shook her head. "How is this possible? We were born minutes apart. We're twins! Am I a witch too?" she asked.
I exchanged a knowing look with Stefan and clamped my teeth together. She wasn't a witch, but a doppelganger and Stefan still hadn't told her.
"No, you're not a witch. I promise I will explain the rest later. Right now we have bigger problems," I said, looking to the ceiling. "What are we gonna do about Vicki?" I asked, directing the question to the only other vamp in the house.
"Right now she doesn't know what she is, but soon she'll have to decide whether to feed or not," he said.
Elena looked at him her face set in sadness. "The same choice you made?" she asked.
I looked away, unable to meet his gaze. The same choice he had taken away from Damon. Before Stefan could answer, a loud yell echoed down the stairs. Seconds later, Matt bounded down and to the front door. "She was fine, and then she just...freaked out and left," he said, huffing for breath and heading out the door.
I ran towards the closet and grabbed my recently packed bag. I pulled the strap over my shoulder and looked at Stefan.
"We can track her," I said.
He nodded and eyed my bag.
"I'll do what I have to, Stefan," I said.
I didn't want to use the vervain stakes that resided in the bag, but I would if I had to.
"Go," Elena said.
I pulled my eyes from Stefan's worried gaze and ran out the door. It was time to hunt.