This is a rewrite of An Oath to Keep. I needed... well it wasn't good enough. I have so many ideas and I figured out where I screwed up. Part of it was not giving him his own path, his own story. Part of it was not balancing his powers with his curse as a Traveler...
Here is a far, far better path for him.
"You okay?"
Samuel Gilbert was tired of hearing those words, he had been asked them a million times since his parents died. However, coming from Uncle John he could forgive it. Turning to his Uncle, who was driving them the hell out of Mystic Falls, Samuel gave him a smile. "I am okay as I am going to be. I have been better and I will be again. I just need some time away from Mystic Falls, that is why I asked you to take me on this road trip."
"It's a good thing you graduated this year, otherwise this little trip would only last the summer." No matter how he smiled, Uncle John looked like a dick. It was just how he was, but for some reason, it made Samuel happy. He enjoyed his Uncle's Dickish nature. He never hid who he was, how he felt, or why he felt it. The man proudly declared his disdain for the world and that just made him easier to be around.
Settling into his seat, he pulled out his journal. " I hate this."
"I thought journaling was Elena's thing."
"The shrink they forced us to go to after our parents croaked recommended it, said I have too much unsaid about my lovely parents." He couldn't ignore his Uncle's pained sigh. "Sorry, but you know I was never close to anyone bar you or Jenna. Couldn't stand my parents, and they felt the same towards me just the rest of this garbage heap we called a town."
"They loved you, Sammy."
"I am sure they did, but I didn't love them." In that silence, that pained emptiness that filled the space between them, Samuel started writing down his thoughts.
Dear Diary,.. .god this is weird. Fuck it, I'll just treat you like a person and introduce myself a bit. I plan on burning this damn thing anyway, no way am I letting all my secrets fly free. They could get me killed and that is not okay.
My name is Samuel Michael Gilbert, I am the Younger Twin Brother of Elena Gilbert. Older Brother to Jeremy and adopted son of Greyson and Miranda Gilbert. Yeah, I am adopted and yeah I loathed my parents but no my adoption didn't play a part in my disdain of my family. Of course I wasn't even supposed to know I was adopted really, I figured it out when I realized that not only did Elena and I look nothing alike, her being a tall model thin girl with dark everything and me being five foot four and almost se through with black hair and green eyes, but we looked nothing like our entire family. Like at all. I realized that we were adopted or dear mommy cheated either one. Didn't matter to me though...
Anyway, I should also explain that I am sixteen and my parents died just a week ago. I was in the car when it happened, we were picking Elena up from a party she wasn't supposed to be at and we got into an accident. We went over Wickery Bridge. Only dad and I were conscious, I tried to get Elena free since I was bleeding from smacking my head against the window and was pretty sure I was going to die anyway. In my attempt, before I passed out, I scratched my sister... everything changed after that. The moment her blood touched me, it was like being struck by lightning. My panic turned into power and the world changed around me. My door blasted open and my seatbelt snapped. After that everything went dark...
Things got weird after that... whenever I felt a panic attack or surge of pain... things moved, fires started and I always ended up with a bloody nose. I did some online research and well... I might be a witch, which is cool. I learned there was maybe a witch mecca in New Orleans. My Uncle John, Whom I adore since he too was a black sheep, agreed to take me thinking it would help me heal and possibly help me find a college to go to since I've graduated early. He has no idea what is going on, and I am keeping it that way. I don't trust anyone with my secret.
My plans are simple, go to New Orleans, find witches and learn magic. I graduated this year, I am a genius I know, so I have no need to be in school or even college until I feel like it. I won't return until I feel I am ready, which could be quite a while. I have no love for either Jeremy or Elena, so really this is more of a vacation than it ought to be.
I should explain that... well, to be honest, I never fit in. I was smarter and colder than my rather empathetic siblings. Dad scared me, I saw this twisted light in his eyes at times. I always argue with him and mom, calling out the stupidity of being obsessed with history but not learning from it. We live in a town called Mystic Falls, where the Civil war is shoved down your throat every six seconds. However, they ignored slavery and the real issues that are rather present with that era, never learning from the issues of the time.
They are also obsessed with the Founding Families, ignoring the fact that there was a bunch of homeless kids that need to be taken care of. Like Vicki and Matt Donovan, abandoned by their whore of a mother, and yet no one helps them at all despite the literal fortunes that fund the town events. It is disgusting really. I called this out a lot, my dad said I was ungrateful and not mature enough to appreciate history, I saw he was cherry-picking the parts that seemed to glorify the past best. It wasn't always fun... Dad could get scary. Mom just wouldn't talk to me.
Elena was the favorite and hated my fighting with our annoying parents. Jeremy was too immature to see our parent's faults. Neither of my siblings would take my side during the arguments or really seemed to care when I was grounded or whatever. They detached themselves from me and I was okay with that. I planned on leaving and never coming back anyway, so what did I care?
John and Jenna were good to me. Jenna got my independence and John respected my honesty and refusal to back down. It was nice. I adored them both really, and they had gone up to bat for me more than a few times. It cost many an argument.
I should also mention that I have no friends, I hated Mystic Falls and made it pretty known. People were encouraged to stay away from me, which I didn't mind. I hated people anyway, so really it was fine with me. No one would miss me when I left, I didn't even say goodbye to anyone but Jenna.
Well... that is all I can write for now. I am pretty beat. I am going to sleep on our way to New Orleans. I will burn you later.
Lots of Love,
Samuel Michael Gilbert...
The Family Disappointment.
P.S. I only wish my parents were still alive so I could show them my magic, their terror would have been delicious...
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a lot of fun to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.
