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Only Reviewer: Yeah, Damon just likes to get his way, usually because he thinks he's way is the right way. And Jules is done, at least for now.

Guest: Thank you for the review! Glad you're enjoying the story!

Okay, so some of you might remember a while back I said I was having to rework some future chapters and what I had planned. Well this is the beginning of those troublesome chapters, in which I had to completely tear apart what I'd done and rework it to be more in line with certain characters and were they are at this point in the story. I also made some changes in hopes of making it shorter...it didn't work, as you'll soon find out. But otherwise, Hooray! We're in the final act of season 2, Act 3! So much stuff coming up that I'm looking forward too, the least of which includes Klaus! I've rambled enough for just now though, so enjoy this chapter and the beginning of Act 3, and I'll see you guys next week for another update!

Chapter 29: Tomb of Memories

It was strange, how different the piano sounded now that she was a vampire. Before, each key had moved smoothly into the next as people went up and down the scales. Now, it felt like there were several missing, un-hit, notes. Notes that the humans had no knowledge of. And yet Sarah could still recognise the tunes that were played.

But it wasn't just her ears that heard the sounds of the piano. Her very body felt it. Everything was so much more…sensitive. She could almost feel a taste to each of the many keys on the grand piano, as the vibrations in the air moved through her, making the unnoticeable hairs on her body sway with the sound. It truly was magical, how the once so simple item, that had laid in the corner of the room, now gave of such a symphony of sensitive arousal.

However, all that vanished into the background, the second Sarah's tastebuds got a hit of the one things she truly desired above all else. Blood. Sweet, delicious, incomparable, blood. It was better than the tastiest thing she'd ever eaten in her life, more nourishing than the milk all babies needed to grow. The blood gave her life, and pleasure.

As Sarah pulled away, liking her lips of the smeared blood, she glazed down at the body beneath her. A young lad, though not much younger than herself, was sprawled out beneath her. In a blissful daze, somewhere between his conscious fantasy and his dream fantasy. But he was sliding closer into the dream, and Sarah wasn't ready for that. "No, no, no," she sang out to the tune that was being played, from the sleek black piano beneath them both. "You don't get to go to sleep yet. I want you wide awake."

She wasn't quite sure if the compulsion was working or not. His eyes widened, but other that there was no other signs that he was awake. His breathing was still weak, as if in sleep, and his heartbeat was slowing down from inside his chest. Sarah began to frown, not liking this result. "Well, that doesn't look very awake," she mumbled out. She'd thought she'd finally been getting the hang of compulsion. Up until a few days ago, her brother had to do all the compelling, because apparently she just couldn't do it.

Then suddenly she brightened up, devilish smirk forming along her lips. "Ah, I know what the problem is. It's this beat, it's too slow, isn't it?" Taking a hold of the young lad's chin, Sarah moved his head up and down in a nodding motion. "Glad to see you agree." She looked up, eyes falling on the young woman playing the piano she was currently atop. "Do pick up the tempo, my friend here is falling asleep." The young woman laughed at that, before she began to pick up the speed of her tune. Sarah smiled in gratitude, before she grinned down and returned to her meal. Teeth sinking into the other side of the young lad's neck. She'd already ruined the right side, having torn it apart while she was feeding. She could have kept feeding from there, but there was something satisfying about breaking through a clean bit of skin, and getting at the untainted blood beneath.

"Now that's more like it," cheered Stefan, raising from the couch as he snapped his fingers to the faster beat. Coming up for air, Sarah glanced over, smiling as she saw her brother dancing with two other women. A third laying limp on the couch, next to where he'd been sitting. Dried blood sticking to her wrists and neck, with bite marks still visible.

Dead.

It was a shame, that they had to kill. But Sarah had quickly come to terms with it all. She realised what it meant to be a vampire. Katherine had shown her. Through her demonic actions and her mind games. The woman might have been the devil, but that made her the best demon in the world. And that's what Sarah was now, a demon. So what better example could she follow, than the one laid out for her by Katherine Pierce. Or rather, the late Katherine Pierce.

That thought made her smile. Knowing that Katherine was dead. But the taste of the blood as she returned to her meal, that made her groan with pleasure.

A similar groan came from behind her, and Sarah could tell Stefan had begun to feed on one of the two dancing woman. Recently the only thing that shut him up was blood. And while Sarah loved her brother, dearly, he was beginning to get on her nerves with his running commentary. He never used to be like that…then again, he also never used to be a vampire. She was probably different too, she just didn't see how yet. Maybe her brothers did.

"Sarah?" Oh, great. Big brother's home. Sarah groaned, pulling away from the young lad, his heart beats now more than three seconds apart. Rolling off the dying body, Sarah sat up, glaring as Damon stared in horror back at her. He did not approve of her attitude towards feeding. He didn't approve of anything she did now. She wished she could ignore it like Stefan, and just get on with things, but it bothered her how over protective he was being. She could look after herself now. And it wasn't like he'd done anything to help her while Katherine was around.

"Sarah, what are you doing?!" Damon exclaimed marching into the room and towards Sarah and her human sized meal.

"Having dinner, you should try it some time, Brother," Sarah drawled out as Damon strode around the side of the piano, checking the young lad's heart signs while Sarah rolled her eyes.

"You told me you were going stop doing this," Damon said, checking the young lad's eyes before trying to find a pulse on his mauled out neck.

"And you said you were going to lighten up and have some fun," Sarah pointed out, starting of condescendingly before turning feisty as she rolled her head towards her brother, grinning at him.

"You can't keep doing this," Damon argued, meeting her teasing green eyes with his concerned blue. Then suddenly they vanished and he was glaring over at Stefan, pointing towards him as the younger brother pulled away from woman he was feeding on. "And you need to stop encouraging her. If you both keep this up we're going to get caught."

"So, who cares," Stefan said with a grin and a shrug, before returning to his meal. He'd didn't get to have much more though, as Damon rushed over to him, with his new powerful speed, and shoved Stefan away from her.

He then took her, turning her and compelling her in an instant. "Leave this place. Never think of it again," he ordered, before then doing the same to the next one. Sarah rolled her eyes, trying not to seem impressed by her brother's mastery of compulsion in such a short time. She was annoyed though. Annoyed that she seemed to be taking so much longer to pick up on things like compulsion. She couldn't even enter a human's dreams yet. It was infuriating, especially after Katherine had been so good at it all. She needed to be better, be better at being bad, at being Katherine.

That idea only added to her already warming blood. She'd hated Katherine with everything she'd had, even when she'd been compelled to love her. But if she was going to survive and thrive as a vampire she was going to have to become like Katherine, no matter how much she hated the woman.

In a moment of blind rage, Sarah shoved the young lad next to her, pouting like a child as his body rolled off the side of the piano and onto the floor. With her brothers looking over, she glanced over the side, at the dead eyes looking back up at her. She looked back over to her brother's, bored expression on her face as she said, "Oops." Stefan let out a chuckle while Damon stared on in horror. Not apparently liking what his sister was becoming.

"Would you please take that stupid look of your face," Sarah said, rolling her eyes yet again towards Damon. "It's ruining our lovely evening."

"The Founding Families will be ruining our lives if you two don't calm down," Damon snapped, advancing towards Sarah before he turned back towards Stefan. "We have to more careful than this," he pleaded, looking between his two younger siblings. "More clever. Like Katherine was."

"And look where that got her," Stefan pointed out with a growl towards his brother, not liking what he was doing. However the tension between the pair last nothing more than a second, as Sarah suddenly burst out into laughter. She wasn't entire sure why she had. She'd found what Stefan said funny, but not that funny. At least she didn't think it was that funny until she started laughing. That had been happening a lot to her recently. She was just over reacting to everything, without any sense of control. Sometimes it was good, like just now with her laughter. But there were times when she was alone, away from her brothers, and she just couldn't stop crying, for no apparent reason.

"It's not funny, Sarah!" Damon snapped angrily, his emotions getting the best of him as his blazing blue eyes turned on her.

Despite her brother's obvious anger at the touchy subject, it still took Sarah several long seconds to cease her laughter, and even then she was still beaming away like it was the best day of her God damn life. "I know," Sarah said, wiping her the joyful tears from her eyes. "It was hilarious." And just like that she was laughing all over again. Even Stefan was smirking, taking enjoyment from his sister and brother's individual reactions.

Then Damon turned on him, glaring as he growled out the words, "I'm done here." And just like that Sarah's laughter vanished. Her once joyful eyes, turning to those of a frightened little girl, as she sat up on the piano. "I'm done with you, both of you… I'm leaving town."

"You can't," Sarah whispered, terror filling her voice like that of when she'd first seen him leave for war. He looked back at her, recognising something then. Their eyes connecting like they'd used before, when they were human. But they weren't human anymore, and Damon could see what they were becoming, even if his siblings couldn't.

"I'm sorry," was all he said to his little sister, before he made his way towards the door. Stefan chased after him, but Sarah could tell it was no use, that it was too late. It had been in his eyes. Those eyes that looked different now that they were vampires. Sarah could see details in them she'd never been able to before. Deeper and lighter shades of blue that made her brother's eyes sparkle like brilliant jewels.

And now she was never going to see them again.

She began to weep, listening as Stefan argued with Damon in the other room, begging him to stay. Damon shoved him off, continuing on as Stefan followed, determined to change his brother's unchangeable mind. Not long after that, Sarah broke down into tears. She hid behind her hands, for some reason worried about what the compelled human at the piano might think. But that was a background thought. Her main focus was on the growing hole inside of her, the one that was filling her with pain unlike anything she'd felt before. It was so big, that it took everything Sarah had to stop herself from screaming so loudly that all of Mystic Falls would hear. She couldn't understand what was happening to her, why she was feeling like this and why she was in so much pain and so, so sad.

She needed help…but she had no one to turn to.

A familiar pounding filled Sarah's head as she awoke, her own groan following suite as she stirred. She couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but she could guess vervain had been involved, especially by the way her body was itching and by how dry she felt. She needed blood. But before that she needed something for her head, and then some light so she could actually see.

Feeling a sharp pain from her head, Sarah went to rub it, when her hand hit something. Something solid. She opened her eyes but they were still adjusting. She tried moving her hand a different way but came up against the same problem. Something solid was stopping her. She tired her other hand but the same thing happened. Sick of this, she lifted her head only to hit it off solid stone. She groaned in pain, head falling back as it hit of something a lot harder than her bed.

She was completely and utterly bewildered, until her eyes adjusted to the none existent light and she realised where she was. She was in a tomb, a tomb made of solid stone. She quickly pressed her hands against the stone slab above her and began to push. She felt it shift but not nearly enough to move it. She gave it everything she had but it moved no further. She didn't have the strength, and wouldn't until she had more blood, which was unlikely in her current predicament. She was trapped.

And that was when she remembered, Damon. She remembered going to bed, remembered finding him waiting, remembered the needle he'd used on her. What's the idiot up to now?! Sarah shouted internally. Needing something to hit in frustration, she settled for the stone walls around her, slapping her palms against them as she gridded her teeth against each other. He'd taken her out of the equation, locked her away because of their disagreement and now he was going to do something completely stupid and probably get them all killed!

Oh, Damon. This time you've really done it…

Scarlett had gotten up early for once, just in case Sarah had needed her help getting up after having her leg partially destroyed by a werewolf. She'd already been told not to feel guilty, but Scarlett just couldn't shake the sensation and as such, felt obligated to help Sarah until her knee was better. If she started complaining, she'd just say it was her way of paying back rent. Although on second thought, maybe she shouldn't bring that up. If Damon caught wind of that, he'd end up milking it for all it was worth.

However, when Scarlett arrived at Sarah's room, already having showered and dressed herself, she found her guardian's room empty. Her bed was already made too and there was no sign of her being inside. Assuming she'd just gotten up even earlier, Scarlett shrugged it off and made her way towards the kitchen, ready to join whoever was down stairs for breakfast. However there was no one downstairs, the place was empty.

Now this Scarlett found suspicious. She knew Sarah would still be injured this morning, she'd been told her knee wouldn't heal over night. Though knowing Sarah, she could have easily made her way down for breakfast on will power alone. She could have also gotten around the house on her own too, albeit slower than usual. What Scarlett very much doubted, was that Sarah could get up earlier than her, when she'd gone to bed after her, and then get up a good couple of hours earlier than her – which meant Sarah probably only had about four or five hours sleep, which on that kind of injuring seemed unlikely – then got herself bathed, dressed and made her bed on her own, only to then come down, have breakfast and then head out without needing any assistance what so ever.

And how did Scarlett know Sarah hadn't had any assistance? She could hear Damon in his bedroom, having finished his own breakfast as he sent his new girlfriend, Andie, on her way.

With his distraction, as he liked to call it, out the house, Scarlett made her way back up stairs, ready to ask Damon about his missing sister, until she heard him on the phone. "Well, I showered. I shaved. I had breakfast. Over all I'm feeling very relaxed," admitted Damon as Scarlett waited by his door, listening and waiting for his conversation to end.

"That makes one of us," replied Stefan from the other end of the phone.

"I did hear one piece of good news though. Tyler Lockwood ran away from home last night," Damon said eagerly, while Scarlett could only look down at her feet. Her guess was that Jules made him the same offer she'd made to her, only Tyler had taken it, rather than stay with their friends. She felt sad about that, but it was his choice, and he obviously needed help with his werewolf baggage. Scarlett had thought she and Caroline were helping him with that. Apparently she'd been wrong.

"How do you know?" Stefan asked.

"Well, I heard it from Sheriff Forbes, who heard it from a very distraught Carol Lockwood, thus ending our werewolf chapter, brining us to…"

"…Killing Elijah and Amelia," Stefan finished for Damon. Scarlett wasn't entirely surprised by this. After she, Jeremy and the others discovered what the Originals were really planning to do, it made sense that Damon and Stefan would want to kill them both. After all, their grand plan to kill Klaus and protect Elena, involved the sacrifice of Elena. What had shocked Scarlett the other night, was the fact that Sarah had known about this the whole time, as did Elena, who was okay with this and more than willing to go along with it.

This left Scarlett in a rather odd position. She wanted to support Sarah who was supporting Elena's decision to sacrifice herself and save her family and friends. But at the same time she wanted to support Jeremy who…well, didn't want his sister to die.

"Well, it's not going to be easy. They're crafty," Stefan pointed out as Scarlett heard Damon flip something over his his hand.

"Well, I've got a couple crafty little daggers," Damon countered confidently.

"They're Originals. We don't know what all that encompasses," Stefan added, a layer of concern in his voice.

"Oh, trust me, Stefan. I'm gonna dot all my t's. I don't want any surprises."

"Yeah, well, I think you should expect more than a few. After all, Sarah's hardly just going to go along with all this, it risks ruining Elena's deal with them and she's on her side about all this, remember?" Stefan pointed out, a little annoyance in his voice.

"Oh, don't worry, Brother. Like I said, I'm doting all my t's, and that includes our baby sis," Damon said smugly.

"Damon, what did you do?" Stefan asked slowly.

"I've just put her somewhere safe and out the way until all this is over. Trust me, it's for the best and this way, everybody wins," Damon explained in sarcastic brightness.

"You do realise she's going to kill us, right?" sighed Stefan.

"Doubtful. Besides, I prefer to think of it as she'll be thanking us when this works perfectly," Damon said with a grin. "Got to run, I'll catch you later. Gotta murder to plan. Busy day," Damon sighed off, before putting away the phone, right as Scarlett kicked open his door. He frowned at her, but he didn't open his mouth as the teenage werewolf charged towards him before abruptly stopping right in front of him.

"Where is she?" Scarlett demanded out right, glaring heatedly up towards Damon who was irritably taller than her.

"Where's what, your favourite chew toy?" Damon asked, frowning at her as if he knew nothing.

"I heard you talking with Stefan, Damon. I know you've locked Sarah up somewhere so just tell me where," Scarlett said firmly.

"Why, so you can let her out. Kinda defeats the point of me locking her up, doesn't it?" Damon pointed out smugly, before quickly changing his tune when he saw how pissed Scarlett was. As well as the determination in her eyes. With a simple sigh, Damon managed to effortlessly switch between his aggravated approach to Scarlett, and his friendly approach – something which he very rarely used.

"Look, don't worry about it," he reassured her with a lazy grin that probably worked on way too many women. "She's perfectly safe, and more than likely comfy…assuming she's unconscious." His joking was not helping, so he quickly moved on. "Besides, it's only for a couple of days, until I kill Elijah and Amelia. Once I off them both, I'll let her out. It's just a precaution, to make sure she doesn't muck everything up."

"You mean stop you," Scarlett countered, still glaring intently at Damon. She might be conflicted in her feelings about what was going on with Elena, but she knew in her heart she was not okay with what Damon was doing to Sarah. If they were all taking sides on this, then there should be a discussion. But then again, Damon didn't do discussions. He did it his way, and kicked everyone else that wasn't on his side out of the way.

"Exactly," Damon said, as if Scarlett was agreeing with him, rather than accusing him.

"You know I can sniff her out right?" Scarlett pointed out as she backed away from Damon, giving them both more space. "Or I can go to the Originals and just tell them what you're planning. I'm sure they'd love to hear about it, and since they have to protect Sarah, they can help me find her. Or of course I can just beat her location out of you."

Damon snorted, obviously not taking her threats seriously.

Groaning in frustration, Scarlett turned away, ready to storm out the room and begin her search for Sarah, when Damon grabbed her wrist and pulled her back around with his vampire strength. She was whirled around back towards him, but the second her eyes started to glow, Damon lifted his hands off her, raising them in peace. "Listen, Scrappy, Elena is Jeremy's sister. Now I'm pretty sure you don't want you boyfriend's sister dying, right?" Damon pointed out with knowing blue eyes.

"Obviously," Scarlett spat out, as if Damon was an idiot for asking. If only he was.

"Well then, obviously you'd want to help save her, right?" Scarlett was already to respond, until she realised he was right. Damn, he was a smart ass, Scarlett realised as she backed down reluctantly and Damon grinned back at her. He knew just what buttons to press to change Scarlett's mind, or at the very least make her think over what he was saying. And he was right, she did want to help save Elena, if anything just to spare Jeremy from more pain. But at the same time she couldn't leave Sarah in whatever prison Damon had locked her in, not after everything she'd done for her. Even if letting her out meant not saving Elena and then causing Jeremy even more pain.

The confliction must have been obvious on her face, as Scarlett squirmed from beneath Damon's irritably persuasive gaze. "Shouldn't we at least talk to Sarah about this, try and make her see it like that?" Scarlett suggested, trying to find a way in which she could both rescue Sarah and help protect Jeremy.

"She won't. Trust me, I know my sister. Besides, remember how stubborn she was about keeping you around," Damon said with a roll of the eyes. Despite his rude tone, Scarlett could see his point. Sarah was stubborn, after what Damon had just pulled, she wouldn't be easily swayed.

"But locking her up. Doesn't that seem a little, extreme?" Scarlett offered out shakily, still not sure about this course of action.

"Well, yeah, but desperate times, right?" Damon answered, before he saw that he was now losing Scarlett. "And like I said, it's only for a couple of days. The second I've dealt with fancy dress one and two, I'll let her out."

Scarlett began chewing on her lip, thinking over Damon's idea while trying to justify it to herself. Finally she made a counter offer, which she thought would at the very least be better for her own conscious. "No, not a couple of days. One day. Exactly. You let Sarah out tomorrow morning, or I go and find her myself right now," Scarlett declared.

Damon grimaced, obviously wanting more time without having to worry about his sister. But he couldn't risk taking Scarlett on. One stray bite and he'd be dead, and he couldn't count on her not to fight back if he tired to pull the same trick on her as with Sarah. He had to be smart about this, and having her on his side would certainly help. Even Originals had to be effected by werewolf bites. It might not kill them but it probably did something to them.

"All right, fine," Damon sighed, before then perking up as he realised something. "Does that mean you'll help me?"

With a sigh of her own, Scarlett nodded. She hoped Sarah would forgive her, but she had to do this for Jeremy. She couldn't let him lose another family member, that just wouldn't be right. At the very least she had to try, and she'd given Damon and herself a time limit to go on. Tomorrow morning, whether Damon helped her or not, she'd find Sarah and let her out, hoping to God that she'd forgave her for what she'd just done. But she couldn't ignore this chance to save Elena and in turn Jeremy. To her this was the right decision, even if her conscious was nagging away at her as she left Damon's room.

Time quickly became a lost concept to Sarah. After all, there was no way of telling it. She had no watch or light, only the darkness that sat with her in the stone prison. She didn't have anyone to ask either. In fact she could have been knocked out for a matter of days without even realising it. Although thinking about all that had made her head hurt, so she changed her focus to getting out of her prison.

A few hard shoves against the stone wall above her, and Sarah realised her situation hadn't improved. She was still just as weak as before, when she last tried to move the slab above her horizontal body. She needed blood, even a little would probably be enough to give her the strength she needed to free herself. Another defiant push against the slab, but still it didn't budge.

Her body went lax, arms moving to her side as they gave in and she sighed in defeat. The physical method of escape obvious wasn't going to work, so she turned to her mental abilities. Unfortunately though, there wasn't a lot of room for smart tricks and deception when you were trapped in a stone cell with six walls. And it wasn't like Sarah had some kind of psychic vampire ability that allowed her to move things with her mind. If only, she thought.

With her options more or less exhausted, she started thinking about who outside her prison could help her. She crossed Damon off her list right way, he was the one who put her in here after all. Stefan was a possibility but he was away with Elena, and hardly likely to rush back when he might agree with Damon. Plus he wouldn't risk bringing Elena back, or risk leaving her on her own after what just happened with the werewolves. So that crossed both him and Elena off the list.

There was Caroline, but while she'd come far since becoming a vampire, Sarah wasn't holding out hope on that one. Her better bet was Scarlett, what with her nose and supernatural tracking abilities. Bonnie would also be able to find her, but like Stefan she might not want to, since that meant Elena might end up getting sacrificed. The same went for Caroline, possibly even Scarlett since Elena was Jeremy's sister.

Sarah was suddenly realising that maybe she'd picked the wrong side in regards to this whole Elena sacrificing debate. After all, it was only her and Elena that were on that side, which meant only someone that knew nothing about it would save her, like Jenna. But then why would she be looking for her. If she was, Damon would just lie and she'd believe him for at least a while. The same went for the Originals, if they even cared to ask. And technically Sarah was safe inside her prison. It wasn't like anyone was going to kill her, so the Originals were under no obligation to rescue her.

There was Lexi…but she was dead. Even then, she would have only noticed if she was in Mystic Falls. Technically she still was. Her body had been burnt in Mystic Falls after all.

"Well, any ideas, Lexi?" Sarah suddenly asked aloud before frowning. "My God…I'm already talking to myself." She chuckled, imaging her friend laughing with her. Then shuffling over to one side of her prison, as if to make space for her, Sarah rolled her head towards the empty space next to her, imagining that Lexi was right there with her. Even if it was a little cramped.

"And to think, I used to call you insane," Sarah said to Lexi, chuckling again before going silent.

Her smile then dropped into a sad and longing look. "I miss you Lexi." She turned her head back towards the stone ceiling in front of her. "I know it was months ago but it still feels…it feels like yesterday. And I really could have used your help over the past few months.

"You would have been great with Scarlett. I think the only reason I'm so good with her is because of how you were with me. And you probably would have handled the whole werewolf incident a lot better than I did too. And the tomb vampires wouldn't have given you as much grief. You're older than most of them after all…" Sarah paused, sniffing before she continued as tears started to prick her eyes.

"And I could have really used you after what happened with Ronnie… But then…" That was when the real tears started coming, as Sarah realised something that she'd been thinking about for some time.

"I'm sorry, Lexi," Sarah sniffed. "But Katherine, she…she got inside my head. She made me think you might have been working for her this whole time. And… And now I can't ask you! I can't ask you because your dead and I…I just really need an answer Lexi," Sarah bellowed out, the tears flying from her eyes as she squeezed them tightly, desperately trying to hear Lexi's voice, to hear her answer. "I need to know that you weren't working for her like Ronnie was, I need to know that you were my friend and not… Please, I need an answer!"

But none came, and none ever would. That doubt would always be with her now, because she'd never get a straight answer out of Katherine. Even if she told the truth Sarah could never be one-hundred percent sure, and because of that Bitch she now had all of her wonderful memories of Lexi tainted. She would never know if they were all just a lie, or if she really had been one of her best friends and that those had been some of the happiest moments in Sarah's life. She would never hear her best friend's defence, never hear her deny it, or even worse, confess to it. All she would hear was her own tears, wishing Lexi could just answer that one question and wash away the doubt, along with her tears.

She was alone, like she had been ever since Damon declared he was leaving them forever. Sure, Damon had still been around the house, he tried talking to her, but Sarah had barely heard or acknowledged him. She was much the same with Stefan, only talking with him when he brought home people for her to feed on. She appreciated that. She was in no mood for going out and dealing with her hunger. In fact, ever since Damon's announcement, Sarah hadn't stepped one foot outside the house, for fear that if she did, she'd come back to find her brother gone. At the very least she wanted to say goodbye to him, although the more she thought about that, the more she thought about trying to stop him. Locking him away so that he would never leave her or Stefan. It's the kind of thing Katherine would do surely? She done it to all of them with her compulsion, but Sarah couldn't use that trick on Damon. She would find another way though, just like Katherine would. She might have hated her guts, but she was a model vampire, and Sarah needed to be like her now. That meant making sure she always got her way, no matter what.

Her thoughts of Damon leaving and how she should be more like Katherine, then began to drift away at the sound of voices and the front door opening. Sarah turned her head listening to Stefan. The next voice was a woman's, presumably the dinner he'd said he'd bring home. Deciding she wanted to get her half before Stefan took it all, Sarah quickly ran into the front hall, stopping before the woman who was stood in front of Stefan. She was only just shorter than both herself and Stefan, blonde hair in large bun at the back of her head with two lose strands on either side of her pretty face.

Done examining her meat and deciding all was well, Sarah bared her fangs, hissing as her eyes filled with blood. She threw herself forward, going to bite into the woman's neck, when a strong hand grabbed her throat, halting her movement. Then in a burst of speed she was against the wall, the woman's pretty face in hers as her serious brown eyes filled with blood.

Seeing this, Sarah's vampiric features washed away as she stared in awe at the woman before her. "You're like me," she whispered, as the woman released her hold on Sarah's neck. Her features then returned to normal just as Sarah's had, and she stepped back to provide each of them with a little more space.

"That I am," agreed the woman, before she looked Sarah up and down, taking in the dress she'd been wearing for two days now and the blood that stained almost every part of it. In the beginning it had been white, it wasn't anymore. And this woman could tell. "How long has it been since you've had a bath? Or changed your cloths for that matter?"

Sarah sneered at the woman, before then looking to Stefan who had been watching the whole exchange from the front door, which he'd closed. "Where's my dinner? You promised me you'd bring something back," Sarah said with a glare to her brother, her irritated green eyes meeting with his cold ones.

"Something came up," Stefan said before looking to the woman who shot him an unappreciated look. "I ran into this vampire."

"Lexi," the woman introduced herself, looking back to Sarah. The younger vampire let out a huff of air before marching past her back into the living room. Lexi remained where she was, blinking twice before breathing in and out. Young vampires could be such hard work, the older thought to herself as she turned, only to then stop after her second step when she saw several dead and bloodied bodies scattered around the Salvatores' living room.

As Lexi stared into the room, Sarah sat herself down on one of the couches, pulling a dead body towards her before she bit into his neck, trying to drink what little blood he had left. Turning back to Stefan, a little shocked, Lexi asked, "Did she do all this?" Stefan shook his head as she stepped in line with her.

"No. She did that one there," he pointed to the dead body at the side of the piano. "The rest were all me," he said rather proudly before seeing Lexi's horrified gaze still on him. He back-pedalled quickly, hand running along his forehead as he began to apologise. "I, um…I meant to dispose of those," he explained, gesturing around the rooms to the dead bodies.

"My God, you're a ripper," Lexi sighed, looking back to the amount of dead bodies that lined the room. A room that looked as though it was in the process of being repainted. Furniture and all.

"A what?" Stefan asked, frowning.

Turning to Stefan, Lexi began to explain. "There are good parts of being a vampire and there are bad parts." She paused, turning back to give a pointed look at the room full of dead bodies. "You're the bad parts."

A laugh erupted from across the room and Lexi leaned in to find Sarah, having finished with her leftovers, laughing from next to the dead body as she wiped the dried blood from her mouth. She looked to Lexi, laughing some more until the older vampire stepped in, stopping in front of her and looking down disapprovingly. "What's so funny?" Lexi asked calmly.

"The fact that you think there are good and bad parts to being a vampire," Sarah snorted. "There are only bad parts. We all know that. We're monsters, demons, we feed on blood for God sake! What's more evil than that? You say my brother's the bad parts, but this is what we're supposed to be," Sarah exclaimed humorously as she gestured around the room.

Lexi smiled sadly at the naive and young vampire. Lexi wasn't under any false pretence, she knew how evil some vampire could be, and how bad they must look to humans who don't know them as people. They were just monsters when at a distance, even the good ones. But seeing this new vampire like this, looking into her soft, delicate, green eyes. Lexi knew she could be one of the good ones. Obviously though, she was having a rough time of it, struggling with the transition. It wasn't always easy, as Lexi knew from her own experiences.

"Well, I say you're wrong," Lexi replied with a simple smile. Sarah rolled her eyes, snorting. "And you're going to help prove me right by helping your brother."

"No thanks," Sarah muttered, standing as if to leave before Lexi grabbed her arm and halted her.

"Of course before any of that, you need a bath and a clean change of cloths," Lexi instructed, as if Sarah hadn't all ready denied her.

"Excuse me!" snapped Sarah in outrage, but Lexi paid her no heed, turning instead to Stefan while keeping a hold on his sister's arm.

"Now, while I appreciate the hospitality, I refuse to stay in a beautiful home like this if your just going to let it go to waste. You'll start cleaning immediately," Lexi instructed Stefan, who shrugged as if he had nothing better to do. "You can make a start in here while I attend to your sister. Once we're done in the bathroom, you'll do the same. First bathe and put on some fresh cloths, then come back down here and help us continue with the cleaning. If we work hard we should be finished by sunset."

"You're mad if you think we're doing any of that!" Sarah snapped, but still Lexi kept her attention on Stefan.

"Where's the bathroom?" she asked.

"Upstairs on the left," Stefan answered, pointing his arm in the general direction.

"Thank you," Lexi said with a nod. "Now come along, Sarah," she then said, pulling Sarah by the arm when she refused to move of her own free will. "I expect you to have at least the bodies disposed of by the time we're finished," Lexi called back to Stefan before she started climbing the stairs with a struggling Sarah behind her.

Within no time she had Sarah in the bathroom, stripped down and a bath of hot water running. When Sarah still refused to get in, Lexi conceded. Or at least she pretended to while she slid her foot behind Sarah and then shoved her backwards into the bath after tripping over her foot. Sarah had not appreciated that, and tried to get out until Lexi shoved her completely under the water. She held her there for a moment before letting her come back up for air.

"You're completely insane!" Sarah shrieked, wiping aside her drenched raven hair that stuck to her face.

"Yes I am," Lexi said proudly, pulling up a stool next to the bath before she set to work on cleaning the young vampire. Sarah continued her struggles for a while, but in the end gave in, seeing that there was no way out of Lexi's personal code of hygiene.

For a while there was silence as Lexi worked her magic with Sarah – who was feeling like a child as she sat in the tub, allowing the mature adult, Lexi, to wash her. There was a hint of embarrassment inside her, but an odd sense of tranquility seemed to over power that, along with every other emotion inside of her. It might have been the first quiet moment her emotions had had since she became a vampire.

"So, tell me about yourself," Lexi suddenly said, while working on the knots in Sarah's hair.

"Why do you want to know?" Sarah grumbled, moving her hands about the water as she watched the small tidal waves collide with the wall of the tub, sending ripples bouncing back towards her. A never ending cycle of cause and effect. The more she moved her hands, the more ripples formed and came back to her in tow.

"I'm nosey," Lexi answered honestly. "Now come on, start talking."

Sarah let out a huff, remaining silent until she asked, "Is it always this sad?"

"Is what always sad?" Lexi asked, voice a little distracted as she worked on a particularly hard knot.

"Being a vampire?" Sarah clarified.

"No. It'll just be your heightened emotions. When your sad, you'll be really sad. But when you're happy," Lexi explained before pausing, stopping her work to lean down towards Sarah. "Are you sad right now?" she asked, and Sarah turned to look at her. The answer was in those big green eyes of hers. She nodded for clarification though. "What's making you sad?"

Sarah turned away as she answered. "A lot of things."

When she went silent, Lexi said, "Well, I find talking about things helps."

"Of course you would, your nosey," Sarah pointed out, to which Lexi laughed. Sarah turned at the sound, and found it to be genuine, which made her smile. Then her smile faded and she turned away again, thinking about all the things that made her sad.

"My brother says he's leaving me and Stefan," Sarah said quietly.

"Damon? Yes, Stefan told me about him. I'm sorry about that," Lexi said sympathetically.

"Should I stop him?" Sarah asked, turning around to find Lexi in serious thought at the question.

"Why do you think you should stop him?" Lexi asked carefully.

"Because I don't want him to go. Because it's hurting so much just thinking about him leaving. Because it's what Katherine would have done," Sarah listed off before Lexi interrupted.

"Katherine? Who's Katherine?"

"A bitch," Sarah growled angrily.

"Clearly she's not someone your fond of," Lexi surmised as she went back to her work on Sarah's hair.

"I hate her. She's the one that turned us into vampires," Sarah explained, remaining still for Lexi.

"I'm sorry to here that. I might have chosen this life, but I know not everyone does," Lexi said with more sympathy in her voice.

"Before that though, she compelled us. She made us love her, made us keep her secret. She made me…she…she made me…" Sarah couldn't go on as the tears started to fall. "Damn it! Why won't I stop crying!" Sarah shouted hysterically as she slammed her fists into the water, sending a splash of water over the sides.

"It's okay," Lexi quickly said, wrapping her arms around Sarah and pulling her towards her in a compassionate hug, despite the fact her only set of cloths would now be soaking. "It's okay. She can't hurt you anymore. I won't let her."

"She's dead," Sarah choked out. "I know she can't hurt me anymore. But she did… She hurt me so much! And I can't forget it!" Sarah lashed out, kicking her foot against the edge of the bathtub before she cried out. "I just want to forget it! To forget it all! I hate her! I hate her so much! She's ruined my life, taken away my family and turned me into a monster! Why?! Why?! WHY?!" Sarah screamed as she lashed out once more, crying out over and over as Lexi tightly held onto her, trying her best to comfort her.

In that moment one thing became apparent to Lexi. It wasn't just the ripper downstairs that needed her help. His little sister needed it too if she was going to continue on in this world. Who ever this Katherine had been, she'd clearly done a lot of damage to the girl's fragile head which had only been amplified with her turn to vampirism. Add in the clearly traumatic thoughts of her brothers abandoning her and it was a miracle she hadn't already been on the floor screaming like a lunatic when Lexi first walked in through the door.

And if Sarah and Stefan were this bad, how bad was there older brother going to be? That was when Lexi knew she would be staying with this family indefinitely. She had to help them, after what this Katherine had done to them all, they needed someone good in their lives. She just hoped she was up to the challenge.

Despite her agreement with Damon, in the end Scarlett's conscience got the better of her. She couldn't just leave Sarah, she had to look for her. That said, she did only restrict her search to the house, keeping to Damon's request for her to remain there until he called her.

Being his lackey was not Scarlett's idea of a good time, and she had no plans to do it again in the near future. But for Jeremy, she was willing to give it a shot.

However, because of the dept she also owed Sarah, she had to do something, which in turn lead to the searching of the house, in case Damon had hidden her there. He hadn't, which was annoying and relieving at the same time. Scarlett swore her morality had never been this complex before in her entire life.

She had searched the house for top to bottom though, and confirmed that he'd not hidden Sarah any where inside. On the up side, it meant that tomorrow she new not to waste her time looking around the house. She'd just finished her search when she heard Damon returning. By the time he'd then parked his car and gotten inside, Scarlett was already waiting for him in the front hallway.

"Good," Damon said with a grin. "The dog's learnt to sit."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, before observing Damon's oddly chip and delightful grin. That wasn't a normal thing for Damon, which meant he probably had something planned. "You're in a good mood," Scarlett pointed out, arms folded as she stood before him, waiting to hear what he had to say. And boy did he have something to say.

"You're right Scrappy, I am in a good mood," Damon declared as he strode past her and into the living room, which Scarlett followed him into. "Despite your twenty-four hour time frame, I have managed to come up with a brilliant plan and confirmed that my Original killing daggers are authentic," Damon explained as he approached the mini bar behind one of the couches, making himself a drink.

"Alright then, so what is this brilliant plan?" Scarlett asked as she leaned down on the arm of the couch.

Damon's grin broadened. "We're throwing a dinner party."

Scarlett lifted her brow skeptically. "A dinner party?"

"Yes, a dinner party," Damon repeated, not thrilled by Scarlett's lack of confidence. He quickly shook it off though, after a sip of his drink. "It'll be perfect. We invite them both in, put on a bit of a show and then, Wham!" Damon said with a stabbing motion. "I get Elijah with one dagger and you get Amelia with the other," Damon elaborated, before taking another sip.

"Yeah, I was wondering about these daggers…?" Scarlet began to ask, to which Damon quickly began wagging his finger at her.

"Don't bother with that, I do the thinking in this partnership." While Scarlett would have liked to object to the wording of, 'partnership,' she momentarily ignored it so that she could continue on with her question.

"Where did you even get them from?"

Damon hesitated, before grimacing as he answered with, "John Gilbert."

Scarlett stared at him, completely bewildered by the man's stupidity. "You're going to use something that John Gilbert gave you?"

"Relax," Damon said smoothly. "I've had it authenticated, remember."

"By who, Isobel?" Scarlett snapped.

"No," Damon scoffed.

"By who then?" Scarlett pressed.

Again Damon hesitated. "Well, not Isobel, obviously."

"Who then, Damon?" When no answer came, Scarlett boldly declared, "It was Isobel wasn't it!"

"No it wasn't," Damon snapped. But seeing that Scarlett wasn't going to believe him unless he gave her an alternative, he decided to answer swiftly before hiding behind a sip from his glass. "…It was Katherine."

"Are you insane!" shrieked Scarlett as she threw her arms out. "You're trusting Katherine Pierce!"

"No, I'm not trusting her," Damon snapped back defensively. "But I saw her, she was scared. Really scared, which proves it's authentic."

"Isn't she supposed to be a master manipulator?" Scarlett pointed out. "Has it occurred to you that maybe this is what she wants?" Damon stared at her, refusing to answer as his grip on his glass tightened.

Finally, he sat his glass down, turning fully to face Scarlett as he leaned on the mini bar. "Look. We've got to kill Elijah and Amelia, and we have to do it tonight. These daggers are all we have to go on," Damon admitted. "And maybe I am taking a leap here, but it's a leap worth taking for your boyfriend's sister," Damon pressed, reminding Scarlett of why she was going along with all this.

"And what if this is exactly what Katherine wants?" Scarlett asked.

Damon sighed. "To be honest, I'd rather deal with her than two Originals right now," he admitted, taking his drink once more and having a swing. Now in dire need of a refill.

"All right," Scarlett said slowly, as Damon poured himself another drink. "Putting the Katherine issue aside. Don't you think Elijah and Amelia will be the tiniest bit suspicious when they arrive to a dinner party with just us and them. I mean, it basically screams, 'trap.'"

"Well, it's a good thing it won't just be us and them then, isn't it," Damon said, his confident smirk returning.

Frowning, Scarlett asked, "Who else is coming then?"

"My new girlfriend Andie," Damon said, brow bouncing up and down eagerly. "It was her idea after all." An idea that Scarlett was pretty sure Damon had compelled into his girlfriend's head. "And Alaric and Jenna."

"Sarah's not going to like that you've dragged Jenna into the middle of all this," Scarlett quickly pointed out, shaking her head. She wasn't too fond of it either. She liked Jenna, and while she understood not everyone was comfortable with lying to her, she believed it was for the best. But bringing her here, tonight, without knowing everything, it was dangerous, something most of their little gang wouldn't want to involve her in. Of course, Damon wasn't one of those people.

"Well, then it's a good thing Sarah isn't here to spoil Jenna's fun then," Damon smirked, before going serious again. "Plus it has to look genuine. Jenna helps sell it, since Elijah and Amelia know that she doesn't know about any of this," Damon explained with a gesture of his glass around the room, before drinking.

He then paused mid sip, holding his glass towards Scarlett as he swallowed. "Actually, thinking about it, you should probably invite Jeremy too."

On this, Scarlett instantly put her foot down. "No," she declared firmly. He'd been in enough danger recently for her. True, she'd managed to keep him away from the action as of late, such as the werewolf fight and the full moon. But that incident and the tomb still gave her nightmares, thinking of what Katherine could have done or said. Ever since then, Scarlett had been doing what she could to keep him away from all that. Helping with Luka was one thing, there hadn't been any anticipated danger there. This though, Scarlett knew this could easily take a turn for the worst, and she didn't want Jeremy anywhere near it if it did.

"I'm not letting Jeremy get involved in this, Damon," Scarlett stated.

"Why not? Worried he'll get hurt?" Damon teased, before realising just how intently Scarlett was glaring at him. With a roll of his eyes, Damon then pointed out, "Look, he's got the Gilbert ring, right? So even if Elijah and Amelia kill him, it's not like he'll be dead for long."

"And you remember how easily Katherine took that ring off him, last time he was involved in something like this?" Scarlett snapped back, advancing on him as she glared up into his similar blue eyes. "Listen to me, Damon. I don't want him involved. If you want my help, that's the condition."

"I thought the condition was I release Sarah tomorrow morning?" Damon argued, to which Scarlett began to growl at him, warningly. This was not a matter for him to be joking around about, a fact Damon quickly realised as he lifted his hands up. "All right, all right. I won't involve Gilbert," Damon sighed.

Slowly, Scarlett took in a calming breath, deflating as she closed her eyes. The wolf settling inside of her. "Thank you," she said quietly to Damon, and genuinely meaning it too.

"Yeah, whatever," Damon groaned before finishing off his second glass. "Now go and start getting ready," he ordered, gesturing up to Scarlett's room before setting his glass down on the mini bar.

"Why, when are they coming over?" Scarlett asked.

"Not for a couple more hours, but it'll probably take you that long to make yourself look decent," Damon said, smug grin forming as Scarlett glared at him.

"It amazes me more women don't slap you," Scarlett grumbled, while remaining still, deliberately not doing as Damon told her to.

"Oh, Honey, plenty of women do," he said with a grin. Scarlett decided to not think about what that grin meant. She already had enough on her mind without adding any disturbing thoughts about Damon and slapping. Instead she groaned in disgust, before turning and heading up to her room, Damon's smirk on her back. It wasn't until she was in her bedroom, searching for something, 'dinner party like,' to wear, that she realised he'd just tricked her into doing as he asked. God he was a damn, smart ass, bastard.