"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
~Reaper Man~
xXx
...
They arrive at the apothecary, after a pit stop to pick up a piece. Marcella knew Pearl would still be here, and that given the right motivation would do her dirty work for her. The right motivation just happened to be the woman in questions daughter. Anna. Poor sweet, innocent Anna who really didn't deserve what about to happen to her.
But Marcella felt nary any sympathy for the girl. No one ever deserved what happened to them. This was the only way they'd learn. Marcella wasn't playing games with them. She hadn't been from the beginning, she'd given them their warning and they hadn't heeded. That, that was on them. She couldn't be responsible for the things to come as a result.
That just wasn't fair to her.
"Pearl. We need to talk." She calls out upon entering, Damon behind her carrying in a vervain injected Anna. He looked apathetic, but she did wonder if this bothered him at all. What she planned to do to get Stefan back.
Because it could. And she cared if it did. Just because it was Damon and he mattered to her. His opinion, thoughts, emotions they all mattered. Marcella supposed that if it really bothered him he would have told her by now.
Pearl came out of the back looking concerned. As she should have because this was a very serious matter and Marcella was disappointed in her. Disappointed that it had come to this. Marcella never really liked resulting to violence, she preferred other ways of motivation. Violence, violence wasn't her go to choice. She wasn't like the rest of them. She was a Mikaelson but she was also a Forbes and sometimes the two conflicted.
"What have you done to my daughter?!" Pearl cries outraged rushing forward. Marcella makes a tsking noise holding her hand up shaking a finger at the woman. Stopping her in her tracks.
Oh the advantage of being assumed a thousand year old original. It was nice. She'd have to call Niklaus to tell him how jealous she was later. He'd surely get a kick out of this.
"Un uh, you broke my rules. The question is what did you do to your daughter?" Marcella takes a step forward she jabs her finger into the woman's sternum. Nail digging deep, through the shirt drawing a small amount of blood. Pearl sucked in a breath.
"I didn't break your rules." She tried, Marcella dug her finger deeper watching the older woman flinch.
"I told you darlin' locals were off limits. Including the supernatural verity. As of late this afternoon one of your took one of mine. Yet you have the nerve to tell me none of my rules were broken. I warned you what would happen." Marcella withdraws her finger taking a step backwards. She flashes over to Damon and Anna. The girl slowly waking up, a painfilled groan escaped her lips.
Marcella strokes her cheek softly. Pearl watches completely frozen in place. Winter had come for her limbs, she couldn't move. No matter how hard she screamed at them. Time stood absolutely still for the mother. Damon dropped Anna to the ground the half out girl fell in a heap, Marcella stooped down to her level. Finger under chin tilting her face to look up at her.
"I'm sorry darlin'. But it has to be done." A stake slips into view out of Marcella's long sleeve. In a moment of sheer panic life breathes back into the mother's limbs but it's too late. Marcella runs the stake through Anna's chest.
Pearl flashes to her going to attack the small blonde, but Damon is in front of her injecting her with enough vervain to still her limbs. Burn her veins. She cries. Damon catches her carefully giving Marcella enough time to leave. He drops Pearl to the ground once his princess and the corpse are gone.
He offers her a frown, her sobs retching through her whole body. She shudders burying her face in her hands. Damon shakes his head he felt no sympathy for her. "Return my brother in one piece and you'll be lucky to leave with your life." His feet turn slowly and he walks away.
"She's a monster, how could you be okay with that?" Pearl cries out, demanding of him. Damon turns around and grins viciously at her.
"Because, she's never tried to be anything other than what she is." Marcella had never pretended to be a good person. Besides she was his friend and he didn't care how monstrous that made him. She as his.
Marcella was waiting for him at the car, covered in blood looking a little forlorn. "Let's go. If Pearl doesn't bring Stefan to the boarding house by dawn the next vampire I stake will be her." Is what she says while climbing into the passenger seat. He pays no attention the body in the back seat.
They weren't going to be making dinner with Caroline it seemed.
…
Everything burned. His limbs, his veins, his core. His throat itched and ached. His hunger real and undisputed. He was hungry, the lasting effects of vervain in his system weren't at all pleasant. Stefan wanted to die.
He was in an out of consciousness. His senses dull and gritty. There was no way for him to know which was left or up. The nauseating feeling building didn't help either. In all his life he'd never felt so sick.
In one of his lapses of consciousness the sound of broken screams and heated anger can be heard. The specifics of such anguish is not to be determined. But whoever is making such noise it going through a turmoil. They have to be if there cries are anything to go by.
He wonders what has happened.
Suddenly without any warning the door to the basement flies open. Literally, he can hear it hit a wall somewhere. Stefan full of vervain, low of blood struggles to keep his eyes open. He can make the vague outline of a woman, dark hair blood and ash covering her cheeks. Littering up her arms. Tear smudge tracks running down her face.
"What have the done to you?" She mutters lowly. Carefully removing his binds. Stefan realizes after a moment as he falls to the vervain soaked floor who this is. Pearl.
Unfortunately he's too gone to care. A wave of wariness hits him and he passes out.
At the boarding house Marcella stands in front of a huge window overlooking the driveway. The time just minutes before dawn and Pearl still hadn't delivered Stefan. She had hoped seeing Anna die would have motivated the woman to get it done. Alas it seemed the tomb leader would be disappointing her again tonight.
A picture that didn't paint well from the woman. Marcella had allowed her to keep her life, it would be so easy to take it away. Hers-his- are focused intently out the window, arms folded over her chest. She'd missed dinner with her sister because of this.
Had it been worth it? At the moment no.
Slowly a car turned up the driveway. Marcella smiled. Pearl has arrived. She calls out to Damon who is waiting by the front door already, she walks up carefully behind him. Lays a gentle hand on his lower back before brushing past. Opening the front door and stepping out onto the porch the subtle rising hitting her cheek light dances across her face.
The passenger door opens and out steps an ill looking vampire. Damon rushes to his brother helping carefully away from the car and to the house. Marcella frowns, she knows Stefan is to far depleted to remember that kindness shown.
Pearl opens her door slowly, stepping out carefully. Completely covered in blood, smelling like a battlefield. Smoke and blood permeating the air. Marcella tilts her head curiously at the pleading look in the woman's eyes.
"I've done as you ask. Please, let me join my daughter." She wanted to die, but she was too much of Katherine's sire to do it herself. Pearl was a coward.
Marcella offers the woman an unfeeling look. Amused pity in her dark eyes. The blonde vampire didn't care. "You haven't done all I asked."
If Pearl thought Eden would have forgotten about the Gilbert device than she was a fool. Marcella never forgot about the things she wanted. She wanted the device so it couldn't be used against them. Against her.
Pearl let out a resigned sigh. Digging into the pocket of her dress. She pulled out the piece slowly. Realizing that she had no more chips to bargain with. It was over. Hastily she deposits the piece into Marcella's open extended hand. The girl offers her a coy smile.
"Thank you." Marcella turns her heel the intent to walk back into the boarding house. Pearl lunges towards grasping onto the back of the girls dress.
"Please. Kill me." Marcella tilted her head back over to look at the sniveling woman. She turns up her nose.
"Why, why would I kill you? Your daughter has lived a hundred years without you why would I make her suffer any longer." Marcella pulls away from the woman, watching her reaction closely. As her words and the meaning behind them settle in.
"She's alive?! But… you…" Marcella grins down at her. Pearl falls to her knees in the gravel driveway. The blonde bends down.
Honey and coffee meet shades of charcoal. "I ran a stake through her chest. It never even hit her heart." The girl wasn't dead, but it had hurt a lot. Marcella stands fully and sauntered away.
As Marcella stepped upon the first step Anna cane through the threshold of the front door. Rushing passed the small blonde and into the arms of the sobbing broken woman. Marcella closes her eyes and keeps walking until she's at the door. Only then does she turn to look at the mother and child. A warning on her tongue.
"I hope you both remember this. And Pearl if you happen to run into Katherine after you leave town, tell her Eden is awaiting her. That her days are numbered." Then she continued inside shutting the door behind her. Twirling the small part between her fingers thoughtfully.
Damon meets her in the foyer. "Stefan's in his room passed out. Thank you." She smiles like sunshine and rivers. Bright and kind. Marcella leans up on her toes and presses a kiss to his cheek.
"Anything for you darlin'"
…
Marcella is just about to rip into a blood bag when none other than Elena Gilbert comes storming into the boarding house later that day. She sighs, why, why couldn't she go one day without having to see this idiot. Caroline was with Matt, her mom at the station, and Marcella had decided to just stay with Damon while he nursed Stefan back to help with animal blood. They did not need a ripper on the loose.
The blood bag is in her hands, open barely touching her lips as she leaned against the bar just about to drink when Elena rounds the corner. Their eyes meet and Marcella can't help but to smirk at the appalled look on the humans face. She downs the bag while Elena watches horrified.
"No." Is all she can manage and Marcella just smirks back, wiping her mouth.
"Afraid so darlin', you're a little slow on the uptake." Especially since everytime Marcella had seen the brunette in the last month she'd been a vampire. Like she said, this girl was an idiot.
Cue outraged yelling. Marcella winces the high pitch and blurs around to stand behind Elena she cups her hand over the other teens mouth. "Geesh, could you not scream? Everyone here has super hearing and could hear you whisper from upstairs. Calm yourself. We can all hear you just fine darlin'." She lowers her hands just as both Damon and a still drained Stefan crest the stairs. Damon raises his brow at her and she shrugs.
"I didn't do anything." Marcella states hands raised in what is probably meant to be an innocent gesture, but the devious smirk on her face tells Damon a different story.
He chuckles. Taking one look at the startled expression on Elena's face and shaking his head. "You never do. Your mom texted you, she wants to know if your planning on coming home tonight?" Damon walks over to her holding out her phone Marcella sets the blood bag down and take it from him. She texts her reply quick before sliding the device into her dress pocket. Eye back on the freaking out human, Stefan has joined her his arms around her shoulder.
"You turned her! How dare you take away her choice! Marcella I'm so sorry that this has happened to you." Elena exclaims pushing Stefan's arm off her shoulder trying to reach the younger girl as if to comfort her somehow.
Marcella tilted her head to the side trying to figure out if Elena was serious right now. She raises her brow offering the girl a off putting smile. Her hand reaches out to pat Damon's arm. No way would she just stand here and let him get accused of things that weren't his doing or his fault. If it weren't for him she'd just be dead plain and simple.
"You know what, your judgement is not needed here. Damon didn't turn me, if he had then I wouldn't have been left in the woods to rot, I wouldn't have woken up alone and in transition. If Damon had been the one to turn me it would have been as painful as it was, it would have been my choice. But Damon wasn't the one who turned me, and my choice was stolen." Marcella takes a breath circling the brunette like a crazed predator.
"Don't pretend to assume you know what happened. Because there is so much about all of this that you haven't been told. Tell me did Stefan tell you the truth about Katherine yet? About how you look just like her. Practically her twin. Come talk to me when you actually know as much as you pretend to." Marcella than turns back to look at Damon, she walks back to him leaning up to kiss his cheek and says a quick goodbye.
"I'm going home, text me later okay?" He rolls his eyes and nods.
That girl.
Marcella leaves and Elena turns heated eyes to him. Damon smirks tucking his hands in his pockets and walks away. Looked like his baby brother had some explaining to do. Should have been honest from the start.
XOXOX
So I was going to include the arrival of John Gilbert in the chapter but I sort of wanted this to just be the end of the Tomb Vampire arch. So yeah.
I've been reading you guys reviews and they all mean so much to me! I also have really been taking in all of your constructive thinking and opinions trying to write the story in a way that makes sense for what I have it mind and also the setting of the show. I decided that I actually want to mention something to you guys cause I feel I may not have been clear enough about a few things and that maybe some of you are a little worried that Marcella is a little too powerful. Just a few things, some food for thought and hopefully it clears the air.
Not in any particular order either. Marcella is bound to Kol, her bond to him is deep and rooted, powerful. She resonates in his energy both Elijah and Klaus have already started this. Noticing the physiological similarities. Another thing is, being reincarnated something that should in theory be against nature whims-all living things must die- means that Marcella isn't subjected to most of or any of the rules. She's even stated that they matter very little to her. Also another reason just for her strength in general is because those she's trying to boost it too think she's a Mikaelson and mental manipulation outweighs physical any day. They think she's going to be stronger, they think she's a thousand year old original, she will always use that to her advantage. And all of this will be explained in much better detail with its plot given reason later. But I felt like you all deserved a little bit of an explanation before then so you aren't put out or confused by a lot of her displays.
I do hope that helps!
Thank you so much for reading this chapter, I look forward to hearing from all of you guys soon!
Sincerely, La'Rae