Chapter Six

Mystic Falls, 1864

Damon Salvatore was . . . smitten with Rebecca Stone. Enamored, completely in love with Rebecca. Well, maybe not in love, but he was on his way. He never felt more himself than when she was with him. She didn't point out his faults - he knew he had some, but nobody was perfect - she just listened and accepted him as he was. She didn't want him to change or be better, though she made him want to be better for her.

When they were together it felt like nothing else mattered. Not his bigoted father, not his little brother, nothing. She made him feel cherished and secure; a feat no other person had been able to do. More than that, she took care of him without making him feel weak.

At the moment, they were out in the garden and he was attempting to teach her to dance. She was very graceful for someone who claimed not to know how to dance. She was also a quick learner.

He liked the feel of her in his arms; it left him feeling light and warm and peaceful. He twirled her around and she giggled in delight as he brought her back to catch her in his arms. Technically that wasn't part of the dance, but it was fun and it made her laugh. His breath caught as she bit her lip and looked up at him with adoration. No one had looked at him with that expression before.

She was undeniably beautiful in a natural goddess way. Though, technically, if she were a goddess then she wasn't natural at all. The point was since he'd met her, he couldn't think of anyone else. Rebecca filled up his head space.

Sometimes they took strolls by the pond or through the gardens or through the maze on the grounds.

He bent to kiss her on the cheek chastely - he usually wasn't one to go for the innocent type because he wasn't used to taking things slow, but there was just something about her that drew him in - but she tilted her head just-so so their lips brushed. Then she pulled away, teasing him and blushing at the same time.

"I don't think that was part of the lesson," she said shyly. A small smile was playing across her lips.

"I believe it was, Miss Rebecca," he replied, grinning. "Shall we continue?"

Her hair began falling into her face, which just wasn't acceptable, so he pushed her hair back revealing her angel face and he kissed her again; this time she didn't pull away.

"You are quite the woman, aren't you?" he said. More like breathed against her lips and felt as she smiled. "All the girls will be jealous of you at the dinner, and the men will absolutely loathe me for having you all to myself."

Damon thought that arrangement was quite alright. Neither of them cared what the townspeople thought. But mostly he'd just said what he'd said so the flush wouldn't leave her cheeks. Rebecca's cheeks were almost perpetually rosy; it just made her lovelier.

As Rebecca and Damon walked back to the house, hand in hand, Rebecca felt quite good about herself. Damon saw her as a woman, though until she'd met him she'd never considered herself as such. Until he'd made her feel like a woman she'd still thought of herself as a young girl.

As they stepped inside, they heard Stefan and Giuseppe talking about someone named Katherine Pierce. Apparently she'd recently lost her parents and was coming to live there at Veritas. Rebecca knew it was more because Giuseppe wanted to make a good impression on the townspeople rather than because he was generous at all. He'd only taken Rebecca in because she'd saved his life and could probably be useful.

The girl, Katherine, would be arriving any day now. They would have a new house guest. She knew from what Giuseppe said that this Katherine's parents had died in a fire in Atlanta. Rebecca was assuming that the Salvatore's knew her family; why else would Giuseppe agree to have a girl from Atlanta come all the way to Virginia.

"Ah, you two are back," Giuseppe said, sounding almost delighted by their arrival.

Rebecca should've known something was up then, because Giuseppe was never delighted to see Damon.

"I see you two have been spending much time together. Perhaps you can tame my wild son, yes?"

Rebecca blushed but spoke anyway. "I would never claim to be able to do that nor would I ever wish to."

Wow. If she wasn't careful, she'd start talking like the people from this time period.

She didn't even blink when Giuseppe didn't seem to appreciate the honesty of her answer. She didn't care. She knew who she cared about and who she didn't. Giuseppe was too harsh on his sons for her to feel much for him. Any positive feelings she had for him stopped growing after gratitude for taking her in. She would've been lost in this world without him.

"Come, you two. Sit," he ordered.

It was only natural for Rebecca to want to rebel but she could tell by the gravity in his words that it was important, so she listened.

"There have been attacks in town. Animals with gashes in their necks. The work of demons."

"Stray dog, maybe," Damon suggested harshly. "Not demons."

"The attacks are getting closer to Veritas," Giuseppe went on as if Damon hadn't spoken. "If they get much closer, we'll have to fight back. Rebecca can teach us how. She's fought a demon herself."

Both Stefan and Damon turned sharply toward her and she suddenly found the table interesting. Inside she was fuming. How dare Giuseppe corner her like this? He was an awful, awful man.

"Rebecca?" Damon's sweet voice called out to her and she looked up. "What is he going on about?"

"Nothing. Leave it alone."

"It was not nothing," Giuseppe said, standing up. "Tell the truth!"

Rebecca stood up too. "You tell the truth, Mr. Salvatore. I don't like talking about such things."

It was true; she didn't want to talk about it. She didn't like that she'd killed someone, even if that someone had already been dead - or undead, whatever.

Giuseppe actually looked contrite at what she'd said. Suddenly he'd remembered she was a woman, maybe?

"Of course, Miss Stone. Shall we sit back down and speak rationally?"

"We shall." But she didn't want to. The only reason she didn't leave the room right that instant was because she didn't want him to say anything about her without her knowing about it. She needed to know how much damage control she'd have to do after he was done.

Giuseppe went on to explain how he'd found her and how she'd known exactly how to take care of the demon that had attacked them. All the while Damon and Stefan were quiet, taking everything in. She was terrified of what they would think of her now. A woman who knew how to fight, and the fact that she'd kept this from Damon. But really . . . What should she have said? Until now it seemed Damon hadn't given much thought to things that went bump in the night. He wouldn't have believed her, anyway; maybe he still wouldn't.

When Giuseppe was done Rebecca pretty much stomped from the room. She hadn't wanted Damon or Stefan to find out about her, not from Giuseppe.

Damon had followed her and was now grabbing her to turn her around. "Rebecca? You killed someone?"

She wouldn't look at him. Since the night she'd arrived in 1864 she'd tried to repress the fact that, yes, she had killed someone.

"He would've killed us, I didn't have a choice," she whispered.

"And you are convinced he was a demon?" She still wasn't looking at him so he made her look at him. Her face was now in his hands and she was looking directly into his earnest blue eyes. "Father has filled your head with children's stories."

"No, that night wasn't the first time I'd seen a vampire." She grabbed onto his arms and squeezed gently. "The demons Giuseppe was talking about are called vampires. Come with me, Damon, and I'll explain."

She was giving him a choice. He could back away from this craziness now - she was completely aware that that was what it sounded like - or he could give her a chance.

"I'll come with you," he decided.

She led him up to her bed chamber; he surprised her by stopping at the door.

"The servants will talk," he said softly, obviously worried about her reputation. "They may start to think poorly of you."

"Let them." She shrugged indifferently. This was more important than what people thought of her. "Tabitha will know better."

She and Tabitha had become sort of friends, though the colored woman was still shocked when she treated her like an equal.

Rebecca pulled him gently inside the room and she shut the door. They sat on her bed, a few inches apart and she wondered where she should start. Then it hit her.

"I'm not a killer, Damon," she blurted out. "I wouldn't have done anything to the vampire that attacked us if he hadn't attacked first."

She needed him to know that. She wasn't just a cold-blooded killer; she didn't think she had it in her. Yet.

"The man that attacked us, his eyes were red and he had very sharp fangs. He was drinking from your father's companion. He was killed right in front of me. That's why I killed the vampire."

She grabbed his hand and was grateful when he didn't flinch away.

"Until about a month ago, I didn't know vampires existed either. Then someone came to me and told me that I'm the one who can stop them. I'm a - the - vampire slayer. I didn't want it. I didn't ask for it. It just happened. Your father is planning on using me as a weapon, I'm pretty sure."

She then looked at him sharply. "Damon, you can't tell anyone about me, okay? Word cannot get around about me because if the wrong person hears it, I could be hunted down and killed."

"I won't tell," he said automatically and she knew he'd rather die than be the one to cause her harm. She couldn't tell, however, whether he was saying it to patronize her or because he actually believed her.

"Damon, I would've told you, I just didn't know how. Normal people don't want to hear about vampires. Not in a serious conversation anyway."

"The animal attacks?" he asked.

"Vampires have to feed, have to drink blood to survive. That much I know is true. But if they're not killing people then it's none of my business. I would never hurt an innocent person. Not all vampires are evil. They have a choice."

Granted, they didn't have a good choice, but they had a choice.

"Some . . . Some don't kill even when they feed from humans. I mean, they don't have to. That's another choice."

Damon closed his eyes and leaned back on the bed. He groaned a little. "I'm trying to follow along and I'm trying to believe you, Rebecca, but . . ."

"It's a lot to take in, I know. But you're not alone. And we never have to talk about this again if you don't want to. I just . . . You needed to know who I am and what I'm supposed to do."

When Damon didn't answer right away she became terrified. What was he thinking? Was he okay? Did he just need time or was his opinion of her forever altered?

"Damon? I'm still me. I'm still Rebecca, you just know more about me now." She touched his arm gently. "Are you wishing you didn't?"

His eyes snapped open and they flashed angrily. "It doesn't change how I feel. Nothing will change that. I just don't know how you expect me to respond."

"I don't care how you respond, just please don't shut me out. You are the closest friend I have here. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

Damon seemed to take that at face value because she was naturally an honest person; this Damon was so very trusting. She laid there beside him for a few minutes, just long enough to feel him relax, long enough for her to reassure herself that he wasn't going anywhere. Then he kissed her goodnight on the cheek and left her bedroom to go to his own. Apparently he didn't want to risk her getting a bad reputation.

Katherine Pierce showed up two days later. Rebecca almost had a stroke because Katherine looked exactly like Elena or . . . Elena looked exactly like Katherine since Katherine was older. Same olive skin, same brown hair - though Katherine wore hers in ringlets and Elena usually had hers straight. Everything was the same except for the eyes. Both Elena and Katherine had chocolate brown eyes, but Elena's were soft and compassionate; Katherine's were cold and distant.

Rebecca remembered vampire Damon looking at Elena strangely the day she'd introduced them; she understood the look now.

Katherine had shown up in a carriage with her handmaid and a coachman. Katherine's dark curls reached halfway down her back. She wore one of those big frou-frou dresses that Rebecca hated wearing herself.

The first time Rebecca saw Katherine she couldn't get over the fact that she was meeting an Elena look-alike. She also knew that Katherine was a vampire. She got the same feeling around Katherine that she'd gotten around Stefan and Damon in her time period. She'd only recently made the connection.

Katherine was also wearing a familiar blue stone around her neck. Lapis Lazuli, Damon had called it. It protected him like it was protecting her. From the sun; she could walk around in the daylight without burning. It wasn't hard for Rebecca to come to that conclusion. Vampires couldn't walk around during the day and since Damon said the stone protected him . . . There was only one thing vampires needed to be protected from during the day; the sun.

She'd introduced herself willingly, Rebecca had. Katherine seemed amiable enough.

"I'm sorry about your family," Rebecca said sincerely.

Katherine's eyes grew dark and gloomy. "Thank you."

Elena had lost her parents too. Was she destined to relive Katherine's life? Or un-life, as it would be called. Was Elena destined to become a vampire? Was that why Stefan and Damon were in Mystic Falls?

Rebecca didn't have much time to speculate now; she couldn't do anything about Elena while she was here.

Katherine or no Katherine, Rebecca had been at Veritas for a month, which meant that she'd been away from home for a month. She missed her friends. She even missed Caroline's incessant blathering. But she was happy with Damon. When she was with him she forgot about all her problems. She'd gladly stay here if she could, just to be with him.

"I wasn't aware Mr. Salvatore had a daughter," Katherine said, breaking into her thoughts.

"Oh, no. He took me in as well. I don't have family here."

Giuseppe gave Katherine a room close to Rebecca's; Katherine's handmaid was put with the rest of the servants and again Rebecca was struck by the injustice of it all. All over skin color. The color of one's skin should have nothing to do with how one is treated.

The next day Rebecca was walking the path of Veritas with Stefan and Damon. She didn't ignore Stefan just because she was with - or sort of with - Damon. There was a nice breeze going even though it was still warm. She felt uneasy, which she wasn't used to when she was with Damon. She couldn't explain the negative feelings she was having now; it was just a . . . wrong feeling.

Katherine was in the garden, not too many feet away and she looked a little lonely. It didn't surprise Rebecca; the girl had lost her family - maybe not recently since she was a vampire - so it was to be expected.

Rebecca led the two brothers to where Katherine was sitting on a stone bench.

"Would you like to join us? We can give you a tour of the grounds."

"I would very much enjoy walking with you three for a bit," Katherine said.

Rebecca knew she didn't really know Katherine, but she had all this involuntary sympathy for her because she looked like Elena. During their walk Rebecca noticed that Katherine kept brushing her hand against Stefan's. Stefan's hand twitched every time and Katherine would smile playfully. She was teasing him.

A sudden thought struck Rebecca. Was Stefan getting close to Elena because he'd been close to Katherine? Was Stefan really on the rebound and liked Elena only because she looked like Katherine?

"Honoria Fell is coming tomorrow to discuss dresses with you and Katherine. Father wants to purchase you two something for the end of summer gala," Damon said. "She should be here at midday."

"What should I tell her? About the dress?"

"You'll be beautiful no matter what you wear," Damon said, grabbing her hand. "Let us give these two some privacy."

She squeezed his hand gently and smiled, forgetting the Stefan/Elena/Katherine problem for the moment.

"Are you sure you don't just want us to have privacy?" Rebecca teased.

Damon smiled softly and flushed. "That, too, Miss Rebecca."

"Come on," Rebecca said. She led him away from Stefan and Katherine. The two didn't seem to mind.

"I'm telling Father tomorrow that I'm not going back to the war. It's not my place."

"Oh. You'll do great. You just say exactly what you think and block out whatever he says. Ignore his negative opinion of you. It doesn't matter."

"Not needing encouragement right now. But thank you."

"Okay, um . . . But you're not staying just because of me, right? I mean, that's not what you're basing your decision on."

Damon sighed and stopped walking. "You are a big part of it, Rebecca. But no. And even if it was, it is my decision to make."

"Yes, it is." She stood on her tiptoes and caressed his lips with hers. She smiled. "Hey, do you know how to swim?"

His brows furrowed. "Yes . . ." he said hesitantly.

"Then follow me."

She led him to the pond on the grounds and when they reached it she began undoing the strings in the front of her dress. She had a dark colored slip under it so she wasn't worried.

Rebecca was pulling her dress off right in front of Damon. And he was frozen. He was half convinced he was dreaming. She was beautiful. The slip of her dress covered everything that needed to be covered, but it hugged her curves tightly. She looked amazing.

"Miss Rebecca . . . You are acting quite indecently."

He was teasing her to cover up the uncomfortable-ness he was suddenly feeling. He wasn't used to feeling uncomfortable around women, but Rebecca could make him feel . . . less confident. Actually, that wasn't quite correct. He was still confident, but he worried more about what she thought than he cared to admit. He was always worried that he was going to say or do something wrong and she'd leave. Even though she'd proven more than once that she liked him as he was. He didn't need to change for her.

Rebecca waded into the water and looked at him. "Aren't you coming in?" She bit her lip and smiled shyly. "I can turn around if you want me to while you undress."

He began taking his shoes off and then his shirt. She didn't have to turn around. He watched her face for any sign of hesitation, but there wasn't any. He left his trousers on. Then he took an embarrassingly shaky breath and stepped into the water.

Rebecca was already waist deep and when he reached her, they went in deeper. Then she splashed him, relieving some of the tension he'd been feeling.

""Oh, I'm gonna get you," he teased, retaliating.

They spent at least half-an-hour just having a water fight. He went easy on her at first until he realized that being a Slayer - if that was actually what she was - meant she was stronger and faster than other women he'd met. He could be a little wilder with her without worrying about hurting her. She wasn't a delicate little flower even if he did sometimes treat her like one.

The next day Giuseppe had invited Honoria Fell - relation to Logan Fell, local newscaster in Rebecca's time - over to Veritas, like Damon had warned her he had. Giuseppe wanted others to see how well his two lady guests were being taken care of.

"No son of mine will ever disobey me! You need to go back and take your place in the world."

"My place is here."

Giuseppe and Damon were arguing again; Damon was telling his father he wasn't going to fight in a war he didn't believe in. Needless to say, Giuseppe hadn't taken too kindly to that.

"You're thinking with your heart and not your head. You are becoming too attached to Miss Stone."

"Miss Stone is right here, Mr. Salvatore," she said, irritated by the fact that Giuseppe apparently thought that she was deaf because she was female. "And her hearing is as good as ever, just so you know."

Rebecca glanced at Damon and saw that some of the fire from his argument with his father had left his eyes and he smiled at her. She smiled back and then noticed that Katherine and Stefan, who were in the room with them, seemed curious about the exchange.

Rebecca blushed even though there really wasn't anything to it. She and Damon were fond of each other, that was all.

Later that same day Rebecca was out on the porch of the huge white Colonial house just sitting, enjoying the quiet, when suddenly it wasn't quiet anymore. Damon and Stefan came running out the door like little children. Damon had a leather ball in his hand, a football.

"Wait, where did you learn this game?" Stefan asked.

"Camp outside Atlanta. One of the officers picked it up at Harvard. Catch."

Stefan did as Damon had asked and then Damon charged at him.

"Wait, wait, what're the rules?"

Rebecca then felt Katherine's presence before Katherine spoke.

"Who needs rules?"

That was the first time Katherine's voice had gotten on Rebecca's nerves. It was like nails on a chalkboard.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked the two brothers.

"Well, you could get hurt," Stefan said. "My brother likes to play rough."

"Somehow I think that you play rougher," Katherine teased. Then she stole the ball and took off running. Stefan just looked after her and Rebecca rolled her eyes.

Damon watched and then looked at Stefan, blue eyes full of amusement.

"Why're you just standing there? That is clearly a girl who wants to be chased. If you don't do it, I will."

Then both Salvatore brothers took off running, leaving Rebecca on the porch, grinning at their playful antics. She'd expected it from Damon; Stefan, not so much.

Mystic Falls was crawling with vampires, two of which were Pearl and Annabelle, the first of which owned the apothecary. Rebecca met them one day when Damon had escorted her into town. They'd both known Katherine in Atlanta - Pearl was one of Katherine's friends.

There was a young black man named Harper who was a vampire; a young white man named Henry. Both Henry and Harper had come with Pearl and Annabelle. Then there was Fredrick and Bethanne. Rebecca wasn't sure where they'd come from, but they were vampires nonetheless.

Rebecca had yet to hear of any humans being attacked, so she kept her nose out of it.

Pearl and Annabelle were both able to walk around in the sun so they had to have a stone somewhere on them; Rebecca just couldn't see it.

On the day of the dinner/dance thing Rebecca woke up feeling odd. There wasn't anything in particular; she just had a weird feeling. It made her anxious. She'd felt that way since Katherine's arrival.

Tabitha was in her room like she was every morning, only this time she'd prepared a nice bath for Rebecca.

"Thank you, Tabitha," Rebecca said sincerely.

"You're welcome, Mizz Becca." Tabitha gave her a slight smile. "Mr. Damon wishes to see you when you're ready."

"Tell him I'll be there shortly. Thank you."

When she was clean and fresh - she still wasn't used to using baking soda on her teeth - she slipped on a lilac colored dress. No corset - she was still against the use of them unless completely necessary; they were medieval torture devices as far as she was concerned.

Once downstairs she went in search of Damon and found Stefan instead. He had a Shakespeare book in his lap. Hamlet.

"Hello, Stefan," she said, announcing her presence. "Hamlet, huh? Incest and murder and vengeance, oh my!"

Stefan smiled softly and shut the book, marking his place with his finger. "Why does it not surprise me that you know Shakespeare?"

"Because hopefully you've learned by now that I know a lot of things. Where's Damon? Tabitha said he was asking for me."

"He's right out on the porch."

"Thank you, Stefan."

Sure enough, Damon was there. Rebecca slipped her arms around him even though public displays of affection were frowned upon in this time period. Damon was shaking his head at his father, who was about twenty yards away ordering a few servants to put some lanterns in the ground on either side of the pathway that led to the house.

Damon made some comment about Giuseppe being ostentatious and then grabbed her hand and led her off the porch. Their favorite spot was by the pond, so she was sure that was where they were headed.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, squeezing his hand. "Did you change your mind about the war? Are you leaving?"

"No. Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to see you." He looked into her eyes so she could tell he was being honest. "That color looks lovely on you."

"Thank you." She smiled. "So, tonight . . . I'm not going to have to wear a frou-frou dress, am I?"

Damon's brows furrowed in confusion. "What's a frou-frou dress?"

She'd known he was going to say that.

"You know those big poofy ones. I don't like them. The dress I had made . . . I don't have to where a hoop under it, do I?"

"You and your words," he said, laughing. "Wear what you want."

"Okay." Layers would do, she guessed; it was better than the hoop thing. "Damon? I'm nervous."

"You . . . Nervous? Never."

She smiled softly. "I don't know these people and they don't know me."

"Well, there are the Forbes'; Mr. Forbes is the Sheriff. The Lockwood's; Mr. Lockwood is the mayor. Jonathon Gilbert; he's an inventor. Father thinks he's crazy, but he's easy to get along with. Just agree with whatever he says and he'll stop talking faster."

Gilbert, Forbes, Lockwood. It struck her dumb for a minute because she knew these people's descendants. Elena and Jeremy Gilbert; Caroline Forbes; Tyler Lockwood. Caroline's mom was the Sheriff in her time period; Tyler's dad was the mayor. Things were set up that way, maybe.

Damon slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He'd obviously sensed her sudden mood change, because his hold was comforting. They sat on a white coated bench and she leaned against him. She still had that anxious feeling down in her stomach and it was starting to throw her. Maybe the day had come and she'd have to leave. She hoped that wasn't the case, for Damon's sake and her own.

She wanted to tell him, warn him in some way, but she didn't know how. It wasn't fair, what she was doing. She knew that one day she wouldn't be there and she continued to let Damon get closer to her.

She was being selfish, but she didn't want to let him go.

At the dinner servants brought out pheasant with cornbread as the main course. Dinner conversation was about the animal attacks. Some of the people were angry; others were just scared and worried. Most of the women had almost been too scared to come to the dinner.

Rebecca wanted to say 'notice you're still alive' but she held her tongue.

After dinner the guests were served wine and it was sweet; Rebecca had to remind herself not to drink too much. She did not want to get tipsy here. Though she appreciated the wine when she had to dance. It gave her a little courage. For the first couple of steps she looked at their feet, making sure she matched his moves. Then he tilted her chin up so she'd look at his face instead. She smiled shyly, but felt better when she saw the total adoration in his eyes.

After that the dance seemed easy.

Stefan danced with her a few times after getting Damon's permission and Rebecca found the younger Salvatore was not very graceful, but she had fun teasing him fondly.

Then a drunken louse named George Lockwood had wanted a dance - she guessed being an ass was inherited. She'd almost had no choice because she'd been left alone for a second and he didn't seem the type to take no for an answer. She'd even reached out a hand, slowly and hesitantly; her hand had almost been in his and then Damon was there.

He was glaring at the other man - uh-oh, Alpha Male showdown - and she was grabbing Damon's hand instead. Thank God.

Damon led her away from the Lockwood boy and she danced with him again.

"Ugh, I thought I was gonna have to dance with that creep!"

"I shouldn't have left you alone. My mistake."

"Well, you're here now." She smiled. "Don't go anywhere."

Damon didn't leave her side again that night.

Okay, so here is more of her being in the past. What's gonna happen? LOL. You know Katherine's gotta cause trouble somehow because that's who she is. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.