Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC.
A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter of Stormdancer. I don't know how much of the show I intend to follow at this point. Season 1 and 2 should pretty much stay the same with the exception of some minor and major changes. The major change will probably be Bonnie's role in the story. I think she may make different choices if she had someone who honestly cared about her wellbeing, primarily, in the show.
This will be the chapter where Aliyah meets Stefan and Damon again and meets Elena for the first time. This story takes place after Sheila's death. In TVD, Bonnie is missing until 1X19, and in 1X19, I think Elena mentioned that Bonnie was with her aunt after the funeral. Instead, Bonnie spends that time with Aliyah.
Reviews:
GraceConnorReese: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it!
Skyeward MusicLover: Thank you so much!
lovetolongago: Your question should pretty much be answered in this chapter, whether Aliyah is an Original vampire or not. The next few chapters will be more original, because Bonnie was missing from about five episodes in Season 1 after Sheila's death. So the next couple of chapters will focus on Aliyah helping Bonnie with her magic, especially with that delightful aneurism spell, and working her way through Mystic Falls in the meantime. I'm trying to have Aliyah keep to herself and keep everything close to her chest, because she's a very cautious person, therefore, it is likely that the show will be mirrored closely, mainly because Aliyah's such a careful manipulator of events. The big changes won't really happen in this season, but in Season 2.
NicoleR85: Thank you so much! I don't think she'll take much crap from any of them. She's a Mikaelson and those Mikaelsons have their pride. Not to mention, she's not really a fan of Petrova doppelgangers, although her relationship with Katherine may be interesting. And, yeah, she won't fall in love with either Stefan or Damon, so she'll pretty much rag on them every chance she gets.
Stormdancer
Chapter 2
Witch of Mystic Falls
"So, I have a question for you, Bonnie." Aliyah said, as they sat down on the couch.
It had been a few days since Bonnie's grandmother's death and the funeral, where Bonnie had met Aliyah for the first time. Bonnie still hadn't invited Aliyah into her house, but Aliyah had instead invited Bonnie to the small, yet expensive apartment that some of her men had rented for her before she had arrived in Mystic Falls. Aliyah had listened in on a conversation between Bonnie and her father and was stunned to find that her father had business in London, but decided to stick with his airline reservations for next month, in order to save money. She had shaken her head, thinking that Bonnie, in Sheila, had lost the one person that had actually treated her like a teenage girl that required love and affection and guidance.
Bonnie shifted in her seat to look at Aliyah. She had spent the last few days fighting against every instinct in her to not trust the vampire in front of her, but Aliyah herself had spent the last few days walking on eggshells around her. She had cooked for her and told her stories. She had smiled and laughed and kept her distance from her, knowing that Bonnie still felt uneasy around her. She had asked her about her life, and her friends, about her grandmother, and Aliyah had managed to keep her from the grief that threatened to overwhelm her at any moment. She had the niggling thought that maybe Aliyah was as alone as Bonnie felt. Maybe they both needed each other.
"Sure, what is it?" Bonnie asked with a small smile.
"Your father…" Aliyah began, hesitantly. "You don't seem all that bothered by his absence."
Bonnie shrugged. "It's not that I'm not bothered, it's just I can't do anything about it." She said, mournfully.
"He should be here for you." Aliyah said, bluntly.
Bonnie felt her hackles rising, but forced herself to keep her mouth shut. She smiled, weakly. "It's okay, really." She paused. "Hey, how do you walk in the sunlight?"
Aliyah held out her hand, showing a beautiful gold ring on her index finger, a shining lapis lazuli stone set in an open filigree design, diamonds bordering the four corners of the stone. It was accompanied by a thick silver band on her middle finger, symbols inscribed on it in a language that Bonnie didn't understand, and an emerald ring on her ring finger. On her other hand, she could see two braided gold bands on her other ring finger.
"My daylight ring. I had a witch enchant for me in the 1700s, back in New Orleans." She smiled to herself. "It wasn't my original one."
She pulled out a silver chain that hung around her neck, which she had tucked into her cleavage. At the tip of the necklace, hung a metal ring with an intricate filigree design that was set with a large lapis lazuli stone. By the looks of it, the ring looked very old, as if someone just couldn't bear to part with it due to the sentimental value of the jewellery. It was hung next to an elaborately crafted pentagram that was made out of pewter.
"Anyway," Aliyah smiled. "Is there anything you'd like to do now?"
"Actually, I'd like to talk to you about our family." Bonnie said, hesitantly. "I kinda ignored my Grams when she talked about us being witches. I just thought she was crazy… or drunk."
Aliyah nodded. "I'll try my best to answer any questions you've got."
"How long have our family been witches?" Bonnie asked, leaning in closer.
Aliyah looked thoughtful. "Well, I am very old myself, but my mother once told me a story about one of our ancestors. I suppose she was attempting to use it as a cautionary tale, in a case where I attempted to misuse my powers, and I believe it is befitting that I tell you this story, for your own peace of mind and knowledge. Apparently, there was a witch, one of our ancestors, who lived sometime in the 1st Century B.C. Her name was Qetsiyah. You see, she was part of this subculture of witches. I really don't know much about them, and my mother was really sketchy on the details... maybe she didn't know much about them herself. But, basically, Qetsiyah was the witch that created the spell that turned people into vampires."
"Wait." Bonnie's eyes widened. "A spell turned people into vampires? So, a witch created vampires."
"Yes." Aliyah nodded. "A witch turned six humans into the Original vampires. Anyway, back to the story." She felt herself slip a mask onto her face, making sure her eyes remained clear of anything that may give her away.
Those were times she didn't like to talk about. Not to mention that she didn't quite trust Bonnie, no matter how much she wanted to be there for Bonnie, she couldn't shake the fact that the girl was a witch, and one who had lost her grandmother to the hands of vampires. She knew the girl couldn't hurt her, but she wouldn't let Bonnie hurt the people she loved.
"Qetsiyah fell in love with a warlock named Silas, who was also a part of this elite coven of witches, and they both planned to take the immortality spell as part of their wedding ceremony. But," A sad smile played on Aliyah's lips, imagining the pain that Qetsiyah must have felt. "Silas didn't show up to the wedding, which was probably such a kick in the face for her, and she found out that he was having an affair with her handmaiden, and they were doing the immortality spell together."
"I imagine she didn't take that too well." Bonnie said, dryly.
"No woman would." Aliyah pointed out, remembering a moment where she had felt that fury and hurt deep in her heart.
"So, what happened next?" Bonnie asked.
"Um," Aliyah frowned, rubbing the back of her neck. "I don't know, my mother never told me. Maybe she didn't know herself. I've been around for awhile, and I've heard variations of the story in a few places. But I'm still not sure what really happened." She shook her head. "It's probably just a legend, anyway. Something to teach little witches to mind themselves when it came to their powers."
"So, if the story's real, our family is really old." Bonnie mused. "Wow, Elena and Caroline seemed so full of themselves for being Founding Families of Mystic Falls, and by family dates back to Biblical times."
Aliyah laughed. "You know all that 'Founding Families' mania is absolute rubbish, right?"
Bonnie frowned. "What do you mean?" She leaned forward, eagerly.
"Well, Mystic Falls was settled long before 1860. After the witch trials of 1692, the Bennett family migrated to Mystic Falls." Aliyah grinned at the dumbfounded look on Bonnie's face.
"So, I'd be part of a real Founding Family." Bonnie stammered.
Aliyah smirked. "Actually, you're more than that. I was born here. My mother migrated here from the Old World, along with her friend, and she settled here. So, you are probably the only one in this town that has the right to call yourself a Founding Family. While we may not have had the name Bennett all those years ago, your ancestors helped create the settlement here."
Although, your friend, Elena, has a distant relative in Tatia, and therefore, would be able to call herself a Founding Family as well. Although, Tatia did come here long after Mikael and Esther and Mother settled here, so Bonnie is more of a Founding Family than the rest of those entitled fools.
"So, how long ago was that?" Bonnie asked, curiously.
Aliyah smiled, considering whether she should reveal to Bonnie exactly how old she was. She decided against it, resolving to wait until she was sure that the witch in front of her. "I think I'm entitled to keep a few secrets for now, darling. Never fear, I will tell you in due time."
Bonnie frowned, her eyes searching her face for a moment. "How old were you when you were turned?"
"I was a little over twenty-four when I was turned." Aliyah said, simply.
"You were young." Bonnie said, sadly.
"I was." Aliyah mused, sadly. "But not as young as Stefan was when he was turned. He was only seventeen."
"You didn't want it, did you?"
Aliyah swallowed hard. "There are few witches in the world that would choose to become a vampire. It is a hard thing to become accustomed to… losing your powers. To face every day knowing that you are an abomination of nature, that you go against every feeling you once had. I imagine it would drive many of those vampires to suicide."
"You never considered suicide?"
Aliyah's eyes widened. It was a question that only two people had ever asked her, and they had never needed her to reply to know her answer. "No." She said, finally. "I may have felt sorry for myself and I may have hated myself for the atrocities I have committed, but I have never wanted to kill myself. I had a family and I had a husband. He needed me and I was determined to never leave his side." She said, simply.
"Where is he now?" Bonnie asked, keen to know more about the woman who had appeared out of nowhere and knew Stefan and Damon and Katherine and was a witch-turned-vampire and apparently was so old that she didn't want to talk about it.
Aliyah tensed, the tattoos on her skin practically itching with every memory of him that flashed through her mind.
"Now, keep your arm straight and pull back the bow." He told her, keeping a steady grip on her elbow.
"How will I know when to release the bow?" She asked him, worriedly, chancing a look at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Listen to your heart beat, it is there, right in between the beats. That is when you let go."
Aliyah let the bowstring snap and watched in amazement and excitement as the arrow struck the branch right through, knocking it off the tree. Aliyah laughed, gleefully, and spun on her feet, throwing her arms around Niklaus' shoulders, pressing her face into his neck. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist, tightly, and hauling her up against his body, pressing sweet kisses to her long curly hair.
"Niklaus, did you see the arrow? I knocked the branch right off the tree." She giggled.
Niklaus stared down at her, fondly. "My little hellcat, you'll be a better hunter than me soon enough."
She shook her head, playfully. "No one could be a better hunter than you, Niklaus." She rested her head against his chest and felt his large hand came up to cup her head in it, his fingers stroking through her long curls.
She looked up at him and was startled by the adoration she could see in his eyes. She felt him twist a hand in her hair and she leaned up, instinctively, watching as his eyes travelled down from her eyes to her lips. She licked her lips, wetting them softly, and resisted the urge to smile when she saw his eyes grow dark.
He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, her eyes fluttering closed, as his hands settled on the small of her back. He dipped her, slightly, and his mouth moved more insistently over hers. She moaned low in her throat, and her hands found their way to his broad shoulders, gripping them tightly.
When they broke way, finally, her eyes were dark and her lips were red. She ran her tongue over her lips and she flushed. Niklaus looked sheepish and tucked a few curls behind her ear.
"I apologise," Niklaus rubbed the back of his neck. "I took liberties."
Aliyah smiled, slowly. "Why don't you take them again?"
Niklaus grinned and leaned down, slanting his mouth over hers again.
"My husband and I are estranged." Aliyah said, finally, her eyes turning sad. "I decided that we needed some time away from each other. I haven't seen him in a very long time."
"I'm sorry." Bonnie said, softly, realising that her husband was a sore topic for her.
"It's fine." Aliyah smiled. "Things between us were bad before I left. I think we both need the break from each other." She clapped her hands, excitedly. "So, anything you'd like to do now? We could watch a movie… or, since you brought your grimoires, we… well, you… could practice some spells." She stared at Bonnie. "What can you do?"
"Well, it really started at a car wash." Bonnie rubbed the back of her neck. "This girl made me angry and I turned the hose back on her. My Grams told me that witches' emotions fuel their powers."
Aliyah nodded. "Especially, when you're untrained. When your powers are subconscious, they need a way to come out, and your emotions break all those walls your powers are behind. When you start learning to access your powers, you will have more control over what you can do with your powers. Your powers will start to mould to your wishes. Anything else?"
"Well, I can make things float in the air. I ripped up Elena's pillow and made the feathers float." Bonnie said, hesitantly. "And I did a séance to talk to Emily."
"Wait, you what?" Aliyah sat up straight. "Did she talk back?"
"She possessed me." Bonnie confessed.
"Okay, if you don't mind, can you please explain to me what happened?" Aliyah asked, sternly.
"Well, I started to have these dreams of Emily. I thought it was about this talisman I was wearing. My Grams told me that Emily was the one who created it, and she used the energy of an over-passing comet, to use the crystal to seal twenty-six vampires in the tomb under Fell's Church. Damon had it, but then he gave it to Caroline, who gave it to me. Damon tried to get it back from me, but it kept burning anyone who touched it."
Aliyah nodded. "I'd imagine only Bennett witches can touch it. I remember Emily wearing it when I was passing through Mystic Falls in 1864."
"That was when I did the séance. And Emily possessed me. Apparently, Damon and Emily made a deal back in 1864… that Emily would save Katherine from the Founding Families by putting her inside the Church, and Emily asked Damon, in return, to protect her family. But Emily refused to bring Katherine back because she didn't want the other twenty-six vampires to get out." Aliyah could see the way Bonnie's eyes tightened at this.
Katherine Pierce... Katerina Petrova... someone should just kill her and be done with it.
"Of course, I may be a vampire and a sadistic bitch on occasion, but even I wouldn't let loose twenty-six starving vampires on an unsuspecting town." Aliyah mused.
"Emily destroyed the talisman and Damon attacked me."
Aliyah snarled, the veins under her eyes appearing and the whites of her eyes turning maroon red. She felt her fangs trying to slip out, but she reined her emotions in, not wanting to frighten Bonnie right at the beginning. She could feel the veins under her eyes receding and forced herself to calm down. "And you don't want me to deliver you Damon Salvatore's heart on a plate? He hurt you, he should die for that alone." She hissed.
She felt that same protectiveness ignite in her, in a way that she hadn't experienced for anyone except for Rebekah and Kol, and even then, not since they were human, although she had been daggered for her attempts to protect them every now and then. The girl in front of her needed to be protected. She was a Bennett witch and she would be a powerful one when she grew into her powers. And it would be so much better if she had Bonnie on her side when that happened. Stefan and Damon Salvatore would lead her astray from her path by turning her into their own personal protective service for the doppelganger. It would be a shame for all of that power and loyalty to be wasted on a Petrova.
"You said that you could make a bite pleasurable." Bonnie said, hesitantly.
Aliyah smiled, wickedly. "It can be very pleasurable. A sharp nip and if you go slow, it doesn't always have to hurt. If I have to drink blood for survival, why should I not make it nice for the other person? I can't be selfish."
"Do you sleep with them?" Bonnie asked, her eyes wide and her cheeks slightly flushing at such a scandalous thought.
Aliyah laughed. "No, I may have been tempted a few times, some of those women are absolutely delicious, but I'm committed to my husband. He'd get really angry if I cheated on him. I'm more of a 'suck and run' kind of girl." She winked.
Bonnie laughed, despite the morbidity of the situation.
"But seriously, Bonnie, let me kill Damon. He could have seriously hurt you." She said, sternly.
"Stefan fed me his blood." Bonnie protested.
"Stefan should have more of a control over his brother." Aliyah said, pointedly. "By letting Damon go around town when he's all crazy and impulsive, he's putting a lot of people at risk." She told her.
"I know." Bonnie sighed. "He's dangerous."
"Which is why I know exactly what you're going to learnt next." Aliyah grinned, wickedly.
"What?" Bonnie's eyebrows furrowed.
Aliyah jumped to her feet and moved behind the couch, pouring herself a drink. "When I was younger, just turning around thirteen, my mother taught me a spell to protect myself. In today's age, it's all about self-defence and pepper spray, but in my day, most women carried a small blade on them. As a witch, my mother taught me how to cause an aneurism. Basically you burst their blood vessels one at a time until they back off. As a vampire heals almost instantly, it would be necessary to burst multiple blood vessels at the same time in a vampire's brain and keep at it until they get taken down." Aliyah explained.
Bonnie jumped to her feet and joined Aliyah at the liquor cabinet. "Is there a spell for it?" She asked, curiously.
Aliyah smiled. "Nope. It's more of an 'unlocking your power and throwing it at them' kind of thing. We're going to work on getting you used to using your powers." She handed Bonnie a glass of scotch and led her over to the dining table.
"Bennett witches have traditionally practiced Traditional Magic. This magic is the energy of the Earth itself. That's why you might feel yourself becoming stronger when you're around nature. We Bennett witches have always had a special connection with nature. There are other types of magic. In New Orleans, the witches practice Ancestral Magic, which draws energy from the power of every witch who has been consecrated into New Orleans soil. However, this prevents them from leaving the boundaries of New Orleans, because they'd lose their powers. There's Spirit Magic, which draws energy from the Spirits who resided on the Other Side. But Spirit Magic has a drawback. It makes you beholden to the Spirits. You can only use magic how the Spirits see fit. If a witch abuses the power that is bestowed upon them, the Spirits may break their connection to the witch, preventing them from further harnessing their power."
"My Grams was really big on the Bennett witches thing." Bonnie mused.
Aliyah nodded. "The Bennett line is a line of extremely powerful witches, Bonnie. You, your grandmother, Emily, myself, my mother, stretching back to Qetsiyah, it makes you powerful and practically royalty in the witches' community." She smiled, gently. "When you learn how to use your powers properly and when you gain more experience, you will be exceptional, I promise."
Bonnie smiled.
It was late evening when Aliyah walked into the Grill. She still found it slightly surreal walking around the quaint little town, remembering what used to exist in every single spot when she had been human. She had walked through the town square, where the natives used to gather to worship their gods a thousand years ago, to get to the Grill and she had been struck with the memory of one of the sacrifices, where she and Niklaus had snuck away from the festivities to make love in the forest. Elijah had been mad for Tatia back then, desperately trying to keep her attention focused on him and not some other boy in the village. It was with a mournful mind that she realised that was a time before everything had changed. Before Mikael had stormed in and ripped apart every bit of peace that she, Elijah and Niklaus had constructed for themselves.
The bell on the top of the door dinged when she stepped over the threshold and she strode in, her dark eyes taking everything in, carefully. She smiled when her gaze landed on the bar, watching three specific people avidly. The Petrova doppelgänger stood in the middle of the three, and Aliyah resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
And it happens again.
She recognised Damon sitting at the bar, nursing a glass, by his dark hair in a casual disarray. She looked closer and recognised the other boy, on the other side of Elena as being Stefan Salvatore, with just slightly shorter hair, and not wearing the frock coats of the 1860s or the sleek suits of the 1920s, the latter of which Stefan wouldn't remember, if Niklaus had done his job right. It was hard looking at Stefan now, knowing that he was happy with the doppelganger, while her sister rotted in a coffin for daring to fall in love with him.
Her tall heels clicked across the timber flooring, as she strode confidently towards the bar.
"Well, if this isn't just the strangest group of people." She exclaimed, approaching them.
All three of them turned to stare at her, horror-filled looks appearing on two of them, while the third's eyes dawned with recognition. Damon and Stefan simply stared at her, their faces bleak with confusion and terror. Elena frowned as if trying to put the pieces together, wondering how the woman from Bonnie's grandmother's funeral knew Stefan and Damon.
"You're the woman from Bonnie's Gram's funeral." Elena blurted out.
"I am," Aliyah smiled, nonchalantly. "And you're Elena Gilbert. Bonnie's told me about you." She turned her attention to Damon and Stefan. "It's good to see you two again, Stefan, Damon." She said, politely.
Stefan frowned and took a step closer to the woman who had helped him transition into a vampire. "How do you know Bonnie?"
"We're related." She shrugged.
"That's not possible." Damon snarled, kicking back the drink and standing to his feet.
"Oh, it is." Aliyah said, knowingly. "You see, Bonnie's a distant descendant of mine. And when I heard of Sheila's death, I wanted to be here for Bonnie." She said, sincerely. "You can imagine my surprise when she started to tell me stories about her friend Elena who's the exact double of Katerina Petrova, and her vampire boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore, and his vampire brother, Damon Salvatore."
"Who the hell is Katerina Petrova?" Damon snapped.
Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Think it through, shortbus." She said, dryly.
"Wait," Stefan frowned. "Katherine is Katerina?"
Aliyah smirked. "Katherine has been playing games longer than you've been alive." She smiled at Elena. "I'm sure you're nothing like her. It takes a special kind of person to be like Katherine." Or Tatia. She stared at Stefan. "You know, Bonnie mentioned a Stefan Salvatore, and I thought to myself, it can't be that boy from Mystical Falls in 1864."
Damon turned to look at Stefan, incredulously. "You knew her back in 1864?"
Stefan kept his eyes on Aliyah, moving slightly in front of Elena, as if to protect her. Not that that would actually do anything if Aliyah was actually here to hurt Elena. It would be the easiest thing in the world for Aliyah to reach out and rip their hearts from their chests and drain Elena dry. But she had given Bonnie her word.
"She's the one that moved us from the woods and brought us to the quarry. She explained to me that Damon and I were transitioning and that we would need to drink human blood within twenty-four hours if we wanted to complete the transition, otherwise we wound die. And then she disappeared." He said, sharply.
"I was just in Mystic Falls for Katherine. You're lucky I let you both live. Letting two recently turned vampires loose is usually a stupid decision. I've killed so many of them, just for sport alone, but I let you both live." She said, dangerously. "I can kill you both now if I want, don't push me." She snarled.
"Wait, how do you know her?" Stefan asked Damon.
"Oh, we met in… 1931?" Aliyah winked at Damon. "The Swing Era. I met him as he was tearing out the throat of some poor canary, all drunk on bathtub gin."
Elena looked disgusted. "How can you say that with a straight face?"
Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you're standing next to the Ripper of Monterey and you're talking to me about straight faces?" She winked when she saw Damon smile into his glass and Stefan pale at the mention of his vicious alter ego.
Elena frowned and looked at Stefan. "What does she mean 'Ripper of Monterey'?"
"Not the time for that, darling." Aliyah waved off. She hid her smirk behind a blinding smile, loving it when she was able to screw with people without them knowing. "I just came here to talk to Damon and Stefan, and I'll be getting back to Bonnie."
Elena straightened. "Wait, getting back to Bonnie? If you've hurt her-" She began, hotly.
Aliyah rolled her eyes. She held up her hand to prevent her from saying another word. "Hush, little girl. I have no intention of hurting Bonnie, in fact, I want to help her. She is my family and I take family very seriously. I mean none of you any harm, and I actually want to help you. You let loose twenty-six homicidal vampires on this town and I want to help you take them down." She shrugged. "Call it my protectiveness over Bonnie. Can't let the word get out that there's a Bennett witch out there, people may start gunning for her." She turned to Damon. "You're looking for Katherine." She saw his face tighten in fury. "I wouldn't worry if I were you. By now, she's probably found out that the tomb vampires are loose. Maybe she's even found out about Elena. She's probably on her way here already."
Aliyah looked over at Elena, who looked slightly startled by the softness in Aliyah's eyes and the mention of her name. "I'm sorry, Elena, but you've inherited a whole lot of rubbish that you really shouldn't have inherited." She said, somewhat sympathetically. She did feel sorry for Elena, despite the memories that her face brought. An innocent young girl who finds herself a part of something so much bigger than herself, it had to be jarring. "Look, I honestly have no intention of hurting you. I'm only here for Bonnie. And seeing as your Two Stooges over here pose a threat to her, I'm warning you now. Bonnie is not your personal witch. She is young and she'll probably get killed in your efforts to bring down all the tomb vampires." She smiled. "Rest assured, I will not allow Bonnie to become a victim of your hero complex, Stefan."
Stefan raised an eyebrow. "You did just come in here and threaten us." He pointed out.
She nodded. "I did. But threatening is the least of your worries when it comes to me. I'm so much more dangerous than that and I've got centuries on you." She said, warningly. "I'm leaving you here, peacefully, Stefan. Leave Bonnie out of your tomb vampire fiasco and protect Elena. That's all I'm asking you to do."
Elena frowned. "Why do you want me protected?"
Aliyah reached out and placed her hand on Elena's shoulder. "I should hate you for your face. A woman with your face caused me plenty of grief back in the day." She could see the wheels turning in Elena's head and guessed that Elena thought she meant Katherine. "But, I don't hate you, Elena. Rest assured, for as long as you don't hurt Bonnie or anyone else that I care about, you will be under my protection. Your appearance puts you in a lot of danger and I don't want you to end up like your predecessors." Aliyah leaned in and bared her teeth in a vicious smile. "So, don't screw it up." She hissed.
She turned to Damon. "I have to say it's good to see you, Damon."
Damon smiled and tipped the glass in her direction. "I'm afraid I can't say the same."
Aliyah shrugged. "Don't be, I was being sarcastic anyway." Her hand fell onto Damon's shoulder and squeezed, feeling the snap of his clavicle and scapula under her fingers. "Put your hands or your teeth on Bonnie again and I'll rip your heart out of your chest and feed it to my dogs." She purred. She patted him on the shoulder, smiling when she heard his wince of pain.
Stefan and Elena looked at her with wonder, Stefan with just the slightest bit of humour. She smiled, warmly, at Elena, who smiled somewhat hesitantly back. She gave Stefan a meaningful look.
"Leave Bonnie out of your problems and keep an eye on Elena." Aliyah shrugged. "That shouldn't be too hard for a vampire of your calibre."
She smirked and spun on her heel, walking away.
"I brought pizza." Aliyah said, excitedly. "How's the magic coming, Bonnie girl?"
Bonnie gave her scathing look, looking up from her grimoires. "I told you not to call me that." She hissed.
Aliyah smirked. "Yeah, and I didn't listen." She dropped the pizza boxes on the dining room table and walked over to the lounge, where Bonnie was sitting. She looked down at the page which described the instructions for the aneurism spell. "Oh, Bonnie girl, you're gonna need some time before you can do that. Don't go straight to the big leagues, darling. Choose something a little simpler and work your way up to it."
"I'm trying!" Bonnie snapped and she felt the table shake with the force of her anger.
"You need to calm down." Aliyah said, plainly. "Rome wasn't built in a day and you're not going to become a super-awesome-mega-witch in a few hours. Why don't we try…" She flicked through the pages of the grimoires and settled on a page. "A fire spell?"
Bonnie stared at the page for a moment, her eyes scanning the words. She took in a sharp breath and looked at Aliyah for a moment, nodding. Aliyah went over to a drawer in a wall unit, pulling out a candle and placing it on the table. She quickly struck a match and set the candle of fire, the slow flame burning at the size of Aliyah's thumb.
"Ex Spiritum In Tacullum, En Terrum Incendium, Phasmatos Salves A Distum!" Bonnie chanted, her voice lowering to a drawl, and the fire flared, brightly, much larger than at first, before receding to inexistence.
Aliyah turned to Bonnie, beaming proudly, as Bonnie replied with an answering smile that lit up her face.
"Oh, you're going to be exceptional, Bonnie girl." She purred.
A/N: Hope you all liked reading the chapter as much as I did writing it! It was really interesting writing Bonnie's and Aliyah's relationship, along with Stefan's and Elena's and Damon's reactions to Aliyah coming to Mystic Falls. Next chapter onwards we'll get back to the plot of Season 1, namely the tomb vampires and Stefan and Damon going to Aliyah for help, starting off with A Few Good Men. I want to take Season 1 to establish Bonnie's relationship with Aliyah and Aliyah's presence in Mystic Falls, the way Elijah did in Season 2. I hope you liked the flashback. If you didn't guess, it was Klaus and Aliyah's first kiss back when they were human.
I used this chapter to show that Aliyah's isn't as compassionate and kind as she seemed in the first chapter. She can be manipulative in her own way, but she does genuinely care about Bonnie, but she wants Bonnie not to be a danger to her or anyone she cares about. She's kind of taking advantage of Bonnie being angry at Elena and Stefan and Damon and using it for her own benefit, to establish her own presence in Bonnie's life. She can be fairly scary when threatened, I mean, she was married to Klaus Mikaelson for a thousand years, she must've learnt a few tricks along the way.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review!