Emily stepped into the clearing, her hands idly tugging up her dress as she walked. She stopped a few feet in front of them, her eyes meeting Bonnie's for the briefest of instants before she looked away. "Hello, Bonnie."
Bonnie raised a brow and instinctively took a step backwards. "How do you know my name?" Her voice was sharper than she'd intended, but Emily either hadn't noticed or didn't care. Bonnie guessed that it was probably a bit of both.
"I will answer your questions, but you must come with me. We cannot talk freely here."
Damon snorted, taking a predatory step towards the witch. "Or I could just kill you." His fangs began to lengthen as the veins beneath his eyes grew more pronounced.
Emily raised a brow. "I can help you, Damon." She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and took another step closer to the vampire. "Everything will go back to the way it was before, but only if you'll accept my help." Her voice was calm, but Damon could see the desperation in her eyes. He wondered what a powerful witch like Emily Bennet could need his help for. What could he possibly help her with that she couldn't do herself?
"What's the catch?" Bonnie shook her head. "What do you want, Emily?"
A ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but Bonnie could see through her attempts at trying to hide it. "I made the mistake of using magic to turn Jonathan Gilbert's inventions into dangerous weapons to be used against vampires."
Damon nodded. "And? You did that last time."
Emily frowned, her lips pressing together into a line. "Katherine wants me to change the spell so that the inventions can be used on the founding families instead. She wants them all dead, Damon, including you."
Damon swore under his breath. "That bitch!" His brow furrowed as he met her gaze. "Hang on a second. If I die, that means-"
Emily cut him off. "Yes. If your past-self dies, you will cease to exist. Katherine wants to use Jonathan's inventions as weapons against humanity. The whole of Mystic Falls needs your help, Damon."
Bonnie frowned, shaking her head. "But… that's impossible. If anybody sees him…"
Emily nodded. "I already took care of that. While you are here, you will take the place of your past self. You must hide your true nature from those around you, Damon, because if they find out what you truly are, they will kill you."
Damon narrowed his eyes, folding his arms across his chest. "Why should I save them?" he countered, raising a brow. He'd never liked any of them, anyway. "I'm not doing it."
"To save yourself you must save them all."
"No way." Damon turned away from her then and walked further into the trees before stopping. He didn't turn around to look at her as he said, "come on, Bon Bon. We're going home."
Bonnie took a deep breath and, giving Emily a small, apologetic smile, she turned and hurried after Damon, pulling her jacket tighter around her shoulders. Emily made no move to stop them as they continued walking, and Damon began to wonder just what she was really up to. He got his answer soon after when an invisible barrier hit him in the face, preventing him from going any further. He banged on the barrier with his fists, but it held strong.
Sighing, he turned around to face the witch. "Fine, you win. If I help you save the vampires and whatever, do you promise to send me and Bonnie back home?"
Emily nodded. "Yes. I give you my word."
Damon stared at his reflection in the mirror, a mixture of horror and nostalgia evident in his expression. As he tucked his shirt into his pants and slipped on the uncomfortable leather shoes he'd grown to hate, he sighed, sitting on the edge of the large bed that occupied most of the room.
He didn't know why Emily needed his help specifically, or why she'd brought Bonnie back to his own personal hell, either. He tried not to think about how long he would be stuck here, trying to reassure himself that he would see Elena sooner, rather than later.
Swallowing back his pride, he stood up, taking a final glance at his reflection before heading towards the door.
He could hear Bonnie in the next room arguing with Emily in hushed whispers.
"I'm not wearing that!"
"You must, Bonnie. We have no other options."
"But I don't want – Ow, that hurts! How the hell am I supposed to breathe in this thing?"
Chuckling to himself, Damon took a seat at the old, wooden table as he waited for Bonnie to finish getting ready. As an image of the witch in nineteenth-century attire flashed through his mind, he forced himself to supress his laughter. He was never going to let her forget this…
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I know you may be wondering... is this a Bamon story? Well, no it isn't.
Who will Damon end up with? Let's just say that Elena will make an appearance sooner rather than later... As for the reason why - you'll have to read to find out!
As always, thank you for reading and feel free to leave your thoughts down below :)