Ara'Manth
Meredith made her way back to the old library. She looked around wildly for something to use on the locks. Its then when she noticed the servant girl standing quietly with wide eyes.
"Help me please. There are young girls down there who needs my help. Help me get them out safely." Meredith said to the servant girl.
The servant girl shook her head no.
"I am also scared, but if we don't do something then those innocent girls will be tortured and killed. Please help me. What if it was one of your sisters down there?" Meredith said with unshed tears in her eyes.
The servant girl looked up with wide scary eyes and said. "Safe yourself. There is no hope for them. Master Lucian will ...
They heard hurried footsteps approaching. Both girls looked back at the door.
"Quickly go up the stairs and hide yourself." The servant girl whispered in a shaky voice.
Meredith ran up the stairs. She tripped over her dress at the top of the stairs and cursed when her knee made contact with the stair.
"Quickly now." The servant girl whispered urgently.
Meredith got up and dived behind a wall of books just in time. The double doors burst open and in came four soldiers.
"What are you doing in here?" one of the soldiers asked the servant girl.
"I'm here to dust the place," the servant girl said with her head obediently bowed.
"Then you should have started centuries ago" The soldier replied, and he and the others laughed out loud.
"You are relieved of your duties. Go." The same soldier snapped at her.
The servant girl nervously glanced up quickly at the staircase before she hurriedly exited the library.
"So the empress found the witch with a power greater then that of Ara'Manth's army?" one of the soldiers asked jokingly.
"Yes, she gave herself up to spare her people. Our kind will demand a public execution." Another soldier said and crouched down. He pulled the lever that's hidden in the fireplace.
The fireplace parted in two.
"The empress should give her to us. Let's see if there will be anything left of the witch when we are done with her." A freckled face soldier boasted.
Their laughter faded as the fireplace closed behind them.
Bonnie? No, no, no. This cant be true? Meredith thought. She held both hands tightly over her mouth. Her vision was blurry from the tears. She wanted to scream, but she knew she had to keep quiet.
Meredith heard the soldiers came out and with them was the girls who was locked down there behind those wooden doors. The girls looked haggard and dazed. Lifelessly they walked behind each other. The soldiers led them out.
The servant girl came back and hurriedly ran up the stairs. " The girls are being set free. They have found the young witch who helped poisoned the Emperor. Come with me I will lead you out safely." She whispered to Meredith.
"Are they bringing her here?" Meredith asked.
"Yes, and its best that you leave now. We must go."
"No" I'm staying. Hide me in one of those chambers." Meredith said and grabbed the girls hand.
The servant girl looked at Meredith as if she just completely lost her mind.
"Do it please." Meredith said softly.
"There is no hope for her. Safe yourself, while you can." The servant girl said with tears in her eyes.
"I will rather be with my friend till the end then run away like a coward." Meredith said softly.
The servant girl nodded her head and said. "So be it."
-X-
Meredith stood in the dark chamber. It smelled of sweat and fear.
"Keep in the shadows when the doors open." The servant girl said before she closed the door with a sob.
When Meredith heard the heavy lock being put on the door. She dropped down slowly to the cold wet floor...
-X-
The Streets of Ara'Manth
The streets were full of vampires and curious humans who wanted to see the witch who can bring down Ara'Manth with one finger. So many rumours have been spread around that people believed everything they heard.
"They said she can fly." A woman whispered to a man beside her.
"I heard she can set you on fire if she just blinks at you." The man whispered back.
The woman quickly covered her eyes, and the man chuckled.
The prisoner was being led through Ara'Manth's streets with both wrists tied up with a thick rope. The rope was tied to a horse that walked in front of her and she followed behind barefoot. She walked behind the empress and her men on their horses.
Something was off about this girl Elena thought to herself.
-and-
Damon looked at the girl from where he was sitting on his horse. At least they spared me the humiliation of what this girl is going through, and if she thinks she is taking me down with her then she's got another thing coming to her. He thought to himself.
The prisoner was walking with her head held high and a soft smile. The crowed was silent for fear of evoking the witches great power.
When the palace gates closed behind them, Elena said. "Take the witch to the chambers and take him to my private courters.
-X-
Meredith quickly scrambled to a dark corner of the chamber when she heard the soldiers unlocking the door. They kicked the girl inside and she landed hard on the cold hard floor. They quickly locked the door again.
"Bonnie? Oh Bonnie" Meredith crawled to her and took her head gently in her hands and put it on her lap.
"Meredith what are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. This can't be happening." The girl said in anger and stood up.
"I'm here for you Bonnie. Don't you remember me? What happened to you.?" Meredith asked in a hurt voice.
"This will all be for nothing, Meredith." The girl said and leaned her head against the cold wet wall.
-X-
Damon was waiting for Elena in her private chambers. What he heard is that no man except Lucian was allowed in here. He should consider this as an honour, and this might be his last visit here, seeing that he is about to be publicly executed.
Damon chuckled at the last thought.
"What is so funny?" Elena asked behind him.
Damon turned around and smirked. "Does the empress really want to know a dying mans last thoughts?"
"Amuse me" Elena said and walked slowly to him.
Damon folded his arms in front of him and said in a serious voice. "Not in the mood princess."
"You say you don't know the witch?" Elena asked.
"No fucking idea who she is, but you already made up your mind. So?"
Elena looked deep into Damon's eyes. "Your eyes" she said softly.
"I know and thank you princess you have my permission to keep them after I'm you know what." Damon said with sarcasm.
"I believe you, and you will prove to me that what I believe in is real." Elena softly said to him.
-X-
"Bonnie?" Meredith said softly.
"I'm not Bonnie, Meredith." The girl said in a tired voice, and when she turned around her features changed. Gone was the untamed curls. The hair grew long and the colour turned ash blond. The skin no longer mocha, but milk white and the eyes light blue.
"Elizabeth? But, but ... Meredith whispered breathlessly. She was utterly confused and astonished.
"I can take the shape, voice and mannerism of anyone I have been in contact with, but only for short periods of time," Elizabeth said.
"But you looked just like her. Do you have her power too? If you do you can ... Meredith said, but Elizabeth interrupted her.
"No, Mer. Bonnie's power is beyond us all. Every witch has her own gift, mine are shape shifting and only that, and with my gift I deceived all of Ara'Manth." Elizabeth said triumphantly.
"You offered yourself." Meredith said in tears.
"For my people, Mer."
"What happens now?" Meredith softly asked.
Elizabeth took Meredith's hands and said in a serious whispered voice. "Mer, I have made my peace, but you, you must remain alive, for Bonnie. You will be our witness Meredith." Elizabeth said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Their coming. You let me talk and with whatever I say you agree on. Promise me this Meredith?"
Meredith shook her head stubbornly.
Elizabeth slapped Meredith's cheek. "Look at me. The enemy is not weak and now is not the time for weakness, Mer. I may look and talk like Bonnie, but I'm not her. Do not forget that Mer." Elizabeth gently rub with her thumb over Meredith's cheek. "I know ... I know ... this will be extremely hard, but this must be done.
Elizabeth features changed back to that of Bonnie and she gave Meredith a comforting smile. Meredith felt like fainting.
-X-
"My soldiers could not believe their eyes when they unlocked the door and there ... there was my sweet cousin Meredith in the same chamber with the witch." Elena said with cold eyes at Meredith from where she was sitting on her thrown.
"It was not by her doing, your empress. She is here by my magic." Elizabeth said.
"Is this true?" Elena snapped at Meredith.
Meredith looked at Elizabeth and saw the warning in her green eyes. This girl who looked identical to Bonnie is Elizabeth. Not Bonnie. Meredith said over and over in her mind. "Yes empress." Meredith softly said.
"You are aware that treason carries the high penalty of death. Tell me, what did you ever think to accomplish by poisoning the Emperor with dark magic blood and attacking vampires?" Elena asked.
Elizabeth looked intently at Elena. "Dark magic blood, your empress. Only a witch born from a wild dog can turn ones blood dark and according to the history, that witch was banned from Anvard."
"And only a high witch like yourself would know that."
"And every ruler who values the history of all the realms, after all the witches cursed name is written in the book of history, your empress." Elizabeth said with Bonnie's trademark smile.
Elena narrowed her eyes and said. "Bring him in."
The doors opened and in walked Damon.
Damon looked at the girl next to the prisoner and he immediately recognized her. Its that crazy fucking stalker girl.
"Meredith is this man the lover of this girl?" Elena asked.
Meredith looked up in Damon's cold blue eyes. She shook her head no.
"That's not what your witch friend is saying."
Meredith could not look at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth looked at Meredith. "I have made my peace ... No more has to be said. My life for my people and that of my dear friend Meredith."
Silent tears rolled down Meredith's cheeks.
There was silence for a long while before Elena finally said.
"Bonnie Bennet you are here by found guilty for high treason punishable by death. Elena turned to Damon. "Do it" she said to him.
Elizabeth closed her eyes. Damon looked at the petite girl in front of him. He could hear her calm heartbeat. He could hear it loudly it was overwhelming.
"Hear that? as long as its beating, you will never have to search for me." Damon heard the girl's voice clearly in his head. He took a step back and narrowed his eyes.
When he looked up he looked straight in Meredith's tear filled eyes.
This is a witch who killed my kind and now she is playing tricks on my mind, Damon thought to himself. There came a cold expression over his face.
Everything went black for Meredith and her knees gave in under her when she saw Damon ripping Elizabeth's heart out.
-X-
The Dark Woods Of Armagh
They were all present at the fire tonight. The guys never stopped asking Bonnie about the cave. Admiration in their eyes for this brave little girl. Bonnie answered as best she could, but what happened outside the cave between her and Amarog she kept to herself.
Bonnie was too embarrassed to tell the others that Amarog put her over his knee and gave her a few lashes on her behind. To think she was so relieved and happy when they got safely out of the cave that she did not noticed the sudden change in Amarog's demeanour or when he took a seat on a tree log and called her over to him.
How stupidly she must have looked where she walked to him with a happy smile. It was about time they talked she thought to herself. But that did not happened. Instead he told her that she was going to get the hiding that her elders failed to give her. Bonnie remembered she rolled her eyes at him, only to be promptly placed over his knee.
By the fourth lash she was crying. She can't remember when he stopped, but she remembered feeling his hands afterwards gently massaging her sore behind and his lips kissing her there softly.
She let him help her to her feet and even smiled at him through her tears. Enjoying the confusion in his eyes, before she slapped him hard across the face. The smirk on his face made her slapped him again.
And that's how Wolfgang found them. Once again glaring at each other.
Amarog's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Bonnie looked up and all the guys were looking at her.
"What?" She asked.
"The witch wants to tell us something brothers." Amarog said and leaned back against a log making himself comfortably.
Bonnie glared at Amarog and he winked at her. "When ... when ... Amarog and I ... got out safely out of ... the ... cave Bonnie said and swallowed hard.
"I'm not talking about that" He snapped at her. All the guys curious eyes was on him now.
Let them look. Amarog thought to himself. There was no way he was going to let them know he got slapped twice by this little witch. "Tell us what happened in your realm." He said a little nicer to her, but the guys was not fooled and neither was Bonnie.
Bonnie told them everything that happened that night. Amarog's eyes turned silver grey when Bonnie told them that she spend the night with Damon, a vampire. She did not go into detail about what she and Damon did, but judging from the looks they all knew. How the empress soldiers killed witches and burned down there houses, and what her mother did to Damon. There came a satisfied expression on Amarog's face when he heard that part.
"For some reason the empress and her soldiers believed that it was witches who killed the emperor. This is not true. We have lived in peace with the vampires for centuries" Bonnie said to them.
"And fucked them for centuries." Amarog snapped at her.
There came an uncomfortable silence over the group. Ulf's face was bright red and he didn't know where to look. Ruelle hid his smirk behind his hand and the others was really uncomfortable.
"Continue." Amarog said as if what he just said was nothing.
"Yes brother," Bonnie said with a sweet smile. "That night ... Damon's lips softly caressed my smooth skin and when his warm mouth closed over my cold hardened nipple ...
Amarog jumped over the fire with a growl to where Bonnie was sitting, Wolfgang's quick reaction stopped Amarog in mid-air. The two werewolves landed hard on the forest floor.
"Calm down brother." Wolfgang said as he used all his strength to hold Amarog down.
Amarog looked up at Bonnie who was the picture of innocence.
"Get your hands off me, brother. I promise I won't snap the witches neck. Not tonight." Amarog said with narrowed eyes.
"I do not know how I ended up here. The last thing I saw was Damon who put a knife through my mother and ... and .. I screamed." The memory of what happened made Bonnie's eyes glow. The fires flames went wild. A sudden wind swept through the trees and it sounded like the leaves of the trees whispered something in their own language.
Rudolph placed his hand softly on Bonnie's hand and said. "Aldolpha"
Bonnie shook her head and looked at the worried faces around her. "I have had dreams. My people are suffering. I have to go back to Ara'Manth."
"And do what? Scare them with wind and glowing eyes?" Amarog asked with sarcasm.
"You have great power Aldolpha. You first need to learn how to control it." Wolfgang said with a comforting smile.
"And your first lesson for tonight is, you need to rest." Amarog said to Bonnie.
Bonnie was too tired to argue with him and decided its best to rest. Armagh's nights are very short.
The wolves made sure Bonnie was asleep before they walked down to the river.
-X-
"I believe her." Rudolph said to his brothers.
"Me too. She can't go back on her own." Ulf said.
"We can't do anything now. We have to consult with the brotherhood first." Ulmar said in a serious voice.
Ruelle glared at Vilks who was eating the meat from a bone very loudly. "Do you know how irritating that is." He said to Vilks.
Vilks just shrugged his shoulders and said. "I think better when I eat."
Ruelle looked at Vilks with mock surprise and said. "He can think, did you hear that brothers."
Vilks threw the big bone at Ruelle's head, but Amarog caught it deep in thought. His eyes fixed on the river. He looked at the bone in his hand and said. "Come the new day we will be with our people. I will decide her faith.
