A.N.: Continuing my note from the last chapter, if Enzo and Caroline had a kid, he'd probably look like Francisco Lachowski, or Chloe Morello: i.e. both too gorgeous for words! Also, Giulia's sons would look like Tom Hiddleston/Jared Leto.
Can anyone tell me, have I given Giulia a birth-date before?
Dangerous Beauty
05
Turandot
"I don't know why, alcohol helps," Caroline said thoughtfully, trying and failing to hide her giddy smile. They had changed – Giulia into a sparkling champagne-coloured Valentino halter cocktail-dress, Caroline in a heavily-beaded black mini-dress and a blazer – and now sat in a dark, cosy bar called "Death & Company". They were drinking Manhattans in Manhattan, as Caroline had pointed out, like Brittany Murphy when she had filmed Uptown Girls, one of Caroline's favourite movies.
Giulia was teaching Caroline how to drink. She had the odd champagne flute at Founders' parties and they had both choked down beer at Duke's bonfires, but proper cocktails and liquor were a different thing. And it was very grown-up, dressed up, in Manhattan on a Saturday-night, after spending half the day luxuriating at a spa, enjoying gorgeous food, shopping to their hearts' content, sitting at the bar sipping Manhattans and just talking. They had talked about everything from Stefan driving ambulances in Egypt during World War Two to Caroline trying half-heartedly to dig for details about Giulia's mystery phone-sex partner, the plans for junior-prom and the Seventies dance – she threatened she was "totally going to have Stefan teach me how to disco, he seems like he was part of that scene."
"Very John Travolta-esque," Giulia said, snickering. "If he wasn't into punk I'd have said Damon was very Tony Manero, not Stefan."
"I forgot you're obsessed with that movie," Caroline giggled, sipping her Manhattan. "Well, I guess we have no excuse not to put on an amazing Seventies dance. I'm thinking Saturday Night Fever and Dazed and Confused."
"You know, Star Wars, the Godfather and Jaws were all Seventies movies," Giulia remarked. "Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Rocky. Willy Wonka, Rocky Horror, Animal House, Grease – it was a great era for movies."
"Maybe that could be the theme for the dance – Seventies movies, rather than just the 1970s," Caroline said enthusiastically. "That gives us so much more creativity for costumes."
"Definitely," Giulia mused. "I can ask Damon and Cara about, y'know, stuff they had in the Seventies so we could decorate the gym. We've got the Sixties dance first."
"Yeah. And I definitely want it more Mad Men than neon hippie tie-dye," Caroline grimaced, and Giulia nodded in firm agreement. Mad Men was flawless. Giulia sipped her Manhattan, and blinked in surprise when her phone started to ring. Conscious of a cell-phone in a bar, Giulia hopped off her stool.
"Save my seat, I'm just gonna take this somewhere else," she said, and Caroline nodded, smiling contentedly – and not looking like she was about to panic at being left alone in a room full of strangers – as Giulia picked up her drink and made her way to the restroom door, which opened into a small ante-chamber. She answered the call, the number a strange one with a distant area-code.
"Hello?"
"Hey, uh, is this Giulia? It's Mason Lockwood," a voice said, and Giulia grinned.
"Ah, Hot Uncle Mason," she sighed. Then she blinked. "I said that out-loud, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you kinda did," Mason chuckled easily.
Giulia shrugged. "I'll roll with it. What can I do for you?"
"Actually, I was calling to ask a favour," Mason said hesitantly.
Giulia frowned, then sighed as if put-upon. "Is this going to get sexual? 'Cuz I'm hard to get. All you have to do is ask." Mason laughed, but he didn't comment; Elijah would've known that was a Lauren Bacall quote. "Sorry. I had a massage earlier, and I've had a drink and I'm in a good mood; I'll behave from now on."
"Okay," Mason laughed. "Listen, so Carol's asked me to join her and Tyler for this spa retreat–" Giulia cackled richly.
"Oh, man!" she chuckled. "The annual spa retreat. I'd forgotten that was coming up."
"It's an annual deal?" Mason asked curiously.
"Your brother used to take Carol and Tyler to Whistler for skiing every New Year," Giulia said. "That was for Tyler, you know, it got rid of some of that winter energy that builds up and is no good for him. The compromise was that they'd then do something Carol enjoyed for Spring Break. Tyler would get to hang out in Mystic Falls with his friends, and they'd go to a spa."
"Oh. I thought it was like a real getaway, since Richard died," Mason said.
"Are you annoyed you're the fill-in?" Giulia asked, smiling. "I mean, Carol's not one to throw invitations on anyone, I'm sure she actually does want you there."
"Yeah… Actually, that's why I was calling, uh… Tyler's been talking about you, he says you and Carol are really quite close," Mason said, and Giulia waited, "I don't know, I was kinda…hoping you could go?"
"Spas not your scene," Giulia guessed and Mason laughed.
"Yeah, no," he remarked.
"Which spa is it?" Giulia asked.
"Um, it's one near Richmond, actually, Carol said she took you for your birthday? She said you weren't exactly a spa-girl but you enjoyed it, I think she was trying to convince me," Mason said.
"Oh, well if you're going to the one Carol took me to, you've got nothing to worry about," Giulia said. "I mean, they have fruit-infused water but they do these really intense boot-camps at dawn for people who are into that kind of stuff, and I mean really intense, they're the kind of thing that would be right up Tyler's street. The food is absolutely amazing, it's not just salads. It's all really healthy but the restaurant is Michelin-starred and they have their own kitchen-garden. And they do sports-massage and personal training sessions in the gym."
"Huh," Mason said, "Okay, you're actually making it sound good."
"It is. They have two pools, there are steam-rooms and saunas and as long as you take your own bar with you, it's pretty much perfect," Giulia said. She would have added a library but that was her preference. "Just so you know, Tanqueray is Carol's favourite. So she invited you? I think that's quite sweet."
"Sweet?"
"I've been talking more with Tyler recently, I think they both like that you're in town," Giulia said honestly. "You're all going through this together."
"Yeah," Mason sighed heavily. "Alright. Don't tell Carol I called about this, I don't want to upset her thinking I don't want to spend time with her and Tyler."
"She wouldn't think that – Mayor Lockwood never looked forward to the spa trip either, but he always enjoyed it once he was there," Giulia said. "I think that's half the reason Carol insisted they go on those trips, it wasn't just them indulging her because they were complete douche – er…"
"Douche-bags, you can say it; Tyler's told me enough I know he was one to you," Mason chuckled. "Yeah, guys like us aren't easy to live with, and Carol had two of 'em. I can tell she really likes spending time with you. Oh – you might get a call from her soon, when I asked for your number she told me about some project you're working on for the Founders' Day anniversary."
"Oh. Cool," Giulia nodded, making a note to anticipate Carol's call and appear somewhat sober while they spoke, even if she wasn't. "She's probably wondering how the recipes are coming and if everything will be ready for the dinner."
"Not that I know what you're talking about, but sure," Mason chuckled. "Alright, just promise me you won't say anything to Carol or Tyler about me trying to squirm out of the spa trip."
"Send me a picture of Tyler in a fluffy robe and we've got a deal," Giulia said, and Mason laughed richly.
"Deal," he said, and they ended the call. Sipping her Manhattan, Giulia made her way back to the bar, tilting her head to the side and watching Caroline giggle and flirt shamelessly with a cute bartender. Giulia smirked deliciously, creeping up to Caroline, and landed a sizzling kiss on Caroline's neck, giving the bartender a proprietary look – shocking the hell out of Caroline and making the bartender raise his eyebrows and wander away to another woman sitting on her own with a martini.
"Ugh, Giulia!" Caroline exclaimed, wiping her neck and shuddering, a flush high on her cheeks. Giulia laughed evilly and perched back on her stool. "So, Mason's going to a spa. You'd better send me that picture."
"Done," Giulia smirked. "It can go in the scrapbook. Have you finished your drink?"
"Yes! It was delicious! I want another one," Caroline grimaced guiltily.
"Well, unfortunately, my darling, we are on a schedule," Giulia smiled.
"Are we?" Caroline grinned. "Okay. Where you lead, I will follow."
"Let's go before you order another drink and start crooning the Gilmore Girls theme to this entire bar," Giulia said, laughing, as she took Caroline's hand; they made their way out onto the street, where it was already dark and drizzling with a light filmy rain. Caroline picked up on a slight change in Giulia's mood; though she was chatty and smiling, Giulia couldn't stop thinking about Mason Lockwood.
"Okay, what's wrong?" Caroline asked, smiling. "You've been a little odd since Mason called."
"It's just – the timing is strange, that's all," Giulia said, biting her lip. She – the girl who disliked trawling social-media – had checked Facebook. Despite privacy settings there were ways to find information, especially when knowing exactly what she wanted to find.
"What timing?"
"Mason and Katherine both coming to town," Giulia said, shrugging slightly. "Mason coming to town after his brother was killed the night the Gilbert device went off, when Tyler reacted to it as well."
"Damon thinks there's something 'up' with the Lockwood family," Caroline mused.
"Well, whatever's up with them…the Lockwoods were at the forefront of the hunt for vampires in 1864," she said softly. "George was the whistle-blower, he got the other Founders riled… Whatever they are, they're not witches, Emily's spell would never have attacked another witch…they're not vampires…"
"But like they didn't react completely, not in the way the vampires did," Caroline frowned thoughtfully, as they hopped down the steps into the subway station. "So, maybe, whatever they are, it's like…they're not really supernatural."
"It could be latent," Giulia said, the words hitting a little too close to home as she remembered the million needles piercing her skull. She had reacted to the device, not as violently as Damon or Stefan – but she had still reacted. And she didn't know what that meant – part of her didn't want to ever know, the other part, the part of her mind revving its engine to let her low-latent inhibition traits delve into the mystery, wanted to know why. But it was the part of her that wanted to live in ignorance and bliss that won out most days, she felt it in her bones that it was a self-preservative instinct, that if she looked into it further, her entire life would change, for good or bad she had no idea, she just knew there would be no coming back from it. The precarious grip she had on her life now was too much to test with seeking out answers she didn't really want to hear.
"What do you think Damon will do?" Caroline asked.
"Something nefarious," Giulia answered. She shrugged. "He likes projects. There's only so many times he can re-read Gone with the Wind."
"Damon likes Gone with the Wind?"
"His copy is first-edition and signed by Margaret Mitchell herself. I think they might've even had a thing," Giulia said, and Caroline's jaw dropped. Giulia chuckled. "Anyway – he'll start digging; he's tenacious about his projects, when his curiosity's peaked, he won't stop."
"That's kinda like you," Caroline mused. "I guess it's a good thing you're taking college classes, high-school just wasn't difficult enough for you. Ha!"
"What?"
"I love that your version of 'acting out' is applying to take college-classes," Caroline giggled. "It's totally you."
"Speaking of," Giulia said, smiling, "I know you're doing your SAT-prep course. Are you planning college visits? Because we could do some weekend road-trips and get a real feel for the campuses, you know, when it's not an official visit day."
"I've been thinking about it," Caroline nodded. "I had that phase of wanting to be a news anchor, but I remembered Logan Fell attacked me, so… I know I don't want to go school anywhere it's cold – so California is basically where I'm looking at." Giulia nodded, pulling a thoughtful face. Caroline, a California sorority-girl? She could see it.
"Okay. We'd have to get you an awesome convertible and a collection of vintage sunnies," she mused. "When I come and visit we could road-trip down the Pacific Coast highway. Go to Mexico. I'm thinking the two of us, on a beach with bottomless margaritas. Just, while you're at school, please no Kardashian-stalking. If I find out you've moved to Calabasas I will stage an intervention."
"I've been thinking about that, too; we can totally live so much more fabulously than they do," Caroline said, with a jaunty smile.
"You won't have to pay income tax," Giulia said fairly, and Caroline laughed.
"I mean like awesome vacations, important things like experiences and spending time together," she said, smiling. "I just – I wish I could tell my mom, because I'd just – I'd like to do something with her that's fun and adventurous and something she'd totally love that she'd never expect me to want to do."
"Like spelunking," Giulia said, and Caroline laughed.
"Yes, exactly! Cave-diving in Mexico. Or surfing in Bali, or I don't know, hiking up Table Mountain in South Africa," Caroline said, her face illuminating with excitement just at the very idea. "Things…things you always said you wanted to do."
"Well," Giulia sighed, shrugging slightly, "as Scarlett says, Tomorrow is another day. You never know."
"I just…don't want her to hate me. More than she already does." She sighed, looking sad and uncomfortable. There was still a nugget of the old Car in there.
"Caroline. She's your mother. She'd kill for you," Giulia assured her sternly. "You said you remember Logan attacking you – you don't know how worried your mother was then." Caroline sighed, shrugging off her melancholy. They chatted about colleges and Giulia's new Ancient Egyptian studies class starting after break with her Punk Politics class and her Criminal Psychology and Forensic Linguistics lectures.
"I mean, you don't waste your time with fluffy stuff," Caroline said, grimacing slightly. "Makes me feel like I couldn't get away with doing a Drama degree."
"Caroline, you have so much more potential," Giulia said honestly, then backtracked: "If you were to study Shakespeare I would be there at every performance."
"It's a moot point," Caroline sighed. "I won't ever be able to have a real job."
"No, but that doesn't mean you can't work," Giulia mused. "Vera owns the spa, I've met other vampires who own cafés and bars; there's no reason you couldn't start now to pad out your nest for later. Even Damon is active in managing his stock portfolio. Just because you can compel for everything you could ever want, doesn't mean you should."
"Yeah," Caroline sighed. "The novelty of having everything for free would wear off really quickly. And I don't want to spend eternity going to lunch."
"You'd get so bored," Giulia agreed. Oh, Caroline loved a good pamper, a shopping-spree, but that was her treat to reward herself for all the effort she put into every aspect of her life. It was equilibrium. Caroline earned every indulgence she rewarded herself with. "Come on, I have something to show you."
"Okay," Caroline smiled uncertainly, but she followed Giulia to an illuminated building busy with people wrapped up in coats and furs over their eveningwear. The Metropolitan Opera was recognisable to Caroline only for watching Lily and Rufus attend Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" in Gossip Girl. But she was suitably awestruck and they wandered through the milling crowds – some people dressed modestly for a special occasion they could rarely afford, a treat, some dressed to the nines like Lily van der Woodsen was about to arch a perfectly-shaped taupe eyebrow at their fashion faux pas. Giulia retrieved her tickets from the box office, and they were escorted to a box, supplied with champagne and glossy programmes. Giulia had bought the tickets months ago, intending to ask Damon to come with her: but Caroline, with her love for singing, would appreciate this her first experience at the opera. Caroline gazed around, entranced by the beauty of the theatre, the famous golden curtain, peering down at other patrons in their Saturday-evening opera finest.
"So, what are we seeing?" she half-whispered, eyes bright with delight.
"Okay, so we are about to watch 'Turandot', Puccini's last unfinished opera," Giulia said, smiling. "And this performance is without the Franco Alfano ending. The Met hasn't performed it that way for ten years, so it's supposed to be a very special performance; and the actors are phenomenal."
"So, they sing in Italian, right?" Caroline grimaced.
"They'll have subtitles," Giulia chuckled softly.
The opera was phenomenal, and Giulia was swept up in it, the music washing over her, filling every cell in her body – Caroline was entranced, gazing unblinkingly at the stage throughout the first two acts, and during the Third Act during the performance of the famous "Nessun Dorma", tears rolled down their faces, Caroline so moved by their voices, Giulia choked up, her eyes and throat burning, brought to tears by the power of the tenor's voice, that this was her mother's and her own favourite opera song, so moving, so powerful. She could listen to "Nessun Dorma" at midnight in the dark or on the sunniest, hottest day of the year and her reaction to it was always the same, brought to tears by its sheer power.
Part of Giulia buying the box-tickets had come with the opportunity to meet backstage with the actors; they were exhausted, but exhilarated, and willing to answer all Caroline's questions about how they even went into learning how to sing opera.
If Caroline wasn't going to get a desk-job, she felt disdainful of pursuing a BA in Drama believing it a lazy degree, Caroline could still do something extraordinary with her life. Maybe she wouldn't perform "O Mio Babbino Caro" at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and become one of the greatest sopranos of the 21st Century but watching "Turandot" had inspired her; she was going to take singing lessons.
Giggling madly, Caroline shifted gear and they swerved onto Main Street, their Statue of Liberty sunglasses flashing, Giulia's ankles crossed on the dashboard, a Hurricane-glass in hand complete with colourful umbrella and bendy-straw, the backseat piled high with gift-bags, colourful tissue-paper fluttering in the breeze, "All Day and All of the Night" by The Kinks blazing from the stereo, the sun burning down and Giulia's stomach ached from laughing.
The rest of their Lost Weekend had been as luxurious, fun, jam-packed with excitement as the first day: when the sun had blazed in a clear blue sky, they had taken a boat-trip to see the Statue of Liberty, touring the museum; they had eaten moules marinière with crusty baguettes and white wine in a lovely French café; toured an artisan chocolatier and gone to watch Little Shop of Horrors on Broadway; they had taken a moment's silence near the site of the Twin Towers; and gone shopping, shopping, shopping, Caroline insisting they find something they could remember the entire trip by for the rest of their lives, though she'd refused to clue Giulia in on what she had planned as they skipped about Fifth Avenue shops, boutiques and galleries; she had also insisted they find the prettiest stationery so she could write thank-you notes and they had toured NYU and Columbia; Ashlyn had called telling Giulia she had forgotten to mail Jeremy some information on a summer programme at NYU for high-school aged kids they'd been talking about, so Giulia had retrieved the envelope from Cara's house – Caroline had giggled madly as they ceran-wrapped Ashlyn's entire bedroom and filled Cara's with paper-cups all half-filled with water – and they had taken a helicopter-tour over the city, wandered the Metropolitan Museum, touring the Costume Institute exhibition, the Cloisters, the European paintings section and ancient Egyptian and Roman art. They laughed, they talked about everything – the ins and outs of Damon's mushy feelings for Elena; what Sheila Bennett's Occult classes were like at UV, Caroline's attempts to read Anna Karenina it having been referenced in The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, which she had read in the hospital in preparation for their movie-date; they ate at Glow, a Balinese restaurant serving king prawns with green mango, and almond and chili pad Thai with coconut noodles; they put together a picnic of gorgeous artisan foods from different markets to eat in Central Park as the sun blazed down on them. They found Caroline's signature scent in Serge Lutens; she was almost frothing at the mout in the Judith Leiber flagship store where they found Caroline a 'New York' embellished clutch-purse; and most likely the highlight of Caroline's entire weekend was their afternoon-tea at The Plaza. They bought hazelnut lattés and toured second-hand bookshops, visited a gallery where Caroline compelled the owner to 'sell' Giulia an original Marilyn Minter for $1 – with free shipping.
The only thing that turned the mood of the entire weekend was being startled awake in the middle of the night, to find Caroline sitting up in bed, staring into the middle-distance in the dark.
"What're you doing?" Giulia grumbled, when her heart petered back to its original rhythm. Caroline blinked, tears dropping down her cheeks, which she brushed away and fidgeted, looking away. "Caroline?" Half-asleep and disoriented, Giulia untwisted herself and sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. "Caroline?"
"I remembered something," Caroline whispered, her voice choked. She wouldn't look at Giulia, whose immediate mental reaction was to scan through every awful thing that Caroline could possibly have been put through under the influence of Damon's compulsion or as a result of her nearness to Giulia. She swallowed.
"What did you remember?" she asked, in an attempt at a casual tone. For a long time, Caroline didn't answer.
Then, she whispered, "He told me to run."
Giulia frowned. "Who?"
Caroline's lower-lip trembled and she pushed her hand under her eyes as she glanced away from Giulia in the dark, refusing to look at her.
"Caroline?"
That lower-lip trembled again, more tears slipped down Car's cheeks, annoying her, and she sniffed, whispering tremulously, "…your dad."
Giulia froze. Confused. She frowned, "What?"
Caroline was so upset, she couldn't speak, Giulia could see it, it was all Caroline could do not to start sobbing, and it terrified her. As a vampire whatever Caroline was feeling had magnified from what she might have felt as a human in the same situation. And it was crippling. Giulia's dad? Caroline sniffed.
"I remembered – one of the last things I remembered before the memories stopped coming back… I opened the door," Caroline cried, twisting her hands in her lap. "I didn't know what I was doing and – Damon compelled me to forget I'd ever been…there – I opened the door to the basement… Your dad was too late to stop me – he told me to run…"
Giulia stared, suddenly wide-awake. What she had thought she knew about her father's death – she had found him in the basement with his neck snapped… Caroline had been there? Damon's influence over her had been that strong he had drawn her from the school – she remembered Car had gone missing from the car-wash, leaving her in charge… He had coerced her to release him from the basement… And Giulia's dad had paid that price – before telling Caroline to run…
Her dad hadn't just been murdered by Damon because of his feud with Stefan, taunting him with his ability to hurt Elena (something he would never have done)… Giulia's dad had died protecting Caroline.
Caroline burst into tears, "I got your dad killed."
"You didn't. You didn't," Giulia said fiercely, suddenly choked with emotion. Knowing this tiny detail about her father's death changed everything… Her stomach evaporated, her mind flashing to the horrific thought that it might have been Caroline… Caroline she had to live without… Caroline had gotten Giulia through the worst of her father's death… In her heart, Giulia acknowledged the punishing truth: her dad could never have gotten her through Caroline's death. Children were supposed to bury their parents; not their best-friends.
For a little while, Giulia couldn't say anything more. Turning over that tiny detail Caroline was crying over, her mind was a frenzy. And she couldn't stop coming back to the devastating thought that it might have been Caroline who died. Forever. Damon might have killed them both – her father, her best-friend…
But her dad had told Caroline to run. He had given her the briefest instant to escape.
"Caroline, you didn't kill my dad," she murmured. "You didn't. Stefan did. You were just…a pawn, you got caught between them... Please don't get mopey. Mopey for vampires is suicidal, and then you'll probably get hungry burning all those murderous-impulse calories, and eat me. It's not good. You are Caroline Forbes. Eternal optimist. Vampire Barbie. Princess Buttercup. Strawberry Shortcake; and I'm Maleficent, I'm Inigo Montoya, I'm Scar, I'm Lady Macbeth. I need you to keep being your glorious self so I don't turn into Bellatrix Lestrange."
Caroline choked but gave a great juddering sigh and turned a bleak, tearful smile on her. She sniffed, "I always thought you're more like Sirius Black."
"What?"
"Astoundingly attractive, brilliantly clever, loyal and mad," Caroline said, and Giulia pulled a face.
"I like that!"
"I don't know how you do it," Caroline mumbled, still upset. Giulia didn't know what to do with her feelings, beyond assuring Caroline she held no blame for her father's death in Giulia's eyes. "How do you just…keep going?"
"I just…" Giulia sighed, lying back in bed. She sighed again, "get out of bed every morning. KBO." She glanced up when Caroline turned to her, frowning in the darkness. "Keep buggering on. And I listen to the advice of a wise 1,000-year-old Time Lord: 'The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don't always spoil the good things and make them unimportant'."
"You know that entire quote by heart?" Caroline sniffed, wiping her face with her forearm.
"I can recite Coriolanus if you want," Giulia offered.
"What?"
"Shakespeare," Giulia said, rolling her eyes; Caroline would only know Romeo and Juliet. "I'd never read that one before. 'Would you have me false to my nature? Rather say I play the man I am'. Stunning… So is this why you've been…odd? You woke up…the other day and you were really withdrawn…"
"Yeah," Caroline sighed. "I didn't…know how you'd react…if you'd hate me…"
"Because I – I've been driving myself crazy thinking you're going to wake up hating me," Giulia blurted, and Caroline blinked quickly, staring at her.
"Why would I hate you?"
"Because I kept everything from you, I didn't protect you when Damon hooked his fangs into you, I lied –"
"Okay, first of all, telling me that secret before I was a vampire probably would've made my brain explode," Caroline said, holding up her hand. "As much as I love Twilight there's just no way I'd have believed it – you remember the séance? That was legit and I didn't even believe what was right in front of me. Second of all, you knew that if you were to bitch and throw your weight around with Damon about me, he'd most likely have killed me to make Stefan's life difficult. And…you were protecting your family. I mean, it wasn't just Stefan and Damon – if the Council found out you and your dad were vampire sympathisers… So, you're being ridiculous thinking I'd ever hate you."
"Even though I'm flawed and let you get turned into a vampire?"
"How were you to know Bonnie would blab to Katherine that I had Damon's blood in my system – she just took advantage of a situation already orchestrated by Bonnie and if it hadn't been me, it would have been someone else, maybe even you," Caroline said, her eyes widening. "So… I don't really mind that it was me…because it wasn't you. The way you were…the night you found out… If it'd been the other way round, if it had been you she killed…"
"I doubt I'd make a good vampire," Giulia sighed, after a moment.
"No. But you'd make a great one," Caroline said. "Like Damon. You both have moments where you're immoral."
"Not immoral," Giulia said, musing. "Just the morals I prescribe to aren't the ones most other people do. By Byronic standards, Damon's the hero."
"Damonis not a hero by any standards."
"You don't know Damon… You know the Damon he wants everyone to see," Giulia murmured, gazing at the ceiling.
"I think you see the Damon you want to see."
"I'm not ignorant of his flaws, Caroline."
"His flaws – he kills people."
"You've killed people."
"I killed a person… It's different – you've never killed someone."
"I've killed someone, Caroline."
"Setting fire to desiccated vampires in a tomb and beheading vampires who've been torturing Stefan all day isn't the same as killing a person."
Giulia didn't say something for a while, the silence growing darker between them, until she said, "I killed my mother, Caroline." Caroline sighed heavily: Who really lingered on the thought that Giulia had killed her mother when she tried to bring Giulia into the world? A mother dying in childbirth was as natural as it was tragic, sometimes their bodies weren't made for the strain. Motherhood, childbirth was still the greatest danger a woman could ever face, that hadn't changed in thousands of years. "And after she died, there I was… Stefan was terrified of me, but Damon… He stayed in Mystic Falls until I was two years old, helping my dad… Damon acts the way he does because it's easier to do what's necessary – to do the truly unforgivable to protect the people you love – when people don't expect the world of you."
"But that's so messed up, what, he doesn't like for people to see the best in him?"
"If people don't see the best, they don't expect it. And if being a jerk means people don't like him, it just means he's less likely to get hurt."
A.N.: So, just finished watching Thor: The Dark World. Move over, aliens. When Loki and Giulia get married, the universe will truly explode.
