A.N.: Hello, m'dears. So, big announcement: I'm going travelling for 9 weeks. Not sure if I'm taking an iPad with me yet so if I write it'll be on paper - how very Dickensian! Anyway, forwarning; I've got a few more chapters that I'd like to update before I go...


Dangerous Beauty

15

Wishing Well


"This is maudlin. Weren't we just here, doing this?"

"Last time didn't count," Caroline said. "There was cake involved. You can't really be grieving when you're eating strawberry shortcake."

"I'll have you know you can absolutely be grieving while consuming any number of baked goods," Giulia said, sipping her apple juice.

"This sucks," Caroline sighed.

"I know, right. It is such a nice day. Way too perfect to be ruined attending a funeral," Giulia said, shaking her head. Her feelings on the Mayor's death were mixed, given that it had been his plan in the first place that had backfired with tragic results. He had allied with John Gilbert, almost got Damon and Stefan killed – hurt his own son, Giulia herself, had led to Caroline being put in the hospital. Plus, he was an abusive dick who drove his wife to drink and pulled a Dan Scott on Tyler about football.

"Guys, keep your voices down," Elena hissed, giving them a look, and Giulia sighed heavily. The atmosphere at the Lockwood mansion was bored and subdued, wishing to be anywhere but here. It was a sea of black. Suits and appropriately-high heels. The remnants of Dr Gilbert's old office had finally been excavated, Mayor Lockwood's remains identified. They had just come from the funeral; Mayor Lockwood's five-hundred closest friends and colleagues had turned out to say goodbye in full ceremony, the town had held a moment of silence in the town square.

"We should be getting this house ready for the Masquerade Ball," Caroline said indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest while Giulia drained her apple juice and Caroline indicated the bartender, compelled to keep their drinks refreshed, to pour her another finger of bourbon. "I love the Masquerade Ball and I already had my mask delivered and it was the Mayor's favourite party, too, so maybe we could've like honoured him that way by having an amazing party than being stuffed inside this house listening to Lola Fell sniffle in the background and we all have to ignore the fact we know she was his mistress."

"He was all class," Giulia sniffed.

"Didn't he make a pass at you?"

"Only when he was drunk," Giulia shrugged, shuddering. "Carol's really upped her canapé-game, these are fabulous." She plucked another refreshing crab and cucumber canapé from a passing waiter. "I'm starving."

"Don't worry, I've already compelled the head caterer to set aside a platter of all the different canapés for us for me to pick up when we leave," Caroline grinned. "Figured since you're driving you might need to soak up some of that 'apple juice' before we head over to the swimming-hole. I don't want you drowning in the creek."

"Your concern is appreciated," Giulia said, grinning lazily.

"Could you two be any more insensitive?" Elena scoffed.

"We could go over to Carol and tell her that her husband had affairs with half the women between the age of twenty-one and thirty-five in this room," Giulia remarked thoughtfully. "You do realise the Mayor died trying to murder Stefan and Damon, right?"

"I don't think he knew what Stefan and Damon are," Elena said.

"But Mason does," Caroline said softly, sipping her own drink and carefully watching the aforementioned surfer. The guy looked delicious as a prosciutto-wrapped honey-drizzled, bleu-cheese stuffed fig she stole from another waiter. Giulia followed Caroline's gaze, admiring the man. He was made for GQ cover-shoots. And he had looked like he was having a mild heart-attack when Giulia had arrived at the funeral with Stefan and Damon suited and booted in their finest, ready to pay their respects for the Mayor. Very much alive.

In fairness to Mason, his first thought had been for the Sheriff. He had asked what they had done with Liz Forbes. She was still in the basement; after their chat, Giulia had approached Damon.

"I don't think we should erase Liz's memories," she said, handing Damon a fresh bourbon.

"Oh, really?" he smirked. "And why's that?"

"Because we're smarter than that," Giulia said, perching on the arm of the sofa. "If we got the Sheriff on board, that's already two people leading the Council on our side. And she has command of the entire Department, that is a lot of resources we could have at our disposal to keep you and Stefan and Caroline protected. It could give us an edge against Katherine."

"And Caroline has absolutely nothing to do with it?" Damon said, giving her a look.

"Caroline wouldn't ask to not compel her mother, she thinks Liz hates and wants to kill her," she said, on a sigh. "She's afraid of Liz knowing what she is."

"But you, you're not?" Damon frowned.

"Don't underestimate Liz's love for her daughter," Giulia said softly. "This has been a huge shock she's just received…we just have to give them time to bond despite it."

"And how long will that take?" Damon rolled his eyes. "Can't keep the Sheriff kidnapped in our basement for long. Especially with the story she has food poisoning. If she stays off sick too long and doesn't show up at the ER, people are going to get suspicious."

"Don't worry, I've called Meredith."

"Wait, now Sexy Doctor Lady knows?!" Damon blurted incredulously.

"She's the only person on the Council who's not a halfwit. Plus, she and I have a deal."

"What kind of a deal?"

"You know that five-year-old I was telling you about? The one who was rushed to the ER after a pick-up reversed into her?" Giulia asked, and Damon nodded slowly. "Well, she's back at kindergarten with scabbed knees and messy braids because of you."

"So…when you asked me for a donation of my blood that you could keep on ice in case Elena or Jeremy or Jenna gets hurt and I wasn't there…"

"Yeah, I gave it to Meredith. Payment for that last huge icebox of donated blood-bags I brought over," Giulia said, smiling smugly. "Whenever there's a blood-drive she's going to siphon off a case for you all."

"Huh," Damon stared at her. "And you trust Meredith?"

"Yup," Giulia nodded. "A pint of your blood for a chest of blood-bags. You didn't have to compel or steal, it's all covered up – it could be just the tip of the iceberg if we got Liz on board. I think we should work on turning the Council into something that protects the supernatural residents of Mystic Falls to ensure the safety of the town."

"What, so we're like supernatural guard-dogs? Keeping away the monsters that go bump in the night?" Damon smirked.

"You're too territorial to want other vampires coming in here messing up what you've built, you've already proven that," Giulia said.

"And how would you get rid of the Council members you don't like?" Damon smirked. "Have a dinner-party?"

"I control vervain distribution," Giulia smiled. She rolled her eyes, "And the Council members think vervain smells like rose and lavender – it would not be hard to switch up what I give them. It wouldn't be instantaneous but we could work person to person, making sure we get to their family-members, making sure they forget everything about the supernatural. Keep only the people we trust or who are clever and unprejudiced enough, genuinely interested in protecting the town. Start recruiting new members who are clever and kind and tolerant."

"And end a hundred and fifty-year-old town institution!" Damon gasped.

"Yes. This is the revolution," Giulia said drily. "But don't you think it makes sense?"

"I do. Worryingly, I do," Damon nodded. He pointed at her, frowning. "Don't go giving away my blood ever again."

"I won't," Giulia said, smiling easily. "Caroline's offered to donate her blood directly to Meredith. You know how much time Caroline and I spend at the children's hospice."

"Just make sure none of those kids die with vampire blood in their system," Damon sighed wearily. "Little kiddie vamps? Did you not read Anne Rice?"

"Oh, don't worry," Giulia said sadly. "We know there's no hope for those kids. But the ones at the hospital, they're okay. We're still a little uncertain about whether it's safe to use it in the leukaemia ward."

"It'll stave off the inevitable for a little while," Damon said, eyes on the fire. She was almost dripping with sweat – there was no air-conditioning system at the Boarding House, and he had lit a fire. The sun had set but it was getting warmer in the evenings. "But not forever. And they'd have to be given a continuous supply, a little every day, to heal the body over and over again before they can die…" He shrugged, and Giulia wondered how he knew that. He glanced at Giulia, with a slight wince. "Don't give it to cancer patients." Giulia nodded.

"I'll tell Meredith," she said. Damon sighed, giving her a sly, sidelong look.

"You've already started putting things in place to overthrow the Council, haven't you," he guessed. Caroline turning had prompted Giulia to act on what she had been thinking since her dad had truly initiated her into the Council.

"I would've made a glorious Borgia," she sighed, glancing at the bookshelf where the old family copy of The Prince by Machiavelli still rested.

Damon sighed, glancing at Giulia. He flicked his eyes over her. "Fine. We give Vampire Barbie the opportunity to bring Liz on board…if not, I'll compel her myself," he warned, and Giulia smiled.

"Thank you," she beamed, leaning down to plant a kiss on his cheek. "I knew you loved Liz."

"I do not love Liz."

"You do. You're too like me not to. We can't help it, there's something about those Forbes women," Giulia chuckled. "There's a reason you already think of her as your friend."

"Truthfully it'd be too much hassle to break in a new sheriff," Damon said, and Giulia snorted, taking his tumbler to steal a sip of bourbon.

"Hey, guys," a heavy voice sighed, and Giulia blinked, focusing on Tyler. He stood in front of them, in his best suit, holding a 7Up that was almost certainly more vodka than lemon-lime.

"Hey," Caroline said gently, giving him a hug.

"You look like you're ready to get out of here," Giulia said, observing him.

"Dude, so ready," Tyler sighed, shaking his head. "Mason said he'd cover for me if I wanted to sneak off. Day's way too nice not to head to the swimming-hole. Got five kegs and burgers if you guys wanna come, party will be in full swing by the time we get there."

"Sure," Giulia grinned, and Caroline beamed.

"Absolutely."

"I think my mom's gonna pop some of her sleeping-pills tonight, if you guys wanted to crash here," Tyler said, shrugging. "She's usually still out pretty late in the mornings."

"Not for me, thank you," Giulia smiled. "But we could all meet tomorrow-morning for breakfast. Or a run."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I've got Caroline jogging," Giulia said, supremely pleased with herself. Caroline had decided that if she wasn't going to put on a single ounce despite how many trays of loaded chilli-cheese nachos she ate, she at least needed to be seen to maintain a healthy exercise regime: Tyler had probably seen them at the gym, Giulia teaching Caroline how to fight. At Jenna's barbecue she had convinced Giulia (threatening to compel the local bartenders and Booze Barn employees not to sell to her if she didn't agree) and Jenna to join a really relaxed Pilates class that Meredith had been going to for years. They had been chatting about it after agreeing that Caroline would supply Meredith with her blood in exchange for blood-bags. Tyler raised his eyebrows at Caroline, whom he'd never really spent much time with to really see the real Car. He'd always thought of her as a "bitchy, neurotic control-freak twit". And that was a direct quote.

"Jog and breakfast tomorrow?" Tyler asked, and Giulia nodded, smiling. "I'll see you guys at the swimming-hole later. I'm gonna try to leave soon. I've already stolen a bottle of whisky from the bar if you guys want shots later."

"Absolutely," Caroline grinned. Tyler nodded and shuffled away, already deep in his spiked drink.

"Okay, I am like so ready to go now," Caroline muttered to her, and Giulia chuckled softly. "Did you bring the icebox like I asked?"

"Yeah. Fifths and blood-bags in the trunk of my car," Giulia said.

"Even though the trunk of your car is at the front of your car," Caroline said, and Giulia smiled. It had always bothered Caroline that Giulia's car was the wrong way round. Giulia glanced across the room at Damon, who was glowering smugly at Mason as he sipped top-shelf bourbon, schmoozing the crowd of Mystic Falls' elite, and smiled when she saw Sheila Bennett at the bar, not an unusual sight given her reputation for being a lush, known to be spotted by students grading papers at the best bars in Richmond. She hadn't seen her favourite professor for a while, due to spring break, although they had spoken on the phone. If there was anyone Giulia trusted could keep her secrets and not get emotionally invested in what she was asking her to do, it was Grams. After all, she had agreed to help Giulia despite Bonnie obviously having told her everything about what happened the night of the carnival.

"Hello, Giulia," she said softly, after giving her a one-armed hug. "Nice to see you, Caroline."

"Hi, Miss Sheila," Caroline smiled warmly. Grams did know what Caroline now was; but unlike her granddaughter, she didn't look at Caroline with unveiled loathing and distrust. She was old and wise enough to know she had to take people on individual cases; nothing was black and white. Not all vampires were evil, just as not all witches were good. Miss Sheila took her drink from the bartender, and Giulia finished her drink, jumping a little when her phone buzzed. She checked her phone, raising an eyebrow.

"Text from Stefan," she murmured, glancing up at Caroline. She glanced around, Mason Lockwood busy with the cougars of Mystic Falls; she grabbed Caroline's hand and led the way over to Carol, giving their condolences and making their goodbyes.

"Okay, what's going on?" Caroline asked, as Giulia led the way into the woods. Damon had given them all a ride over to the Lockwood house, Giulia had parked her car at the swimming-hole knowing the party would be ongoing until there were signs of a lightning-storm – there weren't any, and they still had a week left before school started again.

"Stefan thinks that moonstone Jeremy heard about from Tyler that Mason wants is at the well, you know, the one we used to play at," Giulia said, and Caroline nodded, striding along beside her. In short, pretty black dresses and heels, they strode through the woods.

"Why does Stefan think the moonstone is in the well?" Caroline asked.

"Sheila Bennett got a reading off Mason when she went to give her condolences," Giulia said offhandedly. She had asked Sheila to get a reading off of Mason, with either Damon or Stefan in close enough proximity they could detect her reaction – that way ensuring it seemed accidental, and ensuring Sheila's continued independence from the brothers' plans. Sheila had managed to get inside Mason's head, briefly, but long enough that she had gotten something, and Stefan had taken the bait. He was now on his way to the well – "Caroline?!" Giulia blurted, as paused, gasped, and grabbed her, throwing her into a piggy-back, vamp-zooming through the trees. Huh, Giulia reflected, doesn't matter if she's wearing heels. She wondered if Caroline's high-heels would smoke from friction-burn when they paused.

They stopped at the old well they used to play by when they were little. The woods had been their place, full of adventures and make-believe. She saw Bonnie, shockingly enough, and skinny Elena shouting down into the well, the cage lid for the first time ever lifted, the old padlock tossed on the old pine-needles at Elena's sandal-clad feet.

"Stefan!" she shouted.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked, as Giulia clambered off.

"Stefan's down there!" Elena half-shouted, half-whimpered, frantic. "We have to get him out!" Giulia went to the well, peering over the edge. It was a long way down, and she could just hear Stefan grunting in the dark.

"Stefan?!" she called.

"N-no, no, Caroline!" Elena latched on to Caroline's arm before she could slip a leg over the side of the well – no hesitation whatsoever. "It's filled with vervain!"

"Car, the chain," Giulia directed, swiftly unbuckling the ankle-ties on her heels. She was only wearing a plain black mini-dress, her hair plaited neatly in a Dutch-braid down her back, compared to the accessories and layers and lack of rock-climbing training the others had; as she clambered over the edge of the well, Caroline lowered the length of ancient chain. She left her car-keys on the wall of the well. "When you bring him up, go grab the icebox from my car at the swimming-hole. Watch out, though, people might see you."

"Got it," Caroline nodded solemnly. "Are you okay?"

"We really should go mountain-climbing," Giulia mused, glancing over her shoulder into the abyss, and Caroline chuckled softly. With her free hands, her bare feet, the aid of the chain and Caroline's strength, Giulia lowered herself down into the well, using the jagged edges of rock, places where the mortar had aged away, to climb down, using the chain at the more difficult parts, the temperature lowering with every foot she dropped, the light leaching away into the damp.

"Hurry! You're taking too long!" Elena called frantically.

"Elena, calm down," Caroline told her sternly, her voice echoing strangely off the damp walls. "You're not helping Giulia by hassling her. You'll only distract her and get her hurt. She'll get Stefan." Stefan had dropped a large flashlight, and it bobbed in the water, illuminating his burned appearance, head nodding in the water, as well as the long stalks of familiar bluish-purple flowering plant she grew in the little greenhouse on the side of her new garage. Stefan appeared unconscious, at least unresponsive, but he thankfully didn't look to be sinking; Giulia lowered herself using the chain into the water, managing to get him tied up.

"Haul him up, Car!" she called, and the chain rattled, and she guided Stefan's vervain-drenched body as far as she could before Caroline had hauled him, with stunning speed, out of sight. She glanced around in murky, watery light, at something wooden bobbing just on the periphery of the flashlight's glow. She took hold of it, surprised, and smiled as she lifted up something heavy. A small wooden box, clasped antique-style. Glancing up quickly, she used the brief distraction of Stefan being hauled out of the well by Caroline and Bonnie to open the box, smile at the moonstone glowing in the light of the flashlight, and stuffed it hastily into her bra, thankful she alone of the quartet could absolutely get away with doing so – she had the best rack and they all knew it. She fastened the box, glancing up at the top of the well and splashing around for show when she saw a little head poke over, and stilled when she heard something hiss softly.

Thoughts of Indiana Jones-type booby-traps flooded her mind, but she saw out of the corner of her eye a dark, sinuous shape. Snakes. Oh, she thought, shrugging it off. She wasn't Indiana Jones, and as long as she didn't associate snakes and water to eels, she would be good. She tucked the box under her arm and waited for Caroline to lower the chain, glad she didn't toss it down; it might have hit her. But Caroline hauled her up and over the wall, and as soon as Giulia had touched her toes to the dusty pine-needles, she was little more than a shimmering champagne-coloured blur streaking away through the woods. Elena gave her a weird look as Giulia disentangled herself from the chain, setting the box down on the wall.

"Wow, the light of day does not do him justice," Giulia grimaced, squatting down beside Stefan. Like him, she was soaked from the neck-down, and she was conscious of not touching any part of her lower-body near him.

"He needs blood!" Elena whimpered plaintively, gazing appalled at Stefan's burned face. It looked like a chemical-peel had gone awry. Absolutely awful, and with the remnant droplets of vervain only eating further into his skin, Stefan wasn't healing as effectively as he could do.

"Blood won't help much until we get the vervain off him," Giulia said, glancing at Bonnie. It was the first time they had truly seen each other since the carnival. She couldn't say she was sorry – she preferred the company of Bonnie's whacky grandmother, truth be told. Miss Sheila made amazing Moscow Mules, had a large collection of Eddie South records and appreciated Giulia's real interest in witchcraft – Giulia was quickly becoming her best student, especially interested in Scandinavian witchcraft and the correlation with Viking pagan rituals. Plus, Sheila knew about the Curse of the Sun and Moon, and was more than willing to help Giulia postpone the inevitable, do all she could to protect those involved, alter the inevitable outcome. Some solutions had been so ridiculously simple, Giulia had wondered what Hogwarts would have been like if Sheila Bennett had been a tipsy professor of no-bullshit, common-sense magic. "Could you siphon the water away?"

"I – Maybe," Bonnie said uncertainly, glancing at Elena. At Elena's doe-eyed, beseeching look, clinging to Stefan's blistered, bloody hand, Giulia watched Bonnie. Something had happened between them, she thought she had seen Elena and Bonnie disappear off together, and wondered fleetingly what had happened; but she watched as Bonnie closed her eyes, focusing, breathing calmly as she started to say words in a powerful, odd language. The air started to shimmer around them – it wasn't the air, Giulia realised; droplets of water were rising from Stefan's clothing, sparkling in the air like the tiniest diamonds, the sun dappling the ground where they were. She seemed to direct the water back into the well; slowly, Giulia saw Stefan's wounds starting to heal. And no sooner had Giulia slammed the gate over the well than Caroline reappeared, holding a Gatorade bottle labelled 'Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail'.

"I'm assuming this is for Stefan," Caroline said, giving Giulia an amused look as she uncapped the bottle. Caroline had the entire set of tiny Beatrix Potter books wrapped in protective white sleeves on her shelf at home, a Christening gift from her grandparents. "I had to steal some more ice for the rest of the stuff, the heat had totally melted through the freezer-packs in your car." Giulia shrugged, and Elena lifted Stefan's head into her lap for Caroline to carefully start pouring blood into Stefan's mouth.

"He's healing already," Caroline murmured, eyeing Stefan's exposed skin. He still wore his funeral suit. Giulia yawned, aware they'd both need to get their outfits dry-cleaned because the dust had now gathered on her dress, and hyper-aware of the heat now that she had been hauled back up from the cool, dim well, she was aware of the discomfort of having a cool bar of soap shoved in her bra-cup, the lingering unpleasantness of her damp clothes in the moist heat of the day, the dust clinging to her bare legs.

"Did you get it?" Stefan gasped, blinking his hazel eyes open, taking a minute to focus; he sipped at the blood, gradually taking bigger mouthfuls, until the bottle was empty. Bonnie lifted the box from the wall, undoing the clasp, and they all frowned when she opened it, revealing the contents – or lack thereof.

"All of that for nothing?" Elena said, looking annoyed. She shot Giulia a weird look. Giulia shrugged.

"Maybe Mason's already given it to Katherine," Caroline suggested. "I mean, we don't know if what Grams saw was the last place Mason had the moonstone."

"Maybe," Bonnie said, shrugging. "We get what we get. And it's hard to put things into perspective." Giulia raised her eyebrows at Bonnie, who didn't see the incredulous smirk on her face.

They gathered up the box, and as soon as Stefan was able, they started walking toward the swimming-hole. They weren't the only ones who arrived wearing funereal clothing; but as quickly as possible, everyone had changed into their cutest swimsuits and summer gear, tanning or playing in the water, jumping from the tyre-swing, eating burgers or filling red plastic cups. Caroline gave the other girls a ride home to pick up their swimsuits, and while they were gone Giulia hid the moonstone in her car – it needed a clean-out, so it wasn't difficult to find a place to stash it, and she changed into a swimsuit, slathering on sunscreen. By the time Caroline had returned in her cutest bikini, bearing the platter of canapés she had compelled a cater-waiter to save for them, Giulia had a selection of beers, burgers and potato-chips for everyone – Elena and Bonnie included, as she felt the former needed a few quarter-pounders to put some meat on her alarmingly thin frame, and the latter was always at her moodiest when she was hungry.

As far as awkward meals went, it didn't even make Giulia's Top Twenty. With the music blaring, the splashes of the water, laughing as they watched classmates fail spectacularly on landings from the tyre-swing, reassuring Caroline over her Matt-drama, it wasn't too awful. But Giulia had spent the day drifting off, daydreaming about a certain sophisticated brunette with a hidden earthy Viking side. And she was glad of the jokes being bandied around by others, watching other people flirt and make fools of themselves, a water-fight starting spontaneously, ducking her head and laughing as she protected Caroline's little purple camera, as she thought smugly of the smooth little milky stone hidden in her car.

She had the moonstone.

Stefan and Damon would still be in search of it; that meant Katherine would be, too. She doubted Mason had already given her the stone. They'd know about it if he had.

Now she just had to convince Mason to either remain neutral or leave town for his own safety – from Katherine, more so even than from Damon. If he left town without giving Katherine the moonstone, there was every chance the others could be led to believe the moonstone was lost.


"Well, I'm here," Mason sighed, giving her a dark, suspicious look as he slammed his truck door shut. In sweat-shorts and a muscle-tee, Giulia took a swig of Gatorate, not ashamed to admire the view while her body still tingled from being woken early to Elijah teasing her. Tease being the key word, and she was now uncomfortable in her own skin, which felt too tight, when he'd refused to let her come – it was all part of the game, it was titillating, being sexually tortured, brought to the brink, knowing he would know if she took matters into her own hands, as it were.

Uncomfortable as she was, it was titillating, the game. Refusing to give in to Elijah – because she tormented him just as mercilessly. In bed – or on the floor, against the wall, sprawled on the piano, in the shower, the new handmade dining-table that had finally arrived, on the island in the kitchen – Elijah changed…opened up, became a different person – delighted, playful, fierce, sweet… She got to see a side of him that was relaxed and open, chatty, teasing – a flirt. It was a side of Elijah she doubted he really showed to anyone. It was rare, and precious, and she wondered if Mason could tell she was dying of unsatisfied lust.

"Are we doing this or what?" Mason asked gruffly.

"My, you're in a mood," Giulia observed. She smirked. "Haven't been getting any?"

"Any more than you," Mason said, giving her a look, and Giulia grinned, shrugging.

"Well, do you want to pout about it, or shall we run?" she asked.

"Let's run," Mason shrugged. "Figure you'll be too tired from trying to keep up to chew my ear off."

"You didn't have to come."

"As if I had a choice," Mason said, with a ghost of his old laidback, earnest grin. "Jenna's told me about you."

"You've been talking to Jenna?"

"Yeah, well, after figuring out that we both know about all this stuff, we really kinda caught up for the first time in a while," Mason sighed. He glanced at Giulia, hesitant, almost reassuring. "I mean – we've been friends since we were kids, but we've never been into each other." Giulia gave him a look, and his sombre expression broke into an easy, guilty-ish smile. "Okay, I might've been interested. We were fifteen…whatever. But it's never been like that. Jenna's my friend. And I think Ric's a good guy."

"You're not just saying that because he's a vampire-hunter?" Giulia smiled, and he chuckled.

"Nah. Even ignoring that, he's probably the best guy she's ever dated," Mason chuckled. He sighed, shaking his head, scuffing his sneakers into the dusty, gravelly track. "But…I wish she didn't have to know anything about all this."

"Ignorance is bliss," Giulia said, and Mason nodded. "Come on, let's run."

The route she had created was one of her new ones – and it was punishing. She loved this particular one, through rugged, isolated terrain, through the hills, up waterfalls, across meadows full of high grasses, splashing across shallow rivers, dodging trees and boulders in the woods, miles and miles of punishing, varying terrain, natural obstacles – and they raced. She tried to keep up with a bona fide werewolf.

Emphasis on tried.

And Mason loved taunting her about that, running backwards teasing her. He laughed richly when she shot him the finger. But she was determined to keep up, despite the pace he set, showing off, and he gradually stopped, falling into step with her, Giulia still pushing herself, but not doing anything dangerous trying to keep up with someone who had supernatural strength and endurance. But the run did what she had wanted – Mason was definitely, well, they were both definitely on a high from endorphins when they finally slowed to a jog, eventually to a brisk walk, and Mason chuckled, smiling, when they reached the rocky waterfront of a lake, glittering in the harsh sun beating down on them.

"Gotta admit," Mason gasped, shaking his head as he swung his arms loosely, starting to stretch them, "that route was insane. How long was it?"

"About forty miles," Giulia said, working on her legs, gently stretching them to warm down. "Give or take a couple. I don't know, I haven't really measured it." But she had been here before, this was land she owned, and she showed Mason to the picnic-bench tucked under a few large trees overgrown with wild honeysuckle, magnolia blossoms perfuming the air as well as she pushed aside a tarpaulin covered with dirt and undergrowth to reveal the lid of a large icebox sunk into the ground.

"Forty miles," Mason gasped, unsnapping a huge Gatorade bottle after stretching out his legs. She worked on her quads and hamstrings, her heartbeat thundering in her ears despite the cool-down to jogging and, glad she had put sunscreen on her ears, the back of her neck, the tip of her nose as the sun beat down, drenched in sweat. He smiled at her. "I'm impressed."

"I like to challenge myself," Giulia said, and Mason chuckled. She panted, finally settling down on the picnic-bench to catch her breath. "What about you? Why do you like surfing, by the way? Mystic Falls isn't exactly a beach-town, how did you get into it?"

"My folks used to take me to Florida Keys every year," Mason grinned lazily. "Guess I've never really grown up from those summers when I was a teenager." Giulia smiled.

"Nobody here's judging you," she said. "Is that what you do in Florida, just surf all day?"

"I wish," Mason smiled. "Nah, I'm a certified scuba-instructor and I work at a surf-shop and a bar. Still gotta pay bills."

"Right. Especially when you party through your trust-fund before your twenty-second birthday," Giulia teased, and Mason chuckled, shrugging easily. "What's it like?"

"Being broke?"

Giulia laughed. "No. Your life in Florida…is it like you? Easy-going and earnest?" Mason gave her a smile that was almost shy.

"Parts of it, anyways," he sighed. "Some parts of my life are a little darker."

"You don't mean the full-moon, do you?" Giulia guessed. Mason glanced at her, eyes shadowing with suspicion. "Please set me straight if I'm veering into the insulting territory with my questions, because I really don't want to offend you, I'm just curious… So, do werewolves gather in packs, like real wolves?"

"Straight into it, huh?" Mason smiled. He sighed, shrugging. "I mean, I guess, there are packs, and then there are people who just want to keep it to themselves, work through every full-moon and get on with their lives. Some people embrace it, there's a real deep thread of tradition going through some of the really old packs, especially the ones that root back to Natives. Some families pass on their heritage, warning about the curse, they respect it for what it is if it is triggered. Then there are radicals, you know, younger generations tired of being told what to do, they embrace it – make it something it's not, convinced their powers make them, I don't know, godlike. There are pack rivalries, of course, just like natural wolves – y'know, for territory, for pack-members. More in tune with the wolf even when they're men. But when push comes to shove, when threatened by an outsider, werewolves will always band together."

"But you – are you a lone wolf?"

"Me?" Mason sighed, staring out at the water, fiddling with his Gatorade bottle. "Me, I guess I'm nomadic, moving between different packs."

"You haven't met any packs you liked enough to stick with?"

"I liked the packs fine," Mason sighed. "Just some of the people in them I didn't." Giulia chuckled sadly. There was always one person in the clique you wished wasn't part of it. "Some of 'em were nasty. Always up for a fight. I don't like confrontation, I never have. Guess my old man's still yelling at me to think about the consequences of my actions. Most of the time I just can't be bothered, walk away."

"So…packs are hierarchical, like real wolf-packs? There are alphas and betas?"

"Some, I mean, some of the older ones are more relaxed, they've got unofficial leaders who earned the respect of the community, and once newcomers have earned their place, the pack would do anything for them, unless their actions threaten the collective. Then there are those radical packs, all younger generations – mostly guys. Too much testosterone and aggression, nasty, real bad guys, everything is a fight," Mason said, sighing.

"And you don't like to fight."

"If it's worth it." They were both quiet for a few minutes, drinking their Gatorade, enjoying the gentle breeze.

"Were you already dating Katherine before you turned?" Giulia asked. Mason nodded.

"Yeah, we'd been dating about three months when I triggered the curse," he said quietly, sighing heavily. "Met her a few months before that on the beach." He got this smile on his face, and Giulia wrinkled her nose, knowing he was thinking about her in a bikini.

"Ugh. I hope she's more stacked than Elena, otherwise I can't think what's worth looking at her in a bikini," she said honestly, shaking her head.

"Hey, it's not all about looks," Mason chuckled.

"Yeah, okay, Mr Playgirl Centrefold!" Giulia scoffed, and Mason laughed. "She's beguiling, I'm sure. That's how she got Stefan and Damon, back in 1864. She had them wrapped around her little finger, chasing after her, fighting each other for her. She couldn't even flash an ankle back then without being labelled a harlot. Although, that is an excellent word."

Mason shrugged. "She's five-hundred years old, I'm sure she has plenty of exes."

"Did you try and hide it from her what you were, after you triggered the curse?" Giulia asked, and Mason nodded. "But she figured it out?"

"She found me while I was in transition, the third time I changed," Mason said, sighing. "Transformation gets quicker over time, but it still takes hours…"

"How did she react?" Giulia asked curiously. "Did she play it as scared and concerned, or was she exultant? Did she finally reveal her secret, and she promised the two of you would live happily ever after in the supernatural world?"

"She freaked out, at first," Mason frowned, "until I explained what was happening to me–"

"And she refused to leave you," Giulia guessed. "She stood by you, helped you through it, and afterward you learned she might've died if you'd bitten her. She stayed even at the risk of her own life to help you. She kept your trust. And then she told you about the curse. But she needed your help to find the moonstone."

"How do you know about that?" Mason asked.

"Tyler told Jeremy Gilbert, who told us," Giulia sighed. Too many people now knew about the moonstone; Tyler had learned it from Mason and told Jeremy, who had informed Stefan and Damon, Caroline, Elena too; even Liz had heard. Through Jeremy she was sure Ric and Jenna knew as well. And since Stefan and Damon had realised Katherine was probably the one who truly wanted the moonstone, using Mason to get it, they would become determined to find it for themselves, determined that Katherine would not get what she wanted. The moonstone was the only thing staying Elijah's hand. The knowledge that the essential moonstone had been lost for five centuries with Katherine's disappearance was all that protected them from a slaughter. Even now word of a living doppelganger may have reached Klaus' ears – if what she had heard of him was true, he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

She was absolutely delighted she had obtained the moonstone. It still resided hidden in her car, but she wanted to give her car a full valet too much to keep it hidden there. She was going to hide it, though, keep it hidden from Elijah as long as possible to postpone the inevitable – and give her time. Time was a precious thing, especially to those who did not have an abundance of it. It always astounded her how impatient vampires could be – as if their time was running out!

"Did Katherine tell you how she knew where the moonstone was hidden?" Giulia asked him, curious. She wondered whether Katherine had outlined her dealings with George Lockwood to Mason.

"She told me she found it a few centuries ago," Mason said, shrugging it off again. "It was too precious, so she hid it."

"She stole it five hundred years ago, the night she discovered she was supposed to be the doppelganger sacrifice in a ritual that would lift an ancient curse on one of the Original vampires," Giulia said quietly. When receiving pain, she preferred a lot of it all at once, rather than pouring lemon-juice on a paper-cut. "She turned instead. She fled. She took the moonstone knowing the curse could never be broken without it – or her, as a human."

"What're you talking about?"

"The curse Katherine wants to break, it isn't one that will give werewolves the power to turn whenever they want, or vampires to walk in the sun. It's a curse on an Original vampire," she said quietly. "The moonstone binds the curse. In order for it to be broken, the Original would have to sacrifice a doppelganger and a vampire and a werewolf. Elena's the doppelganger, obviously. I can appreciate the poetry Katherine must have seen in turning Caroline into a vampire. You? You're the werewolf."

Mason stared at her, eyes narrowed, dark with suspicion. But there was a brief flicker – doubt. It was one of the most powerful emotions, alongside love, hope and fear. She knew she wouldn't have to do much – either to convince Mason to step out of the way and remain neutral, or to switch sides. If she could convince Mason to leave town, and if werewolves were as rare as she believed, then she might have stolen precious moments to work on her plan some more while Elijah tried to source another for the sacrifice. Provided he learned the moonstone was in play after all, and she was determined he wouldn't learn she had it, until she wanted him to know.

All she would have to worry about was preventing Tyler from triggering his curse; and she was sure there was some way Sheila Bennett might be able to help with that. Tyler was a teenaged idiot with anger issues but he was conscientious as much as any seventeen-year-old.

"It's interesting she went after you, though," Giulia said, eyeing Mason thoughtfully. "I suppose your brother was too high-profile. But Tyler… I mean, if I was her I would've come to town after Miranda and Grayson Gilbert died, pretending I was Elena's twin-sister. Elena's picture was in the newspapers, she could've claimed to see it there. Who would contradict that they could be twins? They look exactly the same age. I'm sure she could've fooled Stefan and Damon if she'd really wanted, and she could have compelled John Gilbert to go along with the story – Isobel would have done what she was told out of fear. Katherine would have had her pick of people to turn into vampires. Gotten to Tyler that way. Gained Elena's trust… But she's far too dramatic to play the long-con. Too selfish and impatient. And now her lack of subtlety is going to cost her."

"What you're telling me is that my girlfriend – what, triggered my curse so I'd become a werewolf, just so she can get the moonstone and send me to slaughter? Everyone knows about the Curse of the Sun and Moon, you're gonna try and convince me it's bogus?" Mason said incredulously. Giulia didn't rise to the bait, getting defensive or angry. She just sighed, fixing Mason with a look right in the eye.

"You know about compulsion, don't you?" she asked. She'd seen that flicker of doubt; he was smart enough to realise that feeling in his gut was telling him something for a reason. Katherine may be glorious and provocative – she was charming and coy, but with a sickeningly-sweet cunning to her, a slyness subtly underlying the magnetism that leaned toward psychopathy. She'd do anything to save her own neck. Giulia was determined none of the people she cared about were going to end up on the long list of Katherine's victims. Not again. Bluntly, she asked, "Was Jimmy on vervain?"

Mason stared at her, then glanced out at the water. After a moment, he said, "You think Katherine compelled Jimmy to attack me and trigger my curse?"

Giulia watched him. The tension in his shoulders, the stark expression on his face, so clearly trying not to show a flicker of emotion. "This isn't the first time you've thought that."

"You've had pack-mates warn you away from her," she said softly, guessing. She wondered how deep-rooted the distrust of vampires was with werewolves; it was mixed with a deep disdain and prejudice when it came to witches.

"Vampires can't be trusted."

"That can be said of humans, werewolves, witches and vampires," Giulia said impatiently. She sighed heavily. "You just had the misfortune of having caught the interest of the most selfish, duplicitous vampire there is."

For a very long time, Mason didn't say anything. Remained on the picnic-bench, coiled with a tension so palpable she could take a bite from it and taste his rage, his helplessness, his betrayal and sorrow. He barely moved, just watching the water, and Giulia sipped her Gatorade, enjoying the heat, almost dozing by the time Mason sighed, finally glancing at her.

"She compelled Jimmy to attack me, so I'd trigger the curse," he said, in a voice simmering with pent-up rage, and a weary devastation that made her stomach hurt. "I killed my friend because of her. She's the reason I go through the transformation every month."

"Do you want to hit something?" Giulia asked quietly, surprising a strained laugh out of him, shaking his head. "If it makes you feel any better, she wasn't planning on making you go through the transformations for long." Mason was a means to an end. Just like Caroline. Playing with Elena was a bit of fun to keep Katherine entertained – and distract them. Katherine could do as she liked, getting away with preparing for the sacrifice because they were too distracted by the petty drama she had created with Stefan and Elena's relationship, now self-destructing; whether or not she had sanctioned it, Mason's attempt to get Stefan and Damon killed had provided another distraction while they had to do damage-control with Liz. They were actually doing her a favour, learning about the moonstone, trying to find it; when they had, there was little to stop her coming in and taking it.

"So the Curse of the Sun and Moon is a lie?" Mason said quietly. "It's all just…a lie."

"The legend of the Sun and Moon Curse was created as failsafe in case the moonstone was ever lost," Giulia said. "Insurance; I'd say the best way to make sure it's never lost for long is to have everyone fighting over it. Pitting vampires against werewolves for it. People would kill over it. That attracts attention. The curse is on one person. A very clever, very dangerous person Katherine has been running from for five-hundred years."

"And I should just believe you're not lying to me?" Mason said.

"I have every reason to tell you the truth," Giulia said honestly. "I'm trying to keep people alive – keep Caroline alive. And Elena – and you." Mason sighed, looking back over the water again.

"Half-tempted to try and track this Original down and tell him where she is," Mason said quietly. Whatever struggle he had gone through, he had done so internally. He fiddled with the cap of his Gatorade bottle. "So a bunch of people have to die for this curse to be broken. You mentioned Elena and Caroline?" Giulia nodded. He sighed. "You know…I could almost handle thinking I wouldn't have to go through the transformations any more, if it weren't for thinking about them. How Liz would react – and Jenna. She's already lost her sister, her brother-in-law. Jeremy would lose his sister just like I just lost my brother."

Giulia's lips parted slightly. The way he had spoken… "Mason, do you want to die?"

He glanced at her, eyes shadowed and sad. "I just don't want to live as I am." He let out a big sigh, and after a few minutes, he said quietly, "But I guess I gotta… This was my fault. If I hadn't brought Kat into Jimmy's life, he'd still be alive… She could've picked anyone – she picked my friend. And he's dead because of me."

"It was an accident," Giulia said quietly. "You had no idea what was going on."

"No, but I should've trusted my gut," Mason said, squinting out over the water, fiddling with his bottle-cap. He glanced at Giulia. "What else has she done that I don't know about. You said she turned Caroline…"

Giulia told him, from the beginning – at least, this most recent chapter of the saga that was Katherine Pierce. The tomb. The vampires who tortured Stefan for information. Sending Isobel into town, using John Gilbert to kill all of the vampires – causing Richard Lockwood's death, Tyler's accident, attacking John Gilbert, turning Caroline. It all traced back to Katherine, even indirectly, when she wasn't actively in Mystic Falls pulling strings. It was the second time in less than a week she'd had to explain it all. Except Mason couldn't be compelled to forget; he had to stay out of things or leave town on his own. Whatever was going on in Mason's head, he kept it to himself, internalising any reactions.

"You didn't know about any of this?" Giulia asked. Mason shook his head silently. He sighed, sitting back against the picnic-table.

"So, what do you suggest I do?" he asked, glancing at her. She raised her eyebrows.

"You're asking me?"

"You seem to have it all figured out," Mason said, shrugging. "You knew what you were doing when you asked me to meet you, told me all of this."

"If I were you…I'd leave town," Giulia said quietly. "Don't tell anyone where you're going, but let them know you'll be on the road…try and find some people who'll have your back – Katherine doesn't take betrayal lightly… Although, hopefully she can be dealt with before anyone else gets hurt." There was no sense in planning to kill Katherine – she would always be ten steps ahead, Giulia felt. As Damon had said, She's always up to something. That's the beauty of Katherine.

"You know what, it kinda sucks," Mason sighed. "Coming back here, being with Tyler, I don't know…it felt good. Just…listening to him, helping him…"

"I think you've been good for him," Giulia said. "You're intense but in a different way – he needs to learn how to control his aggression. Not be such a dick." Mason chuckled.

"I could've helped him with his temper," he said, smiling sweetly, "but I got nothing on him being a jerk. Sorry."

"That's okay," Giulia smiled. She sighed. "So…d'you wanna head back. You're giving me a piggy-back, by the way; I can't do another forty miles." Mason chuckled.

"Fine," he smirked. "I like to challenge myself." Giulia smiled. They tucked the empty Gatorade bottles back into the concealed icebox, and started walking the way Giulia led; there was a different, shorter route back into town that she enjoyed as a gentle warm-down after that forty-mile obstacle course.

Mason glanced at her. "If you want the moonstone, you know…you can have it."

"Oh." Giulia grimaced. "I already stole it."


A.N.: Please review!