Bottom of Form
"So Joe-Anne is dead?" Lisa asked from her seat in the living room.
"I saw her myself. Unless she's good at the dead-mans-float she's gone." Bonnie said harshly, regretting it the second her friend's eyes took on a hurt look. She couldn't help it though, she simply wanted to curl up and hide from everything horrible that happened. "Oh god I can't believe this. Not again!" Bonnie started crying softly to her herself again. She could handle something's, but not when the same thing kept happening where ever she went.
"Again?" Lisa asked, looking at her funnily.
"It's a long story." Meredith said, hugging Bonnie tight to control her own tears. "It's OK BonBon, they said that she didn't go through any pain before she died."
"But she died because of me!" she cried out. "The note said that next time he'd get the 'Princess to be if she chose wrongly again'. What kind of sick person would do this!?" her sadness had gone away now, replaced with anger.
"They said there were four little marks on her neck, two on either side. And another Maid had been found later, only she was under the water, so they think she'd been there longer." Elena said softly, hiding in Stefan's arms. "Whoever it is, it's here with us. Any of us could be next."
She watched her friends closely. Elena and Stefan merely looked weary, as if they had expected it but hoped against it. Meredith looked upset, Joe-Anne had been a close friend for the time that they'd known the girl, but was still off in her own world. Damon was yet ot be seen, and she knew that the others doubted his innocence, but she knew he wouldn't do that. Matt and Scott were still missing, but she had the feeling they would turn up soon.
"I'm going to my room." Bonnie said tiredly, giving up on trying to stay awake. This whole trip was turning out to be a very bad idea. "If you need me I'll be there."
"Be careful." Stefan and Elena said in unison, followed by Meredith's, "Ditto from me."
She went upstairs, and to her room which was near the end of one hall. She was tired almost to the point of exhaustion. She'd stayed out late the night before, and wanted to sleep in late, but needed to think a little more on the matter of Husbands.
She was surprised when Ryan came to her. She didn't see much of him, so she thought that maybe he was shy. But he smiled warmly and walked beside her.
"Are you all right My Lady?" he asked softly, his accent coming to her clearly, more pronounced then either brother. "I heard she was a friend, if you need a shoulder to cry upon, I am here for you."
She smiled at him, at least he was considerate. "Thank you, but I am just tired now. I'm going to bed. I'll see you for dinner." She opened the door to her room, and started to close it when he stopped her.
"I hope you are not scared, that note may not have been for you. Or the rose." He said. Then turned and walked off at her angry glare. How would he know? She was the play princess after all, and the last died at the ball she was about to attend, what was to stop who ever disliked this castle to stop with her friend?
Again she wondered how he knew that she'd gotten a rose with the poorly written love letter on her friend's body.
*~~*~~*
Damon had found out, after he awoke around noon, about what had happened in the pond from his brother. Not sticking around for details he had went straight to Bonnie's room only to find her asleep in her bed. Relief flooded through him as he watched her pale chest rise and fall as she breathed.
All he'd heard was that two red haired girls were found in the large pond this morning. His heart had sunken below the earth then as he thought about one of the girls being his Bonnie. If he'd lost her this early like he'd lost his Angel, he'd never feel again, he would be completely empty inside. He knew this as well as he knew his name and his body.
He went downstairs to talk with Stefan and her friends about this, to figure out more, and how the girls were related to Bonnie, when he heard a scream cut short.
Instinct took over him and he hurried down stairs. It hadn't been very long or loud enough to get anyone's attention, but his hearing was more sensitive than most mortals, so he heard it and could practically hear the hand that slapped over the persons mouth.
He got to the large living room to find that Stefan was holding a squirming Lisa with one hand over her mouth, the other around her waist to keep her where she was.
"Now, if I let go, will you not scream?" he asked, a grim look on his face. "I have a headache now thank you." He told her as she nodded, eyes wider then they should have been.
Damon couldn't help the laughter bubbling up inside him. Stefan was forever trying to unite the world of the dead and the world of the living. Always trying to fine more ways to prevent himself from turning into everything Damon loved.
"What are you up to now, little brother?" He asked, sitting beside Lisa with a smile. She looked up at him in wonder, no one saw a lot of him, but she knew he was one of the people after Bonnie's heart.
"She wanted to know why Bonnie had freaked earlier, and after talking it over with Elena and Meredith, we decided to show her why." He said, and Damon could see that his fangs were slowly retracting.
"Poor dear, too much?" he asked, smiling wickedly at her. "Don't worry, he won't bite." He patted Stefan on the head like a puppy. She smiled a little at the joke while Stefan gave him a death glare.
"I take it your one too? You are brothers right?" she asked. As an answer he let his fangs dip down, and he licked his lips hungrily.
"True, but unlike my little brother, I do bite." He said, letting them retract. "In fact, I had a nice meal a few nights ago, I just hope I didn't go overboard." he sighed contently, letting that sentence float in the air as they slowly realized what he meant. He could see Elena immediately going on the defense, but he cut it softly, finding that the truth of the matter actually sounded bad, even to him. "I can't remember much, which is a change."
"You didn't do this did you?" Meredith asked, looking at him funnily, suspicion clear in her voice. He knew she was thinking of the other two girls.
"Of course not, why would I need to bite one person twice, and in two different spots at that? No my dear, I am talking about someone else." He smiled as he felt at least the memory of how it tasted, and felt to him to taste her sweet blood. He would want more, but later when his own was out of her system.
"You're talking about Bonnie, aren't you?" Stefan asked, though it came out more of a comment. Meredith and Lisa looked sick, and Elena looked worried.
"How much did you exchange with her. I went though enough with you, she doesn't need to go through it too." Elena said, receiving a questioning glance from Lisa.
"I told you before, I don't remember." he told his sister-in-law. "I don't know about you, but I'm a little stressed. And I'm speaking truthfully, OK? When I can't remember something, which rarely happens I tell you that now, I can't think of much else. But I think I may have gone overboard." He smiled a little as more of the memories came to him, mixing with the memories of his one night with his Angel.
His smile turned a little pained, and Stefan caught it before he could hide it. "Why are you here Damon? Last time you talked to Bonnie before coming here you pissed her off, and now you are among her favorite Princes." Stefan asked.
"Let's just say that you, little brother, don't know everything about me the way you think you do." He said, closing his eyes against the glare of the sun. He truly didn't want to get into a conversation about Angel, but he was feeling very scared today. Tonight was the ball, and it was then that everything he was feeling would be put to the test.
In other words, he thought, Bonnie would either live or die after tonight.
"Well I know that you're still after all the girls. Can't you stick with one girl?" he asked, sending a glare at Damon.
"I have stuck with one girl," he told the younger vampire, letting the aggravation into his voice. "I almost never use the others as a food source. Can I help it if they like me better then you?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Who?" Stefan asked, his eyes sparkling in interest.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said, getting up. This was tiresome, and he wanted to walk around for some reason. Maybe find some food.
"Who, Damon. Prince of all Darkness. Who have you ever stuck to long enough to love?" Stefan asked, standing up and stepping in front of him. He looked at his little brother, wondering whether to tell him or not. Then thought, 'What the hell, might as well.'
"Princess Angel." He said quietly, then walked away from the stunned faces he knew followed him out of the room.
*~~*~~*
He walked up to Bonnie's room and found her still asleep in her bed. Wanting to spend some time with her, a sleep or awake, he crept over to her and sat to watch her. The soft rise and fall of her chest, the look of peace on her face, the soft smile she had spreading across her face. She looked like an Angel sent from above. When he thought about her actually wanting to be with him, wanting to even be near him, he felt as if he'd been blessed.
And when he thought of anyone turning her into what he was, of anyone hurting her in any way, his heart hurt.
She was to pure to become like him. To sensitive to some of the worlds horrible actions and people and ideas to ever truly become his own Princess of Darkness. But how much he wanted her to be his. Just watching her he felt so much love for her, more then he'd ever felt before. He knew that if need be he'd bleed out all his blood into a river for her, if it gave her another day to live happily, and see all the good of the world.
He sighed sadly, already knowing that nothing would work out for him. It usually never did. He watched her a moment longer before her face clouded over, her eyes shutting tightly. Her breathing slowed to a point that he could scarcely hear or see it. He started to wake her up, knowing that it was another bad dream, when she sat bolt upright and screamed.
*~~*~~*
She'd had the dream again, but this time, from the new information, she saw a flash of Ryan and a flash of Damon. All before falling helplessly to the floor in pain, the source of her pain being around her heart. This time she felt like she could feel herself dying, feel her heart slowly pumping the last of her blood out of her system, her not being able to breathe or move.
She finally sat up and opened her eyes, screaming as loud as she could. Almost immediately she found arms around her, very comforting arms that were holding her tightly. She felt her heart slow down and not pump out her blood. She was breathing and that was slowing as well. She felt that someone would soon be here other than her and Damon.
She knew it was Damon who was holding her, he held his shield around her because hers had fallen in crumbles around her as she finally woke from the horrible dream. She felt herself begin to tremble in fear, weary of a day that had barely begun.
"Maybe we should cancel the Ball?" he asked softly in her ear. He was stroking her hair and it had a very calming effect on her. "And you could just have us stand in front of you and you tell us. Your dreams seem to be getting worse."
"No. The Ball is tonight, and I really wanna have it. Maybe it'll get my mind off of everything." She said, smiling up at him.
There was a knock on the door, and then it opened revealing Stefan and Ryan. "Is everything OK?" Stefan asked.
"Are you all right Princess?" Ryan asked, in unison with Stefan. She grimaced at his always calling her Princess instead of Bonnie. Just about everyone else called her Bonnie, or Princess Bonnie.
"I'm fine." She said, and put on her best smile. She could see Ryan giving Damon dirty looks, and could feel his confusion about something. "Just a bad dream."
"Again?" Stefan asked, Ryan looked funnily at her, but hide it quickly.
"Yea. Maybe after tonight it'll be over." She said, smiling. "Besides, it's the last Ball for the rest of the trip." She said, getting up and slipping into the bathroom for some water.
"All right then, I guess I'll go. Ryan? Damon? Leave her to get dressed?" Stefan asked.
"Sure." They said, staring at each other.