"Hpmmm." I made out as I stretched out underneath the bed-sheets cover. I forced my eyes open to glance around my room for my alarm clock. Reality soon kicked in. I wasn't in my actual room anymore. Therefore, I had no alarm clock. My eyes flew open in shock as I got off the bed and looked out the curtained window a feet away from my nightstand. It wasn't sure what time it was, but it was probably around 11 AM. I mentally shook my head in disbelief that I had overslept. What made it worse was that this was my first day in this household. I didn't mean to leave such a lazy impression on anyone, and I bet that's how everyone will see me now.
A lazy girl.
I grimaced at the thought and decided to change out of the nightgown. Oh well, what's done is done... I tried to remind myself. I picked out a velvet polo shirt to go with blue bootcut jeans and the black short ankled boots I wore yesterday. I looked into the bathroom mirror to see my hair was curvy resulted from the hairstyle Rose gave me and when I tried to brush it out last night. I continued to brush it down a bit more, but left it mostly as it was. Adding some lipbalm and a subtle eye shadow, I left my room closing the door shut behind me. As I went over by the banister, I glanced down to find the entrance room entirely empty. The table however was fresh and full of breakfast dishes... or was it brunch? After descending down the stairs, I grabbed a plate full of crepes, adding it to go with some fruit, meat spread, and whipped cream on my plate. I took a seat and ate the dish as I was surrounded by silence. It seemed too quiet to be true. Just as I had finished breakfast and took a sip out of my coffee, I finally heard some type of movement nearby that didn't belong to me.
As he walked into the room, presumably from a corridor or another room nearby, he went by the table and placed down clean napkins belonging to the table. "Uh, Good morning, Stefan. Or.. good afternoon?" I said. He looked at me surprised to see me here. "Good evening, Elena. I didn't see you this morning." Stefan pointed out. "Yeah, about that... I overslept. I'm not use to waking up without an alarm clock." I told him. "That's fine, nothing important happened this morning." He informed me. I nodded in slight relief of that thought. "By the way, where is everyone? It's awfully quiet here." I soon asked him. "Half the servants are working outside in the garden. The other half are here, you just haven't seen them yet. It's usually pretty quiet here, even when we have guests." He stated. "I see." I trailed off. "Are you finished? I'd like us to do something today. Just you and me." Stefan proposed. "Yes, I'm done. Where do you plan on taking me?" I asked. "You'll see soon enough. Go get dressed." He told me. I looked at him oddly. "I'm already dressed." I stated. He scanned my appearance from top to bottom before announcing, "Okay, that's fine. Let's go."
I grinned slightly, getting out of my seat and picking up my now empty dish. "Here, allow me." Stefan insisted, taking the empty dish away to disposal it into the kitchen. While he was gone for the moment, I noticed Elijah had entered the room. I swore I didn't even hear his footsteps after he descended down the staircase. "Good evening, Elijah." I greeted him politely. He seemed aggravated about something. "Good evening, Elena. Have you seen Damon?" He asked, going straight to the point. I was confused and simply answered, "No. I haven't seen him since yesterday."
"When was the last time you saw him?" He asked me. I tried my best not to show I was panicking. From the look on Elijah's face it seemed like Damon was in trouble. Should I mention the wall-door? Or would that make this situation even worse? As I was thinking it over, I couldn't help but ask myself this. Did I want Damon to be in trouble? Sure, I didn't know him but then again he doesn't know me either, and yet he always seemed as if he was helping me. I'm not sure why or how he's helping me, but he was. I could tell.
"When I first entered the house and was taken to my room. He was here when I first met you and Stefan's father, remember? I haven't seen him since that last time." was what I was going to say, until Stefan came back out. "Uncle 'Lijah? What are you doing here? I thought you had some work to finish off." Stefan said. "I was able to manage it earlier last night. Have you seen Damon?" Elijah told him then asked. "Not since last night. What did he do this time?" Stefan questioned Elijah. "Nothing yet. I just want to have a talk with him. It's important." Elijah informed him. "Well, he shouldn't be too far. You know how he is. He'll turn up eventually." Stefan insisted, before grabbing a hold of my hand and leading me out through the entrance corridor. Elijah kept his eyes on me and watched us as we left. Exiting the corridor and going out the front door, I glanced around the front yard still amazed by how glorious and organized the garden looked. "It's official. You have the best tended garden in this neighborhood." I stated. "Don't exaggerate." Stefan told me. "I'm serious. Your gardeners must have a gift." I insisted. "We do hire the best of the best to work for us." Stefan stated. "I can see that." I said mainly to myself.
Once we walked up to the gates, I noticed my car parked on the other side. "How did you..?" I was about to ask how my car was here. Last I checked, my parents and I arrived to this mansion in our family car, while my birthday car was left back at the house in the garage. "I requested it. After all, it'd be a shame for you to stay here for a couple weeks while this poor vehicle collects dust in the process." Stefan stated. I grinned slightly and chuckled. "Thank you." I let out. "You're welcome, but I'm driving. It would defeat the purpose of the surprise if I told you our destination." He told me, before I could protest. As we both hopped in, we drove off, taking a few short cuts here and there.
The entire drive was almost in silence. I made a few comments, which Stefan nodded and agreed on in response. Most of the time, my mind would wonder back onto the wall-door. There was nothing special about it. But what intrigued me wasn't the door itself but how cleverly hidden it was. It made me wonder if there were more hidden doors like that. Could there be one even in my bedroom? Where would it lead me? Was there a whole new room there? And how does Damon know its existence? If confronted, would Damon tell me what was hidden behind that door? Or would he dismiss me as before?
I pushed those thoughts aside and blinked as the car parked in front of the Grill. "You took me out to eat?" I asked baffled. I found it weird since he knew I had just eaten less than 15 minutes ago. "Not exactly." He commented, before exiting the car. He came over and opened my door for me. "Thanks." I said, as I exited. We walked towards the Grill and entered to find the place half full as usual on the weekdays. "Elena! Hey, Elena, over here!" I heard two familiar voices. I turned to notice Caroline and Bonnie sitting at a booth. They got out and walked up to me as I remained frozen in my place. I didn't know why, but I didn't expect to see them today. "Hey, where have you been? I tried calling you yesterday to see if you had a hangover too, but you didn't answer." Caroline stated, of course after giving me her infamous tight hugs. Bonnie did almost the same, and allowed me to breathe through this one. "Oh. I'm sorry, my phone's out of battery and I didn't get a chance to charge it yesterday after I..." I purposely trailed off, realizing they had no idea of the arrangement. "After you, what?" Bonnie wanted me to continue. "...After I moved in with Stefan." I then continued. "Wait, you two moved in together? And you didn't tell me? I mean... us!" Caroline said, and added when Bonnie glared at her. "No, I didn't mean it to sound like... Can we just sit down and talk about this? It's kind of hard to explain." I simply told them.
Both girls looked between me and Stefan and nodded as we sat over to the booth they were at earlier. "Okay, go." Bonnie told me. "Spill it." Caroline said. "So, yesterday my parents suggested we'd all could finally meet Stefan's family. So, we went and apparently Stefan's father wants us to live with him for a couple weeks. You know, so we could get to know each other better." I tried to explain. "Really? Well, how was it?" Bonnie asked me. "That depends on what you're asking, the house or the introduction?" I stated. "Why would we ask about the house?" Caroline said. "Because it's actually a mansion." I stated and remained quiet to watch their reactions. "It's a mansion? You went to a mansion? You live in a mansion?" Caroline blurted out to both me and Stefan. "Calm down Caroline. You're acting like you've never seen a mansion before. Remember the Lockwood mansion?" Bonnie informed her. "Is it like the Lockwood mansion? Caroline wondered. "It's much older than the Lockwood mansion and bigger." I told them. "How big?" Caroline pushed on. "There's over a 100 rooms and there's servants that work there." I informed her. "Servants? I knew you were rich, but I didn't know you were that packed!" Caroline teased at Stefan. He chuckled slightly, shrugging off her comment.
"I have to ask, what type of business does your father work for?" I suddenly wanted to ask. They always mention their business and work, but they never fully said what it was. "My father is mostly a CEO in the marketing business. He knows what's popular and what sells. My uncle is a criminal lawyer. Since we live under the same roof, their money is basically combined in a joint account." He answered.
"I can't wait to visit." Caroline stated. "Why would you want to visit?" Stefan asked her. "Why wouldn't I?" Caroline sarcastically stated. "We'll see. It all comes down to Stefan and his family." I informed her. "Oh come on! You don't mind, Stef, right? I just want to see the mansion for myself. To see if Elena's bluffing." Caroline told him. "I'm not bluffing. I never bluff." I reminded her. "I'll... consider, but don't keep your hopes up. There's a tight schedule at my house." Stefan told her. "Let me know when you can arrange it." Caroline said, smirking with a wink. "So... how was the introduction?" Bonnie asked me once more, this time about Stefan's family. I felt awkward having this conversation with Bonnie in front of Stefan and didn't want to say anything too bad about his family. "His father is very strict as well as his uncle. But when you get to know them, they start to soften up." I did my best to describe them as vague as possible. Stefan glanced over at me almost baffled by my statement, but didn't push on.
"That's it?" Bonnie asked of me.
"Yeah." I simply replied. I didn't mention Damon since I wasn't even sure if he was part of the family or just one of their over 100 servants. I figured the latter since he shared no resemblance to Stefan. "You know, it was great seeing you girls, but we have to go hit the road." Stefan soon announced. "Fine. Call me and Caroline later then. Once your phone is charged up, of course." Bonnie said, holding onto my hand. I smiled over at Caroline and did the same to Bonnie noticing something odd.
"Hey, Bon? You okay?" I asked her.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I blacked out for a second. It's nothing.. I... I haven't eaten the whole day. My brain is completely fried and on a loop. I'll be better by tomorrow. Don't forget to call." Bonnie told me, letting go of my arm so I could follow Stefan out of the booth.
That was odd.
As soon as she held my hand, she spaced out. I wonder what she was thinking about?
"Where are we going?" I soon asked, once we exited the Grill. "You'll know sure enough. Get in." Stefan instructed me, opening up my car door for me. Once I got in and he took up the driver's seat, we took off once more. As we were driving, I kept thinking about all the nonsense Damon said to me at that alley and if it was somehow connected to that wall-door. Soon enough I thought about Bonnie's weird behavior earlier at the Grill. If it had happened with Caroline, I wouldn't have mind so much since I know she has a short attention span given how hyper she can be at times. But this was Bonnie, and just as she spaced out she looked both confused and worried about something. It's never happened before when she'd playfully hold my hand, so why now? I blinked that thought away as Stefan made a sudden turn. Or maybe I'm being very paranoid right now. After all I never noticed these things, nor thought to ask myself these odd questions before. Not until I met Damon and he planted his insane babbling in my head. Perhaps this was all really a joke that I took too seriously. It wouldn't be the first time for someone to fool me with a confusing joke. For all I know Damon is probably trying to drive me insane by thinking everything has a deeper meaning.
Everything he said at the alley was pure nonsense.
Bonnie probably was acting a bit neurotic by lack of food in her system.
There was probably nothing wrong with that red wine.
And as for that wall-door... Okay, that I still can't explain.
After we parked, I looked around my scenery in disbelief. After Stefan got out, I got out of the car myself to take a good look around.
Yep, this really was the place.
"Um.. why did you bring me here?" I asked him. "I wanted us to talk. In private without Caroline and Bonnie. I use to come here sometimes to think." He told me. "You come to think on the Wickory Bridge? Okay." I said, nodding my head. "You okay? You seem anxious." Stefan pointed out. "I'm fine it's just... I haven't been here since the accident." I told him. "What a- oh. Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was here. I mean, I knew but I thought you meant on Wickory Bridge Street which leads up to the bridge. I didn't know it was on the actual bridge." Stefan apologized in defense. "It's okay. Really. It happened so long ago. I'm fine." I told him.
"You're certain? 2 years isn't a long time." He stated.
"Yes. Now can we not talk about this? I'd like you to give me more detail about your family and this proclaimed tradition. I want to pass." I told him. "I don't think the information I have can help you with that, but I'll try." He admitted. "Your father?" I started off.
"Is a very complicated man. He's very strict and has a love for the middle ages, the 1800's and the 1920's. Those are his favorite years that he wish he was apart of. He likes to have things his way all the time. I'd say be wary around him and talk to him knowing you're walking on eggshells and could break one of them if you're not careful." He informed me. "Wow, really? He doesn't seem so bad." I commented, "Or, at least not that bad." Stefan didn't attempt to comment back and I decided to move it along. "Your uncle Elijah?" I asked. "He's a very patient man and is pretty invisible compared to my father. He's a quiet man and likes things a certain way. But he's more open minded than my father. At times he has to convince my father to open his mind to other things as well. He's the only one that can challenge him and get away with it, so long as he doesn't intentionally control him or manipulate him. He's also a very modest man, is polite, and is an overall gentleman if you're on his good side." He informed me. I thought it over realizing something.
"Your uncle sounds a lot like you." I pointed out. "Well... he did help raise me growing up. It was the most he could do after my mother's overdose." Stefan told me. I nodded in response, seeing it did make sense. What didn't make sense was how he took none of his father's personality. But then again I didn't know Klaus well enough, and for all I know he could have.
"Damon?" I asked. "Words can't even begin to describe him. Why do you want to know about him?" He asked me. "Curiosity." I replied. "Remember it killed the cat." He reminded me. I nodded in return. "He's... well...? He likes to joke a lot, I'll tell you that much. He's a good person underneath, you just have to really know him. Hell, even I don't really know him. He usually distance himself from people and only opens up to them when it's most convenient or benefits him. Or even both. As soon as he opens and he gets what he came for, he shuts it down. I don't believe he has ever fully opened up to anyone and remained that way." He tried to put input about Damon.
What he neglected to mention was how odd and mysterious he was. But I suppose it goes without saying.
"There's something important I wanted to tell you. I didn't want to tell you until we were on this bridge. Are we done?" He stated. "Yeah, go ahead." I told him, also wanting to know what was so important. "I'm leaving today." He told me. "What?" I let out, confused by that one sentence. "It has something to do with the tradition and it's part of my father's business. He thought it was a win-win situation." He briefly explained. "What tradition and what business?" I asked him, trying to suppress how upset I was. This whole tradition concept was getting on my nerves and if it was truly business, why couldn't Klaus do it himself?
"In the tradition, for a week the son is sent away so the father of that boy can truly observe how the girl and her family is really like when they're not around him. My father has too much on his plate and wanted me to do a quick errand for his business. I'll only be gone for 2 days. 2 days and I'll be back, I promise." He told me. "Where are you going?" I wondered.
"California." He answered.
"California? That far! Why?" I stated, not expecting that destination.
"The company is over there. Look, my plane ticket and hotel reservation is all booked up. My father made sure of it. All I have to do is pack, drive to the airport, wait to get on, fly for 5 hours straight and arrive there on time to get into my paid limousine and check into the hotel. After getting jet lag, I'll simply settle into the hotel and crash. By tomorrow, I just need to pick up something for my father, sign for it, insure proof that he actually sent me to pick up his package. It'll be a long process and I'll get you a souvenir. Then I'll be back the next day." He stated. Despite how upset I felt, I made up a small grin and nodded as though I understood. Stefan walked over and cupped my chin up to look at him. He gave me a weird little smile that always made me want to smile back in return. After he gave me a nice kiss on the lips, he asked, "Is there anything you want to get off your chest? I'd hate to leave us on bad terms."
"No, I'm fine. I promise." I insured him. He nodded and mentioned on heading back to his home early so he could finish packing. I followed him back to the car, glancing only once back at the bridge. I ignored the brief chill that went down my back, and entered the car right before we drove off.
May 28th, 2008 was the date she'd never forget.
That date alone would always haunt her.
It had been a week since the accident and everything was done. The viewing, the funeral, the burial, the ceremony, and ect. Two days from now, she would have her 16th birthday. However, because everyone was still pained by their death, she decided she wouldn't celebrate her 16th birthday, seeing it'd only hurt others in the process, her included. As she spent the entire morning at their graves, writing in her journal, she looked up to notice a crow. She continued to ignore it until it flew towards the top of their tombstone. She stood up and tried to swoosh the bird away. It eventually flew off in annoyance, and she decided to leave also.
As she was leaving, she heard footsteps in the near distance. She turned around and headed back as slowly and quiet as possible and was able to catch him in the act. "What are you doing?" She asked him. As he stood up straight and looked at her, Elena realized she had seen him before. He was that new student that just transferred here in mid May. "Pardon me, I didn't mean to upset you. I came to pay my respects." He informed her. She glanced down at the grave and noticed he left a single rose on both of them. "I'm very sorry for your loss. If there's anything you need or want to talk about, I'm here." He told her. She thought it over while eyeing him.
"Why? Why do you even care? You don't know me and I certainly don't know you." She stated. Usually, she didn't want to come off mean as her first impression, but all of her emotions were wired and have been since the accident. She also had never talked to this guy before, despite how long he has been at their school. This was quite literally the first conversation they ever had and she wondered why he'd care if he didn't know her.
"I care because I know. I may not know exactly how you feel, but I don't recall a single memory as a kid when I didn't end up going to a funeral. I know how it feels to lose someone. And you're right... I don't know you and you definitely don't know me. How about we try to get to know each other?" He said. She sighed and said in return, "Look, I get what you're trying to say and where you're coming from but I just don't think..."
"You can't write in your journal forever. You need someone to talk to." He added. She looked at him both shocked and upset. "Were you stalking me?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer. "No. I came by and noticed you were writing in your journal. I waited until you left so I could pay my respects. I figured you needed more time before we could talk." He answered. She looked down over her shoulder and noticed she was twisting a strain of her hair. She stopped and looked up at him. She didn't know what to think of him and thought over everything he said, especially the interrupted part.
"You can't write in your journal forever. You need someone to talk to." He was right. She couldn't hide behind her journal forever. She needed closure. She needed to voice out her thoughts, instead of keeping them written in a journal. She needed someone to talk to.
"I'm Elena." She decided to tell him. His eyes remained locked on hers, with a glint of hope within them.
"I'm Stefan." He replied.
And the rest was history. Their history.
2 hours had passed and Stefan was gone. He had already boarded the plane and was in the air. As soon as he left, the servants presence within this household became more noticeable in my eyes as they were all busy cleaning the house and cooking the next meals. Rose had stopped by my room to check on me and asked if there was anything I needed. Automatically, I wanted to say no and that I was fine, but then a thought occurred to me. "Yes, there's something I'd like you to do for me." I started out. "Of course, Miss, and that would be?" Rose asked. "I'd like you to take me to Damon." I requested. She looked at me as though she had seen a ghost and her smile was almost nonexistent. "Master Damon? Miss, are you certain?" Rose asked me. "Yes. Is there a problem?" I wondered.
"No, not at all. When would you like to see him?" She asked of me. "Right now, would be nice." I told her. "Excuse me, Miss. I must inform him of your visit." Rose said quickly, about to leave. "No, I want to see him right now. Show me to his room." I informed her. Rose glanced behind herself and me almost in conflict, but proceeded in escorting me to Damon's room. As we left my room and walked past the staircase, we walked through another large corridor that was left of the house that had even more rooms than the right corridor where my room was. We past many servants there, who glanced at both of us for a split nanosecond, before continuing their jobs.
Rose soon paused near a door and turned to me before saying, "Are you sure you don't want me to announce your arrival?" I looked at her almost confused on why she insisted and shook my head. "Unlock the door." I instructed Rose. "It's not locked, Miss." Rose informed me. "Good." I stated, before walking past Rose and entering the room.
As I entered the room, I nearly froze in my place and had to turn away and look at the walls of his room as soon as I caught him without a shirt. I calmly took a short breath, before turning my head back at him. He now had a white sleeved shirt on and was slowly buttoning it up. His cold ice blue eyes were locked on me in disinterest. Rose soon entered the room, behind me. "Master Damon, my apologies. She wanted to see you as soon as possible." She apologized. Damon glanced over at her, before looking back at me. "Leave us." Damon told Rose. She nodded and didn't hesitate on leaving and closing the door shut behind her.
Before I could say anything, he demanded, "You have 10 seconds to tell me what you want before I request Rose to escort you out. Begin."
I blinked in surprise and thought it over in a split second. "Tell me what's going on." I said. "You'll need to elaborate." He informed me. "What do you mean I have to wake up? Open my eyes? See through the lie?" I asked him. These statements were driving me insane just by thinking about it. "I'm afraid your time is up. Now if you'll excuse me." Damon stated, about to leave. "Stop! You're not going anywhere until you answer me." I informed him. "And who do you think you are? You're our guest. So I'd watch my tone if I were you." He insisted. "My apologies, Damon." I said, hoping with that in mind he'll stay for a bit longer. "It's Mr. Salvatore. Refer to me as that guest." He informed me. "Why do you call me that?" I asked him, noticing how he tends to stretch that word alone. "Call you what? A guest? Because that's what you are." He answered. "I'm not just your guest. You know that. Now explain to me what you meant earlier." I stated. He looked at me quite baffled and said, "What do you mean by earlier?"
"When you first encountered me. On my birthday, in an alley." I reminded him, not sure why he had forgotten. "What are you talking about? I've never talked to you before." He told me. I looked at him in disbelief and said, "My birthday was on June 6."
"I wasn't anywhere near an alley on June 6. Are you sure you weren't talking to someone who looked like me?" He asked me, in slight concern. I nearly starred at him, trying to put the pieces together. It didn't make any sense. It had to be him. He must be joking.
"Don't lie to me. We did talk at the alley and we talked again last night. Don't you remember? The red wine?" I told him. "What red wine? You're being delusional." He stated. I took a few steps towards him, still calling his bluff. "I'm not crazy, Damon. I'm not crazy!" I insisted. "Stop calling me that! I don't even know you." He stated. "You do know me. You know everything about me. What's my name, Damon? Say my name." I stubbornly requested. "You're out of your mind and I'm late for business." He said with narrowed eyes and moved past me. "What business?" I asked him. "None of your business, that's for sure." He stated, ready to leave.
"What about the secret door?" I said, just as he was about to open the door. He froze in place and turned to look back at me. I raised an eyebrow wondering why that effected him. "What secret door?" He asked me. I scoffed and folded my arms while eyeing him. "Don't pretend you don't know. The secret door that's hidden within the walls. You have a blue key to it." I told him. He glanced around the room and back at me, taking a few steps towards me. We were finally face to face.
"There's no secret door within the walls with a blue key. It doesn't exist." He stated. "Why would I make any of this up?" I pointed out. He looked into my eyes as though he was in deep thought. As he did so, I noticed the lack of personal space between us and immediately lost my cocky attitude from anxiety.
"There is no secret door, Elena. Tell me there's no secret door." He almost whispered to me. I didn't know what to say and kept my mouth shut. At the same time, Rose opened the door and Damon distanced himself from me instantly. "Is everything alright?" Rose asked all of us. I silently nodded and so did Damon. "Please make sure to escort our guest safely to her room." Damon requested of Rose. She nodded and insisted on me to follow her back immediately. I slowly made my way over to her and glanced briefly over at Damon. He left his room as soon as I started to follow Rose. While he went down the corridor, I escaped the corridor with Rose and went back to my room, with my thoughts still on my conversation with Damon. After telling Rose I was fine and she left my room, I replayed the conversation in my head once more and noticed something.
He said my name.
How could he do that if he didn't know who I was? Then as soon as Rose came back he went back to calling me a 'guest'.
I knew he was bluffing the entire time. The real question was why he did it? Did it have something to do with Elijah? He did mention earlier he had to talk with Damon and that it was important. But what could it have been? Did they already have that talk? Were they about to right now? It'd make sense given how dressed up Damon was and why he said he was late for business.
Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. I turned to face it and opened it to find someone I least expected to be on the other side of it.
"Good afternoon, Miss Elena. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He said to me.
"No, you came at a good time, Elijah." I informed him. "Is that so? Then perhaps you wouldn't mind if we were to talk." Elijah stated. I made up a small grin and asked, "Talk about what exactly?"
"Just a simple chat. You are dating my nephew. I believe it's time I get to know who Miss Elena is." He informed me. I eventually nodded my head and left my room with him. As we walked down the corridor, he started asking me a few questions.
"Are you enjoying your stay here?" He started out. "Yes, it's a beautiful house you have here. My question is do you have any WiFi? I also haven't seen an outlet anywhere to charge my phone." I said. "Just leave your phone at my desk. I can take care of that." Elijah told me. "Why?" I asked him. "Because I have an outlet in my office." He simply said. "How long have you been with my nephew, exactly?" He soon changed the subject. "2 years." I replied. "And yet, he just introduced you to us now?" He questioned. "Well, to be fair, we were friends for quite a bit. Then I fell for him and he felt the same. By the end of that year, we were official. So, if anything we've been together for 1 year. But I've known him for 2 years." I clarified to him.
"What do you think of his father? Klaus?" Elijah asked, but it felt like a test. "I have no comments on him. I can't judge him for certain since we barely know each other. Same goes for you." I told him. "I heard you had dinner with Klaus last night. May I ask what the occasion was about?" He wondered. "There was no occasion. He just wanted to apologize for his passive aggressive behavior when we were first introduced. That's all." I told him. He glanced over at me and soon asked, "Have you talked to Damon?" I nearly froze, but kept walking by his side. Was he really asking me this or did he already know the answer? "We've encountered each other a couple times, I suppose." I replied. "My apologies if he has been giving you trouble. He can be quite mischievous." He informed me. "There's no need. I can handle him." I told him. "That's not the point. You say you have encountered him a few times? What has he been telling you?" Elijah asked of me.
I was literally conflicted between keeping it to myself or telling the truth. Ever since Damon first encountered me, I have been very cautious around certain people. As though I couldn't trust anyone fully anymore. At the same time, I didn't want to lie to Elijah. He actually seemed trustworthy. Yet at the same time, he's the brother of Klaus, who doesn't appear to be the trusting type at all.
"He just told me to be mindful on my stay here. That everything isn't perfect in your household, though I have yet to see it." I simply stated. "You're certain about that? You haven't seen anything out of the ordinary in this house that would include Damon?" Elijah tested me, as we finally reached his office. I thought back to the wall-door, and wondered if he was referring to that or even knew of its existence. "Nothing too odd. I did see him carry around a blue key last night. That was a bit odd." I told him. Elijah kept his eyes locked on me for a nanosecond as though he was trying to read my mind. His office and desk area were an average size. It was as though the whole room was his personal cubical.
"Unfortunately, Miss Elena, we can't chat no further. I have to finish my work. Again, if you need your phone charged, leave it at my office. I'll have one of the servants deliver it to your room the next morning." Elijah said once more, as he was organizing his documents and folders on his desk. All of the folders contained gruesome photos of the victim's murder. That's probably what you'd expect to find in a lawyer's office. "What case are you working on?" I asked out of sheer curiosity. "A murder case." He stated. Talk about an evident answer to an obvious question. "I didn't mean to sound so manifest. I meant to ask what type of murder case you're working on." I clarified myself. "A lesbian couple were killed two miles outside of Mystic Falls. The cause of death is still uncertain, but it appears they were mauled to near death by an animal. Then they were burned alive." Elijah informed me.
"Oh god. How did that happen?" I asked. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. It's definitely a murder though. These girls were very young. One was 19, the other was 17. According to the older sister of the 17 year old, they were running away together, trying to avoid someone. Whoever that person is, most likely tracked these girls down and killed them. I'm still figuring out the motive. The 19 year old was involved with drugs and could have sold them illegally in her school and to her friends, perhaps she got involved in the wrong crowd and wanted out. Or, there's a possibility this person was obsessed with one of them and knowing he or she couldn't have them, decided to kill them. Or there's the obvious choice, the person was just a sociopath that preyed on a pair of innocent girls who had a future in front of them." Elijah concluded. "That's horrible. I can only imagine what the family must be going through." I said. "That's why they hired me. They want me to bring justice for those girls." Elijah stated. Before I even thought about leaving I asked, "Do you like what you do? I can't imagine having a job where I'm surrounded by death that come in a form of horror and tragedy stories."
"To be honest Miss Elena, growing up, I always had principles. I lived my life by those principles and always tried my best not to break them. I can also recall seeing murder occur inside and outside of my family, day in and day out. With that in mind, becoming a lawyer was always my calling. It gives me the chance to bring structure and justice to this world. I know it's not much and many people will get murdered or worse, but I can at least save a few lives by putting one of most wanted criminals behind bars, one at a time." Elijah informed me. I thought over what he said and understood why he'd have this job from his point of view. Luckily enough, before leaving, I had already brought my phone with me as we were talking earlier. After leaving the device on his desk and existing his office, I went back to my bedroom with some new-found of information on Elijah. I still didn't know much about him, but from what I could tell he was a man of honor who had his limits and principles. It made me wonder if Klaus had these qualities as well.
Many hours had passed and it was past dinner time. I had snacked on a few things earlier, which ruined my appetite, and made me skip dinner entirely. Rose had come by a few moments ago to check up on me and asked if I needed my hair braided for tonight. I allowed her to proceed with it as I continued reading another book from the bookshelf. Ironically enough, it was a murder mystery. A classic called And Then There Were None. As I kept reading and Rose braided my hair, the front door was opened. We both looked up surprised.
"Miss, I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I please speak with Elena for one moment?" My mother requested. Rose looked over at me and nodded back at my mother, before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. "Is everything alright, Mom?" I asked her, confused on why she'd wish to speak to me alone. "Everything's fine, Elena. I just wanted to see you. How are you? I hope the servants have been treating you right." My mother told me. "I'm fine and they've been more than helpful." I replied, "By the way, did you know that Stefan is travelling to California?"
"No, I didn't know that. When is he going?" She asked me. "He already left a while ago. He said he'd be gone for two days. Something to do with his father's business." I informed her. "Two days should come and go as a breeze. Don't worry about it." She told me. I nodded my head and decided to ask, "Where's Dad? I haven't seen him all day."
"He's been with Klaus all day. Right now he's resting. Tomorrow, it'll be my turn with him." She stated. "What did they talk about?" I wondered. "I don't know. Probably about you and Stefan. They probably talked of other things and tried to bond." She said. "How have you been? Are you enjoying your stay?" I asked her. "I'm good and the service here has been good." She stated. "Really? Okay, but did you see anything odd?" I slowly inquired.
"What do you mean?" My mother asked me. "Oh, never mind. It's really nothing important." I told her. I figured she wouldn't know anything about the door. "So, how long are you going to talk with Klaus?" I asked her. "I'm not sure. Probably the same amount of time he talked to your father. Nearly the whole day." She stated. "What do you think of him?" I wondered. "Who? Klaus? I can't say. He seems to care an awful lot about his son. And like every parent, he wants the best for his child. He also seems like a smart man. He must be if he's living in a mansion like this." She commented. I only nodded in response, seeing she brought up a fair point. "It was great talking to you, sweetheart. I'll tell your father you're doing fine." She said, about to leave. "Tell him I said 'Hi'." I told her. "I will. Goodnight, Elena." She voiced back before shutting the door on her way out.
"Goodnight." I muttered out to myself.
I soon placed the book down on my bed and got up to check my hair in the bathroom mirror. As expected it was half done. Leaving the bathroom, I went by the bookcase to scan all the books I hadn't read yet. There was quite a bit I had yet to read. Looking at it, I noticed something off but I couldn't tell what. Taking one last closer look at it I noticed one book was placed upside down. I shook my head at something so minor, and placed it the same way the others were placed. Just as I moved it over, something fell out with a soft clink. I looked down confused and surprised to find a key fall out. Placing the book back, I picked up the key to analyze it.
"You've got to be kidding me." I muttered to myself. It wasn't just any key. It was a blue key.
After Rose came back to finish braiding my hair and left, it was time for me to sleep. I had made sure to hide the blue key with my journal before she came back to finish my hair. After brushing my teeth for the night, I placed on my nightgown and pulled out my journal. I wrote in how Stefan was travelling to California and would return shortly as well as my chat with Elijah, the discovery of the blue key in my room, and confrontation with Damon. I could barely write that last part without feeling chills run down my spin. There was something off about him that I couldn't figure out. It was the same feeling I get from Elijah and Klaus at times. In fact, I recall feeling that way towards Stefan at one point. Perhaps it's just my paranoia. Or not, since this household and family in particular is very secretive.
After writing it down, I put the journal away where it belonged. I decided to leave my bedroom and get my phone back to text Caroline or Bonnie. Exiting the room, I quietly made my way down the corridor to where I remembered Elijah's office was located. Luckily enough, it wasn't locked yet. I nudged it open slightly and quietly slipped into the room. It was completely dark and I took my time making my way to his desk. I was able to find my phone fully charged and unhooked it from the charger. Accessing my phone, I used the light from it to glance around the room. I paused to see the murder files were still on his table. I suppose he didn't have time to put them away yet, but they were more organized than the last time I saw it. I looked back at the slightly ajar door and at the files. I knew I had no business snooping into his work, but the curiosity and suspicion in me took the best of me.
I went around the desk and opened the files to find pictures, documents, and other legal paper work in them. Some of the documents were transcripts and autopsies that talked about the deaths of the girls Elijah mentioned earlier. I looked at the photos of their burnt bodies and compared it the autopsy. On the autopsy, there were bite marks I didn't see well on the burnt bodies. Closing that file, I looked at the second one underneath it. It was another murder case that resulted eerily similar to the girls from earlier. This victim was also mauled by an animal and set on fire. There must have been a weird pattern between these two cases. I wasn't sure what.
Closing the file and placing them back exactly as it was left, I took my phone and left the office, carefully closing the door behind me. As I was about to go back into my room, I heard a sound coming from within. More or less within the walls, to be honest. I quietly followed it as it lead near my bookshelf. Confused, I placed my ear against the wall to hear nothing but slight muffled up voices. They were so muffled up that if you weren't paying close attention, you wouldn't hear them. I kept my ear on the wall, moving from left to right to see where the source of the sound was coming from. It only seemed to be a tad bit louder the closer you were to the bookshelf. With that in mind, I decided to push the bookshelf aside to the right. It took a minute and I tried to be as quiet as possible. I placed my ear on the wall again and gently knocked upon it. It was hollow, as expected. I soon thought back to the wall-door and almost didn't want to believe there was one in my room. Just to be certain, I went over to my journal. This time I did it to take out the blue key, that I left within it earlier. Going over to the wall, I slowly scratched the paint with it until I found a covered hole. Digging into it, I forced the key in and turned it until I heard a click. My eyes widened in surprise to see I was wrong and there was an actual wall-door in my room.
What are the odds?
Opening it out, it was pitch black dark. I picked up my phone that I placed on my nightstand table as I was moving the bookshelf, and turned it on. Using its lights, I saw stairs that were leading me down. Still hearing the small voices coming from down there, I slowly descended down the stairs, ignoring the cobwebs that followed. I entered another side of the house, I wasn't familiar with and looked like a kitchen. There was another staircase that lead upwards that I planned to use after investigating this room first. I kept walking, until I saw some light. Turning my phone off, I ended up at a dead end. The voices were coming through the wall, but I didn't know how to get there. I thought back again to the wall-door, and gently touched the wallpapered wall to see if I could find another one. I was able to find a covered up vent instead. It was low and I had to be on my knees to see through it. As I did so, I uncovered the vent to see a room within the walls. In there, I saw Elijah talking to Damon. Or more or less yelling at him since I was able to hear them from upstairs behind this covered vent from the inside the walls of my bedroom.
"What do you want from me?" Damon said, clearly aggravated by their conversation. "I want you to tell me about this blue key." Elijah told him. Oh no. I nearly cursed internally. I didn't mean to get him in trouble.
"For the last time, I don't have a blue key! And even if I did, why would I tell you? So you can rat me out to your precious Klaus?" Damon sneered. "I would never allow that." Elijah informed him. Damon scoffed and said, "I'm sure you wouldn't."
"Damon, this is your last chance. I don't want us to fight anymore. You and I both know what Klaus would do to you if you're planning something against him." Elijah reminded him. "You don't know if I'm even planning against him in the first place. It's all just assumption." Damon stated. "Fine, I'll give you that. However, I don't want you talking with Elena anymore. I thought I made this clear the first time." Elijah said. "I tried, but she kept trying to talk to me. Hopefully, she gets the message." Damon confessed. "That wouldn't have happened if you never talked to her in the first place." Elijah pointed out. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to just stand here and allow you and Klaus to manipulate her anymore than before. If Klaus wants her, fine. But don't drag her into this family. She doesn't deserve that." Damon told him. "You think I have control over that? If Klaus wants this ceremony, I have no say in how it goes. This is your final warning, Damon. Don't get caught up in his plans. Understood?" Elijah told him.
Damon grinned at Elijah and said, "Understood."
Elijah sighed in annoyance as Damon walked off and left the room. I then heard movement coming from upstairs. Covering up the vent, I got up and went back up the opposite stairs which lead me up to another dead-end. This one was a door and opening it, I found myself in a corridor. Getting out of it, I was near Elijah's office. As I left his office once more, I found Damon walk past my room. He must have got up here from another wall door. There obviously were more than just one, I just didn't know where they all could be. As Damon was heading back to his room, I slipped out of the shadows and went back into my bedroom.
Closing the door, I checked my phone to see unread messages from Caroline and Bonnie. I deleted them seeing as they were old messages and turned my phone off. I then closed and locked my wall-door before pushing the bookshelf back in place as it originally was before. I doubled checked to make sure everything was in place. Slipping back into my bed, I pulled out my journal once more. I did it to just in case I wanted to put the blue key back. I played around with the blue key against my fingertips, contemplating on what was happening in this house. Damon seemed full of secrets, Klaus appeared shady, and Elijah was unreadable. I kept wondering where this was all coming from. Was it the house that made me feel paranoid? Was it this family? Was it both? Or, was it more than just that?
Shaking my head, I placed the key back in my journal, before closing it shut and placing it back in my nightstand drawer. I'd thought with my head racing with so many thoughts and theories, that it'd be hard for me to catch some sleep. Once again, I surprised myself.
A/N: I'd like to thank you all so much for enjoying and supporting my story! My apologize for the late update, I planned on this being up on all the past Fridays, but that clearly hasn't been possible. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long to upload. Thanks again for being patient. Hope you enjoy!