author's notes: sorry for the insanely long wait you guys! i've been up to my neck in academic papers, and my internship, and i haven't found a whole lot of time to write. hope you can forgive me for the wait! please read & review! -- i added some pictures to my profile for visuals on Amelia -- setting: right after 1x14, goes AU from there.

disclaimer: fic•tion [fíksh'n]: literary works of imagination

MALUM DISCORDIAE (apple of discord)

chapter 9: survival of the fittest

She knows that going back to the mansion isn't a good option; if Katherine is there, and if Katherine is working with Pearl, she'll only alarm the younger vampire to her knowledge. But Amelia realises she doesn't have anywhere else to go. Her shirt is still torn and bloody from where the wooden stake hit her shoulder, and she feels her strength diminishing by the minute. She has no other place to go. So she runs, fast, hoping to find Damon or Stefan before meeting Katherine. She'd have questions at the sight of her.

But instead of finding either of her boys, she finds Elena just exiting the mansion, her bag of clothes in tow. "Amelia," Elena exclaims when she looks at her. Her eyes go wide when she sees Amelia's bloodied shirt. Has she been in a fight?

"Where are Stefan and Damon?" Amelia asks immediately, before allowing Elena another word of concern. There are more pressing matters to attend to. Pearl and the other vampires are out of the tomb, and they know they've been discovered. Amelia can't predict what they'll do, but something tells her it won't bode well for her, Damon and his brother, or this town.

"They're out for a drink." Elena says, putting her bag in the trunk of her car and closing the door. Amelia guesses that she was just on her way home to wash some clothes.

"Together?" Amelia asks automatically, because she's not used to hearing things like that. Who would have guessed? "Never mind that." Amelia shakes her head before Elena gets the chance to answer. "The Grill?" she asks, and Elena merely nods in response. It's only then that Amelia realises something in this picture is missing. "Wait, where's Katherine?" she frowns.

"She got a phone call, and went out," Elena explains, but fear strikes her hard when she sees Amelia's eyes riddle with worry. What is it now? Can't she ever have a calm day? It's not enough that she almost watched Stefan die yesterday? "Is something wrong?" she adds.

Amelia looks at her urgently. "You have to come with me. Now," she commands, and gets in the car. She's not going to let Elena out of her sight until she knows exactly what's going on. And then there's the little fact that Elena's brother thinks his sister is a vampire. She wonders if she should bring that up at all right now.

"Where are we going?" Elena asks once she's taken a seat behind the wheel, already starting up the car.

"I'm going to convince Damon that the love of his life has raised an army of vampires that want revenge on this town." Amelia knows how it sounds, but something tells her Elena has no problems believing it. Elena hates Katherine just as much as she does, and trusts her even less.

"Is that all?" Elena deadpans.

Is that enough, Amelia wonder briefly, but pushes the thought from her mind.

The sun has gone down by the time she finds the house. She's pulled her hair back in a ponytail, and stolen some of Elena's clothing when the girl wasn't looking. It's so easy to fool humans sometimes, Katherine thinks.

She presses the bell with determination. She knows exactly why she's here, and what she's about to do. Pearl mentioned on the phone that she needed Amelia taken care off; Katherine figures this was one way of hitting two birds in one stone, without it being traced back to her. Or without her having to go up against an extremely powerful vampire. It's delightful how life – or death – works out sometimes.

Much to her further delight, it's the brother that opens the door. "Elena?" Jeremy's eyes go wide upon seeing her. "What are you doing here?" What is going on? Was she here to kill him? Has she, or some other vampire around her, figured out what he knew? But the thing in front of him has tears in her eyes, and for a moment he doesn't know what to believe anymore. This look so much like Elena.

"Jeremy," Katherine says, voice shaking, "I need your help," she adds, and a tear runs solemnly down her cheek. The act comes as easy to her as any other lie. "There's something I need to tell you."

He finds Damon at his usual spot at the bar, signature glass of bourbon in hand, sitting far from any other more cheerful patrons. He'd seen Elena off at the house about ten minutes ago; she'd told him to go see his brother and make sure he was okay. Just like Katherine, Elena had easily noticed that Damon had been affected by Amelia's words. He'd never really thought his brother capable of love – maybe obsession at the most – but he never expected Damon to take this so hard. After all, he has Katherine back.

He walks over to the bar casually, and sits down on the stool next to his brother. "Coffee," he says, the bartender leaving them be while he fetches the drink. "I thought you'd be with Katherine," he tells his brother, glancing at him sideways.

"I thought you'd be with Elena," Damon retorts, not looking at him. He raises his glass to his lips, but feels Stefan's eyes on him. "Are you worried about me?" he asks, finally looking at Stefan. "That's nice. Don't be. I'm fine," he stresses. "Why wouldn't I be? I've got Katherine back, and..." he doesn't know what to say. He sets his glass back down on the bar, and stares out in front of him blankly.

"Yes, that's why you're here getting drunk," Stefan says, leaning his arms down on the bar. "Because you're so happy to have Katherine back." He can't say the thought of Damon leaving with Katherine hadn't crossed his mind. But now, if his brother truly cared for Amelia, the one woman who had in fact always been there for him, then maybe this was Damon's chance to change. Amelia might not be the kind of vampire that respects human life the way he does, or has shed all her animal instincts, but she'd be better for Damon than Katherine will ever be.

"I don't think I like your tone, brother," Damon says gravely. Yes, he's hurt, of course he's hurt, his own creator had told him earlier today what a nuisance he had always been to her. He knows he'd let his guard down when she first arrived. He'd gotten into that tomb, hadn't found Katherine, and had learned that she'd known where he was all this time. He'd let his guard down when he'd allowed Amelia to pick up the pieces. He was the fool.

"She didn't mean what she said," Stefan says, but Damon doesn't want to hear it. "You know that, right?" Stefan insists. He doesn't know if he understands Amelia's motifs, but he's certain that she had her reasons. She knows Damon better than anyone, especially the vampire inside him. Maybe she felt it was time Damon knew the truth, now that Katherine was back. Maybe she even feels like somehow she's lost him.

"Amelia is... in the past," Damon sighs, not altogether sure whether it even matters. History is different for vampires, especially one as old as Amelia. "I'm moving on with my life." He looks at Stefan, but all his brother does is stare at him hard, the way only Stefan can. There's an accusation in his eyes.

"She loves you," Stefan insists. That much he knows; Amelia has always cared about Damon, more than she ever cared for him. They were bound by blood, and maybe even more.

Damon returns his focus on his glass. "Maybe," he says. He doesn't know anything anymore. He's not sure he cares anymore.

"Maybe?" Stefan asks, eyebrows raised and leans in close to his brother. How can he not see this? Is he really that blind? "Damon, if you're ever going to trust anything in your life, trust that." Damon looks at him, but keeps silent. Stefan knows he's getting through to him. "Amelia loves you."

Damon opens his mouth to say something, but once again he doesn't know what he means to say. So what if she loves him, obviously her love doesn't run deep enough to stick around for him, to fight for him. She just left, just like Katherine hadn't come for him all those years. Maybe he isn't meant to get either women.

"Stefan," Amelia's voice is there, right there in the Grill, and both brothers turn to face her.

"Speak of the devil," Damon grimaces.

"Stefan, you need to be with Elena," Amelia says, without taking notice of Damon's tone, of the bottle of bourbon on the bar where Damon was sitting. There's much more important things to think about right now.

"Why?" Stefan asks, calm as ever, noticing that Amelia is wearing Elena's jacket to cover up her own blood-stained shirt. "What happened to you?" he frowns. Damon takes a step closer, but doesn't comment on anything. Somewhere deep inside it worries him that Amelia got hurt, but he's much too proud to admit to it.

"That's nothing." Amelia shakes her head, and looks around. She realises all too well that the bar is full of people, and so she lowers her voice. She doesn't need anyone else to hear this. "We've got bigger problems. The tomb, it's open."

"What?" Damon asks briskly. "That's impossible."

"I saw it." Amelia glares at Damon. She knows she deserves every word of it, but right now she really needs him to hear her clearly. "And then I ran into Anna and mommy dearest. You say Katherine got a call." Amelia turns to Elena. "Do you know from who?"

"No." Elena shakes her head, and tries to follow Amelia's train of thought. She got cornered by Pearl and the other vampires down in the tomb, and then Katherine got a phone call. Did she have anything to do with that? "You don't think..." Elena is afraid to say it aloud, fearing what Damon might say or think.

"I think I got in their way," Amelia answers, and turns around to walk away. There are too many people around to discuss this properly, and part of her is aching for a bite; her body still has some healing to do, and she needs to garner strength.

"Maybe you should leave town," Damon says as they push through the door, Elena and Stefan following closely behind. "Oh wait, isn't that what you were doing anyway?" They come to a halt on the sidewalk just outside the bar.

"She can't leave," Elena intercedes fast. "You can't leave," she looks at Amelia, panic in her eyes. She just went through the most horrible few days in her entire life, almost losing Stefan to a poison her own town elders put in the water, and now there were vampires that had it out for Amelia, and very possibly Stefan and Damon as well. Will it never end? Will she live her entire life in fear of losing Stefan? She realises how incredibly surreal it all sounds. "What if Pearl decides she wants revenge?"

"So what if she does?" Damon shrugs callously, even though he suspects that Amelia might be right about all of this. Katherine had already been in town, and her and Pearl were best friends. There's no way the two hadn't been in contact. "It's not like this town doesn't deserve it. And what do you expect us to do? We can't take them all."

"He's got a point." Amelia crosses her arms over her chest. It would be better if they just left, at least that way she wouldn't have to watch, or face the possibility of losing someone she loved again. It would be safer if Stefan and Damon came with her, somewhere far away from this town. This town had always held too much danger for any vampire.

"So you're just gonna leave?" Elena asks, her heart beating fast in her chest.

"I'm not leaving," Stefan says determinedly, and pulls Elena closer to him.

"Stefan, Pearl alone is capable of ripping you to pieces," Amelia stresses, and takes a step closer to him. She knows that his love for Elena runs deep, but he has to think about himself too. If he dies, Elena won't survive either. "It's too dangerous to stay here."

"My place is here," Stefan says, and looks Amelia in the eyes. Elena looks at Stefan, and then at Amelia, at the silence between them that somehow manages to speak volumes. She fears what could happen to Stefan if he stays, she fears what could happen to the entire town if he leaves. "Where do you think they're staying?" Stefan asks next.

"So that you can what?" Damon interrupts, astounded by his brother's stupidity. He feeds of animal blood, even if he was older than any of the vampires in that tomb, he wouldn't be able to take them. "Go burn the house down?"

Amelia is still looking at Stefan. She can see in his eyes that there is no way she can persuade him to leave with her. It leaves her with an impossible situation. If she stays, she might have to watch him die, or might die herself. If she leaves, she'll forever live with the knowledge that she could have saved him. The right choice is blatantly obvious. "Somewhere in the woods," she answers, Damon staring at her incredulously. He knows that Amelia just made up her mind as well; she's not one to linger too long on these things. "I can go take a look, see if I can pick up their scent. You get Elena somewhere safe first."

Stefan nods at her briefly, almost as if they conducted an entire conversation just inside their minds. They're alike that way; they know how to protect their loved ones properly.

"You... what?" Damon asks when Stefan and Amelia are already walking away in opposite directions. Damon sighs, but follows Amelia. "Mel, there are over twenty vampires somewhere out there. It's not your job to protect this town." She must see that. She doesn't owe this town anything, least of all the people in it.

"It's my job to protect you and your brother." Amelia doesn't stop, or even looks up at Damon. He's always known that she cares more for them than any vampire really should, and suddenly he's starting to suspect that it's one of her main goals in life. "If he chooses to stay, I'm staying too." But for his brother? A man she has no allegiance to whatsoever. It always comes down to this; he shares Amelia with his brother. "This is not up for discussion." She talks as if she reads his mind. In a way, she's always been able to. "What are you doing?" Amelia asks once she realises Damon is following her into the woods.

"I'm coming with you," he answers. It's as much a surprise to him as it is to Amelia. But he can't let her walk into that forest, knowing that there's a possibility she might not walk out of it alive. After all, she's hurt; he can tell she's not at her full strength. "How's your shoulder?" He can't help but ask. They could be walking to their deaths right now if they're discovered.

"Nothing a little blood won't fix," Amelia answers in short, setting a steady pace for them.

Damon keeps a few feet behind her, watching how every few seconds Amelia touches her shoulder, rubbing at the already healed-over-again skin. He imagines her shirt is irritating her skin; she'll need to feed for that to go away entirely. He wonders briefly how he'd gotten himself in this situation again. And then he's reminded of something Katherine had said earlier. She told him that the bond between a vampire and his creator is artificial, but more and more he's starting to doubt the accuracy of anything that came out of her mouth. He knows he has a bond with Amelia that is hard to put into words, but that's not just because she turned him.

"Do you love me?" he blurts out, against his better judgement, against everything he's been trying to tell himself since she called him a monster to his face. He knows he's a monster, but that doesn't mean he needs to be reminded. Not by her.

"What?" Amelia whirls around and utters the word in one action, staring at him wide-eyed, eyes riddled with confusion. "Is this really the most appropriate time to discuss this?" Why is he asking this of her now? This is probably the most important question he will ever ask her, at the most inappropriate time. "I'm not having this conversation." Amelia turns around again determinedly, but Damon blocks her path before she has a chance to blink. She sighs, defeated. "Damon, please."

"What?" Damon looks at her strongly, blue eyes piercing. "Suddenly you don't have anything to say to me?"

"What do you want me to say?" Amelia throws up her arms in desperation. Can she really admit to loving him utterly and completely? Does she really love him like that? Or is it something much more crucial and life-affirming? "Yes, I love you more than anything in this world?" she makes it a question, and Damon's heart blossoms and falters all at the same time. She's not taking him seriously. Has he done so little to convince her of his worth? "Let's run away together and have eternity? That's not how it works, Damon. People like us don't get the happily ever after."

"That why you left?" Damon asks, insistent to be point where he knows that whatever comes out of her mouth next could potentially break him forever. "Because Katherine and me won't work out anyway? I would have thought you'd enjoy watching everything fall apart."

His words hit Amelia painfully hard. Does he really think that little of her? Is he really too blind to see a good thing when it's right in front of him? But she already knows the answer to that; Katherine had once corrupted him to the point where there was only her. Damon doesn't know where to place anyone else in his life. Not even his own brother. "I don't enjoy seeing you get hurt," Amelia says softly, "If you and Katherine work it out, then I couldn't be happier for you." But something in Damon's eyes tells her he doesn't even believe that. "I've... I've grown tired of this world, Damon. I don't understand it anymore."

He thinks she's only making excuses at this point. "Why did you turn me?" he sneers, remembering vividly how he'd woken up in that meadow, devoid of vervain blossoms. She was by his side then, and he understood her completely. He knew without asking what she had granted him. "If you're this tired of everything, why don't you just..." and then it hits him, like pieces of a century-old puzzle falling into place, of countless of decades where she sought him out, surrendering to him, of the tears in her eyes – the first he'd ever seen in those green eyes – when he said goodbye to her. She came to Mystic Falls to die, but turned him instead.

Those same tears are in Amelia's eyes now. "Because I need..." she takes a crucial breath of air, "I need you, Damon," she says, jaw clenched tight to keep herself together.

"WHY?" he yells, his voice reverberating in the suddenly stone-cold forest. He refuses to allow his sorrow to touch the surface right now. "To scratch your itch every few decades? Do you get off on seeing me like this?" Amelia knows what he means; it breaks her heart to know he doesn't see his own worth in all this. "Is that what you and Stefan talk about behind my back!?" Damon knows his anger is getting the best of him, but he can't help it; Amelia has this way of getting to him.

"I need you to affirm my own existence!" Amelia shouts, too, tired of explaining this, tired of coming back to this point in her existence time and time again. He doesn't see, he doesn't understand, because he hasn't lived it. But she's seen too many things. "I wasn't kidding when I told you that you keep me alive." Damon is breathing heavily when his eyes find hers again. He doesn't know what to believe anymore, even though he desperately wants to put truth to her words. "I find you, time and time again, to make sure I don't turn to stone," Amelia continues, and takes a step closer to him. "For some reason, Damon, that passes me by entirely, you're the one that gives this black rock in my chest meaning. Just you."

"Well, that's just..." Damon looks away from her and takes a breath. He doesn't know what to say to that. He gets it now, really he does, but he's got his pride. "... peachy."

"Peachy?" Amelia's eyes go wide in question. That's not the answer she'd been hoping for. "That's..." but before she has the chance to say anything, something hits her in her back; another stake hits the same shoulder, piercing her skin. "AH!" she exclaims, much in the same way as a few hours ago, but this one really hurts, cuts through her like vervain or sunlight would hurt her. Why is everyone shooting her today?

Before she has the change to react, her eyes pick up on another stake flying past her, aimed straight for Damon's leg. Who is doing this to them now? She can guess, but it seems too merciless. She wants to turn around, but her strength had already been considerably drained; she goes to her knees without even trying to remain upright. Amelia suddenly realises that the stakes that hit her and Damon are drenched in vervain; that must have been why her previous wounds had been bothering her as well. Clever, yet so very unfortunate.

She waits for the footsteps behind her to come to a standstill, but she sees one pair of legs passing her, another halts by her side. When she looks up, she sees Alaric standing next to Damon, and she herself is staring up into two deep-brown eyes. "Jeremy," Amelia breaths, her mind racing to find a reason to have deserved this from him. She hasn't done anything to harm him, in fact, she'd probably saved him from Damon's wrath just a few days before. "What are you doing?" she asks, grabbing for her shoulder again, the stake protruding from her back sending pulses of pain through her entire body.

"You hurt Elena," Jeremy answers, his hand forming tightly around the next stake that's meant for her. Meant for her heart. "You turned her into..." He can't even say it. It had been so hard to see Elena sit there, on the bench on their front porch. She'd asked him not to invite her in, afraid that she might hurt someone. But she'd told him the truth about who turned her into a vampire.

"What?" Amelia looks up at Jeremy desperately. How can he possibly think that? Who could have put that thought in his mind? Amelia realises quickly there's only person who could have. Katherine. She must have pretended to be Elena, and with the resemblance between them, anyone could have been fooled. "I didn't touch your sister!" Amelia shouts, her vision blurring. She's losing too much blood. Soon she won't have any strength left. "Please, Jeremy, listen to me..."

Damon had no idea what was going on, but he's quick to put things together. Who else but Katherine could have convinced Jeremy Elena was a vampire? He can't believe this.

"No!" Jeremy shouts, and moves to stand behind her. He won't listen to anything else this thing has to say to him. He won't let her in his head again. Who knows what she could put in there if he allows her to talk him down. "No more talking. You killed her, and now I'm going to kill you."

Amelia wants to protest, but then Jeremy's arm is around her throat, his body pressing up against the stake in her shoulder, and a blind white-hot pain sears through her body. She has to squeeze her eyes shut against the crushing weight, and she breaths through clenched teeth. She's stronger than this, she tells herself, and manages to look at Alaric through pain-riddled eyes. "You bastard," she shakes her head imperceptibly, but Alaric gives no response at all. She explained it to him, about how Katherine looked like Elena, but he hadn't bothered explaining any of it to Jeremy.

She looks at Damon, forced down by Alaric. She knows that not even Damon will be fast enough to safe her now, not with the stake in his leg. So this is it, she thinks, this is how it ends. She can't say she has any regrets. Damon looks at her, his eyes filled with concern, blue to the point where they're almost ice. If he manages to survive this, this town won't know what hit it. He'll kill everyone.

"I'm the one who killed your sister," Damon says suddenly. He realises all too well there's nothing that will convince Jeremy right now that Elena is still human. Better then to have Jeremy angry at someone who deserves it.

"What?" Amelia looks at him, distress setting into every pore in her body. No, he can't do this to her, not here, not now. He can't willingly sacrifice himself for her. She won't survive if she's forced to watch him die. "Damon, no," she shakes her head, but already feels Jeremy's hold on her loosening. "I'm the one who turned her," she says, but then Jeremy's arm is gone, and he takes a few steps away from her. Gravity pulls her to the forest floor, the world spinning around her. "Jeremy, don't listen to a word he says," her voice cracks.

"Shut up!" Jeremy shouts. He looks at Alaric, but his history teacher only hits Damon in the face, and he falls down just like Amelia. What's going on here? He doesn't know what to believe anymore.

"I drained her dry, Jeremy," Damon continues, his lip bleeding, but a devious smile creeps across his lips nonetheless. "Just like I drained Vicky."

"Damon!" Amelia shouts, trying to get to him, but even Alaric seems to realise she'll never make it. She hasn't got the strength, but she won't do this again. She won't stand by helplessly and watch someone she loves die. Memories flash before her eyes, too vividly, of her brothers going into battle in armour that was too big for them, of her little sister being trampled by horses. She won't let this happen to her again, no, not like this, not Damon. Not now that it's within her power to stop all this.

"What?" Jeremy frowns, and stares at Damon blankly. What about Vicky? She left town weeks ago. She left him willingly. Right? "Vicky..." he breaths, and shakes his head. This is all too confusing; it's worse enough to know that Elena will never be the same again.

"She's dead," Damon stresses. He leans up on one elbow, realising that Alaric won't allow him to get up again, or to remove the stake in his leg. The thing freaking hurts; it must be drenched in vervain. "I partied with her first, feisty little thing that one," he continues, raising his eyebrows. "Very good in the sack."

What happens next passes in a blur. "DAMON!" Amelia screams when she sees Jeremy lunging – stake first – towards Damon, his last words sparking an anger inside of Jeremy he didn't even know he possessed. She's struggling furiously to get up, gathering every single ounce of strength left in her body, her arms manage to support her and then she's standing, running, hurrying towards Damon, and throws herself between Jeremy and Damon, and...

"NO!" Damon shouts, the word spun out long and hard when he sees the stake enter Amelia's body, right below her sternum, piercing right down to her heart. She releases one gasp of air, and falls down right into his arms. He's paralyzed when he feels the dead weight of her on top of him, his hands sweeping her hair from her face, her eyes still open. No no no, not like this, not without her knowing. He can't lose her like this. "Mel..." he breaths.

Amelia stares up at him, her eyes fluttering shut, the darkness beckoning her closer already. "Run," she whispers, and there's not one thought in Damon's mind that considers disobeying her. Alaric is already moving towards him, ready to kill him, and he doesn't have the strength to fight off both him and Jeremy. So he runs, as fast as his leg can carry him, still faster than human legs, and leaves Amelia, dead in the brown wet leaves, without ever telling her how much he truly loves her.

if you can, please let me know what you think!

(PS: please don't kill me? i promise i'll make it worth your while...)