Hi guys :)

So your wait is over, but so are my summer holydays. The first day of school is tomorrow and you all know what that means. Lots of studying and quite a bit less time to write. I will try my best to update as frequently as possible, that I can promise you, yet I can't say exactly how long it will take for me to write and edit chapters. (I will keep you updated on on which stage of the process I am on my tumblr page for this story. It's :/ agirlthatdarestodream . tumblr . com – without the spaces. If you ever want to ask me anything you can do it there.) My grades this year also provide me with points I need to go to the university I want to go to so wish me luck I guess.

But anyway let's focus on the chapter. It is the longest one I have written yet! :) I don't want to spoil anything for you this time so I will just let you go to see what happens for yourself. I hope you enjoy while doing so,

love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream


This line … means we are at the same place as we were before but are reading through different POV as before, or that we are still accompanying the same person but there was a time jump in between their story telling.

A full line _ means that we jumped to the POV of a person who is elsewhere than the person we were reading trough before, but what he or she is doing is happening at the same time, parallel with what is happening to the person we were accompanying before. Or are reading the same persons POV than before but he is in another place and there was a time jump from what we were reading before and what we are reading now.

The parts of the story that are written like this are flashbacks.


Chapter 22

It was laughter that awoke her, a loud, carefree hymn of happiness making its way from the kitchen on the lower floor, and painting a smile on her face. Her brother's laugh. It seemed like she hasn't heard it in years. For the whole time that she was locked in the centre this was what she missed the most, giving her the much needed will to crawl out from under the warm covers Damon must have so thoughtfully wrapped her in last night.

It has become almost like their little ritual, their night time routine. After the nightmares became impossible to hide, Damon started to stay at her side after calming her down, until the sleep once again silenced her senses, no matter how many times the clock had to tick before that happened. She came to him herself before even trying to close her eyes, eventually, whether he was sitting on the couch drinking or reading a book in the garden, illuminated by the moonlight; his arms around her never failed in making her feel safe. The conversations he started were calming, protecting her from dark thoughts like a shield and - if she stayed still long enough - she was always able to feel his lips press to her temple, reminding her that the fear of giving too much of herself to him the first time she did this was unjustified. She could feel his care for her in that moments undulating, stretching and spreading to extends she never before knew were possible.

She got on her feet now, the dark coloured parquet cool beneath her feet as she tiptoed to the window and drew back the curtains to release the sun shining through the nearby treetop, stretched her wings and heading downstairs to see what all that joyful sounds were about.

...

The kitchen was so full of homeliness; she couldn't help herself not to lean against the doorframe for a second and let the whole scene in front of her set in. The curtains were drawn back, letting the still sleepy morning sunbeams to wrap the room in their glow, making the metal sink and the fridge almost impossible to look at, but that wasn't a problem at all in comparison to the stove, hidden behind the thick black smoke, which Jenna tried to disperse her way to with what looked like a wet kitchen rag while grumping lowly. Thought she would normally giggle at the sight like that, her expression remained serious. Something felt wrong.

It was Jeremy who distracted her. Watching the scene with amusement while pouring himself a cup of coffee at the kitchen table, he glanced in Elena's direction, placing the full cup on the setting next to him with a smile, just like she remembered him doing at home. He motioned for her to take a seat, leaning towards her as soon as she did so and half smiled, reminding her of one of their funniest childhood memories in a whisper, like he was telling her a secret, causing her to lighten up immediately.

"She was determined to make pancakes when I came downstairs, but I somehow managed to convince her that it wouldn't be a good idea, regarding what happened the last time. I think she is trying to make an omelette now. This is the third one of yours that she had burned completely."

"Well, I am glad I have a brother who is brave enough to eat his own without complaining, to test if I will get food poisoning or not before I even eat the first piece." She bumped her shoulder into his lightly and he smiled. "Besides, you really do deserve an award for surviving under these circumstances for so long. I don't think anyone could ever handle it and yet here you are, smiling."

Jeremy laughed. "Now you are seriously over the top."

"Yeah? What did you eat then? Frozen pizza?"

"And burgers. Chinese and other takeout a few times…" he said dreamily, then turned serious again. "It was mostly about the coffee in the mornings, thought."

"Always has been." Elena smiled, sipping the hot liquid when their aunt turned around and noticed her, looking kind of flushed.

She could feel it from the moment she stepped into the kitchen, yet it was in that moment when it hit her what the feeling actually was. The tension was thick, suffocating, giving her a feeling that she has to be cautious in everything she does, everything she says, it's source impossible to determine like everything in the room was somehow spying on her, limiting her, preparing her for something bigger. A change she didn't want, the one she secretly feared and the one that was staring in her eyes now.

Jenna's voice was strange and nothing like the carefree blubbering that she was known for before. A worried undertone was present in everything she said, the words sliding slowly from her tongue, carefully, heavily, like she overthought every single one of them as she addressed her, even if the thing she was talking about was just an omelette. It seemed like she kept her eyes on steams from all the short worried glances to long investigating stares, trying to pick up on everything her niece did that would maybe seem wrong - despite all of the time Elena spent convincing her that she was fine the other night. And she realized something now. Her parents weren't the only family she has lost the night their car slided off that bridge. Because if there was nothing she could do to convince Jenna to trust her and believe what she was saying, she has lost her sister too.

….

"The girl is fragile. I don't want you to even try to fool yourself by thinking you know how she feels, because you don't. We don't know what happened and even if we did, we wouldn't know what consequences the events of the last two months have left on her. And now, right after she was reunited with her family she will be forced to speak to relatively unknown people in order to figure out what to do in the future so that she won't be found by the authorities again or killed by some psychopath right away. We need to be considerate, whatever happens." Ethan voice echoed through the telephone pressed against Alaric's ear, mixing with the sound of running water. Sitting on a closed toilette seat in a huge, astonishingly modernly furnished and decorated locked bathroom, at the same time filling an enormous bathtub, running a shower-head and keeping the sink tap open. He could genuinely admit to himself that this was the most awkward he has ever felt.

One of the original four called him less than ten minutes ago, to, even thought he was currently located in a mansion owned by a vampire, participate in the important and compulsory "before we talk with Elena" meeting. Not that he was complaining, but the security measures in order to be able to do so without fearing that a pair of highly sensitive ears might be listening were kind of extreme. Not as extreme as his surprise as he learned that Bill was coming, thought. He knew Elena when she was just a toddler, since her and Caroline were friends even then, and apparently stating that was enough to convince Ethan to change his mind about who will represent the group along with the two of them later today. He asked Jonas, who at first was meant to be there, to look through a pile of old books his family managed to keep hidden and try to find a way to tell if the girl really was what they were looking for. It proved to be a tricky task, doing so without casting a spell he wasn't really capable of casting and causing their whole plan to collapse as the government witches would come knocking on their door. He will be able to feel if she has any magic inside of her, he said, but won't be able to really tell if it is the kind they are looking for without help. And when himself, otherwise completely focused on the conversation going on at the other side of the line, much too late realised that the reason splashing sounds have increased was the full bathtub while the tap was still running and that the plug used to cower the drain was stuck, the word "help" was all he could think about.

...

The awe on his friends' faces as they stepped into the vampire's house must have resembled his expression as he first set his foot through the carefully lacquered mahogany door and see the spacious, ancient looking living room. Maybe his was worse, thought. Regarding the fact that he was a rather ardent historian and everything, every single thing he set his eyes on in the room had a significant historic value. The wardrobes, tapestries, the small coffee-table standing in front of the couch, even the without a doubt hand weaved rug which shielded the floor from charcoal, hot pieces of wood and sparks, daughters of the flames dancing in an open fireplace which was lit, even though the summer sun which was warming up the word outside was shining through two enormous, with the stained glass decorated windows.

"Well, this place certainly didn't age well." Bills embittered voice broke the silence, causing both the teacher and Alaric to flinch out of their admiration. "Seriously, it smells like someone died and rotted here over and over again."

"I think you meant to say it smells like dust." Ethan let his carefully neutral expression to fall just for long enough to fire a correction back at him, the tone of disapprovement in his voice was mixed with a hint of warning that was clear to both Bill and the teacher standing next to him. They came here to do a job and outbursts like that will not be tolerated.

"It's beautiful." Alaric commented to save Ethan from a pair of eyes, full of anger boring into his skull. "I still feel like I woke in a sleep-in museum, besides the booze I managed to get a gulp down of yesterday was from the 1930's!"

The information seemed to be shocking enough that the silver haired's mouth (zazevati) for the words he never had a chance to mouth, his only a moment ago tired looking orbs suddenly filling with excitement. Alaric has first seen him like this when he woke up to stones being thrown into his window, only to find both Eth and Nate standing on his family's porch, holding the beer can that Bill, known as the coolest guy in the group due to actions like this, was somehow able to sneak from his father's bar without being noticed and slid it from his first floor bedroom down to them through the gutter. They made a plan apparently, to meet in the old Lockwood cellars at exactly two in the morning when there will be no fear of their parent's checking if they are asleep yet, but only had a chance to inform Alaric now.

He could still recall the hype he felt when he was changing and the fear that caused his heart to pump blood through his veins faster than ever as he climbed down the rusty fire stairs, praying nobody in the house heard their creeks. He remembered laughing at the silly comments Nate was making as they ran through the completely empty town, wrapped in darkness, the road glistening beneath their feet while tiny droplets continued to splash his calves as an evidence of the last afternoon's downpour.

To say this was their first time drinking something that held even a drop of alcohol was needless, since the teacher was to this day able to remember their expressions vividly, as well as how disgusting the liquid burned on his tongue. It seemed like Ethan's soul brother would never let him forget how he spiked it. At the time, even if he trusted his friends not to tell anyone, someone from school figuring out what has happened and then starting a rumour was his only fear. Only worry. He swore on his barely still working Gameboy that day that he won't ever tilt a can, or a glass or whatever was filled with content like that ever again, and actually stuck with it for years.

But once the war started, and he was for the first time ever introduced to a thing called loss, everything changed. There came a time when they all had to grow up. Fast. And to be honest- at that point, nothing was worth more than forgetting at night, not how the alcohol tasted, not feeling like a piece of shit in the morning and not even the stupid toy that he kept as his almost sacred reminder of the better times.

"Can't we speed this up a little?" Bill jumped in and awoke the teacher from his thoughts before Ethan could even say a word. "I mean I would rather go and talk to the girl than stand here and wait for that monster to kill us."

"Kill you? I have heard that it is rude to even snack on guests." It only took a whoosh of air for the vampire to find himself in front of them and nod to the pair he was already familiar with before offering his hand to their grumpy friend who's only reaction that sold him out on knowing that somebody is standing in front of him was a look of pure disgust, dangling of his features.

"It seems, though, that even proprieties were made to be broken at some point." The vampire lowered his hand. "I believe Elena is in the kitchen at the moment, so if one of you wants to go get her I can show the other two where the boardroom and the minibar are."

...

She knew what was coming as soon as the man who was once her history teacher stepped into the room, a serious expression on his face; his tongue full of words she ignored, turning to her brother instead. She didn't need to hear them anyway. She knew this was it, a conversation she was preparing herself for since she learned that the group has gained two people who she loved the most and to whom she was now trying to instil a feeling of calmness, strength, anything that would reassure them that she is able to do this alone, that she wants to do this alone, even if the solid reason to do so was to prove herself that she could.

She knew it was ridiculous, but she couldn't bring herself to take Damon seriously when she heard the world strong connected to her name in sweet sentences he whispered to her sometimes, when, as her worries became too heavy for her own mind to carry she came to share them with him, staring into his eyes intently when he told her a pained thought of his own, until he let her see him completely. Letting her read a part of his soul right from his bright blue iris and unknowingly to him, for a short moment made her forget even why what was troubling her as she came into the room at the first place. She couldn't believe in what he said even after seeing he did, telling her lies for which he believed with all of his heart that were truths. She never told him he did that, though, because truthfully sometimes his lie was all she needed. She was the only one to know she wasn't as strong as he portrayed her, she was the only one who knew that it was in the centre where she reached the lowest point in her life yet. She broke at the time she should have fought most. Tears drew lines down her cheeks when she should have locked herself into her mind and try to come up with a plan of some sort, she let the fear hold her still every time she set foot into the aggressively bright hallway instead of fighting for her freedom, fighting a chance to see the doe eyes of her brother that she were staring at her the moment, lifting her spirit, supporting her, understanding immediately why she needed to do this her way: it was a fight she didn't intend to loose, a test she had no intention on failing. She had to prove herself that she is in control of herself now, not fear, not panic, not a yelling vampire she had known Damon back then as dressed into a white robe and not even the people waiting to talk to her. She was Elena Gilbert and all of her life strings were in her hands now. The freedom seemed to have finally reached her soul too.

Jenna, taking a huge breath to secure the sentence she wanted to utter so that it would hold the highest amount of power possible was what brought Elena from her thoughts and forced her to start coming up with a quick but effective response. Her aunt's demand to escort her still wasn't mouthed when Mr. Saltzman saved her with only one long look of reassurance send into the other adult's way and granted them both a much needed permission to head towards the boardroom without an incident. It really wasn't what Elena needed, her mind was already so full of thoughts that she couldn't help herself but wish for Damon.
…..

She was quiet as she walked behind him, the only thing letting him know she was there an almost unheard sound of her feet landing against the wooden floor. It disappeared and caused him to turn around every time they walked over one of the expensive and ancient looking carpets, giving him a moment to look at her expression. Determination was all she showed; determination and power, hiding every other emotion behind the walls of her mind. Fear, nervousness, confusion maybe, were all well-guarded, unknowingly making him reconsider if doing this tonight really was a good idea. But then again, what other choice did they have? They didn't have time to wait until she recovers from the shock she experienced completely, even if their hearts ached because of forcing this on her. He knew his did.

The way she glanced at him for reassurance as his hand reached the door handle was heart-breaking.

Elena would give everything, everything to figure out what was going on in the teacher's mind at that moment. Anything to learn what exactly the conversation she is going to be a part of will be about, so that she could prepare her answers in advance. She knew the important questions she needed to ask by heart now, and was completely aware that the list is going to lengthen as the conversation continue. But her quest to find the right response to every situation she could possibly imagine was far from over yet when Mr. Saltzman slid the door open and she was welcomed by the face she expected to see the least.

Caroline's father stood proudly next to the grey haired man who was speaking at their meeting in the forest, his eyes now slightly sunken in and surrounded by wrinkles stopped widening in awe, jumped into something that could be interpreted as relief to someone who didn't know him and then became expressionless again before she could force enough hatred into her own to be able to say what came into her mind as she saw him with satisfying effect which was stopped by the old man's strong voice before she could even open her mouth, and caused her to shift her attention towards him.

"Hello Elena." He offered her his hand. "My name is Ethan Walton, and I came to talk to you again as a representator of our group. We have been fighting for human rights since the last war, trying to change the system. I assume you already know Bill Forbes and Alaric Saltzman from school?"

She nodded, not even glancing at the direction of the first mentioned.

"Great. That means we can begin." He reached into his pocked, tinkering around it for a while before pulling out a small device, turned it on and waited until the tiny green lightbulb started shining with a click, mentioning her to sit down as he did so, both the teacher and her best friend's father following.

"We know you have been through a lot, Elena," her history professor was first to break the momentarily silence. "How have you been doing lately?"

"I'm fine, thank you. For everything really I would probably never find my family again if you haven't contacted me."

"I am sure they would have found a way to get to you by themselves, your brother is quite persistent."

"Maybe." She said, even if she was well aware that the last statement was nothing but a doubtfully truthful, unimportant rumbling. Her eyes wondered to the device lying on the table now. "What is this for?"

"Protection. The high pitched cheeping it plays prevents anyone with the capability of supernatural hearing of catching even a word of what is said here. We can talk freely."

The old man's words seemed more frightening than assuring to her, but it looked like he was only able to interpret her reaction as something else when he continued, a compassionate look on his face.

"I am sorry. I know this must be a bit… uncomfortable for you. But trust me, we wouldn't rush you into this if we weren't in such a hurry. We are. We really are."

"You need me for something." It wasn't a question.

"We do. And I will explain you everything you need to know for now, which I hope will be enough for you. Many lives are at the cube and we haven't really decided yet how much you need to know about and when."

"Was it the group, or you who haven't decided yet?"

"The group. It's a democratic one. We talk about everything before deciding what our next move is going to be."

"And if I agree to help you with whatever you need me for, I will be treated like one of the members?"

"Of course." Alaric was who answered her now. "We never thought about it otherwise. Your voice in that case would be as heard as mine. There is an agreement between our lines that if one is being ignored, he can exit the group immediately, preferably with whoever was in charge at the time that this happened."

"I have nothing but your word anyway. Now tell me, what is this all about?"

"I am sure you must have heard the stories," Ethan spoke again. "When you were a child if not later again, about the angels of peace, the keepers of power so strong and so deep it was supposed to be able to clean the hatred and lust for power from the minds of thousands, until they would reconcile, joined in a new, free and healthy neighbourly coexistence. They are mostly just lies people tell to their children to get them to sleep and keep them out of trouble, since the whole point of the story is to wait and not resist until our saviour comes. But we have sources reliable enough to know that not everything I just told you is a myth. We believe you have power, Elena, not one that would be able to plant peace and provide wealth for the humans so easily, but magic none the less."

"And the vampires?"

"They would be free too. Free from the Michelsons and their "human is just a blood bag" propaganda. We would free their minds, and we would be equal, living in peace. The power we believe you possess would, with a little guidance, be able to break the bond every vampire has with the original and destroy the ancient magic that bound their death with theirs, causing the ones that do not support what's going on to be able to state their accusations freely as the new president will take Michelson's place and with some help they will be able to convince the others that changes are necessary. I know it might sound a bit naïve now, but believe me when I say that we know for a plan much bigger that all of us, with which we could pull this off. But there are too many lives that could be in danger if I say more without you deciding to accept the deal we prepared for you."

"A deal which would encompass what exactly?"

"For us to guarantee you the safest way to the witches who know the spell they need to release the power from you and guide it to do what it must. For you to participate in releasing this power in any way that you can. That is all. Would you be okay with that?"

Elena was able to feel the weight of her decision falling on her shoulders before she even opened her mouth, knowing well enough that there was no going back now, yet her voice was just as strong as before if not more. "I…"

She looked so peaceful beside him he would have thought she was sleeping if it wasn't for his supernatural hearing telling him that her heartbeat hasn't slowed down enough yet. Her head on his lap, her messy hair loose for him to play with and smooth while he tried to keep his concentration on the book he was reading almost desperately while the words swam in front of his eyes and he found himself again and again at the start of the same paragraph, thinking of the conversation they shared before.

"Where were you the whole day?" The girl's head was heavy on his shoulder, her voice cutting through the silence of his room, making him forget how painfully the headboard of his bed was digging into his back.

"Here, mostly, I… I came to greet the men when they came, but returned soon after. I kind of… I couldn't stand them looking at me like I am doing god knows what to you, especially knowing that whatever I said about the matter would only make it worse. I hate it that they would think that. I hate it that they have the reason to."

"I am sorry…I should have known…" The sadness was clear in her voice, her compassion for him strong, yet he couldn't bring himself to brush off the shadow of relief she tried to hide her answer mixing with nervousness. Was she afraid he wasn't around because he didn't want to see her? But why was the fear still there then?

"It is fine, really. I didn't expect them to act differently, thought the new guy really was acting like a pig."

"That's because he is one." She surprised him with her words, suddenly laced with anger as she lifted her face to look at him, flames dancing in her eyes.

"You knew him before?" He asked with disbelief. What was this gang? A whole bunch of her Mystic Falls neighbours?

"He was my best friend's father." Great, first it was the history teacher and now this. "Wait. Was?"

"She doesn't call him that anymore. Doesn't want to see him at all, in fact, since he ruined her life when he left her and her mom when she was eight and haven't returned until she was eleven, then declaring that he still wants to have a good relationship with her, even if he doesn't love her mum anymore. She basically threw him out and has been rejecting his calls ever since."

"And you hate him because she hates him?"

"I hate him because he is a cheating douchebag and a coward who pretended to be in love with someone out of fear that he would be judged if he showed anyone who he really loved, hurting both his child and the woman who he made his wife in the process."

Damon raised his eyebrows. "You are basically trying to tell me he married a girl, created a family with her, then told her he was gay, dumped her and left for three years without telling anyone where he was heading?"

"I told you he was a coward. He could have had everything he wanted, but instead decided to become a manipulative ass ruining other people's lives." She paused for a moment. "Sometimes I think that I could almost feel sad for him if it wasn't for Caroline."

"Of course you would." He tried to sustain a laugh with kissing her forehead. She was just too good. Even when she clearly hated someone she couldn't stop herself from wishing they would have chosen differently, allow themselves to be who they truly were and be happy.

"Anyway, he and the others left a few hours ago, said they had a few things to talk about with other members before tomorrow, so it's just us now," she said, and he was humbled to hear that she added him to the list of her loved ones.

"So I heard." He smiled, lowering his voice as he saw her eyes getting heavy and brushing her hair to the side before watching her rest her head onto his lap, before laying one of his hands onto her shoulder.

It was the sweetest torture, not knowing how many moments like this one he will be able to share with her, before she will have to leave. Making him cherish every one of them more than he ever had before, not once allowing himself to take them for granted. And when he looked at her slowly drifting off in his arms, he couldn't think of a pain more hurtful yet amazingly beautiful than the one he was feeling now, because despite all, he never wanted anything more than for it to last forever if that meant that he would be able to see his angel flying into the dream world like this every night for the rest of the eternity.


Thank you, sondrex76! :)

I think I am just as curious to see what your reaction and the reactions other readers will be to every one of the upcoming chapters. I have some big and vital things planned… ;)

Sending you much love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream


Hi again, delenalu! :)

Thank you for your wishes; I really did enjoy my vacation! Both the time I spend at the seaside and ten days in our family's weekend house were awesome, although I will say that I probably missed writing this story as much as you missed me updating it. I am glad you liked the previous chapter even thought it was short. Both Alaric's and Jenna's views are eccentral for the story to evolve the way I want it to and much too fun to write from me to be able to leave out. For Damon and Elena's relationship, thought all I can say is that it certainly will evolve at some point, but with the whole "Elena making a deal with the group" thing happening and the fear of their quite certain goodbye the time might not be right for them yet. It will happen one day, and the day I publish the chapter that will hold their realisations of love for one another will be one of the happiest days ever for me too. :)

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

P.S: You are right. Responding to reviews like that does take quite a while, but being able to have a conversation with you like this is so worth it. You are, as well as everyone else that wrote a review to my story so sweet I wouldn't want to spend the time it takes for me to answer you in any other way. 3


Hello there jairem :)

I do too! I loved writing Alaric's views on them in the previous chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one.

Much love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream


Dear Sorrybout'ya.

Thank you! I will try. :)

Until then,

AGirlThatDaresToDream


Hi vladelena,

First of all thank you for loving this story! And second… I know right? It really scared me to write this chapter at first because of this at first. I really wanted the start of this with changes filled part of the story to be perfect. And even thought I can't say it is, since my writing skills still have to improve a lot to reach that point (if they ever will) I really am proud of how it all turned out and can only hope you like it as much as I do. ;)

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream


I am sending much love to all guest reviewers as well. :) If you want me to respond to your review in the next chapter just make up a name for yourself before posting it so I will know who to write to. ;)

What do you think about this chapter? Do you have any speculations on what's going to happen next? Do you have any questions?

Click the review button or visit me on tumblr as agirlthatdarestodream. I will also use my tumblr to tell you guys how far in the process of writing the next chapter I am and when it is going to be updated. :)