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2010

Damon POV

There was complete silence in the kitchen. Everyone was staring, absolutely stunned, at Elena, who was dressed, not in her usual jeans and leather jacket, but in a long, old-fashioned dress. She looked, in fact, exactly like Katherine had always looked, and it unnerved me. Some part of my mind, obviously the most rational part, was telling me that she'd figured out the watch on her own and hadn't needed us, and was admiring her for it. Who knows how long she'd been trapped in the past before she finally managed to get home? Part of me was wondering if it actually was Elena. She looked so much like Katherine…

And then she rushed forward and threw her arms around me, and I was sure. I hugged her back, tightly, burying my face in her hair, and let myself relax for the first time since she'd told me her car had broken down.

'What happened to you? Where did you go?' I asked, still holding her. Stefan cleared his throat, and we immediately broke apart. She rushed to Stefan next, and hugged him tightly too, then greeted Ric and John. And then she turned back to me.

'You asked where I went, Damon,' she said quietly. '1864. I was stuck there for a month before I managed to get home.'

And then she started telling her story.

1864

Elena POV

For the next week, I worked on lying low and establishing a routine, trying to avoid Katherine's suspicions. What really scared me was that she seemed content to let me avoid her, not even trying to compel me again – I was sure she was just biding her time, waiting for me to relax before she made her move. I asked Damon over and over if she had asked him anything about me and he always said no – but I couldn't shake the feeling she had and compelled him to forget, and quite possibly now knew everything. Occasionally, as I went about my day, I'd hear a rustling noise behind me that sounded like a bird taking off, but never managed to spot the bird itself. Regardless, this confirmed my suspicions that Katherine was always watching me. By now I was convinced that the blackbird with the red wing was her spy. The idea of Katherine knowing what was going to happen terrified me, and for this reason I refused to give Damon much more information. Luckily, he understood and didn't press me. I was fairly certain that he was starting to believe me about Katherine by now – maybe he'd always known, deep down, that she was manipulating him.

Damon and I spent a lot of time together as the days passed. He showed me round the entire town and introduced me the many of the townspeople. I was amazed at how little had changed – the town was full of familiar names in familiar roles, like Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood.

And a week after I arrived, it became obvious that Mystic Falls had remained the same in other ways, too – it appeared I was going to be present for some of the first of the ever present Founder's Events. I came downstairs for breakfast to discover Damon, on his own at the table. Stefan and Katherine were nowhere to be seen, which was a relief. It still felt strange to not want to be in Stefan's company, but I could already tell that the 1864 version of Stefan trusted Katherine completely and spent so much time with her that trying to get close to him would probably be more destructive than helpful.

Spotting that Damon looked dejected, and was slumped down in his seat, I dropped into the chair next to him and asked if he was OK.

'It's nothing, really,' he said without looking up. 'Except that just before you came Stefan and I both asked Katherine to the Founder's Ball, and she's just decided to choose Stefan.'

'I'm sorry, Damon,' I said quietly, reaching for his hand – a move that somehow felt perfectly natural.

'You knew this would happen, didn't you,' he stated. It wasn't a question.

I nodded, reluctant to say anything as there was a possibility that Katherine was nearby and overheard.

Damon appeared to have forgotten that that was possible. I wondered if he even knew about how good her hearing was. How much about being a vampire had Katherine told him?

'You told me that she didn't care about me….I suppose she prefers Stefan,' I could barely hear him, he was speaking so quietly.

He looked at me then, and there was fire in his eyes. 'Elena…I believe you. Everything you've told me. Before I didn't – completely – but I do now.'

I smiled. Even though I'd suspected he had, I was glad to have it confirmed. Not wanting Katherine to potentially hear any more, I grabbed his arm and pulled him outside. I was about to ask how much Katherine had told him about being a vampire when he put a hand on my arm to stop me, looking over my head at someone behind me.

'Father! What a surprise to see you!' he exclaimed. Incredibly interested, I spun around to finally lay eyes on the famous Giuseppe Salvatore.

Despite being a guest in his house for a week, I'd yet to meet Stefan and Damon's father. He always left the house before we all rose in the morning, and returned very late every night, apparently in meetings with the mayor and other town officials regarding the upcoming Founder's Ball and other Founder's events. I was sure, however, that event meetings were just a cover for secret council meetings. The townspeople were planning the massacre than I knew would take place in three weeks time – the massacre that made me feel sick to my stomach every time I thought about it. Sometimes I wondered whether I should try to prevent the whole thing, but always decided against it. That would change too much, and having vampires remain in Mystic Falls could end up harming people I loved.

Now I was finally able to meet the elder Mr Salvatore. He was older than I expected, with white hair. He ignored Damon completely, coming to a halt in front of me.

'Miss Pierce, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Please excuse my absence over the past week,' he said, kissing my hand as so many other people had done over the past week. 'Founder's events have been keeping me so busy, you understand?'

I curtsied and assured him that I completely understood and took no offence at all.

'I trust my son has been taking good care of you, Miss Pierce?' he asked, finally glancing at Damon. I saw disapproval in his face.

'Yes, Damon has been…most helpful in helping me get settled in.' I said, determined to do what I could to repair the relationship between Damon and his father. If I was here to help the Salvatore brothers, I might as well go that extra mile.

'Good to know you're making yourself useful, Damon,' Mr Salvatore said. The 'for once' was implied. He turned back to me. 'I'll see you at dinner, Miss Pierce.' So he was planning to join us. Interesting.

With that, he bid us goodbye and headed for the house. Damon looked half embarrassed, half angry.

'Sorry about that,' he muttered. 'My father thinks I'm useless and a coward, mostly because I left the army.'

He turned away from me, obviously ashamed. I took his arm, turning him back towards me. I could see obvious pain in his face, and my heart went out to him. I wondered what it was like to constantly feel that everyone you met preferred your brother.

'Damon, it's OK. I don't think you're a coward.' I said, as gently as I could.

He didn't say anything, only nodded, but I could see he felt much happier, and we spent the rest of the day much as we'd spent the previous seven. Today thought, I felt strangely nervous about going into dinner. With Mr Salvatore there, everyone would show up, and I wondered how much Katherine knew about the council, if anything, and whether she'd try to get information out of Stefan and Damon's father. Did she have any idea at all about what was going to happen in three weeks?

Evening arrived. Emily helped me dress in the best of the dresses Katherine had lent me. I had tried several more times to dress myself, but had finally given it up as a lost cause. Independence was one of things I missed most about the 21st century.

When I got downstairs, Mr Salvatore was already seated at the head of the table, Katherine on his left side. He waved for me to sit in the empty seat on his right. Swallowing hard, I did so, although the close proximity to Katherine made me nervous. She shot me a look that made goosebumps rise on my skin. I hadn't seen much of her all week, and suddenly I was sure that she was going to try something soon.

'You two really could be twins, you know.' Mr Salvatore said jovially, offering me some chicken.

I felt the familiar stab of annoyance at this. The resemblance between Katherine and I had been pointed out more times than I could count over the past week. I knew I should be grateful that everyone I'd met had accepted the cousin story in spite of it, but I really didn't want any similarities between Katherine and I pointed out. Even purely aesthetic ones.

I realised that there was a gleam of irritation in Katherine's eye. Apparently she too, hated our resemblance. She had to be wondering how exactly I was related to her, something I was wondering myself. Damon had once told me that vampires couldn't procreate, but surely I had to be direct descendent of her?

I was jolted out of my thoughts by talk of the Founder's Ball, which was just under a week away. Mr Salvatore seemed delighted that Katherine and Stefan had plans to attend together, something that Stefan announced with a tinge of smugness at being chosen over his brother.

'So who are you planning on bringing, Damon?' Katherine asked sweetly at the first break in conversation. Somehow, this question – clearly she meant to remind Damon of who was in charge in her twisted little world, as well as quite possibly punishing him for spending so much time with me over the past week – spurred me to find my courage. Damon had gone bright red, and was obviously trying to think of something to say. All eyes were on him when I lifted my chin slightly and said, a little louder than necessary:

'Actually, Damon and I decided that we would go together.'

There was a shocked silence. Katherine threw me a look that quite clearly asked 'How dare you?' I forced myself to hold her gaze, knowing that I had quite possibly just declared war. It probably wasn't the smartest thing I could have done, but I hadn't been able to help myself – I'd wanted to say something help Damon. Something to show Katherine that she couldn't win all the time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that looked like shock, then a flash of happiness, dawn on Damon's face.

'Is that true, Damon?' Katherine asked. I could hear the poisonous undertone in her voice.

He turned to her and smiled.

'Yes it is. I feel honoured to be able to escort Elena to the Founder's Ball.'

It wouldn't be a real Vampire Diaries fic without a Founders Event, would it? Next chapter will be the Founders Ball!

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