I can't save your life, though nothing I bleed for is more tormenting.
I'm losing my mind and you just stand there and stare as my world divides.
You belong to me, my Snow White Queen.
There's nowhere to run, so let's just get it over.
Soon I know you'll see, you're just like me.
Don't scream anymore my love, 'cause all I want is you.
-Snow White Queen
"Jeremy," Isobel greeted flatly as her son dragged his sleepy body down the stairs. "What did you tell Elena last night?" Isobel's eyes caught Jeremy in invisible chains, giving him no way to avoid his mother's question.
"What do you mean?" The thirteen year old replied cautiously. Jeremy wasn't about to admit to something he may not be in trouble for.
"Last night. You had to have told Elena something. The entire morning her eyes have been glued to the computer."
"So? Last time I checked that wasn't against house rules." Jeremy crossed his arms, a sense of relief creeping its way into his tight muscles.
"Jeremy," Isobel bit out, "Elena's been researching vampires; and very gruesome ones at that. She is eleven years old, Jeremy; she should not be looking at those sorts of things."
"Just tell her to get off the computer." Isobel's son returned blandly.
"I did. But that doesn't let you off the hook. Jer," Isobel's voice softened, "just tell me what you told her." A small smile formed on her face, but the look of silent desperation was still very prominent in her eyes.
"Why do you assume I told her anything? Maybe Bonnie did; or even Caroline. You know how they like to tell stories."
"So do you Jeremy," Isobel returned tiredly, "and before your father and I left last night, Elena was perfectly content with Snow White; not vampires."
"You know how fickle we kids are," Jeremy replied trying desperately to keep his cool. His mother had a knack for prying the information she wanted from him slowly and agonizingly. He was not about to give in and confess to telling his baby sister vampire folklore; a very petty thing to get in trouble for.
"My patience is running very thin, Jer. Just tell me what you told her; please." Isobel's eyes searched Jeremy for some sign of surrender, but none was found.
"Fine," Jeremy gave in. All of this stressful banter wasn't worth it. "I told her the story of the original vampire; that Damon guy." Jeremy gave a casual shrug of the shoulders.
"Why would you do that," Isobel replied hoarsely, her voice barely reaching a whisper. Her eyes froze in what seemed to be paralyzed fear, and she looked as if she was about to be sick. Jeremy stared at his mother in utter confusion, not knowing why what he told her would get her so worked up.
"Mom, the story wasn't that scary. Elena is fine. So what if she's curious about vampires? It's not the worst thing to be interested in," Jeremy replied tentatively. He began to tap his foot awkwardly against the wood floor, and his eyes dropped to his nervously tapping foot; that being more pleasant than his mother's tortured face.
"Where did you learn that story, Jeremy?" Isobel asked shakily, her eyes locking on Jeremy's form.
"O-oh, um, just some- some website," her son replied nervously. That was far from the truth and they both knew it.
"How do you know about it," Isobel questioned more harshly. Crossing her arms, it was obvious she wouldn't back down.
"A website, Mom, okay? Just let it go! It's honestly not that big of a deal; and maybe Elena doesn't want to be your little princess anymore. Ever thought of that?" Jeremy paused to settle his shaking breath then continued, "Tyler's waiting for me. I have to go." He brushed past his fuming mother and out the door with a bang. Isobel sighed, rubbing her eyes with her thumb and pointer finger.
"You and Jeremy really know how to have an argument," a voice said from behind her.
"John, I don't know what to do about him. He just won't listen." Isobel shook her head, leaning back into her husband. John wrapped his arms around Isobel's waist, trying to calm his wife's tense body.
"You can't change who he is, Isobel; he's a teenager now. But just work with him." At that, Isobel froze. She turned around to face John, his arms now resting on her lower back.
"Work with him? Jeremy's idea of working with me is removing me completely from his life. I can't let him off the leash like that. He's too- too unpredictable."
"You can't choke him either, Is. It's hard dealing with a teenager; but it's part of the job." John began rubbing circles on Isobel's back with his thumb, in another attempt to calm her.
"Easy for you to say. You're the cool Dad that plays catch with Jer and watches Snow White with Elena. They make me out to be the high-strung monster that doesn't even know the definition of fun." Isobel paused, as if contemplating her next words then said "Look, Jeremy's been snooping around."
"You can't blame the kid for being curious."
"He knows the story, John. And he told Elena." That sickly look grew once more on Isobel's face, and John froze.
"Jeremy told her? Oh god," John replied stunned. He removed his arms from his wife's waist and began to pace. "Our little girl..."
"I know," Isobel replied quietly, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"No," Isobel's voice cracked. "Nothing."
"We tried so hard to keep this from her; we were so close." John began to pace more quickly now.
"I know we were," Isobel returned softly.
"Why did you have to keep that goddamn book? If we'd gotten rid of it like we had planned to do, this wouldn't have happened. Elena would be safe."
"Me? I kept the book? I remember you telling me very clearly you thought we should keep it. Don't blame this on me, John," Isobel warned.
"Where did you hide it?" John asked numbly.
"In the attic; and when I checked this morning, it was right where I left it."
"The attic, Is? Of course Jeremy would find it there!" John shook his head.
"When I hid it, Jer and Elena were afraid of the attic," Isobel defended.
"Apparently not anymore," John mumbled.
"You left it to me to hide it, so I did!" Isobel's temper was beginning to flare.
John sighed: "Us fighting won't do any good. We're both to blame for this. So what can we do?"
"Pray it doesn't happen." Isobel replied grimly.
"You honestly think it won't?" John raised a questioning yet hopeful eyebrow.
"The legend's old, John. There's always a chance."
"Elena, if you say the word 'vampire' one more time, I swear to god," Caroline complained.
"Yeah, even though we love you, this vampire stuff is kind of weird," Bonnie agreed.
"Guys, that's so not fair!" Elena sulked. "And it's really cool, Bonnie."
"How are evil guys sucking people's blood cool? That's totally gross," Caroline replied. Elena glared at her two friends from her place on the grass, picking at her melting Klondike. They didn't understand. Bonnie and Caroline didn't get how phenomenal vampires were, and Elena looked at them now with a newfound distaste.
"You guys suck," Elena finally replied, crossing her arms. Her sticky fingers rubbed on her upper arms and she felt disgusting all over. The only person she felt she could talk to now was Jeremy, and he rarely sacrificed time to spend with her.
"Yeah, but at least we don't like monsters," Caroline shot back. Blonde glared at brunette, princess versus ex-queen. Bonnie felt herself caught in between the lethal glares, and her mind churned desperately for a way to end the agonizing tension.
"Fine, be that way. I'm going now," Elena replied stiffly, getting up from her seat, and began to walk away. Although she was angry with her two best friends, she silently hoped they would get up from their seats and run after her. Elena's wish wasn't granted, though, and her heart fell. She felt alone, and all because she had told her so called best friends she liked vampires. For once in Elena's life, she wasn't queen; she had no fairytale world to rule, and no loyal subjects to keep her in power. Elena's once winter wonderland now turned into the icy reality of winter, and she was abandoned. She considered going back to her friends, but that would be like pouring raindrops back into a cloud; impossible. Elena had banished herself from her own kingdom, and now her once loyal advisors would take over, leaving Elena in her cold winter.
"What are you so pleased about, Damon?" Klaus asked as he entered the small cabin they were staying in.
"Soon we will leave Kiel," Damon answered with a smirk.
"Why the sudden change?"
"The girl has been told the story, Klaus." Damon's eyes flashed with an eerily unknown desire.
"She is only eleven years of age though, Damon. She cannot be ours yet." Klaus crossed his arms, and sat down in the chair across from Damon.
"Five years, Klaus, five," the original replied, downing the rest of his bourbon. The substance burned as it went down his throat even after hundreds of years of drinking it, reminding Damon that some things never lose their effect; even in excess amounts.
"What do you suppose we do for the next five years?" Klaus asked pouring himself a glass. He turned on his heel to face Damon. Even after thousands of years, Damon's iced eyes still sent fearful shivers down Klaus's spine; some things never lose their effect.
"What we have always done. We will keep moving. But soon, I think we shall take a long awaited trip to America." A smirk grew on Damon's face and he felt a tingle in his fingers, longing to wrap them around the much anticipated Elena Gilbert.
Though night was soon upon Mystic Falls, Elena wouldn't move from her lonesome place on the bench. Neither Bonnie nor Caroline had called her, and she had lied to her parents when they called asking how her play-date with her two friends. Elena watched her world collapse in front of her in less than five hours, with no one there to comfort her. She picked at her perfectly pink painted nails, chipping off little bits of polish at a time. The cold summer wind gave her a warning she should return home, but her body would not move. There was a strange comfort in sitting alone as the world around her darkened.
Elena did not move for what seemed like hours, and when she finally blinked out of her trance, it was pitch black around her. She gulped nervously and slowly got up from her place on the bench. All of Mystic Falls seemed to call it a night at ten, and it was eleven when Elena checked her phone. Guided only by streetlights, Elena found her way home. Staring up at her house she twirled a piece of her curly chocolate hair, scared of what would be waiting for her behind the blue front door.
"Elena! Where have you been? Are you hurt? Are you- are you alright?" Isobel ran her hands down her daughter's hair franticly, looking Elena over to make sure there were not cuts, bruises, or broken bones.
"I'm okay, Mommy," Elena whispered, looking down. Isobel tilted her head to keep Elena's gaze.
"I called Ms. Forbes a little bit ago and she said Caroline was home; same with Bonnie. Elena sweetie, where were you?" Isobel's features were panicked and tense and Elena could sense it even in the dim lighting.
"They got mad at me so I left. I sat on the park bench for a little bit. Then it got cold so I came home." Elena explained softly.
"Why didn't you tell me or Daddy to come and pick you up? Honey, you didn't have to spend the whole day alone."
"I wanted to though. It wasn't bad; I watched the birdies for a while," Elena replied innocently. Isobel sighed, deciding not to press her daughter any further.
"Alright Pumpkin, let's get you to bed. Just promise me you'll tell me the truth next time. I need to know where you are, no matter how safe you think you are. Promise?" Isobel put her hand around Elena's shoulder and began leading her up the stairs.
"Okay, Mommy." Elena agreed. When the two entered Elena's room, the little girl kicked off her shoes and nestled into bed. Isobel let her daughter get away with not brushing her teeth, and rather kissed her and pulled the blankets up higher on Elena.
"Goodnight, sweetheart," Isobel whispered, kissing her daughter's head once more.
"Nighty night," Elena mumbled, and instantly fell asleep.
"You belong to me, now," a voice echoed in Elena's head and the little girl shivered in her sleep.
Okay, so I am so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. School was killing me with exams and papers and all of those things. But I am now on summer vacation, so my updates will hopefully be quicker now. But if for some reason they aren't, please don't lose faith in the story! I promise I will update every story- no matter how long it has been since my last update. And my apologies for this chapter being kind of boring; I promise they'll get a lot better soon. Elena just has to turn 16 first ;)
Remember, reviews are love, people!