Catch me as I fall, say you're here and it's all over now.
Speaking to the atmosphere,no one's here and I fall into myself.
This truth drives meinto madness;I know I can stop the painif I will it all away.

-Whisper

Elena woke to the bright lights of morning. Her pale skin seemed to sizzle under the merciless wrath of the sun, and she flipped onto her back. Elena's thick dark tresses clung to her dripping neck, suffocating all the sanity from her. Again she had awoken to the nauseating sensation moaning in the depths of her stomach. Webs of acid seemed tickle the inside of her skull making her vision appear blurry and her hyperactive imagination allowed the freedom to create a setting for her. Rubbing her eyes the crusts fell from their dwellings in the corner of her eyes and the red wasteland of her imagination faded along with them. She stared at the pieces of crust which had fallen onto her white sheets and she snarled at them. Sighing heavily, she dragged her body from bed- today; her junior year of school began. The reality hit her crumbling soul like the harsh bones of a fist making contact with her chest. Ever since Jeremy had told her the story of the Vampire Damon, Elena had been unable to partake in reality as an active participant. Voices howled in her ears, and one voice echoed deep in her, seeming to come from her heart, penetrating all barriers she had created over the past four years- soon to be five. Her birthday fell on October 31st, which many people in school deemed perfect for her. Elena sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. The oils in her skin left her hands shiny and sleek; she couldn't help but admire how it made her skin sparkle with a certain life she couldn't seem to find. The world of Elena Gilbert was a lonely one save for the voices that whispered to her constantly. They were a buzz that never ceased, and she doubted ever would. Elena had become numb to their sickly howls and slimy insults, but she could not help but notice when the voice called to her from deep within. Its seductive whisper pulled her in like a drug; she would never escape.

"Elena! Get up! We have to leave in forty-five minutes. We can't be late again!" Jeremy's voice boomed from the living room. Elena rolled her eyes. Though her brother was only a year older, he used that year as some excuse to act as emperor over her.

"I know," she returned monotonously. "I'll be down." She slammed her door shut and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes red from the tears she cried during the night, her body drenched in the sweat of nightmare, Elena needed to rinse her slate clean. Again, no one would know of her heartache- they would not understand. She had no reason to cry herself to sleep or have treacherous dreams of pain and agony in the eyes of her peers and family. Elena had fallen so far from her pedestal of grace and power that she was unrecognizable to even the part of her that was still the eleven year old who clutched to childhood and success – to royalty. The Snow White Queen was now the old hag that creeped around corridors and was only beautiful in the dark mask of night. Evil had always loved her, and she could not help but begin to love it in return. Elena had the choice to either reign in the depths of Hell or serve behind the pearly gates of Heaven- the former seeming to be the more desired choice. In her vision of Hell, she was loved; admired; desired. She wanted far more than what the humble servitude in Heaven would give to her and the freedom of the underworld gave her that. Shaking thoughts from her rumbling mind, she strode to her bathroom and shut the door. The water ran over her skin like a warm welcome of innocence. The water washed the tainted sweat from her body, and the oils which had brought her the fake look of life, streamed down her body and into the drain.

"I'll have you soon. Then, your water will do little for your remaining innocence." The voice was the one from her heart. It thudded in her chest and head with the beat of her heart. It hovered in her thoughts for agonizing moments before she seemed to have the power to wish it away. She'd always wondered where the voices had come from. Was she becoming insane? Or was there a greater force working against her? The mystery was nowhere closer to being solved than the day the whispers began. Elena continued her routine of clothes and makeup with little energy, and when she broke from autopilot mode she found herself in the kitchen.

"Elena, we're leaving in five minutes. You ready?" Jeremy looked at his sister deeply, searching her bland face for some sort of response; anything.

"Yeah, whatever." Elena gave a dark sideways glance to her brother. Moments later, the siblings' mother came down the stairs. Her face was tired and her hair was a scrambled mess. Not that that was any surprise to the children- their mother was not necessarily a morning person.

"Ah, my babies are all grown up! Junior and senior year- wow, how time flies." She gave a smile and kissed each of her children on the forehead. "Well, you better get going!" Jeremy nodded, and Elena simply stared. The two teens exited the kitchen and went out the door. Elena was nowhere near ready for this school year. All that she would have is classes she would pay little attention to, a social life as exciting as a rock's, and loads of homework that would pile themselves up in her backpack. The only comfort she had was that the moaning voices of her core would always have something to say. Though threats and insults were their specialty, it was stimulating to her senses which had become so numb.

"Klaus!" Damon's voice bellowed in the dark room, bouncing off the stone walls. Damon knew his companion was off hunting, but he was also aware that Klaus would never dare to not answer his call. The time was drawing nearer to the Gilbert's birthday, and arrangements for him and Klaus to leave Serbia had been made. Damon could not wait to land his feet once more in Virginia soil. The last time he had set foot in the town of Mystic Falls had been in 1865 when he met Katherine. The vampire shook his head at the thought of the dumb damsel who had turned his life into a spinning madness of legends, myths, and witchcraft. The blood of the Petrova was sickeningly mystic, but Damon could not wait to sink his teeth into the sweet blood that coursed through Elena's veins. October could not come soon enough for him, and he knew Klaus felt the same.

"Damon," Klaus muttered as he entered the room. The vampire gave a subtle bow to his former master out of impulse. The only life Klaus had ever known was the life of servitude- and if he was meant to serve the devil, well, so it would be.

"We leave tomorrow for Virginia," Damon said making his way over to Klaus. With the coarse skin of his thumb, he removed some blood that had found its way on the side of Klaus's mouth. Holding his thumb up to his dangerous mouth, the licked the red substance. "Be ready." With that, Damon brushed past his colleague and into the depths of the next room. Klaus stood there stunned. Licking his lips, he thought of finally laying eyes upon the girl Damon so longingly waited for. Though Damon denied it with the iced expression of his eyes, Klaus knew his friend loved the prophecy given to him. It lighted a certain fire in Damon that nothing else could bring life to. His poor friend was bound to the Petrova bloodline, but Elena would bring about the end of it. He and Damon would be free from ancient myth and legend- free to prowl the earth even more dangerously than they were able to now. it was liberating to know the end of a witch's curse was drawing nearer.

"Now, I want you to write the first thing that comes to your mind. There is no right answer, no right topic," Elena's English teacher instructed as he walked around the classroom observing the responses of his students. Elena stared blankly into dimensions unknown to anyone but her, tapping the lead of her pencil on the desk. Finally her twisted thoughts found their way into her pencil and she scribbled down in cursive:

Servatis a maleficum.

"Save us from evil," Elena whispered to herself. Ever since the day she was told the story of the Vampire Damon, she had found herself able to understand Latin. She was not quite sure how, but it felt dear to her- a lost tongue she was able to speak once more.

"Save you from evil?" the voice in her heart chuckled, "my dear, you are evil."

Wow, so it's been forever. I really apologize. My inspiration for this story had been down for quite some time, but finally imagination found its words. So I am so sorry! I hope you are still with me on this? Again, I'm sorry it's short; but it's better than nothing, right? I promise the chapters will be much longer from this point forward (hopefully).

Remember, reviews are love, people!