Author's Note: sorry this took me a while to write, but I wasn't inspired enough, I guess. But it's here now!

Enjoy!

Love Beth xx

PS: I don't ride horses so if anything isn't accurate, I'm sorry, I just made it up from what I could remember from all the horse books I used to read. If you could correct me I would be grateful, because I plan on using Castagno later on :D

The Other Girl

Chapter 5: Mrs Arianna Salvatore?

I woke up the next morning with a smile playing on my lips. My eyelids flickered, but I squeezed them shut so I could hold onto the dream that I was perfectly happy to never wake up from. If I relaxed enough, I thought, I could fall back to sleep and relive the blissful fantasy.

Just as I was on the brink of the land of dreams, an echoing bang shook me from my almost-slumber. I sighed deeply, and opened my eyes. Three more knocks came from the other side of the door.

"Who is it?" I mumbled groggily.

"Carla, miss. Your mother requests your company," my favourite maid answered ever so politely.

"Alright. Thank you Carla. And tell Mother I will be in the parlour shortly," I made an effort to be courteous, even though I didn't appreciate being woken up this early.

"Yes, Miss Alicia." I heard her footsteps grow fainter as she walked away.

Not in the best of moods, I pushed the covers off my bed and swung my legs out. I dragged myself up and shuffled over to the gilded mirror. The girl who looked back at me had chocolate hair in a tangle around her head, and emerald orbs that sparkled a little, despite the fact they looked tired. Her full, pink lips contrasted with her porcelain skin. That's where he kissed me, I thought as my reflection put a finger to her mouth. At least it's not Damon who's getting married! Wait, did I...? I didn't... Do I...like him like that? I think, maybe, I do. But do I love him? Maybe. Probably. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. Does he...love...me? Well, he kissed me so... Oh God. How do I tell Mother? But I don't have to tell her...do I? I'd better talk to Damon first. What do I say? Argh! I'll leave that to another day. Yes, later. I'll just get dressed now.

Several minutes later, and a tiny bit calmer, I descended down the staircase and made my way to the parlour in a pastel blue dress that skimmed the floor. I entered through the heavy white door and surreptitiously sat down on a cream cushioned chair.

"Alicia, how nice of you to join us." Damn, she noticed me. "I...um...uh...I'm here now," I mumbled to the floor.

"Speak up, you know I hate mumbling," Mother said sharply, but with an air of boredom. Probably due to the amount of times she'd reprimanded me for 'mumbling'.

"I'm sorry," I enunciated loudly, looking her in the eye. She just coughed snootily.

"As you both know," she began, looking at Arianna – who I hadn't even realised was in the room – and then me, "We attended Mr Salvatore's celebration for the engagement of Stefan last night, and I was struck with an idea. Arianna, we haven't found you a suitor yet, and I think that Damon Salvatore would make an ideal match. Perhaps we could even have a double wedding," she finished animatedly. My jaw dropped. Arianna didn't look too thrilled either.

"Mother, Damon isn't exactly the type of man I would be looking for as a husband. We don't really get along well," my considerate sister pleaded.

"Don't be ridiculous Arianna, I'm sure the two of you could become very close. And the Salvatore fortune isn't something to be sniffed at, either." I think she knew that I liked Damon. A lot. Why else would she suddenly try to match Arrie to him?

"Mother, if it's his money that you want, I think Allie would be a much better match – they seem to have a lot more chemistry than I ever could." God, I love my sister!

"Arianna, dear, I understand that it has been a while since you went to finishing school, but I'm sure Alicia could tell you that it is deemed inappropriate for the eldest son of a family to wed the youngest daughter of another," Mother said brusquely, "And besides, Alicia has already missed her chance with Stefan." I opened my mouth to interrupt, but she kept on going, "But that Mario Russo is fairly wealthy – he would be a good suitor for you, Alicia."

"Mother, I don't like him. End of," I protested. She seemed to ignore me as she continued, "We'll pay Giuseppe a visit this afternoon, then." After standing up, she stalked out of the room, like the hawk she was.

"Allie..." Arrie asked, her voice full of concern. I attempted to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. So I just stared at the marble floor. "I know you like Damon, and from what I can tell, I'm pretty sure he reciprocates your feelings." My head shot up, my eyes wide with wonder. She smiled a small smile, and continued "So, this afternoon, I shall have a private conversation with him and we will agree to visibly be at each other's throats, so Mother and his father couldn't possibly try to get us to agree to a wedding. And Damon isn't the type to be pushed around; therefore, you shouldn't have any problems in that area." She stopped abruptly and breathed out heavily; glancing at me for approval. "I... thank you Arrie!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her in one of my bear hugs. "Then again, I can only talk to him if you let me breathe; it's your choice!" Arianna whispered roughly. I had to stop almost choking people.

Feeling somewhat optimistic, I sauntered out of the parlour and wandered towards the stables. I heard the familiar whinny of Castagno, my chestnut horse, so I increased my pace and found him with barely any hay left. Rolling my eyes, I rummaged around for more amongst the mess that Fabio had obviously left the stables in. Or maybe Father hadn't bothered to tidy up when he returned home this morning. Whatever the reason, it still meant I couldn't find any spare hay, which irritated me. Stumped, I decided to give up searching and just stole some from Mora's stall. I swear she shot me a glare, so I returned the favour with the glower I save for the back of Mother's head. Mora is suited to Mother perfectly; both stubborn, arrogant and both hate me. Or at least they make it seem that way. The one time I tried to ride Mora, she bucked constantly and I fell off. Mother claims it was my own fault, but she would say that, and it proves my point completely. As I lay the stolen hay in Castagno's hay basket, he nuzzled me, and I stroked his head, brushing his unruly mane out of his eyes. His deep brown pools looked at me sorrowfully, and I felt sorry for him. I don't think he'd been out in days. Then inspiration hit me. It was quite lunch yet, which meant it wasn't afternoon yet, and afternoon could last till about five o clock, right? So I could take Castagno out for a ride and be back in time for the fateful visit to the Salvatore mansion.

A grin plastered on my face, I found my saddle and reins and made sure everything was secure. I jumped up and it felt so good to ride normally, instead of side saddle, like I'd been doing for the past five years. Damn you, finishing school and all your 'proper, ladylike' behaviour!

Castagno and I made our way out of the stables and towards the fields I used to play on with Stefan, and sometimes Damon. Damon. The thought of him brought back all of my worries. What if Arrie did have to marry him, and then he would be my brother in law. I wouldn't be able to deal with it – that was for sure. It would be worse than if it was just some other girl. I could just forget about him then and live my life. But I didn't want to forget about him. Oh God...

I pushed Castagno into a canter and he raced through the grass as if his life depended on it. I was grateful for the speed as it gave me a way to push all of my worries to the side.

A short while later, he broke into a gallop and we sped across another field. I wasn't concentrating particularly on where we were, all I knew was that we were surrounded by green and everything else was a blur. But suddenly I saw a midnight black shape on the horizon, and I tried to swerve Castagno away from it, but the shape seemed to have the same idea, and we were still going collide. My heart was racing and I made a last-ditch attempt to dodge the hurtling figure by getting my horse to do a one hundred and eighty degree turn and gallop as far away as possible. In no time at all, I realised the shape was a horse and rider with equally jet black hair. "Alicia!" the figure drawled flirtatiously in a voice that sent shivers down my spine. I involuntarily turned my head to check who it was, and in doing so, I lost my balance and tumbled to the grassy floor.

Everything went black.

Author's Note: What do you think is going to happen next? And who is the rider with jet black hair? (it's not too hard to guess :P) Please check out my other story 'The Real Vegetarian Vampires' a Twilight parody that I've admittedly only done one chapter of, but I'd like to know what you think. And please look at my bff Animaddie's stories and the story we wrote together on ChocolateMooCow!

I hope you enjoyed it!

Love Beth xx