Note: Since there have been so little reviews, I will be focusing on completing my other stories.

The Last Year: An Original Story

"Now I See"

Morning was here. It had been a day or two since Dean's death. Honestly, Lyn stopped counting the days, even the hours. Lyn had been up since dawn and she kept herself busy by rearranging her belongings. She packed up anything in sight that had anything to do with Dean. A few hours passed until she was brought back to reality with the sound of the doorbell.

Bzzzz.

Bzzzz.

Lyn dropped all things and made her way to the door. Upon opening it, Lyn met the face of young Bonnie Bennett, a fellow witch. Bonnie and Lyn gave each other small and shy smiles. They had seen each other before, but never exchanged words up until now. Now, they had so much in common – the knowledge of magic, involved in the supernatural world and knew the Gilbert family.

"Hi, Bonnie. Please come in," Lyn welcomed the young witch into her cottage. "Thank you for letting me see you. Elena would also be here, but she's away on supernatural-investigating trip," Bonnie responded as she walked into the cozy home of the vampire-witch. "I see. I've been busy since sun-up and didn't realize that so much time had gone by. Would it be alright if I had something to eat first?" Lyn asked the girl. Bonnie nodded, "Sure, no problem." Lyn led them to the kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink? I'm afraid I don't have anything to eat, however," Lyn asked. Bonnie shook her head as she took a seat at the counter, "I'm fine." Lyn nodded as she grabbed a cup from the drawer and opened the fridge to take out some fresh plants. She put a handful of fresh leaves and flowers into the cup, to which Bonnie gave a confused look.

"What are you…?" Bonnie asked. Lyn smiled, "It's my special diet. Watch." Lyn took a knife and poked the tip of her index finger. She then pinched her finger and let a drop of blood fall into the cup. Lyn wiped her finger clean and held the cup with both hands. With her eyes closed, Lyn chanted some words quietly. Bonnie was in shock with the plants in the cup melted and became a small pool of blood. Lyn opened her eyes as she finished chanting, her eyes turned red. "It's how I get my blood," Lyn explained briefly before chugging down the cup.

"Wait, I don't get it – you don't drink blood?" Bonnie asked confusedly. "I use the spell to draw out the energy from the plants. Technically, I am a vegetarian. This way I don't have to kill, and it gives me enough energy to live a normal life," Lyn explained. Bonnie was impressed, "You must know and made lots of spells!"

"That's why you're here, right? To talk about magic," Lyn asked. "I also have questions about you – like, how old are you? Were all your family members witches? When were you turned?" Bonnie asked.

"Wow, lots of questions. Let's see, I was 25 years old when I was turned. I'm almost 500 years old. I was born into a witch clan. And guess what, Bonnie, we're related," Lyn answered.

It took a moment for Bonnie to register everything. "W-what!? Related? How do you know?" Bonnie cried out in surprise. "You're a Bennett. The Bennett line is descended from the same ancestor as mine," Lyn told her. "But that is a genealogy story for another day. What was the reason for you coming here?" Lyn asked.

Bonnie got quiet and looked at the floor. "I want to learn how to make daylight rings," Bonnie whispered. "Oh," was all Lyn could say. "You must know how, right? I mean, you can walk in the day. And so did Dean - "Bonnie stopped in mid-sentence.

Dean… Even hearing his name was enough to bring back the pain for Lyn.

o.o.o

"The following painting is a rococo-style done by the painter named Niklaus. He is famous for having many paintings and artworks created throughout his lifetime, but he had never achieved fame for them. Now, we'll start the bidding at $2,000. Anyone?"

A hand was raised.

"Okay, we have two thousand! What about $2,200?"

Another hand rose up.

"Alright! The lady has placed a bid. Anyone for $2,400?"

The first bidder raised his hand again.

"Back to the gentleman. Now how about for $2,600?"

The female hand rose again. "I'll bid ten thousand dollars," were the words slipping out of the mouth of one Lyn Ambrose. She had to get that painting at all costs.

Many gasps were heard. Lyn smiled and knew that she had won the bid. She looked over to her competition. It was a young man who appeared similar to her age. He continued to not raise his hand as the auctioneer called out for bids. Their eyes met and she gave him a small nod.

o.o.o

"Lyn. Lyn? Lyn!" Bonnie shouted. Lyn blinked and snapped back to reality. "Sorry. Hearing his name just brought back memories," said Lyn. "I'm sorry," was all Bonnie could say.

Lyn smiled. "Let's go to the living room – the couch is more comfortable. Have a seat while I go get my grimoire," Lyn told Bonnie before going to her room to retrieve the old book. Lyn walked into her closet and reached for the box in the back. She stood there for a moment, taking in the smell of Dean's clothes. Lyn's lips began to quiver and that's when she gave herself a shake and walked back out to the living room.

"You are in luck. I have two spare rings in this box," Lyn announced. "Can't I make one with any kind of ring?" Bonnie asked. Lyn shook her head, "Nope. It has to be lapis lazuli. The stone has held great importance in magic since ancient times for its magical potential properties."

Lyn set the box on the coffee table and sat down next to Bonnie. Lyn opened the box and took out two rings. "Pick one."

"They both look like antiques," Bonnie marveled as she picked one up. "Yep, but not as old as me," Lyn whispered as she turned the pages in her grimoire. "Here we go. Making a daylight ring...," Lyn talked as she showed Bonnie the book.

Bonnie finished reading the page and looked up at Lyn. "Any questions?" Lyn asked. "So I don't speak out loud?" Bonnie asked. "Nope. So, if you are ready, let's try it," Lyn replied. Bonnie nodded as she grabbed the ring and placed it on the window sill. Lyn opened the curtain to let the sunlight shine over the ring. "You have to feel the power of the sun flow through you and mix it with the thought of the person you are making the ring for. You can make this ring for me as practice. You can take away the magic and do the spell again to make it for someone else. Got it?" Lyn explained. "Okay," Bonnie replied as she breathed out.

Bonnie concentrated and chanted the spell to herself. A few moments passed when Bonnie looked up. "Finished?" Lyn asked. "I think so…," Bonnie whispered. "Let's try it out," Lyn replied and took off her ring. She put the new ring on and stuck her hand out to the sunlight. Bonnie smiled at the sight of her success. "Congrats! It worked, and now let's take its power away," Lyn beamed. "Okay," Bonnie agreed. She concentrated on the ring still on Lyn's finger. Bonnie kept her eye contact and whispered a different spell. When she was finished, Bonnie looked up, "I think it's done." Lyn put her hand in the sunlight again. "Ahh!"

"Yep," Lyn agreed as she pulled her hand away from the light. Lyn took off the ring and put on her original one. "Congratulations, Bonnie. You are a fast learner," Lyn smiled.

"I can't believe I did it on my first try!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Yeah! So…are you going to tell me who the ring is for?" Lyn wondered. "Yeah, about that -" Beep!

"Sorry, I have to check my phone. I'm expecting to hear from Elena," Bonnie explained as she checked her phone.

"Did something happen?" Lyn inquired. Little did she know, she would regret to ask that question. Bonnie finished reading her text message.

"Caroline, a friend of ours, was turned into a vampire recently. Stefan's been helping her adjust to her new life, but people are starting to ask questions because Caroline isn't coming out of her house in the day," Bonnie explained. "Was it Damon who turned her?" Lyn asked eagerly. "No, no! I don't really like Damon, but it wasn't him that turned her. Actually, it turns out that Elena has a vampire doppelganger named Katherine. They look so identical and this Katherine was able to fool everyone into thinking she was Elena!" Bonnie went on to give the details.

Lyn's chest tightened at the word 'doppelganger'. "Wait…what did you say?" Lyn muttered as a worried look took over her face. "Katherine?" Lyn asked. "Yes, Katherine Pierce. Apparently she's the one that turned Stefan and Damon in 1864," Bonnie replied.

"No," Lyn said to herself. Thoughts raced through her mind. It was all coming together now. Elena had been the doppelganger all along! It was no chance that she met Jenna and they became friends. Elena is the doppelganger of Katherine Pierce! Katerina Petrova! The original vampire will soon follow. He will show up. Him.

Lyn abruptly stood up. "Bonnie, I'm sorry, but you have to leave now," Lyn told the girl. "What? What's wrong?" Bonnie asked. Lyn pulled her up and put the grimoire back in the box. "Here, you take this box. It is your rightful inheritance, anyways, Bonnie. But please, you and Elena can never come back to this home. It's for your own protection," Lyn answered. Bonnie got up as the box was shoved into her arms. "Please, Lyn, help me understand," Bonnie begged. Lyn was in a panic, "I'm sorry we didn't have more time to get to know each other. But the doppelganger is here and I can't be where the doppelganger is. It's for the best. Read the grimoire; there will be spells to help you," Lyn apologized before pushing Bonnie out the door. "I'm sorry!" Lyn cried and slammed the door on a very confused and startled Bonnie Bennett.

Lyn closed all the curtains in her home. She had to get out of Clarendon as soon as possible.

o.o.o

To Be Continued. Please review!