AN: Hey everyone! First of all I would like to thank you for your lovely reviews. To XxMikealsonForeverxX for reviewing chapter one and to the great guest reviewer…JAnd also to angel9507 and Misskymm for reviewing chapter two. I appreciate your reviews so much that I think that you should be named and praised…JAnd to those who have favourited or are following my story, thank you so so much. It's your interest and feedback guys that keeps me going with this so thank you so much. So this is the third chapter and after writing this I'm kind of happy at the direction this story is taking. J I had clear cut ideas for this story when I first started it but now more and more keep popping into my head. I hope you like it ….:)
Giuseppe Salvatore had always been a patient man. He was a gentleman and had always prided himself on being so. He often waited for many important decisions to be made, some concerning his estate, some about business. He had waited over three months for Georgianna to agree to marry him and then another four in order for the wedding to be planned. He had always been patient. He had been in the hallway outside their bedroom the whole time Georgianna had been in labour each time one of their children had entered the world. Never had someone accused him of being the opposite, not until that is than during the past two weeks.
They had been hunting at the Lockwood lodge, deep in the woods a few miles from Mystic falls when Benjamin Lockwood had received a telegram from Lawrence Throve informing them of the dire situation. They had been advised to sit and wait it out but that plan had been dashed after the fourth day had come and gone yielding no more news then they had already possessed. They moved down to the town of Covens Wake, a town closest in distance to Mystic Falls. The mayor there, a man by the name of Thomas Hartford was very hospitable and set the Salvatore and Lockwood families up with temporary accommodation in the town. It was there they waited, time and time again for any sort of news. Unfortunately for them no news was allowed to filter from the quarantined town, the only indication that people were still alive in the town was the fact that smoke could be seen bellowing from the town's general direction.
It was after seventeen long harsh days when Benjamin Lockwood himself became impatient and anxious.
" Why have we not heard anything by now?" he asked angrily slamming his fist down on the mahogany desk at the centre of the room.
He, Giuseppe, Mayor Hartford and few other men of the township of Coven's Wake were in the mayor's office having a meeting of sorts to discuss the ongoing tragedy in Mystic Falls.
"Calm yourself Sir" one of the local men spoke up watching Benjamin with a fearful eye moving from his place against the wall.
"That's easy for you to say Sir" Benjamin said bullying up to the man "But you do not have family at the other side of the boundary".
The man stopped for a moment and looked to his feet, a slight feeling of shame overcoming him. It was then Giuseppe realised it wasn't just his wife and daughter he should be worrying about but the fate of the whole town. Who knew how many of his friends or acquaintances had already perished to the awful disease.
"There is nothing you can do but wait" Mayor Hartford said dejectedly "We have men still out guarding the roads that lead to Mystic Falls from here, if there is any news what so ever we'll be the first to know".
Benjamin reluctantly agreed and left the room showing more of a temper than he desired to, Giuseppe following close behind him into a library type room that bordered the mayor's office. Inside Damon, Stefan and George all sat pretending to read some of the vast amounts of mountainous books that were present in the room all the while trying to listen to the conversation going on inside the office. They were obviously unsuccessful in their task for they nominated a spokesperson for their questions.
Damon was the lucky choice and so was the first of the three to stand and boldly walk up to his father.
"So tell us, what has been decided, what is to be done?"
All three boys looked to the older men expectantly waiting to be told of some sort of heroic plan to rescue their families, alas this was not to come to pass. Benjamin, ashamed of having to tell his only son that they were to do nothing but to await news of the probable death of Charlotte, Ellie and Jacob Lockwood did not answer and instead walked straight out the door. He had been doing that a lot in the past week, taking long walks in the woods surrounding their interim homestead. George made to follow his father but Giuseppe stopped him and steered him back to his seat beside Stefan. Damon took this as a hint and returned to his own.
Giuseppe would not call himself the best of fathers. He knew he lacked tact with Damon, his eldest son tended to act out quite a lot and deep down he knew that this was a result of something that he himself was doing. Yet instead of addressing this, he would lay on the punishments, thick and heavy and so much so that instead of obeying his father and bowing down to his will he would rebel. Doing things he would never had done if his father had only just spoken to him like an equal in the first place. See Giuseppe did not just see his eldest son Damon, he saw his successor, his heir, his protégé. Someone that reflected upon Giuseppe himself and he did not want Damon to embarrass him. To embarrass him like Damon had already done, intentionally for most part for a lot of his young life. Yes he did not see eye to eye with him, like he did with Stefan. Stefan who was undeniable at the age of ten his "Favourite son". They had a lot more in common. Shared the same hobbies, mannerisms, ideas. Stefan was also more studious and more reserved. A trait Giuseppe had prayed for in Damon but he had never achieved. But despite all of these things they were both his sons, both born of his flesh and right now they needed him. Needed him to be something he wasn't, a kind and gentle father. To somehow break the news to them in a tone he simply could not muster that two fifths of their family may already be dead. That their mother, the only parent that had ever showed them any type of love or affection could have perished. That their sister, the littlest and sweetest member of their family could have died. To tell them in a manner that would not scar them for the rest of their natural lives that everyone that they have known, staff, friends, teachers, shopkeepers may have all deceased in a plague that may or may not have already left their home town.
George was now also looking at him expectantly and right now he had wished he had done what Benjamin had and walked straight out of the door. Left the hard questions for later when more answers may be present.
"We are to do nothing" Giuseppe said slow and strong "Dr Marsh will send word to us when the infectious portion of the disease has passed, until then Mayor Hartford has been generous enough to let us all remain here".
The boys looked agape at him.
"We cannot just sit here and do nothing" Damon protested anger lacing his voice. Giuseppe could see where this was coming from and knew that he himself was holding back the anger he felt at being so useless. But right now his boys, both of them came first and to prevent them from doing something reckless. Something Damon was most likely to do he knew he had to be harsh.
"You will mind your tone when you speak to me" Giuseppe order making Damon backtrack a little. Stefan looked to his feet. He never knew what to do when his father and Damon argued. He was always closer to Damon but his father was in charge and to go against him would make his life a living hell.
"All I meant Sir" Damon rephrased a little sarcasm etching on the last syllable "Is that must we let Mother and Kara suffer when we are so close to them. We could get them out without anyone knowing"
"And my family too Mr Salvatore" George added his voice pleading.
Giuseppe let out a great sigh and turned from the boys. He scratched his hands through his hair and turned back to them all again. Answering them was like answering the own problems he had in his head. The answers were right, performing them was morally right but was it worth it when he may lose his wife and daughter?
"Think about what you are saying boys" he urged looking them all in the eye one by one "You would break quarantine? A system set up to save people's lives in order to move people from an infected town to a non infected town where you risk the population that have been so hospitable to you in the last few days. Tens more people may be killed in the process maybe hundreds. Ask yourselves…would it be worth it?" Both Stefan and George cast their eyes to their shoes, deep in thought of what they had even thought to suggest. Damon, however stared and his father through his icy blue eyes and responded clear as day.
"To save Mother and Kara? Yes it would be worth it" he replied with the voice of a man more mature than he. A shocked Giuseppe stood back a little and just absorbed the thought that he had just been thinking. The fact that he had been thinking the same selfish thoughts as Damon and for some reason he was only now discovering that his eldest son may be more like him that he once had thought.
It was late in the evening of the nineteenth day of the quarantine when Dr Marsh informed deputy mayor Throve that the contagious period of the disease had now passed. There had been no new casualties in the past three days and only four people still remained sick.
"You're sure?" Throve asked. They were standing in Dr Marsh's now empty surgery.
Dr Marsh nodded. "As much as I can be yes" .
Throve nodded, a slight smile creeping to the corners of his mouth.
"Very well, I'll give the signal"
"I think alerting Mayor Lockwood and Mr Salvatore should be our first agenda, don't you"
Throve stopped and thought before nodding sadly, the smile disappearing from his face.
"How is the child?" he asked.
Dr Marsh knew immediately who he was talking about. Kara was the only child that was still sick.
"She's weak but she's fighting" Dr Marsh sighed and brushed his hands through his hair "I'll have to speak to Giuseppe directly when they arrive back. Inform him of Georgianna and Kara".
Deputy Mayor Throve nodded.
"Of course"
"Concentrate Kara, concentrate" a man in a dark brown tunic instructed his British accent thick. This man was Edmund Shepherd and he was her father. How Kara knew this she didn't know, or how it was possible that both he and Giuseppe Salvatore were her natural father's, she just knew that when she had such dreams that she would know exactly what to do. He had received that name from his father and grandfather who had been Shepherd both in name and profession in the "Old world". Right now she was standing outside the back end of her log-built house and was concentrating on a tree crown. A causality in building their house when they had arrived in the "New world". Her "brothers", elder by six, five and three years respectively stood beside her each in front of their own tree crown. It took her a minute to realise that it wasn't in fact the tree trunks they were concentrating on but what lay upon them. They each had a small white pebble atop of them. She shut her mind down and concentrated. Imagining there was nothing around her and that the pebble was just floating in nothingness. She squinted her eyes in concentration. Unbeknownst to her, her brothers were doing the same.
She thought of the stone as weightless and featherlike trying so hard to will the stone with her mind. It was her second eldest brother, Drake that achieved success first. His stone floated thirty centimetres in the air, stayed solitary just floating for a handful of seconds before touching down gracefully onto the trunk. His father clapped him on the back, proud.
"Well done my son, well done" The other brothers, noticing the success broke from their concentration to congratulate their brother. Every day they would train in the magic arts but Alistair had been the only one as of yet to master a skill. Kara, however was oblivious to the whole situation. She was still concentrating blocking out all and every sound around her. To her the only thing that existed was the stone and the stone only. Her eyes focused on the circumference of the object and she willed it to move from its position.
Edmund laughed when he noticed this.
"Kara sweetie, I think that's enough for today"
She didn't respond. Only kept looking at the stone.
"Kara, did you hear father?" Alistair asked prodding his sister with his hand. She didn't even flinch.
"Kara I said that's enough" Edmund said more firmly. It was when he noticed the trickle of blood from her nose that he became really concerned. He moved towards her swiftly in an effort to break her eye contact from the small stone. As soon as he moved however her hand shot up making an unseen barrier between her and her father. Edmund stopped in his tracks amazed by the power of such a small girl.
"Father what is happening?" Wade, the youngest of his sons asked.
Edmund smirked.
"Power" he replied "She has power".
It was only a few seconds later when the stone reacted. It didn't float in the air as Drake's had done nor move off of the trunk at all, instead it erupted in a powerful surge of flames. The boys jumped back slightly but Edmund moved forward elation shown on his face.
Kara snapped out of her trance long enough to see her father run at her, pick her up and swing her around, pure delight upon his face.
"You did it my girl" he smiled at her before leaving her down again "Quickly, Alistair get some water from the well and put out this fire, Wade go fetch your mother she will want to hear of this". Both boys ran off in separate directions.
He turned to Kara and bent down so he was at her level.
"You my dear are going to be one of the most powerful witches in the world"
Kara looked at him in awe.
"But father" she stuttered "I will never be as powerful as you, or Mother or Ayana".
Edmund kissed her quick on the forehead.
"My dear" he said the smile never once leaving his face "You do not know what magnificence awaits for you. You are special, its time you came to terms with that"
A strange sense of nervousness washed over Kara but she put on a smile to appease her father.
"You better go to the stream and wash up my dear" he said indicating to the blood that had now finally stopped running down her face.
"Yes father" she said more than happy to be out of the situation. No one had ever been proud of her like that and she didn't know how to react to it.
Drake stood in the shadow of the house and watched the scene that had played out before him. His little sister had ruined his finest magically moment and he was seething. His fists clutched in anger and he watched he run off to the lake.
That night she lay in her bed and just thought about what had unfolded. The power she had felt, how weak yet exhilarated she felt after. The buzz had still not left her which made her realised right now why she couldn't fall to sleep. Deciding that a cup of cool water may be her answer she made her way out of her small room and into the kitchen area. The wooden floors creaked under her light weight but not so loud as if to wake anyone. It was just turning to dawn making the sky a dark blue colour rather than black and this in turn made it easy enough for her to find her way to the well. There was a main well at the centre of the village but the Shepherd's, who just lived midway between the wooded area and the entrance to the village had their own out the back of their house. She grabbed a wooden cup from the small cupboard in the kitchen area and made her way to the side of the house. She stopped suddenly at the sound of harsh whispers coming from her intended destination.
"Are you certain?" her mother asked her tone curious but also tainted with concern.
"Positive" her father's voice replied "You didn't see her Martha, feel the energy that was pouring off of her. She's the one, we need to do this for her"
"For all of them" Martha argued and stopped realising she had just agreed to her husband's idea.
"Yes for all of them" Edmund agreed.
"I'll get the ingredients on my walk later, we do the incantation tonight" Martha said her voice stern and in control.
"Agreed" Edmund responded.
"The spirits won't be very pleased with us" Martha said to Edmund to reminding him of the only barrier to their goal.
"I know they won't" he replied a little worried "But after this we won't have to worry about the spirits again"
Okay so good, bad, terrible? I really want to hear what you guys think. Please let me know! JThanks for reading, see you soon! Jxxxxxxx