AN: Hey everyone! I am so sorry for the delay. I actually had a bit of trouble getting this chapter done. The words just weren't flowing like they were for the previous chapters but I powered through and revised it a couple of times so I hope you like. Thank you all for staying with me this far. Can't believe that we are on chapter eighteen already and there is still such a long way to go. Thank you to all of you that have followed and faved! Seriously those notifications make my day! I am so glad you are all enjoying it. All of the feedback seems pretty positive so far and I am sooo grateful for that so thank you. But seriously any questions, comments or input you may have feel free to put it in a review or PM me. Thank you! : )
To HouseOfWolves12: Wow thank you so much! : ) Honestly you have no idea how happy I was to read your review, smiling all day…lol. Gave me so much confidence to keep writing also so thank you for that. I wasn't sure what you meant by the punctuation. I just put the dialogue in the "" brackets, I've seen it done in some books and I just think it's easier to follow a story that way. I really hope that clears it up and you can follow the story okay this way. Thank you so much for reviewing and enjoy the update. : )
To pinkspring101: Haha! Thanks a million! I really hope you enjoy this update! : )
To XxMikealsonForeverxX: Hey! I'm really sorry but your comment never showed in your review. Thank you so much for reading though : )
To brookiee95: No thank you so much! : ) It honestly means so much that you took the time to review! I am so glad you enjoyed it. As an avid fanfic reader myself I know how good it feels when you find a story you enjoy so knowing that I made someone else feel that way then it is honestly an honour. Hope you enjoy the next part.
To Guest 1: Thanks a million for letting me know! : ) I'm always curious to whether long chapters deter people from reading so I am glad to know that people like them just as much as I love writing them.
To GoddessofChaos83: I am so sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoy! : )
To Psyka: Me too! He is such a great character to watch and also to write. I feel like they could have done so much more with him. Thank you so much for reviewing, it means so much that you took the time to do it.
To Guest 2: Thank you so much for reviewing! Sorry to keep you waiting, hope you enjoy the update!
To JazmynnMikaelson910: Wow! Thank you so much! Hope you like the update.
To NatalieLynn: Thank you so so much for taking the time to read and review, it really means a lot. I really hope you like this next part.
Mystic Falls
1864
Despite Sterling leaving the door slightly ajar for her to walk through, Kara still rapped lightly on the front door as a courtesy before she entered. She could hear the fading wheels of Kol's carriage and the echoing of the horse's hooves slowly vanishing from earshot behind her and as much as she tried to, she couldn't hide the giddy smile that began to spread over her face. She was in one of the scariest and hopeless situations of her life, the last few days proving that the fictional was indeed a fact and that the truths of the world were much scarier that she had ever thought possible but then she had met Kol. A man who seemed impossibly perfect to her and who seemed to be a ray of sunshine in the darkening abyss of the town she knew as home. He had seemed to come out of nowhere, to appear when she had least expected it but when she had needed him the most. Maybe the dreams she had once had as a feverish child of a boy named 'Kol Mikaelson' had been some sort of premonition. Of some sort of fate controlling entity telling her that hope was out there, that she just had to wait. She had never believed in such a power but in the last few days she had found out that both vampires and witches are real so why not this. She shook her head suddenly in disgust of herself. Kol had been in her life for less than twenty-four hours and she was already acting like he was her great savour, that he was her hope, her future.
The great wooden grandfather clock in the corner of the entranceway of the Fell's house broke her out of her thoughts as it sounded loudly, chiming the hour by declaring the appropriate number of bells. She counted them as she passed and discovered that it was already midday. She removed the sodden cloak hood from her head and readjusted it around her shoulders, the scent of Kol filling her nostrils and giving her an overwhelming sense of home. She shook herself, clutching the grimoire tighter to her body and putting a smile on her face before entering into the living room, the same room that had been set up the day before for the meeting. Honoria sat on an armchair studying a book intensely whilst Sterling stood over a sideboard looking at a map of the town. Both looked up when she entered.
"Ah Kara sweetheart, how good of you to come" Honoria smiled politely standing and moving over to the youngest Salvatore. She pecked her on the cheek friendly, almost motherly and Kara smiled somewhat awkwardly not used to the usual social interactions that many of the townspeople had adopted. She had never been one to call to her neighbours houses like many other ladies of the town. She vaguely remembered accompanying her mother on such visits as a young child but those had ceased once her mother had passed away.
"You brought the grimoire?" she asked eyeing the slightly moist package under the cloak Kara had wrapped it up in.
Kara nodded sending a few beads of rainwater falling from her hair and onto the cloak.
"Come closer to the fire dear, you'll catch your death" Honoria ushered indicating to the open hearth of the fire that stood close to the map that Sterling had been studying.
Honoria moved with her and sat down on an armchair, indicating for Kara to do the same on the other. She sat, the warmth of the fire caressing her face lightly keeping the damp feeling of the rain at bay. She fiddled with the cloth of her cloak under her arm.
"I hope we didn't disturb you out there?" Honoria spoke with a knowing smile. Kara looked at the older woman confused.
"With the handsome gentleman that accompanied you here" Honoria clarified, her smile only intensifying. Kara bowed her head, her cheeks reddening deeply. She didn't know why she became so embarrassed. This is what she had always wanted, to be treated like a normal healthy girl and this is what happened to normal girls, people jesting them over prospective courtships.
"It's alright, you didn't. Mr Mikaelson saw me walking in the rain and was kind enough to give me a lift in his coach".
"And give you his cloak too I see" she smiled eyeing the black material that now hugged around Kara's shoulders.
"Yes he was a perfect gentleman" Kara smiled more at the memory of his eyes rather than as gesture to the older woman.
"He's new to the town?" Sterling asked narrowing his eyes and moving from the map to lean against the mahogany mantel of the large stone fireplace. His face in deep thought as he reflected on the man he had seen but moments ago.
Kara nodded, a little concerned by Sterling's reaction.
"He said he once lived here before" Kara added a little reluctant to give up the information she felt so privy to have obtained in the first place.
Sterling shrugged.
"I don't remember him".
"Honey, must you be so very distrustful all of the time?" Daniella asked marching into the room with a poised air that Kara had failed to notice yesterday.
"Oh I don't know" Sterling began leaning back to view his wife as she entered "Maybe not all of the time, maybe only when our town becomes riddled with supernatural creatures that we must try to be rid of"
Daniella smiled and leaned up to peck her husband on the lips before turning her attentions to Kara on the couch.
"I spied the man in question, the mysterious gentleman that accompanied you here Kara" she said almost like a giddy schoolgirl, sitting down beside the smaller framed girl "He's quite handsome is he not?"
Sterling made a loud gesture of clearing his throat, visibly uncomfortable at the direction that the conversation was taking.
Kara didn't know what to say. Yes he was handsome but did she admit to that? That she found not only his appearance but his demeanour pleasing.
She bowed her head, her eyes focusing to her hands clutched over the book and instead decided to change the subject.
"Do you really think that there will be something that will help us in this?" she asked eyeing the now slightly drying material of her cloak over the book. It was a genuine question. She hadn't found much, only the information about the vervain but then she didn't know what to look for. Perhaps Honoria or one of the other members of the founder's council would be able to navigate the magical verses and descriptions a lot better then she had.
Honoria shrugged, uncertainty on her face.
"I am unsure" she smiled before indicating to the grimoire that still sat on Kara's lap "May I?"
"Of course" Kara replied, swiftly and carefully unfolding the book from its protective clothing and handing it to the older woman. Honoria's mouth set into a small smile as she admired the exterior of it. It was handmade so it didn't have anything engraved on the cover but Honoria looked at it as if it was the most beautiful thing in the world.
"Was it difficult to procure?" she asked opening the book delicately to its first page and studying the scratchy handwriting with a knitted brow.
Kara swallowed subtly. This is where the lies came into play and she hated it, especially when it was lying to Honoria but Emily had promised to help and she had to trust the witch at her word. After-all if she had been that loyal to Katherine then she could have killed her a hundred times over and by the display of power she had seen her perform in the attic she knew that it wouldn't have been that difficult. No, Emily was on their side she had to believe that. If not on their side then allied with them, on her own agenda but equally as anxious to be rid of Katherine just the same. She told her that she was going to assist Jonathan Gilbert with his watch and that is what she should assume she was doing.
Kara shook her head in reply to Honoria's question.
"Not when I knew where it was hidden, I don't think she has noticed yet that it is missing"
Honoria nodded and smiled.
"Good" she beamed flicking to the second page, her eyes transfixed.
"There is something else" Kara began after a few short seconds of silence. Daniella, who had been looking over Honoria's shoulder to get a glimpse of the writings looked to Kara as did Sterling and eventually, after finishing reading a rather long sentence, Honoria.
"Rosalyn Cartwright is missing" she said it with an equal amount of sadness and professionalism, taking her role in the confidence of the founder's council seriously.
"Stanley and Rosemary's daughter?" Honoria asked trying to think when she had last seen the shy teenager.
"Missing?" Daniella asked "Are you sure, since when?"
Kara nodded.
"I spoke to her last night" Kara began trying to explain the situation well enough to the Fell's to make them as concerned as she "She promised she was going straight home".
Kara sighed.
"But?" Sterling urged.
She took a deep breath and continued.
"My father had a visit this morning, from William Forbes"
"The sheriff" Sterling clarified for his wife who subsequently nodded.
"He asked if we had seen her, that she didn't come home last night and her parents are worried" she added.
"Oh of course they are" Honoria agreed sympathetically "You think she is in peril?"
Kara nodded.
"I don't think she would run away; she wouldn't do it to her parents but…." She stopped herself, a little unsure of what to divulge next. She felt as though she had been keeping secrets for so long that it came as almost a reflex.
"But what?" Daniella pressed.
"She was upset yesterday" she spoke, deciding that if it was Rosalyn's life on the line then she would provide the Fell's with as much information as she could so they may find her alive.
"Why?" Sterling asked moving from his position by the fireplace to the arm chair near the sofa.
"…I brought Katherine to the Cartwrights shop" she said quickly already feeling responsible and guilty enough without having another three pairs of eyes look at her in that manner.
"My brothers insisted" she continued trying to alleviate her own guilt as much as put that across to the Fells.
"Why would that matter?" Daniella asked confused. She and Sterling had lived a few towns away in Granite Hills for the first year of their marriage, Daniella's native town and was slightly behind on the goings and comings of the various townspeople.
"Rosalyn and my brother Stefan were engaged to be married" Kara clarified a little saddened at the word 'were' "And now he and Katherine are...well…you know"
"Lovers" Honoria helped, speaking the word that Kara could not.
"I see" Daniella nodded obviously putting two and two together in her own head before this.
"Do you think that Rosalyn tried to confront Katherine?" Honoria asked.
Kara shook her head.
"I hope not" she began thinking back to the night before when she had seen her last "I dissuaded her from visiting my house to see Stefan, she said she was going home but who is to know where she actually went"
Honoria nodded and stood up, placing the grimoire delicately on the coffee table and walking to a string that Kara knew from experience rang a bell that summoned one of the servants. With one swift pull it sounded out somewhere in another room and Honoria made her way to her writing desk to scribble something down on a slip of paper.
"Mother what are you doing?" Sterling asked narrowing his eyes slightly at his mother's vigorous behaviour.
"Alerting the others to this poor missing girl" Honoria explained the scratching of the quill on the parchment imputing in the volume of her voice "If she is found then we shall be the first to know". She looked to Kara and smiled consolingly to which Kara responded thankfully.
A knock on the door and the entrance of one of the male servants alerted everyone to the presence of another person in the room.
"You called for me Ma'am?" he asked nervously looking anywhere than at Honoria.
"No need to be nervous Baxter you haven't done anything wrong" she smiled drying the ink on the parchment slightly by adding some pounce over where she had just written. She blew on it, the excess finely ground pounce flying from the piece of parchment and into the air
"Can you read Baxter?" she asked somewhat knowing what the answer was.
Baxter looked to his immaculately shined shoes in embarrassment.
"No ma'am"
"Good" Honoria chirped brightly surprising both Baxter and the other people in the room.
"Ma'am?" Baxter asked confused.
"Deliver this to Sheriff Forbes, tell him to make copies, he shall know why" she ordered "Make no delays or detours, understand?"
"Yes Ma'am"
"Make sure you deliver it to him quickly"
"I will ma'am" he spoke holding the piece of paper in his hand as if it was on fire.
"Good" she spoke "You're dismissed, get to it"
He left in a flurry, taking his new found responsibility to heart and treating it as though any failure would be punishable by death.
"Thank you" Kara said to Honoria.
Honoria only nodded.
"I should take my leave" Kara smiled standing up. Sterling stood also out of politeness.
"Are you sure Kara dear?" Honoria asked.
Kara loved the Fell's and their nice, nurturing and friendly nature. Many in the town like her father and Mr Lockwood often referred to them as nosy busybodies who just helped people because they could say that they did so but Kara had never seen that side of them. Right now though she could tell that Honoria wished to go through the grimoire and discover all she could that may help them and Kara did not want to get in the way of that.
"I am certain; thank you Mrs Fell".
Honoria nodded and embraced the small girl in a hug.
"It was a brave thing you did Kara, retrieving that book. You should be proud of yourself"
Kara only smiled at the woman, believing that her sentiments would be something akin to what a mother would say to her.
"I'll show you out" Sterling announced standing and opening the door into the entrance hall for her.
"Kara feel free to visit with us at any time" Honoria announced holding the grimoire to her chest. She didn't know when the older woman had even gone back to the table to retrieve it but she knew she wasn't going to let it out of her sight. It was then she knew she had made the right decision by giving the book to her, it was going to be in safe hands and that was somewhat of a relief to her.
"Thank you Mrs Fell. You'll contact me if you receive news of Rosalyn?"
"Of course dear" Honoria replied which only made Kara smile even further, something she felt she hadn't done in a while.
She pulled her hood, the hood that was so kindly given to her by Kol over her head in an attempt to prepare herself for the rainfall.
"We'll see you soon Kara" Sterling smiled opening the front door for the youngest Salvatore.
Kara bowed her head, attempting to deflect most of the rain and the wind as she marched forward. She desperately wanted to visit the Cartwrights, to give them some sort of comfort but she wouldn't know what to say to them. Rosalyn was their only child. A child born out of love and so adoringly raised and brought up to be a kind, caring young woman whom, in Kara's opinion would have been a perfect match for Stefan. Carrying her own sodden cloak in her hand she sighed dejectedly and put her free hand into one of the pockets of Kol's cloak feeling the warmth and the scent of the fabric wash over her.
The rain was beginning to ease up slightly but the nip in the air still chilled her to no end.
"Kara!" an unusually friendly voice called from behind her as she passed the apothecary. She turned, slightly taken aback at the suddenness of someone's cheerful voice. For a split second she thought it might have been Rosalyn and searched for the Auburn-haired girl. Instead she saw Annabelle Zhu running towards her from the porch of her house, her head covered in a bonnet and her hood over that. Annabelle was Pearl's daughter and although they had not lived in Mystic Fall's for very long she seemed nice enough. She was young, maybe a year or so younger than Kara making her around fifteen but was very pretty with dark hair and eyes contrasting with her pale skin.
"Annabelle" Kara greeted with a smile as she came within in earshot "Hello"
"Please" she scoffed rolling her eyes "Only my mother calls me Annabelle, call me Anna"
Kara nodded, smiling at the girl's friendly nature.
"Very well then, Anna" Kara corrected causing the smile on the young girls face to grow "Are you alright? What can I do for you?"
"Only to enter this with me?" Anna asked unsure. She handed a faintly crumpled leaflet over to Kara with large print announcing the "Miss Mystic Falls Pageant".
Kara narrowed her eyes.
"What's a miss mystic falls pageant?" she asked sounded each word out as though it was foreign language.
Anna chuckled taking back the flyer.
"It's like a beauty pageant type thing mixed with us debutantes being released into society, it'll be fun"
Kara appreciated Anna's enthusiasm and also her friendliness. Her head had been so full of noise, about Rosalyn, Katherine, the grimoire, the council and Kol that it was nice to think about something trivial, even for a moment. A beauty pageant however with her illness would be a nightmare to her.
"Thank you for asking Anna but I'm not sure I would be suited for such an event, also I am positive my father would frown on releasing me into society in such a public way".
Anna smiled but looked disappointed.
"Could you ask him at least. I would love to do this with a friend".
Kara was surprised at this statement. Anna had come to town with her mother a few months ago and excluding greeting and saying goodbye to her she didn't think she had even held a full conversation with Anna.
"You consider me a friend?" she asked both touched and suspicious of this.
Anna nodded.
"Well yes, I mean you're the only person my age that I've talked to since I've been here".
"Really?" Kara asked. She was surprised by this. Anna always seemed to be happy and care-free, she didn't think she would have any trouble making friends.
"I tend to keep to myself quite a bit, I'm sure others would call it reclusive" she admitted almost reading Kara's thoughts.
"So can you ask him? Please?" she asked again a little bit more pleading than before.
"Sure" Kara replied after a brief pause. In reality in would be her worse fear parading in front of the town in her state. She knew many girls felt the same but with her she had a genuine excuse. She knew her father would never agree to it though so as bad as she felt getting Anna's hopes up she would feel worse turning the girl down immediately.
"I'll ask him but there is no guarantee that he will agree to it"
Anna nodded excitedly.
"That's…great! Thank you Kara, seriously!"
"Annabelle!" Pearls voice called from the apothecary.
Anna looked to where her mother's voice had sounded and then looked back to Kara apologetic.
"I'm sorry I must be on my way" she smiled nicely "My mother wants me to mind the store while she visits a friend".
Kara nodded.
"Of course".
"Thank you again" Anna beamed moving away.
Kara sighed as she walked further down the street and the Cartwright's dressmakers came into view. She wished she knew what had happened, to be able to tell Rosemary and Stanley that their daughter was on their way home but she knew she could not alleviate their worry. She Katherine was behind this. The sadistic bitch was eliminating the competition for her brother's affections, even though Rosalyn felt insignificant next to Katherine and she had even said so herself. She marched on, more angry with Katherine now than worried about Rosalyn.
She crossed the street, the puddles on the road reflecting the white light of the sun shining behind the overcast clouds. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she made a decision to do something she had not done before. Not by herself and not for a very long time. To visit her mother's final resting place.
She had not been able to go to her mother's funeral as she had been too sick and weak. Georgianna had been buried in a small, poorly marked grave under a tree a few days after she had died. She was lucky that she hadn't been buried in a mass grave like many of the other, less wealthy victims of the disease but once her father and brother's had returned her father had insisted on building a family crypt for her. It was a little bit fuzzy but all Kara could remember about the time was that he had been so devastated. They all had been. He had stopped shaving and began smelling more and more of bourbon. Looking back at it now she realised what she had been seeing was pure unadulterated guilt. Guilt over not being in town when the disease hit, not being there to take charge of the household, to care for her mother and herself. She was even sure that this guilt lead to the affair with Alice and in time, the birth of their illegitimate son Anthony. Stefan had made her swear to deny she knew anything about him if anyone asked. As soon as the crypt had been completed he had ordered Georgianna's coffin to be exhumed and placed into the vault. 'Safe and secure' as he had called it. She had never known him to visit the place again, she certainly had not visited with him. She had come a few times with Damon and Stefan but all times she could count on one hand and all when she was still a child.
The Salvatore crypt stood out in the cemetery as it was one of the newest and tallest on the plot. It sat at the far edge near to the shading branches of the swooping willow trees. She was aware of one other person visiting in the graveyard. Robert Hale, her once neighbour and father to Maisie Hale who had died of the same illness that had taken her mother. He looked sad and defeated as he gazed at the plot that held his daughter's ashes, along with dozens of others.
He smiled and tilted his hat at Kara as she passed, the greeting showing friendliness in the corners of his mouth but not in his eyes. He was the vessel of a broken man and Kara could help but emote pity for him. Noel Baker, the aging groundskeeper of the cemetery gazed up when she passed and looked like he was debating in his mind whether to greet her or not. She, however smiled at him and continued on. Noel was an old fashioned man and believed that members of the working class should not address people of the higher class unless directly asked to, much like was the case in many parts of Europe.
She came upon her mother's vault without realising quite how close she was. Now that she was here she couldn't quite think of how to begin.
"Hello Mama" she began staring up at the gold plated S.A.L.V.A.T.O.R.E letters carved into the top of the crypt.
She kissed the palm of her hand quickly and lightly stepped up the couple of steps it took to reach the stone. She then placed her palm she had just kissed onto the stone wall of the crypt, closing her eyes and picturing her mother in her head. She would know what to do right now, her mother. Georgianna had been strong and beautiful and had been able to run a disease infected house without anyone's help. She would know what to do about Katherine, about the vampires, heck she would have been at the centre of the council directing people in their duties. Tears pricked at her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried about her mother but she knew it was still raw and would forever be an unresolved issue with her.
"What do I do Mama?" she asked, the cold stone under her fingers her only response.
"I have tried to be strong, like you, to save Stefan and Damon but I don't know what to do anymore".
She sniffed before she realised she had even been crying. She wiped her eyes quickly afraid to show weakness in case of who might be watching her. Composing herself she descended the steps once again and turned back to her mother's resting place once her shoes reached the grass.
"I love you Mama!" she said definitely her eyes fierce and glued to the reinforced grate in front of the sealed door. She went to move away, to return home and back to the problem at hand when a dull bang drew her attention back to the direction of the crypt. The sound had emanated from behind the tomb where a small mounded hill descended into the river that ran through Mystic Falls and was continuing now as a series of dull bangs. She moved towards it, noticing that the river was moving faster than usual today on account of the large amount of rain that had fallen earlier. The grass on the verge was patchy with more soil exposed than greenery and Kara had to balance her stance before she began to descend to the river's edge. This area of the river was somewhat veiled by trees, some coniferous and some deciduous and to which every autumn would divulge their foliage into the flowing river. The stream of water was pretty clear now, albeit a little muddy from the rain water flowing from levels of high ground. She descended a little more, cautiously edging closer and closer to the river bank. Loose particles of mud and soil broke free under her weight and tumbled down in front of her entering the water with a small plop. Reaching the water's edge, she searched the surface for the source of the sound. With an eagle eye, she scanned the flowing water. She shivered at the cool winds that always seemed to be stronger around open bodies of water at this time of year. The noise sounded again and Kara followed it to an area of the bank in which the river made a sharp turn making foliage and debris build up along its circumference. There were a number of logs and fallen tree branches stuck at the bend and Kara summarised that this is what was making the noise. She was about to turn to leave when something else caught her eye. It was in the same area, the same turn but was dark blue in colour. She moved closer, curious to what it must be. In an area of browns and greens it was clearly visible and she didn't know how she had not seen it sooner. When she was about a meter away she stopped in her tracks and observed. It was a type of blue material, mostly concealed by logs, floating in the water. It looked almost graceful, it was stationary but still copied the movement and the flow of the water, as if it longed to be freed from its hidden confines. She moved to the bank and knelt to get a closer look. Reaching her hand out, she made to grab it but realised quickly that it was too far away. She sat back on her ankles noticing now that the ends of her dress was becoming muddy and soiled. She sighed and made to stand up when suddenly the log that had been stuck at the bend became dislodged and began to flow freely with the current. This however, released the entirety of the blue material and what was attached to it. To Kara's horror she watched as a person, a terrifyingly pale woman float to the surface, face down in the water. Her hair flowing out like a halo around her. Kara fell back into the mud in shock, her heart hammering in her chest and her breathing rapidly increasing. Her first reaction was that this woman was dead, gone but what if she wasn't? What if she had only just fallen in minutes before and was in need of rescue? Faster than she thought she could move, she removed her cloak and shoes and without thinking dived into the rushing torrent. The water was so cold that it winded her briefly. She hadn't been swimming since before her illness so was finding it difficult to keep her head over the rushing water but using all of her strength she made it to the woman. With great difficulty she strained and turned the woman around trying to get her face out of the water. Kara gasped loudly, almost losing the rhythm of the tread when she saw that she knew the woman. It was Rosalyn, the woman she had been worried for all day long.
"Rosalyn!" Kara called trying to somehow wake the woman. Deep down she knew that it was pointless to even try. She was too pale, her lips too blue and her body absent of breath. If she had even thought to look she would see her eyes in a fixed open position at the small opening of her eyelids. It was too late, but she had to try. Something in her was urging her to try and save her. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that she was helpless when her mother died, she hadn't noticed or done anything to save her. Yes, she had been young but it was still something she thought about.
She tried to balance Rosalyn's head with one arm while trying to reach for the long grass at the side of the bank to hoist herself out. It was hopeless, Rosalyn was too heavy, as was her dress now that the water had seeped into the fabric, weighing it down. She felt her heart hammering in exertion. She tried again, leaping for the side in one swift motion, her arm extended to grab a hold of anything solid but she fell short her head disappearing under the water momentarily. She rose to the surface, gasping and spluttering to rid the water that had unexpectedly entered her mouth. She gripped Rosalyn closer and tried again to reach the side. She found an exposed tree root and grabbed on tightly, successfully hoisting her torso out of the water. She positioned her right foot onto a small rock base at the edge of the bank but unbeknownst to her the rocks were loose and she lost her footing once again, the tree root slipping through her hand. She scraped her leg on the rocks ripping her dress and from the pain she assumed most of the skin on her leg. She had to suppressed the hiss of pain instead favouring to try and work out a better course of action.
"Hello!" she shouted trying to attract the attention of someone nearby so that they might be able to come to her aid. It was hopeless though, her voice barely reached over the volume of the rushing water.
This time she altered her plan. Securing Rosalyn near the rocks close to the river bank so she would not float away she let go of her friend and made to leap for the shore once again. She felt her hand land on a half- buried rock and she hoped beyond hope that it was secure enough in the ground to hold her weight as she tried to hoist herself up. She pushed her torso out, her second arm reaching like her first to cement her position on the embankment. She tried to throw her leg over the edge but her dress caught on the jagged rocks that lined the wall of the river. This destabilised her, holding her back so she could not move. She attempted to reach down and pull the end of her dress free but it was far too stuck to come loose. She felt herself falling once again and she prepared to hit the water but it never came. Kara looked up suddenly to see a man gripping her hand. He held a strong grip and had saved her from falling back into the water. In one swift motion he pulled her arm and had lifted her out and onto the shore.
The man who had saved her turned back to someone behind him, someone who had obviously been following him in search of the commotion and yelled loudly.
"Go fetch some help" he ordered, his voice accented but from where Kara could not place. She could hear the footsteps of the other man turn and run in the opposite direction, clearly in obedience to the man in front of her. She looked at him from the ground both in shock and thanks. She didn't know him. He was tall, had light brown hair and stubble around his chin.
"Thank you" she spoke breathlessly, trying with all of her might to inhale air into her lungs. She grasped the little grass that was growing on the bank as a comfort that she was indeed back on solid ground.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" the man asked in a tone that was almost fearful, almost angry, his Scottish accent accentuating this.
"My friend" Kara began looking to the water to alert this stranger to the reason of why she had jumped into the raging torrents "She's dead".
The stranger gazed over the water's edge to see Rosalyn's lifeless body floating weightlessly in the water yet unmoving thanks to Kara securing her.
The man, almost unfazed by this statement reached over almost effortlessly and hauled her out of the water before letting her fall, not so gently to the ground. Kara crawled over to her friend, feeling adrenalin from her predicament seeping away and the emotion of Rosalyn's death come to the forefront. Tears pricked at her eyes, threatening to fall and she bowed her head in both grief and disappointment. Disappointment in the fact that she hadn't found her on time, that someone or something had done this to her. Brushing some of Rosalyn's hair to the side was confirmation of the latter as a bite, consisting of two puncture wounds on her neck stared back at her. She had been drained of her blood, that was obvious by her gaunt and pale skin but someone had had the audacity to dump her body in the river so it may never had been found. Rosalyn's mother and father would have always wondered what had happened to their daughter, would have always held out hope, unable to grieve. She sighed and bit back a sob that was threatening to erupt as she leant over and shut Rosalyn's slightly open and fixed eyes.
"What happened?" the man, who Kara had almost forgotten about asked.
She shook her head, her eyes unable to look away from her friend.
"I found her in the river….she had been missing…I thought she might have been still alive but…"
The man nodded sombrely before staring at the leg where her dress had been ripped.
"You're injured?" he asked, his eyes turning almost hollow.
Kara followed the man's gaze and shrugged.
"I'm alright, it's just a scratch"
The man nodded and almost reluctantly drew his eyes away from the side of her dress. He decided to change the subject.
"I'm sorry about your friend Miss Salvatore".
She looked at him suddenly, confused and on alert.
"How do you know me?" She stood to her full height which was still almost two feet shorter than the stranger and glared at him, fear evident in her eyes.
The man shook his head as if he had just forgotten something.
"My apologies Miss, I just feel as though I already know you. I work for Kol Mikaelson" he elaborated the admission making Kara relax a little "My name is Sam, Sam Philpott".
Kara nodded, still a little on edge.
"I see".
She looked to him fully, the height difference causing her to arch her neck a little to view him correctly.
"Well thank you for saving me Sam".
He looked a little taken aback at the genuine statement but smiled none the less.
"I just happened to be in the right place at the right time" he insisted trying to make himself look less important in her eyes "Besides, my boss would have never forgiven me if I had let something happen to you. He seems quite taken by you Miss Salvatore if you don't mind me saying".
Despite the situation, despite Rosalyn's tragic and untimely death, a death that had already caused her grief and she daresay would cause untold sorrow to those who loved her she couldn't help the smile that twitched at her face at Sam's admission.
The smile soon faded however as her eyes fixed back at Rosalyn. She looked almost normal in death now that she had closed her eyes.
Kara knelt back down beside her but this time was unable to keep the tears at bay.
"I am so so sorry Rosalyn"
"I shall go and see where that Mr Hale and Mr Baker have gone to with finding the help" Sam said in a dual effort to leave Kara alone with her friend and to alert others to their predicament.
All Kara could manage to do was to nod at the man, she kept thinking of the Cartwright's and how devastated they were going to be. Rosalyn was their only child, the world to them and now she was gone, just gone all because she had loved Stefan. They didn't deserve this. The Cartwright's were good people, the best Kara had ever known and now they were going to be irreparably damaged. Kara sobbed looking at her friend's face, a friend who had almost been family, a sister, if only Katherine had chosen a town other than theirs to target. Anger was seeping through the grief now, pure unadulterated hatred towards the vampire that had ruined so many lived in the town already. She had never had a feeling like this before and it was both frightening and freeing to her.
"I will get her back for this Rosie" she spoke definitely saying it as much to Rosalyn's lifeless body as to herself. She stood, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She made to march away, slipping on her discarded shoes and throwing the cloak Kol had lent her earlier on the day around her shoulders and she went. She needed to find Katherine, to make her pay in any way she could. She climbed up the slight mound that she had descended to get to the river in the first place. She found it difficult, her exertions in the water had taken a lot of her but her anger fuelled her, pushing her forward. Her dress, in its wet state clung awkwardly to her body hindering her movements but the adrenalin rushing through her veins kept her from caring. She made it to the area in which her mother's tomb was situated when the groundskeeper Noel Baker came rushing towards her.
"Miss Salvatore, are you hurt? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine" Kara replied, stubbornly still moving forward.
"What happened? Mr Philpott said that someone was dead?" he asked following behind her slightly.
Kara indicated to the area that she had just left and nodded.
"Rosalyn, Rosalyn Cartwright is….she…she must have….I found her in the water"
Noel looked taken aback at the news and then torn. Between going back to find Rosalyn or going after Kara. To Kara's relief he chose the former and she watched as he left to where Rosalyn's body was situated. As foolish as it seemed, she was glad her friend would not be alone.
She was metres away from the graveyard gate when Sam came running back in, followed by Robert Hale. Both paused when they saw her but it was Sam who spoke.
"Kara, where are you going?" he asked.
"Home….I have to go home…I need to do something". She wasn't looking at him, only at the exit of the graveyard and she made to edge past him. He stopped her, placing his two hands on her shoulders to get her to snap out of whatever thoughts were being processed through her mind. Sam glanced over her shoulder to Robert with a gazed that told him to continue on without him.
"Kara you are in shock, you need to stay here, at least until your father comes".
Kara looked to the man, the tall strange man who had just saved her life.
"My father's coming?" she asked a little taken aback.
Sam just nodded as he urged Kara backwards slightly so that the backs of her knees come in contact with a small stone bench. She sat absentmindedly looking to Sam for clarification.
"He's been sent for" Sam nodded removing his cloak as Kol had done earlier and draping it around Kara. Despite now having two cloaks wrapped around her, Kara could not pretend that she wasn't cold. Her wet dress and hair was soaking into her skin and she couldn't help but shiver slightly. Her mind drifted after that. She couldn't put a time on how long she was sitting there but she knew it was long enough for more people to have entered the graveyard. She could tell that there was a flurry of activity around her but she couldn't draw her thoughts away from the sorrow and anger that was running through it. She wanted to leave, to find Katherine and make her pay yes but she also didn't want to be here when Stanley and Rosemary arrived.
"Kara?!" she heard a familiar voice call. She looked towards the graveyard gate to see her father and sheriff Forbes enter. For all of the disagreements she had had with him over the last few days she couldn't help but see that he looked worried and all she wanted right now was for her father to hug her.
"Father!" she called her voice breaking with unshed tears. He was next to her in three large steps and Kara stood quickly, Sam's cloak pooling on the bench she had just stood from. Uncharacteristically for her father, he reached over and enveloped Kara in exactly what she wanted. The hug didn't last long but she knew it was the gesture that counted. He frowned as he pulled back.
"Kara you're soaked". He bent down and pulled the cloak Sam had given her over Kol's and secured it snugly.
"Come, we need to get you home and warmed up" he said wrapping one arm around her shoulders and making to guide her out of the graveyard.
"Hold on Giuseppe I need to ask her a few questions" Sheriff Forbes interjected, delaying their departure.
"Can't this wait until tomorrow Will?" Giuseppe asked in slight hushed voice "You know how ill she can become".
Kara would have normally hated this. Hated her father assuming she couldn't do something because of her illness but right now she was grateful for it, grateful to him getting her out of any situation where she had to recite what she had just been through.
Sheriff Forbes looked torn but eventually nodded and left to oversee the removal of Rosalyn's body from the shoreline.
They began moving once again but halted when they reached the footpath outside of the graveyard gate.
"What were you thinking Kara?" Giuseppe whispered to her rubbing his hands up and down the arms of her cloak to try and give her some semblance of warmth. To Kara's surprise, it wasn't in a tone of accusation or berating it was a sentence laced with concern.
She looked up at him and thought she could see the same fear in his eyes that hadn't been there since she had been sick after her mother had died.
"I'm sorry Father" she managed to croak out.
He nodded.
"I know you are and in some ways I am proud of you for finding her. I know it doesn't seem like it now but it will be some sort of small consolation that the Cartwrights have a body to bury. Otherwise they would just be left wondering"
"They would have their daughter alive if it wasn't for Katherine" Kara found the energy to bite out.
"Kara" Giuseppe scolded, his voice hushed so that the many passing people would not overhear them "You cannot honestly believe that Katherine Pierce of all people would kill poor Rosalyn"
Kara shrugged annoyed. She knew she should let her temper get the better of her like this but she couldn't help it.
"Rosalyn was engaged to Stefan and you know how Katherine has…" she paused trying to find the right terminology "Taken a liking to him".
"I told you that before he's married it's his prerogative to do as he wishes with whichever consenting woman he takes a fancy to, you might as well be accusing your brother for this terrible accident".
"Oh father if only you knew" Kara mumbled.
"What was that?" he asked unable to pick up what she had said.
She looked at him fully for a moment or two, wishing that he would somehow pick up the truth in her eyes but of course that was completely preposterous.
"Nothing" she replied after a beat.
Giuseppe sighed, obviously disappointed.
"Wait here" he ordered "I'll go fetch Daniel Black with the carriage".
All Kara could do was nod and watch her father walk further down the street in search of their coach driver with their transportation home.
"Kara!" Honoria Fell's voice called from behind her. Kara could tell immediately who it was and she let out a breath of relief knowing that even if she could not get revenge for Rosalyn's death then perhaps the council could. Honoria was walking briskly to her but Kara matched her speed, meeting her halfway between the gate of the graveyard and the road in which Honoria had just travelled from.
"I just heard…." Honoria began to say but Kara interrupted her almost immediately, speaking quickly and animatedly.
"There was two puncture marks on her neck, her body was pale with lack of blood, it was Katherine Mrs Fell, I know it".
Mrs Fell only nodded and moved Kara further away from the gate in which a few townspeople had gathered to view the commotion.
"Sheriff Forbes is on the council, he will most likely see the same things you have, there will probably be a meeting tonight".
Kara nodded.
"Of course".
Honoria put her hand to Kara's cheek and looked at her with a mother's eye.
"Go get some rest dear".
This angered Kara at first. It was no time to be sleeping, she needed to make Katherine pay. She needed to make her suffer just as she had made Rosalyn suffer but the more she thought about it the more she realised that Honoria was right, that her father had been right. She had dived into ice cold waters when she knew very well that she wasn't a strong swimmer. She had let her temper get the better of her in more ways than one and it had landed her in a situation that she had needed help to escape from. It was reckless and hot headed and that she was sure of. She needed to be smarter now. If Katherine was to pay for what she did to Rosalyn, for what she had done to her family then it would be at a time that she least expected it and Kara knew that she must keep her health in order to achieve this. She sighed once more and looked to the woman that had been so caring to her all of her life.
"Thank you Mrs Fell. I think I will".
Honoria smiled her goodbye and moved to the gate where Kara had just noticed that Thomas and Sterling were stood waiting for her. They each gave a small smile when they saw her to which she returned half-heartedly.
She heard the carriage approaching behind her but only decided to turn towards it when it had come to a halt. Her father exited from it, moving the steps down to make it easier for Kara to enter. He silently helped her into the carriage before entering himself, shutting the door securely in his wake. Kara just sat still, looking at the window at the opposite side of the coach pulling at the cloaks to try and ease the cold biting at her skin.
Giuseppe gave her a pointed look before going to a compartment under the seat of the carriage and pulling out a woollen blanket.
Kara could tell he was angry but that it came from a place of concern.
"You'll go straight to your bed when we return home, understand?" he said in stern but calm voice handing her said blanket.
Kara waited a beat before nodding. If she was being honest with herself then spending the rest of the day in a warm bed was rather appealing to her.
He looked at her strangely.
"What no arguments?" he asked a little surprised.
Kara shrugged.
"I don't have the energy to".
Giuseppe sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Tomorrow, first thing you are going to tell me what the hell is going on with you".
"What do you mean?" she replied trying to dissuade her father, convince him that nothing was amiss with her. She knew it was useless but she had to try.
He glared at her, unsure to whether she was being serious or not but when he saw she was, or at least attempting to be he became angry.
"What do I mean, Kara?" he repeated, his voice raised and his tone biting.
Kara let out a deep breath and shut her eyes, readying herself for the coming onslaught.
"I mean your sudden change in behaviour" he continued "Your attitude, sneaking out of the house at all hours"
She looked at him quickly at this statement.
"Yes I noticed" he spoke bitterly answering her silent question.
All Kara could do was stay silent, turning to the window and watching as the rain-laden scenery passed by.
Giuseppe paused for a moment and Kara was sure she could hear him sighing.
"Like I said" he began, his tone a lot calmer than it had been "Tomorrow".
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
~TVD~
Sam was drying off in his room, hanging his sodden cloths on the fire guard in an effort to warm them faster. He had left the scene not long after Kara had, his job complete and had sped back to the house. He removed his shirt, placing it with his other discarded clothes on the fire guard and moved to the dresser to change into something else. He was lucky Natalie had had her vision when she did. He had been guarding her in her room, watching as she performed her crazy little dances and odd outbursts of humour when she had just blurted it out.
"Kara may die today".
She had said it in such a sweet, careless voice that it had taken Sam a moment to register what she had said.
"What?" he had asked her, his brain running through other possibilities of what this statement may mean.
She turned to him, the only time she had stood still all day and explained to him what she had seen, the river, Rosalyn's blue dress floating in the water, Kara's hand outstretched grasping at the rocks.
"When?" he all but demanded. They had come to this town for one reason and one reason only, for Kol to find Kara and if something happened to her then who knows how Kol would react.
Natalie looked to him like he was asking the most obvious question in the world.
"Now" was all she had replied.
He had found her at the third body of water he searched, limply reaching her hand out of the water just as Natalie had predicted. He shivered at the thought that if he had just been minutes late then he would be suffering under the wrath of Kol Mikaelson right now.
A turn towards the door at the sound of a loud bang echoing throughout the house, followed by the voice of the very person he had just been thinking about. His bedroom door was not long to follow, banging open at the force of Kol throwing it open.
He didn't jump, he wasn't startled. He was expecting this.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kol shouted angrily, his eyes glaring scarily and his mouth seething. Sam didn't think he had ever seen him this angry, he always refrained from such displays instead choosing to act his violent tendencies with a sadistic calmness. Tahlia trailed behind him, obviously trying in vain to calm him down somewhat.
Sam looked first to Tahlia, trying to gauge how angry Kol was. She shook her head, telling him silently not to push him.
"There wasn't any time, honestly Kol I would have found you straight away if I thought Natalie was in anyway exaggerating but that is one thing she does not do".
Kol brushed his hands through his hair. He was torn between the facts. Sam had known that Kara was in danger and had chosen to be her hero instead of finding him but he had saved her and he had never given Kol any reason to doubt him before. An unnerving silence past between the three.
"Kol" Tahlia began "You know Sam; he would never do anything to willingly hurt you".
Sam nodded in agreement.
"You saved me from my dull existence back on my Father's farm in Scotland, I owe you my life".
Kol glared at him and for two long minutes Sam found his expression unreadable. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. For one of the first times since becoming a vampire he was genuinely afraid.
"Is she alright?" Kol asked, breaking the silence. His tone was somewhat calmer but still stern.
Sam could only nod.
"Good" Kol finished turning to walk out of the room, when he was at the door he turned back to Sam.
"I suggest that you try to convince Miss Delacroix to have her visions in a timelier manner, otherwise I am afraid that she has outlived her usefulness".
Sam nodded.
"I'll tell her" he agreed still a little nervous.
Kol strode towards him, a smirk now playing on his face.
"Don't look so anxious my friend, as much as I don't agree with you keeping it from me, you saved Kara's life and for that I am in your debt".
Sam just nodded and watched as Kol made the short journey yet again to the door.
"Her friend was killed" Sam spoke suddenly watching as Kol turned to him quizzically.
"She was in the river, that's why Kara got into difficulty, trying to retrieve her friends body".
"Killed by whom?" Kol asked, his eyes narrowing at the list of possibilities that were entering his mind.
"Not by any of us" Sam stated honestly "You have my word".
Kol turned to Tahlia.
"Not even your boy-toy?" he asked her referring to Andrew.
Tahlia shook her head, a little surprised that Kol knew of the status of their relationship.
"He has been on his best behaviour since we arrived here" she sated receiving a subtle glare from Sam. They still had not fully discussed what had happened in the library even though the time would come when Kara would remember and Kol would likely kill each of them for even thinking of laying a finger on her.
Kol nodded clearly in deep thought. He had an idea of who the perpetrator might be, and he was going to make her suffer for it.
"Very well then" he finished.
"She was clearly upset when her father came to retrieve her for home" Sam said referring to Kara once more "She may appreciate a visit from you, she seemed quite….glad when I told her I worked for you".
Kol stood still for a moment thinking this through before allowing the corners of his mouth to lift into a smile.
He left without a word, leaving Tahlia and Sam alone.
"I do not know how you managed it, but you calmed him down a lot" Tahlia breathed, impressed at the taller man's feat.
"I just spoke the truth" he admitted returning to the fire guard to check on the drying of his clothes. He looked disheartened all of a sudden.
"So" he began, his tone dejected and his bare back still turned to her "You and Andrew huh?"
Tahlia looked to her shoes. Her continued affair with Andrew was never something she had been proud of. She had kept it a secret for a reason. He was a ruthless, heartless, reckless and dishonourable vampire and she was a witch. Even Kol had better sense of loyalty then he did and yet she couldn't deny that there had always been some sort of primal urge drawing her to him. She assumed it was due to her strict and controlled upbringing. She had been told to she would marry a warlock of her parent's choice when they so decided but she had left the coven before her family had had a chance to find her a suitor. Andrew was the complete opposite of who they would have chosen for her and she guessed that it was that drew her to him in the first place. Now it was out of some sense of protectiveness, a sense that he needed her. She needed to teach him how to follow orders, how to fall in line and listen to others otherwise he would be dead. She figured Kol would have killed him long ago if it wasn't for her. Lying for him, covering for him, putting her own life on the line for him. She hated herself for it, but it was a habit that was hard to break from.
Tahlia nodded in response to Sam, sickened to be admitting such a thing.
"It is purely physical" she half-lied "That is all".
Sam was sweet, a good man for being a vampire. Too good for her.
Sam moved to his dresser, taking out a clean shirt and turning to Tahlia.
"You could do better" he spoke moving his arms through the sleeves.
Tahlia nodded.
"I know" she whispered making Sam chuckle lightly.
Silence passed over them as she watched somewhat in a trance as Sam tied each button.
"I should go check on Natalie" he announced after he had finished dressing.
"Right" Tahlia nodded, clearing her throat slightly as she spoke.
"I better see if Noah is in need of anything".
Together they left the room but parted in different directions as they went about their tasks.
So I hope you liked chapter 18 guys. I am so sorry it took so long, The next chapter will not take as long though and that is a promise! : ) . Thank you so much for reading!