Soundless

Mystic Falls, Virginia, 1864

Astra stepped through the garden behind her home, the warm air of spring blowing her loose blonde hair out of her face. She inhaled the clean smell deeply, smiling at the relaxing feeling that it brought her. She hadn't relaxed as much as she wished she would in the past couple of months, since she had revealed herself to Katherine; Katarina.

Astra knew all too well what it meant if Katarina was there in Mystic Falls, both for her and for the people of the town. Death followed that woman wherever she stepped, like a shadow beneath her feet. Not only would the people of this town surely suffer for her being there, but she too would suffer. She would not die, no, she would meet him again. Elijah was sure to follow wherever the doppelgänger went.

She was not ready to meet him again. She had escaped him many years before and had been able to keep him off her trail for so long, for something such as Katarina to break that streak would bring her into a rage like no other. She was happy with the life that she had come to have with Damon, Stefan and the people of this town. They held her heart like Elijah had when he had first met her. Before he had pulled her into the drama of the life as an Original, she had known peace.

He had always protected her from the hunt for the doppelgänger, keeping her away so she wasn't involved. She had never met Katarina before Mystic Falls, but she had heard of her and had been given pictures and drawings of what the original human woman looked like that had been sacrificed to bind Nicklaus' wolf blood.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Astra looked over to where Damon stood a couple of yards away from her, his hands behind him back as he waited for her. She was surprised that she had not heard him come up to her. She had never been so caught up in her thoughts before that someone had been able to do such a thing. It was a relief that Damon was the first.

"I'm sorry, I was very deep in thought," She assured quietly, turning to face him. He was wearing a light white shirt to keep him cool in the warming days, his hair brushed back and away from his eyes to show off the beautiful blue colour.

"As I saw, you must have much on your mind," He teased as he held his hand to her, letting her step forward to place her hand in his with a smile. He lifted her gloveless fingers to his lips and pressed a kiss to her skin, never once looking away from her eyes. "You look beautiful, Astra, the warmer months suit you perfectly," He complemented fluidly, making her laugh softly.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Salvatore." Damon smiled and pulled her hand to tug her closer to him, wrapping an arm around her waist while he continued to hold her hand in his own and began to dance softly.

"The day will come when I may call you Mrs. Salvatore," He whispered, leaning down to kiss her cheek. She smiled and wrapped her other arm up over his shoulders, stepping with him in the music-less dance that they had begun.

"I can't wait."

She continued to follow him in steps, resting her cheek on his shoulder by her hand as he leaned his head to the side to press his cheek against her own. She could feel a faint stubble on his cheek from not having shaved that morning, allowing to her realize that they were still in reality and she hadn't wandered off to some mental dream world.

She was in her own euphoria.

Damon began to hum a song that she did not know, causing her to smile once more and lean more heavily against him. He turned his face just slightly to press a soft kiss to her temple as he continued to hum. The warm air blew from his nose to brush her hair and skin and left her with warmth that hadn't been there before.

She didn't want to leave that moment, leave his arms, leave him. She didn't want Elijah to come and steal her away from everything once more, she didn't want Katarina to tear down the happiness that she had built for herself. She was afraid that everything would fall away before she could catch it.

"I love you," She whispered desperately to Damon, hiding her face in his neck. Damon released her other hand and wrapped both arms around her waist, embracing her. She returned the embrace as they stopped dancing, standing still in the garden. Still with one another. That was what Astra was, she was still. Forever stuck in time, watching as everything moved past her before she could catch it. She would be damned that, now that she had finally grasped onto something—someone—and she let it slip away.

Pompeii, Roman Empire, 78 A.D.

Astraea dodged past people as she ran, pushing some out of her way rudely. Her skirt picked up around her feet as she tore down the path quickly, her hair whipping around her face and against her exposed back. She looked back the way that she had come but she couldn't see Elijah running after her, he wasn't there at all. She took a sharp right into the front halls of the bathhouse, her feet almost skidding on the floor. People turned to look after her curiously as she ran, others stepping out of the way before she could run them down.

She quickly ducked into the hallway of the bathhouse, but her heart nearly stopped when she saw that the corridor was empty and quickly turned back to the room. An arm wrapped around her neck with a hand over her mouth before she had a chance to step back out into the streets and was pulled to the side. She tried to scream but the hand over her mouth stopped the sound from reaching anywhere, leaving her helpless. She tried to push at the arm, but it was an immobile force.

"Please, calm down," Elijah whispered in her ear, turned her around so that she was pressed in the corner and hidden from view if anyone walked past the arch that he had them tucked away in. She didn't remain still, instead continuing to push at him, trying to kick him and get him off of her. Elijah didn't release her no matter how much she tried to injure him. "Astraea, I will not harm you!"

She slammed her foot down on his in response, but he didn't even flinch at the impact. She tried to shove him with her shoulder, but he once more didn't budge. She felt her eyes burn with tears panic, remembering what it had been like when he bit her neck. She started gasping for air through her nose, going still and leaning heavily against the wall.

"I'm sorry, Astraea, I'm sorry. I didn't wish to harm you," He whispered softly against her hair. She opened her eyes to look at the stone wall before her, trying to force herself to relax in Elijah's hold before she panicked further. "Please, just give me time to explain myself." She took a couple of calming breaths before she hesitantly nodded her head against his hand. He remained still for a moment before he removed his hand from over her mouth, moving back slowly. Astraea turned around to look at him fearfully, waiting for him to speak.

Elijah stood at one end of the arch with his back against the cold stone while Astraea had fallen to sit on the floor, looking at him wearily. Her body refused to stop shaking and she knew it best to sit down before she fell over.

"I was not lying when I told you that I did not mean to injure you, it wasn't my intention," Elijah began carefully, looking down at her with soft brown eyes.

"What are you?" Astraea asked in a shaky voice, her face still pale after the fright that she had been through. Elijah seemed prepared for the question, looking away from her for a moment. She could tell that he was trying to think of what to say and took that moment to take a deep breath to relax.

"A demon, I suppose." Astraea looked up at him with wide eyes when he finally answered, feeling sick to her stomach. "We have been called by many names through the years, though there are very few of us. We are not human, in many ways," He explained, holding her wide violet eyes as he spoke. "We crave blood as our food, it keeps us strong. We are much stronger than a regular human, largely so. And we do not age."

"Who is 'us'?" Astraea asked wearily, looking around.

"I am here alone, my family is elsewhere. My family and I are all the same," He answered carefully.

"Stop trying to hide things, Elijah. If you're going to tell me what is going on I want the full truth," Astraea interrupted before he could continue, seeing the tensing of his jaw when she called him out. He took a deep breath, looking out into the still deserted hallway, before he turned his attention to her once more.

"My family and I are the only of our kind. It was my mother and father that began all of this, wanting to become stronger so that we could not be killed. In exchange for us to become stronger, immortal, we also lost much of our freedom. We have our weakness, though my family also made sure to destroy those sources as well."

"You gave me your blood?" Astraea asked, her eyes concentrated into a frown. She had drunken his blood, it had done something to her that petrified her.

"The blood is able to heal human injuries, as we have some to find out. That is why I had you drink it, so that the bite I inflicted upon you would heal. It has left your system long ago."

"So nothing will happen to me?" She asked desperately, looking near tears. There was too much to understand, too much to take in at one time.

Elijah didn't answer right away, causing her heartbeat to pick up. A familiar pain and itch in her chest and throat had her turning her head away from him and covering her mouth a moment before the coughing began, the metallic taste causing her to cringe. A touch on her wrist had her jumping back, frightened at the sight of Elijah kneeling before her.

"You are still sick?"

"How could I not be?" She asked in a choked voice, her throat raw. "You should know by now that it's not going to get better!"

"My blood should have removed what is causing you to bleed inside," He replied carefully, looking concerned. She frowned uncertainly at his words, trying to lean away from him. He seemed to understand that he was causing her unease and backed off, handing her a cloth that had been tucked into his belt. She cleaned her hands and chin without taking her eyes off of him, the once pristine white material stained forever red.

"Please, take me home," Astraea asked softly, looking down at her feet. Elijah didn't seem to want to let her away just yet, but he nodded his head and offered her his hand to help her up. She didn't take the offered assistance right away but did still take his hand after a moment of pause. Elijah pulled her to her feet gently before he let her step away from him and begin a quick pace back out of the bathhouse, wiping at her face one last time to make sure that she had removed all the blood from her skin. She remained tense and on alert the entire walk back to her family home, her steps wavering every now and again. But Elijah dared not touch her.

That episode was awesome! Please, tell me you guys watched that episode?

I wanted to get this chapter out that day, or even that night, but I have the curse of five family members that all seem to be lazy as all hell and so their responsibilities fall to me. *sigh* Sometimes, I really wish I was an only child. Anyway! In a blatant show of bribing all of you to update, I've got another little teaser into the next chapter!

Chapter 12: Shadow Guests

"Well, if I wasn't being truthful all of your family would be dead and I'd be taking you to Klaus right now," Elijah answered simply, not seeming to care of the mental images that that would bring to the supernatural being on the other side of the room, standing in a insecure pose of her arms crossed before her chest.

"Instead, he's going to offer a deal," Astra threw in, leaning her head against the wall and looked over to Elena. Said girl looked over to Elijah in return, seeming reluctant before asking what the deal entailed. "Do nothing," Astra answered easily, looking down at her pants and brushing off imaginary dust and lint.

"Do nothing," Elijah agreed, nodding his head. "Live your life, stop fighting. And then, when the time is right, you and I will draw Klaus out together and I will make certain that your friends remain unharmed," Elijah continued to explain, stepping over to where the vanity in Elena's room was and began flipping the pages of a book that sat there, not really reading it.

"And then what?"

"I kill him."

Astra listen to the doubt in Elena's voice, but she could also hear that she was beginning to give way to their plan. She didn't want to have to worry about having Elijah as an enemy, so she was considering taking him as an ally. It was as the saying went, it you can't beat 'em, join 'em.