Dark Times

"You should know you can't sneak up on me," Astra taunted softly as she was brushing over her eyelashes with mascara, hearing Elijah walking as silently as he could through her bedroom and toward the open bathroom door. He appeared in the mirror a moment later, standing behind her with a different suit on than what he had been wearing while out with Jenna that morning, his once vibrant purple shirt changed to a pale blue.

"That does not mean I cannot try," Elijah retorted with a faint smile, watching the reflection of her roll her eyes before finishing with the mascara brush and sliding it back into the tube. "I just wanted to make sure that you were ready for tonight; and you know that I do not mean an outfit and hairstyle."

Taking in a deep breath, the Roman woman placed the blue tube back into her makeup bag and turned to face Elijah, leaning back on the counter and reaching out for him. He stepped up against her fluidly, the position something that they had become accustomed to, and gently placed a kiss against her forehead before he even registered the movement.

"I know I can't keep running away. I don't want to keep running away."

"I will always protect you," Elijah assured softly, pressing his forehead against hers. She wasn't wearing her heels yet so she was still quite a bit shorter than the male, but neither minded as it allowed her to rest her head comfortably beneath his chin as she tightly wrapped her arms around his torso. Elijah smiled softly when he felt her rub her cheek against her shirt, the material made of cotton that was soft to the touch.

"You did that on purpose," she accused with amusement in her voice, her hands travelling up his back to continue to caress the material of his shirt, the softness her weakness.

"Where is your evidence, Mrs. Smith?" he taunted back, getting a jab in the ribs.

"You are an evil, evil man," she teased, her voice coming out as a cooe. "Now," she continued, pulling back and adjusting his tie before placing her hands on his cheeks and giving him a smile, "We have a dinner party to attend." Her eyes showed her confidence and her smile showed her assurance, allowing Elijah to smile back before he stepped out of her way and allowed her to grab her things.

Wearing the same dark skinny jeans she had that morning, she changed her blouse into a deep royal purple with a black leather belt that wrapped around her waist and accented her curves. Deciding against taking hours on her hair, she let it fall into natural curls with only a bit of makeup on her face. Slipping on her high heeled ankle boots, she was ready to leave within another minute.

"This time, we're taking my car and I'm driving," she stated, pointing at him in what would have been a threatening gesture if she didn't make it appear so provocative. Holding his hands up in surrender, Elijah allowed her to saunter from the room as he watched her leave from behind, snatching her car keys from her dresser as she passed it.

There were already several cars in the driveway when they arrived, all of them ones that they recognized as people that Elena wanted safe. Astra passed Elijah her keys, seeing as he had better pockets for holding them, before they slipped from the sleek car and looked toward the boarding house. The conversations inside could be heard quite easily, but they didn't bother to begin listening so soon and instead stepped up the stone stairs to the heavy wooden door, Elijah knocking loudly.

"John's here," Astra drawled out unhappily, noticing his car sitting beside Jenna's.

Elijah shushed her soothingly, running his fingers through the length of her blonde hair, barely touching her back in the process and causing her to relax at the touch. They both turned toward the door as it was opened, Damon appearing on the other side with a false smile. Astra didn't bother with the fake formalities, but Elijah did.

"Good evening."

"Thank you for coming," Damon countered, "Please, come in." He made a sweeping gesture into the home, stepping aside as he grinned at them devilishly.

"Just one moment," Elijah said as he placed his large hand directly between Astra's shoulder blades, smiling cynically up at Damon. "Can I just say that if you have less than honourable intentions about how this even is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider," he warned, never taking his eyes off of Damon. Astra discretely looked between the two of them, getting the same feeling that Elijah was.

"No, nothing-nothing dishonourable. Just a…getting to know you." His eyes fell to Astra's, the bright blue holding her violet orbs for a moment before her blank stare was too much and he directed his eyes back toward the enemy he had made.

Elijah huffed a laugh from beside her, his fingers threading in her hair. "Well that's good, because…you know, even though Elena and I have this deal if you make a move to cross me I'll kill you and I'll kill everyone in this house." Astra wondered if that meant Jenna as well, but decided it best not to interrupt his process of putting Damon in his place and instead turned her attention to where she could hear high heeled shoes making their way toward the front door. "Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Damon agreed faintly.

"Jenna!" Astra called happily in excitement, feeling Elijah nudge her on in silent permission that she could go and speak with the other woman. "We match!" she observed, looking from Jenna's flowing purple shirt to her own blouse, getting a laugh from the other woman.

"You both look incredible," Elijah complimented as he moved to join them, "It's wonderful to see you again, Jenna." She smiled and greeted him in kind, offering a hug to each of the 'Smiths' before mentioning that they move on to the dining room.

"You two came right on time, we just finished cooking dinner," Jenna said as she stepped aside to let the other two step into the dining room first. "I can actually admit that Damon's cooking smells really good," she added on to Astra, knowing that she would understand after their earlier conversation about Damon.

"It does smell wonderful; it's been quite a long time since I've had a good home cooked meal. That's one of the down sides to always moving around," Astra said as she looked over to Elijah, smiling. "Can't say that I regret all the travelling, though." Jenna hummed in agreement, handing Astra a glass of wine from the table, doing the same for Elijah a moment later.

"You travel a lot, then?" a familiar voice said from behind her, making Astra cringe before turning to look at John Gilbert, the sick smile on his lips making her want to smack him.

"When it's away from people like you? Yes," she deadpanned, getting a joyous laugh from Jenna as she clinked glasses with her before both women took deep gulps of the alcohol while John's face soured before them. "You're related to him?" she asked Jenna in a less than discrete whisper, getting a click of the tongue from the other woman as they turned their backs on the Gilbert.

"Not voluntarily," she answered irritably. "Are you an only child?"

"Older sisters," Astra answered, holding up three fingers to count all of her siblings that had perished long ago. "All married and all with kids; holidays were a nightmare, I'll tell you that much. We all live in different areas now, though, so we never see each other."

"Just sisters?" Jenna asked curiously.

"My dad was ready to jump off a roof if it meant escaping all of the oestrogen," she answered seriously, getting another laugh from Jenna as she leaned against the table. "I think he was the happiest man to have son-in-laws because it meant equality to the battle of testosterone versus oestrogen." Jenna was freely laughing by then, getting a broad smile from Astra as she continued to sip her wine.

"Well," Damon said loudly, drawing all eyes to him. "Since everyone's here, let's sit down and eat."

With a bit of manoeuvring and switching of seats, everyone was soon sitting around the dining table with a plate of food before them and a glass of wine to the side. Astra sat between Elijah and Jenna with Damon at the head of the table to Jenna's other side. Astra glared as she noticed that John was sitting across the table from her, getting a laugh and snide remark from Damon when he noticed. The meal was accompanied by friendly conversation, the odd question directed toward Elijah that held a secret meaning that went over Jenna's head, seeming innocent to the woman.

"I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah your family is so not a founder of this town," Jenna announced as she was pouring more red wine into Damon's glass, having already filled Astra's.

"Oh?" Damon asked curiously, lifting the glass as he directed his eyes to the man further down the table. "Do tell."

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier," Elijah began, placing his own glass down as Astra turned her attention to him as well, listening. "A faction of settlers migrated to this town after the witch trials in the 1690's. Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from the persecution." While he was speaking Astra speared a piece of asparagus that he hadn't eaten on his plate, getting a glance from him that only received an innocent look in return.

"Because they were witches," Jenna added on, leaning toward Andy across the table.

"Well there's no tangible proof that there were witches in Salem," Andy answered, shaking her head.

"Andy's a journalist," Damon explained, looking to Elijah. "Big on facts."

"Must be very helpful," Astra said faintly, glancing at Damon from the corner of her eye before she continued to eat. Elijah and Damon both looked down at her, but she acted as though she hadn't done a single thing. She had refrained to speak to anyone aside from Jenna and Elijah for most of the dinner, the odd time speaking with Andy or Alaric as well, but avoiding John and Damon as though they weren't even in the room. Jenna caught on very easily and appeared to find it amusing, sneering at John every time that he was blatantly ignored or glared at by the blonde.

"Starting to sound like a ghost story, to me," John intervened in the conversation, having already finished his meal and putting all attention on the conversation and his wine.

"A tragedy," Astra suggested, looking over to him, "not a ghost story. There was no proof, as Andy said, that these people were actually witches and yet they were burned alive anyway. It's a tragic tale of the monstrous way people can hurt other beings," she said. Elijah moved his arm around to the back of her chair, placing his hand against her shoulder blade gently. Damon put his utensils down at the head of the table, the meaning in her words cutting him deep. It was as though she was speaking directly to him, calling him out on his past behaviour.

When the meal was finished Astra found herself in the kitchen, helping Jenna with cleaning up dishes as they continued to sip their wine. She was always listening in on the other conversations throughout the house, from Alaric and John to Damon and Elijah. She paused for a moment when she thought she heard Stefan's voice, but it was grainy and hard to understand, telling her that it was over a phone that he was speaking. Before she had a chance to catch on to what he was saying, Jenna called her over and asked if she could put the dishes up on the shelf, seeing as she was the tallest.

"I wish I had your height," Andy said as she watched Astra stretch up, gently putting the plates in their place. Jenna nodded in agreement, hating that she actually felt short around another woman. Astra smiled in sympathy to both of the woman as she adjusted her blouse back into place, knowing that she was quite a bit taller than most women of the new era.

"I've been told that many times before," she confessed, getting a laugh from the other two.

Alaric suddenly stepped hurriedly into the room, startling the two humans and getting a curious stare from the Roman. "Ladies, we forgot dessert."

"Crap," Jenna swore, bringing a hand to her forehead as she realized that he was right. Moving to the fridge quickly, Astra moved to help as Andy and Alaric stepped from the room to tell the others. "I can't believe I forgot about this," she muttered under her breath. She began pulling out various plates and bowls, all holding different things that were supposed to go together to make small cakes with fruit, icing and other treats.

"I'll help, don't worry," Astra assured as she began to unwrap the small cakes. "You'll have to help me out with the steps, I've never made these."

"Neither have I," Jenna admitted sheepishly. "How about you unwrap everything and I'll take out the tea to tide everyone over until things are finished?" Astra nodded and continued to take off the plastic from the plates, listening to Jenna carry out the platter the held the stacks of china cups and a kettle of boiling water. The smell of the treats was actually quite appealing, even for a dead woman. That was one of the perks about the reality of vampires, they could eat food. They just didn't need it.

Jenna was explaining that things would be finished soon as the others sat back at the dining table, soon re-joining her in the kitchen and quickly picking up the bowl of peach slices and strawberry halves. Astra was able to locate a knife relatively quickly, handing it to the other woman.

"We'll struggle through this unfamiliar territory together," she teased, getting a laugh from the human.

"Can you set a small cake on each of the plate while I'm cutting these?"

Astra did as was asked and carefully transferred the desserts carefully while Jenna cut the fruits into smaller pieces to be put on the very top of the cake. Her body tensed and froze when the smell of blood filled the room, followed by a hiss from Jenna as she knife clattered to the counter. "Are you alright?" she asked, turning around to face Jenna once more.

"Cut my finger," she explained, moving over to the sink and beginning to run her finger under the tap. "Can you go ask Damon where there are some Band-Aids?"

"Yea, just a sec," Astra answered, stepping from the kitchen and across into the dining room, where everyone was sitting. She could hear what they were saying even from inside the kitchen and smirked at what she heard Elijah say just before she entered the room.

"Of course she hates him, so there's no reason to keep him on the endangered species list," Damon was saying to Elijah, speaking about John.

"Believe me, after his stunt at the tea party when he stabbed Astra I would not have hesitated under any other situation to kill him," Elijah said, clearly speaking more to John than to Damon, even though the words weren't directed to the other man in any way when heard by outside ears. She appeared in the doorway at that moment, smiling to Elijah before looking at Damon with a dark stare.

"Jenna cut herself with a knife accidentally, she wants to know if you have anything for it," she requested.

"Oh, I know where the bandages are," Andy said. "I'll go get that for her while Alaric's looking for my notepad," she added on and moved away from the table, following after Astra. Jenna was still by the sink, a table cloth wrapped around her finger to try to stop the bleeding. "There should be some in the cabinet behind the mirror in the bathroom down the hall," Andy began as soon as she saw her. She had Jenna unwrap the injury and winced. "That's deep, do you need some help?"

"No, I'm a big girl," she said quickly, waving her off and rewrapping her hand up. "I'll call you if I can't find them, but that would be pretty said if I couldn't find a Band-Aid. Astra, could you finish cutting the fruit?"

"Yea, no problem. You just try to stop the bleeding, remember that it can't be bleeding when you wrap it," she explained, getting a nod from the other blonde before she disappeared from the room. Andy looked in the direction she had gone before turning to Astra, looking curious and getting a stare from the vampire.

"Doesn't blood bother you?"

"I'm old," Astra said with a wave of her hand, "I'm used to it." She was not, however, used to speaking to a human so freely about her vampiric qualities.

Moving over to the counter, she picked up the knife and tossed it into the sink before retrieving another to use. After setting aside the peach that had blood on it from Jenna's cut, she easily began slicing the peaches first.

"How old are you exactly?" Andy asked, stepping up beside her as she met her eyes. Astra paused and glanced over at her, wondering briefly if it was of her own curiosity or the curiosity of Damon that was forcing her to ask the questions that she was. "Come on, you must be pretty old if you're hanging around with Elijah."

"You're the simple age of a human and you're hanging around Damon," Astra answered as she resumed the job Jenna had requested of her.

"Touché," Andy said simply, smiling.

Astra suddenly tensed, the knife dropping from her hand as Elijah's scream of pain rippled through her hearing. But she couldn't move. Andy gasped beside her, stepping away as her hands flew to her mouth. Gasping for air, she felt as though someone had their hands wrapped tightly around her throat as she lowered her eyes down to her chest. Blood was beginning to flow from a sudden injury in her chest, coming out of nowhere, and staining her violet shirt.

All at once her body went slack, the knife clattering to the floor loudly as she tumbled to the ground. Andy looked down at her, petrified, before she quickly darted from the room, leaving the supposedly dead vampire on the ground. A second gasp was ripped from her throat when she came face to face with Elijah's dead form sitting in the chair, a dagger producing from his chest after it had been stabbed through the back of the chair.

"Where's Astra?" Damon demanded, his voice low.

"She's dead," Andy blurted out. Damon's eyes widened before he disappeared, rushing to the kitchen where he could smell blood coming from. Astra was lying on the floor, still as a corpse, with blood beginning to stain the floor beneath her. However, her skin wasn't changing like all other vampires did when they died. Her head had fallen to the side, her eyes closed like she was sleeping. Andy appeared behind him, quivering.

"Clean up the blood," he ordered Andy, "before Jenna comes back in." Picking up Astra's body gently, she was completely limp in his arms. She had a strong smell of Elijah on her that made Damon wrinkle his nose, before he turned on heel and headed back into the dining room. Alaric pulled the dagger from through the chair, lifting it up to reveal the blood that remained on the silver blade.

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know yet," Damon answered, looking down at the woman that was still stained with blood, but didn't appear to be bleeding anymore. "Take him down to the cellar, I'll deal with Astra."

Oh, the suspense…

I hope you all liked that chapter, probably not what you all were expecting. Don't worry, Astra's freak out is coming and it will be different than anyone else has written or what you'd expect with what happens in the show. Just a little hint. ;)