Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Sienna Salvatore – Danielle Campbell.
River Fell – Meaghan Martin.
Luna Lockwood – Isabeli Fontana.
Stone Fell – Alexander Ludwig.
Chapter 7:
"We are gathered here to say farewell to Zachary Salvatore, who was a greatly respected man and will be deeply missed –"
Sienna drowned out the priests words; she only had eyes for the coffin as they finally lowered it into the freshly dug ditch in the Salvatore family plot. Silent tears leaked down from her eyes; Stefan stood to her side and Luna on her other side with Caroline and River to Luna's side.
It was all a mass of blurs after the funeral was done as everyone lined up to shake hands with her, engulf her in hugs and share their condolences.
"Zachary was such a good man"
"He didn't deserve to die so young"
"If you need anything don't hesitate to call"
"You will remain in our prayers"
Sienna just nodded along and stared at them with blank eyes, strained smiles and a few nonsensical words of agreement and thank you's, wanting nothing more than to end this farce and run into her room in the Boarding House and stay under the duvet for a very long time.
It was all empty words. Sienna knew that they were all merely being respectful. Only the Founding Families and those in the Town Council knew Zach, though not nearly as well as she did. But at least they spent time with him, got to know him, had conversations with him, and cared for him. When they spoke of him being dearly missed, she believed them. But the others, the civilians of Mystic Falls that resides in this accursed town were only being polite.
Sienna wanted to escape them and sit by herself, or with her friends, the only family she had left … and Stefan. But he was too busy with Elena Gilbert; with Zach's death and arranging the funeral, Sienna never had a chance to ask about Elena figuring out their secret or even where the new druggie vampire, Vicki was, but she didn't care. She had more important things on her mind than Elena Gilbert and Vicki Donovan.
Like the fact that River had no clue of her Uncle Logan's death; apparently, the Fell's all received a message from him saying that he was leaving to California and didn't know when he would be back. Luna and her discussed this and they came to the agreement that Sheriff Forbes covered his death, and although it was cruel and the Fell's deserved to know that Logan was never coming back, Sienna felt relieved that her friend wouldn't have to mourn her uncle's death.
Sienna was leaving the funeral with Luna, River and Caroline who were staying with her for a while to keep her company, when Liz Forbes walked over to her.
"Sienna, again I'm sorry for your loss. Zach was a good man," she said sadly, engulfing her in a hug.
Sienna gave her a watery smile of appreciation; however, her next words made her blood boil.
"I was worried that you would be alone in the Boarding House with Stefan. Two teenagers alone with no guardian, and with you being pregnant. At least you have Damon."
Luna gripped Sienna's arm tightly, and Sienna pushed away the rage she felt at hearing his name. "What do you mean, Liz?"
"Oh, he just came over and we had a little chat. Since he is an adult he would be able to take care of you and Stefan. You need guidance and someone to look out for you," and with one last squeeze of her hand and hug, Liz Forbes left.
Sienna's angry eyes searched the premises for Damon, but she couldn't spot him anywhere. He was probably off with Stefan taking care of Vicki in some motel since she still hadn't invited them both in.
"S? You're ok, right?" asked Luna, ignoring the confused looks from River and Caroline.
Sienna nodded, grateful that she had someone on her side that knew of the town's dark secret. She would forget about Damon Salvatore for now, and deal with him later. Right now, she wanted to sit in the comforts of her home and mourn her uncle with her best friends.
"It feels so empty without Uncle Zach," Sienna sniffed; currently the four girls sat in a circle next to the fireplace eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Cheetos. Sienna missed alcohol, and wanted nothing more than to drown her sorrows in a bottle of Jack or tequila, but she was pregnant and wasn't able to.
"At least you have your cousins with you. If it weren't for them, then you would be staying with one of us till you graduate," River smiled comfortingly.
"Even though Uncle Zach spent most of his time in his office, it was a comfort having him here. He raised me ever since I was three; he took care of me and gave me words of advice. I always knew where I could find him when I needed a shoulder to lean on or someone to talk to," cried Sienna. "And now he's gone."
Luna, River and Caroline sat in respectful silence. They knew that Sienna had to get everything off her chest. This was her time to mourn and they would sit in silence and support her.
"I can't believe my parents didn't bother making it," scoffed Sienna, though she didn't look too surprised. She honestly expected it from her absentee parents.
"My mom said that Giuseppe was torn on the phone," Caroline spoke quietly, "She told me that he wanted to come to the funeral but he didn't want to face the truth that his brother was really dead."
"Really? And what about his daughter? Didn't he think she needed her parents to raise her now? To take care of her?" snapped Luna angrily.
"It doesn't matter," Sienna shook her head; she didn't give a rat's ass about Giuseppe and Aurelia Salvatore anymore. "I got used to the fact that they never cared about me when I turned 8. I don't need them in my life anymore."
"How about we watch the Notebook a Walk to Remember, and more sad movies. Drown our sorrow in sad chick flicks and binge eat on chips, ice cream and chocolate?" said Caroline perkily, trying to help her friend out.
"Isn't there the Halloween party tonight?" Sienna's brows furrowed in confusion.
"Uh, yeah. And…?" River looked at Luna and Caroline in confusion.
"River. You and Caroline were looking forward to attending the party. Don't ruin your night on my account," Sienna stared solemnly at the two blondes who gaped at her.
"You're an idiot," Luna snorted.
"If you honestly think going to some stupid Halloween party is more important to us than staying with our best friend who is mourning her Uncle's death, then you're a retard," Caroline looked scandalized.
"The fact that the party is still happening and people are actually going is shameful. Someone dearly loved in our little town died, and they're going to celebrate a party," scoffed River.
Sienna began blubbering and engulfed her friends in a four-way hug, "I love you guys so much! I seriously don't know what I'd do without you. It really means a lot to me that you're staying."
For the rest of the day, the four girls watched chick flicks; the Notebook, a walk to remember, the titanic, and then they moved on to a few comedies to cheer their mourning friend.
The girls left before midnight to see their parents and sleep in their bed and Sienna spent the whole night crying for her Uncle Zach when she finally fell asleep, her face streaked with dried tears.
The next day, Sienna woke up too lazy to go out and not in the mood to see pitying faces wherever she went. She lazily put on a robe and made a beeline to the kitchen where she saw Stefan was already there with breakfast laid out on the table.
"Wow. Are you bribing me or something?" Sienna stared suspiciously at Stefan.
"More of an apology," Stefan sat down and began piling Sienna's plate with pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon.
Sienna sat down and began munching on Stefan's cooking, "Apology for what?"
"It was unacceptable. Me spending time with Vicki and Elena yesterday instead of you when Zach had just died," Stefan shifted guilty.
"I get it Stefan. Elena comes first. Don't worry about it; Caroline, Luna and River stayed with me the whole day," Sienna rolled her eyes.
"Still. Yes, I like Elena and I want to keep her safe, but we're family," Stefan shook his head, not liking the meaning behind Sienna's words. Did he really show more care to Elena than his own family?
"Look, in a way you were protecting this family … I mean, Elena found out about our dark secret, and Damon turned a drug addict into a vampire. You had to do damage control," said Sienna firmly.
"I guess that makes sense," Stefan felt a bit better.
"So, distract me from my mourning and all … what's happening with the supernatural?" Sienna inquired curiously. She didn't want to think about Uncle Zach, she had the rest of her life to mourn him, right now she needed a distraction, and if drowning herself in the supernatural complications would get her mind off Uncle Zach's death, then supernatural complications it is.
"Uh, yeah … not so well. Vicki lost it completely yesterday. She attacked Jeremy at the Halloween party, I had to, uh, I had no choice but to kill her," Stefan stared mournfully at his plate.
"Wow," Sienna chewed on some pancakes as she tried to digest Vicki's death, "I'm not going to say I'm happy Vicki's dead, because I'm not. No matter how messed up she was, she didn't deserve to die. But she would have made a terrible and incredibly dangerous vampire. She's a drug addict, she has no control and no willpower, no morals; she would have killed left and right, uncaring for human life. I told you two days ago that you should kill her right away instead of setting yourself up for failure, remember? So don't feel bad about it, her death was inevitable." Sienna smiled comfortingly at Stefan.
Stefan smiled warmly, "Thanks. I know, you're right. You did tell me. I guess I wanted to give her a chance at this new life Damon forced upon her."
"Speaking of Damon. Where is he?" asked Sienna flippantly. She was no idiot; she knew that she couldn't keep Damon out of the house for long. For starters, he'll begin threatening her to let him in and go after her friends if she didn't, but it felt nice to feel safe in her house ever since Damon moved to town, and she was trying to postpone the inevitable for as long as she could.
The other reason was now that Uncle Zach was gone, Damon went over to Liz Forbes and appointed himself her and Stefan's guardian. She knew he did it for many reasons. It would be suspicious if two teenagers, one of who is actually an immortal teenager, but whatever, was living alone in the Boarding house without a guardian or parental supervision, and the Police Department or Social Services would get involved. Also, it was a subtle way of Damon giving Sienna the message to invite him in, and soon. It would look suspicious to the town if Damon didn't live with his brother and cousin as their guardian.
"He's probably at the Grill or something, or maybe threatening other innocent people, who knows when it comes to Damon," Stefan shrugged. He then looked solemnly at Sienna, "You know that you have to invite him in sooner or later, or he'll start killing people until you do."
"I know," Sienna ground out angrily, "Besides, Damon apparently informed Sheriff Forbes that he's our guardian. If he isn't living with us, then Sheriff Forbes will visit to see what is wrong."
Stefan gaped at Sienna for a moment, before he began chuckling humorlessly, "Of course he did."
It was later in the afternoon when Damon finally came calling.
"So, little niece of mine, you gonna invite me in?" Damon had this infuriating smirk on his face, he knew he had won.
Sienna glared hardly at him, "Let me make one thing clear. I will never forgive you for killing Uncle Zach and Logan! But if we're going to live together, promise me that you will leave my friends and those I care about alone!"
"Let me in, Sienna," Damon snarled, electric blue eyes burning into olive green ones.
"Promise me!" Sienna stubbornly glared at him, not backing down.
"I play by my own rules. Let. Me. In," snapped Damon, a warning in his tone.
"Prom- uh," Sienna felt dizzy and her stomach felt funny. She lost balance slightly and would have fallen face first into the floor if she hadn't quickly grabbed the doorknob.
"Sienna … Sienna, what's wrong?" Damon actually looked worried. He noticed that she looked pale, and her hands were trembling. He knew that if it weren't for quick reflexes, she would have collapsed on the ground.
"I don't, ughh, I don't feel so good. My babies, oh my god, my babies," Sienna sobbed, "Help me, help my babies, ughh," Sienna's knuckles tightened on the doorknobs and she was adamantly trying not to collapse.
"Let me in so I can help you Sienna," Damon's voice was completely sincere, "I won't harm any of your friends unless it is in self-defense," Damon promised. It was good enough for Sienna, who nodded faintly, and whispered, "Come in."
Damon wasted no time in flashing to Sienna's side and carrying her to his car, making her yell at him, but it only came out as a groan, "Hey, Damon, where are you taking me?! I want to go to my room."
"I am taking you to see your doctor. What's his name, Doctor Jacks," Damon placed Sienna in the passenger seat and drove off.
"It's Dr. Rykes and I don't want to go out! I don't want people giving me pitying looks and asking me if I'm okay, and I swear to G-O-D, if I get another casserole I'm going to smash it into said person's face," Sienna rambled. "Which of course is your entire fault, since you're the one that killed him, and you haven't even apologized or shown any regret whatsoever-"
"Would you shut up?" Damon interrupted her, picking up speed. "You talk way too much. Look, right now, the little ones in there are more important, so suck it up." Sienna gaped at him before huffing, crossing her arms and looking away.
Damon aggravated her further in not letting her walk into the hospital, instead, he carried her bridal style ignoring the protests and numerous curses that came out of her mouth, and made his way over to the nurse asking urgently for Dr. Rykes.
Sienna was grateful that Dr. Rykes didn't mention Uncle Zach once; after all he went to the funeral and paid his respects. Dr. Rykes did however berate her on her stress levels, informing her that he had repeated himself many times already to not increase her stress levels.
He called Damon in since he was now her guardian and had him beware any increase in her stress levels from now on, going as far as to suggest meditation.
"How hard is it for you to not stress out," scoffed Damon. They were currently in the living room at the Boarding House and Stefan was sitting next to Sienna, brooding after being informed of her little trip to the hospital.
"I dunno. How hard is it for you not to kill people?" snapped Sienna. "Because then my pregnancy would be a breeze," Sienna pointed out.
Stefan snorted and Damon mock-smiled, "Touché."
"Sienna? Did your parents make it to the funeral?" asked Stefan, having just remembered. Damon perked up at that, he had never seen Giuseppe Salvatore before; he had honestly thought Zach was an only child. He wondered how exactly that little fact was kept hidden from him.
"Nope. According to Liz, he was too torn up to make it," said Sienna bitterly.
"Daddy issues?" Damon smirked.
"And mommy issues. I hate them both," Sienna shrugged nonchalantly; "I don't even care if I never see them again."
A few blocks away near a foreclosure, in another quaint house in the small town of Mystic Falls, the phone began ringing and a woman in her sixties hurried over to answer.
"Hello?"
"Sheila how are you my dear," Sheila smiled as she recognized the accented voice of her very dear friend.
"Hmm, well it depends. I am slightly irritated it has taken you this long to call your kooky old friend," Sheila laughed.
"Forgive me old friend, I have been quite busy."
"I take it you want an update on how she is doing?" asked Sheila, knowing very well what her friend called for.
The woman sighed on the other end, "Yes. I find myself worrying about her with every passing day. Tell me, did she come into her powers yet?"
Sheila pursed her lips, not wanting to disappoint her friend, yet not wanting to lie to her, "I'm sorry Sol, there are no signs at all."
"What do you sense?" was the immediate reply.
"She is a very powerful witch of course; she comes from one of the most powerful lines, Sol. I feel she is close to tapping into her powers, but then again-"
"But then again, you felt the same thing last year," her friend cut her off with an impatient sigh, "What now Sheila? Her mother is uncaring of her future."
"Her mother is trying to escape destiny and fate. Her daughter however, won't have a choice. I can tell that the ancestry she was born into shall save her life multiple times," said Sheila ominously.
"Do keep me updated Shi, would you?"
"Unless I'm dead you know I will," Sheila laughed.
"Don't speak of death my old friend," her friend snapped from the other end.
"Oh Sol, I feel death is upon my door. I fear I don't have much time left, and I won't be there to help with her magic, to teach her of her ancestry," Sheila sounded sad.
"I know you old friend; and knowing you, I assume you have a backup plan?"
"Of course I do," Sheila snorted. "Things are changing in Mystic Falls, Sol. Spirits talk."
"They always do," the voice drawled, "Well Shi, Jacques has just arrived from work. We'll continue our little chat some other time."
"Bye Sol," Sheila sighed, dropping the phone on the table.
Sheila Bennett walked over to her window and smiled upon seeing her granddaughter, Bonnie parking her car and walking over to the front door. She had been given the task to watch over her oldest friend's granddaughter until she comes into her powers.
She promised to keep a keen eye on her and inform her of her powerful ancestry; she knew that a witch of her nature, a witch whose family line is as old and powerful as hers, many would use her for their own purpose and gain, and Sheila would not have that, just as they would use her own granddaughter.
Sheila could sense that she would be discovering her magic soon, and Sheila Bennett prayed that she would be around to help her; if not however, she made a failsafe, a backup plan. She would not fail her old friend in her task, even if death took her life.
A/N: I'm sorry for a short chapter, but with Zach's funeral, I felt it would seem ridiculous for Sienna to go to a party, so I couldn't add much. Of course, the action had barely started; things will start picking up soon. ;)
R&R.