Bloodlines
Chapter 5: Original Sin (TVD)
Beta: PrincessOfSilence
Disclaimer: I own nothing of TVD and TO. I only own my characters and my story.
A pair of young brown eyes snapped open at the sounds of horrid screams that had penetrated her ear drums. She could barely see with the amount of thick black smoke that had covered the room. Heat engulfed everything around her and another scream broke the silence in the room.
This time, she realized that she was the one that screamed.
A fire. A burning, scorching, searing blaze was quickly spreading through the house and had gotten up to her room. Flames were licking at her bedroom walls and nipping at the expensive throw rug on the floor. The girl of almost ten years old jumped out of bed and frantically ran for her bedroom door. She had to get her mother and father if they were still asleep. Her tiny hand gripped the doorknob and it had burned her skin, the metal branding her. Letting out a cry, she cradled her hand and tears escaped her eyes.
"Cassandra! Cassandra!" Her mother was calling out to her, but she could barely hear it over the crackling blaze.
"Mama! Mama, help me please!" She cried back and banged her uninjured hand on the door. Turning over her shoulder, she sobbed seeing that her room was burning around her. She was trapped with no way of getting out.
"Mama! Papa!" A young Cassandra shrieked. Smoke was filling her lungs, so she rushed to the window and pushed it open. She peered over the windowsill and gulped, the jump down was too far and she'd never make it. There were some families from town that were pouring buckets of water on the fire and she saw her mother sobbing with her hands over her face. Her father was consoling her, holding her in his grasp and rocking her back and forth.
"Papa! Mama!" Young Cassandra called to them and their heads snapped up to see her waving to them.
"Oh, Joseph!" Her mother fainted, falling into the arms of her sister who had come as soon as she heard about the fire. Cassandra's father bolted back inside the house and the young girl moved away from the window. Cassandra then ran to her bed, reached under and pulled a covered pan out from underneath. During the winter months, the maids would fill the pan with hot coals and place it under the blankets to keep her warm. She made her way back to the door and using all of her strength, she brought it down on the door handle. Once, twice, three times and it finally broke off. She pushed the door open and saw that the bottom floor of her home was a burning inferno. The front door was wide open and all she had to do was get to it. She very carefully was making her way down the stairs, avoiding pockets of flames that were eating away at the wood under her feet. An ember grabbed onto the fringe of her dress and she batted at it, but in her effort to douse the fire, she missed a step on the stairs. Her body hit the steps, the wood beating against her bones and bruising her skin. She tried to scream, to alert to someone that she was falling, but her voice was silenced when she hit the floor with a loud thud.
Cassandra shot up from her sleep and whipped her head around wildly. The fire was gone, the smoke was gone and her younger self was gone. Sighing heavily, she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and bunched the blood red sheets around her; the deep color reminded her of the burning embers from her nightmares and she chose to push them aside and her flinched from touching the sheets.
Damon's groan next to her made her turn to look at him. He was still asleep with just one foot in a semiconscious state. "'Lena's fine. Go back to sleep." He mumbled tiredly. She had been up with Elena because she was having constant nightmares of Stefan. Damon would feel her getting up all throughout the night to check on her and he could hear them talking in hushed tones down the hall. Cassandra didn't reply and he didn't feel the bed shift, so he opened his eyes to see that she was sitting up with her legs pressed against her chest. Leaning up on his elbow, he scooted closer to her.
"Hey," He skimmed the back of his hand down her arm soothingly. "You've been up with Elena all night. Go back to sleep."
Cassandra shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. "I had a nightmare."
Intrigued and slightly worried, her husband peered up at her. "About?"
"When I was little, there was a fire in my house. I haven't dreamt of it in years, but tonight I did." She mumbled, her fingers toying with the red sheets. "It was like I was reliving it. I can still feel the heat on my skin."
Damon sat up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. His lips caressed her temple, placing little kisses here and there. "You never told me about a fire."
"It happened when I was young. I just remember waking up and the whole house was in flames. I barely got out alive." Cassandra leaned into her husband's strong embrace, finding such comfort in his arms. "It was just eerie that I dreamt of it now after almost two hundred years."
"Between you and Elena, I don't know who is worked up more," he joked.
"I think we're tied for first. Once we find Stefan, I think things will get better." She said. "Then again, we'll have to tell him that he's going to be an uncle soon. That will go over well."
The vampire turned his head and kissed along the top of her head. "Speaking of, how are you feeling?"
"I feel fine." Cassandra's fingers traced the defined muscles of his abdomen. Thoughts of her nightmares drifted away into nothingness and she hummed happily. "Just exhausted. Now I know how you feel after being up with me for all hours of the night."
"Well," Damon quickly rolled them over so he hovered above her, a coy smile painting his lips. "I know a way for you to fall right to sleep."
Raising her eyebrow with a crooked smirk, she bit her bottom lip. "Oh yeah? Enlighten me."
Damon shifted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her lightly. His hand danced down her body to grip his aching member while the other spread the petals of Cassandra's flower. He rubbed himself up and down her slit and occasionally his cock would give a nudge to her clit. He kissed her passionately, his tongue brushing her bottom lip.
Gasping and shuddering, she leaned her head back. "Of course you think of sex."
"But it works every time." Damon murmured lustfully and Cassandra climbed on top of him, settling herself just over his morning wood.
"I can certainly testify to that." She giggled, positioning the head of him at her entrance and started to push him inside her wet sex.
"Guys! We have a-whoa!" Elena was now standing in the doorway, a hand over her eyes. "Ohmygosh! I am so sorry."
Growling, Damon eased Cassandra off of him, keeping her covered with the blankets and he glared at Elena and Katherine who were standing in the doorway of their bedroom. "This couldn't wait?"
"What's stopping you?" Katherine raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't mind a show."
"Hate to break it to you, Katherine, but if you were to watch us, your human heart would probably stop." Cassandra smirked and Katherine seemed all the more intrigued. "Or explode."
"Is that a promise?" She grinned.
"Katherine!" Elena chided.
"What? You go without vamp-sex for two months and let me know how that works out for you." The other brunette glowered and Elena's face fell. "Then again, with Stefan gone, you're not getting any sex."
"Look, can we just tell them what we saw?"
"Yes, can you please tell us, so the two of you can get out of our room?" Damon grumbled.
Elena took a readying breath and exchanged a side glance with Katherine. "Well, the two of us dreamt of Stefan."
Damon's blue eyes passed between them incredulously. "You're kidding right?"
"We both had the same exact dream and we think we know where he is." Elena continued.
"Think? I know exactly where he is. "Route 29. Joe's bar." Husband and wife traded weary glances with one another before Damon flopped back down onto the bed and buried his head beneath the pillows.
So much for enjoying a lazy afternoon.
"So, I've found 9 bars along Route 29, and none of them are called "Joe's"." Damon said and walked into the living room. He and Cassandra had gotten dressed and where coming up with a battle plan to find Stefan.
Elena toyed with Stefan's daylight ring between her fingers. "I had a feeling that there was something wrong all summer, and I ignored it. But I was right, Stefan was in a safe, and probably killed whoever it was that found him...I know it sounds crazy, that I'm following some psychic dream, but it's the only lead that we have."
"It doesn't sound crazy—it is crazy." The vampire quipped.
"But we're open-minded." Cassandra interjected while sipping a blood bag.
"Shotgun!" Katherine announced as she traipsed into the room. Six pairs of eyes snapped onto her form and she shrugged. "What? I get carsick in the back seat. Another charming, human side effect you stuck me with." Her accusing gaze landed on Elena.
"Please tell me that she's not coming?" The female vampire growled.
"Trust me, I have no interest in Katherine's well-being, but for some reason Silas wants her real bad, and if Silas wants her, then we want her more." Damon defended.
"Can't we just stash her in the cellar? Or maybe a deep, dark well with a pair of water wings?" Elena suggested.
"I'm down for that. We do have that safe that Stefan was locked in." Cassandra added with a smirk.
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Do you really think that I wanna take a road trip with you, America's most boring, self-righteous vampire? Just remember, Damon wouldn't have to play bodyguard if you hadn't shoved that cure down my throat."
"You were trying to kill me!" The young vampire hissed.
"I will admit, though, I take great pleasure knowing that you wasted your one shot at a human life on me." Katherine grinned and Damon stepped in between the two girls.
"All right, play nice, or I'm gonna revisit the deep dark well idea." He told them firmly.
"The safe is better." Cassandra sang melodiously. "At least we can't hear her in the safe."
"I wanna find Stefan just as much as you do, and not just because I don't wanna be a pawn that you can trade off for his life. I care about him—I always have. And since we've been having the same dream...makes me think you care about him just as much." Katherine and Elena held each other's intense stares, these two women both cared about Stefan and it was clear that they both wanted them back safe and sound.
With an exaggerated sigh, Damon took Cassandra's hand, leading her outside. "Okay, train's leaving the station. Choo-choo!"
"I am dreading this road trip." Cassandra groaned and Damon opened the front side passenger door.
"I'd rather be backed over with the car." Her husband mumbled and gestured for her to slide inside. "My lady."
"Good sir." Cassandra smiled widely and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before climbing into the car.
"Hey! I said that I called shotgun!" Katherine whined as she walked over to the car with Elena in tow.
"Sorry, Katherine, but the wife gets first dibs." Damon called and hopped into the driver's seat.
"Just because she's pregnant?!" She shouted and Cassandra leaned back against the seat. Damon blew air between his lips as Katherine's constant whining drifted into their personal space.
"Just don't blame me if my anger gets out of control and I start choking her till her face turns blue." Cassandra warned him.
"Take a number." Her husband smirked, put the key in the ignition and his car revved to life.
I've never seen a diamond in the flesh.
I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies.
And I'm not proud of my address in a torn up town. No post code envy.
But every song is like gold teeth, Grey Goose, tripping in the bathroom, bloodstains, ball gowns, trashing the hotel room.
We don't care. We're driving Cadillacs in our dreams.
Cassandra let her head bob to the beat and she hummed along with the song playing from Damon's radio. They were driving for two hours and Elena hadn't given them any indication that she'd seen the bar that they were looking for. The hybrid was staring aimlessly out the window when she felt Damon's hand on her thigh. She turned to see that he was gazing at her out of the corner of his eye and a slight blush tinged her cheeks.
"Eyes on the road, Damon." Katherine chided from the backseat.
"Zip it, Katherine." Cassandra smirked at her in the reflection of the mirror. "We could always leave you on the side of the road."
"Yeah, but then Silas would get to me in seconds." The human countered and both husband and wife groaned.
"Damn," Cassandra muttered.
"You sure you know what you're looking for? Last bar had a red awning and a neon sign." Damon looked at Elena through the rearview mirror.
"I'll know when I see it." The vampire replied.
Katherine made her presence known by popping her head out between the seats, her elbows resting on Damon's and Cassandra's seats. "Me too."
Damon scowled. "Didn't ask you."
"I'm just trying to make conversation." She shrugged and settled herself in the backseat next to Elena. "So, Elena, I couldn't help but overhear. You've been dreaming about Stefan all summer? That must be really stressful on a new relationship, especially when you're having those kinds of dreams while you're getting ready to go to college."
Elena shook her head. "They weren't dreams. It was just a bad feeling, like something wasn't right with him."
"Oh, no, yeah, sure. I totally get it. But if you loved him, wouldn't you have followed the urge through? I mean, that's what I would have done." Katherine boasted and Elena's jaw clenched tightly.
"Ignore her, Elena," Cassandra sighed tiredly.
"As soon as the vervain's out of her system, we'll compel her and we'll put her on mute." Damon added with a grin.
Katherine went back to her previous position. "Or maybe Stefan's been trying to reach out to you all summer, but you've been too distracted with college to help him, so he reached out to the person that he trusts—me." Elena gave a long, suffering look to Cassandra who caught it in the mirror and just shook her head.
"Nah. You're probably right. Elena and I had the exact same dream on the exact same night. Why would that mean something?" The human then turned her attention to Cassandra. "So, how's the bun in your supernatural oven cooking?"
Cassandra tossed Katherine a particularly disgusted look. "You're just as annoying as a human as you were a vampire."
"I'm just asking a question. Besides, I wonder how Stefan will react when he finds out that you two decided to leave town just because you got knocked up."
The hybrid turned herself in her seat so she and Katherine were facing each other. "For your information, we were trying to get some answers."
Katherine looked pensively at her. "For two months? And how did that work out for you?"
"Katherine," Damon growled, seeing that she was upsetting his wife.
"Whatever." She sat back next to Elena. "Like I said before, Stefan can only count on me because his girlfriend, his brother, and his knocked up sister-in-law had better things to do than worry about his well-being." Every other presence in the car was silent, Elena crossed her arms and stared out the window. Damon kept his eyes on the road and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Cassandra passed a hand over her stomach as her eyes began to droop.
"You're exhausted." He noted and she yawned. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you when we're there." Cassandra simply nodded and leaned her head against the window and let the movement of the car on the open road rock her to sleep.
Joseph Emerson dodged another flaming board that had fallen from the ceiling as he made his way back into the house. He had seen that Cassandra was still in the house, so he rushed back in to get her out. His little girl, he swore that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, even if he died in the blaze, he'd be damn sure that his little girl was safe. He could still hear his wife screaming outside for Cassandra and he pushed on further, batting the veils of smoke that clouded his vision. He called out again for his little girl and he heard her through the roaring inferno. She was still up in her room, so he made his way for the staircase but his heart stopped when he heard a sickening crack against the hard floor. Running towards it, he sobbed seeing Cassandra lying limply on the floor. He darted to her side and scoped her up in his arms, cradling her close to him.
"Papa is here, sweetheart." He cooed softly to her and he felt her shift in his hold. Before the flames could consume them both, he made his way back through the house, but the boards creaked beneath him. He fell to the floor, his knee smashing the wood and he cried out in pain. He still held his daughter in his arms and it took quite a bit of effort, but he got himself to his feet. He hurried out the front door where his wife and other frantic family members were anxiously waiting.
"Put her down here, Joseph!"
"Is she breathing?"
"Stand back!"
"Give her some room to breathe!"
"Send for a doctor! Hurry!"
Orders were being shouted from anyone and everyone who felt like they had some kind of say in Cassandra's health. Muffled voices and blurry images passed through Cassandra as she fell in and out of consciousness and her eyes were barely opening. She could feel someone touching her hand, her fingers flexed delicately and the touch on her hand grew stronger. They were squeezing firmly while a pad of a thumb rubbed over her skin.
"Please, my beautiful girl. Open your eyes." Josephine begged with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Cassandra."
"Cassandra, Mama and Papa are here. You are safe. I promise." Her father pleaded, ignoring the thrumming pain in his knee. The girl stirred, moving her head slightly to the side and she gave a pained groan.
"Cassandra!"
Her eyes immediately fluttered open and she leaned up abruptly, smacking her head against Damon's who had been trying to wake her up.
"Ow."
"My nose." Damon groaned, prodding the bone that she'd easily snapped. It did heal quickly, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
"I'm sorry. Another nightmare." Her chest rose and fell with each harsh breath and Damon gazed upon her strangely. It was unusual for her to have such frequent nightmares, twice in one day was an anomaly. He helped her out of the car and closed the door very quietly.
"Wha-" Damon pressed a single finger against her lips and he shushed her. He jerked his head to indicated that Katherine was sleeping against the window. Nodding, Damon removed his finger from her lips.
"Are we really just gonna leave her in the car?" Elena whispered.
"Uh, yes!" Cassandra chimed in. "Did you seriously just ask that question?"
"Exactly. The only time she shuts up is when she's sleeping, and I didn't want to disturb our peace and quiet." Damon added and interlocked his fingers with Cassandra's. They were just at the front door of the bar when they realized that Elena wasn't following them.
"I thought you said this was the one." The male vampire peered over his shoulder.
Elena nodded slowly, her eyes scanning the red awning and neon sign that haunted her dreams. "It is. It looks exactly like it did in the dream.
"Okay, so let's go." Cassandra gestured for the young vampire to follow.
"Isn't that a little freaky?" Elena's nose scrunched up.
"Yeah. It's a lot of freaky." Damon interjected and Cassandra looked to Elena who was unsure of her brand new dream ability.
"Come on, let's go see if Stefan's inside." Elena's frown still rested on her face, but she tagged along behind the couple. The bar was desolate with no one in sight except for a blonde haired female bartender. The three of them sat at the bar and the woman walked over to them.
"Can I get you something?" She asked while cleaning an empty glass with a damp rag.
"Yeah, sure." Damon drummed his fingers against the bar before looking to his wife. "Ladies first."
Cassandra grinned and leaned over the counter, reading the girl's name tag and catching her gaze. "What happened to your neck, Jo?"
Jo answered without hesitation, her entire body language seemed to shift as she recalled the traumatic events of what happened to her. "Some sicko attacked me, bit me, told me to run, so I did, and when I looked back, he was on fire."
Elena's stomach churned and she nervously tapped her foot on the edge of her barstool. "The sun must have come up. He doesn't have his daylight ring." She whispered to them both.
"And then what happened?" Cassandra's pupils dilated again, gauging more answers from the bartender.
"Some woman shoved him into a truck, drove away." She replied.
"Did you know this woman?" The hybrid asked.
Jo shook her head. "No. She was driving Cam Peterson's truck. He lives about 10 miles down that dirt road out back."
"Well, it's a start." Cassandra sighed and patted her husband's thigh. Jo cast a glance to Elena who was moping about and she took three shot glasses and set them on the bar.
"Here. Look like you could use one of these." Jo beamed warmly as she poured liquor in each glass. Cassandra wrinkled her nose and politely pushed the shot back to Jo.
"Sorry, I'm not drinking." The bartender went to take the shot back, but Damon quickly caught her wrist.
"I'll take that. Thank you." He smiled charmingly at Jo and tossed the shot back, however he quickly started gagging and coughing. The insides of his mouth and throat burned violently, the sizzling sound of muscles disintegrating made Cassandra nearly want to vomit. She sniffed the empty shot glass and the stench of vervain penetrated her nostrils.
"Vervain." Damon coughed hoarsely and Cassandra patted his back.
"What did you do?" She hissed at Jo how was quickly becoming more and more terrified as the events around her unfolded. A woman entered the bar from a back room and pointed her gun at both Damon and Cassandra. Elena hopped off her stool and held her hands up in surrender; this part wasn't in her dreams. She'd never seen her before. Her caramel and honey colored hair was draped elegantly over her shoulders and she adjusted her hold on the dangerous weapon in her hands.
"I told her to pour him a drink or I'd kill her." The woman spoke with a clearly foreign accent.
Damon's teeth clenched inside his jaw and he stood in front of his wife protectively. "Who the hell are you?" Before the armed woman could answer Katherine strolled through the front door of the bar. No one said anything and Katherine had suddenly realized that she had walked right into a war zone.
"Which one of you is Katherine Pierce?" The girl asked.
Katherine pointed at Elena. "She is."
The woman kept her gun aimed at Katherine, a pensive look on her face. "Katherine is a compulsive liar." Her smirk grew and she pointed the gun at Elena. "But I need her alive."
Cassandra lunged for the woman, shoving her back into a table and knocking the gun from her hands. "Girls, run!" Elena turned on her heel, grabbed Katherine's wrist and rushed out of the bar while Cassandra held the woman down.
Veins speckled the skin beneath the woman's eyes and she took Cassandra by the shoulders. "I should kill you."
Cassandra's eyes matched hers as she felt her anger taking over her again. With a hard thrust of her head, she smashed her skull against her captor's. Now that she was stunned and disoriented, the hybrid was able to pin her down to the ground. "Who are you?"
"Get off me!" The woman writhed around.
"Answer me and I'll make your death quick." Cassandra snarled and gripped her neck, her fingers digging bruisingly into her skin. "Let me guess, you're one of Silas' little friends? When I see him next, I'll tell him that your head is hanging on my wall!"
In a sudden rush, Cassandra was thrown off by the woman and she crashed into the liquor shelves behind the bar. The hybrid groaned, the alcohol soaked through her clothes and the glass sunk into her skin and hair. Her eyes met those of the assassin who cocked her gun at her, but Damon had joined in the fight. Taking the girl by the shoulders, he threw her against the bar, hissing and snapping his teeth at her. She swiftly stabbed him in the stomach with a syringe filled with vervain and she managed to get Damon off her. She disappeared from the bar using her vampire speed and Damon rushed to Cassandra, taking her hand and helping her to her feet.
"Wonderful. Now we've got a vampire bounty hunter to deal with." Damon checked his wife for any other injuries, but the small cuts and minimal bruises were quickly healing before his eyes.
"Damn, Czech bitch." She dusted off the remaining pieces of glass with Damon's help. "She's most definitely working for Silas if she wants Katherine."
"What's the game plan?" He asked her.
"I'll go chase after her. You find Stefan." Cassandra replied simply and sidestepped her husband.
Damon reached out to grab her hand, stopping her from leaving. "Wait, what? No. She almost killed you."
"Yeah I know, so I'm going to kill her." She glowered and squeezed her husband's hand. "Damon, Stefan's hurt. Find him." Cassandra moved to pull away, but his grip on her hand tightened.
Damon shook his head, conflicted with himself. "Wait. No. Stop. Just wait." Cassandra knew that she had to go after the woman that attacked them, but the look on Damon's face made her worry. "Any sign of trouble you let her go, you understand me?" His blue eyes were pleading with her to take his warning seriously because this new threat was not one to be trifled with. "I don't care how bad Silas wants Katherine. She is not worth a hair on your head." Damon cupped her face and tucked some of her wild curls behind her ear as if to illustrate his point. "You got me? Okay?"
"Yes," Cassandra nodded breathlessly.
"Promise me." He implored.
Cassandra smiled warmly. "I promise."
"Good, now kiss me." Damon pressed his lips to hers to seal the deal and Cassandra was smiling like a damn idiot. Her husband sure knew how to make deadly situations all the more romantic. Pulling back from her, his thumbs caressed her cheek bones. "I love you. Now, go."
Cassandra kissed him again. "I love you too." Husband and wife parted ways, hoping deep down that the other would be safe on their journeys.
Damon hadn't been walking for long when he tuned his vampire hearing in on a person weakly groaning. He followed the noise, zoning in on it until he reached a wooden cabin somewhere in the woods. He saw the truck that Jo had described earlier and figured that this had to be the right place. He checked his phone, seeing a message from Cassandra saying that she hadn't come across Katherine, Elena, or the Czech bitch as she kindly put it and he replied that he had found a cabin just a few miles off from Joe's bar. The vampire sniffed around, recognizing his brother's scent coming from just beyond the door, so he approached the cabin warily, his ice blue eyes searching for anything that could pose as a threat. Finding nothing, he pushed the door of the cabin open, stepping in carefully and sighing in relief to see Stefan bound to a chair. Alright, so it wasn't the most ideal position to find his brother in, but it was better than nothing.
"Stefan. You couldn't call a brother?" Damon said and his brother's eyes lifted to meet his.
"Nice to see you, too, Damon." He greeted weakly.
"What the hell is going on here?" His brother asked, looking at the herbs on the floor that circled around Stefan.
Stefan sighed tiredly. "Well, Silas' ex-girlfriend decided to come back from the Other Side."
"Qetsi-whatever?" Damon scoffed and worked at trying to get his baby brother out of the vines that were so tightly wrapped around him, however each touch brought him pain. The vines nicked his skin, making him bleed.
"It's Qetsiyah." Tessa's voice boomed as she stood behind Damon. She cast a glance to Stefan. "Do you see why I want to change it?" Damon ignored the girl and flinched as his fingers came into contact with the sharp vines. "You won't be able to break those vines. The spell won't release him until I get what I want."
Damon finally looked at the woman, eyeing her warily. "Well, I guess the rumors are true. You are a ray of sunshine. Question — why is my brother wearing your compost pile?"
"I'm going to link Stefan to Silas. Casting a spell on his doppelganger will neutralize Silas' mental powers. Once he's weakened, I will force him to take the cure." Tessa explained and put down her basket of herbs that she'd been carrying.
Damon's eyes narrowed at the two thousand year old witch. "Well, that's a great idea, force the cure down his throat. The cure is gone. Done. Ingested."
"Katherine, you mean?" Tessa raised an eyebrow and Damon's nose wrinkled. "I'm aware of her condition and I'm also aware that your wife, Cassandra, is pregnant."
Stefan's head lifted hearing that. "Wait. Katherine took the cure and Cassandra's...pregnant?"
"We have a lot to catch up on, Stefan." Damon told him.
"Your wife, she's a tough thing." The woman stated matter-of-factly. "She will protect that child of yours even if she has to die for it. Want to know if you should paint the nursery pink or blue?" She asked with a sarcastic smirk.
"No, thanks. I'd rather be surprised." The vampire countered with a sly wink.
"Hmm, Cassandra won't let me see anyways. Too protective, her guard is always up." Tessa shrugged uncaringly and squinted her eyes. "Where is Katherine? She was supposed to be with you."
A look of realization dawned upon Damon's face. "Wait a minute. What do you mean supposed to be with me? Did you plant those dreams?" Tessa smirked knowingly and walked over to the fireplace with a bowl in her hands. "What is it, some kind of, like, witch party trick?"
"So, where is she?" She dodged his question.
"We ran into a little snag." The vampire told her.
Tessa gave a shrug. "Then I'll get started without her." She began to chant over a bowl and Damon started taking small steps away from her.
"Okay, well, thanks for the hospitality, but we should really get going if we want to beat traffic." It was a lame attempt to lighten the dismal mood in the room.
Stefan nodded, his eyes drooping closed. "Yep, yep. He's right."
Tessa's eyes flew open and she glared at Damon. "Probably don't want to get on my bad side."
"You realize you're not the only one with a bad side, right?" The blue eyed vampire challenged.
Tessa's head tilted to the right slightly, sickened by his very gall to try and dare her. "Aren't you brave? Without Silas' mental powers, he is an immortal nobody. We can defeat him. Isn't that what you want?"
"Just do it, all right?" Stefan called and Tessa smiled, finally getting the okay. "Just get it over with. Do it."
Fall colored leaves and brittle branches crunched under Cassandra's boots as she weaved through the tense brush and tall trees in the forest. Katherine's scent was nearby, but it was fading as she stepped further into the woods while Elena's scent was close nearby. Picking up her pace, she broke into a run and the forest zipped by her, messes of greens and browns all meshing together.
Suddenly, she was struck in the shoulder by a bullet flying past her and she crumpled to the ground. Cassandra gritted her teeth, hissing as she lifted a hand to extract the bullet when she caught a glance at the woman who had shot her. It was the assassin from the bar and she had already reloaded her gun, the barrel aimed at Cassandra. She didn't even get to pull the trigger since a wolf had come out of nowhere and tackled her to the ground. With this advantage, Cassandra zoomed away, keeping her eyes peeled for Elena. She didn't question why a wolf would save her from danger, but she was glad that the animal had intervened.
Cassandra came across Elena who was leaning up against a tree with her hands massaging her neck and a pained expression screwed up on her face. "I...I lost her. Katherine's gone."
"It's okay." Cassandra helped the young vampire to her feet. "As long as you're safe."
Elena smiled wholeheartedly at the hybrid, but gasped seeing Cassandra shoulder being torn open. "What happened?"
"That crazy bitch shot me." She groaned and examined the wound. A sting of pain traveled down Cassandra's arm as the bullet pushed its way out on its own. Elena watched in awe while Cassandra remained speechless. The bloodied bullet fell to the ground and the hole in her skin closed up as if it was never there.
"What the hell was that?" Elena asked and plucked the bullet up from the forest floor.
"I...I don't know. I normally heal fast, but not that fast. And a bullet certainly doesn't just 'fall out' of a wound." Cassandra passed her fingers over the healed skin.
"Maybe it was a bad shot?" The vampire suggested.
Cassandra shook her head, grimacing at the blood that stained her shirt. "No, she was shooting to kill." She held her hand out for the bullet and Elena gently placed it in her palm. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it. It was just a normal wooden bullet. "There was a wolf that saved me."
"A wolf? Like a werewolf?" She wondered.
"Had to be. It didn't look like a wild one and by the way it attacked her, I' sure that it was a werewolf." Cassandra said definitely and tossed the bullet away. "Well, let's hope that it ripped her head off." Elena giggled and the hybrid's phone beeped. In the hustle and bustle of things, she heard it ring, but she was too busy to answer it.
Found a cabin a few miles from Route 29 in the woods. Meet me there when you're done. Please be careful.
"Looks like Damon found something. Let's go." Cassandra pocketed her phone and both girls shot off through the woods.
Tessa had continued to chant with her hands on either side of Stefan's head. The circle of herbs burst into flames and Stefan began to writhe, groaning and grunting in pain. All Damon could do was watch since his brother had agreed to be Qetsiyah's test subject.
"What are you doing to my brother?" Damon's blue eyes were fiercely trained on both Tessa and his brother.
"I'm frying Silas' brain. No one said it would be pretty." Tessa focused her concentration harder, pressing her fingers into the sides of Stefan's head. The vampire groaned out in pain, literally feeling his brain disintegrating in the witch's hands. Trails of warm blood spilled from his eyes and down his cheeks, making his elder brother's panic level skyrocket. Stefan cried tears of blood for the next few second and then his head lolled back, eyes falling closed and he slipped into unconsciousness. The herbs on the floor sparked once more before completely burning out, nothing but the rancid smell remaining.
Damon stepped forward now, unable to deal with Tessa's torture any longer. "All right. We're done here."
"You're right." Tessa nodded. "We're done. It worked." The raven haired vampire kicked the burnt herbs aside and took his brother's head in his hands, shaking it slightly.
"Stefan! Stefan! Stef!" Each call of his brother's name did nothing to rouse him. Damon then looked to Tessa who looked strangely calm during all of this. "Whatever you did to him, undo it."
"Relax. I just burned through his conscious mind. He'll wake eventually." She replied. "You sure you want to take him home? You and Cassandra were doing so well without your guilt getting in the way." Damon hissed to himself, wishing that he could tear Tessa's head from her shoulders. He snapped the vines that held Stefan to the chair and they fell away, unraveling and falling to the floor.
"Spying on us from the Other Side?" He questioned and Tessa scoffed loudly.
"Don't flatter yourself. It was like watching a soap opera, except boring and with no volume control." She leaned up against a table in the center of the room and watched as Damon discarded of the vines. "You know, there was one thing worse than being on the Other Side and watching Silas resist the cure."
"Oh, yeah? What was that, realizing that your plan totally sucked?" Damon threw her a sarcastic wink.
"Century after century, I watched versions of Stefan and Elena find each other, like magnets, always the same story. Conquering all, falling in love. You didn't think your brother was Silas' first shadow? Destiny has been trying to get the doppelgangers together forever." She explained, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What's your point?" The vampire mumbled uncaringly.
"You were meant to fall in love with Katherine." That made him stop his busy work and lock eyes with Tessa. What the hell was she talking about? "And then Elena, but someone else got in the way."
"What do you mean?" Damon asked and Tessa stared knowingly at him. His expression shifted to one of confusion, his blue eyes were wide. "Cassandra?"
Tessa nodded slowly and walked towards the vampire. "History has a very strange way of repeating itself, Damon. Destiny would continue to get the doppelgangers together, but there was always one person who was left with a broken heart. With Silas and Amara, I was that broken heart. To keep balance, nature made sure to continue the pattern for centuries and it worked quite well until September 13th, 1841." Damon knew that date; he'd be an idiot if he didn't. For two hundred years, that date had been ingrained in her brain.
Cassandra's birthday.
"Ever since Cassandra was born, the Universe has been trying to get rid of her because it knew that she would interfere with nature's balance." Tessa continued.
Damon gave her an incredulous stare. "Look here, Miss Crazy, why don't we just dial down the destiny talk a notch, okay?"
"You don't want to hear it, but the universe is working against you." Tessa growled.
"If you're trying to downplay your reputation as being a psychopath, you might not want to say you're spokesperson for the universe." Damon countered.
Tessa sighed sadly, her dark gaze running over the defiant vampire. "You and I are the same; the ones that are never meant to find true love. Silas had his true love, and Stefan has Elena. We're merely the ones who will live our lives as heartbroken, lovesick fools longing to have that fairytale ending."
"You talk a big game, but maybe if you actually had some proof that she wasn't meant to be here-"
"The fire in 1851 would be the first one that she would remember. That explains her recent nightmares. Why don't you ask her who or what caused that fire. I'd be curious to see if her answer matches mine." Damon gulped nervously, Tessa had a way of knowing everything and it was playing on his last nerve. Anxiety rose as Tessa's evidence was beginning to stack up against him. "Any other attempts, she was too young to recall. In fact, I remember standing over her crib when she was just a baby." Tessa let her fingers slide aimlessly along the edge of the table near her, as if pretending that it was a bassinet. "She was sound asleep, such a precious little thing. So innocent and pure." Damon kept silent, allowing Qetsiyah to speak. "I wrapped my hands around her tiny little neck-"
The vampire had tackled Tessa, pinning her to the wall and snarling wildly like an animal. The thought of Tessa strangling a baby, his wife when she was a baby sent him over the edge. Blinded by his anger, he went to bite her, but she held a clenched hand in front of his face. His brain boiled and he clutched his head, backing off from the witch.
"Unfortunately, my plan didn't work." Tessa sighed once Damon was away from her. "Just think about it, Damon. Remember when she died when Klaus was 'killed?'" She placed air quotes around the last word. "Well, she was supposed to stay dead."
"Yeah? And what happened?" The vampire hissed, shaking the extra pain from his head.
Tessa threw Damon a dagger filled glare. "She's been a little stubborn."
"Well, that's my wife for you." Damon admitted proudly.
"The attempts won't stop and especially with that child growing inside her. It's putting the both of you in danger." She said.
Damon pursed his lips, letting a thought of his swirl around in his head for a moment. "Since you are just a wealth of information, let me run this by you. You know the rules of nature and let's face it, I can't procreate; my body isn't wired to do that. So, here's my question, how is it that Cassandra is pregnant by someone who can't procreate?" It was a question that had nagged him ever since they found out that Cassandra was pregnant. He doubted it for a long time, in fact, a piece of him still did. It just wasn't possible. It didn't make sense. It wasn't plausible. He struggled and wrestled with the very thought that inside Cassandra's womb, there was a child. A living, breathing thing which would then turn into a crying, screaming baby after it was born.
Tessa watched as doubt infected Damon's features. He was afraid, happy, anxious and unsure all at the same time. She knew the answer to Damon's question; oh did she have a bomb to drop on him. "Cassandra's pregnancy is another attempt at nature trying to reset itself."
"Reset itself?" He repeated.
Tessa nodded and picked up a flowery herb from her basket. Her fingers walked along the petals before plucking them off the stem one by one. "Like I mentioned before, there have been many failed attempts to kill off Cassandra, but this one...this one might just be the one to pull it off." Damon's heart sank as each poison laced word fell from her lips and each dead petal fell to the floor.
"Are you trying to tell me that the only reason she is pregnant is because it's the Universe's way of trying to kill her off?" His voice was strained, breaking at certain places as he spoke.
"Whether it be her own child or someone else, she will die as a result of this pregnancy." Tessa's words shattered everything inside Damon. He felt the blood leaving his face and limbs, literally becoming boneless and numb before her. Eyes welled up with tears, but he blinked them back, refusing to shed any tears in front of this vile woman.
"No," the vampire hushed.
"Do you believe me now, Damon?" Her question barely reached him and he turned to face his brother who still hadn't moved. This whole pregnancy was just a ploy to kill of his one love. All of the happiness that he felt was shot down, crashed and burned.
"So, what are you suggesting?" He questioned.
"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm just telling you the inevitable." She stated simply.
"And what about my brother?"
"I'll keep Stefan safe." Tessa murmured, watching Damon's eyes.
"You have a bad track record with men." Damon snapped, coming back to himself.
"I want to keep him safe. Now that he's linked to Silas, Silas can't mess with our heads, and you'll be free to prepare yourself when Cassandra's life is taken from you. Take it from a woman who's had front row seats for 2,000 years." Tessa grumbled bitterly.
Damon swallowed the lump in his throat. Maybe he didn't have to say anything to Cassandra about this. She was just so happy and he didn't want to ruin it for her. "No one would have to know?"
Tessa shook her head, her dark eyes gleaming evilly. "No one has to know."
The raven haired vampire paused, seeming to think it over for a few moments. "Or you could just go back to hell." He reached forward, grabbing Tessa's throat tightly and she narrowed her eyes. With a strangled breath, she chanted in a foreign language and the blood vessels in Damon's brain began to explode and rupture. He released her and using her magic, Tessa threw Damon to the wall and he collapsed to the floor. His vision blurred, black spots forming and his head spun wildly.
The door to the cabin flew open and Elena and Cassandra bolted inside. Each ran to their significant other; Elena tried to rouse Stefan while Cassandra crouched down to Damon.
"Stefan! Stefan! Hey! Oh, no. Stefan, hey." Her hands caressed his blood stained face, but not even her soothing touch could wake him up. "Stefan, can you hear me? Stefan! Wake up. Oh, god."
With Cassandra's help, Damon pulled himself to his feet and she sat him down in one of the spare chairs that was angled out of from the table. "Hey, what happened to you?"
Damon's steely eyes caught the blood on Cassandra's shirt. "I could ask you the same question."
Picking at her shirt, she shrugged it off. "I'm fine. That bitch nicked me. What happened here?"
"I did." A voice made Cassandra whirl around and all of the breath left her lungs when she saw a woman standing there that she had seen before, but not in the physical world.
"Qetsiyah." A hushed whisper left her lips and Damon's eyes flicked nervously between the two women.
"Hello Cassandra." Tessa greeted dully.
Elena then whipped around on the new woman who introduced herself. "What did you do to him?!"
Tessa didn't reply, she held up her hands with her fingers clenched. Each supernatural being in the room let out a scream as Tessa's magic was giving them aneurisms. With them disabled, Tessa disappeared from the cabin, never to be heard from again.
Elena held Stefan's hand in hers, interlocking their fingers together while he was laid out on the sofa. He still hadn't stirred, but Elena hadn't left his side since she found him. Sighing deeply, she fished his daylight ring from her pocket and slipped it on Stefan's finger. She interlocked their fingers, squeezing lightly and hoping that even though Stefan was unconscious, he could feel that she was there. Damon and Cassandra watched quietly from the archway of the room, their anxiousness rising with each second that Stefan remained asleep.
"I guess Qetsiyah made me forget that I saw her on the Other Side." Cassandra sighed. "I remember seeing Bonnie's grandma, but Qetsiyah...I didn't recognize her until I saw her."
"Do you remember what she said to you?" Damon wondered, his own conversation with Qetsiyah was still haunting him since the entire ride home.
She shook her head, leaning her head against the wooden doorway. "No, I...when I think about it, my mind comes up blank." They saw Elena take Stefan's hand and kiss the back of it. She whispered something to him and placed his hand over her heart.
"At least he has his daylight ring." Cassandra murmured to her husband, not wanting to speak to loud and ruin Elena's time with her boyfriend that had been missing for the entire summer.
"We're all set for a picnic." Damon breathed and removed himself from the archway to go into the kitchen. Cassandra followed him and opened up the fridge, looking for a snack.
"He's lucky he has a brother who looks out for him." She said sweetly and moved some items in the fridge around. "I'm hungry. Do you want something to eat?" Damon didn't answer aside from giving a short grunt. She turned and closed the fridge, immediately picking up something from him.
"You're suspiciously quiet ever since we left." She stated and rounded the island to meet him. "Tell me what Qetsiyah said back at the cabin." She knew that Damon just wasn't right, something about him was off.
"She told me that you and I will never work." Each word stabbed him in the heart and it hurt worse saying it than just thinking it.
Cassandra gave him a curious look, her brows furrowed. "And what does she know about us? Does she not know that we're married and expecting a child?"
"Well, she told me a very interesting little story about the history of doppelgangers and how they're fated to fall in love with each other. But there's a catch with that, there is always one person who ends up with their heart broken. That person is supposed to be me." He explained.
"But, I don't-"
"And it didn't happen because you came into my life. You...you weren't meant to exist." The vampire pinched the bridge of his nose. "Basically, the universe programmed me to never find you and the universe has been trying to get rid of you since we're not meant to be together. We're a lost cause."
Cassandra took in each word, letting it all sink in before speaking again. "The universe?"
"Her words, not mine." Damon smirked.
"So, you're saying that she's crazy?" Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest.
"Maybe. Maybe she's not." He shrugged. "What started the fire in your house?"
"It was just a fire, Damon."
"But what started it?" He asked again.
His wife was silent for a few long moments. "They...they don't know. It just happened."
"Exactly. That's what Qetsiyah was talking about. When you died...she said that you were supposed to stay dead." Damon spoke. "Nature has been trying to keep itself balanced. Qetsiyah also said that our child is another attempt to reset itself."
Cassandra swallowed her words, unable to piece her own thoughts together to express how she was feeling. She looked down at her stomach and placed a hand there, rubbing softly as if trying to calm her fears that were running rampant in her mind. How could it be that she was never meant to come into existence and that she was never meant to start a life with Damon? Her heart clenched and she propped her elbow on the marble island.
"Damon, we chose our own destiny and I don't regret a single choice I've made. Each choice we've made has brought us to this very moment and I don't care about what Qetsiyah has to say. It's all a load of complete bullshit!"
"Cassandra—"
"How dare she tell us that we aren't meant to be and that this baby is just a way for the Universe to kill me? I'm not listening to a word she says."
"I know, Cassandra." Damon agreed, but she hadn't caught on to it.
"So, you mean to tell me that you're going to let some two thousand year witch tell you that we're not meant to be?!" She asked incredulously.
"No."
Cassandra stared back at him, a blank look in her eyes. "You're not?"
Damon shook his head and took a couple of steps towards his beloved wife and grasped her hands in his. "Who cares what Qetsiyah says. No one tells me who I should love and I'm not gonna let someone else's idea of destiny stop me from loving you or being with you or building a future with you, because from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that I wanted to spend my life with woman and one woman only. That woman is you, Cassandra." He lifted up her left hand, exposing her ring finger for the both of them to see. "This ring is my promise to love you forever. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us do us part. Like you said, we write our own destiny and we make our own choices." His blue eyes flicked up to meet hers and her heart fluttered wildly in her chest just like the first time she met him all those years ago. Their love was stronger than anything else they have ever experienced and it challenged all struggles and obstacles that it went up against.
"Damon," she hushed quietly.
"I love you and I will fight for you and I will fight for us because you are my life." The way he looked at her, the way his voice broke when he spoke, the way his hands were holding hers. Everything together was making Cassandra's heart soar to unbelievable heights.
Cassandra had tried to hold back the tears that were forming, but they streaked down her cheeks with reckless abandon. "I love you too. I'm yours, Damon. Forever." The vampire smiled and his hands cupped her cheeks, thumbs brushing her tears away.
"Are you crying?" Amusement colored his voice.
"Shut up. Don't make fun of your hormonally pregnant wife." She kissed him on the mouth and he smiled against her lips. Damon's hands found her waist, pulling her body closer to his and Cassandra nipped at his bottom lip. Her hands weaved through his black hair, the soft fibers caressing her fingers. She pinned him against the refrigerator and pulled at his hair.
"Cass," his soft whispers caressed her lips.
"Make love to me, Damon."
"You are mine tonight, principessa." [You are mine tonight, princess.] He kissed her again and she moaned wantonly, her arms wrapping around him. Her short nails soothingly scratched his scalp and he purred as his hands roamed all over her supple curves.
"Stefan?" The two broke their kiss hearing Elena speaking to her boyfriend that had just woken up from his slumber and Damon groaned audibly.
"My brother has the worst timing in the world." He said into the crook of his wife's neck and she chuckled amusedly.
"Come on," she took his hand and led him into the living room where Stefan was sitting upright on the couch and Elena was hugging him tightly. "Hey you."
"Welcome back to the land of the living." Damon greeted.
Elena moved back from her boyfriend, but was a little weirded out by the odd expression on his face. It was completely blank as if he was unsure of what to say. With wide eyes, he focused on each person's face and concentrated hard only to find nothing.
"We missed you so much, Stefan." Elena beamed and expected to see him smile back at her or at least acknowledge his own brother and sister-in-law, but he didn't.
"Stef?" Cassandra called and the green eyed vampire shook his head.
"Uh, I'm sorry...I—I have no idea who you people are."
AN: I apologize for the late update! Things with school are getting crazy, but I hope that all of you are doing wonderful :) So, Cassandra was never meant to come into existence because Damon is supposed to never find true love. They've conquered the impossible and all of the Universe's attempts to break them apart, but their unborn child is another attempt. Will they come out on top or will the Universe succeed in it's plan? Please read and review :D
xoxobianca13: Thanks for reviewing! Klaus and Giuliana are definitely hot together and it's interesting when Klaus gets upset that Marcel wants to pursue her. Hayley's and Giuliana's relationship is getting a lot better because they both understand that they are kinda stuck together in the middle of the war between Klaus and Marcel. And now that Elijah is gone (I miss him so, so much!) they have to help each other. I'm glad that you enjoyed the flashback! I felt like I needed to add a little more depth to Klaus and Giuliana's relationship. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
SomebodyWhoCares: Oh, poor Elijah :( He's always getting stabbed in the back...or front...or whatever. Thanks for reviewing!
xJenzaFreakx: Hi there! I am so glad that you love this and my other stories! You rock! Damon and Cassandra being pregnant will certainly be an adventure, but I can't wait to see how the rest of the season will play out and how I am going to integrate my own characters into the story. Klaus and Giuliana are hot together ;) I think with Elijah, he's kinda scared of getting his heart broken again by another woman. Katherine pretty much used him and stomped on his heart :( I totally agree with your opinion on Rebekah! Hayley is Hayley, I guess, but I did enjoy her when she totally wolfed out on those men who tried to kill her. I have a little more respect for her. I actually kinda like Marcel because he adds that little bit of tension to the show and to the story too! All is well in RL, just crazed with school! Hope all is well with you too :) Thanks so much for reviewing!
grapejuice101: Thanks for reviewing, girl! Yeah, a new love triangle is definitely forming.
Daisy96: Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm glad that this is your favorite story! I try to add as much depth and detail to my OCs. I really do love writing even though it is just a hobby. It's hard to decide who Giuliana should be with. Hmm, Klaus, Elijah, or Marcel?
rosa: Thank you for your review! I will try to add more scenes with Klaus and Giuliana in the upcoming chapters :)
Nymartian: There is a lot of sexual chemistry between Klaus and Giuliana, but they genuinely do care for each other. Marcel will definitely try to move in on Giuliana in the 'Tangled Up in the Blue' chapter and Klaus won't really take that well. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reviewing!
TruffleWomenz: I was thinking of splitting the two stories as soon as season 4 ended, but I think that people will get confused with the inclusion of Giuliana in New Orleans. Plus, there is no 'The Originals' category on fanficiton yet. I also want to keep them together because there will be a potential crossover and there have already been some crossovers. If you would like, you could skip The Originals chapter. I hope that you enjoyed this update and thank you for reviewing!
Seira asami: I screamed at my television when Klaus said that he gave Elijah to Marcel. I just want Elijah to grace my television screen in his dashing suit ;) I really do feel bad for Rebekah because all she wants is a drama free life with someone to love. Hayley and Giuliana are quickly becoming friends because they felt stranded by Elijah, so they know that they have to take care of each other. I want Niklaus to take back his empire, but Marcel certainly won't make it easy. Thank you for reading and reviewing! Hmm, there might be something between Hayley and Elijah on the show, but I will kindly write that out ;)
shippolove844: I totally agree with you that Damon and Klaus are very much alike. I keep thinking back to the abuse that Klaus received from his father and although it was never shown on the show, I think Giuseppe beat Damon. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reviewing!
Guest: You read right, Damon hasn't had sex in 3 months and he is really, really horny ;) Hopefully he'll get to enjoy his wife again since she is starting to feel better! I am so glad that you enjoy my story and my own little twists! Hope that you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reviewing!
MysticEyesx: Wow! Thanks so so much for your 6 reviews! You're awesome! I'm glad that you think that this story needs more recognition and I do hope that it will get more :) I am very thankful and so blessed to have the incredible readers/reviewers that I have and this story has nearly hit 100 reviews in like 6 chapters. I hope that you enjoyed this update! I personally think that the doppelganger/true love storyline is interesting to say the least, but I think that I put my own little twist on it to make it my own. I really hope that people enjoy it :)
ghg: Thanks so much for reviewing! Right now it is between Klaus/Giuliana and Elijah/Giuliana. It will be interesting to see what will happen when Elijah wakes up :)
Rose1324: Thank you for reviewing! Here is your update and I hope that you enjoy it :)
nickiR0x: Hey girl! I'm sorry for keeping you waiting! I have been on pins and needles with classes, (a 25 page research paper in particular) but I've been okay! Hope all is well with you and thank you so much for reviewing :)
rosa: Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope that you enjoyed this update! Elijah and Giuliana's relationship will be explored in the next few chapters! Please be patient :D