Chapter Six

I'll Do It

"And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears, and love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you find there, with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair..." ~ Mumford & Sons

"It's the moment of truth, and the moment to lie. The moment to live and the moment to die..." ~ 30 Seconds to Mars

"Memory comes when memory's old. I am never the first to know. Following the stream up North. Where do people like us float..." ~ Fever Ray

14 Days Earlier

I woke up to voices, loud angry voices. I sat up rubbing my eyes. The voices got clearer and I recognized them as Damon, Stefan and Jack's. They weren't talking, they were fighting. I hurried out of bed pulling on a pair of PJ shorts, leaving the room.

I went downstairs afraid of what I might find. I stopped when I heard my name.

"She's been through enough," Damon said furiously. "I won't let you drag her into this against her will. I won't let her get hurt again." It took me by surprise to hear Damon stand up for me, to fight for me. I wasn't used to that. "This has always been the plan," Jack snapped. "So don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

"The last time I checked you needed me, so this is my business," Damon corrected.

"Avalon is stronger than you think, Damon. She can do this," Jack said more calmly.

"I know her better than you, so don't you dare tell me what she's capable of."

I walked in and saw Damon and Jack glaring at each other. Jack's eyes were a glowing orange and Damon's a deep black. Stefan was the first who saw me and walked towards me. "The decision's mine, right?" I said and both men turned to look at me.

"So I will make it once I'm ready." Damon and Jack looked at each other and I had the feeling they were not done with their discussion, if you could call it that.

"So tell me what the plan is," I said taking a seat. The men decided they would rather stand. "You will need five members to overthrow The Assembly, and you have that," Jack started turning his back on Damon, looking directly at me. "It'll be you, me, Damon, Sasha and Lucinda." I covered my eyes with my hand and laughed. I wasn't laughing because Lucinda's death was funny. I was laughing because this whole situation was funny. I still couldn't believe that my whole life has just been a game.

A game in which I had no say. "We don't have Lucinda," I said swallowing a chuckle.

"What do you mean we don't have, Lucinda?" Jack asked alarmed.

"Because she's buried in the back yard."

"What?" Jack looked shocked. I studied him and saw pain.

"She died saving me," Damon said from his position by the fireplace.

"I don't understand," Jack said the pain now obvious.

"Damon was bitten by a werewolf," I began the memory as clear as when it happened.

"She was the sacrifice," Jack finished sitting down.

The room was silent, none of us saying a word. A while later Jack cleared his face of all emotion and got up. "The plan stays the same," he said with resolution.

"If I'm to do this there will be some ground rules," I said getting to my feet.

"Sure," Jack nodded crossing his arms across his chest.

"One, we're doing this on my terms. Two, I will not make Sasha join this fight against her will. And three, if anyone betrays me, or harms anyone that I love they die."

"I can live with that," Jack said, with a smile.

"Okay then," I said. "What's the plan?"

"I'm leaving town for a bit to get us an army. You sort out who'll sit at the table with us." Jack turned to leave. "I'll be in touch," he said as he left.

Stefan and Damon looked at me like they thought I was crazy.

"What was that?" Damon was the first to speak. I looked at each brother in return.

"I take back what's mine, and you're going to help me," I said matter-of-factly.

The way I see it you have to fight for what you want. For too long I've made myself the victim, but no more. I was going to fight. I just needed a push, and I found it.

Damon and Stefan exchanged worried glances, but didn't say anything.

"Okay," Stefan said crossing his arms. "What do you want us to do?"

"We take a couple of weeks, wait for Sasha," I replied. "Then we find people that are willing to help us. And we do research." I turned to face Damon. "I wanna know everything that's been going on in the Keeper world and supernatural world." I picked up my father's journal. "My father said knowledge is power. So, while Jack is out there getting us an army we'll find the information we need to win this fight."

A while later I was alone in my room while Stefan was out hunting, and Damon was downstairs indulging in some blood bags that he stole from the hospital. I asked to be alone so I could think. I needed to get my head around the fact that I was about to go to war to claim back the right to rule the Keeper race. I wasn't sure that I was ready to take that on. Everything was just such a mess. I was a mess.

How was I meant to fight this war if I felt lost and confused. I got dressed in sweatpants and went out for a walk. I walked through the woods that aligned the Salvatore property, clearing my head. A few minutes into my walk I heard rustling behind me. I turned around to look, my heart beating faster, fear starting to consume me. Damon stepped out into the clearing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said his hands in his pockets. I took a deep breath calming my nerves. There's no danger, I repeated to myself. When my heart slowed down and I could think rationally, I looked at Damon. "That's okay, I'm just jumpy," I said hugging my arms to my chest. "You've been through something traumatic, Ava."

"I know, I just hate feeling this way."

"I know I'm mostly to blame for your fear." Damon sounded so sincere.

"Why are you following me, Damon?"

"I'm keeping an eye on you."

"Oh I see."

"Ava-"

"Please don't. I'm not ready."

"I was going to ask if you're sure you want to go through with this?"

"I'm tired of running, Damon. I want to know that I'm safe, that you're safe. But mostly I want to make sure that Sasha is safe." Damon looked at me, assessing my sanity. I had just suffered a traumatic event, he wasn't sure whether it was me talking or the fear. "Okay then," he said satisfied that I was not completely insane.

"We're all in this together." I looked at Damon and shook my head.

"I was wrong to assume you and Stefan would join this fight. I don't expect that of you." Damon laughed and took a step closer to me. "You need us, and we want to help." I met Damon's gaze and smiled. "Okay then."