The Turning Point - Part 3
Victoria's self-satisfied smirk didn't fall from her face the rest of the time she was tugged around by Logan Fell, and it was starting to irritate the vampire. She could tell that easily. His eyebrow had this little twitch that it did every time he looked at her and saw that smirk. Like he was debating how much trouble he would get in if he just strangled her on the spot, in the hallway, filled to the brim with kids.
Victoria didn't spot anybody that she knew when Logan slipped out to threaten Liz Forbes, nor did she see anybody when she was pulled rudely out of the school and back towards Logan Fell's car. She couldn't help but comment, "So what's your big plan, tough guy?"
"I already told you, twirly girl, I'm gonna -"
"- Make the Salvatore boys your bitches. Yeah, yeah, I heard that part," Victoria snorted, rolling her eyes. He flung open the passenger seat to his car and threw her up into the seat, slamming the door shut behind him. While he stormed around the back of the car, grumbling loud enough for Victoria to hear him, she carefully reached over and grabbed her necklace and anklet. She shoved them into the pocket of Zach's jacket and fisted them inside the pocket. Victoria felt like she could breathe just a little bit easier. Once Logan was inside the car, Victoria continued with her previous statement. "But you were never specific in what you're going to do. Like, you have your end goal, but not the steps."
"If you don't shut up and soon, twirly girl, I am going to rip your skin off of your bones," Logan growled, his head whipping to the side. His glare made Victoria's smirk fall from her face and she tensed up, ready for anything. Logan threw the car into reverse and peeled out of his parking spot, jerking the car in moves that made Victoria's stomach churn uncomfortably. She gripped the armrests with white knuckles as Logan drove them towards the front of the school, where the exit was.
No, no, no, no, no...
Standing on the sidewalk at the front of the school was Caroline, her phone pressed tightly against her ear. She was leaving a message for Bonnie, if Victoria remembered correctly. Victoria looked towards Logan quickly, and there was an evil glint in his eyes. Shit!
Logan turned to look at her fiercely and whispered, his eyes dilating as he tried to use his compulsion. "You will convince Caroline Forbes to ride home with us."
Victoria did her best to look dazed by Logan's compulsion. He had tried to compel her again, which didn't work because of her anklet and necklace. But if he had just given her the command, sans the attempt at compulsion, she would have been forced to complete the task. The stress of the night must have been getting to him. She didn't need him to know that it wasn't working anymore. Her vervained necklace and anklet finally were back in her possession, and she wasn't about to let him take them away again. Victoria just now needed a plan. A plan that wouldn't immediately alert Logan but would convince Caroline to escape. Or maybe find someone who could stop Logan.
Logan slowed down and pulled up next to Caroline in the SUV. He rolled down Victoria's window and he called out in what would seem like a friendly voice to a normal person, "Hey, damsel in distress. Need a ride?"
Caroline turned towards the car slowly. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Victoria sitting in the front seat, but her expression turned sarcastic when she noticed who was sitting in the driver's seat. "Oh my gosh. Logan Fell, Channel 9, is that you?" She even threw in a fake gasp for added effect.
"I used to babysit you, Caroline Forbes," Logan retorted, snickering. "Don't mock me."
"Well, I was supposed to go home with Bonnie, but I can't find her," Caroline pouted, folding her arms across her chest. She turned to look at Victoria skeptically. "Kelly's here, so why are you going home with Logan?"
"She was having a headache, so I offered to take her home -" Logan began.
"- I wasn't talking to you," Caroline interrupted, holding up a hand to silence him. She didn't even turn to look at him. Victoria wanted to applaud Caroline's audacity, but feeling Logan's silent glare against her back hurt. Caroline looked at her expectantly, waiting for Victoria's response.
"I was looking into newscasting as a career possibility, and Logan was talking about it with me when I got a headache," Victoria explained, shrugging her shoulders lightly. She didn't want it to seem like a big deal. The bigger the deal, the more Caroline would want to come with her. "He offered to take me home. Kelly said it was alright; she wanted to talk with Jenna and Alaric more, I think."
"Do you need painkillers?" Caroline asked worriedly, and Victoria shook her head.
"I'm good, Care-Bear," Victoria lied easily. "You don't need to worry about me."
It was time to initiate her plan. It was risky, and it would probably end up with Victoria in more pain than she had experienced in a long time (and she had gotten shot over a month ago), but it would be worth it.
"Although, there is something you could do for me, Caroline," Victoria began, shifting in her seat. She tightened her grip on her anklet and necklace in her pocket. "Could you try to find Nora? I was supposed to meet up with her by Zach Salvatore's booth but I didn't see her before my headache came. Can you explain to her what happened? Afterwards, we can give you a ride home if you need it."
A knowing look passed over Caroline's face and her body tensed up marginally. Over all, she did very well at not giving away how panicked she looked. But Victoria knew; she had seen Caroline concerned and worried about her health so many times. Caroline was freaking out.
"Of course," Caroline responded, her voice only wavering slightly. "Give me five minutes; I'll find her."
With that, Caroline flipped around and began to walk swiftly away from the car. Victoria leaned back in her seat, letting out a subtle sigh of relief. She rolled the window back up and turned to look at Logan. His face was filled with rage. Victoria didn't see his action; he moved too fast.
But one moment she was looking at him, and the next, her head was burning with pain and her body felt like it had a fifty pound weight on her chest. She was flopped against the chair, her eyes forced to look towards Logan. She blinked in shock. The scenery outside of Logan's window was rushing by. They must have been driving faster than any speed limit within the town's limits.
Logan gripped the wheel tightly and he was growling underneath his breath. He had a phone in his hands...it was hers, the 2009 one at least. Her necklace and anklet were out of her pockets and lying in one of the cupholders in between the two of them. In the silence of the car, Victoria could hear clearly what was being said on the other side of the phone.
"Where are you, Victoria? Caroline came running in and said that you used the NORA code. Are you alright?"
"Your daughter's best friend has expressed an interest in things that few know about," Logan spat. "I think it's important to foster young minds."
"What do you want, Logan?"
"The satisfaction of turning Victoria LeBlanc into a vampire," Logan hissed, before he crushed the phone in his hand. Victoria made a small noise of distress that Logan heard. He looked at her, and the rage she had witnessed from before returned. He rolled his window down and while looking at her, tossed the remains of her phone out of the car. "Good. You're awake. I thought that I had used too much strength. You can take a knock on the head, twirly girl."
"W-What did you..." Victoria tried to ask, but her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and her tongue like it was filled with lead.
Logan knew what she was trying to ask and he scoffed, shaking his head. "Did you really think I wouldn't catch that Nora clue? N.O.R.A. Need Officer Right Away. I work in newscasting, twirly girl, I'm not an idiot. It was cute, trying to get your friend away. I hope you just realize that you signed your death certificate."
Victoria swallowed heavily and retorted painfully, "P-People have tried b-before. Still kicking."
"Not for too much longer," Logan hissed, turning to look back towards the front. "It'll be satisfying for sure. Just imagine the faces on the Salvatore boys when they see their sweet little friend draining blood out of a poor, defenseless human. Maybe making you my bitch will be better than doing that to them."
Victoria grunted in response. She winced at the pain in her head and twisted her arm on her chair, trying to sit up straighter.
But something happened in the sleeve of Zach's jacket. She felt something drop into her hand, out of the inner lining of the coat. She gripped it tightly, looking down away from Logan as she tried to process what she was feeling. It was grainy, but smooth in certain areas. Her fingers probed the mysterious object and she could feel a sharp tip at the very end of it. Her eyes widened slightly.
A stake. A wooden stake. Zach had put a wooden stake inside the liner of his jacket.
Victoria's eyes flashed over to the necklace Noble had given her, sitting contently in the cupholder of the car. She then looked towards Logan, who was completely unsuspecting. His eyes were trained to the road; his speed had decreased, falling more into the natural, yet still fast, pace of the roads. Victoria would need to strike at the precise moment, otherwise things might get messy and quick. She didn't know how plots would change now that it was her in the car, and not Caroline. Would Logan decide to drive them off a cliff? If that was his plan, it was a little bit flawed. She hadn't drank any blood for two days; not since Damon had supplied her with some of his blood after the Emily-Tomb-Vampire fiasco. Would Stefan and Damon not arrive in time? Would she be gone before they reached her? One thing was clear; Victoria did not intend to ever become a vampire.
"Hey, Logan?" Victoria began, forming the statement as a question.
Logan didn't slow down, nor did he take his eyes off of the road as he made a grunt asking her, "What?"
Victoria tightened her grip on the stake, readying herself she what she had to do. "Enjoy the Other Side, asshole."
Letting out a primal yell, in a feeble hope to disorient him even more, Victoria sat up straight. She swung her arm out in an arch, using her whole body to add momentum to the swing. As she did that, she also used her other hand to grab her vervained necklace. The stake, the width not bigger than a bottle cap, slammed into Logan's chest. His body caused resistance against Victoria's swing and she let out a frightened gasp at the loud squelching noise that came from her attack. Logan let out a scream of pain. Blood immediately squirted out of his puncture wound and some of it landed on her hand. She hit something in her swing; was it bone? Part of his rib? Victoria didn't have time to think about it. She ripped the stake out of his chest and, using her other hand, she shoved the vervained stone necklace into the hole where the stake had just been. Victoria remembered Zach's reaction to touching the stone; the burning sensation he had encountered.
Logan let out a screech as the sounds of burning flesh started to fill the cabin of the SUV. He brought his hands away from the wheel to try to claw at his chest. In doing so, his hands knocked into Victoria's. Her grip was already faulty from the way her head pounded hard, so the stake was easily knocked out. It flung into the back of the SUV, causing Victoria to curse as it flew away.
Victoria's instincts took over and she grabbed the steering wheel. With what little might she had left, she jerked the wheel to one side. The car swerved severely and Victoria's seatbelt locked in place. She was jostled around as the car lost control of itself.
Logan seemed to have some senses left in him as the car swerved, as he slammed his foot down on the brakes in a futile attempt to stop the runaway car. It turned out to be useless, though. In stepping on the brakes, Victoria could feel the wheels of the car locking underneath them.
One moment, they were swerving to one side. The next, there was a hardcore rocking feeling. Victoria's head was whipped around as the car flipped, first landing on its side before moving to land on its top. Victoria's head swung around and she eventually slammed her head against the dashboard of the car. She succumbed to the darkness a moment later.
Damon was the first to hear the sound of crunching metal and shattering glass. Stefan, Lexi, Lee, and Zach were all at his side and they all looked towards Damon with concerned eyes. Damon didn't take a moment to think about what he heard; he just kept running.
He and the other four skidded to a halt and his stomach dropped as he took in the sight in front of him.
Logan Fell's black SUV, which he had tried to chase earlier that morning, was lying on its roof, crashed into the middle of the road. The windows were shattered and the roof looked like it was close to caving in. He could hear the dripping of fluids, as if someone had cut all the tubes in the car. The driver's side was facing closest to them, and Damon could see Logan struggling to exit from the car. His face was bloodied, filled with scratches and there was a puncture mark in his chest, as if someone had tried to stake him.
"Victoria!" Lee shouted, and in a flash, he was at the car, running around to the other side and out of Damon's viewpoint. Zach was following after Lee, and so was Lexi. That left Stefan by Damon's side.
The two brothers gave each other a look. It was a look that promised death.
"Gonna try this one more time," Damon shouted, flashing towards the car. He grabbed Logan by the scruff of his coat and yanked him away from the car. Logan let out a disgruntled yell as he was launched far away from the car, landing in the dead certain of the road. There was a loud crack as his body hit the pavement and Damon stalked towards Logan, Stefan at his heels. "Who turned you?"
"I told you I don't know," Logan gasped. His words were watery, as if he was drowning in his own blood and everything.
"My brother here could take your head clean off, even without drinking human blood," Stefan grunted, folding his arms across his chest. "Are you sure that's your final answer?"
"How can you side with the humans?" Logan hissed, leaning over to spit out a large glob of blood. "Does it revolt you to side with someone who will never experience the thrill that you experience?"
"The only person I side with is Victoria, and you hurt her," Damon growled, dropping into a crouch. As he continued to threaten Logan, he kept his ears open for any sign from Lee, Lexi, or Zach that Victoria wouldn't be okay. He just had to stall a little longer, but so help him, if Victoria was dead, Damon would not wait. He would gut Logan himself. "You pissed me off. I want you dead. Who turned you?"
"I don't know!"
"Oh, well then, you're screwed," Damon commented, shrugging lightly. He stood up and pulled his arm back, ready to whip it out with as much force as he could.
Logan's eyes widened fearfully and he threw his hands up over his head, almost protectively.
"Wait, wait! I do know!"
Damon paused, glaring down at Logan. "You're lying."
Logan looked exasperated and shook his head. "You think you're the only one who wants to get in that tomb underneath the old church?"
"If you're lying to me, I will end you," Damon growled, stalking forward. "If Victoria is dead, I will end you."
"I am not lying," Logan insisted, panting heavily. "There is another way to break the spell. W-We can help you!"
"Damon," Stefan warned in a low voice, and Damon held up a hand towards Stefan.
"Let me tell you something, Logan," Damon sniffed, dropping back down into a crouch. He tilted his head to one side and observed the slowly-healing vampire. The scratches on his face were already doing better, but the puncture wound from his chest was still there. Damon sniffed. Did he smell burning flesh...on Logan? "Mama Bear has this gift with the future. I won't get into it, but let me assure you that she would have told me if there was another way. So, unfortunately for you, you have no cards on the table."
"Victoria won't forgive you if you kill me," Logan insisted, shaking his head. "She's known me since she was a child. You can't just take away something like that."
Damon let out a short, harsh laugh and shook his head. He heard the faintest crunch of leaves from one of the houses nearby. About damn time. "You might be right. So I'm not going to kill you." Logan's body relaxed and Damon got an evil glint in his eye. Logan noticed and his look of fear and caution heightened once more. "But you see, Victoria's pretty well-liked around these parts. So I'm not the only one who wants you dead."
In the blink of an eye, Logan was hoisted into the air, a large hand wrapped tightly around the former reporter's neck. The man holding onto Logan did not seem to be struggling at all. His back was towards Damon and Stefan, and even with their good eyesight, they couldn't see much of distinguishing features. Logan's hands clawed at the man's wrist, but he didn't move for a second. Didn't even flinch.
"Logan Fell, may I introduce you to the one person who just might take Victoria's safety even more seriously than I do," Damon snickered, folding his arms across his chest. "Noble, this is the jackass who hurt Victoria."
Logan let out a gargled choking noise as Noble's hand tightened significantly on his neck. "M-Man, I-I didn't know! I didn't know!" He looked past Noble's face and at Damon, his eyes wide as his face started to pale. "There's another way into the tomb! Y-You have to let me live!"
"I don't have any choice in this process," Damon retorted. "You're in the hands of Noble. He killed me because I came close to hurting Victoria. Now...what do you think he's going to do to you?"
"I-I didn't touch her, man! I-I swear!"
Noble tilted his head to one side, and something inside of Damon just knew that Noble was waiting for Damon to join in the conversation. To confirm or deny what Logan had just insisted.
Damon's smirk turned into a frown and he let his vampire features come to his face. "You put your little dirty mouth on her neck, Logan. You put your dirty little hands on her. You're not walking away from this."
The look on Logan's face was almost comical as Damon and Stefan watched Noble lean forward to whisper something, low and sharp to Logan. It was so quiet that not even the brothers heard what Noble was saying to Logan. A moment later, he pulled a stake out of thin air and shoved it into Logan's heart.
It was like music to Damon's ears.
Victoria...didn't remember much of what happened after she blacked out. She remembered pain, and a floating sensation. Something being forced down her throat, and it was really gross, but it helped her with the pain. There was a feeling of weightlessness moments afterwards, and it felt like she was flying and being cuddled by a cloud. It took her many minutes for her senses to return. To understand that she had been in a car accident, a car accident she had caused, and that the gross thing forced down her throat was blood. Vampire blood, to be more specific. The feeling of weightlessness had been because Zach had lifted her up and rushed her back to her house, with Lee and Lexi following close behind.
Somewhere, in the back of Victoria's mind, she knew she should be worried about what Kelly would say once they entered their house and she saw Victoria being held by Zach (as her legs were not strong enough to carry her). However, the moment they walked in, they were greeted by silence. There wasn't another soul left in the house. Before Victoria could panic, Lee discovered a note from Kelly, saying she had gone to Jenna's house for some late-night studying as they were both severely behind on their papers. It continued to say that she would be back the next morning, and they would discuss why Victoria hadn't shown up for the career night.
Once Victoria felt like the world wasn't about to collapse underneath her, she convinced Zach to let her down. The moment her feet touched the ground, Lexi banished Lee and Zach to the downstairs and grabbed Victoria's hand. She took Victoria upstairs and into her bedroom, with Victoria directing Lexi on where to go. Victoria followed along limply, not having the strength to try and fight back.
Lexi took Victoria into the bathroom and sat her down on the toilet. Lexi then headed towards the shower/bath combo and plugged the drain. She was about to flip the water on when Victoria's hand shot out, grabbing her arm. Lexi paused and looked at Victoria with concern. It fell into sympathy when she noted the look of terror that had to be in Victoria's eyes. "Large amounts of water. Right. Sorry."
She unplugged the drain and instead, flipped the shower portion on and turned the dial so it was all the way heated. Then, once the shower was blasting on full power, she turned back towards Victoria. Lexi scooted on her knees so she was kneeling in front of Victoria and she held her hands out. Victoria grabbed her hands, and Lexi squeezed them reassuringly.
Lexi licked her lips and Victoria could see little tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She took a shaky breath in and Victoria found herself copying her friend. Lexi opened her mouth, and hesitantly stammered, "D-Did he do it?"
Victoria had to ask, due to her confusion, "Did who do...?"
"Did Logan...?"
Victoria blinked once, then twice, as her mind processed the question. She shook her head. No. Logan was a creep, but hadn't crossed that particular line.
The look of pure relief in Lexi's eyes was enough for Victoria's throat to tighten with emotions. Tears filled Victoria's eyes and she all but threw herself onto Lexi, wrapping her arms around the older woman's neck. Lexi returned the hug tightly, squeezing her as her shoulders shook in silence. Victoria cried into Lexi, her body heaving as she took deep, gasping breaths in between silent cries.
"I know, Vee-Bee," Lexi whispered, bringing a hand up to card it through Victoria's hair. "You did so good. I'm so proud of you."
Victoria just cried harder in response.
Lexi didn't push Victoria to get up, not even when the shower had definitely run out of hot water. She held Victoria in her arms, gently running her hand through the human's hair and whispering words of encouragement. And after what seemed like hours, when Victoria felt strong enough to pull herself out of Lexi's arms, Lexi didn't move until Victoria started to. Only then did Lexi get up and shut off the shower. Victoria pulled herself up using the sink and Lexi took a step towards her. She set a hand down on Victoria's shoulder. "I'll be -"
Lexi cut herself off, pausing and tilting her head to the side as she listened to something. A gentle smile came to her face and she let out a deep breath. The tension in her shoulders relaxed and she whispered softly, "There's someone waiting to see you. Take your time. Come out when you're ready."
With that, Lexi turned around and stepped out of the bathroom. She gently shut the door behind her.
Victoria turned away from the door and looked towards the mirror. Gosh, she looked like a hot mess.
Her hair was ratted and knotted, clinging to her scalp through a mixture of sweat, dirt, and blood. The color of her hair, which was normally supposed to be a mixture between brunette and blonde, had the barest hints of a red tone that Victoria knew came from blood. There was a large clumping of blood on her forehead, and Victoria reached up, her fingers just barely brushing against the blood. There was no pain, and she couldn't feel any sort of cut.
Her clothes were in perfect condition, if not a little dirtied and bloodied.
She was clean.
Too clean.
Victoria ripped off Zach's coat, letting it fall to the ground. She yanked off the t-shirt she wore underneath and was left only with her jeans and spaghetti-strapped tank top she wore over her bra. Her hands shaking, she reached out and grabbed a small towel that was lying down on the counter top. She flipped on the faucet and stuck the towel under the water. Once it was sufficiently wet, she brought out back, wrung it out, and scrubbed. She scrubbed hard on every single droplet of blood that was decorating her skin. Her skin was starting to burn and there were angry, frustrated tears rolling down her cheeks and she was gritting her teeth so freaking hard that everything was in pain, but she didn't stop. Even when all the blood was gone and her towel was stained red, she kept scrubbing.
But Victoria's scrubbing changed areas. She moved from her forehead and descended, scrubbing harder and harder as her hands reached her neck. Everywhere Logan's lips had touched her hours ago, she scrubbed. Her angry tears came harder and soon Victoria was gasping in between sobs as she scrubbed.
But no matter how much Victoria scrubbed, how much she tried to get the foul feeling of Logan's lips off of her skin, it was always there. Taunting her. Mocking her. She hadn't been strong enough to stop him. What if he hadn't had any lines he wouldn't cross? Would he have taken her, right then and there, in front of Damon? He had made it obvious that he had planned worse things for her once he had turned her.
Victoria let out a frustrated scream and threw the towel, as hard as she could, at the wall. She panted, trying to fill her lungs with enough breath but never being able to. Her hands moved up to claw at her hair; the pain at her scalp helped to ground her, but not enough. Never enough.
"You were too weak."
"Shut up!" Victoria screamed, whipping around to glare at the mirror. Instead of her reflection, Victoria saw the last person she thought she'd see.
Vick Donovan folded her arms in the reflection and cocked her head to one side, her eyes taking in Victoria's disheveled appearance. She rolled her eyes and verbally scoffed. "You think you're strong? If you were, you would have been able to escape from Logan."
"I protected Caroline!" Victoria spat, jabbing a finger towards the mirror. "She would have been the one injured. I saved her!"
"But you let yourself get hurt in the process," Vicki snorted, shaking her head. "You are weak, Victoria LeBlanc. If you were stronger, braver, smarter, faster, the events of today wouldn't have happened the way they did. If you would have told Damon about who was in the warehouse before going in, he could have just killed Logan right there. Problem solved. But you had to worry about the stupid time-space continuum."
"Shut up," Victoria growled, the rate of her breathing increasing. She was getting ancy and she was getting agitated, a combination that was never good. "Shut up."
"You are a weakling, Victoria. A weakling, and a liar, and a selfish bitch. You're a failure. Everything your mother said was true -"
"- Shut up!" Victoria screeched, and her instincts took over. She pulled a hand back and threw it towards the mirror as hard as she could. Over and over again. She ignored the pain in her hand; she ignored the smell of her blood filling the room more than it had before. Victoria pounded her fist against the mirror, enjoying the way she heard it crack and shatter underneath her fist. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"Victoria!"
Two arms wrapped around her waist. In a blink, she was out of her bathroom and inside her bedroom. The lights were off, so the only light that shone into the room came from the bathroom. Her back was shoved against the wall, strong hands wrapped around her wrists. Her arms were placed up by her head and there was a large, firm body pressed against hers. She couldn't move. The person in front of her was too strong.
"Let me go!" Victoria shrieked, trying to fight back anyways.
"Peace, Victoria. Peace," the person tried again, and the voice...
Victoria didn't recognize that voice. It was deep, a beautiful baritone, and there was a thick Scottish accent. It was unique, but different. Victoria had never heard it before, and yet...there was something in her that told her she was safe. She was fine. She wasn't going to be hurt anymore.
There was only one person who could give her that unusual feeling.
Victoria looked up towards the person's face. Even in the darkness, Victoria should have been able to see the perpetrator's face. There was enough light in the room for that. However, even at that close of a distance, the person's face was hidden in shadows.
"N-Noble?" Victoria stammered, her brow furrowing in confusion. It couldn't be...could it? Last time she had heard, Noble was still in New York. Why was he in Mystic Falls? "W-What...but you were in New York!"
"Damon called me," Noble replied. There was something so relaxing and soothing about his accent; the way he said certain vowels threatened to send shivers down Victoria's spine. "I ran to the airport, flew here, and didn't stop until I got back into town."
"How does Damon even have your number?" Victoria whispered, shaking her head. "No, that's not important. Weren't you tracking down Raphael's people? That seems to take a little more precedence -"
"- More precedence than your life?" Noble interrupted, his voice sounded more stern than before. He let out a scoff. "Pardon me if I do not feel the same way."
"I would have been fine."
"Perhaps, but that does not mean I would have allowed the vile creature to live."
"Vile creature...? Do you mean Logan?" Victoria asked. Her eyes widened a little and she cursed under her breath. "Noble, did you kill him?"
Noble's silence was answer enough.
"Shit," Victoria hissed. "That wasn't supposed to be you! Why did you..."
Noble cut her off, but not verbally. He took a step back and pulled her with him, bringing her away from the wall. His hand was touching hers gently, his thumb tracing invisible shapes on the back of her hand. Victoria trailed off, not knowing how to respond. He just seem to understand her. He understood what she was feeling and he knew just what to do to silence all the voices in her head. He was good like that.
Noble reached into his pocket and produced a small vial, one that Victoria recognized instantly. It was the magical elixir that seemed to heal her without the usage of vampire blood. He offered it out to her silently and Victoria untangled her hand from his to accept it. She quickly uncorked it and threw it back, letting out a satisfied gasp when she had drained it dry. Already, the pain from her bleeding knuckles was settling down.
"You are not truly angry with me," Noble said, dropping his voice down so it was just a hair higher than a whisper. Victoria tossed the little bottle onto her bed, not knowing where else to put it. "Not really. You are redirecting your emotions and feelings onto me." He retook her hand and squeezed it, and Victoria took a unsteady breath in. "So please, Victoria, for both of our sakes, tell me: how do you truly feel seeing me here?"
Tears sprung back up in her eyes and Victoria cursed again, reaching up to palm the little offenders away. She sniffled weakly and looked back towards Noble. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. So she did her best to show him how she felt physically.
Victoria pretty much threw herself at him, like a leech coming in for a hug. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs latched themselves around his waist. He caught her with no problems, and his arms locked themselves around her back. One hand was resting on her neck, tangling up in her hair, and the other was resting contently around her waist. Victoria hid her face in Noble's neck and he squeezed her tightly.
"I missed you so much," Victoria whispered, her voice coming out more like a croak than a whisper. He squeezed her tighter in response. "I know it hasn't been that long, but still."
"I've missed you too," Noble replied, his voice strong and steady in comparison with hers. "I swear, you just enjoy raising my blood pressure."
"You're a vampire; I don't even think you have blood pressure to raise," Victoria giggled, and she enjoyed the way his chest rumbled. It was comforting. "Gosh, I have so much questions and I-I don't even know where to start."
"Ask away, Victoria. I will try to answer the best I can."
"O-Okay," Victoria hummed. "C-Can I stay like this when I ask?"
"Does it bring you comfort?"
"Yes."
"Then of course."
"Cool," Victoria said, nodding her head. "Alright...first question: why are you talking? You made this huge deal about not speaking and now...?"
"I have come to realize that my inability to speak to you was being more of a hindrance than a help," Noble replied easily, swaying back and forth as he began to pace around the room. It made Victoria feel like she was an unruly child that Noble was trying to put to bed, but it was helping her calm down from her hysteria moments ago, so she allowed him to keep doing it. "This is not my true voice; just a facsimile of some actor that one of the witches working for me enjoys."
"I see," Victoria snorted, a smile coming to her face. "It's nice. I would say it compliments you, but I haven't seen your face. Which brings me to question number two, one of my newer questions."
"My face in shadows. You have not questioned this before?"
"I just thought you had a talent for finding shadows," Victoria admitted, and she grinned at the laugh that came from Noble. It sounded good. "I'm guessing another witch."
"Yes."
"Alrighty then."
"Does it bother you? That I am not able to show my physical self to you?"
"I'm beginning to understand that in this world, there's a lot of people who want my friends in pain, and I will be used as an accessory to that," Victoria admitted, bringing her head out of his neck. She plopped her chin down on his shoulder and watched her fingers draw lazy pictures on the back of his shoulders. His dark coat was soft underneath her fingertips and she enjoyed the way it felt. "You're doing it to keep me safe. What more could I ask for?"
"I believe I remember a time in the third grade when you asked Santa for a little red bicycle," Noble hummed, rocking them back and forth.
"You knew about my Christmas wishlists?" Victoria questioned, pulling back so she could look at Noble's shadowed face. His hands moved so they were resting on her lower back, holding her more securely to him. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? You're that much of a stalker?"
"Alexander was the one watching over you, in my defense," Noble replied, and Victoria snorted at the usage of Lee's full name. "He also told me that when your mother asked you why you wanted a bicycle, and you said that it was because you wanted to use it to run over the creep that pushed you in the hallway."
"The third grade hallway story. Yeah, Lee filled me in a little on that one," Victoria mentioned, nodding her head. "He also is kind of...well, to be more honest, really upset with you. You apparently didn't mention the coma to him. Or Raphael."
Even with his face covered in shadows, Victoria could see that Noble flinched. "Yes, I admit I have not been as honest with Alexander as I would have liked to be. I take the blame for that." He paused and tilted his head to one side, silently observing her. "You need to rest."
"But I still have so many questions!" Victoria insisted, moving her hands so they were resting on the back of Noble's neck. It was a better anchoring position.
"I will be here in the morning when you wake," Noble whispered gently. "Now, please," he set her back down at the ground and she couldn't help but pout. He was really comfortable to cuddle with. Her face flushed red at her thoughts. Oh good heavens, she really was losing it. Sleep deprivation, probably blood loss, was doing crazy things to her, "get changed. I must speak to Alexander, Alexia, and Zachariah about the events of tonight."
He moved to step past Victoria, but she grabbed onto his wrist before he could fully step away from her. He looked back down at her and tilted his head towards her, curiously. He did that a lot. Head tilts, squeezing her gently, as cues to his emotions since she couldn't see his eyes.
"Don't blame them," Victoria whispered. She shook her head. "This isn't any of their fault. They didn't know what would happen. If anyone's to blame, it's me."
"You were a victim," Noble retorted gently, grabbing her wrist and gently prying her fingers off of him. "You are not to blame for tonight's events either. Now change. I will return shortly."
A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! I wasn't sure I was going to get this chapter done in time, but huzzah! Happy holidays to all those who don't celebrate Christmas, and Merry Christmas to those who do! I'm excited, can't ya tell? Plus, the 30th chapter of this story on Christmas Eve? AWESOME!
We get another Noble appearance, and he'll be able to speak now! Huzzah! Logan's still a creep, but now he's a dead creep. Some good bonding between Lexi and Tori. Tori's bad mental side taking the form of Vicki, oh no! Lots of things to unpack from this chapter.
THE SHIPPING WARS! (feel free to keep on voting (you can vote for more than one ship!); 1 full point for if you choose one ship, two half points for two separate ships, more than 2, smaller decimals. Anything that is not a full point will be italicized. This will not decide the final pairing; I already know who Victoria will end up with, I just want you all to be able to guess):
ROMANTIC:
Team Stetoria {Victoria/Stefan} (15.5): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, another guest, Elyse1821, Lime, herewegoagain, K, Yukihino-Sama, emma, just another guest, BookwormStrawberry, heyyeah, Guest (3), guest4ithinklol, Guest (6), Guest (9), guest (1), theappleseed
Team Datoria {Victoria/Damon} (19.5): Sciave, Guest, ArganRose, CrystalAris, Marine76, Assenavira, CarlaPA, Guest (1), Maistryia, emma, just another guest, Freeshavacahdoh, Guest (3), Guest (4), Guest (6), sabrinaannpierson, Guest (7), Guest (8), Guest (9), guest (1), hfgfgfrdr, lillen20, Yolo, theappleseed, Guest (10)
Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (22.5): guest, Guest, SoraLover987142, insert name here XD, sammyleann, Orange keys 25, LoyalElijahFangirl, Hinata Megumi, A. G Herz, Aryabloodlust, ferallahey, AngelColdHeart, BlueDragibus, dreamwalkerlisa, Guest, Stachelbeere, Guest (1), jocillyria, Guest (2), BookwormStrawberry, Ieviheichu, Teghan-Potter1370, karenc0r, Hachiko33200
Team Klatoria {Victoria/Klaus} (5): Tayla141, TikiKiki, Guest (9), Mythology216 the Beard King, thisIsNotATest, Guest (10)
Team Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (2): DreamerPop, MelissaMorningstar
PLATONIC:
Vinn {Victoria/Finn) (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25
Varcel {Victoria/Marcel) (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, jocillyria
Zinn {Zach/Finn} (.9): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, karenc0r
Jol {Jenna/Kol} (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Lime, Orange keys 25, karenc0r
Kelas {Silas/Kelly L.} (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25
Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (.2): Orange keys 25
Kennett {Kol/Bonnie} (.5): Lime
Autoria {Aurora/Victoria} (1.2): LoyalElijahFangirl, hfgfgfrdr
Vonnie {Victoria/Bonnie} (1): bpopa7110
Vibekah {Victoria/Rebekah} (1): BookwormStrawberry
New Followers!: Aga1709, david242, ant88
New Favoriters!: Aga1709, alessandra92, david242, ant88
Onto reviews!:
theappleseed: Thank you! Your votes have been adjusted :)
DBZFAN45: I did not mean for Logan to become so hated in this story; it just happened, but I am so here for it. Oh my gosh, it totally is a Stetoria callback moment. I didn't even think about that. Good catch! Here's your Mind!Vicki that you mentioned a few reviews ago. Thought I'd add that in this chapter. Damon does get written in one of two ways, I agree. I think I'm going to try and showcase him in this story as being able to swing either way. Like, he's totally chill one moment and then he rips your heart out the next. He's very unpredictable that way. The Toriline friendship will take some hits, but they will continue to be BFFs, that I can reveal.
Guest: You're Guest (10), by the way. Oh my gosh, I love that XD. It's so true though!
BookwormStrawberry: Here's Noble gutting Logan! Not too drawn out, but I think Noble was more concerned for Victoria's safety over everything else.
Lime: I can see him and Kol, if given enough time, to become friends in the way of "I'd give him my kidney to help him live, but no way in heck is he going to use my phone charger". I've seen this headcanon where the trolls are the villains and want Anna with Kristoff, so they spell Hans into being more evil and he's just trapped inside of his own mind as he watches the love of his life fall in love with someone else. The biggest give-away that Hans was evil was specifically the line "You and I" because Hans says 'you' and Anna says 'I', which means that it's just about Anna and Hans has no feelings towards this particular relationship. Oh yeah, Alaric's not perfect by any means, but I think he does a good enough job in the first few seasons of TVD to let it slide for now. I haven't seen Legacies just yet, so I'm a little out of the loop when it comes to that. Thank you! We don't start rehearsals until the first week of January, so I still got some time before then. Damon does seem like the guy to flirt with everyone and their mother (I mean, he flirts with Mrs. Lockwood. Ick). I absolutely adore Henrik, even though he's not mentioned all that much. It may take a while for mentions of Henrik to show up (as the Originals aren't even in the story just yet), but we'll get there.
I hope you all enjoyed this 30th chapter. We've officially gotten past 250k+ words! Whoo-whoo! 273 reviews (OH MY GOSH!), 254 Followers, 196 Favoriters, 1 Community, and 33.5k+ views (probably a handful of those being mine; I like to re-read the story to refresh myself with what the heck I've written). This is awesome and it's probably one of the best Christmas presents a fanfiction writer could ask for.
Until next time! The next episode will be more Original Chapter within an episode, and I don't expect it to be more than one chapter, but who knows?
Stay healthy and stay safe!
BecomingFearless1F