Enzo looked around the Mystic Grill and then turned to Damon.
"So, why are we eating here instead of at home?" Enzo asked.
"It's baby bro's first day of school, we're celebrating!"
Maggie rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly making Maya giggle. Enzo was not as amused. He turned to Damon with a sceptical expression.
"I thought you were totally against this whole school thing!" Enzo hissed, "You think it's feeding into his obsession."
Maya perked up, curious.
"What obsession?" She glanced at Maggie and Enzo, who both looked uncomfortable. Maggie sighed and massaged her temples.
"Nothing, no-one!" Enzo said immediately.
Maya sensed that they were hiding something from her. She narrowed her eyes and studied their faces. Maggie looked done with them both, Enzo looked nervous, and Damon looked annoyed. She followed Damon's glare and saw that he was staring daggers at Enzo.
"Who's got an obsession with what?"
"Stefan seems to have a slight obsession with the girl he rescued, you know the one we told you about."
"The one you said looked like Katherine?"
"That's the one."
Maya wrinkled her nose.
"But, why?"
Enzo snorted with amusement at Maya's confused expression, but quickly pretended to cough when Maggie elbowed him sharply.
"That's the million-dollar question, kid. And we still don't have a clue."
Maggie suddenly let out her own laugh and quickly covered her mouth when all three of them looked her way, she tapped her ear and discretely pointed at the two girls who'd just walked in. Caroline and a girl Maya didn't recognise, though she did recognise the tiny ball of glowing silver above her heart chakra that marked her as a witch. Her hearing was much better than most, but not good enough to hear a private conversation on the other side of a crowded restaurant. She pouted at Maggie.
"That's not fair! I can't here what she's saying!"
"It seems Stefan has a fan."
"Caroline likes Stefan?"
"Caroline fancies Stefan." Maggie corrected. "Give it a few years and I'm sure you'll have a few crushes of your own."
Maya's cheeks flushed pink at Maggie's words.
"Absolutely not! No crushing on boys, not in a few years, not ever!" Damon protested quickly.
"So, girls are okay, then?" Maggie teased.
Before Damon could reply, the waitress, a pretty brunette teenager whose nametag said Vicki, delivered the drinks they'd ordered to the table.
"Have you decided what you want to eat yet?"
"We're just waiting for one more person to arrive before we order."
"No problem, I'll come back soon, give me a wave if you need anything in the meantime."
"Thank you."
"When's Stefan gonna get here?"
Damon checked the time and frowned.
"No idea, he should have been here by now."
Even as he said it, the door to the restaurant swung open and the Katherine lookalike walked in with Stefan right behind her.
"So" Enzo said, "Has anyone told Lexi about Stefan's obsession yet?"
None of them answered. Maggie and Damon were watching as one of the teens who'd been gathered across the restaurant from them, walked over and introduced himself to Stefan, without once ever taking his eyes off the girl. Maya was staring as well, frowning. Himiko was correct, she had started to adjust to being able to see magic, it was easier in Mystic Falls which was mostly filled with non-magicals, who didn't really have auras like supernatural's did, and where the plants and animals were non-magical as well, so they didn't tend to have the same brightness to them as their magical cousins.
Stefan, though, had the same soft glow that all vampires gave off, a sort of dark aura that surrounded them, but it was the girl who was making Maya frown. Her aura had a slight glow to it as well, not dark like a vampire and not crackly like a werewolf. It didn't look like any that Maya had seen so far so she had no way to classify it, and in the week since Himiko had forced open her ability to see magic, Maya had been classifying a lot of supernatural auras.
The girl's weird aura wasn't the only thing making her frown though. In between Stefan and the girl Maya could see what looked like a thick cord, oily black, tying them together. It was magic of some kind, and it definitely wasn't natural, the result of some sort of spell, and it didn't look at all healthy. Probably that cause of Stefan's "obsession" she surmised. She probed at it with her magic, recoiling, and shivering slightly at the slimy feeling. It definitely wasn't good, maybe cutting it would help. She gathered her magic, twisting them both together so that her wixen magic was powering her channeler magic, and visualised it as a pair of scissors that she aimed at the cord and attempted to cut.
The cord resisted her magic, fraying at the edges but not breaking. Maya felt a surge of frustration and tried again, harder. A sharp pain in her nose made her flinch, and she saw Damon's worried look as he nudged her gently. Maggie handed her some tissues and motioned for her to press them to her nose. Maya did so, and saw the blood staining the white paper. She frowned, confused. Professor Song had warned them all last year that some magic was more difficult than others and if they tried to push it before they were ready then the magic would push back. Every other member of the class had been forced to go to the medical room at least once with a nosebleed from pushing too hard, but Maya never had. Channeler magic came as easily as breathing to her, no spell was too difficult, until now.
Stefan slid into the empty chair at the table frowning at Maya.
"You, okay? What happened?"
Maya dabbed at the blood trying to wipe it away, it wasn't a large amount, but she still ended up smearing it slightly.
"Come on," Maggie levered her up out of the chair, "Washroom, I'll help you wash it off."
Maggie led Maya through the crowded restaurant, dodging waiters and customers, until they reached the women's restroom. She grabbed a handful of tissues from one of the stalls and wet them under the faucet. She gently wiped the blood from Maya's face, looking at her with concern.
"So, what happened back there?"
"There's some sort of spell tying Stefan to that Katherine double."
The door to the restroom pushed open and Agent Gomez stepped inside.
"Everything okay in here?"
Maggie hesitated for a second before resuming her cleaning.
"We're fine, just a little nosebleed." Agent Gomez nodded and left, and Maggie turned her attention back to Maya, "I believe her name is Elena."
"Whose is?"
"The Katherine double."
"Oh,"
"So, what made your nose bleed?"
"The spell, it was like a cord tying them together, it looked wrong, icky and unnatural so I tried to break it."
"Uh-huh, I'm guessing you couldn't?"
"I mean it sort of worked at first, it started fraying, but I just couldn't cut all the way through."
"And then you pushed harder?"
"Yeah."
Maggie shook her head and tossed the bloody tissues in the bin. She washed her hands and dried them on a paper towel.
"You can't brute force your way through everything sweetie."
"I don't know what you mean."
Maggie raised an eyebrow and gave her a sceptical look. Maya felt her cheeks heat up.
"Don't play dumb with me. I saw your end-of-year reports. Professor Song praised you for being a natural talent. She also warned you that you rely too much on your raw power, instead of crafting spells that would ease the strain on your magic. She said you might run into trouble sooner or later."
"What sort of trouble?"
Maggie took Maya's hand and squeezed it gently.
"Maya, sweetie. You are an incredibly powerful witch, and that power is only going to grow. But power isn't everything. You need skill, knowledge, and finesse too."
Maya frowned, not sure where Maggie was going with this.
"Let me put it this way? If you want to go into space, could you just tie a drum of gasoline to a pod and expect it to work? Or do you need a proper spaceship? Guidance systems, engines, trajectory calculations?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Obviously, I would need a spaceship."
Maggie smiled.
"Exactly. In this analogy, you are the gasoline. You have a lot of energy, but you need something to channel it, to direct it, to control it. Until now, you've been able to do anything you wanted with your magic, but if you want to go further, you need to change your approach."
"How do I do that?"
Maggie hugged her and said,
"You start by researching the problem. Maybe someone else has already solved it, or at least found a clue. If not, you'll have to figure it out yourself. But don't worry, I'll be here to help you. So will Damon, and Enzo, maybe even Stefan as well. Now lets go back to the table and assure your godfather that you're not dying."
She grinned and led the way back to the table, Damon was still frowning in concern, Maya slid into the booth seat next to him and leaned into his side.
"I'm okay, Babbo."
"Just a little nosebleed." Maggie confirmed, "did you order?"
"Not yet, we were waiting for you to get back."
"Well, I'm starving. Let's eat."
Maggie flagged Vicki down to place their order.
"Why did you get a nosebleed, kiddo?"
"Let's talk about it when we get home shall we," Maggie said with a significant glance at their surroundings.
Damon frowned at her but nodded, if Maggie didn't think the Grill was a good place to have this conversation, then he'd follow her lead.
Damon waited until they were safely back at the Salvatore mansion and settled in the cozy den before he broached the subject again. He leaned forward on the couch, his eyes fixed on Maya.
"So, what happened at the Grill, kiddo? What made your nose start bleeding like that?"
Maya fidgeted with the hem of her sweater, avoiding his gaze.
"Maya," Damon said sternly, "You know you shouldn't be trying to do any big magic without responsible adult supervision –"
"You're –"
"– of the magic user variety. Now how did you get the nosebleed?"
"I was trying to break the spell between Stefan and Elena, but it was too hard, and it made my nose bleed."
Stefan, who was sitting next to her, spat out the sip of bourbon he had just taken and gaped at her in disbelief. He wasn't the only one; Enzo and Damon both looked equally stunned.
"What spell?" Stefan demanded.
She shrugged, as if it was no big deal.
"There's a spell connecting the two of you with each other. It looks like a thick cord binding you together. It's probably why you're obsessed with her."
"I'm not obs–" Stefan started to protest, but cut himself off when he saw Damon's smug smirk. He glared at his brother.
"Don't blame me, blame Enzo. He's the one who slipped up in front of Maya."
Stefan rolled his eyes and turned back to Maya.
"I'm not obsessed with her," he insisted.
"Don't listen to him, Munchkin, that's what all the stalkers say." Enzo interjected with a burst of laughter, but quickly regretted it when Maggie elbowed him in the ribs. He winced and rubbed his side, while Stefan shot him a fierce glare.
"Ok, look," Stefan said, trying to sound reasonable. "I'll admit, when I pulled her out of the river and saw how much she looked like Katherine, I just wanted to figure out why. But the more I found out about her, the more drawn to her I felt. I just wanted to get to know her, that's all."
"Wanted?" Damon zeroed straight in on the past tense, his eyebrows raised. He sensed a change in Stefan's feelings, and he was curious to know more. Stefan shrugged his expression nonchalant.
"I mean, I still want to get to know her, that hasn't changed."
"You did say you 'wanted to get to know her' though," Maggie said, emphasizing the past tense. "The draw you feel towards her, has it changed at all?"
He hesitated, searching for the right words.
"It feels less important than it did yesterday, but that's not unusual. I mean, I've officially met her now, and we talked." He hoped that would satisfy her, but he knew it probably wouldn't.
"Maya, sweetie." Maggie turned to the young witch, who had started idly flipping through one of her schoolbooks.
"Yeah?" Maya looked up.
"You told me that it started fraying." Maggie reminded her gently.
"Only a little bit."
"Is it still frayed now?" Maggie asked.
Maya put down her book down and focused on Stefan, trying to see the cord she'd noticed earlier. It wasn't as clear as it had been in the Grill, when he'd been standing right next to Elena, but she could still sort of see it as a shadowy form connecting to his heart.
"Yeah, it sort of looks like some threads are fraying off of it." She said, frowning.
"There you are then." Maggie said, nodding. "I think it's safe to say that whatever spell exists between you is why you've felt so drawn to her. Maya might not have been able to break it, but she obviously weakened it slightly."
"So, now we just need to figure out how you can break it completely, munchkin."
"Or, how someone else can." Damon gave Enzo a look and he held his hands up in surrender.
"Why do we need to break it?" Stefan asked, sounding confused.
"You did not just say that." Damon scoffed, and gave Stefan a derisive look.
"If it's not doing any harm–" Stefan tried to argue.
"Did you completely forget the whole obsession conversation we just had, mate?" Enzo interrupted, shaking his head. "Stalking is not a good look, for anyone."
"As indelicately as he put it, Enzo's correct." Maggie said with a slight sigh. "The spell has been influencing you negatively since you met her, the longer it lasts the worse that's likely to get. Besides, wouldn't you rather know you were acting under free will, that nothing was influencing your decisions."
"It's all oily looking and it feels slimy. I don't think it's a nice spell." Maya added, making a face.
Stefan looked troubled as he thought about what they'd all said. His previous arguments with Damon on the subject were still fresh in his mind, but he didn't feel as annoyed by them anymore. Like some part of his mind had broken free and he could see his brother's concern for what it was, rather than assuming the arguments were driven by jealousy on Damon's part. He didn't even know why he'd thought that. Damon had long ago made it clear where his preferences lay, and it wasn't with Katherine or anyone who looked like her.
"Okay, so what do we do?" Stefan asked, looking around at the others. He felt a mix of curiosity and dread. Part of him wondering what the spell meant for him and Elena, another part wondering if he would still want to know her without the spell pulling him towards her.
"I'll write to Aradia and see if she has any advice for what the spell might be or how to break it." Damon answered first, "She's never told me how old she really is, but she predates the vampire species so she might have seen something like this before."
"I can ask Himiko tomorrow, I have another lesson with her." Maya said shooting a grin at Stefan.
"I'll reach out to some of my contacts as well mate, there's a witch and another vampire who lecture at Columbia as well so I'll feel them out about it this week if I can."
"And I guess I'll talk to my colleagues at the Institute." Maggie finished off, "Between all of us we should be able to come up with something at least."
"Elena's a supernatural of some kind." Maya piped up, "Do you think that's important for them to know?"
You could have heard a pin drop the silence was so profound.
"Elena's supernatural?" Stefan asked, seeming shocked.
"Well, she had an aura and most non-magicals don't have that, so yeah, probably."
"Seriously!" Damon complained, "You can't even throw a rock in this town without hitting some kind of supernatural being."
"Why would you throw rocks?" Maya asked, looking adorably confused. "Wouldn't that probably hurt someone?"
"It's just an expression, sweetie."
"Oh."
"Stefan. You're the one that looked into her background –"
"Stalker!" Enzo coughed the word into his fist, grinning at the frown Maggie sent his way for interrupting her.
"– Was there anything you found out that might indicate what kind of supernatural she is? Maya's right it's probably important to know if we're gonna figure out this spell binding the two of you together and how to break it."
"I was mostly looking into her family history to figure out why she looked like Katherine. I didn't find much, she was definitely adopted, but there was no record of an adoption on file or of who her birth parents might have been."
"Are non-twin, twins a supernatural phenomenon?" Maya asked.
"Non-twin twins?"
Maya rolled her eyes at Enzo.
"You know people who aren't twins but are still completely identical. Like Katherine and Elena."
"There called doppelgangers munchkin, and I'm not sure if they actually count as supernatural beings."
"Dop-pel-gan-gers" Maya rolled the word over her tongue as if she was testing it out.
"It's a thought." Damon said after a moment, "we can always add that to what we know when we start reaching out to people for help, it might have something to do with the spell, or at the very least we can rule it out and start looking into other possibilities. In the meantime, it's bedtime for you, kiddo."
Maya jumped to her feet and gave Damon a hug, kissing his cheek.
"Night, Babbo. Love you."
"Goodnight kiddo, I love you too."
"Night Maggie, Night Enzo, Night Stefan."
"Night Sweetie,"
"Night, munchkin, don't let the bedbugs bite."
"Goodnight Maya, sleep well."
