She had always been exceptional at compartmentalising her mind, it was how she'd managed to remain free for five centuries. She'd never turned off her humanity, never flicked the switch and made it so she didn't have to feel. She considered it to be a weakness, emotions kept her sharp, kept the burning desire to live bright and ever-present in her mind. She was however absolutely ruthless when it came to separating her emotions from everything else. She refused to allow them to interfere with what she needed to do. Whether that was love, or the pain that oftentimes accompanied it, not that she minded pain so much. Pain, even the emotional kind, was how you knew you were alive. For five long centuries, being alive had been her truest desire.

Regrets were not her thing either. She never dwelled on them, even though they sometimes haunted her thoughts. She knew that regrets would have killed her as a human on a night of full moon, five centuries ago. So, she chose to disregard them. At times, it was as simple as water off a duck's back. At other times, it was more difficult. The Salvatore brothers were one such instance.

She had loved them both, in her own way. Maybe it hadn't been the same way that they had loved her, but it had been real. Her biggest regret was how things had ended in Mystic Falls. Not the vampires in the tomb, they had been collateral damage, the price she had to pay to remain free. Pearl's capture hadn't been her intention, she'd honestly though the other vampire was old enough, strong enough, and wily enough to remain free, but there was no regret there either.

It was the Salvatore brothers she regretted, not leaving them behind, that had always been the plan. She'd loved them both enough not to drag them into the dangers of her life. Loved them both enough that she hadn't wanted either of them to become vampires. It had never been her plan to turn them. She'd never expected them to try to rescue her, but they had, and they had died with her blood in their systems.

She'd done her best to move on, to forget what had been wrought by her own actions. For she was woman enough to admit her own culpability, even if she didn't allow it to affect her overly much. In five hundred years of life, they were her second biggest regret. The first being losing her daughter. Even now, if she allowed her thoughts to linger too long upon that night, the regret she felt at what had happened to them threatened to overwhelm her. So, she pushed it away, steered clear of them both, checking in on them through her network of spies and informants, but never getting too close herself.

In the beginning, she had kept a close eye on them both. She had worried for Stefan more, still worried for him more. Not because she loved him anymore than she loved Damon, but because he was clearly struggling with the change more than his brother was. It was a relief when Lexi had entered his life, taking on an older sister and mentor role that he clearly needed. Helping him find the control and balance he needed. It hadn't been a relief exactly, when the wixen family had entered Damon's life, but she had been happy that he had good people to hold on to, through the long centuries.

What had been a relief was when they had given Damon the evidence that she wasn't in the tomb, she might have tugged a few strings to make it happen, but it had been necessary. She would much rather Damon be alive to hate her, than dead because he loved her. If he had continued on in his quest to 'free her' it would have drawn a lot of unwanted attention. The very worst-case scenario being one of her many enemies learning of his relationship with her, and torturing answers out of him. She hadn't had the same problem with Stefan, even if it hurt to see how easily he seemed to have dismissed her from his life.

Content that they were both as settled in their new lives as they could be, she had satisfied herself with watching over them from afar. Leaving it to her network to keep her informed. She had been worried when she had learned of the company Stefan was keeping in the 1920's, worried enough to go to Chicago and check in on him personally. Worried again, when Damon disappeared in the fifties, though this time she hadn't been able to check on him personally, because not even her vast network could find where he had gone. His reappearance had been a weight off her heart, and she had personally hunted down and dealt with the few Augustine members that the wixens had missed. Aside from those few instances, she had determinedly kept her distance from the Salvatore brothers.

Until now.

Her curiosity had been pricked by the information that Damon had apparently adopted a child. It had lifted it's head up, when she had learnt that Stefan had moved in with him as well. It had spiked dramatically when she'd been told that the girl was Maya Lucinda Potter, the girl-who-lived. She had kept abreast of all the news on the wixen family Damon had gotten involved with, and knew exactly who the girl was to the British Wixen World. What she didn't know was why she had so abruptly turned up in New York City and started living with the Salvatore brothers. Some discreet investigations had given her the answer to that.

She knew who she was, and she had long ago accepted every part of herself. She was cruel, vicious, manipulative, cold, selfish, a liar, and a thousand other things that most people would see as distasteful or downright evil. She'd never much cared for other people's opinions though. What she wasn't though, what she had never been, and would never be, was someone who would hurt a child. Her own daughter had been ripped from her arms, never to be seen again, it was the single most painful moment of her life, and she would never dishonour the memory of her baby girl by harming a child.

She was astute enough to realise that the Salvatore's probably had plans of their own for dealing with the Dursley family. She was selfish enough to want to put her own spin on their punishment. So even as she had been booking tickets to New York to check in on the situation herself, she had been arranging through her network for people to be hired to cause the Dursley's a constant barrage of inconveniences. Petty but an enjoyable punishment, at least from her perspective.

She wasn't sure what had driven her to act out against them. As much as she would never harm a child, acting on something that wasn't in her own self-interest was not something she would normally do. Nor was she sure why she had booked a flight to New York city. Her spies were more than capable of keeping her informed on the small family that the Salvatore's had created. All she knew was that there was something inside her, a small voice in her mind, driving her to do both those things.

The first time she had heard that voice she had ignored it and it had resulted in her daughter being stolen from her. The second time she had heard that voice she had ignored it and had run, she had become a vampire and her entire family had been slaughtered. So, the third time she had heard the voice, she had listened. It had resulted in her forging a friendship with a young witch who had saved her life several times over the next century. She had never failed to listen to the voice again, even when it didn't work out exactly as she expected, or hoped, she listened to it. She had long ago learned her lesson on that front.

She had been in New York for almost a month now, watching and learning. She had seen the bonds between them, love and friendship, and those pieces of regret had twisted around her heart until she'd ruthlessly crushed them. Regret was pointless, she'd made her choices, and she'd make them again if she had to. It didn't stop her from watching from a distance any chance she got, as she was doing now.

Lexi, and Maggie, had escorted Maya and two of her friends to an outdoor Solstice market, that was being held in the Dream Garden. She had followed the small group through the market, careful to keep far enough back that the two vampires wouldn't notice her. She wasn't sure if either of them would recognise her and she wasn't willing to risk it, not yet anyway. The voice inside her mind urging her to be cautious, to wait for an opportunity to present itself. An opportunity for what, she wasn't sure, only knowing that she would find out when it did.

The group of five had been perusing the market for almost an hour when it happened. Maggie and Lexi stopped to look at something, instructing the girls not to get too far ahead, and to stay within easy sight. She used the crowd for cover and moved forward at the urging of the voice, careful to ensure neither of them would see her as she approached Maya. The young girl had stopped to look at a display of magical jewellery, her attention held by an amulet, whilst her friends had moved on to the next stall.

It was a seven-pointed star. Each ray was formed by an emerald or a sapphire, tipped with a small diamond. In the centre was a seven-sided sapphire, each side lined with more diamonds, that formed tiny triangles, the points of which met the intersections of the main star, and were centred by small emeralds. It was a beautiful piece, and she could practically feel the magic radiating off it, which would only add to the cost. It was not something that most twelve-year-olds could afford to buy for themselves, nor was it a piece most people would choose for a girl of that age. She knew with an absolute certainty, however, that the amulet belonged with Maya.

"It's a beautiful amulet."

Maya jumped slightly when she spoke, and turned startled eyes upon her.

"It would look wonderful on you." She added, smiling gently.

She received a shy smile in return.

"It'd lovely, but I don't think I could afford it."

The stallholder, perhaps sensing a sale, stepped forward.

"It's a powerful amulet, hand-crafted. It's made from real gemstones and gold, all of the purest quality."

She didn't even bother to ask how much, just handed over her credit card to the woman, grateful that the American magical world accepted card payments, unlike some countries. The woman accepted her card, wordlessly processing the payment before boxing the amulet up and handing it over along with her card and a receipt. Maya stared at her, eyes wide with shock, when she held the box out to her.

"I can't accept that."

"I insist. A beautiful piece, deserves a beautiful owner."

"I don't even know you."

"Maya!"

Both of them turned to look in the direction the shout had come from. As hazel eyes met her own brown ones, she watched them fill with shock and panic, and knew it was time for her to go. She quickly pressed the box into Maya's hands and sped away before Lexi had even finished speaking the first syllable of her name.