So, this is the first of a two chapter update. This chapter was just so short I didn't feel right only uploading this one. You guys are always so kind and patient with me, I wanted to give you something nice.
As always, I don't own any of the characters or the world, I'm just playing with them. Also, I hate to have to say this, but I don't give permission for my story to reposted anywhere without my knowledge or consent or without crediting me, nor do I permit it being fed into any kind of AI learning or writing software. *Tired Sigh*
Anyway, the Food for Thought is at the end of the chapter and the songs I recommend listening to are called "Little One" (for the first section) and "I Am Kara" (for the second) from the Detroit: Become Human Soundtrack.
Emily perched on the edge of her bed, peering vacantly at the remains of the salt circle.
Had it been minutes since Bonnie's departure? Hours? She had no awareness of the passage of time: only that it continued to trudge forward.
She clutched at the rough spun cloth of her skirt, her anger not yet exhausted. Her mind kept parsing through the events of these last few months, looking for any sign of deception she may have missed.
Had this truly all been a lark? Had no moment between them been in earnest?
To willfully jeopardize her life, and that of others, for simple amusement… could Bonnie truly do such a thing?
Emily did not believe her capable of such unfeeling cruelty. Not the woman she had come to know and care for – not the woman she wished to believe cared for her in turn.
No. The why of her actions was plain enough to see: she could hear it in the broken pleas that seemed to echo still throughout the empty room.
Emily forced herself to release the fabric of her skirt, smoothing it against her legs to keep her hands busy. She watched the pull of fabric intently, allowing it to consume her focus until she felt less frayed.
She had not erred in sending Bonnie back from whence she came – of this she was certain. She had done her duty as a witch: she had re-instated the natural order of things.
Why then would this wretched, hollow aching at her core not leave? How had she transgressed? Was she not the one being played for a fool?
At the back of her mind, the scent of spent candles mixing with wildflowers teased her senses. She lifted her gaze to the drying bouquet hanging by her window. Aster, Tickseed Sunflower and Sulphur Cosmos – fading purple, yellow and white: a gift from Francis.
It was strange to think how drastically her life had altered in so short a time. A step forward; a small, but meaningful interaction had set her on a different path – one that held the promise of so much happiness and fulfillment.
She owed this to her descendent. Had it not been for Bonnie's encouragement she would have never found the courage to take that step.
No, she realized, some of the tension melting from her fraught frame, Bonnie harboured no ill intentions. She was not a willfully unkind person.
Short-sighted? Perhaps. Reckless? Most definitely. But unkind…
There were many a time Emily had looked to Bonnie and marveled at the freedom she displayed so unknowingly. It was reflected in all that she did, from the tilt of her head to the lines of her smile: a self-possession not easily found in any woman, and most certainly not ones of their ilk.
Emily had been afeard that resolution might be a beacon for woe, that Bonnie might be striped of her strength and brought greater suffering for its possession in the first place. Even so, she had not the heart to temper her descendent as she should – to be the one to rob her of her spirit; not when it represented a future, however distant, where women like Bonnie were ordinary.
Perhaps this outcome, then, should not have surprised her. After all, the girl had been rash enough to cast the spell in the first place, but Emily had believed Bonnie to have greater sense than that. She believed Bonnie would realize the peril she was in and behave accordingly.
Instead, to find her running about with Damon Salvatore, of all people! It was no wonder Miss Katherine's attentions were fixed so steadily on the girl. Had they been caught by anyone else—
Horror filled her throat, threatening to spill from her lips, but she raised her hands to cover her mouth and forced herself to swallow it back.
That had not come to pass. Bonnie was safe now, returned to where she belonged, far out of Katherine's reach.
The spell she was to complete next would assure her of this.
Pushing herself onto her feet, she cast a final glance at the empty circle before resolutely turning away from it. Her grimoire lay open and expectant upon her writing desk. Emily hovered over its pages, letting her fingers trace along the edges until they landed on what she was looking for. She pulled, and the loose leaf of paper came away eagerly.
Emily had once had a coven.
The coven had been her mother's first: Emily only adopted in her wake. They had nurtured her in her mother's absence, shared their knowledge readily and provided her the room to cultivate her talents. Time and necessity had sent many of their circle far from one another, rendering their ties tenuous at best…
Perhaps more was the better for it, given her current company.
She could not fathom going it alone as Bonnie must, especially when first learning the craft. Emily had benefited greatly from the knowledge of others. She would not be the witch she was today were it not for the competency of those around her in her youth.
In truth, Bonnie's growth as a witch, in the short interval they had known one another, was quite astounding. To consider that the girl had received no formal tutelage was remarkable. She had a natural aptitude for magic quite unmatched.
How might she have benefited from all that Emily was given? She could very well have been one of the strongest witches of their line.
Emily studied the page in front of her, contemplating this.
She knew not what drove her to transcribe this spell all those years ago. Memory spells required a delicate hand and attention to detail. It was unlikely that one could be found to suit every need a spell caster might have, so to copy such a spell with no clear inclination of how it might be altered or applied seemed a fruitless endeavor.
Winifred, the spell's creator, had laughed and called it witch's intuition, encouraging Emily to make a copy.
And so, despite having no foreseeable need, she wrote out the spell on a fresh sheet of paper and tucked it away in her grimoire to be forgotten.
She stared at the aged paper now, a frown gracing her lips.
It would need many alterations, but the bones were there.
"Emily, please."
Bonnie's broken plea sounded in her head and Emily hunched forward feeling suddenly unwell.
No, she mustn't falter.
As much as she had attempted to turn a deaf ear to Bonnie's allusions to the future, it was evident from the girl's prior knowledge of Miss Katherine, Damon and Stefan that she was in some way acquainted with them.
And there was only one explanation for it.
It was imperative that things return to how they were, that the future remained unaltered, or a far more perilous fate may await them all.
What other recourse was left to her?
A glint of amber caught her eye from the corner of her desk. The gemstone Miss Katherine had asked her to spell winked innocuously in the midday sun as the scent of wildflowers swelled...
The forest was dark, but it was familiar to her. Even after these many years, she knew where she must tread.
It was a singular peculiarity to experience the world through someone else's eyes, to move with a form not her own. It seemed as if a thin film had been placed betwixt herself and the world around her. The slight chill of the air did not touch her, though she was aware of it; sounds had to travel further to reach her; and it took a great deal of effort for her to take each new step forward. Casting the spell to destroy this wretched stone would probably require all of what was left of her.
But then, finally, her work would be complete and she would be free to rest at her husband's side. He had waited for so long…
Just a little while more, my love…
She felt the weight of the stone around her neck as she pushed onward. Its destruction would serve a two-fold purpose: ensuring Katherine remained locked away in that tomb where she belonged, and enabling the return of what had been taken from the Salvatore brothers.
Katherine as well, she supposed; however much she may wish to prevent that inevitability.
She moved silently towards her destination. Or perhaps the sound of her footsteps simply could not reach her through the film.
The necklace had been passed from Bennett to Bennett for generations; and yet, in the end, it would be Bonnie's hands made to undo her work. She would be the one to remove the anchor keeping the memory spell in place. Was this irony or fate?
"Emily!"
Damon's voice cut through the quiet of the woods. She kept moving. She knew what it was he desired from her and she could not give it to him.
"Emily, please." Emily stumbled to a halt as Damon appeared in a rush before her, cutting off her path. "Listen, we made a deal."
She eyed the figure he made, taking in the darkness that clung to him like a cloak – a darkness she was, perhaps, partly responsible for.
"Things have changed." The lie coated her tongue thickly. She had never intended for the tomb to be opened. It would be remiss of her to allow a tomb full of starved, vengeful vampires to roam free, no matter her loyalties to Katherine – imagined or otherwise.
At the time, Damon required some form of hope to cling to, and the stone had been spelled for that very purpose, even if she held no inclination of seeing the spell to its conclusion. She could still recall how despondent and lost his eyes had looked, searching for an answer to a question he could not voice. So, she had given him an answer, a convenient lie, a reason to move forward.
But that reason was at its end. The time had arrived for something true. "I have to protect my family."
"I protected your family!" he snarled, eyes flashing dangerously. "You owe me."
"I know."
She did: a great deal more than he could begin to comprehend.
"I'm sorry." She could not rewrite the last hundred years; nor would she choose to, no matter his grief. The only thing she could do was return what was lost to him.
Lifting her arm, careful not to overexert herself, she removed Damon from her path. His body flew away from her, landing with great impact against a nearby tree, a branch impaling itself through his chest. He groaned mournfully.
She had not intended to harm him, but this was perhaps best. It would keep him away long enough for her to accomplish what she must, and she did not possess an excess of energy to allot to restraining a discontented Salvatore.
This was ultimately for him as well as Bonnie. Though, it may take time for him to discover that truth.
Resolute, as she was in all things, Emily continued forward.
A/N: I hope you can all forgive me for the liberties I took with the history of Emily's Talisman and the scene between Damon and Emily. I wanted to tweak elements of canon to fit this AU, so I had Katherine ask for the talisman to be made rather than Damon. I also just love the idea of Emily making her own moves in the background that no one else is aware of. Not to mention the idea of the Bennett family safeguarding the amulet while Damon safeguards the Bennett family – I just love that.
FFT: Looking back, the dynamic between Damon and the Bennett family is nonsensical. Emily entrusted the well-being of her family to Damon, he promises to be their guardian, and yet we see absolutely NO EVIDENCE of this, ever, on the show. And when Shelia Bennett sees Damon for the first time her immediate reaction is to threaten him and tell him to stay away from her granddaughter. Yet, Damon claims to have kept his end of the bargain – "I protected your family." Did you? From what? When?