A/N: Barely over a month, and already a new chapter! How great is that?! (Actually, don't answer that. I update as often as I can, I swear) I hope you're ready for a bit of unexpected adrenaline, though, because you might hate me for it at the end of the chapter. :P Happy reading!
PS. To "NoSocialLifeHere" and their love for team Malena *hits chest with fist then points to you and winks*
Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. This is a work of fiction written for entertainment purposes, but the original characters and original storylines present in "My Paper Heart" are my own work.
MAYA'S POV
Everything finally got back to normal. I had apologized to all of my friends, and their attitude during the last few days convinced me that they had indeed forgiven me. I hadn't seen nor spoken to Katherine since my little supernatural escapade, and it made me assume that she had actually, finally left town. Damon could have confirmed her whereabouts if I had insisted, but considering our last conversation on the subject, I had no desire to bring it up again. I wasn't sure, though, that I liked the idea of not seeing her until the next time she would decide to pop up in Mystic Falls again. It could take a year, maybe ten or even never happen, and the thought was somehow upsetting to me. But I brushed it off, focusing on the fact that my life was going to be a lot easier without her around. The last impending threat remaining was the instability of my powers, but now that they were no longer a secret, I was confident that with the help of my friends, everything would be fine.
I was finishing my homework when I heard a knock on the front door. Not expecting any visitors, I paused and channeled my heightened senses toward the intruder. There was a single heartbeat on the other side of the door, and it was human, but unfamiliar. I let go of my pen and stood up. On my way to the lobby, I grabbed the stake laying on the console table, shoved it in the back of my pants and opened the door cautiously. There was a man wearing a black suit standing up straight behind it, and from the grey in his hair and the wrinkles around his eyes, he guessed him to be in his fifties. Noticing that he was also holding a chauffeur hat in his hands, I peeked over his shoulder and saw a black sedan parked along the sidewalk. It was spotless, luxurious but discreet.
"Hello Miss," the stranger said, snapping me out of my investigation.
"Hi. Can I help you?"
"Are you Maya Delacour, Miss?" The question clearly meant that he wasn't on my doorstep by mistake and it made me grow more suspicious by the second.
"Depends on who's asking."
"I have a letter to deliver to her."
"A...letter?"
"Yes, Miss. That's correct."
Having deliberately kept half of my body hidden behind the door, I wrapped my hand around the stake and pulled it out of my jeans before answering.
"I am Maya Delacour."
He nodded slightly and raised a hand to the inside pocket of his jacket, causing my fingers to instinctively tighten their hold around the stake. He retrieved an envelope and handed it to me. It was bigger than the usual size, the bone-colored paper thick and grainy, with my name written on it in cursive. The means used brought back memories of Katherine's ways of communication, but despite the elegancy of the letters drawn in black ink, I could affirm that it wasn't her handwriting. And for once, that wasn't good news. The only other time I had come across this kind of stylish envelope was when the Originals had thrown a ball. But since Elijah and Rebekah were the last members of the Mikaelson family alive, and none of us had seen any of them since Klaus' death, I very much doubted that they were the senders of this letter. Not to mention that I couldn't think of a single reason they would want to have anything to do with me.
I thanked the man and stepped back to close the door.
"Excuse me, Miss?" he said, stopping me before I had the chance.
I frowned and opened the door again reluctantly. "Yes?"
"You need to read the message now, Miss."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Once you've read what this envelope contains, you'll understand," he insisted politely.
The more time I spent with this man, the more the bad feeling in my gut increased. I was at a complete loss as to what he was doing here, and what exactly he wanted from me. I tore my gaze from him and looked at the envelope in my hand. Unsealing the flap, I slid an equally stylish card out to discover the content of the message.
"I believe you and I have a lot to discuss, Maya. I would love for you to accept my invitation and meet me on neutral ground. Please trust that no harm will be done to yourself or your beloved ones if you follow the man who delivered this letter to you.
Until we see each other,
Your most obliged servant."
As I was reading the threat concealed under the courteous and old-fashioned manners of the missive, my heart started to beat erratically in my ears. I took a slow, shallow breath before looking up at the man in front of me, anxious to hear what he next had in store for me.
"My employer requested that you dress up for the meeting," he said conversationally. "My car is ready for you as soon as you are."
The threat, the mysterious employer, the dress code and the chauffeur's attitude didn't make any sense put together.
"This...employer. Do you know who it is?" I asked carefully.
"Yes, Miss. I do know the person who hired me."
"Can you tell me their name?"
"No can do, Miss. I'm sorry."
"Can you tell me what they look like?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that either."
Even though a little part of me had hoped to get some information, I had also expected those answers. I narrowed my eyes and focused my attention on his face to note the reactions my next questions would cause.
"Could you tell me their name if you wanted to?"
His features remained emotionless and his behavior very professional, but the quick blink he hadn't been able to restrain betrayed his surprise. "Of course, Miss."
"Could you tell me...the color of their hair if you wanted to?" I insisted, using a casual tone.
A little frown appeared on his forehead this time. "Absolutely. Like I said, I know who hired me, Miss."
I crossed my arms over my chest in frustration and tried a last question.
"Do you feel compelled to do this job? If you ever decided that this task wasn't worth it, would you be able to drop it and just go home?"
He straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat, obviously unsettled by my question. I couldn't really blame him. Without context, I was probably sounding like a crazy person.
"I could," he answered anyway. "But I have a wife and two kids in college, Miss. I would very much like to get the other half of my pay, and I'll have it only once you've reached your destination." He gave me then a steady and honest look, and I knew that he hadn't been compelled by a vampire. The options were running thin.
"And I assume they're paying you really well for this job?"
"Yes, Miss."
A sudden sense of feeling trapped crept over me. I swallowed the dry lump in my throat while frantically trying to find a way out.
"I...can't answer you, right now. I need to think about this," I mumbled, fiddling with the envelope in my hands.
"Of course. I understand. Take all the time you need, Miss. I'll be waiting for you right here." And with those words, he turned around and placed himself next to my door as if he was a royal guard. I stayed bewildered for a moment at the confidence he had that I would eventually follow him. When I came back to my senses, I closed the front door quickly behind me and walked into the living room, fishing my phone out of my back pocket to dial Damon's number with shaky fingers.
"Hey you," he greeted me after two beeps.
"Damon, hurry up and get your ass over here." I was about to hang up when I remembered the man on my porch. "Oh, and sneak in the back door." I pressed the red button and started pacing nervously, waiting for him to arrive. It didn't take long before I felt his presence, and I turned on my heels to face him once he finally stopped running at abnormal speed.
"What's going on?" he asked head-on, his eyes wide with worry. I handed him the letter as an answer and watched surprise, confusion and concern flash across his face as he read its contents. He flipped the card around to check the other side before glancing up at me.
"Katherine?"
"I thought so too at first, but it's not her handwriting."
"True." He nodded absentmindedly. "Wait. How do you know that?"
"Really? You're asking me this, right now?" I shot back in disbelief.
He seemed to realize that the time wasn't appropriate for these kinds of questions and waved the card in front of him. "Where did you get that?"
"The man still standing on my porch gave it to me," I answered in a fake cheerful voice.
"What?" He instantly walked towards the door, but I put a flat hand on his chest to stop him.
"He's human. And harmless." I removed my hand and crossed my arms tightly. "He's just a regular guy hired to deliver."
"You mean compelled?"
"I mean hired. As in paid for it."
He arched his eyebrows, clearly skeptical. "You sure?"
"I tested him. He's free from compulsion, or else the person who manipulated him is very, very good at it."
He wasn't happy with my answer and I couldn't blame him. Detecting this vampiric trick would have helped us narrowing down the endless list of potential enemies. Though finding out that the mysterious sender of the missive was a vampire wouldn't have been exactly good news either.
"Why is he still here?"
"He expects me to follow him. Apparently, the meeting is today."
"What?! Old fashioned and good manners, my ass! Everybody knows you don't invite someone on such short notice," he mocked wryly before becoming serious again. "You know what it means, right?"
"That they don't want to give us time to come up with a plan?"
"Exactly."
We exchanged a troubled look.
"What do we do, then?" I ran a hand through my hair mechanically while going over our options. "If I don't follow obediently, they made it quite clear that they'll go after one of you. Or all of you." I felt a rush of anger at the thought.
"Or you," Damon pointed out.
His words startled me, because I hadn't really considered that eventuality, but I didn't really care what happened to me as long as I knew they were all safe. I kept the thought to myself, though, knowing that it would drive Damon mad.
"If I go to this unknown location, we have no idea what we're up against. It could be an Original, twenty hungry werewolves, or a whole human secret society waiting to slaughter me during a fucked up ritual." I threw my arms up helplessly and started to pace again.
"A secret society? Really?"
"What? It's not crazier than werewolves and vampires!"
"Yeah, well, they usually look for virgins in those kind of sacrifices, so you're good," he teased dryly.
I stopped pacing and punched him in the arm. "Do you think this is funny?"
"No, but I'm trying to think about it more clearly than you obviously are."
I put my hands on my hips and answered his condescending smirk with a glare, even though I knew he was right.
"I doubt this is an Original scheme," he continued, his face turning serious again. "Rebekah isn't poised enough to have planned this masquerade. If she wanted something from you, she would've just barged in and strangled you against a wall."
"Gee, I'm suddenly relieved she has better things to do," I shot back sarcastically.
"It could be Elijah's style, but being the great merciful man that he is..." He paused a second to roll his eyes in derision. "He would've talked to you first before threatening the people you care about."
"So if it's not an Original or a secret society, we're stuck with werewolves..."
"Or an unknown vampire. I'd go with an outsider on this one."
"What in the hell would an unknown vampire want from me?"
"Because you have a rational explanation for this if they are werewolves?"
I bit my lip and frowned. "Good point."
"What time is the meeting?"
"I don't know. All I know is I need to dress up and meet the guy on my porch when I'm ready."
"I'm sorry, what?" He cocked his ear towards me as if he had misheard me. "You need to dress up? What is this, a joke? They're throwing you a party?"
"I'm absolutely certain that is exactly what they're doing," I answered in a tense voice.
His lopsided smile dropped instantly. "Hey...it's okay. No matter who these bastards are, we're not going to let anything happen to you."
"We?"
"Yes, we. Go upstairs and change. I'll call the good-guys-crew to the rescue. I have a plan." He gave me a smug grin and for a second there, I believed him.
I rushed to my bedroom and looked over my wardrobe carefully, making up my mind about the pair of pants I was going to wear rather quickly. Black jeans were a bit more classy than blue ones, but were just as resistant and comfortable. I grabbed them and tossed them on my bed. The mention of dressing up made wearing sneakers out of the question, but I needed to pick shoes that I could easily run in. I settled for my flat ankle boots, the black leather would match my jeans perfectly. I tossed them to the bed, too. Choosing a top was trickier. It had to be long-sleeved to hide my wrist stakes, and long enough at the waist to cover the ones hidden in my belt. My eyes stopped on a dark red one. The color was ideal if I needed to disappear into darkness, without going with a full black outfit, and the square cut neckline was showing enough cleavage to be fancy. Perfect.
I changed into the clothes I had picked and armed myself with stakes, then joined Damon back into the kitchen. He was typing on his phone and raised his eyebrows when he noticed me.
"What?" I asked in annoyance.
"That's what you call dressing up?"
"Wh...okay, I know it's not the most dressed-up outfit ever, but I need to hide the weapons and to be comfortable enough if I have to run for the hills!"
"Yeah well, at least do something with your hair. I don't know... The things that girls do to look sexier." He waved his hand in the air in a dismissive manner.
I shot him a dark glare.
"I don't want to flirt with my...polite kidnapper!"
"Seduction is a powerful weapon, you dumbass! You shouldn't underestimate it."
I clenched my jaw and remained silent for a moment. I knew he had a point, but I wasn't exactly happy about it. I finally sighed in defeat and turned on my heels to go back upstairs.
After a few tries, I managed to tame my wild mane into a loose bun and slid a hair stick through it. I figured another wooden weapon easily within reach wouldn't hurt. I released a few locks of hair from the bun to make it more messy, and applied some gloss on my lips before putting on some black mascara to make the blue of my eyes pop. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I hesitated for a moment. Going through my jewelry box, I dug out my favorite pair of dangle earrings, the ones my mom had given me for my fifteenth birthday. They were discreet but beautiful, and nothing bad had ever happened while I was wearing them. I could use all the luck I could get for this meeting.
"Much better," Damon said instantly as I walked into the kitchen.
"Thank you." I gestured toward his phone with my chin. "Did you call everyone?"
"Yep! They're all on war footing."
I frowned slightly, surprised that I hadn't caught even a few snippets of his conversation with them. "What's the plan?"
"They're armed to the teeth and in two different cars. They'll follow from afar, guided by the information you'll text them from inside 'your' car. This way, they won't be busted," he explained in a focused voice. "There's only one problem."
"What is it?" I asked, before chewing on my bottom lip nervously.
"I'm absolutely not fine with letting you get in that car all by yourself." He stared at me with wrinkled eyebrows and clenched fists on his hips. "If he takes your phone away from you, or pulls a driving stunt to leave them behind, we're screwed."
As I was wrapping my mind around his words, I realized something. "Since you said they and not we while talking about the plan, I'm guessing you have a solution to that problem?"
"Not exactly... The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to be in that car with you. Now we just need to figure out how to do that." The idea of Damon being in the car with me was quite comforting, but I highly doubted that hiding him in the trunk would go unnoticed. As we both came to the conclusion that this part of the plan wasn't doable, I suddenly got an idea.
"Well, I'm complying to all of the mysterious stranger's demands so far. I'd say it's time for them to grant me a wish."
My statement took Damon by surprise. I flashed him a mischievous smirk and walked toward the front door. I opened it to find that the chauffeur hadn't moved an inch from his previous position. He immediately turned around to face me.
"Are you ready to go, Miss?"
"Yes." I tried to sound as confident and firm as I could manage. "But I have a request before going anywhere with you."
"I can't take the liberty of talking for my employer, but I'm willing to hear your request, Miss, and do what I possibly can about it," he replied gently, giving me his full attention.
"I want this man to accompany me." As I said the words, Damon walked out of his hiding spot and placed himself close behind my back.
"Oh, I see." For the first time since he had knocked on my door, the man smiled at me. "My employer forewarned me that you might ask for something like that, and allowed me to grant this specific wish as long as there are only two of you inside the car. You included, of course," he added with a little bit of humor, looking at me.
"Really?" Saying that I was baffled would have been an understatement.
"That easy, huh?" Damon waded in, his surprise echoing mine. I peeked over my shoulder, and we exchanged a wary look.
"Shall we?" the man asked, gesturing toward the car.
I swallowed with difficulty before nodding, and followed him reluctantly until he opened the car door for me. Before going further, I made sure that Damon was also getting in on his side of the car. The chauffeur closed the door behind me, and the feeling of being trapped came back instantly. After igniting the engine, the man pulled out and started to drive us toward the unknown and daunting destination.
"Would you like some music, Miss?"
"Yes, she would," Damon cut in. He then grabbed the hands I had been twisting anxiously in my lap since we left my house and leaned to place his mouth close to my ear.
"I'm going to take care of all the texting. Just relax... Everything is going to be fine." He squeezed my hands reassuringly and gave me a confident smile before shifting back to his side of the car. I took a deep, shaky breath and focused my eyes on the road, trying to guess where this ride would end.