[𝐈] 𝕽𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖚𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 | 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖓: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹'𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗯

Chapter Thirteen
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The Fell's Church Tomb

December 12th, 2009
Fifteen times. Stefan called me fifteen times before finally conceding, not bothering to attempt a sixteenth time before he began to harass his other sibling. Speaking of other siblings, Damon had booked a hotel outside of Mystic Falls to recoup and figure out our next bid to save Katherine. We drank until the early hours of the morning, talking about our lives since we last saw one another in '52. He had much more to say than I did. He'd travelled all these spectacular places whilst I squelched around in muddy swaps, trekked across berating deserts and almost became a human ice cube in the glaciers, all whilst running with covens of witches who were determinant on learning my ancient knowledge - especially the parts of when I ran with the Bennett witches in '63.

Hefty, desperate knocks don't catch us by surprise as Stefan forces himself into the room, his eyes glazing over us in disbelief as one sibling was sat by the bourbon with one-half of the pages to Emily's grimoire and the other sat across from the first with their entire pint of blood in his unoccupied hand, with the other half a grimoire he could somewhat understand.

  "Anna took Elena." Were the first words Stefan spoke as he rushed in, approaching both Damon and I in a controlled panic.
  "Yeah, we got that from your six-hundred voicemails," Damon confirmed, flicking through his next few pages whilst also finishing his blood bag, tossing it aside for me to clean up later.
  "Damon, all night long, every single street in town, I've been searching. What if your blood hasn't passed out of her system?" Stefan clarified his worries, however it made no difference to Damon and I. They betrayed us, they lied to us and they used us, Elena's well-being was no longer my concern.
  "At least you know you'll see her again." I disputed, seeing no wrong in Elena becoming a vampire. What would she expect to happen once she got older and Stefan didn't? That the two whimpering traitors could live happily ever after in Mystic Falls? I had once complimented her intelligence, now I see how blinded I was by her facade of confidence. She was just a child, seventeen and naive, like most teenagers are when they become involved with vampires.
  "Please. What do either of you know? Damon, you were with Anna, you know where she's living. Tell me where I can find her." he pleads, desperation ever so clear in his voice as he hunts for his lover.
  "Nope. You can go." Damon denies, flipping through another page as I mimic his actions, no longer interested in conversing with Stefan.
  

  "You know, all I can remember is hating you. There might have been a time when that would have been different, but your choices have erased anything good about you. And you, you follow him because you feel that his emptiness rivals yours and it's all you can cling to. But, I also know you both have just as much reason to hate me." Stefan confessed, shifting Damon's concentration away from the book as he firmed what he believed to be the truth. There was humanity still left in our brother, albeit the light was dim, it still shone true within his actions. Although he almost killed me, he had been apologetic in his usual Damon fashion; annoyance, further detritus and arrogance. Although Stefan couldn't see it, not now maybe not ever, I could and I wasn't going to let it go.
  "This all began with me. Katherine got taken away from you because of me. And I'm sorry." he spoke quietly into the room, making contact with both of us interchangeably. If his task was to now align with Damon to retrieve Elena, he hadn't prevailed. A twinge of weakness rearing itself in my oldest brother's features, returning that Stefan's apology was accepted. Although, Damon wasn't going to give in easy.
  "Marie, I know you don't get involved with vampire business, your right to avoid it. So Damon, please. Just tell me what you know." he adjured, finally slithering his way into Damon's weakness for Katherine's look-alike. He wasn't in love with Katherine, this notion had just been discovered by me the previous night, he was in love with the idea of Katherine. His very existence was modelled by her teachings, whereas mine and Stefan's were not.
  "It's Elena, Damon. If you know something, tell me." his final plea sends Damon back into his old ways, standing as to lead Stefan on to the ounce of hope that he had cracked open Damon's black, blistered heart.
  "I mean this with the utmost of sincerity." Damon pauses as he catches Stefan's sanguine glance, he'd exposed his prey.
  "I hope Elena dies." Damon concludes before weaving his way around Stefan, which left only me for his gaze to fall upon.