𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 || 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒

"➏➑" : ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʀᴇᴇ

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow.

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow.
Lay down your head, and close your eyes.
And when they open, the sun will rise."

✰｡◍✰｡◍✰

After a few days, I found myself in a car with Damon, headed towards the airport. The dawn was just breaking as we all said our goodbyes to each other. I had to admit I felt a little teary-eyed about leaving Willow. Even though I once bluntly told Damon that I would never want to have kids, just for the sake of my insecurities, they did have an effect on me. Hope brought out my playful side, I was like a best friend to her while Willow stirred up something within me that I never thought I had. Something maternal.

Our multiple conversations had sparked a new plan in my mind. The chances of us pulling it off were very low, but nothing's impossible, right? I'd like to believe that because right now, my belief was the only thing I had.

Funny how little pain you felt while your mind wandered off to somewhere else. It was as if I didn't even feel the cold blade cutting my skin. That or the blissful complacencies Damon sent me in with his bites were getting stronger with each day. Nonetheless, my scar had reappeared again even though we cut it off just this morning. I feared it might be an indication that Ethan was getting closer to us. That's why we needed to leave as soon as possible.

Back home, Katherine had taken over Mystic Falls while Mikael continued the haunt the French Quarters. He went on a rampage to kill a whole town of vampires before making his way to New Orleans. Katherine wouldn't let him kill Klaus until their witches found a way to break his sire line. The killing spree was his retortion. Ethan, on the other hand, had his spies everywhere on the lookout for us. His current obsession was finding me and Damon.

Enzo, Bonnie and Tyler continued with their search for werewolf venom. Last I heard, they were somewhere near the Appalachians. None of us shared our exact location, worrying that someone might try to get it out of us if we were captured. Josh and Aiden had made it to the other side of the world along with Elena and Jeremy while the others stayed closer to home. Hayley, Caroline and Hope were hiding somewhere safe or at least I hoped so. Alaric and Liz still stayed at the Armory with the kids, which was proving out to be quite the safe house for them. Apart from the information on Arcadius, Alaric found a sealed vault underneath the Armory which no witch was able to open yet.

There were moments in the past month when all I wanted was to run away with Damon and start fresh, abandon the people I loved the most. I remembered cursing and screaming at myself for even having this thought, but the other part of me wanted it so bad. I was selfish, I'd always been. But then I thought of him and all my resolve disintegrated.

An ache of loneliness flew through me. How could I move on with one love of my life when the other was suffering? This wasn't right. Stefan was supposed to be here with us. With me. Yet all I had was an emptiness inside me that I wasn't able to fill with anything. I needed him, I've always needed him and I'll always need him. Sometimes, I would close my eyes and pretend he was next to me, smiling and assuring me that everything was going to be alright. When that fabrication wouldn't be enough, I would relieve our real memories. Hope's a bitch, but the hope of meeting him again was what kept me going.