elegance | victoria sutherland

trente-trois

it was only now when sequoia could really look back on her childhood. how hadn't she realised the horrible ways her 'family' would treat her? no daughter should be kicked out of her room for someone else. she lived there, a visitor who decided to stay with her mother should not be given the favours.

she would've classified the cullens as her friends, before bella of course. they took her in when charlie couldn't, they treated her like the daughter or sister she should've been.

her eighteenth, a birthday that her family should've celebrated. alice threw a party instead, inviting her over to their house. the swans didn't even say anything, it was hard to decipher whether they forgot, or just didn't want to say anything.

but maybe the party was something she shouldn't have gone to. edward attacked her, causing her to expose herself. was this all planned? sequoia knew they suspected her, but she never seemed to care. after all, they were supernatural beings themselves, they knew what it was like to keep a secret. surely they'd help her through something like this?

instead, they started to use her, before she even knew of her potential. why? sequoia was blinded, and they knew it. they fed her lies, lies that would only benefit them. the family told her it was for her own good, and she went along with it. oh, how naïve she was.

the next year, on her nineteenth birthday, she received nothing from the cullens. was she expecting this? slightly, but she tried to stay hopeful, optimistic, but all her positivity was slowly draining.

the day of the baseball game. the first time she saw her in person. sure, victoria may have been snooping around her house before, but this was the first time they properly saw each other.

she felt something when their eyes first met, oh how beautiful she was. victoria already affected the girl, subtly suggesting her phrases towards her. when she winked at her, sequoia felt embarrassed. it should be this way to a stranger, she had never talked to the woman in her life. but the way the witch's emotions dropped when she watched the vampire walk away should've told her something. she was so innocent, refusing to believe anything was there.

the pain in her chest between their first and second encounter wasn't too bad. it was there, but nothing of concern. she constantly had dreams of her, none of them specifying it was victoria, but she had a hunch.

it was at the ballet studio where the eldest swan started to piece the overall puzzle together. she heard them leave her behind, knowing another 'enemy' was in the area. she trusted her, taking her back to forks, there would've been so many opportunities to do what was expected of her, but nothing came. she woke up in her old bed as if nothing happened.

this time, the tug in her chest was more noticeable. she said nothing of it once again, not wanting to bother people around her. there were worse things to take care of, some throbbing pains shouldn't be expressed.

the scene of bella's dramatic suicide attempt really provoked the absence of the mate bond. the way their bodies were pressed so close to each other sent butterflies to sequoia's stomach. she knew if victoria was to kill her, it would've been the perfect opportunity to hold her under the water's surface.

after she left on the shore, drenched in her own clothes, stirred something within her. but she refused to be like her sister, she wouldn't go into a depressive state - especially because of a person she had barely spoken to. she pushed through it, but along with the cullen drama, it was an overload of emotions for the girl.

how could she decide for herself if she couldn't think of a conclusion? were victoria's words true? of course they were, she knew that now, but she would have many sleepless nights pondering this.

who's side would she take?

victoria's obviously, everyone knew that now. it was now their time to choose their side, will they stick by her? or will they decide to hold a grudge?

"i'm so sorry," sequoia whispered, pain lacing her voice.

"what for?"

"i took so goddamn long realising everything."

the vampire ran her thumb over the witch's jawline, planting a kiss on her lips, "i'm not going to sugarcoat anything - yes, i was getting slightly annoyed at how ignorant you were, but i suppose everything has been worked out now."

sequoia kissed her again, pulling her closer. before her, she was never an affectionate person, if anything, she hated it. any sort of physical touch had a bad purpose to it, so she stayed away from any sorts.

"yes, i suppose so."

"you still should've let me rip their heads off," victoria growled, her voice slightly muffled by the blonde's neck.

"as satisfying as that would be, i know karma will get back at us."

"but this would be their karma."

sequoia sighed, knowing she may be slightly too forgiving at this point. "i know, but i'd prefer to live without the guilt of a murderer."

"enough of this depressing talk, you still need to model your lingerie again."

but no matter joking victoria could be sometimes, she was the sweetest to her girlfriend. sure, they're meant to be, but why should that change how they really felt? the witch still cared for the vampire before she discovered her mate bond, she trusted her word on it.

she never went to fight her during some of their very first encounters, even while still being manipulated by the others. sequoia always felt connected to her, no matter the number of times she was told that victoria was the enemy, she never laid a hand on her.

the vampire knew that she wouldn't, and took every opportunity to try and help her. although she pretended they were never there, those random voices telling her to move was victoria, it just never clicked with her.

now, the mysterious visits were long gone, sequoia could wake up with her biggest worry being that she wouldn't get to see her girlfriend. for the hunting side of things, the vampire would always leave while the witch was in a deep sleep, travelling from city to city to prevent suspicion. she wasn't afraid to travel across country borders too; france, italy; it didn't matter, she did everything she could to avoid moving from their home.

they loved each other, sequoia still getting slightly flustered whenever she saw victoria. she still has a crush on her, and it was the first crush to mean anything. her cheeks still grew red whenever she accidentally walked in on the redhead changing. no matter how many times she would do so, she would apologise continuously, only to be quietened by her girlfriend.

"if you don't stop apologising, then i'll make your other set of cheeks red too."

those comments, how they'll be the death of sequoia. victoria always knew a way to make her feelings get mixed with all different emotions. she had been waiting centuries to finally meet her mate, losing so many of her loved ones in the process.

now, covens didn't matter anymore, she accepted the nomad life - even though she doesn't move around as much as others. she may be the one to always express to sequoia how she'll keep her safe, but the witch gave the same sense of security back to her. they balanced each other out perfectly. they stopped worrying about the cullens, they stopped giving out mixed signals.

communication was one of the biggest factors of their learning processes, but it all took part in the growth of their characters. they were both happy now, pushing aside their pasts. some disagree with them, but that's the least of their worries. and as something victoria would say,

"the blondie? yeah, she's mine, and so is that hot ass of hers. sorry, but i don't like to share."

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