Madeline Sage Saltzman, a vampire hunter and adoptive daughter of Alaric Saltzman, did not know what was in store for her when she entered Mystic Falls. Each passing day meant more potential dangers emerging. How will she handle it when she falls in...
The founder's day parade was approaching and so was a not so little disaster with Isobel. At the town's bar, Isobel had greeted Alaric like nothing occurred between them and didn't present any justifications for her actions.
"She attacked you?" Madeline scoffed as she examined her father for any dire injuries. Clearly, Isobel wasn't the same person she was before. She wasn't the mother that comforted Madeline whenever she got hurt. She wasn't the mother that did fun board game nights that left her daughter completely exhausted in the morning. Madeline treasured each of those remembrances, clinging on to the past. Maybe it wasn't the best idea.
"I'm okay, Maddie. She wants me to arrange a meeting," Alaric said, afraid of his daughter's reaction to the upcoming news.
"With who?" Madeline questioned as she laboriously sat her father down on the couch. Somewhere inside her conscience, she wanted her mother to meet with her, to explain why she abandoned them, but she wouldn't get that.
"Elena," Alaric uttered, going through the same deception Madeline was undergoing.
"Elena? She abandons us for years, she makes me blame myself for her death, and she doesn't even want to explain why." Madeline ranted. The vampire hunter adored Elena and cherished the friendship they maintained, but she couldn't believe her adoptive mother wouldn't even include her in the inevitable confrontation.
"I know, Maddie, I know." Alaric sighed, dangling his arms around his daughter to grant her some consolation.
"She's not mom anymore," Madeline murmured, tears of exasperation simmering in her eyes.
Alaric cautioned, "Whatever you do, stay away from her."
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Stefan and Elena strolled into the high school, oblivious to the announcement they were going to obtain. When they were pulled aside by their history teacher and his daughter, they swapped looks of apprehension before entering the classroom. No one was inside, considering everyone was constructing floats for an event most people weren't exceptionally fascinated about. Damon soon showed up, an incredulous look tarnishing his face.
"I saw Isobel last night," Alaric admitted after everyone was settled.
"Isobel's here? In town?" Damon questioned, furrowing his brows along with everyone in the room. Madeline nodded, staring at a wall with a cold-blooded expression as she attempted to neglect everything. Concerned, Stefan would sometimes gaze at her, wishing he could study her sentiments.
"Did you ask about John? Are they working together?" Damon asked, assuming the teacher had gotten more information out of the female vampire.
"No," Alaric stated sharply.
"What about the invention?" Damon added.
"No," Alaric repeated, arms crossed.
"Did words completely escape you?" Damon admonished.
"You know, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions." Alaric rebutted, finding Damon's criticism irrational.
"What did she want?" Damon inquired.
"I, um, need to help Caroline with the float," Madeline announced, abruptly abandoning the group.
"I'm supposed to arrange a meeting with her and Elena. She's threatened to go on a killing spree." Alaric informed, sighing when his daughter left, who was clearly disturbed even if her expressions didn't acknowledge it.
"I want to do it. I want to meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it." Elena asserted before Damon could oppose. The doppelganger was about to meet her birth mother, but not in the way she wanted to. She imagined Madeline by her side, clutching her hand in anticipation. Obviously, that wasn't the case.
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"How are you, Leine?" Stefan said, sitting across from the girl on a table as she scribbled some designs for this year's float. Caroline was aware of Madeline's talent for drawing, so she thought her creativity would be a prodigious asset.
"I'm fine," Madeline answered, her eyes fixating on her paper.
"We both know that's a lie," Stefan mumbled, marveling at her drawings of Miss Mystic Falls' float. "How are you really?"
"I am done with Isobel," Madeline said, refusing to refer to the woman as her mother. "She left me and my dad. End of discussion. It's about time I move on."
"Leine, this isn't something that's going to go away. You need to talk about this." Stefan said, discerning the powerful grip she had on her lead pencil.
"What is there to talk about, Stefan? She doesn't want to see me. She doesn't care about me or my dad." Madeline uttered, crushing the tip of her pencil as she pressed it firmly against her sketchbook. "We are nothing to her, just like she is nothing to me." All the words coming out of her mouth were lies, and the vampire knew it. It was indisputable the hunter missed her mother, and the fact that she returned without a shred of concern for her daughter hurt her. "She should've stayed away."
"Madeline ─︎," Stefan began.
"─︎ What is wrong with me?" Madeline chuckled humorlessly as she lowered her pencil, losing motivation to continue developing a blueprint. "What did I do that made her decide I wasn't worth staying around for?" Detesting the way she condemned herself for her mother's decision to turn into a vampire, Stefan opposed them, prohibiting himself from listening to her pessimistic speculations.
"Leine, there's nothing wrong with you. She lost the best daughter she could ever have when she left you. It's not your fault, okay?" Stefan assured, making the girl look up at him.
"You really mean that, huh?" Madeline smiled, ignoring her variety of sensations that were spinning. Stefan nodded in response. "A vampire comforting a vampire hunter. Didn't think it was possible."
"A lot of things are possible, Leine. Now, let's forget about Isobel. When were you going to tell me you drew this good?" Stefan said, changing the subject. "What are these designs?"
"Well, Caroline wanted something completely different from the one they created last year." Madeline continued rambling about her ideas, and Stefan paid attention to every word, helping her out with choosing some color schemes and layouts. Throughout it, his smile expanded.
