Sunflower | N. Mikaelson

II

Damon's jaw hung slightly loose, not knowing what to do or what to say. Out of all things he expected to be in this tower, a girl was not on his list. Yet, the girl still smiled, either oblivious or ignoring Damon's shock. She invited him in, saying, "Please, come in. I'll put on the kettle and make us some tea. I also made some biscuits not that long ago if you would like one."

The girl headed further into the "house," and Damon followed closely behind, still in a state of shock but also wanting answers. He figured that if he focused solely on this girl in this mysterious tower, he could ignore other problems on his mind such as Katherine Pierce. The hallway she led him through was short but beautiful, and lead out to a pretty, comfortable looking dining room. Unlike the foyer, the dining room still had stone bricks as walls, but they fit in well with the whole look of the room. The floor was also wood, but a slightly darker shade, and the room was less lit up than the foyer, with only a mounted wall light and a few candles providing electric light, and a small window providing a little natural light. There was a small dining table in the center, with four chairs, but only one place was set up on the table.

Upon entering the room, the girl tidied the place away, telling Damon, "Forgive the mess. I haven't had visitors in quite a while," the girl placed the cutlery and mat in a cupboard by the side, before facing Damon, gesturing to the table while telling him "Please, take any seat you would like. I'll make some tea and bring out the biscuits."

Then the girl left the room, leaving Damon alone. Cautiously, the vampire pulled out the chair closest to him, sitting down. He decided to take this time to observe the room for anything he missed when first entering.

There was a radiator on the far wall, but it was small, and Damon assumed it would never let out enough heat to warm the room in winter. But then, he spotted a small fireplace on the opposite wall, assuming the girl used that as a source of heat. There was a vase of flowers on the table, but the flowers were nearly dead, clearly having been there at least a week. This told Damon that she hadn't left the tower in a week. There were no photos anywhere in the room, and Damon reflected that he hadn't seen a picture anywhere yet, telling him that she had no family, or lived alone. But then again, she thought he was her mother upon his entry, making Damon question why they had no family pictures up.

After inspecting the room for a good two minutes, Damon reflected on what his actual plan was. By now, if he were to hold up to his normal nature, he should've killed this girl by now, draining her of all blood in her small frame, but for some reason Damon found himself hesitant to do so. Why? He didn't know, but he did know that something about the girl seemed special and despite not even knowing her name, Damon felt small protective instincts for her creep up his spine. But, being the person (or more accurately, vampire) he is, Damon ignored them.

Not long after, the girl re-entered the room with a tray in her hands. Upon the tray lay a plate full of shortbread biscuits, a ceramic teapot which was steaming from the spout, and two ceramic teacups. Both the teacups and the teapot were painted with beautiful yellow flower designs, creating a beautiful effect. You could see they were hand-painted on as well, making Damon assume that the girl did so.

The girl placed the tray on the table, unloading it, all while talking to Damon, "I apologize for taking so long. Water takes a long time to boil it seems, and I took the liberty of heating up the cookies a bit over the fire in the kitchen so they should seem fresh. I didn't know how you liked your tea either, so I haven't poured it yet, but I have milk and sugar, and you can add as much as you'd like. Personally, I adore a lot of sugar in my tea, as it makes it extremely sweet. I believe that's called a "sweet tooth" but, then again, I love a lot of sweet tasting things that aren't sugar, such as fruits."

During this little speech of hers, the girl got out a jar of sugar and a ceramic jug of milk, and poured some of the tea from the teapot into one of the cups, adding a small amount of tea before using a small teaspoon to add several heaped portions of sugar into the cup, stirring it.