TAINTED DESIRES ִֶָ 𓂃⊹ ִֶָ a tvdu fanfic

two .

There is no way this was her half sister. Her mother always mentioned a resemblance to Katherine but a doppelgänger? Surely not.

No. Amalia wouldn't be that naive. She wouldn't allow herself to be.

"You can't be Elena. I don't believe you are just coincidentally one of those doppelgängers. You are Katerina Petrova and you have come to take me to my mother, or to spy on me- or something!"

Her breathing was erratic, much like how she felt. In the back of her mind, she knew it wasn't Katherine. The timid nature, the kind eyes. It couldn't be the cold-hearted vampire that Amalia had come to despise. Something stopped her from admitting this though. A hesitance, a fear.

She wasn't ready to meet her sister.

Elena held her throat as she gasped for air, her lungs crying out for the oxygen that Amalia had ripped from her.

"I am Elena. Don't do that.. don't compare me to Katherine."

As much as she so desperately wanted to, Amalia knew she couldn't deny it anymore. The detestation in the young girls voice was evident, not even the master manipulator that was Katherine could fake that. Much less because of the self-obsessed person the vampire doppelgänger was.

"You are.. You must be Katherine.."

She was clinging on to every hope that this wasn't her sister. Even though the thought of Katherine made her blood boil, at least it wasn't this.

She didn't want to feel like this.

In that moment, Amalia didn't feel like the proud, badass witch she had taught herself to be. She felt like a scared child. Vulnerable and weak. And she hated it.

"I'm not Katherine."

Amalia hated hearing those words. She would take seeing her egotistical ancestor over this feeling any day.

She didn't quite understand why she was more affected by seeing her sister than she was by reuniting with her estranged father.

It was simple really. With Alaric, she loathed him. She could turn her back on him and feel no guilt whatsoever (well that wasn't totally true but she's just a girl at the end of the day). He had wronged her.

However, Elena had done nothing to her. She was just someone who had also suffered the consequences of having Isobel as a mother. No, Amalia couldn't turn her back on her. It would eat her alive.

She helped her up, her touch gentle. She felt protective over the younger teen. An unfamiliar and sort of unwelcome responsibility to look after her.

"I'm sorry.. I'm Amalia by the way. I thought you were Katherine-"

"Don't worry about it.. I think"

Elena was confused at the sudden switch in Amalia's attitude. Yes, she expected her to not be so hostile. But the girl seemed caring, like Elena actually meant something to her and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

"Are you okay?"

The question came out more compassionate than Amalia expected. For some reason, she was waiting for Elena's answer with bated breath, dreading any answer than a resounding yes.

All she got was a cautious nod in return. She decided she would take it.

"So.. you know Katherine?"

Elena questioned. She didn't know whether she could trust the girl in front of her, but she can definitely relate to the anger the witch displayed earlier at the thought of Katherine being here so she decided they at least have something in common.

Amalia just nodded. She couldn't quite vocalise how she felt for said woman. She was cruel and calculated, she had put Amalia and her mother in danger more times than either of them in count just to protect herself. Amalia didn't quite understand why her mother stuck with her after everything.

"Unfortunately. I'm taking that as you have encountered her as well?"

Elena just sighed which gave the other girl all the confirmation she needed. She understood that feeling, the anger and disappointment that came with meeting the older Petrova doppelgänger.

She was about to comment on the shared feelings towards Katherine when Elena's eyes seemed to move to behind her as she began to smile.

"Hey, Alaric!"

That was all she needed to hear before Amalia walked off, not even muttering a goodbye to Elena before she quickly fled the scene.

The girl looked at her father figure in confusion at the sudden disappearance of the young witch.

"Do you.. know her or something?"

Alaric looked at his daughter's retreating form.

"Something like that."

Amalia hastily walked down the street. Her once flawlessly styled hair was being messed up by the wind, fuelling her irritation further. Just another thing to top off a perfect evening. She had spent a whole hour doing her hair this evening.

But more than anything, she was tired. She was tired of it all, sick of hiding, bored of the secrets and beyond fed up with being alone.

In a dream world, she would miraculously bump into her prince charming right about now, fall gracefully into his arms and he would save her from the endless solitary existence she was so carelessly subjected to.

Alas, this was not a dream world. She was alone and fated to continue a life of isolation while her true family lived out their lives, blissfully unaware of the empty space within the family in the shape of her.

She continued to walk down the streets of Mystic Falls, trying not to get overwhelmed by the noises of joyful civilians in bars or laughing teens as they successfully snuck out and joined their friends for a night they hope to never forget.

She walked and walked, not having a particularly destination in mind. She happened into a forest. Despite how dark the sky now was, she didn't feel any fear as she sat against a tree, the stars overhead.

She loved the stars. So bright and free yet frightfully alone in the desolate sky. They were very similar to her in some ways, but at the same time, completely different.

She wasn't free.

She feared she never would be.

The leaves surrounding her rustled as they gently billowed in the night air. She couldn't tell whether it was the product of the breeze or her magic acting on its own accord, as it usually does when she is overwhelmed.

She was beginning to doubt that coming to Mystic Falls was a good idea after all.

Maybe she was better suited to a life with her less than attentive mother instead of chasing after a hopeless dream of family, freedom and the one thing she craved more and more each day.

Love.

How naive she felt.