Forever Is Not Enough

The Attack

1864 - Mystic Falls, Virginia

Just as the town of Mystic Falls started to shed its blanket of paranoia, the chill of winter penetrated the innermost area of Virginia. It was much colder than one would expect for that time of year. The citizens had only just started leaving their homes and lingering out in town after sunset again, when the weather would no longer let them. Katherine peeked at Stefan in the reflection of her floor-length mirror, as she took the braids out of her hair. He wasn't looking at her, but out of the long window of her bedroom. Every few seconds, the glass in front of his face would fog up from his breath. "I think it's snowing," he murmured.

"Good," she said. "Whatever will keep people off the streets at night."

"You don't care about these people," he smirked, looking back at her.

She sauntered over to him, shrugging her robe off of her shoulders and onto the floor. "You're right. I don't care about anyone outside of this house."

"So, you admit you care about someone?"

She wrapped her arms around him and gently ran her fingers across his chest. "Don't tell on me," she simpered. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into him, kissing her roughly, but she only indulged him for a moment. To his dismay, she used both hands to push him away, but held him by the straps of his suspenders. "How is your father doing, by the way?"

"My father?" He took a moment to catch his breath, trying to focus. Of all the things he was thinking of, his father hadn't been one of them.

"He has a troupe of strangers living in his home, and now his first-born son is off to war."

"You and I both know he isn't concerned about either of those things."

"As for the vampires... they suspect one set the fire."

"An interesting theory," she said. There was nothing inside of her that made her want to tell Stefan the truth about it.

"Now, they only have their wooden stakes to protect them."

She was soothed by that thought, and decided to change the subject, grabbing Stefan' by the sides and shoving his back against the window behind him. Little bumps formed on his skin from the cold. She pulled his shirt open and kissed him gently, starting at his midsection and working her way up his chest and onto his neck. When she looked up, her reflection was clouded in the window by the condensation surrounding him. He ran his hands over her sides and back hungrily, but she could feel him brace when she gently ran her tongue over a smooth spot of skin on his neck. He didn't make a sound when she clamped down on him, and she gripped him tightly as the warm liquid flowed quickly into her mouth.

Stefan raised a hand to her arm, and she knew he was growing uncomfortable, but she needed just a second longer. It would have been a minute if an unusual noise hadn't caught her attention. She smacked an unintentionally rough hand over Stefan's mouth and shoved him into the wall next to her, listening intently. He didn't make a noise, holding a hand to his neck and sliding down the wall weakly.

She heard the noise again and this time she realized it was a moan, or perhaps a groan, but it was just loud enough for her to pick up on. Her glare flew back to the window when she heard a stick break. "Stay here," she commanded, opening the latches on the window. He couldn't even look up to see her jump from the window. Her bare feet landed silently on the ground below and that was when she picked up on a very, very faint heartbeat.

Around the corner, Jeremy's almost lifeless body lay beneath a hooded figure. A territorial growl rose in her throat and she felt her sharp teeth slide out of her gums, but the figure ran before she even realized what was happening. She debated running after it until she realized that the very, very faint heartbeat was gone. "Jeremy?" she whispered. Panic erupted in her stomach and she fell to her knees beside him. No pulse, no heartbeat, no breath. He was nothing but a shell. She reached for his hand, and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized her ring was still wrapped around his finger. In his other hand was a love note for the lady Victoria. "Idiot," she sighed.