Midnight Rising

A Truth

I gotta say, this place has lost it's swanky, better than you charm it once had. Maybe it's all the neon; maybe it's the absence of the egos that used to fill the room until it burst. The rich velvet has been replaced by black leather but I can still almost see Diana lounging in one of the booths, diamonds shining in the dim lighting, her lips twisting up into a smile as she sees me lurking.

The one thing that hasn't changed stands behind the bar, polishing beer glasses. She rolls her eyes, dropping the rag as I slide onto one of the bar stools, "Well, look what the wind blew in. Last I heard you hated this place."

"Gloria, damn!" I chuckle, snatching one of the bottles sitting out on the bar, lifting it to my lips. "If I knew you were going to age this well I would have stuck around."

The witch laughs, yanking the bottle away from me, pouring some into a glass, "I always liked you better. I see your brother is still running in the wrong crowd."

"You've seen him?"

"Oh yeah," she rolls her eyes. "With Klaus and that pretty blonde you're always chasing after. Bad combo."

"You know where they went?"

I get a raised eyebrow as Gloria rests her chin on her palm. She knows I'm up to something, she always knows. "They'll be back here later. They're running a little errand for me."

"Gloria," I catch the witches hand underneath mine, looking up at her underneath my eyelashes, "Don't be a tease. What kind of errand?"

She gently runs her fingers over my cheek, giving it a quick squeeze, "Hmm, I don't think so. You may be cute, but you're still a vampire." Gloria gives me a wink. "Are you and girlie on the rocks again?"

"She's looking for something and protecting Stefan from himself," I feel like I'm a record with a scratch in it. Maybe if I say it enough I'll actually believe it's the truth.

"Looking for something?"

Shrugging I raise my hands in surrender, "Not really sure what."

"Now who's being a tease?" Gloria grins back, pointing an accusing finger towards my chest. Her face falls as she leans in closer to me, her eyes searching my own. "Damon, does she know who she is?"

Who she is? Out of anyone I've ever known, Diana is the most self-assured. She never questions herself. Diana's the kind of girl who knows what she wants and laser focuses on getting it. That's one of the reasons I fell in love with her. She's got a purpose. Her resolve keeps me from wandering too far. "I'm not following."

"I see that she knows she has powers but does she know the extent of them?"

Oh, the powers thing. I guess we didn't do as good a job of keeping that a secret as we thought. Maybe all witches are connected, maybe Gloria knew even before Diana did. I don't know how any of it works, "She's been working with this witch named Bonnie. Diana messes around with a few things, but nothing crazy. What do you mean who she is?"

"Diana isn't what she appears," Gloria gives me a stern look, tongue flicking out over her bottom lip. "The older witches have been keeping her in the dark, but with Klaus back around it's only a matter of time. Klaus, Stefan, and Diana are a bad mix. They're all too reckless and impulsive."

"What happens if she figures it out?"

The witch in front of me lets out a long sigh, her eyes closing for a few seconds. Whatever this is it must be serious. I've always known Diana has had secrets. I guess I just never thought to dive into them. Diana's more of a tell it when she's ready type of girl. Prying just causes fights. "Right now, she's like a tiger with oven mitts on. Those mitts come off and no one is safe from her claws."