Pulchritude

~Chapter Twenty Three~

"When I was first turned into a vampire, I put myself first for years. All it got me was loneliness. Then I started putting other people's safety above mine, and that's when I found my purpose in life. I found friends and allies. I wanted to help protect those who couldn't protect themselves. Especially from the supernatural."

"Yeah, and look where that got you. Your dying now." Elena sniffles.

"Believe it or not, Elena, it got me a lot of good things. I had Katherine and Genevieve. I had Damon and Stefan. Now I have a house full of friends that are taking time out of their day to comfort me while I slowly die. I'm happy with what my life has been like." Maddy says with a small smile.

"You never told me how you turned," Elena says.

"You never asked." She shrugs.

"How'd you turn?" The human asks.

"Vampire attack." Maddy sighs. "My mom knew about the supernatural. She kept vials of vampire blood hidden in the house and used them whenever we were sick. The night a couple of vampires attacked, I had a cold. My mother fed me vampire blood so it wouldn't get worse. My whole family died that night. Sadly, I was the only one who came back to life."

"How'd you survive for so long without your family?"

"I survived for my family. They lived through me. As long as I was alive, they would never be forgotten." She smiles.

"Aren't you scared of dying?"

"No." Maddy shakes her head. "I've lived for a long time, death doesn't scare me anymore. It makes me sad that I have to leave the people I care about, but I know you guys will be fine."

Elena gives her a small smile, reaching over and wiping the sweat off Maddy's forehead. Her skin was burning up but she was cold as ice. Her legs were still numb and the veins from her arm had traveled across most of her body. She could feel her end coming near.

"You're a good person Maddy. You didn't deserve this." Elena sighs while shaking her head.

"Bad things happen to good people." She smiles with a shrug. "Now go downstairs and tell Bonnie to stop reading that damn grimoire, she's not gonna find anything."

Elena nods her head, setting the wet cloth on the bedside before walking out. Maddy waits until the door closes to let out a painful groan. She was in serious pain but didn't want anyone to know. There was nothing they could do to stop it anyway, so why bother letting them know? Closing her eyes, she falls into a peaceful slumber.

~~~~~~~~~~

She stood outside of a familiar wooden cottage. The grass was green and the sky was blue, the sun beating down on her skin. She wore a long white dress, her hair tied into a long french braid. She could tell it was 1864, shortly after the Salvatore brothers were turned.

Sitting on the porch of the cottage was fourteen-year-old Genevieve. She was dressed in a navy blue nightgown, the one she was wearing the night she died. She looked towards Madison a smile appearing on her face as she turned and ran into the cottage.

Maddy smiles, pulling the ends of her dress up as she chases the young girl inside. As she enters the small home her smile drops. Lying on the floor was the lifeless body of Genevieve in a small pool of her own blood. Her eyes were open as if she were staring into the distance.

"See what you let them do to me, mom?" Genevieve's voice rang through Maddy's ears.

The fourteen-year-old stood in front of the woman who raised her, blood on her nightgown and dripping from her neck. A look of hatred was spread on her face clear as day.

"I didn't let them." Maddy shakes her head staring at the body on the floor.

"Yes, you did. I'm dead because of you."

"No," she denies taking a step back only for Genevieve to take another step forward. "It's not my fault, I didn't know it was gonna happen."

"You did this. You left me. You let me die!" The girl shouts.

Maddy drops to the floor covering her ears as those four words repeatedly ring throughout the house. Things start shaking, the lights burst making glass shatter everywhere.

"It's your fault! It's all your fault!"

"I'm sorry! Please stop!" Maddy begs, tears running down her face.

Everything stops shaking and Genevieve is nowhere in sight, leaving Madison alone in the dark. Slowly standing up, she looks around the room letting her eyes adjust to the darkness that surrounded her. Finally, her eyes land on Genevieve who now stood in front of her.

"Now it's your turn to die," Genevieve whispers before Maddy's body is suddenly engulfed by flames.

~~~~~~~~~~

Madison lets out a loud painful scream, the feeling of her body being set on fire becoming real. Everyone runs to the room, Stefan being the first one to arrive.

"Maddy! Maddy, wake up!" He shouts shaking the sleeping vampire awake.

Her body quickly shoots up, her eyes flying open. Tears were streaming down her face, her body drenched in sweat.

"It was just a dream. You're ok." Stefan comforts.

Everyone watched as Maddy clung to Stefan as if her life depended on it. She looked vulnerable and scared, like a little girl. Stefan held her close to him running his hand through her hair to try silencing her cries.

"She's burning up." He sighs, glancing between the people who stood in the room.

"Her neck." Bonnie points.

The grey veins were making their way up her neck. Damon rushes over, taking Stefan's spot. He wraps his arms around Maddy, his chin resting on her head.

"I'm sorry for everything Mads." He whispers.

"I know. I forgive you." She replies.

"You can stop fighting it." He sighs, laying her head down on the pillow.

"It hurts so bad." She cries, squeezing Damon's hand.

"I know baby. Just let go, ok." He states, a tear rolling down his cheek.

Everyone in the room was on the verge of tears. Stefan held a crying Elena in his arms and Bonnie and Caroline hugging each other with their heads hung low.

"I love you, Damon Salvatore. Don't forget that." She sighs, closing her eyes as she took her last breath.

"I love you too." He sniffles.

The grey veins covered her face signaling that she was officially gone. That was the end of Madison Sinclair.