Ruins || The Vampire Diaries [2]

14: Death and the Maiden

   The letter Elijah had given me before he left for New Orleans rested between the pages of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The letter was from Klaus, and I could only imagine the hard words that were so neatly written. I picked up the book from the nightstand and flipped the pages until it landed on the letter. My name was written so elegantly, the distinctive handwriting that only belonged to Klaus Mikaelson.

   I let my fingers brush against the envelope, imagining what the letter inside read. It had been three months since I received the letter, three months since I put it between the pages of the book and completely forgot about it. The only reason I had found it was because I was searching for a pair of earrings I was going to send to Caroline. I had put off reading the letter since I received it, but I had also been putting off many other things throughout the summer. With a sigh escaping my lips, I pushed the letter back between the pages, closed the book, and threw it on the bed.

   There were three knocks on the doorway, causing me to jump and turn abruptly to the door. Damon stood there, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and a look in his eyes I couldn't decipher. I gave him a small smile and crossed my arms.

   "Damon," I breathed, calming myself from the sudden surprise of his knock. "What's up?"

   "You busy?" he asked, giving me a small and tight smile. His face harden a bit.

   My smile fell. I furrowed my brows and let my arms fall to my side. "Is something wrong?"

   "Depends on what you like to call wrong," he said.

   "Well, things that are bad are normally wrong," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Damon, what's wrong?"

   "Remember how I went with Silas and Jeremy to New Jersey to get the anchor?" he asked, taking a step inside my room. "And the anchor turned out to be Crazy Pants?"

   "Of course I remember, it was yesterday." I sounded stern, surprised, only slightly scared. I took a step closer to him, crossing my arms once again and staring at him with narrowed eyes. "Seriously, Damon, what the hell is wrong?"

   "I think I found the reason why you're a dopplegänger," he said, quieter this time. "It's a pretty gruesome reason."

   "Please don't tell me you found a stone Helen as well," I muttered, my heart beating erratically inside of my chest.

   Damon shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head to the sides, making a face. "It's not a stone Helen, but it is something that belonged to her." He motioned me to follow him with his head, walking out my room. I hesitated for a couple of seconds, my fingers itching by my side. After a few seconds of wondering of whether I should follow him, I decided to follow. He was standing in his room, a small golden box in his hands. From me, he glanced down at the box.

   "What's that?" I asked, my heartbeat continuing at the same fast rhythm. 

   "The reason why you're a dopplegänger," he said, pushing the box to my hands. 

   I grabbed the box and stared at it. It was a gold box with swirls etched around a picture in the centre of the box. The picture was a simple scene of a man and a woman, the woman kneeling by the man and the man as if he's trying to stop her. I stared at it for several seconds, confused and wondering why the hell would he think that the damn box was the reason why I was a copy of someone else. Then, I remembered that boxes were supposed to be opened. Slowly, I reached for the top of the box and opened it. I almost dropped it when I saw what was inside.

   "What's..." I took a deep breath and looked over at Damon. "Is this..."

   He nodded and let out a sigh. "We found it inside the box where Crazy Pants was in," he said, pointing at the box with his chin. "I think Tessa kept it in there."