The Devil In Me

Chapter 2

Now, the day they had all been waiting for had finally come. Caroline turned her head slowly in the looking glass, watching her lady maid catch up the last few curls which kept escaping.

"Thank you Eliza" she said, "Please go and attend Katherine and Elena now. I'll finish myself." Eliza bobbed and disappeared down the hall, where Caroline could already hear the noises she usually associated with the twins getting ready for a ball.

Looking in the mirror, she turned her head back and forth, shaking it lightly to see if any other curls escaped, little by little, some floated down, framing her face, and she decided they'd never stay, so forgot about them. She then turned her attention to the various concoctions Katherine had pressed on her to help her prepare. She'd had to take them, or be threatened with Katherine doing it for her.

Opening a pot, a sweet smell greeted her immediately, inside there lay a power puff, lined with satin and soft feathers on the other side. It lay in a pool of golden dust, and Caroline supposed she was supposed to put it somewhere, though where she had no idea. Closing it, she decided just to tell Katherine she'd tried everything. The only think she did try was Elena's lip tint, a soft rose colour, that tasted like strawberries. She pinched her cheeks to put some colour in them, and reached for her special item.

She kept it wrapped in a satin bag, and pulling it out, the beautiful slender bottle caught the firelight. She pulled out the delicate stopper, and raised it to her neck. She trailed the fragrance soaked glass down her neck, then closed the bottle. Slipping it back in it's bag, she put it safely back in her armoire. Her mother's perfume, one of the only remaining things she had left of her. No one knew where it had been mixed, or what ingredients it used. She had thought about trying to recreate it, but feared using it too much in the testing process.

"Caroline! We need you dear! Katherine's hair is all wrong" Isobel's voice echoed down the hall, and Caroline took a deep breath, and pushed away from her dressing table, following the smell of burning hair.

"You seem nervous brother" Damon Salvatore remarked as he watched his younger brother make yet another mistake in his cravat.

"Here, let me" he said, coming forward and untying it. He glanced up at Stefan's face, and wondered what was going through his brother's mind, or who. He feared he already knew.

"Are you nervous to escort Elena tonight?" he asked mildly

"We are escorting the family. I am hardly escorting Elena" Stefan said, laughing uncomfortably.

"I'm sure she'd like it if you did" Damon murmured, watching the tiny flare of hope appear in Stefan's eyes.

"Don't speak like that Damon. Elena is a lady. She.. doesn't think about me like that. Anyway, she is engaged to be married." Stefan said stiffly, turning back to the mirror, seeing Damon's perfect knot.

"Well, that is certainly true." Damon said solemnly, "Come, let's not keep our ladies waiting."

The assembly rooms chosen for the opening night were grand indeed, Caroline thought as she stepped down from the carriage. The Season had various different events throughout the year, but Isobel had been waiting to introduce her girls at the beginning of the busiest time in the Season, though now Caroline wondered how long she'd been planning Elena's were several other balls that night, but, following the announcement of Elena's engagement to Lord Mikaelson, they had been invited into the most exclusive events.

The road was clogged with carriages, and servants helping women cross the cobbled street. Lanterns were lit, draped over the stairs, which were wide and gracious, leading through pillars at the top and into a warm orange glow of opulence.