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ii. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF IVY SALVATORE
THE moonlight peered through the curtains, pouring light into the bedroom of Ivy Salvatore. A candle was lit at her bedside, allowing her to read into the night. Her eyes skimmed the page, fingers brushing against the parchment as she reached for the corner to turn it.
The sound of a crash and shouting caused her to jump, placing the book under her pillow. She curled into her sheets, fearing her fathers entrance to her room. She remained silent and still, able to make out shouting in her home.
The sheets pooled at her hips as she sat up, moving towards the doors that led to the rest of her home. Straightening out her nightgown, she pulled opened the door to her bedroom, peering out into the dimly lit hallway. She caught a glimpse of someone running down the stairs.
Her brows pulled together as she gazed back at her window, eyeing the moon that was illuminating the sky. Closing her door gently, she winced when it made a creaking noise. Her breath quickened as she made way to her wardrobe— finding one a pair of shoes. She slipped them over her feet, contemplating finding a dress to slip over her satin nightgown, but decided against it.
Picking up the ends of her nightgown, she exited her bedroom, checking the halls before she crept down the stairs and out one of the side doors. The air was tense, filled with the sounds of shouting and screams as men with guns rushed around her, loading people into carriages.
A flash of brown hair and green eyes under the moonlight caught her eye as she neared one of the carriages— Stefan.
She kept herself hidden, using the trees and the shadows they cast under the moon and lanterns to her advantage. She watched as Damon joined her twin, pulling open the carriage door and snatching a body from it.
Katherine.
Her hand clamped over her mouth at the sounds of footsteps approaching and she ducked down behind one of the bushes, trying to refrain from being caught.
Her blood stilled as the sound of two gunshots rang out, bouncing off the trees and chilling her blood cold.
Her hiding spot long forgotten, she leapt from behind the tree, a cry resting on the top of her lips as she saw Stefan crumble to the ground beside Damon's unmoving form. His green eyes clashes against hers as his knees buckled and touched the ground. His fingers pressed harshly against the bullet hole on his torso, drenching his fingers in the blood that was pouring from the open wound.
Once she reached him, she pulled him into her lap, hands cradling his face and keeping him close to her. Stefan's eyes fluttered as he looked up at her, choking on his blood.
"Stefan, look at me. You're going to be alright. Please, I cannot lose you."
Stefan's blood coated hand came to rest over hers, "M'be with Mom now." His brows furrowed as he stared at her, "Don't cry, m'okay."
His words were slurred— some of them combined as he spoke. Ivy's brows drew even closer as she shook his shoulders, "No, you're not going to see Mom, not yet, okay? It isn't time for that yet."
Stefan's eyes finally fluttered shut as he sighed, "Wear the green dress. Mom said it brings out your eyes."
What?
Emily had told her once that people dying said things that didn't make sense— they're brains hazy as their spirits slipped from their body— often making them delirious.
"Stefan," Ivy grasped his shoulders, shaking them when he didn't respond. Her fingers found the pulse point on his neck, pressing against the flesh.
There was no pulse.
"Stefan." She shook him harder. "No, no, no."
Her hands raced to grab a hold of his wrist, shoving the fabric of his shirt back and pressing her fingers flat against his flesh.
No pulse.
Tears raced down her face, dropping onto Stefan's chest and mixing with the blood that oozed from the fatal bullet hole in his chest. Her body shook as she peered over at Damon's body, noticing how his chest did not rise and fall the way that it should.
Her father's rough baritone startled her, "You knew that Miss Katherine was a vampire, didn't you?"
Ivy hiccuped as she turned to meet her father's hardened glare. "How could you?"
Giuseppe Salvatore grumbled, spitting off to the side as he bent down, his calloused hands wrapping tightly around her bicep, "You listen here Ivy Inesa, I have put up with you enough. I will not allow you and your brothers to disgrace our family any longer. Your mother would be disappointed in the adults you have become. Tonight this ends."
"What're you talking about? What ends?"
"This nonsense," Giuseppe tugged her towards the carriage, "tonight, my two boys were killed protecting this town from vampires. And well, my daughter, she will be presumed dead; a fatal accident when a vampire got loose and got to you."
"That is not what happened."
"No one is going to know anything different. Since you love vampires so much, let's see how long you last in a burning church with them, huh?"
Ivy barely had time to process her fathers words before he was lifting his hand, tangling it in her hair, and bashing her head against the carriage. Her vision faded as her body slumped.
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