Lucy's look for this chapter ≈
CHAPTER XXII
❝ It's alright. I've gotten used to it by now, no offence, but it's just how it happens every time. ❞
Lucy wasn't the most ecstatic the following day, her mind still plagued with the worries of her argument with Stefan; but her mood had gotten deliberately better when Casper came to talk to her and all the problems were resolved, or more like most of them, considering how she still had to talk to Stefan.
"Look, I know things have been a bit bad," said Casper, "I-I haven't been thinking too rationally, I kind of messed things up in the past few days and then completely disappeared. I know I shouldn't have said those things and behaved that way just out of the blue on that day, and then I didn't even try to contact you. And after that I came again, but just because Uncle Richard asked me to get him in contact with you -I know he should have called you directly, but he didn't, I have no idea why he is still holding on over to the past grudges- and then I didn't even try to talk to you normally, just said a few things and then disappeared; but............ hey, I.......... brought some... presents."
He finished awkwardly, motioning towards the shopping bags in his hand, along with the numerous others that laid next to him, visible through the open door of the backseat of his car.
Lucy was looking over at him and the bags surrounding him silently, with an unreadable expression on her face.
For a moment or so Casper thought that Lucy would slap him but he faltered when she cracked a small smile.
"It's alright. I've gotten used to it by now, no offence, but it's just how it happens every time. But, hey, you brought some presents." she said imitating the way he had said 'hey, I.......... brought some... presents'.
"But, you know, technically I should have brought 'presents' for you." said Lucy casually as they began taking out the bags from inside the car, passing them to a staff member who was in turn placing them inside in the living room.
"Why?" he asked with a perplexed look on his face as they locked the car, taking inside the last of the shopping bags.
"Seriously," said Lucy, rolling her eyes, "you're the first person I'm meeting who doesn't even remember his own birthday. So, Happy Birthday!!"
"Oh," he said, a look of realisation crossing his face, "right."
Lucy laughed lightly at the sheepish grin on his face, as she began opening the various boxes scattered around them, not caring about the mess she was creating by tearing them open.
"Wow," she said with a chuckle as she opened a particularly beautiful dress, adjusting it against herself to check it out.
"Is it supposed to be a top?"
"Uhm, actually it's a mini dress." he said with an awkward chuckle as he noticed that it was only coming till her mid waist instead of thighs where it was actually supposed to be.
"You know, I think it's a top, not a dress." she said in an amused tone. "But no worries, at least you made the shopkeeper some profit."
"Anyway, what would you love to do today? I've made a few plans, but what are your wishes?" she asked.
"Uh... anything," he said awkwardly. "I really don't know."
"How have you been celebrating it since the past few years?"
"It was too simple. Just a few greetings from others and then I do my usual spell practice. Nothing special."
"Hence we need to make this one special. So, about today's plans." said Lucy, keeping the top (or maybe dress, who knows?) aside. "I heard that the Mystic Falls High School is having a decade dance today, hence we are going to crash the party and enjoy."
"Crash?" he raised a brow. "Ain't that Salvatore studies in that school?"
"Well," she said slowly, "we had a little fallout, but nothing to ponder over, I'll make it up to him at the party. So, two tasks for today : celebrate your birthday by crashing the party and making sure you don't ruin it for yourself by getting in a fight with Stefan."
"I'm not the one who starts it, he-" he complained, but Lucy interrupted him.
"No time for this!" she said in an overly excited tone to overcome any explanation he was going to give. "We've to buy the 20's clothes -yes that's the theme- and then I've to also open up all the remaining presents! Come on, hurry up, it's your birthday!!"
◇◇◆◇◆◇◇
Decade dance look ≈
Lucy could have easily booked some bar or restaurant or party hall for some sort of crazy celebration but she kind of preferred gate-crashing the high school's decade dance, because funnily enough she would definitely encounter Stefan there and would get a chance to say sorry.
Well, that was all twenty minutes ago; now they were haphazardly dancing on a wild party song along with every other person present in the party.
Lucy groaned audibly as the music changed to a soft melody one.
"I think I've started to regret my decision of coming here." said Casper jokingly as she moodily placed his one hand on her lower back and other in hers and positioned her remaining hand on his shoulder and they began dancing.
"I'm wounded." Lucy feigned hurt, placing her hand on her heart briefly before returning it back to its previous position.
"Really, just wounded." he grinned playfully. "I actually intended for it to embed in for the very least."
"Oh, yeah?" she grinned back. "And I wished for it to bounce back for the very least."
"Tsk, tsk," he shook his head with a goofy grin, "careful, Luke, it might hit one of our sweet little companions. So much for being a sophisticated citizen."
"-and innocent as well."
"Innocent?" he snorted, rolling his eyes. "You? Huh, too unbelievable."
"How scandalous?" she gasped dramatically, too loudly for others considering how a pair dancing next to them gave a weird look to them; but they didn't heed it any mind.
"Scandalous?" he repeated with pretend incredulousness. "Weren't you the one who nearly killed me with your poor driving skills?"
"Plane driving skills, not driving skills." she corrected. "And in my defence, you were the one who persuaded me to drive a goddamn plane."
They got so busy in continuing their friendly bickering that none of them noticed how Casper had called her 'Luke' just the way he used to when they were on great speaking terms.
It wasn't exactly that they instantly became enemies, it was just that a gap was driven between them because Lucy didn't like her father's new partner and was too disrespectful towards him, considering how she thought he was just trying to gain all the power Steve once possessed; all the while blatantly ignoring the fact that he was the father of her own friend.
The same friend who had been with her since the very beginning, starting from their childhoods that they've spent together merrily enough, living like the usual witchy children whose life's major part was magic; until today when after more than thirty years they were finally back to being very good friends.
Their history together wasn't the worst, it was just like every other childhood friendship : completely sweet like a pastry but a little sour like the small lemon slice added to it for the sake of the beauty of perfection, with a sprinkle of the bitter dark chocolate.
They both found a friend in each other in the midst of the strange world they were thrown into as soon as they were recruited into the Stygians.
The dry desert wind howled loudly as the merciless sun hung overhead sucking the life out of the withering people underneath.
Numerous tents scattered over the vast sand dunes stretching into nonetheless, as the solitary child among the large group of experienced adults gazed towards the horizon from where a small carriage could be seen heading towards them.
A few young men scrambled away from their works while the others simply continued, not paying the approaching carriage any mind.
The young child could see about four to five people coming out of the carriage, but what caught her eye was another child, around the same age as hers.
An adult man came forward to greet them, "Namaste." he said, joining his hands together as a sort of greeting as others followed.
Greeting in this way was a cultural practice in the scorching region of the Sahara Desert in South Asia.
The young girl didn't seem to pay any mind to the conversation going on between them but was compelled to when she was called by the adult man himself.
"This is Lucia." he said with a kind smile as she came forward, her eyes moving between the people standing in front of them, finally stopping on the young boy.
"Lucia, this is Casper." he motioned towards the young boy before them who in turn greeted her with a hesitant smile.
"And that is his father, Mr. Dietrich Daldron."
A young man came forward, too young to be the boy's father in the little girl's eyes, giving his greetings to the young girl.
"Greetings, my child." he nodded. "Mr. Wright said many wonderful things about you. Loyal. Modest. Very honest. And of course, a 'Koruyucular'."
"Lucia, why don't you show Casper around?" interrupted the man, the father of the young girl; Mr. Wright.
"Of course." Mr. Daldron nodded affirmatively. "Casper, why don't you go with Lucia while the adults talk?"
He just nodded firmly as the two kids started walking towards a distance.
"These are the tents," said Lucia as she started to show him around, "where we sleep and eat and drink."
"This is Maya Ma." she said pointing towards an old aged lady sitting by the open mouth of one of the tents, who seemed to be working with some sort of herbs. "She teaches me magic."
"You d-do majik?" he asked, stuttering a bit with the words.
"Yes, see." she said brightly, opening her palm as a small butterfly erupted from it startling the boy momentarily.
"Wat is thath?" he asked, looking at the butterfly in awe.
"It is a butterfly."
"B-butterfly?" he asked sceptically. "Butter kan flies here?"
"No," she shook her head. "It's an insect."
"Me english know a little." he said, pointing at himself.
"I-" she said, pointing at herself, then at him. "-will teach you"
"Wat ij this place?" he asked. "You live here?"
"No," she shook her head. "I-" she pointed at herself, "- here -" she motioned around herself, "-to learn magic." she finished, sprouting another butterfly out of her palm to explain her point.
"She teachh you majik?" he asked, pointing towards the old lady Lucia introduced as Maya Ma.
"Yes," she nodded. "But others also teach."
"That-" she said pointing far towards where the few adults were gathered, the group they just moved away from, where their fathers were. "-is Steve."
"And that is Richard." she pointed towards another man who was now approaching that group, several big rolls of parchments in his hands.
"They my father." she finished.
"Father? Papa?" he asked. "Two Papas? But, me have one only."
The little girl shrugged derisively, "I have two. I am lucky."
"Your Mama? She where?"
A sad look suddenly crept onto the little girl's face as she muttered to herself. "Don't know."
But as if regaining her senses back within the next moment only, she huffed at the boy. "Your Mama where?"
"Don't know." he replied in the same way she had said those same words.
The girl flattered a bit but as if the next second was a completely different day, she said, "You live here?"
"No, me came from far." he said. "Here, hot. There, cold."
"We go to many places." smiled the girl effortlessly. "How are you here?"
"Me kame with Papa long time ago." he said. "He do majik!"
"Do you know to do magic?"
"No," he shook his head.
"Come, I will show you magic!"
They both had their fair share of hardships after that. Falling down, standing up back, learning a new message everyday.
Both of them did complain, breaking down often while they kept moving around the whole world with the Stygians, gathering many more people. But they grew on each other, their friendship strengthening throughout the years.
Until came the unfaithful night of 1919 in New Orleans. And the years that followed brought with them the rotting down of their friendship.
tw: mention of death
Lively chatter filled the pleasant air of the streets of New Orleans as people started filling in Le Grand Guignol Opera House.
"Les Huguenots?" asked a mals voice clad in 1920s attire as the man sitting next to him rolled his eyes at him. "Your taste in opera is truly heart-wrenching."
"That's great to know, but I am not the one guilty." said the man, chuckling a bit. "It was all your sweet daughter."
"Speaking of which, where is she?"
"Must be somewhere around, I'll go look for her." he said, getting up from his place and heading to a corner.
He ran his eyes all around, past all the seats and then to the balcony area where he seemed to spot someone as he started moving upstairs towards a certain lady he seemed to recognise.
"What are you doing here?" he asked in an amused tone.
The woman jumped as soon as those words reached her ears, turning around to look at him with exaggerated shock.
"I-" she opened her mouth to say something, but finally decided with a firm statement of hers. "Lucia invited me. Why won't I be here?"
"Of course you would be. But what are you doing 'here'-" he motioned around them, where the private balconies were situated, "-peeking into this certain area?"
"Oh," she said quickly, her face completely going red. "Mr. Wright-"
"-please call me Steve. No need for the formalities. You are just like Lucia for me." he interrupted with a kind smile.
"Mr. Steve-"
"-just Steve."
"Okay, Steve. I-" she let out a deep breath, "-I was just looking at the true beauty of the wonderous New Orleans."
"And why pray tell,-" he peeked where she was looking, "-is that true beauty an Original?"
"An Original?" she repeated in a whisper, "It is not just an Original. It is The Klaus Mikaelson. The creator of this beautiful city."
Steve sighed for a moment, before glancing back where Klaus Mikaelson was sitting alone a few feets away from where he was standing.
"I always did said that Lucia ought to choose her friends more wisely. Praising what are the most monstrous to ever walk on this earth."
The girl looked offended for a moment before quickly pulling him back as he was starting to head towards the Mikaelsons.
"Don't!" she whisper-yelled. "He is a vampire! Not to mention an Original!"
"There will never come a day when vampires will start to scare me off." he scoffed, successfully pulling his arm out of her grasp.
"Wait-! Here comes Lucia!"
"What happened?" asked a blond haired woman as she looked between them, her eyes flickering to where the Original sat.
"Nothing at all Lucia!" said the girl quickly. "Mr. Wri- I mean Steve just found me here and I was just telling him that you invited me."
"Helen told me that she also loves 'Les Huguenots'. So I thought, why not invite her as well? After all, she is the one showing us around this glorious city." said Lucia.
"It was not really easy getting the tickets at the last moment, but Lucia managed to get a balcony seat." said Helen, her short black hair shining in the bright opera lights.
"My daughter has always had a great charm of persuasion. Didn't quite come as a surprise to me." said Steve with a light laugh.
"Come, let's get to our seats." said Lucia, motioning towards the balcony region right behind where the Original was sitting.
"There?" said Helen, the happiness clearly audible in her voice, but she quickly quietened down, gulping as her eyes fell on Steve.
"Funny thing that my daughter makes friends this fastly, not even within a few hours of our arrival in this city. And without even consulting the behavioural practices of the concerned being." said Steve in a fake-sweetened voice.
"Steve, please, go easy on the poor soul. She's just new to all this." sighed Lucia.
"You both have your seats. I'll just get Richard here before the show starts." said Lucia, passing a feigned doleful look to Steve when he didn't move immediately.
"Fine." he sighed, taking his seat without any argument.
"Not even a few hours here and you are making us watch this torturous thing. How heartless." he joked.
"Aww." she pouted. "It's just a matter of five hours. Just for me?"
"Fine." he rolled his eyes, knowing her tactics very well. "Just get Richard here."
"Good." she beamed, beginning to head down from the balcony region.
The lights dimmed when she was not even halfway down.
The curtains were slowly getting up and she knew that it would be impossible to find Richard in the dark.
Suddenly the crowd started to laugh loudly, and as soon as Lucia turned her eyes towards the stage she knew something was horribly wrong.
The actors on the stage pretending to be dead were too real for her liking.
She sped back upstairs at her top speed. Steve and Helen would have obviously noticed that nothing was right here. She needed to get there first.
The crowd was still laughing as if they were shown the most hilarious thing of the decade, and their behaviour easily gave it away that all of them were compelled. This was an enmity some vampires had with each other. The Stygians had no role to play. It was best to leave as soon as possible.
Two figures sped past her, nearly knocking her off balance; but she paid it no mind because what met her eyes was far more horrifying than what was going on at the stage.
Steve lying motionless on the ground, his still beating heart lying next to him.
The news of Steve's death spread like a wildfire among the Stygians all across the world. All of them mourned him tremendously. Steve and Richard were their head figures and the death of one of them was a big shock.
Nothing remained the same after that night. Richard grew cold and torturous. Lucia cutted herself off from everyone. But the one thing they held common was their maddened desire to bring Steve back. But unfortunately they worked over it in their own ways, not together.
Lucia devoted the next decade towards dark magic, and that was saying something because the Stygians already dealt with dark magic; just to bring Steve back.
Richard started doing resurrection spells at a higher level, with thousands of witches gathered. But none worked. Because they didn't have any body remains of Steve. Neither his ashes nor his blood. They had to flee fast and unfortunately they didn't manage to get his body and even give him a proper burial. And there was not also any biological descendant of Steve, that they could get the blood from his bloodline.
So they turned to darker means. But none worked and gradually over time Lucia gave up hope. She started believing that Steve had gotten salvation and there was no way to bring him back.
However, Richard was determined. But his determination didn't manage to keep Casper's father, Mr. Dietrich Daldron, off himself.
Richard and Lucia's relationship grew more bitter as she started believing Dietrich Daldron to be only running after power which he will get by becoming Richard's partner. She didn't like seeing someone else at Steve place. She didn't want a replacement.
Her rude behaviour towards Casper's father also brought about several differences in her friendship with Casper.
Casper wasn't the one to stand by and listen as someone disrespects his father. He was his only family ever since a child, sure Lucia did play a vital role in his life but blood was blood, no one can change that.
And soon Lucy's relationship with both her father and Casper worsened and she left to live separately. Only visiting on birthdays and festivals as a formality. No other forms of contact.
Casper became the star stud among the Stygians; what once Lucy used to be because of her status of being a 'Koruyucular Witch', a rare recruitment for the Stygians.
He became the favourite of Richard and of course his own father, Dietrich. And the enmity grew and they both became hostile to each other.
But the hostility died down over the decades, sure there is still some hidden competitiveness, but all was well for now. Because this time, Mystic Falls is there to rekindle their friendship.
━━━━━━✰━━━━━━
A/n:
Hey! I know I've not yet revealed everything,(the whole Esther thing and all) but that will be next chapter!
And comment if there is something else I missed.
Well, except Esther part and the spellbooks things (that will be next chap) and Brie (that is something for very far chapters 😁).
Until then,
Ripahhhhhhhhhh.
Word Count : 3488