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MY HOUSE MATES were very accommodating to me after I tried to claw my way through them to the front door. They decided that rather than let me try to escape when it became darker, they were going to lock me in a bedroom and let me drive myself insane thinking about what Pearl did to my brother.
The room was a good enough size for me, if a little bit smaller than what I was used to for a bedroom. Of course after hearing the knob break off, it felt more like a prison than anything else. Over a century trapped in that dismal tomb. And now I was trapped in this place. Would my freedom ever come to me? Was I to be a prisoner for the rest of eternity?
I decided after about an hour or so of crying that I would put my time to better use. I rummaged through the room to look for anything to write with or write on, so that I could take down what I remembered and about my home. After searching under the bed, I found a journal, leather bound, and in the drawers of a nearby dresser, I found an odd looking sort of pen. No quil or ink, no, the ink was actually inside the device. And clicking the little button at the top made the tip of the writing utensil pop out, ready to write with.
"That's handy," I said to myself as I opened the journal and tore out whatever the previous owners had written inside. "Now, what to write…."
I focused first on how to start my writing, then remembered who taught me how to write in the first place and smiled. She was always so kind and loving, my mother, and she was the perfect recipient of such a letter as I was about to write.
Dear Mother,
It is the year 2010 now, and you'd be shocked to know that I'm still breathing. It's a long story, and you probably wouldn't want to hear most parts of it. It started with Founder's Day, imagine that. But this isn't a happy tale, rather one full of sadness and sorrow. Sad stories always did make you cry, mother. But, here goes my story, as I remember it.
Founder's Day was a momentous occasion to celebrate. The day our founding families established the beautiful little hamlet of Mystic Falls. If words could dance, mother, they would have at this party. All of our friends and family laughing, drinking, playing games and displaying musical talent. It was so wonderful. I had returned home from my journey to the foreign state of Louisiana just for this occasion. That, and my twin's shared birthday with me. After leaving behind the man I had hoped to marry one day, I was expecting a grand return, but the joy and surprise of my arrival was outshined by that of a monstrous little rat of a woman, Katherine Pierce. She'd entranced everyone at the estate with her terrible origin story, even me for a short time.
But then I learned the truth about what she was. And no sooner did she murder me in cold blood and leave me to wake in an evil transformation in the woods, lost, hungry, and alone. The first man I fed upon had poisonous vervain in his blood, and the next moment I knew, I was being carried away in a cart to be burned alive at the Fell's church. My loving brothers tried to save me, at least, I believe they did. Seeing Damon just a few short hours ago, he seemed sad to see me like this, as if he had forgotten the rescue attempt that sent them to their deaths.
Father wouldn't listen to my pleas. I tried to beg for him to see me as his daughter, his only little girl, but all he saw when looking at me was the monster who killed her. And after watching him shoot Stefan and Damon both dead, I was left to rot underneath the church for over a century.
I was awake for every moment of it. And I couldn't imagine a fate worse than feeling every organ and blood cell in your system turn gray and dessicate inside you. But now that I'm freed from the tomb, I've become prisoner to the vampires who sat beside me in the dark and cursed my name for a hundred years. I can't break out, because the sunlight burns my skin. If ever there were a sign of someone being evil, it would be the touch of the sun being a torture now.
I don't know what to do, mother. I'm trapped here and they're going to hurt my brothers using me. If ever there were a time I needed guidance, mother, it's now.
I wiped a tear from my eye and closed the journal, clutching it tightly to my chest. I dropped the pen and laid back against the frame of the bed, my tears stinging my eyes as they fell down my cheeks. I couldn't think of a way to win this fight, even if I tried to take a vampire on to gain his protection ring, I would lose. I've only been a vampire for a day and already I was wishing for my human life back.
I closed my eyes and silently prayed to my departed mother, remembering her calming voice and her scent of fresh lavender and pine. I remembered her wispy brown locks of hair, always curled and put up to keep her neck from overheating. Wherever my mother was now, I prayed she could guide me and cried as I tried to call to her.
"Please help me, mama…" I begged. "Tell me what to do..."
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CAREFUL NOT TO burn myself again, I reached out my hand to pull back the thick, light blocking curtain. The sun had set, and its rays couldn't hurt me now. I shot a glare at the door that, if my ears didn't deceive me, a vampire named Laylette was standing guard at, keeping me locked in.
One thing I had to admit was wonderfully useful was my new immaculate hearing. Sound was so easily picked up now that I could hear and deduce precisely where an owl called out on his branch. I could hear everything downstairs, making out every syllable my captors were saying while I was stuck up in the room.
By the sounds of it, everyone was in a riot about Frederick and Bethanne going out, deliberately disobeying Pearl's orders. I didn't have much time to get to know my tomb mates, but those names did sound familiar to me. Hopefully everyone would be too distracted by their ignorance of the hag's rules to notice anyone else slipping out.
Checking once more to see if the guard outside my door was paying attention, I swiftly and quietly crept over to the window to get a closer look at it. Personally, I didn't have any desire to return to darkness when almost two centuries had been spent drowning in it. But I had to get back to my brothers, and I would do whatever I had to in order to achieve that goal.
Window latches in the twenty-first century definitely had a few upgrades. For one thing, they weren't nearly as thick, and they actually could be moved by a feminine physique. That or my newfound strength just didn't see it as a challenge anymore. Either way, the latch clicked open with a single motion and I was one step closer to freedom.
Double checking behind me, I lifted the window pane on its frame and looked out of the space at the ground below. A normal person falling from that height would certainly break their legs.
But that's a pain I would endure gladly to see my family again.
Before I leapt out to test that theory, I used some pillows to try to mimic a person hiding under the covers. I grabbed an old letter opener and sliced open my palm to smear my blood on the pillows' sides. Hopefully that would trick the monsters into thinking I was still there.
With my scent left behind, I took a deep breath and dove out of the window head first, my heart racing as I neared the ground. Somehow, I landed safely with my hands planted firmly onto the grass. I let out a relieved breath and flipped onto my feet, looking over at the brick foundations of the vampires' house. I honestly couldn't help but beam at myself, proud of my agile escape.
Before I could be found, I turned to run away. I expected to just sprint through the woods like a normal human being, but suddenly I was flying through my environment, faster than any land animal could possibly move. With the wind in my hair, and those monsters behind me, anything seemed possible.
And then a tree came out of nowhere and knocked me to the ground.
"Aaagh!"
My back slamming into the earth, I felt the wind get knocked right out of me. Grumbling, I rubbed my forehead to make the pain go away, and froze as the scent of warm, pumping blood wafted my way. Followed by the sounds of footsteps crunching the autumn leaves.
"Daisy!" A man's voice called out to someone in the dark. He was close.
My heart pounding like thunder in my chest, I leapt up onto my feet and dashed over to a boulder, hiding in its shadows as a very bright light beam shot out into the forest, searching for whoever 'Daisy' happened to be.
He slowly ambled over into clear view. The man was young, seemingly around Damon's age— er, well, his human age, around twenty-five. Unlike Damon, this man was very clearly human, with a delicious scent like sweet honeysuckle. I couldn't help but be curious about him, especially since he was quite handsome for someone in such ridiculous clothing.
"Daisy! Here, girl!" He continued to yell. My assumption was that Daisy was either a mare or a dog. Considering what Annabelle had said about people outgrowing horses, I decided it was likely the latter of the two possibilities.
My foot slipped on the incline and made the leaves crunch underneath it. The sound made the man aim his flashlight at where I was. It shone right into my eyes, blinding me as he jumped back and chuckled.
"Whoa! Hey, uh…. What are you doing out here?"
I stood up and he removed the blinding ray of light from my eyes, allowing me to blink and get my bearings. When I could see again a moment later, I could see this young man's fair skin and hazel eyes, and how deeply confused he was at my apparent location here in the forest. He shone his light around at my clothing and his brows furrowed even more, as he tried to understand what I could possibly be doing here.
"It's uh… Not safe out here at night. And you're barefoot."
I frowned and looked down at my own feet which were, in fact, bare. "Oh. Yes, I suppose I am."
"Are you… I mean, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
I gasped, realizing that I had talked to a complete stranger. I needed to get him out of here. They would discover my escape soon, and when they did, it would lead them straight to this man's jugular.
"You need to leave." I told him. He didn't move, just staring at me. I decided to take a more forward approach, rushing him and grabbing him by the strangely soft material of his shirt. My own forest like hazel eyes locked with his, and his pupils dilated as I snapped, "Go home! Now!"
I released his shirt and stepped back, giving him room to run off. He took a moment to blink and started to wander off, confused but now with some sense of purpose. Somehow my words had broken through to him, and I didn't yet know how that worked but I wasn't complaining.
"Wait." I found myself blurting out, causing him to stop in his tracks. "Daisy. What does she look like?"
"She's a lab. Golden."
Very unhelpful, as I was not up to date with my canine breeds. Spending god knows how long underground as a bloodthirsty statue will do that to you.
I nodded and he turned away, hopefully to walk straight home like I told him to. I may not really know this man, but I would never forgive myself if anything happened to him because of me. They took away my mortality, but they would never take my desire to protect and preserve the sanctity of human life. Nothing would change that.
With the human gone, I returned to the wind, listening for anything that sounded like a dog while I followed the distant sound of the road and the loud machines speeding by. One thing I could appreciate about being a vampire now was our heightened senses, even if I didn't quite have a handle on them just yet. Surely my brothers could help me get used to it, if I could find them again.
Through all the buzzing and chirping of the night insects, the sounds of human laughter and heels connecting with cement caught my attention. I stopped and found myself standing in a bustling town, with people walking down the light guided streets, talking amongst themselves without even realizing that I could almost hear every word, if it weren't for another noise ringing in my ears.
I groaned uncomfortably and growled up at the street torches, which were all shouting altogether in a cacophony of horrible buzzing in my ears. Through the nuisance of the loud lights, I looked down and saw the perfect tool for getting rid of the problem, picking up a rock and pitching it at the street torch closest to me. Upon contact, the rock shattered the light and made the buzzing just a little less overwhelming, allowing me to think for a moment.
There were only a few people here and there. So it wasn't really bustling, it was just...quaint. The buildings and the landscaping were remarkable, and the smell… Oh, it was so much better than my home. For one thing, the air didn't reek of horse excrement or tobacco. And there was another smell that was wafting my way that I couldn't recognize. Whatever it was, combined with other scents, it was giving me a headache.
"Very smooth with the shoe and the flirt. But, I'm a little drunk and a guy plus drunk me equals very bad things."
The woman's voice was distant, but it sounded like it was right beside me. I had to get used to that, it was only gonna be an occurrence for the rest of eternity. But it wasn't the woman's voice that made my skin crawl, it was the man who responded:
"I'm pretty sure you'd like it."
I knew that voice. I had heard him among a symphony of other angry vampires cursing my family while our bodies all dried out and our minds dessicated along with them. Thinking about it made me shiver as if I were right back in the cold void of darkness that was the tomb.
Before I could decide whether or not to run away, I felt something sharp and pointed pressed against my back. I smelled blood pumping, but it wasn't the kind that turned me into a ravenous animal at the taste of it. Whoever was behind me wasn't human.
"You will return to the house now, or I will drag your corpse there myself."
"Pearl." I realized who it was, and my breath hitched at the sound of her voice. "Please. We have all spent the last century in agony, together. I have no desire to bring any ill will or harm to any of you. All I want is to be with my family again."
I felt the weapon pressed to my spine move away as her hand reached out to my arm and slowly guided the turn of my body to face her. Her stare was cold and her expression unmoving, clearly having been unaffected by my reasonable pleas.
Pearl looked down at me, obviously being the higher authority with higher power. Something about her terrified me, and I wasn't sure what it was. She had been a vampire for much longer than I had, so she had a grasp on the advantages of our supernatural state, definitely. It wasn't until my fingers clenched in fear of her that I realized my wrist was completely fine, despite Anna breaking the bones only a few hours ago.
Pearl frowned at me, unimpressed. "You're in luck that your brothers have burrowed themselves into this town so deep. Otherwise I'd have gotten rid of you already."
I opened my mouth to rebuke something, but in a swift movement of her arms, I heard a thundering crack in my ears, just before everything returned to darkness.
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PAIN ENVELOPED my body, particularly the area surrounding my neck. My body felt heavier, similar to how it feels when one is returning from a trip across the country and sees their house for the first time. It almost seems as if it had grown in the time one had been away, when in reality, it was the exact size it had always been.
That was how it felt waking up in the woods that evening. Everything felt off. My heart beat was so loud in my ears it sounded like it was in my head. The crickets chirping in the setting hours of the sun ricocheted throughout my head, drowning out any other sound. A loud gasp of breath escaped my lips as I opened my eyes to find myself in the middle of the forest, lying in the dirt like an animal.
I immediately jumped to my feet and straightened out my neck, hearing a loud pop that made me twinge and jump back. When I didn't hear it again, I relaxed and brushed the dirt and leaves off my dress, looking around for any sign of people.
"Hello?" I called out, hoping someone could hear me. "Is there anyone out here?"
All I received as a response were more chirps and the chittering from a nearby squirrel looking down at me from a tree. I felt something smack my head, and instinctually yelped.
However, looking down at the hickory nut that had hit me, I realized. It hadn't even hurt me. It wasn't a small little thing, either, that had been dropped on me. It was precisely the size of a chess piece.
I rubbed where it had hit my head, and could barely feel my hand touching my skull.
"What?"
I looked down at my hand in bewilderment and did a thorough look over, unable to notice anything strange in particular. I picked up a stick and poked my hand, but again, only just barely was able to register anything pressing against my skin. And there was nothing wrong with my hand.
Glancing at the ground again, I picked up a sharp looking rock and took a deep breath after getting another idea for a test. After a moment, I used all my strength to press the jagged edge of the rock against my palm and swiftly sliced through the top layers of my hand, opening a now bleeding wound.
Again, I had hardly felt anything.
"What in the hell?"
As fascinating as it was, it was also terrifying, to a much larger degree. Merely a few weeks ago I lay sick and dying in the south, and now I couldn't feel any pain. What sense did that make?
Before I could even begin to test my medical knowledge on possible theories as to what could be happening, I watched with my own two eyes as the cut on my hand suddenly sealed itself entirely. The only trace of there ever being a wound was the blood still left on my palm.
A scream erupted from within me, echoing into the night as I wiped my hand on the tree beside me and held in the urge to run to find help, not even daring to breathe. I was about to question what was happening when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind me.
Quickly, I wiped my hand across the side of my skirt and turned to see an older man walking towards me. He was leading a mare on a rope, and hurried to get to me.
"Are you alright, miss?"
"I'm lost. Which way is the Salvatore Estate?"
He looked rather surprised to hear me ask that. "Oh! Miss Clara! Forgive me, I didn't recognize you. You've been away from us for so long, I heard you only just arrived last night."
"Is that right?" I didn't remember that, until I realized I did. "Oh. Yes, I did, I just got back. What am I doing out here?"
"That is an excellent question, miss. Don't worry, though, me and Lisa here will get you back home in time for dinner."
He motioned to me with his hand, reaching out and grabbing my own hand as I nervously approached him. He brought me over to the horse and helped me up onto the saddle, giving me a big smile to reassure me it was alright. The horse huffed as I climbed on, but it didn't buck like all ours did.
"Alright, come on, Lisa."
The kind old man began leading the horse, as I held on with one hand and continued to stare at the other, still perplexed and dumbfounded at my incredible healing.
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WITH A GASP, I woke in the darkest, coldest area of the house. I could immediately tell a cellar when I saw one, after spending so much time back in my childhood hiding in one. Specifically, I woke to feel my wrists bound by a cold, metal chain and an equally chilly steel bind around my legs.
Somewhere in the room, the sound of dripping water thundered through my ears. I still flinched at every sound, despite having completed my transition back in 1864. I hadn't exactly had much time to get attuned with it, what with the round up of the town's vampires.
I shook my head to try to stop myself from thinking about that and focus on the present. I was trapped in the cellar, chained up in a chair. And try as hard as I might to break these chains, knowing my own strength, they still didn't budge. Pausing to take a deep breath, I made a second attempt to break them off, pulling as hard as I could. I groaned in frustration as I had only managed to bend the metal.
"Hey!" I shouted at them, unable to contain the anger in my voice. "Let me out of here, Pearl!"
I didn't receive an answer, so I tried to pull at the chains again, this time just my legs. Still, nothing was coming loose or breaking apart anytime soon.
"Why are you doing this?!" I demanded to know. "Just let me go! I'm no threat to you!"
Still, silence.
Until, after a moment of me sitting helpless in the dark, damp old cellar, the door to the room opened, and there stood Frederick, one of the nastier cellmates I had to endure curses and threats from in the tomb. He didn't look very happy, as he glared at me with an intense hatred and grief in his eyes.
"Please." I begged him, desperate to be freed. "Please just let me see my family."
"Your family," He growled, "Murdered my girl. And they're gonna pay. Oh, don't you worry, little one. They're gonna regret ever having met me."
"My brothers would never kill anyone who didn't ask for it."
"You've been gone a long time, kid."
He was at my side in the blink of an eye, using his supernatural speed to get closer to the bucket of water that was sitting not too far from me. Frederick swiftly picked up an old pipe from the floor and dipped it in the bucket, giving me a menacing look as he did so.
"What is that? What are you doing?"
"Making them pay."
And before I could ask anything else, the pipe pierced my leg and went straight through the bone, burning like acid as it did. I cried out in agony and my leg spasmed, as I tried to kick and thrash the pipe out of me.
Whatever it was that he dipped it in, had made it burn. I could feel the veins inside me being scorched, and it was the worst physical pain I had ever felt in my life.
Frederick pulled the now bloodied pipe back out to dip it in the bucket again, and didn't even give the wound time to heal before thrusting the metal into my stomach and twisting it to hear me scream louder than I had before.
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yowza it has been awhile.
hey guys! I'm back!
I am honestly so, so sorry for being gone for so long. I have had a lot to deal with these past few months. just got my drivers license (FINALLY) and a CAR so I can actually go work and earn money again.
this year has been one of the hardest of my life, I really want to thank all of you guys who sent me love and support through messages and through my profile page. it means so much to me that you guys are so patient and supportive and that you're so excited to read more of what I write.
I am going to try a new schedule, starting next week. hopefully i actually stick to it this time cause I have so many plans for the books I'm writing. especially for miss clara salvatore, I think you guys are really gonna enjoy her story.
I'll just say this.
It is so NOT like the other salvatore sister fics. I promise.
OK guys, thanks so much for reading through, I love you all and I hope you have a very merry christmas!
🖤