3rd POV
Darcy was going to kill her. The Gilbert girl thought as she ran through the large mass of students and residents swarming about outside the school, preparing the float.
One moment Elena was talking and having a rare joke around with her brother, and the next, he was gone, lost in the crowd. And if she doesn't find him, she can guarantee her death will be next on Darcy' list. The thought caused her steps and breath to speed up, pushing and shoving her way through the numerous individuals.
Her mind was whirling in different directions, rendering her to come over dizzy. Just how long did Darcy know about the device' purpose? And just what is she planning? And to what extents will Darcy go to protect them? Will she follow into the crossfire, or will she lead it?
Elena halts her movements, the soles of her converse skidding on the tarmac of the school's car park. She twists and turns, weaving through the throngs of school kids, trying to glimpse Darcy' or Jeremy' familiar forms or even Bonnie. They can't be far; they were only a few paces behind. How did it all change so fast?
She turns around, pushing the strands of her brunette hair behind her ear and freezes. Her breath hitches in her throat, seeing Isobel standing right before her. Where did she come from? How long was she standing there, observing?
"Isobel. What are you doing here?" she asked breathlessly.
Isobel stared at her with no emotion, grasping the strap of her handbag on her shoulder. "I'm your mother, Elena. I want to be more involved in your life."
Elena scoffed bitterly, knowing Darcy' words from this morning were valid. Isobel wasn't here to spark up a relationship with her. She was just another pawn in her game. "I don't want you in my life."
Isobel rolled her eyes in boredom. "I understand that. You already have a lot of people that you care about, but I've been doing some studying. Let's see if I got this right," she pauses, looking around, her eyes immediately fixing on Bonnie through the parted sea of red football shirts.
"There is the witchy best friend, Bonnie. Gonna stay away from that one."
Next, she succeeds in finding Jeremy, forming a sad pout seeing him gazing around the car park, his phone locked on his ear, looking lost. "Oh...sad little brother Jeremy. Well, he was, I guess the guard dogs to thanks for that. Not for long."
Her eyes move over to Caroline sitting on the float as the people around her build the set-up. "And there's Caroline...obnoxious Caroline. I got all of my info from her, by the way. She had no idea who I was, and she wouldn't stop yapping. Oh..." she halts, smirking, her eyes glinting with glee as she catches sight of a certain blond-haired boy.
"My second personal favourite, before I went to Yappy... Matt. Friend, ex, Yappy's future and your possible boyfriend again in the future, and all the information I needed for a certain little Guard Dog... definitely got to watch that one," a chuckle escaped her lips as her gaze met a stunned Elena. She then spins around, looking for the dark-haired female. A grin materialises, glimpsing her talking to Tyler Lockwood before she jumped up on the float and said something to Caroline, prompting the blonde to throw her head back and laugh.
"There she is... Darcella. Darcella Gilbert? Quite a lacklustre surname, don't you think? The compassionate, noble, and protective sibling who would bathe this town in red if I so much as dare to think to hurt those she cares for," she pauses with a wicked grin. "However, I'm curious. John never mentioned there was another sibling. A hunter, no less. I guess that's at his and Grayson' hands, no doubt."
"Adoptive. Darcy is my adoptive sister," Elena cut in before slapping her hand over her mouth, realising what she had just blurted out.
Isobel smirked, enjoying the flash of alarm on Elena's face. "If I knew it was that easy getting you to speak up, I wouldn't have spent two hours trying to chat up poor Matt."
Elena glared at the female vampire. "Matt is not involved. The same goes for Darcy and my brother."
Isobel stared at her daughter, her face passive. "I wonder... I wonder If you would go to the same lengths as Darcella will to protect her family and the Salvatore'. I have no doubt they would protect her with their lives, but you, Elena, I'm unsure. Would you? If the shoes changed feet, would you defend her if she came to be in grave danger?"
Elena opened her mouth, her features full of hesitancy. "Of course, I would. She's my sister, just as much as Jeremy is my brother."
"You lied," Isobel smirked at her shocked face and wide eyes. "You hesitated."
Elena shook her head, dismissing her words. "No, you're putting words into my mouth. Look, you shouldn't be here. You need to leave."
Isobel ignored her, her eyes passing over the crowd, tracking Darcy now with a hammer in hand as she nailed a wooden beam to the float. Jeremy stood a few feet away, just as he promised. Two peas in a pod.
Wouldn't it be a shame if something were to tear them apart? Maybe a death or two?
"No, I don't think I will. You see, I have some friends here too. Look, you see that man over there, standing next to Matt by the Float?" she gestured to a tall, bulky, bald man standing next to Matt. "His name is Frank, he's very handsome, and he's also quite handy. He'd noticed that the axles were a little rusty, which is very dangerous. So, all you have to do is apply a little bit of pressure and...."
"No, Matt!" Elena cried, darting forward just as Frank jumped on the trailer, but Isobel grabbed her arm, yanking her back to her side. "Stop, let me go!"
She didn't. Instead, Isobel forced Elena to watch as Frank jumped conveniently behind Darcy. His force and bodyweight brought the trailing crashing down, crushing Matt's arm. Elena watched with bated breath as Frank next barrelled into Darcy, knocking her off her feet and out of sight.
Elena tried screaming and crying, hitting and smacking Isobel to free her, but her attempts were fruitless as the vampire dragged her away.
She missed seeing Darcy' body fly into the crowd and crash onto the hard tarmac and hidden behind the float. The persons hovering around were forced to stomp and stumble over her frame, not having enough time to move out of the way, also giving Frank the perfect diversion to grab Jeremy and flee.
"Why are you doing this?" Elena sobbed to Isobel. "Darcy!"
Isobel tightens her grip and yanks her back when Elena continues in her attempt to wrench herself free. "Stop. I'm showing you how easy it is to hurt people you care about," she said.
"And you're doing this just because of Johnathan Gilbert's invention?"
"Hand it over, and all will stop," Isobel states.
"Damon is not going to give it to me," Elena scoffed, wincing when Isobel dug in her nails into her forearm. Her features elongated, confused, watching as her biological mother's face changed into something ominous.
"No, because it's no longer in his possession. However, someone is playing games with me around here and has stolen it from right under my nose. Here is what you're going to do. You're going to convince Damon to get it back and hand it over to me."
"I told you, Damon will not give the device to me."
"I think that you underestimate how much Damon cares about Darcella. He and Stefan will go to extreme lengths to prove that," Isobel said, smirking. "However, I wonder what lengths you would go to protect her."
Elena sneered at her intentions, ignoring her latter words. "Damon will kill you before that ever happens, and if he fails, Darcy will be sure to succeed."
"Is that before or after I kill your brother Jeremy?"
A gasp tore from Elena as Isobel released her hold and vanished from her sight. She spins on her heels, looking for Jeremy and lets out a distressed cry upon seeing he is no longer there. "Jeremy?!"
"No, no, no!" she cried, rushing over to the float where students and residents still were jammed around Matt, helping to lift it, but unsuccessful due to its heavyweight. Everywhere she looked, she couldn't see her brother anywhere.
Jeremy was gone.
*•*•*•*
Stefan, who had finally caught up with Alaric had stayed close by just as he promised Damon, had heard the sudden commotion. Both males ran over, helping lift the trailer and pull Matt free." You okay?" he asked.
Matt shook his head, wincing as he clutched his arm to his chest. "I think it's broken,"
Stefan nodded, patting his back and then turned to Tyler and Caroline, urging them to get Matt to the hospital. He moved away, leaving Alaric with his students and searched for Darcy in the horde. Stefan knew she would be the first to help Matt, and the fact she's not to be seen, the Youngest Salvatore vampire knew something was amiss. The further he went, the panicked exclaims rose in volume, drawing his attention.
"Omg, is she okay?!"
"Is she dead?"
"Did you see the way her body flew into the air? She went SPLAT! She's gotta be."
His head twitched left and right, listening intently. And then he heard it. The mummers of Darcy' name brought his panic into overdrive. He dove through the crowd, shoving and propelling them aside. He didn't care if they got hurt; his main concern was getting to Darcy. God, no, please be okay.
Thrusting past more persons, Stefan's feet staggered to a stop, seeing her form splayed upon the ground as people were forced to trample all over her body. The other passersby' hovered around staring, not moving to help the girl out. Although upon hearing the explicit curses and thrashing limbs from the dark head, she was most definitely alive... and livid. Barrelling through the bodies, he knocked them down, making a domino effect and grasped her feet, pulling her away from the heavy mass.
He dodged the flying hammer heading his way that was still in her grasp, narrowly missing his thigh as he helped her to sit up. "Woah, it's me! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" he asked, his hands cupping her head, turning it from side to side to check for any visible injuries. Apart from the slight graze on her temple, she seemed unscathed.
Darcy smacked his hands away and jumped to her feet, the hammer still in her grasp. "I'm fine, but the wanker won't be when I get my hands on him."
Stefan frowned, following her haste steps. "Who?"
"The huge mammoth of a bastard who body-slammed me," she seethed, whirling around, searching for the brute.
Despite the lessening crowd, she couldn't see him. She cursed. Shit. Where is he? Surely, he can't have gone so fast? She had caught a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye before he knocked her off the float. He was tall, broad, a giant of a man. And the boiled egg for a head definitely would make him stick out in a crowd.
Normal people would leave it be and move on. Yet, that's not Darcy. She's petty, holds grudges, and Drama Queen is her rightful title reign. You bet she wants revenge.
"Wait. What mammoth and body-slamming?" Stefan asked, getting more confused as he proceeded to follow behind her.
She stopped, massaging her throbbing head. When she had landed, her head was unfortunate, smacking off the concrete. She could feel the stinging on her temple and reached up to probe the area. She winced, pulling away, catching the red dotting her fingertips. She grumbled under her breath, wiping her hand on her pant-clad leg.
"The fuck face who jumped on the float, I'm sure you didn't miss it crushing Matt's arm. Well, the bastard thought he'd play bumper cars and put some extra oomph into his bump and thought I needed flying lessons."
Stefan snickered, earning a punch to his gut. He jumped back, raising his hands in surrender as he tried suppressing his lips from grinning. "Come on. You got to admit your phrasing of words and the imagery is quite funny."
Darcy snapped her head over to him and stepped into his space. She peered up, the glint in her eyes showing she was playing around even as she raised the hammer threateningly. "Yeah, you can laugh at my expense all you want, but I can assure you, once I shove this up arse, you'll be crying."
Stefan grinned and pulled her into his arms. He bowed his head, lips resting on her head as he murmured. "Yeah, but if I recall, you like this sexy arse."
She chuckled, lifting her head and then froze. Her heart raced as her nose bumped against his chin. Her eyes darted to his and held her captive, locking them in place. They both knew a centimetre higher, and their lips would meet. She lowered her eyes to his mouth. So pink and inviting, and look soft to touch.
God, how they wanted to establish how the other tasted. Would Stefan be sweet and tangy as the forbidden fruit, or perhaps Darcy would flavour heady and exotic as she appeared? The desire to know was tangible and equally tomentous.
Her fingers twitched with anticipation as their laboured breaths mingled, fighting the urge to trace her digits from his fingertips and caress them along his biceps before threading them into his feather-light hair strands and attaching themselves. She felt Stefan's arms wrap around her waist and lifted her slightly until her lips were even with his.
Just a little closer and they would be touching.
Yet, maybe fate was right for them all along as a voice shouted in the distance, causing them to spring apart and whip around, staring at Elena's tear-stained face.
Darcy knew by the tears dripping down her cheeks and the frightened look in her eyes. She knew something had happened. Her feet felt like heavyweights as she took a cautious step toward Elena, her breath held in anticipation. "What is it? What's happened?" she gripped her shoulders.
Elena shook her head, her chin trembling as she sobbed out her words. "I'm-sorry! I'm-so-sorry. He was right with me. Right next to me, and then he was gone. It's my fault," she cried, gripping onto Darcy' forearms. Her knees grew weak as she sunk to the ground in her anguish.
Darcy didn't need a name. She knew who Elena was referring to. The brunette wouldn't be this distraught over anyone else. Darcy urged her hammering heart to stay at bay as her eyes instinctively darted around the vicinity. She had to remain calm whilst she gathered the facts before diving into the deep end.
"It's okay. Take deep breaths for me. Good girl, that's it. Do you think you can you tell me what happened, Elena?" she urged, crouching down to the girl's level.
"I was looking for Jeremy, but there were too many people, I couldn't find him. And then, when I turned around, Isobel was there standing right in front of me," Elena sniffed, wiping her nose and eyes with her sleeve.
"Isobel's here?" Stefan questioned, prompting the brunette to shift her eyes away from Darcy's passive face and up to his as he stood behind the inky-haired girl.
"Isobel was here. She said she wanted the invention, and if she doesn't get it, she'll kill Jeremy," her eyes darted back to Darcy as she rose to her feet and took large strides across the car park, causing Elena to run and tug on her arm, halting her movements. "Wait, Darcy! That's not all."
Darcy spun around on her heels. Her chest heaved harshly, her blood thrumming, burning up her insides; the cadaverous oaths that stormed in her blazing eyes rested on Elena, causing the Gilbert girl to shiver underneath the gaze. "The man who jumped on the float, the one who crushed Matt's arm and knocked you off. He took Jeremy. He's working with Isobel."
Of course, the bitch wanted to play dirty and distract her. What other perfect way than literally knocking Darcy off the trail? She wants dirty? Who is Darcy not to indulge? Isobel hasn't seen anything yet. She snarled and slapped away Elena's hand and continued her run towards the car park, the hammer still in her grasp. "Stefan, grab Bonnie and Alaric and take Elena home."
"Darcy!"
Elena and Stefan' desperate calls were lost on The Protectress as she sought out her car, pulling her phone and key out of her pocket and unlocking the doors. She dived inside, not bothering to close them behind her and shoved the hammer between her thighs as she jammed the key into the ignition and started up the engine, and staggered through the parking lot.
The car screeched to a stop, the back wheels kicking up dust. The area was still herded with people, setting up for the Founders parade. The more they blocked her off, the further her anger ignited. The skies darkened, clouds turning grey as they rumbled, matching her wrath.
She slammed her feet down on the brake and gas and punched the horn, the blasting blare and grating echo of the revving engine frightening them. The horde jumped out the way as she sped forward, catching an unlucky foot or two as she finally escaped the congested car park.
The day was growing closer to the evening, darkening the streets as she raced down them, uncaring about the red traffic lights or the pedestrians passing the crossings, her thoughts fixated on one single thing, never relenting.
Get to Jeremy.
With one hand, she wrestled off her leather jacket, chucking it on the passenger seat, the bulk underneath her hoodie cooling down her heated temperature. Picking up her phone, she sent off a text message before leaning over the console, unlocking the glove department, pulling out the note and set of keys, and programming the written address into the SatNav.
Darcy smirked, tossing the phone aside as the woman's autotuned voice filtered out of the car speakers.
"You want dirty, Isobel? Oh, you've seen nothing yet, sweetheart. The party has just begun."
"Oh, this is getting interesting," a voice whispered in the back of her mind.
"It's not like we can see," another huffed. "We're stuck in a box."
"Hey, I wonder if she'll relay a commentary effect?"
"Don't be such an idiot! Darcella is acting foolish and reckless. She's going to get herself killed," a third voice protested. "Again."
"Oh, stop being such a party pooper! Oh, who am I kidding? You've been locked up in a box for Nine Hundred Years. You don't know the meaning of entertainment."
"Of course, we all know your methods of torture, bloodshed and killing shenanigans is your only source of mediocre entertainment."
"Oh, get off your high horse! You're going on like your pure and innocent, like a nuns arse.
"I'm not! You know there's no coming back this time."
"I wouldn't doubt Darcella so much, Brother. You were one of her mentors, after all. Have faith in her. Give her some credit. She's smart. She's got this."
"Of course, we do share a soul."
"You're twins, not soulmates, idiot," the second voice chimed.
"Hey, arseholes! Want to press the mute button back there?" Darcy called out. Her eyes flitted to the side. "Fuck me. I'm talking to the voices. They've officially driven me to insanity."
The voices immediately hushed for a moment before two exclaimed, prompting her to jump and clutch her head. "Hey, I'm not an arsehole. They are!"
"No, you are!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"You both are!"
"Oh, don't you start again, you pompous wanker!"
The car veered off into the oncoming lane, narrowing missing another heading her way before she righted herself and drifted on to the right side of the street. "SHUT UP! she roared. "YOU'RE ALL HIDEOUS POMPOUS, WANKERING ARSEHOLES!"
*•*•*•*
Nice surprise, huh?
The usual, tell me your thoughts and theories. Sorry for the short Author's note. The next chapter is coming soon, writing as I update this! Love you all <3