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DEVIL'S DAUGHTER , voidfaye
001. it all starts with death
WATCHING the sunrise on the rooftop of her house was a normal thing for Asteria to do. It was peaceful and quiet, allowing her to be alone with her thoughts. Thoughts that have only been circling one thing for the past four months. I'm sorry, Asteria. I love you. Be happy, daughter of mine. I'm sorry, Asteria, I love you. Be happy, daughter of mine. I'm sorry. I love you. Be happy. I'm sorry. I love you. Be happy. I'm sorry. I love you. Be happ- Asteria abruptly stood up, clutching her head. "Stop stop stop stop stop!" She shouted, tears of frustration lacing her tired blue eyes. "You're dead. Leave me alone!"
Furious, she spun around and climbed down the ladder and entered her bedroom through the window. She quietly plopped down on her bed and closed her eyes, humming a short tune. Opening her eyes, Asteria scoffed, "She's only sorry because she was dying. She would've never said anything like that any other time." Pinching the bridge of her eyebrows, Asteria took a few a deep breathe in and released it.
Before she could reason with herself some more, her door slowly opened as a strawberry blonde head peaked in. A soft smile was on the woman's face as she whispered, "Knock knock, you awake?"
Giggling softly, Asteria replied, "Hi Aunt Jenna. I'm up."
"I'm glad," Jenna laughed as she entered the room. Walking over to the bed, Asteria moved to sit on the edge of her bed. Gently grabbing her hands, Jenna asked, "You doing alright, sweetie?"
Giving a small nod, Asteria reassured, "I'm fine, Aunt Jenna, and yes, I'm ready to go back to school." Taking her hands out of Jenna's, she lightly punched her shoulder. "No more lonely girl vibes from me," she teased.
Jenna laughed in relief, shoulders relaxing ever so slightly at the knowledge that one of her three wards were doing better. "I'm glad you're doing better, Asteria. You know, I was always worried that you'd be stuck in your shell for the rest of your life."
Tilting her head slightly, Asteria questioned, "What do you mean?"
"Well," Jenna laughed awkwardly as she sat next to Asteria, "You were always so quiet and secluded as a child. Grayson and Miranda always said you liked being by yourself." Jenna paused as her eyes glazed over in remembrance, not noticing the way Asteria's nose wrinkled in disgust. Shaking her head slightly, Jenna continued, "I never saw you playing or hanging out with anyone, even as you got older. After the car crash happened, I was scared you were going to isolate yourself for the rest of your life."
"Oh, Aunt Jenna," Asteria muttered, doing her best to control the urge to curse out the man she was forced to call father. "You have nothing to worry about. I'm just a bit," Asteria paused, thinking for a moment before releasing a slightly feral grin, "Antisocial."
Doing her best to hid the fact that she was about to cry, Jenna sniffed a few times and smiled a watery smile. "Yes, well," Jenna quickly used her sleeve to wipe her eyes, "It's good to know you do talk to people. Especially after seeing how supportive she's been to you in the past few months, I'm glad she's your friend."
Smiling softly, Asteria whispered, "I'm glad she's my friend too. I wouldn't trade her for the world."
Clapping happily, Jenna jumped up to her feet and beamed, "That's wonderful! Invite her over to dinner sometime, alright? I need to go wake the others, and," Jenna looked at the clock on Asteria's nightstand and froze, "Oh no! I'm running late!" Quickly rushing out of the room, she almost slipped on the rug before she disappeared out the door.
Rolling her eyes fondly, Asteria stood up and grabbed her bag, throwing it over her shoulders. A loud slam drew her attention back to her door, where Jenna stood once again, except this time, she was hunched over trying to catch some air.
Asteria raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Aunt Jenna?"
Jenna raised a finger, indicating Asteria to give her a moment. Taking a deep breathe in, Jenna stood up straight and asked, "Are you walking to school?"
"And if I was?" Asteria retorted, wondering why her aunt was even mentioning this. She didn't have a problem when I brought this up a month ago.
Jenna hesitated for a moment before gathering up her courage and saying, "Well, it's just with the recent animal attacks... I just want you to be safe."
"Don't worry, Aunt Jenna. Destiny's coming to pick me up, so I won't be walking," Asteria reassured with a small smile.
Sighing in relief, Jenna nodded, "Okay good. Do you want coffee? I'm brewing some if you do. Just come down before the other two do or else there will be no more left."
"Okay, Aunt Jenna," Asteria shouted as the strawberry blonde haired woman disappeared once again. Turning around, Asteria gently put down her bag as she strolled to her window, the smile she had on her face dropping instantly. "Ah, yes, the death of that couple. How very dreadful."
There was a silence in her room as she stood silently in front of her windowsill. She could hear the footsteps of the other members of the family running around, rushing to get ready in time. Her blue eyes turned cold as they sharply observed her surrounding. Not long after, her red lips pulled up into a devious smile as she whispered, "Welcome back to Mystic Falls, dearest Salvatore brothers."
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Walking down the stairs, Asteria was greeted with the sight of her Aunt Jenna rushing around the kitchen, scrambling to get everything ready, and her twin sister, Elena, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Knocking on the wooden counter to alert the others of her presence, she made her way over to the cabinets and grabbed a mug to pour her coffee into.
"Pancakes?" Jenna questioned, running over to the fridge and pulling it open, "Do you guys want to eat pancakes?"
"No thanks," Asteria replied as she poured coffee into her cup and took a sip. "Mmhmm," she sighed, enjoying the flavors that attacked her taste buds.
"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna," Elena laughed, lifting her mug into the air as a show.
"Is there coffee?" Jeremy asked as he entered the kitchen, a tired expression on his face. His eyes instantly latched onto Elena's mug and he lit up. Walking over, he grabbed it out of her hands and took a sip, sighing in happiness.
"Hey!" Elena shouted in annoyance, "Couldn't you get your own?"
Rolling his eyes, he muttered, "And do extra work? No thank you."
Elena rolled her eyes and grumbled under her breathe before pouring herself another cup of coffee.
"I'm so unprepared for your first day of school," Jenna groaned. She grabbed her purse and rummaged through it before pulling her wallet out triumphantly. "Lunch money?" She asked, waving around three ten dollar bills.
"I'm good," Elena replied as she drank her coffee.
Asteria walked over and took a ten dollar bill out of Jenna's hands, giving her a nod in thanks, before Jeremy grabbed the rest. Asteria watched as Elena eyed the money in Jeremy's hand before looking at him suspiciously.
"Anything else?" Jenna questioned, grabbing stuff left and right. "A number two pencil? What am I missing?" She asked herself.
"Your meeting with your thesis advisor?" Asteria brought up, watching as Jenna glanced at her watch and panicked.
"I have to go! I'm late! Love you!" Jenna mumbled in a rush before running out the door.
Asteria lightly shook her head at her aunt's behavior. Her musing was cut short by Elena interrogating Jeremy. "What are you going to do with that money, Jer?"
"It's none of your business," Jeremy retorted, annoyance visible on his face. He moved to walk out the door, but was stopped by Elena walking in front of him.
"Not my business?" Elena snapped, crossing her arms over her chest while giving him a disapproving look, "Of course it's my business, Jer!"
Opening his mouth to reply, he was stopped by Asteria who cut in. "Leave him be, Elena. We all handle grief in different ways."
Turning to Asteria, Elena mocked, "Oh yeah? Is your way of handling grief better? Locking yourself in your room and isolating yourself?" She paused and gasped dramatically, "Oh wait, I forgot, you never gave a damn!"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Asteria demanded, confused on where she was going with this. "Of course I care. They were my parents too!"
Elena scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You just dislike the fact that our parents liked me better!"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Asteria questioned back in a calm manner, knowing exactly how to push Elena's buttons. Neither girls noticed when Jeremy quietly tiptoed out of the room.
"You don't care!" Elena argued, her face slowly turning red when she was unable to get a reaction out of Asteria. "You never mourned mom or dad!"
Rolling her eyes, Asteria crossed her arms. "I did mourn, Elena," Asteria informed, having enough of this conversation. "Just because we have different ways of mourning, doesn't mean I didn't mourn. I loved them just as much as you did." Gag. As if.
Elena scoffed, "Whatever, liar. I'm leaving." She turned around and stomped to the front door before collecting herself and placing a depressing smile onto her face.
Rolling her eyes, Asteria grumbled, "What a bitch."
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Sitting in the passenger seat, Asteria calmly stared out the window with eyes as cold as icicles. Her lips twitched at the repeated tapping coming from the drivers' seat.
"What's gotten you so worked up," Destiny snapped, having enough of the uncomfortable silence.
Turning to face the brunette, Asteria sarcastically asked, "Oh? What makes you think I'm in a mood?"
Destiny rolled her eyes before pointing out, "Well, first off, you're exuding a deathly aura." She paused to give the blonde a pointed look which she decidedly ignored. "And second, you look like you're ready to murder someone."
"Elena tried arguing with me after I told her to leave Jeremy alone," Asteria grumbled, annoyance flashing through her eyes. "She's acting like the fucking head of the household. Which she is not. She also started mentioning being the parent's favorite in hopes of starting an argument with me."
"Wow would you look at that, her 'I'm better than you' personality is coming out again," Destiny mocked, "Would've thought the car crash would keep her silent for a little longer."
Asteria scoffed lightly, not even bothering to hide her smile. "I think we both know that her narcissistic, 'I'm better than you' nature will never change." Before she could continue, her body tensed up as her eyes glazed over, a vision forcing itself into her mind.
A dark haired male stood in the shadows as he watched the brunette, who was chatting with her boyfriend on her phone, like a hawk. His sharp green eyes followed her every move.
"Babe?" the girl whispered into her phone, eyes darting around her surrounding, "I think I'm being followed."
The figure let out a feral grin as he heard a male voice over the phone, reassuring the young girl. He purposely stepped on a branch, breaking the silence in the air and causing the female to jump lightly.
"Hello?" She called out hesitantly, "Is someone there?" Her chocolate brown eyes were coated in fear as she looked around, spinning on the toes of her foot.
He took a step out of the shadows with his head facing down as a soft chuckle escaped his lips. "Aren't you a brave little thing," he muttered, slowly lifting his head up, allowing his dark gaze to catch hers.
Casually walking towards her, he tucked his hands into his front pockets. He looked like a predator who just found their prey. The female stumbled back and turned around, attempting to run away from him. Using his vampire speed, he zoomed in front of her and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her into the air. "Now where do you think you're going," he tutted, a faux disappointed look on his face that did not fool anyone, especially with those dark green eyes staring at the female with so much mirth.
"Lettie?" A voice called out from the phone. "What's going on over there. Are you okay? Do you need me to call the poli-"
The voice was cut off when he grabbed the phone from her hands and threw it towards the wall, breaking it into tiny, little pieces. Lettie trembled in his hold. "Lettie, was it?" He questioned, a hand reaching out to lift a strand of hair out of her face. "Your blood smells absolutely delectable."
Ignoring his question and comment, Lettie chocked out, "Why- Why are you doing this?" She paused before adding on, "What are you?"
The male in questioned grinned darkly. "Why?" He repeated mockingly. "Well you can blame my dearest brother for this, Lettie. He ruined my life, so it's only fair I do the same to him. As for what I am? Well, Lettie," he gave a dramatic pause before revealing, "I'm a vampire." Instantly, he allowed his vampire face to appear. Not giving her any time to react, he quickly burrowed his face into her neck, digging his teeth into the flesh, harshly. Lettie let out a piercing scream, pain coursing through her veins. After a few seconds, he pulled back and grinned, licking her blood off his lips. "I was right. Your blood does taste delicious."
Blinking harshly, Lettie could see black spots creeping into her vision, but she held onto her consciousness. Seeing this, the vampire let out a delightful laugh, "Well aren't you a fighter. That's too bad. I would've loved to see you as a vampire."
"Why do you want to kill me?" Lettie breathed out, eyes leaking with tears. "What does this have to do with me?"
"Oh," the male laughed, "it has nothing to do with you. Not personally." Lettie's face twisted with confusion. Seeing the confusion on her face, he continued, "Instead, it has everything to do with the fact that you look extraordinarily similar to my brothers' newest obsession." He let out a soft hum as a smile graced his lips, obviously thinking about how this act would affect his brother. "Let's just say, killing you would send a message to him. So I truly hope you don't take this to heart, but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do."
Knowing she had no chance of escaping death, Lettie slumped in his hold, allowing her vision to fade in and out a few times before looking him in the eyes. "Then the least you could do is tell me your name."
He paused, eyeing the female in his hold carefully before answering, "Gabriel. Gabriel Salvatore. The older brother of Stefan Salvatore."
Gasping for air, Asteria jolted forward as her eyes blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to her vision. Within a few moments, she noticed they were already parked at the school parking lot.
"Aster?" Destiny called softly, slowly leaning towards her, but never touching. She didn't want to surprise the girl in case she falls into another vision.
Turning her head slowly, Asteria blinked a few times before nodding, "I'm okay. I'm okay. I just wasn't expecting that."
Accepting the answer, Destiny grinned, wanting to take Asteria's mind out of whatever funk she was still in, and asked, "Let me guess, it was about the two faced bitch getting into a coma?"
Laughing softly, Asteria replied, "Not even close." At Destiny's questioning look, Asteria smirked and said, "Let's just say, our resident new kid is in for a surprise."
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𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: welp... i've definitely made some changes to elena's character. wasn't intentional but it just came out. but also!! my queen asteria is such a powerful woman! in many aspects.
can you guys believe it? i'm publishing this chapter only three days after the other one. i've never been so proud! also... more than 2000 words? i'm impressed with myself lol. don't forget to vote & comment! xoxo~