CHAPTER THIRTEEN: children of the damned
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
THE YEAR WAS 1864 IN MYSTIC FALLS WHEN KATHERINE PIERCE HAD CONVINCED DAMON SALVATORE TO LIE ON THE GROUND. Right next to her brother, Kaleb Peirce.
"Relax, she's just hungry," Kaleb told the human, who didn't turn his head as the carriage had appeared.
Katherine faked running over. "Please! Please, help us! Please, my husband and my brother, they've been hurt! Please help!"
One of them men in the carriages had gotten out, quickly running to the two lying on the floor. Kaleb shot up, black veins appearing underneath his eyes as he did. "Don't scream," he compelled the man before moving forward, drinking his blood.
"Now, it's done," Katherine says as Kaleb begins to drain the man.
"What happens to the bodies?" Damon questioned, glancing at Kaleb, unable to tell if the man he was drinking from was dead or not.
"We'll take them into the woods and the other animals will finish them off," Katherine informed Damon. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"
"I'm ready. I want you to turn me," Damon replied.
Kaleb dropped the man, not wanting to hear how his sister would manipulate Damon. He lifted the man up again, looking into the other's eyes. "You will forget about this." He quickly healed the other.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
Kaleb sighed in annoyance, huffing and he had realized that Kathrine was, once again, with the Salvatore brothers.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
Jensen Gilbert sat in the kitchen, as both Stefan and Elena were speaking about Damon.
"Do you think Damon really believes us? That we're trying to help him?" Elena questioned.
"I don't think Damon knows what to believe. Trust isn't something that comes naturally to him." Stefan replied.
"You know...I really think that Damon believes that everything he's done, every move that he's made, he's done for love. It's twisted, but kind of sad." Elena admits.
"That's because he's twisted," Jensen speaks.
"There are other ways to get what you want. You don't have to kill people. Damon has no regard for human life. He enjoys inflicting pain on others. For 145 years, every single time that I have let my guard down and let Damon back into my life, he's done something to make me regret that. I'm not going to make that mistake again." Stefan informs the two, mostly Elena.
"So what do you think will happen if the tomb gets opened and Damon gets Katherine back?"
"I think that no matter what Damon promises, a lot of people will die."
Elena exhales loudly and picks up a photo from the box. Stefan gets up and stands behind Elena, examining the photo. Jensen leaned forward, seeing the picture.
"That's Johnathan Gilbert."
Elena looks down into the box, puzzled. "What's this?" Elena opens up a wooden box. What appears to be a muzzle is contained within it. Stefan looks as if he recognizes the device, but doesn't explain as Jeremy enters the room shortly after.
"What are you guys doing?" Jeremy questioned.
"Hey. Just going through some stuff, feeling sentimental. Dad had this old family journal from years ago. I thought I'd dig it up." Elena lied.
Jeremy sits down on the kitchen counter. "Johnathan Gilbert's journal?"
"Yeah, what do you know about it?" Jensen asked his younger brother.
"I just did a history report on it."
Jensen faked a bright smile. "That's great. It must be exciting if you reported on it. Are you finished reading it? So, I could read it."
"I gave it to Mr. Saltzman. He wanted to see it. But, when he gives it back, I'll give it to you," Jeremy smiled.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
Katherine is whiffing various perfumes as Pearl speaks to her. Kaleb stands next to her, knowing about the supply of vervain.
"Have you thought any more of what I've said?" Pearl questioned.
"We'll leave soon, Pearl, I promise. I need to take care of a few things first." Katherine says.
"Forget about them. You will ruin them," Kaleb tells her.
"You're going to turn both of them, aren't you?" Pearl realized.
Katherine looks at Pearl, mischievously. "Katherine, please. Be careful."
"We'll all be safe, I promise." Katherine looks over Pearl's shoulder and sees Johnathan entering. "Mr. Gilbert's coming. Quick, your cheeks." Katherine pinches Pearl's cheeks. "Perfectly rosy."
Kaleb rolls his eyes.
Johnathan stands in the doorway and Pearl turns to look at him. "Miss Pearl. May I have a moment?"
"Yes, Mr. Gilbert. I'm still waiting for you to explain that comet in the sky."
Johnathan and Pearl leave together.
Katherine turns to Anna. "Your mother has an admirer."
Anna and Emily smile. Kaleb stares at his sister.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
The two Gilbert twins walk towards the kitchen, stopping when they hear Damon's voice.
"This fucking guy," Jensen groaned in annoyance.
"Hello, Elena. Jensen," Damon called out.
The two walked into the kitchen. Jenna turned to them. "Hey. Where have you been? We're cooking dinner."
"Great, now I have to worry about being poisoned in my own house," Jensen muttered lowly under his breathe.
Damon smiled. "Is Stefan with you?"
"Um - he'll be here soon."Elena leans against the counter which Jenna is sitting on and watches Damon with distaste.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
Giuseppe and Katherine are playing croquet in the garden. Kaleb stands off to the side, having declined to play the game. Katherine joked that he hadn't wanted to lose go her, again.
"You can trust me, Mr. Salvatore. I would never cheat." Katherine tells Giuseppe. Katherine hits the ball with her mallet, knocking it through the bridge. Giuseppe sighs and Katherine giggles devilishly. Damon and Stefan approach the pair.
Giuseppe turns to Damon and Stefan. "I'm losing over here. Again!"
Giuseppe takes his turn at the game and Katherine curtseys at Damon and Stefan. Damon and Stefan stop walking and observe the game.
"She's good. I almost believe she genuinely likes him." Damon says.
Kaleb side-eyed Katherine, who smiled back at him.
"Perhaps she does," Stefan replied to Damon.
Damon scoffs. "She knows father would have her and Kaleb killed if he knew the truth."
"Not if we talk to him; explained how we feel. He could help us keep them safe," Stefan says.
"Stefan," Kaleb lowly muttered, he gestured to the said human, as he tried to get his sister to listen in on their conversation.
Damon turns his body towards Stefan and faces him fully. "Have you gone mad? No, no, father would drive the stake in them himself!"
"That's not true. We can trust him."
"No, no, not with this. Please, promise me you won't tell him, Stefan." Damon grips Stefan's shoulder. The Pierce twins watch them from across the garden, Katherine smile faltering. They look over at her. Kaleb forced a smile, only when Katherine had hit his ankle with the mallet.
"I promise." Stefan told Damon.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
Jensen re-entered the kitchen, having not trusted Damon. Only, to discover that Damon was speaking of a person he and Stefan had used to know. Well, two people.
"There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone." Damon says.
"Trust breeds trust. You have to give it to get it." Elena replied.
"Are you lecturing me?" Damon questioned.
Elena places hand on hip. "Do you need to be lectured?"
"I just want her back. I'm sure you can understand that."
Jensen paused before he spoke. "It's understandable that you would want to save them."
Damon's face shifted, a frown coming to his face. "Kaleb isn't in the cave. He died."
Elena walks past Damon and places a bowl on the table. Damon threateningly makes his next statement, close behind Elena's back. " Then you understand what I will do if anyone gets in my way."
Damon walks away, leaving Elena looking disturbed. Jensen glared at Damon, taking the wooden salad fork.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
Later on, Damon and Jeremy where sitting on the couch, Jensen sitting on the arm seat, not trusting Damon with his brother. The two were playing a video game.
"You said you never played this thing before." Jeremy tells Damon.
"I'm a fast learner. Quick reflexes." Damon replied.
Jeremy's phone goes off. He pauses the game and takes out his phone, but ignores the call, he tosses his phone aside and unpauses the game.
"Someone bothering you?" Jensen asked Jeremy.
"Who are you dodging?" Damon asked at the same time.
"This girl Anna. She can be, uh, persistent. And, she's not bothering me," Jeremy replied to the two.
"Is she hot?" Damon asked.
"Yeah, yeah, but she can be weird." Jeremy answered.
"Hot trumps weird, trust me."
Jeremy smiles and laughs.
"Don't listen to him. Well, it depends on the type of weird she is, is she the weird-obsessive type? Or just, like weird personality type?" Jensen asked.
"She's not obsessive or stalker type," Jeremy smiled.
The door bell rung, which Damon paused the game and got off the couch. Jensen sat next to Jeremy. "So, this girl, she's in your grade or something? How did you meet her?"
"Library," Jeremy replied.
"You hang out with her a lot?"
Jeremy had gone to answer, but when he had, Damon returned the living room. "So....I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day. Who else did you show it to?"
"Huh?" Jeremy asked back, focusing on the game.
"Don't ask questions, just spill."
Jeremy chuckles. "You're kidding me, right?"
"Jer, did you tell anyone other than Mr. Saltzman about Johnathan Gilbert's journal?" Elena asked her younger brother.
"Why is everybody so obsessed with that thing?"
"Who else did you tell?"
"Just that girl Anna."
"The hot, weird one?" Damon inquired of.
"Yeah."
"Wait, who is Anna?" Stefan asked.
"That's what I want to find out."
Elena's phone starts ringing. Elena goes off to answer it, leaving Damon to question Jeremy.
"How do you know her?" Damon asked.
"I just know her. She wants me to meet her at the Grill tonight."
"Perfect. I'll drive. Come on."
"O-Okay." Jeremy gets up from the couch and follows Damon out of the house.
"I'll go. I want a burger," Jensen followed.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
Jensen sat at the counter, glancing back. "What's wrong?" Jensen asked, when he saw the look on Damon's face.
"I know her."
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
It's pouring rain outside. Anna and Emily are out on the front porch. Inside the shop, Pearl is speaking with Katherine and Damon. Kaleb stand next to them, looking around the shop. He had only came to check on Pearl.
"The sheriff was here earlier. He bought large volumes of the vervain elixir." Pearl says.
"Did he try to put his hands on you again?" Katherine asked.
"Doesn't he always?"
Katherine turns to Damon, linking her arm through his. "She's saving herself for Johnathan Gilbert."
"Don't go spreading people's business, Katy," Kaleb calmly says.
"I'm beyond saving. We know that." Pearl replied.
Katherine chuckles softly. Damon looks at both of them, worried. He turns to Kaleb. "How can you be so calm? They're getting closer to you every day."
"We are the respectable ladies of Mystic Falls. Thanks to Emily, we walk the streets in daylight. No one will ever suspect us. And Kaleb, a respectable, harmless, and shy man." Katherine says, smiling at her brother at the description.
Pearl is looking at Damon. "Not unless a human tells them."
"I'd sooner die."
"And soon enough, you will." Katherine and Damon share a kiss. Anna enters the shop. The three of them look over at her. Kaleb, annoyed, huffed. He looked away, he didn't want for the Salvatore brother's to die, and had, multiple times, tried to tell them just how dangerous becoming one of them was.
"Mrs. Fell is approaching." Anna announced.
"Thank you, Annabelle." Pearl walks over to Anna and hugs her. Anna smiles and laughs gleefully.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
"Is she dangerous? How do you know her?" Jensen asked Damon.
"Stay here," Damon ordered.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
Kaleb sighs, annoyed.
"Kaleb! Kaleb! You have to run!" Stefan is rushing forward to him.
"Stefan," Kaleb reached out, stopping the other from running and worryingly looking at the other's bleeding neck. Kaleb bit into his wrist.
"Kaleb, you have to run. They captured Katherine," Stefan rushed out.
"Wait, who has my sister?"
"My father. He put vervain into my drink, I wasn't aware-"
"I'm going after her," he ran out.
"Kaleb!"
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
A group of men walk across Mystic Falls, carrying torches and weapons, Johnathan Gilbert is at the head of the pack with his vampire compass out.
"Make sure the two of you stick together!"
"Go and check those woods over there!"
The men continue to talk to each other and bark orders.
At the Salvatore House, Giuseppe watches the Sheriff place a muzzle over Katherine. The Sheriff and another man pick Katherine up and start carrying her off. Damon bolts into the room. " No! Don't take her!"
Giuseppe grabs Damon and slams him against the wall. Damon struggles to free himself, but the two men carry Katherine out of the room. Katherine looks over at Damon, to weak to do anything. "Do you know what they'll do to you if you're branded a sympathizer? You'll be killed along with them!"
Damon grabs his father by the shoulders and looks him dead in the eye. "Then let me be killed!"
Kaleb sped into the room, looking at the men that held his sister. His eyes darkened, veins appearing under his eyes. He sped over to the man hold Katherine's legs, snapping his neck and letting his body drop to the floor before turning to the other man, breaking the arm holding Katherine, he caught his sister before she got the ground. "Kat, Katy," he went to remove the muzzle.
"Father no!" Damon yelled.
Kaleb felt the wood pierce through his chest, gasping. Katherine, slowly and still weak looked up at her brother, eyes widen. He voice trapped under the muzzle when she yelled his name.
Giuseppe called for more men. Katherine movements were slow as she went to catch her brother, only able to grab his hand before three men ran in, pulling Katherine away. She struggled, reaching out to Kaleb's grey body.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
Jensen sat in his bed, flipping through a book. He heard his door open. "Hey," he called out, assuming it was one of his siblings, aunt or Stefan.
He looked up, seeing an unfamiliar girl, and then nothing.
╰☆☆ ɥǝʎ qɹoʇɥǝɹ, ɥǝʎ sısʇǝɹ ☆☆╮
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