•
I grimaced in pain as I woke up in an unfamiliar place. I couldn't move and scanned my surroundings to see that I tied to what felt like a ladder. I looked down and saw that I was hanging from tank. I came to the conclusion that I was at some kind of electrical building.
As I looked down, I saw my kidnapper and realized he was the man that I saw Bree talking to when Damon and I left the bar. Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement and noticed that it was Damon rushing over from a distance.
As Damon got closer he noticed I was tied up and looked me with concern. Right when I put together what was happening I shouted out, "Damon, it's a trap!"
He was too focused on heading over to untie me that he didn't see my kidnapper attack him from the side with a wooden plank. When Damon fell to the ground the man violently whacked Damon repeatedly.
"What the hell?!" Damon shouted between grunts at the man.
"No! Please stop!" I hollered out, horrified by what I was witnessing. I struggled against the tight rope that bound my hands together. Frustration and an overwhelming amount of anger washed over me as I struggled.
Seeing Damon get beaten to a pulp, unable to get up and defend himself snapped something inside of me. The rage in me intensified when I saw the man began to pour gasoline on Damon. He was going to set Damon on fire.
I screamed with all the energy I had in my body, "Get off him!" Something powerful traveled with my words. It caused the ground to make loud rumbling noises. In a split second, I stared in shock as what looked like giant roots shot out of the ground and dashed across it.
They crashed into the man, causing him to be sent flying backward. I felt the rope that bound my hands together split apart, allowing me drop down from the tank and rush over to Damon.
Damon's eyes were wide like a bug's as he stared at me in a way I had never seen him look at me before. Sadness washed over me from the sight of Damon's bruised and bloodied face. He looked like he wanted to say something to me but instead focused his attention on the man who had tried to kill him.
I watched as Damon used his vampiric speed and got over to my kidnapper in a second. He then stomped on the man's chest and through gritted his teeth he snarled, "Who are you?"
"That's perfect! You have no idea," My kidnapper spoke venomously, with a bitter grin etched onto his face.
"What are you talking about? What did Damon do to you?" I loudly questioned out.
The man looked at both Damon and I and bitterly yelled,"He killed my girlfriend. What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!" The man flipped Damon over and tightly gripped Damon's throat.
I heard Damon choke out, "N-Nothing."
While Damon knew who the man was taking about, I still found myself in the dark. "Who was your girlfriend?"
The man grabbed his baseball bat, which was nearby, and harshly explained, "My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon killed her. Got it?"
My kidnapper's eyes were watering and I watched in horror as he began to strike Damon with his baseball bat. He then kicked Damon right in the face, causing his head to hit the ground hard. If Damon was human, the kick would've possibly caused brain damage.
"Lexi? Lexi was your girlfriend? My friend Elena told me about you. She said that you were human," I quickly spoke, getting closer to Damon and Lexi's boyfriend.
"I was," The man reiterated, his face was vehemently shaking and a single tear dribbled down his face as he glanced at me. He reached into his pocket and grabbed a packet of matches.
"She turned you?" I inquired out of shock as well as an attempt to stall him.
"If you want to be with someone forever, you have to live forever," The man spoke sorrowfully before kicking Damon as he struggled to get up.
"Lexi loved you. I hardly knew her but from what I could tell she was a great person. My friend told me that Lexi said when it's real you can't walk away," I consoled him, walking over slowly.
"Well, that's a choice you're not going to have to make," He spat. Despite the rage he showed with his words I could see the tears in his eyes, showing the pain within.
"No! Please! Don't hurt him!" I pleaded rushing over.
The man lit a match before saying,"I'm doing you a favor." He held it above Damon's body as he stared at me.
"Lexi loved you and she was a good vampire! She wouldn't have wanted you to do this. Please, i'm begging you. Let him atone for it." I begged again, trying to convince him not to kill Damon. My eyes met Damon's and I watched as he grunted in pain. I felt myself choke up as tears spilled out of my eyes.
My kidnapper stared at me unconvinced by my words and gritted his teeth causing me to choke out, "He means a lot to me...Please."
My lips parted as I saw Lexi's boyfriend pick up Damon. I gasped, fearing the worst. Lexi's boyfriend threw Damon against the building. I was expecting him to hurt Damon even more but he stopped.
The man turned around and stared at me with facial features full of sorrow and hatred.
"Thank you." I croaked to him.
"It wasn't for you," Lexi's boyfriend whispered harshly. I nodded to him understandingly and watched as he took off in an instant.
I sprinted over to Damon, who was laying face down. He was clearly too weak to move. When I reached him, I sat by his side and slowly helped him sit up. "Damon," I breathed out his name softly. His dark hair was clinging to his face from the gasoline. I couldn't help but gasp at how beaten up his face was. I knew it would heal quickly but seeing him hurt still tore at my heart.
Damon let out a grunt and peered at me tiredly. I pulled him into a gentle hug, not wanting to worsen his pain.
When I pulled away, he weakly placed a hand on my tear stained face and airily questioned,"Why are you crying?"
I instinctively turned my head away from him. I was flustered and confused. In such a short period of time, he became an important person to me. To make matters worse, I knew he wouldn't return the same same feelings I had. Damon was like an anomaly that I was still trying to decipher. We had a ridiculous age gap and at the end of the day I knew he longed for Katherine and only Katherine.
"Hey...Don't turn away." He weakly stated as he gently turned me to face him before adding," Arina, thank you for what you did. You saved my life."
My eyes widened because I was expecting him to tease me but he didn't. I guess we were feeling mutual about the situation.
I looked at him and gave him an awkward nod as I replied, "Of course. "
Damon stared at me with his mouth parted for a moment, like he was trying to find the right words to say. When he finally broke the silence he admitted,"Just in case you were wondering, I care about you too."
My heart sweltered at his words. In the back of my head I had a minuscule amount of hope that maybe he felt the same feelings toward me.
⋆
It was the next day and we were finally going home. Damon no longer looked bloodied and bruised. He acted as if nothing had happened and insisted on making a pit stop at Bree's before we left. I opted to stay in the car as he said his goodbye to her. I couldn't look at her knowing that she sent Lexi's boyfriend after us.
When Damon got back in the car he instantly murmured,"Emily's grimoire. Her spell-book. It's the key to open the tomb."
"And where is it?" I inquired, knowing it would probably be somewhere far away.
"Bree didn't know," He spoke with irritation.
"Bree...Is she-?" I questioned out, unable to finish my sentence.
"Yes, she put us in danger. She's the reason I almost died and she sent Lexi's lover to kill me," He explained to me, trying to justify his action.
"Lexi's lover wouldn't have attacked you if you didn't kill her," I calmly argued.
He again tried to justify his actions by saying,"I did it to protect you, my brother, and myself"
"I don't need protecting, Damon...I mean I did save your life after all," I spoke up with a proud smirk on my face. I kicked up my feet onto his dashboard and crossed my arms.
"I know." He replied with a playful grin, similar to mine. "I don't know how you did what you did, but thanks."
He was referring to the roots that came out of the ground. I stayed silent because I didn't know how it happened. It had to be some type of coincidence. I'm human and humans can't do that type of stuff.
"Why did you bring me along on this trip?" I inquired, changing the subject.
Damon glanced over at me gave a smirk, "I actually enjoy your company. You should give yourself more credit."
I rose a brow and looked at him with doubt, "Really?"
Damon shrugged as he kept his eyes on the road and explained, "I don't know. You were in the road all damsel in distress like and I knew it would piss off Stefan and Elena. Y'know, you're not the worst company in the world."
I grinned from ear to ear. While I rolled my eyes at him, I also shook my head at his cheekiness.
"I've never left Mystic Falls so I'm really glad we did this, despite the craziness." I admitted, smiling over at him.
Damon gave me a smile back and nodded his head in agreement, "Me too."
⋆
As soon as I got home, I said goodbye to Damon and headed to the front door. As soon as I opened the front door I was welcome by none other than my father. His posture was stiff and his arms were crossed tightly.
"Dad?" I nervously questioned. He's never home. Why is he back now?
"Arina...it's so good to see you," He spoke before engulfing me in a tight hug after I shut the front door.
"Not that I don't want you here but what are you doing home?" I pressed nervously.
He sighed before saying," I know you went on a road trip."
"No...I was at Elena's," I lied even though I hated lying.
"Don't lie to me!" He suddenly shouted. I jumped, scared from his outburst.
"Dad...I-I'm sorry" I nervously replied before bitting my bottom lip.
"You wrecked your car and didn't even tell me. On top of that, you tried to get your brother to lie to me. You know our rule. You can't leave Mystic Falls and you went ahead and did it behind my back. I travel so much for my job, so I can provide for you and your brother and this is what I get? I'm so disappointed in you." His voice boomed throughout our house.
"I understand why you're upset with me and I'll accept any punishment you'll give. I'm sorry I disappointed you. My only question is: why can't I leave Mystic Falls? You've always ingrained this into my brain but never explained why," I explained as calmly and maturely as I could.
My father stayed silent for a minute like he was carefully choosing his words. When he had finally spoke he cryptically replied,"Bad things will happen if you stray from Mystic Falls for too long."
"Why? Dad, please just tell me. I can handle whatever you need to say," I spoke out urgently. I was done with his tiptoeing around the topic.
"Arina...When you were born, you were a stillbirth. Your mother sacrificed her life to make sure you lived. With that, your life needed to be bound to something of great power. Your life is bound to one of the oak trees, just outside of Mystic Falls. Because of this, you cannot leave Mystic Falls for too long or the bond is broken and you will die," My father explained gravely.
I was in shock. I'm sure my face showed it. "What...am I? Was mom a...witch?" I questioned, baffled by the news. All this time I thought mom left us. I thought she abandoned Ander and I when in reality she died trying to keep me alive.
"Your mother was not a witch. She made a bargain with one. You are a Hamadryad," He spoke slowly.
•
Word Count:2273
Authors Note/Important Message (from 2017): Thank you for 300+ reads! I was shocked when I reached 200+ so you can only imagine how I feel right now haha. I will be using the Greek mythological Hamadryads to fit my story. However, there may be changes to information about them in order for it to apply to Arina, her past, and what may come in the future.