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chapter fourteen ━ the dinner disaster
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❝ but she smirked and waved, the devil cowering ❞
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SHE NEVER SEEMED to quite start off well in the morning the last couple of days. And the next day was no exception. Though her head had healed, Melody woke up, drinking her coffee, to find the news reporter Andie Star, kissing Damon goodbye at the front door. "Have a great day, honey."
They kissed again and pulled apart. Andie walked out of the front door and greeted Alaric. Melody was too busy gaping in shock to notice Alaric walking through the front door, Damon closing it behind him. The vampire smirked widely. "My new girlfriend. Andie Star, action news."
Melody sighed after she came to her sense. "I need some bourbon."
Alaric looked at Damon. "It's not called action news."
Damon gave him a look and the three walked into the parlor. Melody sipped her coffee and was acting off. Alaric noticed but figured it was because of her being kidnapped. But in reality, Melody didn't know why she was acting weird. She just felt off, like she was missing something important and she didn't know what. The night had passed and she woke up feeling energetic. The warm water fell down her skin and that's when she began to feel off.
Something wasn't right. She was forgetting something.
The older Salvatore led them over to a table where a piece of cloth and a bottle of ashes sat. "So, John Gilbert gave me this to kill Elijah." He unrolled the cloth to reveal a dagger. Melody raised an eyebrow as he explained what it was. "Said you have to dip the dagger in the remains of an old white ash tree that dates back to the Originals. If there's any truth in that."
Melody made a face. "It's probably a setup."
Damon nodded. "Probably. Guy's a weasel. Wouldn't put anything past him." He set the dagger back down and began to pour himself a drink. "What are you up to today, Mr. Saltzman?"
Alaric sighed. Melody took another sip and sat down on the couch, pulling a blanket to cover her lap. Her stubborn nature made it hard for her to drop the idea that something was wrong. If she felt it, she couldn't ignore it for long.
"Well, Jenna and I were supposed to go to her family's lake house, but somehow, we both got roped into doing this Historical Society thing at the Lockwoods."
Damon smirked and raised his glass. "Where Elijah's the guest of honor."
Melody rolled her eyes. "Come on, Damon. You can't kill Elijah."
"No worries lost girl. I'm not going to kill suit and tie." Both Alaric and Melody gave him a skeptical look and Damon further explained, "I want to know his endgame before I kill him, but I do think it's time Elijah and I officially met."
He tapped Alaric with the dagger but the teacher didn't look impressed. Melody stood up, throwing the blanket off of her. "I'm off the get ready for Tea Party. See you two there."
They both watched her walk away and Damon spoke up. "Who said you were going."
She looked back at him. "Me."
Melody walked away and Damon looked back at Alaric who shrugged. The vampire groaned in annoyance and then left the room.
———
It was just a Tea Party so Melody dressed casually in a short blue and white floral dress and white wedges, with her hair in its normal waves. She entered the Lockwood Mansion and smiled at the guest politely before looking around for Elijah.
He was talking to Carol and Melody caught the last bit of their conversation before she approached. "Carol."
The mayor saw her and smiled, as did Elijah. "Melody dear, you look beautiful as always." They hugged for a second before pulling apart.
Melody smiled. "Thank you, Carol. As do you." She turned her head to look at Elijah. She sent a teasing wink and then said, "Who's this?"
Elijah got her plan and then grinned. "Elijah. I'm writing a book about the small towns in Virginia."
He kissed her hand and the fairytale woman pretended to be surprised and intrigued. "That's very interesting. Well, I hope you find what you're looking for."
Just then, Damon approached and wrapped an arm around her waist to which she pushed it off and sent him a glare. But he pretended not to notice. The mayor dismissed it completely. "Elijah, I want you to meet Damon Salvatore," Carol introduced. "His family is one of Mystic Falls' founding families."
Damon made an hmm sound and looked at Elijah. "Such a pleasure to meet you."
Melody refrained from rolling her eyes at his pathetic attempt to cover up the fact that they had met before. Elijah forced a smile. "No. Pleasure's mine."
They shook hands and it looked like Elijah was about to break his hand. Melody laughed and then interfered. "Elijah, I actually have a few questions for you if you don't mind."
The Original looked over at her with a smile. "Of course not." He extended his arm out to her and they linked arms. "Ask away." They walked away from Damon and Carol and entered the study. "I thought we already had this discussion, Melody."
Melody unlinked their arms and turned to him with her arms crossed over her chest. "Something happened after I was kidnapped by Jules and her wolf friend. I can't remember what, but something happened. And I woke up this morning, completely healed. Stefan assumed it was because my magic healed me." She narrowed her eyes at him. "But I know it wasn't."
Elijah sighed. "I don't know what to tell you."
"Well, you can start by telling me why there is a protection spell over me. Better yet, why don't you tell me when Klaus is going to be here."
He was patient with her and replied calmly. "I don't know. I can only make assumptions." It was true. Elijah didn't know if Klaus had put a protection spell over her to protect her and he didn't know when Klaus would arrive. "And making assumptions can be dangerous."
She gaped at him. "Dangerous? Gee Elijah, who knew that Klaus was dangerous? It isn't like he's planning a sacrifice or anything."
Elijah gave her a look. He knew Melody's past with lies and secrets and he knew that the one he was keeping was one that surrounded her entire life. This secret would change everything for her and her family. "You are upset, Melody. I think it is best if you return back to the Boarding House and cool off. We will talk later."
He turned around to leave and Melody just watched him exit, leaving her alone. She was pissed, deciding to keep the plan to herself. Because deep down, she knew that one little dagger couldn't kill an Original. It didn't sound right.
———
The Tea Party was a disaster. Damon had provoked Elijah and in the process nearly got himself killed. But the vampire had managed to leave, taking the brunette along with him. They sat on the couch and Melody poured them drinks. Damon laid his head on the couch while Melody simply just sat up with her legs crossed, sipping her drink.
"Today was a bust."
The woman near him let out a small humorless laugh. "You can say that again." She looked over at him. "How's your throat?"
"Sore."
She sighed and then sipped her drink before replying, "Elijah may be a pain, but you gotta admit, he has nice hair." Melody got up and took Damon's empty glass, going over to refill it. "Just don't be stupid like that again."
"He's gonna be hard to kill."
Melody rolled her eyes. "You do realize that Elijah is an Original vampire, right? What makes you think a dagger with some ash is going to kill him?" She refilled their glasses, speaking her mind. "It can't be that easy."
Damon looked over at her. "I'm out of sources."
She let the subject drop, letting him do his thing. When she walked back over, handing him his glass, she gave him a knowing look. "So, you and Andie Star?"
He smirked. "Ooh. She's got spunk, huh?"
Melody sat back down and sipped her glass before making a face. "Come on, Damon. You can't kill her either."
"If I did, who would report her death?"
That time, she glared. "Seriously?" Damon smirked more and she could no longer contain the smile, shaking her head. "Ugh, fine. I'll give you that one."
She didn't want to sound like Elena with the whole "good guy" crap. Melody wasn't going to be like Elena. However, killing innocent people wasn't right and neither was killing Elijah. The fairytale woman liked him and was beginning to form a friendship with him that she was happy about.
They fell into silence and Melody finished off her glass when there was a crashing noise from the hallway. Damon's previously closed eyes snapped back open and they both looked at each other before jumping up and walking into the hallway. They looked around but there was nothing out of the ordinary. He held out an arm to stop her from going further. Melody saw him putting a finger to his lips, signaling to be quiet.
Suddenly, a wolf dropped down from the rafters of the parlor ceiling. Melody threw him back with her magic so he fell to the floor, her eyes wide. "How the hell did you even get up there? Are you a ninja?" She huffed and pushed a piece of hair out of her eyes.
The wolf then sped and stabbed Damon with a syringe full of vervain. Damon fell to the ground, being affected by the vervain. Melody put her hand up and gave the wolf a migraine. She stepped toward him, her wedges hitting the wood with a threatening clap. The wolf was about to lunge at her with all the strength he could muster through the pain but then Jules walked in.
"Enough!" Melody looked up at her but kept her magic bind on the wolf. "We aren't here to fight you, Melody. All we want is Damon."
Two more werewolves walked in and stood on either side of her. Damon looked up from where he laid and saw the shotgun on Jules's shoulder.
"Sorry, no can do," Melody replied with an annoyed glare. "If you're here for Damon, you're going to have to go through me first."
Jules sighed. "We don't want to hurt you. You seem like a nice girl. Don't get yourself wrapped up with vampires."
Melody laughed humorlessly. She couldn't believe the girl in front of her; she couldn't believe what she was saying. Did Jules honestly think that Melody was falling for what she was saying? "Oh really, is that what you thought when you kidnapped me and my friend."
Jules shook her head, holding the shotgun with one hand. She held her hands up in a surrender motion. "We just want the moonstone. Then we'll be on our way."
"You looking for this?" someone spoke up. They all turned to see Elijah standing behind them, twirling the moonstone in his hand. He set the moonstone down on the table and backed away, gesturing toward it. "Go ahead. Take it."
Melody knew what his plan was and smirked, not moving to stop the werewolves as one of them sped toward the moonstone. Elijah was quick and swiftly ripped his heart out. The wolf fell dead and the two other wolves rushed over, receiving the same fate. Damon looked impressed. Jules then looked around at them before speeding out of the house.
Elijah looked at the two and Damon got up from the floor. "So you realize this is the third time I've saved your life now?"
The brunette nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Don't remind us."
———
The rest of the day passed and the next day arrived quickly. Much had happened after Elijah saved them. It turned out that Tyler left town with Jules, leaving an upset Carol Lockwood according to Damon. Stefan and Elena were attacked by another one of Jules's wolf friends, though Stefan killed him. And with the wolves no longer being a problem, Damon had said it was time to move on with the plan to kill Elijah.
Damon made a small meeting with Melody, Alaric, and Andie at the Grill later that day. So the four sat and ate while they talked. Alaric had told them about Elijah and his meetings with Jenna.
"Besides the boring speech about the history of Mystic Falls, did Elijah say anything important?" Melody asked, grabbing another french fry.
Alaric shook his head. "No, it was boring. Of course, Jenna thinks he's charming."
Melody smirked and so did Damon. The vampire teased, "You sounded jealous." He looked at the two females "Sound a bit jealous?"
The fairytale woman nodded. "Yep."
Andie agreed, adding, "Kinda do."
The history teacher looked over at the news reporter. Both he and Melody didn't like her being around. It was like an outsider joining a group that they weren't invited into. And it was just plain gross to see Damon all "lovey dovey" with her.
"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here," Alaric suggested.
Damon knew what he was implying. "Andie, she's been compelled not to divulge my secrets. Haven't you?"
Andie nodded and then they kissed. Melody and Alaric both cringed with disgust. Sure, Melody knew that Damon just had the news girl around to cover that fact that he missed Rose, but that didn't mean she liked Andie. She was in a way a rebound, even though Rose and Damon weren't labeled as a thing.
"This is too weird."
The brunette next to him nodded. "My eyes can't handle this." Before Damon could say something in reply, Elijah and Jenna entered the Grill. They were talking and Jenna was smiling. Melody sipped her drink like she was watching a drama tv show. She turned around to look at them and smiled. "Jenna!"
Elijah and Jenna saw her and walked over. Jenna greeted them. "Hey, guys."
"So I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today," Damon revealed.
Jenna fixed the bag on her shoulder and glanced over at Elijah. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
Alaric looked uncomfortable and excused himself, saying that he had papers to grade. He stood up and put some money on the table. But before he could leave them, Andie spoke up. "No, you know what? We should continue this. Let's have a dinner party."
Damon pretended to be surprised and Melody pushed away an amused laugh. Sneaky, Damon, she thought. That's what he was planning this entire time. She pretended to agree and smiled. Damon looked over at his girlfriend. "Ooh, my girl. Full of good ideas." He looked back at Jenna and Elijah. "I'll be happy to host. Say tonight. Maybe?"
"I don't know if tonight works—" Alaric started.
But he was cut off by Jenna. "Yeah, I'm free."
Melody spat out her drink and coughed. Elijah patted her back and smiled fakely at Damon. "It'd be a pleasure."
Damon grinned. "Great."
———
"We're so dead."
Damon poured himself a drink while he replied to the brunette behind him. "Be positive, Melody. This is a genius idea."
Melody looked unimpressed and then used her magic to make Damon's glass exploded. He glared at her and she glared back. "Elijah is my friend, Damon. And I'm warning you that whatever you have planned will not work."
"It's just a fact-finding mission. It's totally harmless."
She raised an eyebrow with a challenging look. "Fact-finding mission?" He nodded and began to pour another drink in a different glass. "So, no sneak attacks. No surprise plans. Nothing?"
He turned to her. "Nothing."
Melody crossed her arms over her chest. "Mmm-hmm." She didn't believe Damon and could sense that he was lying. In that moment she was absolutely grateful for Emma teaching her to detect lies; the person's movement, how they spoke, small things that would give them away. "Whatever you say, Damon."
Andie entered the library and looked at Melody. "Hey, Jenna needs help in the kitchen."
Damon looked at the fairytale woman before she gave him a suspicious look and exited the library.
———
Total Disaster Just Waiting to Happen was what she called the dinner. John had unexpectedly shown up, joining the rest of them as they awkwardly ate. It was going well at first but Melody was just waiting for something to happen. She sat next to Elijah and Alaric and she ignored the stares Elijah was giving her. She knew that he was suspicious.
Jenna was pouring Damon some wine as she spoke. "I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town."
Melody looked up from cutting her food and smiled. "You're kidding."
Elijah chuckled and glanced over at her before turning his attention back to everyone else. "Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years, they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."
Jenna nodded. "Because they were witches."
Melody played along and tried not to laugh. It was humorous to know that Jenna didn't believe in witches or magic. And there was Melody, sitting across from her, possessing magic. "There's no solid proof there were witches in Salem, though."
Elijah decided to mess with her, knowing the female was simply just playing along. "Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire."
"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me," John mused.
Everyone ignored him and continued eating. Melody saw Damon looking curious and gave the vampire a look that said: "Don't do it".
But, of course, he didn't pay her warning any mind. "So, why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?"
The Original shrugged. "You know...a healthy historian's curiosity, of course."
Damon nodded, knowing that it was a lie. "Of course." Melody and Damon shared a look and she looked concerned. Her magic was burning her and she began to tap her finger on her leg. "Would anyone care for some cognac? I have a bottle that I've been saving for ages."
The older Salvatore got up from the table and everyone else followed. He looked over at Andie who got her cue. She looked at the others. "The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study."
Elijah sat his napkin down and smiled at the girls. "I have to say the food was almost as wonderful as the company."
Melody rolled her eyes playfully. She covered up her concern as she spoke, "Why thank you, Elijah." Damon was getting ready to kill him and she was at lost of what to do. Save Elijah? Or help Damon?
Jenna handed some plates to John while Damon and Elijah left the room. John went to the kitchen, followed by Andie and Jenna. Melody went over to Alaric and stopped him before he could leave the room. "Something's not right, Ric. I can feel it."
He nodded, looking around. "I know. Me too."
Her phone rang suddenly and she answered it, seeing that it was Stefan. "Hey, Stefan—"
"You need to stop Damon. Now."
Alaric saw her face fall and knew something was indeed wrong. Melody turned her back to him, pressing the phone to her ear. "Why? What's wrong?"
"John's trying to get Damon killed. The dagger, if he uses it, it'll kill him."
Melody spun back to Alaric with wide eyes. "I knew it! Don't worry, I got it." She quickly hung up and then hurried into the library where Damon was about to dagger Elijah. She tried to smile. "My apologies, Elijah. We forgot dessert."
Elijah didn't notice her odd behavior and if he did, he didn't show it. He stepped toward her and extended a hand to her. "Miss Mills, shall we."
She took his hand and led him back into the dining room. Jenna walked in a poured some coffee for them. "Sorry, guys, dessert is taking longer than I thought. I usually just unwrap food."
Jenna left the room again and Melody took her place back next to Elijah. Damon and Alaric walked back in and Damon sat down. The Salvatore glared at John from across the table since the history teacher had revealed to him the truth.
Melody fixed her dress in her nerves. Andie spoke up suddenly, clearing her throat. "Ric, can you get me my phone from my jacket in the living room? I left it in there."
Now that was a lie, they all knew it and yet not a soul moved beside Alaric. Melody tapped her knee repeatedly while Damon finally spoke up, "Elijah, did John tell you he's Elena's uncle-slash-father?"
"Yes, I'm well aware of that."
Alaric was taking too long so Andie stood up and left. John knew where this was going but didn't say anything as Damon continued. "Of course, she hates him, so there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list."
Alaric still hadn't returned with the phone still and Melody felt her heart start to pound. The guilt was practically eating away at her. John finally spoke up by saying, "What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how do you intend on killing Klaus?"
He didn't look at John as replied, "Gentlemen, Melody, there are a few things we should probably get clear right now. I allow you — excluding Melody — to live solely to keep an eye on Elena. I allow Elena to remain in her house living her life with her friends as she does as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take her away from you and you'll never see her or Melody ever again."
The fairytale woman looked down at her hands in her lap, biting her lip. She couldn't keep the secret from him anymore. After all, she hated them herself. "Elijah—"
Before she could get her sentence out, Alaric entered and came up from behind Elijah, stabbing him with the dagger through his heart from the back of the chair. Elijah screamed in surprise and they all jumped up from their seats. Melody put a hand over her mouth and Alaric pulled the dagger out when Elijah was dead, placing it on the table.
He looked at Damon. "Now, get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert."
Damon looked shocked but managed an "Okay". Melody couldn't take it anymore and then ran out of the room. She went inside her room and shut the door, going over to her window and opening it. The fresh air rolled in and she breathed it in.
That was it. Elijah was dead and now the only person that could possibly tell her the truth was Klaus. And Klaus was coming. He was coming for her and Elena.
———
Midnight had rolled around and Melody hadn't left her room, not even when Elijah reawakened, having not been killed by the dagger. He had been daggered again anyway by Elena. So now he lied in the basement temporarily dead.
She was done for the night and got dressed. Melody went over to shut her window when she stopped. Someone stood in the woods behind the Board House, staring directly at her. But when she blinked, they were gone.
The brunette didn't even bother to question it as she shut her window. Klaus sighed dejectedly, upset with not being able to see her that night. But there was a bit of happiness in his chest at the thought that he would be able to make his appearance soon. He knew the doppelganger was in town and he was itching just to break the curse already. He needed to wait just a bit longer.
However, he was itching more to meet Melody for real this time. He was ready to finally be able to talk to her and not have to compel her to forget.
Klaus was ready to reveal the truth to Melody.
———
Yes, I combined two episodes. The one would've been too short so...anyway, I've come up with a ship name for Melody and Klaus! Say hello to...Kelody It's pretty bad but oh well. The reason why I'm teasing Klaus's arrival so much is that I myself am getting impatient. But it is really soon and I'm excited! And in case you guys are confused, Klaus can compel Melody, unlike regular vampires. Which means the Original vampires can compel her too.
I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!
( credit : @pepperronys )