***
Stefan and I were sat at the Mystic Grill at one of their outside tables because Elena had called us over to talk with us about vampirism. Stefan explained that she had found out last night and that my name may or may not have been mentioned. It was obvious to tell it was when Elena had made a group of the three of us and told us to meet her at the Grill "asap". Elena was looking at Stefan as she spoke, "You said you would explain everything. That's why I asked you two to meet me here."
Elena turned to me as Stefan nodded in an 'I understand' manner. "When you Google 'vampire' you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?" Elena asked bluntly, looking at the two of us. I was dressed in a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a Plain White Tee's white tee with a jean jacket that matched the color of my denim pants.
"We can tell you whatever you wanna know," Stefan explained, looking at me. He gave me a look that basically said for me to agree with him, so I sent Elena a smile and nodded at what he had said. Elena looked pleased, and I knew that that was all he had wanted. Elena explained that she knew we ate garlic, and Stefan had said yes, but I don't really eat it. Then she said something untrue, that sunlight wasn't an issue. Boy was she wrong. Sunlight is always an issue! Without my little ring... poof! I'm dust and ash. Up in flames. A waitress soon arrived to hand us our drinks. Mmm, caramel cappuccino with extra creamer and sugar.
"That's not true," I said to her, crossing my legs under the table as she gave me an intrigued look. I know all of this must be both scary and fascinating for her, so I understand.
"Yeah, we have rings that protect us," Stefan explained, holding up his ring as I held up mine. My ring used to be my family crest, but after Stefan showed me what family is supposed to be, he sort of adopted me as his little sister, took me under his wing, I had my ring remade to the Salvatore crest. There have been many debates over who is older because I'm twenty-two but he's also one-hundred and sixty-one at the moment while I'm only eighty-eight. In the end, he made the threat that if I tried to say I was older he'd take me daylight ring for two weeks. I didn't know if he'd actually do that to me, but I didn't want to find out.
"Crucifixes?" Elena asked. Well, those are decorative. They don't really hurt us nor could they. The "power of Christ" or whatever people say these days doesn't compel us. In fact, we just compel others. It's the other way around.
"Decorative," Stefan explained, and I nodded. I had taken a sip of my cappuccino and my eyes widened when I burned my tongue. My tongue began to feel numb and I wanted to groan because I do this all the time.
"Holy water?" Elena continued her questionnaire.
"It's drinkable," Stefan explained.
"Mirrors?" Elena then questioned, causing me to burst out laughing.
"Okay, that's a myth. If I didn't have a mirror I'd never be able to see to put makeup on!" I said as Elena started to admittedly smile.
"You said you don't kill to survive."
"Animal blood keeps us alive, but that we aren't as strong as Damon, he can be very powerful." And that's true. I've seen him in his bad moments, but not his worst ones, thank goodness.
"And yet you let him get involved with Caroline?" Elena asked, shocked.
"Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous," Stefan explained, which is again very true. I wish Elena would see the trouble we go through to keep everyone safe.
"He was hurting her!" She argued, and I crossed my arms and gave her a look.
Stefan sat up, his stance becoming defensive, "He was feeding on her." Stefan looked as someone walked by and started to talk softer and lower, "He was able to take away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have." Elena became defensive as well and asked if that was supposed to make it okay. "No. No, none of this is ok, Elena. I know that/" Stefan explained, causing Elena to look down and fall back against her seat, so he sat back as well. Meanwhile, I was watching in amusement. Trouble in paradise.
"Are there any others, aside from you, Charlotte, and Damon?" Elena asked, looking at him. When Stefan explained there wasn't any in Mystic Falls anymore, Elena looked at him with both a confused and intrigued look, "Not anymore?" Stefan explained how this town, back then, had been aware of vampires and that it didn't end well. That was why it was important that she didn't tell anyone.
"I can't promise that," Elena said, shaking her head. I exhaled a little in annoyance and Elena looked over at me with a somewhat annoyed expression back. Okay, okay, I get it. We seem dangerous. But if we wanted to hurt her, then we would have done that much sooner. I like her, but she really needs to have some common sense at the moment. Stefan sent me a look that said to behave, all the while I was sending him a look that said that this was a bad idea.
Stefan sighed and looked back to Elena, "Elena...Give us today. I will answer any questions that you have, and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It'll be your choice. And sorry for Charlotte, she just doesn't like the idea of people knowing what we are." No! I don't like the idea of people who can't keep our secret knowing what we are! We trusted her with this information, would she seriously not keep it to herself? I didn't agree with Stefan, either, especially not with that she could decide what she wanted to do with the information.
***
Stefan, Elena, and I were driving through the woods in Elena's car to a place where Stefan had wanted to take us. I took the front seat and Stefan stayed in the back after much silent eye protesting. I knew he wouldn't argue with me in front of Elena after he had just told her not all of us were cold-hearted monsters. He had told me I had to come too because he wanted me to know what he was going to tell her as well.
Soon, Stefan told her to stop and Elena asked what we were doing here. I nodded and asked him what were we doing there. We all got out of the car and Stefan explained, "I wanted to show you something. Something that even Charlotte doesn't know about Damon and I," Elena had asked in the middle of nowhere, and Stefan replied, "This...Didn't used to be nowhere. Used to be my home." He looked around and Elena shut her door, while I quickly turned to look at him, ready to hear more. I had never been shown this place, hell, I had never even been told about it.
"It looks so..." Elena started, looking around the boarding house. I had to admit, it was old. Really old. It didn't even seem like Stefan could possibly be that old. My house is still intact, a little repaired nowadays, but still standing. Nothing like this, at least...
"Old. That's because they are," Stefan finished for her, looking around.
"Wait. How long have you two...?" Elena wondered aloud, looking between the both of us. Stefan explained first, saying he's been seventeen since 1864. Elena looked quite shocked as she responded with, "Oh, my god." I went up next, telling her that I've been twenty-two for eighty-eight years. Elena's eyes widened, as she looked between Stefan and I. "Twenty-two?! You're twenty-two?!" She wondered aloud, and I nodded at her.
"You said you wanted to know. We're not gonna hold anything back," Stefan explained, and a long silence was followed as he looked around the place, "Half a century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family's home. Damon and I..," He trailed off, walking farther into the area as Elena and I followed, "We were both born here. The Salvatore brothers, best friends." Stefan then started to explain about how back then, football had just started to become a sport, and they were playing it. When Katherine and Corinthia insisted they play too. But when denied, they both took the ball together and ran.
"You knew Katherine in 1864? Damon made it seem like..." Elena trailed off, looking around as I did as well. I didn't really see anything but two large columns. Columns that seemed much older than Stefan. Then again, he's undead like me.
"Damon was trying to make you think that... I was still heartbroken. He saw that I was happy with you, and he wanted to ruin it. He's the heartbroken one. He loved Corinthia, but she died a long long time ago," Stefan explained, looking down. He was having a moment of silence, it seemed. He had moved to stand in front of Elena and look at her.
"All because you loved the same women 145 years ago?" Elena asked him, a little shocked. How did she do that math, and all in her head? I couldn't do that, it's a bit hard when I have to think about it.
"They weren't just any girls," Stefan said, as he started to explain, as he told of a time where Damon had just gotten back from the confederacy, and Stefan had been chasing the two girls. But once Damon saw, he had captured Corinthia, but what awaited her wasn't something bad, it was an embrace. He loved Corinthia, and Stefan had loved Katherine.
Elena, Stefan, and I walked about the ruins of the old estate, as I tried to picture what it would have looked like back then. Stefan explained that when Damon came back, she had to choose who she wanted to escort to the Founder's Ball, as it was called back then. "She chose me. I escorted her to the ball at the original Lockwood mansion and Damon took Corinthia once he found out Katherine was taking me. I didn't feel satisfied, though. I also had a small crush on Corinthia, so the fact that my brother was taking her made me jealous. I wanted to be with her, too. It was selfish."
"The first founder's party..." Elena trailed off, as Stefan nodded at her. "Where you signed the registry," Elena said again, and again Stefan nodded.
"If you want the girl, I'd do more than just nod my head," I whispered, elbowing him gently in the arm as I chuckled. Stefan rolled his eyes playfully and gave me a smile.
"I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care if it hurt him. I only knew that I wanted them," Stefan explained, and my eyes widened. Something I didn't want- nor needed -to know.
"So he was upset," Elena concluded as she sat down on a piece of cement, maybe a bench. I nodded at that. But why would he be upset if he had Corinthia?
"That's the thing about Damon. He doesn't get mad. He just gets even," Stefan explained, and I crossed my arms as I walked up to him.
"If Damon had this Corinthia girl, why would he want to get even? Isn't taking her already getting even in some way?" I questioned, and he sighed. He explained that it was difficult, that Damon felt the same way he did when one took one girl and not the other. They both wanted both girls, but they never got them. Stefan almost always had Katherine, and Damon almost always had Corinthia. But the sad thing was, Corinthia hadn't known about Katherine using the boys.
"What Damon wants, Damon usually gets... Now I didn't know at the time... But turns out... That night... Katherine and was with him, too. And poor Corinthia didn't even notice, she was too excited to actually be attending a ball. When we first met her, she was the servant of a guest and our father had really liked her and saw Damon's interest in her, so he asked if she could stay. From then on, she was like a daughter to him," Stefan explained, "And was to be married to Damon once she was of age. At the time she was only sixteen."
"So, he stole them from you, not the other way around?" Elena asked, "It isn't fair that he had Katherine and Corinthia, and that she was clueless to it all." I agree completely. That's horrible.
"Turns out, they weren't ours to steal," Stefan explained, as he walked around a little. Stefan then went on to tell about when Katherine first got in bed with him and bit him. Then compelled him not to tell anyone. I scrunched my nose up at that, finding that that was too much information, the information I didn't want or need to know. "She could control my mind; and Damon's. And she compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted all of us to be together. Forever. That's why she killed Corinthia- who was human -, to get her out of the picture. Get Damon and I weak, shatter Damon's heart completely so she could swoop in and pick up the pieces. Didn't work out that way, but... Damon and I, looks like we're stuck with each other...Like it or not." In the ruin, Stefan pulled Damon's ring out.
"Is that Damon's ring?" Elena asked as she was propped up against a tree. She didn't look happy about it, so I looked at Stefan.
"Damon needs that back," I said to him, pointing at it as I reached to take it, but Stefan moved it away from my hands and just looked at me as if I were a child doing something bad. Elena looked at me and shook her head, telling me that Stefan couldn't keep it. "If he doesn't give it back, it'll cause more trouble," I argued, and Stefan pushed me back to stand in front of me, as he tried to explain to Elena what I couldn't.
"I took it from him, but I have to give it back," Stefan said, looking from the ring to Elena. Of course, he does, Damon will start an absolute blood bath if we don't give it to him. I'm sure he'd kill for that thing back.
"No, don't, Stefan. Keep it hidden," Elena said, pushing off the tree and walking to him. She looked extremely angry and gave him a look that asked him if he was seriously considering returning it to him.
"Elena, if I don't give it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way that he knows he can hurt me," Stefan argued back, and Elena tilted her head.
"And how is that?" Elena questioned, obviously annoyed. Oh, so when I seem annoyed that's a bad thing, but when she is it's totally okay?! Wow, talk about double standards.
"By hurting you," Stefan said after he had swallowed hard.
"What about Charlotte?" Elena asked, gesturing to me. Yeah, what am I? Chopped liver? Then again, it's best to know he wouldn't come to me for this. But still, I want to feel included too, okay?
"Damon would never hurt Charlotte," Stefan dismissed a little too quickly, as he shook his head. How does he know that? Is he not telling me something...? He seems suspicious...