Irisa
After signing the deed and title to the house, Levi is still standing outside of it, and I stand in the doorway, staring at him.
"Don't you want to come i-"
"No!" Levi says loudly. "Do not extend invitations that way, Irisa. Listen to me." He says, his voice regaining it's calm, and I take a deep breath, listening to him. "When you want to invite a vampire in, make sure you actually want to do so first. You don't want to invite just anyone in, some stranger you don't completely trust. No, stop right there, don't say it." He tells me when I open my mouth to say I do trust him completely. "Irisa, if you want to invite me in, you have to say my name specifically, or you'll be inviting any vampire around inside. You won't be safe in here otherwise."
"I understand." I nod, and hold out my hand to him. "Come inside, Leviticus." He takes my hand, crossing the threshold, and I grin. "Did I do it right?" I ask him.
"Yes, Irisa." Levi says, pulling me close as he shoves the door closed. "You did it perfectly."
"Tell me about Izolda." I state, and Levi's green eyes suddenly shift from happy to pained in the mere few seconds it takes for me to make this statement.
"Why?" Levi asks, and I shrug.
"Don't you think I should know, since she knows about me? She obviously knew who I was."
"Irisa, I told you, she's seen photos of Rhiannon and of you. She just doesn't like me being around you, because she thinks it's a pattern, and she doesn't want me getting stuck in it all over again." Levi explains. "Not after what happened to Rhiannon."
"Levi, I'm just asking about her. Please?" I tug on his hand, leading him to the couch. Once there, I curl up in his lap, and Levi sighs, obviously feeling defeated. "She and her mother are the reason you know so much about werewolves?"
"I never told you about her mother being a werewolf, Irisa. You picked up on that on your own. As for me knowing so much about werewolves, I've been around for over 800 years. I've known more werewolves than just Izolda and her mother." Levi says quietly, his eyes still filled with pain.
"Did you love someone else that was a werewolf?" I ask him, also quietly. "Before you ever met Rhiannon, perhaps?"
I feel Levi stiffen at my questions, but he just holds me closer, and answers, "When you live as long as I have, you fall in love many times over the years, Irisa. Rhiannon was someone I loved at a time when I had no one. I never loved Katherine, she was much too decietful and cruel, but Rhiannon was someone who mimicked behavior. She learned from those around her. I thought, perhaps, she could learn from me. But, she was not interested in that, it seems. She grew to be much like Katherine, the more time we spent around her. Then, we met Stefan and Damon, and everything really went to hell. Before Rhiannon, there were a few women, not all that many to be honest. I was interested in quite a few, but I never let myself fall in love with them. Not the way I fell for Rhiannon. She caught me off guard. Much like... you have." This is much more of an admission of guilt than an answer from him. "Rebekah was the first woman who ever caught my attention, the first women who showed me any type of affection. But... I didn't love her. She compelled me. That's the sort of thing that you shouldn't push on someone. It's why I would never expect anything of you, Irisa. I wouldn't compel you to feel anything for me. It's why I made you forget..." I turn back to face him, and I see how upset he looks.
"Levi, I know you wouldn't compel me to fall in love with you. You're not Damon. You have morals. As for making me forget about all of it, that really sucked. Stefan actually brought you and Damon up at school, and I had no idea who either of you were. I had problems with my memory, everything felt weird. I kept getting dizzy because of it, especially when I was trying to figure stuff out." I tell him. He looks guilty and I lightly touch his cheek. "As soon as Damon grabbed me after he killed Zach, everything came rushing back. How is that possible?"
"You're a witch, and psychic. Somehow the memories broke through the compulsion." Levi says, gazing back at me, all of that guilt so clear on his face. "I know I shouldn't have done it, but I felt like it needed to be done."
"No. It didn't." I tell him, "But, you should be happy I can remember what happened. Because then I know who to trust."
"You're saying you trust me, but you shouldn't. You know what I am, Irisa. I could easily hurt you or even kill you, just like Damon." Levi tells me.
I raise an eyebrow. "Thus far, you haven't made one move to harm me, Levi. 4 years, you've been protecting me. 4 years, I've been in the dark, but now, I know what you are, who you are, and I know of things that everyone else would have rather kept from me. You've told me stuff no one else trusted me enough to tell me. I expect you to keep doing that."
"You're related to Rhiannon, Irisa." Levi whispers.
"What?" I ask, surprised.
"She had kids before she became a vampire, and eventually they married into the Lockwood family. I didn't know until you had the ring, and Damon told you about Rhiannon."
"Right. You gave her the ring." I nod. "I remember that."
"It could explain the resembalance." Levi says. "Not that it really matters. It never really mattered all that much to me, not after I heard you speak for the first time, or when I seen you with your family. She didn't matter anymore, Irisa."
I stare at him in surprise, then lean forwards, lightly kissing him on the cheek. "This is why I know I can trust you." I murmur. "Damon hangs onto the idea that I'm her. You don't. You aren't trying to make me into her. You understand that I'm not, you accept it."
"Because she wasn't you." Levi says, biting his lip. "She wasn't half of what you are."
"Levi, you are definitely not what I thought you were when I met you at the Grill." I say with a smile. "Definitely not."
"I'll take that as a compliment, love."
"It was a compliment." I whisper, wrapping my arms around his neck as I press my lips delicately to his. Levi gives me a gentle kiss, his hands in my hair, before pulling away.
"You wanted to know about Izolda, but there's not much to tell you about her, Irisa. I hadn't seen her in 4 years. But, there is someone I do want you to meet. Another vampire, one older than Stefan and Damon. She's 350 years old."
"Who is she?" I ask and Levi smiles.
"One of my only friends, and she's good friends with Stefan, though she hates Damon. So I think you'll both get along great." Levi explains. "Her name is Alexia Branson, but she goes by Lexi. She's visiting right now, because it's Stefan's birthday. She visits him every year on his birthday."
"What is she like?" I muse, gently rubbing the back of his neck.
Levi closes his eyes, relaxing at my touch. "She's a lot like Stefan, to be honest. She taught him a lot of what he knows. She's the reason he feeds on animals instead of humans, and why he's in such control of himself. When they met, he wasn't in control of himself, and she pretty much fixed that side of him. Of course, as vampires we have to fight that side of ourselves, or accept it, Irisa. Lexi and I just completely accept that it's who we are, while Stefan fights it."
"I don't see why you should fight it." I shrug. "I like you this way. I never would have met you if you weren't a vampire, and it didn't hurt when you drank my blood, not like it hurt when Damon did."
"That's because you were only trying to save Vicki, you didn't really want him to bite you. Not like you wanted me to bite you. You weren't fighting me." Levi says, his eyes searching mine. "I don't get why you would want me to bite you, seeing as Damon hurt you that same day, Irisa."
"You need blood to survive." I remind him. "Why not feed on someone you love every once in a while?"
"No, no, no." Levi pulls away from me, and standing up. I don't even see him move, but suddenly he's standing by the stairs.
"Levi!" I exclaim, shocked, rushing over to him.
"I'm not feeding on you again." Levi says, his green eyes wide.
"Levi, you can. It's not going to hurt me." I say quietly. "Though you could have, shoving me away like that. Don't do that. Levi, please, you did it before."
"Irisa, I could easily take too much." Levi says, and I see the pain in his eyes once again. "I don't want to accidentally kill you."
"You won't." I say quietly.
"I could." Levi says, shaking his head.
"You won't." I repeat.
I draw closer, and Levi sighs. His phone beeps, and I glance at his pocket. Levi sighs again, pulling out his phone. "Lexi." He shakes his head. "Apparently there is a party at the Grill tonight for Stefan, and we're invited."
"We're?" I ask him.
"I might have mentioned a while ago that I'd seen someone who looked just like Rhiannon, who Lexi knew about, just as she also knew about Katherine. I mentioned to Lexi a few nights ago, on the phone, that I'd finally talked to you for the first time." Levi admits to me. "I was honestly a bit... excited and shocked when I talked to you the first time. I, um... I still am."
"Does it scare you? Talking to me." I ask him, and Levi looks away. "Why? I'm just like everyone else."
"No, you're not, Irisa. You're not like everyone else." Levi's eyes dart back to mine, and suddenly there's only mere centimeter's between us. "You're different, you're much more than everyone else. Not even Rhiannon was like you. She wasn't pure or as smart as you. She wasn't kind or caring like you. No one measures up to what you are. I never talked to you before that night at the Grill because it terrified me. You were always much too special, and until the Salvatore's came here, I didn't have any excuse to get involved with you, nor should I be involved with you."
"Wrong answer." I murmur, and kiss him. His lips feel hot against mine, and Levi seems hesitant. When I draw my lips away, I whisper, "In a few years, it won't matter, Levi. Don't be so hesitant."
Levi sighs, lightly reaching up to stroke my hair, pinning it behind my ears. "I just don't want to do anything stupid and ruin it, Irisa."
"Believe me, you couldn't do anything to ruin it, Levi." I give him a small smile.
"I seriously have never loved anyone as much as I love you." Levi whispers.
"Levi..." I trail off for a moment. "Am I allowed to love more than one person at a time?"
Levi stares at me a moment before nodding. "Of course you are. Love is infinite. Limitless."
"I love Matt... But, Levi, I love you." I say quietly, "I know I might not have realized you were around for so long, and we've only just started getting to know each other, but I do love you."
"I understand perfectly, Irisa." Levi smiles, cuddling me into his arms. "So, what do you want to do now?"
"This." I kiss him again, and Levi lightly chuckles against my lips as he kisses me back.
----
Stefan
Irisa and Levi walk into the Grill together, and I glance haphazardly at my brother. His eyes take in the sight of darling Irisa with Levi, clearly not happy. But, he just turns his attention onto Caroline and ignores Irisa. Lexi looks up from talking to Elena, and excuses herself, walking over to Levi and Irisa.
"I have missed you, Leviticus." Lexi grins, and hugs him.
"Ah, Alexia, you haven't changed a bit." Levi says, and wraps an arm around Irisa's shoulders. "Lex, this is Irisa Lockwood. Irisa, this is Alexia Branson."
"Lexi," Lexi holds out a hand for Irisa to shake.
"It's just Ris," Irisa admits, shaking her hand shyly. Her hazel-green eyes are cautious, and Lexi watches her closely.
"Hmm, you're not human, are you kiddo?" Lexi asks her quietly, and Irisa pulls her hand away, looking scaredly at Levi.
"It's alright," Levi reassures Irisa. "Irisa has witch blood." He says quietly to Lexi. "Among other stuff."
"Like?" Lexi smiles, and Levi shakes his head.
"Not here, Lex. Too many people." Levi says. "But why don't you help Irisa get some food. I need to wish the birthday guy a happy birthday." Levi pats Lexi on the back, and lightly turns Irisa towards Lexi before walking over to me.
"Well, that was rather rude." I tell him. "Irisa is kind of scared of Lexi, Levi."
"I seen that. Which is why she needs to get to know Lexi. Lexi isn't going to hurt her." Levi tells me, and I nod.
"I know she isn't." But in that moment, Sheriff Forbes walks inside with her deputies, walk over to Lexi, and vervain her. Irisa's gasp is extremely loud.
"Thank you for the vervain, Damon." Liz says as she and her deputies carry Lexi away.
Irisa glares at Damon, shoving him out of the way. "We have to help her!" She says, rushing over to Levi and me.
"Oh no you don't." Damon glares back at her, grabbing onto her waist, swiveling her around, much to her irritation it seems. "Stay. Everything will be fine."
"No, Damon, they'll kill her!" Irisa exclaims, and punches him in the jaw. Stefan gasps, never having seen anyone fight his brother like this before, especially not a little girl.
"If they see you're a sympathizer, they'll kill you too. Trust me, I know from experience." Damon says, and I sigh.
"Let me go, Damon. You don't care if I live or die. Just let me go!"
"Let her go, Damon." Levi growls, and Damon let's her go, though reluctantly.
Elena grabs my arm, pulling me along outside, and Levi and Irisa follow us out.
Lexi is fighting off the few officers, and suddenly, Damon is in front of Lexi. She lets out a gasp. He had just driven a stake through her heart. In front Levi, Irisa, Elena, and me. I stare in horror at my brother, at my best friend who had just died. She desiccates before my eyes.
"Oh my god-" Irisa sobs out, and Elena draws me closer to her as Levi pulls Irisa into his arms.
"Are you okay?" Damon asks, faking concern.
"Yes, thank you. I'll take it from here." Liz says.
-----
Levi
Elena leads Stefan away, but Damon stands there, looking smugly over at Irisa, who has tears in her eyes, and looks even more pissed than she had before. I gently stroke her hair, trying to calm her, but she won't have it.
"How could you!?" She shrieks at Damon. Damon raises an eyebrow. "You bastard! What is wrong with you!? What did she ever do to you? Hmm? What has anyone ever done to you to make you such a fucking asshole!?" She pulls away from me, and smacks him.
"You've really got to quit doing that." Damon grinds his teeth. "My patience only lasts so long, sweetheart." He tells her.
"Maybe you should do us all a favor and drop dead for good." Irisa glares at him. "Because haven't you realized by now that there isn't a single person who loves you anymore? You just killed your baby brother's best friend. You make me sick, Damon. Rhiannon would be very disappointed in the man you've become. As for Katherine, we both know that in the end, if she weren't dead as well, she'd have chosen Stefan just like Elena has because think about it, Damon, all you do is torture everyone. Your existance is worthless. Pointless. What is the point of staying in this town? There's nothing for you here. Why not go make someone else's life miserable?"
"You know what, despite what Levi says, you're exactly like Katherine and Rhiannon. You're just as cruel and bitchy as them." Damon flashes his fangs at her.
"I wouldn't have to be if you weren't such a dick." Irisa says.
"Okay, enough of that." I say, pulling her away from him.
"Yeah. Definitely enough of that. After all, she's getting into something she really doesn't understand."
"I said, enough!" I shout.
"No!" Irisa glares. "I'm going to kick his ass!"
"I'd like to see you try, sweetheart." Damon glares.
Irisa punches my stomach, and though it doesn't hurt very badly, I let her go, and she shoves Damon. "You bastard." She growls. Damon growls back, grabbing her wrists.
"This is the last time you shove me, little girl." Damon tells her.
"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Irisa demands, and twists her wrists free. I huff, annoyed by the two of them. But, then Irisa rips off his daylight ring. "I'll be keeping this if you can't act right." She starts to walk away from him.
"Excuse me, that's mine." Damon grabs her around the waist, swiveling her around to face him. "No one takes my daylight ring. I need it."
"Oh, to walk in the daytime? I know." Irisa says. "But since you can't play nice?" She focuses on the ring, and I shake my head.
"Don't destroy that!" I shout, grabbing it from her.
I sigh when it's in my hands and not in hers, and Irisa glares at me. "Maybe it should be destroyed. He should have to work for a new one. If I'm a witch, I can make him a new one when and if he starts to behave himself."
"No, Irisa." I draw her into my arms, and toss the ring at Damon, who catches it even though he looks upset to see Irisa in my arms. "There's other ways to make him behave. That's not it."
"I hate him." Irisa mutters, and I shake my head, looking at Damon.
"You don't hate him, Irisa." I say quietly. "You're just upset because he's killing people you care about. Vicki was someone you loved and cared about for nearly your whole life. You may have just met Lexi, but she was already important to you."
Irisa pulls out of my arms, and looks between Damon and me. "She said I look like someone else."
"Of course you do, you look like Rhiannon." Damon shakes his head. "What a mistake all of this is."
"No." Irisa says. "Not Rhiannon." She looks at me, begging me to believe her. "Someone named Lucia Soria Drake."
"She married into the Drake family." I say, surprised.
"Back from when Lexi was human." Irisa states.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, no." Damon says. "You have to be kidding me."
"Damon, it makes sense." I glare at him. "Irisa isn't the first, nor will she be the last."
"I can make sure she's the last." Damon says, ripping her towards him. Irisa cries out in pain as her wrist gives a loud crack. Damon rips open his wrist, shoving his blood into her mouth. But she's sobbing, and Damon's eyes widen as he stares at her.
I pull her away from him then, despite knowning that he couldn't, wouldn't, go through with it. He wouldn't turn her into a vampire no matter how much he wants her to live forever. Irisa is sobbing loudly and clutching her arm even though her wrist has healed from his blood already. But, I see it's bent at an odd shape, and I sigh. "Shh, it's going to be okay." I tell her, "Look at me, Irisa. Look at me." She looks up as tears roll down her cheeks. "I'm going to fix it, then you'll need some more blood. It'll just hurt for a moment. I'll be quick." Then, before she has time to think about it, I snap her wrist back into the correct position, and her scream rings out, loud and painful to listen to. I make a small cut on my wrist, and hold it to her lips. I look at Damon. "Get out of here before I stake you with the same stake you killed Stefan's and my best friend with you coward."
"Is she..." He trails off, his blue eyes wide as he watches Irisa clutch my wrist tightly and drink my blood.
"She's going to be fine." I say. "Unfortunately, this whole evening she'll remember and it'll all be tainted by what you've done. So get out of here." Damon's eyes remain on Irisa, and when she pulls her face away from my arm, her lips are smudged faintly with my blood, and her eyes glow bright green.
"I'm sorry." Damon whispers, and then walks away.
I lean towards Irisa, wiping the blood from her lips. "Let's get you home before your father starts to worry."
"Levi-" Irisa starts, and I meet her eyes, wondering what is going through her mind. "If Rhiannon wasn't the first, who was?"
I shake my head. "I don't know." I admit, and lightly tousle her hair. "But, I do know that none of them were as brave or as strong as you. Let's get you home now."
But, Irisa sways on her feet, nearly falling, prompting me to pick her up and carry her to the car. "Levi, did I hurt Damon?" She asks once I'm in the drivers seat.
"Believe me, it sure looked like it once he hurt you." I tell her, touching her wrist. "You're going to be okay. But all of this fighting with Damon has to stop."
"He was mad at you when he did it, not me." Irisa says, her voice growing sleepy.
I drive towards her house, knowing she's right. "I'm sorry, Irisa. But I found something out tonight."
"What?" Irisa asks me, curious as her fingers tighten on my own.
"He wouldn't turn you no matter how much he wants you to live forever." I tell her.
"Why do you suppose that is?" Irisa murmurs as her eyes fall closed.
"I hate to say it Irisa, but he does love you. I was wrong. He just has a difficult time showing it. He didn't mind seeing Rhiannon get hurt, he knew she could handle herself, except against wood. But... with you, he knows you're easily hurt even if you are stronger than an average human. It's because of what you are."
"A werewolf."
"Yes. But he doesn't know that."
"I thought you said he loved Rhiannon, but not me?" Irisa whispers.
"I suppose I wish he did love her and not you. But I was wrong, Irisa. Very wrong." That's when I notice she'd fallen asleep, her breathing so still and quiet it's almost as if she's not breathing at all. Her pulse had eased into something more along the lines of normal, and I can't help but smile. I pull into her driveway, get out, and carry her up the front steps. I knock on the door and her father opens the door.
"Oh it was getting late. I was wondering when you two would be getting back." He says.
"There was a birthday party at the Grill for a friend of ours. We decided to go. Sorry it took so long. I figured she needed some fun time after one of her best friends just up and leaving." I tell him, and he lets me inside.
"How long ago did she fall asleep?" Mr. Lockwood asks, and I hold Irisa closer as her brother glares at me when he walks into the parlour.
"Just a few minutes ago, on the ride here, sir." I tell him and Mr. Lockwood nods. I look at Tyler, who is still glaring. "Maybe you'd care to take your sister upstairs?" I ask him and the glare fades. "She's had a long day."
"Sure." Tyler says, taking his sister from my arms. Irisa immediately wraps her arms around her brother's neck, holding onto him tightly. He walks upstairs slowly, and Mr. Lockwood nods.
"It seems you do well with both of my children, Levi." Mr. Lockwood says, and I smile. "Do you mind keeping an eye on Irisa, supposing you're not busy anytime soon?"
"I don't mind." I admit, glancing upstairs. "She's a very sweet girl, Mr. Lockwood. But I must say, you and your wife have your hands full with her. The question is whether or not you were ever planning on telling Irisa the truth?"
"You know then?" Mr. Lockwood asks.
"That you had an affair, and Carol isn't Irisa's mother? Yes. I'm not the only one who knows either." I admit.
"Oh no." Mr. Lockwood's face tenses. "She found out?"
"Yes, sir. She wasn't happy about being lied to, but she's okay."
"How did you know?" Mr. Lockwood asks quietly, hearing Tyler walking around upstairs.
"Because she doesn't look anything like Carol, and even though there's similarities between you and Irisa, Irisa looks more like Tyler than she looks like you. But then, that is her older brother, even if their just half siblings. Irisa's mother, I'm assuming, looked more like her." I explain.
"Yes. But I can't talk to Irisa about it yet. It can't happen until she's 16. Her mother wanted it that way." Mr. Lockwood's eyes beg me to understand.
"I get it. A promise is a promise. But don't forget, she's your daughter. She needs you sometimes, and if she asks you about her mother, it would be best if you told her." I tell him, and he nods. "Irisa deserves nothing but the truth."
"You really do care about her, don't you?" Her father asks me, carefully judging the situation.
"More than you can ever understand." I tell him. "I have somewhere I need to be. I'll take Irisa out to breakfast again in the morning though."
"Thank you. She needs a positive influence in her life." Mr. Lockwood says.
"That's what I'll try to be." I tell him, then I leave, heading to the Salvatores'.
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