Things were anything but peaceful. Seline, the girls nanny was the other siren and she kidnapped them. Caroline and Dad went off to find them. Stefan and I stayed at the armory with Matt and tried to research.
Eventually Bonnie and Enzo showed up, Enzo was clearly in pain and he believed it was Sybil. Bonnie suggested one of us go into Enzo's head to figure out what was going on.
Stefan went in and we waited for an answer. He was in for only a few minutes when he took a deep breath and stepped back. "What happened?" I asked worried.
"Call Caroline. Sybil just gave us a clue as to where she was and she doesn't even know it." Stefan spoke and that exactly what I did. They started searching through diners going out of Mystic Falls.
Enzo was passing out over and over and when he wasn't he was groaning or vomiting blood. Sybil was really doing a number on him. He finally passed out again and we looked at him worried.
"We have to do something?" Bonnie spoke as she patted the sweat off of Enzo's head.
"I could go into his head again but I don't know if that's the best idea." Stefan replied.
"Do it." Bonnie nodded taking the risk.
Stefan looked into his head. I watched as Enzo came back to. He bled from his nose and mouth and groaned in tremendous pain.
I went over to him and closed my eyes. I started chanting quietly to ease the pain, if only a little bit. Stefan jumped back out and I looked at him worried.
"I know where Sybil is." He told me as I looked at him standing up.
"Then lets go." I told him.
"No you have to stay here." He replied looking at me as he stopped walking. "I have to do this alone."
"Do what alone? What are you keeping from me?" I asked concerned.
He leaned towards me and kissed me passionately. "I don't want you hurt." He looked at me. "I have to go by myself."
"They're my sisters. I can help protect you and them." I argued.
"We don't have time to risk it." He shook his head. "Please let me do this."
"Stefan." I sighed lightly. "Please be careful."
He nodded. "I love you." He caressed my check lightly before running out.
I waited with Matt, Bonnie, and Enzo impatiently when Caroline called. It was pretty late by now.
"Are you with Stefan?" She asked without a hello.
"No he left on his own." I explained.
"Do you know where he is?" She asked this time a bit more agitated.
"He lied. He told us the wrong place. We need to know where the girls are." She explained to me.
"I don't know where he is." I spoke worried. "I'm leaving now." I added running out. "Send me where you are we will find them all, together." I sighed lightly as I got on my motorcycle. It was the fastest mode of transportation.
Almost as if on cue when I met Dad and Caroline, Stefan finally told them where he was. We all headed there in Dad's car together. They ran inside and the girls were with Stefan. They both ran to their mom and dad and I went over to Stefan.
"Are you okay? What happened?" I asked worried as I looked at his body checking for scars.
"I'm okay. I'll explain after we make sure they're safe." He nodded to me with a small smile.
We got back to the armory and dad and Caroline took the girls inside. Stefan was heading in too in front of me but before he could make it past the front door I grabbed his arm.
"Don't avoid, please." I spoke as he turned around.
He sighed and sat down on the bench and I sat next to him. I held his hand waiting for whatever terrible news that could possibly happen.
"In order to save the girls Sybil made an offer better." He started. "Since there was no other option I agreed."
"Agreed to what Stefan?" I asked worried.
"Starting tomorrow I will be an immortal servant of Cade with Damon to avoid hell." He spoke as my breath hitches in my throat. "In the next 24 hours I will be his servant forever."
"Stef." I looked at him sadly. "What about our life together?" I asked worried.
"I don't know." He shook his head. "All I know is we have a day to spend together. We have tomorrow." He explained putting his hand on my cheek.
"Why am I losing everyone I care about?" I asked my lip starting to quiver.
"You haven't lost me yet." He spoke as he rubbed my cheek with his thumb. He put his head against mine and I bit my lip. After tomorrow everything would change.
—————
I found it extremely unfitting that today was Christmas Eve. It would be an awful day when it was over. I woke up to the sound of Christmas music. We were going to have everyone over for a party, but I told Stefan we didn't have to if he'd rather spend the time alone.
Obviously he decided not to because when I got downstairs the entire house was decorated. I smelt food in the kitchen and when I got inside I saw Stefan making food.
I smiled at him as he stirred something in the pot. "Good morning." He spoke sweetly.
"Well it's a morning." I replied walking over to him. "So you decided on extravagant Christmas?"
"I want you to have a good day today." He spoke walking over to me.
"How am I supposed to have a good day when-"
"Nuhuh. We aren't going to talk about it. We are just going to eat too much, drink too much, and spend time with the people we care about." He smiled to me as he held my waist. I wrapped my arms around him and took a deep breath.
"Okay." I nodded looking up to him.
"I love you." He spoke softly smiling to me.
I smiled lightly back. He rubbed his thumb on my cheek and kissed me softly.
"I love you too." I kissed him again before he went back to cooking.
I got dressed and waited for everyone to show up.
I wore a two piece outfit with a long red skirt with a side slit and a white tight fit top. I paired it with white heels and of course my engagement ring and my daylight ring.
I twirled my engagement ring on my finger. How was I supposed to wear it after today? Would Stefan be gone forever? How in the hell could I even think about marrying him? As much as it hurt I couldn't just take it off. I made a promise and I was going to keep it if I could.
I headed downstairs after hearing the doorbell ring and I saw the girls wearing opposite green and red dresses with white jackets.
"You two look beautiful." I smiled at them.
"Emmie!" They smiled. "Merry Christmas." They spoke one after another as they hugged me.
"Is Seline gonna be here too?" Josie asked curiously.
"No, J." I replied looking from dad to Caroline. Caroline looked at me confused.
"Did I hear two little princesses?" Stefan asked coming downstairs as he bent down to them. They leaned down to be the height he was. "We have some presents for you upstairs."
"Yay!" They both sang as they both ran upstairs and we followed behind them.
We got upstairs and they ran to their room. They knew where it was by now. We started letting them open their gifts and they were smiling the whole time. We got them stuffed animals and toys that we thought they'd like.
Before things got to good Damon and Sybil showed up to ruin the day. I stayed with the girls while Dad came up. After getting the girls settled I talked to dad in the other corner of the room.
"We'll get rid of them as soon as we can." I nodded to him.
"Hey don't worry about that." He replied as I looked at him confused. "We uh, after today I'm taking the girls away for a while."
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"I can't have them here. We are literally dealing with the devil and I can't leave them in that danger. We're running." He explained as I sighed.
"So you're just gonna leave me here." I nodded lightly.
"You can take care of yourself. The girls are helpless." He explained as I nodded. So much for a happy day. I felt myself getting upset and I decided to go to Stefan and I's room.
I saw Stefan on the ground. His skin was gray and veiny meaning only one thing: he was dead. "Stefan!" I spoke not sure what else to do. Would me shaking him wake him up? Probably not, but I was doing it anyway. I noticed a bloody tree topper next to him. It was Damon or Sybil, but I wasn't sure which yet. I grabbed his hand and looked at him still in shock. My limbs were shaking. This day couldn't get worse.
"Relax. He's not dead." I heard from behind me as I saw Damon standing there. "Have you seen Ric? Because if that's what's holding up dinner-" he shook his head. I vamped over to him and he didn't hesitate to pin me against the wall.
"Why are you ruining my life?" I asked looking at him angrily as he held my neck.
Don't worry, he'll be back. I mean I was killed and brought back. Your Dad staked me and I don't have a scratch. Same dealio." He forcefully let go. "Big man requested a meeting. What was I gonna do?" He picked up the tree topper. "You know, I bet that if you just wash this off, it might still work."
"You're a monster, but don't think I'm scared of you." I replied as he handed it to me. I looked at him causing his brain to rupture on the inside. "I'm the one with the magic here. You can be a dick all you want but leave me alone." I warned as I stopped him.
"Full of threats are we?" He asked as he rubbed his head. "By the end of the night you won't be breathing a word." He replied as he groaned and walked out.
I sat with Stefan waiting for him to come back. Caroline came upstairs and sat with me. "Emma oh my god." She spoke breathily.
"Damon says he'll be back. I don't know if I believe him." I shook my head lightly.
"Is their anything I can do?" She asked curiously.
"No Care. Everyone's slowly leaving me again and there's nothing anyone can do." I replied angrily. She looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry I just, first Tyler, now Stefan, and dad's leaving." I shook my head.
"It's ok." She nodded lightly. "Let's go downstairs. If he'll be back he'll see you first. Besides the alcohol is down there."
"Yeah okay." I spoke still looking at my Fiancé.
We got down and I went straight for a bottle of wine. I drank it sitting on the couch.
"Someone's moody." Sybil spoke looking at me.
"I lost my best friend and my fiancé in the span of a month. I'm not happy." I replied looking at her before going back to my bottle.
"Let's make sure we all get back to the spirit of Christmas. At the heart of it is forgiveness." Caroline spoke as she took the wine and poured it in a glass for me before grabbing presents. "So, Matt. Peter." She handed them their presents.
"Thanks." Peter nodded.
"Emma." She handed me a wrapped box.
"And my mother taught me to always be prepared for anything." Caroline spoke giving a present to Sybil.
"Thank you." Sybil spoke with genuine gratefulness.
"Now, this one... is for Damon. Even though we've had our moments, I know that there is a future you that is going to ask for my and Emma's forgiveness one day. This is for that guy." She spoke hanging him a small box. She turned to me and smiled lightly as Damon got up. I wondered what was in the tiny box.
"Anyway..." Damon cleared his throat. "I'm sure you're all asking yourselves why I barged in tonight. Relax. I come bearing a gift. Now, unfortunately, I'm only gonna be able to give it to the most despicably evil person in the room, and that's gonna be a tough decision. But tonight, one lucky little elf is gonna get an all-expense paid, one-way trip, straight to hell. Meaning, I'm gonna kill one of you."
"Why am I not surprised?" I looked at him furious.
"Let's eat." He smiled ignoring my comment. We sat around the table and I bet you could guess who the only jolly person in the room was.
"It's really quite simple. I assess the evil in people, so if they are wicked, immoral, corrupt, foul, nefarious, et cetera, I kill them." Damon explained.
"These are the au gratin potatoes. Stefan made them. They're a Salvatore recipe." Caroline spoke covering him up as she slammed them on the table. She had come over earlier to help us with setting everything up since she was the queen of organization. Not to mention I was to stuck in my own world to really pay attention to what was happening.
"Hey, where the hell is Ric? What was he, reading the dictionary to those girls?" Damon asked.
"Damon you aren't killing him. In fact you already killed someone today so can we leave it at that and just eat some damn food?" I asked looking at him.
"What? Was just breaking some bread." He asked with a smile. I knew he loved getting a reaction from me. He always did.
"Why are you doing this?" Matt asked agitated and upset.
"It's kind of his job." Sybil replied.
"To murder innocent people?" Matt asked shaking his head.
"Look who's talking about murder." Damon spoke looking at Matt with bread in his hand.
"I never killed-" Matt started.
"Oh, yeah? Your old flame Penny is pretty dead as a door-" Damon interrupted.
Matt stood up and slammed the table. "I never murdered anyone." He insisted angrily.
"Matt. Please." Caroline tried to calm him down.
"You know, at least Ric looked a little torn up when that stake went in my heart. And you looked pretty psyched. But I forgive you, Matty. You've had a lot of tragedy in your life. Here's the deal. Ric was just doing the parental thing, much like what he's doing upstairs right now. Do I want to kill him? Yes, but that's personal. This should be principle." Damon explained.
"It's all personal, Damon." Caroline spat trying not to raise her voice.
"What about this... Peter fellow? I've heard so so much about you." Sybil asked with a smirk.
"Back off." Matt warned.
"Or what?" Damon asked tilting his head teasingly.
We all went to eating. No one wanted to die and arguing with Damon would just higher the chances. Honestly, the worst person in the room was probably me. I didn't know what to do about that.
Damon still was questioning everyone. He was taking to Peter to figure out what was wrong about him. Dad came in the room and everyone was on edge. I opted out of speaking for the rest of the time.
I heard Sybil torturing Peter in the back room, as he was chosen as tonight's bait. All the sudden my head was exploding. I knew it was the damn fork. I groaned lightly as I gripped my napkin tightly.
"Em are you okay?" Caroline asked as the ringing went away as well as Sybil and Damon.
"I'm fine." I nodded as they went out the door. "Check on the girls, it probably hurt them too." I instructed as I took a few breaths. Dad and Caroline went upstairs to check on them and I looked to Peter and Matt. Peter had a cut on his face which I healed with magic before walking them out.
Dad left with the girls and I hugged them knowing it would be a while before I saw them again. Caroline helped me clean a little before heading out as well. After everyone was out I sat with Stefan while he laid in his bed.
I looked at him holding his hand when I noticed his face gaining color. "Stef?" I asked gripping his hand tighter.
He took a deep breath. "You're back." I took a breath of relief.
"Where's Damon?" Stefan asked curiously.
"He's gone. It's just us." I nodded looking at him upset.
He nodded and looked away then back. "Come with me." He said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the bed. I almost stumbled as he lead me down the hallway almost running.
"Where are we going?" I asked confused. "What happened while you were dead?"
He looked up and stopped. "I'll tell you in a second. First-" He started as he grabbed my face and kissed me deeply.
I kissed him back surprised. "You drug me through the hallway for this?" I asked confused.
"Look up." He replied as I did so. I smiled lightly and shook my head. "I needed at least one thing to work. I love you."
"I know, and I love you, but what happened?" I asked as he continued to hold me.
"We made a deal. I have to be Cade's servant but only for a year." He explained.
"How is that good?" I asked confused. "Why would he agree?"
"Well the way I'm doing it, the way I'm giving him people makes it worth it to him." He started as I looked at him worried.
"And what way is that?" I asked worried about what he was going to say next. I knew. I didn't need him to answer but I wanted to hear it.
"Don't make me say it. I just want to have this moment." He replied as I felt my eyes tear up.
"This isn't fair." I looked at him sadly.
"I know, I know, but we only have seven minutes until Christmas is over and I want to make up for it." He explained as he held my cheek lightly. He kissed me again and I took a breath.
"In a year, when you come back we are going to get married and I'm not letting anyone stop it." I told him feeling myself cry a bit. "And we are going to live together happily and finally have our time."
"We will." He replied as he wiped my tears. "And until then I want you to live your life. Don't sit and wait for me. Go explore the world or sell your art, anything." He spoke as I let out a few more tears.
"I love you so much." I wrapped around him as he held me tightly.
"I'll always love you." He replied as I tried to remember the warmth from him so I wouldn't forget it while he was away. The minutes went by fast. He kissed me one more time and walked toward the door. I watched him go my arms crossed to hold on to his warmth. He walked out closing the door and the countdown began.