Elira's POV
I felt like it was an all-black day, black boots, black pants, black v-neck, and a black leather jacket. I guess a part of me wants to mourn who I once was while in reality, I simply want to forget. I'm somewhere new and I'm someone new. I need to let the past be the past for once. I'm probably a hypocrite for saying that when I'm here... Standing outside the Salvatore mansion, the mansion belonging to two boys I've loved like brothers... But still managed to fuck over in one way or another. I'll not be surprised if they hate me and I'm okay with that. However, I truly believe I still can make a life here.
I took a deep breath as I opened the gate and closed it behind me. I took glanced at the scenery. It was a beautiful estate, I have to say. Huge open space with an attached forest. Ironically enough, it's perfect for vampires. Always a dark corner to hide in. My gaze followed the trail leading to the front door, considering it. No, that wasn't it. I needed a better entrance. I mean... as far as they know I've been dead for decades.
I walked around the house, studying it. Looking for an entrance. That's when I saw it, a balcony leading into what looked like a study of some sort. I walked up to the balcony and tilted my head back. It was on the second floor, so I needed to jump to get there. I was taking testing my luck doing this. As far as I knew the estate was owned by Stefan and Damon, two vampires, which means I don't have to be invited in. But knowing them they might have done something clever to hinder other vampires from entering.
I braced myself and leaped into the air. I caught the railing and climbed onto the balcony with a thud. Okay, now or never. I grabbed the glass door and twisted the handle. It opened with a click. I looked down at the threshold and then quickly stepped across it. Nothing happened... Success.
They're both idiots. You would have thought that after a century they would know better.
I took a look around. It was a bedroom. The whole area screamed of the Stefan I once knew, it must be his bedroom. There were books everywhere. I could see a large desk close to the balcony door, which was what I saw from the ground. A couch was placed in the corner beside the door and a neatly placed fireplace across the room from it. I walked over to the fireplace taking a look at the shelf above it full of quite old books and some antiques, vases, and a clock.
I turned from the fireplace and walked over to a closet. I opened it expecting clothes only to find more books but there was something different about these books. I picked one up and studied it. On the front, it said 1983.
"Interesting..." I mumbled and opened it. It was full of Stefan's handwriting. His journals, huh? or more like diaries. I put the book down, my curiosity taking over. I started to search through the books, looking for the year we met... the time we spent together. To no prevail. It appears that the entire section of that time was missing. I guess he didn't have much time to write while ripping people apart... sucks. It would have been an interesting read. I chuckled for myself at the thought
I put all the books back as well as I could, then I walked over to his desk and sat down. I put my legs on the edge of the desk, leaned back in the chair, and sighed.
"Then we wait..."
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I was zoned out in my own thoughts almost dozing off when I heard voices. I could recognize Stefan's voice but there was a feminine voice with him that I could not place. I used my vampire hearing to listen to their conversation as they approached the door to Stefan's room.
Female: "Matt called me about a female vampire he met at the mystic grill last night."
Stefan: "Did he recognize her?"
Female: "No, but he said her name was Elira Mercia. Blond hair, blue eyes."
Stefan: "I don't recall ever hearing that name before..."
Female: "Maybe Damon knows her..."
Female: "Matt also told me he had mixed vervain in her drink but she didn't even flinch as she swallowed it... she is bad news, isn't she?"
Stefan: "Yes, we need to get on top of this."
I tried to contain a chuckle as I hear the door handle twist and the door slowly creep open. The body of a tall, slim, brunette appeared in the room. She turned towards me froze and look on high alert. Her deep brown eyes focused on me and I simply stared back at her with humor in my eyes.
"Elena, what's wrong?" Stefan asked as he pushed passed her. He quickly laid his eyes on me.
Elena... so that's her name. Stefan was quick to step in front of Elena in a protective stance. I don't know what it is about this girl but... there's just something extremely familiar about her.
"Who are you?" Stefan asked sternly, looking at me with an alert look in his eyes. I smirked in response.
"You don't remember me?... Ripper?" I chuckled as my smirk turned into a clever smile.
Elena looked at Stefan with concern and a hint of recognition in her eyes. She knows his dirty little secret, huh?
"Scarlett..." Stefan trailed off not letting his guard down. I guess he's still angry with me.
"Yeah, So the thing is... Scarlett is kind of dead? I guess. I heard you guys talking about me on your way in. Matt seemed like a nice human boy... oh, and as you heard I'm Elira now." I said calmly emphasizing the word 'human' as I took my feet off the desk and placed them on the floor.
I watched Stefan get ready to fight. I like to pull his strings, he's so easy to annoy. Pretending I'm the person he once knew is kind of fun though. He knew me at my worst and it's going to take a miracle to make him believe I'm not that person, but then again I knew him at his worst...
As I leaned my elbows on the desk and put my head in my hands, Elena opened her mouth.
"Why are you here?" Elena asked stepping out from behind Stefan, but Stefan held his arms in front of her, protectively. Holding her in place beside him.
"As protective as ever, Stefan... Let the woman speak. I'm sure she can protect herself. If I know you right she must be a vampire by now." I started, ignoring the glare Stefan gave me, and turned my gaze to Elena.
"To answer your question, Elena. I'm simply here to reconnect with some old friends whom I once looked at as a family." I said letting my gaze fall for a moment before I rose from the chair.
"Family? You, dare call me family? You were the reason I did those things!" Stefan roared his nostrils flaring in anger. I sighed as I caught his angry gaze.
"You may blame me, Stefan. You've always been good at that. Blaming others for your actions." I paused taking a deep breath as I looked him straight in the eye.
"But if there's something I learned from the last few days is that you alone are responsible for your actions. I may have nudged you in one direction but when it came down to it, that was all you." I glanced from Elena to Stefan. She kept her focus on Stefan watching his reaction, which told her that I was speaking the truth.
"Don't forget, little Salvatore. I stood in the same situation as you. I had lost control..." I sighed as the memories from our time together came flooding back.
Ending in what happened in New Orleans. I cannot handle human blood... I know that now.
"People believe the monstrous ripper to be a legend. A story you tell children... and newly turned vampires to put the fear of God in them." I said glancing at Elena.
"What they don't know is that there were two of us..." I trailed off. My gaze drifting from his.
"I've done a great deal of things I regret in my lifetime, and it has been a long, long lifetime. I pay for them every waking moment of my existence. I'm claiming responsibility for what I've done... Are you?" I asked him.
Stefan dropped his gaze from me, and appeared to have calmed down. I must have gotten to him because he dropped his guard completely. He remained quiet, he seemed at a loss for words... Looking ashamed.
Elena broke the silence with her frantic questioning.
"Why didn't you tell me this, Stefan? That you weren't alone?" She asked confused looking between us. Stefan remained in deep thought, not answering her.
"I believe what Stefan here is not saying is that he was already enough ashamed of his actions and didn't feel the detail necessary." I could read what she was thinking. 'Is she a former lover? what if he has feelings for her? why didn't he tell me about her?'
"You may relax your pretty little head. As I said, he was a brother to me, family. You have nothing to be jealous of, love." I winked and took a step closer to her. She didn't budge from her position, where she stood crossed-armed.
I leaned in close to her ear and whispered; "I think he needs a little time." I smiled at her.
Suddenly I heard another very familiar voice from behind Stefan.
"What's going on here? I heard yelling. Did you guys have a fight?" He said in a baby voice, obviously making fun of Stefan and Elena. He pushed passed Stefan and his eyes instantly caught mine.
"Scarlett..." he said breathlessly.
"Damon!" I smiled as I ran towards him and gave him a hug.
"You're alive..." he said barely above a whisper as he hugged me tightly.
"And you're okay..." I smiled into his shoulder as I squeezed him tight.
I was truly happy to see him. After he was taken I was scared that I would never see him again but I knew deep down that for the time being I was no longer supposed to be a part of his story.
As we pulled away I put my hand on his cheek and gently tapped it.
"You haven't changed," I stated.
"Yeah, you know it kind of comes with the territory," Damon said in his usual sarcastic, smart-ass tone.
"Ah, there's the Damon I know." I chuckled lowly. We both turned and looked at Stefan and Elena.
Stefan looked at us with shock in his eyes.
"Damon, you know her?" He asked in disbelief.
"Do you know what she did?!" Stefan continued as he yelled at Damon.
Damon simply looked at him annoyed as if his brother was stupid.
"Yes, I know what she did. That's why we became friends. I vowed to make your life a living hell, remember?" Damon asked rhetorically, rolling his eyes at his brother.
I watched Damon's gaze as it drifted to Elena and then back to Stefan as if he cared about her reaction to his statement.
Interesting...
"When I said 'family' I wasn't only referring to you, Stefan. Damon and I were close once upon a time. The universe is funny that way" I chuckled looking from Damon to Stefan. Stefan glared at us both in response then in the blink of an eye he had stormed out of the room.
"I'm sorry..." Elena said looking at us apologetically before she ran after him at vampire speed.
I turned to Damon and quickly asked; "Stefan and Elena is a thing, right?"
Trying to catch him off guard, which I did. There was something about this whole thing that seemed odd. He nodded in response, instead of answering verbally which was a usual Damon response when he was hiding something. I could see the annoyance in his eyes but there was something hidden behind it and if I guessed right, it was jealousy. I decided to change the subject.
"So, Damon. I thought I would stay in town for a while. Would it be okay if I stayed here?" I asked as I placed a hand on his shoulder. As I did so he snapped right back to his usual self.
"Of course. It's a big mansion, just choose any room you'd like. My room, preferably." Damon smirked and I punched him in the shoulder as he let out a laugh.
"Be careful, Damon. Or I will throw you out and claim your room as my own..." Now it was his turn to punch my arm but I quickly moved out of the way laughing. I've missed this... Damon was always one of the best friends I've ever had.
"I never got to thank you for saving me, back then," Damon said turning serious.
"It was nothing, Damon." I smiled at him.
"Speaking of the past, I no longer go by Scarlett Night. It's Elira Mercia, now. Scarlett Night is dead." I stated coldly as I met his eyes, telling him through my gaze not to ask about it.
"Elira, I like it. It fits you and your new look. Looking good, by the way. The blond hair is a nice change." Damon complimented me as he stepped towards the door.
"We'll talk more later. I have some business to attend to." Damon said in the same tone I had used before. I took the hint and knew not to ask.
"One more thing before you leave," I stated stopping Damon in his tracks.
"I don't know if you remember this but I don't-" Damon interrupted me mid-sentence.
"You don't drink human blood, nor do you drink from rodents like my brother because that makes you weak." He finished for me. Him, remembering that detail made a wash of calm come over me.
"Ah, Damon. You warm my cold, dead heart." I teased.
"Back to the point, that means I need to find vampire blood... It keeps me as strong as other vampires but most important is that..." I trailed off taking a deep breath.
"It keeps me sane... Therefore, I wanted to ask you to be-"
Damon finished for me again; "Your blood bag..." We both stopped for a second as we held each other's gaze.
"Sc-Elira, There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. You've pulled me away from the edge so many times in the short time we spent together, and I can honestly say that those years were some of the best in my entire life. You don't even need to ask, of course, I'll do this for you." Damon smiled sweetly at me before he put up his playboy exterior again. He likes to pretend that he's tough but deep down he cares more than he wants to.
Still, I stood there speechless for a moment. Not being able to believe that someone could care for a monster like me. Scarlett Night was a monster and I am trying not to be. I just want to delete her but I can't. She's a part of me and I see a lot of her... myself in Damon both good and bad, which makes me feel responsible for him in a way. It doesn't really help that we are basically wearing the same outfit, I chuckled internally. I walked over to him and he gave me a confused look. I quickly wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly again. He wrapped his arms around me loosely in confusion.
"It's so good to have my little brother back..." I said honestly as I felt a single tear slip from my eye. Damon understood and hugged me back tightly.
"It's good to have you back too but I'll be damned before I call you big sister." He stated as I pulled away from his hug laughing.
"By the way, the blood bag thing will only be temporary. I will find another solution, so don't get any ideas," I stated quickly waving my finger at him, he let out a quick laugh and winked at me.
"Now, go do your thing. I'll go explore the house some more." Damon nodded in response. As he disappeared through the doorway I could hear him yell;
"Keep out of my underwear drawer, okay?!" I laughed loudly, it felt so good to laugh again. Damon was always good at that, making me laugh when I didn't know really needed to.
I took one last look around Stefan's room and sighed happily. "Okay, Elira. This is your new home, I guess." I smiled as I exited the door and continued my journey through the huge mansion... my new home...
End of Chapter 36
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment of what you think of the story so far. If you really liked it please leave a vote, or don't, either way, I hope you have a fantastic day and take care of yourself in these Corona-times.
Until Next Time
~Eldriel
NB! Heads up! If a chapter has 'not edited' behind it, that means I haven't been able to grammar check it and/or I might add some details later (rarely story significant details, mostly for the flow of the story). That's all! <3