'So I drown it out like I always do
Dancing through our house
With the ghost of you'
Chapter 23
Ziggy's POV:
I gripped Hesper to me in a side hug as we walked over to my car parked ahead of us, at the tree line where we left it. I'd managed to keep composed given the situation, comforting my best friend as much as I could. I had to be strong, for the both of us, the sadness could come later.
Opening the car door, I gently put the still crying girl into the passenger seat, shutting the door and flashing to the other side. My mentality was that I needed to be with her every second, spend as much time with her I could get because it could be the last time I see her. Squeezing her hand, I analyzed her features, trying to imprint them into my brain so I would never forget them.
Her sobs had silenced now, only clear liquid drops were the remains of her distress. The view made sickness protrude in the pit of my stomach and rise up my body in the form of a lump in my throat. I swallowed it down, turning the key in the ignition with the hand that wasn't holding Hesper's. Be brave.
"What about the others?" She meekly asked.
I looked ahead at the road, setting off back to our house. "They're not really my first priority at the moment. They'll be fine."
Nodding, she cleared her throat, wiping under her eyes with the pad of her fingers, seemingly erasing any trace of her upset. The car ride home was silent, with Hesper holding my hand until we'd parked outside the 3 bedroom building. We both exited the car, stalking up the stairs to the vampires room, almost robotically. I still couldn't believe this had happened. I think it hadn't fully sunk in yet.
Hesper sat on her bed, taking off her jacket to reveal the bite wound. I tore my eyes off it, refusing to look. "You should go help the others."
I stared at her in astonishment but she didn't match it, eyes void of emotion and staring at the floor. "I am not leaving you. Are you crazy?" I tried to contain the volume in my voice.
"They need you, Ziggy."
"You need me now," tears threatened to brim my eyes. "I'm not leaving until I've fixed this," I started pacing the room, thinking of what to do. "I need to fix this. I can do something. This isn't real." I repeated to myself over and over, pulling at my hair in a frenzy. I only stopped when Hesper was stood in front of me, gripping my shoulders. She still had glossy eyes from her tears.
"Ziggy, you can't fix this!" She shouted and I halted my movements.
"I have to try," I breathed. "Maybe I could use magic to try pull the venom out, it could work-"
"It could, for someone who's magic is working," a single tear fell from her eye. "But yours isn't. I'll only last a day, there's not enough time. I've thought of everything. There is no cure that can fix this. I'm going to die."
I shouted in my anguish, throwing my arm over a set of draws, tossing the objects to the floor. Anger had flared up inside me; this was Tyler's fault, I should never have freed him. "Don't say that!"
"Ziggy, it's true!" She shouted back at me, trapping my arms from throwing anything else by wrapping me in a hug. The action calmed me, but made that familiar lump form again in my throat. I returned the hug as the girl cried between her words. "It's okay. I don't regret anything and neither should you," I knew she didn't want me to put blame on anyone, rile myself up with anger like I usually would. She was preparing for when she did pass. She wanted me to handle it properly and this made it all the more real. Finally, I let a salty droplet cascade down my cheek.
We both stood for a while in each others embrace. I didn't mind, I knew this would be the last time and the thought alone terrified me. "I guess I was always destined to die from a wolf, huh?"
The joke made a sad laugh pass my lips, the girl joining me, reminiscing on the first day we had met. I saved her from a wolf. We broke apart, my hands falling to cup her face. "I didn't tell you this enough, but I love you."
She nods and whispers. "I know," before taking a step back, stern expression planting on her face. "You need to go find the others. You're out of the loop right now, but if we know one thing, we know that Klaus always has a Plan B; the sacrifice will happen."
"I'm not just going to leave you," I shook my head.
"How long until the moon's at its apex?" She questioned
I scrunched my eyebrows at her words, answering anyway. "Close to around half an hour." I felt my phone go off in my pocket, for nearly the hundredth time, and I know Hesper could hear it, but I just ignored the device.
"Good," she wandered to a chair tucked in her vanity table, slamming it on the floor and collecting a piece of the wood when it shattered. She handed me the make shift stake calmly. "That gives us some time to say our goodbyes before you drive this through my heart."
I nearly dropped it in shock. "What-" I shook my head, handing her it back and that well known sick bile rising up my throat. "I'm not going to kill you."
"I'm as good as dead anyway," it was alarming how composed she was in the face of death, especially after how she had reacted before. "At least this way I can go with my dignity intact. If you don't do it, I will."
Tears blurred my vision again. "I can't do this, Hesper."
"Please, Ziggy," her features masked mine now. "I'm too scared to do it and I want to die as myself, not as some rabid shell of who I was. This is my last request," she pleaded.
After staring at her expression through her short speech, and seeing the pleading behind her blue hues, I gave in to the choice with a dull ache in my heart. I took the stake from her grasp. "Take my mind off it." She smiled, connecting our foreheads and transporting us into a flashback.
I looked around, noticing the meadow surrounding us, and the lake house that was up ahead. The streaming of the water in the lake filled my ears, mixing with the soughing of leaves floating through the trees, a calm washing over me at the sound. Breathing in the fresh smell of nature put me at ease. It was familiar, it felt like home. And it was (home, that is) once upon a time.
The house we were at resided in the Lake District, England. It had previously been a small little building that was converted to keep up with the times, where my 'mother' Anika was raised before she moved to Mystic Falls to have me hundreds of years ago. God knows if there's any truth to that seen as now I know she's not my real mum, but this place still remains close to my heart. It's a piece of my identity, so probably always will.
"Our lake house," I laughed. "Wow, it's been years since I've been, which is bad for me since I go every few years or so. Tradition."
"1987 exactly," Hesper hummed.
"The year we met," I smiled, face shining with endearment.
"When I followed you and wouldn't leave you alone," she laughed with me, basking in the scene. "Demanding why you saved me. I thought I was top dog until that night when you swooped in like Cat Woman or some shit."
I snorted. "That scenario always did remind me of Shrek and Donkey. A prettier version, obviously."
She giggled. "I must admit, I was annoying."
"You helped me get through my mother's- Anika's, death," I sighed. "Or disappearance, whatever," the sudden deflation in my mood was obvious, so I picked up a long stick I noticed on the floor. "I think I saw a little bit of myself in you, that's why I took you under my wing, trained you so if anything happened again you could defend yourself better," I inhaled the air. "I guess I failed."
"No, don't say that," she touched my upper arm. "Every day for me since that night was a blessing. I shouldn't have been alive, you changed that, and it was a blast. But I should've died, I guess that's why it's easier to let go," she took a step back. "One more thing I just need to tell you, I love you, I care about you like you're my own sister, no matter what anyone else says. I just need you do know that. Don't lose yourself when I'm gone. I'll still be there, like donkey from shrek, annoying you forever."
A sad laugh flowed from me and I got into a sparring position with the stick to forget about what's to come. She made it clear she was ready and I understood that now. "One more time for old time sake?" I motioned with the combat weapon.
"Oh, it's on," she picked up the other off the ground, getting in the same stance as me.
We fought. I would kick her legs from underneath her, sending her to the floor, and she'd get up in no time, returning the favour to me. Laughs came from us, the battle going on until she finally lost, losing grip of the stick in her hands and falling to the floor. I fell with her, landing on top of her body, closing my eyes and shoving the stake in her heart.
I refused to look at what I'd done, staring forward when I was pulled out the vision, carefully placing Hesper on to her bed. At least I knew she was happy when she went. At the thought, a single tear fell down my face.
I halted any emotional turmoil that was about to ensue. I couldn't let my feelings overcome me right now, grieving would have to wait for when the current problems have vanished. Instead, I pulled out my phone, leaving the room to try calm the aching clench of my heart. When I read the messages appearing on screen, I knew Damon was at his house, so I grabbed my grimoire with the resuscitation spell and sped to the Salvatore's.
• • •
I ran into the house with supernatural speed, seeing the man I was looking for sat with his head in his hands in front of the fire. He didn't notice me barging in which was odd for a vampire with excellent hearing.
Stalking over to him, I sat down beside the dark-haired man. At the seat sinking, he looked up, meeting my quizzical gaze. He looked pale, but I put it down to stress and got right to it. "You said the sacrifice is still going on."
"Yeah," Damon practically coughed out, sitting up straighter. "Klaus, he had a backup werewolf and vampire. He didn't mind bragging about it either." He rolled his eyes and then sighed. "He has Jenna."
My face fell into disbelief. "No," I groaned, raking a hand through my hair roughly.
"Bonnie said you called her about a resuscitation spell but never dropped it off to her, you should go give her it," he stood up, staring into the fire. I squinted my eyes in suspicion at why he was trying to get rid of me, standing up also.
"And what are you going to be doing?"
"Not sure yet," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Might make a voodoo doll of Klaus."
Damon, not being involved in the plan that he so wanted to be involved in at first? I pinched my brows together, moving to stand in front of the vampire. This was suspicious , and after examining his features, I knew something was wrong. He refused to meet my eyes, turning on his feet to start retreating from me. From my view, he seemed in a daze.
"I'm gonna go-" before he could rush off, I grabbed his arm, twirling him to me again. At the action, when I made contact with his skin, he recoiled away, hissing in pain. I knew I hadn't used enough force to hurt him. So, yanking him towards me, I lifted the sleeve that was covering his arm to reveal a bite mark.
Throwing a hand up to my mouth and stifle a sob, I choked out words. "Not you, too."
"What?"
"This is Klaus' fault," I screamed, the fire flaring up. "This is all his fault! I'm- I'm," I tried to control my breathing but my temper was spiraling out of control with all the feelings I had inside me. "I'm gonna kill him."
Damon gripped my shoulders, pulling me to him in the slightest. "Hey, Ziggy, listen to me," he grabbed my face. "Calm down."
In his hold, I did as he instructed, and the fire returned to its normal size. "I can't lose you, too," I whimpered, too many emotions piling on me with all that's happened. Damon smiled minuscule at me, lifting his hands to cup my cheeks, wiping away a tear that had escaped from my watery eyes. A daze look crossed his features seconds after, as if in a trance, most likely from the venom pulsing through his veins.
He snapped out of it. "You need to get out of here," he said, groaning. "I could hurt you. You need to go," his hands dropped from my face.
I analyzed the man I'd grown feelings for over the course of being in Mystic Falls, weighing up whether my next move was dumb. Ridding any doubt from my mind, I stepped closer, touching his cheek. Tonight has shown me anything can happen, so I'm not going to take any chances.
Hesper was already gone, and the only person I could blame was Klaus. Now, he was taking Damon from me. There was no one that could tell me otherwise, I was going to kill him.
"I don't know what the outcome of tonight will be, but I don't want to regret not doing this if we don't come out alive."
Lifting my face up to his, I pressed my lips on his. He kissed back quickly, winding an arm around my hips to bring me impossibly closer. I felt him grab the back of me head, deepening the kiss. My hands wound around his neck, stood on my tip toes, kissing as passionately as I could. A never ending swarm of butterflies flitted in my stomach, making me feel light-headed, but whole- it was a feeling I wasn't familiar with, but would love to get used to.
I still hadn't worked out my feelings for Damon yet, or rather admitted them, but this confirmed them. It just wasn't how I expected it to happen.
Even if it felt like the world was ending, this made me happier. "Sorry, I just needed to know what that felt like," I sadly smiled, then I flashed away.
• • •
I arrived at the witch house to Bonnie already outside, alongside Stefan and Elijah. Putting on a brave face, I squared my shoulders and advanced over to the small group. Every step closer made the whispers from the dead witches louder.
"Why did he take Jenna?" Bonnie angered.
"A punishment for meddling," Elijah answered as I got to the three.
I handed over the piece of paper on resuscitating a person to the Bennett. "It's mine and Damon's fault. We disrupted the ritual, but really we didn't stop anything."
The girl took the papers from me, Stefan continuing from my words. "Klaus was going to use Tyler and Caroline. But my brother and Ziggy rescued them."
At the mention of the rescuing, Hesper was brought back to the front of my mind, but I tried to push her to the back once again. I couldn't distract myself right now; what I needed to do was get rid of Klaus. The thought made the whispers peak in volume, the latin word on loop being one that I understood.
Fire.
It was like they were trying to communicate with me, help me.
"Then we need to go," Bonnie stressed. "Now. Before Jenna's been sacrificed. I can kill Klaus myself."
I pointed at her in agreement. "Agreed. He needs to die." The anger and finality could be heard in my tone, the others noticed immediately.
Averting his stare from me, Stefan sighed. "Bonnie...if you use that much power, you'll be dead. We've already been through this. It's not an option."
"Who said anything about Bonnie? I'll kill him right now, with my bare fucking hands," the rage was traceable in my voice even more so now.
The witch bit her bottom lip at my words. "What's not an option is letting Jenna die."
"Well, Stefan would agree with you," Elijah glanced at the younger Salvatore. I twisted my face in confusion at the two, feeling out of the plan they had going on until the boy in question explained.
"We're gonna offer another vampire. One that he'll want more," Stefan stated. "Me."
Naturally, I objected, beginning to get pissed off. "Don't be stupid," looking around the group, I gestured away from them, dragging the vampire with me. "You can't possibly be serious right now," I crossed my arms.
I'd lost one person today, no doubt going to lose another, and I was sure as hell not willing to lose Stefan. One person was enough for me, but three all in a day would definitely send me over the edge, toppling into a dark pit of grief that I don't think I could crawl out of.
"I've already lived a lifetime," he justified his reasoning. "I owe this to Elena, I don't know if she'll cope with losing Jenna."
"And you think she'll cope with losing you?" I scoffed, feeling the burning rage at his drivel. "What about the rest of us? Me? Damon?" I didn't mention the bite he had, unsure if he knew or not. "You think we'll cope? I know you feel guilty, Stefan, and you think this is your fault. But it's not. You want to know who has lived a lifetime? I have."
I took a stride back, but he followed my footsteps. He must have known where the conversation was going. He knew I was stubborn; I wouldn't back down from this.
"I'll do it," I fumed. "I'll kill him myself."
Without another word, I swiveled on my heal, starting to travel away from him. He caught my arm, however, shifting my front to his. "Are you crazy?" He blocked my way out, staring down at me with conflict dancing in the forest of his eyes. "Elena is already in harms way, I don't need you to be there alongside her. And that's highly likely if your magic isn't working to defend yourself properly."
"I knew I shouldn't of told you that," I rolled my eyes, annoyance dripping in my tone from his protection that wasn't needed. "I don't take lightly to you telling me what to do, Stefan. You've let Elena make a decision on this and you can't stop me. I can kill him, I know I can," I growled, feeling my eyes flare up with colour in my fury. "Because I'm really fucking angry, and when I am, no one stands a chance."
I knew he didn't want me to put myself in harms way, but he also knew that he didn't have a choice.
"Bonnie did the locator spell," Elijah told us after a few beats of silence, I hadn't noticed him come over. "They're at Steven's Quarry."
"Awesome," I flashed my canines. "We're trying my way first, if it doesn't work, then Bonnie comes in."
"It will work, won't it?" Stefan asked, difference written over his face. I smiled at his question, mutter a 'yes', though I wasn't so sure. The witches voices had been muttering in my ear all whilst I'd been here, the same word 'fire', and I had a plan up my sleeve. Hopefully, it would succeed.
"It's just a precaution," I insisted.
"Okay, me and Zig will head over there first and you'll follow with Bonnie when it's time."
Me and Stefan rushed away, not wasting anymore time, but before we reached the ritual's place, he pulled me into a hug. I returned the gesture, squeezing him slightly. "It's gonna be fine."
• • •
We stood up on a hill, looking over the scene below. The dead body of Jules was in one circle that had been diminished, Jenna in another ring of fire, and Elena in another. I couldn't say I was sad about the former.
Taking a step forward, I stook my hand out, feeling the heat from the roaring flames despite it being a fair few feet below us. It made magic crackle at my fingertips, and I immediately knew that the source of energy was important to the maintenance of my powers.
Preparing to jump down and kick Klaus to the ground, I was halted in my actions when he spoke. "Well, well, I don't recall you being on the guest list," he twisted to gape up at the two of us.
Ridding the 'element of surprise' out the picture, I gathered as much energy as I could from the hot element, smashing down on to the original from the height I was at. I landed atop him, catching him off-guard, but only for a second as he threw me off him.
Landing with a grunt against the rock wall surrounding us, I swiftly leaped into action again when he ran towards me, moving at the last minute so he barreled into the hard stone. Angered, he turned to me, portraying his vampire features in a hiss. With my own pent up wrath, I lifted a hand and whispering "incendia" in my mind, his body lit on fire.
I flashed to him, plunging a hand in his chest to grip his heart. The flames died down, but as they licked my skin, I noticed it didn't hurt one bit. The witch performing the ritual had now stopped, muttering spells to try restrain me that didn't work.
"Goodbye Klaus," I said simply, ready to tear out his heart.
"Wait, wait, what about your real mother? Your sisters? Don't you wanna know who they are? I can help you."
Caught in surprise, my grasp on his organ slipped, with my hand still in his chest. "What?"
Before I could shake myself back into the plan, the witches chants finally started seeping in my skull, making me wince. Without a thought, Klaus plunged the stake he held through my back, piercing my heart.
Gasping, I watched my skin slowly desiccate, the stake being removed as I rolled onto my back. The world around me gradually started to fade, a ringing in my ear that I'd never experienced before. The hands of death reached out for me, and without a fight, I grabbed them, closing my eyes. Dead.
• • •
goal: 6 votes
hate to toot my horn and big my OC up but Ziggy is such a STRONg charcacter omg, she's gone through so much crap, going to be put through a ton of more crap too. whoops
hated writing this chapter because honestly this episode is so so sad. it always gets me crying. i cried writing this lol.
this is a turning point for Ziggy in the story. it's gonna be wild. see you next chapter!