As I delved further into the woods, the sun had set, shrouding the woods in its darkness. The only source of light was the moon on display, peeking out from behind a cluster of dark clouds.
The further I went, the closer I got to whatever was making the noise. By now, the cut on my hand had stopped bleeding, only burning when I put too much pressure on it.
I could hear people talking. There were two- no, three different voices. Two males, one female. They sounded vaguely familiar.
I slowly crept closer, trying to make the least amount of noise as I moved my bike across the twig and leaf-covered ground.
A voice I didn't quite recognize spoke up, "These people don't deserve this. They should never know such evil."
Evil? What are they talking about?
I placed my bike on the ground carefully and quietly. Tiptoeing, I moved behind some trees to see I could spot anyone.
"What do you mean evil?"
Stefan. What is he doing here? What's going on?
"Emily. I swear to God, I'll make you regret this." That's Damon. And is Emily who I think-
"Hello, little witch."
I froze, slowly lowering my foot down to the ground. Maybe she wasn't talking about me. Yeah, that's right. Bonnie could be with them. But why would she be alone with Damon and Stefan- two people who she despises?
"What are you talking about?" Damon asked, confusion evident in his voice.
"Come on out, Y/N. I know you're listening to us," the person, I'm assuming Emily, said.
I bit my lip, contemplating my next move. I could always pretend I'm not there, but I think it's too late for that now.
Taking a deep breath, I walked out from behind the trees that obscured me to see an interesting sight. Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie all gathered around.
They all turned their heads in my direction. Both boys looked confused except for Bonnie. She was smiling at me and there was this look in her eyes, almost as if she knew something that I didn't.
Clearing my throat, I spoke up, my voice ringing throughout the somewhat quiet area, "What are you guys doing here? And who's Emily?"
Great. Straight to the point.
"Me," the voice came from Bonnie, but it wasn't her. Confusion clouded my thoughts until it hit me. Emily is Bonnie's ancestor so that means-
"I could feel your energy. You have such a powerful aura," Bonnie, no Emily, said to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked, stepping closer to the group. I noticed how Damon and Stefan's eyes flitted down to my hand. Oh, that's right. I cut myself.
I knew Stefan wouldn't hurt me, but with what happened earlier, I wouldn't be all that surprised if Damon decided to kill me.
"You'll understand in near time. You're one step closer to fulfilling the prophecy," she answered. The prophecy... as in the scroll I found?
Before I could ask more questions, Damon started talking, "Back to what we were talking about."
"I won't let you unleash them into this world," Emily said and it was strange hearing someone else's voice in Bonnie's body.
Stefan looked to Damon, who was kneeling on the ground. Was he hurt? "Them? What part of the story did you leave out, Damon?"
Damon grunted, trying to pull himself together, "What does it matter?"
"Emily, tell me what you did."
Bonnie (Emily) rose her head, "To save her, I had to save them."
Save who? At this point, I was starting to get a little agitated, wanting someone to explain what was going on to me.
"You saved everyone in the church?" Stefan asked, turning to her. I crossed my arms over my chest, the fog making me cold.
"With one comes all."
Damon stood up, latching on to Stefan's arms, out of breath, "I don't care about that. I just want Katherine."
So this is what all of this is about? Katherine. I thought she died. What could he possibly want with her?
Stefan grabbed onto Damon, anger coming onto his face, "I knew I shouldn't have believed a single word that comes out of your mouth."
While he was getting angry with Damon, I noticed Bonnie (Emily) creating something in the ground with a stick. I stepped forward. I don't feel good about this. That feeling is coming back again.
"This isn't about love, is it? This is about revenge," Stefan said as I started walking closer to Bonnie (Emily).
"The two aren't mutually exclusive," Damon said, causing Stefan's voice to rise, "Damon, you can't do this."
Bringing Katherine back must mean bringing back the rest of the vampires. If so, Damon definitely shouldn't do this. That would mean utter chaos for the people of Mystic Falls. Vampires that haven't fed in over a century are going to go on a rampage.
I turned back to see Damon push Stefan away from him, his voice filled with anger as well, "Why not? They killed 27 people and they called it a war battle. They deserve whatever they get."
"27 vampires, Damon. They were vampires. You can't just bring them back." Oh no. That's too many. It wouldn't be good for anyone if Emily released them.
I let out a heavy sigh, not knowing what to do. Why is it that the crazy things in this town always involve me somehow?
Damon grabbed ahold of Stefan's face, trying to make him understand, "This town deserves this."
I looked back to Bonnie (Emily) to see her still making markings in the dirt. I don't know what she's doing, but I hope she isn't releasing them.
"You're blaming innocent people for something that happened 145 years ago," Stefan said, and I completely agreed with him. We aren't those same people, and he would be risking the lives of so many people just for one person.
"There is nothing innocent about these people, and don't think for a second it won't happen again," Damon hissed out at Stefan before turning to Bonnie (Emily), "They already know too much, and they'll burn your little grandwitch right next to us if they find out. Trust me."
Bonnie (Emily) looked up, stopping what she was doing, "Things are different now."
"Don't do this," Damon pleaded, trying to find some way to stop Emily from what she was about to do next.
"I can't free them. I won't."
I felt a small rumbling before a crackling noise sounded. I turned back to Bonnie (Emily). She raised her hands, determination on her face, "Incendia!" Fire surrounded her in a large circle. The yellow and orange flames flickering about.
Damon leaped forward, trying to stop her when Stefan grabbed him, holding him back. Bonnie (Emily) lifted her arms higher, the flames moving to create a star in the middle of the circle.
She looked down to the talisman around her neck and grabbed onto it, yanking it off. I just stood there, not knowing what to do or what to say.
Bonnie (Emily) reached her hand out ready to drop it into the awaiting fire. As she looked at Damon, a glimpse of her true self showed and Damon pleaded with her once more, "No. No. No, please."
Right when she was about to drop it, someone came running towards us, calling out Bonnie's name.
"Bonnie!" As they got closer, I realized it was Elena.
She ran up trying to stop her, but Stefan got to her before she could. Stefan wrapped his arms around her as he had done with Damon. Bonnie (Emily) clutched the necklace in her hand before throwing it up into the air.
It exploded, causing sparks to fall to the ground. I moved back, bumping into Stefan and Elena to avoid the sparks hitting me. Looking back to Bonnie, Emily appeared one last time, sending me a wink before leaving Bonnie's body.
The fire went out in smoke and Bonnie looked around dazed. We all stood still, not knowing what to do. Well, that was until Damon charged forward towards Bonnie, snarling, as veins emerged on his face.
Bonnie screamed as he tackled her to the ground, biting into her neck. I froze, thinking about what in the hell was wrong with Damon.
Stefan sped over the two, pulling Damon off her. Damon fell back, staggering and Elena and I rushed forward, finally snapping out of our frozen states.
Bonnie fell to the ground, rolling over to reveal blood running down her neck from her Damon had torn into her skin. Elena and I glanced at each other in shock, breaths heavy with worry.
"She's alive, but barely. I can save her," Stefan said, turning to us after removing his head from her chest. He bit into his wrist, the sound filling the silence.
I turned to Damon, ready to rip him a new one when Elena beat me to it, looking at him disgusted. He looked at me and all I did was glare at him, so badly wanting to drive a stake through his chest.
Stefan opened Bonnie's mouth, putting his right wrist against her lips to give her his blood. She groaned, squirming against the ground. A pained expression crossed her face as she looked up to him.
When she had had enough, Stefan pulled away, leaving her coughing and gasping for air. Looking down at her neck, I could see the bite mark reversing itself.
Elena leaned down, her hand barely skimming against Bonnie's skin, "Her neck, it's healing."
I let out a breath of relief, wiping away a tear I hadn't known had fallen. Even though Bonnie and I have just now gotten close, she was still my friend. I didn't know what I'd do if events had gone otherwise.
Elena and I took Bonnie over to Elena's car as we attempted to calm her down. As much as I wanted to stay behind and give Damon a piece of my mind, I knew Bonnie needed us.
"I don't understand, Elena, what happened to me," Bonnie said, "He attacked me, and... his face was like..." As she spoke, I could see the confusion and pain in her eyes.
"How do you feel? Are you ok?" Elena asked, brushing Bonnie's hair off her shoulder.
She looked around, "I'm fine. It's-It's just this blood. I don't..." she touched her neck. The wound had closed, but the blood had dried onto her skin.
Bonnie paused, looking at something ahead of her. Elena and I turned around to see Stefan approaching, but Damon was nowhere in sight which I was grateful for.
"I'm not gonna hurt you," he said to Bonnie as he walked forward. Bonnie looked at him warily before turning back to Elena, "What's going on, Elena?"
"I'll explain everything, Bonnie, ok? Let's just get out of here," Elena said, trying to calm Bonnie down.
Bonnie turned her head to look at Stefan and he simply nodded at her, telling her that it was okay.
"Bonnie. Bonnie, look at me. Trust me," Elena said, prompting Bonnie to turn to her, eyes filled with tears. "He's not going to hurt you. Come on."
She grabbed ahold of Bonnie's shoulders, ushering her into her car. As Elena opened the door, Bonnie let out a muffled noise that sounded like a sob.
Elena shushed her, "Shh. Get in the car." She closed the door and walked toward me, Stefan meeting us halfway.
"Is she in danger of becoming-" Elena started, running a hand through her hair in worry.
Stefan quickly cut her off before her thoughts went elsewhere, "No. No, she has to die with my blood in her system, so keep an eye on her tonight and make sure that nothing happens, and once it leaves her system, she'll be fine."
"I'm going to tell her the truth," Elena said hesitantly, looking at me, then Stefan. He nodded, face tense, "You sure?"
She glanced back at the car, "I can trust her. I need someone to know. Someone to talk to. I can't live in secret."
"I know that. Shouldn't have to," Stefan muttered, and when I looked at his face, I could once again see the war that was raging behind his eyes.
"You saved her life," Elena said after a bit of silence. She scoffed, shaking her head, "I'm sorry, Stefan... I thought that I couldn't be with you, but I can. You don't have to push me away."
I didn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt their moment, but I already knew what Stefan was going to say. As much as he cares about Elena, I know, just based on who he is as a person, that he would keep her away to protect her.
"I can do this," she said, reaching for his hands, pulling them into hers. I glanced back at the car to check on Bonnie only to find her looking forward, still dazed and confused.
Stefan looked off, closing his eyes while shaking his head, "I can't. I, uh- I have to leave, Elena. Too many people have died. Too much has happened."
Elena's face fell, "What? No. I know you think you're protecting me, but-" "I have to. Coming home was-" he took in a deep breath, "it was a mistake. I can't be a part of your life anymore."
She looked down, voice wavering slightly, "Don't go, Stefan. Please... you don't have to. This is your home. You- just please don't go."
Stefan raised her hand to his lips, kissing it before sending her a sad smile, stroking the side of her cheek as he sighed, "Goodbye, Elena."
He let go of her hand, turning around and walking off.
Elena just stared after him, hurt, "You're just going to walk away? Don't walk away, Stefan!" He ignored her, walking forward, away from her, away from me, away from this godforsaken town.
"Stefan!" she called after him, voice filled with hurt. She raised a hand to her mouth, trying to stop herself from crying.
I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around her. She flinched at first before relaxing into my embrace, her body shaking as quiet sobs left her mouth.
I shushed her and after calming her down, I brought her over to her car. After seeing she wasn't fit to drive, I took over, using my mediocre driving skills to take us to her house.
Now, we settled around Elena's bed, explaining to Bonnie what had happened to her and what Damon and Stefan were. I told Elena that I was a witch, something only a few people knew.
The more we explained, the more questions we all had. We understood what had happened and what everything meant, but the main thing we didn't know was: why us? Why were we the ones who had to deal with everything?
We shared tears as we bonded over everything that has happened to us. Bonnie leaned forward, wrapping Elena and me in the blanket that was around her shoulders.
At the end of the night, after we had calmed down and laid down in Elena's bed, one thought plagued my mind as I stroked the bandage on my hand. Maybe we should be like Stefan. We should leave this town.
The one problem with that sentiment, however, was that we knew the truth. We knew what secrets the world held and nothing was ever going to be the same.
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a/n: Hi! How are you guys doing? Just a thought: would you guys want to do a Q&A? If so, comment some questions you may have about the book or anything you want to know about me and I'll do my best to answer them 🙃
Bye, my lovelies,
Diamond xx