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chapter one ━ vampires, witches, and doppelgangers, oh my

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❝one small, quaint town ❞

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A LOT CAN happen in five years, that much Melody knew. She had gone to a total of four weddings in that time. Emma's and Hook's, Pan's and Felix's, Regina's and Robin's, and Gold's and Belle's. And of course, she helped plan every single one to make it absolutely flawless. Her family thought it was the cutest thing ever.

The StoryBrooke group house was built and finished in a matter of months. And the house had plenty of rooms: a library, an art room, a playroom for the kids, a training room, naturally anything to fit any of their hobbies.

Robin already had a son, Roland, when he married Regina, so that was one kid in the house. And then Pan and Felix ended up adopting a son named Alec, so that was two kids in the house. And then, of course, Mary Margaret and David had a son named Ethan. So that was three total kids in the house. You bet on several occasions Melody was caught using her magic to block the screaming out.

Things did get crazy from time to time but she loved it nonetheless. And she wouldn't have it any other way at the end of the day.

Melody's magic had returned and once it did, she immediately started training with Pan. But her dad didn't only teach her magic, but he taught her self-defense as well, just in case she couldn't use her magic. Luckily, the teen could use her magic even outside the town limits. The reason was unclear.

Things were normal in StoryBrooke and the now adult Melody started to have a longing: a longing to explore the world. Of course, when she expressed this to her family, they were shocked. Never had she mentioned anything about it before so it was rather sudden. But after convincing them and presenting good reasons, they allowed it.

But she didn't know where she wanted to go first. There were some many places to explore. So what she ended up doing was the cliche throwing a dart at a map to see where it would land. Though at first hearing about it, it seemed harmless (the name was a bit cheesy though), the place the dart landed on seemed like a perfect place to start.

Mystic Falls

Melody had researched the town to the best of her ability, finding that the small town wasn't bad. There was a ton of history on it which she adored, ever a geek for history whether it be history from other realms or the world without magic. So she packed her bags and got ready to leave StoryBrooke.

However, she didn't know that the town wasn't as average as she thought it was. It was much more than just a cheesy name she couldn't say without making fun of it. And she didn't know that this town would change her life forever. Because her curse breaking wasn't the end of her story. It was only the beginning.

———

"Are you sure you want to go?" Pan asked with a skeptical expression, watching as his eighteen, nearly, nineteen-year-old daughter pack her things in her black Chevrolet Cruze that she had received for her birthday by him and Felix.

The adult girl smiled and put the last of the things in the trunk, closing it and locking it with her keys. She turned to look at her family who was watching her, waiting to say goodbye. "Yes. I want to see the world, dad. Don't think I don't love you guys because I do. I just. . .want to see the world."

Mary Margaret smiled and David wrapped one arm around her. The bandit nodded. "And you follow your heart. If you want to travel, travel. Go see what the world has to offer."

Melody laughed. "Thanks, Mary Margaret." There was a sniffle, bringing her focus over to Regina who was trying her best not to cry. "Aw, mom." She went over to her and hugged the former Evil Queen.

"I just..." Regina trailed off. They pulled away and her mom wiped her tears. "I can't believe you're already grown up. Feels like just yesterday I brought you to my castle."

The brunette smiled. "Yeah, it does. Doesn't it?" She sighed and stepped back. Bending down she looked at her brother, Alec that was only three-years-old. "You be good for me ok?"

Alec nodded and then hugged her. "I miss you, Melly." The boy adored her and Pan and Felix were happy that the two were so close.

Melody pulled away with a chuckle. "I'll miss you too, little guy." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and stood up. She hugged the rest of her family goodbye. Walking back to her car, she turned to them. "I promise to call as much as I can!" She opened her car door and tapped on it, her sign that she was nervous. "I'll be posting on Instagram!" They all chuckled and Regina wiped her other tear. Melody looked at her one and only best friend and smirked. "And you better not get Emma pregnant while I'm gone, Killian! We don't need any more little rascals running around the house."

They all laughed and Hook smiled. "No promise."

She smiled back and then took a deep breath. "Well, I guess this is goodbye. You guys take care of yourselves." Everyone smiled, knowing that the female was nervous. After all, this would be her first time away from home. Melody took another deep breath and then got into her car. She turned it on, then fixed her rearview mirror, showing her family all standing in the yard, watching her.

The brunette — yet again — took a deep breath and then drove off. She reached the town line and when she passed it, a wave of magic went through her, but she paid it no mind and grinned with excitement as she drove.

For Mystic Falls would be her first stop, and would be her only stop for a while.

———

Melody thumbed her finger against the wheel as she hummed to the song that played through the speakers. She was never one that liked the songs on the radio so she always brought her phone, using her playlist for her music. And that's how it went the entire drive. It was just her and her awful singing skills in that car.

The Welcome To Mystic Falls sign passed her and she sighed in relief, happy that her GPS didn't get her lost. It was dark out and Melody was always careful, not liking that she had to drive in the dark. But the motel she would be staying at wasn't too far from where the town started. She sighed, forcing herself to relax. Everything was fine.

All of a sudden Melody felt a presence. Pan had taught her how to sense if someone was lurking around, or if something was about to happen. He had also taught her to always be aware and to never let her guard down no matter what. So the brunette took note as she drove, turning down her music and paying better attention to the road in front of her.

Not even a few seconds passed before — unexpectedly — someone appeared in the middle of the road, making Melody gasped, swerving her car, making the car flip over from the impact. The car finally stopped and then she hit her head, her vision going blurry.

Feet approached her and then all of a sudden another pair of feet showed up, pushing the other person back.

"What the hell, Damon?" a voice questioned, pushing the person back again.

From the haziness, Melody could only make out that part of the conversation. But she took realized that they were both males, and the one sound absolutely pissed.

"I'm hungry, Stefan," the other replied. "Now let me feed please."

Stefan flashed in front of Damon. "No. You can go find someone else."

"I would really appreciate it if you got out of my way."

"Go find someone else, Damon," the brother repeated. Stefan turned and walked over to the car, getting ready to help the person inside, which was Melody.

Damon rolled his eyes, groaning in disbelief. "Always such a saint, Stefan." He joined Stefan as he went over to the car. Stefan peered his head in and saw Melody, but the girl had passed out, her head facing away from them. He sighed and then stepped back.

"You going to help me? Or are you going to get out of my way?" he asked Damon.

The older brother rolled his eyes again. "You could've just asked nicely." He flipped the car back over and the two looked in to see Melody. "She's hot." Stefan gave him a look that said seriously? and Damon shrugged. "What?"

Stefan shook his head. He opened the car door and pulled Melody out, carrying her bridal style. He started walking away and Damon threw his hands up. "And where are you taking her?"

"To the hospital."

———

A beeping sound was the first thing she heard when she woke up. Melody opened her eyes and blinked away the blurriness. Her light brown eyes came in contact with green ones and her senses came back to her in a rush.

"Where am I?" she asked, though realizing she was in a hospital.

"You got in an accident," the green-eyed male told her. "I brought you to the hospital." Melody held her head and sat up. Upon her action, the male went over to her. "I'm not sure if you should do that."

Melody glared at him. "I'm fine." She pushed herself up, biting her lip from the pain, but sat up in a matter of a few seconds. There was also an icy-eyed male in front of her bed that she didn't realize was in the room until now.

"Not to be rude or anything but it seems kinda odd that a little girl like you would come to Mystic Falls so suddenly," he said, smirking.

She rolled her eyes, knowing that he actually didn't care if he was being rude. "Well this little girl just survived a car crash." Then she answered his question that lingered in the comment. "I want to explore the world. Is it so much to ask?"

The two males exchanged glances.

"Why Mystic Falls then?" the green-eyed male asked.

The brunette sighed, fixing her messy hair. "It's called throwing a dart on a map and seeing where it lands. Ever heard of it?"

The blue icy-eyed male laughed slightly. "Man she's got sass too." The other rolled his eyes. "I bet you she's working for Katherine."

Melody scoffed. "Please. The only Katherine I know is Kathryn Nolan and I haven't heard from her in years." Her nose scrunched up. "I never did like her."

"Is that so?" He leaned toward her and looked into her eyes. "Are you working with Katherine Pierce?"

Melody raised an eyebrow. "If you don't mind, I would like for you get out of my face."

The two looked surprised that she couldn't be compelled but then Damon smirked. "Smart. You're on vervain."

"Sorry, don't do drugs."

The green-eyed one chuckled. "What's your name?"

Melody looked over at him and smiled, still not letting her guard down. "Melody. Melody Mills."

"I'm Stefan and uh, that's my idiot of a brother Damon."

Damon waved mockingly with the smirk and Melody sighed. "Well, if the two of you don't mind, I have a motel to get so I kinda need to get discharged." She didn't bother asking about the person in the road because from what she had seen of them, the sarcastic one who stood in front of her bed was him. Obviously, he was okay. But the woman did a good job at playing off her innocence. She could feel that their auras were different. And she wasn't interested in trouble at the moment.

"You're still injured, honey. We can't let you leave," Damon pointed out.

"Or you just think that I'm working with this so-called Katherine Pierce and won't let me go until you get answers." Her magic was burning in her veins and she was ready to use it at a moments notice. The two seemed awfully skeptical of her which led Melody to believe that the town wasn't as normal as she thought it was. Then again, was anywhere truly normal?

Damon glanced over at Stefan. "And she's got brains." The other two in the room rolled their eyes again. "So tell me, Melody. Are you working for Katherine?"

She looked right at him, clearly annoyed. "No. Now can I please leave?"

Stefan looked at Damon. "She's not lying, listen to her heartbeat."

"You can hear my heartbeat?" Melody flexed her fingers, ready to use her magic. This conversation was escalating by the second and she could feel the growing tension in the room. "Look, just get me discharged so I can be on my way."

"You're still injured," Stefan pointed out.

Melody didn't respond for a moment. "I can take care of myself." Man, she really couldn't go anywhere without something going wrong, could she? Just her luck, right?

"Should I just heal her?" Damon looked at Stefan like he was crazy. "And then send her on her way?"

His brother threw one arm up. "Seriously? This girl could be working for Katherine. Or, she's working for someone who's working for Katherine she just doesn't know it."

Melody used her magic underneath the sheets and waved her hand at them. They couldn't be human. How could they hear her heartbeat? She used a spell she read in one of Belle's many books at the public library. It would so her their true faces. She saw a flash of their faces with veins and pitch black eyes, blood dripping from their chins. In her shock, the spell dropped, and she noticed that the two were still arguing.

Vampires? Just great! Vampires were real too, she thought to herself. But the brunette knew she shouldn't be so surprised. She was a fairytale character after all. And if these two were really vampires, who knew what lied beneath just that layer of crazy.

"Vampires," she spoke up. "You guys are vampires?" They looked at her, not bickering anymore, as she continued. "Please tell me you guys aren't like the vampires in—"

"No!"

"How the hell do you know we're vampires?" Damon questioned, now even more skeptical of her.

The female shrugged nonchalantly. "Magic."

"So you're a witch?" Stefan asked, looking confused as to how they didn't realize it until she brought it up.

Melody arched one eyebrow. "No. I'm a fairytale character with magic." She held two hands up, being sarcastic. "Feel free to tremble."

Damon scoffed. "Sure you are."

She then smirked, leaning back against the back of the hospital bed. "So you guys are vampires and you're telling me that you don't believe that I'm a fairytale character?"

"Not even a little bit."

Fed up with his behavior, she waved her hand and then he instantly fell to the floor, not able to get back up. The brunette laughed slightly and then waved her hand, healing all of her cuts and bruises from the accident. "See? Believe me now little vamps?"

Damon stood up and Stefan was staring in surprise. "You're a fairytale character with magic?" he repeated. Melody nodded, going to stand up. She stretched while he asked her the question she knew was coming. "Then what fairytale are you a part of?"

"Well it's complicated but my biological father is Peter Pan and my adoptive mother is The Evil Queen."

"But I thought Peter Pan didn't want to grow old?"

"As I said, it's complicated."

Damon was intrigued by the new information. Now he was slightly glad he hadn't killed her. "So then where are you from? Never, Neverland?"

Melody made a face at that. But she didn't bother snapping at him for the comment. It would only fuel his fire. "I'd rather not say. The last time we had outsiders they tried to blow up the town."

"So you're not working for Katherine then?" Stefan questioned.

The brunette rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "No, I'm not. Now can I get discharged please?"

———

Melody was discharged and it was sure fun trying to explain to the doctor how she magically healed (no thanks to the Salvatore brothers). And with that, Melody's car was completely destroyed, thankfully her clothes and items survived, and she was free to leave the hospital.

"I can give you a ride to the motel," Stefan offered.

She looked over at him and smiled. "Thanks, guess I'm going to have to get myself a new car." 

He laughed and then led her over to his car. "You know uh, we could use your help you know. Since you have magic in all but if you don't want to that's fine."

Melody turned to him looking apologetic. "I don't know..."

"Sleep on it," he told her. "Let me know sometime tomorrow."

Nodding, she agreed that she'd let him now. They got into the car and she realized that it was an older car and Melody smiled slightly at the sight of it. They drove in silence and once they reached the motel, they got out and Stefan helped her put her things in her motel room. Melody set them on her bed and thanked him.

"Are you going to enroll in school?" Stefan questioned, looking genuinely curious.

Melody smiled. "I'm eighteen, I graduated a few months ago."

He smiled back and laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, well I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah, thanks for the help, Stefan. Goodnight."

Stefan left and she closed the door. Walking over to her suitcase, she put it on the table and opened it, getting out her sleepwear. After her shower, she got her clothes on and threw herself on her bed. Her phone lied next to her so she decided that she'd call her dad. Just wait until he herd about this.

It only took a few rings for him to answer and he answered with the cliche "Hello" which made Melody think he didn't look at the caller ID.

"Hey, dad," she replied.

There was shuffling and she heard him sigh. "Hey, sweetheart. Are you there yet?"

Melody winced. "About that... I did arrive but I may or may not have gotten into an accident."

"What?!" he yelled. But what she didn't know was that Pan and Felix were sleeping when she called and he tried to stay quiet to not wake Felix up. Then when he yelled, the blonde jolted up from his sleep, now awake from his husband's outburst. "You got into an accident?!"

"Listen, dad, I'm okay. It wasn't my fault and I'm fine. Someone helped me to the motel but the car is destroyed so I'll have to get a new one while I'm here. But please don't worry." She purposefully left out the part about the vampires because well, she didn't want him to worry and demand she return home. This entire trip would be for nothing.

"You promise you're okay?"

Felix had looked over at Pan and mouthed "what happened?", to which Pan mouthed back "I'll tell you later".

"Yes I'm fine," Melody replied with a sigh, moving her hand across the sheets.

"Well, how long are you going to stay?"

She shrugged to herself even though she knew he couldn't see it. "I don't know. Maybe a few days to a few weeks. It depends on how I feel about the place." That was just the thing. If she were to help the Salvatores and get herself into their situation, who knew what she would get herself into and what it would bring.

Pan sighed and Melody felt bad for waking him up. He ran a hand through his hair. "Just be careful please."

"I will. Talk to you later."

"Alright, I love you."

"I love you too." Melody hung up and let out a sigh, laying back down. She shut her phone and covered up. One thing was for sure, Mystic Falls wasn't what she thought it was. And it sure wasn't normal like she initially thought.

———

The next morning, Melody woke up and got ready. She planned on getting a new car and then getting breakfast afterward. But she debated on calling Stefan then decided against it.

A knock sounded through the room and she went to get it. Melody opened the door and was greeted by Damon. Rolling her eyes, she went to close the door but he stopped her. "Good morning to you too, Melody," he greeted, pushing the door back open but not stepping inside.

"What do you want Damon?"

"Stefan told me that he offered you to join the protect Elena gang."

The brunette blinked a few times. "The what? No, he asked me if I want to help you guys out since I have magic. He never said anything about a gang."

Damon made a pouting face, clearly messing with her. "Well, what did you say?"

"I agreed to sleep on it. Now goodbye, Damon."

She went to close the door again but the vampire stopped her. "Look, I know that you might not trust us, but we kinda are going to need all the help we can get." Melody raised an eyebrow at his odd words. It didn't sound like anything Damon would say from what she'd learned about him so far. "Stefan's words."

Melody nodded, now understanding. "Ah. Well in case you don't remember, my car is gone. I need a new one. I'm going to be busy. Sorry."

"Which is why I took it upon myself to fix that problem for you."

He opened the door further and gestured outside. And there it was, her car all fixed, not a scratch. Her eyes widened. "How did you..." she trailed in shock. "My car!"

"It's not your car, but it is the same car, just a new one." Melody looked at him as he held up the keys. She went to reach for them but Damon held them away from her. "Ah! I don't think so. You get the keys if you promise to help."

Melody glared. "You can't be serious, Damon." She saw the smirk on his face and knew he was indeed serious. She clenched her jaw, forcing the words out. "Fine. I'll help."

Damon smirked wider before holding his arm out to her. Melody rolled her eyes and went back into the motel room, grabbing her phone and then exiting, not taking his arm. Now realizing something, she saw a girl sitting in the back of the car. She had brown hair and brown eyes, just like she did. Expect that the girl's eyes were doe shaped and she looked like a brat in disguise.

"Let me guess, that's Elena," Melody guessed as Damon followed her to the car.

"Mhmm."

They got in the car and Melody got into the passenger. "Well, if you want me to help you guys, you better get me up to speed."

———

I'm so excited about this book you guys have no idea! I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!

( credit : @pepperronys )