XIII. THE BLOOD IN WHICH
YOU WERE BORN

   THERE was a thin sheen of sweat resting on Ivy's skin— a reminder of the humid Virginia heat in the dead of summer. It desperately clung to her olive skin in droplets, falling down her flesh slowly.

   Annoyed, Ivy blew out a breath of air, blowing the pieces of hair around her face up before they fell down again.

  Behind her, her grandmother hummed low under her breath, pausing her meticulous braiding of Ivy's hair. "Now do not pout, Gioia."

   Smiling at the Italian nickname, Ivy tilted her head back to peer up, "I'm sorry, Nonna. It's hot."

   "Let me finish up your hair and it will get the hair off your back. It'll help with the heat."

  Turning her head back, Ivy nodded slightly, "I wish Father would let me cut it. It is far too long in the summer. When I play with Stefan it gets tangled and Damon yanks on my braids."

   Her nonna made a sound of acknowledgment, nimble fingers working through her hair with practiced ease, "If you'd like a trim, you shall have one, Gioia."

   "Father will be angry."

   The end of one of her finished braids brushed her back as her grandmother began combing through the other section, "I can deal with your father. You are not to let your father dictate your happiness, signorina. He is a man of limited knowledge while you, my little Inesa, are destined for great things."

   Ivy leaned back slightly, the small of her back brushing against the thick fabric of her nonna's dress. The young Salvatore girl remained silent as her grandmother worked through her hair, layering and braiding the pieces— all while murmuring an Italian nursery rhyme quietly as she worked.

   "Farfallina bella e bianca
   vola vola mai si stanca
   vola qua, vola là:
   mai nessun la fermerà.
   Vola, vola ore ed ore
   poi si posa su un bel fiore
   vola qua, vola la:
   mai nessun la fermerà."

   Ivy mimicked her words— the Italian flowing off her tongue softly into the thick humid air. There was a special comfort to speaking Italian with her nonna. There was always a peaceful and serene feeling that would overcome her whenever they could converse in her grandmother's native tongue or when she would be called a nickname in Italian. It was a safe place for Ivy.

   A gentle tap on her shoulder alerted Ivy that the braiding had been completed, pushing herself up, Ivy stood to face her nonna in her rocking chair.

   Time had been kind to Eleanor Salvatore. Even as she transcended into older age, her hair remained a dark raven color, shining under the sunlight glaring in from the window. Her haunting blue eyes were large and still as vibrant as when she was a girl in Italy dreaming of her future. There were a few deep lines across various points of her face— proof of the life she had lived.

   To rival her undeniable beauty, her grandmother had a certain grace to her. When she walked— she glided. When she spoke— she articulated beautifully. When she stood— she held grace in her stance and kept her shoulders pulled back. She had a kind aura, but there was a sharpness to her; a wit that often caught people off guard. Many people believed her to be a bit off— whispers lingering in the town about the manner in which she spoke at times— the futures she perceived and the beings she believed in. Ivy did not care what the town had to say; she adored her grandmother, regardless if she sometimes spouted nonsense about magic, family lineage, or Ivy's destiny as she proclaimed.

   "Grazie, Nonna." Ivy's fingers found the ribbons that held her braids intact, toying with them under her grandmother's piercing gaze.

   "You, my little Inesa, you have magic in those bones. You are a Salvatore and you hold ties to the ones that started this lineage. You are special. There will be people who tell you differently or try to take that from you, but you must promise me that you never give up the blood you were born into."

   Ivy didn't know what her grandmother had meant, but she nodded politely regardless— she trusted her.

   "I promise." Ivy reached out and covered her grandmother's right hand with both of her small ones.

   Eleanor's left hand came up, delicately smoothing over Ivy's cheek before holding her near the jaw gingerly, "One day, Gioia, these things will all make sense to you. When that day comes, do not be afraid. Embrace your destiny."

   "ABSOLUTELY not. Not happening. No."

   Ivy's eyes widened as she stared at Stefan, gaping at his words, "What do you mean no?"

"No."

   With a whine, Ivy grumbled her disapproval, "Oh come on, Stef! You quit the football team weeks ago, but they need you to sub in! It's fate."

"You guys are not coming."

"You're the one who wanted to have a day as a normal teenager," Ivy narrowed her eyes while she spoke, "most kids' siblings and parents come to their games."

   "Last time Damon went to a football game he ate my coach."

   Twirling around Ivy glared at her eldest brother, "We truly need to have a conversation about your eating habits."

   "Sure. Whatever you say, Bambi. Now go back to fighting with Steffie." Damon waved her off dismissively.

   Deciding that an intervention could wait, Ivy turned back to face her twin. "It is my only chance to see you play!"

   "You've seen me play before."

   "In the 1800s, yes. I have watched so many films and I want to see a high school football game, Stef. I believe it is the least you can do for allowing me to rot in a tomb."

   Sitting down, Stefan began anxiously tugging at the roots of his hair, "I didn't know you were in there! Besides, like I've said every single time you try to guilt me into saying yes, you didn't rot!"

   "I could've!" Ivy huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, "Please, Stefan? I won't talk to anyone and Damon won't go eating people. We will be perfectly behaved normal human siblings watching our normal human brother play football."

Stefan paused for a few moments, glancing between his siblings before he spoke up, "I have two rules."

A grin pulled at Ivy's lips, "Go on."

"Absolutely no talking to anyone in the stands. You're still using ancient words and phrases; on that note do not throw anyone's cellphones. Secondly, make sure Damon does not eat anyone."

"We promise we will be on our best behavior."

With a smile and nod at Ivy's words, Stefan turned around and exited the room— not noticing the way his siblings stood with their fingers crossed behind their backs and the high five they shared after he was gone.

BRIGHT field lights illuminated the field, making it easy for Ivy to spot Stefan on the field. He was huddled around with his teammates with his back facing her, but she was able to make out the number seventeen printed across his jersey.

   Her outfit had his number and their last name displayed across the back of the maroon hoodie— she paired it with a pair of denim shorts and white sneakers Stefan had bought her.

   It was exhilarating for her to be out of the house, given that this was her first time encountering the world after her time in the tomb.

   There was a distinct excitement buzzing beneath her fingertips— eyes glistening beneath the bright lights that brightened the field and stands. Chatter filled the stands as students and families conversed before the game began. Ivy could make out the muffled sound of the home cheerleaders warming up the crowd; the wrinkle of their pom-poms moving standing out against the other noises filling the air.

   Twirling around, she grinned at Damon as he trudged behind her carrying their supplies.

   When Damon reached their spot, he dropped their belongings with a grunt, "Where did you even find all this stuff?"

   "The internet," Ivy shrugged as she bent down to retrieve one of the signs they had brought; it had Stefan's face plastered all over it and in big bold letters 'GO STEFFIE!'

   "He is going to ground us," Damon snickered, snatching the poster that possessed a huge blown-up photo of Stefan.

   "He is the one who wanted to be normal for a day. This is us being normal."

   "Ivy!"

   Turning quickly on her feet, Ivy sought out the new voice amongst the chatter in the stands. Eventually discovering the source, Ivy waved Elena over to them, scooting over to make room for her.

   "Hi! Damon and I brought you a sign!" Ivy beamed, passing a sign similar to her own but with different photos of her twin.

   "He is going to be grumpy," Elena smirked, taking the sign in her hands.

   Ivy waved her hand to dismiss the Gilbert's words, "He is always grumpy."

   Elena chuckled quietly under her breath, glimpsing over Ivy's and Damon's outfits. "Damon, where is your school spirit?"

   Ivy spun in her seat to face her eldest brother, a teasing grin twitching at her lips, "Go on, brother. Show her your jacket."

   His outfit appeared to be his ordinary attire— a fitted white tee, denim pants, and a black leather jacket, but when he grumbled and pivoted to the side slightly, the back of his jacket revealed the special part of his outfit.

   '#17'S BIG BROTHER' was embroidered across the back of the jacket.

   Covering her mouth with the palm of her hand, Elena snickered at Damon's noticeable misery while Ivy simply patted him on the shoulder.

   "I made it!" Ivy clapped and swiveled to show the back of her hoodie that had 'SALVATORE' printed across the back in bold letters. She reached into her purse, bringing out a tin, "Stay still, Damon."

   With a mischievous wink at Elena, Ivy opened the tin and dipped her index finger into the black paste. She made a move towards Damon who struggled to dodge her paint-coated fingers.

   "Bambi—"

   "Stop moving or I will shave your hair off."

   He stopped moving.

   Once Damon had two black lines smudged across his cheeks, Ivy moved on to Elena who welcomed the face makeup; remaining still until she too had two lines on both her cheeks. Taking the tin from Ivy, Elena mirrored the girl's actions and put the same markings on Ivy's face.

   After cleaning off their hands and taking a few photos on their phones, Elena leaped up, "It's starting!"

   Ivy stood up on the seat, waving the sign above her head as she whistled, "Go Steffie!"

   The scowl Stefan gave her made her cackle— they were definitely grounded.

   THE bathwater was scolding hot— Ivy's skin burning under the water, turning red at the surface. The bathroom air was crammed with steam— making Ivy crave a nap. With a sigh, she tilted her head back, resting the back of her head on the lip of the bathtub. Scents of lavender and eucalyptus lingered in the air; only enhancing Ivy's craving for a short nap.

Allowing herself a few seconds— she closed her eyes as she drew in a deep breath; the aromas of the oils in the bath water were strong in her nose. She told herself she would only rest her eyes, but after a few moments longer than she planned, she let her body glide a bit further into the water, holding back a groan when the heated water met her aching body.

Her body rejoiced as the water enclosed her skin— soothing the discomforts and bruises from her latest self-defense training session with her brothers.

So deep in her state of relaxation, she nearly missed the noise of shuffling in the downstairs of the home.

Pushing herself up, she glanced around before turning off the faucet tap. Trying her best not to move, Ivy lingered a few seconds before she was sure she heard more noises— this time the sound of shattering and a distinctly masculine-sounding wounded moan.

Ivy was out of the bath and pulling a pale pink silk robe over her body in seconds, moving as quietly as she knew how as she opened the bathroom door and ventured out of her bathroom.

When she opened the door into her bedroom, she took hold of her vervain-drenched dagger, gripping it tightly as she descended to the main floor of the home.

Her free hand moved to her neck, fingers pushing against her pulse point to check her pulse before advancing.

A bit fast, but nothing noticeable.

Momentarily, she debated shouting for her brothers, but decided it would be far too risky as she could expose herself or reveal her existence to a possible enemy.

   It wasn't until she heard Stefan calling out her name that she moved into the living space, fingers clutching at the dagger should she need to use it.

   "You're okay?" Stefan breathed out, eyes looking her over for injuries.

   "Yes, I am fine. What happened?" It was then that she noticed the body of a woman laying behind his frame. Her skin was grey and lifeless; covered in veins that led to the stake lodged in her chest. "Bethanne? What happened?"

   Damon shot her a look before looking over the corpse once more, "You know her?"

   Pushing the bike back down, Ivy shook her head gingerly to herself, trying to not let her gaze linger on the dead body sprawled across their floor. "You don't remember, do you? She was a vampire placed in the tombs."

   Damon swore under his breath, taking a long swig of his bourbon; not noticing the way Ivy tensed, "Damn it."

   Stefan nodded to himself, "I remember them from 1864."

   "Them?"

   "Yeah. She came here with a guy." Stefan confirmed Ivy's question, fingers pushing at the bridge of his nose.

   "Okay, I have some developments to share, but first we need to get rid of the body." Damon snapped his fingers in Stefan's direction, "Come on, Hero Hair. We can burn her in the woods."

   "You can't burn her!"

   "What do you suggest we do, Bambi?"

   "She deserves a proper burial, Damon. We don't even know how she wanted to be prepared when she died! It is disrespectful to just burn her."

   "What was disrespectful was Steffie sticking a wooden chair leg into her chest; now we have to deal with the body."

   "She was with Pearl, wasn't she? I overheard Pearl talking to you the other day. We should give her body to someone who knows her. They will have a better idea of what preparations she wanted to be done when she died if any. We can't just burn her as though she doesn't matter."

   "She tried to kill us, Ivy. We can't just go handing her body over with an 'I'm sorry I killed your friend' card!" Damon raised his voice slightly, his arms shooting up in disbelief.

   "Your complete disregard for life is appalling. You're being a jolterhead, you know?"

   "What's appalling is your idea of giving her dead body back to the enemy!"

   "Enough." Stefan's voice cut through their animated arguing, his voice was tense as his gaze jumped between the two of them. "If Pearl wanted us dead, she would have killed us when she came here the other day. They most likely acted against her word. Ivy has a point, Damon."

   "Of course you picked her side!"

   "I get that after all this time, you have become used to this sort of thing, but I am not. I cannot just haul her to the middle of the woods and set her body on fire as though she does not matter, Damon. I will sort this out with Pearl if I must."

   "Whatever. Do the righteous thing you two, but don't come weeping to me when Pearl rips your pretty little head off."

THE next morning Ivy, Damon, Stefan, and Elena were gathered in their living room, explaining the predicament to Elena. Damon paced around before veering back to them, "I say we go to Pearl's, bust down the door, and annihilate the idiot that attacked us last night."

Stefan shook his head. "Yeah. And then what? We turn to the rest of that house of vampires and say, "Oops. Sorry?""

In her seat beside Ivy, Elena spoke up, "I can't believe you made a deal with her."

"It was more like a helpful exchange of information. And it's not like I had a choice. She's...scary. Besides, she's gonna help me get Katherine back."

Ivy nodded, holding her nails out in front of her while making claw-like gestures, "She stuck her fingers in his eyes!"

No one acknowledged her.

With her arms crossed over her chest, Elena sneered, "Of course she is. Damon gets what he wants, as usual. No matter who he hurts in the process."

"You don't have to be snarky about it."

"I woke up this morning to learn that all the vampires have been released from the tomb. I've earned snarky," Elena retorted.

"How long are you going to blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?"

"I'm not blaming you, Damon. I've accepted the fact that you're a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities."

Ivy pulled at the skirt of her sundress while murmuring, "Can you guys do this another time? I am quite uncomfortable."

Stefan moved his head in agreement with his words, "Ivy is right. This isn't being very productive. We're gonna figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires. Yeah?"

Ivy stood up from the couch, "Meeting over. I am going to go stress bake now, thank you."

Before she left the room, Stefan called out to her, "Hey, V! Don't turn the music up too loud while you bake. I'm going to head out for a hunt. That fight did a number on me and I don't want you to not be able to hear something if they show up."

"Do not eat my bunny!"

STEFAN never returned home.

Elena and Damon hadn't heard from him and all the calls Ivy made were sent to voicemail. The tomb vampires had him.

The terror spread through her body at a rapid speed— her thoughts jumbled as she sat in the passenger seat of Damon's car; Alaric and Damon were outside of the car preparing to storm the house to get Stefan back.

Stefan was her twin— her best friend.

The thought of losing him after all they had endured sent her into a panic. It muddled her mind and had her body tense as she bit at her nails— trying desperately to direct her anxiety at something other than creating scenarios in her head of the horrors Stefan may be enduring.

Elena was silent in the back of the car, but Ivy could feel the anxiety radiating off of her body— mingling with Ivy's anxious feelings about his safety.

Damon peeled open her door to peer in, "Stay here. I'm going to get him, Ivy. Okay?"

Her voice was weak when she responded, "Okay."

Her chest tightened as the men walked off— their bodies disappearing into the trees that were hiding the car from the view of the house.

Ivy's eyes darted around as an eery sort of feeling hummed beneath her flesh. Her body seemed awake— recounting movements that her mind could not recall.

Before she even noticed, she was out of the car and stalking into the woods— her body moving with confidence in the direction away from the house further into the dense woods.

Her mind was jumbled— barely able to function as her body moved through actions with such confidence that Ivy pondered where she was going.

She even tried to get her body to stop its actions— to retreat to the car and wait for Stefan, but it was as though her body was no longer connected to her mind.

As she ventured further into the dense forest, the humming beneath her skin grew, almost like her skin was vibrating with a sense of familiarity and thrill.

By the time the fog that coated her mind had vanished, she found herself standing before a cottage.

It was smaller than her home, but it was filled with a warmth that made her feel at home. Vines twisted up and around the cottage, decorating the structure.

She knew this place.

She could vaguely remember it in her head, but her body welcomed the cottage like an old friend.

Her gaze moved down to her hand when warmth was felt against her palm. Ivy's eyes widened as she noticed the blood trickling down her pale skin and onto the forest floor.

When did she cut her hand?

Lifting her gaze back up to the home, she noticed a cloaked figure standing at the door. The dark green cloak hide the person's face from her view, but she could make out beautiful braids peeking out from beneath the fabric as she moved closer.

"Evening, darling."

That voice.

Emmeline.

Once Ivy had gotten to the pebble road leading to the porch of the home, she was able to make out Emmeline's face as she pushed the hood of the cloak down— her dark ebony skin glistened under the moonlight. Her brown eyes filled with a purpose hidden behind them; a pool of knowledge swirling in her irises.

"Emmeline?" Another beat went by. "How did I get here?"

Emmeline did not answer, but a tug at her lips made Ivy believe she had an idea. "Your soul knew where to locate the help it sought. What is the matter, child?"

Remembering the crisis of Stefan's safety, Ivy choked out the words, "My brother, Stefan. They took him. The vampires from the tomb."

Emmeline nodded at her words, but there was not a smidge of surprise sketched across her face. "You seek my help."

"I don't know how I got here, but you helped me before. Please."

There was a distinct bow of Emmeline's head in her direction as she descended the stairs of the cottage. "Come now, child. We do not have much time."

________

unedited so hopefully this is
a good chapter lmao.

qotd: a character you wish we
saw more of ?

i have a few i could think of, but
i wish we got more lexi !

copyright © -loonylupins