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xiv. the protection of a sister


XIV. THE PROTECTION OF A
SISTER

IVY Salvatore was no fool. She knew what life would entail for her; being married off, birthing children, and dying early in her life unsatisfied with the little she had done. It was not her destiny, but her reality. A cruel fate deemed her purpose due to the time she was born— women were simply something to be had; a trading piece for men to bargain over and use to strengthen their own name. She knew what was expected of her by her father, but it didn't mean she would simply bend at the knee.

Even at the mere age of nine, Ivy Salvatore was a force to be reckoned with. With a short stature, kind eyes, and a sweet voice, no one expected anything from her except for her to be a dutiful wife and a loving mother; however, they didn't know the girl that lay just beneath the surface.

Sure, she was kind and gentle, but the world she lived in shaped her in ways others didn't grasp at first glance.

They couldn't tell from her innocent aura that she spent her Thursday evenings gambling with grown men in her town, that she spent the early mornings practicing defense or any of the other things that didn't fit the exterior she presented.

Ivy had learned a handful of valuable life lessons, but those that she felt most important were her ability to defend herself and her skills in terms of observation.

Her defense skills came naturally— a skill taught to her by her brothers. Many men felt entitled to a body that is not their own, a soul that is not theirs to take. So, her brothers took it upon themselves to teach her defense mechanisms— anything that would protect her.

Her observation skills came naturally. She had to be aware of her surroundings, particularly in her home.

   Her vision was sharp— able to spot something out of the corner of her eye.

   She knew how to listen to the sounds around her; trained to listen for the heavy staggered footsteps of her father, the harsh clang of the glass of a bottle against wood, or the cruel blow of skin against skin. 

That was how her eyes did not waver from their place by the pond— despite the bright beaming sun glaring down on her, causing a minor squint. The sun glowered against her skin, making the skin warm to the touch and Ivy's brain feel fuzzy.

With the air thick and dense combined with the heat, Ivy could feel the sweat gathering near her hairline, using the back of her hand to brush it off; her eyes still never wandering from the spot beside the pond.

   She was watching.

So when Albert Crowell shoved Stefan towards the murky water of the lake, calling him a foozler, Ivy had already been on her feet and heading towards them; solely from the way he had positioned himself seconds beforehand.

   "Stefan!" Ivy reached out for her twin, grabbing him before he was able to tumble into the water. Pushing him behind her slightly, she turned to Albert with a scowl.

   "Go back to your house, Ivy. This isn't a girl's fight."

   For a nine-year-old, Ivy could muster up a menacing grin— one she used as she stared the boy down, "You tell me what to do one more time, or touch my brother again, and I'll show you how a lady fights."

   Instead of addressing Ivy, he peered over her shoulder to Stefan, "Need a girl to fight for you, Salvatore? What a foozler."

   Yes, Ivy Salvatore was impulsive.

   Yes, she often moved before her brain processed the action she was taking.

   Yes, she punched him square in the face.

   Albert fell to the ground with a wail, his stubby fingers covering his nose, blood leaking from the small spaces between his fingers. With a cry, he looked up, "You animal!"

   Ivy shook her hand off to the side, staring down at the bleeding boy, "How embarrassing, Albert. A girl has bested you in a fight not even meant for them— how will one recover?"

   "You bitch!" Scrambling to his feet, Albert charged at her.

   "Touch my sister and I'll drown you, Crowell." Stefan pushed Ivy behind him gently, keeping her within arm's reach.

   "My father says she is to be my wife one day. When that day comes, she will be mine to do with as I please."

"You so much as touch my sister with your hands and I'll cut them off." Stefan barred his teeth, finding his strength as he stepped toward the bulkier boy. "You're going to go home and convince your father to reconsider the betrothal, won't you, Albert?"

"You animal!"

Ivy waved her hand, dismissing him without a worried glance, "Yeah, yeah. Are you quite done yet? I'm bored."

Scrambling on his feet, Albert ran off, fingers still covering his bleeding nose. When he was out of earshot, Stefan turned to his twin with a scowl, "I don't need you to protect me."

"You're my brother, Stefan. I will always protect you."

"I'm older than you."

"And? I can still punch harder."

"That's a lie!"

"Would you like me to show you?" Ivy grinned, cocking her arm back as though she were going to punch him.

"You saved me from Albert only to abuse me yourself?" Stefan faked a shocked face. "The betrayal, dear sister."

"No one else is allowed to torment my brother but me." Ivy beamed at Stefan, holding out her hand, "Now come along Steffie, I will stop my torture on you if you agree to get Damon with me."

Stefan's eyes glimmered with mischief, "Deal."

  



IVY had sworn to protect her twin and she was not going to let the escape of time release her from her vows.

Clutching Emmeline's hand in her own, Ivy followed her quickly through the woods. Silence fell between them— sans the short huffs that would fall from their parted lips and the soft snap of the sticks beneath their feet.

Emmeline broke the silence as they stepped over a fallen tree, "You did well coming to me, child."

Ivy glanced at Emmeline's braids, watching as her movements shifted her hair, allowing Ivy to see her face beneath the pale moonlight. "I don't even remember making my way to you."

Emmeline hummed low in her throat, "Sometimes we do not understand our own actions. The mind and body work as one, even if we do not comprehend their efforts as they occur; we will in time."

"How did you know I would come?"

"What makes you think I knew?"

Ivy eyed the dark-skinned woman beside her, her form hidden by the emerald green cloak she wore. "When I showed up on your doorstep— you were not surprised. I also don't believe you stroll around your own home in a cloak prepared at all times to run off into the night."

Emmeline smiled wide, her eyes gleaming with something, pride perhaps. "Smart girl."

"So, how did you know?"

"Many of us are gifted, or rather cursed depending on your outlook of things. Mine is that of sight."

"You can see the future?"

"I can see things that have yet to come and destinies that have not been fulfilled, yes."

   "Do you see it as a gift or a curse?" Ivy murmured, soft words drifting off into the air around them. When Emmeline did not respond, Ivy continued, "Forgive me. That was far too personal."

   "I don't see it as so black and white as many do. Some days, it is a beautiful gift, filled with the promises of fate, but others," she paused to clear her throat, "other days, it is a curse. Seeing things that are to happen and not being able to change fate's mind can take its toll." Emmeline rolled her shoulders back, breathing in heavily through her nose as they came across the tree line, "You allow me to handle this."

   You don't have to tell me twice.

   Ivy was smart and she knew she was no match for a house of vampires. If she were to intervene, it would only endanger her safety and cause Damon to leave his position— putting his plan in danger. She couldn't manage to create chaos.

   They were going to save Stefan and to do that— they all needed to play their parts.




   RAIN trickled down from the sky— creating puddles of mucky mud and a soft ricochet sound as it assaulted the tree leaves. Pushing her ruined hair from her face, Ivy watched the house with wide eyes, not wanting to miss a single movement.

   A shift in Emmeline's position beside her made her eyes snap from their position of watching the house. Now crouching closer to Ivy, Emmeline pressed a finger to her mouth, "Silent, child. They're coming."

   Just as the words fell from her lips, Ivy's eyes darted to the tree line across from their hiding spot; men and women walked out from the trees that once concealed them— the house was surrounded.

   Fingers tightening around a tree branch beside her, Ivy stayed in her spot, watching the house to see if her brothers were okay— they had to be.

   When the front door opened, Damon and Alaric made their way out onto the porch while Emmeline stood, pushing her cloak's hood from her hair and stepping out into the yard.

   With her arms raised at her sides, Latin came from her mouth as she chanted, a smirk pulling at her lips when the vampires around them fell to their knees.

   Groans filled the misty air, drifting and lingering in the atmosphere as they desperately clutched at their heads with shaking hands.

   Emmeline's head tipped back, eyes fluttering shut as the words fell from her lips with a seasoned grace. There was a smile playing on her painted red lips that showed this was her second nature.

   Once the vampires were clear from her path, Ivy took off towards the house, recognizing the look of confusion mixing with surprise as Ivy made her way onto the porch, fingers clutching at her brother's leather jacket as they embraced.

   "Who is out there?"

   "Emmeline. She was part of the coven that saved me." Ivy glanced behind Damon, but the house appeared empty, "Stefan?"

   "Elena got him out," Damon patted the top of her head, "you did good, Bambi."

   A scream persuaded them to look into the yard, "Stop. What's going on here? What did you do?"

   It was Pearl.

   Damon pushed Ivy behind him and Alaric, "Me? Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother."

   Pearl glanced around at the vampires who still lay on the ground moaning, "Trust me. The parties responsible for this will be dealt with. Now release them."

   "Our little arrangement doesn't work unless you learn to control them."

   Pearl shook her head as she eyed the vampires around her, "This wasn't supposed to happen."

   "Well, it did. If I had a good side...Not a way to get on it."

   "Release them."

   Emmeline relented, hands dropping as she made her way out into the yard and towards the house— her head inclined towards Pearl as she stepped up, body shielding Ivy. "Pearl."

   "Emmeline? What are you doing here?"

   "Upholding my commitment to fate."

   "Elusive as ever." Pearl scoffed, watching as the vampires regained themselves on the ground. "I shouldn't be surprised."

   "No, you shouldn't. You also shouldn't have stayed here. I warned you years ago. The next time you touch a Salvatore, it will be my judgment you face."




SHE had taken off up the stairs the second the front door had been unlocked— feet carrying her to Stefan's bedroom. Her feet faltered when she reached his door that was slightly open, something laying on the floor discarded.

Slowing her pace, Ivy knelt down and picked up the item.

A blood bag.

Pushing the door open, she found a trail of them leading to the corner.

The corner where her twin sat cradling another bag between his fingers— lips wrapped tightly around the bag. Veins covered his face and blood was splattered across his cheeks.

"Stefan?"

At her voice, his eyes snapped up to her and the bag fell from his hands to the wooden floor, spilling out and staining the oak. His hands wiped at his sleeves as he paused back further into the corner, muttering under his breath.

"Hey, Stefan, it's okay. It's only me."

"You're not supposed to see me like this."

Moving into the room, Ivy crouched down beside him, fingers itching to hug him, but she kept herself from touching him. "I do not care what you look like, Stefan."

"I'm a monster."

The crack in his voice had her eyes filling with tears, a few breaking off and making their way down her cheeks, "You're my twin." Ivy stood up, holding her hand out to him, "You need to get cleaned up."

Taking her hand, Stefan nodded solemnly, hesitating in front of her with his arms extended. Shaking his head to himself, he murmured, "Sorry. I'm bloody."

Ivy embraced him, words muffled with her head pressed to his chest, "I don't mind. You're my brother, I told you that." Pulling away after a few moments, Ivy caressed his cheek gently, brushing the blood off with a tender smile, "Go shower, alright? I'll take care of this."

When she turned to face the room once Stefan had retreated to his bathroom and she heard the sound of the shower head, Damon's presence in the doorway startled her.

Whispering to him, she gestured to the blood bags discarded across the room, "Go down to the freezer and remove the blood bags from the house."

"In case you forgot, he is a vampire, Bambi. We feed."

"Stefan doesn't drink human blood, Damon."

"Well, he should. He is finally becoming a real vampire, leave him to it. He needs his strength back."

Making her way to her eldest brother, Ivy clamped the lobe of his ear between her thumb and pointer finger, dragging him with her till they were downstairs in the library until she released him. "Are you mad?"

"What is wrong with you?"

"With me? You just dragged me by my ear? I am not a child!"

"You could've fooled me! Damon, something is wrong. Stefan doesn't drink human blood and that was far more than a normal vampire consumes."

"You're being paranoid. They spent all day messing with him, it's no wonder he drained some bags."

"Do you know anything of vampires? How on Earth have you survived this long?"

"Rude."

"Damon," Ivy met his eyes, "we have a whole library with resources. Have you even touched a book in this room?"

"Why would I?"

"Because you have been a vampire for over a hundred years! Forgive me for thinking at some point you would inquire about your own species!"

"Listen, Bambi, I get it. You're stressed after today, but little ol' Stefan will be okay. He will drink up some blood and get some rest and be back to brooding and miserable tomorrow."

"There is something wrong. I need you to get the blood out of the house."

"Why?"

"Because I am begging you to. I know Stefan better than I know myself and I have spent weeks reading up about the vampire species. This isn't normal bloodlust, Damon. This is something different, I know it." Her tone became one of pleading as she begged him, "Ever since we were children I have done everything to protect the two of you. I have mended your relationship for years and I have fixed a plethora of your issues. I know when something is amiss. I am begging you."

Silence stood between them as Damon glanced over her features— his eyes lingering on her green ones before he nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll get them out."

"Thank you."

Ivy watched his figure retreat from the room before she let out a defeated sigh, shoulders sagging.

Something was wrong. She could feel it in every fiber of her being.

Pearl was not the great enemy— no, something was coming.

There was no proof aside from the violent screaming in her head telling her to be cautious and the tension deep within her bones as her body warned her against whatever was to come.

Whatever was coming— she would protect her brothers against it.

She always did and she always would.




________

yes— baby ivy and stefan are a wee
bit insane and often choose
violence 😁

i'm so sorry for the lack of updates. i
have had a lot going on; i was in and out of the hospital, i moved out into
my own apartment, got a new job, and
started college. i'm also struggling with my
depression and it's just been a lot to
add writing to the mix.

qotd: a plot line you wish was
explored more?
→ mine is definitely the bennett
witch family. i would've loved
not only for bonnie to have more
screen time in general, but for
the story of her family history and
magic! (witch background in general
really— which started the basics of
this story actually)

this is very short and a bit boring, but
it was important to drop some little
hints and set the story up for an
update and make sure there is
not any info dumping.

copyright © -loonylupins

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