(3) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Prologue/Previously

Cassandra turns and pushes herself up to her feet to look around. It's misty. That's literally the only way to describe wherever she is. She's surrounded by red mist. She draws her hand through it and frowns a little. It's very familiar. A figure moves towards her through the mist. With a wave of their hand the mist parts and disappears. Revelling them to Cassandra. It's a woman who looks like her. Only more mature. Dressed in clothing that doesn't fit. A deep red robe dress that flows like the mist itself around her and along the floor behind her. Her feet bare and soft on the ground. And a headpiece glistens and glows red against her hairline. A crown of sorts, maybe more of a tiara. Cassandra shifts slightly. Turning defensive.

"Who are you?" Cassandra asks, the other her gives her a look.

"Well, you, obviously, just...ancient"

"You're a doppelgänger?"

"Hmmm Sophia" She answers as she rounds Cassandra. "The original" She tilts her head as she comes to stop in front of Cassandra. "I see..." She tilts her head studying Cassandra. "A great many things to come" Sophia offers and then raises an eyebrow at Cassandra. "You may prove to be the most powerful of them yet" She hums and then smirks. "I can't wait to see just what you will do" Sophia then leans over and grabs Cassandra's face in her hands. "Don't waste it" She warns.

"Waste what?" Cassandra asks with a frown.

"Your life" Sophia answers and then kisses Cassandra's forehead.

...............

In the boarding house, in Damon's bedroom, Cassandra's eyes snap open, glowing red. Bonnie and Ally share a look both of them letting out relieved and pleased laughs. Ally then nods out of the room, Bonnie understands that Damon should be here. This is his victory. They both leave as Cassandra shifts. Coming around fully. She reaches up for her head in bed. Soft sheets beneath her. She is blissfully unaware of what happened. Her mind foggy still as she fully comes back. It takes time. Minutes ticking by as she lays there, her fingers touching the fabric around her. Tucked in. Someone tucked her into bed. And then it's like a lightbulb going off inside her mind. She sits up sharply, her fingers pulling at her shirt to look at her chest but there is nothing there. Gone. The hole is gone. Like it never happened. But she is sure it did. She really feels like it happened. That Klaus ripped out her heart. It sure as hell feels like it happens. She looks to the door as Damon appears, his hands grabbing to the door frame to stop himself from falling straight into the room, his eyes on her. He starts to smile, relief flooding through every inch of him. She frowns a little because she doesn't understand what happened, how she's here and awake and alive.

.........

Later, Damon approaches Cassandra where she is standing outside of the boarding house, out the back, staring up at the night sky. She's changed and showed and tried to scrub herself free of the Quarry. Her hands wrapped around a mug of hot coffee as she readjusts to the land of the living. She looks down at the mug and cocks her head, seemingly thinking about it. He expects this must be jarring for her. Two days ago she died. Two hours ago she was rotting.

"You okay?" He asks her. She turns her head to look at him, his eyes searching hers before he cups her cheeks and kisses her. Her powers seem to erupt around them, curling and embracing them both. He pulls back and looks around, Cassandra holds out her hand, her powers swirling around and down into a ball in her palm before she curls her fingers into them, snuffing them out.

"I am fine" She answers, but it doesn't really sit right. It still feels like she is going to be a long way off being fine given recent events. But he'll be here. He'll stay here at her side and help her through it. To stop anyone hurting her ever again.

"I thought I'd lost you" He whispers.

"Seems I'm a little harder to kill than first thought" She counters as she cocks her head. "Though can't say the experience was all that entertaining" He snorts a little. "You look like shit by the way" He snorts and gives her a look.

"Feel it" He admits. "I.....you were gone...and I was alone. Felt alone" He touches his head and she understands. The connection between them likely broke when she died, and after spending so long with that telepathic link, that constant feeling of having someone else in the back of their heads, for that to suddenly disappear was likely very disorientating. "It was this empty feeling" He admits. "Like....." He lets out a breath. "Endless nothingness" He admits, she looks at him sadly. That what Ally said. That's how she described being without Kol. Seems it works both ways. She touches his face. He really does look terrible, tired, sweaty and sticky. She doesn't know what she's missed but it doesn't look good.

"What did I miss?" She asks him, he shakes his head, not really ready to talk about it.

"Later" He whispers and presses his forehead to hers. "I'll tell you later....." He promises. He just wants to spend some time with her as she is, he just wants her to readjust a little more. He just wants to keep her blissfully unaware of the events of the last two days. Just a little longer. She touches his cheek and then leans closer, curling into his chest. He lets out a breath and wraps her up in his arms. She takes a deep breath and then jumps a little when the mug breaks in her hand, red mist bursting from the pieces. She drops them and looks down, frowning down at them.

"I'm sorry" She whispers, her voice breaking with emotion.

"It's okay, Buttercup" Damon assures her. "It's just a mug" She holds out her hand and red mist stitches the pieces of the mug back together before it floats up and rests back in her hand, filling back up with the coffee, just the way it was before it broke. Damon glances at it and then at her. She smiles at him and nods. He smiles back at her. He doesn't care about anything else. Just that she's back. He knows he's going to have to tell the others, that Bonnie might have already done it, but right now, she is here with him, this is his good news to enjoy.