(3) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Seventy-Three

In the underground Lockwood tunnels, in a side cavern that they used to hide the locked coffin, Sophia and Cassandra stand on either end of the coffin. The room has been set up with more than a dozen candles. Abby stands at the edges, watching the two Scarlet Witches as Bonnie chants in the centre of the room, the spellbook hovering in front of her, wrapped in Chaos magic. The whole room vibrates with the magic. Threads of red energy wrapped around the two chaos magic wielders, connecting them together. But nothing is happening. It's not working. Sophia gets frustrated and lets out a blast of harmless energy as she lowers her arms and steps away from the coffin.

"You're not trying! We've been at this for over an hour" Sophia scolds Cassandra who lets out a long breath. She's exhausted.

"I've not been at this as long as you" Cassandra argues. "Up until a month ago, I had no idea that I could do magic at all....." Sophia lets out a breath and clenches her jaw. "So I'm sorry that it's taking me a moment"

"Maybe we should take a break" Abby offers. "Have some food....."

"Yeah, maybe we need a breath" Bonnie agrees. There is a tension brewing between Cassandra and Sophia. That is going to spark something. The two of them exploding right about now, with that magic, is going to be dangerous.

"No" Sophia argues and moves to the coffin. "Again" she holds out her hands and gives Cassandra a look. Cassandra sighs and then moves back to the coffin, taking up the same position. Threads of chaos magic connect the two of them, wrapping around their wrists. "Bonnie" Sophia pushes and Bonnie nods, looking back at the book. Sophia is rather determined to get this coffin open and she is determined to get it open today and now. The candles flare up, a deep rumbling can be heard, and after a moment the candles return to normal and everything's quiet. Abby goes to open the coffin. The lit rattles but it still won't open.

"It almost worked" Abby assures them. Cassandra lets out a breath.

"I have to call Damon, tell him that we're getting closer" She voices as she pulls her cell phone from her pocket. "I'll be right back" She adds and then leaves the room. Bonnie's worried gaze follows her. She is as worried about Cassandra as Damon is. With what's been happening to her. It's never a good sign. Sophia's eyes are on Bonnie, glowing red as she reads her. Bonnie turns and looks straight at her. Seeing something in the older Scarlet Witch for the first time. A reason to doubt her. A reason not to trust her. She can't explain what it is. But this is the first time she has looked at her and not felt comforted by her presence. Sophia's lip twitches up into a small smirk, barely noticeable.

......

Later, just as they were earlier, Cassandra and Sophia are stood at either end of the coffin, eyes closed and chaos magic connecting them. It is different this time. There are wisps of the magic in Cassandra's hair, it floats behind her. It's stronger this time. The whole room pulses with the magic, red tendrils floating all around them and around the coffin. There is something more this time. They are closer to opening the coffin. It is going to work. Sophia can feel it.

"Yes," Sophia hisses under her breath. She knew Cassandra had this in her. That she is capable of these sorts of spells. Her faith in her was not misplaced and it brings her one step closer to being capable of dealing with what her future holds. With what it could possibly hold for her. The timelines and doppelgängers all get mussed up in her head sometimes. And every time, she feels like she can protect them all. Step in and steer them off the inevitable path. She's failed in all of them. Their stories all end the same no matter what she does. And yet with every Scarlet Witch that awakens, here she is. The candles flare up just as they did before, only they turn to a deep blazing red. Abby looks around at them and then back at Bonnie who has her eyes closed as she recites the spell from the page. She's done it enough in the last couple of hours that she knows it by heart. And after a moment the candles return to normal and everything's quiet. The chaos magic disappears from the room, Sophia and Cassandra relaxing their stances as Bonnie opens her eyes. They stay there. Just standing still waiting to see what happens. To see if there is anything that happens. And their proof of success comes in the form of a click, like the sound of a lock unlocking. Abby goes towards the coffin, her steps slower, almost as if sensing that something is about to happen. She lets out a breath and reaches out for the coffin, fingers grazing over the wood before she pushes a little. The lid gives, but she steps back with a small laugh. Bonnie smiles at Cassandra.

"You did it" She offers. Cassandra shakes her head.

"No" She stops her. "We did..." She corrects. She and Bonnie share a warm look and Bonnie nods back.

"We did it" Bonnie voices and lets out a small laugh. The coffin then starts to creak open causing them all to take a step forward to see.

......

Outside, Damon and Stefan are walking to the Old Lockwood Cellar together. Their dinner with Klaus and Elijah was difficult but successful, if Damon does say so himself. He would have preferred to have gone through it with Cassandra instead of Stefan, but he made do with the help he had. They got the 'job' done, so to speak. Whether for better or worse is yet to be seen.

"Ah, it seems Cassandra was right about Elijah," Stefan tells Damon who hums in agreement. It was a risky move on her part, but it seemed to play out well in the end. "Undaggering him was a smart move" Maybe undaggering Elijah was the smart move, Damon is just unsure about where they stand on undaggering the rest of them. Elijah was agreeable. Rebekah too, with Cassandra's friendship. Kol and Finn are wild cards. Finn more so. And what they know about Kol they know from Ally and she sees him through heart-shaped glasses. Speaking of. Damon pulls out his cell phone and opens up a text chain. There is one thing that needs to be done. Now that all of the Originals are awake, there is one person that needs to be told. Even if she isn't currently returning any calls or texts. Ally. Ally needs to be told that Kol is awake. That she can have him back. Damon knows what it is like to be apart from that other half. He lost Cassandra for days and it was more than enough time apart from her. Ally has suffered long enough. "Ally?" Stefan asks, Damon nods.

"Yeah, she deserves this" He answers. Stefan nods a little. Damon then looks at his brother. Surprised that Stefan would agree with him there. "Wow...You're going soft, Stefan."

"So, I guess I shouldn't thank you for saving me from Klaus?" Stefan asks.

"Shut up, you don't get to thank me until I pay you back for all those times you've saved me" Damon scolds him. The two of them share a look.

"You could have left me there" Stefan reminds him. "Klaus would have killed me" Damon's phone vibrates, he checks the caller ID, and finds that it's Elena. He cancels the call.

"I didn't do it on your account" Damon counters. Stefan nods. He knows why he did it. Cassandra. Cassandra loves Elena. Elena loves Stefan. If Stefan dies, it would hurt Elena, which would hurt Cassandra. Stefan knows his brother well enough to know that this girl has changed him. Strengthened him. Made him a better person without completely erasing his personality. He's adapting it to work for him and for them together. He's seen the old Damon, the human Damon he grew up with more since his relationship with Cassandra.

"You really love her, don't you?" Stefan asks. Damon stops and turns to him. "Cassandra" Stefan elaborates but it wasn't needed. Damon knew who he was asking about.

"Well, I don't get magical tattoos for just about anyone" Damon teases slightly and Stefan gives him a look. "Yes, I really love her" Damon voices. "Starting to actually believe the whole....soul mate thing Ally keeps going on about"

"Wow" Stefan states, smirking at his brother. He never thought he'd see the day when Damon would admit to believing in something so spiritual. Soul mates are such an untested and mystical concept. And yet, even Stefan believes it. He's seen the two of them together. He's watched them grow as people because of each other. That bond that they share. What else could it be?