Heiress | TVD/TO

II. Brand New

II. Brand New.

A/N: Disclaimer, according to the series's timeline, this episode occurs at least a week or so maybe even in January after the tomb incident, but to work with the plot, I changed it a bit.

The Next Day

The next day Damon woke up thinking all that happened had been a dream until he turned to his side and found Aria, a lot healthier than the night before, but still pale and still asleep.

Behaving as he'd normally do, he got dressed and left the house, leaving Stefan a note saying 'You're on watch duty, be back in a jiffy, P.S. feed her blood' a similar gesture was left to the sleeping guest telling her to find Stefan upon arising.

Thankfully for both, or perhaps only Aria, Stefan woke up earlier and saw the note first which made him frown at his brother's behaviour, considering he could still remember how devastated Damon was back in '64 when they thought she had died. But he didn't concern himself with it that much knowing his brother's habit of running away from his feelings, only hoping it won't take a bloody turn. Literally.

What plagued Stefan's mind on the other hand is how the girl was even alive, but with the obvious answer being that she was a vampire, it was still pending in his mind how he never knew, and wondered if Damon too hadn't known, or was Stefan the only one in the dark.

Luckily his thoughts were cut off when he heard her wake up, meaning he'd probably have some answers to some of the questions he had, obviously after she had some blood in her system. Stefan didn't know how much she drank last night after they left the tomb, but by Damon's note and the paleness he's seeing on her face as she descended the stairs, he concluded not much.

"Morning." He greeted her softly, the girl nodded in acknowledgement lifting her hand, he saw a piece of paper between her fingers.

"I think Damon left me this," Aria cleared her throat as her voice came out hoarsely, she didn't know whether it was from her dry throat or the lack of blood, maybe both, "It is safe to assume he's not here?" Even though she knew the answer, she had an inquiring look on her face.

"Yeah, he told me you didn't drink that much blood last night." Stefan told her, thinking it was better to avoid the topic of his absent brother.

"Only enough to give me energy... I think, I did fall asleep afterwards, and I'm currently parched. You don't happen to have any with you?" Stefan noticed how she never uttered the word blood; he just didn't know if it was intentional or not.

"Yes, u-uh... Damon keeps some blood bags in the cellar, I'll fetch you one... or two." Turning to leave only to stop and face her again, "Sit down. Rest, I'll be right back." Smiling softly at the younger man she moved to the parlour to sit on one of the couches in front of the fireplace. The room was slightly chilly, and the lack of blood in her system made her shiver at the slightest breeze, not to forget the scarps she's wearing, remains of her evening gown, deteriorated by the fire, and probably years.

That thought made Aria wonder, what year did she woke up in? How long had she been trapped in that tomb? By the looks of the clothes Stefan was wearing, and her experience with the change in fashion trends over the years, it seems far more than a decade. She'd only hoped at that thought, that it won't exceed the fifty-year range.

When Stefan returned with a couple of O positive blood bags, Aria thanked him, and softly let her fangs cut into the bag making her able to access the blood, after finishing it, she inhaled sharply as she relished in the euphoria that came with drinking blood, considering this one was for sustenance, she took her time with the second bag. That one's for pleasure, which made her feel content to break free from the bag after a couple of sips to face Stefan and start her questions regarding what happened.