Singing Blood

Katerina

"What are you?"I slowly backed away toward the front door as Stefan and Damon kept closing in on me.Stefan held out his hand for me, a soft smile on his face, begging me to come to him."Marianne, please. Let us explain."He made another step toward me and I held up my hand in a protecting manner."No, don't come closer!"He stopped. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, my eyes frantically moving between Stefan, Damon and Elena who stood in the back and looked at me with a mixture of pity and regret. "What are you?" I asked again, my voice shaking. "You are not human. No human can move this fast.""You are right," Stefan answered calmly. "We are not. We're vampires."Vampires.I suddenly started to laugh hysterically."Vampires? And here I thought Dracula was just a delirious fever dream. Turns out I was completely wrong. Maybe Bram Stoker was a vampire himself..."I knew I was rambling utter nonsense, but this was the only way I knew how to cope with this revelation. Vampires couldn't be real and yet there was no other explanation for the inhuman speed and...I clutched the side of my neck and suddenly all color drained from my face. Oh god! I had been bitten. By a vampire! Roses' companion...was this the reason Elijah had killed him? But why? For all I knew he had been a vampire himself, but instead of finishing the job, he had healed me, saved me. Why? My mind jumped to the increasing amount of animal attacks in Mystic Falls ever since Stefan and Damon came into town. Had this been their work? Had they killed all these people? "Marianne..." Stefan slowly crept closer, worry written all over his face. I jumped back until I was pressed directly against a wall. "No! Stay. Where. You. Are."Damon rolled his eyes."This is ridiculous. We're doing this my way now.""Damon, no!" Stefan screamed, but his brother was already towering in front of me, cupping my face with both hands, forcing me to look in his icy blue eyes."You will forget everything that happened today. You only remember working late and falling asleep in your car at the side of the road."His pupils were dilating as his voice was echoing through my head, commanding me to do as he said, to forget...I shook my head and pushed his hands away."No!"How did he expect me to just forget that I was surrounded by blood-drinking serial killers? He frowned, turning to Elena."Did you put her on vervain?"She shook her head."No, until today there had never been a need to.""Then why the hell doesn't it work?""I don't know. Maybe she's like Bonnie," Elena suggested.Stefan shook his head."No, look at her. She's frightened and has no idea what's going on. Now that compulsion is out of the question we need to calm her down, get her home and explain everything to her.""Great. And how do you suggest we do that, oh wise one?" Damon sassed. "In her current state she won't go anywhere with us."Elena stepped forward and put a hand on his arm."Let me speak to her. I'm sure I can calm her down."Damon gave her a skeptical look but let her proceed. Elena walked toward me, smiling softly."I know this is a lot to process all at once, but I promise you are perfectly safe now. Elijah is dead and Stefan and Damon won't harm you.""You knew it all this time?" I asked her. "You knew what they are?" I didn't dare looking at the Salvatore brothers. She nodded."Stefan told me shortly after the first 'animal attacks' happened."I contemplated on her words. She and Stefan were dating for over half a year now and she was still alive. Maybe she was right and they wouldn't hurt me. My gaze slowly traveled to the brothers. Stefan gave me a reassuring smile and Damon studied me with narrowed eyes, as if I was a puzzle he couldn't solve. I took a deep breath."Alright. Let's go. I want you to tell me everything on the drive home."I was no idiot. If the Salvatore's were behind those 'animal attacks' they were dangerous and could kill me anytime. But I needed answers and they were the only ones that could give them to me.Elena's smile grew wider."We will. Come."As the others walked out of the door, I turned around one last time to look at Elijah's corpse on the door. It felt terribly wrong to leave him here like this. I wanted to give him a proper burial. We had barely known each other but he had been kind to me and saved me when he easily could have killed me instead. A single tear rolled down my cheek and landed on the ground. Then I left the house without looking back. If I had, I would have seen a single, deep red Amaryllis growing out of the floorboard were the tear had hit the ground.