(3) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Eighty-Five

A/N – I have been messing around with some AI art generators in the last few days and I have a few Damon and Cassandra (and a couple of Kol and Ally) pieces, would you guys be interested in me posting a few of them??

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Elijah lingers with Cassandra after their conversation, mostly because she looks about ready to collapse and considering the minor alliance he has just forged with her, if he were to allow her to fall then it would likely break that. He knows having her as an ally and friend is much better. She's powerful and only just coming into her magic. Crystal rings out through the main floor of the mansion and Cassandra leans up from the wall to see what is happening. Elijah touches her arm to keep her upright when she sways slightly. The two of them watch as Esther addresses the guests from the staircase. She has a glass of red-tinged champagne in her hand.

"Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. Waiters are coming around with champagne" Elijah takes a glass from the passing waiter and glances at the red liquid inside. He clenches his jaw and looks at Cassandra as she takes her own glass. There is not enough time for him to warn his siblings but perhaps there is a way to undo it after the fact, providing that they do not die tonight. "I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Everyone attending the ball drinks from their glasses, including almost all of the Original vampires.

"Cheers" Cassandra and Elijah clink their glasses together, and she reads more into the statement. He is thanking her for the warning, for the honesty. He lifts the glass to his lips to make a show of it for his mother but does not drink from the glass. He squeezes her elbow before he walks away to find Klaus. Cassandra sets her own glass down and pinches at the bridge of her nose. She is doubting herself now. For telling Elijah. She is flip-flopping on why she told him. Flip-flopping on the benefits and negativities. She is doubting herself. Damon moves to her side, touching her elbow to get her attention. Cassandra's frame sinks a little, relaxing to him being at her side. She turns to look up at him, her eyes softening. She feels so much better that he is at her side again even if all he did was wander off to talk with Stefan. She just feels better with him at her side. That bond pulling them to be together. And seen as Ally and Kol have been glued to one another all night, she assumes that they are significantly happier to be together against because of their own bond.

"Can we leave now?" She asks him, Damon hums and brushes her hair back from her face. She is clearly very exhausted and so done with this night. He is too. He doesn't want her here any longer. They have done everything they came here to do, even if it feels like a dead end on a lot of things, so he feels they have earned the right to leave.

"Yeah" He agrees and touches the small of her back before releasing her to look through the crowd of people for his brother. Someone is going to have to make sure Elena makes it home in one piece and right now that falls on Stefan. Stefan is leaning against the bar, peering out at the crowd himself. His eyes meet Damon's and Damon nods towards Cassandra who is already making her way out of the mansion. Stefan nods, answering the unasked question. That he will get Elena home. They might not be on the best of terms right now, but he's not about to abandon her here. Plus Cassandra has been through enough tonight, he isn't going to argue with her.

.....

Damon catches up to Cassandra outside of the Mikaelson Mansion, his hand sliding into hers as they leave together. He's going to get her home, then maybe pick up some food for them to eat in bed before sleeping for a week. That is what it feels like she needs. What they both need. A really, really, really long nap. A break from everything happening to them. A break from all of it.

"Damon!" Damon glances over his shoulder to find Ally heading towards them. Damon lets out a breath and turns to face her, pulling Cassandra to a stop with a hand on her arm. She hums in question, already kind of falling asleep. It has been a long night. "I wanted to talk to you before you both left"

"Can't it wait till tomorrow?" Damon asks.

"No" Ally argues and he lets out a long breath as she walks towards them. "It needs to be said now" She adds and stands up a little taller when she reaches the couple. "Kol and I are reunited now and we don't want to cause any problems" Ally assures them. Damon hums a little, raising a questioning eyebrow at that statement, considering Kol's family, he is skeptical about that statement. "We both know that we owe this reunion to you" She touches Cassandra's arm and gives her a small smile.

"Why do I sense a but coming?" Damon asks as he pulls Cassandra closer to him, almost protectively. He never thought he would feel the need to protect Cassandra from Ally but here he is. Ally's arm falls from Cassandra and she nods in agreement with Damon's statement.

"But" Ally starts and takes a breath. "Kol will remain loyal to his siblings, and I won't stop him if that loyalty involves him..." She leaves that there, knowing that the message has sunk in. It is not at all surprising for them. They knew that this night would signal the end of their alliance with Ally. She was not going to be on their side once they got Kol back. Now they not only have the Original vampires, the Original hybrid, and the Original witch to worry about, but they have a vampire-psychic hybrid. "You both get a pass but I doubt I will be able to convince him to spare any of the others..." She adds as she adjusts the bottom of her dress. "If Klaus asks it of him...." She sighs and then gives them both a sad smile. "Thank you" She offers them. "For....for what you have done for us both...." Damon nods a little back at her, curling his arm around Cassandra's waist. "And I am sorry for anything that comes..." Ally then walks away, heading back to the house to join Kol who stands at the door waiting for her. He holds out his hand towards her and Ally smiles warmly at him.

"Well, that's clear" Damon mumbles to Cassandra who hums in agreement as she leans into his side. "At least you'll be okay" He whispers and glances down at her. Whilst it doesn't clear their family and friends, Ally is at least willing to keep Cassandra safe, and that is all Damon needs. "Come on" He adds and leads her away from the mansion. They are both desperate to get home now. Cassandra looks up at him, knowing that Ally shifting sides like this is going to hurt him. She was his friend and she's turning on them. Even if they knew it was coming. 

"Damon" She starts but he shakes his head, leaning closer to nudge her nose before he kisses her, mostly so that she stops. He doesn't want to talk about Ally right now. He wants to get Cassandra home. She lifts a hand to his cheek and then curls her arm around his neck. "It's okay" She whispers against his lips, reassuring him that she won't ask. But that she will be here when he is ready to talk about it. Which he knows. He knows that she will be there for him, for anything.