Chapter 4
Elena disappeared for two days and Zandra was worried because she was with Damon, that’s what she was told anyway and she didn’t trust Damon. There was something about the man that unnerved her and she just didn’t understand it. There were a lot of things she didn’t understand. She watched her father look for the ring her mother gave him and became lost in a memory, the last one she had of Isobel.
“How are my two girls?” Alaric asked walking into Zandra’s bedroom.
“Missing you,” Isobel answered smiling down at Zandra.
Alaric walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Isobel smiling at the both of them. He wrapped an arm around Isobel and ran a hand through Zandra’s curly hair. Zandra snuggled into the hand closing her eyes. It was routine that her daddy always sat with her until she fell asleep. Isobel had questioned it but Alaric didn’t mind because this was his little girl.
“I will be back late but don’t worry I won’t leave yet kiddo,” Alaric whispered.
After that her father had changed not in a bad way but he became determined and more protective over her not that Zandra minded too much. The two of them were even worried because when Zandra had started to develop her traits after her birthday they could find no explanation why no matter how hard they looked.
~Zandra Saltzman~
“You’re a doppelganger.”
Those were the words that had changed Elena’s life. It was worse than finding out that vampire’s existed. Finding out that she was adopted was also something very worrying and the fact her whole life was a lie. When she had asked about Zandra, Stefan had told her that he didn’t know and that there wasn’t anything he remembered that could explain it. Elena just wondered when the supernatural had taken over her life so suddenly.
~Zandra Saltzman~
Alaric felt rage run through him every time he saw Damon Salvatore and remembered the night that changed his life and Zandra’s. Looking at him just sent flashes through his mind of that night, that tragic night.
Alaric walked into his bedroom with Isobel and stopped shocked at what he was seeing and not really able to believe it at first. A man stood there with dark, demonic eyes and blood on his face with Isobel dead in his arms. His wife was dead by an unknown dark enemy but he then ran to his daughter’s room knowing it was too late for his wife. He ran in there and dropped down to pick up his daughter sighing in relief when he felt her move against him. He walked back to the bedroom and didn’t see his wife or the man and there was no drop of blood. He didn’t understand it all and he was greatly confused by it.
Finding the man who killed his wife and could have killed his daughter Alaric swore he would kill the man if just to make the world a safer place for Zandra. He looked down at the ring he wore a gift from Isobel and smiled because it seemed like it had become his good luck charm.
~Zandra Saltzman~
Zandra laughed at Caroline and her excitement over the decades dance. The two had met when Elena had been gone and she instantly liked the girl. Even though they weren’t best friends like her and Elena and Bonnie, she just had this feeling like they could form a close connection. Elena came upon them and smiled at them in greeting but Zandra could see that something had upset her.
“What’s wrong?” Zandra asked.
“Oh my god! Something’s wrong and I didn’t even notice. I’m such a horrible friend,” Caroline ranted and Zandra smiled.
“Unless you count finding out your adopted as something that is wrong everything is okay,” Elena said bluntly.
“I’m sorry I don’t understand what it’s like but from what I heard Miranda and Grayson Gilbert loved you so I mean it’s not like it’s horrible,” Zandra tried to rationalize.
“See that’s the thing. I’m not angry that I was adopted I’m angry because I wasn’t told. I mean I want to know about my birth parents but not because I don’t think my mom and dad loved me but because I’m curious,” Elena rambled in frustration.
“Okay how about we focus on this dance,” Caroline suggested and Zandra knew that it was a way to take Elena’s mind off of things.
Later that night Zandra was at the dance with Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena when Damon and Stefan Salvatore walked in and she tensed not at Stefan but at Damon. Zandra sensed that Stefan was the good kind of vampire; well not good considering something in her gut was telling her that he was a little messed up but he was better than Damon who Zandra didn’t trust as far as she could throw him. As the night progressed Zandra became concerned when she saw Damon and Alaric talk. Caroline and Bonnie wanted to go to the Grill but Zandra had to ask Alaric first so she walked up glaring at Damon.
“Hey Dad,” Zandra said announcing her presence.
“Hey kiddo,” Alaric greeted turning from Damon the vampire he hated to wrap his arm around Zandra.
“Bonnie and Caroline want me to go to The Grill with them. Is it okay?” she asked.
“Yeah go ahead I’ll pick you up after the dance,” Alaric said wanting her to have as normal of a life as she could.
“Okay try not to have too much fun with Jenna,” Zandra said smirking as she left.
~Zandra Saltzman~
Zandra had been waiting for her father for twenty minutes when she saw his car pull up and saw the look on his face. She got in the car and waited a few minutes until they were almost to the apartment before she asked.
“What happened?” Zandra asked concerned.
“The myth about vervain is true. It stops compulsion,” Alaric said and she could see he was spooked which didn’t make sense. Her father was a hunter and nothing seemed to scare him so it didn’t make sense, unless it was about the vampire that killed her mother.
“He’s here,” Zandra said simply and saw Alaric nod his head.
Zandra shook her head in determination. Isobel may not have been the most loving mother but she was still her mother and she didn’t deserve to die. And she hoped that her father would find happiness and move on from Isobel because that is what he deserved, happiness and nothing else. Little did she know that while her father would find happiness there would be struggles for them all some that could end deadly.
