𝓖𝓲𝓵𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓽 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱

Ghosts and Tears

Constant vigilance was something that stuck with the female war hero everywhere she went. It was the simple yet powerful mantra of one of her favourite people; sure Mad-eye was gone now but nonetheless, it stuck. The only downside was that she assessed every situation for a threat. A very observant person could tell by her tense movements and subtle glances scanning any room she entered that she was a paranoid and dangerous person. But Tori had yet to meet someone in this small town who was that attentive and this irked her immensely. 

In the wizarding world everyone knew her, praised her as a heroine and although it was extremely irritating, it also provided her with some comfort. No one dared touch her in Britain they knew that if she wished she could dispose of them with a snap of her fingers, they knew she was powerful. 

But here it was different; there were unknown variables everywhere, no one could know about the power she possessed and that made her want to cry out until she couldn't scream any more. But she didn't because she knew if she did, she would break completely and the weak bonds holding her together would shatter into a million pieces. All would be lost. She quickly snapped out of her dark thoughts when she heard the female vampire.

"Hey, Tori! You in there?" Rebekah called waving a hand in front of her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine Bekah." She said wistfully.

"Hey, where are you staying at the moment?" Tori continued curiously.

"Ugh, my brother wants me to keep an eye on that doppelgänger bitch so I'm living with the Salvatores." The blonde moaned in an exasperated tone.

"That sucks, oh shit I've got to go I'm late to meet Jeremy." She said grabbing her keys and ushering the vampire out the door.

"It's okay, we can meet up soon," Bekah said before vamp speeding away, somehow balancing all of her shopping bags perfectly.

********

Victoria hopped off her bike and noticed a group of volunteers preparing the town for the Night of Illuminations. Some were hanging lanterns from the trees and Carol Lockwood the new mayor was making a speech for the volunteers and the citizens.



"As a long-time member of the Historical Society, I am especially proud to be kicking off this day of festivities. Thank you, volunteers. Tonight, we turn off our town's lights and flare up our lanterns in honour of the night of illuminations started by our founders 150 years ago. Here's founding family member Tobias Fell with a history lesson."


Everyone applauds and noticing Alaric and Jeremy are listening to the speech, she walks over.


"Hey Jer! Sorry I'm late." She says and hugs him lightly.


"It's okay Tori, what are we doing here?" he asks Ric.


"Tobias Fell is the head of the history department. I didn't have a choice." He explains, annoyed.


"All right, that explains what you're doing here." Jer says sassily.


"Well, I'm the one who can fail you if you don't help me out." The resident alcoholic replies in a similar tone.


Elena walks over and Tori quietly cusses, not wanting to be in the presence of her adoptive sister.


"Hey, sorry I'm late. What did I miss?" she says happily, subtly glaring at Tori. Why couldn't she just give it a rest? Would that be so hard?


"Just a bunch of historical lies." A girl beside Jeremy says, making Tori jump.


Jeremy looks at his sister worriedly noticing that she can see his dead vampire ex-girlfriend.


"You didn't miss anything." He dismisses, giving the witch a look that says 'we will talk later.'


Tobias Fell then starts giving his speech.


"The first illumination was held in celebration with the newfound prosperity that Mystic Falls enjoyed after the war.


"After the founders stole from all the vampires." Anna says sarcastically.


Jeremy and Tori laugh and Elena looks at them concerned.


"What's so funny?" she asks confused.


Victoria and Jeremy ignore her and look at the stage. Elena then turns her head to look too, all while Anna keeps commenting on the speech.


"The founders, they placed lanterns over the doors to indicate that it was safe for their neighbours to come outside again."


"Safe from the vampires." Anna continues for him, unbeknownst to everyone else.


Jeremy smiles at her she smiles back, looks at him and takes his hand.


"That night was an opportunity for the community of Mystic Falls to come together, a chance to strengthen ties with neighbours, business owners, and the..."