The Original

Interesting Developments

Bonnie and Genevieve sat on the floor, across from each other, holding hands. Bonnie channeled Genevieve's power as she chanted the spell. In her mind's eye, Genevieve could see the person she was after. The woman was standing in a private airplane hangar, getting ready to board a plane. She turned to the person next to her and said something. America.

Genevieve's eyes flew open, and she broke her hold on Bonnie. Bonnie began gasping for air, her breath having been knocked out of her by the spell.

"Who was that?" she asked.

Genevieve stood up and began pacing. She kept running her hands through her hair, and muttering to herself.

"Genevieve, who was that?" Bonnie repeated, this time with more anger.

She stopped in her tracks, and looked down at Bonnie. Then, with a flick of Genevieve's wrist, Bonnie was suddenly on her feet again.

"Woah! What was that? How on earth did you do that?" She eyed Gen warily. "You can't possibly be a witch..."

"Oh, but I am Bonnie." 

"But, that defies the laws of nature! Everyone knows that a vampire can't be a witch, too!"

"And why do you think that is?"

"I-I don't know. All I know is that some witches from, like, a thousand years ago made it impossible."

"No, Bonnie. I made it impossible."

"But, I don't understand. Just how old are you?" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Much, much older than you think. Now, Bonnie, you are going to forget all of this. Do you understand me?"

"No! I can't just 'forget' that you're a witch and a vampire! How do you expect me to do that? And don't even think about trying to compel me! I'm on vervain."

"Yes, I can smell its stench on you. And with the right amount of effort, I could probably compel you despite the vervain. But, no matter. I have an easier way of doing this."

She placed her hand on Bonnie's shoulder, and though Bonnie tried, she couldn't break free of her grasp, despite it being soft and gentle. Genevieve look Bonnie right in the eyes, and as she began to speak, her voice began to change. It became more melodic, and lilting. The sound of her voice made Bonnie feel calm and relaxed, perfectly at ease. She felt mesmerized by Genevieve.

"Bonnie, I want you to listen to me carefully. You are not going to remember this. You are not going to remember who it is I am looking for, or the fact that I am a witch. And you are not going to remember that I am making you forget. As far as you know, Damon brought me here to ask you to perform the spell, he left, we did the spell, it worked, I thanked you, and then I left to meet Damon and Stefan. You will have no recollection of the person I am searching for. And when questioned, you will tell them exactly what I told you. Do you understand?"

Bonnie nodded, completely lost in Gen's eyes, which had begun to glow a faint golden light.

"Good." She released her hold of Bonnie, and for a moment, Bonnie just stood there, not moving. Then, she shook herself out of her stupor, and looked around the room.

"Thank you for all your help Bonnie! I greatly appreciate it!"

"Oh, yeah...of course. Anytime."

With that, Gen walked out the door, leaving Bonnie to wonder what had just happened.

Genevieve sat at a table in The Mystic Grill with Damon, Stefan, Elena, a girl named Caroline, and Bonnie. She kept eyeing Bonnie, nonchalantly, checking to make sure that her persuasion was lasting.

"Elena, what are you wearing tonight?" Caroline asked, turning to her friend.

"Oh, I was gonna go with that black dress, with the silver sequins, and the silver pumps. I thought those looked the best on me."

"Wearing to what, may I ask?" Genevieve inquired.

"There's a dance at our school," Caroline replied, "We do it every year. It's called the 'Decade Dance'. It's so much fun! This year we're doing the 20's, even though we did that last year, but the dance was rudely interrupted, so we're doing it again this year!"

Bonnie and Elena rolled their eyes at Caroline's enthusiasm. Damon opened his mouth to say something, but right then, the door opened, and in walked an old friend.

"Hey guys!" called Alaric, as he made his way across the room to their table. His eyes then caught Genevieve's. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in!" he chuckled. 

Genevieve laughed, and stood up to hug him.

"Been a while, Gen. How you doin'?" 

"I'm doing well, Ric. How are you?"

"I'm good," he said with a smile, before sitting down to join his friends.

"Wait, so, do you just know everybody here?" Elena asked incredulously.

"What do you mean?" Ric questioned.

"Well, apparently, she's good friends with Damon and Stefan, now, apparently, she knows you too. And yet, we've never head of, or seen, her before."

Alaric looked at Gen with curiosity.

"Yes, it's true, I've known Damon and Stefan for many years. I met them shortly after they first turned, and then we ran into each other again a century later."

"So how do you know Alaric?" 

"Well, I first became acquainted with his wife, Isobel, years ago, when she was starting her research on vampires, and other supernatural creatures. She introduced me to Alaric. Then, in her pursuit of vampires, she discovered that I was one, and she hounded me for weeks to answer questions. Some I refused to answer, some I happily did." Gen turned to Alaric, and placed her hand comfortingly over his. "I was very sorry to hear about Isobel, Ric."

"Do you know what happened to her?" He muttered.

Gen released her hand from his, and looked down at her palms, rubbing her fingers back and forth nervously.

"Yes, I know. I suppose it's time for me to be honest with you." Ric looked at her, and she sighed. "Isobel came to see me not long after she turned. She asked for my help, but I refused, because I knew she was going to leave you. I told her the best I could do was offer some advice, which she accepted. I gave her some tips on keeping her hunger in check, on hiding what she was from humans, and...I also advised her to return to you, if only to tell you that she had turned and that she was leaving. I felt she owed you that, and I told her as much, but she was not of the same mind."

"No, she never really did care about me in the end," he scoffed. 

"Did you know she was my mother?" Elena whispered, her voice shaky, and her expression dark.

"I had guessed that she had a child, given some of the things she rambled about after she turned, but I promise I did not know it was you until this morning. As soon as I saw you I knew you must be her daughter. You look so much like her."

Everyone was quiet, the atmosphere growing increasingly tension filled, as well as sad and dreary, until Damon spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Anyways...Gen, would you like to come to the dance tonight? Seeing as you're only in town for a short time, we might as well make it a good time!" He smirked.

"I would love to."