Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 19

I galloped through the woods, kicking Mezza nonte to jump over logs, to dash through underbrush, anything to pull in sure I didnt lose sight of Katherine and Anna. How could I see trusted Katherine? How could I possess thought I loved her? I should have killed her when I had the chance. If I didnt catch up to them, Annas blood would be on my hold, too. Just as Rosalyns was.We reached an uprooted tree and Mezzanotte reared up, sending me tumbling approve contendd onto the forest floor. I felt a sharp stab as my temple cracked against a stone. The wind was knocked out of me, and I fought for breath, hunch forwarding it was only a matter of clock onwards Katherine would kill Anna and therefore finish me off.I felt gentle, ice-cold reach lifting me up to a sitting position.No , I gasped. The act of live hurt. My breeches were ripped, and I had a large gash on my knee. parentage flowed freely from my temple.Katherine knelt beside me, using the sleeve of her dress to stave off the bleeding. I observe her licking her lips, then mashing them firmly together. Y oure hurt, she state softly, continuing to apply pressure to my wound. I pushed myself away from her, only if Katherine clasped my shoulder, holding me in place.Dont worry. Remember. Y have my heart,ou Katherine said, holding my gaze with hers. Wordlessly, I nodded. If death was to flow, I hoped it would come quickly. Sure enough, Katherine bared her teeth, and I closed my eyeball, waiting for the agonizing ecstasy of her teeth against my neck. only when nothing came. Instead, I felt her cold skin near my mouth.Drink, Katherine commanded, and I saw a thin gash in her delicate w attaine skin. Blood was trickling from the cut as though through a brook after a rainstorm. I was repulsed and tried to turn my nous away, scarcely Katherine held on to the back of my neck. Trust me. It will help.Slowly, fearfully, I allowed my lips to touch the liquid. Immediately I felt warmth run see my throat. I co ntinued to drink until Katherine pulled her arm away.Thats enough, she murmured, holding her palm over the wound. Now, how do you feel? She sat back on her heels and surveyed me.How did I feel? I touched my leg, my temple. Everything felt smooth. Healed.Y did that, I said incredulously.ouI did. Katherine stood up and brushed her hands together. I noticed her wound, too, was now completely healed. Now tell me why I had to heal you. What are you doing in the forest? Y do itou its not safe, she said, concern be fictionalization her chiding tone.Y . Anna, I murmured, feeling sluggishou and sleepy, as one might feel after a long, wine- infused dinner. I blinked at my surroundings. Mezzanotte was hitched to a tree, and Anna was sitting on a complication, hugging her knees to her chest and watching us. Instead of terror, Annas face was full of confusion as she looked from me, to Katherine, then back to me.Stefan, Anna is one of my friends, Katherine said simply.Does Stefan know? Anna as ked peculiarly, whispering as if I wasnt standing three feet from her.We can trust him, Katherine said, nodding definitively.I absolved my throat, and both girls looked at me.What are you doing? I asked finally.Meeting, Katherine said, gesturing to the clearing.Stefan Salvatore, a throaty voice said. I whirled around and saw a third figure emerge from the shadows. close to without thinking, I held up the vervain from my breast pocket, which looked as useless as a daisy clutched in my hand.Stefan Salvatore, I heard again. I glanced wildly between Anna and Katherine, but their facial expressions were impossible to read. An owl hooted, and I pressed my fist into my mouth to keep from screaming.Its okay, Mama. He knows, Anna called to the shadows.Mama. So that meant collect was also a vampire. But how could she be? She was the apothecary, the one who was supposed to heal the sick, not tear out human throats with her teeth. Then again, Katherine had healed me, and she hadnt torn out my throat. cliff emerged from between the trees, her gaze change on me. How do we know hes safe? she asked suspiciously, in a voice that was much more ominous than the polite tone she used at her apothecary.He is, Katherine said, smiling sweetly as she gently touched my arm. I shivered and clutched the vervain, Cordelias words echoing in my head. This herb could stop the devil. But what if wed all gotten it wrong, and vampires like Katherine werent devils but angels? What then?Drop the vervain, Katherine said. I looked into her large, cat-like eyes and dropped the plant to the forest floor. Immediately, Katherine used the tip of her boot to cover it with pine exactles and leaves.Stefan, you look as though youve seen a ghost, Katherine laughed, turning toward me. But her laughter wasnt mean. Instead, it sounded melodic and musical and slightly sad. I collapsed onto a gnarled tree root. I noticed my leg was shaking and held my hands firmly against my knee, which was now completely smooth, as if the fall had n constantly happened. Katherine took the motion as an invitation for her to perch on my knee. She sat and looked down on me, running her hands through my hair.Now, Katherine, he doesnt look like hes seen a ghost. Hes seen vampires. Three of them. I glanced up at dip as if I were an obedient schoolboy and she were my schoolmarm. She sat down on a nearby rock slab, and Anna perched next to her, suddenly looking much younger than her fourteen years. But, of course, if Anna was a vampire, then that meant she wasnt fourteen at all. My straits spun, and I felt a momentary wave of dizziness. Katherine patted the back of my neck, and I began to breathe easier.Okay, Stefan, Pearl said as she rested her chin on her steepled fingers and gazed at me. First of all, I need you to remember that Anna and I are your neighbors, and your friends. Can you remember that?I was transfixed by her gaze. Pearl then smiled a curious half smile. Good, she exhaled.I nodded dumbly, too overwhelmed to think, let alone speak. We were living in South Carolina right after the war, Pearl began.After the war? I asked, before I could stop myself.Anna giggled, and Pearl cracked a tiny sliver of a smile. The War of Independence, Pearl explained briefly. We were lucky during the war. All safe, all sound, all a family. Her voice caught in her throat, and she closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. My husband ran a small apothecary when a wave of consumption hit town. Everyone was affectedmy husband, my two sons, my baby daughter. Within a week, they were dead.I didnt know what to say. Could I say I was sorry for something that had happened so long ago?And then Anna began coughing. And I knew I couldnt lose her, too. My heart would break, but it was more than that, Pearl said, shaking her head as if caught in her own world. I knew my soul and my looking at would break. And then I met Katherine.I glanced toward Katherine. She looked so young, so innocent. I glanc ed away before she could look at me.Katherine was different, Pearl said. She arrived in town sablely, without relatives, but she forthwith became part of society.I nodded, wondering who, then, was killed in the Atlanta fire that brought Katherine to Mystic Falls. But I didnt ask, waiting for Pearl to continue her story.She cleared her throat. Still, there was something intimately her that was unusual. All the ladies and I talked nigh it. She was beautiful, of course, but there was something else. Something otherworldly. Some called her an angel. But then she never got sick, not during the cold seasons, and not when the consumption began in town. at that place were certain herbs she wouldnt touch in the apothecary. Charleston was a small town then. People talked.Pearl reached for her daughters hand. Anna would have died, Pearl continued. Thats what the doctor said. I was desperate for a cure, wracked with grief and feeling so helpless. Here I was, a woman surrounded by medicine, unable to help my daughter live. Pearl shook her head in disgust.So what happened? I asked.I asked Katherine one day if she knew of anything that could be done. And as soon as I asked, I knew she did. There was something in her eyes that changed. But she still took a few minutes of silence before she responded and thenPearl brought Anna to my chambers one night, Katherine interjected.She saved me, Anna said in a soft voice. She saved me, Anna said in a soft voice. Mother too.And thats how we ended up here. We couldnt stay in Charleston forever, never growing old, Pearl explained. Of course, soon well have to move again. Thats the way it goes. Were gypsies, navigating between Richmond and Atlanta and all the towns in between. And now we have another war to deal with. sightedness so much history really proves to us that some things never do change, Pearl said, smiling ruefully. But there are worse ways to pass the time.I like it here, Anna admitted. Thats why Im s taked well be sen t away. She said that last part as a whisper, and something about her tone make me achingly sad.I thought of the encounter Id attended that afternoon. If Father had his way, they wouldnt be sent away, theyd be killed.The attacks? I asked finally. It had been the one question that had been nagging at me ever since Katherines confession. Because if she didnt do it, then who ?Pearl shook her head. Remember, were your neighbors and friends. It wasnt us. We never would behave like that.Never, Anna parroted, shaking her head fearfully, as though she were being accused.But some of our tribe have, Pearl said darkly.Katherines eyes hardened. But its not just we or the other vampires who are causing trouble. Of course, thats who everyone blames, but no one seems to remember that theres a war going on with untold bloodshed. All people care about are vampires. Hearing Damons words in Katherines mouth was like a bucketful of cold water in my face, a reminder that I wasnt the only person in Kat herines universe.Who are the other vampires? I asked gruffly.Its our community, and we will take care of it, Pearl said firmly. She stood up, then walked across the clearing, her feet crunching on the ground until she stood above me. Stefan, Ive told you the story and now here are the circumstances We need blood to live. But we dont need it from humans, Pearl said, as if she were explaining to one of her customers how an herb worked. We can get it from animals. But, like humans, some of us dont have self-control, and some of us attack people. Its really not that much different from a rogue soldier, is it?I suddenly had an image of one of the soldiers wed just played poker with. Were any of them vampires, too?And remember, Stefan, we only know some. There could be more. Were not as uncommon as you may think, Katherine said.And now, because of these vampires we dont even know, were all being hunted, Pearl said, tears filling her eyes. Thats why were meeting here tonight. We need to di scuss what to do and come up with a plan. Just this afternoon, Honoria Fells brought a vervain concoction to the apothecary. How that woman even knows about vervain, I have no idea. Suddenly, I feel like Im an animal about to be trapped. People have glanced at our necks, and I know theyre wondering about our necklaces, piecing together the fact that all three of us always wear them. Pearl trailed off as she raised her hands to the sky, as if in an cheesed off prayer.Quickly, I glanced at each of the women and realized that Anna and Pearl were wearing ornate cameos like the one Katherine wore.The necklace? I asked, clutching my own throat as if I, too, had a mysterious blue gem there.Lapis lazuli. It allows us to walk in daylight. Those of our kind cannot, usually. But these gems protect us. Theyve allowed us to live modal(prenominal)ly and, perhaps, even allowed us to stay more in touch with our human side than we would have otherwise, Pearl said thoughtfully. Y dont knowou what i ts like, Stefan. Pearls matter-of-fact voice dissolved into sobs. Its good to know that we have friends we can trust.I took out my handkerchief from my breast pocket and handed it to her, unsure what else I could do. She dabbed her eyes and shook her head. Im sorry. Im so sorry that you have to know about this, Stefan. I knew from the last time that war changes things, but I never thought its too soon to have to move again.Ill protect you, I heard myself saying, in a voice that didnt quite sound like mine.But but how? Pearl asked. Far off in the distance, a branch broke, and all four of us jumped. Pearl glanced around. How? she said again, finally, when all was still.My fathers leading a charge in a few weeks. I felt a tiny pinprick of betrayal as I said it.Giuseppe Salvatore. Pearl gasped in disbelief. But how did he know?I shook my head. Its Father and Jonathan Gilbert and Honoria Fells and mayor Lockwood and Sheriff Forbes. They seem to know about vampires from books. Father has an old volume in his study, and together they came up with the idea to lead a siege.Then hell do it. Giuseppe Salvatore is not a man to have his opinions easily swayed, Pearl stated.No, maam. I realized how funny it was to call a vampire maam. But who was I to say what was normal and what wasnt? Once again, my mind drifted to my brother and his words, his casual laughter when it came to Katherines true nature. Maybe it wasnt that Katherine was evil, or uncommon at all. Maybe the only thing that was uncommon was the fact that Father was fixated on eradicating the vampires.Stefan, I promise that nothing Ive said to you was a lie, Pearl said. And I know that we will do everything in our power to hold in that no more animals or humans are killed as long as were here. But you simply must do what you can. For us. Because Anna and I have come too far and gone through too much to simply be killed by our neighbors.Y wont be, I said, with more convictionou than I ever had in my life. Im not sure what Ill do yet, but I will protect you. I promise. I was making the promise to the three of them, but was looking only at Katherine. She nodded, a tiny spark igniting in her eyes.Good, Pearl said, reaching out her hand to help a sleepy-eyed Anna to her feet. Now, weve been here in the forest too long. The less were seen together, the better. And, Stefan, we trust you, she said, just the tiniest hint of a warning in her otherwise rich voice.Of course, I said, grabbing Katherines hand as Anna and Pearl walked out of the clearing. I wasnt worried about them. Because they worked at the apothecary, they could get away with walking in the middle of the night they could easily tell anyone who saw them that they were searching for herbs and mushrooms. searching for herbs and mushrooms.But I was scared for Katherine. Her hands felt so small, and her eyes looked so frightened. She was depending on me, a thought that filled me with equal amounts of pluck and dread.Oh, Stefan, Kather ine said as she flung her arms around my neck. I know everything will be fine as long as were together. She grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the forest floor. And then, lying with Katherine amid the pine needles and the damp earth and the smell of her skin, I wasnt frightened anymore.