The Lockwood estate stood silent beneath the pale wash of moonlight. Its tall windows glowing faintly from within. From the outside, it looked peaceful, dignified even, but I knew better. Inside those walls, men were planning the deaths of monsters. And tonight, I intended to become their ally.
The Founder's Council of Mystic Falls was a circle bound by bloodlines, pride and paranoia. Outsiders weren't welcome, especially those who dared speak of the supernatural. If I walked into that room, unprepared, I'd be branded a threat before I could draw a breath.
So, waited for the perfect moment. A private meeting in the Lockwood library, when they believed themselves safest among their own. I could hear their voices before I entered. Their conversation was deep, hushed and tense. The faint crackle of the fireplace mingled with the scent of aged whiskey and varnished oak.
When I pushed the door open, conversation died instantly. Every head tuned toward me.
"Who are you? And what business do you have interrupting a council meeting?" Jacob Lockwood's voice thundered.
The air thickened. Their eyes was sharp, calculating and hostile as they tracked every movement that I made. I stepped forward slowly, hands visible, and my face was calm. A smile curved my lips, it was not warm but respectful.
"My name is Natalia." I began, letting my voice carry through the room.
"And I believe we want the same thing. To rid this town of the creature that plagues it." I saw the wary glances that they changed between each other. My eyes advert to the sound of the creaked noise that came from the chairs and I saw William Forbes, the eldest among them, narrowed his eyes at me.
"And why should we trust a stranger who claims to know of things best left uspoken?" He asked slowly.
"You shouldn't. Not yes, but I know all of you. Your families have been protecting this town for generations. I admire that loyalty. I am only asking for the chance to prove my worth." I replied simply.
"And what worth would that be, exactly." Giuseppe Salvatore leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table, his tone clipped.
"Knowledge. Power. Experience. I am not just a woman who knows about vampires. I am a witch." I said and the firelight damned across their faces as I looked at them with a small smile.
A murmur rippled through the room. Disbelief, suspicion, and a flicker of fear.
"A witch?" Thomas Fell said, voice edged with amusement.
"You expect us to take your word for it?" He add.
"Prove it." Giuseppe's gaze hardened as his eyes never leave me. Another smile appeared on my face as I had been waiting for that.
With a slow wave of my hand, the candles lining the walls flared to life. Flames rose tall and steady, their light illuminating every wary expression in the room. The shadows shifted, crawling up the walls like living things.
But parlor tricks weren't enough for them. They needed to see something real, something dangerous. I took a step closer to Giuseppe.
"If you want proof, then test me." I said evenly.
"Give me vervain if you must. Or perhaps..." I turned my gaze to the man at the end of the table.
"...your pocket watch, Mr.Gilbert." Hearing my words, Johnathan Gilbert's jaw tightened. His hand instinctively went to the coat pocket where he hid his secret invention. It was the vampire detecting watch. The blood drained from his face.
"How do you know about that?" He asked quietly.
"I make it my business to know what others keep hidden." I said.
"Knowledge is the only weapon human have against what lurks in the dark." I said and Giuseppe broke the silence with a sharp gesture.
"Bring the vervain tea." He said and the servant obeyed. As the cup was placed before me, the room seemed to lean closer. The scent was sharp and bitter. I lifted it without hesitation, meeting Giuseppe's eyes.
"Drink it." He commanded and I obeyed. I drink it slowly and deliberately. The tea laced with vervain slid down my throat but nothing happened, as vervain doesn't hurt me, but verbane does. When I set the empty cup back on the table, not a muscle in my face moved.
"Satisfied?" I asked quietly and Giuseppe stared at me, searching for signs of deceit. Then, finally, he nodded.
"You passed." He said.
"But understand this. We don't trust you. Not yet." He added coldly.
"Good. Because I wouldn't trust myself either, not until I proved myself." I said and that earned the faintest hint of approval in a few eyes around the table.
"Then prove it. You say you can help us deal with the vampire problem. Show us." William Forbes said as he leaned forward.
"Then let's start with the most dangerous one." I said as I turn to look at Giuseppe Salvatore.
"Katherine Pierce. She's staying at your home, Mr.Salvatore. And she's playing with both of your sons against each other." When I'm done, I could see Giuseppe's eyes flashed with anger. His face is as red at my handkerchief.
"Watch your tongue-" He couldn't finish his sentence when I cut his words short.
"Calm down Mr.Salvatore. I am not accusing them." I said, and my voice was firm.
"They are under compulsion. No man, however strong can resist a vampire's compulsion. Not if they didn't have vervain in their blood." I said.
"Katherine is a master of deception, Mr.Salvatore. her beauty is not mere vanity. It is her greatest weapon. She wields it with precision, ensnaring men with a glance, commanding them with nothing more than a whisper. Most surrender willingly, mistaking her manipulation for affection. But your sons...they are cautious, perceptive. She couldn't charm them the way she does others. So, when allure failed her, she turned to compulsion." I added and Giuseppe seemed to calm down a little.
"If you want to save your boys, you will need someone who knows her. Someone who had fought her before."
"And you have?" Thomas Fell's brow furrowed.
"Yes." My voice softened, but it carried weight.
"Katherine and I have a long, bloody history. I know her better than she knows herself."
"And yet, you failed to kill her. Tell us, Lady Natalia. Why should we believe that this time will end differently." Johnathan Gilbert said.
"Failed?" My gaze flickered toward him, cold and deliberate.
"No, Mr.Gilbert. I simply granted her mercy. Time to change, to repent, to prove herself that she still possessed a heart beneath all that charm and cruelty. But she mistook my mercy for weakness, and squandered every chance I offered her. Now, I no longer intend to give her time. I intend to give her consequences."
"So you would spare a vampire if you deemed them worthy of another chance?" Giuseppe Salvatore asked skeptically.
"I would." I replied without a pause. The word fell from my lips like a verdict.
"Not all who walk in darkness have chosen it, my lords. Some were turned unwillingly. They were cursed to an existence they neither sought nor deserved. All they wish for is a fragment of the life that was stolen from them. Katherine was once such a soul, until she made her peace with damnation."
"But they still must feed. Blood is their only means of survival." Thomas Fell said.
"Indeed, Mr.Fell. but do not mistake necessity for savagery. Blood flows in every living creature, not only in man. Those who wish to restrain their hunger may take from the beasts of the earth. It weakens them, yes...but it spares them the weight of innocent blood on their hands." I said and my tone softened, but my eyes gleamed with a knowing chill.
"To endure weakness for the sake of restraint, that, gentlemen, is what separates a creature from a monster. And what, I wonder, separated a man from the same." I said and I can see the hesitation in their eyes, but suddenly. Suddenly Giusepppe Salvatore stands up and walk towards me.
"Very well. We will work together. But if you betray ys, witch, I will personally see to your end."
"I wouldn't expect anything else." I said.
"And what do you suggest we do?" A woman's voice echoes in the room. There she is, standing at the entrance of the library. I know her. She is a witch, and everyone in this room knows that. Her name is Sophia Nain.
"Lady Sophia Nain. She comes from a family of-" Johnathan Gilbert introduce her to me, but I cut his introduction short.
"Witches." I said.
"Like I said Mr.Gilbert. I make sure to know who I am working with or who I am against." I said as I give Sophia Nain a nod.
I let the room fall in silent and measured each of their faces before I spoke. My voice low, deliberate. The kind of voice that commands attention without shouting.
"Observe." I began.
"Katherine Pierce moves in daylight as if it were her birthright. She does not walk in the sun by chance. She wears a ring that grants her that insolence. Such talismans do not work in a vacuum, they require a witch's hand to attune them. I know who provides that hand. You need not trouble yourselves with the witch. I will take care of her." I paused, letting the implication settle. A plan must sound inevitable to be believed.
"As for her followers, they are many and scattered, but the lynchpin is Katherine. Capture her first, and the rest will unravel. Myt proposal is surgical rather than reckless."
"Mr.Salvatore, you must have your sons drink vervain in precisely two days time. If Katherine feeds from them while vervain runs through their veins, the toxin will sap her strength. In that moment of weakness, we take her." Their eyes flicked to one another. I pressed on before doubt could breed.
"Once Katherine is contained, your invention will become invaluabl, Mr.Gilbert." I said.
"The device will reveal any vampire that is near you. When her followers learn that she has fallen, they will scatter. That is when we strike. It will be swift and coordinated. A stake will end each vampire's life, yes, but we cannot afford the luxury of dispatching them one by one. We must corral them."
"So we become the executioners." Thomas Fell's voice rose.
"You become the instruments of order." I corrected softly.
"We will do the work together. We shall prepare a place. Somewhere to purge them with fire when the time comes. It is brutal, but effective." I said and Giuseppe's expression tightened.
"How many are we to face?" Giuseppe asked.
"Eleven." I answered without hesitation.
"Eleven mouths that feed, and one of them, even alone, could turn this night into a slaughter. You will need more than courage, you will need strategy."
"And you? You will stand with us." William Forbes challenged.
"Yes." I allowed the single syllable to be plain and cold.
"Ms.Nain and and I will be there to weaken them, to strip away the advantages those creatures enjoy. I will handle the witch. Ms.Nain will temper their fury with wards. You will supply the domain and the sons. Mr.Gilbert will provide detection. Mr.Salvatore will supply the will to act. Together, we will close this door." They all nodded in understanding and the meeting end without any more questions or doubt.
When the meeting dispersed, the only one who lingered was Sophia Nain. She studied me in silence, her dark eyes sharp and ancient.
"There's something different about you." She said softly.
"Is there?" I asked, feigning innocence.
"You feel...wrong. Not dark. Not light. Something in between. Something twisted." She murmured.
"Perhaps I just don't fit in your neat little categories." I smiled faintly and Sophia's gaze on me didn't waver.
"Be careful. The Council doesn't forgive mistakes." She said.
"I don't make them. And once Katherine is gone, I will be gone too." I said, turning toward the door.
But even as I left, I could feel her eyes on me, and I knew she sensed the truth. She couldn't name it, but she felt it. '
The vampire beneath the witch.