07. Death Keeps Knocking On My Door

Asher sat in the Damon and Aria Salvatore memorial library, he glanced behind him where his two siblings sat, busy writing letters for remembrance day, Asher let out a sigh, before turning back to write in his diary.

It's no secret to anyone, that we Salvatore's are no stranger to death, hell we're surrounded by it, but that doesn't mean that I like talking about the people I've lost.

A few years ago, Care Bear had come up with the brilliant idea that every year on remembrance day, all the students of the Salvatore Boarding School will write letters to the people they've lost, we're supposed to sign the letters with our name, fold them up, and scatter them throughout the cemetery.

Ever since Care Bear introduced this tradition, Mia has always written letters to both mom and dad, but me and Alec never did, however this is the first year that Alec sat with Mia and decided to wrote mom and dad a letter, I think seeing mom again changed something for him, I know it changed everything for me, but despite that I can't write to her or dad, frankly speaking, I'd rather not think about them at all, but it seems that no matter how much I try to stay away, death keeps knocking on my door

Asher, Hope and Rafael were walking down a corridor together, when suddenly Rafael stopped in his stop, his eyes going wide seeing the girl who had just entered the school.

"Whose that?" a confused Asher asked, wondering why did Rafael look so shocked.

"Cassie" a shocked Rafael whispered, making both Hope and Asher look at him in shock.

Cassie looked towards Rafael and immediately a sense of relief went through the very confused girl, "Raf".

"Cassie?" a shocked Hope asked, "Isn't that your--?".

"My girlfriend" Rafael finished, before rushing over to Cassie and pulling her into a tight hug.

While Rafael had his reunion with his dead girlfriend, Hope and Asher exchanged a worried look between them.

***

Alaric let out a yell and stabbed the necromancer in his head with a butcher's knife, the necromancer he had captured the night Aria died again, after realising he was the one who brought his adoptive daughter back again and was using her to hurt her own children.

"Was that really necessary?" an unphased necromancer asked.

"I told you I need answers" a frustrated Alaric retorted.

"Why would I help you?" the necromancer asked, "You have me in chains, this indignity will not go unpunished".

"We have been at this for days" Alaric reminded, "Answer my questions, or I'm gonna peel your skin off like a grape and shower you with battery acid".

The necromancer pulled the knife out of his head, "A rather grotesque effort, considering it will feel like a delicate tickle of a feather", the necromancer forwarded the knife towards Alaric.

An annoyed Alaric snatched the knife from his hand and slammed it on the table that was full with his weapons, "All right" he said, grabbing a blow torch, "Let's see how this feels".

Before Alaric could use the blow torch on the necromancer, Asher and Hope rushed down to talk to him.

"Alaric" Asher called out, announcing his presence.

"Oh, there you are, boy" the necromancer said, "I was wondering if you'd come visit me again, how's your brother and friend, the two guys I saw you with earlier, trying to steal an illicit peek at me?".

"As we speak, he's having an emotional reunion with his dead girlfriend" Hope revealed, "I assume we have you to thank?".

"Poor dear" the necromancer taunted, "Her spirit was clinging to him like a vine in winter, it took barely any effort, just a little wrinkle of the nose, and poof, young love reborn, you're lucky that's all I did, the way you've treated a man of my stature, you should be ashamed".

"Literally nobody knows who you are" an annoyed Alaric snapped, after stepped out of the cell he had trapped the necromancer in.

The necromancer let out a scoff, "That's impossible".

Alaric rolled his eyes before turning to Hope and Asher, "I'll check on Raf" he said, going upstairs to check on the werewolf and his dead girlfriend.

"If you want an end to this misery, simply bring me the knife and I'll be on my way" the necromancer offered.

"Asher! Hope!" Alaric yelled.

After giving the necromancer one last glance, both Asher and Hope followed after Alaric.

"Oh" the necromancer smirked, having a feeling this wasn't the last time he was going to see the oldest Salvatore triplet.

***

"So clearly the interrogation isn't going well" Asher commented, as him and Hope caught up with Alaric.

"He's a diva" an angry Alaric simply said.

"So what's the plan?" a curious Hope asked, "I know you don't want to give over the knife, but we can't have him raising the lost loved ones of every person in this school".

"I will handle it" Alaric assured, "I have questions that need answers".

"Well, from where I'm standing I'm not sure you are handling it too well, Alaric" Asher said.

Alaric stopped walking and glared at the oldest Salvatore, "Asher, I said I will handle it, now, just stay away from him".

As Alaric walked over to Rafael and Cassie, Hope looked at her best friend, "You're not going to stay away from him, are you?".

"Nope" Asher replied.

Hope let out a frustrated sigh, "Alright, what's the plan?".

"I don't know yet" Asher replied, walking away.

"So where are you going now?" a confused Hope asked.

"To figure out a plan" Asher said.

"Make it a safe plan!" Hope yelled after her best friend.

"No promises!" Asher yelled back, making Hope shake her head at him.

***

"Please tell me you've found something" Asher said, entering the library where Dorian was.

"Necromancy is everywhere in occult literature" Dorian informed, "It's a form of sorcery that dates back to ancient Greece, it involves the ability to communicate with and raise the dead, but there's nothing about a specific necromancer, so whoever this dude is, he's been erased from history like every other monster that comes looking for the knife".

"In all those readings you did, has there been any mention of how to stop him from bringing people back from the dead?" Asher asked, "Because if you couldn't tell, one by one his bringing back all of our lost loved ones".

"I'll look look into it, but tomorrow's my day off, so it might take a minute" Dorian said,

"You're taking a holiday?" an annoyed Asher asked.

"Yes Asher, I take a holiday every year on remembrance day" Dorian reminded, "I write my letters, pack my lunch and I head to the cemetery and ring the bell in honor of my dead family, so for the next twenty four hours, ask Dr. Saltzman".

"Fine" Asher said, realising Dorian needed a day off.

"You know Ash, after the week you had, you look like you need a day off as well" a worried Dorian pointed out, "Maybe take a page from your brother and sister and take a step back from this one".

"I'm fine, Dorian" Asher stated, "I don't need a day off, what I need is to get rid of these monsters".

Dorian sighed, "Fine, go ahead and do your thing then Ash".

"That I will" Asher said, walking out the library.

***

"You have a powerful scent of death on you" the necromancer commented as Asher walked towards his cell, carrying two books in his hands, "It's quite lovely, really".

"Let's talk" Asher said, before using his magic to remove the chains from the necromancer's hands.

The necromancer let out a sigh and stood up from the chair, glad to finally be freed of the chains, "Such a puny creature dares to dalliance with almighty necromancer?".

"Yeah about that buddy, you're not the almighty necromancer to us, hell you don't even exist for us" Asher revealed.

"I won't fall for your mind games" the necromancer stated, refusing to believe Asher's words.

"I don't have time to play games with you" Asher said, "Let me put it in words that you will understand, something killed you, then you were put in a very dark place till what felt like eternity, but then suddenly you were pulled back into the light with only one mission in your mind, to retrieve the knife we have".

"Do continue" the necromancer said, Asher's words finally caught his attention once he realised everything the Salvatore boy said was the truth.

"The same thing had happened to every single creature that came to get the knife before you" Asher continued, "A dragon, a gargoyle, an arachne, a dryad".

"Bah, such creatures exist only in fiction" the necromancer stated.

"Clearly they don't" Asher retorted, "They were erased from our world, just like you were".

The necromancer let out a laugh, "That's preposterous, I'm world-renowned, people tremble at the sound of my name".

"Uh, no they don't, but since you don't believe, I brought you some books I found in our library" Asher said, forwarding the books he brought along with to the necromancer, "Read and see for yourself if I'm telling the truth or not".

The necromancer stared at Asher for a second before finally deciding to take the books from his hand.

***

"No!" the necromancer yelled, throwing the book into the wall while an amused Asher watched on, "No! No! No!", the necromancer started wrecking the cell and kicked the wall, "No! A lifetime's work, my legacy, reduced to something as pitiful as a brand of sorcery? Where I am barely a footnote? Who's responsible for this vile affront?".

Asher sat on the chair placed infront of the cell, "That's what you're going to help me figure out".

The necromancer looked at Asher for a second, before grabbing the chair he shoved to the floor and sitting down on it, "Well, then, I'm all ears".

***

"It's quite simple really" Asher told the necromancer, "To get to the bottom of this mystery, we need to know whose telling you what to do".

"No one's communicating with me" the necromancer stated, "My mind is a steel trap".

"Is it?" Asher asked, "Then how the hell did you know to resurrect my mom? It can't be a coincidence that right after Alaric talked about losing his daughter to the dryad, you bring her back and on top of that, the only reason you guys are coming to attack us is that knife, which clearly shows there's some kind of communication happening here with someone, now all we need to figure out is who the hell is pulling your strings".

"I am no puppet" an offended necromancer said, standing up in outrage, but Asher stayed sitting giving him a look, making the necromancer let out a defeated sigh, "It's less a voice, more an instinct, I simply know things".

"Like you know that the reason you're here is to get the knife and return it to a placed called Malivore" Asher connected.

Hearing the name Malivore, suddenly caused the necromancer to remember something, "If I return the knife to Malivore, I will be free".

"From from what?" a curious Asher asked.

"The blackness" the necromancer replied, "The void, the empty oblivion".

"Okay, cut it with the dramatics" an annoyed Asher said, standing up from his chair, "And tell me, do you know how to get to Malivore?".

"Only that the knife will lead me" the necromancer informed.

Asher grabbed his diary that he brought with him, he opened up a page and showed what he drew to the necromancer, immediately causing him to take a step back in fear, "From your reaction, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you know this symbol".

"It is the sign of the worst existential nightmare" the necromancer said, "The ultimate hell, the--".

"You're being dramatic again" Asher interrupted, "Stop with the dramatics and just tell me what this symbol means".

"That symbol represents what you say has happened to me" the necromancer revealed, "It means no one remembers you, no one celebrates you, no one mourns you, loosely translated, it means permanent death".

***

"Do you at least remember how you died?" Asher asked, trying to get answers out of the necromancer that will help him solve this Malivore mystery.

"I was wandering the beach of Normandy in need of a pick me up, so I thought I'd resurrect a few G.I.S to toy with some Nazis" the necromancer explained.

"Huh, so the dislike of Nazis isn't just restricted to the good ones" Asher commented.

"Good or bad, nobody like Nazis" the necromancer said, "One minute, I'm dancing with the dead on the sand, and the next, there was just blackness".

"So you have no idea who killed you?" an annoyed Asher asked, realising getting answers was going to be much harder than he initially thought.

"No, although that's not uncommon" the necromancer replied, "The subconscious has a way of protecting the mind against the trauma of death, I see it all the time in my line of work".

"Yeah but the memory is still there" Asher pointed out, an idea forming in his head, "Your mind might have blocked it out but that memory can still be accessed".

"You want to take a walk through my subconscious?" the necromancer asked, letting out a laugh, "Oh, oh, oh, well, at your own peril, my dear, cause I'm not sure you're quite tall enough to ride the scary rides".

"I've seen plenty scary in my life, I can handle your mind" Asher retorted.

"Fine, how are we going to do this then?" an amused necromancer asked.

"We're going to do this through my psychic side" Asher revealed.

***

"I'm sorry, you're doing what?!" a shocked Hope asked Asher, as the two best friends walked down the stairs and towards the cellar the necromancer was trapped in.

"I'm going to use my psychic abilities to enter the necromancer's mind" Asher repeated.

"And how are you sure this is going to work?" a worried Hope asked.

"I don't" Asher informed, "Which is why you're here".

"I'm here to watch things go wrong?!" Hope asked.

"No, you're here to make sure nothing goes wrong" Asher clarified.

"Hello, Hope" the necromancer greeted as the Salvatore and Mikaelson came in his vision, "Your grandmother Esther is waving hello just over your shoulder".

"Okay, I don't even know you and I know that's a lie" Hope said, "My grandmother doesn't wave, she plots on how to end her family".

The necromancer let out a chuckle, "Very well, shall we begin then?".

"Absolutely" Asher said, walking over to the cell door and unlocking it.

"Wait, where did you get the key of this cell from?" a confused Hope asked.

"Alec made a copy of all of Alaric's keys a long time ago" Asher informed.

"Speaking of Alec, does he know what you're up to?" Hope asked.

"If he knew, don't you think he will be here?" Asher retorted, sliding the cell door open.

"So you're going into the head of a grim reaper without telling anyone?" Hope asked, "Sounds responsible".

"I'm telling you" Asher defended.

The necromancer glared at Hope for calling him the grim reaper, "The reaper is a carnival sideshow hack! No you, you dirty your mouth mentioning his name in my presence, perhaps I should summon Esther to wash it out with soap?".

"I dare for her to show her face to me, I will rip her heart out, just like my father and Uncle Kol did a thousand years ago" Hope snapped, glaring at the necromancer.

"Yeah, don't anger her" Asher warned the necromancer, walking behind him, "If she really wanted to, she can end all of us with a click of her fingers".

"Exactly" Hope said, giving the necromancer a mock smile, she then looked at her best friend, "Ready?".

Asher placed his hands on the necromancer's shoulders, "Ready" he said, before closing his eyes, "Open your mind to me" Asher instructed the necromancer, after a moment, Asher opened his eyes again only to see himself in Mystic Grill.

"I'll be damned" an impressed necromancer said, appearing behind Asher, "I mean, I'm obviously damned, but it worked".

"Why are we here?" a confused Asher asked.

"You are the one who invited yourself along" the necromancer reminded.

"Not your head you idiot" Asher snapped, "I meant why are we at the Grill?".

"I just thought you'd like to come back to the place you spent most of you life at" the necromancer replied, "You know, I spent a good amount of time here, your father was good for my business, always killing people".

"How the hell do you know about my dad?" Asher asked, slowly starting to lose his cool.

"Well, he's standing right behind you" the necromancer pointed, immediately causing Asher to turn and look but to his disappointed, no one was standing behind him, Asher's reaction caused the necromancer to start laughing, "Kidding, kidding, but his spirit is all around you, plus, he and I did our fair share of drinking here when he was at this most murdery".

"If this is your way of messing with me, I suggest you stop before I lose my mind and attack you" a furious Asher warned.

"Frankly, I think you're the one messing with me" the necromancer snapped, "All this talk about solving the mystery of Malivore, I think you and I both know which mystery you'd love me to solve, you want to know how your dad is, or should I say, where he is, and if your mom and him are together".

"I don't want to know anything about my dad" Asher defended.

"Sure you do" the necromancer said, "You want to know if he's at peace with your mom or if he's suffering, regretting his sacrifice, after all, both him and your mother died to save their children, a lovely gesture for such a mercurial man, not to bother, I'm not telling you anything until we've finished our journey, now, let's get started, shall we? This is my conscious mind, we need to find the door to my subconscious, look for a hallway to nowhere, an endless staircase, something like that", suddenly both Asher and the necromancer started hearing music coming from outside, "Ooh, a second line, my favorite".

***

As the necromancer and Asher stepped out of the Grill, immediately Asher was confused wondering why a parade was happening in Mystic Falls.

"Yeah!" the necromancer yelled, "How I love the macabre! Oh, oh, the dance of death".

"You realise this dance never happens in Mystic Falls, right?!" Asher yelled over the loud music, but the necromancer ignored him.

"I wonder, who's the guest of honor?" the necromancer asked Asher, pointing to a coffin placed in the middle of the parade, "Let's take a look, perhaps, Damon Salvatore?".

"Dad!" a shocked Asher yelled, rushing over to the coffin just as the necromancer opened it up, after looking in the coffin, Asher glared at the necromancer, "There's nothing here".

"You're not ready for the truth" the necromancer said.

"No you dumbass, I meant there's literally nothing in here" Asher pointed out.

"Hmm?" the necromancer asked, looking into the coffin and realised Asher was right, the coffin had nothing but a pit of darkness, "Ah, clever boy, may I present the door to my subconscious? Well done, you".

The necromancer jumped into the coffin and immediately shut it behind him, a shocked Asher quickly opened the coffin up but to this shock, this time there was no darkness, just an empty coffin, with no necromancer in sight, Asher turned around and realised the streets of Mystic Falls were also empty.

In the real world, Asher opened his eyes and Hope breathed a sigh of relief, "You okay?" she asked.

"This bitch" Asher mumbled, coming infront of the necromancer and waving his hand infront of his face but getting no response from him, his eyes were still closed as he was still in his subconscious.

"What happened?" a confused Hope asked.

"The bastard ditched me" a furious Asher informed, "I have to go back in".

"Woah Asher, hold up" Hope said, grabbing Asher's arm and stopping from going back into the necromancer's head.

"There's no holding up anything Hope" Asher snapped, "If he's getting the answers, I need to know what they are".

Asher removed Hope's grip on his arm and walked behind the necromancer again, he placed his hands on his shoulder and once again was teleported into the necromancer's head.

Asher looked around and realised he was at the Grill again, only this time the necromancer wasn't anywhere near him, when Asher tried to leave he quickly realised all the doors were locked, Asher's eyes suddenly landed on a green door, he knew for a fact a door like that doesn't exist at the Grill so he quickly walked towards it and opened it up and immediately he was met with an dark and endless staircase.

"You've got to be kidding me" an annoyed Asher mumbled,  "So much for hating mind games".

Asher started walking down the dark stairs, after a bit of walking, Asher took another step only for the stairs below to him to suddenly disappear, causing the oldest Salvatore to fall into a pit of darkness.

***

Asher groaned in pain and slowly sat up, looking around, he was met with nothing but darkness, "Yeah, my hatred for you just keeps increasing" he snapped, standing up, "Now, where the hell are you?!", Asher looked around but found no sign of the necromancer anywhere, "Hey! I found your endless pit of horror, now show yourself!", once again, Asher was met with nothing but darkness, "Hello?!" Asher called out, looking around for the necromancer, "Hello?!".

In the real world, concern came over Hope's face once she saw Asher's breathing getting heavy, "Come on Ash, you can do this" she whispered.

***

"Okay, I realise what you're doing and let me tell you, it's only making me more angry!" Asher yelled, walking around in the darkness, "You think you know what I want from you, but you don't, I don't want to know anything about my dad, yes he jumped into that fire after my mom without even for a second thinking about what his children are going to do without both their parents, but that was his choice and I can't change it, and I've realised that and moved on, so you're wrong, I don't want to know anything about him", once again Asher saw no sign of the necromancer anywhere, finally having enough of this, Asher tried to leave the necromancer's mind but quickly realised he couldn't, "Are you seriously trapping me here?!".

In the real world, Hope watched as Asher as a frown appeared on Asher's face and he started whispering, "Let me out, let me out".

"Let him go!" Hope yelled to the necromancer, realising he was holding Asher in his head, but the necromancer said nothing, instead his eyes went white and he started laughing, Hope quickly rushed out the cellar, hoping to find help for Asher before it was too late.

***

"Alec! Mia!" a panicked Hope yelled, running over to the two, who were sitting on a table with Jayden and Nova.

"Hope, what's wrong?" Mia asked, immediately standing up and rushing over to her best friend, wondering why did she look so panicked.

"It's Asher, he's in trouble" Hope informed.

"Where is he?" Alec asked, immediately standing up.

"Downstairs in the cellar" Hope replied, "He used his psychic powers to go inside the necromancer's head but I think he's now trapped in there".

"Dammit, Ash!" Alec mumbled, before rushing towards the cellar, the rest of the group quickly following after him.

***

"Dammit, let me out!" Asher yelled, "You want to know the truth, fine I'll tell you the bloody truth, after seeing my mom, I want to see my dad, my adoptive dad always says that our bio dad loved us with everything he had, so I want to know why didn't he live for us then, we lost mom, but did we have to lose him to? I want to know if he's with mom, I want to know if he's at peace, I want to know if he's proud of me".

Suddenly Asher heard footsteps from behind him, turning around he finally saw the necromancer, "Oh, hey".

"Don't oh hey me" a furious Asher snapped, "I want out of your head, now!".

"With pleasure" the necromancer said, clicking his fingers together, the next second Asher opened his eyes, he found himself in the real world with his siblings and friends looking at him in concern, "Oops" the necromancer laughed seeing Alec's angry face, "Looks like little brother is not happy".

"I'm not his little brother" Alec snapped.

"Well, technically you are" Nova mumbled, making Alec glare at her, "Right, not the time, sorry".

***

"Have you lost your mind?!" a furious Alec asked, as he and Mia followed their brother into his dorm room, "That was such a reckless move, Asher!".

"Don't lecture me on recklessness, Alec!" Asher snapped, "Plus, nothing else was working, we weren't getting any answers from him".

"So you decided to use your psychic powers, the same powers that we have no idea how to use, to go inside the necromancer's head?" Alec asked, "Where, by the way, he has full control".

"Can you two shut up for a second!" Mia yelled, before turning to Asher, "And you tell me, did you using your psychic powers to go inside the necromancer's head, get you answers?".

"Nope" Asher informed, making Mia sigh.

"Dammit Ash, why couldn't you just leave it alone?" Alec asked, "Why take such a dangerous risk?! Why not leave all this to Alaric?".

"Leave all this to Alaric?" Asher asked, glaring at his brother,  "You mean our alcoholic, human, headmaster?".

"He's not a alcoholic, the only reason he's drinking so much is because after seeing mom a lot of his old wounds opened" Mia defended.

"God Mia, stop defending him!" Asher yelled, making Mia flinch back in surprise, "For once, stop defending people who don't deserve it!".

Seeing his sister flinch, caused the fury in Alec to rise, causing him to stand between his siblings and shove Asher, "Don't yell at our sister!" he warned, "Because she's not wrong, it's not right, but Alaric is using alcohol as way to grieve for mom, me and Mia are writing letters today, what the hell are you doing Ash? Why are you so hell bent on not letting yourself grieve? We lost our mother, not once but twice and instead of letting that sink in, you go on a freaking death mission!".

"It wasn't a death mission" Asher defended.

"Using powers that you don't understand is a death mission" Alec snapped.

"You know what Alec, think what you want, I really don't care" Asher said, walking towards the door.

"Wait, where are you going now?" a worried Mia asked.

"To finish what I started" Asher stated.

"No you're not" Alec stated.

"Try and stop me" Asher said, turning to face his siblings, before anyone of them could react, Asher had used his magic to shove both of them to the wall, and then without glancing at them, quickly left the room.

"Are you okay?" a concerned Alec asked, standing up and helping Mia stand up.

"I'm okay" Mia assured, "But what's wrong with Ash, Alec?".

Alec sighed, "It's a Salvatore thing, we don't let ourselves grieve, and eventually it causes us to lose our mind".

"I'm scared the necromancer is going to use mom and dad against Asher" Mia expressed her worry.

"That's why we need to be there for him" Alec said.

Mia nodded her head in agreement and with that the two siblings quickly rushed after their older brother.

***

"Back for more?" the necromancer asked, seeing Asher walking towards him.

"Where is he?" an emotional Asher asked, "Where's my dad?".

"I will tell you everything you want to know, but wouldn't you like to hear about what I've just learned about Malivore first?" the necromancer asked, "After I left you, I returned to the scene of my death, I saw a shadow, I felt a searing pain, and when I looked down, there was a knife in my heart and emptiness all around me".

"Did you just say a knife?" Asher asked.

"The knife" the necromancer retorted, standing up from his chair, "Interestingly enough, that which I seek is that which did me in, you've got to understand, to be killed by such a trifle of an object I was curious as to its power, so I jumped out of my subconscious and summoned the spirit of the man who forged the knife in the first place".

"So you left me in that darkness on purpose?" a furious Asher asked.

"Oh, I had work to do, and you had lessons to learn" the necromancer defended, "From this man, I heard the remarkable story of Malivore, created to wipe the scourge of the supernatural off the face of this earth, Malivore consumed us, erased us, it was permanent death, and it was in Malivore that we were left to perish, until recently, when the knife started beckoning us to bring it home".

"But why that knife?" a confused Asher asked.

"Decades ago, Malivore was contained" the necromancer revealed, "Three locks created to seal Malivore shut, the knife is one of those locks, when all three locks return home, Malivore is free to open its jaws of death once again".

"What the hell does that mean?" an annoyed Asher asked.

"Oh, my dear, let's just hope you're not still alive to find out" the necromancer replied, leaning against the cell bars.

***

"So you leaving me in your dark twisted mind was just a way for you to stall me?!" a furious Asher asked.

"My apologies for the melodrama, but I needed to buy myself some time" the necromancer said.

"You needed time to talk to a dead knife maker" Asher snapped.

"That, and to retrieve the knife your friend Dorian had hidden behind the stacks in the library" the necromancer revealed.

"You did what?!" a shocked Asher asked.

"While you were trapped in just a small semblance of the blackness I suffered, experiencing just an ounce of my agony, and your siblings and friends were busy worrying about you, I was busy doing what I do best, controlling the dead".

"What the hell are you on about?" a confused Asher asked.

"The answer, my boy, is yes" the necromancer said, "I was stalling you, just as I'm stalling all three of you now", Asher turned around and saw his siblings standing behind him, "Did you three know that there's a line of Bennett witches buried in the local cemetery that excel in the art of mystical transportation? I summoned a little help to ensure the knife returned to malivore quickly and without incident".

"Oh my god" a shocked Mia whispered.

"Come on, look on the bright side" the necromancer said, "You three can get back to the daily grind of your young lives, and in moments, when the knife is returned to malivore, I will be free to find peace, as for your father, he watches over you three everyday, he did die with love in his heart, and he doesn't regret his choice because he didn't just die for his wife, he died to make sure his children will never be haunted by the ghosts of his past, but he won't find peace, he won't reunite with your mother, until you three do, good luck with that".

Asher, Alec and Mia looked at each other, all three siblings had tears in their eyes when the necromancer revealed their parents weren't in peace together, suddenly the roof rumbling caught the triplets attention.

"The knife is destroyed" the necromancer revealed, "One lock is released", the necromancer took a bow, "And with it, so am I".

The triplets watched in shock as the necromancer disappeared into thin air, "Do you think he was telling the truth?" Mia asked after a moment of silence, "Are mom and dad really not together?".

Asher looked at his sister, "I have no idea" he whispered.

***

Asher sat in the dark and empty library, writing a letter to his dad.

Dear Dad,

Being a Salvatore, means being exposed to death the moment you're born, but that doesn't make talking about it any easier. Every year on remembrance day we're asked to write letters to all the people we've lost, a tradition made by your favorite blonde frenemy, Caroline Forbes-Mikaelson. 

Me and Alec usually never do things like this, after all, we are your sons, I remember reading mom's diary and finding out how you refused to participate in the small memorial Uncle Jer did for everyone you guys lost.

I get why you refused it, thinking about death and the people we've lost, sucks, but lately seems like I have no choice but to think about it, especially with death constantly knocking on my death.

Today wasn't a good day for me, I screwed up dad, I screwed up so badly, I couldn't protect this school and I screamed at your princess, I know if you were here right now, you would be so disappointed in me, I don't know how to fix things, but I know I won't stop till I do.

Today me, Alec and Mia were told that you would never find peace, that you would never be with mom till we found peace with your death, I'm really hoping that wasn't the truth, because I can't stand the thought of you and mom not being together because of me, but in case that is the truth, then know your children are going to do better dad, today I realised what would happen to me if I don't accept your death and find peace in it.

I'm happy that you're watching over us, but now I need you to rest, I need you to go to mom, I know she's very impatiently waiting for you, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens.

I love you dad, your oldest son, Asher Rivers Salvatore.

Once he finished writing, Asher stared at the letter infront of him with tears in his eyes, when suddenly a hand was placed on his shoulder.

Asher looked towards the person and a small smile formed on his face, "Hey, Nova".

"You okay?" a concerned Nova asked.

"Not really" Asher admitted.

Nova let out a sigh, she then stepped forward and hugged Asher, who was still sitting down, Asher wrapped his arms around Nova's waist, with his head resting on her stomach.

"I miss them" Asher whispered, "And I'm so scared that I've disappointed them today".

"You haven't disappointed them Ash, trust me, your parents are so proud of you" Nova said, "They've always have been and always will be".

"Really?" a vulnerable Asher asked.

"Really" Nova whispered.

Asher didn't say anything just tightened his grip on Nova, the two too busy in their moment to realise that Alec and Hope stood at the entrance of the library looking at them.

"How am I supposed to compete with that, Alec?" a heartbroken Hope asked.

"You don't have to compete with Nova, Hope" Alec said, staring at Nova, "My brother loves you, Nova is his best friend, but I wonder, how the hell am I supposed to be like my brother?".

Hope looked at Alec, "All this fighting, and hate, it's to hide the fact that you have feelings for her, isn't it?".

Alec shook his head, "It doesn't matter, I'm not Asher, Nova will never feel for me what she feels for him".

"Will Ash ever feel for me what he feels for Nova?" Hope asked.

Alec patted Hope's head, "He already does, he just hasn't realised it yet".

Hope gave Alec a small smile and side hugged him, "I think you and Nova can have something special".

Alec sighed, "Only one of us is going to get what we want Hope, and that's not going to be me", after placing a kiss on top of Hope's head, Alec walked away, but not before giving Nova one last glance.

***

Presenting 1x07 of Broken Hearted!

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