CHAPTER NINETY FOUR
FINAL CHAPTER
[94]
song: mad world by tears for fears

THE DRESS WAS A SILK, ROSY PINK. One that matched the hue of her blushed cheeks. It was long like most bridesmaids dresses, and the sleeves fell and draped elegantly over the tops of her arms.

It was the first time she had felt truly pretty in years, maybe. She knew she looked pale and scrawny, but given what she was feeling on the inside— she felt the outside was at the least presentable for the occasion.

The venue was a barn, one that used to house animals but now was solely rented out for weddings. Caterers, florists, and decorators fled around the building, preparing the outside for the reception, and the inside for the ceremony.

Daisy lingered around inside, adjusting the bouquets of flowers that hung on the backs of chairs. She tried to make herself feel somewhat useful despite knowing Caroline had it fully under control.

"Daisy," Caroline spoke.

Daisy pulled away from the flowers quickly, as if she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. She turned around to face the girl. "What are we doing?" Caroline asks with a fake smile, eyeing the bouquet.

Daisy quickly understands that it was probably best if she just didn't touch anything. "We are..." she tries to come up with something. "I saw an ant, so I was just— getting rid of it."

Caroline nodded slowly, clearly not believing her. She walked over to her, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Why don't you go compel the decorators to put a little pep in their step." She suggests.

"Got it." Daisy obliges, trying to catch her feet up with the speed Caroline is leading her out the door in.

As Daisy heads outside, and Caroline back in, she hears her snap at someone named Tyler for touching the flowers too.

It was just as hectic out here, except with a little more air to breathe. She triple checked that her daylight ring was still on her finger as she stepped out of the shade and into the sun.

She beelined to the desert table, where freshly poured glasses of champagne sat in neatly organized rows. After pretending to scan the options for food, she grabbed a glass and downed it in one sip.

She set it back down on the table with a happy sigh, giving the caterer who was watching her in concern an embarrassed thumbs up. "It's good." She says, wiping her mouth.

The caterer takes the empty class hesitantly. "Maid of honor?" She asks.

Daisy leans on the table a bit, then nods.

"How do you know the bride?" She asks, just trying to make conversation.

"High sc—" she stops herself, remembering that her and Josette look about twenty years apart in age. "We— were neighbors. When I was younger and she..." she was rambling now, she knew that, but she couldn't stop. "She babysat me! Yeah. She was my babysitter. And so we're just really close now." She says. "Me and... me and Jo..." she physically couldn't get herself to stop talking.

She glances back down to the table she leaned against and grabbed another glass before walking away. "Jesus." She mutters, before downing another glass.

Standing amidst the chaos, Daisy eyed a black car pulling into the gravel parking lot. Immediately recognizing the blonde curls of the girl who got out.

Daisy's feet started carrying her towards her faster than before she could realize what she was doing. "Olivia!" She shouted, as the girl unknowingly walked towards the entrance to the barn.

The girl heard her name, and looked around at the small crowd for the voice. Her eyes landed on Daisy and all she got was a frustrated huff and a back turned in her face.

Daisy clenched her jaw, "Olivia— just one second." She spoke, catching up to her.

Olivia turned around, glaring at the girl. "Don't even ask." She shakes her head.

Daisy narrows her eyebrows confusedly. "What—"

"No." Olivia begins. "No, I don't know how to get him out. No, I'm not going to get him out. And no, I don't accept your apology."

Daisy's mouth closed as the next words she was going to utter were in fact an apology, but now she was too hung up on what she said before. "Get him out?" She questions. "Get who out? What are you talking about?"

Olivia inhales sharply, eyeing the girl hesitantly, then catching glance of something behind Daisy's shoulder. "I'll be inside." Olivia says, speaking to whoever was behind her.

She made sure to shoot Daisy one more glare as she plopped her wedding gift in her hands. "For the bride." She says, before turning to continue her walk inside.

Daisy scoffed in more disbelief than she thought possible. Maybe there were some apologies that weren't as needed as others.

With the weight of the white wrapped gift in her hand, she turned around to put it on the gift table— but instead was met face to face with Olivia's father.

She froze. He was talking to her but she heard nothing. Everything was silent though the wind still blew past her, still shook the leaves of the trees above them, yet she heard nothing.

It was eerie how familiar he was to her. Like he wasn't someone who she hadn't seen for two decades. Perhaps it was because of how often she saw him in her memories. When she relived her last night of what she thought were her final moments.

"Dad, what are you doing?!" Josette cries. "We can save her!"

"We can't!" Joshua yells, angrily, snapping at his daughter. "She'll ruin us. She'll ruin our family."

Daisy didn't know how long she stood there unmoving, staring at the man who played one of the largest hands in ruining her life. Of taking her away from her family. From anyone who loved her.

She kept waiting for someone to come rescue her, to pull her away from him because she was too scared to move on her own. But no one came, and that's when she felt truly alone.

Daisy, who was slowly regaining consciousness, coughed, beginning to clutch to her wounded stomach.

Her eyes began to see things again. First she saw Josette, knocked out a few feet beside her, then Kai, who weakly crawled towards her, and Joshua above her.

She almost felt her brain reworking itself in real time. Remembering old habits, mixed with her new instincts. She wanted to see him hurt, she wanted him to pay for what he did to her.

Daisy felt her cheeks begin to burn, veins under her eyes beginning to show through her pale skin. Her lip trembling with anger, with hunger. Her eyes grew heavy, her sight darkening as it focused in on the man in front of her.

"Excuse me," a man said, stepping in between them with a large box of flowers.

Daisy stumbled back, feeling herself want to gasp for breath almost, as if she had been holding it this whole time unknowingly.

She brought her hands to her cheeks, the traces of vampire veins no longer there. She ran her tongue over her teeth, feeling nothing out of the ordinary.

"Are you alright?" Joshua asks concernedly.

Daisy must've looked like she was going to pass out, as she felt that way too. She held a hand on her stomach as if to steady herself.

'Are you alright?' What a stupid thing to ask to the teenage girl who you practically let bleed out and die.

After Joshua prompted that Daisy wasn't going to answer his halfway rhetorical question, he continued what he was saying earlier. "I just want you to know that we, I, want to help you get your life back on track." He says. "Whatever you need— I'm here."

She remembered the girl that would nod and smile, say thank you, and continue on. There was a time in her life where she had to force those thank yous, though gratitude was the last thing she felt.

It was when she knew it was in her best interest, when she knew she was at the bottom of a food chain. There was no use putting up a fight she knew she had no chance of winning. But that wasn't the case anymore.

"I understand you're here for your daughter." Daisy begins, her face stiff in an emotionless stature "But let me set one thing straight," she says, taking a step closer to him so she could speak in a quieter tone. "I want nothing to do with you, or your twisted coven."

Joshua looks up at the girl, shocked that this was her response.

As she looked back at him, she recounted her final moments. Laying on a rooftop in a velvet violet dress that was newly stained with her own blood. He could've helped her then. But he was about twenty two years late.

"If you speak to me again," she takes a breath. "I will tear you apart."

Now Joshua didn't move, letting her words sink in and settle. She leaned away, watching his eyes fall to the ground. And when she was sure he had gotten the message, she turned and went inside.

—
song: exit music (for a film) by radiohead

"Where the hell are you?" Caroline speaks unhappily into the phone. "Bonnie and Matt are MIA, and now you and Damon? What is wrong with you? This is a wedding! This is supposed to be Jo's magical night, and you are ruining it! We're starting without you." She hangs up, turning around quickly.

"I'd rather walk down the aisle by myself anyways." Daisy says, shrugging at Josette, who sat at the vanity with a smile on her face.

She started laughing and Caroline's eyes widened. "This is not funny." She says.

Josette looks at Daisy. "It's kind of funny." She laughs.

"Look," Stefan says, stepping inside the dressing room. "I don't wanna tell you how to run a wedding but—"

"We're not waiting anymore!" Caroline interrupts. "Tell them to queue the music."

Daisy feels her own nervous lump in her throat and knew Josette felt the same way. She turned to look at her, giving a reassuring nod and latching onto her hand.

"You ready?" Daisy asks.

Josette takes a deep breath. "Yeah— I think so."

Caroline was already out the door before Josette could stand up from her chair. Holding hands, Daisy guides her out to the hallway.

"My dad asked to walk me down the aisle." Josette says, then let's out a short sigh. Daisy didn't say anything, as to not let her own feelings get in the way of Josette's. "I told him no."

Daisy turned around, looking at Josette with narrowed eyebrows. "You did?"

Josette nodded. "He can't just show up here and act like he's innocent." She shakes her head, then swallows as if she tries to choke back tears. "I won't let him."

Daisy's shoulders relax a bit. "You didn't do that for me, did you?" She asks.

Josette's eyebrows raise. "Of course I did." She says, like it was a good thing. "Of course I did— Daze, I love you."

Daisy felt her lip trembling, and a knot begin to grow in her throat. "Oh," she says with a frown, trying not to let any tears fall before she walked down an aisle. "I—"

"Come on, ladies!" Caroline says, clapping her hands. "Let's go, let's go," she shoves a bouquet of flowers into Daisy's hands. "You're up—" Damon and Elena rush inside, "There you are!" Caroline says, more relieved than angry. "Damon, come on." She grabs his arm and yanks him towards Daisy.

He straightens his tie, looking at Daisy with a sigh. "Let's get this over with." He holds out his arm as they stand in front of the double doors.

Daisy links his arm around his, holding the bouquet in the other. Inhaling sharply as Caroline opens the door and reveals the audience.

Every row of seats were filled, all eyes were on the two of them. She wanted to leap out of her skin, but tried to steady herself as to not show her nerves through a shaking bouquet.

Golden lights illuminated the room with the now dark skies outside. As the two of them started slowly walking down the aisle, she smiled softly at those in the audience she happened to make awkward eye contact with.

She unsurprisingly didn't recognize that many people, maybe a few members of the coven she'd seen in pictures, but other than that, the crowd was full of strangers.

Alaric stood at the end of the aisle, on a small stage, anxiously awaiting the sight of his bride, yet still giving the time to share a smile towards Damon, and sending a proud nod towards Daisy.

As they reached the altar, she'd felt a sigh of relief leave her chest, knowing the attention was off of her. The congregation stood with a collective sound of hushed admiration as the doors opened, and Josette came down the aisle.

Daisy felt herself wanting to choke up, a habit she knew she'd never rid herself of. It was hard, when you see someone you care about so deeply and intensely, on the verge of something you knew was going to bring them their much deserved happiness.

She walked down the aisle on her own, her chin held high with a soft smile on her face. Passing by her family, her coven, the people in her life that have really only tormented her.

As she stepped onto the stage, she gave Daisy a knowing smile, a nod, of some sort. What it was insinuating, Daisy didn't know, but she was just happy to see her up there on the stage, standing in front of the man she loved.

"Welcome family and friends, on this magical evening, to the wedding of Alaric Saltzman, and Josette Laughlin." The marriage officiant says. "Josette and Alaric have prepared their own vows."

Josette turns around, handing Daisy her bouquet. Daisy gives her a reassuring nod.

Alaric and Josette join hands, and after a few deep breaths, he begins. "Neither one of us should be here right now. We've spent our lives dodging fate... and beating the odds. But because we did, I got to meet you. The most beautiful, hilarious, and intimidatingly brilliant woman I have ever known." He takes a breath. "You inspire me. You have shown me that happiness is actually something that I can have in my life. And so," he takes the wedding ring out. "I promise to be with you. And love you. And to dodge fate with you," he puts the ring on Josette's finger and she lets out a soft laugh. "For the rest of our lives."

Daisy felt a breeze lift a strand of hair off her face, and then down again.

She tried not to jump, but it startled her.

"Josette?" The officiant said, nodding towards her.

Daisy was looking around, for an air conditioning vent or an open door.

"Oh, wow." Josette says, wiping a tear.

A pit grew in her stomach. That wasn't just a breeze from the outside.

"That's a tough act to follow." Josette says, earning a laugh from the crowd.

Daisy's mouth gapped open, shaky breaths escaping her lips as she turned her head towards the crowd. She scanned it quickly, trying to remain as intact as possible if this was just something of her own imagination.

"Here goes," Josette begins, taking a deep breath.

Daisy was full on trembling now, as if having a visceral reaction to something yet to come.

"Alaric," Josette says.

Daisy shook her head, looking out into the crowd now, not trying to hide her own expressions. She felt it in her. She knew something was wrong. Her eyes landed on Josette's father, desperate for help she opened her mouth to speak.

Josette continued, unknowing, "You are—"

She stopped. Daisy didn't realize how long it took for her to realize she had stopped, but when she did, she knew what had happened.

"Jo?" Alaric says, looking at her concernedly. "What is it?"

Daisy could only see her from the back, but her body was jolting, reacting to something. The crowd erupted into murmurs, only adding to the terror that was rapidly growing within Daisy.

A split second after Daisy spotted the blood dripping from Josette's back, she heard a scream of pain fall from her lips, as she stumbled forward into Alaric's arms.

And soon after, he appeared right in front of her.

Daisy let out a gasp so loud she almost choked on her own breath. Her hand slapped over her mouth as she stumbled back. Her mind was empty, buzzing with nothing but pure terror. Her only reaction was to scream, was to cry, everything else was shutting down.

His back was to her but he knew fully well what she was doing, she had backed herself up all the way to the wall. Sobs already spilling out of her mouth like she was a child.

Kai turned towards the audience, a knife in hand. "Miss me?" He spoke. His voice made her shutter so hard she thought her own bones would split open. 

Joshua rose from his seat quickly, and immediately Kai put a hand up. The building erupted into pained screams. Daisy felt her body immediately tense up, her brain beginning to slowly cave into itself as a loud ringing filled her ears. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she felt herself crash down to the ground against her will as she gripped the sides of her head. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear, she couldn't move. All she could do was cry out for help that wasn't coming.

It felt so familiar. A magically induced brain aneurysm. You'd think after being killed by them so many times the pain would ease. But this was the worse than all those times. More so than being strung up and tortured for days on end, more so than the thousands of tiny glass shards that just exploded form the window and stuck into her skin.

It hurt worse because she knew there was no coming back from it. No one to save her this time. She had no one left.

She still felt glass flying, chandeliers and podiums falling in on themselves, but she couldn't move— something had fallen on her a while ago and was slowly crushing her. To cry out for help would be wasting her last breaths.

All she could do was weep, keep her eyes closed to ease her own mind, to try not to catch sight of what was ahead of her. Of Josette, dead.

At the time, she felt like it had been seconds, like it had all stopped and come to a quiet halt. But she knew she'd been out for a while. For how long, it was impossible to tell.

She'd felt the relief of something lift off of her, and with a cry she opened her eyes to see Stefan above her. Struggling to keep the wooden podium that had previously been on top of her upwards.

He held out a hand to her, the white cuffs off his button up shirt stained with blood. "Come on," he said breathlessly, before shoving the podium in the other direction.

Nothing felt broken, at least not anymore. Her skin was free of cuts, yet she knew at one point she was covered due to the little specks of dried blood that remained. She swallowed harshly, grabbing onto Stefan's hand as she helped her up.

As she were lifted out of the rubble she looked around with wide, petrified eyes. Everything had collapsed in on itself. The windows were completely shattered through. The chandelier had crashed to the floor and every seat that once housed a guest was broken and empty.

"We gotta go," Stefan says, trying to guide the terrified girl out as gently as he could.

She nodded, though she wasn't sure what she was nodding for, all of her senses were stagnant. She followed him, her eyes staying glued to the back of his suit jacket for something to focus on. For something to keep her eyes from traveling around to.

Glass crunched beneath her heels with each step, and then a squelch. She glanced downward, realizing she was standing in a pile of blood that spilled from an attendees head— to which her eyes trailed up, and by her own mistake she saw just how many bodies covered the ground.

Each one of them dead, or on their way there. Her hand flung to her mouth to stifle a cry, but it did nothing to hide the shrill scream that racked her body when she saw Josette at the alter.

Alaric, knocked out or dead, it was impossible to tell who's blood was his or hers, clung on to Josette's body. Fresh, red blood spilled from her stomach, and Daisy realized that Kai had not only taken her life, but the twins' too.

She heard herself screaming out Josette's name as she pushed towards her, but made it nowhere far as Stefan had wrapped his arms around hers and was dragging her out towards the door.

But the sound of his neck snapping pulled her attention away, as Stefan's arms unwillingly fell off from around her and with him as he crashed to the ground.

She stood amongst the bodies at her feet, the bottom of her once pink dress drenched with someone else's blood. Her chest heaved up and down as she desperately tried to catch her breath, and then she whipped around to face him.

Kai stood at the other side of the room, in front of the stage where had had just killed Josette. In front of her body.

She didn't react. She just started moving. In one motion she ripped off the leg of a chair beside her, and before she knew it she was speeding towards him.

Holding out the sharp end she went to tackle him, but caught glance of his arm waving one way, as her body was flung to the ground.

With the wind knocked out of her, her eyes widened as she struggled for air. The feeling of shards of glass scraping against her arms as she lay there made her cry out in pain. But she dug her palms into the ground anyways, forcing herself back up.

Kai looked at her with pity, watching as she could barely get herself back up to her feet yet kept trying. He could knock her back down at any moment, yet he didn't.

The second she felt stable, she sped towards him again, almost taking him by surprise by the sudden action. But he stopped her again before she got close enough to do any real damage. She was pushed back onto the ground, feeling her skin get continuously sliced up by the shards of glass around her. She let out a frustrated cry.

Kai was impressed by how quickly she got back up to her feet, despite how exhausted she looked. She could do this all day, he knew that. So there was no point in toying with her like this any further.

"You alright?" He asks quietly, his eyes focused more on her blood stained dress before he met hers.

Her body lost its strength long ago. Her mind shattered and the rest of her followed suit. "Go to hell." She spat.

Kai let out a small laugh, he looked down and scratched his chin before meeting her eyes again. "That's not very nice." He frowned, when he took a step forward, she almost leaped out of her own skin. "Woah, woah." He says, putting his hands out reassuringly. "It's okay." He says, in a comforting tone that in the worst way— was believable.

Daisy held her breath, watching him like a hawk as he slowly stepped towards her. Stepping over bodies, crushing glass under his shoes.

"Oh," he sighed. "Look at you." He says, stopping in his tracks, the hint of a smile creeping up onto his lips.

Daisy didn't even realize that her veins were showing. Her initial reaction was to hide her face, but she didn't move. It got him to stop coming closer, so she'd keep up this brave front, even if she felt the farthest thing from brave right now.

"You want to kill me?" He asks, narrowing his eyes slightly. He sounded almost genuinely hurt. She didn't respond. "I don't want to kill you." He says, shaking his head.

"Why not?" She asked, her voice coarse.

His eyebrows twitched with contemplation, looking like he was going through every possible emotion in mere seconds. "Even after what you did to me I would never hurt you." He lets out a scoff. "See, I'm not the bad guy here."

"What I did to you?" Daisy's fear had left the window and she was running on pure anger now. "Please, enlighten me Kai on what I did to you— because I would love to know." She chuckled.

He quickly pulled down the collar of his white button up, revealing one of the many bite marks that layered his skin. "I had to let them feed on me day in, and day out to survive." He said, his voice trembling with anger.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Daisy says, slowly reaching around behind her for anything that would help. He was distracted now, fumbling with his suit jacket to show her more of the bite marks.

"They only had me to feed on." He said with wide eyes. "But they..." he was in some sort of psychosis now, his eyes zoning out as he recalled past events, "they helped me out. And we're here now," he ran his tongue over his lips slightly.

"Who Kai?" Daisy responded, genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?"

Kai looked at her, breathing heavily, he awaited her to break. To burst out into laughter. To mock him, his pain. But there was nothing, no sign of understanding in her eyes.

"You sent me..." he narrowed his eyebrows, "You had Bonnie leave me in the 1903 prison world— there were vampires there... heretics... You..." as he talked it out, he realized she genuinely didn't know what he was saying. And quickly he realized that never was Daisy mentioned when Bonnie left him there. That was all him, his own anger flooding his mind and making up these insane allegations.

His shoulders fell, and a brush of relief overcame his senses. He felt at home again, and again he realized he was when he was with her. He smiled, shaking his head. "I knew you'd never do that to me," he said as he walked towards her, a mix of hope and regret in his eyes.

As he went to wrap his arms around her, he felt the plunge of a massive glass shard as it dug into his stomach.

He froze in place, looking at the girl with eyes just as wide as hers. She yanked it back out herself, letting him fall back into the ground.

He laughed, as he clutched his rapidly bleeding stomach he laughed. Daisy, almost shocked that she'd done it, dropped the bloody shard as she lingered above him.

She knew it wouldn't kill him, but it would be enough to get a head start at least.

She stumbled back, pulling up her long dress to make the movement easier. She ran to Stefan, who was just at the cusp of waking back up. Bending down, she linked her arms under his and tried desperately to lift him up.

"I've got him, you go." A voice spoke, she turned to see a man who was just as unfamiliar as his British accent take Stefan out of her arms.

"What?" She tried to process what was happening but knew she didn't have a lot of time.

"Go on," he raised his voice a bit to get the point across, nodding towards the door.

She glanced behind her, taking one last look at her only friend, dead, and killed at the hands of her only lover.

She raced outside, holding up the end of her dress as she ran through the dark gravel parking lot. Her head whipped around for anything, anyone who would help her.

"Hello?!" She cried out, gasping for breath in between sobs.

Cars filled the parking lot, but their owners were inside, dead, and anyone who made it out of alive was surely long gone.

"Here!" A voice called out.

Daisy whipped her head around, frantically looking past the cars for someone. Her eyes landed on a woman who walked towards her with a limp, her hand out waving frantically.

"Oh God," Daisy let out breathlessly. She sped to the woman, grabbing onto her arms to support her. "Is your car here? We need to get out of here now." She spoke frantically.

The woman swallowed, looking around. "There—" she said breathlessly. "The red one in the back."

As soon as Daisy whipped her head around to look for the car she felt the familiar feeling of magic squeezing her head in. Only this time, she knew it wasn't Kai's doing.

She kept her eyes wide open, though she screamed with pain. Her hands met her head, gripping onto her hair like that would aid the increasing pressure she felt within.

"This is your fault." The woman spat. "I know who you are. I know you led him down this path. And yet you run free."

Daisy felt herself choking. "Please—" she let out, but nowhere near loud enough for anyone to hear. One knee fell to the ground.

"If you wouldn't had set him free none of this would have happened." She spat. Daisy let out an increasingly loud scream as the pain got deeper.

She crashed fully to the ground, falling into herself. With her hands still gripping her head she watched as her own vision blurred, the sight of her now red dress going in an out of focus. The smell of blood keeping her conscious.

The smell of blood keeping her conscious.

It covered her hands, her dress. She'd learned to control her hunger so much that it hadn't even crossed her mind until now. Control, while it kept her weak, was good. But vampires trying to survive didn't depend on control to do so, they depended on feeding.

She felt veins form under her eyes, and as they did she felt a surge of energy rush through her bones despite the pain that held them stagnant. She lifted her head slowly, trembling like there was a hundred pound weight keeping her from doing so.

Flashes of red, flesh under her fingernails. As Daisy tore her teeth out of the woman's neck, she dropped the heart she'd ripped out of her chest to the ground.

Fresh, warm blood dripped from her mouth to her neck, and she let the woman's body drop to the ground when she was done with her, licking the corners of her lips with her tongue.

She reached down to her body and yanked the purse off the woman's arm. "Bitch." She spoke, panting. She glanced up at the barn, before rushing over to the car the woman claimed was hers.

She stuck the key in the door after digging it out of the purse, "Come on," she says frustratedly, knowing her frantic movements weren't helping the key in any way.

She knew there was no point in running. She knew he wouldn't stop. But she also knew that if she were to finish him, the way she had planned to all those years ago at The Valentine's Dance, she was going to need more than a chair leg.

When she got it unlocked she rushed inside, wasting no time on seatbelts before turning the ignition and slamming her foot flat on the pedal.

She glanced at the barn in her rear view mirror, watching it get farther and farther away. As she looked back up to face the dark road, she slammed her breaks on at the sight of a man in her head lights.

She let out a gasp that was just as loud as the skid of the car on the gravel. She flung forward a bit as the car came to a stop. Alaric stood in front of the car trying to see who was behind the wheel.

Daisy let out a few shaky breaths, making sure she wasn't seeing a ghost. She opened the door, almost falling out of the car. "Alaric?!" She says, coming out from around the car. "Alaric, it's me—"

He looked more terrified to see her like this than he was to almost be hit by her car. He was covered in blood that she knew wasn't his, and his face was tear stained though he wasn't crying anymore.

"I thought you were dead." Daisy says, relieved.

"He's a heretic. He's—" Alaric shook his head, looking at the barn with half open, tired eyes. "He's still alive."

Daisy looked past Alaric to see his car, crashed into a ditch. She looked back at him, taking a steady breath. "What do you mean? What's a heretic?"

Alaric clenched his jaw. "Kai. He's a vampire."

Daisy's blood ran cold, her head shaking no from reflex. "No... that's not—" She stammers on her words. Alaric started walking back to his car. Daisy lingered in place for a few seconds before following him. "He would've had to die to..." her words trailed off.

"He did." Alaric says. "He had vampire blood in his system when you stabbed him. The whole coven is dead." He walks over to his car, popping open the trunk.

Daisy's mouth gapped open in shock. "No..." She let out quietly.

"It's not your fault." Alaric says, his hand still on the now open trunk as he turned back around to face her. "It was his plan all along."

Daisy couldn't process all of this, especially with the looming feeling that he was still out there and could strike again at any second. "What do I do? I can't—"

Alaric lugs a large black case out of the car. He looked exhausted. His movements had no meaning, like he was a robot programmed to do the next thing against its will. Dropping the case at Daisy's feet, he gestured towards it before going back to the car.

Daisy shook her head confusedly, glancing down to the case then back to Alaric. She bent down quickly before he could get very far, unlocking the latch and throwing the lid off.

At least ten wooden stakes were neatly sorted into separate compartments. Each had different intricate carvings. Some were shaped like crosses, some were smaller than others. Two silver knives. Viles and viles of what she assumed was holy water and herbs. And an old pistol, with wooden bullets aligned next to it.

She looked up after examining each thing with panicked curiosity. "Where are you going?!" She shouts after Alaric shuts the trunk and heads back to the drivers seat.

"I'm going to bury my wife and kids." He says, like it physically hurt him to say aloud.

Daisy let out a harsh breath, like her mind wanted to cry but her body was out of tears to give.

"He's only after you. Draw him away from the barn, there's too much blood there for him to feed on." He adds, before getting back into his car and shutting the door.

Daisy just stood there for a while, watching as his car drove off and left her. She felt as if the world used to kiss up against her skin and laugh with her, hold her— no longer. The world had shrunken away to leave a cold void around her skin, and she had become detached from reality itself.

There was hope before. Just a tiny flicker of light against the wind. But that fire was out now, nothing but dark ash.

Rage builds like deep water currents. She thought she did everything right. She had made her amends and tried to be better, yet God had decided her fate long ago. And no matter how hard she tried to change, or thought she changed, she knew that there was no going forward from here. That's when her anger comes, unleashed without thought of consequence.

She bent down and ripped off the lower part of her dress, the blood stained silk shredding and falling to the pavement.

She pulls the bandolier of ammo out of the box and swings it over her shoulders, letting it drape across her torso. She takes the pistol. Though it looked like it was a hundred years old, if she really wanted to kill him, a gun was her best shot. To get too close would be suicide.

Shoving it in the holster attached to the bandolier she grabbed two stakes. Just in case, she thought. Knowing deep down that they would become of use one way or another.

The weight of the stakes in her hands, she let herself face the barn, the stench of blood and bodies flooding her senses. Anger and disgust coursing through her veins in what felt like a deadly amount.

She turned her head up the hill that Alaric had just left to. If she remembered correctly from this morning, than there was a house over it. It was empty, a Bed & Breakfast that he and Josette had rented for the honeymoon. Where'd they probably be right now if...

She heard the echo of her name from down the hill. She snapped her head so quickly towards the barn that she was shocked she didn't break her own neck. Squinting, she could see his figure walk out from the front doors.

She stumbled back before turning and quickly bending back down towards the box. She shut and locked it close with fumbling fingers, before tossing it in the back seat of the car.

She grabbed the gun from the holster and switched it with one of the stakes, loading it with a single bullet. She shoved the smaller stake under the band of her bra beneath her dress, so she could hold the gun with both hands. She knew fully well it wouldn't reach him, and that with how shaky her hands were right now even if it would— aiming would be impossible. She just had to get his attention, to let him think she was scared.

She fired the gun towards the barn, jerking back a bit from the kickback. She watched as he turned towards her, and with that she ran, speeding up the hill in a blur.

It was like any Bed & Breakfast reserved for honeymooners. Small, as it was only for two. White wood panels and dark shutters, early spring flowers blossomed in window baskets. A huge front porch with two rocking chairs.

But there was an eerie-ness that hung in the air. At a house that sat on a huge, empty plot of land. There were no lights on to provide outsiders with any clue that there was even a house sitting there.

She ran to the porch, glancing behind her every other second. The screen door was unlocked, but the real door wasn't. She ripped off the door handle with strength she was still shocked she possessed.

She slipped inside, heading directly upstairs. She was afraid of the dark shadows that hugged every corner of this place, scared that if she looked too deeply into them he'd already be there waiting for her.

The blood on her heels made her slip as she climbed the stairs, and as she got to the top she tore them off. She rushed into the nearest room, slamming the door behind her.

She didn't look around, she went straight to the window. It peered over the porch, and in the far distance you could still see the light from the church.

She let the stake take the guns place in the holster, and started loading the gun with more wooden bullets. Her hands not taking any time to stop trembling. But she didn't feel scared yet, more determined, flooding with adrenaline. Though that rarely worked in her favor.

There was no sign of him anywhere. It was quiet outside, nothing moving except the tall blades of grass that sat in the field ahead, dancing back and fourth by the slight breeze.

"That for me?" He asked.

Her blood ran cold. Her eyes stayed focused on the window in front of her but slowly she lifted them upward, seeing him in the reflection. He stood behind her at the other side of the room.

She felt her mind racing with what would be the smartest move here, but her body was reacting before rationality could catch up. She swung around, her right arm out straight as she fired the gun at him.

It was like he was in action long before she was. He wasn't standing there anymore, and instead he had grabbed onto her, one hand latching onto the gun and the other going to hold her other arm out of the way.

Daisy kept firing the gun, hoping that somehow, even though it was being actively pulled out of her hands, a bullet would hit him instead of the ceiling.

She opened her mouth, biting down hard on his shoulder. With a yell, his hands dropped, the now empty and useless gun clattering to the ground. She tasted his blood on her lips, unsurprisingly bitter.

"Daisy!" He yelled angrily, as she burst out into the hall.

A large wooden chest, one with glass doors to show the expensive china inside, sat against a wall. She grabbed onto it and tore it down to the ground behind her as she fled down the hall.

She heard the china break, all falling down at once as the chest came down on top of it. She wiped the blood from her mouth, panting as she dipped into another room.

This was the only other place for her to go, unless they somehow ended up retracing their steps and she could get back to the stairs, but the chances were unlikely.

"Daisy!" He yelled again, his footsteps getting increasingly louder as he got closer.

She went to shove a dresser in front of the door but he had it broken down before she got a chance. Her knees wanted to give out, and she felt the familiar feeling of a terrified wail creep up from her lungs. Now she was scared.

She grabbed the stake from the holster and held it in her hands firmly, trying to steady her breathing. It felt like he was getting closer but his feet weren't moving.

"Stop this." He let out.

Daisy swallowed harshly, readjusting her grip on the wooden stake.

"I don't want to hurt you." He added, shaking his head. But his eyes slowly went dark, darker than she'd ever seen her own, with veins that quickly grew out from under them and appeared from beneath his skin.

She let out a shaky breath, and the second she saw his foot lift off the ground, she sped towards him before he got the chance to do it first.

Grabbing onto his suit jacket she pushed him, his back colliding with the dresser before she shoved him down to ground. He flung an arm up, sending her flying back against the opposite wall against her will.

She held her breath, bracing for a hard impact but when she hit the wall, she just stayed there. She couldn't move, every inch of her was glued to this wall, and no matter how hard she tried to pull herself away from it, his magic kept her there.

Kai, annoyedly got himself up from the ground. He looked at her with a frustrated sigh, before stretching out his neck, popping a few bones that she was most likely the cause of popping out of place.

He wiped his nose nonchalantly, glancing up at her for a second as he slowly approached her. He took the stake from her hands, and she couldn't do anything to protest.

He examined it for a moment before returning his focus to her. "This is all a little much, don't you think?" He asked, pressing the tip of the stake against his opposite hand's pointer finger.

Daisy didn't respond.

Suddenly, he moved quickly and with it her eyes squeezed shut, a quiet cry escaping her lips as she felt the stake pin up against her heart.

She was frozen there for several seconds before he spoke again. "I could have killed you hours ago." He said, she kept her eyes closed. "But I didn't."

His voice was so familiar. How could it not be? His words were all she had known for so long. His thoughts, his breathing, his movements. It was all she had known for so long.

He lifts the stake off her chest, and Daisy slowly opens her eyes. She felt no relief by the action, if anything she felt more scared than before. He wouldn't pass up the opportunity to toy with her before he killed her.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way." He says, inches from her face. "I know you loved her."

And it sounded genuinely empathetic. And it probably was too. She knew he knew it was wrong, that what he did was unforgivable. But never wrong enough to stop.

"They were just gonna get in my way. The twins." Kai says, leaning away to continue talking. "They were gonna take away our power."

She was breathing slowly and heavily, her lips tightly pursed together. "Just kill me." She speaks for the first time in a while.

He looked almost shocked to hear her words. He narrows his eyebrows ever so slightly, almost confused. "I don't want to kill you." He says. "Did you think I was going to? That this was all to..." now all his confusion felt genuine, "to kill you?" He shakes his head. "I did this for you, for us."

He did this for her. Her stomach ached with meaningless cries, cries for all the times he'd told her that. For decades, all of this had been for her. All of this pain and death, had been his idea of love.

She should've ended this before it even began. But she was smarter now, she knew her strengths, and she knew his weaknesses.

"For me?" She asked, forcing naivety.

The two of them were similar in the way that they never learned from past mistakes.

Kai's eyes flickered towards her, trying to gage if her question was asked out of malice or genuine intrigue. "I had to make sure that no one would ever try to hurt us ever again." He responded. "And now our love is eternal, and we'll never leave each other."

Where once those words would bring comfort, it only made her sick. There was an undiscovered level of crazy that she could see beneath his words. He was too far gone now, all past saving.

"If you love me," She swallowed hard, lifting her chin as best she could against the spell. "Then why are you hurting me?"

He didn't understand at first, but then realized his hand was still held out beneath him to keep her against the wall. He watched her hesitantly for a moment, before releasing the spell.

She exhaled as she stumbled forward, she really hadn't realized how much pressure was on her lungs until it was released. She clung onto her stomach, catching her breath. 

He eyed her cautiously, taking a slight step back as he tried to gage what happened next.

She straightened her posture, eyeing him all the same as she thought of what to say. "Kai," she began, and the sound of her saying his name could've sent him to his knees in that moment. "I had no clue they'd sent you there. To the prison world." She paused. "I would've done anything in my power to get you back if I did. You know that right?"

He clenched his jaw. He was acting tough, though anyone could see how badly the thought hurt him.

"I was upset, of course, but not that upset." She shook her head, letting out a slight scoff. She looked up at him, practically watching his guard slowly come back down. "With you being gone, I think I realized how empty my life is without you. Even with my curse lifted, I still feel what you feel, I hurt when you hurt I—" she paused. "I still love you, and I know can't do eternity without you."

Kai's eyebrows lifted slightly, and with those words he saw her as she was again. His love, his only love. Her dark hair and pretty green eyes, the first thing he noticed when he met her for the first time, briefly at her birthday party right after she spilt beer on him. Her blood stained lips that he'd never forget kissing for the first time all those years ago in the woods, when they weren't supposed to, but couldn't help it any more.

He stepped closer towards her, a reflex of sorts, but she flinched back a little bit. He followed her gaze to the stake in his hand. He wasn't offended, it'd be silly to expect full and complete trust right now. It would take time to build that back up, but they had eternity for that. He tossed the stake onto the bed, returning his cautious gaze back to her.

She nodded ever so slightly, as if giving him permission to continue, her nerves showing in her movements. He walked to her, keeping her eye contact as he tried to slow his own eager urges.

Her chest was rising and falling in anticipation and he felt the corners of his lips slowly lift up into a faint smirk before he leaned into kiss her.

In the kiss was a recollection of memories, of the good and the bad. Of all the mistakes made and all the times forgiven. His lips gave promise of years to come, of years for healing and rebuilding, and hers played along.

When he pulled away, he brought a soft hand to her cheek, examining her face with gracious eyes. His thumb wiped a tear from her eye that she didn't even realize was falling.

"I know you." He smiles faintly, speaking quietly. "I knew you didn't want me gone, I knew you didn't want to kill me. It'll take some time but then you'll see—" he nodded encouragingly. "you'll see that we can be whole again."

She took a breath, knowing that in this moment everything felt complete. Like there was nothing left for her to do but end this.

Daisy spoke, looking up into his eyes. "You must not know me very well."

And with that, she grabbed the last stake on her, and plunged it into his heart.

His eyes fell to it, a question as to whether it was really her hands that put it there. He grabbed onto her for support as he felt himself crumbling, letting out quiet croaks as his final breaths left his body.

Looking into his eyes, she wished she'd done better. She wished his parents had done better, his family, his world.

She bent down with him, her jaw clenched in an attempt to stifle the cries that crawled up from within. As she lay him onto the floor, his skin began to grey, and his eyes began to still.

In his eyes she saw a boy, who was clinging onto the last and only person who would ever see him as anything but a monster.

EPILOGUE
song: take my breath away by berlin

Once the girl was a glass figurine, perfect to the eye, fragile underneath. She still feels pain, so much raw pain, but can't be broken anymore. He did his worst, but she is still here.

The girl held onto him until he was gone. Until there was no breathing left but hers. The shock too much for pain. She grieved for the part of her soul that died with him, for the emptiness she was left with, and for her first and last love.

She didn't cry, only because she was out of tears to give. Her body ached enough to make up for them.

It was when she knew no one would be coming back, that she knew she had met her own end. No one would be coming to make sure she was okay, that she survived, because she had no one left.

It wasn't a shock to her, continuing further never really felt right. When she looked towards her future she only saw her past, and that was tell enough.

The girl sat beside his body, unmoving, perfectly quiet, waiting as the sun rose over the hill outside.

The sun had warmth in its brilliance, reflecting a shimmer from the ends of her eyelashes. In a magnanimous invitation, it invited her eyes to finally rest.

Slowly, she slipped the blue jeweled ring off of her finger, and closed her eyes, smiling softly at what she knew would come next.

Heat ate and burned at her skin, but she didn't feel it, and none of it hurt. It was as if the sun knew to not punish any further, and to let the girl go easily.

Eventually, flames engulfed the home, eating up higher towards the sky for the whole morning. It was hours later until anyone came back, and by then the house was completely gone.

The girl couldn't recall how she'd died, only that she had passed on. Her body was perfect, and healthy. Color had come back to her skin, and she had gained back the weight she had lost.

She examined the band posters that lined her pink floral walls. She felt the soft familiar feeling of her bed under her body, and as she breathed in, she smelled dinner from downstairs.

Tearing her headphones off her ears, she sprang up from her bed. Rushing out her bedroom door and down the stairs, making sure she could get first pick of food before the girl's sister even got a chance.

Rushing into the kitchen, the girl's mother told her to slow down. And when the girl reached out to touch her, and her mom drew her into a hug, then covered her face with kisses.

And for the first time in what felt like decades, the girl found the peace she'd been so anxiously waiting for.

END
6/26/22

a/n
:')

i genuinely cannot thank you all enough for the support you've given me throughout this book. i started this book in april during the first lockdown, and the fact that 2 years later i've finally completed it (for good this time lmao) is actually insane to me.

i would've never decided to continue past part 1 if you all hadn't been so nice and encouraging, so just thank you all so much for your comments and votes :')

i'm so sad this story is ending, it's sorta taken over my mind for the past 2 years so it's definitely gonna be weird saying goodbye to this :-( :-(

pls check out my other work:

THIS IS ME TRYING
outerbanks fic, jj's sister is love interest,
enemies to lovers, slowburn.

LOOKS THAT KILL
ghostface!rafe cameron

TURN TO DUST
regulus black

UNDER THE VIOLET MOON
original

AGAIN, thank you all so much for keeping up with me for two years and all of my month-long hiatuses.

I LOVE U ALL SO MUCH and i hope u enjoyed
Villains Of Cirumstance 🥹

- jane