⚜

Damon never loved Katherine. By the time she arrived in Mystic Falls he was already spoken for by someone far more beautiful and far more powerful.

Viktoria.

Viktoria arrived in Mystic Falls a few years before Damon joined the Confederacy. Instantly Damon was infatuated with her. Nobody knew where she came from or what her story was. Her beauty along with the mystery of who she was drew him in.

He fell for her and he fell hard. Despite trying to keep her distance, Viktoria felt herself reciprocating those feelings. Her love for him and his love for her made them both feel invincible, until they weren't.

September 25th, 1864 is a day that still haunts Damon. A day when his entire world turned upside down. The day he didn't only lose his life but the day he lost the love of his life, his wife and best friend.

Even 145 years later the pain of losing his wife as fresh as if he lost her the previous day. Once he found out that there was a possibility at getting her back, no matter how slim, he did everything possible to make it happen.

This brings him to tonight - December 12th, 2009.

"Air. Earth. Fire." Sheila Bennett says as she lights three torches. Damon stood with his brother, Stefan, off to the side waiting impatiently for them to do the desired spell.

"Water" Bonnie says holding up a bottled water. She hands it to her grandmother who begins spreading it on the ground.

"That's it?" Elena asks frowning her eyebrows. "Just water from the tap?"

"As opposed to what?" Sheila asks with a small grin. Elena instantly blushes becoming slightly flustered.

"i just figured maybe it would have to be blessed or mystical or something" Elena admits. Sheila shakes her head slightly a small grin still on her face.

"What's that?" Stefan questions his brother as he pulls something out of his jacket. Damon holds it more into the light. It's a blood bag.

"It's for Vik" Damon tells him smirking. While he was trying to keep it cool and keep his reputation together it was hard. All he wanted to do was shout in excitement and urge the witches to work quicker. "Gotta give her something to get her going." He then glances at Elena. "Unless your girl's offering a vein to tap"

Elena rolls her eyes in annoyance and looks away from him. Damon's grin deepens before he looks back at his brother. He could tell that Elena isn't the only one annoyed with him but he didn't care. If he had to annoy and piss off everyone in the world in order to get his wife back, he'd do so willingly.

"Admit it" Damon whispers leaning closer to his brother. "You can't wait to get rid of me" He wiggles his eyebrows. Stefan chuckles under his breath.

"I can't wait to get rid of you" Stefan confirms. Damon hums and straightens up. Bonnie turns to him. "What if you find Katherine?" Stefan asks him. Damon rolls his eyes.

"Katherine was your girl, not mine" Damon tells him. "I'm not here for her, I told you that. The only one I care about is Vik." Damon assured him for the hundredth time since Stefan found out about his quest to open the tomb. 

"We're ready" Bonnie tells him. He motions for them to continue with a pointed look. Bonnie rolls her eyes and turns towards her grandma. They begin to say words that Damon couldn't even begin to understand.

"What are they saying?" Damon asks curiously.

"Sounds Latin" Stefan shrugs.

"I don't think it's Latin" Elena shakes her head. A few seconds later the flames on the torches flare startling Elena. "What's happening?"

No one answered her as the witches continued to recite the spell. Damon shifts in his spot anxiously. His head snaps towards the tomb as he hears the creaking of the door opening. He grins, his shoulders relaxing in relief.

"It work!" Bonnie explained.

"Of course it worked" Sheila says smiling at her granddaughter with pride.

"We have some fires to build" Damon says turning to his brother. He didn't mind killing every vampire within the tomb so long as his wife is with him and unharmed.

"I'm gonna go get the gasoline, I'll be right back" Stefan assures his girlfriend before climbing out of the area they were in.

Damon eyes the two witches. While Bonnie didn't look too suspicious he didn't like the glint in Sheila's eyes. He didn't trust either of them and he knew they didn't trust him.

"You ready?" Damon asks moving his gaze to Elena. 

"What?" She asks not understand why he was talking to her.

"You think I'm gonna go in there by myself so you can seal me in?" Damon asks the witches before gripping Elena and pulling her toward him. The sudden movement caused the Bennett's to tense.

"Don't take her in. I'll bring the walls down" Sheila threatens. Damon smirks at them.

"You'll bring the walls down if I don't. You think I trust you?" Damon tilts his head.

"As much as I trust you" Sheila growled narrowing her eyes.

"Enough" Elena says moving out of his grip but staying beside him. "Both of you. Look, he needs leverage. He needs to know that you're not going to shut the door when he gets inside. I get it. I'll go" Elena says having the final word. Damon grins and bends down to grab one of the torches.

"May I?" He asks sarcastically. Sheila narrows her eyes even more as he straightens up. "After you" He says to Elena. She looks at him annoyed but enters the tomb. He follows shortly after and quickly takes the lead.

"What is that?" Elena asks anxiously as she hears various sounds coming from all around them. If she didn't know any better she would have though the tomb is filled with zombies not vampires.

"They can sense you" Damon tells her. "Now, where is she?" Damon asks before speeding ahead.

"Damon!" Elena snaps but Damon was already gone.

"Come on, baby, where are you?" Damon mutters to himself as he checks everywhere. 

He ignores the other desiccated vampires only caring about one. Although he couldn't help but to notice that while he searches for his wife he hasn't stumbled upon Katherine either. Not that he cared about Katherine, he just found it curious that he couldn't find her.

"I thought we were past the whole 'hard to get' stage" Damon grumbles with a smirk on his lips as he continues his search. "There you are" He whispers turning a corner. 

Even desiccated she still looks beautiful. Her blonde hair has lost its curl and her once crimson red dress isn't as bright but it's still her. It's still his Viktoria.

Damon shakes his head and quickly speeds over to her. He kneels on the ground and caresses his skin. She's cold and unresponsive but Damon knows exactly how to make her feel better.

Damon pulls her towards him and away from the walls she's propped up against. Her head falls back onto his bicep. He tears the top of the bag open with his teeth before opening her mouth. He slowly pours a steady stream into her mouth.

"Come on, love, don't get stubborn" Damon says pouring even more until she begins to shift. Her eyes spring open and her hands rip the bag from him. She feeds on it hungrily not caring that some of it dripped onto her dress and even the floor. 

Viktoria usually prided herself on being a clean feeder but the desperation for blood was too much to care about appearances at the moment. The small bag did little to satisfy her hunger. If anything, she felt hungrier than before. She growls in an animalistic manner.

Soon the scent of fresh blood reaches her nose. Her head snaps to the side, her eyes zeroing in on the bleeding neck. She doesn't hesitate to latch into him and feed from him viciously.

"Easy, easy" Damon whispers petting her hair soothingly. Viktoria simply growls and grips him tightly. The force of her feeding on him causes him to fall back and lean against a wall.

Eventually her senses return to her as well as her control. She still wasn't nearly satisfied but she realized something. Once she realized this she pulls away from the neck and looks at him. The fire from the torch burns on the ground beside them giving just enough light to illuminate their faces.

"Damon" She whispers caressing his face. He instantly leans against her touch. "Is this real?" She whispers vulnerably. 

"It's real, babe, I'm real" He assures her. He places his hands on either side of her bloodstained face. "I came back for you,"

"You came back for me" She whispers. A slow smile sketches itself on her face. Happy tears fill her eyes and she laughs before crushing her lips against his. He wraps his hand around the back of her head and the other around her body.

It was hard for her to get comfortable in his lap wearing the dress she is but she made it work. She didn't care about comfort, all she cares about is him. She couldn't believe this was real yet here he is, holding her against him.

"I love you" She whispers against his lips. He grins widely and wipes away her tears. He ignores the fact that tears of his own threaten to fall down his cheeks. "I love you so much" She practically sobs.

"You're my girl, Viktoria Salvatore" He says pressing their foreheads together. "Always and forever" Pain fills her heart at the phrase she had lost hope in. However, that was the beauty of the man before her. He had restored the hope she had lost and reminded her how to love, how to trust again.

"Always and forever" She whispers distantly. Damon instantly recognized the look in her eyes. Despite loving her with all of his heart, despite having married her and did everything he could for her she is still this big mystery to him.

"Hey" Damon says softly. She quickly snaps out of it and returns to him. He smiles and kisses her nose. "Let's get out of here, yeah?" She nods eagerly and climbs off of him. They both stand quickly as Stefan finds them.

"Damon?" Stefan asks as his eyes look at his brother. "Viktoria" He breathes not believing his eyes. He didn't think they would find her here yet there she is.

"Hello, Stefan" Viktoria greets with a kind smile. He couldn't help but to smile back. Before he knew what he was doing he was going up to her and hugging her tightly. Viktoria laughs happily and hugs him back just as tight. "I missed you, Fratellino" {Italian - Little brother}

"We need to get out of here" Stefan says pulling away from her. "We don't have much time"

"Lead the way" Viktoria says smiling at him. Stefan nods and turns around. Damon grips onto her hand tightly as they follow him out of the tomb.

Elena quickly embraces Stefan as Viktoria closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. It's been a very long time since she's felt the wind kiss her skin and the smell of the outside world.

Slowly she opens her eyes and grins in relief. She doesn't know how long she's been in that tomb but knows it must have been a long time. As she looks around, not noticing Elena, she realizes that there's not many people around. She didn't know what to expect but a small part of her hoped that at least one of her siblings would have cared enough to show up. Surely they had heard about what happened, had heard about what happened to her. The realization that they weren't here stun deeply.

"Are you the witches that helped release me?" Viktoria questioned the two woman in front of her. The younger one glances at the older one, they hesitantly nod. "Bennett's?" They nod again. "I've known your family for generations," She told them. "Your ancestors were close with my mother in my human life." She explains. "I'm in your debt, should you need anything, simply ask and I will see to it. Thank you," She says sincerely.

"You're welcome" The younger one tells her. Viktoria takes a moment to take in the clothes the two women are wearing. They contrast greatly compared to what she is wearing. Viktoria couldn't help but to be surprised at how society has embraced women wearing trousers. Her sister, wherever she may be, must be very happy about that.

"Let's go home, get you something to dink" Damon says bringing Viktoria's attention back to him. She gives him a smile and follows him willingly back to the Salvatore home.

⚜

Blake Lively as Viktoria Salvatore

"You deserve to know the truth about me, about my past but that kind of knowledge can put you in danger."