1857-1864

Her white dress swayed inches from the ground. Long blonde hair pulled into a bun. Sweaty palm clutched four carrots. The sun's heat beat down on Gwen Jordan as she walked past the pigs and hogs, wrinkling her nose at the foul smell. Gwen smiled at the brown chickens roaming in their coop.
The Rooster strutting around and crowing every once in awhile, pecking the brown earth. Her hand ran across the chicken wire until the end, falling as Gwen walked towards her family's barn, only a few feet away. The barn was narrow with unpainted gray wood holding up a simple tngle wood roof. Light flooded inside from the open doorway. Inside, stacks of hay against the left wall, inches from that horseshoes, buckets and other tools to help care for the animals. On the right, four horses waited, boxed in with wooden beams with a loft above them near the back.
 
"Who wants a treat?" Gwen asked them, rubbing the soft forehead of the horses. Taking her hand away Gwen held out one of the carrots, "Here you go, Ginger, always my good girl" Ginger took it by the tip, eagerly nibbling. Gwen moved on to the oldest, Archer, a black Clydesdale with white hair falling around his hooves and a white strip on his nose. Last the brothers, both gray Dales Ponies.

"Gwen." The silky voice of her best friend Damon Salvatore captured Gwen's attention.

She looked sideways to find his lean toned frame standing near the ladder of the loft. He wore a simple black vest over his white collared shirt. His dark brown curls are a nice contrast to his olive skin with his bangs combed to the side. Damon's captivating blue eyes shone with mischief, eyes that almost looked silver with the hints of grey.

Gwen remembered their first meeting, when she caught three-year-old Damon wrestling with one of the families pigs. Gwen, being two and a curious person, decided to interrogate the boy.
His face caked with mud, Damon simply said, "It's fun." Tired of boring needlework, Gwen decided to join him. They have been best friends ever since. Becoming the town's trouble makers, much to her mother's grief.

Gwen followed Damon up the ladder to the loft. Both sat on the edge, letting their feet dangle.

"She is at it again," Gwen announced. Damon didn't even need to ask, he already had to endure her complaints about her mother many times before. "You must become a women, find someone and do your duty for the family." Gwen, imitated her mother's voice. "Mother wants me to become just like her, married young and stuck here in this little town. She can have little Beth for that."

Damon tugged at a loose blonde strand "I will just have to steal you away." His lips parted revealing his perfect white teeth "Then we can see the world."

Her heart fluttered at the thought, but it never came to pass. The next year came with his mother's passing. Gwen did her best to help, sticking by his side even as he tried to drink the pain away. Years kept passing by, and slowly Gwen started to realize something. She was falling for Damon Salvatore.

His every little touch sent her pulse racing. Her eyes were always falling on his lips, suppressing the urge to press hers against them. Part of Gwen believed he felt it too. Before she could even ask him,  civil war broke out. While Damon enlisted and left, Gwen stopped fighting her mother.

Instead, taking her teachings to heart. Still she refused marriage, choosing to wait for Damon. Joy filled Gwen when he returned. She didn't care that he deserted his platoon, just that he was back and safe. However, her joy was shortly lived. Miss Katherine Pierce showed up with her oval face, perfect brown curls, petite frame, and her almond-shaped deep brown eyes.
An exotic beauty, one might say. Katherine lost her parents to a fire, Damon's father kindly decided to take her in. It didn't take long for Katherine to sink her hooks into Damon. Gwen refused to see it, but life was taking them down different paths. Soon, they were spending less time together, and when they did, it was mostly fighting.

Sitting on a bench in his backyard, surrounded by beautiful flowers, Gwen tried to reason once more with him. "Katherine is not good for you," Her tone was soft.

"Why can't you be happy for me?" Damon challenged Gwen, his anger rising.

Exhausted by it all, she snapped "Katherine won't love you!" Pity reflected in her dark blue eyes, "She likes watching Stefan and you fighting over her too much to fall in love with either of you. Damon, your brother is more important, family comes first." Gwen grabbed his hands, causing him to flinch away. Nonetheless, she held on to him. "And Katherine is tearing us apart, Isn't our friendship important too?"

"I love Katherine." Damon insists, the anger in his voice making Gwen cower. He snatched his hand away as if burned.

Gwen would forever regret going to the founder's ball. She arrived early before her family,  in her best silk pink dress, pretty ribbons decorating the bottom of it. Only if she could have known what would happen on that day. Gwen spotted Damon dancing with Katherine, intimacy radiated off of them. It was then, that she realize that he would always love Katherine over her. It all went crashing down. Gwen felt the room suffocating her, threatening to drown her soul.

Tears falling, Gwen turned and ran out of the ball, towards her home, her only remaining source of comfort. Maybe if Gwen never left to attend the party, her mother and Elizabeth would still be alive. Instead, Gwen found them in the parlor chairs, unmoving. Beth's body lay in their mother’s lap, red hair free from pins and green eyes empty. While mother’s dark hair was still contained, large hazel eyes just as empty of life. Two small holes and dried blood decorated their throats. Their white dresses still looked pristine. Not one speck of blood.

"Mother, Beth!" Gwen screamed loudly, her voice full of pain. Before she could even move, a hard object slammed into the back of her head, knocking Gwen to the ground with a hard thud.

She turned her head to the source, blue eyes wide with surprise. "Father....what are you doing?"

His emerald green eyes were empty as he spoke in a dull tone, "It would have been better if you let Damon go, now our family is dead because of you!" He leaped on Gwen's lap, hands wrapped around her throat, cutting off all source of oxygen.

Gwen begged, with the small amount of energy that she had, "Please....father" He released her. "I don't underst-" blinding pain cut off Gwen's words.

It rolled across her stomach as a sharp metallic knife entered her twice more. Gwen heard a loud cry from someone, it took a moment to realize that in fact, was her, screaming. Her father stood and she watched him wearily. Hand clutched to her stomach in pain, soaked with her own blood.

"Katherine requested your life," He snarled, his voice raging in anger.

"I'm your daughter!" Gwen shouted scared, as her father lit a match."Please, I love you." The sound of her voice turned into a hoarse whisper as he dropped the flame.

Burning hot fire ignited everywhere, destroying her home. Fear clawed at Gwen's brain, the flames inched closer to her body. Like a child, Gwen crawled to her dead mother, clinging to her cold hands, as tears fell freely. Flames only inches away from her foot, smoke suffocated Gwen as the world turned black.

A groan emerged from Gwen's lips, something warm spread across her stomach before turning cold "Stop," Her voice was weak.

"Miss," slowly Gwen's eyes opened at the rough voice, taking a second to adjust.

Finding a middle-aged man leaned over her, his blue eyes watched with unchecked compassion. His dirty blonde hair tied by a blue ribbon which matched his overcoat. Underneath the coat was a black vest, rested upon a white shirt. Nausea had Gwen hurling. Hands clutched her stomach, finding her dress cut across the middle. Gwen's fingers traced a twisted line of flesh instead of holes, starting from her belly to left hip where it ended.

Voice still weak, Gwen foolishly asked, "Is this Hell?"

"No child, this is your second chance."
"I don't understand."

He smiled "I just healed your wounds with magic, because I'm a witch. And you are as well, but a special kind that is rare. Come with me, let me teach you and in time you can have back the family you lost, I Michael William promise to protect you."

Memories played through her brain, earning Gwen a sad smile. Playing with her siblings and reading to them. Times when her mother gently combed Gwen's hair. Her father exciting them with wonderful tales of magical adventures. They all blurred into one sense of overwhelming loss mixed with a desire to get them back. Gwen tucked the memories away. Finding Michael on his feet and holding out a hand. Placing her hand in his, Gwen winced as she was hauled to her feet.

"The only way is forward." Michael informed Gwen. He placed a beautiful ring with a sapphire surrounded by small silver leaves in her hand.

Together without a glance back, they vanished into the woods. Entering the world she believed were stories meant to scare.

Quick Note: Gwen is 24 years old. One year younger then Damon who I believe is 25.

How do you all think Damon will react to Gwen not being dead?

Cover is by Aphrodite270