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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔

-ˋˏ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘦 ˎˊ-

˚ 　 ✫ 　　　 ˚ . 　　　 ⋆

. · 　　 +

✧

╰┈˚ · ° .   NEW YEARS WERE FOR NEW BEGINNINGS,  but not in Mystic Falls. A new year did not cancel what had happened in the previous one from our minds. So many things had changed in the span of only a few months.

The first, was the death of my parents, their lives ended in a tragic accident on Wickery bridge almost bringing with them Elena. Stefan Salvatore— to his words— had been the one to save her, and from that day, for some reason or another, he had cemented his position in all of our lives.

Next was the grief and the whole problems with being underage orphans. Sheriff Forbes had actually helped our family a lot with that. Keeping us Gilbert siblings in her own household until all the papers for our mother's younger sister, Aunt Jenna, to become our legal guardian were ready.

Then school started, Stefan Salvatore showing himself from the shadow he had been hiding— observing, studying the too close physical resemblance of Elena with Katherine Pierce. And that ended up with him falling in love.

A breach of hope had fallen that year when I met Zyran. His fierce personality stealing my heart in the span of a single day. A friend— the first real friend that I had ever had. The first person who I could be unashamedly myself with. He had done so much healing to me that I don't think he could ever begin to understand. It was easy to like him— easier to fall in love with him.

The discovery of a whole new world hidden just beneath our noses was the turn in my life that changed every perspective of it. Vampires, werewolves, witches... Faeries.

A whole new identity was discovered from the revelation that I was a changeling. A nymph connected to the night sky celestial bodies. The stars that had bewitched me since the day that I was born.

Five mate marks had appeared on my skin the day I had turned 18. Five constellations— only one that I could match to the person. Zyran Ashleigh had been more of a surprise then I had first come to know. A fated mate to share eternity with. And I was not opposed to it.

The Salvatores brothers had brought with them so much more than we had all bargained for. Or that was just the fact that Elena Gilbert was the Doppelgänger of the infamous Katherine Pierce.

───── ⋆˖⁺‧ ☽◯☾ ‧⁺˖⋆ ─────

╰┈˚ · ° .  "You really are a spoiled cat, aren't you." The comment was made out loud as the feline curled its body around my neck. Her new found favorite position. She had started to use it as much as she could, whenever she could.

I could almost hear the response in her very expressive double colored eyes that told me that I loved it. I really did. Bastet let out a soft purr, her tiny chest echoing the sound down to my shoulder before she raised her paw to her mouth and started to lick it, ignoring me whatsoever until I stepped into the kitchen directed to the cabinet underneath the sink where I had stored her cans of food.

"Good morning." I smiled at my Aunt and sister. Jenna was sitting at the head of the dining table, Elena standing behind her. Books, notebooks, a computer, they littered the wooden surface, and next to them on a chair, there was an open box. "What are you two doing?"

"Aunt Jenna is- uh-" Elena tinned her lips into a pursed smile,"She is helping me find information on my birth parents."

That took me by surprise. I did not know that she had that desire— but after all, I could not fault her. I would have had the same wish. I did have it. I too wanted to find the truth behind my birth.

"How is it going?" I asked, showing my support to my sister who loosed a sigh of relief.

"Well, as I was telling Elena," Aunt Jenna began, "Your dad kept everything from his medical practice. Records, logs, old appointment books." She showed us a book, notes written with our father's handwriting showing all over the page. "I found an entry from the night Elena was born. Patient and a birthdate. Isobel Peterson."

"Think that's her real name?"

"Unlikely" I shook my head. It was improbable.

"Exactly what I thought." Jenna agreed with a short nod. "A pregnant teenage runaway? Probably not. First name maybe. But where'd she get Peterson? A classmate? Best friend? So I Binged it." She opened the searching engineer, "I searched for all the Petersons in this area born the same year as Isobel. Found three, two men... and a woman, Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."

"That's not far from here."

"Well, watch this."

With the name of the girl, our aunt searched for school photos. On the alumni page, in one of the polaroid photos there were two girls. Trudi and Isobel.

"Isobel." A gentle smile twisted my sister's lips as she spoke the possible name of her birth mother, "She was a cheerleader."

Soft chuckles echoed around the kitchen at Elena's comment. "Let's hope that she was better than you." I teased my sister.

"Hopefully." Her reply came with an amused smile.

"Trudie still lives there." Aunt Jenna informed the middle Gilbert sibling. "This is her address."

"What about Isobel?"

"I couldn't find anything about her." thinking about her words for a second, in the end Jenna decided to go with the truth, "Listen, there's something else. Mr. Saltzman, Rick? His wife was from around here. And her name was also Isobel."

"Wait. 'Was' as in...?"

"She died."

Elena was quick to cover her sudden sadness, deciding to leave the kitchen.

"It's better than nothing, Aunt Jenna." I told the young woman with a comforting smile.

The strawberry blonde lowered her eyes down to the table, "I know. I just wish there was more I could have found."

"You did your best."

"Thank you." She said, but her smile soon twisted into a frown. "I still don't know where you found her." She asked, confusingly eyeing the feline that had jumped once again on my shoulders.

"She just started to follow me." I replied, petting the cat just behind her right ear where I knew she loved. "And she has no intention of leaving whatsoever."

"Well, certainly not if you continue to feed it as much food as you do." Her teasing held a slight hint of scolding. Yes, It was true. I was feeding the cat with the amount of food a big sized dog was supposed to eat, but the feline had a huge appetite and never declined anything. She actually demanded it most of the time.

Aunt Jenna moved her hand, reaching for the black cat but Bastet let out a hiss that made the women flinch back. "And she is still not less aggressive, I see."

"Doesn't look like it to me." I grinned when the cat nuzzled her head against the side of my neck.

The little animal had completely stolen my heart, and somehow, she had a soft spot reserved only for me in that very aggressive personality of hers.

───── ⋆˖⁺‧ ☽◯☾ ‧⁺˖⋆ ─────

╰┈˚ · ° .  The Mystic Grill was the location for a new town event. The Bachelor Raffle, a chance for the women of Mystic Falls to win a date with the eligible men of our small town. It was a fundraiser, all the sales income would end in the funds for the annual Founder's Day Celebration. This year, it was the 150th anniversary of the founding of Mystic Falls.

The building was packed, a stage was erected in the middle of the restaurant, a banner to decorate it.

"Can you stop being so– you?" I annoyedly asked out loud at my boyfriend— who fortunately for him, caught himself before he laughed out loud.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me. What was she, the fifth woman that asked for your number tonight? The fifteenth who was eyeing you like a dessert?" I let out a huff, putting my lips at his clear amusement.

"First of all," he grinned, bringing me closer by the arm he had wrapped around me, "That pout is so fucking cute." I quickly lose it. It was not time for him to tell me that I was cute. "Second, I'm no dessert. I'm a full course meal."

"You did not just say that." mirth bloomed on my features. I knew that he had said it just to spark this exact emotion in me. That made it even more fun.

"And third," We were so close now that I could feel his breath against my lips, his nose brushing tenderly against mine, "You have no need to be jealous. I'm all yours."

"You are— a smooth talker." I pushed myself away from him, grinning widely.

I was jealous, of course. I think it's normal to feel that way sometimes, but I knew Zyran. He was charismatic, with a charming personality that you couldn't help but be drawn to by each word that he spoke, beautiful enough to make you stop in your tracks just so you could stare. I would not change him even the slightest thing about him.

"And you love it." His grin brightened his face everytime it showed on his lips. It was more than a gorgeous smile. "Now, come on, I see Caroline. Your sister is walking towards her."

The blonde girl was a volunteer for the Bachelor Raffle, her job was to sell the ticket for the event. Next to her there was Matt, by his attire and the rug thrown on his shoulder, it was clear that he was working his shift. Elena had just met the couple when both Zy and I greeted them.

"He's already been hit on like 35 times." Caroline said, talking about her boyfriend. "He's total cougar bait."

"Impressive." Elena commented.

"More like embarrassing." Matt shook his head, flinching when Zy slapped the boy in his shoulder with a bit too much strength that he probably didn't notice he used.

"The new Cougar bait, Matt Donovan." Zyran laughed.

"Do I have to mention the one that hit on you too?" I raised my eyebrow in my mates direction, finding hilarity in all of this.

"Oh my god, him too?" Caroline gasped with a smile.

"She got hit on too, actually." Zyran told the blonde girl, a not so secret grin twisting his lips.

"No I didn't." I denied it, blushing slightly. "She was just being friendly."

He was right, she was not just being friendly. I silently agreed with Matt, it was embarrassing.

"Yeah, friendly." The dragon shifter let out a scoff, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Donovan." Caroline spoke, suddenly shifting her posture to a straighter one and forming a perfect smile on her lips. It was clear that she was trying her best to be liked by her boyfriend's mother.

Kelly Donovan, Matt and Vicki's not very present at all mother, was a very aesthetically pleasing woman in her forties, what ruined her was her not so pleasurable personality.

Ignoring the girl that had greeted her, the woman turned to my sister, embracing her in her arms, "Elena, honey."

"Hi, Kelly." With a beaming smile, Elena reciprocated the hug. "How are you?"

"Same old." Shrugged nonchalantly the woman replied before turning her lips into a pout, "Oh. Matty tells me you broke his heart."

"Mom." Matt shook his head, clearly embarrassed by his mother's words and antics.

"Just kidding. Calm down." Kelly told his son. Lowering her tone to a more serious one, the woman then continued,"He found his rebound girl." She said, side glancing at Caroline.

"Alright." Awkwardly muttered Zyran not hiding his distaste for the boy's mother.

Taking a breath, I reached for Carolined hand, comforting her silently before I quickly snatched it away before I could recoil from the simple touch.

It had been a while since I voluntarily touched anyone that had not been my mate. Zyran had a simple explanation to the feeling of almost disgust that overwhelmed me whenever I touched someone that wasn't him. Growing up here, away from the magic that was everywhere in Nàdar, weakened my state. That was why I had called my mate so early. Most of the faeries would wait even centuries before they could be gifted with a mate. He was sure that once the mate bonds— all of them— were completed, this feeling would fade away.

Kelly's eyes landed on Zyran next, they widened alongside her smirk, "And who you might be?"

"Her boyfriend." Stiffly, in a very not-so friendly way, the dragon shifter replied. He placed a hand on my hip, stepping closer until his chest was against my back. With the height advantage he had on me, he could still clearly see the others from above my head.

Kelly's smile faltered for a second when her eyes landed on me before reappearing in a much faker way, "Oh, Andromeda! I did not see you there."

I was literally standing next to her?

Like she had done with Elena, she tried reaching for a hug. Which was declined quickly by Zyran pushing my body out of the way before she could touch me.

"So you have a boyfriend now? I thought that I would have never seen the day." She spoke the next words like they were a shameful secret taken too lightly by her tone, "You know, with all that weird no touching thing that you have."

"I don't think it's any of your business, ma'am." Zyran did not care who she was, he spoke his mind shamelessly, letting the words run free from his tongue while still maintaining the formalities. But I knew he was refraining from saying much much more.

"Oh," Laughing that it had been a joke, Kelly Donovan then opened her purse, passing Caroline the money for the tickets and breaking the awkward silence that was created, "Well, here you go, sweetheart. However many that'll buy. I just hope I don't get Bachelor 3. Dated him in high school. Not impressive. In any way."

Wrong, she had just made it even more awkward.

Creating a new smile that was way more forced, Caroline passed her the tickets making the older woman beam, "Very exciting." And with that one last phrase, she was gone.

Matt offered a tight lipped smile before he disappeared, using his job as an excuse. Elena too, walked away, leaving us with a crestfallen Caroline.

"I'll leave you two alone." Zyran spoke, kissing my forehead before stepping away.

"She really does not like me." The blonde girl said, sighing out a sad breath as she looked down.

"Not being liked by Kelly Donovan is a blessing. Remember who she is, how she treats her own children. She doesn't deserve even an ounce of the effort that you are making."

"She likes Elena, though." Caroline frowned.

"Yeah, she does, and? You don't have to compare yourself to anyone, Care, you are good enough." I told her, "You don't have to be liked by your boyfriend's mom if she is not a good mother— and she definitely is not. Kelly is going to be out of this town and from Matt's life in a matter of a month, and in the end, it won't matter how much you try with her. It will never be worth it."

"I guess."

I could see her, the girl hiding underneath all of the insecurities. I knew that one day that Caroline was going to outshine everyone, and I couldn't wait to see it.

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!!

Bestet, the cat, is such a queen tbh.

Can't wait to write Caroline in the following seasons!!

We have a few moments with Zy and Meda in this chapter that I adore. They are so pure.

Their relationship is so different from any other that i have ever written before and it is so refreshing to have something different.

Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Saturday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾