In the front yard, Bonnie was abasing herself. She couldn't help thinking, even now, about how handsome Damon looked, how wild and dark and ferocious and gorgeous. She couldn't help thinking about the times he smiled at her,laughed at her, come to save her at her urgent call. She honestly thought that someday...but now she felt her heart was breaking in two.
"I don't want your filthy slave", he snarled. "I want my own back! She's worth...." Here he came to a stop , trying to calculate how many ordinary girls Bonnie was worth. A hundred? A thousand?
"She is worth infinitely more ----" he begun.
"They hurt you, didn't they, little bird? I saw... I saw your face," Damon said in his new choked-up voice.
Bonnie didn't know what to say. But suddenly she didn't mind how hard he squeezed her. She even found herself squeezing back.
Suddenly, to her shock, Damon broke the Koala-grip and pulled her up and kissed her on the lips very gently.
"Little redbird! I'm going to go now, and make them pay for what they did to you"
"Can you remember three things?" she said to Damon.
"I'd gamble on it" This time Damon kissed her softly on the forehead.
"Second, you left me at that horrible inn for a week--" As if she could see inside his mind, she saw this slice into him like some kind of wooden sword. He was holding her so tightly that she really couldn't breathe. "I.. didn't mean to. It was really only four days but I should never have done it" he said.
Bonnie woke and realized she had been unconscious for a few minutes. She began to shiver, and once she started she couldn't seem to stop. She felt a wave of heat envelope her, and she knew that Damon was trying to warm her, but still the trembling wouldn't go away.
"What's wrong?" Damon asked, and his voice was different from usual.
"I don't know," Bonnie said. She didn't. "Maybe it's because they kept starting to throw me out the window. I wasn't going to scream about that," she added hastily, in case he assumed she would, "but then when they talked about torchuring me ---"
She felt a sort of spasm go through Damon. He was holding her too hard. "Torchuring you! He threatened you with that?"
"So it was your fault it got poured out, was it?"
"Well, I figure it was. You couldn't have done it if I hadn't gotten drunk, and --- wha-what's wrong, Damon? Are you mad too?" He really was holding her so that she couldn't breathe
Slowly, she felt her arms loosen a little. "A word of advice, little redbird. When people threaten to torchure and kill you, it be more -- expedient -- to tell them it was someone else's fault. Especially if that happens to be the truth"
"I know that!" Bonnie said indignantly. "But they were going to kill me anyway. if I'd told about you, they'dve hurt you too"
Damon pulled her roughly back now, so that she had to look in him in the face. Bonnie could also feel the delicate touch of a telepathic mind probe. She didn't resist; she was too busy wondering why he had plum-colored shadows under his eyes. Then he shook her a little, and she stopped wondering.
"Don't you understand even the basics of self-preservation?" he said, and she thought he looked angry again. She certainly was different from any other time she had seen him -- except once, she thought, and that was when Elena had been 'disciplined' for saving Lady Ulma's life, back when Ulma had been a slave. He had the same expression then, so menacing that even Meredith had been frightened of him, and yet so filled with guilt that Bonnie had longed to comfort him.
And to her total astonishment, the ever composed, brand-new vampire blurted, "I'm sorry. I didn't think about how that place would be for you. Is there anything that will make you feel better?"
Bonnie blinked. She wondered, seriously, if she were dreaming. Damon didn't apologize. Damon didn't famously ddin't apologize, or explain, or speak so nice to people, unless he wanted something from them. But one thing seemed real. She didn't have to sleep in that brown room anymore.
This was so excited that she flushed a little, and dared say, "Could we go down to the ground? Slowly? because the truth is I'm just terrified of heights"
Damon blinked, but said, "Yes. I think I can manage that. Is there anything else you would like?"
"Well-- there are a couple of girls who'd be donors happily -- if -- well -- if there's any money left -- if you could save them.."
Damon said a little sharply, "Of course there's some money left. I even wrung your share back out of that hag of a land lady"
The microseconds stretched infinitely , Elena felt her eyes slowly getting wider, even though she knew they were flying open.
She saw Stefan leisurely reach across her to try to twine his fingers around Bonnie's leg, even though she knew what she was seeing was a lightening fast grab for the petite girls' ankle. She even heard instantly Damon's telepathy No, little Fool! as if he was speaking the words in his accustomed lazy tones of superiority.
Then, still in slow motion, Bonnie's knees bent and she launched into the air above the circle.
But she never touched the ground. Somehow, a black streak, stunningly fast even in a slow-motion horror film that Elena was watching, landed where Bonnie would have landed.
And then Bonnie was being thrown, being hurled too fast for Elena's eyes to track -- outside the barren circle and then there was a dull thud -- too fast for Elena's mind to track as being Bonnie's landing.
Quite clearly, she heard Stefan cry, "Damon" in a terrible voice. And then, Elena saw the thin dark objects -- like curving lances -- that were already shooting downward.
Elena could hear Bonnie too, through her link with Damon, but at first all Bonnie could do was sob, "Damon, oh please! I didn't know - I never thought --that anyone would get hurt! You saved my life! And now --oh, please! I can't say goodbye!"
She didn't understand Elena thought, that she was talking to a very young child. But Damon had sent the child a message to repeat.
"I'm supposed to tell you goodbye though." For the first time the child looked uneasy "And -- and I'm supposed to tell you 'I'm sorry' too. He thought you'd know what that meant and you'd forgive me. But... if you don't... I don't know what will happen --- oh!"
And deep in Damon's mind, she saw Bonnie's expression change, from tearful peanance to astonished fear to careful control. As if Bonnie had grown up all in an instant.
"Of course -- of course I understand. And I forgive you -- but you haven't done anything wrong. I'm such a silly girl -- I.."
"We don't think your a silly girl," the child said, looking vastly relieved. "but thank you for forgiving me. There's a special name I'm meant to call you too but I --"
"Was it redbird?" Bonnie asked, carefully and the little boy's pale face lit up.
"That was it. You already knew. Your all..all nice and so smart.. thank you for making it easy"
Stefan squeezed Elena's hand,"She's been trying so hard -- for you. She --she loves him too, you see. I didn't even know that. I guess..I guess.. I have been blind on all sides"
The pulsing was made up of nothing but a memory. The memory of a girl with dark blue eyes and golden hair and a small face with wide brown eyes.
And the taste: the taste of two maiden's tears. Elena. Bonnie
Putting the two of them together they formed, not exactly a thought, not exactly a picture. But to someone who only understood words, it might be translated
They are waiting for me, if I can figure out who I am
And that sparked a fierce determination
"I don't want your filthy slave", he snarled. "I want my own back! She's worth...." Here he came to a stop , trying to calculate how many ordinary girls Bonnie was worth. A hundred? A thousand?
"She is worth infinitely more ----" he begun.
"They hurt you, didn't they, little bird? I saw... I saw your face," Damon said in his new choked-up voice.
Bonnie didn't know what to say. But suddenly she didn't mind how hard he squeezed her. She even found herself squeezing back.
Suddenly, to her shock, Damon broke the Koala-grip and pulled her up and kissed her on the lips very gently.
"Little redbird! I'm going to go now, and make them pay for what they did to you"
"Can you remember three things?" she said to Damon.
"I'd gamble on it" This time Damon kissed her softly on the forehead.
"Second, you left me at that horrible inn for a week--" As if she could see inside his mind, she saw this slice into him like some kind of wooden sword. He was holding her so tightly that she really couldn't breathe. "I.. didn't mean to. It was really only four days but I should never have done it" he said.
Bonnie woke and realized she had been unconscious for a few minutes. She began to shiver, and once she started she couldn't seem to stop. She felt a wave of heat envelope her, and she knew that Damon was trying to warm her, but still the trembling wouldn't go away.
"What's wrong?" Damon asked, and his voice was different from usual.
"I don't know," Bonnie said. She didn't. "Maybe it's because they kept starting to throw me out the window. I wasn't going to scream about that," she added hastily, in case he assumed she would, "but then when they talked about torchuring me ---"
She felt a sort of spasm go through Damon. He was holding her too hard. "Torchuring you! He threatened you with that?"
"So it was your fault it got poured out, was it?"
"Well, I figure it was. You couldn't have done it if I hadn't gotten drunk, and --- wha-what's wrong, Damon? Are you mad too?" He really was holding her so that she couldn't breathe
Slowly, she felt her arms loosen a little. "A word of advice, little redbird. When people threaten to torchure and kill you, it be more -- expedient -- to tell them it was someone else's fault. Especially if that happens to be the truth"
"I know that!" Bonnie said indignantly. "But they were going to kill me anyway. if I'd told about you, they'dve hurt you too"
Damon pulled her roughly back now, so that she had to look in him in the face. Bonnie could also feel the delicate touch of a telepathic mind probe. She didn't resist; she was too busy wondering why he had plum-colored shadows under his eyes. Then he shook her a little, and she stopped wondering.
"Don't you understand even the basics of self-preservation?" he said, and she thought he looked angry again. She certainly was different from any other time she had seen him -- except once, she thought, and that was when Elena had been 'disciplined' for saving Lady Ulma's life, back when Ulma had been a slave. He had the same expression then, so menacing that even Meredith had been frightened of him, and yet so filled with guilt that Bonnie had longed to comfort him.
And to her total astonishment, the ever composed, brand-new vampire blurted, "I'm sorry. I didn't think about how that place would be for you. Is there anything that will make you feel better?"
Bonnie blinked. She wondered, seriously, if she were dreaming. Damon didn't apologize. Damon didn't famously ddin't apologize, or explain, or speak so nice to people, unless he wanted something from them. But one thing seemed real. She didn't have to sleep in that brown room anymore.
This was so excited that she flushed a little, and dared say, "Could we go down to the ground? Slowly? because the truth is I'm just terrified of heights"
Damon blinked, but said, "Yes. I think I can manage that. Is there anything else you would like?"
"Well-- there are a couple of girls who'd be donors happily -- if -- well -- if there's any money left -- if you could save them.."
Damon said a little sharply, "Of course there's some money left. I even wrung your share back out of that hag of a land lady"
The microseconds stretched infinitely , Elena felt her eyes slowly getting wider, even though she knew they were flying open.
She saw Stefan leisurely reach across her to try to twine his fingers around Bonnie's leg, even though she knew what she was seeing was a lightening fast grab for the petite girls' ankle. She even heard instantly Damon's telepathy No, little Fool! as if he was speaking the words in his accustomed lazy tones of superiority.
Then, still in slow motion, Bonnie's knees bent and she launched into the air above the circle.
But she never touched the ground. Somehow, a black streak, stunningly fast even in a slow-motion horror film that Elena was watching, landed where Bonnie would have landed.
And then Bonnie was being thrown, being hurled too fast for Elena's eyes to track -- outside the barren circle and then there was a dull thud -- too fast for Elena's mind to track as being Bonnie's landing.
Quite clearly, she heard Stefan cry, "Damon" in a terrible voice. And then, Elena saw the thin dark objects -- like curving lances -- that were already shooting downward.
Elena could hear Bonnie too, through her link with Damon, but at first all Bonnie could do was sob, "Damon, oh please! I didn't know - I never thought --that anyone would get hurt! You saved my life! And now --oh, please! I can't say goodbye!"
She didn't understand Elena thought, that she was talking to a very young child. But Damon had sent the child a message to repeat.
"I'm supposed to tell you goodbye though." For the first time the child looked uneasy "And -- and I'm supposed to tell you 'I'm sorry' too. He thought you'd know what that meant and you'd forgive me. But... if you don't... I don't know what will happen --- oh!"
And deep in Damon's mind, she saw Bonnie's expression change, from tearful peanance to astonished fear to careful control. As if Bonnie had grown up all in an instant.
"Of course -- of course I understand. And I forgive you -- but you haven't done anything wrong. I'm such a silly girl -- I.."
"We don't think your a silly girl," the child said, looking vastly relieved. "but thank you for forgiving me. There's a special name I'm meant to call you too but I --"
"Was it redbird?" Bonnie asked, carefully and the little boy's pale face lit up.
"That was it. You already knew. Your all..all nice and so smart.. thank you for making it easy"
Stefan squeezed Elena's hand,"She's been trying so hard -- for you. She --she loves him too, you see. I didn't even know that. I guess..I guess.. I have been blind on all sides"
The pulsing was made up of nothing but a memory. The memory of a girl with dark blue eyes and golden hair and a small face with wide brown eyes.
And the taste: the taste of two maiden's tears. Elena. Bonnie
Putting the two of them together they formed, not exactly a thought, not exactly a picture. But to someone who only understood words, it might be translated
They are waiting for me, if I can figure out who I am
And that sparked a fierce determination
