[*Chapter Forty-Six*]

"Do you believe in vampires?"

Jeremy sucked in a sharp breath and promptly choked on thin air. His brown eyes widened as he beat his chest with a clenched fist. "Darcy, are you sure? What about Elena?" he said with laboured breaths.

Darcy nodded at Jeremy before sitting back down next to Jenna. "I'm sure. Elena will bitch and moan, but she can't deny I'm doing the right thing. She'll thank me later for this."

Well, she hopes Elena would. But knowing the Gilbert girl, she'll find a reason to object.

"Figuratively or literally?" Jenna asked, her eyes flickering between the two with a raised eyebrow.

"Literally," Jeremy said, tugging on his hair, for the ninth time already, the poor lad might not have any left by the end of this impending declaration.

"If this was a story, then yes. Nevertheless, it isn't... so no," Jenna snorted in amusement whilst rolling her eyes fondly. "Should I be on the phone and committing you both into a mental institute?"

Darcy and Jeremy glance at each other, wincing. The Protectress considers giving the woman more whiskey but then pushes the thought aside. She needs Jenna sober.

Noticing their expressions and feeling the tense stillness threatening to smother them, Jenna sits up straighter. "Alright, you're starting to scare me. What's going on?"

"Jenna... What I'm about to tell you. I want you to try to think coherently. Understand I'm doing this for your safety and because I love you. Remember, I see you as my older sister, so please consider that I've never lied to you, and I won't ever start now. Okay? It's family above all."

Darcy whispers, holding Jenna's hands in her own. Squeezing them slightly, she switches her gaze between the two occupants at the kitchen counter, offering the young aunt a soft smile upon seeing her frame turn rigid and pallid features. "It's okay, Jen. As long as I'm around, nothing will happen to you. Any of you–,"

The front door slams open, halting Darcy's words. The three glance over, and the two dark heads groan, seeing Elena stomping their way. The young brunette girl sits next to Jeremy and glares at Darcy. She opens her mouth but halts as the Protectress raises her hand.

"Stop. Whatever you're about to sprout, stop now."

Elena shakes her head in protest, eyes narrowing. "No, Darcy. Don't do this. Jenna doesn't need to know. She will be safer without knowing. Plus, John will hit the roof if he finds out."

Like she could give two fucks what John thinks. Darcy rolls her eyes and leans forward, elbows resting on the granite top, hands cupping her chin as she remains steady eye contact with the naïve girl. "Oh, please do tell. I would love to know how your brain has managed to conjure this up."

Jenna and Jeremy glance at each other and silently creep away into the lounge, leaving the two girls to talk. Both were praying it wouldn't end up in roadkill.

Darcy watched as Elena clenched her hands into fists and brought her gaze down to the island. "Jenna wouldn't get hurt. If she didn't know that vampires and witches existed, she would remain in the unknown. Which makes her safer."

Elena startles as Darcy's hand smacks the counter with a bang. "That's where you're wrong, Elena! Open your damn eyes and look around you. This town is riddled with vampires, and it's only a matter of time before Jenna gets caught in the crossfire. Shit, Jeremy too. And then what would happen?"

Elena swallows thickly, her gaze still refusing to meet Darcy's. "They'll get hurt."

"Or worse, they could get killed."

Elena's head snaps up, hair flying around as she shakes her head vehemently. "No, that won't happen. I won't let it."

"Yes, Elena. It will happen. You and I both know it. Let me just point out a few things before you continue to disagree with me," Darcy pauses and raises her hand, fingers spreading as she counts them off.

"Logan. He was turned into a vampire. And if I weren't there at the time, Jenna could have invited him into the house. Stefan and Damon are bound to have picked up enemy's during their time, and let's take Katherine, for instance. Their feud caused twenty-six vampires to be locked up in the tomb. Frederick was a classic example of greed and revenge. He would have succeeded if I didn't finish him off. What's to say that the other's won't end what he started? Do you see where I'm going?"

Darcy paused again, watching as Elena swallows but albeit nodded her head in admittance. Sighing, she reached across and took the girls hands in her own, thumbs trailing circles over her knuckles.

"I'm not doing this to be an arse. I'm doing it because I care. I'll never forgive myself if something happens to you. Any of you. Not if I could prevent it. Look, Elena, just because Anna and Pearl want peace doesn't mean the other's do. All Jenna has to do is open the door and invite in the wrong person, and then it's game over." Darcy smacked the top again, emphasising her point. "She's dead... All because she wasn't made aware of it. And we all know Jenna; she's too kind for her own good. She'll invite anyone in."

Elena face clouds with sorrow. Not for Jenna, but for Darcy. The older girl has always done everything in her power to keep her family happy and safe. Elena would never admit it openly but growing up with the girl. She could not help but admire and feel envious of her. People naturally gravitate towards her, like magnets. She's always succeeded in bringing out the best in people. Yet, when they were younger, Elena would let her jealousy get the best of her and continue pushing Darcy away. And no matter how many times, the girl was always by her side, picking up the pieces when something went wrong. She never once said no or turned her nose up. Darcy went straight in. And it scares her because she knows Darcy would do anything for her family.

And maybe that would be Darcy's downfall.

Elena recollects her encounter with Stefan before he kicked her out and realises with foreboding that the devotion has now been divided. She knows Darcy may never admit it, but the girl loves the Salvatore's too. Maybe not in the sense of love yet. But still, once you gain a special place in Darcy's heart, you best bet you'll be under her safety net.

Elena squeezes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "You can't protect everyone, Darcy. Your willpower scares me. You're gonna get yourself killed one day, and then what would happen? You'll be gone, and we will all be left suffering in your wake. We can't lose you, Darcy. We need you. We'll be a mess without you. You're the glue that holds us together."

Darcy sighed, brushing the black strands of hair off her forehead before shrugging carelessly. "If that means you all are alive, then so be it. I'd rather me be dead than you. Your deaths, I can't have that on my conscious it will destroy me," she spoke strongly, not an ounce of fear or doubt in her voice.

"I'll do anything in my power to ensure you're protected."

Guilt stabs at Elena's heart. Even with Stefan's admittance of falling in love with Darcy, she can't find it in her to hate her. How could she? Not when the girl would give her life over to ensure theirs. Who wouldn't fall for her sister? She's a beautiful person, inside and out, and loves without any faults.

"We need to talk, Darcy," Elena mumbled, sadness evident in her voice.

A frown was present on her face as Darcy stood up, rounded the kitchen island, and gathered the items. She shoves them under her left arm and tugs, Elena up with her right. "If this is about what I heard earlier, then it can wait."

"What? You know?" Elena asked, shocked. "About Stefan?"

Darcy winces and looks off to the side. "That and more. Now come on, we need to talk to Jenna."

"So we're gonna do this? Are we gonna tell Jenna the truth? Everything?" Elena asked before they stopped at the threshold of the living room.

"Don't be selfish." Darcy gazed at Jenna and Jeremy seated on the sofa, both staring at the wall with blank expressions. "Not everything. You can tell her about Isobel," she paused at Elena's sounds of protest. "I'm saying you don't need to tell her now. It'll be too much. But we do owe it to her, Elena. How would you like it if the guy you fancies is the husband of your niece's biological Mother and be none the wiser? It'll destroy her. We owe this to both of them."

The Gilbert girl glances between Jenna and Jeremy and then looks at Darcy. If Darcy can be strong, she can too. Clasping Darcy's hand, she follows her into the lounge.

Jeremy and Jenna peer up at the girls as they stand in front of them, secretly expelling breaths of relief upon seeing they were fine. "What, no bloodshed?" Jenna joked, attempting to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Nope, sorry to disappoint you," Darcy chuckles softly before shoving Jenna aside and seating between her and Jeremy, Elena choosing to sit at the other side of Jenna.

*•*•*•*•*

After disclosing to Jenna that the supernatural world exists, the four sit in bated breath. Jeremy pulls out his hair whilst he glues his stare on Darcy's face. Elena chews her fingers nails and eyes the television as if willing it to turn itself on magically. And Darcy sits calm and composed, though, if you look on the inside, you would see her nerves bouncing around its iron cast cage, urging her to take flight. But she won't. That's not Darcy. She'll continue to fight past the endpoint.

She swallows, observing as Jenna stands and wanders over to the kitchen island, receives the bottle of Whiskey from earlier. Her ocean eyes track that the strawberry blonde bypasses the glasses and returns, taking a seat on the armchair across from them. The action sends another continuous jolt of pain to her already ailing essence.

Oh no, you don't. To hell will she let Jenna shut herself away. Standing, Darcy rounds the coffee table and takes a seat on the edge, her robust stare gazing at the woman with a determined glint. "Are you okay?" Don't back on me now, Jen.

Jenna unscrews the bottle and downs a mouthful, all the while staring at the Protectress with a desolate vision. "Am I okay? Oh, yes, I'm feeling absolutely fantastic, never mind the fact I've just found out the hometown I reside in is corrugating vampires and the like. Yep, I'm feeling pretty damn amazing."

Darcy winces at the tone, but she can hardly blame the woman. She's just found out the imaginable, something that should only exist in books and fairy tales and defiantly should not be reality. A reality that was hidden from her for over eighteen years. It's got to hurt to learn your own sister had hidden the world's truth—the very sister who should be telling her, not her adoptive niece.

Maybe it's a Sommers-Gilbert thing?

Jenna flitters her stare over at Jeremy and Elena, making them cower and seek cover in the couch cushions. She knows without a doubt if Darcy weren't in the picture, the lies would continue to circulate, and she would be left in the dark. For that, whilst the news has left her unravelled, she also feels appreciative for the young woman.

"I'm sorry," Elena mutters, her ashamed with watery eyes downcast.

"Right," Jenna snorts and swallows another mouthful. "Vampires...Witches... Who would've thought, huh? Oh, I know?" She asserts sarcastically, pointing the mouth of the bottle at her chest. "Me."

"We thought we were doing what was best," Jeremy pipes up sheepishly.

The amber liquid in the bottle sloshes as Jenna jerks the bottle in his direction. "And you. You're just a kid. You shouldn't be involved at all. Shit, all of you are just kids."

Darcy coughs and raises her hand, a teasing grin on her lips. "Not a kid."

Jenna cuts her a look, making Darcy zip her lips and throw away an invisible key. And then her eyes mist over, and her lip trembles, causing Darcy to shift forward and wipes away the stray tear trailing down her cheek.

"Hey, don't cry, Jen. It's okay. I've got you," Darcy soothes, getting up and sitting on the arm of the chair. She wrapped Jenna in her arms and leant her head atop of hers. Her lithe hands smoothed down the strands of strawberry hair. "I'm sorry for putting this on you all."

"It's not your fault, Darcy," a pair of arms wrap around the two, smothering them in the wispy fragrance of the lavender fabric softener perfuming Jeremy's clothing. The aroma brings a soft, comforting feeling to Darcy, causing her rigid muscles to relax and burrow further into Jenna, encasing the woman in her chest. She ignores the tears and the alcohol seeping into her shirt, wanting Jenna to know and feel that she is there and that she's not going anywhere.

"Thank you," Jenna lets out a stuffy sigh and pulls away from Darcy to wipe her eyes. Looking at the three individuals in the room, she straightens her posture, her gaze straying to the coffee table. "So what do those things do?"

Darcy grins and opens the wooden box, fetching out the bound vervain plants. Placing the purple herb into Jenna's open hand, she says. "This is called Vervain, and it's a herb that protects you from compulsion."

"Compulsion? What's that?" Jenna asks as Jeremy and Elena join Darcy sitting on the floor, the younger Gilbert fiddling with the wooden stake, and Elena lifting the golden painted anklet out of the box.

"Mind compulsion is an ability that vampires can use through eye contact. With this ability, they can conjure the mind to do what they desire of you, and you wouldn't be the wiser unless said vampire erases it away," Darcy explained, watching as Jenna raised a perplexed brow, looking at a closer inspection of the herb.

"Wow, okay. And this... Vervain? Can prevent that?" Jenna asked, her face creasing with a confused frown. "It's just a plant."

"It's not just a plant, Jenna. It's vital for you to have this on your body at all times," Darcy stated, her tone taking on a serious edge, causing the older woman to peer up again. "However, you don't have to have it on you. You can also ingest the liquid form as I do."

Pulling the wooden box closer to her, she pulls out a vial, showing Jenna the yellow liquid encased inside the glass tube. "I pour this into everyone's coffee every morning. That way, if you did decide to wear jewellery also, this will be your backup, and a vampire wouldn't be able to compel you."

"Wow," Jenna said, blowing out a surprised breath. "You've thought of so much."

"Hold that thought. I'm about to extend your amazement," Darcy chuckled and shook her head before reaching over to the three shampoo and shower gel bottles. Tapping each one, she explains what's inside them. "These may look like our regular shampoo and body wash, but what you don't know is that I also put the liquid form of the vervain inside them. Human's wouldn't no, but if a vampire tried to take a bite, they would smell it before they tried."

"You do all that? For us?" Jeremy asked his face a picture of admiration. He shakes his head. "I don't know why I'm even surprised; you go above and beyond all the time."

"Jeremy and I also wear jewellery that contains the herb," Elena pipes up, pulling her necklace from under the contents of her shirt. The glow from the lighting in the room reflects off the silver locket, causing Darcy to squint and lean closer. She's never had the chance to look properly before but knows Stefan had given it to Elena. And for the life of her, she swears it seems familiar to her, except she can't recall why.

"Hey, Elena?" Darcy called, gaining the girl's attention. Holding her hand out, she asks. "Can I have a look at your necklace for a minute?"

"Why?" Elena asked, confused, closing her hand over the locket to hide it from her view.

Darcy blew out a frustrated breath and got up onto her knees, skirting around Jeremy so she could be closer to Elena. Placing her hand on the brunette's shoulder, Darcy examines the silver swirls and red gem in the centre of the locket. "I just want to take a look. It seems familiar. Did Stefan say where he got it from?"

Elena looks around the room's occupants, meeting Jenna's mirrored, confused face, before glancing back at Darcy. "No. He said a friend had given it to him. He didn't say who, though."

Peering up from the necklace, Darcy stares into Elena's doe eyes. "Can I have a look?"

Elena frowns but complies, unclasping the chain and placing it into Darcy's right palm. With her left, Darcy lifts her own over her head and compares the two. Unkowest to her, her blue eyes take on a goldish gleam as her hands enclose over the two necklaces, sending a warm tingling sensation to spread from her fingertips up to her arms and igniting her veins.

"Woah, your eyes!" Jenna exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat, sounding amazed.

"Nevermind her eyes. Her necklace is glowing!" Jeremy and Elena chant in unison.

And indeed so, Darcy's mouth drops open, seeing her necklace glow up in an illuminating red. However, the expression drops, feeling her right hand no longer tingle, but her left feels like it's heating up. A heat so familiar yet foreign seeping through to her bones, sending her in a high. A high so mighty, she never wants the sensation to evaporate.

Through her shock, the two necklaces drop on the coffee table, and the tingling melts into dust. The glow from her eyes returns to their usual blazing blue. And suddenly, she feels empty, so chillingly empty. Cold, lost, and lonely. Anger engulfs her core, she has no idea why she feels this way, but she feels so angry, the fire inside her burns. Burns for something she has lost that may not ever return. But, oh, does she want it back.

And when the time comes, she shall succeed.

Three things she will seek the most.

Power.

Revenge.

Destruction.

Deep in her conscious, two ropes tug, one pulling to attach the two and the other wrenching away, attempting to dismember. And just before they are about to touch, the connection breaks, and a blinding pain erupts behind her skull.

An agonising scream rips from her throat as her hands fly to her head, the pain intensifying to a pain she's never felt before. It's not quite like how she wakes up after the dreams. It's so much more. It builds and builds, feeling like a hundred needles stabbing her brain, and her skull will wrench open. Just like the pain, her screams mount higher, her nails begin to scratch, raking down the delicate skin of her cheeks, creating red welts. From the blood rushing to her ears, she fails to hear the screams and cries from her family as they attempt to pry her hands away so she doesn't hurt herself further. But she can feel the wetness seeping from her nose as she folds over into a fetal position, into Jeremy's familiar, comforting arms.

Just before the darkness enveloped her, a vision appeared in her mind. Two women. Both tall, one with long jet black hair and brown eyes, and the other with blond hair and brown eyes. The latter causes a blood-curdling scream to spill from her mouth one last time before the blackness closes over her.

*•*•*•*•*

It's up! Phew! Wattpad decided it didn't like me and wouldn't let me access my drafts :( But anyway it's up!

Sorry, there's no Darcy/Damon/Stefan interaction. I will give you extra and more with the next update. Expect tension and so much more. Though do be cautious Darcy will be having an insight of Rippah Stefan 😈

Let me know your thoughts! What do you think is happening to Darcy? Who are the women? And what happened when she touched Elena's necklace. Or is it really Elena's?

See you next time! <3