Chapter 17

-[Nathan]-

Admittedly, I could have intervened earlier but I sort of hesitated when one of them grabbed Elena. For a split second I thought of letting it happen before deciding otherwise. 

A dead Elena means a depressed Stefan and a depressed Stefan is someone who may go on a ripper binge and probably turn off his emotions. Then I'd have to kill him and that would ruin all the fun so I begrudgingly acted, cutting it a bit close. 

There's a total of fifteen unconscious vampires on the floor. Pearl isn't so dumb to organize an attack on these two in such a clumsy manner, which means that these guys were acting on their own. 

Though, I could be wrong. 

"How did you know they were here?" Stefan finally asked, managing to catch his breath. 

"I heard some commotion while I was taking a stroll. Thought I'd check it out." I said, shrugging my shoulders as I made a show of observing the unconscious bloodsuckers.

"Well you really took your time. What happened? Witchy book club ended late?" Damon quipped with his usual mocking smirk. 

"Wouldn't you want to know?" The smirk I returned gained an imperceptible wince from him. The memory of his short time spent as an elderly member of society was still fresh in his mind. "So, what did you two do to piss off this lot?"

"They're here for revenge." Stefan muttered loud enough for me to hear, moving to make sure Elena was okay. 

"Sucks to be them." Damon shot back, kicking one of them though they were unconscious. 

"Thank you." Elena said, catching my attention. The girl had finally gotten enough composure to stand by herself. 

"Sure thing." I replied before turning to the broken windows with an arched brow. It looks even worse from the inside. Waving my hand at it, the shards of glass and the frame rose in the air before flying towards the window, putting themselves back in order. 

"I'm in a good mood so that's a freebie. I'm sure you guys can handle the rest of it." I said, gesturing to the limp bloodsuckers scattered around.

"Don't you think it's kind of convenient that you just happened to show up when we were in trouble?" Damon asked out loud, turning attention to him and then to me. 

That caused me to scoff. "Are you implying that I instigated this whole thing?" I asked. 

Technically I didn't. I just took advantage of the opportunity I saw. 

"You said it, not me." Damon said, giving me a skeptical look. Stefan looked like he wanted to intervene. 

"Well then, I guess you won't be needing my help again after all. I'll see myself out." I said, turning to exit before I paused at the door. "Feel free to magick up some answers next time trouble comes knocking."

They'll come around. The chase is always the fun part. 

-[Pearl]-

After Frederick led the others out of the Gibbons house, she, Anna and Harper had spent their time packing their belongings. Though, it was more of Anna than her and Harper really. They didn't have much in terms of luggage. 

Even if the others didn't get caught, Mystic Falls would soon become a hot zone that she wanted no part of. 

With her bag prepped, she handed it over to Harper who carried it out to the car. She could only let out a tired sigh. 

"Rough night, isn't it?" An unfamiliar voice came from the living room, causing her to freeze. Her head immediately snapped towards the intruder who simply lounged on the couch. "Am I interrupti-"

She didn't allow him to finish his sentence, speeding towards him and grabbing him by the neck. "Who are you?" She growled out, fangs bared. 

She took a moment to observe his features, dark hair, grey eyes and he looked young. Wherever her train of thought was headed derailed itself immediately as she realized that despite using a good deal of her strength to choke him, his face didn't appear anything but relaxed. 

To her utter shock, his hand came up, prying her fingers off him with such ease that she momentarily froze. Her attempt to put all of her strength behind it was to no avail as he flung her across the room, all with one hand. 

"Mom!" She heard her daughter scream before the girl rushed to her assailant. 

Anna was handled with even more ease, the boy catching her by the neck and snapping it to the side before letting her fall to the floor. 

"Now that was quite rude. Here I thought I was being courteous." The boy said, falling back into his seat as if he didn't just manhandle two 500 year old vampires. 

That was the part that scared her. She knew that there were vampires older than she was and she knew to avoid them whenever possible. Ancient vampires had a tendency to be quite whimsical. 

"Who are you?" She asked once again. Harper hurried into the scene, the only thing stopping him from joining Anna on the floor being her hand that held him back. 

"I'm Nathaniel." She hadn't heard of any powerful vampire with that name, though she shouldn't be surprised. While some were whimsical, others were subtle. "As for what I want, let's just say that I have a vested interest in this little town. Your little vampire underlings have been dealt with. I'd appreciate it if you could keep your assets under control."

Her eyes widened at that news. Frederick and the others had left just an hour or so ago. She immediately shook her head. "They're not my assets. We had a disagreement about priorities and went our separate ways." She explained, still cautious. 

"Yes well, let's just say you won't be seeing them anymore." He said, causing her to realize something. 

"You're the one who's been hunting us down all this time. Why?" She asked. She was certain it was him. 

How did he even know where she was? Did one of the others rat her out to try and save their own lives? She didn't know. 

"Like I said, I have some interest here and I neither want nor need reckless fools making a mess of it." He said, taking a look around. "That said, you seem to be more level headed than the rest of them. Perhaps we can come to an agreement."

"And what agreement would that be?" She asked, genuinely curious but wary. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong but you simply want to find a place to live in peace. The founding families are still scouring the town for vampires but that is merely a minor issue. I can provide you with a fresh start here and protection from the council." He explained, the seriousness in his eyes out of place on such a young visage. 

She couldn't help but wonder exactly how old he was. His offer on the other hand, was quite tempting but she wasn't a fool. 

"What do you get out of this?" She asked. 

"While I can, I'd rather not spend my time micromanaging everything that goes on in Mystic Falls. In exchange for my protection, you will work under me. I will give you tasks and I expect that they will be completed to the best of your abilities." He said, causing her to narrow her eyes. "Of course I won't give you something you aren't capable of handling."

She was silent for a few moments. Within that time frame, she noticed that Anna had woken up but was simply playing dead. 

"You don't need to give me an answer right now but I do advise you to hurry up. Come nightfall tomorrow I'll be weeding out a few unneeded elements from this town. And just in case you're thinking of running away." He paused, bringing out what appeared to be a doll from a pocket. 

If she was confused before, she was befuddled now. 

She didn't know when he got a pin in his other hand. Her confusion did not last long as he stabbed the pin into the doll's arm, Anna suddenly crying out in pain. 

Her eyes snapped to her daughter who let out the pained scream, more specifically, to her arm which now had a stab wound and was bleeding. 

"You're a witch." She realized, her eyes zeroing on the doll in his hand. 

"Yes I am."

That didn't make any sense. Since when were witches strong enough to physically compete with vampires? 

She was drawn out of her thoughts as he plunged the pin into the doll's shoulder, Anna failing to conceal her scream as a stab wound appeared on her shoulder.

"I'll do it! Please just stop. I'll do whatever you want just…stop torturing her." She said, defeated. 

The smile on his face was predatory as he stashed the doll back into his pocket. The ease at which he manhandled her told her that even together, she and Anna wouldn't be able to take him. Adding the fact that he was somehow a witch made it even more impossible. 

"Don't pout. I think this will be the beginning of a wonderful friendship."

What had she gotten herself into?