Chapter 12

Sitting across Bonnie, I could clearly see the frown on her face. I'd explained my deal with Stefan; her grimoire in exchange for her grandmother and Damon's restoration. 

It seems Elena left out that little detail when she called Bonnie back to town. That matter is between them, I just really want the book.

"So, how is this going to work?" She finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

"First off, we need a body to put her soul in. Her old one won't work." I said, causing her frown to deepen. 

"Why not?" She asked with furrowed brows. 

"Considering you already held a funeral, I don't think it'd be wise to have her walking around in that form. It would draw too much attention." I explain, a look of realization dawning on her face. 

"Okay, so how are we going to find another one? It's not like there's an open grave waiting for us." She said with a slightly annoyed sigh. 

"We're not. We're going to use her own body." I felt a smirk coming to my face as she scrunched her face in frustration at her confusion. 

"But you just said th-"

"I said we can't have her walking around in her usual form. We'll bring her back in her own body. With a little makeover of course." I explained. 

Is this how Professor Paradox feels when Ben can't understand his tirades about the tenses to use in time travel? I like it. 

"Okay…?" It came out as more of a question than an answer. 

"Don't worry about it too much." I assuaged her growing trepidation.

"So, what are we waiting for?" She asked, eager to get to it. I can't say I'm surprised, Sheila was the closest person she had to a parent. 

That's saying something considering the fact that both parents were still alive. I'm not one to talk. 

"Whenever you're ready, I guess. I'm sure you want to get this on as quickly as possible." I said, getting off the couch with a light stretch, Bonnie getting up as well. 

As we exited, I could see Stefan and Elena leaning on the vampire's car in wait. A glance in the corner of my eye shows me how Bonnie's frown returns as Elena and Stefan come up to us.

"Is everything okay?" The doppelgänger asked, her eyes flickering between us. 

Before I could even process my response, my fellow witch spoke up. 

"When were you going to tell me about Damon?" Bonnie fired, a look of betrayal on her face. 

A panicked look surfaced on Elena. "Bonnie, I can explain." She sputtered. At Bonnie's expectant look, she continued. "I wanted to tell you but I just…wanted you to be happy."

"Wanted me to be happy?" Bonnie almost screamed. "You know how I feel about him. You know I hate him!"

"I just wanted you to have your Grams back. If I told you then you probably wouldn't have come back and I just can't stand to see you in pain." Elena tried to explain but I doubt her explanation got through to Bonnie. 

"You lied to me." The witch accused, causing Elena to immediately shake her head. 

"No. No, Bonnie I didn't-"

"Yes you did." Bonnie interrupted her attempt to defend herself, pressing on. "Tell me the truth, Elena. If Damon wasn't involved in this, would you have told me about it?"

Stefan and I stayed silent, watching the altercation. Bonnie had her issues with vampires so all her questions were directed to Elena. Elena was taken aback by her question for a moment. 

"Of course!" She quickly said but it was a moment too late.

Bonnie simply looked away, scoffing at her response. "Right."

I think I just watched the end of a friendship…best friendship(?)…. Either way, it definitely took a big hit. I let the tension linger for a moment before speaking up. 

"As riveting as this conversation is, I suggest we get moving. We don't have all day." I said, causing Bonnie to break away, leading me to a car parked nearby. 

So everyone has a car except me. Now I'm offended. 

"Wait, I'll come with you!" Elena called out. 

"I think we're good." Bonnie immediately refuted, getting into the car. 

As I slid into the passenger seat, I whistled a tune as Elena's gaze focused on me for a moment. Paying her no attention, I looked past her to Stefan who was looking more than a bit worried. 

He's worried that Bonnie might make a deal with me to not fix Damon. A nod to him, seems to relax him a bit. I gave my word and as much as I would like to do otherwise, I have to fulfill my part of the deal. 

-[Later]-

The drive to the cemetery is short, Mystic Falls isn't exactly a large place. Soon, we found ourselves standing in front of a head stone, the name 'Sheila Bennett' engraved on it. 

A quick sensory scan around tells me that we're alone. It wouldn't do for anyone to catch a glimpse of what is about to happen. 

-[Bonnie]-

"Stand back." Nathan warned, getting her to take a step backwards. 

With his hand stretched forth, he began to chant in a language that she didn't recognize in the slightest. She'd gone through the grimoire and it sounded nothing like anything she'd read. 

Still, the spell took hold, the grave splitting open, revealing the coffin underneath. She barely stopped herself from choking at the memory of it being lowered inside. 

Another chant from Nathan flipped the coffin open, her Grams' body floating out of the grave and hovering above it. Sand filled the gap and the ground was covered once more. 

This time she did choke, seeing the slightly decayed corpse of her grandmother being lowered to the ground. Just as she wondered what would happen next, Nathan placed his hand on the corpse. 

For a moment it seemed like nothing happened until the decaying flesh visibly returned to healthy ones…as healthy as a corpse could be. Soon, she looked exactly like she did when she died, almost alive. 

That's when she understood what Nathan meant by 'makeover'. The signs of age cleared up and in a minute, the wrinkles vanished. She didn't know how long the process lasted but by the time Nathan was done, her elderly grandmother looked like she was in her late twenties at most.

There were changes to her facial features to differentiate her from how she looked at that age but there were still hints of her original young visage. She'd gone through enough pictures to know.

Then came the real show. 

Nathan, who had been working in silence, stood to his feet and took a step back before stretching his palms out. 

Once again, he began chanting in a language that she knew nothing of. His voice appeared to reverberate around the cemetery, carrying a certain weight to it. 

Even from where she stood, she could feel the magic pulsing out of him in waves. It made her skin crawl, both in awe and negligible amounts of envy. 

The wind blew around them, carrying leaves and dust around as Nathan's voice rose higher. The corpse began shuddering violently in place. 

She didn't keep track of time but that was irrelevant as Sheila Bennett returned to the land of the living with wide eyes and a sharp intake of breath.

Bonnie didn't dare move until Nathan finished chanting, the raging wind vanishing as quickly as it came.

The resurrected witch took a moment to gain her bearings before her eyes settled on Bonnie. Before she knew it, Bonnie found herself barreling forward into the arms of her Grams. 

It was just as comforting as she remembered.