chapter eleven
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the powerful heretic compelled herself a penthouse. she didn't want to live in that mansion knowing everything she did there and everything else that had happened. though at this penthouse, she compelled a multitude of people to be her personal blood bags. her hunger grew more and more everyday, but she wouldn't tell a soul. everyone had enough on their plates, there was no need to add a heretic being consumed by black magic with her ripper side on the verge of popping out to add to their list of worries. besides, they hated her; but she wanted to change that. Alex decided to try and make peace with the people of Mystic Falls. seeing as she would be living there for now,it felt best to at least have some friends. stop one of the Alex Mikaelson-Pierce peace pact train was no other than the Gilbert residence.
she paced on their front porch, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it without using her accidentally mean sarcastic remarks as well. as she was pacing, Stefan ascended the front steps.
Alex groaned at his presence, "no!" she pointed at him with a look, "I need to talk to Elena and her brother and I cannot do that with you around to ruin it"
Stefan furrowed his brows, "ruin what... exactly?"
she huffed, putting her hands by her side, "I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. now run along, Stefan. you don't come until later on"
Stefan moved in front of Alex, stopping her from entering the house, "don't you think I should be the first you try to make ammends with? after eveything we talked about?"
she sighed, "I can't do this right now, Stefan. I apologized at the ball and you were the one who didn't forgive me"
"because it's going to take more than a drunken 'I did what I had to do' speech to get me to forgive you!"
the two ex lovers look at each other with glares, but behind their anger is sadness, grief, and that part of themselves that still held love for the other. which was stronger than both made themselves believe.
"why did you come back?" Stefan suddenly asked, not breaking eye contact with the girl. his stare made her feel small, like she was supposed to curl into a ball and cry for the mistakes she'd made in the past.
her explanation was simple, "I came back for you," she whispered. she noticed his eyes softened and could practically see the gears in his head turn as he processed her words. Alex automatically felt heat rise in her cheeks and the feeling of wanting to disappear came back. she wanted to turn around and walk away, but she was frozen in place, staring into the forest that was Stefan Salvatore's eyes.
the door to the Gilbert house opens and Elena stands at the entrance, a confused look on her face when she sees the two and their stare at each other.
"uh, is everything alright?" Elena speaks, breaking their trance.
Alex clears her throat, "ah, yes. everything is fine," she pushes Stefan out of her way and grins at the doppelganger, "I've come here to apologize for everything I did to hurt you and your brother. my family has a... special influence on me, and sometimes my anger get the best of me"
Stefan scoffs, "sometimes? you've been a raging bitch since you came back. guess that fire in you was the only thing that didn't leave..."
"oh, poppycock! you're the same way aroud Niklaus. what does he call you? ripper? you're welcome, by the way, for that nickname. it was originally given to me," Alex snaps back. Stefan was another person who made her lash out and cause her emotions to go crazy.
Elena stands there uncomfortably, and confused at the two older vampires going at it. she knew they had history, but didn't realize they still had a rivalry like the one she was witnessing, "um... you're forgiven, I guess? and if we're doing apologies, then i'm sorry for breaking your trust. but, look, we're trying to paint and we would like it if-"
Alex interupts her by walking into the house, "-oh, I love painting. let me help," she walked upstairs with Elena and Stefan trailing behind her. she walks into Alaric's old room and sees jeremy begin painting, "you know what they say, the darker the better," she smirks.
Elena sighs at her remark, "it's the only color we had"
"that's what happens when you decide to paint your dead guardian's room in the middle of the night," Jeremy adds on. Alex rolls her eyes and picks up a paint brush, knowing that helping would keep her kind off of using magic to hurt the blonde Salvatore.
"I don't suppose anyone tried to talk you guys out of doing this so soon," Stefan buts in from the doorway.
"we have to keep moving. otherwise we'll start thinking and we don't want to think"
Alex shakes her head as she paints, "thinking leads to acceptance, which leads to peace," she turns to face them, "I am at peace with the fact that you all killed my brother, and now I will help you with your loss thanks to my mother and I"
the younger teens all give each other a look, confused by the girl new positive attitude towards them but nevertheless go with it. they nod as a silent thank you.
Stefan focuses on Elena, "want a hand?"
"i'd rather tear you apart limb from limb," Alex mutters. the humans didn't hear, but Stefan did, causing himt to smirk at the girl. there was that fire in her he mentioned.
Jeremy turns around with a sigh, "so, are you two like back together or something?" he asks, referring to Elena and Stefan.
"what? no, Jer, we're just..."
"I was just checking up on you guys. seeing how you were doing, after everything"
"we're fine. but, if you are trying to be the good guy again, why don't you do the right thing and give us one day. just one day without any vampires in it," Jeremy retorts with a glare.
"ouch, you hurt Stefan's little ego," Alex laughed.
"that includes you, Alex," Jeremy glares at her as well.
Alex narrows her eyes at him, "last I remember, little Gilbert, you killed me. so I don't have to forgive and forget. I could tear your throat out right now if I wanted to, but I won't, because I value alliance over revenge," at her remark, Jeremy rolls his eyes and leaves the room. Elena drops her paint roller in a tray and walks towards Stefan.
"he didn't mean that," she reassures him.
"yeah, yeah he did," the doorbell rings and Stefan offers to answer it, leaving the two girls alone in the room.
"hey Alex?" Elena approached the girl, "can I ask you a question?"
"of course, what's on your mind?"
Elena sighed, sitting on the ground, and gestered Alex to do the same, "what happened between you and Stefan? in 1864? i know that you knew him and Damon from being with Katherine, but they barely mentioned you when they talked about that time. Damon talked about you as if you were a distant memory, and Stefan avoided the topic at all costs. and now things are tense between the two of you so I just..."
Alex let out a nervous, light chuckle and hesitated to answer the question. she didn't want to tell Elena about her and Stefan's past, seeing as she was choosing between the brothers, and Alex trying to be friends with them again was awkward enough. but she knew that she would end up telling her at some point and better it be sooner than later.
Alex cleared her throat, "Stefan and i had a complicated relationship. Katherine wanted his affection at first, but she saw how we acted around each other, the longing gazes, the way he would always talk to her about me, so she let us be. I had been drawn to him the second we met. he was kind, genuine, incredibly handsome, a big flirt, and most of all, he was human"
Alex giggled, standing behind a marble statue as a handsome boy her age chased Katherine through his mansion's maze in the garden. Alex had just arrived to the Salvatore estate and was informed that her sister was in the garden, so she planned to surprise her. she would have arrived with her sister, but but she could not reach the small town in Virginia in time, so her arrival was postponed.
"i win! what's my prize?" Katherine smirks and Alex gives her a joking glare, knowing that her sister was trying to get under the humans skin.
"how about your darling sister?" Alex speaks, her European accent thick, from behind the doppelganger. Katherine jumps, but turns around with a smile on her face.
"Alex! I was beginning to think you would never make it," Katherine spoke, hugging her sister. she pulled back and gestured for the boy to come over to them, "this is Stefan Salvatore, he and his brother Damon have kept me company as we waited for you"
Stefan stepped forward, bowing, and kissing Alex's knuckles, "it is a pleasure to meet you, miss Pierce. I have heard many things about you"
Alex blushed, "only good things I hope. and please, call me Alex"
Stefan nodded with a bright smile, "nothing she could say about you could be bad, Alex"
the pair looked at each other with an adoring gaze. Alex felt indescribably drawn to him. his eyes were a normal green, but Alex saw a gorgeous forest as she looked into them. they were captivating. the color of the trees at springs peak, when every tree was this perfect bright green. his hair was styled almost perfectly, and his smile, oh his smile made her want to melt to the floor. Stefan Salvatore was perfect in a world where everything was anything but, and Alex adored him. and she hadn't felt this way in 300 years.
Stefan was in awe with the beautiful girl before him. she had long brunette hair with specks of gold, incredible hazel eyes that he could get lost in forever, full pink lips tinted red that looked as if they craved a kiss. Alex Pierce was utterly and fascinatingly beautiful in Stefan's eyes, and he wanted to look at the work of art such as herself everyday for the rest of his life.
Elena sat in silence as Alex told her about the day she and Stefan met. she wished that she knew that Stefan as well, "Stefan told me that Katherine used them both and kept her affairs with them from each other, how did that happen if you were there too?" Elena asks.
"Katherine did have them both wrapped around her finger, but that was only for a short time. whenever she was with Damon, I was with Stefan, slowly falling in love with him. once i told her how i felt about him, she ended things with him. us Pierce girls don't share, we have what we want"
Elena continued to ask questions, curious of what happened between them, "did he know about you? that you were a heretic?"
"of course. it's one of the reason Stefan was so drawn to me. sure, he was in awe with the fact that we were vampires, but when he found out that i was a witch as well, it drew him in more. before i met him, i vowed to myself that i would never get involved with a human because i knew that I could hurt them and it would be impossible for us to be together without me turning them. but with Stefan i didn't care, i was in love with him. and when a vampire is in love, it's hard to let it go...Katherine was against our love, she knew that us being together was a risk and she would do anything to make sure we never committed into a permanent relationship"
Alex grabbed Elena's hand and placed them on both sides of her head, using her magic to give her access to her memories, "see for yourself"
Alex stood looking in the mirror with a grimace on her face as Emily tightened her corset, "that's enough!" she yelps as Emily pulled so tight that it started to actually hurt. Emily nodded and stepped back as Alex put her sweater over he shoulders.
"Mr. Stefan is waiting for you outside" Emily spoke once Alex finished touching up her hair. she wanted to look perfect, better than Katherine, so that Stefan would only look at her.
"tell him that i shall be out shortly" Alex sighed. Emily nodded and walked out of her room and towards the hall.
Alex takes a deep breath before speaking to herself, "do not be nervous, Aleksandra. you are a powerful heretic, do not let a human weaken you," she whispers. once Alex got to the bottom of the stairs, she noticed Stefan staring at her in the hall with wide eyes and a blush creeping into his cheeks, causing her to smirk, "careful Stefan, don't want to catch any bugs with your mouth open like that"
Stefan shakes his head with a smile, "I-I apologies, Alex. you just look absolutely beautiful, I couldn't help myself"
"and you look dashing yourself. now, we must go to our carriage, we cannot miss the ball" Stefan nodded and held the girl's hand as they walked out to their carriage. Damon and Katherine were standing outside waiting them for theirs and once Katherine spotted Alex she walked over to her.
"looks like we have both the Salvatore brothers wrapped around our fingers" Katherine whispers in her ear with a smirk.
Alex laughs, "coming here wasn't such a horrible idea after all"
"yes, but you know the rules, don't fall in love. you know that we cannot stay forever, your brothers will come for us soon" Katherine says with a serious look.
Alex frowns as looks up at Stefan who was smiling as he talked to his brother but nods with a sigh, "i know. love is weakness, and we are not weak"
the Salvatore's and the Pierce's all had a great time at the Founders Ball. Damon and Katherine danced the night away while Alex and Stefan drank and danced and talked about everything from the people there that they disliked to what they wanted their futures to be like. Stefan wanted Alex to be apart of his, he loved her beyond words and wanted Alex to be the one he grew old with, though Alex knew that could never happen. she was a vampire, she could live forever. Stefan was a human, he couldn't. once they got back to the Salvatore mansion, Stefan walked Alex back to her room.
"thank you for bringing me, Stefan. i had a wonderful time with you" Alex smiled when they reached her door.
Stefan blushed an held onto the girls hands, "I've never met a woman quite like you, Alex. I look at you, and I see this soft, angelic woman," he puts his gloved hands on her neck, "with every touch, every kiss, my body ignites"
Alex stands in shock, she tries to speak but nothing comes out. how does one react to this? visibly, she smiles softly, but on the inside she was screaming. they look into each other's eyes then Stefan slowly leans in to kiss her. the kiss was soft and quick, but they both knew the emotion it felt.
"i am in love with you, Alex. every part of you" Stefan whispers seconds after they pull apart.
"there's so much you don't know about me" Alex sighs. she wanted him, but she knew the risk, and she couldn't let something happen.
"then tell me," Stefan pleaded, "tell me everything and I shall listen. there is nothing you can say to make me stop loving you"
Alex rested her hand on the side of her lovers face, smiling with love in her heart, "another day, my love," she looked into his eyes, "now get some rest. we had a beautiful night and we kissed. it was magical, but we will never last as long as Katherine is alive"
Elena pulled back breathing heavily, she looked at Alex and her eyes filled with pity. Katherine forced Alex to push away from Stefan and deny herself an opportunity of true love. Alex didn't dare to make eye contact, she knew that Elena pitied her, and he didn't want a pity party. Elena wanted to know, so now she knew.
Alex looked at the ground as she finished the story, "their father and some other founders knew there were vampires in Mystic Falls, and suspected that Katherine and I were ones, so he gave Stefan vervain, just to test the theory. I've always had trouble with cravings, and one night I fed from Stefan, not knowing he was filled with vervain. his father took me away and to the front of the house where a carriage waited to take me away. Stefan chased after us, pleading to his father to let me go. his father held a gun to him, telling his to go back inside, but he refused. he was going to pull the trigger on his son, but I pushed Stefan away to protect him. his father didn't hesitate to pierce all the wooden bullets into my heart"
Elena opened her mouth in shock, "you died... but how are you here now?"
"that was the night I found out I couldn't be killed," Alex shakily exhaled as she moments from that night came flooding back into her brain, "that even though my curse was lifted, my family wanted me to live forever with them. when I woke up I wanted to go back, to kill Giuseppe for what he did, but Pearl found me. she told me to run away, to find Katherine and run as fast as we could away from Mystic Falls. I tried to get to her, but the founders got her fist. I watched from a distance as both Salvatore's died to save her. I tried to save Stefan, I wanted him to live as a human, but Katherine pulled me away. she told me they would be better off thinking I was dead. so I left and never looked back"
Alex looked back up at Elena to see the human digesting the story she told her. but Alex didn't want to talk anymore, telling the story made her feel worse about what she did. with every word she felt the pang in her heart as if she was being shot with those bullets over and over again.
she dusted herself off and stood up, "I-I should go. I'm sure your brother doesn't like the fact that I'm here"
Elena stood up, "you never moved on, did you? you still love him"
the heretic stopped at the door, "I died for him, believing that I would stay dead, because I was in love with him. and I would do it over and over again, because I will never stop loving him"