Moving Forward

Using my power, which felt easier than before, I blasted the stone apart and stepped out taking a deep breath of fresh air. I jumped into the sky and flew around for a minute trying to get my bearings. Eventually I decided to just go into town and ask around. 

Landing on a roof I snuck down the side of the building and began to explore the empty streets. Getting a sense of Deja Vu as I looked at a newspaper I chuckled to myself. I learned that I was in a town called Madisonville, I was still in Louisiana. Sighing in relief when I saw the date I took back to the sky and flew to New Orleans. I had been gone for nearly a week, it felt like a few seconds.

"Fucking bullshit magic hacks." 

My words were lost in the air as I flew, I looked around until I spotted the city in the distance. A moment later I landed on the roof of the hotel I had been staying at and snuck my way down the side of the wall and into the window of my old room. 

"Thank god for shoddy early nineteenth century cleaning procedures." 

My bag was still tucked away under the bed. The room had been cleared out. Katherine's trunk was nowhere in sight. 

I hope she's well out of the city by now because the next time I see her I'm going to give her a piece of my mind. Then again I should have seen it coming.' 

Morgana was right, it was in her nature. Her very personality was based on her instinct to survive. 

'I guess I can't be too mad at her for wanting to survive. Like hell I'm going to trust her again though.'

 Also I would charge a very steep price for anyone needing my help in this city. Petty as it was, I hated getting betrayed. Making sure everything was still in my bag I left through the window, shooting out into the night sky. 

Flying at breakneck speeds allowed me to get back to my estate in less than an hour. Landing in the front courtyard I extended my senses and felt around for any abnormalities. Finding none, I went back into my home. The servants would be back at the start of the next month. For now I had some time to kill. 

<• >

The next day I visited the Salvatores they had told me that Katherine and Emily had disappeared several nights ago. Not surprisingly, Damon had left to go fight in the war that was creeping closer south. Stefan had disappeared along with Katherine and Emily. 

'Man I really screwed up canon, oh well. It's not like anything is going to change much. Stefan is probably going to get turned.' 

"Seth, how was your business in New Orleans?" 

Giuseppe, Jonathan, Benjamin and a few other council members were sitting at a table in the Gilbert house. 

"Things went smoothly, aside from a few minor obstacles I managed to destroy one of the original vampires." 

"That's good, it must have been a challenge, I hear the originals are quite powerful." 

"Indeed he was Jonathan, I barely managed to stake the damn bastard." 

"Giuseppe, any news from your sons?"

"Nothing from Stefan, Damon was involved in an altercation with a civilian family." 

"Jonathan, how are your projects coming along?"

"I've got the watch to work mister Mayor. The device is still being worked on by Dorian as we speak." 

"Good, keep me updated. A device that can point out vampires will be very handy." 

'Must be talking about the Gilbert devices. I wonder if he got Emily to enchant the rings before she left.' 

"Is there anything else anyone would like to add?" 

There were murmurs but no one posed a question. Seeing the same, the Mayor dismissed the council and I bid everyone goodbye before returning to my estate. I went down to the cellar and drank several cups of the bottled blood. Sighing, I took the rest of the bottle back to my study and locked the door. 

I pulled out the outline book and scratched out several bits that had changed from the canon events and noted what had changed. I closed the book and poured myself another cup before downing it in one gulp. I had eleven white oak stakes left, mountains of gold, dozens of gems and all the time in the world. I needed to make plans. 

Several months pass without any events. I was sent out to hunt any vampires that attacked someone in town, sometimes accompanied by Giuseppe or Jonathan. Soon I had a reputation as being a fairly great vampire hunter. I didn't feel much when I killed the vampires, they had been dumb enough to get caught preying on the townsfolk. My store of blood grew as I went out each night hunting for criminals. I had a sort of dungeon constructed next to the cellar. I had told the builders that it was going to be a second vault. I had them build the walls with cement covered by a layer of bricks. I then personally built several individual cells using the leftover cement and bricks. The 'dungeon' was completed last month. There was now three prisoners that kept me supplied with fresh blood. 

The servants were informed that these people were all dangerous criminals that were too aggressive to be kept in the town lock up. They didn't ask questions, they brought the prisoners food and water three times daily while also cleaning up after the criminals. The prisoners were bathed daily, each supplied with a bar of soap and a large bucket of water. They were giving me their blood, I might as well make sure they have some comfort. They fought at first, but when they realized that they could not escape they resigned to their fates. Some of them even thought that they were in a special prison for their crimes. I didn't correct them. I drew their blood once a week, each of them going on a rotation. I had a steady supply of blood and the dungeon was secure enough not to be discovered. 

Several more months passed, Damon eventually came home. The ongoing civil war had left its mark on him, that and the fact that a vampire had abducted his younger brother. He came to visit a few times, often to talk about Stefan. 

"I don't know Seth, he's been gone for a while now." 

"Just have a little faith Damon, Stefan will be back. That brooding mess will probably realize he left his diary or something." 

Damon lets out a genuine laugh, "You know, he probably will." 

"Honestly, what does he even write in there?" 

"Probably something along the lines of, 'Dear diary, a chipmunk asked me my name today. I told him it was Joe, that lie will haunt me forever.' or some other melodramatic line." 

I stifled a snort, "When did he start becoming so broody?" 

"I don't know, one day he just decided to hide in his room and act like everything was a chore." 

"I don't know how you put up with that for nearly two decades." 

"It was difficult, sometimes I wanted to strangle him in his sleep. But I love him, he's the only brother I got." 

"He'll come back Damon, don't worry."

"Yeah," Damon stands up. "Thanks for the conversation, and the drink Seth." 

"Any time Damon," I stand up and follow him to the door. "Take care out there, I have a feeling things are going to get worse before they get better." 

He nods and waves one more time before walking out of my property. I head back inside and close the door locking it behind me. I cleaned up the glasses we used and went up to my room, laying in my bed I closed my eyes. A wave of exhaustion suddenly came over me. As I drifted off to sleep I wondered just how much I had changed.