Mystic Falls 1864

"We could play football."

"Nope."

"Wrestle?"

"No, Stefan."

"Swimming in the creek?"

Damon looked up from his book in irritation at his younger brother.

"Can't you tell I'm busy?"

Stefan rolled his eyes from where he was lounging in a chair across their father's study.

"Busy? You're reading! You just get home, and you could do anything you want, and you choose to read?"

Damon nodded, turning back to his book.

"I played plenty of football, wrestled, and swam while I was away. But there's no time for reading in the army. So, I choose to read."

Stefan frowned, standing up and walking over, snatching the book from his brother's hands.

Damon's blue eyes narrowed in irritation, and they shifted upward to glare at his brother.

"Now I remember why I joined the army in the first place."

"Oh? And what was that?" Stefan asked, tossing the book across the room; he always enjoyed a good brawl with his brother.

"To get away from you."

Damon stood up and walked across the room, retrieving his book and opening the door to the study.

As he took a step into the hall, Stefan rushed out after him, taking the book and throwing it down the hall, watching it skid across the polished hardwood floor, and bump into the door at the end.

Damon's glare deepened.

"Are you seven, or seventeen?" he snapped, storming down the hall to retrieve his book, yet again.

And, once he had picked it up, Stefan grabbed it and tossed it down the stairs, grinning smugly.

"Oops." He said tauntingly. "My hand slipped."

Damon snapped, launching himself at Stefan.

The two boys swatted and kicked each other and, about three minutes later, Damon had Stefan pinned to the floor with his arms behind his back, immobile.

"Say it, brother! Say it!"

"Alright, alright! Uncle!"

Damon grinned and let Stefan up just as their father's voice called up the stairs.

"Boys, you had better be presentable! We have company!"

Damon frowned, turning to Stefan.

"Who were we expecting?"

Stefan shrugged.

"No one that I knew of. Who do you suppose..?"

Their eyes widened when a distinctly female voice echoed through the house.

"We can't thank you enough for helping us in our time of need, Mr. Salvatore. Our aunt Jenaveve would have taken us in, but apparently it distressed her too much to be in our presence."

The girl said the last sentence with venom, and there was a small gasp.

"Katherine, we can't be harsh toward her-"

"But that's beside the point. As I was saying; Mr. Salvatore, we simply can't thank you enough. How can we ever repay you?"

Giuseppe's laughter echoed through the house.

"Repay me? I wouldn't hear of it. Any nieces of Jonathon's are welcome in my home. Stefan! Damon! Come help the girl's with their bags, won't you?"

"Girls?" Stefan said, grinning.

In a flash, he and Damon were rushing down the stairs, pushing each other, competing to see who would get there first and, inevitably, get the prettiest of the "girls" below.

The rushed into the entry hall, and froze.

Standing before them were two girls, alright; but they were identical. The only difference between them being their hair; one of the girls, the one on the left, had bouncy, glossy curls that seemed unfathomably perfect, and the other had simpler, straight hair, and both were dark brown in color.

"Boys?" Giuseppe asked, and Damon and Stefan snapped out of their trance, Stefan a bit faster than Damon. He quickly approached the more made up of the two, taking her hand and kissing it.

"I'm Stefan Salvatore, Miss...?"

"Katherine." She smiled, curtsying. "Katherine Pierce."

Damon quickly walked up and took the other sister's hand, kissing it lightly.

"I'm Damon." He said, smiling.

She smiled back.

"Elena."

"Boys, these are Jonathon Gilbert's nieces. Their parents were killed in a carriage crash a few weeks ago, and they're going to be staying with us for a few weeks, until Jonathon can find room for them at his house."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Stefan said directly to Katherine, and she giggled.

Elena glanced over at the pair, a bit longingly, and Damon, who had been staring as well, caught the look in her eyes.

"Would you like some help with your things?" he offered, and she looked back at him, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you."

He nodded and picked up her things.

"Which room, father?" he asked Giuseppe, who was smiling at Stefan and Katherine.

"What? Oh; whichever she likes in the guest wing."

Damon nodded, leading Elena away from the entry hall and up the stairs.

She seemed a bit upset as they walked into the sunlight hall that was always reserved for company. He heard her sniff, and turned his head to see tears trailing down her cheeks.

He sat down her things and walked over to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh!" she gave him a rather forced smile through her tears. "Yes, yes. I'm... I'm fine..."

He was fairly certain he knew what was bothering her.

"I lost my mother, too." He said. "She got sick when I was nine."

Elena's eyes widened.

"Oh, that's awful! I'm so sorry."

He gave her a small smile.

"It's alright. I don't really feel like she's gone. I think she's watching over the three of us."

Elena gave him a small smile.

"Do you think my parents are watching over me and Katherine?"
Damon nodded.

"I do."

She smiled, and Damon pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket in his trousers, handing it to her.

She dabbed her eyes with it, wiping away her tears.

"Thank you."

He nodded, tucking it back into his pocket when she handed it back to him.

"So, Father said for you to take your pick on any room in the hall."

Elena seemed a bit surprised.

"Any room I want?"

He nodded, grinning.

"Why do you seem so surprised?"

"Well, it's just; Katherine. She always gets to choose what she wants first, and then I get what's left over. It seems odd to have first choice."

He smiled, gesturing to the hall of white doors.

"Take your pick."

She smiled and opened a few doors, and paused at one, walking into a room with white wallpaper patterned with violets, and shining mahogany floorboards. There was a queen-sized bed in the center of the room, with a quilt that matched the walls, and violet's in crystal vases decorated each surface in the room, including a tall wardrobe, a dressing table, and a small table beside the bed.

"It's perfect." Elena said, walking into the sunny room, which smelled sweetly of violets.

Damon smiled.

"It was my mother's favorite guest room. Violets were her favorite flower."

Elena turned to him, a cautious smile on her lips.

"Would it be alright if I stayed in this room? If it was her favorite, I could find another-"

"Of course it's alright!" he said, smiling as he lounged against the doorframe. "As her favorite, she would want someone to enjoy it as much as she did."

Elena smiled and sat on the bed as he brought in her bags.

He had just brought in the last one when voices echoed through the hall.

"...You have to stay in the Violet Room. It's perfect for someone as lovely as you."

"Oh, is it, now? Well, I suppose I'll have to stay there, then."

Stefan and Katherine walked into the room, and froze when they caught sight of Elena and Damon, with Elena's things already in the room.

Katherine's eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing in my room, Elena?"

Elena bit her lip.

"This is the room I chose..."

Katherine was glaring daggers at her.

"Well, you'll just have to move to another, because Stefan already promised the room to me."

Damon frowned.

"Well, I've already given the room to Elena, and as the eldest brother, my verdict rules over Stefan's. You'll just have to go find a different room. Isn't that right, Stefan?"

Katherine whirled in a twirl of green and white silk skirts, pouting at Stefan.

"I wanted this room, Stefan. Can't you convince your father to let me have it?"

Stefan smiled at her.

"Of course, Katherine. Anything you want, you can have."

"Anything but this room, because it's Elena's."

Stefan glared at his brother.

"Well, something tells me that Father will see otherwise."

Elena stood and picked up one of her bags.

"I can just move. There's no reason to bother Mr. Salvatore. He was kind enough to let us stay here; I would feel awful troubling him with this."

Damon grabbed her hand as she started for the door.

"The room is yours. I promised it to you."

She stared into his blue eyes, and a small smile tugged at her lips.

"Thank you, Damon, but if Katherine wants it, it would just be easier to give it to her." She shot her sister a look. "She'll just get it, anyway."

Katherine grinned a devious grin, and Elena frowned.

Damon's brows knitted together in irritation.

"No," he frowned at Katherine, "She won't."

Katherine frowned; no boy had ever taken her sister's side over hers before.

"But, that's hardly fair. I didn't know the room was promised to Elena, and surely Stefan didn't, either. So, I should have just as fair a chance at getting it as she does."

Giuseppe's footsteps could be heard coming down the hall, and Katherine's face broke into a bright smile.

"Mr. Salvatore!" she said brightly when he walked in.

"Miss Pierce. How is everything going?"

Katherine pouted a bit.

"Well, we've run into a bit of a dilemma. Stefan promised this room to me, but Damon promised it to Elena. We can't seem to come to an agreement on which it should go to."

Giuseppe frowned.

"Well, there are plenty of rooms in the wing. Surely if you can't agree, you could both find another room you like just as much."

Katherine frowned, staring into his eyes.

"But, I want this room. Please let me have it."

Elena's eyes widened in horror.

"Katherine...!"

Giuseppe's eyes seemed to glaze over a bit. Then he smile.

"Of course you can have it, my dear!"

Katherine smiled.

"Thank you."

Damon glared at his father.

"How can you say that? Elena was here first-!"

Giuseppe glared at his son.

"Don't talk back to me, Damon! Now, take Elena's things to a different room. And do it quickly!"

Damon glared, taking a step toward his father.

"No." He said firmly.

Giuseppe glared daggers at him.

"Do it now, or you'll be kicked out of this house faster than you can blink."

"Maybe I don't care?"

"Damon," Elena said cautiously, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder. "I already told you that it's alright. Would you please help me with my things?"

Damon couldn't understand how she was so fine about all of this! If the situation had been reversed, and Stefan had been given the room-

"Please?" she asked again.

Damon sighed, picking up her bags.

"Alright. If that's what you want."

She smiled softly.

"Thank you."

Katherine shot her sister a look of triumph as she walked out the door, and Damon frowned at her as he followed Elena out.

Elena continued to open doors in the hall, searching for a room that suited her. She smiled when she opened one and was hit with the pleasant scent of roses. When she looked inside the room, she was greeted with a room with a layout very similar to the Violet Room, but this room had walls patterned with red roses, a matching quilt, and roses in crystal vases on top of the shining oak wardrobe, dressing table, and bedside table.

"It's lovely." She said, smiling as she entered the room.

Damon followed her in, setting the bags down, watching her as she walked around the room, dark purple skirts swishing behind her as she smelled the roses, smiling softly.

"You're sure you don't want the other room? If you do, I'm sure I could find a way-"

"Oh," Elena smiled at him. "That's very sweet of you, Damon. But I really am fine with it. I'm used to Katherine always getting what she wants."

Damon frowned, walking over to where she stood, looking out the window; Katherine and Stefan appeared to be going for a walk through the gardens.

"She's not a very... nice person, is she?" he asked.

Elena sighed.

"No, she isn't." She met his eyes, seriousness shining in her deep brown ones. "Don't trust her, Damon. Whatever she says, don't believe her. She's deceptive, and cruel, and..." she sighed. "She's Katherine."

Damon glanced back out the window at his brother and Elena's twin, so different from herself.

"I won't." He said, partially to himself, partially to her.

He looked back up at her to find her glancing longingly out the window at the pair below.

"Would you like to join me for a walk through the gardens, Elena?"

She looked up at him, her eyes shining brightly.

"Really? You want to take me for a walk?"

He smiled and offered her his arm.

"It would be my honor to show you around the estate."

She smiled, linking her arm in his, allowing him to lead her out of the room.

Opinions? I wrote this a few months ago, and thought I would post it; I already have quite a few chapters written, so I'll be updating fairly frequently. Remember to review!- Charlie'sLostVampire