"I visited the place where we last met.
Nothing was changed, the gardens were well-tended,
The fountains sprayed their usual steady jet;
There was no sign that anything had ended
And nothing to instruct me to forget.

The thoughtless birds that shook out of the trees,
Singing an ecstasy I could not share,
Played cunning in my thoughts. Surely in these
Pleasures there could not be a pain to bear
Or any discord shake the level breeze."

Absence

- By Elizabeth Jennings

For centuries, humanity has lived side by side to creatures of the night and more in complete ignorance and my family has continued to ensure that this ignorance continues.

Mystic Falls, a town shrouded in darkness and death, a beacon for these creatures enjoyed it's brief period of peace thanks to my grandmother but that period is no more as the barrier keeping the darkness out has been shattered with her passing. And it is now where I return to now, a town ignorant in blissful ignorance to the oncoming storm.

Prologue

Four Months Ago...

The rain battered against my window like bullets as I stared outside, taking a small break from packing my clothes into the maroon suitcase that lay on my bed. The fire in the fireplace crackled bringing warmth into the room, adding more firewood into the fireplace, I shifted my full attention to the rainy view. This was probably the last time I would see this view for a while, the thought of it made me quite sad. This had been my home since I was ten and now who knew when I would see this again. Carefully, I sat down on my bed next to the pile of some unfolded shirts, still staring outside.

My honey skin was wet from the shower, my mahogany hair also wet. I picked up my towel and started drying my hair, walking closer to the mirror to stare at my reflection. My caramel brown eyes were tired from pulling all-nighters. I had spent almost three days and nights preparing for my move back to my birth town. In two weeks time I would be in Mystic Falls away from the constant rain and normalcy.

Two weeks. I had two weeks left in this city before I moved back to the town where I was born. A place that my parents and brother would rather forget. Even I do too despite the sweet nostalgic memories that come with small towns where everyone knows each other. But there was nothing sweet about that small town in Virginia, not with it's constant animal attacks and with people going missing every now and then. Grandma once told me that a shroud of death surrounds Mystic Falls. I used to think she was exaggerating that is until I learned the truth behind grandpa's death. Speaking of grandma, she's actually the reason for my current situation.

A month ago, my parents were informed that my grandma was diagnosed with cancer and that it was too late to do anything. All we could really do was make sure her last moments were comfortable. My aunts, Evelyn and Diana were unfortunately preoccupied with their work and so were my parents. Dad was busy with the firm while mom was busy at the hospital. My brother simply wasn't caring or homely enough. Given the chance to be a caretaker for an elderly person, my brother would probably do everything wrong. That left me to volunteer myself to go back to Mystic Falls. At first, my parents were strictly against me moving back all alone citing the town's history as one of the key reasons as to why. My mom especially was very much against me moving back. I didn't blame her. It's not like she had anything against my grandmother but it was more so the town itself. It was also her birthplace but it was also the place where she became an orphan at just fifteen.

I suspect the only reason why she agreed was because my dad's youngest brother, my uncle Nathanial had also moved back home from Whitmore to take care of my grandma but really, we all knew he probably followed Jenna Sommers back. It was sad to see him constantly get rejected by her but we never said anything about it. It was either Jenna or the recent deaths at the border of Mystic Falls.

Turning my gaze away from the window, I turned back to my packing and this time I focused on finishing this task. Before I knew it I was done. Closing the suitcase, I dragged it off my bed and propped it next to the fireplace. I lay my head onto my pillows and stared at the ceiling, trying to memorise the white ceiling that I would not be seeing for a while.

I turned to my side and grabbed a framed photograph off my bedside table. It showed me as a child surrounded by my childhood friends from my time in Mystic Falls. Seven little faces all huddled together in front of the camera, six with bright smiles while one scowling.

Two blonds, Caroline Forbes and Matt Donovan looked confident but excited. Matt leaned against another boy of similar age who had a grin on his face, Tyler Lockwood, the mayor's son. Caroline, who was standing next to Tyler, leaned forward to wrap her arm around two people, a younger me and Bonnie Bennett, granddaughter of Sheila Bennett, a professor of Occult. While I was in center, leaning towards Elena. Elena Gilbert, daughter of Dr. Grayson Gilbert, laughed at the camera joyously while next to her, her brother Jeremy scowled at the camera.

These were my childhood friends. Ones I had missed day and night since leaving town. In a few weeks I would be seeing them. A smile burst onto my face at that thought. I kept staring at the picture, reminiscing about the childhood that had passed. My eyes started feeling heavy, I started feeling lethargic all of a sudden. I blinked heavily trying to keep my grip on reality. I tried to stay awake and almost memorize the picture in my hand, eyes going over all the familiar faces but now and then for whatever reason they would linger on Elena. I tried my best to stay awake. But I could hold no longer. My eyes shut and I was out.

Water came rushing in through the broken window wrapping me in it's cold prison. I struggled to breathe as the water flooded the inside of the car. I struggled to get out of my constraints, thrashing wildly side to side while struggling to breathe. Water filled my lungs, replacing the air. I screamed in an attempt to get help but no one heard me. I kept gasping, trying to keep my head up, above the water as the water quickly rushed into the car.

Where am I? What's happening?

Questions flooded my brain as I struggled to grasp at my current situation as the water finally filled the inside. Painfully, I opened my eyes under the cold and harsh water to assess my situation. Looking around, I noticed the interior of a car. In the driver's seat, a familiar man sat trying to remove the seatbelt of the occupant of the driver's seat, another familiar person, a woman.

Quickly as my conscious came, it faded but not before I felt the window next to me shatter. A shadow outside broke through the window and pulled me out. I felt myself getting further and further away from the depths.

Bang.

I woke up drenched in sweat as loud banging noises and voices filled my house. Quickly, I glanced outside the window to see it was now dark outside and still raining. I must have slept through lunch again. Nightmares. I've always had them since I was young. They were the cause of me being tired most of the time and would often force me to sleep without meaning to. I hated it. But this nightmare felt familiar like I knew who the people around me were as I lost myself to the cold dark depths of the unknown body of water.

A knocking sound broke through my train of thought. The knocking was followed by a tall, thin but muscular boy coming into my room. Danial? What was my brother doing home today? A confused look spread across my face as I stared at him. What confused me even more was the dried tears on his face. Maybe I should have known then and there that it was something to do with our birthplace or that tears would become more frequent in my life but I didn't. I didn't know anything at that time.

"Ava." My brother breathed out my name. He paused to hold himself back from breaking down again before he continued. "It's grandma. She's...she's gone." His voice broke as he talked and a flood of tears followed his statement.

My eyes widened and I stared in shock and horror at my brother. I watched as he broke down in front of me. My brother who hardly cried, was now breaking down. Like a dam had broken, tears fell down my face as I began to sob.

My grandma, Janine Fitzroy was no more. The reason for going back to my home was gone. Just like that. I started sobbing hysterically while my brother engulfed me in a comforting hug.

"It's gonna be okay." He tried to soothe me but deep down I knew it wouldn't be. Things were never going to be okay after this.

Author's note: Soooo this is my first story ever here. Re watching TVD made me want to write this, this and my love for Greek mythology. Still a little mad at the ending of TVD (won't spoil it for anyone but it was kind meh), like there was so much potential for the show, some things and lores never explored for example the whole thing with the Sirens and Psychics, the Mikaelsons' being vikings and Norse lore instead of haphazardly throwing in Native lore instead. So many missed opportunities, really.

Apologies for the rant. The first few chapters should be out in a few days. I don't really have a schedule right now but we shall see.