Maria Lorde-Gilbert. The other adopted kid

40

"You do know Caroline's a vampire and can hear us from downstairs."
"I'm a witch, Liz. There are spells that can keep this room soundproof. Just give me a sec." I said, bringing out the sage from my bag. "Incendio." I watched as it started to burn. I wafted it arond the room, muttering a spell that would grant us privacy.
"How long have you been a witch?" She asked.
"I was born a witch, Liz." I told her. "I grew up doing magic. When my parents died, I refused to do magic. Magic didn't save them. When I was pregnant with Sara my magic started acting out. I couldn't properly subdue it. So that was half of why I moved to England. I didn't want it to affect my family. I learned how to control it better with the help of T and Michael. They're actually distant relatives of Bonnie's." I said, then put down the sage. "Okay, it's done."
"I went back to the station after lunch with Caroline, and then she came a little later with dinner. I think she mainly cane for more information. And he came, introduced himself as Cyrus. He said to tell you he gets what he wants, and you know what he wants. Said he'd go through anyone. Maria, what does he want?"
"He wants to see Sara." I told her. "He texted Jeremy's phone earlier so I told Jer- only him, not Elena- and I called him."
"You did what?"
"I didn't want him to think I was scared of him, Liz. So I called him and I told him to leave me alone. He told me he wanted to see Sara, that he had a right. I told him he didn't and to leave town."
"Maybe we should get you out of town. I can get you and Sara new identities, get away from here."
"He'll find us, he's a vampire. He'll compel anyone who might even see me. He might turn to hurting you guys. I won't run. If he comes after me, I'll be ready."
"Maria, I know you're strong. You've lost almost everyone in your life, you've been beaten down and your spirit almost broken. But you always come back up. I don't want him anywhere close to you. He's a vampire now. Stronger, faster."
"I'm a witch. Trust me, I've taken precautions. Last time, I couldn't use magic to defend myself. Now, I can. I'm different. He won't get close enough to hurt me. I'm just worried about you, and everyone else around me."
"We'll be fine."
"He came to you today."
"I sprayed vervain in his face and drove away with Caroline."
"See, what if he anticipates that next time?"
"I'm worried about you, you're worried about me... it's an endless loop," Liz chuckled. "But you're the one he hurt. You're the one he wouldn't hesitate to hurt to get to what he wants."
"No, I'm the one who can throw him across the room with my mind. Stakes, vervain grenades and perfume- those are all useless if he can see them coming."
"Maybe you should tell Elena. Damon and Stefan can protect you. It can't hurt to have more vampires having your back. Bonnie, too- another witch. She's powerful, she brought Jeremy back from the dead."
"I'm not telling Elena. I can't trust her, Liz. There's so much we should probably catch up on, but I don't trust Elena. For all I know, she wouldn't believe me. I wouldn't be surprised if she struck a deal with him and kidnapped Sara so he could see her."
"I don't think she would-"
"Trust me, Liz. Elena's unpredictable. You know she killed an Original?" I said.
"Yeah, I know. She wanted to kill Klaus, and Finn was the only way, except it didn't work."
"Yeah, did she mention she did absolutely no thinking ahead of what might happen? That she was so focused on getting rid of the entire Original family, that she didn't care she was killing a man who'd more or less been dead for nine out of the ten centuries they'd lived? That he'd only just been reunited with the woman he'd loved, the woman he hadn't seen in nine centuries before she killed him? Or that his death meant the death of any vampire who'd been sired by him, and any vampire they'd sired and so on? That so many innocent vampires died, because she didn't even contemplate on what might happen to anyone else? There was a vampire, who'd barely been one for a year, one who still hadn't lived her human life, like Caroline, who died, because she wanted revenge."
"No, she didn't. But you can't blame her for that."
"I warned her there'd be consequences. Warned her killing a family of the first vampires wouldn't help anyone. I warned her it was wrong, regardless of anything.
"She didn't listen. She killed for her own selfish needs. And now that she doesn't know which sire line her boy toys belong to, she won't kill Klaus. If she knew Klaus wasn't their sires, she'd still be trying to kill him. Knowing that thousands of vampires will die because of it. Most of them could even be innocent." Liz faltered. "Look, Liz. I get it. You remember her as the innocent little Elena you babysat, but she is far from it. She's changed. And not for the better. I trusted her, and she gave me up to the original bitch. Please Liz, I trust you not to tell Elena, or Caroline."
"Okay," Liz sighed.
"And who's to say I don't have people on my side. Kara is a vampire, and T and Michael and Hanna are all really strong witches. Bonnie's powerful, sure, but she didn't have anyone to teach her, to help her control it. She's a new witch. I've had my powers longer than her, we all have. I'm not bragging, but we're all stronger than Bonnie. We understand the magic, we've had time to nurture it. She's been forced to use powerful magic since she first got it. That helped her, and with her being a Bennett witch, she's pretty powerful. My family's older, my magic is older. I'll be fine, Liz. So just let me worry about you."
"Okay." She caved. "But what if he comes after Elena? Or Jeremy? Or Caroline."
"Let me worry about that." I told her. "Now come on, I'm missing my own party.