#p:damon

New York City, 1987

Isabela had spent a good amount of time in New York in her life time but this was one of her best times. She had a great circle of vampire friends. Carefree. No one gave a single damn. Some with humanity off and some that just enjoyed the thrill - Isabela being the latter. 

Another night, another club. Plenty of drug induced drunks dancing around. It was easy pickings. Seeing a familiar friendly face at the bar, she made her way through the crowd and stopped next to him. Damon Salvatore. He was one with his humanity off but one that enjoyed the thrill too. A win/win in Isabela’s books. “Hey buddy, aren’t you gonna get me a drink or do I have to do everything myself?” She teased, her devilish smirk as present as ever. “Where’s everyone else? Don’t tell me they’ve gone home already! The night’s young.” She pouted, looking around.

Yvonne’s eyes glanced over the brick exterior as she hit the home button on her phone. What time had they agreed to meet? Was Damon late or was she merely early? A savoury garlicky aroma wafted from the restaurant in front of her as her stomach rumbled. If the food tasted anything like it smelled, Damon needed to close the deal immediately.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. No sooner had she thought her brother’s name than he appeared across the street walking towards her. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you that it’s rude to keep a lady hanging?” The smile spread across Yvonne’s face betrayed her pleasure at seeing her older brother and she reached out to pull him into a hug.

"This is getting frustrating! I cannot believe modern medicine still hasn't figured out how to fix bones in a minute." Dakota groaned as she bonded on one foot, leaning forward with the camera on her face, taking the photo as the groom and bride laughed. She threw a look at Damon, who had been freed of her backpack with equipment as he'd left it on her chair. She quickly rose the camera and snapped a picture. "I should pay you for all the complaining you put up with today." She noted and grinned

@caskofcastello

Endless labyrinths filled with screams. This was all she could hear in the darkness. She ran the familiar paths through a labyrinth she knew too well, trying to reach an end that would never come. In her dream, there was never an escape, only the feeling of being trapped in a memory. When she got to the clearing, one she so vividly could imagine, she saw blood staining the ground. The air reeked of death and the darkness seemed to engulf her completely, slowly choking the life out of her. She stumbled forward blinded by the dark, reaching out her hands to feel her way out. She grabbed hold of something solid, something she could curl her hands around. She felt something wet on her hands. The darkness cleared and she looked at her blood-stained hands, she looked up to see a severed head with horns as drops of blood seemed to rain from the sky.

She woke herself up with a blood-curdling scream, the pure terror had her heart racing painfully fast. She could still feel the droplets against her skin, she quickly wiped it away but found it to be water and not blood as she had expected. Carina had not let go of the nightmare yet, in her mind she was still trapped in it. She looked up at the sky full of clouds which blocked out most of the light of the moon. She looked around and noticed the green walls around her. She quickly staggered to her feet and started running in a direction, desperate to find a way out. “This is not the endless labyrinth. This is not the endless labyrinth!” she whispered to herself, her voice was desperate and full of fear. She could feel tears falling from her eyes as they mixed with the rain. It did not matter that she had seen water, in her mind it was still blood that she got drenched in.

When she met a dead end, the cold and fear caught up with her. It paralysed her legs until she collapsed in the wet grass again. She tried to concentrate on her breathing, knowing she had to find some air to fill her lungs with, but her breaths were shallow and the labyrinth had her in a fixed state of fear. She curled into a ball, putting her hands over her ears, in an effort to stop the screams she could still hear in her head. They were so many of them, it was impossible to count them all although she tried. Carina da Silva was far from perfect, she was not a flawless picture of what a lady should be like. She often felt fear, it came at night and often left her sleepless. She had come to know the stars, she had the ability to map out most constellations. She had spent so much time looking up at them, trying to find some peace that seemed to never truly come.

“Argo Navis. Piscis Notus. Cancer Minor.”

caskofcastello

It had been a while since Carina had been at such a loss. She was usually the one who was able to get to people; they often opened up to her because she made it clear that all she wanted to do was help. She had tried to bring her fiancée some food after he locked himself in his room, but it had been to no avail and she had not seen him for days. She had only been met with his silence and despite the fact that she did not love him; she still cared enough for him to be worried. He was going to be her husband one day, and it would been a strain on their marriage if he did not allow her to help. It was strange though, she had no clue what had made the Lord Castello react this way. Millie had not been in the mansion for days, the servants seemed to avoid going near his room and no one said a thing. She had tried asking some of the servants, but they had always found an excuse to scurry off before she had a chance to stop them.

All of this meant that everything was unbearable quiet and nothing seemed to happen. Her father had left to go on a small trip, he had almost closed a deal with some rich men in one of the neighbouring cities and had left to take care of that. With Millie gone, this only left the servants, the vineyard workers, Carina and Damon. The servants answered her when she spoke to them, but it was always short conversations because they were unsure what to say and probably worried that she would force them to tell the truth about the reason for their Lord’s behaviour.

She had found a way to make time pass though. The mansion was big and full of history, so she contented herself with adventuring through it. There were many empty rooms, but the servants took good care of them and they all looked clean and inviting. After a few days, she was sure that she had been through all of the rooms. Carina realized that she had been mistaking after a walking past a room with the door half open, she peered inside and noticed how clean it looked and how fresh it smelled. She could see the floor was still a bit wet, so it was clear to her that this room had just been cleaned. She remembered having past this room before, but the door had always been locked. The servant must have forgotten to lock it after having cleaned it.

She knew that she should probably turn back, but curiosity got the better of her and she entered the room. It was a light room, one that had obviously been used a chamber for someone important. All she could see in the room were white and gold; the bed had gold patterns engraved in the wood with white sheets, even the chairs were gold-touched with white cushions. There was one part of the room that stood out though; a wooden chest at the end of the bed. It was beautiful but did not seem to fit with the rest of the room, telling her that this had been a piece of furniture that had emotional meaning to its owner. Again curiosity took hold of her and she knelt down in front of the chest before opening it.

Its contents surprised Carina, though she had no idea what she had expected, but a bunch of old letters and some dusty baby clothes had not been her first guess. She picked up a white garment and marvelled over how tiny it was. She had seen babies before, but she had never held one and it had not occurred to her how small they really were. She put the garment back before picking up one of the letters. It was addressed to Lady Castello in a hand-writing she recognized as belonging to the late Lord Castello. She had memorized it because she remembered that feeling of dread whenever her father would receive one. He always forced her to go visit the Castello family afterwards, sometimes she was let off easy and he was contented with talking about marriage and her duties as a Lady instead.

Carina had been staying with the Lord Castello as a guest for only a day, but she already felt the need for exploring. She had never liked being caged up inside for too long, the desire for some fresh air and new sights always won her over after spending a day inside. When the call of the outside made itself heard, the vineyards of the Castello estate seemed like an obvious place to explore.

As she strolled through the gardens, all of the different grapevines fascinated her. It was strange to think the fruits would all be turned into sweet wine soon, the very same drink that she enjoyed every evening to her meal. She found herself drinking more of it since arriving, she always tried to keep up with the host out of politeness, but this was an impossible feat with Damon Castello. She greeted some of the workers in the vineyard with a soft smile, but she stopped when she saw a familiar face among the others that didn’t belong.