Chapter 28 — In Defense of Life...and Love

Chris went to scout the garden of the Monroe family house, while Salvatore and Johann stayed outside the walls, waiting for news from him. Chris roamed the garden, taking the form of a raven. The silence around surprised him, and nobody patrolled the garden. It was completely empty everywhere.

As Chris got closer to the house, he heard voices, and also felt magic emanating from inside the building. In raven form, he easily sat on a branch of a nearby tree and peered into the dining room and saw so many sorceresses and wizards at once for the first time in his life. They were all sitting around the table talking, and Chris was surprised to see that Marco was sitting on the windowsill, staring blankly at some point in the distance, clearly thoughtful. Finally, Chris spread his wings and flew towards the wall, then over it and landed on the pavement, transforming into his human form.

"So, what's the situation?" Salvatore asked him, a little flustered.

"Everybody's inside the house now. They are sitting at the dining room table and talk." Chris replied immediately.

"What about Marco? Have you seen him?" Johann spoke up, looking at him with a slightly bored look.

"He is with them, I saw him sitting on the windowsill. It is true that Marco did not take part in this conversation, but he was looking at the others from time to time." Chris replied, now directing his gaze to him.

"I think we'll have to wait then... We won't be able to deal with them all at once." Salvatore sighed resignedly. "It's a pity, but we also have no other choice." he added, walking towards the park, and Johann and Chris followed obediently.

"Maybe we'll have a little fun with mortals in the meantime?" Chris suggested with a sinister smile.

"I think it's a very good idea to pass the time." Salvatore agreed, giving his friend a broad smile, and Johann just nodded his head slightly.

~~~~~~

Elisabeth got up from her chair, looking at everyone gathered.

"My dear ones... As already mentioned, our law prohibits the relationships of sorceresses with demons. This is probably the only prohibition that connect us with them." she began, addressing everyone. "Now I would like to hear Alice's words now, as she supposedly has something to say to us that can change our, as she put it, outdated law." Elisabeth looked at the girl meaningfully. "Alice, I grant you the right to speak your mind." and she sat back in her seat.

At those words, Alice got up and took a deep breath.

"At the very beginning I want to assure you that everything I say is supported by hard evidence." she said to everyone gathered. "I think you all know what gift I have, therefore, in addition to what I witnessed, I heard not only Selene's thoughts, but Damon's as well. It's true that those two are connected by a very strong feeling, but magic has nothing to do with it." Alice began her statement.

A hum of disbelieving voices swept through the room.

"What I mean is that Damon loves Selene, but not because he fell under her magic charm. He just fell in love, the true love united them." Alice announced.

"Where did this idea come from?" Meredith asked. "Do you have any evidence to support this absurd thesis?" she added, looking at her a little indignantly.

"Yes, I do." Alice replied without losing any of her confidence. "For example, when Damon's kin submerged him in the waters of the Lake of Darkness, it didn't affect him at all and he still remembered Selene, and his love hadn't waned, and as we all know, the Lake of Darkness has tremendous power. It can wash away any charm, including that of sorceresses from old clans. Of course, every magic charm." she said, emphasizing the word 'magic'. "As we also know, true love, as it is common thing among people, has nothing to do with witchcraft or magic. In my opinion, this was the love that brought those two together, which is why the waters of the Lake of Darkness had no effect on Damon." Alice finished her statement and sat down, smiling with satisfaction as she saw Meredith's slightly confused expression.

"If I can add anything, I think we rely too much on magic, and that's why we find it hard to remember that feelings such as love exists, but it is out there and we can't deny it. Additionally, love often has much more power than any magic." added Rita.

"What you're talking about makes sense and completely changes things." Elisabeth spoke up. "Don't you agree?" she asked Meredith, whose expression was not very pleased.

"I have to admit that Alice and Rita are kind of right." Meredith replied and sighed, but was clearly unhappy with that fact.

"We will vote and I'll let each of you say whether you are for or against this relationship. We'll start at the end of the table." Elisabeth decided, looking meaningfully at Deborah.

"Well..." she began a bit shyly. "I know Alice very well and I trust her gift. Also, I think she and Rita are right, we rely too much on magic and forget about real feelings. Therefore I think we should let Selene and Damon enjoy their love." Deborah said a little more boldly.

"Thank you for your vote," Elisabeth replied.

"Now Tess and Teresa, I don't think I have to ask Alice what decision she's made. It's quite obvious," Mrs. Spelling added, and Alice just smiled, nodding slightly.

"I have the same opinion as Deborah," said Teresa. "I'm in love with the demon myself, and I want such relationships to be allowed starting today. Of course, under certain conditions and with careful observation," she added, giving Selene a hearty smile. At those words, Marco looked at her and smiled broadly. He did not expect such a confession from Teresa, and certainly not in the forum, in front of everyone.

"I agree with my sister, what Alice and Rita say really makes sense." Tess said next.

"I understand," Elisabeth replied, turning her eyes to the next group, Eleazar and Maria. Selene was worried about this. She suspected there might be problems with Eleazar, and Maria gave her a cold stare as well.

"I think they should have a right to love, like everyone else." Maria spoke up, surprising Selene a little, though she probably was willing to vote in favor of her and Damon, if just to "get rid of" her rival and take away from Eleazar's any excuses to break up with her.

Hearing his girlfriend's words, Eleazar looked at her slightly indignant.

"I..." he began, not knowing what to say. Eleazar refused to agree, but knew he would be voted out anyway, and cared deep down for Selene's happiness. "I'm of the same opinion as Maria and others." he decided at last, but apparently with a little effort.

Selene looked at him gratefully, as she hadn't expected to hear something like that from his lips. Damon breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, so all that's left are ladies from the Big Three." announced Elisabeth.

"Obviously, I fully agree that we should accept Selene and Damon's relationship." Rita spoke up first.

"Me too, of course. True love comes first." Isabelle replied, looking at her husband with a smile.

"I have the same opinion as my wife." Johnathan added, smiling back at Isabelle.

"And how about you, Meredith?" Elisabeth asked, looking at her closely.

"Well, guess I have no choice..." she began, looking at her niece and seeing how happy she was in Damon's embrace, all her doubts were dispelled in an instant. Meredith suddenly realized that her parents had acted the same way when Namida fell in love with Nathaniel, and she definitely didn't want to be like them. Yes, Damon had killed Selene's mother, but it was true that he had been totally different back then, and since then, he'd saved Namida's daughter a few times and still wanted to protect her.

"I also agree to accept them. I just want Selene to be happy." Meredith replied more boldly.

"Then my decision could not be otherwise." announced Elisabeth. "In this situation, Teresa and Marco will also be able to be together, but he must be under constant control and observation, because here we are not sure if it is just a charm or something more." she added after a moment.

Damon and Selene smiled at each other, still distrustful of what had just happened. Then everyone got up from their seats and took turns walking over to the couple to congratulate them.

"I knew we could convince them all." Alice said, grinning widely.

"Love always wins, it was the same with your parents. I just want you to be happy, and I'm sorry that I got carried away because of hate." Meredith gave Selene an apologetic look and hugged tightly.

"You must have made it." Johnathan said to them.

"You helped me very much, Selene, so I owed you. I couldn't make any other decision, besides I know what it means to love someone." Isabelle added, looking at Johnathan and lightly squeezing his hand, and as they walked away, she hugged his shoulder. Selene noticed a significant change—Isabelle's belly seemed slightly rounded.

"Yes, she's pregnant again." Alice replied, reading the question that troubled her from mind.

"Really? That's wonderful. Let's hope it turns out well this time." Selene replied, folding her hands as if in prayer.

"Thanks to both of you, we will also be able to enjoy ourselves." Marco turned to Selene, putting his arm around the smiling Teresa.

"I can feel it will change our world forever." added Teresa.

In the end even Eleazar approached them.

"Thank you so much..." Selene said, smiling at him.

"I wanted to apologize for what I did... Jealousy completely blinded me. I forgot that if you really love someone, you want them to be happy. Will you forgive me?" replied Eleazar, looking at her pleadingly.

"Yes, of course. You're my friend after all, aren't you?" Selene looked at him questioningly.

"Sure, I'm your friend and you are my friend." Eleazar smiled.

Then they both hugged heartily.