Chapter 30 — Resting
Johann and Chris had a great time battling Marco and Damon. They deftly escaped their blows, and enjoyed every skirmish. However, their good mood vanished as soon as the sorceresses appeared on the horizon.
"I think we have a problem." Chris remarked.
"Time to disappear." Johann replied, winking at him knowingly, which meant it was time for their maneuver.
First they drove all attackers to the very edge of the garden, then rushed straight into the wall, baffling the demons and sorceresses chasing them for a while, cause it looked like some kind of suicide mission. But then Johann and Marco rose right in front of the wall and found themselves on the other side of it in no time, there they came across Salvatore and with him they quickly went to the portal that teleport to the Underworld.
"They're gone, damn it!" Damon was clearly irritated, and punched the ground with all his strength.
"I should have guessed they'd make this maneuver." Marco added, guilt clearly painted on his face.
"Don't blame yourself too much for what happened. They are not so stupid and they will not get caught so easily. Besides, we came here too late." Rita consoled them.
"Well...I guess it's time for us to go home. After all, we can't turn back time," Meredith sighed and headed for the house.
"Meredith is right." Elisabeth agreed and followed her, and soon Rita and the two demons were also moving in that direction.
When they came into the house, Selene threw herself on Damon's neck as soon as he entered and Teresa hugged Marco as well.
"Are you OK? The last time I saw you, you were unconscious." Marco looked at his beloved fondly.
"I'm fine. Maria cured me a little just to be sure, but it was Deborah who was hurt the most." Teresa replied, a little bit sad while thinking of her friend.
Then everyone went to their rooms, more or less. Maria stayed with Deborah to further strengthen her, and Eleazar sat there with Maria. Marco and Damon went on the night patrol around the house. Johnathan could not sleep because he was afraid that the demons would attack Isabelle, who was weakened by her altered state. Tess, Teresa, and Alice slept together in the same room so that they would stand a better chance in the event of an attack. Rita, Meredith, and Elisabeth were unable to sleep, so they walked around the house, reacting anxiously to any suspicious noise.
Selene also couldn't fall asleep for a long time. What happened to Deborah made her seriously afraid and she decided to visit her when she felt better. Now each crack made Selene shudder. Also, the thought of Damon hanging around in the garden in the dark worried her. What if any of these demons turns out to be stronger and will kill her beloved?
Selene finally got up and sat on the bed, looking around the darkened room as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. Moonlight shone through the open window into the room and Selene looked at its fullness. It was on such a moonlit night that she was born 17 years ago. Now she appreciated the meaning of her name. Mother could not have called her otherwise, seeing something so beautiful like a full moon. Selene looked out the window, and despite the late hour, she saw very well the ruined garden.
Selene sighed heavily, and suddenly an idea struck her. She decided to use the power she had, although was not entirely sure if would be able to regenerate all the plants in the garden. Nevertheless, Selene opened the window and leaned out slightly, closed her eyes to concentrate better, stretched both arms out, over the garden, and after a while felt the same energy she felt always while using her power, flowing from inside her into arms, hands, fingers and then finally outside. But Selene didn't dare to open her eyes until the energy drained out of her and when she finally lifted eyelids, it was just beginning to dawn, and the garden was more beautiful than before. When she looked around at it, it took her breath away, especially since it was her work.
~~~~~~
Meredith didn't know exactly when she fell asleep and woke up on the couch in the living room around six in the morning, sat up slowly and looked through the glass door into the garden and immediately frowned. Meredith thought she was hallucinating, or hadn't woken up yet and dreamed. She got up, walked closer, then opened the glass door and stepped outside. The trees that lied down broken on the ground yesterday not only were in their place, but also looked better than before, just like the rest of the plants, smaller or larger. Meredith walked the length and breadth of the garden, unable to believe her eyes.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Damon asked, coming out from behind the trees.
"Yes, really beautiful. Do you know whose job it is?" Meredith asked him, still staring at everything incredulously.
"Certainly not mine." Damon laughed slightly at that. "It was Selene, I saw her doing it with my own eyes. She leaned out the window and stretched her arms out in front, and then the plants began to grow very rapidly till morning. It wasn't until five o'clock that everything was over and she fell asleep." he explained.
A bright smile spread across Meredith's face.
"Really? It's great, something unimaginably beautiful..." she said, hugging him with excitement, but quickly released Damon from her embrace. Meredith still felt quite uncomfortable in his company, even though she didn't really hate him now. Then Meredith quickly ran back home.
~~~~~~
Selene was awakened by conversations coming from downstairs, and exactly the living room. The alarm clock showed 12 o'clock, so she got up quickly, dressed and went downstairs.
"You're finally awake." Alice greeted her warmly.
"Damon told me about how he saw what you were doing yesterday. The garden looks better thanks to you than it did before." Meredith spoke to Selene with a very grateful expression on her face.
"Well... I had to help you, auntie. You've worked hard on this garden. Thought that if I had such and no other power, it could be useful for something. I didn't even expect to succeed." Selene replied, looking through the glass door at her handiwork. Up close, the renovated garden looked even more beautiful.
"Okay, enough of these delights." Elisabeth laughed heartily. "We have to move on to our duties. Let's remember that demons can attack us at any moment." she reminded, herding everyone to work.
Selene and Damon kissed briefly before he had to go outside again.
"We will have a chance to talk even longer later. Your safety and the safety of others is the most important now." Damon said, seeing her pained expression. Then he stroked her cheek with his hand and went out to patrol the area.
~~~~~~
Maria was seating near Deborah's bead when she heard a soft knock on the door.
"Come in, please." she said, softly enough not to wake Eleazar who was sleeping on the nearby couch.
At the same moment, Selene slowly opened the door.
"Hello. I'd like to speak to Deborah, if she woke up, of course." Selene replied equally softly. "What about him?" she asked when saw Eleazar.
"He was up all night." Maria whispered, looking at him with unusual tenderness. "By the way, I would like to apologize to you for my earlier behavior." she added, looking at her apologetically.
"No problem... I understand that you had a right to be jealous." Selene replied, smiling slightly.
At the same moment Deborah woke up and a smile crossed her face at the sight of the guest.
"How are you feeling?" Selene asked her as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Much better than yesterday. It's a real miracle that Maria came in time and I survived." Deborah replied, rising slightly.
"I can see that Maria has done well." Selene smiled.
"Oh yeah, and how well she did..." Deborah laughed, but became serious right away. "But now I'm even more afraid of Salvatore. You know, I met him before. A long time ago my mother drove him away when he tried to kill me." she confessed, her voice trembling slightly.
"I understand. Seeing him again must have brought back those unpleasant memories." Selene replied reassuringly.
"Ah, right... When I woke up in the morning Maria told me about what you did with the garden, even helped me get up for a moment and walk to the window. I was stunned, really. Your power is growing really fast." Deborah said appreciatively.
Shortly thereafter, Maria joined them in their conversation, and so the afternoon passed.