[THE HOUSE GUEST]

not everyone you lose is a loss.

"WHAT? WHY ARE YOU IN MY ROOM?" Juliette stumbled over her words as she walked backwards to her bedroom door. Jonas approached the blonde but stopped when he noticed she was scared.

"I apologise for the intrusion; I am not going to hurt you." He defended himself, holding out a hand in front of him with a genuine expression on his face. Juliette gave a hesitant nod before closing her bedroom door.

The blonde watched as Jonas approached her bed, dropped a bag on it, and opened it to look for something inside. "I'm assuming Elijah is dead?" He asked, with his back to Juliette.

Juliette approached the witch slowly, still hesitant. He was the one who took Bonnie's powers, so what could he do to Juliette? "Yes, I am sorry. I told him not to go to the dinner party, but he didn't listen."

"I know it's not your fault that he's dead."

His answer stunned the blonde, causing her to grow confused. "Really?"

Jonas nodded and turned to face Juliette, holding a large book in his hands. "You two are...particularly close. I know you wouldn't want him dead," he replied, raising a brow at her.

Juliette nodded her head, "Yeah, we were." She mumbled, looking down briefly at the bracelet hanging from her wrist before looking back at Jonas. "What are you doing here?"

Jonas sent her a small smile as he took a step closer to blonde. "Elijah had a feeling about tonight, thanks to you, so he told me to give you this if anything happened to him." He handed Juliette the book.

She stared at it for a moment before walking over and taking it from the witch. Her eyes scanned over the leather-bound book, the deep brown fabric looked weathered from age, cracks and worn edges adorning it.

The cover was embellished with intricate, hand-engraved symbols and sigils that were faded slightly.

In the middle, sat a name, highlighted in a dull, metallic inc, SERAPHINA. The name stood out to her. It seemed familiar, but why?

"Seraphina..." Juliette whispered under her breath, her fingers running over the name. She was trying her best to remember ever hearing this name. It seemed old and-

The dreams.

That was where it was from.

The night where the wolves attacked Damon and her, when she passed out she had a dream with two women—one of them being called Seraphina—and they were preparing for a spell. If Seraphina helped, the woman would help her flee from her family.

Juliette furrowed her brow at Jonas, her mind racing as he looked back at her. "I've- I've heard this name before." She breathed out, tilting her head. "In my-"

"Dreams, yes I know. That was for a reason." Jonas cut her off, causing her to grow even more confused.

"How did you-" Her voice trailed off.

"Elijah told me. Now before you ask, I don't have any information to tell you why you got them. It's not my place, it's up to Elijah to explain that to you."

Juliette slowly nodded her head, her mind whirling as she glanced down at the book. "Okay... What is this? Why did you give it to me?"

Jonas's eyes glanced around the girl's bedroom. "It's a grimoire. It will answer all your questions. The voices and the headaches." He mumbled, placing the bag over his shoulder.

The blonde's eyes widened, "You know about them too?" She questioned, feeling slightly weird that this stranger knew so much about her.

Jonas nodded his head, "Elijah told me you were having some issues. He wanted to give the book to you today, but obviously, things came up."

"Read the book, Juliette. It will hopefully answer some of your questions. I hope it helps you, Elijah cares for you." Jonas continued.

Juliette tried her best to fight the blush crawling onto her face. He cares about her? She couldn't help but have a slight suspicion toward Jonas. "How can I trust you? You took Bonnie's powers." She asked sternly.

Jonas gave the blonde a small smile before answering. "I took Bonnie's power as a punishment for hurting my son. She overstepped, Juliette. I hope you can understand that."

Juliette stayed silent as Jonas lifted her window, so that's how he got in, I'm gonna need a lock for that. "Wait." She called out, stopping the witch from jumping out, he turned to look at her.

"Thank you, Jonas." She mumbled, lifting the book slightly. She watched as the witch nodded his head at her before turning away and jumping out of her window.

The blonde walked over and shut the window, closing her curtains too. Juliette suddenly remembered Jenna waiting for her, so she placed the grimoire on her desk and quickly got changed into PJs.

Casting one more glance at the book before leaving her room, heading to the living room.

I definitely needed a break after today.

✧✧✧✧

WHEN JULIETTE AWOKE IN the middle of a forest, she immediately knew that she was dreaming. Jenna and her must have fallen asleep on the couch while stuffing their faces with all the chocolate they could find in the house.

They both were going through it big time.

A heart-wrenching scream startled the blonde, making her jump up from the forest floor. Her emerald green eyes scanned the tall trees towering around her, trying to determine which direction the scream came from.

When she heard it again, she soon walked through a clearing, noticing a small house with a thatched roof made out of straw. It stood proudly in the twilight.

A fire crackled outside, its flames dancing in the fading light, casting long shadows across the clearing. Juliette stood and watched the tranquillity, she felt as though this was the only time she had ever felt peace.

However, that was quickly broken when the screams erupted again. A black-haired woman swung the door from the house open, sprinting out as wails passed her lips, echoing into the forest around the blonde.

Juliette hid behind a tree close by, her eyes glued to the scene in front of her. The girl looked like the same girl from her other dream, the one where she was helping someone with a spell.

"Stop running! You cannot escape your fate!" A male voice bellowed as a man walked out of the house, a sword in his hand. "You are an abomination to our family." He seethed, calmly following after the girl as she sprinted towards the trees.

Though she didn't get far, she tripped over a rock. She stumbled to the ground, her thin body smacking the earth with a thud. "I'm sorry, father! Please, I am so sorry!" the woman sobbed, using her elbows to lift herself.

"An apology is not enough for your wrongdoings, Seraphina." Her father hollered, pointing the blade towards his daughter, a manic expression on his face as he did so.

Juliette gasped at the name. Seraphina. The grimoire that was sat on her desk, ready to be read, was hers. The book that was supposed to be the answer to all her problems.

But why was she having dreams with her? Juliette thought the dreams were only for Elijah and her.

"It is not my fault, father! I did not mean to!" Seraphina yelled, her hand held out in front of her as if that was going to protect her from the wrath of her father.

Juliette couldn't help but feel sorry for the woman.

"You are an abomination to our family! You will never be forgiven." He seethed, walking around his daughter with the blade still pointed at Seraphina, who was sobbing on the floor, barely being able to breathe.

"What will the others think? Huh?! What will they think about you being a-" He cut himself off bitterly, looking like he couldn't utter the word—whatever it was.

Seraphina continued to sob loudly, her eyes pinned on her father as he stared down at her, a merciless look on his face. He had no care for his daughter, he was going to kill her and he didn't care.

"A what, father? What am I?!"

"You know what you are! Do not make me utter the word, I will kill you in a matter of seconds!"

Juliette furrowed her brows, confusion filling her as she continued to watch the brutal scene in front of her. What was Seraphina? Why was her father so angry at her?

Seraphina's sobs grew louder as she shook her head, desperation pouring out with each ragged breath. "I never wanted this! Please, Father, I am still your daughter!"

"Do not dare call yourself my daughter!" he roared, his grip on the sword tightened as he raised it high above his head, the steel glinting ominously in the moonlight. "You are nothing but a curse upon this family, and I will see to it that this curse is broken tonight!"

Seraphina's eyes widened in terror, but then something shifted in them—an odd, flickering light. Her breath caught as she instinctively flinched away from her father's blade. "Please... I didn't ask for this power, but I won't let you kill me."

Before Juliette could process what was happening, a surge of energy exploded from Seraphina. The ground around her trembled, leaves swirling up into a vortex. The blade in her father's hand was suddenly taken from his hand, it flew to the nearby tree, stabbing into it.

Her father hesitated, surprise overtaking his rage for just a moment. "What are you doing?" he demanded, his voice trembling, a hint of fear seeping in. He looked down at his daughter, who had her hand out in front of her.

Juliette slowly began to realise that the girl had been the one to throw the sword, with a flick of her wrist.

Seraphina's eyes were no longer those of a frightened girl—they were filled with anger and determination. She slowly began to sit up from her place on the floor, her hand still out in front of her as her father stumbled back, now being the terrified one.

"I didn't want this, Father," Seraphina whispered, her voice low and dangerous. "But you've left me no choice."

With a scream that pierced through the forest, Seraphina thrust her hand forward, and a bolt of raw energy shot from her palm, striking her father directly in the chest. He was thrown back with great force.

He slammed into a tree, the breath knocked out of him. Juliette's heart pounded in her chest as she watched the scene unfold. She knew she should leave, but her feet were rooted to the spot. Seraphina was no longer a victim—she was lethal. Something powerful. Something terrifying.

She was no longer begging for her father's forgiveness.

She was fighting for her life.

✧✧✧✧

    SERAPHINA WAS A WITCH, that was what Juliette understood from her dream. She had powers and used them against her father, who was furious that she was.

He believed that she was an abomination, a curse to her family. Juliette heart broke for the witch. She was just a girl who couldn't help what she was.

The blonde sat up from the couch, reading the clock that hung on the wall. It was 4 A M. She rubbed her eyes, her vision clearing up as she stretched her legs out.

Juliette looked over and spotted Jenna sprawled out beside her, soft snores escaping her mouth. At least she looked peaceful, because her life certainly isn't at the moment.

The blonde immediately thought of the book that was sitting on her desk, waiting to be read. She couldn't stop thinking about her dream and the girl.

What happened to her after?

Juliette decided to go get the book. She couldn't help herself anymore, she needed to know everything. When she got the book, she sat back down on the couch, careful not to wake Jenna up.

Her fingers traced the metallic inc, making her think of the poor woman who had clearly suffered so much from her dream.

Juliette sighed as she opened the book, immediately taking in the sketches and sigils that looked hand-drawn. She carried on flipping pages until she came across the first page with writing on it.

And Juliette was immediately captivated.

SERAPHINA, 1001, AD

The night is cold, and the darkness presses upon my soul like a heavy shroud. I can barely recall the warmth of the sun, so long have I lived in the shadows. My family, the ones who should have loved me, think of me as an abomination. They do not understand the power within me. It is not a curse, but a gift from the Gods themselves—a gift they fear and despise.

My father, a man of boastful pride would share his strong lineage with anyone who asked. But when signs of my powers began to show—when the flames would dance at my fingertips, when the winds would whisper secrets only I could hear— he had decided to hide me from the world, too ashamed to admit that his daughter was a witch.

My mother, once my best friend, looked upon me with eyes filled with fear and loathing. They both would whisper about me in the dead of night, speaking of my 'affliction' as though it were a plague. They believed I was touched by darkness, a vessel of evil that would bring ruin to our family.

Witches are seen as an abomination in this time and age. They were unnatural. How could one person possess the art of magic? It wasn't right, they said.

If you were one, you were to be burnt at the stake. I escaped that fate.

My family cannot understand that my magic was not born of malevolence. It was part of me, as natural as breathing. I tried to hide it, to suppress it, but magic is not something you just ignore. It consumes me, it runs through my veins, an ocean of power that grows more powerful as each day passes.

Because of my magic, I became a stranger in my own home. But I didn't particularly mind it. My father has never been the nicest to me, as his oldest daughter, I was expected to do many things.

Find a nice young man to marry, cook, clean and bow down to the orders of men.

I was not something who could be silenced by anyone, especially not a man.

I remember the very day they decided my fate. It was April 20th, the air was cold and bitter, perfect for what was going to happen. My father, his voice as cold as the winter wind, told me that I had disgraced the entire family, that I was no longer his daughter because of my 'afflictions'

My family watched on from our house, not even attempting to help. My brothers did not look at me as they had when we were children, playing by the river. They looked at me as one looks at a rabid beast—something that needs to be put down.

That night—after knocking my father unconscious with my powers—I fled into the forest, the only refuge left to me. But my brothers had followed, driven by the hatred my father drilled into their minds. My uncle had led them, a sword in hand. They had followed me to the old fort where I used to play with my brothers, where I first felt the magic within me. There, beneath the moonlight, my uncle had raised his sword to strike me down, ready to wipe my damned existence from this earth, as though I hadn't been their family.

I didn't mean it.

My magic spun out of control.

I had managed to take the sword from my uncle, using it to my advantage. I hadn't meant to utter the words, but it tumbled out of my mouth. 'Incendia.' They had lit up right in front of me.

The fire consumed them.

Their screams will forever haunt me. I had just killed my family, the people who I used to love dearly. But not anymore, they deserved what they got.

They shouldn't have doubted me. They couldn't fathom the great power I bore.

And nobody ever will.

- Seraphina Gilbert.

✧✧✧✧

Plot twist???

Bet you guys weren't expecting that!!

So I go back to school next week, and it's a really important year for me. It's my last year of high school and I need to fr lock in.

Updates will be significantly cut down, they will only be put out on the weekends when I have free time. School comes first to me and I will not force myself to write when I come home from school when I'm tired and stressed.

So please be patient and kind!! I also do not want any comments about updates, I am trying my best for you guys.

Anyway, now that's cleared. I hope you have an amazing day and I hope to see you in the next chapter!!

Byeee

29/08/24