Chapter Text
Bonnie stood on the porch of the mansion, her arms crossed and her green eyes narrowed against the afternoon sun as she waited for the arrival of the Petrova twins’ latest suitors. Rather, she was waiting for them to announce themselves -- their carriage had been stationed at the entrance for about twenty minutes now. Maybe they were busy trading seduction techniques, or they were fixing their no doubt already over-groomed hair. Or, perhaps they just got a sadistic thrill from making her stand out in the heat and sweat through her clothes.
Whatever the case, these men were a much bigger deal than their usual guests -- they were princes, brothers from a nearby kingdom. So far the Petrova household had only been visited by local noblemen, but with Katherine and Elena so renowned for their beauty, it had only been a matter of time before word got around, and it did. After all, the Petrova twins were rumored to be the most beautiful women in the world.
Of course, beauty is subjective, but who was Bonnie to convince that to the men who left the mansion heartbroken and thoroughly rejected each month?
The sound of footsteps approaching made her uncross her arms and straighten her back, and she watched as a shadow, and then a man appeared from behind the hedges and walked towards her. He was tall, with pale skin, dark hair and a charming smile that widened when he saw her. There was no denying that he was gorgeous, but there was something about him set her off immediately.
Maybe it was his eyes. They were an impossibly piercing shade of blue, and far too intense for her liking. She walked towards him briskly so he wouldn't have to cover so much ground (the front lawn of the Petrova mansion really was excessively long), finally stopping in front of him and catching her breath quietly.
“You must be the Lady Elena,” he said, shamelessly sizing her up, his eyes lingering on her lips a moment too long before flinting upwards to meet her gaze. “I gotta admit, I heard you were beautiful, but you have far exceeded my expectations.”
“No,” she responded coldly, although despite herself she felt an unwelcome heat rising in her cheeks at his flattery. “That’s not me.” She forced herself to break eye contact, feeling that if she didn’t, those disturbingly bright eyes would suck out her soul.
“My mistake... Lady Katherine?” He tilted his head as a counterfeit apology, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it. Bonnie resisted the urge to slap him in the face -- after all, he wasn’t exactly doing anything wrong. Actually, he was acting as the perfect gentleman. And maybe that was the problem. Maybe her irritation with him stemmed from the arrogance etched in his features providing such a stark contrast to his smooth words, his courteous movements, the general handsomeness of his face.
Maybe she just wasn’t used to someone hitting on her.
“Wrong again,” she said, tilting her head with just the slightest hint of a smirk.
“Okay, I’m all out of guesses,” he conceded. “Who are you, and what part of heaven did you fall from?”
She paused for a moment, considering whether she should even give him that. After a moment she rolled her eyes and answered. “I’m Bonnie. Lady Elena’s handmaiden.”
He raised his eyebrows, taken aback. He had no idea that someone of her beauty could even be that low in social standings. In his silence, Bonnie nodded and glanced away, not even really that offended by his reaction, nor was she surprised. What she did feel was disappointment, although she couldn’t quite discern why.
“I assume you’re one of the Salvatore brothers,” she said. “I’ll let the Petrovas know you’re here.” With that, she turned and started to walk away.
“You didn’t tell me what part of heaven you’re from,” he called after her. She paused, glancing over her shoulder and raising an eyebrow as if to ask him if he were serious, her expression somewhere between weary and amused.
“I’ve never stepped a foot outside Mystic Falls, and trust me, this place is about as far from heaven as you can get.”
“I’m Damon, by the way,” he called after her as she started to walk once again.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” she replied without turning around. His footsteps sounded behind her, getting fainter as he went back to his carriage, presumably to get his brother.
Bonnie hadn't even reached the door to the mansion before she heard a rustling in the bushes and a tall blonde sprang towards her, her face flushed red with excitement. “So? Which one was that?”
Bonnie grinned. “You can’t play that card, Caroline. You just admitted you were spying on me, which means you couldn’t have missed him yelling his name across the lawn literally a minute ago.”
“Okay fine, you caught me. Lady Katherine’s been watching them out her window since they arrived,” Caroline said, and Bonnie could actually hear her friend rolling her eyes. Caroline had been Lady Katherine’s handmaiden for as long as Bonnie could remember, and as Katherine was obligated to spend a fair amount of time with her twin sister, Bonnie and Caroline would blend into the background together. Fortunately, they got along much better than Katherine and Elena did, and they became fast friends. “She sent me to scout them out at a closer proximity.”
“Hmm. That does sound like Katherine,” Bonnie replied.
Caroline practically groaned in agreement. “I’ll ask again -- wanna switch Petrova sisters?”
“I’d do anything for you, Caroline,” Bonnie began with a playful smirk, “But it doesn’t work that way. You know Katherine doesn’t like me.”
“Oh, and she likes me?” Caroline arched an eyebrow.
“So what does she think of them?” Bonnie skirted the question, nodding back towards where she’d left the older Salvatore.
“She’ll have fun with them, she always does,” she shrugged. “And it’s not like either of them are particularly hard to look at.” Caroline’s eyes flashed mischievously and Bonnie scoffed. “She’s already called dibs on Stefan.”
“I feel bad for Elena, then,” Bonnie muttered.
“Why?” Caroline frowned. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Damon was well out of earshot before lowering her voice and whispering intently to her friend, “Didn’t you see that guy’s jawline? And those eyes? That smolder… ugh!”
“Yeah, but that just means he’s guaranteed to be an ass. No one can be that attractive and rich, and have an attractive personality. There has to be a catch somewhere.”
“Bonnie Bennett, you shut your mouth!” Caroline exclaimed. "Perfect men do exist -- albeit, they are rare -- but they exist, and it’s perfectly feasible that the Salvatore brothers are two of them!” She took a breath to calm herself down, straightening the front of her dress. “That said... I wouldn’t put away your sympathy for Elena just yet. Katherine said something about she wants them both?”
“Not that that’s surprising, but didn’t you say she only called ‘dibs’ on Stefan?”
“Clearly you know nothing of dib-calling, Bonnie,” Caroline rolled her eyes, her tone mocking Katherine’s in severity. “You can only call dibs on one guy. Doesn’t mean you can’t compete against your twin sister for others.”
Bonnie paused, squinting in concentration, “But… if Elena were to call dibs on Damon…”
“Obviously not. Rule number two of dib-calling: only Katherine is allowed to call dibs on guys.”
Bonnie burst out laughing at this, and Caroline brushed shoulders with her, feigning offense, although she was finding it difficult to keep a straight face as well. Once she’d collected herself enough to breathe again, Bonnie shook her head, still grinning. “That girl’s in for a rude awakening one day.”
“And I, for one, hope that day never comes. She takes out enough of her passive aggression on me as it is. The happier she is, the better my life is.”
“Amen,” Bonnie stepped up to the door and opened it for Caroline before stepping in herself, both girls ready to spread word of the Salvatores’ arrival.
Katherine, of course, was already on the landing, looking as beautiful as ever in a lavish honey-and-amber colored gown that accentuated her dark, doe eyes and her brown hair swept up in elaborate curls off of her neck. It must be hard, Bonnie reasoned, trying to be the most beautiful girl in any room when you had an identical twin sister following you everywhere.
But in Bonnie’s opinion, she didn’t have much to worry about when it came to Elena. She had found that although Elena had the kinder soul of the two, Katherine’s personality was much more enticing to men. To put in simply, Katherine was controlling, and men -- though many would rather die than admit it, even to themselves -- like to be controlled.
Katherine sighed in irritation and let her shoulders drop a little when she saw who was entering the house. “Well? Where are they?”
“They’re outside,” Caroline replied patiently, forcing herself to smile politely at her superior. “Waiting for you, Lady Katherine.”
“But they definitely know that we’re supposed to know they’re here now, right?” Katherine raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow.
“Yes, Bonnie met one of them on the lawn, and she told him she was coming back to alert the household.”
“Good.” Katherine took a breath and smoothed down the invisible wrinkles on her dress. “How do I look?” she asked, putting a hand on one hip and posing for their viewing pleasure, although Bonnie gathered that the question was mostly rhetorical. She was flashing a smile so sweet it was sure to fool any stranger into believing it was genuine. Maybe it was.
Like a self-centered bitch, Bonnie replied in her head. She passed the thought to Caroline telepathically and watched her friend bite her lip to keep from laughing.
“Flawless, as always,” Caroline answered routinely, with a smile as real as Katherine’s, although not nearly as skillfully disguised.
Katherine’s eyes shone with excitement and with one last neurotic pat down of her dress, she strode down the rest of the staircase and brushed past the servants. “Wish me luck,” she said excitedly, receiving a half-hearted “good luck” from Caroline and a barely acknowledging “mm” from Bonnie as she bounded out the door.