Forever; The Devil's Angel

Annalisa stepped forward, "Uncle, I know you don't want to talk about it," she said and Antonio whirled towards her.

"You think?" He shouted, "You understand this better than anyone, Lisa. How could you come in here and bring some man that Maya screwed over and he thinks he knows anything about her? How could you do this to me or...your aunt?" he said as he pointed to Fiorella who gave up as she put her hands to her face and let the tree flows, "You know how she gets at the topic?"

"It's not a topic, Anton," Fiorella raised her voice from the couch, "You are talking about my daughter," she said in a shaky voice, "Our daughter."

"Well, she has never been a daughter to you now, has she Ella?" He raised his brows, "Giving her birth doesn't automatically entitle you to bear all the pain for her," he said, "it's not our duty to love her if she can't earn it for herself," he added in a small voice.

"But what if we know a wrong girl, Uncle?" Annalisa asked as she moved towards him, her eyes were red and wet but she took a deep breath.

"What?" Antonio furrowed his eyebrows together, "What are you talking about? A wrong girl?"

"Twins," she said as a matter of explanation, "Wasn't that the curse on our family, Uncle?" she asked, "For every parents to have twins and have one of them die at a ripe age for another?"

"But we don't have twins," Antonio stated as he glared at Damon. He was getting angrier by the minute. What was the need to reveal the family secrets in front of the stranger? Annalisa had totally gone crazy. His eyes made their way to Fiorella. He still remembered the day clearly when Maya was born. They were so sure of the twin daughters because of the said curse but there was just one child. It was shocking and to some extent painful because with two daughters, they knew they would lose one but have other to try to break the curse, the curse on their family as well as the one that Ariel was going through but they didn't have the twins. They got only one girl and they didn't know what to expect from her and Fiorella cried for weeks sure that she had somehow killed her twin daughter.

"No, you don't," Annalisa said, "But why, Uncle? The curse wasn't lifted by that time. So, why? Why did you have one daughter and not twins?"
"How am I supposed to know?" he shouted at her, "I've tried to find the reasons for years but I can't find one, Ok? I can't find one," he said as he threw the glass beside him to collide with the wall and break into small tiny fragments. "That's why he's here, uncle," Annalisa said in a calm voice, "He has seen the twin," she said in a small voice.

Antonio staggered back and Fiorella stood up from the couch, their hearts beating in unison, fast and out of control. "What?" they said at the same time, surprise marking their faces, "It's not possible," Antonio said and Fiorella put her hand on her forehead as she shook her head, "It can't be," he eyes met Damon's, "I'm sure you're mistaken."

"I'm not the kind to get mistaken easily," Damon said, "Especially not when she looks like the carbon copy of my girl," he shrugged as his eyes flickered to Annalisa who stood there quiet and he knew he had to handle it himself from now. "I've met both of them," he said in a serious tone, "And at times, Maya has even pretended to be Mia with me."

"Mia?" Fiorella said and Antonio shook his head. "Does both the girls know about each other?" he asked confused. How could this even happen?
"Oh, yeah," Damon rolled his eyes, "They know all well and pretty much hate each other," he was saying when Fiorella interrupted his thoughts, "Which one's your girl?" she asked and Damon blinked his eyes. Of all the things there were to know, this is what she wanted to know.

"Mia," he said, "Mia's my girl and Maya well, as much as I've heard of her from you all, I doubt she can be anyone's girl."

"Yeah, she's a slut," Annalisa said and Fiorella gasped. "Anna, your mouth," she said and Annalisa jerked her head in disgust.

"How can this be, Uncle?" Annalisa asked Antonio who seemed petrified at the spot. He wasn't even blinking his eyes. "Can it be true, Uncle?"
Annalisa spoke again, "Can there be a look alike?" she asked but Antonio was still in a trance, shell shocked.

"How can it be, Anton?" Fiorella asked, her old wounds cut open again as tears formed in her eyes but she blinked them back and Damon saw yet another part of Mia in her. "How?" Antonio looked at Damon, "How do you know about this Mia?" he asked.

"I know her because," Damon paused as he looked straight at her parents, "I know her because I've been with her for a while now. I practically lived with her before she had to leave..." he said in a clear, firm voice.

"Leave where?" Antonio asked as if he was interrogating but at that time nobody bothered his tone or attitude as long as he was willing to listen.
This is where Damon paused. He had come in here very confidently and the task seemed easy then. He had to get to Italy, find her parents and let them know that they had been lied to their whole life, reunite them with their real daughter, Mia and give her a gift that somehow she had come to needed so much now especially with her weird dreams now but standing there at that moment, he didn't know what to say or how to say that.

It was her family, he was sure of that but how was he supposed to share her secrets? They weren't his to tell even if they knew about angels or prophecies or if they believed in curses. He felt like that a lot now, like there was a list of things he wanted...needed to say but there was always some blade hanging above his head as if he would open his mouth and be beheaded. So, he thought about it. How much could he say? How much he could tell? What if those damn whisperers were here too? They seemed to be everywhere he went and that was annoying to another new level but he also knew he had to suck it up.

"Leave where?" Antonio asked again, his voice was frigid, cold and his eyes more so.

Everytime Damon had to look at him, he realized that Mia was a perfect blend of her parents. She had taken her looks from her father, yes but not his temperament. She was nice and understanding like her mother who was sobbing, looking at him with wide eyes confusion floating in her eyes among the tear drops.

"She couldn't stay here," he said and then thought about it again when her father raised his eyebrows at him daring to lie to him again. Damon took a deep breath. To hell with it, he thought as he opened his eyes and looked at Antonio, "After she broke the curse," he said. They had talked about a curse. Maybe they would believe into it quickly.

"Curse?" If Antonio wasn't shocked before, he surely was now. How much this stranger could know? How much had Annalisa told him about their family? His eyes flickered to Annalisa who had her own gaze fixed on Damon asking him a thousand questions with her eyes but Damon kept himself fixed on Antonio. Oh! This man had to believe him.

"What curse?" he asked and Fiorella nodded at the same time as she added in her own small voice, "What curse?"

Damon wanted to groan but he bit his lip to refrain, "She had to accept to be an angel in order for Ariel to be free along with Cam and Samantha. That was the deal and she did it..."

"How? What was the task?" Antonio asked intrigued. He didn't want to believe this guy but the more he spoke, the more Antonio wanted to believe him. Either he knew the truth that they didn't or he had his research pretty thorough. His eyes flickered to Annalisa’s once again. "She's an angel?" her mother exclaimed at the same time, her eyes shining.

Damon took a deep breath, "She had to kill Silas." Now, he wondered they would ask who Silas is and how did he knew him but he saw the recognition in Antonio's eyes and fear in Fiorella's.

Silas, Damon thought. They knew about Silas. He mentally slapped himself. Of course, they would know about Silas. He was practically their dark family history, the dark one who wronged everything and everyone.

Antonio was surprised. Never had he thought any of this could happen and as much as he wanted to deny his words, there was a part of him, a deep feeling that settled inside him and he couldn't ignore it, couldn't push down the voice as it rang loud in his ear, Damon's name being the loudest. "You?" Antonio pointed at him, his eyes wide, "You're a Salvatore, you said?" he said almost in an accusing tone as if it was a blaspheme crime to be a Salvatore.

Damon was hesitant in his reply, taken by surprise by the accusation in his voice but he cleared his thoughts, "Uh, yeah," he said as his eyes flickered to Annalisa and the otherwise witty, cheerful girl had a darkness on her face. This was getting really weird, he thought.

"Salvatore?" Fiorella gasped slightly as in two long strides she came to stand beside Antonio and held his arm in a death tight grip, her eyes meeting Antonio's with horror. "Silas' decedent?" she asked her husband who gave her a small nod and Fiorella snatched her eyes to Damon.
"Oh my God!" Fiorella put her hand on her mouth clutching Antonio's arm and Annalisa groaned internally as she sifted through her private history lessons. God, she would've paid attention in her class if her teacher wasn't so damn distracting.

"Silas?" Damon said aloud, "What does he have to do with me?" he raised his eyebrows, "the guy's dead," he informed them.

"He's dead?" Antonio questioned him, "How do you...How do you know him?" Today was a total shocker and he wasn't sure how much could he absorb.

"Because Mia killed him," he stated, "That was her big task before she was to become a complete angel," he shrugged because to him, all that was pretty normal. That was his life and had been very much their all-time topic of discussion.

"You know about angels? You know about Silas?" Antonio asked again and Damon suppressed his sigh and refrained from rolling his eyes. Her father or not, the man was talking like Damon was a complete idiot and knew nothing and that kind of pissed Damon off.

"Yeah, I know about angels and Silas, man," Damon said exasperated, "I live with her. Have been with her before she was an angel so, I know a lot about her," Damon waved his hand, "I also know for example that she needs you," he completed and stared at Antonio hard.

"What do you mean, she needs me? This Mia girl, you talk about. Does she know us?" he asked and for the first time since Damon had stepped into the room, Antonio felt his entire being stuck into a small thread of the answer. He couldn't pinpoint why this question in particular meant a lot more to him than knowing the truth about her but somehow this was important.

"Yes, no. She knows you exist but she doesn't know you personally, of course or where you live and all that..." Damon said, "But I can tell you that your real daughter's name is Mia and she is in Mystic Falls right now and yes, she needs you," he said, "And I can say that surety because I just witnessed her running in the dark forest looking for a father that she saw in her dreams."

Antonio fell back a few steps and took Fiorella with him. He had given her the family's necklace once and it hadn't glowed. The necklace didn't accept her as the potential angel, he knew that but the dreams. Having dreams was the first ever sign of something big happening. Could it be? Could it be that his daughter had been that special one in the family that broken the curse set a thousand years ago when Ariel made the forbidden mistake. Damon had said that she was an angel now and she had killed Silas and she had broken the curse but then who was that girl they had made out to be their daughter.

Antonio visibly gulped, "What about this Maya?" he asked finally, "Who is she and why pose to be our daughter?" he said and looked at Fiorella,
"I don't know how is it even possible that there can be two same looking people without being twins. It doesn't make sense?" he said and Fiorella shook her head. "Nothing makes sense but I want to believe him, Anton," Fiorella said, "I want to believe that our daughter is strong and capable young woman who has helped so many souls."

He kissed Fiorella's head and she closed her eyes as she drew in a deep, shaky breath. Annalisa came forward as she stood by Damon and held his hand. "Do you know?" she asked him in a whisper and he shrugged. Yes, he knew but not the complete truth.

"Your daughter is amazing," he said to Fiorella who looked up at him, "She's everything you would have wanted her to be. She has your eyes," he pointed to Antonio, "With the same burning curiosity within them and she has," he turned back to Fiorella, "your kindness and a certain softness to her nature. She's smart and she's brave but," he paused as a small smile formed on his lips, "she underestimates herself and can be a total control freak at times with a total tendency to be selfish but when it comes to people she loves, she's fierce, she's loyal and she's selfless."

Fiorella's lips curled up into a hesitant yet dazzling smile and Antonio gave him a grateful nod. He couldn't wait to see the person whose sketch just Damon presented them with. Damon smiled a little as he took a step forward, "As for her past...she doesn't know much. Just little glimpses she has seen in her dreams but as far as I know, you lost her the day of accident."

"Accident?" Fiorella sniffed, "We've never been in an accident," she said as she looked at Antonio who shook his head, his lips pursed, deep in thinking.

"You were," Damon countered, "Not you per se, just her," he corrected himself, "She was something of twelve or thirteen years old..."
"And she was hit by a car," Fiorella exclaimed, "Yes, I remember. Oh! Anton, you remember that one. She was hit so badly but somehow she was fine, didn't get much injuries," she said as the scene replayed in her mind.

"Yes, yes. That's the one," Damon said, "She got exchanged there because after that accident Mia got back her memories of Rose and Trevor and not you people. She was a different person then," Damon said ecstatic that they knew the story. They would now believe him.

"Do you know anything about Maya, then?" Annalisa asked and Damon turned towards her as he felt both Antonio and Fiorella look at him in expectation.

"The Maya you know was born with the name, 'Mia Nicole Pierce'. I don't exactly know her ancestry but she is something of Katherine Pierce and she is something very important. Katherine has many enemies and she was sure that they would try to get her though her weakness which is why she put Maya in with you and took her look alike," he explained, "but that's about all that I know."

Antonio felt a cold shiver run through him, the pain of his words an unfathomable burden on him. His eyes widen, his lips parted, his hand flew to his chest, the words repeated in his mind on a replay, his heart was pounding, his sweat breaking. It might be worse than death, he thought but the name Katherine Pierce was ringing loud in his head. There was no way.

"I know there's no link between both Mia and Maya. I don't know any reason of why they look alike but it is the simple truth that they might have some connection that we might not know of, you know," Damon shrugged.

"We can look for something," Annalisa suggested to Damon who gave her a small nod and his eyes went back to Antonio and Fiorella. Antonio was so pale like he was about to die and Fiorella. There was confusion in her eyes, then questions which gave way to dread and when Antonio's eyes met her, there was a pure horror and then disgust.

Fiorella pushed Antonio away with both her hands on his chest. He staggered back but balanced himself as he reached forward for her but she held up her hands, her eyes tearing up, her nose scrunched in disgust. "No!" she screamed and Annalisa jumped back. She had never seen her Aunt like this before. This was a different crazy than Maya's departure.

"Ella, love," Antonio extended his hand, "You know the truth already. You know it, Ella. Don't be like this," he said in a desperate voice. Damon was standing stiff looking at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes. Looking at Fiorella, he wondered if Mia could be like this.

"Know?" She screamed, the tears now running free on her cheeks, "You lied to me," she hit him on the chest as she pushed him away once he tried to come closer, "Stay away from me, you liar," she said and Annalisa went in to hold her. "Control, Aunt. Control," she said and then started whispering in her ear but Fiorella pushed her too.

"Don't defend him," Fiorella said to Annalisa, "I'm not going crazy. You know nothing," she said, "You know nothing."

"Ella..."

"You lied to me," She shouted again, "You said nothing happened," she said as she fell on her knees, "You said nothing happened," she kept repeating, her hand on her chest trying to hold her heart that was tearing apart. He told her it was a short time. He told her nothing happened. He couldn't have a child with that witch of a person. He couldn't.

Annalisa gasped as she stood up, "No!" she whispered as she turned her horror filled eyes to her uncle, realizing the meaning of her aunt's breakdown. "No," she repeated, "You didn't? You didn't?"

In between the 'You said nothing happened', 'You didn't' and 'I'm sorry, I didn't know. Forgive me, Ella," Damon stood there shocked to his core. Every time he thought that nothing could surprise him more, the world threw such a curve ball at him, it took him minutes to wrap his thoughts, stable his physical self and then find his tongue to say something.

There wasn't a pretty explanation for this and he didn't quite believe it but the world has constantly managed to shock him. So, he closed his eyes, his brows furrowed together as he whispered harshly to himself and looked at the pair of three eyes gaping at him.

​"Maya can't be Katherine's daughter." How in the hell was he supposed to explain this to Mia?