Midnight

"It’s beautiful, but…no, of course!"she said firmly, and reached out to put a hand on Bonnie’s shoulder.

The next door lit up, brightened, then brightened more so that it seemed to disappear. "And here,"Sage sighed, "is the famous kitsune paradise."

Elena could feel her eyes widen. It was a sunny day in the most beautiful park she had ever seen. In the background a little waterfal spil ed into a creek, which ran down a green hil , while directly in front of her was a stone bench, just the size for two, underneath a tree that looked like a cherry in ful bloom.

Blossoms were flying in a breeze that rustled other cherry and peach trees nearby – causing a rain of dawn-colored petals. Although Elena had only seen the place for a moment, it already seemed familiar to her. She could just walk into it…

"No, Stefan!"She had to touch his arm. He had been walking right into the garden.

"What?"he said, shaking his head like someone in a dream.

"I don’t know what happened. It just seemed as if I were going to an old, old home…"His voice broke off. "Sage, go on, please!"

The next door was already lighting, showing a scene with rack after rack of Clarion Loess Black Magic wine. In the distance, Elena could make out a vineyard with lush grapes hanging heavily, fruit that would never see the light of the sun until it was made into a famous liquid.

Everyone was already sipping at their glasses of Black Magic, so it was easy to say "no"even to the luscious grapes.

As the next door brightened Elena heard herself gasp. It was bril iant midday. Growing in a field as far as she could see were tal bushes thick with long-stemmed roses – the blossoms of which were a velvety-looking black.

Startled, she saw that everyone was looking at Damon, who had taken a step toward the roses as if involuntarily. Stefan put an arm out, barring his way.

"I didn’t look very closely,"Damon said, "but I think these are the same as the one I…destroyed."

Elena turned to Sage. "They’re the same, aren’t they?"

"But yes,"Sage said, looking unhappy. "These are al Midnight roses, noir pur – the sort in the white kitsune’s bouquet. But these are al blanks. The kitsune are the only ones who can put spel s on them – like the removal of the curse of a vampire."

There was a general sigh of disappointment among his listeners, but Damon just looked more sul en. Elena was about to speak up, to say that Stefan shouldn’t be put through this, when she tuned in to Sage’s words and the next gate, and felt a surge of simple, selfish longing herself.

"I suppose you would cal it ‘ La Fontaine of Eternal Youth and Life,’"Sage said. Elena could see an ornate fountain playing, the effervescent spray at the top making a rainbow. Smal butterflies of al colors flew around it, alighting on the leaves of the bower that cradled it in greenery.

Meredith, with her cool head and straightforward logic wasn’t there, so Elena dug her nails into her palms and cried "No!

Next one!"as quickly and forceful y as she could.

Sage was speaking again. She made herself listen. "The Royal Radhika Flower, which legends say was stolen from the Celestial Court many mil ennia ago. It changes shape."

A simple enough thing to say…but actual y to see it…

Elena watched in astonishment as a dozen or so thick, twining stems, topped by gorgeous white cal a lily blossoms, trembled slightly. The next instant she was looking at a cluster of violets with velvet leaves and a drop of dew shining on a petal. A moment later, the stems were topped with radiant mauve snapdragons – with the dewdrop Stillin place.

Before she could remember not to reach out and touch them, the snapdragons had become deep, ful y open red roses.

When the roses became some exotic golden flower that Elena had never seen, she had to turn her back.

She found herself bumping into a hard, masculine, bare chest while forcing herself to think realistical y. Midnight was coming – and not in the form of a rose. Fel ‘s Church needed al the help it could get and here she was staring at flowers.

Abruptly, Sage swung her off her feet and said, "What a temptation, especial y for a lover of la beaute like you, belle madame. What a foolish rule to keep you from taking just a bud! But there is something even higher and more pure than beauty, Elena. You, you are named for it. In old Greek, Elena means ‘light’! The darkness is coming fast – the Last, Everlasting Midnight! Beauty wil not hold it back; it is a bagatel e, a trinket, useless in times of disaster. But light, Elena, light wil conquer the darkness! I believe this as I believe in your courage, your honesty, and your gentle, loving heart."

With that, he kissed her on the forehead and set her down.

Elena was dazed. Of al the things she knew, she knew best that she could not defeat the darkness that was coming – not alone.

"But you’re not alone,"Stefan whispered, and she realized that he was right beside her, and that she must be wide open, projecting her thoughts as clearly as if she were speaking.

"We’re al here with you,"Bonnie said in a voice twice her size. "We’re not afraid of the dark."

There was a pause while everyone tried not to look at Damon. At last he said, "Somehow I got talked into this insanity – I’m Stillwondering how it happened. But I’ve come this far and I’m not going to turn around now."

Sage turned toward the final door and it brightened. Not by much, however. It looked like the shady underside of a very large tree. What was odd, though, was that there was nothing at allgrowing under it. No ferns or bushes or seedlings, not even the normal y ever-present creepers and weeds. There were a few dead leaves on the ground, but otherwise it was just dirt.