Chapter One: The Book

From out of nowhere, a gigantic yellow envelope dropped onto Caroline Forbes' desk. The slam of the envelope on the mahogany table seemed to shake the entire room.

Caroline's crystal blue eyes slowly looked up from the paper she had been editing.

"What the hell is that?" Gingerly, she reached out and laid her hand on the package.

"It's finished," Elena Gilbert beamed back. Her chocolate brown eyes were gleaming with pride. The Cheshire cat grin on her lips only added to the expression of utter happiness on the woman's face. Elena flicked her chest-length chestnut hair off her shoulder. "Do you want to read it through before I send it out?"

The precisely plucked eyebrows on Caroline's face rose to her hairline. "What? You want me to re-read this?"

Elena shrugged, plopping down into the leather chair across from Caroline. "You don't have to. I just wanted to show you that it's ready."

Picking up the massive block of text, Caroline pulled the papers from out of their sheath. "How long is it again?"

"Once it's put into print, it'll only be four or so hundred pages."

"And you're sure you don't want to cut it down?"

The brunette leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "I already got rid of over six hundred pages of material. This is the eighty-seventh draft. If there was any more room for editing, it would be gone by now." She sat back, arms crossing over her olive tanned chest. "So, yes, I'm sure I don't want to cut it down."

Caroline sighed, shaking her head. The faintest of smiles appeared on her lips and she stroked the cover page. "You're right. It's ready." She looked back to Elena, who was back to grinning like an idiot. "Do you have the list of publishers ready?"

Elena nodded. "Of course. I've got everything set up. Thirty envelops for thirty copies of my work to be sent to thirty publishers."

"One of them is bound to bite."

"I hope so. I've put so much work into this. Fifty years of my life have been poured into this text. If one of them doesn't want it..."

Caroline reached out and grabbed her friend's hand. "Don't think like that, Elena. You're going to get published. We both know this is an amazing novel. People are going to be killing one another over the rights to this thing." She gave Elena's hand a squeeze. "This is going to happen for you. Don't worry."

"Thank you so much for everything, Care. I owe you so much. I still can't believe you were able to sit by me through all of this."

"Not to mention the fact that I edited this behemoth of a book," Caroline quipped, brushing a strand of straight blonde hair out of her face. "I don't think you could have gotten it done without my help."

A knowing smile bloomed on Elena's face. "Of course. And you discovered your life calling from helping me. Who would have known that party-vampire-girl, Caroline Forbes, would end up being a highly successful editor and literary agent?"

The blonde's eyes lit up as she looked around her corner office over looking Central Park. New York had held so much potential for the two young girls, and Caroline had taken full advantage of being a vampire in the business world. The art of compulsion can get you much in life, and for Caroline Forbes it meant getting a privileged job in one of the top literary agencies in New York City.

"Well, now that you've seen it, I'm going to get home and mail it off to everyone who will take it." Elena picked up her manuscript and envelope off Caroline's desk. "How long do you think it'll take the publishers to get back to me?"

Caroline shrugged. "It could be tomorrow or it could take months. You're going to have to be patient through all of this. Since you don't want me to compel anyone to take your book, it's gonna be a while before they notice you."

"That's fine," Elena said with a sigh. "I want to make sure they really love this." She held the pages to her breast like a mother holds her child. "If someone wants to buy the rights, I want them to genuinely want to publish it." She gave her friend one last reassuring smile before leaving the office and ventured on her way home.

A/N: I know it's a super short chapter, but I wanted to put something out today. Please read and review!