Chapter 05
“Welcome, thank you for joining us,” Elijah spoke, a smile dancing on his lips. Bella could see them all standing so majestically on the stairs from where she and Myriam were standing and it was hard not to drool. Kol looked so hot. “You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this it’s tradition for us to commence this evening with a dance. Tonight’s pick is a century old waltz. So if all of you would please find yourselves a partner and please join us in the ballroom.”
When Esther descended the stairs to join her family, Bella felt a knot tighten in her chest. She identified the feeling as the same one that came into the house the night before, darkness and hate. Myriam was right not to trust her. Something wasn’t right about Esther.
“You do dance, don’t you?” Kol smiled at Bella as he offered his arm to her. “It would be incredibly silly for a Mikaelson to have someone who doesn’t dance.”
“Don’t worry. Renée forced me to learn the classics, so just lead and I follow.”
Okay, so the waltz was trickier than Bella had believed it to be, but Kol was a good leader and she was grateful that when the change of partners happened, that she was now dancing with Klaus. “I must say, Bella, apart from Myriam, I’d think you’re the most beautiful woman present this evening.”
She let out a slight giggle. “Thanks, Klaus.”
“Now, what’s what I heard about you moving in? Trouble at the Salvatores?”
“Not really, unless having Damon yell at your door for you spending time with his enemies,” Bella let out a breath. “As if that would change my perception of him.”
“You already have some of your items in this house, it’d be quite easy to gather the rest of your belongings and settle in here,” he replied with a kind smile. “Myriam would certainly love the company and I believe you and Kol are quite interested in each other?”
She blushed furiously then.
“It’s alright, love,” Klaus said amused. “The supernatural community works differently than the human one. Granted, it would make it harder for me to put him back in his box.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“Not to worry, our mother has forgiven me for my sin against her, I suppose I could only extend that forgiveness to your beloved Kol for his indiscretions,” he smiled at her before turning around and having her end up with Kol again.
“Hello again, my beautiful Goddess.”
“Stop that,” Bella snickered. “You’re making me feel like a real girl!”
“Well, you are, if you haven’t noticed. You have beautiful hair and some amazing breasts…”
“Kol.”
They danced some more before Rebekah interrupted their moment together. “Excuse me, can I borrow my brother for a moment? You can sit and rest your tiny little feet before he stomps on them again.”
“Bekah, be nice,” Kol pleasantly said as he escorted Bella off the dancefloor. “I will find you, go enjoy yourself, Bella. Observe.”
She stuck out her tongue to him and headed to the bar instead so she could keep an eye on Kol as he spoke to Rebekah. Bella had always managed to avoid direct contact with Rebekah even when she was in school. Mainly because of the fact that Rebekah was trying her hardest to always fuck with Elena and her friends and with Damon and Stefan. From the stories she’d heard was that Rebekah was a lady, but a dangerous snake from within. She loved manipulating people in getting exactly what she wanted. That mischievous smirk on Kol’s face told Bella that the two youngest Mikaelsons were up to no good.
Bella finished her glass of champagne and quietly made her way outside, feeling the need to breathe. Much to her surprise there was a horse with a carriage standing in the driveway. She hadn’t seen it upon her arrival and the horse was pretty. She gently scratched the horse between his ears and the horse gave her a nudge with his nose. “Careful now, this dress was a gift,” she said softly. “Would be a shame if you ripped it, wouldn’t it?”
She stood out of sight of the door, and saw Kol slip out to where the cars were, not long after that, Rebekah and Matt exited the house and that’s where she put two and two together. If Rebekah couldn’t hurt Elena the normal way, she’d go after her friends. Matt was the only one who was human and easily killed.
They were choices made by them. Bella wasn’t supposed to poke her nose into that, nor did she want to witness it, should something happen to Matt. After all, for a while Bella had hoped that Matt would be her boyfriend and that never happened. Matt was too kind. Too human. Too good.
A few minutes later Rebekah and Matt walked back inside and Bella let out a sigh of relief. Nothing had happened to good Matt. Kol, however, looked furious. Almost as if Rebekah had given him a present before breaking it. “Hey,” Bella called out to him.
“Bella, are you insane? What are you doing outside in the cold?”
“Petting the horse,” she replied before walking over to Kol and looped her arm through his. “Are you and Rebekah up to no good?”
“She promised me a kill.”
“Matt’s an innocent.”
“I want to kill something,” Kol pouted before walking back inside with Bella on his arm. “Mother’s about to make a toast, shall we join them?”
Bella watched the servers as they were handing out glasses of pink champagne. Supposedly pink, but it had a dark glow around it, it was something it wasn’t supposed to be. Much like when Klaus had used Alaric as a meat shell. However, when she touched her glass, the darkness disappeared. “Can I try something?” Bella asked as she handed Kol her glass and took his instead, it also cleared up.
She quickly scanned the crowd for Klaus. He wasn’t hard to spot with Myriam’s fiery red dress, and pulled Kol with her as she made her way over to Klaus and Myriam. Would Bella have enough time for all the glasses to be made clear to her? Likely not. “Here, allow me,” she said, handing her clear champagne to Klaus and took his muddled one before that one cleared up and she switched with Myriam.
“What’s this all about, love?” Klaus asked amused. “Are we playing musical chairs with glasses?”
“Where’s Elijah?” Bella asked as she looked around. But even before she could spot him, Esther demanded the attention of everyone in the room.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Esther spoke, a smile on her face. “Waiters are coming round with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I’d like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!”
Bella had no idea what Esther was up to, but at least Kol and Klaus would be safe from it. They’d have to deal with the fall out later. There simply hadn’t been enough time to get to Rebekah and Elijah. She didn’t care about what would happen to Finn, she had already made her opinion about him clear enough when he was still boxed up.
She wasn’t supposed to interfere, Bella knew that, but she had a feeling that she had to or she’d lose her new family.
“Darling, you look as if you see fire burning,” Kol said sweetly. “What’s going on?”
“I think Esther messed with the champagne. Don’t worry, yours were safe. Hence the swapping.”
“You nullified the effects?”
“I think I did, yes.”
“Do you know what Esther’s up to?”
“No. Maybe it wasn’t Esther after all. All I know is that the champagne was bad,” she sighed then. “I shouldn’t have interfered.”
“Let’s proceed with caution,” Klaus sneered. “I want to see what she’s up to before I —”
“What? Kill her again, Nik?” Kol retorted. “We should have another witch bind her powers so we can have our mother back without having to worry about what she might do!”
“Hey, calm down,” Bella gently rubbed Kol’s arm. “Walk it off.”
Kol let out a sound of frustration before he did just that. “I really need to kill something!”
“Are you sure you want to date that?” Klaus asked amused.
“Don’t you start,” Bella warned him. “You should be worried, someone just tried to poison you or spell you or whatever with that champagne.”
“Let’s not tell the rest of my siblings until we know for sure,” he smiled pleasantly, nodding in the direction of his mother who was approaching him. “Mother,” he greeted her. “I truly have missed all of this, enjoying a nice ball with family and friends.”
Esther smiled then. “And I am happy that you have found your soulmate, Niklaus. You deserve some happiness in your life.”
“Have you met Bella, Kol’s date?”
“I’m afraid I have not,” Esther sighed. “I know that you talk about her, a lot, but I haven’t seen her. Whenever someone points her out to me, there’s an empty space, almost as if I have just missed her. But do tell her to come see me.”
“I’m right here,” Bella said, giving a slight wave. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mikaelson.”
“Oh, Bella, I doubt mother would want to be called that,” Klaus chuckled. “Mrs. Mikaelson, please,” he rolled his eyes at her.
“Niklaus?”
“Oh, you heard her, mother,” he said, pointing at Bella. She was standing right next to Myriam, not easy to be missed.
Esther smiled then. “You’re all in on the joke, aren’t you? Pretending my boy has a date to cheer me up?”
“But she’s right here,” Myriam said confused.
It was then when Bella caught on. “Holy shit.”
“What?”
“I choose to ignore the dark feeling when I came here. I guess it made me ignored by her, as well,” she said with a slight giggle. “Awesome new superpower.”
“Well done, Niklaus. You and your siblings have pulled off the ultimate prank on your mother,” Esther said amused. “Now, please excuse me while I retreat to my room.”
“Damon!” Stefan cried out as he ran to the door and opened it. “Damon! Are you crazy?”
Curious, Bella, Klaus and Myriam headed to the door, just like the rest of the family and Bella’s heart sank when she saw Kol outside on the ground, not moving.
“Maybe a little,” Damon replied as he was pushed aside by Bella who sat down on the ground and cradled Kol’s body. “Far be it for me to cause a problem,” he said before he walked off.
“Don’t you walk away, Damon Salvatore,” Bella threatened him.
“Oh, he’ll be alright, Bella, I merely broke his neck,” Damon said angrily. “Maybe you should open your eyes and see what you’ve gotten yourself into before you get in so much trouble that I can’t save you from. Like Elena.”
“I am not Elena,” she growled. Oh, she had promised not to use her gift but it was so tempting to give Damon what he deserved right now. “I will deal with you later!”
“I’m evicting you!”
“I don’t care! You don’t just go snapping other people’s necks!” She turned her attention back to Kol, gently caressing his face.
A few minutes passed before Damon spoke up again. “Bella, for me to leave, I’d actually have to be able to.” Bella decided to ignore him.
“Come on, love,” Klaus said as he took Kol’s body and hoisted him over his shoulder. “I’ll bring him upstairs where you can play nurse. Then, in the morning, we will collect your belongings and bring them here.”
“What about me!” Damon cried out to Bella’s retreating back. “Bella!”
“Oh, I have plans,” Myriam grinned as she walked to Damon. “You really wanted to be on the receiving end of Bella’s wrath, didn’t you? Well, since you can’t move from this spot… how about I dress you up like santa? Or a snowman?”
“Leave me alone.”
“Yeah, no,” Myriam said as she poked Damon’s arm. “Bella’s been defending you towards Klaus. Said you were off limits because you’ve always been kind to her. And you repay her by snapping Kol’s neck?”
“He’ll live.”
“You won’t, if you continue this. So, santa or snowman?”
Damon grinned then. “Neither,” he said before fleeing off as Bella seemingly let him go.
“Jerk,” Myriam muttered as she walked back inside.
~o.O.o~
Kol awoke a few hours later, Bella had his head in her lap and her laptop was resting on top of him as she was writing. It was the middle of the night, everyone had gone home and were in bed, although Bella was pretty sure that Klaus and Myriam were having a great time.
“Am I a table now, darling?”
Bella snorted as she removed her laptop from him and softly kissed him. “Welcome back.”
“Can I kill him?”
“No,” she sighed as she toyed with his hair. “But you’re in trouble with Elijah and your mother for making Damon fight you.”
“I didn’t do anything, it is he who attacked me for no reason,” Kol whined. “And I still want to kill something, I’m hungry.”
“You can have a taste of me if you want. Just don’t kill me.”
“That’s boring. I want the thrill of the hunt, the chase.”
“I could drive off in my car and speed?”
Kol laughed, then. “Darling, your barrel of a car doesn’t even reach 100 miles an hour on top speed because it will have fallen apart by then.”
“Don’t mock my car,” she smiled and kissed him. “But I’m serious, if you want some blood and are too lazy to get up…”
“Nope,” he shook his head. “Just because you’re mortal doesn’t mean I’ll use you as my personal blood bag. I respect you too much for that.” He sat up and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I am going to get changed and then I’m going for a little hunt.”
“Wait,” she said as she got up to get her phone. “My dad wanted a picture of me in this dress. How about we send him a picture of us together?”
“What?” Kol said sheepishly. “So that he can do a background check on me? Darling, I’m a vampire. There’s no checking to be done.”
“Fine,” she shrugged as she handed Kol her phone. “Then take a picture of me. I can’t believe you’re going to miss out on showing my dad how handsome you are. Please? I want to get out of this dress.”
Kol took several pictures of them together, and Bella on her own before he changed in something more comfortable and headed out. Bella struggled to get out of her dress and then got changed into her pyjamas before sending a picture to her father. It was likely he was already asleep, so she didn’t expect him to text her back.
You look lovely, sweetheart. Your date is quite the handsome fella, when am I going to meet him?
Laughing, she put her phone down and crawled back in bed to finish the chapter she was working on so she could share it before she went to sleep.
When Kol hadn’t returned in the morning, Bella went out and started to pack up her things in the Salvatore guest house. She had loved spending her years there, and she could have dealt with crazy Stefan, but to have an added complication of a crazy Damon, she no longer wanted to stay there.
Esther couldn’t see her, so Bella felt a little bit safer to stay in the house after that discovery. For as long as Esther would stay around, Bella could tolerate being the invisible girl. She put on some music and spent a couple of hours packing. Not that she had a lot of things; she was going to throw out all of her school stuff anyway, but sometimes she’d come across of something that would bring back some good memories of her childhood and she allowed herself to reminiscence.
She was glad that Damon and Stefan weren’t home while she was doing this. She felt bad about abandoning them, especially since Damon had looked out for her for such a long time, but it was time. And it wasn’t like she was leaving Mystic Falls, she just knew that the Mikaelsons were more equipped and capable of looking after her than the boys were due to their experiences and their own thirst for knowledge.
It took her a few trips to the car, but she managed to get everything in. Since she now had a laptop to work on, she had copied everything on her computer to an external hard drive and formatted the computer so nobody could use it without a fresh installation. Not that her computer was worth anything, it was old.
She had found the deed to the guest house with her name on it and crossed out her name so that the Salvatores could enter it again. Leaving the keys on the porch, she went back to her car and drove to her new home.
Much to her surprise, she found most of the house empty, or everyone was in hiding. Apart from Myriam. Myriam had been waiting for Bella to come back. “They all know about what Esther’s been doing,” she said as she carried a few boxes in. “Finn and Esther are in the wind and Kol, Elijah and Klaus are trying to find them.”
“What is it that she’s been doing, anyway?”
“Yesterday’s champagne was indeed part of a spell. Esther tried to link all of her children together, but since you intervened with Klaus and Kol…” Myriam smirked then. “She actually accused me of meddling with it. Which is stupid because I’m a vampire and not a witch.”
“That bitch.”
“In her mind, her children are abominations and she’s responsible for creating them. She wants to end them. But you know, if one Original vampire dies, their entire line goes along with them. In a way, I’m grateful that you managed to save Klaus from the spell because I like my life too much.”
“I’m sure he won’t get hurt.”
“Oh, I’m not worried, but just in case,” Myriam shrugged. “Hey, after we’ve put all your boxes inside, want to go out for dinner instead of staying in? We could go to something other than the Mystic Grill. Oh, maybe even go out of town!”
“Alfredo’s is nice.”
“Then to Alfredo we go!”
Later that evening, Klaus held a family meeting. Everyone was there, except for Finn and Esther, who had fled after their spell could no longer be cast. “Mother’s spell is still in place,” Klaus said as he sipped his bourbon. “Even though Kol and I are fortunate that Bella intervened, I do not wish to see Esther destroy us. She can do whatever she wants to Finn. I’m going to do everything in my power to see that spell destroyed, you have my word, Elijah.”
“If your little tramp had been a little bit faster, we wouldn’t be in this situation now, would we?” Rebekah quipped. “She managed to save you two but no, not us.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” Kol snorted.
“Mother is still out there. She’ll be back, of that I’m sure,” Elijah spoke quietly. “She may return in one shape or another. Perhaps now is not a good time to house a superpowered abnormality in our midst.”
“That’s not all,” Rebekah sighed. “While I was baby sitting Elena, I took some pictures in the cave where the natives drew our story. There was another White Oak tree.”
“What!” Kol blurted out. “Another?”
“Three hundred years after we fled back to the Old World. And it’s gone. We need to find it because even a splinter could kill us all,” Rebekah added. “We may have temporarily gotten rid of our mother, but it’s not over.”
“Do you have a plan, Niklaus?” Elijah asked his brother.
“I have one, and I’m afraid our latest family member will not like the idea,” he said, slightly amused as he looked over to Bella. “Do not turn me into one of your animals.”
“I’m not getting involved,” Bella said, throwing her hands up. “But where Kol goes, I go.”
“Oh, that’s quite alright then,” he smiled. “That way you’re safe out of everyone’s reach! You deserve a break, Bella. I want you to accompany Kol to Denver, Colorado, to keep an eye on the youngest Gilbert, just in case the elder one tries to foil our plans. Jeremy hasn’t met Kol yet, which is a great opportunity. You merely need to make sure that young Gilbert doesn’t see you.”
“But—”
“What if the reason for you to stay in Mystic Falls was Kol? It’s obvious that you two are drawn to each other like moths to a flame. See this as an opportunity to learn more.”
Kol put an arm around Bella and pulled her closer to him. “It’ll be fun, darling. It won’t be all work and no play. It’ll likely be play all the time and a little bit of work,” he then nodded to Klaus. “Whatever Nik needs.”
“It’s fine but all my clothes are in boxes and I don’t know which ones,” she then looked at Myriam. “I believe she hid a few of those boxes as well.”
“I wanted you to explore the house more! A game!”
“We’ll buy whatever we need in Colorado. Now, go pack your laptop. We shall be leaving tonight. But not in your car. It looks like it’ll fall apart by just pointing at it.”
“That’s the second time you’ve insulted my car.”
“I didn’t realize you were keeping score, darling,” Kol grinned and kissed her cheek.
~o.O.o~
Denver, Colorado was one of the places Bella had never visited with her mother and she enjoyed to discover it with Kol when he wasn’t with Jeremy Gilbert, forging some sort of fake relationship with him to keep an eye out. Bella could spend hours in the Botanic Gardens, writing on her stories, answering emails and chatting with some of her followers. She made sure to stay in touch with Myriam through messenger as well.
Kol didn’t want to re-live history but Bella was interested in Molly Brown’s house. The unsinkable Molly Brown had lived in Denver and her house had been turned into a museum; stepping inside of it was almost as if you were stepping back in time, to the early 1900’s. It helped that the guide was so well versed and made things even more interesting.
Kol took her on proper dates to the zoo and the aquarium when he wasn’t shadowing Jeremy and at one point took her to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. It was a beautiful church to see. She remembered seeing the church on the news when the pope visited. “This is a very young church. It’s perhaps 100 years old. Before the church opened, lightning struck one of the spires, causing damage that they quickly repaired before they opened. A couple of years ago, another part of this minor basilica was struck by lightning.”
“Maybe God doesn’t like the flaunting of wealth. Wasn’t he all about helping the poor?” Bella deadpanned as she looked around in awe of the detail that went into building the church.
“But any God needs places of worship. The Ancient Greeks had so many temples for their Gods and Goddesses and they wouldn’t be cheap building it either; a beautiful house of worship means more worshippers, because people tend to like the pretty,” Kol explained before pointing at the building. “Who knows? Maybe this church came in place of another one, a church that was smaller and couldn’t hold that many worshippers? Maybe it was old and cold and drafty. Or leaking.”
Bella narrowed her eyes on him. “You’re so hammering on this God thing, are you secretly a bible thumper? Because then I’m out.”
Kol shrugged. “It depends on the Gods. Mother often prayed to Frigg or Freya for her spells, Father was more of an Odin or Thor kind of guy,” Kol then beamed proudly. “I, myself, found myself inspired by the tales of Loki, the trickster God.”
“Somehow, I’m not surprised. At all.”
“I don’t believe that there’s a singular God like in Christianity. I believe that anyone can believe what they wish to believe, mainly because I’ve seen so many variations of the same idea or belief on my travels. All those ‘new’ religions, like Islam or the Catholics, no, I don’t believe that,” he said before leading her out of the Church with a smile on his face. “Mainly because their holy books tell the same stories but with a twist. It’s fiction to me. Or fan fiction, even, if you want to be harsh.”
“Inspired by?”
“The Old Norse Gods. Or the Ancient Greek and Roman Gods. I do believe they’re real.”
“Why?”
“Because if God was real, and would be invoked by a witch, wouldn’t you think that he’d smite her down for practising magic?” He answered cheekily. “If, for example, someone makes a love potion, they have to ask for Aphrodite’s blessing. Why?”
“She was the Greek Goddess of Love?”
“Exactly. If she doesn’t give her blessing, the potion won’t work,” Kol explained. “In the old days, they’d bring sacrifices and worship to the Goddess Demeter for a bountiful harvest.”
“Nah, that’s just climate change at work, bad luck.”
“Ah! So you don’t believe in something invisible such as Gods and Goddesses, but you do believe in bad luck?”
“Yeah, because that shit is real. It happens to you.”
“What if it’s not bad luck but a God or a minor deity punishing you for insulting them for some reason?” Kol sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Seriously, Bella, you’re not a witch. I’ve been around witches and all kinds of magic for a very long time and they can’t do what you can do unless they’re destroying themselves for a burst of power, corrupting themselves to get that power and that’s not you. You’re not malicious. Well, you are in bed, but in general, you’re the kindest heart I’ve ever come across.”
“So you think I’m a Goddess?”
Kol smirked. “In the sheets? Definitely!” This earned him a smack on the arm from the tiny ball of annoyance next to him. “I think you’re Goddess adjacent. Like a Nymph or a sprite. Maybe even a trickster like a fawn,” Kol said as they were walking back to the city centre. “I’m still trying to find a way to test you to figure it out, but I’m coming up with nothing but to keep watching you, in awe of everything that you do. I do believe you’ve not grown into your powers yet and that perhaps even more is to come. In any case, to me, you’re a Goddess. I already worship the ground you’re walking on, what more do you want?”
“Ice cream, tiramisu. World peace…mostly ice cream right now.”
“Alright, ice cream it is,” Kol chuckled. “You’re unbelievable, Bella Swan, you know that? You know about the existence of vampires, werewolves and magic even though you have ignored it for most of you life, but to believe in Gods?”
“You’re a vampire, why do you believe in Gods?”
“I don’t. I’ve only started to consider the possibility when I met you and what you’ve shown me of your powers so far. I ruled out everything that I know, so why not dive head first into the unknown and the only logical explanation?” He then laughed. “You should read Homer and the Odyssey. Oh my God, are those Gods scandalous!”
“So you think it’s only the Greek Gods who are still around?”
“Well, no. If I have to believe they’re still around, I suppose the Norse Gods are keeping to themselves and pelt banana peels at the Greek for being so strange. Then there’s the Hindu Gods… well, I see them as the school’s emo pack. Besides, I’ve seen a picture of your father, he looks like he has some Greek ancestry.”
“I believe his grandmother was half greek,” Bella said thoughtfully. “Although it could have been Italian. I don’t know much about his family, though. His father is magical. He sent me that dress, remember?”
“Yeah, see, that doesn’t make sense. You’re not a witch, so it’s not magic.”
They went into the closest ice cream shop to get some ice cream and Kol checked his phone. “Ah, it’s young Gilbert. He wants to meet up.”
“Ice cream first,” Bella said as she put a spoonful of tiramisu ice cream in her mouth. “It’s so good!” she exclaimed as a soft moan escaped her lips.
“Don’t moan or I’ll drag you off to the public toilets for another kind of cream.”
She giggled at that and happily continued to eat her ice cream. “You’ll just have to make your way back home a lot faster today… maybe I’ll have a surprise in mind for you!”
~o.O.o~
A few weeks later, Bella spent a few days in Mystic Falls again while Kol went on an errand run for Klaus. The Salvatores were trying to figure out whose Original bloodline ran through their veins and Klaus didn’t want them to find out, or at least made it nearly impossible to find it out. It felt good to be home again, amongst friends and her old clothes. She had loved her time alone with Kol, though. Despite his talk about Gods and Goddesses, she loved that he was so passionate about things. He was so intelligent and kind and patient.
Oh, she knew that she was a terrible person for not believing him, not after all the rationalisation that he did. If vampires, witches and werewolves were real, why not the Ancient Gods? It was the lack of proof that did it for her. There was no real evidence other than stories and ancient ruins in Greece and Italy. Ruins that could have been made for normal people and merely misinterpreted by archeologists.
The Greek Gods could have been merely superpowered humans; in those days you’d be revered as a God if you knew magic or were capable of doing extraordinary things such as running really fast. She had learned about some of the myths and legends in school during history classes, but always found them hard to believe. Greek Gods had sex with everyone and anyone, including their cousins and had so many children, it was difficult to believe that they were real because where the hell were they all?
Had they moved on? Did they have a special God place like Valhalla or heaven? Granted, the concept of Greek Gods and Goddesses sounded so more plausible than just the one God, that she didn’t believe in, either, but there was no way that one entity could oversee every aspect of life. Internet searches of ‘are Greek Gods real’ came up with the same load of crap as ‘is God real’, because there was no evidence. Only stories in a book and faith.
Bella wasn’t sure why it bothered her so much. Maybe because of her adorable Kol not willing to give it a rest.
When Kol was done with his task, he returned home with a present for Bella, which made her all giddy. Opening the parcel, she blinked as she saw admittance tickets to every Disney park in the world. “What?”
“Let’s travel the world and go to happy places. I’m sorry I went on and on about the Gods thing and from now on, you won’t hear anything about it from me.”
“You bought these to apologize to me?”
“Too much?”
Bella laughed and softly kissed him. “Yes, but I’d love to go,” she kissed him again. “Apology accepted.”
“Really? No feelings of wanting to stay in Mystic Falls or stay in the United States?”
“Nope. My place is with you. I think everything will be okay if I stay with you,” she crawled into his lap and kissed him again. “I’m just surprised that Klaus hasn’t killed any of the Salvatores yet.”
“But then he’ll take away our entertainment,” Kol mused. “We simply need to drain them from vervain, because those idiots take it on a daily basis, and compel them for a little harmless fun.”
“Or, I could turn them into an animal and have them end up as roadkill.”
“Bella, I’m shocked,” Kol laughed. “Very well, if you want to kill them, let’s go.”
“No,” Bella straddled his waist and kissed him, hard. “They’re not our problem right now. They’re still Klaus’ problem and you’re free to do whatever you want.”
“Would you like us to leave for Disney right now?”
Bella grinned as she wiggled her ass a little bit. She could feel how he was definitely interested in her. “Maybe tomorrow,” she whispered in his ear. “Right now I want something very simple…”
“Uhuh,” he smiled at her. “I see where this is going.”
“Do you?”
“To the bedroom!”
~o.O.o~
It was like as if they were lost in time as they travelled from park to park, from city to city. Lost in the moment. Enjoying themselves. While Kol had been quite tame when they were in Denver, on their travels Bella discovered just how wild he could be. There were parties and drunk days. There were sex parties. Bella hadn’t been participating and thus, Kol neither, but it was fun to watch other people have sex. Enticing. There were dance clubs and classy jazz clubs, he took her everywhere to have fun and it was, for the most part.
Unfortunately, Bella wasn’t immortal and did need her rest so after six weeks of partying and ringing in the New Year naked on a private beach somewhere warm, Bella begged for a time out. Kol’s solution? He took her to a spa to get pampered and oh, she enjoyed that very much.
It was near the end of January when Selene, one of Kol’s witches that he befriended after he was undaggered, contacted Kol about someone called Silas and Bella could tell that it scared him. He told her all about Silas, and how it was likely that everyone was looking for the cure to vampirism. By doing so, they would unleash the end of the world and he did not want that to happen.
He tried to make a joke of how Bella had once said that the Mikaelsons are Gods for being the first vampires and that if that was the case, Silas was a souped up Titan.
On their way back to Mystic Falls, Kol told more of the story; how magic always requires a balance. How Silas came to be and inevitably, the doppelgangers. How a small army called The Five were vampire hunters, but they also bore the hunter’s mark, a map to Silas’ whereabouts like a tattoo. How the young fucktwad of a Gilbert was now one of those Five and Klaus wanted him to complete the mark, leading him to the cure.
For pure selfish reasons, of course. He wanted to destroy it so that nobody could use it against him. Rebekah wanted it for herself to become human and the Salvatores wanted it for Elena, to turn her back into a human.
It was one mess they were going to return to, and after Kol was done updating Bella on what was going on, she merely smiled at him. “I’m here to observe.”
“I knew you were going to say that,” Kol smiled at her. “I’m curious what you’d do to Silas though, when push comes to shove, threatening us all.”
“He sounds like a powerful dude. Wouldn’t want to mess with him.”
“He’d be no match for you, darling, I’m sure of it.” He opened the door to Klaus’ house and escorted Bella inside. “Niklaus, we’re home!”
“Oh, that’s not a good idea,” Myriam greeted them and put an arm around Bella. “Come, food and then you can tell me all about your trip while we ignore the crashing and destruction of things.”
“Huh?”
“Klaus isn’t happy about the cure and thinks it’s a danger. Kol doesn’t care about the cure but thinks it’s with something that’s a danger so… yeah, those two are going to throw punches,” Myriam looked over her shoulder to see Kol walk into the parlor. “So, how was the full off the leash Kol experience?”
“A trip,” Bella chuckled as Myriam produced a carton of ice cream and two spoons. “I think I functioned on maybe four hours of sleep every night for six weeks straight but I didn’t have the heart to say something about it. I mean, he has had to miss so many things over the years, I wanted him to experience it all to the fullest.”
“Oh, it’s not a good thing to indulge him,” Myriam said with a warning tone. “He needs to be kept in check.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Bella defended him. “Parties are great! It’s not like he went on a rampage and killed an entire club or something. He knows how to behave and whenever he fed, it was discrete.”
“You’re saying that he learned to control his blood lust?”
Bella winced when the house shook as someone was being thrown against a wall. Did she really have to sit through this? “At least around me, yes. So apart from all this hunter and Silas crap, what have I missed?”
“Oh, Klaus nearly fell under some stupid werewolf girl’s spell. I killed her. God knows what could have happened. Ew. It wasn’t his fault, though. The girl was all over him, not really giving him any space.”
“Oh gross,” Bella wrinkled her nose.
“She didn’t taste that great, either, no,” Myriam stuck a spoon in the ice cream. “We haven’t had sex for a couple of weeks now and it’s getting harder and harder to resist.”
“How long were you planning on denying yourself from Klaus’ dick?”
“Don’t turn it around and say I’m only torturing myself. He wants me just as bad,” Myriam laughed. “He actually took out his frustrations on his hybrids after finding out that Tyler Lockwood made them all free of the sire bond and wanted to trot off with them. As it turns out, the werewolf that I killed for even attempting to fuck with my man, wanted to double cross them and use them for information about her family.”
“How many did he kill?”
“All but Tyler. Twelve.”
“And Elena’s a vampire so he can’t make new ones.”
“Nope.”
“You have to have sex with him before he explodes and does something stupid,” Bella laughed as she put another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. “Just tell him that I’ll turn him into a donkey if he crosses the line again.”
Myriam shrugged. “I think using Kol as a punching bag will do.”
“Who says it’s not the other way around?”
“Oh, please,” she rolled her eyes at Bella before leaning back. “Who’s winning?” she called out to the other room.
“ME!” Both Klaus and Kol answered.
Kol came home the next day with a big, goofy smile on his face. “Rebekah had me torture this professor who was after the cure and Silas. I did a great job at it too! Oh, Bella, we had so much fun!” His mood then turned sour and he started ranting and pacing across the library. Bella thought that was fun to watch. “Of course, he confirmed that Silas is indeed, real, and Rebekah didn’t believe him either! How stupid is that? Silas will kill us all! Oh, and on top of that, he can raise the dead, too. He’ll bring back everyone who died in his name, but did I forget to mention the fact that he’ll kill us all? I can’t allow this to happen, Bella, I can’t. I value my life far too much to have it ended now.”
“I believe you,” she said calmly, still eyeing him as he paced. “It’s going to be alright, Kol.”
“It’s not going to be alright, Bella. I’m scared and you should be scared too!”
“I’m not. I thought you said Silas wouldn’t be a match for me?” She reminded him with a kind smile. “I won’t let him hurt you. The moment he lays a finger on you—”
“It’d be too late because then we’re all wiped out of existence!” He threw his hands up in the air. “You don’t understand. Just leave me alone. I’ll figure this out. I’m going to stop them all, even if it means killing them!” Kol then stormed out of the library, leaving behind a very confused Bella.
She didn’t hear from him until he called her on her phone. “First of, I’d like to apologize for my behaviour this morning. I was very frustrated and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“That’s okay, I’m just glad to hear your voice. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, darling. Now, secondly… I’m currently in a room with Damon Salvatore. He has a nice piece of wood sticking out of his chest that I’m telling him to push in further in just a moment. Should he be compelled, can I play with him?”
Bella looked at Myriam, who was reading a book next to her before tiredly rubbing her eyes. “Yeah, sure, just don’t kill him.”
“Thank you. I’ll be back shortly, although I think I might be in a little trouble with my siblings when I’m done. Best for you to stay out of the way.”
“Got it.”
“Or perhaps be there so you can fight them off for me?”
“You’re a big boy, Kol,” Bella laughed and shook her head. “What will he do? Dagger you? He knows I will pull the dagger out when he does.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Oh cut the romancy stuff already!”
“Shut up, Damon, I’m talking to my wonderful Goddess.”
“Can I throw up?”
“Don’t kill him, Kol.”
“I won’t.”
When Kol disconnected, Bella threw her phone on the couch. “He’s freaking me out.”
“Every once in awhile the Mikaelsons tend to do that. It’s not just him. Klaus’ crusade for the cure is driving me insane. I understand that he’s paranoid, that others might use it against him, but seriously. Take a chill pill.”
“At this rate, I will likely have to undagger him soon,” Bella grumbled. “What can I do?”
Myriam shrugged. “Sucks to be an observer, huh?”
“I could do something but I don’t know what I can do. I mean, I could turn them all in fluffy little bunnies for the rest of eternity but… is that truly a solution? Klaus, Rebekah, Kol and the scoobies choose to be on this path themselves. It wasn’t forced upon them. Kol is genuinely afraid of Silas and nobody believes him because he’s supposedly the ranting lunatic.”
“Maybe you should get involved in all this. Gather all the information available, turn them all into animals, round them up in a pen and find the cure and Silas yourself. Kill Silas and hide the cure,” Myriam suggested as she kept reading her book. “It’s quite simple, really. Or are you afraid?”
“I have thought about it, but something’s holding me back. Like… a little voice that says that needs to be played out for everyone to learn a lesson and that since I don’t have control over my powers, anything could happen,” Bella said quietly. “In fact, my instincts tell me that I shouldn’t even be in Mystic Falls right now. It’s that bad.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because of Kol.”
Myriam put her book down and took Bella’s hands. “Ever since you’ve started to experience your changes, you’ve listened to what your instincts told you. Just because you’re in love doesn’t change the fact that you’re still on your own journey of discovery. Maybe all this partying and traveling with Kol, despite it being awesome, has thrown you off your own path.”
“But I also feel that I need to be here. That there’s a purpose. I shouldn’t be here, but I need to be.”
“Go out of town for a few days, see if that solves the problem. Or at least to get yourself on your own path again.”
“But Kol…”
“Like you said, he’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. Should Klaus dagger him, you’ll be the first to know so you can come back and kick Klaus’ ass.”
Bella sighed and hugged Myriam. “Thanks.”
“Just looking out for you, honey,” Myriam winked at her. “Go pack.”
Bella gathered some clothes and pyjamas and got into her truck. As she started to drive through town, she felt reluctance to leave, but also the drive to leave and she couldn’t understand what was going on. If there was some sort of higher power, what did it want from her?
She was so conflicted while she drove that she didn’t realize she had driven herself to the Salvatore boarding home. Bella felt too tired to actually turn around and leave, so instead, she parked her car, grabbed her bag and headed to her old little home, hoping that it was still empty.
Bella was surprised to find an envelope stuck to the door of the guest house. It was strange, because she had made it clear that she wasn’t coming back, and Damon had evicted her with his words. Opening the letter, she couldn’t help but smile.
Bella, this will always be your home. Damon and I haven’t been the best versions of ourselves lately, but this will always be your home. Keys are under the mat. – Stefan.
P.S: just crossing out your name on the deed doesn’t reverse ownership. Nice try, though!
She hummed to herself as she took the keys and let herself into the house. Despite her having cleared it out, mostly, it looked even cozier than before. It was renovated and she had a new bed to sleep on. It was absolutely lovely and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Damon, whom she allowed to be Kol’s toy.
Myriam was right, it felt good to be on her own for a little while, despite still having the feeling something bad was going to happen. She didn’t even text Kol where she was, but it was likely that he knew. If Bella had to be honest, Kol’s frenzy scared her and she knew that it was a good thing that he was immortal and invincible unlike the rest of the vampires, his behaviour would certainly get him killed if that wasn’t the case. What scared her was that she couldn’t ease his mind, because it was running on adrenaline and fear.
And maybe Myriam was right about not interfering, that it was something Bella just had to do to save everyone from doing stupid things; mainly because Bella had no interest in the cure or Silas, and that she could undertake the journey on her own, with a clear mind. However, the act reminded her of a rule she’d come across while roleplaying online and it was called godmodding. Being so super powerful to cancel out any other player and do what the hell you wanted. It wasn’t nice. It was rude and disrespectful.
No, everyone currently on the path of Silas and the cure had chosen to go on it by themselves and Bella really needed to sit this one out.
It was amazing how easily she slipped back into her old habits; she went to the supermarket in the morning and spent all day writing and focusing her mind on the words as if she hadn’t missed a beat. She lost time in her words as they flowed from her hands and as she replied to messages she’d received over the previous month from people who followed her stories.
It wasn’t until a couple of days later when Bella was taking a shower before bed that something inside of her told her to go out. It wasn’t just inside of her because after getting dressed and grabbing her things, she felt a wave of pain wash over her and it wasn’t the good kind.
She didn’t take the car and she had no idea in what direction she was going, where she was going to be lead, but allowed her feelings to guide her. She walked to the cemetery where she was crowded by the spirits who wanted to talk to her, begged her to raise them from the dead, to pass along messages to their loved ones. It disorientated her, she knew she had to keep walking. Closing her eyes and covering her ears with her hands, she marched through, the pain of the dead tugging on her heart.
The cemetery was behind the boarding house, which was funny because she hadn’t noticed that before. Zach Salvatore had told her to stay away from the cemetery and now she was walking over it. The ruins of Fell’s Church and the tomb were passed next, she still wasn’t off the grounds. She could sense the surge of magic bubbling underneath the soil; Klaus had killed his mother there.
She passed the abandoned cottage where once a hundred witches were burned and buried and despite them gone now, didn’t mean that there wasn’t residual energy. And it didn’t like Bella very much. She was propelled forward, off the property and it was then when Bella had a moment to breathe, as everything in her mind settled and the spirits of those gone had stopped following her.
Bella followed the road leading into town, cars passed her as she walked, a train of small creatures following her in her daze. Foxes, squirrels, mice. Sometimes an owl flew overhead, loudly hooting as if spurring her on. But she couldn’t walk faster than she already was, Bella was a terrible runner and she didn’t want to fall flat on her face.
By the time she arrived in the town’s square, the sun had started to come up and as she didn’t want to deviate from her path, she nudged the hurrying people around her aside without blinking. Animals were still following her, dogs were tugging on their leashes to join, cats were now in the trail as well; Bella didn’t care what it looked like. Stranger things had happened in Mystic Falls.
She only briefly stopped to get herself something to eat, but had to eat it while walking as the animals were complaining when she sat down for a little rest. Bella wasn’t tired, though. She felt determination grow and kept marching on while the animals looked out for any signs of danger.
It was only when she turned into the street that she knew where she was going; everything was leading her to the Gilbert House. Something had happened and it wasn’t good. She started to walk a little faster now, still not running because she could break her neck if she fell, and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that the front door had been kicked in.
The smell of burnt flesh wafted in her face and she coughed as she stepped inside. It smelled bad, as if they had roasted a pig inside the house. Bella made her way to the livingroom where Klaus stood, waiting. “Took you long enough,” he snapped at her.
“Huh?” she shook her head, trying to clear the fog but it wasn’t working. Everything registered, but she couldn’t control it. “Stuck?”
“That blasted Bennett witch cast a spell to stop me from slaughtering them all after they killed Kol. They’re now well on their way to find the cure, I guess!”
“Kol?”
Klaus narrowed his eyes on her. “Are you even here?” He walked over to her and knocked on her head. “Hello?” Klaus snapped his fingers in front of her to make her blink before the sound of animals distracted him. They were standing outside the line that he couldn’t cross and was fascinated. “Bella, love? Did you bring your friends?”
“Where’s Kol?”
Klaus merely pointed towards the kitchen and Bella followed his line of sight. It was then that she saw Kol’s spirit sitting on top of the counter, anxiously bumping his feet against each other. “Took you long enough,” he repeated Klaus’ words to her and motioned for her to come over, and she did. “You can see me?”
“Of course I can,” Bella smiled at him, cocking her head. “You’re shimmering. Are you dead?”
Kol snarled then. “Hunter’s curse or not, I’m going to kill baby Gilbert.”
“How? You’re dead.”
“Who are you talking to?” Klaus demanded. “Kol?”
Bella turned around and sighed. “Would you please shush? It’s hard enough for me to have to live with this slow ass lifting fog in my head, talk to you and your dead brother. So shush,” she shot at him before turning her attention back to Kol. “You can’t go and kill people, Kol. You’re dead.”
“You can bring me back to life.”
“Not when you want to kill others to take revenge,” she replied as she hopped on the counter to sit next to him. “I know you need to feed to stay alive and you like to kill for fun, but out of revenge?”
“Bella, he killed ME. It’s the least he deserves. He and Elena had it all planned out. Do you want to know what happened? They attacked me with a butcher’s knife after we fought through the house. Then hosed me down with water from the tap, and as you know, the water supply is tainted with vervain so it hurt like hell. Elena then stole the White Oak Stake from me and had Jeremy kill me. It bloody hurt and they need to pay.”
She sighed and shook her head. “I just can’t believe you’re dead,” she said in barely a whisper. “What am I going to do now?”
“I don’t deserve to be dead, Bella.”
“Says who?”
“Says me!”
“Bella, please,” Klaus’ voice sounded, he was practically begging. “Don’t let Kol be dead. He’s my little brother. He’s a paranoid maniac and he likes killing things but he’s my little brother and I failed in keeping him safe.”
“Yeah,” Kol snorted. “By not daggering me and stuffing me back in my box.”
“You know I wouldn’t let that happen to you,” Bella looked at Kol’s shimmering form. “Because you’re good, you’re better than wanting to take revenge. I understand that it’s a part of your vampirism, I do, but—”
“Silas needs to be stopped.”
“What about doing good with your second chance? Turn all that anger and angst into something more productive?”
“Oh please, I don’t like Mary Sue vampires, why should I become one? No, Bella, life is to be lived to the fullest and that means getting even. Getting revenge. To feel everything so passionately that it burns inside of you. Fuelling a fire that you allow to consume yourself enough but not entirely. It feels good to hate so deeply and allow that as a basis to get even,” Kol spat. “I’m a vampire. It’s what I do. Get over it.”
Bella wiped away the tears that had started to quietly roll down her cheeks. “Is that all you feel? The darkness?”
“Spending a thousand years with my siblings and in and out of the box like I’m some sort of toy or a dog to be put down makes me feel just that, yes. I deserve better. I deserve my freedom, I deserve my revenge and I deserve another chance.”
“And you wouldn’t do anything different with that chance?”
“No.”
“For Gods sake, Kol, she’s trying to see if you’re worthy of another shot. I don’t know what the bloody hell you’re saying but it’s not what she wants to hear!” Klaus said impatiently. “You know what? I don’t care. Bella, you resurrect him right this instant or else!”
“Shut up!” Bella retorted and turned Klaus into a puppy before hopping off the counter and walked into the other room to find something to cover Kol’s burnt corpse with. She didn’t feel any different, just numb and sad. She understood where Kol was coming from, but she was afraid that if she’d unleash him into the world like this, hell was going to break loose. She wanted him back, she truly wanted him back and take him away from all of this, but he had chosen this destructive path himself and it hurt.
Bella found a blanket and returned to the kitchen where she gently covered Kol’s body before she sat down next to him and lightly touched his scorched hair with her fingertips. “You know what I’m going to miss? I’m going to have to miss my best friend. My boyfriend. My person who cheers me up when I feel down. My person who doesn’t give up on something because he’s so passionate and it makes him so adorable. My person who is strong and protective even though I could likely kill him with my pinkie,” she said with a slight chuckle, but because of her tears it sounded more like a sob. “I’m going to miss the one person who felt like home to me. I’m going to miss the person who laughed in the face of danger, even when the danger was his family. And most of all I’m really sad because he’ll never get to hear me say ‘I love you’ to him.”
She looked up to see Kol stare at her from his position on the counter, seemingly at a loss for words and tears in his eyes. Bella kept touching his hair gingerly, not wanting to break anything because that wasn’t respectful.
“Bloody hell,” he said hoarsely. “Bella… I am so sorry,” Kol let out a breath, anger no longer evident in his voice, it had been replaced by guilt. He hopped off the counter to crouch down next to her, not taking his eyes off of her. “I don’t deserve your kindness. I-I have done so many bad things in my life, massacred thousands, manipulated so many… and yet, here you are, kind.”
“I was afraid for you when you went off like you had but I knew I couldn’t stop you unless I’d physically prevent you from leaving. That wouldn’t make me any better than Klaus or anyone who has hurt you in the past.” She looked at him with a kind smile. “Even when you were daggered and in your coffin, I could just feel that you were a good person. I understand your thirst for revenge, I do. But there are more important feelings. Feelings that even Klaus doesn’t deny they exist.”
“You were afraid for me? Bella… Darling, the feelings that I feel for you make me afraid. Because of my temper. Because of my rage. When we were alone together, I went out during the night a lot, to feed, to get some release because I’m afraid, I suppose I’ve always been afraid, to hurt you. You’re my person too, you know,” he said with a cheeky smile. “You’re always kind and protective of me towards anyone, especially my siblings and no one’s ever done that for me. And that scares me because what if you decide to leave me one day? It’d break my heart and I’m not sure if I can take that.” He took a deep breath. “I suppose my second chance started the moment I laid eyes on you and I screwed it up. I promise, I’m going to do better if you grant me a third chance.”
Bella felt a warm light enter her body, so much so that it startled her and knocked her back against the cupboards.
“Look at you! You’re glowing!”
“You can see that?” she asked him, although it wouldn’t be too hard to miss, she was basically a light house at this point. “Oh… wow…” Bella could feel how something else took over and yanked Kol from the Other Side, only to push him back into his body. The light embraced him for just a short moment before he sat up and the blanket fell off of him.
Kol’s clothes were charred and he was still stained by the fire, but he was back alive. Bella scrambled to her feet as she could feel how her body was changing on the inside and it felt funny. It felt out of this world. Klaus the puppy was making noises in the other room and as she moved through the barrier, she dropped it and changed Klaus back.
Bella was ready to leave Mystic Falls now, she was ready to go home. Almost like magic, she got swept off her feet by another force and disappeared, leaving two flabbergasted vampires behind.
“Bella! Come back!”
