Chapter 09
She’d been in New Orleans now for a month. A whole month working on her magic and getting physically stronger (she was glad that Elijah had stopped their ‘therapy sessions’ and that Marcel stopped dumping her in the Bayou). There was never a dull moment.
She even had to put an alert on her phone to remind herself to call Charlie because she had forgotten a few times and received an earful from Billy, who called instead. It saddened her to hear that Jessica and Tyler were missing, but maybe they had fallen in love and decided to run off together? The other scenario would be too fucked up for Bella even to consider, but she didn’t fully rule out that the Cullens had something to do with their disappearance.
Davina and Kol were still trying to figure out a spell that would turn Peter and Jasper, but Bella didn’t see the use of that happening, really. The only perk of that would be that Jasper was easy to kill, but Klaus seemed to like the two, very much so and the other vampires had accepted them for who they were. Both Peter and Jasper took the jokes with a grain of salt. She was pleased, however, that the both of them had switched to blood bags for food as their venom could harm someone, and Jasper seemed to be doing well on that. Bella still didn’t trust him though. It was going to take more time, and he kept his distance.
Bella and Kol finally managed not to break anything else during the last time they had sex, much to the relief of Klaus and Rebekah. Kol had created a monster though; Bella loved having sex, liking the experience very much but because of that nifty spell she had run out of things to wear. She only had one pair of jeans left, and that was frustrating. So while Kol was out taking care of something for Klaus, Bella decided to venture into New Orleans by herself and do the horrible act of shopping. She still had plenty of money left from her savings but opted out of buying jeans for now.
The thought horrified her, but the heat made it uncomfortable to wear, and summer dresses were a little cheaper, but whoever made them, didn’t think that muted colors would be a good thing. She opted for some skirts, not too short, and a few new tops and was pleased with what she’d bought – she was certain that Kol was going to like it too. She snorted and shook her head as she was walking down the street in search of coffee. Since when did it matter if Kol liked something she wore? She was such a girl!
When she sat down for a coffee, she checked her bank balance and sighed. She needed to get a job but how was she going to have a regular work schedule when she was either having fun or being educated? She could cut down on the fun but where was the fun in that? She was going to have to talk to Kol about this.
Bella looked up from her phone when she heard someone greet her and smiled. “Hi Davina,” she said as she put her phone away.
“Can we talk?” Davina had her serious face on and she looked a bit tired.
“Are you okay?” Bella said with a nod and pointed at the empty chair across the table. “You look tired.”
“Yeah… I haven’t slept, but that’s because I was trying to work on the spell to turn your friends into …”
“Not my friends,” Bella shook her head. “And I thought you and Kol worked on that together?”
“Oh, we do!” Davina smiled widely at the mention of Kol’s name. “But we were missing a key part of the spell that only I could provide. Or at least I thought I could.”
It surprised Bella that Davina came to her about this. While she had gotten better quite decent in the last month; she was in no way experienced. She was halfway her ‘for dummies’ books and she only knew what Davina and Kol had taught her so far. “And you think I know anything?”
“No. You don’t know anything, but that’s not what my problem is. The spell requires such power that can only be created by forms of magic that my Ancestors, the New Orleans witches, frown upon. They forbid it,” she then smiled with a shrug. “I used to not care about it because of the Harvest and left the coven and stuff, but my magic is still bound by them. If I cross the line, they might take my magic away and I’m sorry, but I don’t like Klaus that much. It’s not like the spell is a necessity anyway. It’s just one for esthetics.”
Bella slowly nodded. “And for the safety of everyone else,” she said as she rubbed the scar on her wrist. “Their venom not only hurts, but if left untreated, the human could turn into a vampire.”
“I don’t understand why Klaus doesn’t just destroy them. I mean, Jasper was one of them, wasn’t he?”
“It’s complicated. I think they asked for asylum, so they’re under his protection, and he wants that spell done.” She took a sip of her coffee. “So, why come to me? I share your Ancestors.”
“Yeah, a couple of generations but from what I can tell, you’re not bound by the same rules because you’re special.”
“I’m not—”
“Bella, please,” Davina said as she rolled her eyes. “I know how great you are at ignoring the facts and stating the obvious, but you must have heard all the buzz that’s going around the witches? They’re afraid of you. Yes, you’re a Claire witch but rumor has it you hold so much power that—-”
“Davina,” Bella stopped her before she’d say something annoying. Yes, she’d heard whispers. Hell, Kol told her about those whispers but it was stupid. There was no way that she was as rare as everyone thought she was. Or as powerful. She had magic mishaps because she was untrained and tried to learn how to do magic at the same time as controlling it. She could not wait for the day where she’d prove everyone wrong by being not as “special” as they claimed. Special needs, maybe.
She huffed. “Fine. But like I said, you’re probably not bound by the same rules as I am because the majority of my Ancestors are here. Yours are scattered all across the globe, and you hold all of their untapped magic inside of you. If I’m right, you could do the spell without any dire consequences.”
“But?” She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to.
“We need to be sure, so… could you come with me to Lorraine Jenkins? She’s a spiritual medium and—”
“A medium?” Bella blinked at the girl. “That’s all fake, isn’t it? They’re not real.”
“I bet that’s what you thought about vampires, werewolves and witches too!” Davina countered with a smile on her face. “Come on, this will be a great opportunity for you to learn about yourself too, what you can do, where you come from… What’s in your future…”
“And we have to go to a medium for that?” Bella raised her eyebrow. “How do you contact your Ancestors?”
“Through a spell,” Davina said with a shrug. “It’s easier because they’re all in New Orleans anyway.”
“And I can’t use the same spell because the generations leading up to the ones buried here aren’t buried here,” Bella said with a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Isn’t there another way?”
“You just don’t want to go to the medium.”
“No,” she shook her head. “If she’s as real as you say, I’d rather not have her learn all about me.” Bella knew she was being paranoid but after her experiences with the Cullens, she wanted to keep her things close to her chest. She shared stuff with Kol, but that was because she trusted him. He had earned that trust.
“I don’t know if there’s another way. I mean, sure, we can go ahead with the spell with you performing it, but what if the rules apply to you too? You’ll get punished.”
“I’ll talk to Kol about this when he gets back, maybe he has some ideas.” She didn’t want to anger the Ancestors either, but for a completely different reason; Kol. Granted, she only knew Rebekah’s version of Kol’s magical resurrection as Kol hadn’t talked about it. He probably wasn’t going to – and Bella wasn’t going to ask – but chances could be that if they’d poke the bear, something could happen to Kol. “What kind of magic is needed for the spell?”
Davina sighed and leaned towards Bella as if they were conspiring. “The way that the spell could work is through sacrificial magic. We’d have to steal the life of another being to breathe new life into the Cold Ones.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem seeing as without a doubt, we’ll kill a few Cold Ones when they finally try to come and get me.”
“Yeah, but even if we make the spell out of defensive purposes, which is a brilliant idea, by the way, to use that power to change them, it’s still sacrificial magic. You use a person to change another.”
“And you’re sure there’s no other way around it?”
“Bella, what do you think we’ve been doing in the last month?” Davina said with a smile as she sat back up. “The spell was pretty easy to find and to adjust and what not. We’ve been trying to find a way to work around the bumpy bits, but we can’t just turn a dark magic spell into something light. I just want to know if you’re allowed to work around the bumpy bits; that’s all.”
Bella finished her coffee. “I understand, and I know that we’re probably short of time, but I’m not going to visit a medium until I’ve spoken to Kol about this.”
“He won’t like it that I’ve dragged you into this,” Davina said with a pout.
“You dragged me into this? How about I dragged everyone else in this?” She retorted with a snort and gathered her bags after paying for her coffee. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ll let you know what happens.”
When Bella came back to the Compound, she found Klaus pinning Kol against the wall and both in a shouting match. What baffled her most was that Kol was letting it happen.
“If you weren’t such a human, I would have—”
“Daggered me? Yeah, tough, Niklaus!” Kol spat at his brother. “Go on then, kill me.”
“Does your girlfriend know you’re suicidal?” Klaus sneered as he knocked his brother against the wall again. “Stay away from Hayley, Jackson, and my daughter. That part of the family dynamic is not for you to concern yourself with. I will break every one of your limbs the next time. Have I made myself clear, brother?”
“But Hope, she could be—”
“Hope is a just baby, Kol. I will not allow you to use her for a spell. You have your special witch, you don’t see me wanting to use her for my gain, do you? She’s yours.”
Bella cleared her throat as she looked at the brothers while she was standing there with her bags, raising an eyebrow at Klaus. She stared at him long enough for him to release Kol, who had a big smirk on his face as he made his way over to Bella. When he was close, she punched him in the arm. “Using babies for magic?”
“She’s a tribrid, Bella; she’s powerful and—”
“A baby!”
“But…”
“If you’re worried about that spell, Davina talked to me about it and you and I need to talk.” She looped her arm through his and glared at Klaus as they walked to their room. “If you hurt him, Klaus, I will rip you apart myself.”
“Would be fun to see you try, love!”
Bella growled as she turned around and with a quick motion of her hand, she flung Klaus against the wall he had just pinned Kol against. She then pulled Kol into the room, while Klaus roared with laughter behind them. She threw her bags on the bed and just stared at him for a while. “Are you okay?” She asked after giving him a good lookover. “He didn’t hurt you that much, did he?”
Kol shrugged. “Nothing I can’t handle, darling,” he fleetingly kissed her before turning around to nose around in her bags. “Oh! Skirts! See? I knew you’d give up on your jeans obsession once you’d get here.”
“Hey!” She tried to push him away from her bags, but he firmly held his place, using his height as an advantage to keep her from the bags. “Kol, come on, leave those bags alone.”
“We should definitely have more sex so you can buy more clothes.”
Bella stopped pushing as she looked at him. “We’re not going to have sex for a while because you wanted to use Hope for a spell.”
“What?” Kol whined as he dropped the bags and turned to her. “You can’t do that!”
“Watch me.” She sat down in a chair, crossed her legs and arms and looked at him. “Davina wanted to take me to a medium today to see if I can do your spell.”
“I told her not to ask you,” Kol muttered as he sat down on the bed, toying with one of Bella’s new shirts.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want you to get hurt or do something you don’t really want to do.”
“And you didn’t bother to ask me first?”
“It’s a complicated spell; you’re not ready for that.”
Bella grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. “That’s because you and Davina take it easy on me. Make me ready for it. And there must be another way than visiting a medium to get the information we want.”
“Of Course there is. Several, actually. The easiest would be with the help of a dark object and someone monitoring us for safety.” When he saw the look of terror on Bella’s face, he snorted. “The easiest and the fastest doesn’t mean it’s the safest. You wanted to be made ready; this would be a great way to see if you can handle that.”
Jerk, she thought, but she wasn’t going to back down either. “Fine.”
“Great!” Kol jumped to his feet with a big, adventurous smile on his face. “Call your mother, ask her if she still has the names of your family tree and try to get the boy twin’s mother. I’d ask Davina, but I don’t want to involve her in this. I’m going to ask my sister to keep watch seeing as we both trust her.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Trying to find that dark object.”
Renée was more than willing to help Bella out for ‘study purposes’, curious as what Bella could discover about her family while she was in New Orleans. Her mother also talked about maybe coming over for a week with Phil when he was all rested up and out of his cast. Bella was a little apprehensive about that seeing as things weren’t that easy to cover up around the Compound and would likely have her mom stay in a hotel.
When Bella eyed the list she had written down, she felt sick. The name of the twin boy that Davina had spoken about was Edward Alexander Higginbotham. Edward. Edward. Yes, she was well aware that Edward Masen hadn’t been born in 1705 but the name seemed to haunt her everywhere. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reminded herself that it was just a name. A stupid name.
Kol had retrieved the object he’d been looking for, and Rebekah joined them in their room after dinner. Bella was nervous about this, seeing as Kol had reminded her that this was dark magic, after all and that a lot of things would go wrong. Maybe the medium was not such a bad idea after all. “Maybe we shouldn’t,” she blurted once the door was closed.
“Alright, we won’t,” Rebekah said with a shrug. “But the Cullens and the Volturi are on our doorstep. We’re running out of time.”
“The spell isn’t important for both of those things,” Bella pointed out. “We need to do the spell for Klaus’ benefit; that’s all.”
“But this is for your benefit as well, Cuddles,” Kol spoke calmly as he noticed that Bella was on the verge of having a panic attack of some sorts. She certainly looked like it. “You can ask anything you wish when it comes to your powers if we find the right ancestor who knows things.”
“What if it doesn’t work? Or what if something happens?”
“It will work, and if something happens, Rebekah will pull us out,” he took her hand and squeezed it. “We’re doing this together. I’m going in with you, and I’ll make sure you come to no harm.”
“Going in?”
“You neglected to inform her of the fact that your spirit will be temporarily disconnected from your bodies?” Rebekah snorted as she sat down in a chair. “Classy.”
“What?!” Bella squeaked.
“It will be alright, I promise,” Kol didn’t stop looking at Bella, but rather wished his sister dead right now. “I wouldn’t do this myself if I thought it’d be that dangerous. It’s tricky, yes, but there are far more dangerous and difficult spells out there. Trust me.”
“I do but…”
“It will be alright, Cuddles,” he repeated and softly kissed her. “The only thing that will probably be off-putting is that this body won’t travel with us. You’ll see me as I was. Before I died. Before mother put me into this body. My spirit doesn’t match the body.”
“That’s going to be interesting,” Rebekah smirked. “At least you’ll be able to tell if she fell for your looks or not!”
“That would be interesting,” Bella agreed and smiled at Kol. “Alright, let’s do this.”
“Oh sure. The spell freaks you out but to see what I looked like before this makes it interesting?”
“I’ve seen you on pictures, Kol.”
“Right.”
The spell took them to some waiting room type of room. It was empty, and there were no windows, there were benches, and it reminded her of the hospital. She shuddered as she wrapped her arms around her and looked for Kol, what were they supposed to do next? Would they be able to leave this room to make things more comfortable? The door swung open, and it made her turn to it, to see what was going on and Kol appeared with a big smile on his face. “Come on, Cuddles, what are you waiting for?”
“You, obviously,” she replied as she walked over to him. She stopped a few steps before him to admire him with a big smile on her face. She didn’t care much about how a person looked, Kol was a good man, but he was just as beautiful as his current body was. “Wow, pictures didn’t do you justice,” she took his hand as he pulled her out of the room into something that looked like a meadow. “Where are we?”
“We both know I look good, no matter what,” he said with a smirk. “We are where we need to be, I just shaped the environment a little bit less harsh, that’s all.”
She nodded as she looked around. It looked much like the Bayou, for which she was grateful. Had Kol made it look like the forest surrounding Mount Olympus, she would have killed him once this was over.
“How this works… if a spirit wants to talk to you, they’ll come out on their own. If not, all you have to do is call his or her name,” he explained as he nodded towards some rustling bushes. “Heads up.”
Bella blinked when she saw Kol – no, Kaleb – clear the bush, and she could feel how Kol tensed up. While Kol oozed self-confidence as he walked, Kaleb did not. He slouched as if he wanted to hide the fact that he was tall.
“You must be off your rocker to come here,” Kaleb spoke as he eyed Kol and straightened himself up almost as if he had a short burst of bravery injected. “You have so many enemies around here and they all want a piece of you.”
It was weird to hear him speak with an American accent, it just didn’t compute in her head.
“I know that, thanks,” Kol replied as he looked at Kaleb. “Look… I…”
“I should kick your ass,” Kaleb’s voice was cold and threatening. “You stole my life. You pretended to be me. Don’t think I didn’t know what was going on while you took my body for a ride.”
Bella instinctively moved herself between Kol and Kaleb, even though both boys were nearly twice as tall as she was. Kaleb was not going to beat up her boyfriend. He’d have to go through her first – and yes, she thought of him as her boyfriend, even though they hadn’t talked about the label yet.
“I am sorry,” Kol replied calmly as he eyed Kaleb carefully. He wasn’t going to shy away from a fight, but Bella had moved herself between them, and they were in the spirit world after all, a little respect would go a long way. “I took real good care of your body…”
“You got us into a bar fight with werewolves.”
“Not my fault, mate.”
“It was, indirectly. Then there was Davina hurting us. Your brothers… Hell, your own mother!”
Kol sighed as he relaxed his stance. If Kaleb wanted to hurt him, he’d done so already. “I am sorry that it happened. It wasn’t by choice… Not much choice.”
“No worries, dude,” he said with a shrug and relaxed. “Am I pissed that my life got cut short? Sure. But I’m also grateful that your mother took me out of a miserable situation. I hate your brother for hexing us and resulting in my death. And yours, but you’re obviously back and so is my body.”
“You’re alright with all of this?” Kol blinked at Kaleb.
“Oh, hell no! But what’s the use of holding a grudge around here? I’m glad I ended up here and not oblivion since the Other Side is gone and all.” He then turned to Bella and extended his hand. “Kaleb Westphall, your boyfriend has my body.”
“Uhm, hi, sorry about that,” Bella said as she blushed and shook his hand. “I’m Bella Swan.”
Kaleb looked at Kol and smirked. “She’s hot, dude. Well done!”
Kol grinned as he nodded. “She’s lucky to have us.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “You, maybe. Me? Not so much. Anyway, if you’re looking for someone specific, you’d better call out their name or something because they’re not coming, and you need to hurry.”
“Shouldn’t you be with the Ancestors, by the way?” Bella asked Kaleb, a little bit confused as they were in the spirit world, and Kaleb had been consecrated when he died.
Kaleb grinned and winked at her. “Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I stop breaking rules. I’d better go back before they notice I’m gone.”
“Hey, can I pick your brain for a moment, Kaleb?” Kol asked him as he stopped him from returning to where he came from. “What do you know about the Claire family bloodline? About that story that was told for generations?”
“What? About the twin boy? Sounds like a fantasy to me,” he shrugged as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’ve heard the stories, but it sounds to me that it’s purely made up. There’s no way that magic could survive that long without being used; there’s no way that someone could hold that magic until another girl came along without combusting.”
“Well, it’s true though,” he nodded towards Bella. “Her mother was the magic vault; all the magic is now in her.”
Kaleb’s eyes grew big as he looked at Bella. “You’re the descendant of Édouard Carlisle Alexandre Claire?”
Bella took a step back, so she was closer to Kol. First Edward, now Carlisle? Was the universe playing a dirty trick?
“The stories said he was taken into care in England and was forgotten after a name change. Look, the Claire witches were very powerful back in the day and your Davina still is, there aren’t a lot of witches that can do what she does. I suppose there was a good reason she was chosen for the harvest…” Kaleb ran his hand through his hair as he looked at Bella. “Try find your ancestor and if he doesn’t know anything, ask his mother, she’s consecrated at the cemetery. If you’re truly his descendant, you should be careful with your magic. Such power is difficult to harness.”
“I’m doing quite alright, actually,” Bella said smugly. What was it with men underestimating her? “I don’t feel any different either.”
“Huh. Interesting,” Kaleb said with a nod. “Certainly something to think about.” He then turned around. “Good luck, you two. Don’t let me see your asses back here before your time or I will personally kick you back into a body of my choosing!”
They both watched as Kaleb walked back to where he came from and then Kol breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that went well.”
“That was interesting,” Bella agreed as she looked up at him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he smiled bravely. “It’s just weird; that’s all. I mean… I shouldn’t feel guilty about it because that’s not something I do… You know, feeling guilty… I may not have agreed with mother’s methods, but I was grateful for another chance even if I took the one chance he had…” He sighed and shrugged. “It’s complicated.”
“That’s what feelings are,” she smiled at him and caressed his arm. “Complicated, messy and illogical and there’s nothing wrong with feeling guilty, or at least a little bit guilty.”
He shrugged again. “I’d rather not dwell on unpleasant feelings, how about you call out for your ancestor so we can return to our bodies and have sex?”
Bella grumbled as she looked down and shoved her hands in her pockets.
“Bella, it’s just a name,” Kol kissed the top of her head. “Do it. Call for him, I dare you.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Edward Higginbotham, please come to meet me, I want to talk to you.”
“See? You’re a natural,” he said proudly. “Polite and clear.”
“What if he doesn’t want to talk to us?”
“Well, then we pick another one or go back and ask his mother like Kaleb suggested, but she’s an ancestor consecrated at the cemetery. I’d rather not ask her seeing as she’ll say no.”
“So what, though?”
“No, we’re going to play nice with the ancestors,” he laughed, liking her boldness. “Worst case scenario is that we’ll have to talk to a witch in Mystic Falls. She doesn’t like us much, but she can tolerate Elijah.”
Bella nodded and saw someone emerge from the bushes. “Here we go.”
“I am Ed Higginbotham, who are you?” The man sneered as he continued to approach them. “Why are you disturbing my peace?” Unlike Kaleb, who appeared wearing clothes Kol would wear, the man was dressed in clothes of his own time, slightly muddy and disheveled and he certainly wasn’t pleasant.
“My name is Bella Swan, sir,” she replied as she took Kol’s hand for safety. “I’m your descendant.”
“Rubbish. We do not get girls.”
“So I’ve heard. My mom was the first one.”
He blinked at her and took a step back. “Huh,” he said with a nod, sounding quite surprised. “The stories were true then?”
“Pardon me for asking,” Kol said as he looked at Ed. “But don’t you dead people talk to each other?”
“Sure we do, but we do not reminisce on stories that were supposed to be just that,” the man snapped at Kol before continuing in a more polite manner as he shifted his gaze to Bella. “I never believed my mother when she said that I was special and that something wondrous would happen in a hundred years or so… what year is it?”
“2012,” Bella replied with a smirk.
“Blimey,” the man scratched his head. “Time flies when you are dead, I suppose…”
“Aren’t you supposed to be elsewhere, sir?” Kol tried, but Ed seemed to ignore him. “Seeing you’re magical and all.”
“Can he shut his gob?” Ed thumbed towards Kol after turning his back towards him but not towards Bella.
“He asks the right questions…” Bella said calmly. “You don’t have to like it.”
“Fine, fine,” he grumpily replied. “I became a Higginbotham. I do not remember much of my magical family and my entire life I despised them for making me leave simply because I was a boy. When I was dying, I hoped to see them again but I did not have the fortune to do so. I was human upon my death as my magic transferred to my boy when he was born. I reckon that is how they managed to save the magic, somehow, I do not know. What did you come here to ask, little girl?”
“Am I bound by the rules the Ancestors of New Orleans, your mother, and every generation before her, or not?”
Ed started to laugh. “Sweetheart, you could wipe the floor with those ancestors as you hold generations of magic within you. You will be more powerful in New Orleans seeing as that is the place that holds my sister’s family in the ground but simply put, you do not need them. You are not bound by their rules as technically you are not family, and you do not have a close ancestor buried and consecrated there.” He replied with a smile on his face. “The only request that I have is that you use your magic wisely and with the purest of hearts. It is easy to let such power go to your head and use it for darkness. We, the discarded boys of the Claire family, did not suffer for you to throw it all away. Do good. Be good. Stay grounded.” He had spoken clearly to Bella before he turned to Kol. “Keep her safe. Avoid covens who want to have her in their circle for her power, not for who she is.”
“I will, sir,” Kol said, nodding. “Don’t you worry about that.”
Ed was quiet for a moment as if he was lost in thought and then looked at the both of them. “It is time you two take your leave. You have been here too long, and enemies are at your doorstep. Go. Now,” he warned them and pointed to a door that appeared out of nowhere.
“Thank you for your information, Ed,” Bella smiled at him before she was being sucked out of the door once it opened, returning her to her body with a thud as she fell back on the floor. “Ow…”
“Thank God!” Rebekah exclaimed. “You’ve been gone for twelve hours! I had to watch over you all night, especially after the Volturi sent a messenger ahead out of courtesy to Nik. They’re coming tonight.”
“Good,” Kol said as he helped Bella to her feet. “That gives us some time to nap and eat in the meantime.”
“At least tell me you found what you were looking for.” Rebekah said tiredly as she rubbed her eyes.
“Of course we did, sister,” he smiled widely. “Now, out. Bella and I need to get some rest.”
The spell had taken a lot out of the both of them, and Kol was happily snoozing away while he lay half on top of Bella and his legs all over hers. She wasn’t uncomfortable, but she wasn’t able to take a nap herself. Her head was still spinning with what she had experienced. The spell, meeting Kaleb and then Ed… While part of her was relieved that she didn’t have to take the Ancestors into account, she was also scared because it was a lot of responsibility to police herself with something unfamiliar.
Before Kol had dozed off, he promised her that she shouldn’t worry about anything, but she did. And to top it all off, the Volturi were coming. Bella was already wishing for Jane to try and hurt someone so she could finally do something about it.
“You’re not napping,” Kol muttered as he shifted a little against her. “Stop thinking.”
“No.”
Groaning, he looked up at her. “What is it, Cuddles?”
“Just the thing that Ed said…”
“About you being a magnificent, powerful witch? We’ve been telling you that.”
“Yeah but it really hit home and now I’m scared.”
He shifted again and softly started to kiss her neck. “It’s good that you’re scared, but you have nothing to fear. You’re in good hands. Relax. Nap.”
Bella sighed as she closed her eyes and was silent for a while. “I’m hungry.”
Kol whined as he untangled himself from her and nudged her out of the bed. “Go eat. I’m staying here.”
Bella was surprised to see Jasper on the first-floor walkway when she returned to the Compound with a box of pastries seeing as it was daylight. However, with the Volturi coming round, she shouldn’t have been that surprised. She still didn’t trust him, but he was the only one around who knew her for longer than anyone else and she wanted to talk to him. If anyone had a better insight on how she felt, it was him because he manipulated hers for a very long time.
She fished an éclair out of the box and started to eat it as she walked up the stairs. “Hey Jazz,” she greeted him, automatically holding out the box of pastries to share, temporarily forgotten that he didn’t eat human food. “Can we, uh… talk?”
“Of course, Bella,” he smiled at her, kindly ignoring the box of goodies. She was grateful that he kept his disapproval of the sweet desserts to himself – if he disapproved at all, but Bella kept it in the back of her head anyway. He and his family used to control what she ate and now he didn’t have that control anymore. “What’s on your mind?”
“I’m scared.”
“You’re surrounded by vampires and werewolves, why are you scared? You have nothing to be afraid of when it comes to the Volturi, Bella.”
“I’m not scared of them, Jasper, in fact, I’m hoping that Jane will try to hurt one of you guys. I can’t wait to hurt her for once,” she countered as she took another bite of her éclair and let the words sink in for a moment. “I’d appreciate it if you’d at least acknowledge my feelings instead of disregarding them.”
He smirked as he leaned against the balustrade and looked at her. “Why are you scared?”
She put the box on a nearby table and started to pace back and forth as she munched on her éclair. It was hard to find the right words without actually transmitting her emotions to him but then again, he’d probably pick up on them anyway. “Have you ever felt as if you’re in over your head? I mean…” she sighed as she continued to walk. “Imagine having this power inside of you that scares most people in the know and with knowledge of what that power could do and that the responsibility lies with you to control it and make sure you make the right decisions?”
Jasper gently put a hand on her arm to stop her from walking around and nodded. “I’m a vampire, of course I do.”
“But you have the Volturi. If you do something out of line…” she then chuckled as she jumped on another train of thought. “Imagine the look on their faces when you’re no longer a Cold One soon, though, it will be hilarious.”
“They don’t see everything,” he replied with a smile. “I mean, sure, they see a lot but not everything. All of us are responsible to control ourselves, to control our bloodlust, to make sure we keep a low profile. If we don’t, we get caught and destroyed. Interaction with beings who are fragile takes a lot of self-control too, I’m sure Edward told you that. I’m not telling you anything new.”
She winced at the name and nodded. “But what if you lose control?”
“Then I lose control and have people help me to regain it,” he let go of her arm. “So it’s true then? You’re not an ordinary witch?”
“I wouldn’t call witches ordinary to begin with,” she said with half a chuckle. “But most witches here in New Orleans gain their power from the Ancestors buried here and have to abide by their rules. Like… Kol and Davina can’t perform the spell to change you and Peter, but I can.”
“And you’re afraid that you might go too far? That the responsibility of having this power is too much to deal with?”
Bella nodded. “I know I won’t. I mean, I have Kol, and I’m glad that he knows what he’s doing and he says it’s nothing to be afraid of but…”
He caught her when she wanted to start pacing again and tripped over her own feet. Setting her back on her feet, he spoke again. “He’s right. You’re a funny little human with your panic attacks and your occasional rage but do you know what the source of those are?”
She shook her head as she pushed her hair out of her face and looked at him.
“You have a big heart, Bella,” he smiled at her. “And it’s beautiful and you get worked up about stuff when you care too much about something or someone. You think your emotions are out of control, and I think that’s mainly my fault, but they aren’t. You don’t have to be scared of your power, Bella. Because I know that everything that happened in the beginning of you growing into your new power – the destruction – ties within the fact that you went through an adjustment phase where you felt again. Really felt. Not artificial feelings manipulated by either drugs or me.”
She blinked at him, the words making sense. “So it’s your fault then.”
“Yes,” he nodded. “My manipulation is the reason you lost control.”
“And yet, you’re still not sorry.”
“Would it help if I told you I was?”
“I don’t know…” Bella replied with a sigh and turned to her box to get another pastry out of it. “Can we try?”
“Sure,” he smiled at her when she turned around again. “Bella, please accept my sincere apologies for what I have done to you. I’m sorry that I manipulated your feelings so much and made sure you were compliant for the rest of my— for the rest of them. I am sorry that I broke your trust and ruined our friendship. I am sorry that I used your predicament to get out of my own. You were right. I’m a vampire, and I should have done something earlier and not use a human to my advantage.”
“Thank you, that means a lot, Jasper.”
“Did it make you feel better, darlin’?”
She sighed and shook her head as she took a bite out of the dessert she was holding. “No, but I appreciate it though.”
“What I did… what they did, is unforgivable. That’s why I didn’t apologize because it wouldn’t work. I know you, remember?”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “Thank you for listening to me and my rambles.”
“Always, Bella, you know that.”
She nodded again and grabbed her box with pastries. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
When she got back to the room, Kol was lightly snoring. She set the box on the table and grabbed her French for Dummies book. She had almost finished with it, and she found it was a beautiful, but complicated language. It did help a lot with the pronunciation of some spells, so there was that.
After a while, Kol woke up and sleepily joined her at the table where he tucked into a beignet. “I don’t understand you’re not even remotely sleepy.”
“I have other things on my mind,” she smiled at him. “But it’s better now. I’ll sleep tonight.”
“Oh yes, the magic of pastries,” he nodded in agreement.
“And Jasper.”
“You spoke to him?”
Bella nodded. “I needed him to tell me that what I was feeling was irrational and he did. I’m more than equipped to deal with being a witch.”
“Of course you are, Cuddles,” Kol softly kissed her. “I know you are.”
“I know… but…”
“Let’s change the subject,” Kol said as he took another pastry.
“We’re going to have dinner soon with your brother, are you really going to eat another one?”
“How many did you have?”
Bella blushed and waved her hand. “Too many. Go on, eat on.”
She was glad that during dinner Marcel wasn’t there. It was just the siblings and her. Klaus and mostly Elijah talked about how they were going to handle the Volturi while she was mainly pushing her food around on her plate with her fork. Not because the food wasn’t delicious – Klaus always managed to compel a great cook. She kept offering for her to cook for all of them – or that she wasn’t hungry due to too many pastries, but just because she could. Sort of?
She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t worried about the Volturi anymore for several reasons. One, she was a witch now, and she could make sure that they wouldn’t touch her or anyone at all. Two, Cold Ones were quite lame vampires compared to the ones she had been hanging around with. Three, they sparkled in sunlight, which made it just easier to laugh at them.
No, she wasn’t scared. She just wanted everything to be done with, so she could start living again. Maybe tempt Kol into going somewhere else, like… Disneyland. Or, if preferred, something more badass and go camping. She’d need a job for that, to save up because even though she didn’t need to wish for anything, just ask, she kept it to the necessities like not paying for her food.
She smirked as an idea came to mind. It was cruel and probably not a good idea, but she could always force anyone of the Cullens to hand over one of their millions. It wasn’t as if they were going to use it after they destroyed them. And it wasn’t as if she didn’t deserve it either, especially after their treatment.
“What I’m more interested in at the moment is the reason why Bella has a devious smile on her face,” Kol’s voice pulled her off her train of thought as she met his eyes and smirked. “What are you thinking about, darling?”
“I’m fantasizing, that’s all.”
“Oh?” He leaned on the table with his elbow and put his head in his hand. “Care to enlighten me?” He asked as he suggestively wiggled his eyebrows.
“We’re trying to eat here,” Rebekah rolled her eyes at her brother.
“We’re not doing anything but eat, sister,” Kol replied with a smirk as he briefly looked at her before turning his attention back to Bella. “How interesting is your fantasy?”
Bella shrugged as she took a sip of her soda. “Not that interesting, just a fun idea that could lead to more fun to be had without exhausting your family’s resources.” She snorted when all four siblings rolled their eyes simultaneously. “What? At least I’m not thinking about getting a job, something you think of as dull!”
“We don’t think it’s dull, little dove,” Rebekah said with a smile on her face. “It’s unnecessary. We keep telling you that.”
“Isabella values some form of independence. Whatever she’s thought of, I am sure it will be beneficial to her.” Elijah replied simply.
“I hope so, this needing a job nonsense is getting tiresome,” Klaus remarked as he shoved his plate out in front of him and then looked towards the door as Marcel entered. “Ah, I take it our guests have arrived?”
“Yep. There’s seven of them. Jasper identified them as the three leaders and four members of the guard.”
“Which ones?”
“Jane, Alec, Demetri and Felix.”
Bella groaned. Of course, they took Felix with them. “Well, it’s official, you scare the shit out of the Volturi, Klaus. If it comes to a fight, Felix is one to look out for.”
Klaus smirked as he looked at Marcel. “We’ll meet them shortly, we’re just finishing up our dinner.” He waited until Marcel took his leave and then looked at Bella. “They have nothing to fear from us, Bella. I intend to have this meeting end on a positive note. If not, I’m always in for a good fight,” he said with a big smile on his face.
“Yes, but let us at least try to stay civil, Niklaus,” Elijah said sobering. “We have been coexisting with their kind for a very long time and I do not wish our relationship to end.”
“Nevertheless, it will be a short meeting once Marcus identifies our relationship to Bella,” Klaus said with a shrug. “If he doesn’t, I am certain he will pick up on the relationship between our brother and her.”
“We shall see, but please, Niklaus, don’t cast the first stone.”
She knew she had no reason to be scared of the Volturi. She kept reminding herself that as they descended the stairs into the courtyard. She had wedged herself between Rebekah and Kol, and Peter and Jasper kept an eye out from the balcony. She was safe. Should something happen, she was more than capable enough to make sure nobody got hurt.
“Marcus, Aro, Caius, how nice of you to drop by,” Klaus greeted them as he kept the fountain between them. “To be honest, I was expecting you a little bit sooner, are you getting slow in your old age?”
Aro smiled politely. “We would have, Mr. Mikaelson, had it not been for the numerous of uncontrolled newborns roaming the country that left my guard scattered to clean up the mess. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, do you?”
“I had no hand in that,” Klaus replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Why are you here?”
“Mr. Mikaelson, you are aware of the laws we live by, are you not?” Aro said as he peeked over Klaus’ shoulder to look at Bella. “Our society is shrouded in secrecy and contact with humans – apart from using them as food – should be restricted to the bare minimum so they won’t find out about us.”
“I think that’s a funny little rule, completely preposterous seeing as we live among them. Of course there will be humans who will find out about who we are and what we do.”
“Ah, yes, but unlike you, we do not have the ability to compel someone to forget about us,” he countered with a smile on his face. “It was promised to us that Bella would become one of us to keep her alive, sort to speak. Or she’d die. She caused quite the scene when we tried to kill her mate. Surprised us all with her willingness to die for him.” He looked over Klaus’ shoulder again as he continued. “We are merely here to see the agreement has been settled and if not, to rectify what’s lacking.”
Bella nearly broke Kol’s hand, she could feel how hard she was squeezing it, and he wasn’t responding to the pain if it even hurt him. She had agreed to Klaus and Elijah talking to the Volturi while she stood by, but she wanted to throw them all across the courtyard and out of the gates. There was no way she was going with them.
“There’s no need for that,” Klaus said as he moved so he blocked Aro’s view of Bella. “She’s under my protection.”
Aro smirked. “Even so, our laws need to be obeyed. She knows too much.”
“With all due respect,” Elijah spoke up and joined his brother. “She has suffered from your kind for too long, the laws no longer apply to her.”
“Interesting, please, tell me more. We hold the Cullen coven in the highest regard.” Bella could tell that Aro tried to ignore Caius’ snickering. “They are quite the interesting family.”
“How about we let a former member of the coven show you what they did to her.” Elijah said as he gestured for Jasper to come down. “You are telepathically gifted, are you not?”
She could see the self-serving smirk on Klaus’ face as Jasper jumped down and sauntered his way over to Aro, holding out his hand. He wasn’t reluctant, it was as if it was planned. Aro seemed to be at a loss of words at the sight of Jasper and Felix had taken a few steps closer to his master in case Jasper would do something they’d regret.
“Now, remember, Jasper, show him the whole picture and leave nothing out,” Klaus reminded him before Aro took Jasper’s hand in his.
It didn’t take long for Aro to be done with Jasper, and when he was, he had an amusing smile on his face. “Well, well… it seems that our dearest Carlisle has a dark side after all.” He then spoke in Italian to Marcus and Caius, who both nodded in return before he turned back to face Klaus and Elijah. “Their unfortunate misconduct towards Bella does not take away that her knowledge about us is vast; the law is still in place.”
“We would have to confer to judge about Jasper Whitlock’s situation, whether he should be allowed to live or to be destroyed, but please, hand us Bella Swan and there won’t be any trouble,” Caius added.
“Are they always this singular minded?” Kol whispered to Bella, who just stared in shock at the Volturi. “Cuddles.” He gently elbowed her to make her look at him. “Don’t worry, my brothers won’t allow it.”
“Miss Swan is under my protection,” Klaus repeated himself. “She’s living under my roof and she’s my brother’s mate. She’s in constant contact with vampires, werewolves, hybrids and witches, and you’re telling me that you’re afraid that she knows too much?”
“We had an agreement.”
Bella realized too late that Jane was up to something, and it wasn’t until Kol doubled over in pain that she knew what was happening. She imagined reaching into Jane’s body and grabbing her insides to turn her inside out before she shot her hand out, causing Jane to double over and releasing Kol. “Leave him alone!” After releasing Jane, she turned around to check Kol over, but he seemed to be doing alright apart from being a little shaken. She was going to fully check him over once they got back to their room.
“Miss Swan is a supernatural being herself; that agreement is rendered void, wouldn’t you say?” Elijah said, a hint of smugness in his voice.
“That’s an interesting development, indeed,” Aro said with a nod as he looked over at Jane, who was looking at Bella with a murderous look on her face after she was released. “Very well,” he said as he turned back to Klaus and Elijah. “We will not come after the girl as long as she’s under your protection and your brother’s mate.”
“As for the fate of Jasper Whitlock, we shall be back once we’ve discussed it,” Caius spoke calmly, which resorted in Klaus snorting.
“Until next time,” Aro said as the three Volturi turned around in unison and spat away, followed by their guard.
“Well,” Klaus smiled widely as he turned and looked at them. “What’s next?”
