Chapter 09
Bella’s heart nearly bounced out of her chest when there was a subtle knock on her hotel room door before she realized it was Klaus on the other side of it. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, finding herself staring at an incredibly huge bundle of wildflowers. “Are you shitting me?”
Klaus lowered the flowers and grinned as he got inside the hotel room. “Seeing as I do wish to keep you as a potential mate when Myriam decides she has had enough of me, I brought you some chocolate as well.”
Bella narrowed her eyes on him as she closed the door and leaned against it.
“What? No hug?”
“That depends, are you here to kill me?”
“Bella, you and I both know you can’t be killed,” he replied, a gentle smile on his face. “Granted, since your disappearance, I have moments where I imagine pulling your head off your shoulders and tearing off your limbs, but I assure you, today is not going to be that day.”
She crossed the space between them as fast as she could and hugged him, tightly. Not wanting to let go. For weeks she had felt so alone, so scared and with no one to talk to, and now Klaus was here. Actually here and seemingly in his right mind. Bella could feel the weight lift off her shoulders and couldn’t stop herself from crying.
“It’s alright,” he said softly, pulling her even closer against him. He understood her frustration, her loneliness, her anger and her sadness. For the last few months she had to do everything by herself, and for what reason? He hadn’t even sent her a message since the night she brought him the moonstone rings with his blood in them, while he should have, but merely thought that would be wrong. It had been a conversation with the bartender he realized that he hadn’t been a good friend to Bella, at all. “I’m sorry for having ignored you, Bella, I truly am.” He had a hurt young woman in his arms, not the mighty and scary demigoddess everyone had become so afraid of. People often forgot that beneath all the abilities, there was a person. And he was certainly guilty of that, too. He had a lot to make up for.
“It’s not just Kol,” she sobbed. “I overheard Myriam and Rebekah talk and… I’m also pretty sure Elijah hates me even more and—”
“Breathe, little Swan,” he said calmly, rubbing her back. “It’s all going to be alright. We’ll figure it out.”
She wasn’t sure for how long they stood there, but frankly, she didn’t care. With Damon still lost somewhere, she was relieved Klaus was still with her, still alright with her. Once she had calmed down, she still didn’t let go of him. “Hades kept me for as long as he did to teach me control. He turned down the ghost stuff and taught me more abilities, something Helios should have done but didn’t. And I had to clean up the mess that I made… so many souls in the Underworld, I— I fixed it.”
“And then you come back and your boyfriend is seeing someone else.”
“Yes. Why? How?” She looked up to him, pleadingly.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Klaus replied as he let go of her to get her a glass of water. He was relieved to find her in a decent hotel, that she was using the money he had given her two years ago. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d do if he would have found her in one of the lesser hotels of New Orleans. “Kol spent a month in Forks, waiting for you at your family home. However, Elijah and I ran into some problems here in New Orleans and I recalled Kol to come and help us while he waited for you here. A week later, he walked in the compound with a new brunette on his arm and shortly after that, we all realized you’d abandoned us. That you used us and abandoned us, that there was nothing we could do, either, seeing as you’re a monster.”
“Me?”
“I found that thought disturbing, yes,” Klaus replied as he handed her the glass of water. “You do everything in your power not to kill people, you have the biggest heart of all the people I’ve met and you’re certainly not in possession of any malignant bone in your body.”
“But how?”
“I believe due to some sort of spell,” Klaus sighed as he sat down in a chair, looking at her as she stood there with her glass of water. “I don’t think the source to be Davina, she seems to be truly infatuated with Kol, which is why I wanted to meet with you. Perhaps you could investigate the Regent, Madam LaRue?”
“Why would the witches want to mess with you, though?”
“It has everything to do with the balance of power. There aren’t many vampires left in New Orleans because the werewolves killed them or the witches hurt them. Or, I have to admit, we had to kill four dozen of them for refusing to side with us and still remain loyal to Marcel. The witches are afraid we’ll go after them next and decide to be proactive?” He scratched his head in confusion. “In any case, we have dealt with a lot worse.”
Bella sat down in the chair, a pensive look on her face. “What if this isn’t about you?”
“Bella,” Klaus laughed. “We’re the Original vampires, everyone fears us, even the Ancestors. They know what we’re capable of.”
“Really?” Bella countered. “A few minutes ago you said you believed me to be a monster. You, the big bad Hybrid, calling me a monster. What if this isn’t about you and what if whatever is happening to you is because of me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Then why did you tell me you thought of me like that? Because I am more powerful than you. I can do more than just turn people into animals, smack them against walls and turn invisible. I resurrected Kol from the dead. All of this, without having to use magic. I am not bound by the same laws of nature you are. Or the witches are. Frankly, if I didn’t have a good head on my shoulders, I could be that monster quite easily. A loose canon.”
Klaus blinked at her and fell back in his chair. “To be honest, I have no idea why I said that. I know you’re capable of so much more, but I’ve never seen you as a threat, Bella,” he said thoughtfully before a wicked smile appeared on his lips. “The Ancestors might see you as a direct threat. There is no doubt they’d try to stop us from reorganising the Supernatural community of New Orleans, but with us, they don’t have to fear for losing power. Perhaps by influencing the family you’re close to would ensure you’d stay away?”
“If that’s the case, they’re awfully wrong and they don’t know me at all,” Bella muttered, itching to find out if Klaus’ theory was correct. “Because you may be right, I don’t have a malignant bone in my body but they don’t know who the hell they’re messing with and it ends as soon as I confirm this theory.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“Well, first, I’m going to mess with Davina and talk to Kol. Then, I’m going to track down that Regent and snoop around. And then…” Bella smirked as she thought of something. “I might do something to scare the shit out of the Ancestors and find a way to shake the rest of your siblings out of the hold they supposedly have on them. But only when it’s true. There could be another explanation, but let’s go with this one for now.” Bella set her glass down on the table and got to her feet. “Would you like to come outside with me?”
“What are you going to do?” Klaus said suspiciously. “I thought you didn’t want to be seen in the French Quarter.”
“I don’t, but we have to start somewhere,” Bella said as she took Klaus’ hand and tugged on it. “Come, let’s have some fun!”
“Wait,” he let out a snort, loving her new found enthusiasm, albeit a bit on the darker side of things. “How are we going to prevent me being influenced again and tell everyone about your plans?”
“Hmm… yes,” Bella said as she looked around, finding the little golden bowl Hades had sent down to her. She put her hand in it and retrieved a coin, placing it in the palm of Klaus’ hand.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know,” Bella shrugged. “But Hades said this bowl keeps out prying eyes, so I guess everything coming from it will do the same?”
“You’re not sure?” Klaus laughed as he put the coin in his pocket. “Very well then, I’m honored to be your test subject.”
She took him to not an all too crowded space, which was proving to be difficult in the heart of New Orleans, but managed to find a spot eventually. “So, where’s Kol? At your home?” Bella asked as she looked around Klaus to see Davina approach them.
“Yes, I believe so.”
“Good, hold on,” Bella said as she pushed her bag into his arms and picked up an exotic animal from behind him. Walking back around Klaus with the Sloth in her arms, she smiled up at him. “But first, we need to take this little girl to safety. Doesn’t Rebekah run an animal rescue center?”
“Davina?”
Bella hummed as she looked down on her clothes. “Hey, look at that, it worked!” She smiled up at Klaus again. “Another new thing I can do, don’t you like it?”
“This is your idea of going to talk to Kol?”
“Yeah?” Bella said as she readjusted Davina Sloth in her arms and started to walk in the direction of Rebekah’s shelter. “Do you think I can pull it off?”
From the surface, Bella did look like Davina. As if she was her doppelganger. There was something about her walk though, that felt off. And of course, Davina was a pushy little brat, could Bella pull that off? “I don’t know, can you? You need to adjust your walk, don’t slouch. Davina is very narcissistic in everything she does.”
“Oh, God, this Sloth is getting heavy,” Bella sighed exasperatedly. “And I think it’s chewing on my hair. Care to trade me for my bag? I don’t wish Kol to see me with a hair out of place!”
“She’s not like Caroline, love,” Klaus laughed and shook his head. “With narcissistic I meant full of herself, confident. As if she owns every inch of the world, she is, of course, one of the most powerful witches in New Orleans and dating an Original.”
“Barf,” she said as she nearly fell flat on her face. “Stupid heels!”
“Well, she is quite short,” Klaus laughed as he had caught her mid fall. “You’ll be alright.”
“Worst. Idea. Ever.” Bella readjusted Davina Sloth again and rounded a corner. “Luckily, we don’t have to go far for Rebekah’s place.”
“Actually, the animal rescue center is yours. It’s in your name. Rebekah is merely the manager in your absence,” he replied with a shrug. “Of course, Rebekah’s medical knowledge is extensive and you’ll have to learn a lot, but you’re still the owner of that building. It was your idea, after all.”
“Even after?”
“Well, it was one of the first things we set up, we didn’t know you were going to be gone this long, and I wanted to make sure you had something to do upon your return.”
She blinked at him. “Are you sure you’re not in love with me? Because setting me up an animal shelter sure is a lot of work and I doubt you helped Myriam with her brothel. Do they know it’s in my name?”
“No, they don’t,” Klaus smiled at her. “I intend to keep it that way until your proper return, once everyone is in their right minds. I’m fairly certain Rebekah won’t mind, but she’d likely insist on franchising. It’s doing quite well, you see.”
“Then just give it to her,” Bella laughed, finding it strange to hear Davina’s laugh. “I’ll think of something else to do.”
“You’re not going to disappear again?”
“Oh, I sure as hell hope not or I might actually hurt someone,” she said grumpily as they turned another corner and headed straight for the animal rescue center.
“Davina! What a lovely surprise,” Rebekah greeted her as she walked around the counter before freezing in her steps. “Is that what I think it is?”
“A sloth? Yes,” Bella replied as she handed the animal over to Rebekah. “Please be gentle with it? Wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to this girl, would you?”
“I shall be ringing the zoo and ask them if they lost one of their animals… if not… Kol’s blasted ex is still in town,” Rebekah said disgusted and it was then when Bella saw it; the dark glow around Rebekah, a clear sign for Bella that Rebekah was indeed, spelled.
Quite disappointing, really. Bella had hoped she could wreak some havoc while trying to figure out what the hell was going on and now it seemed like there were witches involved. Remembering that she somehow could cleans spells off of items such as the champagne at the Mikaelson ball, she reached out to Rebekah and saw the dark glow lessened, but not disappeared completely. Which was lame, as it meant that whomever put that spell up, had put some effort into it. Maybe there was a human element to it, maybe there wasn’t. In any case, now Bella looked like Davina, there wasn’t a lot she could do.
“Thank you,” Bella replied with a smile before turning to Klaus. “Weren’t you like… picking up Myriam or something?” She tried to sound as bored as she possibly could. “I’m on my way to see Kol, maybe the two of you would like to walk with me?”
“Why can’t I come?” Rebekah demanded, still with the sloth in her arms. It took a mere nod from Bella to the sloth for Rebekah to sigh and retreating with Davina sloth.
Klaus took Bella next door to Myriam’s establishment, excitedly informing her that there are plans to buy the building next door as well and branch out, as Myriam’s brothel was quite successful. There were plans for a nightclub and more rooms for her girls. He also warned Bella that Myriam wasn’t a big fan of Davina and for Davina to be in her establishment was almost as if she was declaring war to her.
“I thought everyone liked Davina?”
“No, love. Myriam and I merely tolerate her because Kol’s smitten and Rebekah and Elijah don’t make a fuss out of the witch, either,” he replied kindly. “Besides, it’s a good thing to have a powerful witch on your side instead of against you, especially in a city as New Orleans.”
“Great, maybe I should wait outside then.”
“Too late, she’s already here,” Klaus grinned and left her alone to greet his girlfriend. “Behave,” he said playful as a warning to his girlfriend before he softly kissed Myriam’s lips.
“I thought I told you, and her, that she’s not welcome here?” Myriam hissed, grabbing Klaus’ arm and dug her nails into it. “What are you doing with her, anyway?”
He gently removed her hand from his arm and maneuvered her arm through his. “We found a sloth in the street, Davina thought it was only proper to deliver it to Rebekah,” he explained while walking back to Bella. “She also divulged she was going to give Kol a stern talking to about his ex-girlfriend and I assumed you wanted to see the fireworks.”
“Assuming makes an ass out of you and me,” Myriam sighed but relented. “I need to get out of this place for a couple of hours anyway. How about after watching the lovebirds fight, we retreat to your bedroom?”
“Of course,” Klaus smiled at her.
“I’m so sorry, Myriam,” Bella apologized, seeing the same dark glow around Myriam as she had seen around Rebekah. “I completely forgot you didn’t want me in here but…”
“It’s fine,” Myriam snapped as she pointed to the door. “Let’s go then.”
Bella brushed Myriam as she passed to get out first, and by the time they were all outside, Bella could tell Myriam’s glow had completely gone. Smiling to herself, Bella fell into step next to Klaus. “The Ancestors won’t like it that Bella’s lingering in this city.”
“Yeah well, maybe it’s a good thing she’s back, the Ancestors deserve to be kicked down a notch,” Myriam replied, sounding quite shocked by her revelation. “I mean… I…” she looked at Klaus in confusion. “It’s not good, is it? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still hate her for not giving us a sign of life over the years but I miss my friend.”
“It’s quite alright, love, don’t worry,” Klaus assured her. “As is your hatred towards Bella for not telling us where she was, but I’m quite certain she has a perfect excuse.”
Myriam huffed. “As always.”
“You’ll have to forgive her for her silence, my love, it’s not as if we’ve both been honest with her either, especially not in the beginning.”
The vampire scowled in return. “But still!”
Realizing that Klaus wanted to keep Myriam in the dark as to who Davina truly was at the moment, Bella focused on her posture and her walk the entire way to the compound. She was itching to give Kol a piece of her mind, probe him about the ideas he and Davina had thought of for putting her down and then kill him. Oh, if only. She’d rather kill Davina right now and Kol back where he belonged; with her.
“Kol!” Bella called out for him, trying not to wince at how Davina’s voice sounded. It was almost as if she was calling for a puppy to come and heel, and, not surprisingly, Kol did just that.
“I thought we weren’t going to meet today, Davina?” Kol smiled at her, giving her a peck on the cheek as they were in front of Klaus and Myriam.
Despite the physical touch, there was pretty much a dark glow around Kol, and a part of Bella loved the challenge as Myriam had been too easy, but she didn’t like it. Davina was going to pay for all of this and Bella was really fighting herself on this; now Davina was temporarily turned into a sloth, she’d be so easy to kill. “I changed my mind,” Bella replied, looping her arm through Kol’s and pulled him towards one of the couches in the courtyard. “I need to pick your brain for a little bit, if that’s alright.”
Kol smiled at her then. “Of course, but sometimes I have to wonder if you’re only with me because I know so much about you witches.”
Bella thought for a moment and looked at him, a serious look on her face. “I might be, would that bother you?”
“A little,” Kol admitted. “Although I thought my handsome face was good enough for you.”
She cocked her head as she gently caressed his cheek with her hand. “It is handsome, you’re right about that. Did Bella fall for your looks then?” Bella was concerned the dark glow around Kol didn’t even lessen. Granted, it was likely Davina was responsible for the magic befuddling the minds of those Bella loved, but what was this?
“Davina, we do not talk about her.”
“Well, for arguments sake, we are. She’s still in town and if I need to find a way to defeat her, I’d have to get to know her a bit better,” Bella argued. “I just had to drop off a sloth at Rebekah’s. Klaus can confirm that there was, indeed, a sloth.”
Frustrated, Kol ran a hand through his hair and reached for the nearest alcohol bottle to make sure he wouldn’t tear out Davina’s throat. “Imagine it being like taking down Nik or one of us; you can’t unless you have the White Oak Stake. Since we don’t know what we need to use to take Bella down, the best option would be to create some sort of prison where she can’t escape out of, causing her to have to spend eternity in that prison or until someone in her family decides to intervene.”
Bella winced at that, hoping Kol hadn’t seen it. She wasn’t shocked he had thought about it, but the mere thought of having to spend eternity in a box or whatever wasn’t appealing, at all.
“But Davina, despite the fact she left me, that she left us, doesn’t mean she deserves a fate like that. She’s not my favourite person at the moment but if anything, she’s the one person who strongly fought against me being daggered again. Still, to this day, I believe the only reason I’m not boxed up is because Nik still likes Bella that much. Bella wasn’t all bad. She’s done a lot for this family, too.”
Now, Bella was surprised by that. Even under Davina’s influence, he still had his head screwed on the right way and not gone off and do terrible things as he’d done in the past. Or at least, not that she knew of. “Her presence in New Orleans is upsetting the Ancestors. She’s the one person who could tip the balance in the direction of whomever she decides to side with. I mean, she moved on thousands of souls that were located at the Lake. She could easily wipe out the Ancestors, leaving us witches unprotected and without power.”
“Don’t be silly,” Kol took a swig of the bottle. “You’d still be able to practise traditional magic.”
She hit him on the head with the palm of her hand. “Are you on my side or what? I need the Ancestors, Kol. We all need the Ancestors. Not just the witches, but the werewolves and vampires are under their protection from outside forces like beings like Bella.”
“She’s harmless.”
“She turned someone into a sloth! There is no way that sloth escaped from the zoo and ended up in the middle of the French Quarter. Who knows who that sloth may be? At least it’s not the Regent!” Bella said angrily, finding it strange to be on the other end of things for a change. “I mean, what if someone manages to find a way to control her? She may be harmless, but if they find a way to do that…”
“I doubt the Gods will allow too much of damage. Relax, okay? Once she realizes I’m yours and yours alone, she’ll go away,” he said reassuringly, softly brushing her lips with hers. “And to answer your question, no, I don’t think Bella was drawn to me due to my devilish good looks. She believed she and I had some connection and I was supposed to be her guide, I already told you this.”
“Yeah, I know,” Bella sighed as she tried to stop herself from jumping into his arms and kissing him senseless as Davina. It wouldn’t feel right. “Sounds to me, though, that you’re still in love with her, defending her so much.”
“I’m just telling you what I know. Or what I knew. Who knows what she learned in the last two years?” Kol cupped Davina’s chin and made her look at him. Why did her eyes look so sad? “I love you, Davina Claire. I’ll meet with Bella, alone, and see if I can convince her it’s only you I desire. Perhaps I can persuade her to go back to Mystic Falls.”
“Do you think it will work seeing as she ignored your request the first time?”
“Bella’s very understanding and she has a big heart. I’m sure that if I tell her the Ancestors don’t want her here she’ll leave.”
Fat chance, Bella thought as she smiled at Kol. “If that doesn’t work, though, we can continue our plans to put her in her version of the coffin, right?”
“Davina…” He really didn’t wish that upon anyone.
“Right? She’s threatening the balance, Kol. Just imagine she’d land herself a werewolf as a boyfriend, she’d go and protect them at all costs! Or she’d get a regular human and finds New Orleans isn’t the place for the supernatural community and she’ll fight us all!”
Kol winced. Davina was right. “Right. Yes. We’ll continue to find a way to neutralize her, although I think we’ll run into some issues with Nik if we do proceed.”
Bella huffed as she looked over her shoulder to see Klaus and Myriam peek around the corner before looking back at him. “Not to worry, Kol, I will take care of your brother and his whore should they stop us. In fact, should your entire family be against us making sure Bella won’t be able to disrupt everything, I’ll take care of them, too.”
Kol snorted. “And then what? Who’s going to run the vampire faction?”
“Well, you are, of course,” she gently pat his cheek. “Or we’ll get Marcel back and have him do that for you.”
Kol scowled at that. “Let’s just keep my family intact.”
“Whatever,” Bella quickly kissed him. “Now, be a good pup and stay here while I go and pick things up. I’ll be back in a bit.” She had to leave before she’d reveal herself or burst out in tears. Or both. She was still angry with him, and would probably be for a long time for making himself available to be manipulated by the witch after Bella had been gone for just a month, but he didn’t deserve this. Stupid Davina.
“Okay.”
“And feed,” Bella said as she got to her feet. “You look famished.” This seemed to surprise him. Seriously? Was she regulating his blood intake as well? He looked alright, but he had looked better when fully topped off on blood. How the hell did he control himself? Was she controlling him somehow? “As much as you need.” How was Klaus allowing this to happen to his brother? Was Davina that good at manipulating everyone with her magic and making family members blind to each other or did Klaus really not care that much about Kol after all?
The moment she set foot outside the compound, she turned invisible and released Davina from her slothiness. Bella imagined this being quite hilarious, Davina in a little cage and Rebekah freaking out. She was also going to be on so many shit lists but right now all she cared about was to go to the City of the Dead and yell at some Ancestors. Yeah, she was going to skip the Regent, she was only the middle man anyway.
Hades had taught her to dig deep inside of her to turn the dials of her ghost gifts when needed and oh, she was going to do some serious damage to them if they weren’t going to give her what she needed; it all ended now. Today.
“Bella, stop,” Hades appeared before her blocking her march to the cemetery. She knew she was still invisible, which meant he was as well. “You’re far too angry.”
“Damn right I am!” Bella said as she tried to move past him, but he stopped her by placing both of his hands on her shoulders and kept her in place. “Let me go!”
“Breathe,” he said calmly, his eyes firmly fixed on hers. “You’re not one to go off like this, you need to think about it.”
“Why won’t you fix this?” Bella said angrily, hitting his arms in an attempt for him to let go of her, tears were now rolling down her cheeks. “Or fuck that, just let me go and I’ll wipe them all out!”
“No, you will not,” Hades remained calm. “Because if you do, I will have to take you back and I won’t ever let you go. Your Earth rights will be permanently revoked.”
“I don’t care! They’re messing with my family. They’re messing with the one person I feel normal with and he fucking hates me for leaving so long because of that. I have no doubt that bitch is deliberately keeping him low on blood to keep him deep under her influence and fuck that. If I fix this the way I want it to be fixed, then at least I know my family is free of them and I’ll be happy!” The adrenaline released from her anger was coursing through her body and she loved the feeling of that. Her muscles didn’t quite like it but she didn’t care, she was ready to punch someone. To wipe out all the Ancestors. Fuck preserving the balance.
“You don’t believe that, calm down and use your brain,” Hades said encouragingly, squeezing her shoulders as he did. “Because Helios was right about one thing; you’re the first one who’s shown kindness, mercy and so much love towards others and don’t allow your powers to corrupt you. Give in to the anger now, and there might not be a way back.”
“Then fucking fix this.”
“You know I can’t.”
Bella got quiet then, as if she realised something. “What if I can’t fix this?”
Hades pulled her into a big hug, pulling her close against him. “I do believe you’re making excellent progress on that, don’t you think?” He tucked her hair behind her ear and made her look at him. “You figured out they’re indeed spelled, Klaus is no longer under that spell – although I have to admit, he did most of it himself. I guess it’s great to be this super hybrid. But you cleansed Myriam. You cleansed Rebekah, but she didn’t quite like you anyway so the spell lingered, it might go away in time.”
“I’m not even going to attempt to do it on Elijah. He’s never liked me,” she sulked.
“You figured out that the Ancestors are behind it, or the most likely suspects anyway and Davina’s likely the conduit to it all. I’d say you’re doing great,” Hades said with a nod. “Very positive progress indeed. I think your next step would be is to find whatever Davina uses to have that hold on your beau and destroy said object. I’m sure you know a friendly witch somewhere.”
Bella let out a grunt.
“Hey, I know I fucked up and should have given you the chance to at least check in on your family, but from what I understood was that they knew about the fact time moves differently where we are. You needed the time to get control and pay for sending so many souls to me.”
“Still no apology.”
“Nope. But how about this? Remember the tasks Hercules had to do? Like twelve before he could ascend to Mount Olympus? See saving your boyfriend from the claws of that deviant witch as one of your impossible tasks and your reward will be not one child, but as many as you two want? I could make him fertile for like a month a year to get you pregnant?”
“You’re a fucking asshole,” Bella scowled. “Who’s to say I’ll ever get him back? Or take him back, for that matter?”
“Your weeping heart tells me,” Hades smiled at her. “I may be the God of the Underworld and fertility and shit, but I do know your heart is aching. And that is very unpleasant. But keep at it your way and don’t do anything stupid while you fix this. I have every faith in you that it’ll work, just don’t go blasting cemeteries filled with Ancestors, okay? Klaus is back to his senses, and so is Myriam. You have allies now. Use them.”
“But I don’t even understand why the Ancestors are afraid of me.”
“Because you do have the power to wipe them all out and end Ancestral Magic,” Hades reminded her. “You could tip the power balance, but we all know you won’t. As long as they leave your family alone, you leave them alone. That’s how it works and that’s brilliant. They just don’t know it – you – yet. Once you’ve fixed what you need to fix, go talk to the Regent and come to an agreement, allow her to get to know you the way we all have.”
“Use my brain and keep my cool.”
“Exactly,” Hades nodded and let go of her. “Go to your hotel room and take a nice hot bath. Get some rest. Start tomorrow anew, who knows? People might surprise you.”
“Doubt it,” Bella muttered. “Thanks.”
“You’re very welcome. Now, I don’t know if you still want to hide from the Ancestors, but if you do, don’t forget to turn invisible again,” he winked at her before he disappeared.
Bella looked around with bleary eyes and saw people stare at her again. She’d been so lost in her anger, sadness and her conversation with Hades she hadn’t noticed they had turned visible. Turning invisible again, Bella started to make her way to the hotel. Hades had been right, of course. Bella had always tried to avoid killing people. She’d help them and then it would be their choice of what they did with the information.
Such as Silas and Amara, who she had turned into swans as an alternative to death; pretty much against their wishes but to Bella, the only reason. If they still wished to die, they’d have to kill themselves and that would be pretty easy as swans.
Who was she to depower an entire city of witches only because she was angry with those who gave them power? Since when had she lost the ability to use her words?
When she returned to the hotel, the bath was drawn and there was a huge plate of beignets waiting for her on the table, a large box of chocolates and a bottle of wine with a card from Hades.
Well deserved. Don’t leave the hotel drunk! H
Smiling, she made sure she could let off some steam on her laptop in the bath safely and once that was done, she undressed, poured herself a glass of wine and got into the tub, allowing the warm water caress her suddenly tired feeling body.
~o.O.o~
It took her a while to realize the banging on the door wasn’t happening in her dreams. There was someone at her door. Glancing over at the hotel issued alarm clock, she could tell the time was 7 in the morning and she was nowhere near done sleeping. Whoever disturbed her sleep, was going to pay.
With a grunt, she kicked the covers off of her as the knocking didn’t stop and managed not to trip on her way to the door. Being drunk of sleep was never a fun thing to have when having to do things. Bella pushed her hair out of her face before she opened the door.
Taken aback by the vision before her, she stumbled back into the room, giving her guest the opportunity to come inside and close the door. There was blood all over; his clothes, his face, his hands and there was a crazy look on his face that told her he was probably high on blood, too. The dark glow around him was nearly gone, but what was he doing here?
“I did it,” Kol proudly said. “Nik won’t be too happy with the bodies in the courtyard but I did it, Bella, I did it.”
Rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleep, she blinked at him.
“I figured it out! The Davina who visited me wasn’t Davina, was it? It was you. And you told me to go feed!” Kol approached her, but she froze him into place. She wasn’t scared of him or anything, but she wasn’t awake enough to deal with this just yet. “You know, I didn’t really know it was you until I headed out to go to the witches and then I saw you with Hades in the middle of the street and overheard you guys talk. Seeing you falling apart like you did, did something inside of me, Bella. It jolted me awake.”
She turned around and quietly started to make some tea with the services supplied in the hotel room. While she couldn’t hide the fact that her heart was aflutter with Kol in the same room with her and seemingly alright, she didn’t trust him. This could also be a ruse. She had heard him talk about his plans when she was Davina. No, it wasn’t going to be this easy for him.
“So I fed. And I fed. And some more. Oh, Bella, it felt glorious. It was messy and very bloody and it was amazing. Davina found me and stopped me, but your conversation with me and the one you had with Hades was still—-”
Turning around, she looked at him. “Why are you here? What is so important that you have to interrupt my sleep?”
Kol giggled then. “The Ancestors might be really angry with me right now and this is the safest place I know. I mean, you’ve been hiding here for months, haven’t you? They haven’t found you, they won’t find me here.”
“You found me.”
“I asked Nik where you were.”
“I can see you’re still spelled, Kol. I’m not stupid, but, assuming you’re telling me the truth, what the hell did you do to piss off the Ancestors?”
“I fought Davina. She had used a binding and controlling spell on me and wasn’t working properly anymore with me topped off on blood,” Kol smirked, still frozen in place. “I drained her from all of her blood and burned her body outside New Orleans and I felt her hold on me disappear.”
Yeah right. This couldn’t be happening, it sounded too easy. Too much like the words she wanted to hear from him. “You what?”
“I killed Davina and made sure she couldn’t join the Ancestors.”
“I’m too tired for this shit,” Bella muttered as she walked to the door and opened it before throwing Kol out and closing the door again. Satisfied with her handywork, she made it back to her bed in time for the kettle to pop to tell her that the water for her tea had been boiled. Bella rolled herself into her duvet and pulled a pillow over her head and went back to sleep.
Klaus and Myriam hadn’t gotten much sleep that night, not that they needed it, vampires could go for a long time without any sleep, but it was the habit that was so nice. No, instead, they had watched Kol bring in revelers from the streets to drain them dry – while they had a perfectly stocked up blood fridge in the basement of the compound.
Kol hadn’t been exactly careful with who he chose for a victim and Elijah was spending the morning at the police station to compel the officers while compelled servants were cleaning up Kol’s mess in the courtyard. Getting rid of the bodies was easy, scrubbing blood off the walls and floor and making sure everything looked immaculate again wasn’t.
And for some reason, watching the whole thing unfold in front of them was simply spectacular.
They weren’t surprised when Kol returned to the compound and joined them on the pathway above the courtyard to oversee the cleaning up. “She kicked me out,” he sulked, getting down from the high he was on just moments before.
Myriam looked at the vampire in disgust. “Do you blame her? Have you seen yourself?”
“I went straight over after killing Davina!” Kol whined. “I thought she’d be happy to see me, but instead she didn’t say much and stopped me from pulling her into my arms and —”
“Again, do you blame her?” Myriam said again. “On top of that, we haven’t been exactly welcoming her back ourselves due to that little troll.”
“Speak for yourself, love,” Klaus mused. “My encounter with Bella was quite pleasant. She was the one who brought the stones to me. Even when she knew we all weren’t like ourselves, she looked out for us.”
“Why didn’t you tell us she’d been here?”
“Because it would give Davina another reason to go after Bella harder or perhaps I knew what you were going to say, who knows?”
“But I killed Davina. I’m no longer under her control. Bella shouldn’t have kicked me out. I’m hurt,” Kol sulked as he leaned over the bannister.
“You broke her heart, Kol. After your first encounter there were fractures, but after she posed as Davina to talk to you about her… we could hear her heart break from where we were.”
“I wasn’t myself!”
“No, but a part of Davina’s spell factored in the humanity we still carry around with us. The human element. For example; Rebekah was cleansed yesterday after Bella and I dropped off Davina sloth, but Bella could tell the spell wasn’t completely gone, merely because Rebekah has never truly liked her. Yesterday, Bella tried to cleanse you, but that was impossible. What did she say?” Klaus looked at his brother, he looked like a lost puppy and well deserved, too. If it hadn’t been for him, they wouldn’t have been in this mess right now.
“She said I was still spelled but, she also didn’t make any attempt to remove the spell from me, either.”
“Can you blame her?” Myriam said again, nodding to the way Kol looked. “The least you could have done was a change of clothes and a bath before trying to reunite with the girl whose heart you broke. Flowers. Chocolate. Anything.”
Kol scowled. “She should have cleansed me and we should have talked it out.”
“This is not about you, Kol,” Klaus spat at him. “You told us about the conversation you overheard between Bella and Hades and you didn’t learn anything from that? You didn’t learn anything from the conversation you and Bella had before she resurrected you?”
“But the spell is—”
“No, Kol, this doesn’t have anything to do with the bloody spell and you know it. It’s likely you barged into her hotel room telling her that you need to be with her because there’s no safe place for you once the Ancestors realize you’ve killed their star witch.”
“I did, how do you know?”
“Because I know you, brother,” Klaus sighed as he tiredly ran a hand through his hair. Oh, he really hoped his brother didn’t blow his chance with Bella. Despite everything, Bella did not deserve that.
“Bella’s still a girl, Kol,” Myriam said kindly. “Clean yourself up, think about how you’re going to make this all better for her and try again later. She was likely still asleep when you demanded her attention.”
“But what if the Ancestors—”
“If you’re so scared of their wrath, leave New Orleans.”
“But what about Bella?”
“That’s a choice you’re going to have to make, buddy,” Myriam said, pushing herself away from the bannister. “I have to go to work, will I see you later, Klaus?”
“Of course, love,” he smiled at her. “I’ll make sure I’ll bring an excellent tasting lunch to you.”
~o.O.o~
Bella wasn’t ready to face Kol, at all. After the early morning interruption, Bella went back to sleep and after waking up, she got dressed and decided to spend her day at the zoo, still as the invisible woman because even if he had been telling the truth about killing Davina, it didn’t mean the Ancestors were quite done with her. If anything, things were going to be a lot worse and she needed a game plan.
She needed to clear her head and start over. Or at least adjust her previous plan and do go to the Regent to talk things through. However, should Davina truly be dead, the Regent might even be less receptive to Bella than she’d already been.
She found it admirable that Kol had figured out a way to fight off the spell himself even if it meant killing Davina and seemingly a lot of innocents by the way he looked that morning, but she didn’t like the fact that he had overheard her and Hades’ conversation; that Kol had seen the state she was in.
Yes, there was nothing more that her heart wanted; Kol. But her head was wiser in this case; could she trust Kol with her heart again? Kol knew it could take some time for her to get back to him after being swooped up by one of her relatives; time moved differently and he knew that. Had he truly loved her like she loved him if he allowed a pretty young thing to get that close to him just because Bella was no longer in the picture?
Had Kol been with her merely of what she was instead of who she was? Had he been in love with her power only?
Granted, the way that they had rolled into their relationship hadn’t been text book, either. She had felt an attraction to him, a connection, even when he was still daggered, and even during their travels, they never truly defined what they were to each other, but she supposed that referring to each other as boy and girlfriend was definition enough. But was it?
If he had truly overheard her conversation with Hades, why would Kol want to be with her now? Was it because together, he and her could produce tiny Mikaelson heirs with Hades’ blessing? She knew of Rebekah’s wish to be a human and start a family, maybe the blessing was better used on her instead of being wasted on Bella.
Besides, their kids would grow up knowing their mother’s an abomination to the supernatural world, their father one of the mightiest vampires in the world and they’d be a combination of that, and a tiny bit of human. A God-Vampire-Human hybrid. It sounded like a recipe for disaster if the human part wasn’t that much present anyway. Unless Hades could make it so that the children would be perfectly human or something.
Had she listened to her heart this morning in her sleepy state, she would have jumped on Kol in an instant, welcoming him back, making sure the spell around him was completely gone, but that would have been a bad thing all around. Her heart was still broken and she needed to protect what was left of it.
She was going to get her revenge on the Ancestors for what they’ve done to her family, and then, maybe, leave New Orleans to see if she could mend her heart and feel whole again.
TrashPanda: Seems like we’ve got an unexpected guest today and he’s asking for you. Coming to dinner?
CeilingCat: I’m not in the mood to deal with Kol right now.
TrashPanda: It’s not Kol. Well, he will be at dinner but you’re going to like this one.
CeilingCat: No. I have other plans.
TrashPanda: They can wait. Klaus is showing immense restraint not to kill this guest to allow you two to catch up. Dinner is in two hours. Be presentable, which shouldn’t be a problem as we’ve sent something to your hotel room. Klaus is making sure everything is perfect because we have a lot to make up to you.
Bella sighed as she looked at her phone. She really didn’t want to go. She wanted this Ancestor problem sorted as quickly as possible so she could disappear if she still so required. In fact, Myriam’s demand made her feel angry again and she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to go.
CeilingCat: No. I’m sorry, Myriam, but I really have to deal with this. It’s because of me you guys were put in harms way and I need to fix it. Seems like all I’m doing these days is fixing my own mess.
TrashPanda: Bella, you’re not alone. Let us help.
CeilingCat: No. This mess is because of what I am and I’m going to fix it.
TrashPanda: Don’t do anything stupid, Bella, I want you to be around for a long time.
Bella huffed as she turned her phone off and shoved it into her pocket. She took her time to get back to the hotel; she was going to grab a bite to eat and then head out to seek out the Regent. Screw the Mikaelson dinner. She really didn’t want to see Kol right now. Her head was in charge, her heart deserved its rest.
Of course she wasn’t going to do anything stupid, not after Hades’ warning. One wrong move, and she’d be permanently banned from being on Earth while there was still so much she could see and do. To experience. It wasn’t going to happen.
Maybe a solution would be she’d give up on her mother’s side of herself, relinquish her powers and be an ordinary human again. It would be perfect as then, the Ancestors would definitely back off and Bella would never run into problems like that again. On the other side of the coin, it would also mean she’d have to leave her family here, for some reason it didn’t seem wise to be human in a family of Original vampires.
Bella didn’t trust the smell of food wafting down the corridor that lead to her room. Granted, someone could have ordered room service, but this smelled like a lot of food. Dreading to open her door, she did it anyway and inwardly cursed. Somehow – no, not somehow, this was the result of some compelling. Her bed was still there, but the rest of the room had been transformed into a private dining room with plenty of seats for the entire family. There was good food on the table and she was met by 5 pairs of hopeful looking eyes.
“Oh, hell no,” Bella exclaimed as she put her bag on the bed. “I said no.”
“I told you she wouldn’t like it, Niklaus,” Elijah said quietly, the spell still firmly in place on him, making Bella yet again wonder if Kol had truly killed Davina. “She doesn’t deserve our kindness.”
Bella narrowed her eyes on Elijah. “I want you all to leave, now,” she said slowly, making sure that they all heard the words.
“We’re doing this for your own good, Bella,” Myriam said as she rounded the table to hug her friend, but didn’t get the hug returned. “Remember, I know you. I know how much you like to retreat into yourself and—”
“Myriam, I said no.” Before the other members of the family could speak, Bella turned them all into bunnies and sat down at the table to have something to eat in relative peace and quiet, only to be disturbed by someone slow clapping. Had someone been on the toilet? In her hotel room? Seriously? Looking up, she was surprised to see Damon, but it was a welcome surprise. “Damon!” She flew off her chair and flung herself around his neck to hug him tightly.
“Easy,” Damon chuckled as he returned the hug. “One moment I’m freed from the prison world they sent me to, and sleeping it off on my bed, the next I wake up on Klaus’ couch in his bedroom while he and Myriam were… well, that was quite embarrassing.” Damon then thought for a moment. “Although, quite hot too, I wanted to join in but Klaus threatened to rip out my heart.”
“I’m so glad you’re back,” Bella buried her face into his shirt. “When Stefan told me— I—”
“You’re glad I’m back? Bella, I was only in that prison world for like… what? Three months or so? You were gone for two years! If there’s anyone who should be glad someone’s back it’s me, for your return,” he replied as he gently rubbed her back. “Hey, uhm, they were here to share dinner with you, not for you to eat it by yourself.”
Bella huffed as she let go of Damon, grabbed the salad bowl and dumped the content on the floor in one giant heap. “There.”
“That works,” Damon shrugged as he pointed at the chairs. “Sit. Eat. Let’s talk.”
“No, because they’ll hear everything and remember when I turn them back, so let’s just eat,” Bella said grumpily as she retrieved her plate and continued her food. “I have plans.”
“Good, then I’ll come with you to whatever you’re going to do.”
“Damon.”
He put some food on his plate and shrugged. “Klaus told me what happened, sort of, I think I get it. I also understand you’re a very stubborn person and you don’t want their help. Not even Klaus’ and Myriam’s. This is your mess, not theirs, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t want their help because they’re a bunch of dicks who deserted you through a spell, right?”
“Right.”
“Guess what? It’s not your mess. It’s simply the Ancestors being a bag of dicks and they have more experience dealing with Regents than you do,” Damon said as he looked underneath the table. “Uhh… you might want to turn them back because two bunnies are now having sex.”
“Wait, what?” Bella looked underneath the table and gasped. She grabbed the nearest glass and chucked it at them. “Quit it!”
“You might want to turn them back, Bella,” Damon smirked before holding up his phone with an image of swanlings. “These little cuties were created by Silas and Amara.”
“Oh god! I didn’t know that could happen!” Bella squeaked before turning everyone back and pointed at the door. The last thing she wanted was for someone to get pregnant; vampires bodies worked the same as humans as long as they drank blood, and if she’d get Myriam or Rebekah pregnant, they would be able to carry the baby to full term. Gross. “Now get out!”
“Don’t worry, Klausy-Klaus, I’ll handle this.”
Bella whipped her head back at Damon. “I will not be handled, Damon Salvatore.”
“Of course not,” Damon huffed as he cocked his head towards the retreating Mikaelsons. “Had to say something to get them to leave.” When the door closed, he continued to eat. “I’m on your side, Bella. I understand what you want to do and I understand what they want to do, but seriously, they have more experience.”
“It’s because of me they were put in a vulnerable position in the first place. The Ancestors got spooked; I’m merely going to show them I’m not someone to be afraid of.”
“But you are,” he pointed out. “Especially with all the pent up anger you’ve got.”
“I’ve got my anger under control,” she huffed. “One misstep and Hades revokes my Earth privileges and I go ‘poof’ permanently, so don’t worry, I’ve got it under control and I won’t do anything other than stuff that won’t hurt anybody,” she bit down on a piece of chicken and sighed. “I just want to go back to being me. Get this fixed and maybe go back to Mystic Falls or something.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I don’t?” Bella let out a snort. “Damon, I am the reason the Mikaelsons got messed with because a bunch of dead witches are scared of me. People are scared of me, of what I can do. My boyfriend is a jerk who couldn’t keep it in his pants after an encounter with a gorgeous young brunette and instead of waiting for me, he moved on within two months and after hearing him talk about what he would do to neutralize me, I am not even sure I want him back. Spelled or not, knowing people are actively thinking about how to get rid of me is not a great thing to know.”
“And here I believed you two had an epic love, like Stefan and Elena,” Damon smirked as he leaned back in his chair. “Bella, love isn’t easy. You haven’t had a lot of boyfriends and your last ex has been permanently changed into a pig. Kol is a very needy vampire; he needs validation on a day to day basis that you love him. Of course, without—”
“Are you really trying to give a rational explanation about him being a cheating jerk? Really?” She took a sip of her wine and shook her head. “Vampire or not, what he did was wrong.”
Damon shrugged. “Fine, whatever. Things are very simple, Bella, and they’re easily fixed, just allow your family to take care of it. To take care of you. Maybe in this case, it’s better to let them handle the Ancestors. Elijah may not like you, but he does know you wouldn’t do anything out of malice. The last thing you want is for people to get hurt and if you ask him to talk to the Regent for you, she’ll understand and the Ancestors will back off.”
“Witches are backstabbing bitches,” Bella muttered. “They’d ‘back off’ for a while, before regrouping and coming back full blast. On top of that, if Kol was speaking the truth about Davina, he’ll be having a target on his back as well. At least I know I’ll be able to make sure he’ll be safe from them, too.”
“And you are too invested in this. Too close. Not a good idea.”
“Says the person who likes to make rash decisions that eventually come back to bite him in the ass and still hasn’t learned from his mistakes.”
Damon sighed as he reached into his pocket, revealing something wrapped in cloth as he handed it to Bella. “I so wished I didn’t have to do this,” he said, regret evident in his voice.
“What’s this?”
“A gift, open it.”
She narrowed her eyes on her friend before pulling the corners of the cloth back, revealing a beautiful shaped stone. It was polished and it looked absolutely perfect. But why was a stone a gift? Bella picked it up to examine it even further, but before she could, the world spun out of existence.
