AN: For those of you who really, really want me to add another chapter to To Love, Perish & Devour, forgive me when I say it was only ever meant to be a one-shot story.
That aside, I hope you can enjoy my Bonnie/Originals story. Multiple pairings. OOC
Disclaimer: The characters within this story are the property of LJ Smith & The CW. No copyright infringement intended.
The Mikaelson's Bennett
She stormed through the Mikaelson household without a need or thought of invitation. She wore a black dress with a black silk scarf wrapped around her throat and hanging down her back. On her hands were black gloves that reached her elbows and black stiletto heels. Hanging down over her breasts was the bejeweled Bennett "B" necklace. Her lips were painted red as her hair hung loosely around her shoulders. She was dressed for death and mourning, an appropriate sentiment considering just how much she stood to lose by sunrise. Her heels clicked loudly and her eyes burned as her power hummed inside her, desperate to escape and punish those who had so horribly wronged her family, her blood.
"Where is she?" she demanded of the tall, refined Original. She looked around the long table fearlessly.
"Lucy," he rose from the table. His expression was weary and stressed. "Thank you for meeting with us."
Lucy's eyes narrowed as she stood before the man who had caused more than his share of grief for the girl she loved like a little sister. "Where is my cousin, Elijah?" she demanded. Thunder and lightning crackled outside, a sign of a coming storm as Lucy's emotions wavered between anger, devastation, and wrath.
"She is upstairs recovering," he answered, calmly. "May I offer you a drink?"
Ignoring Elijah's overbearing need for diplomacy, Lucy impatiently asked, "How long?"
Elijah took a deep breath, reminding himself that the witch's hostility towards them was more than justified. "Five hours."
"The Salvatores?"
"In the holding cells in the basement."
A savage smile spread across Lucy's face. "At last something positive." But the smile abruptly disappeared when her eyes landed on Finn. He sat hunched over almost in a daze. Guilt and disbelief prevalent in his eyes. "Don't tell me he has to be a part of this insanity too!" she said, her accusing eyes locked on Elijah's.
"Our brother was as much a victim as the rest of us, Lucy." He ignored her disbelieving scoff and continued. "It was Esther all along. She used her magic to manipulate him into doing her bidding." Elijah glanced back at his older brother. Finn had not moved or spoken since he walked through the door, carrying an unconscious Bonnie Bennett. Seeing the young witch lying listlessly in his brother's arms, Elijah felt something horrible seize his chest, until he heard the blissful sounds of her steady heartbeat. When asked what he was doing with her, Finn turned his guilty eyes on Elijah and said, "I have made a horrible mistake, brother."
"Elijah, don't feed me shit and attempt to call it caviar," Lucy said, scathingly, pulling Elijah from his reveries. While her anger still simmered and demanded penance, it was becoming more manageable the closer she felt Marcel. "Everyone knows your brother has been trailing down the path to suicide from the moment Esther made you. And because you all refused to give him what he wants, my baby cousin is less than five hours away from either death or being stuck with you all for eternity. It wasn't enough that Abby sacrificed Bonnie for you and that ungrateful doppelganger bitch when she desiccated Mikael, but now Bonnie will never have a chance to salvage that fractured relationship with her mother because you, Elijah, thought it would be brilliant to use said doppelganger whore as leverage to force her Salvatore lapdogs into severing Esther's powers by ordering them to kill her! What the hell has she done to any of you to deserve such torture?" none of the Originals could meet her eyes. Only Rebekah's jealousy and hatred towards the older witch had her openly glaring.
"I would watch my mouth if I were you, Lucy," Rebekah warned as her eyes flashed. She itched to tear open the witch's throat and drain every drop from her self-righteous body. "It is not as if we want to do this. Had you cared more about your family than being Katerina's go-to-witch, perhaps your cousin would have been dealt a better fate than being the doppelganger's simpering sacrificial lamb," she sneered.
Lucy turned to Rebekah and gained a perverse pleasure as she watched the spoiled original sister grit her teeth to keep from screaming against the aneurisms she leveled against her.
"Lucy, enough!" Elijah demanded.
Out of all of the Originals, Elijah was whom Lucy held the most respect. However, that respect quickly flew out the window when he double-crossed Bonnie and her friends the night Klaus broke his curse. She reluctantly ended her attack on his sister, who foolishly decided that would be the perfect moment to attack back.
Klaus shot to his feet, clearly incensed at the sight before him. His "adopted son" Marcel appeared in his home, UNINVITED, placed himself before Lucy with his fangs bared and intercepted Rebekah, holding her by her throat so that only her heels brushed against the floor.
"Unhand my sister," Klaus demanded eerily calm. Rebekah was more than capable of defending herself against his fledgling son, but it was the idea that he even had the audacity to touch her that set Klaus's teeth to grind.
Marcel spared his sire a single unimpressed glance. "I'll unhand your sister when she backs off my wife."
"Rebekah," Elijah said when it was clear Klaus would only allow things to further escalate out of control. "Stand down."
Rebekah shot her brother an angry glare, but obediently allowed her face to return to normal. She sneered hatefully towards her ex-lover and his new wife and reclaimed her seat beside Klaus.
Marcel slipped his arm around Lucy's waist and kissed her temple. "How's baby girl holding up?" he asked.
"She's unconscious still," Lucy answered, leaning tiredly against him.
"Then she doesn't know that Abby didn't make the transition." Marcel took a breath, suddenly furious with the Mikaelsons and the Salvatore brothers for all of the pain they were about to put Bonnie through.
Lucy licked her lips. "I think," she started, carefully. "Our ancestors are showing her everything that's happened while the others are dealing with Esther's betrayal of our line."
"They're showing her more than that, Lucinda."
Lucy's head whipped up so fast you could hear the bones in her neck crack. "Aunt Sheila?" she whispered, her eyes watering.
Everyone turned to the space beside the fireplace and was astounded to see the gray image of Sheila Bennett hovering slightly off the ground. Her eyes were black hollows and her hair moved in a phantom breeze. She looked every bit like the ghosts they envisioned as children.
"I apologize for my appearance, but a large part of my consciousness is with Bonnie and the rest of the family."
Lucy blinked slowly and spoke when no else would. "We understand. Is she alright?"
"No. She now understands Esther's true aims and the options left for her."
"There are no options," Klaus said, feeling the slow tendrils of fear working its way through his system. Klaus hadn't felt fear of this magnitude since encountering Mikael for the first time after centuries of running. "She either agrees or we all perish. End of discussion."
Sheila's hollow black eyes raked over Klaus leaving him with the impression that he was less than nothing in her eyes. "Considering all that you have put her through, Niklaus Mikaelson, I would say that the odds ain't exactly in your favor."
Lucy's hand tightened around Marcel's. "She hasn't chosen already?"
"No. At the moment she is going through both the human and immortal lives of the Originals, per request of the spirits."
The Mikaelson siblings shared uneasy looks. Their lives weren't sunshine and rainbows. It was death, blood, and screams of mercy. If Bonnie saw everything that they had ever done in the course of their 1000 years, they would be—for lack of a better word—fucked.
Klaus groaned softly and walked to the bar. "So this is how it all ends?" he cracked the seal on his bottle of vintage scotch and poured a glass. "Cursed to become a vampire, cursed from experiencing my werewolf side, sentenced to a life on the run from a murderous father, I managed to survive all of that, and for what? So that I can be done in by a teenaged girl?" Klaus laughed harshly and swallowed the scotch before throwing the glass against the wall. "Fuck!" he yelled, tugging at his hair.
"That feeling you have right now, Niklaus, that's the cold whisper of death at the back of your neck. Soon it'll get heavier, and heavier, until you feel the grasping fingers of all those you murdered over the years. That's what's waiting for you on the other side. An eternity of never-ending torture."
Klaus turned his furious hybrid eyes on Lucy who lifted her chin defiantly as Marcel moved to stand in front of her in case he decided to attack. "Here's what's going to happen. You are going to banish this ghostly witch bitch from my house and the moment your cousin wakes, you WILL convince her to bond with my siblings and I."
"This is Bonnie's choice, Klaus. I won't talk her into doing anything she doesn't want."
"Because if you don't," Klaus carried on, giving no indication of having heard a word Lucy had said. "I will force you to watch as I inject your dear husband with enough werewolf venom to bring him to the brink of death only to heal him and do it over and over until the clock runs out."
"Nik!" Rebekah gasped, horrified.
Klaus turned to his sister who wisely retreated closer to Elijah. "Do you think that this is a game, Rebekah? We have until SUNRISE! If the witch doesn't consent we are all DEAD! What is it that you do not comprehend here?"
Ignoring Klaus' threats and Lucy's outrage, Elijah moved closer to Sheila's ghost. "Is there no hope then?" the ghost tilted her head and Elijah pressed forward. "You know as well as I that we could never physically harm, Miss Bennett. The bond will not allow it. Certainly, an immortal existence in our care is preferable to a death before leaving her teens."
A small smile twitched at the lips of Sheila's ghost. "There's no need to pretend, Elijah. We're beyond it at this point, don't you think?" the ghost drifted closer to him and was impressed when he showed no reaction to the feelings of decay she emitted. "Does it bother you knowing that had you made the right choice, you and your family wouldn't be in this situation now?"
"What is she talking about, Elijah?" Rebekah asked sharply as Klaus looked between his older brother and Sheila's ghost.
Elijah ignored them all. "I made the only choice I could."
"No, you didn't," Lucy argued softly, remembering how devastated Bonnie had been that summer after the sacrifice. "Bonnie had the power of 100 witches. Do you really think she would've broken a sweat finding the coffins?"
Understanding bloomed on Kol's face as he sighed loudly. "Let me guess." All eyes turned to the youngest Mikaelson brother. "You bonded with the pretty little witch sleeping upstairs, but you let Nik ruin it, and now all of our lives hinges on her being able to stomach the thought of being bound to YOU for eternity. How am I doing, brother?"
Elijah kept his face perfectly blank, a tell that Kol had called it exactly right. "Had I not you would still be daggered, Kol."
"IT DOESN'T MATTER, ELIJAH! DAGGERED IS NOT DEAD!" Kol took a calming breath and ran his hand through his hair. "And that gross lapse in judgment aside, how could you possibly think she can accept us given what's happened to her mother?"
"That was the Salvatores," Elijah defended.
"Because of you threatening their bitch doppelganger," Kol argued. "Again, you chose someone else over her, but it's worse this time around because it was one of her friends. Mazel tov, brother, you have sentenced us all to death."
"Stop acting like you care about her, Kol, you don't even know her!" Elijah glared, furiously.
Kol looked away from his brother's angry face and gazed at the crackling flames of the fireplace. "And we probably never will."
She must be getting closer to waking, Lucy thought, studying Kol's intense reaction to Elijah's betrayal. Lucy assessed the other Originals. As hard as they tried to hide it, they were just as affected as Kol was. None of them noticed Sheila's ghost quietly fading away as Bonnie inched closer to consciousness.
"It must be true. Anything that can make Elijah use a contraction," Marcel muttered.
"Mother knew this," Finn said, speaking as if he was in a trance. "She knew that Niklaus and Elijah both would be her primary reasons for rejecting the bond."
Klaus looked sourly at his older brother while Elijah loosened his tie disgustedly. "Out of every imaginable outcome, this was not something I could have prepared for." Elijah clenched his fists at his sides in barely restrained fury. "If we do die, I swear that I will find our mother on the other side and enjoy an eternity of torturing her."
"It might not come to that." All eyes turned to Tyler as he leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed.
Rebekah rolled her eyes, seeming offended by Tyler's presence. "Why are you here?"
Tyler quirked an amused eyebrow, in spite of the chance of the supernatural world ending, himself included, in just a few hours. "One, I live here. Two, it got boring taunting Damon and Stefan who are so sure Elena's going to convince Bonnie to rescue them even after killing her mother, and three, I have company coming over." Tyler's face dropped in all seriousness as he glanced over to his sire, sensing his worry and anger. "Need anything?"
Klaus chuckled. He could almost let himself be touched by his first hybrid's concern. "Unless you have a surefire way to convince the witch with more than enough reasons to hate us all to complete the bond, then no."
Tyler tilted his head, hearing the familiar engine of Caroline's car coming closer to the mansion. "Let me get back to you on that."
They watched the hybrid leave with varying expressions. It shocked the residents of Mystic Falls to its core when Tyler moved out of his mother's house and into the home of Klaus Mikaelson willingly. Elena, Jeremy and the Salvatores cut all ties with him. Matt was understandably wary, but maintained his friendship. Caroline didn't like it and briefly wondered if Tyler secretly had a thing for the Original Hybrid, but supported him regardless. As for Bonnie, her main concern was for his and Caroline's safety and happiness. Aside from Klaus, Caroline, Matt, and Bonnie were all he had left.
"Is she alright?" they listened to Caroline question Tyler, her voice catching.
"Physically, yes. She's still asleep. My guess is Esther leaned a little too heavily on her magic and it's taking Bonnie longer than usual to refuel."
Rebekah turned to Klaus. "He is not as dumb as he comes across."
"Thanks, Bekah," Tyler answered, leading Caroline into the room arms filled with bags. "Definitely feeling the love here."
Caroline trailed in after him looking surprisingly unkempt. Her long corn silk hair was thrown into a messy ponytail and she wore jeans and a t-shirt. Klaus looked at his best hybrid's girlfriend expecting to feel that familiar sense of longing she managed to inspire in him whenever she entered the room. He felt nothing. Klaus couldn't decide whether to be relieved or annoyed that the bond, even though it hadn't been solidified had already sought to relieve him of whatever romantic attachments he felt for anyone who wasn't the witch.
"So," she said, glaring at the Mikaelson family through teary eyes. "Which one of you will be groveling first?"
The Originals stared back at her blankly. Rebekah rolled her eyes and picked at her nails. "You should know that we have the Salvatore brothers trussed up in the basement." Her acerbic gaze flickered up to the young vampire almost eager for her reaction.
"Good," Caroline answered, unflinchingly.
"Good?" Kol questioned. "I was under the impression that the younger Salvatore was something of a mentor to you. Does it mean nothing to you at all that he is currently bleeding out at the hands of Nik's hybrids?"
"Considering what they've both done to Bonnie, I'd say whatever loyalty I had to Stefan is gone. It goes without saying that I hope you kill Damon, sire or not."
"And I sincerely hope that I have the privilege," Tyler said, seeing the ghosts of old hurt swimming in Caroline's eyes.
A piercing, agonizing scream cuts through the air, startling them all. The Originals stand at once and all eyes turn towards the ceiling. Various shouts of, "Bonnie!" sound and they almost trample each other trying to reach the staircase. Klaus being the fastest makes it to the third step before an invisible force propels him backwards and into Elijah who was directly behind him.
The house shakes and windows shatter as her screams crescendo into wailing sobs. Candles ignite themselves and the flames rise, just barely miss burning the ceiling.
"What's wrong with her?" Rebekah's mask cracked as she felt Bonnie's grief deep in her soul. "Make her stop!"
"Baby, can you take down the barrier?" Marcel asked his wife as the house threatened to crumble around them.
"I don't know!" Lucy struggled to her feet and pressed her hands towards the barrier, but felt nothing. She glanced back at Marcel and took off up the stairs without a second thought.
"Lucy, don't!" Marcel yelled, immediately attempting to follow only to be thrown on his ass for his troubles.
Caroline shared a long glance with Tyler who reluctantly nodded. Leaning against the railing to steady herself, Caroline moved up the stairs. She had expected to be thrown backwards like the other Originals and was relieved when she wasn't. It takes exactly two minutes for the wailing to taper off into gasping sobs, and then another three before they become whimpers. The candles wink out, the house stops shaking and the sudden rainstorm outside halts before it could become a flashflood.
"It's working," Finn says with his eyes closed. "Whatever they are doing is working."
Klaus moves towards the stairs with his hand extended. "But the barrier remains." He gritted his teeth and mutters angrily under his breath. There were many emotions Klaus had prided himself on suppressing throughout the centuries past. Among them were worry, affection, and empathy. Now, thanks to the bitch who deigned to call herself their mother, he was experiencing all three and if the witch upstairs did accept them, he would for eternity. Klaus almost hoped she wouldn't.
Almost.
Bonnie rocked back and forth on the floor with her cousin and best friend comforting her. Bonnie didn't speak. She just cried and cried for the Originals, for their victims, for her friends, for her mother, and for herself.
She cried until her throat was raw and her eyes ached. Bonnie hiccupped and clutched at the arms around her. She knew Lucy and Caroline were at her side, though neither was particularly fond of the other. Bonnie's eyes drifted to the roaring fireplace in her room. She focused on the lulling flames, until she relaxed into an almost hypnotized state. It always helps a witch to focus on a particular element when seeking to center oneself. Fire was Bonnie's element and the sight had always managed to calm her even when she had her nightmares as a little girl of her mother walking away from her.
Fresh grief swept through Bonnie as she thought of Abby. The absentee mother who had abandoned her for her own safety after having sacrificed a portion of her powers to desiccate the Original Asshole Father. Now she was gone. All because the Salvatore brothers and a certain Original Judas issued her death decree.
"Bonnie Rabbit?" Lucy whispered as Caroline gently ran her fingers over her hair. "Are you all right now?"
"No," she croaked, her voice strained from all of the screaming and crying. "I'm not sure if I ever will be. Abby's dead, Lucy. Did you know that?"
Lucy and Caroline shared a look over Bonnie's head. "We will be right back. Okay?"
Bonnie nodded almost as an afterthought still staring at the flames. Both women walked down the stairs side by side, each lost in their own thoughts. Tyler, Marcel, and the Originals met them at the base of the stairs.
"Well?" Klaus demanded impatiently, only just restraining himself from a futile charge up the stairs.
"She knows Abby refused to make the transition," Lucy said, her voice muffled as she pressed her face against Marcel's chest. "I don't know what the spirits and our ancestors have shown her, but I've never seen that look in her eyes."
"Not even when Grams died," Caroline said as Tyler ran his hand up and down her back soothingly. "We have to help her."
Lucy lifted her head from Marcel's chest and looked steadily at Caroline Forbes. Lucy never liked the baby vampire because while she didn't encourage the Salvatore Brothers to use Bonnie as a magical shield for the protection of Katherine's doppelganger, she was one of the silent majority that allowed it to happen even while claiming she was her best friend.
"WE are the only ones who can help her," Klaus said, bitingly. "Take down the barrier."
Lucy narrowed her eyes at the original hybrid. "I can't. Bonnie erected it with the clear purpose of keeping you all away until she decides which path she wishes to take."
Furious over her defiance, Klaus took a threatening step towards Lucy, disregarding Marcel's warning growl. Surprisingly, Finn placed a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder. The Mikaelsons turned to their eldest sibling and were beyond shocked to see the cold anger in his eyes as the power he had restrained in an attempt to retain the small traces of his humanity fell from him in waves.
"While it is commendable that you are concerned for your kin, Mrs. Gerard, it will do you well to remember exactly whose wrath you risk incurring." Finn removed his hand from his younger brother's shoulder and almost casually prowled around the husband and wife couple. "The only reason I have not ripped apart your pretty little throat is because I find that it would be detrimental to our cause if we cost our dear Miss Bennett yet another member of her family. I will not ask you to remove the barrier—"
"Why the bloody hell not?" Klaus demanded. He was ready to rant and rave, threaten and remove hearts if necessary, but Finn cut him with such a look that the proud hybrid found himself backing down.
"As I was saying, I will not ask you to remove the barrier as it so clearly provides my little lamb with a sense of…comfort, however, if at this time she refuses to see us then we have no other recourse than to see her."
The Mikaelson siblings exchanged looks of confusion. Lucy sighed, feeling both aggravated and unnerved by Finn's sudden change in demeanor. "Where is it?" she gritted out.
Finn merely raised his eyebrows. "Exactly where you would expect it to be. Inside her bedroom."
Lucy nodded stiffly, reluctantly stepped out of the comfort of her husband's arms, and cautiously walked around the elder Mikaelson brother whose eyes held the promise of the pain of death. She had reached the third stair when he called out.
"And Lucinda? I would hurry if I were you." At that moment, one of Klaus's compelled servants entered the room carrying a tray of goblets filled with steaming blood. Finn was on her in an instant, his fangs tearing apart the soft flesh of her throat like she were merely made of wet tissue paper. The servant screamed once and then arched closer to his mouth as pleasure swept over her. Finn released the servant and Tyler caught her before she collapsed to the floor. Finn closed his eyes, ignoring the obvious pleasure swirling around the vampires in the room. "I can feel you watching, little lamb. I can almost taste your excitement," he purred, licking his fangs tauntingly before his face returned to normal. "You are only prolonging the inevitable. We WILL have every part of you. Oh, fight if you wish! But in the end you are ours." Finn cut his cold gaze towards Lucy who was suddenly terrified for her cousin. "Tick-tock."
She hurried up the stairs and Kol laughed outright. "Welcome back, brother!" Kol was positively giddy. Before he succumbed to depression, depression that Kol was starting to believe Esther had somehow cursed him with from the other side, the two brothers were near twins in regards of their shared love of starting massacres, spreading fear, and indulging in every indulgence they were never meant to experience.
Finn's lips curled in a ruthless smirk reminiscent of the early years of their turning. "Indeed it is good to be back, brother."
Caroline, who had given the poor compelled human her own blood to help her heal faster, cleared her throat. "If Bonnie really was watching, don't you think that little display set you back?"
Finn cast an apathetic glance towards Caroline and then turned his attention to Klaus. "I must confess, Niklaus, I fail to see your interest in this fledgling."
"I could say the same for you in terms of your precious Sage."
Elijah, Kol, Rebekah, and Marcel all waited with baited breaths for either Finn's grief or his imploding anger over the woman he had pledged his love for over 1000 years. What they got instead was a boisterous laugh that hadn't been used since their human days. "Cute, brother, but if it is a heartfelt remonstrance of your sullying her honor you seek, I am afraid you shall find yourself severely disappointed."
Rebekah gasped in disbelief. "Am I to understand that you have finally fallen from her spell?" There was more than a fair share of people, mortal and immortal alike, that Rebekah hated, but none more so than Sage.
Finn cupped Rebekah's cheek affectionately. "I have been liberated." He walked around the room in slow, deliberate steps as if suddenly awakening to the world around him. "While I share Elijah's desires to bring forth a thousand hells on our dear mother's head, she had her uses. My dear beloved," he sneered. "Spent her 900 years apart from me blissfully fucking and turning any and all men who gave her the most pleasure." His brothers, his sister, and his 'nephew' all managed to look anywhere but at him. They knew this already, but none of them was cruel enough to tell Finn. Had his mother not cast her magic binding their lives to the Bennett witch upstairs, Finn would surely have felt broken and ready to die to escape Sage's infidelities. However, he found the love, devotion, and desperate passion he once held for Sage replaced with anger, hatred, and a need to render her supple flesh from her bones as she begged for a mercy he no longer possessed. "A soiled woman holds no appeal for me. I can vaguely recall a time when you shared my sentiments, Niklaus. Alas, it would seem that your standards have slacked through these centuries past."
Klaus smirked a little at Caroline's bristling indignation. "I have always had a weakness for pretty things," he shrugged, unrepentant.
"Do not be fooled, brother. Nik likes pretty things he doesn't have to work for," Rebekah said, smugly. "Hence, targeting the fledgling."
Tyler rolled his eyes, not at all threatened by his sire's attraction to his girlfriend. "Care, maybe you should go be with Bonnie now." He ignored the glares on his back as he said his friend's name. "She needs you."
Caroline nodded, gave Tyler a quick peck on the lips, and carried her emergency girl time supplies upstairs to Bonnie's room—no, the room they placed her. Caroline chose not to think of the possibility of her and Tyler dying by sunrise if Bonnie didn't choose the Originals. From what she had seen with Finn, the supposed remorseful brother, death might not be the worst alternative.
With Caroline upstairs, Lucy came back down with Esther's large crystal ball, three times the size of a world globe, hovering behind her. She carefully set the crystal ball down on the dining room table as the Originals crowded around her and it.
"It has been centuries since I have seen an Eye of Desire," Elijah breathed in awe.
"Not since, Ayanna I suspect," Finn remarked.
"Oh, don't tell me," Kol scoffed, disgustedly.
"Yes, Mikael took it from Ayanna—after he killed her—the night she refused to track us." Finn peered at the large globe in concentration. He carefully placed his hand over it and closed his eyes. "Bonnie," he whispered aloud. The ball suddenly glowed and fogged over. He could literally feel its power beneath his fingertips. "This is how mother kept track of everything and everyone." The fog began to peel back and what it revealed left the Mikaelson family breathless.
Bonnie stood on the balcony of her new bedroom gazing up at the thousands of stars littering the sky like flecks of white mixed with blue sand. She still wore the long sleeveless white gown Esther dressed her in for the binding spell. She held her lovely emerald eyes closed letting the gentle midnight breeze caress her skin and flutter her long hair.
Marcel and Tyler exchanged amused glances at the sight of the almighty Mikaelson siblings all but drooling over their little Bonnie.
Caroline moved into view at her side and you could almost hear the sound of a needle scratching across a record as she interrupted the solitary view of their desire. "So this is all pretty awful," she said, bluntly.
Bonnie laughed shortly. "Awful is a running theme in our lives lately." She paused. "And quoting the Avengers is not going to make me feel better, Care Bear." Despite the small smile tugging at her lips. "Do the others know?"
Caroline thinned her lips. "Matt wanted to come over, but given his history with Rebekah and Kol, I managed to talk him out of it."
"Talk him out of it?" Bonnie echoed disbelief etched on her face. "Matt may have a healthy fear of Kol considering their last encounter, but there's no way he would not be here right now. What did you do, Care Bear?"
Caroline bit her lip guiltily. "I may have knocked him out for a few hours."
The house trembled a little on its foundation. "You did what?"
The quiet menace in Bonnie's voice and the emerald fires burning in her eyes had Caroline taking a hesitant step away from her friend. "I'm sorry, I know how you feel about having your choices taken away, and someone else deciding what's best for you, but given what just happened, can you honestly tell me Matt would have been safe here with five completely unstable originals downstairs?"
Bonnie pursed her lips and let her gaze flicker back towards the sky. "I suppose you have a point. It just would have been nice to see him before…" Bonnie snapped her mouth shut sensing the rising panic of the Mikaelsons through their bonds.
"Bonnie…?" Caroline couldn't, wouldn't ask. She wanted to live. She wanted to live and see the world with Tyler. She wasn't ready to die. Not yet!
Silently, Bonnie threaded her fingers through Caroline's without looking at her. The young vampire willed herself to calm down. This choice was Bonnie's to make. It didn't matter how anyone else, not even her, felt about the final decision.
"You good now?" she asked, after Caroline finally seemed to move past her mini-panic attack.
"Yep, meltdown averted."
Bonnie continued their previous discussion seamlessly. "And Jeremy?" The Mikaelsons didn't understand the ironic little smile Bonnie wore.
"I'm sure he'll be beating down the front door as soon as Elena gets wind of what's happening here."
Bonnie's laugh was low and husky, eliciting pleasurable reactions from her eavesdropping bond mates. "I wouldn't count on it. He's a little busy these days fucking the ghost of girlfriends past."
Caroline's mouth fell open and her eyes stretched widely to the size of jawbreakers. "Jeremy and ANNA? Are you seriously telling me the reason he's not here right now is because he's balls deep in that vampire ghost bitch?"
Bonnie shrugged carelessly. "Why do you think he suddenly found me interesting when she bit it after the execution of the tomb vampires? Why he so easily forgave me for failing to deactivate the Gilbert Device that led to her final death in the first place?"
Caroline looked past Bonnie, her mind working a mile a minute. "He was using you. He discovered you were a witch and wanted you to resurrect Anna. That motherfucker!" she hissed, her eyes flashed in anger.
"Congratulations, Care Bear. You, in the span of two minutes managed to see what it took me up until now to realize. Had it not been for my ancestors showing me all of his secret plans, I'd still be holding out hope that we would be together."
"This is too American Horror Story Season 1 for my taste." Caroline assessed Bonnie shrewdly, noting the amusement in her eyes. "You seem surprisingly chill considering."
"I think a part of me always knew that Jeremy's overnight love for me wasn't genuine. That was why I never slept with him."
"Then why did you let it go on for so long? Don't tell me it was just to appease Elena."
Something dark passed in Bonnie's eyes when Caroline mentioned the third half of their trinity. "No," her voice dripped disgust and something else the others didn't quite understand. A dark smirk curled at her lips as she looked over her shoulder at Caroline. "Being the only witch in town is a stressful ass job, Care, and thankless. Believe me, I kept the charade going on my end because Jeremy knowing exactly how to use his mouth was my only fringe benefit of being Elena's shield."
The Originals eyes darkened, each torn between anger over the youngest Gilbert's manipulations of Bonnie and being the first to taste her intimately. Klaus turned to his hybrid. "I would advise you to make your peace with it now. Gilbert's life is officially endangered."
Not too keen on what he had heard his female friend of many years confess, Tyler nodded curtly. "It won't actually be much of a loss."
"Do you know what this feels like?" Bonnie asked Caroline, drawing their attention back to her. "Senior prank night. We were all so determined to get Elena to let go of Stefan, at least for the night. And then Klaus just walked in with that arrogant swagger demanding a quick fix to his hybrid problem."
"That was the worst night ever. At least until last night."
"Remember when he forced his blood down Tyler's throat, snapped his neck, and then compelled Stefan to kill Elena by the time the buzzer went off if we couldn't find a solution? That's what this feels like. I can almost see the flashing red timer counting down. Save or condemn? Live or die?"
The Originals stopped breathing, fearing that she had already made a decision. Caroline bit her lip, resolved not to ask which route she'd chosen.
"Well, since the clock is ticking regardless, let's forget about the choice for now."
"What?"
"WHAT!" the Originals echoed.
"Easy," Tyler said calmly, seeing Klaus was only moments away from ordering him to do something that would leave Caroline pissed at him. "Let Caroline finish."
"I want you to let it all go for now." Caroline confidently made her way to the small table in the room. "This is just another sleepover, in a much more lavish and slightly creepy venue, and with the two most awesome members of MF's supernatural trinity present, we're going to veg out, overindulge in Brad Cooper's smexiness and ignore everything and everyone prowling behind your nifty little barrier downstairs." Caroline waved a copy of The Hangover tauntingly at Bonnie who immediately caved.
The girlish joy that flashed in her eyes produced warmth within the Mikaelsons that was an echo of emotions past. It was wholly unexpected, not entirely welcomed, but not something they were averse to feeling. Bonnie threw her hair up into a ponytail, caught the pajamas Caroline tossed at her and proceeded to slip out of her clothes. Hisses and growls echoed around the downstairs parlor as the siblings inched closer to the Eye with each inch of caramel brown skin she revealed.
Something suddenly occurred to Rebekah. "You will forgive my ignorance for having been daggered for the past 90 years," she cut a sour look towards her hybrid brother. "But is this common practice between girlfriends?"
A grin twitched at Lucy's lips when she spied the young vampire's eyes lingering on her baby cousin's lace covered ass when she turned away to remove her bra. "Not really…unless they already know each other VERY well."
Marcel let out a surprised laughed. "Damn, I never saw baby girl as the type."
"They have been friends for a while, experimentation is a natural course," Lucy shrugged. She chuckled under her breath at the painful look Tyler wore and knew the visual he was undoubtedly having was leaving him with an uncomfortable 'problem'. "I'm going to head back up there."
Lucy slipped back through the barrier and hurried up the stairs. She was unsurprised to see the annoyance flash across Caroline's face when she opened the bedroom door. From what she knew of the vampire, she never really liked to share. Bonnie least of all.
Bonnie smiled softly seeing her cousin, hovering in the doorway and patted the place on her left. "The Wolfpack is about to form."
The three women munched on pizza and ice cream while laughing and at some moments groaning. The Mikaelson family settled comfortably around the Eye and enjoyed seeing the young witch acting like the carefree teenager she should be at this age.
"It is in moments like these that I feel incredibly old and tired," Elijah confessed, breaking the silence.
"What do you mean?" Klaus responded annoyed, and only reluctantly tore his eyes away from the sight of Bonnie licking ice cream from the corners of her mouth.
"Just look at her. Look at the mirth in her eyes, the flush of her cheeks, and the burdening stress evaporating from her being. From the handful of times we have spoken, peacefully, I can see that moments like these are few and far apart."
"Your point being?" Kol asked, still staring.
"Am I the only one who finds it cruel that after all she has suffered, Esther chose her to be our anchor to this plane?"
Bonnie's eye twitched and they all noticed it.
"Mother chose her because of all that she has lost and suffered. Out of her friends and everyone else in this horrible little town that seems destined to recreate the actions of the past, Bonnie has the most reasons to plunge the supernatural world in a never-ending darkness." All eyes shifted to Finn, who leaned back twirling a tumbler in his hand. "Our brethren have been most unkind to her line for far too long. I intend to remedy that once she solidifies the bond."
Marcel gave the eldest Mikaelson a skeptical look. "What makes you so sure she'll go through with it?"
Finn smirked at his 'nephew'. "Because our mother had a horribly predictable penchant for seeing only the surface of one's feelings and actions. In all of her plotting and gloating, she never considered Bonnie would do anything but reject the bond."
The Mikaelsons, Tyler, and Marcel lapsed into a thoughtful silence as the three finished the movie.
The movie ended and no one speaks. The tension in the room was heavy and Bonnie silently acknowledged that she had about three hours left. There were so many reasons to do it, while anyone else would say that there were just as many reasons not to do it.
Caroline discreetly looked over her phone and immediately ignored the call.
"Elena?" Bonnie guessed, staring at the montage of photos depicting the Wolfpack's night of debauchery in Vegas.
"Yeah, probably freaking out about Stefan and Damon disappearing."
Caroline and Lucy stared expectantly at Bonnie, wondering if and how she would react to the mention of the brothers.
She could see it all happening from both her own memory and the details she missed due to the replay her ancestors had given her. Stefan coming in and distracting her while Damon forced his blood down her mother's throat and snapped her neck. And why? Because of a fucking coin toss. Of course, Abby didn't complete the transition, but Bonnie had already been snatched before she could rise. The Salvatore Brothers' necks snapped and whisked away. Finn had been there. He had placed her on top of an altar after Mommy Dearest herself stripped and changed her into that virginal white dress. Esther stood above her head chanting while Finn poured a goblet mixed with the blood of his siblings down her throat. He was so ready to die that he had no idea the lengths his mother was willing to go to ensure that every supernatural creature died along with him. Bonnie knew Finn thought it would be as simple as stopping her heart. Letting her fall asleep and ensuring that she never opened her eyes again. Bonnie vaguely remembered hearing a visceral growl once the spell was complete. It was as if someone suddenly removed the wool from his eyes and he could finally see his mother for what she was. And even when he plunged his hand through her chest so that she would get to experience the sensation of having her heart ripped from her chest for a second time, she laughed.
"You and your monstrous siblings will die a slow, agonizing death when the witch rejects you." Blood gushed from her mouth and down her chin, staining her blouse and somehow, Bonnie instinctively knew that Finn had embedded his fingernails into the organ muscle. "See you on the other side, my son." She died laughing.
"Bonnie Rabbit?" Lucy shook her shoulder a little. "Where did you go?"
Bonnie turned to her cousin. She was the big sister she always wished for as a child. Reaching out to her after the whole sacrifice debacle had been on a whim. After Lucy skipped town the night of the masquerade ball, she secretly kept in contact with the older witch, phone calls and emails here and there. She knew Elena would disapprove on principle, given Lucy's past partnership with Katherine, and Caroline playing Switzerland, would volley back and forth between sides until one caved to the other or they did what they always did: tucked it in the box of unmentionable topics. It would fit in next to Damon attacking Bonnie, Bonnie losing her Grams immediately after opening the tomb, and Bonnie betraying Elena with the Gilbert Device.
Eventually, Lucy talked her into visiting her in her new stomping ground. The NOLA. Bonnie had always loved going to New Orleans. Grams would take her once a year and they would eat gumbo and crawfish. Grams would allow her one small drink of something that still made her chest burn just thinking of it, while she herself would get a little too drunk and try to win Bonnie some beads by flashing her boobs, scarring Bonnie for life a little more each time.
With Lucy, it was more of the same, yet completely different. She was able to let go of the anger and disappointment Mystic Falls seemed to be in no short supply of providing. She danced in the streets to loud music; sweaty bodies surrounded her as Lucy's laugh vibrated in her ears. She drunk sweet concoctions that would have knocked her on her ass had she been a lesser witch. Things were great and got even better with Marcel entering, stage right.
"I'm just reminiscing on the past, particularly when I met your hubby for the first time."
Lucy blushed and Marcel chuckled with a shake of his head. "How did that go?" Tyler asked, when the Mikaelsons who obviously wanted to know as well, didn't ask. "Did she give you one of those infamous aneurisms Care's always going on about?"
Marcel snorted. "I wish. Bonnie caught an earlier flight than we were expecting and didn't tell Lucy because she wanted to surprise her. However, we were the ones in for the surprise. Bonnie caught me drinking from Lucy, flung me away from her, magically whipped my ass before Lucy could stop her, and to tie it up all nicely, tossed me in the pool out back and turned the water to flames."
The Originals stared wide-eyed and slack jawed. "She nearly roasted you alive and you are laughing about it?" Elijah exclaimed, incredulously.
"Yeah, baby girl can be a terrifying devil when she wants." Marcel tossed back his drink. "But it's all a part of her charm."
"Damn," Tyler muttered, imagining Marcel flailing in a pool of fire. "I know that had to hurt like hell. Weren't you even just a little bit mad?"
Marcel looked at Bonnie through the Eye with a fond smile. "That shit hurt like a bitch and took me about a week and a half to fully heal because I had some of Lucy's blood in my system, but I couldn't be mad at her for that. Baby girl saw a perceived threat to her family and acted accordingly." He looked down into his drink. "That's what family does for one another. They don't stop to ask questions or wait to see how the shit plays out. They hit hard and fast and make sure the one they loved is never left to save themselves if it comes to that."
The siblings exchanged pointed looks, but Klaus kept his eyes on Marcel. As his sire, Klaus, even after over 100 years of estrangement, could still feel his emotions as clearly as though Marcel was broadcasting them. Klaus rarely felt guilt for any actions, especially those concerning the safety of his family. After all, everything he did was for their best interests. Fleeing with his siblings when Mikael found them that night in New Orleans was necessary to ensure the preservation of his family. But wasn't Marcel a part of that family? That pesky voice that suddenly decided to emerge in the past 24 hours, whispered. Did you not spend years doing everything to show him that in your eyes he was as much of a Mikaelson as you and your siblings?
Through the Eye, they could see Bonnie's head tilt as if she were listening to something.
"We might as well talk about it, Bonnie Rabbit."
"I know, Luce," Bonnie sighed, tiredly. "So the supernatural world ends unless I consent to bond with the Mikaelsons."
"Not the werewolves," Caroline supplied.
Bonnie hesitated and Klaus's eyes narrowed sharply. "What now, witch?" he muttered, almost positive that she was listening.
Bonnie rolled her eyes having heard Klaus, because for her, the Eye was working both ways. "One of Esther's special surprises. She's still holding a grudge against the entire species for the death of Henrik and blames them for the grief she suffered which led to her momentary lapse from sanity in creating vampires and, indirectly, hybrids."
Caroline blinked. "Okay, that totally effed my mind."
The Mikaelsons couldn't disagree there.
"She did something to Klaus's blood so if he dies every werewolf dies along with him. She had this twisted vision of witches ruling supreme, but she missed the part that if there is no supernatural threat to humans, and the balance, witches will die out with every generation."
"How do you know all of this?" Lucy questioned, worriedly.
"While I was out, I was actually on the other side. The spirits have some very…effective ways of gathering information."
The siblings read between the lines and couldn't be more pleased to learn that their mother was once again being tortured for her actions.
"Okay, so your future mother-in-law is a total nutjob," Caroline teased, testing the waters.
Bonnie snorted. "I know. Thank the goddesses Mikael is long dead."
The siblings looked hopeful and Caroline and Lucy exchanged meaningful glances.
"What did the spirits show you?" Lucy asked, gently.
Bonnie took a breath. "Everything. I didn't just see the Mikaelsons as humans and their lives after they became Originals. I saw…the only way I can describe it is an alternate timeline."
Everyone was intrigued by this. "An alternate timeline?" Lucy looked immensely worried. "For the spirits to show you something like that, it means that things went down a severely darker path than they could now."
"What could be worse than plunging the entire supernatural world into an endless darkness?" Caroline asked, disbelievingly.
"Try the other side collapsing on itself altogether."
Silence.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
No one breathed.
"Start from the beginning," Lucy demanded. She sounded calm, but her eyes betrayed the panic she was feeling.
They all listened with rising anger as Bonnie described what was supposed to happen. From Abby's transition, Bonnie unlinking the Originals just moments before Stefan, Elena & Matt killed Finn with a white oak stake, Alaric's Dr. Jeykll & Hyde personality emerging due to being killed and brought back too many times with the Gilbert Ring, Esther possessing Rebekah, Esther trying her hand at killing her children once more this time by turning Alaric into a true vampire hunter, Bonnie desiccating Klaus and then secretly transferring his conscious into Tyler's body without telling anyone, Alaric destroying Klaus's body with a white oak stake, Rebekah losing her shit and killing Elena so that she would make the transition, Bonnie losing her powers when she restored Klaus to his body, meeting the ultimate dick Atticus Shane, the mind control and expression, the search for Silas and the cure, Klaus and Damon creating vampires to grow Jeremy's hunter mark, Jeremy giving it the good ole college try in trying to kill the sister he subconsciously hated with a passion, Kol trying to kill her and then being killed by Jeremy and Elena when Kol tried to cut off Jeremy's arm that bared his hunter's mark.
Bonnie had stopped pacing around the room and stood staring off into space. "I didn't care at the time, but I hurt them even more than they had hurt us. I let Kol die when he was actually trying to stop us from making the stupidest mistake, all because Princess Elena and her fucking precious golden vagina couldn't cut it as a vampire." Lucy's lips twitched, even though there was nothing at all funny about what her cousin was revealing to them. "And Klaus," tears fell heavily from her eyes as she cried. "I trapped him in that house with his brother's body and just left him there, for days! What kind of person does that?"
Klaus felt the tears rise to his own eyes, because whether she knew it or not, he could see every event in its entirety as she described it. He could feel the rage and sorrow he felt when he saw his brother covered in flames, the white oak stake protruding crudely from his heart.
Rebekah lost her composure completely and launched herself in Kol's arms. He couldn't die. He was a pain in the ass and almost got off on making her daily life miserable, but he was her brother and she loved him. He was the brother that secretly taught her to fish when Mikael told her to be pretty and silent. He was the brother who ruthlessly broke the hearts of the village girls who treated her like shit because even with her brothers constantly scaring off the boys who showed interest in her, she was still hailed as the most sought-after maiden. Rebekah would kill that doppelganger bitch and even Stefan and Matt if they ever came after any member of her family.
Kol's arms immediately went around Rebekah as she cried into his shoulder. He felt…dazed witnessing his own death. He could still feel the white oak lodged in his heart and the unnatural flames licking at his skin. Having spent so many years around witches, he knew the stories of Silas, the Travelers, Qetsiyah and Amara well. Of course he would have acted to keep the bastard from rising and destroying the veil to the other side. It angered him that Klaus and Rebekah disregarded him because they had their own selfish reasons for seeking out the cure. It disappointed him seeing himself so angry that he nearly killed his baby sister with the same white oak stake that would end up in his own heart. Poetic justice it seemed. Then for Nik to tell him that he didn't deserve to be a part of his family…well, that actually hurt. Had they really strayed so far from each other that they purposely set out to destroy each other beyond petty taunts and terrorizing of their significant others? According to the other timeline, they didn't need Esther or Mikael. The Original siblings were doing a job of destroying themselves all on their own.
Elijah's stoic mask cracked and little tears fell from his eyes as he witnessed Kol's death and then later comforting Rebekah in the woods as she mourned. He should have been there. He apologized to Elena in a letter, and yet said nor did a thing to atone for the pain he had caused Bonnie for a second time. He left his siblings to their own devices and Kol ended up paying the price for it. For the first time in his existence, Elijah felt true shame.
Finn's jaw ticked. He was so stupid in the alternate timeline. He allowed that undeserving whore Sage to distract him and let himself die at the hands of a fucking teenaged boy and Tatia's second and most inferior doppelganger! He was the eldest. Niklaus may have stepped into the role as he had spent so many centuries daggered, but not this time. Finn silently vowed to take his rightful place as the head of his family to ensure that nothing and no one would ever harm them.
"And it was for nothing!" Bonnie ranted as the wind picked up outside. "That fucking cure was only enough for one vampire and Elena fed it to Katherine. It didn't even work through bloodlines because you, Stefan, and Damon were still vampires."
"Silas rose," Lucy concluded, still trying to wrap her head around her baby cousin being a part of the group that unleashed the most dangerous vampire-witch known in existence. "Why didn't I talk you out of this?"
Bonnie bit her lip and looked over at her cousin. "Because we didn't talk to each other. After the masquerade ball, we didn't interact whatsoever. I think it may have had to do with you seeing how easily I allowed the Salvatores to use me whenever Elena needed protection. You hated serving Katherine and you couldn't stand to see me serving her fledglings and doppelganger. It was easier for you to just walk away."
"B…"
"Don't apologize. It was exactly what I deserved for being so stupid."
"What happened when Silas came?" Caroline asked, hesitantly.
The memories flashed and the three heard horrible growls and wounded cries echoing from downstairs.
"What the hell?" Caroline said, heading towards the door.
"Don't," Bonnie warned her. "The bond is growing stronger. They can see inside my head and I theirs. When you asked about Silas, they saw how he appeared to me as Stefan and started feeding my need for more expression magic. It got to the point where I had no control of myself or my actions."
"Bonnie," Caroline whispered, fearfully. "What happened when Silas came to you?"
"I was his," she whispered softly. "I was his witch in every sense of the word."
"Bonnie—"
"He fucked me, Caroline! Is that what you want me to say? When I wasn't sacrificing innocents in his name…I was everything he needed me to be until I was strong enough to tear down the veil to the other side and free his beloved Amara. But what I didn't realize was that she wasn't just stuck on the other side." Bonnie laughed, hysterically. "No, as much as they pissed off Qetsiyah, she made the bitch the anchor to the other side and Silas intended for me to take her place."
Caroline choked back sobs. "No, no we couldn't have let this happen to you," she denied.
"But you did. I was drifting, I was drowning, and no one noticed anything because my problems had nothing to do with Elena. I don't really blame you, Care. You had your own issues. Tyler broke his sire bond to Klaus and got the other hybrids to do the same." An almost proud smile lit Bonnie's face that left them all confused. "They lured him to the woods and attempted an ambush. It was stupid of them to think that they could take him on." Bonnie's pupils dilated and the Mikaelson siblings calmed sensing her arousal as she showed them the memory of Klaus killing his hybrids, emerging victorious and battle stained with blood. "So much power," she whispered.
"Did Tyler…?" Caroline, even though she knew these things would never happen now was terrified to ask.
"He didn't die. He was detained by Klaus's only remaining loyal hybrid. Hayley." As soon as Bonnie spoke Hayley's name, she shut her memories down and pushed the Originals out of her head with a force that left them staggering.
"Who is Hayley?" Caroline questioned.
"That's between myself and the others." She wasn't ready to think about Hayley and what she would lead to yet.
"However," Bonnie pushed on. "Tyler was punished for his betrayal. Klaus ended up drowning Mrs. Lockwood in the fountain in town square."
Caroline's eyes widened and Tyler swayed on his feet, needing to sit down. His sire murdered his mother in the other timeline. What the FUCK?
Meanwhile, Lucy made notes of everything Bonnie told them that happened in the other timeline. "Okay," she focused her energy on this, because if she continued to let herself imagine that monster using her cousin as his magical concubine she would go crazy. "Up until this point the only things that match up in this timeline and the other is Abby being turned by the Salvatores. That must have been in the plans no matter what." But something confused Lucy. "Everything still changed drastically. What made the timeline veer off into this?"
Bonnie set on the edge of the bed. "I think it might have been Elijah."
The original brother sat up in his seat and discreetly dried his eyes. The parlor was completely destroyed after having seen Bonnie's eyes turning from that lovely emerald to a horrible black as she fell under Silas's control. Watching her become a simpering shell of herself seeking Silas's approval, allowing him free access of her body and magic caused them all to lose control of the raging beasts inside of them.
Even Marcel stood with his back turned, his fist embedded in the wall as he hid his face in his arm sniffling suspiciously. He couldn't see what they saw, but hearing her say the words was more than enough for him.
"What about Elijah?"
"In the alternate timeline, we had little to no interaction when he first came to town to help us protect Elena and defeat Klaus. Like everyone else that gets too close, he was enraptured by Elena and spent more time with her than he did the rest of us," she said, sounding more bitter than she intended. "There were the occasional moments that he would take from his full schedule of his secret Elena Worshipping to hand Damon his ass, although that was probably for Elena's benefit as well. You know, posturing and such."
"I had no idea you hated Elena so much, Bonnie," Caroline said, quietly.
"Neither did I. Seeing your life turn to shit because you decide that one person is worth more than your own well-being does wonders for opening your eyes to what's right in front of you."
"How is that any different than what happened this time? It seemed like the same to me."
"It almost was for a while, but being close to Lucy and watching her interact with other vampires helped me let go of those old prejudices I had. I sought out Elijah one night after we all met together. There was a spell in my grimoire that I needed translating and I would rather swallow hot coals than ask Damon for anything, so Elijah was the most plausible choice. We met in the witch house because it was discreet and most of the witches inhabiting the house had crushes on him." She rolled her eyes with a small grin.
Rebekah snorted, drying her eyes. "That sounds about right."
"But it grew beyond learning more about your magic from him, didn't it?" Caroline guessed, suddenly hating herself for missing something else big in her best friend's life.
"He was fascinating to me. He was one of the world's oldest, strongest vampires and you almost had to squint to see that. As a witch, I could literally feel the power rolling off him in waves. Usually, that's a red flag, danger, and beware sign all rolled into one, but it was comforting to me. He had seen and done so much and I wanted to learn as much from him as he was willing to teach me. In the beginning, it was his vow to keep Elena alive that made him tolerable to me, but it was his knowledge, his morals, and honor that endeared him to me."
"You fell for him," Caroline declared, feeling blown away.
As she spoke the words, Bonnie opened her bond and let Elijah and his siblings see everything that happened between them every word exchanged, every touch, and every kiss.
"Did you...?" Caroline asked, meaningfully as Bonnie blushed.
"No, the spell would only work if I was still a virgin where it counts."
"Where it counts," Caroline repeated with widening eyes as Bonnie blushed.
She remembered touching Elijah through his pants as they kissed. She remembered taking his hand and placing it underneath her skirt because he was too much of a gentleman to do it on his own volition. She remembered the feel of his hardened length in her mouth, his bittersweet taste exploding onto her tongue as he cried her name.
The others turned to Elijah, astonished at what they were seeing. "What?" he asked, nonplussed. "She was wasted on the Gilbert boy and ignored as a woman by the Salvatores. I tried to resist her. I even went as far as to ingratiate myself between Elena and Stefan, but I found that I was growing increasingly annoyed by Elena Gilbert's presence. Bonnie tested every ounce of restraint I possessed. I craved her," he confessed.
Bonnie closed her eyes, hearing Elijah's confession and it suddenly clicked into place for Lucy. "You chose Elijah. That's what altered the timeline."
She nodded sadly. "I was fully prepared to give myself to him after the sacrifice. It was supposed to be something straight out of the movies. The battle bloody, but won. Everyone stumbling home trying to wrap their heads around surviving the impossible and then he would look at me and just know I was ready."
"But that's not how it ended," Caroline said softly.
"No, and as angry and disappointed as I was, I knew I couldn't really blame him for the decision he made. I'd be lying if I said I never had my doubts that he could actually go through with killing Klaus. I mean, Cain killed Abel, but that's not who Elijah is. A part of me knew that even when he was declaring his desire for vengeance, Elijah would rather have just washed his hands of Klaus than to actually be the one to end him."
"You never said anything. You were the treasurer of the Death to Elijah Fanclub afterwards."
"I was hurt and bitter. I felt like everything we did was just…just a distraction. A way to get me to hesitate if we ever reached that point of turning on one another."
Elijah closed his eyes briefly, hating that he had been the one to make her feel that way. He wanted her always, even when it looked like he chose his family over her.
"It didn't surprise me that when I searched for his presence it was gone. Of course, Klaus would dagger him. He promised to take Elijah to their siblings and he did, he even went the extra mile to make sure they were together," she said, wryly.
Klaus looked almost smugly at Elijah. "She anticipated my moves better than you did, brother, and you supposedly know me so well."
"So it's Elijah that's the issue?" Lucy asked, ready to bring everything to a head. "He is what has you hesitating?"
"Not really."
"Then it must be Klaus," Caroline reasoned. "You didn't really have that much interaction with Finn in the other timeline, you feel guilty about letting Kol die so he's clearly not the issue, and as far as Rebekah goes, we both know that you have a thing for blonde and leggy females." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Klaus is making you hesitate to agree, but it's not for the obvious reasons, is it?"
"No, and if I'm to do this, I need him, all of them, to know exactly why I'm hesitating." Before Caroline or Lucy could answer, Bonnie concentrated. "Umm, hello?"
The Mikaelsons jumped as one. Elijah was the first to recover. "Bonnie."
"Hi, Elijah. I take it this means that you can all hear me?"
"Loud and clear, darling." Bonnie tried not to blush, hearing Kol's voice. He always had been too handsome for his own good. "I am so glad you think so."
"Ugh, okay, before this gets too annoying, I want to apologize to you all for my actions against you in the alternate timeline." The Originals were quiet and Bonnie took it as a sign to keep going. "I was judgmental and I allowed my past dealings and inductions into this world to shape my treatment of you. Finn, I never bothered to question why you were so set on ending your life as well as the lives of your siblings. Clearly, you were having issues and if you were human I would have been there trying to help you work through it. But because you are an Original, I only saw a vampire, a monster, and I rallied behind your efforts because I wanted to hurt your brother. I am so sorry. Rebekah, I ignored you and when there was interaction, I behaved as though you were beneath me. I didn't see a girl that after having spent over 90 years unaware as the world passed her by, only wanted acceptance and understanding. I didn't see how badly you were hurting after having been betrayed by your parents. I saw a monster who was a threat to my friends. I let you think that Klaus was dead because I knew out of the few things that could break you his death would truly hurt you. For my part in your pain, I am so sorry. Kol, I won't lie to you. You were brash, reckless, and impulsive, and I couldn't have been more attracted to you in the previous timeline if I tried. But you saw me spiraling when no one else did. You figured out what was happening between me and Shane and you intervened, even though it wasn't for my benefit. For once, you tried to do the right thing and save all of our ignorant asses from raising hell on earth and you were killed for your troubles. I allowed that to happen. I even had the chance to let you come back and I wouldn't. I can't explain what I was thinking at that time, but thank you for trying to help us, and I am so sorry I let you die." Bonnie knew that tears were streaming down her face as she apologized to each Original. "Elijah," Bonnie trembled delicately. "I really don't know what to say. Even when I thought I might have been able to forgive your betrayal the night of the sacrifice, you held me in even less regard when you ordered the Salvatores to do whatever necessary to end the Bennett line to cut off Esther's power. I agree in theory it was necessary because your mother had syphoned power from the Bennett line for decades even after she reached the other side. However, as one particular point in history was destined to happen anyway, I want you to know that while I forgive your part in my mother's death, I don't think I can trust you again. I want to, I know for this to work I have to, but I just can't yet. But I will say that I am sorry. I am sorry that a part of me used that anger and resentment I held for you to allow me to lash out at your family in hopes of hurting you. I am sorry for my part in allowing the place you once called home to become a memorial of pain and suffering for you." Bonnie took a deep breath. This one would be the hardest thus far. "Klaus," she whispered. "From the very first moment we met, you had it in your plans to kill me. And that was okay, because those were the exact plans I had for you. When you were reunited with your family, before everything went to hell with Esther, I saw glimpses of you, of how you were before you turned. You never really lost your humanity, you just ignored it. I secretly admired you. Your knowledge, your power, your ability to bring witches to your side in almost worship. I was all right with trying to kill you and you trying to kill me. Somehow, everything fell apart. I desiccated you and then put your conscious in Tyler's body. I told myself that I was keeping you alive for my mother, for Caroline, for Tyler and the Salvatores, but I didn't WANT you to die. It felt like a waste. After everything we had gone through with you, your death just didn't sit well with me, and I had no idea why." Bonnie took a breath, knowing that she was rambling. "I don't know how to apologize for what you are about to see next. Trapping you with Kol's body was cruel, but this…this is torture of the lowest form, but I can't, I WON'T fulfill this bond without you seeing exactly what Esther cost you. I'm so sorry, Klaus."
Bonnie pulled out of the link and let the memories of Klaus and Hayley flow. Bonnie fell to her knees feeling Klaus's pain when he saw the memories of the witches explaining Hayley's pregnancy as a loophole to his werewolf side. The memories continued with the growing threats of the New Orleans witches to Hayley and the baby, Elijah's growing attraction to Hayley, and the birth of little Hope Mikaelson. Klaus's cries filled the house as he experienced holding his daughter for the first time, and then giving her up to Rebekah for her safety.
"Bonnie, Bonnie, what is it?" Lucy rushed to her.
"There's a little girl who won't ever be born because of what Esther's done. She was Klaus's redemption. How can I take that away from him? We'd be better off if we all died right now." She cried in Lucy's arms as Caroline swallowed back her own tears. Daddy!Klaus was not something she was prepared for.
The Mikaelsons surrounded their grieving brother as Elijah stoically explained to Marcel and Tyler everything Bonnie had said and revealed.
Marcel was both furious and sad. Furious that his witches would dare make a move against an unborn child, even if it was Klaus's, and sad because a little girl, his little sister, would never exist.
Tyler felt helpless and antsy. His sire was suffering and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. He looked at the Mikaelson siblings and gazed at Kol. He was the one Bonnie clearly held the most regrets towards, aside from Klaus. The youngest Mikaelson brother met the hybrid's gaze and nodded, already sensing where his thoughts had turned.
Kol calmly left the room. He ignored his siblings' eyes on his back and approached the barrier. "Let me in, darling."
He felt Bonnie's startled confusion. "I…Kol, if I see you…"
"Oh, I know, but considering that you have an awful lot to make up to me…" he trailed off, his tone playful and leading. When she didn't answer, he tried a different approach. "Consider it a last request of a dying man."
The barrier didn't collapse and he wasn't surprised. Instead, it stretched and gave way, allowing him to press through. Kol didn't hesitate heading towards Bonnie's room. Caroline and Lucy stood almost protectively in front of Bonnie, blocking his view of her. "Ladies, I wish to have a word with Bonnie. If you would?" he gestured towards the opened door, but they both knew it was not at all a request.
Lucy reluctantly stepped away from her cousin and left the room with a quick glance towards Bonnie. She hurried down the stairs and flew into Marcel's arms. He carefully picked up his wife who had finally broken down and carried her to another room. Caroline bit her lip and made Bonnie promise to call out to her if she needed her help. She, too, was reluctant to leave Bonnie alone with the young original brother, but felt that she desperately needed to be in Tyler's arms.
When they were finally alone, Kol closed the door and turned the lock. He leaned against the door and stared at the witch before him. Her own memories alone proved that she was a major threat to them all if things had gone as they would in the other timeline. And yet, Kol was completely enamored by her. He could feel the immense power she possessed from just across the room. She was truly a beautiful little witch. Her dark curly hair, her probing emerald eyes, her lusciously plump lips and asymmetrically shaped face. Her body was curvy and she had long, shapely legs. He could do a helluva lot worse with whom he could be tied to for an eternity.
Bonnie fidgeted under Kol's silent stare. She knew she looked a mess. Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes were red from so much damn crying and her nose was running a little. Bonnie felt gross, unkempt, and unworthy to even be in Kol's presence, especially after having seen how his life ended in the other timeline.
He approached her casually, even as the beast inside him screamed at him to claim, bite, and fuck her into submission. He cupped her chin and lifted her head so that she was meeting his eyes.
"I accept and forgive your misdeeds against me in the other timeline, Bonnie."
She almost sagged in relief against him. "Thank you."
He smile softly and kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her wet cheeks, the tip of her nose and her luscious lips. "What do you choose?"
"You already know the answer," she panted, his slow kisses leaving little fires all over her skin.
"Say the words, Bonnie. Save or condemn? Live or die?" he echoed her words back to her.
"Save. Live." She swallowed and looked up into his beautifully dark brown eyes. "I choose to bond with you. All of you."