I don't own TVD. I seriously suggest listening to What Hurts The Most by Rascal Flatts for this.
Chapter 1:
How We Fell
Love never fails. It is the people who fail. They fail to keep promises. They fail to tell truth. They fail to trust each other.
- Chanda Kaushik
1434
The fire crackled, seemingly excited by the two lovers seated together cozily in front of it. The male of the two nuzzled his lady's neck, whispering all the dirty things he wished to do to her as she blushed furiously and suppressed a bright smile at the mere thought of it all.
Love was a fascinating thing. It was so strange how two people could come together so wonderfully. No matter how different they might be, there was always something that just made everything... click. Something that made everything feel right.
Two different elements with the same spitfire tongue in between... Yes, that was a good way to put it.
"Love."
That word rang in her ear, sending shivers up and down her spine. She loved the way he called her love. She loved the way he smelt (something between peppermint and fresh rain, she thought). She loved his voice and the way everything sounded like a song in her ears, especially in the mornings when he had his arms snaked around, holding her close. His dark hair that she ran her fingers through at least once a day and his eyes that always seemed to search for her in a crowd. She even loved his childish manners, because that's what made him, well, him.
"Kol."
He loved her equally as much, if not more. He loved her long dark hair and the contrast her bright hazel eyes made with it. He loved the way his name rolled off her tongue as if that was the only name she was ever supposed to say. He loved the way she argued with him when she knew she was right. Or how she never backed down even if half way through she suddenly realized she was wrong. The way she really didn't seem to care that he was different even if she would never think twice to become like him. He even loved the way she was always fiddling with something just to keep herself busy.
If either of them could live seven different lives, they would always fall in love with the same person.
"Love?" he said, kissing her neck softly.
"Yes?" she purred, unconsciously leaning into his touch.
"I'm feeling a bit peckish―"
"Kol," she started, turning her head to look him in the eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? There is no need to ask."
He nodded and she stretched her neck, pushing her hair behind her ear. Without another word, his fangs grew, his eyes changed and he bit down on her neck, extremely pleased when he immediately felt the blood touched his tongue.
His lady gasped from the pinch of pain, but relaxed only a second after. She had learned from watching the other Mikaelson's and their usual fighting victims that it was always much better to just let something happened. It's much more painful to fight it.
It wasn't long before Kol stopped, knowing fully well that the human body could only take so much blood loss in a timely fashion. He went to wipe his chin but his lady got there first.
She thumbed the blood away, no hints of disgust in her expression. Mentally, she thanked her parents for teaching her that she could not change anybody. She could only be a reason for them to change. In turn, she was very much accepting of the vampire she had grown to love wholeheartedly. She couldn't change something he couldn't help, but she could be a reason for him not to go on killing sprees, like some unnamed brutal vampires she had encountered in her strange adventures.
When every drop of blood was gone, she smiled and cleaned the blood on her finger with her dress.
Kol then proceeded to heal her and grab a cloth to wipe away what was left on her neck.
He quirked his eyebrow as he did so, "What do you suppose you'll say if someone sees the blood stain?"
She shrugged, thinking on the subject. What would she say?
"I'll make up a lie, of course."
"Lying isn't very lady-like."
"Well, I've always been a bit on the rougher side of things, haven't I?"
Kol chuckled, throwing away the cloth. He completely understood the innuendo intended, "Speaking of which, I believe you've been lacking some of that roughness lately."
"Oh, have I now?"
She adjusted her position beside him until she was hovering over him. She bent forward, planting a sweet kiss on his lips. It was always the same way they started every kiss. One would start off gentle while the other took only a second to deepen it and make it as passionate as they could.
Kol pulled her down closer by the top of her dress with one hand, while the other pushed her hair away. At this point, she was seated on his lap, her arms draped around his neck.
Their lips broke apart as he left trails of kisses along her jaw line, her neck and then collarbone. She ran her fingers through his hair, eagerly longing for what was to come as he sucked and nipped at her skin, marking her as his.
"I love you," she whispered, closing her eyes.
"I know," she heard him say back.
Always the same answer. She knew he loved her, she really did, but it would be nice to hear it back. A large part of her told that he was getting used to the emotion, having only shagged and then left a majority of the females he had encountered in his life. She was fine with that. The other girls didn't matter to him anymore, if they ever really did, but a small part of her kept whispering that he was still in denial or that she was trying to simply convince herself that he loved her.
"Kol― oh lord!" came the disgusted voice of Rebekah just as he began to slide his hands up her waist to help shrug off his lady's dress. "That is the second time in five days that I have walked in on you two!"
"Well, baby sister," Kol sighed irritatingly as his lady moved off of his lap. "There is something, I believed it was called knocking. Look into that for future reference."
"I think I'll be going now," his lady said, standing up but Kol grabbed her hand.
"Rebekah was just leaving, weren't you sister?"
"Actually, no. I was not. Besides, I think she has a point." Rebekah stated, moving aside for the lady to pass through.
Kol scoffed, letting go of his lover's hand.
"You might wish to remember about the lock on the door," Rebekah warned as the lady passed through. "It might be someone like Elijah walking in next time."
The lady nodded, stopping to give a goodbye smile to Kol.
"Goodbye, Scarlett," he said, looking her up and down. He knew very well what he was doing to her with his stares.
Scarlett smiled, the blood rushing to her cheeks. "Goodbye, Kol."
The thing with falling in love with someone is that it's expected of you to tell them your secrets and the things that secretly bother you about everything. The unfortunate, or fortunate, thing is that:
Some things are better left kept secret.
You see though, keeping secrets adds tension and creates distance. You want to tell them so badly, but you know that things will not end well if you do. So you keep those inner demons to yourself because you convince yourself that it's for the best.
If Scarlett ever thought of keeping something secret from Kol, it was not what happened after she left that day. The only person she could actually go to talk about it with was Elijah. She couldn't tell her family, her friends, no one. Shame. Shame was all she felt for what had happened. Even more shame built up in her for not trusting Kol enough to confide in him.
No, it wasn't a lack of trust, she had told herself, it was a lack of courage on my part.
Oh, but it could have been trust too. She knew him well. She knew him well enough that everything would only end in tears and anger if she even spoke a word. She didn't trust his reaction.
Scarlett shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Where's Elijah?" she questioned innocently. A bit too innocently.
There was a moment of undeniable darkness in Kol's eyes. She seemed to be asking about his brother a lot this past week or so.
"Why?"
"Just curious," she said, taking a bite out of her meal.
Kol watched her carefully. Not in the usual way that made her want to pull him as close she could to her, but in a different way. No, he was studying her for the tell in her lie and he had caught it.
"Liar," he said a bit more bitterly than he had intended. "Why has Elijah suddenly become such a common word in your mouth?"
"It hasn't," she argued, setting her fork down. "It was merely a question."
"You're lying."
"Fine. If you don't believe me, that's your own problem."
Kol rolled his eyes, feeling that annoying jealously creeping up on him.
"A week ago, you barely cared for the location of any of my siblings. Now only one seems to escape your mouth."
He wasn't going to hide his irritation. No, he had to make sure. He means, she couldn't have done that with any of his siblings... could she?
No, she was much too faithful for that.
"Is it so bad that I want to have a closer relationship with the people in your family?" she responded, but despite all she gave, she lacked the conviction in her voice.
"Liar!" he barked, hitting the table and standing up. He made to leave, but her voice made him pause momentarily at the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To ask Elijah what the bloody hell you're hiding from me!"
All the arguing was getting to her head. It was almost like she could reach out and grab the strain in her relationship. She found herself going less and less to the Mikaelson house, and spending more and more time just walking around.
Today, her wandering brought her to the spot where it happened. Just the sight of the very tree it took place under brought back all the memories and nightmares she had experienced since then.
Her knees buckled underneath her and she was crying. Her face was covered with her hands as she sobbed out everything that she could remember. She had fought it, unlike how she had conditioned herself to take everything that came to her. She had fought and she had fought hard, but she was too weak. She lacked any strength she had in that moment.
She craved to regain any of that spitfire she had. If someone could just answer her constant prayers, maybe she would make it out of this alive. Hell, she just hoped that when it occurred, that wouldn't form in the aftermath.
"Crying will not solve anything, Scarlett," someone said.
She lifted her tearstained eyes to see the person who spoke, "Elijah?"
"It is in my best opinion to recommend you tell him, Scarlett. He is hurt and looking for answers that I cannot give."
Scarlett wiped away the tears with her sleeve and crossed her arms, "I am hurt too!"
"Yes, but he doesn't see that," Elijah retorted, "He sees you keeping secrets from him."
Scarlett shook her head, "No, no! I can't tell him! He'll never look at me the same."
"He is already looking at you differently."
Scarlett froze, the tears beginning to fall again. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Kol. Oh God, how she hated feeling so helpless. The constant nagging feeling of helplessness and guilt for not being able to voice what happened that night.
"Elijah, please! I can't feel this way anymore! Please, do something!"
"I'm afraid I can't. Compelling you will only leave us with more questions should that occur."
In desperation, Scarlett grabbed onto Elijah's arm. "Then turn me! Make me a vampire! It will kill it if it exists! Then I could tell Kol! We'd be okay and remain as we are! Please!"
"I don't believe that is a wise decision."
"Please."
It might have been the tears or the plead in her words, but Elijah considered it for a moment. Even if this was a moment of desperation, she would have to tell Kol at some point in time. This gave her time. This would give her the opportunity to feel good again.
"Alright."
The door to the house opened, welcoming the scent of a fresh kill to Kol. Now who would be so dumb as to bring a dead body into the house? Klaus, maybe?
Something in his gut told him otherwise.
With overwhelming curiosity, he followed the scent to the den. There was something familiar lingering with the scent of death. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He turned one last corner and he found the source.
There, lying still on the bed, was Scarlett.
He felt his heart sink, his vision began to blur with anger. Who was responsible for the death of his most treasured person? His eyes found Elijah leaned up against the window only a meter away.
"What did you do to her?" Kol said darkly through gritted teeth.
Elijah turned a weary gaze at his younger brother and sighed, knowing what was to come from this conversation.
"I did what she asked me to do."
It didn't fully register in his mind, but the pieces landed together like heavy snowfall in the winter.
"She's―"
"Transitioning? Yes. Upon her request."
Kol grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on, a goblet, and threw at the wall by the bed she lay in. The glass shattered into tiny shards on and around her body.
"WHY DID SHE GO TO YOU?!"
"I'm afraid that is an answer only she can give―"
"THAT DOESN'T MATTER," he barked, throwing a chair this time at another wall, "I'M THE ONE THAT'S IN LOVE WITH HER! WHY DON'T I DESERVE TO KNOW?!"
"Kol, this tantrum is hardly necessary―"
"IS IT NOW?" he huffed angrily, clenching his fists.
He took ten deep breaths in efforts to calm himself down, but it wasn't working.
She had promised that if she ever wished to become a vampire, she would go to him! And only him! She said that even if she lacked the desire now, she would go to him if she changed her mind! And now there she laid. She was going to wake up at any given moment because of Elijah's blood. Not his, but Elijah's.
And that made him angry beyond description.
"When she wakes up, tell her that she means nothing to me."
When Scarlett awoke, she waited until nightfall to feed. Elijah had not said anything, but she detected something different in the atmosphere. She could smell Kol's lingering scent in the room. That may have been from the other day though.
However, the shattered glass around her and the broken chair told her otherwise.
She snuck quietly around the back of the house towards the village, in search of someone to feed off of. Her thirst was great and it needed to be met.
Elijah had promised her a daylight necklace by morning. She had given him the necklace Kol had given her for the witch to use. If anything was going to protect her, it would be something that Kol had given her.
Scarlett quickened her pace, seeing a flicker of movement just beyond the trees surrounding the village. She had no idea of someone watching her from not-so far away. Studying the way she weaved through the trees and met her first victim.
Scarlett hesitated when the man she would feed on turned around and smiled knowingly at her. It was him. She readied herself, anger taking control of her every coming-action.
"I see you've come―"
Without letting him utter another word, Scarlett attacked. She sunk her newly-formed fangs in the side of his neck and was pleased when he struggled.
Good, fight. Feel my pain, she thought, sinking her teeth in further.
She didn't care if her dress got stained with blood. At least she would have gotten some control over her life back.
She felt the fight in him drain from his body as he got progressively weaker with every drop she stole from him.
But something in her mind came back to haunt her.
His blood is flowing inside me
She pulled back and in her panic'd state, she snapped his neck and let his body drop to the floor. No guilt; only relief.
She heard footsteps behind her and spun around to meet the judging eye's of her lover. He was seeing her in her most brutal state. If only he saw her at her most vulnerable. Then he would understand.
He scoffed, looking her up and down.
"Disgusting."
Then he was gone.
And nothing was ever the same.
Well, I hope that was enjoyable! I actually found myself fangirling at some points and that never happens to me with my own fanfiction :3
Tell me your thoughts and emotions towards Scarlett and what you think happened to her. Tell me what I can improve upon! It would be much appreciated!
Also, the next chapter skips some time and shows the changes in our two lovers - or rather - ex-lovers and their relationship. Quite some character change too, especially in Scarlett :)
See you next time
- Stitch