Category: The Vampire Diaries (TVD)

Summary: Kol finds a box lying in a clearing. When he opens it, he gets the one thing he's wanted more than anything else in the last millennium.

Title: Curses and Blessings

Characters: Kol Mikaelson, Bonnie Bennett, Niklaus Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson, Rebekah Mikaelson, Finn Mikaelson, Esther Mikaelson, Sage, and Abby Bennett-Wilson. With mentions of Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert, and Caroline Forbes

Relationships: Kol Mikaelson/Bonnie Bennett (friendship)

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Family, Supernatural.

Rating: Rated M to be safe. The story has a few naughty words, but none of them would get bleeped by the censors on American television.

Banner by: Kittyinaz

Betas/Pre-Readers: pyrodaemon and velez

Updated: January 06, 2019

Original Word Count: 3,273

Updated Word Count: 3,404

Prompt/inspiration: Written for Kittyinaz's 2017 Christmas Writing Challenge using/inspired by the prompts: 02.) One brightly wrapped box under a tree, in a clearing in the forest. 08.) Your character has received a special Secret Santa gift from a secret admirer. The character figures out who gave him or her the gift. What happens next?

Status: Complete

Disclaimer:I do not own The Vampire Diaries. The recognizable characters, settings, locations, plot lines, quotes, etc. from the franchise above belong to its respective owners, not me.

Author's Notes: Despite my writing this for a Christmas challenge, it's not a Christmas story and not even set in December. It takes place on October 22 and October 23, 2010, before, during, and after S03E14: Dangerous Liaisons and S03E15: All My Children. Thank you to TVD Wikia, which provided me with the transcript for S03E15 so I could include the pertinent dialog.

Curses and Blessings

October 22, 2010; Early Morning

Kol's PoV

A millennium is a long time. A lot has changed after so many lifetimes. It takes half a day of staring at a map of modern Mystic Falls to orient myself. But I manage to suss out the current location of the clearing I used to spend time in as a boy. I worried for a minute it might not be there anymore, but I found it. Another half an hour, and I unravel how to work Elijah's fancy modern automobile before I'm on my way.

At the end of the access road, I pull up between the trees and park the vehicle before getting out. With my eyes closed, I take a deep breath in through my nose and sigh as I exhale. The air smells so different after a millennium of progress. I chuckle, progress my ass. The air stinks of so many chemicals now it's a wonder humans haven't killed themselves off yet with everything I smell in the air.

After orienting myself again, I walk in the direction I'm sure will lead to my clearing. Ten minutes later I find it. I glance around making sure I'm alone when I see a brightly wrapped gift sitting at the base of my old tree. With no one in sight, I scent my surroundings again — Magick. The air is thick with it.

With a glance around the clearing, I walk towards the box with caution. Nothing happens. When I get closer, I spot a tag on it with my name scrawled on it in a flowing cursive. Curious. No one in this town or time is familiar with me. The handwriting doesn't belong to any of my siblings or anybody from my past who might still be living, either, few though they may be.

Hmm, what to do? Being a curious bloke by nature, what I want is to find out what's in the box. And I'd be willing to bet the person who left the gift is banking on that fact.

After pacing in front of the box for several minutes, I sigh. Then I throw up my arms in defeat before stomping back over to the package and tearing the lid off it.

An invisible force knocks me on my ass. A glow expands from the box so fast I can't move away from it before it envelopes me and the light disappears in a flash. I sit there for a second before I notice something I haven't felt in over one thousand years. Magick fills me and reawakens that part of me that turning into a vampire snuffed out all those ages ago.

After catching my breath, I pick up the box and peer inside to see if my benefactor left any clue as to who gave me such a gift. There is a letter in the box's bottom, so I pick it up, unfold it, and read.

"Dear Kol, If you're reading this, you're in control of your magick again. You don't know me or have any reason to trust me. Your mom isn't on the up and up though. I'm not privy to the details yet, but she will try to kill you and your siblings. She'll use my mom and me to do it, too. This might not help, but giving you back your magick is the right thing to do. I found the correct spells and figured why not? At the least it rights a wrong and gives us a fighting chance. Your mom has Abby, and me locked up. I may not be capable of doing another spell without Esther finding out so I hope you'll be able to devise a solution. With any luck it won't cost my mom or me our lives. Best wishes. -Bonnie Bennett (one of Ayana's descendants) P. s. The first spell below should hide the fact you have your magick back from your mom for a few days at least. The herb you need to cast it grows in this clearing. It's the leaves of the little blue flowers in case you don't remember. No disrespect intended, but it has been a while since you did any spell work. So, I thought it best to state the obvious in case you've forgotten. ;oP The second spell should make it so you can detect magick. Unfortunately, if your mother uses the first spell. too, the second one won't work, but I figured full preparation can't hurt. P. p. s. Be wary of Damon. He will stab you in the back if he thinks it will help or save Elena."

Nik, Elijah, and Rebekah have mentioned Damon Salvatore. I file the information into the back of my mind. With a glance around the clearing, I notice that the flowers I need for the cloaking spell are, in fact, growing in this field.

After getting up, I brush the dirt and detritus off my backside, pick up three of the flowers, and prepare to do magick after ten centuries without it.

Nine minutes later, I've done both spells, and I leave the clearing with a pep in my step that hasn't been there for more than a millennium.

October 23, 2010; Nighttime

Mother cast the incantation to cloak her magick, so I didn't realize she spelled the champagne last night until after we'd drunk it. Once Elijah's little doppelgänger friend told him what they had done, I unlinked us without Esther being any the wiser. That means if Finn dies, only he will die.

My brothers and I are on our way to the place Mother plans to do the rite that will turn us human so she can kill us. With a frown, I finger the fabric around the hole in the front of my shirt from where the teacher stabbed me with the White Oak Ash Dagger. Bonnie was spot on regarding Damon even though his agent wounded me in the chest and not the back. Well, no matter, I'll have my vengeance after we stop Mother.

We have a secret weapon to talk Finn out of working to kill himself. Sage walks in silence while we traverse the woods, but she's practically bouncing with the prospect of seeing my brother again after being separated for over nine centuries.

The four of us walk out of the forest, and I'm not surprised when Esther says, "My sons, come forward."

Finn says, "Stay beside me, Mother."

With a frown firmly etched onto her face, she walks into the middle of the pentacle. "It's okay. They can't enter." Well shit, that means she closed the circle and can still kill Finn. He's not helping her because he wants to help. She hasn't concealed the magick she's using to force him into helping her. What to do, what to do?

With trepidation, I approach the pentacle even knowing what will happen and sigh when the surrounding torches flare before taking a few steps back and saying, "That's lovely. We're stuck out here, while the favorite son plays sacrificial lamb. How pathetic you are, Finn."

Mother frowns. "Be quiet Kol. Your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine."

Sage stays silent because right now we need to reason with our mother, not Finn. Elijah tries to talk Esther out of her plan. "Whatever you think of us, killing your own children will be an atrocity."

Mother's frown deepens. "My only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago."

Most people call me the impatient one but Nik and I tie on that front, so it's not a surprise when he says, "Enough. All this talk is boring me. End this now, Mother, or I'll send you back to Hell."

With a step closer to us she sneers and says. "For a thousand years, I've been forced to watch you. Felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood. Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you're no better. All of you, you're a curse on this Earth. Stretched out over generations. If you've come to plead for your lives, I'm sorry, you've wasted your time."

While she talks two women step out of the house behind her and race towards us. I move closer to them and smile when Mother keeps her eyes on Nik and Elijah. They stop when they're standing beside me. The younger one hands me a slip of paper, so I peer at it. Gripping the sheet in my hand, it says, "Feed Abby your blood and snap her neck. It'll cut Esther off from our magick."

The plan is a solid one and possibly our only hope, so I bite my wrist and hold it towards the older woman. With a heavy sigh, she grabs my arm and brings her lips to the wound before drinking as fast as she can. To make her as strong as possible, I let her drink for a few long minutes and actually reopen my wound twice. Bonnie's brows are in her hairline but I do actually know what I'm doing. I want to reward Abby for her sacrifice with every advantage I can give her and Esther's propensity for waxing poetic helps. When my future childe has had more than enough I whisper, "Thank you," and then I snap her neck before laying her on the ground.

Mother shouts, "No, Sisters, do not abandon me."

Bonnie grabs my hand, and she connects to my magick before she shouts, "Spermatophyta," and freezes Mother and Finn where they stand.

Nik huffs. "Well that's great, now how do we break the pentacle so we can reach her and kill the bitch?"

With my hand still firmly in her warm one, Bonnie turns and smiles at him before whispering another spell. Finn begins creeping toward the edge of the circle and his feet drag on the dirt while he slides closer and closer to the curve of the pentacle. When he crosses the salt and breaks the perimeter, Nik advances and has Mother by the throat. Before he can rip her heart out a second time Bonnie shouts, "Wait, I have a spell. We can perform it and it will make sure she can never come back and try this again." She finishes her statement by taking a square of paper out of her pocket and handing it to me.

Nik raises his eyebrow at me asking if it'll do what she says it will do. I read it and nod before looking at my brother. "It should do as she says. Let's bring Mother back to our house. The ingredients should be in her room."

Bonnie shrugs. "And if not, I have what's needed at my house, so I can run over there and get it."

Nik nods and throws Mother over his shoulder before heading back the way we came. Sage lifts Finn over her shoulder and follows Nik because we can't release Finn from Mother's magick until she dies. That means we have to wait to unfreeze him.

After leaning down, I pick up my future childe with care. "Follow me," I say before leading Bonnie through the trees to Elijah's car. When we get there, Elijah pops open the trunk and Nik tosses Esther inside. Sage sighs but lays Finn inside with Mother and leaning in, places a soft kiss on his forehead before closing the door. Nik and Sage get into the Mercedes, so I open the back door for Bonnie. "After you." Once she slides in, I place her mother over Sage and her laps before sliding in under Abby's head. Elijah gets into the driver's seat, and we head home.

We arrive at the house and pile out of the car. Bonnie stands beside the vehicle, so I say, "Follow me. Let's lay your mother in my bed for now. Then we can complete the spell to end Mother before sitting and waiting for Abby to wake in transition."

All of us head inside the house. Then I lead her up the stairs to my room and lay Abby down before taking off her shoes and pulling the covers up over her. Bonnie rubs the back of her neck. "Your mom's been going on and on for days saying how evil you are, but at this point I'm ninety-nine percent sure she's wrong."

Wearing a frown, I say, "We've all been evil from time to time, but we grew bored with it after a few centuries. Though I can admit, I'm the last to have abandoned that pastime."

She tilts her face towards me, so I say, "Wait here, I'll go get what we require, and we can perform the spell." After running to Mother's room, I rifle through her herbs and find what I need before returning to Bonnie with a bowl and the herbs. With a glance over my shoulder at Bonnie who hasn't said a word, I place them in the dish. A sigh escapes me before I light the herbs on fire with magick and whisper the words to the incantation. The flames rise and then die out. I whisper, "That should do the trick, Brother."

Nik asks from downstairs, "Do you not want to watch?"

Even though he can't see it, I shake my head. "Probably best that I stay with Abby and Bonnie. Better not to leave them alone in case my new childe is as strong as I believe she'll be and wakes early."

He grunts in the affirmative, so I grab two chairs from my study and bring them to the bedside. While motioning to one seat, I say, "Take a load off while we wait. All things considered I fed her a fair amount of my blood so she should be strong and wake soon."

After she shuffles over to the chair, she sits and turns her head, glancing at me beside her. "So, the spell in the box worked?"

With a bark of laughter, I incline my head. "Exactly as you planned it."

She grins back. "Good, I'm glad. It was wrong, she took it from you. The rite should work for your siblings, too."

My eyes widen at that. "You would make us stronger and more powerful than we are?"

With a shrug she says, "The price for my help is that you, and by you I mean your whole family, hurt no one I consider mine. So, yeah, I'll make you as strong as possible. Best my allies are stronger than any opponent we might face, no?"

Laughing again I say, "Indeed, Darling. And for the record when I told my siblings what you did, and that you were helping us they swore not to harm you or yours. Fair warning, though, I have a score to settle with the senior Mr. Salvatore with regard to a dagger that found its way into my heart. Regardless, after the sacrifice your mother made, it's safe to say none of them will betray you. I won't either, given what you've done for us."

With a shift in her seat, she grants me a small smile, and we sit for a few minutes before I turn my face and stare at her. "Out of curiosity, why did you help us?"

After she shrugs and grins, she says. "Selfish reasons, and it's the same reason I want you to be stronger than anyone else. My best friend is a vampire. Katherine, the bitch, turned Caroline without her knowledge or consent. I'm aware that if the original who sired their line of vampires dies, she and the Salvatore's will die. While I don't care for Damon and Stefan or Katherine, either, I don't wish to live in a world where Caroline Forbes doesn't exist. Figuring out which of you is the head of her sire-line has turned out to be a near impossible task. You're smart enough not to reveal that information or anything that might lead to it. So, I figure the best bet is to make sure none of you ever die."

Twisting her fingers in her lap she says, "Oh, and once Damon discovers the sire-line vulnerability, nothing will be off limits. He will do everything in his power to discover who sired Katherine's line. They know Rose-Marie was her sire so they'll be looking for who sired Rose and anyone before him or her in the sire-line."

With a shrug, I say. "Mary Porter sired Rose-Marie." Her eyes widen so I hold up my hand. "Now before you believe I did you a favor, figuring out who sired her will be more of a challenge. An impossible one because she was an original groupie. Still, I'll go to her soon and make certain no one discovers who turned her."

Playing with her fingers, she wrings her hands in her lap and frowns. "Will you kill her? I don't want an innocent person's death on my shoulders."

After shaking my head, I say, "You… innocent? You just called a vampire innocent?"

She shrugs one shoulder and raises her hands in a 'what can I say,' gesture so I smirk back. "Well, based on how Mary has been in the past you're not too far off the mark by calling her innocent. It won't be necessary to kill her. A compulsion on her and her mate never to do or say anything that will reveal the identity of her sire should solve that problem. That way I won't need to end her. That's good because we're fond of her and she of us. In fact, I won't even need to force the compulsion onto her. She'll allow me do it to protect us and wear a smile while I do it."

With both of us wearing beaming grins, and we lapse into silence again before I clear my throat a few moments later. "Will it upset Abby that I ended her human life?"

Laughter rumbles from her belly. "No, it was her idea." Her laugh ceases a moment later. "She isn't aware I can give her back her magick, though, so if you don't mind, let me be the one to tell her. Her face when she discovers I can give it back to her should be priceless. I will burn that expression into my memory forever."

With another nod, I say, "Will do."

Bonnie's not like any person I've ever met before, and I find myself hopeful for the coming years and the friendship forming between us. Hmm, maybe someday she'll permit me to turn her, too. Turning won't relegate her to living without magick if I do the same spell she did on me. Something to hope for then.

A knock on my bedroom door brings me out of my thoughts. "Enter."

My sister comes into the room carrying a glass of blood. After she sets it on the bedside table, she turns to leave. When she gets to the door, she glances at us over her shoulder. "I'm not in the habit of owing people, but I owe you one. Caroline's lucky to have you as a friend."

Bonnie nods. Then she surprises us both. "If you stop trying to kill Elena, you could be lucky for the same reason. All of you could be in that respect."

Rebekah smiles and nods. "I'll keep that in mind."

With a chuckle, Bonnie says. "You do that."

When Rebekah has left the room Bonnie sighs. "This is just between me and the houseful of vampires who can hear an ant fart a mile away, okay?" I nod so she says, "Elena deserves it after stabbing your sister in the back with the dagger. But I didn't say that out loud and I'll deny it to my dying breath if any of you repeat it."

With a raspy chuckle, I sit straighter a moment before Abby shoots up into a sitting position on the bed with her hand holding her neck. After picking up the glass of blood, I keep it close and ask her, "Do you want to finish the transition?"

After she inclines her head, I hand her the glass and watch while she drinks it in three big gulps.

When her fangs descend, I smile at Abby. "Welcome to the family, both of you."

They beam at me, and I grin back and bounce in my seat because of what blessings the future holds for us.

The End