Disclaimer: Not mine as much as I wish it. A/N: Some changes to plot. Sorry for delay. Really enjoyed writing this chapter, decided to end at chapter 5. Reviews welcome x
Behind the Magenta Door
4.
"What happened here?"
Kol pointed to the table-cloth Davina had hung over the hole in the kitchen.
Katerina shared his bemused expression, and Davina noticed his feet were covered in ash.
Josh and Turnip held their breath but it was Calcifer who filled his master in on the ordeal.
"Oh, nothing much. Davina just crashed that flying canoe into my face!" the fire demon yelled making flames spit in every direction.
Kol ran a well practiced hand through his hair, and chuckled.
Davina ignored Calcifer's 'petty tantrum' and scooped more vegetable soup onto her spoon to give to the frail Witch of The Waste.
Dahlia's spell had stripped her friend of her magic and her memory.
But Davina was more annoyed with Kol, who had left her to fly that ridiculous plane without any instructions on how to land it. It was his fault, not hers.
A scuffing noise beneath the kitchen table alerted Kol to Aiden, and Josh leapt from his chair.
"Can we keep him? Please say yes?" he raised the wolf cub with hopeful eyes.
Kol sighed, studying the small creature. "You've got a spell on you too, hey?" he said, surprising both Davina and Josh. "Yes, I think you should, Josh, and you should be the one to break his curse."
Josh looked alarmed. "But how? I don't know anything about breaking curses?" he asked.
Davina eavesdropped over Katerina's polite slurps.
"You will soon enough," Kol paused beside Davina, re-introducing himself to the Witch of the Waste. "It's nice to have you in our company, Katerina Petrova," he said, shaking her hand.
Katerina blinked, unaware of her past hostilities towards him, and Davina slopped soup all over her blue dress when Kol clapped his hands announcing a surprise.
"I think it's time we expand. After all, I'm sick of this wallpaper," he sighed.
Josh muttered a spell which reversed the soup back into the bowl, leaving her dress pristine and Davina gave him a warm smile.
Kol squatted on the floor and drew what looked like the letter G on the floor. Then, he strode across to the hearth, collected Calcifer and cradled the fire-demon in his hands.
Katerina licked her lips and stared in fascination at the glowing orb.
As Kol chanted, the rooms expanded.
The windows distorted and doors appeared in places they weren't before.
Kol caught Davina's awed expression when he returned Calcifer to the hearth.
He smiled, melting her heart, until she remembered she wasn't talking to him.
"Time for a nap," Davina aided Katerina to her old bed beneath the stairs, which Kol had replaced with a long green sofa.
"Yes, sounds perfect," Katerina let the couch swallow her up.
Davina pulled the multicoloured blanket over Katerina's curled up figure.
She heard Josh and Aiden exploring the new rooms upstairs and pictured trumpeting elephants. She wished she could put a silencing charm on them, but she was too stubborn to ask Kol if one existed.
She crossed in front of Kol to clean up the dishes, listening to Calcifer's pretend snores.
Kol seemed aware of her cold shoulder, but said nothing, infuriating her with his silence.
She heard him click through the portals, and turned to confront him.
She noticed the magenta marking on the dial, and her curiosity replaced her anger.
"A gift for you Davina," Kol smiled, requesting her hand.
They came through a cottage door, a mill of some kind, she realized, hearing water sloshing over the wheel outside.
Kol's smile flickered, unsure of whether she liked his gift or not.
Colourful tulips waved at her on their long stems.
"It's gorgeous, like a dream," she murmured.
She smiled, entranced by the scenery, then hurried down the stone steps, splashing in a puddle at the bottom. She twirled on the spot, taking in the blue skies and the seagulls soaring on thermals.
The sun kissed her cheeks and the long meadow grass tickled her heels.
"Did you use your magic?"
She remembered Dahlia didn't like wizards using their magic for selfish reasons.
"Only a little, to help the flowers grow," he admitted, picking a vibrant red tulip.
"It feels like home," she said, clutching the tulip to her chest.
Kol grinned, descending the stairs, and they walked together, exploring the meadow and enjoying their time together. "You could open a flower shop business, whatever you want..." he suggested, taking her hand.
Davina thought of sitting in her hat shop, stitching tulips and ribbons onto her hats, whilst listening to the soothing water sloshing against the mill.
Her anger with him had completely subsided, especially after he rested his lips against her forehead, causing pretend butterflies to leap from her chest.
"Even though I'm not pretty, and all I do is clean?" she asked, staring at her feet.
"Even then," Kol reassured her, caressing her youthful cheeks with both hands.
"I love you, Davina Claire," he murmured, eyes shining with passion.
"You can see me?" she asked, hesitant.
Kol nodded. "Yes, but only when you let me," and he kissed her, lifting her from her feet.
Davina broke the kiss, gripping his arms tight, and giggled, feeling like her old self once again.
She caught him staring at the sky above, and recalled the door with the black dial - the door which took him to Dahlia...
"You're going back, aren't you?" she demanded, alarmed.
Kol's smile did not reassure her: it worried her.
"Yes. Klaus granted me one day to get my affairs in order, before I joined them in their fight."
"So this, everything here is a parting gift?" she realized.
Kol heard the distress in her voice, and pulled her waist towards him.
"You deserve happiness, Davina Claire, and I may be gone for some time, but now at least, you have this to remember me by."
Davina let go of his hand. "No," anger replaced her fears. "If you go through that door again you won't be able turn back! I heard what Calcifer said to you - you'll become a monster!"
She glared at him.
"Listen to me, Davina, I can't keep running, my brother needs me," he reached out to her. "I know you don't agree with what Klaus did to Hayley but I think in his mind, he saw it has a way to protect her from Dahlia, and so I have to go back, I have to help him defeat her. We have to stop this war."
Davina clenched her teeth. "He cursed Hayley into a wolf, how is that protecting her?"
Kol sighed. "Dahlia would have killed her. Look, cursing her as a wolf made her faster and stronger too, able to defend herself if Dahlia did come looking for her."
A loud whirring noise interrupted their argument, and Davina saw a whale-shaped war-plane descending upon them. Millions of pamphlets burst from it, showering down upon their heads.
"Dahlia sent poachers into the bayou..." Davina remembered.
Kol nodded, watching Dahlia's planes pass above.
"It made Klaus furious, but he has to play the game. Dahlia's mentoring Hope, and Dahlia's life-source is linked to Klaus. The only way to free ourselves from Dahlia's reign is to kill them both."
A mischievous glint appeared in his eye, and he waved his hand again, causing one of the engines to explode. He grinned.
Strange alien-like creatures exploded from the plane before it crashed into Davina's peaceful meadow.
"How?" she asked, confused.
Kol scooped her up and they raced through the skies back towards the cottage. "With a special dagger which will put Klaus to sleep. I need you to go home and get it from my room. I'll be right behind you," and to her horror, Kol dropped her.
She plummeted towards the cottage door, which opened as though it knew she were coming.
"I'm too old to be treated like this!" Davina yelled, landing hard on the wooden floor of the empty cottage. She looked up just in time to see Kol morph into the half-man, half-bird beast and shoot into the sky, causing a distraction. Hundreds of monsters shot after him.
Their humanity-less eyes resonated in Davina's mind long after she had slammed the cottage door.
She was afraid for Kol but eager to return to the castle to complete her mission. She shut the portal door, relieved to be home, but wished Kol had been more specific with his instructions, like whereabouts in his room he kept a mystical dagger?
His room was a pig-sty at the best of times...
"Davina, is that you?" a familiar voice caught her attention.
Sophie Deveraux lowered her mug of tea, taking in Davina's wrinkled hands and shocked expression.
Katerina, Turnip-Head and Aiden, she noticed were all on their best behaviours.
"Sophie? What are you doing here?" Davina croaked.
Sophie sent her chair screeching across the floorboards and flung herself around Davina's shoulders.
"Cami told me you got a job with the magnificent Kol, that you had been writing her and I had to swing by and see for myself..." Sophie held her at arm's length, admiring the dress Kol had made for her, and her hat with the green ribbon she knew so well.
"I'm sorry for running out of you, I just needed my own space..." Davina admitted.
Sophie smiled, nodding and dragged Davina to the empty chair beside Josh. "I understand. I only want what's best for you. Besides, I wanted to tell you in person," Sophie beamed, brandishing a ring on her left hand. "I'm engaged! I bought you a gift - a house warm-new job - it's a mixture of well wishes. Here,"
Sophie dropped a bag into Davina's outstretched hand.
"I don't want to keep you. Goodbye, and thank you for the tea."
Davina left the bag on the kitchen table while Josh accompanied them outside in his wizard disguise.
They waved Sophie goodbye; Josh, more preoccupied than usual.
"You're not leaving us, are you Grandma Davina?"
She thought of her cottage, the meadows and tulips, and her very own hat shop. Her dream lingered then faded, replaced with billowing black smoke and screeching monsters, which swarmed over Kol, pecking his wings and eyes and causing him to plummet to his death-
"I'm not going anywhere," Davina smiled, pleased when Josh hugged her tight.
Sophie met with a carriage waiting in a narrow lane.
She turned to the woman sitting beside her.
"I did what you instructed, now take me home," Sophie demanded, blinking back angry tears.
Dahlia nodded, and flicked her wrist, making the horses gallop without touching the reigns.
"Your debt has been paid. No harm will come to Camille. You may leave this city, if that is what you wish, or you may return home where enchantments are in place protecting places of sanctuary."
Sophie frowned, looking upon the door the Kol's Moving Castle, and hoped Davina could forgive her.
She fiddled with the ring on her left hand in her nervousness, until it dissolved into nothingness.
Davina ignored her devastating thoughts surround Kol and entered the castle again.
The first thing she noticed was her bag had disappeared from the table.
Katerina sat in Kol's chair in front of the hearth putting on a vibrant shade of red lipstick and sitting amongst a cloud of smoke from her lit cigarette. Trinkets were discarded at her feet - a mirror, nail polish and an empty box of chocolates. She pulled what Davina thought was a long black sock from the bag and threw it into the fire for Calcifer to digest.
"Peeping bug..." Davina heard Katerina mutter in disgust.
Josh covered his nose with his shirt and flung open the nearest window, attempting to clear the smoke.
Davina glimpsed the war-torn skies overhead.
The city was a awash with smoke, bombs whistled from the war-planes and flaming propaganda pamphlets littered the sky.
She rushed outside, knowing she had to limited time to find the dagger, but worried for Kol. She couldn't see him anywhere, not defending the skies or escaping from Dahlia's monsters...
Blob creatures usurped by the Dahlia oozed from cracked bricks nearby, extending their floating limbs to grab her.
Josh called her name, scared, and Aiden howled from behind Josh's protective stance.
Davina willed herself to find the dagger, to turn and run, but New Orleans was her home...she couldn't make out the bakery with all this smoke, and what about Sophie, had she made it home before the bombs hit?
"Davina!" Josh's panicked voice alerted her to a bomb heading right for them.
Her chest clenched around her pounding heart, and her mouth opened in horror.
She felt the blob creatures' hands latching onto her shaking arms and legs.
Something feathery and fast shot alongside the bomb, it's determined features gave her hope, and it pushed her up against the brick wall, shielding her from danger.
She shut her eyes tight, listening to Kol's heavy breathing, and felt a tickle of his black feathers against her nose.
Moments later, Kol stumbled back, and Davina saw what was left of the blob creatures, pinned down with bits of shrapnel.
"Hurry!" Kol pushed her towards the castle, and she let him lean on her until Josh helped his master up the steps, and closed the door.
Calcifer looked up, gagging on something.
"That woman fed me something gross..." he spluttered.
Calcifer's flame reduced, and Davina rushed forward, "Calcifer, come back!"
Davina looked at Katerina, who tapped her cigarette ash onto the floor.
"You gave him a peeping bug?"
Kol broke free of Josh's support and coaxed Calcifer's return using his magic.
Davina and Josh recoiled when the fire demon threw up the bug, hearing its panicked screeches.
Kol extinguished Dahlia's creature and Katerina's cigarette at the same time.
"I'm afraid Dahlia used your mother to get to me," he turned to Davina.
She couldn't process this information right away, and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Blackmail, it's her speciality," Kol added, disappearing up to his room, to find the dagger, no doubt.
Davina poured herself a tea. "Cami," she thought, feeling sick to the stomach.
A few minutes later, Kol returned with the dagger.
Josh rested his hand on Davina's shoulder, and Turnip kept a close eye on Katerina, whilst Aiden followed Kol around the castle, picking up the feathers which malted from his body.
Blackmail.
Davina recalled Hayley, and how Klaus had been forced to use extreme measures to protect her. Maybe what Kol had said was true, maybe Klaus really did try to protect Hayley, and now he was willing to die to save the people he loved.
She got the impression, sacrifice ran deep in the Mikaelson blood.
She wanted to tell him not to go, but his determination to reconcile with his brother stopped her.
"Calcifer will protect you," Kol squeezed her hand in reassurance, kissing her forehead.
"Besides, with you here, I have a reason to come back," he grinned.
She knew he couldn't make any promises, but put on a brave face for the others.
"That's my girl," Kol smiled, giving her another swift kiss, and then left through the black portal.
Davina emitted a silent sob when she closed the castle door, praying for his safe return.
She had already made up her mind where they were going next and turned the dial, hearing the clicks between each one.
Black.
Magenta.
Blue.
Red.
Green.
She opened the door, adrenaline pushing her to keep moving despite having no idea where to look.
Calcifer's alarmed voice followed her from the castle. "I don't think Kol would approve of this! Besides, I'm supposed to protecting you and I can only do that if you're inside the castle!"
Davina put on her hat and marched over the leaf-strewn bayou, intent on finding Hayley.
"I'll only be a minute," she said.
If Klaus and Kol were going up against the Queen, they needed all the firepower they could find.
Josh appeared by her shoulder, wearing a serious expression. "I'll help you get Cami back," he said.
Davina paused, touching his arm. "I'm not looking for my sister, Josh. I know Sophie betrayed me, but she did it to save her family, and Dahlia would have returned Cami to my mother by now."
Josh looked confused. "Then, what's your plan?"
Davina saw Aiden freeze ahead of them, staring through the sheets of rain with a scared stance.
A patchy white and gold wolf sauntered through the rain, its piercing eyes captured her soul.
"Hayley?" she whispered, staying still but keeping her confident stance.
Josh sent her a nervous glance, and Aiden lay down, his tail between his legs.
"I've come to set you free," she said, turning back to Josh with a hopeful expression.
A/N: Woah, way to spring that on Josh, Davina? The pressure is on! Thoughts? Typos? Ideas for the last chapter...review below x