Chapter 7: Got A Secret

"Got a secret

Can you keep it?

Swear this one you'll save

Better lock it in your pocket

Taking this one to the grave

If I show you then I know you won't tell what I said

'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead."

- The Pierces, Secret

...

New Orleans, 2018

November

Kol had absolutely, as said in the 21st century, messed up his plans. He didn't know what to do once he left Mikaela's house after he attacked her a few days ago. He went back to his family home, disoriented, without any idea about what to do to mend his mistakes, and had been bewildered ever since. He stared at the wall while lost deeply into his thoughts as his sister was scolding him for what he had confessed. He should have kept this away from her and discussed it with someone wiser from his family. Elijah, perhaps. But then Elijah was still annoyed with him because he laid a hand on Mikaela at the party when he so clearly asked him not to. Kol was now hoping that Elijah wasn't rooting any emotions for her because it would seriously complicate the situation even more. Nik was not one to talk to when it came to this sort of things, although he was in a similar situation once. And as for Freya, he just didn't feel comfortable enough to tell her his burdens yet. So he was stuck with Rebekah, the lovesick one who would be infuriated to know that his brother had broken the heart of a "lovely" girl.

"Kol, are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Rebekah snapped once she realised that she was being ignored.

"Hm?" Kol broke away from his thoughts and turned his attention to her again.

"I said that this is one of the stupidest things you've ever done. You do realise that she's not going to want to interact with you in any possible way ever again, right?" Rebekah stated the obvious which only frustrated Kol more.

"I know Beks, that's exactly why I'm here talking to you about it." Kol said in his defence. "It was stupid, now I have to fix it. . . I just don't know how."

"You definitely do. That woman has the one thing that will bring us even more happiness than we already have. And us Mikaelsons can always use some extra wellbeing. On the whole, it will bring you more joy than to any of us altogether. All you have to do is win her back. Show her how much you care." Rebekah advised him with a soft voice.

"That's the problem, sister." Kol uttered sharply, "I don't care about her. I don't feel anything for her."

Rebekah looked rather disappointed to hear that. "Then you must at least win her trust again. Show her that you're sorry."

"Yeah, unfortunately that's much harder than it sounds." Kol contradicted with her. "I apologised right after I bit her, I even offered her my blood. I looked into her eyes and she asked me to compel her to forget about what I did."

"Then why didn't you?" Rebekah raised her voice slightly as she asked him the question absurdly, then it slowly lowered again. "Do you want her to hate you just so you would not have any reasons to grow attracted to her?"

"Oh for God's sake Rebekah! How weak do you think I am? She can't be compelled!" Kol shouted, irritated by his sister's eternal optimism that he would ever be capable of loving someone who isn't of his own blood.

Rebekah's eyes widened, "Is she a. . ."

"She's a witch." Kol ended the sentence for her. "I wasn't sure of it at first but then I've had the misfortune of meeting her very great uncle. Turned by you nine hundred years ago, nosy, cowardly."

"Ivan?" Rebekah muttered in disbelief.

"Solberg. A bloodline of witches from Norway just like our family. Ivan Solberg was a member which you, dear sister, turned into one of us in the 12th century." Elijah's serious voice spoke from the doorway. His two siblings spun around to face him at the sound of his voice.

"At least I'm not the only one that remembers." Kol said impressed with his brother although he felt disapproval about him eavesdropping. He just hoped that he didn't hear more than he was supposed to. "And for how long have you been listening to our conversation?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Why, brother? Is there something that you're keeping away from the rest of us?" Elijah wandered into the room at a moderate pace.

"Well I can't say I'm not of a paranoid kind. I am a Mikaelson after all." Kol teased before he turned back to his sister. "Thing is Mikaela doesn't know that she's got powers or what she is." He continued with their previous subject.

Before Rebekah could say anything, Elijah Broke in. "And let me guess, you're going to help the girl tap into her magic and embrace her true nature just so you can use her as a tool for your own selfish desires. That's what you've been wanting from her all along isn't it?"

When Kol realised that Elijah didn't listen to the entire conversation, he relaxed. "Not exactly, but I could definitely use a privacy spell every now and then. Just so - you know - I don't have ears on me at all times." He looked at his sister who was struggling so much not to laugh while at the same time swallowed the urge of revealing his secret to the others. "Why are you even here, Elijah? I thought you were still pouting over the fact that I didn't follow your rules at that 'rave' you organised." Kol looked at his sister and continued. "That night, this very Mikaela caught me off guard and made out with me and I was still the one to blame."

Rebekah furrowed her eyebrows. "Well I'm sure you gave her a reason to. And of course, that was before. Now, she hates you."

"And I'm going to change that. Somehow. It won't be easy for her to resist my charms and good looks and then she'll beg me for a minute of my affection meanwhile I'll do well to take from her what's mine." Kol explained his plan clearly which only made Elijah more curious.

"If it's not power that you crave, then what is it she has that you're so keen on obtaining?" Elijah interrogated his brother carefully.

"Like I said, it is something that's mine. I'm not going to give more away. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one keeping secrets in this house. And since there's nothing you can do about it brother, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see." Kol smirked as he started pacing out of his room. "Now if you excuse me, I must proceed."

Kol darted through the ballroom, eager once more to drive all the way back to Mystic Falls. As soon as he was about to step out the door, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Wait, brother." A voice said and Kol turned to it.

"What is it, Nik?" Kol asked impatiently as he looked into his brother's pale eyes. "I have business to attend to and you're holding me up."

"By business you mean winning over a girl that you don't even love." Klaus watched as his brother tensed up. "Unlike Elijah, I heard everything you and Rebekah have discussed, and I can't give you more advice than she has already, but at least let me have a night out with my little brother before he leaves. We don't know how long it will take you to accomplish your mission while you're away." Klaus suggested and Kol smirked in response.

They decided to spend their evening at Russo's, catching up on what they've missed since Kol was gone for a long time and as soon as he returned he had to leave again. They sat at the bar just so they'd be closer to the bartender and the alcohol supply. It already started to feel like in the old days, when they used to spend leisure time together, of course unless Kol would cross the line somehow and Klaus would burry a dagger into his heart. But those days seemed forever forgotten and not in sight for the future.

"So," Klaus interrupted their silence once he placed his glass of bourbon down on the counter. '" From all I've heard about this secretive Mikaela. . . She sounds quite exquisite. Sharp-tongued, spontaneous. . . Seductive?"

"Haha, don't do that Nik. How many more times do I have to say it? She means nothing to me." Kol muttered before bringing his glass to his mouth.

Klaus shrugged, "I know. I was only trying to tease you. But seriously now, tell me, how did you meet her?"

Kol licked the bourbon off his lips, recalling the night he met Mikaela and debating whether he should tell his brother the truth or not. He waited for a moment before answering. "Remember that ball our mother thrown to celebrate our family's 'reunion' a few years ago? I danced with her there, and then when the ball ended and I woke up after a broken neck, we crawled back to her house and made sure that the celebration continued." A tint of humour and menace flashed on Kol's face as he made the revelation.

Klaus couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "And it was only a day after you were out of that coffin.. And then the next you were mocking our sister about the same thing." He had another sip of alcohol before carrying on with his laughter. "She seems to be quite easy, brother. I don't even understand why you're worrying that she won't fall inside your lap again."

As much as he wanted to agree with his sibling, there was still a part of Kol's mind that just didn't believe it was true. "She isn't very different to how she was six years ago, but it still feels like she's changed."

"That's what happens when you break a woman's heart sometimes." A middle-aged woman sitting beside them at the bar interfered. Kol spun on his chair to face her, and she instantly caught his attention. She looked very familiar but he just couldn't determine whether he had seen her before.

"And you are. . .?" Kol asked while analysing her. Her aging wrinkles weren't very obvious on her face yet but his sharp vampire vision allowed him to notice them. She was quite pale and the hue of her eyes was similar to Mikaela's.

"Oh, sorry. How rude of me." The woman said, sounding half drunk. "I'm Adele." She smiled as she introduced herself. "I apologise for listening to your conversation."

"Well it does seem to be everyone's habit today." Kol muttered as he glanced at Klaus who just gave him a sarcastic offended look in return. "I'm Kol, and this is my brother Klaus."

Adele gave Kol especially a suspicious stare which eventually faltered after a few seconds of silence. "Well it's lovely to meet you. The woman you were talking about sounds like someone I used to know. She was crazy for the bad boy who in the end managed to crush her soul."

"I don't assume she's twenty-five and lives in Virginia." Klaus suggested only for humour but Kol glared at him in disapproval.

"Oh no. She's not who your brother knows. I stopped talking to her a long time ago after I had to move out of town for the benefit of my child's education. You know how it is, children come before everything else." She spoke somewhat clearly even though she was under the influence of alcohol. Klaus nodded to her statement whereas Kol just gulped a lump in his throat. "Any of you have children of your own?"

Kol returned to his glass of bourbon while Klaus answered her question. "I have a daughter, and she means the world to me. I would pity whoever tries to harm her in any way."

"The sacrifices we would make for our children should be beyond the limit. . . Yet not always do they understand the true motives of our actions." Adele talked with sadness in her tone and suddenly didn't seem drunk anymore. She set her eyes on Kol who was trying his best to stay out of the discussion. "Given the fact that you're occupied with being a bachelor breaking other girls' hearts, I don't suppose you're also a father, Kol."

Kol returned his gaze to her and shook his head uncomfortably. Then he saw a man come from behind her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Adele, I told you not to come here alone." The man complained as he raised her from the chair. "We have work to do." He then turned to the two brothers and he too caught Kol's attention. "I'm sorry if my wife's been bothering you."

"I was not bothering them, Peter!" She argued as he dragged her out of the bar. When they were outside, she slapped him right across the face. "You idiot!"

"You're calling me the idiot while you're the one who's out and about drinking and interacting with strangers. We have to find Ivan, and what you're doing isn't helping!"

Adele gave him a look of satisfaction. "I found someone even better." She told him while pointing inside the local bar. "Those two strangers I was talking to were Kol and Klaus Mikaelson."

Peter's face lit up. "Kol Mikaelson?" He looked inside through the window and watched Kol sitting at the bar with his bourbon glass to his mouth. "Adele you are a genius!" He exclaimed joyfully as he embraced his wife. "This is great! After this whole time we managed to find him." Instantly, a blow came out of nowhere and hit them hard, and before they knew what happened, everything turned to blackness.

Meanwhile. . .

Mystic Falls

When she managed to pull the suitcase's zip all the way across, Mikaela heard the doorbell ring. At first she didn't want to answer the door given the possibility that it could be Kol, but then the probility of it not being him standing on that doorstep was also quite high. She slowly descended the stairs with the suitcase in one hand, placed it in the living room then rushed to welcome her unexpected guest inside. Matt waited behind the treshold patiently. He wasn't in his uniform which did surprise her. Without saying anything she let him enter the house and she led him to the living room.

"What brings you here so late in the hour?" She asked him politely once they both sat on the couch.

Matt took a moment to think, "I don't know. I just kinda' found my way here." His blue orbs spun around the room aimlessly until he noticed her packed luggage dumped in one corner. "Are you leaving again?"

She nodded her head and she could see the disappointment on his face. "Yeah, I'm heading back to Denver."

"Do you really think Denver's a safe place now that Kol is alive again? Did you at least tell Stefan this time?" The concern in Matt's voice was very much distinct as he couldn't even believe what Mikaela was doing.

"I left Stefan a voice mail. And don't worry, Kol will leave me alone."

"What keeps on drawing you back to that place?" Matt was close to getting hysterical. "Mikaela, someone from my family got killed in that place! I'm not saying that Mystic Falls is a safer town 'cause it isn't, but at least here you have people you know that can protect you!" He paused to calm himself, "Just tell me why you always go back to that place."

Mikaela felt skeptical. She had been waiting for this moment to come but she never predicted it to happen this way. She took a deep breath as she noticed Matt growing impatient, she was so afraid of telling anyone this since it meant the world to her. She shifted on the couch and breathed out, "I have a baby boy."

Matt's eyes widened in disbelief, as he processed the information which he never seen coming.