So happy holidays everyone and here's another update. Keep up the reviews love you peoples and here you go :)
"So how'd you lose her?" I asked as he led me into the beginning of the waltz.
"Klaus." He said stiffly. "Why do you figure that I had her?"
"I met a guy named Francois a year after I lost my best friend to a steak knife. He lost his girl and the look in his eyes was almost as sad as yours is now. The fact that you're his doppelganger is irrelevant."
"I'm a doppelganger?"
"I'd say it's just a coincidence. He didn't get her back though. He got knifed and tossed in the middle of the road before he could even try. I'm rooting for you by the way. Damon seems a bit egocentric," I said purposely making a mistake so when we switched partners he would get Elena. I smiled, "Good luck."
"So do I get to compete with Mr. Salvatore as well?" Asked a British accent on the edge of being mad and being vengeful.
"If you think it's a competition Nik then you've already lost. A heart isn't a prize to be won," I said sharply settling back into the dance with a more experienced partner. "Now onto more mannered subjects. I assume my wardrobe from the chateau Kol and I were living at is somewhere in this house?"
"What wardrobe?"
"The one that the dress your girl is wearing came from. There is a dress in the collection that looks like the one I am wearing now except it doesn't have as much black in it. The white pearl one should be in there too..." I said my thoughts combining with what I was saying.
"Nope I don't recall going to a chateau and finding a woman's wardrobe."
"Don't be an idiot I saw you go in as well as stab Kol. I didn't stay long you and Elijah almost caught me, you would've too if your servants weren't on vervain. By the way two guys with no free will would never just burst out fighting each other and attacking other servants by themselves knowing they would be killed if they had the thought."
"So you didn't try to save my little brother from his sad fate," he asked his tone neutral. I scoffed and looked to see if he was serious when his expression remained the same my eyes narrowed.
"I did but you somehow managed to convince Elijah to guard Kol's body. I was still staying as far away from him as possible. Kol and I made a promise that if one of us was caught and there was a chance to free the other then we would take it only if it meant we wouldn't get caught by anyone of original blood. That was our last night in Paris, I thought I saw Micheal earlier that day and we were going to go to one last party to tie up loose ends but you found us, well Kol. You never found me and neither did Micheal, but he found you...and I am so glad he was set out on killing you over any of his other children, Kol was a sitting duck and so was Elijah." He sighed giving up and spun me quickly into someone else's arms.
I looked around quickly before looking to see who my partner. I saw Damon Salvatore storming out of the ballroom and Nik's date going off with the blonde I saw with Elena a few days ago. I caught Kol's eyes and winked as he did the same while spinning Rebekah into position. My new partner did the same and I looked into Elijah's warm brown eyes as he lead me gently through the steps. We were silent for a long time moving through the steps remembering what it's like to dance with each other.
Sometime during the dance I imagined three different paths. One that led to my best friend, another to the man I once loved and one to something entirely new, leaving this mess finding a way out and grabbing it, so that I can be held by a normal guy, have children and die a peaceful and uneventful death that doesn't come with the deaths of countless others. I realized how much I wanted out of this trail of heartbreak. But that's a child's wish, it won't happen in a million years and I know it. Inevitably, the life which I know will crumble. I just hope to have lived it before it does.
I broke away from Elijah and rushed out of the room and tried to hold myself together. I ended up on the balcony away from the party and closer to the room Esther was than I ever wanted to be but the seclusion of the place comforted me. I smiled when I saw Rebekah and the blonde boy walking together, her with a varsity jacket on. She deserves to find someone as much as I do. She's had her heart broken many times but Nik and Elijah always managed to keep her from experiencing the blunt of it.
"Uhm Katherine?" said a voice from behind me. I almost didn't look but remembered whom I was impersonating and turned to see Elena. She looked around her and came up to me in a rustle of skirts and told me something about not drinking the toast then she promptly shut up as a person walked by and walked away herself. I shrugged not surprised this was a ploy to set up the main event. Esther was clever back when I was human, there's no way in hell for her to all of a sudden become kind and forgiving after being stuck on the other side watching us turn ourselves into monsters. I sighed and turned back to the balcony. I turned sensing another presence and saw Fin.
"You go by Katherine now?" He asked his voice cutting through the nighttime silence.
"Katerina doesn't fit in nowadays. So please call me Katherine, now who might you be?" I lied falling into the act quickly.
"Stop this charade Tatia and get out of here if you want to live another day."
"Oh Fin you can't kill me, and I do believe you owe me a favor anyways."
"That is exactly why my mother doesn't know about you. I'll keep your secret, it won't be long until this mess is over anyways." I frowned and looked at him.
"Maybe that's what this world needs, a clean slate, no supernatural mess. No vampires, no werewolf's, no witches, just humans, but you can't get rid of one without giving too much power to another. Kill the vampires and the werewolf's can take up the role of killers of the night with no repercussions. Kill the werewolf's and the vampires will be that much stronger, and if you kill the witches there is no one left to maintain order and keep a full out slaughter from occurring. Manage to get rid of vampires and werewolves you'll find bunch of witch burnings and nature freaks," I paused glancing at him and taking in his astonished face. "There's a reason you and I got along better after the change. Of the six of us we were the only ones that didn't relish in the kills. We wanted a way out, the only difference is, you would kill anyone to give yourself a way out I still see good in the monsters created. We may be monsters but there has to be a reason we were saved."
"May I have this dance Miss Pierce?" He asked a minute later. I shook my head.
"I-" I began but was interrupted by the the toast. Fin excused himself and I walked to the indoor balconyish thing and saw him appear at the base of the stairs next to Kol. I saw everyone raise their glasses and take a sip of champagne. Finn met my eyes as he took a sip. I pursed my lips and watched as everyone dispersed. I avoided Esther and made my way downstairs. I reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Elijah holding his arm out.
"Dance with me?"
"Okay fine," I said taking his arm and letting him lead me to the ballroom. We settled into another waltz and I put up walls and refused to recognize the warmth and security coming off of him in tidal waves.
"My mother is here to reunite our family and truly has forgiven Klaus. Will you please move back?" I looked at him, my face a mask of astonishment.
"Please tell me you aren't that naive. She's spent several hundred years on the other side watching us kill innocents to survive watching us create more monsters like ourselves. She upset the balance witches work so hard to maintain and she got the chance to fix it so she will try and go through the alphabet before she gives up. If you think I'm being foolish then I'll tell you this. There was something in the toast that you should not have drank. I know this because I sent Elena in and compelled her to come straight to me after they met and tell me what went over. But I didn't reach any of you in time. I didn't get that much information either." I met his eyes and held them waiting for him to back down, Elijah was smarter than this. Finally he looked away and then right back at me his eyes filled with fear. He muttered something under his breath and pulled me away from the ballroom.
"I told my mother who you are," he said tightly. Then I wasn't able to breathe. We reached the main room when we heard the body hit the ground. I saw Kol lying down on the ground being punched by Damon. I ran over and pulled Damon off Kol just as Stefan came up to his brother.
"I think you should leave," I said to them as Elena and a few others joined us.
"Barbie of me to cause a problem," Damon said to Elena completely ignoring me. I stood up and slapped him hard enough to break his neck. I watched him crumple. "Next time I'll kill him and he won't come back," I said to Stefan and Elena. Kol popped up and I looked at him. I looked back at the crowd that started to form and caught Elijah's eyes. I shook my head and backed a few steps away before turning and running away at a human pace, eventually I sped up and found myself lying in the middle of a normally busy intersection that was now desolated.
"What did my big brother do now?" Kol asked a few seconds after he appeared next to me.
"Told your mother who I was."
"So I suppose you'll be leaving now?" he asked unemotionally. I paused and watched the stoplight turn from green to yellow to red and finally back to green.
"I don't know. I'm tired of running, but running keeps me safe."
"Do whatever you need Tia, remember you have me. Speaking of my brother, he got two dances and I none?" He said jumping to his feet. I sat up and took his hand letting him pull me to my feet. "I've even brought the music," he said pulling out ear buds and a smartphone. He got it set up and handed me an ear bud and put the other one in his own ear. I listened to guitar and piano meld to one and set an even beat for our dance. Eventually we ditched the ear buds and let the song play out of the phone.
I recognized the song when the chorus played. But darling you are the only exception, you are the only exception. I looked into his eyes and understood why he chose this song, but couldn't figure out how he knew it fit so perfectly. We let the song play through and circled around the vacant intersection in a speed only supernatural people could possess lit by streetlights. The final notes sounded and we found ourselves in the middle of the intersection once again. We stood there for a while debating whether or not to cross the line into something more. I was about to just kiss him when I remembered Edward. I closed my eyes and was about to pull away but decided I would let myself be mended for once. I stood on my tip toes and kissed him as he leaned down to kiss me. Our heads collided like in all the funny you tube spoofs and then were laughing in the middle of the street.
"A sign from the universe," he said, "that we should try again," he continued tilting my head up and kissing me slowly and softly. "I missed you Tia."
"I missed you too," I said lacing our fingers together and walking towards the little hotel. "Walk with me?" He dropped me off in front of the hotel and promised he'd find me tomorrow. I nodded and walked into the quaint hotel wondering when exactly my life turned on the path to hell.
