Part 10

Wounds

"Katla," Elijah said tensely when she was hopping towards her room to wait for Kol. "Can I have a word with you, sister?"

She turned to look at him and smiled.

"I will give you all the words you want, my dear brother."

"Thank you."

She took his hand and led him to her room; he closed the door behind them. Her room was beautiful, she liked it very much, Nik had made sure that she had everything she needed. The room was decorated with light colors, white, cream and coral. On the bookshelf she had new books from Elijah, a music box that was also a jewelry box from Rebekah and a teddy bear from Nik. She picked the teddy bear up and sat down on her canopy bed with it. Gently she touched the bear before leaning her chin against the top of its head. Elijah looked uncomfortable, she could tell that he wouldn't have liked to say what he was about to say, but she looked at him smiling and waited patiently for him to speak.

"Katla…" he started. "What were you doing in the French Quarter today?"

"I like to go there," she replied. "It is a nice place."

"Yes… And you met some witches?"

She smiled and tilted her head, she didn't ask how he knew that.

"I like to touch witches, they feel nice."

Elijah sighed and walked over to the bed.

"You did more than just touch them."

"Yes, I helped a darling child. She would have died."

"I see. And they gave you something in return for your help?"

Katla observed him calmly. She knew that someone was always following her when she went out, but she didn't care about that, her siblings only wanted to look after her. And keep an eye on her; she knew that she had caused them trouble at the celebration. Nik hadn't been angry at her after she had told him that the man had touched her, he had said that he would have killed the man himself, even if he had been an important human.

"Yes," she replied.

"What did they give you?"

She didn't say anything; she concentrated on the teddy bear.

"Katla?"

"Something I asked from them."

"What was that?"

"Something that only belongs to me."

Elijah sat down next to her and placed his palm on her shoulder.

"Sister, please. I'm aware that Kol likes to play with witches, but sometimes his games are simply foolish. I don't want him to do anything he would regret and I want to keep our family together."

"We are together," she replied smiling.

"Yes, but…" He paused and gently cupped her chin. She looked into his eyes and saw his distress; she didn't want to see him like that.

"I love you, brother," she said and touched his cheek. "I would die for you. My thoughts are my own, but I would never hurt you."

He pressed his lips together, but there was warmth in his eyes.

"I love you too, sister. Are you telling me that Kol didn't ask you to get something from the witches?"

"No, he didn't. I go where I want to go, just like the wind."

She was hurt by the idea that she would do something to harm her family. What she had asked from the witches was for Kol, but it didn't cause any harm to anyone. She could have taken the box from under her bed and show it to Elijah, but she didn't want to do that, it was a gift for Kol. He was the only one who could appreciate it as much as she did. She didn't say that her feelings had been hurt, but Elijah could see that.

"Forgive me, sister," he sighed and touched her hair. "The last thing I wanted was to make you feel bad, but this tension between Kol and Niklaus concerns me, you know how they can be."

Yes, Katla knew. Kol hadn't forgiven Nik for daggering him and especially her; there was a lot of bad blood between them. Sometimes they were like brothers and went out together, just like they had used to do, but they didn't trust each other. Katla knew Kol better than anyone, he felt that deep down his other siblings didn't really care about him. After they had become vampires and fled from their father, Nik had wanted Katla to stay with him, Elijah and Rebekah because he had thought that she needed someone to look after her and Kol certainly wasn't capable of doing that. Katla had disagreed, she loved her whole family, but her place had always been with Kol.

"Sometimes wounds heal slowly," she stated.

"Yes, that's true. Hopefully our brothers can find a way to settle their differences."

Katla stayed in the bed with her teddy bear after Elijah had left. She didn't have to wait for long when Kol came in.

"Naughty girl," he chuckled. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Katla looked up and smiled sweetly, she was holding the bear.

"Was I naughty?" she asked innocently and blinked her eyes. "I didn't mean to be."

"Of course you didn't," Kol hummed smirking. "Are you trying to tell me that I haven't given you enough attention?"

"Of course not, brother. Your happiness is my happiness."

Katla stood up and walked over to the dresser. Softly she ran her fingers over it and picked up the bottle of perfume Rebekah had given to her. She had never liked perfumes much; she preferred the natural scent of humans, at least some of them. Every person had their own unique scent, just like they had their own unique energy. She touched the bottle absentmindedly with her fingertips before placing it back onto the dresser.

"What do you think about Juliette?" Kol asked.

"I liked the ones you shared with me," Katla replied, she saw Kol's amused look through the mirror. He liked it when she demanded of his attention, although she usually didn't have to do that.

"I can share her too."

Katla shook her head and turned to look at Kol.

"She doesn't like me touching her."

Despite of her shortcomings, Katla wasn't blind; she could see when someone didn't like her. As much as she enjoyed touching witches to feel their magic, she didn't feel the need to touch Juliette. Kol stepped in front of her and kissed her forehead.

"That's her loss. Do you want me to get rid of her?"

"No, brother."

Katla hadn't liked all Kol's lovers, but she had never said anything, she knew that she would always come first to him. Her face brightened when she remembered the gift she had for him.

"Wait there," she said and touched his cheek before kneeling next to the bed.

"What's that?" he asked when she picked up a small wooden box.

She sat down on the bed and placed the box carefully onto her lap.

"Your gift."

He sat down next to her and observed the box curiously. She opened it and picked up a round object, wrapped inside a velvet cloth. Slowly she unwrapped the cloth, revealing a sparkling crystal.

"That's very nice…" he started.

"It's special. Touch it, brother."

He didn't ask any questions, he simply touched the crystal. She smiled when his eyes widened and he gasped.

"What…"

"The energy of magic," she explained. "It flows inside you, just like before."

"How…" he muttered, staring at the crystal. It didn't give them their magic back, only the feeling of it, but to Katla that was priceless. The crystal entailed a very powerful spell that allowed anyone to feel the energy of magic.

"I made new friends," she said. "I traded this for the sweetest kiss."

Kol's eyebrows furrowed.

"What?"

"The kiss of life."

"You gave someone your blood?"

She nodded.

"Good things can come out of darkness sometimes. The poor child lived and I have this to give to you, my darling brother. Do you like it?"

He smiled at her lovingly and touched her cheek.

"I love it, you know I do."

He closed his eyes and touched the crystal again, this time with both hands.

"Amazing…" he murmured. "To feel the magic again…"

She definitely knew what he meant; it felt like having an amputated limb back. Only someone who had lost so big part of themselves could understand. Somehow Katla thought that Nik would understand. He hadn't lost his magic, but he had lost a part of who he was.

"The spell won't last forever," she said.

Kol opened his eyes and took her hand, guiding it onto the crystal.

"This is for the both of us, sister."

She smiled when she felt the energy flowing inside her; they lied down and placed the crystal between them. She loved feeling his hand on hers while they both felt the energy coming from the crystal. It was just like they would have been in the woods again all those years ago, practicing their magic. Kol had always been a patient teacher; he had been a very talented warlock.

"Sister?" he murmured. "You know I would do anything to keep you safe."

"I would do the same for you, brother."

"I know. Juliette will give me the means to do that. Eventually."

Katla didn't say anything, but she was worried, she wanted nothing more than Kol to be safe. She knew who Kol wanted to protect her from.

"Brother," she said quietly. "Family is family. Blood is blood."

"And betrayal is betrayal," he muttered. "Don't worry, sister, leave everything to me. I will look after you."

Mystic Falls, present day

Katla was having a strange dream. She was floating in the air, looking down at herself. There was no time or place; she couldn't remember how long she had dreamt. She remembered the sounds, the voices; she even remembered the gentle hand touching her face. Nik's hand. He had spoken to her, told her how sorry he was. He had kissed her forehead and placed the teddy bear next to her. She had been in the darkness for days, weeks, moths, years, she didn't know how long. Sometimes Nik had spoken to her, but she had been too far away to hear his words. His voice had been the only thing that had broken the silence, until two strange voices had appeared.

"Geez… Hey, Steff, take a look at this…"

"Is that Klaus' sister…?"

"A teddy bear, how cute… I think he's going to want her back…"

"We need to focus on the sealed coffin…"

Voices in the darkness. Spirits. Witches.

"Abomination… You should not exist… Crime against nature…"

The witches loathed her and her family. She could hear them, but she couldn't speak. She was trapped in this place with them. Kol… He was here too, she could feel it. Elijah… Finn… She hadn't seen Finn for a very long time, but she had felt him close to her when she had slept. Someone else was here too. It wasn't Rebekah, she wasn't here. She had been close to her for a long time, but now she wasn't. Days, weeks, moths, years, she didn't know how long she had slept when something happened. She was finally free to wake up. The gentle hand touching her cheek wasn't Nik's, it was Elijah's. He was looking down at her smiling when she opened her eyes.

"Hello, sister."