As the weeks of November started to fade away, so did Belle's hope and happiness. While Rebekah, Klaus, Caroline, and Stefan made sure she had something to do or someone to hang out with each day, she couldn't help but wonder how everything back home was going. She had only gotten one update from Fred- Fred telling her that Harry, Hermione, and Ron had infiltrated the Ministry to retrieve something but then they had to make an escape when Ministry Officials realized who they were. As far as they knew, the trio was okay.
She had sent her patronus to either twin or Molly once a week so that they knew she was fine but she had never received anything in return.
Seeing as Caroline was off somewhere with Stefan, Rebekah was off somewhere with Matt now that Caroline never gave her the evil eye, and Klaus was somewhere in the house, Belle was left to mope around her room by herself.
Sighing from boredom, Belle plopped herself on her bed so she lay with her head hanging over the edge where her feet usually lay. Twirling her wand between her fingers, she stared around her room from an upside down view.
Moments later, her bedroom door opened and Klaus poked his head in. Seeing him upside down made her go slightly cross-eyed which only made Klaus grin. "What are you up to, love?"
"Contemplating world domination." She answered without missing a beat.
Klaus chuckled as he fully entered her room, walking in until he was standing beside her bed. "Do you need a partner in this plan of yours?"
"Hmm, maybe." She pretended to contemplate his offer. "Do you think Stefan is available?" She said instead to which Klaus scowled at her. Belle giggled at his expression before making herself sit up and turning so her legs dangled over the edge of the bed. "Wipe that scowl off, Nik. You know that you'd be my first choice should I ever come up with an evil plan."
"Would you now?" He took a seat next to her.
"Yep." Belle popped the 'p' with a grin. "You have that whole evil mastermind vibe going on." Klaus smirked at her, eyes sparkling with amusement and something else that Belle couldn't quite place. She offered him a smile back and averted her gaze when he wouldn't look away. "So.." She trailed off. "What brings you up to my room?"
"Just seeing what you were up to." He told her. "I was getting curious as to why you kept sighing every couple of minutes."
"I'm going out of my mind with boredom and worry." Belle dead-panned. "I'm not up to much."
"Well then you need to get up to something to take your mind off whatever it is you're worried about."
"Like what?" Belle's quirked a challenging eyebrow at him.
Klaus matched her expression, standing up and offering her his hand. "Come on. I want to show you something."
"Show me what?" Belle leaned away from his hand though the twitch of her lips let Klaus know she was playing with him.
"I'm not telling you. You're just going to have to trust me." His hand stayed hanging in the air, just waiting for Belle to take.
"Trust you?" She studied him curiously, watching as his facial expression slipped a bit when she repeated his words. A second later, the slight vulnerability that she recognized was gone and he was waiting for her decision with a nod of his head.
Slowly grinning, Belle stood and instead of taking his hand, she looped her arm through his. "Lead the way, almighty hybrid."
Klaus rolled his eyes at Belle's playfulness, leading her out of her room and down the stairs. When they came upon double doors of a familiar room, Belle's eyes lit up. Klaus entered first, holding the door open and gesturing for her to enter his art studio. She had only been in here a handful of times when she was in panther form so she never got to truly take in the beauty of his paintings but now that she was out of panther form, she could stare and admire all she wanted.
He led her to a covered canvas and stood next to it while smirking at her. "I painted this a while back." He told her. "I wasn't going to show it to anyone but well.. it's you." He shrugged.
"What do you mean by it's me?" Belle crossed her arms over her chest in amusement.
"It's just.. I-" Klaus fumbled with his words before getting frustrated with himself. "Look."
He pulled the cover off the canvas and Belle's mouth formed an 'o' of surprise. There, with Klaus' beautiful brush strokes and blends of colors was her. Not her her but Nyght her. She was laying on her side on the loveseat that was in his studio, her eyes trained on the painter. The room of his studio was painted around her but what mesmerized her the most were her eyes.
"Are they really that green?" She murmured.
"Mhm." Klaus hummed. "They're very beautiful." His voice had an edge of huskiness to it that made Belle blush for the first time in his presence. Klaus noticed this and smirked in victory. "You know, love, I haven't seen Nyght in a while."
"Yeah." Belle swallowed thickly. "We've been kind of busy around here."
"We're not busy now." He told her.
"We're not, are we?" She slowly grinned now that her blush started to fade. "I think a run would clear my mind." Belle admired the painting of her panther form one last time before making an exit. Klaus followed her a few steps back and Belle peered over her shoulder. "Are you going to run with me?"
Klaus shook his head. "You need to clear you mind." He said. "If I were to tag along, you'd be too distracted by my dashing good looks."
"Keep telling yourself that, Nik." Belle laughed as she threw open the glass doors. She gave him one last look-over before turning back to face outside. "Have a drink ready for me when I get back, yeah?" And without waiting for his response, she shrunk down into her panther form and took off for the woods.
..
..
..
Belle ran, dodging reaching branches and leaping over fallen trees. She relished in the feeling of her paws pounding against the earth, the feeling of dragging her claws down the trunks of the surrounding trees, and the harmless chasing of the unlucky animals to catch her attention.
It seemed like she had been running in circles before she came across the familiar path, one that Klaus had taken her and where she had first met Stefan though she wasn't alone now.
Elena sat on the other side of the clearing, her eyes trained on the picking of her nails as Bonnie sat near the middle, eyes closed as she chanted beneath her breath. Belle felt a pulse of magic in the air and sat back on her haunches as she watched the witch do her thing.
Seconds later, Elena's eyes snapped up when she realized they weren't alone anymore. "Well would you look at that." She grinned at Belle. "Klaus' pet has gotten loose."
Bonnie stopped chanting as her eyes snapped open, her eyes going wide a second later as she caught sight of the panther. Belle mentally sighed before willing herself to change back into human form.
"Bonnie." She nodded her head in greeting. "Elena." She then rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Bonnie relaxed when Belle was no longer a lethal animal. "Hey." She feebly smiled. "What brings you out here?"
"Boredom." Belle shrugged, walking further into the clearing to meet Bonnie as she stood. "I needed to clear my mind and thought a run would do the trick."
"Aw, are you having second thoughts about the monsters you're living with?" Elena cooed as she too stood up.
Belle's jaw clenched as she tried her best to hang on to her self control. Bonnie sighed at Elena's jibe but didn't do or say anything about it. "So what were doing here?" Belle said instead, completely ignoring Elena.
"I was channeling magic." Bonnie brightened up. "When I feel on edge or down, channeling magic soothes me. It helps to keep stay balanced."
"Ah, yes." Belle smiled. "You get your magic from the spirits and nature, right?"
"Yeah."
The two trailed off into silence as Elena rolled her eyes at the two witches.
Glancing around, Belle took a step backward. "I better get going. Nik's probably waiting for me."
Bonnie's smile faltered at the mention of Nik but wisely kept her mouth shut. Elena, on the other hand, just didn't know when to quit. "Better scamper off then. Wouldn't want to put Daddy Original on a killing spree."
"You know what?" Belle finally snapped. "I've had enough of you, you bint!" Elena evilly smirked as she got the rise she was looking for. "I could care less what Nik did in his past. It's called the past for a reason so leave whatever grudge you have against him there. Ever since I've been here, Nik and Rebekah have been nothing but kind to me."
"They're monsters!" Elena sneered.
"No." Belle spat back. "You're the monster. Did you forget I was there to witness as you tried to shove a stake through Caroline's heart?" Elena's face hardened as Belle threw that back in her face. "She's supposed to be one of your good friends and you turned on her over petty jealousy." She shook her head at Elena, taking another step back. "Take a look in the mirror, Elena, before you start throwing around accusations again." Elena's fists clenched at her sides as Belle turned her attention to Bonnie. "I'll see you around."
Bonnie nodded, too shocked to say anything after the argument she had just witnessed. It seemed like the world around her slowed down as Belle turned her back on them, Bonnie turning to make a comment to Elena only to witness Elena's vampire visage come forth. She opened her mouth to keep her friend in check but Elena had already blurred away from her. "Elena.. DON'T!"
It took Belle a fraction of a second to realize she was in danger when arms wrapped around her, pinning her own arms to her body so she couldn't move, and fangs punctured through the side of her neck. The attack was so sudden and completely unexpected that Belle couldn't stop the ear splitting scream that escaped from her mouth and echoed throughout the woods.
"Stop, Elena, what are you doing?!" Bonnie's voice was frantic and worried but Elena didn't care.
Pulling back but making sure to keep her arms wrapped around Belle, Elena grinned with blood dripping down her chin. "Not so talkative now, are you?" Belle whimpered, not liking that she couldn't move enough to get her wand out so she could protect herself. She had very little practice with wandless magic but since she was under distress, she couldn't concentrate long enough to try. Elena creepily nuzzled her ear, smirking as she started to lower her face back to Belle's neck. "You taste so good." She murmured.
Bonnie yelled as Belle braced herself for another bite to her bleeding neck but just as Elena's fangs came into contact with her skin, there was a whoosh of air and Elena was suddenly ripped from her, being thrown across the clearing.
Belle sagged forward but a growling Klaus was there to steady her. "I'm okay." She repeated over and over though Klaus didn't know if she was trying to soothe herself or calm him down since he was still growling.
"What is going on here?" He clenched his jaw in anger as Bonnie shuffled backward, Elena getting up from the base of trees where she was thrown.
"Your cat has a loose tongue." Elena picked off any debris that clung to her clothes. "I was just teaching her a lesson."
Bonnie gaped at her friend's bluntness towards Klaus and watched in horror as Elena grinned at him cheekily. The black veins beneath Klaus' eyes slithered to the surface in his anger, his eyes glowing a golden yellow as he stepped away from Belle and towards Elena. "Don't. Just let it go." Belle's hands reached for Klaus' shirt but he easily pulled away from her.
Elena's grin fell when Klaus got closer and closer to her. "My patience for you has been running thin for the past month, doppleganger. What's to keep me from ripping your heart out right now?"
For each step Klaus took forward, Elena took one back until her back came into contact with one of the trees. "Me." Bonnie answered Klaus' question.
Klaus didn't have a chance to face the Bennett witch before he staggered backwards, grasping his head and groaning in pain. Bonnie flicked her wrist and a sickening crunch was heard.
"Stop, stop, stop." Belle muttered around the stinging pain in her neck and watched on as Klaus yelled in agonizing pain. "Bonnie, what are you doing?!"
"He was going to kill her." Bonnie dead-panned as she continued to concentrate on Klaus, the hybrid staggering around groaning and grasping at his head.
"Because she was going to kill me!" Belle fired back as much as she could, panic rising in her. "He was doing it to protect me, Bonnie! Let him go."
Elena watched on in amusement now seeing as Klaus was not much of a threat anymore while Bonnie gave him an aneurysm and repeatedly broke his bones. Her eyes caught on to the pleading Belle and she set her mind on having another bite.
From the corner of her eye though, Belle caught sight of the incoming vampire and didn't think twice about letting her wand fall into her grip and sent a stupify in Elena's direction. Elena was hit with the red light and was sent flying backwards as Belle turned back to Bonnie. "Please, Bonnie, I'm begging you. Let Nik go." Her wand was now pointed at the fellow witch, tears stinging her eyes. She didn't want to hurt Bonnie but if she didn't let Nik go, she'd have to.
Klaus finally fell to his knees, the pain becoming too much for him to handle. "I'm doing this town a favor." Bonnie's voice was cold and detached in a way that she'd never really heard before. "I'm doing you a favor."
Belle suddenly became angry that Bonnie wasn't listening to her and her mind was instantly telling her to cause the witch as much pain as she was causing Nik. Breathing in deeply, Belle pointed her wand at Bonnie. "Last chance, Bonnie."
From her peripheral vision, Bonnie saw the wand pointed at her and lost concentration, Klaus finally able to breath without screaming in pain. "I'm sorry." She said before looking back at Klaus and making him scream out once again.
Belle swallowed around the stinging pain in her neck and closed her eyes as the word, "Crucio.", left her mouth.
Klaus then stopped screaming, breathing heavily as he tried to get his bearings as Bonnie's agonized screams now filled the air. Blinking rapidly, Klaus found the source of Bonnie's screams in the form of Belle who was glaring harshly at Bonnie's writhing form. Tear tracks marred her cheeks as she kept her gaze and wand trained at the Bennett witch.
"Love." Klaus breathed heavily as he stood to his feet and staggered towards Belle. "That's enough." The harshness of her glare didn't sit well with him and he didn't like it one bit. He looked around the clearing, not being able to spot where Elena was laying unconscious, and put his hand on Belle's arm, lowering it. "Stop."
Belle snapped out of the trance she seemed to be in, her eyes frantically flickering everywhere as Bonnie's screams died down. Bonnie was left on the ground in tears and Klaus picked up Belle, rushing her home.
When she opened her eyes, it was to find herself back in her room and sitting on the edge of her bed with Klaus standing before her. She stared at nothing and her shoulders slumped with defeat. "Sit tight, Arabelle. I'll go get something to clean your wound."
She made no indication that she heard him so with conflicted emotions, Klaus disappeared to get a wash cloth and a small bowl of water. When he reappeared after gathering what he needed, it was to find Belle exactly where he had left her. Sighing, he walked forward so he was standing right before her knees. They parted on instinct and Klaus instinctively stood closer, setting the bowl of water on the bed next to her.
With a gentle grip, Klaus grasped Belle's chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting her head to the side. As the wound stretched, he detected a small flinch from her but she made no sound. He dipped the wash cloth into the warm water he had brought with him and started to wipe away the blood. "She got you good, didn't she?" His eyes roamed over Belle's face but she merely blinked, her eyes not meeting his. "I think I might have made it worse though when I ripped her off of you."
"There's some Essence of Dittany in my dresser." Her voice was void of any emotion. "I can use some of that."
"And what does that do?" He asked as he continued to clean. A little part of him was relieved that she spoke.
She flinched as the cloth dragged along her neck. "It regrows the skin over the wound."
"But that'll leave a scar." He told her with a frown. "I can make sure that the wound completely vanishes and leaves no scar behind."
Belle's eyes instantly locked on with his and he offered her a grin. "Can you really do that?"
He nodded, his grin broadening into a gentle smile as he saw her eyes finally come back to life. "Vampire blood, love. Or hybrid blood in my case." He told her, dropping the bloodied cloth onto the bed. "Our blood has a healing antigen in it."
"But will it work with me?" She gulped when she realized just how close he was. "My magical core won't interfere with the healing process of your blood?"
Klaus shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
Belle numbly nodded. "Okay. How are you going to-" She stopped mid-sentence as she watched him bite into his wrist with his fangs and then offer his wrist to her.
"Drink up."
"So I just.." Her face scrunched up in distaste as she grabbed his wrist and brought it closer to her lips. "Nevermind." She muttered and wrapped her lips around the bite mark Klaus had created on his own wrist. She took a couple of pulls of his blood before dropping his wrist and covering her mouth. When she was sure she wasn't going to puke it back up, she looked up at him. "Well, I've tasted worse."
He chuckled at her as his eyes fell down to where her wound was. "There. All gone." He told her and took a step back.
Wanting to see for herself, Belle hopped off her bed and went to go check it in the nearest mirror. She started to smile when she realized that her neck was wound-free but as her fingers traced the side of her neck and she caught her own gaze in the reflection, her smile fell and tears welled up in her eyes. The realization of what had just occurred not even ten minutes ago came rushing back to her and a sob escaped her throat before she could bite her lip to keep it in.
"What's wrong?" Klaus was by her side in an instant.
She turned to face him, her tears silently falling. "She was.." Her voice trembled. "And I had to.. I cast.."
Klaus realized what was wrong and he pulled her into a hug, his chin easily sitting atop her head. "You acted on instinct." He assured her. "You gave her fair warning to stop but she didn't."
"But that spell!" Belle's hands gripped Klaus' shirt in her hands on either side of his waist, her head burrowing into his chest. "I can't believe.. I shouldn't have.." Her voice cracked as the tears soaked into Klaus' shirt.
"It was just a spell, Arabelle. You were protecting me. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."
"It was a dark spell!" She cried. "An unforgivable. I shouldn't have used it but it was the first thing that popped into my mind."
"Shh." Klaus tried to calm her as he didn't know exactly what to do with the crying girl in his arms. Sure he had a crying female in his arms before but he always told them what they wanted to hear. He could care less about them but with Belle, a girl that he actually liked being around and cared for enough to want to keep her safe, he suddenly found himself slightly clueless. "Come on."
He led her over to her bed, pushing her on as he climbed in behind her and sat against the headboard. When he got comfortable enough, he opened his arms for her and let her burrow into his side as she continued to cry. Sobs wracked her body for a good while and it was when she started to quiet down that her bedroom door opened and Rebekah walked in. "Belle, have you seen-.." Her eyes narrowed as she saw her brother holding her sniffling friend. "What's going on?"
"Not now." Klaus told her. "Go wait downstairs for me."
"Nik, what-"
"I said not now." He clenched his jaw. "Meet me downstairs."
Belle shifted on her bed but Klaus only held on tighter to her. Rebekah's eyes flickered between the two and when she caught Klaus' glare, she walked back out without another word.
"You didn't have to do that." Belle whispered softly once her door was closed.
"Yes I did. You need your sleep." He told her.
"If I'm going to sleep then I need a calming draught and a dreamless sleep potion."
Once Belle told Klaus which ones were which and where to find them, she took them with ease and settled beneath her covers as he sat with her until she fell asleep. When her breathing evened out, Klaus inched off her bed and went to go find Rebekah.
He didn't go far since Rebekah was standing right outside the door. "What happened?" She eagerly ambushed him.
"The Gilbert girl attacked her." Klaus scowled as he remembered what he had found in the clearing.
Rebekah's eyes widened. "That wench!"
"But that's not what has her upset."
"Then why was she?" Rebekah eyed her brother when he didn't immediately answer.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Klaus gestured for her to follow. "The Bennett witch used her little brain aneurysm trick on me for a lengthy amount of time." He led her downstairs and headed for his study where he had a good bottle of liquor hidden. "Belle warned her to stop it but when she didn't, Belle cast her own spell on Bonnie that had her writing in pain on the ground as soon as the spell left Belle's lips."
"So she protected you." Rebekah scoffed. "That shouldn't have her upset."
"It was a dark spell, 'bekah." He narrowed his eyes at his sister. "And if you've taken the time to get to know her, Belle isn't exactly dark."
"Oh."
"Yes, oh." Klaus huffed as he took a swig of his drink that he had poured as he talked to his sister. "So when she attempts to talk to you or even if she has another breakdown, don't write her off. This is serious for her." Rebekah nodded as she eyed her brother with interest. "What?" He nearly growled when he caught her scrutiny.
"You care for her, don't you?" She asked. Klaus didn't bother to answer her, bringing up the glass to his lips and taking another drink instead. "It's okay if you do, you know. But fair warning, Nik.." She grinned at him with mischief. "You hurt her and you'll have three vampires bringing as much pain as possible to you."
Klaus paid no mind to his sister's threat as he turned to pour himself another drink. Smirking triumphantly, Rebekah turned to leave the room and go fill in Stefan and Caroline on what she had just learned.
Sorry for any mistakes. It's early and I'm usually asleep at this time so yeah.. really sorry!