The black car finally drove up to the front of the Bennett's house. The entire street was dark except for the bright circle of light shone down from a tall black lamp-post.
This was where the fun would begin for Kol. If Bonnie had thought that he was simply going to drive and send her home without harming her, she was going to be very wrong. But as he parked the car, Kol, engaged in his vampire hearing senses, could hear people talking not too far away. It was indeed a very interesting conversation to eavesdrop on.
"They're here, Damon!" squeaked one of them.
"Okay," growled the other one. "One, two, three, we hold 'em down."
"You really think we can hold Elijah down?" trembled the first voice.
"Just do as I say!" snapped the second person.
Curious and intrigued, Kol aborted his plan to harm the witch, believing he had caught something bigger. Whoever they were, they sounded foolish to want to challenge Original vampires like Elijah and himself. He looked sideways at the witch and wondered whether she had something to do with this. No, she was most certainly behind this.
He got out of the car with Bonnie, walking her to the house door, feigning that he did not know what they were up to.
Bonnie studied him from the corner of her eyes and saw that he was still unaware of what was truly going on (or so she thought). Halfway through walking towards the front porch of her house, Bonnie stopped and turned to look up at Kol.
"I'm not going in yet," said Bonnie simply.
It was just an excuse used to get him to allow Stefan and Damon to interfere in time before they neared the front porch of the house. Kol was infamously known to be reckless and foolish even but what people did not know was his sharp ability honed over the last thousand years to predict humans easily. He could be the one that lacked tact but unlike his sister and brother, he was too shrewd for misplaced loyalty or trust. He could see through Bonnie Bennett's words; her intention was crystal clear to him. But he did not flip like a switch like Nik would have. He was more calm and collected about it.
He frowned down at Bonnie innocently, his eyebrows shot up in a questioning slant. Staring at him, Bonnie was not sure whether she had seen that knowing smile in his dark eyes. She shoved the thought aside and looked behind him, seeing Stefan and Damon appearing out of the darkness to step into the small circle of light, each brandishing a white oak ash dagger.
Damon had a menacing smile on his face while Stefan tagged along from behind his brother, an anxious look in his puppy brown eyes.
"Well, well… I thought it was going to be Elijah!" snorted Damon, letting out a mirthless laughter. "Looks like we just have lil bro to deal with."
Kol turned away from Bonnie to face the two of them who stood in the only circle of light provided by the lamppost, his eyes scanning over them like a tiger scanning a deer. Bonnie began to slowly back away as Kol continued to look at the Salvatore brothers, who had his full attention. Stefan gave his brother a terrified look as though his brother had said the worst thing ever.
Kol was just a still figure in the darkness. They could make out almost nothing of his face but from his tall height and pale white skin, they figured enough that it was not Elijah. But Stefan could feel a frightening aura about him. Even his stillness distracted Stefan and created a sense of disquiet.
"Uh… Damon," muttered Stefan nervously.
Stefan nudged his brother in the arm with his elbow but Damon shot him a threatening glare before turning back to the enemy. Kol merely stood where he was, an offended look on his face.
"Little brother, really!" exclaimed Kol with a mix of feeling amused and affronted.
Damon stepped out of the light circle into the darkness to get a closer look at Kol. He could see Kol's face now; pale-faced, dark-haired, dark eyes. There was something recognizable about the features.
There was a stark absence of fear in Damon's hard light blue eyes. In Damon's mind, he was an Original vampire so he had to die because Damon hated the Originals. Stefan straggled along from behind, his body taut, ready for Damon's command. His eyes, however, were wide and swirling with utmost fear.
Kol stared at them, unmoving. There was an almost bored expression on his face as though he was waiting for their first move. Damon began to arch his back, his eyes burning blue flames of hatred for the Original vampire before him.
"ONE, TWO, THREE!" roared Damon, leaping towards Kol.
Stefan jumped, tightening his fists but the next second, when he landed, Kol was no longer there. Swearing angrily, Damon bumped into him violently, knocking him to the ground yelping in pain. Shock paralyzed Damon for his eyes froze and the bravado in them slipped away.
"Damon, he's an original too –," hissed Stefan from the pain as he got to his feet.
"Shut up! Don't let your guard down!" snarled Damon, but fear had already crept into his sapphire blue eyes.
They swung their heads around to scan for Kol in the darkness, their backs against each other. Bonnie stood where she was, frozen. She felt her confidence earlier to take Kol down with Stefan and Damon fade away.
"Over here!" called out Kol excitedly from the darkness.
He was across the road, leaning against the wooden red fences of the house opposite the Bennetts. He was strangely patient and calm – waiting by the fences for another attack. Losing no time, Damon zoomed towards him, his blue eyes set hard as granite.
"Where's Elena?" asked Damon dangerously, his voice and eyes hard.
Kol had an eerie smile on his face that disturbed Damon. It was as though he was seeing through Damon and predicting him – and Kol was good at that. He cocked his head sideways in a predatory questioning gesture.
"Elena…," said Kol slowly and his eyes grew more gleeful. "I don't know who that is."
Damon wanted to believe him but he looked into those eyes and saw something menacing and monstrous about them. The eyes were mocking him and even challenging him. The laughter in them told him that he was lying and that he wanted Damon to know it.
"He's lying, Damon!" yelled Bonnie from where she stood.
But before either one could react, Kol zoomed towards Bonnie, a grave look on his face.
"Don't interfere, little witch."
He slapped her and she flew far, the side of her body knocking into the large garbage bins right outside her front porch. There was a loud crashing sound and the sound of Bonnie gasping in pain.
She felt the force of his supernatural strength unlike any other ordinary vampire's. From the intensity of the pain, she was likely to have three broken ribs.
Growling angrily, Stefan charged towards Kol with his white oak ash dagger. But Kol was too fast for him – he whipped around in time to push the dagger out of Stefan's hand. His hand flew to Stefan's throat, grabbing and throwing him aside violently by the throat.
Stefan crashed into the red fences hard, causing the fences to break apart. The impact was enough to crush his backbone that he was finding it difficult to get up. He realized now how foolish they had been to pick a fight with an Original.
Before he could even get up or Damon could come to the rescue, Kol had moved into him, picked up one of the sharp-edged broken pieces of the fence, plunged it right into Stefan. Damon's eyes widened in shock as the sharp weapon pierced into Stefan's abdomen. Stefan was paralysed suddenly, unable to speak or move, as he fell face forward onto the ground.
"STEF!" cried Damon as he flew to his brother's side.
Kol watched them nonchalantly as he bent to pick up another broken piece of the fence. Realising its edges were not sharp enough, Kol frowned and dropped it back with disdain. Damon turned to look at Kol, furious.
"You shouldn't have touched my brother," growled Damon, baring his fangs.
"I think I missed his heart," offered Kol some comfort, sounding a little disappointed.
Damon did not strike but continued staring at him, held back by the knowledge that this was not a fight he was going to win. Their only hope was escape.
Kol leaned towards Stefan, who was panting softly.
"So Stef, where do you come from?" asked Kol casually, his smile a beckoning gesture.
But Stefan's face was on the ground as he breathed hard and fast, fighting the urge to move as writhing caused him only more pain.
"Look at me," said Kol quietly with a subtle commanding tone.
Slowly, Stefan lifted his head up in agony and groaned. He felt dizzy with sickness. He felt something sharp inside his stomach and begged that he would be numb enough not to feel it anymore. As he obeyed Kol to look at him, he saw that there was a tinge of impatience in those dark eyes and the playful smile. He felt sick with fright.
He tried hard to talk, but the words could not come out right. The excruciating pain anchored his voice to the bottom and increased in intensity each time he tried to use his voice.
"You're choking, talk a little clearly," said Kol with a rather satisfied smile on his face.
Damon had been silent for some time because he had been analysing Kol's face, which involuntarily rang a bell in his head. Pale-faced, jet black hair, dark eyes. Who was he? Damon could not quite fathom the weird sense of familiarity.
"I know you from somewhere…," spoke Damon, looking at Kol suspiciously and suddenly a memory jolted him. "You were in England…"
Kol looked a little startled; this had not been the confrontation he had been expecting. But he turned to Damon with an untroubled expression.
"I've been everywhere," replied Kol, smiling condescendingly. "And a dull face like yours isn't worth remembering."
His comment was akin to a slap in the face. Fueled by anger, Damon tightened his grip on the white oak ash dagger.
"Uh-oh, be careful of who you insult," hissed Damon, glaring at Kol.
"Aren't you having the least bit of fun?" asked Kol jauntily, ignoring Damon's statement. "It's a three-on-one! If you're not having fun, maybe I should end it altogether."
A gnarly growl escaped Damon's throat as he leaped for his golden opportunity to defeat Kol, the dagger in hand pointing at target. Kol did nothing to stop him. Damon grabbed him by the throat, ready to stab him and ready to die along with him because the dagger would claim both lives.
"Stop."
His dark eyes bored into Damon's sapphire blue eyes, compelling him. Damon stopped in his tracks as his eyes went momentarily blank. He did not let the Original go but he found that for some reason, he could not swing the dagger into him. Some supernatural force was binding him from doing so.
"Take your hand off me," said Kol calmly, smiling, completely in control.
Bonnie who had just recovered from the blow earlier gasped when she saw Damon abide and remove his hand that clamped Kol's throat. There was a look of utmost horror on Damon's face that made Bonnie's hair stand on end.
"There's a good girl," said Kol mockingly, tilting his head slightly towards the white oak ash dagger in Damon's hand. "Now I want you to walk over to your brother… and put this dagger in his heart."
"No," muttered Damon grudgingly.
But he turned around and walked over to Stefan, his face emotionless. Stefan was lying face down again, breathing slowly. The piece of wooden fence was still in him. Damon knelt down beside his brother and sadness flooded his face.
He was unable to betray the supernatural order Kol had given him. He turned Stefan around to lie on his back. Stefan saw him and heaved a sigh of relief.
"Damon," mumbled Stefan weakly, a small smile on his face.
But Damon was too teary-eyed to respond. Noticing the unfocused state his brother was in, Stefan realized Damon was compelled and writhed hard to get away. But he stopped almost immediately because of the attack of the unbearable pain.
"Damon, what're you doing…," uttered Stefan in a soft, hoarse voice.
He closed his eyes. He closed his ears. Without answering, he brought the dagger down to his brother's heart.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that the dagger had somehow landed on the ground and not on his brother's heart. The shock in his eyes mirrored the look in Stefan's. Both of them knew it was impossible to disobey supernatural commands from Original vampires.
Bonnie stood by the garbage bins, her eyes closed and focused on Damon. It was pretty easy for her to control and take down a normal vampire but not an Original. Conveniently, she could take Damon down. After letting out a huge sigh of relief because she almost lost two of her most important friends, she continued to focus her eyes on Damon.
Damon did not have the chance for a second attempt when the pain rocked his head, causing him to cry out in pain. It was the same pain Esther had inflicted on him at the Mikaelson's Ball.
The pain stopped when Kol reached Damon and kicked him. He turned towards Bonnie; he knew it had been her all along. He shot her a warning glare before turning back to Damon. He privately wished he had his baseball bat with him but it would have been silly to carry one around on a Ball night, as Elijah had pointed out.
Picking up a sharp wooden piece from the broken fence, he stabbed Damon with it, missing his heart by inches on purpose. In their weakened state, he could have a friendly chat with them.
"NO!" screamed Bonnie as he stabbed Damon, running towards Stefan.
"Bonnie, stay back," shouted a pained Damon through gritted teeth.
Reaching Stefan, she tried to pull the wooden object that was stuck inside. She cringed a little, never having done anything like it before. She had no time to do anything but cringe because Kol was already before her, a serious look on his face.
"You should listen to the vampire, witch."
He smacked her face hard, sending her reeling across the road. Bonnie landed on the pavement under the small circle of light under the lamppost. Stefan and Damon lay motionless, unable to save her. Kol zoomed towards her, smiling to himself because his initial plan to mess with the witch was not thwarted in the end.
He stood over Bonnie, merely smiling down at her. The edges of her white dress were ripped and torn due to the friction against the road. The holes in her dress exposed her scarlet red knees, caked with blood. She used both her arms to drag herself away – drag herself as far away as possible from the monster.
"Where are you going, love?" asked Kol softly, smiling.
She let out a weak whimper as she looked up to face him. He was smiling down at her but there was no kindness at all in his eyes. He could see her face too, bruised and fearful.
The fear marked almost the end of his fun. Kol knew how it always ended in his game usually. Humans were so predictable – they would be either nasty or coy at the start and when they knew what they had gotten themselves into, that was when they begged and cried. And that was when they would become too boring for him to play with.
Not too far away, he could hear Elijah and Klaus approaching and was a little puzzled. But he was sure he had picked up their voices.
"Please…," pleaded Bonnie weakly.
"Please what? Speak up, sweetheart, I can't hear you."
He knelt down to pick her up by the throat. As she thrashed and protested, his strong hand remained firm on her throat. Gradually, she fought and resisted less. He was killing her slowly through suffocation.
When Klaus and Elijah reached, Klaus saw with terror that Kol was in the midst of killing Bonnie Bennett. He could hear her heart beating but the beats were getting softer and slower.
"KOL, KNOCK IT OFF!" bellowed Klaus, his face red with rage.
Kol knew that his brothers had arrived but that did not stop him from strangling the witch. Before Elijah or Kol knew what he was doing, Klaus flew towards Kol who had no time to react. Klaus knocked Bonnie out of Kol's vice grip and locked his brother's head with one arm, breaking his neck in a split second. Kol's knees buckled and he crumpled to the ground immediately.
Elijah stood rooted to the spot, pale as a ghost. He was unsure of whether to be angry or be glad that Klaus had done that. Klaus was attending to Bonnie now, shaking her hard by the shoulders.
"Brother, she's still alive. I can hear her heart," said Elijah to Klaus.
Klaus stopped shaking her and waited impatiently. Elijah walked over towards Damon, who was still in pain. He removed the wooden object from Damon calmly and chucked it aside.
"Care to tell me why the two of you happen to be here?" asked Elijah coldly.
"Elena… we wanted Elena back," choked Damon.
Confused, Elijah knelt down to question Damon further. A million of questions besieged his head but he was not sure if he wanted to know the answers to them. However, both Klaus and Elijah could not stay there for too long, lest Kol would wake up and stir up trouble here again.
Bonnie did not wake up early enough so that Elijah and Klaus had to leave. Klaus was feeling rather annoyed that he would not be able to speak to Bonnie – he wanted to speak to her immediately and be the first one she would see when she awoke. But since Originals healed significantly faster than ordinary vampires, Elijah decided it was better to bring Kol home.
Finally, Klaus decided that they would leave him behind because he wanted to wait for Bonnie. Hesitantly, Elijah agreed. He lifted an unconscious Kol to a half-standing position and supporting him by the shoulder and arm, he zoomed home.
Bonnie awoke to a grinning Klaus, astonished. She could not comprehend why Klaus, the big bad wolf, would have saved her. But there it was before her, a kind and compassionate smile on his face.
Klaus might have appeared kind but he was also the most manipulative person Bonnie had ever met. Unknown to her, she was being a little taken in with his act.
"Don't thank me," said Klaus, shaking his head. "I don't need your gratitude, witch. I just need you on my side now – or by my side, whichever you prefer."
Bonnie stared up at him, a little irked.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded irritably.
"Alright, if you insist…," chirped Klaus, "You're welcome. But you're still my witch now, Bonnie. You owe it to me."
"What's going on –"
"You just do as I say," he cut her, forcing a smile although he disliked very much the little witch's unbelievable demands. "And that won't be very difficult, I trust, because if you're on my side, we're against the same person. We're talking about the one that attacked your mother, Bonnie."
She did not need to consider anything anymore. Nodding her head, she agreed and pledged allegiance to her enemy, swearing to avenge her mother.
" – YOU PUT ONE MORE TOE OUT OF LINE AND THAT'S FINAL! THE END! I WILL TAKE VERY SERIOUS ACTIONS! HOW HUMILITAING, SHAMEFUL – "
Esther was shrieking endlessly at her children when the family meeting finally commenced. Everyone was present – Klaus had returned and Kol had regained consciousness – including Abby Bennett who had been nursed back to health by Finn and Esther.
Esther was still in her dark blue gown because she had wasted no time in reprimanding her family, who was still in their tuxedos and dress.
Her face was purple with rage. It was not a very pleasant sight for the Mikaelson children. She was furious about the too many indiscreetness and misbehaviours – Klaus' announcement and attempt to murder, Kol's treatment of Bonnie Bennett, the fire incident and the Salvatores.
" – VERY UNBECOMING! TOO SHOCKED AT ALL YOUR BEHAVIOUR! ALL OF YOU! IF THIS IS THE KIND OF BEHAVIOUR YOU DISPLAY, I WILL NOT PUT UP WITH IT AND WILL NOT HESISTATE – "
Her yammering was never-ending. Klaus thought he would have been deaf by the end of the family meeting but in spite of that, he shuddered at the thought of Mikael being in Esther's place. His father was by no means a merciful man. He did not have exceptions when it concerned his children – only particularity.
Klaus was the child he especially picked on. Although Mikael was harsh in the past towards all of them except Rebekah and Henrik(not because they were supposedly an "exception", but because they were far too young to be at fault for anything at their age), Klaus was probably his least favourite child.
Esther had finally calmed down, to everyone's relief.
"Finn," addressed Esther coldly. "When I say, don't bring the girl, I mean don't bring the girl. Understand?"
"Understood," answered Finn quickly.
She was quick with scolding Finn because he was her favourite and she never liked being mad at him for too long.
"Kol, what were you thinking?" asked Esther, sounding tired. "Were you really going to kill that girl?"
Kol did not answer his mother. Frankly, there was no point arguing or reasoning that the witch had planned an ambush for him. He had never intended on killing her because of Nik's instructions, he had only wanted to mess with her and scare her. Even when she had pushed her luck too far, he was careful not to kill her by accident.
Esther let out a sigh of exasperation. "I'm washing my hands off this. Honey, you have to respect the life of humans too. Like Finn, for instance."
Finn blushed a little and could not help feeling pleased but Kol's eyes remained the same – it was hard to tell what he was feeling or thinking. But Rebekah, Klaus and Elijah understood even if he did not display any emotions. They knew how not being good enough felt.
"Niklaus?" said Esther sharply as she turned to Klaus. "The announcement you made? If it weren't for Finn, things would have been disastrous… Murdering is a sin! I don't want any more murdering from you… or any of you! I am so disappointed in you…"
Klaus curled his lip with resentment and defiance.
"That woman I was after put all of us in danger tonight," retorted Klaus indignantly. "If it weren't for Finn, she would have been dead – and our family would have been safe forever!
Finn winced at Klaus' words but Esther was not anywhere near gentle with Klaus.
"Then I will deal with her," replied Esther with a firm note of finality. "I am responsible for this family's safety, Niklaus. You don't worry about that."
Klaus bit back his lip to stop himself from fighting back, although his temper was hardly in his control. Noticing Klaus, Rebekah's eyes fell to the ground. It was too heart-breaking a sight for her to watch.
"And the Salvatores today?" asked Esther not to anyone in particular. "What trouble were they looking to find?"
"Every kind, Mother," Elijah was the spokesperson for his siblings. "They were the ones who accompanied Bonnie Bennett to attack Kol. They entered this house for who knows what."
Although Elijah had an inkling that they had arrived looking for Elena just as they had when they were with Bonnie, Elijah carefully left that piece of information out because he did not find it comfortable mentioning Elena to his mother. Secretly, he knew it had to be his mother now who had invited her.
Elijah knew his mother well enough to know that she would not invite any Petrova without any devious ideas up her sleeve. For that, he was immensely worried for Elena's safety.
Esther merely nodded, giving her children a dismissive wave.
"Go, all of you. You may go."
Everyone except Finn began to leave the room. He stayed put beside his mother.
"Elijah, please stay," she requested.
Elijah knew it was coming and stopped the instant she spoke his name. Sighing to himself, he turned back and prepared himself for all the nagging his mother would throw at him.
"Tonight was nowhere near my expectations," she spoke icily, turning so that her back would face him as she removed her make up.
"Yes, Mother…," said Elijah calmly, suppressing his annoyance. "I will make your rules clear to them."
Finn was silent next to her watching Elijah who pretended as though he was invisible. Elijah did not want to look at his traitor of a brother whom he had once regarded his closest sibling ever.
"If they do not improve?" challenged Esther. "And Kol? Will he improve? He is too ill-mannered… If his father knew…"
"Yes, I will take care of Kol," replied Elijah reassuringly.
Esther's utterance of Mikael made Elijah feel uneasy – he did not like the idea of his father being around to scold his siblings. Things would have definitely been uglier, nastier and bloodier. His father was not a man of compassion who would allow a mistake to go tolerated.
"And do a good job of it," said Esther curtly.
'Will do."
Elijah was just about to exit the room when Esther called him.
"And Lijah?" said Esther loudly with her back facing him still. "Don't worry about Elena Gilbert."
Elijah froze for a moment. He had a strong urge to turn around and allow his agitation to get the better of him but he numbed himself and continued walking on as though he had not heard a word.
Elijah entered the living room to find that no one was there. Everyone must have retired to bed, he thought. He tried to imagine what each of them was doing in their own room. He did not think they could smile much after the depressing family meeting. All he knew was that once he got to his room, he would tuck into bed and write in his diary.
Back in Esther's room, Abby was trying very hard to remember the vivid details of the attack. The greatest damage felt was that she had lost her magic powers – all of them. Because of that, Esther reckoned without doubt that the attacker was a witch.
But why would a witch attack another witch?
It was just not right.
As Finn and Esther listened on, so far all Abby had told them was how she had heard voices while she was looking for Bonnie and how the voices had led her to an isolated part of the mansion. Whoever the attacker was knew his way around the Mikaelson Mansion well.
"Abby, tell me more," encouraged Esther kindly.
Abby took a deep breath and shut her eyes. She tried to relive the pain again, although it was the kind of pain no one would want to experience or remember.
"I don't really remember…," sighed Abby. "It wasn't a vampire… Couldn't have been. It was channeling me."
"Another witch," confirmed Esther to herself.
"I lost my powers…," sobbed Abby uncontrollably.
It was half-true that a witch's greatest sorrow was the day she could no longer call herself one. But Esther was unwilling to endure Abby's melancholy state.
"What was the message it sent, Abigail?"
Esther rarely used her full name unless she was lacking in patience. Due to the emergency situation Abby had gotten herself into, Esther was forced to drop all plans to meet Elena herself. She was going to have to find another way to meet the Petrova doppelganger and collect her blood.
The Pertovas were indeed something special. Esther had used Tatia's blood, the first Petrova that was a doppelganger, for the spell of Vampirism. The same doppelganger blood running through Elena Gilbert's veins was the key to undoing the spell Esther had performed a thousand years ago. Abby tried to stop sobbing although she was having awful hiccup attacks.
"Message…," said Abby slowly in between the sobs that caught her throat. "It said 'Ayana'… and 'Katherine'… Katherine wants them dead. The children. And Elena… She's somewhere here in a box on the third level."
After hearing her last statement, Esther leaned to whisper something into Finn's ear. Finn listened intently, nodded and flew out of the room. Within minutes, he zoomed back in with a large box that he had retrieved from the third floor.
"You can stop now, Abby," said Esther gently.
Abby opened her eyes, finally at peace and freed from the nightmarish pain. She saw the abstract look on Esther's face and could not comprehend what on Earth she was pondering over.
Esther was looking at the box that Finn was trying to wrench open to no avail. Obviously, the trapping of Elena Gilbert in the box had been the works of a witch. She looked at the box and decided it had to wait. She turned to Finn, a questioning look on her face.
"Her heart's still beating," answered Finn. "She's alright. It's okay to open before morning."
Esther nodded, hoping that she could attend to Elena as fast as she could right after she was done interrogating Abby Bennett.
"Katerina Petrova and another witch," said Esther quietly to herself, a distant look in her eyes.
"A Petrova…" thought Esther cognitively.
The room was noiseless suddenly.
The witch had to be a Bennett witch – because the message sent was 'Ayana'. But why would there be another Bennett witch around when Esther already had two by her side? Esther knew how the witches worked. They listened to their long-dead ancestors, did their biddings and protected those unprotected. Why would Ayana want another witch in Mystic Falls?
"It's a Bennett," spoke Esther, breaking the silence.
"But who?" asked Abby sadly, shocked.
"No," Esther shook her head, putting her hand on Finn's shoulder. "Not who. Why?"
But why would a Bennett witch attack another Bennett witch?
It certainly could not be right.
