chloe quinn 96 - Me too. :)
justine - Oh Kol had plans for Bonnie all right. Wait...not like that! lol This chapter explains it.
KRISTINE.W - Hahaha aww, I was in the Christmas spirit by the end of that one too. It was fun to write but a little tedious on my part. But glad you liked. :)
Stephanie E.M. - Thank you!
jomomayheart - lmao! Oh dear... No, it wasn't Kol moaning. Dirty mind. :P
The Heart of the Night - OMG! Thank you for telling me you changed your name lol I was starting to wonder if anyone from the beginning was still around because I hadn't seen any of the old names. But now I know. Yay. Oh, Elijah left the party early. He's not really a holiday spirit kind of guy and he's got other things on his mind. Those will come to light in the next story which is ALMOST HERE! Yay!
NikMik - Hmm, you might be onto something with your Kennett prediction. Again, Elijah kind of excused himself. He probably went to drink away his lonelieness. Waaaah.
meljoy - Eep! Yay! Thanks!
ilovetvd - Yeah I was a little hesitant to throw the cheating thing in here but it just kind of unfolded by itself. And I agree, I wish Hayley a long, painful death. :P Don't worry about taking longer to read. I know reality comes first. I'm just glad you read it at all. ;)
touria salvati - Thank you! Here you go!
I LOVE YOU ALL TO THE MOON AND BACK!
THANK YOU FOR HANGING IN THERE WITH ME AND READING/REVIEWING/FAVORITING/FOLLOWING!
Sorry this was almost a month wait again. I lost my motivation for fanfiction because I started writing a completely original piece which I'm turning into a book (which hopefully I can publish!) and it's been soaking up all my inspiration and time. But this story IS almost complete. In a perfect world, I'd like to end it at Chapter 25 and then start with the 3rd part which I haven't found a title for yet. But I can give you these teasers:
- There will be one (or more) other ships in it besides Klaroline. *waggles eyebrows*
- More POVs besides just Klaus and Caroline, as you've started to see.
- And a GIANT reveal in the very beginning that has to do with Grecia.
Hm. I sound like I'm actually TVD now giving away vague spoilers. lol But it's fun... Anyway, enjoy this chapter. It's the beginning of my play time with new POVs and, well, I kinda sorta enjoy it. :)
Chapter 21
Once the elevator door opened, Kol whooshed them through the lobby and outside into the coldness. He was still wearing his suit from the party, sans jacket, and his tie was loose hanging around his neck. There were drops of blood stained into his collar but he seemed indifferent to it, more focused on the witch in his grasp. Bonnie shivered in her pajamas, the long black sleeves and flowery flannel pants barely a shield against the winter air. She rubbed her free hand up and down her arm to create a warmth as she stumbled out after him, his hand on her wrist pulling her.
"Let go of me, Kol." He did, but continued walking so that she was in front and his forward steps kept her moving. She scoffed, annoyed. "Where are we even going?"
"Just walk," he instructed. "The city never sleeps, ears are always open."
"Fine." She reluctantly kept pace with his strides, growing even more annoyed with his vagueness. "What do you want from me?"
"What do you know of Expression?"
She fell silent and blinked, slowing her pace. "I don't know what you're talk – "
"Don't waste your lies on me, pet." He shoved her slightly when she stopped. "Walk."
And she did, crossing her arms as her lips tightened. "What do you want to know?"
"Are you practicing?"
"Expression is worse than dark magic."
"That's not an answer."
"I don't owe you answers," she snipped defensively.
"You owe Caroline the answer, if you want her to stay alive."
She stopped in her tracks, her voice dropping dangerously low as she whipped around in his face. "What did you do?"
"Not I."
She paused for a moment, a worse idea springing to mind. "Klaus..."
He chuckled at her quick assumptions. "No, not him either. We have a little witchy problem on the rise, and I thought since you're the last of the very powerful Bennett line - "
"You thought I'd help you?" Bonnie gaped, incredulously. "Are you out of your mind?"
"Hardly. I only assumed you'd want to help your friend, but if you're opposed..."
"I'm not going to even consider helping unless you tell me what's going on."
"Agree first, and then I'll tell you."
"How stupid do you think I am?"
He smirked. "Honest answer?"
"I'm not agreeing to anything until you tell me. And if you even come close to Caroline - "
He stepped forward, eyes narrowing, smirk still in place but all humor gone from his expression. "Are you threatening me, little witch?"
"Back off. Now."
He moved closer still, face transfiguring and dropping his fangs with a hiss. "Make me."
She glared at him, hard, eyes narrowing and exuding power. Clouds rumbled above and lightning cracked, painting a fluorescent white line in the grey. Booming thunder followed quickly with raging winds. Bonnie envisioned the blood in his brain flowing, vessels popping one by one with sharp, exploding snaps. A loud, guttural groan was torn from Kol's lips as her vision became reality. His breath hitched as he grabbed his head, the pain of the aneurysms excruciating enough to make him crumble to the ground.
"You want to know what Expression does, Kol? It brings Originals to their knees."
He gritted his teeth, trying to think past it enough to speak but the pain was too overwhelming. When she saw his fangs retract, she stopped. The storm disappeared almost instantly and Kol gasped for breath as the pain dulled, glowering up at her with hatred for emasculating him.
"I'll kill you for that!" he spat. "You bloody little – Rrrnngghh!"
A loud painful shout erupted again, his head pounding once more, the pain traveling all through his body this time. His blood boiled, bubbling under his skin intensely. He gripped the concrete of the sidewalk with his fingertips as he hunched on all fours until he fell to his side, his muscles feeling like jelly. Seams of his skin began to rip, pouring blood from his veins like small scratches over his arms and neck.
"S-STO-OP!" he cried out brokenly in agony, pleading to her.
Bonnie looked on in horror shaking her head, her eyes wide. "I'm not doing that..."
A dark female figure emerged from the shadows to make herself known wearing a maliciously pleased smile. She looked down at her handiwork, watching him writhe.
"You always were too reckless for your own good, Kol," she told him, voice lilted.
Bonnie looked up, the slight accent catching her by alarm. "You...You were the one whispering..."
Grecia smiled at her pleasantly then refocused her attention on Kol. Winds wisped through her dark hair and lightning was illuminating the sky, one bolt consecutively after the other but she didn't even seem to be drained at all. It was more like she was gaining strength, feeding off his pain. Bonnie stared at her in a mixture of fear and awe.
Kol growled through gritted teeth, panting and feeling his life slipping. "Aghh – GAH!"
Bonnie's gaze was drawn back to him by his yell. She frowned, panicking. "S-stop! You're killing him!"
"Isn't that what you wanted?"
"No!" She watched Kol's struggling starting to lessen, face draining of color and greying as his life withered. She rushed to his side, lifting his shoulders to prop him up. "Stop, please!"
Grecia held up her hand and stopped the torture, the storm clouds clearing and the sounds of the city quietly seeping back in. She stood, glaring at Bonnie with contempt.
"He would have killed you and you spare him?"
Bonnie looked up, adamantly. "He wouldn't have killed me. He's not that stupid."
Kol groaned in her embrace, aftershocks trembling through him. Bonnie looked up at her, ignoring his shudders, terror making her defiantly brave.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
Grecia's lips turned up with a cruel smile. "Consider me very extended family."
"Family?"
"All witches are connected through the spirits, are they not?"
Bonnie's lips twitched as she considered, wanting to know more but confused at the same time, stealing glances at Kol all the while. She swallowed with a defeated breath.
"Just...leave him alone."
Grecia regarded her scornfully. "Do you even know why he's approached you, Bonnie?"
She took a few steps toward them and Bonnie stood, taking a protective stance over the fallen Original and blocking the witch's path. Grecia's blackened eyes hardened.
"Power. This one has always craved witches' power. He wants to covet it."
"That's a lie!" Kol growled, finally able to speak.
Bonnie turned her head toward him and Grecia was suddenly behind her, her voice crawling over her skin.
"He wants to use you for your power against me. Because he is too weak and pathetic to face me himself," she said, the words spat out as if too acidic for her tongue to bear. She walked around Bonnie to the ground where Kol had collapsed and lifted him to his feet by his shirt collar. "You should have left well enough alone, Kol Mikaelson. A century locked in a box has made you sloppy." Her lips lingered inches away, her icy eyes ensnaring his. For a moment, fear struck him and he thought she'd close the distance with a poisonous kiss. But she continued breathing softly against his lips, threatening him. "Seek me out again and not only will I kill you, but I will kill your entire family and the entire vampire race along with it."
Bonnie shook her head, angry and afraid. "Why are you doing this?"
"Patience, Bonnie Bennett. You'll get the answer to every question burning in your mind, soon enough." She turned her attention back to the Original in her grasp. "I want you to send a message to Niklaus for me, Kol."
She leaned in toward his ear, licking along the shell seductively. The gesture riled a faint arousal and mixed with his fear, giving him a strangely painful sensation. His ear began to burn and from there the pain had a ripple effect, sending currents of electricity through him and exploding, slicing through his skin from the inside out. Bonnie watched horrified as he groaned on the ground in pain, his face splitting with lacerations and none of the wounds healing at normal vampiric speed.
Grecia turned her nose up smugly, her voice firm. "Tell him I'm coming for him. And if he tries anything, I'll have this one here for colateral."
Bonnie looked up alarmed and began backing away, hitting the bricks behind her in panic. "Excuse me?"
Grecia stalked toward her silently and with one touch to her wrist, Bonnie was out cold. She lifted the unconscious witch into her arms and disappeared, leaving Kol bleeding on the concrete.
Klaus startled awake from a nightmare, sweat beading on his forehead. Henrik. He sighed in relief, glad to be out of the traps in his mind. The nightmares were stress induced whenever he had them, but it had been a while since Henrik was in one. He glanced toward the window and saw no sunlight coming through yet, but it was on the rise, lighting the dark early morning sky with blues and grays. He tried to bring his arm up to wipe his clammy head but found it numb and pinned beneath Caroline's sleeping body. Apparently she hadn't felt him stir during the nightmare. Good.
He turned over, his breathing calming just at the sight of her in his arms, gold waves splayed over his chest where her head lay. One arm was thrown over his stomach, holding onto him in her sleep. He didn't remember falling asleep that way but he wasn't about to object. Just as he was getting comfortable again he picked up voices in the distance...
"We have to wake, Nik. He'll want to know."
"Rebekah, I'm fine," Kol assured her. "It was just a fluke."
"Fluke or not, if Grecia has shown herself once, she'll be back again," Elijah carefully calculated. "And now she has something to lure him."
"God. How could you be so stupid?"
Klaus sped from the bed, startled by what he heard. He found Rebekah worrying over Kol who was slumped on a bar stool at the kitchen island, bleeding from open wounds that were just beginning to heal. Elijah looked over from the opposite side, a displeased look in his eyes. Klaus' eyebrows lowered.
"What about Grecia?"
Rebekah sighed. "Good. You're awake."
"Tell me."
Elijah rubbed his thumb against his index finger, pensively. "Grecia is here in New York City. She's left Kol as you see and she's taken Ms. Bennett as her hostage."
His gazed hardened and switched to his wounded brother. "And what about you?"
Kol sneered at him, annoyed by his expression. "Don't give me that look, Nik. This was not my fault."
"Like hell it wasn't," Rebekah scoffed. "Why else would she have come back?"
Klaus' jaw clenched in anger. "Kol, what did you do?"
"Nothing! I made a slight miscalculation is all, all right?"
"You provoked her, didn't you? You just couldn't leave well enough alone!"
"Yes. Yes, I provoked her," he admitted with a shameless spread of his arms. "I wanted to lure her out of hiding so we could kill her once and for all!"
Elijah glanced at him warily. "How?"
"I went after any witches that may or may not have had ties to her within the bordering states." He switched his gaze between brothers, no remorse in his eyes. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat! She deserves to go back to her grave!"
"What the bloody hell were you thinking, Kol?!" Rebekah cried.
Klaus' jaw clenched. "You're a bloody fool, you know that?"
"At least I tried!" he argued.
"And nearly got yourself killed in the process!" Rebekah countered.
"Well I'm not about to let her take down this family. You weren't going to do anything - " he gestured to Klaus " - so I figured I might as well give it the old college TRY!"
"I never said I didn't have a plan, Kol!" he argued.
Rebekah whipped around at that. "What plan?!"
"You needn't worry yourself with that right now, Rebekah."
"Like hell! You said, Niklaus. You promised you'd run by us anything you were going to do!"
"Well I must have lied, sweetheart!"
"So you were just going to run off and give yourself over without letting any of us know?!"
"And I'm the fool," Kol muttered.
"What about Caroline?" Elijah finally spoke, his voice calm between all their fighting.
The room quieted and Klaus' eyes rolled, licking his lips in damnation.
"Well, now that Kol has officially given her the upper hand, I can't very well go through with it, can I?"
"You know that isn't what I meant, Niklaus. You were not only going to run off from us but you were going to leave her behind too, weren't you?"
Rebekah shot him an incredulous look. "Does she even know anything that's going on?"
"I had hoped the less she knew, the better. That it would keep her out of harm's way."
"Well a lot of good that did you." Rebekah gave him a determined look. "She has Bonnie, Nik. You have to tell her."
"I will. I just need a moment - "
"You don't have a moment. She may be just another witch to you, but she's also Caroline's friend. You have to tell her, and you have to tell her now!"
"Tell me what?"
Caroline appeared, rubbing her eyes and silencing them all. She glanced at all of their faces, noticing for the first time how hurt Kol looked. She blinked a few times, her eyes widening in concern.
"What happened? Why are you bleeding?"
Kol licked his lips, glancing at Klaus with a glare. "I'm fine, darling. Just a minor attack."
"By who?" She looked around the room at their guilty faces, waiting for someone to explain but they gave nothing away. "Okay, what is going on? And why won't anyone tell me?"
Rebekah finally answered, fed up. "Bonnie. She was outside with Kol when - "
"Rebekah!" Klaus stopped her.
"She needs to know!"
"Bonnie did this? But why?" Her worried eyes flicked to Kol. "What did you say to her?"
Rebekah shook her head. "It wasn't Bonnie, Caroline. Bonnie's not here."
"What?" she laughed, her dread pooling in the pit of her stomach. "Well where is she, then?" She looked from Rebekah to Kol to Elijah but their faces went blank. "Where's Bonnie?" Caroline's voice came worried as she turned to Klaus. Her heart pounded in her chest, getting angry when he wouldn't budge. So she raised her voice. "Where is she, Klaus!?"
He sighed. "Caroline, calm down."
"No! I'm not calming down until you tell me. Where is Bonnie?"
"She was taken by an enemy of mine."
Caroline stumbled back against the wall of the doorway. "Taken?"
"Kidnapped. She won't kill her," he added quickly, seeing the color draining from her face. "They're kin. She wouldn't want - "
"Who?"
He lifted his chin, her adamance somehow forcing his obedience. "Grecia."
She nodded dubiously, as if that answered everything as the situation set in. "And why would she want Bonnie? How did she even...why was she even talking to Kol?" She turned her flaming eyes on him. "Why were you talking to her?!"
He opened his mouth but Klaus was quicker. "Caroline, you don't understand."
She whipped around to face him again. "Then help me to. Who is she Klaus? What is Grecia? Someone you turned? Someone's pissed off family member? A former girlfriend that wants revenge?"
He looked to Rebekah, Elijah and Kol. "Give us a moment, would you?"
They nodded as he laid a hand on her arm, leading them back to his bedroom. Rebekah turned back to Kol, weirdly confused.
"Why were you talking to Bonnie?"
Kol rolled his eyes, picking up the damp cloth again to wipe one of the cuts by his chin. "I thought she could help."
Rebekah laughed a scoff. "You are the biggest idiot I know of, Kol..."
As they walked into the bedroom, Caroline tore her arm away, fuming by the time he had gotten the door closed. She stared him down intently as soon as he turned around.
"Answers, Klaus. Now."
"Grecia is a very powerful witch, one which I've known nearly two centuries now."
She crossed her arms, swallowing her fear. "And?"
"And...?" He lifted his palm up limply. "What more do you need to know?"
"Everything!" Her arms dropped. "Just talk to me, Klaus. If you've known her so long, why is everyone treating her like a threat? Why did she attack Kol?"
He licked his lips and sighed. "She turned her back on us several years ago in exchange for power. She attacked Kol because he provoked her. But what she really wants...is me. She's coming for me."
Her heart sped up, a new fear kindling in her chest. Her voice quieted, masking it. "Then...why did she take Bonnie?"
"As a device to get to me. Or you. Or to get to me through you." Klaus turned away taking a few steps from her and ran a hand through his hair out of frustration. "I don't really know." He turned back and sped to her, grabbing her shoulders with an adamant look in his eyes. "But you have to believe that she won't hurt Bonnie. If anything, she'd want to channel her power. She has nothing to gain by killing another witch."
Caroline remained very still and quiet as she took it all in, her heart palpitating with the new worry. "Why is she after you?"
"Once she had turned her back on us, back in 1913, I murdered her and her coven of followers. Before that she had been hunting me down for some time after word got out of my entrapped wolf gene. I thought she was helping me with the ritual – you remember the sacrifice needed a witch - but it turned out she wanted to undo the curse my mother placed on me, unveil the wolf and create the hybrid so she could sacrifice me and harness my soul's power. A hybrid soul is more powerful than a human soul so she assumed the power absorbed would be greater. I assume she still means to go through with her original plan, but for different reasoning. She didn't really clarify when we met a few weeks ago."
She nodded, looking down as she listened until her mind suddenly came to a screeching halt. "Wait. You saw her? Talked to her?" At his guilty expression, the dots in her mind finally connected. "That's why you went to Italy. To seek out the witch who wants you dead?!" She raised a hand to her head, starting to pace. "Are you that self-deprecating that you've become suicidal? Why would you do that?!"
"For you!" he blurted before he could stop himself. He sighed, his voice becoming tight as his heart fluttered in his chest with nerves. "I offered myself to her to keep her from coming after you. She would use you to get to me if it came down to it. I didn't want to give her the chance."
Her mouth hung ajar, speechless at his selflessness. "You...willingly put your life on the line...to protect me?" He averted his eyes, tightlipped. "But you weren't even going to tell me, were you?"
Caroline felt her stomach churn with a mix of emotions. Why were hot stinging tears suddenly pricking her eyelids? And her heart climbing up her throat? She should be mad at him for being so stupid and careless! Running off on a suicide mission like that. He really had no sense of self-worth. And it both pained and infuriated her. But instead she was touched and for the first time felt like she mattered. Someone wanted to sacrifice their life for hers. Someone wanted to put her first...
"I didn't think it would matter to you what happened to me," he said in a quiet voice.
"Are you kidding me?!" She laughed, astounded by his blindness. "What do you think I've been trying to prove to you all this time?"
He stayed silent, his face neutral but his eyes shifting shades of blue with countless emotions, none of them remotely decipherable. Caroline shook her head, her eyes saddened.
"She could have killed you and I wouldn't have even known," she thought out loud. I wouldn't have known you cared that much.
"But she didn't," he pointed out.
"That's not the point."
He sighed. "For whatever reason, she's granted temporary mercy on us both. She claims to want something from me for someone else. But she gave her word she'd leave you alone."
She nodded sarcastically. "And you believe that?"
"No," he answered plainly. She looked up, unexpectedly. "That's why I came back as soon as she left. To make sure I could keep you safe."
Caroline frowned, looking down at her feet. "But that doesn't make you safe."
He lifted her chin with a tilted nod. "No. But it makes me feel better."
"Well it makes me feel helpless." She frowned stubbornly. "I can fight back. You don't need to keep stowing me away like I'm some fragile china doll or something."
"You can't fight, Grecia, love. She could bring me to my knees with a single blink. Look at what she did to Kol. Imagine what she could do to you."
All of the other emotions she'd been trying to hold back began to break through the dam, making her feel useless, weak and, most of all, afraid. She stomped her foot with a groan, hating them all. "There has to be something you can do! You can't just let her kill you. You're Klaus!"
Klaus frowned in confusion, her distress paining him. "I never said I wasn't going to try to retaliate. I'm not a martyr or suicidal. I like being immortal."
That staggered her, slightly. For all his self-loathing, he liked being alive. Maybe it was progress?
"Okay, then what about Bonnie?" she reverted to the original problem at hand. "Where did she take her?"
"I don't know yet. But we will get her back. I promise you."
She breathed out long and hard, trying not to let her fear overwhelm her. Maybe it was the newfound empowerment of being someone's first priority giving her a buzz, or maybe it was just her general resilience, but somehow she found the courage to have hope and faith in her friend.
She nodded, meeting his eyes. "I know we will."
Klaus blinked, amazed by her quick recovery. The fondness in his eyes showed through and she felt comforted that he seemed to believe her. It made her want to believe herself.
"Bonnie's more resourceful than you think," she continued, reasoning it out mostly for her own reassurance. "She'll find a way to let us know where she is or how to find her."
He nodded, resigned to believe her. "I should have told you about Grecia sooner, and why I had gone to Italy. I hoped it wouldn't come to anything like this."
She pursed her lips in a half frown, chastising with her eyes. "Yeah, well, maybe if you had told me, it wouldn't have." She looked and her eyes softened. "I know you're used to doing everything on your own, but you don't always have to. Especially when you have people here willing to help you."
He gazed down at her, trying to see the truth in her words. He so wanted to believe what she said but something held him back. Pride. He was too stubborn and arrogant to accept help or admit to needing it. Only on rare occasions did he reach out, and only when it could be beneficial to him for more than one reason. He didn't want her in harm's way. He didn't want her anywhere near the situation on close to Grecia's radar. But she wouldn't back down.
"So you think you can help, love?"
"No. But I'm willing to try." She smirked then, poking his chest. "And in case you've forgotten, I happen to be a great cheerleader."
He smiled at that, a warm feeling infecting him from the heart. He regretted, now, not cluing her in sooner. No difference came from leaving her out, except that her friend might not have been taken captive if she had been able to warn her. One life was of no importance to him, but it was the world to her. And he would do anything to keep from seeing that look on her face. It was decided, right then and there, that he would never again would he keep his light in the dark.