Disclaimer:

The title of the story is taken from the song "Who you are" by "Jessie J".
I do not own any of the mentioned songs all rights belong to their rightful owners.
Unfortunately, I do not own any of the characters nor do I own "the Originals" or "the Vampire Diaries" all rights belong to their rightful owners.


Warning: This chapter is rated M


Chapter 28

"Nik?" I whispered, half asleep as I opened my eyes.

"You fell asleep, sweetheart," my brother whispered in a gentle voice, as he lowered me down onto my bed and tucked me in.

"Is the barrier gone?" I asked in a croaky voice, while my eyes tried to adjust to the bright light in my room.

"No… but they're close," Nik replied with a reassuring smile. I was too tired to know if he was telling the truth or if he was just patronizing me.

"How are the others?" I asked as I fought to keep my heavy eyelids open and not drift back into sleep.

"…They're need blood but they can manage until we get out of here," Nik told me in a gentle voice with another reassuring smile and I was still too tired to figure out if he was lying or not.

He was about to stand up from where he'd been crouching down and leave, but I stopped him by pleading in a soft but croaky voice. "Stay."

He silently looked at me for a moment and I wasn't sure if he was looking into my eyes or at my neck. He swallowed. "…I can't," he whispered, a hint of fear traceable in his gentle voice. The look in his eyes was enough to tell me what he meant. He didn't trust himself not to drain me if he stayed…

"I'll be outside your door in case Kol comes back," he whispered as he gently stroked over my long, golden hair.

"It wasn't his fault. He didn't mean to-" I started in a croaky voice, as I fought to keep my eyes open.

"I know…" he interrupted, a sad expression in his eyes. "Sleep now, sweetheart," he whispered, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. He switched off the lights before he left the room and closed the doors behind him.

I quickly drifted off into a peaceful sleep with a warm smile upon my face.


It was early morning when Marcel finally managed to convince a witch to help us. He brought her to the invisible, magical wall that had trapped my family and I inside our mansion for over the last 24 hours.

"How long does this take? Some of us still have a city to rule," Nik asked impatiently, glaring at the witch on the other side of the gate. But I knew my brother well enough to know that the reason for his impatience and his aggravated mood was not concern over his city, but the immense thirst for blood that was fighting to take over his senses.

"The spell that was used to create this barrier was no common spell; dark magic was used. I searched in my books for hours until I finally found a spell to lift this one," the witch explained, slightly aggravated by my hybrid brother's tone. She continued to draw a line of salt on her side of the gate.

"Please forgive my brother's behaviour, Jeannette. Unfortunately, Niklaus does not know when to shut his ungrateful mouth. However, I want you to know that my family is very thankful for what you are doing and that your services won't be forgotten," Elijah - who'd silently stood beside Nik, trying his best to not stare at my throat - explained calmly as he stepped forward.

"I damn hope so, because what I'm doing here right now won't make the covens happy. In the past year your brother here has slaughtered dozens of witches," the beautiful witch with shiny, curly raven hair and soft, dark skin said from where she was kneeling on the ground. She placed a bowl down on the ground in front of her. Of course she forgot to mention that Viktor, a witch, killed Hayley and my sweet little niece, which justified Nik's massacre. "I don't care about what you guys did to the covens, anyway. They're just a bunch of ignoramuses, led by old, intolerant bitches that want to stick to their highly overrated traditions regardless of the price," the beautiful witch commented. It wasn't hard to guess that the young women had already been rejected by the covens. For what? I did not know. And honestly, I didn't really care as long as she would break that bloody barrier.

The woman started to pull some witch stuff out of the bag she had brought with her. Placing some candles around the bowl and lighting them, she placed a few herbs in the bowl and mixed them with brown paste. She held her hands over the bowl, closed her big, dark brown eyes in concentration and started to quietly chant.

My siblings and I silently stared at the witch as she repeated the words over and over again, her voice slowly growing louder with each repetition. Suddenly the mixture in the bowl set itself on fire. The flames of the candles burnt high and wind started to blow through the witch's beautiful hair. Her voice became loud and powerful. Despite the blood dripping from her nose, she continued.

I didn't know why but I started to feel worried about the outcast witch... I turned to look at my siblings to find them silently staring at the witch with serious expressions.

The wind and candles stopped blowing as the burning mixture went out. The chants had stopped and the witch breathed heavily from where she was kneeling on the ground.

We all looked at her expectantly.

Nik, impatient as he was, was the one to ask what everyone was wondering. "And? Did it work?"

The witch climbed back to her feet and took a look over her shoulder to Marcel, who had been watching from the background. "Go ahead. Try it," she dared my hybrid brother.

Nik gave the witch a suspicious glance. He slowly took a few steps forward and easily crossed the line of salt on the ground.

It worked. The barrier was gone and I hadn't been drained by any of my siblings.

Viktor's plan failed.

My siblings were just about to walk past the witch and leave to find some unfortunate tourists to feed on, when the witch stopped them. "Wait. The witch who did this, Viktor, he is very powerful. He never was a member of one of the covens, because his extraction was uncertain. All they know about him is that he is very old and that he's become very skilled over the years. The covens never tried to defeat him, because he never acted against them and because they have more than enough problems with the vampires and the werewolves already. But if you guys want to defeat him, you're gonna need help. A lot of it."

"Well then, seems like it's time to bury the hatchet," Nik announced enthusiastically after a moment of thinking. Then he disappeared in the blink of an eye to quench his aching thirst.

Elijah, who was still fighting against his hunger, turned to the witch. "Thank you, Jeannette. We appreciate your compliance; it won't be forgotten." Before the witch could reply, Elijah disappeared in the blink of an eye like Nik.

I felt a light breeze of air, which was probably Kol as he'd left the house to finally feed. I hadn't seen him since Nik broke his neck after he tried to feed on me last night...

I gave the witch an appreciative smile and glanced at Marcel behind her. Then I went back into the house. I had no desire to talk to Marcel... It had all become too complicated with us after we made out and I rejected him and then left for a year without telling him anything.


It was already noon when I was sitting on our antique leather sofa in one of the large rooms of our mansion. My back leaned against the armrest as I brooded over the whole Viktor situation, trying to figure out a way to get the witches on our side. I noticed Kol entering the room.

"Hey..." he said quietly as he slowly walked over to me. He looked... sad.

"Hey... are you okay?" I asked a little worriedly, pulling my legs to my chest so that he could sit down.

"I should be the one asking you this..." he muttered quietly, sitting down on the now free spot beside me. His voice was thick with guilt and remorse.

"I'm fine, don't blame yourself. Last night- that wasn't you," I told him, trying to make him feel better. It was true; I didn't blame him for what happened. It wasn't his fault. It was Viktor's fault.

He silently shook his head, guilt written all over his face. "Bex, if it weren't for Nik, I would have killed you..."

"It was not your fault; I know that you would never try and hurt me on purpose. Viktor is the one to blame; he locked us up in here," I objected convincingly, looking into his chocolate-brown eyes and reaching over to gently place my hand over his.

He stared at me for a moment, before nodding in hesitant agreement. "Bekah... I'm sorry," my brother whispered quietly in a deeply hurt voice, after a moment of silence.

"I know," I whispered back soothingly with a small, forgiving smile on my lips, as I looked into his eyes.

"There you are. Come on we have a plan on how to get the witches on our side," Nik called from where he'd suddenly appeared in the doorway. "What is going on?" he asked suspiciously, with a hint of anger traceable in his voice as he noticed our expressions and my hand on Kol's. His paranoid mind probably thought that I was replacing him with Kol as my favourite sibling, which was ridiculous. No one could ever replace Nik. But he wasn't my only brother and I cared about my other siblings.

"Nothing," I lied, getting up to find out what the plan was.


"So, what's the plan?" Kol asked from where he was lounging on one of the two antique armchairs that stood in front of the heavy, wooden desk in Elijah's study.

Elijah, who was leaning against the front of the desk, glanced over at Nik, who stood behind the armchair where I was sitting, his hands placed on the armrests.

I rolled my eyes at my hybrid brother's action. He was marking his territory. He wanted Kol to know that I was his, which was ridiculous because I didn't belong to anyone but myself. However, judging by the glare Nik received from my youngest older brother, Kol fell for Nik's game.

"The plan is to simply get the witches on our side," Elijah explained calmly, as if that was enough information for us to know what the actual plan was.

"And how exactly do you two plan to get them on our side? I don't think that asking them nicely is going to get us anywhere. The witches hate us, which is not surprising considering that Nik murdered many of them," I commented sarcastically, turning slightly in my seat to glance up at Nik, with a hint of reproach in my voice.

He grinned down at me in amusement. Looking directly at Elijah, he said, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Even the witches know that old saying."

"But Jaennette said that the covens and Viktor simply coexist, they are not enemies," I pointed out, slightly annoyed by all the secrecy.

"Not yet," Nik objected with an evil smirk, looking over to Elijah. "You're right, little sister. As long as Viktor doesn't act against the covens, the covens will leave him be," he agreed.

"But should something rather gruesome happen to the witches, something that leads back to Viktor, the witches will declare war on him," Elijah explained, with an evil smirk that mirrored Nik's as he glanced over at him.

"And who better to have on your side when you go to war than the original vampires?" Nik asked, not really expecting an answer, an evil shimmer in his eyes.

An evil smirk appeared on my lips as I began to quite like the plan.

"And how do you plan on getting all the covens together? I mean it's not like they are one union. Many of them loathe each other," Kol pointed out as he glared over at Nik.

A smirk played on our hybrid brother's face. "What better occasion to gather together and bury the hatchet than a ball thrown by the Mikaelsons in the name of defeating our common enemy? The covens will come if they want to know which ones are interested in allying with us and which covens are not."

"And at the end of the evening, all great covens will have joined us in our fight against Viktor," Elijah declared proudly.


It was morning and I was lounging on an antique settee in my room, silently reading a book. A week had passed and Elijah had managed to convince Jeanette to perform a spell that cursed several witches from different covens to die a painful and slow death. Jeanette had performed the spell in a way that would lead the witches to Viktor, should they try to trace it back. And judging by the rumours in the quarter; they did trace the spell back and blamed Viktor for cursing their people to death.

Tonight was the ball and I honestly didn't want to go. I had no desire to be in one of our ballrooms with dozens of witches and warlocks and have idle chitchat. When I was still a vampire I wouldn't have missed an opportunity to wear a nice dress and twirl around. I would have even organised the event to the tiniest detail; but now it was different. I felt uncomfortable at the thought of others staring at me or at the thought of being amongst people... I felt insecure and- God. I didn't know...

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on my door. Looking up from my book, I called, "Come in."

"Hey," Nik said softly as he entered.

"Hey," I said with a gentle smile. "Is everything alright?" I asked, a little confused as to why he was here.

"Yes, everything has gone as planned. I just wanted to check on you..." he explained calmly, taking a few steps into the room.

I smiled warmly at his words. Although I had a feeling that Nik still wasn't content with me and Kol getting along so well, it seemed like he was trying his best to not let it show.

"Do I have to go to the ball?" I suddenly heard myself asking as I looked over to my brother.

"Why wouldn't you want to go?" He asked, a little confused, as he walked over to me. "You always loved such events."

For a moment, my gaze dropped to the floor. "Loved. Not anymore. It's different now," I said quietly, looking back up at him.

My brother stared at me for a moment with sympathy in his blue eyes. He sighed and said, "I'm afraid you have to go, love. We have to show the witches that our family is strong, that we are one unity. It'll be quiet difficult to deliver that message if not all Mikaelsons are present, wouldn't you agree?"

After a moment of thought, I nodded.

"Now get up, I've brought you something," Nik announced with a small smile.

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously as I slowly got up.

He gave me a rather large, but light, dark blue box with a big, white ribbon on it and I silently wondered why I hadn't noticed the box when he'd entered. I looked down at the present and glanced at my brother, who still had a warm smile on his face. Walking over to my bed, I placed the box on it and opened it.

A perfectly folded dress laid inside. I took the dress out of the box and held it up to have a better look at it. It was black and non-transparent. It had a beautiful V-neckline, which was covered by light, black transparent material, with some tiny silver rhinestones on it. The skirt didn't reach over the knee and fell slightly wide.

A smile played on my lips. It was exactly my style. My brother really did know my taste.

"Do you like it?" my brother asked.

Putting the dress back down onto the bed, I turned around with a smile. "I love it!"

"Good, because I expect you to wear it tonight," he said with a warm smile.

"I will," I responded, grinning.

Walking over to my big brother, I rose to my tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Looking up into his blue, I whispered with a warm smile, "Thank you, Nik."

He smiled down at me and gently stroked my golden hair. "Only the best for my little sister," he whispered.


Evening fell and all our guests arrived and stood in our huge, extravagantly decorated ballroom on the ground floor. I was still in my room and added the finishing touches to my make-up. My long, blonde hair was pulled over to one side and loosely fell over my shoulder in one, big loose curl that got thinner towards the end. There were a few little, round diamond barrettes placed in my golden hair. I sat at my dressing table as I put some soft pink lipstick on, matching it with the blusher on my contoured cheeks. I had already accentuated my blue eyes with eye shadow in colours of brown and bronze, combined with a perfect black eyelid line and lashes covered in mascara. Long, thin diamond earrings, that matched the glistening diamond bracelet on my thin wrist, were dangling from my ears. I wore the dress Nik gave me and it looked beyond perfect. Taking a deep nervous breath, I admired myself in the mirror. I still didn't want to go to the ball, but if I had to go I wanted to at least look good so that I could feel at least a little more self-confident.


Leaving my room in my black high heels, I was about to go down to the ground floor and greet some of the guests, but I found Kol lurking in the empty hallway. Although my brother always hated to wear dinner jackets, he was wearing a black, high quality one. His brown hair was styled perfectly.

His eyes widened and he whistled. "Wow, Bex. You look hot."

Walking over to where he stood, I rolled my eyes at what he said. "Kol, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be downstairs greeting the guests?" I asked in a slightly annoyed tone of voice.

My brother just smiled at me mischievously in response. That was enough for me to know what he was up to.

"Oh no... Please don't tell me that you've fed on one of the witches," I demanded, my voice filled with dread, as I started to picture what that would mean for our plans.

Still smiling, he hinted with an evil spark in his chocolate brown eyes, "Not yet."

"Are you stupid!? Don't. Feed. On. The witches. It will ruin everything," I snapped at him, annoyed by his reckless behaviour.

But instead of promising to not ruin the plan, he only narrowed his eyes at me.

I just shook my head in lack of comprehension for his behaviour. My gaze set on the bowtie that hung loosely around his neck. Sighing, I took a step closer towards him and started to tie it. "After over a thousand years you still can't do them yourself, can you?" I muttered.

"Why would I need to? I've got you for that," he said with a smirk, observing my delicate hands knotting the smooth piece of textile.

Once I was finished, I noticed Kol staring at something behind me with a triumphant smirk. Turning around to see what caught his attention, I found Nik glaring angrily at our brunette brother. He was clearly not pleased about me spending time with Kol again. But as his gaze set on me, he seemed to forget his anger and walked to me with a smile. Taking my hands in his to have a better look at me, he said sincerely, "You look beautiful."

A warm smile played on my lips. "Thank you," I whispered quietly.

"Ok, I got it. We're all looking good. Can we go now? I'm sure you and Elijah planned a long, boring speech to begin the evening," Kol complained, annoyance and a hint of jealousy in his voice as he reached for my forearm to drag me with him downstairs. But Nik was faster and quickly wrapped an arm around my slim waist. My hybrid brother marked his territory again. Triumphantly smiling at an angry, glaring Kol, Nik led me down one of the two long staircases that led down to the ground floor. We came to a halt in the middle of the staircase where Elijah was already awaiting us.

"There you are. What took you so long?" Elijah asked calmly.

Nik and Kol turned to exchanged lethal glares but didn't say anything.

Noticing me, Elijah said with warm sincerity in his calm voice, "You do look lovely, sister."

I smiled warmly in response. Elijah was the only one who would say something like this and really mean it without the intention of also angering two particular brothers.

Glancing over at Nik, I realised that Elijah's comment on my appearance didn't bother him... and then it clicked in my head. Nik was used to having Elijah and me completely to himself. He was used to having our whole attention. And now there was Kol, who had a strong bond with me. Kol, who spent a lot of time with me. Nik wasn't used to sharing. Kol was the thorn in his eye.

Our guests gathered around the bottom of the stairs as Elijah asked for their attention. Then he and Nik held a long, epic speech about how we should bury the hatchet and how we all have to stick together in the face of a new common threat. Kol and I silently stood at their sides and nodded in agreement, so that we would appear as one unity that supported one another and had the other's back.

Once our siblings were finished with their speech, most of our guests applauded in approval. As they started to go back to what they'd been doing before the speech, I discretely mingled with the crowd to avoid Nik and Kol's ridiculous behaviour.


I stood alone in a corner of our ballroom. It was huge and crowded with witches and loyal vampires. The grand chandelier on the high ceiling caused the room to glow in a golden light that was reflected by the neatly polished, cream coloured marble floor. Elijah and Nik were sauntering methodically through the crowd as they talked to every important witch, with the aim to get them to join us in our fight against Viktor. I chose not to participate in their little game of manipulating one witch after another. I wasn't in the mood.

Silently standing in an outer area of the room, I grabbed a glass of champagne from a silver tray of a bypassing servant. But the servant apologised and took the glass from me, explaining that he was told to not give me any alcohol.

I sighed in annoyance as the servant disappeared back into the crowd.

"Looks like one of our brothers compelled the servants," I heard a very familiar, teasing voice say from beside me.

Looking to my right, I found Kol standing there with a glass of scotch in his hand. "They treat me like a child. It's ridiculous," I muttered.

"I know. They even treat me like one from time to time too. It's embarrassing," Kol said, his voice echoing his annoyance as he offered me his scotch.

I took the glass with a small grateful smile. At least there was one person who acknowledged that I was not a child anymore and that I hadn't been one for a very long time.

"If you excuse me, I still have to find a pretty young thing for the after party in my bed-chambers," Kol announced, grinning mischievously.

"Ew! Disgusting," I said in repulsion with my eyes shut tightly to lock out any mental pictures, as he disappeared into the crowd.


"You have to dance with me," I heard an unfamiliar voice demand.

Turning to find a guy with brown hair and green eyes in a dinner jacket, I raised my brows and said, "Excuse me?"

"I always dance with the prettiest girl, so you have to dance with me," The male explained with a smug smile.

"Bugger off," I muttered in annoyance, turning around to leave.

He hurried around to stand in front of me again and said, "Hey, at least let me introduce myself. My name is Mason and you've been sulking in that corner all night. Why don't you come on and dance with me?" He suggested. "I promise I won't bite," he added with a grin.

He seemed like the kind of guy who didn't give up easily. I rolled my eyes and took his arm, allowing him to lead me to the centre of the room where the other guests were dancing. One dance and I would get rid of him.

"So… You don't really look like a witch. What brought you here tonight?" he asked as we danced to a slow tune. His hand rested a bit too low on my back. He obviously had no idea who I was.

"Family business," I stated simply. "You're obviously no witch either. Why are you here?"

He chuckled and said, "I'm here to meet and old friend. I arrived a bit late and I haven't found him yet." Although he tried to hide it, I could see sadness in his eyes as he mentioned his friend.

I was about to ask who that friend was, but he was faster and inquired, "Hey, why don't we go somewhere more quiet?"

Knowing what he meant, I shook my head and said, "No, I don't think that that's a good idea."

"Come on, I promise I won't bite," He said playfully, smirking.

"No, I really don't want to," I said. He was beginning to make me feel uncomfortable and I took a step back to gain some distance.

"Oh come on, don't be a prude," he said, narrowing his eyes.

I didn't know what to do. After everything that happened a year ago, I didn't really enjoy the company of men and I'd always tried to avoid them... But was I being a prude because of that? Was that what people thought of me?

Deciding that I would have to start being with men sooner or later anyway and that I couldn't be a prude for my eternal life, I let him lead me out of the ballroom. It wasn't like I had to go all the way with him anyway…


I kissed Mason in an empty hallway of our mansion. Turning my head up and softly pressing my lips on his, I gently pressed him against one of the walls of the hallway with my hands on his chest. I enjoyed the control; it gave me a feeling of safety.

His hands rested on my slim waste at first. But as he began to deepen the kiss, he suddenly switched positions and, in the blink of an eye, I was the one being pressed against the wall with his hands wandering down to the hem of my dress. It was like something switched in his head and he was rougher than before. He pressed me harder against the wall and his tongue became more demanding.

I tried to push him away and tell him that I didn't like it this way, but it was hard to say anything with his tongue in my mouth. I grew scared and tears sprung to my eyes. It all reminded me too much of what happened a year ago; when Viktor hired that filthy man to rape me... I tried hard to block out the flashbacks of what happened and attempted to push Mason off of me, but it only encouraged him even more. I wasn't sure if he even realised that I didn't like what he was doing.

As his calloused hand began to run up my slim thigh, I found my voice again and mumbled a muffled "Stop" into his mouth. But before he even had the chance to react on, he was ripped away from me and punched hard in the face, which sent him flying to the floor.

I took a deep breath as I remained motionless. Looking down at my hands, I noticed that I was trembling.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!?" A very angry looking Kol snarled at Mason.

"Kol! Calm down mate, I was just having some fun with that little blood bag. I thought you'd be the last one to deny his friend some pleasure," Mason explained, as if he had no idea what was wrong, while he climbed to his feet and rubbed his jaw.

"That's my little sister, you moron!" Kol snarled, full of anger as he punched Mason once more, sending him back to the floor.

"Ok... I probably deserved that one," Mason muttered as he, once again, rubbed his aching jaw, slowly getting back up on his feet. Glancing over at my trembling form he said to my brother, "But you can't seriously be mad at me for that? I mean- come on, look at her. She's hot and she doesn't really look much like you-"

Kol grabbed the other male roughly by his jacket, shoving him hard against a wall, causing cracks to appear. "I advise you to shut your bloody mouth before I rip your heart out!" he threatened, boiling with anger.

Mason silently stared at Kol for a moment, a mixture of disappointment and pain in his eyes, before he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Are you okay, Bex?" Kol asked, suddenly appearing at my side while placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

I winced at the contact and squeezed my teary eyes shut. I was trying hard to block out the flashbacks of what happened a year ago that fought to get back into my head. "I don't want to be touched right now," I whispered in a voice so vulnerable that I didn't realize it was me.

Slowly withdrawing his hand, Kol nodded slightly. He looked at me with worry in his chocolate brown eyes. "What can I do?" My older brother asked, desperate to help me.

"...Just leave me alone, please..." I whispered in the same vulnerable voice as before, fighting against the tears that threatened to fall.

Kol nodded reluctantly, the deep concern clearly visible on his face as he slowly left.


Song recommendation:
Down Under (acoustic version) by NONONO
(play it in the next scene)


It was dark and it was raining rivers. I stood under the awning of a closed store in an empty alley, as I could no longer block out the images of what happened a year ago.

I wrapped my arms around my waist in a pathetic attempt at comforting myself. Fighting against hot tears that threatened to fall, I leaned my back against the old, crumbly brick wall of the building for support. I felt so wrong again. I hated it. Feeling the icy night air fill my lungs as I took a deep breath, I started to calm a little bit... but I still felt like I was about to cave in...

"There you are." A voice startled me and I jumped in shock, distancing myself from the wall and letting my arms fall to my sides. I realised that it was Nik. I started to relax slightly, but not much considering everything that was on my mind...

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you," Nik apologised from where he stood, deep concern visible in his eyes. He knew. Although it was raining rivers, somehow his dinner jacket remained dry. He must've been moving very fast through the streets. "...Kol told me what happened," Nik explained in a calm voice, which was heavy with concern. He knew what was haunting my mind; I could see it in his eyes. He was there when it happened a year ago after all – he saved me.

My brother silently looked at me in pity.

For a moment, we stared at each other silently.

"...I feel so wrong again," I suddenly whispered in a shaky voice.

Still not breaking eye contact or moving an inch, Nik whispered in a soft voice, "I know..."

"...I feel so scared again," I whispered in a terrifyingly vulnerable voice, still fighting to hold back my hot tears.

"I know..." Nik whispered again, his soft voice full of concern.

"...I'm lost," I whispered, my voice trembling with emotions as I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"I know..." Nik whispered understandingly as he stared into my eyes.

Suddenly, I ran over to my big brother. I hugged him tightly and began to cry into his shoulder, finally allowing myself to give up the fight against my hot tears, in the safety of his strong arms.

"Sshhh… sshhh…it's okay... it's okay, love... you're safe... I'm here..." My big brother murmured soothingly into my ear over and over again, slightly tightening his grip on me as if he feared that I'd disappear.

I didn't know how long we'd been standing there in the dark alley, under the awning that shielded us from the pouring rain.

Once I'd stopped crying, Nik pulled back slightly to look down at my face. He reached up with his hand and gently wiped away my tears with his thumb.

I tried to smile at him but failed miserably.

Letting his hands run slowly over my bare arms, he pointed out in concern, "You're cold..." Taking off his suit coat, he gently pulled it over my shoulders so that I wouldn't freeze.

I gave him a weak smile as he rubbed my back soothingly.

Noticing that the rain had stopped, Nik whispered "Let's go home, love." He then wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders and we walked home in silence.


We entered through the backdoor, which led into our kitchen, in case there were still some guests at the front entrance. Full plates with appetisers for the ball laid on the kitchen counters.

"Have you eaten anything today?" I heard my big brother ask as we entered the kitchen.

The only thing I had today was the scotch Kol gave me and I certainly wasn't going to tell him that. I simply shook my head in response.

Nik nodded and was about to ask what he should make, but I was faster and told him that there was more than enough food here.

He nodded, before placing a soft kiss on the top of my golden head and asking me to take a seat at one of the barstools around the kitchen island. He mixed together a variety of food from the many plates and placed it on the island in front of me. Leaned against the kitchen counter, my brother silently watched in concern as I ate a bit. He probably thought I was too thin and that I needed to eat more. But he knew better than to speak of that now.


Song recommendation:
Black Magic by Ruston Kelly
(play it in the next scene)


Once I finished, we walked up to my bed chambers. Entering the large bedroom through the antique, French double doors, I wandered over to my king size bed and sat down at the end of it. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Nik silently sitting down beside me.

We sat quietly for a moment, before I whispered in a still, much too vulnerable voice, "...I guess the evening didn't go as planned."

"No..." Nik said quietly.

"...Did you convince the witches to join us against Viktor?" I asked, glancing over at my older brother.

"Yes, they're on our side now. Most of them..." he answered quietly.

Silence fell for another moment.

"...I couldn't help but notice that you didn't even get to dance tonight. That pathetic excuse for a vampire doesn't count," Nik pointed out, a hint of anger traceable in his voice.

"Not really..." I whispered sadly, dropping my gaze to the floor.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Nik standing up in front of me and offering me his hand.

I looked up at him in confusion.

"May I ask for this dance?" He asked with raised brows and a spark in his blue eyes.

A warm smile played on my lips as I took of his jacket, accepted his hand and stood up.

He led me to the centre of my bedroom, where we started to dance slowly. After a moment of silently swaying in my room, I rested my head on my big brother's shoulder and tried not to think about anything, allowing myself to enjoy the moment. Leaning his head down on mine and soothingly stroking my back, I felt him breathe in my vanilla scented shampoo.

We continued to dance for a while, neither of us saying anything as we simply enjoyed the closeness and the warm, peaceful feeling of home and safety that the other provided.


Author's Note:

Hey everyone, :)

first of all, I want to apologize for the delay. I am so sorry! But since graduation, there has been a lot going on in my life lately.

I want to thank my lovely beta reader DareToDream123 for correcting this chapter! You are amazing! :D

Thank you for spending your precious time on reading this chapter. I hope you liked it, if so, please be so kind as to leave a review! :D

A BIG THANK YOU goes out to the lovely reviewers "xxdonedirtcheapxx" and "Klebekah1998"! Your reviews mean so much to me and I'm grateful that some people still take the time to write them. :)

Unfortunately, I have bad news… I just don't feel like writing about Klebekah anymore… Since Julie Plec is doing her best to ruin the show (you know with replacing Bex with Freya and rumours of bringing Caroline, whom I've always hated, to Nola), I just don't enjoy writing about Klebekah as much as I did when I had still hope of Claire Holt coming back as a series regular… I know that this will probably upset a lot of you and I am sorry to tell you that I've decided to put this story on hiatus for an indefinite amount of time. :(

I plan on updating a Klebekah one shot in a few days, but that will probably be my last piece of Klebekah fanfiction for a while…

On a brighter note, I've started writing a Game of Thrones fanfiction about Robb, Sansa and Jon (sibling relationship, platonic), which I will probably upload soon. So if you happen to watch GoT and like these characters, please check it out! :)