A/N: Helloo! Sorry about the delay (I've had visitors in the last couple of days).

This story will be more crossover-ish as my ideas are unraveled, but I think (hope) that you lovely readers will like it!

~~ Enjoy!

Chapter 53:

Several weeks of following Markos' orders passed by painfully slowly.

I'd become his voice and if I tried saying something else to the travelers than what he'd told me, he would remind me why I was there.

How Kol wouldn't return back to normal unless I complied.

I did try stealing a traveler's blade from those that possessed one, however, they were prepared for it and kept them close to themselves.

So all I could do was sneak away every now and then to speak with Kieran.

He assured me that help would be on its way soon and told me to be patient – something I was starting to lose as more days passed.

The man, who possessed my boyfriend, no longer pretended to be Kol and treated me like I meant nothing to him.

Although I knew it wasn't Kol actually doing it, then it didn't make me feel any less hurt.

However, I did learn a couple of things while I was with the travelers and paid attention to the words they used during certain spells.

I also overheard rumors of Silas still being alive and well, having supposedly ridden himself of his doppelgänger.

It frightened me that he was potentially close to my family and I couldn't do anything about it.

The travelers took my cell phone and other means of communication.

I was a prisoner in their temporary home until Markos or Sloan allowed me to go. I considered following Kol's haste plea, but the thought of leaving him behind made my heart ache.

They were using him as a tool and sending him out to do dirty work or fetch supplies.

Having spent nearly one month with these people, I was more than a little sick of how they were treating both of us.

It might've been an act of desperation, but I couldn't go on doing their biddings and living like a prisoner.

It was almost two in the morning when I snuck out of my bed and walked quietly towards Sloan's bed with a makeshift knife.

My heart was racing inside my chest and I struggled to remain calm as I approached her.

It wouldn't be the first time I'd killed a person in cold blood, but it would be the first time I did it as a human.

I didn't have the strength and abilities of a vampire to fall back on if this failed.

Halfway at her bed, I suddenly felt someone pull me away behind a beam though and a hand covered my lips.

It was Kol – my Kol, not the person possessing him.

"Killing her won't do you any good, Beth. I told you to run, so god damn run!" he hissed quietly.

"And leave you behind? You know fully well I can't do that," I responded somberly. "What if they hurt you or–"

"I don't have long, Beth. Leave this place," His pupils dilated as he spoke the words and I knew what would happen next. "Go back to your family, attend college and live your life without me. Don't return for me."

He pressed his lips to mine one last time and I was too heartbroken to do or say anything except what he'd ordered me to do.

Kol spent his remaining minutes of control to lead me out of the farmhouse safely and unseen.

Once I was far enough from the farmhouse, the compulsion kicked in entirely and I found myself walking along the roads.

I was still clutching the knife in my hand, sobbing uncontrollably because I dreaded I would never see him again.

With no money or means of communicating with, I walked until I reached the nearest town and opted staying in a homeless shelter for now.

The travelers would undoubtedly find me missing in the morning and respond by either harming Kol or tracking me down.

I reached a shelter a couple of hours later and exchanged a bracelet with one of its residents for a few coins to use a payphone.

I couldn't stay here for long and without Kol, I needed to ally myself with someone else.

Someone who could help me bringing him back to me.

"Who are you calling?" Kieran inquired, leaning against the wall beside me.

"Someone who'll hopefully help me," I responded with a sigh. "It doesn't feel right contacting my parents. They think I'm out travelling and happy. And if Silas is back, then I don't want to risk luring him to them again."

"I don't think that's a wise idea, Beth. I understand you want to protect them, but–"

"Shhh!" I waved my hand dismissively at him and sighed of relief when I heard a familiar voice in the other end. "Hi, it's Beth. I know it's weird of me to call this late, but I'm in deep trouble."

"What about Kol? Where is he?" Tyler questioned.

"Like I said. I'm in deep trouble. I'm at a shelter in Richmond. Please, I… I need your help, cous."

"Bethany…" Tyler sighed heavily and I struggled keeping the tears from falling. "Okay, I'll-I'll come get you, but you better tell me everything when I do."

"Thank you." I told him the exact address of the shelter and hung up, turning to find Kieran replaced with someone else.

Markos stared me down with a displeased look on his face, so I ignored his presence and walked back to the bed I'd been assigned.

"My people will find you eventually. They won't let you live next time. You have helped them enough in the time you spent with us," Markos reminded. "And when I return…"

"I'll kill you. You died once, you can do it again," I interrupted. "Now leave me alone."

"Then I will take Kol with me. I have to say I admire his selfless actions. Can you truly live on knowing you abandoned him to die?"

Of course, I couldn't, but it was Kol's decision and as long as his compulsion worked on me, I couldn't do anything about it.

I had to trust that he would find a way out on his own or send someone else to help him.

It took about three and a half hours for Tyler to reach Richmond from wherever he'd been spending his summer break.

Dawn was peeking in the horizon and I could barely hold my eyes open, so I treasured being able to get some rest without looking over my shoulders constantly.

I knew that Tyler wanted answers, but I was too tired and too heartbroken to say anything and fell asleep quickly in the passenger seat.

Thankfully, Tyler seemed to understand that I was running on zero energy and desperately needed a moment of rest.

I only managed sleeping for a few hours though, because as the sun illuminated the roads and the summer heat kicked in again, I woke up from my slumber.

"Urgh, it's too hot," I grumbled and rolled down the window beside me. "Where are we?"

"Sorry, my air condition is out. Close to Mystic Falls. Mind telling me what kind of trouble you're in?" he responded.

"Um… okay." I sat up straight and turned my full attention to him. "I ran into some travelers in Prague. Kol didn't trust them, so we went to Paris earlier than planned. They found us there too."

"Travelers? What did they want from you?"

"To use my ability to their advantage. Long story short, they needed to speak with a dead traveler. One of them possessed Kol, so he wouldn't get in their way and so I would follow their orders."

"Of course they did – which brings me to my questions on the phone. Where is Kol? With them?"

I nodded solemnly and noticed that Tyler couldn't care less about Kol's safety. I figured he wouldn't, because Kol did make his and our friends' lives miserable.

"He regained consciousness for a brief moment and compelled me to leave. To live a life without him."

Tyler frowned and glanced at me. "How is that a bad thing? He wasn't good for you anyway and–"

"You're not helping, Tyler. I have a bad feeling. Those travelers want to break a curse placed upon them. When has that ever lead to anything good?"

This time he fell silent and rubbed the back of his neck in contemplation. "Beth, I want to help you out, but I have problems of my own. I'm going to Tennessee to help out a pack of werewolves."

"Take me with you." I didn't know why I blurted it, but as we came closer to the turn into Mystic Falls, panic spread inside me like wildfire.

I couldn't return without Kol.

If I followed Tyler and befriended the werewolves, they might be able to help me rescuing Kol.

"What? No! I'm not bringing you with me. It might become dangerous and…" He noticed the look of determination in my eyes and groaned.

"Please. I can handle myself. I just can't go back home. If I do that, I'll become restless and get into more trouble if it means it'll get Kol back. Besides, I'm worried Silas might be back."

"That's ridiculous! We stopped him, Beth. He's in the bottom of the ocean somewhere, remember? But fine, you can come with me. Just… don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"I promise." He changed lanes and did a turn in Tennessee's direction, hands clenched around the wheel in exasperation.

Those werewolves were my only chance, because even if I went back to Mystic Falls, there weren't anyone there with power enough to take down dozens of travelers.

Not to mention, keeping myself busy with them would distract me from the nagging sensation.

"Why are you even going to help them?" I asked curiously. "I thought you'd be off to college with Caroline."

"I can't. Klaus wants me dead, remember? I did turn all of his hybrids against him… also these werewolves need my help. They have no alpha, vampires destroyed their home and they're scared," he answered honestly.

"Right. Damn Klaus…" I rolled my eyes and remembered my past meetings with him. "I hate that guy. If he wasn't Kol's brother, I wouldn't hesitate to kill him."

A small smile formed on Tyler's lips and he opened the glove compartment to hand me a protein bar.

"Eat. I can hear your stomach growling and I remember how frustrating you become when you're hungry. Remember the family barbeque when we were eight?"

Thanking him, I took the protein bar and nodded to his question after taking a bite of it. "Of course I do. I chased you around with a fork after you stole my burger!"

"Exactly. You turn into a crazy person when you're hungry. I didn't steal your burger. It was on the table and–"

"You stole my freakin' burger! Who does that? I forgot ketchup and went to get it." I huffed and took another bite of the protein bar.

"Right." He grinned and pointed at the ring attached to my necklace. "Is it serious between you and Kol?"

Hearing his name turned my mood around and reminded me of the pained expression I'd seen on Kol's face as he compelled me to leave.

If Tyler hadn't agreed to take me to Tennessee, I would be living a 'normal' life with my parents and brothers in Mystic Falls.

Thankfully, Tyler was technically a part of my family as well, and so it allowed me to bend the rules a bit to my advantage.

"I love him, yes," I responded with a sigh. "How could be so… selfish? He knows that I would never willingly leave his side. Why did he have to push me away? I could've helped him with more time."

"Maybe he knew that they would hurt you once you gave them what they wanted. I don't know him like you do, but if Caroline and I were in your positions, I'd do the same."

I grimaced and bent forward with my arms over my head to release a scream of frustration.

No matter how much I wanted to hate Kol, then I couldn't bring myself to feel that rage, so I turned it towards myself instead.

It was my fault he was stuck with them and possessed.

"Don't lose hope, Bethany," Tyler advised. "He's an Original. It takes more than a wooden stake to kill him."

"You're right," I breathed and took a deep breath to calm myself down. "I'll see him again soon."

It sounded like I wasn't entirely convinced, however, I would have to remind myself that while I gathered enough help.

"Feel better?"

"No, but I have to stay strong. For Kol."

"Exactly. And who knows? Maybe it's good for the two of you to be apart." He offered a playful smile meant to cheer me up.

Forcing a smile on my lips, I focused on keeping myself alive and making sure his decision wasn't made in vain.

I knew it wasn't an easy task for him and needed to trust that he could handle himself.

He's an Original, god damn it. He's over 1000 years old. He's escaped Mikael, Esther and countless of angry ex-girlfriends… I thought.

We stopped a few times to buy food, water and supplies for the werewolf pack.

Tyler told me about the werewolf pack, how they currently resided in the woods and barely had any contact with the world outside it.

Klaus wrecked their homes and their lives after they refused to join him or become hybrids as well.

He also told me that Elena shoved the cure down Katherine's throat, meaning we'd lost the only thing that could stop Silas if he returned with vengeance.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you're a human now. You being a vampire…" Tyler shook his head and patted my leg. "It's not your thing. You've always been too cocky."

"So have you! You're probably the most annoying and cocky hybrid I've ever met," I retorted.

"I have not! How was I annoying?"

"You were a douche when you dated Vicky for starters… and your ego was unbelievably big when you joined the football team."

"I now remember why I dislike you so much. You're the worst cousin ever."

"Take that back! You love me and you know it." No amount of bickering with Tyler would make me hate him, because by the end of the day, he was still my cousin and helped me when I needed it.


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