.
09.11.09
.
"I," Elena announces to an empty room, "am having a crisis." It doesn't make it any better, saying it out loud. A crisis, a conflict of interests, whatever she wants to call it, it doesn't change the current state of affairs. She knows she is well protected in Klaus' looming shadow. But she's also realising how little control she has over… everything. Predominately, her body. Specifically, the blood within it. Her future. Everything she sees is tied to the Originals, strings upon strings that weave between them, that work her into the great tapestry of their lives. There are so many different paths she could take, different decisions she could make and, each time she considers one, the future she dreams of changes.
"You have school today, Little Love."
"I've already called in sick," Elena declares, not even surprised to see that Klaus has appeared from out of the void, occupying the space upon her windowsill as if it's his every right to be there. He probably believes it is. He's also probably not wrong.
Pulling her legs up to her chest, Elena rests her chin in the space between her knees, arms around her shins and gaze focused on Klaus. He's in the usual henley shirt and dark jeans, not a speck of dirt on his combat boots.
"I've been thinking. The only thing that's really keeping me tied to this place is the knowledge that the tomb vampires will be let out." What's keeping her tied is Jenna, Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline. Tyler too, especially now. She's the only semi-normal person in his acquaintance that he can speak to about the supernatural; she kinda feels responsible for him. "If… if you can promise me that you'll ensure Jenna and Jeremy are protected, that Bonnie and Caroline and Tyler will be safe… then I'll let you take me anywhere."
"Anywhere, Little Love?" The bedsprings creak as Klaus invites himself to take a seat, head cocking to a side as he inspects her face, as if looking for any hesitation, any doubt. He'll see it; she's far from sure this is the best option. But, as far as she can remember, the supernatural had come to her. Everything that happens is a snowball effect and the catalyst is her presence. The only issue cemented here are the tomb vampires, the ones Anna is trying to release. No, she's just here for her mother, isn't she? But then again, that many vampires lurking beneath the town, it's bad news all around. Especially if they get released and she's not here to help contain them. No, wait, she wouldn't even be doing the containing, just offering the knowledge to Klaus and company to deal with them.
"I'm far from stupid, Nik, you and I both know that you'll never be satisfied here. It's New Orleans, isn't it? Or, that's where I keep ending up in my dreams, one way or another." She'll have to come clean to Jenna and Jeremy, she cannot just up and ditch them. If she and the rest of the Mikaelsons disappear at the same time, it'll be terribly suspicious, suspicious enough for police to come investigating. But… but if she fakes her death and the Mikaelsons just happen to move away, if Klaus and Kol can play the devastated friends (ha) who cannot bear to remain in a town that reminders them of her… it might work. Of course, Jenna and Jeremy will have to be told; she could never dream of going on with her life knowing they think she's dead.
"You fake my death; we get out of here and… I get to see the world, like I never did in the life I had before this one. It removes me from the people close to me, but it also keeps them safe from the people who'd hurt them to get to me."
"And I'm included in that number, aren't I, Little Love." It's not a question so Elena doesn't offer an answer, instead stretching her legs out so they rest upon Klaus' lap, toes wiggling in the air.
"The tomb vampires need a Bennett witch to release them."
"I'll call in a favour to give our Bennett witches a helping hand. I have my own reason for remaining in Mystic Falls for now, but I don't doubt that issue will be solved with the resurgence of the tomb vampires." Klaus pinches her little toe between his forefinger and thumb, pressing lightly into the nailbed before he releases her. "You'll have about a month to prepare yourself, Elena."
Then he's gone, disappearing out from under her before she can process that he's actually accepted her tentative deal. Well, they can iron out the details in the next month.
.
She waves Jenna's concerns off with a guilty conscience, all but ordering her legal guardian to get her ass off to university. Forty minutes later, she's curled up in her duvet, laptop open with six different tabs on things to do in New Orleans (the abandoned Jazzland looks particularly thrilling) when she gets her first text of the day.
'Why am I suffering through High School with no Trouble to guard? x'
It's strange that Kol still ends his texts to her in a kiss when she's rebuked him. Or, perhaps it's not when they've done the equivalent of the vampire monster mash together.
'I'm 'sick' from having to make big life decisions. You'll be thrilled to know there's now a countdown until your High School days are over xx'
'Oh? Do tell, Darling x'
'I've agreed to relocated to New Orleans once this whole tomb vampire thing is sorted out. All it requires is that you act sad once we've faked my death, and maybe even help me explain the supernatural to Jenna and Jeremy? Pretty please with a cherry on top? I'll love you forever and ever and ever xx'
'Pretty sure you're gonna love me no matter what, Darling 😉 x'
Elena scoffs, eyes rolling skywards as she sinks that little bit more into her duvet, clicking on the link that takes her to a page filled with information on Jean Lafitte's Old Absinthe House.
'Depends how good your tour of New Orleans turns out to be. Did you ever meet Jean Lafitte? xx'
'You'll find out when we get there, Trouble x'
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Elena spends the rest of her day making a list. It's titled 'Trouble's To Do List' and contains everything she's found out about New Orleans so far that she wishes she could do. That she wants to do. There are bike tours and gondolas and canoe activities, there's the vast array of voodoo that's available to the tourists (though, maybe not to her, given witches are real and she's a main ingredient for many witch-produced soups) and the architecture- oh man, the architecture. She could spend weeks just walking around the place and admiring it all and that's just an opinion based on pictures alone. Elena's rather certain she'll be even more blown away when she gets there.
So yeah, she's spent a day making a list when she probably should be in school. However, she's already passed schooling once, even if it were the English system and not the American. And, where she's going in life, a High School diploma isn't going to open any doors that'll be shut in her face.
Jenna and Jeremy, Bonnie and Caroline and Tyler surface in her mind again and Elena shoves them to a side. She can unpack that box anytime in the next month. No, now's the time to be psyching herself up. Among her list, in addition to everything focused on New Orleans, there's also other bucket-stuff shit she'd like to do. Experience drunkenness for one night in her life (no more because man, she needs a good liver to be a good blood bag, she's sure of it), wind up some tourists, wind up some locals, cling to the back of a car on a skateboard; all the silly shit she sees in movies and reads about but isn't feasible for the regular jo. But she's not a regular jo, she's the doppelgänger and she'll be damned if she doesn't get to take advantage of that.
Closing up her laptop and capping her pen, Elena puts her notebook in the bedside draw and leaps to her feet. She'll treat Jenna and Jeremy to a chicken dinner, along with any Original that wants to turn up.
Huh. It's starting to feel like she's got a little bit of her mojo back.
.
.
The idea of freedom from this small town (from his hometown, no matter if the term wasn't around when he was a child playing on this very land), swirls around his brain for the rest of the day. A month. He can wait a month. A month until he can get back to New Orleans, a month until he can discover if there's a way back into his little hideout, a way to continue working on the dagger.
The very thought bubbles and boils under his skin, sets his nerves on edge in a way nothing else (nothing other than a word he dreads to think about, lest he become involved with anything to do with the first immortal) has ever managed.
Klaus coming at him with that thrice cursed blade- he refuses, refuses to be put under again. Tying himself to Elena seems to be working for the moment, Elijah seems repentant enough to stop Klaus. Though, for how long that will last, Kol cannot begin to guess, nor does he want to. He's needs something tangible, something physical that he can hold and know that it is his insurance, his way to get Klaus to back the fuck off unless he wants to lose a century or three.
The bell goes and Kol's already out the door before the rest of his senior class have even registered it's time to go home.
The question is, does he head to the Gilbert home for a homemade meal, or back to the Mikaelson mansion where there's daggers lying in wait?
Obviously, there's only one answer to that.
.
He's in the driver's seat and pulling out the car park just as the rest of the student body have begun to pile out of the building, dial tone echoing through his ear. Corey Gabriel is slow to pick up but Kol can forgive him; the boy's only fifteen. Young as he is though and raised by his grandparents, he's the only witch in his family that has a mobile phone on him during the day.
"I'm sorry I was so slow picking up, Mr Kol. I had to get out of class." Right, Texas are an hour behind. He should have probably remembered that but now his head is spinning with plans and ideas and all sorts of delicious schemes on how he can deal with his pain in the neck, dagger-happy brother.
"You got any relatives in New Orleans, Corey?"
The boy gulps before he answers, the sound long and hard.
"I- I don't think so? I can ask Grams. She's been before, so, so she might have made some friends over there." Yes, a witch visiting New Orleans would have made all sorts of other friends.
"Brilliant. Ask her if there are any Claire witches still kicking. I'll be needing one soon enough and I don't appreciate wild goose chases."
"Okay, I will do- er, is that everything, Mr Kol?"
"Yeah, kid. Get back to me on it." He hangs up, fingers drumming against the steering wheel as his mind spins. Before, neither of his two witches had been able to transform the dagger into something that could be used to effect on Klaus. They'd not had the power, they claimed.
Well, Kol just so happens to be in the acquaintance of a woman whose blood acts like a superpowered boost to any spell performed by a witch. It'd work out well for both of them' Kol gets his vengeance, Elena would get to live a long and happy life (and her family would too, given that Klaus'd be boxed up) and, when they eventually decide to undagger him, then Kol would have the only weapon that could threaten the Hybrid bastard as leverage. It's so close he can almost taste it.
One month to get things ready, one month until the opening move.
They key will be Elena. Sure, he's made a slight misstep moving too quick, but their easy-going friendship persists and, no matter how close she is to his brother, that little outburst last night shows she's craving freedom. All Kol has to do is make it clear that he can give it to her. If she lends him a hand, that is.
One month. One month, and then the real fun starts.
.
02.12.09
.
"And with this, you'll leave town and never return?"
Eyes rolling skywards, Klaus leans back against the old stone walls, eyes locked on the (physically) open tomb before him. Sheila Bennett stares at him, all hard eyes and untrustworthy frown on her lips, one hand clenching tight to the pendant that hangs in her grasp. Beside her, Greta watches impatiently, arms folded across her chest and a look to her face that suggests she's most unhappy to be here. Given how things have turned out for her, Klaus can understand that, what with her male relatives teaming up with Elijah to track down her 'kidnapped' self. Discovering the girl had joined him willingly hadn't gone down well with the other Martins, nor had they been happy to learn she had no intentions of abandoning her duty. All that had been required from him was just a few smirks, empty promises that she's his favourite witch. Obviously not true; he's not Kol, he doesn't have a favourite. Just ones that he can use to meet his ends.
And speaking of those he can use-
Klaus' eyes slide over to the rest of the Martins, here to support Sheila, to land on the young vampire from half a year ago. Annabelle 'Anna' Zhu doesn't dare to meet his eyes, nor does she try to run. Not that she could, instructed to remain in position by compulsion, she doesn't have a choice in the matter. Now, for all that Klaus has issues with mothers, he's far from heartless. After all, dear Anna had provided him the location of his defenceless father. Regardless of if it were freely given or not, even that little bit of help deserves a reward. That both she and her mother have a stellar grudge against Katerina will only aid him.
"I'll have no reason to return, not unless you manage to capture Katerina, that is. And I promise you, I would be on my best behaviour if I were returning to pick her up." Klaus smiles, watching the woman frown, her eyes lifting to better inspect the rising moon. It won't be long now until the tomb can be open, once the full body of the moon reaches its zenith in the sky.
"Now, dearest Annabelle," Klaus turns to the younger vampire, pushing off from the wall to stalk closer to her. Her eyes snap up to look at him, wide and round, lips parted ever so slightly. Her shoulders are tense, hands closed into fists, even if it's clear that she stands no chance against him. They're both aware of it, they're both making their own plans around it. "You'll go into the tomb, retrieve your mother, and bring her out. You'll then stake every other vampire in there. Once you've completed that task, the two of you are free to go and I shall never haunt your life again. Not unless you cause upset for any of the humans whose names I have given you. And if you so happen to find Katerina, well, do call. You'll be rewarded greatly for it. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Klaus."
"There's a good girl." Klaus claps the younger vampire on the shoulder, turning back to Sheila when her chanting begins. Once this tomb issue is over, he'll go see how his Lockwood wolves are handling their transformation (their first, for two of them), before he settles on changing the two local ones. Once that's dealt with, he can send Mason after Katerina. He'll be more than capable of handling her now that he's a hybrid. The delightful Sire Bond will also ensure that he doesn't fall for her coy little tricks too.
Just a handful of little things to deal with, and then they can finally skip town. Elena had been right about one thing; New Orleans does call to him.
.
.
"You've edited my To-Do List."
Kol doesn't turn around, but his shoulders do twitch, like he's trying desperately to supress laughter.
Clambering over the back of the sofa, Elena plants her feet on the cushion beside Kol, dropping onto her ass a moment later. Then, she takes great pleasure in thrusting the notebook into his face, near enough whacking the edge of the book on the edge of his chin. He takes it from her hand, twisting too fast for her human eyes to follow. Once the world stops spinning, Elena finds herself laid across the sofa, wedged between the back cushions and Kol himself. Were he human, it'd be one cough and he'd be off the edge of the sofa to meet the floor. She rather things it'd taken a bit more than that to dislodge a vampire though. Hell, it's more likely that he'd pull her with him than to resist being thrown off.
"I don't see anything that's shouldn't already be in your priorities," Kol muses, lying beside her, head cushioned on the arm of the sofa, feet resting on the other. Elena's not tall enough for her feet to reach in the same way, so she settles for propping them up on Kol's shins.
"Really? Let's see," Elena pauses, snatching the book back from Kol, licking her forefinger and thumb to better flick through the pages as dramatically as she can. "One year in New Orleans Targets," she reads dramatically, turning to eye Kol. He meets her gaze with absolutely no shame, eyebrows even wiggling, smug little smirk on his lips. She doesn't rise to the bait, instead turning back to her list. "Experience a drunken night out. Sneak into Jazzland and come back with a souvenir. Bang Kol. Go to the French Quarter festival and dance with a cute boy." She stops there, twisting to look at Kol again to find the mirth burning bright in his eyes, one hand now behind his head to better support his neck. "You know, I'm almost impressed. How the hell did you slot that mid-way in the list?" It's smack dab in the middle, the handwriting exactly the same as her own and, had she not redone this whole list just two days ago, Elena would genuinely have wondered if she'd put that down by mistake.
"Now that'd be telling."
"Yes, it would, which is exactly what I want you to do."
"You're fresh out of luck then, Trouble. Secrets come with pillowtalk."
Elena huffs, twisting onto her side until she can lean forwards, her lips brushing the shell of Kol's ear. "Can sofa cushions count as pillows?" She pitches her voice low, ups the breathy tone just that little bit and perhaps she shouldn't be playing with fire like this. Ever since New Orleans had been announced as their Christmas and beyond location, Kol had been… more motivated. Scheming is probably the best word to describe it all; Elena's dreams have cone through more twists and turns than an Olympic gymnast, always spinning around a few new faces, faces that have become so common to her in sleep that they're practically familiar now. But she knows they're all part and parcel for the Mikaelson brothers plots and plans. Sometimes they work, sometimes Kol manages to put Klaus down for a bit, sometimes he gets caught in the act and is out of commission himself. Sometimes they fuck each other over so badly Elijah or Rebekah or even Elena herself gets caught in the crossfire. Never mind the innocent civilians that end up dead. And the worst is, half the time the whole thing gets so twisted because Elena herself has earned Kol or Klaus what they other is up to. Would things have been easier for her mental state if she didn't have these dreams, if she'd just had memories of a show from her past life? Most probably. Would she get rid of the visions if she could? Not a chance in hell. The thought of being utterly blind to the future makes her sweat; she'd never give up this little advantage, no matter how much trouble it causes. Hell, barring her doppelgänger blood, it's her one selling point right now.
"They could, if your aunt weren't coming back right now." Kol states, arm suddenly wiggling between her waist and the sofa, hand on her hip to better hold her against his side.
Yum, muscles. Were it not for all the fuckery the action would cause, 'bang Kol' would definitely be on her To-Do List. What a shame.
The keys in the door rattle and then she can hear Jeremy talking to Jenna, discussing the pocket watch he'd refused to hand over during Founder's Night. Which, yeah, completely right of him, it's his possession. Even if it weren't a supernatural stunner, Elena would still be backing his corner on this one.
"-it's not like they can demand that- oh, hey Kol. Didn't realise you were dropping by tonight." Jeremy leans over the back of the sofa, spots her wedged between vampire and cushions, and his face lights up with a grin. "Hey, Aunt Jenna! Kol and Elena are looking a bit cosy here!"
"They are?! Where!" There's a thump as Aunt Jenna stumbles, another two following as she discards her shoes to make her way into the living room. Elena swallows down the bile in her throat because it's the second of December. It's a full moon, the tomb vampires are being dealt with and it won't be long until she's on the open road with the Mikaelsons again (even if there's double the amount that there was last time). Only, there are no plans to return to Mystic Falls after she leaves.
It's time to tell Jenna and Jeremy the truth.
They're going to hate her.
.
The two sit through her whole explanation with no fuss, if only because they seem torn between disbelief and horror. It'd probably have been easier with Bonnie or Sheila here, someone who could show them magic instead of Kol, who refuses to show of the vampire face when asked. He does bite into his wrist to show them the quick healing though; it's the only thing that her aunt and brother (her guardian and her cousin) react strongly to.
At the end of it all, Jeremy doesn't say a word, just gets to his feet and storms out, the thunderous slam of the door the only sound he leaves them with. Jenna… Jenna remains sitting on the single chair, a distant sort of glaze to her eyes and Elena swallows, heart hammering in her chest. Jenna and Jeremy, they're family. They're the most important people in this life. It is so unbelievable important that they remain safe, safe in the way she'd failed to keep Mum and Dad.
"I can't change what I am, Jenna. I was born like this and every single supernatural being with even a little knowledge will be trying to get a hold of me. The sheer amount of danger- you're both safer without me, and I'm safer with the Originals. Klaus is literally the strongest being in the world now because of what he is and because of what I am, he's highly motivated to protect me."
"And Kol." It's the first thing Jenna has said, but it's nurturing that little bit of hope that she hadn't utterly destroyed her relationships with her family.
"I take care of my friends," Kol declares, voice soft as he wraps one arm around Elena's back, hand resting on her hip but it's not… possessive. Just, present. The warmth of his palm radiated into her skin and Elena leans into the touch, keeping her eyes on Jenna.
"I want texts. I'll get you a new phone, but I want daily texts to know you're okay. And phone calls, lots of phone calls. And pictures to know you're okay."
"You do realise we're going to have to compel you to act as if Elena's actually died for the first few weeks, right?"
"Kol-" Elena elbows him in the ribs but the vampire on her side has a point.
"You'll need another phone as well and somewhere to hide it; we'll compel you to forget about it until it'd be appropriate for you to not be completely devastated and then you'll remember where it is with Elena's texts on."
.
.
"Well, that went well," Kol muses, striding out of the Gilbert house with both hands in his pockets, whistling a jaunty tune he'd heard on the radio a few days ago.
"Are you kidding? Jenna's in shock, Jeremy stormed out, and Bonnie asked me to leave after I was done talking to her."
Kol rolls his eyes skywards, dismissively waving his hand through the air. "They'll come around. You're in the right."
"Has it ever worked that way for you?"
Kol stops on the pavement, looking down at Elena as she peers up at him, her arms wrapped around herself for warmth, despite the thick coat she wears.
"What is it that you want, Kol? When you get to New Orleans, I can tell you're going to put plans in motion; I watch different ones in my head every night. But it's the end goal that's important." Of course, she does. She's a seer, she'll know half of what's coming before he even launches it, the only way to keep her guessing is to not settle on a scheme, to not settle on a plan.
"I want insurance, Elena. You have no idea what it's like to have centuries stolen from you, to have that threat hanging over your head that if you put one toe over your bastard brother's line in the sand, you'll be waking up two centuries later. What completely boggles my mind is that you don't want that insurance. You've seen how controlling Klaus is, you're leaving your family because he's made a fuck-tone of enemies who won't hesitate to use you against him. Don't you want the insurance that you can just, put him out of commission for a bit, so you can actually get to live your life on your own terms?" Sure, Elena's making the best of it, she has her little New Orleans To-Do List, yet, what is that but activities to be completed in a pretty cage? She'll always be at his brother's beck and call, just like he's unable to shake the bastard. Mikael's gone now; Kol could just, take off. Disappear into the wind.
But then it'd be like he's running scared and Kol is anything but a coward.
"These are my terms, Kol. I've weighed up the positives and negatives; New Orleans is the best place for me at the moment. Being under Klaus' protection, even if I have to keep bargaining for every little freedom I can weasel out of him, that's the safest place for me at the moment… and, I like your company. I like the company of all you Originals, even if Rebekah takes the mick out of some of my clothes. It's not really a hardship."
Kol wouldn't know about that. She'll soon change her mind; they're a self-destructive family (forever and always doesn't matter; he wasn't included in that, had always been the black sheep so why would that change now?) and they're drive her away eventually. If they don't end up driving each other away first.
Elena pinches his nose between her forefinger and thumb, grinning as she waggles it about. "You know," she says with a smile, releasing her pincher grip, "things were easier between us when we were running riot on an all American road trip." Back before he'd realised just how messing about with the doppelgänger will infuriate his brother. Back before Elena had begun questioning his motives in growing close to her.
"Do you prefer easy, Trouble?"
"…No… I think I prefer honest."
I couldn't remember where this was going, so here we are, going somewhere completely different. Enjoy?
Tsume
xxx