Chapter 41:
Kol never returned that evening. While Freya toiled away, desperately searching for an answer in her mother's old spells to the curse that had been put upon Mari, Klaus paced the compound and waited for his little brother to return. He needed to speak to him about Mari's concerns, perhaps force him to apologize if need be for trying to compel them out of her.
Yet, he never appeared. Although Mari had fallen into a hesitant slumber around midnight, Klaus couldn't bring himself to do the same. He continued to pace, to wait, and finally, as the sun first began to rise, Kol returned. The look of guilt on his face made Klaus angry immediately. He hurried down the steps to intercept him at the gate.
"And where have you been, little brother?" He almost growled, balling his hands into fists as his side so he didn't snatch him up by the collar like he wanted to.
"I don't have to answer to you."
"Perhaps not to me, but Mari has been worrying herself sick over the argument you two had yesterday. I care not what you do as long as it has no bearing on the feelings of that poor girl. So tell me. Where. Were. You?"
Klaus had little time or patience to find out why Kol had been gone all night, and where he had been, before Mari woke. She was going to want to know why Kol never returned and if it was her fault that he stayed away.
"If you must know, I was with Davina."
"And what business do you have spending the night with the little witch?" Klaus raised a brow.
That news would surely devastate Mari were she to hear of it. She already felt so guilty for pushing him away when he tried to compel her; her guilt would only worsen if she felt that she pushed him right back into the arms of Davina Claire. But it appears that was the case.
"We spoke at length about the curse," Kol admitted, too tired, too stressed to even lie. "Davina believes that I'm being held captive by the curse as much as Marigold is, and she wishes to break it. She knows how, Klaus."
"How is it that she knows, but Freya has yet to figure it out?"
"Because she's been looking for the answer longer than Freya," Kol huffed, running a hand back through his hair. "She is hellbent on breaking this curse because she believes it will bring me back to her."
"And is there any truth to that belief of hers?" Klaus pushed for an answer, taking a step closer to him. "Will you so easily abandon Mari once her blood is no longer as tempting to you as it is now?"
"Don't phrase it in such a manner," Kol hissed. "I don't wish to abandon anyone, yet I seem to be unable to avoid it. I care very deeply for Mari. But the way Davina described this curse-"
"That girl will do and say anything to tear you away from Mari and pull you back into that dusty old attic," Klaus cut him off, growing frustrated with his immature indecisiveness. "Was it really so easy for her to convince you that the only thing you love about Mari is her blood? Or perhaps have you wondered about that since you found out about it?"
"How could I not wonder?" Kol frowned. "The woman I loved returned from the grave, and I was too captivated by another to return to her. What would you do if Camille was suddenly resurrected, ready to live a life with you once again?"
"Don't speak her name."
"You would consider it. Your love for her was real and powerful, with no curse attached to it."
"Every love we experience is cursed by the very nature of the Mikaelson name," Klaus argued through his teeth. "Our human lovers are doomed to perish while we remain immortal. There is no way to change that except to turn them."
Kol stared at him for a moment, thinking deeply about his words. After moment, he dropped his gaze in shame.
"You love Mari so deeply that you wish to turn her, to make her immortal. And I... I do not wish the same. I don't want to alter her in anyway. I want her to remain as she is, our fragile, tasty little Mari. And that feeling, that fear of change, is why I listened to Davina Claire. Why I consider what she told me to be... at least somewhat grounded in truth."
It was hard to explain to Klaus what he meant without implicating himself. Davina spent all night explaining how every feeling and impulse he had for Mari could be attributed to the curse. He doubted her at first, even outright refused to listen to her. But the more he heard, the more it sank in.
It was true that he would never share a woman with his brother other than Mari. It was true that every waking moment around her was spent craving her flesh in one way or another. And it was true that love still existed in his heart for Davina, yet he denied it to continue satisfying his bloodlust for Mari.
"You mean to tell me you don't love Mari."
"That's not what I'm saying," Kol shook his head. "I mean to say that I'm not as sure of my heart as I once was. I'm not... entirely confident that it isn't being manipulated by this curse."
"So then let's break it and see."
"And what if it does change things? Don't you wonder if your feelings will become altered without the curse?"
"No, because I'm not a selfish brat who cares for nothing but the woman's blood," Klaus answered with a grimace. "If you have to stop and consider that yourself, then perhaps the answer is revealed already. You don't love Mari as much as you love her blood."
"I don't know that to be true."
"Well I do. I believe Davina Claire is correct in her assessment of your fairweather feelings for Mari, so you will stay away from her from this moment forward."
"Don't guard her from me. What if you're wrong? What if my feelings remain once the curse is lifted?"
"Then I'll be proven wrong, but I'm not often wrong," Klaus muttered, turning on his heels to walk back towards the stairs. "Return to your witch. If she knows how to break the curse, then have her do it. If not, have her tell Freya how to do it."
"There's something you should know."
"And what is that?"
"Mari's mother must die in order for the curse to be lifted," Kol explained with a heavy heart before Klaus could reach the top of the stairs. Klaus paused his steps, hand resting on the railing as he pondered on that for a moment. "Davina told me how it works," Kol went on. "Mari's mother is the one being punished, so she must be sacrificed to break it."
"Mari's mother certainly deserves death for what she inflicted upon her daughter."
"But Mari doesn't want to kill her mother. Does she?"
Klaus remembered what she said the night before. Freya was looking for a way to break the curse without any death, which made it clear she didn't want her mother to be sacrificed. Despite how badly she deserved it.
"And she might hate you if you have her mother killed against her wishes," Kol added. "You've tried so hard to avoid becoming a monster in her eyes. How will you avoid that if you're responsible for killing her mother?"
"Do you mean to force my hand?" Klaus turned to glare down at Kol. "I wonder which outcome you'd prefer. Shall I refuse to break the curse and let you continue your selfish feeding upon her blood? Or are you trying to sour her opinion of me by forcing me to destroy her birth giver?"
"I'm just informing you what's at stake," Kol shrugged his shoulders. "That's a choice you have to make. I dare not force your hand, and I do not envy your position."
"It's easy for you. You can just accept the curse, feed from her as you please, and spend your nights conspiring with your true love. Do you really believe that I would allow that? That I would let you put a single hand on Mari after what you've confessed? That I would let you hurt her in such a way?"
"Break the curse, then. We'll both lose her."
Klaus clenched his teeth together, his jaw tightening as he bit back a slew of insults and harshness that he wished to hurl at his little brother. How dare he say such things? How dare he admit to wanting to continue using Mari and manipulating her feelings? Even if he was only unsure, that was enough to convince Klaus that he was not genuine towards Mari. No, his love remained in the heart of a twice dead young witch.
"Leave," Klaus commanded angrily. "Remove yourself from the compound before she wakes. I'll tend to her broken heart on my own. If you dare show your face before her, I will leave you locked in a box until your precious Davina is nothing but dust and bone."
With that, he ascended the stairs and returned to the room where Mari slept peacefully. He wanted to be by her side, and to figure out what exactly he was going to tell her. The truth would be too painful, but it would be the right thing to say.
Kol sulked out of the compound. He hadn't meant to cause an argument with Klaus, but he couldn't hide his fears any longer. He was afraid that his love for Mari wasn't as genuine as he wanted it to be. He was afraid that killing her mother would drive her away from him and Klaus forever. And he was afraid that not breaking the curse meant denying a genuine love that he knew still existed for Davina for feelings towards Mari that could be the result of the curse.
Itwasn't ever his intention to hurt Mari or Davina. He only wanted to know the truth. Did he truly love Mari? Or was the curse twisted around his heart, convincing him that it was more than just bloodlust to keep him close? There was only one way to find out, and he knew, despite his warning, that Klaus would break the wretched curse.