Getting into a routine was the only thing that kept me sane as I continued to remain stuck unable to move. I'd sleep through the night, wake up then immediately practice some kind of magic that I hadn't explored yet, carefully testing the boundaries of my strength whilst my body was still weak, or I would go through millennia of knowledge that my ancestors had gifted me but hadn't yet had time to go through in order to continue my studies as the last druid on this earth.
Every hour or so either Klaus or Rebekah would check in on me, and sometimes they would sit in order to keep me company. Rebekah usually had some gossip or other to talk to me about, the most recent being the fact that she slept with Damon again but it turned out that he'd used her in order to find out that she was looking for the white oak sapling that had apparently survived the siblings burning the original tree a thousand years ago. Damon had used a friend of his, Sage, in order to look through her mind, and she was pretty pissed about it. At least she and Sage turned out to be on the same side, as Sage was in love with Finn even after nine hundred years and didn't want a weapon to exist that could kill him.
After Damon had found out that the white oak tree wood had been used to build Wickery Bridge, Rebekah had taken the old wood that had been taken up for the restoration project and burned it. I didn't have any means to warn them that the Salvatore brothers still had some of the wood left over from the bridge's sign, but I knew that it'll be okay in the end. My visions were a lot clearer recently, and I'd seen them taking the stakes and burning them too, so I figured I didn't have to worry about that.
Anyway, Rebekah would then talk about other things. School, life, her recent shopping trip, or she'd read through magazines aloud to keep me up to date with the goings on in the big wide world. I appreciated that she didn't want me to feel left out, but as much as I loved the fact that she took the time to be with me, I found myself preferring when Niklaus would sit with me. Usually it would be in the evenings when he'd walk in, and every time he'd make the same comment about the room. "Warm enough for you, love? It's like a rainforest in here." He'd say, or at least something along those lines and shed some clothing so that he was in a light shirt where he'd then sit down and open up the newest literature he'd selected for the both of us.
He read me books and poetry of every genre, from gothic to romance and tragedies. I was relieved that he didn't focus too much on romance, especially with the poetry, instead finding things that focused on other aspects of life such as nature and realism. It helped to keep me sane. He also more often than not picked up history books to read to me, also giving a running commentary on whether or not something happened as it had been recorded and I would listen with keen interest. This tender side of him was something I never expected to see, but it was like in my state of vulnerability, Klaus allowed his defences to lower gradually so that we were of an equal standing.
I came to love the sound of his voice, the soft murmur of expression that he effortlessly conveyed as he spoke the words of others with his own feeling and interpretation. It was soft and lilting, eloquently spoken with that gorgeous accent of his. Even though I could not respond or tell him how much I adored the fact that he was going to so much effort for me, I did my best however I could. Most recently I had started taking over animals temporarily in order to follow them both or keep them company, one of them being a stray dog I happened to sense wandering around in the woods nearby.
It had been lost, sniffing around curiously as I had let my spirit wander for a change of scenery, so I decided to merge with it before becoming one with it. The powerful senses overcame me, the rush of scents flowing as I struggled to sort them as they hit me all at once. It was the same whenever I bonded with another animal, the strange feeling of new senses and movement that took me a moment to adjust to. The dog was a silvery grey husky with pale, icy blue eyes, and with an excited wag of the tail, I bounded through the trees in order to head back to the mansion where I jumped at the door in order to scratch at it, wanting to be let in.
Klaus was the one who answered, pulling the door open and I quickly pushed my way inside before he could stop me. "Ophelia?" Recognising quickly that it was me, Klaus swung the door shut then crouched down as I turned, tripping slightly as I was still getting used to the whole four legs thing, whereby I then sat down and eyed him coolly, tail thudding against the floor lightly. "As much as I enjoy these surprise visits, must you really take over every flea ridden animal that crosses your path?" I growled at him in protest, lifting my head proudly before stalking off in order to go find Rebekah instead. "Come now love, no need to be upset." He said laughingly but I ignored him, scampering up the stairs with a swish of my tail.
Rebekah was still sleeping so I jumped up onto the bed beside her, smiling inwardly before I settled down and lay beside her. She groaned softly, shifting before her arm naturally came around to curl over me, fingers burrowing into the thick fur of the husky as I sighed contentedly. More than used to me turning up inside random animals, Rebekah was not even surprised when she woke up later to a random dog next to her. "You know, I don't think I shall ever be used to the fact that you can possess creatures." She said to me, stroking my head and ears softly which made my tail thump against the bed. "It's good to see you, Lia."
Staying with her, I followed Rebekah around for a while as she talked to me until she went into the shower, so I left her to it. Instead, I decided to do some exploring, curiously investigating the many rooms of the mansion that I was yet to see. In doing this, I found Klaus in his own part of the house where he seemed to have set up a studio, several paintings placed here and there. Being a dog, I unfortunately could not quite distinguish all of the colours since dogs have a different scope of vision to a human, it was more neutral and muted, but I could still tell that the paintings were very well done. "I see you have found my little haven." Klaus said to me, appearing at my side where his hand brushed over my head and back. "I had hoped to show you this in person, but it appears we shall have to make do like this."
Whining at him softly, I lifted my paw in order to scrape lightly at his leg before I then pushed up onto my hind legs and set my front paws onto the table, nuzzling at the papers that I was too low to see so Klaus picked them up and laid them out on the floor for me to inspect. These were just as good as the paintings, simplistic yet detailed, and I sat down in order to admire each of them in silence, my ears pricked forwards and my tail sweeping over the ground cheerfully. "Rebekah and I will be leaving soon." Klaus informed me, making my head swing around to face him. "Not for long, just to go fetch our dear brother Finn back home."
Starting to pick up the drawings and paintings off the ground, I leaned over and gave his shoulder a gentle nudge which eared a little fuss in return. "We will return later today, so you will not be alone for long, love. Shall I arrange for your protection, or can you handle yourself for a few hours?" He asked me so I gave him as much a sardonic look as I possibly could as a dog, making his mouth tilt upwards as I then lifted my paw to rest it on his knee as he crouched before me. Figuring that I was telling him I'd be alright, Klaus smoothed a hand back over my ears, the two of us just looking at one another for a while, thinking our own thoughts.
Sometimes I wished I could take a glimpse into Klaus's mind and actually understand what he might be thinking. I couldn't help but be curious, and Klaus usually hid his true thoughts so well, I never even knew where to begin imagining what was going on behind those admittedly soulful eyes of his. "Well, in any case you technically won't be alone. An old flame of my brother's will be here waiting for us to fetch him. Sage. She's been alive for nine hundred years, so she's as old and strong as they come. If anything should happen, she'll be able to protect you." Ha. Like I needed protecting. Even as an unmoving vegetable I could handle myself. "We'll be back soon, love."
Seeing the both of them off at the door, I sat down on my haunches and watched as the car pulled away, seeing Rebekah twisting around in her seat to smile goodbye at me until they were gone, leaving me with this Sage person who was standing beside me. "So…I'm told you're actually a dog being possessed. How does that work?" She asked me but I merely yawned and decided to go inside and lay down for a while. I was having fun being a dog, and since this one was lost I might as well hold onto it until we could contact the owner. I'll have to get Rebekah to take it into town to the vet or something to see if it has a tag or chip.
Anyway, I released possession of the dog after going into my room still heavily laden with flowers and vegetation but when Sage tried to follow, I blew the doors shut and locked them so that she couldn't get in to see me as I didn't trust her. Having no guarantee that she was an ally, I was perfectly happy with the nameless dog for company. She tried to force the doors but they held firm, so she gave up in the end and left me alone to rest as the dog opted to jump up onto the bed and make itself comfortable before taking a nap next to me.
The softness of its fur was a pleasant sensation, a new form of stimulus in my long lasting prison of boredom. At least I wasn't wearing that dress and necklace anymore. Rebekah had finally managed to pull off enough of the flowers and vines in order to unlace the back, undressing me as I held the plants back from growing again as they seemed to incessantly want to wrap themselves up around me. I'd never felt such a liberating feeling as getting those clothes, corset and diamonds off me. She'd even washed me down as when she'd tried to move me altogether, the plants had refused to let me go and grown again despite me trying to stop them, wrapping around my wrists, arms and legs.
So in the end she'd sponged me off with a damp cloth, freshened me up a little then given me what felt like a silk nightdress to wear before laying me back down and the plants had then rather furiously resumed growing over me possessively. At least I felt lighter now, though I have no idea what's up with these plants. I mean, I know I'm a druid and nature is supposed to be my thing and all, but it didn't have to literally cling to me. Anyway, I guess there's nothing much I can do about that right now since I'm still recovering from being poisoned by Esther. Whatever she'd done, she'd really messed me up.
To pass the time I imagined all the kinds of ways I could get my own back at Esther for this, satisfying myself with hundreds of different methods to extract my revenge until later, sometime in the late afternoon, I heard Rebekah and Klaus return with Finn in tow. Quickly merging with the dog again, I went down to meet them just as Sage and Finn embraced. Brushing past them down the stairs, I barked cheerfully and went to Rebekah who smilingly came down to greet me, rubbing the fur on my neck and face. "I see you missed us love." Klaus said to me, brushing past lightly.
"The sooner you wake up, the less boring it will be for you and you wouldn't have to be taking over animals just for some entertainment." Rebekah told me, tickling me under my chin which made me snort as she then stood up. "So hurry up and get better. I'm just as bored without you." She then turned to Klaus, informing him that she had something she still needed to do and asked what he needed from her.
"Just your blood and your blessing. Where are you going?"
"I have some unfinished business with Damon Salvatore." She revealed blithely as I scratched an itch with disinterest. Didn't blame her for wanting to settle the score with Damon, he did use her and hurt her feelings after by being such a dick. I wanted to kick his ass myself. "Ask Sage what he did to me, and you'll understand why retribution is in order." Finn and Sage did not stay long, wanting to go into the town to reminisce and catch up over nine hundred years' worth of lost time. Klaus let him go, and for a moment I was surprised that he did but then when I watched Bekah give some of her own blood, I realised it was because Klaus had already taken blood from Finn. Probably when he was unconscious, I can't imagine Finn came all the way back here quietly and fully conscious. I watched the goings on around me, seeing that Klaus now had four vials of blood, he only needed to add his own to complete the mix. Now all he needed was a witch. Bonnie, to be specific.
He already had that in hand, bringing Bonnie in and when he returned with her, I was waiting for him. "Let go of me!" Bonnie fought him off, attempting to rip her arm free as he practically marched her in but his grip must have been like iron because he held onto her, only letting her go to throw her into a seat.
"None of that now. You're going to do a little spell for me then you'd be free to go. My mother linked me with my siblings, and although I've always fancied this family to be close, it's a little too close for my liking, so what you're going to do is unlink us from one another." Bonnie refused at first, wanting nothing to do with Klaus but he was very intimidating, making even me shudder slightly as his tone dropped and he warned Bonnie not to test his patience. He provided her with the grimoire with the spell in it before telling her to either start studying or he would begin hunting down every member of her family and kill them one by one.
A tad excessive, but it got her to shut up and sit down. After ensuring that Bonnie was now on board, Klaus then left, glancing my way as I lay with my head over my paws, completely nonplussed about the scenario before me before he then left. I waited until he was gone before getting up and padding over to Bonnie, feeling a little bad for her. She looked terrible, with swollen eyes red from crying, her hair messy from where she hadn't bothered to even brush it and her face was sunken from the strenuous past couple of days she'd gone through. It couldn't have been easy to watch her mom transition into a vampire and for her to then leave…
Okay, I admit it. I'd checked in on her and a couple of the others occasionally, like Matt, Caroline and Alaric, just to see that they were okay. Sort of. Since my magic had weakened, it meant that the spell I'd used to protect Alaric from the influence of the Other Side had faded and he was back under Esther's control once more and she'd already started the next stage of her plan to kill off her kids, and I was still trying to figure out a way to counter her. That didn't matter right now, all I was focused on was Bonnie.
Giving a soft whimper to draw her attention, I turned my head at her with perked ears in what I hoped to be an adorable look, and it worked in getting a smile out of her. "Hey you, what're you doing here?" She asked, reaching out to start stroking and rubbing my fur. "You're gorgeous. How did someone cute like you end up with these guys?" If only she knew. In any case, Bonnie started to cry a little bit, so I shuffled in closer and let her hug me, arms wrapping around my neck and held onto me for comfort as I licked a tear away lightly.
Poor Bonnie, she didn't deserve this. I'll have to make a note with Klaus to be nicer to her from now on, and maybe he owed her a favour or two for this. I stayed with her, sprawled out at her feet as she studied the book in a bid to learn the unlinking spell. Occasionally she would reach down to run her hand over my back, probably appreciating the company even though she thought I was just a dog. I didn't want to leave her alone, and I knew that Rebekah was getting her revenge from Damon in another room which involved a lot of blood, so I figured here was probably the safest bet for me. My ears twitched when I heard Klaus smoothly striding towards us though, lifting my head as he entered the room. "Tick-tock. I should hear chanting by now."
"I'm still studying the unlinking spell. It's not that easy, especially under duress." Bonnie answered coldly as Klaus walked on over, lowering his voice as he gripped onto the back of the leather seat she had been sitting on in order to murmur darkly just mere inches away from her back.
"You've been warned. If you're looking for a way to send for help, I will kill anyone who comes to your rescue." He said and Bonnie quickly got up in order to move away from him, putting a few more paces between them so that she didn't have to feel him lurking behind her.
"This is the spell. I just don't know if I'm strong enough."
"Then you should have a little more faith in yourself, Bonnie." Klaus responded smoothly, and I could hear in his voice that he was running out of patience so I sat upright, paying attention to the both of them, wondering if Klaus was going to do something to Bonnie. Now, just like Caroline, I'd always gotten along with Bonnie before, in fact I think I liked her the best out of the girl trinity she formed with Elena and Caroline, so if it came down to it, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't let Klaus hurt her. She was scared, you could see it and I could even smell it with this awesomely sensitive nose, and Klaus needed to back down a little. "Your energy helped my mother link us. Honestly, I think someone
isn't trying very hard." Continuing to stare him down with all the false bravado she possessed, Klaus acquiesced. "Very well." He called his brother, Kol, the name making me roll my eyes inwardly. "Kol. How's the weather up there in mile high city?"
Klaus purposefully remained discreet when he asked about a certain friend before he then showed Bonnie the video feed of Jeremy in Denver, playing fetch with a rather cute golden yellow dog. "There's Jeremy, playing fetch with his new puppy. Isn't that just the most adorable thing you've ever seen?" Now chastised and given the final incentive she needed, I saw Bonnie's shoulders sink and her eyes flicker as Klaus smirked at her victoriously. I forgot how much a jerk he can be sometimes. "Thank you, Kol. We'll be in touch." He finalised, cutting the call before turning around. "So, Bonnie. How about that spell?"
Really Klaus? You're such an asshole.