Hello loves!
I don't have much to put here, other than I am sorry that there wasn't an upload yesterday, notes on why will be at the bottom of the chapter. But as always, I own nothing. Now let's get on with it!
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Aria groaned as she moved around in her bed, trying and failing to get rid of the constant ache in her chest. In the past week, her mind had been a mess of random words floating around that made no sense in any form and she'd had no clue what had happed.
At first, she'd been convinced that she was losing her mind because of the blackouts in her memory and the Grimoire that more and more writing was getting added to by the day – writing she still couldn't understand.
Until she'd seen Dahlias growing on the bushes outside her apartment, outside the Abattoir, in the graveyard, outside Evanna's house. Everywhere that she went, she'd see them.
Like it or not, she knew that Dahlia had woken up and had probably done something to her but the question was how. How had she managed to cast a spell on her without Aria's blood to do so? A spell of this magnitude would've required more power than Dahlia had, easily.
But… she hadn't been using her power. She'd been using hers and Freya's.
The witch had managed to twist Aria's thoughts against her, block out memories, torment her in her dreams and twist her against those she loved.
Her back suddenly arched and she couldn't supress the shout of pain that left her before she collapsed back down to the mattress, choking on the air she was inhaling.
At night. It only ever happened when she was sleeping but she couldn't just not sleep. She needed her strength to fight whatever spell Dahlia had cast on her. There was only one problem.
Her sister had gotten to Cami.
~*•°•*~
In the Compound, Aria and Kol chanted together whilst holding a small straw doll,
"Protéger sa scandalum subsisto..."
"...Se pa toi inquia subsisto l'écoulement..."
"...Subsisto venenatis impedit l'écoulement."
They put the doll down and looked at each other nervously,
"It's finished, but I'm worried it's not enough to protect Cami's body from Esther's magic." Aria worried.
"I might know a way to distract you from your troubled mind?" Kol suggested with a small smirk, eyes lighting up as Aria smiled slightly, grateful for the distraction from both worrying about Cami and worrying about herself.
"You can take this seriously, or I can lock you in a coffin like your brother Finn, if you prefer." Marcel said, walking into the room with a dark expression, eyes darting between Kol and his daughter, unamused.
"Oh, no. No, I'd prefer you to bugger off, because this spell needs time to cook.In peace." Kol replied, stressing the last part.
"Cami doesn't have time." Marcel stressed, "Esther can jump anybody into her body right now."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but she's not going to jump anybody. She's going to jump Rebekah, who just happens to be miles away. But, fair dues, Marcel, I think I'd be a bit testy, too, if my old ex was about to jump into my new ex. I think that would be a bit, uh..."
"...Awkward?" Cami suggested, walking over to them.
Kol shrugged, "I was going to say kinky, but-" He was cut off when Marcel growled and sped towards him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, angrily, Cami pulling him off of the witch before things could get any uglier.
"I appreciate the chivalry, Marcel, but he'll have an easier time protecting me if he's alive." Cami scolded as Marcel sighed in frustration. He turned back to Kol and glared at him in annoyance,
"Keep working." He demanded, taking another step towards Kol threateningly, "And stay the hell away from Aria after you've finished the damn spell." He left the duo and Kol watched him as he walked after Cami before turning around to Aria when she began speaking.
"What is it with you two?" Aria demanded, more curious than annoyed.
Kol shrugged, "Eh, it gets a bit old, playing odd-man-out in 'me own family. You know, Klaus, Rebekah, Elijah… they were always a party of three. No room for me at the table, but there always seemed to be room for Marcel." He sighed, watching as Aria began cleaning the herbs and salts from the table before changing the subject, "You know that diamond, the one that I showed you?"
Aria nodded.
"Well, that was the baby version. The one that we need to do the dagger spell, well, that has to be a lot bigger. A hundred years ago, I had it in my hand, and Marcel ratted me out to Klaus and they took it." His tone turned bitter, "He probably bloody well kept it."
A slow smirk curled on Aria's lips, "Then, let's steal it back. It's a good chance to snoop through dad's things."
Kol grinned widely, amazed expression on his face, "It's like you're in my mind, Little witch!"
Aria smiled widely and laughed.
~*•°•*~
"Well, well, well. There's a face I haven't seen in some time." Aria commented with a cheeky grin, spinning around on her heels with a framed photograph she'd found of Klaus, Rebekah, Kol and Marcel from 1914 in the bottom of a drawer. Kol took the frame from her hands and looked at it.
Kol smirked, "I was a lot better looking back then, wasn't I?"
Aria scoffed, "You wish." Kol only looked mildly offended and Aria changed the topic, "What about Rebekah? You never really talk about her."
Kol sighed and shrugged, "Well, there's not much to say, really. She was always their girl. There was one time, though, she did me a solid. Back in Christmas, 1914."
Aria hummed in understanding as Kol explained what sounded like the very bare minimum. She didn't comment. As she looked around the room after his explanation, her hands traced the dresser before she frowned as a drop of… something fell to the surface. Something red.
Eyes widening in alarm, her hand went up to her nose, her bleeding nose, and quickly wiped it away before Kol could notice.
Helping Cami was more important.
~*•°•*~
"I'd be happy to help!" Kol announced after Marcel told him the plan for Rebekah. Marcel's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"In exchange for what? From all the sneaking around today, you're clearly in need of something."
"If you want me to find a new body for Rebekah, I want the Fauline diamond you stole from me back in 1914."
Marcel laughed patronisingly, "And what do you plan to do with it?"
"Does it matter?"
"Well, it would matter to Klaus."
Kol smirked, "You see, I could fib here, but I want to be on the up about it." He took a beat, "I need a weapon I can use to protect myself against Klaus, and the diamond helps me make it." He quickly backtracked as Marcel's eyes narrowed further, "It's not to kill him! It's simply a matter of self-defence. Only to be used out of absolute necessity." Marcel reluctantly began to consider the deal as Kol began speaking again,
"It's a fair trade, Marcel. We get free of my whack-a-doodle mum, I acquire the means by which to defend myself against a volatile brother, should the need arise, and, uh, if all goes well, perhaps you and Evanna will let me near Aria without bodily harm." He smiled impishly and Marcel sighed, torn.
"So, should I call him back, or should you?"
~*•°•*~
"Done!" Kol announced, walking into the Compound dramatically, "As per your request. Miss Angelica Barker. Good cheekbones and a tummy you can bounce a quarter off! She will be Rebekah's new host body instead of Cami." He finished, stopping beside Aria who winced slightly at his volume.
"Who's Angelica Barker?" Davina asked curiously as Cami walked downstairs to join them.
"One of my vampire potentials. Had to turn her down. She was too lost." Marcel explained.
Cami glanced at them all nervously, "Does she know what's about to happen to her?"
"It's better when they don't know, love."
"Hopefully we won't have to use her." Marcel corrected.
"Hopefully. But, then, my mother is a wily and vindictive woman…" Kol hesitated slightly, "Which is why I've got to ask something else of you."
Marcel's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "You're already getting the diamond."
"Which I'm thrilled about." Kol promised, "But in order for me to help you, I need access to my mother's hourglass... which is in the Lycée. With my mother."
"So?"
"Well, I haven't been back in a while, and the only way she won't suspect me is if I bring back one of the things that I was sent to find."
"One of those things being…?"
Kol grimaced, "...The White Oak stake."
Marcel's eyes widened, "Are you out of your mind?" He asked incredulously.
"Kol!" Aria scolded.
"No, no absolutely not." Marcel said stubbornly, "What else were you sent to find?"
Kol went silent as did Aria, Marcel's eyes darted between them, "What? What am I missing?"
"I'm not taking her the other thing." Kol scoffed, finally looking up to Marcel.
"Well, what is it?" Cami asked.
Kol sent Aria a side glance, eyes warning her not to tell them anything. She ignored it, "Me. She wants me." She announced as Kol swore underneath his breath, "Apparently, I've picked up one too many traits from her darling sister. She's scared of Dahlia's power, therefore she's wary of me."
"Look, I've protected her this long against Mother. Giving her the White Oak stake is the only way she's gonna trust me and keep Aria safe at the same time! Besides, she doesn't want to kill them, she just wants to make sure that the weapon doesn't fall into the wrong hands. I swear, as soon as she's gone, I'll give it right back to Klaus."
Marcel scoffed, "Like hell you will. Deal's off."
"Kol!" A new voice shouted, "Whatever grudges you hold against me, we're doing this for the good of our family. Do I have your word that, for once, you will honour that?" Klaus asked.
"You have my word, Nik. Swear on the face of us all."
Klaus sighed, "I'll get the stake."
~*•°•*~
"I wooed her, I won her. It took a while, but in the end, she handed it to me. Might take a little while to get the witch herself but this is half of it at least." Kol explained to Esther as she examined the White Oak stake in the Lycée.
"When I didn't hear from you, I thought you might be in trouble." She murmured.
"Nope." He said, turning around and looking around the Lycée before heading towards the table and beginning to touch Esther's hourglass curiously, "No trouble. It's just hard to do espionage when you're calling mummy all the time." He paused a beat, "So, where's Finn? Is he off playing emperor to his merry pack of dogs?"
Esther sighed, "I'm afraid Finn may have fallen into the hands of your brothers. But, I've made a plan to assist him with that dilemma while I continue my search for Rebekah."
Kol hummed at her words, already knowing what she was doing before his eyes darted up to the door. He smirked,
"Oh, speak of the devil and the devil will come. Hello, sister." He said softly as Rebekah smiled,
"Kol. It really is you. I would know that smirk anywhere."
Esther turned at the sound of Rebekah's voice and seemed slightly surprised to see her as the vampire approached them,
"Hello, Mother. I believe you're offering a deal?"
~*•°•*~
"Kol will link this hourglass to Esther's. Ours will mirror hers." Aria explained, spreading salt, sand and herbs around an hourglass on a table in the courtyard to prepare for her and Davina's spell before the girl in question took over.
"When the last sand falls, Esther will try to jump her into you-" Davina began, looking to Cami before Aria took over,
"And that's when Davina and I will redirect the spell from you to Esther. It's meant to jam the signal just long enough to keep that kind of magic from working against anyone."
"If it works." Cami murmured anxiously.
"It'll work." Marcel promised, "When Rebekah attacks, Esther won't be able to jump her into you, or herself anywhere else."
"And we're sure Kaleb is on board?" Cami checked as Aria and Davina nodded, Marcel looking slightly less sure.
"He's on board. He's a thief and a liar, but, like Elijah, he doesn't give his word lightly."
His words did nothing to soothe Cami's anxiousness.
~*•°•*~
Esther began pouring cups of tea for herself, Rebekah and Kol to discuss Esther's offer before Rebekah scoffed,
"You can't possibly expect me to discuss giving up eternal life over tea." She pointed to a nearby shelf of wine bottles, "Give me some of that red over there."
Kol made an amused huffing noise as Esther smiled and headed to the shelf to get a bottle of wine, pouring them each a glass.
"Well, where's the sales pitch?" Rebekah sighed.
"I only offer what you already want." Esther said simply as Rebekah raised an eyebrow in question.
"And how do you presume to know that?"
"Elijah's happiest when there's order and music. Klaus, when he's the centre of attention and in control. But you, are my only child capable of unfettered joy." Esther handed her daughter her glass of wine, "And, you're happiest amongst humans. I've seen you yearn for that life. For love."
"End when am I happiest, then, Mother?" Kol questioned loudly as Esther rolled her eyes and turned around, setting her glass down on the table to look her son in the eye, unaware of Rebekah biting her thumb and dripping a single drop of blood into the glass.
"When you're doing as you're told!" She replied, holding up the tea tray and handing it to him so that he could put it away before she turned back to Rebekah.
"Our wishes are aligned in this, my daughter. Mine, to free you from this curse, and yours, to be human."
"I'd be giving up everything I've ever known for a memory of something I once was. Power for weakness. Strength for frailty. Eternal life for a brief human existence."
Esther squeezed her daughter's arm affectionately, "The choice is simple. Another thousand years of never having what you want, or a handful of years when you do."
Rebekah nervously glanced over to Kol, making eye contact with him before taking a deep breath and turning back to her mother, "Well, then. To the end of an era. I'm in."
Esther smiled, "Let us begin!"
Esther turned the hourglass and Kol sat up, casting a brief spell after Esther turned her back before she and Rebekah toasted their glasses.
~*•°•*~
In the Compound, the hourglass began pouring after Kol casts his spell on Esther's own hourglass. Aria, Davina, Marcel, Evanna and Cami watched it intently.
"It's working." Aria and Davina whispered simultaneously as Cami stood to her feet and began nervously pacing around the room.
~*•°•*~
In the Lafayette Cemetery, Esther, Rebekah, and Kol stood outside in front of an altar. Esther's hourglass sat on it, surrounded by salt and sand in a circle. Esther, with a glance to her two children, laid the White Oak stake on the end of the altar as Rebekah's eyes widened in fear,
The blood rushed from her face and her voice quivered as she spoke, "What the bloody hell is that doing here?" She demanded.
"As each of you comes to your senses and takes my offer, I will destroy your vampire bodies." Esther explained.
"Mother, you said you wanted the stake to protect them!" Kol protested in confusion.
"Yes, but not in their current bodies. Once they accept my offer, I will be righting two wrongs-"
"No!"
Esther ignored her daughter, "-Having brought this evil into the world, then having subjected my own children to it."
"No, that wasn't the deal! Stop the spell!" Rebekah shouted.
"The spell is already done! I prepared it to be locked in the moment I turned over the hourglass."
Kol looked over to Rebekah anxiously as the sand continued to pour through the hourglass.
"Mother, think this through." His sister began, "You gave birth to this body, you can't destroy it!"
"I am only destroying its flesh! Your beautiful soul will live on in the body of another. I have chosen well for you. A beautiful girl. Strong." Esther said.
"MOTHER! Stop the spell!" Klaus yelled from the roof of a nearby crypt before jumping off to stand next to Rebekah, "You and your traitorous son."
"Nik, I didn't know anything about it, I swear." Kol said anxiously.
Esther scoffed, "Oh, good. I'm glad you two boys are friends again. I did wonder what you'd been up to in your time away. Now, I know."
"Stop the blasted spell!" Klaus yelled through gritted teeth.
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
"Anything is possible." Klaus stepped in front of Rebekah protectively, "Take me instead."
"Nik, no!"
"If only you'd taken my offer when it was still mine to give! Unfortunately, you've left me no choice but to make a... deal... with Mikael." Esther murmured, voice faint towards the end.
"Mikael?" Rebekah breathed in horror.
"When Finn and Kol went missing, I needed a new ally." Esther said before looking to Klaus, "All he wanted was the right to kill you." Klaus' expression dropped and he turned away from them, overwhelmed, "Kol, I would ask you to deliver the stake to your father, but it seems your loyalties have been compromised."
"STOP THE SPELL, ESTHER!" Klaus demanded, spinning around to face his mother.
"No, it's okay, Nik. I can do this." Rebekah said as Esther scoffed.
"So, you're feeling murderous again. You should know, I've already chosen another body."
Kol's eyes darted towards the hourglass and he yelled to Klaus, "NOW!"
Klaus took an athame off of the alter and sped towards Esther, stabbing her in the neck with it. Esther's eyes widened before she fell to the ground, dead, just as the rest of the sand left the hourglass.
~*•°•*~
"Now!" Marcel yelled as Aria and Davina joined hands over the table and began to chant,
"Scen ta lum ves victas per vatis imparret. Scen ta lum ves victas per vatis imparret."
To their side, Cami began seizing up as Marcel rushed over to her, catching her before she fell,
"Cami?"
The hourglass smashed into thousands of pieces both in the Compound and the Cemetery and groups of people darted out of the way to avoid getting hit. Marcel looked over to Aria and Davina nervously, "Did it work?"
"We have no idea."
Klaus carried Rebekah into the Compound before lying her onto a sofa in the courtyard next to Cami who was laid in an armchair, Aria and Davina by her sides.
"Cami's not awake yet, either." Davina fretted to Klaus as Marcel rushed into the room anxiously.
"When she's up, we gotta get her out of the Quarter. She's not safe here. Someone busted Finn out!"
Klaus sighed, "My mother is using Mikael to do her dirty work now."
Before he could say anything else, Cami awoke with a gasp as everyone turned to her in concern, "...Camille?" Klaus asked hesitantly.
The blonde looked around the room wildly, almost like a caged animal before her eyes landed on Klaus, a reluctant smile making its way onto her face as she laughed tiredly, "I suddenly love that stupid name!" Aria laughed in relief and hugged her tightly, forcing back tears of relief.
"I'm okay, Aria." Cami whispered back, tightening her hold on the teenager.
Aria nodded weakly against the woman's shoulder, "I know."
She pulled back and looked at her friend, "Thank you."
The Harvest witch shrugged, a playful smirk appearing on her face, "I couldn't very well let you disappear, now could I? Whose else would I watch horror movies with?"
Cami smiled, "Yeah, Aria I think we need to stop doing that."
It only took a moment to respond before the witch smiled reluctantly, "You're probably right."
Aria startled when there was a sudden yell from her father across the room, turning around she frowned at the duo of vampires talking together, the Hybrid looking increasingly agitated.
"Please tell me that your mother's dead!"
"Rebekah and I took extra precautions." Klaus said ominously, "Esther is exactly where she needs to be."
~*•°•*~
In the Delphine tomb, Esther woke up with a sudden gasp just in time to see Klaus toss a blood bag onto the floor next to her. She groaned and her hand went up to her head in pain as Klaus crossed his arms and smirked at her,
"Hello, Mother." He murmured.
"What have you done?" She groaned, pushing herself up off of the floor slightly.
"You - who sold me to that butcher Mikael like I were nothing more than chattel - ask me what I have done?" Klaus scoffed, walking over to his mother as she sat up, hands shaking nervously, "I've done what every good son does, Mother. I've followed the example of my parents. You taught me exactly how I should treat you."
Esther looked around the tomb wildly, clutching her chest as she absentmindedly tried to get rid of the dull ache.
"You must be feeling a little twitchy right about now. It's what happens when you're in transition."
Esther looked back to her son before taking notice of the blood bag on the floor beside her, "No..." She muttered in horror, "That's not possible!"
"Oh, but it is! You see, you might have thought you were one step ahead of us, but the truth is, Rebekah was two ahead of you."
"The wine?" Esther asked breathlessly.
"You died with vampire blood in your system. It's a delicious irony, because, as you know, you cannot be both witch and vampire." Esther choked back a sob, "So, now, you can either be the thing that you hate the most, or you can be dead. Your choice. Which is more than you ever gave us." Klaus left the tomb and Esther, sprawled out on the floor, began to sob.
~*•°•*~
Eyes opened widely and a young woman suddenly woke up with a gasp on a bed inside an old, dusty room. She looked around wildly for a moment, not recognising her surroundings before she found a mirror. Her eyes widened further before she heard screaming and jumped off of the bed. She left the room and ran down the stairs toward the doors, desperately trying to break through. They wouldn't open.
"Let me out! Someone!" She continued pounding on the doors, before stopping in realisation, "Kol… Damn it!" She muttered furiously, flinching as she heard maniacal laughter from a nearby room.
"I'm not meant to be here."
She began pounding on the doors once more, "I'm Rebekah Mikaelson! I'm Rebekah Mikaelson! Let me out, I'm Rebekah Mikaelson!"
Rebekah was trapped inside the Fauline Mansion.
~*•°•*~
"Why are you in such a good mood?" Aria asked curiously as her and Kol walked through the Quarter towards the Fauline Mansion.
"Well for one, I've handed Nik the white Oak stake back so I can sleep peacefully tonight knowing he won't be coming after me. But… you remember how I said Rebekah had done me a solid back in 1914? Swore she hadn't told Klaus that I was taking the diamond back?" Aria nodded, "I was actually being a bit facetious." He waited a beat, "To put it simply, I've owed her one for a century. Today, I got to repay that favour."
Aria frowned but Kol smiled reassuringly, "Oh, don't worry, love, I'm not going to hurt my own sister. I didn't exactly prep Angelica Barker, either. I prepped someone else."
"What? Who?"
"Oh, it's a bit of a story. You see, Klaus didn't just punish me for stealing the diamond, he also punished my witch friends, locking them in the Dowager Fauline cottage. Over the decades it's become quite a catch-all for an assortment of odd birds of the witchy variety." Kol chuckled, "I'm sure Rebekah will be very comfortable in a prison created by Klaus."
Aria stopped walking and stared at him, wide eyed as her eyes flashed with worry for the Original vampire, "You didn't."
"Oh, I did." He pulled the larger Paragon Diamond from his pocket, "And besides, with Rebekah missing, Klaus will be occupied so we can finish what we started."
He held his hand out, the diamond placed in the middle of it, and a hopeful expression on his face. Aria didn't care. Slapping his hand away, she glared at him, "Seriously, Kol? She's your sister, she could be in danger-"
Kol cut her off, "Aria, she's perfectly safe. I swear."
"Mikaelson, that's not the point."
She scoffed and turned away from him, walking further into the darkness as Kol laughed disbelievingly, and rushed to keep up with her, reaching the witch easily enough and beginning to walk backwards when it became clear she wasn't going to stop,
"Little witch, why is it whenever you're mad at me you revert back to my last name?"
"Because it's easier to associate you with Klaus." Aria replied bitingly.
Kol let out a low whistle. Ouch. His sudden stillness afforded Aria the chance to walk away from him, but, just as he had done moments before, he caught back up with her. Blocking her path before she could turn the street corner, he searched her face for a trace of… something. Anything other than the blindingly obvious anger directed solely to him and not his brothers for a change. He decided right then and there that he didn't like it. It didn't suit her.
Well, the anger most certainly did. But when it was directed at him? No, he most certainly didn't like it, "Why?" He asked at last, both his and Aria's breaths coming out in short pants from the running either toward the other or away.
"Why what?"
"Why do you constantly deny that there's something here?"
"Here?"
Kol rolled his eyes, "Don't play dumb, Aria, it doesn't suit you."
Aria held her head just a little bit higher, "There isn't anything here."
"No?"
He arched a challenging eyebrow and reached out to her neck, fingers skimming the edge slightly and drawing out an unwitting hitch in her breath. He smirked but continued never the less, that wasn't the point he was trying to make. His fingers hooked on the silver chain and he tugged on it questioningly, not moving his gaze from her suddenly stony expression.
"Then what's this doing around your neck?"
Aria wasn't entirely sure what to do about the smug expression on his new face. Should she wipe it off? Her twitching hand certainly agreed, yet her brain was on an entirely different track.
Why was she wearing the necklace?
Oh.
Right.
She'd forgotten about that.
A smirk curled her lips before she scowled, "Because I can't figure out how to take the bloody thing off."
Genuine confusion replaced Kol's smug expression as his eyes darted between the locket and her face, "What do you mean?" He asked eventually.
"Whatever is in it doesn't let me touch it therefore I can't remove it."
The witch couldn't supress a laugh leaving him, even when Aria's eyes narrowed into slits.
Kol smiled at her, "Little witch, you never cease to amaze me." He reached into her hair and pulled the three pins out, watching as her hair tumbled down.
He paused for a moment, and the sudden change in his expression was instant. His eyes trailed the curls before he blinked once, twice and cleared his throat. He then tugged the chain off her neck, mindful not to touch the locket itself, and let it dangle from his fingers. Looking back down to the pins in his other hand, his eyes glanced over them before picking the sharpest one out and holding it in front of Aria's face almost teasingly, a single eyebrow raised.
"Did you honestly expect to be able to take the locket off – one with that much power in – whilst having another enchanted object on you at the same time? The Bennett Bloodline is powerful, Aria, and having part of one of the few objects Emily Bennett enchanted on your person is enough to disrupt the magic in that locket."
Aria still looked confused.
Kol sighed, "Emily Bennett – and the Bennett Bloodline – dabble in enchantments. Light magic. And it was light magic that enchanted the compass you took this pin from. However this locket…" His lip twitched up slightly, "Well let's just say it isn't exactly as bright as the sun."
Aria cocked her head to the side and took the locket back from Kol, absentmindedly placing it back around her neck, "Well what's in it?"
Kol grinned gently, placing the pins back in Aria's outstretched hand, "That, Little witch, is a question for our Freya to answer. I'd rather she not fry me to a crisp now that I've gotten a new model." He gestured to his new body.
Aria pocketed the pins and stared at the ground for a moment, before she looked back up to him, "You swear Rebekah's safe?"
Kol nodded completely seriously, "I promise." He briefly paused, "And since this is the best day I've had in the past two centuries, I've made a wish for you, Darling." He said softly.
Aria simply stared at him questioningly.
A fond smile appeared on Kol's face and he gently tucked a strand of hair behind Aria's ear, cocking his head to the side, "What is it about you?"
Aria blinked.
A moment of silence passed. In which Kol stared. And Aria blinked.
Until Aria sighed impatiently.
"For God's sake, Mikaelson."
She grabbed onto the scruff of his collar.
She pulled him down to her height.
And kissed him full on the mouth.
~*•°•*~
Hopefully there was enough build-up in the final scene! But when I tell you that I spent hours on this, I'm not kidding. It was the singular reason I couldn't upload yesterday. But anyways, thoughts on the kiss - and Kol's explanation about the Bennett witches - would be appreciated. Initially, I was going to have Kol kiss her first, but when I actually put two of my braincells together to realise that there was no way Aria wouldn't be the one to kiss him first, probably whilst completely pissed at him or contemplating/planning his second death. Ergo, this scene was born.
Follow, favourite, review or whatever the hell you guys want. Criticism is just as welcome as anything else :)
As Always, SecretMidnightRose