'I'm adrift at sea with no sign of land with you as my only anchor.'

They'd brought the crates of herbs back to the Martin's while they sorted through them. Together they got each jar labeled with both their generic name as well as their alternate witchy title (courtesy of Kol). Kol then set about writing out the purposes of each herb in a black leather journal for her. And despite her internal insistence that she needed to keep her distance from Kol, she couldn't help looking over his shoulder as she watched him write, curious as to the black ink spilling across the pages beneath his hand.

Bonnie had grown to understand the way her magic reacted around Kol a little better since their truce. Though she hadn't wanted to discuss it with Kol, it was too embarrassing to acknowledge out loud. But she now knew that that buzzing need to always be in his vicinity was the bond at play but the knowledge alone didn't make it any easier to ignore. Her magic left her uncomfortable and irritable when he wasn't around, as if protesting the mere distance between them.

"What?" Kol chuckled, finally acknowledging her hovering.

"Where did you learn to write like that? I can't distinguish it."

"I was taught to write in runic and latin as a child. And then of course each century has a different variation on cursive that you have to learn. So my natural handwriting ends up looking like an odd mash of a thousand years worth of handwriting styles if I'm not aiming for a particular style. Elijah leans more towards cursive, just as he prefers suits to jeans, very stuck in the past my brother."

"Hmm, I can see that," Bonnie muttered thinking of the older suited Mikaelson, she'd always thought the constant formal attire was a little odd, especially when compared with some of the more casual attires of his siblings.

Though perhaps it was more odd that the Mikaelsons had seemingly adjusted to this century so fast. Finn in particular who - according to Kol - had been daggered for nine centuries with no intervals of waking like the rest of them. Though Kol hadn't been particularly forthcoming on elaborating on just why exactly Finn had remained daggered unlike the rest of his siblings.

"How'd you do it? The constant adapting to the change in time periods." She asked after a moment's thought, moving away from Kol despite her magic's protests, under the guise of running her hand over the spines of different grimoires.

"Necessity more so than anything else," Kol answered casually.

He did that a lot when Bonnie made reference to his a thousand years of existence, that almost forcibly casual tone as if it would somehow lessen the weight behind his long, long lifetime. As if he was trying not to scare her off or overwhelm her. It was a bit late for that, Bonnie thought if that was his intention. She was bound to him by magic older than she could comprehend. Now all that was left was to understand.

"Our father was looking for us. We didn't have the luxury of stumbling through; we had to figure things out fast so as not to call attention to ourselves. And we quickly realized that our memory had been vastly improved by the spell that turned us into vampires. And our quick reaction times aren't just in relation to physical speed but mental times. It was easier for us to adjust as well as it being necessary." Kol shrugged, still writing out the different herb purposes as if the conversation wasn't happening at all.

She wondered if it had been as miserable for him as it sounded to her. She couldn't imagine waking in a world that was forever changed and not even being allowed the luxury of struggling to adapt because she was also living on the run from her own parent. The very parent that had made her what she was.

And then she realized something else. Kol had mentioned before that his siblings were the only constant he'd had in the thousand years of vampirism, he could rely on them being there when he awoke from the dagger. But that wasn't entirely true because she'd been there too. Well not her exactly, but her reincarnations. Not that Kol would have said as much, he seemed determined not to ruin their tentative truce by scaring her off with the truth.

Did it help? Kol had said the reincarnations didn't occur with any kind of logical frequency but did it help to know that at any point she might return to him. If only for a short time, he would have someone else to lean on outside of his fucked up family dynamic.

Was that why he'd offered to mentor her when he should have been handing over his family's coffin? He was the only link she had to these past incarnations but what if it wasn't just one way? The thought frightened her more than it should. That an Original vampire could be as dependent on her - a teenage witch - as she was on him. It wasn't the way things were supposed to go. But then again nothing had gone the way it was supposed for a long time now.

Kol snapped the journal shut as he finished, subsequently snapping her out of her thoughts with a jump.

"Are you gonna show me how to do glamors now?" She asked casually to cover for her reaction.

"Teach you." He corrected in amusement. "Can't exactly show you, darling." He grinned up at her as he slouched down in his chosen armchair.

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Teach me, show me, whatever. Wasn't the glamor thing the whole point in today's little road trip?" She asked as she settled on the floor.

She knew that wasn't entirely true; she knew that Kol's intention had been to distract whether he'd admit it or not. And from the way he raised a brow at her she thought he knew that too until he spoke.

"As flattered as I am, shouldn't you be getting home, little witch?" He nodded in the direction of the windows.

Bonnie frowned at him before turning to look out the windows only to realize night had fallen without her knowledge. She hadn't realized how much time had passed while in Kol's presence, a problem that was beginning to become an ongoing issue she noted. Her magic was so in tune with Kol that it had stopped her from noticing the change in flow in nature's magic as the moon rose.

"Oh, crap." She muttered as she scrambled to her feet to hunt down the bag that she'd brought with her.

She didn't realize Kol had risen from his seat until he appeared in front of her, her bag dangling from his finger as he regarded her with amusement.

"Thanks." She grumbled, embarrassment burning her cheeks as she took the bag from him barely looking at him from beneath her lashes.

She hefted the bag onto her shoulder before stepping around him as he turned sideways to let her pass. She stopped at the doorway though, before rushing off to her car in the dark. Kol was still watching her, she observed, perhaps waiting for something even.

"You'll teach me tomorrow?"

"Of course, you're not getting out of magic lessons that easily." She knew he was joking but she rolled her eyes regardless.

Just then Kol finished tidying up the herbs and flicked the light out.

"What did you do that for?"

"I'm not letting you walk to your car in the dark by yourself. In case you've forgotten, you left it in the woods, and Mystic Falls is full of monsters." He smiled but there was a sharpness to his gaze that suggested he wasn't to be argued with on this one.

But Bonnie wasn't one to be pushed around.

"I can look after myself." She told him as she narrowed her eyes at him in warning.

"I know." His were soft and tinged with awed respect. "But I can't be killed and my brother still has a bone to pick with you so let me help. Just this once. No one will think you're less capable, you know."

Before she might have considered his words patronizing but she'd come to realize that it was Kol's attempt at being genuine that conflicted with her modern ideals that often led to this misunderstanding. He had just come from the early 20th century where women still had chauffeurs after all.

But he had also hit the nail on the head with that comment, she shifted uncomfortably on the spot at the thought, Bonnie was used to being self-sufficient. Her parents were barely in her life and after her Grams' death and all the supernatural drama that marched through town on the regular, she'd had to put on a brave face as she regularly pushed herself past her limits. She couldn't risk asking for help or being perceived as vulnerable when there were monsters that would take advantage of that. She'd quickly learned that after the incident with Ben and Anna.

It would be nice to not have to look over her shoulder constantly though.

"Just this once." She agreed tentatively.

"Excellent."

~x~

Renata tossed and turned that night unable to sleep with the aching in her bones, something was wrong with her magic, she thought as she groaned in pain. She curled up into a ball trying to soothe the ache but it did little good. The pain wasn't of physical origin.

By the gods, where was Kol?

He'd gone to have dinner in his family's hut in the wake of Henrik's death but he had yet to return. Something was wrong; she knew it.

It had started when her magic gave a painful twang as if Kol had given a particularly strong yank on their joint souls. Causing Renata to gasp out at the sensation. The pain had since subsided to this ache she couldn't soothe. She should go after Kol she knew, but she could barely move. She had tried to stand after the initial pain but had collapsed on the floor instead. Her writhing magic made her unstable on her feet, weakness sink into her bones leaving her feeling frail.

It continued this way for a while until something shifted. The pain dispersed but the bond had altered. She couldn't feel Kol's magic, she realized with alarm. She could still feel Kol there but there was no answering call of magic anymore, it was gone.

What had happened?

~x~

Bonnie had gone to the grill before Matt's shift to work on their history project. It had been a week since everything had blown up with her friends, they'd been avoiding each other at school as a result. They'd just finished for the day and were packing up before Matt's shift when he spoke of it.

"Hey, Bon?" She hummed in response. "I know it's none of my business but if you need someone to talk to about all this Salvatore/Mikaelson nonsense, you know I'm here right?"

Bonnie turned to look wide-eyed at him, packing up forgotten.

"How'd you-"

Matt smiled weakly, "Caroline told me. Though she doesn't really seem to understand what's going on either."

"I'm sorry, Matt. I just didn't want to drag you into this you're the only one of us that really gets to have a normal life and I wanted that for you."

"I know and I appreciate it, Bon. But you shouldn't be alone in this. You don't have to fight everyone's battles just because you're a witch. I trust that you wouldn't do something to put your friends in danger, it's not the kind of person you are regardless of what the Salvatores say, that's bull. My only worry is for you." Matt told her sincerely.

Bonnie smiled, fighting back the tears that wanted to fall. She hadn't realized how unappreciated she felt or how bothered she was by the whole situation until Matt had laid it out.

"Thanks, Matt, but I'm okay."

"Look I gotta clock in but promise me you'll tell me if it gets too much or you find yourself in danger?"

"I promise." She smiled wetly.

"Good." He returned the smile.

~x~

A hand shot out from the dark to grasp at Kol's sleeve. Kol looked up from the hand on his arm to the perpetrator.

"Countess?" Kol dipped his head in a bow.

"What did you do to me?" Marie asked, eyes wide as she stared at him dazed and confused.

Kol looked back the way he came before shooting her a tight, wary smile.

"I'm afraid I don't understand my lady."

"Stop that, it's Marie." She snapped instinctively, closing her eyes in irritation. "I keep having dreams about you and some woman called Renata that looks like me. I want to know what you did. And how it's possible." She told him firmly stepping into his personal space, she wasn't letting him run from her this time.

The blood had drained from Kol's face at Renata's name, a peculiar sight as Marie had never seen anything to suggest that Kol was afraid of anything. Except perhaps her.

"I do not know, my lady," Kol answered sharply, shaking his arm free of her grasp.

"Please do not treat me for the fool. I know when my dreams are being tampered with, what I want to know is why?"

"I do not think you a fool but I cannot answer your questions because I do not know. This is only the second time it's occurred, I do not have all the answers. My mother-in-law sought to save my departed wife's soul and she told me little more than that."

"Renata, she was your wife?"

"Yes," Kol answered through gritted teeth as though pained to admit as much.

He wasn't looking at her, Marie realized. He never did when they were alone as if the mere sight of her aggrieved him. She supposed it would if she looked like his dead wife.

"What caused it? The dreams."

"Eye contact I believe."

"That's why you were avoiding looking at me. Isn't it?" Her tone was harsh but she was done with Kol avoiding her. She had duties that she had to attend to, she couldn't be wasting time chasing after him. Which he was probably banking on.

"Among other reasons." His voice was as tight as her's was sharp, neither wanted this to be happening and yet it would seem it were unavoidable, that the fates had other plans for them than their personal comforts.

"Can you stop them? I haven't been able to sleep, Kol. I will be no use at court like this." She pleaded with him now, desperation clinging to her words as she stepped toward him.

For every step she took forward Kol took one backward, whether out of propriety or out of grief she now wasn't certain.

"I don't know. I'll see what I can find." He told her sincerely, finally meeting her gaze only to drop it immediately afterward as if even that brief glance was too much for him to bear.

"Thank you." She sighed in relief.

Kol nodded stiffly before hurrying away from her. He was always doing that it would seem, at least now she knew it was for good reason.

~x~

Bonnie was not allowed to sleep in the next weekend either. Not because of any emergency or even because of lessons with Kol, but she'd simply been unable to sleep. For once it wasn't her dreams that were the issue but her worry for her friends that had made her restless in a way that her special tea hadn't been able to fix. She hadn't seen Kol since last Sunday for their glamors lesson, wary that she was being watched by the Salvatores at the very least, if not the others too.

With nothing else to do and being unable to sleep, she'd taken to the garden to meditate, focusing on the nature around her and on connecting to it. Trying to ignore the disconnect she felt towards her magic since Kol's arrival. She hadn't realized there was anything wrong with her magic until she'd seen just how right her magic could feel with Kol by her side. Being away from him just made it more apparent just how wrong things had been before and it terrified her.

Which was another reason why she was avoiding him. Not that she could if she really wanted to. Kol wouldn't allow it. She'd realized he had a suspicious tendency to show up in places she was hiding on the odd occasion that she'd tried to avoid him, rare though it had been since their truce, sometimes she just needed a moment to breathe. He'd never pushed in those moments but just his presence alone had confirmed something to her in those moments.

She couldn't escape Kol. Neither he nor her magic would allow her to do so, and as time passed the notion of doing so became less and less unpleasant. What exactly did she have to run back to?

Her friends - bar Matt - still weren't on speaking terms with her. They hadn't spoken to one another in a week since things had gone down at the Salvatores. Not that Bonnie hadn't tried.

Bonnie had hoped to speak to Elena and Caroline before history class to try and explain things to them. It felt wrong to be on the outs with the two girls she'd been friends with since they'd been in diapers. But she hadn't seen them yet today. Just as she was heading towards Alaric's classroom though she heard them.

"I can't believe Bonnie would do this to us." That was Elena's voice, Bonnie realized as she stopped behind the wall before they could see her. "I mean how many times have the Mikaelsons tried to kill me? Why would she side with them?"

"Okay but technically Kol hasn't tried to kill any of us." Caroline tried to argue halfheartedly.

"That doesn't matter Care! Klaus has tried to kill everyone I care about. He did kill Jenna! And it was just a couple of weeks ago that he tried to have Jeremy killed. He turned Tyler and chased him out of town. And Rebekah has tried to kill me repeatedly and has some weird obsession with your life."

"Again, Kol didn't do any of that."

"But it's his family. It's only a matter of time before he does the same, hurts someone we love, we can't trust her if she's going to choose them over us."

"Elen-"

"No Caroline, I've made my choice and so has Bonnie."

Bonnie hadn't stayed to listen to anymore after that. It didn't matter what the reality was, it seemed Elena had made her mind up about Bonnie's actions before she even knew them.

Bonnie couldn't understand how Elena could be so resolute in her decision to cut Bonnie out of her life after all that she'd done for her but if that was how one of her oldest friends felt so be it. She'd tried to talk to Caroline on her own as it had seemed from that conversation that perhaps the blonde was more open to hearing her out. But that hadn't gone well either…

"Caroline!" Bonnie called when she spotted the blonde a couple of paces away between classes. She hurried over to her desperate to speak with her as this was the first time she'd seen her without Elena.

Caroline spun around at the sound of her name, gaping wordlessly at Bonnie when the young witch arrived panting in front of her. She looked like she was trying to say something.

"I know what this looks like, but please let me explain Care." Bonnie pleaded.

Caroline finally stopped gaping to nod at her but just as Bonnie took a deep breath to explain a hand appeared on Caroline's shoulder and the subsequent breath rushed out of her again. Caroline looked over her shoulder to see that it was Elena standing there glaring at Bonnie. Caroline shot Bonnie an apologetic smile as Elena tugged her away.

Bonnie wasn't so hopeless as to believe that this current state would sustain forever. Their friendship was stronger than a little spat but she couldn't deny that the stakes had never been quite so high. Even when she'd turned her back on a newly turned Caroline they'd eventually found their way back to each other. They just needed time, that was all. That didn't mean Bonnie had to be happy about the current distance between them.

It was easy to forget sometimes that they were only high schoolers, not even adults yet, with the way the whole town seemed to weigh on their shoulders with every supernatural threat that wandered in. But they were only teenagers. They were bound to have petty squabbles because that's all they were. It would all work out in the end.

Or so she hoped. Right now, she needed to focus on her meditating though.

~x~

Renata had been stunned at first when she'd learned what had become of her husband and his family. But even if Quetsiyah's missing spell hadn't been confirmation enough, the sight of her in-laws ravaging the villager certainly had been.

She stood there gaping at the sight of Elijah tearing open Bjork's throat for several moments. Frozen to the spot in fear at such a vicious display. She'd only been to the market, she mused dazedly to herself. Perhaps she should have gone to the forest to stockpile healing herbs instead, as they would surely be needed if this was the current state of the village. Though she supposed the village mattered little if she was to die, judging by the way Elijah was now turning to face her. Face slick with the blood of their neighbor and with the black eyes and fangs of a monster.

Renata's heart pounded fearfully in her chest as her breath quickened, but still, she couldn't get her muscles to cooperate and move. She was going to die frozen like a statue it would seem.

But just as Elijah took a step towards her she felt arms around her waist and a gust of air as she suddenly found her surroundings blurred around her. When she was still once more she found herself gasping in a familiar clearing. She looked up to find Kol staring down at her in concern. There was none of the monstrosity present on his face that she'd seen on Elijah's.

"-ena? Are you okay, Rena?" She realized that Kol had been speaking for a while now, the words only just registering with her.

She nodded numbly, her heart starting to return to a normal pace. Even though rationally she knew she should be just as afraid of Kol as she was of Elijah. But she couldn't quite muster up the reaction. Kol was her husband and he wouldn't hurt her. The bond wouldn't allow him to even if he wanted to but he didn't look like he even wanted to, none of the murderous hunger that had been apparent on Elijah was visible on Kol's face.

"Are you?" She asked when her ability to speak returned to her.

Kol laughed in bemusement, "My brother almost took a chunk out of your throat, and you're asking if I'm okay?"

"I haven't seen you in days and…" She trailed off, uncertain whether or not to address the unspoken between them. "I felt your magic leave."

Anguish flashed across Kol's face momentarily before he masked it.

"Did it hurt? I didn't know whether you'd feel it or not."

Renata stared at him in bewilderment, "You lost your magic, were changed by dark magic and you're asking me how I feel about it?"

Kol shrugged, "I've been worried about you when I couldn't be there for you. I could feel your panic and I couldn't do anything about it."

"I was worried about you. I wanted to help you through it, I didn't want you to be alone."

Kol smiled wanly at her. "I haven't been alone, I've had my family. They seem to be struggling with the transition more than I."

"But why? What happened?" She'd drifted closer seemingly without knowledge, the bond tugging them together now that they were finally together again. Starved for connection after so long apart.

"I don't know, they seem to be struggling with the hunger. I think the soul bond is keeping me sane. But then again you've always had that effect on me." He grinned cheekily but given their current discussion Renata couldn't find it within herself to return the carefree gesture.

The village was in danger because of Esther's meddling, the consequences in the unforeseen hunger of her children and husband, had descended like a plague upon them. Leaving only Kol with his mind intact. But for how long? How long could the soul bond keep his hunger at bay before he too ravaged the village?

It wouldn't be long before another villager was killed before the healers could get to them. Finn had already torn through a fair few villagers, more so than any of his siblings. And what would happen then? How long until there wasn't a village left to heal? All the healers attacked before they could help.

And if Kol's new predatory instincts remaining dormant relied on the soul bond remaining intact then she would need to stay alive. The entirety of his sanity and humanity lay in her hands, dependent on the continued beating of her fragile mortal heart. It was a burden she hadn't expected when they'd formed the bond. It was almost too much to ask of her. To avoid death so as to keep from releasing another predator on the village. It was such impossible thinking that had led Esther to the dark magic that now haunted their village. To avoid death was not an option nature would allow.

"Rena look at me," Kol spoke softly as his hands moved to cradle her face carefully, weary of his new strength.

She lifted her gaze to meet his, as one of her own hands flew up to clutch at his wrist, the unfamiliarly slow beat of his pulse helping to ground her amidst her worry. Whether he sensed her growing panic through their bond or it was evident on her face she didn't know, but she was grateful all the same.

"It's going to be okay." He told her sincerely. "We survived the wolves, you'll survive this too. But I want you to go back home, whether to ours or your family's, it doesn't matter, just get inside. My family won't be able to get in and you'll be safe until we can figure something out." She started to shake her head in refusal when he interrupted, "I'll be by to visit you, I promise, but I won't allow you to come to harm at my family's hands."

"And if there isn't a solution? If there is no more taming the hunger than there is taming of the wolves? What then?"

Kol sighed, "Then we can't stay here. None of us. Not my family nor us. We'll leave just as we always planned. But I need you to stay safe until then."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

~x~

Kol had first suggested a truce with Bonnie in the hopes that at the very least, she'd grow to despise him a little less, and in return, he could keep an eye on the progression of the spell in case things took a turn for the worst. Ancient spells were fickle and any fighting or intervention on Bonnie's part could turn the spell against her and that was the last thing he wanted for her. Because that was where things got messy.

But truthfully he'd lucked out with this whole mentor/mentee dynamic they currently had. He had gotten to be in her presence far more than he'd previously assumed would be permitted. And even the flames of her hatred seemed to have abated somewhat. A success in Kol's book.

But it hadn't been an entirely smooth road. It seemed the young Bennett witch frequently misinterpreted his intentions. He'd quickly realized that she often took his smiles to mean he was patronizing her which was not the case. Despite what Bonnie believed, Kol genuinely enjoyed being in her presence. Even when she was yelling at him.

So he'd tried to reign in the amusement, tried to stick with the smirks that she seemed to find less mocking than his smiles for whatever reason. She didn't seem to believe he was capable of softer, more genuine feelings and he honestly couldn't fault her for that. There were whole decades of his immortality that he hadn't been capable of such emotion, there being a jagged chasm in her absence where such emotions should have been. But he could also tell that Bonnie did not want to hear that.

He was trying his best, he didn't often succeed, truth be told but he was trying.

He hadn't told her all there was to know about the bond or the spell yet, so many aspects of it eluded him when he tried to remember it all - and there was a lot, but mainly he hadn't known where to start. Bonnie didn't seem overly eager to discuss it, intimidated and frightened by the mere notion of it that he hadn't wanted to bring it up only to scare her off.

One aspect he definitely had forgotten to tell her about was the whole proximity issue, he realized one morning as he was lying on the grass of Bonnie's front lawn, staring up at the sky.

"Kol? What are you doing here?" He couldn't see her from where he was but that was definitely Bonnie coming out of the house he had been watching over.

Damn, he'd been spotted, ah well.

"Well I went for a drive after pissing Nik off and I found myself here. Figured I'd keep watch while the Salvatores are likewise pissed." He drawled lazily as if he hadn't just admitted that he had no impulse control when it came to ignoring the needs of the bond.

Because he knew Bonnie wouldn't cotton on to that, she still couldn't see beyond the monster to the equally dangerous man. She would expect some kind of angle, she was used to people using her because of her magic so that was what she'd come to expect. He didn't often use that knowledge to his advantage but the young witch was easy to read after a thousand years observing humanity.

"So what, you've appointed yourself my guard dog?" He still couldn't see her, standing just out of his view as she was, he had half a mind just to sit up so he could look at her.

"If you like." He shrugged.

"Well can you do it later? I've got school and I don't need my neighbors passing judgment because you've decided to take a nap on my lawn." At least she sounded more amused than annoyed now.

In a flash he was stood upright before her, flashing her a charming smirk.

"Excellent, I'll drive you darling."

"I know you're outdated, so this may come as a shock to you, but I don't need a chauffeur Kol."

He fought back the amused grin that wanted to plaster itself across his face at her teasing - a sure sign that she didn't hate him quite so much anymore - and instead focused on trying to convince her.

"Oh come on, where's the harm in it? You can focus on whatever homework Rebekah keeps complaining about while I drive."

"Okay, but how am I supposed to get back home after school?" Bonnie drolled, already walking in the direction of her car.

"I'll pick you up," Kol said simply, he didn't understand why this was so complicated.

He wanted to spend time with her and make sure she was safe. And she needed to get to school. It was the best of both worlds honestly.

Bonnie froze then, turning to regard him with furrowed brows for reasons he didn't understand. What had he said that was so perplexing? It made perfect sense to him. Had he made some kind of error, stumbled through some sort of social decorum he wasn't aware of?

"You're going to pick me up from school?" She asked, quirking a brow.

"Why not? Then the Salvatores can't bother you after school. So really if you say no you're preventing me from fulfilling my guard dog/don't let Bonnie get killed by the supernatural duties."

Bonnie sighed, "You're not going to drop this are you?"

"Afraid not, darling."

"Fine, you win but you better not make me late to class."

Bonnie tried to study for all of about 5 minutes once they got going, before she gave up. Kol was focused on trying not to crash because while he absolutely could drive, he'd never been all that concerned about crashing before what with being an immortal, but Bonnie certainly wasn't. And that was not a risk he was willing to take so he needed to focus as it still wasn't quite second nature to him yet.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." He responded, aiming for nonchalant and disinterested. It was easier to act the part of an arrogant vampire when his entire being wasn't keyed into one individual. At one point he'd hated the vulnerability of being tied so intrinsically to a mortal. But after so many decades of unquenchable bloodlust, the alternative was a nice change of pace.

"What anchors the reincarnation spell? I mean it must be something powerful for it to still be in effect a thousand years later so what is it?"

That wasn't what he'd been expecting but it explained her tentative phrasing, she still didn't seem comfortable referring to the spell presently in effect. He should have known it was going to come up sooner or later he supposed.

"It's anchored by the soul bond and powered by my own immortality." He answered simply, more focused on the turn he was taking than his response. Besides casual straight to the point responses worked best for Bonnie, it allowed her to focus on the answers she was being given without her emotions getting the better of her.

"It's powered by your vampirism?" She questioned skeptically.

Kol was a little concerned by how little she seemed to know about her magic if he was being honest with himself. It seemed she'd only learned what had been useful in helping her friends. And that while her Grams had been alive she'd purposefully steered away from things that might get her in trouble - like channeling a vampire.

"Vampires are magical beings, magic is literally woven into their being, they can't access it but it's there. The older a vampire is the stronger that magic is as it's had longer to fester. As a former witch and an Original, I make for a decent magical battery for such spells. You never tried to channel a vampire?" He couldn't help but add as he turned to look at her in amusement.

Bonnie seemed to react more passionately to his attempts to irate than to his more passive attempts to beguile. He'd decided early on that he preferred her more genuine reactions when she couldn't mask the way she reacted to him in moments of irritation and did his best to coax them out of her.

She scowled at him as she responded to his jab, "Can't say I've had all that much experience with channeling anyone."

"Sorry, darling." He raised his hands momentarily in surrender. It was a delicate line that he had to maneuver but he knew when to leave well alone.

Bonnie rolled her eyes but turned to look out of the window instead.

"I thought Ayana didn't know about the soul bond?"

"She didn't to begin with but she was an experienced witch; she would have recognized that the barrier spell on the caves hadn't gone as planned. From there it wasn't exactly difficult to figure out."

Bonnie hummed in thought at his response but said nothing more. He briefly worried about what had led to this particular concern in the first place. He supposed she was still trying to find a way to undo the spell, he shouldn't have been surprised she'd proven herself to be incredibly stubborn but he would deny that the thought pained him.

"But the soul bond requires both parties to be living, right? So surely it should have broken with Renata's death?" It seemed she wasn't finished, much to Kol's chagrin, it was not his most preferred conversation topic after all. Who wanted to rehash the circumstances and later consequences of their spouse's death after all?

He sighed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he thought of the best way to explain what had happened in that period between him dying and Renata dying. Because truthfully it shouldn't have happened and it hadn't happened again since then between any other bonded couples. A one in a million freak accident that couldn't be replicated.

"Generally speaking, yes, one party dying would shatter the bond. But the bond is built off of our shared magic. When I transitioned I lost my magic first, then died. Meaning that instead of breaking the circuit with my death it merely… went offline." He attempted to explain. "I no longer had my own magic to respond with but I was still made of magic so the bond sustained through the transition despite my death. When Renata died that should have been the end of it. But because the bond had shifted with my transition and was thus offline when she died it didn't exactly go down that way.

"To continue the metaphor it was like introducing a switch into the circuit. Before the transition, it was a closed circuit that was constantly running, battery, bulb, wires, and whatever. Losing my magic introduced a switch that meant that magic didn't always flow through the circuit. So when the battery essentially died it didn't matter because the circuit was open and magic couldn't flow anyway. When Renata died and the bulb broke it didn't destroy the bond either because magic couldn't flow constantly anymore. Because of that Ayana was able to utilize the bond to anchor the reincarnation spell."

Bonnie was quiet for a moment only frowning at him as she considered his words.

"So essentially the switch is thrown and the circuit is reactivated every time the memories are activated?"

"Essentially yes."

"But doesn't that mean the bond - or the bulb -" She rolled her eyes at her use of his metaphor, "Breaks every time a reincarnation dies?"

Kol hummed, not willing to admit to much more than that. He didn't really want her to know that he'd felt the breaking of the soul bond occur several times over, that he'd experienced that agony and breaking of his psyche repeatedly over his millennium of immortality. It wasn't a vulnerability he was generally willing to disclose, but he couldn't deny her the answers she sought. It was as much her history as it was his. She had a right to know.

"You've experienced a soul bond breakdown a dozen times?" She asked incredulously.

"I don't know that it was a dozen." He dismissed breezily, "And I wasn't always awake for it."

He could see Bonnie gaping at him from his peripheral but he didn't turn to acknowledge her as he pulled into the school car park, far enough away that her friends wouldn't spot her as he knew that had been the cause of part of her hesitation originally. He didn't know what she'd read about soul bonds and he was still determined not to scare her off with painful truths. Though he wondered if it would even matter if he did admit to it. Would she care that a monster such as he had experienced a modicum of what he deserved?

"Told you you wouldn't be late." He told her, throwing a smirk in her direction in an attempt to knock that shocked expression off her face. The shock he could handle but the glimmer of grief in her eyes was another thing.

"Fuck I've still got to go to class." She murmured in realisation as she turned to look out at the school parking lot.

Evidently, she'd forgotten what had led to them both being in the same car as each other amid such revelations. It was part of why he didn't urge her to ask him about the reincarnations and everything it encompassed. It wasn't the most pleasant of conversation topics as it went anyways nor was it something that could be brought up casually without time to process.

Bonnie turned to look back at him with a pleading expression.

"You'll pick me up later?"

"Of course darling." He smiled easily as though he hadn't just been talking about his wife's death. It was easier like this, easier to pretend that nothing had happened than to linger. Lingering was how wounds became infected.

Bonnie rolled her eyes with something like amusement, "Can't believe I'm getting rides to school from an Original…"

Kol was certain now that he'd missed some kind of etiquette here. Well, bugger, he thought to himself.

"What's wrong with that?" He asked, trying to brush the realization off.

"Don't you have plans for world domination or something to preoccupy yourself with?" She teased.

Kol scoffed, "That's Nik, thank you very much, darling."

"Sure it is." Bonnie snorted, pushing the door open, "See ya later."

"Looking forward to it!" By the gods did he wish that wasn't as true as it was.

~x~

Bonnie had hoped that learning what anchored the spell between her and Kol when she'd woken to the surprise of him lying on her front lawn, would at the very least give her some answers as to how to break the spell but alas. All she had was more questions. If the spell was powered by Kol's vampirism and anchored by the soul bond then it seemed highly unlikely that they'd ever be able to break it.

At least it seemed that Kol had been telling the truth about that. He didn't know how to break it, and it quite possibly couldn't be broken it would seem. It didn't fill her with a lot of hope if she was being honest with herself. She'd yet to find anything on how to break a soul bond either, beyond the usual. A soul bond could only be broken by the death of one of the bonded individuals. But this was a unique case that had no precedent to base it off of. Bonnie really was flying blind here.

Perhaps it was better to just move on from the idea. Other than the dreams she'd experienced very few ill effects of the spell, especially now that her new tea kept the exhaustion at bay. But still, she couldn't help but rebel at the idea of not being entirely in control. It wasn't what she was accustomed to. She couldn't give up when she could still stand to fight.

Worse still was the way she felt herself softening towards Kol. The notion that if he hadn't been an Original vampire when he'd entered her life, she might have fallen for him, lingered in her peripheral thoughts constantly. It was the only thing that kept her from falling into this comradery he offered with ease some days. The knowledge that he was an ancient, bloodthirsty monster.

It hadn't always been this difficult to remember - vampires were monsters, it was that simple - that she began to worry about her morals. What did it say about her that she could so easily forget? What would her Grams think if she knew?

But really was it all that surprising when one of her best friends was also a vampire? Hadn't she ignored her morals when she'd accepted Caroline as a vampire? And later Stefan and Tyler too? Did the fact that she allowed Damon to keep breathing also mean that she'd abandoned her morals?

She was supposed to be the good witch. Her friends may have labeled it as her being judgmental, but she had held firm in her morals knowing that her conscience was clear and her stance just. Those that fed on humans were evil; it was that simple. Or it had been. Before she'd started seeing the Mikaelsons as humans - literally - and started to realize that they'd been like Caroline once too. Vampirism wasn't something that they'd chosen. Or even wanted, if Rebekah's insistence on living out a generic teen life was anything to go by.

It shouldn't be complicated and yet it seemed to become increasingly so, the more she learned about the supernatural.

Crap, she hadn't done her arithmetic homework before class as she'd intended, she realized as she hurried through the school corridors. Well that's what obsessing over reincarnation and immortals got you, she mused.

She sighed to herself before dutifully heading off to math class, excuses already bubbling on her tongue.

~x~

Bonnie had thought that Kol picking her up from school like he was a dutiful boyfriend might have felt weird, especially in light of her earlier ruminations. But the young Mikaelson hadn't seemed to understand her hesitation, the connotation behind his suggestion lost on him, that Bonnie had quickly realized that it was like most things with Kol. He was a thousand-year-old vampire and so was occasionally inclined to act old-fashioned. He didn't see it the same way that she did.

And as such, she was able to relax much more on the way back from school than she had that morning. She didn't bring up their conversation from this morning, not wanting to revisit the realization that Kol had experienced the breaking of a soul bond repeatedly throughout his time as an immortal. And neither had he. It was as if it had never happened in the first place.

But the realization had cemented something else in Bonnie's mind. If there was a way to break the reincarnation cycle, surely Kol would have done it by now. She'd read about how horrifically traumatic the shattering of a soul bond could be, most didn't live through the aftermath whether by choice or by consequence of the sheer destruction of the bond breaking. For Kol to have experienced that several times over and the spell still be in place, there must be no way to break the spell. After all, he had greater knowledge of magic than she. He would know a lost cause when he saw it.

She supposed she better come to terms with that. But still, the thought lingered, that every spell has a loophole.

~x~

The castle was rumbling beneath her again. She'd been moved from the cell that the Brotherhood had thrown her in, to one of the bedrooms. But she didn't feel comfortable on the sprawling bed, preferred the solid presence of the stone, reassuring beneath her. The tremors were getting worse. As was she.

The steady meals hadn't helped with the frailty that now seemed woven into her bones. Hadn't helped her to relax in the company of her hosts either. It was their fault the Brotherhood was in Tuscany, to begin with. It was their fault the vampire population had been stirred into a frenzy. It was their fault her mother was dead.

It hadn't taken her long to figure out who the vampires that had vanquished the Brotherhood were exactly. Who else but the Original vampires themselves?

Her most frequent guest was Kol, he came to check on her the most but he was more detached than he had been when they'd first met. He claimed to have been a witch before turning so was the most equipped to help her and that was the reason behind his visits. Solavita suspected there was more to it than that. More than he was saying at any rate.

The castle shook again and as it did so the door to her room burst open.

"Solavita?" It was Kol, of course, it was.

He was across the room in a matter of seconds, scooping her off of the floor and onto the bed with ease when he found her. His touch seemed to calm her magic minutely, the rumbling shifting to fine tremors in response.

"The bursts are getting closer together," Kol noted out loud. "How do you feel?"

There had been days between magic bursts when they'd first started and now they were happening several times a day.

"Like my magic is trying to tear me apart." She drawled in a deadpan, how did he think she felt? "When are you going to tell me what's happening to me?"

Kol hesitated in his movements of checking her temperature and pulse at her question. At first, she'd absently wondered where he'd learned to do so if he'd lived with healers before. Now it was merely part of the routine and she no longer cared for anything beyond living another day. Not that she had much to live for at this point.

"I don't know what's happening to you." He finally answered as he moved away from her.

The tremors were starting to subside entirely by this point.

"I know you went to talk to Angelsia, please I need to know what she said."

"She didn't say much, she doesn't understand what's happening either." She opened her mouth to argue once more when Kol continued, smoothly cutting off her argument before she could even make it. "But she believes it may be the result of an altered old soul spell that was performed before your conception. And without the requirements of the spell being met your soul is becoming untethered."

Solavita was silent for a few moments as she processed this. She could hear Kol moving around the room setting things to rights in the wake of the latest magical burst, while she was lost in thought. She finally had the answers she'd wanted and feared with equal measure, and loathed as she was to admit it, it was worse than she'd imagined.

Old soul spells were no small feat, the sacrifice needed alone was often enough to deter witches from such a monumental spell especially given its slim success rate. The fact that one had been performed - likely on her bloodline - with additional loopholes, spoke of the tenacity and determination of the witch to preserve. Only now it would be for nothing as Solavita was surely to die.

"I suppose my magic really is trying to tear me apart then." She commented finally, recalling her earlier words. "Is there anything that can be done?"

"I'm not sure," Kol spoke haltingly as if he was afraid of the answer. "We've got witches looking into it but…"

"It's not looking good? That's why they took my eyes, isn't it?" She laughed bitterly.

"It's highly doubtful that the Brotherhood knew anything of your condition." Kol denied.

He was closer to the door now. Solavita would wager that he was attempting to run from this conversation so she spoke up once more to halt him in his tracks.

"Except," She started waiting for the moment that Kol froze, "They were created by another of my bloodline just as this spell was cast on my bloodline. And they were adamant that I in particular was a vampire sympathizer." She paused again, allowing her magic to reassure her that Kol hadn't made a dash for it before continuing. "Which leads me to believe that your family was involved in the original spell that was cast."

Kol cleared his throat, though the words were still hoarse when he spoke. Sounding almost strangled as though he had to choke them out.

"That's quite an assumption darling. Now if you'll excuse me I need to make sure the rest of the castle is still intact." And with that, he fled the room with such urgency that Solavita was certain that she'd hit the nail on the head. Now she could only hope to uncover the truth before she inevitably succumbed to the death that awaited her.

~x~

Bonnie found herself frequently lost in thought these days, her dreams gave her much to ponder on that she was often mentally distant from her surroundings. She'd briefly wondered if it was a side effect of the spell rather than just her own recently developed distracted nature. But the truth of the matter was that she simply had a lot on her mind. Most of which revolved around Kol, unfortunately. Though that wasn't all that surprising as she was slowly coming to the realization that that had been the case for every one of her incarnations that had known Kol.

He was the lighthouse amongst a tumultuous sea that kept them grounded, whether they wanted it or not, he was there. Giving them the answers and knowledge that they would be lost without. A common fixture that they could rely on, even against their better judgment. And it did go against Bonnie's better judgment to rely on a vampire for anything but there was no one else who understood her plight better than Kol.

It didn't escape Bonnie's notice that this arguably worked in Kol's favor. Especially as it seemed he had neglected to explain things to his siblings. Whether with this exact intent in mind or not, she was reliant on him for the answers she couldn't get anywhere else. Not that she particularly wanted to get answers from the rest of the Mikaelsons either, but it was a detail she couldn't ignore when she found herself slipping.

This whole mess worked in Kol's favor. Aside from the whole re-experiencing the breaking of the soul bond thing. She still hadn't been able to wrap her head around that piece of information. Couldn't figure out how that piece of the puzzle worked into the whole scheme of things. It didn't quite seem to fit. Why would anyone willingly put themself through that when the alternative was that only Bonnie's incarnations suffered? Bonnie knew how the Mikaelsons loathed vulnerability, so why would Kol actively invite it into his life? She was missing something here. She couldn't quite figure it out. But she would. Eventually.

Just then her locker slammed closed in front of her. Bonnie jumped at the action, unaware that she had been staring into her open locker for some time now. She turned to face the perpetrator and felt a scowl immediately find its way onto her face in response.

"Bonnie, just the town witch I was looking for." Rebekah smiled sweetly at her but it was fake and calculating as Klaus'.

"I'm the only witch in town, Rebekah." Bonnie deadpanned, already tired of the girl's antics. She was already berating herself for getting caught zoned out, especially by Rebekah of all people, she didn't want to deal with her games as well.

"Yes, well I thought we could talk, we're about overdue."

"What the hell for? No offense but we don't exactly have anything in common."

"Oh I don't know," She grinned maliciously and Bonnie already knew she was going to hate the next words out of the vampire's mouth, "We have Kol in common."

Bonnie felt her scowl deepen at her words. God, why couldn't the Mikaelsons just leave her well alone? She thought to herself in irritation. As if Elijah and Klaus hadn't been bad enough. Then came Kol with all his dream nonsense. And now Rebekah? It seemed all that was left was Finn trying to form some kind of comradery with her to complete the set.

"Don't look at me like that witch. Not when I could quite easily snap your neck and be done with this conversation. Really I'm doing you a favor."

Bonnie wondered if there were classes for villains where they learned how to do that sinister smile they all seemed fond of, or if it came naturally to them. It was probably the latter she knew but it was more entertaining to imagine the Originals sitting through a community class.

"Fine but do we have to do it here?"

"Oh you and your delicate sensibilities, very well." With that, Rebekah strode past Bonnie without another word.

When Bonnie didn't follow after her, Rebekah turned to glare over her shoulder at her.

"Well come along."

"I'm not a dog," Bonnie grumbled, following after her regardless.

Rebekah led her out to the quad before turning to Bonnie expectantly.

"Well?"

"Well, what Rebekah? You were the one that wanted to speak to me." Bonnie told her tiredly.

"What do you have on my brother? I'm not stupid we all know there's something going on beyond a doppelganger spell but he won't tell us what. So you must have something on him. I doubt you'd abandon your quest to kill my family just like that."

"I don't have anything on your brother. If there's some kind of spell at play you should probably ask your brother, not me. And I'm not currently working with the Salvatores to bring your family down, they don't trust me because of your brother. So if that's all…" Bonnie finished turning to leave.

"My brother has destroyed whole villages because of a woman that had your face, did you know that?" Rebekah called halting her mid-step. "He wouldn't tell us why, but he's always been fond of witches and is the most unpredictable and volatile of us Mikaelsons. It's what put him in a coffin last time. So I'd be careful if I was you, Miss Bennett."

"Thanks. I'll bear that in mind." Bonnie told her drily, ignoring the way her heart was pounding fearfully in her chest at the confirmation of just what kind of monster she was dealing with. Though she couldn't tell if it was a threat or a warning.

As if this whole dream thing wasn't complicated enough, she mused bitterly to herself.

A/N: Uploading this a lil early as a lil birthday gift to myself but it's only loosely edited because my laptop kept crashing on me will go through it tomorrow. (Update: I've now been back through to edit it now, most changes are in the last half but minor)

So I was working through this chapter and I realised that there was still some things I needed to include before the Mikaelson Ball so there's one more chapter before that. Some scenes from the original version of this chapter have been rejigged to be in the next chapter so apologies for the continued conflict between Bonnie and her friends, I felt I'd resolved it too quickly so I moved it.

Question: How do we feel about the new information on the soul bond?

Anyway leave any thoughts in the comments :)

Replies:

jerkchickenz: Maybe Bonnie can bind her life to Kol. That way they can die together. I'm disappointed with Caroline in this update. I can understand the other three's reactions since they're self absorbed but I thought Caroline was different.
That's definitely something I'm considering, and a possible resolution for this story as I want to fulfill the title and tagline somehow. Sorry I was gouing to have Bonnie and Caroline make up this chapter but I ended up postponing it, the first flashback with elena and caroline in alarics classroom was supposed to be in part of the scene where that happened but I moved it because it didn't feel like it fit here. I totally agree though, especially in this series when we see Caroline help Bonnie and Abby through her transition but hopefully this chapter gave some context to her behaviour

BellaDina16: I want to see Bonnie make the Salvatores begging for her help make them get on there knees lol. They need to realize what they have tell off Elena and Caroline. Last but not least Bonnie and Kol happily ever after forever *wink wink*
We could definitely do with more badass Bonnie, I'm undecided about what I'm doing with the Salvatores yet as I have some issues with canon so we'll see but that's definitely an idea. I absolutely agree. Good news I only have one angsty ending at the moment witch a potential sequel with a happy resolution, no sad endings for this one!

timijaf: Great chapter
Thank you sweetie!