AN: It would appear that Bonnie and Kol don't know whom they can trust, yet they instinctively trust one another.
There's a very subtle hint as to Bonnie's future fate is at the beginning chapter which is what I originally meant to convey.
Also, do I really need to insert the disclaimer that I don't own these characters? I don't of course, but I hope you like my spin on them!
Overwhelmed was an understatement to how Bonnie's week had gone. She had been sucked into Esther's plot to kill the Original family. The Original Witch was back from the dead, somehow striking a deal with Bonnie's ancestors who allowed her to channel the entire Bennett line from Ayanna to the one hundred dead witches, all the way down to Bonnie. This effectively diluted Bonnie's own ability to harness the power of the hundred, tipping the scales in favor of Esther's filicide plot. They were giving her a chance to amend the obstruction of nature she caused when she endeavored to preserve the lives of her five remaining children. Her own children. Granted, she had turned them into despicable monsters who kept trying to kill Bonnie and her friends, but they were still her children. It may have been her own mommy issues, it may have been this thing with Kol, but that didn't sit well with Bonnie. All she really wanted to do was get rid of Klaus but at the ball, Esther had dropped a huge bomb on her and Elena. A bomb that left the girls with but one option.
There was a cure for vampirism and another Petrova doppelganger, a human. If they could find the cure and administer it to Elena, then she would become human again and her blood could be used to perform a spell linking the original siblings' lives together so that when Finn- the eldest of the Originals and the only self-hating vampire in existence- performed a sacrifice, they would all die. Or she could drag a poor, innocent girl into this, for her blood to be used in the spell. Bonnie wanted to leave the girl out of it since Esther was the only Mikaelson who knew about the new doppelgänger. She sure as hell wouldn't run her mouth to any vampires!
She also knew although Elena hated being a vampire, having been turned against her will by the same vampire who killed her little brother, the witch knew her best friend would do just about anything to be human again and have her life back. Yet she would not condone harm to an innocent person in order to achieve that. Since neither Bonnie nor Elena were willing to involve the innocent doppelgänger, finding the cure was the only viable solution.
As much as she wanted to help cure her friend of her much-loathed vampirism, that would get all the Originals killed. She would use the hunt for the cure as time to stall because she was still trying to figure out how this thing with Kol was even possible, how they were so familiar before ever even meeting, why she began having strange dreams of him each night. Why it seemed like in another time and place they were companions. It was always the same thing, they'd practice magic together and she could feel very powerful magic manifesting, but then Kol always morphed into his vampire visage. She could still feel the powerful energy but there was a shift to it. The power was still absolutely potent but foreign. She couldn't make sense of it. All her lucubrations had dealt her was that their bond had to do with some ancient spell that she couldn't yet decipher. All the same, the young witch refused to admit to herself that a bond had been established between the duo. There was no duo!
And yet she refused to play spy for Esther and potentially become attached to Kol when Esther was expecting her to betray him. She preferred to steer clear of him while she conducted her mystical investigation. The magic that pulsed between the duo -that didn't exist, obviously- rejected that sentiment of deception with extreme bouts of nausea. Compounding the issue was that Esther required vials of blood from all her remaining children, an endeavor she tasked Bonnie and Elena with.
This was a daunting task in itself since these weren't just any vampires, they were the Originals. Esther wanted Bonnie and the rest of the Mystic Falls gang to deceive her children into giving up their blood. The very same people who would massacre the lot of them and all who have met them for their scheming. Naturally, the Salvatores took it upon themselves to engage in a bar brawl with Kol the day after the ball, electing Bonnie to subdue him in order to get his blood. They loved the idea because they didn't have to pretend to be mates. Still, the mission failed as Bonnie expected and their next plan involved commissioning Caroline to sweet talk Klaus into lending her some 'emergency blood'.
So far they only had Klaus's blood.
This was dangerous territory, the vampires were encroaching since all of the Originals could take each of them out without blinking. Trying to separate herself from the Salvatore brothers' hare-brained ideas that would likely land them all on a bed of roses, Bonnie had spent most of her time laying low over the week and honing her silent magic attacks, with as much power as she could muster.
Try as she might to keep a low profile, an explosion at a nearby farmhouse coincided with the arrival of a mysterious stranger. At first, the Salvatores suspected him of causing the disaster, which killed a group of townspeople, but soon learned that this stranger, being immune to compulsion, was more interested in the supernatural locals. He was a vampire hunter, the first that they'd encountered.
Bonnie thought vampires were brutal, but the way this hunter tried to bait the town vamps to come 'out of the coffin' so to speak, disgusted her. He gutted April Young at her father's- and the rest of the townsfolk that perished in the explosion- funeral and left her to bleed out, in hopes someone would succumb to bloodlust. This was especially dangerous for Elena, still being a fairly young vampire. Caroline had caught sight of his vampire arsenal in passing before the start of the service so Bonnie took it upon herself to act as the distraught funeral patron and excused herself to the bathroom after Caroline subtly informed her in what direction she could sense blood, panic, and pain. When she came across the girl she had to call for human help, instead of having her healed with vampire blood so as to not risk exposure. She had a feeling the person responsible wasn't above fighting in front of the public.
Unfortunately, before help arrived in a timely manner, April succumbed to her wounds. Damon went to trail the perpetrator while Caroline took Elena to the Grille to get her some food and a blood bag on the way to calm her nerves, but not before informing Bonnie and Stefan that she'd given April her blood the day before, after an attack by Rebekah.
Stefan volunteered to give Bonnie a ride home, she suspected because he wanted to question her about her stalling on her part in procuring Kol's blood, but of course, he disguised it as he was concerned for welfare after the brutality she'd just witnessed.
Outside of her home, Bonnie beseeched Stefan in an effort to sway his reconsideration of their "attack or seduce Mikaelson by Mikaelson" method.
"It's too dangerous. And things are even more unpredictable now that this hunter is in town. If you don't think the Originals will catch on, you're a damn fool and just as insane as Damon, which is who I'm guessing came up with this idea. How he talked you into it is beyond me," Bonnie threw her hands up in frustration.
"Bonnie, we already have Klaus's blood. I can get Rebekah's and Katherine can get Elijah's. All you need to do is-"
"No, Stefan. I'm sorry."
"Elena told me about the doppelgänger," Stefan said coolly.
Bonnie frowned and searched Stefan's face. "Are you seriously threatening an innocent girl? To me of all people?"
"I'm not threatening. I'm just saying if she can be compelled to give her blood-"
"We would still need the Mikaelson's blood! But we don't need to leave a trail for Klaus to find and torment another innocent girl just so he can have his crazy ass hybrids! And I don't want to get my throat ripped out by Kol when he finds out I'm plotting against him! I won't be a hypocrite, I keep telling him he can't be trusted." She sank down on her porch swing. "Yet, it's me who's the double-dealing one here. Haven't enough people died, Stefan?"
She looked up at him, her glittering emerald eyes matching his resolute veridian orbs.
"Yes! Enough people have died, Bonnie and we don't need to be added to that list. This is about our survival, how long do you think the Mikaelson's will stick to their 'keep the peace' facade?" He made air quotes to emphasize how phony the idea of the Mikaelson's and peace was.
"Much less likely now since you and your asshat of a brother picked a fight with Kol! That's why Rebekah retaliated and almost killed April, who is now in transition by the way! And an easy target for the hunter." Bonnie took a deep breath. "I know you're trying to help. I get that you're seeking atonement for what you've put Elena through with the whole Klaus thing. Still, she loves you, and she chose you, despite all of that. Whatever you're trying to prove Stefan, this isn't the way to go about it. We can find the cure and dispatch the Originals another way, without the deception."
"Bonnie, Elena is a vampire because of my brother."
"And it's not your fault Damon is an impulsive idiot," Bonnie assured.
"The only thing that makes that ok is that Klaus can't use her to make hybrids. He's been the enemy since day one because that's what he wants. They all have to die, Bonnie or Elena won't be safe if we get the cure. Now's not the time to grow a conscience for our enemies." Now it was Stefan's turn to search Bonnie's face. "I don't mean to impede but is this because Kol has a thing for you? The Original Vampire, always the ally to witches?"
Shit. As much as she wanted to delay the evisceration of the Original Vampire clan, Bonnie conveniently left out that part as she'd expected Elena and Caroline to do as well. She didn't want to be pawned off as a distraction to an Original by her friends, the very people she was trying to help keep safe. She knew it was uncharacteristic of her to appear so fearful so she sold it as if there was another option available. She wouldn't reveal her true intentions, not when Stefan practically threatened to involve an innocent girl who had no business in vampire business. Time to deflect her ass off!
"Whatever is going on with Kol is aside from the fact that he will murder the shit out of all of us if things go awry. They find out we're stealing their blood for Esther, so she can kill her children, the whole family will go postal! Esther won't protect us from them, she can't even get blood from them! Then we'll be what, running forever with Katherine? There has to be another way to get the blood, one that doesn't involve us getting up close and personal."
"What other way? This is the only way, and we're running out of time whether or not you want another doppelganger involved. You cast spells, some of which require a blood sacrifice. Use that to your advantage, you can have him practice blood magic with you! He's talked of how he ran with his share of witch covens, there's bound to be something he can teach you." He made the most somber face before he continued. "If Klaus finds out there's another doppelgänger, he'll kill Elena for the hell of it and hunt the girl down anyway." Appealing to Bonnie's witch nature did not fare Stefan well.
Bonnie thought for a moment. Klaus had hunted Katherine for 500 years just for revenge in foiling his plans to sacrifice her. Yet, she still got away. Elena wasn't as resourceful as Katherine but the Salvatore brothers would go to all ends to ensure her safety. That wasn't the life she wanted for her BFF.
She remembered something in one of her Gram's grimoires about a sleeping spell. She couldn't exactly recall anything about needing a vampire's blood for anything besides a locator spell. At most, she could try to get all the Originals in one room and cast the sleeping spell on them, so they can collect the blood that way. At the very least she can attempt to locate something for Kol or the rest of his siblings, using a locator spell. But what to search for? And would she be able to stomach that endeavor? Maybe kidnapping Rebekah as retaliation for April… They would no doubt turn to the town witch to use her magic to find her, not trusting Esther. Kol was already suspicious since he met Bonnie and Elijah had interrogated Elena about their meeting with Esther for his own suspicions.
Ugh, but just thinking about it made her stomach churn. The Kol-obsessed magic within her was ready to regurgitate that sentiment right out of her system. Yet she could hardly let the young Salvatore know that.
"You know what, I think I know of a spell. I have to study the grimoires but I know what to do. We'll have to get them all in a room together. And I can spell it so they can't leave." She assured Stefan as her stomach vehemently protested.
Just then Damon flashed to Bonnie's porch. Bonnie gasped at the sudden intrusion. He waggled his brows at her, then addressed his brother.
"Your girlfriend went to see Elijah. She's trying to appeal to his better nature and get his blood."
The youngest, most vulnerable, and inexperienced vampire of the whole squad went to try and manipulate a thousand-year-old ancient vampire? How dense could Damon be to let this happen?
Stefan gaped while Bonnie's eyebrows shot up. "What the hell is Katherine doing? She's supposed to be getting it!" His little brother demanded.
"Probably out looking for you," Damon clasped his hands just under his chin and pointed both index fingers in Stefan's direction, and smiled with phony innocence.
"And you just let her go?" Bonnie queried, shaking her head.
Damon widened his eyes and made dramatic hand gestures as he explained his nonexistent effort to stop the younger doppelgänger. "I didn't let her go, I simply poured myself another glass of bourbon as she waltzed out the door with Caroline."
"I have to go, Bonnie. The spell," Stefan bore into her with his piercing green stare.
"I know, I'm on it." Bonnie chewed her lip thoughtfully after the young Salvatore left, then noticed Damon still lingered. "What are you still doing here?"
Damon scoffed in response. "What's wrong with you? Shouldn't you be off stealing your OG Psycho's blood?"
"Change of venue, we're going with Plan B,"
His eyes all but popped in anticipation. "Which is?"
"The one that's not going to get us all killed, Damon."
"Not following ya, Witchy."
Bonnie sighed at the half-wit before her and wondered how someone who had so many years on her could be as short-sighted as he appeared to be. She explained how she intended to lock them all in a room and cast a sleeping spell, only remembering what she intended them to recall upon waking. It would leave them with no memories of the bloodletting.
"I can adjust the spell so their memories would be foggy after we collect their blood. They won't trace it back to us, thereby rendering us safe from her wrath."
"And what's going to lure them there?"
"The latest town threat, of course."
"Which is?"
"I don't know yet, but we'll come up with something. We can say the vampire hunter kidnapped Rebekah or something. It's a solid plan." Bonnie beamed, clearly satisfied that she discovered the best solution. She ignored the churning in her stomach as her Kol-friendly magic once again fumed inside. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a spell to prepare."
Damon smirked a wide smile and clapped his hands. "Bravo, BonBon. You thought of everything, didn't you? Your Grams would be proud of you."
Her green orbs rolled up to the skies before her face contorted in a grimace and she shook her head at his sardonic tone. "Get off my porch Damon."
Bonnie opened her front door and turned to head inside.
"But she's not!" He emphasized the T at the end of his sentence.
"What are you babbling about?" She asked as she turned around, leaning against the doorway.
"I actually thought of everything, Bennett."
Damon arched his brows as did Bonnie, both waiting on one another to continue. When Bonnie was sick of the suspense, she caved. "What did you do Damon?"
"While you were cooling your heels with your conscience this week, I got the blood from Rebekah and Katherine successfully procured Elijah's blood."
The older Salvatore donned a devious smirk that unsettled the little witch. She couldn't ascertain what he was up to, though she feared she wouldn't like it.
Raising her chin in her signature gesture of defiance, Bonnie asked a question she hoped she wouldn't regret. "Why did you tell Stefan that Elena went for Elijah's blood?"
"I needed him out of the way for this," in a millisecond, Damon brandished a blade and sliced her shoulder blade. Bonnie cried out and reached to cup her wound but Damon pressed an empty vial in her hand instead.
"Sorry BonBon, it's just a flesh wound," he said, leaning close to her ear. "Let's just say the vampire hunter in town mistook you for a vampire. Have Kol heal you and get his blood," he ordered, as he pulled back, emphasizing the tail end of his sentence with his trademark crazy-eyes-a-blazing.
Before Bonnie could say anything or burst the blood vessels of the organ that clearly just took up space in his brain, the vampire was gone with a light gust of wind.
Bonnie and Kol's POV
All Bonnie had wanted to do was lay low and work on strengthening her magic that day. Yet because of her least fucking favorite vampire, she had a wound that was weakening her at the moment. A short while after she made sure to prepare a daylight ring for April, Bonnie went out to the woods behind her house and got to work on a cloaking spell when Kol appeared. She said a silent spell to glamour the illusion she was doing blood magic. There was no way she could mask the scent of her blood from such a seasoned vampire.
"You've been avoiding me, little witch," Kol stated monotonously, from a ways behind her.
"I've been busy." Having sensed his undeniable presence, she wasn't unnerved. She was hoping he'd keep his distance because the last time she was in his vicinity, nearly uncontrollable magic and heat flowed through her blood and out of her pores. She sensed it was the same with Kol, the same way her magic wanted him, his magic, energy or aura or whatever it was wanted her too.
"You've been cowering. Why, you've even missed your studies this week."
Bonnie glared in his direction as he circled around to stand a few yards in front of her.
"I call it research. I've almost figured out why you appeared in my life shortly before you debuted in my dreams nonstop." Bonnie said, as a matter of factly.
"Do you want to know what I think?" He wished he could spill his guts to her about who she really was to him. Except that would indeed make her run for the hills so he kept quiet about it.
"I don't. I'm discovering it on my own, thanks." She said haughtily, eliciting his damn smirk.
"And what have you discovered, little witch? What have you learned from the blood magic?"
Bonnie paused. "It's because- you- I'm not," Kol's smirk only grew bigger as she stumbled to find words to convey her thoughts. "My research isn't complete yet!"
"Your denial is almost adorable, and still, it vexes me. Wouldn't it make more sense to try to figure this out together? We're wasting precious time, love." He raised his brows expectantly.
"No, that would be a terrible idea!" She nearly shouted.
In the blink of an eye, Kol appeared in front of her and she stumbled back, steadying herself before Kol could help. He peered down at Bonnie who skewered him with an angry look of defiance.
"No need to shout, darling." Dear lord, he was so close and he could smell everything on her. Her scent, her blood, her fear, and of course her heat that she was denying. The temptation to drink her in was palpable. "I can hear you perfectly. I can also hear your blood rushing through your veins, bleeding through your wound, and pumping through your heart. It beats even faster the closer I am to you."
Kol said all this leaning closer and closer to Bonnie until she realized he was inches away from her face. She scoffed and forced herself to turn away, ignoring the electric pulse between them, that made her want to reach out and grab him and dive all into him. Deflect, deflect, deflect!
"Not sure if that's a vampire, original, or asshole thing but it's really not necessary and it's getting old. Trying to intimidate me into getting whatever the hell you want out of me?"
In fact, Bonnie decided that she might just have to kill Damon the next time she saw him, she was tired of ancient ass vampires forcing her hand.
"Why not all of the above, darling?" he asked with that ever-present smug expression on his face. Then his expression sobered. "It's difficult for me as well, Bonnie."
Bonnie shook her head and tried to remain focused. She wasn't touching that. She didn't want to talk, let alone think about how fucking hard it was to refrain from finally indulging in the first kiss they'd been denied at the intrusion of her friends. Or how rock hard she could tell his whole body was, under his expensive clothes. Avert your eyes, dammit!
"I don't care. It's like I said, you're as bad as your brothers. You lied to me, you said you wouldn't hurt my friends and then you turned around and broke Matt's hand. Then you tried to take out Stefan and his brother, to prove what?"
At this point, it was better to argue with him about anything and everything and blame his dated, vampire nature for it. He couldn't very well deem her a traitor if she never agreed to side with him anyway. Strangely enough, when she was denying him, rather than thinking of plotting against Kol, she didn't suffer from the nausea of her betrayal. That fact silently spoke volumes.
"That was baby sister's idea to kill her date," Kol argued languidly, not even bothering to address the second charge Bonnie mentioned.
"Right," Bonnie bit, denoting his deflection and using it to her advantage. "So you guys just go around killing your dates then? Even better, Kol! God, what the hell do you even want? Don't you have anything better to do than harass me and my friends?"
"I want to know why we are having identical dreams as much as you do." Kol declared thoughtfully.
The night after the ball, when the Salvatores launched their half-baked plan to gather Kol's blood, Bonnie had to intervene to make sure no one was killed -permanently, that is- and Bonnie let it slip that she didn't want to harm the person she'd dreamed so vividly about since meeting. When he revealed he'd had an identical dream, she fled and had avoided him since. At that moment, she regretted telling him that.
This made Kol feel spurned again, but he figured she needed more time, and attacking more of her circle in his usual fashion would not fare him well. How much time was the issue because he was severely lacking in the patience department.
"If it helps, I will temper my violent tendencies if we can figure this out together." He added.
Bonnie just shook her head. How could she trust such a violent and impulsive ancient vampire? How could he trust her? The fact that he's had a thousand years to get his impulses under control, yet still he broke Matt's hand and nearly killed the Salvatore brothers, all because Bonnie initially spurned him. From her perspective, he was no better than Klaus with his unpredictable violence.
She wasn't in the business of rehabilitating unstable vampires. She was just trying to make it out alive through high school!
Furthermore, she still failed to see why they should build a partnership when the reality was that neither party could be trusted. They were on opposite sides, even though Witch Bonnie wanted to know him and explore the magic between them and say fuck it to their respective sides, Moral Bonnie couldn't in good conscience go through with it since she was caught up in Esther's web of lies.
"How very grown-up of you, Kol. No thanks, I've got it, like I said. Just go away." Bonnie mumbled, avoiding his amber gaze.
"If it involves me, there's no keeping me out of it. It could be my mother or siblings plotting against me or it could be a way to subdue my brother for good. Whatever it is, I want to help. It would keep me busy from draining and killing the town riff-raff, you know," he added with a wink. After all, this was Kol the ruthless, not Kol the merciful. He did have a reputation to uphold.
Bonnie's eyes rolled heavenwards. "If you really wanna be useful, don't offer help in the form of a threat. And why do you want to help anyway?"
"Useful? And what exactly is your role in all of this 'destroy Klaus business?' Do your half-witted friends ever disclose anything of importance with you or just have you at their beck and call when they need a supernatural clean-up? Do you really not know the origins of your so-called enemy? If that's so, you're setting yourself up for a losing battle."
"I know that your mother was a practicing witch who turned you all into what you are because she couldn't bear the thought of losing another child. And your father was demented enough to go along with that crazy-ass spell that even my ancestor wouldn't touch. And here you are now. You're an ancient family of psychotic killers with no humanity. I know enough." Bonnie huffed.
Kol smirked what Bonnie began to recognize as his classic cocky smirk.
"Your ancestor was a very skilled witch, a dear friend, and mentor to me. I've always held witches in high regard as I used to be a practicing witch as well. Ayanna dubbed me a prodigy in my human life. Even after turning, I've traveled the world studying magic with all sorts of covens and learned some things along the way. I own thousands of grimoires. All this knowledge at your disposal and yet you refuse my assistance? As I said, you're only wasting ample time that could be spared to figure out what's to come for us both, if you truly believe you're the only useful person here."
Bonnie turned away & started pacing. Kol had a point about the timeframe, Bonnie's visions never transpired unless it concerned something imminent to come, but this was a lot for her to unpack! Here was an ancient and talented former witch. This could work to her benefit! Except Bonnie wasn't in the business of using people like that. She was no Original with a vendetta, using witches as means to an end. She felt if they were truly going to embark into a partnership, she would have to fully trust him. How could she do that when she was involved in Esther's latest plot of filicide? That was one thing she couldn't exactly disclose lest she lose his support and he deems her a charlatan, for being forcibly channeled by his mother and trying to exploit him for his blood. She would have to keep that to herself. That was what Moral Bonnie wanted.
Don't smile, remain serious! Kol demanded of himself as he could tell he was breaching her resolve to shut him out. He decided maybe he was being too eager and he'd have to give her a take it or leave it ultimatum. He sighed.
"You know where to find me, darling. Be quite foolish of you not to use that knowledge."
As Kol turned to go, Bonnie felt her illusion spell waver and she faltered, revealing her actual wound. Damn Esther stealing the bulk of her magic! She cried out in pain and gripped her shoulder. Kol rushed to her but she held out her hand to keep him at a distance. She wasn't ready for all that fiery magic to blur the lines of rhyme and reason between them if he breached physical contact.
"Bonnie, you're injured! This isn't blood magic!" Kol released his fangs and bit into his wrist. Nausea bubbled in Bonnie's stomach.
"Esther is trying to kill you!" Well, damn it all to hell ! Witch Bonnie took over and blurted that out, kicking Moral Bonnie to the backseat. If Kol was surprised, Bonnie couldn't tell. She wondered if this was a Mikaelson thing, she couldn't be sure, but it seemed like their vow of always and forever was contingent upon their temperament at the moment. She threw the empty vial on the ground, and the nausea eased. Her witch side and moral side had already decided during her conversation with Stefan that she had no plans to recruit Kol's blood. She grew weary of that nausea that came with entertaining that thought of conspiring against him.
"She would need a white oak stake to do that and all that's left of the original white oak is ash. You need to drink, sweetheart," Kol feigned indifference to the revelation. Of course, his mother was trying to kill them again. An act of love turned into an act of hate. That had the Mikealson parents written all over it and he knew it. No surprise there.
"She has ways, Kol." Bonnie insisted, gesturing to the vial. "Her words, not mine," she added when Kol gave her a look. "I need you to trust me," she implored as Witch Bonnie took the lead in her decision-making. "All I know is Esther ca-"
Bonnie's words were cut off by her own gasp and then a piercing scream as lacerations and slices began appearing all over her body. Bonnie heard the wailing exchange of her ancestors debating on her fate, condemning her as a traitor for confiding in Kol.
"I'm trying to help!" she cried out. "Please stop, why are you doing this? Emily! Ayanna, please!" Her vision blurred and her hearing grew faint. The last thing she saw was a blur flash in front of her as she collapsed and darkness seeped into her sight.
Kol's POV
If it wasn't for the treachery of his own family, Kol would've been surprised at what he'd witnessed. As Bonnie attempted to confide in him the more intricate details of his mother's latest hate crime, the ancestors of the Bennett line brought forth an invisible attack on Bonnie. He surmised as much when he heard Bonnie calling out to Ayanna by name, imploring for mercy. It all made sense now, in order to walk among the living once more, Esther channeled the potent magic of the Bennett line, living and dead. This living Bennett witch was interfering with his mother's agenda by informing him of her plans so she was being punished. Esther wanted her to betray him, he could feel the uneasiness accompanied with nausea that went through Bonnie when they discussed allying together. That was her supernatural conscience refusing to plot against him, her magic could not and would not deceive him, a fact which very much pleased him. In return, his mother and/or the ancestors inflicted wrath upon the girl. They couldn't kill her though, they needed a living link to strengthen Esther's power. Either that or there had to be another Bennett in the vicinity, one that wasn't currently being subjected to the wrath of the ancestors.
As Bonnie faltered in his arms, he lifted her bridal style and sped to her home, praying to fate someone was home. He halted when he reached the door and instead of knocking, he delivered a swift kick and it swung open, breaking the lock amidst the action.
"What in the name of fire blazing Hecate-" the woman inside shouting stilled as she noticed Bonnie lying in Kol's arms. "Bonnie!"
She rushed forward but Kol shook his head. He sensed she was a seasoned witch, the other Bennett witch he heard Nik speak of and figured she'd know how to proceed.
"The spirits attacked her, she's injured. She needs a salt circle! Go!" Kol shouted back. The woman turned and rushed to the kitchen instead. She made sure to grab the clear jar of salt from the herbs pantry which was separate from the food pantry and rushed to the porch.
"I can't invite you in, I don't live here," she said as she poured the salt around Bonnie. She began a Latin chant in order to offer extra protection once the circle was complete.
"I don't care, I just want to ensure Bonnie's safety," Kol admitted. As soon as the circle was complete, the lacerations ceased to appear, leaving only bloody scars in their wake. "Your ancestors did this."
"That- that doesn't make sense, who are you, and what are you doing with my daughter?" the women demanded.
The fucking audacity! Kol had heard all about the deadbeat mother who abandoned her child as an infant, so he didn't understand where this attitude was coming from. Surely she was on a short holiday in town, she didn't even live there.
"You must be Abby R. Bennett. R is for Runaway, right? I've heard a lot about you, Abby, I'm Kol. You can drop the concerned mother's act, it's not my intent to harm her, but help." He continued before Abby could interrupt to defend herself. He was also in no mood to hear any parent making excuses for failing their children, especially at that moment. "If you intend to do right by your daughter, you'll spell her a talisman that will protect her from the wrath of your ancestors. I can't tell you anymore lest your ancestors subject you to the same wrath."
Abby glared at him then looked at Bonnie resting inside the salt circle. "Will she be ok?"
"She'll be fine. I assume you have knowledge of the most potent healing remedies?"
"Of course." Abby glanced nervously at some of the neighbors who were staring from their porches.
"Bonnie will inform you of the circumstances when she wakes. A charm for your own protection may be needed as well. Pay no mind to the neighbors. With your assistance, I can compel one and have the compulsion extend to the lot of them. Surely you know how to aid?"
Abby nodded and went inside to get the needed supplies. Kol looked across the street at a young girl and her friend making eyes at him shyly. He smiled warmly and started over to her driveway.
"Hi there, can I trouble you for some assistance with my friend?" he faked an American accent quite well as he strolled up to her porch. "My friend over there had an accident and we need some disinfectant to help clean her up." His eyes widened in compulsion, and he reverted to his normal British accent. "Do you have any disinfectant, love?"
Across the street back on Bonnie's porch, Abby was chanting and setting up what looked like a wind chime. As soon as she noticed the girl was captivated by compulsion, Abby pushed the wind chime so the sounds it made reverberated into the air. Kol compelled the girl and everyone who was watching and or listening to the chime all at once. "Go on about your day. You never saw the bleeding girl on her front porch and you've never laid eyes on me either. You won't remember anything that transpired in the past 20 minutes, and when I leave you will continue with your prior activities."
The girl and her friend- and all the nearby enchanted neighbors- nodded in a zombie-like trance. Kol turned to Abby, gave her a subtle acknowledgment, then zipped away.
Abby noticed all the neighbors were suddenly preoccupied, taking no notice of her bloodied, porch-ridden daughter.
When Kol arrived back at the Mikaelson mansion he found the foyer in disarray. It definitely looked like a vampire versus witch battle had transpired. He figured Esther had fled by now.
"Kol," Elijah stepped into the room. "Mother. She and Finn attacked Niklaus and I, then they took their leave in a cloud of dust."
"I know. She wants to continue Father's hunting of us to extermination. Finn went along with her?" That fucking weasel! Even though he had been daggered for nearly 900 years, he had still spent a century with his siblings evading their father as he hunted them. Where the hell was the sibling loyalty? Still, it shouldn't have surprised him at all. Though the century together was spent griping about their vampire nature, Finn also remained a mama's boy.
"Yes, confirming my suspicions that they have both been conspiring against us since Mother returned. Miss Bennett. If we enlist her assistance-"
"She's indisposed at the moment, brother. I believe Esther magically assaulted her from a remote location. We were in the midst of a conversation about Esther's plan of filicide when she was suddenly assaulted with ghostly lacerations. She collapsed from the trauma."
Elijah frowned. "That was Mother's doing?"
"I can't be sure, but our mother has manifested greater power since she's rejoined the living."
"For what purpose did you sojourn a meeting with the Bennett witch?"
Elijah made the impassive face he made when he deemed that something wasn't adding up. Yet, Kol knew his brother well. If Elijah found out their mother was channeling the Bennett line, his deathless need to continue the self-preservation of their family in the name of 'always and forever' would only result in one thing. Elijah would see Bonnie as a threat and there was only one way he handled threats. Kill first, deal with the consequences later.
But this was Bonnie. His Bonnie. If there was a way to conjure up a white oak stake, Kol would see to it and drive that stake through his brother's, or any of his siblings' hearts for that matter, if it meant Bonnie was safe from harm. It was best that he kept this revelation to himself.
He quite enjoyed the thought of Bonnie being his, no longer being hassled by any of the Originals. They'd travel the world together, he'd immerse her in all the cultures and covens they were fond of and there'd be no dagger happy brother waiting at every turn to punish him for his inevitable violence spree. He had a feeling that having Bonnie around would diminish his bouts of angry violence, as her aura gave him such tranquility. In turn, maybe his own influence would help Bonnie deal with her enemies better, including her so-called companions.
He grinned knowingly at that thought, and Elijah figured his smirk was for the thought of bedding the witch.
"I only meant to inquire if the witch was ready to accept my offer to dine with me. I couldn't anticipate it would result in a bloody mess that's not even my doing."
Elijah's poker face softened to a slight grin as he shook his head at his baby brother. "Kol, surely you don't believe your affinity for witches will aid you in your attempts for a dalliance with Miss Bennett?"
"I wouldn't know, brother. She collapsed, as I said.. Is that still heated?"
Kol gestured to a glass of blood on the table behind Elijah, which was surprisingly the only item of furniture still intact in the room.
Elijah waved his hand then pressed his fingers against his forehead for just a moment. "It was Finn's, he won't be needing it now." He handed it to Kol. "I should speak with Miss Bennett, she did meet with Mother at the ball along with Miss Gilbert, who claims that Mother only discussed with her the origins of our family and how the first doppelgänger played a role in it, and her vow of peace. I assume our mother concocted a plan with the young ladies that would lead us to our final demise."
Elijah studied Kol's face. "You've grown quite fond of the Bennett witch?"
Kol shrugged his shoulders as he drained his glass. "She won't see me, but if you're implying that my interest in the witch makes her an ally to us and not Mother, I've already come to that conclusion and I don't intend on using her to fight our family battles. Nor will any of you."
At that moment Rebekah stormed in, followed by their hybrid brother and the younger Salvatore.
"Rebekah!" Klaus called.
"No! It can't be! She said she wanted us to be a family again, Nik!" She wailed. Mascara and tears stained the blonde's face as she looked around at the state of the room. She ran into Elijah's arms and continued to sob.
"Rebekah, Mother and Finn have fled, in order to continue plotting an end to our very existence. Our mother is dead and has been for a thousand years." Elijah spoke softly but firmly as he cradled her in his embrace.
Kol looked over at Stefan. "And what are you doing here? Back for another round?" He smiled his creepiest smile, yet Stefan didn't appear unnerved. He just looked away, appearing bored, but Kol knew it was an act.
"Shut it Kol! Stefan here has some information he just acquired. Go ahead, Ripper, and inform my siblings of your findings."
"Your mother visited Elena before she skipped town. She is trying to kill all of you," he began. Rebekah attempted a deep breath.
"We already know that part, what's your point?" Kol snapped.
"Did you know you each have sire lines? Each of you has sired a vampire that aired another who sired another and so on."
"That we are each the parent of our own sire line, is also knowledge that we currently possess, Stefan," Elijah said it politely but the fact that his patience was thinning was not lost on anyone in the room. In fact, Kol found it downright amusing. It wasn't often Elijah got his feathers ruffled but when he did-he choked back a laugh. Klaus seared him with a glare that did absolutely nothing to intimidate him.
"My sire was Katherine. If she were to die, I'd survive. Because she's not the mother of the sire line. If one of you sired a vampire and started the chain that led to the vampire that sired Katherine.."
Kol perked up at that. It was all beginning to make too much sense...
"If an Original Vampire is staked with a white oak, it would not only wipe out that Original, but everyone in their sire line. Including Katherine and me," he finished somberly.
"And let's not forget the best part, Mother intends to use Finn as the sacrificial lamb. She subtly collected vials of our blood since she's been back." Klaus stated with sardonic humor. "There's only one piece of the puzzle missing."
Not my blood, Kol thought, remembering the vial Bonnie tossed away.
"Doppelgänger blood," Elijah and Kol spoke in unison.
"Well, Mother is, as they say, a day late a penny short. The doppelgänger is a vampire, her blood is rendered useless to the magic doppels wield since she rose as a vampire." Kol clicked his tongue. Try as she might, Esther still didn't have the upper hand she needed to eradicate her offspring.
"That's the other part. Esther will be back in a month and she claims she'll have everything by then needed to take you all out." Stefan stood up taller. "She expected us to help since we had beef with Klaus," he looked to his former friend. "But I think we can all agree we'll have to put our differences aside so we can survive past the next month. It's all of our lives at stake here."
"A clock on all our lives? She's clearly forgotten that I've ripped her heart before and I won't hesitate to do it again. And you helped her!" Klaus turned on him now.
"I think we need to be smart about this, Klaus. I would've done anything to keep Elena safe, I was willing to get rid of you, I was. But if that's the case we're all going down. Don't enact your revenge on me or Elena or any of our friends, at least wait until we get to the bottom of this prophecy. Esther will be counting on us to strike, she'll probably have a trap waiting."
Stefan went from a brooding, vexing vampire to a wise before his time vampire. He was making a lot of sense. Kol guessed he'd spent enough time on the allied side of witches since he knew not to walk right into a witches trap. Still, he seemed too eager to side with the Mikaelson's, even though his own life was on the line. He was just conspiring to take them all down! What gave him the right to waltz in here making requests after his treachery? Suddenly enraged, Kol rushed him against the wall, holding him up by the throat.
"How do you know all this? What prophecy?" He demanded, pupils widening.
"A woman- came to me-" Stefan choked out.
"Kol! Leave him alone, you bloody idiot, he's on our side!" Rebekah exclaimed.
Klaus was done enjoying the scene before he flashed to Kol and threw him across the room, his removal from Stefan's person causing the toddler vamp to crash to the floor.
"That's enough, Kol," the hybrid snarled in his direction. "He can't be compelled. Whoever gave him this information saw to that, he's not ingesting vervain."
"In what world does that make sense?!" Kol yelled as he regained his footing.
Klaus looked down at the Ripper. "He's told us everything this person will permit him to. Though I do intend to find this mysterious person and have a chat with them myself," he added the last part after he crouched down to stare Stefan in his eyes. "Eventually, we will come back to your part in plotting against your old friend."
"Do we have a deal or not?" Stefan grumbled as Rebekah helped him up.
"Wait a minute." Elijah paced the room before he assumed his ever diplomatic stance. He threw the edge of his jacket suit behind his hip and placed his hands on his pocket, before thrusting his last three fingers in Stefan's direction with his wrist cocked that way as well. Then he continued speaking, jabbing his three fingers at Stefan. "You expect us to believe that even though you previously conspired against us with our mother, you've had a change of heart due to information given to you by a mysterious person. You've come here to warn us about said information, yet you can't divulge the identity of this mystery person or any subsequent information?"
At the tail end of his sentence, he pierced Stefan with a stern gaze.
"It's true Elijah! Nik and I already tried getting more information. He's an ally. For now at least. All he knows is that he'll meet his own end if he tries to take us out!"
Gaze still locked on Stefan, Elijah addressed Kol. "I hardly consider that an ally. Kol, what of your thoughts on the matter?"
"It's likely he speaks the truth, brother. It could be a specific spell a witch cast or the work of an Oracle. More likely the latter, seeing as how the only witch in town capable of it would've been incapacitated at the time." Kol had finally relented as he explained, ignoring the way Stefan's eyes narrowed at the mention of Bonnie. The prospect of allying with the Mystic Falls gang and working with Bonnie to figure out Esther's plan almost seemed too good to be true. Fate couldn't possibly be dropping the witch in his lap after all this time. As ecstatic as he was, Kol knew he needed to maintain his composure because if his family-anyone in his family for that matter- suspected anything more than an alliance and trivial dalliance, it could put Bonnie in more danger if his siblings attempted to weaponize her.
Elijah exchanged looks with Klaus. He regarded Kol once more before turning his body back towards Stefan. "We have a deal, Mr. Salvatore."
The youngest Salvatore just nodded and let Rebekah lead him out.
"Well then, cheers to keeping your enemies close, and your enemies even closer, eh brothers?" Kol clasped his hands together as he headed for his room in the mansion.
AN: Did you peep Elijah doing his trademark stance and Elijah fingers? Also yes Damon starts off an ass of course, but he's going to make up for it for sure!
I also had to snip off the edge to include it in the next chapter. Please read, review, kudos and enjoy!