"Night, the beloved. Night, when words fade and things come alive."
― Antoine de Saint-Exupery
One year ago. Purgatory.
She stood still bathed in the black blood of the monster that Kol had just slain. The blood was not warm like it would be on earth but it was frozen and it was making her tremble even more. Out of the fear or the coldness she did not know.
She swept some of the blood out of her face but more of it dropped from her sticky hair.
She hadn't even heard that thing approaching but obviously, Kol had and he cut through it in the air just as it was about to jump to get her.
She looked at the mangled body on her ground feeling lost and out of place.
Kol's voice snapped her out of her frozen state.
"What? No gratitude? No thanks for saving your life? Your generation has a weird taste in music and despicable manners darling."
Caroline pressed her lips and glared at him.
"Why are you helping me?" she demanded with anger.
Kol smirked and lowered his blade.
"Awfully strange way to be grateful…friend."
"We are not friends!" she snapped and felt the winds rising and her voice echoing all around the dark forests possibly alerting more monsters to come and get her.
"Well, from what I had seen you were friends with my brother so why not extend your given grace?" Kol mocked and she opened her mouth to say something but no sound came out.
Klaus' memories had nothing to do with this! Damn that Original Hybrid! One way or another he seemed to be everywhere. She could not get rid of him even in death.
Right now she was so angry, confused and oh yeah she was dead!
Freaking dead! And trapped in Purgatory with a Mikaelson!
She was ready to tell Kol to go to her hell when his gaze changed. It became serious.
"If I were you darling I would be nicer to me," Kol warned her.
"Well, it is a good thing I am not you then!" she defiantly spat and Kol laughed at that.
"I'll say. You wouldn't be able to last here a day on your own so you most definitely are nothing like me," he observed and Caroline wrapped her hands around her torso refusing to give him the satisfaction of admitting he was right. So far, in the span of minutes, he had saved her more than once. If it wasn't for him she would have probably died here too.
And then what? What would happen if she were to die in Purgatory? She cringed only at the thought. Would she be sent to oblivion or to a place even worse than this one? If there was anything worse that is.
Kol shook his head and tried to approach her but she took a step back. He had saved her, yes but she didn't trust him.
"I've got something you need Caroline."
"Yeah? What's that?" she doubted him ironically.
"A way out," he revealed and her eyes widened.
"But for that to happen we need to survive this place and let me tell you, sweet Caroline, you ain't going to manage that without me," he taunted her with his smirk and she wanted nothing more than to wipe it out of his face with her fist.
He turned around and started walking further into the woods again.
"So darling? Are you coming or not?" he asked her without stopping or turning to look at her.
She looked around, inspecting the darkness with fear and despite her better judgment, she followed Kol.
Better with the devil you know. Kind of anyway.
Present day. New Orleans.
Elijah Mikaelson straightened his jacket and entered the gates of the Lafayette cemetery.
To his knowledge, the majority of the witches inside New Orleans were in hiding. Most of them out of fear since anyone associated with magic could fall victim of his family's wrath.
No one knew Hope had survived and that had to remain a secret. And for that to happen retribution was in meant vengeance against those that opposed them. It meant revenge against the Guerrera werewolves, his brother savagely dispatched days after Rebekah's departure, and against the covens of the French Quarter that Hayley under Klaus's wing seemed determined to eradicate.
Not a wise move but it appeared as if Hayley did not respond to reason anymore. Unfortunately, Klaus seemed to fuel her erratic sentiments constantly.
It was an open war that culminated after Miss Forbes's death. Klaus lost every sense of logic and mercy when he learned of that girl's demise.
He had to admit that he had been extremely surprised. Seeing his brother mourn and act that way for a girl he barely knew was a revelation to him. It was as if Klaus truly cared for that blonde vampire from Mystic Falls. He acted as if he had lost a member of their family.
How could he have missed this? How could he not have known how deep his brother's interest in that girl had been?
Maybe Caroline Forbes was closer to his brother's heart than anyone could ever suspect.
Maybe she was the proof that Klaus still had a heart. Albeit a twisted one but nonetheless a heart that still cared. Even before Hope's existence.
A year ago.
Hayley was silently sitting on the wooden chair. She was holding one of her daughter's unused pacifiers, her eyes eerie dry and vacant of any emotion. Elijah silently watched her from the door of the nursery when once more screams reached his ears.
He sighed. Having Hayley living under the same roof with them under these circumstances was not the best thing for her. She had to adjust to her newfound vampirism but she had to learn control and to find the will to resist her savage urges.
Niklaus was making it impossible for her to do so. Not when he was acting like a wild beast that provoked the worst in others. Especially to Hayley that seemed to succumb to her rage and her bloodlust more and more every day.
His brother was bringing his victims to their home now and Hayley was always present. He was brutal and he would torture those unfortunate souls for hours to come thus tempting the mother of his child to join him in this madness since she could not resist.
Klaus would stand next to her spent and indifferent allowing her to lose herself and rip their victims apart.
Their house had turned into a ghostly place full of blood and pain. He had to put a stop to it but how?
The girl he cared for had almost disappeared and his brother not only allowed it to happen but he was despicably evoking that change in her.
"It is all for her," Hayley whispered, this time not leaving her daughter's room in order to join his brother in his blood feast.
"I feel the need to apologize for my brother's vile behavior. This is not an excuse but Klaus misses your daughter as much as you do Hayley," he said, uncertainty lacing his words, as more screams echoed around them.
He knew his brother. This kind of rage was not ignited by his daughter's absence. Hope was safe with Rebekah. Klaus missed her and was angry at not having her with him but deep down he was relieved that they had managed to keep the baby safe even under those conditions. And soon they would bring her back. Once they had taken complete control of the city again.
The insanity in which his brother dwelled lately had to have other roots.
"Klaus is not grieving for our baby. He is grieving for…her," Hayley mumbled, her gaze lost in space.
"Her?"
"For Caroline, everything he does, it is all for her."
Elijah turned his head to the side.
Caroline?
Who was she? And why was she so important to his brother?
Obviously, Caroline Forbes meant a lot to Klaus.
And now she was back. It was impossible but she had reappeared and it looked like as if time hadn't changed Klaus' feelings towards her. She was still having a hold over his brother and that could be either a blessing or a curse.
But was it truly her? He had to find out the truth and most of all he had to know how Kol was involved in all of that.
This could still be a trick from the witches and unfortunately, he needed a witch to help him solve the most of them on the run, it was not an easy task. It should be impossible but it actually wasn't since some of them still practiced their magic in the open.
He was currently informed that a certain witch was inside the cemetery right now. One that he had to find and make sure she would help him with Miss Forbes' case.
He sauntered through the tombs and with silent steps he reached one of the old marble wall vaults.
A woman was crouching in front of a vault and with a wooden thin stick she was writing down to the earth Latin and French letters mixed with rosewater and salt.
He remembered some of these symbols from his mother's grimoire. It appeared to be an incantation. A blessing to the dead, a call for the spirit's protection.
To his knowledge, the other side had dissolved but the spirit world obviously expanded beyond the borders of the other side. It was a new world blended with old magic. Magic that preexisted his mother's knowledge and had roots thousands of years before even his own kind was created. And yet these symbols seemed familiar to him.
"How could I be of use?" the woman asked without turning to look at him.
Her accent had a slight French color however he could also recognize some Nordic cadences in her voice. It was weird but her scent also reminded him an old orchard full of wildflowers in bloom he had once upon a time, many centuries ago, visited in Norway when he was searching about his family's European lineage.
"Bluebellsfongen," he whispered with nostalgia, for a moment lost in memory, as the scent of those flowers enveloped him and brought back memories from his childhood. His mother and Ayanna used to grow tall bluebells in their village. Esther used to pin some of their purple petals to Rebekah's braids when she was a child.
The woman with the curly, strawberry blonde, long hair smiled and stood up, her movement bringing him back to the present. She ignited some incense and threw some blue petals to the ground and smiled.
"The flowers of the witches they say and of everlasting love," she lamented and then her eyes filled with mischief, "also called as the Dead man's bells," she said with a low voice, her green eyes a piercing gaze that weirdly brought chills down his spine.
"Excuse my interruption, I am-"
"Elijah Mikaelson," she interrupted him, "the older undead son of the Originals," she said and behind her smoke from the depths of the letters she had written to the ground started rising.
Elijah watched her silently, his eyes inspecting her. There was something unsettling about this woman.
"Everyone in New Orleans knows who you are," she said and with a wave of her hand, the smoke behind her dissolving into thin air.
"And yet here you are practicing magic in the open," Elijah observed.
After what happened with Hope's birth most witches in the city had taken refuge inside their secret covens. They were afraid of his brother's wrath and of Hayley's impulses.
A year has passed and the same pattern seemed to be repeating. He always felt as if the real war was about to begin but for now, New Orleans's warfare had reached a dead end. Klaus' brutality seemed to be feared and yet something didn't quite add up. They had gained some control back but as it seemed it wasn't enough. It was never enough. A year now and New Orleans was still not a safe place for his niece to return. Something was stirring in the darkness. He could feel it.
"I am a servant of nature. I am meant to practice my magic in the open. In the wind and in earth's soil," she simply said, turned her back to him and looked at the vault in front of her emotionlessly.
"My ancestors never harmed anyone. Yet, when your family's protégé forbade magic during his reign they suffered the most. Then you came along once again," she continued with a cold voice and with the back of her palm she swept the dust from the marble tombstone.
The golden letters that spelled her family's name were shining in the afternoon light.
"You dethroned Marcel and allowed our kind to practice our craft openly again even if it was a passing occurrence and I for one refuse to duel in the shadows once more," she declared with an unwavering tone, "besides if you wanted me dead I would already be missing a heart would I not?" she provoked him with an enigmatic smile.
He was intrigued by her courageous stance and looked at the vault behind her.
It belonged to the Julien coven. One of the oldest blessed with magic families of New Orleans. And one of the most dangerous ones.
Their ancestral magic was binding them to New Orleans and yet some centuries ago some of them abandoned New Orleans and reproduced descendants with witches that lived outside the city's borders thus also creating a magic lineage outside New Orleans. It was not as pure as of those that remained inside the city but their new kin definitely held great importance; once those relatives of theirs found their way into New Orleans their Julien blood multiplied its existing powers since they could tab into their ancestral magic inside and outside the city borders.
"My brother might not be that merciful… Miss?" Elijah warned her as he asked her name with a strict tone.
"Synnove Julien, and since I was married once it is Mrs.," she introduced herself to him without showing any sign of fear.
Elijah eyed her carefully. She looked quite young in order to have a long past behind her.
"Mrs. Synnove, I am afraid I am in an urgent need of your assistance," he told her making sure that his tone conveyed the fact that he was not simply asking but ordering her to help him.
The red-headed witch nodded and looked at him seriously.
"Do I have your word I will be allowed to practice my magic without any repercussions from now and on?" she bargained with him.
"If you help us tonight you will be free to use magic on your own accord, but not the same can be said for your coven until they come out of hiding and come to pay their respects and allegiance to my family," Elijah relented with a stern diplomatic voice.
Coldness filled Synnove's gaze but she nodded and gathered her purse from the ground.
"Indeed under the circumstances both of our families' interests are more inclined to an alliance than war," she said approaching him, " most of the times however you can't have peace without war ensuring it," she enigmatically warned and smiled, "your urgent need awaits Elijah Mikaelson, so I would suggest you lead the way," she said and started walking next to him.
Klaus had taken her to the crypt but he remained silent. He leaned on the stone wall and watched Caroline from afar.
They could not enter any further because of the magical barrier that blocked the entrance.
After he consecrated Esther's bones he was the one who made Genevieve cast the barrier spell last year. He didn't want anyone to have access to the corpses of the Originals. They could even be used for certain rituals with unforeseen consequences.
Genevieve, however, had managed to raise a barrier that ensured no one would be able to enter in the mausoleum he had created for his dead siblings and Mikael. Not even him.
Originally he hadn't complained because he wanted to keep Genevieve by his side and thought he could always find another witch to break the spell if he needed to but obviously, that had been a grave mistake.
Unfortunately, it was not easy to break that spell and with Genevieve dead and the witches running scared all over New Orleans he hadn't found the opportunity to find a trustworthy capable witch to take down the barrier or at least manipulate it in order for him to have access to the coffins.
Caroline was sitting on the dirty ground, her back resting on a wooden frame, her messy hair falling on her face.
Her eyes were closed and her breathing was heavy. Her arm was glowing; the more it was pulsating the more she seemed to be in pain. She seemed to be almost unconscious.
She was so different from what he remembered. She was covered in dirt and she looked…broken.
Deep down he knew that this was his Caroline. He did not know how but he could feel it. He did not want to admit that he hadn't placed his trust to that girl but to his instincts.
And yet at the same time, he could see that the woman in front of him was not the Caroline he once knew.
Caroline brought her arm to her bosom and her other hand covered the glowing part, clutched it tightly and groaned.
He took a step forward, the need to help her was all-consuming but he stopped in his tracks.
There was still a seed of doubt. If this was one more tricks from the witches, if they dared to give him hope only to have it snatched away from him later, he would tear the world apart. Having Caroline taken from him was an unimaginable suffering but having her returned to him only to lose her again would be one of the worst torments someone could inflict on him. And he would show no mercy.
Caroline threw her head back and without opening her eyes she sighed.
"I remember more clearly now," she muttered and Klaus frowned.
Her weak gaze landed on him.
"Coming back to life made the memories from that place come and go but Kol had told me stories from your life," she rasped gaining his full attention before he coughed.
"When you were younger you taught Kol how to braid Rebekah's hair. You used branches with long thin leafs from some trees that grew next to the river to teach him so he could surprise your sister at her birthday," she whispered and Klaus's breath hitched, " and he got rashes from them," Caroline tried to laugh but made her coughing worse and closed her eyes in pain.
She slowly opened her eyes and their gazes locked. He gasped at what he saw in her eyes. Understanding, pain, and familiarity.
No one knew about that. It was a secret he had with Kol from when they were kids.
His whole body shook, his voice broke.
"How-"
Caroline smiled despite the pain and that rendered him speechless.
He looked at her and her smile grew bigger. A smile that brought warmth to his heart as memories started resurfacing.
"I believe his exact words were…"
Purgatory
"Mother's salves didn't even work! I got pimples everywhere! It was one the cruelest things Nik ever did to me. You see Bekah always wanted to be pampered and in the end, I really regretted learning how to braid her hair because after that she was a pain in the ass and kept annoying me to fix her damn hair every bloody morning and Nik coincidentally was nowhere to be found!"
Kol nagged and Caroline giggled.
They were sprawled on the ground and looked into the abyss that was covering the absence of the sky.
Kol was telling her stories from when he was a kid. Proof she would need if his brothers opposed her. Just in case she would need to convince them about her honesty.
But it was more than that. He was finally opening up to her. It was something he needed. Something he would never admit he needed. Something both of them needed.
"Well at least that was before she turned into the strumpet brat of an Original you've met and could compel people into doing those things for her," he quipped and Caroline grimaced as she remembered how Rebekah used to compel everyone at the committees.
They remained silent for a while and her old insecurities and memories came back. The world she was remembering, the committees and the dances she organized seemed so far away. Unreachable.
Would she ever find her way back there?
"What if I don't make it?" she whispered.
"You will. You are stronger now," Kol encouraged her and his palm covered hers.
Caroline turned her head and looked at him. She nodded and he responded with a similar nod. She had to make it. They had no other options left.
"What about Elijah? What would convince him?" she asked and Kol's eyes changed. Something similar to pain simmered in them.
"Ah…Elijah…"
As she was about to tell more to Klaus, Elijah and a woman approached them.
Caroline tried to stand up but she could barely move.
Klaus helped her stand. She looked at him with gratitude when he wrapped his hand around her waist and supported her. She rested her head on his shoulder and her eyes thanked him.
He believed her. She could see that he believed her.
Elijah and the woman that Caroline suspected was a witch came near them.
"Brother, Miss Forbes, this is Mrs. Synnove Julien. I already explained to her the nature of our problem and she has agreed to help us," Elijah informed them as the witch next to him stood still, her eyes roving all over Caroline's form.
Caroline looked at the witch carefully. There was something in those green eyes she did not trust. Her time in purgatory had taught her a few things. One of those was to sense danger. And that witch was as if she had a huge neon sign that flashed on and off signals of danger.
Synnove took a step forward and turned her eyes to Klaus.
"Do you have anything that belonged to the girl?" the woman asked and Klaus nodded.
He then took out of his pocket the eternity bracelet he had once given her and Caroline felt her heart beating faster. The last time she had seen it was at his family's ball in Mystic Falls when she had thrown it back at him in anger.
Did he carry it with him?
Klaus gave the bracelet to the witch and Synnove held it in her palm and closed her eyes for some moments.
When she opened them again she shook her head negatively.
"There is no personal imprint on it. Are you sure this belonged to your Caroline?" she asked and at that Caroline pushed herself away from Klaus's embrace and even though she could barely stand she forced herself to stay on her feet without wavering.
"I am not his Caroline but yes Klaus had given me that bracelet some years ago. As a birthday gift," she recalled and Klaus smiled at that.
Elijah seemed to be observing their interaction closely.
"It must not have stayed in your possession for long then," the witch skeptically said and Caroline nodded.
"I had it...returned back to sender," she said and rolled her eyes at Klaus' smirk.
"That is one way to put it," Klaus said and came closer, "what is the problem?" he impatiently asked Synnove.
"I cannot use the bracelet. I need something that belonged to Caroline longer. Something that contains her aura. That is the only way I can identify if the girl standing in front of you is indeed Caroline Forbes," Synnove told him and Caroline huffed.
"For God's sake it is me!" she angrily said.
"I am afraid I cannot confirm this," the witch insisted.
Caroline glared at her and tiredly ran her hand through her hair desperately.
"I am sorry but I do not have the time to get to Mystic Falls to bring you my teddy bear right now!" she snapped and saw the witch's eyes widening.
"What is the matter?" Elijah asked and Klaus's eyes sharper than ever followed the witch closely.
Caroline could tell Klaus felt it too. There was something wrong with this witch. Something she could not pin point exactly, but it was there just under the surface, and Klaus could sense it.
Synnove lost all color from her face when she noticed Caroline's arm. Kol's soul was casting a bright glow under her thin skin.
The witch approached her but as she was ready to touch her Klaus flashed next to Synnove and grabbed the witch's hand in midair before she was able to grab Caroline's arm.
Synnove glared at Klaus when Elijah intervened.
"Brother maybe it would be best if Mrs. Julien were to check Miss Forbes's hand," he calmly suggested but Klaus did not let go of Synnove's arm. Obviously, he did not trust her.
Caroline stumbled forward and touched Klaus' shoulder.
"It is okay," she said to him and Klaus cast a warning glare to the witch before he let go of her hand and took a protective step closer to Caroline.
Caroline tentatively extended her hand forward and Synnove's fingers lingered above the glowing moving flesh but did not dare touch it.
"What are you?" the woman observed Caroline with fear.
The witch shook her head with terror.
"What have you done?" she asked Caroline, "this is not possible," she breathed and then took a step back.
Synnove stared at Elijah looking petrified.
"I have to leave, I can't stay here," she whispered fearfully and Caroline blinked surprised at the way the witch seemed to cower in front of her but then she flinched when the glow in her arm scorched her. It was as if the glow was reacting at the witch's presence.
Elijah cleared his throat and his gaze inspected Caroline up and down. Klaus remained silent. Deadly silent.
As the witch tried to leave Elijah stepped in front of her.
"Please Mrs. Julien. I can personally guarantee your safety if you could just-"
Synnove shook her head once more and pointed an accusing finger at Caroline.
"Her presence alone defies nature, I can't stand in front of her," she shrieked.
"If she is carrying my brother's soul-" Elijah tried once more.
"She is an abomination!" the witch accused with hatred and Caroline winced when Klaus protectively towered over her casting a deadly glare at the witch "she is the bringer of death. More so than any common vampire," Synnove divulged and both Klaus and Elijah looked at each other surprised before they stared at Caroline that seemed to be as alarmed as them.
"This is not the answer we are looking for!" Klaus growled and took a menacing step towards the witch.
Caroline tried to stop him but she felt so weak. This time it was Elijah that supported her.
"I have no answers for…you!" the witch's voice rose in anger and she glowered at Klaus with disgust.
Klaus sped in front of Synnove and grabbed the witch by the neck.
"Then you die!" he bellowed, squeezed her neck and lifted her up. Synnove choked but then she squinted her eyes and the next thing Caroline could see was Klaus falling on his knees screaming and holding his head.
His nose started bleeding and he tried to reach for the witch but she raised her hand and Klaus fell backwards crumbling in what seemed to be excruciating pain.
Caroline tried to move and help him but then her head started throbbing. The witch was also focusing on her. She screamed in pain and Elijah's hands stopped supporting her and she felt to the ground just like Klaus. Elijah was stumbling back too trying to resist the magic.
Her head felt as if it is going to explode. An unfamiliar pain she hadn't felt before. Not even when she died. She looked at Klaus and realized that the witch's powers were vast since she had been able to take down even him.
Time stilled for her but in reality, everything had happened in a matter of seconds. Before she could even yell for the witch to stop Elijah pushed through the pain and grabbed a dagger. The next thing Caroline saw was Elijah pressing the blade against Synnove's throat.
Caroline leaned over noticing droplets of her blood falling from her nose down to the dirt. Blood was pouring out of her ears too. This was too much. She was already barely holding on. She was dying. Again. She could feel it.
"No," Caroline whispered terrified and fell to the ground but before she hit the floor two strong hands held her.
The witch had released Klaus from her magic and he was now holding Caroline against his chest.
"Stay with me Caroline," Klaus whispered and she saw fear in his eyes. She tried to speak but the pain on her hand was increasing. So much. More than it should. What was happening?
Klaus was caressing her hair, trying in vain to take some of her pain away.
"Not again, I don't want to die," she moaned in pain, tears tracing her cheeks.
"You won't, I won't let you!" Klaus promised her; it seemed as if his voice was fading away.
Her head was about to burst open and her insides felt as if they were in fire.
"KILL HER!" Klaus screamed to Elijah while refusing to let go of Caroline. Elijah pressed the dagger more into the witch's throat ordering her to stop and Synnove's powers seemed to be decreasing a bit.
Everything seemed distant now.
Klaus bit down on his arm and tried to feed Caroline his blood but even in her last moments Caroline refused to drink. Either both her and Kol would make it back or they would both return to Purgatory. She wouldn't have it any other way.
"Drink Caroline!" Klaus ordered her and tried to force her but Caroline shook her head.
"I can't," she cried, "Kol's soul…I can't fail him, I ca-n't dr i nk blo-od b-efore I…I…he will…die..again," she tried to speak clearly but her voice sounded like a broken record in her ears.
"I can take you down," the witch threatened Elijah when blood started dripping from her throat's wound.
"You are in the presence of two Originals, you can't take both of us out without losing your life," Elijah threatened her and Synnove lowered her hand completely in defeat.
Caroline breathed in more. The pain in her head was going away. But she didn't have much time.
"She is useless," Klaus yelled and gently placed Caroline to the floor before standing up.
He was about to kill the witch when Caroline's voice echoed in the basement. Weak but clear.
She tried to crawl on the floor and Klaus sped back to her and held her close, lifting her upper body up.
"Please! I mean no harm I swear," she tried to reason with the witch, "is there no way for you to tell them that the soul belongs to their brother? There has to be a way! They have to help me and you can help them understand that what I am saying is the truth. Please!" she begged Synnove and tried to get up.
"Stay away from me," the witch said refusing to help Caroline.
Elijah lowered the blade but stepped between Synnove and Caroline. Klaus held Caroline closer.
"This is getting us nowhere," Elijah said with a cold voice.
"Elijah," Klaus called him in fear.
Caroline coughed blood and she doubled over in pain in Klaus's hands. That seemed to cause a new terror to Klaus that after a long time he begged Elijah to help him.
Elijah looked at him astonished. Klaus hadn't asked him for help in that way in ages. The last time he had they were human.
He then realized that Klaus seemed vulnerable. He didn't even care for the witch that had just crossed them. He only cared for…Caroline. Elijah looked at the way his brother looked at the dying girl in his arms. It was as if his brother truly…cared.
"Let her die!" the witch screamed and Elijah grabbed her by her upper arm, his eyes warning her to remain quiet.
"Lower the barrier NOW!" Klaus commanded the witch as he picked up Caroline from the floor. He pressed Caroline's body on his own and her head rolled over his shoulder.
"You have the power to take me down so you have the power to take down that cursed barrier. Do it now!" he yelled at the red-head witch.
"Niklaus-" Elijah tried to intervene but Klaus's eyes turned to amber, his fangs dropping.
"If you want to leave this place alive you will drop the barrier now!" he shouted, his attentions back to the witch.
"This is not wise Niklaus, we can't be sure about this," Elijah insisted.
"Listen to your brother!" the witch advised.
"You will obey me!" Klaus roared ready to attack them. Caroline's hand weakly reached over his heart and he stopped. He looked at her surprised and concerned, his eyes turning back to blue.
Caroline turned her head and looked straight at Elijah. Her mouth was stained with blood. Her eyes glowing with pain. She could barely breathe how much more speak.
"A long time ago Kol climbed on a tree; he remained there hidden for hours so to avoid his chores and when you searched for him he jumped at you. You tripped over, fell and broke your hand. You said to your father that it was you up to the tree and you fell on your own and broke your hand. You did it because you didn't want Mikael to punish him and after that Kol was actually so sorry that he tried to do all your chores until you healed but even with a broken arm you wouldn't let him," Caroline breathlessly whispered and Elijah let go of the witch and took a step back as if he was electrocuted.
No one knew of that story. Not even Niklaus.
Kol was too embarrassed and afraid to say it to anyone when he was a kid and it became their secret.
Back then Mikael would not have only punished Kol but also Klaus since Niklaus was the one that was supposed to guard Kol and make sure he behaved. A task impossible.
If back then their father had learnt about what had truly happened he would have probably targeted most of his wrath at Klaus as always. He and Kol had sworn to never tell this to Klaus because they did not want their brother to feel obligated to them for something that was not even his fault or responsibility.
It was one of the few times that Kol had acted responsibly and never rubbed what happened to Klaus' face. Not even to spite him. Not ever.
Caroline could see that Elijah was shaken up about it and even though she clearly hadn't gained his complete trust she could see in his eyes hope mixed with doubt.
Elijah turned to Synnove, his eyes turning to ice.
"Do as my brother commands," he ordered her but Synnove seemed indecisive.
"This is a mistake," she tried to convince the eldest Mikaelson.
"Lower the barrier and you have my word you won't be harmed, otherwise my blade with be the one that takes your life, that I vow to you," he relentlessly told her; the dagger's blade, already tainted with her blood was shining in his grip.
Synnove placed her hand on the wound of her neck and breathed in deeply.
"You have no idea what you are doing," she threatened them but nonetheless she focused her magic towards the magical barrier.
The wind blew around them even though the crypt under the compound had no windows or openings for the air to rise.
Synnove seemed to concentrate hard and when she opened her eyes again she looked straight at Caroline.
Her gaze was eerie, void of any emotion, and Caroline felt as if she was suffocating. Klaus was still holding her in his arms and she turned her head to the side. The top of her head was brushing against his shirt and for the first time in a very long time she felt warmth again. His body heat was caressing her skin. She had forgotten how warmth felt like. She wanted to snuggle in his arms, close her eyes and sleep but she knew she couldn't. Her life was ebbing away. She could not close her eyes.
And yet even like that the witch's gaze seemed to be sending waves of coldness straight at her.
Synnove turned towards Elijah.
"It is done," she said and sounded exhausted. Elijah simply nodded scrutinizing the witch with his eyes.
"This better not be a trick witch," Klaus threatened with a low voice and walked past the point where the barrier used to be.
Caroline could barely hear Synnove's and Elijah's voices as Klaus carried her deeper into the crypt.
The humidity in the air made the hair on the back of her neck rise.
Klaus stepped down some stairs made of slippery rock and then she noticed that they entered a dark place that looked more like a cave.
Deep into the cave in a crevice, behind a door with iron bars and a padlock, there were three coffins.
Klaus broke the lock with his hand without letting her go of his arms and pushed the iron door with his leg open.
"Which one is Kol's?" she asked him with a weak voice as they got in but Klaus didn't speak.
"Please, I don't have much time," she pled, hating the fact that she had to beg, and Klaus walked towards the coffin on the far right side.
He allowed her to stand on her feet and for a moment she grabbed his sleeve in order to maintain her balance.
Klaus' hand supported her and held her from her waist; she swayed a bit but stood her ground. She had to. She could do this. She had come this far to quit now. She carefully detached herself from Klaus and felt his eyes boring into hers.
"Are you sure for this brother?" Elijah's voice reached her ears and she then realized that Elijah had followed them.
Back in purgatory she had reached a point where she was able to sense whenever anyone or anything approached her. But now she was too tired it seemed. Klaus's presence was also messing with her head. Every emotion she felt near him was so confusing.
"Yes," Klaus answered looking straight at Caroline. He was placing his trust on her and she couldn't help but feel gratitude.
Klaus was not one to trust anyone. She knew that all too well. And yet here he was. Helping her. Choosing to believe in her.
How contradictory and ironic was that? After her penance in that hell hole, it seemed that she had lost her faith and the only person that now placed his faith in her was Klaus. The man that trusted no one. A few years ago she would have been the one to teach him how to trust. Now he was teaching her.
Caroline weakly smiled and Klaus melancholically smiled back.
"What do you need?" he asked her and he opened the coffin's lid revealing a gruesome sight.
Kol's body was a burned black -almost shapeless- mass. A huge chunk of charcoal and rotten crisped flesh. His features had all blended into decayed burnt tissue. If she was human she would have probably threw up, screamed or fainted by now. Maybe all the above. But she was not human. She was a vampire and a tormented soul that had spent endless days in purgatory. She had a feeling that nothing could scare her anymore but deep inside this image was causing a wave of pain to rise in her heart and made her eyes fill with unshed tears.
This was Kol. Her ally, her mentor. The man that saved her countless times when they were stuck in hell and taught her how to fight back.
Her constant irritating pain in the ass.
She breathed deeply remembering how some years ago she had seen his burnt corpse with distaste and had tried to cover it up and to get rid of it when it was lying down on Elena's floor as if it was nothing more than garbage. The smell that was coming out of the coffin was horrible but she ignored it.
She sighed and swallowed her tears. She looked at Klaus and shook her head.
"I have everything I need right here," she said and leaned over the coffin. She held on to it because her legs were shaking badly.
"Step back, both of you," she told Klaus and Elijah.
Klaus went near Elijah, both of them keeping their distance. She could feel Elijah's eyes following her every move.
Her eyes changed. Black veins appeared above her cheeks and blood filled her orbs.
"Okay Kol, let's do this," she grunted as her fangs descended.
She harshly bit her glowing arm, tearing the skin.
She turned her arm over letting it hover over Kol's corpse.
"Anime… corpore iure… corpus totum… resurget," she chanted the words she had memorized by heart. She tapped into the soul magic and repeated the chant.
She could hear Elijah's and Klaus's breaths quickening behind her but paid no attention. The pain in her hand multiplied. The world seemed to be moving underneath her feet but she refused to fall over.
Caroline kept uttering the spell over and over again.
From the cut on her hand instead of blood a golden fluid started pouring down. It looked like sparkling lava had replaced her blood and was now dripping over Kol's chest and slowly moving towards his burnt heart the white oak had ravaged.
Both Mikaelson brothers behind her were observing the scene astonished. Caroline's arm seemed to be wrapped inside a bright light. Sparks of energy and rays of lightning were creating intricate paths all over her flesh as more blood mixed with the weird golden liquid that was trickling down her arm.
Caroline was groaning in pain but refused to remove her arm from its place.
"Come on!" she whispered, "we made it so far! Come on!" she urged and the light around her hand got brighter.
Mystical vibes vibrated all around her. Blood started pouring down her nose again. She coughed blood and almost choke on it.
"Anime corpora iure corpus totum resurget!" she recited louder, her voice stronger, her mind concentrated on her task, her will defeating the pain.
Klaus tried to go near her but Elijah held him in place. This magic seemed impossible.
In an entire millennia none of them had encountered anything similar before.
The light from Caroline's hand was casting bright glows inside the darkness that encircled the coffin. Kol's body seemed to be absorbing all the energy that was coming out Caroline's body.
The coffin shook, the wood cracked and with a scream Caroline fell down. She gripped her hand tightly, red blood staining her fingers now.
Klaus immediately ran to her, kneeling down. Her hair was covering her face. Her hand seemed to not be healing fast but there was no glow in it anymore. Blood had stopped coming out of her nose and mouth.
Darkness and silence prevailed all around them again.
"Are you okay Caroline?" he asked her concerned and she nodded. He helped her get up as she tried to wipe the blood from her face with the back of her hand; then his whole body stilled.
The coffin was empty.
Elijah came near them holding his breath. Kol's body had disappeared. He was about to say something when he noticed Niklaus's eyes. Klaus was staring at something completely frozen. It was as if Klaus was gazing upon the devil himself. Elijah was about to turn around when a voice reached his ears and his whole body stiffened.
That voice. It was familiar.
"Greetings from the dead."
A/N: So I am not watching The Originals and for a long time I have lost my inspiration.
So now every new character and plot device is mine to use in any way I want despite the shows. The beauty of fanfiction right?
- The "anime corpore iure corpus totum resurget" phrase is taken from Supernatural's episode 8x01.
I have no beta so forgive any mistakes.
