First of all I'm not dead just super busy and I would like to humbly get on my knees and apologize for making you guys wait for such a loooooong time. I've just started my degree years last September and I seriously have no time to write with all the lab reports and assignments and presentation and my side activity; dancing. So yeah, I'm trying my very best.

Back to this forgotten plot, if you guys missed the hint, Kol told Vanessa that the future isn't set. Vanessa getting warned through the tarot cards could mean she could save whatever that is about to happen to Kol ;) But then again, maybe not. It depends on you guys, seriously.

Chapter 3: Witches of New Orleans

French Quarter, New Orleans

"It's so good to be back in English speaking country. I was getting tired of you showing off speaking in French, Spanish, Turkish..." I said and pretended to count just how many more language that he knew. Kol laughed, pulling me closer to him by my waist.

"I was merely trying to impress you," he said cheekily and I giggled.

"I was impressed, then I got annoyed," I said and he laughed out loud. He looked around, admiring the streets as we walked. "Lovely."

"I love it. The city is so, alive," I said, stopping at a woman playing violin and giving her a couple dollars before following Kol up the streets.

"See those?" he asked, pointing at the fortune tellers with the magic ball, tarot cards and so on. "Most of them are real witches," he said and I raised an eyebrow.

"How do we know which one is real and which one is not?" I asked.

"If they hate us, they're real," he answered to which I chuckled. "But believe it or not, I was quite famous with the witches here," he said.

"Did you sleep with them?" I asked and he winked playfully at me.

"You don't really want to know that," he said and I hit his arm grudgingly. "Ow," he whined, pulling me closer to him and I rolled my eyes. "Relax, it was almost a century ago," he said and I huffed.

"Did you sense that?" he asked me suddenly and I ignored him. "Oh come on, you can't be jealous of the many women I bedded," he said and I gaped.

"Manwhore," I muttered under my breath and he chuckled, not offended in the slightest. "You like it when I'm jealous," I stated grudgingly.

"Jealousy looks good on you," he said softly in my ear, before nibbling it. Kol did like me being green and jealous when he mentioned about some of the women from his past. I'm pretty sure it was his lack of romance and common sense that he talked about his past women so casually with me.

"Someone's following us," he whispered to me and I nodded. We disappeared in the crowd, before vamp sped to the alley. A male vampire showed up and it took him less than a second to realize it was a trap but it was still too late. He dodged my attack and threw a punch at me that I avoided before Kol threw him across the wall.

"That's my girlfriend that you just attacked," Kol said menacingly even though his lips curled back into a smile.

"Can I kill him?" I asked Kol sweetly and he grinned.

"On our first day in the city? Be my guest, darling," Kol said gleefully, throwing me a wooden stake that he had snapped. The vampire didn't look scared and correcting his stance, waiting for me to attack. I hissed at him, baring my fangs as I charged but was pinned against the wall by another vampire. I kneed him hard in the stomach once, and twice before slamming his head against the wall. Kol took over, ripping him off of me, holding the vampire by his arm.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little Marcellus," Kol said snidely to the dark skinned vampire with shaven hair.

"Kol Mikaelson, I'll be damned," the vampire, Marcellus said breathlessly, a charming smile that didn't quite reach his eyes formed on his lips. Kol tilted his head to the side and with a playful smile, released the vampire.

"After all these years, you're still here," Kol said with a slightly questioning tone.

"This is my home," he replied before his eyes glassed over to me, frowning slightly. "Thought I'd never see you again, Cass. What are you doing here with him?" he asked me. There was a hidden message to that, an underlying meaning.

"Sorry, darling. Wrong person," I said, dropping the stake and offering my hand. "Vanessa Gilbert." He looked surprised but seeing how serious I was and that it wasn't a joke, he finally took my hand.

"Marcel Gerard. Sorry, you look..."

"Exactly like Cassandra Petrova, yes. I'm her doppelganger," I said briefly and he gave an unsure nod.

"And you must be crazier than her," he said and Kol and I glanced at each other. It was one of the things that I did during our travels when we met someone from Kol's life and I wasn't sure if it's an enemy or a friend and it was a signal to let Kol respond.

"You have no idea," he said, smirking which prompted me to laugh.

"I know you don't really like me, but if there's a Mikaelson in town, it's my obligation to throw a party to welcome you," he said with a smile and I raised an eyebrow at Kol.

"Is there something you need, Marcellus?" Kol asked with a sly grin and Marcel chuckled.

"I'm just being a gracious host, that's all," he said.

"Don't worry mate, we won't be staying long," Kol said and offered me his hand. "If you'll excuse us..."

"We're starving," I said with a wink and turned around only to have Marcel appeared in front of us, with a tight smile on his face.

"We have...rules, here in New Orleans," Marcel said as easy going as he can.

"You know he doesn't play by anyone's rules but his own," I said with a laugh, noticing Kol becoming pissed off. I stroked my thumb against his skin, trying to calm him down.

"You can have as many as you want, but no killings. Vampires, locals, tourists and even the witches, that's all I asked," Marcel said and I heard a low growl coming from Kol and quickly placed a hand on his chest, where his heart was.

"Sure," I said with a smile at Marcel, anxious as I waited for Kol to react. He just scoffed, bumping Marcel's shoulder harshly as he walked past him. "Don't worry, we won't kill anyone," I said to Marcel with a smile before catching up with Kol.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, touching Kol's arm gently and he snatched it away from me.

"Of course I'm not! That bloody pest! Acting like he's above me," Kol seethed in anger. To be honest, I'd never seen Kol that angry, like steam coming out from him because his blood was boiling.

"Come on," I said, rubbing his arm comfortingly. "Let's get a drink, calm down and have a bite," I said and Kol followed me grudgingly into the restaurant called Rousseau's.

"No, I need to get out," he said abruptly and I sighed in defeat, watching him leave.

Two days ago – Cadiz, Spain

"Come on, stop dwelling with the past. The city is so beautiful right now!" I persuaded Kol who was being grumpy. We were simply talking about his adventure in Spain when we stumbled into the topic of him being daggered three centuries ago in this very city.

"I get it why you're mad," I said softly.

"Do you? Have you ever been stabbed in the back by your own family?" he asked and my mind flashed to the tarot card reading and I pushed it away from my mind.

"So what are you going to do?" I asked him exasperatedly. "Klaus will not dagger you again. Mikael is dead!"

"What does my father had to do with anything?" Kol asked, frowning and I stopped.

"You dropped bodies all over the place and it will lead Mikael to you and your family, right? That's why Klaus daggered you," I said and Kol scoffed. I opened my mouth to say something when Kol crashed his lips against mine. I was about to scold him for distracting me when his memories flooded my mind.

Kol had a scared young brunette cornered in that old looking house, with wooden floor that was covered in blood and dead humans. He was taunting her as she cried for mercy, trying to find a way out when he heard the door downstairs opened and Nik's voice calling out his name.

"Kol! Show yourself! This is no time for games," Klaus growled and Kol rolled his eyes before flashing over to the human and biting her neck. He walked over to his brothers' direction, still feeding on her, just to show them what he was doing the whole day. Kol fed on her until her last breath before dropping her body to the floor carelessly.

"Come, come brother!" he said cheerfully, picking up a mug on the floor and lifted it up in a toast before drinking what was left in it. "It's always times for games."

"We must leave. Mikael is very nearly upon us," Elijah said in haste. Kol sat down on the chair, propping his feet on the table to show that he wasn't going anywhere.

"If Mikael were upon us, I imagine Niklaus would be quite dead," he said dryly.

"I barely escaped! Father left the head of my horse on a pike in the town square," Klaus said obviously affected that his beloved horse had been slaughtered by his father.

"He killed poor Theo? What a beast!" Kol said in mocked pity and sadness. "But then, Father's always hated you most. Surely he'll chase you if you flee, leaving me here. Perhaps I'll make myself mayor," Kol joked.

"Rebekah and Finn have already boarded the ship. It is imperative that we remain together," Elijah said firmly, unamused.

"Rebekah does what she's told because she fears Nik," Kol said angrily, rising to his feet and walked towards Klaus. "And Finn is in no position to argue, given the dagger in his heart," he continued spitefully. "I'll take my chances here," Kol said, turning to walk away only to be blocked by Elijah.

"I find it amusing that you think you have a choice," Klaus said and Kol's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. He reacted in less than a second, able to grip on Klaus's wrist to prevent the dagger from piercing his heart. But with Elijah restraining him from the back, he could barely put up a fight.

"No! I swear to you; the day will come when I'm not so easily subdued! And on that day, I will make you suffer!" Kol growled furiously.

"Perhaps, but today is not that day," Klaus said smugly before daggering Kol.

His scream and pain was too much for me to feel and see and I gasped, pushing Kol away from me. I sat down, breathing heavily as he waited for me to react. When I didn't he rose from the bed and poured himself a drink.

"I did drop countless of bodies and perhaps it did lead father to us. But they didn't dagger me so that the body counts would stop, they dagger me so that I will be in no position to argue with their decision," Kol said and downed the drink to calm himself.

"I'm sorry," I said and he shrugged.

"There's a reason why I didn't plan on staying with them. Not because I like to travel and see the world, but because if I didn't do as Nik says, he'll dagger me," Kol said. "Don't take that as fear, I'm just not going to give him the chance to do so."

"It's different now, isn't it?" I asked him softly.

"You don't know that," he said coldly.

"Then what are we going to do? Nik isn't going to dagger you, not with all the dramas going on back at home," I said.

"I'm not trusting him. Why don't you go out and enjoy the city? We leave tomorrow," he said and I pursed my lips, dropping the subject.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"What about New Orleans?" he asked and I grinned, thinking of True Blood.

"Sure," I said, kissing him in the lips. "I'll be at the beach if you change your mind."

"Hey, would you like to try our famous gumbo?" a waitress asked and I waved my hand at her and headed to the bar instead.

"Scotch and soda please," I said to the bartender.

"Id?" she asked and I opened my wallet to give her my id to which she chuckled. "Oh wow, that's a first," she commented, still chuckling and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry?"

"Why didn't you just compel me?" she asked and I laughed when I realized what I just did.

"Yeah, I don't know. I wasn't thinking," I said, still distracted at the thought of Kol going off by himself.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned as I downed my drink and asked for another.

"No, not really. How did you know I was a vampire?" I asked.

"The daylight necklace and also…" she gestured at herself and I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so you're a witch?" I asked and she nodded, pouring me another glass.

"Jane-Anne Deveraux, bartender and witch," she said.

"Vanessa Gilbert, drop out and vampire," I said with a smile.

"You're new in town? I've never seen you here before," she said and I nodded.

"Yeah, just on vacation. I didn't know the city is crawling with supernatural. To be honest, I've never seen many witches in the same town or city," I said.

"We were here first," Jane-Anne said with a shrug.

"So there's like a coven?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yep, with the Elders as our leaders and-okay, sorry, I can't wait. Was that Kol Mikaelson with you?" she asked and I laughed.

"Yes?" I said unsurely and she looked almost astonished.

"Never thought I'd see any of the Originals in the flesh," she said. "My grandmother used to tell me their stories, how they came to New Orleans."

"They build the city," I said questioningly and Jane-Anne nodded. Kol had told me before we came here that Elijah and Klaus spent centuries in New Orleans, building the city and their home.

"What about Marcel?" I asked and she shushed me as her brown eyes darted around the bar.

"He runs things here now," she said in a hushed whisper.

"Now? Who ran New Orleans before?" I asked and she made a knowing look. Oh, no wonder Kol was so upset. "And…the witches are okay with it?" I asked, frowning.

"Why did you ask that?" she asked and I tilted my head to the side.

"I've never met a coven of witches before but I've got a friend who's a witch. She's very powerful alone, can't imagine how powerful a coven of witches would be," I said and she laughed.

"We stay out of their hairs, they'll stay out of ours," she said, shrugging. "We don't particularly like it, but we're not against it either. Without Marcel, those vampires would be running around dropping bodies," Jane-Anne said. "So, you wanna try our famous gumbo?" she asked with a smile and I grinned.

"Sure," I said.

I was almost done with my meal which was surprisingly good when I saw Marcel walked in with two other vampires. He spotted me and I gave him a friendly smile anyway as I readied myself for a fight.

"Where's Kol?" he asked and gestured to the empty seat across me. "May I?" I nodded, wiping my mouth with the napkin.

"He's somewhere, hopefully not killing anyone," I said casually and took a sip of my lemonade.

"So Vanessa," he began, carefully arranging his words. "What's your story?"

"You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine," I said with a sly grin and he smiled. He does have a great smile; I give him that.

"I asked you first," he said with a smirk and I pursed my lips.

"Let's trade stories. What do you wanna know?" I asked charmingly and he chuckled.

"Let's start with the basics. How did you become a vampire?" Marcel asked, acting like a good cop.

"I was in a car accident. Cassidy's sister saved me, she was surprised at my appearance and decided to turn me," I said briefly and Marcel raised an eyebrow at my very brief summary. "Your turn."

"I was saved by Klaus. He took me in, raised me like his own son and once I was old enough, he turned me into a vampire at my own request," Marcel said.

"What?" I asked, shocked and in disbelief.

"So I take it you know Klaus?" he asked. There you go, his motive. He wanted to know my relationship with the Originals.

"I'm not sure if it's the same guy," I said dryly. "He took you in and raised you…out of goodness of his heart?" I asked and made a face.

"That hard to believe, huh?" Marcel said with a small chuckle and nodded. "Next, how did you end up with the most psychotic Mikaelson?" he asked and I laughed.

"That's a good one. My family and I were in a conflict with Klaus and we were trying to kill him. We found a weapon which turned out to be his mother. Then his mother held this grand ball, and that's where I met Kol," I explained briefly.

"And?" Marcel asked.

"Kol and I spent some time together and once I realized he's not that much of a jerk, we decided to travel together," I finished with a smile. "Besides, there was the sex," I added just to make Marcel cringe or anything but he just sat there, trying to read me.

"So, how did you end up taking the reign of this city from Klaus?" I asked boldly and Marcel just smiled.

"Klaus and I…we're family. He taught me everything that I know, including how to rule a city. In 1919, his father arrived here, burned the opera house to the ground, along with everyone in it. They left, I stayed," he said. "I was born here and this city is my home. Watching it burned, well, let's just say I don't like it. So I rebuilt it and here we are."

"So you fancy yourself as the king?" I asked and he smiled.

"I am the king," he said and I snorted.

"Sure," I said wryly and he kept that smile on his face as he placed his hands on the table, leaning to me.

"There better be no massacres in the city. It's bad for tourism," Marcel said and I forced a smile on my face.

"Whatever you want, darling," I said and Marcel nodded, not really believing me.

"Tomorrow at nine, a welcome party at the Mikaelson's old residence. Kol knows where it is," Marcel said before leaving.

After I had my lunch, I decided to check in and texted Kol the address. He wouldn't pick up his phone and I eventually gave up, and went to explore the city on my own. What a great start of our stay in New Orleans, I thought bitterly. I decided to go to the infamous LaLaurie Mansion but I couldn't enter it, not without a tour or compulsion anyway.

After killing some time just visiting the tourist attractions nearby and taking a stroll down the streets, I stopped for a bite. I called Kol again but it went straight to voicemail and I decided to just head back to the hotel when I heard some tourists talking.

The group of tourists were led by a dark skinned woman with fabulous curly dark hair as she yammered about the witches in New Orleans. They stopped in front of a shop and after some explanation, the tourists entered the shop to buy some souvenirs. She saw me watching and made her way to me. Her heartbeat was steady which meant she wasn't afraid and also meant that she's an actual witch.

"No killing in the city, especially the tourists," she said and I shrugged.

"I overheard them mocking vampires saying we're some sparkling fairies and shit. Thought I should say hello," I said playfully. She chuckled before taking a long look at me.

"What?"

"Cassidy Pierce?" She asked and I made a face, getting tired of people mistaking me as that bitch. Apparently, she was famous here too.

"No, I'm uh, her doppelganger," I said. "I'm Vanessa."

"Sabine," she shook my hand.

"So you're a witch?" I took my guess and she nodded.

"We gave them tour about witches and vampires, set up some stores selling herbs and charms, they love it. It's good for tourism," she said.

"How did you know who Cassidy was?" I asked.

"Heard stories from my grandmother who heard it from hers. She was Elijah Mikaelson's wife and the Mikaelsons are famous in the French Quarter," Sabine said. She raised her eyebrows at my shocked face until I snapped out of it.

"His wife? I knew they were lovers but I didn't know they were married…" I said and shuddered at the thought. "Because you know, Klaus hates her."

"You know Klaus? Klaus Mikaelson?" she asked in surprise and I frowned.

"Err yeah," I replied unsurely. Perhaps I shouldn't be telling everyone I met about my connection with the Originals.

"And I take it you know Elijah too?" she asked. The way she said Elijah's name was as if she was familiar with him.

"Yeah, I met them first before I met Kol. It was a long story," I said, thinking back to the time when I first met Elijah and Klaus. That seemed like a very long time ago.

"Those who love them, die. That's what the family brings to you; death," she said and I raised an eyebrow at her. "In 1919, the opera house here burned down, followed by the city itself. Werewolves, witches, vampires and even humans. Thousands of casualties and all because of the Mikaelsons."

"Well I can't really disagree," I said, remembering Aunt Jenna. My sweet, lovely, innocent Aunt Jenna who was killed by Klaus just because he wanted to teach us a lesson.

"And yet you stay with them," she said and I shrugged.

"When you love someone, you just…love them, you know?" I said and she smiled.

"I guess," she said softly. "Your…boyfriend has been reaching out to the witches. Most of them are getting restless. If you don't mind, please refrain him from killing or threatening anyone."

"He said he was famous with the witches here," I stated questioningly.

"Kol Mikaelson once taught the dark arts to the witches here. And we don't want that to happen again. Please tell him to leave the witches alone," Sabine said and I shrugged.

"I'll see what I can do," I said and glanced at her. She seemed to know everything that's been going on around here, whether in the past or in the present. "Was that why he was daggered? A century ago?"

"Why don't you ask him?" She asked and I laughed.

"He can't tell me without getting mad, and I don't want him getting mad," I told her.

"A long time ago, when Kol was undaggered, he started to form relationships with the witches. Some of the witches didn't like it because he was a vampire but then again, many followed him. Kol was not like his brother, he respects the witches and in return, he earned theirs. So you see, the witches began to take sides between Klaus and Kol, and Kol was winning," Sabine explained.

"So Klaus daggered him?" I asked and she nodded.

"I bet he still have followers, but the coven has grown strict now," she said and nodded at the group of tourists who were coming out of the witches' shop. "I have to go, it was a pleasure meeting you, Vanessa," she said kindly.

"The pleasure's all mine," I said, shaking her hand and she smiled. There was something about her that I couldn't shake it off, but I didn't know what.

"Hey," I said to Kol softly as I locked the door. Kol had his back turned on me, a glass of bourbon in his hand as he watched the city from the balcony. I took off my leather jacket as I walked up to him, silently admiring his bare back muscle. I wrapped my arms around his waist gingerly and felt his muscles relaxed against my body. "Are you okay?" I asked him again, kissing his shoulder as I waited for him to answer.

He turned around and I sighed, taking his face in my hands. "I'm here," I told him, tip-toeing to kiss him on the lips.

"I'm fine. I just had to take care of some things," Kol said.

"With the witches?" I asked him firmly and he looked surprised. "You wanna tell me about it?"

"What do you know?" he asked me quietly.

"I rather hear it from you," I said and he remained in silence. "Kol, I love you and I intend to know you. I don't care about your past but if it's affecting your present, I'd like to know. You can always talk to me."

"You wouldn't understand," he said under his breath and something inside me snapped. We had been together for months but there were times he had tried to shut me out, as if he was suddenly scared of my presence in his life. In my anger, I had pinned him against the wall roughly, glaring at him.

"Don't ever assume that I wouldn't understand. Just because I'm young, doesn't mean I'm pathetically clueless about pain and sorrow," I hissed at him. He looked at me in surprise and wonder before closing his eyes and taking my face in his hands. I let go of my grip and he bent down to kiss me softly, letting me in.

Flashes of his past and present poured into my mind, of him working with two witches, Mary-Alice and Astrid, teaching and creating dark objects so that he could use magic without being a witch. And above all, his plan in creating a dagger that would work on Klaus. And that was why he was daggered until Elijah removed the dagger again, a couple of months ago.

"So this was why you wanted to come back here?" I asked, my voice rising. A part of me was angry that he didn't just tell me the real reason we're here. "To create some stupid dagger to get your revenge on Klaus?"

"Why the bloody hell not? He had daggered me over and over again, betraying me countless of times. Why shouldn't I do the same?" Kol growled at me.

"Because you know what it feels like to be betrayed by your own blood. You know how painful the betrayal is," I said. "You don't have to do this," I silently begged.

"I'm not taking any chances, darling. This is a way to ensure that Nik would never dagger me," he said and looked at me in the eye, his eyes growing cold. "With or without you, I'm doing this."

"The witches don't want you interfering with their teaching," I said. "Leave them alone."

"What do I care? And you should know better than to be against me," he said, turning his back on me and I growled, speeding in front of him and lunging at him, taking both of us to the ground.

"Is that a threat?" I hissed, fangs bared at him and he rolled over, pinning me against the floor.

"Just a reminder that I can easily kill you," he said and I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to hide the fact that his words affected me a little.

"Do I mean so little to you compared to your petty revenge against your brother?" I asked him gently and he seemed to snap out of it. He was silent for a moment before his breathing slowed and he let out a sigh. He removed his grips from my wrists and I reached out to his face, pulling him down for a kiss.

"I love you, Kol Mikaelson. I will always side with you and it wouldn't be because of your threats. You should know that I will always stand beside you," I said and he leaned his forehead against mine, before his lips curved into a genuine smile.

"Forgive me?" he asked and I giggled softly, before rolling over and straddling him.

"You're long forgiven," I said, taking his hands and placing it on my waist before kissing him again.

I wanted Vanessa to meet Davina in this chapter but I think the chapter is alreadt too heavy with her meeting Marcel, Jane-Anne and Sabine/Celeste. Oh god, guys, please pray that I can write faster and update faster. Sobs my finals begin right after Christmas but usually when I'm studying for finals that's when the ideas come pouring in so...;)