"In the end there is nothing to be done but to state clearly what has been done, without shame or regret, and say: Here I am, and this is what I am. Now deal with me as you see fit. That is your right. Mine is to stand by the act, and pay the price.

You do what you must do, and pay for it. So in the end all things are simple."

~Brother Cadfael's Penance~

...

The memory of grayed skin and blank eyes. Cold flesh and still veins haunted him. An imagine that would never leave him. Burned into his brain forever.

Damon wanted to rip that bastards head from his chest, wanted to render the doppelganger to a bloody heep, he wanted to force consequence for their actions against him against her upon them as bloody retribution. Marcella was dead. His princess, his best friend, his little sister was gone and no one was to blame but himself. He should have stopped her.

"Stop being dramatic." Damon all but snarled at the assured tone. He wanted to wipe the smug look off the bastard's otherworldly face.

The god sighed at the vampire, he cast his eyes from the pitiful face of the man Marcella loved as her own flesh. Turning his golden orbs to where her body lay lifeless. Even he knew how it looked for all purpose she was dead.

Except he knew she could never truly die. That would be a break in the deal made, the gift given. Their father loved her too much to allow such a thing. He adored the small girl and the chaos her mere existence created. No, he would never let her die, not while her life was so amusing.

The only question now was, how long was he going to make her wait?

A door down stair flew open, banging against a wall as it did. Hypnos smirked. Well then, it had appeared not long at all. Next the door to the room they were in guarding a corps turned to dust. This time Damon did snarl, did try to act only to end up on his knees clutching his head in unimaginable pain.

The original regarded him next and Hypnos stepped aside make a gesture at her body. "She has been waiting for you." He tells the boy and all he's met by is cool indifference.

Kol has no need to respond and no desire to entertain the god. There were far more important matters to attend to right now. The vampire withering on the floor would forgive him later once he saved Marcella. First he wrapped his hand around the white oak still imbedded in her chest, that had to go it disintegrated from his touch alone.

He ran his other hand along the length of the new wound and her old scare, far to often has she touched death's embrace. The open wound began to heal slowly closing and the old scar faded. She would need no reminders of such horrible things. Kol brought his own wrist to mouth biting down deep creating a flow of blood.

Hypnos raised his brow at that but said nothing. Did this boy think something so simple would really work? Marcella was after all technically dead. Surely it would take more than blood to revive her.

Kol lowered his wrist over her lips, he let crimson stain them bringing about just a small amount of color to her gray face. It was then that the incantation fell from his tongue and another presence joined them in the room. He barely raised his head to meet them.

Thanatos smirked at the boy from his spot sitting in the window seal above her bedside, revealing his presence."No need to be so formal paulo puero chao, all you had to do was ask. It's not like our father will let me keep her anyhow." Kol's brow twitched but he still said nothing. Ignoring the groaning on the floor. The god of death rolled his eyes as he reached a hand within his own being a pulled out a white light. He let the light slip through his fingers and back into her body.

The moment the soul made contact with flesh her lips latched onto the offered blood. Sharp teeth biting into warm veins. As her eyes opened the gods disappeared. Their work here was over, the job done.

It all happened to fast. Marcella knew that if she didn't act then Niklaus was as good as dead. Mikael was prepared for them, for whatever they had prepared for him. She'd tried her best to warn them that having a plan would be the ruin. A plan he would expect, calculate for, counter.

She had been right. No matter how outnumbered he was, he was ready. Spiteful. Vengeful. It didn't matter to him that he could die, as long as he succeeded in killing Niklaus.

There had been barely any decision prior to the fight that broke out. Nik acting in haste and Mikael prepared for it. For a moment it seemed they might have had the upper hand until Mikael pulled a dirty trick. Bringing up what really happened to Esther in the midst of it all. Rebekah and Finn turned on them almost immediately , neither would fight for a brother who killed their mother.

Niklaus lost his upper hand and his opportunity. Marcella could stand by and watch him be killed. Especially not because of his own foolishness. She acted without thinking, running to him and pushing him out of the way. Turning her body just in time to face him.

White oak that was meant for someone else plunged through her heart.

Marcella's eyes opened wide, her entire being burned as if someone had just forced lava in her veins. Alarm and panic began to settle in until she saw him. When everything came rushing back to her.

"Kol?"

She had died, and he'd brought her back. The wrist that she'd been feeding from falls from her mouth as she forces herself to sit up. Marcella throws her body into him, wrapping her arms around his neck burying her face in his shoulder. Kol returned the embrace holding her tightly, vowing to never let her go.

They could have stayed like that forever but a deep groan pulls them both from the moment. Kol remembers the man on the floor he pulls his magic off of Damon as Marcella eases back onto the bed. She's eyeing him uncertainty but there is this sparkle in her eye that can only be happiness and understanding and she smiles.

Damon stands, his knees slightly wobbly his body a little sore. He'd make sure to punch Kol later however he needed to make sure that the other beating heart in the room really belonged to her. Kol knows to step aside, knows that no matter their bond that this baby vampire loved his garden viciously. The Salvatore was her family, her brother, her most trusted confidant. She loved him too. Just differently than she loved Kol.

Marcella reached out to him, running a hand over his cheek. Damon cupped his hand over hers holding it close to his face. His other hand gently touching her face, brushing a fallen curl from her cheek. "Don't you ever do that again." He tells her before pulling her forward to him. Holding her close to him, afraid to lose her.

She was the first one who'd bothered to see him.

…

Following her second resurrection Marcella took a shower to wash the blood and reminder of it all off her flesh. She needed a moment to herself to come to terms with everything that had happened. Mikael had killed her, Kol had killed Mikael, an actual primordial force had shown up and given Kol his magic back. Not to mention that somehow Kol had brought her back from death itself. It was quite a lot to wrap her head around. A moment would be enough, but it was all she was going to get at the moment.

They still needed to deal with the aftermath of all of this. Mikael had thrown a wrench in the unity she had tried to salvage between the siblings. To make it worse she couldn't even entirely blame that bastard for it. If Niklaus had just been honest with hi siblings then none of this would have happened. She needed to act quick to salvage whatever was left of their familial bond before it was too late. Marcella turned the knob the warm flow of water on her skin gone.

Damon had brought her to the Kern house, as it had been the closest to the scene. Lucky for her since she kept a full wardrobe here. It would do nobody any good for her to show up in dirty bloody clothes.

She lets her hair hang damp on her shoulders no point to try anything with it, like she'd said no time for that. Marcella throws on a white dress that had little lilac embroidered flowers gathered at the skirt and climbing up the dress. As she walks out of the room she slips on a simple nude shoe before heading downstairs to meet her boys.

"I texted Elijah despite the circumstances they are all at the mansion." Kol tells her and she nods grabbing a cardigan off the hook before heading out the front door.

Damon has his keys in hand which means they're driving not running and honestly she'd okay it. Bought her a few more minute to think, or it would have if her phone hadn't started ringing. Caller I.D read Mason and she couldn't think of any worthwhile reason for him to be calling her right now. He'd played his part and she had nothing for him at the moment.

"This better be important Mason." Her tone takes on a level of steal, she really didn't have time for this.

"The mayor is dead." Marcella raises a brow even though wolf boy can't see it. What did it matter to her if Richard Lockwood was dead? She never liked that asshole.

"And?" Mason takes a deep breath on his end of the line as if he doesn't want to be the one to tell her whatever it is.

"His death is the result of an altercation with his son, being ruled as an accident but Tyler pushed him and he fell down the stairs in the Lockwood manor." Marcella grit her teeth together, she really didn't have time to deal with this.

"You had one job Mason, one. I'll deal with you later for now handle the situation." She hung up throwing her phone to the floorboard. One Lockwood wolf had been enough for her. Tyler hadn't deserved this. He may not have been her friend but he was important to Matt and her sister which meant he was protected.

"Marc?" She shook her head. They had more pressing things to deal with, this was just going to have to wait.

Damon puts the car in park and they all get out, her phone call had taken up the entirety of the short ride so she wasn't allowed anymore time to her thoughts. Mason would pay for that too.

"Don't hit Niklaus." She warns Damon before taking the lead walking up the steps gently. Kol right behind her, he shook his head. Neither of them were making any promises.

Niklaus needed a good slug to the face.

If you couldn't hear the yelling coming from inside the mansion before then you could definitely hear it now. Marcella scowled. Such children, she loved them but god they acted like children.

"Good gracious, shut the hell up!" Her voice is slightly pitched, louder than she usually let herself get. But it had all of their attention in the matter of seconds. No one had ever dared to yell at an original before.

"You all sound like a bunch of squabbling preschoolers." She continued ignoring the surprised looks in each of their eyes. Marcella had not forgotten that they'd all witness her die, she simply didn't care.

There were a lot of things she simply didn't care about at that moment.

"Impossible, you were dead." Niklaus breathes, he sounds almost relieved. Marcella ignores the tone. She hadn't yet forgiven him for his role played in her recent dance with death. All he had to do was believe her. Instead she just snorts at him turning her attention the raging siblings.

"You know what, all of you sit the fuck down. It's time we had a chat." And if they couldn't help but to listen everyone was forced down. Almost as if she'd compelled them.

Kol raises his brow, impressive. Her true ability, her real power. The gift she'd been given. In a world ruled by chaos and madness, by supernatural and magic she'd been given control. She didn't even seemed surprised.

A daughter of Chaos who had been given absolute control.

She could have forced them to do whatever she wanted and yet she always gave them a choice. Always offered them options, let them keep their free will. Even when they hadn't agreed, even when she knew what was better for them. Marcella was a queen pretending the be a kind princess she'd been playing them all this whole time. Her patience had run out and now she would make them listen.

Simple as it was, they no longer had a choice.

XOXOX

Marcella is not god, I repeat Marcella is not god. But just like Kol she has in fact been given a gift by one. It's rather poetic if you think about it. At least a thought it was. Just so you know despite what Hypnos and Thanatos thinks Marcella can in fact die. She was just lucky this time around. No one is truly immortal. Not even gods.

Anyway.. I know that the last chapter was really confusing and not exactly concise in what was happening. I do hope that this chapter helps clear up some of that confusion and just know that if things don't make sense they will later. A part of the story is to unravel the mystery. And there is much more to all of this.

But like I said if you PM me I'll do my best to answer any questions I can. Clear up some of the confusion.

Thank you so much for reading!

Sincerely, La'Rae