Hi guys, I know its been like a years since I uploaded. I'm really sorry. I got busy and this was put on the back burner, but I'm back and I will try to post more often.
Thanks, The Darkening Heart
Bennett Castle
Klaus, Marcel and Kol stand before the front gates of the Bennett Castle. It has been eighteen years since anyone has set foot inside. The sun is just starting to rise in the east, right behind the castle, making it look dark and haunting.
"I don't remember the castle being this creepy." Kol says as he stares at it. "I say Freya should go first. Make sure there are no magical traps."
"You are an original, if you do get caught in a trap you won't die." Klaus says annoyed.
"But I'm not." Marcel looks at Klaus. "Why am I here?"
"I want you to stay out here with your men and make sure no one enters the castle. Once Kol and I have a look around, I'll send Freya to put up another barrier, this time allowing only our family in."
"Brother, can you imagine all the secrets that are hidden in these walls? Rumors say the Bennetts hid their most powerful spells in a secret room that only the Bennett Queen could enter."
"Just a minute ago you were afraid to go in." Marcel chuckles.
"I was never afraid, I was just being cautious."
"Yeah right." Kol glares at Marcel and just as he is about to strike him with his sword, Klaus grabs Kol's collar and drags him into the castle.
As soon as both brothers enter Klaus can feel residual magic from the barrier as it weakly tries to push them out. Whatever magic that was protecting the castle, was very strong. As they go deeper into the castle Klaus hears what sounds like footsteps upstairs. "There is someone else here."
"Impossible. As soon as the barrier went down your hybrids surrounded it. No one has come in and or out."
"I hear someone walking upstairs."
Kol remains silent trying to listen for the footsteps, but no matter how hard he tries he hears nothing. "You're being paranoid again. I'm going to head towards the basement. If I remember correctly that is where they kept their magical weapons."
As Kol walks away Klaus decides to investigate upstairs. As he climbs the stairs and reaches the second floor the noise stops. He stands there for a minute waiting to hear if it comes back. Just as he is about to give up he hears a loud thud coming from the room at the end of the hall. Klaus gabs the hilt of his sword and walks towards the room. When he reaches the door he waits and listens. When he hears nothing, he slowly opens the door. The rusted hinges screech as the door swings open. Klaus sees the room is empty except for what looks like the silhouette of a painting on an easel, underneath a large red cloth in the center of the room.
Klaus goes and lifts the cloth and reveals a painting for Abby Bennett the last Bennett Queen holding her new born baby daughter. Klaus takes a closer look at the baby, for some reason the baby is familiar to him somehow. He never saw the future queen, but there was something that was drawing him to her. Then it hits him, her eyes! The eyes of the baby match hers, the witch, Bonnie. The barrier came down after he saw her. Marcel was right, Bonnie Bennett is alive.
"They lied to you." Klaus turns around to see the ghostly apparition of Abby Bennett.
"Who?"
"His followers are everywhere. Be careful of who you trust."
"Who's followers?"
"Zyaire will wake soon. You and Bonnie must fight him togather or the darkness will win." And then she's gone.
Basement
Kol walks to the familiar painting of Qetsiyah. Being here brings back fond memories.
~Eighteen and half years ago~
"So what do you think?" Kol turns to look at his best friend in confusion.
"Really Rudy? You told me to come here so you could show me a painting I've seen a thousand times."
"You can't tell the difference?"
"What are you talking about?" Rudy just smiles and reaches a little behind the painting. Kol hears a click and the painting moves revealing a secret staircase.
"Sheila asked me to build a hidden room. Apparently something is coming and they need a place to put it, one that is only accessible to Bennetts." Rudy smiles proudly.
"You're an idiot."
His smile falters. "Why?"
"If this room is supposed to be only for the Bennetts why are you showing me. I'm sure the Queen won't be happy with you."
"Don't worry about my wife. She is currently on bed rest until she gives birth to Bonnie. Once Abby is strong enough she will spell this door to only open with Bennett blood."
"Bonnie? Is that the name you two came up with."
"Yep. Like it?"
"Bonnie Bennett. Has a nice ring to it." Kol looks at Rudy who has a big wide smile on his face. "I can't believe you of all people are going to be a father, especially the father of the future Bennett Queen."
"And why is that? Abby thinks I'm going to make an amazing father."
"Says the man that believes in an old children's tale of a secret room in the Bennett Castle."
"Turns out I was right. I just had to build it." They both laughed at that.
~Present Time~
Kol smiles fondly remembering the man that had been his only true friend in his long life, Rudy Hoppkins. He was a human who had a talent for architecture. His father was a cook at High Castle and would bring Rudy along with him hoping he would one day succeed his father. Instead Rudy spent hours studying the castle. When he was sixteen Rudy found his way into Kol's room. At first Kol was pissed that a stranger was in his personal space, but Rudy had this air about him that could make him feel at ease. They became fast friends. After the massacre Kol assumed Rudy had been killed, but his body was never found.
Kol took a deep breath and opened the door. 'I guess Abby never got around to spelling the door.' he thought. He descended the stairs hoping for a clue about Rudy, but all he saw was an empty room. Someone had definitely been here recently, he could smell blood. He walks to the center of the room and bends down noticing a small droplet of blood. He smells it again, he recognizes the scent, it belongs to Davina.
Second Floor
Klaus stares at the spot where Abby's ghost was. So many questions were swirling around in his head. 'Who is Zyaire? Who lied? If Bonnie is alive where has she been all this time?' That was the biggest question running through his head. Bonnie Bennett is alive. The Bennett Queen lives. Does that mean that the prophecy Jonas Martin told him about was going to come true. Was Bonnie going to kill him and his family. 'But she said they lied to me.' Does that mean Jonas lied to him, the Bennetts were not his family's downfall. 'You and Bonnie must fight him togather or the darkness will win.' Why do he and Bonnie need to fight together? Is a Bennett needed to kill this Zyaire? Klaus growled in anger. All these questions were giving him a headache. First thing first he needed to talk to Freya and Elijah. Then afterwards he's going to have a long talk with Jonas Martin.
Alaric's Ship
Matt had finally been able to get Elena to sleep. As soon as the ship was undocked Elena started to get sea sick. She had been throwing up for an hour when she finally stopped. Alaric had some medicinal drink that helps to settle the stomachs of humans. He had no idea if it could work on hybrids. It did, it just took a lot more. Matt leaves the small room Elena is sleeping in and walks onto the deck where Alaric and Elijah are.
"Where are we going?" Elijah asks him.
"The home of the Goddess." Alaric replies.
"Home of the what?" Matt asks.
"Are you talking about the lost island of witches?" Elijah asks at the same time.
"Yep."
"What are you guys talking about?"
"That island is a myth, a bedtime story that is told to children."
"Sorry to break it to you, but the island is very much real. It's just hidden, it can only be seen by the witches who are especially connected to the Goddess or if you have a dagger spelled by the witches who live on the island."
"And you have a dagger like that." Alaric smirks and grabs a dagger from the inside of his jacket.
"Lily Salvator gave it to me."
"Salvator? As in the Salvator coven that supposedly lives on and protects the island?"
"The one and only."
"Can someone please tell me what you guys are talking about!?" Matt shouts in anger.
"Calm down." Alaric says as he hands him a flask full of rum. Matt grabs the flask and takes a big swig. "The Lost Island of Witches or Crescent Island is the ancestral home of witches. It is said the Goddess came to life on that island and is the birthplace of the first witch, Qetsiyah. The Salvator coven is led by the Slavator family. They protect the island. Make sure that those that the Goddess deems unworthy will not find the island and use its whatever power that they find there for evil intentions."
"How did you come across the island?" Elijah asked.
"The Salvator's needed someone who could tell them of the world outside. For a thousand years they selected humas they could trust and gave them a dagger with the Salvator crest." Alaric places the dagger on the table. It moves on its own and points north west. "Crescent Island is that way."
"Why did the Salvator's trust you?"
"That is a story for another time."
Caroline's Ship
The sun starts to rise over the horizon when Bonnie wakes up and walks onto the deck and over to Stefan who has fallen asleep while on watch. She should yell at him for falling asleep, but he looks so peaceful, and Keeva is awake and alert. She also sees that Amani is perched on top of the mast. Bonnie decides to let Stefan sleep and sits next to him.
Last night after Caroline went to sleep, Stefan received the next location, Starfall Kingdom. Bonnie remembers the stories that Emily told her when she was young about the wolf tribes that lived there. There are three main tribes, The Crescent Wolves, The Silver Moon Wolves, and the biggest and most powerful wolf pack, The Southern Wolf Tribe. Emily didn't know alot about the first two, but the Southern Wolves were close allies of the Bennett Coven. The alpha of the pack becomes known as the wolf knight for the Bennett Queen. The day after Bonnie was born apparently she met the three year old wolf who would be her future wolf knight. Emily told her how he held Bonnie for hours, only letting her go when it was time to feed. Bonnie remembers Emily's laughter when she recalled how her father would pout when the young wolf growled at him for trying to take Bonnie.
"You look sad." Bonnie looks up to see Caroline walking on to the deck. "What were you thinking about?"
"My father."
"Did he pass away?"
"Yeah, a couple days after I was born. I never knew him and my mother, but my cousin tells me stories of them. Sometimes I wish they were here with me." Bonnie notices Caroline's face fall while she is talking. "I'm sorry if I made you sad thinking about your mother, but if we are being honest your mother really doesn't deserve your sadness."
Carlione shakes her head. "I wasn't thinking about my mother, I was thinking of my father. Unlike most of the men at home, my dad encouraged me to learn more than just things related to taking care of the house. He was a trader who specialized in herbal medicine. He taught me everything he knew."
"Really?"
"Yep. Want to see something cool?"
"Yes."
"Follow me." Caroline walks down into the ship and leads Bonnie to the room next to the one they slept in. "This is where my father would teach me." She opens the door to a room filled with medicine, rare plants, and books. On the left side of the room, up against the wall was a table covered with journals.
Bonnie picks up a journal and reads a passage 'The first day of the summer solstice is the best time to pick the solar tulsi. But be careful, brewing tea with the flower will make one vomit, but tea made from the roots is really good for reducing fevers.' "What's a solar tulsi?"
Caroline walks to one of the many shelves that are filled with various plants and picks up a jar filled with dried yellow and orange flowers. "Solar tulsi are flowers that can only be found at the peak of Caslam Volcano. It's a large volcano that rises from the ocean that's about a two day boat trip east of my village. The volcano is still active so a lot of people avoid it, but not my father." She puts the jar back and picks up another jar that looks to be filled with green feathers, but on closer inspection Bonnie realizes that it is leaves not feathers. "This is called dove weed, it's another plant that grows on Caslam Volcano where rock meets the ocean. You dry the leaves, grind it into a fine powder, mix it with the tea made from the solar tulsi roots and apply it to an infected wound. The next day the infection is practically gone."
"Amazing. I'm a witch that grew up on an island filled with magical plants, but I've never heard of or seen half of these."
"Well that's cause most of them don't have a magical use, so they would be meaningless to witches. But these medicines are needed by humans all over the world. Especially the ones who can't afford to see a witch healer. Wherever my father went to trade he would provide medicine to the poor."
"He sounds like a good man."
"The best." Bonnie and Caroline spend awhile looking over the journals until Stefan walks in.
"Morning."
"Stefan, look at this." Bonnie holds a small white flower and puts it into a glass filled with water. As soon as the petals touch the water they start to glow.
"Wow, that's amazing."
"It's called crystal moon lotus."
"Cool."
"It comes from a cave that is under a lake in the Wolf Lands."
"Interesting. The reason I came down was that I was charting our rout last night-"
"Before you fell asleep?" Bonnie smirks and Caroline laughs.
"Funny." He deadpans. "As I was saying, It's going to take us about a week to get to Starfall Kingdom. We are going to need to make a stop to pick up supplies."
"Can I see the map?" Ask Caroline. Stefan pulls out the map from his bag and puts it on the table. "Here." Caroline points to a land mass on the map. "This is Templeton Kingdom. It's a mostly human kingdom that has a few witches employed by the royal family to protect the kingdom from vampires and wolves. You can pick up supplies here at the stillward docks. There's a huge bazaar there."
"Great, from our location it looks like we should reach there tomorrow morning. The three of us can get what we need and then leave before nightfall."
"You mean the two of you." Bonnie looks at Caroline in confusion. "I plan to stay in Templeton, at least for awhile. Find a job, and make some money."
"Caroline-"
"Stop. I told you last night, I'm not the one you're looking for. I'm a nobody, how could I possibly help, I have no skills."
"Are you serious? I have never met anyone who knows so much about plants and medicines as much as you do."
"You guys are witches you don't need medicine."
"Not true, there are some illnesses that can't be cured with magic."
"Doesn't matter, you don't need me." Caroline leaves the room and goes into the next room.
Bonnie goes to follow her, but Stefan grabs her arm. "Leave it. She needs time to process."
"But-"
"She'll come around. Come on, we should check the supplies we have now and see what we need to get at the market."
"Bazaar."
"What?"
"Caroline said it was a bazaar, not a market."
"Is there a difference?"
"I have no idea." She smiles at him.
Mystic Falls Kingdom - High Castle, Davina's Room
Davina is currently sitting on her bed staring at the box. She tried opening it, by using all the unlocking spells she knew, but they had no effect. "Maybe I should throw it against the wall." Davina gowns in frustration and lies down. The box is only one problem out of many. The main one being the missing pendant. She must have dropped it somewhere and she has a sinking feeling in her gut that it's in the Bennett Castle. Another problem is the hooded figures she saw there. 'Who are they and why do they want this box? Also how did they get in?' When she was getting ready for breakfast her maid told her that the barrier that was protecting the Bennett Castle disappeared and that King Klaus and Prince Kol had gone to investigate. The next problem was finding a way to get to the Southern Wolf Tribe. Her mother told her she had to get there and there would be a wolf who would help her. If she had her pendant she could have been there by now, but she lost it. This is how Davina spent her morning, stuck in an unending loop.
As Davina tries to think of a solution she hears a knock on her door. "Princess, Prince Kol has requested your presence."
"Please tell the prince I am not feeling well today and wish to stay in bed and rest."
"I'm sorry Princess, but he says you cannot refuse. He is waiting for you in his private study."
Davina wants to say no, but she should try to be on her best behavior so she does not draw any unnecessary attention to herself. "Okay." She hides the box in her chest and then opens the door. The servant guides her to the other side of the castle where the Mikaelsons reside. He leads her to a door and then knocks.
"You can enter." The servant opens the door and steps aside. Once Davina is inside the servant closes the door behind her. She sees Kol sitting at his desk with a glass of some sort of liquid in it. Considering that it's dark red and thick she can only assume it's blood. For awhile she watches Kol as he studies her. It's like he is trying to solve some mystery and she is the case breaking clue.
"Did you call me here to stare at me."
He looks at her a little longer before saying, "No, I have a question for you and I want the truth. I'll know if you're lying."
She tenses at the coldness of his tone. "Okay."
"How did you get inside the Bennett Castle?"
Next Chapter: Kol confronts Davina about the Bennett Castle. We see what's going on with Rebekah and Tyler, and Stefan, Bonnie, and Caroline get into some trouble in Templeton.