"Well, well, well," Kol said as Rebekah entered the house, still wearing her emerald gown from the night before. "There's our girl!"
He rose from his armchair as she entered, moving to stand in front of her. Artemis remained curled up in the armchair next to his, watching the scene unfold. She wore a wide smile on her face, one that had not disappeared since she had woken up. Artemis felt like her old self again, even with Nik sitting in the same room as her, sketching. She realized that when he wasn't trying to kill her and everyone she knew, then he wasn't so bad.
"Get out of my way, Kol," Rebekah replied in an annoyed, tired voice. She tried to step past him, but he moved too quickly, determined to keep her on the steps.
"Out all night," Kol continued with a grin. "What a scandal!"
"If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth," she threatened. When her other brother laughed, she rounded on him. "Don't start, Nik," she muttered, finally pushing past Kol.
"I didn't say anything" Nik countered, raising his hands in defense. "I rather think the scandalous one in this room is Kol. You didn't hear the sounds coming from his room last night."
Artemis blushed a deep red as Nik snickered. "Yes, but we're married, Nik, and we can do whatever we please without causing a scandal," Kol chided his brother as he flopped back down on the chair next to his wife.
"You're married?!" Rebekah exclaimed, her jaw dropping. Out of all of the siblings that she thought would be married, Kol was probably at the very bottom of her list. Yet, here he sat, fingers intertwined with the woman next to him. "When did that happen? How did it happen?"
"Six hundred years ago, and how most marriages normally happen, I suppose," Kol told his sister offhandedly. "I suppose Artemis can give you all of the girly details when you two have some time to do some female bonding. But now, I'm bored all cooped up in this house. I want to take Artemis out on the town, do some day drinking, shoot some pool. What do you say, brother?"
Nik looked up at his brother. "What are you waiting for?" he asked. "Go on, have at it."
"Oh, come on Nik, join us," Kol pressed. "Buying us a drink is the least you could do after separating us for so long, not to mention killing one of us the other night."
Nik looked between the married pair before rolling his eyes and putting his sketchbook down on the table. "Well, I didn't have nearly enough to drink last night," he finally said, agreeing to go with them.
"Yes, please, go," Rebekah said as the three stood. "This house has enough men rolling around in it."
"Just like you, Bekah," Kol quipped from the top of the steps. He laughed as he wrapped one of his arms around Artemis's shoulders, dodging the handbag that was thrown his way.
"I remember her from last night," Kol proclaimed, slightly drunk, upon seeing the blonde girl walking towards them. Between the three of them, they had drunk nearly half of the Mystic Grille's liquor supply, and run up a tab that was equivalent to the GDP of a small country. Not that Artemis much minded. Nik had money to spend, and he had already said he would cover their tab. What was one drink more?
"I do too!" Artemis exclaimed. "She was friends with the girl who was friends with Stefan and Damon! Her dress was gorgeous."
"Not as gorgeous as you," Kol countered, leaning in the place a flurry of kisses on her neck. Artemis giggled at the sensation, the alcohol loosening her inhibitions slightly.
Nik groaned, before smiling at the girl. "Caroline," he greeted as she approached. Artemis and Kol joined him in smiling at her.
Caroline looked Nik up and down, before glancing briefly over at the two who sat next to him. Her eyes returned to Nik, an indifferent expression in them. "Oh, it's you," she said coolly.
Although Artemis was taken aback by the girl's cool demeanor, Nik seemed unfazed. "Join us for a drink?" he pressed, raising his glass. Kol and Artemis followed suit.
"I'd rather die of thirst, but thanks," she replied, sounding like the stereotypical mean girl in ever teen drama. Artemis sucked in a breath as Caroline turned on her heel and walked away from them, not sparing a second glance at them.
"Isn't she stunning?" Nik whispered, a wide grin on his face. It was clear that he was infatuated with the girl, although she seemed to rebuff his every advance. Perhaps that was what made her so special to Nik. It was the thrill of the chase, after all.
"She certainly looks good walking away from you," Kol and Artemis said simultaneously, before bursting out into cackles.
Nik just rolled his eyes at the comment. "I'll take that as a challenge," he replied, downing his drink and following the pretty girl out of the restaurant.
Alaric and Meredith watched Klaus leave the Grille, chasing after Caroline, as everyone knew that he would. It was such a predictable behavior with the Original Hybrid that it was almost laughable. The two that were left sitting at the bar, however, were unpredictable.
"So that's Kol?" Meredith asked Alaric. He nodded in confirmation. "And the woman next to him is, Artemis, who isn't a vampire?"
Alaric shrugged. "Damon just told me to be careful of her," he replied in a low whisper. "He said that she would be a necessary casualty, and that a knife though the chest would do the job."
Meredith turned to look at Alaric with alarm. "Won't that kill her?" she asked. "I mean, is she innocent in all of this? She's not a vampire, we have no reason to hunt her, so why would we kill her?"
"Because she's immortal, and she'll get over it," he said smoothly, reaching to rub her shoulder reassuringly. "Look, she's not a vampire, but she isn't exactly human either, and she's not a witch or a werewolf. She's something that none of us have encountered before, and it would be best to just follow Damon's advice on this."
After a moment of consideration, the doctor reluctantly nodded. "I guess we have no choice," she whispered, going back to watch the couple at the bar. They didn't act the way that Damon swore they would. There were no dead bodies on the bar, they weren't slowdancing amongst the dead like psychopaths, and they weren't harassing every human that walked past them. Instead, they appeared relatively… normal.
They looked as any couple would at the bar, deeply engrossed in conversation and with eyes only for one another. Every once in a while, one of them would say something that would cause the other to smile and laugh. She wondered what they could possibly be saying to one another. Her mind allowed her to drift to a darker place for a moment, a reality where the pair were talking about all of the lives that they had ended or destroyed over the centuries, and gleefully rehashing their shared experiences.
In that moment, Meredith decided that she was okay with going through with the plan, on the off chance that they actually were psychopaths plotting the destruction of the town.
"Hey," a woman said, approaching Artemis and Kol at the bar. "You guys must be new in town. I'm Meredith, I'm one of the doctors at the hospital. Welcome to Mystic Falls!"
Artemis smiled. "Thank you," she replied. "We think that this town is positively charming. I'm Artemis, and this is my husband, Kol. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you to," Meredith said, before glancing over her shoulder. "My boyfriend, Alaric, and I were wondering if you'd like to join us in a game of couples pool, maybe get to know each other a little more? There aren't a lot of young couples in Mystic Falls anymore."
"Well, we don't know many people in Mystic Falls," Artemis said, turning to look at Kol. She raised one of her brows at him, letting him know that she was interested.
Kol smiled. "We would love to join you and your boyfriend in a game of pool," he replied to Meredith. "It's been a long time since Artemis and I played together. Let's see if we're still as amazing as we used to be."
They followed Meredith over to the pool table where Alaric was waiting. After a brief introduction, they started up their game. "So, how long have you two known each other?" Meredith asked Kol and Artemis.
Artemis laughed. "It feels like it's been forever," she told them, her eyes sparkling. "But it's only been, what, six years?"
"Feels a hell of a lot longer than that," Kol grunted as he took his shot. "But that sounds about right. "Got married after only a year. Best decision I ever made." He placed a chaste kiss on his wife's cheek after sinking one of the balls.
"We met at a bar," Artemis continued. "I was tending. He came in looking for a drink, and left with my number. He was persistent, to say the least, and it took a little while for me to give in. I don't usually go for the charming ones, but he convinced me. I'd been through bad relationships before, to the point where I'd decided to swear off men, but Kol made me feel alive again."
They had paused playing their game, Kol and Artemis simply staring at one another, lost in their own world. They were so lost in one another's eyes that they didn't notice Alaric and Meredith sneaking up behind them, until Kol felt the dagger pierce his chest, and Artemis felt a knife pierce hers.
"Why?" Artemis was able to choke out, looking up at Meredith as she slipped to the ground. The last thing she saw before slipping into darkness was the slightly panicked look on Meredith's face.
"I still don't get why we had to kill both of them," Meredith grunted while dragging Artemis's body towards the alleyway. "They both seemed perfectly nice, especially Artemis."
"I'm telling you, neither one of them is actually very nice," Alaric reminded her. "Damon says that-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know what Damon says," Meredith cut in. "But Damon's also a dick. He thought I was a murdering psychopath. How can I trust what he has to say?"
"Ouch, that hurt my feelings," came Damon's sarcastic voice, as he and Stefan made their way into the alleyway that Meredith and Alaric just entered. "Besides, in this case, you can trust me. Have you met the rest of the Original family?"
"And you think that she's bad too?" Meredith asked. "What are you even planning on doing with her?"
Before Damon could answer, Klaus flashed into the alleyway, ripping the dagger out of Kol's chest and slamming Alaric against the alleyway wall. His dangerous gaze turned on Meredith, who was shielding Artemis's body. Stefan took the opportunity to charge at Klaus, only to be sent flying over the hybrid's shoulder and landing with a "thud" on the steps behind him.
Ignoring Meredith and Artemis for the moment, he turned to face Damon. "I should have killed you months ago."
"Do it," the younger vampire challenged. "That's not going to stop Esther from killing you."
"What did you say about my mother?" Klaus asked, taking a few menacing steps forward. As far as he knew, his mother wanted to bring the family closer together. Killing him would be the opposite of that.
The two continued to argue back and forth, with Damon baiting Klaus and Klaus answering the challenge. Meredith instead kept an eye on Kol's body. She had never seen an Original come back to life like that before. He was quick to rise to his feet, and join his two brothers. She hadn't seen when Elijah entered the fray, only now noticing that it was two against three. Meredith chose that moment to rip the knife out of Artemis's chest, the guilt of killing a woman who seemed innocent growing over her like a storm cloud.
Kol's head snapped to look at her, and he was at his wife's side in a flash, stroking her hair.
"Her blood doesn't distract you?" Meredith whispered, a look of surprise on her face. She had never seen a vampire act so apathetic towards blood before.
"Her blood has no scent, and is the foulest tasting substance I have ever encountered," he replied, his eyes drifting to Meredith. "Was the blade treated with anything?"
The doctor shook her head. "No, I don't think so," she said. "I'm… I'm sorry, Kol."
He smiled sadly. "It wouldn't be the first time that this happened to her," he told Meredith, looking down as his wife began to stir. "Are you alright, darling?"
"Good," she whispered, her lips barely moving.
"Kol," Klaus's voice cut in. "We must go stop mother."
"But…" Kol trailed off, looking between his brother and his wife.
"Go, Kol, I'll be fine," Artemis whispered. "I just need time to rest. Go take care of your mother. You know I was never a fan of witches like her anyways."
He nodded uncertainly, before kissing her gently. "I'll see you at home then," he told her, before vanishing with his brothers and the Salvatores.
With her newfound strength, Artemis pulled herself to her feet, only to realize that Meredith was behind her and offering support. Artemis shook her head, and gestured to Alaric, who was still passed out on the ground. "He needs more help than I do," she told the doctor.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Meredith asked, looking between Artemis and her unconscious boyfriend.
Artemis could already feel her strength returning. Thanks to the fact that she had fed well recently, healing her body after dying took far less time. "I'm certain that I'll be fine in about an hour or so," she said. "I can't speak for your boyfriend, though."
Meredith turned to fully look at her boyfriend, who was showing signs of regaining consciousness. When she looked back to the other woman, she gasped when she found that Artemis had disappeared.
Artemis was proud of herself. She had managed to walk all the way back to the Mikealson mansion, make herself a cup of tea, and change into a pair of Kol's sweatpants before she finally collapsed out of exhaustion. Artemis was only asleep for about an hour before Kol burst into the room, his anger rolling off him in waves.
"My mother tried to kill us," he said, opening up the doors of the wardrobe. "Not just Nik, but all of us. I thought she only thought Nik the abomination, not all of us."
"What do you mean, all of us?" Artemis murmured, still half-asleep.
"She told us that we were all abominations, and that we should have been killed as soon as we were turned," Kol replied, throwing several articles of clothing into a duffle bag. "So, we're leaving. Getting away from here. Starting over somewhere new."
"We can't leave, Kol," Artemis said firmly, sitting up in the bed. "Not now. Not when your family needs you."
"What do you mean, this family needs me?" he responded angrily. "This family has never needed me. Elijah, Nik, and Bekah have always been doing things on there own. What makes this any different? Besides, the longer we spend here, the more dangerous it is for us. Esther knows where we are, and that makes us targets."
Artemis sighed. "Look, I know you have your issues with your siblings," she said. "They don't know it yet, but they need you. You're the only one who studied witchcraft, Kol. You know that you can help stop Esther."
"What about you, and your safety?" Kol countered. "Once my mother knows what you are, she'll hunt you to the ends of the Earth for your blood."
She smiled sadly. "All the more reason to stand and face her," she whispered. "I've done the whole running and hiding thing before, and it isn't much fun. I just want to face her head on if it comes down to it."
He stood in the center of the room for a moment, simply looking at his wife. She gave him a pointed look, as if she was telling him that he knew she was right. Eventually, he threw his hands up in agreement. "I'll give them one more chance," he finally agreed. "Just one. But if they lay a finger on you, or brandish one of those daggers at me, then it's all over, and we're leaving."
Artemis nodded in understanding. "We should probably go tell your siblings then," she said.
He smiled, and offered her his hand. Smiling back, she accepted it, and rose from the bed.
"You know, it's a really good thing that I love you," Kol told her as they made their way downstairs.
"Mmmm and why is that?" Artemis asked.
"Because if anyone else had tried to convince me to stay with my family, I would have ripped them to shreds," he replied. "But for you, I guess I'll give it one more chance."
