England, 1417
He was back again, the vampire who had bitten her last night. It was surprising to see him again, and more surprising that his eyes seemed to be on her from the moment he walked through the tavern door.
"What can I get ye tonight, Kol?" she asked.
At that moment, one of the customers walked past and slapped her ass, a wide grin on his face. "Is this tonight's lucky man?" he asked, his words slurring as he spoke. "Let me tell ye, lad, this lass is the best there is."
She shoved him off, an angry look in her eyes as the drunkard crumpled to the floor. Her glare turned on Kol as he chuckled at the poor fellow's misfortune. "I do what I must to survive," she growled at him lowly.
"I shall not judge ye, darling," Kol replied, taking one of her hands in his. "But feel free to come to me the next time ye need a good romp."
Artemis grinned. "Perhaps I shall," she responded coyly, before setting a mug of ale down in front of him and hurrying away.
"Good morning!" the voice rang though the house, stirring Artemis from her sleep. Kol had left the night before for Colorado, leaving Artemis alone in their new house. It seemed as though Rebekah had chosen to take advantage of the spare key that Artemis had given her in case of emergencies, although she highly doubted that there was some sort of emergency this early in the morning. "Are you still asleep?" the female vampire called out.
"Yes, Bekah, it's only 7:30 on a Saturday," Artemis replied, her voice muffled by the pillow that she had shoved her face into.
"Well, get up, sleepyhead, we're going out," Bekah said, her voice sounding close enough to Artemis to cause her to jump.
Artemis turned her head so that she could look out of the corner of her eye, and wasn't surprised to see Bekah standing right next to her, peering down. "Is there any particular reason that you're here this early in the morning?" Artemis grumbled as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"The Wickery Bridge," Bekah replied, walking over to Artemis's closet and throwing the doors open. "There's a ceremony today, and we're going to support the town."
"Why are we really going, Bekah?" Artemis asked, as the vampire threw some clothes at her.
Bekah sighed. "There might be some wood from a particular white oak tree that was used in the construction of the bridge," she replied, crossing her arms. "If anyone gets their hands on that wood, and fashions it into stakes, then they could use it to kill me and all of my siblings, including your husband."
Artemis sat stunned for a moment, before sliding out of bed and padding to the bathroom. "Help yourself to some breakfast, and I'll be right down," she called before sliding the bathroom door shut."
It seemed as though most of the town had turned out for the Wickery Bridge ceremony, which surprised Artemis. For some reason, it seemed as though the entire town was deeply concerned about preserving the town's history. Artemis had never seen a group of people that dedicated to preservation. She had read some of the stories of the Wickery Bridge, how there had been a bad accident a few years ago that resulted in the death of two members of what the town called the "founding families," and that those deaths were the primary reason for the restoration of the bridge.
"Mrs. Mikealson, is it?" someone asked, causing Artemis to tear her eyes away from the construction.
"Mayor Lockwood," Artemis greeted warmly. Her heart swelled with pride being addressed by her married name. It had been a few hundred years since someone had called her that. "I'm sorry that we were not properly introduced during the ball at the Mikealson mansion."
The mayor's eyes softened. "I remember that you had a bit of a health scare," she said, placing her hand on Artemis's shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Artemis nodded. "It was shock, mostly," she replied smoothly. "I hadn't seen my husband in quite some time, and had believed him to be dead. It's quite strange to see someone you believe to be dead reappear so suddenly and so casually."
Carol laughed. "I'm sure it was quite a surprise," she agreed. "Anyways, I would like to thank you for coming out to see the ceremony. It's always nice to be able to show our new residents some of the town history."
"Of course," Artemis said with a smile. "I know that the bridge is quite significant in this town."
"Yes, us Mikealsons simply enjoy embracing the towns we live in," Rebekah chimed in, suddenly appearing at Artemis's side.
Artemis could tell that Carol was struggling to keep her composure. "Yes, well it's one of the few bridges that leads in and out of Mystic Falls," the mayor told them. "The original bridge was built here in the early 1900s, and updated in the 1980s, but we want to make sure that it's up to modern codes. There have been a few tragic accidents on this bridge, and we'd like to prevent any more."
"I heard about those accidents," Bekah mused, feigning sympathy. "The poor Gilbert children. It must have been hard to lose their parents like that."
"Elena seems like a lovely girl," Artemis said, elbowing Bekah in the ribs. "I'm sure that she and her brother are both very appreciative of the town's efforts to prevent further tragedy."
The mayor nodded tightly before excusing herself from the conversation. Ric, Meredith, and Damon had shown up, and it appeared that Ric was supposed to have made a new sign for the bridge.
"Would it kill you to have a little compassion?" Artemis whispered to Bekah. "They lost their parents. Surely you remember what that felt like."
"I'm not really Elena's biggest fan, so I don't really care," Bekah replied casually, her eyes locked on Damon.
Artemis didn't miss her gaze. "Why are we here really, Bekah, because it certainly feels like this is about more than just a hypothetical gold mine of wood that could be used to wipe out your family."
"Damon's family kept the logging records," she whispered. "He knows where the wood is, or at least has some sort of record in that house of his, and I intend to find it." She paused, her head tilting to the side. "Do you think that if I seduced him, I could kill him and find the records?"
There were so many things that just seemed wrong about that statement, but Artemis just kept her mouth shut. She knew that Bekah and Matt had sort of had a thing going, but based on the time that she had spent with her sister-in-law, she figured that Bekah was one to get bored easily. Quick to fall in love, quick to fall out of love. Kol quite appreciated Matt, and based on what she had heard, the kid was shaping up to be a real gentleman. As much as she liked Bekah, Matt deserved so much better.
Suddenly, Bekah was on the move, stalking towards Damon and the redheaded woman that he was chatting up, and Artemis had no choice but to follow. "Look what the cat dragged in," Bekah said coolly, her attentions directed towards the woman.
"Easy there, Rebekah," Damon said, standing between them, although he was clearly on the woman's side. "You know, she used to beat men for sport."
Rebekah smirked, as if this little tidbit of information didn't surprise or scare her. "She was always quite common," she commented offhandedly.
"Rebekah," the woman replied evenly. "What a happy surprise."
"What are you doing here, Sage?"
"Well, I heard that Finn was finally freed from that casket that your rageaholic brother carted him around in," Sage replied in a biting tone, anger barely held back from her expression.
"Nik separated you from your love too?" Artemis asked, her head tilting to one side. She didn't know that Finn had a wife as well.
"Yes, for almost 900 years," Sage replied, a surprised look crossing her face, as if she just noticed that Artemis was standing there. "Who are you?"
"I'm Artemis," she said with a smile, holding out her hand. "I'm Kol's wife."
Sage snorted. "I wasn't aware that that psychopath was married," she said, causing Artemis to draw back her hand.
"I'm sorry, but Finn isn't here anymore," Artemis whispered, looking down at the ground. "No one knows where he went. He just kind of disappeared one day."
Sage shrugged. "He probably went looking for me," she stated coolly.
"Or quite possibly, he forgot all about you," Rebekah shot back.
"I doubt that," Sage returned with a smile. "You see, if your psychopath of a brother could remember that he was married, then Finn wouldn't have forgotten about me."
Rebekah grinned. "Oh? Because he didn't seem to mention you," she stated smugly. "Sorry you came all this way for nothing. Have a nice life."
She tugged Artemis away from them, and back towards the ceremony that was happening. "You didn't have to be that harsh to her," Artemis scolded, almost positive that Sage was fuming over what Bekah had said. "She's just like me, back in town for her one true love."
Bekah scoffed. "She was never in love with Finn, and he was never in love with her," she replied bitterly. "Sage is nothing more than a trashy barmaid that my brother was infatuated with."
Artemis stopped and glared at Rebekah, as the girl turned back to look at her. "I was a tavern wench when Kol met me," she told her in a low, even tone, watching as surprise spread across Bekah's face. "What does that make me?"
"Well, you're different," Bekah tried to backtrack, but Artemis held up her hand.
"I'm really not, and I would appreciate it if you would continue on this venture without me," Artemis said as cordially as she could muster, before heading off to a different part of the crowd, where she could watch the rest of the mayor's speech without being interrupted.
Artemis could sense a presence next to her, but didn't say a word. After the conversation she had had with Rebekah, she wasn't in the mood to speak with anyone else, but the person next to her surprised her.
"It seems as though the Mikealsons have a habit of falling for barmaids," Sage said casually. "What did Klaus say when he found out that you and Kol were married? I bet he had a field day with that one."
"He doesn't know anything about me, other than the fact that I'm married to his brother and I don't stay dead," Artemis replied smoothly, her gaze still never leaving the men in bright vests who walked up and down the bridge.
"Ugh, he just annoys me so much," Sage growled. "I swear, there's nothing more that I want to do than drive a stake through his heart."
Artemis laughed. "That would require one to be able to find the last of the white oak," she said. "And for all of them to be unlinked."
"What do you mean by unlinked?"
She turned to look at the redheaded vampire, an eyebrow raised. "Did Damon not tell you?" Artemis asked, and Sage shook her head. "Esther performed some sort of spell on them that links all of them together. What happens to one happens to them all. When Damon and his friends got ahold of Kol, they stuck a dagger through his heart and dessicated him. All of his siblings, save for Nik, got dessicated too, although Nik was severely weakened. I'm working off the assumption now that Damon wants to get his hands on the white oak and stab one of them, any of them, to kill them all."
Sage was silent for a moment. "Damon didn't tell me that," she mused. "I should probably go now."
Artemis was surprised as Sage simply disappeared from view, probably using her vampire speed to put as much distance as possible between herself and Artemis. She went back to enjoying the silence and the scenery, finding that the river that the Wickery Bridge crossed over was actually rather soothing. But it wasn't long before she sensed another presence beside her.
"Look, I'm only going to say this once, but I'm sorry," Bekah grumbled. "Clearly, I said some things that I shouldn't have said."
"There's not much of a difference between Sage and I," Artemis stated quietly. "We're both doing things for the ones that we love. We both come from the same background."
"But she was a trashy little thing, and, while my brother Finn is a mopey and whiny brat, he's still the oldest," Bekah said. "We all expected that if he fell in love, she would be a respectable girl, not someone like her, and then he turned her into one of us."
"I was no more respectable than Sage was when she was human," Artemis explained. "We all did what we had to do to survive. Not all of us had big brothers looking out for us."
"Well, either way, I'm going over to the Salvatore house for a drink tonight, so don't wait up," she said breezily, before disappearing as well, once again leaving Artemis alone.
Her phone buzzed, alerting her to a message as she sat folding her laundry. After the ceremony, she had gone about her normal Saturday routine, getting groceries, doing laundry, cleaning the house, etc. She had kept the routine for as long as she could remember, and it was helpful in keeping her wits about her. Artemis picked her phone up off the floor, and smiled as she read the message.
Climbed a 14er today. Do you know how tall these things are? I feel like I'm on top of the world! – Kol
Accompanying the message were several pictures. The first was of Kol, standing next to a sign proclaiming that he had just climbed one of Colorado's 14ers, the highest peaks in all of the state. The second was of his view from the top of the mountain, which was positively breathtaking. And the third was a selfie of him and another boy, who she could only assume was Jeremy.
Looking good! – Artemis
She put her phone back down and grabbed another pair of jeans to fold, before her phone buzzed again.
Have you ever been here before? It's beautiful! I love it! – Kol
I was a teacher there in the late 1800s. Single room schoolhouse on the eastern plains. It was beautiful back then too. – Artemis
She folded a few more sets of clothes without another message from Kol, and headed upstairs to put them into her dresser and closet. Just as she opened the first drawer, the door to her house burst open, and she could hear Bekah scream her name, and then saw her in the bedroom the next instant.
"We have to go," she said urgently. "Sage found where the white oak is. We have to destroy it before Damon figures out that we know."
Artemis had no choice but to follow Bekah to the bridge.
The flames of the bonfire burned high, casting shadows that danced on the trees in the dark. Artemis had to take a step back because of the heat that was rolling off of it. There was a certain intensity to the fire, but also a certain feeling of peace. The white oak, from the last tree that could kill her husband, was soon to be gone. There was nothing, for a while at least, that would be able to separate them again. She and Sage stood together, watching the fire from a distance, while Bekah stood close, waiting for Damon to arrive.
As if on cue, Damon's car screeched to a halt not far from the flames. He made a noise of frustration as he got out of his car, slamming the door shut and stalking towards Bekah.
"Your grand plans always seem to get ruined, don't they?" Rebekah said with a smug grin on her face, before Damon could speak. "Sorry to disappoint you, again." She turned and walked away from the flames, while Damon could only helplessly watch them burn. He turned to walk back to his car, and that's when Sage and Artemis chose to appear.
"You set me up," he growled, turning his anger to them.
"No," Sage replied. "We're just looking out for ourselves."
"And the ones that we love," Artemis added. "Just as you look out for Elena, we look out for Kol and Finn."
"I told you I'd save your creepy boyfriend!" Damon shouted, walking towards the pair. "And your psychopath of a husband, he was never our target, just Klaus!"
"You lied to me, Damon!" Sage shouted, getting into Damon's face. "The Originals are linked. If one dies, they all die. Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
They stared at one another for a moment, before Damon truly lost his temper. He reached out and grabbed Sage by the shoulders, slamming her against the door of his car. But Artemis was quick to react, grabbing Damon by the back of his neck and tossing him a few feet away from the car, causing him to land with a thud on the pavement.
"Did you really think we'd risk the lives of our loved ones for one of your petty revenge fantasies?" Artemis said in a low tone, looking down at him.
Damon laughed as he pulled himself off the ground. "You were supposed to help me," he said, looking at Artemis. "You were supposed to be on our side to help end all of this, but instead, you're with them. But it's okay, because you won't be with them much longer, once I tell the Founders' Council what you are."
Artemis smirked. "You can't," she told him. "The witch made sure of that."
Damon stepped closer, until they were almost nose to nose. "Not if I find a witch to reverse it," he whispered. "And if I promise them your blood, I'm sure I'd have witches lined up down the block." His attentions turned to Sage. "And you, let me tell you something," he said. "Your long lost love has a suicide wish. So when mama witch linked them together in a spell, he's the one that volunteered to die."
Sage shook her head vehemently. "He wouldn't do that."
"He didn't want to live," Damon continued. "Not for you, not for anyone. He doesn't love you, Sage, and when I do find another way to kill those Originals, I'll start with Finn." He whipped around to look at Artemis again. "Followed closely by Kol."
He got back into his car and peeled away, leaving Sage and Artemis to stare at the bonfire on the bridge, both rattled to their cores.
They were both silent as Artemis moved about the kitchen, preparing cups of tea for both of them. She still didn't know Sage that well, and had a feeling that Sage wasn't exactly her best friend. But right now, they had a common enemy in Damon Salvatore, a man who had made both of them feel unsafe in a matter of minutes. Both women had traveled the globe, trying to survive for another day, just in case that day was the day that their loved one came back. But then Damon came, and threatened to take that all away from them, everything that they had worked so hard to find again.
But Damon had also threatened Artemis's own identity. She had been very careful with who she revealed herself to, but telling Damon had been a moment of weakness. She had been desperate when she met him, and was actually rather ashamed of that one particular encounter, and the subsequent time that she had spent with him. Vampires were good sources of energy. Most vampires understood that what she was doing was simply to ensure her survival, similar to how they drank the blood of their victims. But Damon had believed they were something more, and tried to manipulate her into staying with him.
In the end, her heart still belonged to Kol, and she didn't will herself to fall in love with anyone that she slept with. Damon hadn't taken it too well, and that's when she had gotten a witch involved, who set a curse on him that he could not tell a single soul what she was. He always managed to find her again, however, and cashed in on "favors" that she had offered him during their time together in exchange for some of his energy. He was the only vampire that kept track of how many favors she owed him, and the only one to cash them in.
The tea kettle whistled, just as her phone began to vibrate again. She answered it just as she took the kettle off.
"You sound stressed," Kol said on the other end of the line, after a momentary pause.
She laughed. "How could you get that from a single word?" Artemis asked.
"Well, darling, I'd like to think that after six hundred years, I know you pretty well," he replied smoothly. "Is someone else there with you? I can hear them breathing."
Artemis sighed and switched her phone to speakerphone, setting it down on the table as she grabbed teabags out of the cupboard. "Yes, Sage is with me," she told him. "You remember Sage, Finn's girlfriend? She came back to town earlier today, looking for him."
Kol paused for a moment. "Sage? With the red hair?" he asked.
Sage nodded. "Yes, that's me," she said. "Hi Kol."
"Has she asked you how you take your tea yet?"
A startled look came across Sage's face as she looked down at the phone. "How did you know she was making tea?"
"Because that's what she does when she's stressed out," he told the other vampire.
"Oh," Sage said quietly. "I guess it's hard for me to imagine the two of you together, because of the impression you left on me when I first met you."
Kol sighed. "I saw myself as a sort of god, I think," he said honestly. "I saw myself as being more than human, some sort of monster, and I relished in it. And then Artemis came along, the one being I had ever been faced by that could actually stand ground against me. Over time, she sort of talked me down from the ledge, so to speak, and reminded me of what it was like to be human."
There was a short pause, before Artemis spoke. "So, how do you take your tea?"
"Just sugar, thank you," Sage whispered. "What does Kol mean, that you stood your ground against him?"
Artemis laughed. "That just means that he tried to drink my blood and found it the most foul thing he's ever tasted," she replied, setting the tea and sugar down in front of her. "He couldn't kill me. And that reminds me, we burned a bunch of white oak tonight, possibly the last white oak from that tree."
"That's amazing, darling!" Kol exclaimed. "Not that the existence of white oak would have prevented me from taking you around the world." They could hear a voice calling him in the background. "I have to go, darling, I'm going to a concert with a couple of friends. I love you."
"I love you too," she replied. "Have fun!"
They said their goodbyes, and hung up, leaving Sage and Artemis to drink their tea in peace. "He seems like a really great guy," Sage commented. "Quite different from when I first met him."
"He didn't know how to cope with becoming immortal," Artemis replied. "None of them did, and I still think a few of them struggle with it. That's why so many of them were daggered for so long. You get too comfortable, and that's when you make mistakes."
"You sound as though you speak from experience," Sage said.
Artemis could only nod. After all, there was a time when her kind was nearly hunted into extinction by the church. That's why she almost never told anyone that she was a succubus.
