Chapter four

Little Witch

"The first thing you need to know about men, Anya," Aunt Molly said to her niece, as the fourteen year old prepared for her first date, "is that they're easily manipulated by short skirts and low neck lines. That's why 'man' is in 'manipulate.'"

Anya blushed at the thought. She didn't want to manipulate anybody. She just wanted her first date to go well. And maybe, if it went really well, she'd get her first kiss out of it as well.

"The second thing you need to know is that most men will say or do anything to get into your pants," Molly continued, knowing that if Anya's mother walked in on them at that second, she'd be in big trouble.

"My what?" Anya said, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Molly sighed. "Alright, that's another conversation for another time," she muttered to herself. "Let's just focus on the basics, alright?"

Anya nodded, feeling more nervous with every word Molly spoke. "It's really all about body language, Anya," her aunt said. "The simplest of touches can speak pages of words. It's always good to keep skin contact throughout the date. It's a good way to let the guy know you're interested."

Anya nodded again, committing everything Molly said to memory. She fiddled with her hair as she listened to her aunt tell her how to flirt with guys.

"Here, Anya," Molly said suddenly, taking her charm bracelet off of her wrist and clasping it onto Anya's fragile one. "For good luck."

Anya stared at the bracelet with wide eyes, listening to the silver charms clink softly against another, like music. She had always loved her aunt's bracelet, and now it was hers.

Molly's thumb brushed gently against the most prominent charm hanging from the bracelet. It was a simple design, made up of loops and lines and curves. It was beautiful, yet always sent chills down Anya's spine.

"It's our family's sigil," Molly explained. "It will protect you from harm, Anya, as it has protected many Lewis witches before us." She flipped the charm over and pointed to the words inscribed in the charm.

"Ut sanguinem nostrum nostra salus." Molly whispered the Latin words softly, more to herself than to Anya.

But Anya knew the words all too well. "May our blood be our salvation," she translated. It was the Lewis family byword, going back centuries. It had been drilled into Anya's head ever since she was a child.

Molly broke the silence by clearing her throat. "The most important thing you need to know about men, Anya," she said as she looked up at her niece, a light smirk on her lips. "Is that you can't trust them as far as you can throw them."

Anya took a deep breath to calm her breathing. She knew that Kol could hear her heart pounding wildly in her chest. He'd know that something was up if she didn't calm herself down.

She knew that she was in a dangerous situation, being shoulder to shoulder with an original vampire, but if worse came to worse, she had her magic to momentarily incapacitate him while she made a break for it. It wasn't a fool proof plan, but it would do.

"And what's your name, Love?" Kol asked, bringing her attention back to him and the task at hand.

Anya had to admit, Kol was attractive, very attractive. And there was something about him that drew women in like moths to a flame. She didn't know if it was his smirk, his accent, or his charm. Maybe it was a mixture of all three. Whatever it was, it would have been highly effective on her had she not been deathly afraid of him.

Even with her fear, Anya was still affected by how intoxicating Kol Mikaelson was.

"Chin up, back straight, shoulders back," Anya could hear her aunt saying in her head. "Guys find confidence sexy."

Anya lifted her head up and rolled her shoulders back, forcing a smile on her lips that she hoped was sultry and not fearful. "Anya," she replied, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "My name is Anya. And what would yours be?"

She placed a hand gently on Kol's arm, and she briefly saw his eyebrows raise in surprise, before her smirk returned, this time wider than before. "Kol," he answered, almost as if he was mocking her. "My name is Kol. A true pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Anya."

His brown eyes were alight with what Anya could only assume was mischief, as he lifted her hand from his arm and brought it to his lips. She would have been lying if she had said her heart hadn't skipped a beat when he kissed her hand. And by the way his smirk widened even more, Anya knew that Kol knew the effect he was having on her.

When he pulled her hand away from his lips, his fingers accidently brushed the charm bracelet hanging from her wrist, causing the dozens of charms to tinkle softly. "For good luck," Molly had said when she had given her the charm bracelet.

Anya had had the feeling that she could use all the luck she could get that night.

"What an… interesting charm bracelet," Kol said, frowning slightly as several charms caught his eye.

"Thank you," Anya said politely. "It's a family heirloom."

"Hmm," Kol said, his eyebrows furrowing when he lifted one charm up so he could see it better.

Anya's heart skipped when she realized it was the charm with her family sigil on it.

She had the urge to rip her wrist away from Kol's grasp, but, as if reading her thoughts, he gripped her wrist almost painfully tight in his free hand so that she couldn't stop him from studying the charm.

When he flipped it over to read the inscription, Anya stopped breathing.

"Ut sanguinem nostrum nostra salus," he muttered to himself, as if he understood what the old words meant perfectly. "May our blood be our salvation."

Suddenly, a twisted smile formed on Kol's face, and he slowly looked up at Anya. "You're a witch."

All the blood drained from Anya's face. Her cover had been blown. Every instinct she had screamed at her to run as fast as she possibly could from Kol. But even if she could make it three feet before Kol would ultimately block her path, Anya had seemingly lost control of her legs at that moment.

She hadn't taken that into account when she was planning her escape plan.

"Not only are you a witch," Kol continued, seeming completely entertained and amused by the whole situation, "you're a Lewis witch."

Anya gulped and averted her gaze, but didn't say anything in response.

"And if you're a witch," Kol said, "then you know what I am. And I have a feeling, Little Witch, that you've known what I am since the moment you walked into this bar. Maybe even before. But you still let me flirt with you. You even flirted back. Do you know what that tells me, Little Witch?"

Anya didn't respond, but, then again, Kol didn't really expect her to.

"It tells me that you want something from me."

Anya closed her eyes, wishing she was anywhere but where she was at that moment.

Kol leaned into Anya. He was so close that she could feel his breath against her cheek whenever he talked.

"Now, tell me, Little Witch," he said, his tone suddenly losing its amusement it had had before. "What could a witch such as yourself, from a clan of witches known distinctly for their prejudice against vampires, want from an original vampire such as myself?"

"If I tell you, then you'll never give it to me, just out of principle," Anya blurted out before she could stop herself, and Kol grinned at her, still finding her amusing even after finding out that she was a witch who just wanted something from him, nothing more.

"Very true," Kol said. "Maybe you're smarter and less naïve than I give you credit for, Little Witch."

Kol stood up then, and Anya couldn't help but be relieved, knowing that the humiliating and terrifying first meeting with Kol would soon be over. "I'm afraid I must leave, Little Witch," he said almost regretfully. "A shame, really. I find you rather amusing. I knew you were going to be interesting, as soon as I saw you." Kol brushed his lips against Anya's knuckles again, still smirking as he did so.

"Until next time, Anya."

Anya closed her eyes, her heart beating rapidly in her chest, her fingers trembling slightly against the bar table. When she opened them, Kol was gone and she was all alone in the bar that smelled like oak and stale beer.

"There's a type of man that you need to look out for, Anya," Molly said as Anya made sure her curled hair was perfect. "It's the type of man that loves a chase. Really, he loves it more than the prize he gets at the end. It's the type of man who can make you feel like a queen one minute, then completely ruin you the next. This man is reckless and impulsive and destructive, yet charming and intoxicating and uncontrollably sexy."

Molly let out an almost dream like sigh, as if remembering the days when she was the one getting ready for dates and taking advice from her beloved aunt. "You better watch out for that kind of man, Anya," she said in a kind of tone that made it perfectly clear just how serious she was.

"Because that is the type of man who will break you until there's nothing left to break."

~LIP~

Anya was terrified of going home. She was afraid of the repercussions of her mistake of talking to her aunt Molly that afternoon. She hoped Connor wasn't still angry with her, but knew that he, more than likely, was. Connor wasn't one to forget his anger so quickly. Especially when it came to Anya.

Still, she knew she couldn't wander around Mystic Falls forever. She had to return home eventually and pray that her development with Kol would appease her brother enough to forgive her, at least a little bit. Kol had, after all, said that she interested him, and made it clear they would be seeing each other again, maybe sometime soon.

It was almost midnight when Anya pulled her key out of her purse and unlocked the front door. She took a deep breath before walking into the kitchen.

"Connor?" she called out tentatively, looking around for her brother. Piles after piles of paper were stacked on the kitchen table, highlighters and pens strewn about, along with glasses of cold blood left about. Connor had always been very messy.

There was no sign of her brother as Anya shrugged off her coat and walked towards the living room. "Connor, are you here?" she called out, frowning with worry. They had agreed that he wouldn't leave the house. It wasn't safe for anybody if the spell slowly killing him made a sudden attack and turned him rabid.

Still, there was no sign of Connor Lewis anywhere.

Anya sighed and ran a hand through her hair. As she walked towards Connor's bedroom, she came across a puddle of dark, thick liquid.

Her eyes widened in surprise and slight revulsion when she realized that it was blood.

"Oh my God, Connor," Anya whispered to herself, a hand over her mouth. What had happened while she was gone?

"Anya."

Anya whirled around at the sound of her name being whispered in a hoarse voice. That was when she saw Connor, covered in sweat and blood. His eyes were wild and feral, yet completely petrified of what was happening to him. Blood caked his mouth especially, yet still stained the rest of his body.

"Connor-" Anya started to say, taking a step towards her brother.

But then Connor vomited up blood, throwing up every ounce that was in his body. Anya gasped out loud at the horrific sight.

Before Anya could even process what was happening, Connor was on the floor, convulsing uncontrollably.

The curse had taken a terrible turn for the worst while Anya had been out.

~LIP~

A/N: thank you to: NIGHTANGEL21, Lauren1996007, CuciBurga, , and mindyrainbowpants for reviewing!

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~Abby :)