"You threatened Elena?"
Dana blinked at the appalled tone Valerie used. She looked at her younger sister who was sitting cross-legged at the end of Dana's bed. She had her red hair braided back, which made her look younger than she really was.
"I didn't threaten her. I just provided Bonnie with a little incentive to help you," Dana explained, holding her hands up as if to prove her innocence.
Dana explained to Valerie about her heritage when she had gotten home. Valerie had taken it in stride, although she was quick to announce she would have to actually have proof. So Dana had given her Bonnie's number and told her to set a time up. Then eventually Valerie would get her proof.
"Don't you think that's a little…mean?"
Dana burst into laughter. She held her stomach as she fell onto her back, the most laughter she'd had in what felt like a very long time. Valerie had called her actions mean. As if she had thrown an insult at Elena or simply bullied her.
"It's not funny," Valerie said, scrunching her brows together as Dana sat up, gasping for air as she recovered from her laughing fit.
"I know, I know." Dana held a hand up, a smile breaking across her face.
Valerie raised an eyebrow at her. "Was that really necessary though?"
Dana rolled her eyes, "Of course. Apparently it takes a landslide to get that bunch to help someone when it doesn't do them any good."
"You know, you've changed a lot since you've left."
Valerie's comment silenced Dana for a long moment. She was sure Valerie saw her and didn't see the same sister she once knew. Dana had always wondered if Valerie would view her as the monster the rest of their family claimed. Or if she would see something else, something that some refused to see.
"It's just," Valerie suddenly said, "I never would have imagined you of all people-" she suddenly broke off, shaking her head with a small smile.
"Doing what?"
"Becoming a vampire," Valerie finished, "You were so convincing."
Dana nearly snorted. Valerie obviously had never been told of her family's doubts. "I wouldn't say I was particularly convincing."
Valerie remained quiet at her words. She was staring own at her hands.
"Besides, I wouldn't say I've really changed Val," Dana finally said, breaking that small moment of silence.
Valerie looked up. Her eyes were curious, her brows furrowed. Suddenly she asked, "What do you feel when you kill people?"
Dana's lips parted in surprise. At first she wasn't sure what to say. Did she tell her sister the truth? What she really felt? "Well, at first I felt guilt, but only because when I killed someone I thought of you and Daniel. But now…" Dana paused, daring to glance over at Val, "I feel nothing."
Admitting that made the feeling so real. When she drank from humans, when she compelled them to forget, when she killed them mercilessly, she felt nothing.
"I don't suppose that should be so surprising," Valerie commented, running her fingers over the embroidery on the comforter, "especially with the way the rest of you were raised."
"You're lucky," Dana was quick to say, "that you weren't raised like us."
Valerie was certainly the gentle soul of the Chasseur children. Perhaps it was the fact that she wasn't really related by blood, or even just the fact that she wasn't raised to murder.
"Yeah, I guess so," she murmured.
Silence fell between the two sisters. They sat there, minutes passing by. If one were to walk into the bedroom they would find one staring at her hands and the other steadily gazing at the girl sitting before her. They were total opposites and growing up the two had never been as close as Dana and Daniel had been, but Dana had always been there to look after Valerie. It was more than their parents had done.
Soon Valerie got up and announced she was going to go to bed. That left Dana alone. She fell onto her back, breathing in a deep breath. Why was it that it had to be Valerie of all people? Couldn't it be Zack to question her? Or perhaps even Daniel?
She could handle them. She had for as long as she could remember. Whether it was arguing, fighting, proving who was the better hunter, or even the better chess player, she had always been able to stand against them and defend herself. Daniel had challenged her mentally and Zack had challenged her physically.
There were times when she missed that. Training with Zack or sitting down and playing board games with her sickly twin. As much as she hated to admit it, she much preferred the frail version of her twin over this new Daniel. He was twisted and sick, too similar to their parents.
Dana forced herself into a sitting position. There was a familiar burning in the pit of her stomach, her throat dry and leaving her feeling parched. With a scowl she left her room and traveled downstairs to the kitchen, an attempt to find blood bags. When she found a fridge full of food that did not consist of blood (minus a raw steak with a threatening note attached to the plastic) she shut the door and sighed.
She had two choices. Compel blood bags from a blood bank or find a human to drink from. Normally she would do whatever was easier, which usually ended up being a person.
"We both know what you're thinking about darling, you may as well just go ahead and do it," a familiar voice said from the doorway of the kitchen.
She almost sighed again. For some reason she just didn't feel like putting up with Kol. "But what fun would that be?"
"From what I've seen, it'd be quite a bit of fun," Kol teased, moving to stand face to face with Dana.
She stared him down. His dark eyes were swimming with mischief, nothing new to Dana. Her eyes narrowed for a second. Had she ever noticed before how handsome he was? It amazed her really, how much he looked like Elijah. They were practically the spitting image of each other.
Granted, she could see the differences in them asides from the age. Kol was more upfront about how deadly and how reckless he could be. He was more devious and there was something in Dana that could appreciate that. Without a doubt in her mind she knew that Elijah was just as dangerous, if not even more so.
"Like what you see?"
Dana immediately stepped away from Kol. The proximity was almost too much for her to handle, as was the mocking tone he used with her. She hadn't even realized just how close the two of them had been standing.
She rolled her eyes, pressing her palms face down on the island bar. She was facing away from Kol. The hunter she used to be reprimanded her for leaving her back so vulnerable to Kol, but she trusted him to some degree.
"I must admit, I did enjoy watching you threaten the doppleganger's life earlier," Kol commented casually, leaning back against the counter and watching her shoulders tense up at the mention of it.
"I did what I had to do to help my sister."
"Speaking of your sister," Kol said, "what will your parents think when they discover her missing?"
Dana hadn't given her family a single thought. She was sure they would be furious though. She even wondered for a moment if they would dare to come charging straight for the Mikaelson home. They couldn't be that bold though, not after losing Kyra, Seth, and Galen.
"I'll protect Valerie from them," Dana murmured, "especially if they find out she's a witch."
"You say you'll protect her, but will you kill for her?"
"Of course!" Dana snapped, turning around to shoot Kol a glare.
Kol didn't say anything else. Instead he quirked a brow and watched as she averted her eyes. She honestly cared for her sister, she would protect Valerie from her family if it came down to that.
"I hate them," Dana finally said, her gaze meeting and holding Kol's, "I hate them for how they raised us. I hate them for what they did to Daniel, for the fact that we're not actually a family. And I absolutely despise them for everything they put me through."
Those sharply curved daggers flashed through her mind. The way the tips had dug into her skin. She could still practically feel the burning sensation of the magic the witch had worked on her, even her own blood that had dried and clung to her skin after her physical wounds had healed.
Kol was suddenly standing inches away from her. His hands hovered over her arms as she stared at his chest, pain seeming to flicker through her eyes. For a moment he was unsure and he had the oddest feeling.
He wrapped his fingers around her upper arms and pulled her to him. His arms circled around her, noting that she immediately stiffened at the close contact. But he didn't take it to heart. If it really agitated him all he would have to do is snap her neck, and he really didn't feel like doing that.
She couldn't believe what was going on. Was Kol really hugging her? Or was this some sort of hallucination? Still she felt herself relaxing against him. She rested her head against his chest, pulling in a deep breath. She remembered the first she had hugged Kol. She hadn't meant to, honestly. Dana had acted on instinct because for the first time in a long time she had need to be comforted.
But this was different. This time Kol had taken the initiative to hug her, not the other way around.
"We'll kill them. Together."
A/N ~ It's been a few months since I've updated and I'm really, really sorry. I also apologize for the really short chapters o.o But I'm in the process of writing the next chapter right now! College just started back (and I'm taking even more Creative writing classes!) But until next time! :)
