A/N: Hey guys! Thank you all for the reviews! It's so nice to hear what you guys think. I love reading each and every one of them. I hope you like this chapter. It was one of my favorites to write and I hope it'll be one of yours to read. Thank you all again!
A Flame Rekindled:
"Must you always start a fight?"
"I didn't start anything, El." Damon said innocently. She rolled her eyes at him, as they walked over to Mayor Lockwood. As they walked over Damon smirked seeing everyone stare at Beth and she was oblivious."Hello, Carol. Hanging out with your new besties?" He asked her sarcastically. Beth rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs.
"I'm the mayor, Damon. When the oldest,deadliest family of vampire moves in to town, you welcome them with a smile." She replied smiling at him. She turned to Beth. "And you look beautiful, dear."
"Thank you." She smiled back at her graciously/
"Well, at least you know where you're borrowing that cup of sugar from." He smirked at her.
"I'm trying to protect this town." Mrs. Lockwood defend herself. "They've assured me they want peace and I've assured them, that I would enforce it." She gave him a meaningful look.
"Mayor Lockwood, we haven't formally met." Beth looked up at the familiar voice of Kol. She smiled as he smiled back at her. Damon didn't miss the happy exchange. "Kol Mikaelson. 'He greeted himself as he quickly kissed her knuckles. "I hope your lovely town embraces us, just as much as we intend to embrace it." He turned his attention to his date. "Elizabeth, you're looking as stunning as ever." He gently kissed her hand as well, making her blush, though as he raised his head, his eyes fell on her familiar necklace, full of surprise.
Damon resisted the urge to roll his eyes at him for his comment as he stuck out his own hand in front of him. "Damon Salvatore. Have we met?" He asked, feeling as though he knew him from somewhere.
Kol looked back up and politely grinned at the two women. "I've met a lot of people. And you don't particularly stand out." He told him truthfully. Beth couldn't help, but snicker at the diss. It wasn't every day that someone completely insulted Damon like that. Kol gently grabbed her hand and pulled her away from him. "You do look absolutely breathtaking, though, Elizabeth." He complemented her sincerely making her blush.
"Thank you." She smiled at him, before either of them could say another word they were interrupted by Rebekah. She walked up to then wearing a beautiful sleeveless green dress. "Wow, Rebekah you look great." She complimented her. Kol rolled his eyes at his sister and got a nudge in the ribs by Beth.
"There you are." Rebekah smiled at Beth as she looked up at her outfit up and down, happy to see that she was wearing the necklace. "I knew that dress would look great on you. Seems like, my brother actually did something right for the first time." She said with a grin, making Beth smile.
"Perfect timing, sister." Kol told her sarcastically.
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't worry, Kol. You'll have your date all to yourself later. By the way, do you like the necklace that I gave Elizabeth?" She asked innocently with a smile.
"Yes, it's very lovely, Bekah. I should have known that it came from you." He said with a forced smile on his face. He didn't know why his sister felt the need to bring it out now of all times. It wasn't the right time, he didn't think, but she was never one to ask permission. Beth looked at the siblings with interest.
"Yes, I did, brother." She nodded proudly. She had seen that her brother was nervous before the ball. He needed a push in the right direction, or else he would never get anywhere with Elizabeth. "I believe there's an interesting story behind that necklace." Kol however glared at her, but kept his tone even.
"What have I told you about keeping your hands and your nose, out of where they don't belong, sister? My room and business, especially."
"Oh, it's yours?" Beth asked. She finally understood why he was so angry that Rebekah took it. She was quick to try and take it off and throw a small glare at Rebekah who just shrugged. "I'm sorry, Rebekah never told me that it had belonged to you."
Kol gently placed a hand on hers to stop her from taking it off, completely. "No, no, it's yours. Rebekah just spoiled the surprise is all." He assured her with a small smile to her.
"Surprise?" She turned to Rebekah who just stood there looking pleased with herself. "What did you do this time, Bekah?" She just smiled at her.
"Just helped history repeat itself."
"What is she talking about? What do you mean it's mine?" She asked Kol, confused. He just glared at his sister again. He really didn't want to talk about this there and especially not as his sister pressing of it. He didn't understand why she would want to mention this right now either, since things were going so well. He groaned.
"Rebekah, don't we have a toast to get to?"
"Oh no, brother. We have plenty of time."
Kol glared at his sister, but knew he wasn't going to get out of this one. "The necklace was yours from before. You didn't have it for too long. You ripped it from your neck and threw it at me when you found me in bed. Why Bekah would want to remind anyone of that is beyond me." He said snapping at his sister, who really wanted to hit him.
Beth looked down, uncomfortably. Rebekah just rolled her eyes. She really didn't know how he lasted this long without making out of himself in front of her. "God, you really are a bloody idiot sometimes, Kol." She looked over to Beth and go "Forgive my brother for being oblivious." And she looked back to Kol. "I was trying to get you to talk about when you gave it to her! Unbelieveable!" She muttered under her breath as she walked away.
Kol was surprised, his mouth dropped open into the shape of an O. "She's unfortunately right. The night that I gave it to you, it was definitely more memorable than the night you took it off." He said softly. He really did feel like an idiot now/
Beth gave him a smile and kissed his cheek, to his surprise. "It's okay. I think that I'd rather here about that night instead, though." He smiled and nodded, as she took his arm and he led over to the balcony near by.
As they stood outside, in the crisp, cool night air, he remembered that night and smiled. "I set up a big dinner in my room, with Bekah's help of course. There were pedals from your favorite flower, a rose, scattered everywhere and, I even had the best music playing. The table was lit, and I had your favorite meal brought up. It was truly magical, and then...and then you came in. Your dress was simply amazing, the best you had worn before." He smiled down at her. Beth blushed deeply.
"Really?"
"Really." He smiled lovingly at her. "The dinner was wonderful, the night was even better." He said with a wicked smile, implying something more and making her blush. "It was your birthday, and I wanted to get you something special. You had been eying this piece for weeks and I knew I had to get it for you."
She smiled at him. That was surprisingly a sweet story. She played with the locket. "I couldn't get it opened, but Rebekah said there was something inside of it."
Kol chuckled. He remembered getting that engraved especially for them. He liked having a piece of him with her all the time. "There is. It's just a picture inside of it, of us."
"Will you help me open it?"
She didn't have to ask him twice as he walked closer to her and stood right in front of her. Her eyes flickered to his dark ones as he carefully snapped it open. He turned and placed it in her hand to reveal an old picture of them together. They were both dressed up and by the way they were laughing, they were happy. "Do you like it?" He asked her hopefully.
Beth was blown away and she smiled up at him and nodded, but then giggled looking back at the photo. "Look at your hair. Oh God, you looked weird." She laughed out. He chuckled at her,
"My hair wasn't weird, Elizabeth."
She laughed again. "You can not pull off the long hair spiked up look, Kol. You hair looks bigger than your head." She teased him and he pretended to be wounded by her comment, but couldn't help, but smile when he saw hers.
"Well, it was the style back then, love. Trust me, you didn't like how it was then either. You're the one who made me cut it."
"I think you're lying to me now. I think you might have just been weird, because I've seen pictures of both Klaus and Elijah and neither of them had that hair style." She laughed. He smiled down at her and gently pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear.
"No, you were the one who wanted me to get it cut as it is now." He chuckled at her.
Beth smiled at him and ran a hand through his hair, careful not to mess it up. "Well, I guess you're lucky to have had me, then. You would have been the laughing stalk of the original's with that hair." She teased him as she went to pull back her hand, but he stopped her and grabbed it and kissed it.
"Yes, I really was."
Beth blushed deeply and looked away from him. "Look at my dress, now that's amazing." She changed the subject quickly. Kol was confused, but he didn't want to push her into anything, too fast. "Much better than your hair./"
"Yes, it was. You really made that dress beautiful." He said with a smile, remembering it. That surprised Beth. She looked up at him.
"I made it beautiful?"
Kol laughed lightly at her surprised expression. "Of course you did, Elizabeth. Anything that you wore looked dazzling on you." He complimented her sincerely. She blushed and looked away, shyly, letting her hair fall as it covered her face like a sheer wall.
"You're just being charming."
Kol grinned at her. "Maybe that too, but it's the truth, darling."
"Do you have any other pictures of us?" She asked changing the subject, but genuinely curious too. She would have liked to see more of them in the past.
"Tons of you. Actually a few of us together, but you were more photogenic."
"I'd love to see them sometime. Maybe after the party?" She suggested. She actually did want to spend more time with Kol. He made her smile and laugh and she hadn't really had a reason to do that in a long time. Kol smirked and took a step towards her.
"I'll hold you to that then."
"I'm sure you will."
Kol took another step towards her. "You can keep some if you like. I figure you would want a memento of out time together." He said with an innocent smirk. She smiled up at him.
"I'd like that, but don't you have a speech to get to?" She asked him.
"I do, actually, but how about something for good luck so I don't choke?" He suggested with a wink.
"You're not even speaking." She reminded him with a smile.
"I still get nervous in front of large crowds." He told her with a grin, leaning in towards her. "Especially beautiful girls, like you/" Beth rolled her eyes at him, but looked around to see if anyone was looking. She gently placed a quick peck on his cheek, but was stopped by Kol when she tried to pull back and was face to face with him, wearing a confused expression.
"What's the matter, Elizabeth?" He asked her. It wasn't that she didn't like Kol, because she really did. A lot, but she technically just met him. Even though she felt like she's known him for a while, she hasn't. And all she has is pieces of memories and stories that are being told to her.
She blushed. "We technically just me, Kol. I'm not usually up to...you know, kissing like that, so quickly." She told him.
He gave her a sad smile and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry, darling, forgive me. I often forget that you forgot everything." He told her apologetically. It was hard to remember that it wasn't like before. That she didn't know him as well as he did her.
Beth felt guilty. "I feel like I should remember, because you make it sound like this big love story, but I can't." She sighed. He gently touched her cheek, making her feel warm inside.
"Nothing was perfect, Elizabeth, but don't worry. Pieces will come back to you, I promise."
Beth leaned into his surprisingly, soft touch and looked up at him. "I hope they do because...I want to have the memories of us that you do. I want to remember the love you talk about." She admitted softly to him. It was one thing to talk about that kind of love, it was another to remember everything about it, especially what it felt like.
"Rebekah said you were already getting some back, it takes time. You're remember it and maybe not just remember the love, either." He said softly stroking her cheek. Kol's eyes flickered to her lips and back to her eyes. She just realized how much she actually wanted to kiss him and Beth didn't realize that she was leaning in as well as he was until someone cleared their throats behind them, making her jump.
It was Elijah. He looked in awkwardly where they were. Kol looked like he wanted to kill his older brother. "I'm sorry to, um, disturb you, but the it's time for the speech, Kol." He told him and he' nodded at Elijah. "And I was wondering if I could have a word with you after, Elizabeth?"
"I already made plans to take her for a tour around the house, brother." Kol quickly stepped in. The last thing he wanted was for Elijah to be close to Elizabeth in any way, but she didn't seem to have any problem with it.
"Actually I thought that the waltz was after the speech? We could talk beforehand?" She suggested. Kol looked hurt for a second before brushing it off and storming out without a word to either of them. Beth tried to go after and explain.
"Don't. It's better if you let him cool off first, Elizabeth." Elijah told her kindly. She barely glanced at him but agreed.
She nodded as she walked past him into the ballroom, where Caroline was. "Hey, Beth I-wow. You look amazing." She compliment her friend with a smile. Beth looked over at her, she looked equally as beautiful, wearing a powder blue dress. "Where did you get that dress from?"
"So do you, Care! You look great. And Um, Kol gave it to me, he's my date." She said softly. Caroline was confused. She hadn't met anyone named Kol around there and she was pretty sure she would know anyone that Beth knew. Beth's eyes traveled up the staircase where he stood, lined up with his siblings holding a glass of champagne in his hands. "He's Klaus' younger brother."
"What?" She whispered in surprise. She looked at Beth's line of sight at the Original. She should have known the only reason Klaus asked her to the ball and gave her this dress was to try and make Beth jealous of them. "You agreed to go out with Klaus' brother?"
"You agreed to go out with said original hybrid to this ball too, so no judging." Beth told her and Caroline was about to argue with her, but she couldn't. Beth had her there, but she was still surprised that Beth wanted to go with him. Instead, she stuck her tongue at her and Beth did the same as the speech started.
"Uh, if everyone could gather, please?" Elijah asked politely. Soon more people joined them. She saw Damon and Stefan standing to the side, talking to each other as Finn hurried to join the rest of his family. As soon as everyone was settled the Original started to speak again. "Welcome, thank you for joining us." He looked over at Esther who had walked towards him, but still on the other side of Kol, who had his eyes on Beth. "You know, whenever our mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance." He said loudly to the group. Beth looked over at Esther, she couldn't shake the weird feeling she had about their mother, she hoped it was just her. "Tonight's pick is a centuries old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom."
Beth gave Caroline a small smile as she went over to find Kol, but she didn't have to take more than 3 steps when Elijah appeared in front of her. It was still awkward between them since she slapped him. "If you don't mind, could we have a quick word?" He asked hopefully. Beth hesitated for a moment before nodding. Elijah led her off to the side of the room, where no one could overhear them, accidentally or purposely. She didn't notice Kol glaring daggers at them from behind as Elijah stopped them, where it was private and she waited, anxiously, for him to speak. "You look good with Kol, happy. You always had."
She was caught off guard. That wasn't what she was expecting from him. She was expecting him to be angry with her, or upset that she hit him, but that threw her off. "What do you mean." She asked him curiously, as he gave her a kind smile.
"I never wanted to see it before, but it's hard not to, especially now. Even with barely any recollection of him, you two fit." Elijah told her thoughtfully. He should never have come between then, even when they weren't together. He could see even now, how happy she was with him and he, with her. Beth blushed at that.
"It's just one date."
"Because of my selfishness, it's been over a century coming." He told her calmly, that confused her though.. She thought he must have been talking about before.
"I just met him, Elijah. It's still new to me."
"Try telling that to Kol." He chuckled, making her smile at him. She did feel a lot better with Kol. She felt as though she had known him for a long time, they meshed well together, even if they were complete opposites.
"I'm sorry for slapping you. I shouldn't have done that." She apologized sincerely. It took a lot for her to get mad at Elijah. He had a certain calm demeanor about him, even when he was upset, he didn't let it show. And she really did like him, but not like she liked Kol. Elijah just waved it off, he didn't want her to feel guilty.
"I deserved that one. It was understandable." He told her.
"I'm still sorry." She apologized again.
"Your apologies are accepted as long as you save me a dance." He said with a smile. He knew that there was something between her and Kol that wasn't between them and he had to respect that. She smiled back at him and nodded in agreement. He glanced to his right and saw Kol watching them. "Excuse me, Elizabeth. I have to go and you have a date to get back to." He reminded her. With a quick kiss on the hand, he walked off towards the ballroom, where the others were talking before they opened the doors to the room.
