AN: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, I would have had this up sooner if it wasn't for my laptop sporadically restarting and a faulty auto-save which wiped out like 3000 words. This chapter was originally supposed to be two separate ones, hence the length (My longest chapter to date) but I decided to make it into one to make it flow a little better! Again thank you to all who have followed and favourited! So I know I've said before that the italics are flashbacks unless otherwise stated but I thought I would say again just to prevent any confusion. : )
To Lady Syndra: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, it really means a lot. Hope you like this next chapter.
To Guest: Thank you so much. I am so glad you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it. Haha I like to add a little spice in the mix but we'll just have to wait and see.
Thank you to all who have reviewed. Your input and support making writing this so much better! : )
Steam Locomotive
Boston to Virginia
1864
The train powered thunderously through the country-side, its speed making the trees outside look like green blurs whooshing passed the windows. The chugging sounds from the chimney of the locomotive steam engine were loud but became forgetful as they became so monotonous in the passengers ears. They had been traveling for a couple of hours already but still had a few more to go on the express engine. All of the passengers of the grand steam engine had filtered from the dining cart to their compartments long ago and were now settling there for the rest of the journey. Kol however had been seated in deep thought in his compartment since he had boarded the train. He had compelled the luggage handlers to restrain Natalie and Noah in the coal carriage at the back of the train for the duration of the journey. They would be chained, bound and guarded. The length of time it was taking for the Vervain to wear off would have been extremely vexing for him if it wasn't for the fact that his mind was otherwise occupied. He had two vampires whom he had turned himself in the coal compartment securing them and also had sent his witch friend Tahlia to check on them. His piercing eyes turned from the window to the small object he had been taking in and out of his pocket since his journey from France had begun, since a destination had been determined. It was a bracelet of sorts. Not one by modern standards of fine jewels and silver or carat gold finishes but one whittled together by him alone. A thin leather strap was the binding and it was adorned with small wooden beads, the centre one which he had carved the letter 'K' and highlighted it with charcoal to make it easier to see. Now the leather was frayed from time, the charcoal long since faded and the beads easily splintered. It was still, however his most treasured possession. It was the only thing he had left that had been hers. He remembered the day he had given it to her like it was yesterday, even though it was over eight-hundred-years ago. He had made it in celebration of the winter-nights festival and had given it to her the night of the great feast when he had been seventeen-years-old. A night that had changed him forever.
A sudden knock on the mahogany door separating his compartment from the rest of the carriage broke him from his almost life-like thoughts. He shoved the bracelet back into his waistcoat pocket on even the reflex of the noise. The object was so dear to him that not one of his companions had ever been privy to see it. He sighed in annoyance. He had told his small group that he wanted to be left alone. He needed to gather himself.
"Yes what?" he spat knowing that most likely the moment of calmness would most definitely cease.
The door almost burst open revealing Tahlia. She stormed through the door slamming it behind her and stood in front of Kol, hands on her hips.
Kol had known Tahlia for almost two years, when he had visited her coven in Brighton, England. She had saved his life and risked her own by alerting him to a plan that would have allowed his brother Klaus to dagger him, something he had been avoiding since he had been released from the slumber centuries ago. He had left before Klaus had even set foot on English soil but not before slaying all of those who were set to betray him. For Tahlia he offered a choice. To stay with her coven or to accompany him. Knowing her betrayal to her coven would never go unpunished she decided to go with him, to assist him on his quest. In the few years she had known Kol she had discovered what exactly she was allowed and wasn't allowed to do. She knew exactly how far she could push him without granting him allowance for any form of punishment. She seemed to be able to push him a lot more than most. He seemed to have an affinity towards witches. Why she didn't know, only that she was grateful of the fact.
"My, aren't we bad-tempered today" she said a slight smirk on her face.
"Do not test me today Tahlia, I am not in the humour now what is it?"
Tahlia sobered a little and removed the smirk from her face.
"I thought you might like to know that one of your wards has decided to use your two captives for a light snack".
Kol looked at her square in the face as if asking a silent question.
"It was Andrew. I stopped him, he is secure. The idiot also got a few mouthfuls of Vervain too I suspect he's learnt his lesson" she said answering the unspoken question.
"Why is he not dead?" Kol asked strolling towards a golden plated mirror hanging from the corner of the compartment wall and fixing his neck-tie more securely under his vest.
"It is not my business to kill only to…"
"What?" he asked turning to look at her "Assist me in killing? Because that is what you are doing in alerting me, sealing his fate".
She looked to her shoes, knowing full well that he was right.
"We're not feeling guilty are we? After everything you've done?" Kol laughed entertained at the irony. She had told him years ago that she didn't think of vampires as people and now here she was protecting one's life, a fledgling at that.
She looked at him fiercely in the eyes, hers almost looking black in the light.
"Now now don't give me that look" Kol chuckled laughing almost like he would at a small child throwing a tantrum "It doesn't do anything for the wrinkles around your eyes". He laughed again and went back to studying himself in the mirror.
Tahlia seethed as she watched, her jaw clenching as if to prevent herself from casting a spell that would have his neck-tie choke him or give him a blinding, deafening, excruciatingly painful headache.
"What would you like me to do with him?" she asked monotone.
He turned to her with bright eyes, like he was getting a sort of amusement out of the situation.
"I'll let you decide poor Andrew's fate" he chuckled moving to the door. He stopped when he reached the handle and turned back to her.
"What of my captives?" he asked.
She looked at him almost annoyed that it took him this long to ask about them.
"I had Samuel heal them, apart from any emotional turmoil they should be alright".
"Good" he said opening the door to let her walk out "And Tahlia" he said as she crossed the threshold.
She turned looking at him expectantly.
He pushed her up against the wall harshly, holding her up by clutching one hand around her arm and another wrapped around her chin. She looked scared. She had seen him act this way with many people. People whom he'd killed, wards who had disobeyed him and even people just for the fun of it, but never to her.
"Next time I tell you to let me be, I expect there to be no more interruptions".
She nodded in the small space he was allowing her to move in and he set her down. Once her hand was free she began rubbing her chin and jaw soothingly. He moved away from her back towards his compartment before her voice sounded out once more. She knew it was risky to speak to him in such a way but she felt that it had to be done.
"You would think" she said her voice thick with unshed emotion "That the ever so nearing prospect of you finding your long-lost-love would put you in a better form of moods but I see it now. You're scared. Scared of what she will think when she sees you, scared that she will see you for the monster that you truly are. Scared that she too will fear you and fled from the very mention of your name". She could see the emotion pooling in Kol's eyes but she continued.
She walked closer to him and spoke the rest in almost a whisper.
"Well you are a monster Kol Mikealson, and you certainly do not deserve your happy ending".
She went to strike him but anger overcame him and he grabbed her again, this time by the throat. He pinned her one-handed up against the wall and squeezed. He could hear her coughs and raging breaths trying unsuccessfully to get air into her lungs. Her legs flayed, trying to kick him or trying to find footing on the floor he did not know, nor did he care.
"See" she struggled out raspy her eyes clouding "Monster".
He took stock of himself and the anger diminished, his loosened his grip on her and she fell to the floor gasping for breath.
"Stay out of my sight" he fumed turning his back on her and entered the compartment slamming the door with an almighty bang. The truth was Tahlia had touched a raw nerve for him as what she had said about him was true. He was scared, although he had not admitted it before this. Scared that Kara would take one look at him and run the other way, scared that he had forgotten how to love after all of these years without her. He looked up and caught a glimpse of his dishevelled and openly emotive facial expression in the mirror. He almost didn't recognised himself. He looked weak, vulnerable. Nothing had made him react this way in a very long time. Letting the familiar sting of anger take over he let it build up and up until it began to bubble over. Speeding across the room he clenched his hand into a fist a punched the mirror shattering it into a thousand tiny shards. Reflective glass exploded across the room but Kol just watched as his knuckles bled for a second before the wound healed up again and all that was left was a small trickle of blood. It was strange to him that the pain that the glass caused to his hand paled in comparison to the pain that was eating him up inside. He had searched for her since the day he had heard of the prophecy, the possibility that she may return and now that he knew that there was now an excellent chance of finding her, more doubts stood in his way. He sat on the edge of the overly decorated sofa that only the first-class private compartments were privileged to have and buried his head in his hands taking a long deep breath. He removed them a by running them through his dark hair , wiping away the little droplets of sweat he didn't even now had formed on his brow in the process. In deep thought he reached into his waste-coat pocket and retrieved his treasure once again. Somehow for him looking at the bracelet reminded him that she was once real, that she had existed and wasn't some figment of his longing dreams. He held the bracelet close to his nose and imagined he could still smell her, the scented oils she used on her skin long since degraded form the binds of the jewellery. He sat further into the couch, closed his eyes and laid his head back on the headrest. He had known her in a time pre-dating photography by a matter of centuries but he knew all he had to do was close his eyes and she would be there. They had known each other from infancy and had been the best of friends growing up. He had known her inside-out, they had told each other all matter of things and this was before their courtship had even been admitted on let alone begun. Tears stung his eyes at the thought of her but he pushed them back.
'Mikaelson's do not cry'. It was a mantra his father used to repeat to all of his sons.
'To make them stronger men' he used to say when their Mother questioned it. Relaxing his body, willing the negative thoughts to evaporate from his mind he tried to succumb to the darkness. To the depths of his mind's eye in which he visited when he slept, the small world in his memories where he saw her each night.
The New world
991 AD
The bonfire raged in the centre of the village becoming more apparent in its orange glow as night fell. The branches and twigs used to build such a triumph had been harvested all week by numerous people in the village in order to celebrate the holiday. The Winter-nights festivity was a Viking tradition that often lasted a week and was to celebrate the beginning of winter and the start of the winter hunting.
Many mismatched long tables had been moved to the area where each family would bring an array of foods in order to share out for the celebration. The centre-piece was that of a wild pig which was roasting over a spit ready to be carved at a moment's notice. Kol himself had been part of the party of hunters that had caught such a well sought after prey but the arrow had been cast by his brother Finn. who had been receiving pats on the back all day for a job well done. He now stood by the table which served the ale flirting with the blacksmiths daughter Ingrid who was tasked with serving out the substance.
Kol chuckled at his brother's escapades as Rebekah joined him, handing him a wooden cup of ale she had tactfully thought to obtain before Finn had joined the queue.
"What is it that you find so amusing brother?" she asked following his eye-line to that of her eldest brother.
"When do you think he is likely to discover that Ingrid is already promised to Vilgard Bjornson?"
Rebekah also smirked at this, remembering something she had heard on the matter two weeks ago when Vilgard's father Bjorn had agreed on the sum of the dowry with Ingrid's father.
"Perhaps when Ingrid decides to tell him" she said her eyes brightening with amusement.
"Or" she said noticing a figure out of the corner of her eye "Perhaps this very moment".
Kol watched as Vilgard entered the village square from the passage to the west of the clearing, three men in tow and a line full of fresh-water-fish over each shoulder.
"Should we warn him?" Kol asked surveying the scene with not a lot of intention to get involved. Rebekah just shrugged.
"I don't reckon we should" she turned to Kol, mischief playing in the blues of her eyes "After all he is the big brave hunter that secured us a giant pig all by himself today" Rebekah spoke sarcastically about Finn's earlier boastings hoping a black eye would sober him to reality a little.
"To winter-nights" Kol toasted raising his cup to hers.
"To winter-nights" Rebekah responded clinking their cups together before each taking a sip.
Rebekah swallowed down the bitter substance and eyed Kol carefully as he watched the entrance of the clearing.
"Might I ask you something brother?" she asked her fingers playing with the rim of her cup.
"If it is whether or not I can cover for you again whilst you run off to some field with the Jacobson lad then the answer is no" Kol said his voice full of merriment.
Rebekah's mouth stood agape as she lightly slapped her brother on his arm.
"I told you that nothing of the sort happened and if he tells you any different than that then he is lying"
"Of course sister" Kol said smirking into his cup.
"What I thought to say was about Kara" Rebekah said a little less delicate than how she had intended.
It was no secret that Kol Mikaelson and Kara Shepherd had been close in kinship ever since the latter had been born. Even though Kara was Rebekah's age, a full two years younger than Kol, they seemed to have much in common, to read each other in ways some people couldn't fathom. When Kara turned fourteen last year things seemed to change for Kol. He still remained close with her but his feelings seemed to become deeper and more defined. He began looking at her as a husband would a wife, a lover to a mistress and mortal to a goddess. His eyes would follow her when she moved, his heart swell when she smiled. He found his day was wasted if he did not see her, speak to her. He finally had admitted it to himself over five moon cycles ago that he seemed to be in love with his best friend and the thought both thrilled him and terrified him to no end.
Kol sobered and watched his sister carefully for clues before asking.
"What about her?" Kol asked worried that something might have happened to her that he didn't hear of.
"Do you feel she has.." she paused hoping to find an appropriate word "Distanced herself from us somewhat?"
Kol had believed this for some time now but had shrugged it off, assuming that it was a feeling of paranoia on his part.
"It's her magic" Kol said trying to defend her decisions for isolating herself from them "Her parents have her practicing dawn to dusk"
Rebekah nodded in agreement.
"I thought as much" she said a solemn look appearing over her "Did you manage to give her that trinket yet?"
Kol looked at her surprised. He hadn't thought she had known about that. Kol had spent days whittling together a bracelet of leather and carved wood as a present to give Kara in honour of the winter-nights festival. It wasn't a tradition of the holiday but Kara had once said that she had lost her only bracelet whilst foraging once and had yet to replace the item so Kol had brought it upon himself.
"Not as of yet no" he said feeling the area in his pocket where the bracelet.
"You should" Rebekah replied eying her brother cautiously "She would cherish it".
A sudden crash made them both look to the table where the ale was being served just in time to see Finn in a heap on the ground on top of a broken table. Ale spilled everywhere while people rushed over to try and save the fermented goodness. Vilgard stood over Finn, a look of anger over his features. Ingrid just stood to the side watching the scene not once trying to placate her betrothed or to aid Finn in any way. Vilgard said nothing, obviously using the mantra that actions speak louder than words and walked off, dropping the fish in his wake and grabbing Ingrid by the arm forcing her to follow him.
Rebekah and Kol couldn't help but laugh when they watched Finn's dishevelled form emerge from the broken rubble of the table. He dusted himself off as best as he could but the remnants of the ale still stung to his clothes both through physical forms and odorous.
He moved his way over to his younger siblings who were both still trying to stifle the laughter they so wanted to emit.
"You might have warned me" he spat still trying to straighten out his tunic. Thankful he had worn attire of a dark hue so the stain looked minimal.
"And miss our brothers enrapturing way with the ladies?" Kol laughed watching the remnants of Finn's activities be cleaned up by the villagers in charge of the station. `
"It's easy for you to say, you have Kara. Women are a limited species in this village" Finn complained looking around him for good effect.
"I do not 'have' Kara" Kol defended as Rebekah looked at him questioningly.
"Yes well perhaps you should do something about that, before she decides to find another suitor"
Kol tried to act as though what he was saying was simply absurd but he knew there was no point in playing stupid when Finn obviously knew his secret. It had crossed his mind more than once that the reason Kara had distanced herself from him and his family was that she was betrothed to another. But the very thought of this sent a deep searing pain to his heart and he chose to hope that something, anything else was the reason.
Before Rebekah could question him however they were interrupted by Klaus and Elijah walking into the clearing, the former sporting a very obvious black eye and a half cleaned-up bloody nose.
"Oh what has happened now?" Rebekah wondered aloud with a slight sigh as she waited for her brother's to manoeuvre their way through the dancing people and gathering crowds.
"Started the celebrations without us?" Klaus asked ignoring the fact that each of his siblings were looking at the injuries to his face. He looked to the small area of debris that was still being tidied up "And I see all of the ale has gone".
"Brother what happened?" Rebekah asked ignoring his statements and walking over to him in two steps. She reached up to his face but he pulled away.
"It is nothing" he said nonchalantly looking away from her face. The look Elijah gave, however gave the impression that it was more than nothing.
"May I obtain your attentions please" the town elder shouted from a small stone platform that stood slightly above the village floor. The drums and music ceased almost instantly but it took a moment for the villagers to quieten down. Kol looked up to see a number of people standing on the platform with the elder. His heart hammered in his chest as he recognised one of them as Kara; In fact the more he looked the more people he recognised. The whole of the Shepherd family stood aloft on the stone pillar along with another family. The Colburn's they were called if Kol was not mistaken. They were an old family in the new world, arriving amongst the first settlers on the plains. They lived in a long house situated picturesquely close to the lake that supplied the town's drinking water. They had two strong boys, one Klaus's age and one Rebekah's and three beautiful daughters. Each of them stood proudly now next to the town elder, waiting for him to make his speech.
The town elder was the person in the town who made the major decisions. He was voted in by a council of men and could be voted out at the end of three moon cycles. Usual he only stood on the stone platform in matters of news to the town, both social and political. The former now the case.
Kol was nervous as he eyed the two families carefully. Esther was still god friends with Martha so any news of a positive nature would have been told to her and filtered down to them. Unless, of course the Shepherd's had wanted to keep it from them, to spare the feelings of their friends.
The elder lifted his arms almost hailing the crowed once more.
"My Lords and Ladies" he acknowledged referring to everyone by these titles "Today I bring you tidings of a most wonderful nature. The joining of two families"
The pit fell out of Kol's stomach as he rubbed his hands on his pants in an effort to keep them from sweating. Rebekah leaned over to still the procedure, giving her brother a smile small.
"I'm afraid it looks like you might already be out of time" Finn whispered over to his brother in an effort to rile him up.
Kol didn't want to watch but he couldn't help but be entranced by Kara's smiling form towering above the crowd. She looked happy and that made the pangs in the pit of his stomach even more severe.
"The head of each of the families have given their consent and so it is to be that on the last morn of the next moon cycle Alistair, son of Edmund of the Shepherd's will wed Brenna daughter of Eirik of the Colborn's".
Both Alistair and Brenna stood to the front of their families and joined together by clasping each other's hands.
The crowd, including Kol clapped at the prospective union.
He could feel the weight that had been steadily building since the elder had mounted the platform melt off of his shoulders and a genuine, somewhat relieved smile adorn his face.
"Thank the gods for that" Rebekah breathed clapping, she too looking relieved. She looked to Kol and smirked at the small smile that decorated his face.
Finn clasped Kol on the shoulder.
"Looks like you get another chance brother, the gods were smiling on you"
Kol watched his eldest brother join his mother and father in congratulating Martha and Edmund and in turn, Alistair on the upcoming nuptials.
He saw Kara descend the platform, she stood slightly further away from the rest of the group but followed them none the less through the crowd of congratulating parties. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked, both in comparison to the other women in the village and as a vision herself. Tonight her long blond hair had a slight wave to it and cascaded down her back. She wore a garland of large white daisies around her head, seasonal for this time of year, as did Brenna and her sisters.
Her dress was one he had seen many times but he couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked in it. She glanced up suddenly to see him staring at her and sent him a small smile back. Sucking in some courage he took a deep breath, saw this as his chance and began his walk over to her.
"Good luck brother" he heard Finn shout after him, a small laugh following the statement.
The music had started up again so he had to manoeuvre his way through the dancing bodies but he could see her, a few metres away, watching and waiting for him. Her expression seemed unreadable, like she was somehow both happy and sad at the same time.
When he reached her he had to resist the urge to reach out and touch her. They looked at each other, silent and unmoving for a full twenty seconds before either of them spoke.
"Kara you look…beautiful" he said finding the word beautiful somehow an understatement to what his eyes were viewing. She looked to her clutched hands shyly but couldn't hide the smile that the compliment created.
"Thank you" she said genuinely lifting her head to look him in the eye "You look quite well yourself tonight".
Kol smiled at her but did not respond to the compliment, he wasn't used to them.
"Congratulations" he said changing the subject to the matter of the wedding "Alistair and Brenna will make a wonderful couple".
"That they will" Kara nodded looking at something out of the corner of her eye for a moment before turning her attentions back to Kol once again. "They have begun building their house already, it is far from being completed but it is at the most wondrous location; would you like to see it?"
Kol was taken aback for a moment at the suddenness of her offer but quickly recovered.
"Sure" he replied making her small smile widen a little.
She took the lead out of the clearing but Kol couldn't help but notice that she kept looking behind them as if worried about something.
"We can go another time?" he said at her heel noticing her concern "If you're worried about returning to the feast"
She looked confused at first but soon caught on.
"No" she said shaking her head "It's nothing of the sort I just…"
She paused as if debating what to say to him in her head. She looked conflicted, confused even.
"Just what?" he urged.
She leaned over and took his hand to lead him.
"Just want you to see it"
"Very well" he agreed letting her lead the way, his hand tingling at her touch.
The trip was short and comfortably silent but thoughts echoed loudly in Kol's head enough to deafen him.
It was inconceivable to him that they had been best friends for years. That they had played together, dined together, hunted together, practiced magic and learning together and now, the simple touch of her hand, a hand that he had gripped running through fields in play as children sent shockwaves through his body and mind.
Before long they had made their way towards the lake, a more western point of the area than where the Colborn's long house was situated. Not much stood there presently but Kol could clearly see the layout of where the house was to be built.
Kara walked about the clearing pointing to each area and outlining where each room would be placed where each door would go but Kol couldn't concentrate on what she was saying, he only watched her in the diminished light from the three-quarter moon and the small glow from the open-flamed torch that illuminated the path.
"Kara stop" he suddenly said stopping her midway through her explanation of why they were building the door to the east rather than the west.
She looked at him confused until she saw his face and the emotion written on it and sighed.
"Are you going to tell me what the matter is?".
"What are you talking about?" she asked trying to act as totally sincere as she could.
"Kara" he said exasperated obviously not believing her feigned ignorance "You have been my best friend for far too long for you to lie to me about something this important".
"It's nothing important" Kara said quickly trying to dissuade Kol from questioning her further.
"But it is something?" Kol asked catching the flaw in her answering.
Kara sighed defeated, walked towards the lake and stopped at its edge.
"I can't do this with you any more" she finally admitted still looking upon the water "The pretence is agony for me, but I know nothing can come of it"
Now it was Kol's turn to act confused but this time it was completely sincere.
"Can't do what anymore Kara?" he asked watching the back of her head as she tilted to look at her feet.
She turned to him, tears in her eyes and looking more sorrowful than Kol had ever seen her. His arms ached to hold her, to comfort her but he restrained himself.
Her eyes bore into his as if trying to tell him with the power of her mind.
He moved closer to her in slow movements almost thinking that if he moved too fast he would startle her.
When there was only a breath between them she answered.
"I think you already know" she said in a whisper.
His eyes stared back with the same intensity, burrowing through her in an effort to reach her soul, to know he wasn't imagining it. He wasn't imagining that Kara may indeed feel the same way as he.
She looked up at him through long lashes, her eyes scared and unsure.
He placed his two hands on her face, the mere act of the gesture sending a tingling sensation down his spine. He had been this close to her before but never under a circumstance other than friendship.
She place her hands on top of his but did not move to pull his off, more of a gesture to cement them in place.
"I love you Kol" she said plainly and purely seemingly finding some sort of strength in order to power her voice.
"I mean" she paused trying to read his expression "I'm in love with you"
Kol stood there frozen, overwhelming joy pouring through his veins. He was so close he could feel the warmth of her breath on his face and the draw of her scent enthralling him. He was trying to produce a response. Something which told her how he felt but the words were falling shallow to the depth of their meaning.
When he didn't reply after few seconds she panicked and attempted to retract her admission whilst trying to back away from him. He held her in place.
"Kara stop" Kol said almost laughing. How could she think the feelings she had for him were not reciprocal?
"Kol it's alright, just let me go" she said squirming in his grasp.
Without warning he dipped low and kissed her, fully and passionately and with an inhibition he had never felt before. He felt as though a fire had engulfed him. He was unbelievably warm whilst in contrast shivers ran up and down in his spine. His fingertips tingled from the touch of her skin and the feeling of her lips on his made it difficult for him to resist the urge to pull her closer.
He reluctantly pulled away after a few moments, both with their lips slightly swollen and their breaths slightly short.
He lay his forehead on hers whilst he looked her in the eyes, his hands still on her face with his thumb now gently caressing the round of her cheeks.
"I have wanted to tell you, to admit to you for so long that I love you but the words have never been a strong enough a conduit for me to portray my feelings for you". Kara smiled a beaming smile. Her eyes now brimming with tears.
"It is like" Kol said pausing to find a correct translation from feelings to words "It is like long ago I met this little girl, my best friend and we were like the same person. Like two halves of one person, my soulmate and even before I knew anything of love I knew this. But then like I she grew and we learned to feel things in addition to what we already had and she stole my heart. Fully and completely. But I don't want it back" he shook his head and wiped the stray tear that fell from Kara's eyes and down her cheek before he continued, his eyes now also tearing up.
"For it is hers, now and forever. And tonight she has given me hers and want her to know that I will care for it with all of the love and tenderness there is. That I will shield it from harm for there is no greater gift she could have given me"
This time it was Kara that leaned up and kissed him, he responded and felt the passion and love she was conveying to him through the kiss.
Just as he was about to pull her closer she pulled back, sorrow present in her eyes once again as tears cascaded unstopping down her face.
"I'm so sorry Kol" she said unable to look him in the eye.
"It alright" he said trying to tilt her chin up to him but she pulled back further.
He looked at her questioningly, utter bewilderment ebbing through him.
"I'm sorry but we can't have this, we can't be together" he could hear her heart breaking in her voice but she determinedly began to walk away from him.
"Wait a minute Kara" he said running after her trying to think of what he had said wrong to her to elicit this response.
"Just go back to the feast" she spoke her voice stern. She had stopped walking but she still had her back to him.
"What about what we spoke of, what we admitted Kara? You're just going to pretend that they weren't said? That none of this happened? That you didn't feel that energy when we kissed? That spark? " his voice was raised now and slightly angry "You may be able to pretend Kara but I can't"
She turned to him, fire in her eyes.
He took a deep breath and calmed a little when he saw her face.
"Answer me truthfully" he sounded, his voice steady.
"Do you love me?"
"Yes" she replied her voice weak.
"Do you want us to be together?"
"More than anything" she answered.
"Then why won't you let us?" he asked her.
She looked to the ground and back up to him as if debating whether to say something or not.
"You know me darling" he said the term of endearment not going unnoticed by her "You can trust me".
She studied him for a moment.
"Promise me you will not spill my secret" she said deciding to put her trust in him "Not to anyone Kol, I mean it"
Kol nodded.
"I promise"
Kara accepted this and ran a hand through her hair anxiously,
"We cannot be together" she said slowly and painfully "Because of what I am, because of what they forced me to become".
Kol was confused. What had she become? She didn't look any different to him and yet she seemed utterly devastated of what she thought of herself.
"I don't understand" he said slowly eyeing her from head to toe "Do you mean being a witch?
He smiled a little and took her hand.
"Because Kara, I know your family practices more than ours and that is not a problem for me. In fact I find witchcraft quite endearing"
She pulled her hand away exasperated.
"No Kol it's not that., its…" she paused frustrated and decided to steady her nerves in an effort to soften the blow somewhat "It's much worse than that".
She sat down on a large rock by the lake edge and he sat on a corresponding one beside her.
"You and I know that witchcraft is about nature" she said almost rhetorically.
Kol nodded wondering what she was trying to say.
"My parents did something years ago, something unnatural that made it so our powers would not be bound by the laws of nature anymore. That it would no longer come from nature but from somewhere else"
Kol was baffled by what he was hearing. None of that seemed possible.
"Come from where?" he asked unable to prevent the concern from echoing in his voice.
She looked at him with fear in her eyes.
"Somewhere demonic" was all she said but was enough for the fear to transfer to Kol as well.
Silence passed between them but this time it was filled with anxious tension.
Kol was in a state of shock. He didn't know what to think. He now knew why Kara had been avoiding both him and Rebekah but he wondered if he would have been better off being ignorant of the whole situation. He was scared but it was mostly fear for her. She seemed worried and it pained Kol to his very depths that it was something he couldn't protect her from.
Kara watched him with wide eyes in an effort to gauge his reaction.
"Kol?" she asked after a few minutes had passed.
"How did this even happen?" he asked his voice curious with questions "How is it possible?"
She cleared her throat in an effort to speak, trying to clear the sound of sadness from her speech.
"My parents found the incantation in our grimoire" she said in a matter-of-fact tone "It was added by my grandmother on my father's side. She obtained it in the old world from a witch who was skilled in demonic rituals. She sold her husband's flock in order to obtain it. This is why we are called Shepherd by name only and not profession. For some reason she never cast it. She probably found out the high price it required for it to be successful"
"What price?" Kol asked his heart pounding in his chest.
Kara sighed.
"My mother and father sold their souls in order to give my brother's and I the power but they also promised that if we were to have children then they would also have the power and that it could take our souls as payment. They promised this until the end of time or until our line dies out. Each generation will sell their souls for the next to have unlimited power. It seemed worth it in the eyes of my parents". Kara said the last sentence with a hint of disgust in her voice. She had never agreed with what her parents had done and didn't think she ever will.
"How could they?" Kol spat venomously. He seemed angry, but the anger didn't seem to be directed to her. He hated that her own parents had deceived her this way, betrayed her. That they had taken away her right to choose her own path in life, whether it was to be with him or otherwise.
Kara nodded.
"The magic inside me just feels….wrong. Like it uses me instead of me using it".
"This is why you became distant from us?" Kol asked "You could have told me, at least you would have had somebody to talk to before now"
He tried to lean closer in order to put his arms around her shoulders in an effort to comfort her but she pulled back and stood up.
"Kol don't you understand?" she yelled clearly upset.
"I distanced myself from you because I love you"
He looked at her confused.
"I will never have a normal life, I will never be normal. I will never have children and will constantly be plagued by the nightmares that accompany this power"
She stopped and looked at him through the blur and sting of the fresh tears.
"You deserve someone better than me" she concluded.
It was then when she finally broke down. The weight was gone from her shoulders from the strain of carrying such emotions inside her for so long but was now replaced by an aching in her heart.
Kol was at her side in two strides and this time he wasn't going to let her shrug him off.
He pulled her to his chest, holding her so close that he could feel her heart beating in her chest. She struggled in his grip but he wasn't letting go.
"Kol please" she begged trying to scramble away but he wasn't relenting.
"No Kara" he said determinedly "This time you don't understand. I love you, and nothing will ever change that".
She stopped struggling in his grip and let the tears fall freely. She couldn't fight them anymore, she was too exhausted.
He lay his chin on her head, wrapping his arms around her more securely to comfort her.
"But I am evil" she said through the ragged sobs.
"No" Kol said he now fighting the urge to break down and cry "Just because the tool you use is demonic doesn't mean you are".
Kara gripped his tunic and buried her head in his chest, inhaling the scent that made her feel like she was home.
Kol loosened his grip on her and she pulled away enough to look at him. Her eyes were red and swollen and she looked like she could sleep for a week but Kol reckoned he had never seen anyone more beautiful.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the trinket he had been meaning to give her.
"I made this for you" he said tightening it around her wrist.
She looked at it and almost let the tears fall again.
Kol saw this and immediately withdrew.
"You do not like it?" he asked.
Kara shook her head.
"No Kol" she said reaching for his hand as he pulled it back "I love it, it's beautiful. You are just extremely sweet that's all"
Kol smiled and tied it securely on her wrist. She admired it for a few seconds before reaching up to Kol's face. She lightly brushed his dark hair out of his eyes in a movement that was both loving and stimulating to him. Her hand trailed down his cheek to the outline of his lips.
"I love you Kol Mikaelson" she said as if it was the most natural thing in the world for her to say.
Kol reflected the movement, moving his hands from her waist to take her hair from view of her face. He lay one hand on her cheek and the other at the nape of her neck as he leant in and kissed her. Slowly, intimately exploring every inch of her mouth. He pulled back after a few moments his eyes hooded with desire.
"I love you Kara Shepherd" he now copied her move and outlined her lips with his fingers "We will overcome any trial that comes our way because we have each other".
So what do you think? I know we haven't really seen Kol before he was a vampire so I tried to make him as realistic as possible in the situation I gave him, I really hope you agree. : ) Please let me know either way and let me know if you like the direction this story is going in. Thanks for reading! xxxxx