AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews and for liking the story. This is another chapter for you. Hope you like it. Please review and let me know how the story is going. Love you all. Hugs and Kisses :)
Chapter 20: A Witch's Interference
Kol has extended their trip to New Orleans for the entire week instead of staying there just for the weekend. He and Shanyra were having a great time in the city. There was so much history there of the original family, good and bad. Shae really enjoyed Kol walking her down his memory lane. She already visited many important places but there were still more to see. Today Kol was taking her to one of those unexplored places. However, going to that place required a long walk through the woods. Shae wasn't exhausted though since Kol was piggybacking her; giving her a chance to enjoy the greenery of the woods. But it appeared she was enjoying doing something else rather than seeing the trees.
"Shanyra, I swear I'll drop you and make you walk the entire way if you don't stop doing that." Kol said threateningly though in a harmless way of course. Shae however frowned at him with utter confusion.
"Stop doing what?" She asked as if she had no clue at all.
"Stop tickling me. What are you, five?" Kol snapped with both annoyance and sarcasm in his voice. For quite some time, Shae was lightly caressing her fingers against the back of Kol's neck since apparently she had nothing else to do while piggybacking Kol.
"Ha, I knew you are ticklish. Finally a weakness." She exclaimed excitedly making Kol roll his eyes at her.
"I'm not ticklish. It's just annoying." The original defended himself.
"Say that to yourself" said Shae with a huge grin.
"So what is this place where we are going?" She asked with interest.
"Patience love, I told you it's a surprise. You'll find out when we get there" said Kol.
"Fine." She said rolling her eyes a little.
"Why aren't you just using your vampire speed to get us there?" The thirteen year old asked.
"Not bloody likely I'm using my vampire speed while carrying you. Have you forgotten what happened the last and first time?" Kol asked making Shae blush a little in embarrassment.
"I puked." She said with hesitation. "All over your shoe."
"Ten points to Ms. Forbes." Kol said sarcastically making Shae roll her eyes to herself.
"Oh come on, that was over an year ago. I'm pretty sure I can handle it now." She said confidently but Kol didn't agree.
"I'm not taking the risk darling." He stated at once.
"Buzz kill." Shanyra muttered under her breath.
"I heard that" said Kol.
"You were meant to." She retorted back. After remaining quite for a moment, Shae spoke up again.
"Kol."
"Hmm." The original responded.
"What's Marcel's story?" She asked quite curiously.
Speaking of Marcel Gerard, he wasn't overwhelmed with happiness to see another original into his city again. Specially the most psychotic one. But since Kol was only visiting, the younger vampire behaved politely enough and also offered his hospitality to the original. It was the first time Shanyra and Marcel were meeting each other. He was very friendly with her. Everyone knew Marcel had a soft spot in his undead heart for kids. Because of his friendliness, Shae quickly took a liking to him even though it was clear that Kol wasn't that fond of the king of New Orleans. She met Josh and Davina as well since they were close friends with Marcel. The young witch was very surprised to see Shanyra being so friendly with an original and vice versa. Because according to her, all Mikaelson brothers were douche bags. Even though Davina never dealt with Kol in person but after everything that Klaus did to her, she just couldn't think anything nice about an original. She just couldn't.
"Why do you want to know?" Kol asked instead of just answering the question.
"No reason. He seems nice. I like him." Shae said truthfully without thinking much about it but it certainly poked Kol in the wrong place. For some bizarre reason he felt jealous that Shae liked someone she just met. Specially a vampire who he didn't like at all. Marcel once stole his place in his family. Kol wasn't about let him have any place in Shanyra's life. Not even an insignificant once.
"Just because he's friendly with you that doesn't mean he has a golden heart. Marcel has done plenty awful things." Kol said with a bit of bitter sternness in his voice.
"Marcel is a vampire. He's not supposed to have a golden heart. Name me one vampire who hasn't done at least one horrible thing. Even Caroline killed an innocent man right after she turned." Shae argued back. Was she really defending Marcel? Kol couldn't believe himself.
"What's your point?" He asked with a darkened tone.
"My point is, you don't like Marcel, clearly but I don't see any reason why." Shae said hoping that Kol would give her an explanation. Tell her what happened in the past. But he didn't. Instead he only said-
"I've my reasons. And I want you to stay away from him as well." Kol said with firm tone of voice. Shae however frowned at him with confusion instead of just giving in.
"Why?" She asked but then realization came to her.
"Oh! I see. You're jealous that I like him."
"What if I am? You're defending a stranger vampire against me. Surely I can't appreciate that." Kol didn't hide his disliking a bit and it made Shae grin widely. She patted his cheek fondly from behind and said-
"Aww, that's so cute. Don't worry, I didn't like him more than you. You're still my most favorite vampire." She assured as she embraced him more tightly. Kol couldn't help but smile this time. He missed this; these happy moments with Shanyra so much. Even though he was feeling a little guilty for compelling her but their happiness was worth it. Needless to say since the moment Kol compelled Shae to forget about Violet, she went back to her old self again who loved him with all her heart. Once again Shanyra Forbes couldn't think about going on one day without her soul mate Kol Mikaelson.
"I see you've a list of favorite vampires. Who is your second favorite vampire?" Kol asked seeming quite interested in the answer.
"Caroline of course. My cousin is an awesome vampire. Damon however is my least favorite vampire. Do you know he's given me a nick name?" Shae said sounding pissed off.
"What nick name?" Kol asked, clearly he didn't know about it.
"He calls me Kol's pet. That jerk!"
"What?" The original exclaimed with shock.
"Honestly, I don't understand how did Elena fall for him? I think the saying is very true after all, love is indeed blind." Shae said shaking her head to herself. Though she couldn't help but wonder that about herself as well. Was she blind to Kol's flaws too like Elena was to Damon's? She after all loved Kol madly enough to quickly forget that he was a homicidal maniac once. Shae snapped out of her thoughts when Kol spoke up.
"Wait till we get back to Mystic Falls. I'm going to make that imbecile pay for that." He said very promisingly with angry tone of voice. How dare that insolent fool call Shanyra a pet? Kol already despised Damon as he was insufferable from the beginning. Now, after hearing this, the original couldn't wait to make him suffer.
"It's okay Kol." Shae said quickly, as if she just read Kol's mind and learned what he was planning on doing. His plans could most likely kill Damon. She certainly didn't want that.
"Stefan loves his brother. Hurting Damon would hurt him. And he happens to be in my list of favorite vampires" said Shae making Kol roll his eyes to himself.
"What is it with you Forbes cousins and Stefan Salvatore? Why do you like him so much?" He asked genuinely wanting to know the mystery behind that Salvatore.
"Come on Kol, you know that Stefan is a really nice person. He cares about both Caroline and I. And it's not just us but he cares about everyone and tries to help people as much as possible, even a stranger." Shanyra said praising Stefan and unintentionally making Kol jealous again.
"Yes, how noble of him." He said sarcastically making Shae roll her eyes at him. She wondered what was it with Kol and jealousy issues lately?
"How far is this place?" She asked intentionally dropping all previous topics.
"We're almost there." Kol informed and pretty soon they came across a beautiful looking cottage nearby a lake. He put Shae down who was looking at the cottage with awe.
"Wow, this is beautiful. Whose place is this?" She asked glancing at Kol.
"Mine." He replied.
"But you said that other mansion was your home." Shae said frowning a little with confusion. She was talking about the governor's mansion she visited yesterday.
"That was the Mikaelson family home. This place is only mine. I actually spent most of my time here while living in New Orleans in the nineteenth century." Kol said while looking at the cottage rather fondly. He was remembering the past. There were so many memories of this place. And by the look on his face, one could tell he was recalling the good things. Well good according to Kol of course, certainly not his victims. He wasn't like now back then. He was reckless, ruthless and a complete monster. He lived to take lives. Parties, drinks, women and blood, Kol Mikaelson was drowned in them all.
"I've always wanted to live in a place like this. Warm and cozy. Simple yet beautiful." Shanyra said wistfully seeming lost in her thoughts for a moment.
"Well then what are we waiting for. Let's go inside." Kol took her inside. As soon as they entered, two housekeepers came and greeted them. Kol spoke with them while Shae started looking around the cottage. He dismissed the housekeepers, so they left. It was only the two of them now. Kol watched his soul mate paying attention to every detail of the interior.
"It's even prettier from inside." Shae said admiring the architecture.
"I built this place actually. The design, the structure, interiors and exteriors. It's all me." Kol said but Shae wasn't surprised to hear that.
"Rebekah told me once that when you were humans, your family had to build and rebuilt your household over the years. And you were quite a talented architecture." She said with a smile.
"Yes but my true talent was in witchcraft. But you already know that" said Kol.
"I wish I had a talent of my own." Shae spoke rather disappointingly which surprised the original. He never thought, Shanyra considered herself talent-less.
"Who said you don't have any talents?" He asked.
"No one" said Shae shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.
"But it's true. I don't have any talent. And I don't even know what I want to be in the future. All my school friends want to be something. Doctor, engineer, lawyer, writer, pilot, celebrity, even president. But I have no idea what I want to be." She said sighing out heavily and seemed a bit troubled about it. It wasn't normal, not to have any dream of becoming something. At least that's what Shanyra thought.
"Come here" said Kol as he took her hand and pulled her close to him. He cupped her face gently before saying-
"You'll know what you want to be when the time comes. It's nothing to worry about. If you don't want to be a doctor or an engineer or a writer or something else then so be it. You are far too special to be something so common. Mark my words love, you'll be a blare in the future while all your friends will live a boring normal life. And speaking of talents, you Shanyra Forbes has the talent of bringing the good out of people. You've changed someone like me. Now that is a rare and special talent indeed, don't you think?" Kol and Shanyra stared at each other for a moment. They were beginning to get lost in each other's eyes but Kol dropped his gaze hastily, breaking the intensity of the moment in the process.
"I love it when you praise me like this." Shae said with a smile. She then wrapped her arms around Kol and hugged him lovingly.
"You are the best guardian ever."
"Of course I am." Kol agreed with a smile. Then he pulled away way to quickly much to Shae's disliking.
"Go, get freshened up. I'm cooking launch today." Shae was taken aback hearing that.
"What?! You know how to cook?" She asked with disbelieve in her voice.
"I've recently learned" replied the original. Was it possible that Kol Mikaelson learned to cook simply so that he could make Shanyra lunch? Yes, it was quite possible.
"Kol Mikaelson, the day I turn eighteen I'm going to marry you." Shae said very very seriously making Kol goodheartedly roll his eyes at her.
"I'll hold you on to that." He said jestingly making her smile.
"Now, which one is my room?" She asked.
"Upstairs, the first one to the left." Kol said and Shae left for her room to get freshened up. By the time she came back after having a nice warm bath, Kol had already prepared their lunch and serving the dishes on the table. Shae inhaled deeply to enjoy the delicious smell of the food. Her mouth watered immediately. She walked up to the decorated table where Kol was waiting for her like a gentleman.
"Have a seat milady." The original said chivalrously and he pulled out the chair for Shanyra. Everything seemed like a dream to her. Kol was always good to her but today he was bringing one of her fantasies to life where he asks her out on a date.
"Kol, is this a date?" Shae couldn't help but ask and rather hopefully.
"Maybe." He said playfully as he settled in the chair across from her. Shae could tell the way Kol was smirking mischievously that this wasn't a date at all, much to her disappointment. It was just them, having a special day.
"Go ahead, I made your favorite dish." Kol said. Shae tried the food and she literary moaned out loudly. It tasted so good. And that was a complete unbiased statement.
"Mmm, this is damn good. I didn't know you're such an amazing cook. What else did you not tell me?" She asked curiously.
"A lot of things darling" said Kol mysteriously.
"Really? Well I'll find them out sooner or later." Shae said confidently. They finished eating their food while speaking about many unimportant things which was nothing unusual for them. Afterwards, they cleaned up the dished together since Kol had dismissed the housekeepers. It was fun working together though even though they were only doing dishes. Later Shanyra sat on the deck of the cottage and quietly watched the swans swimming in the lake. Kol on the other hand was talking with someone over the phone. After he got off the phone he came over to her and sat right beside. Shae immediately leaned against him and Kol as well wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. She sighed out in content.
"They are beautiful." Shanyra said about the swans.
"They are but I can see something more beautiful." Kol said looking at her and kissing the top of her hair. Shae smiled to herself at the compliment. Then after a moment, she leaned away to look right into his eyes.
"Give me your hand." She asked making Kol frown a little with confusion.
"Why?" He asked. Shae didn't bother answering the question and took his hand herself. She then pulled out a man's bracelet from her jacket pocket and tied it onto his wrist. Kol was watching Shae with wondering eyes and when she was done he very curiously asked-
"What is this?"
"Have a closer look. I've a feeling you know what this is." She said. Kol indeed took a closer look and figured out immediately what the bracelet was.
"It's a protection charm bracelet, isn't it? I had come across such charmed accessories back in the fourteenth century. There were bracelets, rings, and lockets but very few in numbers. Only a few special members in the African witch coven wore these things." The original wondered how the hell did Shanyra find one and why she was giving it to him?
"Ten points to Mr. Kol. I had read about these charmed jewelries in a Grimoire. This is probably the last one of those and it really works. I've tested it. Now every time, you're about to face a danger or any threat is around you, this bracelet would let you feel it from beforehand. And it'll also protect you against some common hostile spells. But not the very powerful ones." Shae explained what Kol already knew. What he didn't know was where did she find this? And he really wanted to know that.
"Where did you get this?" Kol asked.
"I bought it from a witch. She had this bracelet. It was passed down to her by her ancestors." Shae replied honestly but the original wasn't satisfied with the answer yet. He had a feeling there was more to the story.
"When did you meet a witch?"
"Remember I went out of town on a shopping trip with Caroline a few days before Markos kidnapped me. On that trip, we came across a witch's shop. I saw the bracelet there and bought it for you. I also had Bonnie put a spell on it so that it never comes off unless you want to take it off. Promise me you'll never take it off." Shanyra asked very emotionally. She needed his words.
"Shae love, you're the one who should wear this, not me." Kol said attempting to take the bracelet off and put it on her instead but Shae stopped him.
"Please don't. I already have all the protection I need. You. Nothing will happen to me as long as you are with me. But no one protects you. Kol, I need you alive just as much as you need me to live, if not more. For my sake, wear it all the time. Please." This time the original couldn't refuse anymore. He wondered what good deed did he do in his life to ever meet this girl? Not to mention have her love him so much.
"I promise I'll never take if off." Kol gave his word. Shae smiled happily and embraced him.
"Thank you and- Happy birthday." She said which surprised Kol to no limits. He leaned back in order to look at her face.
"You knew?" He asked completely taken aback.
"Of course I did. And I've been waiting for this day for a very long time." Kol went speechless after hearing that. It took him a moment to speak up again.
"Why didn't you tell me that you knew?" He wondered.
"I meant to give you a surprise. But why didn't you ever tell me that today is your birthday?" She asked.
"Unlike my brother Nik, celebrating my birthday isn't that important to me." Kol answered truthfully.
"But it is for me" said Shae.
"I refuse to let you spend this day like any other day. We must do something special." She insisted.
"We are already doing something special. Being here with you is special enough for me" said Kol with a sincere smile.
"No, that's not enough. We need to come up with a plan for this evening." Shae stated at once.
"Alright, you tell me. What do you want to do?" The original asked making her think about it for a moment. She came up with an idea rather quickly.
"Marcel is throwing a party tonight for god knows what reason. Let's crash that party." Shae suggested excitedly though she wasn't sure Kol would agree to it. But surprisingly he did.
"Sounds good. I'll get to annoy the hell out of Marcel again." He said smirking mischievously. Shanyra shook her head at him but didn't say anything. Some things would never change. Besides, it was his birthday after all. Let him have some fun and be immature for the evening. Kol on the other hand, glanced at his bracelet once again. He was already growing fond of it as it was a gift from Shanyra, his soul mate. He'd always wear it, more to remind him of her love than for protection. While looking at the bracelet, a question popped up into his mind. And he asked it immediately.
"Shae, you said this bracelet is probably the last one of it's kind. It must've been very precious to the witch you bought it from. How come she just sold it to you?" Kol wanted to know as he had a feeling getting that witch to sell this charmed bracelet hadn't been exactly easy.
"It's a long story Kol." She said sighing out a little.
"We've a lot of time darling." Kol insisted in a way that told Shae, she didn't really have a choice here but to spill the truth. She sighed out heavily this time. Shanyra didn't wish to lie to Kol but she didn't want to tell him the truth either. But as Kol was waiting for her to start talking, she told him how exactly did she acquire the bracelet.
"I-" Shae began but she hesitated to continue.
"I was able to give the witch something valuable in return." She said.
"Which is?" Kol asked, pressuring her into telling him.
"Blood of a breech born. The witch said she needed it to perform a spell but since breech born person is hard to come by; let's just say she was happy to give me the bracelet in exchange of significant amount of my blood. It was like, I meant to buy this bracelet for you."
"Shanyra!" Kol exclaimed with horror and disbelieve in his voice. He couldn't believe his own ears. When did his soul mate grow so thoughtless and reckless? Shae already knew that Kol wasn't gonna appreciate this that she bled for him. Instead he was gonna be pissed off and scold her. But she was prepared to be lectured.
"You were with Caroline. Why the hell did she let you do it? Had she lost her mind?" Kol asked with stern tone of voice. He immediately noted to have a talk with the other Forbes as soon as he gets back to Mystic Falls.
"No. She just didn't have a choice. You know how stubborn I can be when I want to." Shae said rather proudly which earned her a look from Kol.
"Don't feel proud about it." He snapped at her.
"Unbelievable. What you did was reckless and dangerous and simply wrong." Shae was ready to hear more but suddenly Kol pulled her into a tight hug. What was he going to do with her or without her for that matter? Kol wondered to himself.
Shanyra also wrapped her arms around Kol and held him tightly. She buried her face in her curve of his neck and inhaled deeply, taking in his intoxicating scent. The original couldn't have asked for a better birthday. Later, as decided they went to Marcel's party. The party wasn't really appropriate for kids like Shanyra but the girl was too excited to be there. And just for one time, Kol allowed it. He went to get drinks for himself at the bar while Shae walked around the place. No one would dare to put a finger on her therefore Kol allowed himself to let down his guard for a bit. People were chattering with each other while the musicians played different songs. At one point Shae came across Davina and Josh. The young witch was surprised to see her there. So was her friend.
"Hey Shanyra. I didn't expect to see you here" said Josh, not hiding his surprise.
"Me neither. Kol usually doesn't allow me to go to adult parties. But it's his birthday today so he made an exception just for the day." Shae said, easily engaging into a conversation with Josh.
"Do you do everything that he asks you to do?" Davina curiously asked.
"Yeah. I mean he's my guardian. I've to listen to him. Even though sometimes I wish to disobey him and break a few rules but having an original as your guardian, it's impossible to have a little fun." Even though complaining, Shanyra spoke fondly of Kol. Davina however narrowed her eyes at the younger girl suspiciously.
"Shanyra, may I ask you something?" The witch asked making Josh give her a 'don't do it' look as he understood what she was about to ask the girl.
"Sure." Shae said without much thought to it.
"Did Kol compel you to live with him and obey him?" Davina asked straight away making Shae gap at her with a stunned expression.
"Davina don't." Josh said warning his friend as interrogating Shanyra was a very unhealthy idea. But apparently Davina couldn't help herself. She was way too curious not to be nosy. How could anyone specially a human girl of thirteen years old, live with an original without compulsion? The originals were monsters. But Shanyra seemed not. So how did it work if not for compulsion?
"Kol loves me Davina. He never compelled me. Never." Shae said confidently as she defended her soul mate.
"You wouldn't know if he did. He could've compelled you to forget that he ever compelled you." Davina stated reasoning with Shae. After a brief pause, Shanyra spoke up again.
"Well I'm certain that Kol never compelled me. But if you have a way to prove me wrong, by all means try it." She challenged Davina. The witch thought about it for a moment then said-
"Actually I have."
"Davina no" said Josh getting very worried now but his warning was completely ignored by both girls.
"Then prove it." Shanyra said. She was confident that Davina was going to realize that her assumption was completely wrong.
"Fine, come with me" said Davina. Shae glanced at Kol and saw him speaking with Marcel and his vampires. Probably annoying the crap out of them. She nodded to Davina and the three of them left the hall and went somewhere unoccupied.
"Davina, I'm telling you this is a very bad idea." Joshua warned her once again.
"No Josh, by taking off her compulsion I'll be doing her a favor." Davina said really believing that she was doing something good here. She then turned to face Shae and said-
"I'm going to use some spells on you. If you're not compelled by Kol or any other vampire, you won't feel any pain. However, if you were ever compelled- the compulsion would wear off but mind you, it's going to be very painful." Davina explained and Shae nodded in understanding.
"Fine do it. You'll see how wrong you are." She said confidently. Davina prepared to use the spells on her.
"It's going to be really really painful Shanyra." Josh warned her too. Hoping that she'd back out of it. But it didn't happen.
"I won't feel a thing. You'll see." Shae said crossing her arms over her chest.
Davina on the other hand, raised her hands and curved her fingers a little, then she started chanting spells. Within seconds, an air piercing scream escaped Shanyra's mouth. She felt a horrible pain in her head. The things she was compelled to forget started to come back eventually but way too painfully. The screams proved Davina right. Shanyra was indeed compelled. She inwardly felt happy about saving a life from getting destroyed. Little did she know that she was saving no one but instead her interference was destroying something beautiful?