Chapter Twenty-One
Klaus' P.O.V
I glanced down at her sleeping form when she made a sound of discomfort; I noticed that her expression looked troubled which made me frown in concern. I placed a gentle kiss to her forehead and pulled her slightly tighter, pleased when her worry disappeared and she looked perfectly peaceful. I glanced to the clock on the nightstand in her room, noting that it was nearing eleven in the morning; I could probably get away with waking her soon. I took full advantage of being able to observe her before she woke up; I felt myself committing every detail to memory, my fingers itching to commemorate the moment on paper. I had countless images of her sleeping, yet I never tired of drawing her sleeping form; her beauty was exquisite, unique and it deserved to be treated as such. My fingers lightly traced over the mark on the left side of her neck, I smiled when she squirmed in her sleep as if she knew what I was doing.
When I thought about how much I cared for the woman in my arms a part of me was quick to express the disadvantage of having someone who could be used against me. But I was used to that paranoid voice that always remained in the back of my mind; whenever Kim was near, it seemed to shut up, the silence offering me a semblance of calm that only her presence could offer me. She didn't make me feel weak, she made me feel strong; she constantly reminded me of how resilient I actually was and I felt the damage that Ester and Mikael had done to my self esteem over the years ebb away a little more every time she did.
We had both accepted that we were essentially made for one another at some point; I honestly couldn't remember when, and despite her literally being my destined partner I found myself blown away by how much she seemed to care for me. She had seen me at my worst, I had done horrible things to her family, her friends, to her and yet the way she looked at me never changed. I wondered if the mate bond had anything to do with it, yet I knew it didn't; she was an unbelievable person who could empathise with the worst of people, even me.
It was incredible how easily she fit into my life, how she fit into my family as if she had always been there. The way she looked out for us, last night at the ball being one of a few examples; she did it without thought as if we were family and it was her instinct to look out for all of us as such. I knew she was aware that each of my siblings and myself thought of her as a member of the family, but I don't think she fully understood how much each and everyone of us cared for her; even Finn, the Mikaelson she had the least contact with seemed to have a soft spot for her; she had made an impression on each and every one of us and we all loved her. Bekah had the sister she had always wanted, and my brothers had gained another sister, one that they admired and felt protective of, and I… I had found my mate, my other half, my confidant, something I hadn't believed in until her. I heard the front door open and assumed it was Elena; I idly wondered why she was only just getting home and deduced that she had wanted to put off seeing her sister for as long as possible seeing as she had participated in Mother's attempt to link us last night while knowing the consequences her own sister would suffer.
I heard the footsteps coming quickly up the stairs and before I had any time to wonder if she was going to pay her sister a wake up call, Kim's bedroom door burst open, revealing Elena who was still dressed in her ball gown from the night before. I smirked at her in amusement as I assumed that she was returning from exuberant activities from the night before. It was amusing to watch the emotions play out on her face; she looked shocked, surprised, embarrassed and she finally settled on bashful as she lifted her hand to her eyes to block out the scene. I assumed it was for her benefit seeing as, though we were both naked, we were fully covered by the duvet, except for my bare chest and Kim's bare shoulders; I was sat up, leaning against the headboard with Kim's head nestled into the crook of my neck, our legs tangled together, as I held her to me with my hands around her waist.
'Sorry- I- I was just,' Elena stuttered, struggling to form a coherent sentence.
'Is there something you need?' I asked, smirking in amusement.
'I need to talk to Kim, you too actually,' she said, lowering her mind and meeting my eyes as panic took over her expression.
I had a feeling I knew what this was going to be about, but I didn't want to interfere in Kim's business with her sister; I knew she could handle herself and though I would never admit it aloud, her instincts were better than mine, 'all right, I'll wake her up and we'll meet you down stairs.' I informed her, my tone leaving no room for argument.
She nodded and left the room without another word, closing the door gently behind her. Once I heard that she had moved a safe distance away, I turned to the sleeping beauty in my arms, wondering how I should wake her up. I smiled devilishly as I leaned forward and gently kissed her mark, my human teeth coming forward and softly biting into her skin. I smirked when I she moaned, her hand coming to tangle in my hair to keep my face in the crook of her neck. I felt her heart beat speed up and knew she was awake; I nipped her neck once more before my teeth playfully tugged at the soft skin of her earlobe.
'Morning, love,' I whispered, purposefully blowing hot air onto her neck; I smirked when I saw the goose bumps rise on her skin. I pulled back and kissed her forehead, enjoying the way that her fragrance invaded my senses, 'your sister wants to see us, love.'
She sleepily frowned at me as she seemed to try and blink herself awake; I smiled at how adorable she looked, 'what?' She asked.
'Elena wants to see us,' I told her again, grinning in amusement that I had to repeat myself; her love of sleep and her reluctance to come out of slumber constantly entertained me.
'Lena?' She murmured, her eyes drooping as she nuzzled into my chest, 'Lena wants to see…' She trailed off, her breathing close to evening out making me chuckle.
'Love, you need to get up,' I crooned, moving the duvet off her coping the cold would encourage her to get up, but she just gripped me tighter; apparently I was her own personal heat blanket. I shook my head in amusement and stood, pulling her with me.
'Noooo.' She groaned against my chest, but she did put her feet to the floor, standing on her own.
'Come on, love. Your sister looked pretty panicked,' I said, stroking her hair, smiling softly when she leaned into my touch.
'You're right.' She said; I assumed that she had sensed Elena's worry as she quickly, but reluctantly pulled back from my touch to get dressed. She offered me one of the shirts that she kept under her pillow, after she made me promise to return it, and a pair of my jeans that she still had in the duffel she had carried with her over the summer, seeing as I didn't want to dress back into my tux. She dressed in some black shorts and a pink vest top; her clothing was always fitted which was both a blessing and a curse; I took delight in admiring her beauty, but it proved to be distracting at the most inopportune times. Once we were ready she took my hand with a smile and led me down stairs where her sister was waiting. I for one was interested in what she had to say.
Kim's P.O.V
When I felt Elena's panic coming from down stairs I gave up the fight of trying to stay in bed; my sister needed me. Though I felt a little betrayed over her part in Ester's plan, I had a feeling that her participation hadn't been willingly, so I wasn't going to make any assumptions until I had spoken to her. My hand entwined with Klaus', as I led us both down stairs, stopping in surprise when I noticed the Original siblings sat in the living room with Elena sat next to Kol. I noticed the attraction they were both feeling toward each other, though Elena was trying her hardest to remain indifferent.
'Bestie! Nice of you to finally join us!' Kol said brightly, jumping up from his seat to give me a hug, I smiled at his eagerness and returned it with one hand, seeing as my other was entwined with Nik's.
'How long have you guys been here?' I asked once Kol had released me and returned to his seat.
'Not long.' Finn assured me, smiling politely, I returned it before I made my way into the sitting room. There was only one seat available and it was one of the armchairs, I was about to offer it to Nik when he sat down and pulled me onto his lap in one swift movement. I felt everyone's surprise, probably not used to seeing him show affection, but I ignored it as I made myself comfortable in his arms.
'Okay, so what's happening?' I asked, looking over to Elena, sending her a comforting wave to quell her concern.
'Last night, I did something stupid,' Elena started, not meeting my eyes.
'You went to see Ester even though I told you it was a bad idea,' I filled in for her, my tone calm.
'I did,' she nodded, 'I guess I was curious as to what she wanted from me, when I found out, I tried to leave but she wouldn't let me. She took my blood for the toast and then trapped me in the room until morning.'
'She didn't hurt you did she?' I asked, though I already knew the answer; physically she was fine but emotionally she was racked with guilt.
'No, but last night she linked you together as one,' she said, concerned.
I shared a look with all of the Originals before I turned back to her, my eyes dancing with amusement, 'did she?' I asked.
Kol, Nik and Bekah chuckled in amusement, while Finn and Elijah's lips twitched to show their humour. Elena's eyes flickered in between all of us in confusion.
'What am I missing?' She asked.
'Can we actually be linked as one if we didn't drink the champagne, darling?' Kol asked, his eyes dancing with amusement as he met Elena's eyes.
'You didn't drink the champagne?' She said, relieved.
'No, Elena we didn't.' I could feel Nik's amusement as he answered.
'How did you know?' Elena asked.
Everyone's eyes turned to me and I just shrugged sheepishly, 'I may or may not have been eavesdropping.'
'That doesn't surprise me,' Elena laughed.
'I left when she mentioned using your blood in the champagne to warn everyone; I knew she wasn't going to hurt you but I had no idea that she was planning on keeping you there. I'm sorry,' I said actually feeling a little guilty.
'It's fine, she didn't hurt me, and she only kept me there because she knew I was going to try and stop it from happening.' She replied, and I inwardly sighed in relief when I felt her honesty.
'While we have avoided Ester's original threat, we must assume she will know that we have evaded her attempt if she doesn't already.' Elijah said, his tone calm, though I could feel his concern.
'I say we rip her heart from her chest again,' Nik said, his frustration with his Mother evident.
I snorted before I replied, 'what's to say she won't just come back? She has a connection to a hundreds of witches who all want you dead.'
'There has to be something we can do, I refuse to just sit around and wait for Mother to make her next move,' Bekah said, her tone annoyed, though I could feel her hurt over their Mother's betrayal; I sent her a wave of comfort.
'Bekah's right, there has to be a way we can stop her,' I agreed.
'Could we just seal her back in the coffin?' Elena suggested.
'No, since she has been released her connection with the spirits has been relinquished, meaning trapping her with magic will not work,' Finn said, his eyes troubled, I sent him a wave of reassurance, returning his grateful smile when he looked to me.
'If the Bennett witches bought her back that means she's drawing power from their bloodline. Break the bloodline she looses the power keeping her alive.' Kol said confidently.
'So that's the plan? How do we break the bloodline?' Elena asked, her tone uncertain.
'You don't mean…' I trailed off, the ball of dread in my gut confirming my theory.
'We'll have to kill one of them.' Nik said, squeezing my waist in an attempt to offer comfort.
Elena and I shared a look of dread- there had to be another way, but at the same time I knew there wasn't.
'What do we do?' Elena asked, sounding vulnerable.
'I- I need some air.' I muttered, standing from Nik's lap and making my way out the front door, closing it gently behind me. I sat on the porch swing, rocking gently back and forth, deeply inhaling as I tried to control my emotions. What was I supposed to do? Ester needed to be stopped, and I was sure that terminating her connection to the Bennet line was the only way to do that, but that meant killing Bonnie or her Mom. Both of them were innocent, they didn't deserve to lose each other. But the Mikaelson's didn't deserve to die because their Mother had decided that they were an abomination either. It wasn't like I could just ask one of them to die for us and expect them to be willing. I hadn't realised that someone had come to sit beside me until I felt the porch swing slightly dip to accommodate for their weight. I didn't look over, I could feel their worry, but I couldn't bear to see it.
'I know that there's no other way but I just feel guilty. She's the one who's psychotic enough to want to kill her own children and Bonnie has to lose her Mother in order for us to stop her. It's not fair,' I whispered, too low for human ears to hear, but I knew the person next to me could understand just fine.
'Indeed it is. I can assure you if there was another way we would take it.' Elijah said, his voice as calm and collected as ever, though the underlying concern was evident.
'I know.' I said, giving him a soft smile to assure him that I believed him.
We sat in comfortable silence for a little while, until the door opened and Nik stepped out; I felt his worry immediately and sent him a comforting wave and a soft smile in response. Elijah stood and left us alone, Nik sitting in his abandoned seat, his arm going around my shoulders and pulling me to his chest; my ass sitting on one side of his thighs and my feet on the other. The calmness he bought over my body seemed to bring forward the tears I had been fighting to hold back and I rested my forehead against his shoulder as I let them silently fall down my cheeks. His hand moved up and down my spine comfortingly as he kissed my hair. I could feel how unsure he was right now; he didn't know what to do or how to make me feel better, but he was doing all he could do and I was grateful.
The tears stopped falling, but Nik's grip on me didn't loosen and I leaned up and pressed a soft kiss on his pulse point in thanks before I wiped the tears wetness from my cheeks, pulling back from his shoulder.
'So, what's the plan?' I asked, my voice raspy as I tried to keep the emotion from my voice.
Nik eyed me with worry shining in his gaze before he answered me; ' Elena's texting Bonnie to see where they are and then we're going to head over there.'
I nodded; dread growing in my gut as I thought about what was going to happen, 'something's going to go wrong.' I could feel it.
We joined the others back in the house, sitting where we had been sat before; I noticed Kol's hand on Elena's thigh in a comforting gesture. I made a mental note to bring that up later, when things weren't such a mess. I met Elena's eyes and I could feel how heartbroken she was, but I could also sense that she had made up her mind; she was going to help break the line… because of me.
'Elena…' I started but I didn't know what to say.
'It's okay.' Her smile was watery but soft.
It wasn't. Nothing about this was okay. Bonnie was her best friend, by doing this she was going to lose her, and I wasn't okay with that. I wished I could find another way where in which no one but Ester had to die, but I knew that wasn't possible. Elena received a text from Bonnie saying that her and her Mother were preparing for the spell Ester planned to preform later at the witches burial ground; apparently Ester knew that the linking spell didn't work and she was going to call onto the spirits for the power to destroy them one by one, with Bonnie and her Mom's help.
Nik suggested that we needed to get there before Ester, as if they even started the spell, we were screwed. The plan was to make an appearance in town encase she had people watching us; the last thing we needed was for her to know we were on to her. We decided to go to the Grill for a few hours and to leave for the witches' burial ground at around six, leaving us plenty of time to initiate the plan. Once we were all satisfied with what we had to do, we left, heading for the Grill. Nik refused to stray far from me, keeping his hand firmly laced with mine as we made our entrance; it was like the scene in a movie, as we walked in all eyes turned to stare at the group. Normally I would feel uncomfortable with the attention but in that moment I was starting to feel numb. We took a large booth; I had to sit on Nik's lap again to make room for everyone, not that I minded. Bekah sat next to Nik with Finn on Bekah's other side, while Elena sat across from me and Nik, with Kol next to her and Elijah on the other side of Kol.
'I vote for shots,' I said, absentmindedly running one of my hands through Nik's hair while the other rested on his chest.
'I second that,' Elena muttered, making a fist and resting her chin on it.
'Here, here,' Kol said loudly, drawing even more attention to us.
'Hush Kol, it would be nice if there were a few people who weren't staring at us,' Bekah hissed making me chuckle.
'Don't bother, Bekah he likes the attention,' I winked at Kol, we all laughed when he looked affronted.
'Don't try to deny it, little brother,' Nik smirked.
'Here we go. I have no idea what it is, I asked for shots and this is what they gave me,' Finn said, placing a tray of what looked like about twenty shots on the table.
'Bloody hell Finn,' Bekah shook her head in amusement.
'Good man, Finn' I picked up one of the glasses, toasting with Kol before we both knocked them back.
'What on earth is that,' Kol exclaimed, pulling a face as the vodka made its way down his throat; everyone chuckled at his expression; he looked like he was sucking on a lemon.
'That, bestie is vodka, be careful it has a bit of a kick to it,' I muttered, reached for another shot, motioning for everyone to do the same.
'To family,' Elijah said.
'To family,' we all repeated, swallowing the shots in one.
After our third shot Elena and I were starting to feel the affects just a little, much to everyone else's amusement. I frowned over at Kol who was making no move to hide his laughter at the both of us as I pointed to him threateningly, or at least I thought I did, but he just laughed harder.
'Oi, you!' I said, my words slurring.
'Yes darling?' Kol asked, grinning.
'What are you laughing at?' I asked curiously, I went to rest my head on my hand but I ended up missing and nearly face planting the table.
'Easy, love,' Nik said, amused, his voice drawing my attention back to him as I smiled dopily at him.
'I like it when you call me love,' I said, my hand running through his hair again.
'Uh oh.' Elena said across from me.
'What's the matter, darling?' Kol asked, curious.
'She's at the drunken honesty stage,' Elena said, amused, 'she only gets like this on vodka for whatever reason.'
'Really? We could definitely have some fun with this,' Kol said, his eyes gleaming as he rubbed his hands together mischievously.
I just stared at him blankly before I said, 'you know I reckon you and my sister would make a cute couple.'
Elena and Kol looked at me both shocked and embarrassed, before they could respond, Bekah cut in, 'where did that come from?'
'I can feel the attraction they have for each other.' I said by way of explanation, 'I think they would be good together.'
Elena and Kol refused to make eye contact but I noticed all of the other siblings looking at them closely as they tried to see the attraction that I sensed.
'Anyway, each of us gets to ask her a question each.' Kol said once he recovered himself, and from the looks of his expression he was going to make me pay for my confession.
'Okay. I'm good at answering questions.' I whispered to Nik as if it was a secret, my tone a matter of fact as I sipped on the glass of whiskey he had ordered for himself.
'I'm sure you are, love,' Nik smirked; I placed a kiss onto his lips before I turned to the rest of the table.
'Who goes first?' I asked.
'I will,' Elena started, also looking like she was out for revenge, 'how old were you when you lost your virginity?'
'Twenty.' I answered honestly, looking to Kol as I waited for his question and ignoring everyone else's surprise.
'Who's been the best partner you've had in the bedroom?' Kol asked.
'Hmmm...' I rubbed my chin, pretending to have to think really hard about it enjoying everyone's amusement before I put Klaus out of his misery and answered, 'Nik' running my hand through his hair as I did so. I looked to Elijah, I smiled when I felt how uncomfortable he was, 'you don't have to ask me anything, Lijah.'
'He does, that's the rules!' Kol insisted.
'Okay fine, but just because the past two questions have been sex related doesn't mean yours has to be.' I muttered taking another sip of Klaus' whiskey before I handed it back to him.
'What was your first impression of me?' He asked playing it safe.
'Polite, calm, collected. Overall, a really chill guy.' I answered immediately.
Everyone chuckled at my analysis; Elijah even released a light laugh and I wondered if the alcohol was what had made him relax a little.
'Finn?' Kol prompted, but Finn declined, telling Kol he could ask a question on his behalf.
'Of course, brother,' Kol grinned, laughing lightly when I groaned, 'the weirdest place you've ever had sex?'
I feel Nik tense as he tried not to laugh, already knowing my answer; 'a bar's bathroom.'
I noticed Elena's surprise and Bekah's open jaw as Kol went to elaborate but I hold up my hand, silencing him, 'you had your question, your turn Bekah.'
'How do you feel about us?' She asked, her expression carefully curious but I could feel her vulnerability.
'I love you all like my own family.' I answered honestly, returning their soft smiles with one of my own as I met all of their gazes.
'Nik, yours is the last question; make it a good one' Kol said, drumming his hands on the table in his excitement.
I rested my forehead against his, staring into his amused eyes while I waited for his question. He stared back at me and I could tell he was putting a lot of thought into what he was going to ask me, which I found amusing. I felt Bekah shift beside us and didn't think anything of it until I heard the click of a camera.
'Bekah!' I said, more amused than annoyed, as I looked over to her in question.
'I couldn't help it, it was perfect!' She defended.
I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face, but otherwise didn't respond, I looked back to Nik while Bekah showed everyone at the table the pictures she had accumulated of Nik and me.
'Why don't you hate me? After everything I've done to you, your family and your friends you should hate me,' Klaus asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
I felt my face soften as I brought my hand up to caress the side of his face, my thumb running back and forth comfortingly, 'because everything you have done; your desire to break the curse, to make more hybrids… all of it. It was impossible to hate you when a part of me understood why you were doing it. Granted, if Elijah hadn't found a way to save Elena after the sacrifice and if you'd used Caroline and Tyler… it would have taken me a long time to forgive you for that.'
'You are the most incredible person I have ever known,' he told me; I could sense his honesty as he stared at me with a blown away look on his face.
I felt myself flush at the compliment before I placed a soft kiss on his lips, which he returned before he pulled away. After a while, Elena suggested that we play darts. We split into two teams, me, Elijah and Bekah against Nik, Elena, Kol and Finn. Seeing as Finn had no idea what darts was, we were pretty evenly matched, though I didn't doubt that he would catch on fast. Kol kept putting a drink in my hand to mess with my game, though I realised this too late, too late meaning I accidentally threw a dart into Elijah's thigh when he was standing behind me. My mouth dropped open in shock and embarrassment as Elijah pulled the dart out with an amused twitch of his lips and handed it back to me after wiping it on a handkerchief he had in his suit pocket. I murmured an apology, ignoring the howls of laughter that were coming from everyone else around me. After that I rejected the alcohol Kol sent my way, favouring water instead, my game improving the faster I sobered up. Which of course led to Kol employing a new tactic to distract me; by having Nik drive me crazy with soft touches and brief pecks right before I was due to take my turn. I felt Nik's smugness grow every time I missed the board due to his interference, so I decided to instigate some revenge. The first time I squeezed his toned ass right before he was about to release the dart he meant to throw, the action caught him off guard and actually made him jump, his dart embedding itself into the wall rather than the board. I grinned devilishly and continued to taunt him, placing kisses behind his ear, running my nails over the mark on his shoulder; though he continued to taunt me as well. Meaning that mine and Nik's scores were the worst in each group, not that we cared. Eventually the game ended, and by some miracle, my team won; I gave Bekah and Elijah each a high five, complimenting them on their incredible dart skills since it was basically them who had won us the game; I had sucked.
We had just settled back into the booth, noting that it was five in the afternoon, when trouble walked through the door in the form of the Salvatore brothers. I noticed them immediately due to the icy ball that seemed to form in my gut as soon as they walked through the doors, but the others remained oblivious. My eyes remained on Kol and Elena as they joked back and forth, becoming more and more comfortable with each other, but I focused on Stefan and Damon and I could feel their regret as they looked over to the table. That was when I knew; they had either already done something or they were about to. I pulled out my phone and typed out a text, showing the screen to Nik, being sure to be causal.
The Salvatore brothers are going to do something to mess with the plan.
Nik's eyes met mine after he had read my message and we seemed to be able to communicate whole sentences in those few brief moments of eye contact.
What should we do? I asked.
We'll continue with the plan, but proceed with caution. Nik replied.
I nodded in agreement, breaking our eye contact as I looked back to everyone else seated at the table, only to see they were already staring at us. Nik and I shared a confused look before we looked to the others expectantly.
'How did you do that?' Elena asked, amazed.
'Do what?' Nik asked before I could.
'You two looked like you were having a conversation without saying a word.' Elijah said, seemingly curious himself.
We shared another look before I shrugged, taking a sip if my diet coke. I offered it to Nik and he took a sip before he placed it back on the table. Before anything more could be said, Damon and Stefan stopped at the end of our table, causing all eyes to turn to them.
'All right?' I asked by way of greeting, keeping the suspicion from my tone.
'Well aren't you guys cute, playing happy families, it's almost adorable.' Damon's tone was dangerously sarcastic.
'Not almost adorable,' I disagreed, continuing when is smirk seemed to drop, 'we are completely adorable. Duh.'
Damon rolled his eyes, his expression darkening as his eyes skimmed over Elena, and I knew he was going to say something that was going to piss people off as well as potentially hurt my sister.
'Damon I suggest you stop with whatever sarcastic comment you are about to make.' I said, my tone one of warning.
By some miracle he actually listened and turned to walk away, Stefan gave a sad, regretful smile, his eyes lingering on me before he followed his brother out of the Grill. I had a feeling that whatever they were going to do involved me and whatever it was, wasn't good. At five thirty we decided we should get moving and Elena and I shared a sad look before we slid out of the booth to follow them. I asked them to wait for a moment while I used the bathroom; I finished quickly and I was washing my hands in the sink when I looked up and saw Stefan and Damon in the reflection in the mirror over the sinks. I could feel their sorrow and regret more than ever and it was the last thing I registered before I blacked out.
I was hot, incredibly, uncomfortably hot. I sat up with a groan, my hand going to the back of my head as it throbbed. I noticed I was in a circle of fire, much like I had been the night of the ritual; I looked around and noticed we were at the old witches burial ground. I was alone in the circle but I knew that I was more than likely sealed in so any attempt at escape would be futile. I went to pull my phone out of my back pocket only to remember it was still at home on my bedside table. I glanced at my watch and noticed it was almost six, so I hadn't been unconscious for too long; I didn't know if that was a good thing or not. I could feel Klaus' concern and I knew that they were well aware I had been taken and by who. I just didn't understand why; she wanted to kill her children, but what did I have to do with it? As if she had heard my question, Ester suddenly stepped forward, joining me in the circle.
'What the hell am I doing here?' I asked bluntly.
'Your connection to Niklaus is rather useful, Kimberly.' She said vaguely.
'Meaning…?' I said, irritated.
'Meaning that when the moon reaches it's full power I will have the magic from the Bennett line that will allow me to link my children without me needing to use the blood of a doppelgänger, and once I have done so I am going to kill you.'
I felt the horror grow on my face; 'whatever happens to me will happen to Klaus and if they're linked…' I trailed off.
'They'll all die.' She smiled coldly.
I bit my lip, schooling my expression to one of worry as I focused on what was actually going to happen; I was careful to keep the relief from my face when the ball of dread that grew in my gut when something bad was going to happen stayed away. They were going to be okay. Klaus was going to be okay. But she didn't need to know that.
'Why are you doing this?' I carefully laced panic and sorrow into my tone.
'Because my children are abominations, and I defied nature when I created them, they must die to restore the balance,' her voice was firm and almost robotic.
'If your children were such abominations I'm sure that nature would have restored the balance a thousand years ago as soon as you had created them.' I said, anger dripping into my tone now, 'as far as I am concerned you're the abomination. What kind of Mother wants to kill her own children?'
Her stare turned icy, yet she didn't respond; I could feel a twinge of guilt coming from her but it was squelched by the obligation she felt to go through with her plan. I sat back on the floor, crossing my legs as I tried my hardest to look like I was struggling to remain calm. I knew the moment that Nik was near; the pulling in my heart activated as soon as he stepped into the clearing.
'Mother, let her go before I rip your heart from your chest again,' Nik threatened, absolutely furious, though I could feel the concern he was carefully hiding.
I noticed that Finn and Elena were gone and figured that they had gone to break the Bennett connection.
'For a thousand years, I've been forced to watch you. Felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood. Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you're no better. All of you. You're a curse on this Earth. Stretched out over generations. If you've come to plead for your life, I'm sorry, you've wasted your time.' Ester said, her voice final.
I could feel Kol, Bekah and Elijah all tense in fear at her words and I took it, replacing it with calm. Nik was watching me carefully, trying to catch my eye, when he did I gave him a reassuring look which he read immediately; he kept the anger in his expression but I could feel his relief.
'At least let her go Mother, she is innocent,' Bekah said, her tone pleading as she looked to me.
'You claim to want to do this in order to save the lives of the innocent, Mother. It would be highly hypocritical if you were to kill one of them yourself.' Kol chipped in.
My heart warmed as they tried to convince her to let me go, but I knew she wouldn't.
'She may be innocent now, but I am saving the world for what she has the potential to become. When she is turned she will become the most powerful being on the planet, with Niklaus by her side they will be unstoppable.' Her eyes looked over to me, full of complete disgust, 'the kindest thing I can do is put a stop to it before it has begun.'
'I am so sick of hearing that. You're all just a bunch of drama queens you witches I swear,' I muttered, exasperated.
Ester glared at me, but made no move to comment, I shared a look with Klaus as we both rolled our eyes; I was pretty sure we were both sick of hearing this by now. Elijah opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off when Ester suddenly started to cry out, defeated.
'No, sisters do not abandon me!' She yelled, her voice desperate, the circle's flames grew higher before they fizzled out completely. I looked over to the Mikaelson's in front of me and went to move over to them but before I could Ester made a move to attack me, holding a knife firmly against my throat.
'I may have lost my connection to the sisters to allow me to kill you, but I can still put a stop to another abomination,' she said, I felt her arm tense as she readied herself to slit my throat, before I could even focus to see if I was actually going to die, the knife suddenly fell away. I turned around and saw Finn standing behind his Mother's dead body, her heart in his hand. I met his eyes and I could feel the shock on my face, 'thank you,' I whispered.
He smiled softly but otherwise didn't comment; before I could have another coherent thought, the Mikaelson's and Elena suddenly surrounded me as they hugged me tightly. I laughed in surprise but I could feel the love for them all exploding out of my chest. After everyone had squeezed me half to death we pulled apart; I stood next to Nik, my head resting on his shoulder as my arm wrapped around his waist.
'You scared us half to bloody death,' Rebekah muttered.
'I'm sorry,' I muttered, amused.
'How did she get you anyway?' Kol asked.
'Stefan and Damon cornered me in the bathroom, I don't really remember anything after that until I woke up here,' I answered honestly, sending a wave of comfort in Elena's direction when she stiffened at my words.
'No wonder they were acting so odd.' Elena muttered, sounding pissed as the waves of betrayal fell from her.
'I could feel that they didn't want to do it, if that helps. But personally they're on my shit list from now until further notice.' I murmured, completely serious.
'I don't care if they didn't want to do it, they still did it.' Elena said and I swear I literally felt her heart cut ties with both of the brothers there and then; I supposed everything that had happened with them had finally added up and she had reached her breaking point. We shared a look, I silently told her that I understood and she gave me a look as if to say it was for the best and I was almost surprised when I felt that she genuinely meant it.
'Well they had better stay out of my path,' Klaus said, his voice dark.
'How's Bonnie?' I asked, already knowing the answer.
'How you would expect. She told me to leave and that she never wanted to see either of us again.' Elena kept her voice from breaking but I could feel her sadness. I reached over and pulled her to my chest, placing a comforting kiss on her temple, when she calmed she moved back from me and we all made the collective decision to go home.
Reluctantly, Nik and I decided to spend the night apart because I knew that my sister needed me. I hugged the other Original's goodbye at the witches' burial ground before Kol flashed Elena home while Nik flashed me back to the house. As soon as we came to a stop on the porch I grabbed the lapels of his jacket and smashed his lips to mine, moaning at the passion behind the kiss as we both spilled our fear and relief over the nights events into it. I gasped when Klaus slid his hands under the back of my shirt, his nails digging into the dip of my back as he pulled me tighter against him, providing him with the leverage he needed to deepen the kiss, his tongue dueling with mine. I released another moan when I felt him dominate the kiss, my hands hungrily tangling in his hair as if I wanted to keep him there. After a few more lingering kisses, we reluctantly pulled away, his forehead resting against mine as we both gathered our breath.
'Goodnight,' I whispered.
'Goodnight, love.' Klaus responded, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead before he turned and left, my heart hurting as I watched him go.
That's chapter twenty one! I hope you enjoyed it- let me know what you think!
A huge thank you to bluekat1997 for choosing to follow my story- it means a lot :)
Hayden: I read the all chapters and I love this more. Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.
Elljayde: Good chapter. Hope Elena will stop the gang's attempts to kill Klaus now that she knows Kim would die. Looking forward to next update and hoping Ester gets more punishment than she did in the TV series. Thank you! I hope you liked Elena's part in this chapter! Personally I think just having her heard ripped from her chest is too kind, but she just needed to be gone.
Reviewer only: Those power you say vamp Kim would have make me impatient for her turning… I know what you mean, I'm itching to turn her but I want the timing to be right haha, so for now we'll just have to wait :(
XxSunnaxX: Amazing to see the relationship between Klaus and Kim grow, and the hole connection with the Mikaelsons :) Love it! Great work :) Thank you so much, I love writing the different relationships she has with each original and the ways they show that they care for her, I'm glad you're enjoying it too.