"Could you please do a swan princess type story—if you've seen it; where Kol and Caroline are betrothed since birth and hate each other growing up though things change when they become adults but Kol is too stubborn to admit he loves her and then she gets taken away; maybe by Klaus or something and he has to fight to get her back and she almost dies but he saves her" –Sarah
Some inspirations are Reign (my new favorite tv show), Tudors, and a little bit of Games of Thrones.
'We all complete' is from the movie Never Let Me Go.
I actually do have a reason for not writing. I did have the time but I could not find it in me to write for weeks.
You see, my grandmother passed away last month. She died in my arms. And I've felt what it's like to have the ground collapse from underneath you because you've lost the most important person in the world. I grieved her and I'm still grieving for her.
And I could not write at all. Any attempts left me unsatisfied but I forced myself to write now because my grandmother was proud of my writing (though she never knew about my fanfition) and it would be to dishonor her memory to stop writing. She loved me best and I miss her every single day. I don't think I'll ever stop.
Most of the ending scene with Caroline in Kol's arms was inspired when my grandmother was dying in my arms. Some of the dialogue, the emotions were very much inspired. Except I didn't get my miracle.
I'd like to take the moment to take each one of you who read, favorited, reviewed my work. For continuing to share ideas with me. For getting excited to read my work. Thank you for being patient with me.
I was two years old when my parents betrothed me to the princess of another kingdom. I was six when I arrived at the kingdom of Forbes so King William could raise me to be king. He and my father were cousins giving me legitimacy to become his heir and marrying his daughter secured it. I was six years old when I stepped on the shores of Forbes and was presented to my bride-to-be for the first time and she at four-years-old walked unsurely towards me, pulled me down lightly with her small hands and pecked my cheek.
She smelled of sweets like licorice and mint. Her blonde hair was almost white in the sun, her full cheeks bright pink and her eyes baby blue. She looked like a living porcelain doll and I still could not see her as my wife. Twelve years later, I still had problems seeing her as my wife.
But with good reason, mind you. Princess Caroline of Forbes was an impossible girl. She wasn't docile or sweet – at least not towards me and as a result we grew up fighting constantly. It didn't help matters that people expected us to get over our mutual dislike just so we could fulfill the plans of our parents.
The fact of the matter is, I didn't choose her. And she didn't choose me. This was an arranged marriage no matter how people tried to spin it. I was marrying her to get a crown and she was marrying me to become my consort.
There was nothing more to all this than that.
I was tired and nervous. Having spent nearly three months on a boat, no matter how large and well-furnished was no treat. I got sea sick constantly and my governesses hovered over me to make sure I was not going to die before I even reached our destination. My death would complicate a lot of important plans after all and my governesses would be harshly punished if those were ruined.
When I heard we were about to make port, I nearly screamed in elation. No more time on the bloody boat and I could have land underneath my feet again. My governesses were nearly heckled as they dressed me for the day, making me try to look my best. I was not just being presented to my future wife but as a young stallion to be broken in so the kingdom would remain patriarchal.
Princess Caroline's carriage was in view when we stepped off the boat. I was led farther from the shore and to the green pasture nearer to the main road. We all waited patiently as the carriages stopped and the Queen stepped out of the carriage first. Queen Elizabeth was calm and collected as she helped her only child and daughter out of the carriage, her ladies and Caroline's governesses surrounding them at all times.
My entire entourage bowed, including my guardian for the trip, my older brother Finn. Caroline looked like a blonde little thing compared to her graceful mother. Queen Elizabeth smiled pleasantly at us in greeting and led her daughter by hand from the road and to the greensward. There was several feet between my group and the princess' and were expected to meet in the middle.
Finn was behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. He leaned down so I could hear him say, "Nervous, little brother?"
I tried to shake my head and keep my back straight. I wanted to be the brave and gallant prince like him and Elijah but I was only six years old in a new and strange place about to meet the girl I was eventually marrying. I trembled despite myself and nodded as slight as I could. I wasn't nervous for I was terrified.
Finn's deep voice had his usual warmth as his touch tightened in assurance on my small shoulders. "You'll be alright, Kol. You'll do this all well. You'll be a good king and husband. I promise you that."
"How can you?" My voice nearly squeaks.
I could see Finn's kind grin from my peripheral vision. "Because you're a prince of Mikaelson and we all complete."
We all complete. The words of my house that could be taken as many different ways as possible but always made me brave when I heard them. We call complete in the end. I was Prince Kol of Mikaelson and I was brave.
Caroline was a small child, all soft skin and fragile bones underneath her clothes. Her mother was whispering things to her, assuring her probably as my brother did me. And with one last look at her mother, she started to step towards me. Finn urged me to do the same and I kept mine small as hers.
It felt like forever before we met in the middle, I staring down at my betrothed as she looked up at me with the world's bluest eyes. I didn't know whether I should bow but she curtsied and then her little hands pulled lightly on the front of my clothes to indicate I should bend a bit for her. Her lips were sticky and warm on my cheek and I was very much aware of everyone clapping around us.
Caroline liked to follow me around and even though I was older and bigger, I could not seem to shake her off. My only companion in the large castle was Jeremy, the son of a Lord, whose family had brought him with them to court for the sole purpose of that. Caroline maybe the princess, the future queen of this grand kingdom and my wife-to-be but that didn't mean I had to spend all my time with her. In between lessons, Jeremy and I tried to avoid her as much as possible but the little blonde seemed to have the senses most hunting dogs could only hope to have.
Looking back on it, perhaps we were a bit too harsh. Caroline did not have companions like me and I was really the only person of her age group there so of course she'd rather be playing with us than be forced into her etiquette lessons. But I was a six-year-old boy and kids could be cruel. And I didn't want to spend my time with a whiny four-year-old girl.
"Kol!" Caroline's high-pitch voice called after me as Jeremy and I ran as fast as our short legs could take us. Caroline was behind us, trying to gain on us but we were too fast. "Kol! Wait!"
I ignored her as Jeremy and I bounded up a staircase. We laughed as we looked behind us to see a pouting Caroline looking ready to cry at the bottom of the stairs. Our governesses were not far behind, always watching us and one of them coaxed her to take her hand and "leave the boys to play". Caroline was reluctant but eventually turned and stomped away.
By the time I was twelve, Caroline was ten and had grown a backbone. And when I didn't play with her, instead of crying, just huffed and called me an idiot before walking off. On the verge of adolescence, I found her even more annoying and complained to Jeremy incessantly about the haughty little princess. I even went as far as to write to my brother Elijah to persuade our parents into breaking off my betrothal so I didn't have to marry her.
It annoyed me even more when his response was a letter clearly written in his amusement. He waxed on about how 'love takes time to grow' and I might change my mind someday about all this. And that I was 'young and had time to learn to care for Caroline as he did with Tatia'. He finished the letter off with the words that I could not ignore – we all complete.
The words echoed in my head whenever I found myself wanting to strangle my betrothed. They were my mantra every time she looked at me like I was deficient. They were on my tongue when she critiqued everything I did. And they were my last words at night when I tried to remember the place I came from but could not recall much of anymore.
Caroline went through an awkward stage. She wasn't always a pretty swan and went through her ugly duckling period. At twelve she was taller than most ladies in court and was not quite confident with her stature and tried to hide it by slum shoulders and occasionally bowing her head. She looked like a sad little fowl with her too-big eyes, blue as they were seemed to want to overcome her face.
Her personality didn't make her a commodity either as she was far too talkative and eager for most boys' tastes. She was not an elegant future queen. She was too-transparent and insecure at times. She would get angry when I talked to other girls and screamed at me when I called her out on it.
"Well, why were you talking to her?" Caroline nearly shrieked as she demanded me to answer why I gave Lady Katherine a compliment this morning. Lady Katherine unlike her wasn't going through an awkward stage and seemed to get prettier every day. My betrothed knew this and was jealous like the harpy she was.
Because she's prettier than you. Because she doesn't act like a giant screeching vulture. Because she doesn't drive me insane like you. I wanted to say all those things and watch her face go red as she held back her tears.
I disliked her more than ever at this time and was writing to my Elijah constantly and when he wouldn't budge, to Finn whose response was more the less the same. Except for that Finn's words tended to make him feel guilty for complaining than anything else. You are a prince of Mikaelson. We all complete.
I wanted to complete the task of throwing Caroline into a well but I'm sure that wasn't what my brother meant so I just walked away from the fuming blonde.
"Kol!" She yelled. "Come back here!"
I ignored her and kept on walking.
By the time Caroline was fourteen, she'd surpassed her awkward stage and seemed to have a transformation overnight. She'd grown into her looks and wasn't shy about her height anymore, walking tall like her mother did and seemed to bloody float into rooms. Her movements seemed effortlessly graceful and she beguiled nearly every man in the room when she danced or laughed sweetly. She was still talkative but this made her endearing to others as she talked to anyone as if they were the best of friends.
I was sixteen and did not know what to do with her. She still annoyed me and would still fight back when pushed but I always felt the idiot when we finished an argument. When I talked to other ladies she would not make a scene and would just talk to one of the many obliging young lords instead, leaving me in a foul mood for the rest of the day as a result. And when I complained to Jeremy about her, he would roll his eyes as if I was not getting a joke everyone was in on.
The servants were all in a buzz the day Caroline finally flowered. Their joy at her bloodstained sheets seemed odd to me before I realized why they were so excited. Caroline was a woman then and she could have children. She could have my children.
The servants were elated at the prospect of having little princes and princesses around and it made me almost physically ill. I tried not to imagine what it would be like to bed Caroline but they images came at night and I could not stop them. She was annoying, yes, but she was beautiful, even more beautiful than even Lady Katherine now who seemed to pale in comparison to the iridescent princess. And at night in my bed I imagined exploring that beauty for myself and spent the next morning in am irritable mood.
Caroline all the same ignored my behavior and floated about court, mingling with all the nobles. She even stopped to talk to Jeremy about something and made my scowl deepen because of it. She seemed to be leaving greeting me last and stopped in front of me, all fresh and lovely in her white gown. I scowled at her more.
She smiled at me with a knowing glint in her eyes and nodded in greeting, "Kol."
"Caroline," I bit out.
She bit her lips to stifle a giggle at me behavior and I stared at her as her soft hands smoothed at the front of my tunic, nimble fingers brushing my neck as she fixed my collar. She was close enough I could sniff her perfumes – oranges and sandalwood and I wanted to groan at the sleepless night that awaited me. Her hand travelled higher and to my hair, more mussing up than fixing it but her soft touch made me want to close my eyes and purr like a happy cat.
She gave me a peck, short but sweet on my cheek, so near to my mouth that I wanted a real kiss. My hands went up to circle her waist and pull her closer to me to do just that but she pulled away like her tinkling bell laugh. I could only watch her with crippling longing and hate myself more.
Caroline turned sixteen before we could all blink and as such the agreed age for her to marry by our betrothal contract. The entire kingdom was practically buzzing with anticipation for the wedding that was years in the making. My family was coming to attend as well as many other royal families. Everyone was waiting for the day I would marry Caroline and secure my place as future ruler of Forbes.
Wedding planning fell mostly to Queen Elizabeth and my Queen Mother who seemed intent to make this the event of the year. The preparations were getting more outlandish as time went on and I wondered about the sheer frivolity of it all. The men kept themselves mum about the women's inclination to spend their money on such silliness and I did the same. Caroline meanwhile was being dragged into it and I rarely saw her as she was forced into the madness.
I nearly walked in on her for a fitting of her wedding gown one morning and caught a glance of lace and silk before being nearly thrown out the door by a dozen panicking ladies. I did not see why they were so against me seeing my betrothed in a white gown I was going to see her in a short time anyway and tried to get a look at her again. But each attempt of mine ended with angry ladies chastising me and eventually even an admonishment from Queen Elizabeth herself. It was just a gown for God's sakes.
The fuss of the wedding began to make me feel anxious and I did not imagine just bedding Caroline anymore. I imagined her with a swelling belly, carrying my child. I imagined a little girl who looked like her, clinging to her skirts. I imagined a little boy in my arms who would grow up to be king.
The future that hung over me both terrified and made me ache for it more than anything else. And I spent many a day in solitude trying to grasp my head around it all. I'd always imagined being king since I was six for that was why I was there for. But being a husband and eventually a father had just been an afterthought compared to all I had to become to be worthy of a crown.
I finally managed to get to see Caroline in that blasted wedding gown one afternoon and I froze at the sight of her. The sunlight softened her and made her almost glow in the room as I took her in. Her blonde hair framed her lovely face, her cheeks pink and when she finally noticed me she gasped.
"Kol!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her middle like it could stop me from seeing her gown at all. "You're not supposed to be here!"
I couldn't move yet and kept staring at her. I continued to do so until she stopped her dramatics and looked worried. "Kol? Are you okay?"
I took in my too-beautiful bride and the words fell from my mouth without my consent. "You look lovely."
Her expression held so many different emotions and I left the room finally just as the ladies returned and started their histrionics.
The night before the grand wedding we had a huge row. We've had many of those over the years, countless, but this one was especially horrible. I didn't remember how it started only that I very much wanted to choke her until she stopped talking. She was impossible.
"If you think I'm so horrid then why are you marrying me?" She shouted in her anger, eyes like blue fire.
"I didn't choose you!" I spat out the words before I could stop himself. "They told me I was stuck with you and then put me on a boat before I could learn to argue! You're just the bleeding nasty tonic I have to swallow because I have no choice in the matter of who I marry!"
I didn't realize what I had just said until Caroline's blue eyes were shiny from unshed tears and she let out a choking sound like it hurt for her to breathe. She was no longer shouting, her voice soft but seemed to echo throughout the suddenly silent room.
"Well, forgive me for being your cross to bear. Had I known what a curse I was for you, I would've helped liberate you years ago and save you from marrying me." She swallowed and she looked down at her tight fists. "But then again, you would've lost a crown."
My heart was a heavy weight in my belly and I tried to apologize, tried to tell her I didn't mean any of it but she was already pulling away and rushing out of the room.
The next day I woke up to a rain and I felt like I didn't get an ounce of sleep. My head and heart felt heavy and all I wanted to do was speak to Caroline. I wanted to never see that broken expression on her face ever again. But I was not as brave as I wanted to be and instead of following her to apologize and take back every stupid word that escaped my mouth I found release at the bottom of a bottle.
A knock on my bedroom door seemed to pound along the pulsing in my head and Jeremy entered his rooms only to wince at the sight of me. "You look..." My friend was obviously going to point out I looked like shite but instead shook his head and said, "Today's the big day."
I scowled and collapsed among the numerous pillows again, the rainfall outside was making everything feel more dreary. What a way to start a marriage after all then with an unhappy bride? For sure, Caroline would be welcoming in bed, lying still and thinking of the kingdom as I moved above her like a bloody horse. Surely, she would gaze at me with loveless eyes as she told me we were expecting a child and have the same expression at my death bed because I was finally setting her free.
Just imagining all that made me feel ill. And my drinking last night really wasn't helping things. I needed to fix things with Caroline before the wedding. I needed to tell her that…that….
That I what? The forbidden words I'd forced himself to never say where at the tip of my tongue but I couldn't let them loose. To say those words to her would be a lie, right? Because I didn't love her, I couldn't.
People with our lives didn't marry for love. They married for advantage. They married for wealth and connections. People who married for love weren't born with our lives.
Jeremy had been yapping on about something, trying to get me out of bed with the help of my servants but the door opening and another servant, one I knew worked for the queen, told me that I needed the see the king urgently. And I suddenly felt the worst kind of dread.
I felt paralyzed, unable to speak and move as I processed the news. I wanted to fall to his knees at the gravity of the situation but could only stare at the floor as King William continued to explain that we would get Caroline back and…
"She was kidnapped." I croaked out, still trying to get my head around the idea. She'd been just here in this castle yesterday, safe and sound. How could anyone have gotten in and just taken her?
The King and Queen shared a glance before King William nodded. "Yes. She is believed to have been taken by a dark warlock by the name of Niklaus."
The name sounded familiar but I could not place where I knew it from as I was still focusing on the fact that Caroline was in danger and she still very much believed I hated her. She could be dying and thinking I hated her when there was nothing farther from the truth. I felt restless all of a sudden and started pacing frantically as King William explained what we would do to get her back.
"He hasn't asked for a ransom yet but he surely will and we've-"
"We need to get her back," I wasn't paying attention to the king and started thinking aloud more than anything. "I need to get her back. I need her safe and to know that I don't hate her. That in fact if we're to be quite honest, I feel like my head's going to explode now if that bloody warlock touches one strand of her perfect head.
"I need to find her. I will find her," I stopped to look at a worried King and Queen who were watching me warily. "I will leave now and find her. I will save her and bring her back and then we'll get married as planned and- and I'll tell her I bloody love her more than any damnable crown."
I turned around and started for the door before they could dissuade me from my plans. "And I'll make sure that fucking warlock is dead."
I finally realized I didn't really have much of a plan as I'm riding out on my horse and close to getting lost. I didn't know where the warlock was keeping Caroline and had no idea on how to fight a bloody warlock in the first place. I had been fuelled by the thought of saving the girl I loved that I forgot to come up with a good strategy. Some future king I was.
I was trying to think of any combat strategy before Jeremy arrived on his own horse. "You fucking idiot." My friend said, shocking me at the usually polite young lord's language. "You're going to get yourself killed and leave this kingdom without a future king and queen."
"Well, I was just trying to emulate the knights in Caroline's favorite stories." I admitted sheepishly. "Admittedly, I make a very stupid prince charming."
"Understatement," Jeremy grumbled with an eye roll before becoming my saving grace. "Just after you left, a messenger arrived and delivered a letter from your family."
I looked at my friend curiously as we both dismounted our horses. Jeremy handed me the letter and I broke the seal on the envelope, eager to read the contents of the message.
"Oh gods," I closed my eyes in horror, causing Jeremy to look alarmed.
"What? What is it?"
I swallowed and tried to get my mind to take in what I just read, what I had just learned. It all seemed so outside everything I had ever known about my family, about myself and I thought I might die from all the shocks I was receiving that day. I was getting to the point I wanted to start shouting out the headache I was having or start laughing hysterically. Either way was not useful to the situation though.
I looked at his friend and tried to explain. "The warlock, Niklaus….he's my brother."
Jeremy was still in shock over what I had told him. Hell, I was still in shock over what I learned as well. My Queen Mother was a witch, a descendent of a powerful coven who had a bastard child before marrying my father. Niklaus, as she named him, had been raised by his father who was also a nasty dark warlock. And now her bastard child was getting revenge on the mother that abandoned him by fucking with his half-brother who was by now a very unhappy prince.
"If your mother's a witch, wouldn't that make you…"
"A warlock as well?" I sighed. "I honestly don't know. My father was very much against teaching us anything about magic and now I guess I know why."
"Well, didn't your mother every try to teach you something?" Jeremy asked. "Surely, she would've tried it from your father but she might've taught you something without you knowing it was magic."
"I left Mikaelson when I was six. If she did, I don't remember or I left before she could teach me anything." I sighed, wanting to rip my hair out by the roots. "It might've been useful now though. I could use a spell to at least help me find where Caroline and that evil bastard is."
"Did she say anything else in the letter?" I handed the parchment to the other boy who read it over from top to bottom before turning it over and stopping at what he saw. "Kol, look at this."
I took a look at what my friend deemed suddenly so important and felt no surprise at the symbol at the back of the parchment. A sun framed by a crescent moon, it was the family seal of sorts of my mother's family. I didn't know what Jeremy was getting at.
"Your mother said in her letter her coven was an old one, right?" Jeremy said and continued when I nodded. "So, other covens would probably know her and her family and possibly be more persuasive to help."
I looked at my friend in shock as a new burst of hope almost overcame me. "I could kiss you right now."
Jeremy grimaced. "Save it for Caroline."
The nearest village was two hours away but the moment we set foot in it we tried to find a witch. Which incidentally, witches looked like ordinary women and had nothing really to discern them as anything different. It was by a stroke of luck that we came upon Bonnie who was gardening outside her quaint little home not far from town. I recognized some of the herbs, particularly sage, something I remembered my mother would burn when she wanted to have a private conversation with someone.
Bonnie had looked ready to bolt when Jeremy asked her if she was a witch but after we explained the situation to her and showed her the seal of my maternal side of the family the young witch was more compliant to help us. She invited us into her house which she shared with her grandmother, an old but still able witch named Sheila. The old witch smiled when she saw me.
"You're the son of Esther, I presume?"
I gaped at her. "How did you-"
"I can almost smell the arrogance off you," The woman said with a shake of her head. "Your mother was very much the same at your age, acting like she was above everyone. When she married your father and became queen, it seemed she finally got her validation."
I didn't know how to react to that. "You and my mother were friends?"
"No, silly boy, I was friends with your grandmother. Now there was a wise and powerful witch."
"I never got to meet her." I admitted, almost regretfully. My mother never talked about her family and no one ever mentioned them, leaving me with no information about them.
"Pity. She was one of the best," Sheila gestured for me to take a seat across from her at the table. "Now, how can we help you?"
Sheila and Bonnie not only did a tracking spell for us so we'd know where Caroline was, they did something better and enchanted my sword and Jeremy's arrows to be undefeatable against Dark Magic.
"You're an untrained warlock so using your own magic against Niklaus is out of the question," Sheila had explained. "He's a damn lunatic so kill him quickly and take your girl home."
I thanked her and Bonnie for all their help before Jeremy and I went off to save the princess. It was descending into night before we finally saw the old castle where Niklaus and Caroline were. We stopped right outside of the property and I turned to his friend. "Maybe you should head back. It's too dangerous for you."
"It's dangerous for you too, warlock or not," Jeremy retorted. "You're my best friend. I am not leaving you to deal with some unhinged sorcerer by yourself."
I conceded at that, secretly glad someone had my back. "Thank you, old friend."
"Thank me later," Jeremy moved his horse past me. "We still have to slay the damn dragon."
We found ourselves in the gardens of the castle where there was a large lake whose waters were glistening under the moonlight. I dismounted my horse to check if the area was safe but merely found nothing more harmful than a frog and a lone beautiful swan on the lake.
"Sheila said Niklaus could change shape," Jeremy had dismounted his horse as well. "Do you think that swan could be…"
I stared at the swan as well and took my friend's bow and one of his arrows. Positioning them, I aimed for the swan. "Well, we can't be too careful."
The swan looked up and finally noticed us, letting out a sound and flapping her large, white wings. My fingers pulled the string back as I kept his aim on the swan moving towards the circle of moonlight on the lake. I was about to release the arrow when the swan started glowing so brightly Jeremy and I had to look away. The next moment, the swan was gone and Caroline was in its place, her smile wide in relief and joy.
"Kol," She breathed out and I dropped Jeremy's bow to run to her, water up to my knees as I reached for her. I hugged her tightly, almost not believing she was real. She laughed with tears in her eyes as she hugged me back, mouth pressing a kiss to my neck. "You found me."
"Did you think I wouldn't?" I pulled back and wiped at her wet eyes, cupping her smiling face and taking her in. "The prince saves the princess, remember?"
"But you have to defeat the villain first." We turned around and saw as Niklaus finally made his appearance. The blond man smirked at me maliciously. "Long time, brother."
I kept Caroline behind him, my grip tight on her, never wanting to let go. "I don't think we've met, brother."
"Yes, exactly why I took your little princess over there so we could finally meet." Niklaus said. "Though I have to admit, brother dear, your girl is really something else. I can see why you like her."
I scowled at him, not liking him even talking about Caroline but I tried to focus on the matter at hand. "You really had to go through all of this? Why not just send me a letter?"
"Not as much fun." The warlock stepped closer, making us all tense but he didn't pay it any attention. "And not nearly as dramatic as I wanted it to be. After all, I'm finally meeting one of my half-siblings. Never got to meet mummy herself though. She was too busy playing queen to give her poor bastard son any attention.
"Attention, however, she so generously bestowed upon all of you. Whereas I got nothing." Niklaus suddenly looked more menacing, eyes glowing gold. "I was treated like rubbish for most of all my life and had no one unlike you."
"It didn't really get to spend much time with my mother," Kol admitted. "She sent me off to another kingdom when I was six."
"To make you a king!" Niklaus shouted, making them jump. "She gave you everything. A name, a family, a kingdom and a bloody princess to marry whereas I got nothing!"
He let out a growl and collapsed on all fours. "And now I'll take away what's yours so you know what it feels like."
He started changing shape before our eyes and it was horrific, bones twisting , muscles arranging themselves to make way for a new form. Hair grew all over his body and when his transformation completed, he gave out a loud wolf. For a large, black wolf was now in his place and he was ready to kill.
I unsheathed my sword, the steel glowing faintly in the moonlight. I was going to battle the beast. I had to be brave. We all complete, I chanted in my head.
"We all complete," I said aloud as the beast moved through the water and towards me. He was horrific, all teeth and claws and I could almost imagine him taking a bite out of me.
I readied to bury my sword into the beast but he swerved past me towards Caroline and in the split second managed to sink his teeth into Caroline's shoulder, eliciting a horrified, pained scream from her. I saw red, fury overcame me as I lifted my arm and my sword embedded itself into the beast's back, making him release Caroline to let out a howl of pain.
He was still alive though and moved to bite me when Jeremy's arrow flew through the air and landed between his eyes, killing him cleanly and instantly. The large beast collapsed down into the water, splashing the water around us. I didn't mind it and moved to Caroline who was already about to collapse.
I took her in my arms and ran to the shore, feeling my heart compressing into itself. I laid her down on the ground to inspect her wound which was an angry and black mess, staining her hair and gown. I tried to keep in the panic but it was hard, fear overcoming every synapse. "Y-You're going to be okay."
Her skin felt too cold, she was losing blood much too fast. "Kol," She said, voice soft. "I'm sorry I-"
"No, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I was so horrible to you. You deserved better, much better than me. I was never worthy of you and I'm sorry you wasted so much time on me." The realization I wasted so much time, all those years we could've had being friends, being more together were wasted was nearly crippling. "We'll get help. Jeremy and I will find someone to heal you and-and we'll go home. "
"Kol," Jeremy was there but he was quiet, knowing the inevitable. "She's dying. There's nothing we can do."
"I'm sorry. I'm just sorry. Please don't go. The kingdom needs you. I-I need you. Please, please, please don't go, Caroline. Please." I felt like crying, tears ready to spill but I couldn't seem to stop talking like maybe if I apologized for every wrong I've done her I'd get a miracle and she would stay. "Please do not leave me, Caroline! I'm begging you! Please!"
But she was closing her eyes and laying limp in my arms and I felt myself breaking. Wanting to save her with every part of my being but knowing it was too late for the fact I was a prince or a future king gave me no power at that moment. I was useless and I couldn't save her.
I started crying, loud, hysterical little sobs and Jeremy looked away, not knowing how to help me, what to do to fix all this. I kept crying and trying to grasp my head around the thought she was dying. The person I loved most was dying and I had been so deficient, so unworthy of someone like her. And if I could've erased myself so she would live I would in a heartbeat.
"Kol," Jeremy suddenly sounded alarmed. "Kol!"
But I realized why he was frantic because Caroline's wound started to glow bright and I could see the wound stitching itself back together, nerves and muscles healing before my very eyes until there was nothing but the smooth expanse of Caroline's skin. I had somehow healed her with my own magic. Colour returned to Caroline's sallow skin, her lips pink and soft once more and those eyes of her, the bluest in the world opened slowly, her gaze adoring and only me. Her smile was soft and her hand cupped my cheek.
"Kol," Her voice was barely a whisper. "Let's go home."
"You are my home,"
And I knew it to be true for she had been ever since she kissed my cheek on the greensward, her scent of licorice and mints. She became my home in that moment. And I always thought my family motto was about bravery and strength in yourself but now I realized it was about other people. For we all complete each other in the end.