8K+! it's been a while since I wrote a long one. Hope you like it as it was fun to write. I like this universe. It's something I haven't done before.

Some of my inspirations for this were Snow Queen (2002), some Harry Potter and Cinderella (2015).

"The Snow Queen au with Kol as Kai, Caroline as Gerda and Klaus as la Snow Queen. Caroline saving Kol" -Pheobetitanessofthemoon1234

I've known Kol Mikaelson my whole life and even before that. My mother liked to tell the story that when I was still in her womb, two-year-old Kol had placed his hand on her belly and I kicked in greeting like a "hello".

It didn't take much for us to become inseparable. His house was right beside mine and we would have conversations at night by writing on the frost on our windows during winter and run off to swim in the lake during summer. He was my best friend and I was his. Even at times when I would find myself admiring the curve of his jaw or the way his eyes were a lighter color of brown under the sun.

He was beautiful. A lovely boy of onyx and cream. And who would not feel for someone like him? With his easy grins and biting wit, I stood no chance.

He was the first boy I noticed as we grew into near adulthood. He was taller, his features more defined and his voice deeper. And all I wanted to do was make him mine. I wanted to belong with him.

I hoped he felt the same.

Esther Mikaelson did not like me. The mother of the love of my life hated the mere sight of me. It used to bother me when I was very young. Her distaste for me for some reason I could not understand as she tried to keep her only child away from me with near ferocity.

Kol's stubbornness and my own are what kept us together. Esther could look as disapproving as she wanted but that would not keep me away from her son. Nothing in this world could do that. It should come to no surprise that when Kol and I snuck out to watch the stars in the meadow, she was waiting in their house for us anxiously.

Autumn was Kol's favorite time of the year, something in him coming alive as the world slowly withered away. He had been born in autumn and his dark coloring matching the season. It was his favorite season. And he loved everything about it.

I had just had dinner with my family when I climbed down the tree outside my window to where Kol was waiting. I shivered in the cold and he rubbed my arms to get me warmer, smiling at me happily. My cheeks were flushed, not just from the cold, and he took my numb fingers in his warm hands, blowing on them and making me giggle.

"Silly girl," He chastised lightly. "You'll catch your death."

"I don't mind,"

As long as he was with me, I never minded the cold.

I intertwined one of his hands in mine and led him away.

When we came back hours later, Esther was furious. I could hear her shouting from our house and I sat anxiously in my room, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on from my window. It felt like hours before the shouting stopped and Kol slammed the door into his room, looking furious as he collapsed on his bed. I waited for him to glance my way and when he finally did, I mouthed, "Are you okay?"

He stared at me for the longest moment before getting up from his bed to move closer to the window. The way he stared at me was unnerving, like he had a secret he wanted to tell me. I moved closer to the window and pulled it down so we could talk but I stopped when I saw that he had drawn his curtains, shutting me out.

I tried to no avail to talk to Kol the next day but the curtains remained drawn and he was absent from school. I tried calling their house but Esther answered each time and coolly told me that her son was indisposed. It was getting cold enough for frost to appear on my window so I wrote little messages on the glass, hoping he would peek just a bit and see them but he never did. I was upset and couldn't concentrate in school, my thoughts occupied with Kol.

I watched their house for days, hoping to catch a glimpse of my friend and it paid off as I saw him sneaking out of their back door one afternoon. I grabbed my coat and sweater in a hurry, putting my shoes on as I descended down the stairs and almost causing myself to fall and break my neck. But I needed to catch him before he disappeared again so I rushed out into the ever frigid weather and ran as fast as I could. Perspiration on the back of my neck felt freezing but I didn't stop, grasping unto Kol's arm with a tight grasp.

"Hey!" I turned him around and he looked surprised to see me. "You've been gone."

He blinked, the surprise becoming something like apprehension, then fear before settling for indifference. "Yeah, I haven't been feeling well."

I noticed it then. His skin had lost its pinkish tinge and his fair skin was so pale, it looked almost grey. His eyes were bloodshot, grey lines underneath his eyes making him look older. He might've lost weight as his cheekbones more pronounced. His lips were chapped and cracked and he shivered underneath numerous layers of clothing like he was in the dead of winter.

He did look ill. He looked like he was…

"Kol," I grasped his hands. I'd forgotten my gloves again and the warm I usually found in his touch was missing. "Are you okay?"

He looked like he was about to answer but changed his mind. He sighed and his expression was softer, wistful, pained. He tucked stray blonde hairs behind my ears and cupped my face, his gaze felt like he was trying to remember what I looked like. Then he leaned in and kissed me.

I would be lying if I said I never wondered what it would be like to kiss Kol. He was the first boy I took notice of as puberty hit and it was easy to see he was attractive. I always expected heat and soft lips and butterflies. I expected it to be perfect.

It wasn't but it was at the same time. His lips were chapped and he shivered against me like he had a fever. The fluttering in my belly was more of dread because this felt like a goodbye. And tears escaped me as I kissed him back and he held me so tightly I thought my bones might break.

I felt weak. I felt heartbroken.

He parted his lips from mine to rest our foreheads together. I looked into his dark eyes and felt fear. He was going to leave, I could feel it. This was a last time.

But why?

"Autumn will be short this year," He murmured. "Winter is going to be long."

"What?"

He shushed me and cupped my chin, tracing my lips with his thumb. "Keep yourself safe for me. Can you do that, darling?"

"Kol, what-"

He shushed me again and gave me one last heart-wrenching kiss before he walked away without looking back.

I hated winter. It was no secret ever since I was six years old and I fell into the pond. I wanted to go ice skating but the pond hadn't quite frozen yet so I slipped on a patch of thin ice and almost froze to death. I could still remember the shock of frost, the horrific pain giving way to numbness before I was pulled out from the dark waters.

I barely survived and never went ice skating after that. Not even when Kol wanted to. I'd just watch him skate around and be ready with a thermos of hot cocoa to share with him. I could not stand snow and ice and waited eagerly for springtime to come.

I hated winter even more this year as what Kol said was true. Autumn had been awfully short before winter had taken over much to the dismay of the townspeople. I never saw Kol outside of his house again but saw Esther a few times. She looked, for a word, exhausted, like she really needed to rest.

Whatever was happening in that house though, I wanted to know. School was already out so I waited for Esther to leave her house one afternoon and snuck in through the backdoor. Kol had taught me which plant they kept the spare key under and I thanked him mentally for his trust in me. The only pet the house had was Esther's grouchy, black cat named Dahlia who always hissed and tried to scratch at me.

We exchanged looks of contempt before I stepped around her and rushed up the stairs. I went straight to Kol's room but found it empty. It was also shockingly messy. Things thrown about like a hurricane had paid a visit there.

Kol had always been meticulously organized making this mess very unlike him. I decided against fixing things up as to not make Esther suspicious. I did try to look around the chaos and find something of importance. There were weeks of homework left undone, random knickknacks and underneath his bed was a small present wrapped in red and white paper, addressed to me.

I took a seat on the bed despite the sheets and pillows being on the floor and pawed at the gift, tracing my name in Kol's handwriting before tearing into it delicately, slowly peeling off the tape and opening the wrapper. It was a black, velvet box. I eyed it for a moment, feeling the texture of it before opening. I gasped at the pendant inside, a golden leaf the size of my thumb's fingernail on a thin golden chain.

It was understated and beautiful. I traced the edges of the leaf, feeling tears wanting to escape me. I let out a sob as I saw the engraving at the back in tiny letters. I am yours till I am no more.

I cried then, taking the pendant out of the case to put it on, touching the pendant's leaf with trembling fingers.

"Kol," I gasped out between sobs. "Where are you?"

"He's gone."

I looked up in surprise to find Esther at the doorway. She looked exhausted like the simple act of existing was too much for her. She didn't look at me with hatred and distrust anymore, her eyes were blank. She let out a breath like her bones were about to disintegrate.

"What do you mean?" I asked, clutching my pendant with one hand protectively.

"Winter took him." She answered, her voice weak. "And he will be no more."

"What?" I got to my feet, rushing to her. I grasped unto her arms, trying to get her to look at me and answer clearly. "Esther, what does that mean?"

"My poor boy," Esther began to cry. "My poor Autumn."

"What?" I was getting frustrated now. I'd spent weeks wondering what happened to Kol and now his mother was babbling like a lunatic. "Why can't you explain properly?"

"My Autumn," The older woman shook her head. "My Autumn."

"What about Autumn?" I practically shrieked.

Esther finally looked me in the eye and there was something off-putting about her eyes, a shade of green that felt unnatural. She looked at me and the pendant around my neck before her eyes alighted with a manic hope. She grasped my arms painfully to the point she might've been leaving bruises.

"You must save him," She hissed urgently. "You must save my Autumn,"

"What about Autumn?" I tried to get out of her grasp to no avail. "And what does it have to do with Kol?"

She smiled at me. "Because he is Autumn."

I was about to ask what she meant before she disintegrated into flowers.

The scene with Esther shook me to the point I was quiet during dinner that night. It worried my parents who'd noticed my increasingly distant behavior but I did not have it in me to assure them that I was alright. The truth is I wasn't alright. I'd been exposed to something mortals were not supposed to know, a secret for those beyond us.

I did not know what Esther or Kol were for that matter but they were definitely not as human as my parents and I were. I failed to fall asleep that night in my bed and I stared into the ceiling as I tried to find some form of oblivion. I glanced at my window and found the curtains drawn at Kol's room again since of course he wasn't there because….

Winter took him.

And Kol was…

Because he is Autumn.

I tried to get Esther's words out of my head. This was beyond my comprehension. This was beyond my grasp on reality. This was beyond my very own existence.

I could not help Kol. I had no idea where to begin. I had no idea what I was even up against. I had no idea how I could save Kol from 'Winter'.

Esther was such a bitch. I glared at the ceiling. She was always such a bitch.

A tapping at my window almost made me jump and I saw a tiny barn owl pecking at the glass. I sat frozen for a minute as the tapping continued. When the window suddenly opened by itself, I gasped and nearly fell off my bed. The owl perched itself on my windowsill and seemed to look irritated at me.

"You could've at least opened the window," It spoke in a man's voice. "Why do mortals seem to not posses any manners?"

"What?" I felt like my heart was about to explode along with my brain. "How?"

"I come bearing a message for you, human girl," He explained waspishly. "From Spring herself."

"What?" I could still not get a hold of myself. "What are you?"

The owl seemed to sigh. "I'm a messenger owl, hence, I deliver messages."

"You can talk!"

"Well-spotted and wow, so can you," The owl seemed to give its equivalent of an eye-roll. "Can we just get this over with? I have other mail to deliver besides this, you know."

I kept my mouth shut, finally able to close it after gaping for so long and nodded.

The owl seemed cheerier and held out his right leg where a small fuchsia pouch was tied to it. I finally got to my feet and cautiously approached the owl that was looking at me impatiently. I untied the pouch from the owl and gingerly opened it. Inside was a light pink lotus flower.

I traced the petals of the flower warily. "What is this?"

"It's an invite for the ball at the Spring Palace."

"An invite? But…." This was absurd. "How can this be an invite?"

"You make tea out of it, obviously," The owl looked at me like I was stupid. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other mail to deliver."

The owl turned around and flew out of my window. I watched as it disappeared into the darkness, wondering how strange things kept becoming. I eyed the lotus flower in my hands and wondered about how this could be an invite to some ball at some palace. Surely, this was all a fanciful dream.

But if this was a dream, then surely nothing could hurt me. I slipped downstairs as quietly as I could as not to wake my parents and made me way to the kitchens. Make tea, indeed. I'd just taken a sip of it before the world fell away around me.

I woke up on the ground, the greenest grass I've ever seen beneath me as cherry blossoms rained down on me. And staring down at me was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She had long flowing blonde hair with a crown of flowers on her head. With blue eyes like the ocean and rosy skin, she looked like a princess.

"Hello, my dear Caroline," She spoke in a soft, lilting voice. "My name is Rebekah. Welcome to my home."

I resisted clutching unto the skirts of the lavender gown Rebekah insisted I change into. We were having tea in the balcony of her room which was three combined suites lavishly decorated in the French-style. On the small but lovely table between us were a series of sweet pastries and fruits glazed with honey. The weather was perfect, not to warm, not too hot, an eternal springtime.

Rebekah gestured for me to pour tea for us and I obliged. She speared a strawberry with her fork and took a dainty bite, licking the juice of her lips. She was so beautiful, it felt surreal. She couldn't be human, surely.

"Um, Rebekah," I started, picking up an éclair gingerly. "May I ask why I am here?"

Rebekah did not immediately answer, taking the time to take a sip of her tea before finishing the rest of her strawberry. I resisted the urge to fidget and just when I couldn't take it anymore, she spoke.

"You are my brother's betrothed," She explains. "And thus, I had to meet you."

"Betrothed?" I echoed, confused. "What do you mean?"

She gestured to my necklace, visible with the low neckline of my gown. "Surely, he explained to you what that means."

I stared at her wide-eyed, clutching the golden leaf with stiff fingers. "No. No, he didn't because he never got to give it to me himself."

Rebekah stared at me for a moment before shrugging delicately. "You still accepted it and are wearing it. It still matters."

"Betrothed, as in engaged?" I tried to make sense of all this. "What makes you think he wants to marry me?"

Rebekah stared at me for a long while before finally sighing and shaking her head. "You really don't know anything, do you?"

I was about to respond but she silenced me with a hand up.

"Kol never told you about himself and our family, I presume?"

I nodded, tearing the éclair in my hand to tiny little pieces. "Esther hadn't been forthcoming either."

"Well, mummy dearest was always overprotective," Rebekah smiled. "How she raved when Elijah and I chose our consorts. It makes sense for her to try and scare you away from Kol."

I was beginning to get a headache and the overall perfection of everything was beginning to get on my nerves too. The remains of the mangled éclair on my plate, I reached for a slice of apple and took a hearty bite. I gulped down my tea and felt myself relax and not feel like screaming around anymore. This family was so horrifically cryptic, it was maddening.

"Rebekah," I said. "Please start from the beginning. Explain to me what you and your family our first."

Rebekah looked off into the distance before nodding and gestured for me to pour us more tea.

"In the beginning, there was only the Sky and Earth, doomed to forever be separated and long for the other. They were allowed only to meet once a year and from their union came children of immense gifts and power. They were called Summer, Winter, Autumn and Spring. As their inheritance, they were allowed to control the earth and skies for a portion of the year.

"All was well until one began to hunger for more. Winter was as unforgiving and cruel as his name and he wanted to coat the world in ice and snow, a forever frost for mankind. He has since tried to overpower his siblings, leeching their power slowly as he gains more powerful over time. Earth tried to hide Autumn in the life of a mortal but Winter found him and now we are here."

I stared at Rebekah, trying to process everything, feeling lightheaded and disbelieving. "Wait, your parents are the Sky and Earth?"

Rebekah nodded.

"Esther is Mother Earth?" I gaped.

She nodded again.

"You and your siblings are the Seasons?"

Nod again.

"You're Spring and Kol is…"

"Autumn," Rebekah smiled softly. "Thus, making you Autumn's Consort."

"This can't be real."

I got to my feet, all the tea and food on the table jostling in my haste to escape. But before I could get through the doorway of the balcony, the vines on the walls moved and barricaded my exit. I gasped at the impossibility before me before turning back to the blonde calmly sitting there and looking terribly bored.

"Now that I've established that I was telling the truth, sit back down, Caroline." She selected a croissant and began to slice it with the golden cutlery. "We still have much to discuss."

That night I stood in the large ballroom of the Spring Palace the aforementioned ball the messenger owl spoke about was a luxurious affair. Men and women were dressed their best in large ball gowns and colorful jackets. Rebekah was the crowning beauty of the room in her sage gown, commanding everyone easily with her lilting laugh. She led me around the room, introducing me to people, most of which were some of the handsomest men I've ever seen in my life.

"And this is Prince Tyler of Lockwood," Rebekah presented the prince who was indeed quiet handsome as he bowed before us.

I curtseyed as gracefully as I could in return. A new song was started by the orchestra and Rebekah insisted I dance with Prince Tyler. His smile was warm as he effortlessly led me through the waltz and we glided about the ballroom like a scene straight out of a fairytale. I felt lightheaded as the song ended and Prince Tyler whispered in my ear, "Come with me."

He led me towards the balcony and I clutched the many layers of my royal blue gown as he looked up into the many stars. "My kingdom is not far from here," He says. "Lockwood is a very beautiful kingdom."

"I have not seen it," I return. "I should like to someday."

"Perhaps sooner than later," He finally turns back to me with warmth in his eyes that leaves me confused. "I am to be king someday and I will need a queen. It would do me a great honor if you would give me your hand in marriage."

The air in my lungs escaped in a gush of air at my shock, my hand reaching up for my pendant that I realized was gone. My hands grasped my neck and finding the golden chain missing. Panic swerved through me as I looked around blindly trying to find it. Tyler asked me what was wrong but I ignored him, running past him and back into the ballroom.

I eyed the mass of swirling bodies on the dance floor and felt helpless. My last connection to Kol gone, I felt like weeping. My eyes were wet with unshed tears before a gentle hand grasped my arm and led me away from the room and out into the hallway. I leaned against the wall and wrapped my arms around my ribcage, feeling my heart about to disintegrate in my chest.

"Caroline," Hands grasped my face and I stared into a pair of forest green eyes, soft and kind. "It's alright. You will be alright, I promise."

"Who are you?" I asked the handsome boy in green. His touch was tender and his voice low as he tried to get me to calm down. "How do you know me?"

I hadn't been introduced to him earlier and with the ballroom filled with people, I did not remember seeing him as well. The kind smile he gave me helped still the storm inside me as tucked stray blonde hairs behind my ears and wiped at the tears escaping me with a silk handkerchief.

He shushed me. "No need for tears now."

"My pendant is missing." I try to explain to him. "It was from someone very special to me. I need to find it-"

"It is safe," He assures me abruptly. "I can assure you for Rebekah has it in her possession."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Rebekah? But why would she-"

"She's testing you," He tells me. "As the children of the seasons will do when one of them has chosen a consort."

"And how do you know this?"

"Because, dear Caroline," He smiled at me. "I am Spring's Consort."

"What?" I stared at him in disbelief while his bright green eyes seemed to be laughing at me. "But Rebekah never-"

"No, she didn't introduce us because she knew I would try to warn you about her plans and end up giving you an unfair advantage," He shrugs. "I wasn't allowed to meet Summer's Consort either until after Katerina passed her test."

I continued to stare at him in disbelief. "Wait, do all of them have Consorts?"

"Just Elijah and Rebekah," He expounds. "And now Kol too, I guess."

"Stefan!" We both turn towards the door to see Rebekah exit the ballroom, hands pulling up her sage gown so she could walk more quickly towards them. She looked unhappy but not quite angry yet, more exasperated than anything. "What did I tell you about staying away from her until after her test is over?"

"But I did, sweetheart," He grinned at her. "And she passed."

Rebekah made an impatient noise. "I know."

"Which means I am allowed to talk to her now." 'Stefan' pointed out. "And that I won our bet. I told you she would remain faithful."

"Yes," Rebekah snootily acquiesced. "Which is good news for Kol."

"What…? Can someone explain to me what this 'test' was anyway?" I finally demanded. "Cause I didn't even know I was being tested and supposedly passed."

Rebekah gave me a look like I was simple. "I am Spring and my season is all about new life and beginnings. I tempted you with several men tonight, all of good station, and could've given you a good life. Your test was to stay faithful to Kol and choose him above a chance at new love."

I blinked at her, reaching up to grasp my pendant but only found it still gone. "My pendant?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes and waved her hand, my pendant was back on my neck in the next second. "You were more enamored with finding that thing than with Prince Tyler. He's quite miffed, you know. He actually liked you."

I happily grasped the small gold leaf and let the relief calm me. I looked up at 'Stefan' who was bantering easily with Rebekah and asked, "How long have you been her consort?"

Stefan narrowed his eyes in thought. "Give or take about a hundred and sixty-two years."

I stared at him agog. "What?"

"Immortality," Rebekah cut in. "Perks of marrying a god."

"Among other things,"

Stefan winked at me before wrapping an arm around Rebekah's waist and pulling her in for a kiss. She melted against him and they moved together like two people who have known each other for a very long time. I could believe it then, the mortal man made immortal to be with a beautiful and iridescent goddess. Stefan could've been some prince (for Rebekah did seem to know a fair many of them) and he gave it all up to be with her. Their love was long and would never end unlike a season.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as a barn owl flew into the window and dropped a small yellow bag in my hands. It was soft leather and I opened it gingerly to find a small hourglass inside.

Rebekah untangled herself from Stefan. "Ah, Elijah's invite."

"What do I do with it?" I held the small hourglass with unsure fingers. "Do I have to make tea again?"

"No, stupid girl," Rebekah scoffed. 'You turn it over and when the sand runs out you will find yourself at my brother's home."

I eyed Rebekah and the boy beside her, her immortal consort and wondered about the life that awaited me with Kol. "Is it worth it?" I uttered the question before I could help it. "This life?"

Rebekah stared at me oddly. "Of course it is-"

Stefan stilled her with his hand on her arm. "She was talking to me."

He moved past her and towards me, grasping my hands holding the hourglass with the gentleness I've now come to associate with him. "It's not easy, especially in the beginning," He tells me sincerely, his green eyes keeping no secrets. "But if you love Kol like I love that beautiful but admittedly crazy girl behind me then it shouldn't matter."

I exhaled as he took the hourglass from me and turned it so the sands began to trickle down at an alarmingly fast rate.

"To answer your question," Stefan whispered to me. "It is worth it."

The last grain of sand fell and the world fell away from me. I woke up on warm sand and the sounds of the ocean, birds flew high into the sky as I opened my eyes to bright and hot sunlight. And standing above me, his face in shadows, the sun behind him must be Elijah. He leaned down and offered me a hand to help me to my feet and I let him.

He was smiling and now that I could see his face, I saw the resemblance to Kol around the chin and eyes. Kol's older brother, Elijah, or Summer himself.

"Caroline," He greeted me. "How lovely to finally meet you."

"You are going to test me," I said to him as we walked down the beach. I was still in my blue gown and it was getting very hot for me. I'd taken off my shoes to help me walk better but the warm sand was almost torture against my skin. "Like Rebekah did. You have some test for me to prove that I am worthy of Kol."

"Of course," Elijah smiled reassuringly. "It is our little tradition. We tested Stefan when Rebekah chose him and they tested my consort as well."

"Stefan said her name earlier," I tried to recall Stefan's words from only a moment ago but found them slipping away like the sands in the hourglass. "I don't remember it anymore though."

"Time moves differently in our territories," Elijah clarified. "What you think was only a moment ago is now hours for my sister's palace. And your memory as you remain mortal adjusts itself to this rule."

"Mortal?" I remembered one part of the conversation easily though. "I will become immortal when I marry Kol, right?"

"Yes," Elijah answered easily and I found that he has led us towards a very large cabin. It wasn't the fairytale castle of Rebekah but it was a cabin large enough to be so, could house dozens of families while not being oppressive for the land's climate. "Caroline, welcome to my home."

We entered the cabin and a striking brunette waltzed down the staircase, wearing a red sundress. She was all brown curls and red lips and this, this had to be the girl that Elijah would choose as his consort. A god would only pick someone of equal magnificence.

"Caroline," Elijah introduced us, pleased. "My consort, Katerina."

The brunette stopped in front of us and smiled beatifically. She was as perfect as a human girl could be I suspect and she looked at me up and down with a raised eyebrow. It made me self-conscious and I tried to discreetly brush off the sand clinging to my gown's skirts. It did no good.

"And you are the girl our Kol has chosen us," She said after she finished inspecting me. She surprised me as she curtseyed low, nearly touching the ground as she bowed before me. "Autumn's Consort will forever be welcomed in our home."

I stared at her in shock before she pulled herself up and pulled me into a hug I did not expect. I reluctantly hugged her back. She whispered in my ear, "Be strong. What lies ahead will be difficult."

I stiffened and was about to ask her what she meant but she pulled away from me and began dragging me away. "Come, Caroline. We need to get you of that dress. You must be dying underneath all that fabric."

I was nervous as I had dinner with Elijah and Katerina. They served a meal of seafood all cooked delightfully well but I could not enjoy it as I contemplated what test Elijah had planned for me. Katerina had told me to be strong and this did not quell my fears that what test I had to face would be frightening. It wasn't until Katerina excused herself that the fear became a cruel dread that coursed through my veins, adrenaline clouding my thoughts.

"Your heartbeat is going so fast I fear you might collapse," Elijah smiled wistfully at me. "Please do not make yourself ill and end your marriage before it has even began. If you die with me, Kol would be much upset."

I let out a big gulp of air and laughed, albeit a little hysterically. "Can we please get to the test? The suspense is what's making me sick."

Elijah wiped his mouth a red napkin before getting to his feet. "Very well. Come with me, dear Caroline."

I followed him quickly as he led us to the large window of the dining room, showing a view of a starless sky. Elijah turned to me and asked, "What do you see?"

"Darkness," I answered.

He let out an amused smile before it disappeared just as quickly. He waved his hand and the view outside the window changed. I gasped as I saw my parents inside our house, sitting in our living room and looking worried. Cups of cold tea were beside them but they paid no attention to those as they talked in hushed whispers, their stares never wavering from the landline phone.

"What's this?" I inquired warily.

"This is the future," Elijah explicated, watching my reactions. "Or a possible one. Like an hour glass, I can manipulate to see between summers past, present and future. This is the summer after you leave your family and marry Kol. They never see you again."

I stared at him in horror and fear. "What do you mean by 'never again'?"

"Nobody said becoming a consort had no sacrifice," Elijah waved his hand again and the view outside changed to my parents looking a decade older, more grey-haired and tired. "To become immortal, you must give up your mortal life. That is the blood you spill and your marriage is the knife."

He waved his hand again and my parents looked to be in their seventies, wrinkled and white-haired and about to give in. My mother, my beautiful mother, slept calmly on her chair as my father, my handsome father, tried to wake her up. And it was to no avail because…

"No," I sobbed out as my father began to cry as he realized my mother was gone and had left him alone. "No!"

"This is your lamb, Caroline," Elijah was not cruel but neither was he kind. "You have to choose. Love is not for the faint of heart."

"It is for the brave," Katerina spoke as she entered the room. "And perhaps, the foolish."

I turned to her tears dripping from my eyes, unable to stare into the mirage of the future anymore. "Is it worth it? This life?"

"You will never growl old," She tells me. "You will never have children and you will watch as everything you know disappears and you wonder if it was all a dream. Like being mortal had just been a fantasy you created for yourself to bear the thought of continuity."

"Is it worth it?" I demanded, feeling I was about to lose it and start crying hysterically in Elijah's dining room. "Do you regret all of it?"

"No," Katerina answered softly. "I loved Elijah more than all of it. He is my reason for being."

I stared at the impossibly beautiful girl and to her summer god and wanted to see Kol more than anything then. I wanted to hold him in my arms and know, yes, he is worth all of it. That yes, he is my reason for being.

"Caroline?" Elijah voiced out quiet but clearly. "Have you made your choice?"

I turned back to the view outside the window and saw that it was showing the past and my mother and I were outside and she was teaching me how to ride a bike.

"I'm not ready," My younger self said to my mom in worry.

"Yes, you are, sweetie," She told me calmly. "You're ready."

And that's when I knew what my choice was, what it would always be. I grasped my leaf pendant, closed my eyes and said, "I choose Kol."

The view outside the window disappeared to show morning and I let out a breath as the sunlight peaked through the glass of the window. Katerina enveloped me in a hug and told me, "Good job."

Elijah smiled at me and nodded in approval. "Welcome to the family, my dear."

"What now?" I untangled myself from his consort and questioned him, determination turning me into steel. "How do I get Kol from Winter?"

"Our brother's name is Niklaus," Elijah says. "And although he is able to hide himself and Kol from us, he cannot ignore the tradition of testing a new consort and he will send you an invite to his home. There you will have to pass his test and then save Kol."

"How do I save him?"

Elijah turned to Katerina and held out his hand, she handed him a bracelet with rubies. A barn owl flew into the room and dropped a small, green pouch in my hands and inside it I found a small peridot ring that must belong to a man. Elijah moved closer to me and put Katerina's bracelet in my hand. "Along with your necklace, you have the token of two other consorts. Proof of our love and devotion, something Niklaus has never felt and secretly craves. Show him the memories and he will let Kol go."

A snow owl flew into the room and dropped a dark blue pouch in my hands. I opened it and found a piece of glass shaped like a snowflake.

"Punctual as always, our brother," Elijah smiled. "Throw that into the ocean and you will find your way to Niklaus' home."

Elijah waved his hand and we were outside the house and at the beach once more. I put Stefan's ring and Katerina's bracelet carefully into the green pouch and turned to look at Elijah and Katerina with a determined but still nervous smile. "Wish me luck?"

"Break a leg," Katerina responded. "Not literally though. It's kind of slippery in Niklaus' castle so you better watch your step."

"Isn't she enchanting?" Elijah chuckled before moving closer and tapped me on my nose. "Bring him home, Caroline."

I smiled and did an awkward little curtsy. "Anything for Summer."

I pulled my arm back and threw the glass snowflake into the sea. A bridge of ice surfaced that seemed to be leading to some place far away. Niklaus was apparently going to make me walk to his home unlike his siblings. What a nice guy.

Elijah seemed to have the same thought because he shook his head and waved his hand, my wine-colored sundress became thick winter clothes. "Good luck, my dear. We are all rooting for you."

It was quite a walk from Elijah's home towards Niklaus' winter wonderland. But as Elijah explained, time moved different within their territories and what must've been hours felt like seconds as I found myself outside a large palace of ice. Even with the gloves, my fingers felt numb as I lifted the huge icy door knocker and the sound of it against the glassy ice door seemed to be swallowed up by the cool winds of a blizzard around me. I waited, resisting the urge to close my eyes against the unforgiving winds until after what felt like an eternity, the doors opened by themselves, creaking loudly and showing me the foyer of a desolate palace.

I stepped inside and as soon as I carefully got down the icy steps, the doors closed behind me, trapping me inside the ice palace. I turned in a full circle, eyeing the giant icicles hanging from the ceiling that seemed to serve as a makeshift chandelier as they glowed illuminating the chilly room.

"Hello?" I called out. "Anybody home?"

"Caroline?"

I turned and saw the one person I'd been searching for, yearning for, standing there dressed like I'd last saw him that horrible last autumn's day.

"Kol!" I ran to him and enveloped him in a tight hug. I breathed in his scent and smelled pine trees and hot chocolate. Which I knew was kind of odd since Kol had always smelled like autumn to me, dried leaves and pumpkin spice, but I was too happy to take much account into this change. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too." He hugged me back and buried his face in my neck. "How I missed you, my Caroline."

"Kol," I pulled back to look into his dark eyes, wanting to weep in happiness. "You're okay. Are you okay? I know Niklaus has kept you prisoner. Did he hurt you-"

"I am fine," He took my hand and placed a kissed on my palm. "We will both be fine now."

I practically melted against him as he enveloped me in his arms, his hands on my hips as he leaned down and kissed me. The warmth I always found in Kol was oddly absent but I was too overjoyed at having him with me to care. He was here and he was mine and nothing else mattered.

"I love you," I gasped against his mouth. "More than anything."

"Do you?" He stopped. "Would you love me even if I wasn't practically a god?"

"Of course," I assured him. "I loved you when you were just the boy next door. I'd love you even if you were a werewolf or a dragon."

"Really?" He kept going. "Would you love me even if I was to not make you immortal and as you age and I remain the same, as I find some younger and more beautiful girl to replace you?"

I felt my heart stutter in my chest, an ache quaking in my ribcage. "But why would you not give us forever when your siblings have done for their consorts?"

He remained quiet and stared at me waiting for me to answer.

It hurt to answer but I had to. "Perhaps, if I could spend a full and happy mortal life with you, I would not mind. As I said, I love you more than anything."

"Why would you do that?"

I looked up at the unfamiliar voice and found a blond man in Kol's place, Esther's green eyes stared at me as he scowled at me in disbelief in anger. "Who-"

"Why would you allow yourself to fade away for my brother?" He demanded. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I love him," I told him forcefully. "As your siblings want you to understand. They gave me their-"

"No," He interrupted me. "I care not for their love and their consorts. I want to know about yours."

I gazed at him for the longest moment, trying to decide what to do and I grasped my leaf pendant and remembered Kol and the feeling of utter completeness I only felt with him. Closing my eyes, I unclasped my necklace from my neck and put it in Niklaus' palm. "This is my love."

He closed his eyes as he grasped the leaf pendant with both hands and I was in awe as images of my memories with Kol began to play out on the icy walls of the palace. I smiled as I watched as start as friends and gradually become something more. It ended with our first kiss that faithful autumn day and I felt teary as I watched Kol in the memory walk away. I wished I had stopped him then more badly then anything.

The images stopped and I turned to Niklaus who was glaring down at the floor, his shoulders stiff. He waved his hand and my necklace reappeared on my neck. With the next wave of his hand, Kol appeared on the icy floor. I ran to him and he looked half-dead, graying and weak, barely able to open his eyes. He smiled when he saw me.

"Caroline," He croaked. "You're here."

"Yes, Kol," I cupped his face in my hands. "I found you."

He laughed weakly. "Did you meet my siblings?"

"Elijah's nice," I answered, my voice wavering. "Rebekah's a little snooty."

His laugh became a cough and I stared at him in worry before I turned to Niklaus who was facing the wall.

"How do I save him?" I asked Winter.

He let out a harsh laugh. "True love's kiss cause apparently love can conquer all."

I glared fiercely at his back and nearly shouted. "Stop messing with me! How do I fix him?"

He sighed irritably and finally faced me, giving me a bored glare. "Tears. A single tear for someone you love can give life back to a dying heart."

Kol coughed again and I worriedly fussed over him, watching him get greyer and weaker before my eyes. He would die here if I could not save him. All I went through to find him and bring him home would be for nothing. The despair that overcame me was too much and fat tears slipped down my cheeks and down to Kol's lips. At the first droplet, color returned to him and he breathed easily.

"It worked," I said incredulously. "He's getting better."

"Well, of course," Niklaus sniped.

I gave him a glare from behind me. "You did this."

He shrugged. "All's fair in war."

"And love." I corrected him.

"That too," He waved his hand and a browning leaf fell from the ceiling and landed on Kol's chest. "Leave now before I change my mind. I'll come for you two again someday and next time I plan on winning. But for now, enjoy your new life."

The leaf on Kol's chest glowed a bright gold.

"Welcome to the family, Caroline."

And the world fell away.

"They'll all be coming to our wedding, you know." Kol pointed out to me as we were cuddled on the grass near the lake. My head was resting on his chest, fingers idly tracing the buttons of his jumper. "There's no escaping them. You'll be immortal and you're stuck with them forever."

"If this is your way of saying you don't want to marry me, you should've thought about that before making me go on that little adventure of having to save you from your megalomaniac brother-"

He shushed me. "Not so loud. He might hear you and send an early blizzard our way because you wounded his ego. He's got a very fragile ego it's ridiculous, believe me."

I rolled my eyes "He's actually a big softie. I mean, all I did was show him my memories of us being in love and he let us go."

"He explained that actually," Kol expounded. "He wrote to me that he let us go because we were so nauseating he wanted to disembowel a polar bear."

"What?" I sat up and gave him a disbelieving look. "You guys are keeping in touch?"

"He's family."

"He tried to kill you to get your power and wants to kill everyone with an eternal winter!"

He shrugged. "Nobody's perfect."

"Unbelievable!" I huffed. "Your family is so weird."

"Yeah, well, after the first day of Autumn where we vow to love each other forever and ever, you'll be one of us." He gave me a cheeky grin. "And then you'll be part of this weird family and there is no escape."

I narrowed my eyes at him and poked him in the chest. "Does that mean I have to deal with your crazy mom?"

He shook his head. "You don't mess with Mother Nature."

I sighed. "You're lucky I love you."

"And you're lucky I love you," He kissed my cheek and slowly inched towards my mouth. "I mean, you are marrying a god."

I rolled my eyes but allowed him to kiss me anyway.