"This is not going to be enough."
Lucy Bennett's eyes rolled at Katherine's—preschool obvious—assessment. Damn right, killing the Martin witch wasn't going to be enough. Nature wanted her cousin dead and Klaus. Body dropping Greta and her jackass driver meant nothing in the grand scheme of the game. The revolutionary war between Nature and the supernatural rebels would still jump off without a fucking hiccup.
"You think?" She allowed the sarcasm drenched verbal jab to slide easily from the side of her mouth as she readjusted herself in the passenger seat of the stolen Porsche.
Katherine gave her major side-eye. "Keep talking to me wrong, Lucy, and Nature will have her dead Bennett witch. Maybe not the one she wants, but you'll still be cold and stiff just the same."
"Bitch, please come for it!" Lucy jerked her head around to face Katherine full on. She'd had enough of her best friend's super greasy mouth. "Klaus will be the last of your motherfucking worries. By the time I'm done blazing your ass, you'll be sparking brighter than the night sky on the fourth of July."
"Look, this back and forth is nonsense," Katherine snapped, while chancing her a glance. "Not only do we still have a Klaus sized problem on our asses, but Nature's going to want it on sight when she finds out you didn't get his body."
"Yeah well, I'm not the only one fucking up," she mumbled, while rolling her eyes to glare out the window.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Why's my cousin still alive, Kat?" She bit out. "How difficult can it be to body one tiny witch who doesn't know her own magic from static electricity?"
"Oh suck me dry, Bennett. You try putting hands on a witch who has the entire original family shoved up her snatch," Katherine growled. "Hell, even Damon Salvatore is running interference. He saved her you know." The volume of her voice soared. "Had it not been for his annoying thirsty-,"
"Fuck your lazy ass excuses, Katherine! No one wants to hear your bullshit tales of almost. Not me and damn sure not Nature."
Lucy folded her arms across her chest on the subject. If they didn't make all of their chaos go to plan soon Nature threatened to send her baby sister on a one way trip to the other side. Which wasn't at all surprising, seeing as the Bennett's had been on the mother of all's shit list since the dawn of magic.
She couldn't count how many of her relatives had caught their cut by unnatural means. The Bennett's departure from the living read like a Final Destination script. Each death was more ridiculous than the last. What could be said other than Nature was a petty bitch who didn't forget a damn thing?
"Bitch, I'm done," Katherine's head swung from side to side, "Your cousin is going in the ground tonight. Maybe if we sideline her, the mother of all things trivial will be satisfied and move the hell on to someone that's not us."
"See, now that's your got damn problem right there. You're always trying to half-ass some shit, and then hope for the best." She tore her gaze from the window to glare at Katherine. "Her emissaries ran us her orders kindergarten style. Kill Bonnie and bring her Klaus. Period! Anything other than that is going to get my sister snatched to the other side and you..." She jabbed a finger at the brunette, "well I don't exactly know what your motives are for doing any of this. What the hell does she have on you anyway?"
"Don't even! You're my bitch and that's all the motive I-," the vampire's eyes flared, and then narrowed on the road ahead. "Shit."
Lucy tore her glare from Katherine's profile to regard the windshield. Two dark figures draped from wigs to footwear in Harry Potter cloaks stood in the middle of the street. The moonlight at their backs outlined their frames, making it hard to see their faces. Her eyes rolled closed. Fuck! Their time was up.
"Where will your journey meet its end?" Ayana questioned as her soulful browns scrutinized Esther's unlined but clearly worried face.
The younger witch raised and dropped her shoulders. "Sister, I know not."
"Well lay your fears to rest. All will be revealed at the just moment." Ayana offered Esther an encouraging smile. "However, if you're seeking guidance in your travels, then Thalia should be your initial sojourn along the way," she took Esther's hand. "Though she may already suspect, you should enlighten her on the prophecy. Asides, there are no greater allies than family and if we are to engage the mother of all in battle it would not do us great harm to rely upon Thalia's sorcery for assistance in our endeavor."
"Ayana's counsel is strategically sound, mother. It is never too premature to begin fortifying our cause," Elijah said, while moving to position himself at his mother's side. His gaze then discovered Bonnie's and held. Under his consideration the scratchy potato sack she wore became unbearable, her hands moved to claw at her chest. "Which escorts us to initiating the foretelling."
"And how are we to provoke the prophecy, Elijah?" Henrik questioned from his opposing side of the hut.
"By merging the Bennett and Mikaelson's magical lines," he answered with his gaze still fastened on her. "Which of my siblings is to wed your Bonnie?"
"A prophecy cannot be instigated afore it is readied and Bonnie may not be the prophesized Bennett in question," Ayana countered.
"W-what?" Bonnie sputtered as she broke free of Niklaus' hold, while scratching at her underarms. "But-,"
"Aye." Ayana slammed brakes on her protest with a raised hand. "Bonnie's sorcery is indeed matchless. She, however, may very well be the product of both our families."
Like hell! There was no way—in the Terrence Howard—she was related to the Mikaelsons. Hell, the things she'd done with most of the members of the family could get her arrested and committed after that. Nope, Ayana was gonna have to snatch that one back and try it again.
"Granted," Her gaze skipped from Ayana to Esther and back. "I may not be the prophesized Bennett witch, but there's no shitty way in hell I'm related to the Mikaelsons. So how about we move it right along to the next topic." Her pointed stare swung to Elijah. "Once you run across the Bennett from the prophecy—whether it's me or a distant relative—Niklaus will get it in on the night of her quickening. Once he ordains her magic, his wolf and sorcery will be unbound."
"Such claims are fanciful?" Esther gasped with a face full of disbelief. "Why, Kol's sorcery is unrivaled. What was the title you bestowed upon him, sister?" Her bulging stare flicked to Ayana.
"Prodigy." Ayana supplied without pomp.
"Prodigy!" Esther blustered a bit, before managing to continue. "If anyone is to take charge in the battle against nature it would be he!"
Annoyance tooted Bonnie's lips. She loved Kol's filthy underwear, but Esther needed to chill on Niklaus. "If it's a lie then you'd be the one who told it." She spun on her heel to consider Niklaus. He stared back with radiating eyes that roasted every inch of her face. She swallowed and attempted to pull her thoughts together as she scratched at her thighs. "Once you've ordained the witch's magic, you'll be able to sire immortal witches, wolves and awaken the traits in others who suffers from the affliction of vampirism," her eyes moved back to Esther, "or so I've heard."
"If said witch is not you, then I will not have her, little witch." He pushed one of her—on the fly—waves behind her ear, and then cupped her cheek in his palm. Without a hint of shame, she nuzzled his hand.
"Halt! Niklaus will be able to assist us in reclaiming our deviltry?" Kol shot to his feet and slayed their moment. His face was more hopeful than she'd ever seen it.
Her head bobbed. "Yeah, that's what Mrs. Mikaelson says."
"What? I have never-," Esther began.
"The other Mrs. Mikaelson…you know, the thousand year old you…" Bonnie wanted to say, the ready version, but she allowed it to hang over them unsaid.
Esther's mouth fell open, and for the first time since Bonnie had met her, the Mikaelson matriarch ran the hell out of words. She didn't even attempt to sound out a letter.
"One thousand summers hence! Mother still subsists?" Finn addressed her for the first time. "How can this be true? Does she inflict this curse upon herself?"
Her eyes lowered more out of habit than respect. She then gave her brain a mental shake. This wasn't master Mikaelson. At least not yet. "No, she's still a witch-,"
"Enough," Ayana clucked her tongue, "It will not bode well to speak of forthcoming risings. Basing deliberations upon impending occurrences will only serve to upset the path Fate has already set." The elder Bennett witch then extended her hand to Esther and Bonnie. "Come, we must sanctify this gathering, so you all may resume readying yourselves for travel." Kol moved to take her free hand. "Many apologies, Kol. You are no longer a witch, your current aura would distress the sanctification rite." Her gaze then snapped to the youngest of the Mikaelsons. "Henrik, come."
As Henrik took possession of Bonnie's hand, she couldn't force herself to tear her regard from Kol. He looked as if his world had been snatched. Did some stupid sanctification rite (whatever the hell that was) mean so much to him? Once Ayana completed a lyrical chant, and the prayer circle dispersed, Bonnie moved to follow Kol from the hut, but Ayana held firm to her hand.
"We should share words that journeys no further than you and I," Ayana said as she watched the last of the Mikaelsons exit the hut.
When they were alone, Ayana dropped her hand and hurried over to retrieve the sage candle. She began waving it around the exit, once satisfied with whatever the hell she'd done, she replaced the chunk of wax by the makeshift door.
Bonnie released a sigh before attempting to shove her hands into her back pockets. Her palms, however, greeted the harsh material of the potato sack dress she wore. "So who do you think the prophesized Bennett will be?" She asked, forcing conversation.
Ayana stared at her as if she'd just told her about space aliens who got off on probing lady parts. "Do not be witless. You are the Bennett Witch of the prophecy."
"But you just said-,"
Ayana flapped a hand in her face that halted her words. "That was for their benefits." She jerked her head over her shoulder. "They need to seek out and safeguard every Bennett Witch who dwells in clandestine places. It is the only course of action which will ensure your conception."
Bonnie's eyes narrowed as she tracked each expression that tugged at Ayana's attention grabbing features. She sensed there was another reason the older woman insisted on speaking to her alone. "Speak your mind, Ayana. What is this private meeting of the Bennett Witches really about?"
"You will eventually have to pilfer their memories of you," Ayana said as she clasped her hands together in front of her. "The task should be carried out the summer afore you are conceived."
Bonnie's eyes slipped closed, before she said the only thing left to say. "Fuckery, fucking, fuck!"
"And once they're hard, I'm gonna bite them." Rebekah's eyes rolled closed at Stefan's whispered promise next to her ear. A moan pirouetted from the split of her lips as he continued. "But not hard, though. I'll nip at them with just enough pressure to make her squirm for more." He drove his fingers deeper into her, while massaging her pearl with just the right burden of added stimulation.
"Her breasts are quite succulent, Ripper," she whimpered. The walls of her core clenched around his plunging digits. "Wait until you see the dark chocolate tipped lovelies. You'll adore her as much as I do…if not more," she finished in a gasping whisper.
She felt his head incline in a nod, while he nuzzled her neck. "I'm gonna bend her over and fuck her right in front of you." He increased the speed of his fingers and she came nigh close to ripping strands of hair from his scalp. "As my dick slides against her soaking wet trembling walls, she'll scream both of our names. Over…" He added another finger and all the ties and fastenings which held her together began to come undone. One after the other. "And over…and-,"
The double doors to the yellow tea room slammed open. "Rebekah."
Bloody Elijah! He stood in the entryway with an arched brow, while remaining ever judging. His critical glare travelled over her and Stefan. The compulsion to pluck out his eyes captured her unawares.
"Blast it, Elijah!" She seethed as the building force of her orgasm declined to nil. "This room is very much so occupied, brother."
Elijah ignored her and strolled further into the tea chamber. "Do you perchance know where Bonnie may have misplaced herself? We were meant to engage here, yet I don't sense her anywhere about the house."
Elijah wandered over to the wet bar. Bloody hell! Her eyes rolled until they crossed. He intended to linger.
"That's because she's not in the house," Finn said from his seat in a dark corner of the room.
Her brows snapped together. When the devil did he make an appearance? She swatted Stefan's hand from under her cheerleading skirt. Upon reflection, perhaps she should've selected attire more fitting of her mother's favored tea room. Yet, Stefan so adored when she donned her cheer team garb.
To maintain some semblance of demureness, she began to straighten the pleats of her skirt, while attempting to dismiss the sight of Stefan lapping at his fingers. She cleared her throat as a distraction of sorts.
"Why would you concern yourself over Bonnie's current whereabouts?" She dragged her fingers through her hair as she perforated Finn with a disdainful glare. "You've never went to grand lengths to disturb yourself over those who proceeded her."
"It is my allocated day to prepare, Ms. Bennett. She's nigh four hours in arrears of our appointed time," he said with an utterly expressionless face. Were it not for the slight snap of his teeth his mounting anger would've journeyed by unnoticed.
She and Elijah exchanged quizzical glances, before she returned her scrutiny to Finn. "You're taking part in Bonnie's preparation as well?" Each word left her mouth in a slow and measured crawl.
"Not that it's any of your concern, Rebekah, but yes. Mother and I thought my involvement would do the witch well. She is in grave need of refining. Why, her propensity to verbalize the most vulgar phrases demands my rather," he raised his chin and proceeded to peer down his nose at her, "unconventional talents."
Unconventional talents? She chuckled. Finn applied the very meaning to carnal oppression. She couldn't recalled the last time her eldest brother sought out female companionship. Why, he could very well be the world's oldest virgin.
"Well, I for one find my eternal lover's shocking terminology obscenely refreshing. And I'd maim anyone who endeavored to alter her," Kol said as he entered from the verandah doors. His pets Celeste and Amerie were tucked away under each of his arms. He glanced about, his eyes narrowed on Stefan before moving on to complete his survey of the room, "Speaking of which, where pray tell has my paramour gotten herself off to?"
"It would appear her whereabouts have become a rather thought-provoking conundrum," Elijah said, while preparing himself a tumbler of scotch. "No one seems to have a clue as to the where's of Bonnie's location at present."
"What do you mean no one has a clue?" Kol unwound himself from his pets and they scampered off. His blistering stare then strove to incinerate Elijah.
Rebekah released a sigh conceived from sheer frustration. "Oh compose yourself, Kol. As you well know, Bonnie insists upon a modicum of privacy. I'm sure she'll be along shortly."
"Brilliant, Bekah. What a clever girl you are! Why not lend the witch her blessed privacy so that she may be slaughtered without the threat of interruption?" Kol zipped towards the door, only to halt short of trampling their mother.
Unconcerned with their near collision, Esther hammered her youngest son with a well-aimed glare. "Explain, Kol."
Kol stared beyond their mother into the corridor outside the door. Anxiety consumed the deceptive calm he often exuded. While trepidation marred his ever apathetic expression. Apprehension practically oozed from the pores of his face. In fact, his reservations came to be quite catching. The condemning effects provoked her sluggish heart beat to quicken.
What if her dove was indeed in danger? Elijah and Finn must have each arrived at the same conclusion, for her eldest brother abruptly discovered his footing, while the noble one relinquished his tumbler to the bar in favor of fastening Kol with a discerning glare. All of their ears were primed for a justification of Kol's rather uncharacteristic cautiousness over another's welfare.
"I will not inquire again, Kol," Their mother vowed as her sorcery flared.
He wrenched his barbed scrutiny from the corridor to ensnare their mother in a thorny patch of urgent madness. "I haven't any time to entertain explanations."
"Make time, Kol," Elijah insisted in a deliberate tone which tolerated nothing to the contrary.
Frustration set Kol's jaw in an immovable clench. "Bonnie's mishap involving her pushbike was no mishap at all."
"What?" Their mother's unblinking stare hurtled to Finn as her palm sought out the talisman resting on her bosoms.
"An unnamed vampire compelled the blond bit of fluff, many refer to as Carol, to-,"
"Caroline," she corrected.
"Who bloody cares, Rebekah?" He growled.
"What of this Caroline, Kol?" Finn demanded as his hands fisted at his sides.
"The unnamed vampire compelled the chit to force the witch off Wickery Bridge," he spun to regard Stefan. The urge to rip her boyfriend to bits shone bright in his calculating eyes. "I am to meet with the elder Salvatore this evening for the identity of said vampire. Until which time, Bonnie was not to be left to her own devices. At least, not until I had the opportunity to relieve the sodding jester of his head and heart."
"You, fool," Finn hissed. "I have a mind to dagger you myself."
Elijah slid his hand into the pocket of his trousers. "Why are you only now informing us of these pitiable state of affairs?"
"That's bleeding great, Elijah. Interrogate me while Bonnie is butchered by her would be assassin," Kol snapped.
"Keep hold of your anxieties, Kol. Perhaps she's occupied with Niklaus," Their mother craned her neck to gaze at her. "Did you not say your brother was quite taken with Bonnie, Rebekah?"
"Nik? Impossible." Kol whirled about to face their mother. "Why, he's lazing about with the Martin witch in the South of Fran-," his mouth slammed shut, before a sneer borne of scorn seized his lips, "Bloody Marcel indeed! Did everyone but me know Nik had inhabited his adoptive son's unremarkable body?"
Bonnie left Ayana's hut weighed down by everything the elder witch had dropped on her already buckling shoulders. At some point within a year or two of her birth she'd have to take the Mikaelsons' memories of her. It was the only way to preserve the timeline and ensure their meeting would take place without even an inch of deviation from the original script.
Which was probably why they didn't remember her, but then again she had yet to cast the spell. Or…had she already cast the spell and just couldn't remember. Maybe she was just dreaming of shit that had already happened. Damn, this time traveling thing was confusing as limp dicks!
Before she could give more thought to her issues, various emotions cleaved her from her musings and tore her a new one. Rage, fear, self-hate, and dejection crashed into her. All stabbing her from different directions. Although each emotion demanded acknowledgement only one had her ready to do serious harm to herself. That's the suicidal vibe she followed deep into the woods until she came upon a cave. The sound of a sledge hammer routinely meeting stone floated from the opening.
Taking a deep breath, she entered the cavern. Inside, sparks shot from her fingertips without any evocation on her part. Aquamarine flames landed in a makeshift fire pit. Soon after, the explosion of light singed away the oppressive darkness to reveal her beautiful monster. Kol had positioned himself near the back of the cave. He'd adopted a classic boxer's stance as he repeatedly drove his fists into the cave's stone wall like it was made of nothing more than leather and sand filling.
Chunks of gravel fell from the ceiling and littered the ground. Dusty residue clung to the air, creating a thickened atmosphere. His face was in full vamp mode, yet she saw through the anger to the searing pain that manipulated his facial muscles. It was the type of ache which thrived deep within, gnawing at the core until it redefined all that a person was or would be.
Unable to take his distress, she threw herself at his back and embraced him from behind. Before she secured her hold, he had her pinned to the wall by her neck. Although her magic swelled and whipped at her insides, she still did nothing to protect herself from his anguish fueled fury. Instead, she watched him without a twinge of fear, while waiting to accept his next move. Was she insane? No, she trusted him no matter the end. Even if he decided to make a gory mess of her.
When his bloody red eyes met hers, they stood there for, seconds, minutes, maybe even hours locked in a visual moment so emotionally charged it stole intimate pieces of them and offered the embezzled parts to the other.
After what seemed like an eternity, Kol fell to his knees. He wrapped himself around her lower half, while burying his face in her skirts. The first of his body shaking sobs knocked her dumb and left her at a lost as to what he needed from her. Each gut twisting wail introduced a new facet into their established relationship. It gave birth to an entirely new dynamic she found herself struggling like hell to understand.
She tangled her fingers in his hair and gently massaged his scalp. "Kol," she whispered. Her voice shook from the effort of attempting to hold back her own tears. "T-talk to me, Toots. Tell me what's wrong and I swear I'll burn this bitch to the ground if it means making things right for you."
He laughed. The sound was harsh and beyond broken, but it was still a laugh. "Your depraved tongue warms me without end, Sweetness," he uttered in a hoarse thickened tone. In a graceful shift, he gave her enough space to sink to her knees. "Yet, you cannot repair what is so thoroughly fragmented within me." He hung his head as he slightly angled his face away. "Niklaus spoke without error, my mother has crippled us all. I now lack the most fundamental part of me."
"Your magic." she murmured.
His mournful browns reincarnated her in their sights. He rested his forehead against hers. "For who am I without my sorcery?"
"A big fucking part of my everything." she answered. Her nose and lips grazed his.
A hint of the smirk she'd come to know and breath for shoved at the corner of his mouth. "Ah, so I am not incorrect in thinking we are lovers in your impending summer." His arms snaked around her waist, and then dragged her closer to his chest. "I always supposed I would pilfer away the little witch Niklaus spoke of so incessantly. The same witch who fled with my heart, the same day she captured my sibling's."
She cradled his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "What?"
"I was present the day you came tearing from the woods to smite my father." Her mouth fell open and he gave her an indulging smile. "Who do you think slickened the ground? It was meant to be a jest, yet had I known father would arrive prematurely from his raid, I would have never…" His voice trailed off as a remorse flooded his eyes. "I followed when you absconded with Niklaus. I even witnessed you flicker from reality after you abandoned him to the white oak."
His admission snatched her wig. He was there? "Kol-,"
"I vowed then to have you for my own," he continued in a rush of words, almost as if he were afraid to stop talking long enough to gauge her reaction.
She attempted to wipe the shock from her face and force playfulness into her voice. "Please, you couldn't have been no more than five or six. I like my men to be at least out preschool before I drop 'em into the pros."
"Perhaps, but once you perceived my sorcery-," he broke off, before snatching his forehead from hers to glance away.
"It wasn't your magic that had me choosing, Toots," she placed a hand on his cheek and urged his face back around to hers. "You owned my ass with just a look, your sorcery be damned." His eyes narrowed at the damning of his magic. She sighed. "But since you wanna be a bitch about it, we can share my magic until Niklaus is able to restore yours."
"How is that even remotely-," he began, but when she unleashed her magic and allowed it to flow freely into him, the potent energy shut his ass down.
A gasp tore from the back of her throat. Thank gawd she was already kneeling, because the extension of her which circulated throughout him weakened her knees along with every other joint within her body. Runny need gushed from her pop rocker, hot and ready. Just as it always did when it came to him.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to stare a gift horse in the shitter, Toots?" She managed to force through the slits of her teeth despite the unexpected blow out hanging ten on the fucking horizon.
He bit his bottom lip as his squinted stare zeroed in on her mouth. "I never assumed I would sense potent sorcery hurtling through my person again." In a flash and a whirl, her back met the cave floor right before Kol's body settled on top of hers. "You are bewitching, sweetness, and I mean to possess your heart, body and sorcery."
"You already do," she whispered.
He moved to claim her mouth and the damn donkey broke loose. A female scream slashed through the forest and penetrated the opening of the cave.
"Tatia!" He whispered. In seconds, Kol was off of her and helping her to stand. Without permission he yanked her into his arms bridal style, and then zipped them from the cavern.
Soon after, they came upon a monster sized grizzly bear ripping Tatia a better one. Her screams shredded their eardrums until they simmered down to a gurgling sound. Before she could yell at Kol to do something a blur and a gush of wind shot pass them. A tenth of a second later, the bear lay scattered over the forest floor in pieces.
Within moments, heart slashing sobs sent night creatures scurrying through the grass and tree leaves. The gut slaughtering sound blew chunks out of her peace of mind. She'd never before seen anyone wail like their world had collided with the sun.
Elijah fell to his knees and cuddled what was left of Tatia's remains to his chest. As she and Kol stood by still not believing what they'd just witnessed, Esther rushed passed them, dropping to the ground next to her second eldest son. Grief and magic swirled about her as she wrapped her arms about Elijah. Soon they began to rock while she whispered to him. Bonnie could only make out a few words here and there, but each uttered sentiment she heard was more comforting and indulging than the last.
After several minutes of standing around and feeling more awkward than an impotent man standing in the center of a whore house with nothing in his pants but air and an empty bottle of Viagra, Esther glanced up at them.
"Bonnie, see Elijah to his quarters. Kol…" her eyes flicked down to Tatia's shredded to hell body and back to Kol.
His eyes rolled and a sigh burst from his lips before he released his hold on her hand to wrestle Elena's dead ringer away from a distraught Elijah. Once Kol had the body in his possession he zipped away. When the elder brother moved to give chase, Esther placed a somewhat calming but mostly restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Allow me to prepare her, my child." She pressed a kiss to his forehead before she stood. "Now permit Bonnie to lead you back to your abode. I will send for you when she's readied. And do not misremember, what I spoke of this eve." With that said, Esther hurried away in the direction Kol ran.
Unsure about what else to do, Bonnie sat in the spot Esther abandoned. Taking care not to touch the grieving vampire, but sharing in his heartbreak just the same. Her fucking soul ached. His pain infected and disabled her. It rippled through, snatching the air she breathed, while disrupting the routine beat of her heart.
They'd never make it through this. Not alone, never alone. Together was the only way they'd thrive. However, for the life and death of her she didn't know how to build him into the self-assured and very capable vampire she knew him to be. He wasn't her Elijah, yet a piece of her still belonged to him. And no matter how broken he appeared to be, she'd hold him together even after he was able of doing so himself.
Swallowing the bitter fear of rejection, she cleared her throat and took his hand. Her fingertips expelled low hums of electrical jolts. He didn't even flinch. "Where do you live, Elijah?"
He remained silent. After several minutes slithered by she gave up on him answering and then, "I no longer wish to live…or be."
"Elijah!" His whispered confession took shots at her.
"Without her my reason to exist has fled, what meaning could the world offer now that its greatest wonder has departed?" He angled his face in the direction Kol disappeared as he heaved his way through the last of his now dry sobs.
The sharp jagged edge of his verbal blade entered her heart with wicked difficulty. Yep, the blow would definitely leave a mark, but she had to get the hell out of her feelings. He didn't even know her, or what they were fast on their way to becoming. No, he'd just lost his wife. This was fifty-eleven fucks away from being about her. Giving herself a mental kick in the ass, she stood and allowed her magic to help pull him along with her.
Once on his feet and without a further word of encouragement, he began to lead her through the forest at a slow pace even for a human. Nearly thirty minutes after they started out, they ended up at the makeshift door of a hut substantially smaller than the family hut and Ayana's. Minus a word to the damn first, he entered and she followed without an expressed invitation.
Inside, he collapsed on a pallet of animal furs and then snatched up what appeared to be a worn cleaning rag. Fresh tears pooled in his eyes as he buried his face in the shabby material. The intimacy of the act forced her to avert her gaze. The wound in her heart flared a little wider.
"She was with child," his voice quivered almost as if it fatally injured him to speak the words. Her gaze swung to recapture him in her sight line. He now stared straight ahead at nothing while clutching the tattered dress in his hands. "She conceived before my father and mother…" a pair of lifeless dull browns found hers. "When I returned this moon rising, I discovered her attempting to flee. She branded me a monster, and said she would protect the babe even if she had to place a sea between her and I. Her first child was taken by her slain husband's clan." He swallowed and grimaced, before continuing. "She could not abide losing another."
"Is that why she was running through the woods? She was running from you?" Bonnie crossed the hut in a few steps and sat next to him. Not giving a damn about permission she took his hand, while trying with everything in her not call Tatia a stupid bitch out loud.
"She was afraid of me," he admitted.
Crazy as hell is what she was!What sane woman would leave the comforts of her home in the dead of night to run through a fucking forest (of all places) while pregnant? Now she saw where the hell Elena's stupidity stemmed from. If the dumb bitch wasn't carrying Elijah's baby, Bonnie would've said, her carbon copied ass got the smoke she was looking for.
"Yeah that may be so, but her death wasn't on you, Elijah," she stroked the back of his hand with her free one. The ridged set of his lean muscled form relaxed a bit. She stopped fighting what felt natural to her and lay her head on his shoulder. Almost as if automatic he rested his cheek on hers. "Had it not been for that bear-," he tensed, so she changed courses. "Eventually, she would've accepted you. How could she not? There's not one natural law I wouldn't break-," she squeezed her eyes closed. Damn, damn, dayum! He didn't need this from her. Especially, not right now. "Look, I'm gonna leave you alone to get some rest before we chuck deuces to Mystic Hell."
She moved to stand, but he held tight to her hand. "I am not blind or indifferent to the longing in your eyes when you look upon me. Are we…intimate in your impending summer?"
"Very," she reaffirmed with an unwavering stare.
He sandwiched her hand between both of his as tears leaked unchecked from his eyes. With a shit load of effort, he tried to force an imperfect smile on a set of perfectly disinclined lips. "Then I will attempt to greet the next rising with a shadow of hope."
Katherine slammed on brakes, and the car screeched to a halt an inch or so shy of making road kill of the two figures. Lucy exhaled her frustration, before opening the passenger door of the car. Her mind flipped through a hundred different excuses, yet by the time she made it to the front of the vehicle she hadn't come up with one good enough to explain away their botched mission.
"Mother is not pleased with you," one of the two cloaked figures spoke.
"She's given you a multitude of time to carry out her wishes, yet you stink of incompetency and failure," The other more masculine emissary added. "I thought the Bennett line was known for results."
"Child," The slender figure of the two, smacked her lips. "You mean they were. Now it ain't enough of them left to play a round of poker. And don't get me started on the state of their magic. It's a wonder they can still even light a candle."
Get the fuck out of here! Lucy tempered the strong urge to spark their not so anonymous asses. Who the hell did they think they were deceiving? She recognized each of their pathetic magical signatures, before she slid from the car. They both were no more than supernatural scavengers, preying on naive witches to supplement their own lack of power. Well they had the right one at an even better damn time, because she was holding it down just for them. The only question left hanging in the air was if they were bad ass or stupid enough to come get it.
"We've dealt with the Martin witch, now we-," Katherine began.
The masculine figure cut her the hell off. "You've dealt with no one. Greta Martin still lives."
"Impossible," Katherine's uncertain gaze flicked to her for reassurance. "The witch is dead, right?"
Lucy folded her arms across her chest as mocking smile played fast and loose with her lips. "She will be soon enough. I hexed her, and there's no, to be continued's, once someone's flesh has been branded by a Bennett hex." Her smile doubled in size. "Isn't that right, Jonas? Exactly, how long did it take your wife to wither and go stiff after my aunt Sheila bodied her deranged ass with a hellified curse?"
"You better watch your tongue before you mess around and lose it, Miss Thang," The slender figure said as she cocked her head to the side.
Lucy laughed. "And who the fuck gonna snatch it, Gloria? You?" Her eyes rolled to consider the older witch as her chin rose in challenge. She allowed her magic to flare. When Gloria remained silent, "Hmph, that's what I thought."
"Bitch," Katherine ironically hurled at Gloria, while wearing the bitchy smirk Lucy hated the most.
"Enough!" Jonas Martin yoked her attention back to him. "Spare us the bravado, Lucille. You and I both know this little tantrum it's for naught. You're not going to do anything, not while Mother holds your sister's life line in the palm of her hand."
Gloria snorted as her hand landed on her hip. "In the game of chest I think they'd call that a check, Miss Thang. Now the only move you have left, is the one Mother tells you to make."
"Bring Mother the hybrid and your cousin's head." The hood of Jonas' cloak fell from his head, putting the fanatical crazy swirling in his eyes on full display. "Fail again, and not only will you forfeit your sister's life, but her soul will be destroyed as well."
Slowly, awareness sharpened Bonnie's senses and aroused her slow to comprehend mind. Something was off, but not entirely wrong. No longer did she lay upon a pallet of animal furs which covered an unforgiving hard ground. Instead, her body sank into the inviting softness of a pillow top mattress. Two rigid bands of muscle held her to an equally solid chest. Although discernment was slow it eventually set fire to the dim brain cells which hadn't quite computed the obvious context clues assaulting her intelligence. She was back in the twenty-first century with Marcel.
He stirred behind her, and despite the sadness she felt over Elijah's grief a smile crept across her face. The memories of their time together flared to the fore front of her mind. Shame on every damn thing! Why did Marcel have to be sooo fucking amazing? Just about everything about him and them knocked her head back. From their entertaining back and forth to the tip of his teasing tongue, he had it all. Her included. There's no way in, Joseph Morgan, she could two step away from him.
She felt him sit up. "Where the hell am I?" He demanded, a couple of octaves from all out yelling.
"How the shit break am I-," she rolled over and her words ran the hell out. Until the spirit of a dead sailor took possession of her tongue that is. "Who the donkey are you?! What in the fuckery did you do with, Marcel?" She snatched the bed sheet to her chest and proceeded to try and cover her bits and niblets. Seriously, who the fuck was this vampire?
"Don't play bayou dumb with me, witch! Either you tell me what the hell is going on here, or I'll drain your ass and ask somebody else."
He reached for her neck with a clawed hand and snatched back a fist full of aquamarine flames. This time he did yell, in fact he screamed. "I'm gonna fucking end your little evil ass." He growled once he was finally able to breathe through the pain.
"You'll have to catch me first, pretty boy." She jumped from the bed, making a dash for the room door.
"Oh, no the fuck you don't."
Marcel appeared in her path and cut her off from escape. He made another grab for her. This time both of his arms burst into flames. The howl he released nearly impaired her hearing. Not knowing a damn thing about the ins and outs of vampire anatomy, she rolled the fucking dice and kicked him in the sand bags. His wail abruptly came to a stop as his eyeballs almost popped from their sockets. "Four!" Shoving him from her path, she took advantage of his momentary incapacity to race from the room only to collide into a wall of muscle.
She glanced up and a sight which was a gift to all aching eyes around the globe filled her vision to the brim. "Kol!" Her gaze fell to her bed linen clad body, before returning to his. "I can explain all of this." Marcel's shrieked curses exploded from the other room. "Okay, well maybe most of this."
"So what you're imparting is, you accompanied Marcel to his cottage and you…conversed for a bit?" Bonnie jerked her head yes hoping to rush past the part about Marcel making a meal out of her. "Then you were overcome with exhaustion."
"Yes." She pressed herself deeper into Elijah's side. "After all the…talking I could barely keep my eyes open."
Finn scoffed. He then ensued to condemn her with a hatemaker from his post behind Esther's wingchair.
Rebekah hummed as she served her up a huge portion of the side-eye. Which was fucking epic, seeing as she practically sat in Stefan Salvatore's lap on the opposing love seat. "We're all well aware of your unwavering afterglow habits, Dove."
Kol simply snorted, but kept hold of her hand. While Esther and Elijah refused to acknowledge the obvious. Embarrassment cooked Bonnie's cakes to a, drier than sand, well done. The last place she wanted to be was in the yellow tea room of Mikaelson House on an undersized loveseat wedged between Elijah and Kol and being drilled with nosey ass questions by Esther in the most passively aggressive way possible.
"What's this bat shit about you hurtling through time while you slept?" Stefan had the balls to question. Apparently they were King-Kong sized too, because he did so while stroking Rebekah's inner thigh.
She jerked a thumb at him. "Why the fuck is he here?"
"Do not misremember yourself, Miss Bennett," Finn reprimanded in a tone that had no business being utilized outside of their butcher shop.
Rebekah leveled her with a glare that nearly snatched all the skin off her nose. "Stefan has pledged his loyalty to the family and me."
"Don't you mean you compelled his loyalty, sister?" Kol snarked, before bringing their joined hands to his face. He then ran his nose along her wrist, inhaling her bit by painstaking bit.
"Shut it, Kol!" Rebekah snapped.
"Rebekah doesn't have to compel my loyalty, it's already unconditionally hers." A taunting smirk raw dogged Stefan's mouth.
Esther released a well-earned sigh, while uncrossing and crossing her legs at the ankle. "How often have you dreamt of the past, Bonnie?"
"Since the night of the Founders' party." She answered.
"You should've confided in mother before now, Miss Bennett," Finn said, while placing a hand on Esther's shoulder.
The elder witch, covered his hand with hers. "It's perfectly fine, Finn. Bonnie isn't obligated to disclose every facet of her life to me. She's entitled to her skeletons in the cupboard."
"Me not telling you about my dreams had nothing to do with me wanting to keep," she made air quotes with her middle fingers, "skeletons in the cupboard. I didn't say anything because I was confused. Hell, I still am!" A frustration inspired exhale dashed from her mouth. "None of it makes sense. Here I am actually pheening for a vampire I have yet to meet. The very same vampire who's supposed take my virginity and blow out my back as he ordains my magic." Her head swung from side to side. "That shit is fucking bananas and everyone in this room knows it!" Her glare flicked to Stefan. "Even the slow one gets it."
"Defensiveness will not serve you well here, Bonnie. My dear, you are not under siege." Esther moved to the edge of her chair and leaned forward just so. Her non-accusatory tone calmed a majority of Bonnie's frustrations. "If you're agreeable, then please, describe your visions to me."
The tenseness in her shoulders relaxed a little. It relieved her that Esther hadn't referred to her jaunt through time as a dream again, because if she was flooring it above one hundred, she'd come to believe her escapes to the past were anything but. "Which one?"
Esther's gaze travelled to her hand. "Is that the Bennett Talisman?"
"What?" Bonnie glanced down at the amber crystal still clutched in her palm. Somehow she'd forgotten all about the fuck ugly thing. "Oh, this?" She shrugged. "It just keeps showing up."
Esther rose from her chair and closed the distance between them. She extended her hand. "May I examine it, Bonnie?"
She dropped the Talisman in her hand without the benefit of a second thought. Soon as the crystal touched her palm, Esther dropped like Mayweather had KO'ed her ass. Before any of them had a chance to respond, the splintering of wood and clattering of metal sounded from the foyer.
A hysterical bellow followed. "MOTHER!"
Everyone save Finn, raced from the tea room to the foyer. Bonnie, being the last to arrive, slammed to a stop when a half-naked Niklaus carrying a bloodied half-dead girl corrupted her field of vision. Her heart bounced like a fucking basketball in her chest. It was really him! And she didn't know what the hell to do with herself. When the sizzling blue fires burning in his frenetic stare landed on her (lordt help her) she almost burst into flames. She was done! Just done!
Niklaus' next words, however, tampered her urge to spontaneously combust with an ice cold verbal smack down to the grill. "You will save her, little witch. For if you don't, I'll devote the rest of my immortality to making sure you suffer firsthand the weight and agony of my loss!"