Aurora rolled the coin between her fingers as she watched her brother writhe in pain in the room. A lot of her plans have changed; should she leave the city? Lucien was her scapegoat in all of this. After losing Lucien and her brother, everyone would turn to her for a while. She would have to give the Mikealson the coin; she would get it all back when she killed them all.
"We have it here," a human said, walking into the room. She watched the syringe as the liquid creepily moved in it, and then her brother nodded so the human could inject him with what she hoped was the cure for a wolf's bite.
The effects worked almost immediately as Tristan's skin started to heal himself; his skin brightened to its usual colour.
"How did you cure me?" he asked, stepping close to her, but she stepped away, and the human scurried out of the room.
"That doesn't matter right now," she said, dismissing him. She walked out of the room, hoping her Lucien's witch had completed the spell; she would have used hers, but she wasn't sure how much he could be trusted; she needed to break him first.
Tristan tried to step out of the room but was ricocheting into the wall instead. He got up in fury and called out his sister's name.
"Yes, brother," she answered meekly, batting her eyelashes.
"What's the meaning of this?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting as he tried to push through the invisible wall.
"You are going to stay here while I am outside in the world," she said in a baby voice.
"I don't think," he said, but she laughed and rolled her eyes.
"You don't think that its time for the roles to be reversed; you know what its like to be trapped somewhere, cast aside, and forgotten." she said
"I never forgot you; I always visited and called," he said, looking her in the eye.
"You should have let me be free." She said angrily, "Being locked away just made my mental health worse." She huffed.
"Do you know how hard it is to win this fight and find treatment? No one wants to help me because my brother is too embarrassed of me." she cried
"Aurora." Tristan said it firmly, and she shook her head.
"I did not want it to come to this, but its the only way for me to get a better life; you must all die." She said all the people who were the catalyst for her breakdown would be gone.
"Aurora, please don't do something you will regret,"" he pleaded to her, but it fell on deaf ears. She walked towards the door, where she would collect his blood and announce her brother's death. Then the strix will rush to complete the unsiring spell while she takes the Mikaelason witch.
Freya, Aurora smiled; she would be a nice conquest.
In Bonnie's favorite cafe.
"Hello,'' Bonnie answered her phone; it rang in everyday radio silence. She thought it was Niklaus calling to hear her voice, but she wasn't sure since he shut her out of the bond. She was open to him, but he chose not to do the same. It broke her heart.
Bonnie heard static before she heard the distortion of one hundred voices speaking.
"We are coming, Ms. Bennett, for you and all the other black b*tches you work with," it said. She frowned.
"Who is this?" she asked.
"You know who we are; your family has met us before; this time we will do something more permanent." It said there was heavy breathing before it hung up. Bonnie pulled her phone from her ears and looked over to see where Freya and Finn were. She was glad Finn didn't have his super hearing because this could have been worse. She will work on finding out who made that call, it seems.
For now, she will shake it off and not let it affect her; its likely the person was watching her to see how she would react.
Bonnie heard the door open, looked up, and saw a beautiful mocha skin woman with loose curls that was passing her shoulders. She smiled.
"Freya, can you get that last cinnamon roll for me?" She shouted from across the room. Freya nodded and went to get it. Before turning back and pretending to be on the phone. She wasn't shaken up about the call; it happened more than you think in Mystic Falls. She was used to it, but she didn't expect it from a city like New Orleans, where all the great black witches came from.
She moved and got her bag. "Are you leaving?" Finn asked lowly, and she nodded.
"I have practice with Marcel," she said. He frowned, and she studied him.
"You don't like him?" she asked, his brown eyes burning into hers. His eyes turned black before he spoke.
"I don't see why you want to align yourself with someone like that," he said. She glared at him, which caused him to shift in his seat.
"I understand you have this need to protect me, but that's all this relationship is about," she said. "I did not intend to bring you back that day," she stated quietly. He looked towards where Freya was, but she snapped her fingers to catch his attention.
"Marcel understands the city in a way none of you do." She said she walked up to Freya, who froze when she said she was coming towards her. Remembering why she originally came to counter. Bonnie felt giddy looking at her and the wolf. She smiled and told Freya she was leaving.
"Nice to meet you, Keelin," she told the wolf as she walked away from the couple. She felt Finn follow behind her.
"Who is that?" he asked, looking back to where Freya was still talking to the girl.
"The love of her life," she said before motioning for him to shoo. He nodded and followed her as she walked, before a vampire flashed in front of them. Finn stopped her before she could react by holding her hand. She looked at it, then at him, and pulled away.
She looked at the blonde vampire and recognised her from the day she was leaving campus.
"Aurora, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, which caused her to frown and hold him under his gaze. Bonnie snapped her fingers in front of them.
"You didn't tell me you have a girlfriend f-" he squeezed her hand, stopping her. She looked over to him, but he looked at the woman.
"Well, I see you made a witch friend, but you still have your obligations to me," she said to him. Finn nodded.
"I will walk you next time," he said, before following the vampire in the opposite direction.
She arrived at Marcel's home; he was at his bar talking to another vampire who seemed friendly.
"Bonnie I have missed you." Marcel greeted her; she laughed and dropped her bag to the ground. He nodded at the vampire who had left.
"Not enough to introduce me to your friend," Bonnie quizzed, raising her eyebrows.
"He's nice enough, but your alliances may not be accepted by him." She rolled her eyes at the thought of Niklaus.
He brought a drink over to her along with a piece of paper, which she accepted and read over.
"Trouble in paradise already?" he asked.
"Is it trouble if you don't know what's wrong?" She mused, or Marcel let out a deep belly laugh. She took a sip of her drink.
"Catch me up on what I missed when I was gone," she said, sitting on his chair. He nodded, smiled, and sat.
"So far, I have just been running errands and mostly seen the upper members of the Strix," he said, sipping his drinks, "but from them, I have been able to tell they are working on a big spell; I can feel it in the atmosphere."
"Are they taking you seriously?" She asked. His running errands made her think maybe.
"Don't have doubts about me now; its working perfectly; this is all a test of sorts." He said, "Some of the vampires give me the creeps, not in an older than me way, but like I am that kind of ancient," he said, peering at her.
"You got any hints as to why they would want Davina?" She asked him, looking him in the eye. He maintained eye contact and smiled behind his glass.
"No," he said, and she sighed. He shook his head; Davina refused to talk to him, and the Strix was tight lipped about everything.
"Was there any spell she tried working on that would be of interest?" she asked. He thought for a while.
"There was a dagger for Klaus, but that was with Kol," he said out loud, and then he froze. "She was also working on this spell that would disconnect me from him."
"Disconnect you? As in, break the sire bond." She asked, and he nodded. She felt an ache in her head, which is why the spirits didn't tell her they would benefit from this.
"She never could complete it; she never could find the missing ingredient." He said she got a vision of Kol.
"Would Kol know?" She asked him, and he nodded. This was bad; if they were working on a way to break the bond, that meant they had to discard the Mikealsons.
"Apparently Kol worked with the witches behind Klaus' back—dark objects, spells," he said. She wanted to be surprised because, back in Mystic Falls, he was Klaus little errand boy when he couldn't do it himself.
"Kol, working with witches?" She questioned out loud, "Does this family have a rule to date only witches?
"Yes," he said, frowning. Was Davina working with them to bring Kol back? Even if she knew he was coming back soon, would she still have reason to want the sire bonds broken? Bonnie frowned.
"Would a spell like that work?" he asked, looking at Bonnie as she creased her eyebrows. She sighed.
"I am thinking if I should stop it or not," she said dejectedly, looking at him in the eyes. She looked conflicted. The wind around her seemed to pick up. "She could use that energy to bring Kol back."
"If they are completing that spell, they definitely plan on testing it; we just need to be there for that." He said that, making her think of Hope's toy she found. Are there other Mikealson relics out there made of the same wood? Should she destroy them?
"I will find out on the night of the party while you do your test. Be the perfect distraction for me," she said, and he flashed her a vampire smile.
"So are we continuing your training, little spy." he asked, She laughed and got up and followed him to the room they sparred in.
"Today you will be fighting my friend Josh here; he's a fresh vampire and a bit of a scaredy-cat." he said, introducing her to a brunette vampire. She introduced herself and let the training take her mind off the things she couldn't control.
Three days later
Bonnie stopped the terrible scribbling of the necklace she planned to make for Kamali for her to wake up; she figured that her cousin spirit was in limbo. Trapped from whatever got her from where she was to this house. She figured that a necklace similar to Emily Bennett's would do the trick in helping to ground her back to her body until they figured out a permanent situation.
Bonnie felt him the minute he entered her barrier at the greenhouse as he came to her through the window, watching her fix her hair. She felt nothing from him—not murderous rage, no desire, no disdain, no happiness. She couldn't tell if he had turned off his side of the bond or not. So she waited for him to say something. Why was he avoiding her? They talked about this before she left; he could not keep pulling away from her and leaving her in the dark. If he was done with her, all access to her need to go would be gone; no more of his hybrids would follow her around for her protection.
"Are you going to keep standing there?" She said, breaking the silence, that she turned on her stool to look at him. His hair had grown out, and a hint of a beard was there. She wanted to touch it; she had never seen him look so rugged. She wanted to go up to him and touch him, but he clearly didn't return the sentiment.
He watched her, and for a moment she saw a spark of emotion, but it was gone like she imagined it.
"Bonnie," he said, his voice so soft, like how she had grown used to, but still it was missing something—it was missing passion.
"Don't say anything," she said, getting up and walking up to him. He stepped closer to her too. She took the toy out of her pocket and placed it in his hand. He looked at it and then at her.
"What is this?" he asked angrily, scowling at her. Bonnie took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation.
"Hiwa gave it to me, saying it was Hope's toy; at first I paid it, no mind," she said softly. "You can tell me what it is and why Hope would have that." she asked
Niklaus really studied when she saw recognition flash in his eyes. He looked at her, then back at it, before fisting it in his hands.
"White oak," he said throatily, and she nodded. "All this time I have had," he stopped and looked at her. "Why give this to me?" he asked her. Bonnie's eyes glistened with tears. She tried holding back.
"Why would I give it to you?" She whispered. "Think, idiot think" she said. He stepped close to her, and she stepped back and glared at him.
"I am so fucking mad at you," she yelled. "Weeks, you could go weeks without talking to me, punishing me as if I were some insolent child," she said. He went to speak, but her glare shut him up.
She started pacing before stopping again and looking beyond him; she didn't want to look at him. If he was really going to leave her, her last memory would be him kissing her goodbye.
"You didn't have to approach me; you could have sent one of your people to deal with me; hell, even Hayley, you chased me and asked me out." She said, "I did not ask you for your attention or your elaborate gifts. You could have left me after we fucked, after you kissed me." She shouted, she looked at him, his eyes grew defensive, and his mouth opened.
"You wanted this relationship as much as I did. In fact, you stopped me from ending it." Bonnie said, "I don't understand why you treat me like some bitch you picked up from the street," she said, looking at him.
"Do not call yourself that," he said, getting closer to her and touching her face softly. His eyes gazed upon her face, and she wanted nothing but to hug him. He looked as if he had lost something precious of his." She looked away from him, letting her tears fall.
"I don't regret being with you but it seems like you do." she said, she tried to calm herself.
"If you think something happened between us and it cannot be salvaged, I get that, but if its just your fear of losing me, people die every day. Nik, hell, you even assisted them with it; you volunteered to do it with me before, so I am not seeing the -." Bonnie stopped when he came close to her and held her chin. She trembled in sadness. She melted at his touch, and he looked sad, like he looked wounded.
"I could be the death of you, Bonnie." He said it weakly, and she shrugged. She knew that his name sent shivers across the supernatural community; all hated him and most feared him. She knew that she could be used for revenge for the crimes he committed, but she did not care.
"I understand that," she paused. "I understand the risk," she told him, touching his stubble. He took her hand and held it, pulling her towards him as he sat on her stool.
"Bonnie, the people that hate me aren't like Damon and Stefan; there are far more powerful people with more influence in the world." He said he was looking up at her
"You are a powerful witch, but you are human, and there are rumours of us, and if the wrong person caught wind of it, they would kill you because they cannot kill me." He said, and she rolled her eyes.
"I have faced villains worse than you, baby; the vampires your siblings were created are child's play to me." She said she was putting her hands in his hair. "If they catch me, it will be on a bad day but I still wont die," she said
"You can't guarantee that," he said, feeling powerless to her and the world. He could not be away from her; the bond made them connected; he could not imagine being miles away from her and not knowing what was on her mind or seeing her smile. Touching her and kissing her.
"But you leaving me while your hybrids still stalk me will ?" She asked, "Baby, all that would do is make you miserable, because trust me, I will find a way to move on." she said
"So what is it? Cause I'm tired." She said that he noticed through the bond that she was always awake through the night.
"I cannot bear to be apart from you; I missed the way you smell, your smile, and the feel of your magic intertwining with me." He said this while taking her hands and kissing them. "I close my eyes, and you are there. I am in the noisiest parts of the city, and I swear I hear your voice calling for me."
She laughed, and he glared at her.
"I am so scared of losing you, Bonnie, and yet when I stay away, you are everywhere," he admitted. His voice broke in a way that she had never heard before. What will happen when she's truly gone? His eyes sting with tears.
Bonnie sat on his lap and kissed his tears before kissing his lips. She placed her hands on his stubble. His body warmed hers; his arms wrapped around her waist, and she stared deeply into his eyes.
"I can't promise you anything, but I will try to live as long as possible," she offered. She wasn't promising to become a vampire, but if there was another way, she would take it.
He accepted it for now and kissed her. The need he had for her when he first saw her in New Orleans was still there, but now he loves her too. He felt he might drown if he ever fell in love again, but she kept him afloat. He could be himself completely with her—murderous Klaus, moody Klaus—the Nik Rebekah knew, and she did not have a preference; he did not feel the need to be someone else for her.
If he lost her, he would have lost his safe person. He pulled away from the kiss, watching her catch her breath and feeling her hands in his hair.
"Are we good now?" she asked, looking into his eyes. He nodded. "Good, take off your jacket and watch me sleep," he obliged. He settled into bed, and he watched her sleep peacefully throughout the night. He thought of the irony that he helped her sleep well without being deeply affected by her visions, and he was once part of those nightmare visions.
He closed his eyes, wrapped his arm around her, and thought of the white oak she gave him.