Sophia's POV
I woke up just after sunrise and snuck into Nik and I's old room looking over at the bed seeing him still asleep as I went into the closet to grab a change of clothes seeing as I still had majority of my clothes here and they looked to be remained untouched so I quickly grabbed a pair of black leather jeans, a black sleeveless shirt with gold accents on the shoulders and grabbed some heels quickly changing into them before I went to leave seeing as I wanted to talk to Stefan and Damon, they had to know what I'd found out but when I turned to the bed it was empty making me stop and look around.
"Your behind me aren't you?" I asked feeling his presence.
"Good morning my love" I flinched a little in surprise when I felt his hand caress the side of my neck moving my hair to the side.
"Good morning and goodbye" I replied moving myself away from him before I allowed myself to be seduced and tempted by my own libido.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To talk to my twin" I responded over my shoulder. "I'll see you tonight" I added with a small smirk before I headed out going back to the Boarding House walking right in to see my brothers already sitting in the front sitting room facing each other.
"Sired...really Stefan?" Damon asked him and I raised an eye since clearly Stefan had figured it out as well and already told Damon and clearly my twin was in denial. "That is the most pathetic nonsense I've ever heard come out of your mouth and you've said some crap in your day"
"Actually he's pretty on point brother" I cut in making them turn to me as I walked into the room and took a seat next to Stefan.
"It was your blood that turned her right, I mean, she's been different since day one because of you, you can't deny that"
"Sure I can, I finally got Elena to a good place about being a vampire you two idiots can't stand that she's happy because of me"
"All right, you know what...prove me wrong, tell her it's ok to drink from a blood bag" Stefan suggested and I nodded my agreement since it'd be the best way to prove our point.
"She can't, her weird doppelganger body rejected the blood from the bag" Damon argued and I rolled my eyes since that wasn't even statistically possible since I doubt Katherine has never drank from a blood bag.
"Right because you told her to, you said she had to drink warm human blood straight from the vein she almost died to make you happy" Stefan argued.
"Just ask her to drink from a blood bag Damon" I spat giving my twin a look since what did it matter if it worked and didn't work.
"Make sure you tell her how happy you'll be if it works and if I'm wrong, I'll be the first to apologize" Stefan added.
"When her body rejects this blood, which it will...your apology better be epic" Damon finally agreed before he stood and walked out of the room to grab a blood bag and test our theory.
"So how'd you figure it out?" I asked Stef once Damon was gone.
"Caroline actually did, apparently Klaus had said something eluding to the idea at the pageant"
"Yeah he kind of helped me realize it as well" I nodded letting out a sigh before I turned towards the door watching Damon leave with a blood bag seeing him glare at us and I raised an eye since I had the feeling I was missing something, he was acting differently. "Alright Stef, you better go you've got school" I smirked towards him and he rolled his eyes at the patronizing tone in my voice before he got up and walked out of the room.
I laughed a little to myself before I grabbed a bottle of Damon's bourbon before I went to the library figuring I'd curl up with a book not really having much else to do and was actually enjoying re-reading Wuthering Heights for the thousandths time when I heard Damon suddenly barge in making me look up watching as he immediately started going through trunks.
"What are you doing?" I asked dropping my book and standing up.
"Elena's sired" he said right as Stefan walked in and I looked up seeing his look. "You two were right, I was wrong"
"Can I get that in writing?" I asked almost laughing with the fact that Damon just said that, even as humans trying to get him to admit he was wrong at any time was like pulling teeth but he just glared up at me before turning to Stefan.
"Happy?"
"No I'm not happy but what are we gonna do about it?" Stef asked him.
"Well I'm working on it" Damon replied and I raised an eye. "Here" he held out something towards Stefan. "Remember that?" I frowned stepping closer to Stefan to look down at the photograph and my eyes widened a little remembering that street anywhere.
"New Orleans" Stefan nodded and my brows furrowed as I wondered when the hell they were in New Orleans, given I'm pretty sure I would have known given I lived there for over 50 years.
"1942, to be exact" Damon added and my frown grew since if Mikael hadn't of shown up than I could have found my brothers since we were run out in 1919, of course I found Stefan in 1922 but I didn't remember that until recently no thanks to my husband.
"What was in New Orleans in 1942?" I asked looking back and forth between them.
"Other than bourbon and beads, Stefan and myself...dear sister" Damon replied making my frown grow as I looked down. "Where were you then?" he added and I looked up trying to remember but seriously Nik and I travelled so much back then to avoid Mikael it was hard to keep track.
"No idea, been a lot of places all over the world Damon" I shrugged crossing my arms over my chest.
"Oh, yeah" Stefan suddenly nodded looking down at the photo. "What was the name of that girl you used to hang out with?" he asked looking up at Damon.
"That was no ordinary girl that was Charlotte, she was crazy about me from the minute we met, so of course when she asked me to turn her into a vampire, I did" Damon replied and I rolled my eyes.
"Really Damon?" I questioned but he just shrugged and went on to tell us about this Charlotte and how she killed a man just for touching Damon's drink which he'd told her to show anyone that did 'no mercy' and clearly she had taken that quite literally.
"That was my first clue" Damon finished holding up his bourbon.
"She was sired to you" I nodded realizing that was the point of him bringing up New Orleans and this girl.
"And I can only assume you took full advantage of that until you got bored of her, right?" Stefan added and I scoffed at the judgement.
"More like when she went all 'fatal attraction' on me, then I had to make a clean break"
"How'd you do that?" Stefan questioned as Damon turned and rummaged through another trunk.
"Ah...here" he said holding up an old coaster and gives it to Stefan.
"Who's Valérie LaMarche?" Stefan asked reading the words on the back of it.
"The witch that I found to help me break little Charlotte's sire bond" I raised an eye since that was convenient. "Pack your bags baby siblings, we're going to Bourbon Street" I looked up a little hesitant since I'd vowed never to go back there after what happened but like I could leave these two knuckleheads alone and I had to face that city eventually right.
"Great" I mumbled knowing my mind was made up and I went upstairs to grab some things real quick and found myself itching to call Nik to tell him where I was going but I quickly squashed that idea and pocketed my phone zipping up my bag before I went downstairs seeing Damon and Stefan already waiting in a taxi so I hopped into the back and we were off to New Orleans.
It was a 7hr long drive cut with the tension of being in a small space with my brothers before we finally reached New Orleans and I couldn't help the ache in my chest as we got out of the taxi and started walking along the main throughfare of New Orleans looking around seeing as usual the streets are packed with people partying and it was hard not to smile a little with fond memories.
"Well the city is the same, just brighter" Stefan spoke up and I scoffed since they would have loved this place in when I lived here.
"Have you been back here since '42?" Damon asked turning to Stefan.
"Nope, not since I shipped off to join the war effort and you didn't"
"Somebody had to entertain the ladies who had been left by their menfolk"
"Ew don't make me throw up Damon" I scoffed before his phone buzzes and he looks at it.
"Elena is at the house with the girls where she can't get in trouble, bad news...think they got into the Dom, told her to make herself at home" he shrugs and I roll my eyes since some of that wine is centuries old and clearly not going to be appertained by a bunch of teenage girls.
"Yeah, you told her so she does, right?" Stefan spits bitterly.
"Sire bond is not that literal, Stefan"
"Actually it is" I argued and he turned to frown when I'd spoken against him.
"Really, name one thing that you've asked her to do that you haven't gotten, huh"
"You know what I haven't gotten?" Damon spat arguing. "Blame, guilt...I get it Stefan, I get that you're pissed that Elena dumped you because she has feelings for me, bet you blame the sire bond for that, too"
"Yeah you know what, I absolutely do" I rolled my eyes at Stefan's reply since they were both blinded when it came to Elena when really she was just a bitch and a slut.
"Why, because it's impossible to think she could have feelings for me?"
"No, because it's impossible for her to be so blind that she doesn't see how wrong you are for her" Stefan spits and Damon stares at him for a second before he leaves.
"Nice one Stef" I scoffed and he sighed.
"Hey wait Damon, I'm sorry" Stefan quickly apologized and Damon stopped turning back towards him.
"What'd you say?"
"God you two are acting like babies" I spat rolling my eyes at their childish bickering and started walking past them since I just wanted to find this spell to break the sire bond and get the hell out of this town.
"I apologize all right...as much as I hate this sire bond thing, I shouldn't take it out on you it's not really your fault" I heard Stefan say as they followed me.
"Well, don't get all warm and fuzzy on me yet" Damon added before he stopped and I did to turning to see him looking up at the building in front of us. "It's where the witch lived"
"What, you weren't expecting to find the same exact witch in the same place" I spat since that hadn't been the plan I'd hope.
"No but since I couldn't remember where the store was, figured I'd get us a start" Damon argued and I sighed shaking my head at him.
"Maybe there's another place to start, you think Charlotte might be in New Orleans?" Stefan asked.
"Yeah, maybe" Damon shrugged.
"Where's the last place you saw her?" I asked crossing my arms in annoyance.
"Corner of Bourbon and Dumaine, kind of told her to count every brick in every building in New Orleans and I'd meet her at the corner, I was gone by the morning" Damon told us and Stefan nodded and began to walk off. "Where you going?" Damon asked him.
"Corner of Bourbon and Dumaine, see how literal the sire bond is" he turned to say before he continued on and I sighed sharing a look with Damon before we started following him.
"No way is she gonna be in the same spot after 70 years" Damon complained as we stopped on the right crossroads.
"So what are we gonna tell Elena?" Stefan asked him and I frowned since I know we were here to break Elena's sire-bond but did her name have to come up every five minutes.
"I was hoping we wouldn't have to tell her anything" Damon replied and I scoffed out a laugh since that always went well for men, lying to women never bode over well they just had to ask Nik.
"Well, we can't just lie to her" Stefan argued.
"It's not a lie, it's an omission for the greater good"
"Oh I see, I see that's Damon speak for, 'let's not do the right thing, let's just do what's right for me'..."
"Oh what about you, o selfless one, are you doing what's best for Elena or what's best for you because it looks to me like the only reason you want to break Elena's sire bond is to restore her original factory team Stefan settings"
"Seriously you two" I cut in glaring at them.
"I'm gonna go get a drink, hunt me down when you stop being a dick" Damon spits and I turn to Stefan giving him a look and he holds out his arms in a 'what?' gesture, I rolled my eyes before we both turn hearing a struggle and rush around the corner seeing Damon on the ground right as he throws his attacker off himself then gets up right as we made it to him.
"What the hell just happened?" I asked checking Damon over for any wood or wounds sticking out of him.
"She kissed me" Damon replied and I raised an eye before we all turned to the person and saw it was a girl.
"Damon I always knew you'd come back for me, I must have counted literally every brick on every building in all of New Orleans" my eyes grew even wider with understanding that this was Charlotte.
"Literally every brick?" Stefan asked her but she ignores him and puts her arms around Damon's shoulders.
"Uh Charlotte..." Damon frowns trying to pull her arms off him. "Please tell me you had a full life and that you've done something other than counting bricks?" Damon asks her.
"Of course I have, I'm not crazy" she replies and I raised an eye since if that was the case why was she still here.
"Then why are you still here?" I asked her and she turns towards me.
"You know when someone breaks up with you and there's a song that reminds you of them?" she asks and I frown but nod since I had that problem right now. "First, you hate it but then it brings back all the good memories of them, counting the bricks is my song and I've been playing it for decades"
"That's a really long time stuck listening to the same song" Stefan replies and I scoff rolling my eyes.
"Yeah...well you know, in the plus column, you know New Orleans better than anyone in the world" Damon spoke up looking at charlotte and I frowned since I doubted that "Which is really nice because we need your help finding someone"
Damon asked her who we were looking for and Charlotte directed us to a shop before Damon told her to meet wait for us here while we headed of the store walking in seeing a dark-skinned woman behind the counter.
"Can I help you, gentleman, ma'am?" she asked us.
"Hi, looking for a witch" Damon spoke up straight away and I rolled my eyes since we didn't even know if this was a witch shop despite its looks and this being New Orleans which I knew from a previous life that witches are pretty much were fleas in this city. "Sorry, no time for pleasantries" Damon fake apologized.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand" the woman frowned.
"Look...Nandi, is it?" Damon asked looking up at the sign behind the counter. "Let's skip the part where you pretend like you don't know what we're talking about, we need a spell that could break a vampire sire bond, now there was a witch here named Val, ring any bells?
"She was my great-grandmother" Nandi replied.
"She had a grimoire and it had a spell" Damon said and explained what spell it was and the fact that it had required a sacrifice.
"A sacrifice?" Stefan asked looking straight at Damon. "You brought me here knowing that the spell required a human sacrifice" I turned to Stefan since he really was Saint Stefan still, we've all done bad things and human sacrifice wasn't that far a stretch or cause for a freak out.
"Well, I was hoping the recipe had changed" Damon argued and I scoffed since did he really believe that.
"Look there's no magic like that here, I sell herbs and homeopathic remedies and dress it up with a little witchy-woo for the tourists, but I don't practice" Nandi argued and I frowned.
"Ok, fine just tell us where we can find someone like your great-grandma who can break the sire bond and won't flake out on us like old Val did' Damon argued back.
"There's no one, all of her stuff is gone...the grimoires, her journals we lost it all during Katrina, if a spell like that ever existed it's gone for good"
"Witch is lying, doesn't practice magic my ass" Damon ranted as soon as we left the shop and started walking away back towards where we'd left Charlotte and one look at her she was counting bricks again so clearly we were wasting our time with this witch anyway since it's clear the spell didn't even work.
"Human sacrifice, did you really think that I would go for this?" Stefan exclaimed.
"Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures"
"Did you kill those 12 people in 1942?" Stefan asked him.
"Absolutely I did and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant a clean slate with Elena" Damon replied and I smiled a little since I could agree with that except the part with Elena. "Are you gonna help me good cop/bad cop this witch, or not?" he asked looking at Stefan making my smile drop.
"Thanks brother" I scoffed and walked off leaving them to it and I started walking around letting every bit of nostalgia settle in as I recalled every moment spent in this city, the good and the bad since there was much of both but it had been the happiest I'd ever been and being here in this city reminded me why I fell in love with Nik in the first place because he fought for this city, he protected it from anyone that wanted to tear it down and that passion is what I fell in love with despite all the things he'd done to achieve that task, I'd stood by him through all of it and I let a silly secret get in between us when he'd simply done the same thing, he'd kept the secret to protect me and his family from Alaric.
Come morning is when I finally met up with my brothers and Damon had went into a bar with Charlotte to set her free in the only way he could which was by telling her that they'll never see each other again which was the only way around the sire bond since no spell was going to break it.
"So she really said Damon has to leave Elena, that's the work around for the sire bond" I asked sitting down next to Stefan on a bench while we waited for Damon.
"Yeah" he nodded and I frowned since I kind of felt sorry for Damon, I had seen that he truly felt something for Elena but this was probably for the best, they could both move on. "Do you think he'll do it?" he asked and I turned meeting his eyes.
"Yes I do because whether you like it or not there is something between them Stefan" I replied and it's clear that's not what he wanted me to say but it was the truth and before he had the chance to say something else we saw Damon walking towards us.
"How'd it go?" Stefan asked him.
"Set her free" Damon deadpanned.
"Must've been hard, doing the right thing especially when it's not something you want to do" I turned to glare at Stefan since did he not hear a word of what I'd just said.
"Get to the point Stefan, you don't think I'm gonna be able to do what I need to when I have to tell Elena to stay away from me"
"Well I mean, selflessness isn't exactly one of your most obvious character traits, Damon"
"Stefan" I spat rolling my eyes since they couldn't help themselves.
"Yeah...well, one of these days, you're gonna realize you don't know me half as well as you think" Damon replied and I noticed his eyes get a far off look.
"Alright you two, I for one am over this city" I lied taking one last look around the city I'd once called home. "Let's get back to Mystic Falls" I started to walk towards a taxi but they didn't follow and Damon told Stefan about how his friend Lexi convinced Damon not to go to war with Stefan before Damon finally started following me.
"I didn't know about that" Stefan admitted.
"Yeah well next time I'll hang a billboard" Damon remarked sarcastically.
"I know it may seem like I'm being unfair about this, like I'm upset about losing Elena to you and I am but after all this is over, if she never feels the same way about me as she used to, at least it'll be her choice" Stefan replies and I roll my eyes yet again that their every thought was of precious Elena.
"The dreaded c-word, I know what I have to do Stefan" Damon huffed sliding into the taxi and I followed sitting in the middle after Stefan slid in and it was back to Mystic Falls.
While Stefan returned to Caroline's and Damon was going to the Boarding House to do what he had to do and I had to do what I had to do so I went home to Nik's mansion letting myself in walking into Nik's art room finding him working on a painting but he stopped when I walked in.
"Where have you been?" he asked and I frowned walking over to where he stored the alcohol and poured myself a glass of whatever was closest and sculled it down before sighing.
"I was in New Orleans"
"What?" he asked and I turned around to face him before I told him everything that had happened and he actually listened without any input.
"I actually feel a tiny bit sorry for him since I'm not stupid, he has feelings for Elena and I couldn't imagine doing what he has to" I finished admitting as I sat down on the couch.
"I know how you feel love" he nodded sitting beside me. "So how did the city look?" he asked and I couldn't help smile.
"Pretty much the same except for brighter lights, the music was the same and the entire atmosphere felt like home again" I told him and he smiled putting his arm around the back of the couch. "Actually being there reminded me of you"
"Me?" I nodded.
"It's the city where I watched my best friend fight for the city, where he protected it from anyone that wished to tear it down and it's where I fell in love with and married said best friend" I smiled at him turning slightly so that I was facing him. "I remembered everything you did which included omitting truths in order to protect the things you cared about and while I hated it back then as well I still fell in love with you because I could see past that annoying quirk of yours to the very best in you and if I can do that then, than I should be able to do it today"
"What are you saying?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.
"Do I have to spell it out for you Niklaus?" I remarked before moving to sit in his lap and he immediately accommodated the change in position placing his hands on my waist. "I, Sophia Mikaelson am willing to forgive you, but you continue to lie to me and I'll-" he cut me off pressing his lips to mine to shut me up and I laughed a little against his lips wrapping my arms around his neck as I pressed myself against him grinding my hips against his. "I love you Nik, always and forever" I smiled and he actually smiled back before he crashed his lips back onto mine and I felt his hands on my ass before he stood up with me wrapped around him and the next thing I knew I was being thrown onto a bed.
