07: The Story of Us

[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. February 19th, 2020. 5:49 pm]

She felt grateful for Elijah having spoken to her parents about how she choose to live, that she was responsible and that she had a good influence on Kol, for which he was grateful. They weren’t too pleased, however, that they had to wait until their rehearsal dinner for Bella to explain to them that life was different now. How different it truly was.

Kol had returned after arranging some last minute details for the wedding tomorrow, and he wasn’t too pleased with how Bella’s parents had criticized her for her being ‘irresponsible’. He apologized to them for not telling them they had a baby and taking away their ‘first grandchild joy’, without any prompting from Bella. “In all honesty, we’re quite confident now that you’ll be safe around our daughter. Maybe it was a good thing we didn’t inform you,” he said as he took a bite off his food.

“Excuse me?” Charlie stammered as he put down his fork and looked at Kol. “How can we not be safe around your daughter, Ka- Kol?”

Bella had to smile at that. It had been a slow process, but after telling her father that it had been a prank; that Kol had originally thought it would be funny to change his name because he was bored of it; Charlie had finally started to break the habit of calling him Kaleb. It made things so much easier. “Because our daughter is the product of two powerful witches, Dad,” Bella said with a big smile on her face. “Anything could have happened while she was just a baby.”

“It’s not like I would have dropped her or anything,” he grumbled as he took a sip of his wine. His ex-wife startled him by saying ‘Aha!’ maybe a little bit too loud. “What?”

“I knew it,” Reneé said as she looked at Bella. “You said it was just a story, the one of us being descended from a long line of witches. But it’s not, is it?”

“No,” Bella smiled at her, glad that her mother at least remembered the story.

“Oh my god, I knew it! I knew that I was something special, you know how I can get, oh, that is amazing! What can I do?”

Bella watched in amusement as Klaus’ face turned sour and her mother getting more excited about the possibilities. She let her ramble on for a little longer as she polished off her place and then decided to burst her mother’s bubble. “Mom, you’ve always been flighty and awesome. You’re my mom; your superpower was raising me. You were the vault.”

“I thought your grandmother was,” Reneé felt a little bit disappointed.

“No, it was grandpa’s line.”

“Oh drat,” she sighed and then looked at Bella. “You’re a witch?”

“Yeah,” she smiled at her mother. “And so are Kol and Nina. And Hope, but she’s also a part vampire and part werewolf.”

Reneé’s eyes grew big. “Vampires and werewolves are real too?”

“Yep, watch this,” she said as she moved her hand to lift up her glass without touching it.

“Bella,” she gasped before following the glass as it flew towards Klaus, who caught it so fast, that Reneé thought she was watching the scene unfold on fast forward. “Uhh…”

The color had drained out of Charlie’s face as a sudden realization came over him. “There’s something up with the Quileutes too, isn’t there?”

“Yes, dad.”

“Oh, I don’t want to know,” he groaned as he rubbed his eyes. “Why did you tell me?”

“Because, there will be a lot of supernatural guests at our wedding tomorrow. They know that it’ll be safe for them to be out in the open within these walls. It’s better for you to freak out now than tomorrow,” Bella smiled at her father as the server poured him something stronger than wine.

“Also, I think that knowing all this, Bella’s life makes a little bit more sense now,” Phil added as he pat Charlie on the back before looking at Bella. “But the next time you’re pregnant or have a baby, you inform us right away, got that?”

“Yes, Phil.”

[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. February 19th, 2020. 10:30 pm]

Nina was having a sleepover with Hope and Uncle Klaus as Bella and Kol had decided to go along with Rebekah’s ‘crazy’ ideas about having a traditional wedding, no matter how insane they were. This also meant that Kol was not supposed to sleep in the same room as Bella and that he could not see her before tomorrow. But that didn’t mean that she was surprised when she walked out of the shower, naked and ready for bed, and saw Kol sitting on the bed with a big smile on his face.

“What if Rebekah finds you here?” She teasingly said as she picked up her robe and wrapped it around her before kissing him.

“I don’t care,” he grinned as he caressed her damp hair. “Because we need to talk and I think now is a good time.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yep,” he said with a nod before kissing her cheek. “And you’ll probably believe that it’s stupid that I want to tell you this, especially now, but I think you deserve to know how insanely happy you’re making me.”

“Would you have asked me to marry you if you didn’t?” She smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

“I’m just really glad I have had the opportunity to fall in love and get married. Hell, even to have a kid,” he smiled widely and for a moment, Bella feared for his health. He looked delirious. She didn’t say anything but just kept caressing his hair as she looked up at him, waiting for him to be done talking. “While I know that Rebekah has already told you this, maybe you’d be interested in hearing my side. You see, before all of this, I was considered to be a wild card in the eyes of my siblings, especially when I was a vampire.”

“You said you hated it.”

“Oh, I did. And I loved it too. You see, while I wasn’t able to practice magic anymore, I was invincible. I could do whatever I pleased. I traveled a lot, much like you and I have been doing for the last few years. But I was also not afraid to tell my brothers and sister what kind of jerks they were. The terrible trio with their stupid motto ‘always and forever’ and I was never included. I didn’t feel involved. I acted out, raised some hell, got daggered a few times. Until Niklaus decided he needed more fun in his life, and it was just this cycle of love before it all came crashing down into hatred and the dagger yet again.”

She nodded. She had heard the stories, and she was so glad that Kol had shown his siblings that he was just like them, redeemed himself in his human life.

“It was bittersweet when they finally included me into their pact of ‘always and forever’ when I was dying from the hex that my brother Finn put on me. Hexes are horrible. It only stops when the witch who cast it dies. Finn was a real mummy’s boy. No one liked him, which is why he was in his box for so long.” Kol sighed as he absent-mindedly toyed with a strand of her damp hair.

“My siblings don’t know, they might suspect though, but I remember everything that happened when I was dead and joined the ancestors of the witches of New Orleans. I told them, repeatedly how unfair it was that Finn got to live on, for a while longer, at least, and I was stuck with them. I had so much more to live for and to make things better and just enjoy life as a human again. There wasn’t a day that went passed where I begged them to return me; it didn’t even have to be the same body. And they kept refusing because dead is dead, and I got angrier and angrier. I just wanted another chance after having those opportunities taken away from me all the time.”

“You’re right, it was unfair.”

Kol nodded while he took another deep breath. “Davina and Rebekah’s meddling didn’t go unnoticed by the Ancestors either. While I was grateful for their efforts, they weren’t delicate about it. They tried spell after spell after spell to get me back, and the Ancestors became aggravated, especially when they contacted Bonnie Bennett, the witch from Mystic Falls. Bonnie wisely stayed out of it, but Davina and Rebekah only became more determined. When they eventually started casting a spell that would ensure the destruction of the Ancestors, they realized that keeping me with them was more trouble than I was worth. They decided I had to live with the consequences of me being brought back to life.”

“That is not fair.”

“It certainly wasn’t. My sister, of course, got the better part of the deal by having her returned to her original body even though like me, she enjoyed being human so much. The Ancestors erased every single feeling Davina and I had shared with each other while we were going out. Saying that we both should start over and that I was doomed never to love anyone again, they made sure of it.”

“Well, that obviously didn’t work,” she remarked with a slight chuckle, causing Kol to smile as well.

“They told me that I could only date or fall in love with girls from the Claire family line. Seeing as Davina was the only surviving member of her family… I was pissed. How could I live a full, normal life without someone to love? And sure, I know that one could lead a normal life without ever falling in love again but that’s not me. I want it all or nothing. I was angry with my sister and Davina and decided to disappear for a few months, just to get my ducks back in a row and simmer down,” Kol put his arms around Bella and pulled them down to the bed where he snuggled up against her, putting his head on her shoulder.

“After a while, I realized that what Davina and Rebekah had done was out of love. That it probably wasn’t so bad that I wouldn’t ever be able to fall in love again because I got what I wanted most; my family. And then,” he looked up at her with a smile. “A few months after I got back, I was taking care of some business for my brother and this stupid girl walks into the store, thinking it was a coffee shop. This awkward looking, too skinny looking girl who didn’t seem to notice the world around her and ordered coffee while she did her own thing.”

Bella giggled as Kol bopped her nose with his index finger.

“If this girl had been more aware of her surroundings, she would have seen two surprised witches trying to contain a malevolent spirit who had been killing and scaring innocent humans for weeks,” he laughed and settled against her again. “So the gas leak was born because we could not risk the spirit going after the human girl. Little did I know, I was sending her back to her abusers and when my brother called to help him out, I could have kicked myself when I saw the beautiful girl again.”

“That girl sounds like trouble.”

“Oh yeah, she was,” Kol grinned as he snuck his hand inside her robe and gently started to massage her breast. “I had been so scared when we found out you’re a Claire witch because I already liked you, and I was so afraid that we wouldn’t work out. You’ve brought hope back into my life, Bella Swan, and for that, I’m eternally grateful.”

“I would have fallen for you anyway and it sounds to me, that I’m the lucky one. Hadn’t I been a Claire witch, even though many many times removed, you wouldn’t be able to return the feelings,” she said as she ran her hand through his hair. “I’m sorry you went through all that, Kol,” she added softly. “But I’m glad we have an incredible life together and it’ll continue to grow in its awesomeness.”

“You’re such a cheesecake,” he snorted.

“Says the Alpha Cheesecake.”

[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. February 20th, 2020. 10:34 am]

Rebekah had been none too pleased when she came to bring the bride breakfast in bed that morning and discovered Kol had been with Bella all night. They’d just been talking and had fallen asleep around 5 am, but she didn’t want to hear anything about that. Part of Bella felt sorry for allowing Rebekah to do what she wanted to do, but, on the other hand, this was as much as Rebekah and Klaus’ day as it was Kol and Bella’s.

They had allowed them to take care of everything, in their taste, to make them happy, but Bella and Kol had plans of their own, and that was going to be so much better. It already made her feel giddy thinking about it while Rebekah was trying to style Bella’s hair into something that fitted with the beautiful dress. She had to hand it to Rebekah; she had a nose for fashion, and the dress was absolutely stunning. One thing though; it wasn’t Bella’s idea of being comfortable, she could hardly move in it, but it’d change.

Bella and Kol wanted to give Rebekah and Klaus seemingly the perfect wedding for them. She wanted to see her parents see them in this fairytale appearance. But not for long. She was getting restless, and not just because of the wedding jitters; no, it was all about being back home for an extended period of time. She couldn’t wait until she, Kol and Nina would go back to traveling and see the world.

“Mama, look!” Nina burst through the door in her lovely flower girl dress, stomping around as fast as she possibly could to get to her mother. “Pretty!”

“Oh, you look beautiful!” Bella lifted Nina up on her lap and kissed her on her cheek, much to Rebekah’s dismay as Bella moved while she was still trying to make Bella’s hair behave. “You look like a real princess.”

“I am!” Nina’s gaze fell upon Bella’s half eaten toast with jam and reached for it while Bella made sure she wouldn’t fall off her lap. She had to stretch a little bit further and sighed before leaning against Bella and looked up to her. “Bread?”

She gently took Nina’s hand and turned it, so it was palm up as she stretched out her arm. “Look,” Bella whispered in her ear as the toast started to float right into Nina’s hand. It was funny when she was born that Kol panicked a little seeing as Nina would be a first born Mikaelson witch and incredibly powerful, but she was doing great. “Try not to spill anything on your beautiful dress, okay?”

“Okay.”

No major accidents happened so far, apart from the time where she threw a toddler tantrum a couple of months back and blew out the tires of the car they were in. Maybe the lack of extreme power had to do something with that technically, by blood, she wasn’t a Mikaelson seeing as Kol was in someone else’s body. But Nina was a Mikaelson, and nothing else. She was still Kol’s daughter. And more importantly; she was a Swan.

[The Abattoir, New Orleans. February 20th, 2020. 2:20 pm]

Rebekah had brought her up to the second floor, on top of the stairs and out of sight, with her vampire speed. She was now correcting every bit of Bella’s gorgeous dress that was out of place due to the velocity.

She was wearing a strapless cream-coloured wedding dress with a huge tulle skirt and she was glad she was going to be able to hang on to her father as she’d descend the stairs because she couldn’t even see her own feet. Yes, her balance had improved significantly but tripping over a skirt in front of so many people was not a good impression.

“Relax,” Rebekah calmly said as she adjusted Bella’s hair. “They’re just people and they’re not important.”

Bella huffed as she looked at the people in the courtyard. She recognized some of them, but she didn’t have a clue who 90% of all those people were. If it hadn’t been for Klaus wanting to invite all of them for ‘political reasons’, they wouldn’t have been there, and the wedding would have been a lot smaller. She was glad to see Paula there, the midwife who helped deliver Nina.

Her old friends from Forks were there as well. Angela, married to Ben and mother to twins who were six months older than Nina. Mike and Jessica C, a girl who was a grade below them when they were in school. What set her apart from Jessica Stanley was that she was incorruptible, she was an excellent cook and a mean drinking buddy. She and Mike weren’t married and were definitely not going to get married, really. Absolutely not, oh, what’s that? A bird!

What surprised her though was that Jacob was sitting next to Charlie. She hadn’t seen him in a very long time, and he had changed a lot. He had long hair again; he was tall and bulky and handsome. A real Chief in the making. She was surprised he was wearing a suit. It didn’t suit him at all.

Her gaze then fell on the Mikaelson brothers, all ridiculously handsome in their suits. Even Elijah, who always wore suits in the first place, but had opted for a more expensive one for the wedding. When she looked at Kol, her eyes met his, and the biggest, goofiest grin appeared on his face. It made her insides melt, and if it hadn’t been for Rebekah holding on to her, she would have tumbled right off the stairs. Talk about making an entrance at your own wedding!

“Mama pretty princess,” Nina giggled as she tried to get under Bella’s skirt.

“Oh, no, we’re having none of that, little lady,” Rebekah gently pulled the toddler away from her mother. “Come on, let’s lay down some beautiful rose petals on the stairs so your mum can walk over them.”

“Bella, you look…”

She looked at her dad, and he had the same look on his face as when he saw her in her prom dress. “Dad, don’t start,” she said as she hugged him. “It’s just a dress.” Bella could hear Rebekah huff a ‘hardly’ as she helped Nina and Hope walk down the stairs as the little girls threw flowers all over the stairs.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this, Bells?” Charlie asked huskily as he gently put his arm around hers and took her hand. “I mean, you don’t have to get married if you don’t want to, no one will judge you if you’re unmarried for the rest of your life.”

“I want this,” she smiled at him and gently squeezed his hand. “I want him. He’s the best thing that has ever happened to me and makes my life so much brighter. Why wouldn’t I go through with this? There’s no reason for me not to.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she laughed and kissed her father on his cheek. “Come on, let’s go downstairs, let’s not keep them waiting any longer.”

The music started playing when they were halfway down the stairs, and it was weird that everyone was standing up for her and looking at her, at that. When she reached the end of the rows, it was just one straight line to Kol and grinned as her eyes met his. When he nodded, they both cast a spell or two to transform everything in the courtyard to what they thought was nice to get married in.

Gone were the white curtains draped entirely to one side creating arches as they exploded into multicolored confetti, spraying all over the guests. Bella’s dress turned into something she really liked, a pastel red-colored gown with no tule but satin and embroidery on the bottom of her knee-length skirt. The gates flew open, and at least a hundred puppies came running in, creating havoc as they ran through people’s legs.

Elijah’s expensive suit turned into a suit of toilet paper and Rebekah’s hair turned as red as the dress she was now wearing. With a tiny additional spell, Kol made sure his sister’s hair was no longer done up perfectly. Instead, it was a mohawk. The music switched from the classical wedding tune to “Addicted to you” by Avicii. Bella looked at her father; he had turned pale, and his jaw had dropped to the floor because of the chaos that ensued after Bella and Kol released their spells into the wild.

Smirking, Bella dragged her father along towards the front, towards Kol, under cheering and clapping from the wedding guests. Elijah looked bemused, and Rebekah had a look of sheer terror on her face, but Klaus’ reaction cut the cake. “You had to bring in the puppies?”

[The Abattoir, New Orleans. February 20th, 2020. 10:21 pm]

After the wedding ceremony and drinks and a big feast, they had a party to celebrate Kol and Bella’s union. The look on everyone’s faces when this old song from a musical called Avenue Q started playing called “The Internet For Porn” was just brilliant before it changed into Halestorm’s “Freak Like Me” for their first dance together. It had them jumping around like the insane people they were while Nina joined them.

The party was great, and even Davina was having a great time, even though she was watched closely by Marcel and Rebekah. Some tourists had wanted to join the party but were being shown out by some of Marcel’s nightwalkers and for the rest of the party, it had been fun. Brainless fun with good music and a spell here and there to play with the lights.

Around nine thirty pm, Bella had been looking around the compound for Nina, to put her to bed, but hadn’t been able to find her anywhere by the time she had looked in every room. Most of the guests had left already when she quietly made her way down the stairs towards Kol. As she bumped into Klaus on the way over, she pulled him along with her because she hadn’t been able to find Hope either.

“What’s going on, Bella?” Klaus noticed the panicked look on her face, and he was instantly worried.

“I can’t find Nina or Hope.”

“What!” Klaus breezed as he spat off to look in every room himself but even with using his vampire speed, vision, and enhanced smell, he couldn’t find a trace of the children. Growling, he returned to Kol and Bella. “Get changed, we’re going hunting,” he said to her, but she shook her head. “Okay, let’s go. I might have an idea where they went, or at least who took them.”

“Who?”

“Davina.”

“Oh, come on Nik,” Kol said as he followed his brother. “Davina might be slightly off her rocker these days, but she wouldn’t go after children just to get to the person behind them.”

“Don’t let your previous relationship cloud your judgment, brother,” Klaus said, his voice had a hint of anger, but he sounded in control as they kept marching towards the City of the Dead.

“You forget that we-”

“Kol, I know you still remember it. Davina might not, but I know you do so don’t try to bullshit me,” he replied as he looked at Bella. “You okay on those high heels, love, or do you want us to carry you?”

Bella muttered a spell to make her heels into flats. “Pick up the pace, Klaus, if she has our children, she’s going to die.”

Klaus shot her a look of surprise and she smirked in return. Yeah, Kol had told her everything alright, it didn’t bother her. She knew Kol was hers and it filled her with some sort of twisted glee that Davina could no longer have Kol, even if at some point in her life the feelings would return.

“Don’t make me into the bad guy here, it’s not my fault!” Kol replied angrily. “But I’m telling you, it’s not Davina who took them!”

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2 Comments:

  1. Who took the girls indeed *grin*

    Thanks for reading!

  2. Oh man, what a cliffie! Who took the girls?!!

    Great chapter 🙂

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