Chapter 21

Klaus and Myriam hadn’t gotten much sleep that night, not that they needed it, vampires could go for a long time without any sleep, but it was the habit that was so nice. No, instead, they had watched Kol bring in revelers from the streets to drain them dry – while they had a perfectly stocked up blood fridge in the basement of the compound.

Kol hadn’t been exactly careful with who he chose for a victim and Elijah was spending the morning at the police station to compel the officers while compelled servants were cleaning up Kol’s mess in the courtyard. Getting rid of the bodies was easy, scrubbing blood off the walls and floor and making sure everything looked immaculate again wasn’t.

And for some reason, watching the whole thing unfold in front of them was simply spectacular.

They weren’t surprised when Kol returned to the compound and joined them on the pathway above the courtyard to oversee the cleaning up. “She kicked me out,” he sulked, getting down from the high he was on just moments before.

Myriam looked at the vampire in disgust. “Do you blame her? Have you seen yourself?”

“I went straight over after killing Davina!” Kol whined. “I thought she’d be happy to see me, but instead she didn’t say much and stopped me from pulling her into my arms and -”

“Again, do you blame her?” Myriam said again. “On top of that, we haven’t been exactly welcoming her back ourselves due to that little troll.”

“Speak for yourself, love,” Klaus mused. “My encounter with Bella was quite pleasant. She was the one who brought the stones to me. Even when she knew we all weren’t like ourselves, she looked out for us.”

“Why didn’t you tell us she’d been here?”

“Because it would give Davina another reason to go after Bella harder or perhaps I knew what you were going to say, who knows?”

“But I killed Davina. I’m no longer under her control. Bella shouldn’t have kicked me out. I’m hurt,” Kol sulked as he leaned over the bannister.

“You broke her heart, Kol. After your first encounter there were fractures, but after she posed as Davina to talk to you about her… we could hear her heart break from where we were.”

“I wasn’t myself!”

“No, but a part of Davina’s spell factored in the humanity we still carry around with us. The human element. For example; Rebekah was cleansed yesterday after Bella and I dropped off Davina sloth, but Bella could tell the spell wasn’t completely gone, merely because Rebekah has never truly liked her. Yesterday, Bella tried to cleanse you, but that was impossible. What did she say?” Klaus looked at his brother, he looked like a lost puppy and well deserved, too. If it hadn’t been for him, they wouldn’t have been in this mess right now.

“She said I was still spelled but, she also didn’t make any attempt to remove the spell from me, either.”

“Can you blame her?” Myriam said again, nodding to the way Kol looked. “The least you could have done was a change of clothes and a bath before trying to reunite with the girl whose heart you broke. Flowers. Chocolate. Anything.”

Kol scowled. “She should have cleansed me and we should have talked it out.”

“This is not about you, Kol,” Klaus spat at him. “You told us about the conversation you overheard between Bella and Hades and you didn’t learn anything from that? You didn’t learn anything from the conversation you and Bella had before she resurrected you?”

“But the spell is-”

“No, Kol, this doesn’t have anything to do with the bloody spell and you know it. It’s likely you barged into her hotel room telling her that you need to be with her because there’s no safe place for you once the Ancestors realize you’ve killed their star witch.”

“I did, how do you know?”

“Because I know you, brother,” Klaus sighed as he tiredly ran a hand through his hair. Oh, he really hoped his brother didn’t blow his chance with Bella. Despite everything, Bella did not deserve that.

“Bella’s still a girl, Kol,” Myriam said kindly. “Clean yourself up, think about how you’re going to make this all better for her and try again later. She was likely still asleep when you demanded her attention.”

“But what if the Ancestors-”

“If you’re so scared of their wrath, leave New Orleans.”

“But what about Bella?”

“That’s a choice you’re going to have to make, buddy,” Myriam said, pushing herself away from the bannister. “I have to go to work, will I see you later, Klaus?”

“Of course, love,” he smiled at her. “I’ll make sure I’ll bring an excellent tasting lunch to you.”

~o.O.o~

Bella wasn’t ready to face Kol, at all. After the early morning interruption, Bella went back to sleep and after waking up, she got dressed and decided to spend her day at the zoo, still as the invisible woman because even if he had been telling the truth about killing Davina, it didn’t mean the Ancestors were quite done with her. If anything, things were going to be a lot worse and she needed a game plan.

She needed to clear her head and start over. Or at least adjust her previous plan and do go to the Regent to talk things through. However, should Davina truly be dead, the Regent might even be less receptive to Bella than she’d already been.

She found it admirable that Kol had figured out a way to fight off the spell himself even if it meant killing Davina and seemingly a lot of innocents by the way he looked that morning, but she didn’t like the fact that he had overheard her and Hades’ conversation; that Kol had seen the state she was in.

Yes, there was nothing more that her heart wanted; Kol. But her head was wiser in this case; could she trust Kol with her heart again? Kol knew it could take some time for her to get back to him after being swooped up by one of her relatives; time moved differently and he knew that. Had he truly loved her like she loved him if he allowed a pretty young thing to get that close to him just because Bella was no longer in the picture?

Had Kol been with her merely of what she was instead of who she was? Had he been in love with her power only?

Granted, the way that they had rolled into their relationship hadn’t been text book, either. She had felt an attraction to him, a connection, even when he was still daggered, and even during their travels, they never truly defined what they were to each other, but she supposed that referring to each other as boy and girlfriend was definition enough. But was it?

If he had truly overheard her conversation with Hades, why would Kol want to be with her now? Was it because together, he and her could produce tiny Mikaelson heirs with Hades’ blessing? She knew of Rebekah’s wish to be a human and start a family, maybe the blessing was better used on her instead of being wasted on Bella.

Besides, their kids would grow up knowing their mother’s an abomination to the supernatural world, their father one of the mightiest vampires in the world and they’d be a combination of that, and a tiny bit of human. A God-Vampire-Human hybrid. It sounded like a recipe for disaster if the human part wasn’t that much present anyway. Unless Hades could make it so that the children would be perfectly human or something.

Had she listened to her heart this morning in her sleepy state, she would have jumped on Kol in an instant, welcoming him back, making sure the spell around him was completely gone, but that would have been a bad thing all around. Her heart was still broken and she needed to protect what was left of it.

She was going to get her revenge on the Ancestors for what they’ve done to her family, and then, maybe, leave New Orleans to see if she could mend her heart and feel whole again.

TrashPanda: Seems like we’ve got an unexpected guest today and he’s asking for you. Coming to dinner?

CeilingCat: I’m not in the mood to deal with Kol right now.

TrashPanda: It’s not Kol. Well, he will be at dinner but you’re going to like this one.

CeilingCat: No. I have other plans.

TrashPanda: They can wait. Klaus is showing immense restraint not to kill this guest to allow you two to catch up. Dinner is in two hours. Be presentable, which shouldn’t be a problem as we’ve sent something to your hotel room. Klaus is making sure everything is perfect because we have a lot to make up to you.

Bella sighed as she looked at her phone. She really didn’t want to go. She wanted this Ancestor problem sorted as quickly as possible so she could disappear if she still so required. In fact, Myriam’s demand made her feel angry again and she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to go.

CeilingCat: No. I’m sorry, Myriam, but I really have to deal with this. It’s because of me you guys were put in harms way and I need to fix it. Seems like all I’m doing these days is fixing my own mess.

TrashPanda: Bella, you’re not alone. Let us help.

CeilingCat: No. This mess is because of what I am and I’m going to fix it.

TrashPanda: Don’t do anything stupid, Bella, I want you to be around for a long time.

Bella huffed as she turned her phone off and shoved it into her pocket. She took her time to get back to the hotel; she was going to grab a bite to eat and then head out to seek out the Regent. Screw the Mikaelson dinner. She really didn’t want to see Kol right now. Her head was in charge, her heart deserved its rest.

Of course she wasn’t going to do anything stupid, not after Hades’ warning. One wrong move, and she’d be permanently banned from being on Earth while there was still so much she could see and do. To experience. It wasn’t going to happen.

Maybe a solution would be she’d give up on her mother’s side of herself, relinquish her powers and be an ordinary human again. It would be perfect as then, the Ancestors would definitely back off and Bella would never run into problems like that again. On the other side of the coin, it would also mean she’d have to leave her family here, for some reason it didn’t seem wise to be human in a family of Original vampires.

Bella didn’t trust the smell of food wafting down the corridor that lead to her room. Granted, someone could have ordered room service, but this smelled like a lot of food. Dreading to open her door, she did it anyway and inwardly cursed. Somehow – no, not somehow, this was the result of some compelling. Her bed was still there, but the rest of the room had been transformed into a private dining room with plenty of seats for the entire family. There was good food on the table and she was met by 5 pairs of hopeful looking eyes.

“Oh, hell no,” Bella exclaimed as she put her bag on the bed. “I said no.”

“I told you she wouldn’t like it, Niklaus,” Elijah said quietly, the spell still firmly in place on him, making Bella yet again wonder if Kol had truly killed Davina. “She doesn’t deserve our kindness.”

Bella narrowed her eyes on Elijah. “I want you all to leave, now,” she said slowly, making sure that they all heard the words.

“We’re doing this for your own good, Bella,” Myriam said as she rounded the table to hug her friend, but didn’t get the hug returned. “Remember, I know you. I know how much you like to retreat into yourself and-”

“Myriam, I said no.” Before the other members of the family could speak, Bella turned them all into bunnies and sat down at the table to have something to eat in relative peace and quiet, only to be disturbed by someone slow clapping. Had someone been on the toilet? In her hotel room? Seriously? Looking up, she was surprised to see Damon, but it was a welcome surprise. “Damon!” She flew off her chair and flung herself around his neck to hug him tightly.

“Easy,” Damon chuckled as he returned the hug. “One moment I’m freed from the prison world they sent me to, and sleeping it off on my bed, the next I wake up on Klaus’ couch in his bedroom while he and Myriam were… well, that was quite embarrassing.” Damon then thought for a moment. “Although, quite hot too, I wanted to join in but Klaus threatened to rip out my heart.”

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Bella buried her face into his shirt. “When Stefan told me- I-”

“You’re glad I’m back? Bella, I was only in that prison world for like… what? Three months or so? You were gone for two years! If there’s anyone who should be glad someone’s back it’s me, for your return,” he replied as he gently rubbed her back. “Hey, uhm, they were here to share dinner with you, not for you to eat it by yourself.”

Bella huffed as she let go of Damon, grabbed the salad bowl and dumped the content on the floor in one giant heap. “There.”

“That works,” Damon shrugged as he pointed at the chairs. “Sit. Eat. Let’s talk.”

“No, because they’ll hear everything and remember when I turn them back, so let’s just eat,” Bella said grumpily as she retrieved her plate and continued her food. “I have plans.”

“Good, then I’ll come with you to whatever you’re going to do.”

“Damon.”

He put some food on his plate and shrugged. “Klaus told me what happened, sort of, I think I get it. I also understand you’re a very stubborn person and you don’t want their help. Not even Klaus’ and Myriam’s. This is your mess, not theirs, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t want their help because they’re a bunch of dicks who deserted you through a spell, right?”

“Right.”

“Guess what? It’s not your mess. It’s simply the Ancestors being a bag of dicks and they have more experience dealing with Regents than you do,” Damon said as he looked underneath the table. “Uhh… you might want to turn them back because two bunnies are now having sex.”

“Wait, what?” Bella looked underneath the table and gasped. She grabbed the nearest glass and chucked it at them. “Quit it!”

“You might want to turn them back, Bella,” Damon smirked before holding up his phone with an image of swanlings. “These little cuties were created by Silas and Amara.”

“Oh god! I didn’t know that could happen!” Bella squeaked before turning everyone back and pointed at the door. The last thing she wanted was for someone to get pregnant; vampires bodies worked the same as humans as long as they drank blood, and if she’d get Myriam or Rebekah pregnant, they would be able to carry the baby to full term. Gross. “Now get out!”

“Don’t worry, Klausy-Klaus, I’ll handle this.”

Bella whipped her head back at Damon. “I will not be handled, Damon Salvatore.”

“Of course not,” Damon huffed as he cocked his head towards the retreating Mikaelsons. “Had to say something to get them to leave.” When the door closed, he continued to eat. “I’m on your side, Bella. I understand what you want to do and I understand what they want to do, but seriously, they have more experience.”

“It’s because of me they were put in a vulnerable position in the first place. The Ancestors got spooked; I’m merely going to show them I’m not someone to be afraid of.”

“But you are,” he pointed out. “Especially with all the pent up anger you’ve got.”

“I’ve got my anger under control,” she huffed. “One misstep and Hades revokes my Earth privileges and I go ‘poof’ permanently, so don’t worry, I’ve got it under control and I won’t do anything other than stuff that won’t hurt anybody,” she bit down on a piece of chicken and sighed. “I just want to go back to being me. Get this fixed and maybe go back to Mystic Falls or something.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I don’t?” Bella let out a snort. “Damon, I am the reason the Mikaelsons got messed with because a bunch of dead witches are scared of me. People are scared of me, of what I can do. My boyfriend is a jerk who couldn’t keep it in his pants after an encounter with a gorgeous young brunette and instead of waiting for me, he moved on within two months and after hearing him talk about what he would do to neutralize me, I am not even sure I want him back. Spelled or not, knowing people are actively thinking about how to get rid of me is not a great thing to know.”

“And here I believed you two had an epic love, like Stefan and Elena,” Damon smirked as he leaned back in his chair. “Bella, love isn’t easy. You haven’t had a lot of boyfriends and your last ex has been permanently changed into a pig. Kol is a very needy vampire; he needs validation on a day to day basis that you love him. Of course, without-”

“Are you really trying to give a rational explanation about him being a cheating jerk? Really?” She took a sip of her wine and shook her head. “Vampire or not, what he did was wrong.”

Damon shrugged. “Fine, whatever. Things are very simple, Bella, and they’re easily fixed, just allow your family to take care of it. To take care of you. Maybe in this case, it’s better to let them handle the Ancestors. Elijah may not like you, but he does know you wouldn’t do anything out of malice. The last thing you want is for people to get hurt and if you ask him to talk to the Regent for you, she’ll understand and the Ancestors will back off.”

“Witches are backstabbing bitches,” Bella muttered. “They’d ‘back off’ for a while, before regrouping and coming back full blast. On top of that, if Kol was speaking the truth about Davina, he’ll be having a target on his back as well. At least I know I’ll be able to make sure he’ll be safe from them, too.”

“And you are too invested in this. Too close. Not a good idea.”

“Says the person who likes to make rash decisions that eventually come back to bite him in the ass and still hasn’t learned from his mistakes.”

Damon sighed as he reached into his pocket, revealing something wrapped in cloth as he handed it to Bella. “I so wished I didn’t have to do this,” he said, regret evident in his voice.

“What’s this?”

“A gift, open it.”

She narrowed her eyes on her friend before pulling the corners of the cloth back, revealing a beautiful shaped stone. It was polished and it looked absolutely perfect. But why was a stone a gift? Bella picked it up to examine it even further, but before she could, the world spun out of existence.

3 Comments:

  1. No! What Damon do?
    I’m on the fence if she should’ve at least talked to the Ancestors through the Regent, I mean would it have even done any good? And the Ancestors and witches did this to the Mikaelsons. Even if it was to get to her it was done to them and their right for revenge.

  2. she is going to kill damon oh my god. she is going to kill him when she gets back from where ever she was sent too. lol nice to know tht klaus can’t keep his paws off his lady lol Update again soon need to know where she was sent although i might have an iddea.

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