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fitzs-trained-monkey · 2 years

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The Night Tourist

(I actually do own this image. I made it with an AI. If you steal it I'll hunt you down.)

Series: Spectral Perception

Word Count: 16,483 (No, I'm not kidding.)

Warnings: Descriptions of blood, self harm, alcohol consumption, violent, frightening images, a lot of talking about death, and language. Two very derogatory terms for women are used - one in a humorous way, but still - this is your warning.

Summary: Both you and Kol knew that the news of your nature would spread through the Supernatural community like a wildfire. Your time had run out. You couldn't stay in your home, you couldn't finish school, and you couldn't even mourn your father's death. Now was the time to run. But where in the world could you run to? Was there anywhere you could ever be safe? || Kol x Banshee!reader || Here lies my Masterlist ||

Requested by: @trikigirl271 Thanks for your interest in my writing and for all your suggestions for this series. I hope you're not disappointed! So, in honor of the longest request I have ever received, here is the longest fic I've ever written.

A/N: Please note that the Other Side in this story does not even attempt to resemble the one in TVD canon. The Other Side portrayed in the show was a lame, low budget TV show rendition of the land of the dead and I intend to make mine 300% more epic. Also, this is low-key inspired by the novel of the same title by Katherine Marsh. Thanks for reading!

🔥STORY BEGINS BELOW.🔥

Death was to you like the humidity in Florida. It clung to you, it seemed. It coated your skin in a nasty, unwanted film and lingered around you in the air, weighing almost painfully in your lungs every time you took a breath. Perhaps that was why your chest hurt so much. Death surrounded you. It always had.

As for everyone around you? Same story - all dead. Your mother had died the day you were born; you'd killed her to come into this world. Kol was dead, but he'd been that way since you'd met him. Now your father was dead too. And come on now, really, how was that not your fault? He was dead because of you. Because you were some stupid supernatural freak who couldn't make up her mind on wether to be dead or not! You should have just died in that car crash.

Oh wait. That's right. You had.

You were dead, how funny was that? So why weren't you laughing?

Death clung to you. You had escaped it and it wanted you back so it was taking your life away one little bit at a time.

That wasn't very fair. But then again, life was never fair. Why should death be any different?

You scowled, glaring down at the tiles of your kitchen floor. They sparkled and shown. Clean. Immaculate. Kol had done a good job; no one would have ever guessed that a man had bled out on those tiles just last afternoon. You shook your head and raised the bottle in your grasp to your lips. Tipping it back, you took a long, painful swig and decided that those tiles were too damn clean. You weren't gonna act like nothing had happened so you stumbled over to the knife block and withdrew the biggest one. Standing over the place where you'd seen your father's body lying dead, you tucked your bottle under one arm and slit your palm with the knife. You held your hand out over the pristine tiles and clenched it in a fist, letting the crimson liquid ooze between your fingers, dripping to the ground.

The stuff burned your throat but your expression was blank as you took another sip of whatever alcohol was in that bottle. Your vision was too blurry for you to read the label, but it was probably brandy… or bourbon… or whiskey. Probably just wherever that stupid ghost could get his hands on. Kol had a tendency to swipe the stuff at pretty much any opportunity - he'd been slowly building a stash in your basement over the last year. You didn't care much anymore. You had attempted to reprimand him for his rash of thefts when you’d first caught onto him, but he would always just flash you that stupid smirk, pairing it with some off-the-cuff comment about how alcohol apparently helped with his cravings at which point you’d roll your eyes and forget about it until your next shopping trip where he would undoubtedly do the same thing. It never mattered what you said, Kol just did whatever he wanted.

You weren’t a stupid person, and you weren’t a trusting one either. People didn’t hurt you because you didn’t give them the chance to do so. The story your kidnapper had told you was more than likely true. After all, people don’t seek revenge for nothing and seven hundred years is a long time to hold a grudge. You hadn’t told Kol of your conversation with Christianna Galkin when he informed you of the bounty hunter’s name and reputation. He hadn’t told you anything more about her, neither confirming nor denying anything she’d said to you. The more you thought about it, the more you began to believe her words as they echoed in your mind.

“Where’s he gonna leave you, I wonder?”

Come on now, really. Why else would Kol Mikaelson - a one thousand year old Original vampire with a vendetta and a million better things to do - ever choose to attach himself to some slightly more than mediocre college student if not for your blood? How convenient was it that the girl he just so happened to stumble across would turn out to be a freaking banshee? How convenient of him to have befriended you before you discovered the extent of your abilities. What a coincidence it was for him to fall in love with you only after you’d discovered you could touch him, just after you’d begun to accommodate him, just as you’d begun to long for his touch. You’d told him you were in love with him too. He’d said it first because he knew you never would.

Hadn’t he been the one to ask for your blood? That had been him, his suggestion. Kol’s desire, not yours.

And had he not almost killed you immediately after that?

Wasn’t it just so odd that he had a hard time controlling himself - that he struggled to keep himself from taking your blood? Kol was a selfish boy by nature. So wasn’t it strange that he would be so noble and selfless when it came to your blood - to the thing he craved more than anything? You could tell he wanted it, and you had offered to let him feed on you because you didn’t like to see him suffer. But no, he made the self sacrificing play. Why? That wasn’t like him, Kol was the least self sacrificing person you knew. Despite already being dead, you knew he would never choose to die for you, he would always do his best to find any loophole because any situation where he lost something wasn’t acceptable. So, why would he pass up on any chance for a taste? Kol was hooked on your blood - he needed it. He was an addict, just like any other. If a policeman were to offer a heroin addict a dose, he simply wouldn't be able to resist unless he knew he could get it some other way. So wasn’t it funny that all of Kol’s actions oh so perfectly implored you to go out of your way to satisfy him?

Wasn’t that all so convenient? One might even call it calculated.

It was a backward and ingenious manipulation, but then again, he was one thousand years old. Was this not what Chrissy had warned you about. According to her, this was just what Kol did. Where would he leave you?

Perhaps you were about to find out.

You lifted your head and nearly fell over when you heard the front door swing open and slam shut. You glared at him, blinking rapidly to try to clear your vision which was swimming. Whether that was an effect of the alcohol or the bloodloss, you couldn’t exactly tell.

“Y/N, I hope you’re packed because we really need to-”

Kol made it to the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks. His voice hitched when he caught the scent of your blood. Dripping from your hand, pooled on the kitchen tile - he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Those eyes turned into black pits of tar and his fangs slid out, sharper than the knife you’d used to slit your hand. Your drunken mind wondered vaguely what he would do. His hands were shaking - yours were too funnily enough. The boy stood perfectly still, though that was probably all he could do to stop himself from tearing into your throat. He swallowed thickly and wet his lips, then slowly, painfully slowly, he turned his head; yet, his eyes lingered, staring at your bleeding hand with longing desperation as if it were the only thing he wanted in the world. It must have taken a monumental amount of effort, but he finally drew his eyes along your body up to your face. He took a few measured breaths and opened his mouth to speak. His eyes were still black holes.

“Darling, why-” He cut himself off with a choked noise and squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the door frame for support. It kept getting worse for him, probably because he’d been consistently animated for going on forty-eight hours. Maybe it was just because you were drunk out of your mind, but you weren’t afraid of him or what he might do. What did it matter? You couldn’t be killed by him anyway. Even if you could, you didn’t exactly have a lot to lose. He opened his eyes but those still weren’t the ones you’d fallen in love with - they were still just dark and cold and hungry. “Why did you do that?” He demanded. His attempt at calm was nothing more than a mask. He was afraid - terrified of tearing down the illusion he’d created. “Do you want me to hurt you? Because I guarantee this is an excellent way to ensure it.” The boy groaned and slid to the floor, curling up on himself like a child with a stomach ache. You felt a pang of guilt but the alcohol wiped it away. Not your problem.

You simply shrugged and pointed to the kitchen floor. “It was too, uh… too clean,” You said, slurring your words more than just a little bit.

Kol lifted his head. “What?”

“Too clean!” You repeated, even less intelligible than the first time. “Dad’s dead, an’ th’ floors ‘ss too clean, an’ th’ A frickin’ C’s like down too low.” You leaned against the counter and huffed. “I mean, whass’a girl tuh’ do?”

“Well, not get sloshed for one thing,” He grumbled under his breath.

“I dunno.” You smirked, raising the bottle again. “I kinda like it.”

"Lovely," He deadpanned. "Well, this is going to be something of a problem.”

You rolled your head to look at him. “Mmm… I only see one problem here. It’s ‘bout 6’1, brunette, with no sense of when to leave a person alone!”

He sighed and the thump that reached your ears when he hit his head against the door frame sounded a little too loud to be okay. “Alright, that’s enough.” Kol stood, grimacing, and held his hand out. “Give me the bottle.”

Your playful expression dropped and you shook your head. “No can-do, cracker jack.”

“Give it to me.”

“Uh, uh.”

“Now, Y/N,” He warned.

“No!” You took a demonstrative sip and crossed your arms stubbornly. “Why don’t you come on over here and take it?”

Kol growled, grinding his teeth. “You really wouldn’t like it if I did,” He said lowly, eyes narrowing. He shook his head and sighed. “What are you doing, darling? This isn’t you.”

“Yell heah, it’s not!” You exclaimed, laughing though it was mostly just hysterical. Somehow, despite the drunkenness, you couldn’t find much humor in yourself. You tilted your head obnoxiously, tapping your chin. “But come to think of it, neither is finding my Dad dead on the floor, ya know? That’s not like me at all. O-or finding out that I’m dead too - gotta say that’s way outta character.” You started counting the events of the past two days off on your fingers, fumbling a couple of times. “Along with - I dunno - getting kidnapped, or getting my body and soul stuck in a magical shredding machine, or having visions of the future, or being muzzled like some rabid hound, or rupturing some person’s ear drums with a sonic scream, or feeding my blood to the ghost of a mass-murdering vampire,” You hissed, watching him unblinkingly with a seething glare. If looks could kill then blah, blah, blah. “Man, now that I say it out loud, I have no idea why I’m drinking! It’s not like my whole life is falling apart or anything, right?”

Kol blinked and his expression completely shattered. His mouth was open slightly and you watched his fangs retract as the blackness in his eyes faded and that warm chocolate color showed through once more.

“Darling…” He started, voice as soft as the chirping of crickets outside.

You just scowled at him. “Oh, don’t darling me,” You spat. “This is all your fault! I could have lived a long, happy, normal life if not for you! Now all of that’s gone!”

“What? How on earth-” He stopped. “Wait… Wait a second, you’re not suggesting…” He trailed off and all you did in response was sit down, leaning your back against the refrigerator. You just waited for him to get the picture. He did and when he did, it was like the boy had gotten the wind knocked out of him, like your statement had been a very literal punch to the gut. His brows pulled together and he shook his head. He just looked confused… and hurt… So, so hurt. But you didn’t feel very much sympathy. You didn’t have it in you to feel much of anything, nor did you want to. Hence the drinking.

“You think I killed you?” He whispered, choking on the words. You didn’t answer but that was answer enough. The boy took a few steps back, hands tearing through his hair with a muffled noise that could have been a scream had it been a little louder. His legs seemed to give out and he fell to the floor, wringing his hands to hide just how badly they were shaking. Taking a breath to calm himself didn’t seem to work very well. “Please don’t tell me you actually think I had something to do with your death.”

“Well, being dead and all, you sure stood to gain something from it,” You noted, hiccuping. The expression on his face didn’t look quite like guilt, but you weren’t sure what else it could be.

“No. No, Y/N… For pete’s sake, I didn’t kill you, darling.” He insisted. “I had no clue what you were! Why would I kill you? Even if I could affect the living world as a ghost, I wasn’t even in the area when you died.”

“Then where were you?”

“An annoying little town in Northern Virginia. A place called Mystic Falls,” Kol said with a huff. Only a moment later did he seem to realize what he’d accidently given away.

“Northern Virginia, eh? You know how many miles away from here that is, right?” You demanded, eyes narrowing as you leaned forward. “Huh. I wonder what could have possibly driven you to travel all that way? Somehow I seriously doubt you came here to make fun of college students.”

The boy paled. “Listen, Y/N/N, I didn’t-”

“Betta’ choose your next words veeery carefully,” You warned. Those words seemed to halt his lies in their tracks. He couldn’t meet your eyes.

“Look… I-I never meant for any of this to happen,” He muttered ashamedly.

You nodded and took a long swig from the bottle before setting it down on the ground loud enough to wake the neighbors. “You’re a liar, Kol Mikaelson,” You said, astoundingly clear for how drunk you were. “Why don’t you jus’ admit it! You knew what I was the whole friggin’ time.”

“I swear to you, I had no idea,” He claimed. “There’s no way to discern whether a female of Irish descent will become a banshee upon her death and no way to identify her once she has. I had my theories but… there was just no way to tell.” He dragged a hand through his hair. His eyes pleaded with you to believe him but you saw no reason why you should.

“Tough luck,” You remarked. He was lying. He had known. You were sure of it.

Kol leaned his head against the door frame. “What is it that you want me to say, love?”

You frowned, huffing. “The truth sounds good righta’ bout now.”

“You want the truth?” Kol sighed, shaking his head. His mouth pulled down at the corners in a grimace and he dragged his lip through his teeth, tossing his hands in the air. “Fine then… Fine! The answer is yes! Is that it? Is that what you want?” He demanded. His eyes were wild but his voice was thin. “You want to hear how selfish my venture to find you was? Want me to tell you what a cruel and evil monster I am? Is that what you’re so desperate to hear? I was drawn to this area because I could sense your power, alright? I admit it!" He cried. "I knew what you were but I had no true understanding of what a banshee’s magic was capable of! I had no idea what you would do to me! There’s only been two banshees ever recorded in supernatural history and I was curious. I didn't want to hurt you, darling; I never wanted to hurt you…” Something in his chocolate eyes turned oddly cold and he shrugged. “I wanted to study you.”

There was the truth you’d been searching for. Chrissy had been right, hadn’t she. You were nothing to him. You might as well have been livestock - a sheep or a rat.

“Study me?” You seethed. “Like some lab rat?”

“Yes! Exactly like a lab rat!” Kol hissed through clenched teeth. “You know why? Because I was dead and nothing - nothing - in the whole bloody world mattered anymore! I was murdered, yet my family forgave the culprits and forgot about me!"

“Oh, cry me a river, ya big baby!” You sassed. “Life sucks and then you die! That’s how it works. I.E. grow the frick-frack up!”

“Oh, you’re one to talk,” He spat, rolling his eyes. “Look at yourself, drinking your problems away - you’re no better than I am! When I first saw you, do you want to know how disappointed I was? You were nothing extraordinary - just some girl with no bloody clue what she was or what she was in for.”

That hurt more than you'd been prepared for. The alcohol didn't dull the pain.

“Then why’d you bother sticking around?” You asked quietly.

“Well honestly, I had nothing else better to do.” He laughed but it was humorless. "So I watched you. I did; I watched you and I lusted after everything you had, because it wasn't fair that you got the power to come back and I didn't. Then you had to come and tell me off and suddenly, for the first time in my life - for the first time in one thousand bloody years - I wasn’t invisible!” Kol’s mind seemed to catch up with his mouth a second later and his expression softened. “You saw me. You talked to me and it was like magic because all at once I would have done anything to please you.”

“Really?” You scoffed. “You ruined my life because you wanted attention?”

“Stop that,” He muttered. Kol’s fist collided with the door frame and the wood split with a crack. You jumped at the sudden display of violence but shrugged a moment later. So what if he tore your house down? You wouldn’t be spending much longer here anyway, regardless of what happened next. Kol took a breath - to his credit, he was at least trying not to be angry with you. “Stop blaming your circumstances on me, Y/N. You’re upset and looking for someplace to pin that guilt, but your father’s death was not my fault. None of this is my fault!”

“Isn’t it?” You droned.

“No. In fact, I think you should be thanking me,” He said. “Are you aware of just how many witches on the Other Side came here seeking your power? Dead witches can still access their magic, darling. If it wasn’t for me then you would have been in this exact position only much, much sooner, except you would have gone through it alone. Don’t you get it, love?” The boy leaned forward meaningfully. “I protected you.”

“Is that supposed to make it better?” You sneered mockingly. “The only person I’ve ever really had is dead, but it’s all good, ya’ know? I’m just supposed to be right as rain because Kol Mikaelson chose to save the day!”

His eyes darkened. “That is not what I said.”

You rolled your eyes and kicked the bottle at your feet towards him. It bumped against his knee but he made no move to touch it. You had nothing more to say to him. What were you supposed to say? He’d clearly just been trying to manipulate you this whole time and as loathe as you were to admit it, his tactic had worked like a charm.

“Y/N?” Kol called your name softly.

You snarled. “What?”

“I never wanted to hurt you,” He promised.

“Oh, no! ‘Course not!” You waved a hand dismissively but your voice dripped with sarcastic venom. “You jus’ wanted to manipulate me! Make me love you so you could drain every last drop of magical puppet potion from my veins ‘cuz you wanted to be a real boy again. Nothin’ wrong with that.”

Kol clenched his teeth. “For once in your life, Y/N, could you please stop it with the know-it-all attitude and just listen?” He stressed.

“Eh… No.”

“I am telling you the truth.”

“Don’t much care.” You shrugged. “You were never really my friend. Don’t see why I should do diddly-squat for you.” You threw your head back and laughed, wincing a little as your skull hit stainless steel. The alcohol dulled the pain pretty quick.

He sighed and shook his head. Then, picking up the bottle you had discarded at his feet, Kol raised his wrist to his lips and his eyes went dark and he sank his teeth into his own flesh before holding the wound over the bottle’s opening to bleed. There was still enough alcohol left for his blood to diffuse within it. He screwed the cap back on and rolled the bottle back over. It hit your foot and you grimaced

"Drink that," He commanded.

You raised your eyes from the bottle to his own, lifting a brow slowly. "Imma drunk stupid, nott’a stupid drunk," You replied.

"Do it or I'll make you, and I guarantee you won't like that very much." His eyes were hard. Like coal. Ha ha ha and that still wasn’t funny.

Begrudgingly, you swiped up the bottle and took a sip. The liquid burned your throat and tasted like pennies and the whole experience was downright unpleasant. You felt tingly for a moment afterwards, but what followed was infinitely worse.

Instantaneous sobriety.

Honestly, you didn’t feel all that different. You were still hurting and depressed, it was just stronger now. All that alcohol had done was mush those messy emotions down to stop you from crying your eyes out. The feelings were back with a vengeance, which was gross but at least you didn't have a hangover. You leveled your spectral companion with a hard look.

"There was a reason I was drinking," You grumbled, rubbing your eyes. You could feel the tears coming already.

"Believe me, darling, I'm well aware," He hummed.

You sighed, staring at him for a moment. "So did you ever really care about me as a person, or was it only because of what I am?"

He raised a brow. "Do you really think I would be trying this hard to restrain myself from ripping out your throat if I didn't adore you with all my heart?"

"You're an excellent liar, Kol," You said, chuckling as you wiped at the tears that hadn’t stopped streaming down your face since you’d found your father dead. You couldn’t stop them, the tears just kept on coming. "For the life of me, I just can't tell what's real with you."

He nodded and you knew your words hurt him. But he took a deep breath and kept on trying.

He lowered his gaze, playing nervously with his hands in his lap. “I suppose I haven't given you much of a reason to believe me. All I ever do is take from you, I have nothing to give. But, darling, I don’t think you understand what it's like over there - on the Other Side," He murmured, shaking his head. “It’s a nightmare. Every dead supernatural being is trapped there, stirring in their own hate, cannibalizing each other for it. I dragged my essence to this side of the veil to find you. Once I had, I didn’t want to go back - I couldn’t go back - to that hell. But being on this side of the veil nearly drove me insane too. Do you have any idea how lonely it is to sit in a room full of people and not be seen by a single one? No one knows you're there; you can scream and scream and scream and no one will ever hear you." His expression was twisted into a grimace, but he picked at the grout of the tiles he knelt on and his voice could only sound tortured. "Being invisible will drive you mad, but that's not even the worst part. As a ghost, you can't touch anything in the living world; you can touch objects on the Other Side but you can't feel them. There's no sensation - no hot or cold, firm or soft, no pleasure, no pain - only infinite nothing.

"You can't sleep. You can't eat. All you can do is watch everyone else have everything you can't," He said. Then he sighed, shrugging. "I understand that it’s pathetic - that it’s weakness, but I just-” You caught the flick of his eyes through his lashes as they darted towards the pool of crimson liquid just a few feet off to your right. He shifted away from it just slightly and curled in on himself a little more. "I just couldn't stand to be alone anymore," He admitted.

“I was door number three,” You surmised, nodding. The tears in your eyes kept falling.

“You were my door number three,” He agreed. “And I wasn’t trying to manipulate you, though I realize now that’s what it must seem like. I just… couldn’t let go.”

“So it was selfish,” You concluded.

Kol looked up at you through his lashes. Right then, he looked just like the loving boy you’d fallen in love with a year ago. “It was selfish,” He confirmed. The corner of your mouth twitched.

That was what you’d wanted to hear from him. You were right! So why did knowing it hurt that much more? Knowing for sure was supposed to make it feel better, but it didn’t. You were falling all apart and putting yourself back together was beginning to seem less and less likely. What else could you do but bow your head and cry?

Then Kol added, “At first.”

Your head snapped up and you stared at him with wide eyes and an aching soul. He smiled something of a crooked boyish smile and even though it was only half-hearted and a little bit sheepish in a sort of cocky way, you couldn’t help what came next.

You scrambled off the kitchen floor and threw your arms around his neck, tackling him in what you intended as a hug though your grip on him was probably tight enough for it to be considered a headlock. Kol caught you with a muffled noise of surprise and very nearly fell over backward because of it. His whole body stiffened, his fingertips digging into your arms, but you didn’t care. You just held him tighter.

“Why can’t I ever tell if you’re lying to me?” You demanded in a hoarse whisper. Your throat was raw from the stinging alcohol and all the tears you’d tried to swallow.

“Because I don’t lie to you,” He answered. His voice was strained as his chin rested on your shoulder. “I may bend the truth a bit, but I’ve never lied to you. Not once.”

“Promise?” You pressed. Kol was silent.

Why wasn’t he answering?

Before you could make another move, the world around you shifted and blurred. Your back hit something soft and you blinked, looking up. Kol hovered over you, a relaxed and playful grin spread across his face.

“I promise,” He said, pushing a stray lock of hair from your face. His thumb caressed your cheek and you raised a brow, opening your mouth to ask, but the boy leaned down and kissed you before you could. “I had to get out of that room, darling,” He murmured into your mouth. “It was driving me crazy.”

“My bad,” You chuckled. “That was pretty stupid.”

“In your defense, you were drunk.”

“Well, drunk-me is pretty stupid.”

“She is indeed.” He nodded. You gasped mockingly and Kol pecked your lips again, grinning. “Don’t tell her I said that though.”

“I think she overheard you.”

Kol pouted and lowered himself so he could nuzzle into your neck. His lips skimmed the column of your throat, leaving careful kisses that you couldn't help but relax into. Your hand found its way into his silky soft hair and you carded your fingers through it, grinning lazily when you felt him shiver and squeeze you tighter. Kol hummed sweetly in contentment, biting your shoulder gently with only blunt teeth. You gasped and tried not to think about his hand slowly exploring more of you than he'd ever touched before.

"Kol," Your voice was weak and breathy. "Don't go starting something you can't finish."

"I'm not," He mumbled, smoothing his palm along the base of your ribcage. "This is alright, though… isn't it?" His touch was hypnotic, lulling you into a sense of security as his lips brushed over your collar bone.

You nodded and your eyes fluttered closed. "Mm hmm… yeah."

"Good." He left a kiss at the hollow of your throat before pressing one more against your cheek. His eyes were liquid amber as he stared down at you, caressing your cheek with a faint smile. "I love you, Y/N. I really do," He said softly. "One day I'll prove it to you and you'll never have to doubt it again."

"M'kay." You smiled. "I love you too… idiot." The boy laughed.

A moment later, Kol's lips met yours and it wasn't like any kiss you'd shared with him before. All the other times and been sweet and playful and though they had been their own sort of special, this one blew them all away. Kol kissed you like a slow dance; it was elegantly affectionate, fetchingly attentive to your every movement, and intimate without being overly lustful. You could picture yourself in a ballroom, spinning to some silent song, but at the same time you wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. A pleasant warmth spread out from your chest as he tenderly deepened the kiss, drawing a soft moan from you. Kol made you feel like a princess.

The tension in your muscles eased and you just relaxed, letting Kol kiss you. His hands roamed your body - feeling, petting, and occasionally squeezing - but never in a way that strayed outside your comfort zone. Little by little, his touches soothed away the fear, the anger, and the sadness weighing in your bones. Those feelings didn't go away completely, but that was alright, because he was there with you and he always would be. Chrissy had been wrong. Kol Mikaelson was capable of love.

After a while, the boy broke away from you, resting his forehead against your own.

"We should get going," He whispered, combing his fingers through your hair. "You're not safe here anymore."

You nodded, opening your eyes to take in his expression. He seemed happy but a little bit sad too.

"Your mother's coming after me, isn't she?" You asked.

"Us, darling," He corrected. "She's coming after us." The boy leaned down to press another kiss against your brow. "But I won't let her hurt you. She'll never even come close, I promise."

"Where will we go?" You wondered. With a dead-undead-dead witch after you, would anywhere truly be safe? Kol sighed.

"As loath as I am to admit it, I think our best chance lies in New Orleans."

"New Orleans?" You questioned. "But didn't you say your family is there?"

He nodded. "I did."

You bit your lip. "Kol, not to be rude, but I'm not sure if I really wanna grab your family's attention."

They were a bunch of superpowered mass murderers after all. Yes, Kol was just as guilty as the rest of them, but he was your mass-murderer. You couldn't say the same of the rest of his family.

"I'm not exactly chomping at the bit for a family reunion either, love," He admitted, grimacing just a bit. Kol moved off of you and sat up, pulling you with him. "But our best hope of finding a permanent way to ensure my mother never harms you is to do so with their support. I may hate Klaus, but he is a strategic genius. Besides, if Christianna really is a member of the Strix then we'll have to deal with those lunatics too and, unfortunately, Elijah is the only one who can call his hounds off the hunt." He shrugged. "Best to get to him sooner rather than later."

"Okay." You took a shuddering breath and forced a smile. "Still, New Orleans is miles away," You pointed out. "Are you sure we can get there before…"

Kol placed his hands on your arms, looking you in the eyes. "No one is going to hurt you. I won't let them. Besides, you are more capable of fending for yourself than you believe."

You sent him an incredulous look. "You're kidding me, right?"

"No, I'm not."

"Kol, I can't do the screaming thing on command!" You insisted.

He shrugged. "I can teach you."

You bit your lip, nodding. "Sure, sure... And what do you know about being a Banshee?"

Kol opened his mouth to reply but shut it rather quickly, pausing for a moment to re-think his answer. "Alright, admittedly nothing. But, I have spent one thousand years - give or take a century - studying magic and the past two years figuring out how the Other Side works. So, between the two of us, we should be able to figure it out."

You raised your eyebrows. "That's gotta be the least reassuring thing I've heard all day."

"It'll be fine!"

"I'm not betting on that," You said. "Either way, taking care of my, er, condition can wait. We still gotta figure out how we're gonna get to New Orleans, cuz I don't have the money to book a flight."

A sly smirk spread across Kol's lips. "I might know someone who'd be willing to take us," He said with an innocent tilt of his head.

That statement sent alarm bells chiming through your brain.

"Just who exactly are we talking about?"

The boy simply grinned. "This is where that condition of yours comes in."

"What?"

A few moments later, you stood on the sidewalk in front of your house. You had stuffed your school bag with anything you might need for the next few days and you wore it on your back, tugging nervously on the straps.

"This is a terrible, terrible, idea," You announced, grimacing at the thought of using your powers again.

"You need to have more faith in yourself." Kol smirked.

"No thanks, I'm good."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright, so what did you do to access your power last time?"

You thought about it for a moment. "I felt all tingly, I guess?"

"Okay, so focus on that and do what comes naturally."

You bit your lip and glanced around, there were ghosts lining the evening streets. They were all simply going about their business, doing whatever it is that ghosts do, seeming mostly unaware of you as they did.

"These other ghosts-" You asked quietly. "- can they see us?"

"No," Kol answered, shaking his head. "Ghosts are like people - we can only see the plane of existence where the largest portion of our essence currently resides. Therefore a ghost on the Other Side can only see the Other Side, whereas a ghost on this side of the veil can see only the living world."

"So why can I see both you and them?"

He shrugged. "You're a Banshee," He replied. "As I said before, you effectively straddle the line between living and dead and thus can see both worlds. Currently, the majority of your essence is concentrated on this side, but once you cross over the dead will be able to see you."

You nodded. "Well, that's not scary at all." The boy chuckled and you frowned. "But what about you?"

He waved a hand. "Your blood wore off while we were making out so I'll be able to cross over with you just fine."

"Okay…" You were out of excuses.

"Just focus, Y/N," He encouraged softly. "This is in your nature, just let it happen."

You closed your eyes and sighed, wringing out your hands. Focusing on the ghosts you could feel standing all around you - and you realized then that, yes you could feel them - you opened yourself up to the energy surrounding them. The sensation started in your fingertips. It felt like the frosty waves that radiate from a block of ice when you hold your hands close to its surface. Like a creeping rime, the unnatural chill swept through your arms, creeping along your skin to encase your entire body. Every instinct you had demanded that you flinch away from it, anything to break off the connection, but you ignored all of them and kept pulling.

You could feel the chasm separating the two worlds - an ocean of endless blackness that both isolated and connected not only the world of the living and the Other Side, but every strange and unseen shore of infinite realms yet to be explored. You could sense them out there; the multiverse and all its power and this void that flowed between them. You were one with it. Something in you yearned to explore that vast expanse - to escape what had become your reality and travel anywhere else - but you pushed that feeling away. You could never leave Kol behind, you had sworn you wouldn't abandon him, so within that 4-D ocean of space and time you focused on the island that must have been the Other Side.

For one thing, it was the closest to the plane of existence you had just come from. The Other Side was like a boat moored to a dock. It kept attempting to drift away and float freely in the black ocean but it was as though there were magical chains keeping the realm tethered down. You guided yourself along those chains until you reached their end. When your form felt solid again, you opened your eyes.

The world around you was the same in some aspects. You were standing on your street, in front of your house but that was where the similarities stopped. The sky above was bleak and eerie, the moon hung full and looming in the sky but there were no stars. Everything was blanketed in a thick greenish fog that obscured your vision. You felt isolated and alone in the mist, yet you could feel the eyes of a multitude of ghosts trained on you and it made your skin crawl as you caught glimpses of their shadowy forms. The whole world reeked of death - of rotting flesh and burning corpses - it made you want to empty your stomach, but you realized with a start that you couldn't.

"Very good, darling. That trick took me months to master."

You jumped at the sudden voice piercing the silence, whirling around. Behind you stood Kol in all his undead glory - eyes dark, fangs out, and a hole in his chest exposing a mutilated heart. Though you'd seen him this way once before, you couldn't help the scream that clawed itself from your throat. Luckily, Kol reacted significantly faster this time, clapping his hands over his ears just before any damage could be done.

You slapped your hands over your mouth quickly, eyes wide.

"What on earth was that for?!" He demanded incredulously, dropping his hands.

"Sorry!" You peeped. "You just surprised me."

His expression was priceless but you tried your best not to laugh. "Bloody hell woman! You're going to be the death of me."

"Pretty sure I'm too late for that," You muttered under your breath.

He raised a brow. "Funny."

"Thanks, I-" You cut yourself off with a gasp as your gaze was drawn to the building behind him. The walls of your home began to fade away, becoming translucent until they disappeared completely, replaced by a visage of grand trees with long, looming branches. You glanced around at the rest of your street to find it changing as well. Time seemed to turn back on itself as the tarmac road shifted into one paved with cobblestone and the electric street lamps that accosted the sidewalk were lit by candle light once more. You gripped your ghost's sleeve, stepping a little closer to him just to be safe. "Kol? What in the Sam Hill just happened?" You asked, eyes wide.

"Hmm?" The boy didn't seem bothered. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, why does my street suddenly look like we just Somewhere in Time-ed?"

"Oh, you mean the decor?" He pried your hand's white-knuckle grip from his sleeve and brought it to his lips. The gesture did little to comfort you. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Well, I'm worried so get talking," You said, unable to keep your eyes from darting all around at the other ghosts lining the sidewalks.

He regarded you for a moment before seeming to make up his mind. "I suppose we have a moment. Come, sit." The boy tugged you along as he moved to sit on the curb. You sat beside him and he angled himself towards you so your knees were touching. "Ready for a crash course in being dead?" He asked with a cheeky grin.

You made a face. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Good answer." He smirked. Kol rubbed his hands together eagerly and you had to admit to being just a little bit scared. "Alright! Before I start, I want you to take everything you know about reality -" You nodded slowly. "- and toss it out the metaphorical window because I guarantee you it does not apply here."

You blinked. "Yeah, okay." Kol grinned and as he started talking, you could see a gleam in his eyes that you hadn't before. This was his passion - best you listen.

"The Other Side is an odd place, even as far as alternate dimensions go. Here, the concepts of space and time aren't as concrete as they are in the world of the living. For one thing, they're just like everything else in this place - incorporeal, impermanent. See, this reality used to be one of countless others like it, merely a reflection of our own with a few subtle differences, that is until a witch decided that she wanted to use it as a safety net for her revenge plot. She cast a spell that anchored this reality to the living world and designed it as a sort of catch-all for any being touched by magic, ensuring we never find peace." He sent you a tight smile.

"So that's why I couldn't see my dad?" You wondered. "Because he found peace and you couldn't?"

Kol nodded. "A veil similar to the one that keeps the living from seeing this realm, prevents souls like my own from finding the light." He explained. "Now, we're all trapped - doomed to wander this breach between worlds for all eternity." The boy turned his gaze outward into the shifting mists and the ghosts wandering aimlessly within them. A frown marred his lips and he began twisting one of the rings on his left hand. He sighed heavily. "Bloody hell, I hate it here. It's not right. Werewolves, vampires, and witches alike - they all come here when they die, even those that never discovered their abilities… children. They're all trapped here with monsters and murderers." Kol shook his head, muttering a curse under his breath. You reached out to touch his arm gently and he glanced up, offering a faint smile that was heartfelt if not entirely genuine. He took a breath and continued.

"Anyway, in order to be so close to the living plane, this place has been pulled out of orbit, so to speak. It doesn't want to be here nor does it want to interact with the living world at all, thus it tends to drift, which renders the laws of reality a little bit bendy to anyone with enough power. Time has no lasting effect and space can be molded to fit one's needs, or more specifically, your needs." He paused to waggle his brows at you. "This is where it gets fun," He promised. "There are a few things in the cosmos that make beings powerful. One of which is age and another is miracles - you're the latter. Your power is… intense yet ambient. It's a part of the two worlds you walk in, and with time, I think I can teach you to mold both realms to your desires."

Your brows pulled together and you nodded, still trying to wrap your head around that. "So, you're saying that as this place drifts further from the living plane, its appearance fluctuates through time?"

"Something like that, yes." He grinned. "Good to see you're catching on."

"Is it like a pendulum, with things looking more modern as it gets closer to the living world?" You wondered. " Or is it just kinda random?"

Kol shrugged. "I'm sure there is a pattern, but it seems mostly random from what I've observed," He said. "I think you're partially right. Time here does behave like a pendulum but at random times - most likely whenever a new soul crosses the gap, as you did earlier."

"Oh…" You nodded. "That's cool. But the thing with space that you were talking about…"

"Yes?"

"Is that how you teleport?" You asked, talking with your hands. "You just cross over, fold space up how you want it, then cross back?"

"Precisely." His grin grew wider. "Would you like to try it?"

You shook your head vigorously. "What? No! I don't know how!"

"No better time to learn!" Kol pulled you to your feet and pointed into the distance. "You see the end of the street?"

You had to squint through the fog, though it didn't help much with visibility. "Barely."

Kol stood behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders. "I want you to imagine that the end of the street is right in front of you, though how you do that is your decision. Personally, I like to imagine myself folding a piece of paper and taking a step but I've spoken to other ghosts who picture themselves jumping a gap."

"Okay." You bit your lip and wrung your hands. "Here goes nothing."

You closed your eyes and pictured your hands scrunching up the land between you and the end of the sidewalk, bunching it like an accordion, then you hopped forward. When your feet hit the ground, you opened your eyes and grinned. You were standing exactly where you had pictured. You turned around and pumped your fists in the air.

"I did it!" You called back to Kol.

"Excellent job, love!" He shouted. "Now come on back!"

You could have done that… but you decided to try something else. In your mind, you scrunched up the sidewalk between the two of you again but instead of crossing the distance, you reached across it. You pictured yourself grasping onto Kol's arms and tugging him forward.

Your eyes snapped open as you heard the boy cry out, a spark of panic ripping at your lungs. Kol's hands shot out, gripping your clothes as he stared at you with surprise. He glanced over his shoulder at where he'd previously been standing, then back at you and a bright grin stretched across his face.

"Never thought to try that before," He laughed, brushing out the wrinkles he'd made in your jacket. You couldn't help but grin as well. "But before you get any ideas, you're not taking us to New Orleans."

Your face fell. "Why not?!" You demanded. "Jumping the street was easy, I'm like ninety percent sure I could do that at least a couple more times without killing us!"

"I know, and I'm very proud of you," Kol said, smirking just a little bit at your eagerness. "But there's a bit of a difference between jumping the street and jumping to New Orleans." He pulled you closer and kissed your forehead, wrapping his arms around you. "I love you, darling… but I'm not sure how much trust I have in these newfound abilities of yours."

You shrugged. "Fair enough. I assume that means you have a ride?"

"Better!" He declared. "I have a friend!"

You stiffened at that. As much as you loved that boy, his personality didn't inspire much confidence in the sort of friends Kol would attract. "What kind of friend exactly?"

"The best kind, of course! The kind that owes me money!" His brows furrowed. "Not to mention six cows, I think… and a pig… four chickens… two horses… his firstborn…"

You blinked. "What kind of person-"

"A gambling addict," Kol answered, completely straight-faced. You were vaguely curious whether he was exaggerating or not. He pointed around the corner. "Here he comes now."

Glancing where he pointed, you squinted in an effort to see past the mists, though your eyesight was still much inferior to his so you heard what was coming before you saw it.

Hoofbeats pounded against the cobblestone street and you felt the color drain from your face.

"Kol?"

"Yes, darling?" He hummed. There was a certain smugness to his tone.

"Please tell me that's not -"

"Oh, but it is."

You caught sight of the glowing eyes first. They pierced the mist, followed by the massive black bodies that housed them. Horses as black as the night drew behind them an ominous black coach, driven by a driver you knew could only have been stark raving mad. The whip in his hand cracked, driving the horses to scream as they rounded the bend at breakneck speed. Two of the carriage's wheels left the street and you ducked on reflex, convinced that the whole thing would topple but it didn't. The wheels slammed back down with a roauctious crash and the driver laughed, throwing his head back as he tugged on the reins and his horses skidded to a dead halt.

Kol gripped your hand and tugged you down the street and you followed reluctantly.

"Francis!" He called as he strolled into the driver's view. "So good to see a friendly face. How've you been, mate?"

The man with the coach pulled a pipe from his mouth and squinted down at the both of you. His face was haggard and both his bone white hair and beard were wildly unkempt, frizzing about his face as though he'd been struck by lightning. Sticking out of his chest, you could see the broken odds and ends of ribs - a sight which would have heavily encouraged your gag reflex if only you were capable of gagging. You just shuddered instead.

"Bless my soul…" The man remarked quietly. "It really is you. I'd heard rumors but I never believed 'em. You know, I told em', I says: 'the ole' bat's too clever to wind up 'ere!' Guess I was wrong!" Francis threw his head back and laughed obnoxiously. His teeth were rotted and black.

"Indeed," Kol said with a tight smile. "Well, I don't intend to be here much longer. That being said, how fast can you take me and my companion to New Orleans?"

The grimy man snorted. "Eh, ten minutes or so. Why? Who's the bint?"

Kol glared at him. "She's not someone you will continue insulting, Francis," He ground out between clenched teeth. His arm wrapped around your waist tightly. "She's mine, that's all you need to know. If anyone asks around, you'll tell them you have no idea where we went. Savvy?"

"As yeh say, me'lord." Francis shrugged, jabbing his thumb at the coach. "Climb on back, the ride's here for you's is free… damn your good cardsmanship."

"A pleasure doing business with you, Franny." Your ghost said with a smirk. He turned to you. "Well, you heard the man, climb on up."

"I'm not getting in that thing,* You stated firmly.

"Come now, darling. It's perfectly safe!'

You raised a brow. "Kol, in case you forgot, I died in a car crash. I'm not about to die twice because I let this mad-man drive me anywhere!"

Kol waved a hand. "Oh please! Francis has been driving a cab since…" He paused, turning back to the driver. "Help me out here, mate."

"Fifteen sixty three," The man answered gruffly.

"Since fifteen sixty three!" He parroted, throwing the door to the carriage open and climbing in. "Besides, it's impossible for anyone to die here. You'll be fine." He offered you his hand. You eyed it for a moment before making a really stupid decision.

"I'm going to regret this," You muttered as you took his hand and let him pull you inside. The seats of the coach were upholstered with fine red leather and a lanturn hung from the roof. Your ghost shut the door behind you as you sat in the seat across from him, fidgeting worriedly.

"Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times, and if you feel the urge to scream…” The driver up front cracked his whip and a lazy grin pulled at Kol's lips, “- try really hard not to.”

You swallowed thickly and he just chuckled.

“I got’s tuh’ get outta ter' city before we’s can getta goin’,” Francis shouted back as the horses began to move. The coach shot forward with a jerk and you tried to focus on anything else, your fingernails digging into your knees with your effort to keep from leaping out of that death-trap contraption.

You eyed Kol who sat there, completely relaxed as he watched you with some amusement. His entire appearance was still incredibly upsetting, but if that was the way he had died then there really wasn’t anything that he could do about it.

“It’s really not my best look, is it?” The boy joked, catching onto your stare. “Sorry about that, love.”

“No, no… It’s fine.”

You couldn’t remember how you had died. All you knew was that a car had collided with your own and you had blacked out. So, what would you look like in this hellscape?

Glancing down at your lap, you inspected your hands. Aside from giving off that same haunting green glow that Kol’s skin did, yours seemed mostly the same. The window next to you was reflective enough to show you what you couldn’t see, but you dreaded looking at it. You knew that you probably should, if only so you could face what had really happened, but that knowledge didn’t make acting on it any easier. Drumming your fingers on your knees, you drew in a breath and turned your head slowly.

“You don’t have to look if you don’t want to.” Kol’s voice was gentle and it made you pause. If you didn’t know better, you would think the boy could read your mind. His hand came to rest comfortingly on your knee. “You don’t have to face this all at once. I know it’s a lot and it’s alright if you want to take it slow.”

“That bad, huh?” You asked, smiling wryly.

He didn’t blink. He didn’t hesitate for a moment.

“I’ve always thought you beautiful, darling,” He said. “But if that were all of you that I valued, then I would have been on my way a long time ago.”

You smiled. Maybe he really meant that.

The passenger window was rimmed with frost but you could see your reflection clearly enough when you turned your head. The first thing you noticed was your hair. Your naturally H/C hair was now a shocking, pure white. It was whiter than fresh snow and it flowed around your head as if suspended in water - as if frozen in time, mid-impact. Your eyes next were bloodshot. Not just bloodshot, but bleeding. Multiple blood vessels in your eyes had ruptured, rendering the whites nearly scarlet, and some of the blood had spilled over, slipping down your face as crimson tears. Similarly, a trail of blood trickled from the corner of your mouth and nose. You couldn’t taste the blood in your mouth but more seemed to dribble down your chin every time you moved your lips, like a never ending fountain. Your neck was marred with lacerations and broken pieces of glass but what really stood out was the stain on your shirt. Just beneath your rib cage, bloomed an ugly red stain. Your fingers brushed the mark.

“In case you’re curious -” Kol voiced. “- That would be the rather large fragment of shrapnel that embedded itself in your back and severed your spinal cord, ending your life before you could feel it.”

“Oh…” You nodded, voice weak if it was even there at all. “Well, that’s gonna give me nightmares, but uh… okay.” Turning away from your reflection, you took to playing with your hair in an attempt to repress the onslaught of imagery flashing behind your eyes. The carnage of that car accident right before you’d died played through your head on a seemingly endless loop and you buried your face in your hands. Kol’s grip on your knee tightened. He had been right before, when he told you about what it’s like on the Other Side. You could feel the pressure of his fingertips on your knee, but you couldn’t feel anything else. He wasn’t warm, his hands weren’t soft. He was touching you, but it wasn’t fulfilling in any way. You peeked up at him through your fingers.

“It’s okay if you’re not alright,” He said, offering you a small smile. “Heaven knows I wasn’t. If you want to talk about it, you know I’ll always listen.”

You wiped at your eyes and shook your head, clasping your hands in front of you. “It’s okay, Kol. I’ll be fine. Unfortunately, I’ll also be a freaking horror show, but I will be fine!”

His adorable half-smile was exactly what you needed to see at that moment. “Well, if you expect me to lie and say you’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen at this particular moment… I’m not going to.”

You snorted. “Good, because if you did, I wouldn’t believe you.”

“I know. Yet another reason why I love you.” He smirked. “But hey, look on the bright side. You only have to look like this when you’re here and when you scream.”

“When I scream too?” You groaned. “How is that the bright side?”

“Well, Francis here has to look this ugly all the time,” He replied jovially.

Up front, the driver shouted, “Very funny tha' is! We’ve reached speed, ya’ manky migin’ cad!”

Kol glanced up, straightening. “Is it that time already?” He shrugged and grabbed the overhead handrail, glancing back to shoot you a smirk. “I would hold onto something if I were you.”

“Wait, what?” You asked, confused and just a little worried.

“Well, we’re about to run through a brick wall.”

“WHAT?” You peered out the window to see the wall of one of your college’s dorms approaching fast. Your eyes flew wide and you gripped the edges of your seat in a white-knuckle grip.

Kol grinned. “Relax, darling! We’ll be fine, just think happy thoughts.”

You screamed instead.

The black horses in front of the carriage didn’t slow. They charged towards the building at full speed and you watched in a mixture of horror and amazement as the street in front of you stretched and contracted. Suddenly, you were inside the building. Your stomach dropped as you watched furniture and doors pass through your body. The mad driver of the phantom coach threw his head back, laughing boisterously and Kol joined in a moment later. The horses picked up more and more speed and your surroundings began to blur until you had left the dormitory behind and the scenery outside became nothing more than a slew of colors rushing past your window. Sickly shades of green and black were all you could see.

Before you had any time to react, the carriage lurched to a halt, throwing you unceremoniously into the ghost-boy’s lap. You groaned and he just chuckled, rubbing your back.

“That was fun, don’t you think?”

You drove your elbow into his gut. “No.”

He just snickered and helped you out, smirking when you purposely stepped on his foot. You knew he couldn’t feel any sort of pain here, but it made you feel better anyway.

“Welcome to N’awlins, me’Lord!” The coach driver wheezed, lighting his pipe anew as you stepped from the carriage.

Kol frowned. “You couldn’t have taken us further in?” This must have been the outskirts of the city's historic portion. You could only guess, however, seeing as the Other Side liked to change.

“An’ risk them crazy VooDoo queens hexin’ my ass?” Francis laughed though it sounded more like a cough. “No thank yeh! Dis bein’ as far as ye go.”

“Very well.” The boy sighed. “Thank you, Francis.”

“Not like I had much’uva choice, ya’ swine-headed git!” The crazy guy snorted and spat, clenching his pipe between his teeth. “Ter’ Misses sends her regards ter' ye’. Oh, an' o' couple of us ole' codgers get together at Buckin'ham fer' some Blackjack n’ Baccarat on Tuesdays if ye’ wan’ teh bring yer newest, er… dalliance along.”

Kol perked up. “Baccarat? What time?”

Francis grinned, displaying his set of rotted teeth.. “‘Round four. Let’s see ye try ‘ter cheat at that! HA!”

“I never cheated!” The boy insisted. “You’re just an awful gambler, mate.”

“Eh,” The man rolled his eyes with a grumble. “Have fun stormin’ da castle!” He shouted the gruff farewell over his shoulder as he spurred his horses and they started down the next road.

“TO THE WINCH, WENCH!” Kol bellowed. You scowled at him, and he just grinned, pointing towards the retreating coach. Just before it disappeared into the mists once more, you watched Francis flip him the bird and smirked. The boy nodded, satisfied with the rather unorthodox goodbye. Then he turned to you with a smile. “Come along then, love. Back to the land of the living.”

New Orleans was more beautiful than you expected once you’d crossed back over. The sun shone bright and the streets were alive with music and dancing. It was like something out of a dream except you’d never had a dream with such a high humidity percentage.

You offered Kol your hand but he turned you down.

“My brother has eyes and ears all over this city, darling. If you’re seen with me before we can get to Elijah, then things could get ugly rather quickly,” He said.

“Wait, is this the big, mean hybrid brother or one that controls the Strix?” You asked, glancing around as if you might spot someone tailing you. The idea was highly unlikely, or at least it would have been if your eyes hadn’t met those of a stranger in the crowded streets.

“Actually, it’s both,” He replied. You nodded.

“Uh, huh… and what might a member of the Strix look like, exactly?”

The boy shrugged. “They could look like anyone, really.”

“So like that dude then?” You pointed and Kol followed your finger, catching sight of the stranger who began pushing through the throngs of people towards you.

“Yep.” He nodded. “Definitely like that one.”

“Run?”

“Run!”

You took off. Weaving in between tourists as fast as you possibly could, though that wasn’t very fast because street traffic was slower than cold tar. The man was gaining on you and there really wasn’t much you could do.

“I’m gonna jump!” You said, glancing towards Kol who stood to your left.

“Jump?” He cried, eyes wide. “In New Orleans? Are you insane?”

“Little bit!”

“The ancestors will catch you!”

Naturally, you ignored his warning and crossed anyway. The shadows of the French Quarter enveloped you, but the streets were mostly empty now. You kept running, heart racing, legs pumping. Yet you stopped moving. You looked down with a building sense of dread. It was honestly like something out of a cartoon. As your feet pushed you forward, the ground beneath them drew back. Glancing over your shoulder, you caught sight of a hoard of figures shuffling towards you through the mists. Witches could manipulate the other side too. You cried out as the sidewalk wobbled and twisted, throwing you off balance. Kol appeared beside you and wrenched you to your feet.

“Pick up the pace, love!” He tugged on your arm, pulling you with him as he kept running.

You pointed towards the entrance to a small bar. “Door!”

The boy glanced towards it and nodded. It was a certain dead end and an excellent choke point. Focusing intently, you lunged for the building and ripped yourself away from the Other Side.

Admittedly, you hadn’t gone that far despite having expended a ridiculous amount of energy. Perhaps it would be best to build your magical endurance slowly, you thought as you nearly toppled to the ground. A searing pain slashed through your side and you gasped, stumbling and throwing yourself over the top of the bar. The place was closed during daylight hours. Hallelujah. The cheerful tinkling of the bells tied to the door jam did not match the intimidating figures of the two men dressed like secret service agents in a low-budget movie who stalked towards you. From the back door, two more approached. You hadn't even realized there was a back door, now you were flanked. How magnificent.

“It appears they have us surrounded,” Your ghost noted. Good thing he was there to state the obvious.

“Since when were there four of them?” You demanded, glancing worriedly at Kol who just shrugged.

“Beats me.”

Your eyes flicked between the vampire assassins and you swallowed thickly. “Is now a good time to hold hands?”

“No, I think that might just make things worse,” He mused. “Besides, I can’t fight four Strix members at once while holding onto you.”

“Well ain't that fantastic,” You grumbled.

“You could scream?” He suggested.

“I can’t do that on command, Kol!”

You glanced up as one of the vampires spoke. “Lookit that, boys. She is talking to that raging psychotic, after all.”

You hissed at your mistake. “Crap. Sorry.”

Kol sighed heavily and muttered something that sounded like a string of profanity. You followed his example, spinning in a circle. Keeping a bead on all four guys wasn’t exactly easy when they kept moving. You were panicking. What were they going to do? Were they going to butcher you for your body parts like Kol had said?

A hand caught your wrist and you didn't think. You just screamed.

It was as easy as breathing. It just happened. Nothing more to it.

Just in…

Then OUT.

Your scream was once again silent.

Actually, that’s not quite correct. It was loud. The sound was horrific - an unbearably shrill and positively ear-splitting screech, utterly deafening to all those who could hear it, but such a population would only include vampires and the nearby canine. You heard nothing, but the five vampires surrounding you fell to the ground, clutching their ears. They begged you to stop.

The wail of a banshee was a targeted sound - a frequency designed to hurt, to shake apart whatever enemy you faced. It was instinctual, you realized what you were doing but you weren't sure how you were doing it. You had learned about resonant frequency in your physics class. Every object vibrates on a certain frequency and if something - such as a lapping tide, a stomping foot, or a wave of sound - manages to match that frequency, applying pressure at just the right intervals, the object becomes unstable. It quickly begins to deteriorate, tearing itself apart, disintegrating from the inside out.

Your scream matched itself to the resonant frequency of every object in the building.

Every glass and bottle in the establishment shattered, the wooden shelves they rested on cracked and splintered, raining a curtain of broken glass and slivers onto both you and Kol. He hardly noticed - too busy writhing on the ground, howling bloody murder.

You hadn't meant to hurt him. You hadn't realized you could. He was a ghost, without a body for you to be able to hurt. It didn't make much sense but if you were a breach between worlds then your cry must have been able to harm spirits too. He’d been standing right next to you. He’d taken the worst of your power.

With a gasp, you snapped your mouth shut and dropped to your knees. His shoulders shook and he looked up at you with bloodshot eyes, choking, convulsing.

"No, no, no! Kol, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to!" You reached for him.

Something cold and metallic clasped around your wrist and a lock clicked into place.

Kol vanished.

Just like that, he was gone. It felt like your heart stuttered to a stop. Where did he go? Why couldn’t you see him? Was he alright?

“Kol?” You whispered. A searing pain erupted across your back as someone dragged you along the glass covered floor. Another lock clicked and you scrambled upright only to find yourself handcuffed to a table - one that was bolted to the floor. You looked up, shaking with fear and anger and pain. “What-what did you do?” You asked the man who had cuffed you. His ears were bleeding profusely and he just glared down at you.

One of the other vampires struggled to his feet, coughing up blood. “Aww, where's your boyfriend, princess?” He mocked. Anger flared white-hot in your chest.

You whipped your head to face him, teeth grinding. “What. Did. You. DO?!”

All four of your asailents once again dropped. Their ears bled. Their noses bled. They coughed up crimson and their eyes cried scarlet tears, but you weren’t done. No. No, they deserved this. They were murderers. They had taken Kol from you. What if you never saw him again? You weren’t ready to lose him forever!

So you kept screaming… and screaming… and screaming.

Two of the vampires stopped moving. Blood dribbled from their mouths and they didn't cough or twitch. You shut your mouth and whipped around to face the remaining two.

“Where is he?!” You demanded. “Where is he? What did you do? Tell me!”

It wasn’t really your fault they didn’t want to talk. If they had really wanted to, then they would have spoken up past the blood filling their lungs. They chose not to.

You took a deep breath and-

Someone punched you in the throat.

Coughing, you glanced up to see a familiar head of black hair. It was choppy since she’d sheared it off during her fight with Kol. Her eyes were calm, yet they held a hint of concern. You weren’t sure why.

“Y/N, stop it!” She commanded. You couldn’t speak past the shock to your voice box, so you shook your head viciously. It wasn't enough. If they wouldn't give Kol back, then they needed to suffer. She held up a finger to stop you. “No, Y/N! He’s still here and you’re hurting him too!”

That gave you pause, but Chrissy turned away from you, humming to herself as she removed a pair of earplugs. She danced over shattered glasses and splintered tables to the two groaning vampires and stooped down before shoving one hand through each of their chests. Their skins turned ashen and they lay still.

"Piercing a wooden anything through the heart kills a vampire, FYI," She said, answering your question before you could answer it. "Ripping the heart out entirely works too, but that's kinda nasty so I just wear a couple of wooden rings. Telling you that trick is me giving you permission to borrow it so you might want to jot that down."

You watched as she grabbed a napkin and used it to wipe the blood off her hands.

“What are you doing here?” You rasped.

"Saving your rear end and keeping your moral statutes unbroken in the eyes of your nation," She replied smoothly. You frowned, confused. The girl rolled her eyes. "Isn't there some stupid American law about cruel and unusual punishment?"

"Yeah."

She sighed. "It was a joke, you were supposed to laugh."

You glared at her. “Really? You killed my dad! I'm not gonna laugh at your jokes.”

"I didn't kill your father, dorogoy," She chuckled.

"The corpse I had to clean up says otherwise, along with your attempt to kill me," You hissed, not entirely sure where you were pulling this bravery from. You were just sick of being scared. Sick of losing people because of it. "Too bad you suck at your job."

Chrissy sighed. In one smooth movement, she got up, flipped her hair over her shoulder and then spun. Suddenly, you were staring down the barrel of a glock.

“Y/N, my sweet,” She hummed, a pleasant smile plastered across her young face. “What does it tell you when an assassin can’t kill their intended target?”

You blinked, taking a step back. Christianna pulled the trigger.

A sharp click pierced the air… yet, nothing happened.

The girl smirked, lowering the gun. “It tells you they aren’t really trying."

Her statement left you reeling. “What?”

“Podumay ob etom, solnyshko,” She said. You stared, wide eyed and the girl huffed. “Come on, you’re not stupid! Think it through.”

“Y-you weren’t trying to kill me?” You sputtered in disbelief.

“I believe I just said that, no?”

“Well, you could’ve fooled me.”

Chrissy rolled her eyes. “Keep up, girlie. This is me teaching you to fend for yourself. Think: if I wasn’t trying to kill you, and I just killed these two idiots so they couldn’t kidnap you, then what was I doing yesterday?” She asked, posing the question as if to a child. You had been too terrified and distracted yesterday to realize that Chrissy had an accent. It wasn't thick, but it sharpened her words into razorblades. “You’re not gonna survive another day in NOLA if you can’t speed this up.”

You shook your head, just trying to slow your spinning thoughts. “Uh… I dunno, faking my death?”

The girl wet her lips and blinked, nodding slowly. Her expression was one that called you every variant of dim there is to be said. She shrugged. “Actually, I was playing you up so hopefully Aya wouldn’t mess with you for a bit. Unfortunately, she’s insane so that worked about as well as one could expect given this mess.” She kicked one of the corpses with a huff.

You clenched your jaw. “Too bad, can't say I really care. Now, where’s Kol?” You demanded. “You said he’s here. Why can’t I see him?”

“Handcuffs,” She said, pointing. She bent down to inspect the two bodies, looking for something. You directed your eyes to the cuffs on your wrist.

“What about them?”

“They’re magic, duh.”

“Can you get them off?” You asked, trying to maintain your very thin illusion of civility. Chrissy raised a brow, considering you.

“Yeah, sure. Why not?” She wandered over and pinched the locks on either side of the cuffs, snapping the metal as easily as you would a toothpick. “Now, ask our lovely mutual friend how he would have murdered these duraki.”

As soon as you were free, you dashed around the bar and there he was. Kol laid sprawled on the floor, a pool of blood and broken glass surrounding his head. You knelt down by his side. You did this to him.

“Kol?” You called his name quietly. “Kol, are you okay?” He didn’t respond. “Please say you’re okay. I-I didn’t mean to hurt you, I-I just…” You shook your head, blinking back tears. Fighting the urge to touch him was like trying to fight a riptide, but you didn't know if it was safe yet. Someone might be watching. You wanted to touch him more than anything in the world. This was your fault. “Kol, I’m so sorry.”

A pained noise sounded from the back of his throat and your head snapped up. “We’ve got to stop doing this, love,” He groaned. The corners of his lips twitched up and you sighed in relief.

Just then, Chrissy hopped up onto the bar. “Yo, we don’t have time for yall’s romantic crap, okay? We gots to go!" She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. "Now, ask him how he would have killed these dudes.”

Kol shook his head, throwing an arm over his eyes. “I’m not telling her anything,” He stated. You looked up at her again.

“Uh, he’s mad at you.”

“Good for him.” She smiled sickly sweet. “Kol, you're an overgrown toddler and you need to figure out how to let things go. Now, I am trying to help you and your bonnie-lass, not because I like you, but because I might just be the only member of the Strix who is actually loyal to Elijah. I’ve been his personal eyes and ears on the inside for about three or four hundred years now and discovered a while ago that Aya is planning a coup. She wants to break her sire line and, with the entirety of the Strix behind her - save for yours truly - the absolute hag plans to use you and little miss Danny Phantom over here as some big-ass magic batteries. Elijah doesn’t want you to end up tortured for the next millinea and I don’t want Aya’s supiriority complex to reach critical mass. In other words, I’m on your side, stupid!”

Kol rolled his eyes and did the talking hand thing. You had to bite your tongue to keep from laughing and he sighed.

“How lovely," He said, sitting up and rubbing his temples. "Please tell her these words exactly, darling: My dearest little match girl, I couldn't care less whose side you're on. Whether it was part of a stunt or not, your little grudge nearly cost me the love of my life. So as far as I'm concerned, you can shove all of that where the sun don’t shine. Thank you and good day.”

You didn't fail to notice that he referred to you as the love of his life, however, now probably wasn't the time or place to squeal like a little girl about that so you stored it away for later.

You gaped at him. "I'm not gonna tell her that!"

"Why not?" Both the girl and the ghost asked simultaneously.

"I dunno," You deadpanned, shooting the boy a meaningful look. "Maybe I'd just like to keep as many allies as we can get."

"What? I said please." He shrugged.

You frowned. “He says: My dearest little match girl, I couldn't care less whose side you're on. Whether it was part of a stunt or not, your little grudge nearly cost me the love of my life. So as far as I'm concerned, you can shove all of that where the sun don’t shine. Thank you and good day." You held your hands up as if to surrender. "Again those are his words, not mine!"

Chrissy grimaced. “Okay, first of all? That was below the belt. Second, I do not identify with any folktale based on my death, okay? And finally, what part of that whole spiel did you not understand?”

“The part where Elijah gives a damn about me.”

You repeated his words.

“As hard as it is to believe, he’s your brother, moron. He loves you, and I pity him,” She deadpanned. You weren’t about to relay an argument, so you just touched Kol’s wrist.

“Really?” His face contorted into a sneer as he glared up at the black haired girl. “Two years I was dead, Christianna. Two bloody years, and Elijah did nothing! If he lacks the capability to call off his dogs, then I want nothing to do with him,” The boy growled. He stood and wrapped his arm around your shoulders, half to keep you protected and half for his own support. You followed his lead as he made for the door.

“I think you missed the part where I’m not asking,” Chrissy called out.

“I think you missed the part where I don’t care,” He spat over his shoulder.

“I already beat you once,” The girl warned. “Do you really think you’ll stand a chance now? When you’re not doped up on banshee blood?” Kol stopped at the door and Chrissy continued. “I’ve been watching you two for a long time and - I gotta say, psycho - you really almost impressed me. I’ve never seen you hold a con this long. Death must do wonders for one’s patience because damn! It’s almost endearing that you’re too scared to take another bite of her… Too scared to lose it - lose control, lose your one chance, lose your mind - if you do…” She slowly crept around the room to stand about five feet to your right. Your whole body tensed as you heard the soft click of a switchblade. “Wanna see if I can make you?”

Kol pushed you behind him, facing the girl with the knife.

“Don’t you dare,” He threatened slowly.

She gasped mockingly. “Oh, oh! How ‘bout a game? Let’s make it a game!” She laughed. “That’s what you always said to me, isn’t it? Let’s make it a game, Chrissy. They won’t mind, it’s just a game, Chrissy… Oh, and what about my personal favorite? If you just do this one thing for me, you’ll never be cold again, Chrissy - I promise.” Her impression of his voice was disturbing, mostly because of just how chillingly twisted it sounded coming out of her mouth. Those must have been the words he’d used. “Funny, cuz the most depressing folk-tale ever was based off of me and how I froze to death right where you left me.”

Faster than you could blink, she dashed forward and broke both of Kol’s arms, pulling you to the other side of the room where she held a knife to your neck, ready to draw blood.

“No! NO! Don’t do it!” He shouted. Yet she couldn’t hear him. She nudged your knee.

“What’s he saying?”

“He’s saying don’t kill me,” You whispered, trying your best not to breathe and accidentally cut yourself on the knife. Chrissy smirked.

“Gimme one good reason,” The girl hissed. “You know what I want.”

“I’m sorry.” He blurted the words out immediately and surprised as you were, you relayed them as fast as you could. “I’m sorry for what I did to you. It was cruel and-”

“Ah, ah, ah!” She cut both of you off. Staring at the ground rather than in his direction. “Say it like you mean it, darling. Beg me not to make you kill her. She may come back, but you know she’ll never forgive you.”

You could hear his teeth grinding. But he did it.

Kol knelt down, on his knees and he begged for your life.

“I used you, Christianna, and I’m sorry.” You relayed his words. “I’ve never regretted anything more in my existence and that’s the truth. You were innocent - a child - and I hurt you. For that one deed alone, I know I’m doomed to hell.” His breath shook and you could see the tears welling in his eye as he watched you. This is what he’d meant. He’d promised that he would one day prove just how much he loved you. This was it. You nodded to show him that you understood. The boy continued. “But mine is not the fate prepared for you, so just let the girl go, alright? You’re better than me, you always have been. Just let her go.”

You finished his message and awaited her response with baited breath.

Chrissy laughed.

“Well, you’re wrong about one thing,” She said. “I’m not better than you, Kol. I am what you made me… Well, you and Rebekah, that is.”

You squeezed your eyes shut and waited to die. Again. Yet, once again, you didn’t.

“That's quite enough, Christianna. Thank you.”

This voice was different. It wasn't like the assassin's - frigidly playful whilst bordering on unhinged. No, it was collected, polished, and polite; yet it held a distinctly dark and rather deadly edge. Not unlike the blade of a sword.

Across the room from you, Kol's entire body froze. He met your eyes and nodded - a gesture that filled you with dread. He knew that voice.

Chrissy huffed, dropping the knife from your throat. "Buzzkill," She muttered.

From the shadows that sheltered the door at the back of the bar, emerged a tall, dark haired man dressed to the nines. Instantly, you knew this had to be Elijah. The brotherly resemblance gave it away. Though, you had to admit, having the foreknowledge that Elijah was older, you had expected him to be the taller one. Rather, Kol was the tallest by a solid few inches.

"As I recall, I asked you to bring this young lady to me unharmed," Elijah reprimanded, leveling the bounty hunter with a withering stare as he strode across the room as though he owned it.

"I wasn't gonna do anything," She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "What, you think I actually want and/or need your baby brother's validation? Come on! I just love making him squirm… Even if I can’t actually see it." Chrissy shrugged. “It’s a lot more entertaining when I can see it, but oh well!”

"You promised me you would put aside your personal grudges, Christianna," Elijah said, straightening his cufflinks in what Kol had informed you was a deliberate act to appear bored.

"And I did," The girl snorted. "Hence why she's not bleeding. If you failed to specify by what means, then that’s your problem; but you said to keep them here and keep them here I did. You’re welcome!” She smirked and hopped up onto a table to start cleaning her fingernails with a knife.

Elijah sighed and shook his head with a long-suffering expression before turning towards you. "My apologies on behalf of my associate, she can be a bit… enthusiastic."

You rubbed at your throat, nodding. "Yeah, I got that."

He offered you a smile that was nothing more than polite. "I see. Now, not to be rude, but I am in just a slight rush. Might I ask to speak with my brother?"

You flicked your eyes to Kol. He stood slowly and backed away from his older brother, glaring daggers. You pursed your lips. "Sorry, uh… sir. But I don't know if he wants to talk to you."

“I see.” The man nodded and opted to address the air. "Kol, I'm afraid this matter cannot wait as it is one of utmost importance concerning our family."

Kol huffed a laugh but there was nothing happy in it. "Our family? That's rich. What do you want this time, eh?" He said. “Do you and Nik want to use the both of us as the perfect magic battery as well?"

"Our family?" You repeated. "That's rich. What do you want this time, eh? Do you and Nik want to use the both of us as the perfect magic battery as well?"

Elijah’s brow furrowed as he inspected you. Then he seemed to figure it out. His eyes swept across the room, almost anxiously, as though part of him expected Kol’s rage to allow him to manifest from the woodwork.

"It really is you, isn't it?" He chuckled, the beginnings of a smile pulling at his lips. "You know, for a while, there was a part of myself that just couldn't quite bring itself to believe it."

Kol pressed his lips together. Then, slowly, he crossed the room and held his hand out for you to take. You tangled your fingers together and Elijah drew in a sharp gasp, struggling to believe his eyes.

"It's me," Kol said.

Elijah grinned. "Hello, brother."

“Hello, Elijah,” He huffed. The ghost’s lips twisted into a sneer. “Well, that was interesting. Goodbye, Elijah.”

“Daaaaaaang! Death made you salty!” Chrissy cackled from her perch. You glanced back at her and she winked. You couldn’t say you didn’t agree, but you kept that to yourself as Kol tugged you towards the door.

“Kol, wait.”

“No.”

“I said wait!”

“OR WHAT?!” The boy roared, whipping around with a snarl. “What are you going to do? Dagger me? Sorry to say, but you’re a little too late.”

His older brother sighed. “Both our mother and one of the most dangerous and cunning beings alive seek your power and that of this woman. I seek only to ensure your safety - to keep you from eternal torture. Kol…” He opened his arms in an inviting gesture. “Can we not simply talk? Will you not let me help you?”

“No.” He smirked tightly. “No, I won’t.”

“Why?” Elijah pointed. “Is it because of her?”

“Man, I just love being talked about like I’m not here,” You muttered under your breath.

“Join the club, korovka.” Chrissy grinned lazily. “They do that a lot.” You snorted and turned your attention back to the pair of brothers.

Kol drew in a sharp breath. “No, it’s not because of Y/N. It’s because of you.”

“I assure you brother, whatever I have done, you have my word that I will do my best to fix it.”

“You can’t fix it!” He yelled. “You don’t even care to! You don’t care about me! Now, if you can’t call off your dogs, then I want nothing to do with you.” They stared one another down for a moment. “Have a nice life.”

“Kol, you are my brother-”

The boy cut him off with a harsh, biting laugh. "No, I’m not! I never have been and I see that now. I have never been a part of Always and Forever, Elijah. Admit it!”

“That is simply not true.”

“Isn’t it?” He hissed, stalking closer. “You’re a liar, brother. If I was truly part of your little pact, then I would have been there when it was made. But I wasn’t! If I were truly a part of Always and Forever then you, Nik, and Bekah would have decimated the town where I was murdered. But you didn’t!” Kol cried. “You didn’t mourn me! You didn’t avenge me! You did nothing!” How many months had he spent doing this? Yelling and screaming and pleading to be remembered, even though his siblings couldn’t see or hear him? You placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him. Kol covered it with his own, calming just a bit. “Then what? I come here, and I learn that you knew where I was all along? You could have talked to me - even just once, just to say that you were looking into a way to get me back - but you didn’t. You chose not to. You chose to abandon me.”

“I know,” Elijah said. “And for that I am sorry. There were other matters that demanded my attention, but I did not forsake you as you are so keen to believe. As soon as my contacts alerted me to the creation of a banshee, I immediately sent Christianna to seek this young woman out.” He gestured to you. “I had hoped that, when her powers grew sufficient enough, Christianna might be able to convince Miss. Y/N to resurrect you; however, when I was informed that such a deed was not within her power, I left Miss. Galkin to watch over the both of you while I sought out a more feasible method to bring you back.”

“Good for you.” He shook his head. “You’re too late.”

“I ask nothing of you,” Elijah reasoned. “I only want to help.”

“Well sure, you say that now but every time, it’s the same thing. You or Nik or Bekah, you want a favor so you make all these promises. You promise to be better - to be more tolerant, to listen - then I agree and I do whatever it is and then you turn your back on me! It happens every time. Every single time, Elijah. I hold up my end and you break your word. Every time, I fall for the same old act! Well, not anymore! So, why don’t you just go ahead and do what you do best,” Kol spat. “Leave me alone Always and Forever because I will listen to these platitudes no longer. I don’t want to see you and I don’t want to talk to you! Hell, I don’t want to think about you or about Niklaus or even about Rebekah ever again!”

“Well, that’s too damn bad!” A feminine voice joined the conversation from behind you. The ghost beside you stilled. Then he sighed, hanging his head. He didn’t glance behind him.

“Hey there, Bex,” He said dryly. You peeked over your shoulder to see a gorgeous blonde standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Weren’t Kol and his siblings supposed to be one thousand years old? Because science dictates it should be impossible for all of them to be this insanely beautiful. How was that fair?

“Oh, no you don’t, you minging, gormless, narcissistic, smooth-talking, mouth-breathing wanker!” The girl - Rebekah - stomped around the two of you to stand right in front of Kol. In heels, she stood almost level with his chin so naturally he made a point of looking down at her while she shoved an accusatory finger at his chest. “You don’t get to push me away, Kol! Not when I’ve only just gotten you back!” She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his jacket with all the enthusiasm of a younger sister who absolutely adored her partner in crime.

Kol rolled his eyes and returned the hug as much as he could with just one arm. He tried to play at reluctance, but you could tell that he was relieved to see her again. He could claim to hate his little sister, but saying the words would never make them true. “Really?” He sighed, staring blankly at their eldest sibling while he rubbed circles over his sister’s back. “You kept this a secret from her?”

“I didn’t want to get her hopes up for nothing,” He replied with just the suggestion of a smirk.

“I missed you so much, you absolute moron!” Rebekah sniffled, squeezing the poor boy tighter. “You were right about the cure and you were right about Silas, you were right about everything! I should have believed you and I’m sorry! I’m so sorry.” She shook her head and Kol smirked, patting her head. He was enjoying this a little too much.

“It’s okay, Rebekah,” He said. “I forgive you.”

“Really?” Her head shot up.

“Yes, little sister.” He chuckled and pressed a sweet kiss to the crown of her head. “ I can never stay mad at you.”

“So you’ll still let me choose the music at your wedding?”

“Of co-” He blinked. “Wait, when did I say anything about that?”

The blonde grinned. “You didn’t, I was just hoping to slip a commitment in there when you weren’t paying attention.”

“Who said anything about a wedding?” You asked, glancing between them. Rebekah looked up with a mischievous smile that scared you just a little bit. “Also, that insult was the most beautiful I have ever heard.” You added.

“Thank you,” She preened. You sighed a tiny breath of relief but she wasn’t done. “As for the wedding, we’ll have to set a date once we bring my brother back to life for you.”

You felt the color drain from your face. “Say what?”

“Oh, don’t try that.” Rebekah waved a hand. “I’ve seen the pictures.”

“What pictures?” Kol demanded.

“That would be me.” Towards the back of the room, Chrissy raised her hand and both you and Kol turned to stare at her with varying degrees of what the hell? “Twas I who took the stalker photos. I am both unashamed and immensely sorrowful.” She announced, smirking like a very satisfied cat.

You blanched. “Wait a second, just how many are we talking?”

“You know how much a free google photos account gets you?”

You nodded. “Uh, huh…”

“Yeah, like three of those.”

“What? How?!” Kol demanded, equally baffled as you.

Chrissy shrugged. “Well, ya see, I’ve got seventy eight some-odd fake Emails and-”

“No, no,” You cut her off. “How did you take that many?”

“I mean, I had a year,” She said, pointing one of her knives at you. “Plus, stalking yall was kinda my full-time job so I didn’t have much else to do besides compile a wedding album.”

Rebekah nodded enthusiastically. “It's adorable.”

“Stalking is not adorable!”

“No, stalking is practical,” She countered. “The pictures are adorable.”

Kol pinched his nose, muttering, “Can I die again please?”

“Ditto,” You agreed.

“Trio!” Chrissy chimed in. You raised a brow and she just shrugged.

“Why, Elijah?” Kol complained as he rounded on his brother. “Why did you let them do this? How could you?”

The eldest sibling shrugged, lips twitching. “I thought it might be humorous.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“And are you amused?”

“Indubitably.”

“Oh, bloody hell.”

Rebekah moved in front of you, placing her hands on your shoulders. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I am ecstatic to have another sister!”

“Another sister?” You and Kol asked in unison, though you were pretty sure the two of you asked for very different reasons.

Elijah nodded. “Freya has recently reunited with us.”

“She’s annoying,” Chrissy supplied.

Kol sighed. “Of course…”

That was about the moment when you just gave up trying to understand everything that was going on. Your Weirdshit-O-Meter had hit its peak the day before and you were positive it was simply broken.

“You know, hindsight tells me this could have gone over a lot worse but, personally… I’m having a hard time believing it,” You said, shaking your head. “This has got to be the oddest family gathering in history.”

“Second only to the next one which will include our hybrid brother, his hybrid former one night stand and their tribrid daughter!” Rebekah added cheerfully.

“Huh…” You blinked. “Well, that’s neat.”

Tagging: @yn-ymn-yln @r13mar @rootbeerfaygo @iiskittles16ii @fandomrulesall-blog @dark-night-sky-99 @railingsofsorrow @apolloroid @thatweirdoleigh @misswe03 @eat-cake @felinegrate Hey, if you want on or off the tag list for just this series and/or all my other works, just send me a DM to let me know! And if Tumblr won't let me tag you, I'll just send you a friendly DM reminder at your request. Thanks for reading!

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