Chapter 14
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, or The Originals in any way shape or form. I just merely enjoy playing with the characters for my own, and your personal amusement…
Throughout history class, Bella kept her mouth shut as Kol Mikaelson intentionally tormented Elena. He made spit balls and launched them at the girl through a hollow pen tube. She couldn’t help but feel guilty at the amount of amusement she felt for his actions and the punishment that the girl she had once hoped to be friends with was enduring.
What also surprised her was that the teacher said nothing throughout the entire event, right up until the bell rang. Gathering her books, she could feel his presence hovering nearby, but not in an overwhelming way that Edward had done with her.
“You just get a thrill of pissing Elena off, don’t you?” she asked, pulling her bag over her shoulder to head out.
Kol followed with an easy smile. “She’s easy to annoy. You can’t say you didn’t enjoy it either, Poppet. So what class do we have next?”
Bella eyed him skeptically. “I don’t know about you, but I have chemistry next.”
“Chemistry sounds like fun. Will we get to mix some chemicals and make interesting reactions today?” he asked, throwing an arm around her shoulder as they made their way through the halls.
For the most part, the two ignored the inquisitive looks they received, but Bella was still very confused about Kol’s presence. “Why are you here?”
“Why not? Our brothers informed me that I needed to get out more, that I needed to catch up on modern times, so why not join in with the current education system? I could also make friends with my new sister at the same time as pissing off the local scoobies. Best of both worlds, I say!” he answered with a grin that she found herself unable to keep from laughing.
“Elijah and Klaus did tell you that I haven’t decided whether I’m getting involved with your family or not yet, haven’t they?”
“Of course, but I never listen to them. You spent your time with them and heard their tales. You haven’t spent time with me yet. Who knows? Perhaps they may have frightened you off with their stories, but I just may be able to entice you in,” he teased, his voice dripping with honey as he leaned in and tapped her nose with his finger. “Come now, sister. We’re in our class! I’m eager to learn about protons and neutrons!”
Taking a deep breath, Bella blinked and followed him in, completely in a state of shock. Inside, she found him compelling the teacher. Scowling, she slammed her books on her workstation and was about to drag the crazy vampire from the room and bitch him out when the teacher turned and smiled at her.
“Ah, Miss Swan. Mr. Mikaelson here informed me that you two have gotten to know one another in your previous class. Would you be comfortable changing lab partners to be with him?” he asked.
Her eyes fluttered at the question, but it wasn’t so much the idea of changing of partners or the manipulation of the teacher at that point now. Kol had done it in a way that it gave her an option. Not like what she was anticipating. Somehow, she expected it to play out in another way, and she wanted to find out why. “Um, yes, sir. I don’t mind,” she stumbled through her words, watching Kol as he sauntered over to the seat next to her. As soon as the teacher was out of earshot, she turned to him, narrowing her eyes. “What are you doing? What was that?”
“I could have forced the partnership, but I also don’t want to make you an enemy,” he admitted as he looked up at the chalkboard. “Give us a chance, Bella. That’s all we’re asking.”
Bella drew in a breath but said nothing as she watched him settle down and focus on the lesson when the teacher began. She tried her best to focus but found it difficult, her thoughts frequently straying to the vampire family. Occasionally, Kol would interrupt her with a question about the assignment that she’d been staring at, and before she knew it, the class was over.
“Well, that was fun,” he grinned, cleaning up their work area. “What’s next?”
“I hate you.”
“Aww, you love me! Admit it! I’m your favorite, right?” Kol teased. “No seriously, what do we have next?”
She shook her head in disbelief. “Didn’t you get your schedule when you had them enroll you?”
“Nah. I just compelled them to give me the same schedule as you,” he admitted without remorse.
Sighing, she turned and started for the gymnasium. “We have phys ed now. And if you are going to be a pain in the ass like this every day, I will be going to Elijah and Klaus about doing something about this.”
Kol reached out and gently grasped her arm, pulling her back. “I’m not particularly keen on this next period. How about we just skip it? What say we go get a drink and have some one on one?”
“Uh, you can cut, but I’m not,” she huffed, moving to pull out of his hold only he tugged her back.
“It wouldn’t hurt for you to live a little, Doll. Come now, Just spend a period or two and just chat with me. No interruptions from teachers or nosey doppelgangers and her witch friends. So what do you say?”
Bella was curious about him; she had to admit. It would only be fair as she had given his brothers a significant amount of time over the weekend to hear what they had to say, that she couldn’t very well say no now. “Fine. But we come back the moment I say that I’ve had enough, deal?”
“Deal, Love,” Kol grinned, his smile fading at her kittenish growl. “Don’t like that endearment?”
“No,” she replied succinctly. “And do me a favor and make sure Klaus never calls me that again. It took everything in me not to blow his head off this weekend.”
He smiled, guiding her out of the building and to the parking lot where he had his car parked. Opening the passenger door for her, he continued to remain silent at her questioning glances until he made his way around and joined her. “Alright then, Poppet,” he let out happily, reaching back behind the seat for a bag. Inside he pulled out a couple of sandwiches and read the scribble on them. “We have an eggplant sandwich and one with tuna salad. What would you like?”
“What the hell are you doing, Kol?” Bella asked.
Kol looked up from his brother’s scrawl, confused. “Waiting for you to pick a sandwich so that we can talk over food. Unless you want me to snag one of our lovely classmates? There were a couple that smelled potently fragrant.”
Glaring at him, she reached across and pulled the eggplant sandwich from his hand. They started to eat, neither one speaking but she could feel his eyes on her. “So you wanted your time. You got it.”
“You’re right, I guess I do,” he hummed around a mouthful of his sandwich. “I’m an open book. Ask me anything you wish.”
“I don’t know what to ask. I don’t know you,” she pointed out.
He stared out the windshield thoughtfully, considering what to share, or ask her of herself. “You know, I’d heard about you from witch covens over the centuries,” he teased, pleased to see the interest in her eyes when he glanced over at her. “No one knew much, of course, but the oldest lines that were existing at the time had their rumors of a powerful being that was reborn often. Too frequently for a typical doppelganger phenomenon like your Petrova friend.”
“Elena is not my friend,” Bella objected quickly, irritation bubbling up.
“She’s liked by many. I recall the Salvatore brothers being particularly fond of her. I wonder how that love triangle is fairing since Niklaus left for New Orleans.”
“It’s not. Damon is with me,” she muttered, her tone low and with a warning. “Stefan isn’t too pleased with her constantly being against me as well.”
Kol turned and looked her over thoughtfully. “And what do you feel for Stefan?”
She sighed and knew what he was trying to do. “He’s like my brother.”
“I’m your brother. Klaus and Elijah are your brothers. But from what I heard, you don’t have the memories of the family that far back yet,” he argued defensively. “I’ll grant that you wouldn’t even know them if you did gain the memories back from before your – departure. However, there would at least be our parents and Finn. He was the one of us that remembered you the most.”
“And where is he? If he knows me from that time, then I’d like to talk with him.”
“A bit of a problem there, Poppet. Your friends, Stefan and one his human idiots. Well, they conspired against us and killed him with a white oak stake. I’m sorry to say that he’s no longer with us,” he frowned his fist on his lap turning white in his suppressed rage.
Bella opened her mouth to deny that her friend and almost brother would do such a thing, but when she looked up, she could see Stefan across the campus, looking in their direction with concern. A deep coldness settled within her, and she knew that Kol was not lying. She already knew that Damon was no angel, but he’d freely admitted to the evils he’d committed, especially once he learned of her potential link to the powerful family.
“Truthfully, I don’t know what to think about all this,” she admitted. “I don’t know how I feel about you and your brothers.”
“You don’t have to feel anything you don’t want to do,” he replied after a moment. “I know Elijah and Klaus are eager for you to join the family. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t also, but don’t let them force you. You’re powerful enough to put them in their places if you want.”
She picked at her sandwich, eyeing him with suspicion. “And what is your excuse for this?”
Kol smirked as he looked over at her. “Just want us to get to know each other. I know you don’t want a brother right now. Perhaps in the future, but I’d settle for us being friends if you are willing.”
Bella found that she was beginning to like the guy, if only that he wasn’t completely forcing her to do what he wants by joining the family. He was giving her the choice of joining them, on her own. “What is everyone really like?”
Smiling around his sandwich as he took a bite, he took his time to think about how to answer her question. “Klaus can be a real bastard, but he was always about family and loyalty. He can get destructive when he feels he’s been betrayed or abandoned. So, if you do choose to accept the family, keep that in mind if you consider going back on that decision. Otherwise, he’s just like anyone else, I suppose. He likes art and does a lot of painting.”
“And Elijah?”
“Elijah. Bloody arse. He’s all about morals and doing the right thing, but he also has no problems taking a life if it meant protecting the family. He has issues of his own, I know. When we were first created, he had control issues, but they went away. I think our mother did something,” he muttered irritably, his face carefully composed but she could still see the clear anger underneath.
Darkness filled her, catching in her throat and making her heart damn near stop at the thought that crossed her mind. If the woman that claimed to be their mother was so evil, so conspiring for her gain and preservation, then what truly happened to her? “You think she had something to do with me as well?”
Kol was silent, staring out the window before closing his eyes. “I do. I’m sure that Niklaus told you bits of his story, how he is the product of an affair she’d had. Yes?”
“I heard a little about that,” she whispered.
“Considering your birth name and his history, I don’t think that incident with the wolf here was Esther’s first. I believe that she may have had relations with one in the Old World. From the stories I was told of you, you were named Ylva. It means wolf. So, it stands to reason that you have a similar heritage as Klaus.”
“But I have magic…?” Bella started to say, confused about everything she was learning from him.
“Of course you do. I once had magic, was able to practice it. Same with Elijah and Rebekah – our other sister. But we lost that ability when we were turned into vampires, Darling. So, it begs the question of what happened to you that had you reincarnated as you have been, and the reason behind the strength of your magic. What I would love to work with you on is getting those first and early most memories dug up while a good lot of power you are capable of is out of reach. The last thing any of us want is for you to not to be able to control your abilities and trust that I’m not saying that for our benefit. It benefits absolutely no one if you accidentally blow up the whole town. Of course, I wouldn’t care. I hate this miserable place.”
“It’s no so bad,” Bella thoughtfully replied, causing him to look up at her with an incredulous expression on his face. “Well, Elena and the doppelganger vampire issues aside – it is quite nice. I think you and Damon would get along great, to be honest. Stefan would probably be more approachable if Elena weren’t around.”
Kol smirked then. “I’ve always wanted to kill one of the Salvatores. Killing the bunny muncher would be great!”
“Hold on,” she laughed. “Just because Stefan is the odd one doesn’t mean he needs to be killed.”
“Attitude adjustment then? I can do it!”
“We’ll see,” she mused.
~o.O.o~
Despite attempting to remain patient and allow Bella to come to them on her terms, Klaus, in particular, grew more anxious to collect his lost sister and return to New Orleans. It took a lot out of Elijah to convince his brother that they needed to continue to wait. He held some hope that Kol might be able to get through to the girl in ways that they were unable. After all, the unstable brother always had a way with witches.
Elijah had another plan as well. One that required a little more finesse. In the time while they waited for Bella to accept her position, he began to research her life in her current reincarnation. Learning that she was the daughter of the town’s new sheriff, he was almost certain that he had gained knowledge about the supernatural that exists in Mystic Falls.
While Kol had kept Bella distracted at school, the two brothers made their way into town, seeking out the house they currently lived in. At seeing the police cruiser in the driveway, Klaus gave a slight smile. “Shall we go introduce ourselves?”
“Behave, Niklaus. If we want Bella on our side, we need to get him to like us. Not try to kill us,” Elijah warned as the two exited their car and started up the walkway.
Klaus was quicker than his brother as he reached to press the doorbell. He shoved his hands in his pants pockets as he let out a breath, eyeing the door with contempt. Having the man invite them inside to talk might take some convincing, she was certain. Especially if he’d been work with his former flame’s mother, Sheriff Forbes.
They didn’t have to wait long as the door opened, revealing an older man with hair just as dark as Bella’s and a mustache to match. His studious eyes looked from Elijah to Klaus, and back a couple of times and the two could see the muscle in his jaw tense with mild recognition. “May I help you with something?”
“Good afternoon, Sheriff Swan. My name is Elijah and my brother, and I were hoping that we might discuss something rather personal with you,” one started, quite politely. “If we may come in to talk…?”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed on him before sliding over to the man that thus far had remained silent. “Nah. I think we’re good just right where we are until you tell me why you are on my porch.”
The brothers glanced at one another; Klaus rolled his eyes. “We wish to discuss your daughter, Isabella. I assure you that we are not here to cause you or her any harm. We would just like to inform you of some things that have come up that involves her and our family.”
“Cut to the chase boys. I know exactly who and what you are. Until you give me a damn good reason to invite you in, it ain’t gonna happen. Mentioning my daughter will only piss me off more, and I will have no trouble finding me some white oak and shoving it in your hearts,” the human snapped, his anger rapidly rising.
“I take it Sheriff Forbes filled you in on the previous events in this town,” Klaus murmured, leaning against the door jam with a smirk. “If she has, then she can also tell you that I was once involved with her daughter and protected her when her friends did something foolish.”
If they had been characters in some comic book that Elijah had sometimes found Kol reading, he would swear that there would be steam coming from the man’s ears and nose. “Mister Swan. I highly doubt that Isabella has informed you of all that she knows about the supernatural -”
“My daughter knows nothing of it. I intend to keep it that way if you catch my drift -”
Chuckling, Klaus shook his head at the irony of the two. “If you truly believe that, then the girl is an even better actress than I had assumed her to be, Elijah. Honestly, Bella’s been involved much longer than since she moved to Forks to be with you. She’s born supernatural, and we will be happy to tell you her dirty little secrets if you invite us in so that this conversation is not overheard by your nosey neighbors.”
They could see the shock that the man attempted to mask as he debated his options. Nodding slowly, Charlie stepped back, opening the door wider. “Come in,” he begrudgingly invited.
“Thank you,” Elijah nodded as he stepped inside, glancing around curiously before following Charlie to the living area.
“Now what do you mean by my daughter being born supernaturally?” the man demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the two.
“Isabella may be born your daughter in this generation, but her very being and essence is a reincarnation. She’s a witch that had been born many years ago and had lived one life after another,” Elijah explained.
Charlie narrowed his eyes at him, shaking his head slightly. “My daughter is not a witch.”
Klaus’ smirk grew into a full-fledged grin. “Oh, but she is! And she’s only becoming more powerful as time passes. That leads us to one of our many concerns about her.”
“I won’t let you kill my daughter. I’ll die protecting her first,” the cop sneered, regretting not having a stake on him at that moment.
“I assure you that we are not interested in harming her in any way. Quite the opposite in fact,” Elijah calmly interjected, stepping between Charlie’s line of sight of Klaus. “We know exactly who Isabella is a reincarnation of, and we are equally invested in protecting her from whatever that may threaten her.”
“Why? Why my daughter?” Charlie demanded, calming only marginally as his confusion began to take precedent.
“She is our sister,” Klaus bluntly answered, all signs of his previous humor gone. “Isabella is the reincarnation of our sister, lost over 1000 years ago. We’d thought she had perished in a plague that overtook our family’s homeland before our parents left for the New World.”
Blinking, Charlie stumbled as he moved to the closest seat as the new information settled. “How certain are you of this?”
“Very. Damon Salvatore can confirm that she’d once lived when he was still human, right here in Mystic Falls,” Elijah murmured as he eyed him. “You did know that the Salvatores are vampires, right?”
“I had my suspicions but pushed them aside because I could see how happy Bella and Damon were over the last week or so. Do you know why her?” he asked.
“We are still trying to find out more about the spell or curse that was placed on her. All we have been able to determine was that our mother lied to the family about her death. We’ve been hoping that she would regain her memories of when that occurred but when we last spoken with her, or Damon, she still only has those of her reincarnated lives,” Elijah continued to explain, unsure how to help the man.
Running a frustrated hand over his face, Charlie shook his head and looked back at the two as they stared at him, waiting. “Just what do you want from me? I can’t help you with any of this. I’m only human.”
“We extended an invitation for Bella to join us in New Orleans, with the rest of the family. Our other sister is there waiting,” Klaus answered, hesitating at the end. “Anyone you ask about the Mikaelson family can assure you that we protect our own, despite whatever drama we might be going through with one another. For us, this is a second chance – a gift, if you will. We don’t wish to let her go, just as much as I am sure you do not, but she belongs with her kind.”
“My daughter is not a vampire!” Charlie started to argue again.
Elijah drew in a deep breath and shot a look of annoyance over at Klaus. “What my brother meant, we would like to bring her back with us. She will need help controlling her growing abilities, and we still have to find the source of the magic that reincarnated her to frequency. Of the lives she recalls, she doesn’t often live past twenty. So you can imagine the pressure we have to keep her alive, not only for you but ourselves. If something were to happen, we would not know where or when her next rebirth would occur. Our youngest brother, Kol, has extensive knowledge of witchcraft and could help her immensely, you are so willing.”
Charlie sat back with a scowl on his face, considering everything. He knew it truly would be in Bella’s best interest, but if they hadn’t been able to convince her, knowing his daughter as he did, it was him that was holding her back. “If I get her to agree to go to New Orleans, I’m coming with her. Hell, if she chooses to become immortal, then I just may ask to be changed myself. I won’t let her go through this alone.”
Klaus wanted to object but the glare he got from his brother, silenced him. “I am certain we can come to a compromise. Of course, everything is contingent on Bella accepting her family.”
A thought suddenly came to the man’s mind, and he smirked at the brothers. “So, I get that you feel she’s your sister. If that’s true, and I’m her father, what does that make me to you?”
“An inconvenient nuisance,” Klaus muttered, as Elijah shook his head.
“While you aren’t blood, you would be considered a part of our family as well,” Elijah smiled, more satisfied that they have Bella’s father on board.
