The Burdens We Carry

Which monster do you prefer ?

Hayley started to respond when a new voice joined their conversation. She watched as the smirk disappeared from the woman's face, her eyes devoid of emotion. Hayley wondered if this woman was even capable of feeling or expressing feelings.

"Now, now, sister. The information Hayley has is for my ears only. But if you're willing to stick around for more than two weeks, maybe I'll clue you in," the new voice said.

Kara downed her second glass of bourbon and eyed her brother's mischievous grin. "Got important things in France soon. Heard about your chaos - hybrids, undaggered siblings. Ever heard of a phone?"

"You're too caught up with Lauren or Rachel to care about family drama, huh?" he needled.

Ignoring his taunt, Kara shrugged on her black coat. "I'm over your power trips. I'll find my own entertainment."

"Now that you've succeeded in defeating our father, you've become even more of an insufferable twat," she dryly commented. "Your actions resulted in the death of our youngest brother, and your errors have now led to the demise of two of our siblings." Concealing her pain, she added, "If you make another mistake, I'll return, Niklaus, and prove why your level of infamy will never surpass mine." Shifting her gaze, her dull blue eyes revealed her hybrid nature, with Kara's striking violet iris surrounded by black instead of the usual gold like Klaus's.

"That.."

"I've said my piece, brother," she spat angrily. "I may not be here to clean up your messes anymore, Niklaus, but I won't let another sibling die because of your conflicts."

The mischievous look in Klaus's eyes disappeared, tears forming in his eyes. "I wasn't to blame for Finn's death."

Kàra scoffed, "Have you already forgotten about him, Niklaus?" She asked softly, her voice filled with sadness and anger.

"Kara—"

She gestured to halt his efforts to console her, let her mixed emotions fade, and walked away from him. "Resolve this issue before I cause harm to this town and its residents, including the blonde you seem to care for."

"Take care, little wolf. There are threats all around us nowadays."

🐺

It occurred the day prior to her departure from the town, where she confronted the Salvatore brothers, almost staking one and breaking the other's neck as she continued walking. The children in the town disgusted her. She faced the vampire hunter who killed her brother, resisting the urge to harm him. Having found what she sought, she now only had to reach Josephine.

"I thought you had gone," Kara heard as she turned around to see a pair of glowing green eyes under the night sky.

"In the morning," she replied nonchalantly.

Hayley nodded slowly, "So you won't be helping Klaus, then?"

Kára inwardly dismissed the idea of tidying up after her family members, Rebekah and Klaus, who consistently left chaos behind them. She had abandoned this task centuries ago. Despite their belief that she had given up on them, she remained indifferent to their efforts to repair their sibling relationship. Elijah and Kol understood that her love for them had not diminished, but she was simply exhausted. She was not their caretaker or mother, and the once powerful vow of "always and forever" had lost its significance due to the betrayal that tainted their bond.

"Niklaus needs to take care of his own problems, I don't need to get involved in the town's drama. I'm not interested in what's happening here, I found what I was looking for and now I'm leaving."

Hayley hesitated, something had been bothering her since that day. "Can I inquire about something?"

The Original let out a sigh. "If I decline and leave, would you go away, little wolf?"

Offended, Hayley crossed her arms. "You don't have any friends do you?" Hayley retorted with a hint of annoyance.

Kara grinned slyly. "Is that your question? I didn't think you were so naive, Hayley."Gritting her teeth, Hayley questioned, "Why do your eyes change to violet?"Kára gave the girl a pensive look. "If I answer, can I ask a question in return?"Hayley nodded. "That seems fair."

"Great." Kara paused. "To answer your question, it's just way too complex to put into words," she grinned at the puzzled look on the girl's face. Without letting Hayley speak, she pushed her against the wall, trapping her with her arms. "Why have you been tailing me for the past few days, little wolf?"

Hayley blushed at being discovered. "I... I was intrigued," she confessed softly.

Kara kept the girl's gaze up, and gently held her face. "Intrigued? About what?"

"Your brother mentioned something the other day.. something I wanted to understand and thought I could by watching you. But you avoided me, and the last thing I saw was you almost attacking Damon Salvatore while hurting Stephan, but you spared Jeremy."

Kára knew those were the only actions her stalker witnessed, even though the girl was a wolf, she wasn't good at being sneaky. "I see.. so, what have you figured out?"

Hayley looked puzzled. "Not much, except that you keep to yourself, seem indifferent, and the only time I saw a hint of anger was when you talked to Klaus about your brothers' deaths. But when you faced their killer, you just looked at him and walked away. It's puzzling; why? Why didn't you do anything to the man who caused your brothers' deaths if you were so angry?"

Kara gazed into the forest green eyes, seeing a girl with the keen observation skills of Sherlock Holmes. "I'm not a loner," she shrugged. "I prefer solitude to avoid dealing with fools. As for Jeremy, he's a vampire hunter. I know the consequences of harming a hunter like him." She paused. "I won't risk the hunter's curse. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Hayley, taken aback, asked, "So you wouldn't seek justice for your brother?"

Kara's eyes briefly flashed with anger before she composed herself. "I have other priorities," she replied shortly. "If that's all, I have an early flight to catch," she said, releasing the younger wolf.

Hayley suggested, "How about a drink to celebrate your last night in town?"

Kara warned, "Be grateful I haven't harmed you yet. You've been spying on me for days. Others have faced worse fates for less, little wolf."

Hayley laughed, "You haven't killed me yet."

Kara's eyes flickered violet before returning to blue, thinking to herself, "The little wolf is daring, maybe a bit too naive." She responded, "True, you did say you're not interested in heartless immortals."

Hayley shrugged and said, "I've always been told I don't have much sense of self-preservation."

Kara glanced at her watch, realizing that most bars in the small town were already closed. "Since all the bars are closed, if you're determined to take a risk, I'm willing to invite you into my sinister lair for the night," she offered to the wolf.

Hayley pondered the suggestion, observing the unchanged expression of her potential companion. "Well, if I survive until morning, I should consider myself lucky once more?" she quipped.

The original hybrid averted her eyes from the wolf, questioning why she had agreed to this conversation in the first place. "Indeed, and by then, perhaps then you will forget ever meeting any Mikaelson.. it will prolong your life," she warned.

Hayley caught up with the mysterious woman. "Even Elijah? The most noble of all?"

Kára chuckled dryly, her eyes drifting to the twinkling stars in the dark sky. "As far as I'm concerned, your end is near," she paused. "Hiding your true nature is the same as pretending you don't exist. I see no reason to continue the charade." She shifted her gaze from the beautiful night sky to the young woman beside her. "Tell me, Hayley, which do you prefer? The monster out in the open or the one disguised as civil?"

🐺