the devil in disguise, the vampire diaries ( 1 )

XXIX.

"be quiet, kol. your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine." esther replied sharply to the wild mikaelson.

the ancestors dropped the spell once again, blood dripping from the heretic's nose and ears. she let out a shaky breath, keeping her eyes closed tightly as the spirits played tricks on her mind.

"please," the witch's eyes brimmed with tears as jocelyn siphoned from her. "you don't— you don't have to do this."

"oh, but i do, sweetheart." jocelyn taunted, taking a hold of the girl's face.

"she'll never forgive you for this." the witch breathed out, peering behind the bennett. jocelyn furrowed her eyebrows, following the girl's gaze.

"grams?" jocelyn mumbled, seeing the look of fear on the woman's face. "gra—"

"the witches—" grams eyes left her granddaughters, looking to the spirits of the ancestors surrounding the two. "they won't stop until you pay for your actions, baby."

"grams!" jocelyn went to grab the woman's arm before the ancestors could rip her away, but felt a burning sensation as she grabbed her grandmother's hand. "stop! take me, kill me, punish me however you see fit, but leave her out of this!"

"this isn't the end, miss bennet—"

jocelyn awoke with a gasp, her eyes wide. she breathed heavily as she met the familiar blue eyes she'd grown to love, to adore in every sense.

"i fucked up." jocelyn shook her head multiple times, peering over to the abandoned home before she glanced to the empty, now dark pentagram. "this isn't the end."

"miss odessa, look at me." klaus put his hand on the side of her face, forcing the girl to meet his eyes again. "what happened?"

"the witches—" jocelyn shook her head, trying desperately to erase the image of her grams being pulled away from her mind. "it's all my fault."

klaus couldn't utter another word to the heretic before she was gone, disappearing into the shadows. elijah was quick to take ahold of his brother's shoulder, stopping him from going after her.

"leave her be, niklaus."

"she needs me." klaus shoved his brother's hold off his shoulder before he to disappeared into the night, following the sound of choked out sobs and the whisper of her voice.

☾ °☆ . * ● ¸ . ★

"i'm sorry." jocelyn squeezed her eyes shut. "i'm so sorry."

klaus came to a halt a few feet away from the hysterical girl. her finger traced the engraving in the tombstone, her hand visibly shaking.

"it hurts." jocelyn whispered, nearly inaudible even for his supernatural hearing. "she's suffering— because of me."

"what did you see, jocelyn?" klaus took a hesitant step closer to the heretic. "please, talk to me."

"the witches want to punish me." jocelyn replied after a moment. "they knew if they couldn't get you—"

"there was someone on the other side they could." klaus finished for the girl, his words barely above a whisper as realization dawned on him. "miss odess—"

"i went through coven after coven. trying desperately to feel something other than the emptiness i felt. to make anyone feel the pain i was feeling." jocelyn brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself. "and now, i feel like i've lost her all over again. at least before, i knew she was okay, but now— i can't live with myself knowing i—"