Sincerely Yours [Stefan Salvatore]

[52. Collateral Damage]

Klaus nodded and carefully set down the canvas before pulling another one out of the bag. This particular painting was of the night sky with realistic colors that stood out brightly.

"So, you paint, huh?" Kol asked her once Klaus was distracted.

"I draw sometimes," Lucy shrugged.

Kol nodded. "And what about your siphoning abilities?"

"I'm working on them," Lucy frowned self-consciously. "I'm getting better at making the magic last longer."

"You can protect yourself?"

Lucy nodded. "I know some spells."

Kol was very interested in her siphoning abilities and he had been before, when she was Luciana. Kol had always been the most supportive when it came to her and Henrik learning about their abilities. He was often the one who taught Luciana anything that had to do with magic. He even snuck around Esther and let her siphon from him to practice the spells he learned.

"I'll pick you up one of the grimoires I've collected over the years," Kol informed Lucy. "I've got one specific for siphoners that you can have."

"I thought that there wasn't much on siphoners."

"Not much," Kol conceded. "but I've run into some over the years. They're not very tolerated in the witch community."

Lucy scoffed. "No kidding."

Kol gave her a sympathetic smile but Lucy knew that she was much more privileged than some of the siphoners that came before her. In this life, she had been discriminated against for her siphoning abilities only once—her life as Lucia was much darker, and she was even murdered for her nature.

It was quiet as Klaus went through the rest of the paintings she brought, giving her quiet compliments once in a while, or giving her a critique that she appreciated and wanted to try next time she painted. It felt nice to talk to someone about her art; Jeremy was a drawer and wasn't a big fan of paint at all.

Rebekah walked into the living room thirty minutes later, her green dress ripped in some places and her hair a mess.

"Well, well, well, there's our girl," Kol crowed as he stood up and came face-to-face with her.

"Get out of my way, Kol," Rebekah snapped at him, adjusting her black heels in her grip.

"Out all night," Kol fell away and continued to tease his sister. "What a scandal. I trust you did better than that commoner. Matt, was it?"

"Kol..." Lucy gave him a warning look, offended on Matt's behalf.

"If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth," Rebekah threatened him before catching the small smirk on Klaus' face. "Don't start, Nik."

Klaus looked down at his sketch with an innocent smile. "I didn't say anything."

Lucy rolled her eyes at her brothers and gave Rebekah a sympathetic smile.

"I'm bored," Kol sighed dramatically. "Our sister is a strumpet but at least she's having fun. I need entertainment."

"What are you waiting for?" Klaus looked at him. "Go on. Have at it."

"It's no fun to go alone," Kol whined. "Join me, Nik. It's the least you could do after sticking a dagger in my heart."

Lucy had to bit her lip to keep in her laughter at Kol's pathetic puppy-eyed face. She was actually surprised that Klaus fell for it, but it seemed he had a guilty conscious.