"Why did you do it?"
Kol lifted his head to look at the door. It was morning and he was packing his bag since they all were leaving in a few minutes. He had not seen Aliza since the previous night given that she refused to talk to anyone.
Rebekah had been distant towards him, he figured it would only last for a couple of months. Klaus had not said a word to Kol while Elijah was busy with his own misery, judging by the exhausted look on his elder brother's face.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kol mumbled before continuing to stuff his clothes in the bag and zipping it close.
Bonnie shook her head and further walked into the room.
"I saw you," She said, her voice low, "I heard what you said to Aliza when she was sleeping."
"So you were following me?" He asked in a casual tone.
"This is not a joke. Why all this time you act like you didn't care about her?"
"Because-" Kol snapped but took a deep breath before continuing, "Nevermind. What's done is done."
Bonnie sighed and said, "And that is what I'm trying to understand. Why?"
Her eyes widened with concern when she saw Kol's pain-filled eyes. It was hard to miss, the way his shoulders slumped and he ran a hand through his hair, a loud exhale escaping his mouth like he was trying to keep it together.
"I can't," He said, "I-I can't let this happen, Bonnie."
"Tell me what happened," She insisted with a soft tone as she came to stand in front of him.
"After I was killed by your friends, I was resurrected in a mortal body by my mother. And I met a girl," He smiled a little, "Davina. She was amazing. Charming, beautiful, strong, and just amazing,
But I guess I should have stayed away because, in the end, I lost her in a way I could never imagine."
"Tell me," She insisted.
"I killed her." He confessed, "As if that was not enough Freya and Elijah sacrificed her soul to the ancestors, and even though she has found peace. I can never forgive myself for putting her through all this,"
"It wasn't your fault,"
Kol shook his head and said, "Aliza deserves better. Yes, I hated her because she is Finn's daughter but I realized that she is destined for greater things, and being a part of this, us being a part of her life will never do her any good."
He smiled down at Bonnie, "I can say the same for you,"
Kol tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and leaned forward to press his lips against her forehead. She closed her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Goodbye, darling,"
Bonnie opened her eyes to find herself standing alone in the room that somehow felt colder.
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After the fight with her mom, Aliza refused to talk to anyone about any of this. She felt betrayed, wondering what else was hidden from her.
All this time she was the only person that didn't know what was truly happening. It was her life, it should be her choice too.
How could they just storm into her life and make decisions on her behalf? No matter how guilty everyone was, they had no right to decide her future. There was no way she could accept some people she didn't even know properly, making her choices.
Aliza couldn't decide if she was more angry or sad by all of this. She couldn't decide who to truly blame and who was the most accountable for everything.
She didn't say goodbye to anyone in the Boarding School, Stefan and Enzo tried to approach her but Vincent stopped them. Aliza was by her dad's side the entire time, avoiding any sort of eye contact. Matt didn't show up which was a good thing for her. Caroline and Bonnie seemed guilty but Aliza was too tired to care.
On arriving in New Orleans in complete silence and her ears covered with headphones during the whole journey, blasting My Chemical Romance since James Bay's songs were a little too mellow for the situation. She didn't even care about the supernatural hearing of everyone. Also doing a fantastic job in ignoring Henrik.
Marcel, Camille, and Freya were waiting outside the house when they arrived. Along with them, there was another woman who was standing beside Freya, both seemingly close if the arm of that woman around Freya's shoulders meant anything.
Without sparing them with a look, Aliza had gone straight to her room and locked herself up. Rome informed her that they needed some time, considering the weather that was preventing them to leave soon.
That day Aliza came to the conclusion that the universe hated her.
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"Absolutely not."
Freya sighed, "Rome, please let me talk to her. Just once."
It had been two days and Aliza had not said a word to anyone, not even exiting her room to eat or practice. Rome had reached out to a friend and managed to find an apartment for them to stay in since the weather was still not the best.
Freya was growing desperate, she didn't want to lose Aliza. She wanted Aliza to love them like a family and accept them. But the way she even refused to look at Freya or anyone for that matter, was painful to bear.
Rome shook his head, not wanting to burden Aliza more. He said, "I'm asking you to leave her alone, Freya. You cannot make her change her mind."
"How about I talk to her?" Keelin suggested. She could understand Freya's need to convince Aliza. She had spoken about Finn once and it was more than enough for Keelin to know just how much he mattered to Freya.
"She doesn't know you," Vincent pointed out, "You will only make her feel more uncomfortable."
"What if I apologize to her?"
All four of them turned their heads to look at Klaus who stood there, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.
"What did you just say?" Vincent asked, not sure if he heard the right thing.
Klaus sighed and said, "Keelin and I will talk to her and I'll apologize. On behalf of Kol too."
He had threatened Kol but it didn't seem to work. Klaus couldn't understand just why Kol hated Aliza so much. There was something deeper than anyone could see, Klaus could sense it but he figured he must focus on Aliza first.
Vincent glanced at Rome who seemed to ponder Klaus's suggestion.
Rome eventually exhaled and said, "I'll go with you. If she says no, we will leave her alone." He added, "I'm not asking."
Klaus nodded his head, understanding Rome's paranoia for Aliza.
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"You are very talented," The woman who introduced herself as Keelin said in awe.
Aliza didn't bother to look at her and kept her attention focused on the sheet that was spread on the ground and the charcoal in her hands as she continued to sketch. Keelin so far seemed like a nice woman but after everything Aliza had found out she was questioning whether or not this woman was a killer.
Henrik watched everything, sitting on the bed with a grim look on his face. He had been trying to get Aliza to talk to him but she would either act like he wasn't there or put her headphones on.
He felt horrible, after centuries of loneliness, Aliza had been a joy. Talking to her made him feel like he wasn't alone, the silly banters and the movies she made him watch. She never for once made him feel any less of a human, and whenever he was alone with her, Henrik would forget that in reality, he was dead.
"I wasn't aware you'd be this good,"
At Klaus's words, Aliza mused, "Funny. Freya knows, Elijah knows, Cami and Marcel know too. Oh, I forgot," She lifted her head to look at him and said, "You never cared." With that, she shifted her eyes back on the ground.
Klaus winced. He couldn't say Aliza was wrong. Elijah had informed him about her being a gifted artist. Klaus just assumed he was praising her just to get him interested. He realized Elijah wasn't bluffing. Aliza was sketching the library of Caroline's boarding school with such details and liveliness that Klaus couldn't help but feel proud.
He realized just how many chances he had ignored all because of the fear injected by the woman who did nothing but lied to him all his life. Klaus knew what it felt like to find out that your entire life was a lie, yet he put Aliza in such a position. Because Klaus had been scared that Aliza was made by his mother to finish her mission of killing all of them.
Klaus glanced at Keelin and Rome before taking a step forward and sitting down in front of Aliza. He could see just how red and swollen her eyes were, her face covered with exhaustion all because he had been too egoistic to keep his temper in check.
"I'm aware that you're angry-"
"Understatement of the century,"
Klaus sighed, "This was not supposed to happen, love. Please forgive me and Kol. We never meant to hurt you," He said, his voice sincere and honest. He did feel guilty for lashing out at Aliza this way.
"How old were you?"
Klaus tilted his head in confusion, "I don't..."
Aliza continued to sketch, her eyes on the page, she said, "You were barely five, weren't you? When he first hit you?"
Klaus flinched.
She continued, "You used to blame yourself in the beginning. Always making sure you did what he asked, made sure that you gave your best. But he didn't stop. And it became some sort of daily routine for him to hurt you like that.
While your brothers and sister tried to stop him. The one person who should have? She never interfered. And even though she consoled you afterward, you started to hate her too."
Rome and Keelin watched in complete silence. Klaus seemed to have frozen, not even a twitch of his muscle visible. Keelin had never seen Klaus in such a daze as if the wind had been sucked out of his lungs.
Henrik closed his eyes, hating the bitter memories that came along with Aliza's every word. He remembered the extents their father would go to make Niklaus feel pain, to humiliate him, and to show that he was nothing short of an abomination.
"I may not know what it feels like to be in that position. I do know that it hurt, it still does but that's not an excuse. It never was. "
Aliza lifted her head to look Klaus in the eye and said, "What happened to you was traumatizing but that doesn't give you the right to traumatize other people. Especially not the weaker ones. Just because you're the original hybrid doesn't mean you can hurt anyone you want as if they don't have a family of their own."
Aliza resumed her focus on the sketch that she was working on.
Klaus could feel his eyes water, taken aback by Aliza's honesty. In other circumstances, he would have slaughtered the person before they could even finish their statement but Klaus did not feel a shred of anger in his bones.
There was an odd sense of shame that was emerging in his heart. He remembered Camille warning him not to become like Mikael but Aliza didn't even utter that man's name or relate him to Klaus.
Klaus remembered how he waited for Esther to stop Mikael, he waited for her to push him away, waited for her to tell Mikael that Klaus was their son. But she never did.
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"It feels strange doesn't it, Niklaus?"
He didn't bother to look at Elijah, continuing to paint. Klaus decided that he needed to clear his head and also get a drink so without sparing anyone with a glance he had grabbed a bottle of scotch and stormed right into his studio.
Aliza's confrontation had left him shaken. It had been a while since he felt this way, his heart was pounding and his lungs were twisting with each breath he took.
Elijah said, "When someone is nothing but honest with no fear of you. It does feel strange."
"What do you want?" He grumbled.
"Katerina says she forgives you."
Klaus turned his head to glance at his brother who stood near the door with a letter in his hands. He figured it was the letter Katherine must have written for him.
"Does she now?" He replied, turning his attention back to his painting. He had no desire to think about Katherine and what he did to her. He felt awful enough already.
Elijah added, "She also says you could never break her, and that she won."
"Maybe she did," Klaus spoke, his voice low and soft while mixing the green and white paint.
His mind was directing him to paint scenery, with a bright blue sky along with green trees and bushes graced by the sunlight. Klaus had an odd habit of making bright paints look dull somehow. Centuries had passed and every painting he made felt lifeless to him one way or another.
"You knew she had a daughter."
"I recall her name being Nadia. She was the reason Katherine was banished from her family." He said as he began to stroke the brush against the canvas.
Before meeting Katherine in England, Klaus had gathered all the information he could about her.
Years later he was informed about a certain vampire who had been searching for Katherine for almost five hundred years. Later on, he found out that it was Katherine's daughter but he didn't care much about that matter.
"I assume you are aware that it was Tyler Lockwood who was the reason for her death."
"Why are you asking me all this Elijah? As far as you're concerned, Katherine has Aliza's blood in her system. No one can hurt her."
"We already have done plenty of damage, I suppose."
"What do you want?" Klaus repeated as he began working on the bushes.
"What does 'Always and Forever' mean?"
He stopped painting but didn't turn to look at Elijah.
"We promised Hope that we will protect her always and forever but she is safer being away from us." Elijah said, taking a step further, "Finn died with the words always and forever on his lips but we provided him with nothing but nine centuries of failure.
We stole every opportunity Rebekah had in terms of being happy the way she wanted to be, we sacrificed the love of Kol's life in the name of always and forever.
We took no responsibility for our actions, no remorse for the deeds we have done because we kept justifying it by saying that we did this for our family. But now I have no clue what always and forever means, brother."
Klaus closed his eyes, the tears dripping down on his palette. Every word was like a stab to his heart.
"Perhaps," Klaus said, "I too never knew what those words meant,"
"Are we living a lie, Niklaus?"
He turned to look at Elijah whose eyes were filled with his own remorse and shame.
"Maybe we have been for a while now, brother"
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The whole hypocrisy of 'always and forever' pissed me off. Like it's hard to describe the entire notion because it is so tangled and complicated.
Klaus killed Carol Lockwood. He hurt every girl Elijah cared about. Tbh the only reason Hayley stuck around was that she was carrying Klaus's baby and that's how he got to know her better. I mean Klaus killed Gia despite the fact that she was innocent. Pretty sure if Gia was around longer, Klaus would've been taken by her too.
Elijah was criticizing Katherine for killing Jeremy as if Elena and her friends didn't kill his two brothers. Elijah killed Trevor IN FRONT OF ROSE in such a horrifying way and said that she was 'free'.
Marcel slaughtered so many innocent witches for being themselves and got emotional over Davina.
The same goes for the Mystic Falls gang. They killed two whole bloodlines (I mean sure most vampires are dickheads but there must have been hundreds who deserved a second chance just like Stefan and Damon got), only for Elena to shove the cure down Katherine's throat?? What was the point then???
Btw in my first plot, I was going to include Davina but I wanted to give Kol some backstory behind his intentions so I decided to just continue after her death. I actually wanted more scenes of Marcel and Davina, more father-daughter moments but instead, we got Kolvina. My thoughts over kolvina are just meh. But then again that's just my opinion.
This chapter feels rather dull, I don't know why cause I wrote it five days ago and tried to edit it as much as possible. Maybe I'm just feeling shitty in general.
I am trying to not drink caffeine after noon but yesterday evening I ended up eating three chocolate doughnuts, an entire glass of coffee, and watched a murder mystery all at once. And this later resulted in me not getting enough sleep and now I feel like shit.
Do comment and share your thoughts.
And also don't forget to vote!