—————
This morning I was woken by Tibbles laying down on my chest.
I smiled brightly at the orange striped kitten, and proceeded to get ready for the day.
After that, I trotted downstairs, Tibbles following right behind me.
I walked into the kitchen to see everyone except Finn and Esther eating breakfast.
Finn and Esther have really only been by themselves, which gave me a weird feeling, but I just ignored it.
"Good morning, angel." Nik greets, standing from his seat to give me a hug.
"Good morning." I smile.
I sit down in the seat he pulls out for me. It's in between him and Kol.
Tibbles runs over to his food and water bowls.
"Sleep well, my love?" Nik asks sweetly.
"Sleep well, my love? God you're so lovey dovey, it makes me sick." Kol jokes.
"Kol, if you could find somebody that would put up with you for more than five minutes, I'm sure you'd act the same way." Rebekah retorts.
I cover my mouth to stifle a giggle.
"Laughing are we?" Kol looks at me with a fake glare.
"Careful, I might stick Tibbles on you. He's vicious." I threaten jokingly.
But of course Tibbles chose that exact moment to jump up and sit in Kol's lap.
"I'm terrified." Kol deadpans.
"Oh, angel. I wanted to tell you, we're throwing a ball tonight." Nik says.
"Like an actual Cinderella type ball? Are you kidding? This is like a dream!" I squeal excitedly.
"Yes, and I've picked out a dress for you, so don't worry about that." He responds.
"Can I invite Caroline over to get ready later?" I ask.
"Of course."
—————
Before I started getting ready, Rebekah insisted we get our nails done by what I assume were two compelled women.
So as music played, my nails were being coated with a deep red.
I smile as I watched Kol standing before a full-length mirror wearing a black evening suit while a tailor adjusts it.
Finn and Elijah are also standing in the room preparing for the ball.
"Rebekah, Tell me how handsome I am." Kol says with a smirk.
"Ah Kol, you know I can't be compelled." Rebekah retorts.
"I think you look great Kol." I smile, giving him a thumbs up with my free hand.
"At least I know one of you doesn't need glasses." Kol looks pointedly at Rebekah.
My eyes shoot up to a very angry looking Nik as he bursts into the room.
"You went after Elena? What is wrong with you?!" Nik looks heatedly at Rebekah.
"Here we go." She sighs.
"Bekah..." I look at her as she shrugs.
"Do you want another dagger in your heart?" Nik threatens.
"Nik!" My eyes widen.
"Again with the dagger threats? Don't you have any other tricks?" Kol asks.
"Oh, go back to staring at yourself." Nik grumbles.
"And who are you, my father?" Kol responds. "No, Kol, but you're in my house." Nik says.
"Nik, stop it." I sigh, rubbing my temple.
"Then perhaps we should go outside." Kol suggests threateningly.
Nik and Kol stare at each other with matching glares.
"Enough! Niklaus. Come." Esther breaks them up, leaving the room as quickly as she came, this time taking Nik with her.
As they leave I look at the other Mikaelson siblings with a baffled expression.
"You'll get used to the bickering eventually."Elijah chuckles at my expression.
"Why'd you go after Elena?" I ask Rebekah.
"She daggered me." She responds simply, though her eyes tell a different story.
"That's not the only reason. Tell me." I say.
"Fine. She bullies you constantly and I thought she should be taught a lesson." She states with no remorse.
"That doesn't mean you have to try and kill her." I sigh.
"Debatable." She states.
"Rebekah, you know Ivy does not appreciate violence, nor does she want to have anybody harmed." Elijah intervenes.
"Yes exactly. Ivy does not want to hurt anyone so I'll do it for her." Rebekah smiles proudly.
"How kind." Elijah mutters sarcastically.
—————
A bit later, Caroline showed up and I immediately dragged her to my room so we could get ready.
As soon as she saw the kitten sitting on my bed, she squealed and ran to pick him up.
"You have a cat?!" She exclaims.
"Yes. His name is Tibbles." I tell her.
"Tibbles?" She repeats with a look of judgment.
"Yes. I know. But it just felt right for him."
"Whatever you say." She giggles.
I can't help but let a small laugh slip from my lips.
I watch as Caroline's smile slowly falls, her eyes fixated on the wall.
"Are you okay, Care?" I ask concerned.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." She smiles, but it doesn't quite meet her eyes.
"You can tell me if something's wrong." I assure her, sitting on the edge of my bed.
"It's just...I've been having a hard time since my dad passed." She explains.
"Oh my god, Caroline. I'm so sorry. No one told me."
"Don't worry seriously." She tries to convince me.
"If you just want to watch movies and stay in my room, I'm fine with that." I offer.
"No. It's okay. I kinda really want to go to this fancy ball." She assures me.
"I can't believe I was so self centered. I should've been with you instead of celebrating my stupid birthday." I scold myself.
"I missed your birthday?!" She gasps.
"Caroline, don't you dare feel bad about that! I promise you, I could not care less." I say.
"Are you sure?" She asks worriedly.
"Promise." I hold out my pinky.
She smiles, latching her pinky with mine.
————
After our hair and makeup were complete, it was time to put on our dresses.
Caroline frowns as she unzips her gown bag.
I look over to see the same dress she wore for miss mystic falls.
"Couldn't you have asked your boyfriend to give me a bit more notice? I would've gotten a new dress." She grumbles.
"Don't worry. We're the same size, and Nik got me a couple dresses to choose from. You can have any of the ones I didn't pick." I calm her.
I watch as a grin graces her lips
—————
We were finally ready.
Caroline chose the blue and purple gown, while I opted for the deep red dress to match my nails.
I walk with her downstairs where the ball was already in full swing. Caroline immediately walked off to the bar area.
It didn't take long for my eyes to meet Nik's.
He was staring at me in awe as I made my way across the room to him.
"You look absolutely divine, my love." He grins, pulling me into a kiss.
"You look beautiful." I compliment him.
"Beautiful?" He chuckles at the word.
"Yes. You look beautiful. Perfect." I smile, watching a light blush dust his cheeks.
"I love you." He says passionately.
"I love you too." I smile.
—————
Eventually I found myself walking towards Damon.
"You actually clean up pretty nice, Baby." Damon smirks.
"You don't look too bad yourself." I say.
"I miss you." he admits, his facial expression turning serious.
"I miss you too. We haven't really hung out in a while." I state.
"We could. If you break up with the big bad wolf, we could be restored to our former iconic duo glory." He shrugs.
"You know I can't Damon. He's my soulmate."I look at him with disappointment.
"Is he? I mean you're 17. Are you sure this isn't just some crush?" He asks.
"I'm 18." I state, not bothering to argue over my relationship.
"Yeah? Since when?" He chuckles.
"Yesterday." I say plainly.
"Yesterday was your birthday?" He asks, a guilty expression clouding his features.
"I guess it'll take more than a breakup to return to our former iconic duo glory huh?" I chuckle humorlessly.
Before Damon can respond, Kol walks up. "Is this pathetic excuse of a man bothering you?" He smirks.
"No. Did you need something?" I giggle.
"Mother wants all of us on the staircase." He explains with an eyeroll.
"Lead the way." I say.
He takes my hand, walking us over to the stairs.
I take one look back at Damon, who's guilty expression had yet to disappear.
We walked up the stairs, Kol's hand being replaced with Nik's as I found my spot.
"Uh, if everyone could gather, please." Elijah calls.
"Welcome, thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom." Elijah's voice echos through the room.
Nik led me into the ballroom.
I wasn't an exceptional dancer, but I didn't perform horribly. It was rather nice actually.
————
Later that evening Esther stood by herself on the staircase.
"Good Evening, Ladies and Gentleman. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy then to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!" She speaks, her voice echoing through the large space.
"Cheers!" A choir of voices all speak as one.
I clink my glass against Nik's as we sip from the champagne flutes.
————
I went to bed that night with sore feet, and a tired body.
But none of that mattered as Nik's warm arms engulfed me in a blanket of comfort.
—————
Ivy finally gets to be apart of a family! I'm actually gonna cry bro.