———
The past few days have been peaceful.
Seemingly, for me, and me alone.
While I was cuddled up with Nik watching movies and ignoring everyone but Caroline, Rebekah informed me that there was a second white oak tree that was used to make wickery bridge.
And since wickery bridge had just been redone, Damon almost got his hands on all of the wood.
Thankfully, Rebekah told me she burned all of the wood from the bridge.
Caroline had also been keeping me up date on all of the supernatural news.
My latest update had told me Alaric Saltzman was the person committing all of those mysterious murders because his Gilbert ring made him develop a second vampire-hating identity.
Fun right?
Currently, I was walking hand-in-hand with Nik, looking for Finn so we could undo the link between all of us.
"Hello Finn." Nik greets as we come up beside the original.
"Hello Niklaus. I have nothing to say to you." He responds.
"Well, I'm not here to chat. I will ask you one time though, where's our mother?" Nik replies.
"Gone to find another way to end our abominable lives. And when she does, I will sacrifice your little girlfriend all over again." Finn states.
"Rude." I mouth soundlessly as I rest my head against Nik's shoulder.
"Well, how fortunate that I found you, I require your assistance." Nik says.
"I have no wish to help you. Only to see you dead." Finn grumbles.
"Right, well, that's the thing; you see you won't be able to see me dead, because if I die, then you die. So, wish unfulfilled, I'm afraid." Nik retorts.
"Oh, bother someone else with your hollowed charms, Niklaus." Finn sighs.
"Okay, as much as I love the cute little banter you guys have going, could we get to the point? I'm getting cold." I say, rubbing my arms to keep myself warm.
"Right, I need you to accompany me back to Mystic Falls, I have a witch there who can help undo Esther's spell that linked us together." Nik states.
"I have no wish to be unlinked." Finn says.
Klaus moves in front of Finn and places his hand on his chest to stop him from moving any further.
"Again with the wishes. Let me rephrase, you will come back with me or I will put you back in that coffin in which you rotted for 900 years." Nik threatens.
"What happens to one, happens to all. You may not feel the effects of the dagger, but even after you heal your precious Ivy from the stab wound, she'd still be in pain for the rest of her little human life."
"What did I even do to make you hate me so much? Are you not a cat person?" I ask him, worried Tibbles might have caused his contempt.
Finn stares at me for a few seconds and walks off, Nik makes no attempt to stop him.
After a few seconds Nik speeds us over to where Rebekah was talking with Finn.
"What are you gonna do? Kill me?" Finn mocks, turning to face Nik.
"Oh yeah, that's right, you've got a death wish. Fine, pathetic, but fine. The thing is, I'm not gonna let you take the rest of us down with you." Nik says.
He then throws Finn against the wall and he crumples to the ground, unconscious.
I felt a sharp pain in my temple but I didn't pass out.
———
As we arrive back at the house, Nik tosses Finn into the foyer, the three of us walking in after.
"Gather your witch. Let's get his blood and get on with it." Rebekah says.
"You can't force me to help you." Finn grumbles.
"Oh, I most likely could, but why force when I can persuade?" Nik says, pointing to the staircase.
Finn looks up to see a woman I met earlier named Sage. She was pretty nice, told me I had good hair.
"Hello Finn." Sage greets.
"Sage!" Finn shouts excitedly.
Sage smiles as Finn gets up and rushes over to her. He pulls her into a loving embrace.
"Awwww! They're adorable." I say, watching the cute exchange.
"What do you know, true love prevails." Rebekah adds.
"It does occasionally have its uses." Nik mumbles. I lightly hit his arm, earning a wink.
"Easier than torturing him." Nik says with a smirk.
"You're actually insufferable sometimes." I playfully roll my eyes.
"Oh come on, you know you love me." He smirks.
"You suck." I giggle.
My laughter only grows as he holds his hand over his heart with a gasp.
"I have something to do. What do you need from me for this spell?" Rebekah speaks up.
"Just your blood and your blessing. Where are you going?" Nik questions.
"I have some unfinished business with Damon Salvatore. Ask Sage what he did to me. Then you'll understand why retribution is in order." She replies.
My eyebrows furrow. I make a mental note to ask Sage about it later.
———
Later that afternoon, I was walking with Nik to get the spell started.
I did ask Sage what happened between Rebekah and Damon. She told me the whole story about Damon sleeping with her so he could find the white oak, and she ended our little talk by making Finn apologize for almost sacrificing me.
I let out a small gasp when I look at the scene before me. Rebekah had Damon strung up by bear traps on his wrists.
"Well... look what you've caught. If you're trying to bleed him of vervain, don't you think it would be easier to hang him upside down?" Nik questions her tactics.
"I'm perfectly capable of inflicting pain, thank you very much." Rebekah mutters.
"Well, excuse me, it's not like I have any expertise in the matter." Nik replies.
"Bekah I know he hurt you, but don't you think this is a little much?" I ask, cringing as I hear Damon's groans of pain.
"Nik, why don't you take Ivy and go and manage your witch. She's much too adorable to witness my kind of fun." Rebekah says.
Nik gives a small nod, guiding me out of the room.
"Nik!" I whisper shout.
"Don't worry my love, I won't let her kill him." Nik calms me slightly.
We walk into a room with Bonnie who was surrounded by witchy stuff.
"Tick tock. I should hear chanting by now." Nik says impatiently.
"I'm still studying the unlinking spell. It's not that easy, especially under duress." Bonnie replies.
"You've been warned. If you're looking for a way to send for help, I will kill anyone who comes to your rescue." Nik threatens.
"This is the spell. I just don't know if I'm strong enough." Bonnie states.
I send her an apologetic smile before she tries to walk away.
"Then you should have a little more faith in yourself, Bonnie." Nik says following after her. "Your energy helped my mother link us. Honestly, I think someone isn't trying very hard."
After Bonnie remains silent, Nik sighs. "Very well." He pushes a few buttons on his phone before speaking.
"Kol. How's the weather up there in Mile High City? And how's our friend? May I see him?"
Nik walks over to Bonnie and holds up his phone. Showing Jeremy playing with his dog.
"There's Jeremy, playing fetch with his new puppy. Oh, isn't that just the most adorable thing you've ever seen?" Nik taunts before returning to his phone call."Thank you Kol, we'll be in touch."
He hangs up, looking expectantly at the witch. "So, Bonnie, how bout that spell?"
———
Bonnie had been working hard on the spell for a while.
Suddenly we heard a pained noise from the other room. "What was that?" Bonnie asks.
"I wouldn't let it bother you, love." Nik responds.
"Well, it does bother me. You bother me. I don't like you for Ivy. She's sweet and gentle, and pretty soon she's gonna realize your horrible, gory lifestyle isn't for her." Bonnie says.
"Bonnie, that's not true." I deny.
After my life almost ended, I couldn't help but feel somewhat detached from all of my friendships. Of course I still cared about them, but I can't just ignore what's happened, can I?
After a few beats of silence, Bonnie speaks.
"He really has changed you Ivy. I'm just not so sure it's for the better." I look down at my feet.
Was I really changing for the worse?
"You're being emotional, Bonnie. I understand that things have been rough for you. You know, with your mother leaving. Again. It's very sad. I can help you find her, if you want. I have people who can find her and bring her back to you. Or, if you choose I can just bring parts of her back." Nik says threateningly.
Bonnie pushes Nik away from her angrily.
"Nik, stop it. She's doing what she can okay?" I speak up.
"I'm doing what I have to for the family, Ivy." He snaps.
I look at his angered face, one that had never been used for me before. I could see the regret on his face, but I just look back to my shoes.
"Isn't it obvious that I'm just gonna continue to hurt the people you love until you do the spell? Now, I know it's in the grimoire and I know it requires the blood of my family, so here we are." Nik says, turning his attention to Bonnie.
Nik grabs a case and opens it. There are five bottles of blood within it. Nik points to them. "Elijah. Rebekah. Kol. Finn. Ivy."
Nik bites his hand and holds his bloody hand clenched in a fist as he looks at Bonnie. Blood drips from his fist.
"Where do you want this?"
Bonnie looks away and grabs a glass, holding it under Nik's hand so his blood can drip into it
———
Bonnie began her spell by pouring all of the blood into one pile.
As she chanted the blood started separating into six different puddles. When they'd all completely separated I could feel the spell lift.
——-
After the spell was complete and Bonnie left, I found myself alone with Damon, who was still strung up in the traps.
After Nik snapped at me, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that I had basically cut out everyone I knew except for the Mikaelsons.
To be honest, I missed Damon. I know what he did was wrong, but I couldn't stop myself from wanting to be around him again.
"I would get you down, but I don't know how." I say, my voice soft.
"Oh please. You're probably enjoying this just as much as Rebekah." Damon scoffs.
Is this what people think of me now? Have I really changed that much?
"I don't enjoy seeing my friends suffer, Damon." I reply.
"We're still friends? I thought you kicked me to the curb after you found out you had a soulmate." Damon speaks.
"Our relationship is a little strained right now, Damon. But I won't forget what you've done for me. When my dad was here, you gave me a place to stay, where I could feel safe. You comforted me, you treated my injuries, you cooked for me, you played board games with me just to cheer me up, you even sat through my favorite shows that you hate purely to make me smile. You are my best friend. You made a bad call with Esther, and you hurt me. But I know that somehow, in your mind, you thought you were helping me."
"I'm so sorry, baby. I promise you, that I didn't mean to hurt you. From now on I'm gonna try my best to make it up to you. I'm so so sorry." Damon replies, barely noticeable tears clouding his eyes.
"I forgive you Damon. But I won't forget. Not this time." I respond. He nods his head in understanding.
Suddenly, our peaceful silence was broken by Stefan rushing into the room, holding a duffel bag over his shoulder.
"Klaus, I'm here! Let's do this." He shouts out.
Nik and Rebekah immediately speed into the room. "Oh good, a hero. What do you want?" Nik asks.
Stefan drops the duffel bag at Nik's feet. I listen as it hits the ground making a wooden clanging sound.
"I'm here to make a deal." Stefan states.
"Stefan, what are you doing?" Damon asks instantly.
"Eight stakes made of white oak. The part of Wickery Bridge that you forgot to burn." Stefan reveals what was in the bag.
Nik looks at Rebekah expecting an explanation. "That's impossible." She mutters in disbelief.
"Actually it's not. Finn is dead." Stefan says.
My eyes go wide as I stare at him in shock.
"You killed my brother?" Rebekah asks incredulously.
Stefan looks at Nik, ignoring Rebekah.
"Damon in exchanged for the last eight weapons that can kill you." Stefan offers.
"And how do I know there aren't any more left?" Nik asks, suspicion obvious in his voice.
"Because there aren't." Stefan states simply.
"Let's be certain, shall we?" Nik says, walking over to Damon. "Leave." Nik says simply.
"No." Damon spits out.
"Go on. Leave." Nik repeats.
"Nik, he's my plaything not yours." Rebekah whines.
Nik grabs Damon by the throat and compels him. "I said, go home."
Damon starts to pull a wrist out from the snares, peeling the flesh off of it in the process. He screams in pain.
"Enough! Stop this right now, Nik." I demand, looking Nik straight in the eye.
"This is not the time for a rebellion, love." Nik states, looking agitated.
"I mean it Klaus. Stop this right now." I say, a tone of finality laced in my voice.
He looks a little bewildered, before an unreadable expression slips over his features.
"Alright, stop, before you hurt yourself." Nik ends his suffering. "Well, seeing that he can finally be compelled." Nik grabs Damon by the throat and compels him again. "Minus the stake that's in my brother, how many more stakes are out there that can kill me?"
"Eleven." Damon mumbles emotionless.
"Eleven! Really? So, not eight then." Nik exclaims.
"You really shouldn't have lied." Rebekah interjects.
"I'll get you the other three." Stefan says immediately.
"Yeah, that'll be nice. Or since you lied, maybe I'll just compel your brother to chew out his own tongue." Nik threatens.
"What is wrong with you?" Stefan looks at him with disgust.
"What is wrong with you?! Do you really have no appreciation for me? I have given you someone to hate, to loathe, a target for all of your anger; so you don't have to turn it on yourself. I have given your life purpose, as your friend." Nik pauses, letting out a small laugh. "I really think you should be thanking me."
Stefan rushes at Nik and pins him against a wall with a white oak stake in hand. Nik grabs his wrist, stopping any motion.
"Step down, or you both die." Nik orders.
Stefan loosens his grip and Nik takes the stake.
"There. Now you only have to get me the other two." Nik says.
"This is ridiculous." Rebekah mutters.
She then walks over to Damon and releases him from the traps. Damon falls to his knees. I instantly rush to him, holding his torso gently, helping him keep his balance.
"What are you doing?" Nik questions the female original.
"I brought him here. I get to release him. My rules now. Bring us the stakes and you both live. Take your brother as a sign of good faith." Rebekah responds.
She then picks up the duffel bag with the stakes and leaves.
Nik looks at Stefan. "Bring us the stakes. All of them. Or I will wage a war against everyone you love. I hope I'm being clear."
With those words, Nik leaves.
I hover for a second, looking at the Salvatore brothers.
"Are you gonna be okay?" I ask Damon.
"I'm gonna be fine, baby." He reassures, sending me a gentle smile.
———
After that whole ordeal, I was sat in the parlor with Nik and Rebekah. I hadn't spoken a word to Nik since I told him to let Damon go.
"I can't believe Finn is dead." Rebekah breaks the silence.
"Good riddance. He was an embarrassment, Rebekah." Nik says.
"He was still your brother. Mind your tongue." Rebekah scolds.
"Fine. Let's all say a prayer for Finn, who slept in a box longer than he lived as a man. He was a lovesick fool. He's better off in death." Nik says.
I look at him in disbelief. This wasn't the Nik I knew...
Rebekah walks over to Nik before speaking. "Is that how you would speak of me if I died?"
"Well, you let the Salvatores loose with two stakes that can kill us, so I guess we'll find out soon enough. And since when did you have a soft spot for them?" Nik questions.
"The Salvatores may fight like dogs, but in the end they would die for each other. At least they know what family means. You destroyed ours." Rebekah replies.
"I wanted a family. They just didn't want me, and now we're unlinked we're no longer responsible for each other." Nik states.
I sit silently, listening to this hurtful conversation.
"So are you leaving?" Rebekah asks.
"As soon as I get my stakes, I'm gone. I'm gonna take Ivy and Elena and use her blood to create a new family. Of hybrids." Nik explains.
"And if I choose to stay?" Rebekah asks.
"Then you're just as pathetic as Finn." Nik replies before walking out of the room.
I follow after him into his art room.
"Hey." I get his attention.
"Yes?" He answers, looking annoyed.
"What is wrong with you today?" I question his behavior.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugs, pulling out a new canvas and setting it next to his readied supplies.
"Yes you do. You've been angry at everyone, including me, all day!" I respond, my voice raising but not yelling.
"Ivy, I really think you should just go to bed." He says, not looking up from his canvas as he started brushing strokes of paint.
"No. I'm not going to bed. You're gonna talk to me."
"I don't see what there is to talk about." He shrugs, still not sparing me a glance.
I walk over to him, taking the barely painted canvas and gently setting it aside.
"Look at me and tell me why you've been acting like this."
"Ivy, stop." He orders, anger growing on his features.
"I'm your girlfriend! You are supposed to talk about things with me!" I shout, getting frustrated.
"Stop shouting." He grumbles.
"I will if you just talk to me!"
"Ivy, I don't want to talk!" He yells.
"Please just talk to me." I beg, gently holding onto his upper arms.
"Fine. Maybe we can talk about how you were cozying up to Damon Salvatore today." He spits out, dropping the paint brush in his hand aggressively.
"I was talking to my friend." I defend, letting my hands fall to my sides.
"The same friend who tried to have you killed a few days ago?" He scoffs.
"Maybe I wouldn't need to talk to him if you would give me literally anything to go off of right now. You're giving me nothing!" I reply.
"I'm giving you nothing?" He asks in disbelief.
"Mhmm." I shrug.
"I've given you everything! I gave you a big house, I buy you nice things, I welcome you into my family, and this is what I get in return?" He shouts.
"I don't need all this fancy stuff! I was perfectly content with what I had before!" I yell.
"You were happy with your old life!? Well why don't we move you back into your old house. You can rekindle all your friendships with people who don't give a shit about you. Hell, I could even get your dad back. You want that?" He shouts.
I look at him in shock, my eyes clouding with tears.
He seems to realize he's gone too far, as his face falls into a look of immense regret.
"Angel-" he reaches for my hand. "No." I yank my hand away. "Angel please..."
"You suck." My voice cracks into a broken whisper.
————
I hold Tibbles close to my body, trying to keep both of us warm.
My fist knocks against the thick wood of the door, waiting for it to open.
My numb fingers collect the cold, fallen tears from my cheeks.
I take a deep breath as the door swings open, revealing Damon. "Baby? What's wrong?"
"Can I stay here for the night?"
———
Ahhh first fight! What did you think?