(A/N: An intense chapter! XD Hope you enjoy!)
Kol glanced at Ethan, regaining his composure in a brief second. The footsteps sounded closer than before, their voices travelling through the air. A cool breeze rustled through the trees, ruffling Davina's hair. Soon. Davina knew what was about to follow. But she was prepared.
Kol gave her a quick glance with a nod. Davina nodded back reassuringly and followed after him, minding her own steps in order to avoid sinking her feet too deep into the snow. With the corner of her eye she searched for the other two boys, but to no avail. Ethan and Kyle had already disappeared, hiding and waiting for the right time.
Since there was no good hiding spot in the forest, Kol decided it would be best to distance themselves from the sound of footsteps and hid behind a tree's trunk. This is it. This was their chance to stop them from moving any farther. Apparently they chose to walk past the river and take a shortcut in the woods which resulted in bumping into the group.
As soon as they hid behind the tree, Kol took a sneak peek at the girl next to him; she was completely calm, her face relaxed and serene, yet she was still well aware of her surroundings, her crystal clear green-blue eyes blinking rapidly. For a moment he started doubting his previous decision and wondered whether he really should have taken her with him. What if something happened to her? What if she got hurt? But then again, Davina was no common girl. She had already proven to him she could take care of herself, yet he had the need to look out for her, just in case.
Shaking those thoughts off, he whispered at her. “Darling, take this.”
Kol stretched out his hand and, when Davina's gaze lowered to his palm, she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “A knife? Why are you giving me that?”
He chuckled. “Isn't it obvious? You'll need that to defend yourself.”
She seemed even more confused. “I don't need that. I'll just use my magic and-”
“You can't use your power only, Davina. What about Ethan and Kyle? They don't know what you are. Do you want to risk it and let them find out about it?”
She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “Why? Don't you trust them?”
He took a big breath. “I do but, at some point. Besides, this is your secret. And you don't want anyone finding out about it, yeah?”
She looked away, biting her under lip. “True.” she murmured stubbornly.
His eyes softened and he couldn't stop his right hand from cupping her left cheek. She was taken aback from his move but, so was he. Yet, she did not pull away or frowned. “Take it. I'm pretty sure you won't be afraid to use it anyway.” he teased her with a grin.
She finally cracked a smile, taking the knife from his other hand. Good. Since he managed to persuade her, he felt a bit more relaxed, knowing she had a weapon to defend herself with.
Behind a few trees to their left, Ethan and Kyle were keeping an eye on the hunters, who were now in their range of vision. The hunters, apart from the fact they had been carrying some weird crossbows and spears with them, you couldn't really say they looked anything extraordinary.
The cold, hollow sounds of their steps echoing made the little hairs on the back of Davina's neck rise. A battle was to start and she couldn't keep her excitement and the fire burning in her veins any longer. She was also certain Kol felt the same way, since his eyes were focused on the trespassers most of the time, his pupils expanding and becoming black huge orbs. Davina instantly looked away from him. How much that look on his face reminded her his present self.
Abruptly, Kyle and Ethan left their current hiding spot and, slowly and steady, approached the group of hunters. Kol gave Davina's shoulder a nudge and mimicked their movement, Davina being next. Fortunately, something had caught the hunters' attention and they were all murmuring some strange things; Davina narrowed her eyes as soon as she spotted a woman among the hunters, her face though hiding behind the hood she was wearing. Although the other men were muttering and fighting with each other over something, the woman remained silent and looked around her, as if she was suspicious of the trees, the air, the atmosphere, of everything.
The little witch pursed her lips. She had realised from the start that woman was going to be a tough opponent.
"Davina hurry,” Kol whispered at her as he kept approaching carefully the hunters.
It took her a few seconds to actually get her feet moving again, since she just couldn't get her mind off of that woman hunter. When she did, she crawled behind a tree and stayed there for a long time, without following Kol anymore. She was watching. The woman knew someone was out there and that moment, she was staring straight at Davina's direction. However, there was no sign of a breathing being out there to find. She knew someone was hiding behind those trees, watching their every move. Who, she wondered.
The sharp sound of a silver blade echoed throughout the forest. Everyone flinched.
“Kenna? What are you doing?” asked one of the men, looking warily at the woman. Silence fell between them, their voices which were raised because of the argument they had before dying out in an instant. “Why did you pull out your spear?”
Ethan froze.
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
Kol pursed his lips.
Davina gathered all the tension she had from before and breathed in silence.
They closed their eyes.
And smiled greedily.
“Now!” Kol yelled and, before the hunters could even process what was happening, two men were shot down by Kyle's, Ethan's and Kol's bows.
That's when Davina found the opportunity to strike. While the men were using their weapons and fists to strike a blow at each other, the little witch left from behind the tree and searched for the woman. But, she was not there. She swore she saw her standing there a few minutes ago just beside the man with the ginger hair and brown eyes. But where... had she disappeared to? Davina span around frantically, her eyes scanning the area all around her. Heck, she had seen her coming. If only she-
“Ghagh,” she gritted her teeth, a pain shooting her feet and kneeling her down. With the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of her attacker; the woman was towering over her from behind, vicious and gleeful blue eyes piercing her skull. Her big boot was the one who had kicked Davina's legs, paralyzing them for a brief second.
And then, her voice sounded deep and steady, fearless and frightful. Only when she finally spoke her big round eyes narrowed, revealing a wrinkle across her forehead. “You. You were the one spying on me before.”
Davina span around and stood on her feet; she had managed to regain her composure in mere seconds, rage pooling out of her eyes and an unexplainable desire to rip the woman in half burning her subconscious. In her frustration and rage, caused by the humiliation she just experienced, she curled up her fingers into tight fists and flashed a sarcastic smile at the woman. “I haven't been hit from the back before. I have never really faced cowards in the past, until now.”
“My my, you might want to watch your sharp tongue, little girl.” she scoffed, swinging the spear in her hand, “What is a girl like you doing out here anyway with a bunch of foolish men?”
Davina's left palm opened slowly. She made sure to keep eye contact with the woman no matter what, so her gaze would not fall on Davina's open now fist. “You're quite the talker when you battle. I don't see why my choices is any of your business though.”
Swiftly, the woman stepped in and swung her spear, aiming at Davina's head. But before she could even touch the girl, Davina ducked hastily and stepped carefully to the side, avoiding the deadly blow. The woman was stunned by how fast her young opponent had moved, as if she was familiar with the tactics of a duel. Yes, she had noticed. Not only she was surprised by how young she was to travel around with three men, but her observation skills and reflexes were admirable. Regardless, she was still an amateur in close up fights. And that was pretty easy to see.
Davina was breathing faster, quicker. Her opponent must have noticed the fact that Davina had reacted faster than expected and now quickened her pace. Her left palm was still open, waiting for the right time. No, not yet. She could not use her powers so blatantly in front of a witch hunter.
Kol's words popped in her mind that second. She chuckled. Well, that knife might be of a good use after all.
The familiar stink of death rose in the forest. The pure white snow, so innocent and soft, was now painted with a crimson red colour, standing out in a landscape of whiteness. Kol glanced to his right. A red-haired man with a thick beard launched himself toward him, a spear with red runes carved on it going straight for his skull. Before he could even think, Kol's hand slipped in his inner pocket and pulled out another knife, gripping the handle tightly.
A hideous laugh echoed in Kol's ears. “Prepare to die now, swine!”
Ugh, what a gobermouch.
Once the man had finally reached him, the Mikealson bent down and sliced across the hunter's knees. The cut must have been deep, a heart-racing scream escaping from the man's throat. His spear slipped from his fat fingers, pure rage now blurring his vision. Now. Kol jolted up and, as he jerked the man off balance, he drove his bloody knife through a gap in the leather waistcoat, up under the breastbone, to the heart.
His enemy had no strength to react, to talk. An expression of terror was written all over his face, his skin turned pale and blood was gushing out from his torso. An overwhelming sight. Gruesome. Yet, Kol couldn't keep the proud smirk from crawling on his face.
The hunter soon collapsed down. His eyes had gone blank. He was officially dead.
Kol found the opportunity that moment to search for his little witch. To his surprise, the hunters had put up a better fight than he thought, not to mention the fact that they outnumbered the group. Where was she anyway? He turned in a circle, looking for the brunette. There was no trace of Davina. For a moment, panic took over him and, as if he had swallowed a heavy stone which sat in the pit of his stomach, his body was stiff. Come on, come on Davina Claire, where are you?
And as if she had heard his call, he spotted her; she was infuriated but a glow of entertainment sparkled in her eyes, which were always locked on a tall woman, very muscular, very... threatening. Those two were glaring at each other most of the time, but, the one who seemed at disadvantage was Davina. She held no weapon in her hands while the hunter was holding one of their strange-looking spears, swinging it toward her direction.
Kol's body tensed as he was watching them fighting. He was about to intervene when suddenly, he noticed the way Davina responded to each attack.
She was fast as a little cat. He'd give her that. Cat quick, writhing, she bit the arm that tried to grab her neck, finally knocked the spear aside and wrenched loose from the woman's grasp. She skipped back, clutching a long shallow cut on her forearm. So she wasn't only about magic. Davina Claire always revealed a part of herself he could have never imagined she had. He stood there, completely enchanted by his little warrior. His little witch.
"Kol to your left!” screeched Ethan, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Kol just in time turned his head and rolled to his right, avoiding an awful blow which could have split his head in two pieces. The barbaric man raised his weapon again, an intense growl coming out of his throat. Kol glanced to the left and saw the first man he killed on the ground with an arrow piercing his heart. Think fast. Just as the man was about to strike again he stretched his arm out and snatched the arrow; the hunter was dazzled by Kol's speed and stopped his attack in middle air. The Mikealson gripped the arrow and swiftly sank its brink in the side of his body.
Stumbling backwards, the man only lost his balance and growled louder, angrier. Kol was filled with confidence. When he grabbed another knife from his breast pocket though and prepared to strike the final blow, a cudgel cracked down on his shoulder with a bright, sour, copper pain. Someone had hit him from behind. He scrambled to his feet, panting and gasping for air. His body had collapsed on the ground, struggling to get away from the pain that soon tortured his torso. His attacker had done a pretty nasty damage.
Meanwhile, Davina was giving one of a hell fight to keep up with the woman. She was worn out from all this fighting, she wasn't really used to physical battles. Tricks and spells were her cup of tea. Each minute she grew weaker, slower while her foe was still ready and thirsty for more. She had thrown her spear away for a while now, fighting only with a sword. She was screaming, thrashing and wielding her weapon, hoping to injure the young girl. And she managed to cause a few cuts and bruises the last few minutes.
“I have to admit, I'm impressed,” the hunter uttered with a hollow laugh, “You're not in the physical state to fight someone like me, yet you are very stubborn and skilled. It'd be a waste to kill someone as good as you.”
Davina didn't respond to her comments. She narrowed her eyes, annoyed. “You still... haven't seen anything yet.”
The woman laughed and raised her sword. “What are you and your friends really? Bandits? Thieves? Or maybe something else, something stronger?”
Davina pursed her lips. Her eyes darted around, watching her three companions fighting the tall men. But her eyes widened when she saw Kol. He was down, two men towering over him and a nasty wound on his right shoulder. Blood was soaking his clothes, his eyes dark and hazy and an expression of pain written all over his face. She panicked.
“No!” she yelled at the horror unfolding before her eyes and, found herself running toward him.
Davina groaned. The woman had yanked the girl by her hair, pulling her towards her. “Oh you're not going anywhere,” she hissed in the girl's ear and kneed her in the back.
The pain felt so real; despite the fact that she was only reliving in a memory, everything felt horrifyingly real. Davina fell on her knees, gritting her teeth and trying to hold back the scream that threatened to escape from her mouth. The woman kicked her again in the back, just so the girl could lay flat on the ground. Davina coughed, snow filling her mouth. If her back was hurting before, now it was on fire. She couldn't catch her breath; she was panting for air, sweating profusely, her vision spinning. She attempted to crawl away but a big hand grabbed her ankle and forced her to twirl around, to face her attacker.
Swinging the sword again, the hunter placed it under Davina's chin. She smiled wickedly. “You put up a good fight, little girl. But now it ends.”
Davina turned her head to the side. She searched for Kol. He was still down, struggling to get up. A cudgel was raised upon his head. She tried to yell at him, to warn him, but only muffled screams came from her mouth, none of which reached Kol's ears.
But then, she saw him.
Kyle had snatched an axe from a corpse and, with much precise he threw it. The axe's blade went through the first man's skull, sending his head flying a few metres away. The cudgel which he was holding fell on the ground, right next to Kol. The Mikealson stood surprised as he suddenly saw his attacker beheaded, collapsing right next to him. Up. He had to get up. The other man, who had traumatized him with the cudgel, stumbled toward the weapon in order to reach it. But he was too late. Kol had rolled away, yanked the weapon and shot on his feet. Yes, he was still a bit dizzy and his vision was fuzzy but, he would not wait for his death.
“What the-” those were the last words of the man before his neck was cut open by the same cudgel he so trusted and cherished in his battles.
Davina had witnessed everything. How Kyle had saved Kol and how Kol had managed to trick death and kill the other hunter. But now she had to focus on her and her alone. She wasn't ready to leave this memory yet. Were she to die, then she would return to the present world. That was her one-way ticket. So she had to stay.
She had to fight a bit more.