"Try me."
There is a faint intensity to his simple words accompanied by a sheer look of determination on his face. Atë holds his unwavering gaze, unafraid of the energy created in the room. She feigns sadness by pushing her bottom lip forwards, "Does this mean the game is over?"
Kol lets up on the eye contact and continues on, this time pursuing a more flirty path instead. "Okay next statement. You think I am the most attractive Mikaelson sibling."
Her eyebrows raise at his bold direction and she lets out a chuckle, "Hmm that's a tough one. I mean Rebekah is drop dead gorgeous, Elijah has that subtle smoldering look down pat and Klaus, oh he just knows how attractive he is." Kol rolls his eyes at the girl, knowing all to well that she is messing with him, even if her words are true, which they are. "I'll give you this one, just this once," she states before drinking more tequila.
A smile toys on the edge of his lips, enjoying how she can go along with his antics but also challenge them at the exact same time.
His half-brother's words from earlier in the day echo in his head, so he plasters a smirk on his face as he boldly states, "You are undeniably gorgeous."
The goddess' face embodies neutrality as she stares at the boy sitting across from her with a smug look present on his features. She's caught off guard; not by his manners in which he flirts, but by the hints of vulnerable truth laced throughout his statement. Atë opens her mouth to argue but he cuts her off, "Nope, you can't deny it so drink up."
Noticing her lack of expression and movement, Kol pushes the bottle forwards, urging her to take a sip. She peers down at the now halfway filled bottle and raises it to her lips once more. Before drinking she mutters out, "You think you're so smooth." He lets out a laugh at her statement, not disagreeing in the slightest.
After taking a long sip, Atë gives back the bottle to Kol, only for it to slip through his fingers and fall on the ground. He rushes to stand the open bottle upright before all the tequila spills out onto the rug, the pair laughing as this takes place. The girl giggles, "You're cut off!" Kol begins to protests as she mutters out, "For an Original vampire, you are kind of a light weight."
Kol flings his arms out, "It was an accident!"
"You have supernatural speed, you could have easily caught that bottle before it spilled if you were sober," she points out.
The vampire scoffs at her and retorts when realization hits him, "I do have supernatural speed, don't I?" In a second, he pins her down with her arms held above her head.
She gasps, pretending to be annoyed by his actions, only to disappear from his grasp and appear on the other side of the room. "Wow after all this time you're still too slow."
He huffs in slight frustration and runs after her again, giving into the game despite begrudgingly knowing he can't win. Atë just uses her powers again to avoid him, all while laughing at his pathetic attempts to capture her. "Would you stop doing that?"
From the other side of the room, Atë smirks and plays dumb, "Stop what?" She reappears in front of him, "Oh, you mean that?"
Kol rolls her eyes, "You know darling, you're making this whole thing much more difficult than it has to be."
She tauntingly asks him, "What thing?"
"Me trying to make my move on you." Kol stands in the middle of the room with his arms by his side, wondering how he got himself into this situation.
A coy smile appears on her face that he notices right away as she flashes directly behind him. She articulates her words as she speaks, "Then make it."
Before the girl can slip from his grasp again because of her powers, he spins himself around to face her, placing his hands on either sides of her head to guide her face up towards his to meet in the middle. Without hesitation or doubt in his mind, he firmly places his lips on hers. Afraid she might not reciprocate, Kol pulls away after a moment to search her eyes for answers. After meeting his wistful gaze, Atë quickly leans back in, freeing her mind from thinking of the ramifications and allowing her lips to move with his easily.
A loud ringing from Kol's phone forces the two apart, but not before they can look at each other once more with some longing etched onto both their faces. Kol groans out in annoyance as he sees Klaus' name on the screen and Atë mutters out, "Cockblock."
He stiffles a laugh before answering, "Yes Nik, what is so important that you have to interrupt our fun?" His face falls after Klaus delivers news, "What? We are on our way."
Despite the vampire opening his mouth to inform the girl, she finishes his thought, "Let me guess, your mother?"
"Yes, how did you know?"She gives him a knowing look, "Right. Anyways, we should get going." The two leave the mansion, not bringing up the brief moment that had just occurred before Klaus' interruption.
<><><><><>
Klaus carefully eyes the troublesome pair walking towards him on the other side of the boundary spell. His face portrays displeasure at the force blocking him from leaving school grounds. The two seem normal except for the slight bounce in their step and them fighting off a grin as they talk in a hushed manner.
"Are you two tipsy?" Klaus lowly asks.
Atë points her finger at Kol, "He drank too much tequila."
Kol gasps, pretending to be taken aback by her accusation. "I did no such thing."
The hybrid rolls his eyes, "Just a friendly reminder that our mother is back and up to no good once again so being tipsy simply will not do." He lets out a frustrated sigh, "And Rebekah isn't picking up her phone, despite her being the one dragging me to the dance in the first place."
The brunette jumps in, "Yeah about that. Mommy dearest hijacked Rebekah's body today."
Kol and Klaus look at 'Callista' pointedly, with Klaus narrowing his eyes at her, "How do you know this?"
The goddess feigns anxiety as she smiles, "I confronted the witch bitch earlier." The hybrid opens his mouth to angrily chastise the girl, but she cuts him off, "Before you get all mad that I didn't tell you two, I had it handled and under control."
Klaus scoffs at her last comment since clearly, it's not under control currently. Another three figures join in on the conversation. The Salvatore brothers and Jeremy run out from the high school packed with dancing and cheerful students, with Stefan turning his attention to Klaus, "Bonnie agreed to help us."
Kol speaks up, "While the Bennett does her spell, I am going to find mother."
Atë quickly analyzes the possibilities of Esther's plan and uses her powers to push Kol inside the border. Anger flashes in his eyes, so she quickly explains, "Since Esther was in Rebekah's body earlier, that means the white oak stake she gave Klaus is a fake. If she has Elena, that means she's using her blood as a binding agent for a spell." The possibility of one last white oak stake out in the world is unsettling, causing the younger Mikaelson to widen his eyes. "I can't let you walk to your possible death." He goes to disapprove, but she disputes it, "I can handle myself and Esther."
One last lingering glance is exchanged before the brunette disappears from sight and transports herself to where Esther is working on a spell with the evil alter ego Alaric and Elena stands idly by.
Elena raises her voice defensively, "I won't help you. I'm not gonna give you my blood. You're going to have to kill me."
Esther twists her body to stare the doppelgänger down, "That won't be necessary."
The goddess appears in front of Elena and smiles, "I couldn't agree more, Esther." Feeling the human's eyes on her, her words come out urgent, "Elena, run. Now."
Elena goes to run but Esther extends her hand out, causing Elena to come to a halt, gasping at the sudden pain consuming her body. The audible gasps sounding from Elena urge Atë to fling Esther across the room, breaking the spell. The Original mother slowly stands up, her bones cracking after being forced into the stone wall.
Waiting for a retaliation spell, the goddess readies herself to use any measures necessary to stop the witch from turning Alaric into an Original vampire, just like she did her children a thousand years ago. Instead, Esther backs off with her magic to converse with the goddess she called upon for help at the start of this. "Your father would be disappointed that you're siding with supernatural creatures who kill time and time again, most of them without remorse."
The mention of her father figure is off putting, but she still stands confidently, "Nice try, but you don't know what you're talking about."
Esther raises her eyebrow in a challenging manner and steps forward to pull out the necklace tucked in Atë's shirt, "He left this for you, didn't he?" The goddess has no clue how Esther knows about the origins of her necklace, so she stands very still with a hard gaze in her eyes towards the woman digging around her past. "Him leaving that necklace for you was very purposeful, and it seems to be serving that very purpose now."
Confused at the implications of Esther's words, Atë takes in a deep breath, "You're just making stuff up to derail me from helping Elena be forced into another dark, sinister spell of yours."
"I would never lie to you Atë, not about this," She says, taking a step back and allowing the necklace to fall back against the girl's chest. "In the brief period where my my body collapsed before I used my daughter's, I arrived on the other side and met one of your older siblings. I guess she upset Hades and he took out his anger on her by taking her life. She's been watching over you with envy, jealous that you angered a god and received banishment to Earth and her...well her consequence was death."
The goddess' eyes widen, wondering which of her half-siblings died. "She told me that she found out who your father is and I have to say, I think it's almost poetic who he is. So when I say your father would be disappointed, my words are quite true I'm afraid."
Atë blinks out, her gaze falling to the ground, wondering how it's fair that someone who has wronged nature so much stumbles upon vital information that no one seems to be informed of. Her anger grows towards whoever her father is and at Zeus for banishing her before she could ever find out his identity. In the few seconds she's consumed by her thoughts, Esther quickly takes the doppelganger's blood and allows the droplets to fall into the steel bowl. Elena urges Alaric not to go through with it, but he consumes it without hesitation.
As Esther goes to stab the man with the newly indestructible white oak stake for the next step in the transition process, the goddess yells out alongside Elena. Fury fills the goddess' eyes as she resents herself for allowing the witch to find the one thing that is her weak spot and use it against her, even for a mere couple of seconds.
Elena rushes to pull the stake out of Alaric and the Original witch informs her, "He'll wake soon. When he does, he may for a time be his old self. If so, you can say your goodbyes Before his transition is complete."
With tears running down her eyes, venom drips from Elena's words, "You said you wanted to undo the evil that you created, but this...this is just as evil."
Atë steps forward, filled with pure hatred. "I second that."
"Alaric will never be what my children became. I have granted him enough power to complete his task. Then, when the time is right, he will die."
She scoffs at her words, "You're such a hypocrite."
Elena looks up from her guardian's dead body, "How, if he's immortal?"
"Witch bitch here changed her spell so once the Originals are dead and the entire vampire race is gone from this world, he will follow suit to help ease her guilty conscience."
The doppelgänger points out while standing upright, "You'll be killing the good along with the bad. You're no better than Klaus."
Esther is quick to respond, "Am I not? I desire a world where you and your loved ones will not suffer at the hands of vampires. Like your Aunt Jenna did."
"Don't you dare use Jenna as an excuse for what you've done." There's a fire in Elena that the goddess has seen before, something she takes note of and admires in the girl for a change.
The witch remains silent for a moment, "You may draw comfort knowing that your Aunt Jenna is not in the place that I was. She doesn't know the torment of the other side. Though made a vampire, she remained pure and she knows peace, which is all any of us can hope for."
Atë rolls her eyes, "Shut the hell up with your nonsense." Now that Esther has completed her plan, her mind is not as guarded to which the goddess uses to her advantage. Esther lets out a blood curdling scream as she falls to her knees, "The pain you're feeling is how your children feel when a dagger dipped in white oak is driven through their hearts."
Elena calls for her to stop, expressing it isn't worth it. She listens to the human but lets distaste roll of her tongue, "Damn right it is."
Jeremy and Matt make their way over, not a minute later, with guns and arrows pointed at Esther causing the mother to shake her head in disappointment, "How foolish of you to risk your lives in defense of those who will kill you, but if that is your choice." Their guns rattle, pointing towards one enough instead.
Atë groans, "Enough," making the weapons disappear from their hands, giving Alaric the window to shove the stake into Esther's back. The Original witch drops to the ground dead in a heap and the goddess looks down, "Goodbye and have fun with the endless torment on the other side! You won't be missed." The goddess keeps her face as void of emotion as possible, realizing that a lead to her father's identity just died with Esther.
<<Note>>
Here's a slightly longer chapter for you guys! Again, thank you to those who continuously vote and leave comments, it means a lot to me. I couldn't remember if this particular boundary spell Esther used would allow supernaturals to go in, but let's just say it does in this case. Anyways, I spent a lot of time rewriting this chapter because I don't want to rush any character/relationship development but I hope you enjoy!
X Lena