✔ The Way We Burn || Kol Mikaelson (Complete)

Chapter 39

Warning: Some dialogues in this chapter were directly taken from the transcript of The Original, season 2 episode 2 "Alive and Kicking".

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Spain, Cadiz, 1702

Cadiz was a rich and beautiful port city. The night, the moon shone upon Cadiz, its bright light illuminating even the darkest night. Even in its absence, the people of Cadiz were accompanied by the many stars scattered in the dark sky. The day, the warm sun painted the city with a layer of gold and light orange hue. From the white building to the blue sea, all of Cadiz seemed to be ablaze when the sun rose.

However, no place in this world was devoid of darkness. In the end, the beautiful white buildings and cobblestone streets of Cadiz were but a smokescreen that failed to hide the dirty back alleys where the poor came to die alone and forgotten, and the seedy taverns full of drunkards and criminals.

In such a place, without Nora by his side, it was easy for Kol to give in to the monster lurking underneath his skin.

The last string holding his mind together snapped when he received the news that his dear little sister Rebekah had been seen with a coffin.

He had only seen his siblings a few times in the last centuries. Once or twice every decade. Rebekah's life with Nik and Elijah was far from easy but she still chose to remain with them. And now, it had reached the point where she would rather let Finn rot in a coffin even when she actually knew where Nik hid the disgusting wood box.

His fury was so great that even when he felt Nora appeared somewhere North, he didn't leave Cadiz. Instead, he ate his way through the city, leaving the white cobblestone streets stained with blood. The few people he had previously taken with him to Cadiz before were all sent away to Sage in Finland in a rare moment of lucidity.

Kol only came to his senses when the young version of Nora - one who had yet to taste the pleasures of married life - pushed open the doors of the tavern in which he was the only one still standing.

Before he came, the walls of the room had been dark yellow. Now, the rusty color of dry blood could be seen here and there while small pools of blood littered the wooden floor. Around him, a few people were still gasping, trying hard to hold onto their life.

Meeting Nora's unimpressed gaze, Kol quickly looked away. Sure enough, he went too far this time.

Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, his dirty hand left a bloodstain on his skin.

"I... made a small mistake," he admitted somewhat sheepishly.

"Small?" Nora repeated dryly as she looked around the place with a disgusted expression. "You let me travel on my own for a whole week while you were playing butcher with people here?"

Alright, maybe not a small mistake. Killing so many people in the tavern was wrong for several reasons. There wasn't even a bartender left. Where was he supposed to find a drink for his lovely not-yet wife to soothe her anger?

"Sorry darling," he tried to coax her. "I just thought that you would love visiting Cadiz and sunbathe on the beach. Better to wait for you here to prepare for your stay, right? You'll see, the view is really wonderful here."

He made to wrap his arms around Nora before his eyes - and Nora's - fell on the blood staining them. A wry smile appeared at the corners of her lips.

"Er... I forgot about it. Wait a moment." Kol wiped his hands on his clothes before he brought his 'clean' hand to Nora's face, softly caressing her cheeks. Just like that, the last remnants of his anger disappeared and he focused all his attention on the woman in front of him.