The Original Heretic

xviii.

i thought i had gone unnoticed by anyone, but that wasn't the case. after a few minutes of sitting on a bench out in the dark, all alone, i heard a faint breath behind me.

"you shouldn't be out here all alone. you never know what sort of monsters lurk in the night." kol said, and i only smiled serenely as he came to sit next to me.

"i am one of those monsters, i have nothing to fear." i turned towards him, drinking in the sight of his face.

"so, what stories did dearest rebekah tell you about me? nothing good, i presume." he turned towards me a bit, and i did the same.

"she... well, she just told me about you, i suppose. how much you cared for certain things, how you would fight for the objects you want, and how you were angry. but i believe that's only her side. everyone has more to themselves than what others see." i mused.

"you know, that's a strange thing. no matter how much bad i've done in my life, and no matter what my siblings, or anyone, really, says about me, i..." he trailed off. "never mind."

"no, you what?" i urged. i knew what he was going to say.

"it sounds incredibly cheesy, especially coming out of my mouth, but i feel like there's always someone who doesn't think i'm broken. that despite all the bad things i've done, maybe there's someone who sees the good in me." he shrugged halfheartedly, and i teared up.

"that's not cheesy at all. that's sweet." i muttered, and he let out a breath of laughter.

"i'm not a sweet person, brit."

"so i've heard."

"enough of me now. i want to know more about you. you're... different." he turned the conversation towards me, and i raised an eyebrow.

"how many times has a girl fallen for that line?" i grinned.

"caught in the act." he raised his hands up sheepishly, and my smile slightly faded. did i really expect him not to get with anyone else after i made him forget? he is a ladies man after all.

"whatever, pretty boy. what do you want to know about me?" i put a smile back on my face, but he and i both knew it wasn't genuine.

"there's lots of things i want to know about you, brit kaldottir. but the main thing i wonder is why you've felt sad this whole evening." he said, and i looked at him in confusion to try and hide my surprise.

"and what makes you say that?"

"the first main thing is that you didn't come here with anyone. rebekah invited you. you don't have an actual person you came here for, or you do, but he- or she, i suppose, is taken by someone else. that's why you came out here. you can't stand to see all these couples dancing with each other, because it reminds you of what you don't have." he explained, and i sat there, speechless.

"am i right?" he asked, and i nodded slightly, trying to hold back the tears in my eyes.

"somewhat. now i have a question for you, kol mikaelson." i started, my voice wavering.

"go on."

"what would you do if the love of your life made you forget them merely because they were too scared to face you and your family? and once you've gone your whole, blissful life without the one you love most, because they removed themselves from your life, they just made you- they just made you remember them?" i asked, phrasing it somewhat the same as how i set up elijah, but this was much more important.

"who did that to you? i'll kill them." kol replied at first, and i laughed, wiping tears from my face.

"kol, trust me when i say there's no need to ask that question. what i want to know is how would you feel? how would you cope? certainly, going to a ball with your best friend only to see dancing couples isn't the wisest thing." he cracked a smile at that, letting out a hum of thought.

"i would... i would feel betrayed, i think. was she really the love of my life if she was to scared to spend the rest of hers with me? or was there an actual reason i'd learn of if she made me remember? in the end, after a while, though, i think i'd be happy to remember her. if she made me remember, that must mean she wants what we had back, right?" he looked over at me, where i stared at the ground guiltily. "if you're upset at the person who did that to you... don't be anymore. i may not feel the way you do, but i would say holding on to anger does no good-"

i cut him off by grabbing his face and pulling him into a kiss. his hands automatically went to where they always laid when we were kissing, one on the back of my neck, and one on my waist. we pulled away after a few minutes, and i stared at him, both of us breathing a little heavier.

"kol mikaelson," i began to compel him, "remember me, remember everything." i didn't wait to see his reaction, but zoomed away the second i was done, back into the mansion.

"brit, there you are!" rebekah said the moment i came back inside. "where did you go-"

"kol." was all i said exhaustedly, and she grinned happily.

"does he remember now? are you two going to fall back into love?" she asked eagerly, then noticed the tears welling up in my eyes, my slightly rumpled hair, and the tear tracks already going down my face. "oh, love." she said, and took my hand, leading me up the stairs to her room.

"he's angry. understandably so." i sniffled as she hugged me. i waved my hand for some tissues to come flying to my hand, and rebekah gasped.

"i didn't realise you could still do magic." she said in awe.

"oh yeah, i'm what's called a heretic. since i was a witch who could only siphon magic to use it, i can technically siphon from myself since vampires are magic creatures." i opened my hand up to let gold sparkles fill the air, and rebekah watched happily as they spun around us, slowly fading.

"that's amazing. is that why you're able to compel us as well? since you're an original vampire who has magic?" i nodded as we both stood up again.

"i kissed him." i blurted out, causing her to whip her head towards me as she was walking to the door. "he was talking, and i knew he would be mad at me before i made him remember, so i just... i just kissed him. then i made him remember, and sprinted back in here." rebekah was laughing at me when i told it, causing me to start giggling as well.

"come on, brit. let's go down there, and show all these boys that we are independent women who can rule the world!" i was in much lighter spirits as she opened the door, and we came back down the stairs.

"i still need to make nik remember, but he's going to be worse than kol, right?" i looked at her, and she sighed.

"worry about that later. for now, we dance the rest of the night away." she grabbed my hand, and we went out onto the dance floor.