Consequences of expression

5

PAST-ELENA POV

As we figured, the entire family, minus Klaus and Elijah, were extremely excited about learning of our engagement. The date was set- the summer solstice. AKA two weeks away.

"What are you thinking about, darling?" Kol asked as he entered the kitchen, coming up behind me. Tonight was the full moon, and I was making tea for us. I was getting used to this life and honestly, even though it was a much more difficult way of living, I loved it.

"I'm wondering how we can have a wedding prepared in two weeks, especially with the full moon tonight." I said honestly. He started chuckling behind me.

"Darling, my mother is a witch, she could have it done in two days, let alone two weeks. Everything will be fine. Are you worried about the wolves tonight?" He asked curiously. Honestly, I was. I was terrified of the werewolves. I had seen what they can do and my mind had ingrained itself with the fact that werewolf venom could kill vampires, and somehow, I kept forgetting that I wasn't a vampire any longer. I turned around and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me securely, making me feel safe.

"I won't let any harm come to you, Elena, ever. I promise you that." He whispered to me as he kissed my forehead. I thought about the future and if he would remember this moment.

We drank our tea and got dressed, ready for the day. We were to spend all day preparing for the full moon. The entire village would gather in the caves, which meant we would need food and blankets for everyone. As I promised, I stayed close to Kol all day as we shuffled back and forth across the village, collecting more items and putting them in the caves.

I was right behind Kol as he went into the caves, when I was yanked by my braided hair behind a tree. I began to panic until I looked up to see who it was. Tatia. I had yet to meet her in person, but I had heard she was quite angry. She stabbed a knitting needle through one of my hands to the tree. I yelled out in pain.

"Hmm. So the rumors are true. You do look exactly like me. I don't know who you are, considering I've never heard of a cousin named Elena, but I don't like you. You are distracting Niklaus and Elijah from me, and I don't take too kindly to that." So she was a bitch, like Katherine. So be it. I slapped her hard across the face with my free, mainly for hurting me by dragging me by my hair and pinning me to the tree.

"Alright, listen here, I am not distracting them, I am marrying Kol, if you haven't gotten the memo yet. And they are going to be my family, they are human beings, not some toys to play your games with." I spat disgustedly at her.

"I can do whatever I wish with them, or anyone else for that matter. Maybe I should give Kol a go, obviously he already likes my looks." She said smirking at me. That made me beyond pissed off. If my hand wasn't still pinned to the tree with the knitting needle, she would have been dead.

"You will never touch Kol. And if you do, I will personally feed you to the wolves." I said in a deep, menacing voice, clearly meaning not to mess with me. I heard someone walking towards us and Tatia ran, leaving me pinned to the tree. The large knitting needle still through my hand. My hand was pulsating and blood was running down my arm. This was one of the times where I wished I was still a vampire. I cried out in pain. Within seconds, Kol had run up to me. He gasped when he saw my hand.

"Elena, what happened, who did this to you?" He asked as he pulled the needle out of the tree and my hand. I cried out in pain as it slid through my palm. He picked me up and cradled me to his chest.

"It was Tatia, but please don't tell anyone." I said in a weak voice. If he told, she would be imprisoned and things wouldn't happen as they should.

"Tatia did this to you? Why?" He asked, sitting me down next to the stream and taking my hand, looking at it. He dipped it in the cold water to wash the wound. I gasped at the stinging sensation.

"She told me I was distracting your brothers from her, so I told her that I was marrying you, and she said she could have you as well if she wanted." I said, tears still running down my face.

"Shh, darling. She will never have me. I'm yours, remember?" He said, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. He brought my hand up and placed both of his around it. He muttered something in Latin and I felt a tingling sensation. He lifted his hands and I noticed there was no more gaping hole in my hand, but it was not fully healed. "We will need to put herbs on it to heal it completely. There will be a scar, unfortunately."

"It's alright, thank you." I said, placing a soft kiss on his lips. "How did you know where to find me?"

"Your pendant, darling. It let's me know if you are in danger. I'm not sure how, but I knew exactly where you were." He responded, tearing a small strip off his shirt before tying it around my hand. He helped me up and we walked back to the caves. "This time, you are staying in my sight." He said, wrapping an arm around my waist protectively.

We finished the preparations without seeing Tatia at all. The sun was beginning to set and we made sure everyone was in the caves. As we walked down the passage, Kol and I noticed Tatia sitting in between Klaus and Elijah. I glared at her, while Kol pulled me closer to him. We walked until we arrived to the spot in the caves that I knew of. The room with their names and candles everywhere. We sat down our blankets and furs and opened our basket with food. We ate quietly until we hear it. The sound of the wolves howling. I unintentionally froze up and he put away the rest of the food quickly, and motioned for me to sit with him. I sat between his legs, his arms wrapped instinctively around me.

"You see that, up there? Those are mine and my siblings names, written in Runic. Would you like me to do yours as well?" He asked, pointing to the names on the wall. I remembered them clearly.

"Yes, I would like that." I said, smiling. He pulled his knife from his belt and stood up. I walked over to the wall with him and watched as he carved my name in runic, right next to his. As he finished, I brought out more blankets so that we could sleep. He put out most of the candles with a swift movement of his hand and climbed under the blankets with me. "Kol?" I whispered into the dark.

"Yes, darling?" He asked curiously.

"Thank you, for everything. You didn't have to watch over me or take me in, or even cover for my strange arrival. It means a lot to me." I said honestly. He kissed me gently.

"Elena, you have done nothing but make my life better since I found you. I actually have a meaning to my life now. I am ever grateful for you accepting my proposal, and agreeing to marry me on such short notice. It takes a very strong woman to do these things." Kol said before curling me into his side. We both fell asleep like that and didn't wake until the next morning, when Rebekah came to tell us it was safe.

"Well aren't you two a sight. Don't let anyone else see you like that before the wedding, someone might get the wrong opinion." Rebekah said, officially waking us up. I sat up, noticing my limbs were tangled with Kol's. We separated immediately, hoping no one else had seen. "Kol, Elijah and the others are waiting on you to go hunting. Mother and I are taking Elena today to do some shopping at the market." Rebekah finished as we started packing up our things.