Millennium | Kol Mikaelson

Chapter 11

Catalina liked Tuscany.

She'd acquired a nice studio apartment, and filled it with all sorts of clothes and accessories, as well as furniture that she didn't technically need, just wanted for the theme. She'd purchased a sewing machine, as well as two mannequins, so that she could properly set out the clothes she intended to make.

Kol hadn't spent too much time preparing anything in his apartment. He'd just gotten some necessary clothes, then gone out to search for witches and some good wine.

The first day had been relatively calm. They spent every meal together, but separated for a few hours between each to have their alone time. They were both feeling rather good, as Klaus had told Kol that he and Rebekah were in the process of acquiring the remaining white oak, which meant that soon, it would be no more. Kol and Catalina would be safe.

"That was a wonderful meal," said Kol after their dinner, when he was walking her to her home. "With even better company."

"Thank you for listening to me ranting about my design ideas," said Catalina. "I can imagine you've had to endure that many times in the past thousand years."

"Not really, honestly," said Kol. "You never quite had something you were this passionate about. Truthfully, everything was about what I wanted. You chose to study magic because of me. Because I felt I needed to hold on after I lost my ability to perform it. I'm sure there were many other things you would have rather been doing. Yet, you remained at my side."

Catalina bit her lip. "Do you think that... despite Klaus having been quite evil with his intentions... this was good for us?"

"I believe so. I was rather shocked when I heard your suggestion about separate apartments. I feel as though we clung to each other too much in the past. You were my first sireling, and I didn't wish to let you go. And meanwhile, I was the first man you ever loved. Your first everything. Drawing away from one another even for a while was unfathomable. Horrible. You always told me how terrible it was, being away from me while I was daggered. I conditioned you to be almost dependent on me. You're much stronger than that, Tere."

She took his hands, stopping them both in their tracks. "There's something I need to tell you. Something your brother said that unsettled me. I asked him why he would leave the compulsion even if he's okay with us getting to know each other again. And he said that maybe he put a twist to it. He said... well, maybe it's better that I show you. Maybe you can pick up on something in the way he said it."

She concentrated, letting him into her mind.

"Now, that would spoil the fun, wouldn't it?" said Klaus in the memory. "Maybe there's an extra bonus to the compulsion. Maybe I've compelled you to stake yourself moments after telling him you love him for the first time, all over again. Maybe I've compelled you to remove your daylight ring and burn in the sun the morning after you let him sleep with you again. So many possibilities to prolong that suffering. To make it... that much more devastating. You'll never know if I did or didn't add another component. I suppose you'll have to wait and see."

"And then," continued Catalina, "there was a point where I genuinely thought he wanted to kill me. So I goaded him. Told him to get it over with. But he says he's gonna let me live for now. That he'll kill me when I least expect it... when I'm happiest..."

"I'd like to say it's just Nik being an arse, but I'm not sure we ought to dismiss that," muttered Kol. "There could be something more to it. Which means... that as soon as you're ready... we ought to try and get a witch to undo the compulsion."

Catalina's face fell. "But... but I don't want it to hurt."

"That's why I said when you're ready," he replied. "There just might be a point where you'll be willing to undergo pain to have the memories back. But I won't force you to do it. I can't begin to imagine how awful it will be to have those memories restored and hitting you like a brick, repeatedly. It surely hurt you loads to have the memories leave. To have them return..."