The Prince of Mystic Falls

16. Old Letters

Pairing: Elijah/Kol -M/M-hand, otk, hairbrush, switch

Kol stomped up to his old room and looked around in surprise. The room looked the same, he supposed, but it had been many years since he had been in this house. How many? He couldn't say. 100? After they built The Abattoir, as Rebekah named it, and moved into the compound, there was no need for them to come back here.

Yet like every house they had, Elijah and Klaus kept them staffed with at least a skeleton crew of staff to maintain and keep them ready in case the family needed them. Kol took a shower as there were soap, toothbrushes, and towels available. Yet he felt exhausted and drained after, only wrapped in a towel, he trudged over to the bed and go in. He assumed there were some type of clothes in the drawers, but he didn't care. Kol closed his eyes and tried not to think of Nicole and what awaited him.

Elijah also took a shower and drink from one of the housekeepers, whom he then compelled to forget about it. He frowned on doing that, but the shock of seeing Marcellus and still having to deal with Kol required fortification. He had cut and prepared two switches and then went in Rebekah's old room looking for a study hairbrush. There was an oval Mason Pearson, but after digging through some old paste jewelry in the art deco style, he found a square paddle brush that he preferred. It was wider and not as dense as the oval one he had first found. Just as he was about to shut the drawer, he saw a bundle of papers tied with a faded rose colored ribbon. Against his better judgment, he slipped out a crumbling page and opened it. It was Marcel's hand. Elijah knew this as he taught him to write. It started out, "My dearest love,.." The letter still smelled vaguely of roses. He folded it carefully, but the thin paper almost crumbled in his hands. Did Rebekah come back her to stash relics of her "secret" affair with Marcel? He and Klaus knew and Klaus finally gave his blessing, right before they had to fled. He put the letters back and shut the drawer. A part of him considered giving them to Rebekah, but was this love affair doomed? Maybe it was best to keep some of the past in the past. Elijah picked up the chosen hairbrush and his switches and went to complete his next task, albeit an unpleasant one.

Elijah knocked on the door, but there was so answer. He stepped in and shut and locked the door. Kol was in the double feather bed on his stomach. Elijah walked over and sat on the nearby chair by the bed.

"I know you're not sleeping, Kol," Elijah said softly.

"I tried, but every time I close my eyes I think of Nicole. I never wanted to help them use Nik as a power source, I just didn't know what else to do," Kol admitted.

"You tried to tell me, didn't you? The night that-, Elijah started.

"The night those ruffians fought and caused a ruckus. I wanted to tell you. I knew you could help, but then that happened. I thought I owed her for undaggering me," Kol blurted.

"I wish you would have told me. You know things like this make it hard for Niklaus to trust people, especially you. You are going to have to make it up to him. That means telling the truth, even when you don't want to," Elijah scolded.

"Then, I get in trouble. But I guess, if I don't get punished, I punish myself. If I do, I feel like a child," Kol whined.

"The solution is to behave yourself. It's been a good long while since someone has taken me in hand. I assure you that I'll sometimes would find it easier to get a hiding that deal with guilt, regret, and pain. You died a boy, though. There is a part of you that will always be a boy, no matter how much you hate it. Finn, Niklaus, and I were adults when we were turned. It's different for us. Let us bear the burden and help you deal with yours," Elijah begged. "What are you going to do?" Kol asked with wide eyes. "Kol, you know well enough what I am going to do. Enough talk now," Elijah said flipping the covers off of Kol.