The Vixen & the Fox II

Chapter 318

Fête de Cadeau was a bigger party than Kol wanted to deal with on any given day. But overall, the show of solidarity was enough for him to be lenient on the Ninth Ward and not purge them from New Orleans.

In the end, Kol had received about fifteen goats, four cats, two dogs, twenty-seven chickens, many 'wedding gifts' which were strange, but they ranged from fertility blessings, to kitchen appliances he didn't have use for, and by the end of it, Kol had no interest in anything. Instead he had a beer in his hand, and he had survived the party, and was walking through the cemetery to where he had bound Mikael's soul. Freya hadn't come to Fête de Cadeau; Vincent had come as the representation for the Skulk, with Kaleb and Kai. Overall, it wasn't bad, Kol hated the partying when he didn't want to party, but it was a good start to his Regency; at least according to Vincent.

Kol finally came to where he had bound Mikael's spirit and Inadu, Freya was here.

She was staring at the burnt remains of Mikael, and Kol took a swig of his beer as he came to stand shoulder to shoulder with her.

"I don't actually hate you," Freya muttered as she took the beer from his fingers. He shrugged.

"Debatable," he replied.

"Kol..." she sighed. "I don't hate you," she said it firmly. "I just... he was our father."

"He was your father, Freya, he just happened to sire the rest of us," Kol informed her. "Think of it like a sperm donor and mother the egg donor. They weren't parents to us, this is the most fatherly thing he ever did for any of us."

"He was our father, he loved us," Freya said softly.

Kol shrugged indifferently.

"He left this for you," she held up the envelope which had Kol frowning as he took it from her. Turning it over he saw it was sealed still. "It's for you Kol, not me, I read the one he left for me," she sighed. "And he warned me not to hate you for what happened to him. He decided to be a father for the first time in his millennium he even called Constance, Grace, Faith, and Amity his granddaughters and that he was doing this for them, and for me, and Nik, and all of us, so we didn't lose our family."

Kol nodded.

"I don't hate you, Kol, be easier if I did," she muttered.

"Real fucking easy," he agreed reluctantly. She gave him a surprised look. "Don't look so surprised, darling, you're my sister. I might not like you, but I don't hate you," he shrugged.

"You're impossible," she muttered.

"What do you expect, Freya?" he demanded. "You came into our lives with your expectations and fantasies and when the realities fell flat we had to fight to get you to accept us. Yes, I'll admit I had the same in reverse, in a lot of ways I believed you to be as bad as Nik, which was the only fact I clung to for a long time because you decided to live in fear. Then you accuse me of horrid things, especially when our Ancestors will not claim you in the family line, and made Davina matriarch instead. So while I do not like you all that much Freya, I do not hate you. My life would probably be easier if I could hate you but I don't."

"I thought you did," Freya muttered.

"No. I just don't have the energy to fight you," Kol said softly. "I've fought a lot in my millennium, Freya, I've fought wars, fought demons, fought monsters, fought empires, religions, gods, and I've fought family. But I've never had the energy or inclination to hate my family."

"Could've fooled me," she replied bitterly. "We can just never seem to get it right, can we?"

"Apparently not," Kol agreed.