Dark Beauty

Chapter 27: The Dance that Ends All

The next morning came. I sat in my silk white pajamas in Niklaus' study watching him paint. He was so gracious with each stroke he made. It was like his brushes had a mind of its own. He has always been that way since he first discovered painting. I believe it started when he wrote letters to me. His penmanship is so incredibly wonderful, it can make anyone fall to his knees. The only thing that has changed about his paintings is his color choice. He used to paint with such vibrant and bright colors, but now... now he paints with dark colors. The colors themselves show his pain and his heartache he has experienced in the past ninety years I have been away from him. At least that is what I assume.

"What took you so long?" Niklaus speaks up to his sister who had just walked into the room. She should have been back last night.

"Alaric didn't want to handover the stake." She pulls out the stake from her coat. "Luckily, I am quite the charmer." Something in my gut told me that things where not right here. I don't know why.

"That's it?" Nik turned and smiled at her.

"The last of the white oak stakes that can kill us." She walks over to Nicklaus, handing over the stake. "Do you want to do the honors, or shall I?" Nik sets his brushes down, grabs the stake, and throws it into the fire. The fire exceeds height before calming down. Kind of like the waves at the end of a storm. "Well, that's that, then."

"Pack you're bags. You too, Ava. We're leaving." I look up at him in shock. I thought this was our home now. I need to complete the mission the Coven gave me. The final mission since Elena hasn't had any kids.

"Niklaus." "Today?" Rebekah and I whine at the same time.

"Why not? There's nothing keeping us here." He softly speaks while painting. "We'll grab the doppelganger and be off by sunset." This is going to make my mission so much harder. I need to come up with an excuse to buy me more time. I guess I will have to push Elena's death to today.

"But tonight's the decade dance!" Rebekah complains.

"Yes! Rebekah pushed me to work so hard for this dance. We can't leave without seeing how my hard work has blossomed." I pushed myself to the edge of the couch in anticipation.

"So?" He questioned, turning to face the two of us.

"SOOO, Bekah is head of the committee." I informed.

"Exactly! We have to go!" Bekah defended me.

"I'm not going to any dance." Niklaus declined.

"Ava will be there," Rebekah pushed.

"Yes, I will! And we decorated in the themes of the twenties. You know how much you love that decade. How much I love that era." I begged, walking to Nik and grabbing his hands.

"Yes..." Nik looked at me with sad eyes. "That is also the decade you decided to fake your death, Ava, darling." I let go of his hands and looked down. He is right.

"Please? I have big plans tonight." Rebekah changed the topic. "Just go for the both of us, Nik."

Nik sighed. "Okay, fine. One last Hurrah."

"One last Hurrah" Bekah and I both said. For some reason, I had a feeling Bekah's sounded more sinister than joyous.

** A few Minutes before the dance **

I looked at myself in the mirror. I almost look like a carbon copy of myself in the twenties. The only thing different about it is the blonde in my hair. I can't tell you how many hours it took me to find at least one of my many flapper dresses that was buried away in the trunk that holds all of my out-of-season dresses.