(CHAPTER SEVEN :
IN THE DARK)

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DARKNESS FOLLOWED ME, IT was a parasite that I knew well, but never cared for until now. Once I abandoned the scene at The Grill, I intended to find help — revealing my return to town in the process — but the plan fell apart at the seams when a thick mist caged my mind. Since being cursed, I liked to think I developed a sixth sense and could detect when I was about to have an 'episode.' As time went on, I figured I was in a war rather than a battle, learning to defend myself from the black magic that tried to consume me. Some days, I'd function as normal because my mentality overpowered the witchcraft. However, without the blood I needed, I was growing weaker by the day and struggled to put up a fight. Unaware of how severe my oncoming torment may be, I took a sharp U turn into an alleyway to be alone whilst it ran its course. Although I knew it was the safest option, guilt weighed down on my mind at the thought of Jeremy and Connor together. I wish I could have done more for him.

Standing at the mouth of the alleyway, I surveyed the area with urgent eyes. Like most alleyways, it was dark, damp and dreary, so I deemed it suitable enough for the occasion. After my quick scan, I didn't hesitate in sitting down and pressing my back against a graffiti scrawled wall for additional support. Not only was the Curse a series of constant battles, it was a waiting game. Days passed and more side effects appeared, forcing me to question what the bigger picture could be. Amira — Kol's witch — was vague on the details of the Curse and claimed nobody knew how it ended. Perhaps it was mundane of me, but I was hopeful that meant I could be saved. No doubt the side effects were gruelling, but they were only side effects. If what I had endured so fast wasn't the Curse itself, there was still time. Time to find a Claire witch, time to figure out what the Curse even was . . .

"Lottieee," somebody sang, resulting in my head snapping up at the sound of my name. "You need to kill him." They insisted, leaving no room for objection.

Swallowing, I pushed myself up from the ground and glanced around. Instantly, a chill shot down my spine. "Who's there?" I asked, static rushing through my veins and rain clouds resting over my head. "Show yourself!" I exclaimed, clutching my head with a frustrated groan. Something was wrong, but it was a challenge to differentiate fiction from reality in the supernatural world.

Unexpectedly, the Winter wind picked up, urging me to move forward. "You don't need to see me, all you need to do is listen." Like a snake, they hissed, the sounds long and harsh. "You need to kill him, but first, corrupt him. Destroy his soul, make death an honour and mercy he begs for." The authoritative voice ordered, causing me to spin in a circle and spot a figure a few metres away that hadn't been there earlier. From his frame and the whispers, I concluded it was a man. He was tall, a little on the lanky side, and I watched with interest how he tugged at his curls in exasperation as he argued with a female on his phone. I was moments away from tearing out his throat, yet he was lost in his own world to the extent that he was beautifully and blissfully naive to what lurked behind him.

"Why?" I shook my head, trying to regain my composure. "Why should I kill him?" I mumbled, staring at the innocent with uncertainty.

"Destruction is your nature." They pestered, an edge to their tone. "You are broken, Lottie. The Mikaelson ruined you — repeat the cycle, succumb to your fate and leave the boy stranded in the wreckage of the supernatural like you were." In an attempt to convince me, they poked at healed wounds and, to my surprise, it worked.

Inhaling, I nodded in agreement at last. From there on, the colours around me were brighter and the tension in my muscles in relaxed. Almost as if I was in a deep trance, my actions spiralled out of my own control and, with less than honourable intentions, I stalked my prey. Just as I was prepared to strike . . . "What the Hell are you doing?" Appearing from behind, two large hands grabbed my waist, taking me away the civilian and breaking my daze. "Nik said he got you to flip the switch." Smoothly, Kol twirled me around grabbed the sides of my face, searching for flecks of humanity in my blue eyes.

"He did." Gently, I lowered his hands and took a cautious step back. In truth, I scared myself then. "It sounds crazy, but I heard this v — — shut up!" Impulsively, I covered my ears when I heard the voice taunting me once again.

Tentative and Kol Mikaelson were an oxymoron — they didn't ever go in the same sentence. Yet, there was a delicacy to his touch that felt foreign to me when he brushed his fingertips over my cheek. "You know," he started, curling the edges of his lips into a half-smile. "Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." When he wiggled his eyebrows, I found a chuckle bubbling out of my throat, which I failed to disguise with a prompt cough.

Before he could comment on my amusement, I connected the dots. "You . . . You made the voice stop." I realised, his touch being the one thing that made my mind radio silent. "How did you do that that?" In awe, I questioned him, grabbing his hand and keeping hold of it this time.

"I know as much as you." He was holding back on me, I could tell by the way his eyes flitted to his feet. Despite this, I pursed my lips and didn't interrogate him on the matter, allowing him to continue. "But, I do know you and you're incredibly easy to read." Kol waited to see if I would argue, but my fire had been snuffed out whilst I slipped into a mind maze of thought. All the puzzle pieces were glaring at me, I just needed to connect them now. "You need me, darling. These side effects are damaging you. Without my blood, they'll only get worse and you'll kill recklessly again." The Original announced with a certainty that had me suspicious. Whilst I was struggling to differentiate the voice in my head from my own desires and was playing puppet on a string to century old magic, he was quite clearly keeping secrets.

"You don't know me, you've been stuck in a box for a century." I accused, uncomfortable at the idea of needing him. At one point, I needed the vampire like I needed oxygen. The only other person I put that much energy into was Damon, who I now had a strained relationship with. Both of which proved needing people lead to disappointment and I was better on my own. "I'd also hold the judgement on if I kill or not because we're vampires, Kol." Throwing him an offhanded scornful glance, I accentuated each word carefully. "Vampires were designed to kill. I mean, look at you." I stated with a sigh, examining the man from head to toe. Even as he stood lecturing me, blood smothered his mouth and dripped in an uneven rhythm from his chin — he must have been feeding nearby when he heard my shouts from afar.

He scoffed. "Vampires were designed as a form of protection!" Kol shouted. "So, no, don't look at me. I'm not Elijah, I don't pretend to be the model vampire." I gripped his hand tighter, noting how frenzied he was. "Is it so hard to believe I'm trying to look out for you? I don't want you to be like me, you're better than that. That's why I returned to this bloody town, that's why I let my Klaus bloody torture you and that's why I insisted on bringing your bloody humanity back." The Mikaelson spat, throwing his arms around in the process. Quickly, I caught onto his wrist, terrified of what I would do if the voice returned. Catching onto my engrossed fear, he softened. "I didn't want your humanity on because of the Curse or because you irritated me to no end. Every damned second on that trip I relished in, we were free. I wanted it on because — contrary to what you believe — I do know you and the person I was with wasn't really you. No matter how I much I liked her, I couldn't be that selfish with you." Kol revealed, bullets of information hitting me at a mile a minute.

I stared at him, wanting him to be the villain. It would have been easier to walk away from him if all his bad deeds weren't for my sake. "Kol," his name escaped my lips before I managed to make a decision. "Please . . . Go. I can't do this, I'm sorry." I refused to make eye contact, opting to stare at the gravel.

Momentarily, he was stunned, but soon recovered. "As you wish, darling." Rather than making more of a fool out of himself, he flashed away.

Placing my head in my hands, the warmth of his touch dispersed and all I felt was cold — so, so cold. Not knowing how to progress from here, I remained motionless, the whispers beginning to pick up again when I heard a noise. Slowly, a tube of blood was rolling in my direction, a handwritten label plastered on the centre.

'KOL'S BLOOD ;)'

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Stumbling, I found myself on a blood high after drinking Kol's blood. His blood was euphoric and was meant to subdue to the Curse's effects for a short while. Unfortunately, a short while was not good enough and I couldn't continue to be passive in dealing with what I had brought upon myself. With that in mind, I found myself heading to Bonnie Bennett's residence for a witchy nudge in the right direction.

"Bonnie!" I called, knocking on the door impatiently.

Seconds later, the door swung open and revealed person I was anticipating, except she looked to have changed since I last saw her. Bonnie's rounds eyes were hallowed with dark circles, her coffee bean irises ground into a black hole and her usually pristine clothes were littered with unattractive creases. Concern creeped onto my features as I found myself doing a double take. She was my friend — even if I had been closer to Caroline and Elena due to my disscontempt towards witches — and was unsettled by her current state.

"Lottie." Her smile didn't reach her dead eyes when she greeted me. "I didn't know you were back. Have you spoke to Damon? He's been worried about you." She said, not fully opening her door to me.

'Not worried enough to track me down in Europe,' I thought, remembering the lengths he went to when Stefan left with Klaus last Summer. "Not many people know I'm back, not even Damon. I'm a little mad at him, he's probably mad at me too. It's complicated." I summarised with an eye roll. Everything was complicated lately. "I didn't come here to talk about him though. I came for some advice, but I think that can wait. You look exhausted, what happened?" I frowned, easing my expression to appear more gentle.

"You missed a lot." Bonnie deadpanned, clearing her throat when she realised how rude the declarative came across. "Uh, I didn't mean it like that, I just don't want to relive it right now. I'll tell you another time if you distract me with your own problems." She bargained.

I faltered, not wanting to unload my problems onto her when she was in a fragile place. However, the determination in her look lead to me complying with her wishes. "It's a long story that I'll do my best to compress." I explained. "When Klaus was staked at the storage unit, I thought Damon and the others were going to die and turned my humanity off. Without my humanity, I was impetuous and went to any length to infuriate Kol. One day, in the heat of the moment, I bit him." I informed her, blocking out the flashes from that night in Amsterdam. "After that, weird occurrences began to happen. Kol took me to a witch and it turned out his psycho ex lover placed a protection spell on his blood. I'm blurry on the details still, all I know is that I can only keep his blood down, there's some bizarre side effects and I'm cursed." I rushed out, blinking back tears. I was ashamed of what I did — from leaving town without my humanity to not thinking of how protected an Original vampire may be after a millennium.

"Oh my God," she uttered, stepping out of the threshold to pull me into a hug. "Kol came to me the other day and asked me if I could find a cure — well, more threatened. I didn't even consider he was talking about you." Bonnie told me, the mood turning solemn. "I checked all my grimoires — he even brought some of Esther's — but there's no cure. Only dark magic could save you and even then, you'd need a Claire witch. I tried to locate one but the spell bounces back, as if they're well protected." Grimly, she revealed that any optimism of mine was a mistake. Although, Bonnie knew the spell was a failure because she had lost her magic. "All I managed to find out is that the Curse was created to drive you insane. Kol's blood is only a temporary substitute, your hunger will grow insatiable one day and you'll become unstable and uncontrollable to a point that your only choice will be . . . Death."

Blank faced, I remained indifferent. "Choice? Does that mean I have a chance of survival?" I nitpicked her words, grasping for straws.

"It means you'll want death." Bonnie corrected. "I'm sorry but you're dying, Lottie."

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A.N: Finally, we had some Kol and Lottie interaction again. We're seeing some potential romantic development in the present but the bomb that she's going to die unless they find a Claire witch has been dropped.

I listened to In The Dark by Camilla Cabello when writing this chapter. Do you have any song recommendations? In particular, I want more songs for my gym playlist.