(CHAPTER FIVE :
LOVE KILLS)

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KOL MIKAELSON RARELY DID favours for anyone unless he gained something from it, obviously. Considering I was romantically involved with him at one point, I should've known that and not expected anything less when I phoned him. He wouldn't simply just collect the ingredients Davina Claire needed, instead he had to bargain with me whilst questioning how I — someone born with magic in their veins — couldn't access basic spell ingredients and held such little knowledge. In the past, I wasn't an expert liar and so as a human, I was all the more cautious of my beating heart revealing too much, so opted to agree to the vampire's demands. The Original had the obscure request of teaching me magic in return, he wanted a witch on his side because his brother had been testy lately and I hastily acceded.

In relief, I slumped my shoulders and spared a glance at the sour-faced witch that had witnessed my side of the long phone call. "Don't give me that look, I had to call your precious boy toy." I said mockingly. Now I was allowed to drop the pretence of Adelina, some bitterness had dripped into my voice in regards to her relationship with my ex. "I thought we established that I'm not a real witch, I didn't even understand half of the list you texted me and I certainly never made a habit of associating myself with your kind back in my old body." I shivered, flashbacks of what a coven did to one of my friends, one of their own, back in the seventies haunting me.

Davina attempted to shift her injured ankle into a more comfortable position as she edged closer to me. "You're one of my kind now." She insisted, but I wasn't like her at all. I was a witch without access to her own magic being used by a scorned Mikaelson woman. "And we need to be this in together. If you try to double-cross me, you will regret it." She swore, the witch's point being crystal clear in spite of her being the one in a vulnerable and compromising position.

"Exactly." I drawled. "The two of us are in this together, so it's only fair that I give you a few friendly warnings. First, I won't underestimate you. I know how strong and powerful you are, Davina, but don't threaten me. It's a mistake you'll grow to regret because it doesn't matter what body I'm in, I've had more supernatural experience than you ever will." I started to pace the area where she had her foot propped on a stool, circling her like a vulture. "And second, I'd advise you keep your distance from Kol and the other Mikaelsons after today. I don't want to see another teenager get caught in their crossfire of their eternal family struggles, I don't want them to be the death of you." I cautioned the brunette, speaking from my heart and being genuine in not wanting my newfound friend to die. Even if she was a witch, she was still a teenager trying to find her place in the world amidst a tremulous war

"I know what I'm getting myself into." Davina insisted, more bark than bite. "I know they're dangerous, he's dangerous, but this is New Orleans! We're always at war and collateral damage happens." Words that were once said to Marcel by Klaus were relayed, the air growing thick as the parroted sentence hung heavy in the air. Nobody should have to accept they could be collateral damage for the sake of a boy.

Without meaning to, I groaned and found myself praying that Kol would arrive with the ingredients soon. "I may not be Adelina, but I meant everything I said as her. I care for you, and really don't want to see history repeat itself. Believe me, D, the worst thing in the world for you is a Mikaelson." I reiterated my previous sentiment in an effort to approach the situation differently. This time, my tone was soft and gentle.

"It sounds you like know what you're talking about . . . Are you speaking from experience?" The Claire witch cocked her head to one side. Although she posed it like a question, I had a feeling she already knew the answer.

Nodding, I applauded how quick she caught on. "I am — or was — Charlotte Hatton and I'd be turning one hundred and twenty five this year." I introduced myself, my eyes flickering shut as I reminisced on the golden days in my old body. "When I was seventeen, I fell in love. It was the kind of heart stopping, jaw dropping love I read about in fairytales and it would have been perfect if I hadn't fell in love with a . . . Mikaelson. Klaus didn't take well to the idea of sharing his family and compelled me to kill myself after I was broken up with through a forged letter. Not long after, I woke up six feet underground, clawed my way out of the casket and completed the vampire transition." I summarised the start of my vampire journey and it was so long ago that recounting it almost tasted foreign against my tongue.

"I take it you died again if you're possessing Adelina. How?" In the most endearing way, her eyebrows scrunched together as she pushed for answers, lacking all tact in the process.

Without meaning to, I snorted because I could honestly admit my death was a long time coming. "That's up for debate. Some will say I fell in love, others will say I ran in front of a wooden stake." I responded in a dry manner. Easily, I was too sober for this conversation given that who I used to be was not my topic of preference. In this new body, I endeavoured to live in the present rather than the past. "But I say that I met the Mikaelsons. I'm trying to protect you, I died two times and both times were a result of that family. They'll get you killed and they'll never accept you into their precious family — regardless of how much you may think you mean to your lover boy." I warned the girl of the destructive Mikaelson tendencies because she didn't deserve the same fate I was destined to by the Original family. Even if I would do my relationship with Kol all again in a heartbeat, I'd never condemn another to such heartbreak.

"You want to protect me?" Despite it being an accusation, it came out more a question than the witch had intended because of the natural inflection that was attached with the claim. "I—I'm blackmailing you. I don't understand why you'd want to help me, I don't — can't — believe that's all you want from me." She continued bluntly. Intent on finding an ulterior motive, I allowed her to analyse my movements because I felt she was rightfully suspicious after being a regular victim to manipulation.

My lips curved into a half-smile. "I'd like us to be friends, actually." I confessed, a sheepish blush adorning my cheeks. "All I want from you is friendship and maybe I want to start leaving my mark and having an impact in this world. If I could stop you from entering something that could burn out your fire, I will. Nobody warned me about Kol or the consequences of being with him and I was in too deep by the time I realised for myself." I breathed out, startling myself as I finally said his name to her. Now she knew which Mikaelson I had dated.

She frowned, reaching out to grab my wrist before I could stalk away to the opposite side of the room. "Do you regret it?" Davina inquired, her features hardening in deep thought.

"No, I don't regret it. If I never met Kol, I would have lived an unfulfilled life in a small-minded city and died there. But, if I went through what I did again, I wouldn't survive as long as I did." After a long pause of reflection, I answered with an established certainty. "Love kills, Davina Claire. Do yourself a favour and don't fall in love with him"

"What if I'm already in love with him?" The teenager challenged.

Balling my hand into a fist, I scoffed. She didn't love him. "You're not in love with him and he doesn't love you! He can't love you because Kol Mikaelson loving somebody is rare. And even if he did, you don't know him, not like I do. You'll never see he's not invincible and is more than a bad boy for a good girl to fix." It felt like my lungs were about to cave in, a plethora of emotions exploding in my chest at once. To begin, I had told myself I would be calm and composed with Davina, but the implication that I was another notch on Kol's belt caused my temper to flare. "Yes, I'm a little in love with a monster, but you aren't. I died for him and I'd do it again, I made a deal with the devil to see him once more and I'd do it again. Not even an immortal will experience that kind of love twice." I argued, a reignited passion stirring in my bones. Without a doubt, I wanted Kol to be happy and could accept if it wasn't with me, but I couldn't allow him to draw a target on a sixteen year old's back.

Automatically, Davina's face flushed red — a burning, angry red. "Shut up, just shut up!" She exclaimed, propelling her hands forward and causing a strong gust of wind to knock me to the ground. "If you came here to convince me to end things with him, I won't. You could have walked away at any point, but you chose to stay. It was your choice that got you killed, not the Mikaelsons." She declared, towering over me from her position in the chair. "Shockingly, you killed yourself and the world kept spinning." The brunette cemented, folding her arms over her chest.

"It's more complicated than that." I denied with a prolonged sigh — I didn't intend to fight her, I only wanted to help her. Perhaps I had let some budding jealousy slip through the cracks in my advice, but I was being authentic with the girl. "Knowing that family alone means people will hate you, hurt you and hunt you. They don't stay in one place long because they're always running and they'll steal your memories when they're ready to start again because people like us are simply loose ends. Klaus stole my memories and I had blanks in my mind for decades. I never chose that. My choices were taken away from me the moment that family tricked me into losing myself." I appealed to the sympathetic side of Davina Claire, focusing on reigning in my fury after she had brazen in assuming I was an enabler to my own suffering. I didn't want to be blinded with rage whilst engaging in what was meant to be a serious conversation, so I prioritised my senses — what I could see, hear, smell, touch, taste. This calmed me.

Stretching out her hand, Davina yanked me to my feet again. "You aren't that girl anymore, they don't control you." The younger female reminded me, the vehemence in her tone not aimed at me, rather at my adamance at being tied to the most dangerous vampire family in existence. "You're preaching about how abominable Kol and his family are, yet you're here in New Orleans — the exact place they are. You can't tell me to run a mile in the other direction when you can't even take your own advice. This is my home, I want to give love a chance and I'm definitely not you." As she accentuated each word carefully, I found myself gaining a newfound respect for the my future friend. Davina Claire was standing her ground and I admired that.

I swallowed. "I ran a mile in the other direction  more than once. Every time, I was drawn back to them." At this, all the accidental encounters I had with the Mikaelsons — like in Chicago and Mystic Falls — sprung to mind.

If I blinked, I would have missed the pity that flashed across her face. "Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is save yourself." She muttered under her breath, her head snapping up to lock our eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like that you're possessing the body of my cousin, but I think you deserve to be free from the Originals for at least a couple of months." Her voice wavered with hesitance in regards to giving me permission to borrow Adelina's body. "This isn't about Kol, it's about you. If his family really hold you back, leave before the vicious cycle repeats and they find out who you are." Davina pestered, squeezing my hands in encouragement.

"You said you would keep my identity a secret." I rebutted, praying she wasn't having second thoughts after making the hinting people might find out who I was soon. "Adelina's brother will be in New Orleans tomorrow. I need you if I want to pull this off." I mumbled, resistant to mention that I needed to stay because I had an alliance with Esther. Although I had a feeling she would make an excellent confidant, I refused to put Davina at risk by revealing who, how or why I was brought back to life.

"And I will." She confirmed, bobbing her head. "But . . . People will catch on eventually. I can help you pretend to be Adelina Blackwell, I can't help you pretend you aren't Charlotte Hatton." Davina told me. It was common knowledge that a facade as elaborate as this couldn't be put up permanently in front of those who knew me best. At some point, I would slip up — I almost did talking with Kol the other day — because I could never shake who I truly was.

Kol Mikaelson froze in the doorway of the attic when he heard her name again. "Where did you hear that name?" He boomed, his voice ringing like an alarm bell as he made his arrival known, the room immediately being blanketed with a deafening silence. "I do hate repeating myself. Tell me, where have you heard that name?" There was a menacing edge to his razor blade words as he pressed for more information.

Surprised by his impromptu arrival, I glared at the teenager with the injured ankle. "I didn't realise he was already invited in." I gritted my teeth, having anticipated there would have been a little warning before he appeared with the magic ingredients.

"If I have to ask again, I'll start tearing out tongues." He threatened, passing the border into the attic that he spent several intense nights in before. Often, he thrived in blood and lust after my death — I stopped checking in from the Other Side when it got too much for me to handle.

In disapproval, Davina narrowed her eyes at the vampire. "Kol!" She scolded with a gasp, he usually held himself together better than this around her. Admittedly, she had heard stories, but he seemed too charming to be the maniac people claimed he was.

"This is Kol Mikaelson, sweetie." I proclaimed, gesturing to the man that with a heaving chest with roaring flames for eyes. "He's destructive like a forest fire and always has been. He'll burn you out and believe me, it takes a lot of tears to extinguish his flames." I kept my gaze trained on Davina, hoping this last attempt to warn her wasn't a waste. Maybe now she'd understand how unpredictable Kol was.

Within seconds, Kol had charged towards me and wrapped his hands around my neck, trapping my body against a wall. "People who speak to me as you do don't live long enough to regret it." Kol revealed, using the exact same phrase he had in Amsterdam after I switched off my humanity. "What makes you think that you are any different?" He dared further, applying more pressure to my neck as he squeezed his hands tighter and tighter and tighter . . .

"Because I'm your Achilles' Heel." I wheezed out between urgent breaths. "And darling, strangling me is perhaps taking amantes sunt amentes too literally." I echoed our sacred vow — that being a concrete way to prove my identity before he murdered me. However, my pronunciation of the Latin words was strained because my body started to shut down. If didn't kill me now, Esther surely would since Kol wasn't meant to know who I was.

"Charlotte . . ." He whispered, dropping my body to the ground in an instant.

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A.N: I've been ill for the past few weeks, so this update has took much longer than normal. I'm sorry! I hope it was satisfying because now Kol knows who she is and we're seeing the start of an unstable — but will be very supportive — almost friendship with Davina. Also, the end with Kol was a little reference to Achilles' Heel prologue because he says the exact same thing to her. I haven't actually proof read this chapter because I'm so eager to post after being away for so long, but will do that tomorrow for sure. Don't forget to comment and vote, love you all.