THESE VIOLENT DESIRES

Chapter twenty-one | My love could move mountains

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IT WAS A PARTICULARLY SUNNY DAY IN MYSTIC FALLS this morning and Kalliope was stuck indoors. At least, for the time being. And woe what an atrocity to keep a Genie anywhere she didn't want to be. It was the story of her life.

"Kalliope, where have you been? Everyone has been looking everywhere for you," Was the first thing Elena Gilbert said as she marched through the front door of the Lockwood Mansion. Her doe brown eyes were blown wide as she took the pair in. Elijah standing by the window like something out of a magazine and then there was Kalli, who was nursing her temper with her second drink of the day.

The Genie didn't want to immediately lose herself to her emotions. She hadn't built up centuries of layers and decorum just to let it all slip away now. Over men who do not love her as she believed to be loved for that matter. She had been angry for far longer and for far more than a man forgetting about her. No, Elena would not get the brunt of her disappointment. But that also didn't mean she would get her unadulterated kindness. Kalliope was a little past that at the moment.

"Good morning, Elena." Kalli ignored Elena's accusatory words, raising her glass of bourbon with an impish smile.

The Genie wore a soft pink ensemble that the woman in Paris told her was a 'romper'. Whatever that meant. It tied in a neat bow, one that matched the bow in her hair, around her neck. The lack of sleeves exposed her tanned arms and delicate build. Showing a little more skin than she was usually comfortable, but she felt feminine in it like a fuzzy rosebud waiting to bloom. If only she could walk outside to inhale the sun, then she'd be lighter. The sudden company was starting to feel stuffy.

"Kalli-" The Gilbert was bewildered.

"Elena," Elijah greeted, making himself known to the young girl. He stood from the armchair he dubbed as his own. Sitting in it with one leg crossed over the other and a newspaper pried open between his large hands. His suit had changed again. The man had many outfits to filter through. Kalliope was sure he possessed far more than she did within her Chalice. "Ms. Debonair has been in my company... You look fitful. I take it, Klaus is here."

Elena stumbled in her walk short of Elijah. Her eyes shifted between the older immortals with trepidation. Her hands fumbled against her clothes. "Yes... listen, Elijah, I'm sorry for my part in daggering you. I just wanted to protect my friends and family. I'll do anything to protect them."

Her rambling seemed to annoy Elijah, though he didn't make it obvious. Kalli noticed by the way he fiddled with his cufflinks and the subtle narrowness of his brown eyes. Loyalty was important to him and her youthful ignorance and flighty behavior irked him. Kalliope swallowed another mouthful of bourbon-the whiskey simpering down her throat with a promise to lower her inhibitions.

"Indeed, Ms. Gilbert. It seems you make a lot of those decisions around here. What can I do for you?" He nearly dismissed her with his off-handed tone. His plight is full of downright boredom. His hands were shoved in his pocket, eyes uninterested.

"You look better," She tried to flatter him. "Listen, I'll tell you everything. But we have to work together, Elijah. I need your word." He'd heard those excuses before and he was not pleased or flattered.

"Your ability to make demands has long passed," He stifled.

Elena shook her head, "No demands. I'm offering you my help and in return, I want yours."

"And why should I even consider this?"

The Gilbert feigned confidence, "The same reason that you haven't killed me. You need my help to kill Klaus." Kalli grew amused by this, lips pursing as the alcohol she consumed lightly played with her senses. She supposed Elena was right to a certain degree, but the stakes she was putting on her life at the moment were startling. She'd never know a woman to willingly gamble her life like this. She admired the spirit, though it was misplaced.

"How did you know we were here?" Kalli questioned, jostling her glass. The ice cubes clinking against the edges.

"I had Bonnie help me. No one else knows I'm here, promise -" Suddenly, Elena's phone began to ring. The supernatural entities glanced at each other knowingly before Elena warily answered her phone. "Stefan," Elena answered, knowingly.

Kalliope took note of just how quick it was for Stefan to realize Elena had been missing comparatively to herself and her hand fumbled to throw back more liquor. Her cheeks heated with anger and embarrassment. She wished she could have superhearing, so she could listen in to this conversation from both points of view.

"No, Stefan, Elijah... Kalliope and I need some time to talk alone. He's a nobleman, Stefan. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him. He knows that I'd be incredibly stupid to betray him again. By coming here without you guys, I've proven myself." She maintained eye contact with Elijah throughout her monologue, round eyes pleading.

Elijah arched a brow, doubtful.

"It's my decision, Stefan. Please respect it. And make sure that Damon doesn't do anything stupid. I'll be in touch." When she hung up, a dissatisfying silence settled over them.

"Klaus has taken over Alaric's body," Elena explained, glancing to Kalliope for some help with the Original. However, the Genie was busy thinking about Jenna. The ginger hadn't called her for help or in worry. She assumed Jenna was fine for now, but that didn't stop the furrow of her brow.

"Of course he has. One of his favorite tricks."

"Well, what are his other tricks? What is he going to do next? You're the only one who knows him."

"Funny how that works," Kalliope mumbled to herself. She reached over the counter to find the bottle to refill her glass. Her movements are clumsy and irritated, that is until Elijah procures the bottle she is reaching for. Instead of handing it to her, He places it on the highest shelf of the barback. His eyes ignored her pout but his mannerisms were clear. He wanted her to stop drinking.

Kalli's brown eyes narrowed in annoyance. Her fun stalled.

"Elijah, will you be needing anything else?" Carol called as she walked down the stairs to a room full of intruders. Elena blinked at the woman, noticing that Carol acted like she hadn't even seen her.

"No, that will be all. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Of course." Carol grabbed her purse and keys, walking out the front door without batting an eyelash.

"How did you know she's not on vervain?" Elena wondered with furrowed brows.

"I'm the one who got her off it. Right before you and your friends killed me. Twice." His tone was the perfect combination of chaste sarcasm. He raised his hand, awaiting something. It took a moment for Elena to realize that he meant her cell phone. She frowned, digging the device out of her pocket before handing it to him. Elijah shoved it in his breast pocket before he left the women in the parlor by turning away. His suit-clad back commanded the inhabitants in the room to follow him without saying a word.

Kalliope found a place on a settee, somewhat petulant for having her drink taken away. She could still sullenly taste the warm honey flavor on her tongue, lulling her into a disquiet stupor.

It felt like an eternity while Elijah explained to Elena Niklaus's tendencies. She knew about the Hybrid. She'd have to after living with them long enough. Truly, she wondered what it would've been like to meet the Originals with Katerina instead of earlier. Would she have gotten along with her then?

Human, fragile, innocent Katerina.

Now, of course, things have changed. The thought of Katherine left a bitter taste in her mouth she wished to wash away. Just thinking about all the times Damon would journey to his father's while Katherine was there. How many times did she allow her naivety and trust to lead her astray? How many times did Damon sleep with the doe eye doppelganger? Maybe even in their own home... the thoughts were heartbreaking and stoked her fire. How much longer would her willingness to see the good in others spoil her life?

Will she ever grow cold? Bitter from the harsh effects of this world.

"Yes, Klaus is my brother," Elijah clarified, pulling Kalliope from her stewing.

"I heard that," Elena sat down slowly. "I'm still processing."

"Yes, I'm a little behind on the time, but I believe the term you're searching for is 'O.M.G." That made Kalliope abruptly burst into giggles. Her cheeks tugging taunt as she covered her lips. The Noble Original was usually so stiff and refined, but this was one joke she understood and only because Jenna had used the lingo frequently.

"So wait... There's a whole family of Originals?" Elena briefly glanced at Kalliope before giving her attention to Elijah.

Elijah let his eyes linger on Kalliope in her slightly tipsy giddiness as he spoke to the Gilbert doppelganger. "My father was a wealthy landowner in a village in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children."

"So your parents were human?"

Now Kalliope was interested in the conversation. She hadn't heard much of the Mikaelson siblings. She only knew of them in short. Not even their names could rattle their way to the forefront of her mind, but she was sure by meeting two of the Originals that the rest must be stately. They were too old to not have unique personalities. She just hoped they weren't as dastardly as their brother Niklaus.

"Our whole family was. Our origin as vampires is a very long story, Elena. Just know... We're the oldest vampires in the world. We are the Original family, and from us, all vampires were created." Something in the back of Kalliope's mind told her that, that wasn't the case. There was more to the story, there had to be. Somehow she knew it, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

If she thought of it hard enough, she would start to get a headache.

"Right, but Klaus is your brother... And you want him dead?" That question disturbed Elijah. His eyes finally fell away from the unaware Genie as he stood to his feet.

"I need some air. I'm still feeling a tad... dead. Come."

"Oh, brilliant," Kalli exclaimed.

The women stood to follow the Original. Kalliope's spirits rise at the prospect of going outside. She beat them to the back door. The sun beamed down on her in kindness, warming her supple exposed skin. It practically highlighted her frame, stealing the attention from all around her. Elena watched Genie in equal parts jealousy and skepticism.

How could someone have such a carefree life while she was fighting to live another day? Elena couldn't remember what it was like to enjoy the warm, sunny day like the Genie was. It made her long for a simpler time. Little did she know that the Genie knew more turmoil than the Gilbert could fathom.

"So, as you've seen, nothing can kill an Original. Not Sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. Only the wood from one tree. A tree my family made sure burned."

Elena turned to the Genie, "Are you the same way, Kalli?"

The Debonair lightly shook her head. "I cannot be killed, but I can be harmed, so long as Jenna still needs her wish."

"She hasn't made it yet?" Elena furrowed her brow as if getting an idea. Knowing exactly where Elena was going with this, Kalliope pursed her lips.

"Whatever Jenna decides to use her wish on will be her choice... but many wishes have consequences. Some too heavy to bear." Her voice grew serious as she curled her fringe out of her face. She wouldn't want Jenna to use her wish on something Kalli knew Klaus had already been promised, but if the ginger wanted to, she couldn't stop her.

"The witches won't allow anything truly immortal to walk the earth. Every creature needs to have a weakness in order to maintain balance." Elijah knowingly added.

"So the Sun can't kill an Original. Why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking the Sun and Moon curse?"

Elijah's expression grew amused. The corner of his lip raised. "Right. The curse of the sun and the moon. It's all so... biblical-sounding, don't you think?"

"What's so funny?"

"There is no sun and moon curse. Klaus and Elijah faked that curse a thousand years ago," Kalliope answered as she took off her sandals and let herself walk barefoot in the lush grass. She sighed at the sensation, smiling up at the sun's rays.

"But if there's no curse..."

"There's a curse. Just not that one. The real one's much worse. It's a curse placed on Klaus. He has been trying to break it for the last thousand years and you are the key.

"Unfortunately, I've made sure of it," Kalliope added, her eyes suddenly solemn. Elena looked at her with adequate confusion. She didn't know why Kalliope had said these things, but her admittance to potentially stealing her life away from her didn't sit well. The teenager knew her skepticism was in the right place. No one was ever truly perfect. Not even the whimsical Genie from her lover's past. A prominent frown took over her face before Kalliope could explain.

Before Kalliope could elaborate, a tandem of events happened at once. The Genie suddenly felt a sharp sensation in her chest. A feeling she immediately associated with Jenna. The panic she felt when Mr. Martin was attacking at the Grill echoed this moment. She reached up a hand to her chest and slid her brown eyes to Elena, whose phone had begun to ring in Elijha's pocket.

"Something's wrong with Jenna," Kalli rushed out, her tone concerned.

"What? No, no, no. I have to go." Elena turned to leave the two behind, but Kalli quickly grabbed her wrist.

"No, you must stay here with Elijah. Make your deal. I will attend to Jenna. She is my master, after all. It's my duty." The Gilbert girl looked so stricken, eager to contradict but Elijah voiced his agreement.

"She is right, Elena. Your leaving was not part of today's arrangement. Your word doesn't mean anything to me until you can live up to it."

There was no time for the conflict swirling in the teenager's eyes. Kalli needed to get to Jenna. Cupping either side of the young girl's face, the Genie softened her voice for the first time today. "I will bring her back here. Protect your family by making wise decisions."

Stuttering, Elena nodded. "Okay."

In a flash, Kalliope Florence Debonair vanished out of thin air.

The Genie appeared in what she recalled as the Gilbert's Residence. The familiar hallway of old family pictures led to the kitchen. Her brows furrowed as she blinked around her in mild confusion. It only took a second for her to get her barrings. The first thing Kalliope picked up on was the sounds. Loud shouting and the crashes of pots and pans made her ears ring. Kalli followed her instincts and ran into the kitchen.

There Alaric stood. Except that it wasn't Alaric, but Klaus in disguise. A wide crooked grin took over his unshaven features. A large chopping knife in his hand as Stefan stood before Jenna. Jenna was the one who called Elena. Her hands shaking as she clumsily tried to dial the number again.

"What's going on here?" Kalli shouted at the room.

"Kalli!" Jenna exclaimed in relief. "Get away from him, that's not Ric it's Klaus."

"Hello again, love." Alaric crooned, waving his knife. This wasn't the Aalric she had grown fond of. The goofy teacher who had a knack for hunting vampires. The lover who treated Jenna sweetly. No, this was the Hybrid she had years of experience being at odds with. A man she wasn't afraid of in the slightest.

"Stay away from her," Stefan warned, but it was clear the Original wouldn't take orders from the Salvatore brother.

Kalliope rounded the kitchen island slowly, narrowing her gaze at Klaus. "We made a deal, Klaus. Why are you here?"

Alaric knocked his head back and forth in a noncommittal gesture. "I needed to scope out the lot of you. Make sure you weren't playing any tricks."

"No, you were playing with your food like an insolent child," Kalli shot back. As The Genie drew closer to Jenna and Stefan, the vampire shot out his arm to shield her from the Original. However, Kalliope pushed his hand away, shaking her head. "Why must everything be a game to you?"

Stefan reached for her once more. "Kalli-"

"Now, now Stefan. Our little Genie doesn't need protecting from me. We have an understanding. Go way back," Alaric taunted, tilting his head back slightly with an egotistical air. Klaus stared Kalliope down and saw a change from the last time they encountered. She wasn't shivering in her boots, but she wasn't the dangerous minx of before either. He contributed to his arrival in Mystic Falls; however, he couldn't have been more wrong. "To answer your question love... Well, I like to win."

"And you're losing. You've already harmed Alaric and no doubt your pointless efforts here were to harm Jenna. Who is under. My. Protection," Kalliope's voice raised with her anger. Her brow furrowed with a vengeful spirit. "Don't take my latency as a weakness."

"We were just having a little fun, right Jenna?" He chuckled and the sound made the ginger cringe.

"Now it's enough. Come, Jenna." Kalliope could tell that Klaus wasn't serious about hurting Jenna by the situation. He was a big cat who enjoyed their playthings. After all, she had been one in his arsenal for over a century. It made her stomach boil that he would try to pull the same thing with Jenna. Maybe to pull Kalliope out of hiding. Or to get under her skin.

The Genie grabbed the ginger's wrist and tugged her out of the house. Stefan slowly followed behind them, but that wasn't her priority at the moment. Jenna's safety was. It was Stefan's turn to be ignored.

"What about Ric?" Jenna wondered aloud.

"Do not fret, Klaus will leave him once he has no use for the body." Kalliope stopped them on the lawn. Her soft brown eyes filled with concern as she looked over Jenna's frame for bruises or scrapes. One hair missing on her head would make Kalliope unleash hell on Klaus Mikealson. There was no one she hated more. No one she was more willing to burn at the white oak stake. "Are you alright? Can you drive?"

The ginger was momentarily unfocused before she shook her head. She swallowed, regulating her breathing as she came to her senses. "Y-yeah. I can, let's go." She gestured wildly to her car, rounding the driver's side with shaky steps.

Kalliope met eye contact with Stefan over the hood. "Go back home, Stefan. I told Elena I'd bring Jenna back with me."

He was silent at her words. The two usually seemed to be on the same wavelength, but right now, they couldn't be on more different frequencies. It saddened them both. His gaze fell on the disappointment in her eyes. As the Genie opened the passenger door, the Salvatore cleared his throat.

"Kalli... I'm sorry." The apology tumbled from his lips like a clumsy exhale. As if he didn't know what else to say to rectify their relationship. Everything in his world seemed to be falling apart at the seams.

Her supple rounded face fell along with her shoulders. "I know you believe that, but I'm afraid it's not enough this time." She got in the car and the two women pulled away without looking back.

...

Jenna and Kalliope took their time to get back to the Lockwood Estate. The ginger was a little shaken up by what transpired at the Gilbert House. As soon as her car got within sight of the front windows, Elena was racing down the front steps to embrace her aunt tightly. Kalli shut the passenger door with a bittersweet smile. She was happy they reunited unscathed, but she shouldn't help the pang of loneliness in her chest at the sight of a loving family.

The five of them gathered around the dining table to pick up where Kalliope left off. Elijah sat at the head with Jenna and Elena to his left. The Genie made tea in Mrs. Lockwood's kitchen. She hoped the woman wouldn't mind. She just needed to get her current situation off her mind and the only way to do that was to get her hands busy.

She brought the tray into the dining room, playing mother as she served small china cups. Her lips pursed in exasperation as she tried and failed to hide her inner turmoil.

When she set down Elena's cup, the teenager had r things on her mind. "You mentioned that you had some part in this sacrifice." Elena was straight to the point to Kalliope's chagrin. "Elijah mentioned he found a way to save the doppelganger, but you never said why you're so involved in all this."

Kalliope finally sat down to the right of Elijah. She unhurriedly sipped her steaming tea. Plush lips were downturned in displeasure. She had burnt her upper lip. "During the thirteenth century... in my grief, I had misplaced my chalice. Klaus and Elijah found me and in his determination, Klaus eventually made a wish." Kalli set the cup down, meeting eyes with the Original over the rim. Her lashes brushed against the tops of her cheeks as she swallowed.

"You can probably imagine what the suppressed hybrid wished for," Kalliope stressed.

Elena's eyes widened during Kalliope's story. Her abandoned drink was left on the table to sit cold. "B-But, Katherine escaped even though he wished for the curse to be broken, right? There's a loophole somehow."

"We've been wondering about that for some time," Elijah added with an unhelpful shake of his head.

"Kalli, what does this mean exactly?" The sorrow swirling in Jenna's hazel eyes nearly choked Kalliope up. The guilt was gnawing at her. She had known this information for quite some time and failed to mention it to Jenna. Another one of her family members was dying and her newest friend had a hand in it.

"The only thing I can make sense of it as... is interference, which Elijah has with the elixir. Maybe-Maybe it wasn't the right time. Wishes don't always work when you need them to."

"What if I use my wish?" Jenna tried, turning to her niece, grasping her hands within her own.

That was what Kalliope was afraid of. "I don't know what your conflicting wishes will do. Jenna saving Elena's life could very well take your own."

"And I'm prepared to do that."

"Absolutely not."

"No," Kalliope and Elena agreed. They were sure it wouldn't be the first time where Jenna was concerned.

"The best chance we have is the use the elixir. Elena will awaken after the ritual and Niklaus will be taken care of by then." Elijah claimed with the confidence of a thousand suns. Kalliope admired his spirit. His gumption once again outweighed her own.

"And if this doesn't work?" Jenna protested, looking around the table like everyone sitting there was crazy. She had just been introduced to the supernatural. All this trust being put in the magic and mystical was hard for her.

"It will because it has to," Elena whispered, her resolve growing with Elijah's confidence. "Now we just get everyone else on board."

"I'll leave you all to that." Kalliope stood from her seat, gathering all the empty cups. She padded into the kitchen and settled the china into the dish bin. Her shoulders slumped as she turned on the warm water. A sluggish delay in her movements.

"Are you still avoiding going home?" Jenna's warm voice addressed her from behind. The ginger standing beside her as she leaned against the countertop.

"It's not home. I have no home. Not really." Kalli shook her head before sighing tiredly. "I don't know how to face him... I barely got through a conversation with Stefan and now I have to face Damon?"

The ginger brushed aside Kalliope's curly tresses. An expression mirroring that of an older sister Kalliope never had. It made her want to hug the ginger. It made her want to cry. "What are you afraid of?"

Kalli stared at the wall in front of her. Her damp hands gestured at some unknown scenario. "I walk in through the front door and he doesn't care about any of it. And suddenly, I'm this burden, taking up space."

Jenna abruptly spun her around. Her jaw loosened with consternation. "Kalliope Whatever your last name is because you haven't told me yet, don't you ever think you're a burden. If Damon doesn't care then who cares about him? He didn't deserve your love from the beginning, anyway. My love for you can move mountains and I'm telling your insecurities to shut the hell up. You're amazing, Kalli, and not just because you're a Genie. Because you're the closest friend I've had in a long time."

That made tears sprout from the Genie's eyes. They slipped down her rounded cheeks in adorable trickles. She genuinely grinned from ear to ear, chuckling with the ginger under the white kitchen lights. "Your profane vocabulary knows no bounds."

"Don't worry, you'll learn my lingo soon." Jenna winked, cheekily throwing a dish rag into her friend's hands. "We don't have to go to the Salvatore's tonight. We'll let Mr. Bigbucks do the talking and have a sleepover."

Wiping at her hands, Kalli arched a tentative brow. The relief was visible. "Really?"

"Duh, let's nab some of Carol's tequila. After my boyfriend tried to kill me, I need a few shots."

Kalliope giggled, wrapping her arms around the ginger with a warm smile. Jenna was one of the very few she never felt like a burden with. Not when she first became her Genie, not when all hell broke loose at the Grill, and not now, when she was just beginning to see what independence was truly like again.

"My name is Florence Debonair for your information." No longer was she wistfully hoping to be a Salvatore once more. She was a survivor, she existed unattached. However, there was one exception. She never wanted to be without the young Sommers for long after tonight.

"Oh, I am definitely calling you Ren from now on. That's so hot."

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Unedited. 03 February 2024

I finally finished the chapter that I'm happy with. I will forever love Jenna and Ren's ;) relationship. With the sacrifice coming up, I'm a little nervous ngl. Let me know what you guys think of this chapter! Comments help my motivation!

Comment, Vote! Xx