18 | Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

TW: mentions of suicide

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 the first time she stepped foot in Mystic Falls. She had been out of the prison world for over a year by that time. She sat on a bench at the townsquare and watched the people and cars that passed by. Some were holding leashes that held their dogs as they walked them. Some were tuning out the noises of the outside world by blasting songs through their earphones. Some were a mirror image of another person from centuries ago.

Well, not some. Just one. Elena Gilbert.

That was Mary's main purpose in Mystic Falls. Befriend the doppelgänger and wait for the Mikaelsons to find their own way to her. It took a while though, even when Klaus Mikaelson was already in town for a long time before he noticed her. Mary didn't expect the Salvatore Brothers to barge in and basically push her out of the group. Because of that, Mary was always out of sight when Klaus went to visit those who sought his end.

Until her patience finally burned out. Mary took matters into her own hands.

To be standing face to face with Klaus brought her back to 1558 when she was merely a sixteen-year-old girl with a crown on her head and none the wiser about the things she would have to go through later on. If one told her of the woman that she had become, she would have laughed straight at their face.

But here Mary Stuart was, in the 21st century, still in her young body, and every bit of the woman that her past and trauma had shaped her to be.

She was a fast learner, the former Scottish Queen. She learned every significant thing that she missed in those 400 and so years. She adapted to the new world, adjusted to the current century's perspective, even learned how to use technology. All that she needed to learn, she squeezed into her brain in the span of a year and 4 months.

Though, during all those days that her nose was shoved in books, one in particular stood out to her.

Tale of the Foxes.

Only one of the Mikaelsons could have written that book, she thought. It was dangerously detailed and surprisingly accurate. Most of the people in the French Court—royals, nobles, ladies, and servants alike—were unaware of the feud that went on between her and Kol, let alone describe it in a precise, but also quite beguiling, manner. Mary was not going to lie, she dove into the book criticizing the writing style and element of it rather than its story. It was how she knew that this was not Elijah Mikaelson. She remembered Elijah speaking in a lyrical way, as if he had planned every word to be poetry as it came out of his mouth. So, it was no surprise when Klaus admitted to her that it was him who wrote the book—despite acting so surprised.

After all, like she had said, she was a very good liar.

Kol gasped awake, though considering that he was next to a fireplace, he coughed up the smoke that he managed to steal before it went up the chimney. He jerked upright while he continuously coughed until his lungs were free of smoke. He then looked at the ground he was sitting on, the carpet that he felt under his palms, the color of the walls, and the smell of everything around him. He was still in her house. Which meant...

"They're wrapping up the dance now as we speak." Kol whipped his head to his right to see Mary sat down on the same floor just a couple of feet away from him. Her head was slightly tilted as she observed Kol's expression and behavior.

The living room was dim with the only source of light coming from the fireplace beside Kol. His shadow hid Mary's face but not the saturation of her auburn hair that stood out in the dark. The original vampire moved slightly to let the light hit her face and once it did, he didn't see Mary. He saw Dakota. And he was so frustrated because he was so used to looking at the girl before him and seeing Dakota Grant: the cheerful, kind, and whiny young woman. Not Mary Stuart: the cunning, fierce, and dauntless queen.

There was one thing that reminded him that this was Mary, though. The fact that she was speaking like her French accent was about to jump through with its constant peeking out.

"I just got a call from Niklaus." Mary said when she noticed that Kol wasn't going to say anything unless she gave him enough reason to. "Your mother is dead...again. So is Alaric."

There was kindness in her eyes as he looked at Kol, something he had never seen her do back then. Mary used to look at him with pure resentment. Even in a mere glimpse, Kol could see her hatred. But not this time. Not while they were sitting across from each other.

Mary glanced at him with so much hesitation and uneasiness. Like she had been waiting for him to say something and becoming impatient. "Why are you not attacking me?"

Kol did not even flinch. From the moment he turned his head to look at her up till now, he was wearing the same expression—nothing. Being as apathetic as possible was his choice while in her presence. However, he did finally talk.

"I'm not stupid." Kol simply answered before he dropped his gaze on the floor between them. There was a bunch of salt encircled around him that curved and ended on the same wall where the fireplace was attached.

"Right. Being a former witch and a friend to those who still are, except for me." Mary reminded herself.

"Except for you." Kol echoed, emphasizing that very fact.

The former queen tightened her jaw as her teeth gritted inside. She blinked a couple of times before looking down on the salt herself. She took a deep breath and muttered an incantation that drew a gush of wind through the circle of salt, breaking the spell.

Mary brought her gaze back up to the original vampire, her eyes locking with his. There was a moment of silence between them. A sort of understanding. That this moment of peace was the calm before the storm.

Kol grabbed Mary by the neck and sped them to the wall adjacent to where the fireplace was attached. Mary let out a slight groan when she felt the back of her head slam against the wall. She didn't scream in pain or even yelp simply because of the fact that Kol had his hand around her throat, squeezing the option of using her voice for anything.

He was angry. He felt foolish. He felt hurt. But he also felt relieved. And Kol tried to push that down because there was supposed to be no reason for him to be relieved that Mary was still alive because no matter how much he loved her before, he still hated her just as much.

It was a confusing feeling—loving someone but also hating them. It was like the line between killing them and kissing them was so thin and at times, blurry. It was a toxic situation waiting to implode.

Kol's gaze dropped to her neck and noticed something. His grip loosened and he moved his thumb to make way for the scar that was on the side of her neck. That wasn't there before. But if Kol didn't know better, he wouldn't think of that as the scar from when he fed on and killed her.

"I thought there was no longer a need to hide it. Saves me some magic." Mary muttered after catching her breath and noticing how he stared at the scar.

The original vampire, without moving his head, looked up to meet the woman's eyes from under his lashes. Before letting go of her completely and stepping back. He stared at the redhead as she recovered before closing his eyes and turning around, bringing his thumb and index finger to pinch the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"You were dead." Kol said when he stopped just in front of the fire with his hands now situated on his hips.

"Not the first time." Mary answered.

Kol deeply exhaled through his nose, not liking the way Mary was answering him right now. "I'm gonna need a real answer here, Dakot—"

He spoke those words as he was turning around to face her only to cut himself off when he accidentally called her with her false name, causing Mary to flinch, but simply shrugged it off.

"Bennett magic combined with the dark one I absorbed from the Queen's Crown made a very powerful protection spell." She responded.

A bitter smile stretched on the original vampire's face as he shook his head, realizing the very weapon he helped create to expose her became her ultimate weapon for everything.

"After my so-called execution, I made a run for it." Mary started walking toward the couch and looked at Kol before she sat down. It was the most elegant Kol had seen her do since he met her as Dakota Grant. "Fled the Fotheringhay Castle only to be surrounded by the damn witches of the Gemini Coven with revenge up their sleeves because I killed their coven leader's daughter. You might remember her."

Of course, he did.

"Isabella." He muttered in realization.

Mary pushed her lips together and subtly nodded while she observed his expression. She opened her mouth to say something as she looked away from him, continuing the untold story of her life.

"Next thing I know, I'm in a prison world. One of their coven's specialties. It's where I spent over 400 years of my life." Mary said, her thumb caressing the wrist of her other hand.

"Not too different from the consequence I've gotten—"

"When you were daggered, you were asleep the whole time, not knowing everything that's happening around you for decades—centuries." Mary accidentally snapped. It was only after she said that that she saw the look on Kol's face with slight shock and confusion and realized how she acted.

"I was conscious the entire time...apart from when I sleep or when I have blackouts after spiraling. I watched as absolutely nothing happened around me. Hoping that the next day would be different only to be disappointed over and over again." She explained, with a much calmer tone now.

Kol stayed silent. She was right, they did have different traumas. He just didn't want to admit it out loud. Telling her that she was right was like sticking a dagger in his own heart.

"I remained strong and hopeful for as long as I could to survive the first century. Then came the second and all of my principles about perseverance and courage jumped out the window—pun intended." Mary smiled, a mix of bitterness and yet genuine amusement. "I make puns now."

She looked at the original vampire but saw how he did not appreciate her dark humor. Mary's smile decreased into nothing before she continued.

"Though the prison was bound to me, therefore as long as I remain there, I am neither capable of aging nor dying." She added.

Mary zoned out for a few seconds, but those mere seconds were enough to fill her brain with the slideshows of her creative attempts to end her life. She remembered the pain as she withered away and her own healthiness when she awoke again, like nothing happened. She remembered the blade against her wrist, the pavement against her skull, the fire against her skin, the rope around her neck.

The redhead closed her eyes and mentally slapped herself to remind her that she was no longer alone in the prison world and was in fact in the living room with an impatient original vampire wanting to hear her story.

"The 300th year of my imprisonment came and I was starting to feel my mind changing—turning against me, against logic, against prudence. I knew it was only a matter of time before I lose myself. And I was not prepared for that. Instead, I scoured my broken brain, grabbing whatever emotion I can hold on to only for me to slip away everytime. Until I finally grasped something strong enough that held my sanity together. My hatred for you." Mary elaborated.

Kol was still standing there, refusing to take the spot next to her on the couch in fear of the unpredictability of his actions. He didn't know if he was going to comfort and hug her or crush and strangle her while doing so. It was very complicated and frustrating.

"By hating you, my life had purpose again. A reason to keep my sanity and my motivation to get out of that wretched hell." Mary said, looking at him and examining Kol's face to figure out whether he would be driving a knife through her heart or not.

Instead, a bitter laugh rumbled. A sound that pierced pain in Mary's chest somehow. Then his face completely changed, from the grin that stretched his lips, to the scowl that sent chills down Mary's spine.

"So was that what you were doing here?" Kol said as he neared her, though still refusing to sit or even bend down to eye level. "Performing another one of your theatrics as revenge?"

Mary clenched her jaw and blinked once, twice.

"Yes." She answered.

Kol squeezed his eyes shot as he exhaled before he had let out once again his anger by grabbing the coffee table and throwing it against the far wall, smashing it into pieces. Mary did not even wince from the moment he grabbed it to when the broken pieces fell to the ground.

"You went in here, pretended to be kind and that you cared for me, just so you could, what? Break my heart? That's your revenge?" Kol argued.

"I lied about a lot of things, yes." Mary replied while she once again stood to her feet, taking a few steps toward the original vampire with a stern approach. "But my kindness was the most authentic thing about me this entire time. You just never expected it because you were so set on staying on my bad side."

"So, a broken heart is your newest counter move?" he asked rhetorically.

"A broken heart for a broken mind." Mary pointed out, referring to his heart and her mind. "Seems like a fair trade."

Kol dwelled into the brown eyes of the former queen, searching for some sort of redeeming quality in her which was ironic considering he swore Mary was searching his eyes for the same thing. It was like they were both looking for an excuse to end the game already after all these years.

But Kol took it upon himself to end it.

"If this is where the game has come to then I don't mind losing." Kol told her.

He looked at her for a couple more seconds before walking around her and out of the house, leaving Mary to her thoughts.

Her mind was broken indeed, because as tears started to gather in her eyes, she started laughing. She found it funny that they've committed murder in the name of winning the game and yet he drew the line on broken hearts.

• ─────────────── •

Further information about Mary's situation while she was in the prison world will be revealed in the next few chapters! I hope you're liking where the story is going! Also, here's a little short edit I made about Mary and Kol (and Francis).

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]