09 | He-May-Care

"𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐀𝐘?"

"I practically slammed the door to his face."

Caroline gasped as Dakota gossipped to her about Mary and Kol's story as well as what had happened last night when Kol decided to come over to her house the moment he was finally undaggered. The fact that he didn't even wait until morning to visit the young woman kind of scared her. Because it meant that his hatred towards Mary was still fresh and he was eager to meet the person who's bearing her face.

Despite the shocking turn of events last night, Dakota was quite glad that her friendship with Caroline was somehow restored. They hadn't resolved everything completely yet. But she liked to call these baby steps.

They were talking in the living room when they heard a knock on the door. Their gazes shifted towards the door and Dakota furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn't expecting anyone. And it wasn't like people regularly check in on her. That was the sad reality of her life.

"I should get that." Dakota said as she stood up from the couch and made her way toward the door.

"Be careful, it might be your medieval, murderous playmate." Caroline joked.

The redhead simply laughed and shook her head at her friend's statement before reaching for the door and opening it. The smile that lingered on her face slowly disappeared in confusion. There was no one at the door. She took another step to look at her entire porch but there was no trace that someone was ever there just now—apart from when Dakota's gaze dropped and saw the letter on the ground with her name written elegantly on it.

Dakota bent down to pick the letter up, examining the envelope before closing the door and headed back to the living room with her eyes still set on how beautifully written her name was.

"What's that?" Caroline curiously asked as Dakota reclaimed her spot next to her on the couch.

"No idea." She answered before turning the envelope around to open it. The words were straightforward and Dakota read them aloud for Caroline. "Please join the Mikaelson Family, this evening at seven o'clock, for dancing, cocktails, and celebration."

Caroline contorted her face into a confused expression before she spoke. "The Mikaelsons?"

"Klaus and his family." Dakota muttered. It was a whisper, but Dakota didn't bother to repeat it considering she knew Caroline heard it with her enhanced hearing.

"Wait, there's something in the back." Caroline pointed at the letter when she saw a couple of pen strokes that were covered by the envelope.

Dakota turned the letter around and saw a message in a different font. It was handwritten but it was still classy and elegant. Unlike earlier, Dakota read the message to herself instead of spelling it out to Caroline.

I thought I should invite you instead.

Perhaps this time we can actually have a proper chat.

-Kol

"Kol wants to talk to me." Dakota told Caroline.

The blonde scoffed at what she believed to be a ridiculous request from the original vampire. "Yeah, right. That's not happening."

The redhead remained silent, deep in her thoughts as she was actually trying to consider Kol's invitation. Caroline didn't fail to notice this and she widened her eyes at her friend.

"That's not happening, right?" Caroline cleared up. "Come on, you can't go!"

"Well, you can't really tell me what to do now that I'm on vervain, can you?" Dakota argued.

The words left her mouth faster than her mind could process. Dakota only heard how wrong that sentence sounded from what she intended, that her guilty look that came afterward was a little late.

Like said earlier, everything between them wasn't resolved completely yet.

"I didn't mean that." Dakota said. But it wasn't all true. She didn't know if she really meant it.

"I think you did." Caroline answered, but she wasn't angry. She was sad. It took her a while to see how wrong she was compelling Dakota for her own benefit—which was ironic since she also experienced it firsthand.

The atmosphere in the living room grew heavy. Suddenly, Dakota was very aware of how quiet everything was. Not even the beat of her own heart could save her from this awkward silence.

"I should go. I have a lot of things to do." Caroline broke the silence first, not being able to withstand the silence any longer.

"Right. Sure. I'll see you soon." Dakota replied, mentally slapping herself because of how awkward she had become as well.

Caroline simply smiled at her before she saw herself out of the house. As soon as Caroline was out of sight, Dakota groaned and let the rest of herself drop and lay down on the couch. She covered her brown eyes with her right arm when she rested it on her face while recalling the words she had said earlier. Then she rewind a little bit more toward when she first read the message from Kol.

That was when she removed her arm from her face and opened her eyes to get the letter again and read it. The same words were written on it. He wanted to talk to her. About what though? Did she have to prove herself that she's nothing like the girl that he wanted to hurt?

The only way to find out was to attend the ball.

• ─────────────── •

The ball had already commenced and the Mikaelson Manor was packed with ladies and gentlemen dressed in their finest dresses and tuxedos. The entire room—in fact, all rooms were well-lit and the air was cool rather than warm and heavy considering the number of people invited.

Kol had to admit, this was probably his most favorite ball yet. He much preferred the style of women's dresses today than centuries ago. They were...pleasant in the eyes. He peeled his gaze away from the ladies that were seeking his attention before making it his business to get to know the mayor of the town they're staying in.

"Mayor Lockwood," Kol said when he reached Carol who was talking to Damon. "We haven't formally met. Kol Mikaelson."

Kol gently took the woman's hand and placed a kiss on it before sending her a smile.

"We hope your lovely town embraces us just as much as we plan to embrace it." He added. Kol was a natural at acting completely polite and gentlemanly when in reality, his wild spirit was begging to crawl out of its cave.

Carol returned the smile and simply nodded to Kol's welcoming words before Damon took it upon himself to interrupt as he stretched out his hand toward him. "Damon Salvatore. Have we met?"

Of course, his true attitude could not be caged for long no matter how much he needed to hide it. Kol simply looked at the raven-haired vampire with the intention of hurting the man's ego—as he was sure Damon would take to heart.

"I've met a lot of people...and you don't particularly stand out." Kol sneered. He was very proud of himself before leaving the presence of Damon and the mayor.

He could only get away from them after a couple of steps when he stopped in his tracks the moment his eyes landed on a young woman who just entered the double doors. The deep auburn flames she had for hair fell gracefully against her back. Her brown eyes were somehow brighter than ever and more mesmerizing. Her dress was deep green with gold designs decorating the skirt generously and the top giving the illusion of golden flakes and flowers crawling up her chest, barely covering them.

Kol had no idea how long he was staring or when the smile on his lips came to form. But when Dakota's eyes met his, it seemed as though he was snapped back to reality and he composed himself before she could reach him.

"My, my. If it isn't the famous Dakota Grant. I thought we'd never meet again." Kol said before taking her hand in his.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Dakota responded.

The mischievous vampire simply chuckled at her response before bowing skihtky and bringing the young woman's hand to his lips, kissing the back of her hand softly. Kol sensed the way Dakota's heartbeat picked up at the mere touch of his lips against her skin. His eyes looked up at her with his lips still barely an inch from her hand before he pulled away and straightened his posture—all while maintaining a smug yet flirty aura.

"Do I make you nervous, darling?" He asked, his eyes narrowing at the redhead.

"Well, it's not everyday you meet the foe of your ancestor from over four centuries ago." Dakota sarcastically remarked.

Kol's grin only widened. "Fair point."

He wasn't going to lie, he was quite enjoying himself. Meeting the doppelgänger of the person he used to despise was intriguing, entertaining. It was both a gift and a curse to celebrate his return. A gift to play with whenever he desired. And a curse to live with as a reminder of his great hate...and deepest regret.

"If you'll excuse me, I believe I am being summoned." Kol said, the smile on his face not wavering in the slightest. "Save me a dance?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Dakota said, failing horrendously at hiding her disinterest in the idea.

Kol sent her one more meaningful grin before he turned around and made his way toward the staircase as Elijah's voice began to cut through the conversations of the crowd.

"If everyone could gather please." Elijah announced, and gathered they did. Dakota was offered a glass of champagne and she held it gently in her right hand as she looked up at the exquisitely dressed family looking down on them.

"Welcome. Thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance." Elijah said. Dakota couldn't help but stare at him. She recognized Klaus, Rebekah, and Kol. But the one speaking she hadn't officially met yet, but she suspected that was Elijah and the other unfamiliar man was called Finn. And of course, the mother stood steps higher than her children.

"Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz. So if all of you could please find yourselves a partner. Please join us in the ballroom." He finished before hurrying down the stairs.

Dakota noticed the way Kol's gaze locked on her and she knew she wasn't getting out of this one. She didn't bother to move from her spot as she watched the vampire walk down the stairs and approach her once again.

"Do you know the dance?" He asked her.

Dakota arched an eyebrow at him. "We're in Mystic Falls. There's practically an event every week. So, yes, I do."

The vampire grinned before offering a hand toward her. "Very well."

He didn't need to ask the question. There wasn't any room for a different decision either. It wasn't like Kol was going to take no for an answer, not when he aimed to get answers from her.

Dakota accepted his hand and the brown-haired gentleman led them to the ballroom where others had already taken their spots. Dakota let her gaze wander for a moment.

Elena was with Damon. Weird. Rebekah was with Matt. Also weird. Caroline was with Klaus...Caroline and Klaus. Dakota could not help the confusion that fell on her face the moment her eyes caught a glimpse of Caroline standing with intertwined hands with Klaus. She managed to peel her gaze away from them before she and Kol took the spot behind Elena and Damon.

Once the music began, Dakota and Kol followed the dance as they stood hand in hand with each other. They were taking a single step forward at a time before turning to their left, facing the other dancers across from them before they bowed.

They repeated the same steps before the men gently spun the women, letting Dakota finally face Kol as she placed a hand on his shoulder and her still with his hand.

"I must admit, your dress is very distracting." Kol pointed out, his gaze trailing down her neck to her chest as they danced in circles.

"That's the point." Dakota responded. She didn't let her eyes falter from his. "I usually don't like drawing attention to myself. But I thought if I wore this, you'd be too busy gawking at me to actually kill me."

Kol could not hold back the laugh that left his lips at the clever response of his dancing partner. "Well played." He complimented. "But what makes you think I want to kill you?"

Dakota looked at him confusingly. She was expecting him to actually be hostile toward her given that the constant reminder of his enemy was right there in her face.

"The only thing you and Mary share are your faces. Nik already told me that." Kol stated.

"Yes, but you're not going to take his word for it, are you? I'm surprised you haven't snapped my neck the minute I walked into those doors." Dakota replied.

The original vampire smirked. "Like you said, love, I was too busy gawking at you to actually kill you."

Kol pulled away from her with still their hands clasped with one another before turning her around and landing on someone else's arms. Dakota could not believe her luck tonight.

"Dakota Grant. What a pleasure it is to finally meet your acquaintance." Elijah said the moment he saw the surprise in Dakota's face when he was the one that received her. "Elijah Mikaelson."

"The pleasure is all mine." Dakota simply replied. At this point, she was going to run out of clever or polite remarks to reply with.

"I hope my brother isn't making you uncomfortable. Kol has a tendency to overstep boundaries, among other things." Elijah briefly explained as he looked toward Kol. Elijah's gaze returned to the redhead and he witnessed the discomfort that was written all over Dakota's face as she danced. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Dakota met Elijah's gaze and hesitated to answer, but she still did. "This whole situation is making me uncomfortable. Ever since Klaus found me, comparing me to Mary has been part of my daily routine."

"On behalf of my siblings, I am truly sorry. It must be exhausting trying to climb out of Mary's great shadow." Elijah said. "Though, it wouldn't hurt to be like her in some ways. She was, after all, a fierce woman."

"Your brother might disagree." Dakota commented with a smile, referring to Kol.

"My brother always disagrees." He responded. Elijah stepped away from the redhead before politely bowing his head toward her as the dance ended. "I look forward to our next uncomfortable conversation."

Dakota smiled at the man's remark before he walked away to attend to other stuff. Dakota felt like she could breathe again. Though her relief was only short lived.p, as she expected. It didn't last long until Kol found her again.

"Would you like a tour? I understand you had a falling out with Nik before he could show you the finish." Kol stated.

The redhead was slightly getting annoyed at Klaus once again because of things that he was telling him about her. "Sure, why not?"

Kol offered his arm to her and Dakota stared at it for a moment, reluctant. They were going on a tour around the house, and he would quite possibly drag her into an empty room where he can easily rip her throat out, perhaps even her heart.

Dakota forced a smile on her face before linking her arm with his. The redhead's eyes wandered and met Klaus's blue pair. He didn't look at her with his usual gentle gaze. It was a warning. One that Dakota took seriously but she was already too deep in this whole mess to back out. She needed to know everything.

"This one, is my favorite." Kol mentioned, pointing towards the door to their left. Kol pulled out a key from the inside pocket of his blazer before pulling away from Dakota to unlock the door.

Dakota could hardly breathe. They were entering a room to which only Kol had a key. Not that a locked door would ever stand in the way of any other vampire who might care for her to be alive. But it was safe to assume that considering Kol was basically a friend to the witches, that he somehow had a dark object inside that protected this room.

She could only wish she was wrong.

"After you." Kol said right after pushing the door open.

The young woman gently picked up the skirt of her dress to squeeze into the door of the room. As soon as she had passed the threshold, her eyes explored the room, seeing different artifacts and paintings displayed in every corner. There were swords, portraits, landscapes...dark objects. Dakota wouldn't know what a dark object is when she sees one but the only reason she got to identify one was because this particular object was fairly familiar.

Bones fashioned into a crown.

"What are all these things?" Dakota asked.

"Keepsakes. Things that reminded me of the late Queen Mary the most." Kol explained as he went to explore the room on his own. "Carrying all this stuff with him was the nicest thing Nik has ever done for me."

Dakota arched an eyebrow before turning around, mentally taking a picture of the entire room filled with things that once belonged to her ancestor. "For someone who hates Mary, you sure keep a lot of her stuff."

"I like to collect trophies." Kol reasoned out. "This, in particular."

The original vampire approached the crown that Dakota was standing next to. It was resting upon the smooth marble surface of a small pillar, illuminated with spot lights from left and right. It looked like the most important object in the room, and with good reason.

"The Queen's Crown." Dakota said.

She was in awe at the sight of the dark object. Klaus had only told her about it. But seeing it in person took her breath away. Not because it was beautiful. It was far from it, actually. The crown knocked the air out of her lungs because of how hideous and terrifying it was, not to mention the obvious sharpness of the spikes.

"He taught you well. I assume you already know what this does?" Kol said, his head tilted to the direction of the crown but his gaze fixed on the woman.

"Bones of the most powerful witches linked together for a wave of magic that a siphoner could absorb whether or not they want to through a prick of a finger which leads to a chaotic mess." Dakota rambled as she observed the crown.

Her brown eyes averted toward the vampire and she noticed how his smile vanished from his face and his eyes squinted at her. As if he was skeptical of her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.

Kol didn't answer her. Instead, he used his vampire speed to roughly grab her wrist, catching her off guard.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Dakota struggled as she tried to pry the vampire's hand away from her wrist. But Kol did not so much as bat an eye before he yanked her hand toward the crown, her index finger hovering above one of its spikes.

Without another word, Kol forcefully pricked the redhead's finger on the spike, causing a yelp to escape her lips at the pain of a sharpened fingerbone jabbing her skin.

As soon as she was pricked, Kol released his grip on her and Dakota stumbled back from both the crown and Kol as she held her own hand, examining the small cut at the pad of her bloodied finger.

Kol strode toward her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to face him. He stared right into her brown eyes and scanned the features of her face for any sign of excruciating pain. But there was none. Once his grasp on her face loosened, she shoved his hand away.

"You're not a siphoner." Kol said before turning around and moving away from a distressed Dakota.

"I could've told you that myself!" She exclaimed, still in shock about what just happened.

"Well, I don't trust a word from that pretty little mouth of yours." Kol said, not bothering to even spare her a glance as he stood and stared at the wall, thinking deeply.

"Well, you could have at least tried—" Dakota didn't even get the chance to finish her sentence when Kol suddenly sped and pinned her against the nearest wall. A gasp rolled off Dakota's lips at the contact of the wall slamming harshly against her back as well as the hand of the original vampire on her jaw and his body close against hers, keeping her in place.

"You don't tell me what to do!" Kol snarled. Dakota witnessed his eyes darken and the black veins under them pulsate. Dakota couldn't move not because Kol made sure of that, but because she didn't dare to.

Kol stared at her and shook his head as a bitter laugh escaped his lips. "You look so much like her." His eyes moved to her scarlet lips, the pad of his thumb brushing over her lower lip. "When you speak, I hear her." His head dropped to the crook of her neck. She swore she heard him smell her. "Even your blood smells like hers."

He was too close. She felt every brush of their skin as Kol's head lifted, her auburn hair caressing his face until it was next to hers. Dakota held her breath, not daring to even exhale and risk the contact changing.

"It's revolting." He whispered in her ear before slamming his palms on the wall on either side of her, pushing himself and walking away from her, out the room—leaving her dumbfounded and appalled by what just happened.

• ─────────────── •

I stopped doing the sneak peeks because it was becoming a hassle especially now that I'm so busy with finals coming up. But I hope this chapter was worth the wait!