CHAPTER TWO
'pack your bags'

Natalie was practically wearing the floor down with all her pacing, she couldn't help it. For as long as she could remember her biggest fear had been being caught, being ripped away from her sister and forced into a life she didn't want, with soulmates she didn't want. And now? Well now she ran the risk of her fear coming true.

The apartment door creaked open to reveal Katherine who carelessly chucked her keys onto the counter as well as kicking off her heels. It was only when she walked through into the living room that she noticed something was wrong, Natalie was perched on the edge of the sofa looking scared, actually scratch that, Natalie looked terrified. "Woah, someone doesn't look happy-" she teased only to be cut off my her sister.

"They've found us."

That sentence alone made her stop in her tracks, a heavy silence falling upon the siblings.

"Well, not they..he, he as in klaus."

"Just to clarify, Klaus as in rah rah sacrifice, murder, doppelgängers klaus?" Katherine asked jokingly. It was a clear attempt to lighten the mood, one which was not much appreciated by her distraught sister. "No, the Klaus that lives down the street." Natalie drawled sarcastically, causing Katherine to lower her head, regretting trying to make a joke out of such a serious situation. "Yes that Klaus you dumbass!"

"How?"

"I wish I knew, I've been asking myself that same question." Natalie groaned, "I mean, it makes no sense, we were so careful!"

Katherine shook her head slightly, flopping down onto the velvet armchair which sat opposite Natalie. "What happened? And I mean exactly, word for word.", she emphasised the last part of her sentence, it was vital that they figured out where they went wrong to avoid making the same mistake again.

Natalie explained everything, sparing no details. By the end of it Katherine had her head in her hands, a million thoughts running through her mind, the most prominent one being where the hell had they gone wrong? The question haunted her mind like a curse, repeating over and over again, taunting her, mocking her. It was degrading, humiliating. Centuries, they had spent centuries running from these people only for one measly phone call to come in and ruin it all. "So what happened after?" She asked.

"I chucked my phone in the lake then ran straight here." Natalie explained causing Katherine to snort before she stilled as though just realising something. "Wait, wait, how long ago was this?" she asked, her head slowly raising from in between her hands.

The younger girl looked a little bit sheepish as she wrung her hands together, "Maybe..three hours ago? Give or take." She responded.

"Three hours! Klaus has known where you are for three hours?!" Katherine asked incredulously, immediately leaving the room to pack.

"The key part of that sentence was give or take! Plus, in my defence, I didn't have a phone." Natalie shouted through the doorway to her, making her roll her eyes.

"You need to leave right now. You need to pack your bags and get the hell out of mystic falls." Katherine said, tossing her sister a duffel bag.

"What about the moonstone?"

"What about it?" Katherine asked, raising her eyebrows before sighing, walking over to the wardrobe and beginning to take some clothes out. "Look, having the moonstone is going to make no difference if before we get the chance to make a deal they already have you back in their creepy soulmate clutches."

Whilst Natalie threw one of her shoes at her sisters' head for the soulmate comment, she did also nod in agreement. Katherine was right, if Natalie came to the Mikaelsons offering them a deal, they would be much more inclined to listen, if the offer was made after she had already been kidnapped by them it's possible that they may have already grown accustomed to having her around. Ergo they may be less willing to strike a deal, to let her leave.

See that's how the soulmate bond works, the longer you spend with them, the more difficult it will become to leave them. Eventually, it will become downright painful.

It's why things were so difficult for Natalie when they first went on the run, she had just spent months in close proximity to them, used to being showered by their love and affection on a daily basis. As a result of this her heart yearned for them, and by yearned I mean physically hurt.

Being with your soulmate was akin to using drugs, drugs are addictive, they always leave you craving more. Now most of the time this wouldn't be that big of an issue. However when in the wrong hands, drugs can be used for harm, they can be used to manipulate, to control. And that's what Natalie had to keep reminding herself, the Mikaelsons had done just that.

They had taken advantage of a bond which she wasn't even aware existed, they had manipulated her and controlled her. She owed them nothing.

"Besides," Katherine continued, "I'll stay behind, get all the things necessary to make the deal then meet back up with you later on."

"What? No!" Natalie immediately shut down that idea, she wasn't just going to abandon her big sister. Especially not when Klaus knew where they were and was no doubt on his way.

Katherine sighed, "Natalie-,"

"No, no way." she said shaking her head, refusing to meet Katherine's eyes.

"Natalie." Katherine said firmer this time, reaching forwards and cupping her sister's face in her hands, forcing her to look her in the eye. "I know you're scared but I can handle this, you know I can."

Natalie pushed Katherine's hands away, murmuring the word 'no' under her breath repeatedly. It was dangerous, far too dangerous to leave her here alone.

"Hey!" Katherine shouted, snapping Natalie out of her worried state. "Remember our promise?"

Natalie sighed, "Till the end of the line."

"Till the end of the line." Katherine repeated smiling, Natalie finding herself mimicking the action.

"I've got this!" Katherine said, making her way out of the apartment, towards the door. "So all you need to do is finish packing and then hop on the next plane out of here."

"The end of the line means you're not allowed to die on me, remember!" Natalie shouted pointing at Katherine as she closed the door, before continuing to pack.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

»--•--«

And that was how Natalie found herself sipping champagne on a private jet to Chicago. Sure the smart thing to do in this situation would be to get as far away from klaus as possible, to travel to the other side of the world. But that could wait.

First, she had to pay a visit to a witch, a witch who had evidently forgotten her half of the deal.

A/N: i'm sorry this chapter took so long, i've been dealing with a lot of personal things atm. combine that with a lack of motivation and you get an inactive author😭😭
but things seem to have started getting back on track so hopefully you'll be getting more frequent updates <3

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!

Words: 1231
Originally published: October 31st 2024