Disclaimer: I don't own anything related with or to 'The Originals' like the characters etc.
M-Note: Happy holidays! I will post the second part of the chapter tomorrow.
Kol finds Hope by a small fire. Looking troubled. Like the weight of the world is on her shoulders.
He knows that look. Once gave his heart to someone who possibly coined the expression he'd caught it enough.
Sitting beside her he throws some twigs onto the flames. Watching them grow as his niece casts a small spell.
"I was around your age when I first died. Transitioned. Give or take some months."
"The experience it was exhilarating. Terrifying. Disgusting. Far too much to bear. Would have been without a stable support system."
"People who understood me. Knew me to my core. Loved me."
Kol offers Hope a little smile. Thinking he should try again. Not only to plead his case but also to relate to her.
It is a perfectly good opportunity.
She is his blood yet he knows virtually little about her. Other than that she is stuck in Virginia, Mystic Falls. That she has a boyfriend.
A Phoenix. Maybe he should have brought him along. Then again he wasn't going to put anyone outside of his plans in danger.
Bound to a boarding school until she becomes of age. Useful to Niklaus. The family.
Or a liability.
Whatever the case. This ritual insures that she will fulfill her destiny.
Become immortal, invulnerable. Like them.
He has prepared for it all. Either of her choices. That means he will clearly spell it out for her.
No tricks or lies, cons. Threats.
"Today you will be reborn. You will become something new."
"Leave a beautiful, bloodthirsty monster or a coward who is only prolonging the inevitable."
"Blood of my blood you are running out of time. Do not willingly blind yourself to the truth just because you can't stomach the thought."
The fire grows as the flames begin changing colors in the shifts of heat.
.
Kol knows what he has done. That he has pushed with all his might and yet there is a possibility that it can backfire.
They should not do the ritual tonight.
To be on the safe side only the basic steps have been laid out.
Maybe one more night will not be the end of him. He has not had a proper rest in days.
He brought soil from the Old World and had asked Freya to bring some from Mystic Falls.
Tonight he thinks he should sleep under both. Reacquaint himself with the Earth before the sunlight hits him.
"You really did a number back there." Freya tosses him a blood bag from an ice-chest.
Interrupting his actions. His train of thought all but leaving him. He bites into it.
Drinking it leisurely. Unsure if he should respond outright.
"What I scared a little girl by treating her like an adult? She has to grow up quicker. We did."
He finished his drink. "Niklaus and Elijah should arrive tonight. Marcellus too for moral support."
"She is his only sister and I am not completely indifferent to such a powerful bond."
Kol follows up with the word. "I have never gone out of my way to see her. Right now she serves a purpose. And I offer a mutual gain."
Well aware that Hope could hear him if she wanted. Freya looking over her shoulder at the now furiously drawing teen.
"I do not want her to hate or resent up down the road. For changing her life. Forcing it upon her too early and calling it her choice."
She catches her gaze. Stilling her hand. Rebekah beside her. Just watching. They know she is clearly listening in. As conflicted.
"Are you packed up?" Elijah looks at Marcel then at Niklaus. They are outside by his car.
Opening the trunk. Throwing their luggage in.
Answering his question. His brother asking one of his own. Looking like he is second-guessing asking it out loud. Vulnerable.
"What do you think Haley would have wanted? Given this specific situation. I know I never did enough for you Marcellus."
Yet I need you. Both of you because for this I cannot move alone. I know the risks. That she is and will not be in any immediate danger."
There is a beat before he continues.
"Do I need to intervene or just sit back and help pick up the pieces when my little girl needs me."