The three Originals arrived at the cemetery in quick timing. Rebekah and Elijah were able to walk straight in, but Kol, being the only one not to have received an invite inside from the witches, was bounced back by the invisible barrier.

"He cannot stay out here on his own and I can't control him," Rebekah said quietly to Elijah, watching Kol with his fists clenched and the urge to kill etched all over his face. "I will find Sophie and make her explain," she promised and sped off to find the witch, leaving Elijah to control Kol.

Soon enough, she found the dark haired witch sitting on the floor in one of the crypts, her wrist bound in a shackle connected to the iron bars behind her. She immediately sat up straight when she noticed Rebekah's furious presence. "I swear I had nothing to do with this," she said and tried to stand but was pulled down by the shackles.

"Count your blessings you never had the stupidity to invite Kol inside this place," Rebekah said and broke away the shackles restraining Sophie much to the other girl's relief at being freed. "You'd probably be dead." She pulled the witch to her feet none too gently. "Now tell me what the hell happened here and why you didn't try to stop it."

"Marcel gave Agnes some ridiculous offer and she was desperate enough to take it," Sophie explained and rubbed her wrist.

"What deal?" Rebekah demanded.

"If she hands over Bonnie to him then they he'll let us use magic," she said. "They left me locked up in here, worried I'd come to your family and tell you what happened."

The Original's blue eyes narrowed. "What did they do to her?"

"They knocked her out with a mixture of herbs," the witch answered, looking at the remains on the herbs scattered on the floor, not wanting to tell the Original the next bit but knowing she had to. It'd be worse for her if she didn't. "And I'm assuming that one of the conditions was that her magic be bound," Sophie continued, "they used this old Dark Object on her, it's some kind of cuff that when put on a witch it blocks her magic."

Rebekah swore under her breath. "Marcel, you idiot," she cursed the vampire before trying to calm herself by taking a deep breath. "I hope you know your Coven is as good as dead," she said to Sophie before she grabbed the witch's arm and started to lead her back to where her brothers were waiting.

Sophie pulled her arm free of the Original's grasp but continued to follow her nonetheless. "No," she argued, "he can't kill Agnes, she's our last remaining Elder, we can't lose her. She's too important to our coven."

Rebekah let out a laugh. "Well, they should have taken that into consideration before they took our friend."

"You guys really care about her, huh?" Sophie commented and saw Elijah and Kol waiting at the entrance of the cemetery and they did not look at all happy.

Rebekah didn't answer, just pushed Sophie ahead of her and out the gates.

Elijah's hand on Kol's shoulder seemed to be the only thing holding him in check.

Rebekah looked to her brothers and quickly re-laid what Sophie had told her. "They knocked her out and bound her magic," she said to them, not bothering to sugar coat the information, in fact there was part of her that wanted her brother to unleash on these witches.

"They aren't doing this to hurt Bonnie," Sophie said, attempting to defuse to situation but failing. "This is because of Marcel, he's using them."

"Bonnie is in danger and Agnes contributed to it. I think you'll find we don't particularly care about the finer details in this instance," Rebekah responded with a harsh smile.

"Well, you might be interested in this little detail," Sophie sent the blonde a sharp look, "the witch who locks the cuff in place is the only one who can unlock it and remove it," she said to them, fairly certain that she had just secured Agnes' life, at least for a little while longer. "Agnes is the one who locked it, she's the only one who can take it off her and if you kill her, it'll stay on Bonnie forever."

"This just keep getting better," Rebekah muttered to herself.

"What did they use to bind her magic?" Kol demanded an answer.

"It's one of the Dark Objects, cursed items with a certain purpose. They used some old cuff like bracelet."

"I know what they are," Kol replied with impatience. "What did it look like?"

"It's a rusted gold colour, looks pretty old but most of them do, and it had four spikes on the inside of the cuff. I don't know if they pierced the skin or not but I'm sure it's not a pleasant thing to wear. Before today, I had never seen that one before."

"Do you know what this object is?" Elijah asked his brother who gave had clenched his jaw.

"We need to find her and get it off her," Kol replied tensely, having difficulty restraining himself from tearing out the throat of the witch standing in front of him. "That cuff does more than just bind her magic."

"What does it do?" Rebekah asked slowly, already dreading the answer.

"It gradually drains a witch of her power," Kol said and ran a hand down his face in frustration and growing fear for Bonnie. "If we get the cuff off her before it drains her power completely she'll retain it all if not, she'll lose it forever."

"Huh," Rebekah smiled sarcastically at Sophie. "I guess she did mean intentional harm to Bonnie."

Kol's glare pierced the witch. "And would you like to know where Bonnie's magic will go?" he asked rhetorically. "Your precious Agnes will gain it."

Sophie eye's closed, having lost hope that Agnes would live through the day.

Kol would be dead before he saw Bonnie's magic in the hands of the New Orleans witches.

"How long do we have until this objects drains her magic?" Elijah asked, already calculating a plan in his head.

"It takes a good few hours," Kol said. "The more powerful the witch the longer it will take to drain their magic."

"It's been two hours maybe, since they put it on her. Maybe a bit longer," Sophie supplied but was ignored by the three vampires.

Rebekah gave Kol a hopeful smile. "We have time, Kol. She's strong."

"Not if they hand her over to Marcel," Kol responded and looked to his brother. "We need to go now."

"Were they taking her to St. Anne's Church?" Rebekah questioned and Sophie nodded.

"I think so, I heard her mention getting her to a church" Sophie said. "What do you want me to do?"

"I think you've done enough," Kol growled.

Elijah held his hand up, keeping Kol at bay but his eyes were on Sophie. "Wait for us at the Plantation. We will return there with Bonnie and we may need your assistance."

The witch nodded but looked at the Original's pleadingly. "I know what she's done is awful but this coven needs her. I am begging you, please don't kill her."

"I make no promises," Kol glared, looking more and more agitated by the second.

Sophie said nothing else and heading in the direction of the Original's home.

Elijah pulled his ringing phone out of his inner breast pocket of his jacket and frowned when he looked at the screen.

"What is it?" Rebekah asked, hoping it wasn't more bad news.

"Go on without me," he said without answering her question and Kol didn't need to be told twice before disappearing. "Go," he repeated to Rebekah when she hesitated. "Do not leave him to his own devices. He is not thinking clearly"

She nodded and reluctantly followed after her brother, leaving Elijah alone to answer the call.

"Lucy," he greeted the caller tersely.

"Tell my cousin to pick her damn phone up."

Elijah took a moment before speaking, wanting to delay having to tell Lucy that Bonnie was in danger but not wanting to keep the truth from her. "We have a problem," he told her with a calm voice.

"What's going on?" Lucy demanded, the worry clear in her tone. "Where's Bonnie?"

"We are not too sure but –

Her voice raised. "What the hell has happened, Elijah?"

The Original ran his tongue over his teeth. "It appears Marcel is not pleased with Bonnie's involvement with one of the witches here in the Quarter. He has somehow convinced the other witches to bind Bonnie's magic and hand her to him."

Lucy did not respond right away but Elijah could hear her breathing on the other line, her breaths short indicating she was not only worried but furious.

"I guess I couldn't have arrived at a better time," she said. "Where am I meeting you?"

XXX

By the time the car came to a stop, Bonnie had started to feel light headed and weak, like all the energy was somehow being sucked out of her. She didn't know if it was because of the emotional and physical distress she was currently experiencing, it was that feeling of weakness that had terrified her more than what could be waiting for her with Marcel. She knew something else had to be happening and she believed it had something to do with the cuff that was locked around her wrist.

The vampire next to her got out of the car and pulled her along with him and Bonnie found herself leaning against the vampire as she swayed on her feet.

The took her inside and Bonnie didn't take much notice of where they were taking her but she wound up in a room and was all but pushed down on the couch. She raised a hand to her head and her eyes closed involuntarily for a short moment before she forced them open again.

She heard heavy footsteps enter the room and raised her head with an alarming struggle to see Marcel sauntering towards her.

"I told you not to hurt her," she heard him say to the vampire standing guard.

The vampire shook his head. "We didn't," he said to Marcel. "I think the witches did more than just bind her magic."

He said something that Bonnie didn't quite catch and her vision blurred for a few second before it cleared and she saw a glass of water held in front of her.

"Here, drink this," Marcel offered her the glass but Bonnie glared at it then at him. "Look, I didn't bring you here to hurt you," he said and lowered himself in front of her so he was level with her and insisting that she took the glass and slowly she reached out and took it.

"Could have fooled me," Bonnie snapped at him and took a slow sip of the water, the cool liquid making her feel the slightest bit better and more alert.

His eyes went to her bloodied wrist and he looked almost apologetic. "And I didn't intend for them to do anything like that to you. I just wanted your magic cut off for a bit so we could talk without anyone getting hurt."

Bonnie raised a doubtful eyebrow at the vampire. "If you wanted to talk you could have just friended me on Facebook like a normal person, not have me knocked out, my magic bound and treated like a captive."

Marcel gave a quick laugh. "You've got a spark, that's for sure," he commented, his eyes sparkling. "I can see why they like you."

She ignored his comment and drank some more water.

"You know, I was in your position once," he said and adjusted himself to sit on the edge of the coffee table, moving it a bit closer to Bonnie. "I was close with the Mikaelson's, I grew up around them, I considered them my family and they treated me like family. Well… all of them but Kol. He was never a fan of mine," he told her and clasped his hands together, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Is there a point to this trip down memory lane?" Bonnie queried with a bored expression.

"The point is you seem like a nice girl," he said to her, "and nice people don't last around the Originals."

Bonnie snickered. "So your plan isn't to kill me but to turn me against the Mikaelson's? So I'll what, leave?"

He shook his head and picked up a white cloth that she didn't see was next to him on the coffee table. "Not turn you against them," he said and held out his free hand towards her, insisting she give him her wounded wrist, "just show you who they really are."

She slowly held out her wrist and was surprised with the gentle way in which he took it and dabbed the damp cloth around the cuff and along her arm where the blood had dripped and stained her arm.

"I know who they are," she spoke softly. "I've seen the bad side of them all but I've also seen the good in them."

She gave a sharp hiss when he made contact with the cuff and pushed the top spike further in her skin.

"It's things like this that make me treat the witches like I do, control their magic the way I do," he said and wiped away the remaining smears along her arm. "I don't know what kind of witch you are but the ones here aren't kind. They are violent, even towards their own and I don't want to see those types of people in power."

"It's always rich hearing a vampire calling a witch violent," Bonnie said and pulled her arm away from him but accepted the cloth that he held out for her and continued to hold it gingerly to her wrist, making sure not to touch the cuff.

"I guess you'd know something about violent vampires, what with you being with one."

Bonnie repressed her groan. It always came back to her relationship with one of the Mikaelson's. "Kol and I aren't even together anymore."

"I want to show you something," he said and held his hands out, "some of my memories of Kol from when I was younger, if you'll let me."

Bonnie wanted to say no but found herself nodding and Marcel raised his hands and slowly placed them on either side of her head. She'd always been curious of Kol's past from what she's heard from people about him.

It hadn't been the first time a vampire had been inside her head like this (though she had been asleep the last time) but it was still an uneasy and uncomfortable feeling, having someone else in your head like that.

She saw the Compound, or what was the Compound a number of years ago. There was a group of people standing in front of her -or in front of Marcel as she was seeing from his eyes. They all looked tense and full of fear, and some were bleeding. She heard the voice of a younger Marcel speak and turned his head and she felt herself flinch when she found herself looking in Kol's eyes, but unlike the times he looks at her, there was no warmth in his gaze but instead he looked gleefully sadistic as he stood and walked towards the people with a frustrated look. He stood behind one of the men with his hands on his shoulders and Bonnie gasped when he suddenly snapped the man's neck.

She was suddenly pulled from the memory and was looking back at Marcel.

"He had force fed me his blood that night," he told her. "He had plans to turn me and would have if Klaus and Elijah hadn't put a dagger in his heart not five minutes after what you just saw."

Bonnie had always been aware that Kol had a violent past (and really, a still violent present) but to see it like that, like she was seeing it with her own eyes was something else. Even though she had experienced his cruelty first hand during that period when he discovered her lies and betrayal, she had been told that he hadn't been even half as cruel as he had to others for less. But this… this was completely different. This was Kol's version of fun, killing for the pleasure because it was something he enjoyed.

"How do I know you didn't make that up?" Bonnie asked, knowing full well that he didn't but she still hoped.

"You know I didn't," he said. "Because if you know him half as well as you say you do then you know he's capable of that level of sadistic violence."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You think that showing me something from Kol's past is going to make me leave? I know what he's capable of."

As she said the words, she started to think to herself that maybe she didn't know. Maybe she doesn't know him as well as she thought he did but she wasn't going to let that show in front of something like Marcel.

"I don't want to have to hurt you, Bonnie," Marcel said, sounding oddly sincere. "Contrary to what you may think about me, I don't get off on violence and hurting people. I just want to run my city and keep things the way they are and you being here threatens that. You leave then I'll get Agnes to come take that thing off you, but if you refuse and stay here with the Mikaelson's…." His threat was left hanging in the air.

Bonnie actually wanted to laugh. Not because she found what he said amusing but because of the absolute kerfuffle her being here has caused. The witches don't want her here and neither do the vampires, both of whom have conspired to get rid of her within a week of her being here. She didn't give two craps about who ended up in control of this city, the only reason she was here was to find Elijah and keep Kol from ending up in a coffin, yeah and maybe she's sticking around because she doesn't want to see any more witches at the mercy of vampires like she herself had been since discovering who she was.

"Can I give you a bit of advice?" Bonnie looked at Marcel, unfazed by his threat. She knew sooner or later one or all of the Mikaelson's would show up. "You might have been family to the Mikaelson's once upon a time, but so am I… and to Kol I'm so much more," she said, her voice steady and her eyes on his, "and if you seem to know so much about what he is capable of, then you know that you won't be walking away from this in one piece."

Marcel's eyes darkened and he looked just about ready to reply with some counter threat but he didn't get the chance.

"You wouldn't listen to me than perhaps you will listen to her," Klaus' voice suddenly rang through the room and Bonnie felt her heart jump. She'd never been so happy to see him in all her life.

"Klaus!" she called his name with sheer relief and suddenly all her composure had faltered.

Marcel quickly jumped to his feet and the other vampire in the room was at his side in an instant but Klaus' eyes were on Bonnie.

"You all right, love?" he asked with genuine concern.

She had thought she nodded her head but ended up shaking it no. "I need this thing off me," she said and held up her wrist. "It's doing something to me and I don't know what."

He nodded then looked to Marcel. "Marcellus, you fool. I warned you to stay away from her."

"And I warned you to keep her out of my business," Marcel shot back, not backing down from the hybrid.

Bonnie stood up but a little too quickly and whatever that cuff was doing to her caused her to experience a slight dizzy spell where she had to clutch the arm of the chair for support.

"What have you done to her?" Klaus growled and pushed passed the vampires and wrapped an arm around Bonnie to keep her upright.

"That wasn't us," Marcel said and when Klaus didn't seem to believe it Bonnie confirmed that he was right.

"It wasn't them, it's this," she said and held up her wrist that had started to bleed again. "Whatever it is, it's blocking my magic and making me feel weaker by the minute."

"We'll get you home and get it off." He promised, his voice oddly soothing to Bonnie. He gave Marcel a furious look but there was also concern behind it. "You best hope I get her out of here before Kol finds her here."

A loud crash sounded throughout the compound and Bonnie nearly laughed. "Too late."

Klaus cursed and gently lowered Bonnie back down to sit on the chair. "You're okay," he said softly and brushed some hair back from her face. "Just stay here. We'll get you home soon."

Klaus couldn't risk Kol seeing Bonnie like this. It would send his brother to another level of fury that he did not want to see unleashed upon Marcel. The hybrid still considered the vampire family, no matter what difficulties and disagreements they were currently having. The three vampires left the room and Bonnie slumped in the chair, the dizziness having now been coupled with a throbbing headache and a light tingling sensation in her fingers.

XXX

Lucy was agitated as she waited impatiently for Elijah to show up. She couldn't believe this had happened.

She had got on a flight as soon as her friend had gotten back to her about the Harvest and what it entailed. There was no way Lucy was going to leave her cousin to her own devices with a coven that extreme, but of course leave it to Bonnie to find trouble quicker than anyone she had ever met before.

Lucy would probably be laughing right about now if she didn't carry the urge to burn something to the ground.

Not soon enough the Original finally turned up and the witch pushed the sudden jolt of emotion she felt when she saw him deep, deep down. It wasn't the time.

"You know, I thought if anyone could keep her safe it'd be Kol but I guess I got that dead wrong," she said rather harshly as soon as he was close enough to hear it and he responded with a look that told her he didn't approve of her placing all the blame onto his brother.

"I assure you, he's tried quite hard to keep her out of this but alas, your cousin is unbelievably stubborn," he replied.

"She only came here to find your sorry ass and now she's gone and involved herself in a goddamn war between witches and vampires!" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. If she wanted to help her cousin then she couldn't lose it, no matter how badly she wanted to hurt something (or someone). "Explain to me what happened," she requested calmly.

"You're aware she's been in close contact with one of the witches?" she nodded. "This particular witch was deceived by her coven to bring Bonnie to their grounds, she was not involved. The witches were working on behalf of Marcel who we believed had offered them some sort of deal, perhaps the ability to freely practice magic."

Lucy roughly ran a hand through her hair. "So they handed her over to Marcel."

"We do not know what his plans for her are, but I imagine they are not well."

"No shit," she snapped then paused to take in another deep breath. "Do I need to do a locator spell?" she asked.

"We know she is at one of two locations," he told her, "Kol and Rebekah have gone to where the witches took her while Klaus has gone to Marcel directly. I have no doubts that my siblings will take control of the situation and bring Bonnie home safely."

Lucy nodded, feeling just a bit more at ease knowing three Originals were close. "Okay, so what do we do?"

"You and I are going to locate the witch responsible for this," he answered in a way that made Lucy want to smirk. "It needs to be made clear to the witches as much as the vampires that Bonnie is not to be used in their plots and ploys."

"Good answer."

XXX

By the time Klaus reached the downstairs area with Marcel and Diego, the floor was already scattered with the bodies of four vampires with their hearts lying next to their bodies.

"Kol," Klaus tried to get his brother's attention but Kol's intensely furious gaze instead landed on Marcel behind him.

"Where is she?" He growled and stepped over one of the dead vampires that lay at his feet.

Rebekah was close behind Kol and placed her hand on his shoulder in hopes to calm him just a bit. Like Klaus, she did not want to see Kol take off Marcel's head. She knew what he had attempted was so utterly stupid beyond belief and she was furious about the danger he had put her friend in, but there was that part of her that still cared deeply for Marcel and couldn't bear the thought of Kol killing him.

"She's fine," Klaus tried to tell him but Kol didn't want to hear anything his brother had to say. He knew what was around Bonnie's wrist, he designed the cursed thing so he knew that she was not okay. He had to get her. He had to get that thing off her before it caused her permanent damage like it had to the others before her.

Another tried to get in his way when he made a move towards Marcel but in an instance he too joined his fallen comrade but this time Kol didn't drop the heart and instead crushed it in his hand.

Others of Marcel's vampires had gathered around the compound, ready to come to the defence of their leader and friend against the Originals but Marcel raised his hand, a signal for no other to try and intervene. He knew none of them could win a fight against Kol and losing five of his guys was five too many. No one noticed when one of the vampires slipped away from the group and headed further into the compound.

"She's not okay and she'll be getting worse," Rebekah said for Kol, stepping in line next to her brother. "Those witches are draining her power."

"The cuff around her wrist?" Marcel took the risk and spoke, earning himself a deadly glare from Kol. "I only asked for her magic to be bound, I didn't ask for her to be harmed."

"You only intended to harm her yourself," Kol pushed away Rebekah's hand on his arm but before he could reach Marcel Klaus had stepping in his path. Kol used his strength to knock his brother down and out of his path to take Marcel by the throat, backing him up to the stone wall. His other hand was imbedded in the younger vampire's chest and he smirked at the sudden fear that flashed in Marcel's eyes.

"Kol!" Klaus yelled and jumped back to his feet but did not attempt to forcibly remove his brother away from Marcel.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't, Nik," Kol said to his brother through clenched teeth. "Tell me why I shouldn't tear him apart just for the mere thought of harming her?"

It was a pained cry that prevented Klaus from responding and Kol froze, eyes wide as he recognised the sound. He slowly turned his head towards the upper level of the Compound and saw a very stupid and very dead vampire holding Bonnie with a hand around her throat.

"Let him go, or I kill your little witch bitch," he threatened and Kol could see the blood around his mouth and his eyes looked to Bonnie's neck to a mess of red.

Oh yes, he thought, a very dead vampire indeed.

Kol didn't even need to let go of Marcel because in a matter of seconds Rebekah had gotten a hold of the overzealous vampire pulling him backwards with her arm around his neck, cracking his spine and letting him drop to the floor before she grabbed Bonnie in a protective hold.

"What an idiot," Rebekah commented with a shake of her head and turned to Bonnie. She tilted the witch's head slightly to get a better look at the bite on her neck. She determined that it wasn't too bad, nothing a bit of vampire blood wouldn't fix.

"Kol, we have her now let's go," she called out to her brother who looked very torn between finishing what he started with Marcel or coming over to Bonnie to check on her himself.

Bonnie leant against Rebekah, as she led her carefully down the steps, the blonde holding most of her weight and was cautious not to touch her wrist. "Kol," she said his name with evident exhaustion, "I just want to get out of here."

Kol looked back at Marcel with a sneer and removed his hand from his chest and instead settled with twisting his neck, the crack not nearly as satisfying as it would have been to rip out his heart and crush it in his hand. Kol then turned his head to his brother. "He tries anything again and I will kill him," he warned before walking over to Bonnie with frightfully calm steps.

He reached her and tenderly brushed his hand along her cheek, the relief that she was okay written all over his face but Bonnie couldn't help but tense and shy away from his touch when she felt the warm stickiness on her face of not just Marcel's blood on his hands but the blood of the five bodies on the ground that she was already trying not to look at.

He pulled back his hand and Bonnie looked away when she saw a flash of hurt in his eyes from her pulling back from him.

"We should go," Rebekah said and started to lead Bonnie out the back way of the compound, not wanting to bring any attention to themselves out in the busy streets.

"I'll wait until Marcel wakes up," Klaus told them and Kol replied with a shrug before he followed his sister, and love, wiping his hands as best he could on his dark jacket.

Klaus watched his siblings leave and he looked down at Marcel's body with a disapproving shake of the head. "I warned you," he muttered. He left his body there and made his way to the other incapacitated vampire. "And as for you…" he glanced down at the idiotic vampire that tried to save the day. He reached down and grabbed the vampire's foot and started to drag him down the steps and to a stop a bit away from Marcel.

"Let this be a warning to the rest of you," he said, loud enough to capture the attention of the vampires that had lingered for Marcel to awaken. "No matter what he," he pointed down to Marcel, "says, she is off limits."

Down on one knee, he thrust his hand into the chest of the unconscious vampire and ripped out the and held it up for the others to see before letting it fall from his grasp.

XXX

Rebekah immediately sat Bonnie down on the couch when they returned home and instantly started to fuss over the other girl, checking over her injuries once again.

"I'll be right back," she said and gently touched her arm to get a better look at her wound, "I'm going to try and find something for that and for your neck. It's probably best not to give you vampire blood until we get that off you."

Bonnie nodded and noticed that her hands had started to shake but she wasn't sure if it was a side effect of the cuff or a physical reaction to what had transpired in the last few hours.

"Hey," Rebekah got her attention by taking her hands and kneeling in front of her. "It's okay," she said softly, and squeezed her hands gently. "You're okay."

She attempted a smile and Rebekah slowly rose to her feet and left to get whatever she needed to relieve some of the pain and distress Bonnie was feeling.

She had only been gone a moment before someone else entered the room and when Bonnie looked up to see Sophie, the surprise didn't even register in her. Sophie took a seat next to the younger witch and Bonnie could see that there was guilt painted across her face.

"I knew something wasn't right when Agnes said she wanted to meet you," Sophie said apologetically and looked down at the cuff. "I'm so sorry, I never wanted that to happen. I never thought that would happen."

Bonnie shook off her apology. "Do you know is this doing to me?" she asked and lifted her wrist.

"Yeah," Sophie started with a sigh and gentle took Bonnie's wrist to gain a closer look at the object, "before I came here I went back looked over the recorded archives of the Dark Objects. This one is the Cursed Cuff, while it does bind a witch's magic, that isn't its main purpose."

"Which is?"

"Which is to remove the witch's power," Sophie answered. "It's why you're probably feeling pretty weak right now; it's got some physical side effects."

Rebekah returned. She had a white cloth draped over her arm, a bowl in one hand, and in her other a glass that was over half the way full of ember liquid. She put the bowl and cloth on the coffee table and held out the glass for Bonnie to take.

"Alcohol, really?" Sophie arched a brow and Rebekah glared at her.

"Aspirin and pain killers aren't much use for vampires so we don't tend to have them lying around in our medicine cabinets," Rebekah replied with some spite towards the witch and sat down on the other side of Bonnie, reaching for the bowl and cloth. "Besides, scotch is just as good."

She pushed back Bonnie's hair away from her neck and after dipping the cloth in the bowl, she started to dab at her neck gently with the damp cloth, making Bonnie hiss at the initial contact of the cotton against her punctured flesh.

"Where's Kol," Bonnie found herself asking, scrunching up her nose at the continuing stinging sensation.

"He's just cleaning himself up a bit," she replied and continued to dab at her neck after dipping the cloth back in the water. "I figured that was for the best, you've seen your share of blood for today."

And he was covered in it, Bonnie remembered.

"I hate to ask but Agnes…." Sophie looked to Rebekah who again glared at her.

"Of course she's alive," Rebekah snapped, "we still need her to unlock this bloody cuff."

"What?" Bonnie asked, looking between the witch and the vampire.

Rebekah let out a sigh. "Unfortunately for us, only Agnes can remove that delightful contraption because she is the one who put it on you," Rebekah explained. "But don't you worry about that, Elijah will track her down and we'll make her get that thing off you."

"So where does my power go?" Bonnie wondered, deciding to just let the bad news keep on coming.

"According to Kol, Agnes will gain your power," the Original answered and Bonnie stilled at the mention of Kol knowing about the cuff, it brought back what Agnes had said earlier about his involvement in the making of it.

Had he really been the one to come up with the idea for this cuff, along with a number of other items that did God knows what? She needed to know, and she needed to know why he had something like this made. Had it something to do with the rocky past he had with the witches of this city he mentioned vaguely to her earlier?

Rebekah, mistaking her reaction for being about the Elder gaining her magic, touched the glass that Bonnie was holding and brought it up closer to her mouth. "Here, take a drink. It'll help take the edge off."

"She really shouldn't," Sophie disagreed with the Original. "You don't know how much blood she might have lost and with her physical side effects…"

"Oh, shut it," Rebekah brushed off Sophie and encouraged Bonnie to take a sip. "It'll help until we can take it off and give you some of our blood."

"And keep in mind your power isn't going to come straight back," Sophie told her. "It'll probably be around twenty-four hours before you can use magic properly again. That's what a witch who had it on wrote about it. Good news was that she retained all her magic, she was still just as powerful as she was before."

Bonnie took a small sip of the drink, the taste not bothering her for the first time, she barely even noticed it. She wanted to ask about Agnes and what was going to happen but she really didn't want to hear about her anymore. She'd had enough of that witch in a couple of hours to last her a lifetime.

Rebekah finished cleaning her neck and placed the cloth back in the water to rinse it before taking it to her wrist, gently dabbing at the skin around the cuff. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" she asked, mindful not to put too much pressure on the limb.

Bonnie shook her head. "Other than a killer migraine," she leant forward and placed the glass on the coffee table and stood up. "I have aspirin in my bag," she said to them, "I'm going to go take some."

"Do you want me to go get them?" Rebekah offered but Bonnie refused, wanting a bit of head space.

"No, I got it," she said and headed towards the stairs, slower than usual. She shook her head when she could still hear Rebekah and Sophie bickering from the living room when she got to the stairs.

Thankfully she made it to her room without any dizzy spells or blackouts, and went straight to the bathroom where she kept her aspirin. She shook two pills out of the bottle and popped them in her mouth. She turned on the tap and cupped her hand to gather some water to wash down the dry pills.

She caught sight of her reflection, frowning at the fact that she not only felt terrible but she also looked terrible. Her hair was tangled from the transportation between locations when she was unconscious, she had bruises forming on her arms from being grabbed, there was streaks of red along her wrist and she had started to look a bit pale with dark circles forming under her eyes – no doubt side effects of her magic being drained thanks to that delightful little thing locked onto her for who knows how much longer.

Leaving the bathroom, she switched off the light a little rougher than necessary and walked out of her room. She paused briefly outside Kol's door, it was open and she could hear the faint sounds of the shower running. She really wanted (and needed) to ask him about what Agnes had told her but there was something inside of her that forced her to keep moving, something that didn't want to face him at this moment.

When she got back downstairs she could still hear the argumentative conversation between the witch and the Original so she bypassed the living room and sought refuge in the downstairs study. She went straight for the decanter that sat upon the mantel and poured a bit too much in the glass beside it but her hands had once again started to shake and the heavy crystal slipped from her grasp.

She braced herself for the heavy smash of glass but it never came because Klaus had caught it before it hit the ground. She was surprised to see him back so soon.

"Sorry," she found herself apologising but he shook it off and placed the decanter back on the mantel.

His eyes drifted down to her wrist and he lifted it to inspect it, brow furrowed as he raised his eyes to hers. "Why hasn't it been removed yet?"

"Because only Agnes can remove it," she answered with agitation and with her other hand she picked up the glass and took a large gulp, welcoming the burning sensation.

"Of course," he replied. "Witches and their loopholes."

She silently agreed. Sometimes her own kind pissed her off more than the vampires did with their wishy washy ways.

"I am sorry, Bonnie," he said with a softness that was so unlike him and she gave him a confused expression. "I had told Marcel you were a witch, not with the intention of this happening, of course, but nonetheless I can't help but feel responsible for happened today."

A real, genuine, sincere apology was something she never thought she would ever receive from Klaus for anything and the fact that he just gave her one had shocked her more so than anything else today.

"I don't think it had anything to do with you telling him," she said once she recovered. "It was my involvement with Sophie that made him do it."

"He'd have had no reason to follow you in the first place had I not told him," Klaus insisted and lowered her wrist. She went to object further but he beat her to it. "Rarely do I ever apologise, Bonnie, so just accept and we can move past it."

A small laugh escaped her and realised it had been the first time in hours that she had given anyone a real smile. "Okay, I accept your apology."

Klaus shifted and reached passed her to the mantle to grab the scotch and fill the other glass. "You were right with what you said earlier," he said, "to Marcel."

"With what?" she asked and moved to lean against the edge of the desk, Klaus following and taking a seat on the chair in front of the desk. "I said a lot of things to Marcel."

"You are family, Bonnie."

Bonnie's expression softened as she stared at the hybrid who simply downed the remainder of his drink and leant forward to place the empty glass on the desk.

"And for this week only you can use my car whenever you want," he added and got to his feet. "But just for this week," he emphasised and through her speechlessness, she managed to muster up a smile before he left the room.

XXX

Bonnie remained in the study while Klaus went to find Rebekah. She saw Kol pass and got his attention.

"So who's avoiding who here?" she asked, trying to sound amused but failing miserably.

He came to a stop outside the door and she could tell that he didn't want to walk into the room but he pushed himself to. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't want to be around her right now. In the past when she had been even the slightest bit hurt he had been all over her but now it was like he didn't want to be anywhere near her.

He stood in the doorway, refusing to come any further into the room. It was like there was a barrier between them that he wasn't willing to cross.

"You can barely even look at me right now."

His jaw clenched and his eyes were on her wrist. "I can't talk to you while you're wearing that," he said, his voice was rich with guilt and anger.

"Because you're the one who had the idea to make it?" She let out before she could even think and his eyes snapped to her face. "Yeah, I know about it, Agnes mentioned it. She thought it was ironic that I was wearing it when it was an Original who created it."

It was a long and silent moment and she felt frustrated when it became clear that he wasn't going to respond.

"Has this got anything to do with the unpleasant history you have with the witches here?" she asked and he finally responded, even if it was just a simple nod. Bonnie gave a humourless laugh. "I guess it is kind of ironic," she said. "I wind up wearing a torture device you made a hundred or so years ago because of you."

"This is not my fault," Kol stepped further into the room. "Had you stayed away from the witches like I had asked you numerous times then this would not have happened."

She stood up and was hit with another wave of dizziness from the cuff's effects. Her head felt light and she saw black spots in front of her eyes. "Whoa," she breathed and grabbed onto the arm of the closest chair. She vaguely heard Kol say her name but she did feel his arm wrap around her and hold her upright against him.

He pushed back her hair from her face. "Are you okay?" she shook her head, eyes closing and she tried to breathe in deeply, feeling short of breath. "Elijah should have found Agnes by now. It shouldn't be too much longer and we can get that off you."

"Why would you want to have something like this made?" she asked weakly, opening her eyes to see his face full of concern and once again, guilt.

"It's a long story," he answered, looking away from her. It wasn't something he felt like getting into, at least not right now. He eased her into one of the chairs and dragged the other one closer and sat down across from her, their knees touching.

"Today has made me wonder if I really know you at all," she admitted to him. "There's just so much that I still don't know about you and you don't seem to want to tell me anything about your past here."

"You know all the important stuff about me," he responded, covering her hands with his to reassure her. "The things that others like Agnes think they know about me and what I've done, that's the stuff you don't need to know."

The stuff I don't want you to know, he wanted to add.

"Why not?"

She might have realised today that she may not be away of his full capabilities, but it wasn't like she didn't know about some of the things he's done. She knew some of the horrific things he's done, what he did to people who betrayed him.

He once again refused to answer her.

"Marcel showed me something," she told him and he finally looked at her again, "a memory, one he had of you from when he was younger."

"I can only imagine which one," he replied and looked down at their hands. "The night they put a dagger in me, I presume?"

She nodded. "I saw what you compelled those people to do and how you threatened to turn Marcel, forced him to feed on your blood."

He still hadn't looked back up at her and she didn't know if it was out of guilt or shame, and she had a feeling it wasn't because he regrets what he did but the opposite, because he enjoyed it. He enjoys those types of torment to inflict on people.

"You know my past isn't exactly savoury," he said and ran a hand back and forth over he hair.

"You're right, I do know that but that seems to be all I know."

"Why do you want to know so bad?" he argued.

"Can you at least tell me about the Dark Objects," she said and looked down at her wrist, "this one in particular?"

"Bonnie," he tried but she shook her head, not wanting to let it go. She wanted to know.

"No, I want to know. I deserve to know, given the circumstances, don't you think?"

"I didn't create them all, just a handful of them with a few witches to help them gain the upper hand against opposing witches," he reluctantly began to tell her. "I had been around, knew things, learnt of new types of magic and I taught it to them so they could make those objects."

"Why would they help you make those types of things?"

"Because of promises I made to them," he said. "Ultimately it ended with me in a coffin until last year."

"I thought Klaus daggered you because you wanted to find Mikael."

"That's only half of it," he admitted, "there was another reason that prompted Nik's actions even though he didn't know the full details, one I confided in Rebekah about, thinking she would at the very least understand but she didn't waste a moment in running to Nik and telling him."

Bonnie was honestly amazed that the Mikaelson's were still together after all this time and after everything they had done to each other, the bickering, the fighting, the deceiving… it was an honest shock that they hadn't parted ways for good.

Bonnie opened her mouth but Rebekah appeared in the doorway, looking between the pair. "Elijah's back with Agnes," she told them.

"Finally," Bonnie murmured and pushed herself up and followed Rebekah back to the living room without looking back.

"You two okay?" Rebekah asked her quietly and Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. There appeared to be a lot that she and Kol needed to work through.

Agnes and Elijah wasn't the only new additions Bonnie saw when she walked into the room. Lucy was besides Elijah, her cousin looking rather taken aback by her appearance. After all her warnings to be careful, Lucy was the last person Bonnie wanted to see her like this.

"Oh, sweetheart," Lucy came over to Bonnie and placed her hands on either side of the younger girl's face.

Bonnie wanted nothing more than to cry but she wouldn't. Not in front of Agnes. She didn't want to give the woman the satisfaction with knowing she'd really gotten to her today.

"Let's get this done," Klaus said, his hand curled around Agnes' bicep and pulled her along towards Bonnie. "Take it off," he demanded, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Bonnie shook her head at Agnes' audacity to act like the victim in this situation. "I warned you," she said to the older woman who just glared in response. "You could have avoided all of this but instead you set me up to be killed and tried to steal my magic while you were at it."

"I would not expect you to understand my decisions," she replied, repeating her words from earlier. "You've turned your back on your own to side with demons."

"Just shut up and take this off her," Lucy interrupted and held Bonnie's wrist out towards Agnes while she removed what looked to be an odd looking key from her pocket. The key had a sharp tip which Agnes used to nick her finger, letting a drop of blood coat the tip before inserting the key in the small hole on the underside of the cuff. Bonnie heard a click and she felt the cuff pull, the sudden movement causing her to flinch from the pain.

Lucy all but pushed the other witch out the way and carefully touched either side of the unlocked cuff. She slowly started to pull the parts away and Bonnie winced at the feeling of the spikes slowly being pulled from her flesh.

"I'm sorry," Lucy hated that removing this thing was seemingly causing more pain.

She felt a strong yet calming pair of hands on her shoulders and a whimper escaped her when Lucy pulled it further apart and away from her skin. A quick scan of the room let Bonnie know that it was Elijah behind her.

"Almost there," Lucy said and started to lift it away, the sharp needles sliding from her skin. "There we go," she lifted the cuff upwards and pulled the last spike free.

The four small but deep puncture wounds had started to bleed profusely once the spikes had been removed and Lucy accepted the cloth that Rebekah held out to her and wrapped it around Bonnie's wrist to control the bleeding.

"You okay?" Lucy checked her and Rebekah took over to apply some pressure to the wound.

"The cuff is off," Sophie said, stepping in front of Agnes protectively. "We can go now, right?"

"Not just yet," Lucy said and further inspected the cuff, turning over in her hand, ignoring the red stains. "How do you destroy these things?" She didn't want any other witch to have to experience what her cousin just did.

"I'll take care of it," Sophie offered and received a doubtful expression from Lucy.

"You honestly think I'm going to hand this back to your coven so you can use it on others later on?"

"I'll make sure they keep away from it until I can destroy it," Sophie promised but no one in the room believed her. "You have my word it won't be used again."

"Your word doesn't mean much to us anymore," Rebekah gave her a distrustful stare from where she stood. "You're lucky we haven't killed you both. The vampires involved weren't so fortunate."

"And Marcel is unimpressed with your pathetic attempt," Klaus added.

"We did not do this to hurt her," Agnes defended herself and her coven. "We did it for our survival."

"But you sure jumped at an opportunity to steal my magic, didn't you?"

"You don't deserve your magic," she sneered. "Using it to benefit vampires, our enemies."

"Oh, my God," Bonnie chucked to herself. "I really am starting to see why Marcel's done what he's done. You lot are insane!"

"Get her out of here before I do something I'll have to pretend to regret," Lucy requested.

"With pleasure," Sophie murmured and started to lead Agnes away from the Mikaelson's and the Bennett's.

Lucy muttered to herself that she needed to try a few things in attempt to destroy the cuff.

"I know how to destroy it," Kol spoke up from the corner of the room and came over to take the cuff from her. After all, he invented the contraption.

Bonnie watched him turn it over a few times, his face seemingly devoid of all emotion. She watched his finger trace one of the spikes, the redness of her blood staining his fingertip. He looked up and caught her gaze and it was then she saw it in his eyes, his desire, his need to kill. She shook her head, a silent plea for him not to do anything.

Agnes might have willingly hand her over to die and try to steal her magic but Bonnie didn't want the witch to die because of her. She didn't want anyone killing for her, she never has. The point had been made and Bonnie doubted that Agnes would try anything again ever, no matter what Marcel might offer next.

"One more thing," Kol ignored her plea and at the same time gained the attention of everyone else in the room.

He casually walked over to the two witches.

"Kol," Bonnie warned and when Elijah stopped his brother with a hand on his shoulder she was relieved, but it was only short lived before the oldest Mikaelson had taken matters into his own hands and snapped Agnes' neck.

Bonnie's eyes widened and her mouth dropped in shock while Sophie let out a cry as the Elder fell dead to the floor before them.

"You didn't need to kill her!" Bonnie cried when she managed to speak again.

"We did," Klaus spoke and Rebekah's head nodded in agreement.

"It's imperative that we make a statement that we nor the ones we care about are to be trifled with," Elijah explained to her. "That message has been delivered to the vampires courtesy of Kol and Niklaus, and one needed to be sent to the witches."

"We got the message loud and clear, you didn't need to do this," Sophie spat through teary eyes at Elijah and knelt down next to Agnes, a woman that had been around her entire life. She might have found her to bat crap crazy at times, but she had still been a large part of Sophie's life.

Bonnie felt Lucy's arm wrap around her shoulders and turn her away from the scene. "Let's go get you cleaned up," she said and lead her to the stairs, leaving the others to deal with Sophie the body.

"When did you get here?" Bonnie asked her cousin as they walked up the steps.

"Not long ago," Lucy answered. "I rang Elijah because I thought you were still playing your little game and he told me what had happened. He came to meet me and together we tracked down Agnes."

"How'd you manage that?"

"Police station," she said. "Elijah compelled a cop to get us her address. She wasn't there but I used something of hers for a locator spell and we found her hiding out by the docks with a couple other witches. Like that was gonna save her."

When Lucy got Bonnie back to her room she sat her down on the edge of the bed and scrounged around the room to find where Bonnie has put her stuff. "Once my friend got back to me with information on the Harvest, I realised the type of witches you were dealing with I knew I had to come here," she said and eventually pulled out some pyjama bottoms and a tank top but put in one of the dresser drawers. "Kendra's pissed by the way, that now both of us are here and she's stuck there."

Bonnie chuckled, she worried what that girl would do as soon as she turned eighteen and decided throw the adult card at her mother. "Do they know?" she asked quietly. "Did you tell them what happened?"

"I told my mother who as per usual, told the rest of them but they won't let Kendra or Allison know. They're too young to understand why witches can do this to each other," she answered and placed the clothes in the bathroom. "My phone's been blowing up since I told her, they all want to know that you're okay," there was a smile playing at her lips, "if I hadn't assured them that the Mikaelson's could handle it, they'd be on their way here no doubt."

"I should have been more careful," Bonnie said. "But I honestly wasn't expecting that from them."

"Of course you weren't," Lucy agreed and came back out of the bathroom. "What they did was dumb as hell."

"I still didn't want her to die."

"You shouldn't worry about that, she got what she deserved," Lucy replied and took Bonnie's good arm and pushed her towards the bathroom. "Now go clean yourself up and then we'll get all that fixed up," she said referring to her wrist and neck.

XXX

Elijah found his brother waiting around by the stairs. Klaus and Rebekah had offered to take care of the witch's body by carrying it out to Sophie's car (well, Rebekah offered and forced Klaus to help too).

"Why don't you just go up there and see her?" he asked his brother.

"I'm giving her space," he answered. "I also figured that maybe she wouldn't want to see me at the moment after what's happened to her today."

"That Dark Object," Elijah started, "has that anything to do with the real reason you were working with the witches back then?" Kol reluctantly nodded his head, remembering vividly the role Elijah himself played in receiving the dagger in his heart all those years ago. "Do you have intentions of finishing that little project of yours?"

Kol hadn't much thought about it since he'd been woken up. He knew none of his family would side with him, they were all against him when he revealed it to Rebekah the first time and he didn't imagine things would change now.

They at least had to decency not to reveal his true plans to their brother otherwise Kol feared he'd never had been let out of that coffin again.

"Already thinking of getting my coffin ready, brother?" he didn't mean for his comment to come out so snidely but it did.

"Of course not," he replied, not appreciating his brother's tone but also not commenting on it. "I am hoping another war between this family is not about to start due to the reappearance of the Dark Objects."

Kol clapped his brother on the shoulder and stood on the first step. "No need to worry, Elijah. The only war will be the one Nik starts himself."

"My intention from the beginning was the kill Agnes," Elijah said and Kol stopped on the stairs, turning back to his brother. "I was not going to let her get away with harming a member of this family."

"I suppose I ought to thank you for stepping in," Kol replied. "Bonnie tends to get upset when I kill people, even if they do deserve it."

At least now Kol wouldn't have to deal with Agnes' death possibly coming between them since Elijah had been the one to kill the witch in the end.

"Don't throw away what you have, Kol," Elijah said, his tone soft and brotherly. "You two have something special but you both tend to let petty ideals get in the way. You need to let her do as she wishes, even if it means she may get hurt, and she needs to fully accept the vampire part of you."

Kol knew his brother had a valid point. Had he have had his way, Bonnie probably wouldn't have left the house because he was so concerned with her safety and he knows that Bonnie tends to ignore the darker side of him, feigning ignorance to what he's been up to and the fact that he loves to kill.

"We'll work on that," he said and turned back up the stairs and in the direction of Bonnie's room.

Kol tentatively knocked on the open door and Lucy turned around.

"She's in the shower," she told him but he already gathered that from the sound of the running water.

"Do you mind if I wait?" he wasn't usually one to ask but he had a tendency to tread carefully around Lucy Bennett when concerning Bonnie.

Her eyes narrowed on him slightly but she nodded her head anyway. "Tell her I'll be downstairs if she needs me," she said and walked passed him, touching his shoulder as she walked out and it was that small touch that let him know that she didn't blame him for what happened to Bonnie today.

He took a seat on the edge of the bed and waited patiently for Bonnie to finish. Ten minutes had passed until the water shut off and another ten before the door opened and she exited the bathroom. She seemed startled to see him sitting there and looked around the room, probably for her cousin.

"She's downstairs," he told her and couldn't stop his eyes from trailing over her form. Her smooth skin was slightly red from a too hot shower and her hair was still damp, with drop of water dripping from the strands on onto her shoulders and the floor.

She was beautiful.

His eyes caught the two puncture wounds on her neck and he resisted the urge to growl. He just thought back to what Nik told him and the knowledge that the vampire who did it was dead brought him some comfort and satisfaction.

He got to his feet. "Here," he stood to her side and brought his wrist up to his mouth, slicing the skin with his fangs. He held it up to her mouth but she seemed hesitant to drink. "Bonnie," he pleaded softly and let his forehead rest against her temple, his other hand sliding around her back to rest on her hip.

Her hand curled around his wrist and he felt her lips against his skin, her tongue slowly tracing the cut as she sucked gently. Kol found himself gripping her hip a little too tightly and biting down on his tongue. He nearly whined when she pulled back, the wounds on her wrist and neck now healed.

She wiped the sides of her mouth with the towel she had been using to dry her hair that she still held kin her hand.

"How are you feeling?' he asked her, brushing some of her damp hair back behind her ear.

"Better," she answered and gave him a small smile. "I'm just sick of always wanting to help and always having it blow back in my face."

She was beyond tired of it. It seemed like every time she tried to help and make the right decision something happened, either to her or to someone else and she was sick of it.

Kol wanted to tell her to stop being so selfless, to stop helping people all the time but he knew that it was something that she'd never stop being or doing. It was who she was and as much as it annoyed the crap out him a lot of the time, it was one of the reasons he adored her so. She just had to learn how to read people and their intentions better.

"You asked me why I didn't want you to know about my past," he said, picking up their previous conversation from back down in the study. "It's because I'm scared," he confessed almost shamefully which caused Bonnie to frown. "I'm scared that if you finally see me for who I am, who I really am, you'll be disgusted by it and you'll leave me. For good."

"You still want to know about my history with the witches?" he asked and she quickly nodded her head in a way that nearly made him smile. He motioned for her to sit down on the bed and she did, him following and taking a seat next to her.

"During that period, there was a lot of tension between me and Nik. I had a small handful of witches that were on my side and Klaus had a few that were on his," he started to explain to her. "My siblings had no idea what I had been doing with the witches at the time, they had no idea that I taught them how to create the Dark Objects with the intention to use them on Klaus' witches and together we were working on creating a weapon, a dagger that could neutralise even Klaus."

Bonnie felt her mouth form an O but repressed the urge to say anything, wanting him to continue.

"I didn't want Elijah or Rebekah to be harmed which is why I wanted to find Mikael. I told myself every day that I wanted to find Mikael to convince him to leave us be but I can no longer deny that my intentions were not so honourable. I wanted Mikael to find him, I wanted Mikael to make him suffer what he'd done to us. I knew Nik was the one he truly wanted and I wanted to be able to tell him of the weapon I had made and in exchange for Rebekah, Elijah's and my own freedom from him, I would lead him to Nik."

"Did you ever end up making the dagger?" she asked him, keeping her voice quiet know that Klaus was still here.

He shook his head. "What I needed, Nik and Marcel took from me. Thankfully, he didn't know what I wanted it for. He just didn't want me to have it."

"What happened to the witches that were working with you?"

He paused, not wanting to tell Bonnie about the house that had become a prison for witches in New Orleans and how they had been trapped in there for the rest of their lives.

"Nik and Marcel killed them," he lied and told her.

He didn't want to risk her wanting to know more about what the house had become and the witches that are stuck there until their deaths and he certainly did not want her to go searching for it which he knew her curiosity would lead her to do.

Bonnie had been quiet for a while as she seemed to mull over what he had just told her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again, noticing that she had started to fidget, mostly with her fingers and hands.

"I'm kind of tired actually," she answered and pushed some hair back.

He nodded. "I'll let you get some rest then," he said and was about to stand up but she grabbed his arm.

"Could you stay?" she asked him shyly, not quite meeting his eyes.

He smiled at her, finding her sudden shyness cute. "Of course I will," he responded and traced the back of his fingers along her cheek.

Kol laid down and made himself comfortable on the bed and Bonnie curled into his side, her head on his shoulder and her arm slung over his torso. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, his fingertips tracing soothing patterns on her arm.

"It all worked out in the end, though, so I'm not complaining," he continued, breaking the peaceful silence that surrounded them.

"About what?" she tilted her head to look up at him with a curious gaze.

He had a reserved smile playing on his lips. "Had Nik not daggered me that night then I wouldn't have gotten out of the coffin when I did, and I might not have met you." Bonnie away, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly. "I know what it's like to not have you in my life, Bonnie, and I never want to be without you again. Those three months without you were hell."

"You wanted to be here without me," she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I would have come here with you in a heartbeat."

"It's not what I wanted," he said. "What I wanted was to avoid things like today from happening and if my staying away from you was what kept you safe then I was willing to be miserable."

Her eyes met his. "I'd rather face danger every day of the week and be happy here with you than be safe but miserable without you."

He placed his fingers under her chin. "Don't leave," he whispered and she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his.

Their kiss was slow and sweet, neither of them making the move to deepen it and Bonnie gradually pulled away with a small smile on her face, biting down on her lip. She laid her head back down on his shoulder and closed her eyes, falling asleep in Kol's arms almost instantly.

XXX

Later in the evening Kol walked outside of the mansion and breathed in the humid night air as he scrolled through the contacts in his phone, stopping at a name (well, a not so kind nickname) he never thought he'd have to call again. He swallowed his pride and pressed the name, holding the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He cringed when the voice filled his ear.

"Caroline?"

XXX

I do believe it's time that Bonnie showcases her powers, don't you? We're definitely going to see her using more of her magic, against pretty much everyone. Don't want to get anyone's hopes up so I'll tell you now that at this point in time Caroline won't be appearing in NOLA, none of the MFG will, aside from the odd phone call here and there. I just want Bonnie to flourish away from them :)

Not gonna like, I'm a bit disappointed in this chapter. It turned out quite different than intended. First of all, Marcel was going to be much meaner to Bonnie but then as I started writing he didn't end up so bad but it'll definitely be tense between them from now on (I love Marcel btw, so his part will get bigger). And second of all, it was even a quarter as violent as I thought it would be. (for instance Kol was going to do something very brutal to the vampire that bit Bonnie but then Rebekah saved her because Bek&BonBFFs4LYF). As I was writing things just turned out so different so I'm sorry if you feel let down by this chapter.

And just to clarify, I did come up with the idea for a cuff that bound a witch's magic before season 2 even aired so I'm not copying that which is why I kept to my original design of it because it seemed crueller (and I'm horrible) and had a horrible name (it's so bad! Lol the cursed cuff!) but Kol creating some of the objects was a lovely twist the show added and I loved the angst it would create so I kept that bit. I imagined the cuff looking like a chunky rusty gold bracelet and on the inside are 4 very thin spikes placed on the top, bottom and sides that essentially suck out a witch's power.

This is where we're going to deviate from season 1, it's still going to have some things but some elements from season 2 may appear because well, Kol's in NOLA in season 1 now ;)

So another long AN, sorry! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review!

XXX