_-_Emerald Rage_-_

[Ed Sheeran – I See Fire]

December – Mystic Falls, VA

She felt useless, an invalid. It was a sensation that she struggled to carry the burden of. She knew the moment that it happened, she had felt the silence. Truthfully, she knew no one had been there from beginning, but it was a knowing feeling. It was like missing something you didn't know was there until it was already gone. It had been ingrained in the very nature of what she was for so long. So when she could no longer hear the voices, hear the whispering, or feeling the energy at her fingertips, she panicked.

First it was panic and confusion, she didn't understand what had gone wrong. At first, she tried to figure out what exactly was wrong. It was an age of exploration spurred on by desperation, trying to see what she was suddenly no longer able to do. First she tested large spells, things she knew by heart, but the words failed her lips and actions even more. But those failed her and so did the little things.

She tried to keep it together. She tried not to let everyone else know. She didn't want to appear weak. Deep down, all she wanted was to be wanted, even if it was her magic and strength. If she didn't have those, what was she good for? Most days, she kept it silent and she kept it together, but it was taxing feeling so alone. She didn't have the Spirits, the energy to run soothingly through her veins with invigorating reassurance and support.

Today, she couldn't keep it together because the obstacle mocked her so viciously.

Candles.

They sat on the floor in a circle around her and she tugged at the hair at her temples. They sat in a ring around her. They were new candles, she got frustrated with the old ones. There were no blackened wicks on these ones. They remained innocent and pure, white and taunting to Bonnie.

A frustrated snarl escaped her lips and she picked up the grimoire in her lap. She threw it across the room in an outburst. It slammed loudly against the wall. She pulled her knees up against her chest.

He heard the sound from downstairs in the kitchen. He set the food he was preparing down for dinner and went to the stairs in response. The loud thud and silence that followed concerned him, he took the steps two at a time before he went down the hallway. The old witch's house was much brighter now that the renovations had been finished and power ran out to the building.

"Bonnie?" He called to her, pausing in the doorway. Her huddled frame alarmed him deeply. It wasn't often he found her fetal on the floor. Her long locks covered most of her shoulders as her hands gripped her shins tightly to her body.

He dropped to his knee beside her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. They shook with the silent sobs. "Bonnie?" He coaxed of her again. "What is it?"

She lifted her head reluctantly. She never did deny him a response. "I can't," She mumbled and he couldn't understand the rest of it.

"What?" He repeated, still confused, but concerned by the tears on her cheeks. "Hey, it's going to be okay," He tried to sooth her, reaching a hand out to brush away some of those tears from her cheek.

She shook her head, looking away longingly at the haphazard grimoire on the floor.

"I can't do it," She didn't normally like to whine, but she felt weak and insignificant.

He moved to crouch more in front of her, trying to gain her attention. "What can't you do?" He asked in a gentle voice. "Talk to me, Bonnie," He urged.

The way he said her name caused her heart to soften. Maybe that was why she liked him so much. He was always listening to her. He always wanted to understand. Compared to her old friends, who were so caught up in the Salvatore's and party planning, he actually cared about what she thought and felt. He made her feel wanted.

"I can't do it," She waved her hand to the basic spell she had been attempting. "I can't use my magic," She tried not to cry more just admitting it.

His brow furrowed and he shook his head slightly. He had noticed there was something different about her the last few months, but he didn't really know what it was. Honestly, it wasn't like he had grown up with all this supernatural business and he still understood very little about witchcraft.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

She stared back at those dark eyes. She took a deep breath to steady herself, declaring, "The Spirits cut me off from my magic, Glenn."

His head jerked back slightly. For being raised an ignorant human, even he knew that was bad. "What? When?" He doubted this was her fist discovery of it.

Bonnie sniffled and used the sleeve to wipe away some of her tears. "A while now," She admitted, earning a frown from Glenn. "Shortly after everything happened with Klaus," She clarified.

"Bonnie," He gasped. His hands moved to her shoulders, rubbing up and down gently to try to calm her down. But he was also thinking that was a damn long time and she was only now admitting it to someone else.

"What happened?" He asked.

Bonnie stilled staring at Glenn. It wasn't in fear or confusion, but guilt.

She knew exactly why the Spirits cut her off. She felt it the moment that connection was severed and she was suddenly very alone in this world. It had been one of the nights following Klaus' entombment. She should have known better when he showed up on her porch. She should have thrown him out immediately. His preposition was ridiculous.

But instead she had listened to him.

"I did something very stupid," Bonnie admitted, shaking her head. She wished she could say that he tricked her into doing it, but that wasn't true. He didn't have anything up his sleeves. He came to her with the request and he explained his logic. It was strange, but the more she listened, the more she understood him. It made sense to her then, that was why she did it.

She believed his logic, however twisted, was for the greater good. However the Spirits did not agree, they saw it as a betrayal.

Glenn frowned at her vague. He wished that she would tell him what happened, but it was obvious she was too upset. "It's going to be okay," He tried to reassure her. He moved closer to gather Bonnie into his embrace. "We're going to figure this out, okay?" He whispered to her, his lips pressing into her hair line. Her dainty fingers clutched to him as an anchor.

Another sob boiled up on her lips, from the frustration and all the months she kept it in. But also, because she knew Glenn would be angry with her if she told him what she had done.

January

Glenn was true to his word. The news spread around about Bonnie's condition and came as a surprise to many. In the months following the desiccation of Klaus, it was easy to overlook Bonnie. There were several other witches in Mystic Falls, more experienced witches. Her magic wasn't needed. Lucy had stayed for a while before she moved on. She opted to go to Cincinnati where the city had an unfinished subway system. It had once planned to build a network throughout the metropolis, but ceased construction due to budget reasons. Now, the abandoned tunnels had provided refugee to survivors, including witches.

With the departure of Lucy, it left Bonnie and her mother, Abigail, in the old witches' house with Glenn. He had never moved entertained the thought of moving back to the old Greene House, even after Maggie left. She knew that his ex came to town occasionally with her fiancé, but Glenn didn't hang around their house during those visits. When she wasn't around, he did occasionally check in with the Greene's and mostly the Grimes'. For everything they had been through in Mystic Falls, he had been through even more with the Atlanta survivors.

But yet, Glenn stayed with her and Abigail. Bonnie wasn't sure what to call Glenn, what exactly he meant to her. Boyfriend seemed juvenile and even then, she wasn't sure if that was true. It wasn't a secret that she would occasionally catch him thinking about his ex.

Everyone has that one love that leaves an impression so deep on your heart the best and most innocent of loves after can't even fill.

The time gave Bonnie the chance to have the relationship with her mother she always craved. It wasn't easy. They were practically strangers at this point, she had so many questions for her. She learned about her mother. She learned about the son she had adopted after she left her. It made her angry and sad. She wondered why she couldn't keep her, but she was able to have him? She would never know what he was like because he was lost in the outbreak, bit by a walker.

Bonnie thought they would be able to bond over being servants of nature, especially since Abby had her magic back now. But now it was hard on Bonnie, because Abby gained her magic back almost at the same time that Bonnie lost hers.

Maybe it shouldn't have surprised her, because it truly didn't, but it still hurt greatly. She wasn't expecting to happen, but it did. Maybe it proved how little she knew about her mother because she didn't pick up on the warning signs.

But she came home one afternoon, carrying brown paper bags full of food. Glenn walked in behind her, carrying some more bags against his chest.

"Hello?" Bonnie had called out, finding the front door unlocked at first. "Mom?"

Instead of answering her, the older witch froze in the kitchen. She was sitting at the dinette table with a piece of paper and a pen in her hand. Bonnie came around the corner and stopped. "Mom?"

"Hi, Bonnie," She replied to her, standing up to her feet, anxiously straightening out the front of her clothing. It was clear she wasn't expecting Bonnie back so soon with the way she appeared as a deer caught in traffic. "Glenn," She nodded to the young man.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked suspiciously at her behavior, setting the grocery bags down on the counter. More importantly, her eyes moved from her mother to the two suitcases packed up next to her. They were ready to be wheeled out of the house.

"I…" Abby stuttered and failed, glancing to the note she had begun to write for Bonnie. She explained it there, but failed to say it aloud now.

"Are you going somewhere?" Bonnie shook her head, trying to understand what the bags were for. Anxiously behind her, Glenn set his bags down against the counter.

"Yes," Abby found her voice again. "I was just leaving a note for you here," She gestured to the paper. "But I'm going to go to Chicago and see if maybe some witches there will be able to help you," She excused herself.

Bonnie was silent at first, stunned.

She was planning a trip all the way to Chicago and didn't tell her? Of course, after Glenn's urging, she confided to her mother about her condition. Abby had promised they would find a way to get her powers back, but how was she supposed to do that from Chicago?

"You're leaving," Bonnie realized. Maybe she really did intend to go to Chicago to find help for Bonnie, but she was going without her. She had never even asked her, because she had planned to go alone. She wanted to be gone before Bonnie even got back.

At the end of the day, her mother always did what she did best; leave.

March

The brunette let out a noise of frustration. She wanted to rip the letter in half, because no matter how much she stared at it, the letters didn't change. She wished she could change them, but they mocked her. That handwriting was something she was starting to become very familiar with it. She noticed the boldness of the letters, they grew darker to make her point very clear.

She tossed the letter down against the countertop. She wanted to yell and scream. Instead, she just scowled and shook her head.

"Let me guess," Damon's voice spoke up from the refrigerator. The Salvatore had sauntered into the Gilbert house as he always did and helped himself to a blood bag. "She responded with overwhelming support and she's galloping on a steel steed here as we speak?" He teased her.

Elena turned her scowl towards Damon. "It isn't funny," She snapped at him.

Damon gave half a shrug. He wasn't going to argue that with her. "It isn't surprising either," He replied back, before leaning next to the counter beside her. He took a sip out of the bag.

"It's not fair," Elena shook her head. Damon resisted the urge to point out the age old proverb since it looked like she was about to cry. "How can she be so selfish about this?" Elena waved her hand towards the letter.

It was yet another rejection. She had remembered what Maggie said to her the night they took down Klaus, but she had hoped she would appeal to her senses by this point. It had been over a year now.

"What?" Damon pulled his lips away from the blood bag, raising his eyebrows at Elena.

"I mean, she's been a vampire how long now," Elena started to go off and Damon just let her. "And how many people has she turned?"

Damon pursued his lips together. It was a short list of just Abby Bennett and Carol Peletier.

"She hasn't even cured Stefan, Damon! Stefan!" Elena threw her hands in the air. "If there's anyone in the world that deserves to be human again, it's him."

Damon wrinkled his nose, but didn't disagree. He wasn't exactly a huge of fan of being reminded that his brother forced him into being a vampire and it was a decision they have both regretted ever since.

"And Jeremy is nineteen now," Elena pointed out. He had been several months now, each day was ticking by and getting further away from his October birthday.

"So?" Damon's expression twisted, having to interrupt and know what that had to do with anything. "So what he's 19?"

"So?" Elena spun on her heel, turning back to Damon, exasperated. "My little brother is older than me now!" She would forever be stuck at eighteen. Each day that went by, her little, baby brother would be getting older. One day he would die, an old man, and she would look the same as she did now. "He's getting older and so should I, but I'm not. And it's not fair because of her."

"Who is she to play God, Damon?" Elena challenged him in a rhetorical manner. It was frustrations he had heard time and time again with each rejection Maggie sent back to Elena. "Why does she get to decide who gets to be human? Shouldn't everyone be allowed to have the cure if they wanted it?"

Damon looked as if he sucked a lemon. Like the other times, he didn't have an answer for Elena. It was a hard place to be in for him. Elena knew that he still harbored feelings for Maggie, even after everything. Even after the way she treated him. Elena figured it was mild compared to what Katherine did. In frustration, she sought one of the liquor bottles that Damon left stashed in the fridge.

The few moments of silence gave her a chance to calm down while she pulled her thoughts together. "It just didn't seem like her," Elena sighed while the vile liquid was poured into a glass.

That stirred Damon out of his silence. "What do you mean?" He asked suspiciously.

Elena half shrugged. "Well, you remember what she was like before she became a vampire," The doppelganger turned back around, facing Damon and she leant back against the counter. He had his arms folded over his chest, still wearing his black leather jacket. His forehead was creased deeply with the look he was giving her.

"Of course," He replied shortly. He remembered very vividly what she was like. Angry and resentful for what he had done to her and her family. At the same time, she was wild and fiery. She was like a fire, beautiful, but he got burnt every time he got too close. A fire that he could stare at for hours and everything doesn't seem as bright when you look away.

"She wasn't this person," Elena tried to reason. "Sure, she was a little bit of a bitch," She said in an understatement. "But she cared about her family… Matt… Jeremy… And you," Elena swallowed thickly as she looked at Damon. She didn't like to admit it, but she knew there was history there between them.

The subtle nod from Damon was the only response she got. He was subdued, not his usual snarky self. It was still a sore subject for him.

"But then she became a vampire and all that changed," Elena pointed out. "The Originals got to her." How quickly Maggie had been a role in Damon's life and how quickly it had shifted after she died. It was almost a night and day difference. "She became a different person," Elena shrugged her shoulders, at least from what she knew of Maggie. The Originals were always around her after she became a vampire, especially Kol and Rebekah.

Damon didn't say anything. It was hard remembering how he tried to hold onto her. He tried to help her cope with being a vampire. He tried to be there. She just wouldn't let him. It wasn't enough. Every time he tried with Maggie, he was reminded how he was never enough. It burned even more knowing each step he took closer to her had pushed her towards Kol instead.

Elena was silent, leaving him to his thoughts while she knocked back the drink. It burned down her throat, but didn't do much to make her feel better.

Then the thought occurred to her. It wasn't something that crept into the back of her head, but it went off like a flash of lightning. At first, it was so quick, she didn't even consider it. But like lightning, she froze and she waited for the next strike, just to confirm that she really saw it.

"What if Maggie is sired to Kol?" Elena blurted out the treacherous thought.

"You're shitting me, right?" Damon responded, his eyebrows just about disappearing. Of all the ridiculous things that's come out of Elena's mouth, this is close to the top of the list. Maybe he misheard her.

"I mean it," Elena reaffirmed, thinking about the idea more and more each second. "What if Maggie is sired to Kol?"

Damon shook his head like if there was a bug between his ears. His lips fumbled at first to form a coherent word. "What?" He tried to understand her, he really did. "What, like one of Klaus' hybrids?" He remembered how long it took for Tyler to break the sire bond.

"Well, sort of," Elena said, folding her arms over her chest and shifting on her hip. "Think about it, Damon. Look at how she's acted ever since she became a vampire," She reasoned. Maybe, the reason why she was being rejected over and over had something more to do with the Originals. "Has she ever not done what Kol told her to do?" Or maybe even Rebekah, Elena thought, the blonde hung around Maggie so frequently.

Damon made a face. "No, Maggie isn't sired," He tried to dismiss. A selfish part of him did want to listen though. A part of him wanted to find a reason why she chose Kol over him. And a selfish part of him liked the idea that maybe she never really did. Maybe it was taken out of her hands.

"How do you know?" Elena challenged Damon. How could anyone really know for sure? "Kol sired her, it's possible! And she has that mark from him!"

Damon frowned. Of course he had told Elena about Maggie's mark. There wasn't much he didn't tell her about at this point. He had told her about how it was similar to the one that Lexi had. "That Mark doesn't mean she's sired to him," He shook his head.

"How do you know?" Elena challenged him again. He seemed so sure of it, but he wasn't an expert. None of them were, they knew so little about it. "What do we really know about those marks, Damon? Lexi turned Lee, he could have been sired to her too."

Damon was silent. She had his attention at that point. The fact he wasn't openly disagreeing was something.

"Think about it, Damon," Elena coaxed from him, stepping up closer to the Salvatore. "It would explain everything… Why she left," Elena didn't have to heart to include 'you'. She didn't like knowing Maggie had a piece of Damon's heart. "And it's no secret Rebekah hates me, maybe that's why she won't turn me." Rebekah and Kol were close, maybe because of that, it was influencing Maggie's decision. "It would explain why she's a different person." Maggie after her transition was much more cutthroat and vicious. It stilled chilled her the way she had threatened Jeremy and attacked her in this house.

Damon's eyes were adverted from Elena. His upper lip was curled in a way that she couldn't tell was from disgust or discomfort. He heard her words, chewed and mulled them over in his mind, letting them thoroughly digest.

Finally, he let out a heaving sigh.

He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. "Let's just say, hypothetically," He finally replied. "That you might be right, hypothetically because it's ridiculous, what are you suggesting that we do about it?" He posed the question suspiciously. If by some bizarre chance Maggie was sired to Kol, then she would do whatever he said.

Elena took a step closer to Damon. Her hands went up to his jacket while she thought about it, shrugging her shoulders. The way she toyed with the flaps of the fabric he found a little distracting.

"Tyler broke his bond by turning again and again," Elena thought aloud. "If there was a way for Klaus' hybrids to break their sire bond, there must be a way for a vampire to do to it, too."

If Maggie's bond to Kol was broken, maybe then she would see some reason. Maybe then she would come to her senses and cure more people. Elena never wanted to be a vampire, maybe she could be human again then.

April – Maryland, USA

Stray newspapers kicked up on the side of the highway as the pickup truck sped down the highway. Spring was returning in full force to the Maryland terrain. The dry tree branches that had groped towards the sky during the winter, desperate for life, were beginning to produce the first leaves. The first sign of wildflowers were beginning to sprout along the roads.

The highways were neglected. The lines were faded. Cars were still littered across the landscape. It was dangerous to risk opening them. The foul stench of the previous occupant frequently occupied them. Except now, nature was beginning to reclaim what had once belong to her. The destruction of mankind was beginning to be swallowed whole by the vines and overgrowth that stretched over buildings and cars.

There were less and less walkers. It was unusual to find the stray ones. They frequently grouped together in clusters these days. They were drawn to their own noises and movements. The ones that lingered were slow and lethargic.

Every now and then, though, a promise of life would appear outside the protection of the county line or the established survivor towns. There was knowledge of more and more of them. Mystic Falls did what it could for helping them out and staying in communication.

The pickup truck was speeding back from a survivor town outside the Washington D.C. area when it spotted a figure trudging along the highway. It stopped immediately at the sound of the car engine.

It turned around. Unlike a walker, it raised his arms in the air to try to wave them down.

"Hitchhiker?" The driver of the pickup truck posed to his female companion in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, pull over," She said immediately. "It looks like it's just him."

The man had an orange camper back on his back. They could see a few small pots and pans dangling from it. He didn't seem to have a gun on him. Maybe just a knife on his belt. The driver of the pickup truck couldn't help but wonder how he survived this long in that state.

The pickup truck slowed to a stop next to the wanderer. He dropped his arms to his sides with a relieved sigh. He really wasn't sure if they would keep going.

"Hello," He greeted them with a broad smile. He was never so overjoyed to see other people again.

The driver was a young man, he looked like he was barely out of high school. He had tanned skin, dark hair and a defined jawline. He didn't smile at him. He just nodded, "You alone?"

"Uh… Yeah," The stranger shifted on his feet. He could see a young woman sitting beside him. She leant forward, more curiously. She had a thick mess of dark curls. Maybe they were related?

"You have no idea how good it is to see other people again," The stranger smiled, adjusting the straps on his shoulders anxiously. "I've been on my own since Princeton."

The driver nodded his brow furrowing thoughtfully. He was sizing him up, the stranger knew.

An awkward and tense silence followed.

"So," The stranger cleared his throat. "W-where are you heading?" Just the idea of driving in a car and giving his feet some rest seemed luxurious.

"Mystic Falls," The driver answered him shortly. He earned a blank stare from the stranger.

"It's a town of survivors," The female leant forward with a pleasant smile. "Hop in, we'll take you there," She nodded towards the back of the truck.

"Really?" The stranger's eyes lit up, he wasn't going to be told twice. He threw the pack over the side of the truck and climbed into the cab. He had a mess of curly black hair, quite long from being on the road for months. A scruffy beard grew along his chin and jaw. His eyes stood out, broad and piercing.

While the stranger was climbing in the back, the driver gave a sigh and long look. "Kimberly," He growled out in an annoyance. He knew it was the Council's policy to take in survivors. They didn't judge, they were willing to help out everyone, but he wasn't. He just had a bad feeling about it. He didn't like openly trusting everyone.

"Lighten up, Ty," She hissed back to him.

The hybrid begrudgingly pressed on the gas and the pickup truck rolled forward. The back window of the truck was left open so that the stranger would be able to talk to him.

After a few minutes, he turned to look at his saviors. "I'm sorry," He said, still very cheerful at his turn of events. "I don't think I caught your names," He put his hand through the window towards the driver at first.

The hybrid didn't acknowledge it. He just kept his eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel. His friend next to him gave a sigh at his behavior.

"I'm Kim," She spoke up and made a point of shaking the man's hand. "And grumpy pants over here," She nodded to her friend. "is Tyler."

"Great," The man smiled, undeterred by Tyler's attitude.

"I'm Shane," He used his last name at first, partly out of habit from his previous occupation before formally introducing himself, "Atticus Shane."

[Edward Maya & Vika Juglina – Stereo Love]

June – Playa del Carmen, Mexico

The sun bared down on the abandon resort. With the fleeing of humanity, the pristine white sands were untouched. The massive resorts were left hollowed and empty. The pool that was once bubbling with fountains and a bar catering to European vacationers was now still, in a deep green murky color from the lack of maintenance. The palm trees that lined most of the property and the beach area were now thick with palms. They no longer had the endless fleet of underpaid workers that carefully trimmed them and removed every in perfect palm. The rest of the plants that graced the linings of windows and balconies were overgrown. The white wash of the buildings were beginning to fade, rust stains were starting to streak down from the window bars. The hallways were silent and heavy with musty air. Most of the rooms were left untouched. Apparently not many people chose to take a vacation during the outbreak and most of the employees fled the property immediately.

Away from the green swimming pool and the overturned lounge chairs, which had been moved and strewn across the sands during wind storms, there was one figure out in the sun. She was relaxed on a large blanket in the warmth of the sun. She had several books beside her, but otherwise she was alone.

It was silent here. All she heard was the waves crashing against the sand. There was no chattering, there were no constant heart beats. There was no traffic or even the faint noises of electricity and appliances that most humans didn't notice. It was silent and amazingly relaxing. There were very few walkers left in these parts with so little to appeal to them.

She had on a large beige hat that was floppy around the rim, keeping the sun out of her eyes. She had on a loose green floral cover-up she had found at an abandoned vendor stall, along with the bathing suit on underneath. She had one of the books clutched in her hands, open to the last used page with a pen scrolling across it quickly with a content smile.

Part way through her writing, she looked up to the south. That familiar sensation pulsated in her chest. She knew he was there before she spotted him and it brought a smile to her face. She saw him moving along the beach. He was moving at leisurely pace towards her. He had his hands buried lightly in the tan kaki shorts he wore. He also had a baggy white shirt, leaving the first few buttons open with a peak of chest hair. The fabric of the shirt billowed against his frame in the tropical breeze. His hair seemed several shades lighter from all the time they spent in the sun lately, it was a coppery brown hue at the edges.

When he got closer to her, close enough to see the pronounce smirk on his face, she turned her face back towards the book. She wasn't going to stroke his ego by bounding up on her feet and embracing him as she much as she missed him.

Instead, he flopped down on the blanket next to her. An arm snaked around her waist and his other hand went to her knee. She could feel his smirk while she continued writing. His thumb stroked against her knee. He didn't greet her and she didn't greet him, but they didn't need to. They communicated more in simple touches than hollow words ever did.

"What are you doing, darling?" He took a chance to peer over her shoulder at what she was writing.

"Just writing to Rebekah and Stefan," Maggie answered him. "They said they're going to head back to Mystic Falls for 4th of July." She relied some of what she heard from the blonde. Of course, she confided much more about her and Kol's travels and so forth. "We should join them," Maggie suggested.

She just got a slight hum in her ear, his lips lingering near the flesh. He never was too thrilled about the suggestions to go back to Virginia. For the moment, he was a little distracted. She felt his hand on her knee move up to her thigh. He was restless, because she was holding out one thing from him.

He planted a kiss just below her ear. It caused Maggie to shiver and she shrugged her shoulders, trying to shield away from it. That didn't stop him, he just moved along to her cheek, planting several more kisses, even along her temple or any inch of flesh he could reach. She fought to keep the smile off her face, especially with the noises she made at the tickling sensation.

"Okay!" Maggie finally gave in. "Okay, fine!" She huffed and Kol pulled away from her triumphantly.

Maggie turned to look at her mate properly for the first time since he arrived. There was a faint stubble growing along his jaw from the several days that had passed since his last shave. Those dark eyes were light up with the smile on his lips. In the time they spent alone together, those smiles came with much more ease.

Her eyes darted down to those lips briefly before he leant and kissed her. It wasn't the short peck that most couples gave, he refused to accept that. No, the kisses he sought out from her were really feeling her lips again, feeling the way her toes would curl slightly and becoming familiar with her. It was only when he was satisfied with that did he pulled away.

"Hi," Maggie said in a small playful whisper, her nose nearly brushing against his. Her fingers ran along his jawline.

"I missed you," Kol admitted tenderly, the arm around her waist having pulled her closer against his side.

Her smile mirrored his at that. He didn't say it this time, but she felt how much he had missed her, more importantly, that tender and warmth feeling through the bond. "How was your hunt?" She asked of him, closing the book in her lap and setting it aside for the moment.

Kol leant back casually, still keeping his arm around her. "It went well, found a small group of campers," He smirked broadly at the memory.

In the time they spent together, they had a lot of fights and bickering, like most couples. Compromises had to be made and understandings reached. One of the first ones was how they were going to survive. Of course, Maggie fed from Kol, but Kol still needed blood. That had been a source of several fights in the beginning. Just because she was a little more ruthless as a vampire, she was still having trouble at times openly accepting the slaughter of others for their survival.

In the end, it was decided that it was better she didn't hunt with him. As the time passed and her control got better, Maggie found she didn't need to drink from Kol as much as she used to. A good feeding every couple of days was enough for her. But Kol still needed to feed and his regard for human life was much better than hers. Like he had said from the beginning, he wasn't going to stop killing for her either.

"Did you kill them?" Maggie asked the somber question she always did when he came back from a hunt.

A sly smirk was her only response.

Maggie turned her gaze back to the water. It was an awe-inspiring hue of blue. It was very clear too. They had been out on several boats. She could see straight to the bottom, she could see the fish and the plant life that gently swayed beneath the surface. Although, she wasn't thinking about it now. She was thinking about how it felt to know a group of people had died not hours ago at Kol's hands for their sake.

Kol sensed the somber attitude in her. "I wouldn't have given them another week, anyway," He reasoned. These ones were reduced to eating their own shoe leather because of their starvation. Admittedly, it wasn't much of a hunt, they didn't have very much energy to run away.

Maggie was silent at first before she said, "Okay." The one part of the agreement they had reached to was that it was okay if Kol hunted humans if they were going to die anyway. She couldn't count how many times she got upset at first and he would just chide her. He would tell her to stop thinking of the mortals as people. It was easy for him because he had been practicing that belief for centuries, but she was still in her natural human lifetime.

"I believe you," Maggie decided, looking back to her mate, squinting a bit in the sunlight. She trusted him and his judgment. If these people were going to die anyway, it was a little better, she figured. She tried not to think too much about what made the difference between someone who was okay to kill and who wasn't.

In the end, it was better off if she just didn't know. The less she knew, the better. It was easier to just let Kol do what he needed to do.

Rather than saying anything else, Maggie leant into Kol's side. She tucked her head against his shoulder. He was watching her carefully, especially her reaction. She seemed to be adjusting better as time went. He pressed a kiss against the top her head. For a few minutes, the couple sat in peaceful silence, enjoying the warmth of the tropical sun and listening to the breeze. It brushed the palms of the trees behind them together.

"What is it, love?" Kol asked of her, sensing there was something off with her. Something else was bothering her.

She sighed, all but confirming. Her arm moved to loop around him.

"I had the dream again," She said with a faint frown.

"Like the others?" Kol quirked an eyebrow.

Maggie nodded against his shoulder. It felt good to feel his body against hers again, even though it had only been two days. She enjoyed the time to relax alone, but she loved her mate more. "Yeah," She mumbled, "Except I swear I could taste the water this time." It had a faint algae taste to it. It wasn't salty, so she was drowning in fresh water this time.

She told Kol about the dreams she had frequently. She always felt like she was drowning. There was a pain in her chest. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't escape it. Kol reasoned they probably had something to do with the way she died, she did jump off of a waterfall.

"They'll get better, darling," He reassured gently. His hand around her waist gave a faint squeeze. They wouldn't go away, but they would eventually fade and become less frequent in time. That's how it was for him.

"I used to get dreams like that a lot when I first turned," He admitted. "Even for a while afterwards, but they became fewer in time."

Maggie moved both arms to wrap around him as she listened to his attempt to reassure her. She appreciated it, but it didn't explain why or what the dreams were.

"Some of them were so real," Kol recalled with a frown. He could practically feel the dirt around him or the musk of the soil. His were different than hers although. He was always trapped in some confined space, he had shared a few of them with Maggie. No matter how much he tried, he could never get out. He figured it was just a subconscious product of being daggered so many times by Niklaus. "I woke up coughing up dirt one time," He admitted.

Maggie picked her head up off his shoulder at that one. "Uh, yeah," Her eyes grew wide. "That doesn't make me feel better, Kol." She didn't even want to think about how much she would panic if she woke up coughing up water.

Kol snorted slightly at her. "My point is, darling," He reaffirmed, reaching up to tuck some hair out of her eyes. "The dreams will go away eventually, but I'll always be here," He promised her.

Maggie's expression softened up. That was the type of reassurance she needed.

"I love you," She murmured to him. At the end of the day, it was a dream she could shrug off. It was much easier to do so when she had him wrapped around her. The Original smiled down at her fondly before placing another light kiss on her lips.

She felt his hand move up a little further on her thigh, slipping under the hem of the cover up. Maggie pulled back from the kiss. "Oh, no," She reprimanded him playfully. "Not here, remember how long it took to get rid of all the sand last time?" She pointed a warning finger at him. There was some places she didn't want to get sand into ever again.

Kol smirked at her, his thumb stroking against her skin. "Fine," He gave a mock pout. "How about you finish what you're doing here," He nodded towards the books. "And then we'll head back to the room?"

Maggie snorted at his shameless suggestion. A thousand year old vampire or not, he still had the hormones of a teenager after feeding. "Alright," She conceded. "I just have one book left," She reached over her side to the pile.

He didn't make it easy to concentrate. While she was flipping through the pages, he pampered her skin with kisses, expressing his eagerness in the feathery touches. He pushed the fabric of the cover up over her shoulder while his hand drew teasing circles along her thigh.

The last book was the journal tied to Mystic Falls, the one she used to keep in touch with her family. The other two books were for Rebekah and Elijah. She didn't bother relaying much of what she said to Elijah to Kol. It was still sore subject for him.

The playful smile that was on her lips slipped off her face as she read the latest update from Mystic Falls.

"Kol," Maggie said. The Original was teasing the edges of her Mark with his lips.

"Kol!" She said again, more seriously.

The Original paused and picked his head up at the change in her tone.

"We have to go back to Mystic Falls," Maggie said as her eyes darted across the page.

Kol let out a groan filled with mumbling swears in another language. His hands stopped. "Supruga, we were just there," He protested.

"That was for Easter, Kol," Maggie snapped at him. Of course time was different for mortals than him. "This is different."

"Yeah?" Kol quirked an eyebrow. "Is there going to be a celebration this time?" He suggested, reaching forward to her left hand. "Perhaps one with a ceremony?" He said meaningfully, his fingertips brushing over the stone of her ring.

Maggie stopped and looked down at her mother's ring. Proposing to Maggie had been easy for Kol, but getting her to actually marry him was another matter. She wanted nothing to do with the idea of planning a wedding and having a ceremony. She had no interest in all of that attention being on her and putting on a white dress. It was a point he frequently teased her about, but he hoped to wear her down one day and make her officially his wife.

"No," Maggie shook her head stubbornly at him.

She couldn't think about that now. "Something's happened," She said, causing Kol's playful expression to go serious.

"There was some sort of explosion at the Grille?" Maggie quoted some of the message. It didn't make any sense, why would the Grille explode? Even Kol frowned at that news, suddenly taking an interest to the book in her hands. "Jeremy and Beth were there," Maggie felt the wind suck right out of her lungs.

"Let me see that," Kol said impatiently. He snagged the book out of her hands before she could formulate a protest.

"Hey!" Maggie wanted it back, but Kol already had his nose in it.

He shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "It says Jeremy and Beth are fine," He didn't see a reason why they needed go hurrying back to Mystic Falls.

"So?" Maggie gasped. "That's my sister, Kol. That's my family," She stressed to him.

He gave her a hard look, the disapproval and reluctance clear in his eyes.

"I get its different with your family, but mine is mortal," Maggie remained stubborn. It was implied with her words that she only had so much time with them left.

"We're going back to Mystic Falls," Maggie decided for them, being firm with her tone.

Kol gave an aggravated sigh, rolling his eyes a bit. He let another slew of foreign swears under his breath. He was being just as stubborn as she was, but this was too important.

"Kol," Maggie urged of him.

"Fine!" He waved a hand, giving into her. As if he could ever really say no to her.

"How soon can we get back to Mystic Falls?" Maggie questioned. It wasn't an easy journey to get this far south. They had taken around about way during their travels.

Kol mulled it over a moment, still holding the book in his hands. "Four, maybe five days," He finally responded, figuring they would have to take the car they found to the dock with the boat they left behind. Assuming they didn't have any mechanical failures, they could sail that back to the United States. It was hard to judge for sure, of course.

Maggie nodded. "Okay, let's go," She looked to receive some sort of acknowledgement from him.

Kol had a sour look to his expression before he got an idea. "Fine, we'll go check on your family, but," He stressed the word with the stipulation. "Then we talk about the wedding. Deal?"

Maggie opened her mouth to protest immediately, but Kol raised his eyebrows at her. In that act, he was reminding her that he was compromising on this.

Maggie sighed. She loved him and wanted to strangle him at times. "Deal," She gave in, earning a triumphant smirk from him.

Maggie sat up a little straighter. She gathered the other two books in her hand and leant across Kol to reach for the third one. Instead, he pulled it further out of her reach. "Kol!" She whined.

"Nu-uh, I'm going to hold onto this one," Kol decided, snapping the book shut and holding it behind him. "I know you, darling, you're going to obsess and worry over it, but that won't get us back to Mystic Falls any faster."

Maggie shot him a rueful look at how well he knew her.

Despite his initial cravings, they didn't delay when they went back to the room. Maggie was determined to pack their belongings and get on the road quickly. Kol kept a firm grip on her journal connected to Mystic Falls, making sure she wouldn't snatch it when his back was turned.

It didn't take long for them to pack up the clothing and supplies that they brought with them into the small van they found. In loading up the vehicle for the final time, Maggie gave the resort a longing last glance. They had discovered many beautiful places in their traveling together. Maggie reveled in learning more about herself and her mate in the time they spent alone with each other. This would be one of the many places they would have to come back to.

While Maggie was getting the last of the bags situated, Kol felt a vibrating coming from the journal he had snatched. The books were spelled to vibrate when a new message appeared on their pages from the sister text. It was the only way to know there was a message waiting.

Glancing over his shoulder, Kol made sure that Maggie was occupied while he read the latest message. It was from Sheriff Forbes rather than any member of her family. It was detailing the attack on the Grille, which was confirmed to be some sort of terrorist act. Jeremy and Beth had been among the many at the Grille when it happened. They got out fine according to the Sheriff.

The Sheriff still urged that Maggie returns to Mystic Falls as soon as possible. They would delay everything until her arrival. The reason lied in two words at the end of the message that caused Kol's heart to sink. He paused he leant against the side of the van, knowing how much these two words would impact his mate. His stomach gave a turn, the five day journey suddenly looking bleak.

Hershel's dead.

Author's Note: Hello Everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Emerald Rage. As you can see, there's been about a year or so time gap between IR and ER in which our favorite couple has been vacationing together. This story is going to be picking up with the events of season 4 TVD but in a new and different way. Some of the events that are remaining canon will be told from the point of view of Kol and Maggie (who are not directly involved) anyway, it will all come together in a way that makes sense (hopefully) as the story progresses. Please let me know what you think! Reviews are a huge motivation for me. I picked Ed Sheeran's song this chapter because I think the tone and mood of the song really captures Emerald Rage as a whole.