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"Funny how the heart can be deceiving more than just a couple times."

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THERE'S AN evident scent of freedom in the air for the two days Klaus had been locked up in Elena's house. Two days my brothers have been on the island, and we're yet to hear from them. The only two people I don't trust on their trip is Professor Shane and Rebekah, but I feel more confident knowing Bonnie is there.

Caroline, Tyler, Joel, James and I have been taking turns watching over Klaus in his confined space of a living room, waiting for the clock to tick down until the spell wares out, hoping that they've found the cure by then.

Caroline and Tyler watched Klaus yesterday, meaning today it's the trio's job to watch over the dog. Can't say I'm excited, but at the same time it's slightly amusing watching Klaus confined helplessly against his will. There's a sick kind of satisfaction I feel from it.

"Oh, good morning," I greet sarcastically, walking in the front door to Elena's house. "Joel, do you think we should fetch some more water for him?" I ask.

"Oh yeah, his bowls looking a little dry. Maybe we should get him a bone too, give him something to entertain himself with," Joel says, playing along.

"Alright, I get it. I'm a helpless dog, but when this spell lifts, you should all be prepared to run," Klaus growls, standing up from his position on the couch.

"Is that a threat coming from the man in the cell?" James asks, mocking him.

Klaus smiles and hums. "You laugh now, but there will be a point when you're going to need that sword. It does decode the hunters mark, and I am the only one who can decode it," Klaus says.

"Oh yeah? Why?" I ask, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Because I'm the only one that understands the language," Klaus shrugs.

James lets out a laugh from beside us. "Aramaic right? I can read that, thank you very much, so your assistance won't be needed." 

Klaus keeps his mouth shut, knowing anything he says won't get him anywhere. James knows just as much as he does, if not more about this language, assuring us that we can help my brothers find the cure without Klaus. God knows there's going to be a fight once the cure is found as I'm confident Elena isn't the only one who wants the cure.

"You guys can go and find the sword. I'll stay here and babysit," I say, turning to Joel and James.

The brothers exchange glances. "You sure?" James asks.

I nod, sending them a light smile. James walks to me and presses a quick but meaningful kiss to my lips before walking out the door with Joel. Still smiling to myself, I turn to the kitchen to find some alcohol to make this day a little more entertaining. I don't know how long it will take them to find the sword seeing as Klaus could've hidden it anywhere in his house, so I can only assume I'm here until nightfall.

"So, are you and James a thing now?" Klaus asks as I open a bottle of scotch from the fridge. Elena surprisingly has a good stock of alcohol in her house.

"We always were sort of a thing, it's just more official now," I say, secretly enjoying the fact that Klaus is feeding off of jealously. Klaus doesn't say anything, so I take a seat in a chair just outside the barrier. "So, how do you feel knowing so many people are going to want to kill you with that cure?" I ask, taking a sip of the scotch.

"I think that if I die even human, all my sires will too. Did you ever think of that?" Klaus questions.

"Nah, I think that if you turn human, your connection with your sires will be lost. So, whatever happens to you, will only happen to you," I say.

Klaus scowls. "What about you? Do you want the cure?" he asks.

"No," I answer flatly. "I don't have an interest in going back to being human." 

"Why? Because you like being strong? Because you like to feel as if no one can over power you? That you like being able to stand up over people who despise you? People like your own father?" Klaus says, trying to rile me up. Unfortunately, anything with the mention of my father is enough to make me pissed.

"Stop it," I growl.

"Don't be afraid to admit it darling. You like what you are just because your father despises vampires. You feel like it's a slap in his face," Klaus says. "I use to be the same when my father was alive. You killed him, remember?" 

"I said, stop it!" I shout, going to get up when suddenly I'm dragged backwards into the prison Klaus is being held in by a lamp stem that he's hooked around my legs.

I crash into the living room, my glass of empty scotch smashing on the floor as I scramble to get up. I jump onto my feet standing in a defensive stance as Klaus zooms in front of me, standing inches away from my face. "What the hell?" I yell, angered that he pulled me into his prison with a goddamn lamp.

"You see, Blair, you and I are a lot alike. The more you come to realize it, the more you will understand me," Klaus says quietly.

"Really Klaus? You keep saying that yet you keep doing things that prove your theory wrong. I wouldn't kill twelve of my hybrids, nor would I kill Tyler Lockwood's mom!" I argue, stuck between him and the wall.

He raises a brow. "My facts may be wrong, but I recall several months ago you tried to kill Tyler's mom yourself," Klaus says, bringing back the horrid memory to my mind. That was the night Fredrick came back from the dead. That was the night when I almost turned it back on because of Caroline.

"That was different. I had my switch off," I mutter, shifting uncomfortably on my feet.

"And what about that time you agreed to join a murderous group of vampires just to get back at the founding family members?" Klaus points out.

I know what he's trying to get at, but I can't allow him to get to me. He's already done that one too many times, and right now I'm in a perfectly happy place in my life, yet some how Klaus always manages to mess with my brain. I clench my hands into fists in an attempt to conceal the anger inside of me, like my clenched fists are the cap on the pipe of anger threatening to spill out of me.

"Oh yeah?" I say. "At least I didn't compel myself false love by taking away all the horrible memories of myself. Do you have any idea how it feels to be missing part of yourself? To be missing memories?" I question angrily, my head held high as I look him in the eyes.

"Be honest with me Blair, if you met me back in 1864 knowing all you know about me now- my past, my family, my rage- with none of your memories missing and James out of the picture, would you feel for me?" he asks, a sad yet hopeful look glued to his face.

I think about all that he's done. I think about how he turned James, Joel and Lexi against their will. I think about how he forced Elijah to kill me as part of revenge. I think about all the innocent people he's killed- Jenna and Carol Lockwood. I think about the fact that he felt the need to compel away memories of James from me out of fear that I would fall for James instead of him- that he did so also out of revenge. And then I think about how he saved Theo's life the other day from Jeremy. I think about how he gave Stefan and James their memories back. I try and think about some of the good he's done, but no matter how hard I force my brain to search, I can't find anything more. Sure he's spared some peoples lives, but the good he's done will never outweigh the bad. The weight on the bad scale shoots higher everyday.

"Klaus,-" I begin, trying my best to put him down gently when suddenly he closes the gap between us, pressing his lips firmly to mine. I stay frozen, shocked beyond belief that he would have the nerve to do that. After a split second his lips are mine, I push him away.

"Why would you do that?" I exclaim, anger bubbling inside me.

"I had to do it love, at least once," Klaus explains, a proud smile blossoming on his face.

I scowl and pick up the broken pieces of the scotch glass before pushing past Klaus to go fill myself another glass. I'm about a foot away from the border of the invisible barrier when suddenly Klaus dashes in front of me. 

"Move, Klaus," I growl deeply, fearing that I'll explode with anger once the shock has worn off. That dark part of me that craved the touch of Klaus to satisfy the curiosity inside me has vanished. It vanished the night James and I went on our first date- disappeared like it was never there.

"Why are you ignoring that small part of you that feels as if this is right?" Klaus questions.

"Because Klaus, that small part of me reminds me of my father. It reminds me how my mother fell for a man that did her no good, and I don't want to follow in my mother's footsteps," I whisper.

Klaus's face contorts with sadness and pain as he backs away allowing me to pass by him. I didn't understand that dark part of me until now, and now that I've said it out loud everything seems to make more sense. It needed to be said, no matter how much it would hurt Klaus. The truth hurts like a bitch.

"I would never hurt you Blair. I would never treat you like your father did," Klaus whispers once I've made my way into the kitchen.

I close the fridge and turn back to him, standing just outside the boarder of his prison. "I know," I whisper. "But no matter how hard I try to see past the reputation you've built for yourself, the reputation that's been proven true in my own eyes, I can't see myself with you. I don't feel anything for you, not after all you've done," I explain.

"Blair-"

"No, let me finish," I snap, forcing him to close his mouth, his lips pressed together in a firm line as he listens. 

"After I woke up a vampire- after you killed me- James was there. After I came out of the tomb, I found James. After I turned it back on since you practically made me turn it off, James was there to help me through it. James was always there Klaus. He's always been there for me," I say, taking a breath. "The truth is, I have feelings for James. You've ruined both of our lives and that small part of me is not big enough to see past that," I finish, turning around and heading upstairs before I have a chance to see the look on his face. I can't love Klaus Mikaelson. I have to do what's best for myself for a change. 

Maybe one day he'll earn my forgiveness, but today is not that day. 

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By nightfall Joel and James found the sword in Klaus's attic, the rest of the night being spent decoding the symbols on Jeremy's body by translating them with the sword.

There's hardly any signal out there apparently, as I haven't been able to get in touch with my brothers. Caroline was only able to speak to Elena once to retrieve the pictures of Jeremy, and apparently things aren't going so well. The same could be said here too, as James is having a difficult time understanding how the descriptive scroll on the sword works, and Klaus has been no help.

He hasn't said a word really, not that I care all that much. I can tell he's still hurt by our discussion earlier, but I have to keep telling myself it's not my fault. It's not my fault if I don't feel for him. It's not my fault he's done so many horrible things. I don't owe him anything. He owes me my memories and my life back. 

"Dude, you're worse than Google translate," Joel comments as James squints in a concentrating manner at the sword.

"Joel, Google doesn't translate Aramaic," James says while still reading the sword.

"Exactly," Joel laughs, cracking a smile on my face. I glance over at Klaus to see he's sitting in the chair, watching us. We make eye contact and I see him crack a smile at Joel's remark, but his smile soon fades as does mine.

"Joel, hand me that picture again," James instructs.

Joel slides over a picture of Jeremy's tattoo, allowing James to read it. To me it's a bunch of scribbles, but apparently to James they mean something. All of a sudden James's eyes light up and he turns back to the sword, turning the scroll by the handle and turning random metal pieces.

The metal pieces when moved control what parts of the scroll are visible, making it so only certain Aramaic words can be read. James moves the pieces and reads the words before placing the sword down.

"Well?" Joel asks.

"What does it say?" I question.

"There's only one dose of the cure. Only one person can have it," James explains.

After he says the words I realize now that every vampire that went to the island wanted the cure, with the exception of Damon. Rebekah, Elena and most likely Stefan were all planning on sharing it. Now it's a mad race for one cure that only one vampire can have.

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[completed & edited: 09/07/2021]