CHAPTER 10...part 2

(Affection — BETWEEN FRIENDS)

7 YEARS LATER︱unknown

"HURRY up Ara!" Kara heard, pulling her out of her thoughts. Her eyes glazed as she stared at a picture of Alek, his smile warm and comforting, his aura glowing and yet, her heart couldn't help but tug when she looked at him.

She would never forgive herself for what she had done, for what she could have done. Had Inadu tricked her mind longer, kept her stuck in her own head for just a second longer, Kara did not doubt that she would have killed him. That alone was enough for Kara to leave, as much as it pained her to hear his pleas for her to come back, to leave his comforting arms.

She knew he was searching for her, she would be stupid not to. Almost everyday she could feel a slight shift in the magical axis around her, weaving differently than before as a new witch tried to penetrate the spells that hid her. But, all attempts were for not, because if Kara Bennett did not wish to be found, she would not.

Though, this is not to say that Kara was sat around doing nothing, wallowing in her self pity and woes, it was actually quite the contrary. Hundreds of Grimoires had been flipped through, thousands of spells read as Kara searched for a way to destroy the Hollow.

As the days waned on, slowly morphing into weeks, months, years, Kara grew aggravated. Despite the ancestors insisting that this was her calling, they refused to help. The witches of old claimed that this was a task that only Kara could tackle, that the time would come when all was revealed.

Sure, for the first 3 years Kara travelled on her own, slipping from sanity as each day became repetitive. That was, until she met Malachai Parker.

She first met him in a local pub somewhere near Scotland, covered head to toe in a what could only be a vampires' nectar. She remembered him smirking before speeding towards her, 'Hello Clarice' , he said, wiggling his fingers.

He angled his head to her neck, beginning to elongate his fangs. But, before his senses could be overloaded by the sweet sensation of blood, her hand shot out, manicured hands grasping his jawline and facing him towards her. Her eyes were masked by Gucci, but even the Parker siphon could see slight red wisps flowing from her irises.

'Don't test me, boy.' She hissed out, angered by the outcome of yet another lead. She shoved his head away, flicking her wrist.

As the young heretic fell to the floor, she set her sight towards the mans victim. The young girl was slightly shaking despite her glazed over eyes, Kara began walking towards her Prada clicking before she cocked her head.

The Bennett heretic bent to her level, 'poor thing', She cooed out, moving her lips towards the already open wound.

She sucked softly, the euphoric causing her to close her eyes. After a minute or two, she looked into the young girls eyes, 'you will go back to your flat. You drank heavily tonight' ,Kara spoke calmly, 'and you accidentally injured yourself.'

Kara didn't stay though, flicking her wrist as the entire pub froze, red wisps entrancing every patron. 'You will all remember nothing.' She boomed out, before leaving.

The Parker Heretic seemed to stick by her side after that, following her around like a lost puppy.

At first, Kara found the whole thing aggravating, wanting nothing more than to work in peace and quiet. But, as the days grew, so did her fondness towards the young man.

Something about Kai reminded Kara of herself, maybe it was the raging daddy issues, but either way, she found herself taking him in.

Kai thought her mother of sorts, never before experiencing the familial love that Kara expressed towards him. She did all the the things that Josh and his mother never did, she taught him spells and was attentive to his needs.

And on the other side of the spectrum, Kai helped to keep Kara calm, his laid back and almost child-like personality added color back into her life.

"Allora's waiting for us!" She heard him call out again as she exited the motel.
"Kai, it's not the end of the world if were a few minutes late." She said, climbing into the drivers side of the car.

Allora was a 30 something year old witch, practicing mostly in expression and dark objects, whom had approached the pair in Madrid claiming she could help.

Now, this wasn't to say that the two heretics didn't hold their suspicions of the women (they both have extreme daddy issues, what do you expect?), and Allora knew this fact as well. In fact, she pitied the distrustful pair, finding it disheartening that the two shielded themselves so.

"I never said I was worried about making her wait." Kai responded, turning towards Kara, "she always has cookies when we visit, and I want them warm."

Kara laughed, a real smile spreading across her features as she peered at her brother.

They arrived at Allora's in around 5 minutes, the elder witch greeting the two with a hug. They entered the kitchen, being met with her golden retriever Ollie's happy barks. Kai bent down, scratching behind Ollies' ears with both hands as Kara turned to Allora.

"I cannot thank you enough Lori," She expressed, holding the elder womans hands in her own, "I would just be running in circles for answers if it hadn't 've been for you." She chuckled, Kai returning to her side once more.

"Nonsense," Allora waved her hand, moving to grab a plate, "you're both family." She grabbed four cookies, puting them onto the plate, handing them to Kai who eagerly took them from her hands.

"Now, shall we begin?" Allora asked, shaking around the grimoire in her hand.

***

They sat at opposing sides of a pentagram, candles lit along five points. Hands remained linked, both Kai and Kara's hands bursting with red energy, as they chanted.

As the words grew in volume, so did the flames around them, as the wind billowed and power surged. But, before the spell could met it's climax, something peculiar happened, the connection was severed and Kara collapses on the floor.

Her eyes reopened, only to be met with the villa she and Alek owned in the French Riveria during 1505.

"What the-"

"Where are we?"

"Kara?"

She turned around, being met with Elijah, Klaus, Rebekah, Kol and Alek. "Oh bloody hell," Kol exclaimed, "we're in a chambre de chasse."

"Splendid deduction," They heard as Inadu made herself known. "Would you like a gold star?" She spoke condescendingly, smirking towards the tense group.

"Your fight is not with them Inadu, leave them be." Kara gritted out.

Alek looked on at his wife in confusion, what could she possibly mean by that?

"But you see dear," Inadu sneered, "they have everything to do with this."

She began stalking around the group, smirking out as she could practically smell the unease from them.

"Do you know where we are Kara?"

"Stop this nonsense, Inadu-"

"No?" She asked, tone once again dripping in sarcasm. "How about you lover boy? Do you know where we are?"

"This was our first villa," Aleks brow furrowed, confused as to why they were in he and Kara's old home, "why are we here?" He whispered out.

Inadu let out a giggle, clapping her hands loudly, "Now that's the question of the night, isn't it?" before disappearing entirely.

***

They began combing the home, trying to find clues on why they were there in the first place. Any and every object was scrutinized under calculating gazes.

The group split up to cover more ground, each person tackling different rooms. Kara stood in the master room, holding a crystal vase in her hands.

"I've missed you." She heard, immediately recognizing the voice as she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in. He looked devastatingly handsome, wearing a grey sweater with touseled curls and his brown rimmed glasses. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss him, his smile, his eyes, him. But, Kara felt she couldn't do so, not after what she'd done to him.

Her arms remained crossed, her tongue held between her teeth, her body remaining a few feet from his own (an action that hurt both parties greatly) . "Alek-" She breathed out, keeping her gaze downcast.

"Please, just-"  He began, screwing his eyes shut and sucking in bated breath, "just listen." He begged, taking a step foreward to grasp her hand in his, desperate to feel her again, only for Kara to move further back from him.

His jaw ticked, tears threatening to leave both parties eyes as the air thickened around them. Kara nodded, a small 'okay' escaping parched lips.

"You hurt me Kar." He began, his words making Kara flinch back as if his words were acidic to the touch. "I'm not talking about when you choked me, o-or when you threw me across the room," He began to stutter, fiddling with his fingers in a nervous tick, "Fuck, when you looked at me like that, like you were scared and I couldn't do anything about it."

Tears began to prick his eyes, Karas' own already streaming down her face. Alek took a shaky breath in before continuing. "God, you were gone for 7 years," He laughed, "and every night I held onto this hope that you would be there waiting for me, but it never happened."

"And yet, I can't find myself hating you for it." He finished, shaking his head.

"I don't deserve you," She was silent for a moment, letting out a mix of laugh and a sob. "I never did."

Even if it was bellow a whisper, Alek still heard her and finally closed the distance between the two. All it took was two strides before she was wrapped in his arms, his lips pressed against her head, hers releasing a heart wrenching sob.

Kara covered her mouth, letting Alek hold her, "it's the other way around vita mia," He laughed, tears free falling.

They looked at one another, Aleks' hands cupping her jaw, his fingers tangled in her hair, her hands wrapping around his own. She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes in content, "never leave me again?" He whispered out, his eyes holding so much love and vulnerability that is made her heart melt.

"Never."

That was all it took for Alek to collide his lips with her own, crashing like waves of the sea. Her lips were soft like velvet, holding power over his own as she allured him, hypnotizing with every movement. She kissed him with such ferocity, a fact that could easily be forgotten as stretched out every movement.

Kara yearned for him, like the hungry man for food. He chewed slightly at her bottom lip, opening the gate way for him to slip in his tongue, giving the pair more room to press against eachother, melding into one.

***

After Kara and Alek reacquainted, they regrouped, hoping that they had better luck finding something. The only one who found something was Klaus, revealing a note that from Inadu;

Find what truly changed your relationship with your family.

"What the hell does all of this have to do with The Hollows?" Klaus spoke, exhausted as he read the note. He just wanted Hope safe, away from every bad thing the Mikaelson name carried.

"There's a prophecy, I guess you could call," Kara spoke after a spout of  silence, "they think I'm meant to destroy her."

The prospect felt silly to Kara, that all the ancestors were putting their utmost faith into the one girl they deemed an abomination, putting the fate of the supernatural into the hands of a royally pissed heretic.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Kol said, clapping his hands together. "Just do your little heretic thing and we can all be on our merry way."

"If it was that easy, don't you think I would have done that years ago?" Kara rebuttled, thumb and pointer finger rubbing tiredly against her brows.

"They all seem to believe the answer will 'appear to me'" The Bennett witch spoke, "that I'll 'know what needs to be done'."

"So the answers lie in your mysterious past?" Rebekah asked, arms felt infront of her person.

"Apparently."

"So, what?" Elijah quired, finally speaking since they arrived. "Are we meant to just look around until we stumble upon the answer?"

She didn't respond, merely nodding before looking through the kitchen, rummaging through different nooks and crannys, the rest of the Mikaelsons and Alek joining her shortly after.

It didn't make any sense, why did they need to know what happened to Kara, what was so beneficiary about that?

Every object was now held in a limelight, studied under scrutinizing gaze as they scoured the grounds. Hours on end, spent looking for an answer to a question they didn't even know.

Silence filled the void, stress stopping any conversation from flowing. Of course, there was the occasional 'have you found anything?' or 'ready to go to the next room?', but other than that, the only sounds came from movement.

They were about to make there way to the study, when the room was filled with light, rendering them blind, before  they were looking at the Mikaelsons' old village.

A small girl made her way into their sights, running around, giggling as twirled about in a small field of lavender and babies breathe. Their gazes immediately softened, it was Kara.

She looked to be around 10, her long brunette hair was tied with a strand of fabric. She looked joyous, like the terrors of the world hadn't set in, like she still had hope for a better tomorrow.

The young girl picked up some flowers, bundling them in a small bouquet. But the girls happiness was short lived, a group of children around her age blocking her way.

"Excuse me," She spoke, voice soft as she looked down at her feet, "could you please move?"

Kara looked uncomfortable as she watched her younger self, how untainted she looked in her beige dress. Alek, noticing his wifes nerves, clasped her hand in his, rubbing his thumb soothingly against the skin.

" Why would I?" The tallest spoke, taking a menacing step towards Karas' younger self, "I wanted to see you for myself."

"What is he talking about vita mia?" Alek quiered, alarmed and angered by the way this boy was speaking to Kara. Though, she did not respond, only staring ahead rigidly.

The boy continued walking towards her, the young girl stumbling backwards as she tried to keep her distance. "You know," He spoke, grasping to tug at her hair, "My mother told me to steer clear of you, said you were a walking plague." He tugged, pulling her hair so they stood chest to chest.

"I don't see it." He taunted, relishing in the look of fear in her grey eyes as he abruptly let go. She stumbled, falling to the floor with a thud. Her eyes were screwed shut, wincing in pain as the Mikaelsons starred forward in disbelief, in rage.

The young boy lent forward, his nose almost touching Kara's cheeks "Learn your place Mikaelson." He gritted out, spitting in her face before leaving with his little groupies.

She stayed there, tears staining her cheeks as she hugged her knees, the batch of flowers lain in the dirt, stepped on and ruined.

The Mikaelsons, and Alek were no different, trying to with hold an outburst of emotion as they witnessed her woes.

It sickened them that they would treat a child with such indifference, with such disdain. That for their own sins, their mothers sins, and such a sweet and innocent child had to bare the weight.

A light flashed whence more, converting their gazes to a dark sky, save for a spout of flames dancing in the air, surrounding a mob of people surrounding a now 25 year old Kara.

"Banished." they froze, why was she being banished? What horrible thing had happened to garner such treatment?

The man appeared crazed as he looks towards Kara, animalistic almost. Kara could not speak, her thoughts frozen in time as people began to leave.

"Dóbrago putí vedmak." Malice coated his words as he spat in her face, his yellowed teeth-baring against her cheek.

They watched as she was hauled to a small boat, enough to hold at least 20 people, different people echoing the boys' words to her.

"Otidí vedmak!" Before the boat was pushed into the water, to send her to her inevitable death, she finally screamed out, "Ostáwi-mja wŏ-pokóji! Stóji!" Desperation filled her tone.

"Sŏ-Bógŏmĕ vedmak!" Was the last the family heard before the light flashed again, this time they were looking upon a raging ocean, and Kara appeared fatigued. Her skin was burnt and dry, and her body sported frostbite. Her eyes appeared glazed, starring up towards the sky in a daze.

She lay looking towards the sun, her skin was tinting into a pale white, with small pigments of blue on her lips. They noticed her breathing began to shallow as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Then, with one last effort, her eyes closed and they all watched as Kara Mikaelson died, and they could do nothing about it.

They were brought back to the villa, silence instilled as their minds mulled over what had just occurred.

"They never cared, did they Kara?" They heard, turning around to be met with the infuriating smirk of Inadu. "The ancestors, I mean. Though it seems apparent that your family didn't either."

An outburst of disagreements ensued after that, voices overlapping as each Mikaelson jumped to defend their honor.

"What are you getting at?" Kara spoke, raising her voice in volume, so to be heard.

"What I am getting at, is that the ancestors could care little of what happens to you," Inadu states, tossing her arms about to enunciate her point, "Think of that as you search for answers."

And as soon as she appeared, she left, and the family left the Chambre de chasse.

***

She woke with a start, lungs gasping for air as she arose from her place.

"Are you okay Ara?" She heard, turning towards Kai, who looked disheveled, "I thought you died...or something." He spoke out, whispering the last of his statement as though his was afraid for her to hear.

"I am fine," She said, attempting a smile as she rubbed his arm comfortingly, "and am ready to resume our search for the spell."

Kai looked particularly bothered by what she had said, like he was hiding something.

"What-"

"Ah, I see our sleeping beauty has finally awoken," She heard in the hall, Alloras voiced wafting in the air, She walked in moments later, a mug of piping tea in her grasp, "You have missed quite alot my dear." She said, turning the mug to Karas' hold.

"I was only gone for a few hours."

"No Ara," Kai finally spoke, after starring silently, "you've been asleep for 2 days."

KOREY SPEAKS !

Only one more chapter left and then we're finished