Standing on the balcony of this palace in Kashan, Persia, Kol had found a kingdom looking for it's missing princess for the past 8 years and compelled the whole place to believe that I was her. Right now I was looking out at the view wondering where Elena was and why she didn't meet me to find the Willow. Is she ok? Does she really not want to go home? How could she not want to? It was a question I asked but I knew what the answer was, she loved Klaus and going home meant leaving him. I sighed and looked down at my hands I knew what she was feeling and I myself was struggling with the idea of leaving, I still find myself at times forgetting there was a home to go back to. This was starting to feel like home, being here with Kol was home, a knock sounded at the door and I was met with Hassan, the real princess' cousin. He would have taken the throne if I hadn't magically shown up, and the more time I spend here the more I think that he had something to do with her disappearance.

"Evening Princess Aria, gazing upon your kingdom?" I nodded glancing back out at it "It is beautiful is it not Hassan" he nodded "Most divine sight I've ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on" I smiled fakely at him and he returned the gesture "The counsil will require your presence on matters of state. They wish to discuss with you the matter of taking a husband in order to take the crown" I rolled my eyes "Then I do not wish to see them. I have told them before Kol will be my husband" I said turning to face him fully "It is not our custom to have outsiders on the throne Princess you'd do well to remember that your rule is not set in stone and they can choose me over you at any moment if they so pleased" I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by Kol coming in with two glasses in his hands. 

Hassan was an opportunist thinks that the princess not having been here for so long means she's ignorant. Well I'm not the council, can't replace me, only way he gets the crown is if I die. We'll see how that works with and original watching over me. Hassan huffed and narrowed his eyes at Kol then looked back at me "We will discuss this later Princess" he said before leaving me and Kol alone. I turned to see Kol smiling at me, but once he saw the look on my face he frowned and rushed to stand in front of me "What's the matter my love? What did he say to you" he said taking my hands in his rubbing his thumb over the backs of them "Nothing. Just the longer I'm here the more I can't wait to go home" he paused and nodded, Kol was as understanding as he could possibly be but it was times like these that I could see the truth of his feelings.

He wanted me to stay, I could feel his unrest he didn't want me to go and he felt like I didn't love him enough to stay "Yet sometimes I find it hard to remember the home I'm going back to" at this he relaxed and kissed my forehead "I trust you think that's not a good thing" I pulled him close wrapping my arms tight around him "It's not. At least I don't feel good about forgetting, so many people there who love me and I find myself forgetting their faces sometimes. How horrid is that?" he shook his head "It's not your fault love, you're trying, from the looks of it you alone are try-" his words were cut short as the door opened and my maid came in "Princess, there is someone at the gates for you, a woman, she claims to know you well" I frowned following the maid to our gates where the guards stood pointing spears at her.

"ELENA!" she ran up to the gate and I ran to meet her "Open them! Open them please!" I shouted as they opened them and I ran into her arms holding onto her tight. Despite her not meeting me in Dubai I was happy to see her here in Persia. She held onto me just as tight and I knew that she missed me too "Where have you been? We waited as long as we could, I guess it's for the best, we didn't find anything but another clue. Apparently the tree was there but it was burnt to the ground by zealots and people crying about sorcery. Someone did save a seed though and replanted it in a sacred place" I started to feel like I was rambling as I was talking but Elena wasn't meeting my eyes playing nervously with her fingers "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I didn't even know you were writing to me" I frowned "Once Kol told me he was receiving letters from Elijah I begged him to tell me where you were. I've been sending letters ever since" she looked around and I realized we had a small crowd gathered around us, watching Elena closely.

"Lets go inside love" I nodded and grabbed Elena's hand and walking inside the palace. Once we got into me and Kol's room I closed the door and sat down next to her "So Klaus never gave you my letters" she shook her head and I could see in her eyes the way that upset her "My brother has always had a habit of making the selfish choice when it comes to what he loves. All that time watching him compete with Lijah for Tatia's affection you should know that by now Elena" she looked as though she wanted to say something but ended up changing her mind and sighed "Doesn't matter now" he nodded and she turned back to me "Where do we stand now" I shrugged "The people here would only give us access to the archive if we were royalty so... If anyone asks I'm a princess and my name is Aria" she laughed and nodded "Ok Bon. I mean Princess Aria" Kol came over to me and wrapped his arms around me kissing me lightly before looking over at Elena and leaving me with her.

Sometimes it felt like he knew what I wanted before I knew what I wanted. I looked over at Elena who was looking out the window now sadness deep in her eyes "What happened? Why are you here alone?" I asked touching her arm lightly "Klaus had been lying to me for weeks Bonnie. It feels as though he's not much different from the Klaus I knew" I laid my head on her shoulder and rubbed her arm while she talked "How could he do it!? Knowing how important this is to me!" I sighed and shook my head "I don't know but you can't hold it over him Elena. He made a mistake because he loves you because he would rather lie to you than watch you leave him. Don't pretend you don't understand that" she frowned and moved away from the window "I love him more than I can even tell you but I would never keep something like that from him" I raised my eyebrow at her "Oh so you've told him we're from the future then" she quieted and I knew I had her, she was blindly raging right now because she hated more than anything being lied to.

I was trying to show her that some lies if told out of love can be forgiven "Since when have you been 100% team Klaus" she said smiling and laying back on my bed "Since I saw how much you can change him, and how happy he can make you. We both have seen the person he can be you open the door to a person I didn't think existed in him" she nodded and hugged me tight "How can he ever forgive me for leaving and not saying goodbye" I ran my fingers through her hair and held her as tight as she did me "I don't know, with time I guess" she sighed looking off into the corner "We don't have a lot of that" another thing I didn't really know what to say to. She was right, we don't have time to enjoy and love our time here, or to wait on forgiveness. One of two things is going to happen 1st, either we get out of here or we die here. We fell asleep peacefully, having my best friend, having something from home to hold in my arms made it easier to dream of it. Jeremy, Caroline, my dad, Grams, they were all crying and begging me to come home, begging me to wake up. I wished that I could go back to dreaming.