"Slow down!" Juniper yelled as she walked behind Kol, holding the fur pelt close to her chest. "For Saints' sake! Walking fast isn't going to make us any less lost."

It had been five days since they stayed at the whaler's hut. They had spent nights in caves, hidden away from the constant falling snow. During the day, they walked, trying to find any type of civilization.

"I... am not lost," He spoke, glancing around before sitting on a raised rock.

She breathed out as she sat next to him.

"I have endured much worse than this," He added.

"You really need to relax–"

He stood up, "I do not want to relax."

She rolled her eyes as she began following him once more, "And why is that? What are you so afraid will happen? Afraid you might start to like me?"

He said nothing.

Despite her fatigue, she trotted ahead of him, "That's it, isn't it? You don't want to like me. You're scared that if you laugh at my jokes or answer my questions, you might start thinking I'm worth saving. Would that be so terrible?"

He breathed out as she walked ahead of him, "I do like you."

She turned, "What was that?"

"I do like you," He said angrily.

Juniper beamed, feeling a well of pleasure erupt through her, "Now, really, is that so bad?"

"Yes!" He roared.

"Why?"

"Because you're horrible. You're loud and lewd and... treacherous. Niklaus warned me that you would be charming."

"Oh, I see. I'm the wicked Grisha seductress. I have beguiled you with my Grisha wiles!"

She poked him in the chest.

"Stop that."

"No. I'm beguiling you."

He smiled, "Quit it."

She danced around him in the snow, poking his chest, his stomach, his side, "Goodness! You're very solid. This is strenuous work."

He started to laugh.

"It's working! The beguiling has begun. The Original has fallen. You are powerless to resist me. You–"

Juniper's voice broke off in a scream as the ice gave way beneath her feet. She threw her hands out blindly, reaching out for something, anything that might stop her fall, fingers scraping over ice and rock.

The vampire grabbed her arm, and she cried out as it was nearly wrenched from its socket.

She hung there, suspended over nothing, the grip of his fingers the only thing between her and the dark mouth of the ice. For a moment, looking into his eyes, she was certain he was going to let go.

"Please," She said, tears sliding over her cheeks.

He dragged her up over the edge, and slowly they crawled onto my solid ground. They lay on their backs, panting.

"I was afraid... I was afraid you were going to let me go," She managed.

There was a long pause and then he said, "I thought about it. Just for a second."

Juniper huffed out a little laugh, "It's okay," She said at last, "I would have thought about it, too."

He got to his feet and offered her his hand, "Do over?"

She smiled as she took his hand, "Do over."

— — —

"Kol?" She asked, interrupting their silence.

He glanced over at her, "Hm?"

She walked closer to him, holding the furs up to her nose, "Why did you do nothing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Those first four weeks. You had so many opportunities to take me. Why didn't you?"

He looked back at her, "The moment I saw you, something changed. Every time I looked into your eyes, I couldn't do it."

"Why not?"

His eyes left hers, "Because I fell in love with you and your stupid affinity with waffles."

She quickly moved toward him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to face her, "Do you still feel that way?"

He said nothing.

"Please tell me the truth, Kol. Do you still feel the same?"

He slowly nodded, "I do."

She held his face in her hands, cupping his jaw as her thumbs gently traced his cheeks, "I love you too, Kol."

His eyes softened as he looked down at her, his hands gently holding her waist, "I shouldn't feel this way."

"I shouldn't either. And yet I do."

"I- I've never been loved before. I don't want to hurt you."

"The only thing that will hurt me is you refusing to let me give you the love that you deserve."

He could feel her breath on his face as he leaned down, "And how are you so sure I deserve your love?"

Her nose touched his, "I'm not. I just don't think I can ignore my feelings any longer."

"Then don't," He whispered before her lips crashed against his.

It was unlike any other kiss he had received. For once, he wasn't the one in power. And for once, he didn't mind.

He let her guide him through the kiss, holding his face in her palms, as he melted into her touch. Kol was completely taken by her.

When she pulled away, the swarm of butterflies flew up to his head, leaving him dizzy as he leaned his forehead against hers.

His eyes stayed closed as he kissed her nose and held her waist a little tighter, refusing to let go of her just yet.

— — —

Wind howled outside of the cave which was meekly lit by a fire. After the first few days, Juniper had quickly learned that the Original was dreadful at starting fires and had insisted she do it herself.

Apparently that had hurt his masculinity, but after she created a fire that actually did something other than add decoration, he chose to throw away said 'masculinity'.

"If you keep staring, I'll snap your neck," She whispered threateningly, not daring to open her eyes as she laid on the rocky ground with the fur pelt wrapped around her body.

He blushed, turning away to look outside of the cave, "I- I wasn't staring."

She smirked, "Then why is your heart beating so fast?"

"I'm just a little cold, that's all," He answered, faking a shiver as his eyes moved back to hers which were now open.

Juniper chuckled softly, "Well if that's the case, get over here."

She held up the pelt, inviting him into her warm arms as she stared at him, "We should really start walking..." He trailed off, fighting the urge to dive straight into her embrace and never leave.

"It's still dark out. We'll wait till dawn. Now get over here. You're starting to make me cold."

He breathed out, his breath visible as he moved closer to her. He laid inches away from her causing her to scoff, "You're so dramatic," She muttered before physically pulling him closer to her and placing her hand on his chest.

In an instant, warmth filled his body as his heart raced. This time though, he wasn't sure his heart was racing from her magic.

He stared into her eyes as his body calmed, "I'm really sorry for what I did to you, Juniper."

Her stare softened as she leaned on her arm, "When you said it was you or me... What did you mean by that?"

He turned slightly, "My brother has a tendency of daggering my siblings and I... mostly me. The dagger, when covered in the ash from a white oak tree, can temporarily kill us for however long he so pleases."

"How long have you been... alive?"

"Four months. This time."

"And how long were you daggered?"

"Almost two centuries."

She stayed silent.

"My brother told me that if I found you and brought you to him, he would let me live. I never fully asked him about his intentions, I just wanted to never see that dagger again so I said yes. I just never thought I'd fall in love with you."

"I'm sorry for calling you a miserable lump of muscle."

His eyes widened slightly, "When did you call me that?"

She frowned, "Uh... Never. Forget I said that."

Kol laughed softly as he moved to hover above her, "I don't know, darling. What else have you called me behind my back?"

Juniper grinned as she held his biceps, "Babink... Idiot... Zenik once or twice," She teased, earning a red blush.

"You'd give me your name?" He asked, sputtering slightly.

She pulled herself up, her lips ghosting over his, "I'd give you the world, Kol Mikaelson."

— — —

After three weeks of barely surviving the Fjerdan wilderness, they had finally found a small town. It was Arkest, they quickly learned after reading a few street signs.

Kol opened the door to their room, holding it open for Juniper before closing it behind them. He moved towards a window, glancing outside of it as Juniper emptied her pockets, pulling out all the money she had.

He turned back to her after closing the curtains, "All clear..." He paused as he watched her pull out another bag, "Why can't we just ask for help?"

"Because chances are, they'll know who I am and kill me instantly," She glanced up, "You're free to go. I wouldn't recommend Ravka though. They have a bit of an aversion to vampires there."

He shook his head, "You'll be safe here. As long as you put up a front. I will go back to New Orleans. Tell Niklaus I wasn't able to find you."

She tilted her head, "No. This can't be it," She grinned as she walked towards him, "I'm not done tormenting you."

He smiled slightly as he looked down at her, "I'm not going back to that whaler's hut."

He moved to sit on the bed.

"Well then somewhere else? There must be a place where your brother can't find us."

"Somewhere beyond America? Beyond Ravka and Fjerda?"

"A place where we're just Juniper Zenik and Kol Mikaelson."

He looked at her sadly, "If I go... my brother will never wake me if he finds me."

She paused as she looked at him before sitting next to him, "I'll be found by Grisha hunters," He shifted, "I know. It's your life. I can't take that away from you... But thank you for saving me."

She leaned her head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around his waist, "You did the same for me. And if we stayed together, I doubt it would be the last time."

Juniper smiled.

"I have only known two countries my whole life. Yours and mine. What are the others like?"

She sat up slightly, "Well, Kerch... might be a bit much for you. On Ghezan's Day, it's customary to ride through the streets naked and drunk on grapefruit wine."

Kol chuckled slightly, "Not Kerch."

"Oh, the Wandering Isle. I can fit in there with almost no trouble. Have you ever met anyone from there?"

"They are infernally happy there."

"Yeah, you'll come to like being happy. You'll never have to grow that damn Fjerdan beard... I mean," She paused as she placed her hand on his jaw, "You're welcome to grow a beard, but only for the purposes of keeping me warm."

He smiled, "I will keep you warm."

Her eyes were filled with love as she leaned closer to him. Their lips were inches apart, about to touch, when her stomach growled.

They both laughed softly as she looked at him awkwardly, "Um... I may be hungry."

He grinned, "There's a pub downstairs that serves hot meals."

Her eyes lit up, "Maybe they have waffles."

"Mmm... Your truest love," He teased before getting up, "I'll go down first. Make sure it's safe."

— — —

A few minutes later, he came running up the stairs and met her in the hallway, "It's clear. Come on," He whispered.

She followed him down and to a small table in the corner where two plates of waffles sat. Juniper smiled immediately as she sat down and grabbed one of the waffles.

A woman walked past them with a smirk on her face, "Lucky girl. Got yourself a babink," She teased before walking off, winking at Kol as she did so.

Kol frowned slightly as he looked at Juniper who was holding back a laugh.

"What did she say?" asked Kol.

Juniper coughed and stared down at the waffles, "She said you're a very nice fellow, and a credit to the American race. Ooh, look, waffles! We haven't had proper waffles in forever."

"That word she used: babink," he said. "You've called me that before. What does it mean?"

Juniper directed her attention back to the stack of buttered waffles. "It means sweetie pie."

"Juniper–"

"Barbarian."

"I was just asking, there's no need to name-call."

"No, babink means barbarian." Kols' gaze snapped back to the old woman who had walked past them, his glower returning to full force. Juniper grabbed his arm. It was like trying to hold on to a boulder. "She wasn't insulting you! I swear!"

"Barbarian isn't an insult?" he asked, voice rising.

"No. Well, yes. But not in this context. She wanted to know if you'd like to play Princess and Barbarian."

"It's a game?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what is it?"

Juniper couldn't believe she was actually going to attempt to explain this, let alone in a busy coffeehouse. She sighed, glancing around before she said, "In Ravka and Fjerda, there's a popular series of stories about, um, a brave American warrior–"

"Really?" Kol asked. "He's the hero?"

"In a manner of speaking. He kidnaps a Ravkan princess–"

"That would never happen."

"In the story it does, and," she cleared her throat, "they spend a long time getting to know each other. In his cave."

"He lives in a cave?"

"It's a very nice cave. Furs. Jewelled cups. Mead."

"Ah," He said approvingly. "A treasure hoard like Ansgar the Mighty. They become allies, then?"

Juniper picked up another waffle. "Do you like these? Perhaps you'll like pancakes more."

"How does the story end? Do they fight battles?"

Juniper tossed the gloves back on the pile in defeat. "They get to know each other intimately."

Kols' jaw dropped. "In the cave?"

"You see, he's very brooding, very manly," Juniper hurried on. "But he falls in love with the Ravkan princess and that allows her to civilize him–"

"To civilize him?"

"Yes, but that's not until the third book."

"There are three?"

"Kol, do you need to lie down?"

"This culture is disgusting. The idea that a Ravkan could civilize an American—"

"Calm down, Kol."

"Perhaps I'll write a story about insatiable Ravkans who like to get drunk and take their clothes off and make unseemly advances toward helpless Americans."

"Now that sounds like a party." Kol shook his head, but she could see a smile tugging at his lips. She decided to push the advantage. "We could play," she murmured, quietly enough so that no one around them could hear.

"We most certainly could not."

"At one point he bathes her."

Kols' breaths falter. "Why would he–"

"She's tied up, so he has to."

"Be silent."

"Already giving orders. That's very barbarian of you. Or we could mix it up. I'll be the barbarian and you can be the princess. But you'll have to do a lot more sighing and trembling and biting your lip."

"How about I bite your lip?"

"Now you're getting the hang of it, Mikaelson."

He laughed deeply, "Eat your waffles, princess, and we'll see what happens."

Juniper grinned happily before biting her waffle once more.