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"Come with me. Play along." She whispers into his ear. Candice had grabbed Kol's wrist, dragging him into the room where Anthony was being kept. Marcel's eyes went to her as she pushed Kol into the chair beside Anthony. "Marcel, do be a dear and keep an eye on him. I need to work on this spell over here." Candice instructs, taking a seat at the table in the corner, an open grimoire and over objects set nearby. Kol huffs, feeling as though he was being treated like a child.

"Now we can keep doing this as long as you want, or...," Anthony winces, letting out a groan when Marcel pulls out the knife he previously lodged in his hand. Marcel bites into his hand, forcefully feeding Anthony his blood. "I can kill you now and turn you into a brand-new baby vampire." Marcel threatens as he holds the knife to Anthony's throat, Kol watching in amusement. "Go on. Do it. Esther's got plans for me whether I like it or not. If I die, she'll just pop me into another body. Though I doubt anyone would care that much if the death was permanent."

Marcel moves away the knife when he notices Candice give him a look. "What are you really up to, hmm, and what's it got to do with Davina?" Kol looks down, chuckling to himself at Marcel's parental issues. Anthony snickers, sharing a look with Kol. "You're afraid I'm gonna break her little heart. That's downright paternal of you, Marcellus. You sound like my sister, when it came to you and...the lovely Rebekah." Marcel grows angry, lifting his hand to kill the witch until Candice throws out her hand, Marcel freezing.

"Easy, Marcel, easy." Klaus interferes, entering the room whilst Candice drops her hand to release him. "Let's give Anthony a little longer to decide before we lop off his head, hmm? Same as Kol, I presume." Klaus comments, taking a spare glance at the working Candice. Marcel points to his sire, "comments like that. They already think that you don't care." Anthony and Kol both glance up at the hybrid as Marcel returns to Klaus's side. "Is that so, brothers?"

Anthony ignores him as Kol spoke up. "You only daggered me a dozen times. You already cared more for Marcel than you did for me." Candice looked away, recalling the dozens of arguments she and Kol used to have about that exact topic. "Well, I didn't realize I'd hurt your feelings," Klaus said, his hand firmly behind his back. "Well, that's the thing isn't it, Nik? You don't know squat about me. Hell, Anthony knows more about me and he's not even my blood." Kol said, exchanging a look with the other witch. It was quite true. Anthony knew a lot about Kol.

"Ah, but thanks to Marcel and the lovely Candice, I know all I need to." Klaus points at him as Kol glanced over to her, the heretic still keeping her eyes firmly over the grimoire. "You're desperate to be a part of this family, aren't you? All of your mischief was just attempts to for attention. You know, the truth is, Kol, you're right to feel slighted. I mean that. You're right, but perhaps there's still time to make it up to you. You included, Anthony." Niklaus states.

Candice stands up, drawing their attention to her. "Since you don't want to acknowledge me, I shall make you brother." Candice dips the dagger into the red liquid and walks over to her brother, Klaus and Marcel taking a step back. "You need to be reminded of what we once were. And if that doesn't work, then I'll let them kill you." She pressed the dagger against his throat and slid it across his neck, drawing blood though the wound wasn't very deep, his eyes went white, as did hers. Now, the three Mikaelsons could only watch.

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~ ᶠˡᵃˢʰᵇᵃᶜᵏˢ ~
ʷʳⁱᵗᵗᵉⁿ ᵇʸ ˢˣʳᵉᵈ_ˢˣʳᵉⁿ / -ᵃᵈʳⁱˢʷʳˡᵈ

Candice and Anthony Parkerson, both at the age of 6 run through the village. Candice chases Anthony, playing a game that the modern day people would call "Tag." Candice wasn't too far behind Anthony, before she's lifted up off the floor by her father, Aleksandar. He begins giving Candice kisses on her cheeks, his beard tickling her. Candice laughs out, squirming in his arms. "Father! I have to get Tony! He's getting away!" Candice yells out, feigning irritation, before a huge smile breaks out onto her face.

She continues laughing after her father laughs out in happiness. He sets the small girl down, and leads her to the small cottage the family of four lives in. She dashes through the door, and runs straight to her mother, Chelsea Parkerson. Chelsea smiles brightly and hugs Candice tightly. "Go play with your brother, whilst I finish up making supper. All right?" Chelsea says sweetly. Candice nods and walks into the next room, seeing her brother swinging around his wooden sword. Candice grabs her sword and they start to have a battle, in which they call a truce.

But they both knew Candice would've beat him.

~ ᶠˡᵃˢʰᵇᵃᶜᵏ ² ~

Candice sat in a tall oak tree, sucked in her mind that bounced with memories. The seven year old girl, picking at her nails subconsciously. Anthony and herself were playing, "Hide and Seek," and Anthony was becoming anxious. He's clearly having trouble finding his twin sister. He walks into the forest, yelling his sister's name. Candice not hearing him, as she's in her mind. Anthony's yelling got louder, causing Candice to snap out of it. "Candy!? Come out! You're scaring me!" Anthony yelled, getting less anxious and more scared.

"I'm here, Anthony!" Candice yelled out in attempts to alert him. Anthony looked up, noticing she was in a tree, about 50 feet up in the air. "Candice, come down! You're gonna fall and get hurt!" Anthony yelled. Candice huffed in slight annoyance and started climbing down, after a few moments her feet touched the grass. She sighs out in content, feeling at peace with nature, the forest, and her brother. The girl always did love nature and the feel of it.

She smiles at her brother, then gives him a hug. "I'm sorry if I startled you, Tony." Candice says softly, Anthony sighing in relief as he hugs her back. The twins walk further into the forest, and into their spot. It's a beautiful meadow, the daisies, dandelions, and tulips all mix together and are a beautiful mixture of color. It's the only place they could escape from all the horrible kids in the village.

The twins lie down on the ground, looking up at the sky and start cloud gazing. It starts to get dark, and Candice gets scared. During the night, Candice always couldn't help but feel terrified. She's been terrified of the dark ever since she got lost in the forest for an entire day. Anthony, noticing her distress, walks them back to the village, comforting his sister. But really, he concern for her was overshadowing his fears.

Candice kept him balanced without even realizing it.

~ ᶠˡᵃˢʰᵇᵃᶜᵏ ³ ~

Candice was ten when it happened. Candice had found out she had magic whenever she held her mother's hand, walking through the village with baskets full of fruits, berries, and a mixture of different beautiful flowers, some being Wisteria, Cosmos, and Marigolds. It had been two years since the tragic passing of her father, Aleksandar Mendezson. The twins had been told he passed from an illness overnight. And they believed their mother, despite the looks from the villagers.

The young girl, clutching her mother's hand tightly, admitted a red hue coming from Candice's hand and Chelsea's hand. Chelsea winces and pulls her hand away from Candice, dropping the basket. Candice looks at her hand, then to her mom. Chelsea inhaled sharply, being reminded of all the memories of herself and her great love, Aleksandar. She was reminded of Candice's involvement of his death. And despite how upset this made her, she couldn't be mad at the girl. Aleksandar wouldn't want that.

Candice's eyes switched between her hand and her mother's face. Candice's confused face amuses her mother. Chelsea is captivated, she's never witnessed a phenomenon that is that magical, she could only imagine Aleksandar's grin if he could've seen it. Chelsea can't hold back the huge smile that's on her face. She gently grabs Candice's hands and kneels down in front of her. "Do it again, my sweet girl." Chelsea said with the huge smile that's still on her face.

Candice looks at her mother's soft face, "I don't know how." Candice says softly. She starts tearing up at the thought of hurting her mother. "Just focus, sweetheart, breathe, take my hand, and focus on something that makes you happy, sad, or angry. Ready?" Chelsea asked, holding her left hand out for Candice to grab. Candice takes her mother's hand reluctantly, and focuses on her father. But that only makes her sad when she realizes he would love to see Candice's magic. Now he never will.

She then suddenly focused on her sadness. The sadness she felt for herself. Her mother would probably think she's a monster. Her brother had been more distant as father's death date came up and they don't play swords together. She felt sad for not being able to help her father. So instead, Candice focuses on her brother. She focused on how he was her best friend. And now this makes her angry. Angry at the kids in the village for making fun of him. She wanted to protect him. She had to protect him with her magic.

All the emotions she was feeling, finally being let out. She loses focus as her mother starts groaning in pain. Candice looks at the two hands interlocked. She notices her hand has a red glow around it. She pulls her hand away from her mother's with all her strength. She puts her hand to her mouth in shock. Tears well up in her eyes, "Mother!? I'm so sorry! I did not mean to hurt you. I'm so sorry!" Candice says, crying hysterically.

Chelsea looks at her daughter, the emotions in her eyes surprising her. Her mother's eyes held the emotions of admiration, and love, though deep down there was a hatred. Chelsea cups Candice's face, wiping the tears from her face, and brings Candice into a loving embrace. The girl cries into her mother's arms, unaware that her mother's eyes no longer held that love, but they held a darkness like no other.

Anthony runs over, Chelsea quickly snapping from her trance, she let's go of Candice to look at her son. "Take your sister to the cottage. I'll be there shortly." She dismissed. Anthony nods, taking his sister's hand as they watch Chelsea leave abruptly. "Sister, what is wrong?" He asks softly, Candice's eyes hovering over the grass as they walk back to the cottage. "I hurt her. I hurt mother. She was upset with me, that is why she left." Candice says, looking at him.

Anthony shakes his head, not wanting his sister to believe that. "That isn't true, Candy. Mother loves us. She's just sad about father. I promise." He assures, brushing her hair behind her shoulders with a soft smile. Candice sniffles, wiping her eyes. "You promise?" He nods, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I promise you, sister." She smiles, returning the embrace.

Anthony could always make her happy like no other.

~ ᶠˡᵃˢʰᵇᵃᶜᵏ ⁴ ~
ʷʳⁱᵗᵗᵉⁿ ᵇʸ -ᵃᵈʳⁱˢʷʳˡᵈ

It was late, Candice was reading her mother's spells whilst Anthony and Chelsea argued in the background. She didn't even remember what it was about. She doubt she could stop it anyways. "You cannot just move us to France without even asking us! We grew up in this cottage! This is our home!" Anthony exclaims. Candice rolls her eyes, ever since he hit puberty he had been acting like the, "man of the house." She couldn't take him seriously. Just a few days ago she was helping him out of a tree.

"No, it is not! A home is not a place, it is a people, Anthony! We cannot stay here anymore. We are leaving tomorrow and that is final!" Chelsea states firmly, leaving no room for argument. Anthony scoffs, shaking his head. "That's just grand. You know, you're so suffocating.
I would love to ask father how suffocated he felt by you!" It happened so quickly, Candice looks up hearing the sharp slap that lands across her brother's face. "Mother!" She stands up, looking at her mother in shock.

Chelsea brushes her dress down and clears her throat. "I am going to collect us ingredients for supper. I expect you to both have your things gathered for tomorrow when I get back." They watch in silence as their mother leaves the cottage. Candice turns to glare at her brother. "You know it isn't wise to bring up our father. What were you thinking?!" Anthony's eyes widened at her sudden mood change. "Me?! Well, I don't see you doing anything about this!"

Candice sat back down with a disapproving shake of her head. "Why do you care if we leave so bad anyways?" Candice asks as she flips through the grimoire. Anthony sits across her at the small table with a sigh. "Because I don't want to leave Elizabeth behind." Candice scoffs loudly, shooting him a glare. "This is seriously about her? You need to get over it. She left you for another bloke. She's lucky I didn't put a curse on her."

Anthony chuckles softly, holding his head up with his hand. "You only dislike her because she left me for Blake." Candice looks down, wanting to leave this topic about the boy she had liked before Elizabeth took him. Luckily, Anthony also wanted to change the topic. "What's in France, anyways? Why would mother want to go there?" He asks, seeing as Candice always had all the answers. "Because, brother, it is where our coven is residing. She maybe wants us to be able to lead them properly."

Candice flips the next page, her brother watched in confusion as she leaned closer, her eyes scanning over the unknown spell. "Sister, what is it?" Anthony moved his chair to sit at her side, quickly reading the spell. They both look at each other, mirroring each other's reactions. "Or maybe..." Anthony begins carefully, "she wants us to merge in front of them," Candice finished for him.

Anthony looks away nervously, he knew for a fact that he wouldn't win. He hardly knew how to perform magic and Candice was way more powerful than him. She could do spells effortlessly, meanwhile he struggled to light a candle. "Candice...we have to run away. She can't force us to merge." Anthony insists, causing her to look at him like he was insane. "What? Are you bonkers or something? We can't run away, she's our mother. She's barely hanging on. You know how bad it's been since dad. We cannot leave her."

Anthony sighed, Candice had been using that to excuse any wrong doing Chelsea had done. It wasn't fair to pin her behavior on their father's death. At some point it stopped being about him. "Sister, you know better than anyone, it stopped being about our father a long time ago. This woman...she's not our mother anymore." Anthony shook his head softly, his sister looking away, not wanting to believe that. "Our mother wouldn't make a spell that's meant to kill one of us." Candice sighs, nodding in agreement, "I know."

"I'm scared, sister. I don't want to die. You have to do something." Anthony pleads with a look of desperation. Candice inhaled sharply, taking his soft hands in her own, she gazes into his eyes. "I will not let anything happen to you. I promise you, brother. I will talk to her. She will listen to me." Anthony nods, but deep down he wasn't that convinced. Chelsea and Candice weren't as close as they used to be. All they discussed was the coven lately and that usually erupted arguments. So, he doubted that Chelsea would listen to his sister.

"I won't let her force this upon us, brother."

It's night time, Candice stayed up late with her mother to discuss the coven. Anthony never wanted much part of the coven seeing as he didn't practice magic nearly as much as his sister. Candice clears her throat, causing Chelsea to turn her attention towards her daughter. "After you left, I came across a spell that you enforced into the coven rules without consulting in me first. What's this I read about a merge between two siblings such as twins?"

Chelsea breaks eye contact, unable to come up with a reply on command, nevertheless, Candice waited patiently for an answer. "It's a spell I was discussing with an elder. She thought it was a good idea for two twins to merge their power, test who shall have the ability the rule our coven. I, agreed with her." Candice furrowed her brows, looking at her in confusion. "I don't understand. What's the point of us merging our power if we're siphons? We don't have natural power, mother. We have to siphon it."

Chelsea intertwines her hands together expectantly as she glances over her daughter. "You and your brother are the first of your kind. Witches from all over the world want to witness this, and join our coven. When you merge with your brother, you will channel the coven, test who holds the most power and strength. You can lead us, Candice. You can lead all of us." Chelsea moves her hands to set over Candice's, giving her a soft smile as if she didn't just say Candice would have to merge with her brother, knowing it would kill him.

Candice was quick to pull her hands away, not wanting this. "You are asking for Anthony to sacrifice himself? All so I can lead a bunch of witches who probably hate me? That's...insane." Chelsea sighs, she knew her daughter wouldn't understand. "He will be sacrificing himself for the greater good. He will bring power to our family again. He will bring honor. And if your brother knew what was good for you, he wouldn't be asking for your help. I can give you two more time to discuss, I can push this back for a month. But that's it, I expect cooperation."

Candice clenched her jaw, looking down at her hands. She knew what needed to be done. The question was, did she have what it took to go through with it?

~ ᶠˡᵃˢʰᵇᵃᶜᵏ ⁵ ~
ʷʳⁱᵗᵗᵉⁿ ᵇʸ -ᵃᵈʳⁱˢʷʳˡᵈ

A month went by, they were set to move tomorrow. Candice had everything planned, she knew what she needed to do. It had taken a lot of encouragement on Anthony's part for her to consider it. But when she seen how scared her brother was about this, she absolutely had to go through with this. She watched as Anthony gathered their stuff on the horses. "Is that everything? All our grimoires, father's things, mother's things? Everything? We can't leave anything behind, Anthony." Candice went on anxiously.

Anthony set his hands on her shoulders gently, "we have everything, I promise you, sister."

Candice exhaled, nodding slowly, she backed away. "If I'm not back in thirty minutes, leave without me and never look back." She reached behind him to grab the large sword before running back towards the cottage across the pond. She pushes open the door to the cottage and walks to the room that was strictly used to perform magic. Her mother stood in front of a table, a ton of candle lit around her signature grimoire. This specific grimoire held some of the most powerful spells in the world, all of them written by Aleksandar Mendezson. Candice wasn't leaving without that book.

"Candice, dear. Come in. I was just speaking with our coven. Everyone is thrilled to hear about the first ever merge." Chelsea turned around, the teen girl's eye widened at the large wound across her mother's throat, it looked like she literally slit her own throat. Chelsea noticed the concern and was quick to assure her daughter. "Do not fret, daughter. I'm not dead, it was spell. I wanted to see your father's face one last time before we leave." Chelsea lifted the memory dagger and wrapped it around a white cloth, setting it on the open grimoire.

Candice nodded, looking around, the room was so empty and dull, obviously. She wasn't used to seeing it like that. She liked to remember the times she spent up all night watching her father practice magic. Noticing how her mother made no effort to close the grimoire, she was quick to question her motives. "What are you doing with father's grimoire?" Candice asks, her hands tightening around the sword behind her back as her mother turned back around.

"I am going to burn it." Chelsea shortly explains before she begins to chant.

Candice shook her head, she couldn't let this happen. "No," she whispers to herself. It was sudden and quick, the sword was shoved into her mother's heart. Chelsea gasps for air, dropping to her knees, the teen looks down at her with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. But I cannot let you kill my brother and destroy my father's legacy." Candice pulls the sword out, her mother dropping to the floor, dead. She uses her ring to call on her brother and he arrived a few minutes later.

Running in, he looks at their deceased mother with wide eyes. "Oh, you actually did it. Bloody hell." Candice nods before slamming the grimoire shut and picks it up, tucking it under her arm. "Put her in the coffin near father's. I have to put a preservation spell on her body. Let's go. We cannot waste another second." Anthony nodded, quick to obey, he lifts his mother's body and carried her outside.

Candice followed him out, looking at the cottage she spent her whole life at. She couldn't believe this was finally the end. "Sister! Let's go!"

~ ᶠˡᵃˢʰᵇᵃᶜᵏ ⁶ ~
ʷʳⁱᵗᵗᵉⁿ ᵇʸ -ᵃᵈʳⁱˢʷʳˡᵈ

Candice runs through the forest as fast as her human body can handle, branches scratching at her skin, the scent of death crisp in the air. She stops suddenly, the sight of crimson red splattered across a tree, and on other circumstances it would make a captivating painting. "Anthony? Are you out there?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, nervous for vampires who could be lurking in the darkness.

"Sister?" Anthony says in a despair whisper, holding his hands to his head.

"Brother?" Candice channeled her bracelet, letting the illuminating glow lead her through the fog to her twin's location. There he was, on his knees covered in blood, a knife short ways to his right lying in the dirt. "Candice? I did something bad." His eyes were dazed as he looked over his shoulder to see his sister's face, hoping she would bring him comfort. "That's okay. We all make bad decisions, brother." She says, moving to kneel down in from of him.

"Not like this. No. I'm a bad person. I did something bad." Anthony nods to himself, his eyes falling to the forest floor. Candice's eyes flickered to knife, wondering where the body was. Gently, she takes Anthony's hands in her own, her thumbs brushing over his knuckles. "Look at me, brother." He looks up to face her, her soft features bringing him a comfort like no other. "You are not a bad person. You were protecting me, remember? A bad person wouldn't do that. You saved me, Tony"

"I did?" Candice nods softly as tears fall from his face, landing onto her beige dress. "Yes, you did. He was going to hurt me. He was going to hurt Kol. You saved us. You're a hero, okay? You're my hero. Come here." Candice moved to wrap her arms around him as he chokes on a sob, clinging onto the material of her dress, blood smearing against the light color. Kol speeds up, stopping in front of the twins was an astonished look, clearly he had found the body of the hunter. She points over to the knife, gesturing for him to retrieve it before Anthony could see it and be reminded of his crime again.

"I chose you. I'll always choose you." Anthony says against the material, tears escaping his eyes some more as he was reminded of the life he took to save his sister's, and Kol's.

"I know. Always and Forever, brother." Candice mumbles softly, her eyes landing on Kol's, he wished he could've said how grateful he was for Anthony. If Kol had killed the hunter himself, he would've suffered from the hunter's curse. Anthony saved him from that pain.

"Always and Forever, sister."

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Anthony opened his eyes with a gasp, reaching for his neck, the wound magically healed up. Candice crossed her arms in front of him, looking down at his expectantly. "You are mourning something that is already gone. It has already passed, brother. Remember what we were. Remember the sacrifices we made for each other." Candice dropped down onto her knees in front of him, taking his hands in hers. "You are my twin, you are my blood, and I need you. I need you on my side. You said you would always choose me, so I am asking you to choose me, please."

Anthony kneeled down in front of her, brushing her hair back. "I choose you, sister. I will always choose you, Candice. Always and Forever."

"Always and Forever."

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a/n: had trouble getting this chapter complete but anyways, i hope you enjoyed the little flashbacks of candice and amthony!! in the flashbacks, in case you forgot, anthonys original body is portrayed by aaron taylor johnson!

shoutout to my co-writer who helped with these flashbacks! sxred_sxren ilysm friend

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