Forever

Ground Rules

"Where've you been?" Kol had taken me outside, into a courtyard of sorts.

"I tried to break the bond."

"What?!"

"Hurt like hell, but the witches couldn't do it. The spell, it's ancient magic, the kind that existed long before any vampire."

"Why?" Did he not want this? I wasn't sure I wanted it either.

"You deserve to be free of me, you never wanted anything that's happened and now it has. Me and my family have ruined your life."

"I'll admit, when this first started, I was excited at the prospect of someone being my soulmate, but we haven't really talked since my dreams." And when I begged for you to come, you never did. "All it's been is you and your family forcefully settling into Mystic Falls. I miss when it was just us."

Kol took my hand, kissing it softly. "It wouldn't be that hard to lure them away, then, if you'd like, we could escape. Somewhere far away, where it would just be the two of us."

"I'm not just going to leave Jeremy and Elena." Even if they practically kicked me out of my house.

"This town carries far too many tragedies."

That was far too true.

"Alright, say I entertain this, where in the world would you like to go?" Aside from the adventure with Klaus, I'd never been anywhere but here. We'd mostly stayed in North America anyhow.

"I'm partial to a few places, but that's the fun of it, we could go anywhere, live wherever we wanted. We could eat breakfast in Paris and by week's end be in Chile. There's so much I'd like to show you, cultures and gorgeous views, everything. Why stay in this suffocating place?"
His expression lit up as he began excitedly describing where he'd been and the people he'd met.

It hit me that he wanted to explore and as much as I'd like to join him, there was too much at stake here to leave it all so unprotected. I didn't trust my friends and the Mikaelsons not to tear each other apart given the opportunity.

My responsibility was to be here.

"Kol, that sounds amazing." But what about everyone else? Who would run interference when Klaus discovered what his hybrids were doing? I wouldn't be able to stop him but I'd certainly be able to redirect some of his anger, distract him with a stupid idea.

He visibly deflated. "I have a feeling there's a but somewhere in that head of yours."

"I can't do it, not when Jeremy and Elena are still so human." Particularly Jeremy. He didn't have the protection squad Elena had. "And I know that when they inevitably have their own kids, I'm going to want to protect that generation too, Elena would produce the next doppelgänger and they were going to run into their fair share of trouble."

It was like a curse.

"Then I'll stay too, who knows, perhaps I'll even be able to run my siblings out and we could have some peace."

"Do you still want to try? To be soulmates I mean."

"Only if you want it, my love."

"Okay, but if we're going to do this, we need to set some ground rules." I reluctantly pulled my hand out of his. "No more macho overprotective bullshit. I'm fine like ninety percent of the time."

"I'll stop when you start having some self preservation, but I will tone it down. For you." Kol nodded, grinning cheekily.

"Fair." I do have self preservation instincts, thank you very much. "No more deals over my head and forcing my friends to stop talking to me. Ric didn't deserve to get kidnapped so that the Salvatores would leave me alone."

"That was Elijah's plan, not mine."

"But you participated, you and Klaus. I don't want anymore fighting. If you guys would back off trying to rule this town, maybe we'd finally have some peace."

"And what of your friends?" Kol's brow rose. "They'll play nice?"

"Maybe. I think if we got Klaus to not be his normal, threatening self, then we'd have a chance."

Kol was right, this town held too many memories. They hated Klaus before he even showed up but after Jenna...

"Alright Angel, I've agreed to your terms and now I have some of my own."

That was only fair.

"No more throwing yourself between my brothers and your friends. Now that you're a vampire, Niklaus would sooner snap your neck than listen to you negotiate."

I was still waiting for that particular shoe to drop. He was angry that I'd used one of his hybrids to escape and he hadn't quite retaliated against me.

"But-"

"No buts about it, I want you to live to the next century, and he can't dagger you when you piss him off."

"He can't dagger you either, you still have yours right?" I'd worked hard to get that bloody knife.

Kol sighed, looking away. "I had to trade it."

"For what?!"

"Rebekah."

"What'd she do?"

"She didn't tell Niklaus about an old friend of ours, it's why she went to New Orleans, and also why she hasn't been back. She fears our brother's wrath. It took mine and Elijah's daggers to stop Niklaus from hunting her down."

"All that for not mentioning who it was she was visiting?" Hadn't Klaus known she was going to see a friend?

"It's more complicated than that, but yes. He never did take too kindly to secrets."

Well shit. I knew he wouldn't be happy, but making Elijah and Kol trade what is essentially their own guaranteed freedom to save their sister, Klaus' sister, from his anger.

What would he do to me?