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Rhea had made herself comfortable on a nearby futon, the exhaustion finally catching up to the girl. Davina, on the other hand, was gathering her things.
"It's late, I should get going." The Claire witch informed the two.
"I certainly hope you're not going back to Marcel's." Rhea stated, knowing that going to Marcel would be a huge mistake on Davina's part.
"We lied to him about Kol, I'll probably go back to the attic." Rhea shook her head at that, reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a pair of keys.
"You're not staying in that makeshift prison cell, go to my apartment. No one will even think to look for you there." Davina gave her friend a grateful smile, taking the keys from her hand.
"Thank you," she turned to leave, pausing by Kol's side, "If you upset her in any way, shape or form, I will send you back to the hell you came back from."
Kol's face was a picture, Davina felt some sense of pride within herself at the fact she had successfully threatened the original.
"Noted."
A thick tension filled the air as soon as Davina left the room, Kol moved towards Rhea, taking a seat next to her on the futon.
"I'm sorry."
To anyone else, this would've been the most pathetic apology they had ever heard, but Rhea knew how hard it was for Kol to recognise— and own up to his mistakes.
"You must have been lonely, while I was gone. A witch needs a coven, even if it's just two." Rhea kept her eyes trained on the wall opposite her, not daring to look into Kol's eyes.
"Kol, I don't even know what to think anymore. I was willing to kill your brother, for you. Because it was his fault you died. Yet, you've been here all this time." She paused, "Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"
Kol was quiet for a moment, obviously thinking about what she had just said. He'd never been good at expressing his emotions, Rhea knew that— but she needed him to be honest with her.
"I just wanted to be with you again. I watched you, every single day. I watched you cry, I watched you break down. I watched you turn into a shell of the woman I knew you once were— and yes, I'm selfish. I jumped at the chance to be back in the land of the living, with you. I didn't care what it would cost. I'm here, now, and I'm not going to deny myself the pleasure of being with the one person who has stood by me through every dark phase, through every horrific thing I've ever done. You, Rhea Monroe, have always been my safe haven. My light, even in my darkest hours."
To say Rhea was shocked, would be an understatement. She was expecting some sort of admission from him, but not that. Not at all.
"When can we work on the dagger?" Kol knew she wasn't avoiding what he said, if anything, this proved she had accepted what he said— that, and she wasn't yelling at him.
Grabbing her jacket, he spread it over the girl like a blanket. "Soon. We have some work to do with each other, first." She knew he wasn't just referring to magic, he was referring to the two of them.
"You're gonna forgive me, Rhea Monroe— and you're gonna learn to love me again, I'm happy to let you pretend a while that you don't already."
Rhea eyes flickered to his, a smile appearing on her face, before she slowly drifted off into a deep slumber.
▽▲▽▲▽
To say that Rhea was confused when she awoke, would be an understatement. She could vaguely remember Kol taking her back to her apartment, but everything after that was a blur. Looking around, she could see, she was in some sort of tomb— upon inspection, she could tell that she wasn't injured in any way, and she wasn't being restrained by anything. What the hell was going on?
"You've awoken, much quicker than I expected." A woman stepped into view, there was an eery feeling about this situation— and it took all of twelve seconds for Rhea to figure out who this woman was.
"Esther."
"I always thought you were smart, just like your grandmother." The older woman commented, giving the girl a smile that one could only describe as calculating.
Realisation dawned on Rhea and dread washed over her body like a tsunami, "Did— did Kol bring me here, to you?"
Esther was busying herself with random spells that were laying around, but paused when she asked the question.
"Oh, no. Matter of fact, Klaus has taken both Kol and Finn." Rhea let out a sigh of relief, she didn't know if she could handle Kol willingly handing her over to his mother.
"So what do you want from me?"
"I don't want anything from you in particular, Rhea— however, I want to make you a deal." The look on Esther's face, made it obvious to Rhea that the woman wasn't joking.
"And that is?" She was growing impatient, if Klaus had Kol— she dreaded to think what would happen to him, especially if he couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"You know, I've always liked you Rhea. Admired your strength, your ability to stay with my family no matter what horrors you may have witnessed. And Kol, you have always been there, for him. I appreciate you looking out for him, he was a trouble maker from a young age." Esther said with a sad smile upon her face, that only angered Rhea.
"He wasn't a trouble maker, Esther. He wasn't payed enough attention from the people he calls his family, and that, is why he turned out the way he did— and even then, he's still a good person, but no one cares enough to actually get to know him." Rhea practically hissed at the older woman, Esthers face only brightened, but before she could say anything else, Rhea spoke again.
"Now tell me, what is this deal? Cause if you're wasting my time, I'm leaving." Esther took a piece of parchment off the table and handed it to the Monroe witch.
"This, is the spell to prep someone for a body jump?"
"You are quite correct, once I talk to Rebekah, I'm hoping she will see things my way— but while I work on finding her, I need you to prep the body. Kol and Finn are obviously, not currently available to do so."
"And what, could be so enticing, that I would take you up on this deal?"
A smile appeared on Esthers face— one that could only be described as sadistic.
"Do this task for me, Rhea, and I will bring back your brother."
