Conflated

Chapter 11

So keep your head up in the clouds.
Live tomorrow now
Run rings 'round roses til we all fall down.
Keep dancing till your last song's sung.
Til your last breath's done
Run rings 'round roses til we all fall down
Til we all fall down.
- Gabrielle Aplin
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Both the brothers had made her laugh until her stomach hurt, with their practical and literal jokes until she was gasping for air. Between catching breaths, Caroline realized, she had never been this exhausted from laughing so hard. They also shared their most embarrassing moments, after making her swear not to reveal any of it to anyone - ever.

Kol took pictures of their evening together in the garden, as Caroline enjoyed the flowers and later crammed the three of them into numerous selfies, making hilarious faces himself, claiming to keep them as good memories. He was delighted to see how Henrik's behavior had changed in the past few days. He would barely utter five words a day and here he was, creasing up, coming up with jokes and making conversation with his mood lighting up by the second.

And now, after a long while, they were calmly sitting under the slow dancing infinite stars that spread a haze of serenity throughout, as the flowers around them swayed to a natural rhythm.

Caroline looked around. It was hard to believe that this was once just a piece of land when there was colour everywhere; lights around them emphasized the beauty of it. The tantalizing fragrance gently drifted through the air creating an array of heady floral scents, however, it wasn't calming the pang of distress she felt surrounding her, as her mind continuously prompted on one subject.

She lazily brought her knees up to rest her chin upon and she hugged her legs with her arms, letting out a tired sigh. "Where did they go?" Henrik and Kol both glanced back at Caroline. "Rebekah and Elijah?"

"Washington. Family business and all!" Kol exclaimed, bringing up the camera towards his face and capturing another picture of Caroline, before she could block it with her hand. He sneered. "I am going to make Nik do unspeakable things when he asks for these pictures and only then, will I allow him to have them." His eyes shimmered with mischief and Henrik chuckled under his breath to his older brother's comment.

"Guys..." her voice was so low it was scarcely audible and yet the infused solemnity seized their attention. Kol glided the camera beside him and furrowed his brow at her with a glimmer of a smile on his lips. Henrik turned around, tilting his head to a side, as his brown eyes glistened under the lights directed at them. His hair, dark and spiked up, had a slight sheen and the way he smiled at her made her feel like it was either a young Elijah or Kol sitting right beside her.

"Why am I here?" She carried on in her drowsy tone, still resting her chin on her knees, shifting her glance between the two men, whose faces had fallen as soon as she asked what she was not supposed to. But she needed to know - she had the right to know, after all, she was caught up in it. "I just want someone to explain it to me in a way that would make sense. I need someone to tell me the truth about all of this. Because there's only one single thing I know - that I know nothing and that's driving me crazy..." she scoffed lightly, lifting her head up and sadly smiling at them.

"Care-doll," the nickname Kol had picked up for her, not long ago, sounded so normal to her all of a sudden. She felt like she had been used to it forever. Like she was used to everyone else around her. Like she had always known this family and they had been a part of her life all along. There was something within them, that seemed so familiar but hard to explain and yet she had perfectly fitted there like the missing piece of the puzzle. "Trust me. It's easier to not know things sometimes."

However, he knew would hurt Caroline and he remembered promising Klaus that he would not tell her.

"Kol," She protested, landing a hand on Kol's palm and he could see the desperation in those eyes as he did the hint of innocence in them. He had not acknowledged when, but she had become important to him as someone important to his brother. Like family. And it didn't even sound strange in his head because she was the one who had made them all feel alive in death - Klaus more than anyone else. They were broken for so long but she somehow mended all their pieces together and they had started living without realizing. Before her, laughter wasn't shared within the walls of a Mikaelson home and now, everyone had a reason to smile and dwell in little things, engaging in silly activities besides their scheming for revenge though there was no forgetting about Finn or forgiving for their forever lost Mother.