The burdens of family

23

Arkyn assured Alexis he was okay and tended to Xavier before the pain got worse. Bearable, still, but worse than before. He almost doubled over before standing. Xavier noticed and promised he'd be okay, if only Arkyn went back to the tomb. So Arkyn did.
"Where'd you go? How did you get out?" Stefan questioned. "What the hell happened to you? You're bleeding."
"I'm fine." Arkyn said.
"You've literally got blood coming out of your eyes." Stefan said. Arkyn ignored him and wiped away the blood, sitting down on the floor.
"Oh, come on, Ark." Katherine smirked, leaning against a wall. "Tell us. How did you get out?"
"Why? It's pointless. It's not like you can do it."
"I don't get why you hate me so much. You're the one who taught me to survive."
"I said fight for your life, not screw everyone over."
"Sorry?" She pouted, without remorse.
"You dated her?" Arkyn asked Stefan and she pulled a face.
"You're so mean. What happened?"
"I'm the same as I've always been. You're not."
"You were never this angry." She pointed out. He looked at her, and rolled his eyes, looking away.
"You overestimate the effect you have on others, Katerina. Believe me, you're just not worth getting worked up over." He let his head roll back against the wall.
"See. Mean. You're treating me... you're treating me the way you used to treat Klaus."
"Who is Klaus, anyway?" Arkyn looked at Katherine, who shrugged.
"Yeah. He doesn't know."
"Know what?" Stefan jumped in.
"Anything about Klaus or originals." Arkyn lied.
"I know there's you and Elijah and Klaus. That you and Elijah are brothers. That Klaus and Elijah hate you."
"And the feeling's mutual." Arkyn added.
"Right. You guys apparently can't die."
"And that's a wrap to Originals 101 today. We'll pick this up, never."
"Your attempts to shelter them is never going to work, you know."
"Not as long as Elijah's out there. I know. I'll find a way to subdue him."
"He's your big brother. Stronger than you. He'd beat you. If I recall correctly, he did so once."
"How well, exactly, do the two of you know each other?" Stefan looked between them.
"Elijah cared for Katerina once. It was rare for him to feel anything, so I befriended her."
"You two were friends?"
"Emphasis on were."
"When exactly did we stop being friends? I became a vampire to survive. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Your being a vampire isn't the issue. Your being a heartless bitch is." Arkyn scowled, and Katherine looked a little hurt.
"Don't hold anything back." She said.
"Don't tell me I'm hurting your feelings now." Arkyn glared.
"So you two were just friends?" Stefan said, disbelievingly.
"What else would we have been?"
"Lovers?"
"Never." Arkyn looked disgusted. "She's a doppelgänger."
"He knew a doppelgänger when he was human."
"Yes. The original doppelgänger. And when Katerina was human, she was a whole other person. She cared about others, she was optimistic and kind."
"Katherine. Kind?" Stefan scoffed.
"This was over five hundred years ago. Now she's manipulative, cold and cruel. Becoming a vampire turned her evil." Katherine looked at him as though something had just occurred to her.
"That's why you hate me so much?" She said. She turned to Stefan. "Sorry, private conversation." She snapped his neck.
"You know why I hate you." Arkyn said.
"I used to think it was because I disappointed you. That you felt betrayed that I gave up on being who I used to be. But it's more than that, isn't it? You're taking this personally."
"You were a good person when you were human. I had faith, that even without being human, you could be humane. I was wrong."
"No, that's not the only reason why you're mad." She shook her head.
"Please, enlighten me, Katerina."
"You trusted me not to turn out like your siblings. To not have the same flippant disregard for human life. But when I turned, I became the very thing you despised." Arkyn didn't say a word, just looked away. "That's it, isn't it? When I turned, you knew I would remember all the stories about your siblings that you told me."
"You know how much human life is worth, and to see you dismiss it... The Katerina I knew is gone."
"Look, your siblings were assholes. And I never wanted to be like them. I fully intended on staying the path to sainthood and all with you. But you showed me how to keep under the radar- how to run and then you just disappeared. I didn't know what else to do, except survive."
"So you're blaming you killing innocents on me?"
"No. You're blaming you. You're hurt and angry that I didn't fight for my humanity- that I killed and tortured anyone who got in my path. You're mad at me for turning out like your siblings, for not proving to you that being a vampire doesn't necessarily mean being evil. And most of all, you're mad at yourself for helping me, because it could have just as easily been you who turned me."
"Whatever you think you know about me, you're wrong. You turning out to be this... Katherine person? That's not on me. You were innocent once. That's the girl who was my friend, and that's the girl I helped. Whatever happened afterwards is not my fault."
"Maybe if you say it a few more times, you'll believe it." Arkyn rolled his eyes.