"Believe it or not, but this is actually a very good thing" Anastasia said, beaming at the two mates who finally shifted back into their human forms after nearly six hours of chaos.

Evangeline looked at her best friend in disbelief, "How? How in the world is coughing up blood that tastes like fire for an hour straight anywhere near good?"

"Besides all that" Anastasia said, waving her hand dismissively as the couple sat on the couch in her apartment, looking at her like she had gone insane.

Evangeline and Niklaus had almost lost control after their transformation but they never left the side of one another. Luckily, they had ended up deep in the woods with little population so not too much damage was done and civilians did not witness the woman who was half dragon, flying through the woods. It was the first time that Evan had ever shifted, she didn't even know that she could shift and it was the first time Klaus had ever shifted without being able to control it. It brought back many scarring memories for the Original Hybrid. He went through the trouble of becoming a hybrid partially to never shift without being able to help it. The two did not understand what the whole ordeal meant, but of course, Anastasia did.

"I understand that the shift for the first time in such a way was uncomfortable and painful for the both of you but it is a great sign because it means you are true mates! Evangeline, your shift caused Niklaus's. Your dragon called out to his wolf and that is why it happened. I believe that with the ritual coming up soon, your inner being needed to make an appearance"

The Salvatore and the Mikaelson exchanged a look, each with a million emotions running through them at once, before they looked back to the content witch.

"I know there must be a catch" answered a concerned Niklaus, "What does this mean for my Angel?"

That was when Anastasia's reassuring smile finally faltered, "It means that we need to get the ritual done as soon as possible for her health and she needs to begin learning to control her power for her own good and the good of others"

Evangeline shook her head while holding on to her mate's hand and squeezing it, "It means I'm getting closer to my death"

"No" Anastasia said, "Your rebirth"

~*~*~*~*~

"So what should I do?" Elena asked from her spot on Caroline's bed, completely conflicted after letting her best friend know what happened with Evangeline the day before. They had just come back from the meeting in the woods with Stefan and Damon, who had finally come up with a plan that could almost guarantee an end to Klaus.

The idea of killing the Original vampire made him think of her meeting with their sister the day before. She didn't tell the brothers of the little piece of information that Evangeline gave her or what she was asking her to do because she didn't know whether or not to actually believe what she had told her. Therefore, she asked Caroline about it because Bonnie, the most levelheaded one in the group, had enough on her plate and Caroline could be quite compassionate and understanding when she wanted to be.

"You shouldn't help them" Caroline said stubbornly.

There was nothing that she liked about Damon and Stefan's bastard sister. She wasn't even that pretty in her opinion and in order to be a sibling of god-like men such as Damon and Stefan, the girl needed to be a goddess herself at least. Yet, to Caroline she was just a peasant.

"But she said—"Elena began.

"She lied" Caroline interrupted shaking her head, "Come on Elena, she just wanted you on her side, of course she would lie and say something like Damon and Stefan would die with Klaus"

The brunette sighed, still feeling like the Salvatore's sister may not have lied to her. Before she and Stefan were on the outs Stefan told Elena a lot of things about his sister and one of those things was how much she valued honesty no matter the circumstances. Then again, Evangeline was with Klaus now, who knew what redirecting the hybrid had done to her.

"Yeah...you're right. Anyway, Damon and Stefan have a plan to take him down today anyway, so we won't have to worry about either of them anyway. She'll be dead not long after Klaus"

~*~*~*~*~

Nik informed Anastasia and I that he had business to attend to after he randomly got a call during our conversation with the witch. Without explaining what the business was, he pecked my lips and disappeared into thin air leaving my best friend and I suspicious in his tracks.

"What do you think that was about?" Ana asked me with a cocked eyebrow.

With a shrug and a sigh, I shook my head, "Knowing him, something that will take us ten steps back from our progress"

"Well then...do you want to show me around town?" She asked, attempting to break the tension.

I shrugged, "Sure why not, maybe we'll see someone who doesn't hate me, that should be fun"

"Always the pretty, pretty pessimist"

Once we got out to the more urban part of the small town, I made sure that Anastasia and I avoided The Grill. If we went there, I knew we'd see at least one member of the Scooby Gang or even worse, one of my brothers. The last thing I needed was to add more drama to my day so I figured, hey let's check out the restoration of the Wickery Bridge. It sounded extremely boring and not productive at all, but let's face it. If you weren't going to The Mystic Grill, where else were you going?

Anyway, apparently Anastasia and I were too late for the restoration of the bridge because when we got to the location, the thing was completely char. My best friend and I exchanged a look before it all clicked together in my head. There was only one family maniacal enough to destroy something so important to the town, especially if they had the motive to. Obviously Rebekah found the remains of the last white oak tree: the bridge itself.

"Wow" Ana said chuckling a bit, "This town can't ever have anything nice"

I shook my head in agreement, "Not with the Mikaelsons in town at least"

"Yeah" She agreed, "Good luck with your mate"

I laughed at that, "I'll surely need it, won't I? I wonder what he's up to anyway"

"You've seemed to diffuse a lot of the evil out of him, in my opinion, so maybe something not as terrible as it could be, according to his past self" Ana suggested.

"I don't know about diffusion" I said rubbing my chin, "I'd say I've been more of a distraction but I know this whole linking thing has put him on edge. Especially with my brothers hell bent on killing him and his family, I'm sure figuring out that their sister had joined the dark side as his mate enhanced that immensely"

Ana rolled her eyes, "They're all such children about this. I don't understand why they think killing is always the answer. They'll learn soon enough when they end up wiping out the entire vampire race trying to get rid of the Original family"

"Just M. A. D. all over again, supernatural edition" I answered, remembering a few things I was forced to learn when I actually tried attending secondary school"

Anastasia and I wondered away from what was left of the bridge and just took in the town. I loved having my best friend with me to talk and laugh with and just temporarily ignore everything going on with my mate, my brothers, and their little war. I just wanted to enjoy my eternal life with the people I love, yet everything was contradicting that.

We ended up coming across an area of town that was actually quite interesting to us. It had a few galleries and small boutiques and miscellaneous stores, thrift shops and so on that we absolutely loved. There was even a café for when we were actually hungry and still wanted to be able to avoid the Mystic Grill and the mayhem that went on there.

"You know what? You need a ritual dress!" Ana exclaimed with a big cheesy, contagious grin on her face.

I snorted at that, "As long as it's not white, I'm already dying in it, no need to show up looking like a ghost"

With that, the witch smacked me on the back of the head, "Stop being so negative! You're not even a Mikaelson yet"

Yet, I thought to myself, immediately thinking of Niklaus.

A school girl blush crept on my cheeks at that, which lead for her to tease me. So, I sped into the store and avoided her taunts with the dress racks.

It was crazy being truly in love. It felt amazing but it also felt like I had no self-control because it felt like I breathed for him sometimes. I wasn't sure if that was what every love felt like or if it was because we were "prophesized mates" and all but it felt a bit overwhelming when I really thought of it. Especially when I thought of the ritual or when Klaus had the tendency to drive himself mad trying to be the most powerful of all.

So, I stopped thinking and I looked through the racks and racks of dresses instead.

The thought of being able to choose what I was going to wearing when I died was oddly satisfying. As if I could say hey, at least I have control of something. I even had my hairstyle planned as well. It was going to be up so I didn't have to wash any blood out of my hair thereafter.

It was probably strange, the comfort I had with the concept of dying. But, one had to understand how many times I'd already died before. Like seriously, probably more than ten to be honest. It was strange and probably not a good thing, but dying rarely was. I did wonder if it would be different for the ritual because it was such an important process. Almost like a cleansing. Was there going to be something or one waiting for us on the other side? Would we have to prove ourselves while we were there?

"What about this?" Ana asked, breaking me away from my thoughts as she shoved a maroon midi into my face.

I appreciated the color but wrinkled my nose at the design, "Ana, I'm not graduating, put that back"

She tsked at my pickiness but did indeed put the dress back. She already knew how picky I was. I was very selective about the things that made it into my wardrobe that I actually paid for. With Klaus around, he was throwing clothes at me left and right being the old school pampering type, but when it was up to me I was one for scrutinizing, especially with my dwindling closet space at the mansion. Thankfully, Klaus had the closet made to be walk in with enough room for both him and I (though it did surprise me, seeing as when he built the place we borderline hated one another...or so I thought).

Since I was already disconnected from my thoughts, I actually put most of my concentration on finding a dress to wear and maybe a couple others if I got lucky. I had a thing for dresses, I spent a lot of my life wearing them because, well that was how I was raised, plus they were easy. You could throw on a dress and shoes and go, I loved that. I was the happiest girl in the world when I came across rompers as well. The concept of only needing one piece of clothing was just everything to me. I tended to be a lazy dresser when I didn't have any place particular I needed to be.

I decided to stay with Ana's idea of maroon and was actually satisfied with many of the options I came across. I made a note to get the name of the boutique so that I could hopefully visit again.

After rejecting three more dresses Anastasia suggested, trying on two and deciding that I wanted them but they were it, getting smacked on the back of the head again for being picky, and just picking the first dress I saw to try on last, I found the one.

Call me lovesick but I fell in love with it because it reminded me of Klaus and I. It was beautiful and completely contradictory of itself. The design was meant to be soft and feminine but the details were quite strong, strict and almost masculine. It was floral and white with a scoop neck and a skater skirt but it was fitted until an inch under the bust. Then, there were parallel thick black lines on either side of it that popped with the white and pink flowers scattered all over it. I just loved it. Sure I knew that it might end up being covered in blood splatters but the red would look divine with the color.

Okay, maybe I was a little twisted and weird for that thought.

Oh well, I was ringing it up anyway with the other two I wanted to wear for leisure.

By the time we were leaving, the sun had already decided to go to rest and I was ready to get back to the mansion and drown in the icy blue eyes of my mate. God, I really was lovesick.

Well, that is until I actually got to the mansion. As soon as I stepped foot out of the car, I knew something was off. I felt it deep in my gut and by the look I saw on Anastasia's face, she felt it as well. Probably stronger with her being a witch and all.

Please don't be Nik, please don't be Nik, fuck I know it's probably Nik. I thought to myself as I entered the house and immediately smelled blood.

But not just any blood but my brother's blood. Damon's specifically. Stefan was there too.

I was half tempted to turn around and leave again but I heard my older brother scream and on impulse I sped to exactly where it came from.

My sudden appearance seemed to throw everyone off but I didn't care, I was too busy being thrown off on what I walked in on. My oldest brother was changed to the ceiling by his wrists, which seemed to be clamped by miniature bear traps. He was shirtless, covered in blood, and looked absolutely like a miserable victim of BDSM from hell.

"What in the hell kind of sick torture is this?!" I exclaimed, unable to help myself, just as apparently, Klaus seemed to be saying something arrogant whiling attacking my younger brother but was cut off by my random appearance.

"Don't worry, it's over" Rebekah said with a sigh as she began letting my brother down, who completely slumped after the process was over.

"What the hell are you doing?!" My mate growled, getting over the distraction of my presence.

Rebekah rolled her eyes at her brother, "This was my fun, not yours" Was the blonde's justification before she turned away from her brother to mine, "Get us the last three stakes and we'll let you live"

With that and not another glance in my direction, Stefan took our brother and was gone with the wind.

The two Mikaelson siblings and I were momentarily quiet as I took the time to actually see what I had walked into before I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't want to know" Is all I muttered before turning to my best friend who looked like she didn't know if she wanted to laugh or just leave us to the drama altogether, "I'll see you tomorrow, Ana"

"Definitely" Ana said, kissing my cheeks and giving me a tight hug, "Again, good luck with this lot"

And with that, she left as well. I felt my mate's eyes on me but I refused eye contact as I took my dress bags and disappeared off to the bedroom. I didn't know exactly what I felt at that moment. Drained most definitely, because there was always something to be going on. But I wasn't angry. Not even upon seeing my mate with his hand around the neck of my brother, noticeably crushing his windpipes.

I just wanted it all to be over. I was sick of the fighting, the plotting, the blood, and the death, yet, I knew there would be more.

As I set my dresses aside, I listened to my surroundings, including the voices of my mate and his sister destroying their sibling relationship verbally. Klaus mentioned something of leaving town with me and of course Elena and a new family of hybrids and I decided to stop listening after that. It was time for a shower and more time to stall as he threw his last blow and of course escaped to the very room I had been in.

By the time I was dressed in one of his old band shirts and underwear with my hair braided, he was undressing himself to shower as well. I continued avoiding eye contact as I placed my brush back onto my vanity.

Of course, with a shift of the wind, his arms were around my waist and chin in the crook of my neck. No eye contact was made or words were shared as he tried to apologize with kisses down my neck and jaw, which I did not care for as I turned in his arms, snatching his lips away from my skin.

"That was your business to be taken care of? More chaos with my idiot brothers?" I asked, unable to hide my annoyance.

He licked his lips as his eyes held calculations, answers, and possible lies.

He intelligently chose the truth with a stiff shake of his head, "I was meeting with the Bennett witch"

I crinkled my eyebrows, "Bonnie? Why?"

"She was the only one to properly break the link, love" He threw in a pet name for brownie points. Of course.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled away from him as much as I could, "And by meeting, you threatened to kill someone she loved or that someone she loved was going to die if she didn't help"

The man went silent and I almost slapped him as I pulled away completely, pushing him away and continuing my path to the bed. But of course, he caught my wrist while I was a meter away from my silk escape.

"You are not actually mad at me for that are you?" He questioned, openly irritated, "Remember who you have been laying with Angel"

I snatched my wrist away from his grasp and sneered, "You are not just a man who I have been laying with Niklaus! You are the man I am supposed to love and support but I cannot love not support what you do when you want others to help you!"

"It's what they respond best to!" He exclaimed, "If I went to the Bennett witch asking politely, I would get nothing in return. That is the only way I get things in return!"

I almost laughed at his logic, "Because, Niklaus, that is what you do! You threaten and you kill and you maim and you hurt and you destroy and you never think twice about it because it was all just the process to get what you want! That is complete sadistic bullshit Klaus! You can't go on living and doing things like that!"

It was Klaus's turn to roll his eyes apparently as he turned red with frustration and annoyance, "Well I apologize Angel that I'm the devil that I was always guaranteed to be. Open your fucking eyes love"

I felt like crying, I was frustrated because in a lot of ways, he was right.

I knew my mate was selfish, I knew that he did whatever it took to get things done, and I knew there were a select few that he actually cared about hurting and tried not to hurt. I knew that when it came to others, he did not care much for them because much of him was inhumane. I knew that I was in love with the Devil yet, I still got so angry when he acted like a dick because all it did was give him more enemies, more to worry about, and more of a reason to be paranoid. I wanted the best for him.

"Nik I just...I hate seeing you like this" My voice cracked as it grew thick with tears, "You're more than a monster"

I watched the conflict dance across his handsome features as he decided against responding and went off to take his shower for the night. Then, I wiped away the few distressed tears that fell and climbed into the silk escape, needing to get away more than ever because it was all hitting me at once, wounding the same spot.