Bella The Witch: Chapter 16

---

“So dear brother, please tell me how serious your relationship is with Nik’s little helper,” Kol asked sitting across from his two brothers.

“I wouldn’t even try flirting with her Kol,” Klaus replied with a bored tone. “You can’t come between soul mates.”

“Soul mates?” Rebekah and Kol asked at the same time. Elijah was in stunned silence, his mind desperately trying to figure out if it was true or not.

“I wasn’t supposed to reveal that little fact, but yes Bella is our brother’s soul mate,” Klaus said downing his drink. “I think I’ll be headed to my room.”

“Niklaus, may I have a word,” Elijah said, the sentence was phrased as a question but Elijah wasn’t asking Klaus.

Klaus nodded and stood, he motioned Elijah to follow him into his private study.

“I assume what you want to talk about is that little slip about soul mates?” Klaus said taking a seat in his chair.

Elijah nodded, “How do you know?”

Klaus looked at Elijah, “This really shouldn’t be a conversation you should be having with me. There is a small brunette that lives next door that you should be talking to. She’s most likely going to kill me for mentioning this to you.”

“She knows?” Elijah asked feeling strange to know Bella had kept something like this from him.

Klaus sighed, “Yes, and before you begin to think that Bella is this horrible person who kept something so big from you, I would highly recommend talking to her about this. She has her reasons, and you being the moral one in this family should listen to what she has to say.”

“When did she tell you?” Elijah asked his brother he was eager to get as much information on this as he could.

Klaus sighed knowing Elijah wouldn’t give up until he had all the information he needed. “She mentioned it when she woke up as vampire. I questioned her as to why she was able to keep her magic and you two being soul mates was part of it.”

“You mentioned before that my blood fit a certain standard needed for Bella keeping her magic. This standard was the blood that turned her had to be from her soul mate?” Elijah asked as a wave of realization hit him.

Klaus sighed, “Yes, in order for Bella to keep her magic she had to be turned by her soul mate’s blood.”

Elijah nodded having heard all he needed. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

“Is that all?” Klaus asked he expected there to be more.

“I found out what I wanted to know,” Elijah said, he paused at the door and turned back to look at his brother. “I won’t mention this to Bella, I’ll let her tell me.” Klaus nodded, but he knew Bella would know, his two younger siblings had overheard and they were both a pair of gossips. Klaus was more than positive that his younger sister would ask Bella about it when they went out the next day. Feeling responsible for outing Bella’s secret Klaus went to speak to his younger siblings to see if he could get them to keep their mouths shut.

Entering the room he was just in, he heard the soft chattering of his siblings.

“Elijah can’t have a soul mate!” Rebekah said in an angry tone. “Why does he get one, but not me? What the bloody hell makes him so special?”

Kol sighed annoyed by his sister’s constant chattering. “Has it occurred to you sister that maybe you’re just not ready to have a soul mate? You depend on others to feel loved, you’ve been with men just because they gave you attention. Our brother has spent his entire immortal life trying to find his soul mate. Yes, he’s loved many before Bella, but he’s never lost sight of the love he wanted. The one he knew was waiting for him. You do not want love dear Rebekah, you want attention.”

Rebekah looked stunned at her brother he had never spoken to her in that tone. “I do not just want attention!” She justified.

Kol chuckled and replied. “You’ve dated horrible, ignorant and arrogant men. Do you know why that is? Let me enlighten you. You only date these men because you know that you wouldn’t truly fall in love with them. They were just men who’d give you the attention that our mother or father never gave you! The attention that made you feel important, loved, but you know deep down Rebekah that you yourself are not ready to have a soul mate. The only one in this demented family of ours who even comes close to deserving a soul mate is Elijah.” Kol’s tone fell to just below a whisper, “Finn doesn’t even realize that the woman he’s called his soul mate has been shacking up with half the vampires in this world since he’s been daggered. She didn’t even mourn his supposed death. Know my dear sister that you are not ready to have a soul mate, do not be angry at our brother for finally getting what he’s been after all these years.” Kol stood and was about to leave when Klaus stopped him.

“Bella has not yet told our brother she’s his soul mate, and I don’t want to be a cause for a fight in their relationship, so I’m asking both of you not to mention this to her, or in front of her. Do you both understand?” Klaus asked looking between Rebekah and Kol.

Kol nodded, “I’m not a child Nik, from what I picked up between you and Elijah I figured out that he didn’t know. I wasn’t going to mention it either way.” Kol looked at Rebekah and then back to his brother, “If you need me, I’ll be in my room.” Kol walked out of the room, leaving just Klaus and Rebekah alone.

“I’m going to get some rest,” Rebekah announced after a few minutes of silence, she stood and walked past her brother. “I won’t tell Bella.” She muttered as she left the room, everything Kol had said to her was on rewind in her mind.

-Page Break-

“Is this really what women this age wear?” Rebekah asked as she had on a tight black dress.

“Yes,” Bella said, “Although I prefer something less revealing, usually knee length skirts, jeans I go for a more relaxing look most of the time.”

“Can you get me some jeans please?” Rebekah asked, “I really want to get out of this dress, I feel as if I move I’d expose myself to the world.”

Bella laughed, “I know how you feel, why don’t you get out of that dress, and I’ll get you some stuff that are more comfortable, and some dresses and skirts that aren’t going to expose you.”

Rebekah went back into the changing room getting out of the uncomfortable dress. Bella went around the store choosing several different clothes that she thought Rebekah would enjoy they were girly and chic, something she saw Rebekah as.

“Oh thank you Bella!” Rebekah said coming out in a skirt and a form fitting shirt. “Klaus got me very ill-fitting shirts. I felt like I was being swallowed in them.”

Bella laughed, “Your brother has a strange mind. My guess is that he doesn’t want to see you grow up. You can find someone who’ll love you and then you’ll want to leave him and the rest of your family. Giving you such baggy clothes is his way of preventing you from falling in love.”

“I spoke to Kol last night,” Rebekah mentioned as the conversation came back to mind. “He said some things I’ve been thinking about. I don’t think I’m ready for love, at least not yet. I grew up too fast, I never got to do the normal things other girls got to do. I’m not happy about what my brother did to my mother, but I know that he did it for all of us. I don’t have any plans to leave this family anytime soon. I guess I just want to spend some time with everyone, start all over again with them I guess. I want that time that I missed out on when I was child. Maybe I could go to school again, this family is together again, and I want a chance to experience what it feels like to be normal or as close to normal as I can get.”

Bella smiled, “We have all day free if you want, we can go looking at schools in the area. We can enroll and easily get you on the path to normal.”

“You would help me with that?” Rebekah asked surprised looking at Bella critically.

“Of course,” Bella said, “I personally hated high school, but I think you’ll be great. In fact, I think there’s a private school nearby along with a public.”

“Which one would you choose?” Rebekah asked not knowing what the best option for her was.

“Private schools have girls who can be a bit snottier, but public school isn’t perfect either. I would choose public, the nicest of people can go to public school.” Bella said with a smile, “That shirt looks great on you.”

Rebekah smiled, “Thank you Bella.” Rebekah paused and turned to Bella meeting her gaze. “Do you love him?”

Bella blushed at the question it came at a surprise to her. “Between you and me, I do. It hasn’t been long, but when I felt it, I knew he was it. I had fallen in love before, but it was nothing compared to what I feel for Elijah, not even close. If you’re asking because you think I’ll just leave your brother one day, you should know I want to be with your brother for as long as I can be. I don’t want anything more than to see him happy.”

Rebekah smiled, “You’re good for him. It had been a very long time since I heard him laugh. You make him seem almost human again. You also seem to be good for Nik, I never saw him so nice to someone who was outside of us, and he’s rarely so nice to us.”

“He’s changing,” Bella said with a smile, “He no longer holds the fear that he’ll be killed that his mother will come back or that Mikael is out there tracking him. He’s free of the worry, he no longer has to feel that he has to protect all of you.”

“He never had to protect us, we could do that ourselves he just never seemed to understand that,” Rebekah said.

“I think it’s much more than that,” Bella said as Rebekah went back into the changing room, “Mikael was only after all of you because of Nik, and Nik knew that. As long as you supported him, Mikael would try to kill you too. He didn’t want to see any of you die. You are all he has, and in this world, the most important thing is family.”

“Do you have any family Bella?” Rebekah asked.

“Yes, I have a brother and a sister in law,” Bella said she couldn’t wait to see them both again. “They’re quite adorable together.”

Bella helped Rebekah carry the bags back to the car. They had bought so many clothes in the last two hours, Bella was sure the saleslady got a good tip today.

“Want to get some brunch?” Bella asked with a smile, “My treat.”

“I’d love to,” Rebekah said, “Where should we go?”

“There’s a restaurant not that far from here, we could walk there if you’d like,” Bella suggested.

“Let’s go,” Rebekah said, “It’s so refreshing to be able to walk everywhere.” Rebekah stayed silent as they walked, after a few minutes she spoke again.

“Are we friends Bella?” Rebekah asked not sure what their relationship was.

“Of course we are,” Bella responded.

“Good,” Rebekah replied relieved to have a friend. “You’re the first person I truly feel is a friend to me. So many people in the past have pretended to be my friend because they wanted something from me. Most of the time they wanted me to turn them or to get them a daylight ring. I like this Bella, makes me feel human again. I think that’s why my brothers are so fond of you, you bring out the humanity in all of us. You’re bringing out a new side to this family, I’m glad for it.”

“I don’t think it’s a new side, I just think it’s one that began to disappear centuries ago,” Bella said, “So, you still thinking about enrolling in school?”

“Yes,” Rebekah responded, “I want to give it a try and see where it leads.”

“I think you’ll enjoy it,” Bella said, “It’d give you something to do with your days, makes an eternity less boring.”

“Can we go to the school right after this?” Rebekah asked cautiously.

“Of course,” Bella said happily, “Afterwards we can go and buy you some things that you’ll need for when you go to school.”

-Page Break-

“It’s been a long time since Rebekah and Bella left,” Elijah said looking at his watch.

Klaus chuckled and sipped his drink, “They went shopping, of course they were going to take a long time.”

“I wouldn’t be complaining, the less time we have to spend hearing Rebekah complain the better,” Kol said, “So where are you both going to take me tonight?”

“We’re not going to take you anywhere,” Klaus said.

Kol sighed bored and left to his room. Elijah looked after his brother, “They seem to be adjusting, any word from Finn and Sage?”

“No, Finn came out of the room once to get blood, but I haven’t seen him since, I expect he’s still rekindling his romance with Sage,” Klaus said.

“He’ll eventually have to come out and speak to us,” Elijah said

Klaus nodded, “I should get started on researching the doppelganger. I want to make sure everything’s set, for when the full moon comes.

“You’re going to need the moonstone,” Elijah commented.

“I will, but you forget that your girlfriend can help me find it,” Klaus said, “If I’m correct, she might already know who has it or where it is.”

Elijah smiled, “She does always seem to be a step ahead of things”

“Alright, I’m going to get going,” Kol said coming down the stairs freshly changed.

“Where are you going?” Klaus asked eyeing his brother.

“Rebekah called,” Kol said, “She asked me to meet her and Bella somewhere.”

Elijah stepped forward cautious of both his siblings being around Bella alone. “Where?”

“Can’t tell you that dear brother, Rebekah said I should get to know Bella, and if you were there, it’d ruin it all. So I’m going to head out and meet them. Don’t expect us until later,” Kol said he blurred away before they could question him more.

Feeling slightly worried Elijah reached for his phone only to have it ring just as he touched it. “Hello.”

“Hello,” Bella said her voice warm and soft, “I thought I’d call you and tell you not to worry I’ll be fine. Your sister is quite fun to be around, she’s quite charming actually.”

“So you’re safe?” Elijah asked worried, at this point Klaus left the room giving his brother the space to talk to Bella.

“Of course I am,” Bella replied, “Thank you for worrying, but you don’t have to Eli, your siblings aren’t as bad and unstable as you think.”

“You don’t know my siblings very well,” Elijah said still not trusting his siblings very well.

Bella laughed, “You have to be trusting Eli, your siblings wouldn’t do anything. Besides, with both of then out of the house, you have time to calm yourself. You seem pretty stressed Eli.”

Elijah smiled, “How can you tell?”

“It’s in your voice,” Bella said simply, “It’s strained, more serious than it was before. What are you so worried about Eli?”

“Your safety,” Elijah responded immediately. “You’re still young for a vampire Bella, if one of my siblings tried to hurt you they could easily do it, and I would have no way to get to you.”

“We’re downtown, in the school district,” Bella said, “There are some things Rebekah and I needed from here. It’s about 30 minute drive from your home and 10 minutes if you decide to run. I have my phone on me, if you get worried you can call. I’m also a witch Eli, I can defend myself just fine, there’s no need to worry I promise. If anything happens, you’ll be the first I call.”

Elijah smiled, “Would you like to accompany me for dinner tonight?”

“I’d love to,” Bella said, “We won’t be home too late. We can go right after.”

“Sounds perfect,” Elijah said, “Be careful and stay safe Bella.”

“I will,” Bella said, “I’ll see you later Eli, relax, everything we’ll be fine, I’ll be fine.”

Elijah said his goodbye and hung up the phone. He was feeling better knowing where Bella was and that he could reach her if she needed him.

“Why am at a school?” Kol asked as he arrived in front of Bella and Rebekah

“Everyone needs to get an education,” Bella said with a smile. “Rebekah is planning to enroll, we thought you might like to also, it’d give you something to do with all your free time.”

Kol looked around before shrugging, “There are worst things I could do with my time, let’s go.”

Bella smiled, “I would recommend not feeding from the students it would raise suspicions.”

Kol chuckled, “Despite what my brothers seem to think Bella, I’m quite controlled in my feeding process. I just like to be more risky in my feedings, it also has a bonus of making them angry.” Bella shook her head but a smile still planted on her lips, she had to admit the younger Mikaelson siblings were entertaining to be around.

-Page Break-

Rebekah and Kol walked in Bella behind them, both the siblings were carrying large amounts of bags filled with clothes, shoes, accessories, and school supplies. Klaus looked at his siblings with a raised eyebrow, he then turned to Bella. “You let them buy the store?”

Bella shrugged, “They needed plenty of clothes for school. You can only repeat so many outfits in one school year Nik.”

“School?” Klaus asked, “You don’t mean public school do you?”

“Yes she does,” Rebekah said with a smile. “Kol and I decided to attend, we figured it’d be a good experience for us to have. Bella helped us enroll, and got us set up with everything we would need.”

“You’re actually attending, Kol?” Klaus asked his younger brother.

“I had nothing else to do,” Kol replied, “I now have about 8 hours of my days occupied, and the less bored I am, the less likely I am to eat half the city.”

Klaus nodded and let his siblings go upstairs Bella joined Klaus in the living room. “Where’s Elijah?”

“Haven’t seen him since the afternoon,” Klaus replied, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, do you have any idea where the moonstone could be?”

“The one for your ritual?” Bella asked, Klaus nodded, “I’ve looked into it. I don’t have its exact location, but I do know that it is indeed in Mystic Falls. It won’t be hard to track down, I’ll look into it later. Right now, I have to find Eli.”

“Have plans?” Klaus asked Bella.

Bella nodded, “Dinner date. I guess I’ll just wait for him to come back.”

“You’re not worried,” Klaus said noticing her calm posture.

Bella shook her head, “I know how strange it sounds, but when he’s in trouble or in pain, I can feel it. I don’t feel anything, I’m sure he’s fine, just running a bit late.”

“No no, my brother is punctual, he never runs late,” Klaus said taking a sip of his drink.

“I lost track of time,” Elijah said from the doorway, Bella turned to look at him and a blinding smile appeared on her face as she saw him. “Ready to head out Bella?”

Bella smiled, “Of course, I’ll talk to you later Nik.”

Klaus nodded and waved his brother and Bella out.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” Elijah said as he led Bella to his car.

Bella smiled, “I don’t mind waiting for you.”

Before Bella got into the car Elijah kissed her, something he had been wanting to do the entire day. Bella grinned as he pulled back, he opened the door for her and helped her in before he drove off.

“Where are we going?” Bella asked as Elijah had been driving for some time and she didn’t know where they were headed.

“Somewhere special,” Elijah said, he reached over and took Bella’s hand in his. Bella smiled and nodded she was beyond anxious to see where they were headed. Finally they stopped in what looked to be a secluded area, she looked around and saw they were near water. In the distance she saw a table with two chairs and the small flame of candles, it looked like the perfect date.

With wide eyes Bella turned to Elijah, “You did this?”

Elijah smiled proudly, “You told me to relax, but I’m not one to sit around and do nothing, so I set this up. It’s just us, and well, the waiter.”

“You hired a waiter?” Bella asked in surprise, this was beyond words.

Elijah nodded, “I wanted to make this dinner special for you, treat you how deserve to be treated.”

Bella smiled, she intertwined her hand with Elijah’s, “This is beyond perfect Eli.”

“I’m glad you like it Bella,” Elijah said as he led her to the table, he pulled out her chair for her, and sat across from her, he poured her some blood knowing that as a newborn vampire she needed to feed regularly. A day of working to put this together was more than worth it to Elijah as he saw the way Bella’s face lit up as she saw what he had done for her. Anything was worth doing as long as he was able to see her face light up.

---