Chapter Text
It was the night that changed his world.
Kol Mikaelson certainly didn’t see anything noteworthy about this evening. Things were quite bad for him after all, so he was rather miserable. Maybe this was why he couldn’t notice anything different. It was quite normal if a bit cold night. Earlier children were roaming around to collect sweets from homes like it usually happens during Halloween. Now there was silence. The moon and the stars were bright on the dark silk of the night sky. There was seemingly nothing special about that time.
And yet in the dark powers were shifting. The ones closely connected to nature could feel how strings keeping this world in balance and harmony were moving around and making space for something beyond the understanding of mere mortals, how some threads were replaced by new ones, some mixed together to create something new and others were added into the beautiful tapestry that was the future. It all created a new, enthralling picture for the world to replicate.
The change was coming.
Kol was bored by it all. He was there on the Other Side and all other the spirits were quite excited about something he did not care about. He didn’t bother to listen, because for him? It had no meaning. After all, he was daggered. It wasn’t the first time happening, and yet he couldn’t remember other times being there. So why would he bother with happenings in the spirit world? He would forget it all after waking up.
He was following around his brother Elijah for most of his time. The following someone or something connected to himself was easier and less painful. He had only three choices and among them, Elijah was the one that irked him the least. It still irked him, but on a manageable level.
It didn’t mean that he was not bored. His brother was a bore most of the time, no chaos, no pranks, no bloody massacres, no new magic to learn about… So nothing that could make things interesting. So when his brother was comfortably seated in his armchair by the merrily lit fireplace, he had nothing better to do than sit on the balcony and watch happenings of the night.
It was peaceful, even if he was miserable. Certainly, it could be much worse for him after all. He already spent at least a few hours just sitting here.
‘Are you up to some company?’ he heard a voice behind himself and on instinct, he shifted to be ready to jump into action.
There stood a beautiful woman that could not be older than maybe her mid-twenties. She had hair that could rival fire in color, and it fell around her aristocratic face in gentle curls. Her eyes shifted from color to color with such speed that he could not pinpoint the shade even if he tried. Her skin was warm and like honeyed milk, golden, healthy, and like she spent much time outside. She had freckles on her nose and cheeks, and they glowed and glittered like diamonds. She wore a white, long summer dress littered with splashes of vibrant but mismatched colors in some places.
She also emanated so much power that it made him dizzy for a moment.
‘I could never refuse such a beautiful lady’ he smiled charmingly and stood from his place on the floor. He took her hand to kiss her knuckles like a gentleman he certainly was not. But he knew his manners and knew when he should use them. It was just self-preservation. Of course, he couldn’t leave his flirty ways too, but it often worked in his favor.
And she smiled at him. It’s not a smile of a woman interested in flirtations or charmed by a man. It’s a fond smile that mothers give to their children when they did something funny or baffling, it’s a smile that an older sibling gives to the younger ones when they do something precocious and entertaining. And Kol? He was out of his deep. In oh so long no one gave him a smile like that.
It’s a strange feeling, but not unpleasant. In fact, it brought some strange warmth to his torso.
Instead of replying to him she just sits next to the spot he occupied just a moment ago and with oh-so-warm eyes, she motioned for him to sit with her. Something told him to listen to her. And so he sits down and returns to looking at the sky.
She hummed quietly, and he could feel her looking at him. There was nothing that felt hostile, only some familiar warmth, one he knew well but forgotten what it was during his long time alive.
‘You became someone I could be proud of my dear Kol’ she said out of the blue and her words ring with some power and sense of finality. He could not understand where it came from, but somehow it made him feel good at being praised. The sense of familiarity only grew with every second in this strange woman's company.
‘And why would you feel pride for someone you don’t know? And why you call me yours?’ he asked with something sharp in his voice but without any heat or anger. It felt like he could not be angry at the redhead sitting next to him and like she knew him better than he knew himself.
‘But I do know you my dear child.’ she said with so much love that it knocked the breath out of his lungs. She raised her hand just to lay it on his cheek and makes him look at her. ‘You are one of mine after all. You always were.’
And just like that, he knows.
‘You feel like the magic I lost.’ he breathes in awe. At this moment he couldn’t stop looking at her, couldn’t force himself to look away. He wouldn’t want to look away.
‘Hello, Kol. My children call me Mother Magic and so could you.’ she stroked his cheek with her thumb, and her features lost this wonderful smile just to be replaced with love and serenity. And it was directed at him. Just for him.
He allowed himself to close his eyes and revel in this feeling of being complete, of this feeling of being safe, cared for, and accepted without question.
For a thousand years he was looking for a way to regain his connection with magic, to feel like himself again, for a way to make this pain that lingered after losing magic disappear. He was a broken man, shattered and lost in despair. But now? For a moment he was whole again, he was at peace after all this time.
He couldn’t say when warm and gentle arms bring him to an even warmer body, he couldn’t say how he found himself in her embrace like a little child. Her steady hands were combing through his hair and her soft lips rested on his forehead. He only knew that he would stay like that for the rest of eternity if permitted to do so. He never felt like that before.
After a while, she shifts and moves away just a little to look at his face. He tries to bury himself into her shoulder again, but she flicks him on the nose with a chuckle. Her kaleidoscope eyes are full of laughter when she stares at him.
‘Hi,’ she whispers and smiles again.
‘Hi’ he can’t help but replay and return her smile.
‘I’m here to offer you a deal. Would you listen, oh little trickster?’ and like that his thoughts cleared of the bliss and brought some much-needed clarity to his mind.
‘What deal?’ he asks with just a tiny amount of suspicion.
Because no matter if she’s Magic herself and no matter how much he loves and respects her. When an entity or personification or whatever something so powerful just comes to you and offers a deal or asks for your help you should be wary. Higher powers should not be messed with.
‘There is a matter I require assistance with.’ there’s approval in her tone and her smile. But it was still warm, gentle, and oh so loving. ‘My sister, Fate made a mess among my people just for her entertainment. And in doing so she messed with the lives of so many of my children… And with Death.’
‘And you want me to do what exactly?’ he asked with some confusion. Because right now? He couldn’t do anything. He was daggered and unable to do anything.
‘She wanted for Savior to be born from one of her minions’ she admits with some wry humor. ‘A child born and raised into tragedy. One that wouldn’t disrupt the status quo that exists among my people. I want you to take part in the ritual that would result in the child being conceived. In doing so the child would be yours. And you would be the one to raise the said child.’
This made him numb.
‘Vampires can’t have children.’ is his immediate reply.
‘Magic can do some wonderful and terrifying things.’ she just laughs quietly. And this? This he can’t dispute.
Kol never thought of having children. After all, he was a vampire, an undead creature. He may have wanted a family of his own when he was human still, but not after his mother cursed him and his siblings. It was easier not to dwell on seemingly impossible things.
But now? Would he want to have a child? Children were huge responsibility and commitment. How could he be a father? He was just a spirit after all. And how would he rise said child? No one was able to see him.
‘The ritual will be performed soon…’ she tells him gently. ‘If you agree then your spirit would possess the body of one of the participants. With my assistance, the child would be born to have 3 biological parents. And when the baby would be born Death and I would make sure that your child would be able to see you. You would still be a spirit, but be able to interact with young one and with the world in some capacity.’ she explains with patience.
‘Why me?’ he asked after a while. Because no matter what, he was not the best role model for anyone.
‘Because you were always loyal to me.’ her reply is immediate and full of confidence. ‘And I reward loyalty and love given to me by my own. And you’re a better man than you give yourself credit for. I’m just giving you a reason to prove it to the world, but most importantly to yourself.’
‘And why should I agree?’ he wonders with so much curiosity.
‘Because if you do it and do the best you can I will give you your magic back.’ and like that she steals his breath away again.
Because this is the thing, he always wanted. To have his magic back. To be complete again. To be just a little bit less lost.
‘I can’t restore your connection to Nature. Witches, you know use magic, they are partially my own but ultimately they belong to Nature only. I have my issues with them and maybe with time, I will let you learn about it. But there is another kind of magic users. They don’t have to take their power from external sources; their magic comes from within them. They can do all the things that Servants of Nature can, they can take power from their environment and celestial events. But ultimately they have magic inside of themselves instead of just a connection they can channel power through.’ she explains to him with a smile.
He heard some rumors about that. Not many, no. It was centuries ago, some comment thrown by a passerby that he decided was just someone not knowing anything. But it seems that he was wrong. And it excited him. Because it would mean a new world to explore and discover.
And family to gain too.
‘What’s the catch?’
It’s a valid question; it sounds too good to be true. There must be something not so pretty in this deal.
‘There are some forms of magic I don’t want you to perform. Like summoning or creating demons and other horrors from hell or the Void. There are rituals that damage someone's soul and mind. And there are just some forms of magic that require certain connection to other entities like divination requires link to Fate or necromancy is associated with Death.’ she shrugged and looked away from him for the first time.
And he could understand why she wants him away from this stuff. It’s always good to know things, to know what you’re dealing with but some matters should be left alone. Like all that Silas nonsense.
‘That’s all? Because this is just… quite logical anyway.’ he frowns and straightens himself in his place.
She lets him go without a problem, but she puts her head on his shoulder. And it’s nice, he doesn’t feel so alone like that. They sit like that for a few minutes in companionable silence. His thoughts are a mess. But some parts of himself want to try.
Not only because of having magic back. It’s a huge factor of course. He can’t forget about a child, however. Does he want a child? Could he be a good father? Could he love this little person with all of himself? Could he be a good role model? Or would he rise a monster? He can’t agree just to do damage to someone innocent and defenseless. Especially that it would be his own child.
‘You would be a good father.’ she told him gently. Was she reading his mind? He was sure she was.
‘I… I don’t think I would be. But I will do my best.’ he decided then.
And Lady Magic looked at him and smiled at him with approval.
‘You made a decision then.’ she nodded to herself and stood up. She offered him her hand and without hesitation he took it.
And then he felt like he was falling from a great height. He could not see anything and there was the whistling of the wind in his ears. If asked about it later, he would explain that it felt like ages passed and that he could not remember much from it.
After a while, he came to his senses, though. He could feel a cold wooden floor under his knees and the chill of the air around. Everything felt full of magic and power. He opened his eyes to see that he was in a runic circle made of blood, salt and something he couldn’t recognize. Some symbols he recognized, some were unknown Next thing he saw was that he was naked and the body he was in was not his own.
Before him was a woman, just as naked as him. She had hair that reminded him of Magic, and her eyes were a deep shade of emeralds. She was observing him with wariness and curiosity. It was not hard to connect the dots.
He grinned at her, a grin just a little bit too sharp and too crazy. But she seemed to relax at his lack of any violent moves.
‘Shall we have some fun, darling?’