A/N: This Bonus chapter was sponsored by Gabriel Borges.
[Blood Diary Entry]
"Let's go back," Rebekah said while smiling at me.
My monstrous features receded as I turned back into my normal appearance.
I took a look at the carnage surrounding us, the hundreds of bodies—all of them brutalized in some shape or form; some were completely mutilated, others were turned into charred remains.
Then I turned my gaze towards Rebekah and me. Our clothes were completely drenched in blood and gore. Rebekah's clothes were in a better state than mine, since she killed them mostly with her lightning, but she still got some stuff on her. Whereas I was entirely painted in red, even my pale skin was bathed in so much blood it took a different hue.
I extended a hand to her, silently asking her to grab it—which she did without question, not even bothering with any underlying reason behind the gesture.
I smiled inwardly.
Taking a deep breath, I urged the flames that rested quietly inside of me. Making a point that I wanted them not to harm either Rebekah or me, and that I wanted them to burn every remnant from the ghouls.
While I hadn't miraculously achieved perfect control of these flames, I could still use them rather well if I 'conveyed' what I wanted clearly. This fire almost seemed as if it had a mind of its own, so it was relatively easy to use it.
The warm and bright white flames burst from me.
A sea of fire washed over us and proceeded to incinerate every trace of carnage we left behind.
The traces of filth that clung to us turned into steam and drifted away with the raging inferno.
The hundreds of corpses turned into ash in mere seconds, and as the flame got more fuel, it burned even brighter and wilder. Until it had nothing else to burn and retreated quietly into my body.
Rebekah looked at me amusedly. "Thanks for that. That is a really useful ability." She looked around us, noticing that even the grass beneath our feet was still intact, and that only the ghouls' remains had been burned. "Not even Elijah managed to do stuff like this with his fire." She said, impressed.
I raised an eyebrow. "Elijah is the one who can use fire?" I asked with incredulity.
She turned to me, a confused expression on her face. "Yes, why do you ask? And why do you seem surprised?"
"I would think that Klaus was the one who resonated most with fire. Given… well, given who he is. And that Elijah is more of an icy guy…" I said in an awkward tone.
Rebekah giggled. "No, Nik uses the element of water. Which is why every time he gets really angry, either things either freeze up, or there is a tsunami somewhere."
I shudder at the thought. "And Elijah?"
She raised her eyebrows teasingly. "My, my, curious about my family, are we?"
I got a bit flustered at that. "Well… you know…" Then I decided to pay her back for the teasing. I gestured at the two of us with my finger. "Due to this, I needed to take more of an interest in your family as well," I smirked.
She blushed and turned away, ignoring what I said. "Elijah is normally very calm, but when he gets angry, things get pretty scary. Hence the fire."
'And she is changing the subject.'
I chuckled.
"What about Finn and Kol?" I asked.
She huffed. "I'm not going to say anything more to you."
"Whatever you say, Miss Pikachu." I quipped.
Her face fell. "I don't know what 'Pikachu' means, but for some reason I am not very happy right now."
I laughed. "And why is that?"
She didn't answer and instead kept glaring at me.
As I was about to turn and walk away, Rebekah picked up a rock from the ground and started lightly throwing it up before catching it again—almost as if she was deciding where to throw it.
I quickly raised my arms in surrender and apologized. "I'm sorry!"
She smirked and turned to the nest entrance. Then she threw the rock with a LOT of strength. The rock hit one of the nest's walls with a sonorous explosion. The cliff where the nest was excavated collapsed into itself, and thus the last remnants of the ghouls were destroyed.
"Apologies accepted." She said with a sweet smile.
I swallowed dryly.
She walked towards me, still maintaining that grace she always carried herself with, but there was a pep to her step. A lightness that she rarely showed, and every time she did, there was only me around.
A small thing perhaps, but it still made me smile every time I saw it.
She grabbed one of my hands and started leading us away from the forest.
I took one last glance behind us, remembering the pained expression of that old man. Then I nodded to myself and stopped looking back.
'I don't know your name, and quite honestly, I don't think I care for it… But I've taken revenge in your honor. May you rest easy now that the ones responsible for your death have all been dealt with.'
As we made our way back, we kept talking about the most random of things. She would ask about things that she missed while she was asleep. She took an interest in the smallest of things, and her eyes would sparkle as I spoke about movies and how the culture developed overall.
I found this side of her absolutely adorable.
The mood around us was light as we spoke about nothing and everything at the same time.
Even the woods around us seemed more cheery, as we heard the chirp and singing of birds all around, the soft buzzing of bees, and the small squeaks of a few curious squirrels.
We kept walking for a few more minutes, trying to enjoy this simple pleasure as much as we could, until we finally left the forest. And then we rushed straight to Nico's shop.
Inside, we found my mother and Nico sitting and talking. Two mugs of hot chocolate were in front of them.
Nico cheerfully sipped on his own, clearly enjoying the taste. While the other was wisely untouched.
I sighed in relief, grateful that Mother hadn't succumbed to Nicodemus's shenanigans.
Mom noticed us and perked up. "You're back!"