Here's the final chapter, thank you everyone for reading the story :)

Epilogue

Spain, 1720

The whole town was on fire. Elijah wasn't sure if Kol had been the one who had started the fire, but he had certainly caused a lot of chaos before that.

"Damn Kol," Niklaus muttered. "Why did he not just send Mikael an open invitation while he was at it? Well, this ends right now."

Elijah didn't say anything, he and Niklaus split up in order to find their brother faster. Rebekah was already waiting for them in the ship that would carry them to America. None of them had seen Kol in more than 200 years, thanks to Cassandra. Her visions always kept Kol one step ahead of them. If Kol was here now despite of what Niklaus was planning to do to him that had to mean… Cassandra wasn't with him anymore. Elijah tried not to think about what that meant. He entered a building that seemed to be a tavern. There were chairs, tables, plates and steins lying around the floor, clearly the people had left in a hurry. Few candles were still burning and Elijah could pick up his brother's scent.

"Kol!"

"He is not here," a calm voice replied.

Elijah froze when he heard Cassandra's voice, she was sitting at the only table still standing. She hadn't changed at all, she was wearing a red silk gown and her hair was down.

"Hello, Elijah," she said smiling. "It has been a while."

"Cassandra…" he muttered. "What…what are you doing here?"

"I go where my husband goes," she replied and took a sip out of her wine goblet. Elijah was speechless for a moment; all he could do was staring at her. She looked the same, but there was definitely something different about her.

"So… I suppose Kol knows why we are here."

She nodded.

"He does."

"And he left you behind?"

She seemed amused when she shook her head.

"No, he wished me to negotiate. Please," she added and waved her hand towards the chair opposite her. Slowly Elijah walked over to the chair and sat down. Cassandra smiled and poured him some wine.

"How have you been?" she asked politely.

"I could ask you the same question," he muttered. "You are not… a vampire."

"No. The link between my husband and I prevents me from aging. I must say that the first decades were quite… strange. Immortality was never something I dreamt about. Oh well, life rarely goes the way we plan."

Elijah had no idea what to say, he had imagined this moment so many times, but now… She definitely wasn't the same person anymore; there was some kind of strange serenity in her. Her calm smile was the smile of a person who had experienced too much to let any insignificant things to bother her.

"You look good," she said. "If you do not mind me saying so. I like your new hairstyle."

"Thank you," he muttered.

"And I am sorry about how things ended between you and… Charlotte, was it?"

"What?" he gasped.

She smiled and ran her fingers softly over the table.

"Yes I admit that I have been keeping an eye on you, but just a little and not because I would have wanted to invade your privacy, I only wanted to see that you are alright. In any case, shall we get to the point? My husband and I have decided that we want to come to the new world with you, but he does not want a dagger in his heart and I will not become your brother's slave. That option is possible only if we have you on our side, so what do you say?"

He was unable to reply right away, she waited with a patient smile on her face.

"Yes," he finally managed to say. "You can count on my help."

"Wonderful. We both thank you."

Elijah hesitated; he had no idea how to form his question.

"You and Kol… Are you…"

"Two centuries is a long time," she replied. "You could say that we have learned to accept each other the way we are."

"Do you love him?"

She nodded.

"I do. Despite of the monster he seems to be, deep down he is like a lost child, afraid to be all alone in this world. He needs me and I will always be there for him."

Elijah didn't have much to add to that, clearly she meant what she said.

"I have…" he muttered and picked up the small object out of his pocket. Cassandra's face brightened when she saw the tin ring; gently she took it from him and touched it with her fingertips. There was sadness in her eyes when she kissed the ring.

"Thank you." She looked up and handed the ring back to him. "I would like to give this to you, if you wish to accept it."

He nodded and put the ring back into his pocket. She smiled and touched his hand very briefly. They were both quiet for a while until Kol's arrival broke the silence. He seemed very cheerful and he had blood all over his face.

"Brother!" he greeted Elijah and turned his eyes towards his wife. "Are we finished, darling?"

"Yes," she replied and stood up, her eyebrows furrowed when she looked at Kol. "Look at yourself," she scolded and picked up a handkerchief. "We have company you know."

Kol rolled his eyes when she started to wipe his face with the handkerchief.

"For heaven's sake… You are not my mother, woman, stop acting like you would be."

"Sure, I will do that as soon as you stop acting like an ill-mannered child."

"You see what I have to endure, brother," Kol snorted, but there was definitely warmth in his eyes when he looked at Cassandra.

"There," she huffed when she was finished. "And do not give me that look."

He grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Nag, nag, nag, you can be grateful that you are pretty, my dear, otherwise I would have left you a long time ago."

"Yes, you always promise but never deliver," she huffed, but she was smiling.

He bent down and kissed her forehead, the gesture was both loving and possessive. There was no doubt that he truly loved her. His arm was still around her when he looked at Elijah. His message was very clear "she belongs to me". Surely Kol would have never admitted it, but Elijah could see that Cassandra had been right, he needed her. She looked at Elijah calmly and smiled at him. That smile told him more than any words ever could.

"So," Kol said after a moment of silence. "Where is this ship of yours, I think we are all ready to sail to America."