This is AU one shot; Kol didn't die in Mystic Falls.

Screaming children. Cheerful music. Stuffed animals. Cotton candy. Balloons. Pony rides. It was official, Kol Mikaelson was in hell. Why, oh why had he ever agreed to that stupid bet? Rebekah must have cheated somehow, there was no other explanation. They had been out drinking together and she had suggested a little competition. They would both choose each other a human to hit on and whoever would succeed faster would be the winner while the loser would have to do one thing the winner wanted without complaining.

Rebekah had chose Kol a gorgeous little brunette who, much to his shock, had turned him down. He had thought that he had been clever for making Rebekah to hit on that same brunette, but unfortunately the joke had been on him when she had succeeded. Well, he should have known; what straight woman would ever turn him down? As annoying as the whole thing was, he had still kept his word and here he was, taking his 5-years-old niece to a carnival. Of course Rebekah had asked for something like this, damn her. Kol had never been good with children and even though he had nothing against Hope, she wasn't too bad as far as a mini-Nik was concern, he really didn't know how to interact with her.

"Come on, Uncle Kol!" she cheered and squished his hand. "I want to go to the carousel!"

"Sure," Kol huffed. "Let's get you to the carousel then."

Damn, damn, damn Rebekah. He crossed his arms and kept his eyes on Hope when the carousel started to spin; he had every intention to return her to Nik in one piece. At least the whole thing couldn't possibly get worse…

"Hello there!" a cheerful voice suddenly said. "Why the long face, buddy? No one's sad when Chuckles is here!"

Kol rolled his eyes before turning to look at the annoyance. Probably some stupid mascot.

"Why don't you get lost, "Chuckles", or you'll have your next meals with a straw… Son of a bitch!"

It was a clown. A clown with big red nose, the mask, the bright green hair, the oversized colorful clothes, the big shoes and even the damn horn.

"Woah, woah, there, buddy. Language," Chuckles chuckled and honked the horn.

For a moment Kol was too shocked to move. This was ridiculous, Kol Mikaelson wasn't afraid of anything. No, definitely not. He certainly wasn't afraid of some guy in a creepy mask and…Geez!

"Stay away from me!" he snapped and took a step back.

"What's the matter, buddy?" the clown chuckled. "How about I'll make you a nice balloon animal?"

"How about I'll beat you to death with your stupid shoes?"

The clown's eyebrows furrowed.

"Chuckles doesn't appreciate your tone, buddy. Boys, we have a naughty camper here!"

Oh dear Lord… Clowns, more clowns… Before Kol even realized what he was doing, he was backing away.

"Stay away from me you damn…"

"Hey!" Hope's voice suddenly snapped. She had jumped off the carousel; she stepped determinedly in front of Kol and arched her back. "Leave my uncle alone!"

Fortunately the clowns stopped, Chuckles was smiling at Hope.

"It's alright, little lady."

Hope glared at him and took Kol's hand.

"Come on, Uncle Kol."

Kol tried to clear his throat when Hope started to drag him away. What the hell had just happened?

"It's okay, Uncle Kol," Hope said. "I don't like clowns either, they're scary."

"I'm not scared of anything," Kol muttered.

Hope stopped and turned to look at him.

"Can you then come to the ghost train with me?"

Kol bit his bottom lip.

"Sure. We'll go to the ghost train and then I'll buy you whatever you want."

Hope's face brightened.

"Really?"

"Yes, I think it's time for you and me to spend some quality time together."

Hope smiled and wrapped her little arms around him. Kol tapped her head and wondered how many things he would have to buy to her to make sure that she wouldn't tell anyone about what had just happened. If anyone would ever hear that a 5-years-old had rescued him from a bunch of clowns… No, there was no way in hell he would ever let that to happen.