Author's Note: This is the newest installment – fresh off the presses. The next few drabbles are going to get a little hectic if everything comes out the way I want it to! Hope you guys are enjoying this!

The Balance of Things

Part Thirteen

She is allowed to take a break after that.

He is still on the floor when he dismisses her and she immediately retreats to the kitchen. She swipes at her nose again catching more blood on the back of her hand before she pours herself a glass of water. Her head is pounding and her stomach is knotting itself over and over…but she can feel it.

Her magic.

It has finally awoken properly and is flooding through her system at a rapid pace. She remembers the first time she felt this way, after she had opened the tomb with her grandmother. She had been too worried about Elena, about why lie beyond that door to even consider the immense rush that had overtaken her (and later she would dismiss it all together with the realization that as her powers grew her grandmothers had weakened).

Now she leans against the counter, closes her eyes and lets it come. If she were asked to describe it to someone she would not be able. The best she can come up with is a feeling of warmth spreading throughout every aspect of her body, leaving behind no pain, no weakness – just the realization that she is stronger, more capable of handling situations such as the wolf.

She wishes she could be happy with that thought.

Instead she feels defeated in a way. In the span of ten minutes she has let Klaus unlock a part of her that she had desperately wanted to keep hidden. She had liked being human. Liked the thought that she was a perfectly normal girl going from day to day doing nothing beyond the limits of her human status. Not once since she had left Mystic Falls and locked that part of her away had she felt even the slightest temptation to use magic.

She sets the glass down, the annoyance clawing at her despite the exhilarating pull of magic. Her eyes close and she sighs. She supposes this is a good thing. This brings her one step closer to completing whatever task Klaus has in mind for her. Then her purpose will be served and she can be free of him – one way or another.

She tilts her head now, focusing on a lone candle that serves as a centerpiece for the table. At one point lighting a candle was child's play. She isn't so sure now. She knows she is not a beginner, she has done this all before but she still worries that it will all be too much too fast. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath. There is a stirring within in and when she opens her eyes the orange flame burns proudly.

Okay – maybe it is still child's play.

She hears him clear his throat (rather politely) and sighs. So much for having a few more minutes to herself. She shifts her gaze to the entrance of the kitchen and finds him standing there watching her. He still has that look of pride on his face that he has no business having. She pointedly ignores him to cross the room and blow out the candle.

"You'll still need practice of course, but that was a magnificent start," Klaus assures her, sounding very much like a teacher handing out constructive criticism.

She stands ramrod straight and looks over her shoulder. "Not today," she says firmly. "Too fast – I am not in the mood for another nosebleed."

"Of course." There is a playful smirk that she doesn't quite understand.

Bonnie decides she has better things to do than try and figure Klaus out. She pushes past him into the living room and stops short. The entire room is basked in the warm orange glow of flickering candles. There are at least a dozen of them positioned around the room to serve as decoration and right now each one burns brightly. Behind her she can hear Klaus shifting, turning so that he too can survey her handiwork.

His smirk makes sense now

The best course of action becomes to ignore them, which she does as she strides to the staircase. His eyes on her but she ignores that too, climbing quickly to the relative sanctuary of her room.

There are candles burning there too.

Okay – definitely still child's play.

X

He insists that she practice on a daily basis.

She'd concedes, but only if he will stop hovering. It is much easier to start fires and levitate objects without him breathing down her neck. Thankfully he complies, though he doesn't stray far. She catches him watching her every now and then, smiling at her accomplishments. On the second day of her self directed lessons she sends a vase hurdling in his direction. He doesn't flinch as it crashes.

"Oops."

On the fourth day, she ventures outside to stir the air. As a witch, she knows her connection to nature is rivaled by no one. As soon as she takes a deep breath, she can feel it. For the first time since her powers came rushing back she feels a tingle of excitement at the prospect of doing magic. She blocks out Klaus (who is no doubt watching nearby) and her current predicament. Instead she closes her eyes and lets the connection take over. The wind plays with her hair, whipping it around her face. She can hear the sounds of leaves, twigs, anything that litters the forest floor being lifted and thrown about. She lets it continue until she is laughing as the magic courses through her at a maddening rate.

She is still smiling and her skin has a healthy glow when she enters the house. He is standing there and she comes to a halt. Her annoyance at having him ruin this moment plays out on her face and he has the audacity to look wounded. After she glowers she is content to ignore him and does so by striding past him. Her little jaunt in the woods has left her hungry.

"I have a present for you."

She stops in the middle of the living room. She shouldn't take his bait. She should just keep moving. But for some foolish reason she turns instead. He smiles (point for him). "I don't want it," she says. It is a silly statement, spoken only because she has given in.

"Yes, you do," he retorts and there is a measure of confidence in his voice that has her raising an eyebrow. Her eyes track him as he crosses the room to retrieve something off the shelf. She blinks as she takes it in.

But it can't be…

Her mouth falls open a little as he turns, her grimoire firmly in hand. It shouldn't be here. He shouldn't have it. She had carefully packed it away in the attic of the Bennett house during her first visit home from college (it had been symbolic, some much needed closure on that part of her life). For the first time in days he has managed to turn the tide back in direction. "…how?"

"I had someone retrieve for me," Klaus explains.

She hasn't seen anyone come in or out of the house since they arrived. Even during the night when she manages to get bits and pieces of sleep she knows no one has come (she is always on red alert, the smallest noise wakes her). She wonders if her confusion is that evident.

"Weeks ago," he adds.

Before she even wound up in his clutches, she realizes. Of course he has this planned down to the smallest detail. She should have expected nothing less. Her chest is rising and falling at a more rapid rate and before she can think it through she is moving toward him, her fingers curling around the familiar book. She tugs but he holds firm. "Give it to me," she says evenly.

"You act so ungrateful. This is a gift," he reminds her.

"This is mine!" She declares, her temper flaring at such a rapid pace the candles spike around her. She still does not have complete control. She presses her lips together, takes a deep breath and the candles die. "Please."

Klaus lets go of the grimoire which she immediately pulls to her body.

"Much better."