So, I haven't updated this story in almost a year. Sorry?

There are actually a few reasons for this absence, one of them being that I have kind of lost my inspiration for this story. I also had a vague idea about how this chapter should progress, but I wasn't certain whether that would be the right course of action.

I'm still not certain whether I'm actually satisfied with this chapter or not, so I might end up changing it soon.

Anyway, I've published a few new stories. You should check them out.

Please leave a review.

Have fun.

''Talking''

'Thinking'

Flashback, Memory, Dream

Chapter 14

A Dream Come True

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Where She Dared To Be Brave

"There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable."

Mark Twain

Present Time, Chicago

''There has to be more to this dress.''

The affronted tone of Rebekah's voice prompted a giggle to escape out of Arianna's lips. Pulling up the zipper of the red dress she had chosen for herself, the young Forbes listened to the conversation between the Mikaelson siblings and snorted in amusement when she heard Klaus' reply. ''There's not.''

''So women in the 21st century dress like prostitutes, then,'' stated the female Original. There was the sound of a curtain being moved to the side, followed quickly by Rebekah's footsteps as she moved out of her changing room. ''You know, I got dirty looks for wearing trousers.''

''You wore trousers so women today could wear nothing,'' said Klaus and then proceeded to sigh in annoyance.

Moving the curtain of her own changing room aside, Arianna stepped into the main part of the store. Her gaze trailed over the other blonde and she straightened her dress. ''I liked the navy one more.''

Rebekah frowned slightly and turned towards Stefan. ''What do you think?''

''I like it,'' answered Stefan without even properly regarding the girl before him.

The frown on the female Mikaelson's face deepened and she shook her head slightly. Noticing her behavior, Stefan leaned a little backwards and decided to speak up again. ''What? I said I like it.''

Rolling her eyes, the older blonde regarded him with disappointment. ''I always know when you're lying, Stefan.'' Her attention moved to Arianna. ''So, the navy one?''

''Yeah, you looked good in that dress.'' Arianna pointed at herself. ''This dress or the other?''

''You look good in both of them, though they are a little short, don't you think?'' Rebekah wrinkled her nose a little as her gaze trailed over the younger girl's bare legs.

Sighing in exasperation, Arianna turned around and moved back to her changing room. ''You're only saying that because you're a prude, darling.'' After she entered the small changing area again, she moved the curtain to hide herself while she put on her next outfit. ''Still, you're right. Both dresses are nice and I'm sure that Nik won't have anything against paying for both of them.''

A devious smile tilted the corners of her lips upwards as she looked at the pile of clothes she still had to try on. After dragging her on this mad 'adventure' of his, buying her a few new clothes was the least Klaus could do for her.

''I'm not a prude.'' Rebekah said from inside the other changing room. ''I just know the meaning of having class, sweetheart.''

Arianna laughed mockingly. ''Unfortunately, it seems that you've landed in a time when your definition of class might as well equal being a prude.''

''You're insufferable,'' exclaimed Rebekah, though there was no real heat behind her words. ''And what is this music? It sounds like a cable car accident.''

Stefan was the one who answered. ''It's dance music.''

''People dance to this?'' Rebekah sounded so scandalized that Arianna actually laughed. The last time the other blonde had sounded like this was when she found one of her lovers in bed with Kol. Needless to say, Marcus, the poor lad, did not survive that night.

''Are we quite done?'' questioned Klaus, pouring himself more champagne into his glass. It was very clear that he was slowly getting irritated with the whole situation.

Instead of being frightened by this development like every normal person would be, Rebekah seemed to be delighted by her brother's bad mood. Arianna completely shared the sentiment. ''And why are you so grumpy?''

''I needed one thing from you for my witch to find out why my hybrids are dying, one thing.'' Klaus paused his rant. ''Your necklace. And you lost it.''

''I didn't lose it. It's just been missing for 90 years.'' She said it as if the two things did not equal each other and Arianna had to laugh once again.

''You two are a thousand years old and yet you squabble like children,'' uttered the young girl while she put on a skirt. Afterwards she chose one of the shirts from the pile of clothes next to her and pulled it on over her head.

''Don't you think this is a classic case of a pot calling the cattle black?'' questioned the hybrid. Arianna entered Klaus' sight just in time to witness him opening another bottle of champagne. ''You're the last person who should ever lecture us about childish or petty behavior.''

''Are you lecturing me now?'' She smirked. ''Anyway, we're not quite done yet. There are still a few things left that I need to try on.''

Before Klaus could utter his retort, Stefan interrupted him by standing up from his seat. ''All right, I'm going to get some fresh air.''

The hybrid waved his hand dismissively in Stefan's direction and poured even more champagne into his now almost empty glass.

He must have envied the other vampire for his escape.

Arianna grinned.

''Did you ever hate being a vampire?'' The blonde asked and then stopped for a moment when she saw the expression on Kol's face. They were once again residing in their meadow and Arianna had finally gathered enough courage to ask the Original the one question that had been on her mind for while now. ''I mean, I know that out of your siblings you're the one who has relished this transition the most, but I also know about the price you had to pay.''

''Price?'' questioned Kol, his eyes narrowed into almost two slits.

Arianna bit her lip. ''Your magic, your control over yourself and all the future plans you might have had. And then there is also the fact that you were suddenly faced with an eternity. Living forever might be full of possibilities, but it also seems to be a rather daunting prospect.''

There was a moment of silence before the Original hummed thoughtfully. ''Not a day has passed in the last thousand years during which I haven't felt the loss of my magic. And it's not just...just the emptiness that now resides within me where once a connection to nature existed, but also the fact that I have lost my place among those that I once considered to be my kind.'' Kol tugged on the girl's hand until she settled down between his legs and leaned her back against hid upper body. ''I won't be ever allowed to join them in the afterlife as has once been my right. Since the moment I drunk the blood of my first victim I've become an abomination in most of their eyes. An uncontrollable beast.''

He laughed bitterly. ''I've never been one to control my impulses. Even as a human I liked to balance on the line between what some considered to be right or wrong, and yet I would have never called myself a monster back then.''

''You weren't,'' said the blonde quietly, taking a hold of the man's hand and squeezing it slightly.

''No, I wasn't.'' The smile on his face was more of a grimace than anything else. ''My own mother changed me into one the night she forced another human's blood down my throat, robbing me of an integral part of myself along the way.''

His eyes were dark as they regarded her and Arianna could see how very carefully he contemplated his next words. ''The sad thing is that it's not her involvement that angers me the most in this. By that time we have all long since learned that a parent's hand does not necessarily have to be merciful.'' He tilted his head backwards to look at the stars above them. ''What angers me the most is that just like always my siblings did not even deign to notice the true extent of what I have lost. Back then, they considered magic to be just some tricks I did to amuse myself.''

A bitter laugh filled their little world, sharp and full anger. ''Only after the transition did they realize what power our mother truly possessed, but they still did not understand, after all, none of them ever acknowledged that I've lost just as much if not more than Nik.'' The arms he had put around her waist were like iron bars, trapping her in place. ''And you know why? Nik will still be able to get his werewolf side back, while my magic is lost forever.''

The grip around her waist loosened slightly, long fingers caressing her sides almost apologetically. ''Well, you're the closest I'll ever get to getting my magic back. In the last millennia I've never felt so at peace as I do now with you at my side.''

''If I could, I would give you your magic back, but I can't. The only thing I can give you is my mortality. There will come a day when I'll become a vampire, though before that day comes I need you to answer my question, Kol. I need to know the truth if I am to join you for an eternity.'' Arianna knew that this wasn't a conversation Kol was comfortable with. It made him feel and remember things he just wanted to forget. This knowledge might have made her feel guilty, but it did not stop her from forcing an answer out of him. ''Do you hate being a vampire?''

''I never stopped hating it, love.'' He sounded resigned. ''I was just forced to learn loving it in equal measure. It was either that or becoming like Finn. He hates himself and has long since forgotten what it actually means to live.''

Kol brushed a few strands of her hair to the side and buried his face in her neck, nuzzling it gently. It did not escape the girl's notice how dangerous this position actually was. ''So, yes, I hate being a vampire, just as much as I love it.''

When the idea appeared in her mind, it did so in a flash of brilliance and stupidity. They had just left the store and been on the way to Gloria's bar when Arianna lost sight of her companions. The rush-hour had just started and the streets of Chicago were incredibly crowded. By the time that the blonde noticed that the Originals were gone, finding them without using her phone became impossible.

It was then that that one thought crossed her mind.

She knew where the coffins were.

The next thing she knew was that she was standing on the edge of the sidewalk and hailing a cab. Her legs jiggled nervously after she sat down inside the back of the car and told the driver the address of the garage in which Klaus stored his daggered siblings.

Not even five minutes later Klaus called her.

With sweaty hands Arianna rolled open the cab's window and answered the phone after taking a large gulp of air. ''Where the hell are you, Nik?''

She hoped he did not notice the light tremble of her voice.

''We're only a street away from Gloria's. Where are you?''

Thinking quickly, the blonde answered before Klaus could get suspicious. ''I'm in front of Dunkin' Donuts. Let's just meet at Gloria's. I'll come to you after I get some donuts. Rebekah's got to try some of those.''

Irritated, Klaus ordered her to hurry and ended the call.

A sigh of relief passed the Forbes lips. The cab driver regarded her strangely, his eyebrows raised questioningly. ''Everything alright there, Miss?''

''Yeah,'' said Arianna, scrapping her nails against the door. ''Just hurry, please.''

They reached the garage about half an hour and three unanswered calls later. If Klaus did not know what she was doing yet, he would certainly guess it soon.

''You can keep the change,'' muttered Arianna distractedly as she pushed a handful of bills into the man's hand. ''Have a nice day.''

''Are you sure you're alright, Miss?'' inquired the middle-aged cab driver.

Not having the time to discuss her problems with a stranger, Arianna muttered a quick affirmation and slammed the car door close.

The property on which the garage stood was a large one. There were many identical units on it, all used to store different valuables. Although Arianna had been there only a few hours prior, she still needed more time then she could actually afford to find the right garage. The only reason why she actually managed to recognize the right one was the human guard that was patrolling the property.

Klaus, the paranoid bastard that he was, always had someone near his siblings who could get their bodies away in the worst case scenario. This meant that the guard actually had to be in the possession of the keys for the garage and the truck.

Attacking the man with the spray deodorant she always carried in her bag was admittedly not the smartest thing she had ever done. Arianna blinded his eyes and somehow managed to get the keys from his belt. By the time the man managed to gather his bearings, Arianna was already opening the right garage and then the back of the truck.

This time, she did not waste any time by staring, just put one hand on Kol's chest and grabbed a hold of the dagger. Afterwards, Arianna pulled.

A small laugh escaped her lips once she managed to remove the dagger from the Original's chest. It was more than slightly hysterical and disbelieving.

The hand holding the dagger trembled terribly. Arianna knew that she had to get rid of the weapon before anyone could use it against her unconscious soulmate again, but there was no place there where she could actually hide it.

Still, she tried to look out for a place to hide the dagger, all the while using the weapon to cut the palm of her hand.

''Hey, what do you think you're doing?!'' The guard was standing at the entrance of the garage, his presence forcing Arianna to realize that her time had run out. Panicked, she pushed the dagger underneath Kol's body and her bleeding hand into his mouth. There was nothing else the girl could do for the Original.

Silently, she watched as the man stalked towards her, his eyes red due to her earlier attack and an angry expression on his face. He grabbed her arm tightly and started dragging her away from the coffin and Kol's still unconscious body.

Arianna was pretty sure that she was supposed to care about being caught. To care about the punishment Klaus would wreck upon her when he finally arrived.

And yet, the only thing she truly felt was numb.

Was she in shock? Perhaps.

Her biggest dream could become reality in just a few minutes if Klaus did not arrive in time to destroy everything.

Regrettably, Arianna Forbes never did have much luck in life. She was not surprised to find herself slammed against the wall with a hand around her neck not long after the guard managed to drag her out of the garage. Neither did the angry golden eyes of the hybrid before her manage to shock her.

''What have you done?''