"I'm sorry to hear you are leaving us already."

The queen's words echoed in the large throne room. Mackenzie always wondered why they never bothered to put some furniture in there. It would reduce the echo and make it warmer too. This room was always chilly, and if she had to be honest, it intimidated her. Which, she thought, was probably what Margo wanted.

"I'm surprised they stayed here for this long," Alexander chuckled, interrupting his monarch.

Margo ignored the remark, like she always did, with a wave of the hand.

"We shall have another ball," she continued. "When are you leaving?"

"Sunday, your Majesty," Elijah replied politely.

"Mmh, that doesn't give us enough time to prepare…"

"A ball is unnecessary," Mackenzie said. "We don't want to bother you with…"

"Nonsense," Margo stopped her. "We'll have a dinner, at least. Friday night. Just us, and Cornelius, of course, he'd be unhappy not to be invited to say goodbye."

"A dinner sounds lovely," Elijah nodded.

"Excellent!" Margo replied as she got up from her throne. "Heidi will inform the servants and the cooks," she said, and Heidi nodded before she exited the room without a word. The witch hadn't expressed any joy or disappointment at the news of the couple's departure. "And Alexander will make sure Cornelius receives an invitation."

"Running to it," he said with an ironic smile. He never did like Lord Fay.

Mackenzie smiled back at him as he winked at her before he followed Heidi's footsteps.

"Any travel plans?" Margo asked as she made her way to them.

"London," Elijah replied. "And then… we'll see."

"Terrible idea," she said. "England in January?"

"It's still a beautiful city, no matter how cold."

"I suppose that's true," Margo dismissed them with a wave of the hand. "Well, I have work to do. Please, enjoy your last few days among us."

"We will," Mackenzie politely nodded.

She took the hand Elijah was handing to her and Mackenzie felt relieved as they finally exited the white marbled room.

"I don't think England is any worse in January than the Forest is."

"Have you seen the sun since we got here?" she asked with humor.

"I can't seem to remember," he replied with a grin.

"Ouch!"

"You need to stay focus, Mack! Vampires are stronger and faster than you, you need to be prepared to defend yourself."

"Thanks, Alex," Mackenzie said as she sat up on the ground where she fell when her godfather decided to suddenly attack her. "I'll be careful next time I'm having a casual chat with you while walking in the gardens, I never know when you decide to kick my ass for no reason."

"It's a teaching moment," he shrugged.

"It hurt."

"Yeah, well, pain is better than death."

"I believe what he's trying to say is 'be careful'," Elijah said as he held his hand out to her.

She took it quickly and he pulled her up effortlessly.

"Are you okay?"

"Sure."

"What I'm trying to say is 'don't trust anyone'."

"It sounds a little like 'I'll miss you, I wish you weren't leaving'," she said with a grin.

"That too," he admitted.

"Should I expect a curse from Heidi, or will she just say that to me… you know, with words?"

"That's basically the only thing you can expect from her."

"And are you two staying here?" Elijah asked.

"Probably. She didn't say anything about leaving any time soon. But you can always call us if you need anything, Mack."

"I know," she smiled. "Thank you. For everything that you did for me."

"It was our pleasure… even if she doesn't show it."

Mackenzie chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Heidi wasn't one to show emotions but there was no doubt in any of their minds that she cared. Mackenzie didn't know what had made her that way, but she was glad Alexander was there for her. He saw her for who she was, and he loved her as much as she loved him. It was the kind of relationship Mackenzie hoped to have one day, with Elijah. They knew each other so well, there was no secret, nothing to hide. They supported each other and had for centuries. Was there anything better for an immortal than to have someone to spend immortality with?

She often thought about Elijah's relationship with his siblings. He had spent so many centuries with Klaus, despite what he had done to them. So many years wasted because of loyalty. Lived through so much pain and hurt. And when they were finally reunited, made a family again under false pretexts, he lost them all, all over again. Just to leave, leave them all behind, and go to another continent with her. For her.

Every day, there were new reasons to fall in love with him all over again. New proof to dismiss any doubt she may have. Being with him made her feel like she was the luckiest girl in the world. And she deserved that, because the universe had been more than unfair with her. And he deserved it too, because the universe had kicked him to the ground way too many times.

Their last dinner with the queen was awaited by none of them and they doubted Margo was looking forward to it either. It was going to be long and boring, a never-ending social event that everybody wanted over even before it started. However, Elijah had to admit it was nothing but an honor that the queen would bother herself with such an event. He and Mackenzie had been treated with nothing but respect ever since they had arrived in the Forest, and if it only made Mackenzie uncomfortable, it reminded him of another time, back when he lived with Klaus as rich and respected Lords in England back in the day. Back when he met Katerina Petrova for the first time. So many things had happened since then, and there was nothing in the world that would ever make him wish to go back. He would rather die than go through all that again.

"You ready?"

He looked up to the voice calling for him. Mackenzie was standing in the doorway of the bedroom, dressed in another one of Margo's dress, another gown that would be a pain to pack, between the two grimoires she had been given on her first day here, and the other clothes and accessories Margo hadn't stopped sending her for some reason. Maybe she just wanted her to fit in. Mackenzie wouldn't dare wear any of it outside of the Forest.

"Give me a minute," he said as he stood up from the armchair in the corner of the room. "Go ahead and I'll join you."

She smiled. "What were you daydreaming about?" she asked as she made her way to him.

"Nothing interesting."

"It was interesting enough to make you late," she grinned.

"I'll make sure to apologize to her Majesty," he smiled back.

"Okay, I'll see you there, then," she said as she tiptoed to kiss his cheek.

He watched her leave in silence and after he heard the door close he turned to the mirror and started to undo his tie. This suit was way too casual to wear to a royal event.

Mackenzie walked down the hallways of the castle like she knew them by heart, and after having walked through them with Alexander and Elijah for the past two months, she did. She knew all the hallways and most of the rooms and had only recently started to recognize all the servants, even if she couldn't remember their names.

The hallways were empty, nothing unusual, especially since there was a dinner to prepare, but Mackenzie always found it unnerving. They seemed colder and somewhat darker, and a strange feeling seized her as despite seeing no one around her, she could clearly feel somebody's presence. And not just anyone. It wasn't a servant, as none were so powerful. And she was fairly sure she had never met this person, as she didn't recognize their magic. She started walking faster, though she couldn't find the strength to run, as if her breath had been taken away. She tried to stay calm, knowing there was no legit reason for her to panic. But her heart jumped in her chest as she heard footsteps behind her, and she knew it wasn't Elijah.

She turned around and was startled by the presence of a man, someone she had never seen before. He was tall and blond, and dressed in dark green, similar to what Cornelius and his people wore.

"My apologies, Lady Alemaund," the man chuckled. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm not a Lady," she corrected him right away, like she did every time someone called her that.

"Apologies again," he said with an amused smile. "My Lord Cornelius sent me."

She frowned. "Isn't he coming to the dinner?"

"He is, though you will not see him there."

"I'm confused…"

"I'm afraid this cannot wait."

Mackenzie was about to mumble a confused answer, but she barely had time to open her mouth that the stranger brought his hand to his mouth, opened it and blew some white powder onto Mackenzie's face. She stepped back coughing, her eyes starting to burn. She felt very dizzy extremely fast and though she tried to walk away, she only stumbled a few steps before her knees gave up and she fell to the ground. Pain was the last thing she felt before everything went dark.

She felt her eyes burning as she slowly woke up and tried to open them. She was scared and confused, not knowing where she was, not remembering a thing of what had happened. She tried to calm down but as she realized she wasn't feeling her magic anymore, she started to panic even more. However, she knew someone was there with her, as she could hear movement near her.

"My apologies, my dear, I had to triple the dosage. I've never dealt with an ultimate before."

Her heart sank as she recognized Cornelius' voice. She couldn't see anything, could barely breathe, and could not say a word.

"I know you must have many questions, but don't try to talk, I cast a strong paralysis spell. Of course, it's not working as well as it should," he chuckled, "but it should be good enough."

She understood what he meant when she managed to slightly move a finger. She was lying on what seemed to be a wooden table, and there was an awful smell she couldn't recognize.

"I must apologize, sincerely," he continued. "I had other plans for you. But just like your mother you couldn't stay here, could you… you had to go and see the world," he said with an irritated tone. "It was not my wish to kill you so soon, but I cannot take the risk of letting you go now. I can't take the risk of letting this… vampire," he said the word with such disgust it made her wince mentally, "turn you the first chance he gets."

She felt something warm slowly slid down her cheeks and it took her a few seconds to realize they were tears.

"At least with your mother my usual spell worked. I managed to steal her years and her powers without having to leave my home. But with you… no matter what I tried, it just wouldn't take. I was hoping for good results when you mentioned feeling sick after our little dinners, but your powers always came back the following day… I'm not certain what I did wrong…"

At the mention of her mother, she unconsciously fisted her hand, and she could feel hot fire in her chest, but in her state, she didn't know if it were whatever Cornelius was doing, or her magic coming back.

"Either way, stealing your lifetime shouldn't require a different spell. But I do need to figure out a way to take your powers, I can't let them waste away. Do you have any idea how long I've waited for a Fay to be born an ultimate?"

She whimpered when she felt his hands on her. He brought her sleeve up on her right arm and she felt something wet and cold against her vein.

"Your boyfriend was very distraught when he realized you were missing," he said with a mocking tone. "Margo even sent the royal guard after you. Well, don't worry. They'll never find you here. They'll never find you at all."

She felt a needle pierce through her skin and a hot liquid enter her vein. She fisted her right hand and pushed him away, breaking the needle which stayed stuck in her arm. She didn't know if it were blood she felt running down her arm, or Cornelius' poison, or both.

"I see your powers are coming back," he mumbled unhappily. "I didn't expect it so soon."

She knew he was going to do something to stop it, to take her powers away again, and she couldn't let that happen. That fire she felt in her chest, no matter if it was hers or caused by Cornelius' spell, she could use it either way, and so she did. Without moving a muscle, she set fire to the room, to everything she could without even seeing any of it. Anything flammable was suddenly burning hot, taking Cornelius by surprise. He had killed her mother and nature knew how many other Fays, and he was now trying to kill her… he had made a big mistake.

"I can't let you do that," he said, trying to stay calm, but clearly failing.

All she needed was for him to touch her again and he'd be done. She could survive the fire, she'd burn the entire place to the ground if she had to. Maybe the smoke would alert Elijah and the royal guard, who knew? But all Mackenzie wanted was for him to die.

"That's quite enough," he growled as he grabbed her arm again, a needle ready in his other arm.

Mackenzie found luck in her misery as Cornelius' potions and spells clearly weren't ready to take on an ultimate. She put all of her strength in her arm and seized his wrist. Her eyes opened as she tightened her grip on him, making it impossible for him to free himself. Her burning glare found him and if he hadn't realized he was already dead, then he was just a fool. Whatever magic he had used against her faded away quickly as she stole his magic. She took a deep breath as she took back control of her body.

The fire was still burning strong around them and glasses and jars were breaking in small explosions. She sat up quickly as he fell on his knees, feeling dizzy as his magic and all the magic he had stolen left him rapidly. The physical pain was gone, and she got her strength back as she never let go of him. She jumped off the table and her feet found the hot ground. She tightened her grip and squeezed until she heard him scream.

"You killed my mother," she growled. He was not only regretting that, but he was also paying for his arrogance. He should have never told her that. He was going to pay for all the Fays he had killed and stolen from. "Can you handle the fire?" she asked as she directed her anger entirely on him now. The fire around them disappeared in a second, in a quiet yet deafening sound. But she could still feel it, and so could he as his blood started to boil. "She couldn't."

And neither could he as his screams started to fill the room. She finally let go of him, having no magic left in his body. He screamed and burned for what seemed like an eternity, but she found no displeasure in it. Eventually, Cornelius stopped screaming, and his still burning body fell to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes behind.

She stared at the darkened ground at her feet, a burning smell lingering in the air, the one of burnt flesh. She stared with lifeless eyes for seconds, or perhaps minutes, time seemed to have stopped. She then looked up, with no more life on her face, and stepped over the ashes to make her way to the stairs in the corner of the room.

She walked up the steps of stone and didn't even try using the handle to open the door as it flew open and slammed against the wall. She could feel it, she could feel him. The one she was looking for. He was the only one there, in the house, the only one she wanted. She could feel him running. He had heard his boss scream, no doubt. She walked down the hallway, the same hallway she had been through all those nights when Cornelius had invited her for dinner. It led to the front door. It was already opened. She could see a dark figure run away from the house, in the gardens leading to the forest. She didn't bother following him. A giant root appeared before him, suddenly coming from the ground, causing the earth around him to shake, almost making him fall. The enormous root slammed on the ground right next to him, so hard Mackenzie heard it from where she stood. The root wrapped itself around his feet and she could hear him scream. He screamed when he fell and he screamed again when the root started moving, dragging him back to the house. Mackenzie didn't move, waiting for her prey to come to her. The screams stopped shortly before he arrived. The root disappeared into the ground, leaving behind enormous trails. The man wasn't moving, wasn't screaming, wasn't breathing. His face was brown with dirt. He had choked on mud.

All those romantic novels were wrong. Revenge did feel good. But the fire inside of her wasn't satiated, it wanted more, she wanted more. She slowly walked down the stairs and turned around to face Cornelius' manor. It was now empty, only inhabited by the ghosts of Cornelius' victims. It started burning, slowly, fire purging all the evil that had ever been committed within its walls. She stepped back, watching with some kind of fascination as she felt the flowers burn, as she watched the roots on the walls go up in flames. As she watched the smoke rising high in the dark sky, getting mixed with the charged clouds.

People were coming. Suddenly they were there. They might be talking but she couldn't hear them. Watching the flames go high and higher she didn't move when two hands seized her face. Someone came before her, someone was standing right in front of her, her face in their hands, his hands. He was saying something, he kept talking and started shouting as he received no answer. Eventually she moved her eyes from the fire and found his. She found his worried teary eyes and it was as if something had been snapped back in place inside of her. She could hear suddenly. She could hear his voice, she could hear the house crumble down.

"Mackenzie, talk to me," he begged.

She put a hand on his in response and he felt like breathing again.

"What happened?" she heard Alexander ask from behind her.

"Where's Cornelius?" Heidi asked.

"Mackenzie are you okay? Are you hurt?" Elijah looked her up and down, inspected her body for any injury. But she wasn't injured anymore. Not physically at least.

"What happened?" Alexander insisted.

Mackenzie felt dizzy and confused as if she had just returned to her body and someone else had taken her place. But no one else had. She had done all of this. She had set the house on fire, destroyed it, and killed Cornelius, and that other guy she didn't even know the name of. She had killed them both.

And would do it again.

Finally, she answered them. In a voice that didn't sound like her, or at least not to her. As if it were coming from someone else. Her words, but not her voice.

"He killed my mom."

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 27 will be posted in two parts and there will be a break after that since I have to watch the fourth season of TVD then the three seasons of TO to organize my ideas for the rest of the fic.

I apologize in advance for the wait!