Hello lovelies. I'm sure none of you were expecting an update to this story, and I'm sure most of the fanbase I had for this is now defunct. But I wanted to say this, now three years after by previous update, and about 7 years after I first started this story.

Thank you all so very much. And I mean that with every piece of my heart. I remember the traction this got when I was first writing this and I couldn't believe it at the time that so many people would actually like my writing. That someone like me could feel popular or validated or whatever the hell my lonely ass was going through at the time.

Looking back at this, my writing has grown tremendously and that's thanks to every critique and praise. I've matured and as such I can't really finish this story out. It's incredibly problematic and the relationship between Kol and Darla is something I no longer condone shipping, nor do I want to romanticize.

I wrote this in my late teens and I think it shows. And this is not a completed chapter. My apologies for that. But I have included a snippet and then an explanation of what was going to happen. I'm sorry if that isn't enough, but I wanted to at least tell the ending when we were one chapter away from finishing.

Thank you all for giving an awkward girl a place to feel welcomed.

C . H . G . F

Darla's heart pounded ferociously in her chest as her eyes followed the thick plumes of black smoke swirling the sky. Firetruck sirens wailed into the night, forcing her to shield her ears from the screech. Her visions were coming to life. The Mikaelson home was burning to the ground

Instinct was her only guide as she ran to the flames. Was it better if she followed Klaus' orders, stayed away from his home, and prayed for the best? Perhaps. Was she ever one to listen to good sense? Never.

Frosty wind sent her hair whipping against her damp face and blurred her sight. She clawed at her damp auburn strands, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw the wild beast before her.

"I thought I told you to go somewhere safe?" This was the hybrid everyone spoke horror stories of. Blood slathered him from top to bottom. His hair stood in every direction. Klaus took her by the arm and she was at the mercy to go wherever he led. The tops of her shoes scuffled against freshly fallen snow as she tried to keep up with his pace.

"My home is no longer," he spat. "I made sure to crumble it to soot along with my family within it. Their deaths, though only temporary, afford you and I an amount of time that cannot be wasted."

They were in her bedroom. Paper cranes dangled beneath their heads and the smell of paint fought against the stench of death that harbored on Klaus. He moved within her room without a word, and she stood silently, both too afraid and too confused to say something.

"Kol is forcing me out of the city. He killed Caroline-"

"Caroline's dead?"

"And you as well if I don't meet his demands and leave before sunrise." Taking her by the chin, Klaus whispered softly, "You're coming with me."

That's all I had. Klaus and Darla were going to get into an argument. He wanted her to come with him and she simply refused. Klaus wouldn't be able to keep Darla safe if she didn't come with him and Darla would be worried sick about her sister and parents if she left them unprotected in a town full of vampires. It was going to end with Klaus leaving town without her, but promising to come back every now and then to make sure she was safe.

Theeeeeeeeeen there was an epilogue.

It had been about six months since Klaus left town and about three months since she'd seen him last. Their meetings had become less frequent as time progressed. Elijah and Darla had become close friends and he became a watchful eye on her. But the reader wouldn't have known all that because it's written from Kol's POV.

I'm going to be honest, I'm not quite sure how I had this epilogue ending or what transitions in it. I know it reveals that Klaus had been right all along. Darla still was being haunted by something trying to take over her body. Bonnie's "exorcism" never took and whatever was trying to get into her body succeeded. We don't know how long it'd been since it took over. We don't know if it happened prior to Klaus leaving or after, but Darla isn't Darla anymore and is slowly becoming worse than any of the Mikaelsons.

Kol and Darla were going to end up together. But it was going to segue into a sequel where I have no clue what was going to happen.

The end!

Thank you again for this journey.