Until Forever Ends (TVD+TO FF)

New Orleans

Kara flitted about the Mansion smiling as people greeted her with a polite curtsy. She adored living in New Orleans. The music, the people, it felt like life and magic bled through the streets of the joyous city. 

They were attending the governor's party to welcome them. His son was already head over heels in love with Rebekah. She could hear Niklaus upstairs with a set of twins, enjoying himself.

"Kol," She said, and as if summoned from the shadows, he was at his twin's side. 

"Sweet sister, you have that face." Kol teased with the ever-present mischievous glint in his eye. 

"What face?"

"The face that means this dull party is about to get interesting. If I have to hear Finn, gush about his sweet wife Sage another moment, I very well might stake myself. They have been married for decades now, When does the honeymoon stage end?" Kol grumbled to himself. He glared at Sage who hung off Finn, as if their joy had personally offended him. 

"When you marry, you shall be just as insufferable," Kara commented. 

"Why should I need a wife? A woman to nag and annoy me while simultaneously caring for and loving me. I already have you to do that why should I collect another?" Kol smirked as Kara smacked his arm with her fan.

Their ears perked as they heard Rebekah approach Nik and Elijah to ask permission to change her newest lover to a vampire. Kara had already warned her against it but people rarely listen to the all-knowing. 

They watched with morbid fascination as the young man was dropped from a balcony only to splatter directly in front of them. Kol smiled a cruel amused smile and Kara downed the last bit of champagne in her hand. 

"You handle the body, I'll go console Rebekah," Kara said with boredom that expressed this was neither the first nor the last time this would happen. 

She sped upstairs, taking a hysterical Rebekah in her arms. "I'm here, little sister. It's alright." She shot a look to Nik who merely shrugged his shoulders with indifference. 

"Words, Niklaus. We use words!" She growled out, glaring at her malicious half-brother. 

"You, darling sister. You use words, I on the other hand am a man of action. And look, the problem was solved so swiftly." He smiled returning to the twins who gapped at him, lust clouding their eyes. 

As they walked alongside the funeral procession, Kara stood to Rebekah's right, holding her shaking hand. 

She heard a noise and the world seemed to fade around her. It was like a string was tugging at her chest, begging her to investigate. She released Rebekah's hand, moving off the road where she saw a young slave boy being beaten by his master. 

In his rage the boy picked up an apple, throwing it at his master. Only to be whipped once more in retaliation.

In the blink of an eye, she had picked a stone off the ground and thrown it directly through the master's skull with the precise speed of a bullet.  

Her siblings followed after her, shocked by what the usually peaceful Kara had done. Kara was killed, unlike her other half. After centuries she had grown more accustomed to it when necessary but she would still be considered the saintly Mikaelson. So her immediate disposal of the man was rather shocking. 

The boy stumbled to his feet, his bright brown eyes studying the beautiful woman before him. 

"Hello, sweetling... What is your name?" Kara asked kindly, helping the boy stand. 

"Don't got one ma'am. Mama wouldn't name me til I turned 10. Case the fever took me. Then it took her." The boy responded, he studied the woman who seemed to already know him. She looked into the boy's eyes and all she could see was Niklaus. He was a bastard son, forgotten by his father. Beaten and bloodied and made stronger for it.

"You remind me of someone... You are a survivor. Survivors need names..." She cupped his cheek studying his eyes. "How about, Marcellus?"

"Marcellus?"

"Comes for Mars. The god of War. It means little warrior." She held out a gloved hand. The boy hesitated before taking it. Niklaus didn't say anything, as if innately knowing why Kara had taken pity on the boy. Kol did not look pleased in the slightest but he too didn't say anything.  

That night they returned to their mansion, Kara sat with Marcellus as she washed him in the tub as a mother would her child. She had explained to him what she was and gave him some of her blood to heal the lashing wounds. As she dressed him for bed he began to ask her questions.

"Why did you stop? Why help me?" Marcellus asked. He had already grown more comfortable in her presence than anyone he'd ever known, even his own mother. 

Even though Kara knew the entire house was listening to the exchange, she answered honestly. "You reminded me of my brother. He too is a bastard. My father beat him. But rather than break, my brother became the strongest of us. I love my brother and I see him in your eyes, little warrior." 

"Those people? They's your siblings?"

She smiled. Escorting him to the hallway where a portrait of their family hung, painted by Niklaus himself. "Yes. There's my eldest brother, Finn. He's a sweetheart though grumpy as a bear at times. Next to him is my sister-in-law, Sage, she's a fighter that one. That is Elijah, he's a bookworm, quiet and noble as a stag. My sister, Rebekah, has the biggest heart. She loves deeper than anyone I've known, the poets could not claim such understanding of love. She also has the nastiest temper at times."

He giggled recognizing the fondness in his new caretaker's eyes. "That is my twin brother Kol. He is the other half of my soul. He is everything I am not and all that I am. He's mischievous and so fun, you'll adore him as much as I do. He can be a bit harsh to outsiders but it's only because he loves his family so much. Each of us makes up part of a whole. We balance each other, some have strengths to support the other's weaknesses. Family for us is always and forever when all else fades. Now that... That is Niklaus. It is him that I saw in your eyes. He is a survivor, a warrior, he is the strength of our family. We are not whole without him. He has the beaten heart of a soldier but the bleeding soul of an artist. He painted this actually, he's very talented... You see Marcellus how each of us is a part of a whole. In the grand tapestry of eternity, only with all parts can it hold together." 

"Where do I fit in?" Marcel asked looking at the picture he was not in. 

"That's for you to figure out, isn't it? Finn the prudent, Elijah the noble, Niklaus the warrior, Kol the clever, Kara the Kind, Rebekah the loving... I believe you too are meant to fit into our family, little warrior. You will soon learn I am never wrong about such things." She smiled leading him to his room, "Go to bed, Marcellus. Tomorrow is a new day." 

"Goodnight." He bid her as she tucked him in and placed a kiss on his head. 

She made her way down the stairs to find her family all sitting in silence together. Unshed tears filled their eyes as they looked up at her. She could tell they had all been listening. 

Niklaus suddenly appeared in front of her his arms wrapping around her in a tight hug as tears fell down his cheeks. He kissed the top of her head in a silent thanks, but he refused to let go.

They all gathered around her, wrapping their arms around each other. Even after centuries, it was nice to feel so united and recognized at the same time.  

Kara smiled, melting into the loving care of her family, "I will love each of you until our forever ends."