Breathing ∞ Kol Mikaelson [1]

[71]

Sitting in the hammock hanging above the ocean water right by their house, Emma's eyes scanned through the spells and pages of the grimoire she and Kol had retrieved from the cave on Rose Island. She had been exploring it as much as possible whenever she had the chance, even trying out some of the spells inside and succeeding at them.

The biggest challenge were the pages written in languages she didn't know and couldn't understand, but even that issue had been easily solved as she and Kol worked together on a spell which would make translating all of it so much easier.

Thinking of him and all their time together in the past couple of weeks, Emma found herself looking up from the pages of the grimoire and out towards the ocean, eyes searching through the blue abyss until she found him. And he'd already been looking at her. As their eyes met, Emma couldn't help but laugh at the confident wink he sent her, having already teased her the last time she was caught watching him swim in the ocean.

She didn't mind being caught, after all, it only meant she had eyes and taste. But of course, she couldn't say that to his face. So instead, she did the opposite. Kol's wink was returned with a mutter escaping her lips, using traces of the magic she's siphoned just that morning to make a small wave appear in the water. Just high enough, it managed to splash against his head, forcing him down for a couple of seconds before he swam back up. And once their eyes met again, she sent him a simple wink.

Of course, the Mikaelson wasn't about to let it go at that, making Emma laugh as she watched him swim back in the direction of the bungalow. Unsure of how he'd retaliate to her little attack, she made sure to put away the book, not wanting the sea water to damage it or any of its contents. She could probably restore it with ease thanks to a spell or two, but it wasn't something she was willing to test.

Climbing on to the deck of the bungalow, he made his way over to her, splashing some of the water in his hair in her direction and making her laugh as she shrunk away. But that was as far as his retaliation went before he nestled down in the large hammock with her.

"That was a new one?" He questioned, his head nodding back to the water and indicating he meant the wave spell she'd used.

"I translated it just this morning. It's a fun one." Emma chuckled in amusement, not even the smallest bit sorry or guilty about doing it.

"So that's what magic's become now? A way to keep my ego in check?" He questioned jokingly, making her laugh once again as she leaned over, her lips coming close to his as if she were about to kiss him but then she spoke.

"I'm doing the world a favour, it's much too big." She teased, letting out a small squeal as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to his chest as he claimed the kiss he'd just been denied. And she happily returned it.

It didn't last too long, or lead to anything more before Kol pulled away, eyes going back to the bag in which he knew the book was stored away. "Find anything in particular you want to try? We have to make sure your heroism is up to the challenge."

He adored watching her practice her magic, and knew she loved doing it just as much. Exploring every new thing she discovered and working hard on it until she finally succeeded. He'd noticed how she'd been focusing on elemental spells lately, playing around with the air and water in the area surrounding the bungalow. Even some of the plants within the house seemed much healthier since their arrival. But he also noticed the way she tried to stir away from any spells which required more fire than that coming from a burning candle.

"I wasn't really looking for something to try. Just exploring a bit." She explained honestly. The words drew a curious hum from him, prompting her to continue and give more information. "The witch who wrote this, she collected so many spells and so many rituals from all over the world. It's making me realize that I'm still barely scratching the surface of all that is out there. And I want to know as much as I can."

As he listened to her speak, a contemplating look spread over Kol's face, rendering him silent as he got stuck in his own thoughts for a moment. The quiet made Emma's neck crane upwards so she could look at his face, questioning what was on his mind.

"What I'm hearing, is that we're in need of a change of scenery." He announced, and before she could ask him to elaborate, his arms were sweeping her off of the hammock as he climbed back up onto the wooden deck and continued to carry her into the house.

"I can walk on my own, you know?" She questioned with a small laugh, enjoying the sight of a smile spreading over his face as he looked down at her again.

"I know, but what's the fun in that?" He questioned, leaning down to place a small peck against her lips before finally letting her legs slip from his grasp as he gently placed her back on the ground. Not because she'd asked, and certainly not because he wanted to, but simply because he needed his hands to do what he was planning.

And at first, Emma couldn't quite understand what that was as she watched him reach into one of the cabinets which had been stocked with games and books and a multitude of things. The first time they explored it was when she forced him to. And soon after, she'd discovered how much of a sore loser he was after wasting all of his money in Monopoly. But she doubted that was what he was looking for.

Yet she didn't ask right away. Instead, she observed him as he pulled out a map of the world, sticking it on a wall in place of a large painting that had been decorating it until now. And once she saw him pull out a dart from the portable darts set that was also hidden away in there, it became easy to catch on to his train of thought.

"How about the next destination is decided by chance?" He asked with an amused smile on his face, hand extending the dart towards her. "Since you seem to dislike my choice so much." His teasing voice made it clear that he wasn't actually being serious.

"Oh, don't act like I'm the only one thinking of it." Emma retorted, having noticed the way he too seemed to grow somewhat bored of the small islands. Nassau and all of the Bahamas were quite beautiful, but also rather small. It seemed that both of them were fonder of bigger places, bustling cities and crowded locations.

Kol's only response was a simple laugh, and he didn't bother denying the claim. Not only had Nassau lost some of the charm he remembered it having in the past, but, due to the lack of vampires in the area, it was getting somewhat tiresome having to leave whenever he went to feed since he didn't want to draw any kind of attention to their location.

"Alright then, chance it is." She finally agreed to the method, plucking the dart from his hand while her other went to her eyes as she closed them too. For good measure, she spun on her heel, wanting to make it a fair fight for all locations of the world before she raised her hand, ready to throw.

However, she was forced to pause as she felt Kol's hands on her shoulders, turning her just a little to the left and making her laugh. If he hadn't their next destination would have been the wall of their rental bungalow.

"Alright, now you can throw." He said once he was sure the dart would actually hit the map. And Emma didn't hesitate.

Swinging her hand back and fort a few times before she let the arrow fly, she didn't open her eyes until she heard the thud of it landing on the map. She hadn't thought about damaging it until she heard it, but by then it was too late. And it wasn't like it would be easy to notice when they packed it all away before leaving.

As Kol's arm wrapped around her shoulders, Emma opened her eyes, the two approaching the map together so they could see where the dart had landed. Well, so that Emma could see since she was pretty sure he'd be able to see it even if he was still out swimming in the ocean.

"Brazil, here we come."

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Alright, so for those who don't know my planning process, I always have at least a few chapters planned out ahead of the ones I'm writing, but since today, I can officially say that my planning document has reached those fateful two words "The end". Yup, I'm officially done writing out all of the plans for this book and now I can announce that we have 14 chapters + the epilogue until we've reached the end of Breathing (number is subject to change because sometimes things get mixed together or cut or whatever, but it wouldn't change by much).