POWERLESS • mikaelson mate

chapter one

CHAPTER ONE

three years later...

Kol Mikaelson focused on the site before him with a morbid fascination. What was once a small bustling village belonging to The Ashvail Coven, was now an abandoned husk.

After being daggered by Klaus for such a long period of time, the first thing Kol wanted to do (other than murder his brother) was become reacquainted with all things witch related. After loosing his own magic when becoming a vampire, Kol liked to involve himself with witches, living vicariously through them.

It was during a delightful rendezvous with a blonde witch, who had a particularly talented tongue, that Kol learnt of the events that had transpired on these grounds three years prior. The blonde witch, whose name he vaguely recalled being Macey, was from The Sycamore Coven and had informed him of the disappearance of their neighboring coven. Macey had told him what little she knew as he'd thrust inside of her, high on both the pleasure and the information he was gaining from the tryst.

According to her, The Ashvail Coven had been thriving up until they day they'd vanished. The coven had been well known for their dislike of vampires, as well as their arrogant beliefs that they could end them all. Apparently they'd bragged about having a secret weapon, one that had been prophesied to archive their goal. Three years ago, with no warning, the village had burnt to the ground. Macey suspected that the surviving coven members had relocated but she was unsure of where. Curiousity got the better of him and Kol had decided to visit the site after finishing up with Macey.

There was little left of the village, only a few empty shells of quaint buildings. The fire had clearly taken out nearly everything in its path. Three years later and the faint smell of smoke still clung to the area. It didn't take much effort on his part the guess that fire had been one of magical nature.

Kol walked the area slowly, his gaze travelling over every inch of ground, looking for anything that had survived the fire. The Ashvail Coven and their demise was a mystery to him and he desperately wanted to uncover it. For what reason, he didn't know, but the urge to discover every secret about this place was strong. Maybe he just wanted something to keep his mind busy, to distract him from the constant squabbles between his siblings.

He was deep in thought when a noise sounded behind him. To human ears, the sound would have gone unnoticed, but with his advanced hearing, it was loud and clear. He turned curiously to find a woman approaching him, dead leaves and twigs breaking underfoot. She looked to be in her mid-fifties and wore modern attire: jeans and a sweatshirt. Her hair was down and framed her slightly wrinkled face. Power radiated from the woman and Kol eyed her warily.

"Kol Mikaelson," She spoke, her voice deep and monotone, "I have been awaiting your arrival for quiet some time."

Kol frowned and chose his words carefully, "Is that so? Well, I am dying to hear why that is."

The woman looked him up and down, distain in her eyes. After a moment or two, she sighed and pulled her hair to the side, revealing burn marks on her neck. Kol blinked at the scars before they were once more covered by her hair.

"You were here then, when this place burnt down." Kol said decisively.

"I was here when she burnt it down." She told him, pain in her eyes, though there was no venom in her tone.

"She?" He asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"Your mate." She clarified and Kol startled, his composure breaking as he took a menacing step towards the woman, who did not at all seem afraid.

"What did you say?" He hissed. It took all the restraint he had not to rip her throat out.

"Your mate, the mate of yourself and your siblings, her name is Kresley Ashvail, the daughter of the leaders of our coven." The woman informed him, "She is the one who started the fire that took out two thirds of the coven."

"Why would she do that?" Kol asked, trying to keep his voice steady as his mind tried to process what he was learning.

"To escape. Her parents learnt early on in life that Kresley was the mate to the Mikaelson siblings. They trained her to destroy you and when she fought back, they made her life a living hell." She said in the same monotone voice.

Kol frowned at this information, "Why are you telling me all of this."

"Because I owe Kresley a debt. It was I who predicted that she was your mate when she was just a child. It was through my poor judgement and misguided views that I told my coven leaders of Kresley's potential, that she would be our secret weapon to put an end to the vampires that have plagued our world for centuries. All the abuse that Kresley suffered throughout her teenage years was because of me." The woman explained and seconds later, Kol had a hand around her throat. She gasped as Kol squeezed her neck.

"Where is she? Where is my mate?" Kol spat.

"I don't know." She said, trying to breathe and he squeezed harded.

"What else can you tell me?" He ordered.

"Our coven came into possession of a white oak stake in the 1930s," she began and Kol stiffened at the mention of the only weapon that could kill him, "It could have been destroyed in the fire, or..."

"Or..." Kol prompted when she stopped mid-sentence to cough.

"Or maybe Kresley took it when she ran away." The woman finished.

"Anything else?" Kol said through clenched teeth but the woman could no longer talk, having passed out from lack of oxygen.

With a sigh, Kol dived into her mind and filtered through her memories, learning everything there was to know about The Ashvail Coven and his mate. He witnessed the torment Kresley had endured whilst the woman (whose name he discovered to be Daphne) had been present for. Although Daphne had never personally lifted a hand against his mate, she'd never done anything to stop it. To Kol, that was a death sentence.

The sky was dark when Kol was finished looking through her thoughts. He still held up her limp, unconscious body and glared at her form.

"Well, Daphne, I'm afraid you have outlived your usefulness." He spat before ripping her head off and letting her decapitated body drop to the ground before returning to Mystic Falls to tell his brothers everything he had learnt.

Originally published: September 29th 2023