"Nik" her harmonious voice was a mere whisper, a ghost of a song. As the fog cleared and her eyes rested upon his breathtaking features for the very first time. She was stunned, in that moment, it was all in pure clarity. The tanned quality of his flesh, the depth of his crystalline blue eyes and the curled mop atop his forehead, a dusting of ashy blond.

"Ariana" He returned, his eyes scanning her in a new light. This was Ariana in all her beauty though she was different now. As their eyes locked, they truly saw. For the first time, emotions were exchanged that he could never explain and he was truly, irrevocably in love, there was no longer a need to deny that she was the one he needed in his life and as the clarity dawned on him. He knew that he would do anything for her, even sacrifice that which was of the upmost importance to him; survival. "Ariana" he could not help but repeat.

And then, their lips met. In a fiery expression of love and passion which had never been experienced between the two before. It was sensational, mind blowing and illuminating. In that moment, it was right. He was the man prepared to do anything for her and she would do anything in return for him, be anything. It was dangerous but it was the truth.

"Listen" the severity of the situation washed upon him like a tsunami and it came to his attention... She was in immense danger in that very moment. "You need to run... You need to get as far away from here as possible. I'll come back for you. I promise." he whispered in a rush and her eyes showed her concern, her realisation of the truth.

"What? No no, I can't just leave" she whispered in a rush.

"Do this, for me and when it is all over... I am going to take you far away from here... Where nobody can ever hurt you. It will be just you and I, wherever you desire" he swore and she knew, he was telling the absolute truth in that moment, this was his confession of love to her.

"I love you Nik"

"I love you Ariana." he returned with strength in his voice and he kissed her passionately once more before gently pushing her away from him down the hallway. Halfway through the door, Ariana felt her throat tighten and she leant herself against the wall to steady herself, knowing the culprit. Elena was in trouble but there was nothing Ariana could do as she stumbled from the school, keeping up her end of the barging for Nik. Dreaming about what he had promised her.

As she stumbled, pain overtook the flesh of her neck and she tripped, falling to her knees. Her fingers scrambled, finding blood coating them as she touched her skin. The pain was not enough to kill her and she was not stupid enough to stick around to find out what monsters were hiding within the school. She had made a promise and she intended to keep it.

_____

Ariana gently poked the keys of her piano, waiting. Her bags were packed and she was waiting... For him. She had made her decision now. Niklaus Mikaelson was her future. For the first time, with her fresh eyes, she could see that he was the one for her. And there was nothing that could be done to stop her from the life she so greatly desired.

And she waited.

After what felt like hours... Pain became all that she knew and in her heart, she was aware... This was not down to Elena, this was not through natural causes. This was Nik. Gravity descended, it weighed upon her like a stack of bricks and she stumbled, clattering around the house to her bedroom, watery eyes landing upon a stack of cases, the ones she was prepared.

And the dreams shattered, the memories she had not yet even been able to make because she knew that someone had done the unthinkable. Her heart no longer felt him, he was no longer there, beside her in her dreams. Holding her hand in her path... She felt empty, she felt as though he was gone. The mourning she felt was one of death and all she could feel was the absence of his hand in her own.

Her head ached, probably due to some stupid action of Elena who she was still connected to. But that did not match the pain that she felt. Standing, feeling so detached from herself, she walked, her eyes taking in the walls of the house in which she lived for the first time, viewing pictures of herself that she had never seen, glancing at monuments she had held but never witnessed. Her feet just kept moving, out the door.

It was then that she saw them, Damon, Stefan and Elena halted as she surfaced. Her eyes taking them in as they stared uncomfortably. Damon's eyes held a fraction of the pain she felt, he appeared to be drowning in guilt. Elena's heart dropped as she saw her twin, agony twisting at her heart, the emotions they both now shared between themselves. Stefan was the one that angered her the most, his face was void as he stared at her. He walked in a smug fashion, like he had won a competition and not even a lick of sympathy floated in his eyes.

"Ariana?" Elena questioned as Ariana walked, away from them and down the street, in the direction they had just emerged, to the Mikaelson manor where she knew he now lay. "Ariana, you can't leave, It's not safe."

"Ari" Damon mumbled, catching her arm and pulling her around to face him. She stared at him and blinked though slowing a waterfall began to tumble from her eyes.

"What did you do?" she whispered. "What did you do?!"