Emma woke up to the feeling of the sun shining down on her face through the windows. It took her a short moment to remember the night before, explaining why she was somewhat confused by the unfamiliar bedroom until she was reminded that she spent the night at the Mikaelsons'. And another moment to dig herself out of the mountain of journals among which she'd fallen asleep.

Sitting up on top of the covers, she looked over the covers and pages around her and heaved a somewhat annoyed sigh. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting last night when she started scouring through them, but, of course, she found nothing. Only more cryptic allusions to her being something other than sick. She suspected whatever answers her father's words may have had for her, the journals which contained them had been confiscated.

With a small groan, she pushed one of the journals out of her way and swung her feet over the side of the bed, standing up and stretching her arms over her head as she moved over to the window to glance outside. The winter sun felt warm on her skin as it beamed through the glass, making her wonder just how late she'd slept in. She reached to the night-stand, hoping to grab her phone and check, only to find it missing.

"What the..." She whispered to herself, confused since she distinctly remembered putting it to charge right there the night before. Browns scrunching up, she looked towards the closed door of the bedroom before letting determined steps lead her towards it before she could chicken out and give into her wish to avoid the Mikaelsons, or rather a specific one, for the day.

The house seemed unusually quiet as she stepped out into the hallway, looking around her for any sign of life. And while there seemed to be none, Emma doubted that all three siblings had left the house, allowing her to roam around freely. At least not if Klaus had any say in it.

Her suspicions were only confirmed as she started to move around, soon enough able to hear sounds of movement coming from the kitchen. Only once she entered the room did she realize it might not have been the smartest idea, but at that point, it was too late.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Kol seemed oddly chipper as he stood at the stove, the angle of his body preventing Emma from seeing what exactly he was making. That only made the confusion on her face more evident. "It's an old fairy tale about a-" He started to explain, thinking his reference may be too outdated for her to understand.

"I know who Sleeping Beauty is." Emma interrupted before he told her the whole fairy tale, holding back a small smile at how adorable some of his lost-in-time moments could be. "What are you doing?"

"Now, I know breakfast is surely still a thing." Kol said in a teasing tone, making Emma glare his way at the light jab. They both knew that was not what she meant. The way they'd left things last night, she wasn't expecting a joyful morning breakfast. "Rebekah mentioned your affinity for tea." He added on carelessly, probably pretending not to notice her questioning look as he pushed a cup towards her across the counter.

Emma reached for it, actually finding herself eager to drink some as she hadn't in a while. She didn't really worry about what might be in it. If anyone in this house wanted her dead, they didn't really need to put something in her tea to accomplish that. However, she still found herself surprised by its taste. Not because it was strange, but the opposite. After all this time, it took no effort for her to recognize the soft taste of vervain within the cup.

"There's vervain in this." She couldn't hold back the surprised comment as she pulled the cup away from her lips. Emma also noticed the smirk which spread over Kol's face as he took in her reaction.

"Well, we wouldn't want any big bad vampires messing around with that brilliant mind of yours, would we?" He questioned teasingly, making her send him a suspicious look.

"Really? Because somehow, I suspect that's exactly what you want to do." Emma pointed out knowingly. He'd wanted answers last night, answers she didn't give him. She doubted that, were she free of vervain, he wouldn't have compelled them out of her by now.

"I don't need to compel you to find out your secrets, darling. I can easily do that on my own." Kol announced as he leaned on the counter across from her, the playful look in his eyes shining as if inviting the challenge.

"And if you don't?" Emma questioned, her own response radiating with the exact amount of confidence as he did. Neither were going to be the first to crack any time soon.

"Then you'll be the one to tell me yourself." He said simply, making her expression turn dubious as she wondered about the belief with which he said that considering she had no plans of it. "Because if there's anyone in this town who can explain magic, it's me."

"We'll see about that." Emma said in a dismissive tone, showing no signs of giving into him as he continued to move around the kitchen. She watched as he pushed a plate towards her too, the smell of eggs and bacon wafting towards her and reminding her of how long it's been since she had a proper meal.

"Eat, darling." Kol instructed, and to this, Emma had no objections. She remained silent as she dug in, giving him a chance to return back to topic even though she'd thought it was over. "You know, being a witch is hereditary. My mother once told me, long ago, that when we were all children, she was quite eager to discover which one of us would develop the same affinity towards magic."

Something about the way he spoke, the tone of his voice as he dove into the story made Emma look at him curiously, eager to hear more as she ate and he continued. "Want to guess which one of us it was?" He asked her.

"You." She didn't have to think much of it. He claimed to know magic, to understand it and be able to explain it. If he really did develop an affinity for magic while he was still human, that would explain the how of it all.

"Me." He confirmed. "And I was quite good too. A prodigy some would even say." The bolstering made Emma give out a small laugh, happy to find none of his ego had diminished in the time they hadn't seen each other since he left Mystic Falls.

"And I loved it. The magic, the spells. Learning everything I could and sneaking off in the woods around our village to experiment with it. It was a part of me, ever since I was born." Kol spoke, and his love of magic was evident in the tone of his voice, even after so much time had passed since then. "And then our mother turned us into vampires."

"And you lost that part of you." Emma was the one to say the words they both knew came after that. By now she understood that if a witch turned into a vampire, their connection to magic was gone. It's what happened to Bonnie's mother the night Esther tried to kill her children for the first time.

She could see the momentary flash of sadness pass through his eyes as he thought back to that moment of his life, but it was gone as soon as it appeared, and he continued. "I couldn't perform magic anymore, but I didn't let that stop me. For a thousand years, I surrounded myself with witches, taught them, explored with them, learned new things. I even searched and found ways in which I could do some things without my own magic."

That last part sparked even more interest in Emma, making her wonder if that could be what happened last night. Perhaps there was something in that coffin, something she hadn't found that did the magic for her, not she herself. Because, even though they were talking about witches, Emma knew that wasn't a possible explanation in her case. She would have known by now.

"So trust me when I tell you, darling, whatever it is you did, whatever you don't understand about it or can't make sense of, perhaps I could." Kol finally circled back to the point which prompted the story. "And I could help." He added on, Emma evaluating his face and every sign on it, searching for something that would reveal the genuine tone was simply deception. But she couldn't find anything.

"And what makes you think I need help? That I don't understand?" Emma questioned. She was digging as much as he was, wondering whether he'd slip up and reveal something, something she could use as a guide for the help and understanding she most certainly did need.

"The incessant sound of flipping pages that went long into the night." The Mikaelson smirked at her knowingly, elbows leaning on the marble counter, bringing his face even closer to hers than before, daring her to try and deny it. Emma knew she couldn't. Unlike him, she barely understood anything about magic, she had no explanations, nothing to shoot down his points.

Luckily, she didn't have to bother coming up with anything either as the sound of a familiar ringtone filled the air around them. It reminded Emma of the primary reason she'd come down there, raising her eyebrow at him as he straightened up and pulled her phone out of his pocket.

"You deserved some uninterrupted sleep." He simply explained the unasked question, rounding the island so he could hand her the device. His words suggested that it wasn't the first time her phone was ringing that morning.

"I slept for a whole day." Emma pointed out as she silenced the phone, knowing she'd talk to her mother when she went back home after breakfast.

"Magical sleep isn't the same as proper rest, darling." Kol said, his hand gently reaching for her chin and making her look up at him as he seemed to evaluate her, checking that his plan had worked and smiling once he deemed she was looking much better than before. "You going to answer that?" He asked before Emma could question his actions or even properly take note of them.

It made her look back down to the phone, the call still flashing across the screen even though the ringtone had been silenced. Emma heaved a sigh as she looked at the picture of her mother that always accompanied her contact. "The thing about answers, Kol... It isn't that I don't know where to get them. It's just that I know it won't be a pleasant conversation."