Twelve Rose Petals

“The Curse of the Rose”

Love should never be taken for granted, love should be sweet and kind, and the heart of others should not be abused.

He felt a stinging pain as her palm harshly slapped his face. “How dare you?” she lashed out angrily. She was trying to hold back tears, and he did not even flinch. Tears were just as valuable as water which had very little value to him.

Kol did not respect nor care about such a mindset about love. He was malicious, self-centered, and was a complete player. Whether it was a human or not, he had the tendency to make people believe that he truly cared when he truly did not. “Don’t cry. We were just having fun,” he said as his grey eyes dilated.

“We were just having fun,” she repeated as the compulsion took over. He smirked in satisfaction. He wiped her meaningless tears and look deep into her bright blue eyes. “Go home,” he whispered.

She slipped out of his grasp and did exactly what he said. The perks of being a vampire, the perks of being Kol Hawkins. He sat onto the brown bar stool and watched as everyone was enjoying themselves as they drank and had conversation. If Kol wanted to, he could listen into what they were saying.

Before he could ask one of the bartenders for a drink, he felt someone grasp his shoulder. At first, he was alert but then eased up when the person spoke. “Ooh, don’t you think that was harsh?” a familiar voiced ringed in his ear.

“Don’t worry, Tyson, she won’t feel the pain anymore, anyways. Can I have a drink, please?” Kol said as he waved his hands for one of the bartenders to get his order.

“Kol, I don’t want to come at you, but you really need to rethink your choices,” Tyson sat on the next stool on Kol’s right. “You cannot just make people fall in love with you just out of your own enjoyment and then intentionally hurt them, thinking that a simple compulsion will do the trick.” Tyson was a man of chivalry and acting morally correct. He was everything that Kol was not.

“And you can stop biting my ass about it, brother,” Kol retorted, feeling annoyed.

“I’m just saying be careful. You have no idea what you can get yourself into,” Tyson warned.

“Yeah, thanks for the warning. But I think I’m fine.”

“I’m just looking out for you. Why is it so hard for you to accept people looking out for you?”

“Maybe it’s because I don’t need anyone looking out for me,” Kol snapped. As Kol had the last word, one of the bartenders came to them.

“What can I get you?”

“Nothing,” Tyson said as he got up from the stool, walking away from his brother. Before he left, he said, “You are going to regret what you said one day.” And then he turned his heels and walked out of the bar.

Stop being so dramatic, Kol thought. Kol only wanted to have fun, because there was no point of being tied down when he had so much years to live. It was not like he had a lifespan. He would only die if he were to get killed. “I would like,” he began and stopped when his eyes came across the bartender. She was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. If only it took only beauty for Kol to be head over heels for someone. If that was the case, he would have been hundreds of years ago.

“I would like bourbon,” he requested.

She nodded her head. “Anything else?”

He examined her from head to toe. She had blonde wavy hair that almost resembled to be white. She had fair skin but was not overly pale. “You.”

“Excuse me?” she cocked a brow.

He took her by the hand and looked deeply into her green eyes. “In five minutes, you’re going to meet me out back. And won’t tell anyone, just say you’re going to the bathroom.”

“I’ll meet you in five minutes,” she said, listening to his words. The beauty of compulsion. She handed him his drink, and Kol quickly drank it.

After five minutes, Kol was in the back, waiting for the bartender. There was something about her that gave him chills. It felt dangerous but exciting.

As expected, she came from the back entrance that only employees were about to go through. She approached Kol. “Why did you want to see me?” she asked dumbfoundedly.

“What’s your name?”

“Sandra,” she said.

“Okay, Sandra, all I need you to do is not speak.” And that’s exactly what she did. It was as if she was under his spell.

Kol was feeling hungry and had not had human blood all day. He just needed enough to regain energy. That’s all she was to him. A blood bag, a meal. He gently grabbed her face and tilted her neck. As his lips came closer to her until it barely touched her neck. His fangs grew and his eyes turned red. He pierced her neck with his fangs and began to feed.

It felt like he was revived again. Suddenly, the sweet taste of the blood turned into a burning sensation in his mouth as if it was some sort of acid. He couldn’t help but to choke as he stumbled onto the ground.

What was going on? he thought. He looked at the woman and saw her smirking in satisfaction.

“How did you like that, vampire?”

He should have known based on her appearance. “You’re a witch,” he said, choking on the acidic feeling in his throat. Witches and vampires were superior when it came to physical features. Since she definitely was not a vampire, a witch should have clicked in Kol’s head.

“Yes. I’m a witch. The name is Cassandra, how do you do?” she greeted.

“What do you want, bitch?” Kol said maliciously.

“Oh, no. That’s not how you talk to a woman. You should be ashamed for how you treat women, Kol.”

“Who cares? And more importantly, how do you know my name?” How did she know? Kol never told her and didn’t even fully introduced himself to her.

“I’ve heard many things about you. Kol—the most daring vampire and also a well known player in Seattle.”

“What do you want?”

“I’ve been watching you. You have to be one of the most disgusting vampires I have ever came across. You should be ashamed of yourself. Woman aren’t toys, you know? It’s very—”

“Yeah, you’re right, they are actually blood bags. Now, can you please get to the point?

“I’m here to teach you a lesson.” Her eyes grew dark. Her what seemed to be an angelic aura turned into something that Kol had never seen before. It was almost demonic but not exactly. She pulled up her arm from her side and open her hand. Kol watched her carefully.

Suddenly, a rose appeared in her hands. Kol stared at the red rose that was in her hands. The corner of his lips went upward, and he began to laugh. “That’s such a deadly weapon you got there. If you wanted to go on a date with me, you could have just said so,” he joked.

Cassandra was not amused by his joke and lift her other arm and point at him. Kol suddenly heard a high pitch ringing in his ears, and it’s intensity was so strong that not even a human could handle it. Due to his sensitivity the sound, he grunted as he started to hold his ears. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

Cassandra stopped. “Just be happy I don’t put a tracker spell on you for all the hunters to come your way.”

By the sound of that, Kol face grew serious as he realized what Cassandra was capable of. From there, Cassandra began to explain what she had in mind for the vampire.

“As you know, you are a womanizer. You act like you care about every woman you have encountered with, but in the end, you show that that you really don’t give a damn.” As she was saying this, Kol felt deja-vu. It was like he was being lectured by his brother all over again.

“For all those woman and for yourself, I placed a curse on you.”

What is this crazy woman talking about? This was very strange, Kol thought. “What curse?”

She gave him a wicked smile. “The curse of the Rose. This rose has twelve petals. Twelve petals is twelve hours.”

Kol didn’t say anything. Despite how lame the spell sounded, he decided to just listen and not saying anything that would piss the witch off.

“With every hour, a petal falls. As a petal falls, you’ll feel like you’re getting closer to death. You have to find your Beloved and fall in the love with them as they fall in love with you before the last petal falls.” She turned her body and was walking closer back to the bar.

Before she disappeared, Kol managed to ask, “What happens when the last petal falls?”

She smiled and looked at him from the corner of her eye. “You will die.”