Immortal Dragon ON HOLD

Chapter XII

The sands of time had continued to fall.

Slowly.

But relentlessly.

With each passing year, the Mikaelson family changed.

The children who once ran through the village fields had grown into men and women—strong, fierce, and bound together by blood.

Rhaella Mikaelson had grown into a formidable woman.

She was skilled with a bow, deadly with a blade, and well trained in both the art of war and the magical arts she had inherited from her mother.

Much like Rhaella, her younger brother Kol had also become something of a prodigy in magic.

He loved the power that flowed through his veins.

And unlike his sister, he had never tried to hide that fact.

Rhaella sat cross-legged in her hidden alcove, the quiet place she had claimed as her own years ago. It was tucked away in the forest, concealed behind rock and brush. A place of silence. A place of focus. The only other person who knew of it was Kol. He had been with her the day she discovered it.

A Grimoire rested open in her lap as she practiced a small spell. The air around her hummed faintly with magic. Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached.

"Ella! Ella!" Rhaella sighed softly and opened her eyes. She closed the Grimoire and looked up just as Kol came rushing into the alcove.

"Yes, Kol," she said calmly. "What is it?"

Kol looked slightly breathless. "Nik and Elijah are fighting again. You're the only one who can get them to stop. So, I came to get you."

Rhaella exhaled quietly. Of course they were. She slid the Grimoire back into its hiding place and stood.

With a small motion of her hand, she sealed the alcove with a simple concealment spell. "Alright," she said. "Let's go."

The two of them hurried through the trees toward the training grounds.

They arrived just in time to see Mikael standing with his sword pointed directly at Niklaus. Rhaella stopped short. Her chest tightened.

She loved her father. But the promise she made long ago—to protect her siblings—came before anything else. Without hesitation she drew her own sword. Niklaus stepped back just enough to give her space.

Rhaella moved between them. "Father!" Her voice cut through the clearing. "He's had enough. They were only sparring."

Mikael's gaze shifted from Klaus to her. His eyes were cold. "Your sister will not always be there to protect you, boy," he said harshly to Klaus.

Before the moment could escalate further, Esther's voice called Mikael away. The tension broke. Mikael lowered his blade and walked off without another word.

Rhaella immediately turned to Klaus. She reached out and helped him to his feet. "It's alright, Nik," she said softly. "Don't listen to him. I will protect you whenever I can."

Klaus looked at her, tears threatening in his eyes once the others had moved far enough away. "Why does Father hate me, Ella?" he asked quietly. "He's never like that with you... or the others. It's always me. Why?"

Rhaella's heart twisted. She wished she had an answer. But she didn't. She forced a small, sad smile.

"I don't know, Nik." Then she wrapped her arms around her brother and held him close. Comforting him the only way she knew how.

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Rhaella woke with a start. But the moment she opened her eyes, she knew something was wrong. This was not her room. All she could see was a narrow path stretching out in front of her. Everything around it was swallowed in darkness.