Forever

Sympathy for the devil

The next room seemed like it was around the same time period.

Though instead of a sword fight, there was a pyre.

Like some kind of Supernatural hunter funeral type shit.

Atop of it, was laid a body much too small for any grown adult. This was a child's funeral. Klaus stood in the distance, while the rest of the family were all close to the flames.

Esther was crying into Finn's chest, Elijah, Kol, and Rebekah stared at the body somberly.

And Mikael?

He was practically seething.

Why was Klaus so far away?

Wait. Was this the littlest boy? From the first memory?

"Father, No!" Elijah chased after Mikael as he stormed toward Klaus, who turned and ran the second he'd seen his dad coming.

I had a sick feeling about this.

But it seemed that no matter how much I didn't want to follow, it was still Elijah's mind, which meant I could only be where he was.

The memory turned dark, like his whole brain just stopped working for a second and then we were in a cave.

It was still the same memory, I hadn't gone through another door, but apparently, some time had passed, like the world had blanked out. The sun was starting to set, where previously, it'd been high in the sky.

Klaus was curled in the corner, head buried in his arms while Elijah set about placing strips of wet cloth on his brother's back.

Elijah himself was sporting a pretty nasty black eye.

"I deserved it." Klaus mumbled. "I killed Henrik."

"You couldn't have known-"

"I knew the risks when I let him convince me to see the wolves with him!" Klaus finally looked up and my stomach churned.

His face.

It was covered in dark purple welts and bruises.

Elijah was silent as he worked.

"I thought he was going to kill you." He admitted. "When you carried Henrik's body and explained. Father, he was so enraged. I've never seen him that way."

"I'm unsure he won't try when I sleep."

Elijah moved to sit in front of his brother. "You are not at fault. Henrik would have gone even if you had not. You're lucky they did not tear you to shreds too."

Holy Shit.

This was so much worse than I could've possibly imagined.

The familiarity of Elijah's care. He'd done this before, probably many times.

I almost didn't want to find the next door. But I knew I needed to. Elijah was still unconscious and the spell will only last so long until I'm returned to the waking world.

....

The bond between Elijah and Klaus was starting to make a lot more sense. Why Klaus almost always listened to Elijah's council. Why the siblings were all so determined to stay together, even after Klaus daggers them.

We must be in a medieval times or something this time around. Klaus sat in the corner of the room, holding his head.

"Niklaus, what's happened?" Elijah opened the door and it was the same kind as the ones they used in the movies.

"I killed the hunter." Klaus' voice was low and a little more like how I knew it to be. "There were some unforeseen side effects."

"What is it?"

"Mikael, he's not here. I know he is not real. But he haunts me. Whispering things that I do not have the strength to fight." He sat up to reveal a shirt riddled with bloody holes, and a wooden stake lay abandoned not too far from him, blood red marring the tip. "Nothing can kill me, besides that cursed stake Father carries."

Elijah's eyes closed. "Oh, Niklaus." He knelt down beside his brother and threw the stake as far away as he could.

"Don't. Anything you say will be used by him. He's in my mind."

Elijah nodded, and then made to move but Klaus' hand shot out and grabbed his arm, eyes full of terror. Instead of reacting, Elijah sat beside his brother against the wall, shoulders touching.

That seemed to relax Klaus.

"Always and Forever, brother. We made a pact to stand with one another, no matter what. Even if it is to fight those demonic thoughts."

...

This time I was in a clearing. The same as the funeral was in.

Except Klaus was bound and screaming, Mikael was holding him while Esther was muttering some kind of spell work.

What was worse was who it was that helped Mikael.

Elijah stood on the other side of his brother, ensuring Klaus had no means of escape.

His face was carefully blank.

Esther had an all too familiar rock in her hands.

The moonstone.

This was Klaus' binding ritual.

It had to be.

I didn't know it went down like this.

A hand on my shoulder made me jump. Nothing was supposed to be able to touch me.

"Drew."

He was the real deal. Well- my Elijah.

"What is this?" I gestured to the scene behind me, and to have honest, Klaus' screams were heart wrenching, no matter what he's done.

Elijah looked away. "The revelation of Niklaus' true lineage frightened us all. Some were more angry than others. As you know, Esther bound Niklaus in an effort to please Mikael. This event is one of my greatest shames."

"Does he know?"

There was no way he did. Klaus expressed his hatred for Mikael, but never Elijah. They were arguably the closest of the Mikaelson siblings.

"No, and I pray he never will. I suspect that it was Esther's doing, but I refuse to look at it too closely."

"Because he'd lose his shit."

He gave me a small, sad smile. "He would indeed." Elijah then offered his arm. "As fun as going down memory lane and rather unwillingly sharing it with you is, let's find our way back to the real world, shall we?"

"Yes. Freya sent me in here to find you. How did some witches get the jump on three Originals?"

"The ancestors were- unhappy. They had hoped that their descendants would be able to steal Hope's magic. We have been expecting their anger for quite some time." He seemed almost relieved to not talk about his memories anymore.

"Klaus has a magical baby?"

"Thus far, she has shown potential to be a witch, yes. We will have to watch and see if Niklaus' vampire and both his and Hayley's werewolf genes were also passed."

"Right, I forgot that bitch was her mom."

"I gave her my word."

"But I didn't. She can go to hell for all I care." It was Hayley's fault I had panic attacks at all.

They sucked.

"Be that as it may, you will not go after her. The bayou is already dangerous enough." There was that look again. The one I didn't want to betray. Despite any effort I had to despise the Originals, I couldn't shake Elijah's disappointment. "Come, let's find our exit."