For All My Love And Rage |Originals AU

16. I Shall Be Burning by Then (Henrik)

A/N: Please comment! and vote!

***

Henrik Mikaelson always knew when his father was lying. Mostly because Mikael lied so often to his children when Henrik was young.

"I'm fine." Mikael lied every time he got hurt during a hunting expedition.

"It's just a scratch," he would say, pushing his children and wife away when they tried to care for his wounds.

"No need to worry. Nothing can harm you as long as I am here," he said every full moon, hugging his children, his eyes darting to the entrance of the cave where they hid from the wolves. "There aren't any monsters outside. They are just our neighbors..."

But Henrik was never afraid of the wolves; it was the cruel ghost lingering around his father that always scared him.

"I'll be back home soon." Mikael always stayed away for far too long.

"I promise I'll tell you all about it—all about my past—once you're older..." But his children were never old enough in his eyes to learn about such terrible secrets. So Mikael never told them the truth, and the Mikaelsons suffered hell because of his fears and lies.

Henrik had accepted that he had to wait until Mikael was ready to tell them the truth. But now, a thousand years later, and after death claimed his young life, Henrik was tired of waiting. He knew his father would not tell him anything new. In his heart, he knew Mikael could not tell them his terrible secret. Not yet, at least. Still, Henrik Mikaelson did not care about his father's secret. He was after a different kind of truth.

***

"You should have told them the truth," Henrik said, closing the door behind him and placing a small totem on the doorknob—a simple spell his mother taught him when he was young, to keep secrets from prying ears. He knew his siblings were too tired and devastated after their conversations with Mikael to even try ears dropping, but since all of them had superhuman hearing, Henrik wanted to be careful. It wasn't his secret to tell, after all. "They deserve to know. It's not right to tell them only half the story."

"Do you truly think the entire truth would be better?" Mikael sighed, smiling sadly, without raising his eyes. "My boy, how you've grown... but you're still a child... You wouldn't understand. It won't matter, nothing will.... You and your siblings will be safe. That's what counts."

"You know that's not true!" Henrik said, struggling to keep his voice calm. "The reasons for what you did, they matter... I know there's something—this awful secret you carry with you since before we were born—I know you cannot tell us." he spoke slowly, measuring his words, his eyes alert and fixed on his father's tired, bruised face.

"If only you knew..." Mikael whispered, shaking his head. "if you knew... just how much I want to... finally tell you the truth..." He raised his eyes, tears mapping his cheeks. "But we can't always have what we want in this life, my boy. And you are right. I cannot tell you..."