Youngest Original

Prologue

April 7th, 1996 - Easter Day

The sun was just coming out and Kassandra paced around the hall, excitingly waiting for her chauffeur to arrive and drive her to her lake house. She busied herself with checking if all of her luggage was ready - it was.

After another 10 minutes of waiting, she could see and hear a black car pulling up her driveway. "There he is!" she muttered as she picked up her suitcase, her bag, and her keys. She opened the door and a gentle breeze rustled her dark hair.

She locked her house and walked toward the trunk of the car. To her surprise, Antonio, her chauffeur, didn't come out of the car. Usually, he would help her with the luggage. After putting her suitcase inside, she closed the trunk and walked to the passenger seat.

Settling into her car, Kassandra expected to find her private driver awaiting her, ready to whisk her away to the sanctuary of her lakeside retreat. But as she entered the vehicle, she was met instead with a face she hadn't seen in decades.

"Hello, love. Long time no see." Klaus greeted, his words dripping with false warmth. Kassandra's heart sank at the sight of him, her instincts warning her of the trouble that lay ahead.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice betraying her unease as Klaus started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

"Visiting my little sister, of course," Klaus replied, his tone laced with mock concern. "I wouldn't want you spending the holidays all alone, would I?"

The words sent a chill down Kassandra's spine, a sense of foreboding settling over her like a dark cloud. Despite her best efforts to evade him, it seemed that Klaus had other plans for her Easter holiday, plans that she knew would not end well for her. 

"I want you to come back to the US with me," Klaus said in a demanding voice as they exited the city of Geneva.

"And why would I do that?" she challenged, her voice laced with defiance as she met Klaus's gaze head-on, refusing to back down in the face of his manipulative tactics.

But Klaus, ever the master of manipulation, remained unfazed by her resistance, his expression shifting to one of faux vulnerability as he sought to twist the situation to his advantage.

"I've been feeling quite lonely if I'm being honest," he confessed, his words tinged with a hint of desperation. "I haven't seen any of my siblings in decades. Who better to keep me company than my favorite little sister?"

The words struck a nerve with Kassandra, stirring up a whirlwind of conflicting emotions within her. On one hand, she longed for the connection and companionship that only her siblings could provide. But on the other, she knew all too well the price that would come with reuniting with Klaus and the rest of their fractured family.

"You can easily undagger any one of our siblings. But you won't do that," she shot back, her voice tinged with bitterness as she laid bare the truth that Klaus had been so desperate to conceal.

"Because you're scared to face them. And you came to me thinking that I would welcome you back with open arms. That's where you're wrong."

Her words hung in the air, a damning indictment of Klaus's cowardice and manipulation, a testament to the strength and resilience that had sustained her in the face of his tyranny.

"Now, now little dove. I can see you're upset. Calm down," Klaus admonished, his words dripping with false concern as he attempted to assert his dominance over her with the same tone that parents used on misbehaving children.

Kassandra's anger simmered beneath the surface as Klaus attempted to placate her with patronizing words and a tone that grated against her nerves like sandpaper. The condescension in his voice only served to fuel the flames of her indignation, her frustration mounting with each passing moment.

As they continued to drive, Kassandra's unease only grew, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of her stomach as she contemplated the ominous implications of Klaus's unexpected visit. With each passing mile, her sense of foreboding deepened, her instincts warning her of the danger that lay ahead.

They finally arrived at her little lake house. It was more of a cottage, really. It was situated on the shore of Lake Geneva. She got out of the car, her lungs begging for fresh air. The crisp morning air hit her skin, but she welcomed it.

"Please leave me alone." She begged, her voice filled with desperation. She started walking toward to dock, forgetting all about her luggage. All she wanted was to put some distance between herself and her devilish older brother. But he followed her like a shadow.

"Isn't that what I've been doing for the past 50 years?" Klaus's voice cut through the silence, his words dripping with contempt as he mocked her plea for peace. Kassandra clenched her fists at her sides, her frustration boiling over as she struggled to maintain her composure in the face of his relentless antagonism.

She turned away from him, her blue eyes fixed on the glowing water before her, its shimmering surface a stark contrast to the turmoil that raged within her heart. Despite her best efforts to find solace in the tranquil beauty of her surroundings, she knew that Klaus's presence would forever taint the serenity of her sanctuary, his shadow looming over her like a dark cloud.

As they stood together on the dock, the silence between them stretched on, punctuated only by the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore. Kassandra felt a sense of resignation wash over her, a weary acceptance of the fact that she could never truly escape the bonds that tethered her to her tumultuous family.

Her long brown curls shined in the morning sun, her heeled boots clicking along the dock as she paced nervously. She looked up to see a beautiful, clear sky. The bright sunlight washed over her, making her black satin turtleneck shine.

"I think it's time you're reunited with our siblings, don't you think, sweet sister?" He whispered darkly in her ear, making the hairs on the back of her neck rise. 

Her brows furrowed, not at his words but at the tone of his voice. She could feel the weight of his gaze upon her, his eyes burning with an intensity that made her skin crawl. She turned around, only to see a smirk on his face that meant only one thing - trouble.

"Klaus, what are you-" 

Before she could properly respond, before she could even comprehend the full extent of his treachery, Klaus's hand lashed out with lightning speed, plunging the silver dagger deep into her heart with a swift, merciless thrust.

Pain exploded within her, searing through her veins like fire as she gasped for breath, her world spinning out of control. She could feel her life force draining away, her limbs growing heavy and numb as darkness closed in around her.

With one final, desperate gasp, Kassandra looked up at Klaus, her eyes filled with a mixture of betrayal and disbelief. "Traitor!" she spat, her voice barely a whisper as the darkness consumed her, swallowing her whole.

For almost 15 years, Kassandra would languish in the depths of her dreamless slumber, her consciousness trapped in a realm of endless darkness, her existence suspended in a timeless void.