Even the people you're closest to you will stab you in the back once they find the slightest difference in opinion.
You know the phrase that people tell you when you don't get along with someone to keep you from killing each other? 'Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer' my brother practically invented that line. It wasn't that he was closer with his enemies, no it was more that he knew them, befriended them found their weaknesses and at the perfect time when they had no form of offenses he attacked, and all they could do was run.
I never really understood why he did this though. Those that would be threats to a normal vampire weren't treats to him why build up a reputation when surprising people with superior power would be so much more... flashy? That seemed to be why he did it, for a show, the reaction. But for Klaus power would never be enough, power was nothing if you didn't have fear. Now, I see that if you had enough people standing against you even the invincible can fall for power, and at that point it's a long way down.
April 17th, 1956
It wasn't healthy being down here, I was one of the few people who won't die and I'm spending the fifties in the basement with the temporary corpses of my siblings. Rebekah had been daggered nearly thirty years ago now, Kol for a hundred and fifty, Finn for nearly... seven centuries now? And I'm still here. Elijah was too but all of us had been in our boxes for a few decades over the centuries. Sometimes, I understood why Nik got mad at us, other times like what happened with Rebekah it seemed unfair to her that some days I almost pull the dagger out. But I don't because then it will be me sitting in the box.
But then again anything that wasn't exactly what Niklaus wanted would get you some form of punishment.
"So... dancing is different now, you would love it, Beks. The Hand Jive, it isn't anything I'd dance but you've always liked thi-"
"You still do this, Emma? Why? They can't hear you." Klaus interrupted walking into the room. He had never been very inquisitive; maybe it was a good sign that he wanted to know something that technically didn't involve him. "It isn't like you can undagger them. They won't know that you did this."
"Well, maybe I should" I mumbled.
"Wait, What? You can't be serious, no undaggering them" Klaus strode over to the coffins, standing over me in a way that should be intimidating. "Don't be stupid, you know my reasoning. Kol was out of control, killing for sport. He put us all in danger!"
"Yes, that happened what? A hundred years ago, and as if you don't do the same thing a million times, we're Originals, we kill and we enjoy it! It isn't fair that you don't get put on pause every time you make some mistake!" I yelled. "And Rebekah? What was her great sin? Not wanting to be a puppet anymore?"
"Well, if you feel so strongly about this why haven't you undaggered them? If you're so sure they're innocent why are they still in the coffins? Even though you don't admit it, you're a lot more like me than you'd like to think." He sneered at me.
You know that moment that everything is right there, right on the line? It happens every once in a while, a decision that could change everything for you, but it's so big that it makes it completely impossible to know the right path. I'd like to tell you that this is one of those moments that I didn't see exactly what I was getting into but I saw it coming from a mile away. "You know why. It's simple to survive in this family as long as you never get on your bad side. You have a God Complex. You want to decide what goes on in our lives? Well, you're fresh out of extra play things, Nik! I quit and yes, that does involve sulking here." I hadn't really heard myself until I said this next part, back then I didn't get what it meant for me, I had gotten so used to being supported that when I started to crash and burn? I didn't realize how far I'd fallen until I hit the ground head first." So, Get out! I don't need you to pull the strings anymore"
It took a while but I finally realize why I needed to be tucked away in a box for a decade or two. We never got to see it before but even without the constant fear of death, the world could be a very scary place.
"Oh, so, you don't need me? That's hilarious. It was a joke, right?" Klaus laughed-I couldn't tell if it was real though. "You'll never even function without someone! You know you're right, I'm a monster but at least I can accept it without someone holding my hand."
And I felt it, like something pinching me right in my heart. I looked down to see the handle of one of the daggers.
As looked up at him, my heart slowed even more than usual, "I guess we'll never know".I could hardly believe that a second ago everything seemed normal. It took centuries of sucking up to not get daggered but as I started to fade I felt an odd sense of gratitude, like this was always going to happen, I had put it off, and now a weight was lifted. In that moment I felt betrayed, but free, like I was falling into a deep sleep and that if I never wanted to wake up I wouldn't have to.
I recognized what I felt then, well it was memorable, the long forgotten feeling of peace.
