I Didn't Turn into a Dragon •The Originals•

Chapter Six - I'm Sorry, My Father

I smirked as Niklaus put the bag on his shoulder, letting me lead the way to the flowers with Ansel close behind me. As the trees spread farther and the grass grew thicker, the sky became more visible without the heavy brush over our heads. I turned to Nik, pointing up at one tree in particular. The flowers grew on the tree, but around it, the tree was surrounded by lilac blossoms.

"Vervain. It's everywhere. My relentless mother has set a trap." I waved him off, walking through the plants torturous to him. As I was about to touch the orchid, my nose began to bleed. I blinked harshly and moved my hand away, and the blood stopped. "Oh, bloody hell."

Nik watched me wipe the blood from under my nose angrily, worry dancing in his eyes. "It seems that your mother is more of a wench than I had originally thought." Ansel smiled. "I shall retrieve the Merlock for you."

"At what cost?" Ansel looked back at him, angrily throwing a knife into the dirt. "Why don't you use your vampire abilities to end your doubts? Search my mind. You'll see I'm not aligned with your mother."

I made my way back over to them quickly, worried about Niklaus' anger. He was surprisingly calm with his response. "I have absolutely no interest in the inner workings of your brain." "I'm surprised at your cowardice." "Oh?"

"While you stand here in fear of me, your brother suffers further." I sighed, grabbing the knife embedded in the dirt. "This is ridiculous. I'll gather the damn orchids." I heard Nik sigh. "Maleficent, you'll get hurt." I grumbled standing directly in front of the tree. "I don't bloody care, I'll live."

I grabbed a flower, feeling the blood drip from my nose as I gently cut it out of the tree. I went one after the other and I felt blood drip from my eyes as well, the red blurring my vision. When I finally had enough, I turned and stumbled, feeling someone grab me before I fell. "You're an idiot." I smiled. "No. I'm a queen."

• • •

I felt light headed and tired as I watched the fire, but it was worth it. Ansel was carefully slicing petals from the flowers for Elijah, and Nik was sitting next to me watching him carefully. "I've always seen a blade to have a very different use."

I looked up at Nik, knocking my shoulder with his. "Mikael taught you to kill, Klaus. But you were born to create. Power lies in embracing your true nature." I looked up at Ansel, slightly agitated.

"You think I should take my mother's offer? Sacrifice my vampirism. Then what? Become a florist?" I snorted and his eyebrows shot up at me while Ansel chuckled. "You wouldn't be sacrificing anything. As a wolf, you could be king to an entire species. You would feel true peace."

It was silent for a moment as I looked at my hands. "You would be a better father." I restrained myself from jumping into a defensive position. "I am no longer a father." He stood up and I followed behind him slowly. I stood next to him and we discreetly stared at each other in worry.

"In our animal form, we feel everything more acutely. When you were a baby, after each full moon I would wake closer to your village, having been drawn to you in the night. Since I've been back, each month when I turn… I wake further from New Orleans."

I turned slowly, staring at Niklaus' father. "I know the call of my own blood, Klaus." Nik turned around, startlingly quiet. "I know your child is still alive." We both stood in shock and worry. Ansel was calm as he stood, handing a poultice to his son. "This will help Elijah."

He went to walk away, but Nik called his name. "I'd be lying of I said your offer wasn't appealing. I've never known a parent to be a benevolent force. I think I would have liked to have been your son. But a different path was chosen for me. And I have, for the past one thousand years, been son of Mikael. Paranoid, vengeful… and powerful enough to protect my daughter."