•. 𝕷𝖔𝖓𝖌 𝕷𝖔𝖘𝖙 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊 .• 𝐾𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑠 𝑀𝑖𝑘𝑎𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑜𝑛

Chapter 6: Memories

Mystic Falls - 995 AD

The large fire crackled merrily in the center of the village, several children poking at it with sticks. Most of the villagers were cheerfully dancing around the fire to the music, enjoying the lively celebrations under the night sky.

"Brother!" Rebekah laughed happily, skipping over to Niklaus. "Dance with me, Nik!"

Niklaus rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he leaned comfortably against the fence which was quite a distance away from the crowd.

Rebekah frowned, and set her hands on her hips. "Why must you spoil everything?"

"Rebekah, I am sure you would not want all the eligible male villagers to think you spend all your time around your older brother." Niklaus said, his lips twitching up into a smile. "Go dance with them."

Rebekah sighed, and ignoring his protests, grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him toward the celebration. "You have been sitting this entire night out. I will not let you ruin your own night so easily. Come with me."

He sighed in resignation, allowing his younger sister to lead him toward where everyone was gathered. He could see Elijah dancing with a dark-haired woman and Kol dancing with several women.

"You see?" Rebekah exclaimed, gesturing towards his brothers. "Even Elijah is dancing!"

"All right, Rebekah. That's enough." Niklaus pulled his arm away. "I will stand here but I will not dance."

Rebekah pursed her lips but then turned away, sweeping her blonde hair over her shoulders. "Do what you want. I am going to go have some fun."

Niklaus folded his arms, looking around uncomfortably. Everyone seemed to be quite entertained, even the children and elders had formed their own little groups. He normally liked these celebrations, but just the other day he had gotten into a rather nasty altercation with his father again, and since then, he had been rather put off by everything.

"You don't seem to be having fun."

Niklaus turned around to see a young woman standing behind him, holding a wooden cup with some sort of beverage in it, but he paid no attention to it. Instead, he stared at her.

Audrea Magnuson.

He recognized her immediately. She was the prettiest girl in the village and it was every man's dream to be her suitor. Unfortunately, she was the youngest in her family and had nearly a dozen siblings, most of whom were protective brothers who never hesitated to strike terror into any potential suitor who tried to approach her.

Niklaus had always admired her from afar, but given her status, would never have believed that one day he might be able to even just talk to her. He hoped his father wouldn't see this moment, or else he was in for a serious beating once he got home. However, he was quickly deciding that it was quite worth it, just to have the chance to look at her up close.

"Well...I..." Niklaus was at a loss for words, instead choosing to let his eyes roam over her face, and daringly down toward the swell of her breasts.

She giggled, one hand coming up to cover her mouth. "My eyes are up here, Niklaus."

His cheeks flushed and his eyes shot up, meeting her gaze. "You know my name?"

"Of course." She said, her lips curving into an alluring smile. "Niklaus Mikaelson. I make it my mission to know everyone in the village. And you...oh, I have been watching you, Niklaus."

His cheeks reddened further, and in that moment, he felt like a boy again, hopelessly confused as to how to speak to a girl. By the gods, he was twenty-one already! It shouldn't be this hard to keep up a conversation with a woman, albeit the most beautiful one in the village. Luckily, she didn't seem to mind his tragic inability to form a coherent sentence.

"Come." Audrea grabbed his hand with both of hers and gave it a tug. "No one should be sitting out celebrations tonight. Dance with me!"

He opened his mouth to object, but was instead instantly entranced by the way she began to move her body, and he couldn't help but let his eyes roam again. She was perfect, her laughter like music to his ears. His lips quirked up into a small smile and he lifted the hand she was holding to twirl her around.

"Woo! Go, Nik!"

Niklaus turned to see Rebekah clapping and cheering him on, Kol standing at her side and wiggling an annoyingly suggestive eyebrow. He glanced back at Audrea and the way the moonlight glinted off her beautiful blond hair.

Perhaps just tonight he could break his father's rules...for her.