Forever Love-Klaus Mikaelson

PROLOGUE

Niklaus Mikaelson was a child when he met Lya Úlfarrsdottir who was a couple years younger than he was. He was sporting a fresh bruise covering his right eye. He couldn't open it and so, he didn't see her at first.

He was sitting on a rock near the river. He was picking grass from the ground in boredom when suddenly his father smacked his hands, making the grass drop from his hands and blow away in the wind. With his father now in his presence, he wished he could blow away.

    "Picking grass? Is this how you waste your time, boy?" Mikael questioned. "A son of mine does not waste his time. Weak is what you are. You might as well gather flowers like the girls."

    Niklaus clenched his jaw. What else was he supposed to do instead of waste time when apparently he wasn't good enough to do anything else? He was weak, like his father said.

     "He's sorry, father," Elijah answered from behind Mikael. "He won't do it again."

     "Come, boy. Today you'll learn to be of use," Mikael ordered and Niklaus stood up.

      That was when he met her.

      Lya Úlfarrsdottir was with her mother by the river. Her mother was washing clothes while Lya ran around and laughed. She noticed Niklaus from afar. He looked so sad that it made her stop running. She wondered what he was sad about.

     She saw him picking grass and, in her childlike mind, she thought he was sad because it was grass and grass was so bland. She went running around trying to find the perfect flower while Mikael and Elijah had approached Niklaus. She thought a flower would lift the sad boy's spirits.

Right when Niklaus went to leave, she ran as quick as her little legs would carry her while holding her dress to keep the ends from hitting the ground. She heard her mother shout for her but she kept running; she had a mission to make that boy smile. She smiled when she stopped in front of him and Niklaus froze, looking up at his father for guidance on what to do.

     But Mikael was frozen as well. This was the daughter of Úlfarr, the mightiest in their village and, therefore, she was not a girl to be ignored. He briefly wondered how his weakling of a son knew the daughter of the great warrior.

Lya held out the flower she picked, a sunflower that radiated joy. Surely, this would make the boy smile. She stared at him as she held out the flower, taking in the details of his face. He only had one bright blue eye but the other was bruised and swollen.

Her smile turned into a frown as she did not understand what had happened to him. She did not understand such violence. She recalled the loud, stern voice of his father and all the pieces of what happened to the boy were right in front of her, but still she did not understand.

A tear fell from her eye and down her cheek from sorrow. Her mind had connected all these puzzle pieces but had not put that knowledge to the surface. And so she silently cried from a sadness hidden deep inside.

Niklaus wasn't sure whether to take the flower or not. His father had just gotten on to him for picking blades of grass. Why would his father approve of accepting a flower?

"Don't be rude, boy," Mikael commanded. "Accept the flower."

Niklaus quickly took the flower from the girl's soft, small fingers. He looked down at it before looking back up at her. He smiled at her slightly to wipe the sadness from her face. She smiled back immediately and the tears receded from her light, blue eyes. She had completed her mission and had gotten him to smile; that would come to be her mission in the days following and all the days that she lived.

To Niklaus, her smile was brighter than the sunflower that she had picked. She ran off back to her mother and his eyes followed her before Mikael spoke but softly, "Son, do you know the girl well?"

Niklaus looked at him and chose to nod, "Yes, Father."

     Mikael put his hand on Niklaus's shoulder and gave him a silent nod of approval. Then he thundered away, leaving his two sons to follow him. Niklaus smiled because his father was finally proud of him for something. He looked down at the sunflower and smiled wider. It was all because of the girl that had sunshine woven into her smile.