The New World (The Mikaelson Brothers)

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon when the six women climbed the steep hill that would bring them closer to their destination. The green grassy hills stretched in front of the women as they reached the top, puffing and panting. The youngest child enjoyed the soft wind blowing through her dark hair and closed her heavy eyelids for a second; trying to get her mind of the fruit basket she was carrying. Everyday they would search for edible berries and stuffed as many in the basket as would fit.

“Maria”, the mother of the five women urged. The young girl sighed while opening her eyes and glanced one by one at her sisters. She received an empathetic look from her oldest sister. Asta had always looked out for her younger siblings and had acted like a mother to them ever since their father passed away. He was the main cause for their migration to the new world. A good friend of their mother had told them about theNew World, beyond the seas where the natives were blesses with supernatural gifts and they could live in peace.

“Mother, we have crossed the ocean, we have travelled the land for days now, when do we get to rest?”, the middle daughter, Freya, whined. These past few weeks of traveling had worn her off and she needed to take a break, in order to regain her strength. Mother Agnes, had shown no intention of halting, but was required to stop when her middle daughter suddenly collapsed on top of the hill.

“Freya!”, Asta exclaimed and dropped the sack she had been carrying within seconds. She kneeled down next to her younger sister and put a hand on her forehead.

“She has the fever. We need to rest mother, please?”, Asta cried out to her ignorant mother. Agnes sighed and turned to her daughters.

“One night, we will rest, no more. I suggest you feed the girl some water”, Agnes said cold-heartedly and eyed her ill daughter. Freya’s mouth slowly closed and opened, while her eyes kept shut.

“Isibel, hand me the water, please?”, Asta said and grabbed the wooden flask from her second youngest sister. She poured a little water into Freya’s mouth and helped her stand up again. It caused Freya much energy to keep her eyes open, but even through slit eyes, she couldn’t help but notice her mother’s blank expression. She understood her mother’s remorse, but if only her mother could realize that they all shared that same remorse, life would be so much easier for the Marwick family.

The youngest sister, Maria, volunteered to carry Freya’s sack and glanced at her second oldest sister, Grida, for help. Grida frowned, turning down her sister’s silent request for help and continued dragging her sac over the moist grass like she had done all day.

Supported by her two sisters, Asta and Isibel, Freya and the rest of the Marwick family descended the green hill and did not stop until they reached the forest edge by nightfall.

Agnes had made a fire using her witch powers and went to sleep early. Though she did not like to admit it, she was exhausted and needed some sleep.

“Freya?”, Asta smiled at her awakening sister. Freya had been unconscious for a quite a while now and Asta was relieved to see her sister’s eyes fluttering rapidly. With a loud graon, Freya sat up straight against the tree behind her and put her hand on her aching forehead.

“Where am I?”, she asked eyeing her surroundings. All that was visible were the silhoutes of the trees, lit up by the campfire.

“Isibel, Maria, she’s awake!”, Asta called out to her sisters. She did not bother to call Grida, because she knew Grida could not care less if her sister would wake up or not. Grida was heartless, and had always been that way. She showed no compassion towards her family, and if she would’ve ever gotten the chance to run, Grida would’ve taken it. The only thing that held her back was the lack of money. A woman could not get a job unless she was able to help out her husband, but in Grida’s case, there was no husband involved.

She sat against a broad tree and stared ahead dully, ignoring her beaming sisters. Her ivory skin glowed in the light of the campfire and warmed her body. It soothed her until she slowly drifted off to sleep.

“Be careful not to wake up Grida”, Asta whispered to Maria. The young girl nodded and tiptoed past the sleeping form of her sister to grab the water flask from one of the sacks. She silently returned and joined her other sisters around Freya’s conscious body.

“She’s even grumpy in her sleep”, Maria said and kneeled down. Isibel and Freya giggled quietly, covering their mouth with their hands.

“It is not something to make fun of”, Asta countered, hating the fact that her sister was so distant towards their family. Freya gulped down the water flask till the last drop and sighed in satisfaction. She wiped her mouth dry with the sleeve of her lilac dress and leaned back against the tree.

“Thank you”, she whispered at her sisters. “I wouldn’t know what to do without you lot. You’ve always been so dear to me”, she confessed. This long journey had brought up emotions in all of them, but only few dared to show them. Maria, for example, had silently cried a week ago while everyone was sleeping. She had had a dream about her father, when he was still alive. His radiant smile was still burnt on her retina and it pained her that she would never be able to see him in the flesh again. She could only visit him in her dreams, just like the rest of the Marwick sisters.