Forever Love-Klaus Mikaelson

ONE

Lya was the youngest of her family. She had eight other siblings and all of them were boys except her eldest sibling who was a girl. Her sister was near sixteen and had gained her womanhood when her red flower bloomed just last year.

Her sister was due to be married soon to a man in the next village who was said to be the finest warrior. Her father only allowed his daughters to marry the best warriors; it was a rule that her sister stubbornly hated but Lya since she was so young did not understand such problems.

Lya was carefree and her favorite person in the world was her father. He was loving and even though there were eight other children before her, she was the apple of her father's eye. She wanted to be just like him when she grew up, a great warrior.

"Can I come with you, father?" Lya asked as she looked sorrowfully up at his towering figure. He was going out on a raid with two of her brothers and she wanted to go.

"You're too young, Lya," her father answered. "And you're my sweet girl. You don't belong in a battle. Stay here with your mother. Find those daisies she loves; that will put a smile on her face."

"I don't want to pick flowers, father, even though they're very pretty and I love them very much," Lya shook her head before she smiled with a dreamy look in her eyes. "I want to be a great warrior like you."

Úlfarr knelt down to one knee and touched her cheek gently, "That is a great ambition but I'm afraid it's not the way of things in this world. Not yet."

Lya didn't quite understand and her father noticed but didn't try to explain. Instead, he smiled, "But you need not worry about such things. You should be having fun."

Úlfarr quickly grabbed his daughter by her hands and picked her up in the air, swinging her about in a circle. She laughed and a wide smile was on her face. He stopped once it got too dizzy and he cradled her to his chest in a hug. She put her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly.

"Be careful, father," Lya stated.

"Always. You have nothing to fear."

Lya smiled softly and while she hugged her father, her eyes caught onto the sad boy she had given a flower to. He was watching their interaction intently almost as if he were sad or envious about it. She smiled at him and he looked down like he was embarrassed.

Her father put her back on the ground and he left soon after with two of her brothers. Once he left, she went after the sad boy whom had made himself at home sitting on a log.

She plopped down next to him and he startled in surprise. Once he glanced at her, he immediately dropped his gaze. She noticed his eye was healing.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"Niklaus," he answered, glancing at her and then back down to his lap.

"I am Lya," she responded.

"I know," he said, quietly. "Everyone knows who you are."

"Everyone knows my name, but they don't know me," Lya said and nudged him softly. "Father says I should make some friends. You shall be my friend. Only you."

"Only me?" Niklaus questioned.

"Yes, only you. I like you," Lya insisted and smiled at him which got him to smile slightly and half complete her goal. "You shall be my friend and I will be yours."

"Okay," Niklaus agreed. He didn't think he could say no with how commanding she was, not that he wanted to anyways.

___________

It was some months later and Niklaus became Lya's shadow. They went everywhere together. She had him wrapped around her finger, waiting to do as he was bid.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Lya," Niklaus cautioned.

"Just give me a boost up, Nik," Lya pleaded, using the nickname she had picked up from Rebekah. "It's the last rose. It's so pretty."

Lya wanted to climb a tree that had a rose vine crawling up around it. She was intent on getting this one rose that was quite a distance from the ground, blooming right in front of a hanging branch. There were no other roses as all the rest had died off now that it was heading into winter.

Niklaus sighed, "Okay."

He put his hands out in front of him and Lya used them to step up. She grabbed one of the branches and used it to pull herself up into the tree. She was out of his grasp now and he watched her with worry.

"Be careful, Lya."

Lya wrapped herself around the bulk of the tree and pulled herself upwards with her arms. This part of the tree was veering off sideways slightly so it was easy to pull herself across the bark. She got to the branch that had a blooming rose in front of it. She reached for it and her fingertips nearly grasped the rose. She reached a little further, moving her stomach away from the tree and put all of her weight on her legs. Her foot slipped and she screamed.

She fell out of tree and Niklaus shouted, "Lya!"

Her small body hit the ground just as Niklaus skidded to his knees to her. Her head hit a sharp rock on the ground and he saw the blood pooling out. He grabbed her and pulled her to him. He picked her up and although she was heavy since he was still a child, he didn't dare drop her as he ran back to the village.

________

Lya was going to be fine. She had been unconscious for days but the village healers including his mother and Ayana said that she'd be fine. Mikael had punished him that night for being such a fool to let her climb that tree. His father made him feel even worse for listening to the smile on her face instead of the warnings in his mind.

On the fourth day, Lya had woken up but he didn't go to her right away. He went back to that tree that still had the rose blooming. Rebekah had suggested he get her a gift for when she woke up and the rose was the perfect gift. Even if he was a fool for it, he wanted to see her smile because he had won her rose. He was courageous climbing up that tree all alone, but he did it for her, his only friend, and he succeeded.

He came to her hut and her father let him in to see her. He held the rose behind his back as he entered, seeing her mother at her bedside. Lya looked bored; of course she did as she always wanted to be outside. He smiled at the thought of bringing a part of the outside to her.

As soon as her eyes landed on him, her expression beamed and she shouted with a smile which startled her mother, "Nik!"

He quickly came to her bedside and she was the one to ask questions first, "Nik, are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Niklaus asked. "You're the one you fell out of a tree, Lya."

"But I know you'd be worried about me and that's more important," Lya answered and he slightly smiled before he pulled the rose from behind his back.

Lya gasped and he held it out for her, "I climbed the tree. The last rose is for you, Lya."

Lya took it gently and smiled at him in wonder. She sat up and crushed him in a hug against the protest of her mother. But her mother smiled knowingly at the two of them.

"You are the most prized friend, Nik."