Caroline, a sweet and innocent girl, decides to transfers schools: from Mystic Falls to New Orleans, hoping for a much needed change. Yet, she gets more than she had asked for. Students behaving strangely, some kind of gang dynamic and on top of all...
After she'd left, I slowly started packing up because the painting was finally dry. I could not store it at my home due to the risk of my father seeing and destroying it or worse, going after Caroline. Consequently, I brought it to Camille's apartment who kindly took it in for a period of time. "Who's the lucky girl?", she wondered when she spotted Caroline's portrayal in the middle of the flowers. "A friend of Rebekah's.", I tried to hide my affection for the blonde but it was no use. Cami cought right onto it. "And someone very special to you as well, I presume." She gave me a chuckling bump on the shoulder. "We're not dating anymore, you know. You don't have to hide things like this from me. I won't kill you for it." A grin appeared on my face. "Just psycho-analyze me?", I joked and she shook her head laughing. "You'd like her.", I added then. "She's a real peach." "I'm sure she is.", Cami smiled and put my art against a wall. "I'll take care of this for you so you head home safe now, okay?" I nodded and told her goodbye, feeling her eyes on me while I headed out. On my way home, I checked my messages and saw like 108 of my brothers and sister plus their significant others, all worried, telling me to head home immediately before father did.
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I didn't read all of them since it was clear what they were trying to tell me and so, I decided to just hurry home, hoping father was not back yet. One message to Rebekah told me he unfortunately was though. When I arrived at the mansion, I wasn't sure wether to face what was coming to me or to sneak in and try acting casual. "Does he know?", I asked my sister via text message. Her reply made my heart drop. "He does." Fuck. So head on then. Carefully, I opened the door and made my way in to take off my coat and shoes. Trying to remain in a calm state, I closed the entrance behind me and flinched as it clicked into its usual condition. Inside, it was quiet. Father was, to my pleasent surprise, nowhere to be seen. But I was not to be fooled by the calm state, I was sure of Mikael finding perfect ways to torture me. "Nik.", the voice echoed through the hall. I turned to see my sister in the doorway, which led to the dining room. A horrified facial expression was carved into her usually so happy appearance and her eyes told me, what would follow was nothing I could imagine. "You are to follow me to dinner.", Rebekah ordered, her voice shaking. I joined her and we walked slowly next to each other. "I'm sorry.", she whispered. "We cannot stop anything he is planning." "I am not expecting you to.", I calmed her quietly. "Nor do I blame you for what is about to happen." She nodded. "Where were you?", she then asked. We were almost at the dining room. "Later.", I mumbled. It was too dangerous to expose Cami or even worse, Caroline. My breath was starting to go unsteady and I closed my eyes for a second. Rebekah already went in. She most definitely didn't want to but had no choice. I was aware that if she could, she would stay with me. "Niklaus, the abomination of our family.", father finally welcomed me and my eyes shot wide open. He was playing with a sadistic smile on the face as if he was looking forward to what came next and truth be told, he probably really was. "I am so delighted you can finally join us all, come in and take a seat." He pointed to the empty chair at the table and I started walking towards it. Everyone of the Mikaelsons was gathered, except for Finn but I didn't think he'd be anywhere near this mansion anyways. To my surprise and horror, even my siblings' significant others were present. "Father, your anger is with me. Let them go, they have no part in this.", I pleaded before sitting down but Mikael wasn't having any of it. "You do not tell me what to do!", he yelled, slamming his fist onto the wooden plate and causing everyone to look down in fear. I did not dare to speak up again and just placed myself onto the chair like the little scared child I still seemed to be. "Now.", father took a seat himself at the other end of the table. Our dining room was fled with an exquisite scent of the food, which was in front of us. Whoever had prepared this had surely outdone themselves. That however did not change the fact, I was in deep shit, if I may use this language. "Let me sum up, why we have gathered here today.", Mikael smiled. "Your brother, Niklaus, had directly been ordered, by nonother than myself, to stay inside if not attending college. Has he upheld that promise?" I kept quiet, knowing I wasn't going to get out of this one. "Have you, boy?", father growled. "Answer me!" "I have not.", I admitted, knowing that was what he wanted to hear. "He has not!", he repeated angrily. "How come, you dare defy and disrespect me?! I give you a home, a residence! Without me, you are nothing! After all you have done to this family, I still let you resign here! And this is the thanks I get?!" Scared, I avoided his eyes. I was aware that I wasn't the best person ever but he had always blamed me for past sins of this family. And while I did play my part in those, I wasn't fully to blame... was I? "Bad enough, you ignore my orders!", Mikael continued his rant. My siblings still sat there silently, I didn't blame them. I felt their worry and sorrow as they endured our father's wrath on me. To be honest, I would've done the same. After all, there was nothing we could do. "But what for, huh? What could've been so important, it could not wait?" Was there even a real answer to this question? I had gone out because I had been willing to break the rules. It had been my choice to not let myself be held captive in my own house. Seeing Caroline and her telling me to stick up for myself had just been an add-on. Oh, if she could see me now, bowing down like a wimp, she would be ashamed of even knowing me. "I can't hear you!", Mikael said dangerously. "There was no particular reason.", I sighed and looked him in the eye to convince him, I wasn't lying. "As if I would be so stupid as to believe that! For what kind of a fool do you take me?", he threatened. A big one? "You are going to tell me the truth.", Mikael growled, standing up and slowly making his way to me. "Or you will regret it." "I have already told you.", I stuck to my previous statement. He narrowed his eyes. "You want it the hard way, you will get it as you wish.", he quietly said, reaching into his pocket. Out came a sharp wooden stick that seemed all to familiar. Sure, it does not sound so threatening but have you ever been stabbed with wood? It fucking hurts like hell. He never went for serious organs, surprisingly enough, but it was enough to make me scream on the top of my lungs. This time too, I started shouting in pain, as the wood pierced my flesh. Mikael pulled it out of my arm and rammed it in again, making me whimper as the blood left my body through the fresh wounds. "Are you ready to tell me the truth now?", he asked. No! I had to stick up to him! My expression hardend as I looked up at him. "You know it already." Upset, he slammed the stick in again but seemed to realize, this wouldn't work as he'd expected. "Alright.", he let off me and I was already relieved, thinking it was over, when he went to my little sister instead. He took her arm in his hand and held the bloody stick over it like a knife. "I swear, I will not hesitate to get what I want.", he growled. "And if I have to hurt Rebekah to get it, so be it." "Father, please, stop!", my sister started to plead, at the brink of crying. "This is madness!" My mouth was completely dry as I searched for words. "Three.", Mikael started to count down, moving the wood higher in the air to inflict more pain. I saw Elijah and the others tense up, wanting to help but still being afraid of what the older man might do if they did. "Two." I was still weak, fucking weak. There was no way, I'd let this happen to Rebekah. Me, sure, what did I care? But my younger sister?! No! I wasn't having it! "One." "Stop!", I screamed, standing up and throwing the seat to the ground in the process. "If you must know, I was painting. Now, let her go!" Mikael immediately let Rebekah's arm drop and grinned widely. "Of course! I should have known! That god damn passion of yours!", he laughed franatically. My sister shot me a worried look. I knew what would follow. "Well, if your art attire has you so drawn in that you need to break my rules, I simply must take it from you. I will personally go through every corner of your room and burn it to ashes!", he stated. Pain arose in my chest. Painting had been the one thing that had kept me from going insane. How was I to do this? Mikael put the stick back into his pocket and turned around. "Girls, clean this up! Niklaus, do not come into your room for the next hour. Disobey and I will kill you." I let out a sigh and clutched my fists. Why the fuck was I still such a weakling?
