Written for Myth and Legends day of AU week. Beta work by garglyswoof.
The ornate room was restless, gods and demigods scattered around the hall with concerned eyes laced with tinges of panic, their chatter insistently filling the space.
"Enough!" the prestigious goddess on top of the throne called out, her booming voice silencing everyone as they faced her expectantly. "I would appreciate it if you all kept calm, there's no need for pointless worrying over what I can guarantee to be an easily solved problem."
One of the attendees, a brunette wrapped in golden silk with little pearl pins in her hair, snorted. "A little problem?" she muttered incredulously, "that is the least that comes to my mind, especially when dealing with her."
Murmurs of agreement filled the room from the youngest to the eldest.
"We thought we heard the last of that treacherous bitch one thousand years ago, why is she becoming a hindrance again?" Damon, the god of wine and ecstasy said, his eyes betraying his anger at the situation at hand.
"I think I can answer that for you Damon," a musical voice spoke from behind them.
Everyone froze at the unexpected appearance of the figure at the entrance, some even felt their breath draw short from the gripping fear.
The woman in black seemed unaffected by the different colours of shock that radiated off of the older men, her eyes briefly glancing at the young gods in the room simply looking at her curiously; very few of the younglings had an idea of her identity.
"Your supreme leader Esther here has broken a very sacred vow. I'll spare you the details of the promise, but as the lot of you know I don't take kindly to individuals backing off on their word. I find it rather cowardly, especially since I am ever so keen on keeping mine, so you can guess how angry I was to find out such news."
The head goddess stood from her seat, her face red from ire and hatred, both of which were directed towards the blonde.
"You have no right to accuse me like that, you were foolishly tampering with your power, interfering with the balance of the world and so I put a stop to it," Esther spit out.
The blonde simply raised her eyebrow, amusement filling her as she watched her most hated enemy talking as if she had done the world a favour. She mentally rolled her eyes - hypocritical fool.
"I believe, and correct me if I am mistaken, that the underworld is under my command, therefore you, my dear, have no say in what I do."
Snarling menacingly, Esther walked down from her throne, a frown etched on her face in clear displeasure at the blonde's challenging statement. Without taking notice, a ball of mystic energy formed in the air and flew to hit the goddess of hell.
Several horrified gasps resonated in the room as the gods sensed the touch of fury coming from the blonde. Unsurprisingly to those who were familiar with her, the goddess of hell was unaffected by the mystical attack, her eyes simply blinked and a vexing smirk settled on her face.
"Attacking me in your humble abode, my dear? How unwelcoming of you," as the last word of her sentence came out, a mist of black formed moving towards the elder of the two participants in the mutual standoff.
"Stay away from my mother!" growled a voice from behind her, she froze in shock before dropping her magic attack turning to face the intruder.
Briefly she caught a look of warning on Esther's face and she found herself curious. The head goddess was not known to offer emotion. So it was quite unnerving to see a blond haired man, who could not be older than two hundred years, standing with a protective posture looking like he'd rip her to shreds.
'How endearing,' she mentally snorted.
"Now who are you?" she asked, the interest in her voice clear.
The charming man in front of her raised his head, though he didn't need to do so, he exuded confidence all on his own if she said so herself.
"Niklaus," he answered her, none of the wariness she'd expect present.
"Niklaus," she rolled his name on her tongue experimentally before piercing him with her hypnotising gaze. "Now tell me, Niklaus, why shouldn't I kill you on the spot for interfering with my polite chat here?"
Narrowing his eyes at her, he replied venomously, "Because she is my mother and as beautiful as you are love I will not hesitate to kill you."
She chuckled amusedly. "You kill me, do you not know who you're talking to?"
Even as he heard Esther's warning hiss, he took a step forward, his eyes challenging as a little smirk creeped up his face "I have not had the pleasure, I am afraid."
"Well allow me," she said. "Caroline, goddess of hell and queen of the underworld."
A slight widening of his eyes was all the reaction that she managed to pull from him at her little reveal. The younger gods however had their mouth agape, shocked and wary.
"Now my question is - how can you kill me if I rule the dead, hmm?" The pleased look on her face said it - she found this interaction most entertaining.
"I am sure I'll find a way."
An amused snort made its way out of her. "You are strangely confident for such a young god, one does have to wonder, what do you rule over?"
"That's enough, Caroline!" Esther shouted, breaking whatever spell they were both caught up in. Caroline barely flinched from the anger that in anyone else's case would have had them trembling, merely flicking her eyes boredly.
"You have made your request clear, now leave. You're not welcome here."
"Ouch," she feigned hurt. "Well then me being here certainly is awkward." She leaned into the goddess's personal space, whispering in her ear "I'll find out what you're hiding, Esther, you need not fear that, or you do I suppose. Do make sure to keep your little minions out of my domain or else…" She plastered a smile on her face, sighing remorsefully "I am afraid I have to leave now, everyone, underworld duties and all that hassle."Pausing at the entrance door, she bid a pleasant farewell "Goodbye, Niklaus."
The god of spring cringed as the doors to his study slammed open, followed by the shuffles of what could only be his mother's luxurious gown as it dragged on the floor. The tinges of magic in the air around him told him that there was an argument about to commence.
"What did you think you were doing?" Esther said as soon as she saw her son.
"I was merely having fun with Damon mo-" His words were cut short as a gust of wind blew his desk to the opposite wall, the piece of furniture crashing into little pieces.
He sighed. "That was a gift from Rebekah."
"Do not attempt to smart mouth me, not after what you did earlier."
Niklaus narrowed his eyes at his mother. "You mean protect you from that goddess, who if my memory serves correctly was one inch away from killing you?" he scoffed.
Esther's eyes softened at his words. Lifting her arms up and caressing her son's face, she murmured, "Caroline can not hurt me no matter how much she desires to do so, but she can lay harm on you, my dear." She blew a breath out. "I do not wish to see you hurt."
Niklaus grumbled in annoyance. "I am not a child, I am more than capable of protecting myself."
"Yes, you are - compared to her, you're insignificant," Her harsh words fell on deaf ears, the ruler of spring merely shrugged, unconcerned.
"I could not care less."
Breathing deeply to control her anger, Esther glanced at her son as he moved around the room, his face empty of any worries. She felt tempted to shout again, to remind him of the threat that Caroline posed, however she knew that would only have the reverse of the desired effect.
Deciding it would be best to leave, she gathered some of the fabric of her gown, her face hard as she turned to exit. "Do remember to be present in the armoury in the afternoon, Ansel shall be there for your lesson today." She left, not paying the following eyeroll any attention.
"Enzo!" greeted Caroline, a small smile on her face as she spotted her friend at the entrance.
"Hello, gorgeous," Enzo said, shooting her one of his infamous half smirk, half smiles. "You look as beautiful and as wicked as ever."
His half-hearted attempt at flirting had her rolling her eyes. "Save your charming words for Katherine, will you, she's much more easily charmed than I am."
A saucy grin spread on his face and a mischievous glint entered his eyes, making her sigh in preparation for what she was sure to be an irritating, lewd comment that may or may not force her to rip his tongue. Katherine would be quite angry with her for a few days but it would be worth it.
"Oh she really is, why just the other day-"
Muttering quietly, she silenced him with a chant, giving him an incredibly unamused look.
"Firstly, Lorenzo, I have no interest in what you and Katerina do under my roof, that's for you both to know and for me to never thankfully find out, secondly, do you have any useful information or should I send your body parts to her in nicely wrapped boxes?"
At his confirming nod, she undid her spell, unfazed as he sent her a half-hearted glare to which she responded with a shrug. "Which will it be then?"
Enzo sighed, mumbling obscenities under his breath about how blondes were the worst rulers of hell as he sat, the tables rumbling underneath the force of his legs as he laid them on top of it. "So that Niklaus you asked me about, he is the god of spring," he calmly said.
"What?"
"As you heard," he said.
"But how?"
"Well usually the power is bestowed on the-" the words died in his throat as Caroline's glare burned through him.
"Esther is playing dirty," she whispered.
"It would seem so, what are you going to do?" Enzo asked, his eyes narrowed in both interest and a silent offer to help.
"I'll just have to up the playing field," she snarled.
There were admittedly quite a few things that managed to calm the god of spring. Painting was one of them, quarreling with Rebekah and Kol was another but the one thing that truly eased his mind was spending time in his garden.
Away from the world, the gods and their petty matters, and his mother's ever-growing insanity and obsessions. The magnificent canvases that he created using the forest and flowers and the feeling of control that came with it was something that he became addicted to. It was not just the beautiful plants that enthralled him as some fools would believe but the knowledge that he had the ability to give life or easily take it away.
"They are very pretty," complimented a voice from behind him. Turning to the side he saw Caroline standing there, hair falling in waves down her back and blue eyes staring back at him.
He frowned inwardly at her sudden appearance before shrugging; whatever reason she came for he had no interest in.
"Are you not going to invite me to join you?" she asked with mirth in her eyes. "I have been told it's quite courteous."
"Well you'll have to excuse my lack of manners, Caroline, if I remember correctly? but I have no interest in making idle chit chat."
The blonde did not seem to take offense, on the contrary, she smiled. "I don't mind, truth be told, what use do I have with fake pleasantries when I can have so much fun with your spunk instead."
She laid back against a tree beside him pulling her legs up to her chest and glancing at the scenery around her.
"So this is the high garden I have heard so much about," she whispered, her gaze taking in the scenery around her, flowers of all sorts and colours laid in front of her. "This is where you spend most of your time?" she asked, fingers plucking at a daffodil. He snarled, a warning to keep her hands to herself, and she smiled at his threatening gesture, lips curled like a bow of strawberries.
"Yes," he replied, hoping she would leave. "My mother is not here I am afraid, but I will tell her you stopped by."
At the mention of the head goddess, a cold, malicious streak entered her eyes, so tiny that he would not have seen it had he not been paying attention. Caroline blinked and all that remained was the contrast of young amusement and ancient authority.
"Oh there's no need, I did not come here for my beloved friend, I came here for you."
"Joy."
A short startled laugh fell out of her. "I was wrong, you're so much more amusing than I thought you'd be."
Klaus didn't retort with a witty remark this time.
"Tell me, Niklaus, do you carry your darkness on your skin as brightly as you do your sarcasm?"
He froze at her words, spoken with a soft lilt and a hidden temptation, like a forbidden fruit.
"Then again, why would you," she continued, seemingly unaware of the startling effect her words brought on, "when you can use that wry charm to manipulate however and whoever you like."
She curved her lips and he spotted the hint of dimples.
"Sweet dreams, Niklaus."
He felt his mind lose its hold on reality as he lost consciousness.
His thoughts felt like a disoriented mess, different parts of his memories joining together to become a form of disjointed pieces.
It was with a startled gasp that he rose from his laid-out position, hand clamping at his throat from the surprise, and he breathed a sigh of irritation at the sudden flashes of memories that raced through his brain, their onslaught doing nothing but further annoying him at his seeming confusion.
"You're awake," said a strange, unfamiliar, masculine voice, the accent similar to his. Klaus looked up then, a look at his surroundings: a room with magenta silk draped over the furniture creating a wicked piece of canvas. His eyes caught on the black-haired man standing at the edge of the room and he mentally ran a stroke down his power, muscles relaxing as he felt its everthere presence, the power humming in his veins.
"Who are you?" he asked, steel and blood bleeding in his voice and he didn't bother to hide it. Caroline wanted his darkness, well who was he to deny her.
"Easy there mate, wouldn't want you to grow a forest in the middle of the room."
He sneered at the condescension he could detect, clutching his hand tightly to stop himself from attacking.
If his suspicions were correct, then he was probably held in the main castle in the underworld, and as lovely as a trip to the forbidden realm was he'd rather not overstay his welcome. So he would have to postpone any form of attack for now until he got out, and when he did he would soak the underworld in the death it so deeply cherished.
"She wants to see you," It was unneeded to explain who did. Unwillingly he stood up, shooting the lackey a warning as he did. Following the other man he found himself led through various hallways all styled similarly to the chamber he awoke in, in a manner that was both elegant and impersonal.
"I assume you expected decay to be dripping from every corner," the man joked.
"Nothing that wouldn't suit the spirit of the place."
He snorted "Well don't tell Caroline that to her face, she'll eat you, adorable as you are." He gestured to himself. "Name's Enzo by the way."
"Honored," Klaus said dryly.
Enzo chuckled as he shot him a look out of the corner of his eye "Here we are," he said, "do try and not lose your head, will you, mate?"
"I'll take your advice in consideration."
Enzo rolled his eyes in irritation, motioning for Klaus to step forward.
Breathing deeply to prevent himself from blasting the damned place to the ground, he stepped inside what he suspected to be something similar to a throne room, judging by the elite, extravagant decorations adorning every corner.
"You woke earlier than normal," Caroline commented from behind him. He turned to face her, watching as her gaze scrutinized his form, the barest hints of confusion on her face.
Using her distraction to his advantage, he slammed her into the wall, delighting in the shock that flared on her face as he harshly gripped her neck, "I am going to kill you," he swore.
A throaty choked laugh was all the evidence that his actions affected her. "Yes, I seem to recall you promising me that in your mother's castle."
He growled "You made a big mistake, love, in bringing me here. You have a problem with my mother, you settle it with her."
With lightning speed, she ripped his hands away from her body and reversed their positions. "You should have told her that yourself," she venomously whispered before she let go.
"You're dismissed," she said as she lifted an eyebrow. "I trust you know your way out."
He stepped forward in challenge, about to retort before her words stopped him. "Remember Niklaus, you're in my domain now, so I'd play nice if I were you."
His eyes narrowed to slits at her threat before he gritted out, "game on, Caroline."
It was his eighth day in the underworld and he felt as if time couldn't possibly get slower. An exaggeration, given his status as a god, but his slowly increasing rage had him wanting to tear through every single corner of his current prison and turn it into nothing more than specks of dust.
It didn't help that his volatile temper seemed to amuse Caroline and her lackey to no end and that only drove him to think of even more gruesome ends for them both. Perhaps Caroline would appreciate a trip to the river of souls as their guardian, he thought.
His train of thought was interrupted by a persistent series of knocks on his door. He groaned, if it was another one of those pesky servants he might not be held responsible for what he could do, and if it was Caroline by any chance, then it would just be his lucky day.
"If you don't open up, I'll break the door, darling," said a venomously sweet voice and he rolled his eyes, annoyed.
"Break it and we'll see who'll deal with your mistress's wrath."
The woman didn't reply and he sighed at the relief of being left in peace until the door crashed open and he felt a vein in his forehead burst. A feisty-looking brunette walked in, barely sparing him a glance.
She rummaged through the drawers, him watching in exasperation.
"Something I can help you with, love?"
"Nope," she said, still deep in her pursuit, of what he didn't care to find out.
"Aha!" she declared, picking up a box. She turned to leave before pausing at his laid-out figure.
"Dinner is in an hour, so make sure to pamper yourself nicely."
"I am not going," he said.
She turned to face him, "Look, I get you're rebelling and all that jazz but really, starving yourself is not the way to go."
He cracked open an eye. "None of your business."
"You're really charming, aren't you?"
"It runs in the family," he sarcastically quipped.
The brunette snorted. "That might actually be the first thing you said since you came here that I agree with."
He heard some shuffling opened his eyes, only to find the woman looking at him with a steely gaze, almost as if she was assessing him. He was about to close his eyes again when something about her features caught his attention.
"You look like someone I have seen before," he whispered.
The brunette met his gaze with her own, curiosity and wariness flickering in them as she slowly said, "I had a twin sister, have you ever met her?"
"No," he lied easily, watching as all the suspicion became concealed neatly.
She shrugged. "If you want to come down for dinner, do so."
The door closed behind her leaving him to ponder over the conversation, particularly the last part. He remembered Damon's beloved from six hundred years ago. The sweet human Elena.
Damon's infatuation with her had been the talk of the realm back then; Klaus recalled hearing the lengths Damon went in order to get her to talk to him and the immeasurable ones to protect her. People thought it was sweet, he thought it was foolish.
But a few months later the girl was found dead, throat slit with blood pouring out of every cut on her. Her sister nowhere to be seen. Damon, distraught, had hurried to Caroline with a request to resurrect her, which she admittedly refused.
But the sister was here, and if he told her that he had seen her sibling, then he had no doubt that she would scurry immediately to Caroline and tell her. And he rather liked Caroline underestimating his age and strength.
"I am honestly rather surprised that you decided to join us," Caroline said, a hint of a question barely hidden in her words.
"Well, I had no interest in staying one more hour in my room."
"To be frank, I was impressed by your stubbornness, I thought you'd crack by the second day," she teased.
"Did you now?"
Caroline sighed, running the tips of her fingers along a small table at her side. "Spring is not meant to be kept inside."
His eyes hardened at the casualness of her tone and he stopped in his tracks. Caroline did too, sensing his action, an eyebrow raised in anticipation.
"And yet here we are," he gestured towards them, the intent of his meaning clear.
Her lips twisted into a feral grin, allowing him a glimpse of the true ruler of hell, not the enchanting seductress, nor the enigmatic goddess, but a queen of darkness. "And here we are."
She turned around, walking on, though not so fast that he wouldn't be able to catch up should he wish to.
He didn't.
Klaus breathed deeply, the barely-there speck of life that he could feel from the ashen trees and plants doing much to uncoil some of the pent-up frustration caused by his current predicament. He was half glad that the trees were already lifeless as he could have sworn he would have crushed them gladly if they weren't.
He thought of all that he knew of the reason for his kidnapping so far, the blood feud between his mother and Caroline, the sheer animosity that became present whenever Olympus and its inhabitants were brought up - which he noted was not very often - almost as if the land of the dead itself was roaring in anger.
Unusually, everyone he came in contact with had been cordial, almost polite. Katherine and that Enzo were the ones he met often, alongside Caroline, though she was the one he had the most difficulties with.
Speaking of, he thought as he spotted a head full of blonde hair from a distance. His eyes narrowed in curiosity as he took in the man standing with her, his attire not like the robes of deep silk he had been surrounded with for the last week.
Tilting his head, he focused on the energy running through the trees, feeling his very self become one with them and allowing a direct link to the conversation through the branches that hung over the pair.
"Esther has been raging mad," the man began.
He heard Caroline snort, "I suppose it hurts when your biggest advantage against your enemy disappears."
"I heard that they are planning an assault, it may take a few months to gather enough forces giving you a head start, but please take caution."
"I will, thank you."
He felt a shift in the air and was suddenly back in his own body, watching as Caroline adjusted her dress, her face expressionless and empty of any indicators to what she could be thinking.
Looked like it was time to start playing.
Entering the study and seeing Caroline, her posture almost waiting, had a slight fraction of him nervous. The mirthful gleam in her eyes told him she'd been expecting him.
"Did you finally come to play that game you promised me?" she asked.
"You seem almost….eager," the last word said in a hesitant whisper, he didn't even know if it was the most fitting expression for the gleefulness that was practically bouncing off the walls.
"It's been such a long time since someone wanted to challenge me and you seem like an awfully good player. I am intrigued, you could say."
"Is everything entertainment to you?" he snapped, disgruntled that he couldn't even maintain his element of surprise.
"Of course not, Nikaus. Where would the fun be in that?" she admonished.
His eyes were burning as he examined her every move, her hands coming to grip the necklaces he wore around his neck as she whispered defiantly.
"Present your challenge."
So *curiously glances* what do you guys think? Did you like the characterization of Klaus and Caroline and how it fit into this universe I created? What about their dynamic? And the few side characters I introduced, what about them? Also I know some things plot related are confusing but I promise all will be explained in the 2nd part to this.
I am really eager to hear what you thought of this.