Chapter 2 - History Of Abuse

We had the same eyes, similar facial structure and features, and we shared the same birthmark on our necks. The only thing I hadn't inherited was his dark blonde hair. Mine was more of a strawberry blonde, not light enough to be considered blonde but not a glaring red either. I was somewhat hidden behind Elijah, but Niklaus still managed to stare at me with burning lasers. The man gave off a powerful, intimidating aura – evil? No, he wasn't evil. Powerful, angry, selfish, manipulative, and diabolical were the strong vibes I was getting from him, but not evil. I felt very uneasy just being in a room with him. I shouldn't have let myself fantasize about meeting my father for the first time. I'd dreamed of a happy reunion. Of course my father would be some sort of monster; my life would be too easy if he wasn't.

"What is a child doing in my home?" Niklaus spit, his accent taking me by surprise.

"You don't recognize her Niklaus?" Elijah asked.

Niklaus shook his head in amusement. "Why would I?"

"Because I'm your daughter." Damnit! There I go with the blurting again.

Niklaus looked at me and broke out in maniacal laughter. "Vampires cannot procreate!"

"But werewolves can. I am Fiona Nicole Mikaelson. Nicole is the female version of your name right? I know I'm your daughter," I said desperately.

The man looked at me like I was an idiot. "My werewolf side was unlocked only recently, so let go of your delusions."

"My werewolf side made itself known recently too. I don't know hardly anything about my history, but my guess is that it was some sort of spell suppressing us. I also know that spells always have loopholes, and isn't it possible that I was able to happen through some sort of loophole?" I said.

"You are correct, there was a spell. Our mother put a curse on Niklaus to suppress his inner wolf, and he broke it with a complicated sacrificial ritual. It is certainly possible that nature found a loophole," Elijah said.

"Come now brother don't tell me you believe her. Are you a fool? I'm sure if I knocked someone up in the past what, not even fifteen years, I'd know about it," he said.

"Fiona was born in 1456," Elijah told him. "She ages very slowly."

"This is bloody ridiculous," Niklaus said and turned to walk out the door.

"Does the name Rowena Deveraux mean anything to you?" I asked.

He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. I could see the fury building up in him. "Did that witch send you to find me? You can tell her if I see her again it will be to rip her heart from her chest."

"She's dead," I said. "Rowena Deveraux was my mother and she is dead."

He chuckled. "That's not possible. Only the good die young. I'm sure she body-jumped into a poor innocent soul."

The way he was speaking of my mother made me angry. "She didn't have time to do such a thing. A clan of witches was after me and she got herself killed saving me."

"All this talk about vampires, witches, and werewolves and yet you have not said how those categories apply to you," Niklaus said.

"I am part witch because of my mother, and my vampire and wolf genes came from you. I am a tribrid," I said.

"The first to ever exist," Elijah added.

"I just want to know what my story is," I explained. "My history has been kept secret from me for centuries; I just want to know who I am! The only family I've ever had is my mother and she's dead. My mom is dead and it's your fault! You're my father –"

"I am not your father!" he yelled, his eyes turning yellow before he came at me and slammed me into the wall.

"Niklaus!" Elijah yelled.

"Clearly, you don't know a damn thing about me," Niklaus said, his fangs inches from my face. "If you had even the slightest idea who I am, you would not have come looking for me. I am not the doting father you seek. I get revenge on people, I make peoples' lives miserable, and I enjoy it. I am a bastard who takes joy in glorious murder. The only thing I am interested in is power for my own personal gain. You are so pathetically weak it makes me sick. And you dare blame me for your mother's death! She died saving you, so if you want to place blame, there you have it. Go back to wherever it is that you came from before I decide to quench my thirst with the blood of a weak little girl."

Now I was enraged. I escaped his hold and kicked him in the stomach as hard as I could, sending him flying across the room. "Weak little girl my ass," I growled.

Niklaus doubled back and landed several blows on my torso. He picked me up and threw me into the mirror, breaking it and the shards dug into my face causing blood to start pouring out of me. He squeezed my neck as hard as he could and the world started to fade. I still had enough strength to kick him solidly in the knee, which made him let go of my neck. I flashed to the other side of the room and prepared to release the wrath of my magic on him when Elijah stepped between us.

"Enough," he said. "This will accomplish nothing."

"I disagree," Niklaus said with an evil grin.

"Niklaus don't underestimate her. She may be capable of more than you think," Elijah said to his brother then turned to me. "Fiona I realize you are strong but Niklaus is an expert at spilling blood."

"I've noticed," I said, picking pieces of glass from my skin.

"What do you want from me, hmm?" my father asked, taking a few threatening steps toward me.

"Niklaus she just needs protection from the thousand years' worth of enemies you've cursed her with!" Elijah said.

Niklaus looked me straight in the eye. "She can die for all I care. I'll kill her myself." He darted out of the house.

It felt like ice had just been shoved into my heart. It pierced me with such a pain I fell to my knees. I didn't have any more fight in me right now. I started to sob uncontrollably. My father, the parent I've never known and the only one I have left, wants to kill me. Tears streamed down my battered face and left red drops on the floor from the blood they washed off. I was falling apart inside and out. I hardly even noticed when a blonde-haired woman carefully picked me up off the floor.

"Rebekah, take her upstairs and clean her up. I'll be back soon," I heard Elijah say.

That was the last thing I remember before I passed out.

ELIJAH'S POINT OF VIEW:

After making sure Fiona was safely in my sister's care, I went out the door to catch up with my devilish brother. I found him deep in the woods wreaking havoc on a couple of unlucky campers. He drained their bodies and turned to face me.

"Come to tell me what a bastard I am?"

I gave him a hard stare. "Brother I am speechless."

"Oh come on, are you really that surprised about the outcome? What did you think a pathetic girl would suddenly rid me of my sadistic tendencies? Now big brother, you know me better than that."

"That little girl is your daughter, Niklaus. She just lost her mother and –"

"She! Is! Not! My! Daughter!" he screamed.

"Yes she is," I said calmly.

"She just happened to be created through one of nature's loopholes after my one night stand with a fickle witch. I may have had a part in her creation but that's out of my control. I am nothing more than her biological donor, and I have no interest in being anything other than that. Actually, I have an interest in being her murderer," Niklaus said.

"That's not true and you know it. You may want revenge, you may want power, you may enjoy ripping people apart, but more than any of that you yearn for the respect of your family," I said.

Niklaus chuckled his falsely amused, maniacal laugh. "You and Rebekah are both convinced that there is some good in me after all. Believe me brother when I tell you there is nothing to bring out in me other than evil."

"This is about Fiona, the poor girl who was born with the burden of your furious enemies, the girl who born with a helpless witch as a mother and a malicious immortal hybrid as a father," I reminded him.

"Yes well, one of my many enemies will wipe her out at some point. Or I could just do it now and things can go back to the way they were."

"If this girl disappeared it would be the end of you," I said.

"How dare you threaten me with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses?" he shouted.

"Brother I don't believe I am wrong."

"Why must you keep harping on about the girl? I should just go rip her heart out right now," he said.

I slammed Niklaus into the trunk of a large Oak tree. "You will not walk away from her again."

"Let me go! Let it go! Don't make me say it again!" Niklaus yelled and escaped my grasp. He came to grab me but I swooped and got him in a chokehold instead. I threw him to the ground and struck him with the campers' shovel a few times.

"I will not let go. I will never let go, even if I have to spend eternity saving you from your stubborn, petulant, vile self. If I have to beat you as Father beat you to remind you of your own humanity. To care –"

"All I care about is power," he insisted.

"Family is power, Niklaus."

Niklaus got out of my hold and knocked me to the ground. He stood over me, having the upper hand.

"You are beyond pathetic Elijah," he told me.

"Well who's more pathetic? The one who sees hope to make his family whole, or the coward who can only see the world through his own fear?" I questioned.

"I haven't cared about anything for centuries. Why do you?" he asked.

"Because I failed you," I admitted. "Because the first time our father laid a hand on you I should've struck him dead. I made a promise to you; always and forever. Family above all."

Niklaus chuckled again. He pulled me up and got in my face. "You are a sentimental fool."

"Perhaps," I agreed. "But I've lasted this long in spite of it haven't I?"

With that I left and headed for home. I went upstairs and hesitated outside the door of one of the spare bedrooms where Rebekah and Fiona were. Rebekah was braiding the girls freshly washed hair while Fiona was crying to her about her difficult life and the abuse she had just suffered. She kept sobbing over and over that she didn't understand. I wondered if telling her that I'd just beat some sense into Niklaus would make her feel better, or only complicate matters.

"May I come in?" I asked quietly. Fiona was crying too loudly to hear me so Rebekah just nodded.

I walked in and sat down next to Fiona. I put a hand on her shoulder and attempted to comfort her. I didn't know what to say. There was no point really. I knew the only person who could fix this was Niklaus, and he certainly didn't want to do that for Fiona. It's obvious that deep down he truly does care, or he wouldn't be so angry. I was fairly certain that at the moment he was in town at the bar drowning his emotions in bourbon or scotch.

"Did you speak to Nik?" Rebekah asked as she tied off the girl's hair.

"Yes, and I believe I got through to him. It's going to take a while for him to come around though," I said.

"Always does," Rebekah said.

"Does he really hate me that much?" Fiona asked, her legs pulled up to her chest with her chin resting on her knees.

"Fiona Nicole Mikaelson don't you think for a second that your father hates you. He hates that he cares about you so much, he hates that with you here it's harder for him to seem as ruthless as he wants people to see him, but trust me when I say he does not hate you," I said.

"I just want to know him. I want him to know me," she said.

"You will have to be patient, but he will warm up to you eventually. He'll have no choice because you are staying here where you belong," I told her.

"I get to stay here?" she asked in disbelief.

"Just because Klaus is a narcissistic, backstabbing wanker doesn't mean the rest of us Mikaelsons are. Well, Kol and Mikael are, and sometimes Finn, but they aren't roaming the Earth at the moment. Wouldn't you like to get to know your noble Uncle Elijah and crazy Aunt Bex?" Rebekah said.

Fiona's face broke into a bright smile. Rebekah looked happy as well. She had always wanted a little sister, and Fiona was just as good. My hope that our family would someday all be reunited in peace seemed more reachable now that Fiona was here. It would be a long road, but not impossible.

FIONA'S POINT OF VIEW:

I felt better after getting cleaned up and talking to Rebekah. I was still shaken up by the fight earlier, but knowing Rebekah and Elijah were on my side eased my mind a little. Luckily advanced healing is one of my supernatural quirks so the cuts on my face were almost completely healed, but I would have bruises on most of my body for at least a couple days. Even though I'd slept the whole flight here, I felt pretty tired. I was so burned out the overwhelming amount of magic that I currently possess wasn't as intense as it usually is.

"Where are you going?" I asked as Rebekah got up and headed for the door.

"I'm going to make sure Nik isn't being Nik," she said.

"Yes, do be certain he isn't terrorizing the citizens of Mystic Falls," Elijah said.

Rebekah disappeared but Elijah made no move to leave, and I didn't want him to. I hesitantly leaned my head into his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind.

"You've had a long day, haven't you?" he asked me.

"Feels that way."

"Is there anything I can get for you? Perhaps some food would be a good idea," he said.

"Do you have cereal?" I asked.

He smiled. "We do."

We went downstairs into the massive kitchen. I took a seat on one of the barstools while Elijah got out the stuff. I reached for the box of cereal but he took it before I could and just set the bowl of cereal in front of me. He poured the perfect amount of almond milk and plopped a spoon into it.

"You didn't have to do all that. You could've just told me where the stuff was," I said, a little embarrassed.

He smiled. "I haven't had someone to take care of in a while."

I took a bite. "Seems like you're always taking care of everyone."

He sat down next to me with his own cereal bowl. "I don't particularly enjoy taking care of Niklaus and his tantrums."

"Then why do you bother?" I asked.

He sighed. "Because no matter how much of a pain he may be, he's my baby brother and there is nothing you don't do for family."

"Speaking of family, I'd like to know more about yours," I said.

"Ours," Elijah corrected.

I smiled. "Ours."

"Well it would take a century to recount everything that's happened in the past millennium, so some things you will just have to learn about as they come up, but I guess I could tell you a little about each of us to begin with," he said.

"My parents were Vikings back in the 900s, their names are Mikael and Esther. There are seven children, Freya, Finn, me, Niklaus, Rebekah, Kol, and Henrik. Freya died from disease when she was a baby back in the Old World and Henrik died from a wolf attack about a thousand years ago. We've travelled around to various cities over the years, Finn preferring to travel alone while Niklaus, Rebekah, Kol, and I stayed together, but Kol wandered off by himself quite often. Our parents have been… otherwise occupied for the past few centuries."

He told me much of the life they had before they were turned into vampires. I could tell there will still many things he wasn't telling me, but I know if they are important I am bound to find out at some point.

"You, Niklaus, and Rebekah are the only ones here right? Is everyone else travelling?" I asked.

His lip twitched. "Not exactly. Everyone is here but they are currently… unconscious."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Do you know how to kill a vampire?" he asked.

"Yes, you use a wooden stake and jab it in the heart," I said. "I've done it a few times."

"As the original vampires to ever walk the Earth, it takes a bit more than that to kill one of us. The stake would have to be made from the wood of a White Oak, and that tree was burned to ash centuries ago. There is a way to temporarily take us down, and that is by using a special dagger dipped in White Oak ash. It puts us into a deep sleep. As soon as the dagger is removed we resume carrying on whatever we were doing before being daggered. This creates a bit of a problem when centuries pass. Anyways, Finn and Kol are daggered, and before you look at me like that I promise you it is for the best. Mikael is also daggered but his prison is a bit more secure than a coffin, and Esther died almost a thousand years ago but we keep her with us in a casket as well," Elijah told me.

"So you're saying that you carry your unconscious family members around in coffins, for centuries?" I asked for clarification. "That's normal."

"Niklaus' idea, not mine. I was daggered for a while as well," he said.

"How did Esther die? If she passed a thousand years ago, that couldn't have been long after the Immortality Spell," I said.

"You've been paying attention," Elijah noted, then sighed. "Niklaus was the one to end Esther's life."

I snorted. "Of course he was."

"He did have a valid reason, in his defense. You see Klaus has a different father from the rest of us, and Esther hid that for as long as she could. His father was a werewolf, which is how that strand of DNA that you now carry begun. Mikael discovered this and as you can imagine he was not happy. From then on Esther rejected Niklaus as her son. He felt ultimately betrayed, and killed her but framed our father for the act. I found out the truth only recently. Our mother was no saint, so Niklaus actually might have done a terrible act for the greater good," he said.

"He wouldn't be Klaus if he didn't kill and dagger his own family," I said.

"As much as I disapprove of his ways, he did not become like this entirely by choice. You see, Mikael always thought of him to be weak, even before he knew he was the product of Esther's affair. Our father beat Niklaus mercilessly, and for a while he didn't even fight back. Esther is also to blame because she spelled a necklace to make Niklaus weak but told him that it would protect him. Mikael abused him so harshly Klaus would be unable to move for days. He would abuse him verbally as well, convincing the young Niklaus that he was weak and worthless. Mikael started the cycle of abuse, and I am praying that Niklaus will be the one to end it," Elijah said.

"Yeah well, I think we already know the answer to that one," I said, looking down at the bruises that had already formed on my skin.

"I am not making excuses for what Niklaus did today, not in the slightest, but maybe knowing a bit of his history will help you understand how he got to be this way," Elijah said.

I started to get emotional again. God this had to stop. "I just want to talk to him."

Elijah wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I know you do Sweetheart."

"I never meant to make him angry," I cried. I cringed at how pathetic I sounded.

"He needs time to process everything, but I'm sure that wasn't the last you'll see of him."

"He said he wanted to kill me."

"If he truly wanted to kill you, you would be dead by now. Klaus has threatened to kill me many times yet I am still breathing. You are his family, his daughter – he could never permanently silence you," Elijah said.

"You just got done telling me that he killed his own mother," I pointed out.

"She betrayed him and he had done nothing to deserve it. Besides, the love you have for your child is much stronger than the love you could ever have for your mother," he said. "That's just how it works. We're designed to protect our young above all."

"Do you think he knew my mother was pregnant? Did she tell him and he fled? Because then it would be a lot easier to hate him than if he never knew about me," I said.

Elijah sighed. "I cannot say for certain. From what I gathered when I spoke with him, he did know about you. I believe he did leave you, but if you want the explanation for that the only person you can ask is your father."

"He's not my father," I said sadly, shaking my head. "He doesn't want to be and now I don't think I'd want him to be."

"Fiona don't give up on him yet. If this is going to work you are going to have to be strong for a while. I know it's difficult, but you will have to continue reaching out even when he pushes you away. He's counting on you just going away, problem solved. Don't give in, don't let him get what he wants. Don't allow him to have the easy way out. Don't rest until he answers all of your questions. You deserve that from him."

I was about to respond when the door opened and I heard two sets of feet walk in. I darted up to the guestroom before they could see me. I couldn't face Niklaus again tonight. I locked the door and sat at the foot of the bed and waited to make sure no one would try to come in. My heartrate sped up as I heard footsteps, but they just passed my door and continued down the hall. Eventually I climbed into bed and got settled in for the night. I didn't know what was next to come, and that scared the hell out of me.


A/N: Thanks for the previous reviews! I really appreciate your feedback! Please tell me what you thought of the chapter and the story so far and hit those follow and favorite buttons. Also what other characters would you like to see come into the story? Let me know! Thanks so much for reading and check back soon for another update!