Chapter 4

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"Why is that, brother?" Finn motioned ahead towards the village and his frame stiffened. Niklaus stopped walking and Rebekah stopped laughing. Kol looked up at Klara with sorrow eyes. He thought they would have more time.

"Father."

There was no more time


Kol looked from Klara to Elijah, worriedly. "Elijah, what do we do? What if Father does not let Klara stay?" He whispered the last part so Rebekah wouldn't hear.

Kol was afraid, but not of what Father would do to them for spending the whole day at The Falls or the extra chores he might give to make up for their time spent playing. He could care less about that right now. Kol was scared for Klara's safety.

Elijah stared ahead. He didn't know what to do right now. Finn was already walking towards Mikael and greeting him, playing the part of the good son. Niklaus, on the other hand, still refused to move from his spot. Although, he did tear his eyes away from Mikael to look up at Elijah, hopefully. Hoping he had a plan. But what plan could he make? Father already saw them, and by the lack of confusion or shock on his face, he must already know about Klara. If he didn't, then Finn most likely just told him. Great. Everyone stood still in place, watching Finn talk with Father, thinking the exact same thing. What's going to happen now?

Before they were even prepared to face Father, he was walking towards them, with Mother waiting anxiously at the door of the house with Finn. There was no turning back now. "Just do not anger him and it will be alright." Elijah whispered, for only his siblings to hear.

Everyone nodded in agreement as Mikael approached them. He stood tall, a few feet in front of Elijah, looking at the girl in his son's arms. This must be her, he thought. Turning to everyone, he greeted, "Children."

Rebekah was the to first to speak, "Hello!" She answered cheerfully, but remained glued to Niklaus' side. Not just because he was holding the back of her dress, preventing her from moving any closer to him.

Mikael gave a short nod to his daughter then looked back to the girl in Elijah's arms, knowing precisely who she was. Niklaus noticed Father's expression softened when he looked at Klara, and he didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried. "Elijah, would you be kind enough to set our guest on her feet. I am sure she can stand fine on her own." Mikael spoke to Elijah with a look, daring him to defy him.

It was something in his voice that made Elijah reluctantly nod and obey. He hesitantly set Klara on the ground but kept her close, just in case. Kol stood next to her anyways, not knowing what Father's intentions were. Elijah could tell that Kol was trying to appear brave by her side, but he knew better than that. He was frightened.

Mikael kneeled down in front of Klara, studying her. Her eyes, her hair, the way she stood without shying away from him. Despite her circumstances, Klara met his gaze head on, looking as confident as ever. Most would have squirmed under such a stare, but she didn't.

Rebekah was hugging Elijah's leg, while Niklaus stood beside her, attempting to look nonchalant. Finn stood by Mother, seeming to be giving her comfort. Kol was the only one standing next to Klara, not moving no matter how many times Niklaus tried to pull him back. But nonetheless everyone was nervous, shaking where they stood. Except Klara.

Kol intently watched the scene unfold in front of him. He saw the emotions flash over his father's face. For a second, Mikael's face contorted in what he could've sworn was pain and misery, but he recovered so quickly Kol was sure the others didn't noticed.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Mikael smiled and extended his hand to Klara, "It is very nice to meet you, Klara. My name is Mikael." She politely shook his hand. Well, she shook what she could. His hand was huge compared to hers. "Please, come inside. My wife, Esther has made lunch and I am sure you must be hungry after the day you have had." He stood up and led her inside, leaving his children behind, relieved yet utterly speechless.

What just happened?


Niklaus was confused.

Actually, confused would be an understatement.

Father warmly welcomed Klara? Why? He is a cruel and cold man, even towards his own children. But when he saw Klara, he started acting differently. Slightly, but nevertheless, as everyone sat around the table eating, enjoying their meal, Niklaus couldn't look more uncomfortable. His brows were stitched together and his posture was impossibly stiff. What was going on?

Esther and Mikael were talking to each other across the room, seeming to be having a private conversation. It was most likely about Klara, he assumed, because of the way they were both talking in hushed whispers and were giving occasional glances towards the table.

Klara was sitting next to Rebekah, laughing at the faces Kol was making behind Elijah's back. Niklaus couldn't help but smile a little, but it quickly faded when Father walked back over, taking his seat at the head of the table, with Mother to his left. He motioned for Kol to take his previous seat next to Klara, which he quickly obliged to.

The room immediately grew silent, seconds later, when he spoke. "Klara, dear, are you enjoying your meal?" He asked, intending to make conversation.

She looked up from her bowl and happily answered, "Yes sir, it is w-won...wonde..." She attempted to pronounce. Kol snickered beside her and let out a muffled ouch when Elijah kicked him in the shin to shush him. "...good. It is good. Thank you" She smiled, clearly finding it funny too.

"Oh dear lord." Elijah muttered to himself. If Klara and Kol have the same idea of humor, then imagine the trouble the two could cause.

"I am glad you like it." Mikael looked at Esther and she nodded. What did they talk about before coming to the table? Niklaus wondered.

"Klara," Esther began, "Mikael and I were wondering why you do not wish to return home?" She asked, getting straight to her point.

Kol noticed how Klara froze, mid-bite. She looked at Niklaus then to Kol, curious as to who told Esther about the fit she threw yesterday. Although, she didn't seem to dwell on the seriousness of the question as she just shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating. "I do not like it there." She answered in between bites, not looking up.

All eyes were on Klara, yet she didn't seem to notice. Nor did Rebekah, because she was too busy indulging in her own meal to be interested with the scene in front of her.

"Why is that, Klara?" Mikael asked politely, not wanting to lose his temper and alarm the girl.

Klara still didn't look up from her food, but mumbled. "They do not like me."

That had everyone's attention peeked, even Rebekah's. She looked up, with sad eyes, at her new friend. Elijah, Finn, and Esther looked at her with pity, feeling sorry for her, but Mikael remained unfazed. Niklaus and Kol both looked sad and pitied her, however they were the only two to seem a bit enraged.

How could anyone not like her? Elijah thought. She was such a happy, selfless child. What could she possibly do wrong to cause someone to not like her?

Esther reached across the table to grasp Klara's hand in hers, making her finally look up from her food, "Klara, dear, you are welcomed here...and if nobody finds you, then Mikael and I would be happy to allow you to live here with us." She said hesitantly, trying not to sound rude, or imply nobody would look for her. Esther noticed Klara's eyes light up, and she smiled in relief.

"Really?" She asked, probably too loud, but she didn't care. She couldn't stop smiling in glee.

Esther's response was cut off by Rebekah's screaming. "She can stay?!" When Mikael nodded and was about to tell her more, Rebekah squealed in joy and jumped from her seat, pulling Klara with her. "This is AMAZING-"

"Rebekah be careful." Elijah tried to warn her.

"-we will be sisters! Right, Nik?"

Niklaus started to laugh at his sister's enthusiasm although, Kol answered before he could, "Of course, Bekah. Klara fits in well with all us. Even if I am obviously her favorite." Kol laughed, dodging his sister's hand as she reached out to smack him.

"You are not!"

"Am too!

"Are not!"

"Klara!" They both whined, simultaneously.

Klara just laughed at their antics. Once Elijah was sure Rebekah didn't injure Klara any further, he leaned in to Niklaus and whispered, "She does fit in well, does she not?" He smiled.

Without looking away from his bickering siblings, he answered with a small smile, "Absolutely, brother."

Niklaus watched as Kol and Rebekah took their seats, after Father firmly told them so. Klara went up to Esther and hugged her, shocking his mother. She then walked to stand in front of Mikael and offered her hand to him, like he had done with her earlier. He smiled and shook her hand while she politely, but most excitedly, thanked them.

Niklaus didn't know why, but as he remembered everything that has happnened and changed in the last 24 hours, he couldn't help but feel this protectiveness over Klara.

Her bruised and bloodied body was still painted in his mind, and Niklaus would not let anything like that happen to her again. He silently vowed to protect her, always.

The connection Klara and him had didn't go unnoticed by Niklaus. It felt indescribable. Familiar, almost. Perhaps it was loyalty or a similar understanding, but he had a feeling when it came to her. It was...comforting. Warm, he supposed.

Kol's voice broke him from his thoughts, "Nik!" He abruptly turned his head towards Kol to see him with his bread in the air, ready to throw it at him. "Oh good, I have your attention."

Niklaus rolled his eyes, "Kol what do-"

"-I also have your bread." He interrupted. With a smug grin, he took another bite from the pastry.

Niklaus looked down at his plate to find not one but both slices of his bread gone, in the hands of a running Kol. "Oh no, you come back here. Kol!" Niklaus started as he ran after his devious brother, intending to get his bread back.

Little did he know, Kol wasn't the one who stole it.

Klara laughed as she took another bite from Nik's bread. She broke it in half and offered the other piece to Rebekah. The two girls giggled and shared Nik's bread together.


5 years later

"Klara." A voice whispered. "Psst. Klara? Wake up! You promised to take me to the apple orchard today." He gently shook her. Whoever was trying to wake her was clearly insane. The sun wasn't even up yet.

"Mmm no." She groaned, turning over to get more comfortable, in an attempt at falling back to sleep. Unfortunately for her, the person kept talking.

"Klara, wake up! You gave me your word, and you always say-"

"-that we do not break our word, yes ,dear brother, I know." Klara finished, finally opening her eyes, looking at the boy in front of her.

"Then come on!" he said, attempting to pull her up, but she refused to move an inch. "Klara." He pouted, dropping to the floor next to her.

Klara smiled, tiredly back at him. He must have been so enthusiastic that he woke up before the crack of dawn to go down to the apple orchard past the river. Klara wasn't a fool. It was too early to go out just yet.

"Henrik, it is too early, go back to sleep." She said, starting to close her eyes again, pulling the blankets back over her self. Henrik was a delight and she loved him dearly, honestly, but he never let her sleep in. Just five more minutes. Or five hours. Perhaps days.

Henrik cuddled into her side and whispered in his most adorable voice, "I love you, Klara." He looked up at her with his awarding winning puppy eyes. How could she refuse those big brown eyes when they looked at her like that.

She sighed, "Mother will not be pleased if she wakes to our absence, sweetheart." She tried to reason with her pleading brother.

Klara still remembers the day Henrik was born. He was so tiny in her arms. Full of innocence with his whole life ahead for him. When his petite, delicate hands wrapped around her finger, her breath was caught. That was the day she promised to do anything for him, her baby brother. She will always protect him, no matter what.

"Well..." He trailed off, unsure of how he could argue against that.

"Well...nothing. Go back to sleep, Henrik, and I promise," She tapped his nose, "I will take you to our special tree in the orchard once the sun actually comes up. Alright?"

He scrunched up his nose in uncertainty, "Will you carry me on your back?" He asked hopefully.

She laughed, half-awake, "Yes, I will carry you on my back, darling. Now sleep." She urged him. He smiled and got under the blankets with her. She lifted her arm to allow him to lay on her chest, so he'd remain warm. He reached up to kiss her cheek, then laid down to reluctantly drift off to sleep. Before either of them were truly asleep, she mumbled into his hair, "I love you too, Henrik."

Then they both fell into a much needed sleep.


She did it again. Of course she didn't mean to, but her actions were inexcusable. She hurt her mother. Again. And the worst part was the fury in her father's eyes. When she grabbed her mother's hand, she was just trying to receive some comfort for herself, but after a few seconds she winced in pain. She immediately let go, but unfortunately not quick enough. Her father jumped up from his seat by the fire, when he heard his wife in pain. He knew exactly what caused it.

Her father had piercing blue eyes like Klara, but his hair was a darker brown, unlike her mother's. Her and her mom had the same color hair although, her hair was a brighter shade of blonde.

She knew she was in deep trouble by the way her father was glaring daggers at her with those bright blues. He gently grabbed ahold of your mother examining her hand for any sign of harm. "Oh, my love, do you not see what she has done to you? She is making you weak." He tried to make her understand.

Klara quietly attempted to make her escape. Stepping off the chair with little to no sound, but her father had impeccable hearing. He abruptly turned to her and yelled, "Do not move from that seat!" She flinched, with tears threatening to fall, she jumped to sit back down, her head hung low in shame and fear.

"Zachariah, it is fine. Look I am fine." He dragged her away, out of hearing range.

When they were far enough from her, they started to talk again. Little did her parents know, she was hiding right behind them.

"Annemarie, please, we must put a stop to this. The pack is becoming suspicious of what I am hiding and if they were to know about her...abilities, they would kill us all."

There was a short pause, then her mother spoke. She sounded close to tears too, "She is our daughter."

"No. She is an abomination of nature. The only thing in the way of your success, Anne, is that excuse of a child. She is sucking your magic dry and with her gone, you will thrive as a queen." She could hear her father grab her mother's hands. "My love, you are the most powerful witch I know. With me as the Alpha of the pack and Alexander as our heir, we will be beyond strong. Imagine the power we will have alone, Anne."

"I-I-"

"Shh do not fret. I will handle everything. Charlotte mustn't live any longer."

She carefully poked her head around the corner to see her mother nod in agreement. That was the last thing she saw.

Before she ran like hell.

In the distant she could hear her father mumble, "Dammit, Charlotte." Then the chase began. She ran for as long as she could, easily running short of breath. She might have been faster than normal children, but she was no match for her father.

She started running towards where she remembered the village to be when two hands went around her from behind, picking her up then throwing her to the ground, roughly. "You, little girl, will no longer remain a problem, because you will be dead."

She frantically backed away from the man in front of her, but she knew there was no hope of escape.

So she did the only thing she could do. She screamed as loud as she could.


She shot up, gasping for breath. Her skin was dampened with sweat, yet she was covered in chills. Klara glanced around the room until she remembered where she was. She let out a sigh of relief and brushed the blonde curls, sticking to her face, aside. She was in her house in the village, safe from harm. She felt something light trickling down her face, only to reach up and realize she was crying.

She was struggling to catch her breath.

It was just a nightmare, she told herself, it wasn't real. He wasn't real.

Afraid she might had made too much noise, she immediately looked around to make sure she hadn't awoken Henrik. When she looked down to her left, reassuringly, there he was, still sleeping like a baby. She quickly wiped her tears on the sleeve of her nightgown.

So caught up in her own head, she hadn't even noticed Kol watching her ,with concern written all over his face. When she saw him, her breath hitched. She already knew she was having a panic attack, but she had hoped nobody would witness it. Yet, somehow Kol always did. He always knew. He started walking over to her to offer her comfort like he always does. He sat next to her, putting a comforting hand on her arm and looked her in her tear struck eyes, "Are you alright, darling? Was it another nightmare that has you so frightened?" He asked softly, so not to startle her or wake the others.

She considered lying to Kol and telling him she was fine, but her appearance said otherwise. She could never lie to Kol anyways. Over the years, the two have grown inseparable and have a bond like no other. She trusted him the most out of everyone she has ever met. They were best friends; of course she couldn't lie to him. He would easily see right through her.

Instead of an attempt at lying, Klara nodded and threw herself into Kol's arms, hugging him tightly. He rubbed her back in order to calm her. "Shh you are alright, Klara, I am here, you are ok I promise." He whispered to her. He kissed the top of her head and held her tighter, "I got you." She wasn't crying, but she was still quite shaken up and Kol always knew how to calm her down. The thing about Kol was, he always knew when she had a nightmare. She hardly ever got nightmares, but on the rare occasions she had them, Kol was always there to comfort her when she awoke. No matter what.

After a few minutes, Klara lifted her head to glance outside. The sun was just beginning to rise. It wouldn't be too long now until the village was awake and got a start on their daily chores.

Klara abruptly stood with Kol, almost giving him whiplash with her speed, and straightened out her nightgown. She wiped at her face one last time with the back of her sleeve, then looked back up at Kol, "Will you come with me? I wish to watch the sunrise."

Kol would do anything for Klara, especially when she was upset. He hated seeing her upset and he hated anyone who made her feel that way.

Smiling, he grabbed her hand and led her outside, "Come with me, darling. I know just the place to watch the sunrise. You will love it." Hand in hand, Kol walked instinctively towards their tree. It was the second largest tree in the whole village and Kol and Klara declared it their tree for all eternity. To prove it, they carved their names in the wood at the very top of the tree.

Kol helped Klara climb to the spot where they always sat, with the perfect view of everything. Of the sky and all it's glorious colors, the entire village, and even parts of the river.

Once the two reached the top, they sat in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company.

The morning sky was stunning at this time. The colors danced across the sky as if it was its canvas and they were the paint. Klara always enjoyed watching the sunrise with one of her of brothers. It was always so peaceful. She'd invite Rebekah, but the girl was too stubborn to ever wake up before the sun did.

After a few more minutes, the silence started to get to Klara, and she spoke, "Kol?"

"Yes, darling?"

"How do you always know?" She asked, turning to look at Kol for his response.

He looked back down at her, confused, "What do you mean?"

"When I have nightmares. You are always awake when I wake up. How do you always know?" She asked again. Kol was the world's heaviest sleeper, next to Rebekah. Every morning she tries to plead with him to get up, but it takes forever for him to even comprehend her words, yet every time she has a nightmare, he's always right there waiting for her.

She heard Kol sigh next to her. No matter how much he pretends, Kol will always be the biggest softie. She took Kol's hand and pulled it over her shoulders, so she could snuggle closer to him for warmth. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he whispered, "I heard you crying." He stated as if it was as simple as that.

Klara brought her head up and looked Kol in the eyes. Softie. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "You are such a sweetheart, Kol." She teased, because she knew he thought he was so tough and not at all sappy. He groaned in annoyance and before he knew what was happening, Klara was out of his arms and on the branch below him. "Well come on then, I know you are slow, but this is just absurd!" She laughed, then started down the tree, silently challenging him to a race.

"Klara, darling! Wait!" He yelled, hurriedly starting down the tree, "If you fall and hurt yourself, Elijah will have my head!" He heard her giggle.

This girl would be the death of him. Kol thought. He smiled to himself, what a wonderful way to die.

"What are you waiting for?! Are you carving stairs to walk yourself down?"

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Klara. Just you wait until I get down there!" He started jumping branches to catch up to her. She squealed when she noticed how close he was getting, making Kol laugh at her.


So? looks like we found out some information on Klara's heritage. And there was also a time jump so we've met Henrik. You guys are smart enough to figure out there ages if you haven't. Besides Henrik who is about 3 or 4.

Anyways...review and let me know what you think! Please, don't be shy. All commentary is welcomed.

Your reviews are what give me motivation to keep writing and they mean so much to me, no matter what is says.