Chapter 10

Life was good for Ottilie. She loved her new family, and couldn't believe how lucky she was to end up with so many people looking out for her. The MIkaelson brothers, Kol, Elijah and Klaus were very attentive, and enjoyed spending time with her, painting or playing. She still kept her distance from Elena, whose dark aura unnerved her. She was doing very well at school, and her teacher was pleased with her progress.

One weekend, she was out with Damon, Stefan and Elena. She stayed glued to Damon's side. They stopped for a picnic. 'Do you want to play hide and seek?' she asked the adults. Damon rolled his eyes. 'Fine,' he said. 'The things I do for you!' he teased.

'Who's going to be the seeker?' asked Stefan. Elena stood up.

'I will' she said. 'Get ready! You have 60 seconds. '60, 59, 58…' The others dispersed quickly, and tried to find hiding places. Damon and Stefan sped off, knowing they'd be able to hide quite far away. Ottilie ran to a place she'd spotted earlier, and hid behind a rock. '5…4…3…2…1… Coming ready or not!' called Elena. She set off, looking around for signs of the brothers or Ottilie. She was pleased to see the top of Ottilie's head, peeping out from behind a few large rocks. She snuck up. 'Found you,' she whispered. Ottilie's face fell as she realised she'd been discovered. 'Well done, Elena' she said, generously. Elena scoffed.

'You need to leave' she said, suddenly realising that this was the perfect time to try and get rid of Ottilie. She was certain that Damon and Stefan were far enough away to not hear her. 'Leave, and don't come back. Stefan and Damon don't want you here.' Ottilie's lip began to quiver. 'Yes they do!' she argued back.

'They hate you,' sneered Elena.

Meanwhile, Stefan and Damon realised they'd probably gone a little too far and began to make their way back to the picnic site, thinking they'd hide nearer by.

'They think you're pathetic, and broken' Elena whispered nastily. 'You're a waste of their time and energy. They told me so'. Tears began to run down Ottilie's face.

'The best thing you can do is go now. That'd be kindest to Stefan and Damon, and they've been so kind to you, they deserve at least that, don't you think?' She pushed at Ottilie. 'Go!' she said. Ottilie turned on her heels and began to run towards the wooded area, not too far from the picnic site.

Damon and Stefan appeared a few moments later. Hearing them, Elena spun around. 'Found you!' she said, laughing. They looked around for Ottilie.

'Where's Otti?' asked Stefan. Elena shrugged.

'I don't know. Shall we carry on with the picnic?' she suggested. Damon looked at her, aghast. 'Obviously not, we need to find Ottilie.' He said. Elena sighed, frustrated.

'God, you guys never think of anything else.' She complained. Stefan frowned at her.

'Of course not, she's family now' he said, simply.

'You don't even care about me, do you?' she said, her temper beginning to show. 'It's all about stupid, little Ottilie now.' The brothers looked shocked at her outburst.

'How can you say that? We always look out for you' said Damon. Elena just shook her head.

'No, all you can think of is her, and when I need you to save me, I bet you'll be too busy' she sneered. 'Elena, where is Ottilie?' asked Damon, serious now.

'I don't know, and frankly, I don't care.' She said, nastily.

Ottilie was running as fast she could towards the forest. Her heart was pounding in her chest, threatening to rip right through her ribs. Tears streamed down her face. How could she have been so stupid as to think that Stefan and Damon would still want her? She was a mess, and a waste of time. Elena had said so. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, and she clutched her hands to it, stopping her running. Her vision started to fade and she slumped to the floor.

'Ottilie?' called Stefan. He and Damon were looking for her everywhere.

'Quiet, brother,' said Damon suddenly, honing his hearing in on the frantic beating of a human heart. 'Do you hear that?' he asked. Both brothers sped towards the source of the noise, and fell to their knees in front of the tiny figure, lying on her side. 'Otti?' called Stefan gently. Damon rolled her onto her back and checked to see if she was breathing. 'Ottilie, open your eyes please sweetheart,' he said gently. There was no response. He rested his hand on her chest, anxiously feeling the panicked thump of her heart under his palm. 'Stefan, what do we do?' It broke Stefan's heart to hear the strain in his brother's voice.

'We just have to wait, brother,' he said. Damon lifted her tiny body into his arms, and held her to him, rocking her gently. 'Come on, little lady, come back,' he whispered. Stefan took one of her little hands and felt for her pulse. He was relieved to feel it slowing back to normal. Within a minute, her heartbeat was steady. 'She should start to come around soon, Damon' said Stefan, reassuringly. Sure enough, Ottilie's eyes began to flutter open. Damon could have cried in relief, and kissed her face gently. 'Welcome back, little otter,' he whispered. She just smiled up at him, too exhausted to move. 'Let's get her home,' said Damon. Stefan nodded, and texted Elena to pack up the picnic things. They didn't even wait for Elena, but sped off back to the mansion. Damon set Ottilie in her bed, and stroked her hair whilst she fell asleep. Stefan came in. 'Are you okay, brother?' he asked, gently. Damon nodded tersely. 'She could have died, Stefan. How do we live with this?' Stefan shook his head. 'I don't know, Damon. But we have to, for Ottilie' Damon nodded, gazing down at the little face of the human he'd come to love as his daughter. 'I'd do anything for her, Stefan,' he whispered. Stefan nodded, taken aback by this unusual show of emotion from Damon. 'I know you would, brother' he said, gently.