No pairing
"Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference—so wide that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason but the most deceitful one for calling the religion of this land Christianity." Frederick Douglass (from The Great Stain: Witnessing American Slavery by Noel Rae)
Fulfilling a request for Esther Jacob on Archive of our Own
Prompt: Write something about the Mikaelsons first meeting Damon and Stefan when they were human, knowing about Giuseppe being a bad parent. They pretty much adopt them and they get turned by the Mikaelsons instead of Katherine.
Mystic Falls, Virginia
Veritas Estate, 1855
Sunday Morning
(This is a follow up to "Dirty Fighting": Chapter 2" yet this will be an alternative universe in which the Originals move back to Mystic Falls, much earlier then they do on the show. This DOES NOT align with my other stories. It is an ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE.)
"Damon! Stefan! Hurry now, we will be late," Giuseppe yelled up the stairs of the huge mansion.
It was May and sunny outside.
Upstairs, Damon was tying his tie hastily and walked to his younger brother's room to hurry him along. Stefan was glumly pulling on his trousers and moving at the pace of a snail.
"Could you move any slower? You are going to get us both in trouble if you do not stop moping today!" Damon hissed through clenched teeth as he finished his own cravat and buttoned Stefan's trousers for him.
"But Damon, all the guys are going to be playing in the woods today. How come we got to go to stupid church service? I hate it," Stefan whined.
Damon frowned and began to re-button Stefan's white dress shirt. The material was thick and it would be hot today.
"Shh, if Father hears you, you are gonna get it. It is Sunday, we do the same thing every week. We have to be seen with the other Founding Families in our pew to represent the town. How would it look if a Salvatore was off with the other ruffians in the wood, hmm?" Damon asked with a smirk.
"Not good, I suppose. Can I play after?" Stefan asked hopefully. Damon ruffled Stefan's blond hair and then tried to fix it unsuccessfully.
"We shall see. Maybe Father will get called away to one of the mills. Pray to God that he does. And remember to pray for Mother's good health and quick return to us. That is all that matters," Damon reminded him, brushing off his little brother's brown jacket.
"I always do pray for Mother, but we never hear from her. Damon, do you think-," Stefan started sadly.
Guiseppe's manservant Bruno burst in the room without knocking.
"Young masters, your father said if you do not come this instant he is going to strap you both and send you to bed tonight without supper. Come now," Bruno urged. He was a large man and picked up Stefan as if he as light as a feather and carried him down the grand staircase.
"Bruno, you will spoil him. Boys, if you have made us late, God Himself will not save you. Hurry," Guiseppe said firmly ushering them into the waiting carriage.
The Salvatores got to church services early. All the founding families members had their own pews in which to suffer through the long, dull sermons by the pompous minister. They settled in the hard wooden benches and Guiseppe greeted the other Mystic Falls citizens around him with a stiff nod. Lily had always been the social one, he was at a lost as to what to say to folks. They had quit asking after her health as Guiseppe had heard little in the way of updates.
Stefan leaned over Damon, "Father, if I behave in service, can I play with my friends later in the woods?"
Guiseppe frowned, "With those town boys? Stefan, I do not like you associating with lower folk like that. We have a family name to preserve."
"But they are my friends, and the Fell boy will be there!" Stefan argued.
"Oh, the Fell boy. Well, let us see. Hush now, services are going to start. And Stefan, no fidgeting. And you best be paying attention. If I catch you drifting, I will take you in the back for another whipping," Guiseppe warned.
"Yes, Father," Stefan replied dutifully, trying to sit still. Stefan was not the only boy or girl to get taken out of services and brought back whimpering by an angry parent. So much for suffer the little children, Stefan thought bitterly. Damon tried his best to keep Stefan from getting in trouble, but the service was torture for him also. He had learned not to even smile at pretty girls in the church because Father took that to mean that Damon was fixing to fornicating with them. He just kept his eyes down or on his brother.
Along the western perimeter from Wickery Creek, Stefan's friends would be having adventures in the woods and hills behind the church. Stefan would be singing hymns and praying for it to end quickly. The other boys also planned to fish over Wickery Bridge and roast any fish over a camp fire. They liked to pretend they were settlers who lived off the land. Sometimes they would head over to the cemetery and place bets on who could lay on the graves the longest without getting spooked. Stefan had won at that game twice, but dirtied his fine clothes. Marie, the cook, had scrubbed the stains out for him hastily at home in the kitchen before his father chastised him for ruining another pair of trousers.
The rotund Reverend Bethea walked up to the pulpit with an extra spring in his step today. Damon cast his eyes down sharply at Stefan who was already swinging his feet and tapping the kneeler. Damon put a hand on Stefan's leg and gave him a look. Damon glanced at Father to see if he noticed, but Father's attention was on the family walking into the church. There was a collective gasp.
A handsome blond man who walked with an air of confidence came in first followed by a well-dressed younger black man in a fine suit. Behind him was a beautiful blond woman in a white dress escorted by a brown haired gentleman in a silk cravat. Trailing behind looking as miserable as Stefan felt, was a petulant looking teen boy. The group was obviously wealthy and had European fashions on that exceeded the reach of the simple Mystic Falls folk.
"Dearly beloved," Reverend Bethea chuckled gleefully, "It is my great honor to introduce the Mikaelson family to our humble town. They hail from New Orleans, but have decided to grace us with their fare presence. Mr. Mikaelson has written a generous check and presented it to Mayor Lockwood and me to began a school here."
The assembled parishioners clapped enthusiastically. A new school would attract even more elite town people to Mystic Falls.
The blond man turned to the crowd as the rest of the family filed into the minister's own first pew. He began in a crisp British accent, "My name is Niklaus Mikaelson, but call me Klaus. Thank you for your warm welcome. My family has long ties to this area and are overjoyed to come back to this region. We will be building a home here and hopefully staying for a long time to come. After church services, we invite all of you to a luncheon here at Fell's Church. We hope to see you all there. Thank you, Reverend. Please continue."
Damon noticed that the teen boy snickered and rolled his eyes a few times during the blond man's speech. The brown haired gentleman grabbed his arm and whispered something in her ear that caused the boy to straighten up and grow serious. The Black man then laughed at that and the pretty woman elbowed him. He stopped grinning and also straightened up.
Stefan tugged at his brother's sleeve, "Does this mean we do not have to have tutors anymore? Papa, can we go to this school?"
Guiseppe shushed him, "It will take months for a school to be built. Now behave, this is your last warning!"
An hour into the service, Stefan tugged on Damon's sleeve again. "I have to go to the outhouse. Bad, Damon!"
Damon asked his father if he wanted him to take Stefan to the outhouse.
Guiseppe sighed, "No, he is old enough to go himself now. No playing out there, Stefan."
"Yes, Father," Stefan said almost running out of the church.
Guiseppe almost went after him for running, but Damon reminded him, "He said his need was urgent, Father. Remember that time he did not make it? You told him to run if he had to do so. He was asking me about Mother again this morning. Have you heard anything?"
Guiseppe frowned, "I am sorry, Damon. Mother is not faring well. She is coughing more and...Pray, Son."
Damon did. He prayed as hard and as long as he could that Mother would recover. He bargained with God to take his own life for hers. If only they would have been better children, perhaps she would have never sickened. Maybe their antics had worn her out, Damon thought in despair. In alarm, he realized that Stefan had not returned. Guiseppe seemed lost in his own thoughts.
The service ended and the pastor reminded everyone to stay for the lunch.
"Where is that brother of yours? He is really asking for a whipping today!" Guiseppe growled looking around.
"Do not despair, Father. I will find him. He may be ill," Damon reasoned.
Guiseppe gave him a pointed look, "See that he recovers quickly. These Mikaelsons will surely need our lumber to build their new home. I want to make a good impression. We could use the business these days."
Damon was surprised, despite Damon's age, Guiseppe rarely talked business with him. Damon wondered why, when in a few years he would be expected to be helping with their lumber business full-time.
Damon held his hand over his blue eyes to shield them from the bright sun and scanned the outside for Stefan. The outhouse door was open and there was no sign of him. He ran over and found a little girl playing with a doll under the shade of an oak tree.
"Excuse me, have you seen my brother, Stefan? He was just in the outhouse. He's nine, yellow hair, brown suit," Damon asked politely.
"He ran off with the other boys. They went in the woods. They said they were going to the creek to swim," the little girl giggled.
"Thank you. I like your doll," Damon smiled before running at top speed towards the creek. If Stefan came back all muddy and wet, Father would have a stroke. Damon wouldn't be able to stop him from whipping Stefan right there at the church.
Huffing and puffing, Damon finally came across the boys. Stefan was knee deep in the water, soaked and laughed.
"Stefan Salvatore, you get out of that water right this instant!" Damon said panting.
"Damon?" Stefan said in surprise.
"You are in so much trouble. Father is looking for you," Damon yelled.
"I only meant to see the fort the other boys made. They said I would only be gone a minute. Gotta go, guys," Stefan cried.
Some of the boys laughed, "You better run, Stef!"
Damon grabbed his shoes, "You cannot run in these. We will put these on you when we get nearer to the church. Quickly, Brother!"
They ran as fast as they could back to the church, Damon was sweating and red-faced. Stefan's feet were muddy and his pants were still soaked. He was also splattered with mud. The whole church was out now at the picnic. Guiseppe Salvatore was speaking to the dark haired man as he leaned against the oak tree.
Damon cursed, "Too late, Stefan."
Guiseppe's face fell when you saw the state of his sons. "Mr. Mikaelson, here are my boys now. Stefan and Damon, say hello to Mr. Mikaeson. The two of you are disgraceful. Stefan, you are soaked. Damon, how could you let your brother run off like that?"
"I'm Elijah. It's okay. Mr. Salvatore, we were both boys once, too. Were we not? Do not be too hard on them?" Elijah pleaded smiling at the boys. He leaned down.
"How do you do, Sir?" Damon asked shyly.
"You remind me of my brother Niklaus and I. I always tried to look after him. You must be Stefan," Elijah said shaking his hand.
"If you will excuse us, I need to have a talk with my boys," Guiseppe said severely.
"But the picnic?" Elijah added.
"They can miss lunch since they cannot seem to obey their father today," Guiseppe insisted.
"But Father, I tried to go with him-," Damon defended.
Guiseppe turned and slapped Damon across the face, "Such insolence! I apologize again, Mr. Mikaelson. Come, boys. I was going to wait to whip you at home but I can see you both need a switching now. Here's my knife."
Damon's hand automatically went to his face which stung. He took the pen knife with his other hand and then lowered his hand from his burning face to take his brother's hand. The boys walked briskly to a peach tree in front of the church, as if they have done this before.
Elijah looked over at Niklaus and found him watching the scene. He was not able to stop his own brother from being abused and beaten by their father, but he would be damned if he let these boys suffer the same. Elijah turned to Guiseppe.
"Mr. Salvatore, do you love your sons?" Elijah asked starting deeply into his eyes.
"Yes, I do, but sometimes, I also hate them. They are weak and I need to beat the devil out of them. Demons are everywhere," Guiseppe said in an emotionless voice.
"Do you abuse them?" Elijah asked aware that the man was deep under his compulsion and could not lie.
"Yes, I tell myself it is for their own good. I mostly am cruel to them with my words, but sometimes with my strap and hands. But it is so I can take out my frustrations on them for my disappointments. I am jealous of their bond, their love for each other. I used to beat my wife until she got sick. She hated me," Guiseppe revealed. "I hate myself."
Klaus came over and stood by Elijah.
"Here's what you will do, you will give us your boys. Go about your business and continue to keep them as your heirs, but you will never harm them again. You will travel for your lumber mills and continue to work, but the boys are no longer your sons. They are now Mikaelsons," Elijah said slowly.
"My sons are now Mikaelsons," Guiseppe repeated.
"Now, go home and leave the boys here. I will speak to them," Elijah said.
"I will go home and leave my boys here. You will speak to them," Guiseppe said under compulsion.
To Klaus, "He was going to whip them here in front of everyone. I am sorry I did this without speaking to you, but they reminded me of you and me when we were younger. Niklaus, look at them," Elijah said taking his arm.
"They do look like we did, don't they? May I go speak to them? They will not need those switches, poor lads. I did not like the look of that father, his eyes, dead, like Father's," Klaus said. He walked to the peach tree where Damon was cutting thin branches.
"Hello, there, lads," Klaus said in a friendly voice. "It's a fine day. My name is Klaus."
"Good day, Sir," Damon said stiffly.
"You can put those switches down, Son," Klaus said gently taking the pen knife from him.
"But our Father, he is already angry. We are in a lot of trouble," Damon said on the verge of tears.
"No, you are not in trouble anymore," Klaus said. "What would you say if I told you boys that you were coming home with us today? And no one will ever abuse you again? Would never strike you in the face like that? Would you like that?"
Stefan smiled, "You mean I can play with my friends?"
"Of course, little one," Klaus said brushing back his hair.
"But...I do not understand. We are Salvatores. Father said he owns our souls and that we are his to do with as he pleases," Damon explained with shame. At night Guiseppe drank and often ranted if Damon had the misfortune to have to listen to him.
"You are not slaves. Children are blessings. Actually, no person should be owned by another. It is wrong," Klaus explained.
"But the Bibles says-," Stefan started.
"Sweetheart, those are lies. A great war is coming and some will try to keep their evil way of life. A man like your father has hatred and greed in his heart. I fear he would lead you to your deaths," Klaus said as he broke the switches in half and flung them to the ground. He pocketed the knife and put his arm around each boy.
"Papa said that you have to die sometimes for honor," Damon added.
"Honor? What is that? Pride, more likely. My dear boys, you are free to stay with us or go at any time. But we believe family is more than blood, it is about love. If you stay with us, we will love you, we will protect you, educate you, and let you learn who you are," Klaus said grandly. "Come meet the rest of the family."
Several minutes later, Damon and Stefan were introduced to Marcel, Rebekah, and Kol.
"Aren't you a handsome one?" Rebekah said to Damon as she looked him up and down. "And you, are you an ornery little fellow? As cute as a button!" Rebekah tapped him on the nose and made Stefan laugh.
"I'm not ornery!" Stefan giggled.
"I beg to differ, ma'am," Damon said honestly. "My brother has his moments."
"You can call me Bex," Rebekah said, "And I have a naughty brother, also. He got a licking this morning because he didn't want to come to church!"
Kol reddened and threatened, "Have I put a snake in your bed lately, Little Sister? Because I hear the cottonmouths here have a nasty bite!"
Elijah chided, "Behave yourselves, And Kol, you pull anymore pranks and I will pull down your drawers next time I have to pull out the brush."
Stefan was confused, "I thought we were not going to get whipped anymore if we live with you!"
Kol grinned, "Maybe not whipped, little man, but my brothers have had plenty of practice thrashing me with everything from a carpet beater to that nasty toy tennis bat."
Marcel laughed, "Do not let old Kol here scare you, he just lives for his pranks and mischief. For him to behave himself takes a lot of persuasion. I hardly get in any trouble myself anymore."
"You are one to talk, Marcellus. I seem to recall you hollering bloody murder last week when-," Kol began.
"Enough!" Klaus thundered. Then, in a level tone, Klaus said, "I am sure the lads here are hungry. Let us fix them a plate and then get home. Young Stefan here is in need of a hot bath."
Stefan was hungry, but a bath! "I do not like to take baths!" Stefan whined.
Rebekah knelt beside him, "What if I put soap bubbles in the water for you and a lovely rubber ducky? It will be so much fun. I think you shall love it. We can even make a paper boat for the water."
Stefan giggled, "Soap bubbles? In the bath?"
"Indeed. Now, do you favor chicken? Our cook makes the best fried chicken in the county, according to her...and lemonade!" Rebekah said leading Stefan over to the food.
Elijah took Damon by the arm, "Son, he is going be alright. We would never hurt either one of you. But I have a feeling your little brother is as full of mischief as our Kol. A few smacks on his behind seems to set him straight, without breaking his spirit or harming him. If we do nothing, he becomes a holy terror. We cannot bear to be too stern with him or speak to him harshly, you see, our father was much like yours. Even sending Kol to his room alone seems cruel at times, as he starts to disparage himself. We are not perfect, as you will see, but we love each other."
"So is that why you want us, because of your father?" Damon asked shyly.
"We just want to help you, if you let us. If you want to go home, I will take you right now. No questions asked. Like my brother said, children should be blessings," Elijah said quietly. "We cannot stand to see people hurt children. You see, we cannot have children of our own. Blessings, each one."
"You heard that? But you were a hundred feet away," Damon said in confusion.
"Yes, well, there are actually a few other things about the family you know know about. But let's save that for after we get you something to eat. Damon, let me help you," Elijah said kindly.
Damon allowed Elijah to fill his plate, chasing his brother and the stress of the morning had made him quite hungry. The more he thought of it, he didn't care if he ever saw Veritas Estate again. It may have been where they lived, but it was not home. Damon realized that he would miss Marie and the other servants more than their father. Something just occurred to him.
"Did Father just leave by his own volition? He is pretty controlling of us. It is just odd that he left. Is he going to be angry with you and come for us later?" Damon asked sitting down on a bench and eating the chicken. It was good.
"Damon, would you be upset if I told you that your father was not going to come for you?" Elijah asked. He would not compel the boy. There was always the danger that compulsion could go wrong and have unforeseen circumstances.
"No, not at all, sir. It would be a great relief to me," Damon confessed.
"I thought you would say that, Damon. Think no more of him. Just relax and enjoy yourself. It is a beautiful day. Your brother is having fun. My sister looks like she is eager to take care of the little tyke. Marcellus and Kol are squabbling, as is their hobby. My brother Niklaus is ready to take over the town...Yes, Son, all is well," Elijah said softly. He closed his eyes and felt the sun on his face.
It was the start of something beautiful. The Mikaelsons were home.