Chapter 4
Caroline arrived quickly, having received the text 'We need your help, Stefan.' She burst into the kitchen. 'What's wrong?' she almost shouted. 'What's happened?' Ottilie hid behind Damon's legs. Caroline caught sight of her, and her worried expression melted into a huge smile. 'Oh my God, hi!' she cooed. The small girl peeped her head from behind Damon to appraise the new person in the room. 'Caroline, this is Ottilie. Ottilie, this is Caroline. She's a friend' said Damon. Caroline got onto the same level as the girl and smiled at her.
'Hi Ottilie. It's really nice to meet you!' The girl smiled at her, but said nothing. Standing back up, Caroline turned to Stefan and Damon. 'What is she doing here? Did you hurt her?' The brothers explained to her that Damon had found her, injured in the woods and that they'd brought her back to look after her. 'Caroline, can you take her for a bath?' asked Damon. 'It didn't seem appropriate for Stefan or I to assist her. We cleaned the blood off her as best we could but now that she's healed, she might enjoy a bath.' Caroline nodded and held her hand out to Ottilie, who looked up at Damon. 'Go on, little lady.' He said, reassuringly.
Caroline took the small girl upstairs to Damon's bathroom, where she knew there was a huge bath. Having filled it and taken the large t shirt that she assumed must be Damon or Stefan's off the girl, she lifted her gently into the bath and began to gently clean her skin, starting with her back. She was saddened to notice long, pale scars lining her pale skin and wondered what had happened to the girl. She worked over her arms, noticing more and more marks and finally got to her chest and shoulders. She gasped in shock, but Ottilie didn't seem to notice. 'Ottilie, sweetheart. I just neeed to go and talk to Damon and Stefan. Will you be okay here for a few minutes?' The small girl nodded, distracted by the mountain of bubbles that Caroline had made for her. Caroline sped off downstairs and found the brothers drinking coffee, and discussing Ottilie. 'Guys,' she spoke softly. 'Ottilie has a huge scar on her chest. It looks like she's had heart surgery in the past. It reminds me of my dad's scar from when he had his.' Damon and Stefan exchanged glances.
'We haven't seen it. Shall we ask her about it?' suggested Stefan. Caroline looked unsure.
'I don't want to make her feel self-conscious about it. Why don't we let her tell us if she wants to? We don't seem to know anything about her yet. I guess it's just something to be aware of.' Said Damon. They all agreed to leave it for the time being, and Caroline went back upstairs to finish bathing Ottilie.
In a few minutes, was lead back downstairs by Caroline. Her skin was now looking pink and healthy, and her hair was clean and bouncing into curls at the ends. She ran to Damon who picked her up and held her. 'Well little lady,' he said. 'you look squeaky clean!' she giggled into his neck. 'I put her in another of your t shirts' said Caroline. He nodded, noting how it was so big on her that it was like a dress, falling way past her knees. 'Do you think you could take Ottilie shopping?' he asked Caroline, who gasped and put her hands to her face in excitement. 'Oh my gosh, yes! Do you want to go, Ottilie?' she asked, who nodded, smiling. Damon handed the small girl to Caroline and whispered to her, 'just let me know how much I owe you, okay? And can you take her for lunch? I want to make sure she's eating often.' Caroline promised and left with Ottilie, leaving the brothers to think about what to do with Ottilie.
The girls returned later that afternoon with Ottilie running straight into the house calling for 'Mr Stefan, Mr Damon!' who appeared promptly.
'Did you have a nice time, Ottilie?' asked Stefan, who gently lifted her into his arms for a hug. She nodded, grinning at him. 'She's fully kitted out now! And we had a lovely lunch together, didn't we Ottilie?' said Caroline to the brothers, carrying in some bags of clothing. 'She's so precious' she whispered, so that only Damon and Stefan would hear. They smiled at that. 'Mr Stefan, Mr Damon?' Ottilie said, 'Please may I show you what we got?' The two man laughed, and obliged the excited little girl, who proceeded to show them the lovely outfits that Caroline and her had picked out together. She'd never seen so many beautiful things, let alone been allowed to own and wear them. Suddenly, she realised that they'd come at a price, and she stopped her happy chattering. 'Mr Damon, what do you need me to do to pay for these clothes?' she asked quietly. 'I don't have any money, but I can cook and clean. That's what I did before? And I don't eat much?' Damon looked down at her and crouched to be on her level. Taking her hands, he looked into her eyes and spoke softly. 'Ottilie, you have nothing to repay. Stefan and I have talked about it, and we'd very much like for you to stay with us while we find out where you came from. You don't have to work for us, you're our little guest. Is that okay with you?' Tears sprung to her large green eyes and she wrapped her little arms tightly around him. 'Thank you, Mr Damon.' He returned her hug. 'Just Damon will do, little lady. None of this Mr, please!' She giggled softly into his neck.
The rest of the afternoon was spend unpacking Ottilie's new wardrobe into the room that had been adopted as hers. It was small and cosy, with a huge bed and she was overwhelmed at its luxury. Later that evening, she sat colouring whilst Damon and Stefan prepared dinner. 'Ottilie, is it okay with you if we ask you some questions?' asked Damon. She nodded, concentrating on her colouring. 'How old you are?' asked Stefan. She thought for a moment. 'I'm 10, I think.' She said. 'No one was sure when I asked them, but I was living in my last place for at least 7 years.' She added. The brothers took a moment to absorb this. She was so tiny, they had been sure she was about 7. 'Where was your last place?' asked Stefan. Ottilie froze, her colouring ceased. 'It's okay,' said Stefan hurriedly, 'you can tell us everything you want to, and leave out bits you don't. You're safe.' She nodded slightly. 'I was living with this lady. She picked me up from the place where you go when you don't have a mum or dad anymore. She said that I'd been bad and that's why I lived there. But if I worked hard when I lived with her, I wouldn't be bad anymore.' Stefan looked way, unable to believe that someone would say that to a child who couldn't have been more than 3 at the time. Damon pressed on. 'Was she kind to you?' he asked. Ottilie shook her head.
'Not really. She hurt me if I didn't do the work properly. And I wasn't allowed to eat very much. She said I didn't deserve it. I looked after the house for them when I was old enough, and she said it was payment for her looking after me when I was younger. I cooked, cleaned and did the jobs they asked me to.' Her eyes suddenly widened in horror. 'You want to know where I came from so you can send me back, don't you?' she whispered, aghast. 'Please, please don't send me back. I'll go anywhere, do anything, but please, not there. She'll kill me.' Stefan looked like he was going to be sick, and Damon found himself swallowing thickly, trying to stop the tears from springing to his eyes. He was surprised at how protective he felt over this tiny human, with her beautiful big eyes, sprinkling of freckles and long, curling hair. 'Ottilie,' he whispered. 'I promise you, you are never, ever, going back there. You're going to stay here with us for as long as you want to.' Her shoulders began to shake and she began to sob in relief. 'Thank you, Mr Damon. Thank you, Mr Stefan. I promise, I'll be good.' She whispered. Stefan bundled her into his arms and held her whilst she cried, wiping a stray tear of his own away. He looked up to see Damon doing the same. 'Now, Ottilie.' He teased softly. 'What did Damon say about calling us "Mr"?' She peeled her face away from him and smiled weakly. 'Sorry Stefan.' She whispered, giggling, before returning to the hug.
What do you think so far? Please leave a review - I'd love to know your thoughts and suggestions! SEG21 x