Chapter 4: Important conversation
Once they were in the hut, Esther closed the door and looked around, nervous.
"What is it Love? You seem to be a bit stressed out." Mickeal noticed as Esther made sure the sage was still burning.
"I have to talk to you about something important and it may change the way you see me, or feel about me…" She invited him to seat down.
"You can tell me anything, I would never stop loving you…" Mickeal assured her with a worried look on her face.
"Even if a mistake I made a few years ago was the reason Isabella lost her friends and came in the past to stop a deadly war?" She asked him.
"It has to do with the fact that Niklaus isn't my son doesn't' it?" He asked.
"You know? How did you find out?" She asked him shocked.
Also her tone wasn't accusatory. It would have been stupid of her to be mad at him for this.
"I knew you cheated on me with that man the minute we reconciled, I wasn't really mad because I knew it was my fault we argued in the first place. I shouldn't have paid attention to that woman and lied to you about it, I made you feel unloved and unwanted that day… You made a mistake, I forgave you the moment it happened…" He assured her sincerely.
"Is that why you treat Niklaus so harshly? Because he isn't yours?" She asked.
"No, it's because he reminds me of the mistakes I made in the past, I can't control anything when he is around. I love him as all our sons, but every time he is around, I'm taken over by my anger, I can't explain it. I'm guessing it has to do with the problems Bella came to fix?" He asked.
"Yes… Niklaus carries the werewolf gene in him. In the future, the gene activated after he changed… apparently Ayana is corrupted by the forces of the dark and pushed you and me to put a binding curse on our son. He took it as a betrayal, a punishment for something he wasn't responsible for… He became obsessed with lifting the curse… Especially after I changed you into a vampire hunter, the vampire to end all vampires, she said you started to hunt all of our children, aiming to kill them one by one…" she explained in a sad tone.
"Is Niklaus the monster Isabella was speaking about?" He asked his wife.
"Yes, he is... or will be if we don't change some things…" She answered.
Then she proceeded in telling him everything Bella had told him earlier in the day.
"She really thought about everything, didn't she? What do you think we should do?" He asked her.
"First of all, you need to change your behaviour toward him. He is your son and loves you as his father, you're the only father he knows." Esther warned him.
"I know, I promise you I'll try!" He told her in a serious tone.
"Good, because Bella said that in the future, all our children would side with him when you go after them." She informed him.
"She also said that Ayana might be the reason you've always acted so mean towards Niklaus. She is corrupted by the dark forces of magic, I'm going to put a protective spell on our family so she can't corrupt any of us anymore. If Bella's suspicions are right, the spell should clear your head immediately." Esther added.
"What are you going to tell him, later?" Mickeal asked his witch-wife.
"I was thinking of following Isabella's advises and tell him the truth about both where he comes from and what his possibilities are for the future. I don't think telling him he is the monster we heard about is a good idea, he would only loath himself and that wouldn't be good for any of us, or him." She informed him.
"What choices are you going to give him?" Mickeal asked curiously.
"He could stay human and take the risk of becoming a werewolf, he could become a vampire with his siblings, but I would have to kill the werewolf gene before he changed, or I would change his werewolf gene into a shape-shifting one, so he could be immortal as long as he shifted but become human once he stopped. He would be with his siblings and Bella said it was important…" Esther replied in a serious tone.
"Okay then, I'll follow your lead my love. Do you want me to get him for you?" Mickeal asked as he turned reluctantly toward the door.
"Do you want to be present when I talk to him?" She asked her husband.
"If you don't mind, yes, I would like it. It would allow me to make amends with OUR son." He said with a 'please forgive me' smile.
Esther was happy that Mickeal wasn't putting too much of a fight. She guessed that keeping Ayana out of things was a good idea, it would prevent her to influence anyone. Already she was starting to create a protection ritual to prevent the bad witch to corrupt her family's minds.
"Just let me put the protective spell in place before we go look for him." Esther replied as she started to work her magic.
After about an hour, she was done and had every member of her family, including Sage and Bella, was protected. They exited the hut together and walked toward the place where Elijah and Klaus were supposed to be working together. As they approached, they could see they were both laughing, fighting each other with their swords. They were on their property, away from the villagers. Mickeal was about to intervene when they saw Rebekah, Henrik and Bella running toward them. While Henrik and Rebekah were smiling, Bella had a visible frown on her face.
"Look brother, they came to watch my fast approaching victory." Elijah gloated.
"On the contrary brother, they've come to laugh at you!" Klaus replied, laughing as Bella threw a bucket full of cold water on them both.
They stopped fighting and turned around to face her as she started yelling at them:
"Are the two of you insane? You fight for your survival EVERY DAY and now you decide to fight for FUN? Where you dropped on your heads? Are you crazy? What if something had happened to one of you, do you have any idea of the consequences it would have had?"
She was fuming and Mickeal smiled. He was sure her scolding would have more effect than any one of his.
"Bella Love, we were just having fun…" Elijah tried to calm her down, walking slowly toward her with his arms raised in a hug invitation.
"Fun? You think this is fun? Watching people fight each other with real blade is supposed to be fun? Last time I watched people fight they died! What am I supposed to do if the people I was sent here to protect were to hurt themselves because they were having FUN?" Bella replied, moving away from his arms angrily.
She was so angry at them that she had tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Bella, we didn't think about that…" Elijah appologized as Klaus added:
"I'm so sorry, we didn't want to worry you…"
"Well, that's the problem, the two of you didn't think! You're acting like children!" Bella exclaimed, still angry at them, as Mickeal and Esther came closer.
"Bella love, don't cry, I'm so sorry, we won't do it again, I promise you…" Elijah started to say but she cut him off:
"Don't you dare call me love to try and calm me down Elijah! I think I'll ask Rebekah to show me were I'm supposed to meet Sage and Finn later today. You go and keep on having 'fun' with your brother!" She said as she turned around and stalked off toward the woods.
"You better let her cool off a bit son!" Mickeal suggested.
Niklaus was ready for another scolding but was surprised when nothing came.
"The two of you should dry off before going back to work." Esther said before she added:
"We were actually coming to get you Niklaus, we need to talk to you…"
"We'll go back to the hut and wait for you there. You dry off and finish your work first." Mickeal said in a gentle tone that surprised the future hybrid.
Elijah was feeling bad for angering Bella and, as he finished his work in the barn, thought of ways to make it up to her later tonight, after her meeting with Sage and Finn. He was already planning a romantic dinner under the stars.
When he was done working, Niklaus went to clean himself off before going to see his parents in the hut. As he left the house, he saw Bella afar and decided to go and talk to her first. As he approached her, he picked up a couple of wild flowers.
"Bella, I'm sorry for earlier… We didn't mean to worry or much less anger you." He appologized.
"I know you didn't, but you need to understand that things are very serious Niklaus… You can't go around playing with your sword. People's lives are at stakes here, the werewolves aren't the only enemies lurking around…" Bella told him.
"Here, have those flowers as a sign of me begging for you forgiveness." He told her with a smile that forced her to answer with another smile.
"Thank you, you are forgiven of course, but please remember what I told you." She added softly.
"I will… Will you forgive Elijah? He was miserable after you yelled at him…" Klaus asked her sincerely.
"Of course I will, but I need him to understand how much things are serious now, he also needs to understand that I'm not the kind of woman who stays home quietly while her man goes around and works or has fun. I'm a woman of the future, I make my own decisions and I was raised to be an equal to men." She told Niklaus.
"I understand… I think he's planning on finding you later on but mother advised him to give you space to cool off." He informed her before standing back up.
"You've talked with your mother yet?" Bella asked.
"No, I'm heading there right now. Why?" Niklaus asked.
"Just asking… You should hurry." She said as she walked with him until they reached the house.
She joined Rebekah to go and find Finn and Sage while Klaus walked toward the hut where his parents would force him to make a life changing decision.
When he entered the hut, Esther was making sure the sage was still burning, adding some of it.
"Niklaus, you're here." Mickeal said when he looked up to see his son standing in the doorway.
"I'm sorry I took longer than necessary but I saw Bella and decided to go and talk to her for a bit… I apologised." He told them.
"Very well, please sit down." Esther told him as Mickeal went to close the door, making sure that nobody was around, listening to them or spying.
"Did I do something wrong?" The young man asked, worried.
"No, you didn't son. We did." Mickeal answered as Niklaus looked confused.
"I need to confess something to you my son, Bella convinced me that you had a right to know the truth but you have to understand that it doesn't change anything in the way we love you…" Esther started to explain.
"What's going on, mother? You're both starting to scare me a little…" Niklaus asked nervously.
"Niklaus, before your mother starts, I have to apologise… Bella informed us of Ayana being corrupted by the forces of the dark and it seems that she has been influencing my behaviour toward you. She is the main reason why I have been so hard on you and I need to make amends…" Mickeal declared, surprising Niklaus, who wasn't expecting this at all.
"You do seem different today…" Niklaus told his father with a nod.
"Your mother put a protective spell on us all earlier today." Mickeal explained.
"Niklaus, I have to confess to you what is, maybe, my biggest secret. There is no easy way to say this… A few years ago, when Finn and Elijah were little boys, Mickeal and I had a big argument… I don't really remember why and the reason isn't really important. To make a long story short, I ended up sleeping one time with one of the werewolves… Don't interrupt me now please, it's important. Niklaus, you are the result of this one time affair…" Niklaus was looking pale and lost.
"So I'm a mistake?" He asked.
"Of course not! We're telling you now because we realised you needed to know and Bella said it was important for you to find out from us." Esther told her son.
"My father… I mean, the werewolf, does he know about me?" Niklaus asked.
Esther didn't speak but she shook her head. She had never even seen him again.
"Niklaus, you have to understand that I never hated you. I've been treating you so badly because of Ayana's influence… But you are my son and I love you as such!" Mickeal insisted.
"What do I need to do?" Niklaus wondered.
"Nothing… We just wanted you to know…" Mickeal replied.
"What about the transformation, what will happen to me then?" Niklaus asked.
"This is also something I wanted to talk to you about son. You have several options before you and whatever you chose, you won't be alone. You could stay human and risk becoming a werewolf. I could change you with your siblings after killing the werewolf gene in you. I could also change your werewolf gene into a shape-shifter one. You would be able to live as long as you shift regularly. You would be able to be with your sibling as long as you want and if you find love in a human, you'll be able to stop shifting to age with her… You'll also have the option of imprinting, it's a stronger form of falling in love, Bella will explain it to you." Esther explained.
"What will you do?" He asked her.
"The choice is yours son. Whatever you decide, we will be behind you!" Mickeal replied.
"I need to think about it." Niklaus whispered.
"Of course, take your time." Esther nodded, allowing him to leave the room.
During their important talk, Bella was with Rebekah, walking toward Finn and Sage's future house. She was excited to finally meet the imposing woman. When they arrived, after a small 15 minutes walk, she saw Finn and the red headed woman standing in front of a house that could have been cast for the main house in 'Little house on the prairie'. It was small and charming and Bella thought it fitted the couple that seemed to be discussing something about the front porch..
"Hello, you must be Bella. I'm Sage." The woman introduced herself.
"It's nice to meet you Sage." Bella answered.
They talked for a few minutes until Rebekah said:
"Oh Finn, you should have seen Bella earlier, she put Mickeal to shame when she scolded Elijah and Niklaus for fighting!" Bella blushed.
"What happened?" Sage asked as Finn lifted an eyebrow.
"She threw a bucket of cold water on them before she started yelling at them for being irresponsible and childish!" Rebekah informed them.
"SHE is standing right here you know?" Bella added with irritation.
"I knew I liked you!" Sage exclaimed and Finn laughed.
"I wished I'd been there to see it!" He declared.
They spent a few more minutes with the couple and Bella learned that they were getting married at the end of the week. She congratulated them and soon, it was time for Rebekah to go help her mother with dinner.
"I'll go with you, I need to check on some things." Bella nodded.
She waved goodbye at the couple and went on her way.
"Are you still mad at Elijah?" Rebekah asked her new friend.
"Not really, no. But he needs to understand that I need him to be serious now… We are walking in dangerous times…" She answered as they picked flowers on their way.
While they walked, Rebekah showed Bella how to make a flower crown and they laughed.
When they arrived at home, Niklaus was seating pensively outside.
"You go in Rebekah I need to have a chat with Niklaus." Bella said as she went to sit by the blond original's side.
"How are you feeling Niklaus?" Bella asked.
"I'm feeling… lost, and confused, I think." he answered in a small voice.
She gave him a hug and he gently put his head in her lap. It surprised her but she let him do it, he needed comfort and she didn't mind giving it to him.
"I take it your mother told you everything?" Bella asked him.
"Yes, she did… I don't know what to do Bella…" Niklaus said, looking lost.
"I understand completely, it's confusing… You don't have to choose what you want to do with your future today though, you can take your time to think about every option given to you." She told him as she gently stroke his hair.
Since she was looking down at Niklaus, Bella didn't see Elijah coming their way. He recognised her right away and a surge of jealousy took him over when he saw her with Niklaus. As he walked closer, he saw that she was comforting his little brother and he calmed down. She was perfect. She had a soft heart and had gained Niklaus' trust, which wasn't an easy thing to do. He smiled as he entered the house from the back door in order not to disturb his love and his brother. After all, she wasn't here just for him but for his entire family.
Back in front of the house Niklaus asked Bella:
"What do you think I should do?" He looked up at her.
"It all depends on the life you want to lead. If you want a human life with children or a vampire life where you're on an equal footing with your siblings. You can also be the starter of your own line if you become a shape-shifter. You'd be able to have children and you could pass you shape-shifting gene down to them…" She told him.
"I don't know what I want yet." He confessed.
"You have time Niklaus. Don't hurry things up… The choice you'll make will stick with you forever so you need to take all your time to think about every angle." She told him.
"You're right…" he nodded as he sat back up.
"You're going to be okay now?" She asked him.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you!" he declared as he kissed her cheek before opening the door for her to get inside.
When she stepped inside, Elijah smiled at her and she smiled back. She was about to walk toward him when Henrik ran to her and insisted she watched what he carved in the wood of his bed. She smiled at the young boy and followed him. Elijah sighted in annoyance. If his siblings kept going at her this way, he wouldn't have time to talk to her before the day was over. He grew even more irritated when she came back in the room only to have his mother take her aside. They didn't talk for long and it seemed that Esther was just informing Bella that she had talked with Niklaus and Mickeal, but she was taking time away from HIS Bella.
When she turned away from his mother, Elijah jumped on his feet and rushed to her side:
"Bella, would you like to eat with me tonight? I got us a basket ready and would love it if you'd join me for a dinner under the stars." He asked her before anyone else could try to take her attention away from him.
"But I was going to have her seat with me tonight! It's my turn to have her by my side!" Henrik protested.
"Henrik, don't be so childish." Rebekah scolded her little brother.
"How about this Henrik, tonight, I go with Elijah because we need to talk about a lot of things and tomorrow, for breakfast, I'll seat next to you. Okay?" Bella asked the little boy.
"Fine… But you give me your word that you'll seat with me for breakfast?" The little boy insisted.
"Of course, I give you my word!" She promised him.
He kissed her cheek and she turned to Elijah:
"Let's go." He smiled in triumph and led the way out of the house.
He had a torch with him and walked by her side, walking toward a way she hadn't been yet.
"Where are we going?" She asked him.
"It's a surprise!" He told her with a small smile.
They walked in comfortable silence for about 15 minutes before they stopped in front of a pretty cottage in construction.
"We're here." Elijah announced.
"Whose house is it?" She asked.
"Do you like it?" He asked her without answering her question.
"Of course I do, it's lovely." She nodded with a smile.
"It's mine." He told her.
"Yours? But I thought you slept in the room with your brothers?" Bella asked him, confused.
"I do for now. I helped Finn build his house for Sage, and I decided that I was old enough to move out on my own, so Finn is helping me making this one. I tried to make a house where I would like to live with the woman I would love some day. It was hard without knowing said woman of course, but now that you're here, I can see us living in here, as long as you want to." Elijah told Bella as he opened the door for her.
He showed her everything and said:
"I still have a few things to fix… The bedroom is completely empty and the spare bedroom is missing a wall, but it should be over in the next two weeks at the most…" Elijah explained.
"It's very beautiful Elijah." Bella complimented him sincerely after seeing everything.
"I'm sorry I made you angry earlier Bella, I promise you it wasn't what I wanted…" he told her as he helped her seat down in one of the chairs he had finished in the afternoon.
"I know, I'm not mad anymore… But you have to understand that the last time I saw you before I left you were fighting and you died… It is important that you survive, I don't know what I would do without you Elijah, I can't do this without you…" She told him as he came over to hug her, giving her his word that he wouldn't fight for fun anymore.
After a while, he said:
"It seems it's the first time we are alone since you arrived."
"I can't believe it was only yesterday… It feels like it was so long ago…" She said pensively.
"Yes, it looks like you fit in just fine with the family, like you belong with us." He agreed with a smile.
"I've always wanted to be part of a big family but I was an only child, my mother didn't want another child and my father never moved on... I think that's part of why I got attached tp the Cullen's so fast, they were a big united family like I always wanted and they seemed ready to welcome me... They made me feel like I was finally part of a big family, until they left and I realized that I wasn't." She told him as she gave him his smile back.
"Now you are." He said softly.
"Not really, not yet…" She smiled again.
"But soon right?" He asked her.
She nodded and said:
"Elijah, if you want me to become officially a part of your family, I think you're going to have to ask a specific question first!"
A little spark illuminated his eyes at that moment.
"Isabella, will you marry me?" he asked, keeping things simple.
"Yes!" She answered, surprised by how easy it had been to say that small word when she had always thought that she wouldn't get married before she turned 35.
Elijah got to his feet and took Bella's hands in his before he bent toward her and kissed her softly on the lips. It was their first kiss and it was everything Bella could have dreamt of.
"I actually have a ring." He told her.
"What? When? I've been here for a day and you only proposed a few minutes ago." She said with amazement.
"Ever since I decided to make this house for my future love, I decided to make her future ring." He replied proudly.
"You made it?" She asked, shocked.
He got the ring out of the basket and put it delicately on her ring finger.
"It's so pretty… Isn't there a thing you can't do?" She asked as she looked at the small gold ring with a rose whose centre was a blue stone.
"I try to do a little bit of every thing. I'm glad you like it." He said.
"Is the blue stone a Lapis lazuli?" She asked him
"Yes, mother said we would need these stones to go in the sun later on and I asked her to spell me one more." He replied.
"You can't be with someone forever if you don't live forever." She declared quietly.
"Exactly. But if you'd rather have another stone I can always change it." He added quickly.
"Don't you dare! I love it just the way it is!" She told him before he kissed her one more time.
"Let's eat before we get carried away." Elijah suggested, opening the basket and making Bella blush at the things that could happen if they got carried away.
As they ate, Elijah asked Bella for suggestions about the house and as they talked, they realised they had the same view on things. They liked the same things in the house.
When they were done eating, Elijah invited Bella to seat with him in the bench he built on the back porch. She sat in his arms and decided to trust him and to tell him every thing.
They sat there for over an hour where she told him everything she had told Esther earlier. She told him she trusted him not to tell any of his sibling and that she hoped he wouldn't tell Niklaus he knew before his brother told him first.
"Don't worry my sweet Bella, I won't change my behaviour toward him." he promised her.
"I know you won't." she nodded before she turned around to give him another kiss on the lips.
"Now I understand why you got so mad when you saw us fighting, I'm sorry I reminded you of the moment I died…" Elijah told her before he closed his arms around her waist and kissed her with more passion than before.
"When do you want to have the ceremony?" she asked him.
"I would love for us to be married for some time before you have to leave us…" he replied sadly.
"About that… You understand that you'll have to wait for me for over a thousand years…" she reminded him, giving him a way out.
"Dear Bella, I would gladly wait ten time this just to spend one hour with you in my arms." He declared with passion.
She gave him a big smile and let him kiss her once more.
"If the house is done in two weeks, maybe that's when we should get married." She suggested.
"I love that idea my love!" He agreed before kissing her again.
"I think it's time we got back if we don't want them to get worried." Elijah said as they sat up. They took their time and 25 minutes later, they were standing in front of his family house.
"You'll have to show me the way tomorrow when the sun is up, I don't think I can find it now." She told him.
"I will." He promised as he opened the door for her.
When they stepped in, Henrik was the only one asleep. They were all staring at them with knowing smiles on their faces. Elijah is the one who opened the conversation when he announced:
"We're getting married and she loves the house and the ring I made for her!" he looked happy and super excited. Everyone laughed and jumped on them to offer congratulations.
"When will you do it?" Esther asked.
"We thought that the sooner would be the better… We decided to do it in two weeks." He replied.
"That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you!" Esther nodded before pulling Bella aside and talking about letting her transform her wedding gown for her.
They went to bed very late that night but Bella was happy. She felt home, loved and accepted. Everything would go just fine, she could feel it.
Rewritten May 2020
Lorelei Candice Black