Okay, so I know I said I wouldn't update this in a while… I lied. Not really since I want to finish Experience a New Life and Tribrid Salvatore before I continue with this… I had this already written up and I needed to do something to take my mind of the presentation I have tomorrow.

My apprenticeship is over after I successfully do the presentation and the question part after that (no clue what you call it). Anyway, I should have more time to write over the next few months, so I'll try to write as much as I can while also preparing for university.

Aaaaanyway… Thank you so much for all the Reviews. I appreciate the support. I don't know how long I'll stay in 1492 but maybe another two or three chapters… More if I get some more ideas.

Enjoy,

Nick

Zara was standing at the open window, watching her sister with Elijah. Over the past few days, the brothers have decided to include her more. She wasn't quite sure whether she liked it or whether she was uncomfortable with the attention she was getting. It wasn't anything like the attention the two vampires gave her sister but Zara didn't want that in any case. Katerina hadn't been happy once she noticed what was going on and she confronted her sister after the first time it happened.

Flashback

"Ah, it seems as if our other houseguest is joining us tonight," Klaus proclaimed, seeing Elijah walk in with a reluctant Zara in tow "Don't be shy, kitten."

Zara glared at him "Stop calling me that."

"There she is," the younger of the brothers smirked.

Elijah sighed, pulling a chair out for the young girl to sit "Behave, Niklaus."

"What are you doing here, Zara?" Katerina questioned with forced politeness.

The sixteen-year-old shifted "I –"

"I invited Miss Zara to join us tonight," Elijah cut in smoothly.

Katerina smiled at the older Original, while Zara grimaced lightly, leaning back against the back of the chair. She was somewhat uncomfortable with the people in the room. Not necessarily the vampires but her sister. Katerina was getting meaner towards the other girl and Zara was slowly getting fed up. Normally she would just ignore the pettiness but it was getting hard. The demigod was almost at the end of her rope and incidents like these weren't helping. If Katerina didn't stop soon, the daughter of Hades couldn't be held responsible for anything she'd do.

End Flashback

"You have to chase me," Katerina exclaimed laughing and when Elijah stopped behind her, she rolled her eyes "You're meant to catch me."

"But if I catch you, the game will be over," the Original pointed out.

Katerina smiled at the man "Thank you for entertaining me."

"You looked lonely inside," Elijah murmured "So I took pity on you."

The older Petrova sat down on a stone bench "Klaus promised to spend the day with me but he never returned home from the night."

"Yes," Elijah agreed "Klaus does not live by any rules but his own."

"He is a very charming man," Katerina shrugged "Hard for anyone to resist, I suppose."

From her place at the window, Zara saw the Original's shoulders tense "And yet…"

"I know not why he courts me," the older Petrova girl admitted "He seems to not care about me at all."

"She's right," a voice from behind the demigod made her whirl around in shock.

Zara blinked at the young man in front of her. He seemed to be a few years older than her but also had the same feeling about him that Niklaus and Elijah had. He looked a lot like Elijah with his brown hair and the brown eyes but there was something different about him. While Elijah had an air of calmness surrounding him most of the time, this man was the exact opposite. She lowered her head and shifted to look at the ground. Just because she was somewhat comfortable with Elijah, didn't mean that she wasn't wary of strangers "Who are you?"

"My name is Kol, darling," he grinned charmingly "Kol Mikaelson." When the girl didn't reply, just continued looking out of the window, he frowned "You know, when one tells you their name, you tell them yours. It's the polite thing to do."

"Zara," the daughter of Hades mumbled, stiffening when the vampire got closer to her.

Kol's expression lightened up "Ah. You're the Doppelgänger's sister."

"Doppelgänger?" Zara frowned in confusion. She had tried to find out what Niklaus' interest in Katerina was but so far she only hit dead ends "So that's what… Hm."

In the gardens, Elijah shifted. He could hear his youngest brother talking to Zara. A part of him wanted to go in there and get Kol away from the girl. Instead, he focussed his attention on Katerina "Do you have more with Trevor?"

"Trevor believes that he loves me," Katerina murmured "But true love is not real unless it's returned. Do you agree?"

"I do not believe in love, Katerina."

"Bullshit," Kol scoffed, making Zara turn to look at him again.

The sixteen-year-old rolled her eyes and stepped back to close the window. She heard enough… Katerina was toying with both vampires and they were toying with her. The saddest thing was that neither Katerina nor Elijah noticed what the other was doing "I'd have to agree," Zara mumbled "Do you know what that's all about?"

The youngest Mikaelson brother smirked "I don't think I'll tell you."

"Of course not," the sixteen-year-old grumbled "She's going to die… Isn't she?"

Kol tilted his head at the matter-of-fact tone the girl in front of him had. He wasn't particularly close to his siblings anymore but he still cared about them whether he wanted or not "Most likely, yes."

"Hm," Zara nodded "Good riddance." She stopped when she realized what she said and to who "I should go…"

Kol caught her arm when she was about to walk past him "Not so fast, darling." As soon as her scent reached his nose, he blinked "What are you?"

"I don't think I'll tell you," Zara teased, using Kol's earlier words against him.

The Original gaped at the younger girl in surprise. He would have thought that she was as shy as she first acted but this girl was something else. Kol could definitely understand why his older brothers were intrigued by her. They must have noticed that she wasn't human… "You are something else, aren't you?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," the daughter of Hades murmured, tugging at her arm. Once she finally released her, she curtsied "Lord Kol." The minute she reached the corridor, she looked around, trying to see whether he had followed her or not. Since she could still feel him at the far end of the library, she quickly disappeared into the shadows, reappearing in the empty library where she grabbed the book she was reading.

"So," Klaus stated, leaning against the table next to where Zara was sitting. Normally, he would have been sniffing around her sister but for some reason, he seemed to be more interested in the sixteen-year-old at the moment. She was just glad that Kol was nowhere to be seen. The older boy was more interested in Zara than her sister… After she met him, he didn't stop trying to talk to her about anything and everything. He always found a reason to spend time with Zara. Something the girl wasn't accustomed to at all. The daughter of Hades wasn't really sure what to think about it "Which God do you believe in? You are Pagan, I assume?"

Zara frowned up at him, putting down the book she was attempting to read. Elijah had started to help her with her reading after she tried to explain what the problem was but she wasn't getting a lot better at it. Some but not much "Excuse me?"

"I saw you burning food on several occasions when you thought no one was looking. That's definitely not Christian and I know that dear Katerina is," he pointed out.

"You'd know," Zara scoffed "What did you believe in when you were human, hm? I'm guessing you were… Vikings?"

Before she could blink, a hand had closed around her throat, slamming her against the wall "How did you find out? Did you tell Katerina?"

"Why?" Zara taunted "Do you not want my sister to know about your habit of sucking blood?" She groaned when he slammed her back again "Alright, alright… I'd be stupid not to recognize vampires. After all, you're creatures of Death and if I know one thing… it's Death. If you could unhand me now?"

Klaus didn't move though, instead, he tightened his hand some more "Not until you tell me what I want to know. How do you know about us and who are you worshipping?"

Zara closed my eyes for a moment and licked her dry lips "Lord Hades. To both of your questions."

"The Lord of the Underworld?" the vampire blinked in surprise "Why in the world would you worship him of all Gods?"

"No reason," the sixteen-year-old lied. The lie was so obvious that she winced. It wasn't a surprise when Klaus growled, restricting the girl's breathing even more than he already was.

"I can kill you right now, Zara."

Zara grimaced "But then Katerina would ask questions. One way or another I don't owe you anything and certainly not an explanation."

"Niklaus," Elijah called out from behind, his voice startling both of them "What are you doing?" Klaus rolled his eyes at the girl and she couldn't quite hold back the snort when she was finally released. Sometimes Zara wished that Katerina and she could have a better relationship but her stepfather always made it clear that she was a bastard, the result of his wife's affair. What he didn't know – what Zara's mother didn't know – was that her father was none other than Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Despite what people thought about her father, he was caring and as soon as he found out what happened to his daughter, he helped as much as he was able to. Even Lady Persephone who was known for hating her husband's demigod children took a shine to the child. She didn't care for the attempts of anyone trying to appease her but when Hades expressed an interest in helping his daughter, she became more of a mother to the girl than her own birth mother "We need to talk, brother," Elijah continued with a short glance to Zara "Alone."

She was about to squeeze past the vampire but stopped when she was next to him "Demigod," she breathed into Klaus' ear. His head snapped around to her, his eyes mirroring his shock. The sixteen-year-old smirked, tilting her head in confirmation before walking out.

"So you're a demigod?" Kol spoke up, leaning against the wall opposite of the library "A daughter of…?"

Zara raised her eyebrow "Why would I tell you? What does it matter who my father is?"

"Touché," Kol laughed, holding out his arm "Would you like to accompany me to town?"

The daughter of Hades hesitated. She had wanted to visit Mrs Farley to help the woman with some things but she wasn't sure whether she wanted a vampire to tag along "I –"

"I'm not going to take no for an answer," the vampire cut her off "So don't bother trying, darling."

"Fine," Zara sighed, her shoulders slumping "But there's something I have to do…"

Kol handed her the black cloak the girl had before holding out his arm again "And what is that?"

"I – When Katerina and I came to England, we were homeless. A very kind old woman took us in. I want to see whether she needed help with anything," the demigod shrugged "I feel bad for not being able to see her these past few days."

"You don't like your sister, do you?"

Zara looked at the ground, trying to come up with an appropriate answer "She has always been treated differently by our parents. Maybe I just resent her for being the favourite but I can't even pretend to like her attitude."

Kol pulled the girl to a halt "What do you mean?"

"Hm?"

"You said something about her attitude," the Original pointed out.

The sixteen-year-old shrugged "Katerina has always enjoyed playing with the feelings of men. Your brothers are no different. The three of them are playing each other and I'm not sure what I should feel about it."

Kol tilted his head "You mean to say that Nik is playing Katerina because he needs her, Katerina is playing… Who?"

"Klaus is playing my sister, Katerina is playing Elijah because she is giving him hope. I'm not blind. I see how he looks at her… While normally I would mind my own business, I know Katerina. She is not the girl he thinks she is," Zara licked her lips for a moment before she continued "And Elijah is the one who desperately tries to help his brother – for a reason I do not know, while also trying to save my sister. Have I forgotten anything?"

"I'm surprised," the youngest Mikaelson brother spoke up "I would have never expected you to notice this much."

Zara averted her eyes again, picking at the hem of her cloak "I learned to be observant. I had to, otherwise, I would have been dead a long time ago. Both because of my so-called father and because of the monsters."

"Monsters… Oh, right." Realization flooded the vampire's eyes "We do not know a lot about demigods but from what I have figured out it is a hard life. Is it not?"

"In this time," the daughter of Hades started "It is. My mother got pregnant by a wealthy stranger… Her husband was less than pleased, especially since the whole village knew about the affair. It's another reason why I left with Katerina. Everyone knew that I was a… a bastard."

Kol looked down at the girl, seeing how much it hurt her to talk about it. She must have had a similar childhood to Nik… The way she reacted to certain things and the fact that she didn't speak fondly of her family told him a lot "It must have been hard for you to grow up as you did. Are you in contact with your Godly parent?"

A smile stole its way across the blonde girl's features "Yes. My father has taken care of me ever since I met him and his wife when I was five-years-old…"

"May I ask how you met him?"

"My… Katerina's father hurt me. He hurt me and I wished that I would be somewhere safe, somewhere far away from the man who was causing me so much pain. Long story short, I appeared in my father's palace and he came to accept me relatively quickly. At first, he was scared about what his wife would say but once she saw the bruises, she just asked what I was doing on the floor. She's an amazing woman though and more like a mother to me than my own."

Kol smiled lightly, hearing the fondness in the younger girl's tone "I noticed that you never say their names. Why not?"

"Why would I tell you who they are? You're not telling me anything," Zara hummed, knocking on the door to Mrs Farley's house.

It took a few moments for the door to open and Mrs Farley to appear "Oh, Zara," she gasped in excitement "How are you doing, dear?"

"I'm alright, Mrs Farley," the daughter of Hades grinned.

"What happened to your neck?" the older woman questioned, reaching out to tilt the sixteen-year-old's chin up.

Zara frowned "My neck?"

"You have a bruise on your neck," Kol pointed out from behind.

"And you didn't think to tell me that?" Zara grumbled, throwing a glare at the vampire "Don't worry, Mrs Farley… You know that I bruise easily." It was a lie but the older woman didn't need to know that. Klaus had a pretty tight grip on her neck earlier.

Mrs Farley raised her eyebrow at the girl, not believing a word she was saying. After all, the woman had taken care of several injuries that Katerina had inflicted. The older woman knew that pressing the matter wouldn't get her anywhere "Who is your friend?"

"That's Kol. A… friend," Zara sighed, looking up at the vampire "I think."

Kol deadpanned "You make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

The demigod shook her head and looked back to Mrs Farley "Do you need help with anything?"

Two hours later, Zara was finished with the chores, the Original having escaped as soon as he got bored. Kol had made Zara promise to meet up once she was done. The sixteen-year-old couldn't even argue before he vanished.

"Thank you, dear," Mrs Farley sighed, sitting down on one of the chairs in her kitchen "I don't know what I would have done without you."

The daughter of Hades placed her hands on the older woman's shoulders "I'll find someone to help you. I don't know how but I'll find someone."

"You don't have to, Zara," Mrs Farley argued "I will get by."

Zara hummed "Alright, but if you need anything at all. Send someone to find me."

"I will," the older woman promised, hugging the sixteen-year-old close "Now run along. I'm sure your friend is waiting for you."

"He really is just a friend," the daughter of Hades rolled her eyes.

Mrs Farley chuckled in fond amusement. The way this Kol looked at the girl suggested differently but she didn't speak up. It was something that Zara had to figure out for herself "If you say so, dear."

Zara shook her head "I should get going."

"Thank you again for the help." Mrs Farley patted the girl on the arm when she was walking past "Take care of yourself."

"You too, Mrs Farley," the demigod waved, leaving the house. Zara walked back in the direction of the Mikaelson's home, occasionally looking back at Mrs Farley's house. Halfway to the meeting point, Zara heard a loud growl coming from the trees beside her. She stiffened and closed her hand around the pendant she had around her neck. The demigod crouched down, a black sword appearing in her hand "Come on, then," she called out, her eyes darting around the forest line. A monster stepped out of the shadows. At first glance, it looked like a lion but then the rest of its body came into view. It was only the head that was lion-y with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat and a serpent tail with a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of it. Zara exhaled shakily "Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" The Chimera growled at the demigod in front of it "What did I do now?" She was kind of used to getting attacked by monsters but it still didn't make it better. It seemed that Lord Zeus really had something against the daughter of Hades since most of the monsters were associated with him instead of Poseidon's. Zara dodged the Chimera's lunge, raising the sword again. Not that it would do her much good at the moment. She had to get close enough which would be a task in itself.

"Zara?" Kol called from further up the path.

The daughter of Hades faltered for a moment, allowing the Chimera to graze her with the fire it spewed. Zara hissed "Leave, Kol."

"I'm not leaving you with this thing," the Original told her "What is it anyway?"

"Chimera." She got close enough to slash at the monster, getting it in its side. The black blade was one of the few that could injure most monsters and even Gods since the metal was made from the abyss of Tartarus. Zara had gotten it from Thanatos several years ago.

The monster howled in pain, snapping its jaw at the demigod, ripping into her leg. Kol appeared by her side pulling her back a second too late "What do I do?" the Original asked, shoving the daughter of Hades behind him.

Zara groaned, her leg giving out on her "Stab it. Head or mouth," she gasped, holding out her sword to the vampire "Careful. Poison in teeth." It was then that the world blurred in front of her eyes. She heard Kol charging at the Chimera, the short battle and the howl of the monster before everything was silent.

"Come on, darling," the vampire murmured, kneeling down behind the girl. He pressed his wrist to her mouth, hoping that his blood would heal her "That's it."

"Thank you," the sixteen-year-old breathed "'M out of practice… Haven't been attacked in a while."

Kol laughed lightly "Well, then maybe you will do me the honours of practising with you?"

"You know what? I just might." Zara leaned against the vampire's chest tiredly, tracing her eyes along the floor "There's something there…"

"What?"

The demigod pointed at a tooth necklace that was lying on the ground "Spoils from the kill. Monsters usually leave something… Depends on the monster. You can keep it."

"I can?" Kol asked, reaching out for the fang. As soon as he touched it, he could feel the excess magic in it. It made him feel like he still had his magic to some extent… "Thank you."

"You're the one who saved me," the demigod murmured, smiling up at the vampire.

Kol lifted the chord over his head and hefted the girl into his arms, carrying her up the path to the house "Will you tell me who your parent is now?"

"Hades," Zara sighed "My father is Hades."

"The Lord of the Dead?" Kol blinked in surprise "You know, that explains a lot. How you knew what we are, how you're not afraid and why you're so comfortable in our presence."

"Hm," the demigod hummed, leaning her head against the vampire's shoulder. She was exhausted and the pain from the healing wounds didn't help the matter either.