Chapter 40

Running up that hill

"No, no…"

"Stop fighting sweetheart, this is gonna be fun."

"Leave me alone…"

"Shut up you little whore! Hold her still."

"Are you sure about this? I mean we were just supposed to make her disappear."

"We will but I think we deserve a little bonus. And she wants this, don't you sweetheart?"

"No…let me go…"

"I don't know about this, I mean she's barely conscious…"

"That means she won't put up a fight. Now help me to undress her, let's take a look of that nice body of hers."

"No, no, no…. No!"

"What the hell…"

"Stop her! Shoot her!"

"Noooo!"

Dead. All dead… Their blood was on her hands…

Zora opened her eyes in panic. No, no, please no. She stood up and ran out of the bedroom. She couldn't see Klaus anywhere. She had to get out. She was a murderer. A monster. She ran out of the backdoor when she bumped into someone.

"Are you alright my dear?" someone asked.

Zora raised her head and saw Klaus' mother. She was smiling at her kindly.

"I…I killed them", Zora sobbed.

Esther wrapped her arms around her.

"There, there, my dear, everything is going to be fine."

"No, you don't understand, I killed them. I…I'm a murderer."

Esther looked at her closely.

"Who did you kill?"

Zora shook her head desperately.

"I don't know, there were these two men… I don't know."

Esther looked worried.

"Have you told anyone else about this?"

"No… I don't know what to do."

"Listen to me very carefully now. Did Niklaus explain how… special you are?"

"Yes."

"You must understand that not everyone accept what you are, they are afraid of you. To them you are a freak of nature."

Zora looked at her trying to understand what she was saying. Esther touched her hair gently.

"If my children hear about what you did, they will want you dead. And I'm afraid that if Niklaus is forced to choose between his siblings and you… well, he won't choose you."

More tears rolled down Zora's cheeks.

"But… I didn't mean to do it, I swear…"

"I know my dear, but it won't matter to them. You must run right now, it is your only chance."

"I don't have any place to go", Zora said desperately.

Esther smiled.

"If you stay here you will die. And believe me, it won't be an easy death. So run my dear, it is your only chance."

Zora nodded.

"Thank you so much for warning me."

"Of course my dear, you have always been like a daughter to me. Now go."

Zora started to run. She was only wearing a nightgown and she was barefoot. Esther looked after her smiling. Mikael appeared next to her.

"Well done, my dear wife. Your little dream spell seemed to work like a charm."

"She is all yours now my husband. Happy hunting."

Mikael smiled.

"I believe I will give her a little head start. Besides, it will take some time to find out how I can kill her. But no one will find her in the meantime, I promise you."

"Good. Now I must go and see what our children are up to. Someone will soon notice that she is missing."

"And I have some hunting to do", Mikael said and kissed Esther. That girl didn't stand a chance.

...

Zora ran as fast as she could. For some reason the running didn't make her tired. But she had no idea where to go. She was still crying. Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. She didn't have time to scream when a hand covered her mouth.

"Shh, it's ok, it's me Kol. I'm not going to hurt you, ok?"

She nodded and he turned her around.

"You must come with me right now, there's no time to explain but if you stay here, you are dead. Do you understand?"

She really didn't understand but didn't argue.

"Just don't fight me", he said and lifted her up.

Zora wrapped her arms around him and he started to move with his vampire speed. She felt nauseous when they finally stopped and he lifted her in a car.

"What's going on?" Zora managed to ask when he started the car.

"Well, apparently mommy and daddy want you dead", Kol replied.

"What? I don't… Why would they… Why are you helping me?"

Kol shrugged.

"I happened to hear them when I was coming back from my… hunting trip and I didn't have anything better to do at the moment."

Zora didn't know what to think.

"Where are we going?" she asked cautiously.

"Well, I was thinking as far away as possible. And then since I just saved you and everything…" Kol grinned. "You could show me some gratitude."

"Stop fighting sweetheart, this is gonna be fun…"

"No, no, let me go!"

Kol looked surprised.

"Hey, calm down, I was kidding."

Zora started to cry again.

"Come on sweetheart, don't do that, it was a bad joke, ok?"

She wrapped her arms around herself still crying. Kol sighed.

"Right, this definitely isn't my thing… But don't you worry; we are going to sort this out somehow."

She didn't say anything. This was all just too much. She had no idea who to believe or trust. Zora hoped that Klaus would be there. Maybe he would want to kill her, she didn't know, but she really needed his presence.