Chapter 2

Elijah POV

I opened my eyes to the darkness of pre-dawn. I looked around the room to the empty beds of my brothers Niklaus and Henrik.

It was harvest day.

A day of work for the men folk of the village.

Rubbing a hand over my eyes, I got up and got dressed. I left our room and followed the sounds of movement to the main room of the hut. Gathered around the hearth of the main fire pit were my siblings. I walked up to the group and Kol handed me a bowl of porridge.

"you ready to lose, brother?" Kol asked, with a smirk.

"The hunt isn't about winning or losing, Kol. It's about providing meat for our family and the village to get through the winter months. Not everything is a game," I said sternly while finishing my bowl. "…but if it were, we both know I'm the superior huntsman and therefore will, without a doubt, win," I finished with a small chuckle.

Kol scoffed while quiet laughs could be heard from Finn and Niklaus.

"Who claims this to be so? You?" laughed Niklaus.

"My eyes and yours claim it, brother. The evidence is all the proof I need. How many buck have you managed to take down this year?" I asked him.

Niklaus rolled his eyes

I smirked, "your silence speaks volumes"

Finn stood and patted both brothers on the back. "Save the fighting for the woods, my dear brothers. The hunt is afoot. Don't want father to hear you and Nik bragging, lijah. No good can come of it."

"Spoil our fun why don't you," Kol muttered.

Just then shuffling was heard down the hall and we all stiffened and went quiet. Mikael would not take kind to what he called 'messing about' before a hunt. And when Mikael didn't like something, he beat it into submission. Why use your words when your hands get the job done faster? I thought.

We all burst into laughter when Henrik appeared struggling around the corner, wearing hunting gear twice his size. "You can't leave without me," he said, holding up his belt which was slowly falling down his legs.

Niklaus walked up to him and grabbed the bow off his back.

"Henrik, brother, you are too young to join us on the hunt just yet."

"But Nik-!"

"No buts Hen. Niklaus is right. You're still but a 10yr old boy. In a couple years we'd relish the thought of you joining us. But not today. Now, go return Kols hunting gear to his room before father catches you and gives us all a lashing," I said gently.

Mumbling something too quiet to hear, Henrik turned around and dragged his feet back down the hall.

"Poor lad," Kol said. "just wants to be part of the-"

"Why are we just standing around like we've got shit for brains in our heads?" yelled Mikael from the front door of the hut, cutting off Kol's sentence. "Grab your stuff and load up the horses before the light comes and we lose the cover of darkness, you foolish boys. I am the chief of our village, it is my job to set the precedence by which all men should be held by providing for our people." Mikael stomped back out the door and with a quick glance at eachother, we filled out behind him. "We must complete the hunt, successfully before the noon hour sun hits the sky. We have a new family arriving today and I must be here to greet them."

We all murmured a 'yes father' loaded up our bows and knives, saddled up the horses and set off on the Harvest Hunt.

Luck was on our side as we made it back with much time to spare.

A buck, a couple doe and a handful of rabbits is what I would call a success on the first day of the Harvest Hunt. Our sister Rebekah met us at the village center where we dropped our kills off to be skinned and prepped for the Lughnasadh Festival later that evening that would signal the start of the harvest season.

I hurried ahead of my siblings towards our hut.

"One guess as to why our dear Elijah is walking like he's got a hot stake up his arse," i heard Kol laugh, walking beside Rebekah back to the hut.

Rebekah scoffed. "I don't even need to guess when it's a fact. Off to see the Harlot."

I grit my teeth as I continued to walk, ignoring them.

"Now, Bekah, that's not nice," kol snickered

"I don't care, if it looks like a horse and it talks like a horse…. You all may not see it but I do. That pairing can lead to nothing good," Rebekah murmured with a worried look to Kol as they both watched as I entered and then exit the hut minutes later and head north to the other end of the village.

I washed off the signs of my hunt as quickly as I could before changing my tunic and vest and heading out before my brother and sister could arrive and Rebekah began spewing more words of poison.

At a jog, I headed North to the outskirts of the village. Nestled in a small Grove of trees was a singular hut. I quickly approached and called out, "Tatia!" when there was no response i moved closer to the doorway to listen but heard nothing. "Tati-" I started to call again but was caught off guard when a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. "Looking for me, my love?" she asked, with a giggle.

I smiled and turned around to take in the sight before me. She was beautiful and she was mine.

Her long curly hair was free from its bindings and her dress was simple but clung to all the right places. I felt the familiar heat spread through my body at just the sight of her.

"Always," I whispered, as I leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead.

She released me and reached down to grab her basket of fruit that lay forgotten. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be on the hunt with that delightful father of yours," she said sarcastically, as she walked past me towards her small hut.

"Tatia," I sighed.

"Oh hush, Elijah, you dislike him as much as I do. As much as everyone does. If he wasn't so damn good at leading that village they would have done away with him ages ago," she said with a scoff.

"however true that may be, he is still my father. And speaking of my father, Im loathe to admit this is a short visit. I'm to be back within the hour to greet the new arrivals. He's rather insistent that we all be there to play the roll of the united Mikaelson clan," I laughed, following Tatia through the door.

She placed the basket on the table and slowly turned. Walking towards me, she began untying her dress. "Well, good sir, whatever shall we do with the time remaining?" she asked seductively.

I eyed her from head to toe before looking into her eyes. She wasn't surprised at the raw lust reflecting back at her. I stalked forward. "Oh I have a few ideas," I muttered before grabbing her by the back of her neck and crashing my lips into hers. She let out a moan as she reached to grip her hands behind my neck. Without hesitation, I lifted her up and, with her legs now wrapped around my waist, carried her to the bed to show her exactly what I had in mind