Klaus

I stumbled on a root as I ran through the woods.

"Hahahah! You're too slow Nik!" Henrik laughs ahead of me, continuing to run away from me.

I huff a laugh and run after him. Stinky bugger thinks he can outrun the inevitable.

"Come on Henrik, wash time was an hour ago! Mother will be angry you have not washed before we need to leave." I shout as he keeps running.

This kid, I swear.

When he suddenly stops and stands still, I take that as my chance to get him. I run faster to get to him when I see a hand strike him in the face.

What on earth?

I run faster and see a raging father when I get to him.

"What's going on?" I ask and move to Henrik trying to put him behind me.

Mikael grabs Henriks arm and drags him back out, Henriks crying out by his grip.

I gasp and stand there, what's going on?

"'What's going on?' What's going on boy, is none of your concern. Now go." He growls at me.

"Nik, please help-ah!" Henrik is cut off by my father slapping him once again.

Henrik fell to his knees, the only thing holding him up is my father's grip on his arm.

"I-I am not going until you tell me what warranted such a punishment as this. Henrik is a good boy, if you just let him explain whatever happened-" I stuttered out.

I shake with fear and anger. What will he do to Henrik? He's too young for such a punishment.

"You think you can tell me what to do boy?! I tell you go, you go! What he has done matters not! I will do as I see fit, reason or no!" Mikael screamed in my face.

I could see his grip on Henrik turning purple and I can hear Henrik crying. But I keep my eyes on father. Who knows what he will do? He can snap any second, I can't leave Henrik here with him.

I take a shaky breath and look to Henrik.

"I-I apologize father, you know better than I. Of course, I know that but-"

"You most certainly do not if you are still here questioning my actions!"

I squeeze my fists tight and just know that I cannot leave Henrik here. I will not subject him to the horrors of pain that has been inflicted on me. The days of not being able to get up from the pain. Being forced to do the chores and act normal while fighting through unmatched agony. Ailments that no witch could cure, matters of the mind they said.

Henrik is a child.

Making a split-second decision, I grab Henrik and pull him to me as hard as I can to break father's hold.

And start running.

Henrik stumbles at first before getting steady and running as fast as he could.

"Niklaus! Do you wish me to relieve you of your head?!"

I hear father behind me but keep running. Twisting and turning to make it harder to follow our path.

We jumped over branches, rocks, and streams. Running and running until we couldn't no longer.

After a while we stopped and hid down behind some bushes.

"Nik, w-what's wrong with father? I-I'm scared. What's going on?" Henrik asks while he pants, and gasps for air.

Matching his breathing, I catch my breath before responding, "I do not know brother, father is probably just upset right now. He does not mean what he says." I try to reassure him.

I don't want him to know what father is truly like. He does not need that fantasy to be over.

"NIKLAUS! HENRIK!" Father yells a few feet away from us.

I flinch from the sudden voice and grab Henrik to stay still. I made a motion with my hand to stay down. I tried to move us away, but the bush rustled as we moved. I knew before he even descended on us that it was too late.

I felt a hand wrap around my neck and drag me up, I stumbled to steady myself until I was knocked down by my father's fist in my face.

I grunted as I landed on my arse. Pain exploding in my face.

"NIK!" Henrik shouts before running to get to me.

"No, Henrik!" I yelled.

Before he got to me, father grabbed him and threw him to ground. Crouching down over him before punching him in the stomach.

"You think you can listen to that abomination?! That he knows better than your father?!"

"Father no!" I cry out as father pummels his fists into Henriks face.

Henrik starts crying and trying to block his face with his arms, but it does nothing.

I run over and pull my father's arm to stop the hits. He grunts and throws his elbow back into my face.

I groan as I feel the blood flows from my nose.

"Nik..." Henrik tries to say as blood bubbles from his lips. I tear up at the sight of him. His eye swollen shut, blood flowing from his nose, mouth, cuts from father's rings.

My father stands from Henrik and looks at me. Rage on his face, insanity clear in his eyes.

"You, this is all your fault. You disgrace of a child. You just had to involve him in your antics, in your charades." He storms over to me and lands hit after hit. "YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!"

It's okay. Take it, take it as you always do. For Henrik, to make sure he is alright.

I grunt and try to keep silent from his hits and kicks and whacks. My noise always makes him angrier.

I'm breathing heavy by the time he is done. I'm on the ground with him on top of me. I-I don't think I can move.

I pant and turn my head to look at Henrik who had sat up. I look at his face and see the tears, mixing with blood, he's crying. The pit in my stomach got heavier.

"You can't even take this much boy?! Weak! Like always, so weak, so pathetic."

The hits and insults kept coming until I was on the brink of passing out. My breaths more like wheezing.

I lay on the ground lifelessly, just trying to keep myself awake. I look around, trying to find Henrik. I look up to father and my heart stops. Henrik behind my father, a log high in the air before he swings it down on Mikaels head.

"Get away from him! Stop it!" He wails.

Henrik. No, no, no.

I choke on the blood in my mouth and try to shout at him to run.

But I can't.

I can't move. I can't talk. I can barely twitch my fingers as they try to reach out to him.

I watch as my father's face drops, before he turns around and grabs Henrik. He throws him at a tree so hard I heard a snap on impact.

I freeze as I watch Henriks body lifeless. Just lying on the ground next to the tree, eyes forever open, staring at me unseeing.

"...No.." I croak.

Tears burn behind my eyes, and I let them fall.

I feel my heart break into every possible piece. I watch my brother; my baby brother fades to a pale grey.

Oh, my gods.

He's dead. He's dead.

A sob breaks through me. My wrecked body shaking from pain as I sit up on my arm and try to crawl to him.

"Henrik... no... no" I whisper.

Blood and tears mix together as they drip down my face.

Pain radiates through my whole body, as I try to go to him. I crawl only a few inches before I get dizzy and out of breath.

"Henrik..." I cough and wheeze. My eyes squeeze shut, the tears forever flowing.

My heart body and soul, it hurts, it hurts so much. Why did he do this? He's just a boy. My heart feels like it's being ripped out of my chest. It physically hurts.

I moan and in agony, and in grief.

"Stop your wailing boy." Mikael grits as he stares at Henrik.

He walks and crouches down in front of me.

"You will never speak of this. No one will ever know of what happened here tonight. Do you understand me boy?"

I stare at him. My eyes seeing right through him. A weight covers me, and I feel nothing. Numb, and unfeeling.

I move my eyes from him back to my brother.

"DO you understand me boy?!" He screams in my face, spittle flying at me.

I ignore him and his words and just focus on Henrik and getting to him. I grunt as I crawl inch after inch, passing Mikael as I go.

"What do you think you're doing?"

It feels like it took hours, but I finally got to him, ignoring the yells and screams.

I caress his face with my fingers. My tears coming and going. The numb feeling fading as I stare at him.

I grunt and lose breath as I sit up and lay his head in my lap.

I run my fingers through his hair and just watch him. Hoping for a breath to make his chest rise. Hoping for his eyelids to flutter. Hoping for something, anything.

But... nothing.

I sob and look up to the night sky.

Why?

"NIKLAUS!"

I take a shaky breath and look at him with dead eyes. He's why.

"You will tell no one. Do you understand? If you ever think of speaking a word of this, I will do the same to everyone you hold dear. Rebekah, Kol, Elijah, Finn. I do not care. I will do what I have to. Do not underestimate me Niklaus." He calmly spoke as he talked to me.

I looked away from him and watched Henrik's face.

This will never happen again. I will not lose anyone else.

...

"And it didn't. I made sure of it. I did not lose another sibling." I said as I hold Elliots crying face in my hands.

"After that, he made up the werewolf story and I... I went along with it. I know you may think less of me for not telling anyone... I certainly do. But he was serious about his threat. I knew it then and I know it now. He was prepared to do anything to keep a good reputation. He was known to be a strong warrior, and he couldn't have people thinking of him as anything less." I sigh as I remember one of the worst days of my life.

"Of course I don't think less of you. You-you are so strong Nikki; you have no idea. I-I'm so sorry that happened to you, about what happened to Henrik." Elliot says softly. A tear falling down his face.

Elliot, a human/witch/reincarnated person, he has so much love, so many feelings and emotions. He even cries for the pain of me of all people.

"Nik," he sniffles "do they know? About Henrik?"

"No, they don't. At first it was because father told me not to, then, after we turned I just... didn't have the heart to. And after a few centuries... I forgot. Does that make me horrid? I-I would never forget him on purpose, it's just that a thousand years-"

"-Is a long time. You aren't 'horrid', you're not a bad person or brother. You have lived longer than anyone could have thought. You are basically a living relic."

I huff and look at him unamused.

He giggles and takes my hand off his face and holds it to his chest.

"You're allowed to move on." He says as he looks into my eyes.

I watch as he kisses my hand and feel the weight lessen a bit.

"Can we show them that memory Nik?" He asks hesitantly.

I know he means well, but this is a lot. It's not just the memories of Henrik. There are also memories of me taking beatings for Kol, or my getting burns from an iron for Rebekah. They do not know the pain I have endured for them, and I do not know if I want them to.

Elliot must see it on my face, because he sighs and looks at me with a small smile.

"We don't have to. It's okay."

I know I am so lucky to have found him... or have had him find me. I know that I have him and I'll never need anyone else. I would do anything for him. Including this.

"You may share the memories love. I... I trust you implicitly. I just never wanted them to see me at my weakest."

"You will be showing them you at your strongest! What you did for your sibling will forever be brave and courageous to me." He said to me sternly.

I chuckle and nod. I grab him around his waist and pull him to me.

"Thank you lovely. Do your little curse then witch."

I lean down and kiss him. He kisses me back and latches his arms around my neck.

Oh, how I love this man. The things he did and does for me. The way he constantly is on my side, how he is my partner in crime. He is amazing. The one man I love more than anything.

He truly is the love of my life.

TBC..

2150 words, wow. Well i hope u liked it. xoxo