Always And Forever

The cold winter brought with it a different kind of desperation among people, as it also signified the scarcity of food.

In this era, man hadn't invented any reliable food storage techniques, nor had any knowledge about efficient farming techniques, so they had to struggle even harder to survive this weather.

They had not many options, so most made the easiest choice, and became raiders, which caused battles to happen much more frequently during this cruel season.

Currently, this was afternoon, but in this winter, the sun was obscured by dense dark clouds and rarely ever shined.

On the plains near the forest somewhere in Virginia.

One such battle was going on.

"Swoo!", sound of an arrow traveling through the air.

"Ha!Aghu!", the arrow pierced a man's throat, and he fell and died, choking on his own blood.

His opponent's life was saved since he was just about to be beheaded by that man.

So he got up, and found an another opponent to fight.

"Swosh! Twolk!" a spear was thrown at a man from behind, but his companion deflected it with his own spear and started to charge at the culprit.

"Cleng! Cleng! Slishh! Bang! Ha!gguh!", a man deflected two sword strikes from his opponent, then he slid his own sword again his, and hit him on the cheek with the backside of his glunet, then pierced his sword in his opponent's gut as he became disoriented.

Such scenes were playing out everywhere on the battlefield. Both sides seemed evenly matched.

This was until she appeared.

A young, blonde girl was running towards the battlefield from the direction of the forest.

The men fighting near the forest sighted her first.

She carried a large roman battle-axe while running, which made them wonder how she was able to carry that thing around, and still be able to run at the same time.

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They didn't have much time to wonder on this battlefield, but judging by the way she carried herself, that axe was probably her weapon of choice, and not simply because it was something easily available.

Witches were not persecuted in these lands like in Europe, but lived together in peace. These men fighting on this battlefield belonged to two large settlements and they had witches as their allies. So they had great knowledge about the world.

Mostly only Romans or Viking wielded an axe like that, and because the Romans wouldn't let their women fight, this girl was probably a Viking.

As she reached the battlefield, "Haa!Bang!", "Bang!", with a battlecry, the girl first cut off the head of one of the men fighting on the periphery, then easily kicked his fully armoured opponent away.

"HAAH!SwooSwooSwoo!Bang!", then took out a small throwing axe and threw it at an approaching enemy with a loud battlecry.

It travelled through the air and struck him right in the chest as he was pushed back due to the sheer force behind her throw, and fell to the ground, dead.

"Yeaa!Bang!", then with an another battlecry, she finished off the fully armoured opponent that she kicked before, and continued to advance forward.

It takes time to describe it, but all the actions took place in a matter of seconds.

The girl started slaughtering men left and right, and only left a few alive in her wake.

With the participation of this blonde girl, the whole battlefield suddenly become chaotic.

Many veterans joined forces and tried to quickly slay this menace, but the girl remained undefeated till the end.

About an hour later, the battle was finally over.

Blood stained the ground as body parts were scattered across the battlefield, or in this case, a slaughter-field.

Her clothes were all bloodied as she stood in the middle of bodies of fallen men.

She turned her head to look in the direction of the forest.

A purple eyed man came out and walked towards the blonde girl. He was carrying a giant sword on his back.

"I saw you cheating. You used vamp-speed. Many times!", the man spoke in cold voice, with an accusing tone.

"Oh c'mon! I had no choice. I was about to get a nasty cutt on my cheek. It would leave a scar.", the girl replied, trying to justify her actions.

"Sigh! No you would NOT. You can heal now. Not to mention, you have maximum possible Omega effect. Their weapons wouldn't even be able to pierce through your skin.", the man replied in a fed-up tone.

"That's it! You haven't mastered your abilities yet. More practice for you!", he continued in a tone that emanated confidence.

"YES! ABILITIES! Like vamp-speed! I'm trying to learn my abilities, not un-learn them. So explain to me again, WHY CAN I NOT USE THEM!?", the girl asked with anger apparent in her undertone.

"Because using your abilities are already your instincts. If you can consciously choose when to use them, and when not to use them, and how much of them to use, then you have finally mastered your abilities to an acceptable degree.", the man replied calmly.

"And a battlefield is a perfect place to practice that, because when you fight, you're not conscious of all your actions. Instincts often take over. Like I'm sure you didn't actually mean to use vamp-speed, but instincts just took over. This happens to every warrior.", he continued.

This man was Kol, and this girl was Astrid.

Astrid was the only child of her parents, as her mother died during childbirth, and father never remarried.

So her father taught her how to fight.

At first, Astrid wanted to become a shield maiden, until her father fell in battle and she was adopted by her aunt and uncle.

All her dreams were crushed then and there, because in this era, even if some women were good warriors, they were looked down upon and needed the approval of their families to participate in wars.

This was Viking tradition.

"Alright! Let's gather together all the living ones and get this over with. We need to go back soon to say our goodbyes.", Kol spoke as he looked around the battlefield.

"Goodbyes? We won't be staying with them? Then why do we even need to go back? Haven't we already said our goodbyes? Or is it to drop off Henrik? Didn't you say he would be staying with us?", Astrid asked in a perplexed tone.

"I guess we don't need to. But I just have this really wierd feeling that something bad might have happened. It wouldn't hurt to go back to check up on them.", Kol replied casually.

Kol never completely trusted the plot he knew from the TV show.

So in one of the caves in the cave-network underneath their village, Kol built an alter that would automatically collect the souls of his siblings if they died prematurely.

Before leaving their village, Kol and Astrid collected Henrik's soul from the alter, and made an excuse that they were leaving to resurrect Henrik, and left their village.

Not long after, they started training to learn about their new abilities, and to hone them.

In order for someone to become an original vampire, one must first die with doppelgänger's blood in their system, and then complete the transition by drinking human blood after waking up.

Of course, this doppelgänger's blood must also contain a special variation of immortality spell.

For regular vampires, instead of doppelgänger's blood, they must first die with vampire blood still in their system, and then complete the transition by consuming human blood after waking up.

Kol learned that he could also create vampires in the same way by using his own blood. But it had several drawbacks, so he chose to just let Astrid and Henrik create them instead.

Besides practicing their abilities, this was also one of the reasons why the couple came to this battlefield.

The men fighting here belonged to two large settlements, so by turning some of them into vampires, and then conquering their settlements with their help, Kol and Astrid could have the population of two large settlements as their subjects.

Which although came with many responsibilities, but it would surely make their lives a lot easier, and much more luxurious.

So they found thirty men who could fight well, turned them into vampires, and then left the place along with their newly created followers.

______________________________________________________

.

Kol didn't want to participate in the events that followed after all his siblings became vampires, so under the guise of resurrecting Henrik, he and Astrid left the village.

Ofcourse, before leaving he didn't forget to collect enough blood from all his siblings, from Mikael, and from the female doppelgänger, Tatia.

He collected the blood of Nicklaus more than anyone, as his werewolf side wasn't suppressed yet, and Tatia, who if the plot of TV show was any indication, was going to die soon.

Not long after Kol left, the Mikaelson family members started to discover about the common weaknesses of vampires.

These weaknesses remained even for original vampires, even if they were not as affected as much as the regular vampires.

The white oak tree that gave them immortality, could also take it away. So they burned it to the ground.

The flowers at the base of the white oak tree, vervain, could prevent compulsion.

And they couldn't walk outside during the day because the sunlight burnt their skin. So Esther created daylight rings for her children that protected them against the sun.

Everything seemed to be going well and as planned, but it all changed when Nicklaus accidentally killed someone for the first time.

Mikaelson family finally leaned what he truly was. Nicklaus activated his werewolf curse and transformed into a werewolf during the full moon.

Mikael was infuriated by this discovery. He tried to force Esther to cast a spell that would suppress Nicklaus's werewolf side.

But of course, no 'force' was necessary here. Esther, who had not long ago casted the spell to turn her children into vampires, had somehow suddenly awakened a conscience.

She not only willingly suppressed Nicklaus's werewolf side while declaring him an abomination, but also prepared to kill the rest of her children in secret.

However, this was not her suddenly awakening a conscience or anything of that sort, but the result of a warning she received from the spirits.

They promised her never-ending agony and torture after her death if she didn't correct her mistakes, and Esther being as selfish and hypocritical as she was, chose herself over her family like always.

But she wasn't carefully enough. Nicklaus eventually discovered the real reason why he was shunned. And in his rage, he killed her.

Then ashamed by what he had done, he pushed all the blame onto Mikael, who had already left to slaughter the werewolves who had not only killed his son, but taken the love of his beloved wife from him.

Currently, this was evening.

The Mikaelson siblings were burying the body of their dead mother.

Nicklaus was closing the grave with a shovel as Rebekah stood nearby.

"I know you think she hated you Nick, but she did not. She was just afraid.", Rebekah spoke while still crying.

Nicklaus just looked down at the grave. Esther being afraid of Mikael? Nonsense! If only he could tell her the truth, his naive little sister could realise how wrong she was.

"I am sorry she turned her back on you. I would never do that.", Rebekah continued as she turned her head to face Nicklaus.

"Nor will I.", Elijah spoke as he came forward to join them.

"Or I.", then Kol walked forward.

He and Astrid had arrived not long ago, and were also standing there with the rest of the Mikaelson siblings.

"I follow my husband.", Astrid followed after Kol.

Rebekah looked at everyone present. Only Henrik and Finn weren't here.

Then she continued, "We stick together as one. Always and forever.". Then she held Nicklaus's and Elijah's hands as they were standing closest to her.

Nicklaus then offered his hand to Kol as Elijah offered his to Astrid.

But Kol spoke hesitatingly, "I.. I will not make a promise I cannot keep. So instead of sticking together, I promise to always look after and protect our family from any and all possible harm. Always and forever. Even if I'm not there.", he spoke as he looked at each one of his siblings.

Of course, the others didn't take it well. The sentimental mood from moments ago was ruined as Elijah first protested, "In that case, I highly doubt you will ever make any promise if you don't even try to keep them, brother.".

"Yes. And how will you even protect us by not being there? Not that we even need your protection." Rebekah continued in a tone that showed how much she felt betrayed.

Nicklaus was just waiting for Kol to explain himself. He was feeling guilty at the moment and didn't feel like arguing.

"You know Rebekah. There is one more weakness of being a vampire that I'm sure you haven't realised yet.", Kol explained himself calmly as he looked at Rebekah with annoyance clearly visible in his eyes.

"When you become a vampire, all your emotions are heightened as well. Now, I am sure that Nicklaus and Elijah can make a sound and rational decision despite that, but CAN YOU?", he continued.

"How dare you..", Rebekah suddenly because angry, and tried to argue.

But was interrupted, "THIS. Like this sudden flare-up. Are you sure that this vow of 'always and forever' isn't one of your whims? Perhaps driven by loss and sadness? Because unlike you, little sister, my word is my bond. So I don't give them away arbitrary.", Kol spoke seriously.

With what Kol said, Nicklaus was Elijah also started to doubt Rebekah's words a little.

Then Kol continued, "As for why you need my protection? Don't forget what created us in the first place. A spell from a witch. And no spell is without weakness. The world outside is a dangerous place. I assure you that there are more than a few ways to harm our family, so don't be conceited by what little strength you feel.".

"Kol, brother, if you wish to abandon your siblings, then simply leave. But we donot need this lecture. Not at this time.", Nicklaus spoke in a sad and disappointed tone.

"Oh I didn't say I'm leaving you brother. I just have business elsewhere, and when it's done, I will once again join all of you. But before that, as a token of my promise, I want everyone to have these.", Kol replied as he took out several necklaces from his pockets.

"What are these?", Elijah asked.

"A failsafe of sort. Even if you don't believe me, I want everyone to wear these necklaces at all times. After my business is over with, I can sense your location through these, and come find you.", Kol replied.

"And what business could possibly be so important?", Rebekah asked.

"Kol explain to us, why can't we join you on this, whatever business you have? Or wherever?", Elijah followed with another question.

"Father will return soon. And if I'm not mistaken, judging by the fact that he considers Nicklaus as his greatest shame, he would try to slay him in his rage. And I highly doubt he can be reasoned with, not even by me. You all know what's he like when he's like that.", Kol explained.

Then he continued, "I am wondering, that perhaps in the future, after all this chasing, and all these grievences, our family will need a place to call home. I simply wish to build that place when you are all occupied.".

"I see. But Kol, I am sure that we can build this place together as a family, so why the need to go alone?", Elijah asked.

"No we cannot Elijah. It would take time to build, and would attract father's attention. I am sure he would seek to destroy any chance of happiness we might find.", Kol explained.

Then he continued, "Plus it's not safe for all of us to go. If I am the only one missing, he would just assume that I chose NOT to join you, and perhaps even try to recruit me in his meaningless crusade, only to fail as I am, after all, stronger than him.".

"Kol, I can understand where you are coming from, but even if you do succeed, even if you build a place that we can call home, our father will simply find us there when we come back, and destroy everything then.", Elijah argued.

Then he continued, "Not to mention, if you are stronger than him, then perhaps we donot need to run at all. We can simply stay here with you, where he cannot harm us.".

"Because Elijah, he is MY father too. I am not going to fight him simply because I am stronger than him. Especially when he's like that.", Kol replied.

Then he continued, "Plus this tantrum of his can't go on forever. It has to one day end. And that day, my brothers, we will need a home.".

"Talks about a home and future promises aside, Kol, about this necklace, it doesn't only allow you to track our location, does it? Because if so, then why call it a 'failsafe'?", at this point, Nicklaus interrupted their argument.

"Yes. You can consider them as our last line of defence against our enemies. If one day, say, one of you happen to die as a result of some leftover white oak stake, or a very angry coven of witches, this magical little necklace would transfer your soul to a safe place, which would then allow me to resurrect you, and bring you back to the world of living once again.", Kol replied proudly.

These necklaces worked alongside the magic formations that Kol had drawn inside the cave networks underneath the village of Mystic Falls.

As long as the soul of a dead Mikaelson family member was transferred to the magic formations, Kol would automatically be notified, and would come back to resurrect his siblings. To bring them back to life once again, like he did with Henrik.

Speaking of Henrik, Kol and Astrid had already conquered the two settlements and combined them into one.

Kol then decided to leave Henrik behind to watch over the progress of a few projects that he had asked his people to complete.

Not to mention, he knew that if he brought Henrik, he would have no excuse to keep him with himself and would have to let him join the rest of the Mikaelson family siblings.

Kol had personally turned Henrik into a vampire, like he did with Astrid, so he couldn't just let him go. Plus he had plans to use the boy to make more vampires.