The Kingdom

Time passed quickly. Over a hundred years had passed and it was already 1110 A.D.

These years had been quite eventful and exciting for Kol.

After leaving Mystic Falls, he and Astrid made their way to the settlements they had conquered.

Before his departure, he had tasked them to cut down trees to build wooden wagons.

Upon their arrival, they discovered that those people had managed to cut down many trees, but had no idea how to use that timber to build the wagons.

And that was as much as Kol expected from them anyway, so he wasn't disappointed.

The most important thing was loyalty. Skills could be taught and knowledge could be shared. Kol understood that human beings were a resource, he just needed to manage them well.

And as precious resources, Kol took it as investing into the future.

So he spent six months teaching them how to build wagons from timber, and then they spent two more months to build the number of wooden wagons that he wanted.

In these times, strength was respected above all else, so a little show of force was all it took to gain their loyalty.

After that, Kol enchanted all the wagons to make them able to move on their own without any livestock needed to pull them forward.

That took another month.

After that, Kol along with all his subjects started traveling north.

It took them three months to find the land that would later become known as Long Island, where they finally chose to settle down.

Along the way, Kol came across many settlements, both large and small.

Including many werewolf villages and covens of witches, but it didn't matter how many there were, or the spells they knew, all were conquered and became Kol's subjects.

Now a large population was following him, so it didn't take long for them to settle down in this new land, and turn it into a real Kingdom.

With Kol's future knowledge and magic, it wasn't hard to improve the standard of living.

With reliable storage techniques, efficient farming methods and fishing nets that provided plenty of food, the large population was all kept well-fed and happy.

As human beings, vampires, werewolves, and witches, all existed in this Kingdom, Kol struggled to maintain order between different races in the beginning.

The werewolves hated vampires. The vampires hated the werewolves and didn't trust the witches. The witches hated the vampires. And human beings hated vampires, witches, werewolves, and even each other.

Kol couldn't simply let this go on, so he chose to approach this problem from a fundamental level.

First of all, he asked himself, did they not fear him enough? Did they not care for his impending wrath to so presumptuously break his rules repeatedly?

Kol knew that was not the case. They feared him as much as they should a king. Any more and this would be a dictatorship rather than a peaceful kingdom. He wanted to rule his subjects, and not terrify them into following his every rule.

So what was the reason why they couldn't let go of their superstitions, pre-set conventions, and stubborn believes that were a result of their very backward mentality?

The answer was obvious. It was loyalty. His subjects were not loyal enough to him. They may or may not approve of him, but they didn't love him enough as their king to change their ways so easily.

So Kol chose to introduce a point system in his Kingdom.

These points were his seal of approval that his subjects could only earn through contribution.

These points could buy them things that gold or silver could not. The things that they most desired. Things much more important and significant than any pre-set convention they might had.

The werewolves were cursed by the moon. Every full moon, they were forced to go through unimaginable pain for hours to transform into their wolf forms.

Their pain was so great that every single bone in their bodies would break and rearrange themselves many times over before they could finally complete the transformation.

So Kol took a page from his mother's handbook and created moonlight rings, the same way she created daylight rings for his siblings.

These rings allowed the werewolves to control their own transformation consciously. They could choose to transform any time they wanted, and could also choose not to transform during full moon.

But the werewolves couldn't simply buy these rings with money. They had to pay in points.

And having the enough points meant that they were loyal enough to him to had earned his trust.

On the other hand, what witches most desired was knowledge. No matter what kind of witch it was or what coven they belonged to, they all desired knowledge above all else.

So Kol not only shared some of his own knowledge, but created a library that functioned on point system.

This library allowed a smooth and efficient exchange of information between the witches.

Next were vampires.

For some reason, only the vampires personally turned by Kol possessed Omega effect. In this case, Astrid and Henrik.

The other vampires of his sireline were only just day-walkers that could procreate. They could also be killed by removing their hearts or removing their heads, much like normal Hybrids that his brother Nicklaus could create.

But the vampires from Kol's sireline were all very much loyal to their sires, be it Astrid or Henrik, so he had nothing to worry about in that department.

On the other hand, the vampires that Kol turned using his siblings's blood were the real problem.

So Kol used the same way he used to control werewolves and witches, to control these nightwalkers.

They couldn't walk in the sun, so Kol created daylight rings, like his mother did, and made them available for enough points.

With werewolves, vampires and witches in his pocket, it didn't take long for him to put the human beings in their place.

In fact, they were the easiest.

The human beings only feared the other races. They feared what they could not understand. So with the other races now following all his rules, Kol easily shifted the public opinion in his favour.

A new belief started to spread among the population. That as long as you loved your king, no one could harm you. No one could break the law.

And so with this new-found peace and harmony, the Kingdom prospered, the technology advanced, the magic progressed, the people thrived, and the life started to flourish as a whole.

______________________________________________________

.

On the patio of an ancient looking castle, a naked man and woman were sleeping on a spacious circular bed.

They were both completely naked inside the bedsheet that wrapped their collective bodies.

The man was laying straight on his back and hugging the woman with one hand, while the woman was sticking to his body from the side like a Koala bear, as her head was resting on his chest, sleeping peacefully.

As the first rays of sunlight shined on their position, they both squinted their eyes, but soon relaxed moments later.

But as time passed, the sun became clearer as it eventually rose from the horizon, and soon it was morning.

"Hmm. Kol. It's time. Get up.", Astrid spoke lazily.

"Hmm.", he made a sound in reply but continued to sleep.

After a while.

"Hey! Kol. It's morning. Time to get up. NOW. We have a schedule to follow today.", Astrid pushed away the blanket, and sat up.

"Hmm. Let me sleep.", Kol replied lazily.

"NO. Not today! Last night, Tess told me about something she did. I tried to tell you, but you were too horney to listen.", Astrid replied.

"Now, now, darling. Don't be too hasty to push away the blame. As I recall, I wasn't the only horney animal in the room last night. You were quite bold yourself.", Kol teased her in light voice.

"But then again, you went to see Tess yesterday, so I suppose, it could be a manifestation of your jealousy and possessiveness.", Kol replied while grinning.

It had been more than a hundred years already. And the relationship between the two was at a stage where they could behave as themselves in front of each other.

They knew that they could do and say anything and everything, and the other person would still love them, just the same way.

But Astrid completely ignored Kol's little attempt to annoy her away, as she spoke. "Tess, with the help of one of her descents had created something called, 'the hunters'. They are tasked to hunt down nightwalkers. And they have some kind of weapon that can potentially kill an original.".

This 'Tess', they were speaking of, was in fact Qetsiyah.

In Viking tradition, men could have a second, or even a third wife.

But for the second wife, it was necessary for the first wife to agree first, and for the third wife, both first and second wives had to agree.

This was why most Viking men only had one wife. These conditions were severe, and could even be brutal depending on the situation.

But Kol was never the one to give up so easily. From the beginning, he never hid anything from either Astrid or Qetsiyah, and made his intentions quite clear.

Ofcourse, at first he simply wanted to help Qetsiyah start a new life, but as he visited her more and more often, his intentions towards her changed, and his feelings became somewhat romantic.

When he told Astrid about it, like a good honest husband he was, they had a major fight, as could be expected.

But as the saying goes, time heals all wounds.

Plus with his relentless efforts, Astrid agreed to meet and judge Qetsiyah on her own terms.

So he introduced the two.

Their first meeting wasn't as amicable, but as time passed, they learnt to become more agreeable with each other. And now the two were even friends.

But Astrid still wasn't ready to welcome Qetsiyah in their family, which was the reason Qetsiyah was still stuck in 'the other side' even after a century.

This was something that Kol believed could only change with time.

Kol opened his eyes as he asked in a somewhat alert tone, "Did she say why?".

"Hmm. She said that this was what she needed all along. A closure! Apparently, the ultimate mission of these 'hunters' is to kill Silas. The weapons they have to kill the originals came from that descendant of her's who helped her create them.", Astrid replied.

"Then why didn't she just ask me to kill him? Or you for that matter?", Kol relaxed once again and asked.

"Because SHE needs a closure. Kol, I swear you are such an idiot sometimes. That is something she needs to do on her own.", Astrid replied back in a fed-up tone.

"Sigh! Sure I've heard of women burning pictures of their EXs and flushing down the toilet, but trapping them in a coffin for over a thousand years, and then creating an entirely new supernatural species for the sole purpose of killing them? This is a first.", Kol spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"What's wrong with killing the one who betrayed her?", Astrid asked in a accusing tone. Clearly referring towards something else entirely.

"Sigh! You, viking woman will never understand my predicament. Do remind ME to never anger Qetsiyah from now on. I donot want to end up like the poor Silas.", Kol replied in a defeated tone.

"Oh? I see we're already thinking about future promises now, are we? You're getting rather dreamy and hopeful, Kol. Let me remind you again, I HAVE NOT YET AGREED.", Astrid spoke in a annoyed tone.

"Yet? I see! It's just a matter of time then. In fact, you know what? I think today is my lucky day. You are going agree today.", Kol spoke while looking at Astrid straight in the eyes.

In reply, Astrid just snorted in anger and turned her head aside. She didn't feel like bickering on this subject any longer.

So Kol grabbed her hand and pulled her closer as she fell down on top of him, "What are you doing!!", she protested.

But he just hugged her tightly and turned her around to changed position with her. Making her lay down underneath himself.

"No no no. NO! We cannot!", she tried to protest.

But her held her head in place, and closed her mouth with his own.

In the beginning it was just him teasing her, but as seconds passed, her hands started to tighten around his body, as her fingernails started to dig deeper into his naked back.

That kiss lasted for around five minute. In the end, both were breathing heavily.

"Astrid. I love you.", he spoke as he gazed deeply into her beautiful eyes.

Suddenly, she spoke softly, "I agree.".

"What?", he asked in confusion. That wasn't her usual reply.

"I agee to let Qetsiyah join our family as the second wife.", Astrid explained in an annoyed tone.

At this point, Kol didn't know what to say. He was confused. Surprised by her sudden change in attitude. He couldn't figure out why she would suddenly agree in such a manner after all these years.

He had been trying to convince her for over a century, yet now she suddenly agreed in this perfectly good romantic atmosphere? Was his kiss so bad?

It seemed Astrid had realised his confusion, so she replied, "I didn't agree before because I couldn't watch you with an another. But since I am going to Italy, you need someone here to take care of you. Plus you and I both know, I was going to agree someday eventually anyway. Now is as good as time as any.".

"Wait. Wait. Back up a bit. You are going to Italy? Why? To do what!?", Kol asked. Now he was perplexed.

"Your siblings are all in Italy you oblivious fool. We made a vow. Remember? To always look after family? Always and forever?", Astrid replied sarcastically.

"Now there are a group of 'hunters' out there called 'the brotherhood of five', in possession of a weapon that can POTENTIALLY KILL THEM ALL. I know you're not going to go. You want to rely on your magical necklace, but I believe it's better if their deaths are prevented in the first place. It would save you the trouble of resurrecting them.", she continued as she explained calmly, but with an annoyed undertone.

"You're right. I'm not ready to meet them yet. So you should go instead.", Kol spoke in a tone that showed he was clearly thinking of something else.

In fact, Kol didn't feel like participating in an another Mikaelson family drama so soon. Just a hundred years were not enough rest for his mental health. And going to Italy to meet his siblings would mean exactly that.

______________________________________________________

.

Later that evening, on the rooftop of the castle where Kol and Astrid lived.

Astrid looked at Kol one last time as she slowly rose in the air.

After reaching a reasonable altitude, "BOOMM!!", she flew away with a loud sonic boom.

She accelerated many times along the way.

With the speed she was going, it would only take her a few hours to reach Italy.

______________________________________________________

The definition below, is copied from Google. As you can see, nowhere does it say that cursing the author is also 'constructive criticism'. If you dislike this novel, you can always choose not to read it.

"Constructive criticism is the process of offering valid and well-reasoned opinions about the work of others, usually involving both positive and negative comments, in a friendly manner rather than an oppositional one."

There are hundreds of other novels on this website, so you don't have to convince me to stop writing my novel just because it doesn't agree with your pre-set conventions.

As for reasoning behind the concepts I use in my novel, I have explained every single one in detail, in the previous chapters. If you were too busy writing abusive paragraph comments, than actually reading the story, then that's your problem.

In Chinese novels, more often than not, two people have sex and then their powers are transferred or exchanged between each other like AIDS. Apparently due to some Ying-Yang theory. Yet people seem to be ok with that reasoning.

They only have problems with the scientifically correct reasoning I provide? They find it so hard to accept that they feel the need to convince me to stop writing my novel.