[29]

"Who told you?" I ask softly, my voice cracking as I return Bekah's hug finding a now very absent sense of comfort, as Gar pads his way into the hold of the ship dragging struggling prey.

"Goodsister, she visited me in my dreams on the back of a winged horse…she wore the most beautiful silver armor…" Bekah whispers almost reverently.

'Was it just a dream…I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable with her being in service to Ken, the knock off bargain bin Zeus from Walmart or the knock off bargain bin Odin from Target…' I mutter in my mind even as I picture Lagertha as an avenging Valkyrie.

"Never mind that." I say while pushing down my feelings as Bekah looks up at me from my chest, her watery blue eyes, causing me to experience a flashback to that day.

"Tell me why Nik tried to stab me in the heart with a dagger and why the lot of you were daggered." I demand as I push back my grief and concentrate on Nik.

"Af-after…you turned Katerina and helped her escape and sent me away Nik…started to become paranoid…he stopped trusting any of us only Elijah could still get through to him but even then…his paranoia would turn him against Elijah…as well." Bekah replies back to me tentatively as she rubs my chest with her hands and snuggles her body closer to mine.

'So it's…my fault…great…' I mutter in my mind and look over at a slowly recovering Niklaus, 'I think I should stick around and talk some common sense into Nik…if that doesn't work take a page out of father's parenting book and beat him into submission…' I mutter in my mind darkly.

"Why don't the lot of you go find something to eat…Nik and I need to have a long chat." I groan and Bekah reluctantly separates from me.

"Brother!" Kol expresses happily as he hugs me as I stand up, "I'm so glad you're here Nik has been insufferable…since the last time we saw you." Kol continues and then leaves the ship as quickly as he can.

"Finn, you look…unwell." I say in greeting as Finn looks like he's got a few screws loose in his noggin.

"I've been trapped in darkness, and unimaginable pain for two hundred years, brother of course I look unwell." Finn replies to me with a bit of snark and I chuckle softly.

"My apologies Finn…I didn't know…" I apologize to Finn who flinches in surprise at my honest heartfelt apology…as he looks at me hard then looks around the ship, his eyebrows furrowing as he does so.

"I accept your apologies brother…if you don't mind I'm going to leave before that monster awakens." Finn says to me as he blurs away Bekah reluctantly leaves as well leaving a slow to rise Elijah, a recovering Niklaus and myself alone in the hold of the ship.

"Where is Henrik?" I wonder aloud as Elijah sits up and groans. 

"He stayed behind in Asia…with a clan of Ninja that recognizes you as one of their elders…" Elijah informs me and I shrug feeling relieved to know that the little runt is safe. 

'Neat.' I mutter in my mind as I nod to Elijah in acknowledgement. 

"Why don't you return to our hometown brother…you'll enter a ward near the caves…it's where Tatia is along with my school and haven for witches, young vampire children and werewolf kids." I say to Elijah calmly while Elijah jumps up and rounds on me.

"Tatia is alive…I thought she was dead…" Elijah exclaims his regal…noble persona completely gone revealing the boy underneath. 

'She would have been dead after you raped and killed her…if I hadn't been taking care of her needs as a woman before that.' I chuckle darkly in my mind as I wave Elijah off who looks considerably torn between Nik and Tatia. 

"Go Elijah…Niklaus and I need to have a long overdue conversation about daggering our siblings and storing them in boxes." I command Elijah and force him out of the hold of the ship with a wave of telekinetic force, and put up a barrier that would keep Elijah from re-entering the ship. 

Smirking as Klaus sits up grunting in pain as he glares at me, "You betrayed me!" Klaus snarls and Gar looks at him huffs and looks away. 

"Niklaus…I have been the only one to always be on your side…I may have prolonged your time under your curse…but if not for me you wouldn't even have the moonstone to complete the ritual in the first place." I reply to Nik as I pull the white oak stake from my inner pocket and gently slap it against my open palm.

I hear Nik gulp and chuckle.

"So you know what this is…good…Nik…do you understand how much I love my family…how much I love you?" I ask and then shake my head no, "No, no you don't…you know not too long ago…one of my subordinates came to me and told me that Lagertha." I choke on Lagertha's name, before continuing.

"Wasn't in her right mind…and was speaking of taking her own…life." I say softly and notice Klaus flinch and look down, before looking back up at me and glaring angrily while opening his mouth. "Don't speak yet Nik…I'm not done talking, instead of allowing my wife, my best friend…to continue to wither, die and suffer inside…I granted her a final glorious battle…I had hoped we could die in battle against one another I pressed this stake into her hand, before the battle…I was ready to die." I continue speaking and notice Klaus's eyes widen in shock. 

"You see…I love…the lot of you so much I made just enough of these to kill us if we ever grew sick of this life…a secret I even kept from Lagertha when Father and I burnt down that tree…" I keep taking as the image of Lagertha's keeps playing over and over again in my mind, as I motion to the stake in my hand. 

"If you truly hate me Nik…then come take this stake from me and plunge it into my heart." I whisper softly as Nik looks afraid like father had just become enraged with him.