Promise Me, Always And Forever

Pawn

TW: child abuse in this chapter

~Nik~

Downstairs is cold and musty, particles of dust drifting through the air.

She follows behind Rebekah and Hayley, looking around the basement with wide eyes. She fears what could be down here- fears what Klaus could have conjured up meant for torture and pain. Part of her hopes that her uncle is in one of these rooms as Klaus would never let her down here, keeping her upstairs and away from the basement.

"Dad would never let me down here. I expected a torture chamber," Nik says aloud, scared of what she might see.

Rebekah snorts inelegantly. "I would not doubt it. Your father gets his jollies by causing torment in some shape or form."

Nik watches as they walk, but Hayley stops as something catches her eye. Her eyes gaze into the room with some sort of silent horror and Nik begins to worry, rushing to her side to look as well. In the room are four coffins, polished to a shine and propped open as if a warning to never cross Niklaus Mikaelson.

Hayley looks to Rebekah with concerned eyes. "Do you think that Klaus killed him?" The three girls step into the room, looking at the four coffins with emotions ranging from disdain to utter horror.

"Originals can't be killed," Nik says. She steps forwards, running a hand over the coffin belonging to her Uncle Kol. "Klaus...he kept my uncles and Aunt Bex in coffins whenever they would draw his ire. I was there last year when Dad pulled the daggers from their chests. I was never told why he would ever keep them there. Aunt Bex doesn't like talking about it."

"He gets off on torturing us one way or another," Rebekah muses.

Hayley stares at them incredulously. "He keeps your coffin on standby?"

Rebekah shrugs. "He keeps them close by whenever someone inevitably disappoints him. And judging by what I see here, Elijah's isn't here. He stashed him somewhere else." She says this as though this is routine- a normal occurrence.

Nik frowns. "There are four, Aunt Bex." That's when it hits her- a white coffin, completely brand new. The edges are decorated in gold with accents of delicate flowers. She edges towards the coffin, her expression fearful as she studies the thing. There isn't a smudge on it. The wood is well polished and it shines. With a careful hand, she brings the lid down and gazes at the top. It is plain besides a simple gold plate that reads the name "Nikol."

Anger and disbelief courses through her. Nik shoves the coffin away, trembling as she watches it fall to the cement floor with a loud thud, the hinges breaking and the lid separating with a loud bang. "He made me a coffin!" Her voice is a growl and she feels tears well in her eyes. Everything was going well. She and Klaus actually had a relationship- an understanding. She did everything he said and never strayed from him. She never said anything about Elijah to Hayley and never questioned what was done with him.

She thought her father loved her more than this.

"Nikol; Nikol!" Arms come around her, pulling her out of her anguish and anger. She flinches away from the person, whirling around to see Hayley looking down at her. "Nik, it's okay."

"But it isn't! He has a coffin for me, and I know I will disappoint him. I've done everything he has asked and he still has one ready for the day I mess up..." Nik feels her eyes begin to water and her breathing hitches. "I'm good...I've kept his secrets. I've thoughtlessly followed his every rule and command and have allowed him to groom me into what he wants so I'd be good enough!" Her scream echoes off the walls and Nik feels herself slipping into a rage, and every primal instinct inside her is screaming for her to run. To protect herself.