PROLOGUE

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music for this chapter: when it's cold i'd like to die -moby

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music for this chapter:
when it's cold i'd like to die -moby


Once upon a time, Natalia was in love with the idea of love.

There were so many exciting things that she thought came with it. So many stories and tales that she heard from the other village girls and even her own mother. About the day a man would sweep her off her feet and wed her under the large, white oak tree in the center of the village.

He would take her away from this lands to show her the world. He would take her and her siblings, too, far, far away from her horrible father to keep her safe. He would show her the wonders of what it's like to know and be known, body and soul, by another.

More importantly, he would love her as much as she loved him. And by the gods, she had so much love to give to whoever be worthy of her.

The other village boys were scared to go near her, not only because of Mikael's rage being known, but also because her brothers could be a bit protective. More than the others, there was her twin, Niklaus, who held her dear enough to disapprove of anyone who even looked his sister's way. He was the oldest between them by a few minutes, but Natalia swore that he acted as if he were older than Finn and Elijah.

Suitors for her siblings and possible prospects were always coming in going for her older siblings. Namely, wives that were presented for her brothers and very seldom were any men presented for her and Rebekah.

Mikael never approved. He always grew boastful and angry, and kept her siblings under an iron fist. For her and Niklaus, he would simply laugh at whoever dared present themselves for their hand. Like the very idea that anyone could love those two abominations was amusing above all else.

One day, Natalia told herself, one day there would be a greater man who didn't fear Mikael that would come save me.

That day came on her eighteenth name-day when a new family moved into the village to settle as their new home.

Amongst the parents, there was a single, handsome man, a son. His name was Gavril.

Natalia would never forget the first time they met. When she was picking berries and herbs out in the woods with her mother and Rebekah one fine morning and Gavril appeared, a hunting bow in one hand and a line of squirrels in the other. She remembered how he had frightened her when she didn't notice him right away, and how the two stared at each other with awe at first sight. That feeling was indescribable.

Many months passed after that, and needless to say, Gavril and Natalia never stopped looking at each other since that day. They became closer as time grew. He would accompany her when she picked berries, and she would watch him as he hunted prey for his family to eat. They venture far out of the village to hide away in a cave up in the hills, where they began to explore what it meant to be two people who craved each other. They talked, and laughed, and cried, together, for many moons. She revealed to him her powers as a witch, and he welcomed her without any fear or prejudice. He even became great friends with her brothers, too, almost best friends with Niklaus.

TOXIC | Damon SalvatoreWhere stories live. Discover now