Shielding The Innocent - Niklaus Mikaelson

Chapter 1

   Five years.

   Five years of searching.

   Five years of random surprises of sharp pains, from whatever Marcel is putting Nik through.

   Five years with Bexley and Hope asking questions about their family.

  Five years without Davina and Cami.

  Five years without Nik.

  Hayley and I have spent every bit of free time we have, outside of raising the twins, on searching for the ingredients for Freya's poison, Rebekah's curse, and the brothers' bites. Mary is a lot of help. She watches the girls when we find an ingredient, or we need to find a witch for help. So far we can cure Rebekah and Freya, but we are still missing one thing for Elijah and Kol. One last element and we can wake them and go free Nik.

  Only Hayley and Freya know about mine and Nik's bond getting stronger, and every time Marcel does something to cause Nik severe pain, I can feel it. More often than not, Marcel does something that causes a sharp pain in my chest, before it fades to a constant dull ache and then suddenly, days, weeks, months, or sometimes years later, the pain disappears. I can assume Marcel has Papa Tunde's Blade and he uses it as a way to keep Nik subdued and in agony. If the episodes happen in front of the kids I lie, which I hate, and tell them it's heartburn or I can play it off as I'm tried. I don't want to tell them the torment their dad is going through.

   The last five years I've spent most my nights crying or without sleep. Davina's death still affects me and being away from Nik doesn't make it easier. There's, also, this constant fear that at any moment Marcel can decide he's tired of keeping Nik alive and he can kill him. Finding everything we need has taken way longer than I'd ever thought it would.

   I walk down the hall of the safe house we live in, to the twins' shared room. Hayley and I got a witch to cloak it in protection spells to keep us all safe. I lean against their door unnoticed and watch as my two beautiful girls draw pictures on their beds. They remind me more and more of their dad as the days pass. Both of them love to color and draw. They're stubborn and sassy. Hope is a bit shyer and Bexley is outgoing. They're eyes are an identical brilliant, bright shade of blue. Hope's hair is fiery red, and Bexley's is a soft blonde. Both of them have come more and more into their witch powers, so to keep them from being track I have them keep on the bracelets we used to suppress their magic from Dahlia.

   A vehicle approaches outside and Hope and Bexley look up from their paper. Hope turns towards me and smiles. "Is that her?"

   "Is it Grandma Mary?" Bexley repeats, excitement on her face, too.

   "Let me go see. Stay inside." I tell them. I walk towards the front door, passing Hayley coming down from the attic, where we keep the Mikaelsons. She goes up there daily to see Elijah. 

   We walk onto the porch and watch a blue pickup pull into the driveway. Hayley and I walk off the porch and meet her as she exits her truck. She looks at us with a smile and we return it.

   "Well now, aren't you two a sight?" Mary greets us.

   "You're sure no one followed you?" Hayley inquires.

   "I've been avoiding trouble since well before you were born." She says. "Now, where's those two little girls?" She goes to walk pass, but I stop her.

   "Did you find it?" She hesitates. "Mary, please. After five years, we are so close to having our family back."

   "We found a cure for Freya's poison; we got a witch to syphon Rebekah's hex." Hayley continues.