Dark Paradise - Niklaus Mikaelson

Chapter one

The chiming of a clock striking twelve could be heard echoing through a cemetery in the middle of New Orleans. It was midnight.

There were many figures hurrying around the derelict gravestones of those who have been long forgotten, as they all prepared for the girl that was about to change their lives. The figures were chanting the ancient words of a spell that was never meant to be performed, a million voices becoming one as even the dead cried out the Latin words that would change history. 

The last strike of the bell was heard, at exactly midnight.

At exactly midnight, she was awakened.

The coffin, which had been set in the centre of the cemetery, slammed open, the solid, black lid slamming to the ground with a bang, revealing a beautiful girl inside. She had dark hair that lay around her head as though she were an angel and it was her halo, the thick onyx strands perfectly framing her face, contrasting starkly with the pristine white veil the lay beneath her head. She was dressed in ancient clothing, but remarkably there was not even a single piece of fabric that appeared dirtied or torn. In fact, lying amongst the pearl white fabric of her dress from centuries ago, she appeared so peaceful and calm that anyone would think she was sleeping on a cloud. 

Slowly, as though afraid the harsh reality of consciousness would harm her, she opened her eyes and greeted the vast expanse of night sky that currently resided above her. Her eyes took a while to adjust, deep brown darting around in a panic as they tried to become familiar with the foreign surroundings.

When she had stopped looking around, the girl in the coffin began to move her finger, just a twitch, as if to test she still could. She had very little memory as of right now, but could recall being somehow paralysed before she had her rest.

Her rest. How long had her involuntary sleep been? Surely she couldn't have been gone that long, could she? The thought bounced around in her head, causing an ever-growing feeling of panic in the girl. 

Suddenly, the girl sat up, a new found energy in her gaze as she attempted to free herself from the confines of the coffin in an attempt to gather answers. 

Her sudden action frightened the nearest figure, a witch by the name of Sophie Deveraux, who had been about to peer into the coffin to see what was wrong with the girl. The girl in question was now looking around hurriedly, taking in the eery location and the strange outfits of those around her.

"W-Where am I?"

The question was quiet, the words appearing to cause strain to the girl, her voice gravelly and tired after a thousand years without use. She looked at the nearest person, and said again, her voice slightly stronger, "Where am I? What's going on?"

Sophie looked at the girl, slight pity in her gaze, before answering hesitantly, "You're in New Orleans."

Ellika didn't look any less confused, the words bearing no meaning to her, and so she instead started to climb out of the coffin she had spent so long trapped inside. She stood on shaky legs as one of the witches ran towards them, shouting.

"They know! They're here. You must go Sophie, and do not let her out of her sight."

Ellika, oblivious to the importance of the woman's words, had started to walk off, before another witch came up to her and harshly grabbed onto her arm. She tried to free herself from the witches hold, but the woman's grip was too strong.

"Now, you listen here, girl. You're going to do exactly as I say, when I say it, or you're gonna suffer the consequences. Understand me?"

The girl looked up at the angry witch with scared eyes. She had dealt with angry witches many times in her life, and she didn't wish to ever repeat the experience. She nodded quickly as the witch continued to glare at her, pulling her along by her arm while a few other witches followed behind. They came to a stop at the opening to what looked to Ellika like the inside of a rather large tomb, and they all hurried inside, the door slamming shut behind them.

Ellika was feeling more and more nervous about the situation she was in, and her nerves were increased when the woman who was holding her pushed her to a small bench and sat her down on its cold stone surface.

"Stay here," she said sternly, turning away from her to go talk to the other witches across from her. 

Ellika was beginning to shiver, the cold starting to get to her through her thin white gown, which was now, much to her dismay, dirtied and muddy along the hem. She watched in slight fascination as goosebumps spread in waves across her frozen skin, reminding her yet again that she was, for the first time in centuries, awake. 

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to fight off the cold, as she caught the eyes of a woman standing alone near her. Deciding to be friendly, she spoke up quietly, "H-hello," she stuttered over the simple word with her still broken voice, "I'm Ellika." The witch looked up at her in surprise, eyeing her slowly, while Ellika just gave a small wave and smiled at the witch.

The witch however, scoffed and looked away from Ellika, turning to walk over to the other witches, leaving Ellika to look disappointedly down at her lap. She frowned, and pulled her legs up to her chest, wishing she were anywhere but the cold cemetery. 

She was so tired, and longed to go home and see her family. See him. He came to the forefront of her mind, and she began to wonder what happened to him. She realised that, if her assumptions that she had been asleep for a long, long time (or at least long enough for it to become fashionable to wear one's underwear in public) were correct, then her husband and family was probably long dead. 

Just the though of their deaths brought tears to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, instead bringing her legs even closer to her body, hiding away and trying to be as small as possible, in the hopes that she might just disappear.

Deciding she needed answers, she spoke up again, clearing her throat and raising her voice slightly before asking polietly, "Excuse me, I'm sorry for interrupting, but could one of you possibly tell me what's going on?"

The witch who dragged her scowled at her and simply snapped, "Shut it, girl," at her. 

Ellika was growing increasingly frustrated, and said, somewhat less politely this time after being ignored repeatedly, "Will one of you just tell me what is going on? I'm cold, and tired, and I want to see.. I want to go home..." she trailed off, sniffing slightly as she realised she could not, in fact, go home. 

She looked at the witches with teary eyes and mumbled out, "Please. I just want to know why I'm here." The witch however, simply rolled her eyes and held up her hand, going back to the others.

Ellika muffled a cry as a piercing noise rang through her skull, the shrill sound followed by a dull throbbing at the back of her head. The witch was somehow doing this to her. Ellika clutched her head as the pain intensified, and slumped back down against the wall, as everything slowly once again faded to black.

A/N 

So I've realised that I have no idea how old the mikaelsons are, so i just made it up. when ellika met them, she was three and there ages were:

kol - three

rebekah - five

klaus - six

elijah - eight

finn - twelve

freya (not that she was there) - sixteen

I have no idea how accurate that is but oh well.