Any Dream Will Do | Hale - TVD/TO/TW [2]

3 | Cave of Carvings

The pack finds themselves in a dark cave with only candles to give them light. Wax drips down the two central candles as the fire flickers over the carved walls; laughter echoes from the entrance.

Lydia walks over to the walls, her eyes moving over the exposed rock. When she sees the tree etched into the wall, she runs her fingers over the carvings—bits of rock crumble under the pressure. "Look at this."

She hears the others turn behind her. She follows her fingers, reaching the edges of each branch. Only some have names at the end: they are familiar but not recognizable.

"Come now, Nik," a feminine voice echoes off of the cave. "It's my turn!"

A blonde-haired woman races into the cave, stopping in front of the tree. Even though it is not necessary, Lydia steps back as the blonde takes the knife in her hand and presses it against the wall.

Footsteps echo. "Bekah, wait!"

Lexi races up to her sister, nearly running straight into her. A second before the collision, Lexi jumps to the side, landing on a natural seat of rock with a smile on her face. She glances back as Klaus follows the sisters with an annoyed expression.

"You two are just so eager to wield the knife," he mutters.

"If Father let us play with it, we wouldn't be so eager," Rebekah replies, missing Lexi's wince.

The youngest sibling glances down at her hands before she leans down to rub her leg. The skin is irritated, but nothing is hurt. With a shake of her head, Lexi puts on a mask of impatience. "Rebekah! Let me have a go?"

Rebekah glances back with a grin. "Stop whining, and I'll go faster." She winks at her sister before she finishes the K in her name.

"Rebekah!" Klaus complains as he leans against Lexi's rock. She nudges his shoulder only for him to playfully push her back.

"I need quiet if I am to not cut off a finger," Rebekah says.

Again, Lexi glances down at her own hands. "Perhaps this is why Father would not like this—us handling a knife."

Pausing in her work, Rebekah fully turns to face her siblings. Lexi's hand travels down her leg again, barely letting herself hiss through her teeth. The older sister glances down with a mixture of annoyance and concern. "How's your leg?"

Mumbling under her breath, Lexi replies, "It was just a cut."

"After Father found you with another bloody blade!" Rebekah snaps. "And either way, if I want to wield a blade, I shall wield a blade. Just as you have." With a sigh, Rebekah turns back to the wall to finish carving her name. "Father need not know."

"He'll find out," Klaus says. His own voice lowers as he looks back at the entrance. It is as if he can see Mikael coming to rip them all apart. "He always does."

Lexi rolls her eyes. "That's because someone always tells him."

Throwing his hands in the air, Klaus says, "I cannot help it. He frightens me."

Hearing those words come from the Mighty Hybrid, Lydia feels herself begin to pity the man. After all, cruelty like Klaus' is not born—it is created.

Lexi places a hand on Klaus', squeezing tightly as she leans her head against his shoulder. "He frightens us all."

"That is why we stick together as a family, always and forever," Rebekah says as she finishes her name. "Right, traitor?"

Finally allowing a smile onto his face, Klaus stands from his position. "Right."

"Well, you finish," Rebekah says with a sigh. "Lexi and I are to help Mother with the meal."

With a wicked smile, Klaus holds out his hand. "Yes, go tend to dinner. Leave the blades to the men."

Lexi narrows her eyes at her brother before she catches the sly look in Rebekah's eye. The blonde slams the knife down, blade first, into Klaus' hand. The man yelps as blood oozes from his palm. "Rebekah!"

"It's just a little blood," she says before she steps back.

Lexi stands from her seat with a smirk. "Be a man about it."

"Come now, sister. We have a meal to prepare." Rebekah holds out her hand.

With a look of hesitance, Lexi shakes her head. "I'll be up soon. I want to write my own name after Nik."

Lexi does not watch as Rebekah leaves the cave, only listens as the echoing footsteps soften with the distance. By the time the sound disappears completely, Klaus is done with his name; the silence that stretches between the siblings is long but not awkward.

"Your turn," Klaus says, gently offering her the handle.

She hesitates as she stares at the flames' reflection off of the sharp blade. Blinking slowly, she forces her hand up to take the handle. "Thank you," she replies, her voice soft.

After studying her forcefully neutral expression, Klaus lets go of the knife and begins to walk out of the cave. He pauses before he disappears from view. "You know, I won't tell Father about this. He does not know this cave."

"Father knows every cave." She does not look back, only runs her eyes over the carvings. "And I know you won't tell him—he would go after you as well as me."

Klaus pauses, considering his words. "I am not trying to save my own skin—"

"Yes, you are," Lexi says as she turns her head to meet his gaze. "It's alright. I understand. He's worse on you." She turns back to the carving, readying the knife. "Now, run along, Nik. I want to carve in peace."

His retreating footsteps echo off of the dark cave; the vibrations rock Lexi to the core. She presses the blade against the wall, relishing in the crumbling rock. She draws a line straight down before she pauses.

She takes a deep breath as she moves the knife through the air, trying different motions. "Father will never know," she whispers to herself. She repeats it like a mantra as she moves to the bottom of the line to write an L instead of an A.

When she finishes writing, she steps back to read her work. "My name is Lexi," she says aloud. Trailing her finger along the tree, she tells the invisible audience the story of her family. "I have a large family: five brothers and one sister. My oldest sister died of plague years before my birth. I am the youngest of my Viking line. It all starts with..."

Pausing as her finger's dance over a name, Lexi sighs. "It all starts with my father and mother, who raise us to survive but..." She lets her hand drop.

"Lexi!" Rebekah's voice echoes around the cave. "Mother is beginning to get worried!"

"Coming!" Lexi shouts. She stashes the knife between the natural seat and a rock column, hiding it away from prying eyes. She takes one of the candles by the carving, blowing it out, before she takes the other one to walk out, leaving the cave shrouded in unending darkness. 

I remember this scene so well--it's so adorable!!! Hope you enjoyed!

-L