Birds Of A Feather || N. Mikaelson

⊳⊳6⊲⊲

❝Back to the other end, when we fell down
We could not believe we would lose it all
Now the dreams are gone, and faith has drowned
Everything we lost and we never found.❞

-- Taska Black

⊳⊳|⊲⊲

Mystic Falls, Middle Ages, 10th Century

"Come on out, little dove," the blond warrior called, searching amongst the trees for the maiden he'd been courting for nigh on a year. He didn't know what drew him to her. It wasn't just her beauty, it was something else. Her wit, her intelligence, or maybe her wisdom. 

He spotted a white dress between the trees and slowly approached. Jumping around the tree, Niklaus wrapped his arms around her. Her laugh was like a bell in the air, full of joy and happiness. 

"I caught you, Katya," he whispered against her hair, kissing her neck as if he was biting her. He rubbed his nose against her skin and laughed as she fell against his chest, peering up at him with large, gray eyes. 

She rested her hands against his chest, staring up at him with all the hope in the world in that look. "I love you, Niklaus." Her gentle fingers brushed his biceps, gentler than he'd ever been touched. Her soft hands were so unlike Mikael's. Unlike anything he'd felt. He did not understand how a coward such as himself could ever be loved by someone like this.

Klaus's mischievous smile was replaced by a genuine one and he cupped her face in between his roughened, warrior palms. . "You do?" He didn't know how to react, no one outside of his family had ever told him they loved him. He was the coward. Unlovable.

"Yes, with all of my soul for eternity! My love for you is like the great sun," she spread her arms out attempting to explain to the man before her how much she loved him but didn't have the words to express herself. Yet, Niklaus understood. Her laugh was bright and she flung herself deeper into his arms, burying her head against him. 

"I love you, as well, little dove." The blond warrior leaned down and caught her lips in his gently, causing the girl to smile widely and kiss him back.

⊳⊳|⊲⊲

Roxanne swallowed and looked at her friend as they sat in the car. Rebekah was watching the road as she drove. "You told him, didn't you?" Rebekah's words were careful, and she looked over at Roxanne as she drove. "About the Ghostess?"

The town of Mystic Falls passed in a blur. Quickly they were in the countryside of a small road, racing away from that small, claustrophobic place. "Yes. He must know, or else I fear he might try to kill me." 

"What would she do if he did?" Rebekah queried casually, but there was a tension in her shoulders and knuckles. "If he killed you?" 

Roxanne blinked, pursing her lips as she thought through that question. It was so much more complicated than Rebekah thought. "I'm not sure. I'm not specifically under her protection, but I'm not-not either, y'know?" Roxanne cast a look at the blonde Mikaelson. "If he killed me, she wouldn't react well. But it's not the same as if he killed who she's protecting." 

Rebekah nodded warily, and they slowly began to re-enter civilization as they drove through another small town. The wind blew through Rebekah's hair and quickly knotted Roxanne's. They were in Rebekah's convertible with the top down. It was too hot for anything else. 

Roxanne adjusted her sunglasses on her nose, looking out at the landscape that passed. Trees and pastures rolled on for miles. The sky was bright and blue and dotted with cotton candy clouds. 

"What are you?" 

Roxanne looked over at her friend at the question, letting it turn over in her head for a moment as she constructed an answer. "Clean-up crew, to be honest. I make sure that her mistakes don't tip the boat for all of us. The Ghostess is dangerous, old and powerful. But, she's arrogant and impulsive. I make sure that doesn't affect everyone else." 

"She's killed thousands." 

Roxanne nodded, pursing her lips as she thought of the bodies. The death. "She has. But she only kills those that must be killed." 

"She's killed children!" Rebekah snapped, looking over at Roxanne. 

Roxanne shook her head, anger flashing across her face. "No. She has never killed a child or a pregnant woman. Never. If a child ends up dead where she's been, it is not her doing. Often, many use her recent hunting grounds as places to commit their own ghastly acts and blame her for it. So, when others find the bodies, she is blamed for what she hasn't done." Roxanne rolled her eyes and looked out at the landscape again. She hated what they did to the Ghostess. How they dragged her name. "She often kills those that tried to use her, too." 

Rebekah quieted down, her shoulders relaxing. "She sounds like Klaus." 

Roxanne agreed, fiddling with a crescent moon necklace around her throat. It was just a brown rope with a silver crescent symbol. She tugged it back and forth on the rope, staring out at the landscape. "There's a reason they fell in love." 

"I don't remember her." 

"He's had many lovers," Roxanne shrugged, but winced internally. "She made sure she wasn't one of the memorable ones." 

Rebekah sent her another side glance as they pulled into one of the bigger towns in the area. She drove to the Mall and the two were quiet for most of it. When they parked, Rebekah was quiet for a long, long minute. 

The Mikaelson looked at the St. Claire with curious blue-green eyes. "If you are her clean-up crew and she's at least a thousand years old . . . how old are you?" 

Both blondes sat in that car. They stared at each other, waiting for the truth to reveal itself. 

Finally, Roxanne cracked a smile and rolled her gray eyes. "Too old for any of this shit, that's for sure." 

Rebekah laughed and the two got out of the car, walking arm in amicable arm towards the entrance of the mall. 

Edited

May 28th, 2020

Rewritten

March 22nd, 2023/April 7th, 2023