The Girl in the Woods

Chapter 12: Lies & Secrets

"It was the most gut-wrenching feeling I had experienced in my life." – Arwin, Miss Not-So Sidekick

~Recap from Chapter 10~

"Noooooo!" Niklaus rushed to her side.

He knelt before her and caressed her face longingly. He was too late. She was dead.

The young Viking howled in anguish. His heart shattered to pieces.

"No....no...wake up...wake up." Niklaus mumbled in between heartbreaking sobs. He pleaded desperately with her as though she could still hear him. But it was too late.

Faith Mikaelson was gone.

~TGITW~

Chapter 12: Lies & Secrets

MYSTIC FALLS. 1001 A.D.

He cried and cried until he could cry no more. Then he started to tear the ropes that bound up Faith. The ropes revealed burns on her wrist, signs that she had struggled against them. Niklaus could feel his heart ache again at the thought of Faith being held and tortured against her will. He touched her hand gently, wishing the wounds would disappear. Then he lifted her body into his arms and headed out into the woods.

Niklaus moved slowly. The reality was simply too overwhelming for him. His heart felt numb. His steps felt heavy. All the while, the warmth from Faith's body fading away leaving him with Faith's cold corpse in his arms.

He wandered aimlessly, not knowing where to go or what to do. Unconsciously, he must have thought about burying Faith as he found himself at the entrance of their cave. The cave of writings.

Niklaus went into the cave and entered a tunnel that led to a small opening. It was a secret place that only Niklaus knew. There, he laid her down to rest and knelt beside her. He cupped her face in his hand for a final goodbye.

Even in death she was beautiful. Pale white skin, raven black hair, and red blood lips. He studied her face, trying to carve out ever detail in his mind so that he would not forget. Again, he felt the tears well up in eyes. The thought of losing a person he loved was painful.

With his other hand, he wiped his own tears away. If he knew this was going to happen, he wouldn't have bothered with leaving her to Elijah. He would have fought and claimed her as his!

Instead, he had foolishly given her up. He remembered dancing the night away to forget Faith. He danced with Tatia in an attempt to rid his mind of Faith, of his growing attraction to her. He had tried so hard to convinced himself that he and Faith were just friends. But it did not work.

That was the night he lost her.

Niklaus began to pile up stones around Faith's body and began covering her with loose branches. Once he was done burying Faith, Niklaus stepped out of the cave and stood at the entrance.

He was in shock. He still could not believe that she was dead. He stood there for who knows how long. Finally, his shock turned to denial. No, she couldn't be dead. She couldn't have left them in such a way. Niklaus found himself in a swirl of emotions.

Denial soon gave way to anger. His grief turning to fury. He was mad. He was mad at her for dying and leaving him behind. He wanted her to hurt. He wanted everyone to hurt.

Faith may be gone but he could still hurt the memory of her.

He would tell the others that Faith had abandoned them. That she was merely using them to get to Esther. He would tell them that Faith had killed Esther.