Friends, then?

Closer to the heart

10th Century

Elijah poked the bonfire with a wooden stick, these were the rare moments when they got to enjoy some peace, their father was away on a hunt trip with Finn, much to everyone's relief.

The day had been blissfully wasted on the woods playing and running after little Rebekah who often ventured through unknown trails and got lost.

Elijah smiled watching her and Kol chasing each other around the fire, always so full of life those two but his smile was warmer as he looked to the side, the young brother with the blond wavy hair and honest eyes was again immersed in his own world.

He would never admit to the others but Niklaus was by far his favorite brother, the quiet loner owned a big piece of Elijah's heart because he was constantly marveled with the resilience Niklaus had.

No matter how horribly Mikael treated him, aiming to destroy that natural sweetness about him, Niklaus kept that quality of loving his family immeasurably, Elijah was profoundly convinced that Niklaus even loved his father regardless of everything that Mikael did to him.

Rebekah tiredly slumped on the ground in front of Elijah stealing his attention, she pushed her lengthy golden hair away from her face. "Today was a fun day, when will we have another one like this?"

"Next time father goes on a trip." Elijah poked her with the stick. "We will send you with father and enjoy the free day from you both."

Rebekah wrinkled her lips and nose. "But there will be blood Elijah." she added a disgusted expression.

"You are such a girl Bekah." Kol sighed sitting next to her, he crossed his legs and beamed at Elijah. "Will you tell us a story Elijah?"

"What tale should I unravel?" Elijah affectionately asked.

"King Unn!" Rebekah and Kol answered at the same time with excitement.

Elijah chuckled, it was amusing that the younger ones couldn't get enough of the story.

"On a land very far from here, where the sun never goes to rest and where mountains are all that can be seen, lived a King whose strength was legendary, he would carry the weight of a thousand men upon his shoulders without a blink and his sword was as famous as he was. It was forged under the full moon from the steel shields of all of his enemies, King Unn's sword was as ruthless as his arm..."

Kol lifted his hand in the air. "How did King Unn look like?"

Elijah softly laughed aware of the reason behind the question and he answered Kol knowing well the smirk that the other gained. "King Unn was different from all other Vikings, his hair was not blond and his eyes were not blue as the sky, he had chestnut hair and honey eyes instead."

Kol beamed but Rebekah urged Elijah to carry on so that Kol wouldn't linger much in his smug happiness.

"Was he a good king Elijah?" she asked sounding like she hadn't heard the story a million times before.

"King Unn had conquered the most coveted throne in the land by force, many were against him but none were able to win him by the sword and his army was loyal and strong as he was. He was known to be a hard man but with a reasonable heart, there were those who traveled for days only to seek his protection or advice and his brothers and sisters were everything to him. He would often hunt the best animals in the land to provide them with food and the best furs for winter. It was during one of his hunts that he lost track of time and when night galloped its way he found shelter in a dark cave but just as he was about to sleep... there was a noise he was not expecting..." Elijah leaned over to the two siblings with sparkling eyes. "In the midst of darkness and stillness a guttural sound erupted."