The sun glinted through the soft swaying eaves; shimmering upon the boughs laden with autumns leaves in orange and gold. The Wold was dying. The gradual descent into winter had already begun and yet Kol wished that the warmth of summer would linger just a while longer. In summer, the days were longer, the sun was warmer and food… It always seemed plenty. Mikael, his Father, always seemed happier in summer. Maybe it was because of the sun. The warmth that lightened even the heaviest of steps… Maybe it was just that the village was a happier place in summer.
The fear of the night. Of the full moon… it was never as long as in the winter… He had decided long ago, that one day… When he had mastered his Mother’s craft, he would create a spell! A spell so strong as to stop winter coming at all! Maybe he could even stop the moon! Maybe that would make Mikael happy? It would make the village happy! And no one would have to live in fear again! It made him smile.
Finn would say he was being childish, that such a feat was impossible. And maybe it was… But Elijah would say to let him dream, for nothing was truly ever impossible! Niklaus, he would urge him on. He would urge him to find a spell that would temper the steel wraith of their Father and Rebekah, she would undoubtedly ask him to make her love potions! She was always so insecure and yet she one of the prettiest girls in the village! It was why Mikael had Ester, their mother watch her so. And then there was Henrik… Slowly the smile faded from Kol’s face. What if he mastered the craft before him? What if his younger brother proved to be stronger than him? Where would then, his place be? Neither the oldest nor the youngest. Never to be a ‘konungr’ of their village like Finn, or a warrior like Elijah. He would always be a lesser son…A lesser brother!
Slowly Kol lay back in the long grass, as Henrik’s smiling face swept across his thoughts. He loved his brother. He knew that to be the truth, for there had never been a day, which he had wished ill upon him. And yet that was the problem. The years were slowly creeping past. And with each winter it drew the closer to the time he would have to prove himself. That he would have to pack away his childhood follies; and take his place within the Village. To show his value, to his Father and his brothers, as a man equal to them.
The leafs overhead shimmered glistening subtly like diamonds or gold and he wondered how long it would be until the first leaf fell. “It may be well that you will never see it”… Softly a voice whispered through the swaying leaves and Kol felt his heart jump within his chest. It pounded as he sat up and looked about himself. There was no one watching him from behind the trunks of trees. There was no one sitting in the long grass beside him… Slowly he rose to his feet and turned to search the land around him wondering if he had imagined it, the strange voice; for surely he was alone!
“Are you afraid? Lesser son of Mikael?”
The voice whispered tauntingly again. And Kol felt like his heart would explode at any moment from fear. “What sort of Witchcraft is this?” He demanded, trying his hardest not to let his fear show. “Show yourself Witch!” Clenching his fists, Kol wished he was stronger. He wished that he had his Mother’s powers, or that he had his Fathers sword; for a cold slow dread had crept like a shadow through his thoughts, and somehow even though the sun still shone brightly overhead; Even though its rays still speckled the swaying leaves in glistening gemstones; The Wold had lost it warmth.
“Who are you?” He heard himself yell and wished he didn’t sound so frantic. Why couldn’t he have sounded like Mikeal or even Elijah. Why couldn’t he have sounded like Niklaus! A soft chuckle taunted him. It seemed to come from everywhere. Every direction at once and yet, from nowhere! It seemed to come from inside him, like the ice-cold touch of dread that set the hairs upon his arms to rise and caused his mouth to dry, making it hard to swallow.
“I work in silence I work with a great noise I cause many tears I relieve all suffering”
The voice whispered so close, that Kol should have felt its breath upon his ear, instead all he felt was fear.
“I am dreaded by most I am sought by some I often creep up slowly No one escapes me”
Again the voice whispered and Kol felt the world about him begin to spin. He felt his brow break into a sweat; cold and clammy.
For some whom I visit Comes peace everlasting? For others eternal damnation? I know not for I have never died. I am Death”
“But I am not dead!” Kol stuttered, and yet his voice barely made it past his lips. “Why are you here? Why do you taunt me so Hela? I have barely begun to live! This cannot be my end! I feel my heart! It beats strongly still within my chest!” He wasn’t sure if he was pleading with her. He wasn’t sure if he was even still breathing. Somehow the world around him had all turned to shadows of grey. Somehow the sun had stopped shinning. And the breeze that had moments before, danced amidst the eaves, now lay still.
“Tell me Kol Mikaelson. Tell me this… What is your life worth? What cost would you be willing to pay?” She was taunting him. He could almost feel her gloat in the air about him! It was some sort of sick joke! Maybe it wasn’t real! Maybe it was Dahlia? Their Mothers sister…Their Mother had always said to be careful. To watch out for her, that she could never be trusted. It had always made him wonder if she had been responsible for their older sister Freya’s death, for his Mother would never openly speak about it and she had died before he was born.
“This is not funny! Stop it! Stop it now!!” He yelled,, and turned angrily in a circle hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that was playing this God forsaken prank upon him! “A life for a life…If not you, then who, son of Mikael…Whose life should I take?”
Stop, stop, “STOP!” Kol screamed, seeing the spittle fly from his mouth as he dropped to his knees! “Why does anyone have to die? Why can’t we all live! Why can’t I live...” He demanded, wondering when his anger had turned back into fear as he felt his tears, as they made their way down his cheeks. They were not warm, they felt ice cold. “It is the way of all things… If not you, then someone you love, Kol Mikaelson… Who will die?” Hel’s voice taunted at his despair.
“Will they be safe…Will they all get to live if I die?” He heard himself sob, wondering how or when it had all become a bargain, a deal to be made with the devil; as one by one, his family’s smiling faces swept momentarily through his thoughts. “Live? Perhaps a week, a year or maybe just a day…it does not matter” The voice trailed softly into silence.
“It matters to me! You ask me to sacrifice myself so they might live!! But you cannot tell me for how long??” Kol felt his voice crack and reached up clutching his head in anguish. He had to stop the voice. He had to stop this spell, this nightmare - whatever it was somehow! It couldn’t be real! It couldn’t! Why him! Why now!
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD! I WILL NOT CHOOSE!" He screamed again, dropping back onto his back in the long grass and closed his eyes; willing with any strength he had left for the Wold to return to normal. “But you will Kol Mikaelson…You will, and maybe, you will get to live forever.. ” The voice softly taunted once again, as Kol felt the soft and subtle touch of something drop to lightly brush against his hands as they covered his face. Fearfully he eased his fingers apart, only to be blinded by the dimming afternoon sun. Quickly, he lowered his hands to his sides and sat up; feeling the crunch of an autumn’s leaf beneath his palm. It had begun. Winter would soon be upon them, It only fed the fear that already bored within his thoughts.
Had it all been a dream? Had it not been real? Slowly he rose to his feet. In the distance, he could hear the sound of the drum. It was the warning for the villagers, that the time to take shelter within the caves had come. It was the warning that this night would herald a full moon. A dreaded full moon! Quickly he turned; he had to meet his family in the cave. He had to get there before the dark claimed the land, yet he could not escape the dread, the fear that still lingered upon him as he made his way through the forest to the cave. He couldn’t stop the images of his family, his Mother, his Father, his Sister and his Brothers that kept creeping into his mind. He couldn’t stop the voice that continued to whisper upon his ear…
