Hello!

You may be familiar with the title of this fanfiction; that is because I am finally doing a re-write in order to get myself out of the rut I found myself in! I hope you give Nik and Pia's story a chance once again.

I am still in the process of editing/rewriting so I cannot promise when the next update shall be. I merely wanted to upload this beginning chapter so that I had somewhere for anyone interested in Twin Hearts to follow/favourite.

Leave a review and let me know what you think! :) How do you like the new cover image? I adore it, if I'm honest.

Warnings will be posted once so read them please: mature themes, incestuous relationship, violence and strong language at times.

CHAPTER ONE: Birth (980AD)

SPRING 980AD

It was almost silent in the house. Ayana finished chanting her spell to put the Mikaelson boys to sleep and carefully shut the curtain to block them off from what was occurring further down in the longhouse. Elijah and Finn had been awaiting their new sibling, but once the labour pains began again, Ayana quickly whispered her magic to protect Esther's sons; something didn't sit right with her. This situation was not going to be joyous for her friend. It was best that the children were kept completely oblivious to the tension that had cloaked the house. Ayana walked over to where her friend sat up in bed whispering to the newest arrival. She stayed at a respectable distance so as to not intrude too much.

"Hush, little one." Esther carefully rocked her arms from side to side hoping to calm the little bundle in her arms. It had been a shock when after the first birth, the pain began again. No one had expected it. Throughout her pregnancy she hadn't felt anything more than the one child. Perhaps a little flutter here and there, but nothing substantial, nothing to indicate more than one child. The tiny morsel in her grasp was so delicate that Esther thought she would break her daughter if she held her too tightly. Her gut told her that this was not going to end the way she wanted it to.

The firstborn, Niklaus, let out a small cry as his hands reached out for something that wasn't there. His brow wrinkled as his father covered him back up with a thick fur and hushed him to sleep. Mikael removed his gaze from where his son lay in his crib and looked to his wife. Her eyes were firmly fixed upon the frail girl in her arms. She whispered silent pleas as though to make the baby better. "She is not well." He said firmly. He could hear the small crackle each time the baby took a breath. He sat beside his wife and peered down at the almost silent child. "She is not healthy. Her size is too small and she makes no noise."

"She will grow." Esther clung onto hope as the little girl in her arms let out another cough. Please, little one, fight. Show us you have strength. "We must name her." Esther knew how this conversation would go, but she had to try. She had to try and keep her twins together. They would make each other whole, she was sure of it; she could already feel the connection that the two had. Mikael sighed and shook his head.

"She will not make it. She is weak." He could not do this again. He never thought he would heal from the loss of Freya… he could not attach himself to another daughter that he would lose.

He would not do it.

The girl's breathing was shallow, and with each small exhale came a crackle or a cough. The child was ill, that much was clear from her sickly pallor to her weak breaths. "It is better to be rid of her now than love her and lose her at a later date." Mikael knew he was being harsh, but it was better for the family. It had nearly broken them when Freya was lost. He sighed when he noticed the tears beginning to run down his wife's face. As if on cue, another ugly cough left the mouth of the infant, sealing her fate. Esther held back her tears and looked to her husband. There would be no reasoning with him.

"You wish to leave her outside? Leave her to the elements?" It was not uncommon. Many families left sick children out in the wilderness to be rid of them. She had comforted a few of the women that had such a thing happen. She always remembered the absent look in their eyes as they cried about the child they had lost as their husbands came back from the woods with empty hands.

"It is for the best. We need not tell the other children about her. It would only sadden them. Let us focus on Niklaus. He needs his mother's love. He needs us to be strong so he can thrive." Esther let out a deep breath and leant her head down to press a kiss on her daughter's brow. With a nod she leant towards Ayana and handed her the child. They shared a knowing look before Ayana disappeared with the girl, not once looking back as she heard her friend gasp from heartache.

Esther choked back a sob as she watched her daughter be taken away. I will see you again soon. Her gaze went over to the corner as she heard her son cry. She will be back soon, Niklaus. Do not fret, my son.

Esther gave a quick knock to the door and entered. She could already hear the babbling of a baby.

Her baby.

Her daughter.

Ayana greeted her with a warm hug before leading her to the back of the longhouse where the noise was coming from.

In the centre of a bed was a bundle of furs that cocooned a small child. As soon as her light eyes locked onto her mother, her babbles increased and her limbs wiggled in the air, begging for contact. Esther quickly swooped the baby into her arms and held her against her chest. She inhaled the scent of her hidden daughter and smiled. "My Pia." It had killed her to not bring up the child with the rest of her family, but it had to be this way to protect her husband. It had been worth the risk. The family would be back together soon.

Pia had small golden curls sprouting from her head and beautiful blue eyes. She was still small for a babe of her age, but she was stronger than she had been given credit for. No longer did her chest crackle and the cough had been remedied with a potion Ayana had brewed up. Mikael hadn't noticed the small amounts of coin that had gone missing in order to care for the child. Everything had gone to plan.

"What shall we do?"

"I heard whispers of a cart being overturned and the adults perishing. I forbade Mikael from going since he is still healing from being thrown from the horse." Esther turned to face Ayana with a small smile. "Perhaps I had gone to help and found a baby… an orphan in need of a home…" Ayana nodded in understanding.

"Ah, his darling Esther's soft heart strikes again. You will introduce her as your ward?"

"I do not think Mikael would disagree. He has noticed how I have mourned the loss of my daughter. I think he would see it as a balm to the wound. It would help me heal from the loss."

"Would you not tell him that this is the daughter he gave up to die?"

"No. He would despise the child due to my lies. Perhaps if the time came upon us down the line then I would reveal all, but as of right now, she must be protected and the secret kept quiet." Esther held the girl away from her chest and surveyed her. "Her colour is much healthier now. Although she is still quite small, I think she will grow into a beauty. She looks so much like Niklaus." Gently she laid the baby back in her cocoon and turned to Ayana. "I think Niklaus has missed her. He reaches out in his crib and always seems to be looking for something or someone within the house. It is though he understands that he did not come into this world alone."

"The twins have a connection unlike any other; I swear I could almost see a trail of light attaching the pair together before I removed her from the house. Pia doesn't settle easily either. When it is time for her to sleep, her hands are constantly trying to latch onto something that isn't there. They may be only a few months old, but they know that something isn't right." Ayana stepped forward and put her hands upon Esther's shoulders with a smile. "But now they needn't ever part again.

"They shall be reunited…

"Together like they always should be."

'Don't let me go
Hold me in your beating heart
I won't let go
Forever is not enough
Let me lay my head down on the shadow by your side
Don't let me go
Hold me in your beating heart'

-Don't Let Me Go by Raign-