All You Know Is Silence

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November 12th, 1023

The forest was silent as noon broke over it, the sun high in the sky. A few sounds were in the air- the odd twitter of a bird, the brook bubbling lightly. Leaves blowing through the clearings.

But now there was a snap as the young man stepped forwards, a bow made of cherrywood in his hand, arrows on his back and eyes taking in his surroundings with a trained eye.

The deer had been through here, the hoofmarks and scuffs in the dry ground. It hadn't been too long ago as well.

He glanced back now at his father who was taking him out hunting for the second time, teaching him the ways of the forest. How to hunt deer- to provide food.

"Niklaus-" he said now, and the young boy of twelve looked around, eyes fixed on his father, a lump in his throat- what an arrogant man his father was as well. He thought himself as lord of the forest... The master of the hunt.

He was far, far from it.

"Keep downwind boy, do you want it to smell you? Fool."

Niklaus wanted to growl at his father, but swallowed it back and turned to his front, freezing as he heard a snap nearby, and his father, grabbed him.

The young boy stayed still now as his father stepped forwards, raising his own bow, and Niklaus looked through the branches of the holly bush, seeing the buck deer grazing lightly there.

His father took aim for a moment, then let it loose, hitting the deer with a practiced aim and it dropped to the floor without a sound.

Niklaus didn't move as his father stepped forwards, pulling out a knife and slitting the deers throat hurriedly, killing it in an instant.

Now the boy stepped forwards and watched his father for a moment, but then the elder man snapped. "Come on Niklaus. This deer will not drag itself back to the house."

Niklaus could not believe that his father expected him to drag such a big deer back... but he had no choice. His father would make him one way or another.

"Fine." The boy snapped, putting his own bow around his back, bending down and pulling the hind hoofs into his hands, yanking it forwards when there was a snap from behind, and his father yanked out his sword, aiming it into the bushes.

"Show yourself!"

There was silence, then footsteps as a figure appeared through the bushes, shaking and looking at the deer with hungry eyes, clothes torn apart.

"Who are you?" Niklaus called, and his father hissed for his son to be quiet, stepping forwards, blade rising as he did so. "Answer!" He demanded and the girl muttered. "Lost..."

There was a silence, then Niklaus heard his father say. "Why are you out here alone? And bloodied?"

"My family... big... wolves. They are all..." she didn't finish as tears appeared in her eyes, and Niklaus felt a wave of pity for the poor, poor girl. Her family had been torn apart by wolves by the sounds of it.

Her hair was red. Maybe it was drenched in blood, but it was a deep dark scarlet like the leaves upon the ground. Her eyes were a dark emerald green, brimming with silvery tears.

She looked so... pitiful.

"She is no danger." Niklaus told his father, and he was of the same mind- she was harmless. From the blood on her feet, she'd been running for days. Starved too from the way she was staring at their kill with hungry, ravenous eyes. Like a wild animals.

"Let's take her back to Mother." Niklaus said now, and his father scoffed. "We are not taking in strays, Niklaus."

"But can we leave her to die here in the woods? I think not." The boy snapped, walking forwards towards the girl... who stepped back, eyes wide in fear as he did so.

"I won't hurt you." He promised her, eyes sincere, offering her his hand. The girl looked at it, then hesitantly took it, letting the young boy pull her forwards, his smile making the corners of her mouth twitch a little as she did the ghost of a smile.

Niklaus' father rolled his eyes now, then heaved the deer onto his own back, knowing that Niklaus would be more interested in this girl than carrying the food back to their house..

-SiAyK-

The girl was silent the entire way, and only just before they exited the forest did Niklaus ask of her.

"What is your name?"

She met his aqua eyes with her own emerald ones, then muttered. "Azalea."

He smiled, then nodded. "I am Niklaus."

Azalea nodded too, then froze up as she found herself face-to-face with a small town. She'd not seen people for nigh a week.

She felt a hand take hers once more, then she looked up, meeting Niklaus' eyes once more, letting him pull her forwards, her bloodstained and ripped cream dress fluttering in the low wind.

"Esther!"

Azalea jolted now as the man called, walking into the house before him, dumping the deer down on the table, making it creak a little under its weight.

Niklaus sat down at the wooden table now, reaching forwards and plucked an apple from the bowl, then took another, tossing it to Azalea who caught it in a jolt, watching the boy before her bite into his own, then followed in his example, biting into the sweet and juicy and fruit.

She looked around now, taking in the warm and stuffy atmosphere, the low fire set in the wall burning away, the hearth before it with a wolf fur rug. It seemed so dark inside, but the lit candles gave it a warm and homey glow.

There were footsteps now, then she looked up to see a woman enter the room, and Azalea supposed that she was the woman the man had called for- Esther.

She was tall, long blonde-brown hair that fell well down her back, sharp eyes flickering to the unfamiliar girl in her house. Her husband muttered something to her now, and she looked back to the girl.

The woman walked over to the girl now, sitting down on the chair next to her son so she was eye level with her.

"Tell me what happened dear." She asked, and Azalea shuffled her feet a little, then muttered. "Wolves. We were sleeping when they came. I just managed to get away as they tore the place apart..." There were tears rolling down her face now, and Esther sighed, leaning forwards and hugging the girl, looking over her shoulder to her husband who snapped.

"Don't you think seven is enough? We are not taking in a stray, Esther. We can find her a home somewhere else."

"But why can she not stay here?" Niklaus asked his father now, who snapped. "Quiet. This does not concern you Niklaus."

The boy scowled, but his mother agreed-

"One more cannot hurt." She pressed, leaning forwards and brushing the auburn hair from the girls emerald eyes, a smile upon her face. "Now... look at this- there is a beauty underneath all this grime."

Azalea smile a little at that, an ed to Niklaus. "Go find Rebekah. I am very sure she has a spare dress or two that would fit Azalea here."

Niklaus nodded, then got to his feet, tossing the apple core down onto the table in the process.

-SiAyK-

Eleven year old Rebekah couldn't have been more annoyed when her elder brother barged into the room, near enough pushed her off the bed and pulled out one of her dark blue dresses.

"Niklaus! Just what are you doing!" She demanded, and Niklaus shrugged, taking the dress down to the kitchen, but Rebekah followed, trying and failing to snatch the dress from her brothers grasp, hissing.

"Niklaus! Give me my dress or I am telling mother!"

Esther heard her daughters complaining and rolled her eyes- she should have gotten it herself.

"Rebekah! Niklaus!" She hissed now, walking over and grabbing the dress before it got ripped from the pair trying to yank it away from each other.

"Niklaus stole my dress!" Rebekah hissed now, folding her arms sulkily, honey blonde hair almost on end from the intensity of the anger she felt. Niklaus just smirked- all this fuss over a simple dress. Girls (!)

But now Rebekah noticed Azalea and frowned. "Who is this?" She looked to her brother and smirked, saying teasingly. "Niklaus has a girlfriend!"

Esther rolled her eyes once more, then slapped Niklaus' hand as he went for his sister, stopping him dead. "Stop it, both of you. Now, Niklaus, apologize to Rebekah for stealing her dress. I said an old one, not this one."

Niklaus shuffled his feet, and then a growl echoed through the hall.

"Apologize boy."

Rebekah glanced to her father as he glared at his son, then Niklaus mumbled. "Sorry."

"This is Azalea." Esther told her daughter now, and then added. "She will be staying with us for a while. Her village was torn apart."

Azalea looked down at that, trying not to let the tears spill out once more.

Rebekah felt a little guilty now at refusing the girl her dress. She stepped forwards and held it up now, offering Azalea it. She hesitated, then took it with a smile. "Thank you."

Rebekah was silent, then smiled herself. "Do you want to play in the orchard?"

The ghost of a smile appeared on Azaleas face now, and she nodded, letting the girl take her hand, yanking her outside.

Esther looked to the deer on her table, then asked Niklaus. "Why don't you go and play with them?"

Niklaus scoffed, folding his arms and saying defiantly.

"I don't play with girls."

Been wanting to make a more updated version of You And Your White Horse for a good while, so viola! :D This one's gonna be hotter, bloodier and when Thursday comes, we can have the flashbacks in:) I just want to know who Mikael isXD I still think that he's the Original father:) there wasn't a dagger in him, and he was chained down. Wouldn't the witch of killed him instead if he was a normal vampire? Hmm... it would make sense if he was daddy original- out for revenge for his family being killed. Oh, come on ThursdayXD anyway, hope you like this new little idea:) I'll update if enough people are interested in another chapter:) x Nic By the way... is anyone else having edit problems?

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