Part 5

10th century

Frida was climbing in the tallest tree in the woods. It was dark, but that didn't bother her at all, not anymore. She could see everything clearly, thanks to her mother's spell. She was fast and strong, stronger than any man in the village. Strong enough to save Henrik… The thought was nothing but painful. Why hadn't their mother performed this spell before Henrik had died? None of these new abilities meant anything to Frida without her twin.

She had imagined so many times how she and Henrik could have run in the woods together, climb in trees, swim in the river… With teary eyes she looked up at the starry sky. Elijah had said to her that Henrik was one of those stars now and he would always be there, looking down at her. That was why Frida often climbed in trees; she wanted to make sure that Henrik would be able to see her.

"Henrik?" she called. "Can you hear me? It's me, Frida. So many things have happened; I do not even know where to start…" She paused and sighed. "I am worried about our family. Kol and Nik… They… They have changed. So has Bekah. And Eli. And Finn… He is suffering. The thirst is killing him. I can feel it too, every single moment."

She paused again and let out a sob.

"I fed last night. I bit someone and drink his blood. I didn't kill him, but Kol did. He said that we can't leave people alive to tell about us. I know he was right, but all of this feels so wrong. I know things would be better if you would be here."

She burst into tears and cried for a long while.

"I miss you so much."

Finally she managed to climb back down. The moon was full, but there was no howling. There were no wolfmen in these woods anymore, her brothers and father had made sure of that. They hadn't taken Frida with them, no matter how much she had tried. Eventually their father had told Bekah and Finn to make sure that Frida would stay home. It had been nothing but unfair, Henrik had been her twin. She headed home, hoping to find her mother. Right now she really needed someone to hug her. As she approached her home, she heard that her mother wasn't alone. Ayanna was there.

"Esther, you must fix this," Frida heard her saying. "What you did was a crime against nature. You created monsters."

"I know," Esther sighed. "I chained Niklaus' werewolf side…"

"That is not enough," Ayanna said firmly. "You must fix what you have done."

"They are my children…"

"Are they? Give me an honest answer; do you recognize them as your children anymore?"

Esther was quiet for a moment before replying.

"No. Mikael also thinks that we should kill them."

"He is right, you must do that. I will help you."

"Thank you. They are still my children, I am not sure if I could do that alone."

"You won't have to, we will do it together. Can you count on Mikael to help us?"

"I believe so. He is still very angry after learning the truth about Niklaus' father, but he will help us, I am sure of it."

"Good. We shall need the white oak tree."

"Yes, my children burned it, but Mikael saved some parts of it."

"Very good. I will go and make some preparations, come to my cottage with Mikael as soon as he comes home."

"I will. Thank you, my friend."

Frida was too shocked to move, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother and father were going to kill her and her siblings. No… No, that couldn't be true. Her mother wouldn't do that, no. Frozen like a statue, she stayed out of sight until Ayanna left. After that she walked slowly towards her home. She didn't have time to go in when Nik suddenly appeared from the woods and zoomed inside.

"Mother!" he shouted. "What did you do to me?!"

"Niklaus, calm yourself," Esther replied. "I did what was best for all of us…"

"You lied to me! You always knew the truth about who I was and you lied!"

"Niklaus…"

"For all this time you let Mikael torment me when I could have been with my real father. With my own kind!"

"Do I need to remind you that it was your kind who killed Henrik.…"

Frida heard a gasp and looked inside. Nik had just grabbed Esther by the throat.

"Undo it!" Nik snarled. "Let me be who I am."

"No," Esther replied. "I will never undo it…"

Esther couldn't finish her sentence when Niklaus slammed his fist through her chest and ripped her heart out. Frida covered her mouth with her hands, she couldn't move. Both Esther and Nik looked equally shocked before she collapsed in his arms.

"Mother?" he murmured. "Mother? No! No, no, no!"

Tears were coursing down Nik's cheeks as he held their mother's body.

"I-I didn't mean… I'm so sorry."

Frida didn't move or make a sound until she heard someone approaching. Kol, Elijah, Finn and Rebekah. Elijah went in first and gasped in shock.

"Mother! Niklaus what happened?"

It took a moment before Nik replied.

"Father… He…He killed mother."

"No!" Rebekah cried out and burst into tears. Finn tried to calm her down by wrapping his arms around her.

"We…we must leave," Nik murmured.

"Yes…" Elijah said. "Yes, you are right. We need to find Frida…"

"I am here," Frida heard herself saying.

Kol turned quickly to look at her and tried to block her view.

"Don't look, Frida," he said and touched her hair. "Don't look."

She didn't say anything, she couldn't. Her eyes met Nik's and she saw nothing but despair. He was terrified for his family to find out what he had done. Frida wasn't going to tell them. Her family was already broken; she didn't want to break it any more. She buried her face in Kol's shoulder as he hugged her. Nothing would ever be the same again.

The whole living room was dead quiet after Frida finished her story. The silence lasted for a long while before Nik spoke.

"You knew it was me?" he murmured.

Frida nodded.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you…?"

"What good would have that done to anyone?"

"I can't believe it," Rebekah murmured. "Mother was going to kill us."

"Yes, how wonderful parents we have," Kol snorted and emptied his glass.

"Frida, you should have told us," Elijah said.

"Why? Wasn't it enough that our father wanted us dead? Would it have helped to know that mother also wanted to kill us and Nik killed her?"

"No," Kol huffed. "I say hell with them both."

"She was still our mother," Finn muttered. "Nothing changes that. And even if she wanted us dead, that does not erase everything Niklaus have done to us."

"No, it doesn't," Frida replied. "But maybe now we could try to be a family again. At least try."

"Hmm, you want us to forgive him, Gretel?" Kol hummed.

"That's your choice to make."

"How about you, sister?" Finn asked. "Will you forgive him?"