The French Quarter

Image Source: The French Quarter

My brother, Elijah, always had the best intentions for me. He told the best advice, and I would go to him for guidance.

That is until he started questioning my choice of fighting Damon and Stefan, so I put a stake in his heart to put him to sleep until I needed him again.

The Salvatore brothers were spotted lurking in the French Quarter by some vampires. I know they are coming for me and they are prepared after our many altercations.

The one thing is, I don’t know if I am prepared. I know it is time for me to wake up my brother. I need him to fight with me. I will not win this battle without him.

I go quickly to where his body was stored in the basement of our quarters. I look for a moment before pulling the stake out. He seems peaceful, like he has no troubles in life. For a moment, I feel guilt, as though I am pulling him right back into this misery—my misery. Maybe I am selfish for this, but I have to win against Damon and Stefan to prove my worth. For my father, who had always seen me as a weak little boy.

Elijah gasps for a breath as I pull the stake.

“It’s been a while, brother, but you need to get up quickly. Damon and Stefan are here, and I need you to fight alongside me,” I say to him.

“Niklaus, I do not advise provoking the Salvatores. They could very well be a danger to our family and the entire French Quarter. I urge you to stay hidden and let them pass through,” Elijah proclaims.

“Elijah, this is no time for your bland and neutral advice. I am going to win this fight, whether you choose to help me or not,” I say, refusing to back down.

“No matter how much I think this is a terrible idea, you are my brother. There is nothing I would not do for you, and I would never let you fight a battle on your own."

“Thank you, brother. Our family would not survive without you. Now let’s go show the Salvatore brothers that New Orleans is ours!"

We speed run out of the basement, on a hunt to find Damon and Stefan. I know they will be difficult to fight, but I am prepared now.

I turn the corner of an alleyway and see a shadowy figure in the distance. I try my hardest to picture who it is, when I suddenly get knocked over from the back.

I roll over on the sharp gravel, and try to regain balance. It is Stefan holding a white oak stake, trying to stab me with it.

The shadowy figure I saw being must have been his brother, Damon.

“We have got to stop meeting like this,” Stefan says humorously.

I was so thrown off by his attack, I did not notice that Elijah was fighting Damon. From my blurred vision from Stefan’s grip, I can see it was not good. Damon is holding Elijah by the throat, constricting his breath with every second.

They had outwitted us, trapping Elijah and me.

From the look Elijah gives me, I know it is over.

With no time to process, he gives me a remorseful look.

“Make good choices, Niklaus,” he chokes out.

He suddenly tries to pull out of Damon’s grasp, but to no avail. Damon is the stronger one this time, as the white oak stake pierces my brother’s heart. As Damon and Stefan escape, they leave me with a fate worse than my own death. I can only watch in agony as the life drains from my brother’s eyes.

I will make good choices for him.

Author's Note: This story focused on the relationship between Klaus and Elijah from The Originals. They reminded me of the relationship of Ravana and Kumbhakarna in the Ramayana. Something to note is that Niklaus is Klaus' full name and it is signature for Elijah to call him by that (he is the only one). Also, the white oak stake is the only thing that can kill an original vampire. I wanted to include the aspect of sleeping for Kumbhakarna and being woken up to fight the war with Ravana. Klaus would put his silblings to sleep with a stake and wake them up when he needed them in the show. Kumbhakarna advised Ravana to not fight Rama and that it would be dangerous to the family, but he fought anyways because he could not leave behind his brother. I ended the story on a cliffhanger on the aftermath of Elijah's death because I want the reader to imagine Klaus' emotions based off of his feelings towards his brother. In the shows, Klaus and Elijah are more powerful and stronger than Damon and Stefan, but I wanted the two relationship dynamics to be more similar to Rama and Lakshmana and Ravana and Kumbhakarna.

Banner Source: Death of Kumbhakarna

Bibliography: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs. Website: Tiny Tales