#731days

Day 182

It had been half a year since Nathaniel, Rebekah and Augustus first found themselves trapped within the ghost town of Helton and luckily for Augustus Rebekah’s attentions switched from torturing him to uncovering the secrets of the town in which her friend Nathaniel and her brother Henrik once called home.

She knew there was something especially eery to Helton some reason to why it had become a ghost town in those six months she researched in the rundown library, scoured the woods endlessly and turned every abandoned home upside down numerous times but it wasn’t until she went deep within the woods that she uncovered something she never knew existed within the ghost town she had been forced to call her home.

Rebekah went deep into the woods deeper than before until she came to the end of the woods and found herself staring at a small farm with an even smaller home on the land instantly sending her chills down her back and that was before Augustus walked out the front door of the farm home.

“182.” He shouted at her as he began walking towards her and her towards him.

“What the bloody hell are you shouting about?” She asked him while continuing to look around the abandoned farm.

“182 days it took you to finally find this place.” Augustus replied to her. “I had you finding it sooner, but those woods do tend to play tricks on the mind.”

“What is this place anyway?” Rebekah quizzed the Malus witch.

“You really do know nothing about this place.” Augustus responded with a laugh. “You can’t blame my son he gets his distrust from me.”

“He gets it from running from you for a thousand years.” Rebekah snapped at him.

“This little farm is my home or at least at one stage in my life it was my home although it wasn’t here when Nathaniel lived here or at least the second time he lived here.” Augustus revealed to her before out of nowhere Rebekah and Augustus found themselves in the woods once again. “And I guess it’s gone once again.”

“What the bloody hell is with this town?” Rebekah asked while looking around the woods in confusion. “I thought we’re cut off from all magic.”

“We’re not talking about magic when it comes to this place we’re talking about pain, loss, rage and death the four most powerful forces in the world.” Augustus revealed. “Helton really puts the ghost in ghost town the land itself is cursed by the blood of my wife.”

“The Other Side is gone how is that even possible?” Rebekah quizzed knowing the answers would just make her more confused.

“This is where I murdered my betrothed and it’s also the land in which several terrible acts were committed not just by me but by your brother and my son. I may have cursed this land, but they made sure the curse was never broken.” Augustus explained to her. “My wife was a powerful witch who feared her own death at my hands and bound herself to this land before I killed her only, she didn’t just bind herself she bound everyone who died to this land for centuries.”

“So, this place is freaking haunted by a curse that’s not broken by the whole no magic deal?” Rebekah asked.

“It may have started as a spell, but it grew into something far worse it grew into Malus.” Augustus admitted. “This town is the source to our power this is where the Malus witches were slaughtered by me after my wife’s death and this is where they remained. Malus was only meant to be a magic opposite to nature to keep a balance however I manipulated it to my own gain to possess unseen power but now there’s no magic in place draining the land we are left with just ghosts very angry ghosts.”

“The whispering woods are the spirits of people you killed.” Rebekah realized.

“People myself, Henrik and Nathaniel all killed yes although mostly me.” Augustus revealed to the original vampire turned human by their prison.

“Why are you telling me all this?” She asked clearly not trusting of a man she believed was more monster than man.

“Without magic I am as human as you are and since you’ve stopped torturing me…” Augustus began to say.

“You’re lonely,” Rebekah scoffed while rolling her eyes. “Imagine how lonely it would be on the run for a thousand years.”

“Imagine how lonely it would be being possessed by darkness for a thousand years.” Augustus told her and, in that moment,, Rebekah began to see a man within the monster who had made her friend’s life hell for so long a man within the monster who had made his own son’s life hell for most of his life.

Day 243

8 months had passed in Helton and things weren’t getting any better for the three remaining residents Rebekah Mikaelson had managed to form a wedge between herself and Nathaniel due to her newfound and reluctant alliance with his father Augustus but despite how much she long to repair her fractured friendship she wanted to return to her family more and Nathaniel wasn’t willing to help leave this prison he had helped create for them all.

Nathaniel Malin would’ve loved to leave Helton behind and find Henrik once again, but he knew that would mean allowing his father back out into the world and that was not an option for him. He knew if they remained within the ghost town his father nor himself would cause anymore harm and that they’d both be free from the darkness that lured their lives. That never stopped him worrying about the man he claimed as his son but deep down he had faith in Elijah being able to save Henrik from himself.

Augustus Malin was a story that witches told their children in the night a tale of too much power leading to destruction of oneself. He was considered a monster and rightly, so the man killed his coven, murdered his own wife and hunted his own son for a thousand years all in the name of claiming more power. However, without that magic, without the darkness corrupting his very soul he was just a man who did terrible things which now weighed heavy on his soul. Augustus sought out redemption but neither Nathaniel nor Rebekah were going to give that to him easily.

Nathaniel sat on his rocking chair with a blanket around him outside of his run down cabin that was placed just before the Helton woods as he watched the flames burn on the large bonfire he had built when he noticed his father Augustus walking towards his home.

“Unless you’re here to provide yourself as kindling for my fire then I suggest you walk straight back around.” Nathaniel warned him.

“I proposed to your mother around a bonfire just like this one.” Augustus revealed to him.

“You don’t get to mention her name you lost that right when you killed her.” Nathaniel snapped at his father as he stood up to face him.

“She was a remarkable woman, stubborn, brave and fearless just like you.” Augustus continued while walking closer towards his son.

“Oh, I was filled with fear for a thousand years wondering each day if it was my last if my father was going to kill me.” Nathaniel admitted to him. “You took my mother from me and then you took my life from me. My entire existence has been outrunning you and nothing else.”

“I’m not using this as an excuse of any kind but once the Malus takes a hold as you know there’s this undeniable darkness that consumes you. I didn’t have that darkness before I killed my own wife nor my coven on this very land however I was consumed by it by the time I began hunting you.” Augustus told his son. “How else do you think a baby managed to escape me? Because I let you go to a witch who hid you from me knowing one day, I would no longer feel that love and only the darkness.”

“So, what? You expect me to be grateful because you couldn’t kill me as a baby?” Nathaniel snapped.

“You have a million reasons to hate me for the rest of eternity Nathaniel and no-one would ever blame you, but I have a million reasons why I love you my son.” Augustus explained to the son he had spent most of his life hunting. “You lost your mother at my hands, then you lost the family that raised you and spent your life on the run and yet you still managed to love you still managed to find yourself some form of family.”

“Because I’d never allow you to beat me.” Nathaniel replied with pure hatred in his eyes for his father.

“I admire that more than you could ever imagine even when I had no emotions, I admired that.” Augustus told him. “I wish I could rewrite our history; I wish I could stop myself from killing your mother and my coven. Your mother truly was remarkable just like you.”

“Then why kill her?” Nathaniel asked with tears forming in her eyes. “Why on earth would you kill her?”

“She was a Malus witch too, a beautiful raven-haired woman with skin so pale it was like it had never been touched by sun, her lips blood red. Her name was Clara.” Augustus said while revealing Nathaniel’s mother’s name to his son for the first time. “She had a vision of well I guess me becoming the monster I am today and she wanted to run with you I never meant to kill her but I was fighting to keep you and one thing lead to another and…”

“You killed her.” Nathaniel said as her voice began to break. “She was your first taste of Malus power.”

“And from then on I needed more and more until it consumed me.” Augustus admitted much to his own disgust and his son’s horror.

Day 365

An entire year had passed, and Rebekah was still trapped in Helton alongside warring father and son Augustus and Nathaniel although a lot had changed in four months.

Rebekah had found her friendship with Nathaniel fully restored which was far from easy considering she did kill him that one time but risking eternity in a prison world for him proved to be quite the deal breaker even if Nathaniel didn’t like her growing friendship with the man who murdered his mother and tried to kill him.

Rebekah was still adamant there was a key, trick or loophole in which she would find that would lead her out of the ghost town once and for all refusing to give up on her family and striking up an unlikely friendship with Augustus in the process.

Augustus was far from the monster he once was he showed care for Rebekah and a longing for reconciliation with his son although Rebekah denied her care for him out of respect to Nathaniel who avoided his father like a plague and in a small town like Helton his avoidance was rather impressive.

Augustus without Malus was just a normal man who had done monstrous things and although neither Rebekah nor Nathaniel would admit it, they had begun to see the man within the monster.

Nathaniel stood in front of the rundown Helton Hotel within the town center of Helton looking at the building with a sense of reminiscence the building clearly meaning a lot to him with a history running deep into his heart.

“Out of all the places I catch you lurking around here this bloody hotel tends to be your number one spot.” Rebekah said to him while walking up to him from behind having walked from the direction leading towards the Helton woods.

“And I always find you either coming in or out of the woods.” Nathaniel replied while turning to face his friend. “How many times has it led you there?”

“A few times not before it kicks me out it tends to kick Augustus out too; I figure you’re the one it wants to visit not us.” Rebekah revealed to him.

“I know I’m a Malus witch and with that comes a certain level of macabre but even I am not willing to visit the scene of my mother’s murder at the hands of my own father.” Nathaniel admitted.

“Trust me I understand that,” Rebekah replied before looking at the hotel. “So, what’s the deal with this place? I know your big on secrets but one little slip up is hardly going to be the undoing of this bloody prison world.”

“The hotel once belonged to me in one of my many attempts to live a human life,” Nathaniel said with a sigh of sadness. “I didn’t know the land was cursed at first or that it was the town in which so many of my kind were slaughtered by my father.”

“What happened here why was this place abandoned?” Rebekah quizzed him.

“It wasn’t abandoned the townspeople still reside here they just reside among the dead.” Nathaniel explained to her. “I was under the illusion Henrik and I could live a normal life here my worshipers told me of a land my father never dared step foot and so we moved here. I was genuinely happy here running this little hotel and dealing with the miserable townsfolk but like it does so many times disaster struck as Henrik’s darkness grew stronger.”

“He slaughtered the entire town I guess mass murdering really does run in the family.” Rebekah responded.

“Not all some survived his violent outburst but I couldn’t let them escape Helton flee and then spread word of what had happened after all we were in hiding so I murdered the remaining survivors and buried their bodies in the woods with a cloaking spell.” Nathaniel revealed. “It was big story back then how an entire town vanished from out of sight becoming something of an urban legend until it started to slip from people’s minds. Ironic how I made them disappear and now we’ve disappeared with the town itself.”

Day 425

Two months had passed since Nathaniel’s bloody revelation to Rebekah and their friendship had grown stronger than ever because of it.

Rebekah revealed her loves and losses over the years to him while he admitted he had only ever loved one man truly and that was her brother Klaus Mikaelson. She told him of the near calls and horrors of her own father hunting her while Nathaniel shared his own father horror stories. Rebekah complained about the many struggles of being Klaus, Elijah and Kol’s sister for a thousand years while Nathaniel admitted to the burden of playing father to the mass murdering Henrik.

It was as if a thousand years had never passed and Rebekah and Nathaniel were as close now as they were back in their human years if not closer. However, Nathaniel remained distant from his father until one day he went deep into the woods.

Nathaniel was reluctant at first but after many conversations with Rebekah he decided to go into the woods and continued to roam until he found himself out of the woods and on to the run-down farm that Rebekah and his father had previously visited.

He had no memory of the place in which he was born and yet he felt a connection to the place as he walked towards the farmhouse he began having flashbacks of a woman running across the field holding a baby covered in cloth the woman looking terrified while trying to soothe her crying child only for Augustus to appear as if from out of nowhere right in front of her.

“If only I saw the monster within the man sooner.” The woman said to Nathaniel as she appeared in front of him and was no longer in his flashbacks.

“Mum,” Nathaniel said to her as tears formed in his eyes. “How is this even possible? This place is free from magic I had a powerful witch see to it myself.”

“The afterlife holds a very different magic to that of witches.” She revealed to him. “As to why I’m here instead of finding some peace well that answer lies within my own blame. I’m trapped here for as long as your father walks this earth because of a spell I was foolish enough to believe would help me be around for you somehow.”

“I always wondered what you would look like what you would be like if you regretted having me.” He cried. “I mean it’s because of me that you died if you weren’t trying to save me you would never have died that way.”

“Oh, my darling Nathaniel you hold no blame in any of this you were just a baby born to a cruel world filled with malice.” She explained to her son. “If I knew what your father would become if I knew what giving birth to you would lead to I’d do it all over again because you got to live and that’s all a mother wants for their child.”

“But I’ve not lived mother not really I’ve spent centuries on the run longing for a life but never really getting one because of him.” Nathaniel admitted. “And now I’m trapped here forever but at least I’m finally reunited with you.”

“You’re not trapped here forever,” Clara revealed to her son while placing her hand on his cheek to comfort him in his time of need. “There’s always a loophole when it comes to any spell and it just so happens, I know how you and your friend can leave this place behind forever and finally get to live your life however you choose.”

“How?” Nathaniel asked clearly eager to know the answer.

“The spell was created to hold your father and therefore can be broken by his death.” Clara made clear to him.

“But Rebekah killed him a bunch of times and he just came back the next day.” Nathaniel told his mother.

“A Malus witch can only truly be killed by a Malus witch they made sure of long before even your father’s and my time.” Clara confessed. “For you and Rebekah to be rid of this town and be free you’re going to need to kill your father.”

Day 547

The First year in Helton had been and gone and Rebekah, Nathaniel and Augustus were nearing their second with only six months to go.

Rebekah had found ways to pass the time she spent in this ghost town turned prison world as her reluctant bond with Augustus took an unexpected passionate turn beginning a sordid affair they both knew to keep hidden from Nathaniel knowing he’d feel betrayed for many reasons; one being Rebekah was his only friend and another being Augustus was well Augustus.

Augustus knew Rebekah had no feelings for him and he had none for her but their time together they both cherished making them feel anything other than completely and utterly alone.

Nathaniel was not one for helping anyone feeling less lonely having struggled in recent months after being told by the spirit of his mother he had to kill his father which surprisingly to him he had found himself not wanting to do. His hatred for the man had dwindled as he started to see him as another victim of the all-consuming Malus which he too possessed.

Nathaniel felt guilty towards his mother for not particularly wanted to kill the man who murdered her, furious with his father for making himself more human to him and even more guilty towards Rebekah knowing how much she wanted to be reunited with her family but not willing to make the sacrifice needed for her family reunion this time around.

Rebekah climbed off Augustus’ naked body before falling to the floor of the abandoned church, so she was lying next to him with nothing but a sheet covering their sweaty naked bodies having quite clearly just having sex.

“I can’t quite decide whether torturing you or sleeping with you is more enjoyable.” Rebekah joked before kissing Augustus passionately. “Definitely the torture part.”

“Well I certainly prefer one to the other however both don’t require much sleeping.” Augustus said with a smirk before kissing Rebekah once more.

“Oh, bloody hell,” Rebekah groaned as Augustus began kissing her neck. “Nathaniel is going to kill us both.”

Day 730

Two years had officially gone by and Helton was still the only place Rebekah, Augustus and Nathaniel called home unable or unwilling on Nathaniel’s part to break the curse that kept them in the ghost town turned prison world.

Nathaniel had grown rather fond of the peace and quiet and took his time to read several books from what remained of Helton’s library and would often attempt Rebekah’s hand at reading some literature leading to a book club of sorts being formed between the two and Nathaniel quickly noticed Rebekah’s only genre of literature she had any interest in was that of romance perfectly fitting for the girl who normally fell in love too easily.

Nathaniel sat on a bench just outside the decaying building which was one a store within the town center while reading “Wuthering Heights” the book itself looking as old as when it was first released in 1847 which is when Nathaniel more than likely purchased this book.  He was so engrossed within the story he hadn’t noticed his father Augustus walking up the street towards him until it was too late, and Augustus was in front of him.

“I’d be careful about seeking out all consuming passions they tend to consume you in ways not written in books.” Augustus said to him as Nathaniel closed his book and stood up to face his father.

“Ironic that the king of consumption wants to advise me on that particular topic.” Nathaniel replied coldly.

“Your snaps are getting less sharp my son either your growing lazy or your starting to hate me less.” Augustus responded with a smile.

“Don’t worry father my hate for you grows stronger with every day that goes by.” Nathaniel said to his father, a statement which neither of them believed.

Their altercation was quickly interrupted when they saw Rebekah walk past them holding a sledgehammer looking like a furious woman on a mission forcing them both to follow her in a quest to find out what she was up to.

Nathaniel and Augustus continued to follow Rebekah step for step right through the town center and towards the road leaving Helton knowing she couldn’t be trying to leave having given up with this method within the first weeks of being trapped there.

They continued to follow Rebekah right up to the Helton graffiti-ed sign with nothing behind it but woods and forestry before she began screaming frantically as she wielded the sledgehammer at the sign multiple times leaving the sign dented in the process before Nathaniel and Augustus managed to walk over to her, Augustus taking the sledgehammer off the furious Mikaelson woman.

“I hate it here!” She screamed. “I hate this miserable little ghost town; I hate the infuriating spirits who never bloody show themselves. I hate everything about this god forsaken town, and I want the hell out right now!”

“I know how to break the spell.” Augustus reluctantly admitted.

“You do?” Nathaniel asked, shocked to know he wasn’t the only one with the answer.

“Are you serious?” Rebekah questioned while attempting to pull herself together after her recent outburst. “Well do tell us.”

“The spell can only be broken by Nathaniel he has to kill me.” Augustus revealed much to Rebekah and Nathaniel’s shock.

Day 731

“Are you sure about this?” Nathaniel asked his father while he held a knife in his hand as the two of them and Rebekah stood within the ever-moving Helton Farm, the same farm in which Augustus had taken the life of Nathaniel’s mother.

“I took a magic once known only as opposite to nature our witches drew from death which is a natural process. I took that magic and I bastardized it to make myself more powerful at first, I only wanted to keep you but once I got a taste of true death I became addicted and therefore created the Malus in which we practice. I cursed this land by my own actions, I took your mother, your coven and your family.” Augustus admitted to his son. “It’s only right that my permanent death will not only free you to live a wonderful life but will restore the natural balance well and truly.”

“I’ve been running from you for so wrong I lost count of how many times I wished you dead and now I’m struggling to do the deed.” Nathaniel replied as tears formed in both his and his father’s eyes. “I do not blame you for the all-consuming darkness that consumed you, but I do thank you for your sacrifice. I wish you had a chance to be my father.”

“I do too,” Augustus revealed making tears form in Rebekah’s eyes. “I may have never been a father to you, but you have always been the most amazing son I could ever have asked for.”

Nathaniel lifted his hand that was holding the knife before cutting his father’s neck open with it harshly and quickly forcing him to fall to the ground and bleed out as tears fell down Nathaniel’s cheeks. Before Rebekah had a chance to comfort her grieving friend both her and Rebekah found themselves on a dead-end road with nothing but trees and forestry behind them.

The exact same spot in which Hope, Klaus and Bonnie stood two years and one day ago.

“Nathaniel,” Rebekah shouted as she looked down to see her belly which had what looked like at least a six-month pregnancy bump. “What the bloody hell?”