The Original Champion Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Betrayal



Every early morning, Leif rushed to secretly spectate the training matches between Elijah and Niklaus— with Niklaus always coming on top. But surprisingly, Leif never saw Mikael praising the young boy. 



As a Viking, Leif understood that it was rare for children to be praised for their combat skills. Most children were trained to fight right after they took their first step and hence it was not a big deal to be a good warrior before becoming an adult. 



But Leif admitted that Niklaus was a prodigy. The boy started his training three years after Elijah, but not a single time has Elijah been able to defeat his younger brother. 



And despite that, Mikael ignored Niklaus. Leif never understood why Niklaus was treated that way, but he refrained from asking the young Mikaelson about it. 



"*Huuck!* You win." 



Leif saw Elijah's sword flying out of his hand and Niklaus standing in triumph with his sword near Elijah's neck. 



"That makes it my thirty-eight win, brother." Niklaus declared proudly and extended his left hand. Elijah smiled and took the hand before standing up.



"You have improved." Elijah praised his prodigal younger brother and proceeded to swat away the dust.



Leif watched the brothers from a tree as a smile appeared on his face. 



He wasn't allowed to meet the Mikaelsons but he could stare at them from afar. The only times he could meet them was during the sunset, when Mikael was busy reviewing the reports and there was no one to snitch on them.



The only ones that he interacted with were Elijah and Niklaus… And sometimes the little princess, Rebekah. 



Rebekah was beautiful and was the talk of the village, but because of her father— men feared approaching her. 



And the fact that she was eleven was another factor. The girls of their villages were not allowed to be close to boys before they turned twelve and at the age of thirteen, they could marry. 



But it was rare for girls to get married at that age and it was often a year or two later when the marriages took place. So, most girls in their villages were married off before turning fifteen.



Leif got off the tree and rushed towards his house. He went to the small training ground that he made and started training with his father's old sword.



He kept the sword polished as it was the only sword that he had. Swords were expensive and since his father used an axe, that was the only sword he possessed. 



He hacked and slashed a straw dummy that he made— cutting it using the sword techniques that he saw Mikael, Elijah and Niklaus use in their daily practices. 



He knew that his skills were worse than Niklaus' but he believed his skills to be superior to Elijah's. 



He slashed off the straw doll's head and took a deep breath.



'With a little more training, I will be able to reach Niklaus' level.' 



As he saw the sun going down, he knew it was time to meet the Mikaelsons.



Taking the sword with him, he rushed out to meet the Mikaelson siblings in their secret location. 



And that secret location was near the village's oldest white oak tree which was next to the lakeside.



Reaching his destination, he found Niklaus, Elijah and Rebekah talking amongst themselves.



There were three more Mikaelson siblings but he rarely interacted with them. Kol was twelve and chatty so he didn't intend to interact with the little guy.



As for the oldest son, Finn— Leif didn't trust the boy. He was overly attached to his mother and Leif knew that Finn informed every little detail to Esther. He feared that Mikael might hear Finn's narration one day and that could end up with him getting beheaded. 



As for Henrik, the boy was sickly and didn't interact with people outside his family. 



"You are a little late, Leif." 



Niklaus jumped from the tree branch that he was sitting on. 



"What Niklaus meant was that we are glad that you could make it." Elijah added as Rebekah giggled. 



"It's alright, Elijah. I know that I am a little late." 



Leif agreed with Niklaus. "So, what's with your hair Niklaus?" 



The younger Mikaelson grinned. "I cut it a little. It was getting in my way of training."



Leif shrugged. "I did see your spar with Elijah, you have improved."



Niklaus' grin grew bigger. "That, I have Leif."



Leif looked at Rebekah and adopted a kind smile. "And you grow prettier by each passing day, little princess."



The little girl flustered at his compliment. 



"Thank you…" She replied meekly at which Niklaus burst out laughing. 



"You just sent her to cloud nine, my friend." Niklaus said. "Now she won't be able to sleep at night and keep us awake as well."



"Nik!" Rebekah yelled at her older brother, embarrassed by his declaration.



The three boys laughed as they looked at the embarrassed blonde. It was a daily thing for them to joke around and none of them took any offence to anything that the other person said. 



"Anyways, I heard that we will have new people joining our village in three months." Elijah smiled. "And that means we can meet in the open as everyone will be too busy to bother with us."



"That's great!" Klaus exclaimed. 



"That's good but we shouldn't be hasty."



Elijah agreed with Leif and nodded.



"Anyhow… Leif, want to see what I learnt?" Klaus asked as he took out his sword. 



Leif smiled and took out the sword of his own. 



"I don't mind."



They smiled and started to duel with Elijah as the judge and Rebekah cheering for the boys.



But as expected, Leif lost.



…


…



[Year: 1001]



Leif was now in his early twenties. But during the spring of the year 1001, Leif saw Elijah and Niklaus infatuated over a beautiful girl that had shifted to their village. Leif warned the brothers that it might cause a dent in their relationship but the Mikaelsons said it was not a big deal.



Leif was worried as he knew that the girl was in love with Elijah and that was going to cause trouble as Niklaus hated losing.



As the days passed by, it was made clear by the girl that she loved Elijah and not Niklaus. 



That night when she confessed, Niklaus drank all night with Leif. The girl, Tatia was beautiful but Leif knew that she was trouble. However, he decided to not interfere as he had no right to interfere with the love life of the boys.



So, he decided to support their choices instead.



…


…



[Autumn of 1001]



Tragedy had stricken the Mikaelsons as the youngest Mikaelson, Henrik was killed by werewolves. 



Leif knew that the boys had snuck out to see the beasts and that ended up horribly for them. He felt sorrow for them but he wasn't capable of helping them.



Days later he realised that Mikael had beaten Niklaus as he blamed the boy for Henrik's death.



Leif supported the siblings whenever they met but there was only a little that he could do.



He had been meeting them regularly to make sure that the Tatia drama didn't ruin their brotherly bond. In the evenings he met the boys and during the day he learnt to read the old tongue from Ayana Bennet, a witch who was a friend of Esther.



Ester was also a witch but she didn't practice her craft as much as Ayana did. 



Leif was fascinated by witchcraft and wanted to learn it but Ayana revealed that he didn't have the magic required to become a witch. He was heartbroken by the revelation but he settled for learning some minor alchemy alongside the old tongue. 



Ayana warned him that his star alignments were off and that he was in danger, but Leif dismissed her worries as he knew that the village was at peace and there wasn't going to be a war in a very long time.



He diligently practised his swordsmanship and he believed that he was on Niklaus' level now. But since he hasn't fought anyone other than the Mikaelson siblings, he fell short on the experience part. 



[Days Later]



During the evening, Leif received an unexpected guest in the form of Finn.



"Leif, Elijah and Nik want to meet you at the usual location."



Leif was surprised as in his twenty-three years of living here, he never had Finn talk with him. But since he was Ester's beloved son, he decided to believe him and went with him.



He arrived at the lakeside but didn't find Niklaus or Elijah. This made him suspicious, but as he saw Esther, he relaxed.



Smiling at the motherly woman, he greeted her.



"Greetings, Lady Esther. I thought Niklaus and Elijah were supposed to be here?"



Ester smiled. "They went to fetch a few things, so till they arrive, would you like to take a walk with me?"



Leif was confused but he could never reject Esther's request. 



"Of course."



He smiled and took a stroll with her while Finn decided to stay by the lakeside. 



It was weird for Finn to not be with his mother but Leif decided to overlook it as Esther seemed to have something important to discuss with him.



They walked under the moonlight discussing various things about life. But as they kept walking, Leif felt something off— he felt sleepy. 



It was barely nighttime and he never slept that early so it felt weird to him. 



"I am… a bit dizzy." He mumbled as his legs went weak. 



Leif was confused and it grew bigger when he saw Ester with a sad smile.



"Forgive me, Lief."



That was the last thing he heard before losing consciousness. 



…


…



Leif woke up with a massive headache and with pain engulfing his body. 



'Arrgh… What happened?'



He slowly opened his eyes and immediately frowned as he saw himself being chained down. He smelt blood in the air and that worried him.



'I was with Esther… What happened from there?'



He tried to break the chains but it was to no avail. 



"Someone help!" He yelled, denying to believe that it was Esther who chained him.



"It's no use, boy…" 



He heard a voice that instantly made him pale. 



"No one can help you." The person said, taking a sword in his hand.



Leif shook around, trying to break the chains— but his actions were futile.



"Lord… Lord Mikael, why am I chained?!"



Mikael didn't reply and looked towards the doorway. "Esther, bring in the kids!"



Leif was shocked as sorrow and anger filled his eyes when he saw Esther walking out with her five children. 



Finn, Elijah, Niklaus, Kol and Rebekah. 



All of them refused to meet his eyes, which caused his heart to break. 



"You… all are in this?" 



Leif asked in confusion, sorrow, anger and betrayal. 



None of them said anything but Mikael had a lot to say.



"Despite warning you to stay away… You still met with my kids, boy…" Mikael gritted his teeth. "You corrupted my children and tried to make them rebel against me."



Leif was shocked. While the first part was correct the latter was a lie.



"My Lord, I would nev-"



"Silence!" Mikael roared. "You didn't keep your word. And do you know what happens when people don't keep their word in this village?"



Leif was scared at that point. Mikael was a beast that even the beasts feared.



"They die…" He said and looked at Elijah



"Elijah, you know what to do." 



Elijah looked at his father and then at Leif. He shuddered a little as his father yelled again.



"Elijah!"



The other Mikaelsons stood in their places with Esther holding Niklaus in his place.



"I won't ask again, Elijah."



Elijah slowly took his steps towards Leif with a sword in his hand.



Leif felt betrayed by the brotherly figure that walked towards him.



All those years of friendship, all the years of trust gone in an instant.



Leif felt angry and betrayed as he looked at the sensible Mikaelson.



He knew he was going to be killed here, but he wanted to know one thing—



"Why?"



Elijah looked at Leif as he heard the question.



"I had no choice."



Leif was fuming at the reply. After everything that had happened… He dared to say that he had no choice?



"We all have a choice!" Leif yelled. "Yo-"



But his words were cut short as a sharp sword plunged straight into his heart. He looked at Elijah who had an impassive face. 



"Forgive me, my friend."



That was the last thing Leif heard, before drifting into the darkness.



"I… had no choice."



__________________________________________________________________________