The Boy King's Journey in TVD/TO As A Mikaelson

Dawn painted the sky in shades of blood and gold as the Mikaelsons prepared to depart Castle de Martel. The courtyard was silent save for the soft sounds of horses being readied and weapons being checked one final time.

Vali stood at the gates, the mark on his arm pulsing steadily as he watched his siblings make their preparations. Tatia moved beside him, her presence a quiet constant.

"The scholars had maps," Kol announced, approaching with several aged parchments. "They marked the general location of Chenal-Iti, though the details grow... strange near the convergence points."

"Strange how?" Elijah asked, moving to examine the maps.

"The ink seems to shift," Kol explained, pointing to areas where the markings appeared to flow like water across the page. "As if the very concept of fixed location becomes fluid near the waters."

"Time and space behaving differently," Finn mused. "Just as the grimoire warned."

Klaus finished securing his horse's saddle, his expression troubled. "How long will the journey take?"

"Under normal circumstances, perhaps three weeks," Kol replied. "But with our steeds and these distortions..." he trailed off, studying the flowing marks on the map.

"Time is meaningless," Vali stated firmly. "We ride until we find her."

Rebekah stepped forward from where she'd been watching, Henrik at her side. "The castle will be secure in your absence," she assured them, though her voice carried an edge of frustrated acceptance. "The de Martels know their roles."

"Speaking of the de Martels," Elijah noted, glancing toward the castle's upper windows where Aurora watched their preparations, her face barely visible in the early light. "Are you certain about leaving them here?"

"They're loyal," Klaus defended immediately.

"They're useful," Vali corrected, his tone brooking no argument. "And they'll remain that way under Rebekah's supervision."

Lucien appeared from the stables, leading the last of the horses. His eyes kept darting to Aurora's window, but his voice remained steady as he reported, "Everything is prepared, my lord. The routes you requested have been marked."

"Good," Vali nodded. "Remember your instructions while we're gone. Any unusual movements from the other noble houses-"

"Will be reported immediately to Lady Rebekah," Lucien finished. "I understand, my lord."

Henrik stepped forward then, his young face set with determination. "I've been practicing the protection spells you showed me, Kol. I can-"

"Stay here and perfect them," Kol cut him off gently. "Your magic is growing stronger every day, little brother. But this journey..." he glanced at the shifting maps, "this isn't the time for practice."

Mikael, who had been silent throughout the preparations, finally moved toward his horse. The tooth hung from a leather cord around his neck, pulsing faintly like a beacon.

"We're wasting daylight," he said gruffly, though his eyes lingered on Henrik and Rebekah with poorly concealed concern.

"Father's right," Elijah agreed, mounting his own horse. "The sooner we depart..."

"The sooner we return," Finn finished, already seated and ready.

Vali turned to Tatia, their goodbye private despite the public setting. No words were needed - their bond transcended mere speech. She simply nodded, understanding in her eyes, and stepped back to join Rebekah.

As the others mounted, Vali swung himself onto his black stallion, the beast pawing the ground eagerly as if sensing its master's anticipation. The mark pulsed stronger now, almost eager for what lay ahead.

"Remember," he addressed Rebekah and Henrik one final time, "maintain our position here. Keep the de Martels close but controlled. And most importantly..." his black eyes swept between them, "stay alive."

With that, he spurred his horse forward, the others falling into formation behind him. The castle gates groaned open, revealing the road that would lead them south - toward Chenal-Iti, toward Freya, toward whatever ancient power awaited them in those judging waters.

As they rode out, Aurora's voice drifted down from her window - a soft "Be safe" meant for Klaus's ears alone. But it was Rebekah's unspoken farewell that hung heaviest in the air, her eyes fixed on her departing family until they disappeared into the distance.

The hunt for Freya had begun.

The morning mists gave way to bright sunlight as they rode south, leaving the familiar territories behind. By midday, they had covered considerable ground, their supernatural speed allowing them to push their horses far beyond mortal limits.

A testament to Henrik's achievement, allowing them to pour their own strength into their steeds. Reducing weeks of travel to less than even half.

Thoughm this is more so for the others, for the Black King, Ra'd, Vali's own, has become more of a familiar than anything, its very steps quaking the ground beneath it.

"The maps begin to distort more heavily here," Kol announced during their brief rest, spreading the parchments across a fallen log. The ink seemed to swim before their eyes, landmarks shifting positions as if refusing to be pinned down. "It's as if the closer we get to Chenal-Iti, the less reliable our guidance becomes."

"Then we follow the tooth," Mikael stated, touching the tooth at his neck. "It pulls stronger in certain directions."

"Like a compass pointing to Freya," Klaus observed.

"No," Mikael's voice carried an odd note. "Like something watching us through it."

Vali, who had been scanning the horizon, suddenly stiffened. The mark pulsed with warning just as a strange sound reached their ears - like water flowing upstream, defying nature itself.

"We're being followed," he announced calmly, though his black eyes gleamed with interest.

"Wolves?" Elijah asked, hand moving to his weapon.

"No," Vali's smile was sharp. "Something far more interesting."

Through the trees ahead, the air itself seemed to ripple like disturbed water. A figure began to take shape - not quite solid, not quite liquid, its form constantly shifting between states.

"A water spirit," Kol breathed, recognition dawning from his studies. "The Tahanawi people speak of them as messengers..."

"Or warnings," Finn added grimly.

The spirit, if that's what it was, raised what might have been an arm. Its voice, when it came, sounded like rapids over stones:

"The waters judge... the waters see... turn back now... or cease to be..."

Vali stepped forward, Ra'd pawing the ground eagerly behind him. The mark pulsed with dark energy as he addressed the spirit directly.

"Your waters may judge," he said coldly, "but I am beyond judgment. Step aside, or be scattered to the winds."

The spirit's form rippled, its watery voice taking on a harder edge: "Pride before the fall... the waters have seen all... what was... what will be... what must never come to pass..."

"Brother," Elijah warned, noting how the surrounding air grew heavy with moisture. "Perhaps we should-"

"No," Vali cut him off. "We don't have time for riddles and warnings." His black eyes fixed on the spirit. "You say your waters judge? Then let them try. But know this - I am a force unstoppable. Your threats mean nothing."

The spirit seemed to grow larger, its form spreading like mist across the path. "The mark you bear... the darkness you embrace... the waters remember... when angels fell from grace..."

Mikael touched the tooth at his neck, his expression troubled. "It knows about the mark."

"Of course it does," Kol muttered, consulting the grimoire. "If Gadreel truly guards these waters, he would recognize its power."

The spirit raised both arms now, and the very air began to condense around them. "Last warning... turn away... or face the price... all must pay..."

Vali's response was simple and final. The mark blazed crimson as he drew the First Blade, its ancient power making even the water spirit recoil.

"Enough warnings," he stated. "Either fight us or fade away. We're going to Chenal-Iti, through your waters, past your barriers, and nothing - not spirits, not angels, not time itself - will stop us."

The spirit's form wavered at the sight of the First Blade, its watery voice taking on a different tone - less threatening, more... curious.

"The Evil's mark... Death's chosen blade... such darkness here... yet purpose pure..." It seemed to study Vali with newfound interest. "Perhaps... perhaps..."

"Perhaps what?" Klaus demanded, but Finn raised a hand for silence, recognizing something changing in the spirit's demeanor.

The being's form shifted again, becoming more defined - almost human-like, though still composed entirely of flowing water. When it spoke next, its voice carried ancient knowledge:

"Six shall enter... through waters deep... each must face... what waters keep... judgment comes... in forms most dire... truth revealed... through flood and fire..."

"More riddles," Vali said dismissively, though he hadn't lowered the First Blade. "We don't seek your permission, spirit. We seek our sister."

"The sleeping one... yes... we know... we see..." The spirit's form began to dissipate, but its final words hung in the air like mist: "Follow then... if follow must... but remember... in waters trust..."

As the spirit faded completely, Kol was already scribbling in his journal. "Six shall enter... it's giving us conditions, brother. The waters will test each of us differently."

"Let them test," Vali replied, sheathing the First Blade. "Let them judge. The result will be the same."

But Mikael's expression had grown troubled. "The tooth... it pulses differently now. As if..." he paused, searching for words, "as if something vast has turned its attention toward us."

"Gadreel," Finn suggested quietly. "The spirit was his herald, perhaps?"

"It doesn't matter," Vali stated, mounting Ra'd once more. "Herald, test, judgment - they're all just obstacles between us and Freya. And obstacles..." his black eyes gleamed with anticipation, "exist to be overcome."

The others mounted as well, but there was a new tension in the air. The spirit's words had affected them all differently - Kol's scholarly mind already analyzing the riddle, Elijah's strategic nature planning for what lay ahead, Klaus's artist's soul sensing something beyond mere physical challenges.

As they rode on, the air grew thicker with moisture, and the very ground seemed to pulse beneath their horses' hooves. They were entering the spirit's domain now, where normal rules began to bend and break.

The hunt for Freya continued, but now they rode with the weight of prophecy on their shoulders.

Six shall enter... through waters deep...

The landscape began to change subtly as they rode deeper into the spirit's territory. The trees grew taller, their branches draped with moss that seemed to move even without wind. Water collected in impossible ways - flowing upward along tree trunks, hanging in midair like suspended jewels.

"The distortions are getting stronger," Kol observed, watching as a stream split in two, one half flowing normally while the other curved upward into the air. "The waters aren't just defying nature - they're rewriting it."

Vali led them forward, Ra'd moving with supernatural grace through the increasingly treacherous terrain. The mark pulsed steadily on his arm, but there was something else now - a pressure in the air, as if reality itself was being compressed around them.

"Time feels... wrong here," Klaus noted, his artist's sensitivity picking up on subtle changes. "The shadows aren't falling where they should."

"Because the sun isn't moving properly," Finn explained, pointing upward through the canopy. "Look - it's been in the same position for hours, yet the day ages around it."

Mikael suddenly reined his horse to a stop, his hand going to the tooth at his neck. "There's something ahead," he warned. "Something... vast."

Through the trees, they could see it now - a clearing where three waterways met, but not in any natural fashion. One stream flowed normally, another moved backward against its own current, while the third... the third seemed evershifting, flow in all directions, backward in one moment and forward at another.

"The first convergence point," Kol breathed, consulting his grimoire. "The texts speak of three such points before reaching Chenal-Iti itself."

"And each will be stronger than the last," Elijah added grimly.

Vali studied the impossible waters with cold calculation. "We cross here," he stated. "The spirit's warning mentioned six entering through deep waters. This is where it begins."

"Brother," Klaus started, but Vali had already urged Ra'd forward, the massive stallion stepping into the clearing with unnatural confidence.

The waters seemed to pause in their chaotic flows, as if recognizing - or perhaps challenging - the approach of something beyond their experience.

As they entered the clearing, the air grew thick enough to taste - not just with moisture, but with something older, something that made even the mark pulse with recognition. Ra'd's hooves struck water-logged ground, each impact sending ripples through all three streams simultaneously, despite their opposing flows.

"This defies every natural law," Kol muttered, still taking notes even as his horse shied away from the nearest stream. "Water flowing in all directions at once, time bending around it..."

"Focus," Vali commanded, his black eyes fixed on the center point where the three streams met. "We cross together. Whatever happens..." he paused, something in the waters catching his attention, "do not let go of each other."

They formed a chain - Vali at the front with Ra'd, then Klaus, Elijah, Kol, Finn, and Mikael bringing up the rear, the tooth pulsing stronger with each step toward the waters.

The first stream - the one flowing normally - seemed almost welcoming. But as Ra'd's hooves touched its surface, the water suddenly became clear as glass, revealing images below:

Henrik as a child, learning his first spell

Rebekah's tears as they left the castle

Aurora watching from her window

The scholars' final moments

"Don't look down," Vali warned, but it was too late. Each of them saw different visions in the water - moments of their past, present, and possible futures swirling together.

The second stream - the one flowing backward - began to rise as they approached, forming walls of liquid on either side. Voices echoed from within:

"Pride comes before..."

"The waters judge..."

"Six shall enter..."

"What must never..."

But it was the third stream - the one flowing in all directions - that posed the true challenge. As they reached it, time itself seemed to fracture around them. They found themselves overwhelmed with constantly shifting moments relived. 

But still, even as the waters swirled with impossible patterns, Vali's expression remained one of calculated arrogance. Let them see his confidence, his seeming recklessness. Let them all - his siblings, the waters, whatever ancient powers watched - believe his strength was merely brute force waiting to be unleashed.

'The waters judge,' he thought, keeping his true calculations hidden behind a mask of absolute certainty. 'But judgment requires understanding, and understanding...' his black eyes studied the patterns within patterns of the flowing streams, 'understanding can be manipulated.'

The mark pulsed on his arm, responding not just to his power but to his hidden intent. He had learned long ago that the greatest weapon wasn't the strength you showed, but the cunning you concealed. His siblings saw only his unwavering confidence, his apparent dismissal of caution. Even Tatia, who knew him better than anyone, didn't fully grasp the depths of his planning.

Though, recently he began to suspect that Elijah has seen somewhat through it, something that needs to be rectified soon enough, but that is for later.

"Hold!" Vali's voice cut through the chaos, the mark blazing crimson. "Focus on the now. Only the now."

But even as he spoke, his real attention was on the waters' deeper currents. The spirit had said six would enter - not survive, not pass, merely enter. Such specific wording rarely came without purpose. Just as he crafted his arrogant persona to make others underestimate his intelligence, perhaps these waters had their own deceptions.

Ra'd moved forward with unnatural grace, each step precisely placed. The massive stallion had become more than just a mount - it was an extension of Vali's will, responding to intentions rather than commands.

The mark flared brighter as they reached the center point where all three streams converged. To his siblings, it would look like simple power asserting itself. But Vali was weaving something more complex - using the mark's energy not to dominate the waters, but to resonate with them in ways that even Gadreel might not expect.

After all, what better way to pass judgment than to let them believe they were judging exactly what you wanted them to see?

As they reached the center where the three streams met, the waters began to rise around them, forming a sphere that enclosed all six riders. Inside, the liquid moved in impossible patterns, each stream maintaining its own flow, each occupying the space at different moments.

"Brother-" Klaus started, but his voice distorted, echoing as if through different times simultaneously.

"Silence," Vali commanded, his eyes fixed on something only he seemed to perceive in the flowing patterns. Ra'd stood perfectly still, while the other horses shifted nervously beneath their riders.

The water sphere began to pulse with an inner light, and suddenly each of them was seeing different visions - not just memories now, but possible futures, paths not taken, choices yet to come:

Klaus saw himself painting Aurora's portrait, but the colors kept changing, the image shifting between beauty and madness.

Elijah found himself in countless versions of the same moment, each decision branching into a thousand possibilities.

Kol's grimoire pages turned themselves, showing spells that had never been written, knowledge that shouldn't exist.

Finn witnessed paths where faith led to both salvation and damnation.

Mikael... Mikael saw Freya, but not as she was. A thousand different versions of his daughter, each shaped by different choices, different moments of intervention or absence.

Through it all, Vali remained focused on the waters themselves, the mark pulsing in rhythm with their impossible flows. When he finally spoke, his voice cut through all the temporal distortions:

"Now."

The sphere contracted suddenly with explosive force, and for a moment, everything - time, space, reality itself - seemed to compress into a single point. Then, with a sound like thunder underwater, it burst outward.

When the waters cleared, they found themselves on the other side of the convergence point. But something was different. The air felt heavier, older somehow, and the light... the light came from everywhere and nowhere at once.

All six of them had made it through, but they were changed. The waters had left their mark - subtle alterations in how they perceived reality. The world no longer felt stable, it felt like it was instead moving like the streams they'd just crossed - shifting between forward and backward, in all directions at once.

"Everyone still here?" Elijah asked, his voice carrying strange echoes despite the open air.

"Here," they responded in succession, though each voice seemed to come from multiple moments simultaneously.

Mikael touched the tooth at his neck, his expression troubled. "It feels... different now. More aware."

"The waters have marked us," Kol observed, noting how the ink in his grimoire now moved like liquid across the pages. "We're part of their domain now."

"Good," Vali stated, the mark pulsing with dark satisfaction. "Let them think they've claimed us. The deeper we go..." he left the thought unfinished, but Ra'd pawed the ground with anticipation.

They pressed forward, but now they moved through a landscape that seemed to shift with each passing moment. Trees aged and grew young again in the space of breaths. Water fell upward as often as down. And through it all, they could feel something vast watching their progress.

The first test was complete, but they all knew - this was just the beginning.

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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

Do tell what you expect to happen from now on? 

Also, question, is Vali's personality clear enough? Since I don't want you guys to think he's a brute, that is more the perception he's decided to give everyone since, to survive Esther's machinations he's had to always make himself seem unaware, and not too intelligent in anything but cruelty, battle, etc.

Since he was then not yet ready for her to become too desperate if she realised, he realised her intentions.

And well it kinda stuck, with only Mikael and Elijah, being the ones who truly see past it. Something Vali isn't really aware of.

So yeah, I hope you all enjoyed it, and I'll see you all later,

Bye!)