In 1486, Rebekah Mikaelson fell madly in love.

It was not her first love, of course, she had many passions before him. After all, she was nearly 500 years old at the time—yet she looked as beautifully young as the day her parents forced her to become a vampire; ever since that terrible dark night Rebekah never looked a day older than her 18 years of age. Curiously, as the centuries ran away, her heart also did not seem to get any older.

He was not her last love either. No, her weary heart would fall and break many times after he was long dead. Sebastian should not have been particularly special. Yes, he had kind eyes and such a sweet smile. But he was only another forgotten bastard child in the world, working as a poor gardener for a Lord who gave him nothing but scraps.

Lord Belford had gracefully invited the Mikaelson siblings to stay at his palace—after Elijah had gracefully compelled the man to do so. Their new and temporary home in the Southern part of England gave them a more than deserved chance to rest, after they had been running non-stop for five years.

In the spring of 1485, the Mikaelson siblings finally outwitted their father, leaving Mikael to follow a false trail which would lead him nowhere. Still, their victory came at a significant cost, with Klaus having to face Mikael while Rebekah, Elijah and Kol worked on a plan to help him. They all survived, but after an unnecessary fight, Kol left them again—saying he would rather try his chance in Hell than stay near Nik for another minute. As for Klaus, his meeting with Mikael had hardened his heart further. Rebekah and Elijah watched apprehensively as rage devoured their brother. They both feared there would come a time when Klaus turned into a monster they could not recognize. Though, they also feared becoming monsters themselves.

Rebekah had not paid Sebastian much attention at first. All gardeners always reminded her too much of her brother, Finn, and so she often avoided them all together. Thinking of her oldest brother brought her too much pain and guilt. She could never tell Klaus she missed him, but she did, and it always saddened her to think of all the beauty her brother could not see. Finn was usually the one who liked to spend his times with flowers rather than people, yet Rebekah now did the same.

The gardens were by far the most beautiful aspect of the castle, that much she always had to admit. She would often run and hide there while her brothers fought or talked about plans to break Nik's curse. Rebekah enjoyed the quiet, the flowers and the peacefulness the place brought to her heart. It reminded her of simpler times, when all their troubles could be solved if they listened to their parents and did not eat poisonous berries.

Although Klaus always had difficulty following those instructions as well, Mikael was far more forgiving of his son's transgressions back then. Of course, he would yell, pointing out all the mistakes Nik had committed—and, of course, it always broke her brother's heart. But at least in those days her father would always apologize for his behavior when he went too far. Mikael would do so quietly, of course, with a soft touch on Nik's shoulder and a shy smile as he gave his son a small present to reassure his love for him—the present was usually berries Klaus could paint with. It always warmed her heart.

Perhaps it was the sweet taste of memories Rebekah loved most about the garden—and about Sebastian. There was the only place on Earth where she could remember such early years and never feel an ounce of pain. The surrounding beauty seemed to demand happy memories, and the colorful smell of the flowers made it impossible for her to be sadden by her past.

Rebekah always stayed in the same area of the garden. It was a hidden part, with oak trees surrounding a pond which was ornate by beautiful marble statues. Yet her favorite part of her little piece of paradise was its stupendous amount of flowers. Of all colors and smells, it was as though she had found her own see of petals. Unlike the other parts of the garden, this secret heaven-like place had a wild feeling to it. Even though it was clearly very well kept, the plants were not so vigorously cut and shaped; instead they could grow more freely, and it only made it more beautiful.

If she ever had to admit it, Rebekah would say Sebastian was too shy for her taste. He hardly dared to look her in the eye the first few times their paths crossed. Still, she could not help but feel her legs wobble when she realized he was slowly, but steadily, making her favorite spot in the Lord's garden even more beautiful. With time, his kindness and affection became more and more obvious. He'd leave her flowers everywhere, hoping they could brighten her day, and they did.

But Rebekah found his way of courtship—for as sweet as it was—a bit too slow. Interestingly, the fact she could live forever did not make her any more patient. But after all, she had never been the sort of person who waits around for a fairy tale. If she wants something, she would fight for it, with fangs and all. Yet, she did not wish to scare the poor boy. Men with their egos; they rarely liked when women courted them back. Rebekah learned from a young age that was not a common course of action.

Her first love had quickly slipped away when she declared her affections towards him. Such a memory would often annoy her, but in the somewhat magical garden, and as she stole glances and smiled from Sebastion, none of it bothered her. Instead Rebekah remembered the unexpected happiness which followed her broken heart: how her mother had held her as she cried singing soft melodies to ease her pain; how her brothers treated her like a princess and made everything to get her to smile; and how Mikael, the usually terrifying warrior, shed his masquerade of sternness—if only for a day—to hold her hand, telling her beautiful things about love and life. Rebekah had never loved her family more intensely.

Now, however, as she sat on the stone bench and smiled at Sebastian, quietly asking him to come over and greet her, Rebekah wondered if it was too much to ask for a happy new family. Perhaps the Gods had punished them all for long enough. Perhaps Nik would like Sebastian as much as she did, after all they were both bastard sons, thrown away for being inconvenient.

They both to make beauty out of the mundane, she pondered as Sebastian kissed her hand and bowed down. Yes, perhaps, this time Nik would let me be free...

"It's lovely to see you, Lady Rebekah." Sebastian blurted out, his head still lowered. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Lord Belford's gardens this afternoon." he shyly raised his eyes, a reserved smiled played on his lips.

"I am very sure I shall." She replied, holding on to his hand a moment longer. "Although, " she added, biting her lower lip, "This book is quite boring," she cleared her throat, waving to the open book that rested lazily on her lap. "And it's such a beautiful day..." she went on, when a confused expression creeped on his face. "I would love a bit of company..."

Rebekah thought her heart would jump out of her chest when Sebastian stood still, staring at her with a blank expression. She was about to blurt out an apology or excuse that would let her crawl under a rock. Yet, she could hardly stop herself from giggling when, with a sudden movement, he sat beside her, with wobbling legs and shaking hands. She would have sworn she could hear his heartbeat without her vampire super hearing.

Of course, she knew Nik would be furious if he found out about her feelings towards Sebastian—as he so often was. But as the evening went on, their fingers slowly found one another and their hearts seemed to beat as one. By the end, Rebekah could hardly care about anything other than her beautiful secret garden and her handsome secret gardener.

A/N: there will more chapters. Please review

This is dedicated to ELIZAVETTA_r (on Wattpad)

Who suggested/requested something like this. It took me ages to get to it and it was originally supposed to be published in the book What Could Have Been, but I found the format I'm using for that book didn't fit this story. I think this was a bit too long and there wasn't enough romance lol buuut I'm not all that good at that.

Still, I want to do a second part of this. It might even turn into a 3 part story, cause I'm bad at writing short stories. The "short" part is pretty damn hard for me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and please consider leaving your thoughts.

Thank you so much for reading. Have a great day!