Title: Trust
Author: Alysia
Couple: Elejah
Summery: What if things played out a little differently at the ball and Elena warned Elijah about his mother's intentions before letting him drink the champagne?
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to Vampire Diaries.
Author's Note: This is my first TVD fan fiction, though I've been watching the show since it first aired. I apologize in advance for any OOCness. This will just be a one shot, as I test the waters.

"So, how was my mother?" Elijah Mikaelson asked, as he approached the young doppleganger. The moment that she'd returned to the party, he zoomed in on the expression on her face so he could try and determine the sort of conversation that she'd shared with his mother. In the last year and a half, he and Elena Gilbert had tried to settle an uneasy truce. His request earlier in the evening was a leap of faith on his side, and he'd hoped that she was truthful in her acknowledgement to it. However, the moment she'd returned downstairs, she was uneasy about something; and he was sure it wasn't because of the vampires in the room that evening.

Startled, Elena whipped around and offered a tiny smile. She wasn't sure if it was for his benefit or to calm her frayed nerves, but the last thing she wanted to do was smile as if nothing was wrong. She'd just done a bad thing, and guilt was already gnawing at her. She wanted Klaus gone more than anyone, after all the death in her life, all the sacrifices that had been made, but not at the expense more lives, or undead lives. There certainly was no love loss between herself and Rebecca, but that didn't mean the blonde vampire deserved to die because of her…and while she didn't know the remaining Mikaelson brothers, she didn't feel that it was right to be the cause of their deaths either. And Elijah…her heart stuttered at the thought. Could she really allow him to die? He'd done what he could to help her in the past, and was she really going to turn her back on him?

Trying to push away her thoughts, Elena barely nodded at him. "Intense." It was the only thing that she could say to him in the moment. She was afraid that anything more would give way to her traitorous thoughts.

Elijah simply smiled in return and grabbed two flutes of champagne from the passing waiter. He handed one to her. Outwardly he appeared calm, collected and charming, but he was trying to bait her. The woman in front of him had captured his interest more than he had wished to admit to anyone, not that he ever would. She was, what he at one time, once hoped to find in a mate until he realized how vulnerable love could leave a person. He admired the fire and loyalty that burned within her, but it was also a pesky thing for him. If only she could direct that fierce protectiveness to him…

Elena grabbed the accepted flute, her fingers briefly touching the original's much larger ones. She could have sworn she felt her heart flutter in her chest at the touch. Had it always done that? She tried to think back. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, but she'd always assumed it was because of the air of power that Elijah naturally possessed.

"So, what did you and my mother discuss?" Elijah asked quietly. As much as he enjoyed having his family back together, his instinct was screaming at him not to let his guard down…with anyone.

The small brunette opened her mouth to reply, when she noticed Esther making her way down the grand staircase, the older woman's attention on her. Elena felt as though she was stuck in a rock and a hard place. While Elijah certainly had no claim over her loyalty, Elena found herself not wanting to lie to him. On the other hand, Esther's mere presence scared her, and she was afraid of inciting her anger. Before she could formulate a proper response, Esther began speaking to her guests.

Brown eyes darted around the room, and Elena's gaze settled on her friends, her family. They had all bonded so during the last few years. They were more like a family than friends. Friends chose each other, but one was stuck with their family. That was how it felt at times, as though she was stuck…not that she wouldn't lay down her life for any of them, if it came down to it. She looked back to Esther, her heart began pounding. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Elijah's interest was trained on her instead of his mother. Elena closed her eyes and in her mind she could already hear Damon's disapproval and see Stefan's own displeasure.

Trying to remain calm, Elijah's grip tightened on the champagne flute. He was still in the dark, but he knew that something big was about ready to take place, the hammering of Elena's heart gave it away. It wasn't as though he expected devotion from her, but he had hoped his trust in her wasn't misplaced. Just when he'd given up hope and began to formulate a counteraction in his mind, Elena surprised him by stepping closer to him.

Before she could understand the reasoning behind her actions, Elena moved closer to the Original. She wasn't sure if witches had the capability to hear hushed conversations the way that vampires could, but Esther wasn't an average witch. She couldn't afford to let anyone hear the warning.

Elijah felt his body turn into Elena's before he even realized it. She placed her free hand to one side of his face as she gently pulled his head closer to her lips. "Don't drink it," it was a whispered breath, but to him, it was as though she'd stated it from right next to him in a regular tone. As soon as she pulled away, his body tensed, several scenarios began playing through his mind. With lackadaisical interest, he listened to the words that were spewed out of his mother's mouth. When she raised her glass to lead a toast, he followed suit, but when everyone around the room sipped from their glass, he only pretended to.

Elena tried to keep her composure, but the minutes that ticked by felt like an eternity. She watched as Elijah only pretended to consume the drink. With that done, she knew that she needed to come up with a new plan. Gracelessly, she tossed back the remaining drink and exited the room without a backwards glance to the deceptively attractive man. What if Esther saw or heard the warning? What if Elijah asked his questions out in the open? What if Stefan asked her to dance, would she disappoint Damon? What if Damon asked her to dance and Stefan didn't care? What if Stefan did care? What if Elena turned both brothers away and turned to a new source of comfort? What if Elijah…? Inwardly, she shook her head. There were just too many what ifs. Walking by a waiter, Elena deposited her empty glass on the tray and grabbed another one. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she needed room. She needed to come to terms with her thoughts and actions.

The night air was chilly against her bare shoulders, but not unbearable. The lush green lawn was large and beautiful. Off to the side, Elena could see a garden that was obviously well cared for. Walking to the end of the patio, Elena leaned against the stone wall that edged around it. She set her drink on it, one hand wrapped around the base of it, the other playing with the top of it.

Her thoughts were everywhere at that moment, and she had no idea how to process any of it. Klaus had caused havoc in her life from the moment she met him, actually even before they came face to face. She wanted him gone. She didn't want to live her life, constantly having to look over her shoulder. She didn't even know if kids were in her future, but how could she bear any to carry on the Petrova curse? Had she just made a mistake by stopping this binding? She knew that Caroline and Bonnie would be disappointed, Jeremy would be angry. Stefan and Damon…she didn't look forward to telling them what happened.

Her relationship with the Salvatores was…unstable. Stefan was lost to her. While he was returned to them, her, he wasn't the same man she'd fallen in love with. It just felt wrong to move on though, as though she wasn't trying to help him. Damon was an acquired taste, one that she had finally learned to accept. Damon challenged her in ways that no one else ever had, and while he managed to capture her attention, she wasn't sure if it was enough. She didn't want to be the one to get between them.

Klaus and Elijah were proof enough about what happens when a woman comes between two brothers. What happened a thousand years ago, still managed to keep them apart. Granted other situations also contributed to the fact, but there was always Tatia…always Katherine. While Elena couldn't imagine something that drastic happening to the Salvatore brothers, Katherine already managed to come between them, even a hundred years later they were still trying to fix their relationship. She didn't want to be responsible for another falling out between them.

"My mother isn't as over Klaus' actions as she originally made us to believe, is she?" Elijah asked, pulling Elena from her thoughts.

The young woman knew he would follow her out there sooner rather than later. She turned around to meet his gaze, her own expression was grave. She shook her head minutely, but she knew that Elijah wouldn't miss the action.

Elijah stepped closer to her, mindful of the fact that walls tended to have ears. "Since we were reunited, she's insisted that all she wants is the family to be whole again."

Elena took a deep breath. "Elijah…I never wanted…"

The Original vampire shook his head. "She always insisted that there needed to be a balance…" he trailed off, the pieces came together and he realized Esther's plan. "She doesn't intend to just kill Klaus, does she?"

Elena tried to look away from his probing stare. He knew the answer to it, but in a rare moment of vulnerability, she could see a glimmer of hope. "I'm sorry, Elijah…" For hundreds of years, he'd wanted nothing more than to see his family reunited, and now that they were, she hated being the one that could ruin it. She watched as he pursed his lips and accepted the unspoken words.

After a thousand years, Elijah felt that he had excellent control of his emotions. This was one of the rare moments that it was tested. He wanted nothing more than to lash out at his mother…at his brother for causing it in the first place, but he couldn't. He needed to keep a clear head. If there was one thing he'd learned through his centuries on Earth, decisions based on emotions didn't always work out for the best. He stalked off, heading in the direction of the garden. He wanted to hide away in his room, but there were eyes and ears everywhere.

Elena watched the beautiful man walk away. She momentarily debated with herself as to leave him with his thoughts or follow and try and offer some sort of comfort. She had no idea what she could possibly say, but she didn't like to see him hurting. It was strange, the feelings that she had for him. She cast a look around the area to make sure that they weren't being watched and followed him into the garden. "Elijah…I'm so sorry that-"

"And you helped my mother's plan? I can understand your desire to be free of Klaus by any means…I don't appreciate it, but I can see things from your point of view. Your reckless actions have just-"

Elena narrowed her eyes at the man before her. She understood that he was emotional over the news that he just learned, but she wasn't about to let him lay blame at her feet. Yes, their truth wasn't always a peaceful one. It was true, she had betrayed him, but he repaid the favor by letting Klaus kill Aunt Jenna and letting her die, she no longer felt as though she owed him anything. Why she couldn't find it in herself to leave him be? Elijah managed to turn her inside out in the way that no one else could or did.

"You know what, Elijah?! I never wanted this! I never wanted any of this! Up until three years ago, my life was seemingly perfect. I had two parents and a boyfriend…and I was popular." She had already planned her life then, maybe not the smaller details, but she knew what she wanted in the big picture. She and Matt were supposed to be the big couple in school. He was the best football player and she was going to be co-head cheerleader with Caroline. Senior year was supposed to be a breeze. They were going to be homecoming king and queen, or be nominated to court at the very least. Matt was going to get a football scholarship, and depending on which college he chose, she would go as well. They would study together and marry right out of college. The first couple years would be trying, but once they managed to make money, she would give birth to the first of two children. They would return Mystic Falls and live out their lives there. "And while I had no idea what the real world was like, I was content to continue traveling down that road."

"Elena, I…"

Not letting him finish, she held a hand out. "No, you started this. You think you know me, but you don't…not really. I never asked for Stefan to crash into my life, and while I don't regret our relationship, I can't help but look back at it and wonder if it was really worth it. He's not the same guy that I fell in love with, and I suppose that under that line of thinking, I'm not the girl he fell in love with either. And then there's Damon, who I love, but I know that I will never love him the way that he wants or deserves. People have died, and all my friends have given up or lost so much because of me and the mess that is my life, and then this!?" She threw her arm out towards the direction of the house. "I have all these people who are depending on me to do what they want, what they feel is best, and I just…I don't know what is best. No matter what I decide to do, someone loses out."

As soon as the words were tumbling out of her mouth, Elijah knew that he'd made a mistake in even opening his mouth that last time. He knew that Elena wasn't to blame for his mother's plan, and he trusted her. After she rescued him from his daggered state in the Salvatore's basement, she had tried to make it up to him by any way that she could. At the time, she was remorseful of her actions, and he knew that she wouldn't betray him again if it wasn't provoked. As for what transpired with Esther, he knew that his mother had a commanding presence. While she genuinely was a good person (or had been), she was a force to be reckoned with.

"Esther took some of my blood upstairs for a spell. I…I swear if I knew what she was planning on doing I would have…" she trailed off, unsure of what she would have done. She wished she was brave enough to deny the powerful being what she wanted, but Elena couldn't say for sure.

Looking down at the small, appealing woman before him, Elijah watched the fight drain out of her. She looked exhausted. "The spell?" he urged, trying to figure out exactly what the plan was.

"Esther wants to link you all together, and then she plans to turn you human."

"So we'll be easier to kill…and then…" he trailed off at the implication of his mother's actions. He knew that from the moment they'd been turned, she instantly regretted it. Hell, once his blood lust was manageable he regretted what he was as well.

"If one dies, and it won't matter who, the rest of you will…" Elena trailed off, turning her back to him. She focused on the rose bush in front of her as she tried to calm her torrent emotions. She hadn't planned on saying all that she had. Whenever she was around Elijah, she couldn't control herself. He'd spent a thousand years watching the human race, and she knew that she should have kept her emotions in check, keep her actions controlled, but she just wasn't that kind of person. When she felt, she felt it all. "It won't work, you know," she breathed out. "The spell," Elena added, even though it wasn't necessary. "You were all supposed to have consumed it, but I stopped you. If Esther doesn't know, she will very soon, and I will have just made another higher being angry with me."

Elena knew his mother well. Esther was not used to having people in positions of opposition from her. She disliked belligerence in any form, and the fact that Elena, the key to making her plan work, ruined it…Elijah couldn't even hazard a guess as to what Esther would do in retaliation.

"May I inquire as to why you didn't go through with it?" The Salvatores, the Benett witch and the rest of her friends would surely be unhappy with Elena's betrayal.

Elena let out a sad smile into the night. "I've been asking myself the same thing since I stopped you from drinking it," she confessed.

The first time she met Elijah, he didn't lie about who or what he was. He was a strong presence that demanded respect. It was her fault for seeing him as anything other than that, but she learned her lesson quickly. She began to trust him, naively hoping he returned the sentiment. From the moment he entered her life, he remained a constant presence in her thoughts. He'd saved her life multiple times, betrayed her. He had left her life in pieces, left her to pick up those pieces. Yet despite all that, Elena couldn't find it in her to turn her back on him. For a short time, it felt like she had gotten to know him, as though he let her know him, part of the real him. She didn't know if he looked at it that way, but it left a lasting impression on her.

"From the moment that you've entered my life…you've made an impression on me."

Elijah simply arched one eyebrow. "Is that so?" He was intrigued. To be completely honest, she had made one on him as well. He wasn't sure what it was, but he had fallen under the Petrova's spell, apparently all of them. After Katerina's betrayal…he'd learned his lesson. Any emotion that closely resembled love, he managed to squash. He thought he had done well for himself, until he met Elena. "And what sort of impression would that be, Elena?" He asked, reaching for her shoulders and turning her around to face him.

In a bold move, her hands came up to his chest. She was very aware of the fact that her shoulders were still in his hands. "When I think about something bad happening to you…I…it bugs me," she stumbled over her words.

One hand traveled down her bare arm and the other moved to her chin, bringing her head up so that their gazes met. "And why is that, Elena?"

"To tell you the truth, I haven't considered the reasons why," she replied. She wasn't about to dissect her feelings for him in that moment when she didn't even know what they meant. She remembered his words the previous year, about the mistake of falling for Katherine. He vehemently promised that he would never do it again, and since Elena was a doppleganger of her, she was sure that included her. "Maybe this…whatever it is…we're not such a bad team when we aren't turning our backs on each other and trying to kill one another." That was as much as she willing to share at that moment.

Elijah felt a smile tugging at his lips. While still deeply perturbed by the situation he was going to be facing, the sever expression left his face. "I think I quite agree," he acknowledged. His hand seemed to move at its own violation and he cupped her cheek. "Unfortunately, you've put a small kink in my mother's plans. I can't tell you how, or even if she'll retaliate against your actions, but I promise that I'll protect you. I give you my word, Elena."

Before Elena could say anything else, Elijah let her go and backed away a few feet. There was barely a split second before someone else joined them.

"Elena, I believe it's time to head out…" Damon suggested, though his tone was far from polite. If Elena protested in just the smallest amount, he wasn't above pulling her over his shoulders and carrying her out like a cave man.

While he didn't think that he would ever grow to like the older Salvatore brother, or the younger one for that matter, their loyalty to Elena was commendable. He ignored the tone and simply nodded at the pair in front of him. "Damon, I hope you enjoyed your evening with my family."

Damon scoffed, but he noticed the silent reprimand in Elena's eyes in his direction. It made him bite off the sharp retort that was forming on his lips. "Real nice place you have here."

Elijah's attention turned back to Elena. He grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his mouth, he placed a kiss on the back of it. "Until we meet again," he replied, his tone smooth and full of promise. "If you'll both excuse me, there's some business that I need to take care of."

Elena and Damon turned to watch the Original leave before Damon spun to the woman standing next to him. "So, what were you and 'Grabby' chattin' about?"

The End