If only he had known before then he would of come here sooner, Elijah couldn't stop thinking about what he had left Katherine to face and it pained him that whilst he was desiccating in a box at his brother's hand his love was having to deal with the consequences of her actions that had been forced upon her all because of him. The moment his brother informed him of what fate awaited her he immediately left for that all too familiar place that went by the name of Mystic Falls needing to put all of his current tasks in New Orleans on hold and the moment he did he headed straight to the place where he believed her to be staying. The Salvatore boarding house. Elijah appeared outside of the door and though every time he had been here it seemed that the door was always under the habit of being unlocked. He gave it one small knock with his knuckle remaining as cool and collected as he always tried to be before moving his hand to rest inside of his blazer pocket as he patiently waited despite the ever growing urge he had at ripping the door from it's hinges and finding the very person he came here to see. It took half a minute before the door finally opened revealing the kinder of the two Salvatore brother's who went by the name of Stefan, his expression changed slightly as the young Vampire looked on at him with amazement and wonder unsure as what to say or do. "Where is Katerina?" Elijah asked clearly, each word rolling off the tip of his tongue with ease. Stefan opened the door fully and left his right hand resting on the edge before licking his bottom lip with a nod, he knew it was unwise to cross an Original and Elijah especially but wasn't he supposed to have been with Katherine the last time that he and her had shared a two way glance? To see Elijah Mikaelson standing before him was a shock all in itself and he couldn't help but bring himself to question the very action despite what the outcome would be not that he expected anything near the standard (or lack of it) that Klaus held when it came to confrontations. "Elijah." Stefan said finally breaking the silence that had taken over them as he couldn't bring himself to answer his question. "She doesn't want anyone to see her." He simply said, knowing a part of it to be true. As Katherine's conditioned worsened she became fragile and her looks had changed dramatically that it even shocked him to see her turn from having the appearance of a teenager to suddenly looking like she was eighty years of age. It embarrassed Katherine and though she hadn't actually said those words it was obvious to him that she most definitely wouldn't want Elijah of all people to see her the way she looked now. It pained Elijah to hear the Salvatore's words but it didn't put him off of his goal at all - A small smile appeared on his lips. "Whether that is the truth or not I think that it is only fair that I should be able to have the opportunity to hear those words from Katerina's lips myself." Stefan pondered for a moment before finally stepping to one side, allowing the Original to enter his home. Elijah took this movement to heart as it meant that he wouldn't have to force his way in to see her and simply nodded and waited, his eyes set for the stairs for Stefan to inform him just which room she was in. "Up the stairs, second to the left." The moment the words left his lips Elijah used his Vampire abilities to swiftly move up the stairs as fast he could till he was stood in front of the door he believed to be the very one that his love was behind. He closed his eyes for a moment, needing to prepare himself for whatever condition that she was to be in the instant he lay his eyes upon her or for what words would be exchanged. Whether they would be words of welcome, of anger, of pain. Or whether she would be able to speak at all. After what felt like a minute or so he finally reached out for the door handle and pushed the door, it creaked until it was wide open revealing a very large space before him yet there was only one sight that truly stood out for him in that second. A woman, the woman that he had held close in his heart since the moment she opened her lips and warmly greeted him with a simple hello was lying in the middle of the bed yet she was barely recognizable. His heart dropped as he saw a mass of white curls from her head, her olive tone that had once been bursting with such life, such a healthy glow had now faded into that of an ashen grey. Her skin no longer looked smooth or soft to the touch but was filled with lines of age almost as if her five hundred years had finally caught up to her after all of this time. His eyes widened and he had to do everything he could in his power to hold all of that emotion that was so eager to be shown back. He couldnt let himself break in front of her - Not now. Not Ever. Slowly he entered the room and with every step the more and more he saw her only for it to hurt all that bit more - Every word that his brother had told him had been true, Katherine truly was human and even though then he believed it was the best thing for her - That she would finally get to live a life that she had always wanted to live. That she would no longer need to feed on the blood of innocent people and could pursue the things that she had once lost. Family. A home. Stability, love and much more. Yet that was until he heard that she actually hadn't got all of her life in front of her at all and that she in fact only had a very small amount left. Elijah slipped his hand from out of his pocket as he approached her bedside and let the tip of his index finger gently brush against the sheets that were covering her until he stood besides her, looking down at her. She was sleeping and peacefully at that yet her heartbeat was slower than it should have been meaning that she really didn't have long at all - She had hours. Maybe even less than that which made this all just that more painful for him. Her chest rose and fell and her face was resting gently against the pillow, her beautiful curls falling at either side of her shoulders. Elijah pressed his lips together and reached out to her, twirling one of her curls around his finger just like he did back when they had been together for the short time that they had which had meant so much to him. "Oh Katerina.." He whispered, his voice filled with pain. How could he let it get to this? To watch her die in this way - It wasn't meant to be him that was to see her go like this. She was meant to be surrounded by family, by people that loved her - She was meant to leave this world happy not sad and filled with hate at everything that it had thrown in her path. He swallowed thickly finding that he needed to take comfort by looking at anywhere but her in that instant, his eyes met the ceiling whilst his finger still continued to play with a lock of her hair only for a small whimper to catch his attention causing his gaze to immediately fall to her face. Katherine's eyes were wide as she looked upon the face that she never believed she would see again, she couldn't seem to understand how he was here or why? It had been a number of months since he had left her standing there after pouring her heart out to him, begging him to leave Klaus behind and let them start their own future. That moment was one that had haunted her to this very day and him also, yet things had been rather complicated for him too seeing as for him it was fresh in his memory almost like it had been a couple of days ago. Her gaze shifted to his fingers lost within her mass of white curls and it set something off inside of her, was he disgusted to see her like this? Did it shock him? Scare him? Katherine tried her best to shoot upwards, to sit back and pull herself away which only caused pain for her seeing as her body just couldn't cope with it any more. She wasn't young like she had been a week or two ago. She yelped, bringing her arm to her stomach her eyes closed for a fraction of a second only for Elijah to retract his hand and sit down on the bed next to her. "Katerina.." He whispered, hoping that it would calm her and that she would settle and not hurt herself by making such rapid movements. Katherine exhaled deeply as she rested her head against the back of the bed still clutching her side - The very sight of her was disgusting and she knew that and it was embarrassing and hurtful that Elijah was to see her in this way - She didn't want his last memory of her to be one where she was old and frail and most of all weak. "Get out." She hit back, how could he just swan on in here breathing her name in the way that he did that made her weak at the knees? How could he when he had been missing for three months? Ignoring every message that she had left him? Ignoring that she even existed. His heart ached the moment the words left her lips, her voice was different yet it still held that tone that he loved about her. Elijah shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere Katerina." He said sternly, showing that no matter how much she protested he was going to stay right there besides her. He had travelled all this way to see her, to say what he had to. If he left now he would regret it till the end of time, he didn't want this situation playing over and over in his head thinking of what could have been and what should have been. He needed everything to be exactly how it had to be. He already left her once, he wasn't going to make the same mistake once again. Katherine finally settled yet she still felt weak, her eyes met his as he announced that he wasn't going anywhere which only made her more concious as she knew of all the changes that her body had undergone yet inside she was still the same Katherine as she always had been. Just because she was old and shrivelled didn't mean that she had lost her ability to think for herself - That all of her characteristics had disappeared. She was still the same, just not on the outside which to Katherine was a very big thing - Her looks were important to her was it so wrong to think that? If it was she didn't care. "What are you doing here Elijah..?" She asked weakly, gazing up at his face that hurt to even look at considering how badly things had gone between them the last time they were together. A shadow of a smile played upon his lips as he thought that the answer was rather self explanatory but he decided to give her the satisfaction besides. "I'm here because of you." He stated, gazing into her eyes only to see the woman that he fell in love with gazing back at him. Those eyes that he loved to get lost in to - What held such mischief, passion, love and regrettably held pain. Katherine dropped her head a little and managed to muster up a laugh. "I bet you wish that you never bothered. I don't exactly look like the next Miss America." She tried her best to shrug it off, to show that none of this bothered her but it was one of her insecurities and Elijah could see right through her. He simply shook his head and raised his hand to her cheek, gently running his thumb in circles staring at her lovingly. "You are beautiful Katerina." He said with a smile, leaning in further towards her only for Katherine to stare at him finding it hard to believe - Elijah moved his hand towards her hair again and tucked a lock behind her ear. "You always are." Elijah always was the charmer - Katherine thought to herself only for her to feel dizzy and exhausted as if all of those years of running had finally caught up with her, she hunched over and began to cough. Elijah's hands were soon there one resting at the back of her head whilst the other supportingly rested against her upper arm, his eyes never leaving her feeling like his heart was being torn in to millions of pieces as he saw her suffering. He helped her lie back down flat as she began to cough less and less and he was surprised that she even let him. "Where..were you..?" She breathed whilst coughing into her hand. "I.. called..but nothing..." He stared at her, finding it difficult to even answer. How could he possibly explain what had happened to him? That he went to New Orleans to help his brother, to put all of his faith in him only for him to disrespect his trust and dagger him, leave him to rot in a church attic under the guard of a powerful young girl by the name of Davina? If he did he knew exactly what she would say. That she was right about him, that he wasn't worthy or able to be redeemed and that he was a lost cause. Yet in his heart he couldn't find it in him to give up as he simply couldn't consider it any more even when he should have done a long time ago. He looked down whilst he tried to find the words to answer her before finally meeting her gaze once again, watching as she struggled for breath. "I wasn't in a place to be able to receive your messages let alone respond. If I had been I would have come sooner - I never thought that you would be in harm's way." Katherine shook her head gently hating how secretive he was currently being. Why couldn't he just give her a straight answer? Didn't she deserve that after all? "That doesn't make anything clearer.." She responded showing that she wanted to hear the truth which caused Elijah to sigh. "My brother thought it to be in his best interests to dagger me for reasons that are too complicated to go into now - If you are going to attempt to lecture me with a speech about how you were right about him Katerina believe me I am already beginning to believe that you are. Yet I still can't find it in myself to give up on him." Katherine's eyes remained wide, she tilted her head to the side slowly like she always would when questioning something, it explained everything - Why he didn't respond to her messages or pleas for help. Why it seemed in her mind that he simply didn't care about her the moment he left for New Orleans. Yet it still saddened her to her core. "But you gave up on me..." Katherine's eyes closed and a tear formed in her eye, it seemed everyone gave up on her eventually. It hurt Elijah to hear those words, right down to his very being that he immediately shook his head vigorously and took her face in his hands carefully. "No." He insisted. "No." His eyes locked with hers and he stared down at her intently. "Please do not think that." He asked. "Despite my past actions my feelings remain the same Katerina. And though I admit I had my doubts as to why you wanted to be with me..I still love you and I always will. And you taught me that remember?" He asked with a smile, sadness in his eyes as he pondered the memory that would forever haunt him after today. "If we cease to believe in love then why would we want to live?" Katherine's expression softened and she smiled weakly up at him. "Yes.. I remember.." Elijah smiled in return only for Katherine to begin to cough once again yet this time it was more violent, She gasped for breath - Tears in both of her eyes as she struggled to breathe, her heartbeat was rapid - Fighting against her system as it wanted to continue to pump blood around her body yet she was fading before him. His eyes widened whilst he moved to hold her hand and rest his other at the top of her head. "Katerina.." He whispered, his voice breaking whilst tears formed in his eyes. When she finally stopped coughing she took a deep breath and let her head sink into the pillow, she was scared and sick of the pain that this process was bringing her - She squeezed his hand with the little strength that she had and felt even weaker than before. "I..meant what I said.." She whispered. "And even now..I still love..you." Elijah smiled only to lean down, the tear falling from his eye - Staining his cheek. He cupped her face with his other hand and kissed her gently on the lips savouring the kiss that had been long overdue. He pulled away only to rest his forehead against her's both of their eyes closed, just appreciating the fact that they were both in each other's presence. It took him a minute or so to realise that something wasn't right, he could no longer hear Katherine's heartbeat. His eyes opened and he slowly pulled away to look down at her. "Katerina?" He asked her hoping that she would move or whisper anything just to show him that she was there, but there was nothing. He gently shook her, her hand limp in his. She was gone. Elijah shook his head from side to side, tears streaming down his face he didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it. He refused. He examined her face for a moment longer before closing his eyes tight and pressed a final kiss upon her forehead, so much was said in that kiss. How sorry he was, the loss that he felt, how he wished that he could have done more for her and protect her, to have brought her to New Orleans with him or to run away with her. To never have left her in the first place. And he would always live with those very thoughts and that was his punishment. Elijah's lips lingered for a moment more before he pulled back a little so he could examine her face once more. She looked peaceful, and loved. She had died loved. He smiled weakly, brushing back a tear from his cheek before he broke the silence. "May you finally be at peace my Katerina.."
Stefan continued to sit, glass of bourbon in hand in front of the fire brooding as he usually did about the situation going on upstairs. Wondering just what Katherine and Elijah were saying, he decided not to use his Vampire abilities to listen in as they deserved privacy. Just as he was about to pick up his journal to read he heard the door open and close rapidly leaving him sat there in total silence. He stood up instantly and looked towards the door only for his first thought to be Katherine, he placed the glass down on the table in front of him and rushed upstairs. "Katherine?" He called out as he moved into his bedroom - Looking around the room for the Original who was well known for wearing a suit and sticking to his word only to find the room empty apart from the person who lay in the middle. Stefan stared over at her, his eyes wide and moved towards her only when he stood next to her did it sink in that he could no longer hear her heartbeat and that she was gone. Katherine had finally succumbed to her condition, what words had been exchanged between her and Elijah was a mystery - And one that would never be known to Stefan as the only other person who had been in that room was no longer there. He looked down at her, noticing that her daylight bracelet that she had worn up until now on her wrist was no longer there and clasped in her hand was a napkin with the initials E.M embroidered in the corner. He let out a deep sigh before looking over his shoulder towards the door where Elijah must have left from. Katherine was dead. The one and only Katherine Pierce was no more and the only person who had heard her infamous last words had disappeared along with her.