Prologue
Elijah lay watching her mesmerizing sleeping body, as he waited for her to awake. Her soft, wavy brown hair was cascaded all over the feather pillow, and her expression was calm. He held her closely in his arms, never wanting to let go. The warmth of her body against his sent chills down his spine.
Elijah couldn't sleep, not when he knew the time he had left with her was so little. Claire. It sounded different to the name Clarissa, yet their looks and personality were an exact replica. It had been over 300 years since Clarissa had died, and here Elijah was with the new reincarnation of her. He'd managed to fall so deeply in love with her again that, even though he knew that the curse would take action soon, he hoped that this time she wouldn't die.
He'd met two of the reincarnations of Clarissa and each time they had died he'd become even more determined to kill his brother, Klaus. It was all his fault that Clarissa was dying over and over again, he'd had the curse placed on her. All of it was to ensure that Elijah would never leave Klaus. But how couldn't he leave, after he knew that he'd been the reason why he'll never get to spend his life with the woman he loved.
The memory of the day he discovered the curse still was clear in his mind. It always stayed as a reminder of why he now loathed his brother. Elijah could now conclude that, that day had been the worst of the century's he had lived. It had been the day he'd lost his only true love.
~ 1500's ~
Elijah walked casually, with no rush, a small smile still formed on his lips. He'd just received a note from his brother, bidding him to come for a small meeting, meaning that his day with Clarissa had, had to be cut short.
Not bothering to knock before he entered, Elijah stepped into Klaus' room. Almost instantly he spotted a dark haired woman stood slightly behind Klaus, and a frown formed on Elijahs face as he realised it was the witch Klaus planned on using for the ritual. Secretly Elijah hoped that Klaus had not yet managed to find a werewolf or the moonstone, as he did not want Clarissa's sister, Katerina, to die. It was the only family Clarissa had left, and she would be broken.
" Ah brother, you've finally joined us." Klaus greeted with his signature smirk. As Klaus spoke, Elijahs eyes fell upon the bowl of blood that sat on the table in front of Klaus, and he wondered why he had not yet drunk it.
" You wished to speak to me, brother," Elijah replied, his voice slightly stiff with confusion.
" Yes, but first drink. You look hungry." Klaus ordered rather politely, gesturing towards the bowl of blood. The blood had a florescent scent to it, one that attracted Elijah of, but also reminded him of something he couldn't quite recognise.
" I'm fine brother. I need to be rather quick as I need to return to Clarissa." Elijah answered, his mind working hard to discover what the scent reminded him of.
" Oh there has been a change of plans brother. It is Clarissa I need for the ritual instead of Katerina, and the ritual will happen tonight." Elijah froze in his place, his jaw tight in anger. Protectiveness over Clarissa was overcoming his body, and he growled in response to Klaus.
"No!" Was all he said, not speaking the curse words that he was tempted to say.
" So your loyalty to me Elijah, isn't as strong as I had hoped. You promised me that you would help me break my curse." Anger now spread across Klaus' expression, and Elijah could see the betrayal he felt in his eyes.
" This has gone on for too long Klaus. I will not help you break this curse if it means killing innocent people. Especially Clarissa. Clarissa will not die, or Katerina." Elijah spoke firmly, and the betrayal was becoming for obvious in Klaus' expression.
" So you will break your own promise to your brother, because of your love for this one pathetic girl." Elijah held back the growl forming in his throat, and instead spoke with his teeth clenched together.
" Yes,"
" Well then it is time for me to have to punish my own brother. You know what I did to Finn and mother when they betrayed me Elijah. You're lucky that it isn't actually Clarissa who I will be using in the ritual, it's still Katerina I need. But now I see that you are not loyal Elijah, therefore you must be punished." Elijah couldn't detect even a small amount of regret in Klaus tone. It was as if he had known all along that Elijah was already disloyal to him, and was prepared for it.
" Kill me then Niklaus, like you've done to the rest of our family. But it will only make you more of a monster, and then you'll have nobody," Elijah snapped, fury coursing through his body.
" Death would be too easy for you Elijah, and unfortunately I need you. So my witch here has gave you your punishment." Klaus announced with a smirk, this made Elijah particularly worried.
" Go on," Elijah urged.
" She has placed a curse upon Clarissa, so on her 19th birthday she will die and then reincarnate in the next generation of Petrovas, then she will die all over again on every 19th birthday," Elijah froze again, this was not what he had been expecting. Rage was overcoming his mind, and just as he sprang towards Klaus pain spread throughout his head, causing him to fall to the ground.
" If you attempt to kill me Elijah you will probably never find Clarissa again after tomorrow," Klaus told him. The pain began to lessen so that Elijah could speak, but he couldn't stand up.
" Katerina has no children, nor does Clarissa. They have no other blood relatives," Elijah said with a frown.
" The spell wouldn't have worked if she didn't. Katerina revealed to me the other night the reason why she was banished from Bulgaria, she had a child and was not married." Klaus explained. Elijah was finally able to get up from the floor, and to prevent himself from attacking Klaus he began to pace around the room.
" How could you do this to an innocent girl brother? She doesn't deserve this," Elijah growled, worry for Clarissa pounding in his mind.
" Well this is my deal for you Elijah. If you follow me to find every Petrova doppelganger, you will get to see Clarissa again. If not, you have 1 day left with her, and that is all." A malicious smile spread across Klaus features as he saw Elijahs expression. Not wanting to speak to his brother anymore, he sprinted back to Clarissa hoping that everything had only being a dream, or that the spell wouldn't work.
" I love you. Happy 19th birthday." He whispered to Clarissa Petrova, kissing her softly on the lips. Clarissa already knew of Elijahs nature, and the two were happily in love with each other.
" I love you too Elijah," a broad smile spread across her face. She was oblivious to everything - the fact that she could die today. But Elijah hadn't forgotten. Regretfully, he'd made sure to place some to slip some of his blood into her morning drink, hoping that he could override the curse.
" Here is the present I have bought you." Elijah told her, handing her a bracelet wrapped in a soft material. The bracelet was a simple silver bangle, with a love heart chain reading ' Elijah+Clarissa' that had a Sapphire gem underneath; the gem was the same colour as Clarissas eyes. The gem itself had been found by Elijah and his brother Finn while they were searching caves 500 years ago in their first home town. It was his only reminder of Finn, but he was willing enough now to give it to Clarissa.
" Oh Elijah it is beautiful. But what is wrong? You do not seem happy. It is my birthday! A time to celebrate!" Clarissa exclaimed in delight, as Elijah placed the bracelet carefully on her wrist.
" I am fine Clarissa," Elijah assured her, forcing a smile. However Clarissa knew him too well, she knew that something was bothering him. Most of Elijahs emotions were portrayed in his eyes, or gestures. That day Clarissa could see the worry in his eyes.
" No you are not! You grumpy old fool! Lighten up Elijah! Whatever is wrong I am sure will turn out to be alright. Enjoy this day with me!" Elijah looked down to the floor, chuckling at the small insult. She had always been confident, carefree, and very cheeky sometimes. Usually Elijah fell for the girls who were more innocent and shy - like Tatia. But he loved Clarissa for who she was, much more than he loved Tatia.
" Ok whatever you say my love. What do you wish to do today? You can do anything you would like." Elijah said, taking a step closer towards me.
" Hmmm..." Clarissa faked a look of concentration. Cheekily she moved closer to Elijah, so their lips almost met. They were just about to share another kiss, before Clarissa ran off with a loud giggle. " I don't want to get older! So we will play all day, like small children!"
" Don't think that I can not catch you. Remember I am much faster," Elijah told her with a smirk, jogging after her down the stairs.
" Oh do not be so vain Elijah. I do not lose, remember?" With a smirk planted upon her face, she took off through the main door with Elijah jogging after her.
After a delightful day, Elijah now lay at her bedside, tears streaming down his face and his body shaking from anger and sadness. That day had been perfect. They'd both had so much fun. All day they had spent together, laughing, having fun, and kissing. He'd almost forgotten about the curse altogether, before the dreadful thing happened; she'd gone to the lavatory while Elijah stayed outside waiting, when all of a sudden he'd heard a shrill scream, running vampire speed, he'd reached her in seconds, only to find her unconscious on the foot of the stairs, her heart unbeating and blood seeping from a large open wound in her head. She was dead
To his delight the vampire blood had done its magic, and all of her wounds had healed quickly. At first she had been confused, but Elijah had managed to explain everything to her- the curse Klaus had placed upon her, how Klaus was going to kill her sister and how Elijah had tried to stop him. At first she had been extremely, angry and she'd desperately wanted to kill Klaus. However he'd managed to convince her otherwise, and they had spent her remaining time as a human together.
Later on that day, Elijah brought an unwanted maid for Clarissa to drink from so she could complete the transition. He had been delighted and convinced that he'd found a way around the curse. But that's when everything started to go wrong.
After reluctantly drinking the blood from the maid, the dry ache in her throat didn't leave, and minute by minute she grew weaker. When she was no longer able to walk, Elijah sat by her bedside, gripping her hand tightly in his, desperately trying to come up with a plan. As more time passed by, she grew worse. In the final hour, she began to throw up endless amounts of blood, and each time Elijah held her hair back from her face, trying to calm her down. Once there was hardly any blood left to throw up, she began to slip in and out of consciousness, to weak to even groan in pain. Her beautiful eyes looked up into his, small tears welling in her eyes.
" I love you." She whispered one final time, her voice raspy and weak. Elijah looked down upon her, crying himself.
" I love you too. I will always love you Clarissa. I am so sorry for everything." He said rather quickly, placing a lingering passionate kiss on her lips. A small smile formed on her face as he pulled back. Suddenly, however, her eyes became heavy and they gradually began to droop.
" Elijah..." She whispered, taking her final gasp of her, before her eyes fully closed, and her heart gave way.
" You never deserved this." Elijah said, gripping her hand tightly, as his cries became louder, echoing throughout the whole room. From that moment he vowed that he would find her again, and find a way to break the curse. Then he would kill his brother, in the most harmful way possible, making sure he suffered for what he had done to Clarissa. Elijahs true love.