Elena could have sworn she'd just seen him, standing across the water while she was on a nearly docked ferry in Heraklion, but when she looked up from the shimmering reflection in the water, the ledge was clear of any ancient vampires. The ferry stilled and she remained boarded, trying to sharpen her senses and focus on the street, which was bustling despite the late hour.

Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

After she had been turned, she had had her friends there to help her, but it was right after graduation that Caroline and Tyler had left Mystic Falls. The council had all been wiped out and hunters dispatched, but it was a matter of time before someone came out of the woodwork to finish their mission. That was how things always turned out. Tyler and Caroline had left, all smiles and hands intertwined, and Elena had wished them the best before making them promise to keep in touch.

It was when Jeremy couldn't look at her anymore and she learned that Bonnie cried herself to sleep at night and Matt tried too hard to seem happy, that Elena couldn't take anymore and left herself. It seemed that with all the time she had now, the others didn't need so much to break. She couldn't stay in that town anymore, not when what she needed was no longer there.

At the thought of her solitude, Elena's hand raised up and grabbed the bar, despair engulfing her. She took slow, deep breaths and clenched her jaw tightly. Refocusing, she squinted into the darkness of the alley straight to her left across the way, thinking she might catch some movement and knowing that the shadows were almost never empty. She's felt this feeling before too many times to be coincidence and she's not surprised to find that she's missed it.

Maybe...

But she sees nothing and looks back down to the water. It is still, but the moon is not full.

On the right side of the water, walking across the top of a castle wall, a tall man in a long, black coat smiles hollowly before vanishing in a blink, the edges of his shape almost dustlike in the way they scatter.

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"Elena, we don't know where he is."

"What does it matter? Klaus came, he took him, he left. End of story!"

"Damon..."

"What, Stefan, there's no point in getting upset about something that doesn't concern us."

"It concerns me."

Elena's voice cut crisply through Damon's drawl and if wasn't for the fact that Elena's eyes were harder, he might have thought she was still human with the way she was glaring at him. He scoffed and threw back the rest of the bourbon in his glass. Turning away from her, Damon set the glass down on the table and sighed and tried to think of something to say. Elena's mouth straightened out and she put a hand to the side of her head.

"I know it's not your fault, Damon. But I need to get him back."

Looking to his younger brother, Damon saw the quiet resignation in Stefan's eyes and knew that his own mirrored the sentiment.

Damon didn't need to ask why. He didn't want to.

He had thought that with Klaus hightailing it out of Mystic Falls, their problems would all be gone. Well, Klaus wouldn't be wreaking havoc in Elena's life, being as he had no need of her anymore and his anger was directed outward at his sister.

There would always be other problems.

But this one, this one was supposed to be over.

Of course, not with Elena.

Not when Klaus had something that Elena wanted.

Or, rather, someone.

Elena looked forward, into the brightly burning fireplace, and spoke unwavering.

"I'm going to get him back."

The next second she was gone, Damon and Stefan's eyes still downcast and shaded.

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Elena hadn't wanted to involve Bonnie in any of this, because she had suffered enough and any more interaction with the Originals could only bring more harm to the young witch. But she knew a witch would have the ability to locate someone and she would do whatever she could to do just that.

As it turns out, reaching out was unnecessary because soon after leaving Mystic Falls, Klaus contacted her with the details of his oldest brother's whereabouts. Klaus would leave clues for her to try and find them, egging her on to keep on searching and reclaim what she professed she cared about. A brief call here, a quick text there. It was a game to Klaus, to cart his brother around as some twisted form of punishment. Every time she thought she'd finally come upon them, his voice seemed to be filled with even more malicious glee when he made the inevitable call to taunt her. Even through the pain of it all, there was a thrill with the chase because she knew there would come the day that she would find him and take him back.

There was a burning fire in her belly, one that grew every day she was apart from the man she loved. No matter where she slept, whether it be in an abandoned house, hotel or the among the trees outside a town, Elijah always found her in her dreams. As soon as Elena's eyes had shut and she felt herself go slack, he was there, spinning her around gracefully or holding her to his chest. She felt his weight against her, his light touch and the warmth that blossomed from wherever his hand graced her skin. It all felt too real.

They are dancing in Rome, with fallen monuments around them and their eyes only on each other. There is faint music from the city square that they can both hear and the breeze that tastes like vanilla stirs her hair up.

This is a memory, she thinks. I remember the smell of the salt water stinging my nose when we walked down by the sea.

Elijah slowly sways with his hands resting lightly on her shoulder and hip, and she tries to step closer because it seems she's getting too far away to keep a good hold on him, but then she's reaching forward and grasping only air. Elijah's there still, she can feel him, but she can't see him and then, Elena is laying among the rubble, unable to move. Her white baby doll dress covered with ash and she doesn't have to look down to know that her legs are broken.

She knows vampires have the ability to get in each other's heads, but she has a feeling it was more than that.

After all, she's alone.

After all, he was ashen and dead in a box somewhere.

Elena's eyes snap open and she notices through the open window of her hotel room, that there is no moon tonight. The sky is just a sheet of darkness and the air is cold enough to seep into her skin and make her feel brittle.

She closes the window and the curtains fall closed.

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She follows Klaus for ten months before she grows distraught and attempts to seek help from the witch variety. She has kept in touch with those back at home, but always to just check in and never to show how her loneliness is slowly tearing her in two.

It doesn't matter. Her friends can still read her as if she was standing right in front of them. Elena pictures Damon's tightly drawn mouth, Stefan's furrowed brow and Jeremy's narrowed eyes.

It's Bonnie's tired eyes and tired voice and tired hands that come through for her, yet again. Bonnie still loves her sister and to have Elena away and still empty cuts at Bonnie in a way that has always been there.

Bonnie is tired of it all, but when she steadily offers up her power to track down Elijah, Elena is on the road, headed towards home before she can think.

There is a quick reunion before Bonnie says she needs something of Elijah's, something personal and Elena wants to ask if she can supply herself, but instead hands over the necklace he wore as a human so long ago. He had given it to her the night before their return, while they sat looking at the stars, telling her of his life as a human man who had wanted to give his family heirloom to the woman he considered worthy enough. A thousand years later, it was hers.

Her chest feels bare, too bare, and she places her hand flat over it while Bonnie speaks in a language she can't understand.

The pendant glints with the fire burning from candle wicks and swings in a wide circle over a world map before flying from Bonnie's hand and resting on Italy. Elena doesn't know whether to scream or cry over the fact that she had been so close to them and now was so far.

"There. They're in Taranto. The necklace will work as a kind of compass now and will lead to him. Just keep it in your hand and you'll feel his distance once you are close enough."

Bonnie's voice is soft and in the next second, Elena has her wrapped in a trembling hug. Bonnie hugs her back as tightly as she can and whispers in her ear, "Go get him."

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She's gone the same night, the bare essentials packed and strapped her back, running to catch the next plane.

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Elena has barely stepped into the city before the pendant hanging from her neck sends out a pulse that has her holding her breath.

He's here.

Tears spring to her eyes at her relief, but she swallows thickly and continues forward, relying purely on this feeling, on instinct. It brings her to a gathering of trees set next to the Little Sea and when it feels like the trembling of the heavy stone is surpassed by only her own excitement, she hears a familiar voice behind her.

"It seems you fancy ancient art as well, to be in a small town such as this with only boats, industry and water to its name."

She expected to hear coldness, venom, mocking in that voice, but she was surprised to hear it full of nothing but wonder and a vague sense of joy.

Elena turned around slowly, keeping her body loose. She wasn't here to fight.

"Klaus. I've finally caught up with you."

He smiles a little bigger and steps close, arms swinging by his sides. She has a flash of fear, one that she has always associated with him. Elena doesn't think it'll ever go away, but she tries to swallow it and keep her head up.

"Why, yes, you have. I must admit, I was hoping our game would have lasted a little longer, the fun it brought more than I would have expected."

Klaus stands right in front of her and keeps his gaze trained. Her own eyes dart around, looking for freshly turned dirt or small shed. Anything that could hold a body.

"Since you've come so far, I've decided to give you what you want. My brother has grown to be heavy luggage despite how fun it is to bring him back to these ancient cities. We were just reliving our earlier days,"-Klaus turns here and makes a wide gesture- "when Italy had a lot more life in it. To feel, to taste, to take." His eyes glint here and she knows he is dying to inflict more torment, in some way or another. Elena wants to scream at him, to stop punishing them because Elijah has other interests. She wants to remind him that despite the obstacles that women have put between them in the past, Elijah always remained to look after his younger brother.

But she doesn't say anything. She doesn't have to. Elena looks at him, straight in the face, keeping her own open. Her hand moves with a mind of its own and clutches the shape at her clavicle, which Klaus' eyes note and then fill with recognition. Klaus takes a step back from her, eyebrows raising slightly before chuckling quietly.

"He gave that-? All right, then." He strides past her, his jauntiness ever present, and they walk a while through the dark trees, the sound of water drifting to her through them, before Klaus suddenly stops. There is a cottage in front of them, old in its aura, and Elena is surprised that Klaus would ever stay anywhere so plain. She looks up at him and he jerks his head towards it before continuing on.

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"There are so many stars in the sky tonight. I wonder if it really is possible to know all of them."

Her voice is full of awe and her eyes sparkle with the light of the full moon. Elijah is silent for now, just taking her in as they sit on the shore, sides touching and Elena's right hand resting on top of his left one. The water is still and seems almost solid, so the only movement breaking the stillness is her fingers drawing patterns on the back of his hand.

They are in a city that she never knew existed, near islands she can't pronounce, just looking up at the night sky and she doesn't know if it's because she has no idea which direction home would be or if it's because she has someone here to share the view with, but the sky seems more richly purple than she's ever seen it. There are glittering diamonds in the sky and she wants to hold them in her fist, but when she raises her hand, it's to bring Elijah's face to hers.

Elijah looks at her for a moment before closing his eyes and breathing deep. Elena places her hand flat against his cheek and he moves into it before she giggles.

"They really are beautiful. You should look."

His low voice replies, "I've seen them many times." He opens his eyes though and looks up before looking back down to her.

"But they seem especially bright tonight."

Elena scoots closer and puts her head against his shoulder. They've only been on their own together for three months, but the short time is inverse to how much they are connected. It feels right to be touching him, in any way she can. He slowly places his hand on the top of her head before pulling her closer and speaking into her hair.

"The city lights of Tokyo rival this, but when we get there, you'll see that they're no match for this natural light."

Elena smiles wider at the thought of a future together, but then she cocks her head against his torso.

"When did we decide that we were going to Japan?"

"It's a natural stop when one travels the world. I know of some particularly moving places where you can see the gentle power and silent beauty of nature." He blinks as realization dawns and then looks down to her.

"Did you not want to go there on our next trip?"

Craning her head to lock gazes and bringing her other arm around him, Elena wistfully lets out, "I'm leaving that to you. I just want to be where you are."

"And I, you."

Elijah's eyes have a light of their own, she sees again, and when she feels her heart reaching out to touch that light, she hurriedly says, "Let's work out the details later."

She stretches forward to meet his lips with her own and softly plies them apart before putting a little more pressure on them. He is just as fervent, placing his hands on her shoulders and they lose themselves in each other. His white button down gets looser and looser with every button she undoes and his hand in her hair pushes its straightness into a mess. Elijah has just put his hand on her back to push her onto his lap when she presses him down onto the sand to stretch out above him, nipping at the corner of his mouth and then his cheek, moving to his jaw and then just under his ear.

Elijah's hands grasp the material of her dress tightly as she presses herself lower against him and he presses his own face to Elena's neck to pepper it with rough kisses. All he can feel is her naked hands rubbing against his exposed flesh and hear is the way she breathes against his closed eyelids, so it is Elena that jerks back when the sound of sailors on the cobblestone street reaches her ears. She laughs and places her forehead against his chest and he has to press his lips together to keep from groaning.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this here..."

Elijah is half tempted to say the hell with it, but he's not going to press the sensitive issue. He wants their first time to be somewhere better than the coarse sands of the beach of Vai. He sits up slowly, her kneeling in between his legs, before taking her face in both hands and kissing her lightly. Elena closes her eyes to relish every feeling and when he pulls away, she still keeps them closed, but presses her forehead to his cheek. He wraps his arms around her, moving her to sit against him, and whispers,

"Wherever you want, Elena, I will go. I never want to leave your side."

Elena lets his words sit between them for a moment as they settle into her heart and smiles as she lightly says upwards,

"And I love you too. No more just letting you go."

He must be surprised because she's never said those words to him before, but his face reads only delight and devotion. He can't speak for a moment before he swoops down and kisses her with more passion than ever before. After he breaks away, he grimaces as he remembers something.

"My brother has requested that I meet him back in Mystic Falls. I wouldn't force you to come with me, but you're welcome to."

She is silent for a moment and although she wants to say yes, she doesn't know if it's wise to get involved any more in anything Klaus does.

Her silence is his answer and he just smiles softly.

"Then, I shall go meet him and when I return to you, we can plan for a trip to Japan."

Elena doesn't smile again for almost a year.

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Each step closer to the worn, brown building adds another layer of anxiety to Elena's taut nerves. The pendant has stopped vibrating and has settled into being warm against her chilly flesh. It looks to be dark inside, but there are flickering shadows, so Elena assumes there must be candles burning.

Her heart nearly drops to her feet as Klaus slowly opens the door and a body is revealed just as slowly. He is sitting at an armchair, book in hand, eyes half closed and unfocused. Elena freezes in the door as emotion after emotion floods her and she decides which to process first. He looks up then, seeing Klaus first and then Elena's head behind his brother's shoulder. The book drops from his hand and he is over to her side in a blur, head ducked low and eyes searching for hers.

Elena's head sluggishly looks up his taller frame and when her eyes land on his, again, tears appear in her eyes and she takes in a sharp breath. He can only stare wide eyed and whisper quietly,

"Hello there."

In a split second, she has her arms around his neck, pulling him close, and is kissing him fiercely as she runs her hands over his neck and back to feel that he's really there in front of her. Elijah places his hands on her back and kisses her deeply enough to make her bend backwards and he feels like he's found that missing key into feeling alive yet again.

Klaus rolls his eyes and turns to the table of his scattered sketches. He is fighting a grin and losing. Elijah pulls back finally, not letting go of her, and is a little breathless. Elijah's eyes are darting wildly, trying to put the pieces together.

"Klaus removed the dagger from me some hours ago, but it wasn't until an hour ago that he left, telling me he's bringing me some kind of offering."

Klaus' head snapped back around and his lips pursed. "My words were 'peace offering', but mere semantics."

Elijah seemed to digest his brother's presence finally and turned to face him to question him, but Elena's hand on his arm stopped him from speaking first. She had a pinched look as she recalled the past months and he was confused, but said nothing.

"Funnily enough, I understand why he did it. He made me chase after you. He didn't want me to play with you like he thinks I would have. He didn't want to lose you."

Elijah turned his head towards his younger brother and Klaus cocks his head the side, startled.

"No, he made me realize I want to chase after you. He made me realize how much I need you. Only you. In his own warped way, he was looking out for you."

Elena quickly looked at Klaus and frowned with narrowed eyes. There is a ferocity in them that wasn't there a moment ago.

"Just don't do it again."

Elena returned her attention to Elijah and her head tilted sideways as she sighed. Elijah's lips part slightly as he watches her and wants nothing more in that moment to kiss her for the rest of time. Her voice thick with emotion, she spoke to him soothingly,

"Welcome back."

"I'm back."