Disclaimer: I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I'd appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!
Author's Note: This chapter is based off of TO Season 5, Episode 6.
That night had proved to not be the last that Elijah saw of the mysterious, yet familiar woman from his past. Though she did not show back up until a few days after their last meeting. Once again, Eternity stood at the bar, watching him as he played at the piano. He had been surprised to see her there, after she disappeared that night he confronted her, but found he was also mildly pleased, despite himself.
Unlike in their past encounters, Eternity didn't remain standing across the room for long.
"Do I have any requests?" Elijah asked the gathered crowd, trying to ignore the pale beauty.
When he made this inquiry, the shimmering beauty came floating over, coming to stand in front of the piano with her hands spread out upon it. "I do," she answered with a flirtatious smile, "but it is a duet. Mind if I join you?"
He returned her smile with a small, curt one of his own as he scooted over to one side of the piano bench and nodded to it, "Sure."
With that same regal grace, she went around the piano and sat down beside him. Putting her hands on the keys, she began to play a modern tune, one that Elijah hadn't heard before. It was hauntingly beautiful and soon, he found himself joining in, despite not knowing the music. It was as if his fingers had minds of their owns, as if he knew the tune on some subconscious level. They played together perfectly, he and the beauty beside him, as if they had been playing together for years. Perhaps they had.
"It seems that some part of you still remembers," commented Eternity quietly, glancing at him. "We used to play this tune together all the time."
"Did we now? Sorry, I cannot recall," he quipped with a smirk. "I seem to have some sort of amnesia."
Eternity laughed lightly and shook her head at him.
Elijah felt such joy hearing that melodious sound and that profound connection he felt toward her only increased with it. He couldn't resist it if he tried - and he did try.
Then suddenly, Antoinette made an appearance, breaking the spell between them. "Elijah?" She questioned upon seeing them together, the surprise and subtle jealousy evident on her face.
He immediately got up from behind the piano and went to her, kissing her lips quickly in apology. "Sorry, Eternity was just teaching me a new-old tune on the piano," he said weakly, turning to look at the pale beauty, only to find she had disappeared...again.
Elijah tried not to let his disappointment show. Then he felt Antoinette pull on his arm to gain his attention. He turned to her with a small smile that was as fake as they come, but one he tried to pass off as genuine anyway.
"Come on, love," she said with a hint of sadness in her sweet voice. "The sun is about to rise. We should head back."
Without hesitation and a simple nod, he followed her out. All the while, Eternity was on his mind.
That day, as he slept beside his fiancée, he dreamed of the ethereal beauty who would not leave him alone. He saw her round, childlike face and she was smiling at him with those big, sparkling sapphire eyes of hers. He reached for her automatic, embracing her, kissing her, then making love to her. She didn't speak and neither did he. They were simply together - beautifully happy.
When night fell and Elijah rose from slumber, all he could think about was Eternity, despite attempting very hard not to. He didn't consciously know her or love her, but some subconscious part of him remembered and cared for her still. He couldn't escape it, no matter what and it drove him crazy!
Then, like a saving grace to his sanity, a distraction came knocking at the door.
Curious, Antoinette answered it and found a fellow vampire the other side, looking weary and weak. "Mother! What happened to you?" She asked, nervously.
"The path to redemption is long and winding...but worthy," Antoinette's mother replied, just as Elijah came to stand by his fiancée with her intertwining their fingers in comfort. The weary female vampire looked at him and said, "Elijah, yes? What a pleasure it is to finally meet you."
There was something eerie and ominous about her. Because of that, he hesitated slightly, before nodding, "And you."
Of course, Antoinette let her mother into their apartment and before long, the woman, Greta Sienna, started to look less weary and more at full strength. Elijah had prepared a modest meal for the three of them, so that they could talk about whatever had brought the unsettling woman to them.
His fiancée seemed suspicious of her own mother, especially with the quick and strange phone call his soon-to-be mother-in-law made during dinner. Then Antoinette had pointed out how Greta was wearing a daylight ring, something that went against the purist vampire teachings, making his lady even more wary.
"I'm sure you didn't get a daylight ring just to see me," his fiancée said.
As Greta poured them more wine, she replied, "No. I've been wearing one for years. But your father believed, at times, the ends justify the means."
Curious, Elijah asked, "And what means were those?"
"Our movement recognizes the superiority of our species," Greta explained, "and works to protect the sanctity and purity of the true vampire."
With a slight scoff, Antoinette chimed in, "By wearing a ring and acting like a daywalker?"
"By infiltrating those who need reeducation," her mother corrected. "The daywalkers are in denial of their natural state. They live as though they've never died and been chosen for something better than being merely human."
"Yeah, perhaps they don't know the peace that comes with removing the ring," commented Elijah.
"No, Elijah, they don't," Greta agreed. "But...our work is paying off. We've taken hold."
"Doesn't explain your sudden visit," Antoinette said, gazing curiously at her mother.
It was obvious to Elijah that there was some tension between mother and daughter. He didn't know the story behind that, other than it was Greta's teachings that Antoinette followed, the very same that she had taught to him in his reeducation on how to be a vampire. He enjoyed the purist form of vampirism. It was freeing and he could understand why one might try to push it on others of their kind.
"No," Greta admitted, "but I believe Roman may be in danger."
Immediately, Elijah's fiancée was on alert. Worry marred her expression and tainted her voice as she urgently asked, "What's happened?"
"It's my fault, really," answered Greta regretfully. "Your brother wanted to go away to school, and I...I indulged him. But now I've learned that he's gotten mixed up with Hope Mikaelson. He's quite fond of her. But the moment her father finds out that she's involved with a Sienna..."
"He'll kill him," finished Antoinette, very worried now for her brother.
"Roman won't stand a chance against him," her mother said gravely. "That's why I'm here. The only one strong enough to stop Klaus Mikaelson, save your brother's life..."
"Is me," Elijah finished, knowingly. "I'll do it. I'll go."
"Good," Greta smiled almost wolfishly. "I'm glad to hear it and I am forever grateful."
Later, after Antoinette's mother left. They discussed this mission of his, as he packed to make the journey to New Orleans. He was full of determination, wanting to protect his new family. So focused was he that he didn't even think about Eternity or the dreams he kept having of her.
"My mother had no right to put this on you," his lady said, exasperatedly.
"She's just protecting her son," he replied, as he moved about the bedroom, readying himself for the trip.
Antoinette was clearly bothered by this whole thing, not liking the idea of him going at all, as well as being worried for her brother. "Greta is complicated," she sighed. "And obviously her views are pretty extreme. But, yes, she does love Roman. So do I."
Curiously, he asked, "You never told me how it was Greta came to be your mom."
"All those years ago, after I was staked and stoned by my village, I was left for dead," Antoinette explained to him. "I could feel my life slipping away when Greta found me. She saw something in me and turned me. I call her mother because...she gave me life. I-I owe her everything."
He smiled confidently, "So my path is clear."
As he moved past her, he paused and he kissed her lips tenderly.
"I don't want you having anything to do with your family," insisted his fiancée, obviously trying to convince him not to go. He realized that she was afraid to lose him. If not to his family, then perhaps to Eternity, whom had been waiting for him to go home to New Orleans. "This is my problem," she said weakly."
"You are my family," he smiled tenderly, as he neared her. "Your joy is my joy." He paused to put on his daylight ring, then finished, "Therefore, your problem is my problem."
"No, this is asking too much," she murmured worriedly.
Elijah shook his head, "No, it's not. Your mother is right. I am the only one with the power to protect your brother from Klaus." He cupped her neck in both hands to gaze into her eyes meaningfully. "Now just let me go. And after the sun sets and it's safe for you to travel, you come and join us." He kissed her lips again, more passionately than before. Then, pulling away he saw her uncertainty, and with concern, asked, "Hey. What is it?"
Realizing she couldn't stop him from going, Antoinette sighed in defeat and whispered, "Thank you." Then she pulled him to her and hugged him tightly, before letting him go with a brave face.
The next day, Elijah found himself outside New Orleans, at an old abandoned farmhouse. Klaus Mikaelson, along with a pretty blonde companion he of course didn't recognize, rolled up. The hybrid quickly moved toward the building, ready to kill Roman and anyone else that was part of Greta's cause. The blonde followed and Elijah moved silently, stealthily snapping the woman's neck before she could get far.
Then he went after Klaus, just as his brother turned to face him with a surprised look on his face to see him there at all. "What are you doing here?" He asked Elijah.
"Protecting my family," Elijah replied, just as he snapped off the handle of an old shovel and threw it at the hybrid, who dodged it easily.
An incredulous look crossed Klaus's face as he raged, "They're your family? Hope is in there!"
Unmoved, he coolly stated, "It's not my problem."
"Well, what about Hayley? Your sister-in-law, my wife, Hope's mother!" His brother tried.
Gazing threateningly, Elijah responded, "The woman I love has a brother in there, and you're not going in."
"I see Eternity - your wife - couldn't reach you either," he said with a sigh and then in frustration, he growled, "She is the woman you love, not that harlot you met in France, the very one that's part of that deranged Sienna family, our family's old enemy! You surely break her heart by denouncing her and choosing that woman over her!"
"Antoinette is the woman I love and the woman I plan on spending my life with," countered Elijah stubbornly, despite his conflicted feelings over the pale beauty. "I don't care what came before! This is my life now! And as I said, you're not going in there!"
"Well, it shows how little you actually remember your old life," his brother said, "because if you did, you'd know there's no way you can stop me."
Just as they were about to fight, there was a loud commotion that rang out from within the farmhouse, giving both men pause. The sound of a struggle could be heard and then, few moments later, nothing. There was utter silence, before Eternity emerged from the house with a woman limping beside her and a young teenage girl on her other side.
A look of utter relief crossed Klaus's face as he rushed to them, embracing the bloodied and bruised woman, then the young girl joyously. He kissed each of their faces over and over again in his relief that they were still alive, and now safe. Then he hugged Eternity and thanked her for her efforts to save them.
Worry immediately crossed Elijah's face as he saw the blood spatters that marred the ethereal beauty's face, hands, and clothes. He feared that the boy he had come to save had been killed by her. He was troubled by the prospect of failing in his mission, as well was the idea of Eternity turning into his enemy.
"Where is Roman?" He demanded angrily.
Eternity looked at him gravely, knowing already the reason why he had been there. It was obvious by the disappointed expression upon her face. "Roman is alright," she told him, comfortingly, despite her sadness. "He is but a child and therefore, I let him go. Greta was not so fortunate, I'm afraid."
Upon seeing the defensive stance he took at her revelation, she turned to Klaus then and said, "Get Hope and Hayley somewhere safe. Leave Elijah to me."
The hybrid nodded, ushering his wife and daughter away to the car he had come in, while pausing to pick up the still unconscious blonde vampire on the way.
Once they were gone, Eternity approached him. "Greta was using you, you know," she said. "She was using your amnesia to her advantage, as well as your relationship with her daughter, in an attempt to keep Niklaus busy long enough to allow her kill Hayley and Hope. She was to murder our sister-in-law and our niece for her own twisted cause, which you were naively helping further."
Elijah stared at her unforgivingly, "You killed Greta."
"Yes, I did," she nodded unapologetically. "You've aligned yourself with a fascist vampire cult, lead by one, Greta Sienna, Elijah, because of your idiocy. You made a stupid, reckless move with good intentions by erasing your memories. You've caused more problems without them than you would have with them." She sighed in frustration and threw her hands up, "and I don't know if Niklaus will ever forgive you for it. You may have forever broken your family, which is usually your brother's MO, by the way."
Elijah didn't know what to say or to think. He simply gaped at her speechlessly.
"It is a good thing I managed to intercept her plot," she carried on, speaking more to herself than to him. "Though it's not over. Her cult followers have infiltrated New Orleans and I must go help dismantle that evil movement, before it tears the city apart since our family has to remain separated."
He gazed at her curiously, sensing that she was saying goodbye to him, before she actually said it. He felt his insides twist sickeningly at the very idea, despite her killing his fiancée's mother and acting as his enemy.
"I'd ask you to come home again," Eternity murmured with a sad smile that broke his heart, "to allow me to not only restore your memories, but to also put the Hollow down for good - to reunite our family, but I know it's a fool's errand. You have made your choice. I cannot stop you. I won't force you back against your will, because that is not love - and I do love you. Instead, I will find another way of defeating the Hollow and I will let you go."
Elijah continued to gape, as words kept on failing him every time he attempted them. He didn't know what to say. What could he say? He had rejected her, just as he had chosen Antoinette's family over the Mikaelsons. He felt as if it was too late to turn back, as if he were stuck on the path he was on.
"It is a shame, however," the ethereal beauty mourned with a shaky voice. "It is a shame that our daughter will grow up without a father. Worse, a father that chose to forget her, to build a new life without her. By rejecting the Mikaelsons and I, you have rejected her."
That snapped Elijah out of his stupor. "Daughter? How?" He asked quickly with uncertainty. "I thought vampires couldn't procreate. Did we adopt?"
Eternity shook her head, "No, she is your biological child. It is true that typically vampires cannot have children, but I am not bound by the rules of this world and with my magic, I made it so that we could, along with the other Originals."
"What's her name?" He found himself asking before he could stop.
"Arianna Katerina Mikaelson, but we call her Ari for short," she told him...and then, "Goodbye, Elijah. I wish you nothing but happiness in your new life."
Before he could get any words out to keep her there, Eternity vanished from sight, just like that.
Elijah was left with his whirlwind thoughts. His head spun, while his heart ached. It was that part of him that remembered that caused it, it was as if that subconscious part of him that knew the truth was rebelling against his. It was like it was crying out in terrible grief from a loss that he was consciously unattached to. It was a strange feeling, to feel something so profound and yet feel absolutely nothing at the same time.
The sun was setting, Antoinette would be arriving soon. He would have to tell her about Greta...and about the daughter Eternity mentioned, as well as all he was feeling. He didn't know what to do, what path to take.
He did love Antoinette and he did want to spend his life with her. However, Eternity and the knowledge of their child threatened to pull him in a backwards direction, back to the family he swore he didn't care about - that he swore he wanted nothing to do with. He wanted to go to New Orleans to see this daughter, to know her. The tug toward the child was strong, so strong he could barely resist it.
Perhaps, his lady's worries about losing him had more merit than he realized.
With these troubling thoughts plaguing his mind, Elijah left the farmhouse to meet his fiancée since he didn't know where Roman had gone to and couldn't do anything more to help him. He was glad that the boy had managed to escape or rather that Eternity had let the boy go, feeling grateful to her for that mercy. Though, his gratitude only served to complicate him further, leaving him just that more chaotically aimless.
To Be Continued...