Ava's POV:

"So, word has it that your mother finally found you a gentleman you approve of."

The door of my room opened and in walked my brothers poisonous fiancée, Adeline. Adeline was my age and I despised her. She was English and for that considered herself the most important of us all. Her wicked, green eyes swept over me critically as Alexandre tightened my corset. I braced myself for the snide comments that were likely to come, but Adeline's attention was diverted, her focus was not on my appearance today, but on my potential husband.
"Don't you have someone else to be irritating?" I replied indifferently. I had no patience for Adeline. She was shallow, snide and on some occasions, down right cruel.
"Giselle tells me that her dinner party ruse finally worked. Elijah, isn't it? This man that has finally caught that eye of yours."
"Mother is getting ahead of herself. I don't recall telling her that her transparent attempt to marry me off had worked, and I certainly don't remember telling her that Elijah has, as you so charmingly put it, caught my eye." I snapped as Alexandre began to help me with my dress. This was a slight lie, my mothers attempt was working, and Elijah had indeed caught my eye, but I was forcing myself to stay nonchalant. I barely knew the man, for all I knew he could be a completely horrible man and the attitude he had displayed the previous evening was a façade.

Instead of looking put out by my snappy attitude, Adeline only smirked. I got the feeling she could see right through my façade. This irritated me beyond belief; Adeline was not my friend, nor was she my confidante, who was she to believe that she knew me well enough to see past my well structured walls?

Adeline seemed to sense that I was in no mood to talk to her about my love life - if it was appropriate to be called that - so she changed the subject. Her and Alexandre engaged in a conversation about the plans for her and Louis' weddings. This did nothing to improve my mood. I believed my brother deserved better than her. It was a result of an unfortunate sequence of events that had brought Adeline into our family.

I drifted off into the bliss of my own thoughts when a discreet knock on my door brought my gradually back to the present.
"Come." I called.

Charlotte, another maid, opened the door and stepped into my room with the oddest expression. It was like excitement suppressed under a blank expression.
"Ava, the Lord Elijah is here to see you."
Lord? He was a Lord? How on earth had my mother neglected to tell me that? She'd glorified him in every other aspect, had she even known that he was a Lord? On the other hand, that explained the strange expression: the maids were all in on my mothers plan, they were like her minions.
I glanced around at Adeline and Alexandre, both of who were looking like Christmas had come early. Were people that keen to have me married off? It was a little offensive.
"Please tell him to wait and that I will be down in a few short moments." I replied with as much grace as I could muster. I'd be lying if I said that the butterflies in my stomach hadn't started up again.

Charlotte left the room. As soon as she had closed the door behind her, Adeline and Alexandre both started speaking at the same time, they sounded like a pair of overexcited birds.
"He's come to see you, the day after your parents had him over for dinner? What was that you said about your mother getting ahead of herself?" Adeline exclaimed excitedly as Alexandre nodded along with her enthusiastically. I glared at her, why on earth was she suddenly acting like we were good friends all of a sudden?
"Honestly, calm down, both of you. You're acting as though youve never seen a man before." I told them haughtily. My words had no effect on either of them, for they both turned to each other with what they obviously thought were superior smirks.

Ignoring both of them, I headed over to the mirror to check my reflection to make sure that I was looking presentable. I exited the room without a backwards glance at Adeline and Alexandre, both of whom had turned into a giggling mess.
I was slightly nervous, for what reason could Elijah possibly have for visiting me barely 12 hours after having left the previous night.
I managed to keep my composure as I descended the stairs in what I hoped was a dignified and graceful manner.

"Elijah," I said with a smile as I reached the bottom of stairs. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
He smiled at me. Dear me, he was so beautiful. He took my hand and kissed it, just as he had last night, causing the now familiar fire in my stomach to flare up.
"Ava," He replied, releasing my hand. "I was at a loose end and desired the company of a charming woman."
I almost succumbed to the temptation of becoming a pathetic giggler like my charming almost sister-in-law upstairs, but I had more dignity than her, or at least I hoped.
"Well, I'm flattered."
"Would you like to accompany me for a walk?"
"Of course."

He offered me his arm, which I took whilst hiding my obvious delight. Charlotte opened the front door for us and we stepped out into the warm, summers day. The air was light and pleasantly warm. I sighed contentedly as the sunlight washed over me. It was enough to make me forget how much is disliked Adeline and how irritated I was at my mother for trying to push me into marriage.

"I gather your mother, Giselle, had an ulterior motive for last nights dinner." Elijahs voice broke though my aimless thoughts, dragging my spirits down. It was embarrassing that my mothers motives were so clear.
"Mhmm. She's very keen to have me married and starting my own family. That dinner was by no means the first." My tone was embarrassed as I made a mental note to never attend one of my mothers dinners where the phrase a few close friends was involved.
"I'd have thought a girl like you would have been married by now. Isn't the average age around 17?" I was 21 years of age and pleased that I broke the stereotype. I didn't want to be like any other girl, like my mother.
"A girl like me?"
"Beautiful, intelligent, the perfect candidate for a wife?"
I felt myself blushing and turned my head away slightly, hoping that my hair would hide the pink flush of colour in my cheeks.
"I didn't want to end up married to just anyone. So many people take marriage lightly and end up with someone they despise. Take my parents, for example, they don't particularly like each other. They put on a good show for me and Louis, but the cracks are blindingly obvious." I explained, turning back to face him when I was confident my skin had returned to its natural colour. I wasn't exactly sure why I was all but pouring my heart out to him, it felt...right.

Elijah's POV:

She was falling for me. Hard. I could see it in the way she looked at me. I saw her skin flush with colour when I called her beautiful. I could hear her heart beat a little faster. She was trying her best to hide it, but being quite a few centuries old, I was more than experienced in reading women.

I knew that soon, I'd have to make a decision. Klaus would come looking for me. It had been weeks since I'd written to him with the news that I'd found a lead on Katerina, he'd want to know how I was progressing.

I'd grown fond of Katerina, she was human and vulnerable and sweet and I had so desperately wanted to protect her from the fate that I knew was coming for her. Of course, I'd set my priorities straight and realised that my brother was where my true allegiance lay. But Ava was different. For starters she wasnt the key ingredient in a curse my brother was so adamant on breaking. She brought out emotions in me I hadn't thought were possible. It was foolish, really. I'd known her for little more than a day. Maybe it was my heightened emotions. Ever since I'd left behind my human life, my emotions, thoughts and feelings were all heightened a hundred fold.

My better nature was telling me to leave her be and not burden her with the weight of my world, the world of the supernatural. My selfish side was calling out to me to take the girl. Marry her, turn her, spend an eternity worshipping the ground she walked on. I hated to admit it, even to myself, but my selfish side was greatly outweighing my better nature.