AN: Ah, I feel so fortunate that a few have taken interest in this story! Sorry for the – relatively – late update. Was pretty tied up this weekend. Will try to get the next chapters our quicker than the last! 3

Chapter 3: 1147

In 1147, roughly thirty years after Elijah and his siblings had been expelled from Italy by a group of hunters, hunters determined to kill each and every member left of the Mikaelson bloodline, Elijah, along with Rebekah, Kol and Klaus had travelled together. Going from town to town, they went north from Italy into Switzerland, Germany and eventually ended up in the north-west of France, in a little fisher's village named Le Havre.

The Mikaelsons had been held up there for a few weeks now. Kol and Klaus were both growing antsy from the lack of adventure the village offered. Rebekah and Elijah on the other hand had grown rather fond of the village and the locals. Obviously, Rebekah had become smitten by one of the local fishermen, a very ordinary but kind man named Pascal.

Every morning, Pascal would arrive at 9 o'clock sharp to deliver a basket of fish for the Mikaelsons. While naturally none of the original vampires required food to survive – as opposed to blood, Rebekah happily accepted the gesture and would urge him to come again soon. She would go out to the docks and watch the fishing boats sail off towards the horizon and hopelessly await his return.

Klaus had grown irritable because of it. No man would ever be good enough for his little sister. He'd hissed threats and made worrisome remarks about the human. He was done watching his naïve young sister fall in love yet again to only return heartbroken and weeping a few days later. While Elijah was able to keep his younger brothers in line for now, he feared the worst: their stay in Le Havre would surely be short-lived at this rate.

As the eldest of the original siblings predicted, so it was. After Klaus had warned the fisherman to stay away from his sister – which the fisherman declined – Klaus did not wait a beat before snapping the human's neck within the blink of an eye. The murder did not go unnoticed. For years the Mikaelsons had been on the run from a faction of hunters that called themselves The Brotherhood of Five. It was the very reason they had fled Italy a handful of decades ago. Rumors spread like wildfire and it was only a matter of days before five new hunters arrived in Le Havre.

A few days too soon for the Mikaelsons to clear entirely.

"They're here!" Rebekah's voice screeched in terror. "They're here, Elijah. They're here!"

Rebekah didn't need to explain. Elijah knew whom she was referring to, the terror alone being enough of a giveaway. "Quick," Elijah spoke, "look for Niklaus and Kol. We must leave this instant."

While tears streamed down her cheeks, Rebekah nodded her head obediently, hands clutching at the seams of her shirt as she ran out of the cottage the Mikaelsons had been residing in to find her brothers.

Elijah followed in her footsteps, moonlight spilling over his skin as he emerged into the clearing before their house. There was shouting and yelping. Women ran in fear, cradling their children against their chest as they did.

"We seek but only those that do not possess over a beating heart. Reveal them to us and thou shall not be armed." One of the hunters proclaimed towards a crowd of people that had gathered in the center of the town.

He sought refuge in the shadows, but if only he had known that the shadows, a place he had grown so familiar with, would betray him.

"Abomination!" One of the hunters cried.

Elijah wheeled around, to see him standing but a few feet away from him, wielding a dagger which would subdue him into an eternal slumber, were the hunter to succeed in stabbing him through the heart.

Hunters, while not immortal, were considerably stronger than any average human. Their heightened senses and enhanced abilities gave Elijah enough reason to be at the very least intimidated by them, especially when wielding that godforsaken dagger.

Before he was able to act, however, another cry – female – pierced his ears. A petite brunette jumped from the shadows, her arms tangling around the hunter's neck. Lithe as she was, the hunter shook and whirred, trying to rid the woman from his back.

Blue veins became visible underneath the skin below Elijah's eyes as he charged towards the hunter, bringing his heroin to safety with ease as he ran down the hunter simultaneously. It was then that Niklaus swooped in, baring fangs, as he dug into the neck of the hunter.

Elijah backed away and pivoted around, eyes searching to find the woman who had potentially saved him from a lot of pain and agony. His eyes locked with hers, a set of dark orbs staring at him as she lay on the ground, clutching at her side. Blood reddened her dress, escaping the pressure her hands had applied.

"Fair lady, you are wounded." Elijah murmured, kneeling down by her side. He had not seen her get injured. She must have gotten hurt during Elijah's attempt to run the hunter down, he concluded.

"It is alright – I, I am fine." The woman stammered. A cough followed, blood draining now from the corners of her lips.

The severity of the woman's injuries had not gone unnoticed and Elijah did not wait a second longer. Puncturing his own skin, he opened up a vein and allowed blood to flow from it. With trusting eyes, he lifted up the woman's chin, offering his wrist.

"Drink. Thou shall feel better, I promise you this."

The woman seemed uncertain but did as he instructed.

When her wounds were mended, Elijah retracted his arm and cradled her in his arms. Questions were evident in his gaze.

"Why did you risk your life to save mine?" He wondered aloud, flabbergasted by the mere act that a human – a fragile being – such as herself, would willingly put herself in peril at the cost of her own well-being, for him. An 'abomination' as the hunter had put ever so nicely.

"I – I've seen you. Around town," the woman managed, still in recovery from what had transpired mere minutes ago, "and while what those men said may very well be true – that you are a monster that preys on innocent human souls …" she lifted her hand, cupping Elijah's cheek, "all you ever showed anyone was sheer kindness. I saw no reason you had to suffer at their hands when you had wronged no one in our village."

Touched by her words, Elijah remained speechless for a moment. Almost as if he were trapped in the eye of the storm. A moment of calm amid the madness. Transforming into this immortal, blood lusting creature had changed and challenged him in ways that he never imagined possible. He had withstood the tides and gone against the grain. Even though his siblings were slowly but surely losing the very little humanity they had left, Elijah had always prided himself on those very things that made him feel human. To hear a human affirm this was like music to his ears.

"What is your name?" Elijah questioned finally, pushing a few stray strands of hair from the woman's face.

"N-Norah. My name is Norah Dubois."