When Elena woke up, well she thought that she was waking up, she was back in her old room. Stretching out for a moment she suddenly realized where she was and jumped. No, no, no...she couldn't back, not now. She had barely begun to know Niklaus, only being there for almost a month. She looked around, spinning until she was face to face with someone very familiar.
"Niklaus?" She whispered. It was him, with shorter hair and more modern clothes, but it was him. She smiled.
"Am I dreaming?" She asked.
"You are, my love" He answered.
"Bonnie?"
"And you can call me Nik, now. It's easier than Niklaus" He said, chuckling quietly. She didn't say it, but she liked the name Niklaus better.
"What is going on? Am I coming back when I wake up?" She asked with concern on her face.
"No, but eventually you will" He answered sadly. Elena shook her head, not willing to the tears fall. But she couldn't help it and in a flash Klaus had his arms around her, comforting her.
"You need to come back, so that we can be together" He whispered, kissing the top of her.
"But's a thousand years..." Elena trailed off.
"A thousand years that have already passed" He said for her. It was a good point, but Elena didn't like thinking that she had made him wait that long. She looked up, cupping his face.
"You'll be there when I come back?" She asked him. He kissed her softly.
"As soon as you invite me in" He was grinning and she grinned back at him.
"I'm not going waste a second" She promised him. Elena didn't realize when she fell back to sleep, but Klaus watched her, wishing that they could be together already.
…
It was strange waking up and not seeing Tatia in the bed across from her, but Elena reminded herself that Tatia had the happiness she had always deserved. She got up slowly, getting ready for the day. It was strange being resigned to going back home when she would see him, but Elena wanted to stay here with him. Although she couldn't. She thought it unfair that she had to wait no time at all and Niklaus had to wait a thousand years.
The dragon lady had prepared breakfast for her and they ate akwardly together. It was always Tatia keeping the conversation going.
"I saw Niklaus...I mean, I talked to the Niklaus from my time" She said eventually.
"Oh?" That was all she had to say. Elena rolled her eyes. This woman could do nothing, she wasn't Elena's mother.
"He's convinced that I have to go back, although it isn't fair that he has to wait a thousand years" She mumbled quietly.
"Good, you need to go back. Clearly the plan is working. You are saving him from himself. Did he say what happened to his mother?" She asked eagerly. Elena fronwed.
"No, he did not"
"Then forget about..."
"I will not! What happened to his mother?" Elena asked, although she had never been afraid of Niklaus, she was afraid of what the answer would be to this question.
"He kills her"
Elena slumped back in her seat, stunned into silence. Surely this wasn't the eventuality now? She was saving him from himself and therefore saving his mother's fate too. Elena stood up without another word and left their home. She had to be by herself for a while. What Elena didn't realize was that tonight was the full moon. Even though she set off in the early hours, she did not know the forest like everyone else did and she got herself lost. It was night fall and she heard the howling going on around her. She was scared, falling back into a tree.
…
In the caves
…
"She's out there right now! I have to go to her!" Niklaus yelled, Elijah was holding Tatia close. He had someone to look after already. Mikael ran and grabbed him.
"If she is out there then there is no saving her" He said, he really was heartless. Elena was wrong, he hadn't changed at all.
"Then there is no saving me either, I love her and I'm going to bring her back" And with that he ran off before Mikael could catch him. Finn tried to go after his brother but Mikael managed to hold his other son back, Henrik and the others clinging to their mother.
Back out in the forest Niklaus searched aimlessly trying to find Elena. He shouldn't have called out, bringing the wolves attention to him. But at least it would stop them from slaughtering Elena, or he'd give her long enough to run far away. If he didn't see her again he could at least he could save from being killed.
Soon he came across one of the wolves about to catch his kill, out of the corner of his eye he saw Elena's long brown hair and the soft whimper escaping her lips. She was giving up. Niklaus drew his sword, catching the beasts attention.
"No, you will not touch her" His voice full of rage that he didn't know he had. All he knew was that Elena had to stay with him. The wolf turned, stalking towards him slowly. Niklaus was trembling with the sword in his hands. Though in a flash it ran off, leaving them confused. But he wasn't like that for long, he grabbed Elena, picking her up in his arms and running as quickly as he could manage. They made it back to the caves and he stayed by her, making sure she was alright.
"I was so sure that I was going to die" She mumbled against his chest. No one dared prying them apart. Why had the werewolf listened to Niklaus? Who was he? But Elena knew, Esther told her that these creatures were fearlessly loyal to their family, it must have been Niklaus' father, who else knew who he was?
"But then you were there and all I could think about was that that creature was going to kill you"
He kissed the top of her head.
"But it didn't and everything is alright" He assured her. They stayed like that for the night until everyone started heading back to the surface again and back to the village. Elena refused to leave his side.
"People will start to talk" He teased, though he would be the last person to complain.
"I don't care if they do" Was Elena's reply, that only made him smile more. How could the man in front of her be capable of killing his own mother?
"You're going to have to marry me at this point" He said it as a joke, well it was meant to sound like one. But he was completely serious. Elena was blushing furiously and she looked away from him before burying her face in his shoulder. They took a seat outside the Mikaelson home.
"Like I would choose anything else" She eventually said. It took Niklaus a long time to realize what she had said and he pulled her face up gently to face him.
"I thought you were worried about how fast this all was going" He said, confused.
"I'm not confused about anything anymore, I know exactly what I want...and it's you, forever" That was a strong word, especially when it came to the two of them. Whether she had a hundred years or eternity, she wanted to be with him.
"Then I am going to marry you, as soon as I am allowed" He whispered, kissing her softly.
…
Present day Chicago
…
Klaus was alone when he was thinking of that memory, of course he had gone to Tatia's mother after since it was proper to ask her permission. Despite the circumstances, she said yes and so did his parents. Mikael was hoping that they wouldn't have to turn them all into vampires, but obviously that wasn't going to work.
He stepped out his bed, pulling some clothes on to cover himself and went downstairs. Elijah was sitting in the living room, looking out the window in silence.
"You miss her don't you?" Klaus asked him.
"Every day" Elijah answered, he tried to so often to cover his emotions. But when it came to Tatia it failed. She was his one weakness.
"Is there any possibility that we got it wrong? Is she alive?"
"I watched her die, brother and I held our son in my arms" Elijah still thought of Tatia's son as his own and had looked over the Petrova line for a thousand years, protecting them. Katerina didn't know of this. She ran before he had the chance to explain, thinking of his anger towards her like Niklaus...that he wanted her dead. But he couldn't. Niklaus felt ashamed that he could have killed someone that looked like
"What were you thinking about that you would ask me about this?" Elijah asked, turning back to his brother.
"I was thinking about the night that I saved Elena from the wolves, the only interaction I had with my real father..." He trailed off. Elijah felt sorry him, when Mikael had found out Klaus' true parentage, he slaughtered his whole family. Klaus had other brothers and sisters that he never had the chance to know.
"And as I remember, that very next day Elena agreed to marry you, although I can't fathom why" He teased. Klaus laughed. He had not been sure either, but he wasn't going to question it for a moment.
"I wasn't allowed to see her those days leading up to the wedding either after everyone seeing us in the cave..." He started laughing. How different would things have been if he had not met Elena? He was a monster, but he had something else to live for her. Although when she got back to her own home and discovered that he was the one to kill his mother, what would she think of him? That was something he couldn't predict.
…
10th Century Mystic Falls
…
"I can't see him? What do you mean I can't see him?" Elena yelled, now she was the dragon lady instead of Tatia's mother.
"It isn't proper, the whole village already think you..." She didn't say the words but Elena knew what she meant. Elena would have had it been the twenty first century. But she wasn't in her Mystic Falls anymore. She had to accept what was going to happen.
"Even if we were, we would be getting married. I love him" She was surprised to see the dragon lady's face soften quickly.
"I get that, I do. You might think me heartless doing this to you both. But believe, it is much easier than the fall out" In her own screwed up way, she really did think that she was protecting her family. If she wasn't worried about her own reputation, then Elena would think that she actually cared for real.
"I'm meeting Tatia" She stood and up walked out, she met Tatia and her and Elijah's home. He had gone for the day with Niklaus, getting firewood. But Elijah just wanted the company and knew it would take a lot to actually keep his brother from Elena. But it gave Tatia and Elena time to talk.
"So, my sister is getting married, this gives me a chance to plan" Tatia teased.
"What are you going to do?" Elena asked her, though not worried at all. This was going to be the hardest few days that Elena had ever been through. She only made it out of Tatia and Elijah's a few minutes before Niklaus and Elijah arrived back. She would lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to the wedding night. She was always left wanting more.
