15th June, 1016

Ava's reaction was instantaneous. She didn't hesitate in kissing Elijah back and pulling him close. It wasn't in the gentle, almost hesitant way that Elijah kissed Belle. No, this was urgent, passionate and fervent.

Somehow, they made it to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes behind them. As soon as they reached the bed, Elijah pushed Ava down and climbed on top of her. He trailed kisses down her neck, pulling back only so he could press his lips back to hers.

"I love you," he murmured against her lips as he felt her hands sliding down his back. "I love you so much."

Ava didn't trouble herself to reply, but he felt her lips pull upwards into a smile.

16th June, 1016

Elijah awoke the next morning just as the sun was rising. It took him a moment or two to realise where he was, and then another moment to realise why he was there and what had happened the night before. A small smile came to him lips as all the delicious memories came rushing back; the feel of his lips against the skin of the woman he'd desired for so very long, the way Ava had bitten down on her bottom lip and cried out his name when she could no longer contain herself were just a few of the memories that caused the smile on his lips to become a grin. He turned over and let his gaze fall on Ava who was lying next to him. She looked so peaceful sleeping. He ran a finger down her cheekbone, withdrawing it hastily when she stirred; he didn't want to wake her.

Elijah lay, watching the sun creep further and further into the room, illuminating it with it's soft glow. He sighed contentedly, he felt happier than he had in a long time.

As the sunlight caused the room to grow gradually lighter, Ava woke up. She opened her eyes and sat up, pushing a hand through her hair. Elijah watched her happily. He sat up and brushed her hair back, exposing her neck and her shoulder.

"Morning," he murmured, pressing his lips to her shoulder. She didn't answer but she didn't push him away either, so he took that as a good sign. "I love you," he whispered, reaching out to turn her face to face him when she jerked away from him.

"Don't say that," she said in a low voice, looking around at him with a horrified expression.

"What's wrong? Did I do something? I don't understand…"

"I think we both did something." Ava snapped.

"Wha-?"

"You're a married man, Elijah! You got married yesterday! This was wrong."

"Then why didn't you put a stop to it?" Elijah demanded angrily.

"I was caught up in the moment! It seemed like a good idea!"

Without another word, both of them got up from the bed and began hurriedly replacing the clothes they'd all but ripped off each other the night before.

"No one can ever know. We must take this secret to the grave." Ava said as soon as they were both fully clothed again.

Elijah opened his mouth to protest but Ava pressed her finger to his lips. "We will both be punished if knowledge of this ever escapes. No one can know. We must continue as we would have had last night never happened."

Elijah returned home in bad spirits. He had had what could have possibly ranked as the best night of his life only to have his euphoria squashed down into a bad mood having seen that Ava didn't seem to share this opinion.
When he arrived home, he found that - surprisingly - no one asked him where he had been that night. He supposed that they assumed that he had been with Belle, and Belle would assume that he had been at home. As long as no one asked each other about it, he might just get away with the fact that he had been lying with a woman who was not his wife. It was a long shot, but he saw no reason why anyone would guess where he had really been. Ava wasn't going to tell anyone and he certainly wasn't.

Because Belle was still with her family, Elijah found himself at a loose end. Now that the wedding was over, there wasn't an awful lot to be doing. His mood was spiralling downwards as he reflected on the events of that morning. Didn't Ava love him, too? She had kissed him back, hadn't she? She had participated in what could only be described as incredible love-making, hadn't she? Surely she wouldn't have done that if she didn't have at least some feelings for him? His bad mood only worsened when he heard Klaus and Ava in the room next to the one he was sat in. He felt a flash of extreme jealousy at the fact that Klaus got to see her daily, he could kiss her and hold her hand in public without having to worry about anyone spotting them. It was incredibly unfair. Elijah had been in love with Ava since he was a teenager, shouldn't he be the one to do that sort of thing with her? He had loved her the longest and by all means the most.

He could hear Ava giggling at something Klaus was saying. Urgh, he thought to himself, just when he thought that day couldn't get any worse. He was about to get up and leave so that he wouldn't have to listen to anymore when he heard something that caught his attention.

"Are you going to tell me the real reason you returned?" came Klaus' voice. Elijah frowned to himself, what was Klaus talking about?

"I'm not sure I understand…" said Ava.

"You're a good liar, but I'm better. I know that you're hiding something."

"No, I'm not."

"Well I know that your engagement wasn't just broken off for no apparent reason, if at all. You're hiding something. Tell me."

"I'm not hiding anything!"

"Tell me." Klaus repeated. He didn't say it forcefully, he said it very gently, in fact, but there was something in his voice, like a stroke of authority. There was a lengthy pause within which Elijah guessed that Klaus was staring at her intensely. It was something that he did a lot when digging for the truth. He had used it on many of his siblings, including Elijah, many a time. Elijah was listening intently. He had no idea where Klaus had gotten the idea that Ava was hiding something from; he hadn't seen anything that had indicated that she was hiding something and he'd spent the night with her. What could Klaus have possibly noticed that he hadn't?

"If I tell you, this stays between us and us alone, do you understand?"

"Of course. It'll be our little secret." Even though Elijah could not see Klaus, he could hear the smirk in his voice.

"I ran away."

Elijah gasped - very quietly, though. He didn't want them to find him eavesdropping.

"Why?"

"My fiancé, Alexander, he was a vile man. Once our parents made the suggestion than he and I get married, he immediately made me his property in every sense of the word. He didn't treat me like you would treat a prized possession, though."

"What do you me-" Klaus' voice trailed off into silence. Elijah wondered what Ava was showing him.

"He did this to you?" Klaus asked angrily.

"I spoke out of turn, apparently it's improper for a woman to do so."

"Your parents though, didn't you tell them?"

"They knew." Ava said bitterly. "They knew perfectly well what was going on. They heard it, every bit of it. They heard me sobbing, begging him to stop, but they did nothing. Alexander's family are both powerful and wealthy. Better to have me married to him, bringing wealth and power to our family, than not at all, even if it did result in me being beaten within an inch of my life."

"I'm sorry," said Klaus sincerely. "What will you do if he finds you?"

"I'll run away."

"Can I come with you?"

"Your place is here, with your family. It will do you no good to run away with me when I've no idea where it will take me."

"My place is with you." said Klaus. Elijah felt sick, not just because Klaus was making plans to run away with Ava if she ever needed to, but because of this man that Ava spoke of. How could he do such a thing, especially to her? She was so beautiful and kind and gentle, she was the epitome of niceness.

"I'll protect you, if he ever comes for you."

Ava laughed. "I hope it will not come to that, but thank you."