"Are you sure you want to be left behind like this?" Damon asked Tatia as he rose from the table after a good long conversation about difference between teenagers then and today. Her jaw had dropped slightly upon hearing that people didn't typically get married until into their twenties. That was incredibly late in her eyes.

"Of course, I have my phone. I'll text you or call you, or whatever you call it, if I get lost." She assured him with an innocent nod of her head.

Damon's eyes grazed over her face with uncertainty, she shot him an affronted look and he raised his hands up defensively and walked out of the grill without looking back. He worried too much, she concluded. Elena had told her stories where Damon had been extremely over-protective and of course she'd never had appreciated his pushiness but she'd had appreciated his caring. He didn't seem to object to allowing her try her own thing for once.

It was a liberating experience.

Her eyes shot across the grill at a sight she'd only caught because she'd happened to be looking toward the doors after Damon had left a few minutes ago. Rebekah and Elijah had just entered the bar together, whispering to one another in low tones. No Nicklaus in sight. What were they doing out without their brother?

"Tatia!" Rebekah cheered when she noticed her gaze glued to them. She smiled and raced over to the blonde girl and throwing her arms around her. "Why is this the first time I've seen you? You die for a thousand years and you think that you're too cool for your best friend!"

'Of course not! Bekah, I cannot even begin to express how much I've missed you!" She cried with a hearty chuckle, gripping her friend tightly by the shoulders and holding her out to examine. It was incredibly odd to see her best friend dressed in this odd fashion as well. Rebekah had always been the most proper girl in the town. It was always quite a joke to each other that they'd become best friends, under Tatia's circumstances. "How's your passed thousand years gone?"

"I don't know, most of it was spent the same way as you." She admitted with a bitter scoff and a toss of her blonde hair over her shoulder. Tatia narrowed her eyes in suspicion. What had happened? What could have kept Rebekah, the most alive person she knew, from living? "I'll tell you about it later, when we're not standing in the middle of a public place."

And upon this answer, she had no other choice than to press her attention to the right of Rebekah, on the one person she'd been avoiding. Elijah was studying her face with painful astonishment. She'd looked literally exactly as she had the last time he'd seen her, minus the clothes. No make-up, long dark waves, big brown eyes, and flawless olive skin. Not a thing seemed to have changed within her at all.

He'd been sitting by the tree all day, trying to wrap his head around the news his brother Kol had just reported back to him. He'd overheard mother and father discussing it with hushed tones. Klaus wasn't really his brother. Well, not his full brother anyways. It didn't really matter to him, bastard son or not he still loved him and considered him a brother; it was just a lot to wrap his head around.

She came over the hill, toward him wearing a beautiful blue dress with crystalline beading sewn to it. She looked absolutely ravishing in it, there was no doubt of that, but where had she gotten the money to buy it from? Tatia had no job, she only helped his mother around the house in return for boarding in their home. That left little to no extra spending money to be buying nice gowns.

"Hello Sire!" She shouted happily over to him and he rose from his spot to greet the young girl. He bowed at first but then took her face up into his hands and planted a tender kiss on her forehead. He looked at her closed eyes as she stood there, taking it all in.

"I have to ask you something. Something that I've been trying to build the courage to ask for the past month but seemed utterly too cowardly to." He whispered, watching her eyes flutter open and search for his. She had to know this was coming for he could see nervousness in her eyes. He heaved a deep breath, digging in his pocket for the ring he'd had custom made for her by the village silver smith. "It cannot be a mystery to you how far my fondness for you travels. I would do anything to be with you forever and ever. I know how this place views you and I'd be willing to move somewhere new where no one knows either of us and we could start anew together…" He focused his eyes on the moon as he lowered himself down on one knee. Tatia's stomach churned and her head began to spin. This was not happening, it could not be happening. It was too good to be true. "I love you Tatia Petrova and I would be unbearably honored if you'd take my hand in marriage." He took his eyes off the sky and lowered them onto her face, expecting to see her smiling face.

It was odd however, a twinkling dot had formed under the bottom of her eyelashes, and then it broke away and trickled down her face. This was followed by another in the other eye, and another, until they were running continually down her face. What had he said that had made her cry so powerfully?

"Tatia my love, whatever is the matter?" He asked, jumping up from his spot on the grass to wipe the tears from her soft skin.

"That is, right there!" She sobbed stumbling back away from him. He had no idea what to do; she was falling apart at the seams right in front of him. He'd never seen her cry before, it was incredibly odd to watch something so beautiful by nature unravel before his eyes. He reached his hand out to cry and comfort the girl but she shook her head at him vigorously and took another step back from him. Something was direly wrong but he knew not what.

"Tatia, you're beginning to frighten me. What has happened to make you shy away from me like this?" His voice was riddled with hurt. She did not mean to bruise his ego so but she could no longer go on playing this charade with him. Nicklaus had wanted to tell him weeks ago but she would not allow him, she wanted to be the one when the time was right. She felt as though that time had flown passed her the day that she'd comforted him by this very tree that one night before dinner.

She'd allowed this affair go on far too long. If she did not tell Elijah now she never would. He did not deserve this and she no longer deserved him.

"I love you too Elijah, believe me I do!" She replied in a weak trembling voice as she tried to pull herself together with no avail.

"Then say yes!"

"I cannot Elijah…" She whimpered sniffling and holding a guarding hand up between her and his approaching figure that was trying to console her. She did not want nor deserve it. "This has been my dream ever since I first met you. For you to propose and for us to get married. To have legit children of God we could be proud of. You'd make me extremely happy."

"Then why are you declining!" There was a frustrated anger present in his voice that made her flinch back in fear. He hadn't even heard the reasoning behind her decision yet. Once he did she'd be cast out into the street, all alone once more. It was a given.

But she had to tell him the truth.

"Because it took until you'd asked me to do this for me to realize that I wish it were another." She sobbed, planting her face in her hands and turning her back on Elijah too ashamed to face him.

"You're in love with another?" His voice sounded dejected. Broken.

And it was all her fault.

She nodded her head, praying that he would not ask her who.

"Who is he?" His voice rang, however there was a flat tone to it as if he already had an idea.

"You're brother…" She muttered, looking over her shoulder at him. Forcing herself to drink in the look of torture she's caused. "It's Nicklaus, sire."

His eyes jetted to the ground in defeat, he'd noticed the two were getting a little too close for comfort. He noticed the way they'd look at each other when they thought no body was watching. He never said a word about it to either of them for the sake of trust. He wanted to believe it wasn't happening. He wanted to believe he could trust that his brother would remain loyal and Tatia faithful. However the more he thought about it, the more he realized he had less and less of a reason to be angry with Tatia. She wasn't necessarily HIS yet, now was she? She wasn't engaged to him. She'd rejected him and his love. "I understand."

"Y-you do?" She turned around to study his face with a surmountable amount of surprise written on her face.

"I do, but that does not mean I forgive you."

"Hello Tatia, it's certainly been a long time." He said as he dropped his conscious back into reality from his flashback.

"Elijah…or are people calling you Eli in this century?" She teased, trying her hardest to break the ice.

"No, no, it's still Elijah. I like my full name, it has a nice regal ring to it. Don't you agree?" He smirked, automatically deciding to give it up.

"Indeed I think it does, m'Lord." She said with a faux curtsey and smile in return to his sly comment.

Wordlessly they communicated through their eyes that they'd forgiven one another.

I thought it'd be nice to show you guys what had happened through Elijah's eyes. What do you think? Should he have forgiven her? I guess this is slightly filler but I had to get Tatia out and away from Damon…why you ask? You'll have to wait 'til next time to see!

Reviews are always nice!

(p.s thank you guys for reviewing! I'm so excited that this story has been receiving such positive feedback!)