Hello readers! Sorry that this chapter has taken me so long to post! I've had a majority of this written since last weekend and I just couldnt get the ending right. But now I feel that it is!
Thank you for continuing to read this story! And if you are a new reader, I do hope you are enjoying the story I've been writing. Seeing as episode 3.18 aired last week and 3.19 will be airing this Friday, I am going to throw in a chapter before I actually go cannon with 3.18. This chapter will be in between 3.17 and 3.18. And the chapter that I post afterwards will be set up with 3.18. And even then I will be changing things...Lots of things. You'll see when the time comes. Before I forget, welcome to the new Followers! It means a lot to me that you want to continue to read my story! I cannot wait for you to read the next few chapters.
ON TO THE REVIEWS! :
TheBae E.M, more Elijah/Liz moments coming right on up :)
Adela, I'm glad you love it! On to the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Originals or the characters. I do however own Elizabeth and Malakai, as well as the bits and pieces that do not appear in the episode.
Happy reading!
The fire in the fireplace had lit the whole room. The crackle of the fire was the only thing that could be heard. Elizabeth laid on the floor looking up the ceiling. On the floor next to her was an old small chest. Elizabeth had taken that chest with her everywhere. It held things from her past that meant something to her. For being alive for eight centuries she didn't have a lot in that box. Inside, it held many photos, letters and trinkets that meant the world to her. Most of those trinkets belonged to those she had cared for that had passed. Since they had been back from spreading Finn's ashes, Elizabeth had left the family in the living room to leave them be as a family.
Finn's death had reminded her of the deaths of those that had grown close to her. She had seen a lot of death over some time. But no matter how many times Elizabeth had lost someone, she grieved like any other human did. She should have easily had been able to say they had died and moved on. But it had been impossible for her to do so. It was one of the things that made Elizabeth herself. Elizabeth knew that she would no longer feel the grief after a few days. But until then she always found herself with the chest next to her debating on opening it up or leaving it locked up.
Even as she looked up at the ceiling, her hand was wrapped around the small key that hung from a necklace around her neck. She hadn't opened it yet. She tired telling herself that there was nothing that she could put into this time. She only ever placed something in there that belonged to the deceased when they were close friends. Elizabeth and Finn hadn't even known each other that long. She had no right to add anything of his in there. That had been the reason she had not opened the chest yet.
Elizabeth heard footsteps approach her room but she didn't move her eyes away from the ceiling until the person stood looking over her. Turning her head slightly, she saw Elijah standing over her. He gave a small smile as he looked down at her. She smiled back at him and let go of the key.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news." He said with a sigh.
"Can't we just save the bad news for tomorrow?" She asked looking back up at the ceiling. There was always something. Elizabeth learned that a long time ago. "What ever news it is, what is a few hours going to do if we just ignore it?"
"Lucien freed Aurora." Elijah said softly.
"He already has a head start, Elijah." She said turning her head towards him. "For all we know he already freed her when he left us in Mystic Falls." She sighed softly. "You just lost your brother. It may be the second time, Elijah, but you need to give yourself time to grieve." She sat up in her spot. "I may have never had any siblings. But I had Malakai. And I may not have lost him, but it felt like it."
Elijah had sighed once more as he moved to sit down next to her. He had noticed the chest and picked it up and placed it on his lap. "Chest full of secrets?" He asked with a small smile.
Elizabeth shook her head and she pulled the necklace over her head and held her hand out to him. "A box of memories." She said as he took the key from her. "I had been debating on opening it. I usually do after a funeral."
"Why haven't you opened it yet?" He asked examining the key. He wouldn't open it without her permission.
"I couldn't bring myself to do it." She said looking down at the box. "I have everything that is in there memorized front and back." She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on one knee. "It's the things I collected over the centuries from those I cared about that died."
"Like trophies." He whispered. And Elizabeth shook her head.
"Like memories." She said looking at the chest. "Open it up." She looked back up at him.
Elijah hesitated at first, but he opened it. And when he did, he looked at how the chest was neatly organized. Some of the items he vaguely remember them. He pulled out a chain that held a marble that looked like it held the universe in it. Elijah couldnt place where he had seen it before. He looked at it for a moment before placing it back into the chest. Next, he pulled out a small blanket and looked at Elizabeth, curious.
"That was hers." She said with a small nod. It was the first blanket she was wrapped in before we sent her to the other village.
"We had gone through a lot to ensure her safety." Elijah said with a small nod.
"We did." Her eyes began to fill with tears as she remembered the planning it had taken for them to ensure her daughter would not come into a world with an abusive father. Elijah had gone through the trouble of compelling everyone in the village for them to forget that she had been pregnant, even her own husband. And when the night came that Elizabeth went into labor, Rebekah had been the one to help deliver her daughter. "She got to live a happy life." She smiled slightly.
"I thought the last time you saw her was when she was younger." Elijah asked thinking about when he had been inside her head.
"It was, but being that I always wanted to know how she was doing, I compelled her neighbor to tell me how she was doing. If I saw her, I would have either tried taking her back or told her that I was her mother. They named her Jane. Its not the name I wanted for her, but it's her name."
"If I recall correctly, you wanted her name to be Lily." Elizabeth's smile grew.
"Because I remember seeing the lilies growing and they had bloomed so beautifully that year. And then I gave birth to her a few weeks later. "
"I remember walking through the field with you that day." Elijah said with a smile on his face.
"Things seemed so much simpler then." Elizabeth said with a slight shake of her head. "It was in those moments that everything felt at peace. Like I'd be safe and wouldn't have to worry about anything."
"They were simple for you, Elizabeth." Elijah said watching her. "I had still been in hiding from Mikael. Coming to see you could have put you in danger."
"Mikael came because Niklaus decided to try and make hybrids." She said with some hate towards both Mikael and Klaus. Even though Elizabeth had forgiven Klaus for what happened, it still didn't change the fact that a lot of those that lived in her village had died just because they had activated their werewolf curse. She could remember that day as if it had been yesterday. She hadn't understand what vampire blood could do until that night. She had watched as Klaus fed and killed them all. "Compulsion or not, others knew about what he had done and that had spread like a wildfire. I'm just surprised he didn't try killing me for taking and hiding Malakai."
"It was only a matter of time until he died, Elizabeth. He thought of it as a waste of time to chase after you for someone that was bound to die."
"Joke is on him right?" She said with a smirk on her face. Elijah chuckled and closed the chest, handing it to her along with the key. She placed the key around her neck before standing up to place the chest back in it's spot. When she turned back, she found Elijah standing up, with his arm leaning on the mantle of the fireplace and his eyes on the fire. Elizabeth stood there for a moment just watching him. As he watched the flames flicker, she could feel the feeling of guilt began to build. She knew this time he had felt guilty for something. Along with that guilt, there was sadness. And Elizabeth knew it had to do with Finn.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked taking a few steps towards him and placing her hand on his shoulder. Elijah looked over at her and sighed.
"I should have had that bullet destroyed. " He said almost emotionless.
"You had no idea that any of this would happen." She said trying to comfort him. "You wanted to keep your family whole. Destroying it would have broken this family more than it already had been."
"My family has been broken for some time, Elizabeth. I have no reason to believe it could have been any worse than it already has been."
"What would destroying it have done to Finn?" She asked shaking her head slightly. "He had wanted to live a life in a witch's body and live at peace. You would have had your family back. It isn't good to think about the 'what ifs' Elijah." She watched as he looked away from her and back to the fire. A thought crossed her mind and she hoped that it would help him now, just as he helped her when she needed it. "Remember what you said the night I came back from hiding Malakai?"
Elijah looked up at her once more. There was confusion in his eyes for a moment before he nodded. "We can not change what has already been done. We can only take what we've learned from it and move on."
"Remember what I said to that?" She asked with a small smirk. "I'll be the one to make sure Malakai makes it, even if I had to make a deal with a devil to do so."
"How can I forget?" He said with a smile now on his lips. "That was the first time I ever saw a hint of the devil in your eyes."
Elizabeth chuckled. "I was a pregnant at the time, you were bound to see different things." She could no longer feel his guilt. She was glad she was able to distract him from it.
"Pregnant or not, that particular gleam is still there, and I cant help to wonder why?" He said looking her in the eyes. "Malakai is alive and well. What is it that still has the devil hiding behind those eyes?"
All Elizabeth could do was smirk slightly looking into his eyes. It took her a moment to find the right words about the devil he claimed to be hiding. "My deal with the devil is far from over." She said and watched as his eyebrow raised. The truth was Elizabeth had made several other promises to herself over the centuries. They seemed to pile together and the gleam that was in her eyes was the need for her own revenge free happiness. While she was able to hide the feelings that came with those promises, her mind couldn't easily forget them and there would be a time where she would no longer seek anymore bloodshed.
"What is it that you have yet to finish?" He asked. They both had not seemed to notice that they had moved closer to each other during their conversation. They were only standing inches apart. The fire that had light the room up earlier had now dimmed from not being fed.
"You'll just have to compel that out of me." Elizabeth still had a smirk playing on the corner of her lips. She wasn't sure if he would actually do it or if he would leave it as it was.
"Such a tempting offer, Liz." He said as he moved a strand of hair behind her ear. Elizabeth looked at Elijah surprised. He had never once called her by her nickname. It had been different to hear it coming from his lips. "But I won't force it out of you. I'd like to help you though."
Elizabeth swallowed the lump that was starting to form in her throat. "Some devils and demons are better left unknown to others." Elizabeth knew she could trust Elijah. She knew that everyone had a dark place that other kept their secrets. She even knew about Elijah's red door, and what it once held. She had heard the stories what Ester had done to open that door. But it was what her own memories would do to him. It was what she had done and some of the things she had witnessed that would make him possibly think differently of her or even himself.
"May, I?" Elijah asked bring his hand up to her head. He wanted to see into her mind. He wanted to see what creatures filled her with the need for revenge. He wanted to see the life she had while he had forgotten about her. Elizabeth had hesitated a moment at his question. She knew that he wanted to see the demons that she hid. She nodded slowly, never taking her eyes off his.
"Just don't say I didn't warn you." She said as he placed his hand on her head and she opened her mind to him.
Elijah said nothing as several images had passed through his mind. They were quick flashes of memories and moments in Elizabeth's life that had caused the gleam to stay with in her eyes. He could see and feel the hatred she had towards Aya the night she had taken everything from her. The satisfying pleasure she received from being the one to end Aya's life was something Elijah may have witnessed but feeling it and seeing it from her view had given him a different view on it. He caught the glimpse of a memory of Elizabeth arguing with Lucien about his witch that laid dead at Elizabeth's feet. The witch's death had triggered Elizabeth's blood lust and the deaths that had followed had been more than Elijah had ever killed. He watched as she had fallen far off the wagon before she had been brought back by a human that had only wished to help her. She had fallen in love with him. And while she had loved him, it had always felt off in someway that Elizabeth could never understand.
Elijah then found one of the demons that Elizabeth had warned him about. The human Elizabeth had fallen in love with had stopped to eat at a Diner on his way to meet Elizabeth. Elizabeth had been on her way to meet him from checking on Malakai who had been enjoying his life since he had been up. He had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Elijah knew the diner very well. He had recognized it the moment he saw through Elizabeth's eyes as she had run up to it, only to hide herself from the windows. Through her memories, Elijah saw himself speaking with Rebekah before she had snapped his neck. It was then Elijah had realized what had been done. He had lost himself in the moment and killed many in the diner. And one of them had been Elizabeth's human. It was why the chain in Elizabeth's chest had looked so familiar to him.
Elijah wanted to pull his hand away from her head, but Elizabeth continued to show him the other demons that awaited for their revenge. And for a woman that he had thought lived a better life than he had while she was away had seen more betrayal and suffering than he had living with Klaus or on the run from Mikael. Elizabeth had easily been able to put her revenge aside for those that she had cared about. She had dropped everything the moment Malakai had gotten into some trouble and they fled the country. It was how they had ended up in Paris until Elizabeth found out about the Strix. And with their return to the states, she knew it was only a matter of time until the pack Malakai had betrayed would find them again. While Elijah had no need to know the worries of Malakai there had been one thing that had stuck out like to him. Another demon to be warned about.
Elijah saw her conversations with Hayley and how she had convinced her to have a kill list. And with that, Elijah learned that the pack Malakai had betrayed had been one close to the Crescents. They wanted Malakai dead and it was why he always stayed away when a wolf was near. And with Elizabeth doing anything to protect those she cares about, she did what she had to. Elizabeth wanted the Alpha as far away from them as possible. It had been why Elizabeth had planted the idea of keeping Hope safe by leaving with Klaus in Hayley's head when she didn't expect it. While Elizabeth hated doing it, she had to keep the person she cared about safe. She just never expected Malakai to take off with both of them. Elizabeth had kept the selfish reasons she had done it hidden from Elijah, though. There was no way she would allow that to be seen.
Pulling his hand away from her head, he looked with several emotions passing his face. He wanted to be angry at her for getting Hayley to agree to killing the Strix. He wanted to apologize for killing the human. He wanted to comfort her for the pain and suffering she had endured. But he couldn't bring himself to show any of those. Elizabeth could see it in his eyes that he was trying to process everything she had allowed him to see.
She sighed softly looking down at her feet. "I warned you." She said softly before looking back up at him. "And I don't expect you to feel pity for what had been done at that Diner, Elijah. " She shook her head slightly. "I do, however, expect that anger to come back out." She said watching him. And when she hadn't seen the anger return or even any of the other emotions return, she had began to wonder why. Her eyebrow raised slightly as she waited for him to say or do anything. When a sigh passed his lips, she had relaxed a little.
"I can't be angry with you." He said with a small nod. A small smirk played at the corner of his lips. "As much as I would like to feel some anger towards you, it is just not there."
"Then what is the-"Elijah had cut Elizabeth off by pressing his lips to her. While it had surprised Elizabeth, she hadn't pulled away from him. The kiss had been slow and sweet. There was no reason to rush anything. While Elizabeth had been surprised, Elijah had been surprised with himself. It had been so much easier to let Elizabeth in. There was no fight with himself on deciding if this was wrong or right. Elijah had just felt it to be the right thing to do. But just as sudden as the kiss started, it ended with the sound of someone clearing their throat.
Elizabeth had been the first one to pull away seeing as it had been her room that they were still standing in. Who ever it was that was trying to get their attention had obviously came to see her. Her eyes looked away from Elijah and toward the door. While she should be surprised to see who had been standing there she wasn't. And if Elizabeth had to be completely honest, she had been smirking on the inside. "Hayley."
I had fought with myself on how this chapter should end. I really did. I must have rewritten it several times. I had gone back and forth between it being Klaus or Malakai to interrupt them, but just when I had thought it was perfect, I changed my mind and decided Hayley would have been better suited for the job. Ready for drama in the future?!
Also! While writing this chapter there were scenes that I wanted to continuously have flash backs on, but I felt them to be unnecessary. However, I have kept them in a notepad on my computer and I will be posting a companion story soon. It will mostly have the flash backs that I wanted to put into this story. Believe me there are a few. I will let you guys know when that is up and I do hope that you will take the time to read them as well. Because some of them are cute and adorable, I just felt that they may have been a bit much for the story. Maybe I am crazy. When I do post it, please let me know if you'd rather me to continue to put the flashbacks separately or in the chapters they would be long to.