By the time they passed the Welcome to New Orleans sign, late afternoon shadows crawled up the walls. Elena stared out the window, but she couldn't process what she was seeing. Some part of her was aware that the city was beautiful and that she should enjoy being in a place she'd only ever seen in pictures and movies, but she couldn't. Her brain just couldn't let anything in.
Freya pulled into a parking garage and turned off the engine before everyone except for Elena opened their car doors and climbed out.
Elijah came around the car and scooped Elena into his arms.
"I told Klaus to clear the compound," Freya said as she locked the vehicle. "And Rebekah should have her room ready."
"Thank you, Freya." Elijah walked quickly into the house, careful to avoid the patches of sunlight.
He climbed a flight of stairs, then headed down the hall. Pausing, he opened a door and set her on her feet.
Elena wrapped her arms around her middle and stared at the floor. For lack of anything better to do, she studied the way the thick, soft carpet fibers curled around her toes.
"This is your room." Elijah stepped back a little, then crossed the room, opening a door on the far wall. "It looks like Rebekah carried through on her promise to purchase some clothing for you. Is it acceptable? If anything is not to your taste, we can adjust it."
Elena glanced around the room. The rich, dark furnishings with its wide, curtained window cocooned her in safety and softness, something that had been absent from her life for the last few years.
"If you want to take a shower, I believe Rebekah also procured some bathing supplies." Elijah waved towards another door then pursed his lips for a moment. "Once you've done that, I'll be back for you to feed."
Elena nodded once and there was a brush of wind as he left the room.
Once she closed the door behind her, she turned the water on as hot as she could get it then tore her clothes off, desperately needing to scrub away whatever she could of the lab. She stepped under the spray and fell to her knees, a keening sound she didn't know she was capable of ripping from her throat.
Elena curled up, letting the water beat down on her, mixing with her tears.
The betrayal she'd suffered at the hands of her father, and the cruelty she'd endured as a result of him being unable to see that she still lived, she found herself unable to ignore her feelings. She wasn't trying make it through her captivity anymore and the pain she'd been hiding from for so long finally overwhelmed her control. So lost was she in her grief that she no longer cared who knew she was hurting.
She wasn't sure how long she remained under the spray, but finally, the water turned cold and still, she couldn't stand, her sobs still ripping through her weary body.
Someone turned off the water and scooped her up, wrapping her in a fluffy towel, but she still couldn't stop crying. Her caregiver pulled a soft, oversized t-shirt over her head and then she found her face pressed against a broad chest and her body cradled in strong arms. Unable to resist, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her over to the bed.
He said nothing as he held her, just rubbed her back and held her close as she cried.
Finally, her sobs subsided into hiccups and then nothing except shuddering breaths
Elijah carefully let go of her and shifted so that he was sitting beside her.
Shudders passed through her petite frame and Elena wrapped her arms around her knees in effort to suppress them as she stared at the dusty purple bedspread.
"You need to feed."
"Why?" Elena hissed through her teeth, wildfire fury ripping through her. "So your spawn doesn't die? Let it, for all I care, the damn parasite."
Elijah inhaled sharply as his face closed off and he straightened, though he remained seated.
"I just, I didn't want this," Elena whispered, suddenly contrite as her words registered in her mind. "I mean, I wanted a family, one day, but not like this."
Why was she so cruel to him? He hadn't done anything to her. In a way, he was as innocent, as much victim as she was. What happened to the thoughts she'd had about the father of the spawn before she'd met him? Was it because she finally had a face to go with the DNA, a person to blame for her present condition, as irrational as that was?
"Yeah, when I was human, I- I wanted kids.." She drew a shuddering breath as she struggled to find the words to soften the verbal blows she'd dealt him. "I didn't have a choice. In any of it. They threatened Enzo because they knew I couldn't bear it if something happened to him. That's why I didn't fight back."
"You have a choice now."
"How can I believe that one of the oldest vampires in the world really would stand aside and let me get rid of the thing if I choose to?" She shook her head and scoffed. Tears burned her eyes and she sniffed them back.
Elijah stood and walked over to the window, opening the curtain just enough so he could see out.
"I'm going to take your words as a result of you still trying to adjust to being freed. I know I've already said this, but as much as I want this child," he paused, swallowing thickly. The next words came out as if he found them poison, "I will not force you to carry it."
"Why?" Elena choked back a sob. Tears formed and spilled down her cheeks once more. "What would make you let me get rid of it if I wanted to?"
"It's your body, so even though it would hurt to lose this child, in the end, it's you're choice." He lowered his head. "To have a child, to tell that child that their mother hates them and me, I can't do that."
Elena's ears pricked and she found herself looking up at him almost involuntarily.
"My father, he was incredibly cruel, and all the love our mother gave us couldn't make up for that." He turned around to face her, his face open, vulnerable. "As a young man, I swore I would never allow any child of mine to know what it felt like, no matter what, no matter how much it hurt me."
Elena felt her throat tighten at the raw emotion in his eyes and she wished she could take his pain away.
"I haven't decided yet," she found herself saying. "what I'm going to do about the- the- it. I just, I don't know. I just don't want to do something I'll end up regretting, so I need to think."
"Of course. You still have time." Elijah approached her slowly, unbuttoning his sleeve as he approached. "Until you make your decision, you'll still need to feed from me though," he sat down and offered her his wrist, "if you'll let me."
Elena looked at him, searching his face for a sign of a lie, but found none. She hoped against hope that he wasn't using his thousand years of life to hide an ulterior motive because she wanted to believe him, wanted to hope that for the first time in so long, someone wasn't using her for what she could give them.
Finally, her thirst overcame her trepidation and took his hand in both of hers, lifting it to her mouth. Her fangs extended and she allowed herself to get lost in his blood entering her system.
Elijah exhaled in a soft sigh and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
Now, without the fear of someone hurting her, she found herself able to enjoy the way it made her feel, the strength flowing through her veins. Metallic yet delicious blood flowed from the wound, filling her belly and satiating her thirst. How long would it take for her to become used to being able to feed whenever she was thirsty? And that one of the most powerful vampires in the world would let her take his blood?
"Niklaus and the others will be returning within the next few days," Elijah said. "My siblings are all very eager to meet you, especially Rebekah. I'm sure you can understand why, all things considered."
Elena couldn't stop drinking long enough to reply, though she tensed.
"Freya warned her that certain topics are off limits." Elijah rubbed her back gently. "She'll obey Freya." He laughed, but it sounded forced. "We all do. You'll be safe, I swear it."
Finally, she released her grip on his wrist, licking the blood off her lips. She glanced up at him, searching his face quickly for any sign of dark emotions, before lowering her eyes once more.
"Don't you and your family have more important things to do than take care of me?"
"Nothing that can't be put on hold for a bit or dealt with elsewhere. We don't need to conduct everything here." He brushed his fingers along her cheek. "We'll start bringing things back over the course of the next several weeks, once you've adjusted a bit. No one except for family comes into this wing without permission. And now that you're here, that rule will be enforced on pain of death."
"Death?" Elena jerked back, her gaze flickering up to his before looking down once more. "You'd kill someone just for going into a part of the house?"
"You're carrying my child. That makes you a Mikaelson and we will protect you as long as you live."
Elena chewed on the inside of her cheek. She wished she could ask all the questions rattling around in her mind, but after snapping at Elijah the way she had earlier, she wasn't sure if he wanted to hear them.
Not only that, but she wasn't sure what she was thinking either since she was still trying to process the sudden changes in her life. Mattering to the oldest vampires in existence after being locked up for three years at the mercy of humans was a heady thing.
"How did you find me exactly? No one knew I was there."
"This child's conception, it caused quite a disturbance among the spirits of nature, which triggered Freya's visions of you."
"So I really do owe my freedom to- to it."
"That's one way of looking at it, I suppose."
"If you found out about me, what they were doing to me, and there was no- no- no-" she placed her hands on her stomach, "this, would you have still tried to help me?"
Elijah cocked his head, considering. "I would have sent someone to get you out instead of coming myself, but no, I wouldn't have left you there."
"Why?" Elena wanted to believe him, ached to take him at his word, but she found herself still doubting him.
"I promise you, Elena, I don't condone unnecessary suffering." He leaned forward, forcing her to look him in the eye. "You did nothing to deserve what happened to you and I would have made sure someone helped you. That and humans knowing so much about our kind doesn't sit well with us."
Elena wrapped her arms around herself more tightly and stared at the floor. How much different would her life have been if her only concerns were about preparing for the Olympic trials and possibly falling in love? How much happier would she have been if she had no idea how cruel Grayson truly was? Being ignorant to the supernatural would have made everything so much better.
"What are you thinking?"
"That I wish I hadn't died. Things would be so much easier if I hadn't," she sighed and leaned back against the headboard. "I miss skating. I used to skate every day for hours. I was good you know, really good."
"I know." His lips curled up in a kind smile. "I followed your career the moment you stepped foot on the national stage, but the why is a story for another time. Though I promise that it's nothing nefarious."
"You promise you'll tell me?" She found herself yawning, exhaustion claiming her. The soft bed beneath her beckoned her towards sleep. "You won't keep things from me if I ask?"
"I swear it. Now, if you need anything, we'll be around and we'll hear you." Elijah stood up and headed towards the door. Before leaving the room, he half turned towards her. "I don't want you to be afraid of me. No matter what you choose, you have nothing to fear from me."
Her heart ached to trust him, to surrender to the will of the powerful man. But the abuse she'd suffered kept the walls up and she curled in on herself once more.