Hello readers! Surprisingly this is only a few days late and not weeks or months late. XD This is a shorter chapter than the last few chapters. It was honestly supposed to be wayyy longer but I had taken a big chunk out of this one. This one was one of the chapters I had partially written. It had fit at the time but adding in what I had was proven a bit difficult and pointless. SO I took it out. Anyways... Thank you to those that continue to follow and read this story. Thank you to the new followers and welcome!
On to the Reviews:
LoneButterfly05: Happy to be back and writing this story. I'm glad you love this story.
Disclaimer: I dont own any of the familiar characters of the show. I do, however, own the characters I have created.
Happy reading.
Over the next several months, Elizabeth kept to her promise to Elijah. There wasn't a single moment where she found herself sitting somewhere wondering what else she could be doing to make time move faster to get the cures or until she saw the last vision before she would go off on whatever year long trip she had in the future. While there were moments where she wondered how long until that would happen, it was never longer than a moment before she moved on from the thought.
When she wasn't out visiting the Mikaelsons, her hands were full with getting the factions in the city closer than they had been. It proved to be an easier task now that Hayley was keeping in contact with Mary. While the Alpha may have been away, she was doing her best to be involved from her cloaked, temporary, home. Between Hayley and Elizabeth's new rules and the constant reinforcement of those rules from Elizabeth and Mary, the two factions had grown closer.
Even now as Elizabeth stood out on the balcony looking into the city, she could see the vampires and the wolves partying together. Many of them were laughing and knocking back drinks as if they weren't from two different species altogether. It brought a smile to her face as she watched them. It was the first time since her arrival that she had seen them enjoying themselves without something unwanted happening. Things were coming together just as everyone could hope for.
When it came to the witches and the vampires, peace was brought by Vincent, Elizabeth and Veronica. Veronica had seemed to bring them together in ways no one could ever really explain. May it have been the trust Vincent put into Veronica or the way Veronica had been spending time in the cauldron with the witches that made things easier to bring the peace between them. With guidance from both Vincent and Elizabeth, Veronica had been thriving as both a vampire and a witch. That alone had helped create the bridge that had been missing for centuries when it came to the peace.
A sigh passed Elizabeth's lips as her hand patted the railing before heading inside. It had taken several months in order to get things how many have tried and failed to do. She just hoped that nothing would undo everything she had helped to achieve in that time. She hoped for once that this moment of peace wouldn't fall apart in any future moment.
"I'm surprised you aren't out there enjoying the party." The words had made Elizabeth look towards the door. A smile formed on her lips as she saw Josh leaning against the door.
"I should be asking the same thing about you." She said with a slight shake of her head. "Aren't you supposed to be pouring drinks for our friends?"
"I could be." He said crossing his arms. "But that'd mean leaving another friend alone while she looks over the city."
"Could always bring the drinks and we could look over it together. There is quite a view." She said with a nod of her head towards the balcony. It caused Josh to laugh and shake his head. "I promise I'll join in the festivities soon."
"While I think that would be a good idea, that's not the only reason why I came up here." He said walking further into the room. "How are you doing? Really, not the 'I'm doing fine' bit either."
She sighed and shook her head slightly. "Far better than I have been in months." She admitted. "I've had my blood lust under control, I haven't felt stressed in the slightest and the city has never been better all because I stopped trying to force myself to find the cures."
"While I would say that it was because there weren't any Mikaelsons to worry about, I'm afraid that would put me on your bad side." He gave her a smile as he shrugged. But he had been right.
It had taken almost three years for the city to get to the way it was now. There hadn't been any wars or any reasons for any of them to be put against each other. Even at the meetings between the factions, the others believed they had all reached a peace treaty that was working wonders. It was the best thing to have happened to the city in centuries. It only made Elizabeth wonder what would happen once the Mikaelsons in fact came walking back into the city.
"I'm always worrying about them." She said with a nod. "It's just easier to deal with knowing I am supposed to do nothing at the moment."
"Have you seen anything recently that would put you in gear to getting the cure for Elijah?" Josh had over the past several months been like Elizabeth's second in command here in New Orleans. Elizabeth had told him everything she could and when she could. While she never included the fact that one day she'd make a deal that would take her away from everything she had built and all of those she loved, Josh was in the loop as much as possible.
Elizabeth shook her head slightly. "Nothing yet. But you never know, I could see something when I go for my visit later on today." As if at the mere mention of visiting, Elizabeth could feel the faint feeling of Elijah's presence. It caused her to smile widely.
"Hope is visiting, I take it?" Josh asked seeing her smile.
She nodded. "I'm still getting used to being able to feel some connection again. While it's faint with being this far from him, it is still nice to know that at any point in the day we can just feel that the other is doing okay."
"Here I thought dating was complicated enough. I can't imagine what it's like with a bond forged between two people like that." He shook his head slightly before stepping out onto the balcony to take a look at the crowds that were still down below.
"Its unforgettable, I'll give it that." She said with a smile as she joined him back on the balcony. "With how faint the connection is in this moment, there's something inside me that wishes just to run towards him to make that connection stronger. It used to be like that when I first turned. I just never could explain it."
"Did you feel it when you were human?" Josh asked curiously.
"I did." She said with a nod. "It felt different as a human. It was like this gut feeling that something was wrong. I can only assume that those had been the times Elijah had been in trouble or hurt. And then there were times I couldn't feel anything at all, only because he was probably too far from me to feel anything." She looked out at the crowd of people below still enjoying the night. "The first night after years of not seeing Elijah as a human, I felt this feeling of being whole again. Fast forward a few hundred years and the whole Aya situation happened. Having that bond gone, I hated every moment of it."
"Yeah, I couldn't even begin to imagine what it is to go through that." Josh shook his head before looking over at her.
Elizabeth chuckled. "It definitely has its moments where it's better than other moments."
"I have no doubt about that." He rolled his eyes slightly. "I think we've all witnessed the Elijah Elizabeth jealousy/longing/lustful stares."
That statement had caused Elizabeth's cheeks to redden. "Was it that obvious?"
"It was definitely worse than the Elijah Hay-" He stopped himself mid sentence.
"I promise it's not forbidden to talk about their past." She said giving him a small smile before it fell. "I know they loved each other. I saw the way they were before I restored the bond. I saw those longing stares. And because of that, I almost didn't have Davina do the spell."
"Would it have made any real difference if you hadn't restored the bond?" Josh asked curiously.
Elizabeth shrugged slightly. "Besides the need to no longer feel like a part of myself was missing, I probably would have left a few days after making the decision not to do the spell."
"Then you would have missed all the fun that happened soon after. Honestly, while I was friends with Marcel, I'm not exactly sure how things would be right now if you hadn't taken the serum from him."
Elizabeth flinched at the words before she sighed. "Josh, I never got to apologize for what I did to him. I hardly forgive myself on the matter but I know over the last few years I never once tried-"
"There's no need to apologize, Liz." Josh said cutting her off. "Marcel had a different agenda compared to what you started out with. For all we know if it had been Marcel standing here and not you, do you think he'd be looking for the cures? Or that he'd have this?" He said as he gestured towards the crowd beneath them. "Marcel was all for Vampires being at the top, this right here, wouldn't have existed if you hadn't done what you did. Worst case scenario, we would have been dead and the city would still be a mess."
"I have no doubt about that." She said with a slight nod. She remembered the prophecy before she had gone and changed things. She was supposed to die at the hands of Marcel as a way to break Elijah. It sent a shiver down her back knowing if she hadn't done what she did, she wouldn't be standing there.
"See no real harm done. And now it is time for you to go out there and join in the fun." Josh said as he placed his hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "At least for a little before you head out to Hayley's."
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "I have been cooped up here enough for today." She said as she took one last look from the balcony before heading down to join the others.
"Elijah Mikaelson, if you do not put me down this instant, your life will become a living hell once you are cured!" Elizabeth yelled out the same time everyone but Elijah began to laugh. Elizabeth was currently tossed over Elijah's shoulder as he made his way down the dock. Her fists hit his back gently before she lifted herself up enough to see where they were headed. "I will put you in a damn box."
"We've all heard that threat before, Liz." Rebekah called out from her spot in the water. She had been holding Hope as they watched the scene in front of them. "It kind of loses its meaning. Especially when we are currently in one."
Hope had simply suggested throwing Elizabeth into the lake and insisted that it'd be Elijah that would be the one to do it. Not wanting to disappoint his niece, Elijah grabbed an unsuspecting Elizabeth who had been talking with Freya and began making his way down to the end of the dock.
"This is also for the previous time you pushed me into the lake." Elijah said as he reached the end. He had a grin on his face the whole time.
"I jumped in right after!" While they both were sure Elizabeth could easily get out of his hold, it was a lot easier to just go with it and just enjoy the time as they could. She felt Elijah shift her easily until she was in his arms. She wrapped an arm around his neck tightly. "If I'm going in, you're going in with me."
Elijah's grin on his face told Elizabeth that wasn't the plan at all. "Ladies first, lovely." He said before kissing her quickly, pulling her arm away from his neck, and tossing her into the lake. The sound of water splashing and Hope's laughter filled the air as she watched from her spot in the water. "You do realize you'll be next, right?" Elijah said smiling at Hope.
"Correction, you will be." Elizabeth said as she jumped on Elijah's back, causing both of them to fall into the lake.
"Silent approach." Kol said with a smile. "I like it. He didn't see it coming." None of them did. Elizabeth hadn't even come up for air before she made her way under the dock. She climbed up from there and made her attack on Elijah all while they had been paying attention to Hope. As both Elizabeth and Elijah came up to the surface this time, they were attached at the lips. Elizabeth had an arm wrapped around Elijah's neck as he had one wrapped around her waist.
"Bloody hell, do you two always have to be doing this now?" Kol asked as he looked around. He was tempted to throw something, anything, to break up the scene before him. Finding a decently sized rock, he lifted it up getting ready to throw it when a loud growl could be heard, coming from one of them that made Kol stop for a moment.
"That dear brother," Freya said as she looked up from her book and over at Kol. "is a warning to put the rock down."
"If I throw it, they stop." Kol said with a whine.
"That bond of theirs doesn't take kindly to threats about the other. I'm assuming you had plans to aim for our brother." Freya knew Elizabeth's growl easily.
"So what if I was? Should I aim for her instead?" Before Freya could voice her protest, the rock was out of Kol's hand and headed straight for Elizabeth's head.
Without breaking away from Elizabeth's Lips, Elijah's hand lifted up and caught the rock before it could come in contact with Elizabeth. Tossing it as hard as he could towards Kol, the rock hit him right in the shoulder, leaving it embedded. Kol cried out in pain as he shot up out of his seat.
"Freya tried warning you, you idiot." Rebekah said shaking her head as she and Hope came to stand by Freya.
"What happened to the whole testing the limits of their bond by keeping them apart?" Kol asked as he pulled the rock out of his shoulder.
"Obviously that failed some time ago." Rebekah said placing her hands on her hips.
"That stopped when Elijah lectured us." Freya said as she closed the book she had been reading and putting it down. "While I am all for testing the limits of it, Elijah had mentioned something about Elizabeth not waking us," Freya pointed to herself and Rebekah. "from the spell."
While Elijah may have given that threat, Elizabeth had never once said anything like that. Elijah had been upset with his sisters that whole day. Finding them talking about it after Elizabeth had just left had created an anger inside of Elijah that could only be there because of the bond. It was a threat that he didn't like hearing. The thought of his siblings continuing to keep them apart as a test didn't sit well with him.
After his sisters tried to find some way to calm him down about the idea, he had threw out that threat. He had made the promise that if they continued in anyway he would make sure that Elizabeth wouldn't have Hayley wake them. It would only be Elijah and Kol that would be freed from their slumber and the sisters would be left in the spell as a punishment. To both Elijah and Elizabeth's surprise, they had backed off completely.
"Well that just tells me that you two have dropped on her 'favorite list'." He said with a grin on his face as he looked at his sisters. "It means she's not as crossed with me as she is you two."
"Keep throwing rocks and I'll leave all three of you right here." Elizabeth said as she and Elijah joined them.
"You wouldn't dare." Kol said giving her a glare.
A smirk played on her lips as she looked at Kol. While she wouldn't do that to them, it didn't stop her from playing a long. "Oh I'd be willing to. Leave you three here while Elijah and I go on with the world." She shrug slightly. "I'm sure between the three of you, you'd be able to find a way out on your own without anyone's help."
"I'll help." Hope said looking up at Kol. A laugh passed their lips as they gave Hope a smile.
"Innocence at its finest." Elijah said softly. "Elizabeth has no intentions of leaving your Aunts and Uncle behind." He said reassuring Hope that Elizabeth wouldn't leave their family behind.
"While they can be rather annoying at times, " Elizabeth said with a smile. "I wouldn't leave them behind since they are family."
"And family sticks together even when we annoy each other." Freya said looking at each of them. The words had made Hope grin as she looked at her Aunts and Uncles there together.
They had told her the truth. No matter how much the siblings fought, and they had their share of them, in the end they always put their family first. Even though doing so had been a bad decision at times, they always seemed to come out a little bit stronger in the end. Here they were enjoying the moments that they could while stuck in a situation that none of them could have predicted a several years ago. But they were taking it a day at a time.
…
The laughter that filled the room had been contagious. The women each had a hand over their mouths trying and failing to contain the laughter that passed their lips. Elijah had watched as his sisters and Elizabeth had tried to control their laughter. It had brought a grin to his face to see that for a moment, it hadn't felt like they were there in the this dream world. It had felt like a night with family. While a few were missing from this scene before him, he couldn't help but think about how things would be once they were awake. Would they continue like this in the comfort of the compound? Would they be willing to talk about things without having to worry about the world around them that may decide to crash it all.
Elizabeth smiled over at him from her spot next to him and placed her hand on top of his. She could feel the slightest shift in his emotions. The touch of her hand had brought Elijah out of his thoughts and back to the conversation that had clearly been continuing while he had been lost in his thoughts of the future. He turned his hand over and intertwined his fingers with Elizabeth's as he listed to his sister speak.
"The fashion has completely changed over time and I must say it is definitely better than having to wear a corset with every dress." Rebekah said shaking her head. Each of them were giving their experiences of each decade they could. For Kol, Freya and Rebekah, sometimes it had been hard to voice what they had seen. Unlike Elijah and Elizabeth, they had missed several decades to being in a box, or in Freya's case a deep sleep. But it had made for quite the conversation.
"I always hated those things." Elizabeth said shaking her head. "I was glad when fashion had taken a turn for a corset less style. And yet it seems in this century, most women wear them for a completely different purpose now."
"One I do rather enjoy on occasions." Kol said with a smirk that had caused the rest of them to roll their eyes. "Don't act like the lot of you don't enjoy it. I'm sure if you had the chance to do it, you would."
"None of us deny that we wouldn't." Rebekah said shaking her head. "It's I'd rather not talk of such things that could fuel the two that could possibly be lost in their feelings now."
"I am not lost in my feelings." Elizabeth said shaking her head slightly. Though there was a small smile on her face. While it was the truth coming from her, she definitely knew what Elijah was currently feeling in that moment. It was the curiosity that had filled him over the conversation. The curiosity to know if she would ever allow him to actually see the images that had simply formed in his head.
"Neither am I." Elijah lied easily as he looked over at Rebekah. He wasn't about to give them all a reason to want to end their conversation. He was enjoying this family time and would hate to ruin it with the inappropriate thoughts and feelings he had at the moment that was causing Elizabeth to hide the small grin that was spreading on her lips.
"I, for one, am amazed on how technology has came and changed over the course of the last several decades." Elizabeth said changing the subject. She could easily see that Rebekah was about to call Elijah out on his lie.
"Cell phone definitely make it a lot easier to contact these idiots." Rebekah said as she eyed Elizabeth for a moment before looking towards her brothers. "It is so much easier than having to write letters and have to wait days for a response."
"Darling sister, even with cell phones, people can end up waiting days for a response." Kol said with a smile. "Ignoring one's text or phone calls is as easy as believing a letter had gotten lost in the mail."
Their conversation continued with many more topics. Most of them were things that would cause Elijah and Elizabeth to look at each other for a moment. May it have been memories of the past or even the slightest thing that would make the bond between them light up for a moment with the other's feelings. Their conversations carried on late into the night. During that time, Elizabeth had seen a vision Jess had shown her. Elizabeth simply smiled as if she had been in tuned with their conversation, but in reality she was happy that now there were only three visions she had yet to see. Slowly, one by one the siblings left to their rooms, leaving Elijah and Elizabeth alone.
They currently sat on a bench, outside on the porch, their conversation mostly being about their past adventures that the other hadn't witnessed in some shape or form. It was a way for them to talk about things they hadn't had the chance to talk about. Besides the conversations they may have had in the past, this was them getting to know every detail they could possibly get from each other. Elijah's stories of traveling, the countless times he had tried helping his brother find his redemption, to the times he walked away from his brother. Elizabeth told her stories of the time she spent helping others during countless wars, the way she created and continuously used a web of other vampires to keep her up to date with the rumors and tales that surrounded the Mikaelsons, to the stories of the generations that she had checked in on.
Each detail they gave made the other fall even more deeply for the other. It was the connection that the bond needed between them. Having the bond meant someone that they would instinctively protect and love. But the details that came from their pasts, it was what made their bond grow stronger. It was the details that could help them if they ever needed it in the future.
Just as that bond grew between them with each passing day and each visit, it made it easier to pick up on the slightest change in emotions. With that, Elijah had been able to feel the slightest feeling of worry in Elizabeth. One that grew over the last few hours as Elizabeth's visit came to the end. She would have to return to New Orleans in the morning.
"What is it?" Elijah asked softly as he placed his hand on top of Elizabeth's.
She sighed softly before giving him a small smile. "We are just a few weeks away from reaching another year." She shook her head slightly. "As much as I've been keeping to my promise of sitting around and waiting, I'm chomping at the bit here." She chuckled slightly. "The past few days here, I've seen a good chunk of the visions of what Jess has shown me. Its the last three that are bugging me. I'm curious to know when they'll happen."
He gave her a small smile before kissing her forehead. "Patience is a virtue."
"One that I clearly am struggling to have." She said before leaning her head on his shoulder. "Not to mention that there is that lovely 'party' I am supposed to be hosting soon."
"You're afraid." He noted. He knew she was. It had taken a lot of time for her to finally get herself back to the way she needed to be with her blood lust. They both knew what the anniversary meant. She was supposed to act as the creature that had no humanity and that meant drinking blood as she shouldn't be.
She gave a slight nod. "All that progress could possibly just go down the drain. I've been doing fine with the occasional splurging, but it will be different when the time comes. I'll be feeding constantly with them. It will be as if I did nothing."
"It won't." He said with a shake of his head. "This time, you'll have me there as I can be."
"What makes you think Hope will spend every waking moment here?" She asked with a smile as she looked up at him. They both knew Hope spent every chance she got there.
"She has family that constantly keeps her well entertained while she visits." He said returning a smile. "Sometimes we actually have to encourage her to leave and get rest."
She laughed and shook her head. "She loves having the opportunity to spend time with you." She said sitting up straight, looking at him. "We both had been going crazy wanting to be able to see all of you." She said as she placed her hand on his cheek. "I would probably still be losing my mind if we hadn't gotten so luck to be able to enter this spell."
"And it is because of that fact, I'll be able to help you here." Elijah wasn't exactly sure how well it would work. He wanted to be able to make sure that Elizabeth didn't get lost in the blood lust. He wanted to be able to comfort her from his end of the bond to ensure that during the week that worried her for many reasons, would become the least of her worries. He leaned in and kissed her softly. "You won't be going through it alone."
Before Elizabeth knew it, that time had come. While she was grateful that time seemed to be going faster and that she was seeing more pieces of the visions Jess had shown her, time still felt like her enemy in a way. Here it was about to be three years that the Mikaelson siblings had been placed into the spell. She still had nothing to show for her progress in finding the cures. While the only progress she had was the current state of the city, she still felt that there was more that could be done. But for now, all she could do was continue to wait for the last pieces of the visions to begin so that she could get the cures. Whatever journey she was to be making would hopefully be bringing the cures she needed. But for now, she had things to get ready for.
Later tonight, vampires would begin to arrive for their week stay. They'd be enjoying much of what the city had to offer just like the previous time. Even with the promise that Elijah would be there in spirit with the help of Hope visiting, Elizabeth was still worried. The welcoming party would be the biggest test to Elizabeth. She knew just as last year, the others would want her to start the feeding frenzy as a toast to her in her accomplishment. And that alone was enough to have her worry about how the rest of the night would go.
"Are you ready for this?" Veronica asked as she stood next to Elizabeth in the courtyard of the compound.
Elizabeth nodded slightly. "Yeah. This year will be different." As if on cue, she could feel Hope enter the spell. While it had been faint before, the she could feel it more now. It was as if she had been closer to them. A smile formed on her lips at the feeling of Elijah being happy, content and it was easing the worry she had felt in that moment. She could do this. It would be a lot easier this time around. "Go out to the Cauldron, they'll need you there."
"Vincent said he doesn't need me there tonight." Veronica said shaking her head slightly. "I'll be here to help you get things going with our guests. Tomorrow, I'll be there with them."
"Good." Elizabeth said as she looked around the courtyard. She was looking for something, anything that may need to be fixed. But the way everything looked so far had been just as it needed to be.
"Where is Kai at?" Veronica asked looking around as well.
Elizabeth chuckled and looked towards Veronica. "Out being Kai." She said with a smile. "He needs to be out there enjoying himself as well as keeping his eyes and ears open. We have no idea how many of them will be arriving this time."
Breathe.
It was a feeling more than a thought that passed over her. A reminder to breathe and she did. She took a deep breath and let it go. She knew it had something to do with Elijah feeling how stressed she was at the thought of there being more vampires coming to the city. She relaxed for a moment.
"It's a good thing that I was out there keeping my eyes and ears open." Malakai said walking into the courtyard.
"What happened?" Elizabeth asked walking over to him.
"There was a vampire here earlier asking around about Klaus." Malakai said as he crossed his arms.
"Where?" Elizabeth asked wanting to know every detail.
"St James." He said with a slight nod. "Natalie went over there to stock up the bar for tonight. Said it was woman with two kids looking for him."
"Did Natalie tell her anything?" Elizabeth asked wanting to make sure she knew all the details before she decided there was anything to worry about. She was already trying to keep herself calm knowing that Hope was visiting Elijah. He didn't need to know there was a problem there when it clearly could be something else entirely.
"Told her that Klaus hasn't been around for three years. She seemed adamant that Klaus would be around up until Natalie told her that." Elizabeth had been glad that Natalie hardly knew anything about where Klaus actually was. "Said she took off after that. Had Josh follow her out to the city limits, I doubt she's staying for the celebration.
"Description?" Elizabeth asked. She wanted to know just in case she came back looking for him.
"Blonde, blue eyes, about your height. Had twin girls with her. The kids were cute." Malakai shrugged slightly.
A sigh of relief passed Elizabeth's lips at that information. "She wont be back."
"Are you sure?" Veronica asked.
Elizabeth nodded. "A vampire with twins, she's probably on her way back to Mystic Falls. I heard they were having a Rayna Cruz problem."
Malakai shivered at the name of the hunter. "Aren't you glad we came to the city after they killed her?"
"Greatly." Elizabeth said with a smile.
"Wait," Veronica said, confusion growing on her face. "If she's dead, how are they having problems."
"Oh kid, there is a lot you need to learn about." Malakai said wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Rayna is like a cat with nine lives. She comes back."
"You can fill her in on all the details later." Elizabeth shook her head slightly. "As long as none of our guests are marked, we wont be having any problems here. Now lets get ready for tonight."
She watched as Malakai left to go back out into the city to do his part. She watched as Veronica shook her head slightly as Malakai left before going around and making sure each bar was filled as it should be. Elizabeth took a breath and looked up at the sky above the courtyard. A content feeling spread through her, she could get through this. Sending what she hoped was a 'I'm okay' feeling, Elizabeth walked over to one of the tables with drinks and poured two glasses.
"Has it been a year already?" A male's voice echoed through the quiet courtyard. Elizabeth finished pouring the drinks and readied herself to begin.
Turning around, Elizabeth smirked, holding out the glass for the male to take. "Indeed it has." She said as she watched the male take the glass from her. "It's time to ring in the upcoming year of freedom from your sire."
The grin on his face had said it all. It was definitely going to be an interesting week for those that were visiting. One by one, vampires made their way into the compound to enjoy themselves.
As always, please leave a review. It is greatly appreciated. The next update will hopefully be the 13th, give or take a few days. Like this chapter, it is partially written and should be easy to finish and post. Given that I don't get a sudden urge to cut a portion of it. XD