Chapter 52
Unchangeable
Elijah stopped the car in front of a modest apartment building. The woman who was sitting next to him didn't say anything; she was just staring in front of her.
"Is this the right place?" he asked.
She flinched and looked at the building.
"Yes, my cousin lives here. I…I don't know how I can ever thank you…"
"No need."
Elijah took few bills from his wallet.
"Here, take care of yourself."
Her eyes widened.
"No, no, I can't…"
"I insist," he interrupted her.
She bit her lip.
"Thank you. I feel so stupid… This guy in a nightclub promised me some quick cash and I thought… I was so stupid. Thank you."
Elijah nodded and wrote down his phone number. He wasn't sure why, somehow he felt responsible for this woman, as strange as that was.
"Call this number if you have any trouble, but I would stay away from that nightclub if I were you."
"Yes, I… I want to start a new life, I have messed everything up."
"Good luck," he said and gave her a reassuring nod.
She smiled.
"Thank you. I won't forget this."
She got out and walked towards the apartment building. Elijah had let her keep her memories, except everything referring to vampires, since she had learned a valuable lesson. Apparently she had done many foolish choices but hopefully she would value her life more now. He headed back to Dorian's house. His brothers had probably already arrived. He couldn't believe that someone had actually compelled a human to shot Seraphine. Not very smart. Thankfully she was alright.
Yet the thought of using the elixir on her worried him. Some warlock had created the elixir hundreds of years ago but the secret had died with him. For some reason he had never drank the elixir himself. According to the legend he had understood the burden of immortality and decided that he didn't want that. The elixir didn't make a person any faster, stronger or less vulnerable; it simply made their body indestructible. The process was very painful and he had heard that there would be side effects. However the fact remained that if Seraphine would die, his brothers would die as well. Elijah sighed. He was feeling quite tense when he parked the car in front of Dorian's mansion and walked inside. He ran into Annette on the staircase.
"Perfect timing, Mr. Mikaelson," she said smiling. "The dinner is served."
"Thank you. Have my brothers arrived?"
"Yes, they are upstairs."
Elijah headed towards their rooms and noticed that his brothers were standing in the hallway with their arms crossed. They both seemed very tense.
"Where have you been?" Klaus snapped.
Elijah frowned.
"It's good to see you too, Niklaus. I heard that you had some trouble in Sacramento."
"Yes, I will handle that after we are finished here."
"How is Seraphine?"
For some reason neither of his brothers was looking at him.
"She's fine," Klaus muttered. "She's getting ready for the dinner."
Elijah looked at his brothers closely. Clearly something was going on here that he didn't know about. They almost jumped when the door opened and Seraphine stepped out.
"Elijah," she said and gave him a smile.
"Hello. Your things are in my room, I can get them for you…"
"I'll come with you," she interrupted him and turned to Klaus and Kol. "I'll see you downstairs."
They both avoided looking at her and left without saying a word.
"What's with them…" she muttered.
Elijah was thinking about the same thing when they walked to his room. Seraphine seemed genuinely happy when she saw Mr. Boo on an armchair.
"Thank you for bringing this here."
"No problem, I sent the doll to Rebekah already, I am sure she will like it."
Seraphine ran her fingers across the back of the chair and sighed.
"I'm scared," she said quietly.
Elijah stepped next to her and touched her shoulder.
"I understand. Did Niklaus and Kol tell you about the elixir…"
"No, Clarice did." A tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't want this."
Elijah wanted to say that he was sorry but that probably wouldn't offer her much consolation. He wrapped his arms gently around her and she buried her face in his neck. Clearly she needed a friend; it seemed that she hadn't had many of those in her life.
"Do you like your brothers?" she muttered after a moment of silence.
"Well, at least sometimes," he replied.
She huffed and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I hope that I'll like them too. Someday."
...
Seraphine didn't have much appetite but she tried to force herself to eat. Their host really had a beautiful dining room; there was a large dark wood table with matching chairs with velvet chair upholstery, black graphic wallpaper, a bright red rug, few oil paintings on the walls and a gorgeous crystal chandelier. There seemed to be enough room for at least 20 people. Their host was sitting at the end of the table a class of wine in his hand. He was smiling and chatting with his guests but Seraphine could tell that he was a bit tense. So were Klaus and Kol, they had barely looked at her after they had woke her up in order to inform her that the dinner was served. Clarice seemed to be as cheerful as always, she didn't pay any attention to anyone in the room. Elijah seemed very distracted; clearly he had a lot on his mind.
"How are your rooms?" Dorian asked. "I hope that everything is in order."
"Yes, the rooms are fine," Klaus replied.
"I'm glad to hear that." Dorian hesitated a moment before he continued. "I was wondering are you planning to use the elixir here."
Klaus and Kol were both quiet, they seemed even tenser. Seraphine didn't want to think about the whole thing but unfortunately she didn't have much choice.
"The elixir is ready to be used, I finished the testing," Clarice said without turning her eyes from her food. "If she drinks it today, I imagine that she is ready to travel after two or three days."
"What…what happens before that?" Seraphine managed to ask.
"It will make you an immortal," Clarice replied simply.
"Can you make it less painful?" Klaus asked.
Clarice shook her head.
"No, but maybe a doctor could. Perhaps anesthesia would help but I believe there are some risks in that."
"What kind of risks?"
"She may not wake up but she would be alive and an immortal," Clarice replied calmly.
"That's not an option," Klaus snapped.
The witch shrugged.
"Suit yourself; I'm not a miracle worker. Anyhow, if there is anything about her body that needs to be fixed, you must do that before she drinks the elixir, after that her body will always remain as it is now."
"Wait, wait," Kol suddenly said. "You mean that if she would have…let's say a mole somewhere, it could never be removed?"
"It could, but it would grow back."
Kol bit his lip. Seraphine couldn't understand where he was going with this.
"What if a virgin would drink the elixir?"
Clarice finally looked up. She seemed almost amused.
"Why do you ask?"
"Out of curiosity," Kol muttered.
Clarice looked thoughtful.
"Well, if we are talking about a woman, that would mean that every time when she would have sex, it would be like her first time. Her hymen would always grow back."
Seraphine felt sick. Just when she had thought that things couldn't possible get any worse… If she would be a virgin when she would drink that damn elixir, she would technically stay as one for the rest of…who knew how long. Her appetite was certainly gone.
