Chapter 53

30 minutes or less

Seraphine couldn't sleep. That was kind of strange since she had never had any problems in that department before. Right now she was so distressed that even her dreams couldn't offer her consolation. What was she going to do, everything was such a mess. She felt completely lost. A virgin forever… She knew that the first time would hurt and if she would be a virgin when she would drink that elixir, every time would hurt. Not that she necessarily wanted to have sex with anyone but forever was a long time… She wanted to bury her face in her pillow and sob like a little girl. Pathetic…

At least Mr. Boo was here. She hugged the bear tightly and tried to pull herself together. If she would only knew how much time she had. Since the damn elixir was ready, she didn't think that Klaus and Kol would want to wait for much longer. She did believe that they didn't want her to suffer but this was about their own survival. They had been around for centuries so she was sure that they would do anything in order to stay alive, or undead or what ever. In the end she could almost understand them, as strange as that was.

Seraphine sighed. She had been tossing and turning in her big canopy bed for hours. Maybe Klaus and Kol were still downstairs, their host had promised them some kind of entertainment. Right, sure, entertainment. Maybe Elijah would be in his room. Then the thought hit her; Elijah. He had always treated her respectfully and she liked him. Not to mention he wasn't unpleasant to look at. Whether he would want it was another matter but she should at least ask. Based on her knowledge of sex, the whole thing would probably be over in 30 minutes, maybe less.

But could she do that? What choice did she have, the last thing she wanted was to listen to Klaus and Kol arguing. Not to mention the whole thing would probably be just some kind of competition to them, she didn't think for a second that they could be sensitive. She was full of determination when she stood up and walked in front of a mirror. She was wearing her Tweety nightie; most men probably wouldn't find that sexy. But then again, she didn't really want to be sexy.

She brushed her hair and added some lip-gloss. Hopefully Elijah wouldn't find her repulsive. Maybe she should change her nightie after all. She chose a white satin one; Klaus had bought her several of those. It had short sleeves and it reached her to mid-thigh. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and told herself that she could do this. It was best to simply get this over with, take a shower and try to get some sleep. That sounded like a good plan. She took a deep breath before opening the door as silently as possible. Thankfully the hallway was empty. Elijah's room was right next to Klaus', so she tiptoed to his door and knocked.

"Yes?" he said.

Seraphine's heart was pounding when she opened the door and sneaked in. Elijah was sitting on the armchair reading some book and having a drink. He looked up when she closed the door behind her and locked it.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She tried her best to smile although she had never been so nervous.

"Yes, I…I would like to ask you a favor."

He looked at her attentively.

"Of course, what is it?"

She hesitated. Don't you dare to be a coward now…

"Could you have sex with me?"

For the first time she saw him completely stunned.

"Excuse me?"

She bit her lip.

"I…I don't want it to always hurt in case I would… I trust you enough to believe that you wouldn't be rough with me or be a jerk about it afterwards. I…I don't expect anything from you; I was hoping that we could just get it over with as quickly as possible. Do you think you could do that?"

He was opening and closing his mouth but nothing came out. Seraphine felt herself blushing; she was praying that he would say something. Finally he cleared his throat.

"Seraphine, I'm flattered and honored, you are a very special young woman…"

"But you don't want me," she muttered feeling completely humiliated. What had she been thinking, why would a man like him want someone like her, even for a one night. He stood up and moved in front of her.

"Don't think for a second that I would find you unattractive, that certainly isn't the case."

She looked up although she would have wanted to hide. He gave her a warm smile and touched her cheek.

"I would feel that I am taking advantage of you…" he started.

She shook her head.

"No. I…I need to do this and I would like to do it with you. I think you are a good man and…"

There was a sad look in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry; you should have never been put in this situation."

Seraphine was on the brink of tears; she knew that she would soon lose all that was let of her courage.

"Please, Elijah, I need to get this over with."

Great, now she was crying, that was certainly attractive.

"I'm sorry," she muttered and tried to control herself. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped her tears away.

"Please," he said and guided her on the armchair. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Yes, please," she replied quickly. A drink sounded good, maybe that would help her to relax. He poured her some wine and sat on the other armchair.

"Alright, I believe we need to talk about this…"

"Seraphine!"

Elijah didn't have time to finish his sentence when the door was kicked open and Klaus and Kol zoomed in. Well this was just perfect. They both stared at her and Elijah.

"What is going on here?" Klaus asked tensely.

"I'm going to have sex with Elijah, so would you two mind?" she muttered angrily.

"What?" they both asked simultaneously.

"That's not going to happen," Kol snapped.

"Yes it will!" Seraphine shouted. She couldn't control herself any longer. "You did this to me and now you're going to force me to drink some…heaven knows what. You have no right to deny me from…" She was too angry to continue. A long silence followed her words.

"Why Elijah?" Kol finally asked. His voice held no emotion.

"He respects me and I believe that he wouldn't hurt me," she muttered.

"And you think that we would hurt you?" Klaus asked.

She didn't look at them; this conversation would be completely useless. Clearly they didn't care about what she wanted.

"You know what, I don't care anymore, I want to get this over with. Just toss a coin or something," she said and ran out as fast as she could. Thankfully they didn't try to stop her. As soon as she was in her room, she jumped on her bed, buried herself under the covers and lied there in a fetal position. She was so so tired. All she had wanted was to regain even a little control over her life. The thought almost made her giggle; could she be any more pathetic? She tensed when she heard someone opening the door. Which one of them was it? Not that it mattered; hopefully this would be all over soon.

...

Ok, I have written two alternative versions of the next chapter; the rest of the story will be the same either way. Who would you like it to be?