Chapter 51 - Broken Dreams & Silent Screams

ELIJAH'S POINT OF VIEW:

In less than twenty minutes following Rebekah's phone call, I had made all the necessary preparations for the rescue mission to Mystic Falls. The last items on the list were to inform Finn of the situation and feed Fiona's cat. I rather disliked the filthy stray animal, but my niece would stake me in the heart if I allowed her feline friend to starve to death. I had yet to figure out how to get rid of the hellish thing and make it look like an accident. Contemptuously, I opened a can of the vile gourmet slop that Fiona insisted Lucifer needed and served it to him in his personalized bowl—another thing that Fiona insisted he required, which made no sense to me as the critter was illiterate. Somehow he managed to consume field mice even though his name was not engraved on their backs. I freshened his water as well, and Lucifer expressed his gratitude by snarfing down the entire clump of wet food and then vomiting his meal right onto the carpet.

"You are just a charming little thing, you know that?" I spoke derisively to the feline. "Your name suits you, Lucifer."

I cleaned up after the grimalkin and went to address the other evil creature residing in my home. Finn sat outside on the porch, reading a book of Japanese poetry. I suppose one would find thrill in just about anything after being in a slumber for nine hundred years. With no more time left to waste as I desired to be waiting at the border when Fiona's boundary spell ended, I interrupted my elder brother's leisure activity.

"What is it exactly that you do all day, Finn?" I asked, wry.

"Everything I could not whilst locked beneath a dagger," he answered evenly, rising from his seat and turning around to face me. "Starting with life's simple pleasures, like reading books and breathing fresh air."

"Well, perhaps you would like to be reintroduced to society," I said. "Fiona has absconded to Mystic Falls and is tangled in a tar pit of trouble thanks to our little brother Kol. As it transpires, the fable of immortals our mother told us as children is not mythical in the slightest. Silas has risen from the rock, and now he is raising hell upon the supernatural ecosystem and threatening my niece in the very place where we grew up. He claims he knows how to murder my precious baby girl; therefore, I intend to mercilessly eviscerate him. It will be delightfully gruesome."

"You are asking me to accompany you, why?" Finn questioned in surprise, looking at me dubiously.

"I cannot leave you here because that would make it just too easy for Niklaus to drive a stake through your heart, and then Fiona would never forgive me. Also, Silas may be our most formidable adversary yet, I might need your assistance."

"Is Fiona okay?" he asked.

I sucked in an uncomfortable breath. "I have no idea."

Fiona's boundary spell lifted at the exact hour she had said it would. I pressed the gas pedal and drove beyond city limits, speeding towards Virginia as fast as the Porsche could travel. If I was not so stressed about Fiona's safety, I would have been thoroughly amused by Finn being absolutely dumbstruck by modern machinery. Riding in a vehicle was a brand new experience for him, the concept almost too wild for him to comprehend. I was considerably relieved that he was so preoccupied, for the thought of spending several hours in a car with the brother who had tried to kill my siblings was an unspeakable one. Fortunately, Finn was not much for conversation and kept to himself. Neither of us cared to acknowledge the elephant in the room, we both seemed to prefer the profound awkwardness over communicating with one another. I focused my attention on racing along the highway as fast as possible and reaching Fiona in time. The car remained silent for the first couple hours until I received a call from Kol—how he had obtained my phone number was a mystery to me.

"Elijah?"

"It is strange to hear your voice again," I greeted. "Rebekah informed me that you are in Mystic Falls, is Fiona with you?"

"No. I'm afraid I've put her in danger," he admitted, guilt and shame prominent in his voice.

"Kol, what on earth have you done?" I demanded, my stomach knotting with worry.

"I underestimated Silas," Kol explained. "His plans, his powers… they were more than anyone could have anticipated. He imprisoned Fiona in a coffin and trapped me in the cave where the lot of us used to play as kids. The Veil is down, which probably means our old man is among us, and Silas could catch Katherine and cure himself any minute now. Once he's a witch again, he's going to tamper with the spell that binds the Other Side to Amara and transfer it to Fiona, making her the Anchor. If he does that, the barrier will stay down for good and everyone we've killed will literally come back to haunt us. I would have grabbed Pipsqueak and ran, but Silas' threats made me hesitate. I had no idea he knew how to kill Fiona… I didn't even know that Fiona could be killed."

I sighed. "Neither did we."

"I did manage a small failsafe before this all went pear-shaped," Kol revealed. "While I was waiting for Fiona to show up, I taught one of the witches here how to make dark objects, and my fee was for her to create a dark object that can link Fiona to another member of the family. I've just activated it using my blood, so once you and Finn are inside the Expression Triangle, Finn will feel a connection and know precisely where she is."

"What possessed you to decide it would be more advantageous to link my niece to Finn rather than to me?" I snapped. "I am Fiona's sole protector!"

"Calm down, Elijah, I designed that mechanism for good reason," Kol insisted. "The charge of her energy is excruciatingly painful, I did you a favor."

I grit my teeth to hold back my anger. "So once we enter this triangle, voila! Finn will just magically know precisely where Fiona is?"

"Yes, he will be drawn to her like a magnet and the pull will not fade until she is physically right before your eyes. Elijah, I know our family is complicated, I know you don't really like me and I'm not nearly as important to you as Fiona is, but please don't leave me here," Kol said, sounding genuinely worried. "Please don't abandon me."

Fiona was my only concern, but my littlest brother's plea tugged at my heartstrings. My relationship with Kol had never been a good one, and I had not missed him in the centuries Niklaus had left him daggered for, but presently, the way his pitch had heightened an octave due to compounding stress reminded me of when he was scared as a boy. When Mikael would take Niklaus outside to give him a beating, Kol would attach himself to my side and speak to me in this panicked tone, frightened that he would be next—and sometimes, he was. Kol was more of a nuisance than anything, but at the end of the day, the little brat was my family.

"Help is on the way," I assured him. "Do you know what he has done with Rebekah?"

"He bullied her with illusions, forced her into helping him locate Amara," Kol said.

"He seems to have an abundance of leverage," I commented.

"It's actually pretty simple; he knows of the weapon that can kill Fiona, and he knows that we'll fall all over ourselves to protect her. He also has psychic abilities that are strong enough to penetrate even Fiona's brain, he can make her see and believe any experience. It's quite genius, really, getting the most powerful family in the world to do your bidding," Kol rambled, clearly anxious for his own life.

"Try to take it easy, I will be there as soon as I can," I reassured him before ending the call.

We arrived in Mystic Falls in the dead of night, which allowed the sleek black car to blend in effortlessly and let us go undetected by the town's supernatural vigilantes and human Matthew Donovan, city sheriff by day and superhero vampire slayer by night. The Salvatore Boarding School was located on the other side of town, so we had a bit of time before Alaric Saltzman would be alerted. I had been alive for over a millennium, yet I was still affected by the macabre snare of politics. Niklaus' proposition to simply murder everyone was looking more and more logical with every new threat we encountered. We were nearly to the edge of the Expression Triangle when the stop arm came down at a railroad crossing. There was no route to avoid the tracks, so I stretched my fingers against the steering wheel as I waited for the train to pass. I absentmindedly watched the chain of rail cars glide by, half-expecting one of the adorable Mystic Falls crew to pop up out of a shipping container and start shooting at me with a crossbow.

"Of course," Finn remarked in regards to the classic delay. "Mystic Falls, birthplace of all our sorrows. So, we are to drive around this pathetic town hoping to run into Fiona before Silas murders her?"

"Kol has a plan," I told him. "Surely you heard the conversation, granted you are sitting eight inches away in the passenger seat and have vampire hearing."

Finn scoffed. "Kol and his ridiculous gambits."

"Nine hundred years in a box, zero patience," I said, shaking my head.

"It's all a joke to you, isn't it?" he queried. "Nine hundred years in a box, just rolls off your tongue as if the time passed without consequence. I assure you, it did not."

"Enough with the grudge, it's not like we killed you."

"Death would have been a mercy!" Finn replied sharply.

"What are you suggesting?" I asked. "We never experienced anything, least of all, the passage of time."

"Being daggered for decades and being daggered for centuries are very different things!" Finn furiously insisted. "Starts off as a dim pinprick of light, growing brighter year after year. A slow consciousness, but I was paralyzed, entombed in my own mind. That despair, utter loneliness… all amplified and made endless."

I disengaged eye contact with Finn as I was experiencing feelings of remorse that I did not want to acknowledge were there. His face had twisted in pain, hardening like he was resisting difficult emotion, an expression of deep, genuine hurt and despair. My brother looked very troubled by even thinking about his centuries lying in the coffin and made a point of staring straight ahead. It was transparent that all those years truly haunted him in ways that I could not understand, and I did wonder if maybe he was more than the brother who had betrayed his siblings and became Esther's devoted acolyte.

I drove the rest of the way into town and pulled into a space at the park that was situated squarely in the center of Mystic Falls and was within the lines of the triangle. Finn and I both stepped out of the vehicle to wait for the sign that would lead us to Fiona. I placed my arm on top of the car whilst Finn leaned against the hood, tucking his hands into the pockets of the gray wool overcoat Fiona had gifted him from my wardrobe. We both looked off into the distance, scanning the trees and searching for any clues that might indicate Little One's whereabouts. Of course, there was no trace of her, absolutely nothing to be found.

"How will we know when or if this magic trick of Kol's works?" Finn complained.

"He says you'll know," was my terse response.

Finn regressed to his former silence, and guilt stemming from how I had treated him began gnawing at me again. I did not trust him because he was our mother's lieutenant, but now she was gone and there was a possibility that Finn would be different without her despicable influence. There was also the facet of the torment Finn had just revealed to me. I had never imagined that we could regain fragments of consciousness in our daggered state, but none of us had been daggered for the length of time that Finn was. The realization dawned on me, we had been cruel to him. My regret compelled me to start a conversation with him, one that had the potential to reconcile the divide between us.

"It is strange," I began, pointing my index finger toward the east. "The birthplace of our very misfortune beyond that hill. Do you recall the first time we fled together, Finn? We were but children. Nothing but the clothes on our back, a desire we had no idea how to control, and a father hellbent on erasing us from the Earth."

"First of many times we ran together over the next hundred years. Until you all left me entombed for nine centuries," Finn spat, storming away.

"You were a danger," I stated, walking next to him.

"Danger?" he queried harshly.

"Yes," I confirmed.

"Klaus and Kol killed everything that moved, yet I was the one considered too dangerous to undagger?" he inquired, peeved.

"Despite their bloodlust, you were the poison that corrupted—"

"Poison? I anchored us!" he claimed, coming to a halt and whirling to confront me.

"You despised us," I corrected, standing my ground. "You despised yourself, terrified of everything we became. You threatened our very survival, Finn, just as you have for every moment since Fiona made the mistake of freeing you from that box. You may sit idle, but I know you are plotting wickedly in that scornful head of yours. You hate what we are."

"I was made that way because of that box!" he shouted. "Every time I close my eyes, I go back to that black horizon. That place where I was abandoned and forgotten, by my own family. So, yeah, I came out mad, and I remain so."

I felt a mix of anger, disdain, and regret towards my brother, but above all that, he had a point. We had forgotten him, abandoned him, and no one deserved that. Finn's confusion and resentment was warranted, as was my abhorrence and cynicism. We were stuck at a crossroads where both of us were right, and Finn just might be caught between the devil and the deep blue sea for eternity. I was skeptical about accepting him, Niklaus would certainly never allow Finn back into our lives. For now, though, Finn and I were forced to be allies, and the least I could do was be civil and as understanding as possible. I was not about to soften my demeanor, I would always perceive Finn as a likely threat, but for the purpose of rescuing Fiona I would learn to meet him halfway. I kept a respectable distance as we walked through the forest in search of Niklaus' daughter.

"I hate it here. This place births all our pain and sorrow, I refuse to let it be the place where our niece dies. Let us not wait for Kol and his witch's tricks, let us simply tear this town apart and find her," Finn declared.

Apparently, I was a bit more temperamental than usual today, because his words struck an aggressive chord. "You know, I am astounded by how expeditiously you have taken to my niece. Your fondness of her is striking given your zealous disdain towards anything supernatural," I remarked. "What game are you playing, Finn?"

"On the contrary, I rather admire the young girl," Finn replied, unfazed. "In spite of having you and Niklaus as her mentors, she is kind, compassionate, and conscientious. She opposes injustice and, unlike you, she does not abide the villainy of the Hybrid. By the way, your confidence in his redemption is foolish."

"Yes, just as you opposed the evildoing of our mother. Oh, wait…" I riposted, glaring sharply. "You consider me a hypocrite, do you? Well, I would say that is certainly the pot calling the kettle black."

"I always understood your intense dislike towards me a result of your fear that you would lose your place as patriarch should I return to the family dynamic, but I see there is another aspect in play now. You do not want me to get close to Fiona. Why? Scared she might see you for what you truly are? Do you fear that I am more noble than you?"

"What I fear is that you will do something dastardly and jeopardize Fiona's safety," I responded scathingly. "Esther's premise states that we are abominations, and you share her thesis. I won't let you brainwash my niece into believing the same."

"Has the discussion we had the day you learned Fiona had freed me slipped your mind, brother? I told you, I have changed. I do not wish to continue Mother's endeavor. I understand that you would hold it against me, but you need not project yourself onto Fiona. I did not harm her, and I would never. Undoubtedly, no one knows your niece better than you; though, you are forgetting one very important detail," Finn said. "Elijah, she's my niece too."

I was filled with unmistakable envy, but before I could act on my jealousy, Finn fell to the ground in agony, knees weak, moaning and groaning as he clutched his head in his hands. I was a bit smug as I realized that Kol had made the dark object linking trick painful on purpose, for he despised Finn as much as the rest of us did. It took Finn several seconds to recover enough to rise to his feet, but then he spoke the five words that made me hate him a little less.

"I know where she is."

FIONA'S POINT OF VIEW:

My hands frantically banged on the lid of the coffin, my lungs desperately seeking air to breathe. I had no sense of time, I couldn't tell if I'd been trapped for seconds or days. I'd lost count of how many times I'd blacked out from not getting enough oxygen. Since I was a vampire, asphyxiation wouldn't kill me, but I would go through the trauma of dying and coming back to life again and again, a seemingly endless cycle. Suffocating to death was a rather painful experience, and enduring the process on repeat was psychologically shocking. I was terrified and alone with no way of knowing what was happening or how to free myself, if breaking out of this wooden prison was even possible. Silas must have tailored this spell specifically to me, there was no way that basic magic would be able to hold me down. But wait… wasn't he still an immortal? How could he be using magic? Had he taken the Cure? Whatever he did had left me in a state of utter confusion, I didn't know for sure what had really happened. He'd used his psychic abilities to create conflicting illusions, making it impossible for me to figure out what the reality was.

I died and jolted back to life for what seemed like the thousandth time, opening my eyes to see nothing but complete darkness. My skin was crawling, I was hungry, and most of all I was afraid for my life. I didn't want to suffocate again. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. I wanted to cry, but I felt emotionally numb. All I could think about was fear. Again I attempted to bust out of the casket, but to no avail. Hopelessness was closing in, I began wondering if I would be doomed to this box for eternity. In every brief moment of consciousness between dying in circles, I thought about my family. Where were they? Did they know what Silas had done to me? Had the bastard hurt Kol and Rebekah too? Surely Klaus and Elijah would come for me, right? They wouldn't just leave me here to suffer endlessly, would they?

I felt myself being broken down mentally in addition to actual physical death. I started to doubt my family's love for me. After all my recent defiant behavior, subduing them both so I could talk to Finn and trapping them in a boundary spell before coming to Mystic Falls, maybe they'd decided that I was more trouble than I was worth. Maybe they were tired of bailing me out of my mistakes. Maybe they just didn't want me anymore. I had a habit of complicating their lives, getting in the way and creating problems that wouldn't otherwise exist—me running away was probably a huge relief. Hell, perhaps the entire world would be better off without me. I was dangerous, a tribrid, and I had a list of issues so substantial that it would send any sane person running for the hills. Everything whole had a tendency to fall apart around me, like I ruined everything I touched, and that destruction included myself.

The casket started to rattle and shake, startling me, and suddenly the light of day broke through the shroud of darkness. The hood of the coffin opened to reveal the sun, fresh air, and—best of all—the kind, concerned face of Uncle Elijah. I gasped loudly, inhaling large gulps of the fragrant, balsamic forest air after having been deprived of the most basic required means of keeping body and soul together. Elijah placed his hands on my chest and back to steady me, soothing me with the sensation of his touch. At first, I thought I was only dreaming, that Silas had somehow managed to get inside my head again, but I knew Silas would never use his psychic abilities to generate a scenario I would find comforting. Actually, this kind of gentle connection was probably foreign to Silas, he wouldn't know how to replicate it. The Immortal could appear as anyone, but he couldn't mimic my uncle's tender heart, for his was a love that could not be echoed. No, Elijah was flesh and bone, his presence as real as the pain and horror I'd experienced in the darkness.

"Fiona, are you all right?" he asked, supporting my shoulders as he pulled me upright. "Can you say something for me? Do you know where you are, Sweetheart?"

His words sounded like the voice of an angel, my own personal lullaby. I looked down at his hand, mesmerized by the way his daylight ring sparkled in the soft rays of sunshine. I watched the reflections dance as his fingers frantically fussed over me, combing across my body and prodding here and there, searching for injuries and discerning whether or not I was physically unharmed. Truthfully, I wasn't quite sure if I was unwounded. I was starting to feel a bit more aware, but I still felt pretty numb overall. I was normally okay with not being okay, but something was very off. I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong inside, I just knew that there was something that wasn't right. It almost felt like the darkness of the coffin had wormed itself into my mind. Yes, I had a new darkness within.

"Child, what happened?" he tried again when I remained quiet. "My baby girl, I am frightened by your silence. You must tell me what is wrong, or else I cannot help you. Please, speak."

I snapped out of it and hurled myself into Elijah's embrace, throwing my arms around his neck and bursting into tears. "I'm so sorry, Uncle 'Lijah. This is all my fault, I should have just told you the truth about waking Kol and my plan to come to Mystic Falls. I know I screwed up and now we have Silas as an enemy. I didn't mean for that to happen, honest. Please, don't be cross with me. I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence because I couldn't speak through my sobbing.

"Shhh," Elijah hushed as he held me close. "Shh, shh, shhh. There, there, my darling niece. Take a deep breath now, it is all right. We found you just in time, and that is all that matters. I know you are sorry, we shall talk about that later."

"Wait, you're not alone?" I asked, scanning the area but seeing no one else around. "Did you catch up with Kol? Is that how you were able to locate me?"

"I have not seen any sign of Kol yet, he is my next rescue mission," Uncle Elijah told me. "I spoke on the phone with him earlier, though. And no, I am not alone. Finn accompanied me on the drive from New Orleans."

I perked up a little. "Finn is with you? Does that mean we get to keep him?"

"What that means, my dear child, is that I might need another pair of eyes and an extra set of hands should trouble arise here in our hometown. As far as welcoming him back into the family, I have not yet made my final decision."

I frowned but accepted his words without argument. "Can I at least say hi to him?"

"Finn is occupied with locating Silas at the moment," Elijah said. "But yes, I will grant you a few minutes with him once the storm has calmed. Now, let me hold you, you have had me worried senseless for two whole days."

I kissed Elijah's cheek and clung to him as securely as vines coiled round a tree, banishing the thought of ever letting go. It seemed like it had been ages since Elijah had cuddled me, and I found myself in tears again as I struggled to recover from not only repeatedly suffocating in that coffin, but also from being separated from my uncle. Really only a couple of days had passed, but I'd missed the safety of his embrace, the contentment I felt simply by the gentleness of his touch. Despite being in hysterics, crying my heart out due to the present circumstances, I was happy to be held in his loving arms again. His arms were one of the few places where I felt safe, content, and cared for. Being away from him, even for a little while, was always so hard, and I was reminded of just how much I loved and needed my uncle every time we were reunited. Uncle Elijah was the most precious person to me, and I considered our bond a sacred one. I wouldn't survive without him.

"I'm so glad you came for me," I said, finally calm enough to speak as I was only normal crying now. "Sorry I cause so much trouble."

"There is nothing I would not do for you, Fiona; you are mine in every way that counts." He stroked my hair affectionately. "You should know that Niklaus' first instinct was to go after you when he discovered that you were in danger. Had I not succeeded in convincing him that you would be safer without his presence, I am certain he would have beat me here. He found it nearly impossible to stay behind in spite of trusting that doing so was favorable to your protection. Honestly, I am surprised he did not follow me. Although, I have a feeling he may be coming to join us even as we speak. He was so frightened, I almost could not recognize him as my devilish little brother. That was quite an act of defiance the other day, my little one. We were both beside ourselves with worry."

"Klaus must be so mad at me!" I cried in despair. "I'm scared of what he'll do when he sees me."

"Dearest Fiona, the very first thing Niklaus will do is heave a sigh of relief and take you into his arms, exactly as I have done just now. He will hold you so securely that you have no hope of escape and, like me, he will look you sternly in the eye and tell you to never ever pull such a stunt again," Elijah said, his actions coinciding with his words as he spoke. "He will remind you of how much you are loved, and he will drive the message home with more hugs and kisses. Yes, there will likely be a harsh scolding in there too—you are certainly getting some kind of chastisement from me when all of this is over and we have returned to New Orleans—but he will do so because he loves his baby girl too much to allow her to put herself in danger."

"Uncle Elijah, please don't punish me," I begged. "I know running away was wrong, and being locked in a coffin was chastening enough. I've learned my lesson, I won't run away again; ever, I promise."

"Fiona, you learn that lesson all the time, but you are a terrible student. This is the third time I have heard that promise, twice you have broken your word. You are in enormous trouble, my little one, and I will not let you off without some sort of reprimand. Though, discipline will have to wait for now given our present situation—Silas' demise takes precedence. This is very serious, Fiona. You disobeyed Niklaus and put yourself in grave danger; therefore, you will be punished," Elijah declared sternly. "I expect no argument. You know how I feel about you endangering your life."

I anxiously clutched the hem of my jacket, stressed by the decisiveness in my uncle's tone. He'd warned me after the death spell I'd used to take down the Strix that endangering my life and running away were the two offenses that automatically warranted a spanking. I'd done both, so surely tanning my hide was the "chastisement" he had in mind. Elijah had always been strict about discipline, and I was nervous about the severity of my punishment since this was in fact the third time—at least—that I'd run away and the second time that I'd put my life at risk by doing so. If Elijah did what he had said he would do, then I was going to have a very sore bottom. I felt my stomach knot up; Elijah was a man of his word, after all.

Elijah realized how uncomfortable I was. "Fiona, listen," he said gently, cupping my cheek in his hand so that I looked up at him. "We will discuss this matter with your father once we return home. Whilst you did place a boundary spell on us both, which you know using magic on family to get your way is against my rules, Niklaus was the one you immediately defied. I will not decide anything until I consult him, so try your best not to worry too much. We must deal with what is right in front of us here in Mystic Falls first." He kissed my forehead. "I love you, Fiona. I love you more than anything, and there is nothing you could ever do to make me cherish you any less. That is what I would like for you to think about right now. Actually, that is what I wish shall be in your thoughts always."

"But I know that you're mad at me," I said, disheartened. "I know I'm in a lot of trouble."

"I am frustrated and disappointed in you, and, yes, I am upset by your actions, but none of that changes how precious you are to me," he spoke softly. "Sweetheart, I do not want you to be afraid of how I might discipline you. That is what is causing your anxiety at the moment, correct?"

I nodded, slightly embarrassed. "I know I've been pushing your buttons lately with my bad behavior and all, I can't say I don't deserve to be punished, but I'm scared you're going to give me an awfully painful spanking. I'm accustomed to a few sharp swats for mouthing off or after I've tested your patience, stupid stuff like that. I know you only use it as a last resort, but I'm not a little kid, Elijah. I feel it would be wrong if you followed through on, you know, bending me over your knee."

"I understand," he replied calmly. "Do you feel that I have been unfair with you in the past?"

"Well, no, but I really screwed up this time. I know it's going to be more than just a swat or two. I know you're old-fashioned and that there was a time not so long ago where such a thing was the standard, but now it's a bit absurd for a teenager, and it makes me feel awkward and scared." A couple of tears spilled from my eyes. "I know I don't make it easy for you to take care of me. I know you have to go to extremes to keep me in check, but the thought of… of…"

Uncle Elijah softly tapped underneath my chin, which meant he sought eye contact. "My dear niece, when I told you I have not made my decision on this matter, that was honesty, not deflection," he explained, still using a gentle tone. "I understand what you are communicating to me, and I will take it into consideration. Yes, there is a good possibility that you will receive a spanking, you already know that, but nothing is going to happen until the three of us have a conversation about what exactly took place. I was not present for the argument between you and your father, I was not present when you and Kol were devising a plan to kill Silas, and I was not present for the sequence of events that ended with you winding up in this coffin in mortal danger. I do not have all the necessary information for deciding the best method to ensure that this incident is never repeated. I discipline you because I want to teach you, Fiona, not because I want to express my anger or fulfill some twisted desire of retribution. I am firm with you because you need guidance, and I administer strict punishment for your own good. I address your bad choices for the purpose of preventing you from repeating them. My goal is to help you grow, gain control of your behavior and take responsibility for your actions. I will do whatever it takes to be successful in that, and if one method or another is not the best way to achieve that, then it won't happen, and I certainly won't be abusive. Does that make sense, Sweetheart?"

"Yeah." I took a deep breath. "I do trust you, Elijah. I was just worried that you weren't going to give a chance to explain myself. I'm used to you demanding answers and admonishing me right off the bat, so I got nervous when you didn't. I thought maybe you'd already decided what I deserve. I was scared."

"The point I was trying to make was that there are currently more pressing matters, that I will not decide a punishment until the dust has settled and we have returned home to New Orleans," he said, his brown eyes sparkling with sincerity. "I am sorry my intentions were falsely perceived. I did not mean to discomfort you, and I certainly do not want you to be afraid of me. My apologies, I should have led with more clarity."

"It's okay," I said, gratefully accepting the handkerchief he offered and wiping my face. "I'm just really flustered and on edge because of everything with Silas. That box was absolute torture."

"Well, it is time to calm down because I am here to fix that little Silas problem," my uncle said with a smile. "Now, I recommend we deal with him Mikaelson-style, what say you?"

I nodded in agreement and hugged him again. "Thank you for listening to me and not getting mad."

"You should not be thanking me for basic courtesy, Sweetheart." Elijah rubbed his hand on my back in soothing circles. "If ever you are fearful, especially regarding something that I have said or done, tell me immediately. If something makes you uneasy, say so. I give you my word that I will always hear you out. Whatever the situation may be, the lines of communication will remain open. My bond with you is important above all else, okay? I never want to let anything be a cause for distance; I made that mistake once before. I love you, Fiona, and I am for you. I will always be for you, no matter what kind of trouble you get yourself into."

"I love you too, Uncle Elijah," I said, clinging tightly to him. "You taught me the meaning of family. I know you're always on my side, even when I fu—even when I mess up."

"So it shall be, always and forever," Elijah promised, putting his forehead against mine. "And, you mustn't forget that Niklaus will love the very worst of you until the oceans are dust. He fights for you every day, Fiona, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will continue to do so for the rest of his life."

"You really think he still loves me? Even after all of this?" I asked, tearful. "I did a really crappy thing."

"Of course he does, Sweetheart," my uncle assured me, kissing my forehead. "You are his greatest blessing. Because of you, he has seen the unconditional love of family. Over the course of less than two years, you have accomplished what I couldn't in a thousand. He may not have fully redeemed himself yet, but you are vital to that auspicious path. You have made him love someone more than himself, and in you he has found his true purpose in life. I know he has a peculiar way of showing it sometimes, but, Fiona, you are his everything. Just as you are my everything, too. Therefore, the casting of detaining spells upon your family members and the fleeing our view must come to an end. That stops this very instant, have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Uncle Elijah. I'm sorry," I apologized. "You have every reason to be disappointed. After all, I do know better."

"I am pleased to hear you acknowledge that you do indeed know better; however, it does beg the question, why would you choose to act in that manner despite your better judgement?" Elijah inquired in a calm, yet firmly seeking tone.

"I ran away because I was angry with Klaus, but I really did think I was doing the right thing by keeping all this a secret," I said. "Kol's logic made sense, especially after I saw your reaction to Finn's awakening, and not telling you what we were up to didn't seem like such a big deal at the time. Neither of us expected this to blow up in our faces like a poorly-assembled bomb."

"Sweetheart, Kol could talk his way out of Hell. That makes him charming and cunning, not sensible," my uncle stated. "Perhaps it was wrong of me, but there was a good reason why I allowed Niklaus to dagger our little brother."

"Well I know that now," I replied. "He has been a good friend, though."

"I think 'accomplice' would be the more appropriate term," Elijah voiced.

"I mean aside from our troublemaking," I clarified. "I shared all my memories with him, every experience and emotion. He knows what my life has been like, and he understands me. I know he's rakish and cheeky, but I think he genuinely cares about me. He's a good defender when push comes to shove, Silas is just craftier than we could have anticipated."

Elijah forced a smile, meaning that he didn't approve of my admiration and respect for Kol, but rather than pressing the issue, we would agree to disagree. I was glad, Uncle Elijah and I argued too much as it was. I only hoped that he would keep an open mind about his brother because I really wanted Kol to come back to New Orleans with us. It would be fun to have him around, not to mention the fact that he was part of the family and should be regarded as such. Just like Finn, Kol deserved a chance at acceptance. I would keep that notion in my back pocket, ready to be used whenever this Silas ordeal came to an end. Klaus and Elijah would probably be rather reluctant to allow Kol to live in New Orleans, but I was already devising a persuasive argument that wouldn't be so easily shot down. Elijah might be the one who dresses like a lawyer, but it's me who is relentless during a war of words.

"Let's get you to our Mystic Falls home, shall we?" Uncle Elijah suggested. "You will be safe there. You can rest whilst I track down my siblings and meet with the Salvatore children… What are their names again? Oh, yes, Stefan and Damon. Once I have the Cure in my possession and ensure that all necessary preparations have been made, someone will come get you when we are ready for the last piece of the puzzle. This plan needs to happen accordingly if we wish to minimize the damage, so please be obedient. No surprises, Fiona Nikol."

I nodded. "No surprises."

"Do I have your word?" he queried, his brown irises examining me closely.

I almost rolled my eyes. "I promise, Uncle 'Lijah."

"Good girl," he praised, placing his hand on the middle of my back. "Come along, the Mikaelson family mansion awaits you."


A/N: You know, I really adore those two. Flijah fluff moments have to be near the top of the list of my favorite things to write. Also, that moment at the beginning with Elijah overfeeding the cat seemed necessary. I don't know, I just had to throw it in there. Elijah is such a mood sometimes. I know some of you really wanted to see more of Finn, so let me know what you think of his involvement in the storyline. He and Elijah were really at each other's throats, partly because Elijah was extremely stressed about finding Fiona, but do you think they will ever improve their relationship? Please give me some feedback on this chapter, I would love to read more wonderful reviews! Thanks for reading!