AN: So I don't really know what the hell this is, but it came out after I watched a few Elijah scenes with the whole Esther tortures him thing on The Originals. I don't watch the Originals, I just wanted background. Vampire Elena.

The prompt for this chapter is: A creation myth.


Elena's phone rings as she's driving home, the name Elijah flashes on the screen and she pulls over to take it.

"Elijah?" They don't keep in contact often, they've contacted each other a few times to check in or make deals, but he usually doesn't call unless it's urgent.

"Hello Elena." The wrong voice greets her and Elena's glad she isn't driving.

"Klaus." They both notice her voice is much colder. Just because he's dating Caroline doesn't mean he gets a free pass on what he's done, including stealing Elijah's phone, apparently.

"I'll cut to the chase. I have a plane ticket for a flight to New Orleans about to hit your email. Drop what you're doing and get on the flight. Elijah needs you." Klaus says and Elena takes that in for a moment.

"Elijah needs me?" She asks and Klaus sighs.

"Just get on the damn plane." He says and hangs up. Elena plans to call Caroline as soon as she gets home. It's a little harder to focus on driving after that, too many thoughts and theories begin to fill her head. Elijah needs her. Klaus is vague and it's probably not that bad, but the worry that it might be that bad has her calling Caroline as soon as she parks her car.

"Caroline. What's going on?" Elena asks and Caroline takes a breath before she answers.

"Esther came back to life to kill the Originals again. It's under control now, but Elijah-she messed Elijah up. He's not going to die-but he's not letting anyone see him and Klaus and I think you can help." Caroline says and some of the tension escapes out of Elena.

"I'll be on that flight. I just need to cancel a few things." Elena says and Caroline thanks her.


The flight is a little over three hours and Elena's too wound up to sleep. Elijah's always been rather invulnerable, the fact Klaus is worried makes her wonder what he'll be like when Caroline picks her up from the airport.

"Are you alright?" The woman next to her asks.

"Someone I care about is really sick in New Orleans. I'm just worried." Elena says and the woman nods sympathetically.

"Waiting like this is the worst part. I almost lost my husband a decade ago and sitting on a plane was the worst part of it. Just the waiting. We've got an hour left. I hope he's okay." The older woman smiles, eyes warm set in a wrinkled face. Flight attendants move and a mother hushes her child as people move and rustle trying to get comfortable. Elena smiles and thanks the woman. Elijah's on her mind for the rest of the flight, even as she tries to slip into the bestseller she packed, rereading the first page again. None of it quite sinks in, and Elena tries to relax as the time passes.


"How bad is it? Is it physical or mental or-" Elena asks as Caroline catches her in a quick hug.

"We don't know. He won't come out and he hasn't eaten since Freya woke him up with magic. He just said he needed to talk to you." Caroline says and Elena grabs her suitcase. Time to go, they can't waste time. Elena's seen him daggered, dead, bloody, asleep-she's never thought something could get at him like this.

"New Orleans has been crazy. And I mean crazy." Caroline says and Elena asks about Esther.

"She's contained for now. I just need you to focus on Elijah." Caroline says and Elena nods. Caroline tells her that if she needs help or if Elijah hurts her-she and Freya will be on standby.

"You think it's that bad?" Elena whispers and Caroline hesitates before she nods.

"I've never seen Elijah or Klaus look so-" Caroline trails off. Seeing Elijah so vulnerable looking and Klaus so concerned-it's unnerving. It's a few more minutes before they manage to get to the Compound and Elena doesn't hesitate to move to Elijah's room. Her suitcase can be moved later, Elijah needs her if Klaus and Caroline are right. She knocks on the door, hard for a human, soft for a vampire. She can hear movement but the door doesn't open and it's locked, damn him.

"It's me. Elena. You said you wanted to talk, let me in." Elena presses and she finds herself being pressed against a wall with a flash of vampire speed. At least she's in Elijah's room, she thinks as she looks for a moment. They can hear Caroline and Freya worrying downstairs and he looks at her-she could escape if she wanted, Elijah's not hurting her with the light pressure.

"Elena." Elijah breathes, recognition settling in, his eyes are wide.

"You should go before I cause your death too. I want you to forget me. I don't want you harmed because of me." He says, in a matter of seconds he's on the opposite end of the room.

"Is this about Tatia and Katherine?" Elena asks cautiously, and walks slowly to him, takes in what he's wearing. A sweater, not a suit-she's rarely seen him look so casual.

"I killed Tatia. My mother revealed holes in my memory." Elijah says. To avoid her, he takes steps backwards when she does and finds himself with his back to the wall as Elena keeps walking toward him. She doesn't trap him though, she stands next to him as he decides to sit.

"Tell me everything about how she made you vampires. All of it." Elena says softly and sits next to him. Unsure eyes flicker to her but he begins to tell her of Henrik. Henrik was good and he was kind and it wasn't Klaus's fault. Elijah closes his eyes and she takes in the details of his room as he tells her the more detailed story than the one he told her after she undaggered him. She sees the rumpled and bloody suit, his probably dead phone, and there's a framed picture of her on his nightstand next to a large stack of books. Elena's heart jumps at the idea of the picture, but Elijah doesn't notice as he tells her of Tatia and how they had originally thought their mother killed Tatia.

Elena learns about their village, about the wolves, about his first experience of dying, how hard it was to be a monster without a teacher. Elena wants to show him she's there, a hand in his, head on his shoulder, anything, but she's worried he'll jerk away or stop talking.

"I thought my mother made us into monsters and killed Tatia. I killed Tatia. Everyone I've ever loved has come to harm because of me and their connection to me. I don't want you hurt, Elena. You should go." Old eyes are watching her, he looks too young to be damn tired, but Elena moves closer to him.

"I've already died twice, Elijah. Got it covered. Let me in. Let me into your mind and I'll tell you why you're wrong. Esther lied. She lied, I promise." Elena presses and he looks up to meet her eyes again.

"Give me your word you won't manipulate my memories." Elijah says, voice unsteady and Elena nods.

"I give you my word, Elijah. Let me in." Elena says, moving a hand to his face and he closes his eyes and lets her in.

"Tatia. Tatia. I will not hurt you." Elijah is human, long haired and a new vampire. Elena watches him look at Tatia, looks at Tatia, braided hair and fear in a blue dress. It's daylight, Elena takes in the woods and the smell of smoke as she watches the memory play out.

"I didn't give my blood to your mother for her to make your family to become monsters." Tatia says and it's odd because it's the same voice, Elena has her voice but they say things differently. Elijah's vampire face isn't new to Elena but they can both sense Tatia's fear and fast heart.

"Elijah? Elijah?" Tatia asks and Elena watches for a moment as his fangs peek out as he speaks.

"Tatia-run. Run." Elijah says and Elena puts herself in between them as Tatia escapes- Elijah collides into her.

"Elijah. Remember when I died, the first time. Remember that." Elena pleads and the scene changes-Tatia is gone and it's a dark night in Mystic Falls. It's so odd to see herself, so scared and worried.

"Why do you want to see this?" She sees Elijah with the haircut he used to have, and she shakes her head.

"I don't want to see this. But you need to see it. Klaus will drain me of all of my blood. I'm going to die in a minute." Elena says and they watch despite how much they want to turn away.

"He took all of my blood. I think your mother took all of Tatia's blood too. Esther couldn't have turned you into vampires with such a small amount-if her magic worked like that I wouldn't have died. You can tell me Esher wanted to try and stop Klaus from making hybrids- but that memory felt fake. You know that. Esther lied." Elena moves a hand to his face and he jerk them into a another memory as Klaus lets Elena's body fall to the ground.

Esther's in a different body-she needs to ask about that, but she lies to his face, hand touching his face as she makes him look at her. Elena gasps, looking at how bloody he is, the chains attached to the wall holding him in place, the hunger in his eyes, and the stone structure they're in. It's a mausoleum, Elena wonders whose it is and how long Esther spend setting up and setting candles on fire, because they're everywhere. Esher talks and Elijah tries to block most of it out, but he can only do so much.

"She lied. She lied. Remember the truth." Elena says and they're out of his head, Elena feels blood trailing from her nose to her lip, wet and metallic. Elijah looks composed again deep in his thoughts, like he's miles away even though the distance between them is just a few inches.

"Elijah?" Elena murmurs. Elijah's quiet for a few moments and she carefully takes his hand in hers. Elijah's hand is lax against hers and she can hear movement in the kitchen, Klaus is pacing and there's talking she doesn't want to focus on. Elijah's fingers move and he holds her hand as she looks at him.

"There's something wrong with each memory. Thank you for helping me see that." Elijah sounds like how he usually does, warm but composed. Elena relaxes and he offers her a handkerchief. Elena wipes the blood off her face and holds it in her empty hand.

"Elijah. You said you were worried about losing me. I'm your friend. I'm always going to be here. Klaus doesn't hate me right now. I'm safe." She tries to be funny but he looks at her with those intense eyes of his, quiet. Elena squeezes his hand. Maybe humor isn't the best approach right now.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. If I had known you were kidnapped I would have been here as soon as possible. But Klaus just called me today and I got on a plane." Elena murmurs and she can see him thinking, she just doesn't know what he's thinking about.

"I'll leave you alone. Caroline can help me figure out if there's a flight back soon." Elena says, moving forward to get up and his grip on her hand increases.

"Stay." He murmurs and she leans her back against the wall again.

"You okay?" Elena asks and he nods. Elena leans her head against his shoulder and sighs quietly.

"Why were you so worried you'd get me killed?" Elena asks and she can feel him tense up.

"Because I care about you. Very much." He murmurs and she moves her head from his shoulder to look at him. His eyes are on her lips and her eyes widen as she understands. Elena moves her lips to his and smiles into the kiss. Things are good. When they break apart, Elijah speaks.

"I love you. I love you because you're Elena. I don't think of Tatia or Katerina when I look at you." He says and she smiles to his confusion.

"I never thought you did." Elena says, and leans forward to kiss him again.