A/N: I am back! I'm really sorry for the late update of this story as well, but please hang tight! Thank you to all my readers and please remember that everything but my own original plot and Elizabeth/Atalanta and other OCs that pop up rightfully belong to their rightful owners. This is a slightly shorter chapter, as I am not that great at in-between plotlines, but please enjoy and support the story!

Chapter 17: Geom: The Sword

"She wasn't looking for a knight

she was looking for a sword."

-atticus

Atalanta was leading both Kol and Rebekah with her towards Pastor Young's residence, as Kol had managed to find a way to track Caroline Forbes.

Turns out, regardless of her endeavors, Caroline had still managed to get herself kidnapped by Pastor Young and the Council members. The moment they saw a truck, Atalanta looked at Kol, causing the vampire to groan before rushing over and flipping the truck and helping out the vampire.

Caroline looked bewildered by everything, especially with the fact that a Mikaelson had just saved her, when she spotted Atalanta. She sagged in slight relief, before stating,

"Oh my God, thank you. But… what happened?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes and stated, "As much as we would like to explain everything, we do not have time for this, sweetheart. Now… run."

Caroline did just that, not wanting to terrify the Original Vampires. Kol chuckled at his sister's feisty attitude, when he saw Atalanta gesture for them to keep on going.

Once they arrived by the barn, they heard Elena fearfully yell for Stefan, and Stefan try to reassure his girlfriend. Atalanta looked around, and satisfied with the lack of too many guards, she stealthily took one out while Kol decided to take this chance to feed.

Rebekah sighed at her brother's antics, but entered the barn and quickly dragged both Stefan and Elena out. Stefan looked confused with everything when he saw Atalanta take out another deputy with finesse.

Just as Damon pulled over with Matt, Pastor Young finally showed himself but remained inside his home.

Pastor Young warily eyed Matt and Atalanta, not knowing her huntress identity, before yelling out,

"Let the two humans go. They're innocent."

Kol laughed disbelievingly at that, but then pulled out Stefan and Elena from behind him, as he responded with,

"I don't think you're in the right condition to bargain with us."

The Pastor remained silent, before whipping out his gun and yelling out again,

"Go away! You are not invited in! And I'm not coming out."

With that, he raised his gun to aim, but that allowed Atalanta to rush forward and knock him down with a tackle. Elena yelped in fear and asked Stefan to save the Pastor, but Kol immediately rushed over and held Stefan back, preventing him from moving. Rebekah did the same with Elena, holding her back while Damon and Matt watched the huntress fight.

She was graceful in the way she attacked the man. Of course, the Pastor landed a punch to Atalanta's stomach, but that did not do much, as the huntress quickly kicked him in the shin and knocked him to his knees. The man grit his teeth, but before anybody could say anything, Atalanta pulled out her signature knife and slit the man's throat deeply.

Without turning back, she walked away from the house, but Damon sighed and stated,

"You're not finishing the job."

With that, Atalanta looked at him before holding his forearm. The next thing they all saw was the house start going into flames. Damon raised an eyebrow at his friend, before swallowing thickly as he saw a glint in his friend's eye.

It was a dangerous look that stated that she had thought and prepared everything beforehand.

Elena could only watch in horror at how brutal the huntress was. Once again, she realized that Elizabeth was not a person to mess with.

A few moments later, the group dispersed, and Kol carried Elizabeth back towards the Mikaelson manor, where Klaus, Finn, and Elijah had been waiting. When they arrived, they had seen that the number of hybrids around the mansion had been dispersed.

Most had left, since Klaus had practically forced them into becoming hybrids, but still, a number had remained, deciding that they would rather stay and help Klaus, even if they were no longer sired. They knew that they had put themselves at risk of getting killed by the Original hybrid and his family, but they couldn't think of a better life where they got to do their job while getting paid.

Now they had a better livelihood where they didn't need to hide who they were. Wasn't that better than hiding like they had used to while barely surviving?

As Elizabeth walked over to Elijah, the vampire rushed over, hugging her tightly, before stating,

"Never do that again."

Elizabeth chuckled a little and answered with,

"I can't promise that to you, Elijah, and you know why."

The second eldest Mikaelson sighed at that, but smiled, keeping an arm wrapped around her waist at all times as the family gathered to plan for their potential encounter with more danger.

Klaus paced the living room as he said,

"I know Tyler is trying to go against me. I know it. But because Elizabeth here asked me not to, I haven't yet slaughtered the lot of them. Hybrids left, our numbers lost, but those remaining keep our family stronger."

Kol rolled his own eyes this time in annoyance and impatience as he retaliated with,

"Why not get rid of Tyler for eternity? He seems to be the root of the problem here. The rest would fall apart."

Elizabeth shook her head and said, "The problem arose with us forcing the hybrids to be created. We needed them to give a choice. Tyler left, but we don't know if he will stop or not. And anyway, something tells me another hunter is on his way here."

Finn looked concerned about this and asked, "Is there a particular concern regarding this hunter?"

Elizabeth nodded and said, "Connor Jordan. He's one of the Five."

Every Mikaelson tensed at that news except for Finn, who had no idea what that meant. But Rebekah incredulously asked,

"One of the Five? We can't kill him. We know what happens if a vampire does."

Elizabeth shrugged and nonchalantly said, "I guess then it either comes to me or Jeremy Gilbert."

Klaus looked at Elizabeth curiously, stopping his pacing, as he asked,

"Why the younger Gilbert, if I may ask?"

Elizabeth quickly answered with, "Based on my research, Connor has been trailing after other members of the Five. And apparently, young Jeremy Gilbert could be one. He just hasn't activated that part of him yet."

Elijah then fixed his suit jacket, stating in concern,

"That means we have to take down Connor before he reaches us here. He will try to eradicate Mystic Falls of all vampires and hybrids alike."

Elizabeth nodded and said, "That's why we kill him before he starts spreading weird rumors and whatnot. He will spread panic and greed all over if we can't stop him."

Kol raised an eyebrow and asked, "Greed?"

Elizabeth looked warily at the Mikaelsons, before whispering, "Silas."

Kol immediately tensed at the name and stood up, pointing a finger at Elizabeth and angrily questioned her with,

"How do you know that name?!"

Elijah rushed over to stand in front of Elizabeth protectively, as he glared at his younger brother. Elizabeth sighed and said,

"I've known about him through research, but I know that someone has been intentionally become involved in that research and moving towards Mystic Falls recently since the incident with you all moving in. I'm assuming that this has some connection to Connor, but I'm not completely sure. All I know is that Silas cannot be awakened. He needs to be destroyed or left alone and never discovered."

Niklaus smirked and said, "Silas is just a fantastical tale created to scare us. He's not real."

Kol shook his head and adamantly replied,

"It is not a story, brother. Silas is very real and you should have a good reason to fear him."

Klaus looked towards Elizabeth, who nodded and he sighed as he unwillingly responded with,

"If you both believe in it, I believe that some research work is indeed needed. And what of this gentleman named, Connor? How do we find him and get the information out of him?"

Elijah fell into deep thought when Kol chuckled hopelessly and said, "Run."

Finn shook his head at that information, as he said, "We've finished running. Look where it led all of us. I've hated my daggered fate, Klaus more spiteful, Elijah on a path of redemption, Kol murderous, and Rebekah into grief of the loss of her humanity. We cannot run anymore. We need to find a way to fight back and never allow this Silas to rise."

Elizabeth pulled out from Elijah's grasp, as she looked towards Kol and said,

"If Connor comes here, he will most likely try to reach out to the council. The most likely location for that would be the Grill. I can stake out there since he wouldn't suspect me. Besides, I'm not sure he is aware that I am on your side."

Elijah shook his head, not liking his woman to go into danger alone, despite knowing her capabilities, as he vehemently rejected the idea. But Kol merely nodded, as he said,

"She knows what she is doing, Elijah. Let her do it. She knows what to do if everything goes south. Besides, none of us can actually kill this Connor folk without falling into the hallucinations and tortures that come with killing one of the Five."

Elijah sighed as Elizabeth gave him a slight peck on the cheek, with a mischievous smirk that reflected Atalanta's danger, as she tried to comfort him with a,

"I'll come back. Trust me."

The noble Original vampire could only look at her with a chagrined look that Klaus would have loved to laugh at, had the situation allowed for it.

With that, a few days passed, and the day arrived when Elizabeth finally spotted the man of interest. He was definitely intimidating as he was a lot taller than her. And as he walked towards the bar, she quickly walked over to Connor, before quickly pulling out her knife, making sure to keep it hidden, but apply enough pressure to his back for him to tense and stop.

She quickly hissed, "We should talk. Outside."

Connor complied, not saying anything. Of course, Elizabeth knew that Damon had noticed that she had been staking out in the Grill and had been curious. But when he saw her drag out Conner from the Grill, he felt conflicted.

Should he follow her and question her actions, or leave her be? But then, Damon decided to ignore the warning bell in his mind to just let her do her own thing, and followed them from a distance. Being a vampire, he just used his heightened hearing to listen in on the conversation.

But all he managed to hear was a man's grunt and the sound of a body getting dragged. And when he rounded the corner that Elizabeth had led the man to, he didn't see anything and cursed himself.

Whatever business Elizabeth had gotten herself dragged to, he knew that he would never learn of it now.

With that, another few days passed, and Caroline's mother had come across a body of a man who had been found at the town's borders. She thought she had seen him at the Grill once, but could not place exactly what had happened. There was no DNA evidence. The exact cause of death was not certain and nobody could definitely state if they had seen anything.

Meanwhile at the Mikaelson residence, Elijah was reading, and Elizabeth was in another corner of the living room, lounging on a cushioned chair. But she had fallen asleep after attempting to read a book, and her head was resting on her shoulder. Klaus had been drawing in a sketchpad when he saw that. And at that moment, he decided to bring out a canvas, and started to trace the rough outlines of Elizabeth resting. Finn saw what his younger brother was doing, and looked over as well, smiling a little at that and enjoying the almost normal and serene family atmosphere.

How long had it been since they had lived like this? Kol, on the other hand, had apparently stepped out and enjoying whatever mischief he was pulling while Rebekah was doing homework on the side with a bored look on her face.

Two hours later, Klaus had managed to finish some decent job of sketching the sleeping figure of Elizabeth, when Elijah quietly asked him,

"Can I take her to our room now, dear brother?"

Klaus hummed in agreement, before lifting the canvas and taking it to his art room. He wanted to keep it a secret for Elizabeth to gift it to her later for everything that she had done. After all, he felt that she was more than just a friend, but now a sister to him.

And like that, the Mikaelsons enjoyed the next few months of peace. And in between those months, Elizabeth had managed to finish her series of online cartoons and garner more money and a stable job.

Elizabeth and Elijah had even managed to hold a more stable relationship, where they had gone away from Mystic Falls from time to time to enjoy a time for themselves (especially with Rebekah's encouragement). In this time, they had managed to grow stronger together and Elijah had even asked Elizabeth to move into the Mikaelson residence for good. Elizabeth wished with everything she had that she could but explained that she still had a lot of business to do before she could. Elijah understood, being the wiser one of the Mikaelsons, and actually strived to achieve to help her with whatever she needed. It involved him to go to silly galas and gatherings like he had used to do with the Strix in the past, for her "day work".

And even then, the Mikaelsons did go travel throughout the world from time to time with Elizabeth in tow, stating that she needed to experience the luxuries of the world. Of course, Elizabeth thought that it was silly of them to think that she should, but she happily went with them. They went to Europe, Asia, and all over, enjoying their peaceful times. Finn especially got to learn more about the modern world and its histories through the various exhibitions and museums he visited with Elizabeth. He treasured these moments with his family too, wishing that it would last. Kol merely escaped from time to time, not wanting to stick around the romance and weird atmosphere that laid around everywhere in his family now.

Of course, Atalanta did make appearances from time to time as she went on hunts and even dragged Kol along with her. But amongst that peaceful time, something stirred in the darkness, and nature had a funny way of retaliating when Jeremy started to show signs of being a hunter, and suddenly, Damon, Stefan Salvatore, Elena, Bonnie, Jeremy, and Caroline had mysteriously disappeared.

And to Elizabeth and the Mikaelson's horror, Silas had made his appearance, with the loss of Jeremy Gilbert's life. But there was something that had slipped through Elizabeth's mind in her days of happiness with Elijah Mikaelson. Hayley had come through town.

And the maelstrom really hit, when Elizabeth scrambled around to help get rid of Silas. He was a menace, but he was also that much stronger. However, she didn't want to directly face him and tried various underhanded ways to destroy him through her connections. But a lot of the people she had talked to returned a negative in their research on this historical figure. Elizabeth hated that at this point of the show in her original realm, she had not really paid attention to the show, as she found the plotline not as interesting as that of the Original's.

And finally, Klaus received the note that would change his life forever: the call to New Orleans. When he had divulged the information to his family and Elizabeth, the huntress froze and asked,

"You're leaving then?"

Klaus looked over to his friend and responded,

"I would like it if you could come with us."

Elizabeth sighed, and said, "I would have to pack everything and go. But because you seem to have everything ready to go, I will follow you not too long. Give me a few weeks."

She paused, looking over to Elijah, a weird sense of dread coming through her, as she whispered,

"You should go with him. He might need your support."

Elijah wanted to argue, but looked at Klaus, who was staring back at him. He knew the look in Niklaus's eyes. It was fear of the unknown. He sighed and pressed his lips gently to Elizabeth's forehead, and said,

"Very well. But know that I will wait for you."

Elizabeth smiled back and nodded. But for some reason, she couldn't help but be unable to shake the dread in the pit of her stomach. Two days later, the Mikaelsons had gone to New Orleans altogether, where Elijah had called Elizabeth who had been packing.

Boxes were strewn everywhere as Elizabeth was trying to pack all her belongings in them, while she said,

"Everything is fine here for now. I'm keeping the house under my name though, just in case. I am thinking of keeping my furniture here though, since we don't know if we will come back."

She said this now, but Elizabeth knew for a fact that she would not be able to return. On the other side of the line, Elijah looked at Hayley, who looked a little wary of her surroundings, still holding her stomach, as he said to Elizabeth,

"I miss you."

Elizabeth smiled widely, as she answered, "I love you too."

Both the huntress and vampire could not help the sense of happiness that flowed through the both of them at each other's proclamation of love for each other. And with that, they spent each day that passed calling each other for at least a short moment, to make sure that they remained updated of the news.

But, of course, when Elijah had stopped receiving her calls, Elizabeth knew exactly what had happened and called Rebekah, only to realize that not only had Elijah been daggered, but Finn and Kol had been as well.

This alarmed Elizabeth more than she liked to admit, but she could not help but decide to wait to actually leave for New Orleans.

And fate had a terrible way of playing with Elizabeth and Elijah, as not too long after Elijah had been daggered, Elizabeth opened her door when there was a knock, to find someone who looked like Stefan Salvatore.

That was when Elizabeth made a fatal mistake and stepped outside of her door, thinking that the vampire in front of her was indeed Stefan, and not Silas himself.

~~ End of Book 1: To Love a Phoenix ~~

A/N: Thank you everyone for your wonderful support and love for this story. I decided to flash forward with the plot and have decided to move onto the sequel of this story for the majority of the fanfic. Since I didn't particular understand nor liked the way the Silas story turned out on the show, plus all the changes I had made in the fanfic, I thought it would be best to do so. The release date is not set yet, but please be on the lookout!

Once again, thank you so much for all the support by reading and following/favoriting this story!