Chapter 59: The Murder of One
October 28, 2010
Ellie barely remembered getting to the Mikaelson mansion. She'd kept going in and out of consciousness as they ran. It was probably for the best. With how fast they were going, she probably would have ended up getting sick. Both she and Elijah had been covered in her blood. While it had been Elijah that had gotten Ellie upstairs and into the bathroom that was in her room, it had been Rebekah to help her get cleaned.
She felt almost drunk, though Rebekah assured her it would fade soon and was mainly caused by the amount of blood she had lost. They'd managed to get Ellie down to her underwear before Ellie decided it was good enough and crawled into the warm bath that Rebekah had drawn. She could remember Rebekah helping her wash her body and her hair as she slipped in and out of consciousness, though it was more because of exhaustion than because of what had happened to her.
Once Rebekah had managed to get Elie's hair dry, they got her into pajamas before Ellie crawled into the bed. She'd pulled Rebekah in as well, though the Original vampire didn't seem to mind. When Elijah came to check on them in the night, he found Ellie and his sister wrapped up tightly together and in a deep sleep. There was something comforting in the fact that Rebekah seemed to care about Ellie as much as he did. Had it not been for Rebekah, Ellie really would have been dead.
When Ellie finally woke, Rebekah was gone from her spot, though it was still warm. "Good morning Sleeping Beauty. Sleep well?" Rebekah asked brightly as she strolled into the room.
"Morning." Ellie replied as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. "What's that?"
"Coffee and breakfast." Rebekah replied as she passed a cup to Ellie before handing her a breakfast sandwich as well.
"Thanks." Ellie said. "Why are you dressed? Are you going somewhere?"
"Well, while you were sleeping, Nik, Elijah, and I decided that we needed to get rid of this stupid link." Rebekah explained.
Ellie blushed at the mention of Elijah, but she nodded as she unwrapped her sandwich. "You're right. It was too close of a call with the whole mess of white oak under the Wickery Bridge. I've seen stuff for unlinking spells in my grimoire, but it might be different from what Esther did."
"We'll get back to that in just a second. Don't think I didn't see that blush little witch." Rebekah grinned as she gave Ellie a look. "Why on earth didn't you tell me you had feelings for Elijah? I mean, I already knew you had feelings for him, but we're supposed to be friends, right? Friends tell their friends when they like someone don't they?"
"Not when it's their friend's brother they don't!" Ellie whined as she tried to hide under the covers.
"Oh no, no, no. No hiding for you." Rebekah replied as she pulled the blanket away. "If it makes you feel any better, Elijah is clearly smitten by you."
Ellie looked skeptical. "What makes you say that?"
"You're joking, right?" Rebekah asked in shock. "You mean other than the way he kissed you last night?"
"Bekah!" Ellie could have sworn her cheeks were on fire with how hot they were.
Rebekah gave her a serious look before she replied, "Ellie, I have known Elijah for over a thousand years. I'm not sure if I've ever seen him so panicked over something happening to someone he cared about. Before you responded, Ellie, he was terrified that he was too late and that you were going to die. If you weren't important to him, he wouldn't have reacted like that."
"He was?"
"Yes." Rebekah said seriously. "Now, you and Elijah can chit chat about your emotions later, but right now you need to get up and get dressed. We have a link to break."
Ellie sighed, but forced herself out of her bed. "By the way, that bed is sinfully soft." She commented idly as she moved over to the dresser. "Where did these clothes come from?"
"I picked them out. I'd seen enough of your fashion sense, so it wasn't particularly hard to guess which kinds of things you'd like." Rebekah informed her as she ate her sandwich.
She turned to face the vampire on the bed and gave her a fond smile. "Thank you. I actually do really like these clothes. You did a good job." Rebekah looked incredibly pleased at the compliment. Once Ellie was dressed, she and Rebekah headed out of her room and went downstairs.
"Good morning sunshine." Klaus replied as he passed a grimoire towards her. "This is my mother's spellbook. That is the unlinking spell. Luckily for you, Kol has always been good with spells and was generous enough to leave a vial of his blood before he skipped town. Of course you have Rebekah, Elijah, and I at your disposal."
Ellie quickly read through the unlinking spell before looking up at the hybrid. "Well, step one is going to be getting Finn's blood. So before we can do that, we're going to have to find him. Unless your mother is cloaking him, finding him should be easy enough with a locator spell. If she is cloaking him, well then we might have a problem."
"Somehow I find it unlikely that Esther would actually care enough to save anyone's ass other than herself." Klaus admitted with a roll of his eyes. "One moment." Klaus produced a large map of Virginia. "I've seen enough of these done that I figured you'd need this. And before you say anything, I figured that Esther and Finn wouldn't run that far if they're still out for blood. They're more than likely in Virginia somewhere."
Ellie and Rebekah shared an impressed look before Ellie nodded. "You're probably right, but by now you guys know the deal. I need some of your blood to find him." Ellie reminded them.
Elijah stepped towards the table and began rolling up his shirt sleeve. She couldn't help but curse her traitorous heart. The moment he moved her pulse skyrocketed and from Klaus' amused grin, all three of them heard it. Elijah took the offered dagger and slid it across his palm before he let the blood spill down on the small printed version of Mystic Falls. "Will that be enough?" Elijah asked. Even his voice had her heart hammering.
"Yes." She replied as she carefully kept her voice controlled. She didn't need to be distracted by him when this was something vital that she needed to do correctly. "Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem." The blood travelled across the map. As it landed in Richmond, Ellie felt no resistance.
"He's there?" Elijah asked.
Nodding, she replied, "I didn't feel any kind of pushback when I did the spell. So either Esther cloaked him so flawlessly that it doesn't even feel like a cloak, or he's not protected."
"Well, while Esther is probably capable of pulling off magic like that, I'm pretty sure he's just not protected." Rebekah informed her as she made a face. "Well, looks like we've got a road trip ahead of us."
"But how are we going to get him back here?" Ellie questioned.
"A simple snap of the neck should take him down." Rebekah replied.
"But if his neck is snapped, does that mean all of your necks get snapped?"
Elijah was wiping his hand to get rid of the remaining blood as he commented, "There is a chance that will happen. We'll have to get Finn back here without risking that."
Klaus rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll just rough him up a little bit. Worry not brother, Rebekah and I can handle this." Ellie made a face to which Klaus grinned wickedly. "Oh come now, Rebekah and I can handle Finn. Right Rebekah?"
"Of course, we can." Rebekah agreed. "Plus, there's another thing I can do that will guarantee our darling big brother's cooperation."
"Little witch, you and Elijah stay here and start prepping for whatever it is you're going to need to do the spell. We'll be back in a bit. It's not like Richmond is terribly far." Klaus told them.
She felt slightly panicked as Klaus and Rebekah pulled on their coats. Rebekah, however, looked incredibly smug and was grinning at Klaus. "We'll see you two later. Have fun." The blonde said before she winked at Ellie and turned on her heel to head for the garage.
Once the two of them were gone, Ellie felt like her heartbeat was echoing around the room. While that probably wasn't true, Elijah could probably still hear it. She turned towards him and it only seemed to make the matter of her erratic heart worse. He'd always looked good, but after what had happened it was like that was amplified somehow. It seemed like Elijah was going to have to make the first move if they didn't want to be stuck in an awkward middle ground.
He observed her for a moment. Her cheeks were flushed red and he could have heard her heart from a mile away. It was clear that she wasn't sure how to act around him now, but he didn't know if that was because he had made a mistake or not. "Eleanor." He said softly. "Can we talk?"
She swallowed hard before she met his eye. "Yes, of course we can."
Elijah led her into the living room and she was acutely aware of the heat from his hand on the small of her back. They sat and Elijah caught her eye once more before he spoke. "I just want to apologize if my actions last night offended you." He said carefully. He didn't regret kissing her, but he would regret it if it was something that she didn't want.
Her expression immediately shifted to one of confusion. "Wait, what? Did you not want to… what?" She asked, clearly baffled. "Did you not…"
She stumbled over her words, but despite that, it told him a great deal. "I don't regret kissing you." He assured her and tension drained from her shoulders. "Last night, when Rebekah called me, I panicked. When I realized you were going to be alright… I didn't think about my actions before I acted upon my desire. Had the circumstances been different I would have made sure that it was alright with you before I did anything."
Realizing that he'd been concerned about her consent instead of regretting that he kissed her was a beautiful relief. "It was alright with me." She said softly as her cheeks burned. "I just didn't realize that…"
"Neither did I. At least, I was trying to prevent it." Elijah confessed.
"Why?"
Elijah sighed heavily before he reached out and tentatively took her hand. He gave her plenty of time to pull away and when she didn't, he held her hand a bit more firmly. "Eleanor, when I was a human, I fell in love with Tatia and she looked just like you. She used both Niklaus and I, never choosing between us. When Katerina was brought to me, I made the mistake of letting myself feel for her. After she fled, I swore that I would never allow myself to feel for a doppelgänger again. And then I met you."
She flexed her fingers in his hold. He seemed to be taking his time as he figured out what he wanted to say. It actually felt that they were on even ground for this one. He seemed just as unsure of what was happening between them as she was. "Elijah…"
"Eleanor, when I met you, I was still holding on to that determination to not let myself feel for a doppelgänger again. Then I got to know you and found myself caring for you more than I have cared for anyone in a long time. When Rebekah called me last night, I can't even remember the last time I felt fear like that. You are the most magnificent woman I have ever met and I don't regret what I feel for you. I don't think I could change it even if I tried."
His expression was soft and open and Ellie felt her heart doing flips in her chest. "How am I supposed to follow that up?" She asked and Elijah chuckled in amusement. "Elijah, I've never felt this way about anyone before. I've never… well I've never done this before. But being around you makes my heart feel like it's about to beat out of my chest, which I'm sure you've heard which is both incredibly nerve wracking and a little embarrassing. But either way, I don't think I could change the way I felt about you either."
"Is that right?" He asked, though he was smiling softly now.
"That's right." She confirmed. "I don't know what happens next, but I'd really like to find out." She confessed.
Was her heart still beating or had it stopped entirely? She wasn't sure anymore. "Eleanor."
"Mmhmm?"
"May I kiss you?"
She was positive her heart had stopped by now. He looked so sincere and open as he waited for her response. "I would like that very much." She replied.
He leaned in slowly, giving her time to move away if she were to change her mind, and when she didn't he closed the gap. It was soft and slow just like it had been before. But this time she was more awake and the butterflies in her stomach were restless. It was when he deepened the kiss, however, that her nerves subsided. She knew it was cheesy, but it felt like that was where she was supposed to be. She moved forward, getting into his space as his hand wrapped around the back of her throat and pulled her in closer.
Ellie's hand made it's way up into his hair as her other hand grabbed a hold of his shirt. She finally understood what all the fuss was about. When Caroline had her first kiss, she went on about it for ages. Ellie had thought she was just being over dramatic, but if Caroline's first kiss had felt anything like this, it made sense now. He was the one to finally break the kiss, but she followed him. Elijah was grinning as he kissed her again. The second kiss was a quick but firm one.
When he tried to pull away again, she let him. Her eyes were wide and a bit darker than they usually were. "You are beautiful." He told her honestly.
"I.. um… we should get to work on getting ready to do the unlinking spell." Ellie replied.
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and nodded. "Of course."
Ellie had sensed the arrival of Rebekah and Klaus as they pulled up in the drive. "They're back." Ellie informed him. When Rebekah had given the word that they were almost back to Mystic Falls, she'd also gathered a little surprise for her older brother. The surprise in mention was currently waiting upstairs.
There was a heavy thud as Finn was thrown into the main foyer. "Hello my favorite witch." Rebekah called in greeting as Ellie and Elijah entered the room. "Let's get his blood and get on with it."
"You can't force me to help you." Finn said angrily.
"Oh, I most likely could." Klaus replied easily. "But why force when I can persuade?"
Klaus held his hand out and Sage appeared at the top of the steps. Ellie watched with interest as the dark haired vampire only had eyes for Finn. "Hello, Finn." She greeted. Her voice was warm and her eyes were bright. The sassy vampire Ellie had met at the bridge was replaced with a woman clearly still in love.
"Sage!" Finn scrambled to his feet as Sage started to rush down the stairs. Sage was positively beaming as she pulled him into a hug.
"What do you know? True love prevails." Rebekah said sarcastically.
"It does occasionally have it's uses." Klaus agreed. "Easier than torturing him."
"I have something to do." Rebekah informed them before looking between Ellie and Klaus. "What do you need from me for this spell?"
"Just your blood and your blessing. Where are you going?" Klaus inquired.
Rebekah sent Ellie a wicked smile. "I have some unfinished business with Damon Salvatore. Ask Sage what he did to me. And you'll understand why retribution is in order." She strolled out of the room with purpose, and Ellie almost felt bad for Damon.
The three of them turned to look at Sage and Finn. The duo seemed completely absorbed in one another. "Now, dear brother, would you be so kind as to give the lovely Ellie a bit of your blood? Or do you still want to die after being reunited with the love of your life?" Klaus asked casually.
Finn turned to look at them. He was clearly conflicted but when Sage ran her thumb over his cheek and when he saw the expression of pure adoration on her face, he sighed. "How much do you need?" He asked Ellie.
It was fascinating how different he was now compared to the way he'd been when Esther was trying to kill them all. "Just a vial full." Ellie assured him.
"You got it." Sage agreed. She held Finn's hand tightly as they followed Ellie into another room.
Klaus produced a vial, though Ellie wasn't sure where he got it from, and he held it out to his brother. "Here we are."
Sage took the blade that Elijah offered her and the three of them watched as Sage carefully cut into Finn's palm. Once the vial was filled Sage cleaned his hand and the vial was returned to Klaus who put a stopper in it. "If you three wouldn't mind, I'd like to take Finn to actually experience this millennium." Sage told them, though she didn't sound as nearly unkind as she had when she and Rebekah talked yesterday.
"No problem." Ellie replied before Klaus or Elijah could say anything. "But, before you go, do you mind telling me what exactly Damon Salvatore did to incur Rebekah's wrath?"
"He made the mistake of sleeping with her to get information out of her. Well, I might have given him the idea so that I could get inside her head. But she seems to have forgiven me since I made sure the wood burned." Sage confessed. "I can't imagine she's going to go easy on him. I think he hurt her feelings."
Klaus chuckled to himself. "Well, that explains it. Go on, have your little date. I have what I need from you." The couple quickly exited the room and it was only a moment before they were gone. "Well, might as well get our blood now. You can get Rebekah's when she returns." He passed a vial to Elijah and she watched as the two of them filled them without flinching. "Now, to summon the Bennett witch."
"What?" Ellie said as she grabbed his arm. "What? No, why?"
"It is her bloodline that Esther drew power from. It's her fault that my family nearly died." Klaus explained.
"No it isn't." Ellie shot back. "Bonnie had no choice in what Esther did. Esther had been working with Bonnie's ancestors on the other side for a thousand years. There was nothing Bonnie could have done about that. She's already had enough done to her because of vampire business. Klaus, she already lost her Grams and her mom got killed because of this. Don't drag her into this."
Ellie shot a pleading look to Elijah. He stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on her back. "She's right, Niklaus. The Bennett witch is not necessary. She should have more than enough capability of doing this herself. At the very least, we should let her try." He agreed.
Klaus looked between them and sighed heavily. "I feel like you two together is something that I'm going to regret. But fine, fine, you can try. But if you fail I will make sure the Bennett witch does as she's told."
"Don't threaten me, Klaus." Ellie said sharply. "Have I ever failed on what you've asked of me? Do you think I wouldn't be able to finish something this important?"
He held his hands up placatingly. "Alright, alright. I apologize." He replied. "Now, with that all settled, I have things to attend to."
Once he was gone, Ellie made her way over to the grimoire that had belonged to Esther. She had been reading through it once more as Elijah read over her shoulder. They weren't quite touching, but the proximity felt incredibly nice and surprisingly comfortable. Their peace was disrupted by the sound of Rebekah huffing. It sounded like she was dragging something heavy. They walked out to find her dragging an unconscious Damon into an empty room. "Do I want to know?" Ellie asked.
"Probably not." Rebekah replied as she set down the bag she was also holding. "But, if you must know, this is my retribution." Ellie's eyes widened as Rebekah pulled out several bear traps. "Ellie, be a dear would you and go get one of those tarps that got left behind from when Klaus was having the house built please."
"Um… sure." Ellie agreed somewhat hesitantly. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. By the time she had returned, Rebekah had already strung the bear traps from the ceiling and had sunk the traps into Damon's wrists. "Oh thank god I missed that part." Ellie winced.
"Didn't figure you'd want to see that bit." Rebekah confessed. "Help me spread the tarp please."
Once the tarp was spread, Ellie walked back to Elijah. They both eyed the blonde wearily. "Rebekah, are you sure this is wise?" Elijah asked.
"I'm sure you already know what he did. Otherwise you would have stopped me. So yes, I do think this is wise." Rebekah replied.
"Where did you even find those things, Rebekah?" Ellie asked.
"I found them in the shed." Rebekah informed her as she adjusted the trap on Damon's wrist, causing him to groan in pain. "What kind of monster would trap a poor, defenseless animal?"
Damon seemed to have come to as he looked at the traps. "Got to admit, even for me, it's a little kinky."
"You pretended to be interested in me." Rebekah reminded him as she pulled out a blade from her bag. "And then you slept with me so your trampy friend Sage could steal my thoughts. Ever since then, I've felt this incessant need to one up you. So I've decided to bleed the vervain from your system."
Rebekah ripped Damon's shirt open and he just smirked at her. "Ooooh." He sassed. He looked unafraid and unbothered. But if there was anything that Ellie had learned about Rebekah, it was that Klaus was right and she was a petty little thing. Damon was definitely going to regret screwing her over. Rebekah slid the blade over Damon's chest and he groaned lowly as the blood spilled. "You want to compel me to be your boyfriend?" He asked sarcastically.
"Actually, I'd rather compel you to kill your brother." Rebekah shot back. "Or Elena. But, since vampires heal, bleeding you may take a while. We should probably stick to the major arteries." She slid the blade across his throat and Damon was breathing heavily as he tried his best to not react.
Once he'd had a moment to recover, Damon scoffed. "There's no way Sabrina would let you do that." He said confidently. "She and Stefan bonded during their little summer vacation with your brother. And there's no way she'd let you kill Elena."
Rebekah smiled darkly at him. "Hmm, maybe you're right. But she's not stopping me from bleeding you dry, now is she? I think you've forgotten all the nasty things you've done to the people she cares about. Maybe I can't make you kill Stefan or Elena. Maybe she won't let me. But she would let me make you suffer. Otherwise she already would have stepped in."
Ellie felt uncomfortable with them talking about her right in front of her. Elijah, who seemed to know her far better than she realized, placed a comforting hand on her. She could feel his thumb tracing soothing patterns on her back. "Well, look what you caught." Klaus said casually as he strolled in. "If you're trying to bleed him of vervain, don't you think it would be easier to hang him upside down?"
"I'm perfectly capable of inflicting pain, thank you very much." Rebekah sassed.
"Oh, well, excuse me. It's not like I have any expertise in the matter." Klaus replied.
"Plus, I'm pretty sure she's not in a rush." Ellie added to which Rebekah nodded in agreement.
"You know, why don't you just leave me be and go and get things done?" Rebekah suggested.
Klaus gave her an unimpressed look. "Well, we happen to need a small donation from you to do so." He reminded her. "So come along and then you can get back to your torture."
Rebekah sighed, but nodded. "Fine, I'm coming, but first." She turned and slit Damon's throat, deeper than before. Ellie flinched slightly when he started to choke on his blood. "That should keep him busy until we're done." The four of them walked back into the room where Esther's grimoire was. It didn't take long for Rebekah to make her donation and once it was done, she grinned at them. "Well, I should get back to what I was doing. Have fun."
"I'll be back in a bit. Get to work, love." Klaus instructed as he left Ellie and Elijah alone.
"What else do you need for the spell?" Elijah inquired.
Ellie glanced at the spell before replying, "Candles. The more you can find the better." Elijah seemed to know where to find them, because he moved with purpose. Damon let out a pained groan from the other room and Ellie closed her eyes as she tried to not let it get to her.
"Eleanor?" Elijah asked. He was standing in front of her and the candles he had gathered were placed on the table. "Are you alright?"
"Am I a bad person?" She questioned.
It obviously caught him by surprise with the way he frowned. "Why on earth would you think something like that?"
"Damon is in the room over getting tortured and I'm just standing here and letting it happen." Ellie explained. "What kind of person does that if they're supposedly a good person?"
Elijah carefully cupped her face to get her to look at him. "You aren't 'supposedly' a good person. You are a good person. You've said it yourself that you aren't very fond of Damon. He's done a lot of bad things to people you care about. There's resentment there, which is entirely understandable. You've seen me and my siblings do bad things to vampires before, and you've seen more deaths than I would have liked. So why is it that his torture is bothering you so much?"
She took a moment to actually think about it. He was right. By now, she'd seen and heard more death and torture than she'd ever wanted to. But he was right, she was not particularly fond of Damon. In fact, she'd been more fond of the werewolves that she'd barely known than she was of him. So why was she so upset? "He's Stefan's brother." She finally replied. "I owe Stefan a lot, and I kind of feel like I'm letting him down or something by not looking out for his brother like he looks out for Elena."
"Would it ease your mind if I give you my word that I won't let her kill him?" Elijah asked. "I won't let her do anything that he can't heal from."
Ellie let herself relax. "That does make me feel better actually."
He grinned at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Good. Now is there anything else you need?"
"I think I've got everything." She assured him.
Elijah took a good look at her. Something was still bothering her, but he wasn't sure if it was still related to the Salvatore that his sister had strung up in the other room. "What is it? There's something else on your mind."
Her cheeks filled with heat, and she laughed slightly at herself. "It's just uh… is that stuff we do now? The casual touching and kissing and stuff?" She refused to meet his eye as she shook her head. "Nevermind just forget that I said anything I'm just being stupid."
"You're not being stupid." He replied immediately. "Look at me." It took a second for her to gather her courage to meet his gaze. "If it is something you want, I would definitely enjoy casual touching and kissing and stuff."
She laughed at the way he said it, though that was exactly what he wanted. He understood why she was a ball of nerves, she'd never done any of this before. "I would like that." She admitted.
The preparation for the unlinking spell took longer than she expected it to, though she was occasionally distracted by the sounds Damon was making. Elijah stayed with her the whole time and once her nerves subsided, his presence was incredibly calming. "What is taking so long?" Klaus huffed as he walked into the room. "Is it done yet?"
"Would you chill? I'm getting there. This is a complicated spell and I'm having to undo the work of a thousand year old witch who probably had thousands of witches backing her up when she cast it." Ellie shot back. "If you want to actually be useful, start the fireplace up for me. The more fire I can channel the better."
Klaus complied obediently as Ellie lit the candles with a wave of her hand. "You couldn't have just done that for the fireplace?" Klaus scoffed.
"Oh, I could have, but I wanted to make you do it."
Elijah chuckled as Klaus glared at her. "Cheeky little witch." Klaus replied, though he seemed more amused than annoyed. "Are we ready now?"
"Yes, we're ready now. I'm just a little worried about not having enough power to do it." Ellie confessed.
"You do." Elijah told her with confidence.
"He's right." Klaus agreed. "And, even if you didn't, you could always channel us could you not?"
That seemed to be the reminder she needed to ease her nerves. "You're right." She took the box that held the vials of blood and carefully poured each one onto the table. Once she emptied the contents of the last vial, she held her hands out towards them and began to chant. "Phasmatos Ex Solves, Exis Paunos Animotos. Phasmatos De Conjunctos, Sua Facto Dux Male. Phasmatos Ex Solves, Exis Paunos Animotos. Phasmatos De Conjunctos, Sua Facto Dux Male." The candles shot up high as the five pools of blood began to separate.
She could feel the shift like something had snapped and the candles went back to their normal heights. "Is it done?" Klaus asked as he and Elijah stepped closer.
"It's done." She confirmed. She felt a little drained, but it wasn't nearly as bad as she'd expected it to be.
Klaus brightened immediately. "Well, I think this is cause for a celebration! Come, let's get a drink."
They followed Klaus into the main foyer as Rebekah emerged from her torture room. "So is it fixed now?" Rebekah asked curiously as she wiped the blood off her hands.
"Yeah." Ellie confirmed.
"Brilliant! Excellent work, Ellie." Rebekah praised.
"Ellie…" She could just barely hear Damon call her name. He was far bloodier than he'd been before and his cockiness was nowhere to be found.
She tensed, and her stomach dropped at the sight. She reached out without thinking and took a hold of Elijah's hand. He immediately turned to her and with one look at her expression, he knew that the sight before her was hard to swallow. "Come, let's get that drink." He suggested and she allowed him to lead her up the stairs towards one of Klaus' studies.
Klaus watched the two of them with interest. Obviously, Elijah's panicked kiss hadn't simply been a one time thing, though if he had to guess that had probably been the first time. Part of him didn't like it. Most of the people that his siblings had been interested in at one point or another were unworthy of them, though his siblings never seemed to agree with him on that.
Ellie however was different. She was his comrade. If he were honest, he genuinely considered her a friend. Unlike the others in this wretched town, she'd never betrayed him. She also seemed to genuinely get on well with his siblings, and Rebekah had never liked any of the former doppelgängers. So her gaining Rebekah's stamp of approval was a miracle in and of itself.
He didn't miss the way that Ellie was still holding onto Elijah's hand tightly. When they got to the study, Elijah only let go of her hand to pour them all drinks. At the very least, he understood that she was holding his hand for comfort. She never did very well with violence and it seemed that even when she hated the person, she still didn't enjoy seeing them suffer. He wondered if that would change over time. "If it makes you feel better, text one of your friends." Elijah suggested softly. "Let them know he's here."
"But it'll make Rebekah mad." Ellie replied.
"She's had her fun with him. She'll get over it." Klaus assured her. "She seems a bit fond of you, so if you told her you haven't the stomach for it, she'd probably understand once she was done being mad."
Ellie took the drink that Elijah offered her and downed it. "You're right. I just hope she's not too mad at me." She quickly sent a text to Stefan to let him know. He didn't respond, but she was fairly certain he'd gotten the message. Rebekah had joined them in the study for drinks, and seemed to be in an incredibly pleasant mood.
After a while of easy conversation, Ellie tensed and straightened in her seat. "What is it?" Rebekah asked.
"Stefan's here."
Her announcement was immediately followed by Stefan's voice coming from downstairs. "Klaus! I'm here!" The four of them made their way down the stairs and as they entered the room, Stefan added, "Let's do this."
"Oh, good, a hero." Klaus said sarcastically. Ellie immediately noticed the duffle bag that Stefan was holding, but she didn't know what it was for. "What do you want?"
Stefan tossed the bag to their feet. "I'm here to make a deal." Ellie knew the tone of his voice. It was the same tone he used when Klaus had made him do things he hadn't wanted to do. This was the voice of Stefan when he was willing to do whatever he had to do. It was unnervingly similar to the way he spoke when his humanity was off.
"Stefan, what are you doing?" Damon asked tiredly.
"Eight stakes, made of white oak."
"White oak?" Ellie asked as her eyes went wide.
Stefan nodded. "The part of Wickery Bridge you forgot to burn." He explained.
Rebekah looked shocked as she replied, "That's impossible."
"Actually, it's not." Stefan informed her. "Finn's dead."
Ellie's jaw dropped at his admission and her hand reached out to take Elijah's. "You killed my brother?" Rebekah asked. Her tone was carefully controlled, but her voice still shook slightly and gave away her rage. With her free hand, Ellie reached out for Rebekah as well. Unlike Elijah, who was holding her hand gently, Rebekah was holding her hand so tightly she was worried it would bruise.
Stefan stepped towards Klaus and said, "Damon in exchange for the last eight weapons that could kill you."
"And how do I know that there aren't any more left?" Klaus asked.
"Because there aren't."
"Let's be certain shall we?" Klaus walked over to Damon and said, "Leave."
"No." Damon replied without looking at him.
"Go on, leave." Klaus instructed.
Rebekah made a face and said, "Nik, he's my play thing not yours."
When Damon still didn't move, Klaus shot his hand out, wrapping it around Damon's throat. "I said go home." He hissed. Damon took a deep breath to brace himself before he started to pull against the bear traps. The blood spilled from his wrists as he groaned in pain, but he couldn't stop himself. Ellie looked away, her gaze locked onto Stefan who looked like he was in pain watching Damon suffer. The sound of flesh ripping was just barely covered by the sound of Damon screaming and Ellie felt like she was going to throw up at the sight.
"Klaus…" Ellie called.
He could see her discomfort all over her face and sighed before smiling at Damon, "Alright, stop. Stop, stop before you hurt yourself." Klaus chuckled at the sight before him even though Ellie looked a little sick. "Wow. I see that you can finally be compelled. Now…" Klaus carefully stepped around the pool of blood to get in Damon's face. He tilted Damon's head down so that he could look him in the eye. "Minus the stake that's in my brother, how many more stakes are out there that can kill me?"
Damon panted before he replied, "Eleven."
"Eleven! Really?" Klaus asked. "So not eight, then."
"You really shouldn't have lied." Rebekah drawled, her tone was casual, but her grip was still bruising on Ellie's hand.
"I'll get you the other three." Stefan told them.
"Yeah, that would be nice. Or since you lied, maybe I'll just compel your brother to chew out his own tongue." Klaus suggested.
Stefan looked disgusted. "What is wrong with you?"
"What is wrong with you?" Klaus shouted back. "Do you really have no appreciation for me? I have given you someone to hate; to loathe, a target for all of your anger. So you don't have to turn it on yourself. I have given your life purpose as your friend." Klaus laughed before he continued. "I really think you should be thanking me." In an instant, Stefan lunged, slamming Klaus into a wall with a white oak stake held high above them. Klaus held him off with ease, before warning him, "Step down or you'll both die."
"Stefan…" Ellie called. She caught his attention and he turned his head towards her. "After everything you've done for him, don't do something so stupid that it gets you both killed. Not after everything." The Mikaelson siblings picked up on the fact that there seemed to be something that she wasn't saying, but it was something Stefan seemed to understand all the same.
He was shaking as he eased off and allowed Klaus to take the stake from his hands. "There. Now you'll only have to get me the other two."
Rebekah finally released Ellie's hand as she walked towards Damon. "This is ridiculous."
Ellie flexed her hand as she tried to regain feeling in it. "What are you doing?" Klaus asked.
The other girl unlocked the first bear trap and Damon swung slightly as his weight was put all on one arm. When she undid the other one, he dropped heavily to the ground. "I brought him here. I get to release him. My rules now. Bring us the stakes and you both live. Take your brother as a sign of good faith."
She took the bag of stakes and strolled out of the room. Stefan turned to look at Klaus and Klaus just shrugged. "Bring us the stakes. All of them, or I'll rage a war against everyone you love. I hope I'm being clear."
"Go." Ellie told Elijah softly. "Give us a minute."
He seemed to understand and left the room without a word. Ellie walked towards where Damon had collapsed and felt a pang of regret when he flinched away from her. "What are you doing?" He asked groggily but despite his disoriented state, he was still conscious enough to seem wary of her.
"Trying to help." Ellie replied. "Apparently, even when it's you, there's only so much of your suffering that I can take."
"How long did you know where he was before you told me?" Stefan asked as he stepped beside Damon. "Ellie, how long?"
She sighed heavily before confessing, "I've known where he was since the moment he arrived."
Stefan looked hurt at her confession. "How could you do that Ellie?"
"Because I was angry!" She practically shouted. "Stefan there was never any consequence to all the things that he's done and I wanted to see him suffer ok? How is that any different than your rageaholic suicide mission to kill Klaus?"
"Klaus has done nothing but cause us suffering!" Stefan hissed back.
"So has Damon! Just because Elena seems to have gotten over it doesn't mean I did! He took my brother away from me Stefan! Just because Elena wanted him to! No one has ever given a single fucking thought to the aftermath of the stupid shit they do. People I loved have died because of him Stefan, are you really surprised that I wanted him to suffer?" Ellie asked.
Her breathing was heavy as she tried to keep her magic in check. "He's my brother, Ellie."
"Which is exactly why I texted you. He suffered, ok? I think he deserved it, but even still I couldn't have handled it if I let him die. I wish I had the ability to just turn it off sometimes Stefan. I wish I had the ability to let him die for the things he's done and not feel bad about it. But he's your brother, and you're important to me and he's important to you." Ellie replied. "I owe it to you to keep him alive, even if I'm not fond of him. Stefan, please." Ellie managed to catch his eye. "Let me help."
Stefan seemed to understand and nodded. "Ok, just help me get him up. I drove here." Ellie muttered under her breath and Damon groaned heavily as his body put itself back together. Once Damon no longer looked to be on the verge of passing out, Ellie ducked down and slung Damon's arm over her shoulder before Stefan helped pull them up and pulled Damon's other arm over his shoulders.
Once Damon was in the car, Ellie looked over to Stefan. "Stefan are we…"
He moved towards her, pulling her into a hug that she hadn't known that she needed. "He's gonna be ok. I just need to get him home." Ellie felt like crying. "We're ok, Ellie. I get it, I really do."
She sighed heavily and hugged him tightly before letting him go. There was more she wanted to say and she definitely wanted to talk about what on earth he was thinking trying to kill an Original, but now wasn't the time. Instead, she backed away and allowed Stefan to get in the car and leave.
Author's Note:
A lot of innocent moments this chapter as Ellie and Elijah kind of figure out where they stand. Did you guys enjoy it? As always, please leave a review and let me know your thoughts!
To Rose1414: I'm glad you enjoyed it!
To Daynesky: It really was pretty angsty wasn't it lol. Telling Elena off is so much fun. I'm so glad you think the progression was natural, that's something I really wanted to do right.
To chelsnichole12: Thank you so much for enjoying this story and reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter!
To xenocanaan: Lol, I knew you're one of my hardcore KolxEllie shippers, so it's fair that you're a bit disappointed. If it makes you feel better. There's this one Stranger Things fic I'm reading and all I want is for it to be OCxBilly but it's an OCxSteve and it hurts my heart even though I love Steve lol. Speaking of Ellie and Damon, she finally kind of let her rage get the best of her for a bit, though she didn't have much of a stomach for it. I think it will help her kind of get past what he's done though.
To Qewbix: Elena getting neither Salvatore is actually a really interesting thought. To the people that read through my responses to other people, would you guys like for Elena to not get either of them? And no it's not sad, she doesn't deserve them.
To brigitm28: I totally agree, he might be an ass sometimes, but Damon has an insane amount of control, nine times out of ten. There are some times where he goes too far, but that doesn't send him into a spiral. Would you like for Damon and Ellie to get closer and be more friendly with one another? Lol getting a job is a good idea. I haven't watched the last episode of WandaVision yet, so I've basically stayed off social media so I don't get spoilers.
To lolistarkiller: Seeing your favorites updated is always a good day, and I'm honored to be one of your favorites lol. He really did need a kick in the pants and now they're kind of working through where they stand now.
To flawsome4ever: They really are quite protective of her.
To Guest: Writing Ellie with any of the Mikaelsons is always so much fun because they have such complex personalities. I'm so glad you liked it!
To AdiraBraelynn: Lol yes! Romantic and bloody indeed! That really must have been one hell of a high. Nearly died and get a kiss from one hot as hell Original? I don't know if I would have survived. Yes, besties that help each other are superior. Honestly, are you really friends if you don't go 'sounds stupid but alright'. Damon and Ellie last chapter, kind of friendly. This chapter, her rage gets the best of her. While she wasn't ok with how they got Jeremy out, with the threat of Esther, she really doesn't think it's safe for him right now. So it'll be more along the lines of the TVD plot for his return. Jenna, I think, would understand that it wasn't really Alaric and part of her is always going to care about him even if they don't get back together. Caroline and Jenna and Kat are definitely going to be so smug lol.
To RiRi: He really did! Caroline would have lost it in excitement! I'm glad I caught you by surprise! Did you enjoy them together this chapter? The ship is sailing!
-Madame Magic
Posted: 3/6/21