OMG GUYS IM SO SORRY! I accidentally posted a chapter for one of my other fics, thank you so much guest for letting me know! I'm so sorry for the confusion! *facepalm*
"This place is beautiful." Elena murmured, gazing around at the overlooking balconies, and admiring the statues that adorned the alter. "It doesn't seem right that it's so empty in here."
"There was a massacre." Marcel said softly, taking a seat in one of the middle pews. "One of the seminary students lost his mind, killed nine other students and then himself."
"Wow." Elena pursed her lips and nodded slightly, sitting down in the pew across the aisle from Marcel's. "That's dark."
"You could say that." Marcel shrugged slightly, tilting his head as he considered the girl in front of him. "I'm sure the families would agree with the sentiment, even if they don't the wording." He added as an afterthought.
Elena let out a soft laugh, shaking her head slightly. "I guess that's true, I'm not always the most sensitive."
"That surprises me." Marcel remarked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I used to be." She shrugged slightly, taking a breath and glancing around their surroundings before looking back at Marcel. "Once upon a time."
"What happened?" He prodded softly, a frown marring his features.
"I cared too much." Elena muttered, after several moments of deliberation. "It burned a bit too closely, I guess."
"Is that why you turned off your humanity?"
Elena looked at him in surprise, a deliberately vacant look settling over her face a second later.
"I've been a vampire a while, Elena, after some time you learn how to tell the difference." Marcel explained, answering her unasked question.
"If you know then why are you asking so many questions about my feelings?" She sneered the last word, grimacing at the very thought of the things tucked away so very neatly.
"I was trying to get a feel of you as a person." He shrugged, tilting his head at her curiously when she rolled her eyes and stood up from her pew.
"It was nice to meet you, Marcel, but I'm pretty sick of being manipulated nowadays, so if you'll excuse me." Elena quipped, turning her back on the vampire with a sharp movement, her hair flicking behind her.
"Stay."
Elena rolled her eyes again, not bothering to turn and look at the vampire behind her. "I'm good thanks." She huffed, pulling the handle of the church door; frowning when it wouldn't open.
"I'm afraid that wasn't a request, Elena." Marcel clarified, standing from his seat as the brunette turned to face him, her lips pursed and eyes narrowed.
"You think you can keep me here?" She scoffed, her body tensing as she assessed the man in front of her, she wasn't sure how well she'd come off in a fight, but she'd be damned if she made it easy for him.
"I don't have to." Marcel shrugged, ghosting to Elena's side as her eyes rolled back into her head and catching her as she fell. "Davina's got that covered." He muttered to himself, manoeuvring the unconscious girl into his arms.
"What do you mean, 'she left'?" Rebekah asked, glaring at her older brother, hands on her hips as she stared him down over his desk. "You let her leave?"
"I cannot control her, Rebekah." Elijah sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his brow tiredly. His skin was pale and clammy as he looked back at Rebekah with lidded eyes. "I found I did not have the energy to stop her." He admitted, watching as his little sister's gaze softened and her body relaxed as the anger seeped out of her.
"You still haven't told Nik." She said softly, relaxing into an armchair.
"Neither have you." Elijah returned. "I believe our reasons are somewhat similar."
"He could know something, Elijah."
Elijah let out another soft sigh, regarding her with a pensive expression. "He could," he said eventually, "but the risk of him acting out is too great, relations here are already on tenterhooks."
"We can deal with Nik." Rebekah reassured him softly. "He knows how important this city is."
"I fear Niklaus is not as cautious as you or I."
"He'd move heaven to help you, Elijah." She said, smiling at him sadly. "He loves you. Love isn't a weakness, despite what you and Nik believe. In fact, I think it might be just what you need."
"I've always admired your faith in our family." Elijah smiled at his sister, running a hand through his hair. "Even if I fear it may be misplaced."
Rebekah let out a soft laugh, shaking her head slightly. "How long has she been gone?"
"An hour," Elijah sighed, "maybe two."
"And you're not worried about her?"
Elijah shrugged, finding himself acting more and more out of character as the days wore on since he'd become ill. "Elena is a grown woman, she can make her own choices, and her own mistakes." He added as an afterthought.
"Your opinion on the matter seems to have changed rather quickly." Rebekah said pointedly, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I'm tired, Rebekah." Elijah admitted, feeling his age for the first time in a thousand years. "Whatever this illness is, I-I grow more weary with each passing day."
"Do you have any idea what's causing it?" Rebekah asked, her eyes flitting over her brother's form for any sign of physical malady, the clamminess of his skin being the only thing she landed on.
Elijah shook his head. "I've been reading a grimoire on sickness, but there's very little covering the topic on vampires, and nothing that matches what Elena and I are experiencing. What is it?" He asked, noticing the frown that marred Rebekah's face when he mentioned Elena.
"I just don't understand, why are you and Elena, of all people, suffering from the same thing? It doesn't make sense." Rebekah shook her head biting her lip. "I don't speak from my dislike of the girl, it just seems…bizarre, especially if we're considering the possibility this is an attack on our family."
Elijah nodded slowly, pursing his lips as he considered his sisters words. "Elena believes us to be missing something obvious." He mused, more to himself than to Rebekah, his lips turning down into a soft frown.
"Do you think she's right?"
Elijah sighed, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the desk, dropping his head into his hands. "I don't know." He muttered, dragging his hands over his face as he looked at Rebekah. "My head is so clouded I can barely think straight. I can't remember ever feeling so…lost." He settled on eventually, any better words escaping him as his head fell back into his hands.
"Elijah…" Rebekah didn't know what to say, Elijah had never allowed himself to be so vulnerable around other people, let alone put a voice to his own vulnerability.
"She kissed me, this morning." He whispered, either not hearing or ignoring Rebekah entirely. "In her room."
"Her emotions are off, Elijah," she reminded him, gently but firmly, "you know as well as I do that she's trying to push everyone's buttons."
"I know," he didn't move his head from his hands, lightly pulling at his hair for a moment before releasing it, "there was…something more to it, I can't put my finger on what, it almost…it felt like something was pushing us together. I can't explain it." He muttered, too aware of how he sounded.
"We need to tell Nik." Rebekah said softly, narrowing her eyes at Elijah when he looked up at her to argue. "Something is wrong with you; he deserves to know."
"I'm scared, Bekah." Elijah admitted, his chin resting on his hands.
"We will find out what's causing this, Elijah. I swear, we will."
"She doesn't look dangerous." Elena didn't recognise the voice, but then, she wasn't entirely sure it was real.
"D, we've talked about this." That was Marcel, she definitely recognised that voice.
Silence reigned for a few minutes, long enough for Elena to think she'd passed out again.
"Okay, fine, I promise."
Promise? What did she promise? Where was she? Who was the girl? The witch Elijah suspected Marcel had onside?
Before Elena could try to answer any of the questions bubbling in her half lucid mind, she felt herself falling asleep again.
"She's been gone for hours!" Klaus snapped, pacing the length of the living room. "Marcel must have her. Why did you let her leave?"
"I failed to notice you stopping her, Niklaus." Elijah sighed, massaging his temples lightly.
"She's not my responsibility!" Klaus shouted, glaring at his brother. "You told me that you would take responsibility for her if you brought her here!"
Elijah didn't say anything, only looked at Rebekah tiredly, ignoring the look that Hayley and Klaus shared between themselves.
"What the bloody hell is going on with you?" Klaus snapped, fed up with Elijah's antics. "I'm not entirely stupid, Elijah, something's going on."
"He deserves to know, Elijah." Rebekah interjected quickly, folding her arms over her chest and staring her oldest brother down.
"Deserves to know what, Rebekah?" Klaus gritted, resisting the urge to grab one of the daggers he held hostage.
"Elijah and Elena are sick." Rebekah said quickly, ignoring the glare that Elijah shot her way. "We don't know what's causing it or how to fix it."
"That's why you insist on bringing her to New Orleans." Klaus muttered, folding his arms over his chest much like Rebekah and narrowing his eyes at his brother. "You didn't think I should know any of this?"
"You are not known for your rationality, Niklaus. I couldn't trust that you would not act out if you were aware."
"Why shouldn't I? This is an attack on our family and whoever is responsible deserves to be punished!"
"We don't know that this is an attack on us." Elijah explained calmly. "Elena is sick also, anyone looking to attack our family would have no reason to target Elena."
"Elijah's right, Nik." Rebekah interrupted, trying to keep her brothers from spiralling into a full-blown argument. "Chances are this is nothing to do with our family, but we need the power in this city to figure it out, and we can't do that if you go off half-cocked and start a war."
Klaus didn't reply to his sister, staring her down for a moment before giving in when he saw the resolution in her eyes, shaking his head slightly. "We need to find Elena." He sighed. "Who knows what bloody trouble she's gotten herself into."
"Uhm, why do we care?" Hayley asked, finally broaching the question that had been on her mind since Elena had arrived with Rebekah and Elijah. "I don't see why I should care about the doppelganger." She shrugged at the looks she garnered, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with their attention on her.
"It doesn't matter," Klaus said before either of the others could talk, "because you're staying here."
"What?" Hayley protested, glaring at Klaus. "You can't keep me here!"
"You just said yourself you don't care about Elena. You and Elijah will stay here." Klaus said firmly, turning to his brother before he could argue. "You look like crap, Elijah, you're in no bloody state to be out looking for Elena. Rebekah and I will deal with this. You and Hayley can research your condition in the meantime."
It was quiet when Elena woke up, the only sounds she could hear were a soft scratching accompanied by equally soft breathing.
Her eyes fluttered open slowly, feeling like her eyelids themselves weighed a tonne as she fought off the tiredness that still overwhelmed her body. It must be a side-effect of whatever Marcel's witch did, she thought groggily. It couldn't be her illness; it was too extreme too fast.
She finally managed to get her eyes open and assessed the room around her, surprised to note that she was in a bedroom? Why the hell was she in a bedroom? In an attic?
Elena frowned to herself as she tried to convince her heavy limbs to move, agitated when they refused.
"Hello."
A soft, musical voice drew Elena's attention to her left and she spun her head around to look at the owner, her brow furrowing when she was met with a girl wearing a white, flowing dress. An easel sat next to her, presumably the source of the scratching.
"What are you, like, fourteen?"
"I'm sixteen." She denied, rather indignantly, folding her arms across her chest and raising her chin in defiance as she looked at Elena.
"Right, sixteen." Elena nodded, tilting her head and smirking at the girl in front of her. "I remember sixteen. World on your shoulders, suddenly feeling like you have to be a grown up and make all the right choices."
Davina frowned at her, pursing her lips slightly as she considered her words. "You don't look much older than me." She retorted, her eyes assessing the vampire in front of her.
"I'm twenty-one." Elena shrugged, only then noticing the lack of binds holding her to the chair she found herself in. "It's only a five-year difference, but it might as well be a century."
"Does that mean you've been twenty-one for a century?" Davina asked curiously, making Elena smile.
"No, I haven't been a vampire very long at all really."
Elena watched, slightly amused, as the girl in front of her nodded slowly, her eyes wide as she took in every morsel of information Elena gave her.
"What's your name?" Elena asked, looking at her curiously. "You must have one."
"Davina." She said softly, pulling a chair forward to sit opposite Elena. "What's your name?"
"Elena. Marcel didn't tell you about me?"
"No." Davina acknowledged easily, her arms again folding over her chest, seemingly without much thought for the movement. "He told me that you're important, and I shouldn't trust you; vampires are dangerous."
"But you trust Marcel." Elena said, a statement not a question. "Why?"
"He saved my life." Davina smiled to herself. "I trust him more than anything, so I believe him when he says I can't trust you."
Teehee52: Thank you so much! It's hard to tell with how much things affect Elijah, he normally keeps things pretty close to his chest, it's interesting that you think it's affecting him more when I feel I've written more violent sickness in Elena than in Elijah! Hopefully we'll find out the answers to your questions soon!
midnight-writer97: Thank you! Well…I'd like to say I know, but I find these things tend to write themselves ;) Awh thank you so much! I'm glad it came across well because I didn't really know where I was going with Elena and Marcel until I'd written it! There was definitely a bit of a connection there, and with how the Original family feel about Marcel, I'm not sure the revelation will come across well, especially with Elijah ;) There will definitely be plenty of Marcel/Elena interactions to come! You're very welcome, I look forward to hearing from you again!
Guest: Don't even get me started! I don't think I'll ever forgive Julie for not writing them in, especially with Daniel saying Elijah had feelings for Elena! Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're enjoying it!
Elejah88: I wish I hadn't asked because now I just want to give you all the answers! Feel free to keep throwing things out though, I've been known to be influenced by a good idea in a review or two in the past ;) I'm glad you're liking it so far!
Phew, y'all are so, so incredible! I really love hearing from you all, and I want nothing more than to tell you all of the answers here and now…but there'd be no fun in that!
I hope the jumping of this chapter has come across okay! I've cut this one a bit more how I feel they would jump through the same scenes in the show! Let me know how it read! I look forward to hearing from you all!
Always
~ I x