My days did not get any better after that. In fact, they only got stranger. Luka had seemed to decide that he needed to be close to me almost all the time, and sometimes he'd come out with these random questions which made no sense, like asking about my family history, if we had any connection to certain families and even asked me about magic and witches. Of course, I didn't understand any of it, but other than the odd things he came out with, he was actually not too bad. I mean, I wouldn't say he was my friend exactly, more like a fungus or an infection that I just couldn't get rid of, in the nicest way possible.
Being unused to having someone around me all the time, I had to find ways to dodge or avoid him, or simply outright escape him. Today I'd lost him in the park, having dove out of his sight whilst we'd been walking along and he'd been going on about something or other. Seeing he was completely in the zone, I snuck off then hurriedly escaped, making my way to the park where hopefully, he wouldn't find me. Still running, I looked back over my shoulder to see if he was following, but in doing so almost slammed directly against someone.
Thankfully I managed to catch sight of them in my peripheral vision and quickly ground to a halt, though I wavered as my heavy bag nearly pulled me off balance and I squeaked. The gentleman in front of me, and he can only be called a gentleman because he was smartly dressed in an Italian suit and looked nothing less than a gentleman, quickly steadied me with a hand against my elbow to provide a stable support until I was steady and had caught my breath again. "You look as if you are running away from someone." He said to me in a smooth voice, and inwardly I laughed. If only he knew.
"Yeah, something like that. Sorry for almost running into you, that's my bad." I said, puffing out my cheeks to recover myself before finally straightening and looking up. When I saw his face, I stared openly in surprise. It was the guy from my dreams, the one I'd been drawing over and over again. "Elijah." He arched an eyebrow.
"You remember me?"
"What?" Slightly confused, I blinked a few times to rouse myself from my stupor before answering. "Oh…no, I just…feel like I've seen you somewhere before. My mistake." I excused, giving an uneasy smile before making to step around him, but the guy also stepped to the side to block my way, clearly not intent on letting me go.
"Walk with me." As if having no choice but to do as he said, I started walking with the stranger like it was totally okay. For a minute or so neither of us talked, so I plucked up the courage to strike up a conversation.
"So, do I maybe know you from somewhere? Maybe you know my parents." I suggested to him, hoping that I really wasn't going insane. "We go to a lot of formal gatherings at the Lockwood manor, have we seen you there?"
"Unlikely since I have only recently come to this quaint little town, but do not worry, Ophelia." He looked at me directly, eyes drawing me in like unending pools. "You do not need to be afraid of me, you can trust me." Taking his words at heart, I suddenly felt completely at ease around him, like I'd known him my whole life.
"So is your name really Elijah?"
"Yes, that is my name. Tell me, how have you been recently Ophelia?" He was polite and full of old school manners, the kind you didn't really see around here these days. Considering his accent was British, I guessed he must have been raised very traditionally, which made him something of a prince from a fairy tale. I felt relaxed around him, like I could trust him with anything despite knowing I had only just met him. We talked a little about myself, as he seemed very interested in learning my background as we toured the park.
I told him everything, about my early life with my family, how much I loved being a big sister to my younger siblings and how much I'd cried and hurt after they died, Juliet in my arms. I told him how difficult it was being in an orphanage, feeling lost and lonely like I was never going to be able to drag myself out of the hole I'd fallen into until Ron and Clara came into my life. I recounted how amazing it had felt to be cherished again, to have a family, and that even though I missed my real parents and siblings, I loved Ron and Clara just as much as I did them. Quite honestly, I was completely open with Elijah, telling him rather personal details about my life only my parents really knew about, and I found it odd that I was just spilling everything without restraint.
"Why am I telling you all this? This can't be interesting for you at all, why do I feel like I can tell you anything right now?" I asked him and I saw his mouth tilt upwards in a half smile as we came to a bench and decided to sit down.
"Because I told you to trust me, and you do. In any case, your life story seems like a tragic one, but since it appears like you are to have a happy ending, I am satisfied. You mentioned something of an enjoyment for history, it just so happens to be an area of expertise of mine." He said before giving me a look that almost seemed humorous, a slight twinkle in his eye. "Let us say I have a great deal of first hand knowledge."
"Really? In that case I think it's your turn to talk." I smiled at him, leaning back and putting my bag down between my feet in order to relax a little. "Come on, what's your specialty? American history? British history? European? Eastern?"
"Well, I would say I specialise mostly in European and British history, though I have a good deal of knowledge of the Americas too." So we spent a great deal of the next two hours just sitting and taking about history. It was incredible listening to Elijah, the way he talked about places, events and people, it were as if he had actually been there. Much to my satisfaction, I even managed to surprise him with my own knowledge of lesser known details about things. I liked learning history in its entirety, so I didn't really have a main focus yet, and Elijah knew so much about pretty much everything that I felt like I could listen to him for endless hours without growing bored.
"Wow, this is amazing. How do you know so much? You have to be a professor, what's your pen name? Maybe I've read some of your papers?"
"Unlikely, seeing as I have yet to release any formal documents as of yet. I prefer the simplicity of studying and gaining knowledge. If you wish to know more about art and culture through time, my brother would be a better lecturer than I." Intrigued, I asked Elijah who his brother was, already formulating hundreds of questions in my head but Elijah suddenly grew sad and slightly tense, as if being pulled into darker thoughts at the mention of his brother. "Niklaus is not someone I would recommend you try to approach. He is a dangerous person to be near, especially for you, Ophelia. It would be best if he were to never learn of your existence. Though now that I think about it, you two do share something in common." Looking at me, Elijah then gestured down at the bag between my feet and it took me a moment to figure out that he meant my sketchbook.
"You mean art?"
"Yes. Niklaus was always an avid painter. One of this tenderer qualities." Elijah noted as I pulled out the book and handed it to him to look at. He carefully thumbed through every single page, admiring the details of everything I had drawn. Although there were a number of landscapes in both monochrome and colour, there were a great deal of portraits and expressionist pieces. My heart and soul was poured into every single page, it was like looking into a part of my life and Elijah took his time discerning every little detail. "I think he would have appreciated your eye for details."
"Why would it be bad for me to meet him?"
"Because soon you will be one of the most powerful people to exist on this earth. More powerful than any witch, more powerful than him, and he will want to kill you for that reason alone if he cannot bend you to his will." Alarmed, my eyes widened at Elijah who softened towards me, reaching out to draw some of my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear. "But you do not have to worry. I give you my word, I shall protect you Ophelia." Comforted by his words, I nodded my head in understanding. "Which is why I ordered my associates to keep an eye on you, but clearly you do not enjoy their company. You continue to run away from the one closest to you." Thinking deeply, I quickly put two and two together.
"You mean Luka?" Elijah smiled lightly and nodded. "I get a weird vibe off of him, some kind of energy that I can't understand. It makes me uneasy so I don't like being too near to him. Bonnie's the same, it's like recently I've been able to read and understand people on an entirely different level. Honestly, I feel like I'm just going crazy." I admitted, sighing heavily as I leaned my head back slightly to enjoy the sunlight. "It's the same when I'm outside. I can feel everything around me. Literally. Like I'm being drawn towards it. The earth, the trees, everything seems to just pull me in with some kind of force that I can't help but want to be closer to." Opening my eyes, I turned to look at Elijah with worry. "Am I going crazy?"
"Not at all, you are simply awakening to your true self." He responded, so I felt a little better. If Elijah says that I'm not going nuts, then I still had some sanity left about me. "I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversation, Ophelia, but I fear that our time for today is up. I look forward to next time, my dear." Turning so that our eyes were exceedingly close to one another, Elijah compelled me to forget him and our entire conversation before leaving me alone in the park, making me blink in a confused daze before finally picking up my sketchbook and bag before walking away without even knowing that I had spent over two hours talking to such a fascinating person.