Later that evening, there came a knock at the door. I was closest, having been watching something in the front room so I called up to my parents that I got the door before heading over to answer it. When I opened it up, I blinked in surprise to find none other than Elijah standing there. For a moment I just stared, wondering what the hell he could possibly want before I made to just slam the door closed in his face, hoping that would send a clear message. "Please, allow me to at least say something, Ophelia. This will only take a moment of your time." As pissed as I was, I was also innately curious, something that would probably get me killed one day, and right now it was making me hesitate in fully closing the door.
"What do you want Elijah?"
"To apologise." Not expecting those words to come out of his mouth, I was taken aback when Elijah pulled his arm from behind his back to reveal that he had been hiding a single stem rose, which he now offered to me in a rather heart warming gesture. "I apologise for my presumptuous behaviour, it was wrong of me to presume to use you for my own gain. I hope that you will forgive me." Contemplating for a moment, I plucked the rose from his extended fingertips with a lift of my chin, trying to hide the fact that I was actually rather touched by the gesture, though there was no way I was being fooled by all this.
"Well, I guess I can accept your apology since I like the flower." I told him, though I still held the door mostly closed so that only my face and a small part of my body was exposed. I knew I was safe since he couldn't get in, but that didn't mean I was just going to fling to door open wide for him. "But that doesn't mean I'm not still upset, or that I'm going to help you. That is completely off the table." I emphasised and Elijah seemed to accept it easily, agreeing immediately.
"I understand, Ophelia. Of course, you should make your own choices in life." This again took me by surprise, seeing as I figured that Elijah would be willing to do anything so long as he killed Klaus at the end of the day. Part of me waited for him to then threaten my parents to force me into helping him, but when he made no such demand, I frowned at him.
"That's it? I get mad and you're all for letting me just sit on the side lines? You're not going to threaten me, blackmail me or force me into helping you?" Carefully watching Elijah's expression, I couldn't help but get the feeling that he was being completely honest with me.
"When faced with a person with extraordinary powers and the ability to create earthquakes capable of destroying entire continents, I view it as in my best interest to remain in their good graces." He told me simply, though I was still wary of him. It can't be that simple, right? There had to be something else going on here. Clearly seeing that I was still suspicious, Elijah gave me a gentle smile. "You have my word, Ophelia, that I will not force you to do anything you are unwilling to do of your own volition. I also gave you my word that I would never harm you, and I take my vows very seriously."
"So, you're not angry?"
"Of course not."
"But you're still going to kill Klaus."
"Yes, that is my intention." Which meant that he intended to go through with the ritual, and that Elena could still possibly die.
"How confident are you that your witches' method to save the doppelganger will succeed?" I asked him slowly, carefully considering everything that was at risk here. Even though I didn't want to kill anyone, I didn't exactly want Elena to die either. I mean, at one point we had been friendly and I guess she had her good points, though I still wasn't a number one fan or anything. She didn't deserve to die, she'd barely even started her life. We were still a year away from graduation, after that there was college, a career, literally an entire world was out there waiting for us, and if Elena died, she couldn't have any of that.
"Speaking truthfully, there is a chance that the elixir I have will not work." Elijah admitted, glancing down before meeting my gaze steadily, proving that he was indeed being honest with me. "A high chance, but it is better than nothing." Damn it, Ophelia, you and your bleeding heart.
"Wait here." Instructing him to stay put, I went back into my house and quickly made sure my parents were both busy working in their shared study before going up into my room and started searching around through my jewellery collection, putting my rose down on my desk for the moment. Most of it was just plain charms and pendants, a few rings and bracelets, so I kept searching until I found something suitable. A plain silver ring with an amber stone in the middle. It was fake, of course, but that didn't matter. I brought it back down to Elijah and this time, I opened the door a little further so that I was just behind the threshold, holding the ring up between my fingers to show him before then covering it with one hand, holding it between my palms. Using the pull of magic and working from the knowledge and wisdom that had been imparted to me from my ancestors, I cast a spell over the ring where a light began to shine from between my hands, scattering light beams through the cracks of my fingers and hands until finally I was done and I lifted my hand away.
The ring hadn't changed at all, but now there was a rune carved into the back of the flat metal which held the stone, the enchantment from my light magic surrounding the entire ring. Satisfied it would do the job and probably save Elena's life, I held it out to Elijah for him to take. "Tell Elena to wear this. So long as she wears the ring when the ritual begins, she won't die no matter what happens. Even if Klaus drinks every drop of blood in her body, she'll live. The magic will pull her soul into the ring and it'll stay there until her body heals. It'll also accelerate the healing process, so it won't take any longer than twenty four hours for her to wake up." I explained to him, making Elijah look at me in surprise. "I guess it's a little like the Gilbert rings Elena mentioned? She told me about them but they only work on mortals, and I figured that since she's a doppelganger, they wouldn't work on her. My ancestors knew something about doppelgangers, it's in the back of my head somewhere, I don't know…"
"This will definitely save Elena's life?" Elijah questioned as he held up the ring, wanting a confirmation to make sure I wasn't messing around.
"Yes, it will, but it's a one time deal. Once she dies wearing it, that's it. It becomes useless and the magic will drain away. Just do me a favour, don't tell anyone I made that." I requested, causing his eyebrow to arch at me curiously. "Druids can do a lot of things witches can't, and if supernatural people hear about a magic ring that can bring them back from the dead, I'll never hear the end of it. Just tell them a dead witch made it centuries ago and the knowledge has been lost since, or anything you want."
"If that is what you wish, then I will do as you ask." Elijah promised me, so I exhaled with relief, awkwardly tugging at my loose shirt. "Your ancestors truly were an incredible people if they were able to create life saving talismans even for supernatural creatures such as us."
"It actually began when dragon hunting was a thing." I supplied, knowing the history behind it. "Druids tried to help the dragons from being wiped out by giving them objects to save their lives, so even if they were killed once, they could come back and escape. That's when people started hunting my ancestors too, and…well. The rest is history. I'm the last one left." Giving a weak smile, I struggled to find a place to settle my eyes. I couldn't bring myself to look at him as I still wasn't sure how I felt about Elijah having intended to use my powers for his own benefit, yet I couldn't help but be moved by his apology. "Just make sure Elena gets that, okay? You can promise them that it will work, one hundred percent guarantee."
"You have my word." This time I smiled, lifting my head and glancing at his face before looking away again quickly. "I shall leave you know, Ophelia. Have a pleasant evening." Turning around to leave, Elijah left my porch in order to return to his car. A nagging feeling tugged at me, making me groan softly in irritation at my own nature before I called after him.
"Thank you." He paused and looked back, hand resting on the handle of his car. "For your apology, I mean. I appreciate it." Giving a nod of his head, Elijah brought one hand to rest over his chest before giving an old fashioned bow, earning a laugh as he then got into his car and drove off. Feeling satisfied that I had helped out Elena and that Elijah and I came to an understanding, I went to sleep peacefully that night, where I had a pleasant and dreamless sleep for the first time in a long while.