Thank you to Senema for her proofreading of the chapter, I'm so grateful for her help. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
Chapter 10
Elijah now took the co-pilot's seat and stared curiously through the cockpit window. He might not see much of the landscape because of the darkness, but the lights of the cities, they flew over from time to time, had their own beauty. "So your first name is Tajo. What's your surname?"
"Balewa", the pilot answered nervously.
"That was a convincing performance of yours, Tajo", Elijah said, amused.
"Thank you for humouring and not betraying me", Balewa replied. "After all, we both know that you can't compel me like you could a human."
"Can't I?" asked Elijah opaque. "How long have you been a vampire, Tajo?"
"Only a couple of years. I studied in the States and while on vacation I was in New Orleans." Tajo didn't know this vampire but he was clearly older than him and his mentor had warned him about older vampires' touchiness and lack of patience.
Elijah sighed in frustration. On occasions like this he really wondered why he let Marcel live. "Let me guess, you went to the club 'Abattoir'. You were at a party and by midnight everyone turned into vampires. They drank from you until you were almost dead, then they gave you blood and you were suddenly unharmed again. Within 24 hours of that you had an accident or something like that and you died, but I guess by then you weren't in New Orleans anymore."
"How do you know all this?" Balewa asked in amazement.
"Because you are still alive and I know who did this to you. If you had died in New Orleans you would be either dead or a merciless killer, who would be forced to do anything for the man, who is responsible for turning you." Balewa swallowed at that. Elijah looked at him. "Who told you what you are?"
Tajo laughed bitterly. "I was lucky, if you can call it that. I died in my room, I think it was a heart failure or something like it, without anyone finding me and me ending up in the morgue. After I woke up, I went outside and was quite sensitive to everything. That got a traveling vampire's attention and he explained everything to me, that I was in transition and that I would have to drink blood or die.
I didn't want to die! So he got me blood from a blood bank. He stayed with me for a couple of weeks, answered my questions, gave me advice on how to avoid killing someone for their blood etc. He helped me get through the worst and he even got a daylight ring for me from a witch he knew."
"Quite commendable of this vampire and unusual. What was his name?" Elijah asked interested.
"Damon Salvatore", Balewa answered readily. He was still grateful to Damon for those few weeks. Damon had been sarcastic and rude, but stayed with him until he was ready.
"Damon? Huh, not the answer I expected." Elijah was amused.
"You know him?" Balewa asked impressed.
"Yes we know each other, regrettably."
Elijah grimaced slightly as he thought about his encounters with the impertinent young vampire. But he could honestly say that he had respected Damon after Elena the most from the Mystic Falls Gang.
His insolence had been annoying but Damon at least understood the necessity to sometimes make a tough call even if everyone would hate you afterwards. And he had always displayed a refreshing honesty about who and what he was.
When he thought of Stefan's hypocrisy, who thought he was so much better than his brother, and what he knew about his actions, while Stefan was a ripper, he had always felt more sympathy and respect for the older Salvatore.
"You are not friends?" Tajo asked anxious.
"I can't say that we are friends but we were occasionally allies." Elijah smirked a little before he got serious again. "Have you already killed a human?"
"No, not yet." Tajo shook his head and looked very glad about it.
"Then you have been lucky so far." Elijah looked solemn at Balewa. "You won't always be!"
"Yes I know." Tajo swallowed dryly and looked apprehensive.
"Okay, I'll now give you the coordinates." Elijah named them and watched as Balewa typed them into the navigation system.
"Our destination has been entered. It will take us about 2 hours to get there", reported Tajo.
"Good, now look at me!" ordered Elijah. Balewa obeyed without hesitation when he heard that tone of command. "Once we land you will erase the coordinates from the navigation system and you will forget them and that I ever gave them to you. You will also forget the route you took and you will erase any information from the navigation system that could result in restoring the route."
"I will forget everything", Balewa repeated vacantly.
"And have no worry, while you are on my property, you will be supplied with blood." Once again Elijah compelled him. "You will not attack anyone while you are there!"
"I won't attack anyone", Balewa confirmed again.
"We will certainly speak once more with each other before you leave." Elijah was already planning ahead. It had been a lovely coincidence that Balewa was a vampire. "If someone asks you, you can tell them what commands I gave you, but you don't have to and you will be able to remember them as well."
Tajo, who was now aware of the manipulation through Elijah, looked at him confused.
"How could you compel me?"
"I am an Original", Elijah explained kindly. Tajo went pale. "Ah, so Damon told you about us."
"Yes, he did!" Tajo visibly swallowed. "Which one of them are you?"
Please, not Klaus, but after what Damon had told him, he couldn't imagine that Klaus was so calm and relatively friendly to strange vampires or humans.
"I'm Elijah! What did Damon tell you about me?" Elijah was curious.
"To never piss you off! But he also said, that you were his favourite." Damon had told Tajo a great deal about the Originals, even if a lot of his words had been swear words, especially when he had talked about Klaus.
Elijah chuckled softly, got up and left the cockpit. When he entered the cabin, everyone was looking at him. "It is done. We'll be there in about two hours."
Elijah sat down again next to Wanda. Before he could pull out his cell phone to call Shana, a ringing tone rang out, which Elijah unfortunately knew only too well.
Elijah scowled when he answered the call. "Yes, Niklaus?"
"Ah, brother, finally I'm able to reach you. Your cell phone was turned off."
Elijah scoffed. "I am aware of that, Niklaus. What do you want?"
"I just wanted to know when you will come back to New Orleans."
Elijah sighed and deactivated the loudspeaker. None of the humans needed to hear what was likely to come next. "What have you done now?"
"Kol and I had a little argument and we now need a referee." Klaus sounded very gleeful.
"Then ask Freya to play the referee." Elijah was annoyed.
"You are very taciturn, brother. Are you in company?" Now Klaus sounded suspicious.
"Yes, I am." Elijah sighed, his brother was always so predictable in his paranoid behaviour.
"Well, you know Kol, he doesn't react well to me or Freya giving him lectures or us trying to get him to behave. You're the only one he listens to, at least sometimes." Now Klaus was definitely pouting and his whining tone gave Elijah a headache.
"Your call comes at a most inopportune time, Niklaus." Elijah sighed again and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Even thousands of miles away, he couldn't escape the Mikaelson family drama. "What was your argument about this time?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Daggers, women, murders, beignets, Davina."
"In short, you both got bored and decided to revive old quarrels", Elijah summed up laconically.
"You know how we get when you're not around."
Elijah could literally see the grin on Niklaus' face. It was time to wipe it off. "Is Kol now with you?"
"Yes, he is standing next to me."
"All the better. I swear to you, Niklaus, if you and Kol spoil my first break from our family drama in years with your childish behaviour, I'll rip out your guts and strangle you with them. You both remember Teruel?"
Klaus remained silent for a short time. "Do you mean the first time?" This time the voice was nervous.
"No, brother, I'm speaking of the third time", Elijah answered and smiled.
"Are you smiling, Elijah?" Klaus's voice was hesitant now.
"Yes, Niklaus, I am smiling", confirmed Elijah smugly.
"I think Kol and I can make up without your presence", Klaus assured hastily.
"What about you, Kol?" Elijah asked, still smiling.
"I think the same thing, Elijah", Kol assured him just as hastily.
"Good to hear! I think I'll be back with you in a week at the latest. Just do me a favour, don't start a war in the meantime!" Elijah hung up exasperated and leaned back.
"Don't start a war", Steve repeated, amused and a little disturbed by this one-sided conversation.
"Believe me, with Niklaus and Kol it is unfortunately a very necessary admonition", Elijah replied with a sigh. "Younger siblings are so exhausting!"
"What happened in Teruel?" Natasha asked, fascinated with the side of the conservation she had overheard.
"My younger siblings were back then particularly unruly and belligerent, so that they even overused my patience with them. So I finally showed them, why it is not a good idea, even for my siblings, to get on my bad side. Now when I mention the third time in Teruel, I have very cooperative and obedient younger siblings."
Elijah smirked. It was a favourite memory of him. After that, his siblings had been very careful and respectful for about a year. They had practically walked on eggshells around him so as not to provoke him.
Clint chuckled softly. "I can totally imagine it!"
Elijah now dialled Shana's number again, who answered the phone immediately. "We'll arrive in about two hours."
"Everything will be ready for your arrival, sir. Is there anything else?" asked Shana.
Elijah hesitated briefly and looked at Wanda. "There is a sister of yours on board who could benefit from your expertise. And I think the men would also benefit from the opportunity to talk about their imprisonment."
"It will be my pleasure to help Miss Wanda and the other prisoners", Shana said calmly.
"Thank you, Shana." Elijah hung up.
Clint looked at Elijah with a raised eyebrow. "What expertise?"
Elijah shrugged. "Shana studied psychology and has also worked as a trauma psychiatrist. In addition, Shana has special abilities. She has a lot in common with Wanda and I am sure, Wanda can profit much from her tutelage."
Wanda looked at him questioningly and a little indecisively. "What can she teach me?"
"She can teach you methods to safely discharge your energy, even if you cannot use your power directly. And she can teach you to use your power in ways you never thought possible."
"What about control?" T'Challa asked hesitantly.
"Unnecessary, there is nothing wrong with Wanda's control", Elijah waved him off. "In fact, her control is impressive for someone so young."
"The dead of Lagos would certainly think differently", Okoye said condescendingly.
Elijah felt Wanda flinch beside him and he glared at Okoye. "It is a miracle that so few have died. This Rumlow detonated an explosive device in a marketplace with hundreds of people in the vicinity and she managed to safely divert the explosion upwards. I think as long as you are not able to do something like Wanda, you have no right to judge her or her mastery of these skills."
Okoye shuddered involuntarily as those old eyes stared at her so coldly and viciously. For a moment there was something inhuman to be seen in them, which terrified her deeply.
T'Challa opened his mouth briefly to admonish Elijah but then he let it go. In contrast to Wanda, Okoye was not traumatized and was more than capable to defend herself if she deemed it necessary.
xxxxx
With an uneasy feeling Klaus hung up. He exchanged glances with Kol, who looked just as unsettled as he felt. Elijah hadn't mentioned Teruel to them in a long time.
Freya frowned. She had never seen Klaus or Kol so intimidated, at least not by Elijah. "What happened in Teruel?" she asked, fascinated.
"Old family stories", replied Klaus dismissively. That was definitely not something he wanted to tell Freya, he didn't want to supply her with ammunition against himself and Kol.
"I think I'll just ask Elijah when he comes back", Freya said with a grin. "I'm sure, he can hardly wait to tell me this story in great detail." If it was something Klaus didn't want to tell her, it had to be very entertaining.
Desperate to distract Freya from this subject, Klaus remembered something he had heard in the background during his conversation with Elijah. "Did you also hear the engine noise in the background? Do any of you have any idea where our brother is or what he's up to at the moment?"
"No, I have no idea." Kol now looked as thoughtful as Klaus. "As for the engine noise, it sounded like an airplane, but not a passenger or transport plane."
"Yes, it sounded more like a military plane", agreed Klaus. "And Elijah has been acting pretty mysterious lately, like he's keeping secrets from us."
Freya stared angrily at her younger brothers, who had more than tried her patience in the last few hours. She knew this change of subject was just another red herring from Klaus but at the same time she had also noticed Elijah's unusual behaviour. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Klaus smirked at his sister. "Quite simply, it's time we spy on our big brother. I don't like it when he keeps secrets from me. And we should get Rebekah on board!"
"A good idea", Kol agreed enthusiastically. "He usually tells her more than us. And she's been pretty bored lately."
Freya groaned and face palmed. "For God's sake, Klaus, our brother has a right to keep a few things to himself. Especially when I think about how you always use everything against him." She glared at Klaus. "Don't think I have forgotten about Gia and Elijah hasn't either. Leave him alone!"
"He only said we should stop arguing and shouldn't start a war." Kol looked completely innocent but the devilish twinkle in his eyes gave him away.
"Exactly, instead we are working together now", said Klaus gleeful. "That's after all what Elijah always expects and wants from us."
Freya threw up her hands in frustration and stormed out. Klaus and Kol smirked at each other. Without the interference of their older sister, who was always on Elijah's side anyway, they could start planning their course of action. The first thing they would do was call Rebekah to the compound and explain everything to her so that she could take part in everything.
As soon as she was in her room, Freya activated a spell that made the room soundproof. Then she took out her cell phone and called Elijah. She didn't know what he was doing either but at least she wanted to warn him what his brothers were up to.
xxxxx
When his cell phone rang again just a few minutes later, Elijah frowned. This time it was Freya's ringtone and she wouldn't bother him without a very good reason. "Yes, Freya?"
"Our younger brothers have become curious about what you're up to at the moment. They decided to spy on you. I suspect they are calling Rebekah right now to get her on board with their schemes." As always, Freya made it quick and painless.
Elijah just sighed. "Our little sister is very bored at the moment, she will join them with pleasure."
"I know, Elijah! I tried to stop them but they will not listen to me, I'm sorry! Whatever you are doing at the moment, take care of yourself and be cautious!" Freya hung up.
"Did I already mention that younger siblings are annoying?" Elijah said, depressed.
"Does that change anything for us?" Steve asked uncertainly.
"No, I gave you my word and I will keep it. Freya won't help them, which means they'll rummage through my things, trying to find out where I am." Elijah scowled. "I hate it when they do that."
"Will they find anything?" Clint inquired calmly.
"No they won't. I know Niklaus believes that I have no right to my privacy, so I have taken precautions." Elijah looked now pissed off.
"Is there a time limit that we have to keep an eye on, before it becomes too painful for you?" Natasha asked worriedly.
Elijah smiled slightly. "Thank you for your concern but no, with Freya on my side, there is no other they can ask for help. Anyone else they might ask, will be careful not to get involved in such an overtly private family matter, especially when it comes to spying on me.
I will undoubtedly face a massive interrogation through my siblings, when I return home, and they won't let me out of their sight for a while afterwards. I love my siblings but when something like this happens I always wonder why."
Wanda smiled sadly when she thought of her brother Pietro. They had been as close as only twins could be but even they had sometimes bitterly argued with each other. "Good to know that some things between siblings never change, not even after 1000 years."
Clint, who knew who Wanda was thinking of, put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her comfortingly. "Who is Freya?"
"My older sister, but we didn't grow up together and she wasn't transformed with us." Elijah shrugged. "We have a very complicated family history."
Natasha frowned. "If she hasn't been transformed with you, how can she still be alive?"
"There is more between heaven and earth than you can imagine and secrets that would terrify you", was all Elijah replied.
By now everyone knew him enough that they knew that that was Elijah's last word on the subject.
When the conversation started again, it was only about unimportant matters to pass the time before arriving at their destination.
RUTHless
Thank you for your nice comment. As for finding out about Elijah and him being a vampire, not in this story I think but sometimes I surprise myself. This isn't the last story, I have plans 'lol
Usually I need 1 – 2 weeks to write a new chapter but if real life interferes I disappear for months. I'm working full time and sometimes I simply doesn't have the time to write. And I get writers block too.
Cyan-Snake
He doesn't have to explain anything to them but I think it is something Elijah would do. If only to save Clint or Wanda from lying for him.