Saturday evening found Elena pacing back and forth in front of the Salvatore crypt, her heart pounding. Was she insane for thinking this would work? For all she knew, Elijah would see what had happened to his family the first time around and hate her for it, if he even decided to meet her at all.
But, she had to try. He was her only chance at securing a better future for both their families, so she had no choice.
It was well passed sunset and he still hadn't showed. What was she thinking, assuming he'd come running just because she'd posted the message? They didn't have the rapport they did in her memories so why would he come? How stupid could she be? Of course he wasn't going to come!
When she turned to start walking back the other way, a tall figure stepped out of the trees and she froze. She knew that silhouette anywhere.
"Elijah," she breathed.
He looked every inch the same as he had when she'd first encountered him in the abandoned house, his sharply angled face as blank and expressionless as ever. But of course he would. He hadn't lived through the same things with her that she had with him and he hadn't risked his family for her yet, not that she was going to let it get that far if she could help it.
He remained where he was for a long moment, staring at her, before slowly crossing the distance between them. When he stood less than a foot away, he leaned down, his nose brushing against her throat, and inhaled deeply.
Straightening, he exhaled, "Human."
In the shadows, he looked somehow sinister, yet angelic. Why had she never noticed that about him before? With a sharp shake of her head, she dislodged that thought. She was here to ask for his help, not make them both more uncomfortable than they would already be when he delved into her thoughts.
"Yes, and I need your help. Or you need mine. Either way, we can be of use to each other."
"How so?" His lips curled in amusement, as if to ask how a human thought she could help him.
"Look into my mind. See what I know. Then tell me it won't help you." Elena lifted his hand to her face and focused as hard as she could on what she knew, especially about his future and his family's fate.
She watched his face as he flipped through her thoughts, and fought back a grin of satisfaction when his expression changed.
Finally, Elijah stepped back, shell-shocked. He licked his lips a few times and he opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out.
"Please, help me. You're my only hope of keeping the people I love from suffering and with what you've seen in my head, you can save your family too. Make me coming back mean something. Make it count, please. Otherwise, I've come back for nothing!" Elena was choking back tears by the end of it.
Elijah remained silent.
"Damn you," Elena whispered, no longer fighting her sobs. "I can't do this alone and now you know everything I do. So what do you need me for, except to die for your brother's stupid sacrifice?"
"What do you want in exchange for my help?" he asked finally.
"My family and friends, that they be kept safe from Klaus when he comes to town, and this time, for real. No Jenna or Jeremy or Caroline or Matt being hurt or killed. No Bonnie being used for her power. And even Tyler. He might be a dick, but he doesn't deserve to be executed to break Klaus's curse. I'm the only one Klaus needs, so I'm the only one who gets hurt."
"I accept your terms, but only if Salvatores stay completely in the dark about this." The firm set of his mouth brooked no arguments.
Elena raised her brows at that. She'd hoped he'd agree to at least meet with them, to let them know what was happening, and maybe she could save Damon from the spiral he was about to go on. She missed him, and wanted to free him from his pain.
"No, Elena. I know how you feel about them, but either they stay in the dark, or I can't help you. I saw your memories. They were the reason so much fell apart in the life you lived. If they don't know the plan at all, they can't muck it up, which gives us a better chance of success."
"Not even a little bit?" She pleaded. Couldn't he see what this might do to everything?
"No. As long as you and I are the only ones who know everything, we can both save the lives of people we love." He folded his hands behind his back, his head at an arrogant tilt, the one she hated so much when she first met him.
Elena shook her head, unable to trust herself to speak for the moment.
"You know how Niklaus reacts when he's denied something or if someone gets in his way. If you are separate from them, whatever blow back comes their way should they attempt to insert themselves into things, it won't touch you or the humans in your life."
"That means I can't speak to them at all, because I'll slip up. Talking to them, it's too easy for me to be trusted to keep my mouth shut."
"I am sorry for the distress this causes you, but you know first hand how they can be and how they'll react to your plan to die," he said in a much gentler tone.
"Okay." Elena reluctantly conceded. She needed his help too much to fight him on this. "Just as long as they're not hurt because of Klaus either."
"I can't promise they'll come out of this completely unharmed, since they are headstrong, impulsive children who can't keep their noses out of other people's affairs, but I will try to keep them safe as well, without endangering the success of this venture."
"Barter Mikael as the vampire to die for Klaus. You know where he is, or at least how to find him. Klaus might like that. As long as he has his vampire, that should keep most of the people on my list safe."
"I'd wager he'll be willing to surrender our siblings to me in exchange for that knowledge." Elijah smirked.
"Yeah. And as for the werewolf, there's gotta be one I won't hate having to die for Klaus. Because Jules didn't deserve what she got either, even if I didn't know her. She just wanted what was best for her pack."
"No requests for yourself?" Elijah's lips quirked in amusement, though one brow raised in confusion
"Klaus needs my human blood to create his hybrids. He'll be bending over backwards to see to it that your potion gets used," Elena snorted.
"True enough. In the meantime, keep everyone you care about in the dark and I'll handle things on my end."
"Will you make a public appearance in town?"
She hoped he did, because she couldn't deal with what she'd been through already and keep his presence a secret. She needed one person in her life who knew everything, just so she didn't feel so alone. The isolation of the last few weeks, of being entirely alone with her knowledge, wore her down to the point she just wanted to collapse and give up. But if the strongest person she'd ever trusted was there, she might be able to see this through.
"Of course. What better way to draw Niklaus's eye than to show up in the place where we were turned with the human doppelganger not far away?"
"If you use the same cover story, you can use my mother's position on the Historical Society Committee to your advantage. Then, no one will question you and I spending time together."
"Exactly." He smirked. "You're a smart woman, Miss Gilbert. And your apparent youth will keep anyone from suspecting anything is amiss."
Elena found herself yawning and her face flamed.
"You're still healing, so perhaps we should get you home."
"Thanks." She nodded, suddenly drained.
When he offered her his arm, she took it and they walked slowly towards the road in a companionable silence. She'd never let anyone in so deeply, not even Damon, but she felt no judgment from the man walking beside her. He didn't seem to think she was a fool or an idiot and was willing to work within the bounds she set up for their arrangement. His only fight was keeping the Salvatores out, and she could understand his point of view, especially after everything he saw.
"We're being watched," Elijah commented, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Did they hear anything?"
"No. They just started following us."
"Do you know who?"
"I'm not familiar enough with the Salvatores just yet to differentiate between them yet."
They continued on in silence. Elena was surprised at how relaxed he was. But then again, when did someone get the chance to know the future they would face if they continued on the path they were on and the opportunity to change everything?
"This is me," Elena said as they approached the sidewalk in front of her house.
"It will be better if no one sees me with you until I make your public debut."
"Right."
"Have a good evening, Elena." Catching her hand, he bowed over it.
"Oh, cell numbers. We should probably have each other's numbers."
Elijah handed her his phone and she typed in her information.
"Now, text me, so I'll have yours."
He tapped the keys and a few seconds later, her phone dinged with his incoming message.
"Now, we can reach each other when we need to talk."
"The wonders of modern technology." He smiled and slid his phone back into his pocket.
"Goodnight, Elijah."
With a final smile over her shoulder, she headed inside.
Up in her room, she collapsed onto her bed and kicked off her shoes.
Tonight went better than she'd hoped. Maybe, just maybe, this would work.
When she rolled over onto her side, she thought she caught the faint hint of his cologne and she inhaled it, taking comfort in the promise of strength it brought with it and her heart didn't hurt quite so badly under the burden she carried.
Elijah sat in a large, leather chair in the small bed and breakfast just outside of town with a glass of bourbon in his hand.
Elena Gilbert. An odd, fascinating girl. No. She was a woman. She'd lived, grown old, and died, before being yanked out of heaven to complete some mission that the spirits of nature deemed it necessary for her to complete.
The memory of the pain lacing her thoughts, pain she wasn't fully aware of or was in denial about, cut through him and he finished the drink before pouring himself another in an effort to dull the sensation.
She knew what it was like to no longer struggle, to have no need to fight, to be completely at peace. And suddenly, she was back in the midst of a war she'd already won.
How much strength did it take to experience heaven, then forced to come back to the mortal plane without completely falling apart? And to seek him out, with the intention of dying for his brother, again? He marveled at it.
In all his centuries, he'd found no one, not even himself, that could measure up to what he'd seen in her mind. This rare being, willing to endure the hell she had before, just so the people she loved wouldn't suffer the fate they had her first time around.
With a jolt of surprise, he found himself feeling protective of her. She possessed a spirit too strong for her fragile body and he vowed that he would do everything in his power to see to it that she lived whatever life she wanted. Even if it was with an insolent child who didn't deserve her and who probably only saw her face, rather that the woman she was behind that face.
As he mulled over the enigma that was Elena, he realized something else. This woman, she cared about him too. He'd felt it in her thoughts. Her fierce protectiveness over him humbled him, brought him to his knees in a way he'd never experienced before, with anyone.
If he had to, he would die, for the upteenth time, according to her, if it meant she was happy. She deserved everything from him, just for her wanting him and his family to be happy. Nothing else mattered to him anymore, aside from his siblings, other than making sure Elena Gilbert lived the life she deserved. This woman who looked so much like his first love, and the trickster who followed her, he owed her his absolute loyalty.
Elena trusted him, implicitly. He could feel it in her thoughts when he'd gone over what she'd wanted him to see. She gave him everything she knew and held nothing back, especially if it pertained to him and his siblings.
This woman who'd endured so much at the Original vampires' hands wanted him to be happy. She cared about his continued survival and had mourned in private when she'd learned of his final death. Her secret hope that he'd come back as he had before, and then her final sad acceptance when she realized he wasn't coming back played through his thoughts. She'd looked over her shoulder in fear more, once he was gone. She'd felt safe enough as long as she knew he walked the earth, because she knew she could call on that promise of 'Always and forever' if she was ever in desperate need.
He wouldn't let her feel like that again. No matter what path she took this time around, he'd be the protector in the shadows, making sure she was safe and happy. He had to live, if only to make sure she achieved some sort of happiness, before returning to heaven, where she belonged, safe and at peace, away from anything that might do her harm.
The more he thought about her, the more he realized something. Elena understood him in a way no one had, except for his siblings. Seeing himself through her eyes, it was as though she'd ripped a mask off and looked beyond what he wished the world to see. Maybe that's because they were so much alike. Though, unlike him, she had had a chance to grow old and look back over her life, while he was still frozen at the age his mother turned him into a monster.
He shook his head and finished his drink.
When was the last time someone affected him like this? He didn't think anyone had, at least not to this extent.
His phone buzzed and he opened it, to find Elena's name on the screen.
If I'm having a bad day, would it be alright to talk to you about it?
Are you having one?
I had a bad dream and it reminded me that some days it's a struggle to get out of bed and others, I want to do nothing but cry until my head hurts.
You can talk to me about anything you want to and I'll be there, however you need me.
Thank you. Goodnight.
My pleasure. Sleep well.
Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he poured himself another drink and settled deeper into his chair.
What a powerful, brave woman, a queen in battle, and he would be her faithful knight.