Elena frowned and Elijah placed his hand on her shoulder from where he stood right behind her. They sat in a room off of the sanctuary of Saint Anne's with Elena at one end of the table with Kol and Klaus sitting to her right and left and the witches at the other end of the table. Ryan stood at her other elbow, and unlike the others, he did nothing to hide his rage at the witches who'd called this meeting.
"I'm afraid I can't allow that," Elena said finally, though she struggled to keep her voice even.
"You have the harvest witch. We want collateral," Jane-Anne insisted.
"Freya stays with us," Elena snapped. "I've given my word to you and to the Regent. I do not go back on my promises. Davina will die in time for the Reaping and your daughter will be returned to you."
"You don't trust us," Sophie sneered.
"Does she have any reason to?" Ryan demanded. "You want to take a witch who can do nothing to protect herself in her current state because we're protecting a child until the time is right? A child you manipulated and lied to and forced her to watch people she was supposed to trust slaughter her friends?"
"We wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for the vampires interfering so why should we trust anyone who sides with them," Sophie retorted.
"Says the woman who told Marcel, while sleeping with him, I might add." Klaus's lips twitched up as he spoke, then he full on smirked when Sophie deflated, her face twisting into a deep scowl.
Elena exhaled heavily through her nose and her lips thinned in frustration. What were the witches playing at? Weren't they on board with the plan just a few weeks ago? What changed since then?
"I want what's best for the girls you killed and I will never understand why you felt the need to bind yourselves this way. If your Ancestors are willing to let me do what I want, I suggest you follow their lead."
"Perhaps you should stop listening to Celeste Dubois. Following her lead will end up with you in the same position she is," Elijah suggested.
"Davina is with us because she chooses to be. We would never force her to do anything against her will," Kol added, the smile on his face one Elena always dreaded seeing in her previous life.
"Enough of this. Davina stays with us until February and then she will die. Elena will ensure she and the other girls come back, end of discussion." Klaus's blue eyes snapped, daring any of the witches to challenge him.
The twins started kicking and Elena had to catch herself to keep from showing her reaction to feeling Elijah's children within her. She couldn't let anyone see any sort of vulnerabilities in front of the witches she knew she couldn't trust.
"Rest assured," Elijah's eerily calm voice froze the room and every witch turned their attention to him, "that if you attempt to do anything against us, we will retaliate in all the ways the stories told you we would."
Knowing that she was moments away from possibly breaking down, Elena stood up. "Now if you'll excuse us, I think it's time for us to leave."
Without a backwards glance, she led the way out of the church, surrounded by the vampires she now considered her family.
"Hopefully, this will be the last time these witches bother us," Elijah commented as he opened the car door for her.
"If not, there's always war." Klaus smirked.
"Klaus," Elena sighed. "Kindly remember that I'm pregnant. Pregnancy is hard enough as it is, without going to war. I just want to focus on my babies and I'm pretty sure Hayley feels the same way."
"And if you continue this line of thinking, I'll be sure to tell Caroline all about it," Elijah warned.
Klaus pursed his lips and exhaled through his nose. "But if they keep it up, I will come back to this option."
"As long as the children and their mothers are kept out of it, I'll help," Elijah promised.
"What happened?" Davina demanded as soon as they entered the courtyard. Her eyes went immediately to Kol, as if instinctively seeking him out for assurance.
If she wasn't so young, Elena might have thought it was sweet, but she wanted Davina to grow up just a little more before she fell in love with Kol. But if it was meant to be, hopefully, Davina was strong enough and Kol cared about her enough to let her mature without him influencing her too much.
"Nothing you need to worry about, love," Kol promised. "We'll handle it."
"Did they threaten you?"
"Even if they did, we have the upper hand," Kol assured her, then his entire body shifted into his more predatory persona. "Ryan, you and I are going to strengthen the wards, especially around Freya. Immediately. I have a few tricks these witches have no idea exist and if they want to play dirty, let's play."
The two men strode away quickly then, determined to protect the most vulnerable.
"Maybe I should-" Davina started, her face twisting in distress.
"Don't, Davina," Elena cut her off.
She could almost hear the thoughts going through Davina's head—how could she not when she'd been in such a similar place both this lifetime and the last?—and had to stop her from going down that path any farther in her head.
"But-"
"No. This isn't your fault. We made the decision to keep you safe until the time is right for you to surrender the power to the Ancestors. This is our choice, to keep you safe, so they don't punish you for protecting yourself after you were betrayed so cruelly. Don't think you're forcing anyone to do anything, so you have nothing to feel guilty about," Elena assured the girl.
Elijah wrapped his hand around Elena's elbow and pulled her closer to him.
"Let us keep our word," Elijah said as he pressed his lips to the top of Elena's head.
Davina fell silent, but Elena got the distinct impression that the girl might try something drastic if they didn't prove themselves to her.
"We've gotta trust them, D." Marcel wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "If Elena could survive her sacrifice, you can survive this."
She studied her protector's face for a long moment, then she finally nodded.
Elena yawned, suddenly tired. As much as she wanted to help with Davina, she needed to rest. Besides, her pregnancy would prevent her from doing too much in the way of magic before it put her at risk of complications. These babies were so very different from any beings to ever exist before, conceived outside the laws of magic, so she needed to be far gentler with herself than she had been before, even with her having magic this time around.
"Go to bed, Elena. Get some rest," Elijah murmured.
"Make sure Davina doesn't do anything reckless." Elena kissed his shoulder.
"I will."
"It might also be a good idea to bring Hayley in from the bayou sooner rather than later. Some enterprising witch might think they can use her and Hope to get to us."
"I'll talk to Niklaus and Caroline. Hayley will be more likely to listen to Caroline than she will listen to me."
Elijah brushed a loose lock of hair behind Elena's ear and Elena wrapped one hand around his wrist and pressed her lips to his palm. With a final smile over her shoulder, Elena headed up the stairs towards their bedroom.
She found herself in her childhood home, but it wasn't the house she'd left behind in Mystic Falls. The sense of serenity that enveloped her gave her the answers as to where she was. It was the house of her afterlife.
"You've changed things," Miranda's voice caused her to turn around.
"Mom," Elena whispered.
"It's going to be so long until we see you again." Miranda hugged her tightly.
"I had to," Elena choked. "I made mistakes and there were things I could change. Hope went through so much more than she should have and now she won't be alone."
"I know, sweetheart. I know."
"Elena," Grayson greeted her as he entered the room.
"Hi, Dad."
"John and Jenna left us when you did."
"They'll be back, when they've lived and they do plan on living human lives," Elena chewed on her lower lip for a long moment, then said, "Unlike me. I plan on becoming a vampire, to stay with Elijah and Ryan and the twins."
"Tell us everything," Miranda encouraged, gesturing towards the living room.
Elena found herself telling them everything, from waking up in the hospital, to calling Elijah, to falling in love with him, then finding Ryan, and everything else that happened.
"I know I'm living a very different life than what I did last time, and it's probably not exactly what you'd hoped would happen to me, but this is the path the Spirits chose for me and I'm happy with them. I love them. Elijah gets me in a way I've never been gotten by anyone, and Ryan is a sweetheart who only wants to be seen and loved. I'd do anything for them, including putting being at peace with you on hold."
Grayson and Miranda exchanged a long look, their silence making Elena's heart pound. What would they think about the choices she'd made and what it could mean for her life after death?
"Your dad and I, we might not understand, but we know you. You're saving the world in your own way. We can wait until the end of the universe, as long as you're happy."
Tears trickled down Elena's cheeks and she said, "I've missed you, so much and it hurts so much to live."
"Remember why you're doing this. For Hope, for your own children, for the Mikaelsons even," Grayson added. "As long as you're doing this to save people, to make the world a better place, I can't help but be proud of you."
Elena heard someone's voice floating through the window, Ryan's, she thought. Ryan wasn't dead. So why did she hear him here?
"I think I'm waking up," she realized. "It's time for me to go."
"I love you, Elena," Miranda said.
"So much," Grayson agreed.
"I love you both and I'm glad I got to see you again."
Elena opened her eyes and sat up slowly, feeling disoriented. The weight of the human world crashed down around her and tears trickled down her cheeks. As much as she'd grown to love her second life, experiencing peace for a moment ripped her open and she couldn't move.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Mama, are you okay?" Ryan asked.
Elena buried her face into her pillow and choked back a sob, hoping no one heard her.
Then the door opened and someone climbed onto the bed beside her. A moment later, she found herself cradled in Elijah's embrace, with her head tucked under his chin.
"What's wrong?" Ryan asked.
"It's a bad day," Elena mumbled, unable to summon the strength to say anything else.
She didn't want to feel this way, didn't want to miss the way she felt surrounded by peace, by knowing the turmoils that living brought were over. But having that small taste brought it all back. She wanted to go home.
"She'll be okay," Elijah assured Ryan. "f you could take my place in helping Niklaus and Caroline with Hayley and her pack? I'll stay with her."
"Of course."
Elena felt Ryan rest his hand on her shoulder and guilt ripped its way through the pain. Her beautiful boy, the man who'd lived centuries before she'd drawn breath, but was still so much a child at heart, needed her, but she couldn't do anything except lie in Elijah's arms and long for the peace she'd once known.
"Let me know if there's anything else I can do," Ryan said as he walked towards the door.
"Just keeping life going while she's resting will go a long way to helping her during this time. It will be one less thing she feels like she has to worry about."
"Okay."
The door closed behind Ryan and the couple was alone once more.
Elena wanted to tell Elijah everything. She wanted to spill the whole story, but she didn't have the energy to even open her eyes. So later, later she would find a way to tell Elijah why the day had turned bad for her, but for now, all she could do was lie in his arms and breathe, letting him hold her together so she didn't cut herself on the fragmented pieces of her soul.