Daisy and Elijah made their way downstairs. Elijah had offered Daisy his arm, which she took shyly. The whole way down he had let his hand rest on top of hers, rubbing small circles on her skin. Daisy thought the gesture was comforting.
Elijah had provided her with champagne and entertained Daisy with stories from his childhood, he had also confessed some secrets of his siblings to her, which she had giggled at. Elijah would have told her every anecdote in the world as long as she kept on giggling like that.
He had successfully masked his disappointment and confusion when Daisy brought up her boyfriend. Despite his intention to remain friendly in showing his affection, he had now and then pushed the boundaries, unnecessarily stroking her arm or placing his hand briefly on her lower back to supposedly push her forward.
"Is it alright if leave you here for a few minutes?" Elijah asks, looking concernedly at Daisy. The last thing he wanted was to leave her on her own, surrounded by vampires, but knew he had to fulfill his duties as host. "I only have to announce the dance." Elijah assures brushing his thumb over Daisy's knuckles.
Daisy didn't fully understand his concerned expression but appreciated it anyway. Elijah looked at her so earnestly that she felt that Elijah would skip that whole speech if she had asked.
"I will be fine, thank you, Elijah." Daisy assures, beaming up at Elijah.
He gives her a small smile in return, presses a kiss to the back of her hand, and makes his way up the staircase.
Daisy gazes at her hand for a second, again having experienced that strange tingling experience. Shaking her worries away she turns around to look at the guests and her eye lands on Finn, who was speaking with Elena.
Daisy felt a slight tug at her insides which felt vaguely like jealousy. She shakes her head, this is ridiculous. She just met Finn, they barely exchanged five sentences. He can talk to whoever he wants and she has a boyfriend. A boyfriend she loves, a boyfriend who was sadly nowhere to be found.
Finn notices Daisy's look and gives her a tentative smile, not sure how to act around her. Daisy blushes, before quickly glancing away, looking up at the people gathered on the staircase. Besides Elijah and Kol was another man, one she hadn't met yet. Daisy looks at him briefly before her eyes meet Kol's.
"Uh, if everyone could gather, please." Elijah says, raising his voice slightly.
Kol gives a small wave to Daisy, he chuckles when he sees her caught expression.
"Welcome, thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance." Elijah announces, proudly gazing around the room. "Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom."
As soon as his speech is over, Elijah moves down the stairs, quickly grabbing hold of Daisy's arm again and escorting her to the dance floor.
"How did I do?" Elijah whispers, smiling down at Daisy.
"You did great, but I think you already know that." Daisy teases, grinning up at Elijah.
• • •
"Jason, hi!" Daisy smiles up at him, happy to be dancing with him. She presses a quick kiss to his cheek.
"Who were you dancing with?" Jason asks, absent-mindedly pressing a kiss to Daisy's forehead while looking questioningly at Elijah.
"Hmm?" Daisy hums, distracted by the pretty dresses the other ladies were wearing. Everything seemed to sparkle and glimmer under the light of the grand chandeliers.
"Who were you just dancing with? The brown-haired dude, who is he?" Jason asks. Sophie had demanded his attention once more, which had distracted him so much that he had forgotten about his girlfriend for a moment, but not so much that he didn't see her dancing with another man.
"Oh, that's Elijah." Daisy replies simply.
"How did you meet him? He doesn't go to our school, right?" Jason frowns. The man looked too old to go to their high school, but he still wanted to make sure he wouldn't see the man with Daisy in the cafeteria during lunch break.
"He is one of the Mikaelsons. I met him when I was cleaning up and I don't think he goes to our school." Daisy shook her head to bolster her answer.
"Cleaning? At a party?" Jason smirks amusedly at his girlfriend. He didn't know why he sounded surprised. Daisy was well educated by her mother and always did her part with cleaning up their parties or providing snacks for everyone.
"Well, I couldn't exactly leave the vase Sophie had dropped." Daisy replies a little more snarky than she had intended.
"I guess that's what the bandaid is for?"
"Yes, I cut myself." Daisy mumbles, not meeting Jason's eye. He was starting to sound annoyed, which was something Daisy didn't want to incite any further.
"And why is that dude staring at you?" Jason asks.
"What dude?" Daisy asks, curiously turning her head to look around.
"That Kol fellow" Jason replies bitterly, narrowing his eyes at the man. He usually liked it when other boys stared at his girlfriend, to know they couldn't have what was his, but these Mikaelsons were starting to annoy him.
Daisy sighs softly, communicating with Jason could be tiring sometimes, he always felt the need to add in words like dude or fellow to show his disdain towards certain people.
She cranes her neck, to get a glimpse of the younger Mikaelson brother.
Kol was indeed looking at her, she gives him a small smile, before shifting her gaze back to Jason, who was already looking at her.
"I don't know, maybe I am messing up this dance." Daisy offers, smiling at Jason, hoping he would stop asking her questions she couldn't answer.
Daisy sighs in relief when she's twisted into another pair of arms. She loved Jason, she did, she was sure of it, but sometimes it was easier to not be near him for a little while, especially when he was annoyed or upset.
"Hello there." Niklaus greets, looking curiously at the girl in his arms. He takes an apprehensive sniff, not sure if he had remarked it correctly. Standing on the stairs earlier, he had noticed the girl. His suspicion arose that she was his soulmate, but before he could approach her, Elijah had already taken her to the dancefloor.
"Hi." Daisy replies, only now looking at the man. She recognizes him from earlier.
"I'm Niklaus, but you can call me Klaus or Nik, whichever you prefer." Niklaus whispers, as if afraid he would scare her away if he spoke any louder. In reality, he wanted to cherish his first moments with his mate, without being overheard. He is about to ask her name when he notices the bandaid on her hand. "What happened to your hand, love?" Niklaus asks, carefully turning Daisy's injured hand over to look at it.
"I cut myself on some glass upstairs, it's silly." Daisy chuckles. "Don't worry, your brother helped me."
"Which one?" Niklaus asks, a curious expression on his face.
"Elijah." Daisy answers, not knowing that Elijah immediately looks up when he hears his name coming from Daisy's lips.
"Ah, the noble Elijah, always there to save damsels in distress." Niklaus teases, meeting Elijah's gaze briefly. Immediately he's fulfilled with a territorial and possessive sentiment towards the girl in his arms. He hoped the girl wasn't too fond of his older brother, because he was more than willing to dagger Elijah if he became a hindrance in his relationship with his mate.
"I don't think you can call me a damsel."
"Then what may I call you?" Niklaus hums, smirking a little.
"Daisy Landry."
"Daisy? Like in the Great Gatsby?" Niklaus asks.
"Yes. I bet you would fit right in that story. Perhaps you can be Jay? I mean, we're already on a lavish party in your mansion." Daisy jokes, gesturing to the big chandelier. She blushes when she realizes she had just assigned a character who was in love with her namesake to a complete stranger.
"If I remember correctly, that story ended quite tragically." Niklaus comments, quirking his eyebrow at the brunette. He had nothing against starcrossed lovers or any other romantic nonsense, but he preferred love stories with happy endings.
"Yes, but it was love nonetheless. Don't all good love stories have some tragedy?" Daisy asks, genuinely interested in Niklaus's answer. Her mother and Jason didn't really enjoy reading so it was refreshing to talk to someone who had also read some of the classics.
"It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all." Niklaus quotes
"Lord Tennyson?" Daisy replies automatically.
"You know of him?" Niklaus looks pleasantly surprised.
"I'm working my way through a poetry collection for one of my art classes. It includes some of his works. Quite beautiful, but I personally prefer Pablo Neruda."
"But I love your feet, only because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters, until they found me."
"Wow, I just met you and you're already reciting poetry to me." Daisy comments, carefully smoothing out a wrinkle in Niklaus' collar. She had been gazing at that crease for the past two minutes and it just bothered her.
Niklaus looks amusedly at Daisy. "I can also recite some Wilde if that pleases you." He teases.
"The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death." Daisy retorts, raising a challenging brow.
"Can I show you something?" Niklaus asks, a playful gleam in his eyes.
Daisy glances across the room and she sees Jason busy dancing with Mayor Lockwood. She nods and lets Nikalus escort her off the dance floor.
• • •
"Where's your date?" Kol asks, sliding up next to Rebekah in the foyer.
"Flirting with his ex." Rebekah grumbles, rolling her eyes at the two ex-lovers.
"What are you grinning about?" Rebekah asks, looking suspicious at her brother, who was looking a little too smug for his own good. That look usually meant trouble and she was wondering who he had killed.
"Do you remember that lovely girl you sent my way earlier this evening?" Kol asks, not able to hold back a smirk.
Rebekah nods curtly, awaiting Kol's boastful elaboration about how he had drained her dry. Rebekah regrets leaving the girl with Kol just like that.
She wasn't sure why she had done it, perhaps just because Matt seemed to be concerned about her, which irritated her.
"She is my mate." Kol declares, chest-puffing up in pride. He had seen Daisy leave the dancefloor with Niklaus. He would later kindly address Niklaus about this.
"What?!" Rebekah quickly turns her face towards Kol. Her eyes widen comically and her jaw practically falls to the floor.
• • •
"Is this..." Daisy's throat feels dry as she stares at the book Niklaus is presenting to her. Dumbfounded, she looks up at Niklaus, not sure what else to say.
"Yes, it is."
"How?"
"Let's just say that my family has good connections." Niklaus offers, he was carefully watching his mate's reaction. He relished in the idea that he could leave her so amazed by such a small gesture. His family owned many first editions works from the greatest literary minds this world has ever seen.
"It's yours." He whispers, carefully taking her hand and placing it on top of one of the first publications of Oscar Wilde's Salome.
"I can't accept this, it should be in a museum." Daisy whispers back, turning red at this generous gesture. She was pretty sure she should wear gloves to even touch the book. Daisy wonders briefly if Niklaus gave each girl he danced with a special copy of a book. Maybe that was his go-to flirting tactic. But this didn't feel like a cheap pick-up trick, rather a sincere and loving gesture, he was sharing something rare with her.
"Perhaps, but for now, I insist you have it." Niklaus coaxes, drawing small circles on Daisy's hand with his finger.
The small tingling sensation she had felt before returns and Daisy finally snaps out of her dreamy daze, she was flirting with a guy. Or he was flirting with her, but it was still flirting. "I'm sorry I have a boyfriend. I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression. I'm so sorry." Daisy murmurs, quickly pushing the book back towards Niklaus.
"It's okay, love. You didn't do anything wrong." Niklaus hums, hoping to console the girl. A boyfriend, there was a boyfriend between him and his happy future with his mate. Of course, there had to be an obstacle.
"Dais! Soph, Davis, and I are going to the Grill." Jason shouts, barging into the room. His voice was hoarse and his tie was crumpled. He takes a second to take stock of the situation. He rolls his eyes for a moment, of course, Daisy finds her way to the nearest library. He doesn't even bother to regard the man next to his girlfriend.
"I would love to, but we were supposed to-" Daisy stops mid-sentence when she realizes that it wasn't an offer or an invite, it was an announcement. To let her know that he would be leaving, without her.
"Jakey!" Davis enters the study and a grin spreads over Jason's face at the nickname.
Daisy merely nods obediently, knowing Jason won't be in the mood to argue after having drunk a few drinks. "Have fun." Daisy says, smiling wistfully at Jason who was already being dragged away by Davis.
"That's the boyfriend?" Niklaus asks, grimacing as he notices Daisy's saddened demeanor.
Daisy flinches when she hears them stumbling down the hallway, making a racket.
"Yes, that's Jason." Daisy replies, smiling at Niklaus.
"Nice friends he got." Niklaus deadpans.
"I promise Jason's a very nice guy." Daisy retorts, not in the mood to tell Niklaus she absolutely despised his friends. "He's just... nervous. Big fancy parties aren't his scene." Daisy promises, giving Niklaus a tight-lipped smile.
Niklaus frowns, what kind of man would misbehave and let his girlfriend apologize for his despicable behavior. He should snap the guy's neck for that fact alone.
• • •
"It's true." Elena says, smiling up at Elijah.
Finn overhears the last of the conversation between Elijah and Elena. He quickly joins the trio and pulls Elijah aside without worrying about excusing himself or his brother from the conversation.
Elijah frowns, looking expectantly at his brother.
Finn hears the glass ring, indicating that his mother's speech is about to begin. "Do not drink the champagne." Finn whispers hurriedly, gazing intently into Elijah's eyes, hoping to show his earnest intention.
"Why?" Elijah asks, gazing flickering briefly over to Niklaus who has just entered the foyer with Daisy.
"I shall explain later." Finn whispers, before walking off, towards Rebekah and Kol to warn them.
• • •
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!" Esther raises her glass, looking on as the crowd clinks their glasses together.
• • •
Niklaus holds his glass up and clinks it with Daisy's. He eagerly absorbs Daisy's giggles, a delightful sound. She admitted to him that she didn't normally drink and that this evening's two glasses of champagne were the culmination of her career as a potential alcoholic. Niklaus had teased her and told her he would be thrilled to help her broaden her taste palette in time.
Niklaus is about to take a sip when he catches Finn's gaze. Finn shakes his head almost imperceptibly. Niklaus narrows his eyes and looks around the room for Elijah. If anything was going on, he would know more about it. Elijah, too, shook his head when their eyes met. In a fake gesture, he raised the glass to his lips, without drinking the liquid. Wondering what was going on and why Finn of all people would warn him.
• • •
"Can I offer you a ride home, darling?" Elijah asks, gently wrapping Daisy's shawl around her shoulders.
After the speech, Elijah had sought out Daisy's company again. He should actually hear Finn's explanation, but that could wait, he'd rather be with his mate now. Elijah had tried to get rid of Niklaus, but Niklaus held out, which resulted in a half-awkward conversation between the three. Not uncomfortable for Daisy, but for the brothers, who clearly had a little ego-related conflict among themselves.
"No thank you, it's alright." Daisy declines politely, not wanting to bother the man. She was sure he had some cleaning up to do. "Maybe Matt can drive me home."
"The quarterback?" Niklaus asks, looking a little surprised at this. He wonders if this meant she was also friends with his other foes, like those pesky Salvatores.
"Yes, we work together, he also drove me here tonight." Daisy smiles, she had really appreciated that.
"You work at the-"
Elijah's question is cut off by a loud thud that comes from outside.
"Damon! Are you crazy?" Stefan shouts as he runs outside to see the damage he had done.
Daisy peers curiously at the scene, wondering what had happened.
She follows the others outside only to halt next to Finn, staring horrified at the sight before her.
Seeing Daisy's distraught expression, Finn immediately steps in front of her, blocking her view of Kol's body.
"It's alright, my love. He is only unconscious. Mr. Salvatore had a little too much to drink." Finn comforts, lightly grasping Daisy's hands in his. He nods his head while speaking until Daisy starts to nod along with him, showing him she understood.
Daisy tries to look past Finn to take another look at Kol, to make sure he was alright, but another body blocks her view.
"Come, do not worry yourself, love. Rebekah is taking care of Kol." Niklaus offers, gently pulling Daisy back inside the house, away from the Salvatores and Kol's body.
"I should go home." Daisy murmurs, checking her watch while getting settled on a couch by Niklaus. Daisy was amazed that she had stayed so long at all, she never expected the Mikaelsons to be such good company.
"Please stay a little longer. You seem upset and I do not want you to leave this place feeling wary or worried, my love." Finn coaxes, handing Daisy a glass of water.
Daisy nods in response and sips her water looks up at Elijah, who was standing by the door as if to guard it.
"I dumped him upstai-Oh hello Daisy." Rebekah exclaims as she enters the living room, looking a little surprised to see the human still here seeing as most guests had taken their leave.
Rebekah looks quizzically at her brothers, they all seemed comfortable and relaxed around the human which meant Daisy didn't serve as a snack here. Not that she would allow that since this girl was Kol's soulmate, but still.
"Hi, Rebekah." Daisy greets, placing her glass on the coffee table. She then realizes that she is alone in a room with four of the Mikaelsons. "I'm intruding, I'll go." Daisy offers, hastily standing up.
Niklaus glares half heatedly at Rebekah, who in turn holds her hands up in defense, not sure what got Niklaus grumpy this time.
"Please stay, you're not intruding at all." Elijah assures, holding his hands up as if approaching a frightened animal.
Before Daisy can protest further the door is opened and Stefan pops his head in. He awkwardly takes in the icy stares of the Mikaelsons.
"Daisy? Matt is hurt and he told me he drove you here, I can drive you home if you want." Stefan offers, looking concernedly at the girl who had somehow made her way into the lion's den. He had seen the girl entering the living room with the Mikaelsons and didn't want her to fall victim to them.
"She's fine." Niklaus snaps, wanting the intruder gone as fast as possible
"Matt's hurt?" Daisy asks simultaneously, looking worriedly at Stefan.
"Yeah, he had a little accident." Stefan admits, glancing briefly at the Mikaelsons, who didn't seem surprised at all by this revelation. "But he will be fine!" Stefan adds hastily upon seeing Daisy's troubled expression. Although Stefan had hardly spoken to her in the past, he just wanted to get her to safety at this point. She hadn't done anything wrong and didn't deserve to be involved in the vampire stuff of Mystic Falls.
"Thank you, I will take you up on your offer for... a ride home." Daisy replies, smiling gratefully at Stefan.
"Thank you all, for this wonderful evening. Hopefully, I'll see you soon." Daisy says, smiling a last time at the Mikaelsons before heading towards the door.
• • •
"How was the dance, dear?" Daisy's mother asks as Daisy enters her home.
"Magical." Daisy sighs contentedly before making her way up the stairs
• • •
"Explain, Finn." Elijah demands when Kol enters the study.