A/N: [Chapter updated in September 2022] A/N: Hello & welcome back. I hope you all had a wonderful summer. As autumn starts, be greeted with a new chapter of 'Love Will Remember'. As always I want to thank you for your continuous support and feedback. It means a lot to me 3
After Klaus had finally left and some time had passed, it felt like she was emerging from ice-cold water. Even if she didn't want to admit it, Klaus still had her under control and his appearance messed with her mind and her sense of feeling safe, despite the deal she made with that gruesome monster.
In retrospect, she had probably been too greedy; Klaus' offer had been too tempting for her to refuse.
However, she is also aware that it was the best offer that she could have gotten, after all, he has really offered her a lot: freedom with a few smaller, ignorable restrictions and to a certain extent also protection. All she had to do was bring Elijah Mikaelson back to his depraved family, which couldn't be too hard, could it?
Of course, there were catches in the whole story.
The two most obvious catches were the fact that a) Elijah had decided to erase his memory and b) that there's dark magic in him (as apparently is in the other original siblings as well). If her experience had taught her one thing, it was to stay away from dark magic. Evil spirits were far from being fun and usually tend to be very vengeful. Who knows what impact this could have on someone?
But well, she had been greedy and had accepted the offer, although at second glance it was a much more difficult task than initially assumed, even if one ignored the problem with dark magic.
Aside from the obvious hurdles, there was another, much more personal one: Her past with Elijah. Of course, on the one hand, it would make it easier as he should not be able to remember them and what they (or perhaps hadn't) had. No questions, no looks, no embarrassing moments of silence, no accusations, no question of the 'why'.
On the other hand, his forgetting did not mean that she could forget their story as well. She would never forget Elijah Mikaelson, he was as much a part of her history as his hideous half-brother.
So what would this task mean to her? Would she be able to ignore what had once been between them?
She couldn't imagine what Elijah would be like without his memories. What kind of man he'd be. She assumed, however, that he should be better now than before; after all, he got rid of the burden of his family. To move him back to Klaus would be almost as if she were to throw him back into ruin. Actually, she couldn't (and she shouldn't) care, but whether she wanted it or not, a part of her still cared about him.
It seemed a considerable coincidence that of all the places in the world, Elijah had decided to stay in France. Manosque was the place named by Klaus. Fortunately, Manosque was not exactly around the corner, as it was located in the south of France. A trip there would take seven, maybe even eight hours.
And while it was a relief that Elijah hadn't lived around the corner, the long drive would not only grant her time to prepare, but also to overthink things. It was far much time that could not be used meaningfully without having to think about the upcoming meeting.
Why exactly Manosque? A town with a low, five-digit population? It's hardly the right place to successfully go into hiding, especially when one is a vampire. But perhaps Elijah doesn't even care to hide?
The ringing of her phone pulled her out of her mind and she sighed with annoyance when she saw Philippe's name light up on the screen. She couldn't use him right now, even if some distraction and a literally stunning & breathless night would really do her good.
"Oui?"
"Catherine! J'ai enfin réussi à te joindre. Je m'inquiétais. Est-ce que ça va?" Phillippe sounded indeed concerned although he was a little over dramatic for being worried just because she hadn't answered her phone this day. This man certainly did become too attached, something she didn't really appreciate.
"Everything's alright. Ne t'inquiète pas.", she replied, trying to answer calmly and not be too annoyed by his clinginess. "I have to leave Paris for a while. Spontaneous assignment."
"Non, non, Catherine. We had an appointment, don't you remember?" his french accent was pretty obvious whenever he communicated in English with her.
"Sorry, Phillippe, I'll make it up to you, okay?" she replied in a soft tone as if she didn't reconsider their arrangement at all. Katherine Pierce doesn't need clingy people and Catherine Pierre doesn't need them as well.
"Prends soin de toi et appelle-moi."
"I will. Thank you, Phillipe." With that, Katherine ended the call, not even thinking about calling him in the next few days - or however long this mission takes. Phillipe is currently in the lowest category of her priorities. The same seemed to be impossible to say about him. He prioritized her even though she even bailed on him. She hoped it'll be over soon. Perhaps memory loss can come in handy. Perhaps having no memories makes people long for company. Perhaps it'll be easier than feared. She doesn't have to play with open cards, after all. Right?
Katherine finished packing before she brought her suitcase down to her rented car. It really is a shame she had to leave Paris now, especially because it was so beautiful during this time of the year. And here she thought she could finally leave the unpleasant events of her stay in Mystic Falls behind. No, instead she had to chase after her ex and travel to Manosque. If that wasn't already enough, she was sure she was going to be ... observed. There's no way Klaus is going to trust her enough to handle this on her own.
Of course, she has considered tricking him. After all, there was still the (likely) possibility that Klaus made empty promises.
What happens if she manages to bring Elijah back and in return, Klaus kills her? Two birds struck with one stone. He got back his brother and got rid of the stain on his perfect villain record. She could imagine that Klaus had other hidden motives. He was rarely grateful enough to give her such a 'reward'.
No, she must be careful.
Even if tricking her is Klaus's real intention behind his questionable plea, she is in fact aware that Klaus upholds one thing: Making her compliant and compelling her if it suits him. And because he doesn't trust her as much as she doesn't trust him, she knew that he has his ways of making sure she's obedient.
The thought alone terrified her and she shook slightly as she tried to suppress the thought of Klaus's methods.
Better not to push limits. At least not yet.
Manosque, France
Although Manosque is not located by the sea, it had a nice location. Nestled in gentle mountains and situated on the right bank of the Durance, the buildings, which were mostly kept in sand-colored, looked very warm and inviting. Especially at this time of year, you could see the flair of the Côte d'Azur, which is only about an hour away.
Unfortunately, Katherine could not really enjoy these properties. Rather, she had to focus on something completely different:
How to track down Elijah Mikaelson and bring him back to his family?
Admittedly, drawing up a plan for her next course of action was difficult.
How did one find someone who was technically an unknown person?
Of course, she thought she knew Elijah and his preferences, at least that's what she liked to imagine. Their actual time together had not been long and presumably, it sounds arrogant to claim she knew Elijah Mikaelson. How can one really get to know someone with a 1,000-year history in such a short time?
Even if she knew only 10% of Elijah, she would have clues, but now he was a stranger, a man she didn't know. A man who could have developed totally different due to his memory loss.
Who knows? Maybe he had shaved a bald head and now dealt with motorcycles? Maybe he had grown his hair and beard really long and now celebrated rock music? Perhaps he had dyed his hair colorfully and wore clothes that he would not even have looked at in his past life. Maybe he had turned into a hipster and wore old-fashioned clothing and a fancy hairstyle along with a full beard and flannel shirts, horn glasses, and skinny jeans. All ideas were deeply disturbing because of their obvious discrepancy with the known Elijah. At the moment, however, nothing seemed impossible.
She also could not imagine the effects of total memory loss. Would the personality really change that much? Or did one discover sides that had always been there, only suppressed? But even that didn't help Katherine. She didn't know Elijah's blind spots, didn't know what he kept hidden although she is certain that he kept certain sides of him hidden. How else could it be when it comes to a man who puts his family first? Who puts the cause first instead of himself? Of course, Katherine believed she had seen some things that he usually keeps hidden but Elijah was incredibly gifted in letting others only know things he wants them to know. He's an incredibly private person and it's difficult for him to truly open up. She is aware she hadn't seen everything and perhaps that'd be the key in this situation.
Katherine Pierce was good at hiding; finding someone wasn't really her forte. Of course, one could say that she had found Stefan Salvatore again and again. However, one had to counter that she had never 'lost' him, she had always been up-to-date. The same didn't apply to her new target as she had no contact with Elijah for almost two decades.
Klaus had graciously given her a clue about his whereabouts, but that did not have to be expedient. After all, one could hide well in a small town. Especially if one was perhaps by now in the clear of his special gifts. Finally, Katherine could not tell how much Elijah had compulsion under control, and even without compulsion, it is quite possible to be inconspicuous.
All these considerations, however, did not help to finally take the tiresome subject in hand and start the search. Because if you didn't start, you couldn't reach the end...
Katherine spent the next few days thinking about a strategy. It was unwise to ask for an 'Elijah Mikaelson' for several reasons. Incomprehensibly, Klaus had not given her a precise location which is strange, because she believed he had met him. How else would he know that he is in Manosque?
This meant that she had to go to locality after locality and looked for her target.
The small, stuffy pub was the last place she would have expected Elijah to be. Behind the front door of the building was a heavy, velvety curtain that dampened the noise from the inside. Presumably, this was a kindness to the neighbors than being meant for aesthetics.
The brunette pushed the curtain aside with the back of her hand as she stepped through it and was then in an anteroom, which let a first look at the counter catch. The air was stuffy and it smelled of beer and wine, but it was not so bad that it would have been unpleasant. Rather, it actually had the flair of a village pub.
Katherine remained in the shadow of the entrance area and only stepped forward so far as to see the main room bathed in subdued light.
Despite the time - it was just early evening - some people were already there and drinking their beer or sitting down to chat. The bottles on the shelves behind the bar were bathed in subdued blue light, while the other lights had a warm undertone. But despite the multitude of lights - and surprisingly also some candles - the rooms seemed very dark. This was probably also due to the fact that the walls were painted black and the decor was made of dark wood.
On closer inspection, Katherine could discover a staircase next to the bar, which led upstairs. Presumably, this pub also had a few guest rooms available if one had to stay overnight.
The location wasn't good nor was it too bad.
All in one, however, that would not be a suitable place for such an elitist person as Elijah Mikaelson. Probably, he would not even visit such a place to get drunk, as he would detest the cheap alcohol. Whereby - maybe this place would come into question if one were just desperate enough. Personally, she would probably not mind such a pub, even if she would prefer a hip disco to get drunk. For her, it would be too quiet here.
Of course, there were the usual sounds of a pub. Voices that are immersed in different conversations, laughter, sizzling when a new bottle has been opened. The clinking of glasses or the scraping of wood when a chair was moved when standing up or sitting down.
In addition to the usual sounds, however, there was something that did not fit into a pub like this: Soft piano sounds that did not appear to sound out of any speakers.
Katherine turned her gaze away from the bar for the first time and followed the direction of the melody in a corner, which is located approximately opposite the bar. This corner was also relatively dark, but the light for the sheet music attached to the piano illuminated the player's face.
Her breath hitched slightly in her throat when she recognized Elijah; at least judging from his face, it was the missing Original. Her brown eyes scanned his face and upper body (at least what she could see behind the piano). If someone had given her a description of Elijah without ever showing her a picture, she wouldn't have guessed it to be him.
His face looked almost as she remembered it, shaved and a sharp jawline visible. She could not see his eyes because they were focused on the keys in front of him. His hair seemed to look different. He had a different hairstyle, that is for sure. His sides were shorter than she remembered and his main hair was styled back, but a lock of hair seemed very close to falling forward into his forehead. The Elijah Mikaelson she knew always had neat (and perfect) hair. A loose lock of hair would not happen in such a physically light activity. Nevertheless, this hairstyle made him somehow more casual.
The most striking thing was that he wasn't wearing a suit, not even a men's shirt. If she had any doubts about Klaus' words (which is only justified if we are honest), then she would have given them meaning now. Elijah without a suit in this century was just as unlikely as rain in the Sahara. This man didn't even own jeans and only a few casual T-shirts. Now, however, he was wearing a white Henley long sleeve, whose first three buttons were open, so one could catch a glimpse of his collarbone.
Katherine blinked, believing this might be some kind of illusion. Perhaps the dim light makes it seem as if he isn't wearing a men's shirt? But of course, that was only an odd fantasy. This visual was indeed real.
'Elijah chose to get his memories erased' - That's how Klaus had described his older brother.
Now she was tempted to believe Klaus and her stomach contracted painfully as she became aware of it and the fact that another thing was most likely true: That he was indeed carrying dark magic. The task that had been assigned to her seemed impossible.
Not only did Elijah's appearance differ greatly from the Elijah she knew. His piano playing was beautiful, but far from the finesse that he is capable of. She knew that he liked to play classical music if he played at all; she had only heard him play once or twice. He seemed to love music, but he practiced very little. It was all the more surprising that he had decided to play for the public in a pub, playing something that seemed familiar to her in some way.
She focused on the music for a moment, until she thought she could recognize the melody of 'Mack the Knife'. While the song is older, it was last really popular in the 50s.
Katherine frowned as she kept her eyes on him. Several glasses were standing on the piano. Some were half full and also many empty, which were probably forgotten by listeners. Elijah also had a large glass next to him, apparently filled with beer. The thought that Elijah would approve of someone putting glasses on an instrument made it clear that this wasn't Elijah. The old Elijah would never allow that and risk glass edges staining the surface of the piano. The Elijah she knew would also never drink beer. He was a snob when it comes to drinks, preferring exquisite wines and high-quality whiskeys. Although he actually drank more whiskey or scotch than wine. Beer hardly appeared on his drinks menu if at all.
He finished what he was currently playing and took his glass to raise it and thank the crowd for listening who in return started to clap. The sound of his voice sounded familiar and the knot in Katherine's stomach tightened again.
As he let his gaze glide through the crowd, he had a smile on his lips. He seemed to seek eye contact with his listeners, some of whom toasted to him. Fortunately, he had not discovered her, despite her persistent looks.
In a strange way, he seemed to be detached.
Elijah had no tension, no stress in his features, he had not clenched his lips, and his eyes were not overly alert.
Somehow this awakened a memory of something. A garden of lush roses, loud breaths as she tried to get air while laughing at the same time, his laughing face.
The frown on her forehead deepened as she shook her head and repressed the thought. She ordered herself to look away and not stare at him, but she was spellbound.
She thought she would feel pain if she saw him again, anger and disappointment.
None of those feelings were there, she felt kind of empty, maybe because that wasn't the real Elijah? Because he could remember her as little as his family?
His family!
Katherine narrowed her eyes as she recalled her task. Somehow she was reluctant to bring this version of Elijah back to Klaus, only so that he could extinguish his freed joy again. Because one thing was clear: Elijah seemed to be happy in a strange way. Well, maybe not happy (was that even the right word for the situation?), but this activity seemed to bring him joy.
Would it make her a bad (or correction: an even worse) person if she destroyed it? Her mission was clear. Her job was definite, the target was located and now she just had to take him back to Klaus.
What could be so hard about it?
Except for the fact that she didn't know if he was homicidal. Dark magic changes people and amnesty changes people even more, both of which together are a bad mix. Moreover, she didn't want to have to interact with him, even if only the exterior resembled the Elijah she knew.
Katherine exhaled as she continued to watch him taking a sip out of his beer. Apparently, he was making a pause because he didn't start playing again. As she continued to watch him, she noticed that he wasn't using any note sheets.
What aroused her amazement: Could someone who did not remember anything play music from memory? Or should the question rather be how it was possible that he could play the piano? How far could muscle memory go? She would not claim to be overly musically gifted, she played too rarely for that. However, she is sure that she could play if she wanted to. Maybe not as beautiful and smooth as someone who was in practice, but she certainly wouldn't have forgotten.
Was it the same in Elijah's case?
One of the guests approached Elijah and seemed to ask something, which he answered with a nod. The answer seemed to please the guest because he went back to his seat smiling and a short time later the sound of the piano filled the air again.
This time, however, she could not assign the music, was it something new or something old?
She had definitely observed that Elijah had focused before he started playing. Could he remember the song? Was he wondering if he knew the notes?
Unfortunately, Katherine also had to admit that she did not know how he came to play the piano. It was a talent that he rarely gave away, in contrast to Klaus' artistic talent. Klaus practiced his art openly, paintings of him hung everywhere when one went into rooms that were attributable to him. She even believed that she had seen some in a few museums, however they had made it there. It seemed to be Klaus' intuition, was it the same with Elijah? Was it in his blood? Did he have something like absolute hearing? Or was the ability to learn how to play laborious?
From the right, she heard a voice that asked if she wanted a drink. Now Katherine finally turned her eyes away from the Original and turned her eyes to the bartender.
"A Jack Coke please," she finally answered, scolding herself for the fact that she had been so conspicuous. Who doesn't have a drink in a freaking pub? Why is she that distracted by a man who isn't supposed to hold any meaning at all?
While Elijah was playing, he let his gaze wander through his listeners from time to time before he seemed to focus again on the invisible sheet music in front of him.
Meanwhile, it got more and more crowded the later it got. Just now a bigger group came rumble in (in the literal sense of the word) which bumped into her due to the narrow entrance and pushed her forward in the insulated light of the main room. She hissed because of this trampling behavior and took her finished drink from the bar before she intended to move back into the dark entrance corner.
When she wanted to turn her gaze back to the piano player, she froze. Familiar and yet unacquainted dark eyes rested on her. A gaze that felt so intense as if it literally looked into her thoughts.
She didn't think it was intentional; Elijah probably just wanted to look around in the room to make eye contact with his listeners again. There was no knowledge reflected in his eyes, no emotion changed his face when he looked at her.
Within that fraction of a second, the world went on for all the others. The playing of the piano also didn't stop abruptly. Still, that split second felt like an eternity to Katherine, and the pain in her stomach intensified. A nervous tingling spread in her veins and she was incredibly sick.
Untypically for her, this time she did not withstand the eye contact and turned away, putting the still full glass of her drink back on the bar. She couldn't even tell why this moment got her off her feet so much.
Before turning away, however, and escaping the situation, she thought she had seen a hint of confusion forming in Elijah's gaze as his eyebrows slightly start to knit. Before she - or even both of them - could process that, she had long since stepped out into the cool evening air and rushed away from her actual target.
A/N: Elijah was found but who would have known Kat is reacting so shy?
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