A/N: I started binging during COVID lockdown the whole VD/Originals universe. I'm 1/2 through season 3 of the Originals and am hooked, especially by Elijah. This story idea just came to me. It will feature Klaus, Freya, Rebekah and all the Mikaelsons, but will heavily feature Elijah. It will not be an Elijah/Hailey but will maybe include some Camille/Klaus and maybe Caroline will make an appearance to shake some things up as Klaroline are my very fave.
Just a very short introduction to start things off. Enjoy!
Heart of Darkness
As I look back on my life, I can pinpoint the day it all began...the day that my ordinary life evolved into something that would become more extraordinary than I could ever imagine.
When I woke up that morning, chugging down my coffee, listening to the christian pop music and jotting down a few notes in my journal, I had little awareness that this was the very day, my life...my very ordinary (and often aptly described as dull) life would change forever.
I was young, so very young... three years out of college in fact, in the midst of my third year as a second grade teacher.
On holidays and weekends, I worked at a local coffee shop...mainly because I was lonely, bored, my friends having scattered all over the world after school, yet I stayed behind. I was introverted, introspective, which didn't lead to a solid stream of boys vying for my affections. As such, I was hopelessly innocent and I will even admit to being a bit awkward.
But in spite of that, he saw something in me that drew him to me.
At first, I thought it was out of sheer amusement, that someone who had lived aa quarter of a century could be so hopeless. But then, I found that the very qualities that made me cringe about myself, made him intrigued by me.
I knew of the darkness that lied in our city, having a chance encounter with one of the creatures that inhabit the night. The minister at our local church, he took me and my friends under his wing whilst in college. We knew not to party with the tourists, never to invite a stranger into our house. We knew to stay away from the cemetery and not to ask too many questions. We knew to mix herbs together into a tea to protect our minds.
We knew, but we didn't know. Not truly.
And so when he came into my life that day, this chance meeting changed my life in profound and indescribable ways. He gave me the love of a lifetime, treasured me in spite of the darkness he fought on a daily basis.
He was self assured, witty, intelligent, loyal and so very commanding. I loved his properness...his suits, his handkerchiefs, he was so characterized by his quirks. But I also loved the way his eyes gleamed with amusement, his love of music and literature, and above all, the way his empathy towards me drew his humanity to mine. Things weren't always peaceful between us. We fought as friends and lovers do, as I could be just as stubborn as he and he could be fierce over his protectiveness of me.
Truth be told, while I knew the danger that lay in his heart, he always made me feel safe with him.
And when he sacrificed himself along with his brother for his niece, he made me promise to love again. To live my life, to lean into the family he gave me that was left on this earth, and yet I never found a man on this Earth that compared to him.
My first love...and my last. And while I was by far not his first love, I had the honor of being his last.
His name was Elijah Mikaelson and through a bizarre twist of fate, he became my confidante, my lover, and my best friend.
He became my husband and I became entrenched in his world.
This is our story.