"I should have kept you my little secret." Kol sighs, not fond of his family fawning over Eloise. Even his mother seemed pleased with the girl's arrival, clearly enjoying the idea of Kol being able to control himself around a human.
After the impressive encounter with the Mikaelson siblings, Eloise had also met the matriarch, Esther. Kol had tried to slip away with Eloise, but his mother was undeterred, eager to see how her children would treat their guest.
Eloise had politely declined the invitation to dine but several family members had insisted and encouraged her to stay. She had accepted with a smile, which hopefully hid her uneasiness, and had texted Alex with the question to keep Bowie for the night.
"Like Elijah?" Niklaus grins broadly as he shares a look with Rebekah. Both had tried to extract the truth from their older brother, without success.
"Elijah?" Eloise manages to stop herself from dropping her utensil while she stares at Niklaus. Heat rises to her cheeks as she thinks of the well-dressed man she had been seeing these past few weeks and she hoped dearly he wasn't talking about her Elijah. Elijah didn't look like a vampire, but neither did Kol if he didn't have his fangs out. Maybe Elijah wasn't a vampire but a witch. Or perhaps Mystic Falls housed multiple men who went by the name Elijah.
"Our second eldest brother." Rebekah whispers, leaning over the table. She noticed the rosy cheeks of the human but did not think much of it. Niklaus and Kol had been making the poor human blush all night with their teasing remarks. "You'd probably like him, less chaotic than Kol." This earns Rebekah a kick to the shin from Kol.
"He can't keep his little obsession secret for much longer." Finn shrugs, knowing full well how nosy his siblings could be. He was not too interested in whoever his brother was attempting to hide. He remembers how his family could react to less appealing love interests and he figured the woman had to be of bad parentage or possess some other flaw which made Elijah embarrassed to introduce her to the family.
"He is allowed to have his secrets, as we all do." Esther admonishes her children before offering Eloise a kind smile. "I am sure Eloise here also has a fair share of secrets, some which had been forced upon her." She looks pointedly at Kol and Niklaus who merely shrug.
Neither of them was too enthusiastic about the recently reacquired mother who was insistent on acting as such as well. It was strange for them, they had lived on it for years and now they suddenly had to justify themselves again.
Rebekah looks around the table, dissatisfied with the turn of the conversation. She looks interestedly at the human for a moment before a sly grin makes its way to her face. "Tell me, Ellie. Do you happen to know a certain doppelganger?"
Overcoming the shock of hearing Elijah's name Eloise had continued to quietly eat. She felt like she was intruding on family time and thought it best not to get too involved. She would eat, smile, go home and ponder over the concept that Elijah was probably a part of this family. "I'm sorry?"
"She doesn't know sister. My dear Eloise barely grasps the existence of vampires, let alone doppelgangers and witches." Kol replies instead, patting Eloise's hand cordially. He had of course claimed the seat beside her, not wanting to withdraw too far from his guest. Kol didn't like the looks his siblings kept shooting at his human and he would be sure to tell them off later, when Eloise was safely home again.
Eloise looks at Kol's hand on hers for a moment before tentatively slipping her hand from his. This was Elijah's brother, his family. She was insane for being here in the first place and even crazier for allowing Kol's affections these past hours.
She remembers how Elijah had invited her to the ball his family would host and wonders briefly how the Mikaelsons would have reacted to her if she'd never met Kol and Niklaus in that alley. Would Kol have deemed her worthy of a mere look, or would he have written her off as one of Elijah's girlfriends, not worth his time?
Eloise had to admit that she found the family fascinating. Although initially intimidated and severely overwhelmed she, strangely enough, enjoyed their company. They are lively. In addition, she hadn't been threatened once since she'd stepped into the house, which Eloise thought was a great development. This probably had to do with Esther and Finn's insistence on treating their guest well, but she appreciated it anyway.
"Elena Gilbert." Rebekah clarifies with a roll of her eyes as if speaking the name alone annoyed her.
Niklaus lets out a chuckle at his sister's annoyance. He usually didn't care much for Rebekah's petty rivalries, but he too found the doppelganger bothersome.
"I teach her." Eloise replies before taking a sip of her wine. When the glass had been placed in front of her she had initially feared it contained blood, but to her relief, it was the alcoholic beverage she was so familiar with. She had thankfully drunk from it, in dire need of liquid courage.
"Really? Please fail her class." Rebekah pleads with a joyous grin, already imagining Elena's irritated expression. She knew it was narrow-minded of her, but if she wasn't allowed to kill the annoying chit, she could find other ways to make Elena's life miserable.
"Rebekah, you can not ask such things of Eloise. She has to be fair as a teacher, even if you despise the naive Gilbert girl." Finn scolds, glaring briefly at his sister. He had been keeping a close eye on the human to make sure his siblings wouldn't torment the young girl too much. During the meal, she had not talked much, but when she did she seemed to think her words over before speaking them, she was thoughtful, a characteristic he appreciated. "Do not let my siblings corrupt you, Ellie."
"I think it's too late for that." Eloise mutters under her breath, which earns her a playful nudge from Kol.
"I'm sorry, Ellie." Rebekah mutters. She wasn't feeling repentant in the slightest but apologized out of courtesy. Rebekah was fairly certain Eloise wouldn't really be offended by her request seeing as she had managed to survive Kol's company.
Eloise nods.
"I apologize for any inconvenience my children have caused." Esther offers. She was deeply fascinated by the entire affair. She and her children had dined together once upon her resurrection and they hadn't been half as chatty and vivacious as they were now. "We are still getting settled in."
"It's alright." Eloise replies at once. Elijah would be disappointed in her new habit of casual deceit. She shakes her head, she needed to stop thinking about him.
All were aware of Eloise's lie and a tense silence falls over the group, only broken by the noises of cutlery on plates.
"Mother, I was not notified you wished for us to dine together." Elijah enters the dining room, surprised to see all of his siblings around the table. "I would have-Eloise?"
"Elijah." Eloise blinks and feels her own heartbeat speeding up at the sight of him. He had halted in his step, looking intently at her before averting his gaze. Eloise does her best not to look disappointed when he looks away from her. She follows his example and averts her gaze, looking intently at her half-empty plate.
"You know Ellie?" Kol asks sharply, narrowing his eyes slightly at his older brother. To say Kol was confused by the turn of events was an understatement. Confusion often turned into anger with Kol and he does his best not to jump out of his chair, for Eloise's sake.
Elijah ignores Kol's rhetorical question and lets his gaze roam the room, landing on the faces of each one of his siblings, trying to decipher who could have possibly brought his human into their home. At first, he was worried they had found out about Eloise on their own and had brought her over to taunt him, but seeing the puzzled expressions on their faces it was clear they had no clue of Eloise's and his acquaintance.
"We went on a date." Eloise replies timidly. She was not ready for this confrontation, she had hoped to have at least a whole night to ponder over all this new information. This way she could decide if she should move to Canada or Europe to escape this family of supernatural beings or if she should stay put and see where this could go.
"You are the one Elijah kept a secret." Rebekah looks baffled, there was no other possibility. Ever since the unfortunate death of Elijah's last lover, the pretty witch, he had made little to no efforts to date according to Niklaus. It often surprised Rebekah how small the world could be.
Eloise doesn't respond, not certain how to. She opens her mouth to excuse herself, desperately wanting to flee the mansion before things got even more awkward, but doesn't get the chance.
"Elijah sent you those flowers?" Kol asks, turning to face Eloise, who had once again gone pale.
"How do you know of the flowers I have sent her?" Elijah stalks towards the table, eyes narrowed at Kol, fists clenched. He was certain his mother would not allow him to dagger Kol, but he would find other ways to make his little brother suffer if he had harmed one hair on Eloise's head.
Kol reluctantly tears his gaze from Eloise's face, a slow smirk making its way to his face. If teasing Eloise was his favorite pastime, taunting Elijah was his second. "I was in her home, of course. Lovely place."
Eloise shakes her head imperceptibly at Kol's praise, remembering vividly how he had spent a good hour scrutinizing every detail in her living room.
"Well, this certainly seems interesting, care to fill the rest of us in?" Niklaus asks in an amused tone.