Chapter 30: By The Light of The Moon
March 30, 2010
Sometime in the middle of the night, Luka woke and texted her to let her know that he was fine. It was a relief to hear, but she'd feel better seeing that he was alright for herself. Now that she had Elijah's permission, she couldn't find a reason to hesitate in telling Jenna. Her aunt had the day off from her school work because apparently Mrs. Lockwood had roped her into showing around some writer who was writing a book on small-town Virginia.
She had decided to wait until after Jenna had a late breakfast slash early lunch with Alaric. Ellie knew that he was involved, and she wasn't going to lie to Jenna. She just hoped to god that she didn't destroy their relationship by telling her the truth. It was obvious how much he cared about Jenna. He was probably the first person Jenna had been with that was genuinely good for her.
The young witch had sent a message to Elijah, making clear that she had intentions to reveal the truth to Jenna shortly. He had been fine with it. He'd also made some comment about it having good timing. She wasn't sure what he had meant, but she didn't question it. Typically, she didn't really question him at all. It wasn't like he'd really given her any reason to doubt him. Elena and Jeremy were both acting strangely, and Ellie wondered what secrets they were keeping now. At the very least, Jeremy seemed somewhat frustrated with Elena. It was reassuring to know that he wasn't just doing whatever Elena wanted.
Managing to convince Jenna into bringing Ellie with her to go search the storage unit had been easier than she'd expected. It was probably the only place where they were guaranteed almost total privacy to talk. As Jenna arrived from the late breakfast early lunch date with Alaric to get Ellie, Elena had been moping on the couch while Jeremy laughed on the floor. "So why exactly are you actually wanting to help with this?" Jenna asked curiously.
"Why not?" Ellie joked as she changed the radio station.
"Please, if Carol hadn't pulled the 'my husband is dead now' card, I would definitely not be doing this. We have so much storage to look through." Jenna groaned. Ellie elected not to mention that her mom had kept all the historical related boxes in the storage space under the stairs. They needed the privacy of the storage unit.
Ellie made a face at her. "Jenna!" She teased. "It could be fun!"
"Mmhmm, sure. You say that now until we come across a whole family of spiders and they attack us like the vicious little monsters that they are." Jenna said seriously and Ellie shuddered slightly. They both hated spiders.
"Do not wish that on us, Jenna!" Ellie cried. "You'll jinx us!"
"I take it back! I take it back!" Jenna repeated. "Fingers crossed for no spiders." Ellie crossed her fingers tightly before bumping her hand to Jenna's. She uncrossed her fingers when her phone buzzed in her pocket, signalling that she'd received a text message. To her great surprise, it was Elijah. The text was simple.
Let me know how she reacts.
Part of her wasn't surprised by it, but she also figured that that would be a given. Once she sent back a reply letting him know that she would, she turned her phone off and slid it back into its place. "God this place is empty." Ellie commented as they pulled into the parking lot. She followed Jenna through the place as they searched for the correct unit. They hadn't been here in a while and it was easy to forget where it was when everything looked the exact same. Once they were inside it, Ellie spoke, "Hey, Jenna…"
"Yeah?" Jenna replied distractedly as she scanned over the name of the boxes.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Ellie asked. The serious nature of her tone was enough for Jenna to stop what she was doing to turn and look at the younger girl. "It's important."
"Is everything ok?" Jenna asked. Sometimes, Ellie and Elena were so different. When it came to the important things, Ellie could be as serious as any adult at their best could. She also had a habit of wearing her heart on her sleeve and her emotions were always so easy to see. Whatever this was, it was a very big deal to Ellie. "What's wrong?"
Ellie took a calming breath and momentarily longed for the chamomile tea that she'd grown so accustomed to. "There's something that I haven't told you." Ellie began. "Well, honestly, I haven't told anyone. And you're going to think that I'm crazy and I know that it sounds crazy but I really need you to hear me, Jenna."
"Ok." Jenna said. "I promise I will."
She knew how absolutely ridiculous it was about to sound. Ellie hadn't forgotten how crazy they all had thought Miss Sheila was for her insistence that Bonnie was a witch. It wasn't until they'd seen it with their own eyes that they'd truly believed. "I'm a witch." Ellie said simply and waited for the reaction she knew was to come.
Jenna scrunched her brows in confusion before busting out laughing. "Ellie, what kind of joke… you really had me worried there for a second." Jenna laughed, but Ellie's expression remained just as serious as ever. "You're joking right?"
"Behind you." Ellie said softly. Jenna turned obediently and her phone clattered against the concrete floor when she dropped it. Without the blonde realizing, Ellie had used her magic to lift several boxes in the air. Each box was floating a good six inches above whatever was below it.
Slowly, Jenna turned back to face her niece. Her face had lost all it's color in her shock and Ellie was worried that she was going to collapse. "I think I need to sit down." Jenna told her. Ellie let the boxes return back to their original places as she went to help Jenna sit on the couch that had once been in the living room. "I don't understand." Jenna confessed shakily.
"I'll explain everything, but if it gets to be too much, tell me and I'll shut up, ok?" Ellie told her gently. It pained her to admit that she was terrified of Jenna's reaction. If Jenna ended up afraid of her, it would be a blow she wasn't sure she could recover from.
"Ok." Jenna agreed.
Ellie took a deep breath before she began. "Being a witch runs in the bloodline. As far as I'm aware, if you aren't born a witch, you can't become a witch. It comes from my birth parents."
"Does that mean Elena's one too?" Jenna asked.
"As far as I know, no she's not. Think of it like Harry Potter. They could have one kid that was a witch, and another one that was fully blood related but be a squib. Unless Elena has another curve ball to throw at me, she's not a witch." Ellie confirmed.
"How did you find out?" Jenna questioned.
"By accident. Too many freaky things were happening and so I went to Miss Sheila for help." Ellie told her.
Jenna looked confused again. "You mean Bonnie's Grams? Why would you go to her?"
"Because they're both witches. It runs in the Bennett bloodline." Ellie revealed before remaining silent. Once Jenna had a moment to digest it, Ellie continued, "I had known that Bonnie was a witch, so I went to Miss Sheila for help. She was teaching me how to control my magic and improve before she died."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Jenna asked curiously. "Did you not trust me?"
Ellie took a hold of Jenna's hand. "It wasn't that Jenna, I swear. I trust you more than most everyone else. Jen, I haven't told anyone else I'm a witch. Elena and Jer don't know. The only one that knew was Miss Sheila." Ellie explained. "The reason I didn't tell you was because Miss Sheila said that it would be safer if I was in control of my powers before anyone knew."
Her aunt seemed to understand. "But, why now? What made you decide to finally tell me." A long sigh came from Ellie. This would be the hard part. It was long and complicated and she wasn't sure if Jenna would take it as well as she had taken the witch reveal. She started at the beginning. Explaining Stefan's appearance and the part he had played in saving the lives of both Elena and Ellie. "Vampire?"
"Mmhmm."
"He and Damon… are vampires?" Jenna's disbelief was understandable. It wasn't far off from Ellie's reaction.
"Yup. I know, it's somehow more insane than the witch part. But apparently, he came to town to visit his 'Uncle' Zach, who was really like his great nephew somewhere down the line. He saw me and Elena and we looked like the girl who turned him and Damon." Ellie started. She carefully explained how Damon had compelled and used Caroline, as well as her disbelief that Elena had known and continued to be his friend.
"I knew something wasn't right about him." Jenna commented. "God, he's Ric's friend."
"Yeah, about that." Ellie said. "He's also killed Ric, because Ric tried to kill him, because Damon killed Isobel. Ric's wife and my birth mother. If it wasn't for this magic ring that he had, Alaric wouldn't be alive right now." Jenna lost all her color at the thought of Alaric dying. Once Jenna seemed like she could handle it, Ellie carefully walked their way through what had happened. She explained what happened to Vicki and she knew Jenna was thinking about Matt and his mother.
She wasn't looking forward to explaining what had happened to Jeremy, but it was necessary. When it came to that point in what she knew, Ellie spoke very carefully. The moment Jenna looked overwhelmed she would stop speaking, but she made it through the whole ordeal before she paused. "Damon killed Jeremy?" Jenna asked as her voice cracked. The color had once again vanished from her face and she was as still as stone. "Damon killed Jeremy." She repeated.
Jenna had a death grip on Ellie's hand. "He did. The same kind of ring that saved Alaric is what saved Jeremy."
"Why the hell is he still alive?" Jenna's voice was absolutely dripping with venom. "How could Elena stand to be near him? Ellie, he's been in our home since then. We played games with him. I told him that I didn't think he was entirely horrible."
"You didn't know. Neither of us did." Ellie insisted. She knew Jenna wasn't going to take the news of Mason's death well at all. Damon had killed too many people Jenna cared about. She continued, and as she expected, that news did not sit well with Jenna. The blonde was pissed with the older Salvatore at that point. It was a relief that Ellie wasn't alone in how she felt.
Jenna stood and started pacing. "How? How is Elena still his friend? I just don't understand."
She was positively seething. "Jenna… Jenna, listen. I need to tell you why I told you all of this." Ellie insisted. Jenna slowly returned to her seat and focused back on Ellie. "There's someone coming… at least, he might be. If he finds out about me and Elena, he will. You remember that girl that turned Stefan and Damon that Elena and I look like?"
"Katherine?"
"Mmhmm. Five hundred years ago, she narrowly escaped getting murdered by him in a sacrifice. Elena and I will be the first opportunity he's had in half a millennium. If he knows about us, he's not gonna stop until one of us is dead." Jenna's anger had faded into terror. "I hate Damon too, I do. But right now, he'd do anything to keep Elena safe at the very least. I have some chance at protecting myself. But Damon and Stefan will do anything to protect her." Ellie explained.
"How would this person find you guys?" Jenna asked fearfully.
"It was almost because of Katherine. She was going to offer up as much as she could give to him so that he would set her free. He's been hunting her ever since she escaped." Ellie told her. "But she didn't get the chance to contact someone to tell him where we were."
"Why do you sound so calm about that?"
Ellie shrugged. "I don't want anyone to die, but if I was running for that long then I could understand the desire to just want it over. From what I know about her, she'd only been like mine and Elena's age. She'd had her baby taken from her before she ever got to hold it and banished to another country. Then, when she escaped, she made it back home only to find that the man she ran from had slaughtered her whole family."
"She was just a kid then." Jenna breathed.
"She was. She was no different than Elena and I and she undoubtedly blamed herself for her family's murder. I'm pretty sure that could mess up anyone." Ellie defended. She wasn't going to try and justify all the things Katherine had done. She and the other girl both knew that sometimes Katherine did bad things just because she could and because she wanted to. It didn't mean that she was just going to completely dehumanize and villainize her though.
"God all of this is so complicated." Jenna groaned. "Is there anyone else in danger?"
"Katherine was going to offer up a lot to try and save herself. Elena and I are doppelgängers, he needs our blood. But he also needs a vampire and a werewolf as well. I think they would also get sacrificed. Katherine turned Caroline and triggered both Mason and Tyler's werewolf curses. She wouldn't have had to trigger Tyler's if Mason hadn't been killed." Ellie told her. "But if we try to run, everyone dies. All our friends and our family, he will kill everyone as his payback."
Jenna looked absolutely terrified. She'd already lost her sister and her brother in law. The thought of her nieces and nephew dying must have been overwhelming. "Ellie, what do we do?" Jenna asked softly. "You're a witch, is there any way that you can keep him far away from here?"
"I'm doing my best to keep everyone safe. Elena is just stupid and reckless." Ellie huffed. "I just… Jenna can you handle this? Knowing all of this? Elena seems to think that your ignorance is bliss. I didn't."
"I can't just ignore it, Ellie. And yes, I'm scared of losing you guys, but I would rather know what's coming than to be blindsided." Jenna told her.
Ellie gave an awkward half-laugh. "And I have, uh, I have one thing I need from you though."
"What is it?"
"You can't tell Elena that you know. You can't let any of them have even a sneaking suspicion that you know." Ellie said urgently. "They don't know that I know either." Jenna looked like she wanted to protest. "Jenna they cannot know that I know. I can't tell them that I'm a witch. To be honest I'm not sure I particularly trust them with that knowledge. Jenna please. If they find out about you then they find out about me."
Jenna could see how desperate her niece looked. For whatever reason, Ellie genuinely didn't want them to know that she was a witch. "Alright." Jenna finally agreed. "I'll keep it a secret. But if we have to entertain Damon in our house again, I might accidentally poison him." Ellie laughed in relief as Jenna said it.
Once they'd finally had enough time for Jenna to somewhat adjust to the idea of everything, she got a call from the writer Mrs. Lockwood had her helping. "Hello?" Jenna answered and Ellie was proud of how absolutely normal her voice sounded. "Hi, yes, this is Jenna Sommers."
"Is it the dude?" Ellie asked.
Jenna nodded. "Oh, yes, that's just fine. I'm not at home right now but feel free to stop by. The address is 2104 Maple Street." Jenna was saying. "I'll head that way now." She was nodding along to whatever the writer was saying. "Ok, that works. I'll see you soon."
"Well maybe at least they're cute?" Ellie suggested hopefully. Jenna just shook her head at her niece. They locked up the unit before heading to the car. "So how are you dealing with everything?"
"I could be better." Jenna confessed. "But I'll be ok, we both will." She promised as they drove to the house. When they arrived, a nice but unfamiliar car sat in their driveway. They parked beside it and once they got out of the car, Ellie turned to see who the writer was and her eyes shot wide at the sight of Elijah leaning casually against his car.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Elijah." He said warmly as he held a hand out for Jenna to shake.
She smiled brightly at him as she shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you too. I'm Jenna. This is my niece, Ellie." Jenna replied.
"Hi, Ellie. That's a lovely name." He told her as he shot her a brilliant smile. She'd never seen him smile like that. It was odd to hear him call her Ellie. After he'd learned that Ellie was short for Eleanor, he tended to call her that more than anything else.
She shook his offered hand and returned his smile. When he gave her hand a questioning squeeze and shot a look at Jenna she nodded and smiled a bit more brightly. "It's great to meet you too, Elijah." She said before she and Elijah followed after Jenna to the house. "Oh, hey, Jenna."
"Yeah?" Jenna asked as they made their way onto the porch.
"I forgot to mention it, but I'm pretty sure mom kept her historical society stuff in that storage space under the stairs." Ellie said with a slightly guilty look on her face. When Jenna sent her a glare Ellie reminded her, "I love you."
"Sure you do." Jenna said with a roll of her eyes. "Well, come on in Elijah." Jenna told him as she stepped through the door. Elijah gestured for Ellie to step in before he did and then he stepped through the threshold of the house. "Um, would you like a drink… or something?"
"That would be lovely, thank you." Elijah replied as they walked for the kitchen.
"Uh, Jenna, I can get him a drink if you want to try and find the boxes." Ellie offered.
"Ok, great." Jenna told her. "I hope you don't mind that I'm going to abandon you for just a minute."
Elijah once again gave her a brilliant smile. "I'm sure Ellie will be more than enough company." Elijah assured her.
"Is tea ok?" Ellie asked as she went over to the cabinets, "Or would you prefer coffee?"
"Tea is perfectly acceptable." Elijah told her. Ellie had her back to him as she reached in the cabinet to get the tea.
When she turned around, he was standing right behind her. She jerked back in surprise. "Holy shit, Elijah are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She hissed quietly as to not alert Jenna in the hall.
Her reaction was returned with a small smirk on his part before he asked, "Did you tell her?"
"Yes. I told her basically everything except for my involvement with you and the Martins. She doesn't know who you are other than that you're supposedly a writer." Ellie explained. As she slid past him to get the kettle.
She could feel Elijah standing right behind her. She was sure he was about to say something when Jenna's phone began to ring. The air behind Ellie shifted and when she looked up, Elijah was standing several feet away from her. "Oh, sorry about that." Jenna apologized. "Hello?" Jenna rolled her eyes dramatically. "Yes, I sent the updated thesis to you this morning. Of course, I will go and double check that the email was sent." She pulled the phone away from her mouth and apologized. "I'm so sorry, this is my advisor."
"Go on, Jen. I can keep him company for a few more minutes." Ellie laughed as she put the kettle on. "She hates her advisor." Ellie told him and Jenna made a face before nodding and walking out of the room. As Jenna walked up the stairs, Elijah seemed to have no issue invading Ellie's personal space. Despite it probably being unnecessary, she just assumed that he did it so that they wouldn't be overheard.
"How did she react to this?" Elijah questioned as they waited for the kettle to boil.
"About the way I expected her to." Ellie confessed. "She was scared and freaked out and then she was mad as hell about the things the others, particularly Damon, had done. But she wants nothing more than to keep us safe. She promised me that she wouldn't tell them that either of us know." The kettle began to whisper before Ellie pulled it off the eye, filling up three cups. "Do you like chamomile tea?"
"I do, actually." He confirmed as she prepared the tea. "You have a lovely home."
"Thank you. I've lived here my whole life." Ellie told him. "You wouldn't happen to know if Elena and Jeremy are here would you? I didn't check to see if I saw their car."
He tilted his head slightly before replying, "Your brother and sister appear to be in their respective bedrooms." He informed her.
"So what exactly was Elena trying when you had Dr. Martin do that spell to find her?" Ellie questioned as she passed him a cup. "Would you like some honey?" She offered.
"No thank you." He denied as he stirred his drink. "As for your sister, she was trying to get herself taken to Klaus."
"What?" Ellie squeaked. "Is she trying to get herself killed?"
Elijah gave her a look before saying, "If I had to guess, I'd say it was her foolish attempt to try and protect the ones that she loves." Elijah rolled his eyes. "Good intentions or not, it was incredibly reckless of her. That's why I need the Salvatore brothers alive. They'll keep her safe. Makes it easier for me to be able to keep you safe when they have her covered."
She ignored the comment and asked, "How did she try and get in contact with Klaus?"
"She managed to get word to some people that are low on the totem pole. Don't worry, they're no longer an issue. They won't be able to get word to Klaus." Elijah said and Ellie shuddered at the thought. The way he spoke made it clear that he'd more than likely killed them. "But I can't have her doing something so reckless. It will interfere with my plans. As well as my promise to you."
At the very least, she appreciated his dedication to keeping his promise. "What if you offered her a deal?" Ellie suggested. "If you offer her protection for our family, then she might not do anything stupid. If she did that because she's worried Klaus will kill us all if we run, then if you say you'll protect us, then she might strike a deal."
"You believe so?"
"I do. Besides, it's not like you'd really be promising her anything you haven't already promised me." Ellie added. "But can I ask why you need us?"
He nodded as he took a sip of his tea. "This is quite tasty by the way." Elijah commented and Ellie flushed slightly at the praise. "But as for Klaus, he is a recluse. He trusts those only in his immediate circle."
"But if you're family, shouldn't you be in his inner circle?" Ellie asked.
Elijah shook his head. "Not anymore." There was definitely a story there, but Ellie didn't think it was the right time to pry.
"You don't know where he is." Ellie deduced. She hadn't necessarily considered the option, so it was surprising. "Elena's going to try and be difficult when you talk to her. She was stupid enough to try and sass Rose and Trevor." The thought of Trevor still made her wince.
"Duly noted." Elijah replied. It was only when there was a moment of silence that Ellie realized how close they were standing. "Jenna's call seems to have finally come to an end." Elijah said as he tilted his head to listen more closely. Finally, he stepped away from her, opting to take a seat at the kitchen table while he waited for Jenna to return.
"Hi! So sorry that took so long." She apologized as Ellie handed her the cup of tea that had been prepared for her.
Elijah waved off the apology with an easy smile. "Don't worry about it. Ellie was more than enough company." He assured her. "Did you manage to find anything that might be of use before you got pulled away?"
"I did, actually. There's probably way more stuff that you could use but I didn't get a chance to look at it all." Jenna informed him as she drank her tea. "Here, Ellie, do you want to go grab a couple boxes from under the stairs?"
She hummed in agreement. "Yeah, sure. I'll be right back." Ellie replied as she set her cup down on the counter. She went and tried to lift the box only to groan at how heavy it was. "Oh what the hell I have no arm strength." Ellie groaned. She took a glance to make sure that Jeremy and Elena were still upstairs before using her magic to lift the box into her arms. Once she had a few in her arms, she carried them into the kitchen. Whether she was using her magic to make it easier or not was irrelevant. "Here you go."
"Thank you." Elijah replied. He was trying hard not to smile and she knew that he heard her struggle with the boxes.
"Ok, shut up." She whined under her breath and he really smiled when Jenna's back was turned.
"It's not my fault you have no arm strength." Elijah remarked and she groaned again at the confirmation that he had in fact heard her.
"I'll go get some more boxes." Jenna told them before walking out of the room.
Elijah's gaze went to the ceiling. "Elena's coming down."
A few seconds later, Ellie could hear Elena in the hall. "Hey, what are you doing?" She was asking Jenna.
"Oh. Perfect timing." Jenna replied as Elijah stood and Ellie moved to stand beside him.
There was the sound of a box being shuffled and Elena trying to keep stuff from falling. "What is this?" Elena asked.
"Your mom's files from the historical society. I got roped into helping Mrs. Lockwood. And by roped, I mean very excited to participate." Jenna shut the door and Ellie couldn't help the satisfaction she felt from seeing Elena gasp in shock.
"Hey. I'm Elijah." He greeted the other girl as Jenna set a box down.
As Jenna went back to get the box Elena was holding, Ellie explained, "Elijah's in town doing research on Mystic Falls."
They both walked over to Elena who was glued to the spot. "It's a pleasure." He said to Elena as he held out a hand for her to shake. It was oddly relieving to finally be able to understand what was happening around her instead of being clueless. Elena being blindsided was also very nice.
"So, you know, you're welcome to stay here and rummage through this stuff, or Elena, Ellie and I could help you load it into your car." Jenna offered.
"Yeah, or I can get someone to pick it up tomorrow." Elijah replied.
Jenna gave a half laugh. "Also a good plan."
"Well, thank you so much for inviting me into your home, Jenna. And Ellie, thank you so much for the wonderful tea you made." Elijah thanked them. The three of them started to head to the door when Elijah turned back, "And Elena, I hope to see you again sometime soon." Ellie had to turn away to keep Elena from noticing her smile. "Thanks for your help, Jenna."
"Anytime." Jenna replied as she opened the door for him.
"Bye, Elijah." Ellie said as she smiled brightly at him.
He returned her smile. "See you later, Ellie." As Jenna was closing the door, Ellie could see Elena trying hard to not run up the stairs. That meant Jeremy knew everything.
Jeremy came down a few moments later. "Hey, Elena said that you guys wanted me to help with the boxes?"
"Good, because I don't want to lift things." Ellie said before she headed upstairs. "I'll be in my room." She said under her breath as she passed Elena's door. Hopefully he would hear her. She wasn't sure how he'd get in, so she left her window open. It was a few minutes before she finally felt the air shift. She looked up to see him sitting casually on her bed and thanked god that she'd already cleaned her room. "So?"
"It went as you said it would. Your sister decided to strike a bargain for the safety of you and your family and friends, among other things." Elijah explained.
Ellie walked over to sit next to him on the bed before turning and facing him. "What are the other things?" She inquired.
"It seems that Stefan Salvatore somehow managed to get himself stuck in the tomb with Katherine. It was your sister's request that I get him out. I'll have Luka and Dr. Martin break the spell that has them sealed in." Elijah explained.
"Do they need me for that?"
"No, the two of them along with the full moon to draw power on should be more than enough." Elijah assured her.
"Wait, what about Katherine? What are you going to do about her?" Ellie was surprised that she was actually concerned about the vampire.
"Katerina will stay exactly where she is." Elijah told her. When she asked he would manage that, he added, "Being an Original vampire has its perks." He didn't really elaborate more than that. "But when Klaus arrives, he's going to want to know exactly where Katerina is."
Light from outside caught Ellie's attention. She walked over to the window to see what it was, when the clouds moved, revealing the full moon. "Oh, it's a full moon." She commented idly. The realization hit her a moment later. "Oh my god. It's a full moon." She said as she spun around to face Elijah. "It's the first full moon since Tyler triggered the curse he's going to shift tonight and I'm not there to help him." She said frantically. Elijah rose from his seat as she continued. "I have to find him. I have to help him. I-"
He cut her off by taking a hold of her shoulders. "You will do no such thing."
"What?" She nearly shrieked. "Elijah he's one of my best friends and there's a chance that he's scared and alone right now. I have to help him!"
His grip on her was the only thing that kept her from rushing out of her room to go find her friend. "Eleanor, listen to me." He insisted. "A werewolf's first transformation is his worst one. They don't have any sort of control and will attack anything that moves. You cannot run the risk of not being able to defend yourself."
"I'm a witch! I can protect myself!" Ellie hissed. She was very aware of the other occupants in the house.
"A werewolf when in shift isn't in his right mind, Eleanor. He won't recognize you as his friend, only as a possible threat. If he sees you as a threat, he won't stop until he kills you. Would you be able to really fight back if your life was on the line?" He questioned seriously. "Would you be able to hurt him to save yourself?"
Her stomach dropped at the thought. Would she be able to hurt him to save herself? "I…"
"I understand your desperation to help your friend, but I made a promise to you to keep you safe as much as I can. That means even from your own rash decisions." Elijah told her before he gave her a look of sympathy. "I know you want to help your friend, Eleanor. But there is nothing you can do. Think about your friend. He would never forgive himself if he hurt you."
Ellie froze. Elijah was right. If she got herself killed trying to help Tyler, he might never forgive himself. "What do I do?" She asked softly as she looked up to Elijah in desperation.
"I'm afraid that there's nothing you can do for him right now." Elijah told her regretfully. Her fierce loyalty to her friends was surprising. The threat to her own safety had meant nothing to her. It was only when he reminded her of how her friend would feel did she stop. She was obviously panicked and worried for the wolf. He didn't think that she was aware that she was shaking. She would most definitely be a more useful ally than he had originally anticipated.
She stood there silently but he did not release his hold on her. He very much intended to keep his word to her. He'd keep her safe as long as he could, even from herself. This was one thing he could protect her from and so he would. The image of Henrik danced around in his mind. A thousand years later and he could still remember the last time he saw his brother alive. The image of Henrik's dead body and the way Klaus screamed was still burned into his mind. He didn't think he'd ever be able to forget that day. "I just want to help him." She said softly.
"I understand." Elijah replied. "But getting yourself hurt isn't going to help him."
"You're right." Ellie finally agreed.
Finally, Elijah released his hold on her. "Just go to sleep. You can figure out how to help your friend tomorrow." Elijah instructed. Ellie moved away from him to sit back on her bed. "Are you going to be alright?"
"Yeah." Ellie told him, but he didn't necessarily believe her. "Thank you."
"I have to be going." Elijah told her. "I have a promise to keep to your sister."
She nodded slightly. "Ok. Thank you for keeping your word to Elena." Ellie replied and when she didn't seem to be giving any more of a reaction, he disappeared out of the window. What Ellie didn't need to know was that once he had the younger Salvatore brother freed, he'd returned to the Gilbert resident to make sure that she didn't do anything reckless like trying to find the young wolf.
Elijah could see the light from Ellie's room from where he stood. He could see her pacing in her room and bouncing back and forth between activities in an attempt to distract herself. Eventually, he watched as she drank her tea in the kitchen before she made her way back up to her room. After she switched off her light, he made his way closer to the home until he could hear the sound of her breathing until it evened out. Elijah even went so far as to wait a while after she was asleep to make sure that she would stay that way. If he made a promise, he was going to keep a promise.
Author's Note:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions!
To Daynesky: Thank you so much! Ellie's interactions with both Katherine and Elijah have been so interesting to write, because it's tricky finding the right balance between her kindness and willingness to trust people with her caution because she knows they're dangerous people. Part of her kindness to Katherine is because she sees Elena in Katherine sometimes, especially when she sees the grief Katherine feels over the loss of her family, which is something Ellie is all too familiar with. It's a strong bonding point for them. I adore her and Luka's friendship, she sees him like another brother.
To Muskan Jain: I hope you enjoyed the reveal! It's something I'd been waiting to write for ages. Jenna is just an amazing character and I hated that they killed her off.
To HappyKat: Katherine and Ellie's interactions are one of my favorite things to write. It's kind of like writing Ellie and Caroline together. Their personalities just mesh so well that it happens pretty easily. Respect was a very important part of their progression for me. Because I couldn't imagine either of them developing feelings without respect being a big part of it. I think that any relationship they would have would be much stronger when they start out with such a strong sense of respect for one another. I also hope you enjoyed the reveal of the truth to Jenna. It was something I'd wanted to happen since I first thought of writing this story.
To SpirouFr: Anytime.
To lolistarkiller: I'm glad you liked this chapter! And it's cool, manga is great so I don't blame you for binging. Yes, we love Katherine and Ellie bonding.
To lolistarkiller (2): Yes, more Ellie and Elijah. Even more Elijah and Ellie in this chapter! I hope you liked the reveal of the truth to Jenna. Even when I was first watching the show I always thought that Jenna deserved to know the truth. I hope you enjoyed this update!
-Madame Magic
Posted: 9/5/20
