Chapter 54: Bringing Out The Dead
October 20, 2010
"You look surprised to see me." Elijah commented as he pulled out his handkerchief to wipe off the blood from his hand. "I guess it wasn't you that removed the dagger from my chest." He looked furious. To Ellie, he looked more dangerous than he'd had when they first met and she had been terrified of him then.
"You look like you could do with a drink." Klaus told him. "And we have a lot to discuss, so shall we?" Klaus actually stuttered as he spoke. Ellie had never heard him stutter before, not even with Mikael. He hadn't sounded nearly as scared with Mikael, just angry and hurt. This was fear. Ellie, sensing the danger before her, carefully backed away from Klaus. The moment she did, Elijah struck, punching Klaus before slinging him through the double doors. As the glass shattered, Klaus called, "Easy! I just finished renovating." He lunged at Elijah, slamming the older Original through a table. "You know, you have every right to be mad at me, but I kept my word. I reunited you with our family."
Ellie rolled her eyes at his sarcastic response. "Being an ass when he already looks like he wants to kill you probably isn't the smartest idea." Ellie said just before Elijah stood and threw two heavy punches to Klaus' face. "Told you."
Klaus stumbled into the room where the coffins were and opened one of the other coffins, pulling out a dagger and pinning Elijah down. "Don't make me do this to you again, Elijah!" He cried.
She jolted forward, looking at the scene before her anxiously. She didn't want Elijah to be daggered again. Both Originals were panting as Elijah said, "Come on. Use it. I dare you. You'll have Kol to deal with."
After a tense pause, Klaus lowered the dagger. "Mikael is dead." Klaus confessed.
"What did you say?" Elijah asked as he stood up straight.
"I killed him with his own weapon." Klaus explained. "He's gone, Elijah. Forever."
"Eleanor, is this true?" Elijah looked to her for confirmation.
She nodded. "He killed him at the homecoming dance. The others tried to use Mikael to kill Klaus, but Klaus managed to kill Mikael first." She replied.
"Our little witch here helped me see to that. Gave me an opening to finish him off." Klaus added with pride.
Elijah looked to be in a state of shock as he looked between the two. He turned back to Klaus. "Why do our family remain in these coffins?" He asked in bafflement. "Finn for over nine hundred years. Kol for over a century." His tone of voice made it obvious that he was incredibly angry at the fact. She found herself curious about the two other brothers in coffins. Elijah never really spoke of his other siblings and neither did Rebekah nor Klaus.
"Because of Stefan Salvatore." Klaus explained. "He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things that you do not know about our past, Elijah. Our mother's death. Things I never want you to know. But I'm ready to tell you now." Ellie wasn't sure if she was even supposed to be there for this conversation, but she refused to move from her spot. "I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me."
Ellie watched as Klaus dipped the dagger into a small bowl before walking over to the coffin of Kol. "What are you doing?" Elijah asked tightly. He looked very much like he wanted to stop Klaus from daggering their brother yet again, and Ellie moved on instinct and wrapped her hand around his arm. She knew that look on his face. It's exactly what she felt when she couldn't protect Jeremy. It was exactly what she felt when she found out Elena had gotten Damon to compel Jeremy go somewhere else.
She felt sick as the dagger slid into their brother's chest. The noise it made was awful and made Ellie's stomach turn. "Always and forever." Klaus said to him. Had Elijah said that phrase before? She tried to recall when he'd said it. Maybe it had been when he was explaining everything to her and Elena. "I need you to stand by my side, be my brother. Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again."
The look on Elijah's face spoke volumes. She knew that family was a very big thing for Elijah and she knew that it would be hard for Elijah to deny his brother when Klaus was asking him to be his brother again. Elijah looked both conflicted and angry, so Ellie squeezed his arm in warning. "Why don't you give Elijah some time to get back to feeling himself?" Ellie suggested to Klaus. "He did just wake up from being dead and stuck in a box. He should eat something."
Klaus, for once, seemed to listen to Ellie and backed down. "You're right, of course. Why don't you take one of the cars and go for a bite brother, it'll help you feel more like yourself." Klaus agreed. "Take your pick of any of the rooms. There's several to choose from." He offered as he made a grand sweeping gesture with his arm, showing off the house. "Of course, that offer goes to you as well, little witch. You haven't been here much, I haven't had a chance to tell you that you're more than welcome to stay here."
She was only somewhat surprised by the offer. While she was still bound by her deal to go where he went, she hadn't entirely expected him to offer her a place to live. "Thanks, Klaus. Come on Elijah, can you take me to Caroline's? My car is there." Her offer was in part to just get Elijah out of the house so that he didn't attempt to kill Klaus before they could talk.
He had yet to tear his eyes away from his brother, but he nodded stiffly. "Of course, Eleanor. Let's go." He said as he finally looked away from Klaus.
"The keys to all the cars are in the garage." Klaus informed them.
Elijah gave a hum of acknowledgement. "You might want to get the blood cleaned before the stains set in." He said casually before he offered his arm to Ellie. She saw the odd look on Klaus' face, like he didn't know how to respond, before she took Elijah's arm and they headed off.
Her grip was tight on his arm as they walked. When they arrived in the garage there were three expensive looking cars parked. She picked up a random key and clicked the unlock button before turning to Elijah. "Are you ready to go?"
He nodded and opened the passenger side door for her. Once they were out of the driveway, Ellie turned to him. "I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you sooner." She apologized, it reminded her of the last time he'd been daggered and then woken up again. "Who undaggered you?" She asked in confusion.
"It wasn't you?" He asked in surprise.
"No. Stefan stole all of the coffins because of what Klaus did to him." Ellie explained.
"What did Klaus do?" Elijah inquired.
Ellie sunk a little farther into her seat. "It honestly might be easier to ask what Klaus didn't do." She told him. "You need to eat right? To feed whatever? So that you feel more like yourself?"
He cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, a drink would help."
"Well, why don't you drop me off at Caroline's and I'll meet you back at the apartment?" She suggested. "I've uh… Elena and I got into it again, I've been staying at the apartment again."
It was obvious to him that she wasn't sure how he'd feel about her staying in his place. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Eleanor, you are always welcomed to stay, whenever you want."
"Thanks." She told him as they pulled into Caroline's drive. "I'll see you soon." She told him before she got out of his car and into hers. The drive to the apartment didn't take long. On instinct, she waved to the woman at the front desk before she headed upstairs. She instinctively started to tidy up the apartment, even though it wasn't really messy to begin with. It was something her mother had done whenever they were expecting company.
She didn't have to wait very long before she heard the jingling of keys and the door opening. "Eleanor." He greeted as he came in.
"Hi."
He moved to pour himself a drink before pouring her one as well. "Now, what have I missed?" He asked as he passed her a drink.
"A lot." She sighed as she sunk down onto the couch, pulling her legs up to her chest. "Where to start?" She took a moment to collect her thoughts. "I guess I'll just start at the beginning. After the sacrifice happened and Klaus daggered you, he took Stefan and I on a hunt to find a werewolf pack for him to turn into hybrids. Took all summer before we found one in the mountains. Klaus tried to turn them all but…"
She hesitated as the sick feeling settled in as she thought about what had happened in the woods. It had been the worst thing she'd ever seen. "What happened?" He asked, his voice soft like he knew she was struggling to figure out how to tell him what happened.
"It went wrong. All the werewolves died in transition. Klaus went to this witch in Chicago named Gloria to try and get her to figure out what was going wrong, but she needed Rebekah's necklace. Wait… how come you didn't say anything about Rebekah's necklace being Elena's necklace?" Ellie asked curiously.
"When I saw it, I recognized it at once, but I also knew it was possible that Rebekah lost it at some point. She would have never willingly parted with it." Elijah explained. "However, I am curious how Elena came to be in possession of it."
"Apparently Stefan knew Rebekah and Klaus back in the twenties, but when they were running from Mikael, he compelled Stefan to forget. She dropped her necklace and he picked up. And yeah, she told me it was your mom's." Ellie replied. "Klaus undaggered her and we came back to Mystic Falls because Rebekah knew something up with Stefan. The Original Witch told Bonnie that Elena needed to die, but Klaus basically said he would never do anything other than the opposite of what she said and figured out that Elena's blood was the key."
"Elena's blood is the key?" He asked in interest as he took a sip of his drink.
"Yeah, they have to use her blood to transition." She explained. "But apparently the others found out where Mikael was and told Klaus and he left town, but left me, Stefan, and Rebekah here while he was gone."
"And how did my sister behave?" Elijah questioned. "She has never been particularly fond of the doppelgängers."
She couldn't help but snort. "Yeah, I noticed that." She replied. "She definitely doesn't like Elena, and she didn't like me at first but I think I've made progress. At least I had until Elena literally stabbed her in the back."
"Elena did what now?" Elijah asked as sat up a little straighter. He had learned that like her ancestors, Elena Gilbert had no issue with double crossing the people that were trying to help her because she thought she knew better. The thought that she had literally stabbed his little sister in the back didn't sit right with him.
"Rebekah had helped lure Klaus back so Mikael could kill him, but apparently Elena thought that Rebekah was going to chicken out, so she daggered her and lied to me about it." Ellie explained before a dark look formed on her face.
Something big must have happened for her to look like that at the thought of her sister. During the time that he had known Ellie, she'd never looked so angry and betrayed by her sister. "What else did Elena do?"
"She had Damon compel Jeremy to leave town but didn't even tell me or Jenna that she'd done it. I only found out because Bonnie said something about it. She just thinks that she's right and it's the safest thing for him. She won't even tell us where he is." Ellie said angrily. "Alaric knew about it, he let Elena do it. Jenna got so angry with them that she broke up with him and kicked him out. Jenna's been staying in her dorm and I've been staying here."
"Like I said before, you're always more than welcome to stay here." Elijah assured her. "Do you know what it is that Klaus has lied to me about?"
He watched as she tensed and as the color drained away from her face. He didn't think it was fear, at least not fear of him. No, it seemed more like she just didn't want to be the one to tell him. "That's family business." She said carefully as she tried to keep her tone controlled. "I think Klaus should be the one to explain that to you."
"I understand. Some things are better left to be explained by family." He replied.
"But who undaggered you?" Ellie asked curiously as she relaxed. Elijah shrugged and moved to reach into his inside breast pocket for his handkerchief, but his fingers brushed against the edges of a piece of paper instead. When he pulled it out, Ellie tilted her head in interest. "What's that?" She asked as she moved forward on the couch, moving close to read the paper.
Her heart might have raced a bit, but that was just because she was confused and curious about the mystery paper, at least that's what she told herself. "It seems Damon Salvatore was the one to undagger me. He wants to meet." Elijah said.
"Are you going to go?"
"I suppose I could at least hear him out. Would you like to come with me?" He asked.
"Given that there's always a chance that Damon could get his ass kicked, yes, I would love to go." Ellie agreed.
He chuckled at her comment and she smiled brightly in return. "Well it seems like we have a long day ahead of us." He said as he stood and offered her his hand.
"It seems like we do. I should get to bed." Ellie told him. She turned to head to her room, before she turned back and hugged him tightly, just like she had when he'd been undaggered the first time. "I'm glad you're back." She confessed.
He hugged her back with ease. "It's good to be back." When they pulled away, he gave her a small smile. "Sleep well."
"You too."
In the morning, Ellie woke to find a note on the kitchen counter from Elijah explaining that Klaus had asked to see him to tell Elijah the things he had kept from him. The note had also told her to be dressed so that she would be ready to go when it was time to go and meet Damon. It felt bizarrely domestic. She was never quite sure how to act when she and Elijah were sharing the same space in the way that they currently were.
It was easier to dismiss the funny feeling in her stomach as being nervous as to basically, even temporarily, living with a man that wasn't her family. Had it been someone like Tyler or Matt, it would have been fine. She could do that without batting an eye. She'd quite literally shared cribs with them when they were younger. She had the pictures to prove it. They were like brothers to her. Matt and Tyler were as fundamental to her childhood as Caroline and Bonnie were. The two of them were as much her brothers as Jeremy was.
Given, she never really fought with Matt like she could with Tyler of Jeremy, but that was just because Matt was so sweet. Plus, he had enough family drama between the way his mom was and the way Vicki had been before everything that happened with Damon. It was part of why she had never dated. It wasn't like they were exactly in a large town, and she'd grown up closely with a lot of people. She was just never really romantically attracted to any of them. Most of the boys in school were stupid, as basically all teenage boys were, and she'd never had the patience for it.
But Elijah wasn't like them. He was sophistication made flesh. Everything about him practically screamed royal. If she was remembering it correctly, Katherine had said that Klaus and Elijah were noblemen when she'd met them. It fit them, Elijah especially, he just had that air about him. Plus, what girl didn't think a man in a suit was attractive? Her face flushed a bright red at the thought before she pushed it away. It didn't mean anything to think that he was attractive. She'd have to be blind not to see it. It was simply an observation, a statement of fact. There was nothing more to it than that.
Once she forced the thought away, she moved to the kitchen to fix herself something to eat. With great effort, far more than she was willing to admit, she kept her mind free of Elijah as she made herself pancakes and some eggs. She'd gotten halfway through eating when the door slammed open. Ellie flinched as her forked clattered loudly against the plate. "Elijah?" She asked in confusion. "What happened?"
"He killed my mother." He practically hissed it and it sent chills down her spine. With a wave of her hand, the door closed in an instant. The last thing they needed was to be overheard. "Of all of the things I had expected… there are a lot of things that I might have expected of him, but family is sacred. There are lines that even we should not cross. He told us that Mikael killed her. For a thousand years I have thought that my father killed my mother."
Elijah was actually shaking with rage. In all the time she had known him, she'd never seen him so upset. It was interesting to see how and Rebekah reacted differently to the news. Where Rebekah had been a sobbing mess, Elijah was like a bomb ready to go off. "Elijah…" She said softly as she moved over to him. "Elijah, please, hey."
She didn't think as she reached and took a hold of his hands. He grasped them tightly. Had he held them any tighter, it would have been painful. "My mother made plenty of mistakes, but…"
"It's ok to be upset about it. Rebekah was heartbroken when she found out." Ellie explained. "Don't apologize for how you feel." It was an interesting turn of events to be the one calming him down instead of the other way around. She thought back to when she had nearly set the curtains on fire at the Lockwood's. He had been so good about it. It was only fair that she be there for him the way he'd been there for her.
He seemed to be struggling to figure out how to express his emotions, which was understandable given what he'd just been told. So Ellie did what she always did when someone she cared about was upset. She stepped forward, carefully pulling her hands from his to wrap them around him instead. There was only a brief pause before he hugged her back. They stood that way longer than they had before, but it wasn't uncomfortable to do so. "Thank you." He said finally as they pulled away.
His voice was much steadier than before, but she could feel his heartbeat while they'd hugged and it was still beating a violent pattern in his chest. "After all the times you've been there for me, this was the least I could do." She replied as she gave him a warm smile. Ellie couldn't help but watch with interest as he visibly forced himself to calm down. "Was that the worst of it?" She asked tentatively. She really didn't want to upset him again.
"Yes, that was the worst of it." He confirmed. Nothing could compare to the revelation that Klaus had killed their mother. Even when Henrik had died, he never blamed Klaus for it. It was a foolish decision to sneak out on the full moon, that was true. But Elijah had known without a shadow of a doubt that Klaus would have never intentionally let anything happen to Henrik. Even if he'd been unsure, he remembered how distraught Klaus had been. Henrik's death had threatened to rip Klaus apart. Their brother's death wouldn't have hurt him so badly if he were a bad person. Klaus had been someone else entirely when they were human.
Elijah looked lost in thought, or maybe in his memories, so Ellie reached to touch his arm carefully. "Are you with me?" She questioned. His eyes seemed to clear as he came back to the present. When he nodded, she told him, "We should probably get going. We need to go meet Damon."
The glance he spared at the clock brought him back fully as he nodded sharply. "Your food…"
She brushed it off with a wave of her hand. "I had enough to not be hungry. It's no big deal." She walked over to the counter, taking her plate and dumping the leftover food in the trash before putting her plate in the sink. "Let's go. I don't want to hear him make snarky comments about us being late."
Elijah gave her a half smile at her comment before he led her down to his car. The drive was silent other than the soft music coming from the radio, but Ellie did nothing to disrupt it. She knew Elijah could probably benefit from additional time to calm down. It was only when they were halfway there that Ellie finally figured out what was different about Elijah, barely contained rage aside. "What?" He asked. He'd clearly noticed her glancing his way every minute or so.
"Did you get a haircut?"
The question was so unexpected that he couldn't help but laugh. The young witch next to him had seen him in the midst of rage not even fifteen minutes prior, and now she was asking him about his hair. "I did, actually." He replied, a small smile of disbelief on his face. She really was something else entirely wasn't she?
She blushed shyly as he laughed. He didn't say anything, but if he were honest with himself, he quite thought the color suited her. "Sorry. You just… something was different about you and it took me a minute to place it." She confessed.
"Of course." He agreed. They had to walk to reach their destination, though luckily it wasn't far.
Ellie felt Damon's presence before she heard or saw him, but when she did spot the dark haired Salvatore, he had his phone to his ear chatting away. "Ah, makes me nostalgic for the time when Stefan was a bunny-snacking pacifist." He was saying as he came into earshot. She assumed he was talking to Elena. "Anyway, got to go. More later. Tea with an old friend. Elijah, Sabrina. My favorite Original, back from the dead." He said in greeting. "You clean up nice." He told Elijah.
"You left something in my jacket pocket." Elijah said as he produced the note that Damon had left him. It was quite strange for Ellie to watch how quickly Elijah went from furious to as cool and calm as ever was. Had she not seen it happen, she would have never thought he'd been so upset just a few minutes before.
"Oh, yeah. 'Dear Elijah, let's get together, plot the destruction of your brother. XO, XO'." Damon said sarcastically.
"Damon." Elijah said in warning.
"Was I right to undagger you? Or are we gonna have a problem?" Damon asked.
"I'm here. Let's talk." Elijah replied.
Damon gave her a once over. "I didn't say to bring Sabrina with you. She has been spending an awful lot of time with Klaus since you've been gone."
Ellie scowled at him and at once he gripped his head as the pain practically blinded him. It only lasted a split second, a warning more than anything else. He'd done more than enough to her friends and family in the past for her to not feel bad about it. "Unlike some people, Damon, I'm actually trustworthy." She scoffed.
He looked like he was going to argue with her, but Elijah didn't let him get the chance. "She's right." He confirmed. "I trust her. I wouldn't have brought her with me if I didn't." Him trusting her meant a great deal to her. After a thousand years of getting stabbed in the back by people he was supposed to be able to trust, Ellie knew it wasn't something he gave lightly. Instead of the probably stupid grin that wanted to make an appearance at his statement, Ellie smirked at Damon in satisfaction.
"Fine, whatever." Damon huffed. "Well, let's start with an easy question… Any idea what kind of Klaus killing weapon could be magically sealed in a mystery coffin?"
Ellie being in attendance of the dinner between the Salvatores and Originals had been something both Damon and Elijah agreed on. At the very least, she could keep Stefan and Klaus from killing each other before dessert. She arrived after Elijah did. Jenna had needed her to run an errand, so she agreed to just meet Elijah at Klaus' mansion. "Thank you for coming." Elijah said as he opened the door for her.
"No problem." She assured him as she stepped fully inside. A pretty, young blonde girl appeared out of nowhere and carefully took Ellie's coat.
She hadn't been there for a whole minute before the doorbell rang again. Elijah opened it to reveal Stefan and Damon. "Niklaus, our guests have arrived."
"Damon, Stefan. Elijah tells me you seek an audience. Very bold." Klaus said as they all walked inside. "Ellie, you look lovely. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilized men, shall we?"
"It's better to indulge him." Elijah told them as he placed a hand on Ellie's back, leading her to the table.
"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus. In fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told I had to, cause you would hear us out." Stefan confessed.
Klaus chuckled to himself. "Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours, though I fear you may ruin Ellie's appetite should you choose the latter." He said as he sat down.
Elijah pulled out Ellie's seat for her before taking a seat to her left. Thankfully, Stefan gave in and took the seat to Ellie's right. They ate in a tense silence, only breaking when Damon said, "Thank you, love."
Despite sitting down, Stefan hadn't touched his food or drink. "You lost your appetite." Klaus commented.
"Eat. I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home." Damon commanded.
Stefan gave a fake smile as he picked up his cutlery. "That's the spirit." Klaus replied. "Isn't this nice? The five of us dining together. Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger out of my brother?"
"Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more the merrier." Damon sassed.
"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the centuries, but we always make it through."
"Kind of like, uh, you and Rebekah, right?" Stefan taunted. "Where is she by the way? Last I checked, she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her."
"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah." Klaus said as he and Elijah shared a look. Though Elijah looked calm for the most part, she'd spotted the way he tensed at the mention of their mother, but he corrected himself in an instant.
Damon was clearly not happy with Stefan's behavior. "Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might want to dial down the judgement till dessert."
"We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses."
"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us, pace yourself." Damon warned.
They fell back into silence for a short while before Elijah asked, "Stefan, where is the lovely Elena tonight?"
Ellie winced slightly at the question. She should have told him about all of that. "I don't know. Ask Damon." Stefan replied tightly.
Klaus started laughing at that. "I'm sorry. You've missed so much. Ah, trouble in paradise."
"One more word about Elena, and uh, this dinner is over." Stefan told them.
"You know what, probably best just to keep Elena in the do not discuss pile." Damon suggested.
"You're probably right." Klaus said.
Ellie nodded in agreement. "Yeah."
Klaus didn't seem capable of letting the subject drop. "It's just… the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger is still so strong. What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?"
It was easy to immediately see that Elijah didn't want to talk about that. "Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" He asked as he placed down his napkin.
"Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guest might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line." Klaus replied.
"Well, we're not going anywhere, Elijah, please, do tell." Damon encouraged.
"When our family first settled here there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus." Elijah explained.
"Oh I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much." Klaus corrected.
"Wait a minute, so you both loved the same girl?" Stefan asked in disbelief.
"Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia, and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time, Niklaus and I… grew estranged." Elijah told them. "Harsh words were traded. We even came to blows. Didn't we, brother?"
Ellie frowned. "Kinda sounds like she was playing you both." She commented before she took a sip of her drink. "Neither of you deserved to have your emotions toyed with by a girl who refused to choose. You deserved better." All four of them were staring at her and if she was honest, she wasn't sure which set of brothers she was talking to. Her statement held true either way.
"Perhaps." Klaus agreed. "But in the end, we recognized the sacred bond of family."
"Family above… all." Elijah added.
"Family above all." Klaus agreed as they clinked their glasses together.
Their brotherly sentiment obviously made Stefan and Damon a bit uncomfortable, and for the rest of the meal they ate in silence. As the girls were clearing away their plates, Elijah suggested, "So why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?"
"Well, it's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back. In exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, and Elena live happily ever after, no grudges." Damon offered.
"Deal sounds fair, brother." Elijah agreed.
"I don't think you understand. Elena's doppelgänger blood ensures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. Of course, Ellie's might work just as well, a theory I've yet to test, but I still refuse to give up Elena. I will never leave her behind." Klaus said before standing. "Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection. What then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between your feuding? You see, each one of you truly believes that you're the one that can protect her. And that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen… the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is the two of you."
Personally, Ellie wasn't inclined to disagree. Damon had nearly turned Elena against her will just because he refused to let her die. Elena could really get hurt if she got caught between the two of them fighting. Damon obviously didn't like to be told that because he announced, "I'm going to get some air."
"Let me deal with this." Elijah offered as he rose.
She'd gone with Elijah and Damon and when they returned, the blonde that had taken her coat was lying dead on the floor. "What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table." Damon said as they walked in. "We've made our offer. Now you counter."
"Ok." Klaus said as he took a seat. "I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot, and to fall in love with a human. Maybe that nice football player. You know, the blonde one."
"Matt?" Ellie asked.
"Really?" Damon scoffed.
"Yeah, why not? They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family."
"And continue the Petrova bloodline." Stefan deduced. "Every few hundred years you'll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?"
"Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being." Klaus replied. "See, after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it's what's best for her. So, what do you say, Stefan? Do we have a deal?"
When Stefan started to walk over to Klaus, Damon worriedly asked, "What are you doing?"
The two shook hands before Stefan said, "Nice try, Klaus, but no deal."
Klaus let out a shout of rage before he snapped Stefan's arm and leg, making the younger vampire drop to his knees and forcing Stefan's hand into the fire. "Stefan!" She shouted in shock.
Damon tried to rush forward as Stefan let out a cry of pain, but Elijah pinned him to the wall. "What are you doing?"
"Klaus stop it!" Ellie shouted. She saw some of the tension drain from Stefan's shoulders as she used her magic to make it hurt less.
"Now bring me my coffin before I burn him alive." Klaus warned.
"I'll get it."
"Go with him, brother. You keep him honest. In fact, Ellie you go as well, keep them both in line." He instructed. "And when you return, brother, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family."
Ellie allowed Elijah to pull her with him as they headed after Damon. "Come." Elijah instructed them both as he led them to another part of the house. Ellie recognized it instantly from the coffins placed carefully inside.
She muttered a spell under her breath as the candles shot to life. "He can't hear us." She assured them as she looked at the coffins. "Elijah, what's the plan?"
"My brother has lied to me one too many times, Eleanor." He said as he walked over to one of the coffins, pushing it open. "My family has been controlled by him for long enough. It's time to undagger them."
Ellie opened the next coffin and saw Rebekah's grey body before her. "Can I?"
"Of course." He assured her as he pulled the dagger from one of his brother's chest before she pulled the dagger out of Rebekah. Once he removed the last one, he took a hold of the blood bags Damon had somehow acquired.
With the help of the blood bags, it didn't take long for the three siblings to wake up. Rebekah was first, jolting away and draining her bag. "That stupid doppel-bitch!" She cursed as she got out of her coffin.
Despite knowing that Rebekah might have been angry with her, Ellie couldn't help but hug the blonde. "I'm so sorry, Rebekah!" She apologized as she pulled back to look the other girl in the eye. "I swear to you I didn't know she was going to dagger you. I never would have let her."
Rebekah searched for a lie from the doppelgänger before her, but found none. "Why should I believe you?"
Ellie offered up the dagger. "Would it make you feel a bit better to stab Klaus again? To be fair, he kept you daggered after getting you back."
It seemed that it did the trick, because the glint in Rebekah's eye could only be described as malicious. "It would make me feel better to stab him again."
"Who are we stabbing?" A groggy voice asked. A young man had stepped out of one of the other coffins. Out of everyone, he was very clearly Elijah's brother. They looked the most alike out of all the siblings.
"Nik for being a dick." Rebekah said simply.
"Ah, say less." The man grinned before he spotted Ellie. "Another one?"
"Play nice, Kol. This one isn't as wretched as the others." Rebekah defended her. Rebekah's eyes lit up with excitement as the last man made his way out of the coffin. "Finn!" She exclaimed.
"Rebekah." He said calmly before a rage seemed to set in. "Where is he?"
"Niklaus is in the other room. I thought we'd give you all a moment to wake up properly before we went to see him." Elijah said. "Now, give us just a moment. I think it's time we had a little family reunion."
It was almost freakish to see how quickly all the siblings seemed to be on the same page. "After you, brother." Kol agreed. Rebekah held on tightly to the dagger that had been used on her as Elijah compelled one of the waitresses to come in and cover the two other daggers with a cloth on a tray.
They all headed back to the other room once Ellie dropped her spell. She could hear Stefan and Klaus arguing before they got back. Klaus stopped when he saw them. "Elijah, why haven't you left?"
"Well, where are your manners, brother?" Elijah asked. "You forgot dessert."
She could practically see the satisfaction dripping off of him as he yanked the cloth away. "What have you done?" Klaus asked fearfully.
"What have you done?" Elijah shot back. "See I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now."
Ellie turned just in time to see the short haired brother stroll in with purpose. "Kol." Klaus said fearfully.
"Long time, brother."
Before Klaus could move, Finn had appeared, picking a dagger up from the tray. "Finn, don't." Klaus pleaded but Finn shoved the dagger through his hand. Klaus let out a pained scream as Ellie flinched, moving closer to Elijah. Klaus tried to run, but ran straight into Rebekah. "Rebekah!"
She was grinning as she plunged the dagger deep in his stomach. "This is for our mother." She told him. She pushed him back and Kol caught him by the arms, holding him in place.
"You're free to go. This is family business." Elijah told them.
One of the waitresses had Ellie's jacket waiting for her. She took it and moved swiftly out the door. She pulled her phone out of the pocket she'd left it in, and felt a rush of panic at all the missed calls and texts. They were from several different people. Elena, Matt, Sheriff Forbes, Caroline, Jenna. With Jenna being the newest call, she rang her back. "Ellie, where are you? I've been trying to get in touch with you for hours!"
"I was dealing with Klaus and Stefan crap. What's going on, why do I have so many missed calls?" Ellie asked worriedly.
"Someone killed Caroline's dad. He had vampire blood in his system. He's in transition." Jenna explained.
"What?"
"He's not going to complete the transition. He wants to die."
"What?!" Ellie choked as she flung herself into her car. "Where are they?"
"They're at their house. I don't know how much longer he has." Jenna confessed sadly. "I think Caroline could really use you right now."
"I'm on my way. Shit, shit, shit. I'll be there as fast as I can. Thank you for telling me." Ellie said as she hung up the phone abruptly. She needed both hands for how fast she was about to drive. She sped through the town without care. All she could think about was getting to Caroline. How could she have been so stupid to leave her phone in her jacket? She should have made sure she had it so she could know if something was happening.
She made it to the Forbes house in record time. She was lucky the car was actually off and in park before she threw herself out of it. Sheriff Forbes answered the door quickly, and Ellie's eyes watered at the sight Sheriff Forbes' red rimmed ones. "I'm glad you're here." Sheriff Forbes told her.
The older woman led Ellie back to the bedroom and Caroline looked up at them with a numb expression. When she saw Ellie, the dam broke and she practically collapsed into the witch's arms. "He's gone." She sobbed brokenly as they slid down to the floor. Sheriff Forbes joined them a second later, wrapping her arms around both girls as they cried.
Ellie knew exactly how Caroline felt. The ache of losing a parent was a special kind of pain, especially when they felt like they hadn't gotten enough time with them. "It's going to be ok, Caroline. Just breathe, I'm right here." Ellie soothed as she stroked the blonde's hair. They held each other like their lives depended on it.
"Please don't leave me." Caroline cried. "Please don't leave me."
"I won't." Ellie replied. "I promise I'll never leave you." Ellie pressed a kiss to the blonde's hairline. "It's ok, we're right here. You're not alone." She knew Caroline was struggling, but the best thing she could do for Caroline is to hold the other girl tight until it hurt a little less. It was what friends were for. She just hoped Caroline knew that she meant what she said. She would never leave her, ever.
Author's Note:
We're so close to the masquerade! And the Mikaelsons have appeared! As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review letting me know your thoughts!
To brigitm28: I literally had their breakup planned for ages, but her putting him in his place was so needed. I like him too, but he lets Elena run the show too much. I'm so glad you like Kat's relationship with them. Honestly, I think like the Mikaelsons, she just needed someone that cared about her. There's definitely going to be some big Klaus mess ups, but he's an idiot sometimes. Elijah's back and so are the rest!
To xenocanaan: Alaric really is just as much to blame, he lets Elena make all the bad decisions. Right? Like Klaus is a defensive response. I can't think of a time where he killed someone just cause they annoyed him. Like typically they have to do something really bad.
To lolistarkiller: I'm happy he and the rest of the Mikaelsons are finally here! Kat/Ellie bonding time is what I live for. The one thing I knew I could never change about Kat is how unapologetic she is. If I had made her some 'boohoo I'm a horrible person I'm so sorry' then she wouldn't have been Kat anymore. No matter how Kat acts, she's never gonna like Elena.
To flawsome4ever: I'm glad you're enjoying it! I love writing Ellie and Kat.
To Qewbix: It's definitely weird that Elena got with him after he hurt her friends and family, but I think that says more about her than him. At this point, Damon's already in love with Elena. He has been since season two. I think Damon fell for her as hard as he did because he'd just been hurt by Katherine and Elena was the nicer version of her at the time. She's a rebound girl that he just fell too hard for.
To vivi. wie: Oooh, who's your favorite Original? Elijah and Jenna in the Kol version would be neat! Honestly watching everybody start to hate on Elena is so funny to me. Like I can't stand her and it's funny to watch the same response from the readers. I'm glad you like my character development and I agree, they kind of made Jenna a flat character on the show. I miss her interactions with Tyler too, maybe I can work it in more. The masquerade is so so close I'm so excited. I haven't made a twitter yet but if I do I'll let you know!
To skyellebaby: The Originals are my favorites too! I agree, I think she does have good intentions, but she's so narrow minded that she refuses to listen to other ideas and thinks that she always knows best. She's definitely going to be more loyal to him as they develop, but that also means she's willing to call him out more because she's not worried that he's going to hurt her. A Kat and Bekah ship? Now that's something I never even thought about! I hope they're friends eventually too. I think Kat losing her baby could be something they bond over because Bekah always wanted kids. Writing her and Hayley is definitely going to be fun.
To RiRi: Jenna does need a real man! Technically yes, they are his step-daughters, but Jenna's the one with custody. Damon does just let himself get used by Elena because he's hopelessly in love with her. There definitely needs to be a point where they kick the vampires out of their house. The OTP continues! Well, Hayley won't be doing the whole brother thing in this because Ellie's going to be with Elijah, and hopefully I can write her in a way that you like her. I feel like if I can make someone like a character they normally hate, then I've done really well and it makes me so excited. The show definitely did make it seem like something did. At the very least, she definitely had a crush on Tyler.
To Oz: Right? Like get it, Jenna! What would be more satisfying though? Them moving out or them kicking out Elena? She's definitely disrespectful. Honestly Alaric and his decisions make no sense to me. I don't know what he was thinking. Ellie and Katherine getting sister necklaces would be so freaking cute! Hopefully, I can make Hayley in a way that you like her!
To LuaMinguante: Thank you so much!
To cocobyrd87: It really is insane how much they let her do isn't it? It's always fun to have Ellie call her out. Let's be real, even when she calls her out she's probably still holding her tongue because she's too nice.
To Guest: I will! Next Saturday is the one year anniversary and then Sunday is Valentine's Day and I like doing stuff on holidays!
To Guest(2): Whenever Caroline gets married, to whoever she marries, yes, Ellie would definitely be the maid of honor. They are best friends after all. The fact that you're obsessed makes me so happy lol. Yes, Ellie will be going to The Originals but there is at least one event that happens in TVD that Ellie will be present for, so there's a possibility that there will be more times.
To Guest(3): I hope the wait was worth it! That would be a really interesting concept for the Kol and Ellie version! I think I've read something kind of similar in all honesty. I'm still working on this one and focusing on plotting and researching for a Captain America fic right now so I don't know when I'll start planning the Kol story.
To AdiraBraelynn: He really has missed a lot hasn't he? The Mikaelsons are this chapter! The Mikaelsons are quite creative with their threats. I mean honestly, can we blame Kat for still loving him? He's a gem. I love writing the bonding scenes. Right, and that was just the start of their bond. She didn't even mention if there were other really bad times. She'll confide in Elijah at some point, I just don't know when. We love Jenna being confident and telling them off! Yes! Bekah did get her necklace back! Ellie got it from Bonnie and gave it to her. I don't remember if Elena took it back again after she daggered her but in my story we're going to say she still has it.
-Madame Magic
Posted: 2/6/21
