Chapter 73: After School Special
January 29, 2011
The school had gathered for the memorial of Judge Fell, one of the most respected members of the community. Ellie remembered him from when she was little. He had dressed up as Santa Claus every year when she was a kid, though she didn't find that out until much later. His death had enough of an impact on Mystic Falls that they'd even gone so far as having a mandatory all-school assembly.
Ellie was sitting next to Caroline and Tyler, though they were a bit away from Bonnie and Elena. The twins still weren't really speaking to one another, but it was still awkward given that Tyler wasn't talking to her either. Both Bonnie and Caroline were doing their best to keep the peace, but the tension was still uncomfortable. She twisted Isobel's necklace around as she ran her thumb across the stone. The mayor had in fact managed to talk some sense into Tyler, and for the moment he had put a stop to any homicidal plans against Klaus.
Thinking of the original hybrid gave her conflicting feelings. She knew he was the violent type, but he'd actually agreed to spare Tyler. When they'd gone home, even Elijah had confessed his surprise at Klaus' pardon. He also made sure to remind her that Klaus might change his mind at the flip of a switch. Klaus had continued to keep his distance from them, and Ellie could admit that she felt a bit bad.
Without his hybrids, he didn't really have anyone to talk to and she was starting to feel bad. She also missed him more than she particularly wanted to admit. When it came to missing someone, she also missed Rebekah. It felt like a missing limb. Being with Tyler was awkward. He still wasn't really talking to her, but Caroline was placed in between them as a buffer. She didn't know if Caroline being the buffer helped anything, or if it made it worse. "Please join me in observing a minute of silence in his memory." Sheriff Forbes was saying as Ellie was pulled back into the moment. "Thank you very much." She said as the minute was up.
Ellie's head shot up as a familiar energy caught her attention. She searched the crowd in the direction she felt it, but she couldn't see anyone out of the ordinary. She stretched her magic out farther to try and find them. In truth, she hadn't even been aware that her magic was scanning the room in the first place, but it didn't surprise her that it was doing it's own thing. As Sheriff Forbes finished up her speech, everyone flooded out of the gym and Ellie felt that same energy brush against her magic once more.
She followed it curiously. It felt so familiar, but she just couldn't place it. "Ellie, where are you going?" Caroline called.
"I'm just going to the bathroom." Ellie replied. "Why don't you call Stefan? See why he bailed on us." Caroline nodded as Ellie continued on down the hallway. She found herself wandering down the math hall when the energy jolted suddenly. She spun on her heel, ready to defend herself, when she was greeted with a familiar blonde instead. "Bekah!" The Original clearly wasn't expecting Ellie to practically throw herself at the other girl, but the vampire caught her with ease. "I've missed you so much."
"You have?" Rebekah asked cautiously.
Ellie pulled away to see Rebekah's expression. It was similar to when she thought that Ellie had betrayed them before. "Bekah, I looked for you for weeks and something or someone was cloaking you. Do you know how worried I've been about you? It didn't take long to figure out that Klaus had daggered you, but I couldn't find you."
"You looked for me?"
There was a vulnerability to Rebekah that hadn't been there before. Her suspicion had dissolved into hesitation. "Rebekah, you're one of my best friends. Of course I looked for you. I wouldn't just forget about you." She told her honestly. "Elijah just thought I couldn't find you because I'd worn myself out, but even after he made sure I was rested and feeling ok, we couldn't find you."
Rebekah's eyes widened as she asked, "Elijah looked for me too?"
"You're his sister and he loves you, of course he looked for you." Ellie assured her. "But how did you get undaggered? I can't imagine Klaus did it."
That seemed to snap Rebekah out of her vulnerable state. She straightened up and explained, "Of course he didn't. It was April Young."
"Wait? How did April know where you were? Since when does April know about all of this?" Ellie asked in confusion.
"Apparently, some Hayley girl snapped Caroline's neck and left her in the bathroom stall when April found her and since Caroline didn't know that April was wearing vervain, she told April to forget everything and let her go. April went and undaggered me and I explained everything to her." Rebekah replied. "But, currently, I'm working on a little project, so why don't you go meet April in the cafeteria while I gather my little supplies."
"Sure. Why is April in the cafeteria?"
"She was hungry. She went to get something from the vending machines." Rebekah said with a shrug. "Meet me in the library in say… five minutes? April should have time to eat by then."
"Alright." Ellie started to exit before she turned back to Rebekah. "I'm really glad you're back, Bekah."
The blonde grinned brilliantly at her. "It's good to be back."
Ellie made her way to the cafeteria as her mind came up with a thousand different possibilities to how April had reacted to finding out about everything. Had she reacted like Ellie had? Had she been scared? When Ellie got to the cafeteria, she found April sitting up on top of one of the tables, snacking on chips. "April?"
"Holy shit!" April yelped as she nearly fell off the table. "You scared the crap out of me."
"I'm sorry. Rebekah said you would be in here." Ellie explained.
"You saw Rebekah?" April asked. When Ellie nodded in confirmation, April replied, "She told me everything you know. Everything everyone's been lying to me about." Ellie noticed the frustration when April mentioned the way people had been lying.
"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but for the most part, you weren't really involved and I mean surely you get how dangerous it would be for us to just go telling everyone just because we were friends with them." Ellie tried.
April frowned. "Yeah, but you don't get what it's like to be lied to like that."
Ellie couldn't help the surprised laugh that escaped her. "I do, actually."
"You do?"
"April, I only found out about everything after Elena and I got kidnapped and handed to Rebekah's older brother so that he could give us to their other brother to sacrifice one of us. My literal life was on the line and Elena still didn't bother to tell me the truth. So, trust me, I know exactly how frustrating that is." Ellie replied.
The younger girl's jaw dropped in surprise. "Oh my god. I had no idea, Rebekah didn't tell me."
"Don't worry about it, really. I wanted to actually thank you for undaggering her. I've been trying to find her for ages."
"Oh… um, you're welcome, I guess. When I heard where she was, I just got worried about her." April looked a little nervous as she said. "Rebekah, um, she told me about you… about you being a witch. Is that… what's that like?"
Ellie grinned slightly. "You mean, am I like Hermione?"
"It sounds a little silly I guess." April blushed in embarrassment.
"No, it's fine, really. It's not exactly the same magic wise, but the concept is pretty similar. Researching things and practicing, life or death situations. Sometimes fun stuff, but sometimes not." Ellie explained. "But Rebekah wanted us to meet her in the library after you had a chance to eat."
April nodded and said, "That's fine. I'm done now. So we can go ahead and head that way. Unless you wanted to get something of course."
"I'm good. Let's go." The two of them made their way to the library as Ellie explained some of the stuff that she'd had to deal with since becoming a witch. The halls were deserted, the students had hastily cleared out after the assembly was over.
"Glad you two made it back." Rebekah greeted cheerfully as they walked in the library.
"Ellie?" Elena asked as she saw them.
"What's going on?" Ellie asked as she frowned. "Bekah?"
Rebekah looked smug. "I've decided to get answers since some people want to be backstabbers. Now, there's only one more person missing from our class, so I'll go and fetch them. You two feel free to grab a seat, Elena and Caroline won't be going anywhere."
She was gone before Ellie could ask what was happening. Elena looked annoyed and Caroline looked unimpressed. "What's going on?" Ellie repeated.
"Rebekah's in a mood, I guess." Caroline huffed. She tapped her nails against the table as she looked around in frustration. April took a seat between the two girls while Ellie opted to sit on top of the table behind April. They fell into tense silence as Ellie tried to figure out what exactly was going on. She wasn't surprised that Rebekah was pissed off. She had gotten daggered for over a month because of the search for the cure.
After a few minutes, Rebekah returned, pulling Stefan along with her. "Stefan!" Elena said as she rose from her seat.
"Did I say you come move?" Rebekah sassed. "Class is in session. You've all been compelled, save for the lovely April and Ellie. You know the rules. Answer my questions honestly, no disobedience, no one leaves. April, my sweet, take notes. This is how you get answers in this town. Let's start with a little quiz. In the year 1114, my brother learned, thanks to yours truly, about a brotherhood of vampire hunters with tattoos that grew with each kill. And these tattoos reveal what, Elena?"
"A map." Elena replied as she refused to look at Rebekah, who had been pacing around the table.
"Which led to… Caroline?"
"A cure for vampirism."
"Perfect." Rebekah said cheerily. "So we're all caught up. Stefan Salvatore, the last time we saw each other, you had a vampire hunter, but in order to decode the map, you needed the location of the hunter's sword, which you got out of me using some very dirty tricks. Assuming you found the sword, you must have found the cure, and yet you're all still vampires, which means something went wrong." She looked over to April and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, you asked me to take notes." April said softly from where she'd pulled pens and paper from her bag.
"I wasn't being literal, darling. But now that you mention it, a flow chart would be nice, which means index cards and push pins. Go fetch." Rebekah instructed and Ellie couldn't help her small grin.
As April did as she was told, Stefan looked up at the blonde original and said, "You're wasting your time. We don't know anything."
"So you just gave up? I thought you'd do anything to save Elena? Even if it meant taking the cure yourself so you could grow old and die with her." Rebekah retorted. Ellie sat up straighter in surprise. "Why do you look so surprised?" Ellie's heart hurt for Stefan. He looked vulnerable but she knew he was trying to keep himself from reacting. "I'm missing something. What is it? Ellie, why do you all look so surprised?"
She didn't look away from Stefan as she explained, "They broke up. They've been broken up for a while now."
"Now let us go." Caroline added.
"Broke up?" Rebekah repeated as she started to grin. "Wait. I'm confused. I thought Elena was your epic love, Stefan." She sat down in the seat that April had vacated and said, "I asked you what happened, and you have to tell me."
"She slept with Damon." Stefan confessed.
Ellie looked over to Caroline in shock. "Wait, when the hell did that happen? Why didn't you tell me?"
Caroline wasn't looking at Elena as she replied, "When I saw you after you'd been gone, with everything that was happening, it slipped my mind. But I'm pretty sure it happened the day you went off on your date with Elijah, or the day before."
Rebekah turned in her seat to look up at Ellie. "You and Elijah finally went on a date? Did it go well?" She asked curiously.
Ellie blushed slightly at the sudden attention. "Yes, he was… it was perfect, but I think we're getting a little off track here."
"You're right. We can talk about it later." Rebekah said as she turned back to the others and stood. "So, vampire Elena is a trollop who likes bad boys, which explains why Stefan reeks of alcohol. But what it doesn't explain is why sweet, loving, innocent Elena could be so heartless towards Stefan." She pulled away from where she'd gotten in Elena's face. "How could she hurt you like that? Answer, please."
"She didn't know it at the time, but she was sired to Damon." Stefan explained.
Rebekah pulled up a chair between Stefan and Elena. "A sire bond. Fascinating. And what do you think about that, Elena?"
"I think you're sad and bored and in desperate need of a hobby." Elena deflected.
"You're hiding something. Fess up." Rebekah demanded.
"I didn't sleep with Damon because of the sire bond. I slept with Damon because I'm in love with him." Elena snapped, but she immediately looked like she regretted it.
When Caroline noticed how upset Stefan looked, she asked, "What does any of this have to do with the stupid cure?"
"You're right. We got off the point. Stefan, how do I find the cure? Unless you'd rather talk about Damon and Elena all day."
Stefan was staring at a point on the wall behind Ellie as he replied, "There's a professor. He knows where the cure is."
"Thank you. And, uh, where do I find this professor?" Rebekah asked. When none of them responded, she turned to Ellie. "Love, where can I find this professor?"
"He teaches Occult Studies at Whitmore College. He took over the position that Bonnie's Grams used to have before she died." Ellie explained.
Rebekah nodded. "Thank you." She did something on her phone before asking, "Anything else big that I missed out on?"
"Klaus killed twelve of his hybrids because they had planned on shoving him back into Tyler's body and then burying him in cement so that they could all escape. He killed them and then tried to kill Mayor Lockwood when he couldn't find Tyler." Ellie told her.
"Tried?"
Ellie sighed before she added, "When he tried to kill Mayor Lockwood, I stopped him. He agreed to spare her and Tyler because I asked. But I also told Klaus about the plan, not knowing that Hayley had already told him. So Tyler kind of hates me right now because I betrayed him."
"Hmm. I suppose Nik had a moment where he didn't feel like being a rat bastard. Good for you, love. I'm glad you protected her, though." Rebekah praised. She turned to Caroline and held out her hand. "Your cell phone, give it to me."
"What why?" Caroline asked.
"It doesn't matter why. You're compelled. You have to give it to me." Rebekah shot back. Caroline glared at the other girl, but reluctantly unlocked her phone before passing it over. She dialed someone on the phone. "I heard. You're keeping all that rage bottled up inside. Caroline's worried sick about you. Hello, Tyler. I heard my brother tried to make a real mess of your life. Believe me, I can relate. Though I wonder how your masculinity is handling it knowing it was lovely Eleanor that saved your mum instead of you. I mean we both know that you have a tendency for feeling inadequate, so I can't imagine that you handled that too well."
"Rebekah." Ellie warned.
"You have my condolences for your struggles. In fact, why don't you come to the high school so you can accept them in person? Because I have your girlfriend and best friend, though I don't know if you're feeling too affectionate toward Ellie right now. Which is really a shame, since she's the reason you're still alive. But maybe you'll get the chance to save your girlfriend when Ellie can't. Bye now."
Ellie didn't even have time to process the threat Rebekah had made before the door swung open as an unexpected face popped in. "Sister… look at this."
"Kol?" Ellie said in surprise.
"The beautiful Eleanor! How lovely it is to see you again!" Kol beamed at her. "But sister, you're even worse than Klaus."
"Kol. Finally. Did you bring me what I asked for?" Rebekah questioned. Kol yanked someone into the room, and when they looked up, Ellie realized that it was Professor Shane. "You must be Shane. This is Shane, right Ellie?"
The two Originals looked over to her for confirmation. "Yeah, that's Professor Shane."
"Perfect. Now, you three stay put. Ellie, be a dear and come with Kol and I." Rebekah instructed. Ellie nodded as she slid off the table.
Kol was grinning at her as she approached the three of them. As they walked out of the library, he asked casually, "Hello, darling. Have you been well?"
He was in a wonderful mood. If he was anything like Klaus, that meant that Professor Shane was most likely going to get tortured. However, she couldn't help but grin back at him and reply, "Depends on the day, I guess. I'm glad Rebekah's back."
The Original slung his arm over her shoulder with a bright smile. "Ah yes, my sister's faithful friend. How lucky she is to have you. I'm quite jealous, I must admit."
"Oh shut up, Kol. I didn't bring you here to flirt with her, and you know that Elijah wouldn't like it." Rebekah warned.
"And you should know that for me that's all the more reason to do it. I get to flirt with a pretty girl and infuriate my older brother all at once? Sounds like a steal." Kol shot back. Ellie didn't mind his flirting, she didn't think that he would actually do something to her without her permission. Rebekah led them all to a janitor's closet, and when she opened the door, Kol shoved Professor Shane inside violently. It was fascinating to see how quickly Kol's cheerful expression had vanished, turning into a dark look. Both he and Rebekah looked every inch of the threat she knew that they could be.
"Kol… and Rebekah Mikaelson, two members of the Original vampire family. This is such a trip." Professor Shane said excitedly, though he was still a bit nervous.
Rebekah stepped closer towards him and asked, "Where's the cure?"
"Compulsion won't work. It's a little trick I picked up in Tibet." Professor Shane told them proudly.
"Right. Well, we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way. Beat him until he tells you where to find it. Ellie, stay with Kol to make sure he doesn't accidentally kill Shane before we have what I want." Rebekah replied.
She strolled out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Kol looked ecstatic. "Oh this is going to be so much fun." He said. "Now, I suppose I'll be a good sport about this and give you a chance to tell us what we want before I start breaking things."
Professor Shane didn't acknowledge his threat, instead he looked over to Ellie. "You know, Bonnie has told me all about you. She said you helped her when she had nightmares and that her Grams taught you as well." He said. "You're a good person. I know it. From everything Bonnie has told me, you won't let him torture me. You're not that kind of person. You don't have it in you."
Ellie felt her stomach twist anxiously. Was he right? She'd never seen a human, a regular person, tortured before. It was always vampires or werewolves that would heal despite the pain. Could she handle this? He was Bonnie's friend, wasn't he? But something about him felt wrong to her. He still made her feel like something was crawling on her skin. The professor was staring at her intently and it felt like she couldn't look away. Kol stepped in front of her, blocking the professor from her line of sight. "Ellie." He said quietly.
She shook her as she snapped out of it, looking up at the Original vampire. "Yeah?" She asked quietly.
He was observing her carefully. "Are you alright? What was that?" She tilted her head back towards the door and he nodded in understanding before turning to the professor and warning, "Do not even think about moving." Kol led her out of the closet and slammed the door closed behind him. "Now, what was that?"
"Kol, from what Bonnie has told me about her 'therapy' or whatever you want to call it from him, he basically puts her in a trance to I guess open her mind up so that she's able to do magic again." Ellie explained. When he didn't seem to understand what she meant, she added, "Kol, witches can't be compelled, but he managed to get Bonnie to do what he told her without her even realizing she was doing it."
"What does the witch have to do with anything?" He asked.
"I… Kol, I'm a witch. If he can manipulate her, he can manipulate me if I'm not careful."
"You're a witch?"
"You didn't know?"
He laughed lightly. "A doppelgänger and a witch. What a special little thing you are. Darling, if I had known you were a witch, I wouldn't have taken my leave so soon." As he recovered from her revelation, he focused back on the task at hand. Glancing at the door behind him, he looked back at her and said, "You don't look him in the eye if he's looking at you, do you understand? The last thing I need is a brainwashed witch trying to take me down so that he can escape."
"What if he can do the same to you, though?"
"What?"
Ellie gave him a look. "Witches aren't supposed to get compelled, neither are Originals. If he can use hypnosis or whatever to compel witches, who's to say that he couldn't manipulate you too?"
He clearly didn't like the thought of that. "Then I suppose we're just going to have to look out for one another, aren't we, love? If I start to seem off, you get me out of the room. I'll do the same for you. Deal?"
"Deal." She confirmed.
"Now. This isn't going to be pretty, but it's necessary. Think about it like this, if he's a threat, your friend Bonnie could be in danger. You want to keep her safe, don't you?" She nodded. "Then just focus on that. Now, let's go." He led her back into the room, glaring at the professor who had been smart enough to stay where they'd left him. "Now, where were we? Ah yes, you were going to tell me what I wanted to know, or I was going to break things."
"I won't tell you." He said it with far too much confidence.
Kol laughed. "I must admit, I do love when people like to play it the hard way."
"She won't let you hurt me." Professor Shane repeated. "Right, Ellie? You know you won't." She looked away sharply when he tried to catch her eye.
"Don't look at her." Kol hissed in warning. He wrapped his hand around the professor's throat, slamming him into the wall violently. "Ellie, be a dear would you and fill up that sink for me, would you?" At her hesitation, Kol sent her a look and said, "It's alright, I'm not going to kill him… yet. Quite frankly I don't want to have to deal with Rebekah's temper tantrum should I break her silly little rules."
Ellie nodded, oddly comforted by his comment, and went to turn on the sink. The logical side of her brain, or maybe the less violent side, was in a full blown panic at the thought of the upcoming torture of Professor Shane. But something about him felt wrong, and Kol was right, he could be a threat to Bonnie. "Ellie…"
"No." She replied quietly while she kept her back to him.
"Where is the cure?" Kol snapped. "Tell me now, and I won't have to do this. Come on, mate. Be a good sport, I'm being incredibly generous right now. I could be breaking bones. But the lady isn't one for torture like I am, and I actually like her."
"Shane, just tell us where the cure is. We don't have to do this." Ellie tried.
When the professor stubbornly kept his mouth shut, Kol gave her a sympathetic look. "You might want to look away for this, darling." He warned her. "Where is the cure?" She jerked her head to the side right as Kol shoved the professor's head into the sink. She could hear the other man gasping as Kol pulled him back up. "Where is it?!" She flinched as the water splashed onto her jeans as he was forced back down. "Where is the cure?"
As Kol pulled him back up again, Ellie turned back to look. "Where is the cure, Shane?" She tried.
Kol's fist shot out, striking Shane across the face. After the second punch landed soundly, Shane struggled to catch his breath. "Ellie… Ellie please, you don't want to do this."
Obviously, Shane's repeated attempts to guilt trip Ellie, or manipulate her, were starting to piss Kol off. "I told you. Don't look at her. Don't speak to her. Tell me where the cure is. Now!" He demanded as he punched Shane again. He didn't even give Shane a chance to answer before he shoved him back into the water. "Where is the cure?!" He shouted. Ellie watched as Shane flailed uselessly, trying to get Kol off of him so that he could come up.
"Kol… how long should he be under there?" Ellie asked worriedly as she watched Shane try to claw at Kol's pants leg.
"There's plenty of time before he drowns." He assured her, but he pulled Shane up anyway. "Where is the cure?"
They had been going at this for who knew how long, but Ellie felt slimy and horrible as she let Kol work. "Where is the cure?" Kol hissed as he got in Shane's face.
"You don't want to do this to me man." Shane said shakily. "This isn't necessary." Ellie had expected Kol to shout at him for making a stupid comment, but Kol was just staring at him with an odd expression. "You don't want to do this." He repeated.
When Kol's grip loosened on the back of Shane's collar, Ellie felt panic surge through her. She had been right, and Shane was a threat even to Originals. "Kol!" She snapped, her hand shot out, wrapping around his jacket and yanking him back and away from Shane. He was still looking at the professor, and she used her free hand to grab him by the chin. "Look at me." She said it so forcefully that he complied automatically. "Are you ok?"
It was like his eyes cleared as he looked at her. He went from dazed to enraged in an instant. "How dare you!" He hissed as he whipped around to face Shane once more. "I promise you, you're going to regret that."
As he shoved Shane back down again, Rebekah returned, watching curiously. When Kol pulled him up again, Rebekah asked, "You're human. Why do you want it anyway?"
"That's the beauty of this. You can have it. I just want Silas." Shane said desperately as he tried to catch his breath.
Ellie immediately caught the shift in Kol's posture. "No." He demanded as he pulled Shane up to get in his face. "What do you know about Silas?" He hissed.
"He's the world's first immortal being, who just happens to be imprisoned with the cure. And I want to free him." Shane explained.
"No!" Kol shouted, forcing Shane back into the water.
This was different. This wasn't torturing Shane for information like he'd been before. It was more aggressive. Shane clearly hadn't had a chance to get a breath before he'd been shoved under. He was desperately hitting at Kol's leg trying to get him to let go. "Kol…" Ellie said. "Kol, wait, you're going to kill him." She started pulling on his shoulder but he wasn't paying her any attention. "Rebekah!"
"Stop!" Rebekah yelled as Ellie pulled on Kol. When Shane came out of the water, he dropped to the ground as he tried to catch his breath. "He's of no use dead."
"Did you not hear what he said? Silas will kill us all, sister." Kol warned her. It was the first time Ellie had ever heard Kol sound so serious. Truth be told, he sounded scared.
"Silas does not exist. He is a fairy tale made up to scare children into eating their vegetables." Rebekah insisted.
"Silas is very real." Shane said shakily. "I know where he's buried, and soon I'll have the spell that wakes him."
"Wait a second, you're lying. You can't get to him without his-"
"Without his tombstone? Dozens to die in a blood sacrifice? Believe me, I know. I've done it. Those massacres are a pain to engineer." Shane shot back as he tried to stand.
"You're the one who got the council blown up." Rebekah said in understanding.
Shane shook his head. "It was a noble sacrifice… and temporary because once I raise Silas, Silas will raise the dead. He will bring back every last soul who died on his behalf." He tried to explain.
"No!" Kol shot forward in an instant, ramming a metal rod through Shane's stomach.
"Oh my god!" Ellie yelped as she jerked back as blood started to flow. "Kol, what did you do?"
She tried to go forward, to save Shane, but Kol pressed her against the wall with a deadly look. "Let him die, Ellie. If he raises Silas everyone you have ever loved will die."
The sounds of Shane choking on his own blood were going to be in her nightmares, of that she was sure. But she was in too much shock from what Kol had done to force him off of her. He wasn't hurting her, but she felt frozen in surprise. "Get off of her!" Rebekah shouted as she slung him back. "What have you done?"
"You should be thanking me." Kol replied.
"You killed my only chance at finding the cure." Rebekah reminded him.
"Silas on the loose would be hell on earth. And frankly, sister, I don't think you could handle it." He replied as he produced the white oak stake.
Ellie immediately felt on edge, instinctively stepping in front of Rebekah to protect her. "How did you get that?" Rebekah asked carefully.
"Way too easily. Though, you might be safe with a doppelgänger witch looking out for you. It's cute, really." He said before walking out of the room.
"I have something to do. Try and find April will you? She never came back." Rebekah suggested as they also walked out of the room.
Rebekah headed back towards the library, but Ellie found herself running to catch up with the other Original. "Kol, wait!"
"I'm sorry, darling. I'm afraid I can't give this back." He replied casually as he twirled the white oak stake in his hand.
"That's not what I wanted."
His eyebrow quirked up in amusement. "Oh, does that mean you've come to your senses and realized I'm the better sibling? I've heard from Rebekah that Elijah finally got over his stupid morality and made a move on you. Though I wouldn't really blame you if you wanted to switch teams." He teased.
She snorted at the comment before giving him a serious look. "No, I wanted to talk about Silas."
All the playfulness in his expression was gone in an instant. "It doesn't matter now. The professor is dead and Silas will not rise." He told her in a flat tone.
"Listen, I don't want this Silas guy raised either. If nothing else, how scared you were is enough to tell me that he is bad news." Ellie tried to get him to understand where she was coming from. "Come on, Kol. I'm trying to hear you out. When was the last time someone did that?"
He seemed frustrated, but she held onto his arm, trying to persuade him. "Fine. Come on." He pulled her into the nearest classroom and pulled himself up onto a desk. "What Shane said was right. Silas is the world's oldest immortal. For the majority of my life as a vampire, at least when Klaus didn't have me shoved into a stupid box, I spent the vast majority of my time with witches. I learned a great deal from them and hold them in a very high regard. There are witches whose sole purpose is to make sure that Silas never wakes because if he did we would all be doomed."
"But why?" Ellie asked in confusion. "What kind of immortal is he? A vampire?"
"Not a vampire, my siblings and I were the first vampires. The spell that made him immortal was something else entirely. From what I know, he was a witch before he died and a powerful one at that. If he's freed he will reign hell on earth and we will all die." Kol explained. "I know you hardly know me, and I know that I don't have the best reputation nor have I particularly tried to behave since I've returned, but Ellie I swear to you, killing Shane was the best thing I could have done for all of us. I wasn't being paranoid or cruel like Rebekah thinks. Silas is real, and I was just trying to keep the world from ending. I'm an immortal, the world ending wouldn't particularly be good for me now would it?"
He was wide eyed with sincerity as she tried to process the information he'd given her. Kol was practically notorious for not caring about much, but he didn't seem like he was lying now. He also made a good point. He was immortal, what would he get from the world ending? "Stefan and Damon thought that the Originals were a made up thing too until they met Elijah." She said finally. "And they didn't know about werewolves."
"Exactly." He replied carefully. "People believe that stories are just made up legends until it's right in their face or they have tangible proof. But if they think I'm lying until they've reached Silas, then it will already be too late. Because if they reach Silas trying to find the cure, there's no guarantee that they won't accidentally wake him in the process of getting that stupid cure and then we are dead."
"But Kol you should know enough about my siblings and yours to know that they're not going to stop just because someone tells them it's a bad idea. Even with you killing Shane, they'll still be able to find their way to the cure eventually. They won't stop until they do." She reminded him.
He slid off the table and started to pace. "You're right, but I don't have any daggers to take down Rebekah and Klaus the prat is unkillable. And I take it that you wouldn't particularly appreciate it if I were to kill either of your siblings to just solve the problem."
"Absolutely would not like that at all. Definitely not an option." She confirmed.
"Then what do you suggest we do, little witch? Because I can not let Silas rise and I will do whatever it takes to keep him buried."
"What if we work together?" She asked.
Kol paused mid step before turning to look at her. "What?"
"Let's work together. Kill two birds with one stone. I help you keep them from getting to Silas, and you help me fix Elena."
"And how do you suggest we do that?"
She gave him a look before asking, "You were a witch before you were a vampire right?" When he nodded, she added, "I have Esther's grimoires, all of them if Elijah had kept track of them all. If we can get our hands on the spell that created vampirism, why couldn't we reverse engineer it?"
"Are you suggesting that we create our own cure?" He asked for clarification.
"Your mother bound the spell for vampirism with the blood of Tatia, my ancestor, just like she did for Klaus' curse to bind his hybrid side. If all he needed was the correct ingredients to undo that curse, why couldn't we figure out a way to do the same for regular vampirism?" She suggested. "Look, I know it's a leap and it might not work, but if it does, they will never go after Silas and his cure."
He looked at her like her offer was too good to be true. "And how do I know you wouldn't use this cure on me?"
"Why would I want to?" She shot back. "If we can figure this out Kol, I'll do whatever kind of binding spell you want to ensure that I would never use it on you and that I would do everything possible to make sure no one else ever tries to use it on you. Two birds, one stone, and we all win."
"You have her grimoires?" He asked as he tried to make sure he had all the information.
"I do." She confirmed. "Kol, please, if what you're saying is true, you should know enough about me by now to know that I would do whatever it took to keep everyone I love from dying."
She watched as he clearly weighed the options. She waited patiently, knowing that if she rushed it he might not agree. "I don't often trust people, but you're right. I do know enough about you to know how protective you are. Plus you remind me far too much of Elijah at times, always so honorable. Do not break my trust, I assure you it won't end well for anyone."
Ellie grinned brilliantly at him. "You have yourself a deal."
He offered her his hand to shake, but added, "You can't tell anyone what we're doing though."
"I won't lie to Elijah." She replied, pausing before she took his hand.
"Oh come on." Kol scoffed.
"No! Listen, how about we compromise, I won't say anything unless he asks what I'm doing, but if he does I won't lie. Fair enough?"
He glared at her, but it was more out of frustration than anger. "Fine, fine. Seeing as I don't really have any other options, but no one else. Are we clear?"
She shook his hand willingly. "We're clear."
"I'll be seeing you soon, love. I'd suggest you get to looking through mother dearest's grimoires. I'll be in touch." Kol disappeared after that, leaving Ellie alone. As soon as he was gone, the realization set in that she'd watched a murder. She'd never seen a human murdered before, not even during the summer with Klaus and Stefan. She could hear them sometimes, but it was never right in front of her.
She felt sick as she walked through the halls. Rebekah's request to try and find April was forgotten as Ellie tried to keep herself from getting lightheaded. She made her way to her car without running into anyone and headed home on autopilot. Without Kol to keep her mind distracted, it had started to replay Shane's death and it mocked her with the sound of him confidently telling Kol that she wouldn't let him hurt him.
When she returned home, she must have looked worse off than she realized, because the woman at the front desk called out and asked, "Are you alright? You look like you're about to faint." She even walked over to reach out for Ellie, so she was sure she looked terrible.
"I'm alright, really. I think I just ate something bad and it's getting to me." She lied.
"Would you like me to call someone for you? Is there anything I can do?" The woman was incredibly kind, but Ellie didn't really want to talk at the moment.
Shaking her head, Ellie replied, "No, no, my boyfriend should be home already and if he isn't he should be home soon. He'll make sure that I'm alright, but thank you for offering."
The receptionist didn't look like she felt comfortable with leaving Ellie by herself, but after a moment she nodded and said, "If you need anything, feel free to call down here and I'll come up and check on you. Hopefully your boyfriend is already there to take care of you."
"I will definitely call if I need something. Thank you again." Ellie replied. The receptionist walked her all the way to the elevator before returning to her desk as Ellie headed upstairs.
When Ellie walked into the apartment, Elijah was sitting on the couch, casually reading a book. "Welcome home, love. You were gone longer than I expected. Did the memorial service go longer than we'd thought?" He asked as he put a bookmark in to mark his place. "Eleanor?" He looked up worriedly when she didn't respond, but before he could stand to check on her, she reached him, dropping down into his lap and resting her head on his shoulder. "Eleanor… darling what's wrong?"
His hands were on the small of her back as he shifted her weight slightly as he tried to look at her. She was straddling him, her face buried in the crook of his neck as she tried to ground herself. "Will you give me a minute please?" She asked softly as she settled into him. "I just need a minute."
He was immediately worried, but replied, "Of course. I'm here when you're ready." She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting against him tiredly. He waited for a minute, and then a few more. She was mumbling softly. It was something that oddly sounded like Bulgarian, but maybe not quite. It didn't take much longer for him to realize that she'd fallen asleep in his arms. Instead of trying to move her, he relaxed, resting his head against the back of the couch as he wrapped his arms around her more securely to make sure she didn't fall. Elijah had started to fall asleep right as Ellie started to shake. "Eleanor?" He asked softly.
A choked gasp escaped her as she shot up, and it was only his quick reflexes that kept her from falling back and hitting her head on the coffee table. "Elijah." She said shakily as she grabbed at his collar.
"Darling what's going on? He asked worriedly as he cupped his hand around the back of her neck to try and get her to look at him.
"Kol is back." Ellie explained. He frowned, unsure what that had to do with anything. "And so is Rebekah. She wanted the cure and she had Kol get that Professor Shane guy to question him and since he couldn't be compelled, Rebekah had me stay with Kol while he tortured him."
Elijah tensed. Kol was ruthless when he wanted to be, and never missed an opportunity to hurt someone. "What did he do?"
"He kept shoving Shane's head down into the sink, and he hit him a few times. And I mean that wasn't exactly easy but he-" It felt like the words were caught in her throat as his dead body flashed before her eyes. "He killed him."
"What?" Elijah asked in surprise. "Why?"
"He was trying to find someone named Silas, and Kol freaked out and said that we would all die." Ellie explained. "I just… Shane was so confident that I wouldn't let Kol hurt him, but I did. I stood there while he was bleeding out and I did nothing. What kind of person does that make me?"
Elijah understood why she was so upset. It was hard to deal with that kind of internal conflict, and he was sure that it only made it harder for her given that he was a human that had died. "If Kol wanted him dead, there wasn't much you could do to save him. If you had tried, I assure you, Kol would have intervened. It might be selfish of me, but I'd rather that Professor die than have you get hurt trying to save him."
Ellie ran her thumb over his cheekbone, trying to ground herself by focusing on him instead of the images of the dead professor that her brain kept showing her. "It doesn't make it any easier though." She replied softly, focusing on her thumb across his cheek. "Bonnie's going to be so upset."
"Bonnie will also know that it's not your fault." He assured her. She was tracing random patterns onto his skin as he observed her. "You're worried about the nightmares aren't you?"
It was a recurring problem for her. Especially when something bad happened, which meant a nearly constant nightmare fuel with how often everything went to shit. "Yeah." She admitted.
"Why don't I look through some of the grimoires to see if there's anything to give you a more restful sleep while you rest, and if it seems like you're having a nightmare, I'll wake you up?" He suggested gently.
"That would be nice." She agreed. Without a warning, he stood up, keeping her in place and she laughed breathlessly. "Elijah!"
"You're tired, I'm simply taking you to bed." He replied, but he was grinning at her. She ran her hands through his hair as he carried her to their bed and as she tried to ignore her less than innocent feelings. When they got to the bedroom, he didn't immediately put her down. Instead, he held her up, and walked over to the closet to get clothes for her to change into. "Here you are." He handed her one of his undershirts before placing her on the bed. "You get changed, I'll go and get some of the grimoires."
He kissed her warmly before he left her and she changed easily. It still smelled like his cologne, despite having been washed. She changed, and crawled under the covers. When he came back, she watched as he placed the grimoires down before getting changed himself. It still thrilled her to see him in something other than a suit, and the fact that he had a tendency to just prefer boxers was even better. He always looked good to her, and he never failed to make her heart beat like a hummingbird in her chest.
As he climbed in beside her, she curled up to his side and pressed a gentle kiss to her hair. "Goodnight, love. I'll be right here with you. You'll be ok." He promised.
She turned and pressed a kiss to his chest before settling in next to him. "Goodnight, Elijah." The nightmares were never as bad when she was with him, and she knew he would keep her safe. It was what helped her sleep a little bit easier. When they were tucked away, safely in their bed, she could pretend for a little while that things weren't constantly falling apart around them. She just hoped she could make it through the night without waking up screaming.
Author's Note:
Rebekah is back! I've missed her lol. Also, I know some people are still patiently waiting for the Ellie and Kol version, so I had to give you guys something. So this chapter was pretty heavy on the Ellie and Kol interactions. And we got some cute Ellie and Elijah moments. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts!
To Guest: Yeah, it definitely felt like a good opportunity to let Ellie tap more into her magic. Because taking on at least five or six hybrids at once and taking them down with ease isn't really easy to do. I think it's just because Ellie has been so nice for so long, they don't really see her as a threat or as the violent type. Strong Ellie is very fun to write. Ellie and Elijah are definitely a very healthy couple! Yeah, her and Klaus not talking hasn't been fun, but it felt like a good opportunity to show that he really does care about her by sparing someone just because she asked. I didn't really have a chance to work in her processing the sire bond in this chapter just because everything was so hectic. I'm glad you enjoyed!
To Guest(2): I'm glad you love Ellie! But, out of curiosity, why would she hate Hayley? Hayley got the hybrids killed to try and find her parents because that was what Shane made her do. But Caroline killed the twelve witches to save Bonnie. They both killed twelve for people that they love, so why would she hate Hayley and not Caroline? And plus, she loves the Mikaelsons and Stefan and Katherine, and they're all serial killers as well.
To Blu3b3rryT3a: They really are the only ones with brains sometimes aren't they? Klaus does suck at controlling him temper, but since he and Ellie haven't really been speaking to one another, I thought him sparing them would be a good way to show that he still really cares about her. I don't know, honestly. It's funny how 'self-sacrificing' Elena was, until it came to being a vampire and then she's rather commit a couple genocides to cure herself. I don't mind the rant, you make a valid point. But! Ellie actually did talk to Kol this chapter! And she's trying to hear him out.
To skyellebaby: I'm sorry I made you cry, but I'm glad it was written well. I also relate to Ellie a lot, but your reaction and connection to her was exactly what I was going for. I also want Klaus to stop kind of hurting her, even when he does it unintentionally, but I had to make Klaus' progress realistic. He can't go from a dangerous serial killer to someone who just lets stuff slide all the time. Him making mistakes was still necessary, but him sparing them was my way of showing that he's making progress. And yes, Ellie's never done anything to really hurt him and he knows that, that's why he spared them.
To I love Kol Mikaelson: I'm so glad you're enjoying it and I hope you get this far in the story so that you can get a bit more of Ellie and Kol together lol. Yeah, no, Ellie definitely doesn't think Elena is all wonderful all the time. She's definitely committed genocide without evening thinking twice about it. And stuff is definitely going to crack.
To brigitm28: They really are so perfect and I think it's so funny to see how many people that are like, 'they're already acting married'. I mean you guys aren't wrong, but I think it's funny because that wasn't even the goal, it's just how I felt they would be acting at this point in the relationship lol. Ellie is so protective over Bekah which is what she deserves. She really did just need a good best friend. Ellie really does keep getting the short end of the stick, but hopefully it won't be so bad once she's in NOLA. Oh yes, Ellie and Klaus' relationship should have worked itself out by the time we get to NOLA. At least I hope so.
To AdiraBraelynn: He really did! And they really are acting like a married couple lol. I didn't even think about Klaus' comment, but you're not wrong. She is definitely getting annoyed with everyone doubting her. And yes, as far as I'm aware, this is only the second time he's seen Kat in her. She's definitely the witchy version of Kat. Klaus does act like a jerk, but it's for his development. I couldn't have him being too forgiving too soon. But at least he spared Carol. I never even thought about how repetitive it was for all the mentors to die. Us chatting again will be great, heaven knows it did wonders for my ability to figure out what I wanted to do next lol.
To lolistarkiller: I think the only reason they killed him was because they caught him by surprise with the vervain in the water supply. I also love Kol, but I don't know if I'll get to save him in TVD. Think about it this way, he and Davina likely wouldn't get together if things didn't go like they did before. Kol hitting on Jenna would be funny though. Oh, then you'll likely be in for a ride because so much stuff is constantly going on lol.
-Madame Magic
Posted: 6/12/21
