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Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries
The door slammed shut, and then silence settled.
Slowly, I took a step towards the door. Then another. In one swift motion, I opened it.
The hallway was empty. They were gone.
''Okay?'' I mumbled to myself, wondering what to do. Could I find them if I tried? No, not if they didn't want to be found. I took a few quiet steps further out to see if I could hear anything, but the place was dead quiet.
I was tired of waiting around. Getting out of the room didn't necessarily need to mean that I was out to look for them. I'd go to the entrance hall and back, and if I happened to meet anyone who could tell me what on earth what was going on, then that'd just be a bonus.
It was a little spooky, I had to admit, walking down a dark hallway with only a few lamps on the wall to light the way, knowing that there were now two Original vampires here, and I had no idea what mood both of them were in. I didn't know much about their relationship other than it seemed completely dysfunctional. So, if I heard the sound of windows shattering or furniture breaking, maybe I shouldn't be too surprised.
Seeing Elijah was like seeing a ghost. When was the last time I saw him? The night when they were supposed to kill Klaus the first time? From what I remembered, he just went and vanished. Leaving us with too much death for some of us to handle. My heart twinged when I thought of Jenna. And John Gilbert. God, I'd almost forgotten the look on his face. And how he looked when he fell to the ground in front of me. Him too, dead.
I tried pushing the images away. I didn't want to relive it again. Once was enough.
It got brighter when I stepped out above the staircase in the entrance hall. The chandelier was lit, making light dance through the crystals, bouncing off them and onto the walls and ceiling above.
A shadow at the bottom of the stairs caught my eye.
''Evangeline!'' Klaus called, holding his arms out in a welcoming gesture. In the blink of an eye he was right next to me. ''Small change of plans.''
''Because you don't want your brother to find out?'' I guessed, scanning the floor below for him.
''Of course...'' Klaus said. ''You've met before. Whilst plotting to kill me?''
''Yeah,'' I replied, because there really was no way to sugarcoat it.
''From now on, we will have to... choose our moments. I didn't think you'd want anyone else to overhear.''
And I didn't think he wanted to, either. But he was avoiding that question.
''How can you tell he's not listening?''
''He's not,'' Klaus assured me.
''Why is he here?''
''Well,'' Klaus said. ''We're sorting some things out.''
He wasn't going to tell me anything else. I held back a sigh. ''So when are we going to pick this up?''
''I'll let you know.''
That had been my life these last couple of days. Waiting for him. But I did it anyway, because it was worth it.
Obviously, Klaus didn't want Elijah to find anything out. But he was here, and he'd seen me, so of course he knew something was up. The question was how much Klaus would tell him, because I guess he couldn't act like it was nothing.
I hadn't seen Elijah becoming a part of this mess again. He'd been gone so long, it never even crossed my mind that I'd see him here. And with him here, it was clear that everything had changed.
We parted ways and I headed back up to the room. Calling it mine still irked me, because this wasn't home. Sitting in the cozy couch next to my mum with some reality show on was.
The door was slightly ajar, just as I had left it. When I'd made it to the bed, a floorboard creaked behind me, and I could hear the door swing open.
''My brother didn't expect me back,'' Elijah's level voice sounded from behind me. ''If he had, I doubt he'd ever told me about you.''
He was standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, looking exactly the same as when I'd last seen him. Brown hair, dark eyes, dark suit. His face was unreadable, just as back when I'd first met him. He didn't let anything show if he didn't want to.
''Where is he?'' Was he somewhere listening in?
''Oh, he's gone off somewhere. He realised keeping you being here a secret was pointless.''
I hummed, and shifted on my feet, staring at the floor. ''So, what did he tell you?'' I asked, already dreading the answer. The secret was out. Klaus might've known more about people like me than I did, and know another one knew.
''The things he wanted me to,'' Elijah said. ''For now.''
Still cryptic. Every word he said sounded like it had been considered a few times over before he said it.
''What did he say?'' I asked again, hoping to get something clearer out of him.
''He didn't go into detail,'' Elijah said. ''I wouldn't expect that of him.''
My eyes flickered towards his. He was quiet, his face expressionless, but he didn't stop looking at me. Was the air getting thicker? It felt like it was getting thicker. He knew enough. Elijah knew. The thing he'd wanted to know back then – now he knew.
I tried remembering how I'd felt about him before. It had been so long. At first, I'd been terrified of him. Then, he was somehow humanised. He got my mother to invite him into our house, but after that, we'd struck a kind of deal. We'd talked. Not much, but enough for me to figure out he hadn't been all bad. Then he went and broke the deal he had with, well, all of us, when he called everything off and saved Klaus.
Now he was right here in front of me. He looked the same, but somehow everything was different. He was different, I was different.
''I didn't expect you wanting to talk to me,'' he said.
I shrugged. ''There really isn't that much to do around here.''
''When we last saw each other... I left you all with a broken promise.''
''Why do you feel like you have to explain yourself to me?'' I asked.
He hesitated. ''I don't know.''
I took two steps to my left and leaned gently against the dresser, bringing my arms up hugging myself. For some reason I had trouble looking at him.
Going back in my memory, I tried to recall what it was that caused him to turn against Klaus last time. His family. There was Rebekah, of course, but brothers too. Even Klaus had mentioned them. If they were what he was after, why wasn't he with them? Or why weren't they here?
''They told me why you did it,'' I said finally, after a while in silence. ''And I understand.''
''You do?''
''Just because you understand something and can put yourself in somebody else's situation does not mean that I think it was... I don't know. So much death, for what seemed like nothing.''
''I am sorry about Elena's aunt.''
''Just Jenna?'' I asked, a bit more harsh than I intended, raising my gaze and staring straight into his eyes.''What about John Gilbert? Elena? Stefan?''
He met my gaze, his eyes dark unreadable pools.
''It's not only death that can be mourned, Elijah,'' I said. Had I been happier before I was dragged into all of this? I guess I had been. One the one hand, I would probably be walking around with very little to worry about; and on the other, if all this hadn't happened, I wouldn't have learned what I had.
''You've changed,'' he stated. ''Yet, you haven't.''
I dug my nails into my shirt, gripping it tightly. ''How is that?''
''You're exactly the same,'' he continued. ''But there's something...'' he trailed off, and when I glanced at him I saw he was looking at me closely.
It couldn't be the years that made it so easy for him to hide what he was feeling. If you put Elijah and Klaus next to each other, the differences would be enormous. I knew that he wouldn't let slip anything he didn't want to.
''Why you are here?'' he asked, and even though it wasn't to anything particularly good, I was glad he changed the subject.
I fiddled with one of the handles on the dresser. ''He didn't tell you?''
''He did. Somewhat. But if you want to, I'd like to hear your version.''
Somehow, that felt like asking a lot. I swallowed nervously.
''I... He knows things. Things I want to know. Things I need to know.''
''About you,'' Elijah stated.
''About me,'' I nodded, ''and a relative. He has answers to questions I've asked myself for a very long time.''
''I see,'' Elijah mused. ''But, if I may offer a piece of advice – tread carefully.''
Sighing, I straightened up and slowly walked over to the window, all the while clasping and unclasping my hands. I leaned against the wall so I still had him in sight, but was free to focus the night sky outside. It was even darker out here, wherever here was. The sky had cleared up from today's showers, so I could see the moon through the clouds.
''You need to understand,'' Elijah began. ''To my brother, you're an asset.''
''I have a hard time picturing something I'd want to help him with,'' I mumbled, hugging myself tighter. There was a draft.
I threw a glance at Elijah. He shook his head. ''He has ways of getting things. If he needs you to do something, you'll do it.''
It was my turn to shake my head. ''No. I can't be compelled, remember?''
''There are other ways than compulsion,'' Elijah reminded me.
''What would he even want my help with anyway?'' I said, exasperated. ''I don't understand.''
''With Niklaus,'' Elijah said, looking down at his feet, ''it's the possibility of favours that matters most. When he needs you on his side, he wants to make sure you are.''
''I still don't see how I would ever-'' I stopped, because I wasn't really sure of exactly what Klaus did with his time – other than what I'd seen so far. And that hadn't been anything good.
''You don't see it now. No one does.''
''Why are you telling me this?'' I asked, turning towards him.
His face didn't give much away, but when he spoke, he spoke regretfully. ''Because, I once broke a promise that might've saved people a lot of agony.''
It felt like my heartbeat echoed throughout the room. I knew he could hear it.
''I should get some sleep,'' I mumbled, looking down to escape his gaze.
''Of course,'' Elijah said, and gave me a nod before he disappeared out the door.
I drew a long breath and buried my face in my hands. This was a mess. Everything was just a mess.
I went over to the bed and fell, back first, onto the covers. Bringing one hand up, I started tracing the outlines of my face, thinking it might relax me a little.
It had almost sounded like he felt... bad. He could, of course, but I just didn't understand him. And I didn't know if I wanted to, either. He had this... this air about him. A sincerity. Maybe he'd had it even back when we first met, but it had been directed at something else. Something more sinister.
Groaning, I turned onto my side and clutched the cover in my hand. This was all getting too much. Too much to think about. Too much to remember.
I wanted my mum. I wanted her to hug me, make a cup of tea and scooch over next to me on the couch.
I wanted to cry. Cry it all out until there wasn't anything left of it anymore. But no matter how much I wanted to, or how hard I squeezed my eyes shut, not a single tear came.
The next morning, there was at set of clean clothes at the foot of my bed. While it disturbed me a little that someone had been in here when I was sleeping, I was also very grateful because I was starting to feel icky in the clothes I had on. One change of clothes didn't mean I was moving in. When going through the pile, I noticed that they all had the tags still on. I made quick work of ripping them off and changing.
There was also wrapped sandwich and a glass of water on the dresser, but I wasn't hungry. Last night still hung over my head like a dark cloud. I downed the water, but left the wrap where it was and headed through the door, coming to a halt when I saw who was waiting outside.
''Good morning!'' Klaus called cheerfully. He was leaning against the wall outside the room.
''Good morning,'' I echoed back.
''Your friends have been worrying about you.''
''They've been here?''
Klaus shook his head. ''No, no. Well, Damon popped by once, but he didn't dare come closer than a couple hundred feet from the front door. No, we've had a few get-togethers, trying to sort out a... mutual problem. Of course, I told them you were locked up in the basement to be feasted upon, at one's pleasure.''
''I'm sure you did,'' I said, wondering what was going through everyone's heads. Damon had been here?
''So serious,'' he smirked. ''Balance, Evangeline. It's all about balance. Both vampires and werewolves – apex predators. Both of them slaves to the sun and moon. You need to embrace all your emotions. Never swing too much to either side.''
''Someone found a loophole,'' I stated. ''I've seen vampires out in the sun. How balanced is that?''
''Neither species is indestructible,'' Klaus shrugged. ''Serves to stop and think about that once every hundred years. Gives you some perspective.''
He pulled a phone out of his pocket, checked the lit screen quickly and put it back again.
''Elena will be calling tonight. She insisted upon talking to you in person.''
''Okay,'' I replied automatically, before I'd even realised exactly what he'd said. I was going to talk to Elena. Granted, it hadn't been long since I last saw her, but I knew she was worried. I felt a tinge of guilt, when I realised I hadn't thought about how all this impacted her. A year ago, I would have. Everything was different now.
''Balance, love, balance.''
''What do you even mean?''
''Darling, you think I don't see how miserable you are? Get some light back in there.'' His face suddenly looked serious. ''Or you'll go down.''
''Go down? In what way?''
''Oh, there are several possible paths. Let's see,'' he said, and started counting on his fingers. ''Either you'll be dead. Or dead. Or dead.''
''It's not that bad,'' I objected.
''Not now,'' he cautioned. ''And I care too much about you to let that happen. That's why I'm telling you.'' He grabbed my shoulder, and held me in place when I flinched. ''You need to stop.''
I could still feel the unfamiliar feeling of his hand after he let me go. I was pretty sure the part of me he cared about was purely the empath part, but his words oozed with a severity I'd never heard before. From what I'd seen of him so far, I hadn't seen him that serious, or genuine for that matter, despite what it concerned.
''I couldn't help Madeleine,'' he implored. ''Let me help you.''
Before I had the chance to respond or even think about what he had just said, he completely changed the subject and got a grin back on his face again.
''We'll all have dinner together tonight,'' he said, clearly something he'd already decided.
''You have to go take care of something?'' I guessed, sensing the end of this conversation.
''See?'' Klaus smiled, every bit of graveness gone. ''And your friends didn't think we'd get along. Think about what I said.''
I blinked, and all that was left of him was a small poof of air hitting my face.
Either you'll be dead. Or dead. Or dead.
He had to give me more than what he'd already done. He couldn't help Madeleine? What couldn't he help her with? Why did he want to help her? Why did he want her help – my help?
You'll be dead.
He was serious. Even if I didn't understand anything, I did know that he meant every word he said. He wanted me to be happier? The more I thought about it, the more I realised. I'd been dead set on staying, but I wasn't happy here.
But there was still so much more to find out. Every day, every time I talked with him, I ended up with ten more questions than I'd started out with.
Why was I thinking I couldn't leave? If he wanted something with me, why couldn't I go back and still keep in contact? Why was I so convinced that I had to stay?
Whatever it was Klaus wanted from me, I didn't owe him anything.
He said I could go. Maybe I should.
Later that night, before I had even considered going out and trying to find the dining room, there was a knock on the door.
The whole idea of sitting down for dinner with the both of them was beyond strange. Klaus had explicitly told me that none of his siblings had known about people like me. At least that he knew of. Maybe we weren't on the same page most of the time, but neither of us wanted anyone else to overhear our conversations. If he didn't want anything to slip, why would he have us all together like this? Some kind of power play? Mind games?
Klaus had assigned Joey to bring me to the right room, which was a relief. He accompanied me through the hallway, down the stairs and further into the mansion to a room I wasn't sure I'd been in. Maybe the door had been locked.
Klaus was sitting by an oval table, his back against a lit fireplace. Elijah was in a chair close to him. He turned his head slightly when I stepped through.
''Ah, here she is,'' Klaus exclaimed. He stood up and held out a chair for me.
This was strange, so very strange.
''You've met my brother,'' Klaus said, motioning at Elijah. ''He's a little stoic, don't you think? Stepped up and changed his hairstyle for once, so I guess that's something.''
''What is this?'' I asked, even though I knew there probably wouldn't come an answer.
''Dinner!'' Klaus exclaimed. ''Don't tell me you're not hungry.''
I looked down at the plate before me. I noticed that they both had food in front of them, too. I didn't know vampires ate... well, human food. They drank alcohol, but I hadn't really given that much thought either.
Elijah looked between the both of us.
''Thank you,'' I mumbled and grabbed fork and knife.
A man brought a bottle and filled up the glasses before Klaus and Elijah. My eyes caught on the red liquid, a feeling of unease creeping up my spine, even though it was probably just wine.
''Relax,'' Klaus smirked, when he saw me staring at his glass. ''It's wine. Would you care for some?''
''No, thanks. I did drink wine, occasionally. This wasn't one of those times.
The only sounds in the room was cutlery clinking against the china, and the ticking of the old grandfather clock in the corner.
''Evangeline doesn't have any faith in me,'' Klaus broke the silence. ''Of course, she can tell any lie from a truth, but nonetheless,'' he added with a theatrical sigh, ''she doesn't trust me.''
''Have you given her a reason to trust you?'' Elijah spoke suddenly.
''Perhaps not,'' Klaus admitted. ''But we don't have that kind of relationship, do we?''
''I know you've struck a deal with her, Niklaus,'' Elijah said. ''And I know you'd rather I didn't. You can call it what it is.''
Niklaus raised his eyebrows in question. ''You think I don't care about her wellbeing?'' He gestured towards the food I was halfway through finishing. ''Have I not given her food? Clothes? I never touched a hair on her head.''
Elijah just shook his head.
Klaus did have a strange idea of what counted as caring about someone meant. Sure, we had a deal, even if we hadn't officially shook on it. And even though I was extremely grateful to finally get some clarity, I hadn't forgotten how he got me here in the first place.
''So when's Elena calling?'' I asked.
''After dinner,'' Klaus said, and held up a small phone. ''You can have it.''
He tossed it over the table, and of course I wasn't able to catch it. It fell through my hands and hit the floor next to my chair. Maybe it was something built-in, purely instinctual, not wanting to feel weak next to predators. Cursing under my breath, I bent down to pick it up.
Anger coursed through me, and I felt my cheeks getting warm. I looked down and focused on finishing the rest of the meal.
Neither of them said anything, or tried to engage in any kind of conversation. I kind of wish they had, because I could use the distraction. I don't know why I got so flushed. Such a small thing, dropping a phone, but somehow it felt like the biggest thing that had happened to me today. It should've just reminded me of being human, but instead the word weakness played itself on repeat in my mind.
When I finally got the courage to look up, Klaus was watching me with one of those smiles on his face.
''Was it to your liking?'' he asked.
''Yeah,'' I croaked, and quickly cleared my throat. ''Yeah. Thank you.''
''Lovely.'' He took of sip from his glass and placed it without a sound on the table.
The sudden and sharp ring of the phone made my breath hitch. Thankfully, it saved me from the thick tense fog that surrounded us. Klaus was the only one who seemed to enjoy this dinner.
The chair scraped against the floor when I stood up. ''I'll just... take this somewhere else.''
''Until tomorrow,'' Klaus sang, and saw me off with a little wave of the hand. My gaze drifted to Elijah. He wasn't looking at me.
When I was out of the dining room and had gone halfway through the hallway I was pretty sure led to the stairs, I pressed down on a button and held the phone up to my ear.
''Hello?''
''Oh my god, Evangeline,'' Elena whispered. ''Are you okay? Where are you? Did he hurt you? Has-''
''I'm fine,'' I cut her off. ''I mean, I'm okay.''
''Damon found the mansion,'' she went on. ''All of them were out looking. Him, Stefan, Caroline... Bonnie was going to do a locator spell, but we had to get your mum's blood for that and then Damon found it first-''
'Elena, it's okay,'' I interrupted. ''Calm down.''
''What?''
''We... we have a deal. Of sorts.''
She paused for a second. ''You made a deal with Klaus?''
''It's more of an understanding.''
''Ev...''
Stopping to lean against the wall, I let out a small sigh. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, grimacing. ''I know. Be careful.''
''Do you know what you're getting yourself into?''
''I think I'm already in it,'' I mumbled, and opened my eyes again, staring down the hall where I'd come from. Maybe it was just me getting worked up, but it felt like someone was listening.
I could hear her breathing on the other end of the line . ''If you're sure.''
''So far, I am. He might not be a good guy, but he hasn't lied.'' I started walking again, making my way up the stairs.
''Will we be able to talk? On this number?''
I took a quick look at the phone. This had to be one with a prepaid card. ''I think so,'' I replied slowly. ''I'm pretty sure.'' At least until the money ran out.
Elena was always a good listener. She always cared. I wanted to tell her that I was thinking about going back home, and I almost did. Then she asked me if I got enough food and felt safe sleeping, and I lost the nerve.
Klaus' words echoed in my head. Stop it. This was one of my best friends.
''I might be coming home again,'' I admitted and squeezed my eyes shut, pinching the bridge of my nose. ''I know I said I'm fine here, and I am, but there are things... things that I can't do here. Things that need to be done.'' Either you'll be dead. Or dead. Or dead.
''You know what I think,'' she said quietly. ''We were so scared for you. We miss you.''
I was back upstairs again, and when I got to the room I closed the door behind me. The crumpled up wrapping from the breakfast sandwich I'd taken as lunch instead was still on the dresser.
''Is my mum okay?'' I asked while grabbing the paper and throwing it in the bin in the bathroom.
''Yeah. I went over there yesterday. She thinks you're with your grandparents.''
''Good,'' I said, and then added, ''thank you.''
''Of course.''
After we'd hung up, I exhaled and rested on the bed. Why did I feel so torn? Klaus had explicitly told me I was free to leave, several times. He told me I had to get back on my feet, that he could help me. I didn't really think I needed his help, but all the while he always acted like he knew so much about everything that was happening to me-
I groaned. Better to just ask him. See if I could get a straight answer. He'd brought me here under threat, then he almost immediately made a u-turn and said I could go back whenever? And now, Elijah was here and we were having dinner like everything wasn't completely messed up?
I rolled over to the side and stared out through the window into the darkness. I had never felt more like a pawn in my entire life – like, I knew I was moving, but I didn't know why, or who it was that made me move.
Even when I tried thinking everything through clearly, the doubts continued to gnaw at me. Klaus would probably never tell me, but I had to find out. Somehow. I wasn't going to take it anymore. I was going to put my foot down, and I was going to do it hard.
What, exactly, did he want with me?
This chapter was so difficult to write... Parts of it I'm satisfied with, others I'm not so sure. Let me know what you think!
