A/N: 400th reviewer for this story was a guest who left no name, congratulations Anyhoo xx Taking many liberties with the red door scenario and making it fit my story. This is not what happened in the Originals xx Alexis
Hell, it's going to get a little crowded in here I think. It's like the start of an off-colour joke, four Cold Ones, a human and an Original are in this bar! I totally ignore Alice; she means nothing, no less than nothing to me now. But I need Jasper's help so I don't throw her out on her ass. Jeez, this will be fun when Rebekah gets here too. At least they got shot of Jacob Black, wonder for how long. When his balls drop back into place he'll have another go I'm sure. Because that fool learns nothing and he's that tribe's future, God help them all! I'm a little worried about the blood thing; I need to feed Elijah again his face is taking on a vampiric quality again.
"I'm going to feed Elijah, if you're not okay with me opening a vein please leave," I say matter of factually and both Alice and Emmett look uncomfortable,
"How about Rose. Emmett and Alice go and get you somethin' to eat and once you feed him we'll get started darlin', I'm in total control so no worries" Jasper says and I nod,
"Yes, and we'll sort out a room for you and Alice at the same place as us. So Bella gets a break with her man" Rose says and I could hug her,
Once they are gone, I explain to Jasper what little I know about the Red door in Elijah's mind. He shakes his head at first and then nods,
"In theory, it sounds like a good idea, but really it is so dangerous! I'd question if it wasn't a punishment more than a protection, from his mama!" Jasper says and I have to agree,
"The more I learn about that woman the less I like her and let's not even discuss the father!" I hiss angrily,
They all got a raw deal in the parent's department. Jasper just leans back as I gently open Elijah's mouth and push his slightly protruding fangs into my wrist and he takes over, but at no point does he hurt me.
"I envy them that ability! To feed without killin' would be amazin'. What does his blood do to you darlin'?" he asks now,
So I tell him all about its healing properties as well as the failsafe factor if I'm killed! He's impressed that the Originals were specifically designed less to kill outright than survive off of people without killing them. Though obviously in the beginning they did for one reason or the other. Bloodlust is a dangerous thing! But from all accounts, it's the anger they didn't seem to master very well and in some cases not at all. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end, it's a wonder they didn't kill each other at the beginning and a testament to their strong family bond. Yeah, Elijah's parents sound like the stuff of nightmares and I pray I don't ever have to meet them.
"Time to give this a try darlin', you ready? Just lay down next to him and try to fully relax. Then slowly ease the shield up and slide in under it with your mind alone. It might not work the first time, but keep tryin', you two are connected so follow that bond!" Jasper says and I promise to give it my all,
IOOH
It's not a good thing to find out you're an asshole! It's even worse to find it out from the mouth of your only child! The fact that she is right and I was being beyond selfish and putting my wants over her own. The fact that she knew this and that I wasn't the only one, her mother was as bad. We, between us, could have seriously screwed up her life. But didn't, only because she was a better person than us, is mortifying. I was waiting for Jake to return because unlike him I knew she'd chase him off with a flea in his ear. It was finally time for me to act as her father and tell him to get over his stupid crush! That my daughter has the right to pick the life she wants without our selfish interference.
In a big way, I'm as much to blame for his chasing her. I wanted her to stay here to look after me and well if she married Jake then she would. So even in the face of her indifference, I encouraged him. Whereas Billy told him to leave her alone and we both ignored him. What a sad indictment that the boy's father was on my daughter's side and I was not! I have never thought of myself as a selfish man. However now it had slapped me in the face, I finally see the truth. Too late I fear and it's cost me the respect of my daughter and likely to keep her out of Washington permanently. Well, they do say there's no fool like an old fool! Wow, he looks super pissed off, wonder what she said to him?
"It's time to give it up son. Between us, we've driven her away; she'll never come back here. I don't blame her one bit either, I'm a shit father and don't deserve her!" I say as he storms up the path,
"WHAT!" he screeches,
It's then for the first time I see it, he's a child. Jake would never be right for Bells, he's far too immature.
"She's shagging some old man! Is that what you want?" he roars at me and I bristle,
"What I want has nothing to do with it Jake and it never did! Bella will be nineteen next week and who she sleeps with is none of my business or yours! But we can be rest assured; we drove her into his arms with our continual harassment. Her life is just that, her life!" I say turning away and shutting the door in his face, enough is enough!
IOOH
"I don't care how much of a changed woman your mate thinks you are Alice. As far as we're concerned you're still you. A nasty, self-centred manipulative bitch and I don't trust you and I never will! So stay out of our way and Bella's too!" I tell her the minute we leave Elizabeth's,
"I understand Rose and I promise I will. Maybe one day you'll forgive me!" she barely whispered,
"Don't hold your damned breath!" Emmett snarked and I saw her flinch,
I being pissed off at her was one thing but to hear the disgust in Emmett of all people's voice got the message across loud and clear. We took her to the guesthouse and just dropped her off. I went for takeout food for Bella and possibly Elijah. While Emmett took a trip out of the city to hunt. Once I returned to Elizabeth's I caught Bella's aunt of sorts and told her Elijah was unwell and Bella was nursing him.
"They get sick? Or did a witch attack him outside of Elizabeth's?" she asked and I was stunned,
They unlike us didn't hide and lots of humans knew about them. It was really strange, but I did tell her it was a witch.
"Well in that case help yourself to the blood in the cellar, it belongs to the Mikaelson's anyway. Tell Bella to stay with him as long as it takes, he dies here and we will all die too. One of his brothers will see to that!"She explained with a look of resignation on her face,
"I will thank you," I say confused and it showed I'm guessing,
"You're not like them, are you? Well, my family has in one capacity or another served Kol Mikaelson since the thirteen hundreds. He founded this place and one branch or other of the family has always run it. It's protected from witches and gives us a safe place to live in this accursed city!" Teresa said leaving me standing there,
Retainers, that's what her family were, lifelong retainers! Wow, I thought they were a thing of the past!
IOOH
I was sitting in a hallway, feeling all kinds of wrong. Twitchy, sweating, even a little nauseous. I knew where I was, trapped inside my own head and if I turned to the right I'd see it that damned red door! This was one of the things I dreaded since I found out what she'd done to me. Looks like I'm being forced to face the music and I wasn't sure I could survive this or not. I could hear the door rattling but it never opened and for that I was thankful. I had no concept of time in here and I just waited for whatever it was that was going to take me away from Isabella to just get on with it! But at one point I felt her; deep down inside and realised she must be feeding me her blood.
I really thought I'd be more out of control facing this but I was as I said twitchy, but otherwise not out of control. I have a feeling that's less to do with me and more to do with Isabella. She's not going to let me go without a fight and I don't want her endangering herself for me! I feel her presence once again and guess she's feeding once more; it's humbling how much she is prepared to do for me. Oh, this is new, I feel calm, I feel free, no transcendent, I think! This is definitely an outside influence, but what or who?
"Why's it so damned dark in here Elijah?" I hear and can't work out where the voice is coming from,
"Please put a light on. I don't like the dark that much" she says now and I feel a touch on my arm,
"Isabella? Sweetheart" I whisper and turn my head to see her sitting on the floor beside me,
"Lights please and I wouldn't say no to a seat," she says smiling,
"I can do that? Of course, I can do that it's my head! How did you get here sweetheart?" I ask a little confused,
"Jasper, Jasper Whitlock the empath he opened up the way for me to slide into your mind under my shield," she says, squeezing my hand,
"What happened? I remember arguing with Rebekah and then feeling angry and then nothing until you fed me" I ask her now,
Finding out the witches, Marcel's witch in particular tricked me and I fell for it, was maddening! That Peter Whitlock had sent in the troops for Isabella was gratifying. But to know what she, herself was prepared to do for me was humbling and frightening at the same time. How would she feel seeing all the death and carnage I'd cause over my long life? But she's adamant and I can see she won't budge. I glance at the door which is violently pulsing now and shudder.
"We take it slowly Elijah, one at a time last first okay?" she whispers and I know she's scared too,
So with trepidation, I watch the door open and it's as if they all rush forward but hit a barrier and Isabella demand the last person in, come forward. So he does and she shuts the door again. Next, she asks me who they are and why I killed them. He's easy he attacked me out of nowhere and I had just defended myself, with deadly force. Then she asks me if I regretted it and I said no, it was him or me and he was the one who attacked. That was it he disappeared and I sighed. Knowing maybe for the last two hundred years that was why most died this wouldn't be so bad, but the further back we went I would be less and less innocent of serious wrongdoing and more of the dead would be human and not traditionals!
On and on we went dispelling, those I killed to save my own life or my family. But occasionally Isabella looked at me with a frown.
"What's wrong?" I ask and she purses her lips and says,
"Why do you have to clean up at the back of your family all the time? Can they take care of their own problems?"
I was confused until she pointed out several of these people although the instigators in attempts on my sibling's lives should not have been killed by me, but them!
"Do they all know about your red door?" she demanded and I was startled by her anger,
"Yes," I reply,
Knowing exactly what she was thinking and wondering how I didn't see it myself or did I. They were using my lack of regret and ability to feel emotion for those deaths to salve their own consciences. They made me do their dirty work to keep the blood off their own hands. But worse I let them, knowing let them. Because I felt as they were my family, I owed them! But where was their concern for me? I always, well after the first anyway cleaned up at the back of myself!
"I need a break Elijah, so I'm going to eat, feed you and have Jasper knock you out. In a dreamless sleep as it were. Don't worry I'll be back in a few hours, plus Jasper will need a rest too!" Isabella explained,
I'll admit I was scared she'd leave me here, but no my family might, but not her and I nodded. She kissed my cheek and told me to rest, as it will only get harder the further back we go.
IOOH
I was livid, not with Elijah but with his family. They were users, verging on abusive! I was beginning to think badly of them all. This is most abnormal for me; jeez I always give people the benefit of the doubt. Look at the bloody Cullens, yeah! I had slipped out of Elijah's mind and quickly fed him before I asked Jasper to knock him out, right out to hopefully a dreamless state. Then I just burst into tears, Jasper tried to console me but seemed lost, I suppose he wasn't actually used to real tears! Rose appeared then and took charge. Making me eat, shower change my clothes and she really talked to me. But most of all she listened and said my anger at the Mikaelson's was justified.
Then I spoke to Jasper, maybe because he was a man and would understand things better than me. I didn't have the knowledge or as much experience to deal with a lot of this, just a deep and abiding love for the man who was being tortured by his own mind. Until I arrived in New Orleans I had never been the cause of someone's death before. But those witches who attacked me did die because I defended myself. So I knew what that felt like, but no I did not feel guilty, Heartless as it sounds I thought then and now, play stupid games, win stupid prizes! Maybe this was my dad's influence; he taught me sometimes death is the right answer. He wasn't advocating I become a killer, just if it's them or me; to be sure it was me who lived!
One thing I was going to insist on was that Elijah shows me those people how they were before death, not as mutilated bloody souls. He was torturing himself unnecessarily and it was making me queasy. His blood was fine and him drinking mine was cool too. But all those zombiesque creatures was serious overkill! I have a feeling that might have also been his mother's doing. I really hate that woman and if she ever returns from the dead it won't be for long if I have anything to say about it! His whole family were more than a little fucked up! I know I didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to a normal family, but dear God, they were truly in need of therapy!
Well, time to go back in and wade through some more of his past. But I can see several patterns forming already. The brutality was due to the lack of emotional attachment, so once more down to his mother's gross interference. Many were at his family's behest, mainly Rebekah and I'm not so sure they did what she said! So they were maybe not totally guilty, but possibly not totally innocent either. But as long as he accepts that and lets them go, then they are no longer in there torturing him and we can banish the red room forever. Because if I have to block others from getting in there I will! I know there will be more, in defence of himself or me.
IOOH
She's back; thank God she didn't leave me! I know we still have more bodies to go through, but I can do it with her by my side because some of them are going to be more personal, harder to let go and I must. Those that I thought were friends and loved ones only to find they were using me to better their positions in society or get closer to my siblings. I see it now, things I missed back then, but hindsight as they say...! Yeah, most definitely twenty-twenty. Isabella talks with me for a while asking where this corridor comes from and why I chose it to represent my punishment. I was surprised at that but again she is correct I chose it no one else! I decide to make it fit the me from now, not the one from so long ago.
We are now at the mansion in Mystic Falls; it was light and airy and had a lot of light coming in from the large windows. The door was there as well but nowhere near as ominous, it has change many times in my mind over the years. This time it does seem less intimidating and scary, but this time I'm not going inside they are coming out! I actually laugh when she asks if I could clean up the victims, that just because they didn't make me squeamish, they do to her. She's changing all my self-imposed tortures and putting me more at ease. I wish I'd been able to do this for myself, but then I suppose this was why mother did this to me, to hurt me as much as possible!
With each progressive person I sobbed, wailed and clung to Isabella. But slowly I explained who they were and why they had to die. So many were merely innocents in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some caught in the crossfire, some killed for nothing at all! These were the ones I needed to pay penance for, not the others and I knew them all by name. Many I had given money to their families afterwards, maybe to help right the wrong I'd done to them. Crazily, although I felt no remorse then, I did know the difference between right and wrong and I tried to make some restitution. I relocated families; I paid for lodgings, schooling, all manner of things because I knew I'd done them a serious wrong.
I was slowly getting more and more upset, knowing we were nearing the end and the end meant Tatia Petrova, the first woman I ever loved and whose life I took in a fit of newborn vampiric rage. I tried to get her to run, but she loved me, believed I would not hurt her and I could not hold back. Little did I know my mother had used Tatia's blood to create us and thus made her blood like the call of a siren to us. She stood no chance against us and her family have paid the price for that down through the ages. So many Petrova doppelgangers have died at the hands of the Mikaelson family for one reason or another. I still remember my horror, my anguish and profound regret at what I did that night.
"Is this her Elijah? The one woman who you compare all others too?" Isabella whispers and I am truthful,
"She was, she was on a pedestal so high no other could scale it, until I met you!" I tell her honestly,
We watched together as the door opened for the last time, but the apparition was not solid, but opaque in appearance and she came way closer than any of the others. I leaned back in fear and Isabella grabbed my hand.
"Elijah, my poor Elijah! You must set me free. You did not kill me Esther did; I was alive when you gave me to her. She once again used my blood, this time to bind Niklaus' werewolf side. But it was against my will and thus a curse. I gave my blood freely the first time on the condition we be together for eternity, she lied to us all! Goodbye my love be happy for once. We deserved so much more and your mother tore it all away from us and your family, you have another chance; don't let Isabella slip through your fingers! Goodbye to you both" her strangely ethereal voice said to us both,
