The soft classical music in the background mediated a peaceful environment - yet peaceful isn't the word Elijah would use when describing the atmosphere. The air is still heavy with his brother's betrayal. Leaning back in his armchair, Elijah flipped a page of his mother's grimoire and tried to ignore the piercing smell of fresh blood dropping on the two-hundred-year-old carpet.
"So, this is what you do the first time we're back together as a family? Vampire book club?", the voice of his sister cut through the seemingly peaceful silence. Elijah didn't bother to look up, instead, his eyes focused on the letters written in old Norse, hoping to finally find the thing he's been looking for the past thirty minutes.
"Reading edifies the mind, sister. Isn't that right, Elijah?" Niklaus answered and Elijah really had to bit his tongue in order to not make a snarky comment. At first, he had been alone in the sunny living room, hoping for some quiet time while searching for a certain spell. Preferably without his brother's knowledge. But for some reason, Niklaus suddenly had the desire to join him, picking a collection of poems he sought to read. How odd, considering he had maliciously daggered him and put him in a box for almost three months in order to use his lifeless body as a pledge.
"Yes, that's quite right, Niklaus," he replied out of politeness towards his sister. If his brother thought that's how he would start talking to him again, he's terribly mistaken.
"And what's this business?" Elijah didn't even have to look up in order to know what Rebekah meant. The unlucky young woman who was unfortunate enough to run into Niklaus' arms.
"This is ... " it is hard to find a word to describe what it is. Niklaus' way of trying to smooth things over? Because he thinks forgiveness for his unacceptable behavior could be bought?
"I presumed, after so much time desiccating in a coffin, that my big brother might be a bit peckish." Elijah let out a small breath, his jaw clenching a bit. His poor brother really has no idea what it meant to earn forgiveness. Or perhaps he simply didn't regret what he had done after all.
"And I explained to my little brother that forgiveness cannot be bought. I'd simply prefer to see a change in behavior that indicates contrition and personal growth - not this nonsense." Elijah finally closed the grimoire and looked at the girl and the small red puddle on the expensive carpet. Offering him food like he'd be a starved animal is a ridiculous attempt of an excuse.
Shaking his head, he rose to his feet and put the grimoire back into the shelf. Clearly there's too much distraction to focus properly.
"If you'll excuse me," and with those words, he left his two siblings.
xxx
Returning to his study, Elijah walked straight to his phone laying on his desk which had just finished charging. Truth be told, he hadn't paid his mobile device much attention the past months. Shortly after he had moved to New Orleans, life had been particular ... diversified. With enemies around every corner in the city that they had once called home and a brother who stubbornly had tried to sabotage the only chance of this family's happiness, there wasn't much time left to pay attention to anything else. Spending almost three months in a coffin had not helped either.
Elijah started his phone, surprised it's still working and not deeply discharged after all the time while looking out the window and taking in the beautiful sight of the fruit trees around their house. They are going to switch locations soon, away from the plantation and towards the city. He just hoped moving closer won't bring too much trouble.
A short vibration led his attention back the phone in his hands as it had finished starting. After tipping in his code, his phone plopped up several notifications. Missed calls, messages, updates... Elijah chose to ignore the updates and took a quick look over his messages. Most informed him just about missed calls, the other ones were sent by his sister over a period of a few weeks, ranging from simple questions to slightly offensive messages to honest concern when he hadn't answered them.
And how could he? During that time, his little brother had long stabbed a dagger through his heart and practically sold his body to his family's enemies.
Elijah shook his head, a fit of growing anger in his chest which made his jaw clench.
And still, instead of an honest apology, Niklaus choose to appease his foul mood by offering him a dead girl.
No idea how long Niklaus thought of keeping him in that box, how long he was supposed to play pledge. Another few months? Years? Centuries? Put away and forgotten? Just because Niklaus feared his child is going to grow up and calls Elijah father instead of him? Taking over his brother's position was by far not in Elijah's interest. Shouldn't Niklaus know how important family is to him? How far he'd go to protect his family and ensure Niklaus' redemption?
Stealing his brother's child is by far the last thing Elijah ever thought of doing but knowing how paranoid Niklaus tends to be, it doesn't surprise him that Niklaus feared his influence. Although that's still no excuse for what he has done to him.
If he were more attentive to the mother of his child, if he were to treat her with more respect, Elijah wouldn't have to interfere.
Choosing to delete the messages because they were no longer needed and solved, Elijah leaned against his desk while appreciating his sister's efforts. It had been Rebekah who had looked after him, who had ensured to find him. And for that, he's thankful because Elijah is almost sure Niklaus would have left him to rot for at least a few more months.
The missed calls were almost consistent with the messages. Most calls were from Rebekah or from people which worked for him. He still preferred to be independent. After years of being alone and loathing Niklaus, even seeking revenge against him because he claimed he had dumped their siblings into the ocean and therefore making it impossible to find them again, Elijah came to the conclusion it's better to not share everything with his brother. The next fit of rage will sooner or later come again and sometimes it's better to not trust his little brother who undoubtedly will turn everything against him if he has found another of his tiring reasons to punish his siblings.
Elijah had spent years finding his own witches, his own minions which were loyal only to him. And finding loyalty is a difficult thing in this world. Often he had to get rid of the people who had sworn loyalty towards him but chose other things behind his back.
He doesn't take betrayal easily. It's punished with death. And death will find them, even if it takes centuries. Trevor is the best example. On the run for almost half a Millenium and thinking he's deserving to be granted forgiveness just because Elijah had granted his companion Rose merci. Rose had aided him because she was loyal to Trevor. But Trevor's loyalty? Where had it been? He had willingly chosen to betray Elijah in a more than important matter and for that, he had paid with his life.
This fate shall be descended to anyone who thinks betrayal shall go unpunished.
Elijah's raising rage settled a bit the more missed calls he deleted but noted to make sure to check upon his people soon in the next time.
He almost reached the end of the list of his missed calls when he notices something odd. Several calls from a suppressed and later from an unknown number during a short amount of time. He didn't recognize that numbers, but the area code suggests the same place.
Elijah frowned as he didn't recall waiting for anything important during that time. He is sure he hadn't been expecting someone either. The date of the time of those calls was shortly after the time he had been daggered. Is it connected to that negative event?
He highly doubted it because if it were connected to being daggered, the caller would have known he's currently ... unavailable.
Elijah shifted his weigh, his back still leaning against his wooden mahogany desk, thinking about if he had missed a detail. Only a few people had his numbers. Of course, there are always some people who called his number by accident but that rarely happens.
Putting a hand in his pocket, he thoughtfully raised his phone and tapped it onto his chin, while trying to make sense of those mysterious calls. At the same time, he focused his attention downstairs in order to check if everything's okay. Rebekah wasn't too pleased with the recent events and they all tend to have a rather heated temper. Fortunately, his sister still seemed to be busy with the stained rug although it surprised him Rebekah put that much of an effort into it. He guessed she's almost finished with it as he could hear water being turned on and a bin emptied.
That distracted him for a little while before his attention returned back to the phone in his hand whose screen had already turned black. Turning it back on, Elijah chose to scroll past the suppressed and unknown numbers because he couldn't for the sake of his life remember what it was that person had wanted. Or who that person even is.
He had almost reached the end of his missed calls, now dated to a time shortly before he had been daggered. He remembers being pretty occupied back then with protecting the mother of his unborn niece while trying to talk some sense into Niklaus. That effort had ultimately ended in him being coldly daggered and stuffed in a box.
The corner of his lips dropped in a sudden twist of mood, the anger buried deep underneath the surface threatening to break out again.
Focus, he told himself.
His fingers brushed over the screen again, scrolling past unknown numbers until it suddenly started to show a name at the end of the list. A few days before he had been daggered.
Katerina.
A sudden coldness took hold over his heart as he looked over all the times Katerina had tried to call him. Twenty times within a few days. Judging by the date and time, the close proximity to the unknown and even suppressed calls, Elijah had to assume that had been Katerina as well.
His breath hitched in his throat and he couldn't help the cold shiver running down his spine.
Elijah knew Katerina too well. He knew she wouldn't try to reach out to him after he had basically left her standing in his old family's mansion in Mystic Falls. Elijah knew that Katerina has way too much pride to contact him again, at least not in the next few decades. He knew that no matter the circumstances, Katerina wouldn't contact or call him. He is aware that he had hurt her too much although it's not like Katerina thinks.
He hasn't had another choice.
There's panic flooding him as he looked at all the missed calls within a few days. She had tried to reach him over a period of one and a half weeks - first by calling him with her phone, then choosing other phones before she chose to suppress the number completely, making him assume that Katerina must believe he didn't wish to speak with her.
Worry merged with the panic in his heart as he quickly dialed her number.
He knew Katerina too well to know she wouldn't try to reach out to him if it weren't something urgent. Something more than urgent.
Seconds felt like minutes as time passed and she didn't pick up her phone. Elijah tried two times, three times, then even tried different numbers he knew they belonged to her with the same result: She didn't pick up the phone.
A low growl escaped his lips, hand ruffling through his hair in frustration. While Katerina had every right to not pick up the phone when seeing his number, he had a feeling that's not the reason for it. He knew, almost painfully knew, that something must have happened to her.
Katerina had called him at least twenty times with different numbers. She must have been desperate to reach him, to talk to him. Whatever it was, it was more than urgent and now he cannot reach her. It drove him mad.
A silent curse left his lips and he almost slammed his phone down his desk when he couldn't reach Katerina for the sixth time.
Fortunately, the clicking of heels and the swift move of blond hair passing his open door attracted his attention.
"Rebekah? A moment please!"
A/N: The first part of the dialog is from the show, I know.
Elijah knows something must have happened to Katherine but will Rebekah tell the truth?