December 16, 998.
Mikaelson's Longhouse
Elijah stood just outside his room's door composing himself. He wasn't about to confront whoever had disturbed his dream of his possible future with Elena Petrova, with him looking somewhat sleep deprived. A part of him wanted to ignore whoever was at his family's door and hopefully resume the pleasant dream he'd been having, but duty to his family laid a heavy burden on him sometimes.
The loud near rhythmic pounding on their braced door, along with the pleas for entry, must have awoken everyone, Elijah realized, when he finally emerged from his room. His younger sibling nor himself made a move to open the door, only their father would make the final decision. If not for the late hour, they'd all be asleep by now. Henrik and Rebekah appeared to be half asleep, Elijah observed. He could only guess they had taken the longest to fall asleep after cleaning up. Not surprisingly, Kol was still sound asleep while his sister's attention seemed divided between the commotion at their door and Kol who still hadn't bothered to wake up. He considered waking him up but discarded the idea; it made no sense to upset everyone's sleep for whatever this was. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait very long.
"What in the Niflheim is going on here!" Mikael barked, his voice cut through the air silencing even the person on the other side of their door demanding entry. Not surprisingly, almost everyone, including his parents, were clothed in their nightshirts. Elijah and his brother Niklaus, like their father, were each carrying their swords.
"I don't know father, I think I heard-" Niklaus spoke up but his father's cold glare cut him off.
"You think? What would you know, Boy?" his father sneered. Elijah watched as his little brother withered under their father's stern gaze. With practiced ease, Elijah kept his stoic expression fixed in place as he intervened on his brother's behalf.
"Father, Niklaus and I heard Ayana demanding entry," Elijah said carefully. His father's temper was near legendary. If Ayana wasn't his wife's mentor, he wouldn't need to predict the outcome of whatever transpired after such an encounter.
"Well, Niklaus, what are you standing there for? Open the door for her, before her hammering knocks it from its hinges," Mikael ordered. As they waited for him to undo the bracing arm, Elijah's mind wandered until he'd been dreaming about Elena and how her lips had tasted when the noise from outside had pulled him back to wakefulness. He'd prayed to the gods that she had accepted his courtship of her; he honestly didn't know what he could do to encourage her to reconsider his request if she declined.
As soon as the door opened, Elijah was surprised that Ayana was not alone. Tatia and her new husband all shared a worried expression as they entered. Tatia eyes darted about as if in search of something or someone Elijah's own subconscious added. A spike of dread formed, and whatever lingering effects of waking up quickly faded into the background.
"Mikael, Esther, and Elijah, my apologies for disturbing all of your sleep, but I'm… I mean, we are looking for Elena Petrova. When was the last time you might have seen her?" Ayana started. All the while she was talking, Elijah and his parents couldn't help to notice that while she was speaking to everyone, her attention was fixated on him. He didn't miss the audible gasp his sister had made in response as to her motivation for interrupting their sleep.
"What nonsense is this, why should it matter if any of us saw her last?" Mikael's voice was harsh and although Elijah knew he'd face retribution later, he took a step and intervened on Ayana behalf. Not like it would be the first beating his father had inflicted on him or his siblings.
"Father," Elijah's voice almost pleading.
His father bristled at his interference. In the corner of his eye he watched as his sibling winced involuntarily as his father made to step closer to him. If it wasn't for their mother touching their father Elijah had no doubt his father would have struck him. Elijah mentally vowed to himself, not for the last time, that he would not follow his father's ways of disciplining his children.
"Ayana, I escorted Elena back to your dwelling right after having dinner with us earlier this evening. I made sure she entered and closed the door behind her before returning home," Elijah explained once things had calmed down. The crest-fallen expression on their guests made his insides clench. Something was very wrong.
"Neither Tatia nor Lodur have seen her either and I fear that someone most likely has taken her.. But I need Esther, Tatia, and your help, Elijah, in finding her," Ayana pleaded, her eyes shifting from his mother to him, as if urging them to agree. Elijah's mind was already made up. For Elena, he'd rush into a pack of werewolves. Knowing he was wasting time, Elijah rushed back to his room and started throwing on his clothing as fast as he could before reemerging to find Rebekah and Tatia clearing the family table while Ayana finished placing salt around the table. She then proceeded to place Esther's collected candles in even spacing on the outer perimeter of the salt circle's circumference.
He looked around and noticed that his parents were strangely absent. It was then he finally took in the fact that his sister was on the verge of tears. Guilt filled his already worried thoughts when he inevitably made eye contact with his sister's watery eyes. And that was all it took for his little sister to finally break down the tears, which, up until recently, was only held back by an invisible dike. Her hot tears fell, and he reacted as only a concerned sibling would. Elijah quickly crossed the room, or she met him halfway, he couldn't recall it happened so fast it was almost preternatural speed had been granted by the Spirits of Nature.
"Elijah, I… I can… can't lose my… my only friend!" Rebekah sobbed incoherently into his leather vest. With her face buried in his chest, she could not see the hurt expression on Tatia's beautiful face. He felt his shame increase from not intervening sooner in how his sister and Tatia's relationship had turned sour. Only after Tatia's engagement was announced shortly before her father's tragic ending. He could still remember the shocked expression she'd worn that night; she'd apparently been just as shocked as he'd been. When her father had informed his own parents that Tatia's hand was already promised to someone else who, ironically enough, was still living in his parents' former homeland.
Elijah had been disappointed, but it was his brother who'd taken the surprise announcement harder than even he had. Niklaus had stormed off, disappearing in the forest that day in a fit of outright denial and didn't seem to mind the beating their father had visited upon his body after returning well past their evening meal.
Still holding his sobbing sister in arms, he'd caught a resigned frown marring Tatia's beautiful features
"Bekah, I swear we will find her." Elijah murmured into her hair. As she finally started to calm down, he sighed inwardly, praying that they'd be able to find her before something unforgivable happened. The thought of someone hurting her only filled him with a terrible desire to seek vengeance on the perpetrator.
"And I will help with finding her, brother," Niklaus added. Elijah looked up from his sister, who thankfully had calmed down enough, but he knew she was still worried, as was he. But for at least one of them, the outcome was certain that they'd find Elena. It wasn't too much of a surprise that, like himself, his younger brother was fully dressed and strapping his sword scabbard about his waist.
"What business is this of yours, boy?" their father sneered, having rejoined them in the main room after donning his own clothing and weapon as well.
"Father, I… I only want to help Elijah find his Elena," Niklaus tried to explain but the conceding smirk his father was aiming his way made Elijah feel for his brother. Thinking quickly, he released his sister and moved to stand beside Niklaus.
"Father, if I might suggest, shouldn't we have as many people out there looking for her help with the search?"
It wasn't that unreasonable of a suggestion, not that it mattered in the long run Elijah soon realized when his mother rejoined them fully dressed and proceeded to help Ayana finish whatever spell preparations her former mentor had started. Tatia and her husband joined them.
"What are you suggesting, son, that we roust every person from their warm beds in the middle of the night?" Mikael demanded.
"Jarl Mikaelson, pardon my intrusion and, as much as I agree with you, we might have no other choice. What if my wife's cousin Elena is not the only person missing?" Lodur said.
"I see. What would you suggest?"
Elijah soon found himself dividing his attention between Lodur and his father's discussion; he had no other choice because of who his father was. He could only hope that his father would be understanding enough that Elijah's attention preferably would be more focused on what Ayana and his mother were attempting.
When his mother had joined them, she had also brought her grimoire, which he knew had been given to her when she started learning to control her magic under the tutelage of Ayana. To the uninitiated in the magical arts, the older witch appeared to be nearing her fortieth winter but in reality Elijah understood that she was closer to her eightieth. Although his mother and two of his siblings were witches, it still amazed him what magic could do. Elijah had known her for as long as he could remember and, other than a slight aging of her features, she was the same. He couldn't really imagine what it would be like to live longer than the average human's lifespan.
"Elijah, Ayana and I are going to perform my locator spell. But in order to do so, we are going to need Tatia and your assistance," his mother finally announced.
Hope threatened to bloom in his chest, but he wisely kept it in check. He needed to focus on getting her back. Both he and Tatia moved closer to hear what his mother and Ayana had to say.
"Elijah, you will be the anchor for the spell once the spell is in place. You will feel a pulling sensation that will help guide us the correct direction. As we get closer, so will the sensation. The spell will only break once you and she make physical contact," Ayana explained.
Elijah nodded, having already committed himself to do whatever they asked of him. "What do I need to do to become this anchor?"
"Now take a seat inside the center of the circle and extend your dominant hand palm up," Esther continued. Elijah did as he was told and waited. Although he grew up in a family with magic supposedly in their veins, he couldn't even light a candle. His older brother had the talent, and Kol was even better and he had only at least ten summers of experience. So who knew what he would be able to do once he reached his majority.
"Tatia, please sit across from him and then extend one of your hands like my son is doing now," Esther instructed. Elijah watched with curiosity as the woman who had once held sway over his beating heart seemed somewhat hesitant, but still did as she'd been told. Tatia had always been willing to help people in the village, so he wasn't too surprised. Her hesitancy seemed rather incongruous to her giving nature, and he didn't quite understand why.
When his mother then produced a thin silver knife and sliced it across his palm, the open wound started to bleed immediately. The sharp pain was manageable, but he hissed almost reflectively. His mother had an odd fascination with magic that involved blood, he'd come to learn from experience growing up in his parent's household. With that knowledge, it didn't really surprise him, but Tatia and Ayana reaction when his mother made to do the same to Tatia's palm was one of alarm.
"Esther! Is this really necessary?" Ayana asked in haste. She made no move to stop her former student, but even to Elijah it appeared she was struggling with something internally. Why doesn't she want this to happen? he wondered.
"Tatia and Elena are related and I only need a few drops of her blood to craft the locator spell. Using anything else from her will not have the same effect, Ayana," his mother explained carefully, as if to reassure both women that this was the only course of action available to them.
Maybe it was his experiences with hunting or dealing with his family, but so far life had taught him to be mindful of his surroundings. So he didn't miss the nonverbal dialog Tatia and Ayana were exchanging with their eyes. It felt like an eternity waiting, but whatever unspoken discussion they had ended with a resigned expression on the older witch, as well as a relieved one of Tatia's own.
"Very well Esther. Afterwards I would like to perhaps share with you other methods I know of for such spells, but time is of the essence."
His mother seemed almost taken aback by the older witches statement but only nodded in silent agreement. However, the moment she sliced into Tatia's open palm and her blood welled up too, his mother gasped in surprise.
His mother shot her former teacher a surreptitious glance, then down at Tatia's bleeding palm. Remarkably, the girl that once held his and Niklaus attention didn't react, she remained silent as if waiting for something. Whatever it was, his mother quickly recovered and gently took Tatia hand and lifted it so it was above his own bleeding palm. The instant a few droplets of her blood fell and mingled with his own, two things occurred. All the unlit candles blazed forth and his mother and then Ayana started to chant in unison.
"In sanguine tuo oblatum auxilium nostrum inveniat homo qui sunt ex nobis!"
Elijah felt his palm grow warm and even he could feel some sense of wonderment as his own blood slowly started to pull back into his open wound.
"In sanguine tuo oblatum auxilium nostrum inveniat homo qui sunt ex nobis!"
He now felt a tugging sensation in his arm as his hand's wound sealed itself and he had a sudden urge to leave the house.
"In sanguine tuo oblatum auxilium nostrum inveniat homo qui sunt ex nobis!"
Tatia sagged in relief as her own wound sealed itself, leaving only a faint red line that he knew would fade in time. His mother was quite good with healing spells. He highly doubted there would even be a lingering scar. But he wasn't concerned about it now; he just needed to find Elena Petrova and it didn't take a genius to realize that he had the very means in his hand at that very instance. He was going to use it and whatever advantage came his way to reclaim the woman he wanted to spend his life with. He could only hope that he wasn't too late.
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It didn't take a genius to realize that she'd been kidnapped again. At this point in her life, she'd come to accept that it was just par for the course of being a Petrova Doppelgänger.
Elena flexed her hands in another covert attempt to assess the quality of the knot securing her bound wrists together, secured somewhere behind her head. As much as she hated the practice Ric had made her endure during quite a few training sessions, it was paying off now. She could still remember the utter shock she'd felt waking up bound in the closet. He'd warned her that his training would occur almost anytime and anywhere.
Although she still had the cloth sack over her head, by feel she guessed that while the knot was good it had been done in haste and she could exploit those which she had been doing ever since finally regaining consciousness. She did her best not to inhale too deeply both so as not to alert whoever had kidnapped her and to not breathe in any more of the strong earthly odor that could only be coming from the sack cloth itself.
Since her arrival in the past, a part of her chores up until recently had been to help Ayana with collecting various spell ingredients and she had found it a fascinating experience. In particular, the strong lingering earthly scent could only mean that the volatile oils of Valerian root had somehow been impregnated on the cloth of her hood itself.
Quite clever in retrospect, considering that the particular plant root was, as Ayana had taught her, the primary ingredient with inducing sleep in a person who continued to inhale deeply its odorous scent. So on top of trying to undo her hands, she had to be mindful of how she breathed. Wonderful tonight, or was it day now, had run a gambit of interactions and events that left Elena wanting to punch someone.
And right now that someone was whoever had captured her in her home and taken her against her will. Oh, she was going to make him pay!
She felt the offending knot loosen enough to allow her to slip one of her hands tentatively out of the constraints and, knowing she had possibly alerted whoever might be around, she quickly slipped her now free hand back in place. She waited for the sounds of someone but only caught the sound of a crackling fire close by. Deciding to risk it, she freed herself once more.
Cautiously, she used her free hands to carefully lift up her hood to take in her surroundings, and an icy ball of dread formed in her gut. Wherever the hell she was, it wasn't anywhere near the village, that was for sure. It appeared that she was a primitive hut by first appearances. There was a small fire nearby that needed tending to, but from what she could see and hear for the moment, she was alone. Acting quickly, she sat up and got a better look around the crude hut. It had wood arched poles running along the outer wall and an outer covering made up of grass and brush, which acted as a barrier from the outside. It took her a moment to realize that she was in a Wigwam of all things. But she wasn't about to let her natural curiosity get the better of her. She pulled up her dress in an unladylike fashion that would've sent her mother in a triad about her unbecoming behavior and quickly removed her dagger and its sheath and placed it back to the pole where her hands had been bound to, tucked where she could access it quickly.
She straightened her clothing, returned her hands to a semblance of seeming to still appear bound to the offending pole. A quick check of the blade hilt was hidden, but still reachable, she settled back down and waited. Hearing footsteps, she shook her head to lower the hood partially back into place, her nose and mouth no longer covered. Not with a moment to spare when she heard the tent flap open and someone climb inside.
Elena prayed that she hid her blade well enough, and she still appeared to be restrained as she had been before.
"Why hello, my future mate," an all too familiar voice broke the silence.
"Come now, I can tell you're awake now. After all, you somehow have partially removed your hood. Here, let me help you see me better." Jade's voice teased, and she felt the hood being pulled off her head. Much to her dismay, she knew the werewolf. The lustful looks he was giving her prone body sent unpleasant chills through her body. She was on her own and she needed to keep calm and collected on the inside. Her outward appearance was a different matter, but ironically enough, her experiences with the Original Hybrid in her own time gave her the fortitude she needed.
"J… Jade, I thought… what? How?" she stammered, hoping her acting was working. It helped that she was only partially doing so.
"Oh, do you mean that your former people have taken food from our mouths and because of you, we now need to migrate somewhere else for a few seasons?" he demanded. Elena didn't miss his wording, and that only firmed her resolve.
"Yes, our people are moving even as we speak, but I told our Alpha that I needed to take care of a few things before joining them." Jade sneered. He knelt down in front of her, looking up her body with a longing that made her want to lash out, still she needed to buy time. Especially when he pulled out a flint blade.
"Wh… What are you going to do?"
At first he didn't respond, instead he cut the leather strap that would have hobbled her if she'd tried to escape. Once her feet were free, he then forced her legs apart, roughly moving closer in between her legs.
"Please don't… I… don't want to die!"
Strangely, her statement paused his actions as he looked her directly in the eye. Elena didn't need to pretend to be frightened; the heated look in his eyes was enough to really tell her what he was after and it made her insides turn at the prospect.
Jade grabbed her dress and started to cut it free of her body until her former dress was now sliced open, exposing her nakedness to his lust filled gaze. She made a show of struggling, but was hammered by his presence between her legs and the fact she didn't want him to know that her hands were not as secure as he thought. She could wait for now.
"My mate, you're not going to die. Far from it. After I mark you and plant my seed, you'll be mine forever," Jade taunted.
Forcing the bile back down, she did her best to stall him. "B… But how is that possible to mate with someone not a werewolf themselves? How do you stop them from being killed when you turn?" Elena said in a rush, her fingers itching to grab her hidden dagger.
Tossing his flint blade out of reach, he palmed her exposed left breast while his other hand cupped her Mon pubis as if claiming it already. She bucked reflexively and, for an instant, she thought he saw her hands slip free, so she froze, waiting for the inevitable. Instead, she found him staring at her legs and her body in admiration.
"Your body is breathtaking. I knew I picked a fitting mate. As to your question, once I mark you with my scent, the others in our pack will not harm you. How else do you think others of my kind don't kill off those of us that haven't yet triggered their wolf side?"
"W… Wait, are you telling me that a werewolf and a regular human can procreate?" Elena asked, still stalling for time. She needed him to be distracted and a little closer before she struck she only had surprise on her side.
"Of course! Even our alpha Ansel has done this before. His offspring is amongst the sheep of your former home," he answered. He frowned when his probing fingers in her inner vaginal folds of her sex, not surprisingly, didn't find what he sought. Or more accurately she surmised he was disappointed by her body's lack of response to his so-call stimulation. Typical bastard mentality, she thought bitterly. It was humiliating to her that she was letting him get away with touching her in such an intimate manner, but she comforted herself with the knowledge that he'd stuck his fingers into the wrong cookie jar. And he would pay for his transgressions.
"You're not yet ready for my seed, but I can bring you around," he cooed and leaned forward, taking her exposed nipple into his mouth while his fingers tried to coax her unwanted arousal. She struggled for real this time she cried out in denial, but she wasn't going to lay down and take it. Her pleas for help and begging him to stop helped to distract him from what her hands were doing, and her ongoing resistance seemed to only fuel his need to touch and taste her body.
Revulsion, anger and fear intermingled, and it was what fueled her own need as she grabbed her dagger and pulled it free of its scabbard. Elena struck quickly, only dimly noting that her aim was off, but it hardly mattered. The sharp tip of the blade pierced his lower back just below his ribs but angled upward enough that she had to guess she had cut into his lung. She'd been aiming for where his heart should be, but his undulating movements had regretfully thrown off her aim. Still, it was enough.
Jade howled in agony as she twisted the blade before pulling it out and stabbing it into his side. What happened next was almost a blur. Her battle lust filled her vision with red as she followed him as he stumbled outside the place he'd decided to ravage her. But the tables had turned. She was now on top of him and a half remembered a promise she'd given him weeks ago popped unbidden into her mind, and she found herself smiling.
Elena thrust the blade up into his groin region and, for added measure, she twisted the blade before pulling it out. Her would-be rapist howled in agony as she straddled his prone form. She took the dagger and slowly pushed into his chest just over the spot his heart would be frantically beating.
"Goodbye Jade!" Elena hissed in murderous gaiety as the tip of her blade moved millimeter by millimeter. Her normally kind brown eyes held Jade's fearful eyes. She'd staked vampires before, even Stefan in his stomach when he called her pathetic. Elena didn't like killing and she'd never killed a werewolf before, but considering her present circumstance, she'd felt more than justified. Her body tensed as she leaned forward, ready to push the blade home, when her body and the arm holding the dagger froze.
"Stop!"
"No!"
"Elena!"
The burning rage that once filled her vision faded and although she couldn't move her body, she could still look around. It was only then she found her and Jade's bloody tableau had an audience. Six pairs of eyes stared at her or Jade with a plethora of unvoiced emotion.
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Elijah wanted to urge his mother and Ayana to hurry, but he knew better than to push his luck. For a multitude of reasons, the first being his father would beat him senseless if he disrespected his mother, especially in the presence of a non-family member.
It was just the three of them, as his mother had reiterated they didn't have time to spare on waiting around for anyone to join them they had to leave as soon as possible.
So that is how he found himself pressing further into the forest at as quick a pace as his two companions could manage. Not surprisingly, the still early twilight hours just before the dawn made it easier to navigate through the underbrush. It would've helped if there had been a trail for him to track, but as far as he could tell, nothing of the sort existed. Not that they needed one. Fortunately for them the spell his mother had cast was indeed working.
It felt as if he was being pulled in a particular direction by the unseen force. He didn't even want to consider how things might have transpired if they didn't have the magical aide helping them. The pull in his free hand was growing ever stronger with each step forward. It only decreased if he moved in the wrong direction.
He wasn't entirely listening to what his mother and her former teacher were quietly arguing about. He only caught a few stray fragments of their discussion, which drifted his way. It didn't make any sense to him anyway, but he had more important matters to be concerned with.
"Yes, Esther, I know their bloodline is powerful but-"
"How could you hide this from me? That could only mean that her cousin is-"
"Not here! I'll tell you more about it after we find Elena." Ayana hissed in irritation with her former student. Esther had moved on to practicing darker magics and Ayana had sworn never to delve that far, knowing what temptations she'd face if she ever did. The Petrova Grimoire in her family custody had remained untapped for centuries and she would not be the first of her family bloodline to do so.
Their argument would have continued if Elijah hadn't stopped abruptly moving his arm in a stopping motion. Turning to face them, he put a finger to his pursed lips, then indicated his ear. When both witches nodded their understanding of his need for silence, he waited. It didn't have to wait long when he heard a feminine cry for help. Elena!
They followed the muffled sounds of a struggle, nor did he pause his pace when they heard a man's strangled cry of agony. They had been walking for hours and the former night sky was fading into the ferment of predawn. So it was easier to see the primitive structures just ahead. He hadn't seen those since his childhood, and that could only mean one thing.
He pulled his sword free and was running now. He paid no attention to either his mother or Ayana as they tried to keep pace with him. Elijah skidded to a halt when he heard Elena's voice somewhere nearby.
"Goodbye Jade!"
Elijah bolted in the direction his hand and her voice had emanated from. He almost toppled over with the spectacle laid out before him. Elena was perched on top of the wheezing werewolf. From his vantage point, he could see that her dress front had been torn wide open and was only barely hanging on from her shoulders. What surprised him was the fact that she had a dagger stabbed partially into his chest, not enough to end his life, although Elijah could see it wouldn't take very much effort to drive the blade deeper into the man's chest.
"Stop!" a vaguely familiar voice commanded from nearby.
"No!"
"Elena!" Elijah called out. He could only guess what she had endured, but he still didn't want her to sully her hands with the blood of this bastard. Deservedly or not! It took him a second to realize that despite her obvious intent on killing the hapless man, she hadn't yet moved- as if her body was frozen in place. It was then he noticed that they were not alone. His mother and former mentor had finally caught up to them and either Ayana or his mother's magic was staying Elena's hand. Nor were they the only ones either.
Even though it had been several years now, he would recognize Ansel but he couldn't place the names of his two companions flanked on either side of him: one was a man with a stocky build, the other was a petite blond. Things had gone from bad to worse in the matter of seconds. Elijah made to raise his sword in preparation to attack but found he couldn't move.
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"Hello, Ansel," Esther said calmly.
"And you as well Esther. Although I wish we didn't need to meet under these particular circumstances," Ansel replied. He made no move to approach them, he simply took in the sight. It only registered in Elena's mind that she might accidentally be giving everyone a show with the destroyed dress.
Elena didn't know if she should laugh or start crying about her current situation.
"Lovely Elena, are you alright?" Elijah asked.
Never before had she missed his voice, both in the present and in her own past life. She wanted to run to him, but whatever was preventing her from killing Jade wouldn't allow her to stand up either. She looked over at him and it took a second to realize that he was frozen in place too. She wondered if it was Esther or Ayana that had stopped them. She wanted to ask, but she answered his question first.
"I will be once I kill this son of a bitch!" Elena seethed.
"I can't let you do that, Elena Petrova," Ansel responded, and she turned her gaze to him. Rage, filling her in ways she never thought was possible.
"Why not? He obviously didn't listen to you the first time and look where we are now? The bastard was waiting for me inside my home! My home!" she screamed, while trying to force the blade down into the terrified man's chest. Then she felt her blade being pulled out of her hand and watched it sail hilt first into Ayana's outreached hand.
"I won't let you take a life, child, no matter his crimes. You don't want that on your consciousness after this is said and done. Do you?" her quasi guardian asked gently. The soft gentle eyes of the older witch reminded her so much of her forever separated childhood friend her emotions finally broke.
"No!" she sobbed and suddenly she was free. Elena didn't remember what happened next, but she found herself enfolded in Elijah's protective embrace and Ansel and his fellow pack cohorts were restraining Jade. Elijah was using his body to shield her modesty from prying eyes. She suddenly felt dirty by the whole ordeal and the fact that she had actually considered killing a person.
"Now that we both have our respective people back. Esther, how do you wish to proceed?" Ansel asked.
"Ansel, he is a member of your pack so he is naturally subject to your rules, but I need to address that as of last night, my son Elijah has formally requested a courtship with Elena Petrova. Although from what my son has told me, Elena herself requested that she wait until the following morning to accept or decline it."
So this was it then, Elena thought, still feeling drained from her ordeal. Had it only been the day before that Ayana had broken the news to her that for whatever reason the so-called Spirits of Nature had pulled her back in time and stranded her there? Neither of the Originals she'd met in the future had ever mentioned her and Elijah had been engaged, let alone married. A thought occurred, and she wondered if she could really change history for the better. Lost in her own thoughts, it took Elijah murmuring in her name in her ear to draw her back to the present.
"Sorry I was lost in my own thoughts," she coughed in a vain effort to hide her sudden embarrassment.
"Quite understandable, but Ansel would like to hear from you directly if I have requested to start a courtship with you," Elijah spoke gently. She reveled in his woodsy scent. Caroline had once hinted that Elijah's scent had been intoxicating and Elena couldn't help to wonder if what she was experiencing now had remained the same back in her timeline. Realizing that everyone was waiting for her to answer, she decided it was now or never.
"We have and Elijah Mikaelson did formally request that we start courtship," Elena paused when she noticed the first rays of the new day broke in the east and she looked up into his brown captivating eyes.
"And since it's the following morning, I do owe him an answer. Seeing that now is as good a time as any to formally announce that I have accepted his proposal," she stated. However, when he didn't immediately respond, she added.
"That is, if you will still have me after-" she didn't get a chance to finish her question, not because she couldn't bring herself to address her near recent rape. No, what would've made her knees buckle had he not held her tight against his body was the world shattering kiss. He moved so swiftly she would've sworn he was a vampire. She knew that the others were talking but they and the world around them, were for, now blissfully forgotten.
