Chapter Song: Dynasty by MIIA

Disclaimer: Some of the scenes here are inspired by the book "Just Breathe" by Teresa Rilling and by the movie "The Old Guard'. And I do not own The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. This is purely a work of Fanfiction.

Chapter 27: Inner Demons

NEW ORLEANS. 2011 A.D.

Faith Mikaelson must have wandered around for ages. The white hallway she was in seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, she reached a door. Opening it, she found herself in a bare, white room with only a single mirror stand. She walked over to the mirror and studied her reflection. She was wearing a white dress, much like what she wore when she first arrived – only this time it was clean.

As she continued to watch herself in the mirror, her mirror self laughed at her. Shocked, Faith backed away. Her mirror self stared at her as she moved.

"I know who you really are." Her mirror self said ominously causing feelings of dread to rise up in Faith.

"You try to act like a good girl." Her reflection continued. "But inside, you're really just a selfish, manipulative brat."

"Stop it!" She shouted at the mirror. She didn't know if she was in a dream or if this was real, but she wanted it to stop.

Instead, her mirror self continued to taunt her. The Faith in the mirror knew her secrets, her fears, who she really was. She reminded Faith that she was just as bad as Klaus, just as bad as her father. Afterall, the whole reason she approached Elijah in the first place had nothing to do with him and everything to do with Faith. She had been desperate to find someone who would love her, who would stick to her regardless of everything. Her mirror self pointed out Faith's own selfish motives.

"Try as you might," The image in the mirror continued to mock her. "You can never hide how truly ugly you are."

Faith couldn't take it anymore. Enough was enough! She punched the glass and shattered the mirror. Yet, despite the cracks, her mirror self did not stop. Her evil laughter echoed in the room.

She woke up with a start. She found herself lying on an inclined bed. When she tried to get up, she was stopped by the restraints on her hands and feet.

The door open, and Adam and a woman approached. The woman was carrying a tray with what seemed to be medical instruments. She sat the tray down by Faith's head then injected her with a syringe and drew blood.

"Ow!" Faith let out a cry. She had never been fond of needles and had a low threshold for pain.

"Where am I?" Faith questioned the boy.

"Hello, my dear Faith." Adam drew close to her. "You're in New Orleans."

"What are you doing?"

"We're studying you." Adam smiled.

By then, the woman who was with him was finished. She stepped out of the room and a man came in.

"Stephen?" Faith asked uncertainly as her vision began to blur.

"No." Adam answered. "Someone worst."

The Stephen lookalike placed his hand on his temple and a sharp pain went through Faith's head. That was the last thought she had before she passed out from the pain.

~TGITW~

ONE WEEK AGO.

Faith and Adam were sitting face to face in a cargo plane heading for New Orleans. It was a 3 to 4 hour flight and in that time, Adam had revealed why they were heading there. It turned out that there was something about the land there that would aid Adam in sending her back or getting rid of her. In his words, he hasn't quite decided. Moreover, New Orleans was a power hub, a gathering place of power for his witches. They will be the one to help experiment with ways in getting rid of Faith without harming the TVD world.

After that revelation, Faith fiddled the cross pendant on her bracelet quietly. She closed her eyes and bowed her head.

"Are you praying?" Adam says with a laugh.

"Yes." Faith answered meekly.

"God doesn't exist."

"My God does." Faith insisted firmly.

Adam was not moved. He dismissed her words and mocked her for her faith.

"You know, there was a time when I was worshiped as a god." He told her smugly.

A sudden turbulence caused the plane to shake.

Adam pretended to be shock and said, "Was that him?"

Faith gave him an annoyed look.

"I don't believe in God. It's illogical. But you know what," Adam said. "You should just keep following that illogic. You're already on board with the supernatural."

~TGITW~

Since then, it had been days. The torture was relentless. Mind games partnered with physical maltreatment had left her exhausted. They had given her test after test and pushed her body and mind to the limit. She had been spending too much time drifting in and out of consciousness that she only had one thought: You've broken me.

Once again, she succumbed to a restless dream.

Elijah drew closer and closer then he leaned in and his lips met hers. Faith closed her eyes and melted into his kiss. He pulled away and she opened her eyes. The whole scene changed. She was standing from a distance watching him kiss Katherine all over again.

The scene changed again. This time she was in a church staring at an Elijah covered in blood.

He was watching her hungrily and for the first time since she arrived in this world, Faith felt truly afraid of vampires.

Again, the scene changed before her eyes.

She could not stand the way Elijah was looking at her. He was looking at her like an enemy. A cold, ruthless, merciless gaze and it was turned at her. She could feel it. He would not hesitate to kill her.

It was an endless cycle. Memories intertwined with dreams. Reliving the worst moments of her life. A kaleidoscope of horrible nightmares.

Images flashed across her mind's eye.

When her father was choking the life out of her mother.

When she and her father was screaming furiously at each other at the top of their lungs.

The hurts, the pains, she was reliving every scar.

They knew right where to hurt her. Where she was most vulnerable.

The point in her life when she wanted to give up. To end it all. When she lost all hope.

Those times when a single word, a single comment would trigger him and he would lose his temper.

The times she didn't even know what it meant to be a daughter.

Countless nights where she cried herself to sleep.

The worst was when they tortured her with Elijah.

Elijah who hated her. Elijah who loved someone else. Elijah who abandoned her.

They forced these nightmares on her like a vampire would.

They manipulated all her insecurities and scars and replayed them like a broken record.

Her fears and her hurts.

Again, the scene changed before her.

She had just confessed to Elijah her fears and her past. Faith had been dreading this day, the day that Elijah would leave her after finding out ugliness that was inside of her. She worried even when they were together.

But when she told Elijah this secret, he took her face into his hands and confirmed his promise to her. He told her, "If this relationship were to ever end, I would not be the one leaving. I love you and I'm not going anywhere…ever."

He smiled at her and they embraced. Without warning, Klaus appeared with a white oak stake and stabbed Elijah right through the heart.

Faith screamed as she watched her loved one burned to death.

Faith woke up with a start. Beads of sweat covered her forehead and she blinked back the tears that was coming. That was the worst one yet.

There were rare moments when she was fully conscious, and this was one of them.

During these times, she would try to remember the good things. The things that would keep her going. Her mother's hug, warm and comforting. Her brother's smile, kind and friendly.

If not for these moments, Faith would have gone insane long ago.

Though to be honest, she wasn't even sure why she was still trying. Who was going to save her?

Yet, in the midst of all that was happening, she still held on to hope. She hoped against hope that he would come. That somehow, Elijah would find her and save her. It was silly. She berated herself. She had no basis for the belief. But somehow, she found herself believing that he would come. That Elijah Mikaelson would come to save her.

~TGITW~

Elijah fiddled with the ring as he waited for news about Faith. Whenever, he was feeling anxious or uncertain, it gave him some semblance of peace. He had always kept the ring all these centuries. He never once let it go. In a way, it was symbolic of his feelings towards Faith.

Seeing Faith again during the Mikaelson ball, brought all these feelings out again. Perhaps, that was why he had lashed out at her even after so many years of suppressing his darker self. Seeing Faith again showed him just how much he's changed, how much of a monster he had become. He had not been able to live up to the man Faith saw and hoped he would become.

He had tried.

That's why he kept forgiving those who had done him wrong. People like his brother and Katerina, his lover. Faith had seen the good in him and had not given up on him. He had wanted to live up to her expectations. Even when Faith betrayed them, he never let go of it. In fact, her actions might have even pushed him to be better.

Afterall, the whole reason he could never break his word really stemmed from a desire to prove himself to Faith. Partly because he had once failed Faith and he never wanted to do so again. Partly because he wanted to prove that you could live up to your promises unlike Faith.

And it didn't help that she was the reason that they had become vampires. He lamented the fact that so many lives were lost because of them. Despite that, he still continued on this path of darkness.

Sure, Elijah could say it was all for family. But somewhere deep within him, there was a part that enjoyed it all, the violence, the lust, the hunger. Something inside him loved running wild without care for morals or honor. Just doing whatever he wanted to do in the moment.

Over the years, he had tried to make amends where he could, but it wasn't enough to redeem the atrocities he and his siblings committed. They had become monsters who had lost their morals, their humanity.

And now, he finds out that Faith had never betrayed them all along. That she had remained faithful and true. That he was the one who had given up on her. He was racked up with guilt and remorse.

How could I even think about hurting her?

He recalled a conversation he had with his sister eons ago.

"It's good to see you so happy Elijah." Rebekah commented with a smile.

He was grinning from ear to ear. Nothing could bring him down.

"I assume this is because of Faith?" She looked at him slyly.

Elijah kept silent but the joy was plastered all over his face as he thought of his beloved.

"What do you love most about Faith?" His sister asked.

He paused to think then answered: "With Tatia, it was all about her beauty. With Faith, it was more than just beauty, there was something that struck a chord in my heartstrings. Faith had a strong sense of justice. Doing the right thing always."

He chuckled as he remembered all the things he liked about Faith: "She likes to think she's a skeptical person who doesn't trust people easily, but really she can be a naïve person who trusts easily. That's one of the things I love about her. And when she…"

"Alright, alright," Rebekah chuckled. "I shouldn't have asked a lovestruck fool. Stop before you start composing poems and hymns about your beloved."

Elijah laughed at her response.

"Well, whatever happens," Rebekah said half jokingly, half seriously. "Make sure you don't hurt my soon-to-be sister."

He blushed unconsciously and answered soberly.

"How could I even think about hurting her?"

And that remained with him all those years. That's just how he felt. Like he would never be able to harm her.

But he had hurt her. He had let her go.

Now that Faith might be in trouble, it was time to unleash those violent urges he had been suppressing. He would no longer stop his primal instincts. Instead, he would use them for his purposes. This time, not to harm someone, but to protect someone.

"Not anymore." He growled lowly to himself.

Elijah was going to find Faith. He would scour the earth if that's what it took. And he would let nothing stand in his path.

I can't let her go. No, I won't let her go.

~TGITW~

Nothing!

Klaus had just come out of the sheriff's office and there was no sign of Faith Mikaelson. The people at the office had no clue who sent the cops his way. No signs of foul play either. It's as if the cops who came to his house vanished into thin air.

Klaus got into his car and started speeding through the highway. He was furious. This was all his fault! He slammed his fist on the steering wheel in anger.

If he was being honest with himself, Klaus felt disgusted with himself. He threatened Faith and forced himself on her. Klaus Mikaelson was a lot of things but he had never forced himself on any woman. And to think he did just that! And not just to any woman, but a woman he claimed to love! He felt disgusted with himself.

He not only forced himself on Faith, but in true Klaus fashion, he went and slept with the closest woman around! It was the same thing all over again. In the past, he had done the same thing by flirting with Tatia after seeing Faith and his brother together.

He was a despicable man. Faith was right to choose Elijah over him.

Instead of admitting his faults, he acted out as always. He ran away from his problems. He ran and hid from Faith and now she was in trouble.