Chapter Song: Walk Through The Fire

Disclaimer: One of the scenes here is inspired by the webtoon "Descent of the Demonic Master". And I do not own The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. This is purely a work of Fanfiction.

~TGITW~

Chapter 28: Sorry

"And oh, how fast would You come running?

If just to shadow me through the night

Trace my steps through all my failure

And walk me out the other side"

– Highlands (Song of Ascent), Hillsong

NEW ORLEANS. 2011 A.D.

At last, he found her.

After exhausting every lead he could, Elijah Mikaelson finally located Faith. She was in the St. Louis Cathedral of New Orleans. He knew the place served as a base of operations for witches in the past, but he did not hesitate. Once he heard the news, he immediately boarded a plane to Louisiana. Finding himself in the French Quarter once again, he prepared himself mentally to encounter opposition.

He needed to go and save his family.

As he stepped out of the car, he caught his reflection on the side mirror.

Why do you look delighted at the thought of vengeance and violence? His inner demon taunted him.

Elijah ignored it and walked towards the big, wooden church doors.

Be honest and admit it Elijah. The voice in his head continued. You're simply pursuing your own joy under the excuse of protecting your family.

He pushed the doors opened and was greeted with silence. The place was deserted.

Elijah scanned the sanctuary as he walked towards the altar. It was one of the oldest cathedrals in the US and time only added to its beauty. The sun shone through the stained-glass windows and fell on the empty pews adding to the church's ethereal beauty. Elijah's footsteps echoed throughout the empty building reaching all the way up to its high ceilings.

Stopping just short of the altar, Elijah focused all his efforts into listening. He concentrated hard on finding any signs of life and was rewarded for his efforts. This was where his vampiric hearing really proved its usefulness. He located movement in the cathedrals' basement, about two floors down.

"Found you."

~TGITW~

The church's basement looked more like a dungeon than anything.

There were rows and rows of rusted cells. The place looked like it would crumble any time. It certainly was the opposite image to the beautiful cathedral above.

The place was structured like a labyrinth. Eventually, the tunnels connected and merged into an open space.

It was there that Elijah found Faith.

She had her arms tied over her head and hanged from the ceiling. She obviously looked like she had been tortured. And judging by the various instruments that surrounded her, it seemed like she had been subjected to cruel and painful experiments.

Elijah could smell Faith's dry blood all over the room. The animal in him growled. Just imagining what could have happened to Faith was making him see bloodlust.

There were three people in the room with Faith but before they could react to his presence, Elijah had already ripped their hearts out of their bodies. He would show no mercy to anyone who hurts his family.

He cut Faith down and cradled her in his arms.

"Faith." He whispered softly as he caressed her face.

She looked so lifeless, so broken. Elijah had never feared death more than now.

Slowly, Faith opened her eyes. Seeing him, she made an effort to smile only to end up wincing at the pain. Instead, she touched his cheek and whispered back.

"I knew you would come."

She was gazing at him with such confidence and love. Her words brought up feelings of both guilt and affection in Elijah. Even in this situation, she still believed in him. His eyes became watery and he couldn't help but let a tear roll down his face.

"I will always protect you."

He whispered back.

By then, the rest of the witches had heard the commotion and had surrounded the two.

Knowing he was outnumbered, Elijah laid Faith down gently. Then standing up, he wiped the tear from his face with the back of his hand.

Elijah's blood boiled. He let his inner demon loose and started killing off the witches.

"Stephen?" Elijah paused momentarily as he came across someone he recognized.

"No, Silas actually." The immortal replied smugly.

"Doesn't matter." And before Silas could attack, Elijah vamp sped towards him and broke his neck.

One by one, the witches fell to the might of the Noble One. Just as it seemed that he would be able to win all by himself, one of the witches caught him unawares. Elijah fell to his knees as pain erupted in his head.

Then it all stopped.

When Elijah glanced up, Klaus stood behind his attacker having just beheaded the witch.

"Hello brother." Klaus smirked at Elijah.

Elijah grinned back at his brother and saw that his sister had come as well. Reinforcements had arrived.

Klaus and Rebekah finished the rest of the witches within minutes.

As strong and as many as the witches were, they were no match for three Original Vampires – and one being a hybrid at that.

Elijah went back to where he left Faith and picked her.

With Faith in his arms, he made a promise with himself. He was going to bring Faith back to Mystic Falls where he will personally nurse her back to health.

~TGITW~

MYSTIC FALLS. 2011 A.D.

Faith slept on her side as usual with her feet sticking out of the covers. Elijah looked at her sleeping face and held out a hand to stroke her hair. She stirred a bit which caused him to pause. But she went back to sleeping undisturbed. He withdrew his hand and sat there just watching her dream. She looked so peaceful, so serene. He didn't want anyone or anything to come and take that away from her. Her sleeping face made him feel protective of her. He would not let anyone hurt her again.

It was hard to think that just hours ago she had been struggling between life and death. Like with all the other vampiric effects, their blood did not have healing powers over Faith. And so, she had spent the night feverish, much like the night they first found her. She had been shivering and her breathing had been jagged. Elijah had to snuggle with her, letting his body heat warm her up and covering them both with a blanket. He had wrapped her up so tightly in the blanket that only the top of her head was showing. It took a while, but her fever finally broke.

And now here he was watching her rest. It gave him feelings of déjà vu as he recalled his first encounter with her. It had been a thousand years since.

There was a soft knock on the door and Rebekah peeked in. Elijah motioned to her that it was alright to come in.

Rebekah came in quietly, rested her hand on his shoulders and spoke quietly, "How is she?"

"Better." Elijah responded.

"I still can't believe we almost lost her."

Like Elijah, Rebekah had found out the truth about Niklaus' lies. That Faith had never really betrayed them. When she found out, she had been heartbroken.

Elijah leaned forward and buried his face in his hands.

"All this time…and she never did betray us." Elijah's voice started to break as remorse filled him. "I failed her."

Rebekah's eyes start to tear up as well. "We all did."

Before long, Rebekah exited the room leaving Elijah to his thoughts.

A few hours later, Faith stirred awake and her eyes fell on Elijah.

He was crying silently as he gazed at her with relief. She was awake. Elijah felt a burden lifted off his shoulders.

Then his mind started racing. There was so much he wanted to say. I failed you. I will never forgive myself. He didn't know where to start.

Faith caught his eyes and smiled affectionately at him. Even now, there was only love and understanding in her face.

"Sorry."

The word just fell out of his mouth, but it felt right.

"Sorry." He repeated.

One word communicated it all. He did not give any excuses or explanations. Just one word. One word to convey all his regrets and shame. Of how he'd hurt her. Of how he'd failed her.

And she understood.