A host of angels dancing in a storm

Define the dance which never takes a form

Who is that bridge brought to her love today?

The moon has fetched its gold piled on a tray

Your destiny will shoot its arrows now

The ship will cut the waters with its prow.

- Rumi, The Dance

Winter 1859

Cloverville, Central Louisiana

Annual Ball

She smoothed her hands over her blue gown as her fingers fiddled with the chain around her neck hoping to avoid everybody and get back to her grandmother.

Looking at the girls of her age conversing in huddles, she swiftly looked away, aware that her presence wouldn't be appreciated because of her 'eccentricity'. Their mothers had a preconceived notion that she would influence young minds and make them go against their wishes, ruining their chances of a suitor with good influence, enough money and a big house.

Her one and only friend Rafael had accompanied her father for this trip expecting to make possible connections and acquaintances.

From across the room Elijah glanced at the girl standing in the corner, deep in thought. He saw her eyes darting everywhere looking for someone as she moved to the other side of the ballroom.

The girl though young was immensely beautiful. Her coffee-brown eyes were sharp yet delicate, hinting her innocence as they assessed everyone, her pink lips contrasting with her pale olive skin.

The ladies around her seemed to keep their distance which ultimately made him curious. Talking to old men who looked rather pleased with her attendance to accompanying another, she mingled with the gentlemen altogether avoiding the ladies billowing their fans to the passing young men.

After a few minutes of observation, he concluded that she was an oddity.

Elijah put his empty glass on a passing server's tray and walked towards the girl who was finally left alone.

Stopping beside her, he wafted her rose and sandalwood essence which turned out to be peculiarly grounding. His heart suddenly caved in with a sense of peace.

"You appear to be in terrible lack of a companion," he said, making her turn towards him. Their eyes met briefly and hers spoke so much with a glance that he had to avert his gaze to look straight ahead.

"Pardon me. Do I know you?" The girl curtsied, taking in his features and knew for certain he was new to town.

"Certainly not, but it is never late to make acquaintances. I am Elijah."

"Making acquaintances is not a necessity but a choice, Sir," she quipped, her eyes gleaming in annoyance as she looked at the other men around her.

Elijah hid his smirk at her bold comment which was contemplating for a girl of her status. But then he should have expected such, with most in attendance avoiding her.

"I choose to enjoy the pleasure of your company tonight, Miss. Introductions are not necessary for you have apparently denied me the courtesy," he told her with a smile.

And then she was scrutinizing him and yet there was a hint of innocence in her eyes. "You are truthfully defying the niche of balls," she humoured him after a while.

"What shall appease you instead?"

"A talk that doesn't end with a proposal, expected dowry or definitions of a conventional bride," she frowned thinking of her previous fruitful encounters.

"None of those desolate subjects," Elijah agreed as they watched the people around them continuing their tasks.

"And it has come to my attention that you indeed prefer directing a conversation your way. We cannot have that if we are to talk."

"Shall I lead the chatter in a manner preferable to the lady only?"

"You shall not answer for you do conduct it same for all," she replied with a smile gracing her youthful face and he couldn't hold back his own grin.

The girl though intuitive was very observant and had managed to read him better than most in their first encounter with the Original.

"Shall I have the honour of dancing the next set?" He asked, seeing the Quadrille in procession on the floor. She didn't reply, but handed her dance card to him instead. He flipped it to see it unsurprisingly blank. "The gentlemen here are not diligent, I presume?" He jotted down his name next to two simultaneous dances.

"They look for their future lady of the house. I fail to uphold to their typical specifications and I do not come with a dowry or the mannerisms to be someone's wife," she said, seeing his name across from Polka and Galop on the card. "I tend to avoid gossip but it seems you have given them one by securing two sets."

"Am I to disappoint the guests with none?" Elijah glanced at her once more before writing his name for Waltz under Galop. "A visitor in town to dance three recurring sets with a lady in the annual gala. How positively scandalous."

Her eyebrow raised seeing his names in succession and she smiled, "It is inappropriate to get three sets from the same gentleman." He handed her the card and she read it closely- 'Elijah M.' how interesting, she thought before immediately dangling the slip of paper to her wrist.

"They should not have left the most beautiful girl in the room for me to secure the opportunity."

"You do not know me?" She asked curiously.

"I can say the same to you for myself," the Original replied and heard the music for the quadrille come to an end. He held out his elbow to her with a smile, "Shall we?"

She took it without hesitation and let him lead her to the dance floor, getting curious glances from people.

"My dwindling list of suitors will be non-existent after the dances," she informed him.

"You do not seem to care."

"I do not," the girl replied and they locked eyes for a moment before she swiftly looked away. "You appear to be a man who refrains from dancing much, less alone Galop. Are you certain you know how to proceed?" She humoured, changing the topic as they took their positions.

"Are you challenging my dancing skills, Miss?" He grinned at her when the floor manager blew the trumpet.

Elijah held out his hand for her as she glanced at it. Her brown eyes drifted to meet his hazel ones before she placed her hand in his-both unaware that she would be taking it for an eternity.

"Forgive me if I have some doubts," she told him when the music started and he bowed, raising his brows before she curtsied with a smirk.

They walked around together, her hand out gracefully when he twirled her into his arms, hand above her waist, matching the footsteps perfectly. The fourth beat ended as he spun her afar before the three-four beat started again.

His fingers caressed her gloved hands as she fell back into his arms, pulling back to maintain a respectable distance as the Original clutched her slender waist to let his palm slide up her back. Her blue gown swished around his legs as he moved them across the floor.

"Still having doubts about my skills, dear?" He whispered into her ear and smiled at her eagerness to continue as a tinge of pink spread across her cheeks. Her lashes fluttered as she looked down in embarrassment, once again reminding him of her age and innocence.

It wasn't long before their movements continued to Galop and then a slow waltz as they listened to what the other had to offer through short conversations.

Despite the frowns around them for not keeping silent in a dance, her tinkling laughter and melodious giggles were enough for Elijah to persecute whoever dared to interrupt them.

He failed to recall the last time a moment was this joyful for him.

"My grandfather founded this town in the 30s. I shall not hear anything pertaining to its name," she told the Original as they glided across the floor.

"I suppose you ought to be right for I find the name Cloverville a tad bit..."

"Infantile, humorous," she continued his description with a laugh.

"That might explain why the guests are rather wary of you. A founder's grand-daughter with a streak of rebellion in her veins," the Original said, giving her a look.

"I suggest you keep away from bad company, Mister Elijah," she informed him with a smirk as he lifted her up in the air before bringing her back to her feet with a grace.

"Am I to believe that the lady gets entangled into mischief to not upkeep her duties anymore?" He joked, feeling her hand on his shoulder while his own glided across her waist.

"The gentleman speaks for himself," she answered, getting twirled around so her back was to his chest. "I am not obligated to share my proposed duties to a stranger."

"I consider myself different from the normal populace," the Original turned her with a smug smile.

"Is that arrogance I detect in that tone?" She mused, tilting her head.

"People call me honourable," he told her, making her raise a brow. Elijah waited for her to speak for a minute or two as they coordinated their movement in astute silence.

She gazed at him and he watched as her eyes seemed to reach into the depths of his soul, igniting a potential havoc. He had alluded to the physical instances of beauty several times in his life but none had gripped him this fast where he just wanted her so she could soothe his tormented soul.

"I do not know you in person to believe your precepts, Sir," she said softly and he looked at her in an instant.

"I may not be acclimatized to the recent proceedings since you have refused me the general familiarity that accompanies one when they know your name," Elijah elaborated, an impish grin taking over his features.

"I am the founder's grand-daughter. You have to earn it," she smirked when the waltz concluded.

He bowed and she curtsied, with a smile marring both faces. Before he could reply as the people around them dispersed, the floor manager came along with a butler.

"Miss, your grandmother has requested your presence," the butler said and she nodded, turning to glance at Elijah.

"It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance," the girl said, grinning at him before she grabbed hold of the manager's extended elbow and walked away from him.

Elijah left the procession downstairs, unsuccessful at locating his brother while the thoughts of the mysterious girl clouded his mind. She made him forget his burdens, the guilt and the responsibilities that weighed his shoulders. It was profound to realize that not everyone saw him as the monster that people made him out to be.

The girl had made him smile and he wanted to capture her very essence that grounded and anchored him. For the first time in his eternal existence, he felt stable with that nonchalant comfort without any expectations.

He came across her in the library turning pages and his lips turned up in a smile without his permission. The Original cleared his throat, announcing his presence.

She instantly looked up at him and smiled. The glow of the candlelight beautifully illuminated her lashes.

"Isn't your presence required downstairs?" She inquired.

"I have made my necessary farewells and have been unsuccessful in finding my disorderly younger brother."

"He must be old enough to look after himself. So I hereby conclude that maybe he is hiding from you, tired from your disciplinarian ways," she told him, a giggle rolling out her mouth.

"My brother has a habit of getting himself into troubles," Elijah tried to justify.

"And I presume you rescue him every time?" she frowned.

"You are very perceptive," the Original said, not refuting her claims when he knew that tending to Niklaus was his everything. Always and Forever wasn't just a vow anymore, it had become their own personal curse. "I aim for his redemption," he continued without a thought and stopped immediately when he realized the error of his impertinent mouth.

"You cannot aim for his redemption when he doesn't want to redeem himself. People choose their own redemption, Sir. You cannot make choices for him."

"You are telling me that my life has been in vain," he sighed with a touch of humor.

"Forgive me but I doubt my observations are going to deter you from your ambitious path," the girl smiled and Elijah responded with his own, leaning against the desk-she was right, obviously.

"I happen to believe that one day I will truly see him happy," Elijah pointed out.

"Happiness is a subjective term. It might mean many things. Its definition is different for all."

The gravity of her words were not unfound to the Original. It was true. He looked into her eyes and everything felt better, she seemed better.

"Let me reintroduce myself," he broke the silence.

"You have broken the unspoken vow, Mr. Elijah," she humoured before humming, "You are a difficult man to read. Your eyes give away your old soul." The girl smiled, turning around to retrieve a journal from the shelf.

"So I have been told," he walked towards her and placed his hand over hers to stop her from turning the page, closing the book shut. Her eyes snapped to his, looking down at his hand as he savored the warmth clinging to his cold skin when she abruptly retreated her hand from underneath his.

Plucking the journal from her hands, he opened its first page. "A friend of mine got married to one of the founders, Raymond Laurentis. They used to live in New Orleans and certain circumstances brought them here," he informed the girl, reading the pages.

She cleared her throat and stepped back. "I haven't had the pleasure of seeing you around this town. A visit I presume."

"With a purpose," he answered without missing a beat.

"Anything nefarious in your mind?" She asked. "I must inform you that our town is very peaceful. Kindly refrain from stirring troubles," the girl ordered, a chuckle resounding the room.

"Maybe," he looked at her as she fiddled with her chain. "Is that an inquiry from a concerned resident of the town?"

"Maybe?" She teased him, making his lips twitch.

Elijah smiled, taking in her recherché features, "Do I not get the lady's name?"

"Adelia," she replied softly after a moment.

"Nobility," he stared at her and she avoided his intense gaze as her cheeks soon met with a blush.

"I must take my leave for I already have an arrangement to get to," she told him not a second later and he straightened his posture, concealing his disappointment.

"I look forward to seeing you again," he placed a chaste kiss on her hand while she curtsied in farewell.

"With your last name of a Mikaelson, we soon will," she stated with a mischievous glint in her eyes before exiting the room.

Elijah stunned at her knowledge of his identity, hurriedly moved to follow her to only witness empty corridors.

She had long disappeared, leaving nothing but her rose and sandalwood fragrance wafting in the air.

Introducing

Bridget Satterlee as Adelia Laurentis

"You are all I have."

a n d

Daniel Gillies as Elijah Mikaelson

"You mean the world to me."