To seek solace in humankind is the way of fools
Earthly loves, are shattered mirrors,
Or are but mangled fools.
- Rumi, Mirrors
Winter 1859
Laurentis House
Cloverville, Louisiana
Adelia walked inside the study and put down the papers on the desk with a thud. She turned around and looked up at Elijah, surprised.
"I was not aware that someone was up before dawn," she said, tying her hair up into a bun.
The Original noticed her wearing a dressing gown under the shawl and got up. "My apologies. I shall retire to my room," he replied.
"You can stay. I did not mean to intrude," she smiled at him while walking around the desk and sat down behind it, pulling the papers towards her.
"If you do not mind, of course. I couldn't sleep," he told her.
"I do not. Please continue with your reading," Adelia pulled out some parchments from the drawer and dipped the pen in the ink and started writing.
The vampire retook his seat and turned to open the book to read. They continued in silence as the only sound that filled the room were of nibs scratching over the parchment, pages being turned and beautiful cacophony of the crickets screeching outside the French doors.
He watched her from time to time as she sealed the envelopes with the wax and stamped it shut and rolled the other parchments tying them close. Her chair screeched against the floor as she stood up with piles of letters and rolls and placed them in a tray meant to be delivered in the morning.
"I suppose it wouldn't be too forward of me to ask of your reason to wake up this early," he asked her, breaking the silence.
"Father isn't here and likewise, it falls upon me to take care of certain matters. I am yet to learn everything," the witch answered, clearing out the desk but felt his gaze on her.
"So I presume you get the brunt of the responsibilities," Elijah commented, watching her closely.
"So do you. Being the eldest has its own set of endeavours," Adelia smiled at him and picked out a heavy file from the shelf.
He did not correct her assumption of him being the eldest. "You are quite young to preoccupy yourself with such things," he closed the book, smiling back.
Adelia dropped the file over the table with a loud thud and cringed. "My apologies."
"Do you require my assistance?" He asked getting up.
"None, sir. Musty billings," she felt him move closer to her.
"I do relish the smell of old parchments," the vampire stood beside her, watching her work as she put a pile of papers into the cabinet.
He touched one of them out of habit as she came forward to take it and Elijah was immediately hit with her sandalwood aroma wafting around, mingling with the rustic old papers. He handed it to her and she smiled at him gratefully.
"You must have quite a collection since you are very old," the witch blurted out and stiffened when his lips twitched at her words. "Pardon me. I did not mean to offend you. I know you are old, but you do not look ancient so I suppose..." she turned her back to him and clenched her eyes shut in embarrassment.
"How do you suppose I look then? Since you very well made me out to be... old," he humored, leaning against the desk while her hands busied themselves with various parchments to avoid a confrontation.
"Appearances are deceptive, Mr. Mikaelson," replied Adelia, her back still turned. "You look good for someone your age, not a fossil definitely," she bit her lip, making him smile.
"How terribly unfortunate of me to not turn into one. It seems you would rather have me a fossil than a living vessel to quench your historical aptitudes," the Original said with a smirk.
Adelia turned to face him instantly with a frown on her features. "I never meant to give you that impression that I prefer you as an ancient rock over your handsome self," the Laurentis heir retorted immediately and closed her eyes at the confession.
He chuckled at that and helped her tie the rolls before keeping it back in the cabinets.
"That was certainly thoughtful of you to consider me such. I would choose my handsome self over some my fossilized form too," Elijah glanced at her as the witch fidgeted with her woollen shawl.
She was endearing. While she might be beyond wise for her age, her heart was still young, yearning to be loved like any other girl of nineteen summers.
"I must rest. It has been an eventful night," she told him hurriedly to hide her reddening cheeks.
"Indeed, it has been. An old man tends to need his share of sleep. Aching joints, I presume," he grinned at Adelia who looked everywhere but him.
The witch moved past him when Elijah held her wrist, making her look at him in confusion. He stopped in front of her, his hold gentle while looking her in the eye as it exhibited numerous questions.
He leaned forward and Adelia's eyes widened when he tucked her hair behind her ear. "You are not an object to be possessed, Adelia, but to be cherished," he whispered in her ear and her breath hitched. "A certain Mr. Harvey will be taken care of."
She turned her face sideways to look at him and their eyes met, their breaths slowly mingled as he took in her intoxicating fragrance of freesia wafting from her hair.
The Original's lips touched her warm cheek with a flutter as her shoulder squirmed involuntarily. "You are quite exquisite for someone this young as well," he loosened his grip over her wrist, feeling her soft rapid pulse underneath his fingers.
She immediately snatched it free to step back, avoiding his heated stare and fled from the study without sparing him another glance.
Elijah's eyes followed her retreat with a smile gracing his lips.
Damon entered the library carrying a blood bag for Rose who seemed to be getting paler with every passing minute.
"I was born in 1450, that makes me 560 years old," she said.
"Well, if you were a bottle of wine..." Damon implied.
"So I can die. I've lived long enough."
"You know, if you're gonna be morn, I'm just gonna kill you myself just to put me out of your misery," he told her, pouring blood from the bag into a glass.
"Come on, it's just a little werewolf bite."
"Just a little, fatal to a vampire, werewolf bite."
"Well, according to a legend which is the notoriously unreliable source. Drink up," he said while handing over the glass of blood to Rose, "blood heals."
"Yeah, it does feel like it's working," she admitted.
"Let's have a look, come on. Let me see," he stated and looked at the bite mark which seemed to have gotten much worse.
"How is it?" Rose asked hesitantly.
"Definitely... better. Right, Elena?" He questioned the doppelganger who seemed shocked by Rose's wounds.
"Um, it's not bad."
"Looks awful," Adelia's voice echoed as she came to stand in the doorway. "I apologize, nobody answered the door."
"Can you at least be a bit sympathetic?" Damon commented as he gave her a once over.
"Sympathy is for the weak. I believe in empathy and I wouldn't like it either if someone lied to me about what might be my last day," she said impassively. "You'd do better to keep those wandering eyes to yourself, Mr. Salvatore. Unless you want a repeat performance of our previous encounter, but this time I'll start with your eyes."
Damon glared at her, clearly remembering their last encounter.
"Maybe we should keep Elijah away from her," Elena spoke to diffuse the tension.
"No need, Ms. Gilbert. I wouldn't want to increase her suffering anymore," Elijah said, strolling inside to stand beside Adelia. Rose looked frightened and started getting up, but Elijah assured her seeing her condition, "You do not have to be frightened Rose-Marie. I did pardon you."
"Where's Stefan?" Damon asked Elena, completely ignoring the Original.
"The elder Salvatore I presume," Elijah said, glancing at him. "Let's proceed, I have other matters to attend to than satisfying your meager curiosity."
"He left to get Alaric. I need you to talk to him," Elena told Damon when Stefan and Alaric entered the library. They all looked at each other awkwardly.
"Shall we?" Elijah asked Adelia holding out his hand and proceeded to the living room. Damon rolled his eyes and carried Rose followed by Elena. They reached the room to find Elijah helping Adelia to the couch while sitting beside her. Rose, Damon, and Elena took another couch across from them while Alaric and Stefan got situated in adjacent chairs.
"You wanted to talk, Miss Gilbert," Elijah started, breaking the silence.
"Yes, we do. Tell us what you know about Klaus," Stefan said immediately.
"No pleasantries, Mr. Salvatore? We are here at your request so let's tone down the demands, shall we? We have no obligation to answer your questions," she glanced at Elijah, "at least I don't," Adelia continued with a humorous smirk.
"I am sorry. We are desperate here," Stefan apologised.
"First, how do you know Elijah? And Klaus?" Damon questioned Adelia with skepticism.
"I got acquainted with them due to mutual connections," she answered truthfully and her husband nodded.
"So you're on whose side?" Alaric asked the Original.
"I assumed we were allies, Mr. Saltzman. Your confidence in the only person that can save your step-daughter's life is rather lacking," Elijah replied distastefully.
"How do you know all this?" Elena chimed in, shocked.
"I make it my job to know everything about the people I have been tasked to protect, Ms. Gilbert."
"Why are you here and not with Klaus?" Rose questioned when her curiosity got too much.
"We separated decades back."
"But why are you helping us when you should help him instead?" Stefan asked.
"Klaus has something in possession that I want back. This presents me with the perfect opportunity to talk to him. As I told Ms. Gilbert last night, this is a give and take deal. I give you the information you ask for and you generously return the favour."
"What about you, beautiful?" Damon turned to Adelia.
"Ms. Gilbert asked for my help. I have no desire to babysit some teenagers running havoc in town when they need an introductory lesson on supernatural beings," she said smiling tightly and then looked at Elijah. "Maybe you should arrange for that too. Your work will get quite easier if they are fortuitously aware of their activities," she finished, earning a snigger from Rose and Alaric while her husband appeared amused.
"Aren't you astute?" Damon hissed.
"Elena wanted my assistance. Do not mistake my generosity for tolerance."
"How could you help us?" Alaric asked with furrowed brows.
"Adelia's has connections everywhere. She is a powerful witch with more than a century of experience in her hands," Elijah answered.
"How are you both a witch and a vampire?" The hunter questioned curiously.
"As stated earlier, Mr. Saltzman, I am not obliged to answer that question."
"So can you tell us where Klaus is?" Elena asked in an eager tone.
"Klaus has himself cloaked with magic. Now it's all human specifics, but I have my informants already on the trace," Adelia informed them.
"Then find Maeve," Stefan blurted out earning a raised eyebrow from Adelia.
"Maeve? Why?" The Original asked with a clenched jaw.
"I told them going after Maeve is a bad idea, but they want to kill Klaus so they want to exploit his weakness," Rose informed, afraid of the Original's retribution.
"And judging by your expressions... you know who she is and where too," Damon concluded with an evil smirk playing across his lips.
"Maeve is... unavailable," stated Adelia, uncrossing her legs.
"She is unavailable and you will wind up angering him more once he arrives in town," Elijah added.
"We will deal with an angered Original later. We were told that we'll be facing Elijah's wife and here you are keeping her out of the nasty business," Damon replied.
"My wife chooses her battles wisely," countered the noble Original with humour.
"Any more questions?" The witch asked with a sigh.
"Adelia informed Elena that you Originals cannot be killed," Alaric said.
"That is true. We destroyed the only weapon that could kill us when we turned and that was a millennia ago," Elijah answered.
"Then why is Klaus trying to break the curse when nothing can kill him?" Damon questioned with an incredulous look.
"Consider him obsessed or paranoid. I would call him both," Adelia fondly replied.
"You have lived long enough so tell me, where is the cure for a werewolf bite?" The elder Salvatore almost begged seeing the deteriorating condition of the girl sitting beside him.
"I apologize, but I do not know the location of its most viable source," Elijah said, referring to Klaus and glanced towards his wife.
"Until then Ms. Gilbert should stay away from Rose-Marie. It might be dangerous," Adelia answered.
"She needs me. She is dying," Elena spoke.
"Then you need a basic knowledge on what happens to vampires when they are bitten by a werewolf, Elena," she turned to look at the doppelganger. "They hallucinate, their vampire instincts are heightened, they cannot differentiate between reality and what they have conjured. Your intentions might be pure, but the situation demands logic," she finished coldly.
"She is right. I can harm you, Elena. You all need to go," Rose said.
"I say Adelia put up a barrier confining her in a room. Rose-Marie will become delusional in a few hours," suggested Elijah.
"No, you must be mad if you think I will let her spend the day trapped inside a room," Damon retorted.
"I think Elijah is making sense. He knows more about them than any of us," Alaric said.
"This is not justified," Stefan sighed.
"We live in a world where nothing is justified Mr. Salvatore, otherwise Rose-Marie wouldn't have been bitten trying to save your brother who apparently goaded the werewolf," quipped Adelia. "Kindly take Elijah's advice and let me put a spell."
"How do we know you're telling the truth about the bite?" Damon asked as Rose looked on.
"You cannot leave a battlefield without a few ones," answered Elijah.
"Then how are you..." Elena started but was interrupted.
"He is an Original. Not even a werewolf bite would kill him," Adelia explained.
"I think we can handle this," the doppelganger said.
Adelia pursed her lips and took a deep breath, "Very well, I have affairs to tend to," she said getting up from the couch. She fixated her gaze on her husband, "I made no deal with this lot, their concern shouldn't be mine. You can continue with your futile attempts to protect them when they evidently do not want the same.
Sensing his wife's aversion, the Original got up and extended his hands, "Let me escort you back, Adelia." She accepted the gesture and allowed him to lead her out as Elijah exited with a nod.
"Isn't she too honest?" Alaric commented as he watched them walk away.
"And blunt. Was that true? Whatever they said?" Damon said.
"Adelia has no reason to lie. Elijah might be making a power play," replied Stefan.
"Maybe I should keep Elena out of playing nurse," the elder brother pondered.
"It's not necessary. They might be lying for all we know," the girl retorted.
"It is necessary," he replied and looked at Rose, "Elena is a do-gooder. It's in her nature, she just can't resist." Damon left the room and the doppelganger followed him.
"Well, if it isn't the one I meant to kill. I'll have to get that right next time," Jules replied taking a sip of her drink.
"You won't live to see another full moon unless you tell me how to cure a wolf bite and then I won't kill you," Damon said.
"Promise?" She asked him skeptically.
"Yes," he nodded.
The werewolf put some money on the table and looked at Damon, "Bite me." She got up to leave but he grabbed her arm, "I'm not afraid of you."
"Then you are very, very stupid."
"How's your friend? Rose, is that her name? Have the chills started? The unbearable pain?" She mocked him.
"If there's a cure, tell me or start watching your back."
"Did I mention dementia? It'll eat away at her brain. Soon she'll be rabid. You want a cure? I'll tell you the only cure that exists, take a stake and drive it through her heart," Jules replied before walking away.
Annoyed at the unsuccessful attempt, Damon called the person he knew would be able to help Rose, "Hey beautiful witch."
Not hearing any movements for quite some time, Elena decided to go investigate and left the room to head downstairs when she noticed the open front door. The doppelganger turned around with a stake in hand and saw Damon.
"Are you okay? Where's Rose?" He asked seeing the stake.
"I don't know," Elena answered.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Adelia walked inside, her heels clicking against the floor as she fixed the doppelganger with a glare. "Mr. Salvatore, I recall telling you that Elena shouldn't be left alone with Rose."
"She was fine," replied Elena.
"She is not fine. She is dying and she knows it. Do you people have no sense?" She emphasized, blaming them for their stupidity.
"We did not know this will happen," Damon reasoned with a hard stare.
"Elijah warned you. I mentioned how the venom affects the victim and still, you didn't pay us any heed," Adelia stated with gritted teeth.
"Listen here witch, I called you for help and not for your lectures," the elder Salvatore said.
"And I agreed because I thought you were intelligent enough to get your facts straight about Rose-Marie. Clearly, I was wrong."
"Can't you do a locator spell?" Elena asked, annoyed with the turn of events.
"I am neither your resident witch Miss Gilbert nor I do work for you," Adelia turned towards her. "Your definition of right is lacking. Why do you think I warned you about your proximity to a bitten vampire? You have the same face to your vampire counterpart who ruined Rose's life so this was the easiest image she could have conjured," she paused looking at the doppelganger's scared face, "and if I am not wrong she did. It elevated her guilt when she had her moments of lucidity and she ran. You have no idea how affected she might be. I have seen vampires killing themselves because they couldn't handle the pain. Her last day and you have already ridden her with grief."
"You do not talk to her like that," Damon glared at the witch, stepping towards her.
"And you do not get to order me around. Have fun locating your vampire. Good luck," Adelia said unfazed and left.
On the other side of the high school, two people walked towards their car when the guy broke the silence. "Hey, what was going on back there with the police?" He asked curiously.
"Some maintenance man had a heart attack. He just dropped dead," the girl answered as she entered the car and waited for him to get in. "Eddie?" she called out when suddenly his body fell over the car.
The screaming girl ran out of the car and rushed towards the boy, but Rose appeared in front of her and bit her ferociously. Suddenly she got flung across the street by an unknown force knocking her out moments before Damon arrived.
"Rose, Rose!" he shouted for her. "Rose, Rose! It's me, it's Damon," he tried once again to no avail as a car parked in the road slowly rolled down the street disappearing out of sight.
Rose woke up in an unfamiliar room covered in sweat with pain unfurling her nerve endings. She took a moment to observe the room and saw it was bare to minimal and concluded that it certainly wasn't one of the rooms from the boarding house.
"Welcome back. It took me some time to locate you," Adelia spoke, entering the room with a bowl and a washcloth.
"What am I doing here? Where's Damon?" She asked the witch.
"He is not worth a headache," the witch said, sitting beside her on the bed and dipped the washcloth in the bowl to put it over her heated forehead.
"Did I do this? I never meant to hurt anyone. I never wanted to hurt anyone," Rose stated.
"I know, dear. You deserve better than this. Tell me, Rose, if you ever get a chance to live again, what would you do?" Adelia questioned her when she took another washcloth and gently started wiping the blood from Rose's face.
"You can never forget it, what it's like to be human. It haunts me. It's the only thing that's kept me going," answered Rose.
"No, we don't forget. Being human was a part of who we were. It defined us. Turning into vampires did change certain aspects, but it did not alter us entirely," the witch said, eyeing her curiously.
"I'm sorry. I don't have a better answer," the bitten vampire replied.
"Rose-Marie, you are what you want to be. Being a vampire gives you an eternity to search for your true self. It doesn't have to limit you."
"I never had the sense of eternity when I was constantly running from Klaus. It was a curse."
"You can make it your gift. Start over," Adelia suggested, replacing the washcloth over her forehead.
"I would have liked to visit where I was from when I was human. I missed the chance. It was a nice place," Rose admitted. "Why is the pain suddenly gone?"
"The magic of herbs," the witch smiled amusedly, "but you are still dying."
"I like that you do not lie," commented Rose.
"You do realize that Salvatores are nothing but trouble, don't you?" She started cleaning Rose's gritty fingers and gave her a look.
"I realised that a long time ago, but I needed something to look forward to."
"Getting yourself killed was not an answer to your prayers."
"I wanted to belong somewhere," Rose confessed.
"What if I say there is a cure? What will you do?" Adelia asked.
"There is no cure, but I would have really liked to start over."
Adelia stared at the vampire intently and then removed the washcloth and began drying her hands with a hand towel. The witch took a deep breath and placed her fingers over Rose's wound which made the bitten vampire flinch.
"Don't be afraid, everything will be alright," she reassured her and started siphoning off the magic in the venom. Adelia felt the magic flowing in through her fingertips as it glowed, making her smile. A few seconds later, the witch saw the wound and hummed in satisfaction.
Rose was confused when Adelia left the room and re-entered with blood bags and handed them to her.
"Drink," she ordered to which Rose complied and emptied the bags hungrily. The older vampire felt her body healing as the wound closed up. She touched her shoulders, startled by the absence of a bite and looked up at the smiling witch.
Adelia retook her seat beside the witch and brushed the sweaty locks off Rose's forehead.
"How did you do it?" She whispered in awe, once again touching the healed area.
"I have my secret tricks," chirped Adelia.
"Why did you heal me? I do not even know you."
"I apologize for what you had to go through," she could see the questions glimmering in the older vampire's eyes, "Mystic Falls is not safe, Rose-Marie. You might think you have an obligation to fulfill by helping the elder Salvatore but you don't. His choices are his own and you saved his life by risking yours."
"But I have nowhere else to go. I need a purpose to this life, Adelia," Rose said.
"I already gave you a purpose. Home is where you want it to be. It doesn't have to be some place where you have to reassure yourself about your sense your belonging every day. So yes, if you're looking for a home with the residents of this place, then you are wrong," Adelia answered truthfully before she sighed and got up. "I have something else for you."
Rose watched curiously as the witch opened the bedside drawer to retrieve a white box and gave it to her. She sat up taking the box from her hands and proceeded to open it and suddenly her eyes brimmed with tears.
Her bony fingers plucked out the Lapis Lazuli ring to stare at it. She glanced at Adelia who clutched her other hand to give her a reassuring squeeze.
"I have wanted this for so long," Rose softly murmured.
"Good because this is an incentive," Adelia took the ring back from her fingers with a smirk. "The ring or Klaus?"
"What?" The vampire was dumbfounded.
"Freedom or death," the witch offered as the vampire started processing the words. Maybe Adelia was right. She was giving her everything she always desired. A new beginning.
"You are right, I need to find a home. With someone, somewhere. I can go back and really start over without fearing Klaus," she nervously admitted to Adelia who after a moment gave the ring back to her.
"And now you have it. So, you have a ring you've always wanted and a purpose to look forward to an eternity," Adelia watched the older vampire slip the daylight ring onto her finger.
"I do not how to repay you for saving my life," Rose replied through watery eyes.
"Not required," Adelia stated and her voice turned serious, "Get out of Mystic Falls. Klaus will be arriving soon. Elijah might have pardoned you, but Klaus never tolerates betrayal and you know it better than anyone else," she sighed. "I suggest you go back to England, start living your life. Begin anew with no connections to this place. I can only keep you safe if you do not get yourself involved in this town's business and people. Give me your word that I can trust you with this task," the witch continued and Rose gravely nodded.
"I promise. Thank you."
"Have it as a threat but if you ever try to approach this place or its residents, I will de-spell the ring," she got up and looked at the vampire who was suddenly unnerved by the witch's ability to destroy her newfound gift. "I will arrange for your departure and no, you do not owe him anything," the Original's wife said, referring to Damon.
"You are not fond of them, are you?" The vampire questioned hesitantly.
"I am very selective about the people I care about and the Salvatores do not make the cut to my list," the witch said with honesty
"I will not disappoint you. You have given me a chance and I want to live up to it. But who are you? Why did you help me?"
"Adelia Laurentis. You might remember me someday, but I hope the day never comes," the witch pondered and internally grimaced at the possibility of her husband being daggered. "You are very brave Rose-Marie and never forget that," the witch smiled genuinely.
"Why?" The elder vampire asked curiously.
"There's a change of clothes in the bathroom and this is your new phone with my number on it. I am always here if you ever need help. Sorry, I had to destroy your old one to make it believable," Adelia commented, evading the question as she stood up. "It was a pleasure meeting you Rose-Marie, do not make me regret my decision. A man will get you to the airport in exactly 45 minutes," the witch finished in a stern tone before she exited the room.
"Make what believable?" Rose muttered, utterly confused.
Damon examined the burnt phone he recognized as Rose's seeing the charred corpse and looked up to Adelia who stood there with a grim expression.
"Elijah's men found the body inside the car," she informed glancing at the overturned burning jeep. When she didn't get a response, she continued, "She lost control of the vehicle and crashed. Hallucinations."
Damon watched as she covered the corpse with a sheet and squeezed his shoulder before disappearing.
In the same spot, Sheriff Forbes parked her car after some time and got out. She walked over to the vampire when he opened his car trunk.
"Here's your vampire, no daylight ring so explains the present condition," he said giving her the most possible reason that explained a charred vampire corpse
"How did you find her?" She asked, clearly surprised.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that it's over."
"Thank you, Damon. Once again, you've helped keep this town safe."
"I'll take care of burying the body," he said with a finality, closing the trunk.
Elijah stroked Adelia's hair softly where it rested on his shoulder as she appeared to be deep in thought. "What is troubling you, dear?" He asked her after a moment.
"This town at the foremost and the Salvatores. They are proving to be quite a nuisance," she replied.
"Nuisance to you," he chuckled earning an exhausted sigh from his wife. "I must ask you to leave them alive until Niklaus arrives in town."
"Please admit it, darling husband, that Damon Salvatore does get on your nerves."
"I do not wish to lie to you and say you are incorrect in your assumption. Gregory informed me that Klaus was spotted in Italy."
"Klaus and his love for world domination. What was his business this time?" Adelia asked him with humour evident in her voice.
"You know him. He doesn't need a reason to ignite terror," he said as a matter of fact.
She chortled at his answer and kissed him gently to which he responded eagerly as he swept her hair away from her face.
He nipped at her bottom lip making her sigh in pleasure when her delicate fingers tiptoed towards his neck to caress it down his shoulders. She released a breath in his mouth earning a groan from him as their tongues danced together fiercely.
Her leg went the other side of his hip as she came to straddle him, breaking the kiss to remove her nightgown down her shoulders leaving her in only lace undergarments.
His fingertips trailed down her lower back, pulling her body towards his to recapture her lips as they moved fervently against each other.
Adelia removed his hands from her body to intertwine their fingers and trapped it on either side of his head as she eagerly snipped at his upper lip before moving her lips to bite his earlobe when his eyes shut in pleasure. She grazed her teeth low on his neck when a loud knock at the door interrupted them.
Elijah's eyes flashed open as they both turned to look towards the source of noise. Adelia pushed herself up still straddling him, her brows furrowed, "Were we expecting company, Elijah?"
"Not that I was aware of," Elijah answered with a sigh. He lifted their intertwined hands and placed a kiss on the back of hers before disentangling their fingers when she hopped off to sit beside him. The knocks continued and a familiar voice demanded Adelia to open up the door.
"It's the elder Salvatore," he said with distaste as he got up and handed her the nightgown when she followed him out of bed.
"Hey beautiful, I have to talk," they heard Damon call out and Adelia pinched her forehead before wearing the gown.
"My sleep is ruined," she muttered and Elijah settled back against the pillows with a book when she left to take care of the nuisance in the middle of the night.
Adelia walked through the living area and the clock hanging over the wall read a little after 1 a.m. which made her hurry her footsteps as she yanked open the door with a smile plastered over her face.
"How may I help you, Mr. Salvatore?"
"You took so long. Let me in," Damon slurred and Adelia noticed a flask jingling in his hand.
"Why should I? You are drunk," she replied as her hand went on to untangle the knots in her hair with a sigh.
"I need to talk and you give honest opinions," he whined glaring at her.
"Come talk to me after you get sober. I am sure you will regret even arriving here by the coming morning," Adelia finished and closed the door before he had the chance to retort. She texted the other Salvatore about the his brother's whereabouts and switched off her phone.
The witch stomped inside the bedroom and stared at her husband who was looking at her. She closed the door and crawled across the bed to settle herself into his arms which enveloped her instantly.
Elijah kissed her forehead and lulled her to sleep by running his hand through her hair as her even breaths against his chest managed to put him to sleep after a while, resting his agonized soul.
Klaus dropped the body in a discreet alley and wiped the blood dripping from his mouth. He looked around, finding no signs of life and fleeted back to his house without a second thought.
Entering his bedroom, he pulled off his jacket throwing it somewhere. Opening the drawer to his collectibles where he kept his victim's belongings, he threw the letter inside it and went to slide it shut but his gaze caught onto a black and white photograph lying in a corner.
His eyes unblinkingly stared at the couple. The repeated fold separating the pair in the photograph visible through the frame.
Overcome with unbridled anger, he hurled the frame onto the opposite wall as it shattered to pieces. The crumbling state of the photograph didn't decrease the happiness emanating from the couple or Klaus' own misery.
The shards crunched under his feet as he looked at them and picked up the photo, carefully brushing off the glass. His fingers involuntarily folded the photo again as he looked at the happy faces.
Klaus had seen it enough times already since 1941 when he had slipped the frame inside his coat from their residence in Seattle.
Keeping the photograph over his nightstand, he left the penthouse to clear his head. The morning sun would witness Klaus sliding the drawer shut with the photo inside it, a new frame gracing its surface and the crease in the middle evident once again.
A/N: Though I love the original scene between Damon and Rose before her death, it had to go.
I saved Rose. No questions asked.