Chapter 2: What Came Before

Elijah managed to throw Finn off of him and shove a piece of a branch through his heart. It should be long enough to get away from him. He turned around hearing a scuffle behind him, followed by a yelp.

His already dead heart drops as he races to the edge, "ELENA!" He managed to scream out, for once in his life, he was too slow, feeling helpless as he watches her eyes beg him to help her. It all happened to quick, within seconds, her body hit the water.

The Original didn't waste time, kicking off his shoes and suit jacket, jumping in after her. How had he not noticed? She wasn't that close to the edge of the cliff…but the impact of one original on original, the sheer force…it must have pushed her small, weaker, human body to the edge.

As he hits the water, he looks around the water, his eyes trying to gain focus. He hated to admit it, but when it came against the forces of nature, vampire powers were at a great disadvantage. It didn't help that it was dark.

Finally, he spots her, drifting downward and her eyes closed. Swimming toward her as fast as nature allowed him, he grabs her by the upper arm, swimming upward. As he breaks the surface of the water, he gasps for air, pulling her up.

"Elena?" Elijah looks at the unconscious girl in his arms; she looked like she was sleeping. Swimming over to land, he pulls her out and gently lays her on the cool grass. As he put her on the grass he concentrated on finding a heartbeat. His eyes widened as panic filled him,

"No. No nononono, Elena, now is not the time for this." He muttered in panic, quickly performing CPR on her, making sure no to use force as he could break her body if he did. Taking her head, he put his mouth to hers, trying to breath life into her. He did the CPR for probably two minutes. Elijah did so, until he felt her pulse again, but it was still too slow for his liking.

"What did you do?!" Came the familiar voice of Elena's friend, Caroline.

The blonde hurried next to him, kneeling down, her own voice in a panic, shooting one question after another, "Elena? Elena! Why is her pulse so low, what happened? Why is she wet"

He feel back on the ground, looking at the brunette. He didn't know what else to do, other then give her his blood.

"My brother attacked me, she was caught up and fell into the water." He says, not waisting time bitting into his wrist. Moving his wrist to her lips, he watches the blood drop into her mouth. He sat back and hoped to the gods that she would take a deep breath where she was laying. The seconds ticked, the breath never came, her heart still faint.

"It's not working! We need to get her to the hospital. NOW!" Caroline yells, going to reach for her friend, she's pushed to the side and watches as the Original scoops her up in his arms.

He doesn't look back as he quickly tells her, "It'll be faster if I do it. Tell my brother to keep an eye on Finn and mother."

"Wha-," But before she could get a chance to say anything, he speed off. Caroline got up, her mind frantic and confused. What the hell happened?

Looking up at the falls, she sees the dark eyes of whom she assumed was Finn, seeing as he looked like the man that was standing next to Esther in the ballroom. Within a blink, he was gone.

Caroline swallowed and speed to the Mansion as fast as she could. She knew that Damon has been sneaking blood into Elena's drinks when she wasn't looking, because the constant death that seemed to follow the girl. But his blood didn't work and neither did Elijah's…How was she going to tell Jeremy that his sister…

No, she would not think like that. Blinking the tears away, she reached the Mansion. Looking around, the blond searched for Klaus. He had to be here somewhere, she was with him not too long ago. Seeing a sliver of his hair in the crowd, she speed walks to him, "Klaus."

The hybrid turns to her, a fond smile on his face. That didn't last as he smells the saltines of tears on her, "Is something wrong, love?"

Grabbing his arm, she hesitates for a second before leaning up to his ear, "Elijah told me to tell you to keep an eye on your mother and Finn…I need to go." Letting him go, she turns around, she didn't want to waste any time here, she needed to be by her friends side.

"Wait a minute there, Love. Where you crying?" Klaus came before her, lifting an index to wipe a tear she didn't know was falling down her eyes, "Did someone hurt you? Should I kill them?"

Caroline pushed his hand away from her face and glares up at him, "No, I do not need you to kill anyone! What I need it to go to the hospital, Elena is-," But she cut herself off, looking away as she almost told the guy what happened. He didn't need to know, as he was one of the causes of all of their suffering, of Elena's suffering.

"Elena, what?" Klaus asked, curiously. Caroline pursed her lips, trying to move around him, but he grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer to him, his eyes darkened, "What is going on with my Doppelgänger, Caroline?"

Glaring up at the hybrid, she snaps, "I don't know! All I know is that I went to get some fresh air after the nice little chat we had and I find your brother, Elijah next to her drowned body! His blood didn't work, so he ran to the hospital with her, leaving me with a message. Oh! And coincidently, I saw your other brother up by the edge of the falls. I guess your mother wasn't looking for peace after all."

Klaus let her go, looking at her in shock. It really shouldn't have come as a shock to him, of course his own mother would want him dead and of course Finn was at her beck and call. He clenched his hands in anger. And somehow the little Doppelgänger got involved. Figures.

"Did you just say Elena is in the hospital?"

Caroline turned to meet the emotionless eyes of Stefan. She didn't want to tell him, knowing the stress it would cause her friend, but god damn it, Caroline didn't have time for this crap right now.

"Yes and I'm going to go there now to make sure one of my best friends is still alive." With that she speed out of the Ballroom.

The glass Klaus was holding, shattered to pieces.

"My, what an interesting turn of events." His younger brother, Kol came next to him placing a hand on Klaus's shoulder.

Shoving Kol's hand off, he growled, "I don't have time for your little word games right now."

Kol shrugged his shoulders, a smirk playing at his lips, "Then perhaps we should go have a little chit chat with that brother and dear mother of ours."

xxxxx

Elijah speed into the hospital with Elena in his arms. The nurse at the front desk jumped from her seat, "What happened?" She asked, giving him a suspicious look. Her frown turned into a straight line as she noticed the man looking frantic, his eyes unfocused.

"Please get a doctor now, she fell into the water. I tried doing CPR, but her pulse is slow." He explains to her. Nodding, the nurse picks up the phone. After completing the call, one of the other nurses comes in with a gurney. Elijah places her on it and watches as Elena is ushered through the emergency door.

He had to hold himself back. Back from running through that door to make sure she'll see the light of day, back to where his own elder brother, his flesh and blood was, so he could rip his body to pieces. Elijah found a seat, trying to calm himself, head in his hand, bent over the seat. Right now was not the time for impulsiveness.

Elijah wasn't sure what to do right now, his mind in a jumble. His mother wanted him dead. Wanted all of them dead from what he gathered earlier. Something was in the champagne. And Elena smacked the glass out of his hands, making for a noticeable scene, of course his mother would not allow her to live.

Thinking about her cut earlier, his mother probably took her blood to spike the champagne and do…who knows what to them all.

Minutes felt like hours. Looking up at the clock, half an hour must have gone by, he wasn't sure. The doors to the emergency room opened, Caroline coming into view with Jeremy behind her.

Jeremy ran up to the reception desk, "I'm here for my sister, Elena. She was brought in not too long ago."

The lady looked up and gave him a gently smile, "The doctors are working on her right now. Why don't you take a seat for now." She gestured to the seating area, where Jeremy noticed the Original sitting. Caroline came up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder trying to calm him.

"Has the doctor said anything yet?" She asks the older vampire. Elijah let out a sigh, shaking his head.

"Nothing yet."

"Can you please explain to me why my sister is in the emergency room? And why she was with you in the first place?" Jeremy's angry voice came up as he sat down across from Elijah.

"My mother was the one who invited her, wanting to talk to her. All I asked of Elena was to tell me if our mother really forgave Klaus's actions. I'm not sure what transpired during their talk, but Elena seemed off and tried to warn me about what her plan was." Running a hand through his hair in frustration, he loosened his tie, "Unfortunately my mother was watching and sent Finn after her while she went outside. I'm not sure how she ended up by the falls, but I wanted to talk to her when Finn showed up and attacked. The next thing I knew she stumbled over the edge and…" He pressed his lips tight together, still not understanding it quite.

They sat there in silence. The time ticked and Caroline sent a quick message to Bonnie and Damon; Elena in hospital. Witch mother tried to kill her.

Her brows furrowed in concern as she stole a glance at Elijah. She's never seen the man quite so distraught before. He and Elena had this wired friendship-deal thing between them, but the young vampire was certain that there is more. Looking at it now, she's positive there's more, because why would Elena tell him about Esther's plans, plans that could free her of Klaus, and why would Elijah act like he's about to lose someone he more than cares about.

Time felt too long, it itched at her skin. The sound of the double doors opening made all of their heads snap to the door. Dr. Meredith Fell walked out, her face calm.

"Which one of you brought Elena in?" She asks carefully.

"I did." Elijah gets up.

Dr. Fell looked at him with suspicion, then at Jeremy and Caroline before looking back at him, "The good news is, that she's stable. We managed to clear the water from her lungs and she's breathing normal." Taking in a deep sigh, she add's, "The bad news is that she doesn't seem to be responding."

Jeremy steps up, "What do you mean she's not responding?"

Meredith let out a sigh, "She's not waking up for some reason…her vitals are fine, but my best guess is that it might be psychological…whatever happened must have had a strain on her. As of right now, she's in a coma, and I'm not sure when she'll be waking from it."

"Perhaps you've missed something. She wasn't that long under water from when I saved her." Elijah explains to her, remaining calm.

"I'm sorry, but we checked everything that we could. Physically she's fine, but right now it's all up to her. You're welcome to go in and see her, if you'd like." The doctor informs them, gesturing to the door. Jeremy doesn't look back at either vampire, following her to where his unconscious sister was lying.

Caroline couldn't move and neither could Elijah.

"The blood…"She started, " How did it come to this?" Turning to the man next to her, she couldn't keep her frustration in any longer, "Why didn't the blood work? It should have worked! How did it not work!?"

Elijah didn't understand it himself. The blood should have worked, but it didn't. Was his mother behind all this? Did she do something to Elena that would render her to be unable to be saved by vampire blood?

"I'm not quite sure, Miss Forbes. I've never known our blood to not work." He admits to her, not looking at her but at the door that lead to the other girls room. He wanted to go in and make sure she was okay, but he knew that he had to deal with his mother first. At least she's okay for now. There was nothing he could do and a part of him remembers what happened to Tatia, feeling the same helplessness, except Tatia was already dead in his arms.

Shaking himself free of the thought of his past love, he straightens his back, "I need to head back and make sure Klaus hasn't done something stupid to my brother and mother. Please, let me know of her condition."

Before she can give him a reply, he disappeared out of the hospital. Caroline clenched her jaw, really he was so arrogant, but not as egotistical as Klaus. Shaking her head, she goes past the double doors to find where Elena was at.

As Caroline finds the room and enters, she sucks in breath at the sight. The girl looked like she was sleeping. She let out a sigh of relief as her friends chest moved up and down in slow breaths.

Going to stand next to Jeremy, she wraps an arm around him. Jeremy was sitting in one of the seats, watching his sisters face. The blonde notes the unshed tears in his eyes. She understands, Elena is his last blood, his sister, if he was to lose her then his world would crumble to the ground.

"What if you give her blood? Doesn't vampire blood fix everything?" Jeremy's question shocks her a was about as fond of the consumption of vampire blood as Elena had been.

Caroline hesitates,"Elijah...did ty to give her blood and Damon had been sneaking blood into her drinks..." watching his eyes turn dark, she bites the inside of her cheek, "Her body rejected it for some reason."

Silence fell over the room, and the look on Jeremy's face breaks her heart.

"You know, the last time I saw her this peaceful was before our parents died." He tells her, grabbing Elena's hand and cradling it in his own. Leaning onto the bed, he says, "I hate that you have to go through this and I hate that you're always trying to protect me and I can't do anything to make your pain easier. Sis, please wake up." Jeremy's voice begs, as the sobs threaten to spill out.

Caroline couldn't stop her own tears from breaking. She remembers, just earlier that day, Elena talked about missing their normal lives. And she gets it, because Caroline missed it too.

"She'll be okay, Jeremy." the blonde reassures him, "She's a trooper, she came back from death, she can come back from this." She had too.

xxxxx

Elena blinked as she tried adjusting to the dark surrounding. Didn't she just fall from the edge of the fall? Did Elijah safe her?

Sitting up, she looked around. If he saved her, why was she alone? There where trees, the river of water, and the falls. She looked up at the falls, her eyes catching the clear night sky. It felt oddly tranquil, but she tried focusing, as she looked up to the edge she fell from, "Elijah?" She asks loudly.

No response. She raised an eyebrow at this. What, did he just leave her on the cool ground while she was drenched in water? She looked down at herself, but what she found surprised her…she was dry, her dress shimmering in the moonlight. What the? How long have I been here? Annoyance flooded the girl, did Elijah seriously just leave her drenched in the middle of the night in the forest and not even bring her home? She bit her lip to calm down. Idiot, what if something happened to him?

The thought made her uncomfortable, she'd rather be mad at him for leaving her there by herself, then have something bad have happened to him because what if his mother did succeed? Did Finn force him to get linked to the rest? No, no, Elijah isn't bested that easily…

"Elijah? Anyone?" She tries again, a little louder this time, worry clear in her voice. Turning to head toward the trees, she was hit by a gust of wind. "Huh?" It wasn't windy at all, but the memory suddenly hit her; she's been experiencing odd little breezes of wind all damn day, like it was trying to send a message and even saved her, which would have been weird and it was, but this was Mystic Falls, so it wasn't really that weird.

And then it pushed her back, and back, and back, and then she fell backwards off the falls, into the water.

Elena hesitates as she tried taking another step forward, only to be pushed back again.

"Okay, what is it? You saved me to what? Push me off a cliff and kill me yourself? Get in line." She growls in frustration, glaring at…nothing.

It hit in the shoulder, like her comment annoyed it.

"To be fair, it wasn't trying to kill you."

Elena spun around on her heels. about twenty feet away stood a middle age woman with wavy hair, the color reminded Elena of the moon and her dark skin glowed in said moonlight.

"Who are you?" The burnet asks suspiciously. The random lady smiles at her, her eyes were kind. She steps closer to Elena, who notices her attire, which was a simple white dress, bare feet, and silver jewelry around her neck and arms.

"I go by the name of Seija these days, young Elena." Her voice was soothing as she smiles behind said girl, "And that little wind of mischief goes by the name of Tuuli."

"It…has a name?" Elena wonders this more to herself, glancing where Seija was looking, "How do you know mine?"

"Tuuli is a spirit of wind that has grown fond of you for quite some time now. It is how I know your name. The spirits rarely attach themselves to the likes of humans anymore, as the time has passed." Seija reaches her hand out to where Tuuli flew around the branches of a tree, and let out her demand, "Come."

"Wind Spirits…that's a thing too?" Elena's voice was meek as she said this, her brain was reaching its max level of dealing with the Supernatural today. But as she watched something, most likely Tuuli, gather up in the woman's hand, a small cloud formed in place in the shape of what reminded Elena of a fox with long ears and a long steam of clouds as a tail…looks like a fennec fox, only white and cloudy. She couldn't help herself as she smiles down at it, it's cute.

"Spirits of Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire. They make nature what it is, but trust in my words when I tell you, their existence is one before humans. Nature was here first, after all." Seija explains as if she was explaining something that was of natural knowledge, "You should apologize, Tuuli, you've nearly killed her." Tuuli let his cloud like ears flow down, turning to Elena, it jumps onto her shoulder, rubbing its head against her cheek.

Elena reaches a hand up to it, wondering if it's possible to pet a cloud. Her eyes widen as she comes into contact with what feels like a cool but soft breeze. It was a strange feeling, but calming.

"Tuuli was trying to get you to acknowledge him all day. He is a young spirit that doesn't quite understand the workings of the world yet, so when your vampire fought with his brother, Tuuli wanted to protect you by pushing you into the much larger body of water. Sadly he did not account that the water would be a silent part of nature and not possessed by a spirit." Seija shakes her head, frowning at the spirit that was hiding behind her brown locks.

"So that was you all day, huh?" The girl realizes, pursing her lips together in a straight line. The misty eyes of the spirit look up at her and she hears a soft whooshing sound. Is this its version of a…purr? She wonders, but shakes the thought, "You said that he's attached itself to me, what did you mean by that?"

Seija tilts her head, a smile forms on her lips and she walks over to the water, "There is a long history to that. Nature is quite complex in that matter of explaining. It is after all, the first sign of life the Earth has had. As more life appeared on Earth, Nature adjusted and the spirits were born to help life adjust to itself. Of course, once Humanity started to appear on Earth, the Spirits become curious and Nature feel in love with it, with it's ability to love, protect, the innocence the young held. It was the most beautiful thing it's seen. With that love, came the want to protect humanity, and so nature let the spirits attach to humans they thought would be worthy, allowing those humans to use that spirits nature while they became a companion of sorts."

The younger girl looks at the spirit floating around her head, playing with her hair in the wind, " You mentioned that it was rare."

"Yes. Nature was not ready for the greediness that humans have. When it was known to other humans, those that did not receive the gift of nature, they grew jealous. Soon those with spirit companions would be hunted down, enslaved, tortured, slaughtered, so that they could use them to fight their battles, for wealth, for a name in society. It was a game and then humans performed experiments on them, trying to find a way to get their ability and use it as their own. They would end up killing so many spirits and humans, that the spirits grew distrustful of humans." Seija explained, a darkness in her eyes as if she lived through the event herself.

Maybe she has…Elena thought to herself. As the wind spirit grew tired of rolling around in the air, it nestled itself on top of Elena's head, to which she had to try her best not to aww over, not the time, not the time, not the time.

"Humanity managed to create creatures from the little bit of magical essence in a human companions blood, and those creatures ended up making other creatures and it was one of natures loopholes it was not prepared for. Nature itself grew tired and so became a dormant essence. If humanity wants to destroy itself, it will allow for it. However, some spirits still attach themselves to humans, still deeming them worthy and wanting to fight for the peace, protect itself. And just as there are spirits, there are those that still hunt them, wanting more power." She finished explaining.

Elena took a step back at this, "What does that mean for me?"

Seija went to the girl and took her hands into her own, "Tuuli choose you as his companion for a reason. He's been watching you as you love, protect, show compassion and be able to forgive those that betrayed you. You are worthy Elena, that's all there really is. In the eyes of the Spirits of Nature, there doesn't have to be a grand reason or cause for them to deem you worthy."

This was a lot to take in. However, Elena had to admit, that the thought of having the little wind spirit as her companion sounded nice, but the fact that he choose her as worthy? It was a nice feeling to be chosen because it liked something about her that makes her Elena. Unconsciously she reaches up to her head and patted him, the soft whooshes of breath leaving the little could. Elena felt her heart warm.

Bitting her lip, she hesitates before asking her next question, "Okay, I think I understand. To be honest this is a lot and I've been though so many things that I'm not quite sure how to feel about it, but…who are you? You told me your name, but I'm not sure how you know all this…or to trust you."

Seija chuckles at this, releasing Elena's other hand she was still holding, "I was once a human companion to a water spirit many millenniums ago. I died at the hands of humans who wanted that essence for their own and my spirit protected me even as I lay dead. My spirit loved me so much she merged our souls and now I've become a spirit myself with her but since I was human, I'm merely a ghost of sorts, roaming, helping newly born spirits, watching the world bloom and destroy itself."

"Oh." Was all Elena was able to say. She didn't know what to say and felt like that was for the best. But there was something on her mind, "Did you pull me from the water by any chance?"

The woman with white hair simply looks at her, then glances at the water, then back at Elena, "No, but your vampire friend did…I believe your body is in an unconscious state right now. You're lying in a hospital."

Elena's eyes bulge as she yelps, "What!?" The little ball of air on her head rolls off of her head, startled.

xxxxx

A/N: Welp, there's that chapter! I hope I caught most of the spelling issues, but it is like 2 am right now and my brain is going on auto pilot. I hope you guys like this so far. As you can tell from my other stories…I suck at Updating, so I can't promise a schedule, just spontaneous chapters.

I tried making Seija's story of the spirits make sense the best I can, but if it doesn't let me know and I'll try to make it make sense somehow. It's just a lot of information, and my hand's grew tired, so as long as you can make sense of it that's all I need.

Let me know what you guys think by leaving a review!