Chapter 2: First encounter in the past
As the fog slowly dissipated, the three men saw the shape of a young woman looking around the clearing. She was obviously looking for something. Her eyes stopped on them for a second and they could see her relax a bit but it didn't stop her from looking around some more. She was obviously looking for something in particular. They couldn't help but notice the traces of tears running down her cheeks shining under the light of the moon.
"We're here to help you. We've been waiting for you." The oldest declared with his hands raised in a universal sign of peace.
Bella guessed it was Mickeal.
"I know, get ready to fight." She replied as she got her wolf banes grenade out of her dress pocket.
She did her best to stop crying now and to convince herself that everyone would still be alive in her future. They weren't really dead, after all, they weren't even born yet.
She spared a second to look Elijah in the eyes and was struck by what she suddenly felt. She felt a deep connection that she knew had to be the one he was feeling himself, the one he had told her about, she had fallen in love. The love that would survive a thousand years for her to be born, a love much stronger than she had anticipated, a thousand times stronger than what she had felt for Edward, she knew it. It took her all she had to turn around and get her knife out.
Aware of what she was preparing for, the 3 men got their swords out and looked around as well. As much as he didn't like seeing a woman handling a blade, Mickeal had to admit he was glad she came prepared because as soon as Bella had her back on her welcoming comity, wolves came out of the tree line and started attacking them, obviously heading for Bella.
Elijah fought harder than he ever fought before in his life. He had to save that woman who travelled from so far to save them, the woman he had fallen in love with just a few seconds ago. He knew in the moment he looked at her that he would never be able to love anyone else ever again. He knocked a wolf into a tree and planted his sword in another's legs. As he turned around to look at her, she made it look like she was dancing instead of fighting and he had to admit that he found it quite attractive, even if it wasn't the time to think about such things.
The battle was almost over, Mickeal, Finn and Elijah had done a good job at protecting her and she didn't have much to do to defend herself. As it looked like it was over, she took her grenade out and threw it behind her.
They all turned and saw the glass explode on the wolf, covering him in wolfs bane. The small animal ran away crying in pain, leaving the humans alone.
Suddenly, Bella was very nervous. She didn't know what to do and started blushing. She took a second to pass her hand on her cheek and did her best to dry the last traces of the tears she had shed for her loved ones.
Elijah smiled and stepped closer to her. As they looked at each other, they understood immediately that the other felt the same and that things would be fine between them. It was like they didn't need to speak, like they had been together for years before that day… Like they were simply reuniting after years apart.
After all, maybe it pas partially true, maybe they had been together in a past life.
"We mean you no arm Miss." Mickeal started to say, trying to put her at ease.
"I know. I've been told you would be waiting for me." Bella replied softly.
Finn smiled discreetly when he saw his brother smiling at the girl's voice.
"Let's take you home then. Esther can't wait to meet you." Mickeal suggested, noticing too his son's interest for their saviour.
He hoped it would work out well for them.
As they walked towards the village, Bella and Elijah talked a little.
"I didn't expect this… You… I…" Elijah started, searching for words.
"I did… but I didn't know how I would react to this or how strong and deep it would truly be." She told him, smiling.
"How come?" He asked.
"You know that I came from the future right?" She asked, knowing the other two were also listening.
"Yes, but we don't know how far away…" Finn intervened.
"Well, future Elijah warned me that as soon as I arrived, he fell in love with me, the kind of love that can survive centuries… You… I mean, future Elijah, is the one who warned me of the wolves attacking as I arrived. He said that I died the first time around less than five minutes after I landed… He made sure I was prepared this time around." Bella explained, looking sad when remembering everyone dying as she left, less than an hour ago for her.
"When you say 'He' you mean Future Elijah?" Finn asked.
Bella nodded.
"Did anything happen with… you know… between us… in the future?" Elijah asked, looking for the right words.
Was it weird that he was jealous of his future self at that moment?
"No, there was no time. It was a real war back there. People were dying everyday and I had to be ready… We barely had time to spend together. I might have spent 5 hours in your company at the most in total… Never alone."
"Does this war have anything to do with your presence here?" Mickeal asked curiously.
"Hum… I think it might be better if I talked to everyone at the same time… I would really like Esther's input on things first…" Bella replied as Elijah put his arms around her waist to keep her from falling over a lug on the ground. She smiled up at him and blushed at the way his large hands felt around her waist.
"That's very wise of you… I think you will fit in well with our family." Mickeal nodded as Bella blushed.
"My name's Isabella by the way, but you can call me Bella." She declared, remembering that she never got around to introducing herself.
As they kept on walking, Bella noticed that Elijah kept a hand on her waist and she liked it, even though he was just a human, he made her feel safe. She didn't really know how things were done at this time, what was proper and what wasn't, but somehow she knew that their love was timeless and that it would be accepted by the people that mattered. Also she noted that they needed to have a talk that was bound to be awkward and uncomfortable about their life and the possibilities of a future for them. Whatever happened, he would have to wait for her a while and she hoped he wouldn't suffer too much from her absence.
They arrived after a 40 minutes walk and Bella was getting tired. It had been a long day and she knew things would keep changing in the next few days. She used to criticise cars because they caused pollution but now she missed them, her feet were hurting and she just wanted to seat herself down. She would have to get in shape here, maybe even start running even though she hated it.
Looking up at Elijah, she knew that if she mentioned her hurting feet he would offer to carry her but she didn't want to look like a weak human girl. She wanted to show him that she was strong enough to live in this time, in his time, with him and the ones he loves.
When they arrived in the village, it was pretty quiet. Everyone was inside, protected from the werewolves and she had to admit that if she had been alone walking in the dark streets, she would have been pretty scared. They stopped in front of a pretty large wooden house. Mickeal was in front of them all and he hit the door with three heavy knocks and followed them by two separated short ones. After that, she could hear the locks being opened on the other side of the door before it finally opened. Mickeal entered and Elijah hurried her inside without taking off the protective hand he had on her back. Somehow, she could sense that as his other two brothers were now looking at her, the hand had become possessive. He wanted them all to know that she was spoken for.
As she came in, she looked around. Mickeal was now standing next to who she guessed was Esther. Near the fire was a young blond girl that had to be Rebekah. Finn had finished locking the door back and was now standing between Niklaus and who had to be Kol. They were all smiling at her warmly and she found it strange on Klaus' face. She decided that Klaus was the evil hybrid and Niklaus the nice guy that could be saved.
She knew by what she had been told that Henrik was already sleeping and that he would wake Klaus up in a few hours to convince him to go see the wolves with him. She had to prevent this from happening right now.
She was suddenly nervous and the only thing keeping her relatively in place was Elijah's calming hand on the small of her back.
Esther took a step towards her, still smiling and said:
"Hello dear." Esther greeted her.
Bella smiled.
"Hello, it nice to meet you…" Her smile wavered when her eyes landed on Klaus but she caught herself, concentrating on the fact that he was innocent for now, he was Niklaus, just a young man about to be hurt by the only father he knew.
"Elijah? What are you doing? Is this a way to treat a guest?" Esther chastised her son when she spotted his hand.
"Esther, Love, it appears that the spirits didn't tell you everything…" Mickeal told his wife with an amused smile while Elijah guided Bella to take a seat around the table.
As Mickeal explained to Esther and the rest of the family what had happened, from the wolves attacking them to Elijah falling in love with Bella, the young man freshly in love was serving some warm beverage to Bella while introducing her to everyone. In the future, Finn and Rebekah had been dead and Kol had been daggered away by Klaus and kept hidden somewhere and she didn't want to tell them that, so she did her best not to react at anyone's name.
"You come from very far away don't you Isabella?" Esther asked.
"Please, call me Bella! Yes, I come from quite some time away… It's strange because this location is home to me. But it's my home in over a thousand years in the future. I think the adjustment to this time's customs will be difficult, I hope I don't do anything improper…" Bella replied.
"I don't think this is going to be a problem." Rebekah whispered, looking at Elijah.
"Mickeal tells me that you would like to speak with me before telling us the reason you're here?" Esther asked the woman who she knew would become her daughter in law some day.
"Yes, I would. But I'm actually thinking that it might be better if I don't say anything to anyone else… I don't want to cause trouble but it might be for the best…" She blushed, making Klaus and Kol chuckle.
"So only mother would know the real reason of your presence with us?" Rebekah asked.
"I don't like it…" She replied while looking at Elijah before adding "But it might be for the best, I don't want you to act differently towards someone because you learn of this person's future actions… Actions that I'm here to prevent from happening. It could make things completely different, maybe even worst than the things I came to prevent in the first place."
"Mickeal is right dear, you are very wise!" Esther complimented, smiling softly, already liking the girl.
"My mother always told me that I was born 35 and kept getting more mature every year…" Bella commented, joking.
They all smiled and spent some more time discussing the story they would tell the other villagers and the basic customs.
"You must be tired, maybe we should let you get some rest and catch up where we left of tomorrow…" Elijah suggested after over an hour.
He could see Bella was exhausted but too polite to say anything.
"Of course dear, you must be exhausted!" Esther exclaimed. "Why don't we all go to bed? I've set a place for you in Rebekah's room!" She added, and, with a pointed look at Elijah she said "You better get some sleep too Elijah… in your own bed!"
This comment made Bella and Elijah blush while it made the others chuckle. Before she followed Rebekah, Bella remembered Henrik and said:
"About Henrik, you better keep an eye out for him tonight…"
"Why, what's going to happen?" Mickeal asked, curiously.
"He is going to wake up in a few hours, he'll wake Niklaus up trying to sneak out to watch the wolves turn back into men. Unable to convince him to stay Klaus will follow him to watch over him and try to make sure he doesn't get in toruble with you. Henrik…" Bella didn't know how to say it.
"What is it?" Esther asked, fearing the worst.
"Henrik is going to die, Niklaus won't be able to defend them both, too many wolves will come at them…" She said sadly.
Everyone stayed silent for a while, before Esther decided:
"I will put a sleeping spell on him then. This way he won't wake up before morning and tomorrow we will have a little chat with him!" Esther decided.
"Another little advice before we part for the night… You shouldn't trust Ayana just yet…" Bella added before yawning.
"Okay then. We'll talk tomorrow young Isabella, you need to get some sleep."
They all exchanged 'goodnight' wishes and, once Elijah saw his sister closing the door to her room, he stepped into the one he was still sharing with his brothers until his house was done.
As she prepared for bed, Rebekah showed Bella all the clothes and accessories they had put aside for her. She now had a beautiful wooden truck full of night dresses, everyday dresses, one hairbrush, several bows… They had really spoiled her… Rebekah seemed very welcoming and happy to share her room. Apparently, the young woman hadn't just agreed to share just her room but her belongings also. Bella told her just how grateful she was and gave the girl a hug.
"Being the only girl surrounded by so many brothers must not be easy everyday…" Bella suggested as they were getting in bed.
"Not really, no…But I think it made me tougher than most girls my age…" The blond girl answered honestly.
"It's a good thing for the future… You're going to need to be tough…" Bella agreed before they wished each other a good night.
During the whole night, Bella dreamt of the battle before she left… All she could see is Klaus killing Elijah… her Elijah… Being nice to the future hybrid was going to be hard. She knew she would never be able to kill him, not for the lack of skills, but because it just wasn't her. She would have to make sure things changed and prevent him from becoming so mean in the future.
The next morning, Bella was awoken by the sound of a rooster in the yard, remembering in an instant where she was and why she was here. Being awoken by a rooster was new to her but she liked it. It was a nice change from what she was used to. She sat up in her bed, happy that she could get away from her nightmare for a while and grateful to finally be awake…
She acted like Rebekah, did a quick cleaning of herself, got dressed and joined the others in the family room for breakfast. Apparently, her new roommate wasn't very talkative in the morning.
"Good morning Bella!" They all said in a perfect chorus that made her smile.
"Good morning everyone!" She answered.
She blushed when Elijah showed her he prepared her a plate right next to him.
She was introduced to Henrik and the young boy blushed when he saw her. Apparently, Elijah had told him she warned them about his plans for last night and saved his life. He had been scolded and was now ashamed of what he would have done.
"I don't know what you had to go through before coming here Bella but I sure am happy that I don't have to go though it as well…" Rebekah declared as she started to eat her own plate.
"What do you mean?" Elijah asked, worried.
"Oh right, I forgot…I'm so sorry Rebekah… Is it too late to warn you that I talk in my sleep?" Bella blushed.
"What did she say?" Klaus asked his little sister.
"Niklaus! You don't ask such things!" Esther chastised him.
"It's okay, I don't mind…I'm curious also… What did I say Rebekah?" Bella asked her new friend.
"Well, you were scared for Elijah, telling him to watch out… you told a Damon to be careful and cried out 'Granny no!' at some point…" Rebekah explained.
"Granny is how I called my grandmother, I was named after her and she died the night I left to come here… Everyone died so I could come here unarmed…" Bella replied sadly.
"When you say everyone, do you mean Future Elijah too?" Finn asked.
Bella didn't answer out loud but nodded.
"Why? Where things so bad that they had to give up their lives?" Niklaus asked.
"Can't you think of any situation where YOU would be willing to give up your life?" Bella asked him suddenly instead of answering him. She wanted to find out if his human self was worth being saved.
"Hum… I guess… if it would ensure that my family is safe and happy… or to save my loved ones from something really bad…" He answered thoughtfully and Bella was relieved to see that he hadn't crossed to the dark side yet.
"Were things that bad Bella?" Henrik asked.
"Things were worst than you imagine… I guess I can't really blame the one responsible for it all… He has been abused by his father when he was human and then betrayed by his mother… Blamed for simply existing, for something that he had no control over… Then he grew scared of his loved ones abandoning him because his parents' betrayal had scarred him forever…" Bella replied, saying the truth without really reviling anything.
"You're not mad at him for being the cause of your loved ones' death?" Mickeal asked shocked.
Bella kicked herself for saying too much too soon.
"Of course I am! But I'm not here to stop him from existing. I'm here to make sure he never becomes this monster. I can't blame him for wanting to survive when everyone betrayed him one after the other, he just needs to know he is loved and cared about. I need to make sure he never forgets how to love and trust people…" Bella explained, trying hard not to reveal too much.
"Who is it? Do we know him?" Rebekah asked, eager for more as Henrik and Kol looked both just as eager.
"Are you sure you really want to know? Knowing that right know he is a normal boy, nice and full of life and full of love to give, knowing that you might start treating him differently without knowing it and cause him to become maybe worst that he was going to be?" Bella asked nicely.
"I guess not…" Rebekah answered as Elijah muttered "So wise…" while holding her hand over the table.
As they finished eating their breakfast, Bella asked Esther if she needed help with the cleaning.
"No, Rebekah will clean while we go in the tent where I practice my magic. I will burn some sage so we will be in private. Boys, remember to help your father today!" She reminded her sons as Elijah looked torn between following his mother and Bella and going about his usual business.
"Oh, come on brother, you will be able to spend some time with Bella later!" Finn exclaimed, dragging his brother by the arm while rolling his eyes.
"Don't act like you don't want to spend your whole day with Sage!" Kol retorted smugly, making Bella's head go up.
"Sage? I completely forgot that she was alive already…" She said.
"You knew her in the future?" Finn asked, interested.
"Sadly no… She… hum… fell before I arrived. But Damon, the one who trained me to fight, had learned it all from her. She was his mentor. Grandma' told me she was an icon and an example of women fighting for their rights. She did a lot of good in her long life from what I've been told. Meeting her will be like meeting some hero you've read about…" Bella replied excitedly as Finn smile proudly.
"Well, right now you boys need to go with Mickeal. We need wood and meat. Niklaus, you promised the Petrova's that you would go and help them break their new horse in, don't forget to go after you're done with your father." Esther said as all her sons nodded.
"Petrova…like Tatia Petrova?" Bella asked with a frown on her face, not liking what she heard about the girl.
"You know her?" Niklaus asked with the eyes of a young boy falling in love.
Bella frowned as she answered:
"I know of her… Niklaus, I don't want to hurt you but I know enough about her to know she's not worth your attentions. She's just going to end up breaking your heart and using you… I advise you strongly to give up…" She told him reluctantly, knowing she was hurting him but also that it was for his own good.
Niklaus' face fell.
He knew that he had to listen to Bella, somehow, he knew the young woman had his best interest at heart and he had to believe her. He nodded sadly and followed his father outside.
"I'll miss you sweet Bella… Please make sure she is safe mother!" Elijah said to both Bella and his mother.
Esther smiled softly and nodded as Bella answered:
"I will see you this afternoon Elijah." Bella replied as she smiled at him before leaving.
Walking away from each other was painful for the both of them and Bella grew worried… What if she is sent back to her place in the future later, will Elijah be in pain for over a thousand years?
"Rebekah, when you're done will you please take care of the garden?" Esther asked her daughter as she left.
The young girl nodded and Bella promised to come back and help her as soon as she was done. Rebekah smiled as she saw Bella walking away with her mother: she had a friend…a sister…
She wasn't alone anymore.
Rewritten in May 2020
Lorelei Candice Black