The next morning, Marcel woke Cella, giving a wary look to her as she looked around her surroundings groggily. Facing him as she sat up, she gave him a warm smile and stretched, caught off guard when he moved in to give her a tight hug. Too late, she realized she had given away that her emotions were back; a part of her wondered if it would just be easier to let the Family know.
"You're back." Marcel's voice sounded extra loud near her ear, and she hugged him back with a nod. "We were so worried. Are you okay?"
"I will be." Pulling away from her friend, she got up and gave another stretch, feeling a few joints pop in the process. "Thank you for letting me stay here last night."
"Yeah, but what was wrong with your own apartment?" Marcel nodded to another vampire, who disappeared out a door. Leading her by the arm, he sat her at the bar just as the vampire reappeared with a small tray of food.
"I had someone following me last night. Lucien Castle." Marcel tensed up, a worried look on his face. "He wanted me to take him to the Mikaelsons, but I know better. I'm sorry if coming here causes any trouble." Marcel shook his head as she began to eat.
"Don't worry about it. Just glad you made it here safely. And glad to see your humanity is back."
"Yes, well, the Mikaelson's don't know, Marcel, and I'd like to keep it that way for now." She gave him a pointed look, and though he looked uncomfortable, he nodded. "Thank you. I wish to have that conversation with them myself."
"What conversation would that be, Viticella?" Pain scoured through her at the familiar voice, and she schooled her features into neutrality before turning to see Elijah at the door. The man wore his usual suit, hands in pockets with an eyebrow arched curiously, and she did her best to remain calm. Cella could feel Marcel's gaze bouncing between the two of them as she straightened a bit.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Elijah." Turning to Marcel, she gave him a nod. "Thank you for the food and hospitality. I owe you one." Standing, she moved to get her shoes and her bag.
"Anytime, Cella. I'll see you around." Marcel moved to leave, giving them each one last look before disappearing out the door. Cella made a mental note to ask him if he had called Elijah for her. Moving past the man in question, she headed right out the door, less than surprised to see a car waiting. The ride was silent, and she was careful to keep her gaze out the window, using the earth element to keep herself and her heart rate calm. She could feel Elijah's gaze on her every so often, and it took everything in her not to meet it with her own. As soon as they arrived back at the compound, she was up and out of the car quickly, moving towards her old room. Catching a glimpse of herself in a mirror, she grimaced at the newer colors in her hair, making a mental note to have it changed as soon as possible. It didn't take long for Elijah's presence to show up in her room, just as she finished hanging out the last of the vervain to dry.
"Viticella, would you care to talk about what happened last night? And why you didn't think to call me or one of my siblings?" It was clear he intended to hang around until she answered, and she tried to hold back her own pain and faint annoyance.
"I ran into Lucien Castle last night." Her phone chimed, pulling her attention to it. She read the text from Jun quickly, eyes widening a bit as she quickly typed out a reply. "I, um...he wanted to know where to find you, and I thought it best not to bring him to your doorstep or mine." There was silence from the Original, and she looked up to see him giving her a surprised look. Sighing, she waved to him. "And, yeah, my 'humanity' is back, but that doesn't matter right now."
"Doesn't matter? Viticella, this is wonderful news!" A beaming smile lit up his face, but it only caused a dull ache in her chest. Shaking her head, she moved to walk past him, looking at her phone when it chimed again.
"We need to stay focused, Elijah." He stopped her with a hand on her arm and she worked to keep from looking up at him.
"Viticella, I believe we need to talk." His voice wavered just a bit, and she glanced up to see a sad look on his face. Knowing where this was going to lead, and not necessarily wanting him to feel he had to explain why he left her, she gave a tight smile.
"It's fine, Elijah. I understand." Carefully, she pulled her arm from his grasp. "You don't have to explain anything to me." He seemed confused, but she couldn't stay any longer. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get home and make a phone call. I'll be back later." Stepping away, she turned and hurried for the exit, trying to ignore the confusion radiating from the man she cared about. Waiting until she was almost home, she dialed her brother's number.
"Cella!" Jun's voice sounded far away, as though he had her on speaker phone.
"What do you mean, you're coming to New Orleans?" She knew it was probably rude not to at least greet him, but the last thing she needed was Jun figuring out that Elijah had just broken her heart. He'd want to take revenge on the Original, and she couldn't afford that sort of problem with the prophecy hanging above their heads.
"You're in way over your head, doll. You're lucky mom doesn't know about any of this." Unlocking her apartment door, Cella gave a groan.
"You're not wrong. What did you tell her?"
"Just that I wanted to check up on you, after everything that happened." The reminder of her ordeal made her sick to her stomach, and she swallowed convulsively. "Now, I know you aren't going to want to talk about that, but just know that whether in that damned city or back home, you've always got me, okay?" Cella chewed on her lip, warring with herself over whether or not to tell Jun about Elijah. She settled on telling him, knowing her brother was far too observant to not notice.
"Well, um...there is one thing." Taking a deep breath, she moved to look out a window, bracing herself for his reaction. "It's Elijah, he...he, um, left me." There was silence on the other end and she waited until she couldn't anymore for an answer. "It's for the best, really. I mean, it was silly to think something like that would ever work out anyway."
"I will be there in an hour, kiddo. Then Elijah and I can have a little heart to heart." She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. A knock at the door pulled her away from the conversation at hand, and she reached out with her mind to feel Klaus on the other side. Frowning, Cella started for the door.
"Fine. But first, you'll come discuss it with me first. Understood?" There was a grumbled affirmative before they said goodbye, leaving Cella to greet the hybrid.
"Ah, hello, little witch." Klaus was giving one of his more deadly smirks, and she felt a small thrum of fear lance through her. "Mind if I come in?"