Jun was a constant presence with Cella, helping to keep Elijah at arm's length while she worked to find out just who was the biggest threat to the Mikaelsons. While it would have seemed that Lucien, Tristan, and Aurora would be the worst, but the Strix were proving that they were no friends to the family as a whole. The amount of stress and fear floating through the compound was enough to drive her nearly insane, and so she could only imagine how Jun was handling it. He maintained his calm, however, sticking by her side and helping her as much as he could. Klaus had been a bit unhappy at first at having yet another newcomer, but Cella had been quick to reassure him. Staying back at the compound did have it's downsides, however; each night, when Jun was forced to go back to her apartment to sleep, Elijah would knock on her bedroom door, practically begging to be let in to talk. She could feel him growing more and more impatient by the day, and was thankful that he was enough of a gentleman not to just barge in.

"Ah, Cella!" Klaus sauntered through the door, giving Cella a large smile. Behind him was Hope, Hayley, and Jackson. "Our favorite witch." It was clear without her empath abilities that he was in a good mood, and so she gave her own smile.

"And just what is it you want today?" Giving a smirk, she moved towards her work bench. All three moved with her, and she could see dark circles under Hayley's eyes.

"Someone is trying to force our poor wolf friends into a perpetual life as there anything you can do about that?" Cella's smirk faded, and she pulled out her grandmother's journal to flick through.

"That's a powerful curse. Can only be done at certain times of the year." She read over the page carefully before grabbing a few ingredients. "Can I assume whatever I do to you two will also affect your...clan?" She wasn't sure if it was still okay to call a group of werewolves a pack, but she supposed there was no reason not to. Both Hayley and Jackson nodded, and Cella set to work. "Now, unfortunately, you guys are gonna have to ingest this one, and it isn't gonna taste good."

"As long as it works." She glanced up from her work as she waited for the water to boil, wanting to recoil at the amount of fear and worry that was coming off of Jackson. His voice was rougher than normal, betraying the feelings only she could truly pick up on.

"It should. The curse would likely be done by an ancestral witch, and they aren't as all powerful as they think." She gestured to her nearby chairs. "Feel free to have a seat. It's gonna take me a little bit to get this brewed up." They did as they were told, Hayley and Jackson cooing over Hope to keep her happy as Klaus perused her book collection. It was quiet, and Cella was grateful as she did her best to speed up the process. A little less than 20 minutes later, she was handing two steaming mugs to the wolves. "Bottoms up, and good luck. Try not to throw it back up or it won't work." Both of them gave her a wary look before each downing it in one go, gagging on the flavor. Giving a moment to make sure it stayed down, she handed each of them a glass of water.

"Thanks." Downing it, Hayley smacked her lips and scrunched her face at what was likely the aftertaste. "You weren't kidding."

"I wish there was a way to make the potions taste better, but witchcraft apparently hasn't gotten that far." Cella shrugged, turning to Klaus. "The pack should be safe from that curse, but let me know. Witches can get kinda crafty." He nodded, giving her a grateful look. "Now, off with you. I have more work to do to stop those three idiots causing trouble." With a grin, he left, the other two murmuring their thanks as they left with him. Needing a few moments of piece, Cella slipped out to the garden to relax, the sounds of New Orleans swirling around her. Rather than her usual routine of meditating on the grass, she kicked her shoes off and padded among the plants barefoot. Closing herself off as best she could from everyone else's emotions, she sighed.

"Viticella." The voice behind her made her jump, and she spun to see Elijah just a few feet away, hands in pockets and an unreadable expression on his face. Her heart racing, Cella could feel the color drain from her face, knowing what he had come to find her and tell her. "Please, I just wish to have a chance to explain myself."

"There's nothing to explain, Elijah. I told you, I understand." He took a step towards her, and it took a surprising amount of willpower not to take a step back.

"No, I don't think you do." In spite of his cool demeanor, she could feel an undercurrent of sadness in him. She shook her head, dropping her gaze so he wouldn't see the pain on her face.

"You left, and I can't blame you. An immortal Original wouldn't get much enjoyment out of a mortal for very long." She hadn't meant for her voice to break, and she wanted to curse it for giving away her feelings. Pulling herself together, she looked back up at him, surprised at how close he'd gotten, and gave a tight smile. "You don't have to worry about me or my feelings. I'm still going to help your family as I promised." He leaned down just a bit closer, and this time she actually did take a small step back. Every moment of him staring down at her with those sad eyes made her heart ache, and she could feel a similar pain coming from him.

"I never wanted this. I never wanted to have to hurt you, but you-"

"I know. I was...different. But, I think all things considered, I kind of deserved to be shut off for awhile." A sliver of anger had made it past the sadness in her mind, and she gripped onto it.

"You weren't yourself." Elijah's voice was quieter, and she turned away from him, looking towards the compound.

"I was tortured." Her voice was stronger now, fueled by the anger she felt at him for what he had done. "I was taken from my family and-"

"I know, I know."

"No, you don't." Cella snapped, her anger in full force now. "An almighty immortal being who can't be killed, what do you know of sitting in a room with three men, having to sit there as they take turns beating you, all the while knowing if you crack, if you give a single inch, they will slaughter every single person you love the most. Seeing your own blood stained into your clothing, even long after it's all over." That seemed to confuse him. "Yeah, I kept the clothing you found me in. They're a reminder of everything I put up with, everything I went through for my family. Between that, and the constant ugly scars along my legs and arms, I think I more than deserved to be shut off and unavailable for a while."

"Viticella-" Elijah clasped her arm, and she flinched away instinctively.

"Don't. Just...just don't." Her voice was quiet again, and she felt a breeze waft over the area, almost as though the elements were working to soothe her. "You know, I thought of you a lot. I thought about how you were probably working so hard to find me, how at any moment you would burst through that door and rescue me." She felt him breaking inside, but she pushed her guilt away. Raking a hand through her hair roughly, she sighed. "And then...we get home and it didn't matter anymore. You didn't want me. And here I am, still, like an idiot, all because-" She cut herself off, realizing just in time where her ramblings were headed. Flashbacks of a previous time worked their way into her head, and she closed her eyes to try and clear them away. "Just, please, Elijah...please stop." Her voice had gone soft again, and she moved past him, feeling she had made her point.

"I love you." For the briefest moment, she was sure her heart stopped as dead as her footsteps had, body freezing as he called behind her. "I do. I love you with my entire being, and it scares me to no end. Seeing you broken, hurting...I can't take it." She didn't turn, afraid she was imagining it all somehow. "I know I cannot begin to fully fix what I've done, but...all I'm asking is a chance." She could feel all of it now, the sadness, the hurt, the love that was nearly pouring off of him in waves. Cella couldn't believe this was what it had taken for either of them to admit it, though she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Turning slowly, she faced him, noting he hadn't moved from where she had left him. The careful, controlled mask was gone, replaced now by a mix of fear and hope.

"Elijah, are you sure?" Hesitantly, as though he was afraid she may bolt, he approached her, reaching into his jacket. As soon as he was close enough, he dropped to a knee in front of her, giving a small, hopeful smile as he pulled out a small black box. Tears began to flood her vision, and Cella cursed her over-hyped emotions at that moment.

"I have never been more sure in my thousand years on this earth." He cleared his throat. "I had hoped to make this a more...romantic surprise. But I love you, Viticella, and I can never again imagine what my life would be without you. Please, I implore you," he opened the box to reveal a simple silver ring with a set of three matching diamonds inlaid in it, "marry me. I would rather spend the rest of eternity daggered by one of Klaus' horrid weapons than live another day without you by my side." Cella opened her mouth to answer, already knowing she could never have stayed angry at him.

"No." The voice was deadly quiet and calm, and both of them turned to see a furious Jun had joined them. He approached slowly as Elijah stood, the ring box snapping shut in his hands.

"I don't believe that's up to you." Elijah's voice was much more controlled now, though Cella didn't feel any anger or animosity from him. Jun was next to her now, an arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder.

"Pretty words don't make up for what you did. If Cella's as smart as I know she is, she'll take your actions into consideration along with your words." Cella frowned, looking between the two men as they stared each other down.

"Jun, it really isn't up to you. And, of course, I'm considering everything I know about Elijah." Her brother's gaze dropped to her in confusion. "Like him and the others risking their lives to help our family. Saving my life countless more times than, honestly, you know." Jun opened his mouth to protest, but she gave him a look. "I fully intend to say yes to his proposal, Jun, in spite of what you think of him." She turned to see Elijah giving her a surprised smile.

"Fine." Jun stomped off then, clearly unhappy, but the thought was pushed from Cella's mind as Elijah slipped the band onto her finger, giving her a gentle kiss.

"Thank you." He murmured against her lips, eyes closed as he simply held her. Cella couldn't stop a giddy smile from forming on her face as she nodded, feeling a complete happiness for the first time in weeks.