Title: Your Honor
Author: strangelittleswirl
Rating: T
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries
Category: (drama, romance, adventure, etc)
Spoilers: Up to and including 3x15
Warnings: Language, violence
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries belongs to its rightful owners and sadly, none of those people or companies are me. I'm only borrowing them, but I promise to return them once I am finished.
Author's Notes: Thanks to midnight_burn. Mistakes are all entirely mine.
A/N: So my plans to get this entire thing posted by 8pm (2 hours ago) failed miserably...work related shenanigans ensued this past week but they all culminated in me being considered for a fantastic job opportunity so...who knows. I'll keep on posting as frequently as my new schedule allows.
Chapter title comes from "Lifeboats" by Snow Patrol.
Caroline and Bonnie are laughing, smiles wide and sparkling and seemingly carefree. Stefan's arm extends past them to hold out the camera, at an awkward angle. Elena knows that crooked smile anywhere, knows it means he's truly enjoying the company and the experience.
Trip home and catching a game with Stef and Bon! Go Timberwolves! the caption says beneath the photo.
Elena pushes feelings of nostalgia and homesickness to the side as she closes the Facebook tab and quickly scans her college email account, checking to see if her classmate has finally sent her his part of the group assignment. No luck, sadly.
She'll look again after their morning run. It appears, though, that she and Maggie are just going to have to do this damn thing themselves.
She quickly changes into her workout clothes, and pulls her wavy blond hair back into a messy bun, then slides a headband on to keep back the inevitable frizz that will develop. Two and a half years of wearing this glamor everyday and she still sometimes feels a jolt of unfamiliarity when she catches sight of herself in the mirror.
She walks through the shared bathroom to the other girl's room, and finds the curtains still drawn, and a pile of pillows and blankets, as always, covering her friend. A small wave in the direction of the windows, and they are wrenched open.
From beneath the mount of bedclothes, there's a hiss followed by a groan and Maggie burrows deeper. "Screw you, Aimee," comes a muffled voice.
The blond yanks back the covers and grabs the nearest pillow, smacking the prostrate girl with it. "Get your lazy ass out of bed," she commands, but the grin on her face betrays that she's not serious. "We're doing four miles today."
"I hate you."
"You love me."
It's weird, how easily they've fallen into this routine and friendship, as almost-sisters but definite friends. The small age gap has been conquerable, Elena's unknown past forgotten as they started school together and she quickly was accepted into Maggie's small but close-knit group of friends. None of them knew her secret, so suddenly having a confidante was appreciated by the Bennett witch.
Mags and 'Aimee' are enrolled in the same classes at a nearby, small college. It's not Duke, but then again, Aimee Hawkins wouldn't feel obligated to go to school there.
They're two peas in a pod, joined at the hip. Maggie teaches her magic, and she teaches her how to defend herself against vampires. They study for their classes while tending to the vervain that Lucy has nurtured into a healthy bloom in the basement. They work matching shifts at Bree's bar. If one of them goes out on a date (always someplace close, never for long if it's not a double date), the other waits up to hear how it went.
Maggie will never replace her friends in Mystic Falls, but she can't help but care for this bright, happy person. Given the circumstances, she's been very lucky.
The Petrova Fire is typically dormant, but from time to time it prickles beneath her skin. There has only been one time where it was every fully called upon, and Elena is thankful for that.
They had been at a party, and Maggie had slipped at the edge of the pool and hit her head on the side of the diving board on the way down. Instantly, Elena had felt as though there was something pulling at her gut, and found herself sprinting to the edge of the pool, diving in, and grabbing at the unconscious girl.
It had felt like compulsion, like being a puppet on strings. Her sense of apprehension wasn't calmed until the doctor in the emergency had assured them she'd be fine.
She's promised to protect the girl with her life. If she dies, Elena could, too.
Missing Mystic Falls and the people she's left behind has been the worst part, though. From time to time, she goes online, checks their Facebook pages briefly. On several occasions, some of them have left messages for her, posted on her wall, but they go unanswered.
She's basically stalking her old life. She's accepted this.
Elena refocuses herself and whacks the girl with a pillow again. "Up."
After much protesting, she's able to get Maggie out the door and jogging down the street. They carry stakes with them, and pepper spray canisters filled with concentrated vervain.
'Training' has been easy enough. Elena doesn't know much but what she does know, she's taught the girl. They kick and punch at a dummy in the basement, and practice staking it, but Elena knows this is nothing like facing a real vampire, and she worries for Maggie.
They eat breakfast and head to the campus, and sit through classes (neither knows what they want to do with their lives, but Elena knows Maggie has a passion for History, and she thanks God that Alaric was such a great teacher because she'd struggle through those inevitable classes, otherwise) before returning home to ready themselves for their shift at Bree's. Go to bed. Repeat.
Part of Elena enjoys the routine, the monotony. Another part of her all but craves the frenetic energy of her life in Mystic Falls. If this is safety, she thinks that evening as she delivers onion rings to a couple of high school kids on an awkward first date, she really took for granted the freedoms that she had before.
'Aimee' is just a little more quiet than Elena, just a little more shy. She makes an effort to tuck her hair behind her ear more, to not make eye contact as much; she spent a lot of time ensuring that there is nothing about Aimee that would remind anyone of Elena, but she can never be certain.
Maggie bops over, singing along to the local band in the corner playing covers. She puts her tray down and grabs at her best friend's hands, forcing her to dance. "Oh live a little!" she cajoles over the music.
What Maggie doesn't know is that Elena has felt wrong for the last two hours. There's a faint burning under her skin, and about an hour and a half ago, she'd felt the prickle increase for a moment before dissipating. As soon as the song ends and Maggie goes back to taking care of her tables, she's making a beeline over to Bree at the bar to tell her something's up.
Except when the song ends, Maggie carts her to the kitchen to help with a large order up. Together, they deliver everything to the table, and Elena is in the middle of squatting next to a kid in a booster seat to ask them if they need anything (they're regulars, and he'll want 'kessip', as he always does) when she finds her eyes moving to the door, in accordance with a little voice in her head commanding her to look, and it's not the Fire.
He hasn't changed at all; he looks like he did the last time she saw him when he had left her in the cave. As always, he's a shadow in dark clothes, and he's kept his hair short, although it looks as though it has grown slightly.
Elena assures the boy she'll be back with his 'kessip', and starts to make her way over to the bar, forcing herself to remain calm, absolutely calm.
She's intercepted by an elderly couple (totally out of place, but they enjoy the atmosphere and turn off their hearing aids whenever they come) getting up from their table, and she has to wait for them to finish putting on their coats before she can sidle around them to the bar. As she waits, she whips out her order pad and hastily scribbles the word 'Elijah' on the page.
The couple thanks her and hands her the tip, since she's standing there, and she thanks them for coming, but finds herself still glancing over at Elijah fearful that he recognized her, despite the fact that her voice is entirely different.
Suddenly his eyes slide across the room to hers, and her heart skips a beat. His dark eyes seem to bore into hers.
He knows.
She speeds her steps until she is leaning against the wooden bar, and slides two drink order sheets – one real, one carrying her message – to Bree as she mouths 'vampire'. The bar owner has had so many years of putting up with countless sorts of bullshit, she just continues to fill orders and act like nothing is going on.
At least, that's what Elena thinks is the case, until she turns to go warn Maggie to be careful, but spots Elijah making his way to the bar.
He knows. He knows. He knows. How could he know?
She tries to calm herself down, rationalize that there is no way he could know, but then he rounds the edge of a table of college kids and he's getting entirely too close to be good. Elena forgot how gracefully the vampire could walk, and the way her stomach always flips when he's near. His glance pins her for a second, but then he is about to address Bree.
"I try to keep this sort of business for later," she cuts him off firmly, but Elena can sense the caution that rises beneath her apparent calm. "Aim, your order's up."
She pivots, walks away quickly, grabs Maggie by the arm, and hauls her into the storage room.
"What's going on?" the girl asks. "You've been acting weird for like, hours."
Taking a deep breath before she starts to speak, Elena prays Maggie will understand that this is one of those instances they've trained for. Elijah would never make a casual visit to a witch he's never met, so there must be some reason he's here to see Bree. "There's a vampire in the bar, okay? Just...just be careful, and stick with me. Don't go anywhere by yourself, even if it's for a second."
Personally? She trusts Elijah. But she knows that he'll put family first, no matter what. Maggie is a Bennett witch, and since Abby is now a vampire, the last two years have meant that she and Lucy are probably the only mother-daughter pair from the family left, and the most powerful.
"And here," she adds, pulling out the small vial of vervain she keeps on her at all times from its place in her pocket. The vial is skinny and glass, but the concentrated dose that it contains will counteract any attempts at compulsion for about a day...and this is in addition to the vervain tea they drink at least once a day.
Maggie knocks it back quickly, and quietly. Elena feels a small amount of relief that she's listening to her. They make their way back out to their tables.
Elijah parks himself at a table by the band, which allows him a view of the door and the bar, which Bree has never left, even for a moment. As the evening has progressed, Elena has watched her face become increasingly grim. The last customers leave, and Bree locks the door.
The vampire sits in a chair before the women, and Elena makes a show of pulling a stake out of her boot; it's more for Bree and Maggie's benefit than an attempt to intimidate Elijah. He doesn't even acknowledge the weapon as he leans back in his seat. Somehow, he makes sitting on a rickety chair with sticky varnish appear regal.
When the question of her presence is raised, Bree quickly explains that Aimee Hawkins is basically their adopted daughter, and she's a witch; any business with their family includes her.
It's awkward, but tense, as Elijah introduces himself, and assures them he means no harm, but hopes for their assistance in something. Beside her, Maggie tenses; dealings with vampires were something they have told her to avoid at all costs.
The bartender cuts the vampire off. "Where's Lucy?" she asks, deathly quiet.
Maggie inhales sharply. "What's wrong with Mom?" she asks, and Elena hears the hysteria creeping into the girl's tone. The last two hours have been tense for her, and she's handled it well, but this may be what breaks her.
"I have more than sufficient evidence to believe that my brother, Klaus, has taken her. In fact, there was an attempt made by two of my brother's compatriots to enter this bar and remove Margaret, but they were stopped by some sort of barrier at the door. LaForte as her surname or not, my brother has ways of finding out information he finds pertinent, and he is very much set on a pair of Bennett witches for what he has planned."
Elena feels her gut plummet. Whatever Klaus is up to takes power, a lot of it, or at least two witches capable of channeling large amounts of magic. The attempted kidnapping must have been the reason for that prickling under her skin, earlier.
Bree's thoughts must be similar. "Which spell?" she asks, tone banking no argument.
When Elijah responds it's resigned, reluctant, and she's not sure if he feels those things in regards to his brother or the spell itself. She knows him well enough to read his answer in the lines of his shoulders and the shape of his mouth and slightest of tells on his face.
"The Resurrection Spell."