Bringing Out The Dead:
Klaus and I both looked at the newcomer with wide unblinking eyes as we realised the implications of Elijah being there. Someone had obviously un-staked him for a purpose.
"You look surprised to see me. So it wasn't you that removed the dagger from my chest?" Elijah said calmly in his melodic voice and I quietly sipped my blood-laced wine. The older Mikaelson's oak coloured orbs flashed in my direction momentarily but quickly darted back to Niklaus.
"You look like you could do with a drink. And we have a lot to discuss, so shall we?" Nik said cockily as he moved towards the make shift bar in the lounge room we were sitting in. I jumped slightly when Elijah moved forward rapidly and attacked Nik. I rolled my eyes at the boy's behaviour as I continued to sip my wine. I looked up when I heard the unmistakable sound of smashing glass and frowned when I saw Elijah tackling Nik into the glass window separating the two rooms.
"Easy. We just finished renovating. Take the fighting outside." I scolded them as I stood up gracefully from the couch I was resting on.
"You know you have every right to be mad at me. But I kept my word, I reunited you with our family." Nik taunted his older brother as they both ignored me. Elijah ran at Nik again and they thought each other into the next room. I slowly walked over so that I was leaned in the doorway to the next room so I could see exactly what was going on. In the mist of the fight, Nik had managed to open up one of the coffins that were in the room. I watched with a frown as he pulled out the white oak dagger from one of his other family members and positioned it over Elijah's heart. "Don`t make me do this to you again Elijah!"
"Come on. Use it. I dare you. You'll have Kol to deal with." Elijah spat at his younger brother and I stood on my tip toes to get a look at the young man in the coffin next to the two them.
"Mikael is dead." I said calmly from my spot at the door and the two brothers stopped to look at me with wide eyes.
"What did you say?" Elijah asked me in disbelief as he pushed Nik off of him and straightened his suit.
"I killed him. With his own weapon. He's gone Elijah. Forever." Klaus clarified for his brother as he fixed his own shirt which had gotten messed up in the fight.
"Why do our family remain in these coffins? Finn for over 900 years, Kol for over a century." Elijah spat at Nik in outrage and I smirked at my ex smugly when he glanced over at me.
"Someone agrees with me." I muttered under my breath in a song sing voice as I looked away from the two of them and tried to appear innocent.
"Because of Stefan Salvatore. He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things that you do not know about our past, Elijah. Our mother's death. Things I never wanted you to know but I`m ready to tell you now. I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me." Nik said to his brother as he ignored my comment.
"What are you doing?" Elijah asked in confusion as Nik replaced the dagger into Kol's heat again to stop him from waking up.
"Always and forever. I need you to stand by my side. Be my brother. Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again." Klaus said to Elijah as he closed the lid of Kol's coffin securely.
"If you're done with the dramatics," I interrupted their staring match as I stepped into the room and both their eyes darted over to me. I smiled slightly as Elijah took in my presence before gracefully walking towards me.
"Excuse our rudeness, Miss …? " Elijah stated questioningly as Nik glowered at his back and I smirked slightly at the shock my answer was going to bring.
"Gilbert. Ellyse Gilbert." I stated as I held out my hand for him to shake and watched as the eldest Originals dark brown eyes widened slightly at the information. He recovered quickly from his shock and placed his hand in mine only to bring it to his lips. I raised an eyebrow at the old fashioned gesture as Niklaus glared at his brothers back.
"I wasn't aware that Elena had a sister."
"A twin, actually. Don't feel too bad, apparently she didn't inform the Salvatore's either."
"Not that I'm complaining about the presence of a beautiful woman, but what are you doing here with my brother?" Elijah asked me politely in confusion as he crinkled his eyebrows together slightly.
"She's my girlfriend." Nik drawled pointedly from behind him and Elijah raised an eyebrow in question.
"Ex-girlfriend, actually." I corrected him with a glare but he just rolled his eyes at my words as he walked towards me and Elijah.
"Whatever you say, beauty." He murmured as he pressed a chaste kiss to my cheek as he past me. I smiled once more at Elijah before I turned to follow Nik into the main living room with Elijah trailing behind us.
"I'm going to head home and let you two talk in private." I told them as I walked over to the couch I had left my purse on.
"No, I don't want you at the Salvatore's now that they know what side you're on." Nik said softly to me as I collected my purse. I paused at his words and contemplated what I was going to do because I knew that he was right.
"You're right. Damon isn't going to be happy with me. I guess I'll head to a hotel for the night and organise a house tomorrow." I said mostly to myself even though I knew they could both hear me with their vampire hearing.
"Nonsense. You'll stay here." Nik told me as though it was obvious and I turned to face him with a frown on my face as I crossed my arms over my chest.
"I'm not staying in your house, Nik."
"Technically, it's our house." He informed me with a cheeky smile and I frowned at him in confusion.
"I think I'm going to go and find a change of clothes." Elijah excused himself and quickly left the room but my attention was solely on Nik.
"What are you talking about?" I asked my ex as he tried his best to look innocent.
"When I bought the house, I put both our names on the deed." He explained as he shrugged casual and I felt my eyes widen automatically as I looked around the massive mansion we were in.
"You brought us a house." I stated quietly as I smiled softly at him and he looked at the ground because I knew he was uncomfortable with people, even me, seeing him vulnerable. I pressed my lips together as I looked at the handsome man in front of me because I didn't want to let out the sob that threatened to escape. I silently cursed my stupid emotion because ever since I had turned they had been all over the place. Nik lift his head so that I was looking into his crystal clear light blue eyes and I used my vampire speed to go over to him. I quickly grabbed hold of the back of his neck and smashed his lips down onto mine.
Later that evening, I was upstairs in the master bedroom that Nik had built for us getting ready for the sit down dinner Elijah had organised with the Salvatore's in order to get the mysterious fourth coffin back. I looked up from my reflection as the doorbell rang downstairs but I didn't rush to get it because I knew that Elijah was already down there.
"Ellyse, Niklaus, our guests have arrived." I heard Elijah call from downstairs and I quickly looked at myself in the mirror to take in my appearance. I tugged gently on the clingy blue material of my dress as I bit my lip in apprehension. I shook my head to clear it of the self-doubt knowing that logically it was only my heightened vampire emotions that made me even more self-conscious than when I was human.
"Damon. Stefan. Elijah tells me, you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilised men, shall we?" I heard Nik greet our guests as I walked down the stairs and into the dining room that had been sat up for the dinner.
"It's better to indulge him." I told them as I smirked playfully at Nik and strolled past the other three into the dining room. Nik smiled at me as he pressed a kiss to my cheek before pulling out a chair for me to sit in.
"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus. Fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told, I had to cause you would hear us out." Stefan said calmly as he walked into the dining room with his older brother and Elijah.
"Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours." Nik compromised with a grin and I rolled my eyes at him as I watched the other three men sit down at the table. Elijah sat on my other side as Damon sat next to him and then Stefan on the last seat in between Damon and Nik. A little while later we were all enjoying the food that I had order from a catering company for the evening, except for Stefan.
"Thank you, love." Damon said mockingly to one of the blonde human waitresses that came with the company as she poured him some wine.
"You lost your appetite." Nik commented as he watched Stefan just stare at the food in his plate in front of him.
"Eat. I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home." Damon told his younger brother and Stefan rolled his light green eyes before pointedly eating a forkful of food as I chuckled softly at the scene.
"That's the spirit. Isn't it nice? Five of us dining together? Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?" Nik asked Damon tauntingly as he continued to eat and I shook my head at his childish antics.
"Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier."
"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through."
"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right? Where is she, by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her." Stefan said to the Original Hybrid and my grip on my fork tightened at the mention of my friend.
"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah."
"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might want to dial down the judgment until dessert." Damon scolded his brother with a frown and I raised an eyebrow at the fact that Stefan killed his father.
"We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses." Stefan pointed out and I laughed as I sipped my wine and Stefan flashed me a smirk.
"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself."
"Stefan. Where is the lovely Elena tonight?" Elijah asked the younger Salvatore and I bit my lip to stop from laughing at the now awkward topic.
"I don't know. Ask Damon." Stefan spat out calmly and I smiled in amusement as Nik laughing lightly at the comment.
"I'm sorry, you've missed so much. Uh- trouble in paradise." Nik explained to a confused looking Elijah as he tried to stop laughing.
"One more word about Elena and this dinner's over." Stefan said to us as Nik continued to laugh silently.
"You know what, probably best just to keep Elena in the do not discuss pile." Damon told us with a tight fake smile and I nodded as I tried not to laugh at the two of them.
"You're probably right." Nik agreed as he nodded jerkily though his laughter and placed a hand on my upper thigh under the table. "It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger, still so strong. What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?"
"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" Elijah said calmly as placed a napkin on the table and I rolled my eyes at the topic of Niklaus' first love. I had heard the story before but that didn't mean I wanted to hear about my boyfriend's exes at the dinner table.
"Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line."
"Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah. Please, do tell." Damon said with a smirk as he sipped his wine.
"When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia, she was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus." Elijah started the story as we all listened intently to his melodic voice.
"I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much." Nik interrupted with a smile in his brother's direction and I smiled at them both in amusement.
"Wait a minute, so you both loved the same girl?" Stefan asked them in amusement as he pointed a fork in between the two Originals.
"Yep. One that looks exactly like my twin sister. Isn't that something?" I asked rhetorically as bitterness laced my voice and I took a greedy sip of my wine. Nik squeezed my upper thigh in silently reassurance and I immediately felt myself relax.
"Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I... grew estranged. Harsh words were traded, we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?" Elijah continued with the story before looking at Nik for confirmation.
"But in the end we realized the sacred bond of family." Nik concluded with a smile at his brother and I placed my hand over his that was on my thigh.
"Family above all." Elijah said as he raised his glass to his brother and Nik copied his action as we all looked on.
"Family above all." Nik echoed his brother's sentence as they clinked their glasses together.
"So, why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?" Elijah suggested as he placed his glass back on the table in front of him.
"That's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back, in exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, and Elena live happily ever after. No grudges." Damon said with a smile as he spread his arm out to gesture to him and Stefan.
"The deal sounds fair, brother."
"I don't think you understand, Elena's doppelgänger blood insures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. I will never leave her behind." Niklaus stated to them as he got up from his seat and began pacing length of the dining room as we walked him silently. "Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between your feuding? You see, each one of you truly believes that you're the one that can protect her, and that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is... the two of you." He finished we had pointed between the two Salvatore brother's and I silently agreed with his assessment.
"I'm gonna get some air." Damon stated as he got up from his sit and head towards the front door.
"Let me deal with this." Elijah said to Klaus as he got up from his seat and followed after the eldest Salvatore.
"All this talk has made me thirsty." I stated with a pout on my lips and Nik smiled at me lovingly as he motioned for one of the blonde human waitresses to come into the room.
"What do you say Stefan, can I interest you in a little after dinner drink?" Nik offered to the youngest Salvatore brother as I stood up and walked over to where Nik stood with the waitress. As I got closer to the human woman I could feel the bloodlust build up and I could hear the thump thump thump of her beating heart. I smiled at Nik once before I let the bloodlust take over and my fangs elongated so that I could sink them into the blonde's neck. I moaned slightly in pleasure as the fresh, warm blood filled my mouth and danced on my tastebuds. I vaguely saw Nik bite into the other side of her neck but all my focus was on the waitress's delicious AB negative blood. After we had drained all the blood from the blonde, I released my hold on her at the same time as Nik and she fell to the floor limbless.
"Delicious." I said as I wiped the blood from around my mouth before walking back over to my seat and sitting down elegantly.
"Aged to perfection." Nik agreed with me as he smiled over at me before walking to stand next to the roaring fireplace.
"Well, I guess the only reason you agreed to this evening, Klaus, is to drive a wedge between me and my brother." Stefan said to Nik looked over at the dead body in disgust.
"Oh no, you're doing that well enough on your own. Because of Elena, you're gonna lose your brother and you'll only have yourself to blame." Nik said casually as he shrugged his broad shoulders and I chuckled softly as I rolled my eyes at him. My attention was diverted to the doorway as Damon and Elijah re-entered the dining room.
"What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer, now you counter." Damon said calmly as he stood behind the seat that he had been sitting on previously.
"Oh, I'm not the one who'll decide Elena's future." He told them matter-of-factly as he strolled over to retake his seat at the table and both Salvatore's faces morphed into a mask of confusion at his words.
"Then who will?" Damon spat out spitefully as I chuckled lightly and I stood up from my seat when all the eyes in the room turned to face me.
"That would be me." I said to them as I shrugged my shoulders delicately and walked over to stand behind Nik's chair. "Okay. I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot. And to fall in love with a human."
"Maybe that nice football player, you know the blond one?" Nik suggested helpfully from the fireplace and I smiled at him over my shoulder.
"Matt Donovan? Really?" Damon asked in a voice filled with contempt.
"Yeah, why not? He's hot. They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family." I told them with a smirk on my lips as I looked in between all the men in the room.
"And continue the Petrova bloodline. Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?" Stefan asked the hybrid as he glared at him heatedly from his seat.
"It was Ellyse's idea actually. Isn't she brilliant? Consider it a small return on my investment in her wellbeing. See after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life, you know it's what's best for her." Nik said to them as he stood up and walked over towards Stefan. "So, what do you say Stefan, do we have a deal?"
"What are you doing?" Damon asked his brother in a hiss as Stefan stood up and walked closer to Klaus. Nik held out his hand to Stefan with a small smile and the younger vampire clutched his hand in his.
"Nice try, Klaus. But no deal." Stefan said cheerfully and Nik's smile transformed into a frown as he broke Stefan's hand. I watched with my head tilted as Nik pushed Stefan's hand into the fireplace and he started to burn. Damon attempted to rush over and help his brother but Elijah pushed him up against the wall to stop him.
"What are you doing?" Damon asked Elijah quietly before turning his attention to his injured brother. "Stop!"
"Now, bring me my coffin before I burn him alive." Nik said to Damon casually as he kept Stefan's hand in the fire.
"I'll get it." Damon said in defeat as Elijah let him go and he straightened his leather jacket.
"Go with him, brother, you keep him honest. And when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family." Nik said to Elijah and he nodded before following Damon out of the room to go and get the missing coffin.
"Go ahead and kill me, I know you'll do it when he brings the coffin." Stefan said to Nik in defeat after a minute of silence and I looked up from my nails when I heard them speaking. I watched as Nik pulled Stefan out of the fire and frowned at his old friend.
"You really have given up, haven't you? Where's the fight? Where's the ripper?" he asked as he pushed on Stefan's chest and Stefan pushed him back as I rolled my eyes at the boy's behaviour.
"Behave boys, or no one gets any dessert." I drawled jokingly from where I was sitting at the table and they both looked up at me as though they had just remembered that I was in the room with them.
"Elijah... why haven't you left?" Nik asked in confusion and I looked up in surprise to see Elijah in the doorway with Damon and a blonde waitress.
"Where are you manners, brother? We forgot dessert." Elijah said calmly as he pulled the cover off of the silver plate the blonde was holding and I frowned in confusion. I stood up to get a better view and gaped when I saw the two daggers on the platter.
"What have you done?" Nik asked him quietly as he looked at the daggers in shock.
"What have you done? You see I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now." Elijah spat at his brother just as a young man I recognised as Kol strolled into the room from behind Elijah.
"Kol." Nik whispered quietly and I frowned slightly because I knew that this was not going to be good.
"Long time, brother." Kol said cheerfully in his slightly British accented voice as he approached his brother. I watched as Nik tried to back away from his youngest brother but another vampire suddenly appeared and stabbed a dagger through Nik's hand.
"Finn, don't!" Nik said with a grimace as the dagger plunged into him and he turned to run through the other open doorway but Rebekah appeared out of nowhere and blocked it. I smiled at the sight of my friend as she glowered at her brother. "Rebekah?"
"This is for our mother." Rebekah spat at him as she stabbed a dagger through his stomach and he crumbled over it. I smirked at his back because I had told him numerous times that there were consequences for his actions. Nik fell backwards into Kol's arms as Elijah looked over at Damon and Stefan in the doorway.
"You're free to go. This is family business." Elijah told them as he looked over at his brother and I frowned at him slightly as walked further into the dining room.
"Screw that, Elijah. This is my house." I scolded him playfully and he smirked in my direction but nodded his head at me.
"Ellyse?" I heard Rebekah ask and I turned to face my blonde friend with a smile on my face.
"Bec!" I cheered as I approached her and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I missed you! I swear I had no idea what they were doing. I tried to find you but they hid you. When I did find you, Nik wouldn't let me kill Elena."
"It's okay." She assured me with a smile as she looked over my outfit in appreciation before she looked up to meet my gaze solemnly and I frowned at her in concern. "Listen, Ellyse, we're all leaving Mystic Falls, maybe even America. My brothers and I are leaving Nik for what he's done. I know that you wanted some time away as well so I want you to come with us."
"Are you sure you want me there, Rebekah? You haven't seen your brother's in a very long time."
"I'm sure." Rebekah told me determinedly as she glanced over her shoulder at her brothers and I smiled at her reassuringly. "I should get back." She said reluctantly and I nodded in understanding as she left to go over to her brothers. I sat down in one of the now empty seats and watched the Mikaelson family reunion.
"I like what you've done with the new place, Nik." Rebekah said as she picked up a vase and threw it at a painting on the wall.
"I wanted it to be for all of us. A place we could all call home. A place we could all be a family. None of us would ever have to be alone again." Nik explained without looking up from the ground as Rebekah moved over to stand beside her brothers.
"Well you're right, none of us will be." Elijah said to him calmly.
"You're staying behind." Finn added from his brother's side.
"We're leaving you, Nik. Ellyse and I are going travelling right after I kill that doppelgänger wench, then you will be alone. Always and forever." Rebekah told him as she threw a glance over her shoulder at me and I smiled slightly at her in confirmation that I would go with her.
"If you run, I will hunt all of you down." Nik threatened them and I stood up to walk to stand on Rebekah's other side.
"Then you'll become everything you hate. Our father." Finn told him and all the other's nodded in agreement.
"I'm the hybrid! I can't be killed! I have nothing to fear from any of you."
"You will when we have that coffin." Elijah stated with a shrug just as we heard the front door open and we all turned around to see who it was breaking into my house. I frowned slightly when I saw a beautiful blonde woman in her late thirties enter the room in an old fashioned dress.
"Mother?" Rebekah whispered in shock and I felt my eyes widen in surprise as I looked at the Original Witch in front of me. Esther looked over her children with a slight smile on her lips before she turned her attention to Niklaus with a frown.
"Look at me!" she commanded sternly and he looked open with tear filled light blue eyes. I felt my heart swell in pain at the defeated look in his normally mischievous eyes. "Do you know why I'm here?"
"You're here to kill me." Nik stated to her and I frowned as I gripped Rebekah hand in mine. I felt like we both needed it at that moment.
"Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you. I want us to be a family again."