Note: This story starts in Season 3 Episode 2 – Hayley and the wolves have been released from the curse for a couple of weeks. However, Lucien and the others have not come to New Orleans. Therefore, the pack wasn't killed. Davina used her power as Regent to break the curse and Hayley had to carry out the hit on the witches. The fight between Klaus and Hayley happened and they are living across the street in an apartment that Elijah rented.
1001 – Vinland (present-day America)
The full moon shone bright in the sky as the villagers took shelter in the systems beneath their town, magically sealed to protect them from the roaming werewolves in the forest. Tatia watched as her love paced the small cavern they had found refuge in.
"They'll be alright, Elijah." She tried to reassure him, her hand reaching out to settle him. But he was too agitated and he simply brushed past her.
"They should be here by now." He nearly growled. "The witches have sealed off the entrance. Now they won't be able to enter."
"Your brothers are smart." She said, giving up on trying to offer him physical comfort and instead settled on the floor next to her sleeping son. "They will seek shelter in the village and we will find them in the morning."
"I should have made sure they were down here." Elijah hung his head, leaning against the cavern wall for support.
Tatia sighed, she knew what he meant. He should have gone to make sure his siblings made it to the cave safely instead of her and her son. It was an argument they had repeatedly. He always felt guilty for taking a moment for them and leaving his siblings to deal with Esther and Mikael on their own. Tatia knew arguing that his siblings were grown and could fend for themselves was pointless. He would always view them as children who needed protection.
"Well then maybe you should go find the rest of them." Tatia hissed back. She tried to be patient with him, but these days her temper was flaring up more and more.
"I didn't mean it that way." Elijah realized his mistake and gave her a sheepish look. "You know I would do anything to protect you and Hale. But my family needs protection as well."
Elijah moved to kneel in front of her and placed his hand on her cheek, stroking it gently.
"I promise once this is all over, we will tell my family." Tatia gave him a small smile. He had made this promise before, but something always got in the way. Whether it was Mikael being in a more aggressive mood than normal or Esther locking herself in her workshop and leaving his siblings to fend for themselves, there was always an excuse not to tell them.
"I know you are worried about Henrik and Nik but they will be alright." She placed her hand on top of his. "Astra is out there looking for them. You know she will protect them."
Elijah gave a sharp nod of his head in concession. Worrying would only serve to make an already stressful situation worse. This was not their first full moon. His family knew how to take care of themselves.
When the sun finally began to rise Elijah led Tatia to one of the cave entrances, carrying Hale as he walked. When they reached the surface, Tatia could see the first rays of sun lighting up the sky. She reached forward to grab Elijah's arm, forcing him to turn to her.
"Go." She said when he faced her, holding out her arms for her son. "I can carry him home. Go find your brothers."
She gave him a smile so he knew she didn't mind. And she truly did not. She knew what family meant to Elijah. It was one of the first things she loved about him.
Elijah carefully transferred Hale into Tatia's waiting arms and made sure he was comfortable before turning around and taking off into the forest.
Tatia smiled after him, watching him run to find his siblings.
Elijah was an experienced tracker but the nights after the full moon were always difficult since the wolves tended to tear the forest apart. He knew from speaking with the leaders of the wolves that they did not have control over their movements and couldn't even remember running through the forest as wolves when they transformed back to their human forms the next morning.
His younger brothers were always fascinated by the wolves, wanting to hear stories of his trips to the pack's territory. He feared their curiosity got the best of them and they broke the most important rule of their village: do not go out in the forest during the full moon.
Almost as soon as he got to the forest edge he smelled the blood. He couldn't tell if it was animal or human but there was a lot. This wasn't all that surprising for the morning after a full moon but it still formed a pit in his stomach.
As he walked deeper into the forest, he crouched to keep low so he could see any traces of footprints his brothers may have left behind, the scent of blood grew stronger. He followed the scent deeper into the forest, his fear growing. He reminded himself that the wolves likely just had a feast the night before and left the remains behind.
The scent led him to a clearing not far from the wolves' territory. And his heart sank at the blood covering the grass. His eyes were drawn to the figure laying in the center.
"Astra." He whispered before sprinting to where she lay. He couldn't allow himself to focus on the gore that he saw before him. Her stomach had been ripped open and claw marks streaked down her face.
Instead, he focused on her dark curls, which had come loose from her braids. Her eyes were dull, no longer the bright green he was accustomed to seeing.
"Please." He begged. He wasn't sure for what. For her to open her eyes? For her to live? For her to tell him that everything would be okay?
But she didn't do any of those things. She lay limply in his arms, her eyes staring blankly into the sky. Elijah let out a sob as he gripped her tighter to his chest. She couldn't be gone. This couldn't be her end.
"Mother!" He heard Niklaus' voice in the distance, panic evident. His eyes widened at the desperation in his brother's voice. He pulled Astra's body to himself once more before taking off back into the village.
2013 – New Orleans, Louisiana
Klaus sat at the table in the dining room, a feast of food before him. However, he couldn't bring himself to eat anything. The house surrounding him was completely silent. If he tried, he could hear his daughter across the street where Hayley and Jackson were having breakfast of their own. His brother had moved back to Algiers since Hayley was back to look after Hope. Freya was off doing god knows what. And his little sister was away, looking for a cure for Kol. With Marcel controlling the Quarter, he found very little to do with his days when he didn't have Hope.
He was utterly alone.
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St. Anne's was bustling with new perspective vampires. Marcel was in full recruitment mode now that he was once again the King of the Quarter. He noticed Elijah spending more time than not at the gym. Specifically in the fighting ring. Although most of that consisted of Elijah beating up the new recruits.
When Elijah was in a particularly foul mood, Marcel would step into the ring himself as he was the only one that could offer up some challenge to the thousand-year-old vampire. But Elijah's anger seemed to know no end. The only peace he had from it was when he was with Hope. And considering he was avoiding Hayley and Jackson and Niklaus, it wasn't as often as he would like.
"I could use a sparring partner." Elijah turned around, surprised by the voice.
"Camille, what are you doing here?" He took in her outfit. She had clearly dressed for a workout.
"I hear this is the place to be if you want to get your ass kicked." She gave him a knowing look. In fact, she hadn't seen much of Elijah over the past six months. She suspected he had been avoiding everyone and she was giving him his space. But she couldn't stay out of the Mikaelson family drama any longer.
Cami took up a fighting stance in front of Elijah which earned her a patronizing look.
"I'm not going to fight you." He said simply.
"Why not?" She made a move to punch him, which he easily dodged. "That's what you do here, you fight humans. I'm human. Let's fight."
"First, I train recruits who hope to be turned into vampires." Elijah nearly smirked at her stance. "Second, I'm not going to fight you because your stance is terrible and you will only serve to hurt yourself."
"Oh." Cami looked down at herself surprised. She had never had much of a desire to learn to fight, but she figured with how her life was going, it might be necessary at some point.
"So, I'll ask again, Camille," he gave her a leveled look, "what are you doing here?"
"Klaus called this morning." She admitted.
"Ah." Elijah tried to hide the pain in his voice, but his eyes betrayed him for a moment. "So you've come on his behalf."
"I'm here for both of you." She explained. "This fight between you both is clearly hurting you too."
"This fight as you so casually put it was caused by my brother murdering someone I cared about and cursing another." Elijah could feel the veins under his eyes as he growled at her and she took a step back. He felt slightly guilty for scaring her, however, he had no desire to hear more of her sympathy for Klaus.
"I thought you were doing better." Camille looked at him with so much sympathy he had to look away. "Are you still having episodes?"
"I'm fine." Elijah moved to walk past her, not wanting to admit the episodes had increased tenfold over the past several months.
Cami reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Elijah, I'm here for you too." Cami tried again.
"Go home, Camille." Elijah pulled his arm from her grasp. "Stay away from my family. It will only lead to pain and death."
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Hayley was still adjusting to life in human form again. Everything seemed brighter and louder than it had before. Hope's cries pierced her ears and nearly gave her a headache. If it was possible for a hybrid to get a headache.
Hope was upset most days which only served to upset Hayley more. She couldn't blame her daughter. The first year of her life had been full of upheaval and Hayley was at a disadvantage. She didn't have much experience with babies and she lost so much time with her daughter that she didn't get to learn as Hope grew. Jackson tried to help but he had even less experience with babies. Her poor daughter was still not used to their new home and still not used to her being around.
She knew her daughter missed Freya, Elijah, and her father who she had grown used to over the past six months. Hayley hoped she would adjust to her new surroundings because she had no plan to move back in with Klaus.
Jackson was out in the bayou with Mary and the other wolves, still making sure everyone had been returned to their families after the curse. Hope wouldn't stop crying in her arms and nothing she could do would calm her. Hayley sighed and looked out the window at the Abattoir. She would suffer Klaus' presence for her daughter.
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"Brother, you've returned home." Klaus entered the courtyard where Elijah was standing at the bar, pouring himself a drink.
"Hayley asked me to come over." He replied simply, not turning around to look at him.
"And of course you immediately obeyed," Klaus smirked at his brother's back. "She's got you on a tight leash. Or is that her husband?"
Klaus' smirk grew as he saw Elijah's hand tighten around his glass. His brother was always predictable and Klaus knew exactly which buttons to press to infuriate him.
"I am here to visit my niece." Elijah finally turned around. "Everything I do is for her."
"Oh, yes, I am aware." Klaus' expression turned to one of anger. "So much so that you put a dagger in my chest."
"I was trying to save her life," Elijah growled. "Your pride means very little next to that."
Those words seemed to spark something inside Klaus. One of his biggest fears was that his pride would cost him everything he loved. Cost him his daughter.
"I would do anything for my daughter." Klaus' voice was thick with emotion. "And in her honor, I will offer you my forgiveness for the part you played in trying to take my daughter away."
Elijah's face twisted into a sarcastic smile.
"Your forgiveness." Elijah nearly laughed at that. "I don't recall asking for your forgiveness."
"Nonetheless, I've decided to be the bigger person and offer it." Klaus' voice took on an edge of impatience. "What do you say, Elijah, have you finally forgiven me?"
Klaus was unable to hide the glimmer of hope in his eyes. He never liked being at odds with his brother. Or really, he never liked when he wasn't in control of their conflict.
"I will consider it," Elijah began, "when Hayley forgives you, Gia rises from the dead, and hell freezes over."
"Oh come on, brother." Klaus feigned a joking tone. "You can't seriously still be that angry. I've done far worse than that before."
"Yes, and every time I hoped for your redemption." Elijah looked down sadly. "And you have proven time and time again there is no redemption for you."
"So that's it?" Klaus asked. "After a thousand years, you have finally given up on your relentless search for my redemption?"
"You truly do not feel remorse do you?" Elijah's face reflected the surprise he felt. He knew his brother was callous but he believed deep down he felt guilt for his actions.
"What should I feel remorse for?" Klaus demanded. "Defending my family? Saving Hayley's life? Then yes Elijah, I'm sorry I could do something you were unable to do."
"And what of Gia?" Elijah felt his anger rise to the surface. "Was her death instrumental in your master plan?"
"No, that one was personal." Klaus gave his brother a mocking smile. "So you are going to abandon your family over some girl you've known for a matter of months? You've had handkerchiefs longer than your relationship with her."
Elijah's mouth fell open at the joking nature his brother took on when discussing murdering Gia. And suddenly he was standing in a field as his brother made passing jokes about Celeste's inevitable demise.
The glass he was holding shattered in his hands as he felt the veins under his eyes come alive once again. Before Klaus could track his movements, Elijah lunged at him, throwing him into the same balcony he had forced Elijah to watch Gia's death from. Klaus fell to the ground and was instantly on his feet.
"And there it is." Klaus brushed the dirt off his jacket. "All of that anger you pretend doesn't lie just beneath the surface."
Elijah had spent centuries trying to quell his anger. Trying to suppress the parts of himself that reminded him of his father. But since his mother's torture, it was more difficult to keep that anger at bay. The anger that had been festering inside himself for a millennium.
"I have carried you for centuries, Niklaus," Elijah said calmly. "But no more."
Elijah could see he hit a nerve with Klaus. The fear of losing his brother was evident on his face.
"You want to fight?" Klaus had never seen Elijah look at him so coldly. "So be it."
With that, Elijah lunged for his brother.
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Hayley heard a loud crash come from the Mikaelson compound as she was putting Hope's bag together. Panic settled in her chest. She could only imagine what new enemy was in town to come after her family.
She looked down at her daughter who was playing happily on the floor, completely unaware of what was happening next door. Hayley listened harder, already planning to get her daughter as far away from this new threat as possible. But what she heard wasn't a new voice, but rather two very familiar ones.
She grabbed her daughter and sped over to the compound. Hoping to stop the war that was waging between the brothers, if for nothing else, than for her daughter's sake.
When she walked into the Abattoir she saw nothing but chaos. The furniture was in splinters and there were parts of the ground that had been cracked. But what drew her attention was the brothers in the center of all of it.
Their clothes were torn and they were both coated in blood from healed wounds. Elijah made a move to punch Klaus, who deflected, grabbing his arm and biting it with all of his werewolf venom.
"What the hell is going on here?" Hayley demanded, holding Hope tightly to her chest. She hoped the sight of her daughter would be enough to ease some of the tension.
"That's exactly what I was going to ask." A voice said from behind her. She whirled around, surprised she hadn't heard the woman walk up.
She took in the woman's dark hair and bright green eyes. She didn't recognize her at all but the woman had an air of familiarity standing in the Mikaelson compound. This woman radiated energy. Hayley couldn't tell what she was, but it was definitely supernatural.
"Astra." Hayley heard Elijah gasp from behind her.