Chapter III: Regret

I reluctantly decided to drive straight back to my house. I wouldn't be surprised to see either Stefan or Damon when I arrived home…or … Elijah? I frowned at the sight of the sharply dressed Original. Know, he was not who I was expecting to see. All of this stress had made me forget, just for a moment, about all of the Klaus drama. I could only hope one good thing had come from this whole situation and that Klaus finally was gone for good.

I stopped the car, slowly sliding out of my seat as Elijah stared directly at me. The look of sorrow on his face had me thinking that he had not dropped by for a social call.

I closed the car door slowly, leaning against the metal vehicle, still confused as to why he was here. I just stared, trying to understand his penetrating look. One moment I was staring at him and then the next he was right in front of my face, like he'd always been there, searching my eyes for... something.

"I'm sorry," Elijah said slowly, almost testing how the words sounded on his tongue. Now, I was even more bewildered, what was he apologizing for? Did something happen when I was dead for those few hours? Why was he apologizing, he had done nothing wrong. Well, I didn't think he had.

"F-for what?" I questioned warily.

"That what I did has to lead to this." He made a sweeping motion with his hand towards my body. Me? My frown mirrored my confusion as he continued. "I had to save Klaus in order to save my family. I never wanted to break my word to you."

That's when everything came together, what Damon had told me earlier. The something I hadn't been paying attention to. 'Klaus is still out there and he thinks you are dead and now that you're not, I have no focus of letting you out of my sight.' My GOD. "What…you saved him?!"

"I had no choice," he murmured regretfully. "He knows where my family are…I thought that they all died but it seems that that's not true. It was all just a lie. He gave me his word."

I had nothing to say, I couldn't believe what he was telling me. Why did this have to happen now, out of all days?. I just stared at him, rage coursing through my body and igniting my nerve endings. "I can't believe you saved him after everything that he's done. I mean, how do you even know if he's telling the truth?

"He gave me his word."

I could do nothing but roll my eyes at that. "Since you keep your word all the time that means every other vampire in the world does the same? Oh and by the way, you just broke yours. So giving someone 'your word' obviously isn't that important or consequential anymore."

"Maybe not," he conceded, "But it is in my family. Giving our word is really important to us. It's a promise. "

"Well, you broke your word very easily then, right?" I reminded him again, as I continued, too far gone with anger to stop.

"So, what makes you think that a vampire, actually a hybrid like Klaus wouldn't do the same? You know... I really don't care. My Aunt died today…now, I know that she basically died in vain. For nothing."

I could feel a tear sliding down my cheek but I didn't want to remove it. It was my last day in the world, what was the point of concealing my emotions anymore. I just let my head hang down in distress; it was too much for me to have to deal with in so little time. I suddenly felt a hand wiping away a tear from my eye but it wasn't a romantic gesture. It just felt like someone who pitied me and wanted to take my pain away. It surprised me that I didn't pull his hand away, instead I just let it happen. I looked up to him for a brief second and it seemed that he was just as surprised by the gesture himself. He slowly moved his hand away, offering me a look of sheer regret.

"I'm supposed to become a vampire." I blurted out.
I just needed to tell someone that, to makes this day feel less real.

Elijah simply nodded and said, "I know."

"…but I won't."

"I know."

"So, after your brother gives you the supposed location, then what?" I was curious, as I had every right to be.

"Then, I'll kill him." I wish it were that simple, I just didn't know if Elijah was capable of killing his brother.

"Why am I supposed to believe you now, after everything that has just occurred?"

"I keep my word. If I make a deal, I keep a deal. I just need to find out where my family is," he said flatly.

I rolled my eyes at that, did he forget that he broke his word to me? I didn't feel like arguing with a one-thousand year old vampire who could rip my heart out in a millisecond whenever he got angry so, I just ignored that little voice inside my head that was telling me to challenge him.

"I guess I won't be around long enough to ever know…" I trailed off. Elijah's brown eyes changed from utterly emotionless back to that all encompassing sadness that I had seen in his eyes not that long ago.

"I can save you," he suggested, tilting his head in silent question.

"I know you can," I acquiesced, " but I don't want to be saved." My own revelation hit me like a thunderstorm and suddenly, everything became so real. It was no longer just a suggestion, but, in actuality, a fact. If I had to live in a world like this for eternity, then I don't think it's something I would want to do… I don't know if it's something I could do. "Everything happens for a reason, right?I've escaped death many more times before this, maybe this is just meant to be." I felt the tears sting my eyes until one, solitary tear fell down from my eye again, leaving a wet trail down the olive skin of my cheek. The droplet wobbled at my chin until, finally, it felt into the air and crashed onto the pavement, a dark gray splatter the only remnant of my tear. I felt my throat tighten, a lump forming when I swallowed and I knew then that I was getting emotional again. I just couldn't control it.

Elijah stared at her unrelentingly. "Damon….he'll try to do something reckless. You do know that, right?"

I did know that. He would just have to deal with it, it was his fault I was even in this situation to begin with…well, and the fact that no one had arrived quickly enough to stop Klaus from draining me of my blood.

"I know, that's why I'm asking you for a favor."

"Another negotiation," he smiled tenderly, almost reminiscently.

"You could say that. I'll forget everything that you've done. I'll forget that you saved Klaus and you went back on your word if you can simply just keep Damon away from me. He knows what I'm becoming and I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to get me to feed and I just can't…I can't do it. I don't want to become a vicious killer."

"I can do that," he nodded. "You know Damon's only doing it because…"

"He loves me, yeah tell me something I haven't heard before.." I was stopped in mid-sentence by my own cough as my throat started to burn again. I coughed again, although the rasp didn't disappear. My lungs, they felt like they were on fire. I felt Elijah put his hands on my arms, gently coaxing me through it all. Trying to cool me off, I assumed.

"The pain, it hurts so bad. It keeps coming off and on-," I trailed off, tears beginning to stream down my face as I desperately gasped for air. I needed…I needed something to eat.

"I hate to see you in so much pain," he murmured softly, brushing a stray lock of hair from my face. That was a shocking discovery. Why did he hate it? It wasn't like I was something important to him.

"You confuse me." I said with a small laugh as my coughing finally died down. I still felt Elijah's hands on my arms, keeping me steady as I finally decided to look up at him. He looked truly worried for me and that surprised me.

Elijah finally decided to say something, "Do you need me to.."

"No, I can walk. It's only a few feet." I didn't need to be carried and I most certainly did not need to be treated like an invalid. "I left there because it held too many memories but I need to go like that, surrounded by all of my memories." Suddenly I was curious, so I had to ask. "What brought you here?"

"Captivation…" he waited a moment, carefully choosing his next words as he continued, "understanding. I made a choice, Elena. One that might be wrong or right but I couldn't deal with the fact that you were hurt in the progress. If I could have saved Jenna, I would have. I should have…" His sentence was interrupted by my coughing again. The cough hurt my throat, it was like something was being unleashed from it, scraping my esophagus raw. It had become clear to me that it wouldn't go away anytime soon, not unless I fed and I'd rather deal with the pain than hurt an innocent human being.

I felt my body getting weaker and weaker by the second and I knew that this was the beginning of the end.