A Sweet Breath Of Life
Dying wasn't painful. The before bit is the painful part. By the time people get to the dying bit, they have already been through enough pain to feel absolutely nothing. Waking up in a whole new, unrecognizable place where everything is silent yet so familiar; that brings on a whole new addition of hysteria, worry and grief. Dwelling in the unconscious state - for the second time in little under a day or two - is a combination of all of these things. This is how Eliza Petrova felt in this moment. Eliza could see nothing, hear so little; only the steady breathing of who she thought to be Niklaus, a peaceful whistle of a sweet bird sat outside the window and, most dominant of all, an annoying buzzing that had constantly been ringing since she'd fallen back into this state. Her body was still, but her shoulders gradually moved up and down every time she breathed in and out. Things felt different; her body ached, her eyes felt tired, her hearing seemed to lack strength. In fact, every part of her seemed to lack the typical power that she'd grown use to for almost a century.
There's never anything much to think about while in that dark state, as all a person can think about is that they want to wake up. Since Eliza knew she could hear something but not everything, she knew that she was slowly slipping back into reality - a world where she could no longer be scene and would have to live as a ghost forever. The feeling in her body had already returned, so in order to try and quicken the protest, she tried to move her arm to feel. As she did this, Eliza oddly felt what she thought to be a cotton tee-shirt. It had already occurred to her before that, on the other side, she wouldn't be able to feel anything. So why now could she feel something?
" Eliza..." Klaus' hopeful tone washed through her ears causing her heart to ache more than her body. The one person she'd missed most, even though the time they'd spent apart was little compared to the past. His voice, however, gave her strength to fight the pains. There was nothing more that she wished than to see Klaus again, and if that meant fighting the pain and waking on the other side to see him then that was what she'd do.
This period of being in and out of consciousness lasted longer than she hopped, but she was beginning to feel. Eliza could feel her body pressed against a familiar one and she could feel strong hands stroking her hair gently. It was a strange, tingling feeling - completely the opposite of the rough, painful feeling she'd received from Esther while dying. It was wonderful, to be able to feel again, but Eliza couldn't understand what was happening.
" Wake up for me, sweetheart..." The familiar whisper of Klaus' voice was like music to her ears. The desperation was evident in his voice and it only reminded Eliza that she would never be able to communicate with him again. Finally, though, she could feel the slight strength building up within her eyes and she managed to flutter them a little, but not open them all the way. Her lips began to move only slightly, as she tested out what parts of her body she could actually use.
" Eliza?" Strange. I didn't think he could see me... why is he saying my name when I'm moving?
" K-...Klaus?" The simple named formed on her lips and she felt her eyes fully open as she spoke his name. The bright intensity of the light hit her eyes immediately, causing a slight pain to shoot through them and squint. This was very strange since vampires didn't usually feel pain from mere light, but Eliza was now too preoccupied with why she could see Klaus' face peering over her with the most shocked yet joyful smile she'd ever seen on him before. She too was ecstatic to see him, but how was it even possible?
" You're awake," Klaus stated, as if trying to convince himself. His eyes searched her face for any sign of her falling back into unconsciousness. However, all she did was stare back at him; her eyes filled with delight, face filled with confusion.
" You...You can see me... How is this possible? Did I... Did I find peace?" Eliza questioned, a frantic edge to her delicate tone. Lifting her hand carefully, Eliza brushed her hand down the right side of Klaus' face and cupped his cheek to check if he was real. The way he leaned in and cherished her touch answered her question. Klaus was here and he could see her.
" No, sweetheart. You're very much alive..." Was Klaus' only reply, his eyes still fixated on her face.
" How? How is this even possible... I died!" Eliza exclaimed, slowly pulling herself up into a sitting position so she was sat on Klaus' lap.
" Stefan fixed Elena's mistakes and used Bonnie to save you before my mo- Esther killed you, love." Klaus replied softly, wrapping his arms around her shoulder and gradually bringing her head down to rest on his shoulder.
" Stefan? He saved me?" Eliza questioned. The thought of it brought a smile to form on her features.
" He saved you... Now you're here and safe with me," Klaus said and, again, it seemed more like he was talking to himself than her.
" Your mother... what happened to her? What about Finn too? Are they both still alive? How did you stop them?" The panic in Eliza's eyes built up almost immediately and she lifted herself up slightly so she met Klaus' eyes.
" She is not my mother anymore," Klaus eyes darkened with anger. Like before, Eliza caressed his face softly, but this time it was more to comfort him since his only family - yet again - betrayed him. " I killed her once the barrier spell was broken. Finn escaped, but don't worry Eliza because I am never going to let Finn or anyone else harm you again, not after I have lost you twice. Finn will soon die for what he did to you," Eliza frowned at the evil evident in his eyes that she hadn't seen there since she first reunited with him and he was becoming a hybrid.
" He only tried to help his family... I'm alive and safe, so please just let Finn go. Going after him will only bring more danger," Eliza said, hating the fact that his evil had already almost fully overtaken him even though she'd only been gone for a matter of a day or two.
" No! He will die for this, Eliza. He aided mother in killing you!" Klaus growled, anger flashing in his eyes. Eliza flinched and cringed in pain as Klaus' grip on her arm tightened. Usually, this wouldn't have hurt her. So why now was it causing her pain? As soon as Klaus' recognised that Eliza was in pain, his eyes softened and he released her instantly.
" Why did that hurt?" Eliza asked quietly, rolling her short sleeved top up and frowning at the bruise already forming on her arm. Vampires weren't supposed to get bruised... " What's happening to me?" Eliza looked directly into Klaus' eyes and Klaus spotted the fear radiating from them. Looking down towards the bed sheets, Klaus didn't answer for a moment.
" You're human..." Klaus replied in a quiet voice.
" Wait... what was that? I can't hear you..." Eliza said. The silence that followed cause Eliza to realise what she had just said. Why couldn't she hear him when he was only a few centimeters away? " Wait... I can't hear you... Am I... Am I human?" Klaus slowly looked up to meet her shocked, beautiful eyes.
" Yes, love. It's a downside to the spell Bonnie cast upon you," Klaus replied, watching Eliza carefully. The shock seemed to sink into her and calmly disappear while being replaced by pure happiness; delight filled her eyes and a broad smile spread across her face. Klaus frowned.
" I'm human..." She whispered, sighing in relief and taking a deep breath of the air around her. There was nothing like the feeling of being pure human. None of the good aspects of being a vampire could compare to this. Being mortal was something Eliza would trade everything in the world - besides Klaus and her family - to have, and now she had it. The only price she had to pay was to die.
" Don't worry though, love. I can change you back today without their being any trouble and we can go back to how things were before..." Klaus promised, placing a comforting, soft kiss on her lips. Oddly, he couldn't see the happiness brought to Eliza by being human again.
" What?" Eliza said with a deep frown. " No... I don't want to be a vampire again. Don't you see Nik? Being human is everything I've wanted since I first became a vampire! I never chose this, I never wanted this life. I would much rather be human..." Eliza explained and Klaus' eyes seemed to darken again.
" You never wanted this life?" Klaus questioned, anger laced in his tone. " So you would have happily died ten years ago with a different, human husband and a family than be with me now?" Eliza could tell that he was hurt by her words.
" No, Nik. You don't understand..."
" Oh I understand very clearly, love. You want a normal job, a human husband, children, a large house, everything you could never have before! Well now you can have it all... go ahead! Run away to the nearest town and find the closest human man you can lay your hands on, see if I care!" Klaus growled. The happiness that had been in Eliza's eyes died down and, instead, hurt replaced it.
" Like I said, you don't understand. Yes that is what I wanted almost a century ago! Back then I thought you were the human husband that I was going to settle down with and have children with and then my perspective changed when I found out you were a vampire. But the fact that I wanted to settle down with you, never changed Niklaus. Having children and living a normal human life hasn't been on my wish list for a long time. Being human has, however. Being human doesn't change anything! I want to be with you and that will never change,"
" I'm sorry sweetheart," Klaus apologised after a few moments, hating the fact that they had already had a small argument minutes after she'd woken up from death. " Is being human what you really want? I want you to be safe, and it is much easier to kill a human than a vampire..."
" Yes it's what I want. My safety is something that won't change whether I'm human or vampire... It might mean I have to spend more time with you though, which is always an upside," Eliza said with a smirk, but Klaus' didn't reply with the same expression. His frown only deepened and he wrapped both of his arms protectively around her very fragile body.
" I don't want to lose you again," Klaus said softly, never wanting to let her out of the safety of his arms. She smiled warmly up at him.
" I'm not going anywhere," Eliza promised, leaning forwards to seal the deal with a passionate kiss. The heated kiss lasted for a few moments with Eliza locking her arms around his neck and pulling him as close to her as possible, while Klaus tried to be more gentle that usual, not wishing to hurt her.
" Elijah was right," Klaus suddenly said as the kiss broke off.
" That's what you're thinking while we're kissing? About your brother?" Eliza teased causing both of them to chuckle.
" He was right in saying that you wouldn't want to become a vampire again. A monster," Klaus began. " It would strip you of all your goodness..."
" Vampirism doesn't have that much control over me... just like it doesn't control you, Nik." Eliza told him firmly. " Now what did I miss while I was gone?" This caused Klaus to pause and look guiltily downwards towards the bed. The silence that followed answered Eliza's question, and she stared at him for a moment, pushing away the disappointment she felt for the fact that he didn't respect her wishes.
" You went after Elena," Eliza stated in a soft tone to show she wasn't angry. Looking up, Klaus eyes met hers and he nodded. " Is she dead?"
" No. I didn't plan on killing her. Instead I planned to kill Damon and Jeremy in front of her, before Elijah arrived claiming that you were alive. I respected your wishes." Eliza nodded understandingly with a small sigh.
" Thank you..."
" After everything you went through for your family," Klaus' expression hardened at what he was about to say. " After what that... that beast did to you. I had to respect your wishes."
" I'm sorry I only told you in a letter. I would have told you before but the time never came."
" Is that beast still alive?" Klaus asked, his voice lowering.
" No. He's one of my only human kills..." Eliza said with a look of regret in her eyes, but a proud smile formed on Klaus' lips as he heard this.
" Good. He deserves to rot in hell." A short silence followed, where Klaus' only gazed at Eliza lovingly; thoughts of how lucky he was to have her back clouded his mind.
" Promise me that we will leave the people in this town alone now. We've all been through enough," Eliza said.
" Keeping that promise would unfortunately be impossible, sweetheart. After today's events I have no doubt in my mind that they will stop at nothing to rid me out of this town,"
" Then what is keeping us here? You have your family, but they can always follow... Elena is here and safe and I know she will always be protected. The only one who can fix Stefan fully is Elena and he will find me when he needs me..."
" Are you suggesting we leave?" Klaus questioned, confusion filling his voice. Hadn't Eliza wanted to build a home here? Didn't she want to be with her family and life long friend?
" Yes. So much has happened here that has brought us both misery, why stay in a place that holds so many bad memories? Why don't we just start a fresh and build our lives up somewhere else?" Eliza suggested, all so suddenly gripping onto this new idea of leaving. She no longer wanted to be haunted by the many fears and bad memories that clouded Mystic Falls. All Eliza wanted to was to explore and settle down somewhere where evil wouldn't follow.
" Where would we go?" It wasn't very often that Klaus asked all the questions, but right now he wanted to follow Eliza's wishes exactly. Anything she wanted he would grant, she deserved it.
" New Orleans. I have family there that I have wished to meet my whole life... But first I'd like to explore... places like Europe and Africa, places I have never set foot in before. The only placed I have ever seen are here in the US..." Eliza said, her eyes going wild with the fascination of learning a whole new culture and seeing all different things in places around the world. It sounded like perfection.
" Then that is what we will do, my love." Klaus answered. " New Orleans was once my home... As a matter of fact, Chicago was the first place I arrived in upon leaving. Where I met you..."
" Why did you leave?" Eliza asked.
" Mikael." Only one word was needed to answer that question, and the answer made Eliza not want Klaus to elaborate on the topic any further. Eliza didn't want to know anything further about Mikael - the less they thought about him, the less he would haunt her. Now that she was human Eliza didn't want Mikael to haunt her sleep any longer, she wanted to be rid of him for good.
" Where is Elijah and Rebekah? I think it would be best to inform them all of our moving and they'll probably be wondering whether I'm alive or not."
" That's correct, sweetheart. But first, we both know that you owe me this..." Klaus said with a mischievous smirk, swiftly pulling her forward so that their faces were inches apart, before crashing his lips onto hers passionately. The shock of it caused Eliza not to respond for a second, but it wasn't long before a pleasured smile grew on her face and she snaked her arms around his neck, allowing her fingers to curl into Klaus' soft, blonde hair. It wasn't long before the kiss became heated and Klaus' hands were under her t-shirt, resting on her bare hips while his mouth dominated hers. In the heat of the moment, Klaus began to slowly push her down so that they were resting on the bed. His body pinned Eliza's down before Klaus abruptly pulled away with a sly smirk, pushing himself up so he was only hovering over her.
" I love you," Klaus stated teasingly, before standing up from the bed and smoothing the cotton top he was wearing back down. The grip that Eliza had, had on it had crumpled it at the back.
" That's not fair!" Eliza complained like a whiny child, pushing herself off of the bed and storming out of the room with a fake pout on her face. This only caused Klaus' smirk to grow and, in a flash, he was out of the room and blocking her pathway through the corridor. A small gasp escaped her lips as she walked straight into him and Klaus quickly caught her before she fell.
" I have the advantage now, love," Klaus told Eliza, grinning wildly down at her.
" Oh please, you've always had the advantage!"
" Well I can't deny that." Klaus said while shrugging almost innocently. " Elijah and Rebekah are waiting downstairs," Holding a hand out for her, Klaus led Eliza down the stairs and through into the main sitting room where Rebekah and Elijah were both stood, waiting impatiently. A large smile formed on Rebekah's face as she spotted Eliza and small tears welled in her eyes.
" Hey." Was all Eliza said to the two of them. In a state of awe, Elijah stood gazing at Eliza as she left Klaus' side to hug Rebekah. It was pleasing for Elijah to see the smile on Klaus' face that had completely disappeared when Eliza was believed to be dead - this smile meant that his demons were being controlled rather than set free.
" Don't you ever do that again, otherwise I kill you myself!" Rebekah threatened playfully with small tears running down her cheeks.
" Well, you know me, getting attacked by Mikaelsons is kind of my thing," Eliza joked, causing them both to chuckle.
" I missed you best friend. I had no shopping partner,"
" I missed you too Bekah," Eliza said, before pulling away from Rebekah and turning to Elijah. For a moment they both just stared at each other, not really knowing what to do or say, but after moments passed, Eliza swiftly walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck. Almost instantly Elijah's arms wrapped themselves around her waist and he held her at a reasonable, friend distance away from him. He seemed quite hesitant.
" Elijah." Eliza said while hugging him.
" I am extremely glad you are alive," Elijah said softly, before abruptly pulling away from the hug. This confused Eliza as it was unusual of Elijah to act so distant with her, but taking one look at Klaus' envious expression explained everything.
" Believe it or not, I am too," Eliza said with a small smile.
" Again, I am sorry for the part you played in our mothers plot. As usual you should have never been involved," Elijah apologized calmly, wanting to run his hand down her face. However, he stopped himself quickly before doing so as Eliza was not his. Now that she was alive, the urge to show affection towards her had only grown and Klaus' jealousy had grown along with it.
" What's done is done. Now I finally have a chance to repay you for everything you've done for me,"
" You owe me nothing. It is I who is forever in your debt for tying my family back together like I could never do," Elijah said, a smile growing on his face. It was quite strange since typically only Eliza and Klaus locked themselves away in their own little bubble during their conversations, but right now she was doing the exact same thing with Elijah. Klaus watched the two with narrow eyes, resisting the urge to stand between the two and block Eliza away from his brother. Silence echoed around the room for a moment and envy seemed to radiate from Klaus as Elijah and Eliza's bubble had not yet broken. That was all before Kol strutted into the room with his signature smirk upon his face.
" I think you've forgotten someone, darling. You free to have a welcome back kiss, it's my gift to you for managing to stay alive." Kol greeted Eliza, and Eliza turned with a small smile on her face. Ever since she and Kol had, had their little connection at the Mikaelsons ball, Eliza had taken every single flirt as a joke and she found herself growing use to Kol and seeing him as a good friend. Like she did with Elijah, Eliza walked up to Kol and hugged him quickly.
" How could I have forgotten the annoying little brother," Eliza said.
" Annoying? More like charming, dashing and handsome darling. You extremely lack a good use of vocabulary."
" Well death does that to a person," Eliza replied, before moving back to Klaus' side who gladly wrapped an arm around her.
" Me and Eliza are going away for a while. Then we're all moving," Klaus announced once Eliza was back attached to his side.
" Moving?" Elijah questioned.
" Yes. Back to New Orleans, our old home," Hope seemed to flash through Rebekah's eyes as Klaus said this and Elijah seemed a little happy at least. Kol, however, seemed confused.
" Moving? When all the fun is just starting? I've already got my eye on a few sweet dinners I'd like to take, starting with that petty school boy that Rebekah took to the ball with her... Matt, I think his name is." Rebekah growled at her brother warningly.
" Leave him alone Kol, you already hurt him enough at the ball!" Rebekah snapped.
" Ooo our little sisters got a school girl crush on the hottest guy at school!" Kol exclaimed in a fake girly voice causing Rebekah to throw the nearest object at him. Easily, Kol caught the object and placed it down on the sofa. " You need to get your boyfriend to teach you how to throw, dear sister," Rebekah glared at Kol and was about to pick up another object before Klaus interrupted them both.
" Enough!" He ordered and both Mikaelsons turned to him with angry expressions. This time, though, they kept quiet.
" Why the sudden change of heart, Niklaus?" Elijah questioned, his eyes narrowing in confusion at Klaus.
" It was my idea, I have family down in New Orleans that I have yet to meet and I'm beginning to hate it here in Mystic Falls. It's filled with so many bad memories that if I stay here any longer, I'm just going to be afraid all the time. It's time for me to start a fresh. Nik failed to mention that you're all free to do what you want, but we're leaving," Eliza explained more.
" If that is your wish then I too will come. I have missed my home in New Orleans," Elijah replied.
" Well I'm not staying here, the shops are so much better in New Orleans. We'll both love it down there Eliza," Rebekah answered.
" Leaving me all on my own, whatever shall I do," Kol said with a fake sigh.
" You could always come with us," Eliza suggested.
" Exploring the world seems a much better option darling. No offence, but you're all a little too boring for me," Kol said.
" Fair enough,"
" Me and Eliza are leaving later today for europe, we'll be back in a few weeks, in which time I hope the two of you will be ready to leave," Klaus said.
" We will," Elijah responded.
" Before we leave Nik, I'm going to the Salvatore house to thank Stefan," Eliza announced, and worry instantly filled Klaus' expression.
" I'll come with you,"
" No. I need to do something alone so you won't be paranoid that I'll die every time I leave the house. Trust me, I'll be fine. I promise," Klaus stared at Eliza for a moment as if contemplating whether he would allow her to go or not. With a small sigh of defeat, Klaus nodded before kissing her softly on the forehead.
" If you're not back in an hour then I'm coming to find you love, and if you need anything then don't hesitate to call me. Stay safe for me sweetheart," Klaus said to her quite quickly, before Eliza headed out the door, smiling at everyone before she left.
It was finally time to go thank her ex best friend for saving her life. Hopefully, the old Stefan was truly back...
I know, it's been so long since I last updated! But it's summer break soon, which means lots of updates! Finally though they'll all be moving to New Orleans soon! I cannot wait to move onto the Originals story line! But there is a couple of things that need to happen first so stay tuned for more updates!
Really hope you liked this fluffy chapter! Unfortunately more troubles are going to arrive soon so enjoy this while you can! Thank you for all the continued support :)
-DareToDream