I'll Take It All Away

Mystic Falls, Virginia, 1864

Astra didn't even need to say anything to Katherine to have the younger woman nearly trembling in fear, all she did was stand in the doorway of the guest room that Katherine would be occupying at her home to block the only exit besides the window and the woman was paling. Katherine seemed to be in a flight state at the moment, giving Astra a euphoric high at the feeling of being a predator once again.

"You are pushing my limits, Katherine," Astra finally said, her voice causing the other woman to tense up once more. "That is a very bad place to be."

"I told you already, I will have them both," Katherine said in fake bravado, trying her best not to cower away from the elder. Astra sucked her teeth in annoyance, feeling the need to maim the woman in order to get her point across. She did not enjoy violence, but she would enjoy removing the threat that had fallen over her head without any problem.

"And I warned you already that Damon is not to be bothered by you," Astra said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. "You see, I am very possessive, it's in my nature. Not only will I be rightly angered with your actions, but I will also feel the need to protect my property. Damon is mine. Should you continue your advances, we are going to be doing much more than just talking."

"I am not afraid of you," Katherine said with challenge in her words, causing Astra to throw her head back and laugh.

"I can practically smell your fear!" She laughed, crossing her arms before her chest in an imposing manner. "You know that I can easily kill you, that's why you've never made a forward advance toward Damon while I was present. I can very easily remove your head while he's not looking and no one would be the wiser," Astra replied back in a calmer voice. "However, I suppose I can't kill you."

"Protecting Stefan now, too, are we?"

"No, although it would hurt him for you to die," Astra replied back as she stepped back toward the doors, turning her back to Katherine but keeping a keen ear on her encase she made a movement. "However, Elijah and Klaus will want to know exactly where you are, and would be most upset to find you dead."

Katherine suddenly appeared before Astra, looking both frightened and angered.

"You lie!"

"I do not," Astra snapped back. "Elijah is my maker, just as I know that Rose is your own. I know all about you, Katarina. Take heed of my warning that if you do not desist with you advances on my fiancé then I will bring hell to this town and to your life. You don't know fear, you don't know pain, until you've met Niklaus after you've crossed him. You think that it was bad when he killed your family? Wait until he makes you relive their torture day after day," Astra said in a low voice, stepping around Katherine to stand behind her and whisper in her ear. The smaller woman was beginning to tremble as she listened to her words, her eyes wide with fear.

Astra was not fond of lying, but she would if she was trying to protect someone that she loved. She would not bring that hell down upon herself and the town that she had come to adore, but she would all she needed to do was to make Katherine believe that she was speaking true.

"I have spent many centuries with the brothers; I know exactly what they are like. Believe me when I tell you that you would have been better off letting yourself die," She finished quietly. Katherine was silent as she looked down at the rug at the end of the bed in the room that she had been given, feeling the presence of the vampire behind her.

"If I back off of my advances to Damon, will you keep my presence here a secret?" Katherine finally asked quietly a moment later, looking over her shoulder. She hated giving up so easily, she hated giving in to a woman that looked weaker than her. But she was not a fool, she had been fighting for her live for four hundred years, she would not let herself die over a simply human man. Astra regarded the woman before her, before she let out a sigh.

"You have my word that they will know nothing as long as you keep to your own promises." Katherine nodded her head, watching as Astra looked at her with intense violet eyes before turning to leave the room again. She paused with her hand on the handle, turning look at the doppelgänger over her shoulder. "Should Stefan come to harm, by fang or otherwise, the same rules apply. He is to be my brother in law, and I care deeply for him."

Katherine glared at the blonde as she finally opened the door, her long blue skirts shuffling along the floor. They had to spend the next two days together and Katherine knew that it would be spent in tense silence, both of the vampires wishing to be out of the presence of the other. Astra carried an air of superiority around her that not even Katherine could match, causing the woman to wonder just how much older she was than her.

"Keep your word, Katarina, and I will keep mine."

Pompeii, Roman Empire, 78 A.D.

Astraea didn't need to look behind her to see that Elijah was still sitting near her window, the place that he had claimed after he had ordered her to go to sleep and get her needed rest. She had begun to doze off but was awoken when her chest began to itch and constrict. She tried to clear her throat to get the agitation to go away, but when that didn't work she had been forced to cough softly into her hand. When she looked at her palm in the pale light that her fireplace provided she was unable to see any blood, which she was relieved to see.

A soft hand on her forehead caused her to jump against her will, her body jerking beneath the sheets of her bed. She looked up to see that Elijah stood of her, his face drawn into a frown. His skin was still chilled against her skin, something that she admitted felt relieving at the moment. He turned his hand over and placed the back of his palm against her forehead.

"You have the fever," He whispered suddenly, kneeling down beside her bed so that they were at a closer level and he didn't need to hunch over.

"I'm fine," She did her best to assure, still confused over her feelings toward him at the present moment. "It happens from time to time," she explained easily, hoping that he would move back to the chair and let her try to get more rest.

"The fever alone can kill you, Astraea. If it continues to become worse-"

"Elijah," She interrupted fluidly.

"Please, Astraea, take my blood and let me help you," He begged softly, his hand lowered from her forehead to caress his knuckles along her cheek. She felt her heart constrict at the sound of his voice and wished that she could reach out to him, to comfort him, but she didn't know how to go about such a thing.

"Your blood did not heal me last time, Elijah, why would it work this time?"

Elijah drew his hand back from her cheek and let his head fall to rest in the crook of her elbow, his breath ghosting over her skin. Astra tensed, unsure of what to do. This new side of Elijah confused her and left her unsure of herself. She preferred the neutral and stoic Elijah that she had come to know. At least then she understood him more and was able to respond properly.

"At the most it will help you for a short while, but I know now that I cannot promise you your life," Elijah whispered against her skin.

Astraea took a deep breath to calm her sleep deprived mind and rolled onto her side so that she could face him fully, hesitating a moment before she laid her hand down on his head. His hair was smooth beneath her fingers, a familiar feeling in a world of confusion. Leaning down slowly, Elijah's forehead still resting against her arm, she placed a soft kiss against his hair.

"I have already accepted my fate, Elijah," She said softly, "Please, let me go."

"Just let me take the pain away."

Astraea truly wanted to say yes to him, to allow him to take all of her hurt and pain and destroy it, but she knew that it would never last. She would be in agony all over again once the healing effects of blood wore off and she was ill once more. But some offers can only be given so many times before they disappear and she didn't want this one to be snatched away from her while she had the chance to live a normal life for at least a short while.

"Alright," She agreed quietly. Elijah head lifted quickly, his dark eyes meeting her light ones. The firelight bronzed both of their skin, giving a more golden look to Astraea's eyes. "Alright," she repeated as she offered a choked smile.

Elijah moved with slow precision, taking up the space at the edge of Astraea's bed while she sat up. She watched him carefully as he moved to lean against the wall at the head of the bed, pulling her closer with a gentle grip. She didn't fight against him this time but allowed him to guide her as he pleased. She was soon resting with her back against one side of his chest, his arm rounding around her neck so that he could tear open his wrist.

She glanced over to watch as he bit into his skin, feeling her heartbeat increase at the image that met her eyes. His demonic eyes met her violet ones as his inhuman canines bit down into his own flesh, tearing open the once perfect skin on his wrist for the second time in her presence. She couldn't pull her eyes away from the sight of the blood as it bloomed on his wrist. She watched it flow out of the open wound as he moved his wrist to hold it before her lips.

"Drink," He commanded gently, watching her carefully. She continued to stare at the bloody injury for a moment before she lowered her lips to the wound, her tongue lapping at the torn flesh. Elijah hissed softly at the feel, the sound causing Astraea to tense up. He lifted his free hand to run through her hair soothingly, not wanting to frighten her. She relaxed after a moment and began to swallow the blood that pooled in her mouth, the movement of her throat drawing Elijah's attention. He forced himself to look away from her perfect neck, instead, looking to where she was gently cradling his wrist to her mouth.

He gave her more blood than necessary, hoping that it would help more if he gave her a greater amount. She didn't protest when he re-bit his healed injury and held it to her mouth again, her actions more bold the second time. She closed her eyes as she sucked on his wrist, swallowing the strange tasting blood as it filled her mouth. She must have taking in half his blood before he finally pulled his wrist away and let the injury heal itself, looking to her face. She was already gaining back her natural colour and he could feel the fever beginning to die down.

"Thank you," He whispered against her hair as he drew her up against his person. "Sleep now." Astraea nodded her head, already beginning to doze, and leaned against him more heavily. He wrapped both of his arms around her and held her close against him, listening to her heart as it calmed inside her chest, her resting heart-rate returning as sleep consumed her. He gently wiped his thumb across her lips to clear away the remaining blood, his lips pressing against her temple in a gentle kiss.