My Pain to Bear
Chicago, Illinois, 1864
Astra placed the ring on a clear place on the bed and held her hands over it, looking down at the shining object and almost feeling sick as she realized that she was about to go through a lot of pain. Taking a calming breath, she closed her eyes and began to mutter in Latin, the spell still burned into her memory. At first, she didn't feel a thing in difference as the words flowed from her mouth, but a couple of moments later the warmth of blood caressed her top lip as it dripped down from her nose. She leaned forward to allow the blood to drip off of her lip and land on the comforter instead of her dress.
The spell finished with a gasp of pain as a strong burn ripped through her skull, but she refused to make any more sound than that and quickly scooped up the ring. Her step faltered for a moment on her journey to the window, but she didn't allow herself to hesitate and instead kept going until she could throw open the blinds and wait for the first flash of pain that would have told her the spell hadn't worked.
Instead, she just found herself blinking against the burning light without her skin feeling anything more than soft warmth on her skin. Smiling despite the urge she felt to run, Astra simply basked in the golden heat for a moment longer. It was only when someone further down the hall closed their door a tad too harshly that she was pulled back to the moment and spurred her into motion.
Pulling on her discarded shoes, she didn't even bother to bring her things with her but made sure that she had some money or things that she could trade for money along the way. It made things much easier to travel in a human way instead of running through the forests like a wolf. It was just like things had been back when she first left Elijah; she left everything in her life behind to start over.
Opening the unlocked door of the hotel room, she made her way toward the back entrance of the hotel where as Elijah had gone out the front. Her head continued to pulse painfully, and she hoped that the very quick simple spell wouldn't send her down into a painful fit as her last attempt of magic use had. Elijah had been able to alleviate it and she hadn't used her magic since in case it injured her. She refused to run back to Elijah, so it would either have killed her or gone away on its own.
Smiling in greeting to those that she passed so as not to draw unwanted attention, she carefully lifted her skirts enough not to trip on them in her quick stride. Moving down the carpeted stairs, she nodded to a man that stepped aside to allow her passage, her head protesting even the smallest movement. It would only get worse when she was out in the sun, she knew, but it wasn't enough to make her turn back.
Once out of the hotel, she winced as the light that assaulted her senses but didn't halt for more than a moment. She needed to get out of the town and it had to be before Elijah found out that she was gone. She stumbled briefly in her heeled shoes, holding up her hands to stop a man that moved to assist her. "I'm alright," she assured, trying to smile before continuing on. "Could you direct me to the train station?" she asked quickly.
After carefully listening to the man's direction, she rushed away from the hotel and down the road, trying to make sure not to stand out in the strains of people. The paranoia made her feel as though she was on fire; as though everyone was looking at her. Every person with brunet hair made her think that Elijah was there, coming after her. It was just like when she had first left him, running for her life through town after town until there was an entire continent between them.
She hadn't even made it half way to the train station when she was forced to stop and duck out of the way as the scent of her own blood flooded her senses, ducking into a darkened corner between buildings as of precaution. She knew that people were giving her odd looks because of her behaviour, but she was more concerned about the warm blood leaking out of her ears. It wasn't a lot, but it was going to get worse if she didn't rest herself. The use of magic was wearing on her, and she didn't know how long it would be before her nose and eyes began to bleed as well.
Could she actually make it without Elijah after performing a spell. Even as simple as it was, it was drawing on the side effects caused by warring blood.
Pulling free a handkerchief that had been wedged between her breast and the folds of her dress, she dabbed slightly at the drops of blood that were beginning to travel down the corner of her jaw. There was blood pooled in her ears, silencing the people around her as it blocked her hearing. Swallowing shakily, she pulled the once white cloth away to inspect the amount of blood that had already slipped free.
Her heart was pounding so loudly that she was fairly certain the entire street could hear it.
Taking a breath that she hoped would calm her down, Astra moved away from the corner as she tucked her handkerchief back inside of her dress, careful to fold it so that blood didn't smear everywhere and ruin the only article of clothing that she owned. Perhaps there was a possibility that she could slip back to Mystic Falls and collect some of the things that would be in storage at her home. Would Elijah expect her to head back in that direction? Since she had left all of her things in the hotel, there was a strong chance. She would just have to find somewhere to pawn off her jewellery in order to buy some new things until she was able to get her hands on more money and a place to temporarily stay.
She could see the rising smoke of the train only a short distance away and sped up quickly, carefully picking up the edges of her skirt so that she didn't end up tripping on them. Her stride was fast and long, probably drawing some attention to her when people realized that she was in such a rush. Hopefully, Elijah wasn't around the same vicinity.
Almost breaking out into a smile at the sight of the train station, Astra glided past the crowds to get to the ticket booth. Where could she go? Clearly, it was going to be a one way ticket. There was no way that she was coming back to Chicago again. Even as she got closer and closer to the booth, there was the ever present tightness in her chest of paranoia, telling her that she was going to get caught.
A hand clasping her upper arm only meters away from the booth stopped her dead heart's unneeded beating. The grip was too strong to be a human's and she didn't need to look past the dark coloured suit's shoulder to know that it was Elijah holding onto her.
"Why, Astraea?" he asked softly, almost sadly.
"You know why," she replied just as quietly, the two of them standing completely still as the humans of the town passed them by in calm, unknowing strides. "Let me go, Elijah. This will never work between us; never again."
Elijah's hand tightened a fraction on her arm as he drew her slightly closer to his body, as though that would change her mind. "I only ask for one chance, Astraea. Let me explain what I did and why I did it. That is all that I ask."
"Asking something usually means someone may decline," Astra said almost morbidly. She didn't have a choice, however. She had failed at getting away from Elijah, and he was sure to just short of chain her to his side to keep her from getting away again.
Roman Empire, Stabiae, 78 A.D.
"Where are we?" Astraea asked as she stood at the side of the boat to look toward the fast approaching shoreline. Dawn was fast claiming the sky, turning the black into a deep blue with red tingeing the horizon. She could see deep storm clouds in the distance, coming toward them from the island they were nearing.
"Stabiae," Elijah answered, "It appears that they were unaffected and would be a good place to collect supplies." His hand slipped to her lower back in a comfortable reminder that he was there for her, allowing her to lean back slightly against his hand. It was strange when she realized that Elijah really was the only person that she had in her life now. Elijah and his family.
Looking back toward the direction they had come, to Pompeii, she could no longer see the smoke in the distance. It had disappeared with the travelling that they had completed through the night, leaving the sky clear and open.
"How are you feeling?" Elijah asked carefully, interrupting her thoughts. He had been asking her the same thing constantly since the night before, making sure that she wasn't going to drop dead at any moment. She hadn't had a single coughing fit since waking up in his arms, not even the strange urge or tingle. Elijah didn't know whether to be concerned of this or not, but he was trying to blind himself from the consequences by acting as though nothing was wrong and simply enjoying Astraea's continued life.
"Normal," Astraea assured, looking up at him with a smile. Her amethyst eyes shone with life as Elijah smiled back in answer, leaning down to press a kiss against her forehead. The serene calm between them was broken when some men from the docks began calling out at the sight of their boat, standing at the very end and calling them forward. Astraea looked to Elijah in confusion. "Why are they so active about seeing us?"
"We came from the direction of Pompeii; the city is their neighbour, they must know that something has gone wrong. Perhaps we have the answers they seek."
Before long, they were docked at the small village outside of Stabiae, Nicklaus and Elijah descending from the boat while Rebekah and Astraea remained on board, the small crew that Nicklaus had hired began to tie the boat securely into place. Elijah did most of the talking, as his Latin was better than his brothers, and Astra watched sadly as horror covered the faces of the men on the dock, but she could not hear them.
"Some had family trading in Pompeii," Rebekah explained, placing a gentle hand on Astra's arm. "To avoid attention, they said that we had briefly docked there before taking off when the eruption began. If anyone asks you, you are Elijah's wife." Rebekah didn't miss the faint blush that came to Astraea's face at her words, making her smile faintly.
"My mother always wanted me to marry a wealthy man," Astraea said nostalgically. "I think that my father just liked Elijah because he could drink more than he could, but that's probably because of the differences of your family." Rebekah laughed softly as she tried to picture her brother in a drinking feud, chugging down Roman ale.
"Come on," Rebekah encouraged when Elijah turned to them and motioned for them to come down from the boat, the two women carefully lifting their skirts. Elijah was there to assist them off the ramp and onto the docks, carefully taking each of their hands. Astraea smiled when he kissed her hand once she was on her feet again, Rebekah giggling behind her while Nicklaus sighed.
"Come now, brother, you can woo your woman later," Nicklaus called as he began down the dock, getting a look from Rebekah when he ruined the moment between the two lovers. Astraea blushed strongly, but lifted herself up to press a kiss against his cheek with a smile on her lips. Elijah closed his eyes at the sensation before looping their arms together and beginning to escort her to where his siblings were waiting at the end of the dock.
Astraea could see the people were looking toward them in wonder, knowing that they had come from the city that had once been. She did her best to ignore the looks and continued on at Elijah's side, keeping quiet and her eyes forward, staring at the back of Rebekah's head in order to avoid looking around. She knew that she would see the sadness of death if she looked around.
"We will be staying in the village tonight, giving us enough time to stock the boat to leave at dawn tomorrow," Elijah explained, clearly trying to distract her from her thoughts. She had ben gripping his arm tightly without even noticing.
Suddenly, a wrenching pain speared through Astraea's abdomen, causing her to gasp and caused her to bend over slightly, her hand landing on her pained stomach. Elijah's free hand shot out to catch her shoulder in preparation of her falling, but she simply remained bent in pain as she tried to wait out the pain. Rebekah and Nicklaus had turned back and were watching Astraea with concern in their eyes, though well hidden in Nicklaus.
"Astraea? What is wrong? What hurts?" Elijah asked quietly, his hand moving down to where her own was covering her stomach. It was an action he had seen woman do when pregnant, but he knew that this was not the case for her.
"I do not know…my stomach just-ah!" she cut off her words with another gasp and cringe, clenching her teeth in pain. Elijah carefully wrapped an arm around her waist and escorted her to the side, where there was a small set of steps that led up into one of the small buildings near the waterfront. Rebekah rushed over to join them, softly brushing the other woman's hair back.
"Could it be some kind of side effect?" she asked in worry, looking to her elder brother. Elijah didn't have any answers for her, however, and only ended up looking down at Astraea with a lost, desperate look. Before long she started to relax against him, though, and leaned her cheek against Rebekah's hand.
"When was the last time you ate?" Nicklaus asked from behind Rebekah. "It could simply be that your body is in need of nutrients, especially after what happened to you."
"You did not eat yesterday, did you?" Elijah asked, looking down at her. She frowned in thought, trying to remember the day that she had died, before shaking her head. She had been asleep up until the screaming of the citizens, and then things were too chaotic to even think of eating something.
"It would have been around noon the day before," she finally answered, looking up to meet Elijah's soft brown eyes.
"We'll get you some food soon, then. It's a wonder that you're even walking!" Rebekah declared, rising back to her feet. She was getting better with her Latin from being around Astraea and Elijah when they were speaking in the heavily accented language, but she still faltered in certain areas that she had to be corrected in calmly.
"Thank you," Astraea said faintly, offering a tired smile from where she leaned again Elijah.
I didn't die, I swear. Nor did this story, it is going to be continued. I'm sorry, I know that a lot of you are wondering why there hasn't been any updates, but I honestly haven't had time. My life's been chaotic right now, so I'm trying to fit in some time to type whenever I can. It took a while, but I've gotten this chapter finished and I'm working on the next one.
Chapter 46 – The Song of the Storm
"What can I do about it, I don't know what's wrong with her," Elena stuttered out, looking away from Luka and over to where her aunt and friends were sitting at the bar, thinking that Elena had gone to take a call.
"We know what's wrong with her and we know how to fix it," Luka explained, "But we need Elijah. Without him, she's slowly going to die. You need to understand, Elena, that I cannot just give up on her and let her die because of me. And because of Damon."
"And I can't just let Elijah go; he's going to kill them and he's going to take me away-"
"Elijah loves Astra more than anything out there; he would give up his attempts to take Klaus's life in a heartbeat if Astra's asked it. If you free her and save her life, do you really think he'll threaten your or your loved ones?" Luka asked in a desperate voice. "Please, Elena, just think it over tonight."