A.N. - I'm sorry it took me a little longer to upload this chapter - honestly,I'm just lazy. Anyhow, I want to continue getting further into Belle's past and the romance. I'd love to get more reviews, so please leave one with any comments. (no flames) thanks :)
Song: Charlotte Martin - Complications
She forced her heavy eyelids open. The first thing she saw was the familiar pale ceiling of her old room at the compound. Was she dead? Was this her so called peace?
Glancing down, she saw that she was still wearing the same bloodied clothes from the night she was attacked. The blood was no longer red, but a rusty-brown color. She looked around the room in curiosity. Her expression hardened when her eyes met Klaus's. He sat in a chair across from the bed she was lying on with an amused expression painted on his face. She groaned. "Am I in hell?"
He rolled his eyes. "No. You have me to thank for that." He stood up as he spoke, walking over to her with his hands folded behind his back. He looked at her expectantly.
"You saved me?" She shook her head as she tried to make sense of everything. "What changed your mind?"
He stared back at her, trying to mask his emotions. It didn't work - she saw right through him. "What do you mean?" he asked flatly.
She rolled her eyes, knowing he knew exactly what she meant. "Not 24 hours ago you practically left me for dead when you refused to pick up your damn phone and then you suddenly had a change of heart and decided to be the good guy. Why?" She raised an eyebrow as she watched his mind work.
He folded his hands together, flexing his fingers. "I feel that death would be too harsh of a punishment for you." She couldn't ignore the anger in his voice. Granted, Klaus was usually angry, but never really at her.
That upset her, but she tried to ignore it, thinking that would make the pit in her stomach go away. "Punishment? Yeah, I'm sure." She smirked at him, trying to lighten the mood; his eyes softened a little. She sat up and stretched her stiff and slightly numb limbs, feeling like she had been asleep for days. "How long have I been out?"
"Two days."
She laughed under her breath. "Wonderful." She looked down at her bloody clothes again, noticing faint blood stains on her palms as well. "I should get cleaned up." She moved to the side of the bed and pushed herself up. She suddenly felt extremely weak and light-headed. As soon as her feet hit the floor she nearly collapsed. Thankfully, Klaus was quick to catch her.
"You need to feed." He reached for a blood bag that was on the night stand. She took it carefully in her hands - it was about room temperature. She smiled, realizing that he must have been waiting for her to wake up for a few hours, at least.
Instinctively, she uncapped the bag and drained it in seconds. She hadn't expected to be so hungry. When it was empty she put it down, wiping away the blood on her face with the back of her hand. She looked up at him; a hint of embarrassment flashed across her face. "Thanks." She pulled away from his grip and walked towards the bathroom. She lingered in the doorway for a moment, turning back to him. "Are we okay now?" She was unsure if she really wanted to know the answer.
His lips parted for a fraction of a second, like the answer he sought was just on the tip of his tongue. "Perhaps." That made her uneasy. He was the only relatively stable thing in her life at the time; she couldn't lose him. Without another word, he turned and walked out.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, a damp towel wrapped around her body, she discovered a pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt in a neat stack at the foot of the bed. She picked them up and sniffed them cautiously; they smelled faintly of Hayley, probably some of the things she could no longer fit from the pregnancy.
Once she was dressed, she turned to check herself in the mirror above the dresser. The sleeves of the shirt were awkwardly long and she had to fold the hem of the jeans three times before she could walk properly. She frowned a little, feeling like the a kid whose mom made them to wear their older cousin's hand-me-downs. She wasn't in a position to be finicky, so she didn't complain. After a few minor adjustments, she decided to head downstairs in search of a drink.
It didn't take long until she discovered the treasure chest of liquor in the Mikaelsons' kitchen. She eyed the dozens of bottles with a hint of disdain, trying to find exactly what she wanted. Eventually she settled on a 175 year old bottle of wine that had a name even she struggled to pronounce.
With the bottle in one hand, she used the other to try to grab a wine glass from the top shelf; someone must have moved them so they were out of her reach. "Damn these T-Rex arms." she muttered. She was up on her tip-toes when she lost her balance - thankfully, someone caught her. "Elijah." She turned around to face him. "My knight in Calvin Klein."
He scoffed, reaching past her to grab a wine glass from the shelf. "It's Armani, actually." He brought the glass down to her level and handed it to her by the stem.
She took it from him and placed it on the granite countertop before she began rummaging through the drawers in pursuit of a corkscrew. "I'm guessing you didn't come in here to bicker about your pompous fashion sense. You want something; what is it?" She glanced at him over her shoulder before continuing to search the drawers.
Elijah reached into the drawer to his right and pulled out a corkscrew like he was magician pulling a rabbit from a top-hat. He clutched it between his thumb and index finger as he passed it to her. "You've always been rather intuitive. Surely you already know what I want to ask you."
She rolled her eyes as she took the cork out of the bottle. "I'm not a mind-reader, Elijah. But, I think I have a good idea. I'm guessing it has something to do with Charlotte and why she's here." She poured the wine into her glass and turned to face him, holding it lightly in her fingers.
"You know more about her intentions than anyone else in this city, so please enlighten me." He locked his eyes on hers.
She brought the glass to her lips and took a sip, waiting a few seconds before replying. "I wish I knew. From what I can tell her only goal is to ruin my life even more than she already has." She noted his confused expression and elaborated. "She's my sire. Because of her, I murdered my parents and siblings when I first turned, aside from Max obviously, and then, being the sadistic bitch she is, she killed my daughter." She took another sip of her wine as she watched Elijah process everything she had just told him; they had never been close so he didn't know very much about her. Belle honestly didn't even remember if she had told him that she had even had a daughter.
"That's..." he trailed off, at a loss for words.
"Really fucked up?" she suggested. "I'm well aware of that. Anyway, I'm going to continue to pursue her until one of us is dead. It's not your problem."
Elijah opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a syllable out Hayley walked into the room. "Elijah,"
He turned around quickly, like it was an instinct. "Yes?" Belle saw the clear devotion in his eyes when he looked at Hayley.
"Klaus wants to talk to you," she said, drumming her fingers on the wall next to her.
He nodded. "Thank you. I'll speak with him in a moment." A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips - Hayley's lips did the same. Hayley cleared her throat as if to break the tension before she turned and walked away.
When Elijah returned his gaze to Belle she was blatantly smirking. "Is something amusing?"
"Your ignorance." She wagged her eyebrows, taunting him. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"
Caught off guard, he seemed to search his thoughts for an excuse or a quick lie. "I don't know what you're,"
"You are in denial, I get it. You're in love with the mother of your unborn niece or nephew and you don't want Klaus or anyone else to know because you feel guilty." She waved her hand in his direction dismissively. "Relax, I'll keep your secret between the two of us." Despite her seemingly careless attitude to the subject, she really did sympathize with Elijah.
"It's only fair, seeing as I've kept yours for centuries. Although, it's not much of a secret." He kept his voice low, emphasizing the secrecy.
She raised an eyebrow in questioning. "You've been keeping what a secret?" She feared that she had said something to him years before, whether drunk or sober, and forgotten about it; it was impossible to keep up with every conversation she had ever had over the course of her life.
"You're in love with Klaus." He wasn't arrogant about it, just honest.
Elijah had always sought Klaus's redemption, using any positive thing in his life to bring back what humanity he had left. Perhaps Elijah saw her feelings for Klaus as another way to mend him.
Belle stared at him in disbelief. She had always though her feelings had been well hidden - now she knew how wrong she really was. Her mind swirled like a tornado, distraught at the thought of anyone else knowing of her secret. She couldn't even begin to imagine what to say to Klaus if he knew - she couldn't even think of what to say to Elijah.
So, she did what any rational girl would do: she took her wine and fled the room like it was on fire and made her way to one of the upstairs balconies, maybe the roof. She had to distract herself from the thoughts that gnawed at her subconscious, trying desperately to break free. She wouldn't allow them to. If she admitted it to herself completely then she would no longer be able to live in the precious bubble of denial she had been in for so long. She wasn't sure if she or Klaus could handle the truth.