CHAPTER 17 – THE REUNION VOL.2

After the homecoming failure Rhiannon felt the burning desire to leave town for good, but there was still that slim chance that she might get Elijah back and she wasn't going to give up on him until there was absolutely no hope. Learning that the coffins with bodies of Elijah and rest of his family ended up in Stefan's hands didn't help to lift her spirits either. He's been acting like a lunatic lately and she was seriously worried about what he might do. There was no point in negotiating with him or Damon. They didn't give a damn about her or Elijah, at least not if there wasn't something in it for them.

Mystic Falls was crawling with hybrids and she did her best to avoid them or their master. She really didn't want Klaus to find out she wasn't sired to him in case he might feel obliged to find another, more terminal way to make Elijah suffer. So far it seemed like he'd lost his interest in making her life a living hell and she was hoping it would stay that way. That was one of the reasons she decided to stay out of everything that's been happening since the failed attempt of Klaus' assassination. She moved out of the Salvatore boarding house and decided to stay in a little B&B until she would find her own place. Elena tried to apologize and make her stay but she was having none of it. She was done with them. Every time she agreed to help them she got screwed over in the process. She spent her days going from one apartment to another, looking for a nice place to rent and her nights drinking through Mystic Grill's liquor supplies.

Rhiannon finally found herself a cute three bedroom apartment that was already furnished in a style that matched hers. She was headed to Salvatore boarding house to pick up the rest of her belongings and walked in on Stefan punching Damon in a jaw. That was something she longed to do since the homecoming night so she went for it.

"Auu, what the hell?" Damon winced.

"You know damned well what that's for," Rhiannon snarled. "Should've done it the minute I woke up vervained in my room! Don't worry I won't be long, just came back for the rest of my stuff."

"Right, that," Damon muttered. "What if I told you I made it right?" he asked with that bloody smirk on his face as he pulled out one of the daggers from behind his back.

"What? Did you –" Rhiannon whispered with a lump in her throat.

"Yep," Damon retorted. "Now will you forgive me?"

"I might consider it," Rhiannon quipped back trying to contain her emotions but not managing to do so completely. She walked up to Damon punching him in the face once again. "However, if you screw me or Elijah over again, I'll do something much worse than punching you. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Damon said walking over to the liquor cabinet and pouring them all a drink. "Here you look like you could use one of these."

Something was different. Elijah was once again in the middle of one of his nightmares but this time it wasn't so intense. It no longer felt like he was a part of the dream, or memory or whatever it was. It felt like he was watching it from a distance and it felt like that distance was growing bigger and bigger with every moment. And then he heard voices that didn't belong to that dream. Niklaus… and somebody else. And then he opened his eyes realizing he was in a coffin. That bastard…

He managed to get out of his casket unnoticed and tore the man's heart right out of his chest letting his lifeless body fall to the ground revealing Klaus' surprised face.

"So Niklaus," Elijah said dropping the man's heart to the ground walking towards his younger brother. Needless to say he was furious. "What have I missed?"

"Elijah," Klaus muttered, terrified.

"You look surprised to see me," Elijah stated wiping his hands off. "So it wasn't you that removed the dagger from my chest."

"You look like you could do with the drink," Klaus started. "And we have a lot to discuss so sh-shall we?"

Elijah had something different in his mind and when he finished wiping his hands clean he lunged at Klaus punching him square in the face then shoved him through the glass door.

"Easy," Klaus growled. "I just finished renovating."

The fight went on for quite a while until Klaus managed to take the dagger from Kol's heart and pinned Elijah against one of the coffins.

"Don't make me do this to you again Elijah!" Klaus snarled.

"Come on!" Elijah resped. "Use it! I dare you! Then you'll have Kol to deal with!"

That seemed to discourage him and he let go of Elijah saying: "Mikael is dead."

"What did you say?" Elijah asked ripping himself from Klaus' grasp.

"I killed him," Klaus whispered. "With his own weapon. He's gone Elijah, forever.

"Why does our family remain in these coffins?" Elijah asked pointing towards the caskets that were scattered around the room. "Finn for over nine hundred years, Kol for over a century."

"Because of Stefan Salvatore," Klaus explained. "He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things you do not know about our past Elijah. Our mother's death. Things I never wanted you to know but I'm ready to tell you now. I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me."

"What are you doing?" Elijah asked Klaus as he dipped the dagger into the ash and plunged it back into Kol's heart.

"Always and forever," Klause continued. "I need you to stand by my side. Be my brother. Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again."

He spent the whole night talking to Klaus, catching up on everything he'd missed lying in the box even though the only person he was thinking about the entire time was Rhiannon. What happened to her? Was she alright? Would she want to talk to him after what he did back then?

Rhiannon's nerves were getting the best of her as she was unpacking her things in her new apartment waiting for a phone call or something but nothing happened. She was going crazy trying to figure out why she hadn't heard from Elijah already. What if he was ashamed for betraying her back then? What if Klaus daggered him again? Or what if he didn't want to be with her now that she was a hybrid? Did he even know she was one?

She tried to dial Damon about hundred times but to no avail. She was definitely going to go insane if she kept it up so she went out for a walk to clear her head and calm her nerves. When she got back into her apartment, he was there, sitting on a bar stool drinking a glass of bourbon, looking handsome as ever. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him, muttering weakly: "Elijah."

He stood up and smiled at her sheepishly. He had no idea what to say or where to start. Was he supposed to apologize? Would she even accept his apologies? His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of her vamp-speeding towards him and before he could do anything else, she smacked him across the face with tears in her eyes, then she grabbed at the lapels of his jacket and crushed her lips against his. He was taken aback, certainly not expecting this kind of welcome after what he'd done, but recovered quickly, snaking one of his hands into her hair and the other one around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. She moaned against his lips, deepening the kiss for a moment before ending it.

"Don't ever do this to me again," she whispered hiding her face in his neck.

"I've missed you too," he mumbled lifting her head and pecking her upper lip. As she pulled away he noticed the veins under her eyes were darkened as her pupils shone in that golden-amber color and the white's of her eyes turned black. "Wait what happened? Are you a… Did my brother turn you into a hybrid?"

"I…" Rhiannon started looking down on her feet trying to free herself from Elijah's grasp. She tried to restrain her feelings but she couldn't contain the tears that started roll down her face.

"I'm so sorry Rhiannon," Elijah whispered hugging her tightly. She melted into his embrace, sobbing quietly and he tried to concentrate on her presence and on the warmth of her body against his in order to suppress the urge to feed Klaus his own insides. He will make him pay for this. "I'm sorry this happened to you."

"I'm alright," she muttered weakly, still holding onto him for dear life. "I've managed to adjust. I mean, my emotions are still all over the place as I'm sure you've noticed, but other than that, I'm alright," she said.

"I swear I will make him pay for it Rhiannon," he said leading her towards an armchair and sitting her down, he kneeled in front of her and grabbed her hands in his saying: "There's not enough words in English language for me to apologize enough times for everything that I've done and everything that happened to you because of me. I can only try to make it up to you if you let me. But if you want me gone out of your life I will leave you alone. God knows I've done enough to ruin your life. Just know that I still love you and I will do anything you want me to make it right."

"You're here, that's all that matters to me," she muttered squeezing his hands making him look up at her. "I love you and as long as you're here with me, nothing else matters."

"I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," he said grabbing her face in his hands gently and kissed her pulling her into his lap, then walked with her in his arms to the sofa. "Tonight I'll deal with Klaus, free the rest of my family and we can do anything we want to. We can go anywhere you want to."

"What?" Rhiannon asked a little confused. "Is there anything going on tonight?"

"Yes. Me Stefan and Damon are dealing with Klaus tonight. My brother believes that I've forgiven him. We're going to negotiate a fake truce while the Bennet witches open the sealed coffin," Elijah elaborated. "I want you to stay out of it. Wait for me here. I'll be back as soon as we finish this and we can leave this town together."

"I don't like it Elijah," Rhiannon started. "Please be careful. I just got you back. I don't want to lose you all over again. I'll do what you want. I'll wait for you. Just… come back to me."

"I will, I promise," he muttered and kissed her gently once more before leaving her apartment.

Rhiannon was done packing all of her thing again and wondering what was transpiring in the Mikaelson mansion at that moment and where did Elijah want to take her. She ordered some Chinese take-out, showered and was trying to distract herself watching some TV show on Netflix. It was late and she was trying hard not to panic. She fell asleep on the couch and woke up few hours later to a sensation of being carried in someone's arms. She was about to freak out when she felt Elijah's lips press against her forehead, him muttering against her hair: "Go back to sleep sweetheart. I'm here."

"You're back," she mumbled sleepily against his shoulder.

"I told you I'd be," he whispered laying her down on the bed, and then climbed on it besides her pulling the covers over them. She turned around and snuggled her head into his chest, asking sleepily: "So what happened? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I managed to free my siblings and Bonnie with her mother opened the sealed casket," Elijah elaborated stroking her hair lightly. "My mother's back."

"What?" Rhiannon cried out propping herself on her elbow: "But how? I thought Klaus ripped her heart out?"

"Well he did, but her witch friend Ayana preserved her body with a spell," Elijah said mimicking her movements. "She was Bonnie's ancestor so that's why only her and her mother were able to open up the casket and bring her back. Apparently she's drawing on their entire ancestral line for power."

"Oh wow," Rhiannon muttered. "Does anyone in this town not have crazy thousand years old ancestors?"

"I seriously doubt that," Elijah snorted in amusement.

"So what happens now?" Rhiannon asked. "I mean, she was supposed to be the thing that would destroy Klaus once and for all, wasn't she."

"Well yes," Elijah retorted playing with a loose strand of hair that was framing her face. "About that. She said she came back to forgive him and reunite our family as a whole once again. I'm not sure why but that seems a little strange to me."

"Well yea," Rhiannon muttered. "So we're staying in Mystic Falls for now I take it?"

"Yes, for the time being," Elijah sighed. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's alright," she muttered nestling her head on his chest once again. "As long as we're together."

"Oh I'm not letting you out of my sight," Elijah said kissing the top of her head. "That reminds me. I'd feel much better if you came to live with me and my family so I can keep you safe and spend as much time with you as possible."

"Really?" Rhiannon asked a little surprised but nevertheless pleased. "You want me to live with you?"

"I… of course you could pick your own room," Elijah said a little uneasy. He didn't want her to think he was pressuring her into anything. "There's plenty to choose from."

"Stop fretting Elijah," she said. She couldn't help but smile. He was so confident and gutsy most of the time so it was really rare and precious to see him so sheepish about something. "I'd love that very much. But would your family be okay with that?"

"I'm sure they'd all love to meet you," Elijah said squeezing her tight against him. "Obviously, you already know Rebekah, who by the way couldn't say enough nice things about you. Klaus, well, I'll make sure he behaves himself. The rest will be delighted to meet you I'm sure of it."

"Okay then," she muttered happily kissing him. "I like your new hair by the way," she said before finally settling in bed and falling asleep in his arms once again.

"Thank you," he retorted snuggling closer to her. "Good night sweetheart."

The next morning Rhiannon woke up in her bed alone, but in the living room on the coffee table there was a big black fancy looking box tied with a cream silk ribbon. She walked up closer to it and saw there was an envelope on top of it. She opened it and read the invitation to a ball at a Mikaelson mansion that evening. She turned the invitation around and there, written in Elijah's elegant script was a note that read:

Rhiannon,

I apologize for leaving you alone this morning but I had to pick up your dress for tonight. I hope you'll like it. I'll have a car pick you up at eight o'clock. I can't wait to see you.

Love

Elijah