A/N: I´m back! Sorry for the long wait, but I've had a hectic couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy this update. Feedback is welcomed :)
CHAPTER 20 – THE RECKONING
Elijah and Rhiannon were walking, really almost jogging, through the town square and she was trying her best not to burst into tears, the sheer panic at the thought of losing him was absolutely overwhelming.
"Damn it!" Elijah muttered putting his phone back into the inside pocket of his coat. "Klaus is not picking up his phone. We have to find him."
"Didn't you say he went out with Kol? Maybe we should try Mystic Grill. Elijah wait!" Rhiannon said grabbing his hand, making him stop. He looked at her, confused but then saw her eyes were filled with tears. She didn't say a word, just hugged him fiercely letting a few strangled sobs escape. He hugged her back, stroking her hair muttering: "It's okay sweetheart. It's going to be okay." He whispered with and optimism he himself didn't feel. He felt a tear run down his face. He was absolutely terrified. He wasn't afraid of dying. He wasn't ready to leave her. He never would be.
"I love you," she whispered letting him go. He was about to place a chaste kiss on her forehead when he felt the all too familiar sting in his heart and started to slump to the ground. Confused he looked up to see Rhiannon's face, freaked out and crying hysterically.
"Elijah!" she screamed. "No, no, no, no, no, no….. NO! This can't be happening! Please!"
She just kneeled beside Elijah and sobbed hysterically. This couldn't be it, she thought. The moon isn't full yet. Just as she started to realize that, she saw Elijah wake up and come back to life. She hugged him so tight she was sure she'd squeeze his eyeballs out of his skull, and he reciprocated. "You scared the shit out of me," she muttered weakly.
"I'm sorry love," he whispered kissing her forehead lightly. "C'mon, we have to go."
"Leave him!" Elijah called out sternly from the top of the stairs. "We still need him Niklaus."
"What did mother do?" Klaus asked. "What did you do Elijah?"
Elijah went down, holding Rhiannon's hand in one hand, and his cell phone in another, saying: "You tell me where the witches are or I'll have my sister kill Elena right now."
"You told me he had until after nine!" Damon objected.
"Yea that was before you tried to screw us over again!" Rhiannon spat out venomously.
"That, and I'm sure Rebekah will be more than happy to start her work early," Elijah added viciously.
"My sons," Esther said calmly. "Come forward."
"Stay beside me," Finn muttered.
"It's okay. They can't enter," she retorted grabbing her eldest son's hand. Alright, bitch's batshit crazy, Rhiannon though to herself as she walked forward beside Elijah and his brothers. The plan was to stall her while Stefan and Damon took care of the witch problem. There was no way they would let Elena die, she said to herself reassuringly. It will be alright.
Kol tried to come closer but he couldn't get through the salt circle. "That's lovely. We're stuck out here while the favorite son plays sacrificial lamb. How pathetic you are Finn."
"Be quiet Kol," Esther rebuked. "Your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine."
"Whatever you think of us, killing your own children would be an atrocity." Elijah said in a voice so cold it made chills run down Rhiannon's spine making her hope she would never be at a receiving end of his cold hard glare.
"My only regret is that I did not let you die thousand years ago," Esther retorted.
"Enough," Klaus cut in with his typical bravado. "All this talk is boring me. End this now mother, or I'll send you back to hell."
"Yea, empty threats, that's really gonna help," Rhiannon muttered to herself.
"Remind me again why exactly you are here?!" Klaus snapped at her.
"I'm trying to save Elijah and your sorry ass!" Rhiannon bit back, having trouble to keep her temper at bay.
"For a thousand years I've been forced to watch you," Esther started, completely ignoring the exchange between Klaus and Rhiannon. "Felt the pain of every victim. Suffered while you shed blood. Even you Elijah, with your claim of nobility, you're no better. All of you. You're a curse on this Earth, stretched out over generations. If you've come to plead for your lives I'm sorry. You've wasted your time."
"How can you hate your children so much?!" Rhiannon called out, freeing herself from Elijah's grasp and stepping forward. "You did this to them! You forced this upon them! Everything they've done is on you! This fucked up revenge fantasy won't accomplish anything! It won't undo anything! Please! Don't do this! Don't kill them! Don't kill him!" she pleaded looking back at Elijah with tears in her eyes. She knew Salvatore boys will take care of the problem, and she was pretty much putting up the best show of her life in order to stall their loony witch-bitch of a mother, but still she couldn't help to feel a fraction of fear. What if something goes wrong and she would be able to finish her spell?
"You must be Rhiannon," Esther said conversationally as if she wasn't in the middle of the attempt to obliterate her children from the face of Earth. "You should know better than this. Your ancestor was a powerful witch who was very much against the evil I created thousand years ago. Tonight I'm fixing my mistake. Your pleas are futile."
Rhiannon shot the woman one last disgusted look and then ran to hide in Elijah's arms. "What are we going to do?" she muttered weakly.
"It's going to be alright sweetheart," Elijah whispered looking at his brothers.
"No!" Esther whispered. "Sisters! Do not abandon me!" she yelled as the ground started to shake and flames from the torches flared up high making them all back up, Elijah shielding Rhiannon from the fire with his jacket. And then it was over. The flames died and Esther and Finn were gone.
"We made it," Rhiannon whispered in shock. "We made it Elijah!" she said and kissed him passionately. He reciprocated although she could feel he didn't put his usual passion behind the kiss. She knew his mind was troubled.
"Let's get out of here," he muttered and led her away from the witch house. Half-hour later, they were pulling up before the mansion. Elijah didn't say a word throughout the whole drive. Rhiannon wasn't sure if it was because of Klaus and Kol lurking in the back seat of Elijah's car, or because he was hurt.
"Are you alright Elijah?" Rhiannon asked carefully once they got into his room. He didn't say anything, just shrugged out of his coat and suit jacket, walking up to the window and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. "Elijah? Baby?" she never used a pet name for him before. That caught his attention. He turned around looking at her, still silent.
"I'm so sorry about your mother Elijah," Rhiannon muttered and hugged him lightly. He twined his arms around her finally saying: "I have no mother. We have no mother. Only Esther, and Esther was right."
"What are you talking about Elijah?" she asked, leaning away from him too look him in the eyes.
"Of my talk of virtue," Elijah clarified. "When it suits my needs I kill, mangle and torment. Even today I terrorized and innocent."
"I hope you're not talking about Elena, because she's hardly innocent," Rhiannon almost growled. "She deliberately lied to you about Esther's intentions and let you knowingly walk into a trap! They are no better than any of us! They also do whatever they please, no matter what it costs people around them! You can't let what Esther said get to you. You are not a monster Elijah!"
Why do you always have to defend me?!" Elijah yelled, clearly frustrated, stepping away and turning his back on her, sighing heavily letting his head drop down. She could feel the hurt and old insecurities radiate off of him in waves and she didn't have the first clue on how to fix it.
"Because I love you, you idiot," she said inching towards him. She placed her hand on his shoulder forcing him to turn around to look at her. He didn't have enough time to recover from the shock of her calling him an idiot. He closed the distance between them in seconds and kissed her so passionately, he almost toppled them over to the ground.
"I love you too Rhiannon," he muttered once they finally broke the kiss. "You know… since the bug happy family reunion is over, I'm thinking we should revisit our plans to get the hell out of this town. What do you think?"
"It's like you're in my head," she joked trying to lighten the mood. "Where would we go?"
"How do you feel about Switzerland?" Elijah asked still not letting her go, stroking her face with his thumb lightly. "We're gonna have to retrieve Esther's grimoar from the safe deposit, so we can find the spell she used to link us. Then we can work on reversing the process."
"Sounds like a plan," she muttered happily. "I really doubt this was Esther's last attempt of quintuple infanticide."
"You know infanticide only applies to newborn children right?" Elijah said. "I'm not exactly me and my siblings belong to that category."
"Smartass," Rhiannon muttered playfully, pecking his lips lightly. "Are you okay though? You know you can talk to me right?"
"I know sweetheart," he said. "And I love you. But there's not much to talk about. It is what it is. The only thing we can do is to find a way to stop Esther before she thinks of another way how to wipe us from the face of the Earth."
"And we will," she said firmly, looking into his eyes, making him sight deeply. She took his hand and led him to the bed, where she climbed up to the headboard and tapped the empty space next to her. He climbed up right next to her, pulling her down a little, snaking one arm around her shoulders and placing the other on her right cheek stroking lightly as he went in for a kiss. She snaked her hand under his shirt, stroking his back lightly as they deepened the kiss gradually. She could feel the need behind his actions, and when he broke the kiss to look her in the eyes, she saw just how vulnerable he was. The oldest brother (she refused to count Finn as a part of his family), the rock, the glue that held the remains of his family together against all odds. Always and forever. She could see the toll it has been taking out on him. He was tired. And he needed her. It was then and there she wowed to herself to be there for him and help him protect his family, even if some of them were homicidal lunatics.