Answer to MidnightSilver's question, yes, she will be 8 years old forever, physically.

I was born amidst the purple waterfalls.
I was weak, yet not unblessed.
Dead to the world, alive for the journey.
One night I dreamt a white rose withering,
A newborn drowning a lifetime loneliness.
I dreamt all my future. Relived my past.
And witnessed the beauty of the beast.

Nightwish – Bless The Child

Chapter 4

Bad

Elijah gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his anger while riding back to the castle. The little vampire was sitting on his lap, her arms still wrapped tightly around him, like she would be afraid that he would suddenly disappear. He couldn't even begin imagining how scared and confused she must have been, not understanding what she was and what had happened to her. Clearly she hadn't known that there were others like her, which indicated that her maker had probably left her by herself before she had even completed her transition. Elijah was determined to find the bastard and make him pay, there were things that simply weren't acceptable. The girl's body had started slowly to relax, but she tensed again when she realized that there was settlement ahead. She looked up and shook her head.

"Hurt."

She probably meant that people had tried to hurt her while trying to defend their cattle; apparently she had also attacked some peasants.

"No one is going to hurt you," he said calmly. "We will go to my home. Do you understand?"

She hesitated and tilted her head on the side.

"Home?"

"Yes, home. Do you know what a home is?"

He wasn't sure if that was a foolish question, but he couldn't know what her mental state was exactly. She bit her bottom lip and nodded.

"Home. Papa."

She leaned her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him again. Thankfully Niklaus' lackeys, as curious as they clearly were, were smart enough to keep their distance, all except Digory who Elijah had sent ahead to order the maids to prepare a bath for the girl. He had instructed the younger vampires for not to say anything to Niklaus yet, he would do it himself. But first things first, the girl really needed a bath and some clothes. She looked around cautiously when they passed a gatehouse and arrived to a courtyard.

"It's alright," Elijah assured and dismounted holding the girl in his arms. She growled quietly when Digory approached them with a blanket.

"Everything is ready, my lord," the younger vampire said, trying his best to sound casual.

Elijah took the blanket and wrapped it around the girl; that seemed like the proper thing to do since she was practically naked.

"Everything is alright," he muttered calmingly and carried the girl inside. Obviously she was cautious, but she also seemed to trust him for not planning to harm her. He carried her to his chamber where the maids had prepared the bath. There were two of them; they curtsied when he entered the room, the girl tensed immediately.

"Have my sister returned?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord," one of the maids replied.

"Good, please inform her that I require her presence and stress the urgency of the matter. You may both go; I will not need your services at the moment."

Both maids were staring at the creature in his arms, but they knew better than to ask any questions, they simply curtsied and left. Carefully Elijah placed the girl on the floor; she looked up and took his hand.

"Home?" she asked insecurely.

He smiled at her and nodded.

"Yes, sweetheart, we are home."

Slowly she let go of his hand and looked around, scanning her surroundings. Elijah truly hoped that Rebekah would agree to help her to take a bath, obviously the maids couldn't do that and somehow he found the thought of doing it himself improper. She took few insecure steps around the room, but she was careful for not to touch anything. She stared at his canopy bed, the desk, the closet, the wooden chest next to the bed, the fireplace, the books lying on the table and finally the bathtub. Elijah stayed quiet, wanting to allow her to finish her inspection, but she didn't have time when the door suddenly flew open.

"What is it…" Rebekah's bored voice started. "What is this smell…"

The girl turned to the door in a fraction of a second, her fangs came out and she growled. Rebekah froze when she noticed the little vampire, her eyes widened and her mouth floundered open and closed.

"What…"

"It's alright," Elijah said to the girl. "This is my sister, Rebekah, she is also like us."

The girl observed Rebekah vigilantly; she was still ready to attack.

"I found her while looking for the unstable newborn," Elijah explained quietly.

His sister stared at the girl disbelievingly.

"She is that newborn?"

"So it seems."

Rebekah shook her head, she looked appalled.

"But… Who would… She is a child," she finally managed to say.

"Yes, and she is also a vampire," Elijah replied dryly and turned to the girl. "It's alright, she will not harm you, she is like us. Show her."

It took a moment before Rebekah realized what he meant and revealed her vampire face. The girl stared at her, she was still cautious.

"As you can see she needs a bath and I was hoping…" Elijah started.

"Go," Rebekah interrupted him firmly. "I will take it from here."

Elijah was surprised; he certainly hadn't expected his sister to agree to quickly. The girl looked at them both alternately and moved next to Elijah. He kneeled in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"My sister will help you to take a bath, she will not harm you," he explained calmly. "Do you understand?"

The girl hesitated, she seemed distressed.

"Papa…leave?" she asked clearly alarmed.

"No," Elijah replied gently. "I will not leave you, I promise. I will be back soon."

"Promise?" she demanded firmly.

Elijah smiled and nodded.

"Yes, sweetheart, I promise."

She turned her gaze towards Rebekah when he stood up and headed to the door.

"Are you sure that you…" he started.

"Go," Rebekah said determinedly.

Elijah glanced at his sister, he couldn't interpret her expression. After a brief hesitation he walked out and closed the door behind him. He stayed behind the door for a moment, just in case.

"Hi there," he heard Rebekah's voice saying. "My name is Rebekah. What is your name?"

She didn't get any answer, but apparently that didn't bother her.

"That is alright, you do not have to tell me if you do not want to. How about I call you a princess? You are pretty like a princess, but how about we clean you up a little? No? Oh well, I can enjoy the nice warm water all by myself then."

Elijah heard some splashing.

"So nice, too bad you do not want to try…"

Surprisingly Rebekah seemed to be on top of things, which was strange since she had never spent much time with children or shown any kind of interest towards them. But then again, this wasn't a normal child; Elijah had felt immediately protective towards her. After being sure that Rebekah would manage, Elijah took a moment in order to calm down and went to look for Niklaus. He wasn't in his chamber, but one of his lackeys informed Elijah that he was in the parlor. Elijah found him there with Kol, four women and several bottles of wine. There were two women sitting on Niklaus' lap and Kol was currently feeding on one woman while the other one sat next to him, caressing his thigh.

"Brother!" Niklaus greeted him. "How was the hunt? Did you find it?"

"I found something," Elijah replied tensely.

Kol raised his head and licked his bloody lips; the woman on his lap looked pale and dizzy.

"Something interesting?" he asked.

"You could say that, I found a small child who had been turned."

Suddenly he had both of his brothers' undivided attention.

"What?" they said almost simultaneously.

"I want to find the sick bastard who did it," Elijah said angrily.

"Wait, wait," Niklaus said. "You found a child vampire?"

"Yes."

"Where is it? Did you kill it?"

"No!" Elijah snapped. "She is in my chamber with Rebekah."

Niklaus' eyebrows furrowed.

"You brought it here…"

"This I have to see," Kol interrupted him grinning and stood up.

"Do not scare her, she is…" Elijah started but Kol had already zoomed out.

Elijah cursed and went after him; thankfully he reached his brother in time, just in front of the door to his chamber. Niklaus was right behind them, he certainly didn't share Kol's enthusiasm.

"What were you thinking bringing that thing here?" he snapped. "I will get rid of it right now."

Elijah didn't have time to say anything when Niklaus kicked the door open and marched in, followed by Kol. Rebekah was sitting on the bed, the little vampire on her lap. The girl was wearing an oversize white nightgown and Rebekah was brushing her wet hair. When the girl saw Niklaus and Kol, she panicked and jumped on the floor, hissing at them like a wild beast. Elijah walked past his brothers who seemed completely stunned and tried to calm the little vampire down.

"It's alright…"

She shook her head furiously and backed away.

"Bad!" she growled. "Hurt!"

"No, no," Rebekah said and tried to approach her. "They are not going to hurt you…"

She hissed at her warningly and continued backing away until her back hit the wall.

"Bad!"

Rebekah looked confused, but Elijah realized what she meant. Slowly he turned his piercing gaze towards his brothers.

"I believe we just found her maker."