"I truly am grateful for your help, Jenna." Elijah states, sending Elena's aunt a friendly smile. He watches quietly as Jenna walks into the closet, rummaging around in it.
"I still don't fully understand your need to go about this the polite way instead of simply taking the doppelgänger like Niklaus would have done, but I guess I do appreciate it?" Sigrid wonders out loud, lightly pacing the hallway. Despite knowing Elijah all her life, his motivations could still take her by surprise now and then.
Elijah tries not to look too pleased with the ease with which he obtained an invitation to Elena's house. That ease meant that Elena liked keeping her caretaker in the dark, an unwise decision in his opinion, but it did make things simpler for him. His smile widens when he hears a door open on the first floor.
"Of course." Jenna replies at once, hands grabbing the nearest box. The man had been extremely polite during his visit, but she still wanted to evict him from her house as soon as possible. She had a lot of work to do as well as some chores around the house, seeing as both Elena and Jeremy seemed distant these past weeks.
A small selfish part of her had wanted to tell Elijah to get lost, but the rational part of her knew it was best to treat Carol's acquaintance kindly, thus providing him with the information he sought.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Elena asks when she descends the stairs, seeing Jenna rummaging in the cupboard.
"Perfect timing." Jenna grins while handing her niece the cardboard box she was holding. She had expected Elijah to at least offer his help, but perhaps the man wasn't big on possibly invading personal space.
Elena lets out a small huff as the heavy box with various memorabilia is shoved into her hands. She looks with interest at the numerous items sticking out of the box, notes, photos, and other knickknacks. "What is this stuff?"
"Your mom's files from the Historical Society. I got roped into helping Mrs. Lockwood and by roped," Jenna grins while getting up, remembering the visitor on the other side of the cupboard door. She slams the door closed with her hips. "I mean very excited to participate."
Elena recoils when her eyes meet Elijah's. She immediately tries to hide her shock, knowing it wasn't smart to panic in front of her aunt.
Elijah suppresses a smirk. She was scared, rightfully so of course. His gaze shifts towards Jenna, who didn't seem bothered in the least by Elena's sudden nervous behavior. He supposed there was no need in blowing his cover now. "Hey, I'm Elijah."
"Elijah's in town doing research on the history of Mystic Falls." Jenna explains, hand gesturing towards the multiple boxes that were now standing in the hallway.
"It's a pleasure." Elijah holds his hand out, eyes not leaving those of the doppelgänger. Every time his eyes met hers, he was reminded of her predecessors, leaving him with a gnawing feeling on his insides. Those feelings consisted of guilt, hurt, and a distant sense of longing.
Sigrid looks at Elijah with a sad look. He was so hard to fathom in recent centuries. The way he looked at Elena hurt her, perhaps because it was the same look he'd cast on Katerina or because it had been such a long time since he'd looked at her, let alone with that underlying longing he was showing right now.
"So you're welcome to stay here and rummage through this stuff, or Elena and I could help you load it into your car." Jenna offers, hands finding her hips.
"Or I can get someone to pick it up tomorrow." Elijah replies at once.
"Also a good plan." Jenna agrees easily, happy this would leave her plenty of time to finish the dinner she had been preparing for before Elijah's appearance.
"Thank you so much for inviting me into your home, Jenna. And Elena..." Elijah locks eyes with Elena once more. "I hope to see you again sometime soon." Elijah promises before turning away, saying his goodbyes to Jenna.
"That sounds a bit creepy, Elskede. Maybe don't say that to teenage girls?" Sigrid scolds lighting, watching the interaction with mild jealousy.
Sigrid shakes away the building emotions before following Elijah to the front door. Gloom was replaced with enjoyment as she watched him being his charming self to Elena's aunt. She liked him best like this, understanding, polite, and if it weren't for the fact he planned on using Elena in a grand scheme of his, he looked almost sincere in his kindness towards the human woman.
Elena takes a second to process the fact that the Original had access to their home whenever he wished. Once she's recovered from the initial shock, she sprints upstairs to warn Jeremy.
"Hey, I'm standing right here." Sigrid grumbles when Elena almost runs through her. Collecting herself, she runs after the doppelgänger, curious to learn the reason behind the girl's sudden hurry.
Sigrid halts on top of the stairs, watching the doppelgänger frantically knocking on one of the doors. She quietly looks on as Elijah appears out of nowhere, grabbing the hand of the doppelgänger, halting her actions.
Sigrid shuffles towards Elijah, wanting to be near him, his scent always calmed her down.
"I'm personally not really a fan of the hand holding thing, but who am I to complain, hmm?" Sigrid complains, before muttering a small apology, realizing she was being unnecessarily unkind.
• • •
"So, what is your goal?" Elena asks, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer. The presence of the ancient vampire made her incredibly uncomfortable, especially seeing as he was in her private domain. She didn't like his scrutinizing gaze and carefully thought-out answers.
"Klaus's obsession has made him paranoid. He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle."
Sigrid looks at Elijah, noticing the hint of sorrow in his eyes, the urge to climb into his lap and comfort him grew by the second, but she remained seated on Elena's bed, knowing it would be no use.
"Like you?" Elena asks, an eyebrow raised in question.
"Not anymore." Elijah admits, a lingering sense of regret feelable. It had been quite a while since their falling out, and to lose his brother's trust had hurt him more than he was willing to admit.
"You don't know where he is, do you? So you're trying to use me to draw him out." Elena concludes after letting Elijah's response sink in.
"Aren't you a smart cookie?" Sigrid nods approvingly. She might have a slight prejudice towards the doppelgänger but had to admit she was quite intelligent.
Elijah bites back a grimace at Elena's almost triumphant tone. Humans tended to cheer too early for a non-existent victory. Elena might have come to the right conclusion, but it didn't mean he wasn't willing to go to any lengths should he be forced to do so.
Sigrid rises from the bed, taking this opportunity to do some looking around the room. It was quite well organized, and she liked the many family photos. A sharp pang goes through Sigrid at the harsh reminder that she would never have such memorabilia.
"Well, to do that, I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed." Elijah replies coldly, not amused with the turn this conversation was heading. He might be polite, but he wouldn't let the doppelgänger think she had an advantage over him.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"If I wasn't being truthful, all your family would be dead, and I'd be taking you to Klaus right now. Instead, I'm here, and I'm prepared to offer you a deal."
Elena swallows upon hearing the harsh reminder that this wasn't Stefan or Damon she was talking to, this was a very old and very powerful vampire who would have no trouble committing genocide if necessary. "What kind of deal?"
Elijah rises from his seat. "Do nothing. Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting, and then, when the time is right, you and I shall draw out Klaus together, and I shall make sure your friends remain unharmed."
He knew this was the most attractive offer he could make the young girl, and judging by her selfless character, she would take it.
"You put a lot of trust in Elena, but free will could be more beneficial in the long term." Sigrid mumbles, uncertain of Elijah's steadfastness in this plan. "Unless she turns against you with help of the two Salvatores, which would be incredibly foolish, but possible."
"And then what?"
"Then I kill him." Elijah states in a confident tone.
"Excuse you?!" Sigrid snaps, turning her head abruptly to glare at her mate. "You are not killing-"
"Just like that?" Elena looks in disbelief at the Original, unable to believe it would be this easy for the man before him to kill another Original, let alone one as infamous as Klaus.
"Just like that. I'm a man of my word, Elena. I make a deal, I keep a deal."
"You have some nerve-Ow." Sigrid stumbles and ends up on the other side of Elena's bedroom wall. She swiftly finds her footing and is about to walk right back through when Jeremy abruptly jumps up from his desk chair.
"Um, who are you? And what are you doing in my room?"
Sigrid's eyes widen a little in shock at Jeremy's sudden outburst. She glances around her, hoping to find the source that caused the boy's distress, perhaps it was another vampire.
Looking back, Sigrid sees the boy still staring at her. Jeremy's gaze makes a chill run through her, it was like he was really looking at her, perceiving her. She hesitates before pointing her index finger at her chest, looking at the boy with raised eyebrows.
"Yes, you."
A/N:
Hello dear reader. I have decided to skip the episode The Sacrifice. In my opinion, it did not add to the story of Sigrid. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, things are movng forward :).
Lots of love,