"What do we do now?" Rose asks softly, leaning towards Jeremy. They had been silently seated, watching Elijah softly whisper to his right side. She hadn't been able to catch the words seeing as they were spoken in a foreign language, but from the tone alone she could understand the sincerity in them.
Elijah looks up, eyes narrowed slightly at being disturbed. His hand was still on the table and he felt at ease enough to let his guard down a little, going as far as letting himself slack a little in his chair.
He had been busy declaring his admiration for his mate's resilience and professing his love for her. Elijah had much to make up for. He knew he couldn't get a response but the idea of his mate hearing him gave him enough satisfaction.
"Sigrid has a plan." Jeremy supplies, scratching the back of his neck. He'd rather not be the subject of Elijah's glare but they needed to continue their conversation.
Elijah's jaw flexes as he keeps looking at Jeremy, impatiently waiting for him to relay Sigrid's plan. He still didn't like the fact that this boy enjoyed the privilege of privately communicating with his mate.
Belatedly noticing Jeremy's questioning look, Sigrid clears her throat, blushing a little. She had been quite caught up in staring at her handsome mate. The undivided attention he had given her had been particularly nice. "Right. There are a few steps that need to be taken."
"Do tell, I will provide my assistance where I can." Elijah promises at once.
Sigrid smiles at Elijah's poorly masked eagerness. The hand that wasn't hovering above Elijah's, she let rest near her cup of tea. "I want you to capture the werewolves; Jules and Brady. They have acted foolishly and attacked an innocent girl. They will need to be executed. Save one if necessary for the ritual but I want them both gone in the end."
Jeremy blinks at Sigrid, a little surprised by her sudden change in attitude. He recognized a blood thirst he had not yet seen on her before. After a pressing look from his friend, he repeats her message.
Elijah nods thoughtfully. "I will personally see to it that these evil-doers will have their limbs torn off before their beheading."
"Thank you." Sigrid mumbles shyly. She had caught Jeremy's surprised look earlier and was a little ashamed of her own ruthlessness but also wouldn't excuse the behavior of the wolves. "Next point on the agenda. We will need a daylight ring for Rosie."
Rose blinks upon hearing the given nickname before blushing a little. It felt nice to have someone on her side after having been alone with Trevor for so long. She liked the idea of having a friend or at least a friendly acquaintance in this century.
Elijah's gaze briefly flickers over to the vampire. He admired Rose's ability to share the same table with him seeing as what he had done to her friend. Providing her with a daylight ring wouldn't be much of a burden on his part, especially seeing as it would make his mate happy. "Anything else, ástin mín?"
Sigrid clears her throat. This was going to be the hard part of the conversation. She didn't think Elijah would lash out, but there was a chance he wouldn't agree to it, which meant she and Jeremy would have to go with plan B. "Niklaus will need to be informed about my situation. I want you to contact him. I know he will be suspicious and act paranoid and... will most likely lash out but your relationship needs to be mended." Sigrid presses.
Elijah bites back a scoff. He was very unwilling to contact his deceitful and betraying brother, but could also understand why Sigrid would wish for them to reunite. "How could I possibly prove your existence to him? He will not be willing to listen to your... friend."
"He can compel me? That could be a solution?" Jeremy offers unenthusiastically. He didn't look forward to being compelled, but if it would make the ritual with his sister go by smoothly, he was willing to volunteer his autonomy for a bit.
"You will need the caskets." Rose pipes up, not wanting to hear of Jeremy offering himself like a lamb to the slaughter. There was no way that Niklaus Mikaelson was patient enough to listen to the testimony of a human teenager.
Sigrid sighs.
The tiniest spark of hope flutters in Elijah's chest. He turns his head in the direction of his imperceptible mate. "What caskets? What is the vampire implying, dearest?"
"I didn't want to tell you in this public setting..." Sigrid trails off, eyes roaming the space around them. Luckily a lot of tables had emptied out during their conversation. "Nik never dumped your siblings into the ocean. He has kept them in their caskets, lugging them around the world with him."
"How do you know?" This was a silly question on Elijah's behalf. He suspected her to have kept a careful eye on every one of them throughout the centuries.
"I have seen them, well their boxes, and whenever Niklaus decided to check up on them." Sigrid swallows. She had seen Niklaus's torment. She knew that he was pleased to have them close and secure in his care, but also knew they wouldn't thank him for their long and cruel confinement.
During her observations, it also became evident how utterly alone her poor mate had been feeling. He was grand at keeping up pretenses by killing, drinking, maiming, and fucking everything within 5 miles of him, but none of it seemed to satisfy him. She shakes the bad memories of Niklaus's self-destructive behavior away. She would address her worries for her husband at a more appropriate time.
"Where are they?"
"Their location changes quite often, last time I saw them they were near Kansas City. Seeing as I do not have the exact coordinates you will have to do a location spell. I know you have a brilliant warlock under your employment." Sigrid grins. She would have winked if her mate could have perceived her.
"With what can I track them? Niklaus has quite cleverly spelled them in a way that I cannot find them by my own blood." Elijah frowns. He would be willing to comb out the entirety of the state of Missouri to find a trace of his brother and their siblings.
"Perhaps this will help. It belonged to your sister." Jeremy grins as he places the pendant on the table for Elijah to see. He was quite pleased with himself for being able to surprise the Original.
"How did you get this?" Elijah brushes a finger over the familiar pendant. He remembered their mother wearing it before it became Rebekah's.
"The doppelgänger was wearing it. She got it as a gift from Stefan Salvatore. He was friends with Niklaus and Rebekah in the '20s. Stefan had been compelled to forget them." Jeremy eyes Sigrid as he repeats her words. He didn't know how Stefan would react to the news that he had once been friends with the man who now wanted to sacrifice Elena. Damon would surely have an opinion on the matter.
"Elena was wearing this when we first met," Elijah mumbles. He should have realized it sooner.
Sigrid sighs, she wants to stop reminiscing over the necklace. Of course, it had been Rebekah's, but she was afraid her mate would now only associate it with the doppelgänger. "Once Jonas does the spell you can go fetch them, but I will also need you to call Nik and tell him you know about your siblings' whereabouts. He will most likely think of you retrieving the others as an act of betrayal or an attempt at overpowering him."
Sigrid pauses briefly, allowing Jeremy to relay her ramble. "You will need to stand your ground and tell him you are willing to forgive his lies and deceit. Ask him for his help, let him boast about his resources, and allow him to prepare for the upcoming ritual. Tell him you will be at his side during the ritual and that together with the others, you will get me out of here."
"What if I am not willing to forgive?" Elijah asks, his tone becoming frigid. This was a lot to ask from him. In one afternoon he had learned that his mate was still alive and that his siblings weren't beyond saving. On top of that he would have to forgive the man who had fooled him into believing the worst. That was quite a lot to process, even for him.
Sigrid frowns. "But, I know you are. You have harbored a lot of anger towards him due to the loss of your siblings, but you have always known of Niklaus's temper and his incessant need to have a trump card. You will not have to forget, but you will need to be able to go through one door with him..."
Elijah lets Jeremy's words sink in. The silent threat of his mate was clear. She would not be willing to leave Niklaus behind and he would need to find a way to forget these past decades which he had filled with strategizing and plotting his revenge.
He sighs. All the hard work he had put into his current plan to kill his brother was now to be neglected and forgotten. He would have to change his opinion of his younger brother once more.
Of course, Elijah was beyond happy with Sigrid's existence and her words did manage to soothe some of his raging emotions, but the idea of forgiving Niklaus still left a bitter taste. "I will not forgive him unless he apologizes."
Sigrid bites the inside of her cheek. Her stubborn mate of course wouldn't simply forgive Niklaus, that was too much to ask she realises. She wasn't naive, every deal or agreement she had made with any of the Mikaelsons had come with conditions. She remembers acting coy in the past in order to get her mates to relent to her wishes. Those wishes usually revolved around getting sweets or playing outside longer, but those things had mattered dearly to her back then.
The only problem was that she couldn't exactly express and intonate herself the way she wanted through Jeremy. She could hardly ask him to bat his lashes and pout at her mate, although she would like to see him try. "I apologize, of course, I can not ask you to forgive him right away, but you will need to step over your anger eventually and attempt to be sympathetic towards his side of the story. And naturally, you will get an apology, I will force it out of him."
"I am certain you will, dearest." Elijah supplies dryly. His mate might be the sweetest and kindest creature he knew, but even Niklaus Mikaelson didn't wish to cross her.
It was odd, one part of him was overjoyed and exuberant with the knowledge that his mate was alive and wanted nothing more than to share the happy news with his siblings, and another, more selfish, part wanted to keep this knowledge to himself. He wanted to possess her and hide her from the others. After years of jealousy and dispute, he could finally have Sigrid all to himself even if it was only for a little. And yes, he would have to communicate with her through the meddling teenager, but that was a small price to pay.
Elijah shakes his head. His blameless lover would never allow him to exclude the others. It was time for his poor siblings to be freed and for the Mikaelsons to reunite.
"I have a final request."
"Tell me, elskede." Elijah replies automatically.
"Caroline Forbes, Bonnie Bennett, and Matt Donovan. Jeremy has told me quite a bit of their suffering at the hands of supernatural creatures." Sigrid didn't brother name-dropping the Salvatores or Katerina as the main tormentors of the two girls. But especially Damon had been a problem upon coming into town.
Sigrid didn't exactly hold the older Salvatore in high regard but she had started to resent him a little upon learning of the abuse he had orchestrated to young Caroline. Of course, vampires tended to get caught up in their emotions and no one was too old for some personal growth, but it had been bad behavior nonetheless. "I want them protected."
"They are included in Elena's list of protected people." Elijah nods.
"That's not good enough. Caroline got hurt on your watch." Sigrid accuses, voice raising just a little before deflating, feeling remorse for her sudden fieriness. "I know the doppelgänger is your priority, but these kids matter. I do not want you to save them when they're being harmed, I want you to be one step ahead. To prevent it." She knew it was a lot to ask, but some foreign maternal instinct was triggered during Caroline's kidnapping. She couldn't stand the idea of any of the teenagers getting harmed.
"I will ask Jonas to cast a protective spell on them, which will keep them from being harmed and alert my people in time." Elijah offers. He didn't fully understand his mate's protectiveness over these teenagers but appreciated it nonetheless.
His mate had always been soft-hearted when it came to the well-being of other creatures. It reminded him of the many times she had called for his help to rescue a squirrel or a wounded bird during their human years. She always enjoyed nursing the poor creatures to good health again, together with Rebekah and Finn.
"Thank you." Sigrid sighs, feeling a heavy weight lift off her chest. She could wait out her time on this side more easily knowing that Jeremy and Elena's friends were safe.
"If that's all, dearest, I believe we should conclude this meeting before drawing too much attention to ourselves." Elijah holds up a hand when Jeremy moves to stand up. "One last question. How can I know when you are with me?"
"I'm not sure." Sigrid bites her lip. If she hadn't been able to make her presence known to her mate before she didn't think she could do so now.
"I can text you when she's with me." Jeremy offers, shrugging awkwardly.
Elijah's gaze lowers onto the boy and he strains not to let the dark veins web under his eyes, his fangs pressing against his gums. The offer was well-meant, but it also came across as provoking and boastful to Elijah.
"That's a good idea, also if I want to speak with you we can text or call." Sigrid smiles, grateful for Jeremy's thoughtfulness. She had already sensed Elijah's dislike for their current way of communicating, but he would need to get over it. Jeremy was the only reason they were speaking at all.
• • •
"Why didn't you ask Elijah to find a spell to bring you back?" Jeremy mumbles into his scarf, not wanting to draw attention to himself by talking out loud to seemingly no one. They had departed from Rose, who had been waiting for Damon to pick her up, and were now walking back to Jeremy's house.
Sigrid halts her skipping and falls into step with her friend. She was beyond elated with how well the meeting had gone. Elijah and she had made an appointment for her to be at his apartment tomorrow at 10 a.m. to call Niklaus. He wanted his mate to be a witness, there would be no more hiding and secrecy in their relationship. "Because Kol is a magic expert, and he will surely be cross if he can't partially brag about bringing me back."
"He sounds... fun?" Jeremy grimaces. He had heard plenty of Kol's rambunctious personality.
"Oh, he is." Sigrid didn't bother to tell Jeremy that Kol's definition of fun had become quite a bit more violent upon turning into a vampire. He would find out soon enough.