Elena felt sick to her stomach as she waited for Elijah in his car. She felt like her whole world had just fallen apart. It wasn't like she was new to heavy bombshells being dropped on her. It had pretty much been one thing after another since right after her parents died, and she thought she'd taken most of that pretty well. This was different. The things she'd heard tonight were beyond life changing. They were enough to make even someone who knew about vampires think they were going crazy.
Elena almost wished she could believe she was going insane, or that the things she found out tonight weren't true, but, unfortunately, she knew better. Everything she'd heard from Katherine tonight was true. She knew that because Elijah compelled her not to lie.
The things Katherine told her shook Elena to her very core. It wasn't just that Katherine told her that she was the daughter of a vampire. She'd begun to accept that before she and Elijah even met with Katherine. It was the way Katherine had spoken to her.
Elena knew Katherine didn't like her. She had never been bothered by that. Elena never liked Katherine either. She'd harmed several members of her friends and family. She'd destroyed Stefan and Damon's lives and their bond. However, now, Katherine was her mother, as unfathomable as that was. And it wasn't the simple fact that Katherine didn't love her knowing that. She'd experienced that with Isobel too. It was the fact that she hated her. Katherine hated her so much she wanted her dead. She hated her so much that she tried to have her killed. That was probably what was killing Elena the most right now. Her vampire mother thought that she was something so awful that she shouldn't exist. How was she supposed to see herself as anything other than a freak of nature after hearing that?
Then there was Elijah. He was Elena's father. Elena could barely begin to process that fact. She supposed it explained why she hadn't been afraid of him when she met him. She could only speculate that the vampire part of her recognized that it came from him and that he would never hurt her.
Elena was a bit startled when she heard the driver's side door open. She looked up in time to see Elijah get in. There was silence between them for almost five minutes before Elena finally spoke. "Is she dead?"
"Yes," Elijah answered. He would not lie about it. Elena deserved honesty from him, even regarding things that weren't very pretty.
Elena nodded. She'd figured he'd killed Katherine. She'd seen the fury in his eyes when Katherine told them everything. He had every intention of killing her. That was probably partially why he'd sent Elena out. She couldn't bring herself to be that bothered by it. Katherine was technically her mother, but she never behaved that way. In fact, she'd caused Elena and her loved ones a lot of grief.
"Elena, listen to me. I don't want you to put any stock into the things Katerina said to you. It was nothing but cruel nonsense," Elijah said. He hated that he'd allowed her to hear that. He shouldn't have even brought Elena with him. He should've gone alone. Then he could've controlled how she found out the truth. It would've been much kinder coming from him. But he couldn't change what happened. He could only help her deal with the fallout.
"She was my mother and she hated me. She tried to have me killed because she thinks I'm some sort of evil creature. How can I not believe that?" Elena asked.
"And I'm your father, and I'm telling you she's wrong. She knows nothing. She doesn't know you, and she made up her mind without even trying to find out. Her opinion is irrelevant," Elijah told her.
"You don't really know me either," Elena pointed out.
"No, I don't, but I do not believe any being comes into this world evil. I find such a notion to be ridiculous. I also did some research on you before I came to your home tonight. That's why it took me so long. Nothing I found suggests you've done anything that can be considered evil," he said.
Elena was quiet for a couple of minutes, unsure how to respond or even how to process any of it. She was exhausted and on information overload. She didn't know what she was going to do now. "What now?"
Elijah sighed. That was a good question. There hadn't been time for him to consider the next step. His instinct was to take Elena with him right now, and that almost certainly would happen at some point. Keeping her with him was the only way he could ensure her safety, not just from his brother, but also anyone else that found out about her. She was also going to need him when the blocks on her magic broke or were removed. He had never been a witch, but he did know quite a bit about magic, as his mother and two of his brothers excelled at it. However, it was a bit much to ask Elena to come with him right away. She'd been through a lot for one night. He didn't want to add to it right now. Plus, he'd promised to take her home tonight. Her first impression of her father was not going to be that he was a liar. "I'm going to take you home."
Elena looked at him right in the eyes for the first time since she found out he was her father. That was all he was going to do? What then? Would he disappear again? Did he plan to pretend this never happened? "That's it?"
"No, Elena, that's not it. I just think that that's all you can handle tonight. I am not going away. I am going to take you home so that you can get some rest. We both need to process what happened tonight. There will be decisions to make, but not tonight," Elijah told her.
"Decisions? Like what?" Elena asked nervously.
"Nothing that you need to worry about tonight. For now, I'll take you home and you can sleep. Tomorrow, we'll talk again. Before we go though, I'd like you to remove your necklace and look at me, please," Elijah instructed gently.
"No, please don't compel me again. If you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't," Elena promised.
Elijah shook his head. "I'm not going to compel you, sweetheart. I want to remove the compulsion I already put on you. I'm sorry for doing that. I will not compel you again."
Elena nodded before removing her necklace and looking at Elijah.
"I want you to ignore the compulsions I put on you. You're free to speak to anyone you want about the things you've learned from me or with me," Elijah told her.
"Thank you," Elena said before putting her necklace back on.
"The only thing I'd ask is that you use caution on what you tell some people, but I trust your judgement. You've obviously known about the supernatural for a while and you've used good judgement," Elijah said.
Elena nodded.
"Let's go,' Elijah said before starting the car and pulling out into traffic.
The ride went by in silence. Elena was exhausted, both physically and mentally. She just wanted to go home and get in bed. She could only hope she'd be able to sleep, with everything that happened tonight on her mind.
Elijah soon pulled in front of Elena's house. "Will you be alright if I leave you here now?"
"Yeah, I think so. I'm just going to try and sleep," Elena said. She looked inside and all the lights were out. She hoped that meant that Jeremy and Jenna were asleep. She could just slip upstairs and go to bed without having to speak to anyone.
"Alright. I'm going to come by tomorrow afternoon to speak to you and your guardian," Elijah told her.
"That means I have to tell my aunt. I don't even know how I'm going to do that. She doesn't know about the supernatural," Elena said. She supposed she could find a way around that, but right now, she was too exhausted to even think of a way.
"I will help you tell her. It shouldn't be your responsibility. It's my responsibility. However, yes, your aunt does need to be told. There is a lot I need to discuss with her," Elijah said firmly.
"This has to do with those decisions you were talking about, doesn't it?" Elena asked. She wasn't sure what Elijah was planning, but she was pretty certain that her life was going to change significantly.
"It does. We'll talk about it more tomorrow though. Will you let me in when I come by? You have my word that no one you care about will have anything to fear from me unless they become a threat to you," Elijah promised.
Elena nodded. "I believe you. I'll let you in."
"Thank you," Elijah said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card. "I'll come by around four. If you need to speak to me before then, this is my number.
Elena took the card. "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow, Elijah."
Elijah nodded and watched his daughter get out of the car and walk inside.
