Once they arrived back, they saw a lot of cars parked in the driveway and some unfamiliar faces hanging around the porch; she turned to look at Elijah then Klaus and they nodded their heads with a smile at her.
Guests, they had to be.
They all joined inside the house and it was bustling, she saw Trent in the centre of the living room and she grinned at him before approaching, "thank you for taking care of them, you can leave now if you want."
"No problem, sweetheart," he said with a smile before heading out, she turned around to see Elijah approach her with a few men and a woman beside him.
"Elena, I'd like you to meet the Cavanaugh family, we met during the Hundred Years' War between France and England in 1337, our families have been close friends ever since," Elena instantly started shaking their hands and looking at them with awe, "this is Seth, Jonathan, Henry and Selena Cavanaugh and this is my beautiful bride-to-be, Elena."
"That's incredible, it's so nice to meet you all," she was genuinely excited to meet Elijah's friends, they represented a different time in his life and she was eager to learn them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elena, we've heard so much about you," Jonathan was the first to respond, he seemed older than the others and she assumed he took the role of father in their vampire family and the others where siblings.
"Indeed, we were quite surprised when we received the invitation, we thought no-one would be able to lock this one down," Selena delivered a sultry glance at Elijah before turning her attention back onto the doppelganger, he was smiling kindly at her and it was in that moment, she knew how naive her fiancé could be in some situations.
Like a miracle, she saw Jeremy and the Salvatore's walk in and she grinned, "excuse me."
She left the group, heading towards her brother when Klaus intercepted her and she crashed against him; he grabbed onto her hip to stop her from stumbling backwards and she frustratingly pursed her lips.
"Elena, you must meet Frederick and Barney, we met during the 1400s in Europe, the most loyal of our friends, they had our backs during the inquisition and when Mikael tried to attack us," Elena grinned at them before shaking their hands, excited to meet friends of Nik's, "and this is Elena, bride-to-be and the very best of our family."
"Niklaus has told us so much about you," Frederick spoke, a kind smile spread on his lips; he was tall, shoulder length black hair and beard, muscular build and he had a scar across his left cheek that must have happened during his human years.
"You are quite an impressive young woman," Barney interjected, he was a bit shorter than Frederick, had blonde short hair, clean shaven, slim build and blue eyes, "Coven Elder, Unification Queen, Doppelgänger and the one to claim Elijah's heart."
"That's me," she said with an amused but nervous grin, she had no idea who the people in her house were but they seemed to know everything about her.
"Indeed," Frederick said, he looked at her with a sense of admiration about him, there weren't many who could call themselves a member of the Mikaelson family and they could see the hold she had of their friend.
"I remember Niklaus searching for a doppelgänger, that's what spurred his decision to leave Europe and head to England," Barney began reminiscing, a small chuckle forming on each of their lips, "Katerina, was it?"
"Well, there is no need to speak of such futile events," Klaus interjected before the discomfort started to grow further, "besides, that ended quicker than it started when she ended her own life to become a vampire."
"The curse was broken eventually, of course," Frederick continued on with the story, much to her dismay. Reliving the night of the sacrifice wasn't her favourite pastime, in the slightest.
Elena looked over to Damon, he was standing in a small group of unfamiliar vampires and Jeremy and Stefan had disappeared, she quickly focused her magic and entered his mind, leaving a quick telepathic message, "Save me!"
She seen his smirk before he appeared beside her, placing his hand on the small of her back and looking at the three men before him, "I don't mean to intrude but there has been an incident in the kitchen that needs attending to."
Klaus' facial expressions immediately stiffened when he saw the Salvatore touch her and he shot daggers into his eyes; Elena instantly stepped between them and placed her hand on Klaus' chest, forcing him to look down at her with a disapproving and somewhat protective glance, "i'll handle it."
Damon manoeuvred her through the groups of people and got her to the kitchen without interruption, once they got inside the room, there was waiters refilling drinks and scurrying around the kitchen.
"Everyone out, bride needs a minute," Damon called out and they immediately grabbed a tray each and exited the room, attending to the needs of the guests in the main part of the house.
"Thank you," she said extremely gratefully before she took a deep breath and starting walking around the kitchen, looking at the mass amounts of alcohol and food that was covering the counters, "if I have to talk to one more creepy vampire, I'll scream."
"Well, you are marrying vampire royalty, Elena, what were you expecting?" He said with an amused smirk.
"I don't know, I guess I hadn't really thought about," she picked up a bottle of fine bourbon and grabbed two glasses, pouring them both out a shot and passing one to Damon, "I definitely wasn't expecting that many vampires."
"Cheers," he said as they clinked their glasses together and drank the shot in one; she felt her nerves instantly calm and she poured them another one, "I'm sure your fiancée isn't going to be too happy when he finds out you're in here with me, drinking and avoiding the party for a better one."
She took a large sip of bourbon and wiped away a stray drop that collected at the corner of her lip; she looked at him with curious eyes and she saw his unwavering amusement and need for chaos, "probably not but he trusts me and we're not children, Damon, he knows how much I love him and how easy it is for me to kill you if needs be."
He found her fight back quite endearing and her look of amusement meant she wasn't going to back down, "you're definitely feistier then you used to be in Mystic Falls, maybe this place is good for you, your whining used to drive me insane. I like this better."
She uncontrollably laughed at his words, before placing her now empty glass down on the table and heading towards the exit, "I'm probably going to kill you before the night is over."
"I look forward to you trying, Queenie," his sarcasm was rife and he welcomed her invitation for a battle, he always was a sadist in that manner.
She rolled her eyes and exited the kitchen, an air of amusement surrounding her as she snuck past the guests and headed for the staircase; she entered her room and started getting herself ready for dinner, she was finally able to wear the dress she bought with Rebekah a while ago on their shopping trip and she was ecstatic.
Just as she was about to start undressing, Elijah came into the room and sped behind her, trailing soft kisses along the nape of her neck and smoothing his fingers along the curve in her waist, "if you should require help, I would be happy to oblige."
"You are quite animalistic today, Mr. Mikaelson," she said with a grin as her head dipped to the side and a wave of pleasure washed over her, "as much as I would love for you to devour me, we have a house full of guests and a rehearsal dinner to attend."
He reluctantly lifted his head away from her neck and turned her around to face him, "I might be starting to regret this dinner."
She smiled softly before resting her forehead onto his chin and smoothing her hands across his shoulders, landing them on the back of his neck, "two hours, that's all, we can get through it."
"You're overwhelmed," he observed, his fingers trailing across the edge of her cheek and bringing her a wave of comfort.
"Maybe just a bit, it's a lot to take in," a small sigh escaped her lips as he brought her into a tender embrace, "you have a room full of friends I know nothing about, some of them are kinda creepy and Selena was far too flirty with you, I'm not jealous, it's just so disrespectful, she's coming to our wedding."
"You're rambling, my love," he said with an amused smile and she sunk into him, feeling his hand press onto the back of her head and entangle his fingers in her hair, "you need not worry about our guests, Elena, especially Selena, we have been friends for a long time, if she has non-platonic feelings then she will keep them to herself, everyone in this house knows how much I love you."
"And I love you too," they indulged in a long and passionate kiss, she breathed in every bit of him before they eventually would have to separate and she had to get ready.
"You should start getting everyone to head to the venue, there's only an hour until it starts and they need to be seated," she requested of Elijah and he nodded his head, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead before vanishing from the room and heading back into the main area of the house.
She took a deep breath, silently praying to any higher entity out there that would listen to allow their night to go smoothly and without any conflict; she took the ballgown from the wardrobe and removed it from it's plastic protective cover, admiring it once more before beginning the process of getting ready.
Elena was just finishing her makeup when she heard a knock at the door, just as she stood from her dressing table, she heard Klaus on the other side and he called out to her, "everyone has left for the rehearsal dinner, Elena, we're late."
She smiled at his impatience and opened the door, his demeanour softened completely and his lips parted, he stared at her with a look of awe and smiled at how happy she looked, "your beauty is without equal, little warrior, my brother is a very lucky man."
He admired her dress, it was a mesmerising sheath gown that had a blend of lace and tulle,it had a slit up the leg and was strapless, the sweep train and backless silhouette only complimented the see-through lace across the stomach and she wore a pair of black strappy heels to match. Her hair was curly at the ends and pinned at the sides to reveal her face completely.
"Thank you," she had a glow around her and a soft smile that made him melt, he had to clear his throat and bring himself back to reality to avert his stares, "I won't be a minute, I'm almost ready."
"We'll be downstairs," he vanished from the corridor and she turned back into her bedroom, grabbing her purse from the side that matched her dress and began placing her items inside, there was her phone, her keys, her lipstick, a bundle of white sage, several crystals and a vile of her blood, only the necessities, of course.
She exited her bedroom and began walking through the hallway until she reached the stairs; as soon as Elijah saw her descend the staircase, his lips parted and his heart started to pound.
She held onto the bannister and smiled happily when she saw him, their gaze remained unbroken as she reached the bottom and he held out his hand towards her, "You're perfect."
Her cheeks turned a light shade of red and she took his hand, her heart raced beneath her chest and she swooned; admiring his suit, she smoothed her free hand over his shoulder and down onto his chest, "you look extremely handsome."
"This is all very sweet but we have to go," Kol interjected, a small grin appearing on their lips as he approached them, "but Elena, you look beautiful, my jealously for my brother is at a new time high."
"You don't look so bad yourself," she said with an unwavering smile and a look of love for them all in her eyes; they all walked out to the car and they started on the drive towards the venue.
A short while later, they arrived at the place Elijah took her too on their first ever dinner date, The Omni Royal Hotel, it had a large ballroom attached to it that could be hired for events and it was extravagant.
She stepped out of the car once Elijah opened the door for her and she linked her arm with his, he lead her to the entrance that was attached to the ballroom and placed a soft kiss on her cheek before they intended on entering.
"Elena," they all turned to face Marcel when he ran towards them, a look of concern on his face, "I need to talk to you."
"We're already late, Marcel, can it not wait?" Klaus instantly protested but Elena placed her hand on his arm before approaching the vampire.
"It's fine, I'm sure I can be fashionably late to our own rehearsal dinner," she said with a small smile before walking towards the car with Marcel.
He pulled the folded up maps out of his blazer pocket and spread them out on the hood of the car, she raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him, "there was lines coming from all over the world and they where headed here, about an hour ago, they all vanished."
Her brow furrowed and she hovered her hands over the maps, chanting the tracking spell over and over until it yielded results but nothing appeared, "maybe they changed their minds and decided not to attack?"
"Is that a possibility?" He asked, his face crumpled with concern and frustration.
"Should be, it tracks enemies on the way into the city, if they changed their minds and turned back, then they would disappear from the map," she was trying to remain calm, she should be considering there was no enemies to see but she had a bad feeling she couldn't shake. She was going to keep that to herself though, she didn't want to ruin anyone's night.
"I've got a patrol of vampires surrounding the hotel and Klaus has his hybrids with them, nothing should get through if we're wrong about this," he reassured, before turning his attention fully onto her and staring her up and down, "you look incredible, Elena, go and enjoy your night, I got this."
"What are you all doing out here?" Rebekah emerged from the entrance and had a disapproving and impatient look spread across her features, "you're late!"
Elena turned her attention back onto Marcel and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, "thank you for everything, Marcel, keep me updated."
"You got it."
She returned to Elijah's side and they linked arms once again, Rebekah looked at her with wide eyes and looked her dress up and down, "oh my god, 'Lena, you look stunning."
"You too, Bex, you're gorgeous," she admired the ankle length, navy blue dress with diamanté detailing along the neckline she was wearing and gave her a kind grin.
"Thank you," she said kindly before she quickly got her brother's arms and dragged them inside, leaving only Elijah and Elena outside; she swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and they entered.
She glanced around and saw so many different people, some were seated and others had congregated into small groups but as soon as they walked in, all eyes hit them and clapping began; she could hear the mumbling of the some of the men and women stating how beautiful she looked, how handsome Elijah was and how amazing they looked together. She couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed by everyone staring at her.
They walked through the ballroom and she glanced around, seeing chandelier's dangling from the ceiling, large ornate mirrors, many tables with silk tablecloths and large floral arrangements and candles in the centre, there was a band in the corner playing quiet classical music and it screamed sophistication.
All the factions had come together for a night of celebration, there was the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, Elijah's guests and her entire family all under one roof, she was completely overwhelmed by the love and joy in the room.
One of the waiters approached them and offered out the tray, Elijah grabbed them both a glass of champagne and he handed it to Elena, he held it out towards her and a crooked smile spread on his lips, "I love you."
"I love you too," she clinked her glass against his and they both took a sip before they began mingling amongst the crowds of people; before New Orleans, a party like this would have terrified her, there where so many different species under one roof and her social skills weren't always the best but now she was a completely different person, she had more confidence than ever before.
She met people from all over the world and they roamed the earth for centuries, Elijah's guests had the most interesting stories and they adored her. She had spent a short while with the witches, of all the factions, she was the most comfortable with her coven and she felt she could relax around them.
Marcel and Diego had swept her away and brought her to the inner circle of vampires, they where the wildest of the guests and she wouldn't have them any other way; they all had all fought together and for each other and the city and they'd been close for nearly a year now.
She was finally able to breakaway and join with her family, everyone from Mystic Falls and the Mikaelson's all stood in a large group and conversed, they were laughing, talking, hugging and sipping at champagne.
A little while later, Rebekah approached a passing by waiter and pulled out a camera from her purse, "would you mind?"
"Not at all," he smiled kindly at her and took the camera.
"I want as many memories as possible, starting with our families coming together," she said, as they all begrudgingly stood together in a large group and posed for the camera, everyone with a smile on their face as the waiter took the picture.
Rebekah instantly took the camera from him and thanked him, she opened up the picture and looked at it, it was beautiful, "I love it."
Elena stood by her side and looked at it over her shoulder, "me too."
Rebekah held up the camera and nudged her head at the girls of the group, "us girls have to stick together."
She held it in selfie position as they all joined together, Elena stood beside Rebekah and Bonnie and Caroline leapt onto their backs, Davina and Cami enveloped them, grinning amusingly as she snapped the picture, "this one is definitely for the photo albums."
"Now one of the Gilbert's," Jeremy shook his head lightly at Rebekah's words and joined by his sisters side, he wasn't fond of pictures but he wouldn't deny her; Elena placed her arm around his shoulders and he held her by the waist as they smiled wide for the picture.
"There is one picture I must insist upon, brides wishes, of course," she took the camera from Rebekah and approached Klaus and Kol and they both had a disapproving look etched on their features.
"A selfie, really, Elena?" Kol said with an amused distaste, before turning to look at his brother.
"We're over a thousand years old, I will not be partaking," Klaus argued, a small smirk appearing on his lips.
"Oh, shut up and smile," she insisted with a grin as she turned around and stood between them, they both rolled their eyes and leaned their heads down beside her face, they didn't smile but she appreciated the smirks regardless and she snapped the picture.
"It's perfect, I love it," she smiled kindly towards them before returning the camera back to Rebekah and she continued to shoot candid pictures of them all as they laughed and came together as a family.
"And lastly-"
Rebekah's sentence was cut short by the sound of a glass clinking and echoing across the room, the host the hotel had provided was stood by the double door entrance that lead to the kitchen and everyone in the room turned to face him.
Elena returned to Elijah's side and slid her hand up his back and rested her hand on his shoulder; he turned to face her, sliding his arm around her waist and dipping his head down slightly to press a soft kiss on her forehead, she smiled lovingly and arched her back slightly to be closer to him.
Rebekah quickly snapped the picture and she looked at them with a happiness in her eyes that could only be brought on by love; she turned her attention back onto the host as he made his announcement and the kitchen doors opened, two long lines of waiters exited, carrying plates and trays.
"Dinner is served."