The Plantation.
The night didn't end at Rousseau's, they brought the party home. They raided his personal stash of fine liquor, a room filled with tourists and the music was loud, the room dark with only the moonlight to bring light. All she could remember was the blood flying, the taste of the liquor between humans, how close they had been all night, physically inseparable in the most wickedly heinous way. She hadn't danced so much in her life.
Elena's ringtone reverberated around the room, bringing her to an abrupt awakening and she groaned, the light hit her narrowed eyes and she squinted them even more. She lifted her head from the stomach of presumably one of the tourists her and Klaus had brought home last night and rubbed her eyes slightly, trying to refocus them and she was sorry she did. Her eyes widened, noticing the blood coated man under her and she exhaled a breath, "oh god."
It wasn't a tourist.
It was Klaus.
Oh god.
There he lay, fast asleep, bare chested, with only boxers on and arm wrapped around her waist. She looked down, realising they where on the sofa and she was lying between his legs, which were entangled around each others. She raised her eyebrow and tilted her head slightly, staring like she was admiring the work of a famous sculptor and she couldn't deny it was incredible work.
Ring, ring, ring.
She groaned, the sound alone rattled her brain like a tin full of coins being shook repeatedly and she slumped back down, her forehead resting against his stomach once again. He was warmer than she had anticipated, she expected him to be ice cold, to match the heart that beat within his chest.
But then again, the devil lives in fire.
"Elena, answer your phone," he exasperated, his eyes still closed and clearly suffering from the same alcohol induced slumber she had been in.
"No," she groaned into his stomach.
"Elena-" he stopped dead when he lifted his head and saw her, entangled around him, wearing his shirt unbuttoned once again and covered in blood. A small smirk curled up on his lips when he realised, "I thought you were a tourist."
"My assumption exactly," he felt the curl of a smile pressed against his stomach and he couldn't help but stare. Legs as smooth as a doll, entangled in his, she wore his shirt and he was possessive, it was like he claimed her all over again. Her head shot up, broke his train of thought and she looked confused - half dead, covered in blood but there was no denying the furrowed brow.
"Did we..."
"If we did, you would certainly remember," what a wicked smirk and fervent tone of voice he had.
"You think highly of yourself," she countered and he dipped his head to hide the amused grin that formed, "I'm sure I would remain unimpres-"
Ring, ring, ring.
She groaned in protest, and reached over the sofa to grab her phone from the floor, she read the caller ID, Hayley, and answered it, "Hey, what's up?" She propped herself up on her elbow, gazes still locked and they were clearly amused.
"I've been calling for over an hour! Where are you?" Hayley exasperated.
"I'm at the house, what's going on?"
"It's Elijah, he's hallucinating, having memory problems or something, and I need your help," she sounded almost pleading, anything to see Elijah safe and without torment.
"God no," quick answer, straight to the point, there was nothing that sounded worse.
"He keeps saying this girls name, Celeste," she paused briefly, a small sigh escaping, "And yours."
"So?" She rolled her eyes and hung up the phone, tossing it to the side and returning her attention to Klaus. She trailed her finger along his chest, following the stained lines of blood and tormenting in the best way considering their position.
But his mind was elsewhere, he was distracted - annoyed, maybe?
"My brother is hallucinating you," his brow furrowed slightly, he knew Elijah had collected a vast array of emotions for Elena but to be hallucinating her, it seemed odd.
"Jealous?" She quipped, offering a suggestive glance and teasing smirk.
"You should go to him."
"Why would I do that? I don't ca-"
"Yes, you don't care, I know," he was constantly reminded of it, "but perhaps you should ease his pain."
"I thought you wanted him to suffer?"
"Well, this new development has me interested in my brothers affections for you," His deeply disturbed mind was processing all the outcomes, potential dangers and challenges he would face if his brother had grown too fond of Elena, "whether they're that of a guilty conscience or-"
"You're starting to sound genuinely jealous, it's weird," she said with a hint of distaste and surprise in her tone of voice, "stop."
"Do you want me to be jealous, little raven?" He was wicked, strong against her but he would never admit it either way. She was sure he wasn't, he couldn't be.
Great, a new nickname... Or was it a pet name? Another stake to claim her with? Probably all of the above...
... He was using their night of bonding as another way to be possessive. To remind her of the way he reached her, how close they had been, and she liked it? 'Liked' in a sense that it was hers alone. It was empowering. The way he saw her, as a strong creature, dark and light, parts he had reached into.
"No, but I hardly think I get a choice in that matter, you're either jealous or you're not," she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
"Well, I'm not."
"You don't seem convinc-"
Ring, ring, ring.
"Of course," she rolled her eyes and took her phone from the space beside him and answered it, "I'm not coming."
"Please, 'Lena? He's in pain."
She looked at Klaus and though she could see the evil intent behind his actions, there was something else, something she couldn't quite make out but he nodded his head once and she relented, "fine, I'm on my way."
"Thank you."
She hung up quicker than she should have done and dropped her chin defeatedly back onto his stomach, "Are you happy now?"
"Oh, I was already happy, love," he was still staring at her in her current state, he couldn't deny the fine masterpiece of art she was. But obviously his mind was distracted, his brother irking him once again, "but now, I'm curious."
She rolled her eyes and sped onto her feet, she pressed her hand onto her head and walked through the living room, stepping over the several dead bodies they feasted on the night before and headed into the kitchen.
She started a pot of coffee and sat on the counter beside it, allowing her mind to ponder for the few minutes it took to brew. She thought about the night before, the fun they had and how she didn't think it possible to see a side of the hybrid that was unrestrained. Not in a monstrous or murderous way but the side of him that could be free, yearned to be, how they could discuss art, bond, connect, resonate, dance, drink till they couldn't see straight and laugh, oh god, they laughed, there was no reprieve from the endless fun and even when they got home, they were close, they danced more and fed together.
His words about the painting still drummed around in her head, how she was the raven, changed in so many ways and reborn, how she wouldn't be a victim to her own emotions if she switched back on. But if that was the case, she would have to recognise that New Orleans had changed her, he had changed her and the relationships she formed made her someone new. She wouldn't do that. Couldn't...
And then the coffee machine beeped, she shook her head, broke her train of thought and reached for the pot, she poured it into her cup and instantly took a sip.
She heard his footsteps nearing the kitchen and she opened the cabinet beside her to grab another mug. It was like clockwork, this routine she had built during her stay here. Just as he entered, she'd finished pouring it out and he took it in passing.
"So, what are you doing today?" She asked, far too casually, that it made him stumble a step.
"Are you asking me about my day?" He questioned, his eyebrow raised and his contemplative look heightening.
"Well, considering I have to spend the day in the bayou, nursing your brother back to health per your request, I'd like to relish in someone else's day," she deflected, of course she did.
"Rebekah has requested to join me for me breakfast, she'll be here soon. Has she said anything to you since you both returned?" A hint of paranoia in his tone of voice and he was back to normal.
"Nope, I've barely seen her, I think she's avoiding me," she said with a shrug of her shoulders and taking a large sip of coffee.
"Interesting," he paused to contemplate, deciding to push it to the back burner for now, "after breakfast, I have a meeting with Josh to request he find my daggers, I may just need them," he relayed his plans for the day without so much as a hesitation, perhaps it was her lack of humanity that made her trustworthy, she wouldn't reveal his plans because of self-preservation.
"Sounds good," she jumped down from the counter and took the last sip of her coffee, placing the mug down beside Klaus on the counter and flashing him a smirk, "wish me luck with your brother."
"About last night-" he said, just as she was about to walk through the door and she quickly turned to face him with her hand held up to stop him.
"It was an amazing night, we had fun, let's not spoil it with talking," just as she turned back around to walk out, he appeared in front of her and she rolled her eyes.
"What is it, Klaus?" She sighed, somewhat defeatedly. Their proximity being far too close for a conversation such as this one.
"I wanted to say thank you-"
"No need," she dismissed, she had too, she couldn't talk about it, there was so many thoughts rattling around her head that she was sure she was going to pass out from the dizziness.
"Will you just let me speak!" He raised his voice, not quite a shout but it could go that way, especially if they continued to talk about it.
"No, I told you last night, it was a one time thing, that we look past our differences and just have fun, you saved my life and I felt obligated-"
"Obligated?" He reiterated, face stone cold in an instant and she chose to ignore it, for now.
"Yes and now it's back to business as usual, okay?" It would likely never be the same again, she knew it on some level, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to shower, I have tourist in my hair."
"By all means," he gestured his hand towards the door and stepped aside, remaining as cold and as distant as she'd come to know him as.
The Bayou.
An hour later, Elena found herself traipsing through the endless wetland once again, she had a more clear direction this time, she knew where the shack was, where Hayley had took Elijah to keep him safe.
Time spent alone seemed to be dangerous for Elena today, her mind was cracked, open to thoughts about complex matters that she shut off months ago - when Katherine killed Jeremy and she flipped the switch. She still remained emotionless but her ever calculating mind seemed to what to understand this, the underlying meaning of how a night spent with Klaus could affect her mentally, how after months of battles could change so easily.
And now she was trudging through the bayou to help his brother, most likely in another emotional battle that he will inflict upon her. She didn't have the mental space to process another one of those.
Once she saw the shack, she focused her vampire hearing and listened in, she heard Elijah coughing, Hayley trying to reassure him and it sounded like he started thrashing on the bed, "Elena."
She opened the door and saw Elijah lying on the bed, stuck in the venom induced fever and shrouded in a cold sweat. Hayley was sitting on the floor beside the bed and she instantly jumped to her feet when she saw Elena, "What took you so long?"
"Have you ever had to wash dried blood out of your hair? It's hard work," she said nonchalantly with a shrug, eyes now set on Elijah, "how is he?"
"Delirious," She was worried, but he was seemingly in the best hands now, those that belonged to Elena, "I'm gonna step outside, give you both some space."
"And what am I supposed to do with him?" She exclaimed, but Hayley ignored her and went outside anyway.
She took a deep breath and just looked at him for a long moment before walking towards the bed and kneeling down beside him, his eyes were closed but he was shaking, dithering violently and she was already regretting this.
"Celeste."
"Elijah, sweetie, wake up," she had to feign kindness, he responded better to it over hostility. She placed her hand on his shoulder and nudged him several times, "Elijah, you have to wake up. It's me, Elena."
"Elena..."
His eyes shot open and he avidly started searching around the room as if there was enemies surrounding him, she quickly placed her hand on his cheek and brought his line of sight to her, "You're safe, Elijah, it's only me."
"Elena?" He sat up weakly but kept his eyes glued on her, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, Hayley told me you where in a lot of pain, so I graciously came to help," she said sarcastically, as she picked up the washcloth on the side and started dabbing it along his forehead, "besides, it sounds like you were having some pretty hot dreams about me and a girl called Celeste," she raised her eyebrows in a playful manner, "Tell me about them and spare no details, is she hot?" She grinned amusingly and he smirked.
"Apparently my past afflictions are catching up with me," The guilt and remorse where etched in his facial features so prominently, that it reminded her of the night he came home, learnt of her humanity still remaining lost and he gave the same look then.
"Urgh, no, make it up, who was on top?" He laughed, a genuine laugh she very rarely heard from the Original Vampire and it was sweet, "Joking aside, who was she?"
Why did she feel the need to cheer him up too?
"We were involved some 200 years ago, she was a powerful witch, an incredible beauty, I was consumed by her," He said passionately, his eyes closing for a quick moment as the memories continued to rip through his mind.
"And you feel guilty, because?" Her words seemed to pain him more, his face crumpled further and his eyes screamed hurt.
"It's my fault she was killed-"
"Did you actually kill her? Rip her heart out or snap her neck?"
"No, just my being in her lif-"
"Then it wasn't your fault, okay? Stop feeling guilty, whoever landed the blow is responsible, just because you have someone in your life, doesn't mean you bring them harm, Elijah," her voice was softer than she had intended it to be, but he was in pain, suffering from the venom of a hybrid bite and she knew how that felt, he didn't deserve to be yelled at either.
"How can you be so compassionate still, but yet, void of humanity?" He wanted to reach out and touch her and in his tampered mind, he did, visualised it, cupping her face and hoping she would feel something, anything, from it.
- But his mind was broken, his visualisation clouded the fact that he actually did reach out for her, did hold her cheek so tenderly, that he barely felt it until she froze under his touch.
"I'm not trying to be compassionate, Elijah, I'm just talking facts, you harbour to much guilt for things that are beyond your control and it's not healthy," She sighed, "People choose to be in your life, they tend to know what they're getting themselves into."
"Did you?" His fingers smoothed down her face and he stroked his thumb along her jawline, she was blank to it, "Know what you were getting yourself into?"
"Which time?" She said with a smirk, "when you snuck into my bedroom and offered me a deal to protect me and my loved ones from Klaus? Or when I came here to New Orleans to help save you with Klaus?"
"Let's say both, for arguments sake."
"Well, in Mystic Falls, I agreed to the deal, I was an idiot but I knew what I was getting myself into," She reached for the hand that cupped her face and grasped it, holding it as if she was proving she was actually here, "and I'm here, aren't I? We saved you, I'm still fighting with your family in this ridiculous war and I'm currently playing nurse to a delirious Original Vampire, I'd say I know what I'm getting myself into."
"You show loyalty to me, my family, Hayley, yet you feel nothing for us," He looked at their now joined hands and then back onto her eyes, "how do you know you won't hate us all the second your switch is flipped?"
She sighed, standing back onto her feet and walking to the opposite side of the shack, back faced to Elijah, "What do you want me to say, Elijah? Does it actually bother you that much that I don't feel anything?"
"It affects me more than it should," that was painfully obvious.
After a few minutes of silence, Elijah started to cough violently and she rolled her eyes, turning around to face him once again and she sped towards the bed, smoothing her hand around his back in a circular motion and patting slightly to help with the coughing, "you need to get some rest, Elijah."
"We're not done talking,"
"If I agree to stay until you next wake, will you sleep?"
He gave a nod of his head and she sat down on the bed beside him, she rested her back on the headboard and overlapped her ankles in front of her. He fell asleep a few minutes later, although the fever and infection coursing through his veins was worsening -his chest was heaving, the cold sweat spreading and he winced every so often- he seemed to find comfort in the warmth beside him, his guilt tamed by the presence of the doppelgänger.
She felt her phone vibrate in her coat pocket and she removed it, seeing a text from Klaus and opening it.
"How's my brother? Suffering, I hope?"
"He's annoying, you owe me big for sitting through this!"
"I'll make it up to you, sweetheart."
"Did you find the daggers?"
"No, but Josh has informed me that Marcel is clearing the compound for a date as we speak, I shall retrieve them myself."
"That doesn't sound suspicious at all."
"What do you mean?"
"What I said, it sounds suspicious."
"Your tedious sarcasm is just as intolerable over text."
"Just be careful," she regretting writing it the second she hit send, he was going to read into that one.
"You're spending too much time with my brother, his care is rubbing off on you," and he did, he read too much into it.
"Hardly."
She slid her phone back into her pocket and turned to look at him once again, he seemed peaceful for a vampire with a hybrid bite, even though she could clearly see the effects the infection had on his body, he slept soundly, coated in cold sweat and a wheeze in his chest that crackled but at least his dreams weren't plagued.
The door slowly and silently opened, she turned her gaze onto Hayley as she walked inside and stood opposite her, arms folded and watching them carefully, "How is he?"
"How am I supposed to know? I'm not his keeper," she was indifferent, unbothered and it annoyed Hayley more than usual lately.
"He clearly cares about you, 'Lena, how can you be so cold?" She bit back, the wolf attitude slowly returning to her.
"I'm not in the mood for a lecture, Hales."
"Well, tough, you're getting one, I've kept my mouth shut these past few months but this whole 'no humanity' thing is getting old," She took a couple of steps forward, standing strong against her, "I didn't mind at first, you've been good to me and the baby, kept Klaus distracted and I know how much pain you'll be in if you switch it on, but to torture Elijah, even when he's only trying to help, is too far."
"Duly noted."
"Elena!"
"What?" She bit back, her patience dwindling and she stood from the bed, walking outside the shack and standing at the foot of the lake. Hayley followed behind her, arms folded still and filled with attitude.
"Go back inside, Hayley, we're not discussing this," her eyes didn't leave the lake, she refused to be a part of another attempt at her humanity, especially from the one she had spent the most meaningful time with.
"Yes, we ar-"
"Look," she turned around, face as cold as ice and arms folded tightly across her chest, "I know you care about Elijah, it's nauseatingly obvious but don't project that onto me, I'm here because you asked me to be, if this continues, then I'll just go."
"You're being impossible," she yelled in response, her patience dwindling as she tried to reach out to her friend, the emotionless one that seemed to give a crap about her and her baby, even when everyone else around her didn't. The only other was Elijah, and she clung to those relationships.
"No, I'm not," she exasperated through clenched teeth, "This family is impossible, Hales, you all know the person I am, I haven't changed, yet you all seem insistent on trying to 'save me' when I didn't ask to be saved! I don't want to be saved! Everyone needs to stop telling me to feel, if you don't like it, then that's not my problem."
"This isn't who you are, 'Lena-"
"This is who I'm choosing to be."
"We care about you, you need to feel that, feel all of it, you're practically one of them, you've lived with us, fought with us, protected us, why don't you want to feel that?" She was in front of her now, grasping the top of her arms and refusing to break eye contact.
"Nauseating."
"Just switch it back on!"
"No!"
Hayley groaned frustratedly and stomped her way back into the shack, leaving Elena alone by the lake finally, she sat on the grass, watching the water move against the breeze and shutting off all remnants of thoughts relating to New Orleans and the insufferable Mikaelson family.
It had been over an hour, Elena remained perfectly frozen in a statue-like state, just watching the water, contemplating whether it would be easier to just leave, be free of the ties that bind and leave the city that -for some reason- was holding her here ferociously. She was deep in it, like a submerged butterfly, thrashing its wings against the endless depths of the water surrounding it until it eventually stopped breathing.
She heard Elijah wake up, muttering the names of his past guilts and thrashing around in pain. She remained still, trying to muster whatever energy she could to stand and go back inside the shack, but she didn't want too, couldn't bear to have to look at him with that face of pure emotion, it was boring, predictable and she didn't know why but she went back in anyway.
"Elijah, relax," she said impatiently, as she sped towards the side of the bed and held down his arms, "it's just the venom, calm down."
His eyes darkened and he had become lost to the effects of the infection. She quickly grabbed Hayley's hand and sped her outside to safety, closing the door behind her as she returned to Elijah.
"Niklaus! I'll kill you, you bastard," He stood from the bed in a flash, zooming towards her like a cheetah about to pounce and slammed her into the wall, one hand wrapped violently around her neck and the other pushed her shoulder further into the wall.
"Elijah!" She groaned slightly as he pushed further, his usual collected self had dissipated and he was savage, lost to his vampire nature, "as much as I prefer this side to you, get off me!"
She knocked away his arm effortlessly and pushed him back. He seemed disoriented, weaker for the poison and she sped towards him, knocking him to the ground. In the flash of a second, she snapped the leg off the bed and jumped onto his waist. Just as she was about to bring the stake down and embed it into his chest, he grabbed a hold of her neck and squeezed, tight.
If she could feel anger, this situation would certainly trigger it. But Elijah was easy to subdue, she had the right face for it - instead of attacking, she simply held the hand that clutched at her neck. She was tender, gentle, annoyingly so and for a brief moment, he relented. Long enough for her to plunge the stake into his chest and subdue him. In between his screams of pain, she took a deep breath, brought her hand to his face and cupped his cheek. It calmed him, his eyes closed and he fainted briefly.
She could see the fever start to break, the crackle in his chest started to fade and his whole body relaxed. She sighed a breath of relief and reached for the washcloth on the bed beside her. She smoothed it along the curve in his face and washed away the evidence of the fever. She moved his collar away from his neck and the bite wound had healed. She cleaned away that bloodied mess too.
A few minutes later, a loud gasp burst from his lips and his head shot up. He grabbed onto her waist, tight, as if she was an enemy he had to kill. But he softened upon seeing her face, the face that haunted him and he relaxed, slightly.
"Elena?"
"You're welcome!" She removed the stake and tossed it to the floor, she sped onto her feet and extended her hand towards him. He took it and she helped him to his feet, but much to her surprise, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Forgive me?" He spoke in a whisper, breath dancing along her ear as he smoothed his hand over her hair until it reached her lower back and he pulled her in tighter.
"I'd rather fight you than hug you, this is sickeningly sweet, Elijah," she sounded dissatisfied, disgusted but much to his surprise -and hers- she hugged him back, arms hesitantly slipping around his neck and bringing him in a touch closer.
He pulled his head back slightly, smoothing his fingers along her cheek and watching her with a small smirk, "at least I've found a way to torture you."
"I'm only allowing it because you were just poisoned," She exasperated, "I won't entertain any shows of affection without it."
"Then let's pretend I still have the poison in my system," The back of his fingers trailed down her cheek and along her neck, "you did, in fact, agree to stay until we were finished talking and I'm feeling particularly affectionate in my gratitude, let's see how you cope with that."
"You must still have a fever, you're delusional," She said amusingly, giving only a roll of her eyes.
"Or perhaps I'm seeing clearly," his voice was soft, broke with emotion and he grasped the nape of her neck, "but you have to swear you'll answer all my questions honestly."
Finally, a game she could play with the Original Vampire, it was likely going to be similar to the one Klaus had forced her to endure the night before. Attempt to make her feel something, resonate with her, try and rile her up with closeness, touch and a show of feelings. She wouldn't break that easy, not even against Elijah.
"Fine, you want a go at flipping my switch? Have at it, I'll even play the part of the affectionate doppelganger, you'll see your efforts wasted," she smirked, tightening the hold her arms had of his neck, "So, do you want the Tatia or the Katherine package?"
"Elena will do just fine," he was indifferent to her attempt at trying to cause hurt, instead, he grabbed her waist and pulled her in a touch more, "you seem to think that reminding me of the previous doppelgängers is the way to challenge me. It's not, Elena, you're not them, you may possess the same face but that's hardly what draws me to you."
"It's exactly what draws you to me, you feel guilty about what has happened to me since you came into my life and you want to fix it, feel obligated to, because of them, you failed them, you want your guilty conscience cleared," She slid her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck and tugged slightly, her attempts at riling him clearing failing but her shows of affection would get to him eventually.
"Interesting observation," He smiled, toying with a loose curl that dangled by her face tenderly, "but it's still not correct."
"I'm assuming you're not going to divulge what is correct?"
"Not yet."
"Don't tell me you're growing too fond of me, Elijah?" She smiled amusingly, leaning her lips closer to his and she felt his breath hitch, "You're not my type... I mean you look good, really good, I can only imagine what a hot nigh-"
"Your games won't affect me, Elena, you should know that by now," He smirked.
But she knew he was still thinking about it, what a night with her would look like.
"Okay, fine, let's talk," She took his hand and lead him outside, bringing him to the lake and sitting down on the edge of it. She tapped the space beside her and he joined her, leg bent at the knee and his arm resting on it so his fingers dangled.
"Tell me, what happened to Celeste?"
"My brother, he ordered a witch hunt, she was caught, drowned in her own bath tub and it tore me up for a long time. If I'm being perfectly honest, I don't think I ever moved past the manner of her death or time we spent together," he looked at the lake, voice filled with anguish as he relived the memories.
"You loved her..."
"I did," he had a featherlight voice, so soft and quiet that she wouldn't have heard him without vampire hearing "Tell me about someone you loved,"
"Stefan? The ripper that Klaus ruined? Or Damon? The first monster to enter my life?" She pulled a face in disbelief and amusement, "Futile attempt at trying to get me to feel, I have no good memories associated with any of them."
"I didn't necessarily mean a previous romantic relationship," He took her hand in his, thumb stroking along her skin and he tapped a quick kiss on her knuckles, "tell me about Jeremy."
Futile attempt.
"He's dead, murdered by your ex-girlfriend, remember?"
"What were you like when you were younger?"
"Normal," she sighed, bored, "a family, happy, contented, without a care in the world... And that was all ripped from me the second my parents died."
"Don't you remember how that felt? To be happy, contented? Remember it, Elena." His voice was becoming more urgent, his emotion clearly expressed on his facial features and he held her hand tighter.
"All I remember is the death, the death of my family, friends, even me, even before I became a vampire, I died on that bridge with my parents too, I never came back the same," She paused, looking out at the lake, "making me remember this isn't what will get me to flip the switch, Elijah."
"So what will?"
"Nothing," Elena said firmly, pulling her hand away from his and meeting his gaze, "look, if you keep trying to save me, Elijah, then you're the only one that's going to get hurt - switch or not, I don't want that too happen."
"Tell me why," His voice was firmer, brown eyes staring fiercely into hers and he held her by the nape of her neck.
"Because I did care about you, Elijah, I remember I did," Elena said indifferently, "in my human days, I cared about what happened to you, I never understood why, I guess I was kinda protective of you... But it's gone now, so you have to stop pushing, you'll end up hurt."
She grasped his hand and pulled it away from her neck, she couldn't read him, the look on his face that made her uneasy and he had successfully accomplished in his mission to rile her up.
She took her phone out of her pocket and noticed the missed calls and texts
"I have to go, find Hayley."
She vanished.
The Plantation.
The attempts on Elena's humanity were becoming more frequent, each of them becoming more personal and emotional by the day and it was getting under her skin in the most annoyingly irritating way. Much like a rash that was incessantly itching. It was riling her up in a defensive way, much like it did when Damon and Stefan tried constantly to restore her and that didn't turn out so well for anyone, except her.
At least with the Mikaelson's and Hayley, they kept it interesting, fun to take part in and she enjoyed challenging them constantly. She wanted to see how far they would let her go, to see how much they would let her get away with until they finally deemed her a lost cause and relented... Or killed her, whichever came first.
But after the time spent in the Bayou with Elijah, she was finding it tedious, like she was the one who had been pushed and revealed just how much they could get away with when it came to her and she was fairly certain, they weren't going to like a response from her.
She walked in The Plantation to find Klaus, sitting at the piano and tapping mindlessly at the keys with his head propped up on his free hand. She took several steps inside the music room and saw how defeated he looked.
"I got your calls, what happened?"
"It's been a long day."
Not again.
She looked at the exit, back to Klaus, then the exit again, pining to be free of the Mikaelson drama, it was becoming tedious, more emotional the longer she stayed in it and it was taking it's toll. She sighed in defeat and sat next to him on the piano stool.
It was a strange phenomenon, to see the well-constructed facade of the heartless beast crumble, chipping away like the old wooden frame encasing an antique piece of artwork. He was vulnerable, emotional, clearly frustrated, and after a day of those around her trying to reach her, she doubted she could even pretend to care effectively.
"Do you want me to pretend to care?" She looked at him but his gaze remained fixed on the piano keys, she could see how deep he was in thought and how he was becoming more annoyed by the moment. But he seemed to relax a tad when she offered.
"Perhaps."
"So, tell me about it, what happened?"
There was a sense of security when talking to someone who wasn't emotionally invested, they wouldn't offer their opinion or try to argue how they were right or the other wrong, they just listened, acted the part of caring friend and then likely forgot all about it the second the conversation broke.
"I won the city back, Marcel swore allegiance to me," he should have been prouder, accomplished but yet, he was still melancholic.
"That's good, right?"
"Rebekah plotted against me, betrayed me, for him!" He snapped slightly, voice raised and he tapped several keys harder than before, "Elijah accused me of having ill intentions towards my own child and I'm sick of being betrayed."
"I'm sorry that happened to you," she feigned an empathetic voice and soft glance.
She made a mental note to compel herself onto a Broadway show one day. Her acting was unmatched.
"I wanted to build a home for us, take back the city we once built and live here, as a family, a safe place for my child and they have doubted every step I've made."
"I know, I wish they were better to you."
"You feel nothing for us though, do you?" He finally turned to look at her, the glimmer in his eyes betraying the fact that he did care for the answer, even in his most angry and vulnerable state.
Not again!
"Do you want the pretend answer?" She sighed, bored.
"No."
"Then, no, not a thing," her answer seemed to frustrate him further but he was pensive, contemplating how she can be so different so quickly, this wasn't the Elena he saw yesterday, the one open to connection and that even though it was impossible, seemed happy.
"Even after last night..."
"We're not talking about last night, it was a one time thing, remember?"
Last night, she had a feeling she was going to regret showing him the other side of her, the one that was capable of being without games and battles, the one that yearned to be free and even in her void state, she could form a closeness based on loyalty and respect for those around her. He read too much into it, much like he did with a lot of things she did or said lately.
"So, why are you still here?" He sighed.
"I'm pretending to care about you, remember?"
"You can stop now," he returned his attention back onto the piano keys and gave up.
"Thank god," she breathed an overly excited breath and smiled, "between you and your brother, I've had quite enough for one day."
She stood from the piano and went to the liquor cabinet, pouring two scotches out and handing him one, she leaned over the piano and hovered near him, "do you wanna go out?"
Just as he glanced up at her and smirked at her persistence, the front doors blew open and Elijah and Rebekah strode into the main room. Both Klaus and Elena snapped their gazes onto them and she slowly stood up straight, taking a long sip of scotch and taking a seat on the sofa. She knew there would be no going back to Bourbon Street, not tonight.
"Elena, go to the compound, I need a word with my siblings," Klaus ordered, his line of sight shifting to her and his expressions became more firm.
"I can't stay and watch?" She smirked on the rim of her glass before taking a sip and kicking her legs up onto the coffee table, "I'm bored."
"Now!" He roared.
"Careful, Klaus, your emotions are showing."
She vanished.
The Compound.
Elena had been sent away to the compound, dismissed during a family squabble that saw no end. Much like immortality, if there was one thing that was everlasting, those siblings would fight. Argue until blue in the face, wrought pain upon each other like it was a sport and never find peace.
She was so deeply interwoven in the dynamics of that family, that she knew exactly how they worked - every thought process they had, actions they would take, missions they would pursue, everything. Klaus sent her away to hide his vulnerability from her, to not showcase to the emotionless one, that there was, in fact, feelings beneath that hardened exterior that he would not allow her to see. Their game was an emotionless one, designed for power and control and he would not relinquish that for the sake of an argument between his siblings.
So she sat in the lifeless compound, not a soul in sight she could torment. Bottle of scotch in one hand and her copy of The Tempest in the other. She was mindlessly reading and drinking, mind wandering to the havoc that was likely ensuing between the Mikaelson's and how disappointed she was to be missing it. She enjoyed a good fight amongst them, it was as entertaining as the thrillers she used to watch, except theirs would never end, credits doomed to never roll.
Klaus stormed in, the gates pushed firmly aside and the echo of the clank reverberated across the entire room. Her eyes instantly snapped onto him, his forceful strides across the room and he wore a look of emotion she hadn't witnessed before.
He barely flashed her a look, the smallest of glances he had ever laid upon her as he approached the liquor cabinet. His shoulders were tense, arms pressed against the wood with such a tight grip, she thought the wood would snap any second.
"Klaus?" He flinched upon hearing her voice, his ear pointing down towards her just a touch but he clamped back up and she was confused, like a beast of legend had strode in that she hadn't learnt of before. She knew Klaus - not the version of him that everyone else saw, no, something deeper, more profound. The one she had pushed out of him during her months here, saw in him last night, but this look, this demeanour, was new.
He wasn't angry - no, that was a different type of furrowed brow and jaw clench. Sad? No, his face wasn't crumpled enough.
He looked disassociated, like he was here in the room but his mind was somewhere else. Was he upset? Surely not, he was too powerful in his steps, the way he snatched the bottle of scotch from the liquor cabinet was too forceful.
She couldn't pinpoint this emotion, and she knew his all too well. Spent months learning about each of his triggers, the different expressions he had for every mood, but this - no, it was something new.
Elena was interested, another emotion from the apparent heartless hybrid that she hadn't witnessed before, should she pry? Was there another button she could push? Maybe she shouldn't - then again, he didn't have a murderous look, but he was unpredictable, after all. But it did sound like fun.
She was beside him within a second, so fast that she made the collar on his jacket flutter in the wind she created and she pressed her hand onto the top of his with a slight squeeze, "tell me."
"My family-" the hurt in his voice was obvious, it was a pain that could be not only be heard but seen, visible like an open wound. His lips pursed together to stop himself talking - he'd had enough of talking for one night, that was clear. But something happened, one fleeting thought that made him see how vulnerable he had become and he fought against it.
He was lightening fast, her back collided with brick before she had the chance to process the thought of him grabbing her. He squeezed at the top of her arms with a pained fervour and she thought she was going to die, he was close, hovering near her like a tiger about to eat his prey.
But then she saw it, the same look she had when she had to tell Jeremy about their parent's death, then Jenna's funeral, when Ric had died - he was distraught, hurt, vulnerable. Every emotion a vampire hated to feel and it was all there, etched into each line on his face and his ever so slightly parted lips. The glimmer of his eyes that clearly came from shedding tears, the stains on his cheeks where they had rolled down, and his brow furrowed... why was his brow furrowed?
Why was he staring at her so deeply, that she thought he could see into her mind from just the reflection of her hues? Like he was searching for something deeper - there was nothing there to find, only the emptiness, the darkness that consumed her heart.
"What happened?" She asked, so carefully, that it made her heart skip a beat. He was close, dangerously close, he looked like he could end her life in a matter of seconds.
Her fate really was controlled by him. It was only then that she saw it -realised it- he held her so tightly, so fatally painful but yet, still like there was nowhere else that was safer.
"Klaus, tel-"
He leaned in, lips crashing on lips and she felt a storm, a red warning storm buried within their kiss and she froze. Eyes opened wide, heartbeat striking like the thunder that clapped within those few seconds he had connected them. But she didn't pull away or run scared from the tempest that unleashed between them, instead, she ran straight into the eye of it.
Like a ship, thrashed and beaten by the storm, she sunk, her arms crossed around his neck and she leaned into the hands that smoothed so passionately down her waist, and then to her hips and settled on her lower back in a tight grip. The Wolf and The Raven, two souls entwined.
There was no love or feelings between them, just a dark and cold abyss that yearned for light, to feel something other than the nothingness that lay buried within their chests, an empty heart, a darkened soul that sought -demanded!- a connection.
"O, I have suffered. With those that I saw suffer."
Oh how perfectly chaotic and catastrophic their connection was. It was fire and ice, Petrova blood meeting Mikaelson magic and it was explosive, a thousand years in the making, that brought these two lost souls together.
"Hell is empty and all the devils are here."
He lifted her so effortlessly and her legs clung to his waist like they had been there before, but they never did, it felt almost right, but god, it wasn't, far from it. But they were learning about each others bodies in a whole new way, like how his hand paved its way up her thigh so curiously and her breathing hitched when she felt the sparks, or how she tugged on the ends of his hair to bring him closer and he seemed to like that, a lot.
Crash, smash, shatter went the bottles and glasses, in one quick arm sweep he cleared the cabinet without breaking their kiss for even a second and sat her on it so fluently. She only clung harder, her thigh smoothed up his side and he was delving further into the kiss that could rock the alps. He was possessive, uncaged, unhinged and he wanted her. In this one completely depraved and twisted moment, he yearned to be touched, heard, felt, connected, to something other than anguish.
"This thing of darkness, I acknowledge mine."
To feel... But Elena didn't feel, Klaus couldn't feel. There was something about crossing that line in a state of vulnerability that would ruin them forever. Their connection, the relationship they had formed over the recent months, everything.
And like they had thought it at the exact same time...
Her brain caught up, realised what was happening, what they were doing and the storm halted, she inhaled a sharp breath and broke their kiss. Their imperfectly perfect kiss. The storm had passed and the tide settling. She could see the shock horror in her face reflected in his and he drew in a quick breath, but that wasn't going to steady their slow rising chests and erratic heartbeats.
Instead, she vanished, ran from the compound as fast as she could, as if there was a herd of elephants at her back trying to crush her. God, did he crush her.
"For I am all the subjects that you have, Which first was mine own king."
It was safe to say, she wasn't going to read The Tempest before bed tonight. Or if ever at all, again.
Rousseau's.
There had been many times over the course of Elena's short life where she had been genuinely surprised, shocked like a fuse shorting and sparking through her entire body. Every birthday from her childhood, she would startle when her loved ones jumped out and surprised her. When she read her first book and she was hooked, looked upon her first painting and felt passion, her first kiss, there had definitely been no shortage of surprise.
But this... This was uncharted territory, Klaus kissing Elena, Elena kissing Klaus. It wasn't like the nights she spent with strangers, delving into the thrill of meaningless dissipation and turpitude. No, she lived with the Mikaelson's, with Klaus - fought along side them, allowed them to become a part of her life in a strange paradox, attached but depraved simultaneously.
She felt nothing but, God, he was a good kisser. He looked good, they looked good together and she could only imagine what their intimacy would look like - not that she thought about him that way, in a sick sense of accomplishment, she had won, made him feel, made him want something other than her death and now that she had succeeded, she didn't know what to do with her win.
Elena took herself off for a drink, maybe five, as she attempted to process what just happened. She sat at the bar, staring into the chaotic swirls of her scotch and allowed herself to be taken by her thought processes, the different ways she could handle this new development and ultimately, the only thing she could do...
Leave.
She was bored, tired of handling the Mikaelson's and their drama and now, everything had become complicated. She never cared for the fight for the city, the dynamics of family and the battle for her humanity. She came here to be free, to earn that freedom by finding Elijah and that was weeks ago, she had no place left here anymore.
She could feel the tenuous hold she had of her switch, they were getting to her, everyday she stayed here, they were getting closer to having their way and making her feel again. She didn't want that, couldn't handle it. But it was close, she could feel it.
"You look like you've had a long day," the familiar voice of the blonde bartender broke her train of thought and brought her hurling back to reality. She topped up her glass and offered that kind smile she gave to everyone so freely, "this one is on me."
"Thanks," Elena said coldly and she was clearly distracted, heavily so.
"You come in here quite a lot, don't you? The wild girl everyone seems to like," Camille chuckled, "you sure know how to party."
"And you're the therapist..." Elena took a sip of scotch, eyes glaring coldly at the bartender, "the girl everyone seems to find council in."
"Or the unwitting bartender that drunk people can't seem to help but share with," she retorted with an amused grin, "I don't mind though, I suppose if I help just one person, then it's all worth it, right?"
"I'm not the person to be asking that too, I don't particularly care," she was sardonic, bored and overall, tired of emotional dribble. She had to keep forcing back those emotions that were trying to claw their way back out.
"Everyone cares about something," Cami argued, prying into the mind of the emotionless doppelgänger, "there has to be at least one thing in your life you care about."
"Right now?" She held her now empty glass out towards her, "only how long it's going to take until you refill my glass."
Camille smiled, holding back the amusement as she poured her another one, "Well, you seem like a tough nut to crack."
"You know, I just wanted a quiet one tonight," she warned lightly, taking another sip, "I'm sure there is somebody else you can go bother."
"Sure," Her eyebrows raised, she was surprised by her abrupt hostility but she was a therapist at heart, she saw the emptiness within people, yearned to help, just like she wished she could have done for her brother, "should I just leave the bottle?"
"No," she pursed her lips together, a sharp breath exhaled through her nose, "not tonight."
"At least I won't have to clean up after one of your parties, they get messy, huh?" Cami was looking at her carefully, trying to determine the root cause of her mood, "you know, I'm a pretty good listener, if you wanted to talk, you seem sad, hur-"
Elena snapped, saw red and clutched her neck, Cami looked at her with shock horror and fear clearly visible in her facial expressions as she tried to pry her hand away. Elena pulled her onto the bar, back slamming against the hard wood as she attempted to fight back.
"You know, Cami," she said with a flippant tone of voice, her eyes darkening as her patience all but vanished, "I'm getting pretty tired of people telling me how I should feel, it's getting old."
Camille was terrified, gasping for air as she tightened her grip at her life source. Her legs kicked out against the wood and she used what little strength she had to try and fight back, to pry away her hands but it was futile, obviously.
A loud gasp escaped her lips when Elena released her fangs, she saw the vein pulsing beneath her skin, the sound of her heartbeat pounding so hard, it was like music to her ears and she sunk her fangs painfully into her neck - she had but barely a few drops when she was pulled away, hands clutching her arms tightly, removing her from Cami with ease.
She saw Marcel for maybe a few seconds before everything turned to black, the last thing she remembered before her neck was broken, how angry he looked, distant, and she had a feeling this wasn't about Camille.