As Elijah pulled the car up to her house, Elena noticed a few cars besides Alaric's, like Damon's, Bonnie's, and Caroline's. She immediately winced. This wasn't going to fun. The Salvatore's had most likely told Bonnie and Alaric what they knew, and she wasn't sure how they'd react. While she didn't care about what Stefan and Damon thought, she did care for Bonnie and Alaric. Her only hope was that Caroline being there would be of some help for her. "Great. This should be fun."
Elijah parked the car and turned to his niece. He could tell she was a little worried. "Everything will be fine. I want you to stay behind me at all times and let me take the lead."
"I can take care of myself," Elena protested. She was worried about Bonnie and Alaric's reactions because she didn't want them to hate her, not because she worried about someone physically harming her.
"Perhaps, but it is not your job to. It is my responsibility to keep you safe, which leads me to my next thing. I don't want you using magic against anyone unless you think they're a threat to you, and even then, if possible, I'd prefer you let me handle it. No breaking anyone's neck just because they annoy you," Elijah said firmly. His niece was like Niklaus in that she was prone to act out on impulse with violence. Actually, she was a mixture of Niklaus, Kol, and Rebekah from what he'd seen so far. He was most definitely going to have his hands full with her.
"But Damon makes it so easy," Elena said with a grin before catching the unamused look on her uncle's face. "Fine."
Elijah motioned for her to get out of the car before exiting himself. They walked up to the front door. He let Elena open the door the door and walk through before going ahead of her.
Alaric could be heard talking from the kitchen. "What do you mean Elena's not Elena?"
"It's not that simple, Ric," Caroline said.
"Sure, it is. You heard what she was saying last night," Damon said.
"Yeah, and I heard more than you did," Caroline said.
"Because she broke my neck!" Damon strapped.
Caroline snorted. "I'm shocked it took her this long," Caroline said.
Elena smirked as she followed her uncle into the kitchen. "It took a lot of self-control."
Everyone turned to Elena and Elijah. Alaric took a step towards them. "Elena, what's going on? Stefan and Damon said you're not who you say you are? They said something about you being related to the Originals and stealing the real Elena's body? Is all that true?
Elijah stepped in front of Elena. "Mr. Saltzman, you will direct your questions towards me."
Caroline looked at Elena apologetically. "I'm sorry. I came to try to talk to Alaric before anyone else could, but I was too late," she said before glaring at the Salvatore brothers. Stefan, Damon, and Bonnie had already been there when she arrived, and Stefan and Damon had already started giving their version of events to Bonnie and Ric.
"Why are you apologizing to her. If all of this is true, she's not Elena," Bonnie said before glaring at 'Elena'. She didn't understand much, but Stefan and Damon told her that Elena's body was hijacked by this girl somehow, who was the Originals' niece. It was enough to piss her off. "What did you do to Elena? Is she still alive? Get out of her now!"
Elena couldn't help but flinch at her friend's words. She didn't like appearing vulnerable, but she couldn't help it under these circumstances. "I didn't…
Elijah held his hand up in Elena's direction to silence her before addressing the Bennett girl. "Ms. Bennett, I believe I made myself clear. Your questions will be directed towards me. My niece is not going to submit to interrogation. Now, I will tell you what I feel you need to know, but let me make something very clear. This information is not to leave this room. If anyone learns of it, I will destroy each and every one of you. Is that clear?" He would've preferred not to tell them anything, but there was little choice. They already knew enough, and all of them were on vervain, so they couldn't be compelled to forget.
"None of us will say anything. I'll make sure of that," Caroline promised. She would keep everyone silent no matter what she had to do. She wouldn't let them put Elena in danger.
"Elena is the daughter of my older sister, Freya, who is a very talented witch. Four years ago, to protect her daughter from a powerful threat, she placed her into the body of another in order to hide her," Elijah explained.
Alaric took the information in. So, Elena wasn't really Elena, but she was the only Elena he'd ever known, and this had likely not been her choice. Her mother had done this. Still, it was a lot take in. He thought Elena was the daughter of his former wife, but she wasn't. "What threat?"
"Nothing for you to concern yourself with," Elijah said, making it clear he had no intention of answering that question. Although, unfortunately, the Salvatore's did know some of it. He was very tempted to kill them both to keep them silent, among other reasons.
"It has to do with their mother's sister," Stefan said.
"Mind yourself, Stefan. I am barely tolerating your existence as it is," Elijah warned. If the fact that he'd been in a relationship with his fifteen-year-old niece wasn't enough for him to want to kill him, nearly driving her off a bridge definitely was.
Bonnie was still glaring at Elena. "So, you just took over our friend's body? What right did you have?"
"Bonnie, are you not listening? It wasn't her choice. Her mother did it to keep her safe," Caroline said.
"How can you defend her, Caroline? She's not Elena! She's trespassing in Elena's body!" Bonnie snapped.
"She's part of Elena now, and like I said, she didn't have a choice," Caroline said.
"She had the choice to lie to us for four years! She had the choice to pretend to be our friend! And she has the choice to leave now!" Bonnie snapped before glaring at Elena. No, not Elena. The girl pretending to be Elena. "Get out of my friend now, or I will make you suffer!"
"That is enough, Ms. Bennett. I am being patient, but you will not threaten my niece," Elijah said in a dangerous tone.
Elena laughed at Bonnie's attempt to threaten her. Bonnie's words cut, but she refused to back down to the witch. "You think I'm afraid of you? You may be a powerful witch, but you're nothing compared to me. You've been practicing for a few months. I've been at it my entire life! And even if I could leave this body, it would be an empty shell. Your friend is as a part of me as I am of her. Her memories, her feelings, and her personality are all interlocked with my own. We are essentially one. We can't be separated."
"Like we'd believe that. You're nothing like the real Elena," Damon said.
"Are you that big of a moron, Damon? You never knew Elena before I was a part of her. You knew a façade I put up to protect myself and stay hidden. But you're right to an extent. My personality is more dominant, probably because of my magic, but that doesn't mean the real Elena isn't a part of me," Elena said.
"Why should we believe you?" Bonnie asked.
"Do not answer that, Elena. You do not need to justify yourself," Elijah said before turning back to Bonnie. "You can believe whatever you wish, but this aggressive attitude towards Elena will stop at once! She is a child! I will not have her put through it for another moment!"
"What are you talking about? She's not a child. She's eighteen," Damon said.
Elena looked away from everyone a bit awkwardly.
"Elena?" Alaric questioned.
"Well, it's a bit of a grey area. Technically, my body is eighteen, but I've only been alive for just shy of sixteen," Elena said.
You… You're fifteen?" Alaric asked in disbelief. If that was the case, he'd failed completely as a guardian, not that he was all that great at it in the first place. He'd allowed her to consume alcohol, drive a car, and spend many nights away from home with no supervision at all.
"I'm going to be sick," Damon said as his face paled. He'd fallen for a teenager, and not a teenager on the verge of adulthood, like he originally thought. She was only fifteen, even if her body wasn't.
"Fifteen? No, that can't be true," Stefan denied, coming to the same conclusion as his brother. Unlike Damon though, he had an actual relationship with Elena, with a young teen. "How could you keep that from me?"
"Elena, I want you to go upstairs and pack your things please," Elijah said.
"But…" Elena started to argue.
"Now, please," Elijah said sternly.
Elena sighed before leaving the room.
Stefan made to go after her. "No, she can't just leave. I'm entitled…"
Elijah stepped directly into his personal space. "You're entitled to nothing, Stefan. You're not even entitled to draw breath after touching my niece, so I suggest that you watch yourself."
"I didn't know," Stefan said.
"And that is the only reason that your head is still attached to your shoulders, however, the more you speak, the less I care. Now, listen to me carefully. You and your brother will have no further contact with my niece. If you come near her again, you will not survive the day. Am I clear?" Elijah asked.
"Yes," Stefan said quietly. There wasn't really anything else he could say. He wanted answers from Elena, but not so much that he was willing to risk his life.
"Good. Leave," Elijah ordered.
Wordlessly, Stefan reluctantly headed for the door. Damon followed him.
Elijah turned to Alaric. "Elena is coming with me today."
"You… You're just going to take her?" Alaric asked.
"Yes. She is my niece and she is a child. Her place is with her family," Elijah said firmly.
Alaric didn't like it, but he didn't see where he had a choice. He couldn't stop the Originals, and if he were being honest, they were within their rights to take guardianship. "What am I supposed to tell people about why she's gone?"
"You will tell them that you recognized your inability to provide the proper guidance and chose to place her in the care of those that could for the remainder of her high school career. That is also why you chose to send Jeremy to Denver. There will be people who think it's strange, but no one will question it deeply. Anyone with a supernatural background will think that my brother wants access to doppelganger blood, and humans without knowledge of us won't dwell on it much," Elijah told him.
Alaric nodded that he would do it. The last thing he wanted was to place Elena in jeopardy from whatever threat was after her. No matter who she was, he still cared about her.
Elijah gave her a short nod in gratitude before heading out of the room. He went upstairs and found Elena in her room packing. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"
"I'm fine," Elena grumbled as she placed her clothes in a duffle bag."
"I do not believe that you are. I know that that conversation was hard on you. I thank you for doing as I asked and not using magic against anyone. I know it was tempting," Elijah said.
Elena nodded. It was, especially when Bonnie threatened her. That made her hurt and angry, and when she was hurt, she tended to lash out angrily because she didn't like people to see her hurt. She really wanted to show Bonnie exactly what she was capable of.
"It's alright to be upset. You didn't deserve the way you were treated downstairs," Elijah said.
Elena shrugged. "Maybe I did. I lied to everyone for years."
"You did as you were told to do by your mother. That is what you are supposed to do. You're supposed to listen to your mother. You have done nothing wrong. Well, perhaps not nothing. Your relationship with Stefan Salvatore was very inappropriate, but you are young and you had no one to guide you. I will not scold you for it, but I will also not allow such things in the future. I hope you understand that things will be changing. We're going to sit down in the coming days and talk about what will and will not be acceptable from now on. Do you understand?" Elijah asked gently but firmly.
"Yeah," Elena said with a bit of a groan.
"Excellent. Now, can I help you pack?" Elijah asked with a smile.
"Yeah, you can grab the stuff from the closet if you want," Elena said she continued to shove clothes into her bag.
Elijah nodded and went to do just that.