Elena woke up in an unfamiliar room. It didn't take long for her to figure out where she was though. She remembered getting in the care with Elijah to come to the mansion. Not that she had a choice. Elijah had made it clear that she had no say in the matter, and she knew that, despite her newfound strength, she wasn't powerful enough to fight him. The pure exhaustion she felt didn't help that.
Elena was still exhausted, but she couldn't sleep anymore at the moment. She was hungry again, not like before, but she did feel the need for blood. She thought it would be at least a day before she would need to feed again. She didn't remember Stefan, Damon, or Caroline ever needing to feed so quickly.
Elena soon heard footsteps coming her way. She sat up just in time for Elijah to open the door.
"I had hoped to find you still asleep. You still look exhausted," Elijah said. He'd actually hoped she'd sleep until at least tonight. She clearly had not slept in days, which was understandable given how starved she had been.
"How am I supposed to sleep when you're keeping me prisoner," Elena asked with a glare. She might not have a choice about being there, but she wasn't going to act happy about it.
"You're not a prisoner, Elena," Elijah said.
"Am I allowed to leave?" Elena asked.
"No," Elijah said simply as he leaned against the doorframe.
"Am I at least allowed to go outside?" she asked.
"Not without me to accompany you," Elijah told her. He had no problem with her taking a walk on the grounds, but not by herself, at least not yet. And she would not be leaving the property for any other reason than to feed, and he would definitely be with her then.
"Then what would you call that?" Elena asked irritably.
"Supervision and protection," Elijah said after contemplating it for a moment.
"I don't need your protection," Elena argued.
"No, you don't want it, but you do need it," Elijah clarified.
"I don't want to stay here, Elijah," Elena said.
"I know, but you're going to," Elijah said as gently as he could.
"What if I run?" Elena asked defiantly.
"Then I will catch you and bring you right back here, and you know that," Elijah said calmly.
Elena felt her body shake slightly, yet another sign that he was getting very hungry again.
Elijah noticed the shaking right away. "Elena, are you hungry? Is that why you can't sleep?"
Elena reluctantly nodded after a moment.
Elijah sighed and shut the door. He then walked over to Elena and removed his blazer. "Elena, when you're hungry, you need to tell me."
"It's not as bad as it was," Elena said.
"Well, we're going to make sure it doesn't get to that point again," Elijah said as he sat down and rolled up his right sleeve.
Elena scooted away from him a bit. She didn't want to feed from him again. She knew it would piss Stefan off. It was too personal. He would almost feel like she cheated on him.
Elijah sighed before pulling the young original to him with just a tiny amount of force. He immediately felt her begin to squirm to get away from him, but he held her firmly. "Stop this, Elena. You need to feed."
"I can't. It's too personal. Stefan will be mad. He was really mad when I tried to feed from Damon, and I know he was upset today too," Elena said.
"I don't care how Stefan Salvator feels about it. If he cares for you, he will want what is best for you. Now, stop fighting me please," Elijah said before biting into his arm and placing it directly in front of Elena's mouth. He would not allow her to go hungry because Stefan Salvatore was so insecure. It was true that blood sharing was personal, but right now it was not a matter of intimacy. It was necessary for Elena's physical health.
Elena tried for another moment or two to fight against Elijah, but it wasn't long before she gave in. The aroma of his blood became too much.
"Thank you," Elijah said when she finally began to feed.
Elena pulled away after a few minutes, finally feeling better. "Why is it like this? I've never seen any other vampire have to feed so quickly. Is it because I'm an original?"
"Well, you will require more blood than a regular vampire, but no, not to this extreme. This is because you've gone so long without being properly fed. Think of it like a human going several days without food. They need to be fed in small doses frequently. For the next few days, you'll probably need to feed every few hours," Elijah explained.
Elena nodded. "I don't want to stay here with Rebekah and Klaus, Elijah. If I have to stay with you, can you please take me somewhere else?" Elena asked. Ironically, it was actually more Rebekah than Klaus. She hated Rebekah for what she did to her. She was mad when she was simply turned into a vampire. Now that she was an original, it was even worse. There was no way out of this life for her. When she transitioned, she thought to herself that she could always drive a stake through her heart or step into the sunlight without a daylight ring if she got tired of being immortal. That was no longer an option.
"I'm afraid not. I'm going to need Niklaus' help from time to time," Elijah said. He would definitely need his brother's help when it came to teaching Elena to feed. If she fought him when it came to giving her his blood, she would definitely fight regarding feeding off living humans. There needed to be at least two of them for that. "I assure you again that Niklaus and Rebekah will not harm you."
"I hate them. I hate Rebekah so much! She did this to me! It's her fault!" Elena said angrily.
"Rebekah will face the consequences for what she did. I am sorry for what she did to you. She shouldn't have. You should never have been forced into a life you didn't want," Elijah said.
"How did I become an original? I know you said it was a combination of my doppelganger blood with your original blood, but how did I get your blood? I thought Doctor Fell was using Damon's blood."
Elijah noted the name of the doctor who'd done this. He had planned to get the name and pay the doctor a visit at some point. He would not have his blood being given to random people. He could not allow anything like this to happen again. No one else would become an original with his blood, but there was a significant risk of someone being turned with it. "I don't know how she got my blood, but Stefan assures me that she did, and what is happening to you proves that it is my blood in your system. That's also why you're able to feed from me and not Damon."
"I don't get it. Your father fed from other vampires. Why does it only work with you for me?" Elena asked.
"Mikael was an original for years before he was able to feed from vampires. Vampires didn't even exist outside of us for many years for him to do so. Also, we're not all the same. As I told you before, Rebekah and I can feed from blood bags, when necessary, Niklaus, Kol, and Finn cannot," Elijah explained.
"So, maybe I will be able to feed from blood bags at some point," Elena said.
"It wouldn't be for a long time, if at all, and we will not be attempting it anytime soon," Elijah said firmly.
"What happens now?" she asked.
"Right now, I'd like you to try to get some more sleep. You still seem very tired. Try to get some sleep. If you wake up hungry again, come find me, otherwise I'll wake you later tonight so you can feed," Elijah told her.
"I meant what happens going forward?" Elena asked.
"I know what you meant. We will discuss it tomorrow. I want you to rest for today. Now, you can sleep in here for today, or I have a room ready for you if you'd like to move to it," Elijah said before standing up.
Before Elena could answer, she heard voices from downstairs. She heard them clear as day. It was Klaus and Rebekah. Elena was suddenly overcome with rage. She wanted nothing more than to kill Rebekah for what she did to her. She wasn't capable of killing her, but she was now able to at least hurt her quite a bit.
Elijah also heard his sister and saw the look of murderous rage on Elena's face. "Elena, don't."
Elena immediately flashed out of the room at vampire speed in search of Rebekah.
"Elena!" Elijah exclaimed before following the angry young vampire.