"Enough, Niklaus." Elijah said firmly, accepting help up from Elena and Rebekah. "Now is not the time, we've clearly missed something of importance. Elena," he smiled as he turned to look at the brunette, "please, introduce us to your new friend."
Elena smiled back at him, linking her arm with his and leaning against his shoulder, easily disguising the fact that she was holding him up, and gently tugging him over to Marcel and Davina.
"Elijah," Elena sing-songed, "you already know Marcel; this is Davina."
"Hello." Davina tilted her head at Elijah as she came to stand beside Marcel. "You're the one they call honourable."
"I suppose I am." Elijah quirked his lips at her softly. "You appear to know more about me than I do about you."
"Doesn't that come with the territory of being an Original?" Davina retorted softly, quirking an eyebrow at him.
"You could say that." Elijah acknowledged, turning his attention to Marcel. "Marcellus, it's been a long time."
"Yeah, after you all left me for dead, I don't think any amount of time is long enough." Marcel bit out, folding his arms across his chest as the tension rolled from his body.
"Okay!" Caroline chirped, clapping her hands as she interrupted the rebuilding tension. "I think Elijah needs to go and recuperate for a minute, at the very least get some blood in him, and I think everyone just needs to take a moment to calm down."
"Caroline's right." Elena said firmly, smiling all too brightly for the bite in her tone. "Elijah?" She turned to the Original on her arm, flashing him a sunny grin. "Shall we?"
"Of course." Elijah smiled back at her before turning back to Davina and Marcel. "I apologise, may we discuss shortly?"
Davina nodded, placing a hand on Marcel's arm to calm him down. "Absolutely, take as long as you need."
Elena inclined her head slightly at her, raising an eyebrow slightly as she turned to discreetly lead Elijah away.
"Not yet." She breathed to the Original when she felt his weight nearly collapse on her completely just before they rounded the corner out of the room.
Elena deliberately made a route through the kitchen, leaving the Original leaning heavily on the island in the centre of the kitchen for a moment as she grabbed a handful of blood bags. She returned to his side quickly, whisking the pair of them away to Elijah's study upstairs.
Elijah collapsed into his chair, breathing heavily as Elena tore open the first of the blood bags, holding it out to him to drink.
Elijah shook his head, causing a growl of impatience to roll from Elena's throat. "Drink the damn blood, Elijah." She hissed, shoving the bag at him angrily.
"I can't keep it down." Elijah denied, gently pushing Elena's hand away. "There's no point in wasting it."
Narrowing her eyes at the much older vampire, she perched on the corner of his desk, sipping leisurely at the blood in her hand. "You still haven't kept any blood down at all?"
Elijah shook his head, confirming Elena's words. "If anything, it's minimal."
"Well, that just won't do, will it?" Elena sighed, tossing away the now empty bag in her hand. "You need to feed, Elijah." She said, opening another bag for herself and beginning to sip from it again. "Do you feel any hunger?" She asked curiously, tilting her head at him when she noticed he didn't react to the scent of blood at all.
Elijah sighed before shaking his head softly, reluctant to admit such a thing, but bound to the truth by his words to Elena. "It appears you do."
Elena shrugged. "Let's just say I didn't spend so long with Davina and Marcel completely consensually."
"They hurt you?" Elijah probed, the veins around his eyes beginning to darken before fading, not that Elena noticed as she tossed another empty bag away.
"Davina put me down with some magic; the sickness and being kept away from a blood supply are to thank for my current hunger." She flipped her hair over her shoulder, tilting her head at Elijah curiously. "It seems to suggest that we're suffering different afflictions if you no longer hunger for blood."
"Perhaps." Elijah exhaled, rubbing his brow tiredly as Elena picked up a letter opener from his desk, twirling it between her fingers. "Would that not be too much of a coincidence?" He countered. "We both happen to be sick, but affected by different maladies."
Elena quirked her eyebrows slightly, accepting his point. "I don't think much about this really makes sense, Elijah."
Elijah let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head slightly. "That, I think I can agree with wholeheartedly."
The two lapsed into silence, save the sounds of Elijah's still unsteady breathing and the sound of metal on skin as Elena twirled the letter opener in her hand. The pair remained locked in their thoughts until a soft gasp cut through the silence as Elena slipped, cutting the palm of her hand slightly.
This time, she didn't miss the darkening of the veins around Elijah's eyes as the smell of her blood hit his nose. As quickly as they'd appeared, they'd disappeared, Elijah's eyes wide as he realised Elena had noticed his reaction.
"Well, that's interesting." Elena quipped, staring at him curiously as the wound on her hand healed.
"It's nothing." Elijah denied, shaking his head.
"Looks a lot like hunger to me." Elena scoffed.
"Don't antagonise me, Elena." Elijah warned, his voice tight.
"Why not, Elijah? What are you gonna do?"
"Elena…" He bit out, grinding his teeth together.
"You could barely make it up the stairs, let alone hurt me." She scoffed. "Some big bad vampire you are. How's anyone in this house supposed to rely on you to protect them when you can't even look after yourself?"
"Enough!" Elijah bellowed, slamming Elena against the wall as the veins under his eyes writhed. "I told you not to push me!" He growled, forcing his vampire visage away as he took a few deep breaths.
"Do you want to bite me, Elijah?" Elena smirked, tilting her head and opening up access to her neck, grinning when Elijah's gaze automatically moved to the artery in her throat.
"Elena, stop." His voice was strained, and his tongue darted out to lick his lips in a quick movement, one of his hands moving of it's own accord and brushing Elena's hair away from her neck.
"Are you tempted, Elijah?" She breathed, bringing a hand up to the back of his head and gently tugging his face down towards her neck. "Go ahead, it's okay."
Elijah let his head fall to the wall beside her neck, his lips resting on the skin there. "This isn't right." He breathed, his fangs lightly scraping the skin of her neck as he spoke.
"Does it matter?"
Elena let out a soft gasp as Elijah's fangs pierced her neck, her eyes fluttering shut at the sensation of Elijah feeding from her. One of his hands found it's way into her hair, the other arm wrapping around her waist as he pulled her body closer. Elena's arms wrapped around his neck, securely anchoring the Original to her lest he change his mind.
She cautiously walked them backward until Elijah's knees hit his seat, shoving him down into his chair and following behind him to straddle his lap. Elijah involuntarily let out a soft moan, continuing to drink from Elena, who's eyes closed again in euphoria as he drank, unfamiliar with the sensations that were flooding her system.
Elijah pulled his fangs from Elena's neck after a few minutes, cleaning the small amount of blood from Elena's neck and licking his lips.
"Elena, I-"
"Shut up." Elena rolled her eyes, letting her forehead fall onto Elijah's shoulder with a soft thud. "Just, shut up."
Elena drained two more bags of blood before the two of them had cleaned up and returned downstairs.
Klaus had taken a seat, although, from the look on his face and the way Caroline and Rebekah stood in front of him, it seemed more like he'd been forced into the chair. Bonnie and Davina occupied opposite ends of the sofa, and Marcel and Hayley stood off to the sides.
"You look better." Rebekah breathed, smiling at her brother happily. "I'm glad."
"As am I, sister." Elijah moved smoothly over to his armchair, taking a seat as Elena perched on the arm of the chair, ignoring the daggers she could feel coming from Hayley. "It appears we all have much to discuss."
"We've been getting to know each other a little." Caroline said, a pointed glare heading in Klaus's direction. "Some of us seem to play nicer than others."
Klaus glared back at the blonde, although it seemed to turn into more of a pout as her glare intensified.
"Your acquaintances are very interesting." Davina piped up, looking at Elena. "You really weren't overselling anything."
Elena laughed. "Not at all. I assume you've been talking to Bonnie."
The two witches exchanged glances briefly before Davina looked back at Elena. "We had a chance to talk without ears listening in."
Elena nodded, satisfied that Davina had managed to have a calm introduction to the person who could help her most.
"Elena," Elijah prompted softly, "could I perhaps trouble you for an explanation?"
"How have we never heard of this Harvest?" Rebekah breathed, her face a mask of shock. "They've been out there killing kids for centuries and we've never even heard about it?"
"Witches don't get involved in vampire business," Marcel sighed, "so vampires don't tend to get involved in witch's business."
"They can't get away with this." Caroline spoke up, her voice hard and her eyes glistening with tears. "They just can't."
"They won't." Elena stressed quickly, meeting the blonde's eyes when she turned to look at her in shock. "People shouldn't hurt kids, Caroline, and they sure as hell don't get away with it when they do."
"I thought your emotions were off." Hayley said pointedly, narrowing her eyes at Elena.
"They are." Elena turned her increasingly familiar fake smile in Hayley's direction. "Luckily for you, I still have some morals."
"Are you serious right now?" Hayley snapped, glaring at Elena, who only smirked back, more than happy to take on the opportunity to put the wolf in her place.
A firm hand on her wrist had her relaxing her stance and settling back on the arm of the chair with a roll of her eyes and a toss of her hair. Elijah quirked an eyebrow at the brunette vampire when she turned to face him, releasing her wrist when he was satisfied with the measured gaze he received in return.
"Elena is right." Elijah continued as though nothing had happened. "The witches cannot be allowed to get away with slaughter; they are your people, Davina," he turned to the young girl, "we will not act without your consent."
Davina nodded slowly, surprised at the decision being placed on her shoulders. She let out a soft sigh after a moment, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. "I have some things I need to consider first."
Elijah inclined his head in a short gesture. "Of course, take as long as you need."
Davina nodded again, turning to Elena. "You didn't tell us Elijah was also sick."
Elena raised an eyebrow at her. "Would you have given up such information about Marcel?"
Davina considered her words for a moment with narrowed eyes and pursed lips before deflating in recognition of Elena's point. "I suppose not. Have you found anything we can use?" She asked, turning her attention to Bonnie and the grimoire on the coffee table.
Bonnie sighed. "There's a few diagnostic spells, but I don't know how well they'll work on vampires, aside from that there's nothing."
"Would you mind if I borrowed the grimoire for the night? I might be able to find something you missed."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Elijah cut in swiftly, straightening his suit jacket when Davina looked in his direction. "None of us trust each other fully, yet, it would be foolish to allow a witch as powerful as yourself access to such a book when we're still on rocky footing."
"I understand." Davina smiled, stopping Marcel from snapping at the Original.
"I would be willing to part with a few pages." Elijah shrugged, smothering a smile at the way Davina's eyes lit up. "I'm sure Miss Bennett can help you select a few pages of interest," Bonnie nodded, smiling at the younger witch, "with that settled, it is rather late, I believe we should all retire for the night."
Just short of an hour later, Davina and Marcel, and Bonnie and Caroline had all left in their respective pairs. Klaus had slunk off to his room, furious with the events of the night, and Hayley had disappeared likewise, sulking after another round of sniping had begun between the two brunettes. Rebekah had hovered for a while, still slightly put out by just how ill Elijah had become that night; she'd only left when she was completely satisfied he wasn't going to drop dead on her.
That left Elena and Elijah alone in the living room, Elijah still sat in his armchair, reading yet another grimoire, while Elena was sprawled on the couch, humming to herself over the sound of the fire crackling.
"Elena," Elijah broached eventually, "I would like to apologise for earlier," he ignored Elena's groan, "my actions were…"
"Sexy, fun, carefree…" Elena drawled, staring at the ceiling.
"Incorrigible." Elijah finished, ignoring Elena's suggestions. "I never should have behaved in such a way."
"Why not?" Elena exclaimed, propping herself up on her elbows so she could look at Elijah. "You wanted to, you needed to, and I wanted you to. Why is that so wrong?"
"You're not yourself at the moment." Elijah said softly, looking away from Elena's penetrating gaze.
"You've already covered that one, several times." Elena snarked, rolling her eyes. "Try again."
Elijah let out a soft sigh, closing his book and setting it to the side. "None of this is a game to me, Elena."
"I never said it was." She retorted.
"Your actions speak differently." Elijah denied, shaking his head slightly. "Your emotions are off, everything is a game to you."
"You sound like you talk from experience." Elena raised an eyebrow at Elijah. "Should I be worried you're playing games, Elijah?"
Elijah scoffed, shaking his head. "You think so low of me?"
"You started it." Elena retorted, rolling her eyes.
"Something is happening beyond our scope of control, Elena, I can feel something thrumming in the back of my mind, like something is pushing our actions." Elijah took a deep breath, letting it out in one slow exhale. "I don't know why you can't feel it and I can, but I cannot act as freely as you, Elena, it's not in my nature."
"You should try it sometime." Elena bit, rolling her eyes and leaving the room in a blur, rubbing her head in irritation as her headache returned.
Guest: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed!
midnight-writer97: Omg your reviews make my day, thank you so, so much! It means so much that you think so highly of my writing! Some more high tension Elejah moments to come, don't worry ;) Obsessive is definitely the right word for it! They're so obsessed with Elena and they're so horribly possessive when it comes to 'protecting' her, I just can't stand it! I always used to feel the same about Bonnie, but she's grown on me through fics on here, same goes for Caroline, she definitely grew into her own so much over the show! Thank you so much!
HisSecretLover18: I feel like they could foster a great relationship, so I'm glad it's coming over well! Thank you!
Guest(Ch4): Thank you! I do too now, I'm just having so much fun writing her without them!
Guest(Ch5): There's plenty more to come, don't worry! Hopefully I can keep up a good pace with this story, there's plenty of inspiration!
Guest(Ch6): I actually liked Elena with her emotions off, it was more of a call-back to season 2 Elena, who didn't let herself get trod on all the time and actually had a personality! Writing her emotionless is soooo fun to just be able to have her so blasé about everything!
Guest(Ch7): Thank you so much! I spent so long hoping Nina would go to The Originals! I thought it was about time I wrote a fic with her over there! I don't know how closely I'll follow TO storyline because it's been quite a while since I've watched it, but I definitely intend to stick with this story, don't worry!
Guest(Ch8): Yesss, they're so cute! I feel like they had such similar starts and went such different ways.
Guest(Ch9): He can be so funny! I'm trying to strike a bit of a balance between how volatile he is on the show and how much a child he can be! I hope you enjoyed!
Thank you all so much for you wonderful reviews! They make me so, so happy!
So, Elena's blood is the only thing that Elijah seems able to keep down? What's with that? Things are heating up between the pair, tune back in to find out what else is going to happen between them!
Until next time
~ I x