The Red Herring Returns: A Mikaelson Love Story

Chapter 36: Melrose Place but Magic

I sat in the main church beside Matt and Jeremy when Elena quietly joined us, looking very pale and sickly. I took her face into my hands and examined her worriedly.

"Are you okay, El?" I asked with apt concern.

"I forgot to say, April was looking for you. She wanted help with her speech." He told her.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know."

She went to look around for Elena only for Mayor Lockwood to start with the service. She practically floated to the main stage very gracefully before looking back at us all with an all too rehearsed sad face.

"Before we begin the Mass, we'd like to open the floor to anyone who would like to share a memory about our late friends on the Town Council. I know that April Young wanted to say a few words about her dad. April? April, are you still here, honey?" We looked around for April and I sighed when I realised she had probably left. I couldn't blame her, facing a crowd like this, would be a complete mess. "Is there anyone else who would like to share a recollection or a memory about Pastor Young?"

No one moved for a while until eventually Elena stood up. I looked at her in fear and tugged her, trying to pull her back down before she went up there and got into something she shouldn't. That Connor guy was MIA too and that doesn't end well for anybody.

"Elena, sit back down!" I whisper shouted but she ignored me and walked up to the podium.

"I uh – when I talked to April earlier she was kind of nervous about coming up to speak. And now that I'm up here, I'm kind of nervous too." She began. "The worst day of loving someone is the day that you lose them."

She stopped and she seemed like she was smelling something. I looked around the room and all the other vampires in the vicinity seemed to have an identical look.

"What is happening?" I knew they could all hear me, but no one would dare reply.

"I um..." She began to breathe heavily and I could see veins crawling up her face. They were smelling blood. I walked up to the podium and gave her a distant hug and whispered into her ear quietly.

"Let's get out of here. Stay strong." I pulled her away and took her back to our seat with Stefan and Damon joining me.

"The blood." She told me as she stared at my veins. "I can smell it. There's so much."

"It's alright; just remember what we talked about. Focus, push back, come on you can do this." Stefan told her.

"We need to get her out of here." I told Stefan worriedly.

"We can't." He said with a sigh. "That Connor guy is watching us."

"I'm gonna go rip his head off now." Damon said angrily.

"why don't you pull an Alaric and give him a list of all the vampires you know while you're at it?" I snapped at him.

"She's right Damon." Stefan told his brother. "You risk exposing all of us."

"Wont that risk be slightly diminished if he's—you know—headless?"

"I'm losing it." Elena said in frustration. Damon started to get up and I sighed in frustration.

"Feed from me." I told her. Our friends all looked at me like I'm insane. "It's fine. People will just think she's crying. It's practically Hollywood ABC."

She looked at Stefan for confirmation and he reluctantly put her into my arms. She rested her head in the midst of my neck and began to feed from me. I flinched slightly and began to breathe slightly erratically before she pulled away from me, wiping the blood from her mouth.