Secrets (TVD)

Elijah

She seemed hesitant but spoke as she came closer to me, "Natalia, I must ask you, have you and Julian been...together?"

I gulped and slowly nodded, it was against my better judgment to lie, she is the only person in the world who I had never kept a secret from. My mother sighs while shaking her head, an impassive and distant look on her face. She sat next to me on the bed, and pressed her hand against my stomach, which immediately frightened me as I know there was only one reason for her to do so. You see, she was a witch. Not a very powerful one of course, she mostly stuck to herbs, but she was still able to sense things. The gene never passed down to me.

She closed her eyes for no more than a few seconds before they snapped open once again. She opened her mouth and her words came out as a whisper, "My daughter, you are with child."

I froze, my mouth agape for a moment before I felt tears start to form and run down my cheeks, "No...no, no please tell me this is a mistake!" I sobbed and crawled into her lap as she cradled me.

"It is going to be alright," she assured me while running her fingers through my hair.

But I knew better. Adrianna was my father's favorite, the moment her daughter was born he welcomed her with open arms. After all, what happened to Adrianna was never her fault, she had done everything right. For me this was a nightmare.

Present day

At that time, Julian had just begun courting someone else, someone who would go on to become his wife. I decided to tell him regardless, but he denied our child and stated that it was better if we had nothing to do with each other. I called him a coward and told him that he could not simply abandon me, though this did not stop him from walking away. He had a life of his own, and evidently I was not meant to be apart of it in the long run. I still remember being treated like an outsider when everyone else found out.

Flashback (New World, Late 10th Century)

I was just about three months pregnant, standing in our family room while holding my mothers hand. I could no longer hide my pregnancy from my father, and so we had decided to tell him. I felt ready to simply blurt out the news once he walked through the door, however when he actually appeared only a few moments later, I immediately tensed. There was a faint smell of alcohol and fish on him, he often liked to fish. I suddenly wished for at least one of my brothers to be in the room, but unfortunately my mother and I had devised a plan to speak with my father alone, so as to not cause a potential argument between them. I caught my mother's eye and she then gave me a slight nod.

I looked back towards him, "Father..." I started with a small voice.

"What is it?" he questioned in an uninterested and unconcerned manner, a single glance was all he spared me, along with a questioning brow.

I took a short pause but continued, "I am with child."

He froze, his eyes snapped to mine and his face immediately contorted with anger, "You are what!" he snarled as he got closer to me, "You whore!" his voice boomed just as I saw his hand come up.

He was just about to hit me, my face flinching away, when my mother suddenly stepped in between us. He looks at her and slowly lowers his hand. No matter what he did and how he acted, he loved her, or so he claimed. I never understood how she loved him.

"I know you are angry with her, but do not take it out on the child," she spoke quietly but with strength.

"That child will have no part in this family, as soon as it is born, I want it out of this house and with another family who will raise it as their own. This embarrassment will not follow us throughout our lives!"