Gods & Monsters ✧ Elijah Mikaelson

IX ✧ At Peace

This song makes me emotional every damn time. Dx

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Chapter Nine

The next morning, breakfast was prepared by the time that Avarice got downstairs. Levi and Aspin had stayed the night, and sat at her right and left side while she was at the head of the table. The Mikaelson's each filtered into the room, glancing at the tables with hungry eyes.

They talked among themselves, and when she was finished, Avarice excused herself.

She needed to get to the library to see if she could find any more information about creatures such as Lucien. She needed to see if there were any that had been created; any that she had forgotten about in her many millennia. There were so many possibilities, so many different pathways that she had to choose from.

It wasn't long before Elijah came into the library. Or, rather, stood outside of it. He stood at the doorway, watching her silently for a few moments with a hand in his pocket and his other against the doorframe.

"Is there something you needed, Mr. Mikaelson?" she asked, not looking up from her book.

When she finally did look up at him, she was taken aback. Standing there, in the stance he was in and looking at her with the oddest mixture of curiosity and admiration, he looked like him. Kaige.

Kaige had done that so very often. She remembered the time when The Seven had shared one castle. She would be working away in her quarters, he would come to the door and watch her, as if he thought she was unaware of his presence. Sometimes he would come inside, other times he would simply ensure that she was all right and be on his way.

Kaige had always thought Avarice needed him to give her guidance. That she needed him in general.

She did not.

Avarice looked back down at her book quickly, regaining her composure. She hadn't seen Kaige in such a long time, and it was for a specific reason. Now someone that she was already beginning to feel the slightest bond with was reminding him of her. She finally met Elijah's eyes, something she had not done since he came to the door.

His fingers drummed against the doorframe as he watched her with narrowed eyes. Another would have thought that he looked intimidating, but Avarice showed only pure interest. She was not afraid of him. Why would she be?

Perhaps he was trying to look intimidating. Trying to see if she really did have a weakness. Even if he was, he didn't say a word about it.

"I wanted to thank you for showing me my niece and Hayley. It has set my mind at ease."

She nodded. "Of course. I am glad that you appreciated seeing them."

"I did," he said, and then his fingers stopped tapping the wood. "Can you tell me, for certain, that they are safe?"

She fought back a smile. Not just because she was happy to see him so concerned for the two, but also because she knew something he didn't.

"They are. Not to worry, I have people looking after them."

Little did he know, it was her that was looking after them. Watching them any time she could, checking in on them every few minutes. Ready to dive into that portal to assist them if they ever needed her. 

The child was her first priority. She was as innocent as a person could possibly be, and because of that, she was the fates' top priority. 

But it was more than that for Avarice. Innocence was something that was rare, especially for people in the mortal world. In reality, no one was truly innocent. Except for children. 

She was surprised that Elijah didn't question her further, though he looked to still be curious.

He thanked her another time, then walked away and down the hall. It wasn't until she heard his footsteps head upstairs that she finally went back to the book laid down on her desk.

He certainly would have questioned her if he knew what she was planning on doing that next day.

*

That night, Avarice was restless. It would be yet another sleepless night for her, it seemed. Unfortunately, it was the same for another person in the castle.

While she was nervous about what she had convinced herself to do the next day, this person was in mourning.

She could hear them crying. Or, rather, she could hear her crying. Everyone else was asleep. Aspin and Levi were back home, and the Mikaelson's and servants had all retired to their rooms. They were asleep, all except for Freya.

Freya was holding back choked sobs, and when Avarice went down the hall towards her room, she heard her whimper once or twice as well.

She knocked her knuckles lightly on the door, and Freya took in a choked breath.

"I would ask you if you are all right, but we both know that you are not. And I believe that I know why."

She pushed the door open to see Freya sitting on the bed. She had something in her hands, and when Avarice moved closer, she saw that it was the necklace that had once held Finn.

"You are thinking of your brother, are you not?" she asked.

Freya did not answer, just raised her hand to her mouth and covered it. She let out a sob again, then clenched her jaws so tightly that Avarice was almost convinced she could hear her teeth begin to chip.

"Freya, I want you to know that I did not send his soul away to hell, nor is he a ghost. He was not deserving of either."

She didn't say anything, and Avarice came around the bed. Freya kept her mouth covered, and didn't look Avarice in the eyes as she stood over her.

"He died a vampire, and in dying, he removed the curse of vampirism from himself. He was content when he died, Freya. The only thing he had left was his family, and you were each there to say goodbye."

She still did not reply, and Avarice crouched down in front of her.

"Freya, your brother is at peace. I made sure of it," she assured her.

Freya's tense body loosened up ever so slightly, and Avarice continued.

"I carried him there myself."

Freya finally did open her eyes, blinking away the tears that appeared rapidly. Avarice was taken aback by them, seeing how Freya seemed like the Mikaelson who would be the last to ever cry in front of someone else.

Avarice felt the sudden need to hug the poor girl, and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Freya hugged her back just as tightly.

Avarice knew that Finn was gone forever, and that he would never return. She also knew that even though he was at peace, his family would always carry a little piece of him with them.