SHE PROMISED ( the originals )

0027. I KEEP MY PROMISES, I ALWAYS HAVE

SHE PROMISED
( part one, chapter twenty-seven )

THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS had never felt so strange, Elle thought as she strolled down the sidewalk. The sun had reached its highest point, and people all around were going about and enjoying life. She watched as a little girl pointed at a colorful banner waving in the wind and her father smile down at her. With a small bit of fascination and jealously, she continued watching as the father picked up his daughter, kissed her lovingly on the forehead and place her on his hip; Elle smiled and leaned against one of the brick walls of the building beside her.

Cassie 一 no, she wasn't Cassie anymore; she's Esther now. When the (much) older witch had explained everything to the girl, Elle had difficulty wrapping her brain around it so she left the cemetery. How could she handle all of this?

Around her, people were walking around and chatting; a few artists had set up easels and were painting, or were lounging on the benches or by the fountains drawing; raucous college students were drinking and partying happily. Elle envied them.

Despite the fact she knew who her mother and father are, who her brothers and sister are, she regretted finding out. There was a small part of her that wanted to remain ignorant to the truth. Before she knew, she had been happy 一 she had a sister that loved her, a lovely home in her city, and friends who had her back. Now she knew that she wasn't Elle Mitchell, but instead a witch with a thousand years worth of magic at her fingertips and a target on her back.

Pulling out her phone, she debated whether or not to tell them. Her finger hovered over Klaus' name. But she placed her phone back in her pocket and let out a sigh.

She was mad at Klaus, definitely, and this sounded extremely childish, to not tell him something that was life-changing. But he had hurt her, in worse ways than she could've imagined.

Besides, how could she explain this to him? He wouldn't believe her at first glance (she barely believed it herself), brushing it off as something to get his attention. This wasn't something as small as revealing to him she had taken twenty bucks out of his wallet, this was completely mind-altering. She wouldn't be Elle Mitchell to him anymore, the little witch; she'd be Katrielle Mikaelson, his long lost sister and a part of the most dangerous family to have ever existed. How would he be able look at her the same? Answer: he wouldn't.

For a quick moment, Elle locked eyes with a man with dark hair and eyes and a name flashed in her mind: Joseph. But it wasn't him. Joseph was gone and dead, and this man did not look the same as her adoptive father had. This man did not have the same cruel look in his eyes.

Elle pushed herself off the wall and let her arms swing at her sides. She headed off to the north, towards Jackson Square. It was one of the first places Elle had visited when her family first moved to New Orleans.

It was barely ten minutes later when she arrived at the place, the grounds filled to the brim with tourists. She headed towards the cathedral, smiling as its spires towered over her, and headed inside. She always liked going into St. Louis Cathedral; it was beautiful and lovely and quiet. And in New Orleans, a city that never seemed to sleep, silence was a rare thing and it was rarely ever appreciated.

She sat herself down in one of the back pews, holding her hands tightly in her lap. The last time she was here, she was twelve and recently adopted, living in a new city that she did not know, and that last time, she had made a promise. She promised that she'd do her best to be the loving daughter and sister, to be Elle Mitchell. But now she had a new promise, one that she would keep now until the end of her life.

"I promise we'll be together again," Elle whispered, her voice barely audible. "We will be together again as a family. We will be reunited and we will be happy, no matter what anyone does. And I wish mercy upon anyone that tries to get in my way. I promise, always and forever."

( end of part one )