Black Castle 🖤 E. Mikaelson

Chapter Twenty•Five. New Orleans & The Devil's Daughter

Chapter Twenty•Five. New Orleans & The Devil's Daughter
ELIJAH
{Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers Cover by Shawn James}

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
It's not warm when she's away
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And she's always gone too long
Anytime she goes away
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Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Not necessarily in that order.
-Tim Burton

    Arabella stretched her arms out at her sides as she felt brand new and ready to take on the day. It was the middle of October, and the weather was starting to get chilly and the festivities were about ready to commence while she was getting excited to be a part of the New Orleans celebration of Halloween. The fact she had a moment to stand outside and recognize the day, made her smile. The costumes, the children trick or treating, the parties. Freya caught her up on what it all meant, and every bit of it excited Arabella especially since her birthday seemed to have fallen on the special holiday, though that was still a couple of weeks away.
Elijah had been keeping busy, keeping up his strength due to finding out it was Tristan who had torn Arabella's heart out. Although he had Marcel looking into his whereabouts, until then, he worked out and preoccupied Arabella's time with shopping and quality time with Rebekah. He didn't want her to know he had planned to completely demolish Tristan's existence even though Arabella told him to not give him a second thought for the time being. Revenge would be theirs and they would have it together. What they needed to focus on first was all of Niklaus' sired vampires coming into New Orleans. Gaspar Cortez was the first of many.
Arabella already knew what Elijah was up to, it was Elijah. She knew him better than his own mother did, and she knew that was why he was training so hard. He was in the middle of sparring with a punching bag when she walked in, and before he spotted her he punched it so hard that it went sailing across the room as it crashed into some other equipment. She didn't jump or flinch, but instead, she stared at the stained pool of blood on the floor. She hurried and snapped herself out of it before Elijah could notice. But he noticed immediately.
"Am I interrupting something?" She asked with a cheerful tone. In her hands, there was a large white envelope which she placed on a nearby table before she took a step closer in his direction. When his eyes met hers, his anger instantly vanished and a smile curved his face while showing off his beautiful smile and his gorgeous cheekbones. He hadn't noticed her as she had been wrapping her hands with the same material that wrapped his own. He continued to concentrate on how healthy she looked. It had only been a day and she had already looked like an entirely different person. She was more lively, more happy. Whatever Cassie had done to her, it obviously worked but he worried that there was a price to helping Arabella out, more than Arabella led on. And maybe or maybe not Arabella was open to sharing that with him, he wouldn't know unless he tried.
"Not in the slightest." His grin grew wider while calming his breathing, with every step she took her smile brightened more and more, and he didn't realize she was about to train with him. It was impossible to hide the happiness she brought him, even more so now that they were engaged. "How are you feeling?"
"Like today's a new day." Technically that was true, but her meaning behind it made sense to him. He could explain it to the next person, but he didn't have to; because well, he was Elijah Mikaelson. He didn't have to explain anything to anyone.
"Well that's wonderful," He breathed slowly as he leaned on one of the beams holding up the punching bag that was no longer hanging there. Arabella's eyes moved directly to his red gloves, and then down to the bulge in his loose-fitting sweats. Elijah's smile wouldn't leave and he wasn't sure if he wanted to hide what he was thinking, or say it and start something new. He didn't think about how upset he was at her for yesterday, because like she said, it was a new day and she didn't need to be reminded of what she had already forgotten.
"So I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things." She continued to wrap her forearms, and when he saw what she was doing his eyebrow went up to the bruises that were there, and before he could ask her anything her eyebrow went up too, to show she was, in fact, preparing to spar with him but she wasn't going to talk about how she got the bruises that would soon disappear anyway. "If you don't mind."
She looked at Elijah through her eyelashes and smirked sensually. Then she nudged her head in the direction of the fighting cage. He agreed and adjusted the tightness of his gloves as he walked ahead of her so he could be sure to hold the door open for her.
Arabella and Elijah stood on opposite sides of the ring as they smirked at one another with sexual desire. Elijah's hands balled into fists in front of his face, but his smile told Arabella he was being playful. He waited for her to do the same. When her hands went up, that was when they started to move toward one another.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Elijah asked with curiosity. He was also trying to catch her off guard by means of sparring with her. It was to keep her alert when it came to vampires trying to go after her. So he threw his fist at her, and instinctively she dodged it as she moved to the left.
"So during the last few days, I've been thinking. More or so because I physically could not speak. But I think I want to start my own business." Arabella ducked down and swung her leg under Elijah's feet, which did in fact trip him but he regained his footing immediately. He was impressed by her moves, but he was kind of confused and in awe by what she said.
"Oh? And what kind of business did you have in mind?" Elijah wondered as he started to sort of dance around her. He was invested in wanting to know that Arabella found something that she wanted to do and he loved to see her so passionate about something, even if he had no idea what it was that she wanted to do.
Arabella threw her left fist at Elijah but he didn't see her right fist coming up soon after, which connected with his jaw. He shook it off because he knew that the pain wouldn't last long, no matter how hard the hit was. And for such a tiny figure, with tiny hands, she packed a mean punch and he was deeply aroused by how tough she was.
"I want to design wedding dresses," Arabella mentioned as she threw both of her hands out in front of her, and since Elijah didn't know what to do about that because it was something odd to see in a fighting ring, he thought he would take her by her wrists and flip her onto her back. From there he would pin her down until she forfeited their match. And that wasn't what was happening at all.
When Elijah took her by her hands, Arabella used that as an opportunity to pull him into her and engage in a heated moment where her face was in his, their noses touched but their lips didn't. They just stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever. Then Arabella kicked her foot out, wrapped it around the back of his legs, and pushed him down onto the mat. She pinned him down with her hands on top of his, but it was kind of hard for her legs to do the same because she was literally half of Elijah's size. So she ended up straddling his hips. That alone started a rise in his sweatpants.
"Are you serious about wanting to design wedding dresses?" He asked her to make sure she was certain of her plans. His breathing became hard though as the wind was knocked out of him and while he tried to hide his arousal.
"One thousand percent." She smiled, and the way she did showed the happiness that she felt because her eyes lit up.
"Then I support you. Anything you want to do; I will be there every step of the way." He shrugged his shoulders while he didn't fight against her hold. It was really that simple. He loved Arabella and everything she wanted; she was going to get.
"Really?!" Her excitement was loud as she spoke. It was hard to contain herself.
"Absolutely." He tried to reach up and kiss her, but by the time she fell for it, he flipped her on her back and pecked her lips lightly. "What else did you want to talk about?"
She searched his eyes to see if it was the right moment to ask him what she feared he would say no to. Elijah was extremely old-fashioned. And the way they had gotten married first was way different way back then, compared to how it was in this new age and Arabella wanted to take that leap in trying something different and beyond their norm for a change. But Elijah couldn't say no to her idea if she didn't ask him, so she was just going to come right out and say it.
"How would you feel about moving out of the compound, and in with me?" Her face went from excited to calm in a matter of seconds so he could see she was serious, but she was also trying not to get her hopes up.
There was a pause between them as Elijah became surprised by her question. He didn't think it was too soon, he didn't think it was something she should have waited to ask, he was just surprised because Arabella happened to be as old-fashioned as he was. So he didn't expect her to ask at all, he assumed they would either buy another house together or he'd move in with her after they were married.
"You don't have to answer right now, it was just something I wanted to discuss with you." She tried to retract her offer, but it was too late, Elijah was already hands-in.
"Of course, I want to move in with you, but would it be alright if I did after we take care of this issue with Niklaus?" His eyes squinted while he hoped that she would understand he couldn't leave his brother due to his life being in danger. He didn't want to be selfish and leave Niklaus high and dry. But since when was Elijah ever selfish when it came to saving his brother over and over again?
"Of course it's alright." Her smile grew with her response. If she could read Elijah's mind. She didn't mean to sound like she was rushing anything but she just wanted to make sure she at least placed an offer for him out there for him to consider. Her excitement clouded the fact that someone walked into the church.
"Hello? Elijah?"
Arabella and Elijah moved away from each other and gathered to their feet as Hayley made her way into the church, curious to know why she needed to meet both of them there. Elijah didn't know why Hayley was there and that was easy to explain because Arabella had Freya call her and tell her to get to the church. No one understood why though.
"Hayley," Arabella greeted. She stood directly behind Elijah and smiled lightly. That was a red flag to Hayley. "Thank you for meeting me here."
Before Elijah could turn and ask what was going on, she placed her left hand on Elijah's shoulder and squeezed it lightly to casually affirm that somehow Arabella needed to settle some business with Hayley.
That didn't stop Hayley from clocking the huge rock on Arabella's hand, and for that she sucked in a breath. Arabella and Elijah both heard her because both of their heads moved slowly to look at her. Neither one said anything.
Arabella walked out of the cage and met Hayley at the table where the large white envelope was. When Arabella picked it up, she looked at it for a moment and then casually handed it to Hayley with a nonchalant look. She was trying to be nice, Elijah didn't know why, and he was sure it was for a specific reason but he stayed out of it.
"What is this?" Hayley looked from the front to the back to see a logo of some kind, but she didn't see one, so she started opening it so she could see what it was. There was a great reason why there wasn't a logo and that was because Arabella took the time to look over the deed herself and understand every aspect of what was owned, then she placed it in a new envelope since Lucien no longer owned the bayou.
"It's your wedding gift," Arabella's chin raised and her eyes lowered. "It's the deed to the bayou. It's yours."
"Are you serious?" She continued to stare at the pages, and she read her name under where it stated she was the new owner.
"As a plague. But there are some things I've made changes to, so if you want to discuss them, I'm free later tonight." Arabella informed slowly because as of that moment, she really wanted to finish what she and Elijah were in the middle of and she would appreciate it if Hayley wasn't around for that.
"Changes like what?" Hayley's eyebrows raised. Arabella should have known she would have immediate questions.
"I've hired a construction company to come out and build tiny houses for your wolf pack." Arabella put it lightly. And it wasn't an idea, it was an actual plan.
"That kind of defeats the purpose of living in the bayou, no thanks." Hayley didn't like the idea as she tried to hand the envelope and the papers back to Arabella. She wouldn't take them.
"I'm not finished. The living conditions are horrid out there, wolf or not. There are children out in the bayou who need to be in homes. So I'm afraid that is nonnegotiable." Arabella's hands clasped together behind her back as her chin went up involuntarily. It was a force of habit, sadly.
"You are aware that you'd have to cut down trees in order to do that. It won't be the bayou if you do that." Hayley tried to explain, and Arabella already knew that, that was why she didn't react towards Hayley's hostile posture. Hayley thought she was so smart.
"I'm very well aware, but it still will be. That is why for every tree that needs to come down, four more trees will be planted. I've already drawn up the sizing plans and what the interior would look like. You're more than welcome to choose which ones you like." Arabella's left hand went forward and tapped on the papers Hayley sat on top of the envelope. She then used her right hand to flip through the corners until she came across the pictures she designed herself, by then Elijah was already behind her peering at the sketches she came up with. He was colored impressed with how she had every detail in each plan.
"They each will vary in size according to each family. So I'll need you to get me the names of every person and family by the end of the week so that we may start next week. I want to get this done before December." She turned just a bit so that she could get back to Elijah, but Hayley wasn't finished.
"I didn't agree to any of this Arabella," Hayley argued.
"And as I've said, it's non-negotiable. Now, if you won't do it, I can simply go out there and do it myself." Arabella made a face that showed she would be more than happy to go out there herself, and she knew Hayley just wanted her to stay away altogether.
"That isn't necessary." Hayley swallowed hard.
"Good, because I've already paid in advance and I do not like to waste valuable time. Do you understand me?" She took a step closer so she could be clear with exactly what she meant.
"I understand." Hayley exhaled, defeated. In the long run, Hayley would come to understand Arabella was only trying to help. Arabella wasn't searching for a thank you at the moment, she knew she would get one in the future though. It was only a matter of time.
"Great, now if you will both excuse me I have costume shopping with a special little girl." She smiled up at Elijah and kissed him on his lips casually before heading to walk out of the church's doors. "I'm convinced she wants to be a princess."
"Arabella..." Elijah called after her, but she already knew the reason for it.
"Don't worry my love, Kol will be accompanying us." She looked back and winked. She didn't stop walking until she was outside looking around to see anyone lurking in the corners. When she didn't see anyone worth strangling, she strolled onto the compound. According to the gossip in the Quarter, no one knew Arabella was alive. So she walked to the right and started removing her wraps before anyone glanced in her direction, imagining her as an escaped mental patient.
Elijah brought his focus back on Hayley while she was placing the papers and pictures back inside the envelope. He watched her in silence and couldn't put a finger on why she was so quiet all of a sudden. She never held back what she wanted to say.
"Is everything alright?" He squinted his eyes and asked.
"Everything's fine," she shrugged her shoulder and then tucked her hair behind her ear as she tried to hide how she really felt. "So you and Arabella are engaged now? When did that happen?"
"Yesterday." He answered her as he took his gloves and wraps off. "So what is it you really want to talk about?"
"I want you to tell me what is going on in the Quarter. No one, not even Camille will tell me what's happening." She finally let it out.
"That's because not even Camille knows. We thought it was best to keep what we know, between us." Elijah was brief when he answered her. He walked back to the cage and closed the door so he could clean up before going to take a shower and getting changed.
Hayley pinned him to the fencing around the cage and instantly became hostile. "Why don't you cut the overprotective macho crap and tell me what's really going on? I'm part of this family too, Elijah. I thought you, of all people, would act like it." Her face was closed, but Elijah let her say what she needed if she thought something was going to happen then she would be mistaken.
That didn't last long because he reversed their positions, but he didn't hold his grip on her so she didn't get the wrong idea. "What is it you want to know?"