Enigmatic Fears: A Klaus Mikaelson Story {7}

Chapter 14: The Past Is Better Left Where It Is

"Do you even know how to dance to music like this?" She asked.

"I'm a fast learner."

"Good to know."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Their faces now centimetres apart, Elijah leaned in to kiss her, paused only by the DJ's announcement.

"Let's get this party really started."

The smell of blood permeated the building as neck's were snapped and all the vampires began feeding on the nearest humans.

"Surprise." He said as he pulled a woman towards and with a sickening crunch, snapped her neck. "I found more of us."

Odessa was surprised by the sudden turn of events and took a moment to adjust to her new surroundings. But more than that, a long-awaited phone call showed up on her phone.

"I'm just gonna get another shot, E." Odessa told him before rushing outside to answer the phone.

~Elijah POV~

Elijah went outside to see Odessa talking to a street vendor in French. The smile on her face was not the lively one he had come to know, but instead false and bittersweet.

"What happened?" He asked her. "You disappeared."

"This recipe is over a hundred years old." Odessa told him fondly. "Back in Manosque his daughter-in-law bakes them every day for her friends. Can't get it there, but this is the next best thing."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, I love a bacchanal as much as the next girl." She said with a half-hearted laugh. "I just have some of my own stuff to deal with."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've got a past too." She murmured. "I haven't been able to deal with it just yet."

"I'm so sorry, Odessa." He commiserated. "I had no idea. You seem so happy."

"I am."

The two began to walk through the city, never quite saying anything. They sat in the park and Odessa turned to him with a sad smile.

"I have a daughter. Back in France. That man, Martin, is her father-in-law." She told Elijah to his surprise. "I know I don't look it, but I've been around the block."

She laughed half-heartedly and Elijah shot her a sympathetic smile. "Does she have a name?"

"I named her Estelle." Odessa answered. "But the family that she grew up with called her Blaise."

"I take it she's the past that you haven't been able to deal with." Elijah said knowingly.

"I want to know her, but I don't feel like I deserve to." She explained. "You don't get to just enter someone's life and tell them that you abandoned them when they were a baby but you're back."

"Odessa—"

"I'm sorry, I know it must be hard to hear about me going on about my past when you don't even know yours." She stammered out.

"No." He took her hand and squeezed warmly. "I want to know everything about you."

"Well—"

"Shh." He quickly silenced. "I know this feeling. We're being watched."

Less than a second later, Elijah had been pinned against a tree by a stranger. He struggled to get a handle on him, but the man remained steadfast.