Chapter Twenty-Six
-- -------- --
Original Machinations
March 26th, 2010
Elijah takes a seat across from me at our table, returning from his own room here at the hotel. A rather sublime setting for a man flying under the radar. The previous night after rejoining we conversed for hours, there was a lot to talk about after ninety longspun years, we shared a bottle of red wine at the dining suite at our hotel whilst he compelled the staff to leave their eavesdropping intentions at the door. We spoke about my brothers, a primary background which then led to a discussion about Elena, gesturing at the incredible probability of another doppelgänger after Katerina's line ended with her. Now, we sat before one another to eat breakfast as we maintained last nights' lengthy conversation, chattering over everything but one subject; Klaus. Elijah had deflected every inquest about the whereabouts and or wellbeing of his younger brother, a brother I still cared so strongly for, even after so numerous years apart. I had the feeling that Elijah might've not known the answers to those questions, that it was the guilt of finally leaving Klaus behind that he evaded telling me the truth. However, I would leave it for now, enjoying the tranquillity of our long-awaited reunion as we both plot to retrieve Elena.
Stefan had been calling me repeatedly since last night, Damon also putting in a hard graft at annoying me as they had no idea of my whereabouts. I simply texted that I was alive, staying at a hotel that I had hitchhiked my way to, Damon was less than pleased.
"You mentioned having witches that are moving into Mystic Falls?" I inquired, taking a sip of the orange juice so kindly gathered for us by our waitress.
"Yes, the Martins, Jonas and Luka. They will be helping with the efforts to retrieve the moonstone from your friends." Elijah clarifies, also taking a decent mouthful of bourbon as we wait for our breakfast to arrive.
"Make sure that no harm comes to Bonnie Bennett, her grandmother entrusted me with her shortly before her passing. If anything were to happen to her...I'd lose my mind." I admitted, spotting our waitress returning with our order, simple eggs on toast for me and a cup of coffee for Elijah.
"I promise you that no harm will come to her, this also includes Elena. I intend to protect her from my brother's clutches." Elijah vows, thought this slip up on information was just too easy not to grasp. I pull the string, hoping that if it were to lead me anywhere, it would be the truth.
"And where is Klaus? Usually, where you are, Klaus isn't far behind or vice versa." I query, slicing through my perfectly cooked eyes as the Original debates on whether he should be truthful, or lie.
"I have not seen Klaus since 1933, Germany. His whereabouts are no immediate concern to me." Elijah speaks, although he is lying just not in the manner I had first predicted.
"You mean you don't know where he is. Not that you don't care per se, the problem is that you don't know. Why? What has he done this time?" I press, wanting the utmost truth of my past lover's sins against the rest of the Original family. I would've thought it was his usual antics, killing witches he shouldn't of, forming enemies from nothing but his paranoid ego.
"He had lied to me. He had daggered Rebekah not long after we fled New Orleans, instead of telling me the truth, he sent falsified letters of our sisters' adventures with a 'Stefan Salvatore', I imagine you have arrived at the same conclusion as I." he now spoke the truth as he composed his posture - as if it wasn't perfect already.
Now this conclusion could be tricky. Stefan knew Rebekah after New Orleans, this would've been during one of his ripper periods early in the 1900s, The Ripper of Monterey as they called him. This indicated that Stefan would've known Klaus, however, he didn't meet the end of most of Rebekah's lovers. Klaus' letters to Elijah would have been to assure Elijah's allegiance to his younger brother, if the elder Original vampire knew of Klaus' indiscretions, he would have been angry with his younger brother, something that could cost Klaus a valuable ally, in fact, it already had.
"He lied to you to keep you by his side, your one of very few he trusts. I saw it for myself ninety-odd years ago." I conclude, continuing to finish my breakfast before it grew cold.
"Not only that. He sunk them into the depths of the ocean, never to be retrieved. You could say my brother and I aren't on the best of terms." Elijah adds as I finish my plate, sliding it forward as the vampire releases his cup.
Rebekah was my main concern of all his siblings. I had never met Kol and certainly not Finn. Rebekah was my lodestar, she kept me dreaming, inspired and in love with the art of fashion. She had been my only friend, aside from Lana who was more of a party partner than a friend. All of the years I had spent searching for them, Rebekah and I reuniting had been the forefront of my battle plans, our reunion at the helm of all my desires. That we would all reassemble and escape the brutal life of Mystic Falls, travelling the world for this lifetime and the next. Nevertheless, now all those dreams had been crushed, tarnished by one singular sentence, one lone act of paranoid anger.
"So you want to make him pay? Kidnap his doppelgäger, seal away his moonstone. How long do you think you could keep the act up before finally giving in? Before or after he daggers you too?" I lecture, unhappy with the millennia-old vampire's conclusion to his problems, though now I knew the curse he was seeking to break involved the death of Elena Gilbert, how could I easily stay a participant on both sides. It would tear me apart to lose both of my families.
"You have my word that no harm will come to Elena, Klaus will not prevail after what he has done to our siblings." Elijah finalises, gesturing for us to leave the room and abandon our conversation, this gesture was almost comparable to him begging on his one-thousand-year-old knees.
-- --------- --
Taking this opportunity to change into a set of different clothes than the ones I was kidnapped in, I had sent Elijah on a goose-chase for some fitting shoes for my attire whilst we had time to kill. His spies had been investigating both Rose-Marie and Damon's moves since they left the Boarding House, subsequently leading Elijah to a man named Slater in Richmond; he seemed to know a thing or two about the Originals. It was dangerous for someone to know anything about the Original vampires that stalked the earth, they had been on the run for a thousand years, they kept appearances to a minimum where they could. Never staying in one place too long, until New Orleans. A strong knock at the door announces Elijah's arrival before he unwelcomingly steps into the room, uncaring for pleasantries as he sees me sat at the hotel room's desk. He doesn't say anything, he holds up the box for me to collect what I had requested from him. Taking it from his clutches, he waits for me to place them on my feet before we usher out of the room, my belongings were still in my truck, so seizing anything from the hotel room wasn't necessary.
The drive to Richmond was adequate, there was a slight gaucherie that hung in the air between us, he knew I was upset with him for leaving his brother, although I was upset that said brother damned his family in the depth of the unknown. No one ever said the Mikaelson boys were easy to be around, especially when they were squabbling. We had parked nearby, taking a casual stroll arm in arm as we journeyed our way to Slater's café, the name of which I had never gotten to learn.
"I fancy seeing an old trick, do you mind?" I question, gesturing at the busker's open guitar case, he was playing an easy melody right across the street from our destination. Once more, Elijah speaks no words, knowing exactly what I meant by 'old trick'. It was one he used in a gin palace full of witches, this technique was used to unnerve them as it was only coins that came blasting through the windows and not physical attackers. He lays down a hundred dollar note before taking a handful of pennies, tossing them back and forth between his frigid, undead hands.
"Have I ever told you that you are my favourite Original?" I jest, gesturing to the exact, very prominent, location of my oldest brother in the café window with the familiar face of Rose.
"No I don't believe you have." he quipped in return, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. His valued concentration sold him out to the fact he was listening in, watching over the group of vampires every little word.
A simple toss sends coins flying at an inhuman speed, smashing the glass on impact to an uproar of smouldering vampires perishing in the sun's unlawful stare. Elijah helps us both vanish, escorting us out of eyesight to reduce suspicion. Sending us back to a separate hotel for our partial stay in Richmond. Elijah and I would be killing Slater tonight to silence him for his information. For now, I would side with Elijah on the mutual goal of keeping Elena out of Klaus' hands, keeping her alive for the time being. No doubt someday she would turn, willingly or not, to spend the rest of eternity with Stefan, before then we just had to protect her from Klaus.
-- -------- --
I search around the apartment whilst my vampire counterpart keeps a watchful eye over Slater. Skimming through documents, notes, diaries and discarded scraps of paper my search for his connections continue, uninterested in the actual murdering part of the trip. Elijah had ordered me to wipe his hard drive, not wanting any information to dribble down into either of my brother's lap's whilst they were also searching for answers. Caroline and Bonnie had texted me frequently throughout the day, hearing that I had been kidnapped, seen my friend get murdered and then hitchhiked to a nearby hotel. I told them I was staying away from Mystic Falls for a few days, just to wrap my head around things, which Bonnie completely understood - assuring me that if I needed anything, she was there. A heavy grunt combined with a massive thud alerts me to the demise of our overcompensating know-it-all Slater, knowing too much could always get you exterminated. Jonas, one of Elijah's witches, had joined us in this exhibition, taking no joy in Slater's death as we regrouped his apartment. When we were done there, Elijah sent Jonas off to retrieve some of Elena's belongings for a certain spell to set a trap for her encapturement later down the line.
Another peculiar thing was Tyler. He had gotten in contact with me about the werewolf curse, since he had now broken it by killing one of his peers, Sarah, he wanted to know the whole truth. I pledged to the young wolf I'd return in a few days, we'd initiate over a plan for the full moon when I arrived back to town, a plan I had gone over with Elijah first. I wasn't one to make promises however, being the only other werewolf left in his life, I wasn't going to let the boy down. Memories resurfaced whenever I thought of my first shift, all two-hundred-and-six bones splitting seemingly all at once as muscle, bone and blood shifted into this vicious, esoteric creature. Nobody had been there for me then, so I would be there for Tyler now. Caroline was also assisting in this effort, feeling majorly empathetic towards Tyler, knowing that transitions of any kind weren't a walk in the park, they were more like a naked hike up Kilimanjaro. Especially if you were the only one of your kind running amok in the town of Mystic Falls.
-- -------- --
March 28th, 2010
Rose-Marie and Elena had fallen directly into the trap, precisely what we had expected, Elena was desperate for answers about the elusive ghost that was out to get her and her family, roping the (desperate) older vampire in to escort her along. Elijah, Jonas and I sat in the hotel room not far from Slater's apartment, Jonas had procured Elena's belongings for a spell that would guide Elijah and I to her. By the opening of Elijah's eyes it proved the shadow spell successful, he muttered something under his breath before gesturing towards me, becoming for me to grab my coat and join him on his latest escapade to capture the doppelgänger.
As we waited in the car, three unidentified individuals stormed into the apartment block, meaning they had found the doppelgänger or were just there for another reason. But their malice intent radiated from them in obnoxious waves, it was enough to drive both Elijah and I forward. Making sure that the knowledge of Elena ended here.
"There's nothing here for you." I heard Damon's voice defend, just before Elijah plucked out the heart of the door watchmen, leaving it with him on the floor. To say, Rose, Damon and Elena were less than pleased to see both me and Elijah together was an understatement. Although they were more concerned about the fact that the Original was still undead and breathing. Rose is immediate in her escape, neither of us stopped her as the two henchmen turn towards Elijah and I.
"I killed you. You were dead." Damon directs at Elijah, who is unamused by our situation.
"For centuries now. Who are you?" he inquiries towards the men dressed in all black, searching for trouble.
"Who are you?" one of the men responded, wanting rid of his competition for the doppelgänger in front of us.
"I'm Elijah." he simply responds, to which the henchman who approached us begins to stutter over his own words.
"We were gonna bring her to you, for Klaus. She's the doppelgänger. I don't know how she exists but she does. Klaus would wanna see her." the man presses, affirming his loyalties towards the vampire and his astray brother.
"Does anyone else know that you're here?" I question, stepping in front of Elijah to confront our more confident slaves to Klaus' order. Everyone always wanted to be in favour of people like Klaus, I'd seen it continually for the years whilst I was with him. Everyone with a functioning common sense bowed at his feet. Women would practically drool over his very presence, causing me to put a few of them in line with my magic, more times than I'd care to admit. He commanded respect, much like Elijah, but his authority was much more perilous.
"No." the man answers, almost bowing to Elijah and myself as he quivers.
"Then you have been incredibly helpful," Elijah responds before leaning to his right, causing me to do the opposite, extracting the confident one's heart from his chest. Elena audibly gasps at this act, where it was me partaking in the murder of a human I didn't know or Elijah's undercover thrill for extraction, I couldn't discern. No words are exchanged as Elijah leaves me alone with our onlookers, just as planned.