Maeve was nervous to walk on egg shells around Elijah after last night. She knew he was furious about what had happened.
But she still didn't fully understand what had happened.
He explained he wanted her to be happy and to make choices on her own, but nothing made sense. She was sure he was simply testing to see if she would be a good woman for him. When she had simply nodded to everything he said, it had riled him up further and she didn't know what she had done wrong.
It had been a hard, long night of overthinking.
Downstairs she could hear them all talking but she couldn't understand their language. It was probably about her, she was all they talked about recently.
She felt like a burden on them.
After getting changed into one of her long pink dresses, she tiptoed to the kitchen. Naturally, their vampire hearing picked up her movements with ease.
"Good morning sweetheart, how did you sleep?" Elijah beamed at her, permitting her tense muscles to relax.
"I slept so well," Maeve smiled back. "Did you?"
At his affirmation he came over and complimented her dress.
"You look beautiful my darling."
Maeve stuttered her gratitude and blushed, a sight Elijah was enthralled by. He offered to make her breakfast which she didn't refuse and they sat and enjoyed eggs and bacon together.
"I'm sorry for upsetting you yesterday," Maeve started as she swallowed some tea. "I didn't mean to."
"There's nothing for you to apologise for sweetheart. The bond pushed me and I shouldn't have allowed it," he responded pondering over how to approach the chat they needed to have.
"Well I'm sorry anyway," Maeve repeated, trying to keep him happy. And she was sorry. She kind of wanted to kiss him again, to see if she would enjoy it.
Elijah pursed his lips but remained silent for a moment, getting more and more infuriated by the second as she refused to accept they were equals.
"Maeve, I don't know who taught you about your role as a woman but I don't want you to submit to me."
This was not the first time he had said that to her and she realised he really meant it. She hadn't imagined him saying those words last night, but she didn't quite know what they meant.
"I want you to make choices and decisions of your own. Without my input. And if it involves us both, I want to hear your ideas. I will not discard them."
"Elijah..." Maeve stared at him incredulously. "I can't make the decisions. I'm... I'm a woman."
"Oh I know you are sweetheart," he smirked, holding himself back from tracking his eyes up and down her body once more. "You have far more freedom with me than you've ever been told possible. Your clever brain is just as useful as mine."
Maeve gaped at the ridiculous notion.
"You are not a delicate flower, you are a woman. A rather strong woman at that," Elijah added on the end, making Maeve's heart bloom at his words.
She caught herself quickly. Was she really that pleased by his words? Surely her family would have been shocked at this... and she had no idea what his 'equality' would look like.
So she stayed quiet, absorbing all the new information. Elijah grinned to himself at the first time she didn't rebuke him. Was this progress?
Then she spoke up again quietly.
"But... only men make good decisions."
This shocked Kol, who had just entered the kitchen froze and spun on his heel, leaving quickly as the silence filled the room. Elijah looked exasperated.
"What about your mother's decisions?" He attempted to show his mate a new perspective.
Maeve frowned while she considered his point. He did have a good point. A very good one.
"My mother never wanted them to use expression to put me to sleep and keep me safe," she mumbled, reflecting on the icy atmosphere in her childhood home when her father had declared that was best.
He made the final decision and his mother, however much she disagreed, couldn't waiver it.
Elijah immediately backed off, sensing the shift in Maeve's emotions and her inner turmoil.
"She's dead and so is my big sister, I've hardly thought about them," she swallowed hard, fighting tears. "I wish I could see them again."
There was nothing Elijah could say to comfort her and he debated whether or not she would be comfortable enough to accept a physical embrace.
Would that comfort her or make her anxious? Would she say no if she didn't want it? He wasn't sure.
She rose, taking both her plate and his over to the sink. He stared at the back of her head as she sniffled and wiped away her tears. It broke his heart to see her upset and he would have given her the world if it would make her feel better.
He stood up, allowing her to wash their plates. It wasn't worth arguing with her about household chores this very minute.
Once she was done, he stood behind her waiting to reassure her if she needed him. To his surprise, she turned and flung her arms around him, weeping hysterically. He happily bundled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head as lightly as a feather.
"I'm never going to see any of them again," she cried, lying her head on his chest. "I didn't even want to go through with that stupid spell, I don't even want to be here."
At her last few words, Elijah stiffened.
That was when Klaus seized his opportunity.
"Well, well, well," Klaus started to clap slowly, sarcastically smiling at them both. "I knew the bond was too good to be true. She doesn't want you brother. So much for an unbreakable soulmate bond. I'm not missing out on much am I?"
Elijah remained tense but now became irritated, responding with sarcasm too.
"Niklaus thank you for your kind words. Now if you could leave us-"
"Oh dear brother, I think not. You see..."
Klaus' words were cut off by Rebekah and Kol, catching him by surprise and dragging him out by yanking an arm each. The kitchen door slammed shut and arguing could be heard from the other side.
Maeve tried to pull away from Elijah, worrying she had upset her mate but he said nothing about her wishing she was without him at home and kept her in his arms.
"He can't stay celibate forever. When will he tell her?" Klaus yelled from the next room, making Maeve frown. She didn't understand what celibate meant, or what Elijah needed to tell her.
It worried her a lot.
"What does he mean?" She asked, stemming the flow of tears from her eyes.
"My brother is extremely bitter and envious at the moment. I would pay no heed."
"He's jealous?" Maeve questioned looking into Elijah's deep brown eyes.
"He does not have such a bond as ours," he explained quickly, widening Maeve's eyes in shock.
"What? Why not?"
"Mikael refused to let our mother pair him with anyone since Niklaus was fathered by another man."
"Oh that's awful," Maeve was instantly upset for him, even though he had been rather rude moments before. She understood he was hurt so she wouldn't hold it against him.
"Yes it is rather cruel," Elijah acknowledged before holding out his hand for her to take. "Come now, are you feeling better? We have a guest waiting for us."
Maeve wiped her tears quickly and nodded, slipping her hand into his warm one causing tingles of electricity and static from the mate bond to spark through her. She shivered.
"Who is it?"
"Ianthe, Niklaus' witch," he responded promptly. "Kol told me you're scared of the magic they used to put you to sleep?"
"Yes, it's really awful magic. Expression. It can linger inside of me and I might lose control," Maeve walked with him eager for answers and a solution too.
Ianthe quickly introduced herself and started speaking quickly, leaving Maeve lost and looking to Elijah to translate.
"She was with me and Mikael," Maeve said in confusion, remembering the girl from weeks before.
"This is her sister," Elijah clarified kindly while everyone waited in silence for him to finish.
"She wants to hear everything you know about what Mikael was planning and why you're scared," he relayed softly, resisting the urge to kiss her full lips as she gazed up at him with trust in her eyes.
"The full moon is approaching and that's when the spell is going to be done. They don't need me there. It's to remove all the expressional magic that might be lingering within me after waking up. It has to be done."
Elijah translated and Ianthe nodded patiently before gesturing her to continue. Freya listened in too, as did Kol with his magical knowledge.
"If they don't do it, I could lose control and hurt someone," Maeve admitted shamefully. "Especially on a full moon because I'm a wolf."
Now Elijah looked concerned.
"Do we need to visit the mountains for your shift?" He asked cautiously, worrying about the pain his sweet mate would be in once a month.
"No," Maeve shook her head surprising everyone that could understand. "I can control it with my magic. I'm strong enough to hold it back."
The stunned silence said it all.
Every Mikaelson stared at Maeve in shock. Never had they heard of a witch so powerful they could overcome their werewolf nature simply by willing it so.
More questions were then brought up and answered, leaving Maeve exhausted from repeating herself. While Ianthe thought long and hard about whether or not Mikael had lied to Maeve, the young woman sat down and stared out of the window, answering more odd questions thrown her way.
But Ianthe couldn't work out if it was lies or not. Neither could Freya.
"She needs to research," Elijah explained when Ianthe left hurriedly without another word to Maeve. They were left alone to talk and so she could open up more about her worries.
"Will she be able to help me?" Maeve asked nervously, biting her lip. The action brought Elijah over to her, as if calling out to him and raising the tension between them.
"We will protect you sweetheart, I give you my word," his firm words were all she needed to allow herself to relax. Her mate saying everything would be okay, made it so.
If Elijah told her yes, she would trust him.
If Elijah gave his word, she would be okay.
And so her spinning thoughts calmed.
When he stepped forwards again, her breath hitched in her throat. Butterflies in her belly made the feeling worse and for the first time she wanted him to kiss her.
Licking her lips, her eyes were drawn to her mate's. Soft, warm, beautiful.
All manly and him.
Elijah noticed her racing heart while she unconsciously leant towards him and relief nearly engulfed him. She liked him. His mate fancied him. He felt like a giddy human again.
"I love you," he murmured to her, allowing Maeve to step in even closer, their eyes burning into each other. In them, they both instantly knew what the other oh so desperately wanted. And needed.
Maeve brought her hand up to his face and traced his cheek lovingly with her fingertips. She didn't love him yet... but someday...
She could see herself falling in love with this man.
"Elijah I-"
"-you two should really discuss how babies are made," Klaus interrupted, stomping into the room and banging the door open on its hinges as he did so.
Elijah managed to hold his tongue, but Maeve sprang back, feeling shy and almost humiliated.
"Brother..." Elijah said impatiently with a huff.
"What?" Klaus shrugged, brushing off Elijah's glare. "Don't you need to talk to Freya about what Ianthe is and isn't working on?"
Elijah stepped back and sighed.
"Yes, two witches are better than one on this. An answer will be faster."
Maeve felt unease rising up as she realised Klaus knew she didn't know something as simple and obvious as how to make children. She felt stupid and embarrassed. She wished she had never admitted it to Rebekah and Freya, it was clearly them who gossiped about it for everyone to hear.
With the tension-filled moment gone the second Klaus strode in, Elijah excused himself to speak with Freya, promising Maeve he would be back within the hour.
And so Maeve was left alone with Klaus. And for once she wasn't scared. A fact she was proud of.
She watched him out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't terrified of him anymore like she was when she first arrived, but she found him unpredictable around her.
She wasn't sure about him. And he clearly wasn't sure about her either.
Thankfully, he simply smiled and pulled something out from behind his back, something Elijah had not seen. He tapped it, filling the room with the shrill cries of birds in the trees before placing it on the table.
Klaus gestured to the device which Maeve recognised as Kol's 'tablet' before striding off, saying nothing. He clearly left it out for her.
Feeling apprehensive, Maeve slowly approached it, noticing flashing movement on the screen. A wolf.
What was this? Why didn't he say anything to explain?
The howl of the wolf caught her attention so she picked up the device, surprising herself with how light it was, and walked upstairs with it in her hands.
Could Klaus have found her family? She didn't dare let herself hope.
Suddenly, the wolf approached another. A female.
Intrigued, Maeve reached her room and sat on her neatly made bed, watching it all play out.
With wide horrified eyes, she saw the male mounting the female who had accepted his advances. The male was poking between her legs with something. His own swollen flesh.
Confused with what she was seeing Maeve clicked on the screen, accidentally causing it to minimise. Tapping furiously to bring it back did nothing, until a flashing picture came up in the corner.
She couldn't read the words but it was a woman. Barely clothed.
In the back of her mind, she knew Elijah wouldn't like what she was doing but she also didn't know exactly what she was doing.
A new page opened up and she clicked a green button before the page downloaded onto Kol's device.
The woman came up again. Fully naked.
A man appeared too.
And Maeve watched in horror as the video began to play...
———
Oh dear. Elijah is going to be furious, especially when Maeve is left hurt and confused.
Sadly she compares herself and she starts to believe there's something wrong with her💔
Do you think Klaus was trying to help or hurt their bond?