I was in a meadow. It was bright, sunny and warm. I felt the light breeze hitting my face softly. It was magical.
"Cassandra." I heard a voice behind me. I froze. This couldn't be possible. It must have been a nightmare. I turned around only to face what I was suspecting. Or who more specifically.
"Elijah. What are you doing here?"
"I needed to see you." He said coming closer to me, attempting to touch my cheek.
"No!" I shouted getting away from him. "This is a nightmare. I must wake up." I shouted again. Then, it hit me. "Or worse. It could be a vision." I whispered this time.
"I assure you it's not."
"And how do you know that?" I challenged him.
"Because I intruded in your dream."
"Excuse me?"
"As I said I wanted so badly to see you. I missed you Cassandra."
"Weren't you supposed to be locked up in a box with a dagger in your chest?" I questioned.
"Well, that's true. My brother, being my brother as usual, went back on his promise to reunite me with our family and instead put a dagger in my heart. I shouldn't be surprised."
"And why exactly are you telling me all these now?"
"You searched for an explanation. Now you got it."
"Ok, then get out of my dream." He chuckled.
"Is that what you really want? Because I believe you are lying."
"You are not in the position to know how I feel like."
"Really? Then explain to me what's this connection we share."
"Connection? Really? Couldn't you find a better excuse?" I laughed trying to foolish him.
"You are not persuasive enough. I can hear your heartbeat which indicates you are lying."
"Does it really matter if I'm lying? You are kind of dead anyway and I have no obligation to give you any explanation."
"Is that so?"
"Yes it is, Elijah. We are done. Please leave me alone for God's sake!" I said turning around only to find him again in front of me.
"Ok, I understand why you don't want to talk about his. It's really strong and it's normal to scare you. Please, stay here." He begged me, his voice now revealing pain. In a way I felt his pain too. I didn't want him to be in pain. Although, he would deserve it after what he did to me and my friends.
"How is it possible for you to come to my dream, especially when you are kind of dead and across the Atlantic?" It was the first thing it came to my mind. Although, it was quite logical to ask.
"Don't you know?" I raised an eyebrow, indicating I would no longer tolerate any more riddles. "It is the bond we share. You see, it's strong enough to bring us together like this. Which also means, I wouldn't be here, if you didn't want me too."
"Sorry, but you must have missed something. I only wanted to have a good night sleep because I hadn't have the best day of my life and instead you are here making me sound ridiculous for talking to a ghost in my dream, preventing me from getting the rest I crave for and aggravating me by saying I 'invited' you here. What do you have to say about that?" He lowered his head not knowing what to say. I waited. I was really curious about what his answer would be.
"I'll leave if that's what you want." He said in the end. I should be satisfied with that, but again I surprised myself by not being. "But before that allow me to say one thing." He made a pause. He took my hand and held it in his. And then to my surprise he put it to where his heart was. I froze. "It's impossible to feel this, but you do. Because you are the reason for it. My heart beats because you gave it a push. But for you, this heart would have stopped beating long time ago. I want you to know that you mean a lot to me and if you need anything, you can turn to me. Even if, I'm locked in a coffin with a dagger in my chest, my heart will always belong to you." I couldn't say anything. I was just standing there, looking at his beautiful brown eyes. "Take care of yourself." He said kissing me on the forehead and disappearing.
"Elijah!!!" I screamed waking up. I was in my room. Far away from him.
"Cassandra?" My Granny came in, worried. "Are you ok?" She asked me, siding by my side.
"Yes, Granny. I'm fine. It was just a dream." I replied trying to catch my breath.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Granny I'm sure. It wasn't a vision."
"Then who is Elijah?"
"No one." I replied too quickly. She raised her eyebrow.
"Really, there is nothing you should worry about."
"Honey, if there is something going on, please talk to me. I want to help you. I won't judge you I promise." She said looking me straight in the eyes. I didn't reply. "This Elijah is your soulmate, right?" I kept silent, turning away from her intense look. My Granny had always the ability to read people. She knew exactly what I was thinking all the time. There was point in lying to her. "So, it's true. You found your soulmate." She sounded very happy. If only she knew... "Well, who is he?"
"Do you really want to hear this?"
"Of course, honey. This is about your future happiness."
"Ok, then learn that there is no future happiness here. You see, fate takes great pleasure in torturing me. The Elijah to whom you are referring is a thousand year old vampire that is currently locked up in a coffin with a dagger in his heart. How about that?"
"You are joking, right?" She managed to utter a few seconds later.
"Do you think I would be joking about something like that?" She remained silent.
"You say that your soulmate is an Original. And the oldest Original of all?"
"I thought Klaus was the oldest."
"No, Elijah is the oldest. How have you been handling that?"
"I tried to stay as far away as possible. It wasn't easy. He felt there was something going on too, so he tried to find out what it was."
"Did he manage to do so?"
"I don't think so. At least, I didn't say to him anything."
"I can't understand. How can this happen?"
"If you happen to find an answer to this question please let me know, because it has been torturing me for a very long time now."
"And you said he is dead?"
"Not dead exactly, but close to it."
"What will we do about it?" She said to herself.
"I don't know. But, what I know is that Arianna will find it out if something happens between us." She gave me a puzzled look. "Why do you think she threatened me? She was afraid that I would be turned into a vampire to be with him. She knew everything from the very beginning. She made it clear that she would keep an eye on me."
"What a trouble!" She whispered.
"You tell me!"
"What will you do about it?"
"Nothing."
"Define nothing." She replied with a trembling voice.
"Nobody has the right to control my life. It is MY life. I decide. No one else. And if she dares to do anything, I'll make sure she pays."
"And what about Elijah?" I looked at her.
"Honestly, I don't know."
The next morning...
It was a long night. After the dream with Elijah, I couldn't sleep. He had done it again. He had intruded into my life without asking my permission. My Granny had left, leaving me alone to think about the mess I was into. She wanted to help, but we both knew there was nothing she could do. Even talking to Arianna wouldn't help at the slightest. I was trapped. But, I was more determined than ever not to leave others control my life.
Once the sun had risen, I started packing my stuff. I would leave that night to go back to Mystic Falls. The day after tomorrow was Elena's birthday and I didn't want to miss it. It was time to return to reality. Once, I was done packing my things, I went downstairs to take my breakfast and announce my decision to the others.
"Good morning!" I greeted everyone. They replied the same way.
"Did you sleep well?" Alexa asked me. I froze for a moment.
"Better than other times." I replied eventually, carefully picking my words. She just nodded, probably having got the message.
"So what are we going to do this evening?" Iphigenia asked.
"Maybe we should give Cassandra a better tour of the place we grew up."
"I would love to, but unfortunately I have to leave."
"What?!?!?!" Four different faces were looking at me full of surprise.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier, but the day after tomorrow is Elena's birthday and I don't want to miss it. Especially, after everything she has been through lately."
"Of course, I forgot too. You should go. Elena, really need all of her friends right now."
"Thank you, Granny." We continued our breakfast talking about various things. Alexander's face didn't escape my attention though. It seemed that he was displeased with my departure.
So, I wasn't surprised when Alexander asked me to talk once we finished our breakfast. So, we got out in the backyard, walking in silence. Finally, he decided to break the silence.
"Is there another reason for your leaving?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I asked. Is there any reason, apart from Elena's birthday, that makes you want to leave?"
"No." I replied. He remained silent. "You don't believe me, right?" I concluded.
"I want to."
"Then, what stops you?" He remained silent again.
"I heard you screaming Elijah's name last night." It was time for me not to say anything.
"So, that was it? You are afraid that I return for Elijah?"
"I'm afraid for you not me. This guy has hurt you more than once. I just don't want to see you getting hurt again."
"Thanks for your concern Alexander, but if I get hurt because of that it will be my own decision and therefore my own fault. Please, respect that."
"I understand what you want to say. But, believe me I will never stop caring about you. Never." I smiled touching his cheek with my hand.
"You are the best person I have ever met." I said hugging him. He returned the hug without hesitation.
Later that evening, I was on the plane for America. It was time for me to go back home. Mr. Green was at the airport waiting to get me to my house. We didn't say much during our way back, as I was too exhausted to hold a conversation. It was late that night when we passed the sign indicating we had arrived to our destination.
Hello again Mystic Falls...
Author's Note: So, Elijah might be away, but he is noy completely gone... Did you like this chapter? What do you think about the reaction of Cassandra's Granny when she found out about Elijah? And what do you think Cassandra will do now that she has returned to Mystic Falls???