I snap out of my trance as I push the guy before me up against the brick wall harshly. He gasps at the sudden impact as I narrow my eyes. My tone is sharp as I angrily ask, "Who are you and why are you doing this?"
'Elliot' struggles against my deathly tight grasp, "It's me...Elliot."
I'm sick and tired of people manipulating me, and I can't believe someone would stoop this low to rattle me. Angry at the imposter's response, I withdraw my grip slightly only to push his back into the wall harder.
"No you're not! Elliot died over a thousand years ago."
He shakes his shaggy brown hair, the one I used to love to comb my fingers through all the time. "I didn't die Alexia."
"I went back to his village and his family told me that the plague took him. I saw his grave!" Tears of fury fill my eyes as I remember memories I pushed away long ago. "Why are you lying to me?"
I stare at the reflection of the guy I used to love with my entire heart. His eyes soften as I get emotional and softly responds, "The plague did take me initially, but I came back as a vampire."
There is no way this is true since no one knew about what my father made our mother do that fateful night. I shake my head at his reply, "Stop lying!"
He looks down to think for a moment and when his eyes look back up, they seem to stare right into my soul. He tries a different angle to convince me, "Do you remember the second time we saw each other? We saved that poor man from being executed..."
His words chip away at my protective barrier as I think back to the memory.
My body leans against the tree he hid behind when we first met. Worry consumes me when he doesn't show right away but after a few minutes, Elliot appears. A bright smile radiates from both of us.
He offers his hand to me, "Shall we go for a stroll?" I nod my head as I place my hand in his, which seem to fit perfectly.
I ask him as we walk further into the woods, "What do you enjoy doing?"
He answers without having to think, "Writing."
My eyebrows raise at this, "Really?" I didn't take him for a man who spent his free time writing when most his age practice their fighting skills every spare moment they have.
A shy smile appears on his face, "I know it sounds silly..." I quickly interject to disagree with him. "I love writing about the past...the present..."
"What about the future?"
My tone is curious as he suddenly stops to turn and face me, "I'm looking at it." My cheeks warm at his comment, despite how cheesy he is. He cups my reddened cheeks with his hands as he leans in.
Right as our lips are about to meet, we pull away when we hear a man screaming for mercy. Our eyes widen as we run to the source to find two men with swords at the ready, taunting a homeless man.
Elliot demands, "What is going on here?"
One of the men wielding a sword speaks, "This man stole from us."
The homeless man cries out, "I have nothing! I was starving and desperate."
"Quiet! Now you must pay with your life." I stare at the homeless man in pity as the other man raises his sword to his victim's neck.
Elliot is quick to pull out his own sword in a challenging manner, "Leave him be." Suddenly the three start to fight, so I make my way to the homeless man and urge him to run. He thanks me as he takes off as fast as his scrawny legs can take him.
Elliot is no match for the two men, so they back down and walk away angrily. Deep breathes come from Elliot as he puts his sword away. I rush over to him to embrace him tightly, relived he did not get hurt.
We pull away and he tells me, "You have a kind heart."
I smile, "As do you." Our lips finally meet and my heart is happy.
I return to reality after remember the turning point in our relationship. I look into his light blue eyes, searching endlessly for the man I loved before my father got involved.
My grip loosens but still holds him in place. His voice comes pleadingly, "Alexia, it's me. It's really me."
My eyes start to water as I drop my arms to back away from the guy standing before me. I turn my back, lowering my head as tears fall onto the pavement below me. My body shakes as the denial slowly dissipates.
Elliot's softly asks behind me, "Alexia?"
I turn around quickly and throw my arms around his shoulders tightly. He is quick to snake his around my waist, lifting me to my toes as I remember the feel of his arms around my body. My voice is raspy, "I can't believe you're alive after all this time."
"I know." I take in a deep breath before pulling away from him.
His happy eyes widen as I take him by surprise as I raise my hand to slap him across the face. A loud smack echoes in the alleyway as I angrily say, "That was for siding with my father."
Fury consumes me, remembering his betrayal that broke my human heart to the point where it couldn't be mended again. "I can't believe you sabotaged everything we had only to prove my father's point! I hated you for what you did to me. I hated you!"
He flinches as I scream out with guilt flooding his eyes, "He threatened to kill my family if I didn't listen to him. I swear, I would have never done what I did otherwise. It killed me to hurt you like that but it never changed how I felt for you."
I search for truth in his words as I consider his answer. Father was scary and would go to extreme lengths to teach us a lesson, especially when it came to protecting us. If this is all true, I wish Elliot told me. Then we could have ran away before things turned to chaos.
Another thought comes forward, "If you truly turned, then why am I only finding out now? It's been a thousand years..."
His blue eyes travel down towards his feet, "I do admit, at first I was giving you space but I went to your village to find you and make amends. Instead, I found your father, except he wasn't human. I was overtaken with illness and all I remember was him making me drink his blood before stabbing me."
Elliot glances back up, his eyes begging for forgiveness as he continues, "It was all part of his grand scheme. He locked me up, binding his life to the spell that would keep me from escaping. I spent centuries until one day, I felt the spell lift."
Niklaus killed our father once and for all, making his story seem that much more truthful. The only thing that doesn't make sense is how he isn't dead since he is a part of my father's sire line. "You would have died after Niklaus killed him though."
"When I was locked up, there was a witch there as well. She broke the sire bond so I wouldn't die."
I let out a deep breathe, not knowing how to feel right now with this rush of new information. "And now? Why are you in London?"
Elliot reaches out to take my hand, but I quickly pull my hand away. A sigh escapes his lips, "I immediately went to find you. I ran into Elijah in New Orleans and shocked him completely. Niklaus came and tried to kill me as a way to avenge you, but Elijah wanted to hear me out. I told them my story and they told me where I could find you." He pauses before saying, "And here I am."
So many thoughts swarm in my head as I try to put all the pieces together. Everything somehow makes sense despite how crazy and unlikely it is. All that anger I held towards him and my siblings...all a misunderstanding because of a hidden truth. Elliot really did care.
Thinking of everything I did with my humanity turned off, I tear up again, realizing that a lot of damage could have been avoided. I refrained from loving another for so long because of him and my siblings. Maybe I wouldn't have been daggered by Niklaus and wouldn't have missed out on so much of the world.
Seeing me upset, Elliot rushes forward to embrace me again, "I'm so sorry."
His words sound genuine and I say through my tears, "I was a monster. I did so many bad things because I was so angry at the world!"
His hand brushes through my hair in an attempt to calm me down, "You didn't know the truth. You are the person you are today because of everything that happened."
I sniffle as my tears die down, pulling away from him. "I just can't believe it."
"I know, but I'm here now and still love you." He runs his fingers down the side of my face as I recognize the loving look in his eyes, "I'm here and want to be with you. With your father out of the picture, nothing will hold us back from experiencing the world. Together."
My eyes soften at his words, remembering how my human self buckled at the knees whenever he declared his love for me. His lips lower and hover over my own. I allow him to kiss my lips softly for a mere second.
This feeling is so familiar, yet I felt it so long ago when I was human. He places his forehead against mine, making my mind race with confused thoughts. My body knows that Elliot is my first love, so I look into his eyes, "I need the night to process everything and think."
Elliot looks down at this, so I am quick to say, "I'm glad you're alive, truly, but I held all this anger in for a thousand years that I need to let go of."
"I understand." I know there is more he wants to say though.
Looking up at the darkness covering the sky, I realize I need to head back. "I have to get back but meet me in front of that pub over there tomorrow." I point to the Leaky Cauldron.
He nods and I turn away from my first love, feeling free as I increase the space between the two of us. I allow my feet to subconsciously take me back to the apartment above the joke shop in a daze.
The second I enter through the door, the twins come rushing towards me to wrap their arms around me while saying things that go over my head. They pull away and George's hands find their way onto my shoulders to give me a strong shake as I stare at him confused.
I see his lips moving, yet I can't comprehend any words. I finally hear Fred say to George, "I think she's in shock."
Still feeling out of it, I question the two, "What?" The pair look at me curious and both rush to say something, but I stop them, "Woah, one at a time please."
George speaks first, "You said you were going to be back by dinner"
"It's 10 pm now," Fred continues.
"We thought something happened to you."
"like death eaters," Fred suggests.
George finishes up, "We were worried and freaking out."
My eyes flicker between the two as I state matter of factly, "You do realize that I can't die right? And I can easily protect myself against death eaters."
Fred and George glance at each other, slightly taken aback by my response. Fred says, "Doesn't mean we won't be worried."
My eyes are spacey, "Don't worry. I just need to think and then everything will figure itself out eventually."
George asks with concern laced in his voice, "Think about what?"
Elliot's image appears in my head as his words seem to play on repeat. I finally raise my eyebrows at George, forgetting he asked me a question. George shakes his head, "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing at all," I state simply, yet the situation is anything but simple. I don't want to tell them about what happened until I wrap my head around everything and decide how to handle it. I can tell the twins don't believe me so I say, "I'm going to bed now."
My feet make their way over to the couch, and I allow my body to collapse. George drags Fred to his room, shutting the door behind them to say, "What do you think happened? "
Fred responds as I continue to listen in, "What if it's not her? Could be a death eater taking polyjuice potion."
I roll my eyes as I call out, "I don't think any death eater knows you confessed your love for me when Ron staked me after the third task."
Fred's heart races as George questions him, "Wait what?"
Fred's words come out quickly, "That's besides the point." He coughs, "I thought you were going to sleep Alexia?"
I yell back, "I was but you two aren't discrete." The twins let out dramatic sighs and I hear Fred walk out.
Before he enters his room he asks quietly, "Are you okay?"
Guilt consumes me as I hide my recent discovery from him. "I'll know tomorrow." With that, I fall asleep and begin dreaming of what my life would have been like if my father never got involved with me and Elliot.
Do any of you remember the "I love you" when Ron staked her? It was Fred surprisingly. Anyways, I know that Elliot is only a vampire, but I really want to incorporate him (if Alexia decides to see him again) into the story. I realize that he shouldn't be able to see the Leaky Cauldron or get into any place in the wizarding world; however, I think allowing him to because he is still made by magic will further the story better.
Thank you for all the votes and shocked comments last chapter! I can't wait for you guys to see what happens next since there is still a huge twist to come. X lena