Painted Souls

Part 7

"Greta Sienna." Elijah said as he placed his hand out in front of him. "Its a pleasure as always."

A smirk pulled at the woman's lips as she took Elijah's hand. "Likewise. Though I must say that I am rather surprised that your father has asked for you to take on this case."

"We are surprised as well." Freya said with a nod as she moved to shake the woman's hand. "Though I assume you'll be taking this as a challenge like you normally do."

"Of course," Greta said with a nod. "Where would the fun be if I had simply taken a step back and let the Mikaelsons have it all?" A chuckle came from the siblings at her words.

"It will be a challenge indeed." Finn said with a nod.

Elijah gestured for them to all take their seats a moment later. While this was just a meeting between lawyers, they figured it was best to see what they were up against—both in the case and their opposing side.

"This case is unique in its own." Greta began as she pulled out her file. "Lucien Castle has been on the radar for quite some time. While for mostly smaller crimes, this one has everything else beat."

"Do you really believe that he is, in fact, the killer that has been going after soulmates?" Finn asked as he held up the file. "There isn't anything here that can tie the cases together."

"A soulmate went missing," Greta looked at Finn. "Once that soulmate had been found, Lucien's prints were all over the place. That's enough to move forward with convicting him."

"That's where it will be our job to prove otherwise." A smirk pulled at Freya's lips. "We have a meeting with Lucien later this afternoon. We'll be sure to present his side of the story."

Greta nodded her head at the information being provided. "Then this will definitely make one hell of a case between us."

The Mikaelsons knew this was going to be a tough one on its own. While there was little evidence present, it all lead straight to Lucien. If there was a way to prove Lucien's innocence, it would be this family. And they never backed down from a challenge.

_____

"Y/N," Elena said as she walked up behind her, looking at the painting she had been working on. "That is amazing."

Elena's eyes wandered over the painting. She took in the several different colors that been placed onto the canvas. Each one brought up a distinct feature in itself and made the art look lifelike. This was something Elena could never create on her own.

"It's still not finished just yet." Y/N said with a tilt of her head. "It's missing something, and I just can't place my finger on it. "

"Maybe you should take a step back from it. Why not go find the rest of the paintings you need for the showing and then come back to it?"

Y/N sighed softly. "I know I should." She looked over at Elena. "Joyce knows I have plenty finished already. Creating more isn't going to help the fact that I still have yet to get the pieces for the arrangement."

Her showing was just days away. Y/N had given Joyce all of the ones she had in the dorm, but there were several of them that Y/N had to get out of storage. She just needed to head down there and get them.

"I'll go with." Elena said with a nod. "That way, you won't have an excuse to not tell me about your night with Elijah."

Y/N shook her head and chuckled. "It's not my fault you guys were still out when I got home. Otherwise, you would have known then."

Elena laughed. "Like I said, no excuses now."

Y/N rolled her eyes as she stood from her seat and grabbed her keys. "Alright, fine. I'll tell you how it went on the way there."

The shock was written all over Elena's face by the time Y/N finished telling her everything. They had just pulled into the storage units when Y/N explained that she met the Mikaelsons before, but neither remembered it.

"This whole time you could have known him." Elena said, shaking her head slightly.

"Not necessarily. Things changed, and it's not like we knew were soulmates at the time. I think we came back into each other's lives when we needed it the most."

After spending most of the evening with Elijah, she hadn't cared that they weren't together all those years ago. They were still young and getting to know who they were as a person. Life was different for them back then. Finding out that they were each other's soulmates now was the best time for both of them.

"I'm happy for you." Elena said, giving her a smile. "You found out who was on the other side of this." She tapped her own skin, talking about the bond. "And now you'll have someone to spend the rest of your life with."

A smile pulled at Y/N's lips. "Take it easier there. We've just started talking to each other. I don't expect us to jump right into marriage just because the universe says so."

Elena chuckled. "You know what I meant."

"I know. At least with you it will be easier." Y/N noted. "Once Caroline finds out she'll go straight into wedding planner mode."

"And that is why Damon and I are going with a small wedding." Elena said with a nod.

A fake gasp left Y/N's lips. "And deprive Caroline a chance to throw an extravagant wedding? How could you?"

Both girls broke out into laughter as they made their way up to the storage unit. Y/N pulled out her keys and unlocked it before lifting up the door.

Elena's eyes widened. "Holy shit. I thought you had a lot at the dorm."

Y/N chuckled and took a step into the unit. "I told you I had a unit full of them."

_____

"I'm telling you, I'm innocent." Lucien said as he looked at the lawyers before him. "I'm being set up here."

"The only evidence that was in the room pointed straight to you." Finn said with a shake of his head. "If there is something you can give us that would help with your case, we'd use that to prove your innocence."

"How about an ironclad alibi that no one bothered to check?" Lucien asked. "The night of her disappearance, I was out with friends. Open tab and everything. But no one has checked."

Elijah's eyebrow raised at that. "Why wouldn't they check your alibi? That's usually one of the first things they would do to ensure they've got the right person."

"His finger prints all over the scene voided it out." Freya noted handing the file over to Elijah.

Elijah shook his head. "We'll look into your alibi. You'll just have to tell us where you were at."

"Some place called The Local Bar in Richmond." Lucien said with a wave of his hand. "I got there around eight and was there until the last call."

"Alright, we'll make sure we look into it." Freya nodded. "If this is a case of someone framing you, we'll be able to get you out of here."

"Good to know I have a team of lawyers on my side." Lucien nodded.

"You can thank Mikael for that." Finn said as he began grabbing his things.

"He did say you three were the best he's got." A smirk pulled at Lucien's lips.

"Let's hope so." Elijah said with a nod.

The moment the meeting ended, and Lucien was taken away, Freya had pulled Elijah off to the side. There was a look on her face that Elijah knew all too well.

"What is it?" He asked.

"The Local Bar," She began. "That is where Klaus said he was meeting Marcel at when he left for Richmond. It's also where the victim's husband said she was at the night of her disappearance."

Understanding came over Elijah. Y/N and her friends spent the majority of their nights out there. Elijah shook his head. "If Lucien is telling the truth, there wouldn't be enough time for him to grab her and still make his alibi solid. We'll have to check into it."

He wanted to keep his mind off that Y/N could be in any danger. If Lucien was the soulmate killer, he was behind bars and away from her. But if he was innocent, the killer was still out there. And that alone created an unsettling feeling within him.