Surviving ∞ Kol Mikaelson [2]

[13]

Emma was surprised when she suddenly found herself standing outside in the street, the cool night breeze brushing against her chin. She wasn't surprised when Elijah announced they had more to talk about, but she wasn't expecting for him to just sweep her up and rush her out of the church. Not that she was complaining.

Looking around, it didn't take her long to figure out where they were. It wasn't too far from the Abattoir. Another subtle test Elijah was putting her to, wanting to see how she'd react to being so close to Marcel and his vampires, out where they could see them talking at any point. She didn't react to it at all, instead, simply sitting down on the bench in front of which they stopped and looking up at him; silently asking if he had any intentions of joining her. Which he did after a few moments.

Emma waited, leaving it to him to break the silence which had fallen over them during the silent test. And once he was ready, he did. "You've always been an ally to my family." Elijah started out, pausing a moment after and wondering how exactly to pose everything he wanted to say without revealing too much.

"You know I have." Emma agreed, not wanting that fact to ever be a doubt. From the moment she met Klaus in Mystic Falls the night of Homecoming, Emma's loyalties had been clear. Until now. "But you're talking about the past. Meaning you're not sure about the present."

"Can you not understand where I'm coming from?" Elijah questioned. He was giving her chances to say what she wanted; to be honest or to try and play him. He didn't rely solely on spoken words to decide whether he could trust her.

"I can." Emma said, remaining completely calm as she spoke. She didn't think honesty would put her in any danger. It was lies that would do it sooner. "And I won't lie and tell you Marcel is not my friend; or that I don't care if he gets hurt in whatever your brother is planning; or that I didn't know where you were days before I came to un-dagger you." She listed all the things that were clear already, not bothering to deny any of it.

"Klaus may have plans which... Marcel wouldn't like. But my brother wouldn't harm him unless it is absolutely necessary." Elijah felt compelled to point out, knowing that despite it all, his brother cared for Marcel too.

Emma had a harder time believing it without knowing all of the details of the past. "He harms his own siblings. And your most recent nap in a coffin shows that he certainly doesn't need a sane reason to do it." She pointed out. "And let's not pretend he wouldn't have been at my throat if he discovered I knew where you were and where Marcel hides Davina."

Elijah silence was sign enough that he couldn't disagree with her in that particular moment. It was why he wasn't faulting her for all the things she'd done up until this point. She was simply looking out for herself and Davina, knowing how his brother could get.

"I'm sorry I didn't release you from the dagger sooner. If I was too obvious about it, I would have lost Marcel and Davina's trust. And if you haven't realized by now-" Emma continued.

But it was Elijah that finished the statement for her. "You've been playing both sides, unsure of which one you belong to." If there was one thing that was clear as day, it was that.

"I can't make a choice if I don't know what it is I'm choosing." Emma said firmly. She'd been working on finding out what was going on, on finding ways to protect Davina from whoever she had to, but if she didn't know what either side was fighting for then she wouldn't be choosing one. She wouldn't stand for something she couldn't know the outcome of.

"And you want me to tell you what it is that you're choosing." Elijah's words weren't a question, but a statement. He'd also been quite curious as to why Emma was so eager to release him from the dagger. Yes, he believed part of the reason to be friendship, but he didn't for a moment let himself believe that to be the only reason.