East of the Sun-West of the Moon (Elejahverse)

The evening is too magnificent

It was a week after they left M. Falls, and to Elena it seemed it had been months. 

After visiting Jeremy, to whom she explained all that was happening, and after one very emotional meeting, they departed for Venice, Italy, one of Elijah's most favourite homes. 

Elena was treated like a person of great importance. It amazed her the way he managed everything smoothly and with such elegance. It seemed like Elijah had his own personal invisible army that worked for him. Now she could see first hand who Elijah actually was. Elijah's human side. The was he fit in the world. She was surprised to find out that in actual fact Elijah had many businesses.  A whole new world was opening up to her about this ancient vampire.

Elijah enjoyed all the finer things of life in every aspect, so it was not unusual that he presented this Palazzo to her as their abode for the time being. 

When they arrive, a housekeeper by the name Zusta met them, and showed Elena immediately her room. She prepared everything for her so she would be comfortable, nearly waiting on her hand and foot.

 Elijah gave Elena room to settle, take time to herself, roam around the city's labyrinth of narrow streets, let herself be a tourist, and forget for a little while all that had happened to her in the last couple of years. It felt like she was cut out of the world and time. And it felt good. Finally, after a long while, she felt she was breathing again, she felt alive and in a strange way new.

But all the worries didn't die away, they were very much present. She was sitting next to the window of the Palazzo's salon overlooking the Grand Canal, as Elijah walked in to join her, greeting her warmly.

"This seems to be your favourite place."- he said - " Zusta is preparing something to eat, I have asked her to serve it here, if that is fine with you ?"

"Thank you"- Elena said- " but I can eat in the kitchen, it's really not necessary to do all this."

"You are my guest, and I wish you are comfortable. I know this is very unusual for you, and maybe I should have taken you somewhere else."

"This is very extravagant after M. Falls, but it's not Venice, or this house, it's everything. I am still processesing."

He smiled a little. She now remembered their conversation in the Lockwood mansion. She smiled too.

"That seems to be the thing with me... so much, so soon,.... and I guess, I should be used to all of these changes."

"This was another life-changing decision you made, you are allowed some processing time, and if I may remark, you are doing rather well."

" It is like.... when people had to face a war-like situation, something switches inside of you and I guess you grow up overnight... I can't explain it, but I had to take things in my hands. Still not sure what I am really doing... this is all so unreal, well, not more than finding out that vampires really exist, and that I am not an ordinary girl... you see, still processing-  and Klaus is still receiving my blood-"

"I am sorry, Elena, for making a deal like that, but this deal is buying us time."- Elijah explained.

Zusta interrupted them arriving with the meal as Elijah had requested. He politely thanked his housekeeper and poured Elena and himself a glass of wine.

Elena was quiet for a moment, and he continued- " I did things I abhor...for Klaus, for the dream to keep the family together, balancing their misdeeds, many times, but you know that already. I trespassed against you, I regret it very much!"- he looked at her seriously. She could hear the sincerity of the statement in his voice, his eyes mirroring how deeply it is embedded in him -

To break the awkwardness that arose he said- " he is already looking for Esther and Finn, but leaving that aside, I have to stop him from building this army of hybrids, and in order to stop him we need an Original witch."

Elena appreciated that they deterred from a very personal moment, it felt like his eyes probed into her, and she felt uneasy.Trying to focus on the topic, she said:

"Except for your mother, where we do find one?"

"I have put the word out, but I have to be very careful, as Klaus must not suspect a thing, it's different than it was the case of finding the doppelganger...the same as I knew the Martin witches, I know others, and I am also pulling favours-" -"but let's not spoil this meal with talk of Klaus"-" the evening is too magnificent for it to be spoiled by that."

************

Esther and Finn made their way to the Hebrides, Scotland, to the place they inhabited so many centuries before they crossed over to the New World. She knew that Klaus would make it his mission to find them, she needed to time to rethink her actions, and partly to adapt to the contemporary world. There was nothing she could do without Elena's blood, and the only other person who was in possession of it was Klaus, and she knew he would guard it with his life. She thought of Elijah and how cleverly he had thought things through for his advantage, but most of all, she was surprised that he had seceded from Klaus. She soon sent Finn to look up two families that had a witch in their ancestry. Time could not be wasted. Although she was an original witch, her powers seemed to have been still quite low, and she needed reinforcements, same as Klaus and Elijah. But two other vampires were also very restless.

"What are you doing here, Katherine?"- a drunken Damon asked the vampire holding a bottle of bourbon.

"Wiping floors in every known vampire dive spells love trouble"-she said.

"Gloat as much as you want- I couldn't care less."

"But you do, Damon. Otherwise you would be sober and start thinking."

"What's there to think, you didn't answer my question- what are you doing here?"- he looked at her rather annoyed.

"I am bored, and since you are free from the Salvatore disease, can we play bad guys, and mess up Elena's great life?!"

"What great life are you talking about?"

"She is with Elijah or didn't you know- and if he cares for someone, and trust me, he does care about her, she will be treated as royalty..."

"And what does that have to do with me, if it is Elijah that you want now, go and get him yourself, oh, but he doesn't want you!- he wants the other doppelganger- wonder why! Anyway, she is a Petrova, she will play with him, same as she did with us, and for once I am glad I am rid of you two?!"

"So, when did that ever stop you from going after an Original....Even more so, as you undaggered him apparently!"

Although drunk, he charged at Katherine, who smirked at him, as she knew she hit the nerve.

"So, are you in?"- Katherine said with a very sly kind of a look.

He let go of her, and stood thinking for a moment. "What do you have in mind?"

"I have done some research, well, one compelled professor friend told me that he had a white-oak-dagger in his possession. Not just any white-oak-dagger- get it?"

Damon's blue eyes sparkled at mention of the dagger. He knew that Katherine was a very resourceful one, but this revelation threw him off.

"Are you in for a hunt then?!"- she asked seductively showing the dagger.

"Oh, yes!"- he said and grabbed her in a passionate kiss.

*********************