Eternal || Elijah Mikaelson

CXVII - Burn

I honestly don't even know what I was feeling when I wrote this. It was a mix between nostalgia, excitement, and a little bit of grief because gOD DAMMIT I MISS GIA

also OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH

it's a violin version of "Dance Dance" by Fall Out Boy and hOLY HELL IT IS PERFECTION

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Chapter One Hundred & Seventeen

Marcel had prepared the bodies of the people whose lives Dahlia and Klaus had taken. They had killed Gia, as well as a few more of Marcel's vampires. Today, we would burn them and then scatter their ashes in the places they loved most.

Marcel had laid Gia's violin on top of her body, which was covered in a white sheet. I saw it, and knew that it shouldn't be there.

She wouldn't have wanted it to burn. She would have wanted someone to keep it, someone to cherish it in the same way that she did.

I knelt down to pick it up, and looked to Marcel and Elijah. Both of them were mournful, just as much as I was. But both of them seemed almost relieved when I raised my hand, whispering a few short words before the sheets caught fire.

I didn't stay to watch her burn, and neither did Elijah. We both turned and left, deciding to allow Marcel to scatter the ashes wherever he saw fit. Afterall, she was more of a friend to him than she was to us.

I truly regretted not spending more time with her. However, I had come to accept the fact that death dances silently in everyone's shadow. It is always there, waiting to reach out and strike. Nik, Rebekah, Hayley, Cami, hell, even Elijah, could all die tomorrow. And that did scare me.

That was one of the reasons why I had confirmed with myself that I would somehow help Hayley. Rebekah had told me everything that had happened to her and the rest of the wolves. I may not have the power right now to help her, but I will find it. Hayley is like a sister to me, and I will not allow Nik to get what he wants. She will not be left alone.

That night, we went to the bayou, knowing that the full moon would allow Hayley to be released from her curse.

Elijah handed me his suit jacket once he realized she was there, which I in turn wrapped around Hayley.

She almost looked ashamed. She was grief-stricken, that much was obvious. But she looked upset with herself. I could practically hear her thoughts, how she should have fought harder and should have run faster.

I pulled her into a hug, which she immediately returned. She swallowed, then spoke.

"How is she?" she asked.

"She's safe, and well, according to Freya," Elijah said from behind us, walking closer.

"Hayley, I promise, no matter what, I will release you from this curse," I told her, pulling away from the hug and holding her at an arm's length.

"I want you both to make me another promise," she said, looking at us with pleading eyes. "I can't let Klaus be the only thing she knows. I need you to be there for her. Promise me that? She needs you."

We didn't say anything, just looked at each other then back at her. I nodded to Hayley, and before long, she left. She needed to get back to her pack, she told us.

I handed Elijah his jacket again, which he hung over his arm and walked back to the car with. We both climbed in, but we didn't drive. We just sat there, and it seemed that we were both simply running through everything that had happened in these past few days.

"She's right," I said, finally breaking the silence. "We can't leave."

Elijah's jaw clenched, and his fist tightened around the wheel. "And yet again, we are restrained by my brother."

"We are restrained because he is your family, Elijah," I said calmly. "We don't choose our family."

"Sometimes, I wish I could," he told me.

"I know you do. But you must remember that he is your brother," I said, and he seemed unconvinced. So, I continued. "And she is your niece."

He turned to look at me, his expression softening. He didn't say a word. He simply nodded, and I knew that he would stay. He loved Hope far too much to leave. And whether either of us wanted to admit it, we loved Nik too.

When we returned to the compound, he seemed almost shocked to see us. He sat at the table, his grip on his glass lacking while Elijah poured himself a drink. But then he smiled.

Neither of us returned it.

Elijah went up the stairs and headed to our room, with me right behind him. However, I took his hand in mine and smiled a little at him, making him stop. "I'll be there in a minute, alright?"

He looked at me with a concerned expression, but then nodded to me.

"Of course. I'll await your arrival," he said, a small smile lingering on his lips. He pulled my hand up and kissed the back of it, making me smile again.

He let go and went down the hallway, while I went the opposite way.

I went to the study, where many grimoires and pages and ingredients for spells lingered around the room. The balcony doors were open, the wind blowing at the curtains and even causing some of the pages to ripple. Out of all of these interesting things around me, the ones that I was most caught up in were the violin and bow resting on the table. I had taken it there that afternoon, not wanting to keep it any longer out of fear that I would break down completely at the loss of our darling Gia.

I sighed softly, walking over to the table and picking the two objects up.

When Gia had asked me if I played, I had lied to her and said I didn't. The truth was, I simply hadn't touched an instrument in years, let alone a violin. I was good at it, having had 900 years to perfect the art, but I was often wrapped up in other things involving my family and never really practiced.

I went to the balcony, listening closely to the wind in the air and the happiness of the people walking the streets of the quarter. And as I did, I could hear Nik speaking to Hope. He was telling her a bedtime story of a great king who had been left alone. I almost felt sympathetic, and because of that, I continued to listen to his story.

"Once upon a time, there was a wolf King who fought a war for the most precious treasure in all the kingdom. His beautiful little Princess. But victory came at a price. Allies lost, new enemies made. And so, the wolf King stood alone. Happily ever after, it was not. But sometimes, even the worst endings are not really endings at all. And you should know, my littlest wolf, that even when all seems burnt to ash... In our story, there is always another chapter to be told."

And as I held the violin and allowed the bow to glide across the strings, I knew he was right. Because the truth is, they are the Mikaelsons. They are family. They are my family.

Always And Forever.