The Devil In Me - Elijah Mikaelson -

Chapter 4

"So you aren't dead. Thought you were just bluffing."

Elijah said smiling. He paced around in front of the door of the little house Amelia had rented. It was a bit outside New Orleans, away from all of the cities' trouble, heartwarmingly cozy. Somehow it fitted the beautiful brunette. Although she had a mask of coolness and sarcasm on, Elijah instantly had known that this wasn't the person she always had been. Something changed her and he wanted to find out what.

"I'm quite durable, am I?"

The younger vampire walked up from behind him and opened the door. Elijah had to wait outside, he already tried to enter but he couldn't. The house must be owned by a human. He heard some whispering and a young woman showed up at the doorstep.

"Come in, please."

"Thank you, Alice. You can go now."

Amelia placed a hand on her shoulder and compelled her to leave the house. Elijah looked around the older building, sitting down on one of the comfortable armchairs.

"Niklaus came back to us three days ago. Where have you been all that time? I would've assumed that you would like to carry on your evil masterplan more quickly."

"Oh, I was just dying because of a nasty werwolf-vampire-thingy bite. Thanks for asking. Tea?"

Elijah chuckled and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Is this some kind of fetish?"

The younger vampire rolled her eyes and shot him a glare.

"No, I just like the British way of life. Well, then, no tea. No need to be rude."

She fell onto the sofa next to Elijah an cockily placed her legs on his lap grinning. Elijah looked at her unbelievingly and shoved her legs off him, as if they were something disgusting. Amelia rolled her eyes again. Uptight snob. Hasn't changed a bit.

"Please explain, how is it that you still live?"

He looked at her sternly, hoping that she would be serious for at least a minute. But he would be disappointed.

"I use a pretty good Anti-Aging-Cream, you should..."

She was interrupted by a glare Elijah shot her.

"...yeah, well, as I told you, I died. I really died. My master resurrected me, as always. You would be surprised how often I died in the last centuries...life has become hard."

The Original shot her the next questions shortly afterwards. He leaned forward in curiosity.

"Who is your master? A witch?"

Amelia smiled in amusement. He wouldn't believe her for a second, even though if she was telling the truth. It would shake his deepest faith if he would realize it.

"Would you believe me if I tell you it is the devil himself?"

Elijah chuckled, of course not spending much effort of believing her words. She was a liar after all, every vampire was.

"Seeing your sharp tongue, Amelia, I could consider it. But please, could we stop with the bad jokes?"

"I'm not joking, but if you don't believe me, fine. You'll see for yourself, when I finish my plan."

Amelia shrugged and her guest lifted an eyebrow. Before he could open his mouth, the vampire interrupted him.

"...and yes, before you ask, my plan is to let the devil rise. Masterpiece, isn't it? That's where you come in, Elijah."

"How?"

He looked deeply into her eyes, having the feeling that she was silently threatening him.

"Don't you understand? Darling, I followed you and your families for centuries, hiding in the shadows. Sometimes protecting you, sometimes tearing your family apart. Hope, your mother, the prophecy, it was all part of the plan. Your family is the key, Elijah. The key to bring the devil back."

Elijah stood up, looking at her in horror. He knew it. He knew that she was an enemy. But never did he assume that she was behind that much. It was an endless story, endless opportunities for her to manipulate fate.

"You were behind all of this? The prophecy in which my whole family nearly died?"

Something broke in him. He rushed to her, grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall. Amelia wrapped her small hands around his fist, but her smile didn't disappear from her face.

"I have to admit, this went a bit off limits. The seal wasn't about killing you, is was about tearing your family apart. You know among all the tasks I had to fulfill, this was the hardest. I tried so often, but never succeeded...but this prophecy was my opportunity. You and Klaus were at war, Rebekah was gone, Kol and Finn already dead. I was so close, but then stupid Lucien had to come around with his serum and ruined everything."

The Original looked deeply into her eyes. She was telling the truth. But why? Why would she serve the devil? He let go of her throat and watched the bruises on her neck disappear.

Amelia stood on her toes and leaned forward and whispered in Elijah's ear. He was frozen in spot, not able to move by all these revelations.

"I was so close to you the whole time...do you remember the sweet new girl you danced with the day Finn was daggered by your dearest brother? It was me. I wanted to see who you are, if you're the monster I thought you be. And you are, a beast covered in human flesh. I waited so long for you to open that red door again, I was afraid that I had to provoke it at some point. But you did all the work for me."

Elijah's hands shivered and he clenched them into fists. Anger was coming to surface. No, she couldn't be one step ahead of him for the whole time.

"You feel it, don't you? The anger, the hatred. You want to rip me apart and show the world my head on a spike. But remember, Elijah, it's not me you hate. It's yourself. For the things you've done, for the things you'll do. But I can tell you, the part of yourself that you hate so much, it's a gift. You should accept it and embrace your true self."

Their faces were inches apart. Amelia could feel Elijah's cool breath on her lips. Her eyes shone in excitement. She hated him since she became a vampire, but she had to admit that she was fascinated by his mind image of the red door. Amelia herself was a corpse behind it. That's the reason why he did not remember her.

"Why are you doing this?"

He whispered, still no one of them moving. They just stared at each other, looking for answer in each other's eyes. But now Amelia broke the moment and stepped back. This wasn't the right time to reveal everything.

"One thing at a time, Elijah. I'll tell you when I want to. Right now, consider me as your sidekick."

"Why should I want you at my side?"

Elijah gave her a confused look. This woman was unreadable. She had a complex, somehow weird mind.

"Believe me, you'll need me. Come, I will introduce myself to your family."