After A Thousand Years | Esther Mikaelson

Chapter One

 Elisabet's first stop was the Salvatore Boardinghouse. It was a boardinghouse, after all, so why would they turn her away?

 She knocked loudly and waited, until the door was answered by a young man with piercing blue eyes. 

 "Can I help you?" he asked, looking her up and down suspiciously.

 "I should hope so," she said, hoping her the old traces of her accent didn't show too much. "You see, I am greatly in need of a place to stay. This is a boardinghouse, yes?"

 "It is," the man replied, "But we weren't expecting actual boarders."

 She raised her eyebrows. "Why not? You have room for boarders, do you not?"

 "Well, yeah, of course, but-"

 "Then I don't see why I can't come in," Elisabet interrupted. She began to push past him, but he stopped her.

 "Look," he said, "I am not letting you in until you tell me who you are."

 "Very well," she said, pulling herself from his grasp. "My name is Elisabet Haraldsdotter, if you must know, but I sometimes called Lise. I am a relative of the Mikaelson family, who have recently moved to Mystic Falls."

 "You're a Mikaelson relative? Then you are certainly not welcome. Goodbye."

 She grabbed the door before it closed, and said, "I am centuries older than you, young man, and much stronger, so I suggest you be careful with me. Now, will you let me in or not?"

 "Damon?" a voice called from inside. "What's going on?"

 "Nothing!" the man at the door, presumably Damon, called back. "Just an unwanted visitor!"

 "Who is it?"

 "I am merely a boarder!" Elisabet called. "And this man won't let me in!"

 "Hold on." The door opened all the way again, and she was face-to-face with another young man, this one with a kinder face. "Um, hello. You're here as a boarder?"

 She nodded. "Yes."

 "She's related to the Mikaelsons, Stefan," Damon said. "We can't let her stay here."

 "Please hear me out," Elisabet said in the best pleading voice she could muster. "My name is Elisabet Haraldsdotter. Mikael, the family's patriarch, was my cousin. We were close, and I was devastated to hear of his death. I am here to visit with his wife, Esther, and perhaps say hello to my younger cousins. But that is it. I will pay you rent, if that will help convince you."

 Stefan stared at her for a long moment before saying, "You can stay. For now. We ever catch you up to anything suspicious, anything at all, we kick you out. Understand? Okay." He held the door open for her. "Come in, Ms. Haraldsdotter."

 "Thank you," Elisabet said, giving him a smile. "What a gentleman you are! I don't take up much space, so any room will be fine."

 "Are you in town for the Mikaelson ball tonight?" he asked.

 "Indeed, I am. It has been a long time since I last saw my cousins."

~~~~~~

 Lise and Mikael were arguing again as they drove down the country roads.

 "Why can't you just understand?" Mikael demanded of her.

 "I don't care if she's a magical doppelganger!" Lise shouted. "She's a baby, Mikael! I hadn't thought you would be so willing to murder a baby!"

 "I have to kill it, Lise," he said firmly. "I cannot let Niklaus become a hybrid, not before I can kill him."

 "Oh, again with your killing!" She slumped back in her seat. "Is that all you men can think about? All you-"

 As Lise droned on, Mikael began to slow down, and eventually pulled over to the side of the road.

 "We're a long way from where we should be," he remarked.

 "Well, whose fault is that?" Lise huffed.

"I mean it, Lise." Mikael got out of the car and walked around to her door. "We're not supposed to be here. There's something...eerie about this place."

 "Mikael, you parked next to a cemetery. Of course it's eerie." Lise got out of the car and looked around. "Nothing suspicious here, is there? It's just an old, eerie cemetery."

 "Maybe. Let's get back in. I want to get out of here."

 They were stopped by chanting. Witch spells. Lise was about to climb back into the passenger seat when she collapsed to her knees, feeling a weakness in her bones. She looked down to her hands beginning to desiccate.
 
 "Lise!" Mikael rushed over to her as she completely collapsed. "Lise, say something, please."

 The last sight of her cousin she had the sight of him bending over her with worried eyes, and then looking down at his own desiccating hand in absolute horror.

~~~~~~

 Elisabet now sat in her rented room at the boardinghouse. Stefan Salvatore was kind enough to show her around the house, while Damon Salvatore looked on suspiciously. She didn't know what their problem was with her cousins (probably everything about them; that was usually the case), but she could understand them being suspicious of her sudden appearance.

 As the sun was going down, there was a knock on her door.

 "Ms. Haraldsdotter?" Stefan Salvatore called. "Damon and I were invited to the ball, so we're leaving. Do you want to join us?"

 "No, thank you," she called back. "I need more time to get ready. My cousins don't know that I am in town, so I would like to surprise them. If you see them, can you not tell them I am here?"

 After a pause, she heard, "Okay, then. I'll see you there." 

 Elisabet waited for the sound of his footsteps to be gone before getting up to actually get ready for the ball.

 She wanted to make the perfect entrance.