Beauty of Darkness (Elijah Mikaelson)

Chapter 14

You know those moments you think about right before you fall asleep? The moments that fill you with such a crippling embarrassment from just thinking about them? The moments that you would rather walk on coals than ever relive?

Throwing up on Samantha DeMarco in the fourth grade used to hold the top spot, and went without an equatable challenger for almost a decade. However, as I clutched the ornately sewn sheets of Elijah's f*cking bed, that moment held no merit.

I had to keep slapping myself. As childish as it sounds, I couldn't rationally comprehend what I had just done. I got caught up in such a blinding rage of h*rniness and pure delusion that I spent the night with some magical mafia-man. Real smooth.

I looked in horror to see Elijah sleeping soundly next to me. The sight confirmed my episode was true. Seeing him so peaceful activated that primal feeling inside of me once again..a feeling of passion...a feeling of, comfort....

"WYNTER?"

I looked towards the doorway and was greeted with a face that filled me with shock and unbridled joy. 

Cami.

I sprung from the bed, forgetting the scene I had left and any other thought that I had. I wanted to hug Cami. I wanted to tell her everything. Getting to embrace her was something I had been dreaming of for weeks. Seeing her not in a morgue made every minute of searching and pain worth it.

My moment of happiness faded quickly as I realized my friend's expression: it was one of utter horror. I questioned her hesitancy for a few seconds before I realized what she was witnessing. Her friend just ran towards her with just a dress-shirt on (that was not hers, obviously), after sleeping with her kidnapper.

"Classy, Wynter" My mind mumbled embarrassingly.

I pulled away slowly, flashing a pitiful smile to try to release the awkward tension that simmered through the air. 

"Wynter," Cami said with an equal amount of awkwardness. "How...How are you still alive? Didn't Elijah's compulsion wipe your mind the first time?"

The first time? From the tomb? How would she have known about..

"You're, you're working with him? You knew this whole time??"

My desire for a warm embrace turned into pure anger. As Cami looked to the ground, my worst fears were confirmed. The days, the hours, the work I had put in to find her were for nothing. And she knew that. She never cared about me. She never considered me a friend. And, worst of all, she made me feel happy for once.

"Wynter, this isn't what looks like.." She pleaded. "Let me explain!"

"Save it b*tch!" I snapped, waking the monster I had spent the night with. He used his unexplained powers to put on another suit and snap to Cami's side. Even though he was unreasonably quick, I wouldn't let him take the next word. 

"Great performance, you two! You really had me fooled. You had me thinking that I could let my guard down for a split second; that I could ever trust anyone but myself. You freaks can have fun terrorizing the city, because I'm done!"

I ran to the door, not getting stopped by either of the two. I ran through the ornate corridors with tears streaming down my battered face. The darkness had been patiently awaiting its chance to regain its chokehold on me, and wasted no time battering me with condemnations.

"How could you sleep with him? Are you an IDIOT? Well, of course you are."

I couldn't even seen through the cloud of anger and grief that had once again overtaken me. The insults continued, each one causing a pain more and more damaging.

"You think she actually cared about YOU, Wynter? How could she? You're nothing. You're the reason that Olivia died. YOU are the reason that everyone you love gets pushed away!"

I screamed. I screamed so loud that I nearly felt the floor shake under me. I fell to the floor in such mental and physical pain that I could no longer move. My body still ached from my extensive injuries, but I didn't even feel it. My mind was causing a pain that hurt more than any wound or broken bone. 

I didn't care if Elijah found me. I didn't care what him or his minion Cami were going to do to me. I was just so tired of fighting.

After laying for what felt like hours amongst an onslaught of inner demons. Two familiar faced loomed over me. 

"She's awake." He whispered as he looked at my wretched state.

"I never wanted her involved in this. It..it didn't deserve to happen to her" Cami replied quietly. 

I knew full well that they stood over me, like predators waiting for the satisfaction of vanquishing their prey. Their words went in one ear and out the other.

"Don't listen to them," the voices cried. "They don't mean what they say."

"I haven't seen a hex like this in years," Elijah softly pondered. "Whoever did this to her possesses a centuries-long experience in the black arts."

To the chagrin of my inner-saboteurs, I perked up at the sentence. A hex? Like, a hocus-pocus kind-of sh*t? Is that what Elijah is?

Elijah and Cami reached to pull me up when they saw me move. I quickly pulled away, not wanting to look at them. I couldn't. 

"Wynter, please don't make this difficult" Elijah bargained. "I know what you're thinking, and your tune will changed if I have the chance to explain."

He could read my thoughts? Sh*t.

"I will get up, and listen to your excuses, if you tell me what the hell you are" I demanded.

I looked up to see Cami looking longingly in the distance. I could tell she dreaded Elijah's answer. The answer they had fought to keep me from knowing. The answer that would open the door to a world Elijah had tried to keep me away from.

I heard a deep sigh and muffled protest from Cami while Elijah extended his hand to me once again. Against every voice inside of me and any ounce of logic I had left, I took it. The comfort that his touch brought me never changed. His hand, while so cold and stone-lie, brought a sense of warmth to my injured soul.

Without exerting any energy, Elijah picked me up and led me to the familiar center of the facility. A puddle of my blood from my arrival still sat in the center. I guess I hadn't been here for that long. 

Elijah and Cami sat around me, intervention style. I faced them with a stoic face.

"Do you want a blanket, or something?" Cami said kindly, acknowledging my outfit of just a tear-soaked dress-shirt.

"I'm fine" I responded quickly. "Stop stalling and start talking."

"I guess Cami was right that your attitude can be extreme.." Elijah snapped.

"You would know from last night."

Elijah, for the first time, showed signs of embarrassment. Cami chuckled and tried to hide her amusement while he attempted to hide his weakness. I couldn't help but crack a smile at such a flawless man get so awkward.

"Do you want answers or not?" He responded, returning the serious atmosphere.

I nodded, and Elijah prepared himself. I saw sweat began to trickle down Cami's forehead while Elijah fixed his tie uncomfortably. I prepared for the absolute worst, and began to lean forward on my chair in anticipation.

"Wynter, I am....a vampire."