Bloody Symphony | Elijah Mikaelson

Chapter 23

Natanya wanted to believe things would get better.

Klaus and Hayley both got their anger out, and had come to an odd sort of peace with each other, which really wasn't peace at all, but at least constituted of zero fights. It seemed the Crescent Curse was halted, as long as Hayley and Jackson agreed to help Davina Claire.

Elijah had acquired an apartment across the street for Jackson, Hayley, and Hope, and had even gotten a separate one for Natanya. He wanted to start them off on a good note, back in the Quarter, not having to live under their previously terrible landlord, Klaus.

"This is too nice," said Natanya when she walked into her apartment. "Elijah... I can't accept this. It's more space than I need."

"You could find a roommate, if you wished," he said. "If you truly believe it's far too much space just for you."

"I need to find a job first," she muttered. "I keep saying I'll get my GED and I just... don't."

Elijah smiled slightly. "Well, if you'd like, you could take a look at that box right over there by the bookshelf."

She frowned, going over to the box and opening it. Her eyes widened when she saw a box of books and other study materials she'd need to prepare for the test. "Oh my god, you—?"

"I didn't purchase it, do not worry," he said. "They are all from the Compound. The materials I had prepared for you and Aiden in the past. You are more than welcome to keep them, but if you wish to return them when you're done, that is alright, too. I have contacts who can help you schedule your exam when you're ready to take it."

"Elijah, you didn't have to do all this for me," she said, opening a smaller box inside the bigger one and finding her phone from before— the one she'd returned to him. "I don't deserve all this."

"You deserve all this and more," he said. "I simply wanted to get you everything you will need, for when you officially leave your Pack."

"That'll be soon enough," she mentioned. "In a couple of months, probably. I don't want to stay, but with so many deaths... I need to be there to help Jackson and Hayley with the Pack. Not to mention Nick... Aiden's brother... he hasn't triggered his curse, but he might, and I want to at least be there to help him through that. With the poachers that've been out there, he may end up accidentally killing one when trying to keep himself safe."

He leaned into the doorway, nodding in understanding. She opened her mouth to invite him in, but he held up his hand to stop her. "No," he said. "No vampire but Hayley should be invited in. You are always welcome at the Compound, no matter what Niklaus says. This should be your own space. Somewhere safe of other supernaturals."

"And if I want to invite you in?" she asked, walking toward him. "I know things between us aren't the same, but you were, first and foremost, my friend. What if I want my friend to be able to visit me? How else are we going to... talk and see if things between us might change?"

"We can speak of it elsewhere," he promised. "If... you truly wish to." He reached into his pocket, bringing out her necklace, which he'd kept since the first day he'd shown her that he had it.

She stepped out of the apartment, and he unclasped the necklace. She turned around, and he slowly put it on her, fingertips ghosting over her back and making her shiver as he secured the clasp. "I thought only of you," he said quietly, when she was still facing away from him. "Every day, I fought for your return... searching for a way. You were not forgotten. My love for you is there... growing. But I do not trust myself around you. I see you standing before me now and I wish... I wish to feed and to have you again."