Ardent | Elijah Mikaelson

Chapter 18

The two months in Bulgaria were peaceful.

They did just what they agreed on: they'd meet to hang out as friends but otherwise handle reaching their goals on their own with licensed professionals guiding them. Most days, they were on their own, doing what pleased them.

Weekends were when they came together to do some fun activities. Any sport they attempted became a competition, one that Elijah usually won. They attempted a paint-night, the two finding they were not very good at art and definitely couldn't beat each other there. Evangeliya had him give zip-lining, parachuting, and skiing more tries while Elijah encouraged visits to museums and opera houses. Evangeliya had never been fond of either but there was something calming about being in those places.

She had filled ten journals in the time they'd been in Bulgaria, all her thoughts and feelings, sometimes just rants, other times processing what was happening on the fly as she scribbled away. She meditated every morning and did yoga, and at night she took relaxing baths before bed.

Ever so often, their weekend activity would be sparring. If either of them needed it, they only had to say so. And when that happened, they could talk to each other about what they felt.

"I hate that I still feel so bad after doing something wrong," she said, delivering a hard punch to the bag in front of her as Elijah watched. "I don't get why I do, it's just always been a thing, I always grew so anxious after we had to step on anyone to get ahead, I always went back to pay the people who helped us because I couldn't stand just leaving without expressing gratitude. Over the centuries my reactions to hurting people get worse. I like it in the moment but it always comes back to bite me in the ass. Meanwhile, Katherine never cared, she never felt bad. In that respect, I would have liked to be more like her."

"It might make sense when examining how you were raised," mused Elijah. "Katerina was of high class, she always had the privilege to do what she desired. The world revolved around her. It is easier for her not to feel guilt when she does something to benefit herself. You, on the other hand, were raised to serve others, to consider their feelings above your own. Some part of that is still ingrained in you. You like balance, you like peace, and though you had much resentment magnified to lead to violent outbursts, at the end you revert to the state of wishing not to hurt others, to serve rather than maim. Vampirism magnified Katerina's ambition and selfishness, but it magnified your empathy, your worries. It is a difficult cycle to break. However, not impossible."

"Yeah," muttered Evangeliya, landing a kick on the bag. "And what's worse is that Lucy recently sent an update about Mystic Falls– she's been mentoring Bonnie and they're really getting somewhere when it comes to freeing her from Expression. I guess Jeremy's death really showed Bonnie she needed to break free of that dark magic. And she's also been motivated by the fact Elena turned off her humanity. They have it back now, after Damon took her to New York then decided, with Caroline's help, that they'd force it back on. I hear she's apparently training to get stronger so she can hurt me. I don't care, but I do keep thinking that if I hadn't let my anger get the better of me, this never would have happened. You were right, I took her family the way mine was taken and well, she's broken because of it. I don't think she'll ever be the same again. She used to have a huge friend group and I've killed three people in it. It took a toll on all of them and I was responsible for it." She shook her head. "I don't want to think of that anymore. Anything on your end, with your siblings?"

Elijah shrugged. "Nothing quite relevant. Niklaus made an offhand comment about that girl who helped the hybrids be sacrificed– Hayley. It appears the two were intimate and he learned she is a Crescent Werewolf."

"Wow. Hadn't heard of those in awhile."

"Nor had I. As for Rebekah, she has been enjoying her weeks of vacationing through Europe. She says she may come to visit soon, if you are willing."