𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧- 𝐄.𝐌

9. Harvest Ritual

Numb. that's all she felt. Maeve's breath turned long and sharp. She was still in the protective and warm embrace of Elijah. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she struggled to catch her breath. Elijah, however, was strangely calm. He held her tightly, and Maeve struggled to regain her senses. Elijah slowly let go of her. Maeve stepped back immediately but she didn't put much distance between them. Elijah looked up at her. His eyes were cloudy. His hands were in his pockets, and his eyes were still glazed over. He was waiting for Maeve to speak or something else to happen.

"Maeve..." he began with uncertainty in his voice. "if we could just talk." he paused for a moment, silently hoping that Maeve would say something.

His confession, his words, the closeness, and everything that it built up inside Maeve and clouded her any conscious thought, was a moment of realisation. It was a sweet acknowledgment, a rediscovery of emotions. "I...uh---I should go." she managed to say. Before Elijah could respond, Maeve bolted away immediately.

Elijah remained glued in place staring at Maeve as she ran away from him. His eyes were still glazed over and he was still staring at her. He didn't even attempt to follow her. He stood there. He watched her leave. He watched her until she was out of sight. He was lost in thought. Elijah felt heartbroken. Was his confession not clear? Did he not say enough? Or was it all too much? Elijah wasn't sure. But he was sure of one thing, and that was that he wanted to tell Maeve how he felt, apologize to her for what he had done to her, and that he had not stayed true to a promise he made her. He wanted to apologize for everything. Most of all, tell her that she still meant a lot to him...that had not changed.

After a few more moments of standing alone, he walked away from bourbon street to the abbatoir where he knew a problem was waiting for him.

Morning came quicker than he wanted it to, but it came. And it did with a terrifying and bitter sense of reality. "So our volatile in-house artist is drawing the images of your ex." were the words that begun the morning for Elijah.

"Yes, for some reason Davina was unknowingly painting Celeste when her magic would go out of control. We need to figure out why it's happening and stop it."

"Well, good thing I made a call to our personal advisor slash expert." those particular words from Klaus were clear enough for him to know who was arriving.

"I swear on Seline puppy, if I didn't actually find you entertaining, I would have killed you myself." he heard her complain with a groan. Her irritated tone of voice made a small smile appear on Elijah's face. He felt a surge of warmness that he couldn't quite place or understand. Elijah pushed himself off the wall and turned to face Maeve.

"Good morning, Maeve." he greeted her with a soft smile. Maeve turned to him. Elijah watched in silent amusement as she looked at him and slowly her entire demeanour changed. He listened to her heart pounding in her chest. She was standing a few feet away from him, and he could see the nervousness in her eyes. Maeve cleared her throat and spoke, looking over at Klaus,

"Did you want something?"

"Yes, I thought I could pick your brain." answered Klaus, "Drink?"

Maeve gave him a flat look, "its nine am." she said in a dull tone. "and I'm not an alcoholic."

"Coffee then?" Elijah asked. Maeve hesitated while she glanced at him quickly and turned away.

"Yes, that would be better."

"I'm sure the maid would be happy to make you a hot cup of coffee. Excuse me for a moment." Elijah said, and left the room. Maeve's face was still pale, and her breathing was shallow.

Klaus noticed the tense air lingering in the room, especially surrounding the two of them. He just looked at them, watching as the tension only rose instead of lessening. "What happened now?" he asked tiredly.