The Good Daughter

Fifteen

Hope ran around, chasing a butterfly. She was giggling as the wind whipped around her and she tried to catch it.

"Thought you were going to ensure I spent the rest of eternity in a box."

Nik set his forearms against his knees, we sat together on the front steps. "Did you know that after we discovered we could not have children, that Elijah would never speak of it? We'd all had our day, Rebekah the most vocal, but he'd never say what we all knew he truly wished."

Great. Another lecture on Elijah and why I shouldn't be so hard on him.

"We thought ourselves too monstrous to adopt a child and with Mikael constantly on the hunt, it was never safe enough. I'll admit a child was the last thing on my mind for a good long while. Then I happened across a boy. Mikael hadn't been seen nor heard of in nearly a century." He paused. "We were happy once, all of us. Despite the threats and the near constant mediating in the city, we were a family."

And then I fucked it all up.

"My mother made an appearance some years ago. Six to be exact. She was hellbent on forcing us to become human again. Esther took you. Intended on bargaining your life for our agreement. Elijah was furious."

As per usual.

"Then she took him. I'm not certain what transpired during his imprisonment, but I do know that while he was in a magically induced sleep, there was a little girl who looked remarkably similar to you, aiding his younger self, helping him hide from his demons."

I wasn't some kind of savior. Why did everyone think I was?!

"Elijah's red door was opened. Something deep inside him was broken. While he believes he has hidden it well, he has not."

"Big surprise. The man always preaching control doesn't want to admit he lost it."

Nik sighed. "There was a brief moment, before Esther's magic shut me out, where I gleaned some information that may shed some light on why he's been so harsh."

I wanted to know why he'd changed. But it also felt wrong. Elijah hadn't told me. It was like peeking into his journal without permission.

"He fears that he is like Mikael."

"That's insane. He's not." At least, from what I knew of their father.

How could he possibly think that?!

"Why else would his beloved daughter run from him? We ran from Mikael because he was a tyrant. A monster."

It made sense. If he truly was fighting those  thoughts... still it didn't excuse what he did. Killing my brothers ensured I would never forgive him. "Is that why he's been so intent on putting things back the way they were?"

"A fear shared among the siblings and even myself, is that we will become him. That all of our darkness will seep out and ruin you, or Marcellus, or Hope. Admittedly, I think I've failed Marcel. Though he is strong and powerful, I see in him what I see in myself, the good and the bad. Elijah does not wish to see the same in you."

"You're hoping this... revelation will garner sympathy."

He leveled a look at me. "Understanding perhaps. The bond between father and daughter has broken. I'd like it mended."

"Unless you can magically bring back my brothers, you're shit out of luck. I warned him. I warned all of you what would happen if he made this choice. He didn't believe me." I wouldn't be stupid enough to go as far as Marcel... but I would leave and I knew that'd hurt Elijah the most. "And you lost me the moment you stuck that dagger in my heart."

His jaw clenched.

I was getting to him.

"There is no coming back from it. Ever. Stefan and Damon were the first people to protect me. They kept me safe when my own Mikael was drunk and angry. He took that away and I hate him for it."

Nik sighed. "I do not deny my involvement in your pain, for that I apologize." The world really had tilted on its axis. Nik saying he was sorry?! Especially twice in as many weeks. "And I do wish it had not happened the way it did. Elijah saw only a threat to you, and he did what he thought necessary to rid you of it."

"That's bullshit-"

His hand went up. "Above all else, your safety is what he cares for, even if it meant your brothers' lives."

Fucking hell.

I stood. "I'll not forgive him. You can't make me."

"Morgan-"

"No." It was my turn to fucking interrupt. "I don't give a shit if he thinks it was for my protection. He took away people I loved." I was going to leave. Then he couldn't make decisions for me any longer.