𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 ᵒⁿ ᵍᵒᶦⁿᵍ

xii. aggression is your drug

The Mikaelson mansion, a behemoth of gothic grandeur, stood draped in a shroud of sorrow. Inside,  the Original Hybrid sat amidst the opulent gloom, his face a mask of grief. His heart, however, throbbed with a different kind of emotion – a dark, twisted pleasure. Knowing by the deepest part of his heart that Elena is safe and sound. Away from the any evil one could bring to her doorstep.

Maybe it was a weird thing to say, but Elena was his prized possession. The love of his life, every goddamn thing he had been fighting for. He had been waiting for her, for centuries, across lifetimes, and now, finally, she was his. He had a plan, a desperate gamble, to keep her safe from Elijah's wrath.

Elijah, the stoic, ever-righteous original, was blinded by his pride and rage. He believed Elena was dead, a victim of his own fury. Like many other mortals who had faced his fury.

The revelation of Katherine's whereabouts was kind of a discovery that ignited a firestorm of resentment within him.

When Elijah arrived, Klaus met him with a feigned vulnerability. "You took her from me, Elijah," he said, the words laced with venom.

Elijah looked indifferent to his brother's pain and grief. "You never even gave me the chance to meet her, Elijah. To know her. To love her." Klaus's voice cracked, the pain searing through him as if some part of the acting was so close to real. As if, she was really gone and he was really grieving. Even the thought made him sick to the stomach. "You took her away before I could even breathe the same air as her. You stole my future, my happiness, and left me with nothing but an empty, echoing void."

Elijah’s lips twitched, a hint of a smirk playing on his face. "You speak as if I have changed her fate," he said, his voice as smooth and cold as polished marble. "She was a human, Klaus. A frail, mortal creature, easily swayed by the whims of fate."

"You know that's not true!" Klaus roared, his eyes flashing with fury. "She was mine, Elijah. Mine! And you stole her from me, just to hurt me."

"I did," Elijah admitted, his voice devoid of any hint of remorse. "It was a pleasure, in fact. To see you suffer, to know that you would never experience the joy of life, the comfort of a soul bound to yours."

"You cannot be my brother, Elijah!" Klaus spat, his voice shaking with rage. "Yes, we did everything in our power to end each other. Yes, we tried to kill each other, bu did this? You have taken the only good thing of mine! I would have never done this to you! I would have never left you in this kind of hollow alone!"

"Perhaps I am a monster." Elijah conceded, a flicker of momentary regret in his eyes. "But you gave me no choice. You were a threat, a danger to the balance of nature. I had to do what was necessary to protect the balance."

"You did nothing but feed your own twisted sense of righteousness," Klaus countered, his voice a low growl. "You took her life, a life full of promise, and you did it for no reason other than to hurt me."

"It was a necessary sacrifice,"  Elijah insisted, his voice unwavering. "And do not pretend that you would have been any different. You would have used her, drained her, only to achieve your true form."

"That’s not true!" Klaus roared, his voice echoing through the grand hall. "I would have loved her, protected her, cherished her every breath. You took away my chance to know her, to love her, and I will never forgive you for that."

Elijah sighed and narrowed his eyes. "What is it then, brother? A declaration of war?" Klaus turned his back to him. "No, it means I am done. You have hurt me. You have accomplished whatever you have planned. Leave me alone. From now on, you are no brother of mine."

His words hurt Elijah, just a bit but effective. He cleared his throat. "That makes two of us. However, I have bigger concerns. Where is Katerina?"

Klaus let out a painful chuckle. "I have freed her. She came, apologised, and begged. It was enough of a chase anyway."

"How can you forgive her after everything? How dare you let her go!" Elijah spat, his eyes blazing with rage.

Klaus, his face contorted in an exaggerated grimace of sorrow, simply shrugged.

"She came to me, begging for forgiveness," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I told her I had forgiven her, for Elena's sake. I let her go."

Elijah, his anger simmering beneath the surface, scoffed.

"You, forgive?" he sneered. "You, who would burn the world for a fleeting moment of pleasure, forgive? You are a fool, Klaus, a pathetic, self-deluded fool!"

"Well, it was your fault to begin with. Why should I care about your vendetta?"

With a final, contemptuous glance, Elijah turned and left, convinced that Elena was dead, that Klaus was consumed by grief, and that Katherine, the true villain of his story, had escaped his grasp.

As the door slammed shut, a sinister smile spread across Klaus's face. He had played his part perfectly. Elijah was gone, his suspicions quelled, his anger misdirected. Elena was safe, hidden away, waiting for the moment he would reveal the truth, the moment he would finally claim her as his own. The game had just begun, and he was playing to win.

a/n: end of the part oneee