A Knick In Time

The Curse

"Niklaus? My love?" Tatia approaches her husband slowly. He and Elijah are standing on a clearing in the woods. I'm following my sister a few steps behind her.

Elijah sees us and visibly panics. "Elena! Tatia! Don't look!"

But it's too late. Tatia has already seen the torn up body of the last villager that Niklaus has hunted. It doesn't faze me much; I didn't know the guy and I've seen worse. Elijah and Rebekah had already informed me about this anyway. But Tatia didn't know. She's only learning now that her husband is a killer.

And it shocks her deeply. She looks back and forth between the ashamed looking Niklaus and regretful Elijah, then turns around and runs away.

"Tatia!" Elijah calls after her. He determinedly takes Niklaus' head in his hands and tells his brother: "I'll go talk to her. I won't have your wife think of you as a monster."
He goes on to go after her.

Niklaus spares a glance at me, then lowers his head in shame and begins to get dressed. I am torn between staying here to reassure my brother-in-law and going after Tatia and my husband, because I have a bad feeling about that.
In the end, I shortly grab Niklaus' arm, stare poignantly into his eyes, say: "You have nothing to be ashamed about." and then go to run after Elijah and Tatia.

When I catch up to them, I run straight into the middle of a crisis. Somehow, Tatia must have injured herself, because there is blood on her right hand. And Elijah, newly turned as he is, can't control himself. I see the veins appearing under his eyes and his canines elongating as he desperately whispers for Tatia to run from him and save herself.

She tries to run, but as soon as Elijah starts chasing her, I know she has no chance of escape. In his new vampire state, Elijah is just too much faster than her. I try to grab his arm, but he shakes me off without difficulty. Then, he catches Tatia and starts feeding on her.

My mind goes on overdrive. For a moment, it feels like someone punched me in the gut and put my brain into a sizzling hot frying machine. But then, I manage to pull myself together and remember what I said to myself to do if anything like this would happen.

I grab a branch nearby and approach my husband who's still drinking from my sister.
"Elijah." I say, "I know this is going to seem bad... I'm sorry."
Feeling terrible for doing this already, I plunge the branch into my husband's back, aiming for his heart.

Elijah lets go of Tatia and screams in agony before he collapses on the ground. Tatia, weak from the blood loss, stumbles back a few steps and looks at me with shocked eyes. I see that she's about to fall to the ground, so I hurry over to her and catch herbefore she does. Seeing that there's still blood on her hand and thinking of Niklaus still being near and also newly turned, I quickly pull Tatia with me to her hut. She'll be safe in here, we both will. None of the Mikaelsons have been invited in.

In the safety of her hut, I help my sister tend to her wounds.

"Do you have any idea what they'll do to you?" she asks in a whisper.

I raise my eyebrows. "Who?"

"Our in-laws once they find out you killed their son and brother? Or maybe the other villagers once they find out you murdered your own husband? Take your pick." she replies sarcastically.

A small huff escapes my lips. "Oh, no, don't worry. Elijah is fine, it just takes a while before they wake up again."

"Wake up... he's not dead??" Tatia looks shellshocked, to say the least.

I meet her gaze. "No, he's not. Look, I know, what he did must have been... really terrifying, but you have to understand: he hasn't learned to control his thirst yet. And he didn't choose to be this way. Maybe you can forgive him one day."