𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 ⚜️ ELIJAH MIKAELSON

[ The Compassion ]

CHAPTER 19
[ New Orleans, 2012 ]

Georgia had not saved the day as she had anticipated. Although she was successful in delaying her, the witch, Maddison had just the right amount of information that she needed to know exactly where the white oak was. While the Strix were distracted with Marcel and Elijah's fight for leadership, it seemed as though this was no more than a wrinkle in their plan. However when it turned out that Aurora was the one pulling the strings, their bulletproof plan came crashing down.

The white oak was gone and was in the hands of a psychotic, neurotic redhead who had no allegiances to anyone.

She sighed as she slumped down upon the table, utterly exhausted from the locator spells she had been preforming all evening. Elijah rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "You must rest, my love."

"I can't rest. This is my fault." Georgia sighed, rubbing her face. Elijah knelt beside her, pulling her hands from her face. The weight of guilt settled heavily on her chest as she finally looked at him, a suffocating reminder that her small decision to allow the witch to live, her inability to kill had led him into harm's way. Memories of laughter and shared dreams twisted into dark shadows, taunting her with the knowledge that her recklessness had unwittingly placed him in peril. She could almost see the fear in his eyes, a reflection of her own anxiety, and the realization that her choices had transformed their world from a sanctuary of love to a battleground of uncertainty gnawed at her insides.

"If I had just... if I had killed her then, our plan would have worked and everyone would have been safe." Her voice trembled, a fragile thread threatening to snap. Georgia longed to curl into a tight ball, to hide in a dark corner and let the tears flow for days, but the weight of responsibility chained her to the table.

Elijah stroked her cheek. "Your compassion is a gift, do not forsake it."

"I have put everyone in danger, Elijah!" Her eyes began to well with tears, her bottom lip quivering. It angered her, that he was more concerned about her and her emotions than he was about himself. They were in too deep and that terrified Georgia.

"Aurora is responsible for this." His voice was no more than a whisper as he caressed her cheek.

Georgia shook her head, frustration flaring. "But I could have stopped this. I hesitated, and now look where we are. People are suffering because I couldn't do what was necessary."

Elijah's gaze softened, but his grip tightened on her thigh. "Feeling is not weakness, My Love. It is what makes you human. If we lose that, we lose everything we're fighting for."

She looked away, the weight of his words pressing down on her. "But at what cost? If I had acted—if I had been stronger—I wouldn't be sitting here feeling like this. It's my fault."

"No," he said firmly. "You acted with your heart, and that is something you must hold onto, not cast aside."

"But what if it's not enough?" she whispered, fear creeping into her voice.

"Then we find another way," Elijah replied, determination igniting in his eyes. "Together. We shall figure this out, but you need to believe in yourself. You cannot fix this by turning against who you are."

She drew a shaky breath, the turmoil inside her still raging, but his words began to form a fragile thread of hope. She nodded sadly, glancing toward the door as Klaus slipped into the room.

"I trust you have had no luck finding that witch." He raised an eyebrow, his tone casual yet his eyes sharp as they flickered between them, oblivious to the heaviness that hung in the air.