Chasing the storm

37

Scarlett had fallen into a deep sleep between the sheets that Elijah had brought for her. Somehow, she was able to control herself and pace herself with the four starter bags of blood he had thrown in.

It had been a week, a long 7 days of being in the hell she was in. She had enough time to wallow in self hatred and curse herself for the mess she had made.

But Elijah had visited every day. And it made waking up each morning somewhat bearable. He had actually brought back all of the feelings she had for him, he had managed to bring back the old Scarlett, the human part.

She awoke to a low violin playing. She had her eyes still closed, but she furrowed her eyebrows, confusion striking through her. Why was this music being played?

As her eyes opened, the warm glow of candles flickered, lighting up the darkened factory ever so slightly.

Using both hands, she managed to push herself up before running her hand through her hair. "What the hell?" She asked, walking over to see what was happening. "Elijah?" She asked

"I thought you might need a Change" he motioned for the violinist to stop playing the music as he walked up to her. "A romantic night in might help pass some time"

Scarlett pressed her lips together as a smile tugged at them. She caught the small rose that Elijah threw to her. "There has been no development then" she guessed, smelling the rose as she held it to her chest.

"Unfortunately not" Elijah inhaled as he spoke, trying to conceal his disappointment "but Freya is working tirelessly to help, you have my word on that"

"I know" she smiled lightly "I have no doubt in that... So, what have you brought?"

Elijah placed the basket in front of her, just out of reach. Opening it he took out sandwiches, snacks, and a few blood bags.

"I'm so glad you're able to throw me things or else I'd be dead by now" she laughed as she piled her side of the food right next to her. "So has anything cracked off whilst I've been away?"

"Not really" Elijah tried to think of things but there was so much, and he didn't want to worry her about everything. "Tristan is taking his time before making his move, I'm not sure what he is planning"

Elijah opened a bottle of wine and poured the red liquid into a small glass, before using a stick to push it to her side.

She lifted it up "to us"

Elijah raised it to. But someone's footsteps intervened before he could say anything else.

Elijah turned his head around "Lucien?" He asked in surprise as his brother's first sire walked through with a witch known as Alexis at his side.

"I'm awfully sorry to intervene in such a romantic time, but I really have some urgent things to tend to" he said in a hurry, Lucien wasnt his confident self, he was different, he looked paranoid, in a rush, he looked tired, sweat ran from his forehead.

Scarlett stood up, her eyebrows knitted together in a worried look.

"And can we help you?" Elijah asked, he had already begun to slowly walk up to the vampire.

"As a matter of fact, Elijah, yes you can" Lucien spoke out of breath, motioning for Alexandra to start her spells.

Elijah fell to his knees, a large sharp pain dragged through his chest as litres of blood exited through his mouth as he coughed. He couldn't fight, he was completely weak, but all he could think of was Scarlett. He wanted her safe.

Scarlett was already banging on the boundary with her hands, taking runs up to it and with all of her might, trying to break it down. "What the hell are you doing?" She shouted, on the verge of tears.

Lucien sighed "I've done a lot of questionable things to Tristan in the past few years. He wants me dead" Lucien explained "I have just stolen this from him and now he definitely wants me dead. If I use it on you, I don't have to worry about him any more, or any of the Strix" Lucien retrieved what used to be the horse, now fashioned into one large-ish Stake.

"You might not have Elijah's sires after you, but you'd certainly have Niklaus" Scarlett threatened, re-living Alex's death all over again.

"I can run from Niklaus, running for every member of the Strix is a bit harder love" he said sarcastically, his breathing still quite heavy.

"Don't you dare hurt him" she screeched, trying to dig her way out of the boundary, but nothing was working!

"I'm sorry... Scarlett was it?" Lucien said "I'm only looking out for myself"

"Selfish bastard" she spat

Meanwhile, Elijah was on the floor in a pool of his own blood, his body now convulsing and his skin turning white from lack of blood.

He managed to turn his head to look at her, he looked in so much pain, the blood around his mouth only highlighted how pale he was.

Scarlett looked at him, getting down to his level, leaning on her knees. "I love you" she mouthed to him, holding her sleeves to her eyes to wipe away the tears.

She accepted she couldn't get out. She accepted that she couldn't help, there was nothing she could do.  She was fated to watch another man that she loved die.

Elijah's last breath was a sharp one. It came as a surprise when Lucien stabbed his heart with the stake.

Scarlett let out another scream, this one scraping against her throat, it hurt, but not as much as the rest of her body.

Elijah's eyes were held open, his expression mimicking the one he made when he died. Slowly but surely, his pale skin started to darken into a Grey colour, and his veins swelled up.

"Elijah" she cried again but this time quieter. He was dead. The stake caught alight, burning his body along with the wood.

Alexis, the witch, swiped her hand and stopped the burning. She walked down, her purple dress flowing as she walked. With a small needle, she pricked his finger and let some drops of blood fall into a half full vile.

"I am sorry about Elijah" she said "it was for Lucien's life. Maybe this can begin to make up for it"

"You could have left him alive" Scarlett stopped the vile that rolled towards her "I don't want any of this"

"It'll allow you to pass through the boundary" she said "It'll free you"

Lucien quickly grabbed the witch and left in a hurry, obviously out of fear that when Scarlett got out, she'd go absolutely crazy on both of them.

Scarlett held the vile to her lips and downed the potion like it was a shot. She didn't stop to taste the flavour, which wasn't nice in the first place, she sped over to Elijah's body.

It worked. But she wasn't concerned with that. She held Elijah's head in both of her hands, raising it up to press against her forehead. "Please wake up" she pleaded "please. I'm so sorry"

This was all her fault. If she hadn't have taken the horse, if she hadn't been stupid enough to try and make a deal with Tristan, Elijah would be alive.

But he had gone. Nothing was bringing him back and the pain felt so bad that she dug her nails into her head to try and make it stop.

Maybe, the best thing to do was to not feel. Elijah was no longer there to lead her on the straight and narrow, Elijah was no longer there to be hurt.

"I just want it to go" she said to herself, but she knew she had to be strong. It's what Elijah would have wanted and even though the temptation almost pushed her over the edge. She remained in tact with her emotions.

She looked down again, her tears falling onto Elijah's cold body. Not this, not again.