Mind over Matter ↠ Elijah Mikaelson

37

"We could have been here sooner if Nik didn't have to stop to feed" Rebekah cursed as they stepped into the party "I knew there would be humans to feed on during"

"I know but Tristan might have fiddled with the food, and that woman looked delightfully tasty"

Elijah couldn't help but laugh at the petty squabble between his siblings. "Enough, both of you" he stopped them "act your age"

"There are a few more people than I would have expected" Freya mentioned as she pushed past a few creatures that eyed her up like a rack of lamb "he has to be up to something"

"We need to split up" Elijah suggested "if we group together, it will be suspicious and easier to spot us"

"Well if anybody needs me, I'll be at the bar" Klaus had listened for once and didn't need any more convincing to split up. He brushed past his family and disappeared.

"And I'll stay with Freya" Rebekah volunteered "after all, she is mortal" the two also disappear in a different direction, leaving Elijah alone.

"Well that all got sorted quickly" he whispered to himself, in his line of vision the place he wanted to get to. Elijah placed one hand at the bottom of his tie and one hand at the top to re-adjust it. He took a step forward when out of the blue, Marianne came from the right and Hayley came from the left, both standing either side.

Elijah wasn't surprised that they were there. He was infact surprised that they were there together, but he didn't say anything. All he did was stretch his arms out and bend them, for both women to take.

And they all walked arm in arm.

"You are not supposed to be here" Elijah leant in to who he knew was definitely the culprit. "Marianne, this is dangerous"

"Come on Elijah" she laughed, looking away into the party. Anywhere but his eyes. "do you really think I am the girl to stay inside just because you told me so? I am like you, I do not play by the rules"

"This is important" Elijah emphasised. He had no idea why Marianne's state kept fluctuating, at first she hated him, then she was normal, then she loved him and now she's rebelling. These constant changes could almost give him whiplash.

"I know, but what is important is looking as normal as possible" she stopped, unwrapping her arm from his and holding it out "don't make a lady ask to dance"

Elijah falsed a sigh, of course he wanted to dance with her. But he didn't want to seem rude to Hayley. But this was the perfect excuse. Elijah turned to Hayley and gave her an apologetic look before letting go, needless to say; she was not very impressed.

He took Marianne's gloved hand and led her onto the dance floor where he pulled her in closer, earning a sharp inhale, and he placed his hand ever so gently on her waist.

"It's been a while since we danced, I wish it was under better circumstances" Elijah broke the silence, it strangely felt like he was a young teenager when he was around her. It was hard to speak, hard to breathe, Marianne took every sense away from him.

"Don't complain Elijah" she smiled playfully "you'll take every moment with me you can get" she joked around

"I can't disagree to that" he winked "I've lived so long without your presence, I need to catch up"

The joking came to a halt as Marianne listened to his last words "it's what I'm afraid of" she finally turned serious for a short moment. Elijah could tell, her smile had dimmed and her eyes shimmered with something other than the childish wonder he had loved.

"What are you afraid of?" He slowed his steps and squoze her waist tighter

"You have lived without me for so long..." She began to speak, to try and explain why she was so scared. She was scared of him moving on and not having the same feelings as he used to. But she couldn't explain it because as she started to...

"May I cut in?" Hayley appeared from out of the blue and annoyingly stopped the pair from their in depth conversation.

Marianne stepped back. This. This was exactly what she was afraid of. What should have happened if she had not been resurrected. "Sure" she faked her smile and just walked off without looking at him.

She just walked straight to the outskirts, a table that held a large bowl of fruit punch and some food. But she didn't want to eat or drink, she just wanted to be outside of the crowd.

"Will you be following me all night Tristan or are you actually going to speak to me?" She asked when the man appeared beside her

"I wasn't sure if you'd actually be attending" he offered a glass of champagne he had already been holding. Out of courtesy, she took it and just held it.

"Well as it is my 'last free night' I thought I'd make the most of it" she sipped the champagne before putting it down.

"Then, would you like a dance?" He held a hand out "like old times"

"Not particularly" she huffed "but I am bored"

"You and your sarcasm" he lead her onto the dance floor, but just on the outside of it. "You haven't changed"

"Neither have you" she agreed, slipping the note from her glove to his pocket as they danced. Tristan realised it, but he knew it was meant for later. So he could wait "you are still the cold hearted monster I thought I had killed"

"You wound Me" he commented, looking over her head to see if any of Marianne's attending party was anywhere in sight. They weren't. "Tell me, Marianne, was anything ever real between you and I?" He asked her

Marianne scowled up at him "real?" She asked "how could I even allow myself to fall in love with the man that killed my father, kidnapped my brother and caused enough people to hate us witches that they burnt my mother infront of my eyes?"

"Well; if I knew you were to be a witch, I wouldn't have married you" he informed her

"Well, that means your feelings were never real for me" Marianne snapped back "I lived in that castle for 3 years; I cannot say I do not miss it after being plunged into this 21st century abyss"

"Hm; I was going to ask; I am not sure why you are so happy when the man you are in love with is growing closer with another"

Something was supposed to happen, something Tristan planned on. But it wasn't working, it wouldn't work until she pulled her wall down, she needed to stop being so strong. And so, Tristan brought her only weakness out.

"It is just a dance" she squirmed, not wanting him to know anything about her personal life.

"But is it?" Tristan smirked; that kind of look on his face that made someone want to hurt up. The kind of look that made Marianne question why she missed her younger days. "Marianne, let's face it; you are old news, you're still dead to him" as they danced, Tristan purposely lead them to a place where they could see Elijah and Hayley dance.

But they couldn't see Tristan and Marianne. "Look at them; you don't affect him like you used to" he knew that he was tugging on her heart strings. The look in her eye told him.

Marianne parted her lips as she stared. Elijah gazed down at Hayley, handling her like she might break at any second. That was how he used to hold her. That was how he used to look at her.

Tristan had weakened her.

"I-" Marianne spoke but a sharp pain in her head began to stab at her. She opened her mouth to scream but she couldn't speak.

Poison. She realised how stupid she was for drinking whatever Tristan had given her. Marianne was now as good as dead.

Tristan pulled Marianne's face into his chest, looking like a good gesture from anyone who didn't know them. But in reality, it was to hide Marianne's pain and stifle her screams if she had found her voice.

Tristan felt her muscles relax as she fell unconscious. The next thing he did, was drag the body out of the crowd and to the basement.