Till Death Do Us Part ( Niklaus Mikaeslon/ The Originals ff)

Strike a Deal

Many people don't understand the struggles of immortality, they only see the positives. "Oh, you get to live forever? That's amazing." Frankly, I think it's overrated. Nothing about this world is kind or something you want to stay in for long. I have lived long enough in this world to understand that it's not for everyone, especially if you are a vampire.

"I am grateful that you are willing to meet me, Emma." The English accent in his voice never changes, huh? Sitting in the seat across from me is Elijah Mikealson, one of the infamous originals himself.

"Well, what can I say Eli? You had a convincing argument?" He flashes me a small smile, clearly hearing every ounce of sarcasm in my voice. 'You help me with my problem and I'll try not to let Klaus kill you.' That's what his text said. Lucky for him, I am hoping his brother doesn't listen. I am done being on this earth, I am ready to move on.

"Do tell me one thing, Eli. How did you find out I was alive? How did you find out what I truly was?" His eyes remain on the cup of shitty coffee in front of him, watching the steam fly into the air. Being one of the few heretics in the world makes us a hard group to know about, especially after a large portion of us were locked in a prison world. I did my best to hide the witchiness in my blood, but I truly didn't take that much caution after my death.

"I had a favor called in from a friend, all I was asking was for a powerful siphoner. They are few and far between these days. It was quite the surprise when I was given your contact information, after all, my family and I buried you nearly 100 years ago." Just a glance at the man in front of me and you'd know he was angry, betrayed. He is pressed down his teeth, causing tension in his jaw. His back flush against the seat with his hands wrapped around the white mug in front of him, his eyes never leaving me. As much as I want to feel threatened by this man, I can only feel a bittersweet love towards him.

"I am surprised someone gave you my number, they must want me dead." The waitress that sat us walks towards the table, placing down the lemonade I ordered. "What can I get y'all for a meal?" Without leaving his eyes, I pick up my menu and hand it the waitress. "I would just like the chicken BLT with fries on the side." Elijah's eyes scan down the front of the menu before handing it to the waitress as well. "I would like the classic cheeseburger, cooked medium. Everything on it is fine, with a side of fries." His eyes shift downwards while looking at the woman, "Thank you Bethany, that will be all for now." She quickly jots down our orders on her notepad and hurries off towards the kitchen.

"What do you need a siphoner for? Rebekah get tied up in a magical marriage bond again?" Elijah moves his hands off of the mug, unbuttoning the top button of his suit jacket. Reaching his left hand inside, he pulls out a cell phone. He turns the screen on, placing the phone in front of me. Looking down at the screen rests a picture of a little girl, being held by Rebekah. "That child," Elijah stops suddenly, glancing around the nearly empty diner. "Is Klaus's daughter."

I can feel my entire body freeze as I focus on the picture. I had only heard rumors recently regarding a mysterious Mikealson child, but those stop last month. Looking at the little girl on the phone, I can start to pick apart the similarities to the man I once loved. The small amounts of hair sprouting through matches his own tint of dirty blonde. Her eyes are darker than his, but only slightly. She looks happy in the photo.

"She is powerful." Maybe it sounded like a question when I spoke, Elijah just nods his head at me. "Her magic is like a beacon of sorts, drawing in those craving more power. Freya and I were hoping a trusted siphoner could help us keep her magic levels at a manageable level. From what we have been told about those like you, is that the magic leaves the system fast. You cannot keep what she is producing out on a long-term scale, which makes siphoners like you useful. You cannot turn around and harm us for more than a few seconds, the magic will leave your system just as fast as it entered." I stop myself from smirking at his ideas of what a siphoner is, he must not know that a heretic is different. I can let the magic stay in my system long than that of a non-vampiric siphoner, I can also move the magic from me and into an item. Magic that powerful should not be wasted, but stored.

"How long would this be happening for and how frequently? I have many job offers Eli, and I would like to see if this one is worth it." What he doesn't need to know is that I am hoping this will be my last one. He reaches up and straightens his tie, pulling his phone back towards him. "Not too long hopefully, we are only using you on a temporary basis. We are trying to figure something out that would neutralize her power until she is old enough to wield it properly. She is only 6 months old at the moment, but her magic is already starting to develop. For now, let's say one month contract where we meet once a day for her to be siphoned." As I keep my eyes on Elijah, I notice a flash of fear fill his eyes. He's scared, the question, however, is if he is scared of Hope or for her.

Something that everyone knows about me now is that I love to make a man wait. "Let me look over my calendar, see if anything conflicts with helping." Pulling up my computer bag next to me, I reach in and grab my tablet. Elijah's face tightens in annoyance, bet he's hoping he went with a different siphoner. Glancing down at my screen, I open up my calendar app. When I got the initial text message, I already clear most things from my schedule from this point forward. Making a deal with a Mikealson always ends up in death, one way or another. The death of your family, innocents, death of your freedom. You may be able to get away initially, however, once you betrayed them, you signed your end. I know that in all their eyes, me faking my death is a sign of being a traitor. I turned my back on my family, well all the Mikealsons.

"Tell me one thing Elijah, how has my son been treating you?" Being born in the era of Katerina Petrova made me an easy target for them to manipulate, someone to play with. I followed them everywhere, eventually meeting my son, Marcel. "I wish Marcel had been the one to inform us that you were alive. Instead I find out that you exist calling in multiple favors, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you would find each other again. You both let us think you were dead." The annoyance once being thrown at me is now being reflected back towards him. It was his sister that enchanted my son into believing that they loved each other, causing me to believe he was dead.

The waitress places our ordered meals in front of us as I'm scrolling through my calendar, most of the appointments were handling business virtually. Causally, making the ancient man in front of me waste more time, I begin eating the mediocre sandwich. I can feel his eyes glaring at me as I focus on the tablet below me. Finishing the sandwich in few bites, I turn my tablet off and place it in my bag.

"Okay, I agree to the deal. What is my payment?" Elijah turns his head slightly to the side, looking at me with perplexity. "You not killing me is not a payment, but something I would categories under terms and conditions. If you'd like, let's call it a favor. You'd all owe me something at some point in the future. Upon my death, it will transfer to Marcel. Do we have a deal?" I reach my hand out, holding it open for him to take. If he is truly worried about his niece, than he shouldn't be put off on accepting what I want. His eyes move from my hand to my face, attempting to read something that truly isn't there. He reaches out, shaking my hand. "Deal, however." He yanks my arm towards him, lurching my body closer to his. Leaning towards me, his eyes have a dark haze of anger and motivation. "If you use this opportunity to hurt Hope in any way, I will have Marcel ripped into nothing but shreds of paper." Annoyance once again shines clearly on my face as I roll my eyes at the man I once called family. "We both know that the only reason you are hiring me is because I will not harm a child. However, I swear on my own life that I will not harm Hope Mikealson."

I reach back into my computer bag, pulling out $60 of cash and change. "Text me the location you'd like to meet tomorrow, I'll draft up a contract stating what is to be expected. We can edit anything while I'm there and then I'll siphon the child after. Have a good day Elijah." Taking the strap of my bag, I toss it around my shoulder, tucking my wallet into the front pocket. I wave at the waitress as I begin maneuvering towards the door. Suddenly, a hand wraps itself around my upper right arm, pulling me back towards the person. Elijah stands a good foot away, keeping his hand on my arm. "I have one question," He releases my arm, taking a half step back. "Did you ever truly love him?"

A tug on my heart goes towards the memories I tend to avoid, the love I once shared for the biggest monster in the world. The warmth of coming home to a family that seemed to adore me, a place that I could always feel welcomed. Being insecure about what I was born as, keeping from the people that I called a family. Watching as that family took my once pure heart and tainted it, making it capable of many dark things. Finding out that the man that I loved didn't feel anything more than entertainment when it came to me. Tilting my head towards Elijah, shielding the emotion in my eyes. "Once, but no more." I open the front door of the diner, leaving Eli there.