Severed Heaven (Niklaus and Elijah Mikaelson)

Chapter Five: Dancing With His Ghost

1312, France

          I found myself sitting underneath one of the willows by the stream. Its branches hung over me, presenting me the best kind of shadow imaginable as I was caught up in my book. I flipped countless of pages throughout the quietness of this place, relishing every second of it. At times, though, my mind wandered back to a certain someone, no matter how compelling the story. It was often him that my mind clung to, like, a safe place. It revealed what my body had long known from the very first day; I did not just like him, I worshipped him.

By contrast, thinking about him seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical. I could easily show up at his residence, and ask him to walk with me so that I could question him endlessly, so that I didn't have to ponder about him so much.

Truth be told, I was too shy, too timid, too afraid to ask him to spend time alone with me. I didn't want to fall for him any further than I already had. I couldn't let myself know more. Who was going to save me if I drowned too fast, or too deep? Who was going to wipe my tears once I grew older as he lived on? Where would it end, and how? I gave myself all the reasons as to why this couldn't happen, yet my mind lingered on the flashing image of his charming smile and laugh. No, happiness awaited me somewhere else. Happiness would never be him.

Despite my occupied mind, I did not fail to hear the faint rustling. My heart ached in my throat. Was there somebody here?

I caught the shadow sooner than I'd recognised his footsteps. I exhaled deeply as I caught sight of the one person I'd just been thinking about. "Oh." I said with relief, but instead sounded disappointed. "It's you."

"Me." Niklaus simply said.

The few words that we exchanged made me long for things I would never have thought myself capable of. Regardless of how much I wished to have nothing to do with him, regardless of what he was, I suddenly wanted to know every inch of him right here and right now. I wanted to know about his life, about his wishes, his fears, and his insecurities. I wanted to know who he truly was; the rest was incidental. I couldn't bring myself to offer him a seat next to me. I couldn't get the words out of my mouth despite wanting to. "I'd like to read in private, thank you." Was all I was able to say.

He remained standing, looking down at the stream as the branches of the willow tickled his neck. "Straight to the point, are you?"

When I was certain he was now looking at me, I made sure not to respond to his gaze. It was just that I couldn't allow myself to hope I'd ever see more of him than this. "You know." He started off slowly. "I do not wish to endanger you, Elizabeth." He spoke with a solemn undertone in his voice after a brief pause. 

His words caught my attention in a flash, and I looked up at him with a frown on my face. "You think I'm afraid of you?" I asked.

He shrugged. I challenged myself to keep looking, to grand myself to study his striking presence for a little longer this time. "Should there be another reason as to why you're avoiding me?"

I noticed how beautifully he stood there in the sunlight, and not just that; he stood calmly, unfazed, still dazzled by his freedom to the sun. Beams of sunshine highlighted his perfectly long hair, almost as if he knew it was a pleasing sight himself. His question only got through to me when I finished admiring him from a safe distance. I closed my book and placed it in the grass. "I have no intention of avoiding you, Niklaus." I lied.