Severed Heaven (Niklaus and Elijah Mikaelson)

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Closure

1312, France

            That night, I wished nothing more than to sit in the hushed silence. The light and the sound of bustling nightlife from the village was brimming over into the old cemetery. I was caught in a habit of thinking too much, and rather than to go back home and leave my father's grave behind, find shelter from the gentle rain, I wandered around for as long as my feet allowed me to. I liked it when cobblestones glistened in the dark.

How different from this morning when there had been no rain at all, the sky baby blue with the sun beaming down on my happiness. There was a fatal flaw about this day, however, because it would've been his birthday. Every year my siblings and I would write letters to him, seal them, and eventually burn them, and scatter the ashes over his grave. It was a coping mechanism that appeared to work each year, and I convinced myself that it would today.

After having sat there in the dark, and having stared into nothing but tranquil and empty space, I forced myself to get up. Then, when I finally was able to walk away from him, something wrapped all over my past mistakes. I was able to turn the page and close the chapter.

There was quick rustling sound, and me being me, I instantly thought nothing of it. But I should've known that I wasn't the only one here. You shouldn't be out here alone." A familiar voice that I was able to quickly identify— Elijah Mikaelson. He didn't scare me, neither was I surprised.

It was the eldest sibling that I watched come out of the shadows, the reflection of the moon in his eyes mirroring back into mine when he neared me in utter silence. I was slightly taken aback to see him out in the dark, looking so gallant and humane, as if he wasn't what he was. "Elijah." I said, my voice glazed in relief and approval. Relief because I wouldn't have wanted anyone unfamiliar to show up, and approval because I liked that it was him. I noticed the details about him, then; eyes full of stares which I admired for a reason unknown, his bliaud darkly coloured because I noticed it blend in perfectly with the night, and the clement expression on his face reminded me of his brother. 

I appreciated the moon for the gleaming that it provided us, because I already had trouble trying to read his face. "It's past midnight." He stated, like I didn't already know. He looked over at me with a silent glance that wished to apologise for intruding and interrupting. "You never know what creatures could be haunting the dark."

As we stood there, a tolerable silence between the two of us, I longed to ask him what he wanted from me, because there seemed to be something on the tip of his tongue. "I just needed some fresh air." I explained to his curiosity, and shrugged to show him that he hadn't interrupted me. It surprised me to realise how gentle his approach had been, and how guilty he had portrayed it, and then, how worried he was about my welfare. I hesitated to ask him about his arrival, but decided I was way too curious not to ask him. "What are you doing so far from your home?"

For a moment I thought I'd caught him in a glacier of the same hesitation, but I assumed that it had nothing to do with my question. It was something else. I could read it from his face. "Simply paying my respects to the dead."

I shook my head at him with a defeated smile, and we then started walking, leaving the cemetery behind the in the darkness of the night. "Was that supposed to impress me? Because that was a terrible joke with terrible timing." I said, and I let a quiet chuckle crack somewhere between my words. He never struck me one for jokes, but then again, I didn't know him all that well. I never got to see him as much as his brother, or Rebekah. I never questioned myself whether I wanted to know him more, or if I didn't care to. It dawned on me right then. "You knew I'd be here."

His footsteps were light, quiet, so much the opposite compared to mine. It was a sudden, but brilliant insight; two different personalities walking along side each other in the loneliness of the night. A question struck me. Being entirely alone with him, could I trust him?