The Promised One (Klaus Mikaelson/The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter Twenty

There was a polite knock on the front door, and Madeline stood up as Elena moved to answer it. She could hear her little sister thank the Original vampire at the door, and when he walked in...Madeline could only blink awkwardly.

He was dressed in the most expensive looking suit she had ever seen in her life! The brunette could tell how powerful he was just by the way in which he held himself. His posture screamed authority and strength, but Madeline could see that he was honourable just by looking into his sincere brown orbs.

"You must be Madeline Gilbert." Elijah stated, holding out his hand towards the older brunette.

"You must be Elijah, Mister Original Sir." She replied awkwardly, placing her little hand in his.

The corners of his mouth lifted up in amusement, "Elijah will do just fine."

"Then, please, call me Maddie." She looked him over, "I just wanted to thank you for looking after my sister while I've been away...but..." She frowned, "I'm really sorry if this offends you but you look like...any...ordinary guy? What makes you different from the other vampires, like - I know you're one of the first but...how?"

"I understand." He replied, "I cannot die how a normal vampire would."

"'Normal' vampire." She nodded, "Okay. That makes a lot of sense."

"I am an immortal, immortal." He explained, "To put it simply, I cannot die."

"So...you don't get cremated in the sun?"

"No."

"What about being staked?"

"It will not kill me."

"Got it." She nodded, and patted her little sister on the shoulder. "I see your pathetic human older sister and your apparently normal vampire boyfriend, aren't enough, and you just had to go and upgrade us." She turned back to the Original, "Umm...thank you." She repeated, "I'm sorry you had to come here, just for my peace of mind-"

"-You wanted to know who was in your sisters life, I can understand that." He said, "I assure you I will do everything in my power to ensure no harm comes to her. Or you for that matter, Elena and I have made a deal."

"Right, this ritual-thing." She began. "I would ask if we could trust you, but...it would be stupid not to. I mean, our endgames are the same, right?"

"Correct."

"If you need me to do anything..." She began, ignoring the annoyed look that Elena shot her. "I know I'm just a mere little human but...I'd do anything to look after my little sister."

"There is nothing that I require you to do, thank you. Elena has already told me to 'count you out'."

"Hey," Madeline glared at Elena. "I'm the older sister here." She turned back to the Original, "Can I still be included in the loop, at least? I want to know what's going on."

"Of course." Elijah nodded his head.

"Thank you." She smiled at the awkward silence that followed, "Ok, right then. I'm going to go back to my apartment and unpack my bags." She smiled up at the tall Original, "It was nice to meet you, Elijah."

"And you, Maddie." He offered her a kind smile, and it appeared to be a genuine one.

Madeline drove back to her own apartment, in Elena's car (promising her that she would return it later). She hopped out of the vehicle, and entered the building - making her way up the stairs to find Alaric talking with a tall, dark skinned young woman and a man she overheard introduce himself as 'Maddox'.

She greeted him with a small wave, before stepping into her own apartment and closing the door behind her. She heard what sounded like a struggle (a couple of thumps and a bang), but just assumed it was the man who lived in the apartment above her. He was quite obese, and Alaric had told her that he owned a running machine (the history teacher having helped him bring it up the stairs a couple of months before Madeline moved into the building).

Madeline unpacked her belongings, before she sat down on her couch with a cup of tea. She heard voices in the hallway, and it sounded as if Alaric's guests were leaving his apartment.

She met Damon that evening for a few drinks at the Grill, where he had told her about how Katherine had escaped her entrapment of the tomb, and had probably skipped out of town. He also invited Jenna, Elijah, Alaric and his current girlfriend (Andie) for dinner at the Boarding House. Madeline was invited too, but she declined on the basis that she wanted to get some choreography done for the cheer-team.

"Good riddance to the bitch!" Is what Caroline had said when Madeline told her and Elena at cheerleading practice two days later.

The sisters exchanged a glance with one another, before moving onto more important matters. "Did you hear about Jenna and Alaric being on the outs?"

Madeline frowned, "They seemed okay when I came back from the clinic?"

"Yeah, they kind of made up but...Uncle John - dad, sorry - told Jenna about Isobel."

"Oh." Damon had told Madeline about Isobel being Elena's birth mother, and how he had turned the woman into a vampire...then found out she was Alaric's ex. "Well, shit. That's awkward. Isn't that something he should've mentioned before?"

"That's kind of Jenna's point."

Madeline sighed, "I don't want to get involved. I've got enough on my plate as it is, I don't need more problems too."

"What's happened?" Elena asked.

"I've been asked for another meeting at the school, tomorrow. I put in a request to come back full-time again as cheerleading coach and dance teacher...but they're a bit iffy about it. The substitute is doing really well."

"Yeah, she's really nice." Madeline shot Elena a filthy look, "But not as nice as you, obviously. Have I recently told you how much I love you?"

"Smooth, Lee." She chuckled before running a hand through her hair.

"Oh, by the way, did you see the flyers about the decade dance?

"Yeah, I saw them. You're not going."

"It'll be nice to go, relax a bit..."

"You always want to have fun at the most inconvenient of times." Madeline huffed, "I've been asked to chaperone."

"Perfect." Elena grinned, "So if you'll be there chaperoning, then I can go too. Stefan can be my escort, and if you're going then obviously Damon is going too. So...we can have fun and keep an eye out for Klaus."

"I'll rope Alaric in too." Madeline sighed, "The more eyes, the better. What about Elijah?"

Elena grimaced, "Yeah, about him. He's indisposed."

"Whats that supposed to mean?"

"Well...Uncle John bought a silver dagger and some white oak ash...I stabbed him with it. He's out for the count, temporarily."

"You-" Madeline pinched the bridge of her nose, "Okay, whatever. So now we're an Original down, what's the plan?"