SHE PROMISED ( the originals )

0072. THANK GOD I HAVE SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN TO

SHE PROMISED
( part two, chapter seventy-two )

IT FELT LIKE THERE WERE several oddly-shaped holes left in her family. Even after Dahlia had been defeated, finally put to rest, it still felt like there was a heavy weight bearing down on her shoulders. Elijah was rarely home, still greatly upset with everything that Klaus had done and cursing Hayley into her wolf form, and Rebekah had left in her witch body, trying to find another way to bring back Kol. With Hayley and her pack trapped and cursed in the bayou, Elle was left at home with Klaus, who she was still upset with, and Freya.

Her eldest sister was the one of the only good things about what had happened. Freya was home, and while they couldn't be a whole family, it was nice to have her sister in her life. Despite the fact that she had only met Freya only a few months ago, Elle already loved her dearly. In fact, two weeks after the whole Dahlia fiasco had ended, she had taken Freya to her first club. It was actually very funny to see how her older sister was reacting to different things 一 the type of music they played (she remembered laughing hard when she saw Freya's reaction to first listening to Rihanna's "S&M"), the dancing and the supposedly scandalous clothing (Elle often had to remind herself that the last time she was awake, Freya was living in nineteen-fourteen, but her skirt was not that short), the alcohol. Sure, Elle was underage, but with a few quick spells and flirty winks, she had easily snuck herself into the club. The two sisters had partied without any worries or trouble, loving life and ignoring the fact that their siblings are immortal bloodsucking monsters. And on the days where Klaus and Elijah were both busy, they'd help babysit Hope together 一 the only other good thing. Hope had been an angel, always giggling and happy, but there were times in the night where she cried and called for her mother, and Elle hadn't the heart to tell her that her mother might not come back for a very long time.

Her relationship with Cordelia was slowly starting to improve as well. She had omitted certain details when she explained what happened with Dahlia, like Klaus sinking his fangs into her neck, but had told her the rest. Her foster sister sat across from her at the cafe table, calmly sipping at her coffee. She was currently informing Elle about the girl she's been seeing recently, a pretty blonde girl named Isabelle. From the way she's talked about her, she really likes this girl.

"How many dates, so far?" Elle asked. "Three, four?"

"Three and a half," Cordelia corrected so matter-of-factly, "if you count the one where she had to bounce in the middle of it 一 thus the half." She winked. "I'm assuming my love life is going much better than yours?"

Elle playfully kicked her leg. "You bitch," she muttered, chewing on her lip. "But yes, your assumption is correct. Love and Mikaelson drama don't tend to mix very well." She shrugged then reached over and grabbed her own drink. "And it's pretty hard to find a partner when you're constantly on edge and fighting for your life." She watched as the contents swirled around in her cup.

Cordelia looked sadly at Elle. The two had gone through so much these past two years. Trying to deal with the abuse at the hands of Joseph and his eventual death was still weighing down on them, but they were getting there; then the whole revelation about Elle being a Mikaelson and lying... God, they really needed a break. "You ever thought about going on a vacation?" Cordelia asked. "Maybe we could go to New York, visit some of our family."

"Your family, not mine," Elle grimly reminded her, "as much as I'd love for life to be simple. And I'd love to go to the Big Apple, but Nik won't let me out of his grasp. Besides Rebekah, he wants to keep all of us right where he can see us." She groaned loudly, gaining the attention of a few people sitting beside them.

"How is everything?"

Elle paused, eyes falling on the empty contents of her plate. "Complicated." She laughed humorlessly. "Elijah's not talking to Nik because he won't apologize, but Nik won't apologize because he thinks he's our messiah or whatever. Hayley's beyond pissed about Nik and the fact that she can only see Hope for like, a few hours once a month, which is B.S., by the way. Rebekah's off in her new body, hoping to find... something. Somehow, Freya and I are the only sane ones left in our family. Which is weird, right? I'm one of the sane ones." Both her and Cordelia chuckled.

Cordelia held her mug in both hands. "So being a Mikaelson isn't all that it's hyped up to be?"

She hesitated. Was joining this family really worth it? Of course she loved her family, but all of this just felt so wrong. "I wish. Sometimes I think it's more trouble than it's worth." This was something she'd been thinking about a lot recently. Finding her family after a thousand years had been the highlight of her entire life, but it wasn't the same family. The family she remembered were happy and innocent and good, and it's like everything had taken a complete one-eighty turn. To be quite honest, it still doesn't feel right that she was here. Before waking up in that hospital in Mystic Falls, her last memories had been living in her small village and her mother sending her to sleep. By the time she woke up, everything was so different...

Cordelia placed her drink back on the table, then leaned forward on both of her arms. "Ellie, you've been trying to find your family since we met. You can't just give up now." One of her bracelets clanged against the edge of the table.

Elle raised one of her dark brows. "What happened to hating on the Mikaelsons and all vampire-kind?" She made sure to lower her voice so passersby wouldn't overhear.

The older witch reclined in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. "Okay, fine, you got me there, I still don't like them." Cordelia shrugged unapologetically. "But I want you to be happy, even if it means your family is part of something I hate. You shouldn't just give up on something that you've been dreaming of since you... woke up? Came back to life? Shit, I don't know anymore." The whole idea of Elle having been asleep for a thousand years was still difficult for her to wrap her head around. She didn't act like she was still stuck in Viking-land; she acted like any typical modern teenager, minus the whole witch part. "Anyway, have you tried talking to them?"

"I think you completely missed the part where everyone's mad at everyone and no one wants to listen or talk. The only time they'll talk to one another is when they're throwing fists, and I hella won't be surprised if I get home and they're at each other's throats, and I have to buy more furniture. Did you know I had to buy three new couches in the past month? But..." She sighed, closing her eyes for a few seconds. "I get what you're saying. Sure, my siblings have this vow of always and forever, but I made a promise to myself: that I'd find my family and we'd be reunited, living happily ever after and all that fairy tale nonsense." Elle smiled wistfully. "I still want to keep that promise but after what's happened? I don't think that'll happen for a long while. Everyone's so angry 一 at the world, at each other, at themselves."

"Well, a girl can hope, right?" Cordelia asked. She picked up her mug once again, then raised it as if she were toasting to something.

Elle nodded to herself. "Yeah, she sure can."

But as Elle picked up her mug, bringing it to her lips, she couldn't help but think, I may be mad at them... but they're my family. I made a promise and I can't just let everything go down the drain. We're Mikaelsons, we're family, and we fight for always and forever. That's our promise.

( end of part two )