Broken Promises (An Elijah Mikaelson LS)

Stories About Rotten Fruits

Classical music played in the parlor as Elijah and Klaus sat in separate arm chairs, reading very different books. They sat opposite each other in the living space, the body of a girl lying on the coffee table between them. Rebekah walked in to find the strange scene and stared at the body before looking from her devious brother to her elegant one.

"So this is what you do the first time we're back together as a family – vampire book club," Rebekah grumbled in annoyance. "Reading edifies the mind, sister," Klaus replied in a drawl tone, not even looking back at the blonde Original. "Isn't that right, Elijah?" he continued, his gaze flickering up to his older brother. "Yes. That's quite right, Niklaus," Elijah said as he finished his sentence before lifting his gaze to Rebekah and offering a small smile in greeting.

"And what's this business?" Rebekah asked, gesturing to the dead body. "This is a... peace offering," Elijah said with a heavy sigh, gesturing slightly towards Klaus. "I presumed, after so much time desiccating in a coffin, that my big brother might be a bit peckish," Klaus said, not looking up from his book. Elijah's eyes had also gone back to the musty pages of the book in his lap.

"So I explained to my little brother that forgiveness cannot be bought. I'd simply prefer to see a change in behavior that indicates contrition and personal growth," Elijah said before looking at the body. "Not this nonsense," he added, gesturing to the poor dead girl on the table.

"I couldn't very well let her go to waste, could I?" Klaus asked, looking from the body to his brother with a smirk. Rebekah looked over the body once more to see blood dripping onto the old carpet beneath the table. "Well, I suppose I'll fetch the rubbish bin because she's staining a 200-year-old carpet," Rebekah growled before she left the parlor in a huff.

Elsewhere in the plantation house, Lorelei sat at the window bench, staring out at the sun. She thought back to the previous night's conversation that she had with her dear husband. She had asked him if he wanted her here – if he wanted her to leave. But he hadn't given her a direct answer. He had said that Rebekah and Hayley would want her to stay, but that he did not care if she stayed or not. She reached up and touched her chest where the hole had been completely healed for hours. Yes, Elijah had been about to kill her. A part of her had wanted him to take his revenge – to give her some relief from her guilt. But he had not. The hole in her heart remained. The hole his absence had caused. He was just down the stairs and she knew that, but she didn't know how to act around him.

The light of the morning sun glittered off of her golden ring and she stared down at it sadly. She twisted the ring on her finger before pulling it off and holding it up in front of her face. She could still see the slight dents from where the hammer had pounded, forging in into a symbol of everlasting love. Over the years, people had asked her if she would like them to fix the imperfections, but she refused. Elijah was skilled in many crafts, but he had not been a metal-worker. At least, not in this capacity. He could forge a sword and she knew that, but a ring was different. It was delicate, not hard and sharp like a blade.

A soft knock came from her bedroom door. "Come in," she called, not taking her eyes off the ring. From the sound of two heartbeats – one normal and the other pounding quickly – she knew it was Hayley, her child's heartbeat much faster than an adult's. The door opened and Lorelei saw Hayley take a step into the room from the corner of her eye. "Hey," Hayley greeted. There was an awkward pause.

"Are you all right?" the she-wolf asked the Original. Lorelei let out a low chuckle and turned her gaze onto the other woman. "Am I all right?" Lorelei asked bitterly. "Yeah, I mean..." Hayley paused, turning and closing the bedroom do behind her. "You almost got your heart ripped out last night," Hayley reminded the Original as she stepped further into the room. Her voice was soft and sympathetic. Lorelei shook her head, her small smile falling as she turned her gaze back onto the gold band in her hand. "I did that myself long ago. Last night would have just been the end of it," Lorelei replied, slipping the gold band back onto its rightful place on her left hand.