Broken Promises (An Elijah Mikaelson LS)

Why the Earth Shook

"The Italians call them Strega. The Yoruba of West Africa call them Aje, meaning mother. Where my mother was from, they called them Hexa, and here we call them witch." Elijah had gathered his brother, Lorelei, and Hayley into the library early the next morning, though he nor Lorelei slept the night before. Davina's sketches were now taped together, placed on a large table to show the image of Celeste. Hayley sat in a chair near the table, eyes lingering on the image as Elijah continued his history lesson.

"Over the centuries, vampires have fought them and fought beside them, bedded them and burned them. Whether adversary or ally, they have been a force to be reckoned with. Their ancestral magic anchors this city. There's never been one all-powerful witch, until Davina," he finished, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the likeness of his lost love.

"Who is now tucked in safe and sound down the hall, under my protection," Klaus said before pausing to look at the image. "Your Celeste was quite beautiful, and a portent of evil according to our volatile artist in residence," Klaus gloated with ease. "Now, Nik, you shouldn't speak of yourself in such a demeaning way," Lorelei bantered with a smirk. She remembered how much he loved to paint, and had seen his latest works early that morning on her way to fetch him. He shot her back a playful glare, enjoying that she was no longer brooding or indifferent. She was back to how she had been before she had left the family for good.

"Perhaps Davina has mistaken what she calls evil for power," Elijah muttered, ignoring their banter. It brought a bit of jealousy to his chest, seeing how they could go back to an only slightly hostile version of their old relationship. "Celeste was certainly very powerful in her day, but she's been dead for over 200 years. I don't understand why all these sketches now," he grumbled in annoyance, uncrossing his arms to gesture to the taped-together image before sitting down on the couch near them.

"Why does any witch do anything?" Klaus asked, sitting in a chair near the table. Lorelei stood near Hayley, who was the farthest from the image. A large crash came from down the hall, but the group ignored it in favor of thinking up a solution. But another crash that resulted in something shattering caught all of their attention.

"Well, that's going well," Klaus commented sarcastically. "If you were trying to win the girl's trust, perhaps poisoning her one true love was not the most splendid idea," Elijah countered. "Oh. Are there any more inopportune deaths you'd like to wave in my face?" Klaus asked, fully aware of his rash mistake. "Give me a month. I'll get you a list." Klaus couldn't help but chuckle at his brother's quip.

Another crash came from Davina's room and Klaus' temporary good mood faded. "Young, old, dead, or alive, witches are a pain in the ass," he growled, preparing to stand. "I take personal offense to that," Lorelei said teasingly. "Good. You were always the biggest pain in my ass," he quipped in return, flashing a devilish smirk before disappearing to deal with the young witch. Lorelei rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Since when are you and Klaus such good friends?" Hayley asked, staring at the raven-haired original with one brow raised. "Oh, I'm not. But I might as well play nice until circumstance dictates otherwise," Lorelei replied. "You should know to be more careful than that. My brother's paranoia has only grown in the last 500 years," Elijah warned, no humor in his voice. He truly was concerned that she had forgotten who she was dealing with.

"Really? It's not just his lust for power?" she asked rhetorically. Elijah shot her a grim look to which she just smiled. "Relax, darling. I know how to handle Niklaus." Lorelei hadn't realized she said something wrong until Elijah had stiffened, eyes far off with a distant memory. She hadn't meant to use such familiar language, especially when it was inherently affectionate. Last night, they had made a sort of silent pact to start over and work towards a friendship over time. Not nearly enough time had passed for her to be able to call him "darling" without some awkwardness. She glanced down at her feet, ignoring Hayley's gaze that shifted between the separated couple.