𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞 ⟪♥︎⟫ Elijah Mikaelson

XXVI

Only then she noticed that the woman, with her red lips and blonde locks, the woman who'd abducted her, stood next to her. She wasn't the same woman she'd met before, this one seemed as though life hadn't troubled her yet. What a silly observation, absurd really, they were in the middle of world war, she'd probably seen plenty of hardship. Maybe it was just that she looked younger, also a weird observation, because if this was the Second World War, Odile had to be around seventy to eighty years younger and she'd never looked that old in the first place.

A soft voice rang through her head, "Follow me."

She looked at the young Odile, but her lips hadn't moved, still she followed her. And before she entered a place, one she knew she shouldn't, she hesitated.

"You've heard of the catacombs of Paris." The voice that sounded like bells and candy rang through her head, with a thick French accent lacing every word. "Nothing can happen, you're in a memory. Follow me."

She did as instructed and followed the young Odile inside. The walls looked cold and perhaps also moist, but she didn't feel a thing. She closed her eyes and sighed, she didn't feel the cold, because she wasn't actually here. Odile spoke the truth, nothing could happen. And though she was far from comforted, a small piece of the weight on her shoulders disappeared.

She followed Odile, who had haste in her step and after turning a corner, she saw about twenty people, with typewriters, papers and plans. She had no clue as of what was going on, not until she saw two familiar flags up against the wall, the French one and a rainbow flag.

Odile had taken the hand of an Asian woman and they spoke in hushed voices.

'We should leave Juliette, I've been able to get tickets to England, we'll be safe there.'

'I can't go,' the woman named Juliette spoke, 'I have to do this Odile. They took Louis.'

'We can't save him, but we can still save ourselves, as women, we're not a threat to them.'

'We will be, things will only become worse.'

'Please,' Odile begged as her voice turned shrill and her hand stroked Juliette's cheek, 'they'll kill you, when they find out what you're doing, they'll kill you. I can't lose you.'

'I'm sorry,' she whispered, 'I love you.'

And they met in a kiss, tears running down their cheeks, perhaps knowing that this would be their goodbye, their parting of ways, even before the universe had decided it was.

***

Elijah paced through the living room and though he was still perfectly dressed, to his family's eyes he wasn't. His tie slightly too loose, one button of his jacket unbuttoned and his pocketsquare almost falling out of place.