chapter eight ─ ordinary people

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IT HAD BEEN ALMOST AN ENTIRE YEAR THAT THE MERCER FAMILY had been in Spain. They hadn't intended to stay for so long, but with the contracts just continuing to come in and the seemingly never ending vampire attacks near them were only extending their stay. And Mina wasn't complaining in the slightest that they were sticking around.

In the time that they'd been in Spain, Mina had gotten to know the Mikaelson family and especially Elijah very well. They'd grown close as friends initially, and then as the months went on and they remained in Spain, well, friendship wasn't the only thing that Mina was feeling towards Elijah. She was more than happy to remain there in Spain and keep doing hunts if it meant that she didn't have to say goodbye to Elijah.

After those first few months of friendship, the time it took for her to realize her changing feelings for him and then the realization that he felt the same way, they had begun courting. The Mikaelson family stood in high regard and were an honourable family so her parents had been more than happy to allow their courtship to go forward.

Early in the morning on a day where Mina would be leaving with her father and siblings on a longer hunting trip that would take at least a week to complete given travel time and when they could actually hunt, she was laying in her bed, wrapped up in her robe and some blankets. And the reason she was all wrapped up was because laying in her bed next to her was none other than Elijah, the window he'd climbed in through still open wide, causing a cold breeze to blow in.

Technically, they shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be in her room, let alone in her bed. But they just wanted to be able to spend some time together, talking, before she went away. At this stage in their courtship, they hadn't done more than Elijah kissing her hand or the one time that she had kissed his cheek.

"I am going to be in so much trouble if we get caught," Mina said, though neither of them moved.

"We won't get caught," he assured her.

"Says you. You do not know my family like I do."

"We won't get caught," he repeated.

"Then I will blame everything on you if we do."

Elijah smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back. It was nice, what they had. She enjoyed spending time with him so much. She dreaded the day she may have to tell him her family's secret but she was hoping that they would marry sooner rather than later and she could leave it behind, never having to tell him.

There were the sound of footsteps outside and then someone pounded on her door and called out to her that it was time to get up. Her eyes widened and she looked over at Elijah to see a smirk growing on his face. She immediately covered his mouth and gave him a stern look.

"I'm awake, Mother," she called out.

"Be ready quickly, Wilhelmina," her mother said. "Your father wants to leave as soon as everyone has eaten breakfast."

"Of course, Mother."

Elijah raised a brow at Mina and she simply narrowed her eyes at him in response. When she heard her mother's footsteps going back down the stairs, she removed her hand from over Eijah's mouth.

"You need to go now," she whispered.

"Perhaps I could help you get ready," he suggested. Mina's eyes widened. "Your trunk isn't packed yet, is it?"

"Careful, Mr. Mikaelson, someone might think you've forgotten your manners."

"You said you'd be gone for a week?" he asked.

"A week," she confirmed.

He nodded and got up, getting off the bed and heading towards the window. Mina moved to perch on the edge of the bed as she watched him get ready to leave.

"I will see you in a week, then," he said, extending a hand to her.

"A week," she repeated, placing her hand in his.

He lifted her hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on the back of her hand causing butterflies to erupt in her stomach and her heart to skip a beat. He dropped her hand gently and disappeared out the window as she watched. And when he was gone, she fell back on the bed, a stupid grin on her face as she stared up at the ceiling and dreaded being away from him for a whole week.

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AFTER TWO DAYS OF TRAVEL IN THEIR CARRIAGE AND ONE DAY of travel on foot through thick forest, Mina, her father, Rowland, older brother, Millard and younger sister, Myrtle finally came to the cave that the vampires had been using as a den. Knowing that they only had a little while before sundown and the time when the vampires would be their strongest, the family took stock of their weapons and then prepared to go inside.

The family snuck carefully into the cave, careful to block the entrance so no one could get out past them. They crept forward carefully, keeping their ears open for any signs of movement or clues to the whereabouts of those they were hunting. As they crept further forward, voices reached their ears.

"Careful, you're being sloppy."

"I'm not being sloppy, you're being sloppy."

"You're both being sloppy and you both need to shut up."

Mina's brow furrowed. Why did she recognize that last voice?

"We should leave, there's no need to dwell here," another voice said.

Mina's heart dropped. That voice she immediately recognized. It was Elijah. What was he doing here in a den of vampires? And that realization told her why she recognized the other voice. It was his youngest brother, Kol. What were they doing here?

"Just a little longer, Elijah, please?" a female voice requested. "We never get to drink freely like this in the castle with our new friends."

"Because they don't have any control," another familiar voice said.

"Only a little longer," Elijah allowed. "But we mustn't wait too long if we want to arrive back home on time."

Her hand tightened on the stake in her hand as Mina wondered what was going on. She tried to come up with some explanation for why Elijah and his family would be here, so nonchalantly, in the den of a group of vampires. As she thought on it, she recognized a few of the other voices. Elijah's younger sister, Rebekah, was the female voice she'd heard. And the one mocking the control of the others was clearly Klaus. The whole Mikaelson family was here. But why?

Ahead of her, Rowland motioned for his children to follow him forward. Mina didn't dare risk saying anything in case they were overheard but she was more than hesitant in following her father forward into the cave.

Millard readied his crossbow as he stuck close to Rowland. They crept around a corner where they found themselves on a walkway looking down on the group below. There was a long table and people were scattered about in chairs, on the table itself and the floor around them.

There were dead and dying bodies amongst those of the undead. Now, finally able to see the people that she'd previously only been able to hear, Mina confirmed that it was the Mikaelson family amongst the strangers.

She could see Klaus sitting at the head of the table with blood around his mouth, some poor woman across his lap, bleeding profusely from a wound in her neck. Next to him was Kol, also bloodied, the arm of one of the dying men on the table pulled close to him. Elijah was on Klaus' other side, bloodied as well, another bleeding victim near him. Elijah's twin sister, Halle, was sitting next to her brother, Rebekah on her other side. Between them was a man that was most certainly dead, numerous bite wounds littering his body.

Around the family that she was so familiar with were a number of strangers that were feeding on the bodies of those they'd likely kidnapped to this cave. None of these people Mina recognized.

None of her family seemed to recognize those down below them. Or, if they did, they didn't seem to care as Millard aimed his crossbow at one of the strangers and the stake loaded within it landed right in the vampire's heart, immediately killing them.

Rowland and Millard let loose more shots, killing all of the unknown vampires. When a shot went to Klaus, it luckily missed his heart and landed in his shoulder.

Having been alerted by the deaths of their friends and now the shot at their brother, the Mikaelson family was on high alert and now more aware of the location that the shots were all coming from. Elijah's eyes locked on Mina's own wide eyes and he disappeared from her sight for only a moment. Then, in the blink of an eye and a rush of wind, Mina was outside, and Elijah was standing in front of her.

She couldn't think of him as the man she'd left behind, Mina reminded herself. If he was a vampire, which he likely was given the blood all over him, then he wasn't the man she'd said goodbye to before leaving home.

"Mina, I-"

Before allowing him to finish, Mina adjusted her grip on her stake and jumped forward, aiming it for his heart. He easily countered her attack, gripping her wrist and twisting it back until she was forced to drop the stake. Unwilling to stop, Mina quickly pulled the stake out from her boot and tried again, only for him to grab her wrist again and easily got her to drop it.

"Allow me to explain," Elijah requested, unnervingly calm.

"There's nothing to explain," Mina said.

She kicked him in the chest, successfully surprising him enough that he let her go and she was able to take a few steps away from him and grab the stake from the pocket inside her coat. She readied the weapon in her hand and looked at Elijah, struggling with the feelings she had for him and knowing what she had to do because of what she was.

"You lied to me!" she accused. "This whole time, a whole year that I've known you and you've been a vampire this entire time? I invited you into my room! My bed!"

"And you didn't lie to me?" he countered. "Here you are, hunting me!"

"Vampires are monsters! They're evil and vile creatures!"

"Am I evil and vile?" Elijah questioned.

"If you are a vampire, then by rights you are!" she cried, tears gathering in her eyes. "Please don't make this harder. I... I don't want to kill you, Elijah, I-I love you. But if you are a vampire, then I have to. It's been all I've been raised to do."

"And could it not be wrong?" Elijah asked. "Mina, you know me. You've known me for a year. Do I seem like a monster to you?"

"Stop it! Just stop!" she shouted, lunging forward at him again, aiming for his heart with the stake in her hand.

He dodged out of the way easily. She went for him again, managing to sink the stake into his shoulder. Elijah cried out in pain and surprise and Mina took several steps back. When Elijah looked up at her, his eyes had gone dark, black veins spreading out from below them and she scrambled back.

Elijah pulled the stake out of his shoulder and stood up. Then he was in front of Mina in a flash and she instinctively grabbed her dagger and stabbed him in the heart.

A gasp fell from his lips and he turned his eyes up to Mina in surprise. Her own eyes widened and she found herself frozen there, her hand on the dagger that was in the heart of the man she loved. Tears fell from her eyes as she watched him, neither of them moving.

"Elijah!" a voice called.

Suddenly, Mina was pushed back and she fell to the ground, her hand falling from her dagger. Looking up, she noticed that it was none other than Halle. She quickly pulled the dagger from her twin brother's chest and tossed it behind her without looking.

"Are you alright?" Halle asked.

"Fine," Elijah assured her, standing straighter. "But Mina-"

"Elijah, we can't stay, the others are already leaving and her family is following. We need to get out of here. Just... just leave her."

"I can't do that," Elijah protested.

"Don't be a fool," Halle hissed.

"Just go!" Mina cried. "Just leave me here or I'll have to kill you. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

"Mina-"

"Go!" she shouted. "Please, just go!"

Elijah seemed hesitant to go but Halle wrapped an arm around her brother and they were gone in a rush of wind. Mina stayed there on the forest floor after they disappeared and collapsed further as her tears and cries overtook her.

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ALL THE WAY HOME, MINA SAT IN THE CARRIAGE AND cried silently, struggling to come to terms with everything that had happened on their trip. Her father had tried to tell her to stop crying and get over it, but Myrtle had stopped him and told their father to just let her cry on the way home. A messenger on horseback was sent ahead of them to inform Ludwina Mercer of the tremendous failure of their latest mission.

Mina was struggling. Her whole life she had been taught that not only were vampires real but they were cruel, vile and nasty creatures that simply killed innocent people under the cover of darkness. They were evil bloodsuckers that needed to be put down for the betterment of the rest of the world. That was what the Mercer family had taught Mina since she was old enough to understand.

But if all of that was true, how could Elijah be one? How could the rest of his family? They were noblemen in their town, they lived in a large, beautiful home that bordered on what Mina would call a castle and held balls and parties often. If vampires were creatures that killed indiscriminately and needed to be put down, how could a family like the Mikaelson's be vampires?

By the time they reached their home, Mina didn't know if she believed in what her family had taught her anymore. If it was possible for vampires to blend in completely and easily to society as the Mikaelson's had done, how could they be entirely evil and horrid beings? It just didn't make any sense anymore.

Ludwina barely allowed her family to get in the door before she pulled her eldest daughter and husband into the sitting room and closed the door behind them. When she looked at Mina, there was anger in her eyes.

"You let a vampire get away?" Ludwina hissed.

"Yes!" Mina admitted. "Because it was the man that I love, the man that you - the both of you - agreed to allow court me. Did you just think that I wouldn't be left conflicted by that?"

"He is a vampire!"

"He is a man!"

"Wilhelmina Anne Mercer!" Ludwina shouted.

"Think about it!" she shouted back. "Their family has been living amongst us for over a year at the least being what they are and we didn't even know it. Do you not think, with that knowledge, that maybe what we know about them might be wrong?"

"What are you saying?" Rowland said in a low and angry tone.

"It doesn't make sense! If they are what you've taught me and what you were taught, then why didn't we know? How didn't we even suspect? If they are the creatures that want for nothing but blood and will kill innocents for the sake of it, how did we not know that a whole family of them was living under our very noses?"

"They are evil!" Rowland yelled.

"Maybe they're just people with a condition!"

Suddenly, the anger completely drained out of her mother and father's faces only to be replaced by one of complete detachment. Mina took a deep breath and held her ground, hoping that what she feared would come next due to what she knew of her family and how they operated.

"If that's how you feel, perhaps you'd be better off with them."

"Perhaps I would."

Mina turned and stormed out of the sitting room, stomped up the stairs to her room and grabbed a small case. She filled it with small things that she couldn't leave behind, anything that wasn't just an object that was easily replaced. When she was sure that she had everything, she closed the case, straightened her jacket and then left her room, headed for the front door.

No one came out to stop her, to say goodbye or even anything at all before she left. She wished that she could be surprised.

She managed to keep the tears back as she walked the streets, heading for the home she had visited so many times. She didn't want to give anything away as she walked past strangers on the streets, heading for the Mikaelson home.

The guard at the door let her in without question, more than familiar with her by this point. She gave him a polite nod and smile as she passed on her way to the front door. When the door shut behind her and she was in the large, expansive foyer, Mina couldn't help but feel a little lost on where to go, just as she had the first time she'd come to visit.

"What are you doing here?"

Mina turned suddenly, seeing Halle coming down the staircase towards her. She didn't look happy and Mina couldn't blame her.

"I didn't expect to see you here after what happened," Halle continued as she reached the bottom of the staircase.

"I didn't expect to come," Mina admitted.

"Then why did you?"

"I think... I think perhaps everything my family ever taught me was a lie specially crafted to excuse the rampant killing they wanted to do. And when I told my parents this, they... they disowned me."

"Disowned you?" Halle questioned. "For opposing their views?"

"For choosing to still love Elijah even though he's a vampire."

Halle smiled. "I think he'll be very happy to hear that."

"Can I... Can I see him?" she asked. "And, perhaps, might I stay with you?"

"Yes on both counts, of course."

Halle motioned for Mina to follow her so she did, trailing after the vampire through the large home until they came to one of the grander sitting rooms. There, sitting on one of the sofas and reading a book was Elijah and her heart skipped a beat upon seeing him again, the urge to run to him growing stronger with each passing second.

"Elijah," Halle said. "Someone's here to see you."

"Mina?" he questioned, standing up.

Suddenly, Mina couldn't hold herself back any longer and she dropped her case, running across the room until she collided with Elijah and they wrapped their arms around each other. Mina didn't care to stand on ceremony anymore, immediately kissing him as she'd dreamed of for so long. He kissed her back as if he'd been waiting to do the same thing.

When Halle cleared her throat, they separated, both looking over to see her simply smirking at them. Elijah gave his twin sister a look and she rolled her eyes, immediately leaving the room to give them some privacy.

"I didn't get to say it properly before, but I do love you, Elijah."

"I love you, too."

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an.