CHAPTER SIX
heartache

I took a long, deep breath as I sat down on the opposite sofa. I looked between the Mikaelson brothers and waited for them to begin their explanation. Both of them watched me intensely and it took everything in me not to squirm. I kept a wary eye on Elijah, still very unsure if he could be trusted. Seeing as neither of them seemed to be in a hurry to speak, I let out an impatient sigh.

"You lied to me," I told Henrik before directing my attention to his brother, "and you murdered someone in front of me so you better start talking before I buy a plane ticket and leave."

"I wish to introduce myself properly," Elijah held out his hand, "My name is Elijah Mikaelson."

"I'm Morgana." I said, tentatively shaking his hand.

"No last name?" Elijah asked curiously and I shook my head. "It is very wonderful to meet you, Morgana. If you are willing, I would love the opportunity to become more acquainted. I am deeply apologetic that you witnessed the... Incident with Trevor. I can attest that my actions do not reflect my overall character."

"Do you have any plans to behead more people?" I asked, only half joking.

Elijah hesitated before answering, "Not in the immediate future."

I let out a choked laugh, "As long as I don't have to witness it, you can behead as many vampires as you'd like."

"That sounds like a fair arrangement." Elijah smiled softly.

I was still wary of Elijah but he didn't seem to hold an immediate danger to me. I did not trust very easily and to be honest, the whole situation terrified me. I was, however, willing to give Elijah a chance. For Henrik's sake and mine, I hoped that he would not let me down.

"I explained a little bit about the bond to Morgana," Henrik informed his brother, "But I imagine that you know a great deal more about the situation than I."

Elijah nodded thoughtfully before turning his attention to me. "Fated mates are predestined to instinctively protect and love each other. Contrary to popular belief, they don't share souls, they merely complement each other's."

"Why do mates exist?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"I am afraid that it is not exactly known why mates exist, other than for breeding purposes, which does not apply here given that vampires cannot procreate." Elijah answered, causing my cheeks to redden.

"Is it normal to have two mates?" I asked with a frown.

"Actually, you have seven mates." Elijah informed me.

I looked up at him with wide eyes as my mouth gaped open. I was definitely not expecting that. I was unsure if I was equipped to handle one mate, let alone seven. Seven mates seemed like way too much responsibility.

Correct me if I'm wrong but did you just say seven?" I asked with an uneasy chuckle.

Elijah nodded, "And to answer your question, having more than one mate is not unheard of but it is certainly not a common occurrence."

"How do you know that I have seven mates?" I frowned in confusion.

"Long before I was born, a witch prophesied that our mother would birth seven children," Elijah began and I winced slightly at the thought of giving birth to that many babies, "The witch foretold that these seven children would all share a mate that would one day save them."

The room fell into silence as my mind raced with more and more questions. It was going to take a dedicated week to get every single one of them answered. For now, I decided to go with the ones that had been nagging at me.

"So my other mates are your siblings?" I asked, looking between the brothers.

"Yes." Henrik nodded, a small smile lingering on his lips.

"And are they vampires too?"

"They are, yes." Elijah nodded.

"There is a whole story there that I am desperate to know!" I said, wondering how they had ended up being vampires, "But I don't know if my brain can process much more right now. What are the names of your siblings? I know you mentioned them the other day, Henrik, but they have completely slipped my mind.

"Aside from us, your mates are Niklaus, Finn, Kol, Rebekah and-"

"Rebekah? Your sister?" I asked, slightly taken aback.

I felt my face heat up and I awkwardly looked down at the carpet. I had only ever been attracted to Henrik so I had never once thought to question my sexuality. The idea of being with a woman made me feel rather flustered and I didn't quite know how to navigate this revelation.

Henrik grinned, seemingly understanding where my thoughts had taken me, "Yes, our sister."

I hastened to change the subject before I accidentally revealed to Elijah that I was a virgin who read books instead of experimenting during my teenage years. Henrik, of course, already knew this.

"Trevor knew who I was when he kidnapped me. How could he have possibly known?"

"My brother Klaus had a witch to show him a vision of you. He used to paint you religiously. It is highly likely that Trevor saw one of those paintings before we burnt them all." Elijah explained and I blinked in confusion.

"You burnt them?"

"Word had gotten out about Klaus having a mate and our enemies sought to hunt you down. We burnt them to protect your identity." Elijah explained and I nodded.

"Where are Klaus and your other siblings?" I asked. Elijah and Henrik exchange a look and worry coursed through me. "What is it?"

"Klaus is currently in the States but I strongly advise that we avoid him." Elijah told me.

I tilted my head to the side as my eyes darted between the brothers. "Why?"

Henrik let out a mournful sigh, "It seems that Niklaus is not the man I once knew."

"He has become a volatile and possessive man. I fear his actions once he learns of you." Elijah explained, a far away look in his eyes.

I shook my head as I processed his words. It seemed that my quest for answers was only creating more questions.

"What about my other mates?" I asked tentatively.

"Rebekah, Kol and Finn are currently... indisposed." Elijah said, struggling to find the words.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest.

"They angered Klaus long ago so he buried them at sea." he said and I sucked in a breath.

"They're dead?" I whispered, not knowing how to feel about it.

"No, that was a poor choice of wording. Myself and my siblings are the first ever vampires and are therefore unable to be killed. There are, however, daggers that exist that put us in a state of unconsciousness until removed."

"I am guessing that the ocean is a rather difficult place to search?" I asked, swallowing a lump in my throat.

Elijah nodded mournfully, "I have searched for decades and have so far been unsuccessful. The ocean is a vast place and Klaus has hidden them well. I fear I may never find them."

The news brought me great sadness. To be told that I had several people who were destined to love me, only to learn that I would never meet them was devastating. It felt extremely strange to grieve people that I had never met.

"You said I had seven mates, what about the other one?" I asked almost desperately and Henrik lay a comforting hand on my knee.

"Freya unfortunately passed away when she was a child." Elijah revealed and I shook my head, feeling confused.

"Henrik was resurrected. Why wasn't Freya?"

"When you were dying of frostbite, none of your living mates were in the position to save you," Henrik said softly, "So I guess that fate brought me back to save you. I have no idea why it chose me and not Freya."

I let out a shaky sigh before nodding. All this new information was extremely taxing and I felt like I was on the brink of a burnout. So much had happened in such a short space of time and I hadn't gotten a chance to breathe.

"Excuse me," I muttered before hurrying out of the room.