CHAPTER FIVE; Him

High in the sky laid the sun, shining down on one of the recently established New Orlean's gloomiest of days.

Although, Elijah didn't deem it as bleak as most would; he knew the occasion would come in due time from the moment the governor's son laid eyes on the radiant Mikaelson sister. Once Niklaus had thrown the man over a balcony at a party in a fit of overprotecting rage, the funeral had commenced, and Elijah then found himself at his grieving sister's side as horse drawn carriers and mourners trailed behind a coffin.

But on that day, Elijah never expected his brother to meet a boy who later became his son nor did he expect to meet her.

As Niklaus approached the young boy, in pain over the recent lashes that scarred his back and in awe over the surprised death of the horseman, Elijah spotted her in the crowd. She was the only light in the sea of black. Although her flowing dress was dark, her skin radiated as did her almond shaded hair. She stood amongst the governor's neighbors, yet he became surprised when he looked and saw her hazel eyes returning his gaze.

He didn't see her again until later in the day when the parade had ended at the cemetery. As the town gathered in the ceremony, he saw her standing towards the back, a rather bored expression on her face. With Rebeka having turned her attention to Marcel to distract her from her grief, Elijah drew himself away and toward her, almost as if he was being pulled.

His feet joined with the grass by hers, and for a second time that day, he was taken away by the beauty in her features.

"It's tragic, isn't it," she spoke first, her eyes glancing up at his gazing ones, an introduction that surprised him.

"It is," he nodded in a hushed voice to not call attention to themselves, but both could tell they were there out of politeness and for the duty to comforted others.

"Did you know him," she asked.

"Not particularly, but my sister was most affectionate of him," he said. "Did you, Miss..?"

"Florence Charleston," she blushed, her porcelain cheeks turning rose, "Please forgive me. I should have introduced myself earlier."

"No worries," the corners of his lips turned up as he faced her, "I'm Elijah Mikaelson. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Florence Charleston, even under these tragic circumstances."

"You as well, Mr. Elijah Mikaelson," she could no longer hide the smile growing on her face as she dipped slightly to curtsy before him.

And from the moment his name sounded from her lips, Elijah Mikaelson had fallen for the charming and friendly Charleston. He was enraptured by her eyes and voice and couldn't help but want to know her more, and so they did.

Throughout the remainder of the funeral, they shared soft whispers, and once it had ended, they had escaped back into the city, far too intrigued by each other's attention to part. Most could see the ignited spark between the Mikaelson and the once unknown Charleston, a woman whose neglectful family had perished in a house fire only weeks before she found refuge in the new city of New Orleans. She had only just moved into a small cottage when the governor's son died, a fact about her Elijah learned on the bright day.

But after meeting her, he could no longer stay away and neither could she.

Within the following months, he had learned the entirety of her past with harsh parents and fell for her compassion and sense of adventure, and she saw the deep and utter love he shared for his family and her. Yet unlike her past, his came with secrets, secrets he tried so hard to bury for a better life with her, but these were the unavoidable. It was only a matter of time before she learned of them.

That day came the moment Niklaus had resurrected their younger brother Kol from a box in which he laid with a dagger in his chest.

It was a normal day for Florence Charleston. She had ventured over to the Mikaelson mansion to see Elijah, and when making her way inside the compound, she was stopped by the sight of bodies drained of blood and a man, seemingly young in age, with his teeth fastened to the neck of another young woman. A hitched breath left her lips in a gasp and drew his attention. She barely saw him move, yet in seconds, he stood in front of her.

"Why, aren't you gorgeous," his voice rang out in an accent Florence recognized as similar to Niklaus' and Elijah's.

"Y-you're a monster," she uttered with pure terror in her voice. Eyes wide, she attempted to stumble back, but he always closed the distance between them in swift manner.

"I'm sorry love, you are truly beautiful, but I'm still quite hungry. It will be a shame to put an end to such a pretty face," a sinister grin grew across his lips, and he gasped her tight in his arms as she stood paralyzed in fear.

The moment his sharpened teeth pierced the delicate skin of her neck, she let out a pained scream, but then then the pain dissipated in mere seconds. Figures moved before her at a blurred speed, yet when it all stood still, her eyes found Elijah, stained with his own blood. She watched him throw the man against the opposing wall with unhuman strength, and she was stunned beyond words.

"You will not harm her, Kol Mikaelson," he bellowed with Kol's collar clutched tight in his hands

"Elijah," she breathed, her hand clasped to her neck to suppress the trickle of blood falling from it. She tried to conjure a single word to say as his brown eyes were locked on hers, but she couldn't. All she could do was turn on her heels and run.

Her feet pounded against the compound floor and the pathways of the city, using all of her strength to try to reach her cottage, the only place in which she found safety. But the sudden figure of Niklaus appeared in front of her with Elijah close behind.

"I'm sorry, love," Niklaus aired, his gaze keeping Florence frozen in her stance, "but you cannot remember this." His pupils dilated with the anticipation that her's would as well, yet they remained the same size, the wide and golden hazel shade with tears collecting beneath them.

"What are you," Florence murmured, her gaze turning to bore into Elijah's, and in them, he could see utter fear that tore at his heart.

"Florence -"

"No," she stopped him. She could hardly utter a single word before the tears welled over. Florence turned once more to run to her cottage as the two Mikaelson's stood paralyzed in shock.

Elijah was stunned to silence as was Niklaus. They couldn't believe the woman they had come to know and love was the one thing neither expected her to be; a witch.

After he returned to his senses, he raced after her, yet she had sealed herself into her cottage on the outskirts of the city.

She remained inconsolable for days. Elijah couldn't help but wait near her door, pacing day and night with the only solace being her thrumming heartbeat. He feared that he had lost the woman he truly loved, and he began to loathe himself for ever approaching her on that summer day, knowing that this would always result. But once a week had passed, Niklaus convinced him to return home, yet he constantly remained on his guard. And when the moment arrived, he could hear the sound of her door unlatched from miles away. He sped over to meet her and was in awe once more as his gaze met hers across the grassy path.

Her eyes wide, she searched for words to say, but Elijah uttered, "Florence, please let me explain."

"I have never seen anyone's face like that before," she said softly, her feet closing the distance between them. His breathing hitched as she near and heartbeat rise as she neared, her being the only one to have that effect on him. Her hand rose to delicately touch his features, as if was the first time she had ever seen them. "I'm sorry for ignoring you, for all of this time. I just... I need time to think, yet I'm still not sure about what I think, what I saw."

"Florence, please don't apologize, please never apologize. I should have never - I should have never introduced myself to you that day. You don't belong in this world," Elijah shook his head, turning away from her.

"Elijah Mikaelson, look at me," her voice resonated with strength as she stepped closer to him. Once his eyes had returned to her, she could read his gaze like an open book, and she said, "I know you, Elijah. I know that you are noble, strong, and you have such a deep love for your family, one I will never understand, but one thing I know for sure is that you are not the monster you think you are."

"You don't understand. My siblings and I were created to be monsters by our mother. We were created as an act of protection against the people who killed my younger brother. I don't even know where to begin to explain it."

"Well," she uttered softly with a surprising sense of calmness in her tone, and when taking his hand, she finished, "there's always a beginning. So tell me from there."

He could see the absolute determination in her eyes that surprised him, yet he always knew her to be curious and understanding. And so, as the dead of the night fell over them, they returned to her house as the story of how the Original vampires came to light.

Florence found it hard to believe at first, but with the heavy truth in his voice, she soon learned that supernatural creatures had roamed the earth for centuries, a hard fact many refused to believe. But when the subject of her being a witch rose, he couldn't ignore the change in the air.

Their love held strong, yet he noticed that her curiosity grew hungry. She asked every witch in New Orleans as did Elijah, but none of them knew of a witch, immune to the compulsion of a vampire, who had no display of magic. They thought she just had yet to tap into her powers, but she was still persistent in finding out more. After a month long journey to her home state of Georgia, knowing her family had kept archives of family information, her and Elijah returned to New Orleans with carriages of artifacts and ancient books.

"I never knew my family went back this far," she breathed, in awe at the mountains of chronicles that now in her house.

"Me either," Elijah spoke softly, taking in all in. But he became more surprised as some of the more aged papers dated back to when he was born, and inscripted on them were writings in a language even he didn't recognize.

"I don't understand," she shook her head, eyes sprinting as they peered at each scrawl. "My parents must have known about this, shouldn't have they?"

"Sometimes the traits of one don't show up in a generation, and one of your parents might not have known about them," he comforted.

Studying her, he could practically see her thoughts before she even spoke, and he knew she wouldn't stop until she figured out her own buried history.

He watched her spend the following months with her nose in every translating book there was, and they spent the time searching out witches who equally had no knowledge about her heritage. She grew frustrated as no progress was made and he couldn't stand to watch it any longer. He wanted to know just as much as she did.

But one day, Florence sought out an unfamiliar witch who had recently moved into the Quarter, and he knew that more than just a change had settled over the well-known Mikaelson and Charleston couple. She became distant; she tended to avoid the Mikaelson's even when they approached her. He could no longer see a light in her eyes, and that's what scared him the most.

Everytime he saw her, she would be translating each paper like mad. It was as if she was born speaking the language, and whenever he asked, she would push the subject away. He knew something was wrong, and when came to her house, nearly two weeks after she learned how to translate the scripts, seeing it empty only confirmed it.

She had disappeared, taking every book, every document with her. It was like she was never there. The only thing left behind were the memories forever embedded in Elijah's mind.

Little did he know that her vanishing was to protect him, protect him from the dark magic that resided in her and every other Charleston woman to ever grace the earth.

Just a flash back that I hope you enjoyed!

This also foreshadows a little bit into what Scarlett is which I am so excited for! This is honesty my favorite story to write, and I can't wait to show you guys what I have planned for it

But...
Why do you think she left? What do you think she found out??

&& OH MY GOSH 1K READS??? THAT'S INSANE THANK YOU!

Please don't forget to vote & comment you beauties!

-Ashley
[3/19/16]