Maeve gasped awake. She found herself comfortably tucked in a king size bed in an unfamiliar room. She looked around the room momentarily disoriented. Slowly everything came back to her. The woods, the night. Maeve still felt a dull ache in her neck but it was worth it.

She pushed aside the covers and gently laid her feet on the floor. Maeve felt the silence for the first time in weeks. There was a relief in that silence. Maeve snapped her fingers, eyes fixated on the dresser right in front of her. Nothing happened. It was a brutal realisation that she was no longer the Serene Witch. The very thing she prided over was no longer hers. It didn't make her regret her actions, only mourn the powers that were no longer hers.

Maeve navigated her way through the house, ending up in the parlor. It was just her in the room. She stood in the same place as she did the night before. A cold feeling ran up her spine when she recollected the final moments of darkness before she was consumed by it.

"You're awake." she turned around swiftly on the ball of her feet and cracked the brightest smile she could.

"How can I ever thank you for everything?" she asked him.

"Well, we've got some time to come up with a deal." he grinned. A short giggle escaped Maeve's lips before she went in for a hug.

"It's good to see you like this, Mocha." Kol confessed wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"It's good to feel like this, Kolbear. It's good to feel like this." Maeve pulled away with a small sniffle.

"Where's everyone else?"

"Preparing breakfast." said Klaus strutting into the room. Maeve grinned at him, tilting her head to a side.

"You...how can I ever thank you."

"You owe me now. That's how." Klaus told her. Maeve giggled,

"Don't say a part of you...even the smallest part actually was glad when you snapped my neck." Klaus only smiled instead of replying.

"Your brother has gone to get you a heavy breakfast. And Elijah is on his way here."

"Good. I said some bitchy stuff to him. I need to clear the air." Klaus reaction faltered at her words. He knew what Elijah would possibly be coming to do. What he might speak.

Maeve, on the other hand was drafting a perfect apology for every word she said to Elijah. Not a single word she muttered was true. He had to know that, right?

"What? Am I missing something?" asked Maeve noticing the fallen expression of Klaus.

"Yes, your powers. Why don't you go get it." He suggested diverting the topic. "Siphon it from the place where you donated it."

"Donated it, is a strong word. Gave up on sounds better, wouldn't you agree?" Maeve tried joking. "Anyways it is not possible."

"You performed magic, Maeve."

"Residual magic. Different. Not possible anyway now to have it, or get magic back."

"No, it is." Kol argued her, "your dark side made a glorified statement yesterday of how she would siphon it out once you were dead."

Maeve sighed and turned around to the fireplace. "Because I can't. Not me." she sat down on the floor and pulled her knees to her chest, her eyes strained on the burning flames. "See the darkness was born from my magic. She...um, had her power source there. Therefore, if she were to be the one that lived, she would have still magic in this body to siphon the one I gave up. Which means, because I weakened her by taking away the power source, the darkness died."

"The death was not specifying who would die." concluded Kol, "So you came up with the plan."

"Yep. Now, is either one of you going to pour me a glass of bourbon or what?"

Ezekiel walked in just then holding three bags of takeout, "Its nine am, Moony...you can't drink." he approached her with a soft smile and bent down next to her.

"Its nine pm somewhere. Quick, I'm in need of alcohol and food. Give it to me." She snatched the bags from Ezekiel.

Everyone laughed as Maeve made a few whimsical faces looking through the bags Ezekiel brought with him, before a childish happiness appeared on her face when she noticed what he had brought. "Breakfast Pizza! Fries with nachos and double cheese bacon burger! Ezekiel you're the best!" shrieked Maeve loudly.

Ezekiel simply smiled. He kept watching his sister devour the breakfast Pizza he got with huge bites and moaning at the taste. Maeve peered one eye open and looked at her brother, "stop staring at me!"

"I'm so happy to see you like this."

"Like what? Less murderous and no manipulative?" she satirised with a grin.

"Not funny."

"I think it's a little funny."

"You are one dark humourous witch."

"Nah uh uh uh," she tutted, "dark humourous Alpha. I──I am not a witch anymore remember?"

Ezekiel's face fell when it suddenly struck him, "shit...Moons I'm so so──"

"Don't. It's going to take some time getting used to. I know. It's fine." Everyone fell silent suddenly, the air filling up with awkwardness and tension. "People! I'm alive. I...once again conquered death. Can we not mourn but celebrate? Nik...when did you say Elijah is coming?"

Klaus felt suspiciously silent again. He glanced at Kol who looked back at him with a mirroring look. Maeve noticed the shift quickly and decided to ask, "what did I miss?"

The room felt suffocating, the stifling atmosphere heavy with the weight of unspoken words and unresolved tension. Maeve perched on the edge of the couch, her gaze anchored to the floor. She couldn't bring herself to meet Elijah's eyes. He stood near the window, his usually imposing frame appearing diminished, burdened by the guilt etched in the lines of sorrow that had marked his face.

After what felt like an eternity, the somber afternoon arose. Elijah had finally arrived, and Ezekiel and the two Mikaelson brothers had excused themselves, leaving the two alone to confront the tension that had grown between them.

Maeve felt the rising fear, a paralyzing trepidation that gripped her heart. She dreaded what was coming, the inevitable conversation that could change everything. And as Elijah stepped into the room, it was as if the air itself had thickened, the anticipation hanging like a storm cloud above their heads.

Elijah's voice eventually broke the silence, its tones laden with profound sorrow. "I can't help but feel responsible for the torment you've endured these past weeks. That prophecy, Maeve..."

She couldn't bear to look at him, the memory of those sleepless nights and haunting nightmares still vivid in her mind. The prophecy, foretelling her death in a shroud of darkness, had cast a long, ominous shadow over their lives──especially hers. Maeve had grappled with the fear of her impending doom, and it had driven a painful wedge between them. Just as the dark side of her had intended.

Her voice, was just a trembling whisper. "Elijah," she began, her words fragile, "You can't blame yourself for the prophecy. It was never your fault."

He turned towards her, his eyes seeking absolution, "The last few weeks say otherwise. Your dark side said...otherwise."

A bitter tear escaped Maeve's eye, and she brushed it away with the back of her hand. "You helped me, Elijah. You did not initiate the prophecy or listen to the lies it told."

Elijah's shoulders slumped, and he took a step closer, a profound sadness etched across his features. "But I watched you suffer, Maeve. Those nightmares, the constant fear, it was tearing you apart. I felt helpless, useless. I helped you gain control, embrace your powers, be free with yourself, but you cannot deny that it allowed that darkness to seep even deeper into you."

She finally looked up at him, her eyes a complex mosaic of pain, affection, and a touch of indignation. "Maeve," he said, shaking her head with a resolute determination, "You deserve someone who brings out the best in you, someone who cherishes your innocence and doesn't lead you into darkness."

Elijah's words cut through her like a blade, a searing wound that threatened to unravel her composure. "Have you gone insane, Elijah? You made me embrace my emotions, and it's been the most amazing thing that ever happened to me."

"But look where that has gotten you. Weeks of torment and maddening thoughts which ended in the prophecy."

Maeve felt a storm of emotions building within her. "You're drawing the darkest prospects of the situation, not me."

"But that's the truth."

Elijah stayed silent, for he had to say the words that weighed like lead on his heart. They were words he believed were the only path to safeguarding Maeve from the dangers of their love.

"I can't bear the thought of losing you. Moreover, the thought that perhaps I am responsible for it, even in the smallest measure."

Tears welled in her eyes, "I don't believe that," Maeve spoke with a fierce determination, a trembling defiance. Her voice carried the weight of her love, and she let it pour forth no longer afraid of expression.

Elijah's gaze held hers, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. There was so much unsaid, so many emotions locked in a wordless exchange. But in that moment, they both knew what had to be done, no matter how it pained them.

Elijah said, "You hold a considerable amount of innocence in your heart and soul, and I don't want to be the one to tarnish that."

Maeve was speechless, her heart a cacophony of emotions. "Have you gone insane?" she questioned, her voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and vulnerability. "Elijah, you made me finally give in to my emotions, and that has been the most amazing thing to ever happen to me."

Elijah shook his head, a deep sadness etched across his face. "Look where that has gotten you to. Weeks of torment and maddening thoughts which ended in death."

Maeve bawled out a tearful protest, her voice breaking as she countered, "You are drawing the negative prospect of the situation, not me."

"But that's the truth."

The room bore witness to their heart-wrenching exchange, and the unspoken words hung heavy in the air. It was a moment that neither of them would ever forget, a turning point in their story that neither wanted but felt compelled to face. Elijah had made a choice, and it was a choice born out of love, even if it felt like a heartbreak.

Maeve's voice quivered, her emotions raw and unfiltered. "You promised."

Elijah's gaze was filled with remorse as he whispered, "I know."

"I have to go." Maeve's voice quivered with a painful mixture of anger, sorrow, and determination. Without another look at Elijah, she ran out of the room, leaving him standing in the shadows, a heavy weight of heartache crushing him.

Elijah had said the words he believed were necessary, but the pain of their parting, the heartbreak that surged through him, was a burden he would carry with him, long after Maeve had gone.

Maeve cried silently as she roamed aimlessly in the town. Maeve knew there was that one place where she could find some comfort...a companion she sought. Maeve wiped away a few tears and sniffled before she pressed the bell button.

The door opened and Maeve smiled falsely. "Hello Sheriff."

"Maeve. What a surprise! H──how are you?"

"Uh...not good. I──is Caroline here?"

"She's at school but she should be coming back soon. Why don't you come inside?" Sheriff Forbes stepped aside giving Maeve room to enter her house.

"Oh my God!" a girlish shriek startled Maeve before half a smile curled on her lips. Maeve turned around to see Caroline standing in the driveway with a cheerful wide smile.

"Hey Care? Missed me?" Caroline didn't reply verbally but immediately sped up to hug the girl. Both girls embraced each other tightly. The last few weeks had been a toll on both of them, for different reasons.

Caroline pulled away first with a smile, only to wipe it away quickly seeing the tear stained look, "what happened?"

"Elijah broke up with me." a gasp left Caroline's mouth.

"Seriously? What the hell?"

"Caroline..." The sheriff prompted, "perhaps talk inside?"

Both girls stepped inside the room, Caroline's hands wrapped around Maeve. Caroline led Maeve up to her room and sat her down.

"He broke up with me because he thinks he is responsible for what happened with the Prophecy."

"What? But that was a lie, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Lies. Absolute complete lies but he is still believing them." Maeve told her before bursting into tears again.

Caroline hugged Maeve sideways, letting the Lycan lean on her for support. "Mystic Falls was supposed to give me something more...better──more."

"I know...Maeve, I know."

"Why does it hurt Care. I don't want it to hurt so much." Maeve buried her face into Caroline's shoulder, her hands resting on Caroline's hand that was wrapped around her.

"It hurts because you love him."

"I hate it. I hate this town and everything here. Except you, of course."

"I'm so sorry, Maeve. I'm so sorry." Maeve continued to whimper and weep, letting out her pain through tears.

They stayed in that exact way for perhaps an hour before Maeve sat up. "I'm going to leave, Caroline."

"Maeve..."

"No, listen to me. I'm going to leave with my brother. Today, I can't stay in this town anymore. I'll visit you soon. But I can't stay. It's the worst restart anyone could ever ask for. Don't fight me on this."

Caroline looked sadly at her friend, "promise you won't cut me off?"

"It is highly impossible and you know it Goldilocks." Maeve smiled tiredly at Caroline who did the same.

A tired saddened smile was the silent goodbye, because both knew well, soon──perhaps in a month or a year they would have their own lives and the last thing that would be on each other's mind would be the other.

**************************************
Hey guys!

Quick notes: Rebekah is currently, in the story's timeline, out searching for the cure with Elena. The New York episodes are happening.

Are you guys ready for the last chapter for The Vampire Diaries? One more chapter and then we enter The Originals! I'm so excited to start.

Hope you'll enjoy it as well!

Take care everyone!

Raven :)