CHAPTER FOUR
'of moonstones and men'

"Well go on then," he gestured with his hand for her to continue, "the floor is yours."

Elijah agreeing to listen to her offer was more of a courtesy. He hadn't wanted to dishearten his dear mate by immediately disregarding what she had to say, despite the fact that nothing she could offer would ever convince him to abandon his endeavour for her love.

He knew that she was going to bargain for her 'freedom'. He wasn't a fool.

It seemed that after five hundred years Natalie remained stubborn in her reluctance to accept the bond she shared with him and his siblings.

No matter, he had an eternity to convince her otherwise, and eternity for a vampire is a very long time.

"We want to offer all of the ingredients needed to reverse Klaus' curse, in exchange for our freedom." Natalie said, her strong demeanour doing little to hide just how anxious she was on the inside.

If he didn't agree to this it was over.

Five hundred years of careful planning for nothing.

She knew she couldn't take on an original, not to mention the fact that he clearly had multiple witches working for him.

Right now she only saw two ways for her to make it out of this without him taking her.

Number one, she could convince him to agree to the deal. Elijah keeps his word no matter what, if she can make him give that then she knows he will never disregard it.

Or number two, she could find away to contact Katherine without him knowing and together they just may be able to snap his neck and flee. They'd done it once, who's to say they wouldn't be able to do it again.

With that in mind, she continued her negotiation with Elijah. All whilst subtly reaching into her back pocket to retrieve her phone.

"That's impossible." Elijah said firmly, whilst he believed that Natalie and Katherine were resourceful enough to procure the moonstone, a werewolf, and a vampire, there was no chance that they could've possibly found a doppelgänger.

The Petrova line ended with them, he was sure of it.

Unless of course his brother had missed a family member when slaughtering them all. An unlikely scenario, Niklaus was rather thorough when it came to matters regarding their soulmate.

The only other option was that one of the sisters had a child, likely before ever meeting the Mikaelsons.

His eyes darkened considerably at that thought, whilst the image of his darling being maternal and caring for a child made his heart flutter, the thought of his Natalia fathering the child of another man brought out a possessive streak from deep within him.

"Nothings impossible Elijah." she said, breathing out an anxious laugh. "Just improbable."

"You of all people should know that, you know, considering the whole original vampire thing." The look on his face must have shown his hesitance, as it prompted her to further explain.

"We never did tell you how we ended up in England did we?" she asked, tilting her head as she took a seat at the bar, Elijah soon following suit.

"Do enlighten me elskan."

»--•--«

"Breathe Katerina, just breathe!" Natalia advised, mimicking over-exaggerated breathing so that her sister could copy. Then came their mother's voice, "A little more dearest, a little more! Push a little more!"

It had been a long labour, one of pain and upset. At one point she had feared Katerina wouldn't make it out alive. Though with the guidance of their mother she seemed to be doing significantly better now.

"You're almost there sister, just a little more!"

Katerina let out a gasp, breathing heavily whilst looking at the baby bundled in her mother's arms.

"It's a girl." their mother smiled. It was so obviously forced, her eyes held no such joy.

"A girl?" Natalia grinned, she could picture a mini Kat running around and it sounded perfect. Though that dream was soon shattered, fragments falling to reveal the bitter reality.

Her sister would never see her daughter grow.

Katerina seemed to have realised this too, as she soon began begging "Please mother..let me see her.". The woman seemed hesitant, glancing anxiously towards the door before begrudgingly agreeing and beginning to pass the baby to her.

"Woman don't! What are you doing?" A man burst into the room, looking downright furious at the sight he was met with. Their mother cowered under his gaze, immediately snatching the baby back and walking hurriedly towards him.

"Let her at least hold her once!" Natalie argued, outraged.

"Just once, at least once!" Katerina cried.

"Forget it. You have disgraced this family." he spat, his voice laced with a familiar venom.

"Father please! don't do this to her!" Natalia begged, it wasn't fair, her sister didn't deserve this. Unfortunately, she was a woman in the fifteenth century, her opinion meant very little.

Without sparing them another glance their father took off, storming out of the door.

"No, father, no, no!"

Their mother, ever the caretaker, rushed in to comfort her, "No katerina it's better for her! It's better for her!" This only seemed to anger Natalia further, "How can you possibly say that?! Please that child belongs with her mother!"

The woman sighed but ultimately did nothing.

"Please mother please!" katerina was hysterical my this point, crying into her sisters shoulder.

Needless to say her pleas fell on deaf ears.

They were banished the next day.

»--•--«

Elijah found himself to be shocked at this revelation, an unfamiliar emotion for an original vampire. A part of him felt disappointed maybe? Disappointed that his mate hadn't told them this sooner. Though he understood why, she was honouring her sisters wishes. Her loyalty was an honourable thing and one of the many things he loved about her.

Not that this changed anything. Doppelgänger or not, his darling would be returning home with him today. He wasn't going to lose her.
Not again.

Whilst he was distracted, Natalie decided this was her chance. And so she began to subtly text.

'SOS'

A simple message, quick to type, and quick to send. It was what her and Katherine had chosen to be their emergency signal.

"What are you doing?" His sharp voice broke her concentration, causing her phone to go toppling downwards, landing on the floor with a bang.

Hesitantly, she glanced upwards only to be met with dark, downright dangerous eyes. She was slightly taken aback, not used to this look from Elijah.

Using her shock to his advantage, he rushed forwards with supernatural speed. Grasping her phone in one hand and her waist in the other he peered down at the screen.

"SOS," he read aloud, "You've sent this to Katerina."

She quivered under his gaze, her fear for him multiplying.

"I wasn't aware this was an emergency situation." he muttered lowly, his grip on her waist tightening infinitely, gaining a flinch from her.

He didn't like to see his mate in pain, much less being the one to cause it. But a part of him wondered if perhaps she just needed a little push, something to lure her into their arms. Besides, if it meant having his mate with him in the long run, he would do anything.

"No matter, by the time your rescue team arrives, we will be long gone."

"What-,"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, the next second her phone had been flung across the room and his now free hand cupped the back of her neck. His grip wasn't gentle by any means, bordering on painful infact. It sent a message, a message that she wasn't getting away.

"Elijah please.." she begged, hoping to gain some form of sympathy.

"Forgive me Elskan." he said, leaning forwards and resting his forehead on hers. Decidedly ignoring the way she fought him, flailing her limbs around in an attempt to escape.

She hadn't the chance to respond before her neck was snapped and the world faded to nothing.

A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS!! i've updated two books in one day?? it's unheard of,
consider it your christmas present<3

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!

Words: 1376
Originally published: December 25th 2024