𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍:
The neck biter
(S2:E15 — The dinner party)

"THE OLD FELL PROPERTY ACTUALLY STARTS JUST BEYOND THAT FENCE," Jenna tells Elijah, pointing towards the direction of the Fell property.

"Ah, the Fells... one of the Founding Families," Elijah says mockingly.

"Why do you say it like that?" Jenna questions with an amused smile.

"My research showed me that this area was actually settled almost two full centuries earlier. It was a migration of townsfolk from the northeast," Elijah motions his hand on the land they are walking in. "It was Salem, to be precise."

"Massachusetts? As in the witch trials?"

"Which means the ever-lauded founding families...They didn't actually found anything."

"Well, I bet it was the men who made a big deal about being founders back in 1860," Jenna tells him as they halt. "Men are very territorial."

Elijah grins as he sees Alaric Saltzman walking towards them, "Yes, they are."

Jenna smiles at him as she introduces Alaric to Elijah, "Elijah, this is my friend, Alaric Saltzman."

"Yeah, I got your message about walking Elijah here through the old property lines. I thought I would tag along. You know, being a history buff and all." Alaric tells them as Jenna purses her lips, feeling awkward. "Where to next?"

"I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners. Some say, you know, the descendants of the slaves are the true keepers of American history." Elijah informs them, and Jenna nods as she walks away, "Well, I only brought the surveys. I got the list in the car. Just give me a sec." Elijah and Alaric watched as Jenna walked away.

"Alaric Saltzman." Elijah greets him in a knowing tone. " So you're one of those people on Elena's list of loved ones to protect."

"So is Jenna." Alaric answers with a serious look on his features, and Elijah grins.

"You don't have to be jealous," Elijah says softly yet mockingly. Then he fixes his coat as he walks away, patting Alaric's shoulder.

"I am spoken for."

───⊱⁜⊰───

"CLEMENTINE." Genesis greets as she sits on the stool with Clementine behind the bar, her long black hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a white shirt, a black apron, and denim pants. Clementine perks up as she sees her, "Gen. What can I get you?"

"Cosmopolitan to start the day," Genesis tells her, and Clementine nods as she starts making Genesis's drink.

"Now, where did you learn to mix alcohol?" Genesis asked intriguingly with a raised eyebrow, putting her elbow on the bar's surface and placing her chin on her palm.

Clementine laughs lightly as she shakes her head, "Filipino reunions are wild. A lot of alcohol, and I get to watch how they make it, mostly involving fire." Clementine tells her, and Genesis leans forward in interest.

Clementine smiles, explaining. "We have this drink, and we call it gin bilog. In the bottle, we pour a powdered lime juice—or any flavor of your choosing, shake it, and then since gin has 40% alcohol and to lessen the alcohol content as you pour the gin in a pitcher, you get your lighter and lighten it and like the fire goes inside the gin bottle."

Clementine demonstrates—without a lighter, a bottle then places her palm on top of the bottle, shaking it, "Then you repeat that until the bottle has like a spoon full of liquid of the gin, you light it up again, you dunk it in the pitcher full of gin and the powdered lime mixture then the bottle sucks up the liquid from the pitcher. Then it's done."

"And you know this because you tried it? Or?" Genesis asks, amused.

"Okay, in my defense, in the Philippines, there is no drinking age—there is a law, but we don't follow it, and my cousins are very condoning." Clementine tells her with a laugh, "But their only condition is I only drink with them—or my mom. They told me not to trust people, even friends, to drink with. One of my cousins had a bad experience." Clementine explains, and Genesis nods thoughtfully as Clementine serves her drink.

"A cosmopolitan," Clementine says with a bright smile.

Genesis takes the glass in her hands, "Thank you, sweety." She takes a sip and gives Clementine an approving look, saying, "You should listen to them. When it comes to alcohol, many things happen—mostly unconsented things." Genesis tells her with a knowing look, and Clementine agrees with a nod.

"In the Philippines, 18 is the legal age for drinking—so I'm allowed, but here it's 21, so there's no drinking for me here." Clementine chuckles as she wipes the table clean.

"Only when you get home in the summer."

"Until then," Clementine replies with a soft giggle. Someone calls her, and Clementine looks at Genesis, "Call me when you need me." Genesis smiles at her as Clementine approaches the person who's ordering a drink.

Genesis felt a presence behind her, and she smiled as she took a sip of her drink, bringing it down to the table, "Elijah." turning her stool around and facing Elijah, who was wearing a black suit with a dark purple oxford shirt.

"Genesis." Elijah greets her with his rich and deep voice. His voice always had an effect on her, and Genesis thinks it always will. "Can I join you for a drink?"

"Of course," Genesis motions her hand on the empty stool beside her, and Elijah nods, sitting with his calm yet authoritative posture—it radiates power. He oozes power out of every perfect pore, filling the room with his presence.

"Indulge me, Mr. Mikaelson. Tell me your darkest secrets. I'm quite thirsty to know. A woman has to stay hydrated. Do you not agree?" Genesis asks, her voice is alluring, low, and soft.

Elijah gives her a mischievous smile as he removes his black coat, folding it and placing it on his lap. His dark purple oxford shirt fitted him perfectly, and it accented the shape of his arms and his broad chest yet lean frame.

"I wholeheartedly agree with your statement, Ms. Ackerman." Elijah looks at her deep green eyes as if they are boring to her soul, his voice brushing over her skin as if it was caressing her, lulling her.

"Have you ever loved before?" Genesis asks curiously. One thing about Genesis, she doesn't beat around the bush. If she wants something, she has to know everything.

Elijah gives her a curt nod as his eyes soften like he is thinking about something—probably the woman he loved.

Genesis's jaw tightened, and she felt a tinge of jealousy.

"How did you meet her? The woman whom you love dearly," Genesis asks, hiding the annoyance in her voice. She crosses her legs and takes a sip of her drink.

"Her magnificent voice enchanted me, lured me, and entranced me in such a dreamy state," Elijah tells Genesis. Everything about his face seemed to lighten and full of affection, adoration, and love.

She wished someone talked about her like Elijah spoke about the love of his life. She understood. She knows that Elijah has loved before, and she did too.

As vampires, love, loss, and grief are familiar companions.

And as she observes Elijah's expression. Genesis will be another passerby in Elijah's life because he will be too in her life.

Genesis experienced loss before, and what she's assuming this tie-knotting between her and Elijah will pass too. After a few decades or centuries, they'll become strangers to one another—strangers full of unforgettable memories.

"I'm jealous of the woman who occupies your heart, Mr. Mikaelson," Genesis tells him, and Elijah grins, shaking his head, amused.

"She occupies my heart in every waking moment, but I don't have her."

I had her, and I did something incredibly and utterly idiotic. Elijah refrains himself as Genesis furrows her eyebrows at him, confused, and Elijah smiles. Goodness, she looks adorable.

"Just yet." Elijah continues. Genesis gives him a forced smile, and Elijah notices he knows her better than anyone. He knows every thought she has, like the back of his hand—he memorized her. She thinks I'm talking about another woman.

"Well, I do hope you'll have her."

"I will." Elijah looks at her intently with a tilted head and a smile.

Genesis hoped he was talking about her, and she had a fucking incredible voice, after all.

"I'm a man on a mission, after all."

"A mission for love while wearing his best suit?" Genesis teases, and Elijah chuckles—it is attractively deep.

"All thanks to you." Elijah smiles at her as he clasps his hands together on the table. Clementine approaches them before Genesis can respond.

Clementine greets him, "Elijah." Elijah furrows his eyebrows as his eyes scan the restaurant—they need to ensure that no one knows that Clementine knows Elijah.

"Don't worry, they left." Clementine assures him and asks, "What can I get you?"

"Whiskey on the rocks," Elijah tells her with a small smile. Clementine nods as she puts ice in the glass and pours him a drink, placing it in front of him. "Thank you, Clementine." Clementine smiles at him as she walks away.

Elijah's eyes slide to Genesis, "Should I expect your presence in this dinner party that Damon is hosting?" as he takes a sip of his drink, eyes still focused on her.

"I'll be there." Genesis grins, leaning forward in his direction, continuing in a low voice, almost mocking, "They plan to kill you with the dagger."

"I know." Elijah acknowledges with a nod.

"They don't know that we have it."

"And it shall remain that way."

───⊱⁜⊰───

"HOW DID HE EVEN GET HIS HANDS ON THE DAGGER?" Genesis asks Niklaus on the phone, his voice on speaker as she gardens.

Niklaus grumbles out annoyedly. "Must have been those bloody witches who made another dagger for those vampire hunters."

Genesis snickers as she waters her plants, "They are not fond of you, are they?"

Niklaus rolls his eyes, "Of course they're not. Basically, their life's purpose is to end the hybrid abomination's life."

Genesis's movements halted as her voice softened. "You're not an abomination, Niklaus."

He responds with a sigh. "I know, I know, you told me dozens of times."

"Well, you need reminding dozens of times." Genesis chuckles, continuing, "Besides, you couldn't exactly control that your mother had an affair with a man who's a werewolf. Who would've thought mummy original had the guts to cheat."

"If I'm married to a man like my father. I would too." Niklaus responds with a huff.

Genesis shakes her head as she places the water hose back in place. "When are you really planning to break your curse?"

Niklaus puckers his lip to the side, face morphing to amusement.

To be honest, he's really prolonging the whole curse-breaking at the moment—he was far too entertained when he called Elijah about how things were going.

There are just two minutes of updates then the conversation is all about Genesis.

Then Niklaus calls Genesis after his call with Elijah, and Genesis is confused about why Elijah is looking at her in an odd way and how blatantly he is flirting with her—then resulting in Niklaus dodging Genesis's questions on who was the woman Elijah loved.

Niklaus couldn't precisely tell Genesis that it was her.

"I'll be there in the next two weeks. I have to sort some things first." Niklaus tells her. It was a bullshit excuse, but Genesis doesn't know that.

"Good. Because I've been dying to go back to Paris and buy this new Louis Vuitton bag, I saw." Genesis sighs dreamily as she imagines herself buying the bag.

Niklaus chuckles. "You and your addiction to designer things. You'll get it once I break my curse."

Genesis perks up, tone teasing. "You'll buy me the bag?"

"No." Niklaus deadpanned replies.

"You're no fun."

Niklaus shakes his head, a smile on his lips, "But my brother might." If Genesis asks something from Elijah. I'm sure she'll never hear the word, 'no.'

Genesis nods thoughtfully, and a hum escapes her lips. "He might, after all I did, alert him about the dagger."

"I'm still rethinking if that is a good idea. He is a spoilsport." Niklaus tells her with a snicker.

"Really?"

"Yes. Really."

Genesis grins as she recalls, "Because he did impress me thrice."

Niklaus perks up, "And Genesis Ackerman is hard to impress. Care to elaborate."

Genesis washes her hands, drying her hands with a towel as she takes a glass bottle filled with iced coffee. Taking the cap off, she takes a sip, leaning on the kitchen counter in thought, "Well, he did have this method of killing people by ripping their hearts out of their chests."

Niklaus hums. Elijah once mentioned that when Genesis was no longer by his hide that he felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest. "We have our own methods of killing people, Crimson."

Genesis rolls her eyes, "Okay, neck biter."

Niklaus releases an annoyed scoff, "Goodbye, Genesis."

A burst of laughter rumbled from her chest. Niklaus is too easy to annoy. "Bye, bye, Niklaus." and Genesis literally felt Niklaus roll his eyes as he ended the call.

Rose walks up to her and says, "Do you easily get under his skin."

"Yes." Genesis answers with a nod, "Way too much for his own liking." Genesis puts the cap back in the bottle and places it back in the fridge.

"Do you think it worked?" Rose asks her worriedly.

"Of course. Jonas said it'll last about four hours." Genesis answers, assuring Rose. They replaced the dagger with a regular iron rod and the white oak ash into baby powder and illusioned.

It worked wonders.

Damon hasn't called in a panic, after all.

For all he knows that it's still in the small wooden chest in their study.

Genesis and Rose decided to head towards the Salvatore house for the dinner party but they stopped by first in Mystic Cafe, buying strawberry cheesecake and Giana giving them a free box of cupcakes because it's a new recipe she tried out.

Giana told her that Clementine loves Sans Rival cake, so Giana wanted a cupcake version of a Sans Rival cake for Clementine's upcoming 19th birthday. Genesis insisted on paying, but Giana insisted that it was free.

"We brought strawberry cheesecake," Genesis says as she places the white box on the dining table.

"And sans rival cupcakes," Rose adds, placing it beside the strawberry cheesecake box. Andie Star saunters over and asks. "Is that from Mystic Cafe?"

"Yup." Rose answers with a curt nod, and Andie hums, "Yum." dragging out her words, and Rose and Genesis shared a look, and they walked away, seeing Damon and Alaric in the study.

"Hey." Genesis greets them.

"Gen, Ro." Damon acknowledges them as Alaric gives them a nod, looking back at Damon. "Listen, no sneak attacks. No surprise plans. Nothing that's gonna put Jenna in harm's way. Okay?" Alaric warns.

Damon nods along, raising his palm, "Scout's honor." he pats Alaric's shoulder. Andie walks towards them, saying, "Hey, Jenna needs help with the wine." Alaric nods, looking back at Damon, and heads towards the kitchen, closing the door shut of the study.

Damon takes a sip of his bourbon and places it on the table. Moving fast towards the small wooden chest, taking out the dagger and the white oak wood ash. Andie stands beside him, looking at the dagger and ash with curiosity, asking what it is, with Damon answering with dessert.

Genesis gives Rose an 'I told you so.' look while Rose teasingly rolls her eyes at her as they walk towards Damon.

"What's Alaric on about?" Genesis asks with a raised eyebrow.

"You know, the usual, reprimanding me."

"He only reprimands you when you're planning on doing something stupid." Rose points out, and Damon shrugs innocently.

Genesis sighs, grabbing his arm and making him face her. "Are you going to do something stupid?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Let's find out." Damon answers in a mocking tone.

"For fucksake, Damon." Genesis rolls her eyes as she walks towards the brown leather couch, sitting down with a plop. She took her phone out of her medium Prada galleria saffiano black leather bag. Seeing Elijah's text that he is on his way.

Rose sits on the other end of the couch, pouring herself a drink. "I think I need a lot of this tonight."

Genesis lightly laughs, shaking her head, and they hear John Gilbert being unwelcome in the house. A few minutes later, the door rings again. Genesis and Rose look at each other, with Rose wiggling her eyebrows, Genesis huffs, but a smile crept her face.

They listened in.

"Good evening." Elijah greets, with his usual deep and husky voice.

"Thank you for coming. Please, come in."

"Just one moment...Can I just say that if you have anything less than honorable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider." Elijah warns.

"No, nothing, nothing dishonorable. Just getting to know you." Damon tells him in an assured tone.

Elijah hums, "Well, that's good. Because, you know, although Elena and I have this deal, if you so much as make a move to cross me, I'll kill you, and I'll kill everyone in this house. Are we clear?"

Genesis looks at Rose with a teasing look on her face, mouthing, "Hot." Rose scoffs as they both stand up from the couch, with Rose going to the dining room and Genesis walking toward the front door to greet Elijah.

"Crystal," Damon responds with a tight lip smile.

Elijah brightens as he sees Genesis's figure behind Damon as he walks up to her, "Genesis."

"Elijah." Genesis smiles at him. Walking side-by-side. Elijah then says, looking at her intently, "You look stunningly beautiful as always."

Genesis then smooths his coat with her hands, saying, "And you look dashing in a suit as always." Elijah chuckles, smoothly placing a hand on her waist as they arrive in the dining room. With the others already seated.

Elijah pulls out a chair for her, and Genesis gives him a grateful look as she sits on the chair, with him sitting beside her.

Damon arrives, warily looking at Elijah before sitting in the head chair of the table. As they ate, the topic of conversation was Elijah's research about the founding families not really being the first settlers in Mystic Falls to witches in Salem—with Andie contradicting that there's no tangible proof that they were witches in Salem.

Oh, they are witches, and Genesis witnesses how they were hunted and wrongly persecuted for the things they didn't do but blamed for it.

So, now Genesis, Rose, Damon, and Elijah are in the study.

"It's quite a collection you have here."

Damon hums as the dagger that he hid in the alcohol rack turns into an iron rod—he looks at Rose and Genesis in panic, with them giving her a confused look.

"It's a funny thing about books. Before they existed, people actually had memories." Elijah tells them, turning around and facing them with a glass of whiskey in his hand. Elijah grins as he looks at Damon, looking for the dagger.

Elijah takes the dagger from his coat pocket and says, "Looking for this." in a taunting tone. Damon's head snaps towards him—trying not to look panicked as Rose and Genesis back away.

Damon furrows his eyebrows in bewilderment. "Ho–How did you get that?"

Elijah places the glass of whiskey on the table, "It doesn't matter." Elijah responds with his voice threateningly low as he slowly approaches Damon.

"I told you not to cross me, Damon. Or else there will be horrible consequences. But I am willing to let this matter go because." Elijah halts his movement as he cracks his neck.

"Because what?" Damon asks frustratedly.

Then Elijah grabbed him by the neck and pushed him towards the wall, stabbing Damon in the chest using the dagger.

"I get to do this,"

Damon yells out in pain as Elijah throws him on the other side of the room like a ragdoll while Genesis and Rose watch.

Elijah sped in front of him, placing a foot on Damon's chest and locking him in place.

"Fun fact about this dagger, any demon of the night who wields this dagger to kill an original dies." Elijah then kicks him in the chest, sending him to the other side of the room again while Rose and Genesis's eyes follow their movements.

Damon groans in pain. Elijah croaches before him, stabbing Damon's knee with a dagger. Damon yells out again.

"It looks like whoever gave this to you wanted to get you killed." Elijah harshly removes the dagger as he stands up, taking a handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiping the blood off the dagger, and throwing it in Damon's face.

"You owe me two handkerchiefs already," Elijah tells him as he cracks his knuckles. Fixing the sleeve of his suit and smoothing out the wrinkle, he tucks the dagger back into his suit pocket.

Then Alaric barges in with Andie with a confused yet alarmed look on his face when he sees Damon, bleeding and trying to stand from the ground.

"What the hell?" Alaric questions with furrowed brows as Andie rushes towards Damon, helping him stand.

"Please inform Jenna that I have gone home, and an emergency has come up and is in need of my dire attention," Elijah tells Alaric, and before Alaric can even respond, Elijah is out the door.

Rose looks at Genesis and asks, "Want to go home?"

Genesis nods as she says in a teasing tone, "We're totally bringing home the strawberry cheesecake and sans rival cupcakes since dessert is canceled."

"Totally. I think it goes well with red wine." Rose responds with a light laugh.

Author's Note:
— Elijah in this chapter🥵
— That is it for birthday updates! Chapter 13 & 14 are published!