Return and Remember

Calm Threats and Broken Ground

Elena felt her heart stand still. She instantly regretted coming out here with him, without calling anyone.

"You don't have anything to be afraid of, Elena. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just explaining something. My family is all I have. I will do whatever it takes to protect them. As I said, no matter what my feelings for may be, if you hurt my family again, I won't hesitate to hurt you." He finished with a hint of pain in his voice.

Elena swallowed, hard. "Elijah, I hated playing a part in Esther's plan. I just wanted to kill Klaus. I didn't want you to be caught up in it, and I deeply regret it. As for Rebekah," She paused, looking down at the ground, suddenly nervous. "I didn't want stab her, but I did it for protection."

Elijah lifted her head with his hand, his eyes brimming with tears. "I trusted you, Elena. Rebekah would never hurt you unless you threatened our family. We protect each other. I notice how protective you are of Jeremy." He paused, waiting for an answer before he continued.

Elena nodded.

"Would you kill someone to protect him?" Elijah asked, gazing in her eyes.

Elena gulped. "I would." She replied with certainty.

Elijah nodded. "That is how we are. We would go to great lengths to make sure our family is protected."

Elena nodded in understanding. She never actually took the time to think about the Mikaelson relationship. She just assumed they were being menacing, and keeping the vampire line intact.

"Elijah, I don't know what to say. All I can and hope is that you will forgive me for what I've done." She replied, tears forming in her eyes.

Elijah stepped back, and took a deep breath. "I forgave you a long time ago. I just wanted to let you know my place."

Elena closed the distance between them. "I understand now, why you do what you do. I understand to a degree why Klaus does what he does, but that doesn't mean I agree with it."

"Klaus has changed over the past few days, Elena. I know you haven't seen it, but he has. You can thank your blond friend." Elijah remarked with a smile.

"Caroline?" Elena asked, shock displaying on her features.

Elijah nodded before speaking again. "Caroline brings out a piece of Klaus I have thought was gone, but she is slowly bringing it out of him. In fact, for the past few days, Klaus has shown no other interest except in her, and believe me, I have known him for over a thousand years, and he genuinely cares for her, and she for him."

"Why are you telling me this? Klaus has no feelings. If he had he wouldn't have killed my aunt, or taken Stefan and turned him into a ripper." Elena ranted.

Elijah smiled at her words. "I'm telling you because you need to understand. Klaus has never had anyone care for him, except family. Now Caroline shows up and shows him what he has been missing in his life. If he had met her before he came to Mystic Falls, maybe things would have been different. You need to understand, Elena, Klaus has finally found someone to care enough to bring him out of the darkness. I know this is hard for you to except, but Caroline is his light, just like you are the light for Stefan, Damon, and others." Elijah replied, conveniently leaving himself out of the mix.

Elena let his words sink in. Maybe he was right, maybe Klaus was changing. She had noticed the way he was with Caroline the night of the ball, and the way she lit up when she was dancing with him. Caroline Forbes was falling for Niklaus Mikaelson.

Elena smiled. She walked passed Elijah toward the boulders, and she leaned against them. She looked up to see Elijah waiting for her speak.

"When we were kids, Caroline, Bonnie, and I pretended that we were princesses and we imagined one day our princes would come and save us. We would dance around imagining what they would look like, and how they would act." Elena stated, dreamily.

"Caroline wanted someone who would treat her like a lady, someone who would need her to help him. She always imagined herself as either Cinderella or Belle. Bonnie wanted someone who would tease her, compliment her, and talk to. She imagined herself as Belle too. I wanted someone who would protect me. Someone, I could connect with on so many levels." Elena remembered, simultaneously forgetting who her company was.

Elena smiled, and then let out a sigh. "I guess Caroline found her Beast and her Prince Charming all rolled into one." She replied, finally looking at Elijah with tears in her eyes.

Elijah walked forward and leaned beside Elena on the boulder. "What about you? Have you found your prince?" He asked softly.

Elena leaned her head back and looked at the sky. Tears fell from her eyes as she thought about it.

"I thought I did in Stefan, but after everything that has happened, I don't think he is." She paused, as she wiped the tears away. "Then there is Damon. He thinks of himself as prince charming, which has to rescue the damsel in distress, and I'll admit he does consume me. I do care about him, but I'm starting to think of him as a friend, a brother." She paused again, this time to look down at her hands.

She wasn't sure about how to finish. She stood up and began to walk towards the car when she felt the ground giving way. She turned to scream, and then felt arms around her waist as the ground gave way.

Suddenly, she and Elijah fell down into the newly formed hole in the ground, and her world went black.