Ardent | Elijah Mikaelson

Chapter 14

Everyone was distressed.

Over an hour had passed. The Salvatores weren't dead, Caroline wasn't dead, Evangeliya wasn't dead.

But Tyler was. And so was Elena.

Rebekah had caused the car with the two Gilbert siblings inside of it to topple over Wickery Bridge, plunging into the water below. If Elena hadn't begged Jeremy to turn around so she could say goodbye to Stefan, they wouldn't have been there. Then again, Rebekah might have caught them further ahead on the way to Damon. Or maybe, if Jeremy hadn't tried to get his sister to safety at all, Rebekah would have burned their house down with the two inside of it.

Stefan had found them, but not fast enough. Their car was already submerged when he arrived. Per Elena's request, he saved Jeremy first. By the time he was able to return for her, she was already gone.

Evangeliya didn't go to the hospital with the rest of them. She wouldn't be welcome and didn't care to see the aftermath of a drowning victim. Instead, she went to the high school, pacing and waiting for news, holding her phone out and devastating whether she should now call Lucien and Tristan to tell them what'd happened. She decided against it. They didn't need to know, she didn't need to be telling them every little thing.

"So, what happened?" she asked Elijah as she met him at a hotel per his request. (It seemed he and Rebekah were now mad at each other and he didn't wish to stay at the mansion.)

Elijah's eyes flickered to the floor. "Elena had vampire blood in her system. She is in transition."

"Oh, wow. How? Is she going to–?"

"No," said Elijah, rubbing his forehead. "Meredith Fell gave her the blood when she was at the hospital earlier, without her knowledge. She has never wished to be a vampire."

"Why do you look so guilty? You couldn't have done anything to prevent this."

"Rebekah and I had an argument after she came to confirm Niklaus's death with me. She left, I decided to go after you. I am cross with her for taking this path, harming Elena and Jeremy. She is upset that I am scolding her for it, upset that I went to save you instead of joining her, instead of understanding why she felt the need to do this. I reminded her about preserving innocent life. She declared Elena was hardly innocent."

"I mean, she's kind of right," said Evangeliya truthfully. "If I gave a shit about Klaus, I would have looked for the easiest way to kill Alaric and that... was it. Obviously she didn't want to risk a fight that could end in all of you dying. She avenged her brother. That's that."

"At the expense of Elena Gilbert's life."

"From Rebekah's perspective, I get it. She stabbed her in the back, and Elena helped orchestrate Finn's death. Elena has been losing her innocence for awhile already. As someone who also loved her siblings very dearly... I can see Rebekah's side of it. But I'm not going to get into that, it's your family, your problems."

His lip twitched, replying in a slightly playful tone, "The one time you decide to stay out of things."

She half-smiled. "This is the one time I'm not really in the mood for getting involved. In fact, I shouldn't be here, Elijah. You are grieving. I'm not. I think I need to step aside and give you space." She patted his shoulder. "From the girl I once was, I am sorry for your loss. As the woman I now am... I can't be here. I'll be back in Bulgaria. Same place as before. If you'd like to join me, you're welcome to."

She didn't go straight to the airport. She called Lucy, and together, they went to a bar, taking celebratory shots to Klaus's demise. They performed a karaoke duet for the other patrons, then proceeded to enter a club to dance and drink some more.