thequeenofdrama:

A man may court a pretty girl
And perhaps be welcomed back again
[inspired by this]

They stand together in the hall outside the ballroom. Elena smooths down her dress while Elijah fixes his hair.

About to step in, Elena stops him, placing her hand against his chest. “Wait, your tie.” She steps in front of him and attempts to adjust it.

After a moment of fidgeting with it, Elena huffs impatiently, removing the tie and starting over.

The navy blue of the necktie matches her dress. Elijah feels her tighten the knot and is reminded of events that transpired late last night. He makes a low humming noise and places his hand on her hip.

Elena smirks up at him and whispers “Later,” moving away from his touch. She slips his arm through his and they move into the ballroom.

Hours pass, men and women stroll up and speak to Elena, occasionally attempting to converse with Elijah. The benefit is dull, but all of the doctors are expected to attend.

Near the very end of the night, a woman approaches with the greeting “Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert!” Elena smiles and says hello. The woman doesn’t try to stir idle chit-chat out of him, so Elijah checks out of the conversation.

After a few minutes, Elijah notices the back of Elena’s dress has become unzipped, and innocently fixes it for her. One of his fingers trails up her spine as he does so, causing Elena to shiver and stutter in her speech before composing herself again.

When the woman walks away, Elena turns her head towards him and smiles. Her eyes have darkened.

Elijah leans closer and says in a low hush “Has ‘later’ arrived?”

Elena mimics his earlier hum. The cold metal of her daylight ring presses against the skin on his wrist.

Within moments they have escaped from the ballroom, and Elena’s dress has been discarded entirely.

(S2 AU/Deleted Scene)

After the stake is out of Stefan’s stomach and Jenna has returned with arms full of blood bags, Elena escapes from the room.

Damon’s blood is still on her mouth. She wants to wipe it off, but her fingers refuse. She doesn’t want to touch it.

She finds herself descending into the cellar. There are too many people upstairs, but the cellar, the cellar is dark and quiet. She wobbles and almost trips off the last step.

Elena collapses against the nearest wall. Her hands are shaking. Everything is shaking. She slides down and lands on the floor.

She can feel Damon’s blood inside her. Poison. She wants to scratch it out of her skin, wants to vomit it up, wants to cry out, but she can’t move. She shakes and stares at her knees.

Suddenly, the sound of a footstep. And another. She looks up. It isn’t Damon. She looks back down and hides her face in her knees.

The figure kneels in front of her. Elena inhales deeply and raises her eyes. Elijah glances at her bloody lips. He pulls out a handkerchief and offers it to her.

She takes it, the fabric soft against her fingertips, and presses it to her mouth. She releases the held breath and closes her eyes.

“The elixir will no longer work.”

Elena nods. Her eyes are wet. She hadn’t realized she was crying.

“I’m sorry, Elena.”

She lowers the handkerchief. There is a shiver in her lungs when she exhales. “It doesn’t matter.”

It does matter, but she can’t say that. Not to him. She’s built up an image of herself, of a strong, fearless knight. She can’t say it does matter. She can’t say i want to be human, i want to be human so bad it’s crushing me, i want to marry my soulmate in the daylight without a ring keeping me from turning into ash, i want to watch my children grow up in a world without monsters, i want my hair to turn gray and my skin to wrinkle, i want to live. She can see in his eyes how he views her as something more than human, and she can’t bear to see another person disappointed in her.

Stefan has already seen the vulnerable teenage girl. She can tell this all to him, later.

Elena holds out the handkerchief. She doesn’t look at the patches of blood on the white fabric. She looks into Elijah’s eyes, summoning her strength and her anger to appear in hers. “I’m still going through with the sacrifice.”

Elijah takes the handkerchief, tucks it into his coat pocket, and nods as if he had expected this. He stands and holds out his hand for her. She stares at it for a moment before taking it.

When she stands next to him, there is a moment where they don’t move. She watches him. He watches her. Then, he steps back, silently letting her take the lead.

Elena walks out of the cellar with Elijah behind her, her spine iron, her gaze ice.

(She remembers this moment when Klaus offers her his hand. Her body is flush with Damon’s blood. (With Stefan’s devotion, with Elijah’s respect, with Jenna’s warmth and Jeremy’s affection, with the adoration of Bonnie and Caroline. (And, most importantly, with her own fury and spite.)) She remembers this moment and stands on her own, walks past Klaus without looking at him. It’s time to be the warrior she has made herself out to be.)

stephendenes:

He lives by code of honor, I can trust him.

kolijahs:

Elejah + negotiating

#I’m in love with how arrogant elijah is in these scenes #”you’re negotiating? oh that’s so cute” #and then she turns the tables on him #because you’re wrong elijah #she does have something left to negotiate with #and you told her the first time you made a deal with her #”you don’t know where he is do you?” #you gave elena all the information she needed #”I’d like to see you lure klaus back to mystic falls when the doppleganger has bled to death” #so yes she’s renegotiating #and when you accept her deal she stabs a dagger through your heart #this is a really good gifset #just look at how amused elijah looks at first #the first time elena doesn’t stand a chance #she’s just an object in elijah’s eyes; she’s the doppleganger #it doesn’t really matter what she says #and when she has something she can use (the location of the moonstone) #he compells it out of her #but the second time she tries he comes into her room and offers her a deal #he’s not expecting to negotiate #but he’ll allow it; after all having stefan out of the tomb would be beneficial for him as well #it’s beautiful to me how elijah underestimates elena at first #he offered her a deal as a courtesy; and she turned it around and used it all to her advantage #he gave her an inch of control back; she waited for the right moment and then pulled it out of his hands #tvd #elena gilbert #elijah #elejah #i love elejah because of power balances and family dynamics