Chapter 2
“Ryle Potter”, Elijah greeted the young girl upon entering the Mikaelson Manor. He would be lying for the rest of his life that he did not spend a good minute or two mesmerized by the girl upon her entrance. Though, none could blame him if he were to ever admit it.
The young core witch wore an emerald green ball gown with off shoulders that flowed behind her, making her eyes of the same color appear brighter, accented by her smoky makeup. Red curls were pinned in a half-up half-down style with hair pins that resembled stars and constellations. Both her choker and bracelet seemed to be constellations made of jewels that shined as the light reflected off them. Her red-tinted lips pulled into a soft smile as the young girl looked around.
“Elijah, how have you been?”, Ryle greeted with a slight curtesy and mischievous eyes. Elijah noticing her pretense replied with a bow and offered his arm.
“Well enough.” He replied.
“Is Kol…?”, Ryle looked up at the Original with nervous conflicted eyes skirting around, trying to find the youngest Original brother.
Elijah gave a curious glance. “He should be here. May I ask how you are acquainted with both my brothers?”
Ryle shuffled under his gaze for a minute before straightening her back, to look the vampire in the eye. “Not here”.
Elijah searched her eyes for dishonesty. When he found none, the Noble Original nodded curtly and led her out of the ballroom. “The ball will start soon.”
Ryle let go of Elijah’s arm and walked around, ghosting the paintings with her fingers before finally resting on one. It was a young girl with wild red hair wearing a light blue sun dress twirling around in a field of flowers with bare feet. Her eyes were closed as she turned around to offer a beaming smile.
“I didn’t know Nik painted this”, Ryle smiled softly at the painting. “It was only a few days after we met for the first time, he had visited my manor and I just had to drag him along to enjoy a picnic along with my friends.”
Her smile shimmered down as she recounted. “It was also the day I learned of his curse.”
“How did you meet Niklaus?”, Elijah questioned. “In fact, how did you know Kol?”
Ryle sighed. She figured she couldn’t keep her connections with the two Originals hidden from the older one. Perhaps, with how she is growing distant from the rest of the supernatural citizens of Mystic Falls, it was better to have Elijah’s confidence.
“I met Kol first. I am sure you are aware of core witches and wizards. Well, we have a school where we train our magic, and in my Fourth year, I was forced to enter a competition someone tricked my name into. There was an unofficial party celebrating the start of the tournament and I uh got drunk.” Ryle offered a guilty smile as she recollected.
“And, so did my best friends which meant that we had no one to stop me from doing stupid things. I ended up performing a ritual I found in a grimoire by an ancestor of mine–connecting my soul to Kol’s. This meant that he could live in less pain while anchored to me as he had some connection with the mortal world–but it also meant that he and I couldn’t lie to each other and he could access my memories with no restrictions added and vice versa.”
“Over time, we grew close though we still argued like we did on day one. But, with time we gained each other’s trust completely–or at least I believe we did. And I made him a promise because, I couldn’t get myself to let him suffer when there may have been something I could do to help, because…”
“Because, you fell in love with my brother”. Elijah concluded.
Ryle blushed. “It may be stupid, to love a man I knew through only memories and soul–someone I never met physically. But, I saw him, ‘Lijah. I saw everything he did– I felt everything he did. And, I fell for all of it–the good, the bad and the fucked up.”
Elijah nodded with a small smile. “You understand him like no one ever did. You know him and you accept him. I think, you will do my brother a lot of good. Just as I can see you did Niklaus”.
Elijah had seen both his brothers at their worst and their best. Kol had lost a huge part of himself when he stopped being a witch and just perhaps being around Ryle could soften up the hard edges and splinters that were born out of having a part of him torn.
Ryle offered him a genuine smile which slowly turned into a shy laughter. And suddenly, Elijah could see why two of his brothers were so utterly smitten with the girl– she made them feel human, all the emotions and liveliness but also treated them like they were normal–she accepted them the way they were but did not fear them.
“I met Nikki because of Kol. I wanted to free the man I fell in love with, so in my sixth year, when one of my professors hosted a ball–I sent Niklaus an invitation. Meet him, get closer to him, befriend him—that was the plan. But, at some point, it stopped being a plan and I genuinely started enjoying my time with him. The paintings he made of my friends, me, and our time together; his wit and sarcasm; his bashful kindness; his knowledge; and even his cruelty and anger. I understood where he was coming from. Nikki became one of my best friends and closest confidants.”
Finally, Elijah felt like he understood the bond this young witch shared with both his brothers– she accepted them and loved them and they, her. He noticed how little she spoke of Kol-as if she was unsure of her relationship with him and, for a second Elijah wanted to laugh, anyone with eyes could he loved her and she had nothing to be nervous about-though he understood where she was coming from.
Elijah let his mind and heart let hope creep in for a second that perhaps she would fester a similar bond with him. It was a lonely life he lived so far–every love he ever had killed either by his hand or his brother’s, with no one to rely on. Even as he pushed the hope into the deepest parts of his heart, he couldn’t help the envy he felt. Kol will have this girl loving him and caring for him with none daring to take her away–Klaus wouldn’t do something to hurt her no matter how much it destroyed him, Elijah figured as much based on the few times his brother spoke of and with her.
“Elijah,” Ryle’s voice full of honesty and gratefulness brought him out of his dark thoughts. “Thank you very much.”
Elijah looked at her questioningly.
“You freed Kol. Klaus was supposed to do that in exchange for getting rid of Mikael–but you did it, and I am, forever grateful for it. Besides, you could’ve left Niklaus despite your mother’s word and didn’t, so I owe you a lot.”
“I did what I had to do. My siblings did not deserve to rot in those coffins and, I would not break my mother’s word and leave my family when I only got it back”.
Ryle shook her head with a chuckle before looking at the older male with a soft smile. “Perhaps, but you did it anyway and for that I am grateful. Maybe, now that you plan on staying we could meet for tea, tomorrow?”
Elijah looked surprised by the offer. “You have nothing to owe me.”
“Tea?” Ryle pressed the offer, looking expectant.
“Why?”
“Can I not simply get to know the brother of the man I love and my best friend? Besides, you seem interesting–and after so many years on earth, you surely have a lot of interesting things to share”.
-*-
As he saw her smiling brightly in his youngest brother’s arms- looking perfect, as if she was born to be with him and he to hold her- later that night Elijah wondered why he agreed, though he knew that it was because he simply wanted a company that would expect nothing other than to know the various wonders he had seen, perhaps he simply wanted to share tea with someone without an ulterior motive. Whatever the reason, he was glad he agreed.
He did not know the various troubles they would have to face the very next day and many more after that–but he also didn’t know that that night he had found the thread that would bind his family together. Keeping every single one of them happy for years to come–someone he would share tea with while discussing everything and anything(not gossiping!), someone who would make them all better persons, someone who would be the reason they remain a family first– letting nothing break them apart–not their mother, not the residents of Mystic Falls and not even the love Kol, Klaus and hide it as he may, Elijah, share for the girl–because in the end, she would choose Kol in every lifetime, and for once, both Klaus and Elijah would be okay with having her as a friend and family.
She would grow to be their connection, their humanity.