chapter five,

She looked beautiful in golden sunlight which filtered through his blinds. He'd never seen her in that way before. Their relationship had been strictly platonic. Or had it? He couldn't remember ever agreeing to have a strict friendship, nor could he remember a silent agreement. Or maybe he couldn't remember. He couldn't remember much of the past year and a half.

"Thank God," Marian heard as she opened her eyes. "God Annie, don't do that to me again." She frowned. Why was Jeremy there? Where was she? The last thing she remembered was Bonnie and her trying to break the boundary of the tomb. Bonnie! "Hey, it's okay. You're okay. Just relax," Jeremy said, pushing her shoulders down slightly as she sat up quickly.

"What happened?" she tried, though she could hardly find her voice.

"We thought you'd died," Jeremy said slowly. "You fainted when you and Bonnie were trying to get me out of the tomb. God, Annie, your heart stopped beating for a while!" Marian frowned.

Marian breathed slowly as he placed a hand on hers, his touch calming her slightly. She felt something pushing against her head. "What's this?" she croaked, lifting up the old teddy bear from the sheets. "I thought you said you didn't sleep with Mr. D Bear anymore," she teased softly.

Jeremy's heart warmed seeing the smile return to her face. He was scared at one point that he'd lost her last night. He felt guilty—he'd kissed Bonnie Bennett when he should've been here with his best friend the whole time, taking care of her—though not as guilty as the witch did, for she had kissed her best friend's crush.

"Ha ha. Okay, fine. But you made me believe your dad was a celebrity, and when that blew up you made me believe he was a spy and left to protect his family," he rebutted. He could see a smile slowly forming on her face.

"Who was it who tried to convince me he stopped smoking but still reeked of pot," she countered.

"Okay, okay," he said. "You win." She giggled.

"And let's not forget when I walked in on you making out with your pillow one time and you said you were 'just having a nightmare'," she continued with a haughty laugh. She pushed the sheets off of her and slowly sat up on the bed. "What time is it?" She didn't want to think about Jeremy on top of her anymore. She couldn't.

"Nine."

"You're kidding," she sighed, leaning back once more.

"No, it says so right here." He pointed to the clock on his wall.

"God, it's too early." He noticed her eyes closing once again, and he let her. She was fatigued. She'd almost died. She had died; her heart had stopped after he'd kissed Bonnie Bennett.

"Come on, you should get up," he told her. "I'll call your mom to pick you up." She begrudgingly obliged after he opened the blinds more, letting the late morning sun blind her momentarily. He offered her a set of Elena's clothes, explaining that hers had gotten ruined when they'd run from the tomb last night. Only then did she realise that she wasn't wearing her clothes, but instead a pair of pyjama pants and one of Elena's t-shirts.

"Did you change my clothes?" she asked wearily as he stood outside his bedroom while she changed.

"Elena did," he said, looking down. He was glad she couldn't see him.

"Okay. Good." She paused. "Is Mom here?" she asked him.

"Actually, that Elijah guy who's staying at your house said he'd take you home. He's downstairs. Apparently your Mom's busy," he answered.

"Oh." With everything that had happened yesterday, she'd almost forgotten that Elijah had been there in the first place. Jeremy walked over to his desk, grabbing Marian's bag from beside it and handing it to her.

"Come on, I think he's leaving now."

The two made their way downstairs where Elena and Jenna stood talking to Elijah. They stopped when they saw the pair, Elena looking relieved.

"Hey," Jenna greeted. "How are you? Jer said you were feeling a little sick."

Marian smiled warmly, looking sideways at Jeremy before speaking. "Oh, yeah I feel great. I think I ate too much chocolate last night or something," she lied. She wasn't all too sure what he had told her, but she hoped that her lie would be enough.

She turned the corner to see her uncle standing in the hallway, a smile on his face. "Hello, Marian," he said.

"Oh, hi ... Elijah." She wasn't used to not calling him 'Uncle'. "It's good to see you," she said awkwardly. "I'll be two seconds." She turned without a response and headed for the kitchen, hearing Elena mutter something and follow her.

Marian tried to pay her no mind as she took a glass from the cupboard, putting it under the tap.

"Hey," Elena said. Marian looked up at her. "Is it true he's staying with you?"

Marian frowned. "Yeah," she drew out. "Why?"

Elena stepped forward, lowering her voice. "He's the guy who tried to kidnap me," she said. Marian froze.

"What do you mean?" Marian asked. She couldn't tell Elena that she knew; she'd ask too many questions.

"Just be careful, okay. If you want to, you can stay here—" The girl looked up at her, frowning, before realising that her glass was overflowing.

"And leave my Mom alone with the guy who kidnapped you? No way," she said.

"Annie," Jeremy called out. "You ready?"

Marian set the glass down in the sink, giving Elena an unsure smile. "I'll see you later," she said softly. She briefly thanked Jeremy and Jenna for letting her stay the night before following Elijah out of the Gilbert home.

...

Marian had waited for ten minutes while Elijah spoke to Elena. After accusing him of lying to her, he'd promised that if she'd waited while he made a deal with the doppelgänger, he'd tell her the truth.

He sighed as he finally got into the car, starting it and driving off towards Marian's home. "What happened?" the girl asked finally after several minutes of silence.

"She negotiated a deal," he said finally. Marian smiled amusedly.

"Elena negotiated ... with you?" she asked. She was astonished to say the least. No one ever negotiated with Elijah, even when he was most amiable.

"I'll admit, I was quite shocked too," said her uncle.

"What was it?" she pushed.

"She'll live a normal life in exchange for the protection of her friends," he told her. "And she wishes for Stefan to be released from a tomb."

Marian frowned. "I didn't know he went in," she said. "It must've been after I—" she stopped, not wanting Elijah to hear that she'd overexerted herself. Marian's life was sacred to her family; she could so easily slip through their fingers and they'd have to begin their search for her again.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You what?" he pressed. Marian sank in her seat, wishing now that she'd chosen to sit in the seat behind the driver instead of the passenger seat.

"Fainted," she whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear. She closed her eyes in despair as the car slowed and stopped to the side of the road.

"Marian," Elijah said. She groaned, knowing he was about to chastise her. "What have we said about you using your magic?"

"I know, but—" she tried.

"What would your father think?" he interrupted.

"Well, he's not here," she snapped. Marian looked down in regret, apologising softly. "My friend was in danger," she said. "I couldn't just leave him there." Elijah opened his mouth to speak. "And if I hadn't helped, Bonnie could've died. I can't live without her, Uncle 'Lijah. She's my best friend; my sister."

Elijah's stern look softened. "Marian, your life is precious," he told her. "It isn't something you can throw away for someone else's safety."

Marian took a deep breath. "I know," she muttered. She hesitated before speaking again. "Why didn't you tell me about the moonstone?" she asked.

"I didn't want to ruin this life you've created here," he said.

The girl scoffed. "My life would've been ruined regardless. He needs me to break the curse, remember?"

Elijah had indeed forgotten this small detail; his mother hadn't intended for Marian to survive for so long and had therefore placed a restriction on the spell. Only a witch of Mikaelson blood could perform the spell.

He turned, taking her hands in his. "I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe," he said. "I'm not losing you again."

She looked down. "I just want my Dad," she admitted softly.

"As soon as Niklaus is dead, I will not rest until I find our family." The girl frowned.

"You want to kill him?" Sure, she was both fearful and spiteful of her uncle, but she would never wish death upon him. He was a lost soul, and she wanted nothing more than to fix it and make her family whole once again.

Elijah paused." He has disposed of the coffins, Marian," he said. "They're in the ocean."

She gasped. "No." She laughed. "Uncle 'Lijah, that's not possible." His expression didn't change. There was no hint of humour on his face.

"I'm sorry, Marian." Her dying laughter turned into a sob. Elijah leant forward, wrapping his arms around her as she wept into his chest. Niklaus had done many things, but this was by far the worst. She could never see her father again.

part i:

tvd s2, e11: ""

wc: