chapter two,

She looked up at him, her heart racing. He was here, in her home, standing right there. She could hardly believe it. She smiled, running up to him, wrapping her arms around him.

"I can't believe it's really you," she said. "You're here. I mean, you're actually here. This is crazy." She heard him chuckle.

Before he could speak, Marian quickly told him to be quiet, hearing her mother's footsteps coming up the stairs. She nodded towards her open door. "I'll be two seconds," she told him. Elijah was gone in an instant, closing the door most of the way behind him.

"Night, Mom," she said to Carrie as the woman made her way to her bedroom.

"Night sweetie. Don't stay up too late."

"I won't." She watched as Carrie turned around the corner and disappeared into her own room before quickly retreating behind her door. Turning, Marian saw her uncle wandering around her room, looking over all of the photos on her wall. She didn't notice as his eyes lingered on a photo of her with Elena Gilbert when they were younger. "What were you saying?" she asked him.

He turned to her, gesturing for her to sit on the bed. "How did you find me?" he asked, looking deeply into her eyes. She took a deep breath.

"I did a lot of research on the dark web," she mumbled. "It was super hard, too. I've been trying to find you for years."

"And how did you get my contact number?" he questioned.

Marian shrugged. "Believe it or not, but as soon as I tell people my name, they'll give me whatever I want," she told him smugly. He shook his head, muttering something about her being just like her father. "It took a lot of persuasion. I bet I had to ask a hundred vampires before I finally got through to you."

Elijah looked up. "What do you mean?" he asked quickly.

"I had to call people to get the next person's number," she said.

"And you told them your name?" She nodded. "And where you live?" he pressed. She frowned.

"I don't see what this has to do with—"

"Marian, Niklaus has been searching for you since you fled almost a hundred years ago. I fear to think what he'll do if he finds you," Elijah said. Marian smiled softly, putting her hand on his.

"Don't worry, Uncle 'Lijah," she said. "You taught me most of what I know. I'm smarter than that."

...

The next morning, Marian couldn't find Elijah. Begrudgingly instead of waiting for him, she forced herself to go to school. She knew he would make her wait longer as punishment if she didn't; after all, he'd always stressed to her the importance of education.

The first half of the day had been slow. Not only did she have two periods of Phys Ed in the morning, but she also had to give a presentation during her Music class. Not that she disliked music; she loved it very much. No matter how many times she'd taken a course of a similar nature, she had always found it interesting and fulfilling. Her presentation was on Tchaikovsky, a composer she liked very much. His music, to her, was unparalleled. The amount of emotion it held gave it character and meaning. It was poetic, not to mention he used actual canons in his pieces and thought nothing of it.

During their lunch hour, Jeremy and Marian had sat with their friends Penny, Jack and Hannah. The Gilbert boy had only recently joined them at the table, previously spending his time with Vicki Donovan and the other stoners at her school. It was Penny who had convinced him to join them; Marian was too nervous to ask.

"You know," Jeremy had said as he sat down at the table. He held a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You're pretty good at volleyball, Annie." Marian's cheeks flushed a bright red. Had he been watching her during Phys Ed?

"What's the matter Annie?" Jack teased. "Cat got your tongue?" They all knew about her crush on Jeremy Gilbert. All except the boy himself.

"Ah, so you saw me hit the ball right into Hannah's face, then?" Penny remarked. "It was quite a shot." Marian could see the self-pride on her face.

"Hey, that hurt you know," Hannah grumbled. There was silence at the table; Hannah glared down at her food in slight spite while Penny, Jack and Jeremy tried to hide their amusement. Marian only looked down with a small smile. Jeremy frowned at her; she'd seemed distracted all day.

"You okay?" he asked, nudging her arm. She looked up, biting her bottom lip.

"I met my biological uncle on the weekend," she announced. Penny choked on her water.

"What?" she asked. "You found him?"

"Hey, that's great," Jack offered.

"Actually, he found me," she said.

"Really? Are you sure it's him?" Hannah questioned.

"Yeah. I'm sure," she replied, a small smile on her lips. There was silence at their table.

"Well," Penny said. She'd never much liked silence. "What was he like?" she asked.

"He's just like I imagined," Marian said. "He's nice and really smart," she laughed, "and he's super rich."

"You got any hot cousins that I can marry?" asked Hannah, wiggling her eyebrows. They all laughed.

"I'm pretty sure Matt Donovan's available," Penny joked.

"Why marry Matt Donovan when you could date me," said Jack. Marian could see the slight hopeful look in his eyes.

Hannah looked at him. "Jack, no offence, but your whole personality is kind of repulsive," she laughed.

"No more than your face," he argued. "Let me take you to the Decade Dance and prove you otherwise?" he suggested.

She rolled her eyes. "No funny business," she warned.

"Okay, what just happened?" Penny screeched.

Jeremy nudged Marian's side. "I'll take you if you want," he said softly. Suddenly, the table went silent, all eyes on Marian. She blushed furiously.

"You're going?" she asked, perplexed. Jeremy usually hated these things.

"Only if you are."

She grinned, nodding, not missing Penny muttering a "finally" under her breath.

...

Marian had smiled to herself as she walked home. She couldn't believe that Jeremy Gilbert had actually asked her to go to the Decade Dance with him. She knew that it would be purely as friends as they'd known each other since they were little, but she couldn't help but let her mind wander to the possibility that he actually liked her. It made her feel giddy inside.

She'd stayed behind in the library at school, as she usually did, so that she could complete her homework. She'd never been able to work at home, there were too many distractions. She'd almost forgotten entirely about Elijah until she got back to her home, where he was setting the table.

"Marian!" her mother said as she saw her daughter enter. She rushed over to stand next to Elijah. "This is Elijah Smith. He'll be staying with us for a few weeks," she introduced. Marian gave a slightly embarrassed tight-lipped smile as she shook his outstretched hand. Her mother knew nothing of their relation to each other.

"It's nice to meet you," she said politely.

"Likewise."

"I thought it would be nice to have dinner together," Carrie continued. "You know, to welcome our guest. Marian, did you know that Mr. Smith is a historian? Maybe he could help you with your research paper?" she suggested.

"Yes, I'd be glad to help," he said.

"Oh no," Marian said. "I've got it covered."

"Now I'm interested," Elijah pressed. "What's it about?"

Carrie smiled, stepping back towards the kitchen. "Why don't I leave you to it, huh? I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. Dinner should be in about twenty minutes."

"It's a thing on where we were born," she said simply. The two sat down at the table, Marian pushing her bag to the side.

"And you were born here?" he asked. Marian shook her head. "Then?"

"New Orleans," she answered. Elijah sat back, a look of surprise on his face. He'd never expected that she'd go back to New Orleans; not after her father had been daggered.

Marian Mikaelson—or Whitman as she was now known—was a curious case. She lived and she died, but never permanently. She had her father to thank for that. When she was a child, Marian had fallen dangerously ill, and her grandmother sought a way to remedy it. She and another witch performed a spell that bound her life to her father's so that she would die only when he did; they hadn't expected that he would later become immortal.

"You don't say," said Elijah

"Yeah, my mom adopted me when I was six," she explained. "Said I was the cutest out of the bunch."

He laughed softly. "You were quite possibly the cutest child I've ever seen," he admitted.

"You're just biased because I'm your niece," she denied. "But I meant what I said," she continued. "I have it under control. You can look over it, but I think it's pretty perfect because, you know, I was there when it became a town." She smirked, and for a moment she noticed Elijah's amused look; she was eerily like her father sometimes.

He knew that he should tell her of the impending arrival of his brother to break a curse placed on him almost a thousand years ago, but he couldn't help feeling selfish in wanting to keep her as happy as he could. It had been a long time since he'd seen his niece smile, and even longer since he'd heard her laugh. He knew it wouldn't be long before that changed.

part i:

wc: