Chapter Seven: Over the Hills

Elijah took them back home to the compound and Katherine would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She practically felt her teammate's eyes baring into hers as if they expected her to have sex with Elijah right this second.

And the old her wouldn't have given it a second thought. Elijah was sexy, he had even let his beard grow out a little which seemed to make him even sexier, Katherine thought. He was still wearing his three piece suit that Katherine loved. Or used to love.

Katherine shook her head. Whatever she and Elijah, had had was done. She didn't want to think about it anymore. All she wanted to do was find this stupid goblet and get it over with so that she could return to her semi-normal life.

The compound was large and Katherine briefly remember passing through here when she was getting the information about Hayley and her pregnancy. Though she was sure that the last time that she had visited it had belonged to some guy named Marcel. Maybe she was wrong.

"Please sit," Elijah said politely to Natasha and Bucky since Thor hadn't returned from talking to Mommy and Daddy dearest. "May I offer you something to drink?" Always the gentleman he was looking at Natasha.

Natasha shook her head as she looked at the paintings of Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah. "These are pretty nice. Did you paint these?"

Elijah shook his head, his lip curled slightly. "My brother, Niklaus. Katerina, if it's not too much trouble may I speak to you in private for a moment?"

Bucky raised an eyebrow slightly at her, as if he was mocking and Katherine pretended to ignore him as she followed Elijah to his study a few doors down. Elijah closed the door behind him and Katherine crossed her arms over her chest. "So-"

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "So?" he pressed his hand against one of his many book collections. "How have you've been?" he asked politely.

Katherine rolled her eyes, the question was so absurd and so Elijah like that Katherine almost burst into laughter. "Really? You haven't seen me in a few years and that's the first thing you ask me? You just saw me with three complete strangers, not to mention that one of them is the God of Thunder himself."

Elijah have her a crooked smile. "I was being polite. I did recognize them, they are the Avengers aren't they? They were on the news a couple of years ago." He paused as he looked at her. "What are you, Katerina? You're not human, but you're not a vampire either."

Katherine shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you're right about that. I'm not either. A lot has changed since the last thing that you saw me, Elijah." She paused. "Elena Gilbert gave me the cure, she turned me into a human. After that I wandered around for a while, but I was capture by a group called HYDRA. They experimented on me so to say, erased my memories made me into their little pet project. The Avengers rescued me, treated me like one of their own. So I'm not human exactly, I have strength, speed, I live longer than the average human, but yes, I'm still human in that sense. I work for SHIELD, I even have a cute nickname, Siren."

Elijah didn't smile. "Katerina, I'm sorry I didn't-"

Katherine raised her hand in protest. "Don't, don't apologize. There's no point Elijah it already happened. And I survive, I always do. I'm happy."

Elijah raised an eyebrow as if he quite didn't believe her. "Are you?"

Katherine straightened her leather jacket. "Yes, I am." She paused "Why didn't you answer my calls, once I've been turned?"

Elijah looked away and refused to answer the question, Katherine wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. She gripped his arm. "I called you, hundreds of times after I turned before HYDRA before everything. I know that we didn't end in the right terms, but still you didn't answer my calls. You left me to rot." Katherine hated how pathetic she sounded at the moment, but she needed to get it off her chest.

Elijah looked pained. "Katerina, please don't do this to me."

Katherine eyes flashed. "I'm doing this to you? Elijah, I deserved some kind of answer."

Elijah opened his mouth to say something but something coming from the opposite end distracted him. There was a knock on the door and the red head agent peered in. "Elijah, there is someone from the Disney Princess Company here."

Elijah straightened himself up. "Yes, thank you Miss Romanoff, I will tend to them." He cleared his throat. "It's Hope's first birthday today, Klaus' daughter. He and Hayley are throwing a party. You are more than welcome to stay of course."

Natasha turned to look at Katherine's stony face. "Um, thanks really, but we should get going. We have a lot to do in the French Quarter."

Katherine finally removed her eyes, from where she had been glaring at Elijah. "Yes, Elijah we should get going. We're not needed here anymore."

Elijah looked hurt at the comment, but didn't say anything anymore as he went to tend to the workers. Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Are you ok? Did Mr. Blast from the Past screw you over? He's kind of sexy in a Mr. Depressed Darcy kind of way."

Katherine shook her head. "This has nothing to do with Elijah. Let's just go. I can't stand being in this stupid place a second longer."

Frigga and Odin were still staring at Thor with concern. Well, Frigga was staring with concern, Odin still looked pissed. "Another thing that you must know, Thor," Frigga glanced slightly as her husband who was now gripping the royal throne in which he was sitting upon. "The Lady Noira is just using your broth-Loki."

Thor raised an eyebrow. "How can you be sure, Mother? Loki is quite an ingenious trickster. He could be using her."

"That's what I told her," Odin murmured under his breath. "But apparently the dear All Mother can't believe that."

Lady Frigga threw both her son and husband a dirty look. "I know what you're thinking that Loki has no good in him, but I am his mother whether or not he sees me like that." Odin shook his head as if thinking that poor Frigga had really lost her mind. "Any case I know Lady Noira, she is an even better a liar than Loki is. She will pull him into a trap and he won't see until he's too late. Thor, we have to find them. We can't let them get that goblet. I can't imagine what Lady Noira would do."

"And Loki." Odin reminded her. "Thor get them both. Speak to Heimdall and asked him where they might be."

"What are you doing?" Loki asked Lady Noira who was huddled near one of the caves near some place called California.

"Shh," Lady Noira snapped. "I'm trying to concentrate and find out where the sacred goblet is. I can't do that if you keep talking. It's far more advance magic than you're used to."

He pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow when Lady Noira opened her eyes. "What is it, did you find it's whereabouts?"

"Yes," Lady Noira smiled. "It's in a small region by the name of New Orleans."

-End of Chapter Seven-