The Reunion

Elijah hung limply against the door, what used to be a coat hanger protruding from his chest and keeping him pinned. He wasn't sure exactly how long he had been there, seeing as he had fallen unconscious at one point, but as he awaited feeling to return to his extremities he knew that one thing was for sure – the doppelganger was going to be just a tad bit harder to retrieve than he initially assumed.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Elijah's ears perked up at the solitary sound breaking through the deafening silence. It was the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps. And they were getting closer.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Unwilling to enter a potential battle without even the ability to wiggle his toes, Elijah quickly set to work trying to force his body into overdrive. The tips of his fingers curled painfully slowly inwards, barely managing to graze his palms when the footsteps came to a pause.

Debris flew forward as the wall to Elijah's left was broken through, an accessorized fist peeking into his peripheral vision. The fist was soon joined by the rest of its body, though before Elijah could blink – which to be honest, was not so quickly in his current state – his visitor stood before him instead of beside him.

Elijah took in the fact that the woman before him wore a detailed grey dress that ended just before her knees with matching velvet pumps – not the ideal outfit for exploring the deep woods of North Dakota – before she had moved again. In an instant the makeshift stake had been removed from his chest, landing with a harsh thud against the wall opposite him. He began to slide down the door, unable to hold himself up as he was, but two gentle hands wrapped quickly around his shoulders to support him.

It was then that he realized exactly who had come to his aid. He would know that touch anywhere.

Further evidence supported his theory when he was guided carefully to the floor, the same kind hands closing around his chin to lift his gaze. It was a struggle to raise his eyes even the slightest, but the moment they met her piercing grey ones that always managed to hold the perfect mixture of aged wisdom and tender love.

His voice scraped against his throat as he fought to speak, his astonishment at seeing her here far surpassing whatever pain it caused him.

"Julien."

984 AD

Determination settled on his features as it also pumped through his veins, glaring at his rival. Elijah had attempted to best his arch nemesis many times before, all ending with failure. Today would be different. Today he was more prepared. Today he would be victorious.

He had been so sure, at least, that this was how it would work out.

Imagine the poor seven-year-old's surprise when this encounter ended the same as all the others – with pain and embarrassment.

Elijah sat with his back against the tall boulder he had attempted to climb. Even with a running start, his little hands had been unable to grasp the crevices, his unskilled feet unable to carry him much higher than a few feet. The poor boy hadn't been ready to accept defeat so easily, however.

As he slid down the side of the boulder, Elijah had attempted to catch himself on a nearby tree branch. Of course he had vastly overestimated the strength of the newly sprouted branch, surprise flickering in his chest shortly before dread took over when it snapped between his fingers. The wood had splintered into his palm as he hit the ground, blood dripping between his clenched fingers.

He tried not to cry, really he did. But the pain in his hand alone was almost unbearable, not to mention his legs and bottom from the fall. That coupled with the embarrassment of failing yet again while Finn sat laughing at the top of the boulder did absolutely nothing for the child's ego.

"Elijah!"

Elijah had barely managed to look up at the call of his name before arms were around him, careful fingers probing at his cheeks and shoulders trying to ascertain the damage done. Julien was only a child herself – a young girl of only nine summers – but she had been more a mother to him than his true parents ever had been.

"Oh, do not baby him so, Julien!" Finn called from high above them, his hands propped on his knees as he looked down on the duo. "Elijah must learn to take a loss without his mother there to nurse him back to health."

There was the slightest narrowing of Julien's eyes before she plastered a smile onto her face, pulling Elijah into her chest as she looked up to Finn. "Why, brother dear! I am so glad to have found you! Aren't you meant to be on a hunt with Father? He certainly wouldn't be very happy to learn that you had missed your lessons with him in favor of traipsing through the woods instead. I suppose it's a good thing I found you first, isn't it?"

Though his face was buried against Julien's chest, Elijah could imagine the angry tick in Finn's jaw he always got when she spoke to him in such a way, and the clenching of his fists. His tense voice carried down with a much different tone when he spoke again. "How thoughtful of you to remind me, sister."

"You know I would do anything for my family, brother."

Elijah didn't see Finn climb down from the rock, but he heard him walking away, the leaves and twigs of autumn crunching noisily beneath his leather shoes as he stomped away. It was then that Julien pulled him away to examine him once more, one hand firmly on his shoulder while the other cradled his cheek. "Oh, little Eli," she sighed in her mothering tone, shaking her head slightly. "What am I going to do with you?"

"I thought I could make it this time," Elijah sniffled, running the back of his hand under his nose. The motion dug the splinters further into his palm, causing him to let out a small whimper.

"I didn't realize you enjoyed climbing," Julien commented, raising her eyebrow curiously as she took his hand in hers. Elijah bit the inside of his cheek as she pried the small pieces of wood. "In fact, I happen to recall you specifically stating your distaste for it."

Having been found out, Elijah lowered his eyes to the ground as he whispered his response. "Finn likes climbing."

A knowing smile spread across Julien's lips as she nodded with an understanding more mature than her age might suggest. "Yes, he does. But you are not Finn, are you?"

Elijah's only response was a minuscule shake of his head, his shoulders curling inwards.

"Of course you aren't," she continued, closing her fingers over Elijah's hand when she had finished clearing it of debris and blood. "You're my perfect little Eli, and I love you for who you are. You do not have to pretend to be Finn, or anyone else for that matter. Anyone who does not see that is not worth your time, or your efforts. Do you understand?"

For the first time that day, a smile graced Elijah's features, his eyes raising to once again meet his sister's. "Yes, Julien."

"Wonderful. Come now," she encouraged, standing from the dirt and offering Elijah her hand. "We must help Mother prepare for supper."

990 AD

"Julien! Julien, come quick!"

Julien looked up from her place braiding Rebekah's hair, her eyebrows knitting in confusion at the sight of a now thirteen-year-old Elijah sprinting towards her from the forest surrounding their village. She absentmindedly finished the braid by tying it with a thin strip of leather before standing form her seat, moving around Rebekah. "What's wrong, little Eli?"

The boy nearly slammed into Julien, only stopping when she grasped his shoulders. His frantic eyes met hers as he latched onto her wrist, tugging her forward. "Kol, Niklaus and I were playing in the woods, but then there was yelling and fighting and now Kol is bleeding and I can't find Niklaus!"

It certainly wasn't the whole tale, but it was enough to make Julien hitch up her skirt and take off running in the direction Elijah had just come from. He kept his grip on her wrist as they ran, guiding her to the clearing they had been playing in. Though it was a considerably short time to reach the field, it felt like hours before Julien found Kol leaning against a tree, his hands hiding his face.

"Go find Niklaus," she instructed Elijah, pulling her hand away from his to approach Kol. She knelt patiently in front of him, aware of his dislike towards being touched without permission. "Kol, darling? Can you move your hands for me?"

Slowly, Kol lowered his hands. Droplets of blood had collected under his nose, spotting his chin and hands where he had smudged it. "It was an accident," he claimed immediately, his features screwing up in anger only to flinch in pain immediately after. "Niklaus always overreacts. It wasn't my fault!"

Julien nodded, bringing her hand to rest curiously on her chin. "He does, does he?"

"Yes! It isn't as if I meant to break his silly little toy. I only wanted to see the detailing on the shield, but he refused to hand it over."

"I see how that may have sparked an argument," she agreed quietly, carefully lowering herself to sit at his side. "As far as I can tell, this is completely Niklaus' fault. You asked politely to see his toy, and he viciously denied you before striking you. What an awful brother he's turning out to be."

Kol's lips twitched into a frown at her dramatization of the events, guilt creeping in his chest as she spoke. "I wouldn't say that, exactly…"

"Would you not? The whole situation appears to be completely his fault, as you've described it to me."

"Well, I didn't… He never…" Kol faltered, unwilling to agree that Niklaus was a horrible brother but not wanting to get himself into trouble either.

Julien contained her laughter at the abject horror coloring Kol's face at his internal struggle, slipping her fingers over her lips. "He never what? Apologized? Shame on him, then."

Kol didn't have the chance to answer before Elijah had returned with Niklaus at his side, the younger boy looking utterly ashamed of his actions – the feeling only increasing tenfold when he saw that Julien had come to investigate the matter. If there was one thing Niklaus hated most in the world, it was disappointing the sister who had dedicated her life to caring for him and his family.

"There he is now," Julien goaded, lightly pushing Kol's shoulder to make him stand. "Why don't you go tell him how horrible he is for not sharing with you? Let him know that he was in the wrong, and should be more considerate of your feelings in the future. Tell him how terrible a brother he is – "

"He isn't a terrible brother!" Kol snapped, whirling on Julien with a fire in his eyes that she recognized all too well. "Stop saying that! It's my fault that Niklaus' toy is broken, not his! And he only struck me because I shoved him first, so stop being angry with him! It isn't his fault, it's mine!"

Elijah and Niklaus exchanged surprised glances before looking back to the scene before them. Kol's shoulders were rigid with anger as he looked up at his sister. Julien had hidden her lips from view, her form shaking slightly. The sight made Elijah think she had begun to cry, causing him to take a step forward to berate Kol for upsetting her so.

It wasn't until she dropped her hand, laughter pouring forth, that he realized what it was she had done.

"Well, I suppose that's that then," she chuckled, tucking her bent finger beneath Kol's chin when he dropped his furious posture in exchange for one of disbelief. "Don't you think you should apologize to your brother?"

Kol's lips thinned hesitantly. He wasn't one for apologies – much less sincere ones – but he couldn't very well deny Julien, could he? At the very least, he had to applaud her cleverness. Turning on his heel, he met Niklaus' eyes with the barest hint of remorse in his. "I'm sorry, Nik."

Niklaus nodded in acceptance, glad that the fight was over – he didn't like fighting with his family… Except it wasn't exactly over. When he met Julien's eyes, she nodded towards Kol with an expectant expression. Ah… Of course. "I'm sorry too," he apologized sincerely.

With a satisfied nod, Julien placed a hand on Kol's shoulder and led him forward so that she could also place one on Niklaus'. The two boys faced each other before looking to her, Julien glancing between the two of them.

"We are family. Do you know what that means?" Kol and Niklaus looked once more at each other before returning their eyes to hers, waiting for an explanation. "It means that even when we have nothing else, we have each other. Where friends, neighbors, husbands, and wives fail us, family will always be there. Always and forever."

"Ugh," Kol groaned with a roll of his eyes. "I don't want a wife. I want to be a great hunter, roaming the lands with no one to tie me down or hold me back!"

"That is a discussion for another time," Julien laughed, pulling the boys underneath her arms. Looking to Elijah, she offered him a wink before starting off towards a nearby river. "Come, little Eli. We're going to have to clean up poor Kol before Mother sees him and worries too much."

1000 AD

"So Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, and as the sun began to dip below the horizon they each ate their pieces of bread," Julien recited, her hands illustrating the story as she told it to Rebekah and Henrik. Though Rebekah had recently celebrated her eighteenth birthday, she still enjoyed listening to her sister's stories, and Henrik was still young enough to listen to them as he fell to sleep some nights. "They thought their father to be in the wood the whole time, as they listened to the rhythmic swing of his ax, but truly it was only a small branch hanging from a withered tree, swinging back and forth that created the noise."

Rebekah looked up from Julien's storytelling when she heard the familiar sound of steel clashing against steel. "Look," she called, standing from her place on the ground with a growing grin on her face. "Niklaus and Elijah are fighting again!"

Henrik watched her run across the village center, towards his older brother's sparring match. Casting a questioning glance at Julien, she sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Come on then," she relented, pulling Henrik to his feet as she stood to follow Rebekah. "We'll finish the story tonight."

Elijah stepped back cautiously when Niklaus advanced, catching a glimpse of his approaching siblings. Rebekah watched them with her usual awe-struck expression, her hands clasped tightly in front of herself. Julien soon joined her, her fingers intertwined gently with Henrik's and a smirk on her lips. Though she was far less vocal about it than Rebekah, he knew that she enjoyed watching her siblings unwind and have a bit of fun every now and then. Good for their health, she claimed.

"Look, Niklaus," Elijah said with a wide smile, gesturing towards the gathering crowd. "Our siblings have come to watch my fast-approaching victory."

"On the contrary, Elijah," Niklaus disagreed before swinging his sword in a series of complicated twists and turns that the elder barely managed to block – all except the last that was. Dropping to one knee, Niklaus swept his blade upwards one final time, causing Elijah's belt to fall to his feet, cut in half. "They've come to laugh at you."

True to Niklaus' word, the siblings shared a good-hearted laugh while Elijah simply stared down at his useless belt with a shocked grin. Niklaus stood, bowing slightly in the direction of his three siblings who had thoroughly enjoyed the show. It was a moment that should have held great joy for the five siblings in a time where there was little of it to be found.

But of course, Mikael had other plans.

Without a word, their father approached Elijah and held his hand out, waiting. Elijah glanced once at Niklaus and once at Julien before conceding the blade, stepping back to join his siblings as Mikael positioned the sword in an offensive position.

"So," Mikael called, purposefully loud enough to draw the attention of their neighbors who had previously strolled around the village, minding their own business. He wanted them to see this. "Why don't you teach me that trick, young warrior?"

"Father, we were just – just having fun."

Mikael's eye twitched in anger as he advanced on Niklaus, his words punctuated by the swing of the sword he clenched tightly in his fist. "Fun? We fight for our survival, and you find time for fun? I want to have fun! Teach me!"

"Father, it was nothing, we – "

He was not given the chance to finish. Mikael was relentless in his fury, treating Niklaus like a true enemy rather than his child. Julien's jaw tightened in frustration, but she knew that there was nothing she could do to stop this now that it had started. All she could do was shield Henrik's eyes when Mikael disarmed Niklaus, turning the boy away when their father shoved Niklaus into the dirt.

"You don't need to see this," she whispered to Henrik, tugging him against her side. In her peripheral vision she saw their mother tense with jealousy – jealousy at her ability to comfort her children when she never seemed to be able to – but largely ignored her in favor of making sure no true harm came to her brother.

Elijah had to stop Julien from lurching forward when she saw Mikael hold the blade threateningly over Niklaus' head with a firm arm across her chest and a small shake of his head. It might have been her imagination, but she could have sworn that as Mikael breathed what were surely words of hatred and disappointment in Niklaus' ear, the steel tip of the sword inched ever closer to piercing his beautiful baby blue eye.

"What?" Mikael exclaimed suddenly when Niklaus refused to react to his whispered words. "No more laughter?"

"You've made your point, Mikael," Esther warned from the sidelines.

Mikael's back tensed even further, if such a thing was possible. "Some days," he sighed, "I wonder how you're still alive, boy."

In a final act of rage, Mikael buried the blade into the soil left of Niklaus' head before standing and marching back towards their home. It seemed like hours before the village could even breathe again. The neighbors resumed their daily duties, muttered rumors floating between them at what they had just witnessed. Esther picked up the basket of laundry she had set down, turning her back on her children as she went to finish her chores. With a look from Julien, Rebekah took Henrik from her side and led him back towards the fire they had been sitting at with promises of telling a story of her own invention.

Elijah moved to help Niklaus stand with Julien close behind, her eyes flooded with grief worry. It was her self-appointed duty to protect her siblings from all harm, and yet as Mikael threatened to kill her baby brother right in front of her, what had she done?

Nothing.

Niklaus refused Elijah's hand, choosing to stand on his own before turning his back just as Esther had done and disappearing into the crowd of villagers, his destination unknown. Julien knew he didn't want anyone to see his weakness. The very same weakness that caused his own father to spurn him, and the same weakness that made Julien want to cradle him against her chest and whisper words of comfort until he believed her.

She had watched Mikael torture and humiliate her brother, and what had she done?

Nothing.

She would never make that mistake again.

1001 AD – Summer

Julien had always enjoyed the act of creation. Whether that be anything as grand as watching Ayana bring foliage to life with her magic, or something as simple as weaving a crown of flowers, she loved to watch things be made from nothing.

Which was the exact reason she sat across from Elijah now, watching with fascination as he manipulated metal into a weapon. She had focused diligently as he heated the metal into a liquid before pouring it into a mold, allowing it to cool slightly before dipping it in water to solidify it once more. Into the fire it had gone then, to make it malleable enough to be hammered to perfection.

He sat now at the grindstone, sliding the newly formed blade gracefully across the stone to sharpen it to perfection before it was to be wielded.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?"

Julien blinked out of her reverie once the blade had stopped moving, turning her eyes up to see that Elijah was smirking at her. "My apologies, Elijah," she smiled. "I was simply – "

"Watching the blade," he finished for her with a knowing nod before tilting his head. "I asked if Father knew that you had cancelled your walk in the forest with Garrett."

Julien's small wince was answer enough. Elijah sighed dramatically, causing her to defend her actions. "It would never have worked out between us! You know I would never be happy with a man whose idea of fun is sitting for hours on end, meditating on the will of the gods."

Elijah couldn't help but agree with his sister's rationale, but at the same time she was quickly approaching her twenty-sixth birthday. It was unusual for her to be unmarried as it was, let alone turning down every suitor who came to their doorstep. "If you carry on in this fashion, soon there will be no man left in the village whom you have not spurned, 'Lien."

"Perhaps that has been my plan all along," she replied with a mischievous grin.

"I should have known," Elijah said with a roll of his eyes. "My sister is an evil genius. All these years, how could I not have seen it?"

"Oh, don't feel so bad, little Eli. It's not your fault I'm smarter than you."

Elijah raised a single eyebrow, an indignant retort forming on the tip of his tongue. He never had the chance to say it, however, when his words were cut short by the most anguished cry for help either he or his sister had ever been so unfortunate to hear.

"Mother!"

The siblings exchanged worried looks before standing simultaneously from their seats, the voice all too recognizable.

Niklaus.

Elijah and Julien pushed their ways through the wooden gate separating their blacksmithing equipment from the rest of the little village, stumbling over their feet as they hurried to find their brother and whatever caused him to scream with such agony. By the time they arrived on the scene, they saw that the rest of their family had already convened.

Their mother had collapsed to her knees, sobs wracking her body as they had never before seen. Mikael stood slightly off to the side, one hand over his mouth as the other crossed over his chest. Ayana sat to Esther's right, a comforting hand on her shoulder while her own eyes pooled with unshed tears. Finn knelt behind their mother, his eyes closed as he rested his forehead atop her hair. Kol stood with a dangerously rigid posture and blank expression, appearing as if he may snap in half were he to be touched. Rebekah crouched at Niklaus' side, running her fingers through his hair as they both cried at the sight before them.

Elijah arrived slightly ahead of Julien, finally seeing what could have possibly caused such a reaction from his family.

Large strips of clothing ripped at the seams, animalistic claw marks marring his young body, dried blood coloring his once pale skin. Elijah never imagined he might have seen Henrik in such a state, but there was no doubt that the reality far surpassed any images he could have ever conjured himself.

"The wolves," Niklaus answered when Esther asked how this could have happened, his words barely understandable through his thick tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

Esther shook her head viciously, latching onto Ayana's arm. "We must save him. Please! There must be a way!"

"The spirits will not give us a way, Esther," Ayana replied sadly. "I'm sorry. Your boy is gone."

None of the Mikaelson children had ever seen such pain as the moment reality settled on Esther's features. The reality that Henrik, her youngest child, was gone forever. And there was nothing she could do about it.

The villagers went completely unnoticed as they circled around the family that had suddenly grown smaller. Elijah tore his eyes away from his brother just long enough to observe the rest of his family, one by one.

Ayana was the first to walk away, clearing her throat with another mumbled apology before she retreated back into her home for the remainder of the day. Mikael was quick to follow, anger clear in his actions as he marched back towards the wooden figure he had been practicing sword-fighting on. Niklaus crumbled in on himself, Rebekah laying herself over him like a protective shell. Kol backed away slowly, shaking his head to himself before finally turning his back on the scene. Finn helped Esther to her feet, pulling her away against her will.

He turned then to Julien, and he would never forget what he saw on her face that day.

In all his twenty-four years on this earth, Elijah had never once seen his sister cry. She had always been the protector, the second mother, the one he ran to when he needed help, or advice, or a shoulder for himself to cry on. And yet, it was not until this very moment, that he realized no one had ever been that for her.

As she stared down at the remains of her youngest brother, however, Julien cried.

She did not sob like Niklaus and Esther, or sniffle like Ayana and Rebekah. Instead her eyebrows had furrowed so deeply together he could not see where one began and the other ended. Her nostrils flared as she pursed her lips that refused to pull out of their frown. Silent tears fell down her cheeks, glistening against the sun that had only just passed midway across the sky. More than anything, she simply looked lost.

Elijah was unaccustomed to comforting others, as Julien had always taken over that role, but as she could not console herself, he knew he had to try. But when he reached a hand out to touch her shoulder, she only pulled roughly away. His hand remained hovering in the air as she crossed her arms tightly across her chest.

"I was meant to protect him," she breathed, her voice hoarse with grief. "I was meant to protect him, but I have failed."

"It wasn't your fault," Elijah disagreed gently. "I know not who to blame, but I am certain it is not you. You have always done everything you could for this family."

Julien's pursed lips quivered as he spoke, the shaking in her shoulders growing more pronounced. Elijah waited patiently, but it seemed she had nothing else to say. He reached out once more to lay a hand on her, expecting her to again reject him.

She did no such thing.

The second his palm touched her shoulder, all her walls seemed to disappear. In an instant she had slammed against him, her fingers woven into the fabric of his tunic as her face buried into his neck. He cared not that her tears would stain the fabric of his shirt. He cared not that her hair would muss if she rubbed it against him so. He cared not that she had left herself vulnerable. He only wrapped his arms as tightly around her as he could manage, his cheek resting atop her head as he murmured quiet words of comfort that would do nothing to lessen her pain, but that he hoped might convince her that he would be there to help her through it.

That day was the first time Elijah ever saw Julien cry. It would not be the last, but it would always be the one that left the greatest impression on him.

1001 AD – Winter

Nothing was the same after Henrik died.

The Mikaelson children, who had once roamed freely through the village to laugh and play, had resigned themselves to completing their chores and doing what had to be done if they wanted to survive. Esther and Mikael locked themselves away with Ayana, conversing in secret of things none other could have possibly conceived. Suppers were silent, with only the scraping of utensils against plates breaking the thick silence.

They had thought that this night would be no different.

They were wrong.

All eyes turned to Mikael when he stood from his seat, a mysterious smile on his face. "I understand that these last few months have been… difficult, to say the very least. But if any good at all has come from the tragedy that struck this family, it is that it has brought us even closer. To that, I propose a toast."

Esther stood as if on cue, fetching a pitcher of wine from a table in the corner of the room. The Mikaelson children exchanged a few confused glances, but otherwise did not object to this odd display as their mother poured wine into each of their cups.

Mikael waited until each of them had been served to raise his own cup. "To family."

"To family," the children echoed, lifting their cups before drinking.

Finn was the first to go. Whether it was because he sat the nearest to Mikael or for some other reason would never be known, but it was his pained cries that first rang out through the night. Immediately the other children had shot out of their seats as Finn slumped sideways in his seat, his blood-laced wine dripping to the floor and mixing with his own spilled blood.

Kol was the next to receive a sword through his heart, only managing to take a single step away from the table before he collapsed next to his seat.

Rebekah fell to her knees beside the burning fire pit, her fingers barely being spared from the flames that threatened to burn them.

Niklaus hurried to her side, falling on top of her when the sword ran straight through his back.

Elijah would have been next had Julien not been quick enough to shove him aside, the blade piercing clean through her. Her terrified, hatred and grief filled expression pierced his soul as she fell before him, her fingers grazing his chest before she hit the table on her way down.

His eyes turned to Mikael, his tongue tied as he failed to understand why this was happening. He wanted to ask why, how he had come to the conclusion that this was necessary, how he could possibly murder his own children as Esther simply stood by and watched.

He wasn't given the chance before he too was impaled by his father's blade, the cold steel ripping through skin, muscle and organs on its way through. It almost hurt more on the way back out.

The last thing he saw before his eyes closed forever was the frozen look on Julien's face. The tear tracks that stained her pale, lifeless cheeks sorely reminded him of Henrik's death, and that this was the second time she had ever cried. Once for the death of Henrik, and once for the death of the rest of her family. Of course he had no idea that they would all awaken within the hour, stronger and better than ever. Even if he had, there was nothing on earth that could ever compel him to forgive his father for the atrocities he committed that night.

The serious expression on Julien's face finally lifted at the sound of Elijah's voice, her lips turning upwards into a grateful smile. "Little Eli," she greeted in the same low, warm tone she had always spoken with. Her voice alone was a comfort. She could tell him almost anything in that voice and he would be inclined to believe her.

"I am not a little boy anymore, 'Lien," he teased lightly, the grey pallor that had poisoned his skin slowly but surely receding.

"Nonsense. You will always be my baby brother, no matter how many millennia you walk this wretched planet." She paused slightly, her smile faltering. "Speaking of wretched. Who did this to you?"

Elijah sighed, not surprised in the least at this new line of questioning. "Nobody that matters," he avoided. "Just a few children who believe they can stop me with nothing more than a well-placed coat hanger and willpower alone."

Her jaw twitched with irritation. "How disrespectful… Are they dead?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Then why do I smell death in this house? And it isn't you," she clarified when he shot her an unamused look.

Elijah's eyes flickered towards the staircase, his memory returning. "Our old friend Trevor is resting upstairs. Though I'm not quite sure where his head landed."

Julien nodded in understanding, though he knew from the small sigh through her nose that she disapproved of his methods. It was Julien's one fault in his eyes – her hypocritical views on violence. Anyone who threatened their family was fair game on her part, but she hated for any of her siblings to so much as flick someone. "And Rose-Marie?"

"Gone. She wasn't on my hit list… tonight."

"Must you be so aggressive?"

And there it was. "Do not pretend to be a saint, Julien, when we both know that you are anything but."

"Little Eli!" Julien gasped theatrically, fighting back a smirk as a delicate hand laid upon her chest. "How dare you suggest that I am anything but a perfectly reasonable woman. Why, I would never so much as hurt a fly."

"Of course not, dear sister," he played along with a smirk of his own. "Unless said fly so happened to land upon one of your siblings. In that case, you would not rest until said fly and all of its lineage – past and present – had been slaughtered and buried six feet below the earth."

"Everyone has a breaking point," she conceded. "And every rule a loophole."

"I couldn't agree more."

Julien inspected Elijah carefully, tucking her finger beneath his chin as her playful expression was replaced once more by a disapproving frown. "You didn't answer my question. Who did this to you?"

Damn. He had thought for sure that the fly scenario would throw her off… And yet, he would have been disappointed if it had. She was far too clever for that.

Elijah wasn't quite ready to reveal all of his plans to Julien just yet. He trusted her more than anyone else in their continually dwindling family – perhaps even more than he trusted himself at times. He loved her more than words could ever describe or actions could ever prove. He sought her approval and craved her acceptance.

And yet, he knew that Niklaus felt exactly the same. Even if he would not admit to anyone – including himself – he was no different than the rest of his siblings in this regard. Julien had always held a position of power over them, whether she intended to or not. As she had chosen to spend her eternity keeping them whole and happy, they all strived to please her.

For that exact reason, he couldn't reveal his plans. Not until he was sure that she would choose him over Niklaus.

Even thinking about forcing Julien to choose between family threatened to crush his heart beyond repair, for Elijah knew just what a decision like that would do to someone like her. But what choice did he have? He knew that she would never simply stay out of it, and if she wasn't with him than she was… against him.

The fact that the thought alone of being on a side opposite his sister physically pained him was not a good sign.

Julien shifted her palm to caress his cheek, seeing the internal struggle Elijah suffered. She knew not what his thoughts were or why they troubled him so, but she was determined to fix whatever it was. "Forget I asked," she said, smiling once more as she helped him to his feet. "We can always plan our revenge later. For now, I assume you've made living arrangements for your stay here?"

A great weight lifted from Elijah's shoulders at seeing her smile again. "Of course."

"Good. Because I certainly didn't."

"You? Being impulsive?" Elijah chuckled as Julien wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kicking the front door open to lead him outside. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Yes, well," Julien sighed, bumping her hip against Elijah's before leaving him against the side of her car to open the passenger side door for him. "Forgive me for being unconcerned with a hotel room when my little Eli is in danger. It must have slipped my mind."

"A moment for the history books," he teased.

"Elijah?"

"Yes, Julien?"

"Do shut up."

A/N:

Thus begins the tale of Julien Mikaelson.

Regarding Elijah's feelings towards Julien's happiness: We all know that a vampire's emotions are heightened when they turn. This has been shown in the TV series to increase love, hatred, loyalty, etc. Growing up, Julien did more for the Mikaelson children than both of their parents combined. In life, she was their "second mother", their true mother in a sense. As vampires, that loyalty and tendency to please Julien has increased into a bond between the siblings. If they agree on nothing else, they can all agree that they love her.

Also, it's never mentioned in the show (to my knowledge) or the wiki exactly how old the Originals are or how far apart in age they are, instead being rounded down to decades. For the purposes of this story, and in no way are these ages canonical, the ages are as follows:

Finn – 27. Julien – 26. Elijah – 24. Klaus – 22. Kol – 21. Rebekah – 19.

This chapter was mostly flashbacks to give you a glimpse into how Julien fits into the Mikaelson and what role she plays, and moving forward there may be a few more (as in the show) but will generally follow the timeline of the TVD universe.