Chapter 20

Final chapter

Did we just get dumped?

There were days when Rebekah really hated her life. This was certainly one of those days. She was stuck in a car with her brothers who just didn't stop complaining. Not to mention they kept listening something called the greatest love ballads. That was just too cruel. And she had this strange urge to climb to a three. Just a perfect day.

"Hurry up!" Kol said. "Can't you drive any faster?"

Klaus gave him annoyed look.

"No, this doesn't go any faster."

"We must find her!"

"Yes I know!"

"Shut up both of you!" Rebekah shouted. This really wasn't her day. Why couldn't Elijah pick up his damn phone? It would be dark soon. Dammit, dammit, dammit!

...

Elijah opened the trunk and helped Gabrielle out. She was smiling at him.

"So what's the plan?" she asked.

"I managed to arrange a meeting with Abernathy. She is the empusa who cursed Klaus."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

Elijah sighed.

"No, but she was the only empusa I could find. Hopefully she will accept my offer."

Gabrielle looked at him.

"What offer?"

Elijah bit his lip.

"Elijah? Please tell me."

"You should eat something before the meeting. I got you a blood bag."

"You didn't answer my question…"

"Gabrielle, please, I don't have time to argue with you. If you want to come with me…"

"Yes", she interrupted him. "I'm definitely coming with you."

Elijah nodded.

"Alright. Let's get you something to eat first."

He had parked the car on the side of the road, near the crossroad where they would meet Abernathy. Elijah took a blood bag from a cooler and gave it to Gabrielle.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome", Elijah said smiling. He sat on the backseat next to her.

"You want some too?" she asked.

"No thank you."

Gabrielle tried to eat without making a mess. That made Elijah smile. She was wearing one of his shirts. She looked beautiful.

"So, why did she want to meet here?" she asked.

"Empusas are wanderers; they spend most of their time on the road."

"Hmm, that sounds lonely."

"Yes, I suppose so."

There was a moment of silence.

"A trade", he murmured.

Gabrielle turned to him.

"What?"

"They are known to make trades sometimes", Elijah said before he would change his mind. "That is what I am going to offer her."

"Wait, what are you saying?"

Elijah didn't look at her.

"If she won't undo the curses I will ask her to…relocate them."

"What are you…" Then it hit her. "You are going to ask her to curse you instead of your brothers."

Elijah nodded.

"No! You can't do that! Just think about it…"

"I have been thinking about it, believe me."

Gabrielle didn't know what to say.

"But…would it be the same curse or…"

"I don't know. I assume it would be the same curse."

"So, the first living thing you will see…"

"Yes."

There was a long silence.

"I can…" Gabrielle started. "If you want me to…"

Elijah smiled and touched her cheek.

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You don't have to ask. I want to do it, if you want…"

"Gabrielle…"

She placed her finger on his lips.

"I want to do it. And I want to stay with you."

"Are you absolutely sure? You have seen how that curse works…"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Elijah nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you."

She took his hand and they got out of the car together. It was dark but that didn't bother either of them. She held his hand tight when they walked to the crossroad. Abernathy was already there.

"Good evening", Elijah said. "Thank you for coming."

She nodded.

"I have no quarrel with you. I assume this is about those curses?"

"Yes. I would like you to undo them."

Abernathy shook her head.

"No, I am afraid I will not do that."

"Alright, in that case I would like to offer you a trade."

Abernathy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you have done your homework. I assume you also know that a person who takes someone else's curse must do it willingly."

"Yes, I want you to place those curses on me."

Abernathy looked at him curiously.

"Hmm, you are serious."

Elijah nodded.

"I can respect that but the problem is that there are two curses and only one you so…"

"I will take the other one", Gabrielle interrupted her.

Abernathy looked at them both.

"How strange… You would both do that willingly?"

"Yes", they both said.

"How strange indeed. But I still need the subjects of the original curses."

Elijah looked at his watch.

"That is not a problem; they should be here in any minute."

"What?" Gabrielle asked.

"I called Rebekah", Elijah explained. "That reminds me, could you also remove her tail? She was cursed as well."

Abernathy stared at him for a while before she started to laugh.

"A tail? That must have been Nola, she have always had a strange sense of humor. Yes, I can undo that, free of charge."

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

Abernathy smiled.

"You really care about them. Your family."

"Yes, I do."

They waited silently. Elijah didn't let go of Gabrielle's hand. It didn't take long before his siblings appeared.

"You!" Kol said.

"Let go of her!" Klaus shouted.

Rebekah was right behind them. Elijah looked at them calmly. Gabrielle squished Elijah's hand when Kol and Klaus attacked. A bright flash blinded them all for a few seconds. Elijah wrapped his arms tightly around her. Gabrielle blinked and looked at him. He was looking at her as well. Nether of them spoke.

"What the hell…" Klaus murmured.

"I was just about to ask that", Kol said.

"I…I don't feel different", Gabrielle said without turning her eyes from Elijah.

He looked confused.

"Me neither."

"You shouldn't", Abernathy said.

Everyone turned to look at her. She looked at Klaus and Kol.

"Gentlemen, you can thank your brother for this, but I advice you to be more careful for now on. This was the only free pass you are going to get."

She turned and walked away.

Kol and Klaus looked stunned.

"It's gone", Kol murmured. "I can't believe it."

"And I don't have a tail!" Rebekah said. "Nice work Elijah."

"Hmm", he murmured. "I'm just glad that this is over. I think I'll get the car", he said looking at Gabrielle. She smiled and nodded. Kol and Klaus were both staring at her. They seemed confused.

"So…" Kol started.

"This isn't awkward at all", Klaus murmured.

"Oh, don't worry about it", she said. "Let's just forget the whole thing."

Klaus smirked and moved in front of her.

"That's fine by me. I would like to buy you dinner to make up all that…well, all that happened."

"Me too", Kol said scowling Klaus.

Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"Would you two just stop already? You don't love her anymore!"

"No, but just out of curiosity… Which one of us would you choose?" Kol asked.

Gabrielle looked at them both.

"Listen guys, it's been…fun or something like that and I would really like us to be friends."

Kol and Klaus stared at her. Elijah stopped the car next to her.

"See you boys", she said when she got in. Elijah kissed her and drove away.

"Did we just get dumped?" Kol asked.

"Worse, she gave us the "let's be friends" speech", Klaus murmured.

"I wrote her an ode."

Klaus laughed.

"You think that's bad? I sang her that bloody Celine Dion song."

"What song?"

"My heart will go on."

"Oh. What did she say?"

"Not much but she looked kind of shocked."

They both sighed.

"I think I need a drink", Klaus said.

"Yeah, me too. How about you Bekah?"

She shrugged.

"Sure, why not."

They walked to their car and Kol sat on the driver's seat. Rebekah sat next to him and Klaus on the backseat. Kol started the car and turned the radio on.

"Welcome to the night of love my dear listeners! We will start with a classic; here is Andy Williams and the theme from Love story…"

There was a moment of silence before Kol grabbed the radio and threw it out of the window.

"Now I really need that drink", Klaus murmured.

For once Kol couldn't agree more. He had been in love, almost got married, listened to love ballads and insisted that Gabrielle had called him her cuddle bear. And if the faith would be very cruel, she might soon become his sister-in-law. Yes, it was definitely time to get wasted.

...

Thank you everyone for reading my story and for your feedback. This was kind of a crazy experiment but it was fun to try something new.