AUTHOR'S NOTE: Alright, the Elejah bug finally bit me. This idea's been growing in my head ever since the Ball, even a little before that. Hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: No I don't own Elijah, Elena, or anything to do with that which is The Vampire Diaries series. This is just my version of it. ;-)

Bound By Blood

Chapter 1 - Lead The Way

Leaning back with her head resting against the window pane, Elena couldn't help but remember his words from the night before.

"Can I depend on you to tell me what she says?"

Elena had given him her word. Elijah had put his trust in her even after everything they'd been through and done to each other.

"Should I be concerned about my mother's intentions?"

...She'd betrayed him. Again. His life was on the line. EVERYONE'S lives were on the line, and she'd just stood there and told Elijah that there was nothing to worry about. Esther had explained the spell to her. Bind everyone together. Bind the entire Original bloodline of vampires together and when one dies so do the rest. Using Elena's blood as the catalyst. The blood of the Doppelganger.

While she may not know as much as some of her vampire companions, Elena knew enough about the supernatural to know there was a catch in the spell. One that Esther didn't want her to know about because in Elena's eyes Esther wasn't just killing her own children. She was murdering half the population of the planet if not more. The one thing Elena knew most about the supernatural, was that there was always a balance. Vampires fear the sun and vervain. Werewolves fear the full moon and wolfsbane. They've almost always been at war since the Originals were created to protect themselves against the werewolves. Their strongest and at the same time weakest enemies were the servants of Nature. The witches.

Elena had told Elijah not to worry. There was plenty to worry about. His family dying, Tyler dying, Stefan dying, Caroline dying, Damon dying, her own existence vanishing from the universe. Her death... Her own life ending, ceasing to be, didn't scare her as much as the thought of another disappearing. Elijah... If he died because of her... If he died at all... Her existence wouldn't matter. She cared about Stefan and Damon, she cared about her friends, but Elijah... She couldn't do this to him when all he'd ever done was try to keep her alive. Bonnie and Caroline had told her to stay out of it and that she wouldn't have enough time to stop it. Stefan told her good riddance to the Originals. Screw what everyone else thinks. They don't know what's at stake.

"I have to fix this," she whispered, jumping to her feet. Jogging downstairs, she grabbed her purse and was reaching for her coat when the doorbell rang. I swear if that's Damon... Gritting her teeth, she twisted around and opened the door.

"Elena."

"Elijah," she gasped, unconsciously backing away a step.

"I don't mean to intrude. I was hoping you might accompany me," he asked, watching her closely. Meeting his eyes for a moment, she quickly looked away from his gaze before steeling herself and facing him again. He needs to know. Opening her mouth to reply, he quickly continued and said, "I want to show you something."

Nervously smiling at him, Elena grabbed her things and nodded.

"Lead the way."