Lover Be | The Originals

Chapter Fourteen | Mother's Pearls

"Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Johannes Vermeer

"Malia," Elijah says back, his tone pitched slightly in surprise. 

"How do you two know each other?"

"I, uh," Malia is searching for a way to explain.

"She-"

Malia cut Elijah off, afraid of what he might say or give away.

"We met at a bookstore," Malia said. "A couple of weeks back."

Klaus raises his eyebrow.

"I see. Well, that is so like him. Always so studious."

"How do you two know each other?" Malia inquires, wondering how Klaus got mixed up in Elijah's type of crowd, and if he knew their secret.

"Oh, we go way back," Klaus says with a grin. "Isn't that right, brother?"

"Brother?" Malia stammered. "Wait, what?"

"I should introduce you properly," Klaus wrapped his arm around Malia's waist in a protective manner. "Malia, this is my brother, Elijah."

"Brothers? You're . . . you're brothers?" Malia wondered how that could be possible. Did he know what Elijah was? Her mind raced. 

"But he's a . . ." her voice trailed off, she was speaking only to herself.

"There's something you need to know," Elijah sent Klaus a message through his eyes, showing his seriousness. "Let's take this elsewhere."

Malia was a jittering mess as the brothers took her out of the gallery and to a nearby estate.

"Malia and I did meet at a bookshop. But we met later at-"

"Elijah, stop!" Malia tries to prevent him from continuing. There was still a chance that Klaus didn't know about all of this, and she wanted to keep him as far away from it as possible.

Elijah glanced at her but continued. 

"At one of the murder sites. She had stumbled upon it."

Klaus looks between the two.

"Well, this is easily remedied," Klaus pulls Malia in front of him and looks into her eyes.

"Forget about the murder. You walked home and it was just like any other night."

Malia looked at him.

". . . What are you doing?" 

Klaus huffed in surprise and looked intently between her eyes.

"You don't think I tried that already, brother?" Elijah asks. "She can't be compelled."

"So she's a witch," Klaus looks in surprise at Malia.

"I don't think so," Elijah comments. "At least, not that she's aware of."

"I'm right here," Malia glares at Elijah. "And I'm not a goddamn witch."

Her eyes rest on the other brother.

"Klaus," she whispers in disappointment, having resigned to the simple fact that he was wrapped up in this supernatural world all along. 

"Malia," he turns toward her with a gentle expression. Then it hardens. "So, what are you?"

"What am I?" Malia laughs and scoffs at the same time. "I'm human. Just a regular, normal human. God, I can't believe that has to be said."

"Then compulsion should work. What, do you drink vervain? Have some secret jewelry?"

Klaus reaches forward and rips off her pearl necklace. The pieces go flying and Malia gasps, bringing her hand to her neck. Tears immediately prick her eyes and she looks at him with a hurt expression.

"That was my mother's."

Malia would have seen the regret on Klaus's face if she hadn't already pushed past him to storm out.

She was reaching for the door when Elijah appeared in front of her, blocking her way.

"Move, Elijah!" she tries to move around him, but he stops her.

"I'm sorry, Malia. I can't let you go."

"You can't let me?" She scoffs. "Fine, I'll let myself."

He moves in her path again.

"So now you're kidnapping me?" Malia finds herself seconds away from breaking down. 

She tries hard to seem angry and spiteful, but she mostly feels the loss of one of the last things to remember her mother by and the betrayal of Klaus.

She can't stop the tears from falling when they start, and she falls into Elijah. He catches her, wraps his arms around her, and carries her upstairs to a spare bed to lay down.

"My brother means well," Elijah says, brushing some hair out of her face as her eyes droop. "We've never met anyone quite like you."