⊰ * (  forever ?  )

             He could _shake with the weight of the words, with the terrible weight of it all. He did understand her views on it, he had revelled in vampirism for too long not to understand the relief in it, the joy in tearing at someone’s neck to draw out their life force, to watch the light behind their eyes slowly fade away as their limbs stopped struggling. It was POWER. Pure, unadulterated  p o w e r  that made one feel like a god, dispensing death so easily and promptly to others, delivering judgment on earth.

            So why was he not simply turning her? Why was he prolonging the moment, trying to search in his mind for all that would keep her as his for a little while longer. Katerina had flown the second she turned, she would not dare do the same again, would she? Per times, he did  a l m o s t  think that Klaus’ answer to this feeling that caused nothing but pain but was the proper one. Kill it. Crush it. Destroy it before allowing it to take root in your  h e a r t.

                   Too late. She had ran for long enough that now it was too late
                           for him to free himself from the hold she had on him.

         ❝ Okay… ❞  Cling to details, just a bit longer, just to keep her a bit longer.  ❝ Do you have a daylight stone already or should we talk to a witch beforehand? ❞  Let her lay down the plans, let her be the one to establish a timeline. Should he become overly involved in minutiae then he would soon regret it, go back on his word. It did not matter he was the one asking her not to die, this was not the way he had in mind.

            But  n o t h i n g  was ever the way he had pictured it, not ever since that first meeting when she had been offered to Klaus so his brother could murder her. She had laughed too much, Klaus had cared too little and he had  s o  enjoyed seeing her face… To think he would love a new face so much better than the former one.

            Kissing her lips for a moment, allowing himself to get  l o s t,  to get drunk in her, closed eyes to memorize the scent, the breathing, the way she felt against him. Almost a  g o o d b y e.  It was enough to pull back only half a inch away to whisper.  ❝ Tell me what you want me to do, Katerina. ❞  Say it and I will do it. Speak and I will set you  f r e e.

                  immortality & power had been stolen from her, cruelly
            stripped away to guide her on some fool’s errand in search of redemption
         that fled from her grasp long ago. every emotion was so attainable despite the
         intensity it lacked, so close, so palpable. perhaps vampirism would aid in
            ebbing the turmoil her private hell caused without remorse. yet what it if
          awakened the part of her which caused the man she loved to walk from her,
                               to forsake everything & choose a path without her ?

                          doubt was a sickness that grew quickly, flooding
                   veins tainted by the curse clinging to her name, no matter who often
               it was altered. her pulse quickened ever so slightly with its influence, breath
              seemingly trapped until released as a sigh into his kiss. perhaps he believed
                       she would take this gift & run, leaving him to rot in the sorrow
                                                he had once left her to fall victim too.

                 she could taste it on his lips, the reluctance, his own
           doubt mirrored, thoughts examining the evidence of their past
        rather than refusing what had been for what could be. it was their
           own perilous waltz, so fearful, armoured & awaiting the next blow.
       he had to know she was SELFISH & IMPULSIVE - they were the very
               fiber of her being - but she was hardly so cruel, not with him.

                                            ❛ the bracelet i wore, do you think it’ll still work ?
                                                                 i was able to retrieve it from my ashes. ❜

                 (  remnants of her former self laid to waste in the tomb
            she had escaped centuries ago - how disgustingly poetic for
                                    her charred remains to rest there.  )

                              his words left her to expose the curve of her throat, the
               approval to taste, to indulge in the humanity he would snuff out when
              the moment was right. Elijah had been a fixture in her bloodstream since
             their time England, felt in every intimate crevice of her being but becoming
                                 her sire would make his presence far more literal.

                                     ❛ make me yours. completely. utterly. irrevocably. ❜

                                                                                                     … if you want me.

                       yet another crossroads for him to face - her breath stilled.