"Those who know her name think of her only as a myth. After all, who would believe that the most feared being in all existence has a soft spot, or could be controlled with a single word uttered from her very lips?" - Audrea Mikaelson wakes up in a n...
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"A LOVE THIS DEEP WONT STAY BURIED"
Mystic Grill
Elena glowered down at her empty mug of coffee. "He was gloating. Like, actual gloating. Like he was proud of himself for sleeping with her."
Caroline and Bonnie exchanged glances before nodding sympathetically at Elena. They'd been on this topic for quite a while now. Elena sighed. She'd gone by Damon and Stefan's house to try and vent about her frustrations with Esther's plan to kill all of her children, but they had only shot her down, saying that it was in their best interests to let the witch kill them all. And, the little bit with Damon parading around shirtless with Rebekah still dressed in last night's gown irked her so much she wanted to smash something. He was clearly only trying to get back at her for defying his words the day before.
Caroline flipped her hair over her shoulders and replied, "Elena, Damon's like...a literal man hoe. I don't understand what you're seeing in him. You look much better on Stefan's arm than his."
She gave Elena a pointed look, signalling that the conversation about Damon's promiscuous activities had gone on long enough.
The three friends rose and made their way out of the Grill, finished with their lunch.
"You know..." Bonnie said hesitantly, looking around to make sure no one was listening. She lowered her voice. "Esther came to see me and Abby this morning."
Elena stilled and gaped at the witch, as did Caroline.
"And all this time, you let me vent about Damon?"
Bonnie sighed carelessly, "I don't want you to worry."
"Ok, well, what did she want?" Elena was desperate to know anything pertaining to what the powerful witch was up to.
"She wanted to introduce herself. Abby and I helped bring her back. She's channeling our entire ancestral bloodline for power. I think she thought she was being polite." Bonnie shrugged and continued to walk, Elena and Caroline following closely.
"Ok, well, is there a way to stop her from channeling you?"
Bonnie frowned. "Even if there was, why would I want that?"
Elena gazed at her friend, conflicting emotions rushing through her like a hurricane. "I just keep thinking...before the sun and the moon ritual, Elijah found a way to keep me alive. And now, I'm in the exact same position, and I'm just gonna let him die? ...It just doesn't feel right."
"Elena, you are not doing this." Caroline stopped and gripped Elena's arms. "Esther is doing this."
A cold wind blew past the three and ruffled the leaves in the park that they had just arrived at.
"There's no time to change your mind, Elena. He'll be dead by the end of the night."
Elena stared at Bonnie, confused and shocked. "What?"
"It's a full moon. Esther needs to harness the energy of a celestial event. She asked me and Abby to join her." Bonnie clarified. She glanced down at her watch. "I gotta go...just...trust me on this, Elena. It's for the best."
Elena and Caroline watched as Bonnie hurried off in the direction of her house. Caroline turned to Elena and exhaled sharply.
"Elena, Bonnie's right. It's for the best."
※
Mikaelson Mansion
Audrea flipped through Klaus's sketchpad, biting her lip and grinning at the numerous pages filled with sketches of her likeness. He could be so romantic sometimes. And though his drawings were truly beautiful, she had always found it amusing that some of the greatest artists in history had been commissioned by Klaus time and time again. Her coffin-though she disliked the fact she even had one-was just one example, as Klaus had revealed that the intricate engravings on her coffin had been done by Donatello. She'd nearly broken Klaus's jaw again then, since that meant he had commissioned the coffin a couple hundred years before she had even been daggered.
"Are my siblings home?"
Her thoughts were interrupted when she lifted her head to see Finn enter Klaus's drawing room. Audrea furrowed her eyebrows. The eldest Mikaelson brother never sought after her for any reason. He had always seemed to want to avoid her, probably because he didn't think she was quite right in the head for marrying his younger brother, as he had expressed to her numerous times in the past. Damaged, Finn had said multiple times. Unstable. The warnings had irritated Audrea. Who had he thought he was to try and advise her to leave Nik? If she was really as weak-minded as Finn apparently thought her to be, she might as well just have staked herself with white oak centuries ago. No, she wouldn't leave her husband for anything.
"No. Nik is out with Kol and I don't quite know where Elijah or Bekah are." She lowered the sketchpad. "Did you need something?"
"Not from them, no." Finn's eyes fixated on hers. "From you."
Later, she would curse herself for not following her instincts, for they warned her there was something off about his behavior, as Elijah had noted the night before, but there was a part of her that was happy he was talking to her. She'd always wanted to get closer to the eldest Mikaelson, as he was the only one of Klaus's siblings she didn't seem to have a good relationship with. Family was extremely important to her, and sometimes she wondered if it was more valuable to her than even to her husband.
"Is there something wrong?" Audrea put the sketchpad back down from where she had picked it up and stepped closer to Finn.
Finn tilted his head and was silent for a moment, seemingly to confirm Audrea's statement of where his siblings were, before dropping his bombshell announcement listlessly, "My mother is alive."
Audrea gaped. "What? Esther? Where is she? Why hasn't she-"
Finn lifted a hand to cut her off. "You will remember that Niklaus murdered her centuries ago. She is apprehensive about coming forward and revealing her existence to him just yet. However, she does want to speak with you so she was hoping you would take some time to meet with her."
Audrea blinked before quickly replying, "Y-yes, of course!"
"One more thing," Finn continued. "Do not let Niklaus know about this. My mother truly wishes for her to be able to...get some things together before reuniting with the rest of my siblings."
She nodded and rushed out of the room. "Just let me grab my coat!"
