Moonlight | Lucien Castle

Chapter 7

Finn didn't turn her away.

She thought he would, when she arrived in the Lycée, her face blotchy with tears. Amaris braced herself for him to point at the door, or to knock her out again.

He simply heaved a sign, fetching the car keys to take her to Vincent's apartment.

He sat in the kitchen, waiting for her to shower. She was taking forever, but he didn't rush her. He simply got to making lunch. A few ham and turkey sandwiches that she seemed to enjoy as she tried to stop herself from crying again.

"What happened?" he asked in a slightly exasperated tone once they were on the couch.

"I just wanted to keep Jackson and Hayley safe," she whispered. "And Klaus..." she squeezed her eyes shut. "He beat me. And stabbed me in the same spot where Adriel once did. A scar that didn't heal, and never will heal. Reminding me of a pain that I can't forget no matter how hard I try. I was supposed to get the choice to have children or not. Adriel took that from me because of my mother's lies. I made the choice, this time, to be brave... introduce myself to everyone... but Klaus just showed me that choice was wrong."

Finn tapped his fingers together. "You were impulsive. You understand that, yes?" She nodded. "You accepted to moving in too soon?" She assented again. "You trusted too easily? You got ahead of yourself?"

"Yes," she said, her voice cracking. "I get it. You sound like my mother."

"Well, I'm about to tell you a lot of things that you aren't gonna like, because you have to learn from this."

Amaris gulped. "I get it. I act before I think... I don't consider the consequences. Since I was a child I would take risks that I shouldn't have. I risked leaving the safety of my home, the security of a marriage, to find all of you, and I never made it back. I got my throat torn out just when my family was in reach. And now, I was too rash... thinking this would go well."

"It's the unfortunate truth," said Finn as calmly as he could. "No matter what you witnessed on the Other Side when you watched over us, you will never understand who they are until you have faced them and seen firsthand their cruelty directed to you. Until you have spoken to every single one of them. Seen how they behave with you. Watching how they interact with others gives no insight to what kind of people they are. At this rate, they're hardly people."

He took her hand. "You assigned yourself to be our guardian angel. Watching over everybody. Feeling connected because you were close to finding us, but didn't, and the only way you could feel like you managed it was to observe. It's what kept you from getting to peace, Amaris. Your mother must have moved on so long ago and yet you were still there, and now..." he trailed off. "You watched from an... audience's perspective. You didn't internalize what beasts they are until now that you were able to hear their responses. To see their reactions to your choices. Now, you know what kind of people our siblings are. Now you know they're selfish. And you got hurt, Amaris."

"I thought I knew what to expect," she sniffled. "I knew Klaus would be brutal, I just... I didn't think I'd get my ass handed to me. I didn't think he'd smash me into a tree and stab a branch into me. He's just like Mikael. Maybe it's a good thing I haven't spoken to him. Maybe I shouldn't... why would I bother? He hates werewolves, he has for a long time. He couldn't even be kind to Klaus when he still thought him to be his son. There's no way he'll want anything to do with me. I don't want to be a Mikaelson. As nice as it was to talk to Kol... to see Rebekah... to be acknowledged by Elijah... I made a mistake in trying to be part of this family."

Finn sighed. "They like to use people. They will take advantage of anyone who is even a temporary ally. Tying up loose ends, milking them for all their worth. Just to stab them in the back in the end. I imagine since you were so eager to be a part of it all, without first taking the time to get to know them from afar, they decided to use you for their own gains. Put you to work, expect you to listen to their orders. They figure, you want to be part of the family so bad, then you contribute. But let me tell you something— Kol and I, Mikaelsons by blood, we never meant anything to them unless we conformed to their brutal ways. They're never going to value your opinions if those opinions are different from theirs. They're never going to see you as your own person unless you do what they ask and don't question it. Anyone who isn't a Mikaelson is nothing to them. And anyone who is... isn't any safer unless they take orders from Klaus like a soldier. Not like a sibling."