Hope you all enjoy! Not beta'd or anything because I wanted to get this up quick. All mistakes are mine.

Chapter 3

"Rebekah, why on earth do I need to wear this?" Elena whined as the blonde cinched up the corset on the back of her dress.

As soon as Rebekah had returned home, she and Elena had become almost as close as sisters. Being the only girl, the blonde was desperate for any female companionship and Elena was more than happy to fill that role.

There had been talk of a ball and Elena was excited and nervous all at once. She wasn't accustomed to wearing such elegant gowns, but since Lord Finn had asked to escort her, she could hardly say no.

"Because," Rebekah huffed, giving the strings a final tug and tying them in place, "Elijah and Nik decided that you're to be taken in officially by us."

"So…I'm their ward?"

"Precisely. That means, once it's approved by the courts, that you can marry and do all the tedious things that humans do," Rebekah said, a certain sadness clouding her eyes.

Elena gave a small laugh, "The things humans do? Surely you want the same. Every girl wants to get married and have children. And you're older than I am!"

The blonde turned away from her, choosing to stare out the grand window beside the dressing mirror instead. Of course she wanted to be married and have children, but that dream had been left unfulfilled for the past five hundred years. Sighing, she said, "Some women are born to happy lives, Elena, and others are simply meant to be stationary. It seems like such a long time since I've had time to actually sit down and have a normal life and I'm afraid that I'm not certain of how to maintain such a normalcy."

"I'm sorry," Elena said softly, not quite understanding what the elder girl meant. How on earth can someone so young be so ancient? How could she have given up on happiness so early on? Reaching out, she placed her hand on the blonde's arm comfortingly, "I'm here if you need to talk."

Wiping her eyes, Rebekah turned around and plastered a fake smile on her face, "No matter. Kol should be home tonight."

"Kol?"

"My brother," she answered, "We're the closest in age and I'm quite sure he'll take a liking to you."

Elena stuttered, "I-I'm not really looking for anyone at the moment, but thank you, Rebekah."

The blonde gave her a wry smile, "Is that because you're holding out for Finn? I've seen the way you look at each other when you think no one is watching…"

Elena turned bright red, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. Had they been that obvious? Surely no one else had noticed. Ever since the night he comforted her, they had grown much closer. She felt as if he was everything she was looking for in a man.

"I knew it!" Rebekah screeched triumphantly, "How long have you two been seeing each other?"

"We're not seeing each other," the brunette instantly denied, shaking her head, "I am too young for him and I'm sure he feels the same. Besides, there are women of noble birth who I'm sure are tripping over themselves to become his wife. I…I am a nobody in the grand scheme of things, I'm afraid."

"Finn has never cared much for politics or what is deemed proper by society," Rebekah mused softly, fiddling with a few dresses in her closet, "And I'm sure he would regard you no differently based on the specifics of your birth. He's smitten with you, I'm sure of it."

Elena was walking around the gardens, admiring the new flowers that had been brought from a few kingdoms away. Their colors were so rich that they didn't even look real.

"Lady Elena," Lord Finn called from behind her.

Turning around, her eyes lit up as soon as they landed on him. She curtsied slightly and smiled, "My Lord. Isn't it a bit late for you to normally be walking about the gardens?"

"I should be telling you the same, my Lady," he chided jokingly, "It's not exactly safe for a woman such as yourself to be out here alone at dark."

She laughed, "And what would possibly harm me? A wild animal? I'm sure the grounds are patrolled very carefully, my Lord."

Lord Finn grimaced, looking down. How he wished he could tell her of what was happening. He didn't want her sacrificed for his brother as if she meant nothing. Elena had filtered into his life when he thought all was lost and all he wanted was to protect her against everything that he could; even his own family.

"Why are you out here so late, my dear?" He asked, concern coloring his voice as he watched her.

Elena shrugged lightly, "Your sister said that your youngest brother would be returning tonight and I wasn't sure if I should intrude on a family gathering."

He sighed mentally. Of course Kol would choose today to come back. After a mishap with the moonstone, Rebekah had returned earlier than planned and Kol had stayed behind to try to track it once more, but it had been fruitless. The moonstone had disappeared with a coven of witches and was unable to be tracked.

Klaus had been left in such a bitter would that it was surprising that he hadn't torn a town apart or something of the sort. Elijah had done everything he could to try to remedy things, but Klaus was inconsolable; waiting five hundred years for something to slip through your fingers could do that to you.

"Have we not made it clear that you're a part of our family?" Lord Finn asked, puzzled.

She fidgeted slightly, pulling at the petals of one of the roses in front of her, "You have. You all have, I just…I'm not sure how to interact with you all. Lords Elijah and Klaus seem to only talk to me when absolutely necessary; otherwise I'm simply a nuisance. Lady Rebekah and I get along splendidly and I'm very grateful for her friendship."

"And what of me, my Lady?" He asked cautiously.

"You…" she let out a deep breath, turning her doe eyes on him, "You make me feel things that I shouldn't. I'm not a Lady, not truly and the thoughts I have would be deemed inappropriate at best. I enjoy spending time with you much more than I should and I feel as if I'm simply getting my hopes up."

Lord Finn's heart felt as if it had stopped. Surely this girl, this human, couldn't be saying what he thought she was? He wasn't a man…he was a monster. A bloodthirsty monster that could rip her apart if he decided to.

"I'm sorry," she apologized softly, avoided eye contact as her cheeks burned, "I shouldn't be speaking so forward with you, my Lord. I know I am still so young and I have not been taken in quite yet, but I felt as if you would understand."

"It doesn't matter if you are a Lady by birth or not, my dear," he stated softly, reaching his hand out and brushing his fingers along her smooth olive cheek, "I'm quite certain that we feel the same way about each other, but…I'm sure that you want someone who's closer in age to yourself. I know under normal circumstances you wouldn't get to pick whom you marry, but you have free reign here. You can choose your life, Elena, and no one here will stop you. We want you to be happy…I want you to be happy."

She leaned into his touch, a small smile tugging at her full lips, "And what if I believe that I would be happy with you? Would you deny me that?"

He chuckled, "I'm not in the habit of denying you anything, my love. I would move the heavens and stars for you if only you asked."

"Then what is stopping us? Why should we wait?" Elena asked indignantly, stepping closer to him, "If we feel the same…we should act on it, should we not?"

"There's things you don't know about me," Lord Finn said slowly, being careful with his words, "Things that would most likely scare you away as soon as you found out. And I enjoy our companionship much more than to risk it on a few secrets."

Her brows creased, "Shouldn't I be able to make my own decisions?"

He paused. Of course, she was right. She had a right to make her own decisions and he could always compel her should it end badly, but he wasn't ready for that just yet. He'd rather confer with his brothers and see what the best course of action was.

"Come," he said, extending his hand to her, "It's getting much too cold for you to be outside."

Elena crept down the stone staircase, trying hard not to trip over her nightgown. Judging by the darkness peaking through the windows, she guessed it was still a few hours away from dawn.

She had woken up with her throat being parched and her handmaiden had forgotten to refill the jug by her bed and that had left her to venture downstairs.

The stone floor was cold against her bare feet and she shivered as she padded towards the kitchen area. Walking in, she swiftly got a cup and filled it with water before downing it in a single gulp.

"It's not often that we have such pretty little things strolling around at night," a dark voice said from behind her.

Whirling around, she came face to face with a man that looked quite like Elijah, but younger. She stuttered slightly, "W-who are you?"

"My name's Kol, darling," he drawled, his cocoa eyes glinting with mischief, "And you must be the doppelganger, right?"

Elena face scrunched up in confusion, "Doppel-what?"

"Ah," Kol said, tapping his index finger against his chin, "You don't know about that yet. Don't worry, you will soon enough. Nothing to worry your pretty little head about quite yet." He moved past her and hopped up on the counter, grabbing an apple and staring at her, "So, darling, how is my family treating you? I've heard that you've been here for a few months."

She nodded shyly, averting his eyes, "Yes. Your family has been very kind to me. I'm very fortunate to have happened upon them."

"A little too fortunate, eh?" He asked, a smirk on his face, "Didn't you ever wonder why Elijah and Klaus just swooped you away and brought you here?"

"I-I-"

"Or was it Finn that saved you?" He taunted, "I know my brother has always had a tendency to save wounded little animals. And you, darling, fit that, don't you? Tell me, do you believe in monsters?"

Elena's brows creased. What was he playing at? Why was he even talking to her? Steeling her nerves, she said softly, "I believe in monsters. I believe that monsters and man are closer than anyone care to believe."

"Oh how right you are, sweetheart," Kol purred, stealthily sliding from the counter and prowling towards her, "Monsters and men…such a fine line isn't it? Men are capable of such horrible things, monstrous things."

"What are you saying?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly.

His mouth twisted into a half smile, making her shiver as he looked her over, "My family is…different than most. Don't you wonder why we're not married? Why anyone rarely visits? Why we don't really have family meals?"

Of course she had noticed these things, but Lord Finn had assured her that his family was simply dysfunctional and that wasn't anything to be worried about.

"We're monsters, Elena," Kol said darkly, pearly white fangs poking out from his lips, "And they're foolish for allowing a human to live here without knowing our true nature. They can sit and pretend that they're human all they want, but me," he gave a short laugh, "I'm a predator. And I love the chase."

Elena woke up, a sheen of sweet coating her skin. Her throat was dry as she looked around, trying in vein to gain her bearings. She tried to convince herself that it was just a dream, that Kol wasn't whatever he said that he was, that she had never went downstairs in the first place.

With shaking hands, she reached out and grabbed the candle on her bedside table before standing up. She padded to the washroom and placed the candle on the basin before staring at herself in the mirror. The girl reflected wasn't one that Elena was used to seeing. This girl had dark circles under her eyes and her brown eyes were filled with fear.

She plunged her hands into the water bowl, cupping them together and splashing the water on her face. No dream had ever felt so real before and it scared it. Perhaps it wasn't a dream. Perhaps Kol had actually been talking to her.

But what were those fangs? What kind of monster was he? And, most of all, was she safe?"

Finn lay awake, listening to Elena's heartbeat thrumming like a hummingbird. Someone had disrupted her sleep and he knew that she was distraught.

Standing up, he threw on a shirt and made his way into the hallway, stopping when he saw a dark figure by her door. Using his enhanced speed, he was before the figure in an instant, a cold look on his face.

"Ah, brother," Kol greeted with an arrogant smirk, "Come to join the fun?"

"And what fun might that be, Kol?" Finn asked slowly, his eyes narrowing.

The younger man grinned maliciously, "Scaring the human, of course! She's a little too comfortable here if I do say so myself. Especially since she'll be dying as soon as Nik gets his hands on the moonstone."

"No one's touching her," Finn growled, taking a protective stance in front of Elena's room.

Kol stared at him suspiciously before his eyes widened, "My, my. Do you love her, brother? Don't you remember how things ended between Nik and Elijah with Tatia? I thought you were smarter than to fall for a doppelganger."

"She's more than that," the eldest argued softly, "She's innocent in all of this and I refuse to allow you to play with her as if she's a toy here for your amusement."

"And what of Nik's wants?"

"Forget Niklaus!" Finn raged in a hushed whisper, "What of hers? She's still so young. She has her entire life ahead of her and I want to be sure that she has a chance to live it."

"But you love her," Kol pointed out, a crease appearing between his eyebrows, "Surely you don't want her to go off and be with another man, do you?"

Finn sighed. Of course he didn't. He wanted Elena all to himself for the rest of eternity, but how could he convince her of that? Shaking away his thoughts, he spoke, "I want her to be happy. Right now, she's convinced that we should be together. But I cannot give her children nor will I age alongside her. She will suspect something eventually."

"Then share our gift with her. Allow Nik to use her for the sacrifice, but have her consume your blood beforehand. She'll come back and then you can keep her."

"Our gift?" Finn repeated with disgust, "This is a curse. I cannot simply thrust this decision upon her. She must make it for herself."

"Then tell her!" Kol hissed, "If you truly love her, shouldn't she have a right to know what you are?"

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~Grace