A few days passed, Elena did not see Ayanna by herself. She was always with Esther Mikaelson or one of her children. She was growing frustrated, Tatia knew there was something wrong but she didn't want to pry. Though eventually curiousity would wear on her. They had been spending their days planting and gathering vegetables. It was tedious work and she often got too hot. But it was a welcome distraction from her situation.

Tatia often went on about Elijah and everything about him. By the end of the fourth day Elena felt like she knew Elijah better than she knew herself. She almost asked about Niklaus, but she was afraid to. Determined to not chase anyone or like him more than she should.

She had been gone for almost a week. What were her family doing at this point? Her friends? Was everyone looking for her? Maybe time wasn't passing at all for them and this one of those weird movie situations or books that she used to read when she was younger. But this wasn't Narnia, somehow deep down Elena knew that this was all too real.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Rebekah walking in. Tatia had presently gone with her mother somewhere. They had given her an explanation, but all Elena cared about was time alone. Although now she wasn't going to get that. But it wasn't Rebekah's fault. She didn't know.

"Tatia told me that you would be alone, so I talked to mother and she said you must eat with us. Kol is dying to bore you with his stories, Elijah wants to ask about Tatia of course and we all know that Niklaus has a soft spot for you" She didn't breath during her little speech and Elena barely caught a word of it. Though she managed to understand most of it.

"If I'm not imposing..." She trailed off, she was hard pressed not to make a comment about 'Niklaus has a soft spot for you'.

"Of course not! I would like my new friend to be there...that is if I'm not overstepping anything, calling you that" She said, suddenly all shy. Elena gave her a warm smile.

"Of course not, I will be glad to call my friend"

That made Rebekah grin and offered Elena a hand up. Putting her arm through Elena's she walked her back to her own home. It was a lot nicer than the one Elena was staying in. They must be a very wealthy family, she thought. Soon she was taken over by Kol and his new ideas to prank his brothers. He was quite cunning and Elena thought that he would get along very well with Jeremy. When they finally sat down for dinner Elena was seated between Rebekah and Niklaus. She was trying to be overwhelmed by how close they were and focused her thoughts on the other conversations going around the room.

Esther it seemed knew exactly who Elena was, she kept dropping hints throughout the evening. So Elena in all curiousity offered to help her clean up while the others made ready some dessert. Esther skirted around the subject for a little while before Elena had to out right ask her what was going on.

"I know exactly who you are, Elena Gilbert. Ayanna explained everything...In a month or two we will send your back to your own time. But for now we have to try and save my son"

It was a perfectly good explanation, but Elena was still confused.

"What was wrong with him in the first place?" She asked. Elena stood still as Esther told her that in the near future Niklaus would have fallen in love with Tatia along with Elijah, creating a riff between them. Also that her husband was close to figuring that Niklaus had a different father. That shocked her. Niklaus looked up to Mikael even though he was cruel. Soon she was going to put a spell binding his werewolf side safe and that Tatia would be sacrificed, only not really. It was going to be staged. She would be put to sleep until such that the curse was lifted.

"I don't know if I can believe..." Elena trailed off. "I've never believed in the supernatural, people live human lives and they die. But then I can't deny that something else is going on here. I'm in..."

"The tenth century" Esther finished for her. "Look, I know that my children are doomed, but I want to save them. If everything Ayanna says is true then I must do something now" She seemed desperate. A mother looking out for her children. Elena was only sixteen and she couldn't understand that. But she understood family. Just like she had met Tatia and immediately felt a bond between them that would bind them forever.

"When you bind that side...would you send me back then?" Elena asked, no longer afraid of Esther.

"Yes, yes I will"

Elena didn't know if she would keep to her word, but it was all that she could trust right now. They joined the others and now more comfortably she sat next to Niklaus. Although she didn't know if she would be able to keep the secret of his parentage to herself, she was at ease now that she had a way home.

"Your mother is very kind" She said to Niklaus, aware that they hadn't really talked this whole time.

"She is, much more so than father" He whispered, she smiled at that. It was a risk speaking that out loud.

"I think they both love you very much" Elena added.

"Thank you, you miss Elena are also very kind" He was a shy boy, Elena couldn't help but smile up at him. How impossible it was not to get lost. Quickly she looked away and over at Tatia who was giving her a knowing grin. Elena thought of another reason to stay away, wasn't he getting over Tatia? She wasn't going to be the rebound girl. Not for one second. But when had Tatia gotten here, realizing she had been quite away in her own thought.

Tatia was quiet on the way home, she was determined to be match maker between Niklaus and Elena. They had both made a point to avoid each other for most of the night, so it was going to be difficult. But if she could find happiness for two people she cared about then that was all that mattered.

When reached the tent they discovered that Ayanna Bennett had come to visit. While Tatia was quickly sent to bed, Elena was kept back. She was suspicious. Everyone in the village knew that Ayanna was a witch, like her own mother. What were they up to with Elena?

"I have informed Maria of our plans" Ayanna said, reffering to dragon lady with her real name.

"You mean the ones you forced me into?" Elena quipped back. They looked shocked, but she wasn't a girl from the tenth century, she had her own voice. Given she wasn't as talkative as Caroline, but in the end she knew how to stand up for herself.

"It needed to be done, Niklaus needs to saved from himself...before he becomes the heartless man he is in your time" Ayanna told her, she cared for the Mikaelsons. That much was obvious. But Elena wasn't hers to command.

"Did you ever think that he became that way because people betrayed him for things that weren't his fault?" Elena asked them both. It was the truth. His parentage wasn't his fault and he didn't even know about it and he was being punished.

"He has the right to know who he is, where he came from and to be the person he was meant to be" She added. She hardly knew Niklaus and she was defending with as much fervour as any of her other friends.

"Do you even know what comes with being a werewolf? Or even what happens to become one?" Ayanna said, frowning.

"No..." Elena admitted sheepishly.

"Well you have to kill someone, any death as his hands and his werewolf side will be unleashed"

Elena was dumbfounded, she had no idea. But with all her might she could not picture Niklaus as a murderer.

"He's too kind and gentle, he wouldn't. Perhaps you should all put more faith in him" Elena stood up without asking to be excused and walked to her bed. Tatia was sitting up, she had been listening the whole time.

"You're not my sister?" She asked, looking hurt. Elena didn't blame her.

"I'm sorry, Tatia...they made me say it. But we're still family, I'm not sure how. But it's true" Elena answered. Tatia simply sighed.

"I still wouldn't have cared, you should have told me. To me I still think of you as a sister...I mean look at you, we're twins!" She exclaimed. Elena smiled at her.

"I know, so we're still sisters okay? I've always wanted a sister. All I have is an annoying little brother, as much as I love him"

They both laughed.

"Perhaps you could sympathize with the older Mikaelsons, Rebekah, Kol and Henrik are quite a handful"

"Niklaus and Elijah seem to handle it very well" Elena mused.

"You and Niklaus seem to be getting along" Tatia said slyly.

"Tatia..." Elena warned.

"But you're perfect for each other, he's kind and gentle and quite opinionated" She finished. Elena raised her eyebrows at the last word. Was she really? Yes. People that had known her a long had gotten used to it, but Tatia had guessed it after a week.

"I can't like him, I won't be second choice"

"But you won't be. What Niklaus and I had wasn't love and in time he will realize that"

Why was Elena hoping that this was true? Her heart was causing her to want things that she wasn't supposed to, that went against everything she believed. But she couldn't see the monster that Esther and Ayanna were talking about, not for one second.

Elijah and Niklaus were having the same conversation almost after everyone else had gone to sleep. He might have thought that Tatia and Elijah were working together had he not known that they hadn't talked about it, yet.

"Why are you so determined?" He asked his brother.

"Because I can see that you are already attached, you like her" Elijah answered.

"Even if I did, it's far too soon" He almost said after Tatia but stopped himself quickly.

"Not if it's right"

It came with being the oldest, being wise and all. Or that's what it looked like. Elijah was wiser than their father and he was only twenty two. He would be married to Tatia in no time and they would have a family. Like he said, it was only right. But Niklaus was likely to muck around for a while before he actually had the confidence to admit that he liked Elena.

He would speak to his mother about it, spending more time with her. He felt it was too soon, but maybe he should listen to everyone else.

"She's different Elijah, speaks like she's from another time..." He trailed off. Her accent, the way she moved, talked, laughed. She looked Tatia and that was where the similarities ended. Apart from a kind heart perhaps. Elijah had managed to talk him into thinking about it.