No One's POV
"You called for me this morning, mother?" Finn walks into Esther's study, thoughts of the night before at the ball still lingering in his mind; memories of his lost mate along with the desire to chase a ghost that was in front of him both clashing together, he had plans to go into town this afternoon and attempt to track Eliza Saltzman down, the allure was simply too strong.
"Yes, I did." Esther answers shortly, writing the names of the Mikaelson children on a piece of parchment. "Close the door, the sage burns."
Finn does so, but looks at the table his mother works at with apprehension settling in his gut; perhaps at one time, originally when he first woke up, he would have helped his mother with her plans, but not now, not when Eliza was here, or a doppelganger, or a ghost of her was here.
Now he had a chance, a glimmer of a moment of hope, of something that could tie him to this world, and set him free.
"We must complete the link." Esther states, not turning from her work as she gathers the needed supplies. "Elena donated her blood yesterday evening and it courses through your veins. The time is running out."
"No." Finn denies, voice firm.
"No?" Esther now turns, expression hard, as if she had never expected her son to turn from her ways or challenge her.
"No, mother. I will not help you. Not now and not in the future." Finn repeats, holding his mother's gaze firm. "Perhaps once I would have. But not now."
"You're having second thoughts. That is understandable. They are your siblings, Finn." Esther calms, as if trying to be understanding and compassionate, but she had only ever cared for herself, her own redemption, and she always would.
"Yes, they are. And I do care about them. I should have seen that sooner. But that is not the only reason." Finn answers. "You do not care who you hurt. You do not care about family. I will not help you, mother."
Esther seems even harder, colder at those words.
"I see." Esther simply clips back almost sharply, lips pursed with a tight edge.
"Have a good day, mother." Finn simply acknowledges lightly before turning and exiting the study.
A wooden stake is sticking out of his back, cutting into his heart in another moment, Finn's body dropping to the floor of the study, a gray corpse, before Finn can turn back around.
"I am sorry, my son. This is the right thing." Esther simply says, stepping towards Finn's prone body to get a drop of blood.
"Phasmatos inta grum vin callus... Amalon callagius accodam... Cosom naben dox... Callagius amalon... Gaeda callagius ceremum... Phamato descendium vinum... Phasmatos inta grum vin callus... Cosom naben dox."
In another moment the link is complete, the names of the Mikaelson children connected on the parchment before the paper is burned to ash.
"Have you seen mother or Finn lately?" Elijah asks, walking into the living room where Rebekah now sat from returning from the Salvatore Boarding house and Kol and Niklaus had just left.
"No. Why? Nik and Kol just left, however." Rebekah shrugs carelessly.
"I'm worried about mother. Have you not noticed her strange behavior?" Elijah continues to press for answers.
"She's been dead for a thousand years. What's strange for her?"
"It's nothing, never mind." Elijah gives up attempting to convince his sister of anything to do with their mother; she like Niklaus, despite Niklaus denying it, craved the affection of their mother, and most of all craved family.
"Fine." Rebekah shrugs again.
Elijah walks off, determined to find answers, footsteps taking him to his mother's study first, if anything would give him answers it would be there; Esther had spent most of her time in the study Niklaus had given her after she had been awoken by the Bennett witches.
"Brother!"
