The Mikaelson family were in shock; not only was their aunt found to be alive, their father was finally killed after hunting them down for the past thousand years. After Mikael's body had been dealt with the siblings quickly dismissed the remaining people from the party and gathered together in the main living room.

Aria was sitting on one of the couches with Rebekah close beside her while Kol and Elijah were sitting on the other couch. Finn and Niklaus had taken seats on the two chairs opposite the couch. All of the siblings were silent as they stared at their aunt, they were shocked and surprised to see that their aunt was sitting in front of them.

"I still can't believe you're here," Rebekah said, staring at Aria stunned.

"How exactly are you here?" Kol asked as Aria smiled at her family.

"Your mother," Aria replied. "I don't know why, but she turned me the same night she turned all of you."

The siblings had no idea what to say, they were still in a stage of disbelief that she was alive. When they were human they were all very close to their aunt and Aria adored them in return. Aria was always the kind, soft person that they could go to for anything and they were devastated when they thought that they would never see her again.

"If you've been alive for the past thousand years, then why only reveal yourself to us now?" Rebekah asked, partially hurt that Aria had allowed them to believe that she was dead.

Aria sighed and gave her niece a small smile. "It was the only way to keep you safe," she admitted. "On many occasions I've managed to drive Mikael away from you before he got anywhere near you, but sometimes I wasn't fast enough."

"I was too late in 1919, far too late," Aria admitted, she hated that she hadn't managed to prevent what happened then, especially with Luna. "Over the years I've managed to stay relatively close to you all so I could watch over you all. I've been living two towns over ever since Elijah found the doppelganger."

"You've been protecting us for the past thousand years?" Klaus said softly, grateful for the fact that she had spent the majority of her life protecting his family.

"Well, as best I could," Aria replied with a soft smile.

"Thank you," Rebekah said as she leaned over to hug her aunt, thankful that she had been there for all of them even when they didn't know it.

After spending some time catching up the family parted ways for the rest of the evening and soon all ended up in bed, sleeping off the events that had occurred the night before.

It was early in the next morning when Aria was lying awake as she listened to Kol wandering around downstairs. Sighing Aria got up and went to find her youngest nephew, she found him in the kitchen pacing across the floor.

"What's wrong Kol?" she asked, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Though she already had a feeling as to what was on his mind.

"Nothing," he replied, obviously lying. "I just couldn't sleep."

Aria smiled at him as she gave him a knowing look. "You could never lie to me Kol," she said softly. Out of everyone, Aria was the only one that Kol couldn't successfully lie to.

"You're thinking about Luna, aren't you?" she added softly.

Kol paused before sighing in defeat, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of talking about it now. "After what she did, after she betrayed us - betrayed me - I should hate her. I should want her dead for what she did," he said, rambling out his thoughts.

"But you don't," Aria said knowingly.

Kol sighed and shook his head. "No, I don't," he said.

"You love her," Aria stated.

"I do."

Aria moved so she was standing right in front of her nephew, she gently grabbed his chin and made him look at her. She placed a kiss on his forehead and looked at him. "Talk to her," she told him. "You might find that there's more for you to hear."

Kol nodded hesitantly before hugging his aunt, thankful to have someone to help him with his problems. Aria was the one person that he could confidently say loved each one of them equally.

Back when Elijah, Klaus and Rebekah had made their 'always and forever' vow Kol felt more alone. He felt as if he wasn't included with that promise and that they didn't care about him as much as they did each other. It made him bitter and angry, always acting out because he felt as if no one cared for him. That was until he met Luna and he realised that she was all he needed.

Luna was the person that made him feel loved and when Mikael told him that she had betrayed him, he felt as if someone had ripped his heart out.

He trusted Aria's advice and if she said that there might be more to the story then he would listen to her because she was one of the very few people that he truly trusted, even after a thousand years.