Elena found the breakfast they had the morning following her father's funeral was the most awkward meal of her life. Stefan and Damon were both there but neither spoke and they looked as if they had just woken after being sick with fever for days. James and Margaret did not seem to notice this behavior and Elena could not help but wonder if perhaps some had compelled them to be naive to the situation. She almost hoped that was the truth, her brother deserved some peace when this was all over.
Klaus had never come into the dining room and she could only guess at where he might be. Rebekah kept trying to give Stefan reassuring smiles, but as he had lifted his eyes from his plate, Elena was sure he had not seen them. Damon did keep looking around however, his blue eyes never landing on any one thing for too long. Elijah remained quiet at the head of the table, just watching everything as it unfolded. Elena felt like there was an invisible string being pulled tight between them all and it would snap at any moment.
The snap never came though, eventually James and Margaret excused themselves from the table, saying they would be in the conservatory should anyone require them. Leaving the rest of them alone.
Rebekah spoke first, "Stefan, Damon, how are you both feeling?"
Stefan still had his eyes focused on his plate but Damon looked at her, "I feel like my body is running on nothing but air. My mind cannot make sense of all that has happened."
"That is completely understandable for the trauma it has endured." Elijah said, "Do you still feel the need to do as Katherine commanded?"
Stefan shook his head in silent answer and Elena wished there was more she could do for her hurting friend, but she had no idea what to say.
Damon shook his head as well but felt the need to add, "She never really had to force me to anything anyway."
Elena was not really surprised by his comment, Damon would have happily bedded a girl such a Katherine if the opportunity arose, and it had.
Stefan finally lifted his head and glared at his brother, "How can you say that? Everything she did to us…...she is a monster."
Damon shrugged and looked away but Elena did think it was shame that caused his distress.
Stefan got to his feet, "I need to be alone."
They all watched him as he walked away. Elena itched to follow him, to give him comfort, but he had asked for solitude and she would respect that. She had a feeling Rebekah wished to do the same but she remained seated as well.
Damon got up, "Can I go home now?"
"No, you need to remain here until Katherine and her accomplices have been dealt with." Elijah replied, getting to his feet as well, "It will be safer here."
"Are you going to force me to stay with that weird mind trick?" Damon asked, his stance challenging.
"I cannot compel you, due to the tea we gave you to break Katherine's compulsion, but I can force you in other ways." Elijah threatened, his tone barely changed but it was there, clear for all to see, "Do you understand?"
Damon nodded, "I will be in my room then."
Elena sighed as he walked off, "Damon has always been the hotheaded one."
"He has been through a great deal of trouble, he will return to his normal self soon enough." Elijah assured her, and then looked to his sister, "Has he come up at all?"
Rebekah shook her head, "He does not want to leave her alone, he is convinced that by sharing all the good memories they've had with each other that it will bring her back."
Elijah nodded, "I can take over for him for a while. He needs to get some rest, there is no telling when Mikael might attack us next."
"Allow me Elijah. I do actually wish to speak to Caroline a bit myself." Rebekah replied, slowly getting up from the table before leaving the room.
Elena stood up as well, "Can I help with anything? I don't want to just sit here and be useless."
Elijah smiled at her, "All we can do now is wait. Once Emily's niece arrives, hopefully their combined magic can help us find Kol and defeat Mikael. The hybrids you helped create are scanning the perimeter of the house, keeping an eye out for danger."
"Waiting. I cannot think of anything more stressful." She replied with a sigh.
He placed his hands on her shoulders, "It is something we all must learn to tolerate I am afraid."
She nodded, "What shall happen with Eliz..Victoria now that Klaus bit her?"
"Come, let us move this conversation to the library. The seats are more comfortable there." He said and held out his arm for her. She placed her hand on his elbow and allowed him to lead her from the room.
Rebekah took a deep breath before she descended the stairs into the cellar, getting ready to face the demon had taken over her sister. She had had Caroline in her life for half a century and never in that time had she ever even come close to turning off her humanity. Caroline was always a supporter of humanity and the importance of keeping it.
"...the hills of Italy at our back." She heard her brother say.
"A beautiful backdrop for the death that surrounded us." Caroline replied, her voice hollow.
Klaus let out a frustrated sigh, "This is not you! Why are you holding onto this with such conviction?"
"If I am a monster, I should behave like a monster." Was her response and Rebekah stepped into the space.
Klaus did not turn to her but said, "Do you need something Rebekah?"
"You need to get some sleep Nik. I shall stay with Caroline." She said, and looked through the bars to her sister's cage. She was unsurprised by the woman's complete lack of caring for her situation, losing your humanity meant you lost your fear, but not your mind. She knew that the people in this place would never hurt her, and that was probably their downfall.
"I do not need rest." Her brother replied, "I need my wife back to her normal self."
"You cannot help her if you are exhausted. Rest, she will still be right here when you return." She insisted, staring into his eyes and hoping the encouragement would work.
He eventually gave a nod and with one final look at his wife, he flashed from the room.
"This is all for nothing. You do know that none of this means anything don't you? He will come to you, just as he came for me. No one gets a happy ending out of this story." Caroline told her and Rebekah had to suppress the shiver it caused down her spine.
"The true Caroline always believed there was hope." Rebekah said.
"This is the real Caroline, I am just no longer bogged down by my emotions that served me no purpose. They hid the truth behind optimism." She got to her feet and walked up to the door, her blue eyes cold as they looked at Rebekah, "You should do the same. You've had nothing but heartbreak for centuries. Let go, be the monster we all are."
Rebekah scowled, "I shall not and I will do whatever I can to bring you back to yourself."
Caroline shrugged, "That is your choice and this is mine."
She walked and laid down again on pillows and blankets that Klaus must have brought her and she shook her head. Even now, he was still making sure that Caroline was looked after.
A harsh cough caught her attention and Rebekah turned to investigate the sound, finding Victoria in another room a few down from Caroline. She had been given none of the comforts that Caroline had, she was alone in her cell.
The woman's blood soaked eyes flashed up to Rebekah and she sneered, "Come to watch my slow death?"
Rebekah smirked, "It is nice to witness, I can admit."
Victoria shook her head, "You cannot win this."
"We can and we will. There is only one white oak stake after all, Mikael cannot kill us all. If we get it away from him, it is him that will not win." Rebekah replied, the woman was no threat any longer, she would be dead in a few hours.
"I wish Caroline had never met you." She said, her voice weak and tired, "We would have all lived our lives the way God intended and I never would have had to bear witness to all that befell my family."
Rebekah shook her head, "I never meant for any of that to happen. I just saw a lost soul and decided to help." She frowned for a moment, "How have we never seen you before now?"
"Your father locked me in a crypt for a few hundred years, didn't want me running about, ruining his plans." Victoria answered, "It was probably better that way."
"Tell us where the cabin or house is Victoria and I will put you out of your misery now." Rebekah told her, "This can all end."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you." She left out another dry, hacking cough, "You'd win then."
"Victoria, you are going to die either way. You have already lost." She said, her voice soft and full of pity, "It can end better than this."
"All I have to do is tell you where Mikael had been holding up?" She said, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
"Yes." Rebekah assured her, "Tell me where he was and I will end this right now for you."
Victoria's eyes narrowed, "I will take all the pain coming for me before I help you."
Rebekah shook her head, "If you change your mind, all you have to do is yell." She said and walked back to look into Caroline's cell again. She was asleep or pretending to be at least, Rebekah sighed and took a seat in the chair Klaus had been using. This was going to be long day.
Elijah had been explaining Paris to Elena, or at least how it had been two hundred years ago, when he had last seen it, when there was a knock on the front door. He rushed over to open it, knowing that he had to be one of the hybrids.
It was Joseph, one of the volunteer hybrids, "There is a single rider approaching the property down the lane."
Elijah nodded, "Did you get a look?"
"Young woman, dark skinned, and dressed finely for a woman choosing to ride alone." He replied.
Elijah smiled, "Make sure she arrives here safely, I do believe that is Emily's niece."
"Yes sir." The young man said before running off to relay the instructions to the others. Elijah was starting to suspect that the hybrids all shared a sire bond with Niklaus, they were all too willing to follow orders.
Emily was behind when he turned, "My niece should be here soon."
Elijah nodded, "Joseph said she was spotted on the road, should not be much longer now."
"I have everything ready, so as soon as she is feeling rested enough we can begin the search for Kol." She explained, "I still cannot promise this will be successful."
"I know Emily. We have no idea of knowing who Mikael has working for him, or even if he has more than one witch with him. We appreciate you being willing to try." He assured her.
"Of course." Emily replied.
Elijah cocked his head, "I can hear her horse. She should be here in a moment."
Emily moved to open the door but let out a little shriek as she did. Elijah pulled her back and looked out. Sitting on the porch was Katerina, her face pale and an angry, festering wound on her arm.
He stepped out, "How did you get around the hybrids?"
"I have been avoiding the detection of others for centuries, newbies are easy." She said, her voice labored and weak, "Elijah, please…"
"Are you here for our help?" He asked and crossed his arms over his chest, "After all that you have done, we will gladly leave you to rot on our porch."
"I.." She coughed, "I can tell you where Mikael is."
"Wrong, you can tell us where Mikael was. I highly doubt he would remain after we captured Victoria." He said, glaring at her.
"Elijah." Emily said, remaining within the threshold of the house, "She is here."
Elijah followed her gaze to the single horse riding up toward the house, he looked down at Katerina, "Will you tell us everything we want to know about my father's doings?"
She nodded, "I will, I swear."
"Go sit on the porch swing, I shall decide what to do with you in a moment." He replied, stepping around her to greet Emily's niece.
The horse stopped right before him and he grabbed the reins, steadying it as the woman dismounted, "Miss Bennet, welcome to Mystic Falls."
"Thank you Mr Mikaelson, though I do wish I was visiting for a better purpose." She replied, taking off her riding gloves, "What shall I do with my horse?"
"I will take care of it for you, please go right on in. Your aunt is waiting for you." He insisted.
She answered with a nod and walked up the steps, she barely spared a glance at Katerina who had moved herself to the swing. Emily embraced her inside the mansion and closed the door behind them.
He looked over at Katerina, "I am going to put the horse away. When I get back, you and I are going to have a long chat."
Elena decided to go upstairs and check on Stefan while Elijah dealt with whoever was at the door. He had come down since breakfast and it was past noon now. She was worried for her old friend and thought it would do him some good to talk about what was troubling him. It was not usually a good idea to keep everything all bottled up inside.
The room he had been given was a few doors down from her own and she noticed that the door was cracked open. She knocked on it gently before pushing it open, "Stefan?"
"I wish to be alone right now Elena." His muffled voice said and she noticed he was laying on his bed, spread out over the top of the covers.
"I am worried about you. I thought maybe you'd like to talk about everything." She said, stepping further into the room, leaving the door open so no one could get the wrong idea.
Stefan slowly sat up and looked at her, his eyes were red from tears and he looked wrecked, like his entire body was showing the signs of his pain.
"Oh, Stefan." She whispered and moved to hug him but he shook his head and held up his arms to stop her.
"No, I can't…..I can't have you touching me right now Elena." He replied before folding his entire body up into a seated position in the center of the bed.
She was confused and took a set on the bench at the foot of the bed, "I am sorry Stefan."
"You did not do anything wrong Elena but…." He did not finish his thought, instead he turned to look out the window to his left.
"But I look like her and she hurt you." Elena replied, feeling a pit sink into her stomach.
He closed his eyes and nodded, "I know you are not her. You could never do the things she did but it is hard Elena. I don't know how I am supposed to live with all of this. How can you stand to look at me?"
"There was nothing you could have done Stefan." She told him and made sure her voice carried her conviction, "She used magic on you. How were you supposed to resist that which you didn't know even existed?"
"I should have done more." He whispered, his voice full of regret, "I never would have done…..that…if she had told me too."
Elena had assumed she knew what Katherine had done to Stefan while in his home but his demeanor told her all she needed to know. She certainly hoped that when they found her, she was not given an ounce of mercy. She liked to think that she was a person above such things as revenge, but this would feel more like justice. Like when a murderer was hanged for his crimes, only she would need a different punishment.
Elena took a deep breath, this moment was not about her, she could have those thoughts later, "No one here blames you for anything Stefan. I do not. Rebekah does not. We are here to support you, in whatever way you need. And, if seeing my face, the one that looks like your abuser, is too much for you right now, than I shall go."
Stefan watched her carefully as she got to her feet and headed toward the door. She felt his eyes on her with every step she took. Just as she reached the door he said, "Elena, thank you."
She turned and gave him a smile, "I will always be here for you Stefan. When Rebekah comes up to see her later, trust her too. She is here for you too."
He didn't say anything in return but his nod was enough for her to hope that he might be willing to listen to the blonde. She closed the door firmly behind her and let out a sigh of relief, she hoped that meant that at least one thing would work out eventually. She headed back toward the library when she saw Emily and another woman talking in the front foyer.
She put on her best smile and said, "Emily, is this your niece?"
Emily smiled at her, "Yes. Miss Elena, allow me to introduce my niece, Bonnie Bennett."
A/N: Thank you to those that have left reviews and to anyone reading, but not reviewing. I appreciate it all! 3