Elena held Mikael's hand with a smile on her face as they strolled through the forest. Mikael had grown rather fond of Elena, he spent more time with her than any of his other children. Elena brought light into his heart, the very light that died the day he learned of Freya's death.
"Father," Elena says as she stops walking.
"Yes, Elena," Mikael responded, waiting for her response.
"I wish to go hunting. It is not fair that the boys get to do it and I do not!" Elena says with a pout.
"That is because one day they will grow up to protect you and your sister, Elena," Mikael explains as he gets to her level, holding both of her hands.
"I want to protect myself!" Elena protested, her brunette hair and light blue dress flowing as the wind hit it.
Mikael chuckled, it was light and genuine. There was that fire in Elena's eyes again, the fire that he adored.
"Perhaps I will let you when you are older," Mikael says as he stands up.
"Father, I am eight years old," Elena informed with a frown on her face.
"You can start next summer," Mikael says.
It was enough to bring a smile to her face.
"Thank you, Father," Elena says happily.
"Speak of this to no one," Mikael instructs as a smile appears on his face.
Elena nods her head as determination fills her eyes.
"Father!" Finn shouts as he quickly approaches them.
Mikael's smile quickly disappears and is replaced by a look of disgust.
"What is it, child?" Mikael asks, his voice cruel and demanding.
"Mother requests your presence, she says it's important," Finn says in a hushed voice.
Mikael stays in his position, unwilling to move.
"I will walk Elena home," Finn informs.
Mikael scoffs before walking the path that leads to the house.
Finn holds his hand out towards Elena.
"Let us go home, little Sister," Finn says.
Elena only stares at him before she shakes her head. Finn frowns as the brunette sits down against a tree.
"The forest is no place for a child," Finn said disapprovingly, shaking his head.
"I disagree," Elena says stubbornly as she twists the small golden bracelet on her wrist.
Finn sighs and sits next to her, knowing she wouldn't leave any time soon.
"What is that?" Finn asks, looking at her bracelet.
"Mother calls it a bracelet. She tells me to never take it off. It will protect me from evil!" Elena exclaims as if she's fascinated with every word that comes out of her mouth.
Finn frowns, he knows that is far from the truth. He used to be able to feel the strong magic that had laid dormant in Elena, and suddenly it had disappeared when she reached the age of four. It was clear to him that the bracelet was the reason why.
"Every once in a while you have to protect yourself," Finn pauses as he stands up.
"You can not allow yourself to depend on others," Finn says as he holds his hand out.
This time she takes it.
Somewhere along the way she notices that they weren't headed to the house.
"Finn, where are we going?" Elena asks.
"Can you keep a secret, Elena?" Finn asks.
"Yes," Elena answers.
"We are going to one of my hiding places," Finn says as his grip tightens on her hand.
This so painfully reminded him of Freya, they had always hidden together as they had planned. He had to keep himself in the present, he had to lock the memories of Freya being taken away deep inside of his heart. It is what his mother taught him to do.
"Finn, are you okay?" Elena asks, concern clear in her voice.
It is then that he notices the tears that were slowly making their way down his face. Finn cleared his throat and wiped the tears away, forcing a smile on his face.
"Yes, I am okay," Finn says.
Elena pauses as she stares at him.
"No," She says, refusing his answer.
"What?" Finn asks, dumbfounded.
"What is wrong?" Elena asks with a concerned look etched on her face.
Elena was too kind for her own good, too caring. One day it shall get her hurt.
Tears flood Finn's eyes once again as he falls to his knees. The pain of losing Freya made itself known for the first time. Elena wraps her small arms around Finn, rubbing his back. She had seen Esther do it to Rebekah when she had been crying and it seemed very effective.
They sat there, in the same position, for a while. Finn felt silly, He was twenty years old, and yet he was getting comforted by an eight-year-old.
Finn took a moment to examine the sky, it was getting late. If he didn't want to get in trouble he needed to have Elena home quickly.
"Come, Elena, let us go home," Finn says standing up.
"What of your hiding place?" Elena asks, allowing Finn to usher her back to the house.
"It will have to wait," Finn says.
When Finn and Elena finally made it back to the house, Esther and Mikael's conversation came to a stop.
"Take Elena to her room Finn," Esther instructs, her voice serious.
Finn nods and quickly leads Elena to her room, where Rebekah happily greets her. Finn leaves the room and quietly makes his way towards his parents. He was curious as to what was going on.
"Something is coming, Mikael. I can feel it. I fear that Elena may be in danger," Esther says worriedly.
"It is time she learns to defend herself," Mikael says.
Esther's eyes widen as she shakes her head.
"I will not teach her magic, her power is too great. She will not be able to control it," Esther refuses.
"There is no other choice. Would you rather for her to be slaughtered?" Mikeal asks, his voice hard.
"I love Elena as if she were my own, I will not allow her to die. We must keep her hidden," Esther says.
"It is rude to eavesdrop, brother," A voice commented behind him.
Finn turns to face Elijah.
"Elijah, you were told to watch Henrik, were you not?" Finn says.
"Niklaus offered to look after him while I stepped out," Elijah informs.
There's a silence before Elijah speaks again.
"What are they speaking of?" Elijah asks.
"Nothing of importance," Finn says before walking off.