It was the night of the Mikaelson Ball, Caroline, Salvatores, Liz, Carol, almost every person in the town was there except for the one person she had been waiting for, the entire evening passed, the guests came and left but that one person she wanted to meet didn't arrive at all.
After all had left and the workers started the post party cleaning, Esther comes running down and stumbles on the final step, she was falling and her was about to hit the ground but Klaus caught her just in time and steadied her.
"Mother, why are you down here? And where were you going in such a hurry?"
Niklaus, her most clever of all children, the only one she wanted to avoid but now that she was caught red handed running off in a hurry to meet someone, she had to cover it all up.
"Niklaus, I sent an invite to Elena, I wanted to meet her, there were a few things I wanted to discuss with her but she didn't come to the party so I decided to go meet her myself."
"No need to trouble yourself mother, you want to meet her, I will get her here in no time."
Before Esther could even part her lips to say something Klaus vanishes, she decides to let things play on their own. Klaus wastes no time as he goes to Tyler's house and gets his recent contact number from Carol Lockwood. Yes, Tyler did change his number the minute he left town to break the sire bond so that Klaus couldn't contact him and force him to hurt Caroline or any of his other friends but luck was not on his side after all.
Klaus makes Carol call Tyler and snatches the phone from her the minute he picks up, "Tyler, since you're the only hybrid who has the invite to Elena's house, I command you, go to her house, whatever she is doing, whatever she is wearing I don't care, just bring her to my house to my living room" he disconnects before Tyler could even say a word.
At the Mikaelson manor, everyone was around the living room, waiting for the doppelganger to arrive, Rebekah to taunt her that she cannot deny her mother's demand, they'll make her follow, Elijah to ask her why didn't she come, Kol to see the latest doppelganger and Klaus obviously to make a point that when he demands something it should be done.
Esther was worried that how would she talk to her in her children's presence, Finn was by her side, assuring her that he will make sure she gets to talk with the doppelganger in the privacy of her room.
A gush of air drops Elena in a chair and goes, yes, it was Tyler, he dropped Elena there and left immediately without informing anyone, not informing his friends was part of the thing which Klaus demanded and he left immediately because he didn't want to be anywhere near Klaus until he broke the sire bond.
The smell of fresh human blood and the sound of another heartbeat is what catches their attention when they look at the chair Elena is seated, she hasn't said a word yet. Elijah notices she is too busy reading a really thick book, her hair are up in a messy bun, she is wearing a blue tank top and pajama bottoms with Mickey mouse print in it, no shoes on her feet tell that she was reading seated on her bed. Her knees were folded upto her chest and she rested the book above them.
She was so engrossed in reading that book that she hadn't even noticed that her surroundings changed. Along with Elena Klaus finds a note on the table, "This is how I found her, I brought her here the same way."
Elena was so busy reading 'Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows' she was in mid of the story and hadn't had any idea that she was in the house of the predators now.
Elijah starts with a polite question, "Elena, you were invited to the ball today, why didn't you come?"
"The ball is at seven Elijah, I still have time"
Kol scoffs, "What time do you think it is darling?"
She just moves her eyes to her wrist watch then back at the book again, "It's noon 1 o clock" she gets reading again.
The Mikaelson's exchange a look at her reply.
Klaus asks the next question, "Well, Elena have you eaten anything yet."
Elena, "Sshh, I will after I finish the book."
Klaus was about to snatch the book from her hands when Esther interrupts, "Niklaus, let her be, we don't misbehave with our guests"
Klaus stops
Finn whispers in her head, "Mother, what are you doing?"
Esther answers, "Let it go as it's going Finn, this could be advantageous to us."
Finn, "How?"
Esther, "Just wait and watch"
Esther calls her family aside, "Niklaus why not have a small dinner with our guest"
"Sure mother, if that's what you want. The after party food is left, I'll ask someone to heat that up."
Finn in Esther's head, "Mother, what are you doing?"
Esther, "I know what I am doing Finn"
As the waiters start setting up the table Elena's eyes are getting as heavy as lead, Klaus notices the red veins in her eyes are visible on the white area. it was in a way amusing that she hasn't even realised the change in her location yet.
Rebekah, "Elena, for how long have you been reading that"
Elena, "Sshhh, I am on the last book, I will finish the series today, don't disturb" she gets back to reading.
Klaus finds her reply quite funny and a really funny idea strikes him, soon he is standing behind her with a color pallette and paint brushes.
Rebekah, "Nik, just what in the world are you going to do"
Klaus smiles looking at Rebekah, "Ssshhh Rebekah, do not disturb our guest"
It makes Elijah almost laugh when Klaus starts painting on her shoulder and she doesn't even flinch.
Kol, "Well this definitely not as clever as her ancestor Katerina"
Klaus paints a beautiful red flower, but this is not where he stops, he sees her bare arm and soon his brush starts moving in that direction too, he is painting some a Buddha on her arm and she is still unmoved, so engrossed in the book.
Esther sees the red flower on her shoulder back, she draws a drop of blood from their and without anyone noticing pours it in the bottle of champagne.
Esther, "Niklaus, let's start with drinks, maybe us talking would get her attention out of that book."
Klaus keeps his paint brushes away, but, Elena was already feeling sleepy, she hadn't eaten or moved a bit from her bed since morning. When she stepped out of the bathroom this morning a bundle of books was kept on her bed as a belated birthday gift from someone (not someone, it was Damon who placed the gift with that anonymous name). When she opened the gift she found the set of seven books and since then she had just been reading.
Klaus' brush strokes were like rubbing a dog's head, which actually relaxes them, those brush strokes added more to her already sleepy head. As the waiter walks in holding the champagne bottle infiltrated by Esther's magic, something happens, Elena reaches her limits and finally falls asleep in that sitting position, but her falling asleep makes the book fall to the ground, the waiter stumbles upon it and the champagne bottle falls and breaks. Yet another failure for Esther.
Next morning when Elena wakes up in a more comfortable bed than hers she finds a pair of blue eyes staring at her, "So, Elena, I think we need to discuss your sleeping habits"
"Klaus what are you doing at my house?"
"Your house" he repeats.